I just finished reading Hino Horror #12, Mystique Mandala of Hell by Hideshi Hino. It's a simple tale involving a demonic girl, an eyeball from hell, a bloodsucking crow, and runaway hair. I found it enchanting.

One of my favorite parts of the story is the adventure of the runaway hair. In the course of events, a young girl is badly hurt in a bicycle accident. We see her lying unconscious, her face badly scarred. Then the hairs on her head begin to detach, cluster, and start to move as one. In the image I've reproduced here, you see the hair starting to climb up the side of a house. Note how stealthily it moves towards the window. I won't spoil it for you by saying more.

Another interesting element is the face-off between the demonic girl and the bloodsucking crow. In fact, this is meant to be a symbolic battle between the demonic forces of the West (crow) versus those of the East (girl), who are vying for control of the underworld. The character differences between the two demonic sides were very distinct, with the forces of the West seeming very self-important and impressed with their own capacity for evil, while the forces of the East seemed more fun-loving and just out for a destructive good time.

A lot of attention has been paid (including by me) to the presence of Batwoman in the comic 52, but I was incredibly excited and even charmed to see Isis making an appearance in the week twelve issue of the title.

I'm not sure where the story is going with this character, or even if her story will be developed, but I see an enormous amount of potential in the set-up. So far I like the contrast between her seemingly altruistic intentions and the awesome power that has just been handed to her.

Of course, I had to trundle over to YouTube and immediately watch the transformation scene from the old Shazam/Isis hour, a TV show which was on when I was a kid. I had completely forgotten that the character who turns into Isis was a schoolteacher. Somehow that fact makes it more ridiculous to watch and at the same time kind of hot.

While browsing the links over at When Fangirls Attack, I ran across a reference to Dame Darcy's rendition of Jane Eyre. I clicked through--not to a comics site, as I had imagined--but to the Bronte Blog. In addition to offering an interesting write-up on Dame Darcy's endeavor, I was pleased to run across a Bronte fan site on the web. It seemed well-stocked, too, with links to free e-book versions of the Bronte's works, and quite a lot of information about the upcoming BBC production of Jane Eyre.

I don't know why, but I somehow got it in my head to check if there were any more Bronte fan blogs out there. And as it turns out, there are Bronte blogs to suit many styles and occasions. For example, there is Bronteana, heavy with news regarding adaptations; and Bronte Studies Blog, more in the academic vein; and the surprisingly hip Bronte Parsonage Blog, with its recent report on a Wuthering Heights graphic novel.

Just a few days later, I ran across Heathcliff in the news. In the BigBagRead poll held by Bloomsbury Press in the UK, Heathcliff came in 17th in a list of top villains in literature. I don't usually think of Heathcliff as a villain, so that really surprised me. I mean, what's so wrong with digging up your dead ex just so you can hold her in your arms and scream at her one last time about how she ruined your life?

I enjoyed reading the interview with Grant Morrison that Neilalien linked to recently. Morrison discusses his recent writing in the Batman title and offers some interesting thoughts on the development of Batman's character in the DC universe.

Although I'm partial to Batman as a hero because of his capacity for suffering, I found myself agreeing with what Morrison had to say about the limits of portraying the Dark Knight as a grim hero haunted by his desire for vengeance. I think he is correct in saying that comics have pursued this direction as far as it can go. I was also greatly intrigued by Morrison's suggestion that other characters in the Batman universe had assumed the role of expressing those elements of Batman's personality that had been lost through such unrelentingly dark characterizations.

Several weeks ago, Henry Jenkins started a new blog to coincide with the release of his forthcoming book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. I find his work smart, original, and accessible, and since Jenkins often defends the kinds of pursuits I enjoy, such as gaming, I've been following his blog steadily.

Over the course of two days, Jenkins recently posted two essays on comic books and U.S. foreign policy that I think most comic book bloggers and fans would want to read. They are based on a chapter Jenkins contributed to a book called Terror, Culture, Politics: Rethinking 9/11, and he has promised a third part to the series will be coming soon.

Jenkins posted the essays partially in response to an article published in the political journal The American Prospect comparing the actions of the Bush Administration to the Green Lantern Corps. In this article, author Matthew Yglesias claims that Bush and his cohorts have a "comic book view of how international relations works."

Jenkins's essays demonstrate that the attitudes expressed in comic books after 9/11 regarding U.S. foreign policy are more sophisticated and more progressive than those of the Bush administration. In Jenkins's first essay, I was fascinated by his precise reporting of how the major comic book publishers and individuals within the industry were affected by 9/11 based on their physical proximity to ground zero.

It was also refreshing to read Jenkins's account of how mainstream and independent publishers collaborated and were influenced by each other in the period after 9/11. That's what I like about Jenkins's work--although he writes about popular culture topics that are often discussed in the media, his approach is always a nonobvious one. If you're interested in comics, games, fan fiction, or fandom, you should really check out his blog and his other work as well.

