If you're looking for the perfect gift for the comic geek in your life, this lot in the Portland Mercury's online charity auction should fit the bill: Along with the original Joelle Jones page above, there's also a Dark Horse Comics lithograph signed by Joss Whedon, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and artist Travis Charest, a limited edition Umbrella Academy t-shirt (as well as both collections of the series to date), the complete set of Dark Horse's "One Shot Wonders" books (including Joss Whedon's Sugar Shock, Hellboy, The Goon and Star Wars, as well as a Zack Whedon-signed Dr. Horrible) and Goon-branded soda. Yes, we said Goon-branded soda. Be warned: You'll be bidding against us in this one. The auction closes on December 11th, and for the concerned, they'll ship nationwide if you don't happen to live in Portland.

The PGA has selected Whedon to be the recipient of the Vanguard Award at January's PGA Awards. The Vanguard recognizes achievements in new media and technology, and previous winners have included George Lucas, James Cameron, and the founders of YouTube and MySpace. PGA co-chairs David Friendly and Laurence Mark explained their choice by saying,

Joss Whedon has mastered the art of melding the newest technology with inspired storytelling, truly exemplifying the spirit of the Vanguard Award.

On the one hand, congratulations to Joss. On the other, am I the only person who thinks this is really odd timing? This is just about Dr. Horrible, right? Am I forgetting something else he's done with "the newest technology" that would fit here? And if I'm not, why is he being recognized now for something that's more than a year old, if not a subtle "Do more of this and less fighting with Fox over Eliza Dushku" message...?

PGA honors Joss Whedon [Variety]

Image via irgoodrnti.

Let's start by getting all of the superhero stuff out of the way. Depending on how much you love the old stuff, chances are your book of the week will either be the hardcover collection of Batman: Battle For The Cowl (In which Dick Grayson decides to carry on that Dark Knight family business) or the Showcase Presents: DC Comics Presents black and white collection of 1970s Superman team-ups with other DC characters both A-list and long-forgotten. (Me, I'm going for the Showcase, if only for the sweet, sweet Jose-Luis Garcia-Lopez art.)

But there are also collections of DC's Black Lightning Year One, the Blackest Night-trailing Green Lantern Corps: Emerald Eclipse, Marvel's space-epic War of Kings and the tragically-cut-down-in-its-prime Runaways: Homeschooling. If you're looking for something more in the single issue price range, there's always DC's Justice Society Of America 80-Page Giant and Marvel's Dark Reign: The List - Spider-Man. Or the debut of Reign of Kings: Inhumans.

If War of Kings isn't enough space warfare for you, then Dark Horse has the first volume of Alien Legion Omnibus, in the wake of the movie deal announced yesterday. And Boom! has the first issue of its now-monthly Farscape series. And does it get any more space war than Transformers? Well, yes (Their war kind of takes place on Earth, after all), but the first issue of IDW's new monthly series is also released tomorrow.

Staying with the media tie-ins, IDW also has the first issues of the weekly Legion: Prophets and the mini-series Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ghosts coming out. Meanwhile, Dark Horse has the much-anticipated all-new Dr. Horrible special issue to satisfy your Whedon Jones for another week. Dark Horse is also re-releasing Pictures That Tick, a collection of experimental comics by Sandman cover artist Dave McKean that's well worth your time and money.

Last but not least, you can prepare for the horror of Thanksgiving next week with a couple new supernatural books: Boom! have a collection of their great The Unknown detective series, while DC's Victorian Undead puts Sherlock Holmes against zombies to the... whatever comes after death, I guess.

As ever, all of these books and more can be found on the shipping list from Diamond Distributors, while your local comic store itself can be found by using the Comic Shop Locator Service. Do it for reading, you guys.

Dr. Horrible from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Okay, we hate to diss Dr. Horrible, because after all he is us and we are him. He's the little evil guy, just trying to get by and make his way in the world — and we totally identify with him, since the alternative would be identifying with Moist. But still — as evil geniuses go, he's pretty inept. Take the freeze ray he shoots his nemesis Captain Hammer with, which wears off prematurely. Or the death ray, with which he plans to shoot Captain Hammer afterwards — Dr. Horrible gloats too long, and Captain Hammer is able to seize the death ray away from him and shoot it at him. And then the death ray misfires — and Dr. Horrible comes out on top, thanks to his own blundering. Except for poor, poor Penny, killed in the crossfire.

