El Secreto Needs YOUR VOTE!

This Sunday on HOUR 42, Peter Pixie and I will be playing Fantasy Hero Football -- and I need your help fielding a team!

The rules are as such: PP said he'll use heroes from the DC Universe, and I get to cherry-pick from any other company. Good times for me, no?

With so many characters available, I wanted to open up the process and solicit help picking the right players -- and, today, the right coach. Here are the contenders:

Norman Osborn (Marvel) I know what you're thinking: How could The Green Goblin even be an option, right? That's the beauty of it -- right now he's the biggest hero in the Marvel U.! Formerly the head of the Thunderbolts, Stormin' Norman made himself out to be the key to Earth's victory over the Secret Invasion, an act which gets him influence over the entire superhero population, including his own team of Avengers. So, who better to run my show than the guy who's effectively running the 616?

Pluses: Coaching philosophy could be Vince Lombardi on Super-Serum
Minuses: Coaching philosophy could also be Vince McMahon on Super-Serum


Rupert Giles (Dark Horse) An assemblage of power needs wisdom to direct it, and good ol' Giles has plenty of that, as well as the magical know-how to tip the scales if need be -- and the occasional bit of ruthlessness to know when to use it. Unlike Osborn, though, Giles is less likely to piss people off. And much less likely to take all the credit when the game's won.

Pluses: Experience managing and motivating the most problematic personnel on Earth -- teenage girls.
Minuses: Prior disdain for American football might make him dismiss the very idea of a Big Game as "rubbish."


Reed Richards (Marvel)A good coach needs to know his or her x's and o's. Why not go with a guy who knows x's, o's, y's, z's and any other variable you can come up with? Mr. Fantastic might be the candidate who "gets" the game the best, not just as a series of applications and probability exercises, but as a game. He'd be a teacher and a fan, and possibly the most heroic coach I could find.

Pluses: "Elastic consciousness" could give team a living playbook, creating new schemes on the fly, confounding any defense.
Minuses: Can a coach be too smart for his own team? It might be the case here.

The Doctor (IDW)How about nearly 1,000 years of experience leading the squad? How about knowledge spanning a whole cosmos? How about creativity that probably rivals Richards'? How about a cute female assistant coach? How about the ability to pluck plays from anywhere in time? How about the ultimate motivator?

Pluses: Combines Giles' wisdom with Richards' theoretical knowledge, topped off by his own innate creativity, curiosity and tenacity.
Minuses: Might share Giles' disdain for American football, or be put off if his Companion fancies one of the players.

So there you have the nominees. Just vote on the handy-dandy gadget on the page and I'll announce the results Sunday night on HOUR 42!

-- ES

Who's that girl? We'll tell you TONIGHT at 8pm PST on HOUR 42, your home for the best discussions about Heroes -- in the air, on the air and all around us.

Plus:

* We ask you: How old is your favorite superhero?
* A look at the detective who's shaping up for a major revival -- and it's NOT Batman!
* From out of the west, we debut a new segment, shedding the spotlight on a Forgotten Hero!
* All that, and YOUR calls and comments at 646.716.4799, so join Peter Pixie and El Secreto in one hour for the next installment of Hour 42!

Tonight! Hour 42 -- UNLEASHED!

Join Peter Pixie and I TONIGHT at 8pm PST for the next installment of HOUR 42! No guest tonight, but we've got a lot to talk about, including:

* The latest in the battle for the Watchmen!
* A big-name star signing on for the film adaptation of an anime classic
* We discuss the latest major happenings in the DC Universe!

* All that, and YOUR calls and comments at 646.716.4799

So when the clock strikes 8pm PST, it's time for heroes! On HOUR 42!

-- ES

Batman, B.I.A.B?

SPOILER ALERT ON



Is Batman/Bruce Wayne dead? Short answer: I don't think so, despite the conclusion reached in this spoiler-rific commentary on Final Crisis #6. Why? There's many reasons beyond "He makes the company too much money."

1. This latest Crisis started with a resurrection nobody wanted expected, Barry Allen. When a character whose primary contribution to comics was dying is resurrected, that doesn't bode well for any other "deaths" that transpire during the story.
2. In the same issue where Batman is seemingly charbroiled by Darkseid, we're introduced to a "Miracle Machine" entrusted to Superman. Gee, I wonder what Clark would wish for regarding his best pal?
3. There's already proof the "Omega Sanction" Darkseid blasted Bats with isn't fatal; in Crisis writer Grant Morrison's much-ballyhooed but ultimately-forgotten Seven Soldiers series, the new Mister Miracle is hit with the Sanction, basically an advanced mind-whammy that forces the recipient into a series of successively worse lives. Not only did Mr. M survive the experience, he escaped. And if he could do it, is there any reason Batman couldn't?
4. There's still one issue left in Final Crisis, so there's still time for a reboot button to be it -- allowing Bruce Wayne to survive, just maybe not as Batman.

