Trying something new… some stories that caught my eye.
Comics
The term “super hero” is no longer trademarked. DC and Marvel jointly owned the trademark in a number of areas (including publications, toy figures, t-shirts, and costumes), but Superbabies Limited (who?) filed to have it overturned, and DC and Marvel didn’t bother to respond. About time, I say — the term had become effectively generic a long while ago.
Marvel is placing a new version of their Spider-Man balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade this year, held November 28. Impressively, they credited their influence, saying the balloon is “inspired by and in honor of the iconic art style of comic book legend John Romita Sr.”
Here’s a capsule history of the balloon from the press release:
Spider-Man first debuted in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1981, later making his debut as Marvel’s first larger-than-life balloon in 1987. Spidey quickly became a favorite of Parade watchers and fans at other events for over a decade. After the original balloon was retired, Spidey made his return to the Parade in 2009, running as part of the Parade until 2014.
Media
The New York Times is now reporting on the accusations against Neil Gaiman and how some media works associated with him are on hold or cancelled. Production on the movie version of The Graveyard Book has been paused by Disney, as has the third season of Good Omens, which we must have.
Sherlock & Co. (I share Brad’s appreciation for this marvelous podcast) is playing with media references. I fondly recall when asked about their favorite detectives, Sherlock said Poirot (but couldn’t remember the name) while John said Scooby-Doo. The mailbag episodes, where they do everyday things (not cases) and chat and answer user questions are such fun extras for Patreon subscribers.
A profile of a family-owned luxury book publisher that puts out super-deluxe, very expensive coffee table books:
The company also acts as its own distributor, a strategy to maintain scarcity and an image of exclusivity. “There will be no discounts, no overruns,” [says the son of the founders.]
A new movie starring Ian McKellen as The Critic inspires thoughts on portraits of the type on film. Some quotes:
You have to love an art form to devote all your time to writing about it, but tell that to the artist who’s spent years on a project and then had reviewers critique it overnight. It no doubt feels as if there are preconceptions, and maybe even malice involved.
… [W]ith aggregator sites like Rotten Tomatoes reducing everything to a number, most moviegoers now turn to critics less for analysis than for consumer advice.
General Life
The Universities of Wisconsin have adopted a “viewpoint neutrality” policy that “requires university leaders to limit their public statements about social and political issues”. We’ve really gotten away what college should mean, haven’t we?
No more Blue Light specials as the last Kmart in the mainland US is closing.
English (US) · 