The Monarch from Venture Brothers

Okay, first of all, a butterfly-themed supervillain? Doctor Octopus would cover his face with all four robot arms in shame. The poor Monarch is obsessed with destroying Dr. Venture and his family, but can't even get sanction from the Guild Of Calamatous Intent, let alone recognition as a threat from Venture himself. As series creator Doc Hammer states, "failure, that's what Venture Bros. is all about. Beautiful sublime failure," so it's tough to pick one incident. In Tears of a Sea Cow, after finally winning back Dr. Girlfriend and gaining membership in the Guild, the Monarch still can't keep from arching Venture, despite Guild regulations. He infiltrates Venture's lab and has sex with his guard robot GUARDO. Then Dean walks in on this, and The Monarch insists he's trying to infect the robot with Chlamydia, and manages to convince Dean that if he reports this scheme to his father, he'll be playing into the Monarch's plans.

Brainchild from The Tick cartoon

He gets fashion points, for replacing the upper part of his skull with a transparent dome, to show off his brain. And he succeeds where the other villains have failed — he captures the Tick, transforming him into a two-headed bluebird-Tick who speaks French. While he has the Tick helpless, he tries to auction him off — but this is where his scheme falls apart. Die Fledermaus disguises himself as The Rake, a made-up villain who looks like Die Fledermause, except with a rake tied to his head. And Arthur, meanwhile, frees the Tick.

Syndrome from The Incredibles

This is the classic evil genius over/underachiever problem: He builds a killer robot and programs it to attack the city, so he can defeat it and look like a hero. The only problem is, he makes the robot too smart and it develops a mind of its own, so it defeats its creator with easy. Later, he tries to capture the Incredibles' new baby, but its developing super-powers are too much for him.

The Brain from Pinky and the Brain

His catch phrase ought to be enough to clue you in: "The same thing we do every night: Try to take over the world." A true evil genius shouldn't have to try, and it should only take one night. In one of his most notable blunders, in the episode "That Smarts," the Brain manages to build a super-machine that boosts Pinky's intelligence, so they're both super-geniuses. But Pinky becomes depressed and decides to reduce his intelligence to become stupid again. But Brain, not realizing this, decides they might be better off with Pinky being the smart one and Brain being the stupid one — so he, too, reduces his own intelligence, leaving them both too stupid to operate the brain-adjusting machine.

Cartman from South Park

At first blush, you wouldn't think that Cartman belongs on this list, but just consider his bizarre schemes. In the episode "Go God Go Parts 1 & 2," he's too impatient to wait for the Nintendo Wii to come out, so he puts himself in cryogenic suspension, and accidentally stays frozen until the distant future. Once in the future, he manipulates all the warring factions and changes history using a Time Phone, causing huge suffering just so he can get himself a Wii. Eventually, he gets trapped in a Wii-less time loop, because he keeps going back in time to try and convince himself not to put himself in suspended animation — and the past Cartman never listens to the future Cartman.

Mr. Glass from Unbreakable

Possibly the most elaborate scheme, for the least reward: he orchestrates several episodes of terrorism/mass murder, just to find someone who's invulnerable, so he can create/uncover a superhero to be his nemesis. Final proof that reading too many comic books will make you imagine a fourth wall when there is none. And of course, by so doing, he ensures his own defeat and incarceration.

Doctor Evil, from Austin Powers

This supervillain from the 1960s turns up in our world, unaware that time has passed him by and a million dollars is no longer much of a fortune. His schemes are great: set off all the world's volcanos at once, turn the Moon into a death star, shoot the White House with lasers, create deadly floods, bring back the dreaded Alan Parsons Project — but there's always some crucial flaw. It's hard to believe anything can go wrong with sharks armed with frickin lasers — even a child could make that work! But somehow, he manages to mess it up, again and again.

Lex Luthor from Superman

There have been many different versions of the scourge of Metropolis: the mad scientist who's mad at Superman because Superboy zapped his hair off, the business mogul who just wants Superman out of the way, the shadowy politician... but they're all kind of clueless when it comes down to it. Lex Luthor usually has everything you could possibly want — power, prestige, hot babes in chauffeur outfits, even the White House — but he still blows it all going after Superman. His battlesuit is emblematic of the problem: For one thing, it's a hideous green-and-purple color scheme. But also, it often goes wrong in the worst possible way. At one point, Lex gets his own whole planet of people who love him, Lexor, marries an alien princess. But then his battlesuit goes off during a battle and accidentally overloads the "Neutrarod," a spire he'd built to counter the planet's geological instability. And as a result, all of Lex's subjects die, including his wife and kid. He blames Superman, of course.

