If you’re wondering what happened to ‘Rama Rampage this week, Graeme is out celebrating his fifth wedding anniversary … so congrats to him and his wife. Rampage will return next week.

If Graeme was around, he’d probably have a lot to say about this and this, as well as this, and there’s no way he would have missed this. In fact, you can probably head over to that last one and make up your own Graeme-like commentary. And props to Kevin for getting that interview.

Before jumping into the links, I have an update on one of them … earlier this week I had a post with the headline “Will work for food … or free stuff,” about the Loners Food Find contest over at C.B. Cebulski’s blog. The contest is now over and the free stuff has been claimed by ten lucky winners. The location in question was Carney’s in L.A., and Cebulski shares a story about seeing someone famous there:

Funny Carney’s story that involves comics… I was there a number of years back after San Diego and we were having an early chili-infused lunch before jetting off to LAX. The place was practically empty and suddenly from behind me I hear, “I’ll have a chili burger and a beer, please.” It was a voice I was all too familiar with, so I turn around and sure enough, there he was… Stan Lee!! The Man himself having beef and a beer at 11AM!! This was before I was at Marvel so I had never met Stan before. I was starstruck! So we waited around and introduced ourselves. Stan was so cool and gracious and spoke with us a bit then took pictures. We almost missed our flight but it was worth it! So there’s another reason to go there… Stan Lee eats there!!

OK, so now that I’m hungry for a chili burger, I’ll leave you with some of the posts that got people talking this week here at Blog@ …

Mumbai by way of Riverdale
Millarworld: The internet fights back
Middleman contest winner to illustrate “alternate ending” to volume 3
Liefeld: I may not know perspective, but I know how to upset fans
Goyer’s Super Max film to tackle DCU villains
300 rolls past Gladiator while Grindhouse stumbles
Marvel: War Without End
Goyer on Super Max: ‘Yes, it’s a real project’
He’s not joking*. And neither am I. (* – Okay, maybe he is. But I’m not.)
Friedrich sues Marvel, Sony over Ghost Rider
Inside Out: Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Smallville’s Eric Johnson cast as Flash Gordon
Just how reasonable is the 150-plus page OGN?
“Rules of the Road” for bloggers and their readers?
The man in the gray flannel metal suit
Goodbye Blue Monday
Jim Lee offers updates on All-Star Batman, Wildcats
‘A handful of vertebrae and a heartful of mad!’
Brevoort: I don’t count no numbers
A casting call for the JLA movie?
Make your own Wonder Woman or Black Canary shake

Features

Meanwhile …
Fringe Benefits
Can’t Wait for Wednesday
The Fifth Color
Grumpy Old Fan
Point/Counterpoint in the Blogosphere…

Ah, memories … let’s take a look back at the week that was at Blog@Newsarama …

Warm Subjects

Rumor: The new face of Doom?
Modern art! Makes me! Wanna ROCK OUT!
ComicMix: Damn those Gamma Rays
Have comics grown stagnant?

Features

Rama Rampage
Quote, Unquote
Point/Counterpoint in the Blogosphere…
Grumpy Old Fan
The Fifth Color
Fringe Benefits
Meanwhile
Can’t Wait for Wednesday