I wrote previously about the twin Batman art exhibits that are going on in Palm Springs this month, but a visit to the girls's site prompted me to revisit the m gallery, and they now have a nice preview of their Gotham show up. There's a really a lot of nice work, although I especially liked this painting by Brad Vancata of Batman looking rather louche while smoking a cig. I wonder what brand Bats smokes?

There's also an article in the L.A. Times that discusses Adam West's solo show, Beyond Batman, and his relationship to the Batman character. I mentioned in my earlier post that West was going to be at the show opening, but according to the m gallery blog, Julie Newmar is now expected to drop in as well.

While we're on the subject of superheroes, I thought I'd announce that I did indeed go see , and I thought it was excellent. I don't know why so many critics are finding fault with it. I only have one minor criticism (NO SPOILERS). In one of the ship scenes with Lex Luthor, the duet from the opera Lakme is playing in the background. I would have expected the Superman Returns director to know that ever since the Sarandon-Deneuve Motion Picture Film Act was unanimously passed by Congress in 1983, the Lakme duet is not be used as background music in any movie unless two women are making it on screen. And to think some people said this was a gay film.

I picked up Slave Labor Graphics's comics title, Wonderland number one, not sure whether I would like it or not. I had previously bought the first two issues of one of SLG's other Disney series,The Haunted Mansion , and had decided not to keep buying it. But I purchased Wonderland largely based on the fact that Tommy Kovac's name was attached to it.

Being a Southern California gal, I have an affection for all things Disney. At this point in my life, I feel this to be an unjustifiable and unruly passion. Nonetheless, I am reconciled to the fact that there are some things about one self that one cannot change. Some things must be lived and suffered. So it is with my love of Disney.

I say all this mainly to let you know that I bought The Haunted Mansion comic book with the expectation and hope that I would enjoy reading it. I had a vague idea that this comic was part of Disney's general effort to extend their brand and sub-brands in every which way possible. Thus, movies become soundtracks become toys become cartoons become parades become rides become comics. Or some variation of that sequence.

On the site Haunted Mansion Secrets, you can read differing opinions about whether the Haunted Mansion ride was originally intended to tell a story or not. It certainly seems, based on the accounts on this page, that there were once some story ideas kicking around that may not have made it to the final ride. Although certain characters, rooms and scenarios suggest story fragments, these stories may have been added later to enhance a staged effect, rather than serving as a starting point.

This lack of story in the Haunted Mansion ride presents a problem for adaptation. In the first story of issue one of the Haunted Mansion comic, the story is actually not a story at all, but the voiceover from the ride itself, illustrated. If you are a ride aficionado, there is some pleasure in simply reading the lines. As someone who writes for a living, I was actually amazed at the complexity of the language in this speech, compared to that in present day entertainments.

Nonetheless, it wasn't really a story. And as I got further in the book, the same problem kept arising. Cleave too close to the ride and there's no real storyline; create a real story with complex characters, and you start to lose touch with the ride.

Wonderland is an interesting contrast, because its origin point is a book, which the Disney movie adaptation is based on, which then became the basis for the ride. I found Wonderland a better read, perhaps because of the literary reference point. There was a story behind the story, so to speak. The artwork in Wonderland is also incredibly fluid and dynamic, and aids the movement of the story considerably. Disneyland's Alice in Wonderland ride is a classic, but I'm glad it wasn't the basis for this title.

Through a link from Neilalien, I went to read Rabbi Simcha Weinstein's article, "Jewperheroes!" on the early Jewish creators of superheroes as well as the borrowed origins of the superhero type from Jewish culture. Although some of the material in his article was familiar to me, I found his personal commentary about his relationship to his Jewish identity interesting and was intrigued by his role as rabbi at the Pratt Institute. I was also unaware of some of the particular Jewish resonances he found in the Superman story.

Rabbi Weinstein's website, which identifies him as "the comic book rabbi," has more resources on the subject, including a podcast called "Is Superman Jewish?" I haven't listened to it yet but I probably will. He's also written a new book, called "Up, Up and Oy Vey! How Jewish History, Culture and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero." I see, as he states it in his article, that Rabbi Weinstein is affiliated with Chabad, an orthodox sect of Judaism which I mainly know about through their very entertaining annual telethon. Anyway, between his article and Mike Sterling's series of posts on the the topic, I feel my resistance to the new Superman movie wearing away.

In a more progressive vein, the Cute-Little-Red-Headed-Girlfriend and I went to see The Tribe, which bills itself as "the unorthodox, unauthorized history of the Jewish people and the Barbie Doll in about 15 minutes." Like Rabbi Weinstein's article, The Tribe is a chronicle of the Jewish people's impact on popular culture and a commentary on the role of outsiders in society generally. However The Tribe, which is, in fact, only about 15 minutes long, is mostly concerned with the secular Jewish experience. It asks the question, "What ties secular Jewish people together?" and arrives at some vary forward-looking and inclusive answers about the meaning of the word "tribe."

