Hey America, happy birthday to you this weekend. If you find yourself too full of Pabst Blue Ribbon, overcooked hamburgers, runny macaroni salad and apple pie with too much HFCS in it, and it’s too early to start shooting off those fireworks you smuggled over from North Carolina, do what I do: surf the internet.

Oh, Brother: Bob Weber, Jr. (creator of Slylock Fox) and Jay Stephens (Tutenstein, Land of Nod), have joined forces and launched a brand new comic strip. Alan Gardner at The Daily Cartoonist has the announcement and some samples, and it all looks really, really good.

Wonder Woman: When Nikki Finke calls recent changes to one of your iconic characters “dumbass stuff,” shouldn’t it be rethought?

Twin Spica: Looking for some good manga to spend your hard-earned money on? Rod Lott at Bookgasm has a recommendation for you, Twin Spica Volume O2 by Kou Yaginuma.

The Other Avatar: Before James Cameron co-opted the name, there was an Avatar animated series on Nickelodeon. Now that’s been turned into a movie called The Last Airbender by M. Night Shyamalan. It may not make as much as James Cameron’s did.

Zeroids: Despite its name, Zeroids isn’t something that you need a special cream to cure. It’s the name of a line of robot toys from the Ideal Toy Company, circa 1967. They will soon return as a comic book series from Moonstone Books. Scoop has the details in an interview with writer Aaron Shaps.

I See Dead People: And so does Wayne Markley with a look at recent super-hero deaths, rebirths and more.

Tarzan: Lord Greystoke is coming back, this time in a “new generation” makeover by author Andy Briggs. Comic Bits has the details.

Steve Ditko’s Mr. A: Matt Bird is no Randian but “I love Mr. A more than anything. It’s like the Rosetta stone of all other comics.” He runs a classic 8-pager by Ditko and you’re invited to read it at The Cockeyed Caravan to see if you agree.

Larry Doyle: Mr. Doyle is a former writer for The Simpsons and he also wrote the book I Love You, Beth Cooper, which became the movie of the same name. As comics historians know, he also was one of the post-Walt Kelly writers of the comic strip Pogo as well as a former editor at First Comics. He’s got a new book out this month called Go, Mutants! where the pop culture of the 1950s (giant bugs, alien invasions, mad scientists and juvenile delinquents) is presented as historical fact. I’m in.

Writing: Earl Pomerantz wrote a lot of good and popular television: Taxi, The Cosby Show, Major Dad, to name but a few. On his blog, he dispenses thoughts and experiences on storytelling. One of his latest posts is on happy endings, and not the massage parlor kind.

Reuben Awards: Not for the best deli sandwich, but for the world of cartooning. Tom Heintjes at Hogan’s Alley has put up a bunch of photos of cartoonists in the wild – eating, drinking, drawing and receiving awards.

Thorgal: There’s a new Thorgal album out and the Forbidden Planet blog likes it. A lot. “This is possibly the most enjoyable Thorgal volume I’ve read.”

Angels’ Wild Women: You know who did great movie posters for movies I’ve never heard of? Gray Morrow, that’s who. Steven Thompson at Shades of Gray has more.

Police Comics: I think Police Comics should be the title of a lame 1980s TV series about a group of comedians who travel from Comedy Store to Chuckle Hut to Laffhouse while working undercover to bust punks. Instead, it’s a classic comic book title and Four Color Shadows has a nice story from inside an issue from 1952.

Space Battleship Yamato: I won’t be the only one to link to this, but I think it’s cool enough that everyone should link to it. It’s the new trailer for the upcoming live action movie (based on the property that spawned the US Star Blazers series). Forces of Geek has it.

Doc Savage: Dr. Hermes has a look at a lost Doc Savage novel, The Red Spider, written in 1948, yet not published until 1979.

And finally, all is not well in the world of puppet television.

[Artwork: Cover to Superman #14, © DC Entertainment]