On her blog earlier this week, Birds of Prey writer Gail Simone asked readers for suggestions regarding the wheelchair-bound, super-information officer Barbara “Oracle” Gordon’s official wheelchair.

Simone noted that…

…over the years and the course of many, many appearances, she’s had like eight million different chairs, mostly generic, but some a little ridiculous, and quite a few very obsolete in appearance. Unobtrusive is one thing, but some of these chairs looked like they came from the 1700’s.

What I want to, and it’s way past time, is to update her chair, and to make it a consistent, reasonable design, that is still not hugely obtrusive.

The first thought that popped into my mind was that Oracle should call Niles “The Chief” Caulder of The Doom Patrol, because he had a totally rad wheelchair (I’m sure Oracle has his contact information, or could get it pretty quickly).

Unfortunately, Simone specifically notes that  Oracle “was never supposed to have a high tech, flying battleship wheelchair, as Professor X and the Chief from Doom Patrol are sometimes shown to have” and that “we don’t want a chair with hidden missile launchers.”

The high-tech, battle-ready wheelchair Caulder constructed in 1965′s Doom Patrol #94 (conveniently collected in Showcase Presents: The Doom Patrol Vol. 1) does not have a hidden missile launchers.

It merely has a hidden machine gun, a flamer-thrower and a gigantic metal claw. No missiles.

Of course, because of all that, it probably wouldn’t meet Oracle’s needs, as stated by Simone. Of course, the Cheif’s chair can also “WHOOSH” off all its gadgets and armor at the pull of a lever, should he need to engage in hand-to-hand combat with a bird-themed villain like The Claw, as he did in that 1965 story by Arnold Drake and Bruno Premiani, which is entitled “The Chief ‘Stands” Alone,” quotation marks actually around the word “stands.”

(Given the name of Oracle’s team, it’s really only a matter of time before she has to fight The Claw, and his mechanical, bomb-dropping falcons).

The chair’s greatest virtue, however, is probably the name The Chief came up with for it—

It’s his “Action Chair!”

In the 46 years since that story saw publication, I’m not sure if The Chief ever managed to perfect the Bossa Nova dancing function he is talking about there, but that name still stands the test of time.In addition to being a gifted surgeon and engineer, Caulder is pretty good at marketing.

Well, my suggestion has been preemptively shot down. If you have a more sensible one to make, visit Simone’s blog to do so.

This might just be the end of an era, folks — DC Comics has announced that it will no longer be carrying the Comics Code Authority Seal of Approval, in favor of a new in-house rating system for their books.

The new ratings, according to co-publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio, are as follows:

E – EVERYONE

Appropriate for readers of all ages. May contain cartoon violence and/or some comic mischief.

T – TEEN

Appropriate for readers age 12 and older. May contain mild violence, language and/or suggestive themes.

T+ – TEEN PLUS

Appropriate for readers age 16 and older. May contain moderate violence, mild profanity, graphic imagery and/or suggestive themes.

M – MATURE

Appropriate for readers age 18 and older. May contain intense violence, extensive profanity, nudity, sexual themes and other content suitable only for older readers.

Vertigo, according to the publisher, will not have these rankings, simply having a “For Mature Readers” note on their catalog.

With the new ratings system beginning in April, this will mark the first time that both Big Two publishers have been without the Comics Code Authority since the 1950s. Marvel dropped the CCA in 2001, to institute their own in-house ratings system. What do you think about this, Rama readers? Is the era of the CCA officially over? Sound off!

Written and created by Brian Andersen, art, colors and letters by the talented Celina Hernandez. For more So Super Duper go to:www.sosuperduper.com!

Barack Obama and Sarah Palin arrive in Riverdale in the midst of Archie and Reggie’s heated political battle — it’s the second part of “Campaign Pains,” and a preview follows after the jump. For our interview with the story’s writer, Alex Simmons, click here.