So, while there's potential to resurrect the character, rehabilitating him might end up being trickier. Because in that final confrontation, Morrison wrote Batman as shooting Darkseid with the same Magic Bullet that killed Orion. And as hackneyed as the phrase "betrayal of the character" has been made by endless commenters on endless message boards, this is one instance where it might actually stick. For the guy whose entire mission was based on taking down evil without actually killing it to suddenly make a "once-in-a-lifetime exception," as Morrison wrote is going to be really hard to swallow and reconcile for readers, let alone the character whenever he returns.

Be sure to tune in Sunday night, when Peter Pixie and I will discuss this and other heroic topics on Hour 42!


-- ES

Operation Care Kit: 500!

This January, we at LOCAL 42 are looking to create 500 toiletry kits to give away to the Homeless of Wichita. Part of them will be made for women and will be given to the battered women shelter should we have more than enough made.

Here is a list of what we need:

• Toothbrush

• Toothpaste

• Dental Floss

• Comb / Brush

• Soap

• Shampoo

• Deodorant

• Lotion

• Wash Cloth

• Feminine Hygiene products

We need 500 of each. If you want to help, contact Peter Pixie at thepeterpixie@gmail.com.

TONIGHT! Hour 42 #2!

We look forward to having you join Peter Pixie and myself for another fun edition of Hour 42. Coming up tonight, starting at 8pm PST:

* We'll tell you if Heath Ledger scored a prestigious honor tonight -- and discuss why we should care
* The economic climate hits the comic-book world!
* We look at the end of Stargate: Atlantis and what's coming up in the Stargate universe.
* An interview with Nyx, an up-and-coming Costumed Activist from Kansas City

All this plus your phone calls at (646) 716-4799, and the best discussion of the heroes on the air, in the air, and all around us, on Hour 42!

-- ES

TONIGHT! Hour 42!

Just a reminder -- Hour 42 debuts TONIGHT! Here's what Mr. Pixie and I have lined up:

* A look at superheroes news from around the globe
* Our Year In Preview -- what's to look forward to this new year?
* We talk to Zetaman, a member of The Alternates, and a hero to heroes
* Your calls and comments at 646.716.4799

Tune in tonight at 8pm PST!

Under Siege?: Costumed Activists In The News

For whatever reason, Costumed Activists, or RLSHs, if you prefer, have garnered attention from various news sources in the past month -- most of it less than positive.

The spate of recent coverage began with a Rolling Stone profile of Florida-based hero Master Legend. The piece, written by Joshua Bearman (who was part of the team behind acclaimed documentary The King Of Kong) seemingly went out of its way to paint Master Legend as being down on his luck. Peter Pixie has reported that when contacted by Citizen Prime, Bearman said that the story's slant was the result of an editorial mandate; the original story, Bearman reportedly said, struck a more balanced tone.

Citizen Prime himself was the focus of a piece by KNXV-TV in his native Arizona. Though somewhat neutral, the story makes what some are calling a mistake in reporting about RLSHs: it cites the World Superhero Registry site, which is reportedly not even maintained by an active hero.

On the heels of the Rolling Stone report, IO9.com, a normally reputable news/rumor site, published a highly dismissive post titled One More Reason To Hate MySpace. As snarky as it was, however, at least it didn't seem to resort to outright false information, as was allegedly the case with this London Times piece, which details the misadventures of "Mister Invisible" -- problem is, said hero isn't even real, according to Zetaman.

"Mr. Invisible" and the Times story was cited on the Fox News program Red Eye, this past week during a panel discussion where heroes were called "cowards" and chided for allegedly lacking a sex life. The negative tone of the item was curious, considering another hero, Razorhawk, was featured in a more positive light on Fox & Friends. Also, less than three months ago, Red Eye devoted a segment to an interview with Dave Gibbons, artist for the legendary Watchmen graphic novel.

Mister Pixie and I will discuss these issues tomorrow during the premiere of Hour 42, Sunday night at 8pm PST.

-- El Secreto