Doctor Doom

Like Lex, he's almost got it all, including his own country where everybody his his loyal vassal. He builds time machines and robot versions of himself, and even manages to build an Emotion Changer to force scores of supervillains to crash the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm. But every one of his schemes goes metal facemask up, because he over-reaches. At one point, he managed to steal the nearly limitless powers of the Silver Surfer, but lost them because he insisted on challenging the barrier the Surfer's master, Galactus, had put around the Earth. He's lost battles with Luke Cage and even Squirrel Girl, whose squirrels chewed through the wires powering his Doombots.

Additional reporting by Josh C. Snyder.

Zack Whedon's one-shot Dr. Horrible comic hits stands on November 18th and will delve into Billy's childhood, his first meeting with Captain Hammer, and his drive to join the Evil League of Evil. Whedon told Newsarama that Penny will make a small appearance, though sadly there will be no singing.

The full seven-page preview is available at MTV and offers some insight into what drove Billy to become Dr. Horrible.

[via Whedonesque]

Not only is there a title, but Joss, Zack Whedon, Jed Whedon and Jed's wife, Maurissa Tancharoen have all worked out a few songs, and Fillion has heard a few verses. But he's mum on the potential title.

Says Fillion:

Joss, I was talking to him right before we won the Emmy. He said that he's finished writing a song or two. He told me a couple of verses to the song...It's going to be great. I know a bunch of cast members of Dr. Horrible who would love to get back into it.

See the video interview at MTV.

The fan-made Horrible Turn describes its legal status in the following, appropriately Whedonesque way:

Any similarity to the characters created by Joss Whedon is, like, totally a coincidence. And by 'coincidence' we mean accidental. And by 'accidental' we mean fortunate. And by 'fortunate' we mean intentional. And by 'intentional' we mean unauthorized.

While we're unconvinced that Dr. Horrible needed any backstory in addition to what we saw in the original web series (And, no, that doesn't includes you, authorized comics), we're kind of taken by the trailer for Horrible Turn:

Horrible Turn trailer from Horrible Turn on Vimeo.

Does this mean the movie will live up to its inspiration? We only have to wait until November 10th to find out.

[Horrible Turn] (Via Whedonesque)

NPH's episode, "The Mayhem of the Music Meister" premiered at Comic Con, where it wormed its catchy way into our hearts. UK and Canadian fans have already seen the episode in its entirety, but those looking to catch it on Cartoon Network in the US will have to wait until October 23.

[via Topless Robot]

Congrats on the Outstanding Special Class - Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Programs win guys, you deserved to have a category created just so you could win.

Cross stitch aficionado and Whedon fan Beefranck assembled this collection of samplers, a few of which came out of a Buffy-themed needlepoint swap. Now I just need more of these to show up on Etsy so I can take care of a few blank spaces on my walls.

[mr x stitch via Whedonesque]

Reavers on the Oregon Trail by SkyyAngel
River to Jayne by Caitlinite
Brand New Day by Beefranck
The Hammer by Beefranck
The Body by Stacia Yeapanis
Rest in Piece and the Game of Life by Zhad Squad
I Love Frozen Yogurt by janelleirene
Lacy, Gently Wafting Curtains by Shaebay
Mutant Enemy by TiLTCreationsCoredelia's Tact by youheartus

Whedon told SciFi Wire that, yes, a sequel is on the cards. Maybe the longterm cards, but still:

We're all extremely busy, but we're all really motivated. This is just ... yet another moment of going, "My God." This is the kind of thing, you know, that is, ... just the effect is snowballing. And, in a way, it makes you a little skittish. It's like, we don't want to do a Horrible that's horrible. You know? We don't want to blow it... it's like, yeah, it could be great, or it could be Arthur 2. We don't know. But at the same time, it motivates me, not only to do more, not only work in the Horrible realm, and also, just, who doesn't want to play with those guys? But just generally, I'm very anxious to do more stuff on the Internet, either with other people or just in my own small capacity. You know? Just to keep testing the models. Just to keep it fresh and keep surprising people, including myself. Because none of what has happened has surprised anyone more than it surprised me.

He also offered up a tongue-in-cheek reason why we haven't seen the sequel already:

I'd be doing it more, but Fox forgot to cancel my show... Very awkward. They looked and said, "Oh, this is our bad. We forgot to cancel your show. You're going to have to make more."

