Comics

A newspaper's image is constantly evolving, reflecting changes in the community it serves and readers' reactions to the things it does. In recent weeks, The Sun has received a storm of reader reaction to reductions and changes in the Today and Business sections - a popular crossword feature, two popular columns and some comics were eliminated, among other moves. Editors faced difficult decisions about content in the newspaper and made the changes primarily because of required budget cuts.

There must be some sort of cosmic alignment this weekend, because just as "The Avengers" movie is released, Free Comic Book Day is upon us. I don't read comics often anymore, but I have fond memories of my parents buying a bunch for me and my sister for our two-hour family trips from Connecticut to New York. I was a super-hero fan; she leaned toward Archie. We sometimes read while curled up on the floor of the family's massive Chevrolet, in the pre-seatbelt days. (Don't try this at home.)

Really? According to The Sun, Social Security is a successful, financially solvent, program that isn't in any real danger ("Social Security sets off sparks," Sept. 13)! Where does The Sun get it's non-facts, from the latest fiction book on the New York Times best seller list? The statement that the government is only using the Social Security trust fund "surplus" to pay for other government programs is laughable at best. Now I don't have to turn to the comic section. That was the best laugh of the day. Gail Householder, Marriottsville

A stash of classic comic books -- the kind that most kids tossed in the back of their closets -- was sold for $3.5 million at an auction Wednesday in New York, according to USA Today . The top price of about $523,000 was paid for a copy of Detective Comics No. 27, which sold for 10 cents in 1939 and features the debut of Batman. according to Heritage Auctions, Also sold was Action Comics No. 1, which featured the debut of Superman; it sold for about $300,000. The comics were found in a basement closet by a California man who was cleaning out his great aunt's Martinsville, Va., home a few months after her death, the newspaper said . But it took a while before he realized their tremendous value.

You might know and love Flannery O'Connor as the legendary author of short fiction. (She's this humble correspondent's favorite short story writer -- mainly because could take the mundane motions of southern life and skew them into something dark and twisted.)   But did you know that O'Connor also drew weird, counter-culture cartoons?  Apparently, before she forever our consciousness with "A Good Man is Hard to Find," O'Connor was seriously pursuing a career as a cartoonist.

McDaniel College is opening the doors of its Englar Dining Hall to the public on select Sundays for a Sunday Brunch on the Hill in conjunction with the its exhibition on newspaper comic strips. The brunch buffet will feature live music and free Sunday comics from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays, Oct. 23 and Nov. 13. The cost for  brunch buffet with complimentary mimosas and Bloody Marys is $10. The exhibiton, Kings of the Pages: Comic Strips & Culture 1895-1950 , will be open to the public 11:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. on these two Sundays.

The Sunday TV Week and comics have been combined into one section. The new TV & Comics section features color-coded grids for movies, sports and news, and we have brought back the old crossword puzzle that readers said they preferred. The Sunday Doonesbury comic strip appears in the Maryland Closeup section on pages 2 and 3.

AND NOW, A little funny business.Accent, in conjunction with SUNDIAL, the free telephone information service of The Baltimore Sun, is conducting an electronic survey this week to determine which Evening Sun comics you like -- or dislike -- most.To register your opinions, call 783-1800 (or 268-7736 in Anne Arundel County) any time until midnight Sunday.After you hear the greeting, you'll be asked to punch in a four-digit code on your touch-tone phone. Punch 6300 and you'll be connected with a voice that will lead you through the survey.

When the traders, dealers, browsers and collectors gather at the Baltimore Comic Convention tomorrow, there will be a lot of little kids in the group.Some of them will actually be little kids, bored parents in tow, hot on the trail of the latest Aliens vs. Predator or Incredible Hulk or Little Mermaid comic.But some of them will look and act like grownups, with jobs and bills and maybe kids of their own. They will be hot on the trail of the latest "X-Force," or maybe a set of collector cards or some original artwork from the legendary Frank Frazetta, or the elusive "Star Wars" issue No. 107 -- or maybe a manga, Japanese for comic book, translated into English.

Over the next three days, a few hundred thousand Americans are expected to show up at theaters for the premiere weekend of Iron Man, based on the Marvel Comics character. If only the country's 3,000 comics stores could entice even a small percentage of them into their shops. "There might be a few people who come in for their kids, but it won't be as many people as you'd think, as far as the person who's not into comics," says John "Bumper" Moyer, owner of Glen Burnie's Twilite Zone Comics.

