These projects are as educational as they are entertaining.

Rare Avengers comics, the eternal Star Wars vs. Star Trek debate, and matchmaking abounded at Awesome Con D.C. last weekend.

Personality splits are standard-issue camouflage for most super-heroes, and the Marvel comics version of Thor is no exception. But Kenneth Branagh and the team of writers who have brought the super-hero spin on the Norse god of thunder to the big screen decide to largely ditch the whole alter-ego bit, as well as most of the usual trappings of super-hero origin stories that often cause them to drag with exposition. In their place is a movie with a split personality of its own.

Superheroism 101, Lesson 1: never choose a sidekick who is either more super or more heroic than you are. If you’re TV’s Batman, for instance, you pick a teenage kid and dress him in a yellow cape and green hotpants. No one’s ever going to wonder which one of you is the boss. Britt Reid, also known by his crime-fighting alter-ego The Green Hornet, seems to have forgotten that lesson in the new big screen adaptation of the long running radio/TV/comic character.

If more of a good thing is always better, Iron Man 2 is a huge success. Villains? Twice as many as in the first movie. Two and a half, if you count Garry Shandling’s vile bureaucratic caricature of a senator. Potential love interests for Robert Downey, Jr.’s charmingly egomaniacal billionaire genius Tony Stark? Double the fun there, as well. Scarlett Johansson’s Natalie Rushman is added to the mix as Stark’s new assistant when he…

Editor’s Note: Arlington-based comic book editor Jason Rodriguez is sending us his dispatches from a cross-country trip investigating the comics scene around the country. Read Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV. Let’s just get it out of the way: I lost. I lost to a fantastic book, 5, an independently produced anthology with a lot of love and creator support on its side. The book had some gorgeous work from twin brothers…

Illustration by Monica Meehan Editor’s Note: Arlington-based comic book editor Jason Rodriguez is sending us his dispatches from a cross-country trip investigating the comics scene around the country. Read Part I, Part II and Part III. Santa Fe, NM The night I arrived in Santa Fe, Bram and Monica Meehan took me out for New Mexican food. Carne Adovada. I got it with the red chiles and I sweated through the entire meal. I…

Illustration by Chris Haley Editor’s Note: Arlington-based comic book editor Jason Rodriguez is sending us his dispatches from a cross-country trip investigating the comics scene around the country. Read Part I and Part II. History lesson: In the early 1990s a bunch of people said, “Wow! Amazing Fantasy #15 (first appearance of Spider-Man) originally sold for 12 cents. Forty years later, it’s worth $50,000. That’s one hell of an ROI!” (ROI = Return On…

Illustration by Dean Trippe Editor’s Note: Arlington-based comic book editor Jason Rodriguez is sending us his dispatches from a cross-country trip investigating the comics scene around the country. Read his introduction to the series here. July 15 Washington, DC I showed up at Hertz to pick up my car at 7 a.m. They didn’t have the Corolla I reserved three months ago and attempted to up-sell me on a RAV4. I thanked the man…

Illustration by Scott White Editor’s Note: Arlington-based comic book editor Jason Rodriguez is sending us his dispatches from a cross-country trip investigating the comics scene around the country. It seemed like a great idea: I’ll drive cross-country, by myself, and stop at every major and minor city along the way to talk with comic book creators, fans, and retailers. I leave tomorrow. I no longer believe it’s a great idea. Dallas Middaugh, my editor…