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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:

As we do every year, it's time to take a look at the five Animated Shorts in this year's Oscar race. Picking this obscure category is a key to winning your pool. Anyone can pick the best Movie or Actor (although this year Oscar may finally have reached parity in the Best Picture race as it's almost anyone's guess what will win.) But it's those pesky, unknown short subject films that really separate the knowledgeable from the guessers.

After my long post yesterday, there were a few loose ends and misstatements and yet more viewpoints that deserved some linkage.

Artist Gabriel Hardman has tweeted a peek at a new project which Corinna Bechko is writing. The duo is currently teaming up on some...

Wow! All hell has broken loose in comic book-land! Last week's surfeit of Aquarian-born comics creators created a busy circuit of birthday parties, and if I had a dime for every time the name "Gary Friedrich" came up, his legal fees would be paid. IP Wars are breaking out everywhere.Why here, why now? As always, follow the money. The most visible and lucrative segment of comics industry has, since the great distribution collapse of the '90s, been primarily in the IP business. Entire comics companies have sprung up just to create movie storyboards masquerading as comics. Big media corporations outfit swanky offices just for the purpose of developing existing IP. It's become a cottage industry. No wonder then, that controlling and profiting from IP has become THE major preoccupation of the comics industry from the CEO selling movies to the colorist selling prints.

Looks like convicted comic book store killer Michael George is running out of legal options:

It's been a year since writer Dwayne McDuffie passed away. The world would be a better place if he were still here.

As comics become more accepted, we see more mainstream awards covering them. The Bram Stoker Awards are from the Horror Writer's Association. The Stoker's have added a graphic novel category and the nominees were recently announced:

If you're racking your brains to fill our your Harvey Award nomination ballot, several companies put out a list of their eligible comics around this time. So to kick things off, here's AdHouse Books:

IDW has hired a new marketing and PR person, namely John Schork, who has joined the company as Associate Manager, Marketing and Public Relations. The position opened up when AnnaMaria White left to start her own PR company. Schork was formerly an assistant editor at Dark Horse. In his new position he'll work with IDW's Director of Marketing Dirk Wood and Marketing Coordinator Chloe Zuanich on industry outreach and social media.

Uh, uh, looks like maybe Dynamite should have entitled its Barsoomian comics "Master of the Male Wedgie" and not Dejah Thoris and so on, because ERB, Inc., the family-owned corporation which controls existing trademarks to the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate, is suing Dynamite, Dynamic Forces, and Savage Tales Entertainment for trademark infringement and unfair competition over Dynamite's publication of books entitled "Lord of the Jungle," "Warlord of Mars," "Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris", and "Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom" based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs originals.

Get out the punch and pie and organize your voting blocks! The 2012 Harvey Awards Nomination Ballot is now available. As you will recall, nominations for the Harvey Awards are selected via voting on open ballots by comics professionals. The final awards will be voted on by professionals and presented at the Baltimore Comic-Con on September 8th.