News & Views

A busy 2007 for Rich Koslowski and his 3 Geeks
Gorilla suit mania gone wild
Your Marshall Library story of the week
DC to produce WoW toys
Well, I talk about Boys, yeah. What a bundle of joy
Stan the Man on Heroes
Spider-Man 3 early look
Marvel Zombies in three dimensions
Lewis Trondheim = John Lennon?
But an acronym for what?
Production starts on new seasons of Batman, Legion
The kids, they love the manga (Part 57)
Well, it has the symmetry going for it
Jack Klugman is Prince Ra-Man
Please may I have the books that Johanna doesn’t want?
Can Buy Me Love, After All
WIRMP NLIV LEZOGRMV
No, I don’t think I’ve ever read the phrase “grenade launcher” in a shojo manga
Read the first two chapters of My Dead Girlfriend
Can you stand one more post about the upcoming Ghost Rider movie?
Kids ask the darndest things…
Death Note to make jump to DS
Aline Crumb podcast!
How to close a comic store
Anime Awards finalists announced
Remember Splatterhouse?
Marvel teams with Chrysler for jeep promotion
Peter David talks Fallen Angel, Hulk
Finally, Marvel’s answer to Krypto
Nerve: Dorkin, Clugston and sex advice for nerds
You know what I think would be a good name? “Waffles”
What was I thinking?!?
Everything stays the same
Mark Evanier writing Kirby biography
Speaking of David Heatley …
‘Sammy Harkham draws himself well’
It’s a manga, manga, manga, manga, manga world
This week in PWCW
Dark Tower after dark
Comics in the classroom
Diabetic kids create superhero comic
I remember getting Bryan Hitch to sign the first issue when I was a kid, yes?
Old-school, over-the-top, and just what we needed
Curiosity of the day
Fanta celebrates 25 years of Love, Rockets
If you thought Joel Schumacher was bad …
This ain’t a scene, it’s an arms race
More from Nerve: Watson, Bagge and EC Comics
Recommend Cancer Vixen to a woman or man you care about
Guess who wants to direct a Sandman movie?
Luann adoption story based on cartoonists’ life
Screen bites: Heroes’ cheerleader sings, Stardust, Wookiees attack tourists, Ghostbusters 3
Comics and poetry, together again
Nadel on Cooke
Creator interview: Ed Brubaker
How important is writing, anyway?
Well, those were the last words that the barkeep said…
Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night
PlanetLar points me to Worlds of Wonder
Where’s my jetpack?
Nerve.com talks Fun Home with Bechdel
Supernatural prequel to be told by Wildstorm
The Maus guy smokes at Yale University…
Enjoy Matt Kindt’s latest comics work on the Web
Hearts are what you win, if you survive
An interview with Larry Gonick
Nerve.com spotlights comics in special issue
Throw one more Web cartoonist on the fire
I used to dream about the Micronauts, too
You can’t slow Lynn Johnston down
CR interviews RS
What’s to become of the Wonder Woman movie?
Site news: Welcome aboard, Chris Mautner!
A teen-ager in the Age of The Sandman
Can anybody name any black female comics creators?
Reader warns of dangers of ‘addictive’ manga
NYCC: Don’t ask twice, it’s alright
Shawn Levy to direct The Flash
Not Comics: How to blog, without getting up at 5:45 each morning and hating yourself
All this, and food too
How did he become such wonderful toys?
‘Aww, what’s the matter, Skipper?’
Will The Dark Tower be a gateway comic?
Creator profile: Ty Templeton
Oakland’s fallen angel
K. Thor Jensen chats with K. Thor Jensen on Red Eye, Black Eye
Do comics belong in a museum?
Enjoy watching Harvey Pekar aggravate David Letterman one last time

Football and comics go together like … SuperPro and Spider-Man? In any event, enjoy Super Bowl Sunday and check out this week’s posts:

(more…)

I’ve added a new category to our Week in Review feature called “Most Wanted.” These are posts that have gotten a lot of comments or are still getting comments … so join in the discussion!

Most Wanted

DC: Did we learn nothing from Infinite Crisis? Apparently not
Two negatives don’t make a positive. Or something
He’s back! And no-one’s really happy about it!
Let the battle cry be heard in the land, a shout of great destruction
Frank Miller talks war & politics on NPR
Marvel sues former toy contractor for $6 million

Features

‘Rama Rampage
Can’t Wait for Wednesday
Fringe Benefits
The Fifth Color – Latin Solves Everything
Grumpy Old Fan: Nothing Succeeds Like Successors, Part 2
Quote, Unquote
Point/Counterpoint in the Blogosphere…

