Farrago

Some items of note from this, the comics Internet:

At Suicide Girls, Charles Vess discusses The Book of Balads, his current project -- a Fables graphic novel set in the world of the Arabian Nights -- and what attracts him to the fantasy genre.

The San Francisco Bay Guardian (scroll down) speaks briefly with cartoonist Seth about Charles Schulz, and mainstream publishing's current appetite for the graphic novel: "I'm not sure why it's happened. Everyone's working along, building up, but somehow in the past few years, there's an awareness of what we're doing. Ten years ago, using comic books to tell a story was a stupider idea. Now it's a mundane fact. You don't have to sell it to anyone anymore, that you're not just an idiot for working on this."

At IGN.com, Fred Hembeck reveals that while Superman (née Superboy) is, indeed, a dick, the same can't be said of the Boy of Steel's best friend, Pete Ross.

Reuters reports that Pope John Paul II is being reborn in a Colombian comic book as a superhero who wears an anti-Devil cape and special chastity pants. The first issue of Incredible Popeman features the pontiff meeting with superheroes such as Batman and Superman to learn how to use special powers to battle Satan. No word yet from DC on the appearance of their trademarks in the comic.