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Transformers: Sector 7 #5 (of 5)
John Barber (w) • Joe Suitor (a) • Brian Rood (c)
Jetfire makes his final judgment against humanity, as he comes face to face with Sector 7 founder Walter Simmons! Meanwhile, in Sector 7′s Arctic Command, still housing the frozen frame of Megatron, someone has turned traitor… or is there a Decepticon in their midst? All the answers are here, as the lead-up to TRANSFORMERS III heats up!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

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Yesterday, Fox was kind enough to release three brand-new stills from X-Men: First Class in what seemed like a move to make up for their odd promo shot of the cast a day earlier. Score one for us. Now, thanks to director Matthew Vaughn’s outrage over the initial costumed shot, we get two more. And yes, one of them contains Michael Fassbender in his Magneto helmet. SLAM. DUNK.

The photos come exclusively via SlashFilm who were contacted directly by the furious director. Hit the jump to read Vaughn’s testy words. (more…)

There are a lot of big comics out today — including season eight-ender Buffy the Vampire Slayer #40 (don’t worry, she doesn’t wear a tank top with her name on it inside the comic) over at Dark Horse, Marvel’s Invincible Iron Man #500 and Andy Diggle’s Rat Catcher original graphic novel for Vertigo.

As tends to happen, the Best Shots team has already reviewed some of this week’s comics — including Memoir #1, Witchblade #141 and Soldier Zero #4 — right here, but by now you’ve surely started into your stack and developed some strong opinions. So why not get on Twitter (Don’t forget to follow us!), and let the world know your 140-character-or-less thoughts on this week’s releases. Just add the hashtag:

#RamaRev

and it’ll go into our stream right here! So share your thoughts, spread the word, and let’s talk comics!

Perhaps in an effort to combat the promo shot (allegedly) leaked earlier this week of the X-Men: First Class cast in their costumes, Fox has released three stills from the actual film.

The film is set to be released in the summer yet, according to L.A. Times’ Heroes Complex, cameras are still rolling. Oh dear. Check out the other shots after the jump.

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Courtesy of Marvel, here’s a look at the second chapter of the upcoming Mike Carey-written “Age of X” story, contained in New Mutants #22. The pages follow after the jump, and read our interviews with Carey on all things Age of X here and here.

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Courtesy of DC Comics, here are exclusive previews of three of their titles in stores this week — Superman/Batman #80, Legion of Super-Heroes #9 and Time Masters: Vanishing Point #6. All are after the jump.

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Hold on to your Batarangs, people — we’ve got a gamechanger for the new Batman movie.

Because Christopher Nolan has announced who’s going to play Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises. And her name is Anne Hathaway.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway,” Nolan said in a press release posted by the Los Angeles Times, “who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story.”

And if we’re looking for something else ominous, check this out — apparently Tom Hardy will be playing Bane, the juiced-up strongman who successfully broke the Bat. Hardy, who played Eames in Nolan’s last film, Inception, might not be your first pick for the toughest man in the Secret Six, but look at this image from Cinema de Merde, in Hardy’s movie Bronson — that dude can get RIPPED.

At any rate, Rama readers, we got ourselves a villain and… maybe something else. But isn’t that always like Catwoman — to be complicated? What say you, Rama readers? Is the curiosity killing you yet?

R.P.M. #2 (of 4)
After issue #1’s surprise betrayal, and with an army of hired mercenaries on his tail, Revere races down the East Coast with the world’s largest synthetic diamond in-tow.  When a helicopter loaded with gunmen hurtles down from the sky in full attack mode, Revere uses his hyper-kinetic depth perception in a must-see, “Holy $#!t” fashion.  Fasten your seatbelts and see the speed, as R.P.M. takes you on a super-charged, non-stop action ride—with twists and turns that only the hardcore mind of New York Times #1 Bestselling author and World Heavyweight Champion Mick Foley could conceive.  Don’t miss it!

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Would Brenda Starr have ever wanted for readership, let alone left the comics page, if she was always drawn like this?: Check out this 1943 watercolor image by Brenda creator Dale Messick.

“If this movie fails, what second tier DC heroes will get their chance on the big screen?”: ICV2.com parses the bad buzz, and some unsourced worse buzz from folks who sound like insiders, about the upcoming Green Lantern movie.