News & Views

It’s bigger …
Gentlemen, start your engines! (And fight evil!)
Comic books, reinterpreted
If Simpson met Starlin, the result may be similar
Miyazawa: My editor, my therapist
It’s a new year, with old hair
Koontz/Fantagraphics: Well, at least they tried
DeGuzman: Money don’t get everything, it’s true
YALSA announces Great Graphic Novels for Teens
How to annoy Bryan Lee O’Malley
Rating: Awesome
In Holland, The Joker has his own identity crisis
Danny Gregory at McNally Robinson in NYC Monday
23 years later, Big Brother is still watching you
The untapped potential of the comic market … for advertisers
Due South
Is he strong? Listen bud, he’s got radioactive blood
Unscrewed: Rick Olney’s silver lining becomes apparent
Layman/Palmiotti: It’s a long way since Pong, let me tell you
Teen, not Young
Creator profile: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Company profile: Platinum Studios
Kingdom of the blind no more
Jhonen Vasquez wants you … for World of Warcraft
Wal-Mart, Target briefly sell tentacle porn
Roadkill Zoo survives tsunami to make it to comic shelves
The brotherhood of not-so-evil mutants?
Marvel at math
Creator interview: Charlie Huston
Don’t talk bad things about the boss, Tom
Books. They’re good
Another reason why Spurge rules the roost
Creator interview: Antony Johnston
DC to make The P.L.A.I.N. Janes returnable
New Spidey 3 images
Iron Man pumps up the volume
New 300 one-sheet
Darwyn Cooke walks a fine line on Spirit
Screen Bytes: Smallville, Heroes, Oscars
Dark Crystal manga postponed
Hourly Comics Day set for Feb. 1
Campbell: Shakedown, 1979, cool kids never have the time
I realize that it must seem so strange, that time has re-arranged
Huey: A Night (or several) in the Museum
So it seems I’m the devil’s son, out of breath and on the run
I told you I was trouble, you know that I’m no good
Ghost Rider first look
Slate’s comics that ‘reinvent the superhero genre’
But if it wasn’t for your misfortunes I’d be a heavenly person today
Isotope helps fans wine and dine with Fables’ Bill Willingham
Sacre bleu! (or some other Claremontism)
Internet, meet marketing; marketing, meet Internet
Delivering Couriers to the big screen
Batgirl, reimagined (plus a little make-believe)
The Eagle has landed
That’s when I saw him, the leader of The Pack
Why don’t you listen anymore? Why don’t you CARE?!?
Silver Surfer, hangin’ tin
Nominees announced for GLAAD Media Awards
American Born Chinese wins Printz Award
Unpublished: Colleen Doran talks Technique
“I love Tank Girl, good and proper”

Check out what was going on at Blog@ all week …

Features

Fringe Benefits
Can’t Wait For Wednesday
The Fifth Color
Grumpy Old Fan
Quote, Unquote
Point/Counterpoint in the Blogosphere: Manhunter cancellation

News & Views

Sugar for your skull
Marc Silvestri teases!
Midnight madness: Comic shops prepare for Dark Tower launch
Smallville’s “Justice”: What did you think?
Small Press Expo dates announced
Creator interview: Darwyn Cooke
Do you think this A on my head stands for “Wonderful comics that you’ll never read in America?!?”
No news is, apparently, reason enough for a CBR story
The Marvel Universe is bust. Oh, no, wait. The Marvel Universe has busts
Madonna’s husband, Virgin, to suck talent from Diggle: Official
Kerschl post-rocks the house
Which rank is higher, anyway? Lord or Baron?
You will believe a tiger can talk
New KISS comic in the works
Webcomics-o-rama
Creator profile: Hakjoon Kang
The Romival is coming. Mark my words
Out of “Space”
Just call me Norrin Radd
Fraction: The future was thirty years ago
Hang out in the Bat Cave
Dog’s Day End coming from Brian Wood, Top Shelf
Heroes returning for second season
The Black Diamond Detective Agency trailer
Feminist Comics Fan Cabal Meeting Agenda
Keith’s Comics accepting donations for Promise House
Joe Gill passes away
Slave Labor holds “grand opening sale” on new website
Ghost Rider/Jackson Hewitt ad
The Lure of Creating Comics
Paltrow will play Pepper Potts in Iron Man
Mini-comics Creators: It’s time for you to start your engines
When I were a lad…
HBO to adapt Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire
It’s July already. Kind of
Everyone wants to be last
You can make Arizona real
You had me at “coagulated protein”
You’re not my daddy
How much money do we have to pay to let him have all the characters permanently?
2006 was ‘a very special year for comic book sales’
Now available: Stories you hadn’t read before that won’t be finished
That’s a rhetorical question at the end
eBay proves its worth. Finally
Supergirl Letter Campaign
SciFi readies Flash Gordon, second Super Hero season
Peter David: What happens when those pesky kids are the ones in charge
Sometimes a boy just needs to get out of the house and meet some girls
The Bendis Board: We only like things hard if they’re big
Iron Man dance party
Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story
Comicjobz.com launches
Bradstreet to illustrate covers for Harlequin series
Newspaper spotlights graphic novels
‘Up in the sky, a man in a plane …’
Johnny, still going strong, tops Cold Cut list

This week saw the debut of two new columns here at Blog@Newsarama. First was Michael May’s weekly look at the indy comic scene, Fringe Benefits, followed by Kevin Melrose’s Comics, Covered, where he dissected Marvel’s spy/SHIELD covers.

