Oliver Haydock

“I related most to Batman,” said 56-year-old movie producer Michael Uslan of his childhood comic-book tastes, “because Batman’s greatest superpower was humanity.” Mr. Uslan, like many baby boomers, grew up an avid comic-book reader. But his fandom didn’t stop at 18. As an adult, he parlayed his love of Batman into a successful career in the movie business, producing all five of the most recent Batman movies. His sixth, The Dark Knight, staring Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger, opens this July.

But Mr. Uslan has a comic-related side career, too, as a comic-art collector. Forget those Cindy Sherman prints, or combing Chelsea walls in search of the next Kara Walker: wealthy ex-nerds looking to make an arty purchase are snubbing the mainstream art world, throwing their bucks at their childhood heros and creating an investment market where there wasn’t one before.  read more »

More from Oliver Haydock at the New York Comic Con.

A panel composed of some of the most celebrated artists in Comic Book history, including Marvel Comics luminary Stan Lee and Captain America creator Joe Simon, gathered for a forum at New York Comic Con on Friday afternoon. The nine artists fielded questions from movie producer and comic historian Michael Uslan about their artistic inspirations and their experiences in the industry. The affection and friendship between the artists was palpable, and they often interrupted each other’s answers with vaudevillian wisecracks, mostly about aging, hairlines, or mustaches.  read more »

The Observer's research editor Oliver Haydock pings in this update from the New York Comic Con at the Javits Center.

Scott Adsit, who plays producer Pete Hornberger on NBC’s 30 Rock, is a comic nerd. Mr. Adsit was spotted by the Culture Czar looking a little bit lost in the main exhibition hall at the New York Comic Con, which is running from today until Sunday, April 20. Mr. Adsit was on his way to find his “hero,” Walt Simonson, a comic artist who worked at Marvel during the 1980s and 90’s, best known for his drawings of The Mighty Thor and X-Factor.

When asked if he collected comic art, Mr. Adsit responded, “Not yet, I have never been able to afford it.” He does, however, have an extensive collection of comic books at home, which he claims takes up “a lot of wasted space.” In addition to his work on 30 Rock, Adsit is working on Moral Orel, his stop-animation show on Adult Swim, which is currently in post-production and should air sometime in the fall.

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Ever since Obama declared his candidacy for president in early 2007, news organizations have been busy trying to piece together the significant moments in his life, especially those left unaddressed in Obama's surprisingly candid autobiography, Dreams of My Father.

And so, the young Barack Obama has become a character in the campaign. And Roger Boesche, a professor of political philosophy at Occidental College who taught two classes to the young Barry Obama almost 30 years ago, is mystified at the sudden interest of political reporters in what he has to say.  read more »

David Slone was hard to miss walking into the Blackbird Parlour, a small cafe in Williamsburg. A man of considerable girth, with wild black hair and a bushy beard, he was wearing purple velvet pants, a long black trench coat (also velvet) and spit-shined black loafers. Around his neck he wore a silver necklace with an outsize Star of David.

Mr. Slone, who lives in a slovenly loft and says he gets “ornery when he’s hungry,” has one quality most New Yorkers lack: He likes having total strangers stay overnight. In the past three years, over 100 such visitors have spent at least one night, and occasionally more, in a small corner room in his apartment. A 39-year old actor with philosophy and law degrees from Cornell, Mr. Slone is not running a stealth hotel; the guests pay nothing. And most have gone away happy: “Great guy, great place,” wrote a visitor from Villeurbanne, France. “We spent three days surfing David’s place, which is the perfect spot to go and discover New York City.”  read more »