Cue "Fox is trying to stop Joss from making more Horrible" rumor in three... two... one...

Joss Whedon on Emmys, Dr. Horrible and the future [SciFi Wire]

Sadly, NPH won't actually be playing Dr. Horrible, since that would probably fracture the space-time continuum. Instead, he'll be playing the Music Meister, an amalgam of various DC Comics villains, who uses his ability to create music to dominate the world. Or something. He's a former band camp nerd who's become a megalomaniac. Mostly, the episode's plot is "just an excuse to have everyone sing," says producer James Tucker. Oh, like the Buffy musical episode then?

Here's your first look at NPH's look as a Batman villain:


[TV Guide Magazine]

Yes, I know the idea of a Whedonless Buffy sounds like blasphemy, but the more I think about it, the more it seems like exactly what Buffy and Joss need, even if the hardcore fans don't agree. Join the dots that are my scattered reasoning:

Joss Whedon Has Had More Than Seven Years Of Buffy, Let Someone Else Have A Go
We've seen Joss do Buffy for seven years on television (and two years in comics, for that matter), and do Buffy really well for at least six of those years (I'm one of those people who was unconvinced by the relentless, seemingly-aimless angst of season six. Sorry); that's never going away, no matter what - You all have those DVDs and the reruns and the comics to prove it. But just because Joss created Buffy and did the franchise proud for more than a decade doesn't mean that someone else can't come up with something equally as interesting, and almost as enjoyable. For whatever reason - and this isn't the place to argue about whether or not it's a good thing - our culture has become endlessly recyclable, whether it's movie or TV show reboots or comics where every year sees a new writer, artist and "creative direction." By now, we've had enough Battlestar Galacticas, The Dark Knights and Alan Moore taking on Swamp Things to know that letting new voices take on familiar characters can end in wonderful new versions of old stories, and leave the characters all the better for the experience. Who's to say that a new writer or new director couldn't bring something unexpected and amazing to the Buffy mythos?

(And, if it turned out to be another Bionic Woman or Knight Rider, so what? Like I said, it doesn't invalidate or undo all the stories you already loved, and it's not like the show would've been canceled to make way for this new version. The Whedon Buffy would be left as intact as ever.)

Joss Whedon Has Had More Than Seven Years Of Buffy, Let Him Do Something Else
I don't mean to be overly rude, but have you been reading the Buffy comics recently? Have you noticed that the series has become slightly... aimless? Directionless? There's undoubtedly a nicer way to say it, but after a strong start, it's become infected with the same apathy that laced through the television show's final two seasons; everything that happens - what little has actually happened, since the end of the Fray arc - feels less organic and more like writers filling time while trying to work out what to do next. As an example of where Whedon's head is at as concerning Buffy, it's a pretty good reason for him not to be involved with the movie, because it's as if he's run out of things to say about the character.

Not that that's a bad thing. He's got Dollhouse to think about, now, and Cabin In The Woods, as well; it feels kind of insulting to think that he should always have to be responsible for something he came up with seventeen years ago, instead of being allowed to let it go and move on to newer ideas, projects and things to talk about. It's also somewhat unreasonable; despite his closeness to the material and his ownership of it (in the sense of having invented it, not the legal sense, I mean), why should Whedon still be thinking about the same characters, situations and metaphors six years after it stopped being part of his everyday life (Almost six years to the day, in fact; the final episode went out May 20th, 2003)?

Creators create, or else they stagnate. That's not to say that there's no value in writers staying with characters for a long time (Dave Sim on Cerebus, for example), but there is evidence of diminishing returns when they stay with a story too long (The Phantom Menace, anyone? Or, on a slightly less obvious - yet probably more appropriate - slant, the latter part of Stan Lee's run as Spider-Man writer). With Firefly, Dr. Horrible and Dollhouse, as troubled as some may have been in terms of production and reception, you can see Whedon try to move on from Buffy. Why not let him?

Part of the outcry might be because the idea of this new Buffy movie changes our idea of what it is - Suddenly, it's a renewable franchise, instead of a creator-led show. But it always has been, as much as we forget it; there's been the movie, the TV show, the spin-off show, the comics, the novels, the video games, the very-unlike-the-actors action figures... it's never really just been Joss's show, as much as it's tempting to think that. Sure, Joss Whedon made Buffy, and in turn, Buffy made Whedon into what he is today, but perhaps it's time to let them say goodbye to each other and go on and grow up apart. The very worst that can happen* is that we end up with a disappointing movie version that we all pretend doesn't exist in years to come, and if fandom can survive this year's Watchmen and Terminator Salvation, then I think we can deal with a Buffy that doesn't live up to our dreams.

