Culture

We've seen some pretty funny mash-ups photos floating around the web of Grant Morrison and Alan Moore together, photos which are a little ironic since the two titans of comics are not actually besties IRL. However, the above photo of Morrison and Neil Gaiman is 100% real.

§ Top news today! The city of Scottsdale, AZ, hopes to erect a statue in tribute to cartoonist Bil Keane who was a citizen of the town. While you'd think a statue dedicated to the artist Family Circus might include a diorama of footsteps strewn across a park, this one will feature a 9x7 bronze statue of Keane with the four Family Circus kids riding him like a pony. Hopefully this statue does not have a "torture variant." The above photos are artist's renditions.

Occupy Comics #3, the final issue of the Kickstartered anthology, came out today, and to celebrate the release — as well as the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech—Black Mask Studio made a preview of "The History of Non-Violence" by Caleb Monroe and Theo Ellsworth available.

. Today would have been the 96th birthday of Jack "King" Kirby. 26 years ago, on the occasion of Jack's 70th birthday, I was in the basement of the Hotel San Diego with about 600 of my fellow professionals as we waited in a dark room for Jack to appear.

Straight from the offices of Publishers Weekly, it's More to Come! Your podcast source of comics news and discussion starring The Beat's own Heidi...

Now that the outrage-o-tron has moved from torture to movie casting, here is a round-up of reactions to the "Torture Cover" post the other day. Actually I don't even need to write anything, as the Outhouse already summed it up with CROSSED TORTURE VARIANT CONTROVERSY SPARKS SURPRISINGLY CIVIL DEBATE ON INTERNET. It's true. No one was blackballed, castigated or petitioned. The effects and provenance of disturbing material were widely debated, but it was generally decided by everyone involved that those who like it can like it, those who want to throw up can move right over to the toilet.

You have to actually go to the site to experience it, but Matt Maxwell's new tumblr INTRAPANEL includes giant close up macro lens photos...

Frank Santoro is at it again, in the aptly titled American Pickers in which he advises a friend's father that a comics collection with stickers...

I know everyone tsk tsk's Avatar's habit of putting out gory, exploitive covers, but seriously, after looking at some of their "torture variant" covers, I find myself asking "WHAT KIND OF SICK FUCK BUYS THIS SHIT????" I get the appeal of a little transgressive gore now and then, but these are basically images of sawed off limbs, flaying and twisted sexual situations that make Mark Millar look like Hannah Montana.

John Romita Jr. talks about facing a world of options for his career and addresses concerns over Kick-Ass 2.

by Pam Auditore  Among the faux Heroes in spandex came a true, real life one, in suit and tie, to San Diego's Comic-Con one Saturday...

Talk about right under your nose. The National Zoo in Washington has long had specimens of an adorable creature which they thought was an Olingo. But more detailed biological investigation has revealed it is a brand new species: The Olinguito