On comics and other pop culture topics, including archived Comic Book Commentary posts from 2005-2007.

COMMENT: Does Superman Have Batman’s Legs?

Batman Begins

[Edited to add a conclusion!]

The early numbers are in and Superman Returns has raked in an estimated $84,208,000 at the domestic box office over its first five days in release, $12m ahead of Batman Begins over the same period, but with 2/3rds of that difference coming in over the first two days. Its $52,150,000 during the Friday-Sunday period — which ranks as only the 5th best opening in 2006, 47th overall — is almost tied with Batman Begins’ opening Friday-Sunday haul (June 17-19: $48,745,440) which ended up representing 23.7% of its total $205,343,774 gross.

If the Man of Steel can match the Dark Knight’s pace, Superman Returns should come in around $220 million at the domestic box office, notably short of its well-publicized $260 million production budget, a figure that doesn’t include what is very likely a hefty marketing budget of at least $50 million. Figure a foreign box office total matching Batman Begins’ $166 million, and you have a potential $400+ million blockbuster that in some circles will be considered a disappointment, a la Peter Jackson’s King Kong ($218m domestic BO, $207m budget).

The big question, though, is does Superman have Batman’s legs, and is not reaching the $200m plateau a possibility?

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Me, Me, Me Meme

1. What time did you get up this morning?7am 2. Diamonds or Pearls?Silver3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?X3: The Last Stand4. What is your favorite TV show?Grey's Anatomy5. What did you have for breakfast this morning?Coffee6. What is your middle name?LeCharles7. What is your favorite cuisine?I like a wide range of food, but I got in trouble last time for not saying "Anything my wife cooks." ;-)8. What foods do you dislike?Weird textures, especially mushy stuff.9. Your favorite Potato chip?Pringles10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?The last mix CD I made.11. what kind…

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COMMENT: Ebert on Superman Returns

Like Fantastic Four last summer, I feel no sense of urgency about seeing Superman Returns this weekend, if at all, unimpressed by the various trailers I've seen or glowing (yet often awkwardly vague, and not in the "avoiding spoilers" sense) reviews I've read -- but haven't really been able to put my finger on why, other than never having been a fan of the character and not agreeing with the primary casting choices.I certainly enjoyed the first two movies -- and I have particularly fond memories of the "You'll Believe A Man Can Fly!" angle for the first one, because…

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Comment: Spider-Man 3 Trailer

Needless to say, I'm really psyched about this trailer. F@*% Superman Returns, we want Spidey! Great move on Marvel's part to release the trailer publicly before the movie opens. (Fill in fanboy rant here)While surfing the web, I saw that everyone had pictures of Sandman and Spider-Man, but it seems that many people forgot poor Harry Osborne.Well this one's for you, Harry!

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On The Shelves: 6/28/06

Support GOOD Comics! Try something new EVERY month. My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 6/28/06. The full shipping is list available at ComicList. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com] PICK OF THE WEEK Solo #11ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS According to Johanna at CWR, Archie will finally be releasing a collected edition of Tania Del Rio's Sabrina, the Teenage Witch this October. While I'm not really the audience…

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5 Things Tagomeme

Via Salomé; now consider yourself tagged!5 things in my refrigerator:1. Nestlé Quik Chocolate Syrup2. Nathan's Brown Mustard3. Gallon water dispenser4. Assorted chocolate candies5. 4 bottles of Heineken5 things in my closet:1. Shirts2. Pants3. Shoes4. Comic books5. My old Vectrex system5 things in my pursebag:1. Gameboy Advance SP2. MP3 player3. Composition notebook4. Cell phone5. Plastic baggie w/baby wipes5 things in my car:1. 2 Children's car seats2. Stroller3. 2 Folding lawn chairs4. Isaac's Grow to Pro 3-in-1 Baseball Trainer5. One each of Isaac and India's first sneakers

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CBC Quickees: Public Enema and more…

It's been a long time between reviews, yes? Between the revamp here and PopCultureShock's server crapping out for almost a week, I skipped my Pull List Propaganda column this month and the pile is growing again. I'm saving the TPBs -- including Bluesman Vol. 1 & 2 and East Coast Rising -- for next month's column, but here's six quickees for your consideration.Thunderbolts #103 (Marvel, $2.99): The first Civil War tie-in I've read so far and it was actually better than the main event itself, which is really just a series of "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if...?" moments Mark…

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