Jack Kirby was the creator or co-creator of almost every Marvel Comics super-hero and villain you ever heard of, including The Fantastic Four, Magneto, the X-Men, and Doctor Doom. Ben Varkentine says this book may not be the place to start for newcomers, but fans will have a picnic.

This compilation of interviews marking the 45th anniversary of DC Comics’ Legion of Super-Heroes separates the Legion fans from the Legion fans – and Van Sias is surprised to see which side he comes down on.

Right-Wing flacks disguise their agenda as celebrity gossip. Ben Varkentine feels the need for a shower.

Ben Varkentine says the only way this book, subtitled “Forty Years of Words and Music, Show Biz, Collaboration and All That Jazz,” would be a greater experience is if it came with an accompanying CD of Kander & Ebb’s greatest creations. Yeah, he liked this one a little bit.

In 2002 Ben Varkentine wrote a combined review of three books then recently published on The West Wing. Calling it a serious TV show, he called for serious books to look at it. A recent book answers that call, and a new script collection takes things right back down to the basics.

Wallace Wood was, unquestionably, one of the worldÃs greatest cartoonists. His work ranged from parody to mainstream superheroes to the undergrounds and was loved by his colleagues and fans alike. Yet this could not erase the rough edges of his life. Ben Varkentine takes a new look at an old favorite.

Striptease became stripping when all the tease was taken out of it, but a new book remembers a time in America when strippers could be nearly as legitimate as singers or comedians. Ben Varkentine found his curiosity, peeked.

Walter Shapiro offers a valuable tool for informing voters’ opinions of their potential Presidents, and he does it a la Butch and Sundance: The Early Years. Ben Varkentine finds his eyes opened…and maybe even a new hero. He still thinks there should have been an index, though.

After reviewing two Buffy-related books for Ink 19 already, Ben Varkentine finds this one a lot better written than the others. But a canker still arises on the rose.

Two years after the final Xena episode, a new guide takes a look back at the statuesque Warrior Princess’s entire existence as a pop culture icon. Daniel Mitchell appreciates the view.

The Sandman was one of the most extraordinary comic book series to date, and has been rightly noticed as such, winning awards no comic book ever has before or will again. But how long can the cream stay sweet if the cash cow is being constantly milked? Ben Varkentine has waking dreams.

The deceptions of our Liar in Chief are chillingly documented in The Lies of George W. Bush. James Mann wonders where are all the good men and women of conscience, and why won’t any of them run for President? No, Dennis Kucinich doesn’t count.

Spells, disaffected teenage girls, punk rock, Queens and Goddesses. No, it isn’t a new TV series, it’s Teen Goddess: How to Look, Love & Live Like A Goddess. Carl F Gauze pulls back the veil.

Naming your penis is stupid, never masturbate with John Cheever, and other words of wisdom carefully selected by Ben Varkentine and guaranteed to raise Ink 19’s hit count.

Investigative journalist Frank Owen pulls us into the ruthless (yet colorful and well-accessorized) world of ’90s New York and Miami club scenes. Dylan Garret likes the nightlife. He likes to boogie.

Fire bad. Tree pretty. Carl F Gauze reads.

Artist and editor Dick Giordano headed DC Comics’ editorial department through the ’80s. By a strange coincidence, that happens to have been the decade of Ben Varkentine’s “golden age” as a fan, so he’s here to get filled in on all the details.

On the one Mickey Mouse hand, Makin’ Toons: Inside the Most Popular Animated TV Shows & Movies is the first real successor in interest to Leonard Maltin’s great study of the first 75 years of American animated cartoons, Of Mice And Magic. On the other, it calls The Simpsons “inarguably the finest prime-time animated series ever made.” Ben Varkentine gets animated.

Comics legend Murphy Anderson finally gets his own biography, an event big enough to draw in reformed comic geek Aaron Shaul, who actually learns a thing or two along the way.

Adam Klein takes us through the world of drug addiction and the ghosts that refuse to leave. Daniel Mitchell gives us the lowdown.