Franklin's Findings 2.1

From an A-bomb mushroom cloud depicted on the cover of a January 1946 Real Life Comics to the 1993 publication of Radioactive Man by Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons cartoon show, the progression has included, Szasz wrote succinctly in a recent essay, "atomic ambivalence, hopes for endless nuclear power, atomic-powered heroes, hard-edged defense measures, or bitter contempt for all things nuclear."

From Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi to Huttese-speaking crime lord Jabba, Ross perfectly mimics every vocal nuance of the many characters in the Star Wars trilogy. He snorts and pings familiar sound effects and even sings the instrumental score.

"People always said I had a really good ear," said Ross. "It turns out I'm not a very good singer, but I'm great at impressions."

More than just mimicry, Ross's show is also tiringly physical. Clad in elbow and knee pads, he stalks about as an imperial walker one moment and writhes on the floor as an amputated Luke Skywalker the next. He enacts every battle, simultaneously playing both attacker and attackee, and by the show's end the stage floor is smeared with sweat.

"This is probably the biggest film I will ever do, and if I didn't treat it seriously, nobody else would," Bale says. "I wanted to make Batman more like a creature, more like a beast, than a human being. I didn't want him to be just a funny bloke in a fancy-dress costume. You're either going to look like a complete fool or you're going to look like a bad-ass. So you have to look like a bad-ass."

Steve Bell, the Guardian's political cartoonist, is not surprised that Spiegelman had difficulty in getting the new work published in the United States. "It was the climate after 9/11. I've spoken to a lot of cartoonists who had a hard time getting stuff accepted. Self-censorship then comes into play, because you just know they won't publish it. American papers are very careful not to offend - which is silly really, because while you're being careful not to offend, the government is off doing very offensive stuff."

Superman might be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings at a single bound, but he was no match for St. Paul police officers Friday.

John Fillah, who bears a striking resemblance to the comic book superhero, was in his full Superman get-up across from the main entrance to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds when he reportedly clashed with police.

Officers learned Fillah had a peddler's permit, which allows the holder to walk around or go door to door, but not to set up a stand in one place, Schnell said. The sign "put him in a stationary position," Schnell said.

What has got the public — and publishers — so enthralled with manga? Unlike many North American comicbooks currently sold in comicbook stores, manga storylines venture beyond superheroes and action/adventure. With a wide variety of themes — romance, science fiction, mystery, even non-fiction — manga has successfully migrated from comic shop shelves to bookstore shelves, and are enticing a whole new reading audience — girls.

One ass-backwards yet effective method Schwartz used to keep his stable of superhero scribes on their toes was to dream up a gimmicky concept, turn it into a fetching comic cover, and then assign a writer to build into it a full-blown story.

In cherry red boots, and killer bustier/hot pants outfit, the British performer Tara Hendry does the vixen superheroine justice as she relates in bawdy braggadocio Wonder Woman's mighty Amazonian heritage, her Mount Olympus romps and more earthly pursuits, including bedding Superman (though Batman was better, she assures us).

These ardent consumers of pop culture, known as "otaku" in Japanese, fork out $2.35 billion a year on comics, animated films, computer games and goods featuring their favorite entertainers, according to a report released this week by Tokyo-based Nomura Research Institute.

Last year, fourth- through eighth-graders in after-school programs at some 40 public schools created comic books using the environment as their theme.

Judges selected the four best, and publisher Dark Horse Comics, whose catalog includes "Star Wars" and "Shrek," published them in a book called "Save Our City, Save our Planet" — and gave them to 10,000 kids around the city.

I call it the Fab 15. Its intent is to honor corporations that have achieved exceptional profitability.

It's not intended as a stock buy list because many of the honorees have expensive stocks. Three winners that I do recommend this year are Janus Capital Group Inc. (JNS), Marvel Enterprises Inc. (MVL) and Merck & Co. (MRK).

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Marvel Enterprises, which calls New York City home, is a comic book, toy and licensing company. It owns the rights to several well-known characters such as Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk and the X-Men.

Marvel stock has fallen 31 percent this year even though this summer's movie "Spider-Man 2" has been popular. Sales of Spider-Man toys haven't done as well as expected.

I wouldn't weep for Marvel, radioactive tears or otherwise. It earned 42 percent on equity and 24 percent on assets in 2003. Marvel stock seems attractive to me at 14 times earnings, 2.7 times book value and 3.3 times sales.