I watched the video. It seems clear Obama collected comics as a kid but doesn't collect them now. His last exposure to Crom and Mitra may have been 30 years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW7OPByRGDY&feature=player_embedded

I don't know if that ruins his comics cred compared to Megan Fox. But at least he knew the Vulcan salute.

Also, there's this report from the Onion:

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/obama_disappointed_cabinet_failed

Still, I suppose winter in B'ham has to be better than winter in Minneapolis. If you're ever back down this way we'll go do something manly and totally not gay. Like hunting. Or NASCAR. Or, y'know, shooting cars.

Geeze, now it seems like we've got some kind of bromance going on. Let's argue about comics some more.

Jeph Loeb is a better writer than Alan Moore ever was or will be. Discuss.

I'd doubt that.

Doesn't matter what subject you're geeky for, D&D, Renaissance Fair, detective novels, NASCAR- once you take it to obsessive extremes, it becomes nerdy.

I intended it to be a joke, since I don't actually know you I can't really say that you're lame, can I? I mean, if the worst thing I can say about you is that you make way-too-many wrestling references, you're not so bad!

Now if Megan Fox said she liked Jeph Loeb, well... that's an entirely different story.

I bet he doesn’t even know who Stegron the Dinosaur Man is either."

No I know why Glen Beck has been crying so much since he was elected.

Chris Jones: I should have known you were a bad egg when you said you didn't like Simonson's Thor. At least Xavier said I was lame outright instead of using an analogy of something that has never, ever happened (before he said I wasn't, I think). Also, it's more successful than, not then; your bad at grammar!

Finally, the fact that no one's talking about when it was that Jeph Loeb's writing became an abomination in the eyes of God and Will Eisner is another reason I regret writing this.

So he says. He didn't know who was Krom when John Hodgman confronted him at the Radio and Television Correspondents Association Dinner. Conan fan my ass.

I bet he doesn't even know who Stegron the Dinosaur Man is either.

Oh, of course it works for the BBC, just like how more fans = more sales for DC and Marvel. It also works for fans, because they get more product to choose from on the shelves. But that isn't really what's being discussed here, because it's hard to argue against the financial benefits of a product that gets more exposure/acceptance, especially for a company that has a goal to make as much money as possible.

The issue is that comics aren't any "cooler" because a Currently Hot Actress mentions she reads them on television, yet some fans get an odd type of validation happiness whenever comics are mentioned in mainstream culture, as if that somehow makes them less of social outcasts.

Stephen King likes the Ramones and AC/DC. I also like the Ramones and AC/DC. But I don't get some kind of rush of validation because a world-famous author likes some of the same music I do. Some comics websites are posting this Megan Fox news like a great victory has been won in mainstream culture acceptance -- all because an attractive young woman says she likes Fathom.

And just because the top grossing movies were comic movies, doesn’t mean comics are mainstream. The top selling titles every month rarely sell over 100,000 copies. 10s of millions of people go to see the top movies. 30 years ago a title that sold that many copies would be on the verge of cancellation. I would like comics to become more mainstream so that they’re more widely read, which will help ensure that comics stay around in the future. As it is now, the market for them keeps shrinking.

We could talk about sales all day long, especially since it's clear that movies do not help sell monthly comics at all (though they obviously have a much stronger -- and welcome -- effect on collection sales). But the fact of the matter is people who had no clue who Tony Stark was two years ago are now anxiously awaiting Iron Man 2. So the idea that superheroes aren't just for kiddies is no doubt mainstream at this point -- geeze, Spider-Man is getting a BROADWAY SHOW, for instance -- even if those mainstream fans aren't reading the monthlies. Truthfully, a junior high schooler probably wouldn't get picked on for reading a Batman or Iron Man comic on the school bus these days, which is what likely would've happened in previous decades. Now they probably just make fun of him because he's fat. Or because his mom is fat.

On the other hand, so what? I don't need validation from the outside world. I wish I knew enough comic book readers in real life to hold a decent discussion about the medium outside of the comic book store, but that's what the Internet is for. (Insert obligatory porn joke) It's nice to see a celebrity endorsement, but I like comics regardless of their popularity or status. That's enough for me.

Please, I kid, I kid ...

To the BBC, it matters lots - lots as in 10 million Saturday evening viewers for Doctor Who, and HEAPS of mechandising. To me, it means a favourite is back on TV, and it still works.

Of course, for Torchwood, it means a prime time slot and eight less episodes, starting Monday.

In fact, to prove your point, I'm a little stoked to learn that I actually went to school with Jason Aaron of SCALPED and GHOST RIDER. He graduated a year before me, but dang if I can even remember his face. Still, all of B'ham is sooooo proud ...

It's funny, I live in Minneapolis, MN, and I feel like the local news media has the same sort of mindset as this. Whenever a celebrity mentions the town or has ever even driven through it, they make a huge deal out of it. It seems like they're trying to prove how hip and cool Minneapolis is by pointing to the "cool" celebrities who have been here. but it just comes across as a low self-esteem issue, if you ask me. I love Minneapolis. I don't need a movie star to prove to anyone else it's a cool place to live.