Gizmodo and io9 Roundup

Today we've got a roundup of some political and comic related articles from Gizmodo.com and sister site io9.com.

• Neil DeGrasse Tyson to Appear in Upcoming Issue of Superman
• 5 Amazing Real Life Facts About Superman from Neil DeGrasse Tyson
• NOVA does show on William Marsten, creator of Wonder Woman and the Polygraph Test
• Who defaced Mount Rushmore best? Featuring mostly superhero examples
• What if the Justice League defended the Ottoman Empire?
• 9 Reasons to Elect a Supervillain President with examples of supervillain presidents
• 9 Incredibly Nice Animals Who Ran for Public Office
• There's an Official White House Petition that Wants the US to Build a Death Star
• Evolutionary Anthropology Shows Ayn Rand's Theories Fail
• Could DNA Hacking Be Used to Wipe Out World Leaders?
• Man in a Red Skull mask robs a bank, is foiled by Jewish vigilantes

Spawn, The Comedian and Politics

USA Today has an interview with Brian Azzarello, the writer of Before Watchman: The Comedian, about the comic's involvement with 1960s politics, which can be read here.

And Todd McFarlane has given an interview over at Comic Book Resources about Spawn's turn towards politics with the recent "Obama/Romney Wins!" story and what it means for the future of Spawn, which can be read here.

The Big Picture Part 2

Today we've got the second part of our roundup of some videos from Bob "MovieBob" Chipman's The Big Picture series about superheroes, politics and related pop culture. Incidentally the last video is the most recent, so if you want more I recommend checking out the rest of the Big Picture videos.

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Super Single

The Escapist : The Big Picture : In Defense of Nostalgia

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Continanity: Rebooted

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Out of the Park

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Gender Games

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Skin Game

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Favorite Ms. Take - Part 1

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Favorite Ms. Take - Part 2

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Monster's Movie

The Escapist : The Big Picture : There Will Never Be Another Watchmen

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Untransformed

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Not Okay

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Relics

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Mutants and Masses

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Shell Shock

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Future Assembly

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Wrongs & Rights

The Escapist : The Big Picture : The New Green

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Tropes vs. MovieBob

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Batman Revisited, Part 1

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Batman Revisited, Part 2

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Batman Revisited, Part 3

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Batman Revisited, Part 4

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Worlds Within Worlds

The Escapist : The Big Picture : On The Subject Of Violence

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Holy Spoilers Batman!

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Sidekicks

The Escapist : The Big Picture : The Prophesy of Freakazoid

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Skin Deeper

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Original Geek Girl

The Big Picture Part 1

Today we've got a roundup of some videos from Bob "MovieBob" Chipman's The Big Picture series about superheroes, politics and related pop culture. Tune in tomorrow for the second part.

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Who's Afraid of Captain America?

The Escapist : The Big Picture : The Devil & Mr. Parker

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Continanity

The Escapist : The Big Picture : A Guy Named Joe

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Nerd Gods

The Escapist : The Big Picture : All The World Is Waiting

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Conspiracy Weary

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Fair Game

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Magneto Was Right

The Escapist : The Big Picture : MovieBob: FAQ

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Correctitude

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Groan Saga

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Captains Courageous

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Done With Dark

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Skin Deep

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Going Green: Part I

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Going Green, Part II

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Americana

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Turtle Maki

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Hollywood History 101: Part 1

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Hollywood History 101: Part 2

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Hollywood History 101: Part 3

The Escapist : The Big Picture : Hollywood History 101 Supplemental: The Code

The Influence of EC Comics

The AV Club has an interesting article about EC Comics, a comics publisher popular in the 1950s that produced primarily crime, horror, and war comics, and some of it's seminal stories, writers and artists and how they've influenced the comic industry since, especially in underground comics.

More Cracked Lists and Video

Today we've got some new superhero related lists from Crack, which are 6 Pathetic Attempts by Corporations to Create a Superhero, 5 Superhero Movie Scenes They'll Never Let You See, and the only-a-few-superheroes-on-the-list 6 Insane but Convincing Fan Theories about Kids Cartoons.

And finally a video by Cracked on why some supervillians keep the good guy alive.

Why Supervillains Always Keep the Good Guy Alive -- powered by Cracked.com

Saucer Contry

Comic Book Resources has an article about the television potential of the DC Comics' Vertigo series Saucer Country, which is about a Governor running for President when she is apparently abducted by aliens, and the implications as everyone as they try to figure out what's going on. The series started in March 2012 and has so far released 8 issues.

Wonder Woman! The Untold Story of American Superheroines

There's a new documentary in the works called "Wonder Woman! The Untold Story of American Superheroines" which talks about the history of Wonder Woman and the parallels of the feminist movement, and you can watch the trailer below.

Superhero Cars, Possitive Role Models, and the Dangers of Torture Techniques

DC and Kia teamed up gives some cars custom paint jobs based on DC superheroes like Batman, Flash and Green Lantern to help promote the We Can Be Heroes charity. You can read more about the cars here.

The Sequart Research & Literacy Organization has an interesting article about the importance of superheroes as positive role models for children and the effects it has on their mindset, which can be read here.

And finally we have another comic from Wonderella detailing the dangers of torture techniques.

Superheroes Run and Deal with the Law

High Point, North Carolina recently held a Superhero 10k run, where participants were encouraged to dress up as superheroes.You can read more about it and see the full gallery here.

Unleash The Fanboy has a review of the new book "The Law of Superheroes", put together by the same folks behind the website Law and the Multiverse, where the lawyers/authors explore legal issues that might arise for superheroes.

