Some breaking news items from the wild world of entertainment:

ON FEB. 6, DC Comics will release the first issue of a revamped “Justice League of America.” Not to be confused with “Justice League,” which includes A-listers Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, “JLA” will consist of such underdogs as Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman and Catwoman. (If you’re a huge fan of any of these characters, the word “underdog” was used by DC itself in its press release, so don’t send me angry missives.)

The cool thing about this launch is that there will be 52 variant covers featuring the flags of all 50 states plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.

In Portland, Casablanca Comics, 151 Middle St., will carry all 52 variants and says it will have lots of the Maine variant in particular. Go to casablancacomics.com for more information or to reserve a copy.

Coast City Comics on Congress Street and Newbury Comics in the Maine Mall said they will be getting some variants, but they didn’t know which ones or how many as of Tuesday, so you should call ahead before venturing to either store. 

PORTLAND ON ICE, a weeklong winter celebration presented by the city’s downtown district, winds down on Saturday, but it’s doing so with a bang.

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At noon Saturday, Jeff Day of Ice Designs will give a free ice sculpting demonstration in Post Office Park. Day was responsible for the ice sculptures at the Portland Harbor Hotel’s Ice Bar, which kicked off Ice Week last weekend. The demonstration is expected to last about two hours. For more information, go to portlandmaine.com

IN MY Nov. 1 column, I humbly gave Disney some suggestions as to how it should handle the “Star Wars” franchise.

I am pleased to report that two of those suggestions have already been heeded: The unwanted 3D versions of the existing films have been delayed so the studio can concentrate on making a seventh film, and superstar director J.J. Abrams of “Lost” and “Star Trek” fame has been tapped as director of the new movie instead of George Lucas.

It’s good to know the Mouse House is paying attention to what I say. (Did I say I was humble? Yeah, forget that.) 

The Maine a la Carte blog on pressherald.com is undergoing a temporary change.

Avery Yale Kamila is taking some time off to welcome a new addition to her family. While Avery enjoys her new life in the Land of Baby, Wendy Almeida, assistant news editor for features, will be blogging in her stead alongside food writer Meredith Goad.

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Speaking of blogs, we will be launching an all-new entertainment blog very soon. I can’t reveal the details yet, but I can say it will feature an all-star blogging cast and provide the inside scoop on Maine’s arts and entertainment scene.

Stay tuned …

Deputy Managing Editor Rod Harmon may be contacted at 791-6450 or:

rharmon@pressherald.com

Twitter: RHarmonPPH

 


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