“As I look back on a decade of being in comics…I have to wonder if 2010 (maybe 2009?) was the end of an era”: Writing for iFanboy.com, Mike Romo takes a moment to reflect on his personal buying habits and relationship with comics, and realizes the people who used to make the sorts of comics he liked to read aren’t making as many of the sorts of comics he likes to read anymore. I always find these sorts of personal reflections pretty fascinating, because if they are representative of any significant portion of the readership, than it could spell bad news for the direct market, and if not, it’s just a personal story of some disenchantment setting in with a reader. (Via Comics Reporter, which has a slightly newish design you should go check out, if you’re not reading it daily already. Like you should be doing).

“Drawing Boehners”—plural—woulda made for a funnier headline: The Hill checks in with political cartoonists about getting a handle on John Boehner, whose recent promotion to House Speaker means he’ll be starring in a lot more political cartoons.

How did they beat Bluewater to this?: “The Royal Comic book? Behold the Kate & William Graphic Novel”

It’s actually sort of astounding that they haven’t done this yet, although their old model works perfectly fine: “Archie Comics Plans Its First Original Graphic Novel”

It Came From the NYPL

The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore
Interview conducted by George Khoury
Published by TwoMorrows

When this book came out, slightly over seven years ago now (how time flies, I thought it was maybe two years ago!), it intrigued me, but didn’t strike me as something I wanted to keep on my bookshelf for eternity. I finally got around to borrowing it from the library, and it’s a perfect library book. Enjoyable, but unnecessary.

For the occasion of Alan Moore’s fiftieth birthday in 2003, Khoury conducted a book-length interview with the celebrated author, touching on nearly every aspect of his career. Rounding out the book are birthday tributes from Moore’s famed comic book collaborators, and introduction and an afterword written by his two daughters, a detailed bibliography of Alan’s published works.

The interview is engaging and insightful, with plenty of material that has been covered in other places, but many nuggets that I’d not encountered before. Remembrances of his childhood, family photos and other early-life details round out the picture of Alan as a person, and tie in, in surprising ways, to the themes and subjects his writing would explore over the rest of his life (to date). All his major comic book series are touched on, as are Alan’s conflicts with the mainstream comics industry. Through it all, Alan’s love of comics and storytelling shines through, as does his belief in the form’s continued artistic possibilities. In short, The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore works as a fine tribute to one of – perhaps the – most influential comics creator, while granting fans an insightful peek behind the curtain of a creative and highly individualistic author.

It’s happened before, but it’s still a little surprising to see David Mack’s incredibly distinctive style at DC Comics, given how closely associated he’s been with Marvel Comics and his own creator-owned work, Kabuki. Yet here he is, providing the variant cover for February’s Justice League of America #54 — the first part of “The Rise of Eclipso.”

Check out the full cover — and a few more upcoming DC Comics covers — after the jump, courtesy of The Source.

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We’ve got Marvel’s full April 2011 solicitations here, and we’ve made our way through all that text to highlight the biggest Marvel news of the month. Such as:

- Kieron Gillen is the sole writer of Uncanny X-Men. As confirmed by a Marvel press release sent earlier today, Matt Fraction — plenty busy with Fear Itself, Invincible Iron Man and the freshly announced The Mighty Thor — is off of the flagship X-title, leaving Gillen steering the ship solo-style. It’s a move that’s been fairly anticipated ever since Gillen was originally announced as coming on board as a co-writer back in September (following the tradition of Fraction joining Ed Brubaker on the title with issue #500, and Brubaker departing soon after). Gillen — dubbed the “new Chris Claremont” by his Phonogram collaborator Jamie McKelvie on Twitter due to him writing both Uncanny and the young mutants book, Generation Hope — has a heck of an April ahead of him, writing five titles (three issues of Uncanny, Journey Into Mystery and Generation Hope).

More headlines after the jump.

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Last week I introduced a new feature here on Blog@ called Etsy Made Me Do It. I needed to give my wallet a bit of a rest, so this time around I decided to focus strictly on the fellas.

