Novelty super hero kicks are all well and good in the kids aisle, but it's always nice when higher-end sneakers find their way into the big kids sections - especially when they're from a company like Airwalk, which I trusted to keep my feet on the skateboards I routinely fell off of throughout my clumsy youth.

Streetlevel has a look at the line's Captain America (noticeably brandished with an Airwalk logo "A"), Silver Surfer and more. There's not a whole lot of information to go on at this point, with proper release dates and pricing info as of yet undisclosed by Airwalk and Marvel, but it's fun to imagine the kinds of pairings the duo would be capable of.

Can you say Adam X: The Extreme Airwalks? You know you'd kick it in those! Or maybe that's more Vans' territory... Check out some additional mockups via Sneakerfiles after the jump. Think they didn't take it far enough? Check out Seen All Over for their ideas on the mashups that could have been.

This week, "Street Fighter Legends: Ibuki" hits shelves, putting one of the newer "Street Fighter" characters into a starring role for the first time!


We've got a ComicsAlliance exclusive five-page preview, and an interview with writer and UDON Studios project manager Jim Zubkavich after the jump!

The new "Tron: Legacy" trailer has kind of set the Internet ablaze with equal parts nostalgia and awe - and rightly so - but some comic fans might point out that this is actually the film's second sequel thanks to SLG Publishing's 2006 six-issue miniseries (and a novelization) "Tron: Ghost in the Machine."

While "Ghost in the Machine" has yet to see a collected edition, all six single issues are still prevalent on both SLG's online store and Amazon, though I'll be in touch with SLG to see if a TPB (or another project) is in the works.

"Legacy" and "Ghost" are stacked with similarities, most notably that each series' protagonists are versions of Alan Bradley's or Kevin Flynn's sons from the present sent into the digital world. "Ghost" has something of a darker tone, however, with a son returning to a somewhat unpleasant world rather than visiting it for the first time to see his father.

You can check out the 2006 trailer for SLG's series after the jump for the full scoop on its creative team of Landry Walker, Eric Jones and artist Louie De Martinis. It may just be the thing to tide fans over until "Tron: Legacy" arrives in theaters on December 17.

In 2006, writer Kieron Gillen and artist Jamie McKelvie debuted the first "Phonogram" volume, "Rue Brittania." Introducing the concept of "phonomancers" -- magicians using music to enter magical states -- the series quickly gained a dedicated cult following and tastemaker Warren Ellis' seal of approval. With the completion of the second volume "The Singles Club" and the trade collection (or album) set to be unveiled at Emerald City ComicCon, writer John Parker reached out to Gillen to talk about music, magic, and what the future held in store for "Phonogram."

As he quickly discovered, there may not be a future for "Phonogram." So they didn't get to talk much about music or magic.

I know, I know, it's kind of weak to take cheap shots at "Smallville." But seriously, when promo images show the Silver Banshee making like Teen Wolf in an upcoming episode, it's hard not to share.


Silver Banshee makes her "Smallville" debut on Friday, April 2 in an episode entitled "Escape." Something tells me that's all actress Odessa Rae wanted to do when wardrobe brought her the seemingly woodland-inspired villainess outfit - most notably the corn cob grill she's been forced to sport.

I'm totally down for adaptations taking a few costume design liberties when needed, and in fairness to whoever designed this outfit, it does inspire enough fear to merit Banshee a spot in the Sinestro Corps. Of course, I don't think fans would have been upset by a slightly less feral design. I'd keep an eye out for a lot of hair product commercials when "Escape" hits the airwaves next month on The CW.

Since his mainstream comics debut nearly five years ago, writer Fred Van Lente has been one of our favorite writers, climbing slowly but steadily to prominence by self-publishing books like the Xeric Award-winning "Action Philosophers" while simultaneously rising through the ranks at Marvel Comics, making his name first in the "Marvel Adventures" line aimed at younger readers, before moving on to the "Marvel Zombies" series, and his widely acclaimed run on "Incredible Hercules," which recently came to a close.

Now a new chapter is beginning for Van Lente, as he takes the plunge with an exclusive contract at Marvel, where his current slate includes "Web of Spider-Man," "Iron Man: Legacy," "Prince of Power," and the upcoming "Marvel Zombies 5." ComicsAlliance has an exclusive first look at the first four pages "Marvel Zombies 5" #1, and a chance to chat with Van Lente about making the commitment to Marvel to forsake all other publishers.


ComicsAlliance: I remember first reading your work on your Evil Twin indie books like "Action Philosophers," and now you've obviously gone really far in the superhero comics realm with Marvel. How do you look back on the narrative arc of your career, now that's you're signing an exclusive?

Fred Van Lente : It's been very exciting. I'm still kind of reeling from the fact that they put me on Spider-Man, when that first happened. It was [also] exciting to kind of toil intermittently in doing indie comics, and I had a series of really crappy temp jobs in Manhattan, living with a bunch of comic book artists and doing my own thing, but never really breaking out. Then in a really bizarre fashion, my first Marvel comic book, an issue of "Amazing Fantasy," and "Action Philosophers" #1 came out on the same day. It was completely insane, because [comics shops] usually alphabetize the titles, so "Action Philosophers" and "Amazing Fantasy" came out on the same day, and they came out next to each other. It's like waiting for a bus: nothing comes along for a long time and then three show up at once.

Doing the indie comics thing has been wonderful and very rewarding, but it's also been this slow rise over this rise at Marvel from doing the kids' books to getting the "Hercules" assignment, which is really what put me on the map over there. That's what got people thinking, hey, we can trust him with bigger projects. And then there was "Marvel Zombies" and Spider-Man and now, all the rest of it.

Imdb.com is great for a lot of things, like figuring out who a dude with a familiar face is from an Olive Garden commercial or verifying the release date of a Lifetime original movie, but a bastion of perfection it ain't. Still, when Kotaku got wind of Imdb's Robin casting info for Rocksteady's "Batman: Arkahm Asylum II," wishful (or fearful) thinking certainly comes into play.

Actor Vincent Martella is currently listed as the voice Robin, which the blogosphere's speculated is probably a goof. After all, Martella is set to play the Boy Wonder in the upcoming animated "Batman: Under the Hood," so it could just be a matter of crossed wires. Warner Bros even addressed the matter, telling Kotaku that the info is inaccurate to their knowledge.

Part of me would be happy to accept Robin in an "Arkham" sequel if it meant co-op play. Most of what I've heard of Martella has come from Disney's light-hearted "Phineas and Ferb," animated series, though, so he might have to Bale-ify his tone just a bit in order to fit well in a gritty video game world.

Charles Xavier sure knows how to ride in style - and he knows how to drink, too.


Daniel "Smeeon" Valdez is the inventor of the Steampunk Professor X Wheelchair, a device that truly lives up to its name. According to Valdez, the wheelchair was created by combining an Eastlake Victorian platform rocker built around 1875 with a power wheelchair base, with various pistons and flashy control panels added in for good measure. Of course, it wouldn't be Xavier's chair of choice without a few X insignias scattered about.

But the Steampunk Professor X Wheelchair offers an unexpected twist - the functional transportation device is essentially a bar on wheels. There are tubes in the back that can be filled with liquor (usually vodka and cranberry juice, according to the inventor) that is pumped through an ice chiller and into your mug of choice by way of a tap in the front side of the chair. I understand that being the leader of mutantkind isn't an easy task, but yeesh, Chuck... maybe it's time to lay off the sauce. We certainly wouldn't want him driving this thing under the influence, now would we?