Phoenix Jones recently defended himself against a racist aggressor who threatened to follow Jones home unless he fought him, to which Jones finally agreed after trying to convince the man otherwise and trying to leave, and quickly knocks the man out. The whole thing was recorded by one of Jones' associates, and is apparently completely legal under Washington State's "Mutual Combat Law" since both parties agreed. You can read more about the incident here and here, and an official statement from the police detailing the Mutual Combat Law here.

Russian Politician's Biographical Comic and Deadpool vs Zombie Presidents

Russian politician/millionaire/playboy/Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is getting a biographical comic book courtesy of Bluewater Productions Inc, and you can read more about it here.

A.V. Club has an in-depth article about Deadpool's new comic where he fights zombie presidents, which can be read here.

ComicBooked.com has an intersting editorial on Election Politics in the Entertainment Industry, which can be read here.

The East Valley Tribune has an article about a political encounter with Todd McFarlane and the similarities between superheroes and politicians, which can be read here.

Wonder Woman Cover Girl and Other Blips

 Wonder Woman is making an appearance on the cover of the 40th Anniversary Issue of Ms. Magazine in a cover similar to its first issue published in 1972 which also featured the superheroine, which you can read more about here.

Barack Obama will be making his first appearance as a second term president in a comic in Spawn #225, which we had previously mentioned would have a different story based upon who won the election. The issue will be released on November 21st, and you can read more about it here.

A new version of the Watchmen film has been released blending the "Ultimate Cut" with the original graphic novel. Director Zack Snyder has given an interview about the new version, the politics of Watchmen and the new Superman film he's directing, which you can read here.

Superheroes Visit Children's Hospitals

A children's hospital in Pittsburgh recently had a surprising morning when Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America and Superman appeared and washed the hospital's windows. You can check out the video below for the whole story, or this article for more info and a gallery of the event.
And in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a children's hospital got their windows cleaned by Superman, the Hulk, Flash, Spider-Man and Captain America, which you can read more about in this article or in the video here.

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story

TG Daily has an article about the recently released book "Marvel Comics: The Untold Story", which details the behind the scenes events and inner politics of Marvel Comics from its beginnings to its rise to media juggernaut, and Indie Wire has an article about five failed Marvel movie projects detailed in the book.

And now, President Batman

Comics Alliance's Bizarro Back Issues series has featured another politically minded comic book, this one about the time Batman became president, because who wouldn't want President Batman? You can read the full article here.

The History of MAD's Cultural and Political Subversion

In celebration of MAD Magazine's 60th anniversary, Co.Create has an article on the magazine's history of subverting culture, politics and anything else they could get their hands on and how it has changed over the years. The full article can be read here.

The Last Bits from the Election

Just a few remainders from the election. First up are the last of the political xkcd comics, the first two from the 2008 election and the last one is from yesterday. Following that is satirical comic from Scenes From A Multiverse, also from yesterday, and right at the bottom is comic from Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.

Comics Alliance has an article about a comic detailing the 2012 elections that UK newspaper The Guardian created for its readers.

And finally both The Mary Sue and Vox Magazine have articles about who superheroes would support in the elections. The Mary Sue's is more comical and done in cute drawings (as seen below), while Vox Magazine's is more serious and covers most of the A-listers from Marvel and DC.

Badass Presidents doing Badass Things and Some of the Most Memerable Fictional Presidents

In celebration of the election finally being over and the process going relatively smoothly, I'd like to first point out a series art piece by SharpWriter featuring various Presidents doing bad-ass things, like a mecha FDR, alien hunter JFK, and zombie fighter George Washington to the right there.

And if you're unhappy with the results, you can take solace that we didn't end up with one of the crazier presidents from comics in this list from ComicBookResources, or maybe one of the various presidents from science fiction from this list from io9.

Vote Today!

Today's the day, so it's time to go vote, as Deadpool over there is encouraging you to in celebration of his new series, where he meets Presidents of the past. If you don't know what to do or where to go, visit PresidentialElection.com for more information.

If you want up to the minute news on the results, you can check out the Election Pages for CNN, FoxNews, MSNBC, or for International sites, BBC, CTV and Al Jazeera.

If you've voted and are looking for something to do while waiting for the result to come in, The AV Club has assembled a list of politically-minded films ranging from the satirical to the serious, which can be viewed here.

And if you need even more information about the elections to help come to a decision, check this two react videos by The Fine Bros, or the special message from Will Ferrell at the bottom of the page.

And if you're just tired and want the election to be over, enjoy this comic from xkcd.

2012 Election Final Stretch Blips

Today we've got some Final Stretch entries for the election.

• First off, the Huffington Post has a collection of the "best of" political late night talk show jokes, which can be viewed here. 
• Next, Comics Alliance has an interview with Ed Brubaker, the writer of Captain America for the past eight years, including Cap's death and the comic's return to political stories, as he departs from the comic, which can be read here. 
• Wired has a list of the Top 10 Fictional Characters that they'd like to see as president, which included Professor Charles Xavier, and can be read here. 
• China Daily has an interesting article on how campaigns figure out the best places to show ads, and can be read here. 
• And apparently Paul Ryan has been calling the brochure the Obama campaign has been producing detailing what he plans to do with a second term as a comic book, which you can read more about it here, see a video of Ryan talking about here, and the brochure in question can be downloaded here (pdf).

Next up is a (rather silly) video by JibJab of a Superhero Barack Obama. And finally is video from The Simpsons of Mr Burns Endorsing Mitt Romney