Also of note was an interview with Scott McCloud conducted by Rich Watson, as well as many other interesting posts …

A fan writes from the bottom of his broken heart
Who is Supernova? The answer may shock…you!
Superman will return, studio insiders say
And Jethro Tull didn’t deserve a heavy metal Grammy
O’Brien vs. Marvel: The Beat goes on
Levin: A man who isn’t afraid to tell the truth and point the finger
The Religious Value of Mainstream Comics
Captain Underpants, unite!
Alias AKA Abacus. Or something
Every Loser wins
Wanted: Artists, preferably cheap
Candy’s dandy, but …
No pictures! Just words! And not many of those, either!
Brandweek: Marvel needs women, GL’s got ‘em
Heroes aren’t hard to find
Screen bits: Moon Knight and Cobalt 60
Seven Soldiers delayed in part of the country
Civil War was just the beginning
All-Star: You can have it on time, or you can have it good
Britney Spears, I blame you
How to Relate to Your Peers, for Comics Creators
‘I’m a totally awesome kisser, right?’
Winger can’t get enuff of Ethan Van Sciver
TCJ: Loose lips may sink ships
This is the day your love has made …
Counting down to Ultimate Alliance
Civil War: Fascism unbound?
So, Hulk 2, or Hulk: Hulk Want Freddie Prinze Jr.?

Features

Grumpy Old Fan
Point/Counterpoint in the Blogosphere: Supergirl
The Fifth Color
Can’t Wait for Wednesday
Meanwhile …
Point/Counterpoint in the Blogosphere: Roy Lichenstein

What can I say about last week beyond “Thank you, Neil?” Guest blogger Neil Kleid did an outstanding job, as both the comments he received and our hits attest. Nice work; we’ll have to do this again in the future. If you missed any of Neil’s contributions, he summarized them in a post on Friday.

And if you enjoyed what Neil did, pay him back by checking out some of his stuff. Ursa Minors!, published by Slave Labor Press, is available in finer comic shops everywhere, as well as via the Slave Labor online store. Todt Hill can be read over at the Chemistry Set. Brownsville, Ninety Candles and Call of the Wild can be found at finer shops, as well as at various sites around the web, such as Mars Import and Amazon. Keep an eye out for Migdal David next year. And check out his website on a regular basis to see what else he has up his sleeves in the coming months.

Of course, Neil wasn’t the only one busy last week …

News and such

Time Warner takes issue with CD’s logo
Justice League Heroes released
Veronica Mars producer to create superhero show
Heroes saves Monday night for NBC
‘P is for Psylocke, once English, now Asian’
MODOK is supreme!
Social Shift on the Superhero Scene
Class of ‘45
‘The last time you really inspired anyone …’
Neal Adams to direct, produce Bucky O’Hare film
Harry, not Sue, wins race for invisibility
Hartley talks Justice League, but not GA spinoff

Graeme-page

This just in: Hell not frozen over
I read into everything
Something you have to read. Or at least pick up in the store today
Trapped in a world he never made
Warning: Political content ahead. And Superman
Civil Discourse

Features

Can’t Wait for Wednesday
Point/Counterpoint: Porn Star
Meanwhile…
The Fifth Color
Point/Counterpoint: Freedom Ring
Grumpy Old Fan
Amateur Art Appreciation

This coming week will bring some changes around B@N. First off, we’re retiring our long-running Meanwhile … column. Meanwhile … was launched back before we made the move to Newsarama and were still The Great Curve. Originally written by Shane Bailey, Melissa Krause took it over in August and continued to provide our weekly “round up” column on the comics blogosphere. This coming Tuesday will see the last Meanwhile … column.

But don’t despair … we still plan to cover the blogosphere. Over the past few weeks, Melissa has also started doing Point/Counterpoint posts on how bloggers are reacting to specific issues, and we like it so much we’ve made it her regular gig. That means more Melissa throughout the week, not just on Tuesday!

