Buckle up old chum, THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE FOREVER.

*My newest column is up at comiXology, orbiting the infamous silver screen debut of the Caped Crusader, 1943's 15-chapter serial Batman. Topics include: vintage comics reprints; saggy tights; the films of Louis Feuillade; WWI; WWII; that superhero history book Grant Morrison is writing; those two issues of Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Bryan Talbot did in 1992; '40s men in '40s hats; the Yellow Peril thru history; Batman planning for everything; and the 1951 jungle adventure film Bowanga Bowanga: White Sirens of Africa, which is basically one colored projector lens and a rumba record away from being a Joseph Cornell picture.

In case you were curious, the serial was released on R1 dvd in 2005, to coincide with the home video edition of Batman Begins. "See how Batman really began," read the case, and oh boy did that feel a bit wry after my viewing. I do plan on getting to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen eventually, probably in a two-for-one piece with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, so that I'll have a month and a half to properly assess its cultural legacy.

Anyway, I really like how this one turned out, and I hope you like it too.