Pop Culture Roundup March 20, 2006

Check out the newest Beatles Beatleg podcast.

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Marvel and DC are exerting their collective trademark over the word "superhero."

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Bubblegumfink cherry picks some bubblegum pop videos available on Youtube, including songs by the animated Archies, Banana Splits, the Association and Lancelot Link and the Evolution Revolution.

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Speaking of "Lancelot Link," it looks as if that series is coming to DVD soon.

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The California Science Center is presenting the Marvel Superheroes Science Exhibition March 26 through Sept. 4. Among other things, it'll all allow visitors to:

* See if their senses are as sharp as Daredevil's when they navigate through an alleyway using their sense of touch and hearing clues (“psst over here”).
* Investigate the Incredible Hulk's brain and learn which areas are responsible for generating human emotions such as rage—the key to Hulk's super abilities.
* Discover what it's like to have a helping hand or three with Doctor Octopus through the engineering technology of prosthetic limbs.
* Examine how lightning is created and calculate the distance of a thunderstorm that destroys a villain in the Storm exhibit.
* See how an optical illusion known as motion-induced blindness can make the Invisible Woman disappear.

More info.

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The New York Times has an article on the Jack Kirby-influenced superhero sendup "Minoriteam," a new series on the Cartoon Network:

The multiethnic crew battles a gang of villains including the sniveling Corporate Ladder (an anthropomorphized ladder with a cape and a pipe), Racist Frankenstein (a bigoted monster) and Standardized Test, whose head is shaped like a No. 2 pencil and whose body resembles a Scantron test. White Shadow, the bad guys' bumbling leader, has a head that looks eerily like the pyramid found on the back of a dollar bill. He spews nonsensical corporate-speak, using words like "synergy" and phrases like "Let's all get on the same page."

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Speaking of Kirby, Marvel Comics has announced plans to publish a new mini-series, Jack Kirby's Galactic Bounty Hunters, created by the late artist's daughter Lisa and lontime assistant Thibodeaux. The series is based on characters and concepts Kirby came up with before his death.

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Comics artist Tim Sale says DC is planning to cancel its Solo series, which focuses on a different comics artist each issue. Sad news. I particularly enjoyed the Darwyn Cooke and Mike Allred issues.

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Dial B for Blog celebrates Steve Ditko's The Creeper.

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A series of "Veronica Mars" trading cards is planned.

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