Once a week I’ll be sifting through the millions of listings to find the best in geek chic for Blog@ readers. Now, being the girly girl that I am, I personally don’t have much use for cufflinks (although I know a few gals who would rock them) but I think they make a gentleman look quite dapper. Here are some ultra-cool geek cufflinks I found. (more…)

How much of a futurist is Tony Stark? Well, his comic book Invincible Iron Man has vaulted up to #500 this month, despite the fact that #33 shipped just last month. This big, fat, $5, 100-page anniversary (?) issue is by the regular team of Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca.

Age of Reptiles Omnibus Vol. 1: Hollywood storyboard artist-turned-comics creator Ricardo Delgado’s epic dinosaur dramas are beautiful to look at and thrilling to read. Dark Horse has three of them, the original Age of Reptiles, Age of Reptiles: The Hunt and Age of Reptiles: The Journey—into a $25, 400-page, digest-sized collection. You can see a preview here.

Fraggle Rock 2 #1: Archaia’s launches a new round of Fraggle Rock comics, this first issue featuring work from Grace Randolph, Chris Lie, Jake Forbes, Mark Simmons, Katie Cook and others. The format remains that of the square-ish Mouse Guard comics…and there’s even a cover by Mouse Guard’s David Petersen. It’s a $3.95 book. You can see a preview here.

Jurassic Park: Devils in the Desert #1: IDW launches thier next four-issue Jurassic Park miniseries, this one written and illustrated by John Byrne. Byrne and dinosaurs sounds like a pretty good combination to me (There’s a mean joke to be made in here somewhere I’m sure, but I don’t wan to make it). It will, of course, be a $4 book. IDW’s original Jurassic Park mini is also available this week. Jurassic Park Vol. 1: Redemption collects Bob Schreck and Nate Van Dyke’s series in a $20, 120-page package…just look for the Frank Miller drawing of a dinosaur eating someone on the cover.

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UPDATE: Well, there’s some controversy over the veracity of this image — MTV, among other sources, have pulled it; The Hollywood Reporter still has it up. MTV said 20th Century Fox asked for the image to be pulled because it wasn’t “authorized,” though “not authorized” doesn’t necessarily mean “fake,” as ComicsAlliance has dubbed it. After all, there are always tons of fan photoshops circulating before comic movies come out, and studios don’t usually ask for them to be pulled — though they’re usually obviously fake and not accepted as real from major media outlets for any period of time.

If it is fake, who faked it? I have a hard time believing MSN would make their own photoshop (combining images, maybe, but not a whole-scale slap heads on fake costumes job), though I could see an asleep-at-the-wheel editor unknowingly putting up a fake. But if so, why wouldn’t anyone have seen it until today? Hmm. A mystery! Stay tuned as we try to suss this out.

Original Story: It first appeared on MSN and subsequently mysteriously disappeared, but now, thanks to Bleeding Cool, here’s a look at the first cast photo of this summer’s mutant-filled prequel, X-Men: First Class. Pretty sure I’m right about this, so here we go, left-to-right: Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne), Emma Frost (January Jones), Azazel (Jason Flemyng), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Havok (Lucas Till), not sure (perhaps Angel Salvadore, played by Zoë Kravitz?), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Professor Xavier (James McAvoy). The costumes definitely resemble the classic yellow and black/blue Silver Age X-Men outfits, and it looks like anyone concerned that January Jones might not embrace Emma Frost’s er, unique fashion sense (and wasn’t convinced by her outfit Sunday at the Golden Globes), can rest easy. Also, McAvoy’s Xavier still has his hair, so good on him. The Matthew Vaughn-directed movie is out June 3, 2011. Thoughts? Any guesses on the character I couldn’t identify? Let us know.

With February’s issue #30, artist Ed McGuinness is returning to Hulk, the series he inaugurated back in 2008 with Jeph Loeb. This time it’s with current series writer Jeff Parker, and in the tradition of Composite Superman, the issue introduces the Compound Hulk, which as the picture above suggests, looks like a Red Hulk/Green Hulk combo platter. Courtesy of Marvel Comics, a five-page preview follows after the jump.

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