I didn’t even know there was gonna be a new Conan movie. It’ll be mighty tough to fill Arnie’s shoes, though…

Also: SLJ is set to appear in an angels-versus-demons flick.

Slightly off-topic: the Avatar-Haiti connection. (But it’s not what you think.)

People around the world are pitching in to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake. The comics community has organized a fundraising effort called Heroes 4 Haiti.

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Barack the Barbarian: The Fall of Red Sarah

Devil’s Due website

Wikipedia entry on Barack the Barbarian

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Also this week:

Azrael #4

Deathlok #3 (of 7)

Doctor Voodoo #4

NOLA #3

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Fool’s Gold #2

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Also notable:

Green Lantern Corps #44. Blackest Night tie-in.

Joe the Barbarian #1 (of 8). Grant Morrison’s latest Vertigo mini-series.

Dark Avengers #13. Siege tie-in.

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Here’s a piece on the different ways sci-fi reinvents religion, using The Book of Eli as a basis.

Here’s a re-evaluation of a black Golden Age character that comes across as a stereotype at first glance.

Claudia’s starting a group discussion on Bayou.

Joker-ized Obama Image Appears Around LA

MJ the comic book fan

MJ and Stan Lee

MJ the science fiction geek

cartoon obituary compilation

Editorial cartoonists pay their respects, but how do they treat their subject?

Jackson Five cartoons @ YouTube

Captain Eo @ YouTube

Amazon link to buy The Wiz

hours ago

BANGKOK (AP) ? U.S. actor David Carradine, best known for his roles in the 1970s TV series ‘Kung Fu’ and the Kill Bill movies, has been found dead in the Thai capital Bangkok.

Carradine was reportedly in Thailand working on a film when he didn’t show up for a crew meal. He was found sometime later in his hotel room hanged, his death apparently a suicide.

Carradine was best known as the star of the 70′s TV series “Kung Fu” where he played Caine, (a role supposedly created for Bruce Lee) a Chinese martial-arts master wandering The Wild West. He did many films after that, (including “Death Race 2000″ but he is most recently remembered for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” (2003) and “Kill Bill II” (2004) in which he the title role. He was also a devotee of the Chinese martial arts and Eastern philosophy.

Despite what your feelings are on his career, Carradine was an icon in the American martial arts/ action genre and will be missed by many.

Sources: Associated Press, ABC News

We gathered around a quarter to seven outside the Statehouse in downtown Columbus. A few words were spoken by Mayor Michael Coleman and by Jeff Stephens, head of the Central Ohio advocacy group Consider Biking. Mayor Coleman has been quite good in his support of the bike community; in the face of steep opposition, he has pushed for a multi-modal transportation system, one that does not exclude cars, but includes other options. Organizations like Consider Biking and Yay Bikes have been part of that campaign here in Columbus, and they do good work. The Mayor was actually part of the ride, along with another local politician, Maryellen O’Shaughnessy, who has been a huge bike supporter here for years.

The ride began around seven. The path took us on a loop through the downtown, then up High Street, the main drag of Columbus, past the Ohio State campus and onto the east side and back south, returning to High Street and ending at City Hall. A police escort cleared a path for us as we rode, sirens blaring periodically. As the name implies, the ride is meant to be silent, in memory of bikers who have been killed in automobile accidents (as it happens, we had three such fatalities in the past year), not only here, but everywhere, past and present. As I said, this is an international event; though it only began several years ago, it has caught on like wildfire.

Imagine it if you can: you’re coming home from work, in your car, or waiting for a bus, or maybe you’re having dinner with your spouse on an outdoor patio, or perhaps you’re on the porch of your frat house with your buddies, or maybe you’re just walking your dog, when all of a sudden you see them… hundreds of bicycle riders led by a police escort swarming down your street, all of them not saying a word. (Okay, honestly, I did see some people speaking briefly to each other, but like, 95% of the ride was silent, okay?) What would you make of it? Would it make you stop and think? Would you laugh? Would you shrug and go back to your iPod? In a town that’s an all-too-typical example of the phenomenon known as “urban sprawl,” one that favors the car and looks down on public transportation, it would make for a startling sight, to say the least. Indeed, the looks on the faces I saw as I went by ran the gamut from admiration to befuddlement to curiosity.

As a biker, albeit a relative-neophyte, taking part in this ride was one part empowering and one part scary. I’ve been on group bike rides in Columbus before, but not like this. This was gargantuan – and this many riders, packed somewhat close together on one side of a road, was a little intimidating. I kept thinking of all the things that could go wrong: a flat tire, knocking into another rider, going too fast or too slow. The set speed limit is twelve MPH, so this was not a race in any respect, but it was a strange feeling being surrounded by so many riders. I remember being amused at first when I saw a number of riders using hand signals – after all, we were in no danger from cars and we were all going relatively slow. The more I rode, however, the more I saw it as a great necessity, because between regular bikes, bikes built for two, recumbent (sit-down) bikes, and even bikes towing trailers and passenger cabs, accidents can still easily happen.

The Ride of Silence was a truly unique and original experience. Even though I don’t know anyone who was killed or even hurt in a biking accident, there was still a feeling of kinship in the air, a sense that we are all in this together. Keeping silent was easy for me; I don’t know many people in the bike community yet (at one point on the run I saw my friend Nancy, who looked like she was coming home from work, and I had to stifle the urge to call out her name. I just waved frantically. She saw me and waved back). In the past few months, though, I have made a few friends who have been quite supportive.

So if you’re a car driver and you see bike riders on the streets where you live, give ‘em a break, okay? Don’t forget that they – that we – belong out there, too. Yes, some bikers act wild sometimes, the same as some drivers, and that’s unfortunate because they’re the ones that make drivers distrust all bikers. With a little education, though, on both sides, that can be overcome. It’ll take time, but it’s worth it.

The speech.

Anyway, Rich is in a bit of a bind right now and he could use some help. I’ll let him explain it:

“…Back in August, my wife Traci was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. Yeah, it’s a tough one, and while the diagnosis stinks, we’re not the sort of people who give up, despite what statistics say. We hate statistics (well, except in baseball, where they’re pretty useful!), and anyone who knows both of us will tell you that we’re both really stubborn. I mean REALLY stubborn! Challenging diagnosis? Yeah, well, we’ll see about that!

“…mostly, we’re good, in light of everything, but lately things have gotten a little hairy, financially. While we have health insurance, it’s not covering everything. Medical bills and co-pays can truly be a drag. It’s been tough for us to maintain our regular work schedules between treatments (and Traci’s ensuing fatigue), doctor visits, and caring for our two year old son. So, as a result, our bank account is beginning to say, ‘Um, hey? Guys? What the HECK is going on!?’ So we’re looking for ways to generate more income, in order to keep afloat.

“We’re not in the habit of asking for money (or anything, for that matter), so I came up with a game plan (another baseball analogy. I’m sensing a theme) to ask for your help, and you’ll get something cool in return. Everyone wins!

“Here’s what I have in mind: I have a backlog of 15 years worth of comic book art that I’d like to make available to finance some of the expenses. In addition, while I do have work on my desk, I’m looking to take on a little extra commission work (illustration, comics, etc.), and even more ideally, new illustration projects for clients. Ongoing work would be especially cool, but I hear we might have a little problem with our economy right now, so I’ll understand if that’s not feasible at the moment.”

Details on payment methods (along with the rest of his post) here. If you can help out, please do – Rich is a terrific guy and Buzzboy is a dynamite book that you can share with your kids.