So, so sorry to hear that Dwayne McDuffie passed away earlier this week. I hate it when a good guy and a terrific writer goes too soon - from his work at Milestone Media, to his animation writing on Ben 10 and other series, it felt like he had a lot more to say that I wanted to read and see.

Rich Johnston at Bleeding Cool had a nice reminiscence of his interactions with Dwayne.

And Heidi MacDonald at Comics Beat also weighed in with some very nice thoughts.

Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter has a round-up of various links to posts about Dwayne. Condolences to his family and his many, many friends on their loss.

Also sad to hear that comics historian Bill Crouch has passed away.

CG: Animation historian Michael Barrier does not like computer animation a technique “creating mechanical, manipulative series of films that don't capture the magic of the yesteryear.”

Peanuts: I like Michael Kupperman’s version of Charlie Brown.

Oscars: Apparently Hollywood is celebrating itself on Sunday. Here are my predictions: the show will be way too long, lots of people will have lots of things to complain about, and I won't watch a minute of it. But I did read Heidi's post about the Best Animated Shorts category.

Atlas: You know what goes on sale next week? The relaunch of Atlas Comics’ Wulf The Barbarian by Steve Niles and Nat Jones. Scoop has the scoop.

MoCCA: Their new Spring sessions are about to start and everyone from Peter Kuper, Danny Fingeroth, Robyn Chapman, Larry Hama, David Steven Cohen, J.M. DeMatteis are holding court, I mean, teaching classes.

Closed: Did your Borders bookstore close or is it scheduled for closing? No worries - there’s a nice list of indie bookshops that can help you recover from the loss of your big box bookstore.

Cap: Novelist James Reasoner reviews Steve Rogers: Super Soldier by Ed Brubaker and Dale Eaglesham.

Over at Bookgasm, Rod Lott finds plenty to like in Black Jack Volume 13 by Osamu Tezuka. “I still love how unsympathetic and callous its title character can be.”

Hammertime: Author Evan Lewis discovers an old Ken Pierce collection of Mickey Spillane: Mike Hammer The Comic Strip Volume 2. And he likes it, calling the book “vintage Hammer.”

Bond: I love these James Bond book covers.
[Link: The Rap Sheet]

Zombies: Chris Ryall at IDW runs through the FAQs about the upcoming movie version of his comic book Zombies Vs. Robots.

And finally, if you’re a fan of John Scalzi’s writing and his book, Old Man’s War, in particular, you’ll be pleased to know that it’s been optioned by Paramount for development as a movie. Details at Scalzi’s website here, and then updated here. Congrats to John - it’s an excellent book and I’m looking forward to the movie.

Now use your internets responsibly!

[Artwork: Wulf The Barbarian #1, © Atlas Comics]