In addition, this week will see new features debut from both Michael May and Kevin Melrose. I won’t blow the surprise on what they’ll be talking about each week, but you won’t have to wait long to find out. Look for Michael’s tomorrow, and Kevin’s on Tuesday.

Our week here at Blog@Newsarama started pretty quiet, but things picked up in the wee hours of Tuesday morning shortly after Melissa Krause posted the latest edition of Meanwhile. One of the people she linked to this week apparently consulted his team of lawyers and issued a “cease & desist” notice, asking us to remove a link to his blog. Melissa immediately complied, and even though the link was gone, the drama was only beginning.

He Who Must Not Be Named also raised a stink at Melissa’s other blog, When Fangirls Attack, where Melissa and her WFA partner (and fellow Blog@Newsaraman) Lisa Fortuner decided not to comply with a similar request. As Fandom Wank pointed out, “the rest of the commenters, and much of the surrounding comics blogosphere, tell him to STFU.” Many people also pointed out that the best way not to be linked is not to have a blog in the first place, and apparently said blogger took that to heart and abandoned his blog altogether.

Y’know, when Shane Bailey and I first talked about the idea behind Meanwhile, I never imagined that simply linking to someone’s blog would cause such drama, consternation and faux legal threats. Many thanks to the many bloggers and commenters who pointed out how ludicrous that line of thinking is. For the record, to anyone who ever has issues or concerns or whatever about something that appears on Blog@, feel free to drop me an email. I may or may not remove a link, but at least I can save you some public humiliation.

And in other news, we have an update on another story we posted this week; the Rachel Bilson/Wonder Woman rumors we reported on have been confirmed as being bogus, according to Bilson. But if you’d like to see the young actress dressed up as the Amazon princess, go check out YouTube.

And lastly, some internal site news … I wanted to throw out a “get well soon” to Kevin Melrose, who you probably won’t be seeing around here much for the next week or so as he gets over a nasty illness. And because I might forget, I also want to throw out a “bon voyage” to Graeme McMillan, who leaves for vacation on Sept. 23 and won’t be back until the second week of October.

Yes, this means we could possibly be down two of our daily contributors over the next few weeks, but fear not … we have a plan. Oh yes, do we have a plan. Stay tuned.

Other highlights

Hollywoodland opens at No. 2
Ledger promises ‘more nuanced and dark’ Joker
Comics are for kids (well, these are)
Mark Millar explains it all. Potentially.
Synergy: Batista on Smallville
Come for the James Jean, stay for the James Kochalka
Comic books and the male physique
Creator profile: Mark Siegel & Siena Cherson Siegel
Retailer Summit: Marvel and DC announcements
Will the carnage ever end?
Byrne: Your old moaning was better
Mindy Owens is crying about now: Whedon on Runaways
Citigroup on Marvel’s stock
Ken Jennings, mild-mannered trivia guru
Nextwave #11 cover: Mark Millar licks goats
Jim Lee times three
Credits where credits are due: Splinter title credits
The King Is Half Undressed
Kyle Baker on his audience
The Bakers/Jingle Belle crossover
Mostow to rewrite and direct Sub-Mariner
TCJ: Big fish little fish cardboard box
Justice League Heroes: Alternate costumes
Awwww. Wook at da widdle Spider-Man!
16-inches of Wonder and Steel
JMS off FF, Thor wishing he had an acronym now
USM: 100% sales
More cheap downloadable comics
The Dose: I just can’t seem to plug myself in
Marvel rewrites history, now they never had a gay character policy

Features

Can’t Wait for Wednesday
Meanwhile …
The Fifth Color
Grumpy Old Fan
Amateur Art Appreciation

Blog@Newsarama was sponsored by the letter “C” this week, “C” as in “controversy.” Whether it was Marvel’s policy on homosexual characters, Mike Baron’s manifesto, how to get rid of Mary Jane, Zod rumors, Superman’s sex life or the Bendis/Simone clash over Marvel’s “boy’s club,” we posted and you commented.

Of particular interest were Tim Leong’s criticism of Wizard, which received some backlash, as well as Devin Grayson’s new book.

