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Thanks to Seth MacFarlane and Family Guy’s appreciation for adult contemporary music from the 1970s, Nova Scotian singer Anne Murray found a new audience with members of Stewie’s generation.

The relationship between Family Guy and the music world has always been a close one that excites and confuses fans of both the show and of Conway Twitty alike. MacFarlane’s entire oeuvre is inextricably tied to his background as a trained and talented crooner, and his appreciation for the popular music of generations past that has since fallen out of fashion with the Family Guy demographic has long encouraged younger viewers and listeners to develop an appreciation for classic showtunes, Frank Sinatra Jr. and, of course, Murray, whose appearance as herself in the 2013 Family Guy episode “Chris Cross” sparked a resurgence of youthful interest in early Canadian pop music.

This past Sunday, Murray, 79, accepted a lifetime achievement award...

Waepon X-Men launches next year, bringing Wolverine, Deadpool, Cable and more onto the same team of mutant badasses. Series writer Joe Casey recently opened up about how the series almost died before it got off the ground, as Marvel nearly killed the series due to a behind-the-scenes mix-up.

Posting to his newsletter “Joe Casey Writes,” the writer is surprisingly candid about how next year’s Weapon X-Men (with artist Chris Cross) series came to be - or how it almost didn’t come to be, as it were. In the first of a two-part series dubbed “Weapon X-Men Origins,” Casey writes about how a lunch with X-Men writer Gerry Duggan led to Casey pitching a new series to then-x-Editor Jordan White.

While batting around different ideas, Casey suddenly came up with the title “Weapon X-Men,” which surprisingly had never been used before. Casey writes:

Here was a name -- a...

Smallville has withstood the test of time as an entertaining, nostalgic take on the Superman mythos. For 10 seasons, audiences watched the show evolve from an allegory about teenage adolescence and puberty to becoming a full-blown actioner. During its original run, viewers eagerly anticipated seeing Clark Kent finally become Superman.

Naturally, when he finally does become Superman in the final episode, fans who watched his journey for a decade wanted to see more. They had invested so much time waiting as he was slowly built and foreshadowed to become the Man of Steel, so it makes sense that they would want to see what that new journey looks like for Clark. This is where the digital comics of 2012-2013 come in handy. Smallville Season 11 depicts not only what the show would have looked like with an additional season, but with a focus on Clark's first year as Superman.

We Actually See...

Chris Cross, best known as the bassist in the English new wave band Ultravox, has died at 71 years old.

According to reports, Cross (born Chris Allen) died on March 25th, but the news was not made public until longtime bandmate Midge Ure shared a statement on Ultravox’s Instagram paying tribute to “the glue that held the band together.” No cause of death has been revealed.

“We worked together, we played together, made music and directed videos together. We were instant friends as well as Ultravox comrades,” Ure wrote. “Even after years apart we managed to pick up where we left off like the years in between never existed.”

He continued, “You were the glue that held the band together. You were the logic in the madness and the madness in our lives. It was great to know and grow with you. You are loved and missed old friend.”

Billy Currie,...

Written by Scott Gray, Roger Langridge, Paul Tobin, Todd Dezago, J.M. DeMatteis | Art by Craig Rousseau, Ronan Clinquet, Chris Cross, Lou Kang, Wellington Alves | Published by Idw Comics | Format: Paperback, 160pp

Official Synopsis:

The legend of Captain America begins here when Steve Rogers survives a WWII experiment to become a Super-Soldier and the Sentinel of Liberty! He’ll face off against Hydra, P.R.O.D.O.K., the Rhino, A.I.M., and even an army of genetically recreated cavemen. Shield-slinging adventures lead to Avengers team-ups with Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Black Widow, Iron Man and more!

My Thoughts:

Released as part of Idw and Marvel’s collaboration, Marvel Vault of Heroes: Captain America collects Marvel Adventures Super Heroes Vol. 1 #8 and #12, and Marvel Adventures Super Heroes Vol. 2 #3, #5, #15, #16, and #21 – all essentially kid-friendly tales that tell key stories in Captain America’s evolution, from his origins to his team-up with other...