Galaxy Newsbrief - August 3rd, 2012

* Tim O'Neil on motivation in superhero comics, in which Mr. O'Neil nails down quite elegantly why Spawn comics have always been lousy. My nephew gave me the first fifty issues or so once when he was giving up comics, and it took me two days to read them. All I got out of the experience was a headache.

* The Doctor vs. The Thunder God? Okay, I'd probably watch that.

* Speaking of things I'd probably watch, a movie adaptation of X-Men: Days of Future Past? Talk about things I'd never live long enough to see happen. What a shame artist John Byrne has closed off his message board to non-sycophants. I for one would love to see his year-long excoriation of every aspect of the production, especially keeping an eye out for which actress he would deem a slut or whore because she doesn't meet his standards for portraying this or that character. The next year could have been absolutely wonderful in that regard.

* Tom Spurgeon has an alternate plan for Read Comics in Public Day, August 28th. This is one of the biggest days of the year in my house; not because it's RCIPD or Jack Kirby's birthday (it's both), but because it's my wife's birthday. She's away on vacation with her parents this year, so maybe The Boy and I will read some comics in public. If I can twist his arm into reading comics. He's more into the videogames these days.

* Also at The Comics Reporter: I like how Tom Spurgeon genuinely doesn't give a shit about Batman. I like the idea of Batman more than I like 80 percent of the comics and 95 percent of the movies he's been in, with the only real Batman thing I love being the character as he appeared in Batman Animated through Justice League Unlimited and all the iterations between those series. If it weren't for Kevin Conroy, Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Dwayne McDuffie and the other creators of that animated version, I probably wouldn't give a shit about Batman either. (Related: This guy sure likes Nolan's Batman movies. I wish I got that much out of them.)

* Alan Moore is attending a comics convention. I hope someone puts his presentation/panel/whatever it is online. There's one comics-related video I would make time for.

* Jaunty Sean T. Collins runs down what he says are 15 essential Batman graphic novels. First, sincere congratulations to The Jaunty One for having a gig with the same magazine that once employed writers I hold in the highest esteem, like James Howard Kunstler and of course Hunter S. Thompson. That said, I think #2 (Batman Year One) is a vastly superior and more satisfying graphic novel than his #1 choice, but I understand most comics fans would probably agree with Sean's choice for the top spot because of the kicksplode and the impact it had on comics both at the time it came out and ever since. Frankly I'd consider the entire Jim Aparo run on Brave and the Bold more essential as Batman stories than anything on the list other than Batman Year One.

* Uncomics: An interview with actor Gregory Itzin, probably best knows for playing President Nixon Logan on Fox's 24. The interview is mostly about his five appearances on various Star Trek spinoffs, and he notes with sadness that "The thing I want to say is how much I miss this great playground, that Star Trek is missing from television." He seems to know more about Trek than most actors, whose main interest in it seems to be the paycheck. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but the enthusiasm that he demonstrates is nice to see, and I suspect why he was always so much fun to watch on Trek.

* Uncomics: Duncan Crary begins preparing for his exit from The Kunstlercast, the only podcast I've ever listened to more than one edition of. I think I've probably listened to 75 percent or so of the over 200 that Crary has recorded with author and social critic James Howard Kunstler, and Crary has always delivered a smooth and engaging show that gives my favorite living writer that's not Alan Moore a bully pulpit from which to explain how the world is going to hell. I'll miss Crary's participation in the show as he moves on over the next few weeks or months, but I'm genuinely excited to see what Kunstler will be able to do on his own with the thing. I like the idea of renaming the podcast with his Clusterfuck Nation brand.

* Also uncomics: Today marks the end of my second full week of posts here on the revived Comic Book Galaxy. The day I wrote my first post, I knew what I wanted to do but had no idea if I would have the ability to bring it to you every day. I'm quite delighted to find I've gotten back into a bit of a groove with this daily dose of, as Paul Harvey would have called it, "news and commentary." I'm grateful that quite a few people seem to be reading it every day, and I want to thank folks like Mike Sterling, Tom Spurgeon, Augie De Blieck, Brigid Alverson, John Jakala and Tim Hodler (apologies if I've forgotten anyone) for linking to my little effort here and letting people know I'm doing it.  I'm literally taking it one day at a time, but so far, here at the end of Week Two, it feels very good to be back, exploring what fascinates me in comics and comics journalism, and sharing that fascination with you. Thanks for coming along.