Culture

I know we link to these every time, but you don't want to miss them. In her review ofTHE VOW for Vanity Fair Lisa Hanawalt nails the sidekicks this time. We'd also note that her venues are getting bigger and bigger. Hanawalt ftw.

Not only is it the Simpsons' 500th episode this weekend Not only did creator Matt Groening get his star on the Walk of Fame today But RALPH WIGGUM is getting his own comic book later this month.

Hope you are all spending it with someone you love.

Ut oh, guys... it's a leap year! So if you're the type to skedaddle from matrimonial minded maidens, be sure to grab some reading material before you head off to the Valley of the Shmoon!

If you need a very special message for your special love interest tomorrow, these Game of Thrones Valentines by Chris Bishop will send what signal?

When last we left the status of Ashes, the original graphic novel crowdfunding to the tune of $32K, artist Jimmy Broxton was no longer on the project and writer Alex de Campi wasn't sure if there would be a new artist or if she'd be refunding the money to everyone who contributed via Kickstarter. Turns out, there will still be a graphic novel and there will be multiple new artists.

We'll have more descriptions of these when we have more bandwidth. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek. Lego Gollum and Lego Helm's Deep!

We've been meaning to write up the disgusting legal maneuver that has left 69-year-old Gary Friedrich owing Marvel $17,000 after a failed attempt to get some ownership of Ghost Rider, a character he co-created back in the '70s. In a story first reported here by Torsten, Marvel/Disney filed a countersuit for copyright infringement based on Friedrich's convention appearances selling Ghost Rider-related merchandise. As Daniel Best wrote:

The latest on The Walking Dead, The Avengers, John Carter, Game of Thrones, and many other comics and nerd related entertainment news items to keep you comfy over the weekend.

Do not underestimate the influence of Rob Liefeld. Never mind that he's working on three titles for DC. Never mind that he's relaunching his old Extreme line at Image with a decidedly more indie creator bent. No, the real influence of Liefeld is evident when you look at the redesigned Power Girl from this just unveiled cover for Worlds' Finest:

How many statistics can one news day handle? DC has just released results from their Retailer Survey which they launched in conjunction with the New 52. As we noted at the time, the survey was aimed at gauging interest in each and every New 52 title, as well as general readership demographics. As such, it represents the most comprehensive reader survey a comics company has made in some time. While it's very New 52-centric, it does reveal a lot. While DC has released their own bullet points, which we've shown below, ICv2 has more info and an interview with John Rood. You'll want to head over there and digest the whole thing. But here's the broad picture:

Read it all here.