Top 60 Favorite Fictional A.I.’s – Part Two [48-37]

Continuing here our rundown of my 60 Favorite Fictional Artificial Intelligences.

This means things like robots, holograms, sentient computers, and so on from movies, TV shows, comics or books.

You can have a look here for Part One, which includes some of the rationale for this list, as well as some of the explanations and qualifications.

Legion of Super-Heroes Creators Hall of Fame – Nominations for 2021

Ever since ever, the Legion of Super-Heroes has been my favorite comic book title. Lots of talented people have contributed to the depth, breadth and scope of the series and the world that it inhabits. And so last year, I kicked off our official Legion of Super-Heroes Creators Hall of Fame!

Legion of Super-Heroes Creator Hall of Fame–2020 Inductees

The votes are in! Blue Towel Productions’ first ever inductees into the Legion of Super-Heroes Creators Hall of Fame have been decided!

In Defense of Matter-Eater Lad

Comic books fans will soon be treated to the return of the Legion of Super-Heroes, for good or for ill, and in the lead up to this there has been various pieces of preliminary artwork by Ryan Sook being released to the public.  This has included a new and redesigned Matter-Eater Lad.

Who?

Matter-Eater Lad!

Or…as he was known in the 1960’s…

Brains in Jars (The Legion of Super-Heroes)

Brain in jars?  How long has that been a thing?

I’m not sure, but it’s been a while.  Incidentally, I’m not just talking about regular (or Abby Normal) brains in jars, like in James Whales’ Frankenstein or Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein…I’m talking about sentient brains in jars.  Brains in jars that are still thinking and still talking…and usually still plotting eeeeevil.

Comics from My Childhood – Superman Family #177

A while ago, I wrote about how I first became a fan of comic books.  This led me to remember several issues from DC Comics that came out in the 1970’s, that were formative parts of my exposure to this whole medium.

So then I decided to track down some of those comics and buy them, and journal the experience. I got three of them, with the earliest cover date being July 1976: Superman Family #177.

What’s Black and White and Read All Over? – DC Showcase Presents Superman vol. 2

Going on to the next step of my examination of DC’s Showcase Presents editions (at least, the ones that I own), we proceed to Showcase Presents Superman, Volume 2 (click here for comments on Volume 1)

As I’ve stated previously, I enjoy these books, partially because I get a certain weird amount of fun out of reading the strange old days of DC’s Silver Age, and because I don’t mind the black and white.  Not only do I find it to be an acceptable trade-off for the ream of comics that I am getting, but also sometimes I find it strangely more rewarding to have to “plow through” the black and white art than to have it all fed to be me in normal color.  It’s almost like it gives the stories a classic feel, even in actuality they are silly and dated.

(Beware: some cheaply done image capturing ahead)

What’s Black and White and Read All Over? – DC Showcase Presents Superman vol. 1

For a number of years now, DC has been releasing their Showcase Presents line–500+ page soft-covers in glorious black and white, reprinting piles of comics in each volume, mostly from the 50’s and the 60’s, but then also from the 70’s and even the 80’s.  Some of the titles are long running series like Superman or Batman, while others are more obscure stuff  that might be done-in-one, like Bat-Lash or Atomic Knights.  For a continuity-junkie like myself, these books are a goldmine.  Or maybe more accurately, considering the low cover price, a zinc-mine.  The lack of color can be a little off-putting, but overall I find that a small pay-off for the benefit of having so many pages of story and art made available so affordable.

Culling the Comic Collection / Batman Stories You Probably Haven’t Heard Of

I’ve only recently returned from a trip to New York, which meant that I’ve been spending time with my parents, visiting friends, stomping around the old stomping grounds (always stomping this way and that, waking up the neighbors with all that noisy stomping) and of course…

Going through my old comic collection that my parents have generously not tossed into the trash.

Superman’s Anniversary – 75 Things

According to Brian Cronin, who seems to know so much about comics that I think we should really just trust him, today is the 75th anniversary of the first Superman comic being published!  I just found out about this a couple of weeks before the big day.  How could I have missed being aware of this, I wonder?