Armed with safety goggles, wire-cutters, screwdrivers and alcohol wipes, five girls crowded around a table at Thomas Lake Elementary School last week, digging deep into the inner workings of everyday appliances.

With her parents gone at work all day, 9-year-old Deborah Kogan tends to get a little bored.

Kids at Camp Invention at Sacred Heart Catholic School have had their hands full this week making slime, building ships, creating superheroes and taking apart household gadgets to build new machines.

The creator of a bestselling comic designed to show the world the tolerant and peaceful face of Islam writes an open letter to his five young sons explaining how the project grew out of 9/11.

‘Why we need powerful Islamic superheroes’

Mark Twain said “ The clothes make the man. Naked people have no influence on society .” Not sure whether or not that statement is true, but when it comes to the world of superheroes and villains, there’s no doubt that a good costume can make or break a hero. Imagine if Batman had appeared as Bob Kane had originally drawn him…

The Comic-Con International-Independent Film Festival (CCI-IFF) has announced its official selections for films to compete in the juried event which will be held in conjunction with the largest comic book and pop culture event in the United States: the San Diego Comic-Con (Comic-Con) from July 23-26, 2009.

SO MUCH FOR being another flavor of the month.Not only are graphic novels increasingly popular despite the misguided predictions of some, the quality of books released this year couldn’t be finer.

Jada Pinkett Smith joins TNT’s lineup of star actresses in maverick roles that include Kyra Sedgwick in “The Closer” and Holly Hunter in “Saving Grace.”

People dressed as swine flu-infested pigs hurling themselves into Lake Wakatipu?

People not only bought the ridiculous stuff he was hawking, but they liked him, embracing the cheesy, over-the-top, hectoring sales pitch.

Relax. The infection is only spreading to comic book characters Zombies are terrifying. Fact. Our obsession with the undead has infected all forms of entertainment, from film (any movie with a title ending in “of the Dead”) to literature. Sadly, 2008’s “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” isn’t quite in the canon. At least not yet. Even a […]

Comics writer Mark Sable was detained by security at Los Angeles International Airport because he was carrying a script for a new issue of his comic miniseries, Unthinkable. Unthinkable follows members of a government think tank that was tasked with coming up with 9/11-type “unthinkable” terrorist scenarios that now are coming true. Sable wrote about his experience saying, “…I was flagged at …

Michael Eury is used to being around dust and digging up history. As the executive director for Historic Cabarrus Association, which manages The Concord Museum and The Cabarrus County Veterans Museum, he is always learning and educating others about famous county figures, such as Warren Coleman.

In a press release from its Dublin, Ireland headquarters, CryptoLogic has announced the renewal of its exclusive contract with Marvel Entertainment . Both companies have been working together to provide gaming fans with a wide range of exciting online video slots games for several years.

Twenty-nine of Rockford’s youngest invertors recently gathered at REAMS to learn the nuts and bolts, literally, of what’s behind some of the world’s great inventions and inventors through the innovative week-long program Camp Invention.

After battling his way through two blockbuster installments of giant robot action, Tyrese Gibson already was in a sci-fi frame of mind when Comic-Con 2008 turned him into a die-hard fan of superheroes and villains.The urban singer-songwriter and fashion model-turned-actor reprises his role as Air Force Tech. Sgt. Epps in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” which opened in theaters Wednesday, …

BRAVO SETS A RETURN DATE FOR ATL HOUSEWIVES: Kandi Burruss joins cast for season 2, premiering July 30. *Bravo has announced that “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” will return for its second season on July 30 at 10 p.m., ET.

Greetings, Maniacs, and welcome to this week’s The No-Fly Zone …

The Bookworm and Panel To Panel

Bexley elementary school students spent last week learning about comic books, Vikings and how those topics can be applied to science when they attended Camp Invention at Maryland Elementary School.

Every day, we bring you the best in NASCAR news and updates. Get your day rolling right … or left, whichever. • Which comic book superheroes would fare the best as NASCAR drivers? Kurt Busch damn sure wouldn’t talk back to Watchmen’s Rorschach, that’s for sure. [ All Left Turns ] • So how many of Richard Childress Racing’s cars will be making it into the Chase? Would you believe … zero? [ …

Eye Openers: What’s hot around the Bay this week

NORTH SEWICKLEY TWP. - Just imagine what the Vikings might have done if they had gotten access to duct tape.

“The Fantasticks” enjoys the distinction of being the world’s longest-running musical. It opened in 1960 in a little theater called Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village, New York, and went on to captivate generations of theatergoers for a record-breaking 17,162 performances.