Arts Roundup: Geek-Out Edition

by Aaron Leitko February 26th, 2010October 13th, 2020

*Yesterday a rare copy of Detective Comics No. 27, which features the first ever appearance of Batman, sold for the a record $1,075,500, The Washington Post reports. The return on that investment? Pretty good. “In 1939, the comic sold for 10 cents; the consignor bought the record-setting book in the ’60s for $100,” writes Michael Cavna.

*Pitchfork managing editor Mark Richardson just completed a 33 & 1/3 book about The Flaming Lips‘ 1997 record Zaireeka. He chats with Fluxblog about the joys of listening to an album that can only be heard on four stereos at once

*The Guardian‘s music blog thinks the internet has had a detrimental effect on rock-star mystique. “We are in danger of losing the enigma of the rock star,” writes Mark Beaumont. “You only have to stand Grizzly Bear next to pop stars like Dizzee Rascal, Florence Welch, or Lady Gaga in her blowtorch bra to see that the mainstream has gazumped alt-rock in terms of retina-frying freakishness.”

*The New York Times reports that actor Andrew Koenig—known to millions as Boner from the ’80s sitcom Growing Pains—has been found dead in a Vancouver, Canada park.

*Baltimore City Paper music editor Michael Byrne thinks we jumped the shark with that Fan Death/butt-hurt piece. “It was kinda funny, but mainly just helped prove Gray’s point,” he writes on the paper’s Noise blog.