Chris Sims

It's not unusual for San Diego Comic-Con to debut a new episode of a fan-favorite cartoon --- in fact, it'd be downright shocking if there wasn't at least one premiere screening over in the Indigo Ballroom all weekend. When the fan-favorite cartoon in question had its last new episode in 1984, however, that's a little more notable. And that's exactly what's happening this year. On Wednesday, Super7 --- the folks behind the eponymous magazine and books about Japnese toys who are also responsible for reintroducing the world to Ultimate M.U.S.C.L.E. figures at last year's Comic-Con --- is debuting a brand-new episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe this Wednesday, almost 32 years after the last one.

"Let's just kill him." That was Jerry Ordway's solution to the problem that the creative teams behind Superman were facing in the early '90s. After building for years to a wedding between Lois Lane and Clark Kent --- something that had been brewing in comics since 1938 --- plans were put on hold so that the storyline could coincide with the upcoming wedding on TV's Lois and Clark. The idea was that timing the two versions of the wedding to run at the same time would lead the show's audience into comic book stores and boost sales, but it left the comics with a year of space to fill, and finding something that would take up time and keep readers interested while the TV storyline caught up proved to be difficult. It was so frustrating, in fact, that Ordway's solution ended up being the best idea, and on this day in 1992, DC published 'The Death Of Superman'.

The 1966 Batman television show was one of the most successful and influential adaptations of comic books to mass media of all time. Over the course of three seasons and 120 episodes, the series became a cultural force with its unique combination of tongue-in-cheek humor, thrilling superhero adventure and celebrity guest stars, and shaped the way the public would view the Caped Crusader for the next five decades. Now, in the midst of a well-deserved renaissance of the show, ComicsAlliance is proud to present The Batman '66 Episode Guide, an in-depth examination of every single adventure, arch-criminal and deathtrap cliffhanger of the series. This week, Zelda the Great plots to ensnare Batman in an Inescapable Doom Trap... and attacks Wayne Manor to do it!

Those of you who spend all your time watching superhero cartoons made for tiny babies (and by that I mean me) may have noticed that there was a half-hour special late last year called LEGO Justice League: Batman Beleagured. If you missed it, it was a very blocky origin story for how Batman joined the Justice League, and it was actually pretty great -- especially the twist ending. Now, it seems that they're following it up with a second special, and this time, it's about Bizarro arriving in Metropolis and doing... well, exactly what Bizarro does every time he shows up, which is screw things up on a catastrophic level and terrify the populace. And apparently, that's just the tip of a mixed-up iceberg that's going to involve an entire Bizarro League.

Despite my love of the Caped Crusader, my collection of Batman stuff -- ie, not comics -- is actually pretty small. I've got a couple of action figures a few pieces of original art and a few bits and bobs, but really, there's not a whole lot out there that I want. Except, of course, for a full set of those awesome, surprisingly violent trading cards from 1966 featuring the artwork of Norm Saunders. I've been wanting a set of those foryears, but I've only got a couple of them. Unfortunately, even if I had found myself a set of every card that was actually released, it still wouldn't be complete. It seems that there's one last card, never released to the public: "Batman On Bat-Throne," featuring the World's Greatest Detective on what I can only assume is the World's Greatest Toilet

With the Justice League of America on its way to theaters as a result of some cruel Monkey's Paw wish, this week finds us going back into the history of DC's pre-eminent super-team to rustle up some strange facts about their origin! Find out about their first foes, their weird headquarters, how they were almost brought down by a teen who snapped his fingers a lot, and the strange connections between the JLA, major league baseball and Sailor Moon!

Of all the strange habits that my friends have, combing through back issues of Starlog on the Internet Archive is probably at the top of the list in a walk. Occasionally, though, sifting through promo pieces for V and Alien Nation turns up something gold, which is exactly what happened this week. While reading the November, 1988 issue of Starlog, Andrew Weiss came upon a contest that offered readers a trip to London to visit the set of Tim Burton's Batman '89. All you had to do was write in and explain why you wanted to meet Batman.

Richard Corben draws scary stuff. I mean, that's kind of his deal -- his work with Mike Mignola on Hellboy has produced some of the most genuinely frightening imagery in that series, including the Crooked Man, my pick for the most unsettling villain that Hellboy has ever fought. So with that said, it should come as no surprise that his new book, Rat God, is stocked up with some of the creepiest stuff I've ever seen.

I'm going to be real with you, folks: even though we're looking down the barrel of 38 superhero movies over the next few years, the one that I'm looking forward to the most is easily Lego Batman, starring Will Arnett as the Caped and Blocky Crusader. It's been something I've been looking for ever since it was announced, but now, I've got an even bigger reason to want to see it, because we finally have a detail about the plot. According to a red carpet interview with Arnett, along with cowriters and directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord, the 2017 Batman movie will focus on answering one question: Can Batman be happy?

I'm going to go out on a festively decorated limb here and guess that you are, of course, already familiar with Mike Maihack's fantastic and adorable Batgirl/Supergirl strips. He's been doing them for a few years now, chronicling the perky, cheerful Kryptonian heroine, the slightly grumpier Gotham City vigilante, and their continuing adventures as best friends. They're all pretty great, but my favorites by far are the annual Christmas specials. This year, though, they're even more special than usual, as Batgirl and Supergirl are joined by a special guest star for an evening of caroling in exchange for candy. It's a Christmas Miracle!