(* - Okay, alternatively, we could discover that Joss Whedon is actually a magical figure whose existence is entirely contingent on our belief in his version of Buffy, a la Tinkerbell, but somehow I'm not entirely convinced that that'll turn out to be the case.)

It'll Be Cheaper
Part of the negotiation process for the second season centered around cost. As the Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan points out,

Fox didn't renew "Dollhouse" because the show's fans would have been sad about the Joss Whedon show's untimely death. Fox doesn't care about how viewers feel (you saw "Moment of Truth," right?). No, Fox renewed "Dollhouse" because it thinks it can make money off the project — enough to keep the enterprise profitable.

According to the Hollywood Reporter's James Hibbard,

Fox received some serious budget concessions from 20th TV and Whedon to continue the show, with 20th now shouldering a greater portion of the load. Another factor was the show's unaired 13th episode, which Whedon shot on a shoestring budget for the "Dollhouse" first season DVD set. Whedon presented it to the network as an example of how "Dollhouse" can achieve a high-quality production with a lesser budget.

So does this mean we can expect a series of episodes based inside the Dollhouse, using existing sets and fewer actors? Potentially. Or, just as likely, we may see a less glossy aesthetic for the new season. Remember, Whedon made Dr. Horrible for almost no budget at all; he's probably got some ideas on how to work around cost-cutting. And besides...

It'll Be Shorter
Fox is dropping its "Remote Free TV" scheme, meaning that the second seasons of both Dollhouse and Fringe are going to have regular ad breaks, and lose somewhere around 6-8 minutes per episode as a result (On the plus side, no more glittery Eliza trying to smolder to the camera as the voiceover guy tells us that the show will be back in sixty seconds). How will the loss of that running time offset the budget tightening? Not enough, most likely - unless those were six really expensive minutes - but the added ad revenue may make the network feel better about the show moving forward.

It'll Be Based On A Different "Creative Direction"
While Fox execs were viewing pilots for next year's schedule, they also watched the now-mythical "lost" episode of the show, "Epitaph One," to decide Dollhouse's fate. So when sources talk about "a shift in creative direction" for the new season, should we start considering "Epitaph One" a second season pilot and the shape of things to come? Joss Whedon's not saying just yet (although he is saying things like "oh, the terrible things my brain is brewing... Just wait. We'll make it worth it," if that helps), but co-executive producer Elizabeth Craft has suggested that the episode may even become part of the second season:

[T]o us, we don't think of ["Omega"] as the last episode of the season, even though it technically is, because ["Epitaph One"] gets into - well, I don't want to say too much about it... Hopefully if we get a Season 2, we'll show that episode.

(Now there's a thought on how to cut costs; have one of the episodes already done and costing nothing. Of course, you'll have to pull it off the first season DVD, but still. Joss, you listening?)

Also, British viewers? Here's where you get to have the jump on the Americans - Sci Fi UK have announced that they plan to show "Epitaph One" at the end of the first season, as intended. Don't gloat too much.

For what it's worth, changing the direction of the show would make sense, given how the second half of the first season played out; the (original) arcs of Ballard and Caroline are finished, with the FBI agent having found the girl and Carolinecho having become self-aware without becoming another Alpha. I hope that the second season would focus on the themes and questions introduced at the end of the first (What is the true purpose of the Dollhouse technology? Are humans just vessels for interchangable personalities? What happens when an Active is aware of her status? How are we supposed to believe that Ballard would join the organization he'd been trying to destroy for the last twelve weeks? and so on), but as long as we don't have any more "blind girl with camera eyes working for the FBI" episodes, that's enough to start with.

One thing is very unlikely to change, however:
It'll Still Have A Shitty Timeslot
Both the Hollywood Reporter and Variety are saying that the show is likely to stay on Friday nights, which really isn't a good thing - Look at the dips the show took when geek-friendly movies opened, if nothing else. It's unsurprising, though, considering Fox's other returning shows taking up timeslots on most other nights. What we're now wondering is what will get paired with it; I said yesterday that new series Human Target would be a great partner, as it shares questions about identity as well as a format that sees its lead "become" a new person every week, but is Fox really willing to dump that show on a Friday? If they do, expect to see Dollhouse bumped to 8pm and act as a lead-in.

