Batman ’66: The Lost Episode DC Comics Written by Len Wein, based on a television treatment by Harlan Ellison (inspired by “The Crimes of Two-Face” by Bill Finger) Art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez For the last two years, DC Comics has been publishing original comics based on the Adam West Batman television series, ranging fromContinue reading “Harlan Ellison’s Batman ’66: The Lost Episode”
Author Archives: Allyn
Harry Truman’s Defense of Liberal Principles
Yesterday, I discovered this remarkable campaign speech, delivered by Harry S. Truman in 1948. What fascinates me is that what Truman said nearly seventy years ago could be said today without changing a word. To whit: Today the forces of liberalism face a crisis. The people of the United States must make a choice betweenContinue reading “Harry Truman’s Defense of Liberal Principles”
The Peanuts Movie Trailer
Yesterday, the first trailer for next Christmas’ Peanuts film was released. Wait. What? There’s a new Peanuts movie? How can that be? Yes. Next Christmas, Blue Sky Studios, the animation studio behind the Ice Age and Rio series, will be releasing The Peanuts Movie, the first Peanuts film since 1980’s Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (AndContinue reading “The Peanuts Movie Trailer”
Above the Dreamless Dead
Above the Dreamless Dead: World War I in Poetry and Comics :01 First Second Books Edited by Chris Duffy This year, the centenary of the start of World War I, has seen the release of a number of projects that celebrate… no, no, that’s the wrong word… reflect on the war, those who fought inContinue reading “Above the Dreamless Dead”
The RNC and “Conservative Principles”
Have I mentioned recently how much I enjoy receiving e-mail from the Republican National Committee? Though they’re never a box of chocolates, I never know what I’m going to get. Sometimes the e-mails read like they’re written in English-esque gobbledygoop. Other times, the RNC’s e-mails appear to originate from a universe one step removed fromContinue reading “The RNC and “Conservative Principles””
The Once and Future King: The Coming of Merlyn
Last weekend, BBC Radio 4 began a six-part adaptation of T.H. White’s The Once and Future King, his famous Arthurian novel quartet. A few years ago, I wrote about Disney’s adaptation of The Sword in the Stone, a film I loved as a child and wasn’t quite as enchanted by as an adult. The newContinue reading “The Once and Future King: The Coming of Merlyn”
Thoughts on the Jesus & Mary Magadelene Book
I heard there was a book coming out that contained the translation of an ancient manuscript that revealed that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and fathered two children before the crucifixion. “That’s fascinating,” I thought, “and also unsurprising.” The Merovingian kings of France were purportedly the descendants of Jesus, though that’s always puzzled meContinue reading “Thoughts on the Jesus & Mary Magadelene Book”
Veteran’s Day
As Garrison Keillor might say on The Writer’s Almanac, a poem for today, Veteran’s Day. In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago WeContinue reading “Veteran’s Day”
The Rival Pitchers
A few nights ago I realized how much I missed baseball. The tree outside my apartment is nearly shorn of leaves, temperatures fell below freezing a few nights ago, and I’m missing baseball. Reading Safe at Home recently helped to keep the feelings at bay, so on Saturday, I went to Project Gutenberg and foundContinue reading “The Rival Pitchers”
Doctor Who Conquers the Martians
On Saturday night, the eighth season of Doctor Who came to a close in “Death in Heaven.” I’m not here to talk about that. I’d rather discus the teaser for the forthcoming Christmas episode, with Nick Frost (probably best known to Americans for his collaborations with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright — Shaun of theContinue reading “Doctor Who Conquers the Martians”