Everyday Hero, your fanboy news roundup

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I’ve been digging through the stacks at the Los Angeles Times library and have come across some interesting stuff (like Superman on Broadway in 1966 and a photo of Leonard Nimoy at age 20), and today it’s a black-and-white photo that DC Comics sent to the paper 28 years ago. It shows the final panel of an advertising insert in ‘Action Comics’ No. 349 (July 1980) and down in the corner, in red grease-pencil, you can see the layout desk’s sizing mark on the photo. I remember reading this issue when I was a kid, and soon after that, my great aunt took me to Radio Shack to buy my very own Trash 80. Ah, micro-computing memories...

Now on with today’s handpicked headlines from the fanboy universe...

‘Iron Man 2’ shocker: Terrence Howard is out, Don Cheadle is in. ‘Marvel had no comment, but sources close to the deal said negotiations with Howard fell through over financial differences, among other reasons.’ So Cheadle will pick up the role of Col. James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes, as well as his alter ego War Machine, which director Jon Favreau has said will be part of the franchise storyline. [Hollywood Reporter]

Take another bite: Nikki Finke reports that the ‘Twilight’ sequel is already moving forward and all signs point to a huge payday coming up for the vampire romance. ‘When your soundtrack isn’t even completed much less released (not until November 4th), yet it’s already in the Top 5 Best-Selling Albums on Amazon based on pre-sales alone, you know you have a hit.’ [Deadline Hollywood]

What’s going on at Tokyopop? After a corporate restructuring in the summer and cutting its publishing production by half, the manga house says it’s now finding its feet in the marketplace. Associate Publisher Marco Pavia: ‘We’re profitable; we’re definitely in business.’ [ICV2]

My dear Watson: More photos from the set of Guy Ritchie’s ‘Sherlock Holmes,’ this time of co-star Jude Law in the role of Dr. Watson, the faithful sidekick of Robert Downey Jr.’s eccentric genius detective. [Just Jared]

Surely one of them was good? Troy Patterson reviews nine new shows in nine paragraphs, among them episodes of the fresh network arrivals ‘Eleventh Hour,’ ‘My Own Worst Enemy’ and ‘Crusoe.’ Of the latter, he wrote: ‘Is it fair to write Crusoe off as awful? Probably, though that curt dismissal doesn’t do justice to its perversely fascinating texture...’ [Slate]

Does it finish with a splatter?: Only 150 days left until Saw: The Ride opens at Surrey’s Thorpe Park, the second most-visited amusement park in England. The ads say the roller coaster will have ‘the tallest beyond vertical drop in the world,’ with a 100-degree, 100-foot drop. [Saw: The Ride website]

Here’s a look at the poster for the Pixar film ‘Up,’ a 3-D film due next year, along with a quick synopsis of the film. [Slash films]

-- Geoff Boucher

Action Comics mage from the Los Angeles Times archives, characters property of DC Comics; ‘Iron Man’ photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.