Not very pleasing, but, as I discovered, there’s a “splog”, meaning, a spam-blog, that’s been siphoning content from my own blog for a few months now, probably by logging on to my RSS feed, I’m not sure. It’s on a server called , and here’s , where, with the possible exception of anything that involves javascript in the post, it’s been copying off of my blog and, if I’m sending a trackback ping to some blogs (it’s powered by their software), it seems to follow suit.

, who’s also been getting content siphoned from this server:

It’s a “splog”, or a spam blog. A splogger syphons high-quality content from an original blog (We are talking high-quality in baesian terms. It can be utter trite as far as humans are concerned.) Visitors from search engines then visit the splog and drive the ad revenue.

I have quite a few of them attached, although the 120host is unique because apparently it seeks me personally (e.g. it double-sourced my content from Advogato when available).

There’s no way to complain to anyone about the 120host.net. It is a website run by sploggers (which also allows free registration for everyone, as a fig leaf).

I still don’t like it. Maybe it’s possible to contact Wordpress administration about this, and ask if they can do anything about it, so I’ll have to think about it sometime.

. Personally, I wonder if what led to this was that, similar to Firestorm, they forcibly replaced one protagonist with another, or as in the case of the Hawks, they replaced the male lead with the female lead.

Much as I find the idea of putting the lady in the lead intriguing, the way it was done here, to turn Hawkman into Hawkgirl was still otherwise arbitrary and done solely as change for the sake of change. But also damaging was what Identity Crisis did to make Carter Hall look like a cad, which they seem to have used as an excuse for replacing him with Kendra Saunders and even changing the series’ name from male to female.

It was a series that had some great potential, if you ask me, but in the end, they ultimately squandered it all.

I don’t think I’ve seen that often:

THE FLASH: THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE #14
Written by Marc Guggenheim
Art by Tony S. Daniel & Art Thibert
Cover by Joshua Middleton
DC Comics announces the second month of a special FLASH promotion as the Fastest Man Alive’s world changes forever! Retailers: please check your the Previews order form for a special incentive designed to help you meet the demand for this story. Fans: remind your retailer early and often to order you a copy!
On sale July 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Something tells me that, with the way sales have plunged for the Scarlet Speedster’s title sometime after the forced replacement of Wally West with Bart Allen, they are desperate to try and get people to come back. Sorry, but, only if they’re willing to be honest and say clearly that they’ll bring back Wally and Linda West, little the worse for wear, will I be willing to consider. This news clip doesn’t say anything beyond what we see, other than the superficial “changes forever” cliche, and so I see little reason to be tempted to fall for this rather absurd-looking type of advertising.

to promote his book “Making Comics”, this time at Krannert in Illinois:

In 1993, the comics writer, artist and theorist first championed the powerful language of comics with his book “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art.”

McCloud’s book was not simply a text about comics with pictorial examples, but was instead written and drawn entirely in comic book format. John Jennings, an associate professor in FAA, said of McCloud, “In my opinion, Scott McCloud is one of the most important figures in visual culture and media literacy. His insight into the comics medium is second to none, and his passion and expertise will influence comic book creators for generations to come.”

I certainly hope he does make an impact.

, which is being written by Tony Bedard, and is coming out in three months.

There were some others who quoted , and I guess I will too, even if it’s later than most others:

DC Comics are increasingly struggling to keep up with Marvel in terms of market share and chart domination. The good news is that DC’s average sales recovered somewhat in February, thanks to a strong debut of new team-up title The Brave and the Bold, and to a bunch of high-selling titles returning to the shelves after being absent for various reasons in January. However, for the first time in two years, the publisher failed to break the 100K barrier with any of its releases — in fact, Justice League of America and the elusive All Star Batman are now the only DC titles which haven’t dropped below that marker, and DC doesn’t seem to have any obvious new 100K+ sellers lined up for the next several months. Additionally, the problem of late-shipping titles persists. Justice League of America #6, Teen Titans #44 and Superman Confidential #4 are the most prominent books that didn’t reach stores despite being marked for a February release.

DC’s Vertigo and WildStorm sub-labels also continue to look less than healthy, in terms of monthly sales. Due to the failure of Vertigo’s Fables to ship in February, the imprint’s average numbers dropped to their lowest point yet since Diamond started to release information on actual sales in March 2003. WildStorm, in the meantime, appears to be all over the place. The recent revamp of their WildStorm Universe line begins to look more and more half-hearted, suffering from mediocre sales, two missing flagship titles and high-profile creators jumping ship after their initial arcs, while the whole lot of their new ongoing horror film adaptations has just been canceled. In other words, everything’s looking a little bit bleak for DC at the moment.

And could continue that way if they don’t knock off the incredibly politically correct for PC’s sake direction they’ve been taking lately. The lateness that’s also hit their publishing schedule is probably also the result of relying too much on “hot” writers, just like what happened with Marvel a few years ago.

