DC is launching the We Can Be Hero’s campaign. For every donation you make to raise food for Africa, they will match it 100%, they are also selling super cool gear with the slick We Can Be Hero’s logo, 50% of those proceeds go to help raise food as well. I have had the privilege of visiting Africa (not this part though) it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and I can honestly say the people are the most kind and joyous I have ever met. Here in America, where we have so much, let’s help those who have so little. The world is in need of a few hero’s, what are you waiting for?

Wes Anderson. Say no more.

Fellow Babblers! If you are one of the countless millions that hope to get into Comic-Con this year be warned, like The Flaming Lips say, “the test begins now.” (Brownie points if you name that song or album.) As of now until February 28th you must first register with Comic Con and receive a member ID that you will later use to crash their system when tickets sales go live. This is done to make things easier, how?  We don’t know! But they say it is, so thus it must be! That being said, we all plan on being there this year and hope you do too! Good luck.

Here is the   Comic Con Member Registration Link.

If you have ever been to, or dreamed of attending Comic-Con, or any geeky convention, then your life has been influenced by Richard Alf, one of the cofounders of Comic-Con San Diego. He passed away today at age 59 of cancer.

The ironically named Alf, helped form the convention in 1970 with a handful of volunteers. He also loaned money to the convention in its early years and did a lot of the hands on work as well. Of course, back in those days the convention was nothing like it is now. Low numbers of visitors and get this, actual comic book related items covered the sales floor and panels.

I remember as a kid in the 1980’s reading my comic books and seeing the convention advertisements and dreaming about how cool it would be to go someday. It only took me a couple of decades to do so. Now I have been 5 times and look forward to every year.

So here is to you Alf, unknown hero of nerds everywhere. We give you are condolences and thanks for making Comic-Con such an amazing event. It’s pretty impressive to go out with what you know has become a tradition for so many. Your legacy will live on.

So that being said, I recently learned they are coming out with a Dark Crystal prequel. Not on film but in the graphic novel format.  It’s being called Dark Crystal: Creation Myths, and we can only assume it goes into the origin stories of the Gelflings and their mystical world. According to Neatorama.com, Brian Froud, the concept designer for the original Dark Crystal, is doing the illustrations. Sign me up. This definitely calls for a Dark Crystal watching party.

My friend Brandon unknowingly contributed to this article.

I think we missed reviewing just a few.

The first two Batman movies should have been enough to dispel any doubts in the franchise. However, since the early images of Bane and Catwoman hit the airwaves, we have still managed to conjure up criticism. This new trailer should prove that the third installment will be nothing but epic. In fact, epic may be an understatement. In Nolan we trust.

Most famously he worked closely with legendary artist Jack Kirby and in 1940 the two of them created Captain America, who debuted in “Captain America Comics” 1 in December of that year.  The comic caught the public’s attention immediately due to the fact the cover had a picture of the Captain delivering a right-hook to Hitler, a year before the U.S. was in the war.

Simon later said, “Jack and I read the newspapers and knew what was going on over in Europe. And there he was — Adolf Hitler, with his ridiculous moustache, high-pitched ranting and goose-stepping followers. He was the perfect bad guy, much better than anything we could have made up, so what we needed was to create his ultimate counterpart.”

He also always kept his sense of humor. When recently talking about a character he and Kirby created called the Blue Bolt, he was quoted as saying, “Like Captain America, Blue Bolt got his powers from an injection, long before the baseball players were doing it.”

It is nice to note that in his waning years Simon got to see his beloved Captain America return to mass popularity in the American mind. In fact, with the recent push in movies, the Avengers have been outselling X-Men.

So there we have it, so long, Joe, you will be missed but your legacy will always remain.  That being said, we can only assume you passed away. You might have faked your own death to hide from your arch nemesis and are planning on reappearing a year from now to vanquish evil everywhere.