The first time Rain Pryor visited the intimate Strand Theater, she knew she was in the right place. "I thought, 'It smells like theater. I'm home,'" says the actress, comedian, writer and musician who has just been named artistic director of the Strand. This 55-seat venue, part of the artistically bustling Station North district, was founded in 2008 by Jayme Kilburn to showcase women - performers, directors, writers, designers. Pryor, who relocated to Baltimore from Los Angeles about five years ago, only recently became acquainted with the theater, but she seems thoroughly comfortable there already.

Christmas is a sacred day to many, a time to celebrate with friends and family. You'd think comedians would make fun of it at their own peril. But no less an authority than John Waters, an unabashed Christmas fan who will be bringing his "A John Waters Christmas" to the Lyric on Dec. 21 , says that's simply not true. Audiences — at least his audiences — love it when he takes on Christmas, Waters promises. The only stipulation, he says, is that he had better be funny. "If you're coming to see 'A John Waters Christmas,' you pretty much know what to expect," says Waters, who's been touring the world with his yuletide celebration the past few weeks.

Larry the Cable Guy's done some tailgating in his day. Naturally, he's got some advice to offer. "First off," says Larry, who will be at M&T Bank Stadium this Sunday to tailgate with Ravens fans as part of a promotion for Prilosec OTC heartburn medicine, "you always wait about an hour before you lick the grill. That's always a priority. " Wise words, indeed. Anything else? Larry thinks for a moment. "You know it's a good tailgate," he offers, "when you actually miss the game.

Joe Flacco didn't come to the Ravens' rescue Monday night. As poorly as the Ravens' offense played in the 12-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Flacco still got his opportunity to step into a phone booth, wiggle into his superhero tights and carry the team on a last-minute, game-winning, mistake-cover-upping touchdown drive. Flacco was no superhero Monday night, but this week, two writers for the blog “ This Given Sunday ” compared each NFL starting quarterback to a superhero.

McDaniel College is opening the doors of its Englar Dining Hall to the public on select Sundays for a Sunday Brunch on the Hill in conjunction with the its exhibition on newspaper comic strips. The brunch buffet will feature live music and free Sunday comics from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays, Oct. 23 and Nov. 13. The cost for  brunch buffet with complimentary mimosas and Bloody Marys is $10. The exhibiton, Kings of the Pages: Comic Strips & Culture 1895-1950 , will be open to the public 11:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. on these two Sundays.

He was always a skateboarder and action-movie fan, not to mention a punk-rock enthusiast, but from the time he turned 12, nothing excited Steve Anderson more than the approach and arrival of his favorite day, Wednesday. That was the day the newest issues of his favorite comic books arrived at the local shop, Alliance Comics in Bowie, giving him a reason to drop in, hang out with the owner and schmooze with the other customers. "Someone would always talk to you and say, 'Hey, check this [new comic]

Peter Kuper has nothing against superheroes, funny animals and maligned office workers. Except when that's all people know about the comics. "For most people, it's like a tossup between Dilbert, Garfield and Superman - that is the broad perception today of what comics are," says Kuper, a cartoonist, graphic novelist and comic artist whose work is far afield from such populist touchstones. "You are constantly shaking off that stigma." At 46, Kuper is among a bevy of comic artists trying to stretch the boundaries of what are popularly perceived as the medium's limitations.

Really? According to The Sun, Social Security is a successful, financially solvent, program that isn't in any real danger ("Social Security sets off sparks," Sept. 13)! Where does The Sun get it's non-facts, from the latest fiction book on the New York Times best seller list? The statement that the government is only using the Social Security trust fund "surplus" to pay for other government programs is laughable at best. Now I don't have to turn to the comic section. That was the best laugh of the day. Gail Householder, Marriottsville

For the editorial board of The Sun to say that $447 billion is "modest" only illustrates the depths of their partisan-at-all-costs support for anything President Barack Obama proposes ("Let them eat tax cuts," Sept. 12). And exactly when and where did the editorial board extol the virtues of bi-partisanship when the president had overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate during his first two years in office? Save your future editorials on Washington's dysfunction (and it only seems dysfunctional when a liberal agenda doesn't sail through our legislative bodies)