Entertainment

Ward Sutton recalls an '80s Monkees revival tour for SPIN with touching detail. Actually, this is an OLD Sutton cartoon.

We've received an official statement on the changed plans for the roll-out of the new Morgan Spurlock Comic-Con documentary:

INCEPTION whoom whoom music? Check.

Just a few short, happy days ago, we announced the the long-awaited release of Comic-Con Episode IV -- A Fan's Hope, the Comic-Con documentary by Morgan Spurlock. The VOD release was to be accompanied by a limited theatrical release which would include mini comic-cons at each stop, with comic-con-y activities like exhibits, costume contests and so on. Well, this rather mysterious item in the Sun-Sentinel states that the entire tour has been canceled:

Whatever happened to Gerard Butler? You may recall that while once a regular on the Beat's pages, the Scottish actor became distraught when the Beat became engaged, and was sent reeling into a downward spiral of drugs, terrible romcoms, and dating his costars.

Avengers Alliance is now live on Facebook. This is basically Mafia Wars with superheroes. You're a SHIELD agent. You recruit superheroes (initially Iron Man, Hawkeye and the Black Widow) to go on missions with you. The story arc involves chasing around Hydra and meteorite fragments as you beat up henchmen and fight bosses like Whiplash and Viper.

New day, new Avengers poster. This time Black Widow is face front and the character in the brokeback pose is....the Hulk? Truly, this is the dawning of a new day.

Is the world ready for a new graphic novel from outsider musician/artist Daniel Johnston? Probably. Johnston, whose long career as a very eccentric musician was the subject of the 2006 documentary THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON, is also an avid comics reader, and this is his first GN. It comes complete with added soundtrack and app for the 360º experience. For those not familiar, Johnston is somewhere north of Wild Man Fischer and south of They Might be Giants and early Beck.

Has anything ever felt more natural? Buy the T-shirt right here. No trademark infringement going on. Buy with confidence.

Okay, now it's video games that are using comics to revive their dormant properties; only, fittingly, they're using webcomics, because those are two great tastes that go great together. Clever. Namco/Bandai has launched ShiftyLook with SKY KID, by Jim Zub and Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz, via UDON, and XEVIOUS by Mike Costa and Mike Norton via Cryptozoic Entertainment, with a third title imminent, as shown by a big empty spot on the website. Both are old '80s console games long unseen.

Unlike last year's extremely uncomfortable Oscar® telecast, with its poorly-matched, inexperienced hosts, this year was as comfy as a cup of warm borscht, as Billy Crystal busted out venerable schtik and timing. Other than that, it was all a parade of white dresses, sequins, and very, very predictable wins. But a few moments stood out for Our Kind:

Here it is, the stunning conclusion of new titles shipping in February! Since this is Oscars weekend, I've included some award winners below! Hugo! Edgar! Carnegie! Stoker! Even Shamus! (No, not that one!) Lots of adaptations! One is a comic based on a movie based on a prose novel!