Other highlights

Bendis Board: The rows of dandelions growing all around me, why must I be sad?
Engine: Industrial Revolution
Three dimensional
Making history (over and over again)
Carved from stone
52 minus 13 equals DISCUSSION!
LITG: Corrective surgery as performed by the fanbase
Comics economics (again): I left an angry message, said I gotta have the yen
Preview: Agnes Quill anthology
Pokemania running wild
Tom and Jerry as jaywalking deterrent
Comics: I left an angry message, said I gotta have the green
Marvel: Dirty Laundry abounds
Spotlight on Kirby, Masters of American Comics

Features

Heroes & Villains
Can’t Wait for Wednesday
Meanwhile …
Grumpy Old Fan
Amateur Art Appreciation: Awkward Pause
Fenton & Fenton, Boy Detectives

After years of suffering from lack of respect, who would have thought Aquaman would be such a hot property? Or a warm property, anyway … sure, his TV pilot was a wash (though it did make it to iTunes this week) and his movie is only a rumor right now, but at least he still has his own series, written by Kurt Busiek, no less.

Aquaman wasn’t the only one making news this week, as Sub Diego … er, San Diego also made a headline or two. Kevin has a nice round-up of many of the bigger news stories, and I spent the week chatting with a few folks who were there, namely Chris Arrant, Larry Young and D.J. Coffman. You can find several other links to SDCC news below …

Other highlights

52: numbers fall, title may become “every 2″?
Comics-industry gossip a matter of life and death
Creator profile: Denise Mina
Battle of the sexists sexes — ’70s-style!
Engine: Still Running
First look at Spider-Man 3’s Venom
Five TV shows whose heroes never really took off
New Iron Man movie poster released
I’ve already made the “Ed Brubaker adapts Fiona Apple song” joke, sadly
Peter David vs. Dan DiDio
Philadelphia Daily News likes the Freedom Fighters
Protect thy iPod
Quesada/Colbert: The Reviews Are In!
Rev it up
She’s been around since 1998, but she seems new
Sienkiewicz’s Venture Bros. art for your desktop
Studio alleges GN images too similar to film
Ultimate Avengers preview
Video is the new blog

Features

Meanwhile
Grumpy Old Fan
Amateur Art Appreciation
Fenton & Fenton, Boy Detectives
Heroes & Villains

Anyone see any good movies last week? Yeah? How about TV Shows? Um, maybe not?

While being a stellar week for comics — Daredevil totally rocked, Brave New World cost a buck, Solo was awesome, Lucifer, X-Factor, Runaways, Action, Batman, Nextwave, Blue Beetle — the big news this week was what was up on the screen. Superman Returns brought in $52.15 million over opening weekend, lifting its five-day total since its debut Wednesday to $84.2 million, according to studio estimates. And we had much Superman love to pass around all week:

• Superman Returns opens with $21 million
• Yes, Virginia, there is a Superman
• Superman: Man of Steel, or fascist tool?
• Kryptonite Bites: So, there’s this movie …
• Joe Shuster, and Superman’s Canadian roots
• Kryptonite Bites: Tick, tick, tick
• Growing up in the Superman Family
• Kryptonite Bites: Too … many … stories

And if your taste in movies runs more Marvel, never fear … the trailer for Spider-Man 3 came out this week as well. And if you didn’t feel like fighting the movie theater crowds, there was always the new Blade TV show on Spike.

Whatever the case, you might have missed something over here at Blog@ while you were out, so here’s a rundown of some of our top news stories and features …

• Superboy-Prime as the ‘ugly side’ of fandom
• The 1990s: ‘An incredible decade for comics’
• Washington Post tackles the Big Question
• Manga, superheroes and a tangible vision
• Drums keep pounding in my head, la-de-da-de-de, la-de-da-de-da
• Which side are you on? The side of caring
• I don’t mind, the thing that bothers me is someone keeps moving my chair.
• So who HASN’t been attached to the role of Wonder Woman?
• Monkey business, on a sunny afternoon
• Comics as agents of change
• Wonder Woman, all our hopes are pinned on you
• ‘Oh, my God, I’m — I’m rock-hard!’
• Crisis in Infinite Mailboxes

Features:

• Meanwhile…
• I ♥ Fishnets
• Grumpy Old Fan
• Amateur Art Appreciation: Silhouettes

Reminder!

• Johnny Repeat contest

We kicked off this week with an interview with the brains behind Citizen Press and the upcoming Johnny Repeat graphic novel, Jason and Elizabeth James. The James gang were kind enough to supply us with several copies of the book, which we’re giving away in our first contest. Deadline for entries is Wednesday, July 5, so go check it out!

