Cobra News (Not the GI Joe Sort)

So kiss me goodbye... I can see the venom in your eyes... goodbye

Watch Out For Monoliths
So apparently the Russkies have signed on to the ESA's planned Europa mission, Laplace (named after an astronomer, as is the Europeans' want; see the Cassini mission for example, or the Huygens probe).

In particular the Russkies are expressing interest in landing a probe on Europa and melting through to the watery ocean suspected to be beneath it, searching for life.

Considering the Russkies experience with solid space engineering this could be a real boon. They're also pretty good at causing nuclear meltdowns, so they can probably get a hole in the ice. Maybe not the size or sort you want though...

Source: Raw
Story

Batman, or BatMURDERER?
Shortpacked! author David Willis recently got one of these spiffy Batman First Appearance figures, and has noted the rather, err, callous approach to human life the early Batman displayed. (He mentions Batman kicking a guy in the head so hard his neck snapped too, which is just so awesome I need to see it).

It's worth remembering that it took a while for the modern, iconic Batman to evolve. Sometimes it takes a bit to find the real gem in a story or concept. Gives hope to all of us would-be creative types out there.

Also reminds me of the awesome Batman/Planetary crossover by Warren Ellis, who, when he's hot (Black Summer, Transmetropolitan, Planetary) is just unbelievably good)

Source: Shortpacked!, DC Direct

Kucinich Camp Fundraiser
Kucinich is raising some cash by selling actual Palm Beach County hanging chad voting machines from the stolen election of 2000. Apparently a collector, who sells them in his spare time, has given Kucinich a deep discount to sell the machines for his campaign. Only 200 bucks to get a machine that disenfranchised a bunch of elderly voters. It's a piece of history.

I'd ask for one, but I'm not sure where I'd put it.

Source: Raw Story

Fluff Article on Airships
They're kind of like fluffy container clouds though. So, err, it fits?

I dunno. Pop Mechanics is sort of like soft-core technophile porn to begin with. Their futurist articles consisting almost entirely of dreamy prose and CG mockups are sort of cute, sort of annoying. Still, there might be a future in airships. Their smaller cousins have shown themselves to be interesting in meteorology and astronomy; it'd be neat to make a go of having giant ships roaming the skies again.

Source: Popular Mechanics

Secret Comics
I'd forgotten about this Secret Comics Japan book, but now I want to buy it. I like the bizarre and experimental stuff in sequential art.. from time to time. Your Ben Templesmith unintentional comedy of incoherence doesn't count, btw, comic industry. Try harder.

Source: Anime News Network