Here at ComicsAlliance, we pride ourselves on our strict adherence to the principles of journalistic integrity, and as comics readers, we have learned those principles from one man:


"Daily Bugle" publisher (and noted yoga instructor) J. Jonah Jameson. We've been studying his work for years, and we've learned indispensable lessons about objectivity (don't let it get in the way of your story), proper workplace communication (yelling into an intercom), and the importance of getting a desks sturdy enough to hold up to being pounded for a good six hours out of every work day. But now, all of these lessons and more have been compiled into one ten-minute YouTube video featuring JJJ's best moments form the 1960s "Spider-Man" cartoon, so if you want to learn a little something about running a major metropolitan newspaper, pay attention.

Taskmaster has been something of a fan favorite B-list supervillain in the Marvel Universe, using his abilities to mimic any physical skills he observes as both a mercenary and a trainer of fledgling superheroes, supervillains, and random cannon fodder. Now the star of a miniseries written by Fred Van Lente and drawn by Jefte Palo, the Taskmaster finds himself the target of countless former students out to collect a bounty that's been put on his head. he book is a great combination of clever concepts, character moments and over-the-top action scenes with a good sense of humor tying it all together. All of that makes it easily the most enjoyable book I read this week.

As casually as some superhero comics approach death, it's good to see a freshly-revived Hercules will return to the Marvel Universe with a clear purpose: Rallying Earth's heroes in a war against a mad alien warlord and his army of alien gods. Written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente with interior art by Khoi Pham and a cover by Ed McGuinness, "Chaos War" #1 promises action on a scale fit for the newly-appointed god of heroes and his closest allies.

Comics can involve a lot of fighting, and no, that fighting is not all on the page. Look at enough creator twitter feeds, fan reviews, or reader comments, and you will without a doubt hear the sound of growling and barking. Some of this is totally legitimate, particularly since these are turbulent times for comics, after all. But let's face it: Most of the drama isn't about that. It's about that delicious moment when one comic book nerd looks at another comic book nerd and and says, "You're pathetic." And the battle is on. There's not getting around it: These arguments are silly, hypocritical, and a waste of everyone's time, especially since no one is changing anyone's mind. It's definitely the worst part of nerd culture. In some ways, though, it's also the best.

Chris Bishop loves robots and superheroes (really, who doesn't?), and he's taken his passion so far that he's made it easier for you to explain "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" to someone with absolutely no background knowledge of Star Wars using a simple info-graphic. He's also cranked out some extremely T-shirt-friendly designs featuring comic book and Masters of the Universe characters.

The punch he's rendered Captain America landing on the Red Skull is a testament to Bishop's comics affection on his personal website. And I don't mean to imply that it's difficult to paint Han Solo not being a badass, but his portrait of the Millenium Falcon owner is as tough as they come.

Like it or not, the Spider-Man Broadway Musical "Turn Off the Dark" (and seriously, can anyone explain what that title means?) is definitely happening, but Marvel's Friendly Neighborhood Wall-Crawler has been inspiring Spider-themed dance routines and music videos well before the show's December debut. Granted, we've seen some...questionable Spider-moves already -- from the infamous/ridiculous dance routine we're all desperately trying to forget in "Spider-Man 3" to this classic web gem which still holds up in the funny department -- but these recently discovered Spidey-inspired dance routines just may top those in terms of absurdity and/or awesomeness.

This week marks Joe Quesada's tenth anniversary as Editor-in-Chief (and now Chief Creative Officer) at Marvel Comics and there is most definitely cause for celebration. It's been a pretty great decade for Marvel if you reflect upon the assortment of engaging stories, creative risks and major events that have gone down. It doesn't seem like it was such a long time ago that Marvel was facing bankruptcy and their best approach to increasing sales was to start over every title at issue #1.

In honor of this momentous occasion for Joe the Q, we've put together a timeline of some of the most interesting events and creative decisions since he joined forces with Marvel.

When it comes to digital comics on Sony's PSP, publishers have moved beyond an experimentation phase and into a reality where mobile gaming devices are a full-fledged (although still young) component of their respective businesses. But what of the PSP's more stationary counterpart the PlayStation 3? The website Addicted to Playstation has apparently received a survey asking whether they'd would be interested in seeing Sony's Digital Comics service migrate onto the PS3 and other devices at some point down the road. And while nobody asked us, we'd like to register our answer as yes.

Here at ComicsAlliance, we value our readership and are always open to what the masses of Internet readers have to say. That's why we've given Senior Writer Chris Sims the punishment pleasure of stepping into the grand tradition of the Answer Man as he responds to your reader questions!



Q: In your opinion, the best series endings in comics? Not just the end to separate story arcs, but to entire books? -- shutupadrian

A: In comics, closing out a series can often be a pretty tricky proposition. It's hard enough to write a good ending to a story, but in a medium where success is often defined by the fact that something gets to continue, ending an entire title is even tougher. But even so, there are plenty of books that go out on a high note, and if you've read this column before, my favorites probably aren't going to come as a surprise.

WayForward Technologies has given fans plenty to get stoked about over the course its development of "Batman: The Brave and the Bold The Videogame," but all told, its new launch trailer celebrating the title's September 7 release may be the pinnacle of the company's collective promotional efforts. It's just what happens when you produce an animated short featuring Batman playing his own game on the Wii with Bat-Mite and Green Arrow.

Maps: "Star Wars" fan Rebecca Crane has taken to comparing each of America's 50 states to planets from the SW mythos. Which planet is your state? (Mine's Endor) [Geekologie]

Television: It looks like Warner Bros. is tapping Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" for TV with "Supernatural" producer Eric Kripke in mind. [ICv2]

Conventions: Portland's Stumptown Comics Fest is on the move - to a bigger convention center in 2011. [The Beat]