You will believe a man can explode

NBC’s Heroes returns tonight after a winter break. The next few episodes will see more interaction between the heroes, Claire's search for her birth parents, the introduction of new characters, including Chris Eccleston ("Doctor Who") as an "Invisible Man" who may help Peter figure out his powers.

The Toronto Star has an interview with creator Tim Kring, as he discusses "Heroes". Kring is, despite assumptions, not much of a comic book guy and has an outsider's perspective on the genre. He does have several talented folks on staff who have put in time on comic books, such as writer Jeph Loeb, and Isaac's illustrations are done by Tim Sale. Loeb and Sale have collaborated on some terrific comic stories like Batman: The Long Halloween, which was one of the influences for the "Batman Begins" movie.

I'm enjoying the traps that "Heroes" has bypassed in telling a story about super-powered people: capes, costumes, and code names can look silly when portrayed in a realistic style (*cough*Daredevil*cough*). Most of the characters are reluctant to embrace their powers, let alone use them. I'm curious if we'll see any non-powered heroes emerge in the coming months. The self-made hero has always been around longer than the powered heroes, from pulp mystery-men of the 40s like The Sandman and The Shadow, to better known heroes like Batman and Green Arrow. The story possibilities are intriguing, because what can a common man do compared to a time-traveller or girl with a healing factor?

We'll see if the Heroes can maintain its momentum and continue to be appointment TV. Appointment TV is when I make an effort to catch it every Monday, like I used to do with Lost and X-Files, both shows that started strong and saw interest wain as mysteries were dragged out to long.

And on the subject of Lost, we will see how Juliet came to be on the island, the story on Jack's tattoo, and FINALLY the story of how Locke ended up in his chair.

And today's brain teaser: just what does happen if Peter absorbs Sylar's powers?

Illustration by Cameron Stewart (The Other Side, Seven Soldiers: The Guardian): RAID blog.

TV Guide has some scoops and info on upcoming Heroes episodes

Thanks to Blog at Newsarama

Wikipedia: Heroes