Entertainment

With both their #3 characters, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, sitting on the bench in the Hollywood Bowl for now, DC Entertainment must turn to their thousands of other characters for someone to enter the game and score some points. Luckily there are many of them, and several are as colorful as Deadman, who is being developed as a possible TV show for the CW. 'Supernatural' producer Eric Kripke is doing the developing for Warner Bros TV.

Embedded in the carpet of the new Gungahlin Public Library in Canberra, Australia.

We don't need us to tell you that it's tough times in the heartland of America these days. Slowing manufacturing, a recession that never really ended in some places, and a recovery that has failed to ignite. Luckily, one thing has come to the Steel belt to liven things up -- superhero movies. With Batman filming in Pittsburgh, Superman in Chicago, and now The Avengers in Cleveland (standing in for NYC? Ooooooookay) it's been boom times for photographers. Here's the latest Avengers leaked photos, showing Cap and Thor battling mocapped Hydra or someone goons.

This clip is way better than anything in the first Ghost Rider movie, including the last shot of Ghost Rider weeing flame. No one tell Anderson Cooper.

Anyone in the LA area who is bummed over the postponed Wizard World LA show scheduled for September 24-25 should be aware that Power-Con is still on for those dates. This small two-day fan show is focused on Thundercats, He-Man and She-Ra. It's a small show but sounds like a swell afternoon if you're into 80 animation. More info:

An oddball story that has only been seen on comics sites because it contains the word "cartoonist" or "cartoon" and keeps showing up on everyone's google news dump, is still fairly incredible in its own right. However to really get all the excitement you probably need to live in Renton, WA., a quiet Seattle suburb that was rocked by a scandal involving cartoon mockery of the police department.

While not as bloody an incident as the 2010 stabbing, this year the fever pitch of Hall H at Comic-Con was again marred by violence when Welsh actor Rhys Ifans, who plays the Lizard in the upcoming Spider-Man movie, got into a scuffle with a security guard, which resulted in a citizen's arrest by said guard. The incident was said to kick off when Ifans, who might have had a tiny bit to drink that afternoon, him being Welsh and all, went outside for a smoke with his entourage, and upon trying to get back in, found his entourage didn't have the proper credentials. After a shouting match with the guard, Ifans reportedly gave her a shove, went on stage looking pale and rattled, and upon getting offstage, was arrested.

Mostly the work of Tom Kenny (Spongebob), Andy Suriano (Clone Wars) and Stephen DeStefano (Venture Bros.), the PLASTIC MAN cartoon pilot was created in 2006 for Cartoon Network but didn't get picked up, alas. It seems to have been much inspired by Kyle Baker's take on the character. And it turns out that more is on the way!

This is from the Enquirer so salt and all that, but apparently Maddox Pitt-Jolie, adapted son of Angelina and Brad Pitt, is dying to be an action star, so they are grooming him to play the lead in the movie adaptation of Paul Pope's upcoming BATTLING BOY comic -- which PItt's production company has optioned.

We missed the actual anniversary, but Cartoon Brew noted that 20 years ago yesterday -- August 11, 1991 marked the debut of the Nicktoons programming block, including Ren & Stimpy, perhaps the most influential cartoon of the last quarter century. Early episodes featured John K's eccentric genius unleashed and ushered in an age of more personal, biting animation -- and for a little while Happy Happy Joy Joy, Muddy Mudskipper and Log were household names, as hipsters called one another "you eediot!" and were urged not to qhiz on the electric fence. We wanted to embed this clip from "Ren's Toothache," the most horrible cartoon ever made, but a still will have to do.

Over on the Atlantic website, Kirsten Butler offers a list of 10 non-fiction comics that goes way beyond the usual Maus/Persepolis/Joe Sacco list.

As many have noted, Frances Bean Cobain, long the innocent ping pong ball in a custody battle with her stability challenged mother, Courtney Love, and other family members, will be 18 in a few days. And to celebrate, she's been photographed by fashion designer Hedi Slimane, best known for his ultra-slim cut suits. Along the way Cobain shows off a tattoo based on a character by cartoonist Al Columbia (Pim and Francie) -- which should come as no surprise, since Cobain's art alter ego Fiddle Tim lists Columbia as an influence. These pictures from Slimane have gotten wide play and they are beautiful. If you scroll down the page you see his previous subject was Amy Winehouse. Given Cobain's genetic influences, (and her swift evolution from relatively healthy looking girl to goth idol) this all looks kinda creepy. But hey, it's probably all the lighting.