The Tribe is an excellent little film. The creators were on hand the evening we saw it and described it as "an appetizer." They intended the movie as a jumping off point for what they considered the main dish: a group discussion about the movie. I liked this idea tremendously. It invited the audience into the artwork and I took it to be a very generous approach. I also liked the format of the movie, which struck me as essay-like. I could definitely see the influence of the Internet in its making, although the creators insisted it was really the Talmud. Same diff.

I am a big fan of number one and two of DC's Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer. At a certain point, when number three did not show up in the comics shop, I began to wonder. Now, I'm not a big follower of previews--for the most part, my consumer experience is that comics show up on the rack and I buy them. So I turned to my comics dealer for answers: did I miss something? has it been canceled? is there an expected-to-arrive date? "As far as we know, Elric has not been canceled," was the answer.

My last trip to the shop finally turned up the desired goods: Elric number 3. I brought it home, but before reading it, I checked the DC website to see when the last book in the series, number four, is scheduled to appear. It turned out August is the promised date, so I went ahead and read it, rather than put it aside until I had number four in hand. It was a good issue, although the parallels to the Bush administration were a bit heavy-handed in my view. Bush's crowd is already so cartoonish to begin with, you really don't need to belabor their villainy.

I haven't waited so long for an issue since the days when I was collecting Aria. Another series--this one on television--that is frustrating my patience is HBO's Rome. Fantastic series, but it's a very long wait until season two. It just goes to show you that when it comes to schedules, there's a definite line between creating anticipation for a series and just plain annoying people with a long wait.

Lots of folks on my blogroll have mentioned this contest (although I think Boing-Boing was the first), but if you haven't seen it you should check out the Superhero ModRen contest over at Worth1000.com. The rules of the contest were to incorporate a superhero in a piece of fine art. There are many fine, fine entries, but my favorites include the several renditions of Nude A Descending Staircase and, of course, Mona Xena's smile.

(Edit: I just received written permission from worth1000.com to use this image from their site, which I asked to use in accordance with their terms of service. Thanks guys!)

I was browsing the girls website and ran across this painting they're contributing to a Batman tribute show scheduled for June. I love the image of Alfred diligently holding a tray in the background.

I visited the m gallery web site for more information, and it seems there's actually two Batman-related shows coming up in June. One, "Beyond Batman," is a solo show of works by Adam West, who is scheduled to attend the opening. The second, "Gotham," is a tribute show with contributions from what the gallery calls its "most popular artists." I can't tell who the gallery represents from their website, but if it includes any of the artists they sell prints for, then it should be a really happening show.

I feel like DC Comics just planted a wet one on me.

Yesterday I read the BBC news piece stating that Batwoman was going to be returning to comics as a lesbian. Some further investigation brought me to a New York Times article,

"Straight (and Not) Out of the Comics," which states: "In her latest incarnation, Batwoman is a wealthy, buxom lipstick lesbian who has a history with Renee Montoya, an ex-police detective who has a starring role in '52.'"

That is SO EFFING HOT!!!!!! I ran out and bought the first issues of 52 today. I'm so frickin' excited! Although, I have to say, my friendly comic book seller was not so excited about the prospect of 52's weekly format. I could see what he meant. There are only a few issues out and he already looked like he was swimming in paper.

Is it just me, or does the red and black combination bring the image of a vampire to anyone else's imagination? I wonder if she'll get to meet Catwoman????

(OMG, that last idea was so thrilling I think I just wet my pants.)

I'm not sure what I was browsing this morning when I came across The Top 10 Podcast Episodes of 2005, possibly digg, or blogsnow, or tech.memeorandum. In any case, I clicked over and listened to #6, The Physics of Superheroes on Science Friday. It was a lot more fun than I expected it to be. It also answered questions I've long harbored myself, like just how fast would the Flash have to be traveling to run on water?

I had no sooner put down the Superf*ckers when I found myself ready for more. The Superf*ckers Theme Song, available here has just whetted my appetite even more with its groovy keyboards. (Maybe I've been spending too much time listening to the RetroCRUSH podcast; the Super f*cker song sounds good compared to the original Land of the Lost theme song I just heard on RetroCRUSH, but not so good compared to actual music.) I think Plant Pal deserves his own series.

A little surfing reveals that Superf*ckers #2 is indeed available! Since I had to make a special trip to another comic store to get #1, I assume the same will be true of #2. Going to comic book stores is kind of like grocery shopping: one store has great produce, but doesn't carry Diet Coke; another has Diet Coke, but the fruit sucks and the beer is too expensive; a third has cheap beer but nothing else that I want.

Jeffrey at Sisyphus and the Cuckoo Clock Speech has a great write-up on the psychological theory behind Wonder Woman, plus a great story of how he came to research the subject. It turns out the force behind Wonder Woman also invented the personality assessment test used at Jeffrey's workplace. I can't stand those invasive personality tests. Next time some employer asks me to take one I'm going to say I've already taken it and I know I'm a FCKU.