I took last week off and almost thought I was going to take this week off - you might notice I haven't posted here in over a week, because I've just been uninspired recently, even though I'm in the middle of my latest Comics You Should Own, which are usually fun to write. But then I decided to get going, mainly because of the two big stories in the comics world this week, so let's check out some links, shall we?

MAN OF STEEL STUFF! (WITH SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY)

First up, of course, is the new Superman movie. I haven't seen it and probably won't until it shows up on television, because I just don't have any interest in watching CGI people bash each other, but it inspired a ... what's the word? ... oh, yes, a shitload of commentary on yonder Internets. Onward!

Mark Waid's review might have gotten it all started, as Waid says his heart was broken by the movie. He also mentioned that he didn't get any royalties from the movie, which many people perceived as whining. It wasn't, though, as he explains here how DC contracts work. Boy, who knew Paul Levitz was so much more ethical than most corporate types in comics?

Here's a David Goyer interview about the movie. Some people have complained about Man of Steel's dourness, which is interesting because Goyer isn't necessarily a humorless dude. I haven't read too many of his comics, but they're not completely doom-and-gloom, and Da Vinci's Demons, which he created and some of which he wrote, has some humor to it. Maybe Zach Snyder, who leeches the fun out of pretty much everything, had more influence on the movie?

As I noted, I haven't seen the movie, but Man of Steel as I remember it is a pretty funny post.

Chris Sims weighs in on Man of Steel, and people rip him for it (obviously).

James Franco writes about Man of Steel and superhero movies in general. It's a pretty interesting read.

Here's an article about the controversial Man of Steel ending and why everyone should shut up about it. Yeah, that's going to happen.

Apparently, Christopher Nolan wasn't down with the ending to Man of Steel. So why should everyone shut up about the controversy when the makers of the movie were divided on it?

Michael May discusses the idea of "your" Superman, much like our own Mr. Hatcher did. If I cared about Superman, I'd be taking sides!

Corey Blake takes a look at the "Man of Steel" Superman's heroic motivation and what it means.

Of course, someone put together the "real-world" costs of Superman's battles. That's a lot of cheddar.

Andrew Wheeler looks at morality in Man of Steel.

Tim O'Neil, who's a very smart dude, writes about Man of Steel. It's a very interesting response to some of the criticisms of the movie.

Anyway, as I said, I didn't see the movie nor do I have any interest in it. According to what I've read about the movie, the reason I think I'd object to Superman killing Zod is twofold: 1. Zod wins. He wants Superman to kill him, so when Superman does, Zod wins. That doesn't seem like a good place to begin a franchise. 2. The general laziness of action movies, where the bad guy always had to die. It's kind of dull, and it would seem that a Superman movie would be the perfect place to break that mold. But whatever.

The last word should go to my friend Corwin, who noted on Facebook that "Man of Steel is a Superman movie for people who hate Superman, made by people who hate Superman." I don't know if that's true, but it's an awesome line.

KIM THOMPSON STUFF

You may have heard that Kim Thompson died this week. As usual with deaths of people I didn't know, this event doesn't really affect me all that much (which is why I don't really care that James Gandolfini died), but obviously, a LOT of people in comics knew Thompson, so they wrote about him.

Fantagraphics published Thompson's obituary.

Here's a nice article about Thompson.

Here's Chris Mautner's tribute to Thompson.

Here are some more tributes to Thompson.

OTHER COMICS STUFF!

Here's a list of the biggest comics conventions in North America, which is fairly interesting. As they note in the story, none of them hold a candle to some European or Japanese conventions, but that's the way it is. Nice to see Phoenix on the list.

Tom Scioli writes about finishing Gødland and shows some of his process. I'm a bit curious about his statement that for years he's been working on it "for free," but he doesn't elaborate too much. When I spoke to him at the Phoenix convention, he said it should be out in November. I can't wait!

By the way, Saga sells really well. I love trying to figure out why certain things sell so well. Saga has its problems, but it still sells ridiculously well, and it's not riding/creating a zeitgeist like The Walking Dead is. No one can really say why Saga is selling well, but it's great for Vaughan and Staples - especially Staples, as she probably needs it more. It's kind of like listening to Thriller and wondering why it's the best-selling album of all time - it's a perfectly good album, but why did it sell so well? Lightning in a bottle, people.

In one of the most laugh-out-loud stories in a while, Dan DiDio blames the "appearance" of turmoil at DC on social media. Oh, Dan - don't ever stop driving the company into the ground, because if you leave, where will all the gallows humor about comics come from?

Brian Hibbs writes about DC's September "villains" event and how utterly stupid it is. Hibbs tells it like it is!

Tim O'Neil (that guy again) writes about Age of Ultron. It's another excellent read.

POP CULTURE!

Here's a list of the best one-time Simpsons characters. You'll note that all of them are from Seasons 1 through 8.

The nine-minute clip in this post might be the weirdest thing on Netflix Instant. And, apparently, it's not the only one of its kind. If you have 9 minutes to kill, it's weirdly hypnotic.

A metal band called Cryptic Murmurs (which, I have to believe, comes from the fact that you can't understand their lyrics) made a song called "Anderson Cooper," which Anderson Cooper then talked about on television. He's quite the good sport about it.

A French artist put Game of Thrones characters into 1980s and 1990s fashion, and here are the results: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.

POLITICS!

Our friendly neighbor to the north, Canada, has outlawed wearing masks at protests. Come on, Canada - you're supposed to be the level-headed country on this continent!

This is a weird story: The deputy director of Tennessee's Division of Water Resources, responding to claims that the water in Maury County was making people sick, said that making these claims without evidence is an act of terrorism. Man, the United States just keeps getting weirder.

MISCELLANEOUS!

I want so badly to buy the Atlas of True Names, which shows in plain English what every place name you can think of means. I found it here via here.

Here's a list of kids' jokes that are terrible. Honestly, kids making up jokes is never a good idea, but it's something you just have to deal with!

If you've never heard of Exodus International, they're a group who tried to "cure" homosexuals through "therapy" and, you know, Jesus. Well, they've decided to close, and its president offered a big apology on their web site. Nice to know people can change, although the people they "helped" might still be a bit peeved.

George Zimmer of Men's Wearhouse got fired after 40 years with the company that he founded. What will happen to the "You're going to like the way you look" add line????

Well, that's another week in the books. Will I have a link post next week? Only time will tell!