Ta-Nehisi Coates is upset that Marvel's bringing back Captain America. I'm upset that they're using the word "Vonnegut-esque" in such a way that I have no idea what they mean.

But Marvel won't disclose how he rises from the dead. Executive Editor Tom Brevoort teases that the character has been "on a Vonnegut-esque metaphysical journey," including some soul-searching about his place in the world.

Captain America meets his creator? Becomes unstuck in time? Visits Dresden? Ends the world by accident? Evolves into a dolphin? Becomes trapped in some other thinly sketched but darkly humorous situation? Has great ideas, "if only he could write"? Tell me what it is you're trying to say.

Other stuff.

* William Jelani Cobb: 'Obama absent on gay rights.' Yes he is.

We long ago overdosed on comparisons of Obama and previous presidents, but it's hard to miss the way his administration had begun to echo that of John F. Kennedy. And not in a good way.

During the 1960 campaign, Kennedy ran as a forward-looking Democrat who understood the necessity of civil rights. He promised an executive order banning housing discrimination. Gestures like his phone call to a pregnant Coretta Scott King while her husband languished in an Albany jail and Robert Kennedy's judicial arm-twisting to secure his release endeared the young candidate to millions of African-Americans.

But once in office, Kennedy made civil rights a low priority. By 1962, Martin Luther King was openly critical of Kennedy and bitterly observed that the movement activists had become "pawns in a white man's game." It is worth recalling that the 1963 March on Washington was organized not only to ensure passage of a civil rights bill, but also to ensure that Kennedy would not cave to Southern Democrats on the issue.

Via Kinohi.

* Exactly what we don't want: "VP doesn't rule out his own presidential aspirations on Meet the Press Sunday."

* Can You Afford to Be an Adjunct? Don’t consider using adjuncting as a “back door” into a specific department. You are the academic equivalent of a fry cook. You will not be moved into district manager very easily. Perhaps your department grows their own. Ask. How many tenured, tenure-track profs started out as an adjunct? Take your answer as policy. Adjuncts are seldom promoted. You may, especially in smaller or community colleges, be able to enter by attrition, but this happens rarely and should be considered along the lines of winning the lottery. Think very carefully of your overall plan, especially if you have a family or dependents.

* The Ghostbusters' risky business model.

* Marvel's big Captain America news surprises exactly no one.

* Three-frame movies. Via MeFi.

Superhero presidents. With appearances by Superman, Captain America, and the notorious Prez.

''The idea of change and hope has permeated the country, regardless of politics, and that includes Hollywood,'' says Kevin Feige, president of production at Marvel Studios, home to Iron Man and the soon-to-be-launched Captain America. ''Discussions in all our development meetings include the zeitgeist and how it's changed in the last two weeks. Things are being adjusted.''

Marvel Comics is happy about the election. I think, perhaps, a little too happy. Via io9.

With just one day before this long presidential election is really, truly, and finally over, here's a collection of presidential pop culture from Again with the Comics.

Superhero news!

* Smokers of the Marvel Universe.



* Dial B for Blog uses the recent gratuitous [SPOILER] of the Martian Manhunter in Grant Morrison's Final Crisis #1 as the launching point for a passionate rant about the current editorial direction of DC Comics.

Infinite Crisis was a bad story, but at least it was a story. Final Crisis is a marketing plan. There's the money quote, reader: "Final Crisis is a marketing plan."

In the view of Robby Reed, creator of this web site and author of this posting, "FINAL CRISIS" is VERY well-named, because for me it is a death-knell for DC. They have so little regard for either their own characters or those who buy the comics it is horrifying. I actually hope they go out of business, if they keep this up.

At any rate, before purchasing any new DC title in the future, I will inspect each page for evidence of the continuing pornographic destruction of my beloved childhood characters. If I find any, the book goes back on the shelf. Since EVERY book they publish is now like this, that means no more new DC comics for Robby. I will not miss them!

Something else I'm pretty much guaranteed to like: the action figures of my youth, painted in large scale formats and epic atmospheres. Here are some more images from the show's blog.