Lisa Fortuner joined us this week with her new weekly feature, Amateur Art Appreciation, and several other posts, including a recent podcast interview with Gail Simone and the difference between comic book Storm and movie Storm.

Graeme highlighted the similarities in Marvel’s comic plots to what happens in their movies, a recent exchange between Comic Reporter Tom and Marvel’s Aubrey Sitterson, Tom Breevort’s thoughts on continuity, leaked info on a New Frontier animated DVD and Michael Netzer’s new website.

Tom took a look this week at the cover to JLA #2 and first issue of the new Flash series … “I suppose it could be worse: Bart could be the fake-out, and that idiot Griffin could be the new Flash…. ” Um, let’s not give anyone any ideas, Tom …

I had a lot more fun writing this week’s I ♥ Comics feature than what’s probably allowed.

And we ended the week with what has become one of the most popular posts in our short history, Kevin Melrose’s recap of how the Siegel/DC legal battle over Superboy is affecting the upcoming Legion of Super Heroes cartoon. Kevin also brought us news on the biggest comic book movie opening of the summer, comic numbers for May and the latest on the McFarlane/Tony Twist legal battle.

Before I get into our look back at last week, I wanted to note some exicting news about this coming week … namely, we have a new contributor joining our merry band. I’d like to welcome Lisa Fortuner, from the blogs Written World and When Fangirls Attack!. Lisa has agreed to contribute a weekly feature to Blog@Newsarama, so watch for the first one this coming Friday.

We started the week with Bryan Singer’s final word on Superman’s sexuality, which had been receiving a lot of media attention and discussion over the past few weeks. No, he isn’t gay. But is he Jesus?

The week’s biggest story, though, was the end of Civil War #2. If you’re the only person in the world who hasn’t read the issue or didn’t have the end spoiled for you by Howard Stern or the New York Post or Yahoo, then I won’t spoil it for you here. Graeme McMillan talked about fan backlash, though, and Kevin talked about Marvel’s claims of sticking to their guns with the big change, which may contain a few spoilers. In fact, if you want to stay in the dark, you may not want to click on any links in the previous paragraph …

Kevin and Michael May took a look at this fall’s Dark Horse releases in our regular Forward Thinking feature; be on the lookout for Marvel and DC’s next week. Speaking of our regular features, our resident Grumpy Old Fan talked about how to make a Watchmen film, Shane looks for Marvel blogs and Michael tells us why he loves monsters.

We also spoke to a couple of comic creators this week, as Kevin interviewed Chickenhare creator Chris Grine and I spoke with Villains artist Ryan Cody.

Happy Father’s Day to new father Robert Kirkman! Also congrats to Marvel and the Young Avengers team for their recent GLAAD award.

It’s too late now to bid on the cover to Fables #50 by James Jean, but that’s probably ok … the original art went for more than $7,000. Too rich for my blood …

Next week should be a fun one here at B@N; not only does Lisa join us, but we also have a fun contest set to go on Tuesday … so be sure to check back with us all this week!

“The Week in Review” typically is JK Parkin’s territory, but he’s on the road so you’re stuck with me.

In our first week at Newsarama, the new Batwoman — or, rather, her sexual orientation — continues to be the talk of the mainstream press. Oh, and Superman’s sexuality didn’t escape scrutiny.

While I followed those stories, Graeme McMillan returned to the daily grind with posts about Gail Simone’s blog, Wolverine’s hair and fandom’s perception of independent comics.

Chris Hunter brought word that Elk’s Run is finding new life at Villard, a division of Random House.

An article in the New York Daily News sparked a good discussion about “gateway comics.” We’ll follow up on that this week.

And JK wrapped up the week by checking in with Flaming Carrot creator Bob Burden, recently released from the hospital and looking forward to his new Gumby book.

Don’t forget to check out our regular features: Shane Bailey’s “Meanwhile …,” which provides a tour of the comics blogosphere; JK’s “Can’t Wait for Wednesday,” which eyes the week’s releases; Michael May’s “Heroes & Villains,” saluting and jeering the events of the week; and Tom Bondurant’s “Grumpy Old Fan” perspective.

We also debuted a new feature this week, “I ♥ Comics,” in which each week a different contributor discusses what we love about the medium.