Gallery1988 was once snubbed by Juxtapoz, but it now celebrates its fifth anniversary as one of the most relevant art galleries of our generation. On April 2, G1988: LA presents Idiot Box, 100 artists paying tribute to icons of the small screen. The gallery has previewed some truly awesome pieces like Alex Pardee’s rendering of Steve Urkel and Adam Rex’s homage to Small Wonder. Toy fans should look out for something stupendous from Doktor A and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle by Le Merde. The roster of artists guarantees the show will be amazing, and to top it all off, Idiot Box will be hosted by Mr. Belding — yes, Dennis Haskins from Saved By the Bell. There will be an opening reception from 7 – 11 p.m. on April 2. The show runs through April 23.

Artist Dave MacDowell creates some really strange and interesting paintings. He combines a myriad of of pop-culture references into his art: characters from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Stand By Me, Mallrats, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Alice in Wonderland and a slew of other well-known figures. The funky vivid colors create something you’d find in a carnival funhouse nightmare. Check out his interview at Blah Blah Gallery.

With summer blockbusters now an afterthought, and Christopher Nolan’s masterful $500 million plus Dark Knight film slowly fading from memory, it’s time to hit the refresher button on one of our favorite superheroes. Batman has existed in many incarnations, perhaps one of the most unsung is Batman:The Animated Series, which enjoyed a fruitful after school run in the early to mid-1990’s. The magic of this embodiment of the Caped Crusader was apparent to many a comic book and cartoon fan, including Philly-based MC, producer, and percussionist Blame The Kid. Blame (a.k.a our very own Abdullah Saeed) was recently so inspired by this version of Gotham city goings on that he decided to turn his childhood muse into some rather dope music. Pooling melodic samples and dialogue from the show and combining with his own talents for programming, beat culting, and playing, he’s concocted quite the musical mashup. A love letter, if you will, with Batman: The Animated Album. Faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap buildings in a single bound…oh wait, that’s the other guy. Just download the album, take a listen and enjoy the ride.

UrbanMedium is Derek and Heather, a husband/wife design duo who use paint, paper and the street to broadcast messages. Their iconic images use a mashup of pop culture and historical figures to provoke thought. One of their best-known prints, CheTrooper, reimagines the Marxist revolutionary as part of the Imperial starfleet. Back with some new screenprints, UrbanMedium now turns their attention to Kim Jong Il and Charles Manson. For the former, the duo presents a set of three prints, Kim Jong-iLL, mixing up the North Korean dictator with ODB, Michael Jordan and James bond. For the latter, Hello Charlie, UrbanMedium asks the question of what happens when an icon of evil is replaced by its absolute pop culture opposite.

There’s no question that Harrison Ford has played two of the greatest roles in film history. While we might have our own personal reasons as to why we think Indiana Jones is much cooler than Han Solo, no one’s ever really qualified their abilities to answer the burning question, “who would come out on top of this character conflict if they ever met in a dark alley?” Unfortunately, this query has been left hanging up in the air for a generation of nerds to ponder … until now. Thanks to the hard work of Jake Kalish, a freelance writer and humorist who’s work has appeared in Details and Men’s Fitness, we now have some idea who would win this epic battle. In his new book Santa vs. Satan: The Official Compendium of Imaginary Fights, Kalish pits some of the most revered names in history and pop culture in a series of Icono-clashes and manages to crown winners with the assistance of expert analysts, martial arts masters, scientists, social theorists, and pop-culture philosophers. So if you’re the type who’s ever argued that Gandalf could overpower Obi-Wan, you finally have your definitive answer … sort of.