The renewal of Dollhouse is a strange triumph of hope versus experience; as THR's Hibbard pointed out when breaking the news,

"Dollhouse" might very well be the lowest-rated in-season scripted drama to ever get a renewal on a major broadcast network. Almost certainly if based on where the show concluded — a 1.0 among adults 18-49.

So what brought it back? It's doubtful that it was fan outcry (or jamming Fox's switchboards because Miracle Laurie suggested it, for that matter), because... well, have you seen similar surprise news for the equally-beloved Terminator series? Much more likely is Fox's belief that they can turn the series into something financially worthwhile for them, which will be fueled not only by cutting costs, but by the exceptionally good DVR audience for the show, the critical upswing for the first season's second half, the undoubtedly pleasing pre-orders for the DVD boxset and - no pressure here - faith that Joss Whedon can turn everything around the second time out.

How he'll do that, and what the show will become in order to gain more viewers without losing its existing hardcore faithful, may be the most interesting behind the scenes story of the year, whether it succeeds or not. All we know for sure is that, in order to survive, the show has to - ironically, perhaps - become something new and different while staying the same. Are you ready for your treatment, Dollhouse?

Of course, Neil Patrick Harris might have got the job because he's a talented, charismatic actor with a string of Broadway credits in both dramas and musicals, including Assassins, Proof, and Cabaret. I suppose that's possible.

But as far we're concerned, he deserves the gig based solely on the strength of his work in Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog. Just check out the clip - that's some virtuoso acting and singing right there, and I don't even really like musicals:

Here's hoping his entire performance as host is just singing the entire Doctor Horrible soundtrack, maybe with some dramatic readings as Colonel Carl Jenkins from Starship Troopers mixed in for good measure. Throw in a climactic showdown between Dr. Horrible and former Tony Awards host Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and we might just have the superhero event of the summer on our hands.

Whedon told Sci Fi Wire that "we've talked about doing an actual studio film" of Dr. Horrible as the follow-up to the web serial. And his brother and co-writer, Jed Whedon, says "The story we've talked about is pretty big, so it may end up being longer" than the original three-part series. Adds Joss Whedon:

Well, we don't want to be beholden to anybody. We want to do the product the same way we did the first one, which is out of our hearts, and then go to people [and say], 'OK, if you're interested in this, this is what it is.' Besides, it could be something theatrical. It could be something on the Internet again, where it's done on the fly and it all comes from us. We don't know how we want that to be. The best thing to do is to write it. Then we can start deciding a business model based on the script.

Whatever business design they agree on, Bad Horse better get a cut of the profits.

Meanwhile, Maurissa Tancharoen, their collaborator, says they're considering bringing the love interest Penny (Felicia Day) back from the dead. She's definitely dead, but there are lots of ways to resurrect her or return her to the story. Just as long as she doesn't spend hours moping about how she was in Heaven.

Dr. Horrible pumpkin design from Pink Raygun. [Sci Fi Wire]

Whedon will be providing "a special musical performance" for an already-special episode of Ira Glass' This American Life on April 23rd. The episode - based around the theme of "Return to the Scene of the Crime" - will also feature contributions from TAL regulars Dan Savage, David Rakoff and Acme Novelty Library's Chris Ware, and be simultaneously broadcast to over 400 movie theaters and art centers around the US. No news, yet, as to exactly what Whedon's performance will entail, but we're hopeful for an appearance by Dr. Horrible co-writers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, we have to admit.

"This American Life," the Joss Whedon musical — live! [Variety]

Talking to Sci Fi Wire, Neil Patrick Harris' disappointment about that fact rivaled even your own:

Oh, God, I wish I could say there was going to be a Dr. Horrible sequel, but I know there's so many people involved in the creation of it that have a lot of other stuff going on right now... Mainly, Joss [is doing] Dollhouse, and he has another movie, Cabin in the Woods, that he's doing at the same time. So I don't know that anything would happen soon. But everyone has been super-enthusiastic about it, and I think that means that hopefully something will come.

That hasn't stopped Harris from wanting to work with Whedon on something else, however:

I'm in CBS' corner right now because of How I Met Your Mother, so I don't know that I'd be able to [appear on Dollhouse], but I think it's produced by 20th Century Fox, so, you know, they're sort of cousins... That would be fun! All right. I'll ask Joss! I like being a cousin in the Whedon family, so, whatever he wants me to do. Except porn.

Wait, the Whedon family makes porn together? I'm not sure how I feel about knowing that.

Harris Eager For Horrible 2, Dollhouse [Sci Fi Wire]