Please tell me I’m not the only one reminded of Rob Liefeld‘s bulbous-chested Captain America here. Just a little bit, for just a second. It’s the angle! You can see two more pics—one of Jor-El, one of General Zod—at /Film.

The saga that is musician Jonathan Coulton vs. FOX/Glee continues (read up if you’re not familiar). Coulton has released his original cover version on iTunes, Google, and Amazon under the name, “Baby Got Back (In the Style of Glee).” He’s going split the proceeds between The VH1 Save the Music Foundation and The It Gets Better Project and even joked Glee should do the same. As of publishing this post, Coulton’s song has surpassed all the other songs from that episode of Glee on the charts. (via Geekosystem)

Step by step instructions on Instructables. (via LifeHacker)

Well, they aired it, seemingly unchanged. And it’s now for sale in the US iTunes store. They also got in touch with my peeps to basically say that they’re within their legal rights to do this, and that I should be happy for the exposure (even though they do not credit me, and have not even publicly acknowledged that it’s my version – so you know, it’s kind of SECRET exposure). While they appear not to be legally obligated to do any of these things, they did not apologize, offer to credit me, or offer to pay me, and indicated that this was their general policy in regards to covers of covers. It does not appear that I have a copyright claim, but I’m still investigating the possibility (which I consider likely) that they used some or all of my audio. I’ll write something longer and more detailed about this when I can get my head together about it probably in a couple of days. Thanks for your support, but please continue not to burn anything down. — Jonathan Coulton, in a recent update to his blog.

Last night Glee returned after a holiday hiatus with the episode “Sadie Hawkins” and a soft-rock version of “Baby Got Back,” that is unmistakably nerd-rocker Jonathan Coulton’s soft-rock version of “Baby Got Back.” The musician updated fans and readers of his blog this morning with this information on Fox and Glee’s really absurd notion that “exposure” is his payment despite the fact that they have so far refused to publicly credit him with the arrangement. If Coulton hadn’t already had a strong, connected fanbase, nobody might have noticed that he’d been ripped off.

Though the story is still developing, there isn’t really another way to put this: it looks an awful lot like one of the songs Glee is planning to include in its soon-to-be-returning fourth season is a soft-rock cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.” In fact, it’s a very specific soft rock cover of “Baby Got Back.” Nerd singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton‘s cover. Which wouldn’t otherwise be a problem, except that Coulton himself was never actually contacted or asked about whether it could be used.

Archie is a very busy man these days. In fact, he’s taking on a whole new brand for himself in the form of cosmetics! Archie Comics announced they’ll be pairing with MAC Cosmetics for a new line called ”MAC Archie’s Girls.” 

Here is the first look at the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey LEGOs, which will be released December 1st, two weeks before the release of the film. But just look at that tiny hat! And the tiny beards! (via The Hollywood Reporter)

Marti Noxon is one of the most successful writers/producers in the business today. Some may love and remember her from her time spent writing and running Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel, while others may be more familiar with her work on Mad Men, Grey’s Anatomy, Glee or Fright Night. Whatever the case, Noxon isn’t slowing down anytime soon. She recently spoke about the status of the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies film she wrote and revealed that she’s also taking over writing duties for a live-action Tinkerbell movie for Disney and attempting to work against gender politics at the same time. In other news, Marti Noxon does all the things. 

While we like to spend the bulk of our time at The Mary Sue celebrating the characters and stories of geek fandom, every once in a while, other characters sneak in. And they aren’t geeky. In fact, some of them are downright mainstream. But since we are a geek site, we don’t really have any cause to write about these characters aside from the occasional mention if the topic calls for it. But today, allow us to indulge in a few mainstream guilty pleasures.

No matter your feelings on Glee or two of its creators, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuck, there’s no denying what’s coming: This fall he’ll debut American Horror Story, which so far has been described as a “psychosexual thriller” as well as “a metaphor for marriage.” And we have to admit, we’re kind of excited about it. True, Murphy’s shows (previously Nip/Tuck, now Glee) have a history of starting out with a bang and then immediately flying off the rails, but guess what? Tim Minear is listed as one of the top writers. Tim Minear, past producer of The X-Files, Angel, Dollhouse, Firefly, Wonderfalls…The list goes on. And on. So call us optimistic.