Cuppacafe

In the annals of comicbook lore, there is only one Dynamic Duo, but when you elevate the level of the field of play you get the Brave and the Bold. Such a massive team-up has long played well in the halls of DC comics. Superman and Batman, Batman and Superman. The light and the dark. The Ying and the Yang. Superman is the ultimate Boy Scout, and Batman a dark and brooding creature of the night.

Longtime Batman writer and editor Denny O'Neil once described Superman's bright and sunny Metropolis as New York City above 14^th St., and Batman's dark and deadly Gotham City as New York below 14^th St. Still, both of these heroes were generally cast as unlikely friends, and occasional foe-men.

Well, that is (perhaps) coming to a head, as this past week both of their debut comics went on sale at separate auctions for dueling prices. First, Action #1 (the first appearance of Superman) hit the big-time by landing a million-dollar purchase price, to be followed a couple of days later by the sale of Detective Comics #27 (the first appeaarance of Batman) for — yup, you got it, just over a million bucks ($1,075,500).

And you thought there was a recession on, eh?

Gentleman, start your (funnybook) engines

The Perfessor

According to E! Online While the opening for Twilight: New Moon was big (bigger than some expected), but it still wasn’t Spider-Man or Batman big:

It was big. It was bigger than expected. It was record-setting. But more on the new Sandra Bullock movie later. New Moon will close out its remarkable debut weekend with an estimated $140.7 million, its studio reported today. The towering take makes the Twilight sequel the third-biggest opener in Hollywood history. Or, to put it another way: Yes, The Dark Knight's opening-weekend mark is safe. And, yes, Spider-Man 3's second-place slot is secure. But, still, other records did fall to New Moon. Stay tuned for more factoids, and a look at Bullock's The Blind Side, which showed bite of its own with a $34.5

According to E!:

But, get over your spandex-supporting selves because New Moon sucked up its own share of records:

• Biggest November opening ever, flying past Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’s $102.7 million;
• Biggest opening two-day gross ever ($115.9 million Friday-Saturday), edging The Dark Knight’s $114.8 million start;
• And all the previously reported rest: Biggest opening day ever ($67.2 million); biggest single day ever (ditto); biggest midnight showing ever ($26.3 million).

About the only thing New Moon didn't do was, yes, claim the opening-weekend crown.

Too bad on that last one, eh? Guess there are more funnybook geeks than teenage girls.

The Perfessor

For President Jimmy Carter it was brother Billy. For President Clinton it was his brother Roger. For President H.W. Bush, it was his sons George, Neil, and Jeb. Well, just so you know, you don’t have to be President to have an idiot brother, Just ask The once and future director of the Dark Knight films, Christopher Nolan, about his brother Matthew.

In March of last year, the Chicago Sun Times reported that Christopher’s brother’s, Matthew, had been arrested for murder.

As the reports: Matthew Francis Nolan, 40, of the South Shore neighborhood, was under investigation by Chicago Police in a $700,000 bank-fraud scheme when FBI agents here nabbed him last month in connection with a 2005 killing in Central America.

Well, if that wasn’t enough, According to a new Chicago Tribune story, the incarcerated Nolan had in his jail cell:

...some 31 feet of rope made from bedsheets, a harness, a razor and a metal clip that could unlock handcuffs that the Tribune says were to be used for a Batman-esque jailbreak from the facility that also is currently home to disgraced lawyer Marc Dreier. The ploy was detected before Nolan could follow through with his plan.

Makes you just want to write him into your next movie and have him dropped into a vat of acid.

The Perfessor

I was trying to think of a joke that could go with this photo, but I really couldn’t.

The Perfessor

In the Marvel Universe, they killed Captain America, Arrested Spider-Man, Booted Col. Nick Fury and Iron Man from their respective positions of authority and power, and put Master Criminal Norman (The Green Goblin) Osborn in charge.

Here in the real world. we arrest criminals and revere heroes.

Only, not so much...

Superman and Batman took on New York's Finest last night in an epic Crossroads of the World battle that left the Caped Crusader in cuffs.

Stunned Times Square tourists and office workers watched agog as cops struggled to subdue Clark Kent's alter ego without kryptonite.

"The Man of Steel didn't go down with just two officers, it took seven officers!" witness Ryan McCormick said. "He was putting up a good fight. Little kids were like, 'Mommy, it's Superman!' "

If that wasn't weird enough, McCormick turned and saw the Dark Knight handcuffed to a chair like a common villain.

The whole world is crazy.

The Perfessor

Can you match skills with the Joker and The Batman break dancing? Play by choosing either the Joker or the Batman from within the YouTube video. Then another video plays, and you hit the red button when the appropriate choice (of letters matching the dance moves) comes up.

Sound req'd for coolness of the 90s revisited...

YouTube link