On the one hand, it’s sad, but on the other hand, if they’re going to keep on leaving any of the damage inflicted via Identity/Infinite Crisis lying around unrepaired, then I really can’t feel sorry for DC’s editors for the embarrassment that’s now befallen them. The key to sympathy, and a renewed wish to buy anything involving my favorite characters and teams from them is to make repairs for such characters as Sue Dibny, Jean Loring, and their respective paramours Ralph Dibny and Ray Palmer. Others include for Barry Allen and the JLA’s reputations, and also bringing back Wally West and Linda Park West, and even bringing back Stephanie Brown. And…refraining from overly political biases would also do quite well too.

They fulfill those requests, among a few others, which I should think they’re more than capable of doing, and then maybe we can talk something over. Otherwise, I really can’t feel sorry for DC’s current dilemma.

that talks about a manga series called Detective Conan, and a kind of role-playing game that was done for a day as a tourist attraction:

It didn’t take a detective to figure out why there was a queue of about 300 people on a street in Hokuei recently.

The crowd was anxiously awaiting the opening of the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory, an attraction that local leaders are hoping will put the town of about 16,700 people on the tourist map.

Aoyama was born in what now constitutes Hokuei, and he is best known for the “Meitantei Conan” (Detective Conan) manga series.

On March 18, the manga factory opened its doors to the crowds of fans and curious locals.

A taped message from the famous manga artist was played at a ceremony to welcome those gathered.

“I hope you will check into every little corner of the entire facility because it is filled with the essence of all of the works I have produced so far.”

Facility officials said after the large numbers at the opening, they were confident of reaching their annual goal of 130,000 visitors.

In keeping with the Detective Conan motif, visitors became amateur gumshoes for a day, using special film sheets to read special hidden messages laid throughout the factory.

That sure sounds like a lot of fun!

, but, as some recent news reports have indicated, could this be a remake rather than a sequel?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two-time Academy Award nominee Edward Norton will play scientist-turned-superhero Bruce Banner in a new movie version of “The Incredible Hulk,” Marvel Entertainment said on Monday.

The new movie is based on the comic book series telling of the exploits of Banner, a scientist who transforms into a giant green brute, and it follows a 2003 big-budget film called “Hulk” that failed to catch fire with audiences or critics.

Norton, 37, is among Hollywood’s most versatile actors, having appeared in more than 20 films including “American History X” and “Primal Fear,” both of which earned him Oscar nominations for acting. For the most part, his roles have been in dramas such as 2006’s “The Illusionist,” making his choice to portray a comic book hero a novel idea.

“His ability to transform into a particular role makes him the ideal choice to take on the character of Bruce Banner/The Hulk,” said Kevin Feige, president of production at Marvel Studios.

Well, we’ll see just how good or bad this turns out to be.

I see now that (via ). Maybe now, there’ll be something auspicuous to come of this third volume.

Not content with just being anti-American in their storytelling, Marvel’s management is now following in the footsteps of * (the company even as he attacked them), .

, wondered if Capt. America was sacrificed on the alter of global business (or, put another way, to appease the enemy):

Less than two weeks after the surprise death of this superhero created during World War II to embody the patriotic spirit, Marvel Entertainment Group announced a partnership with UAE-based Al Ahli Group. According to Marvel’s press release, this partnership “will bring Marvel’s full library of Super Heroes – including Spider-Man, Iron Man, The X-Men, Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer – to Dubai for a major new theme park destination being developed by AAG.” Captain America died just in time.

Apparently, there is no longer room in Marvel’s library for a super hero that symbolizes – and, indeed, is named for – America. Marvel’s website calls Captain America “a fallen son,” and laments that “Captain America’s death has dealt a major blow to the heroes of the Marvel Universe.” Despite any mourning period, the AP reported on March 21 that “Marvel said it is beginning talks with the developer (AAG) to partner on additional projects in the (Persian Gulf) region.”

Since the “Captain America Complex” has been linked with the global war on terror, perhaps its namesake’s days were numbered. When it comes to the global marketplace in general, and the United Arab Emirates’ booming economy in particular, it looks to me like there is no longer room for the “living symbol of freedom” (to quote Marvel’s website).

Even if it didn’t have anything to do with this, Marvel is really taking a turn for the obscene by making any kind of a business deal with a country that’s been harboring , , and even . Could their park venture deal hurt them stateside? Yes, it could. As word gets out, people could backlash against Marvel by boycotting their Florida-based theme park, as well as any others that are making money.

The people now running Marvel are clearly some of the most dishonest people in the business, if they’re going to go miles out of their way to ignore important facts and make Faustian pacts with countries that have shady business lurking behind the scenes.

* That’s not saying that Marvel’s literally moving their businesses there. Nevertheless, that they’re doing business with this shadily operated country, totally oblivious to any of the important facts and findings about it is very troubling.