Good Times is proud to join Santa Cruz City Arts in celebrating SculpTOUR, a year-long installation of 12 fabulous sculptures by local artists along  Pacific Avenue. We're inviting you to vote on and critique the pieces, and the winning sculpture will net a special Audience Award for the artist! In addition, there will be a random monthly drawing starting in February, in which every reviewer has a chance to win great prizes. Just click the SculpTOUR link above to start.

For more information about SculpTOUR, call 420-5150 or e-mail SculpTOUR@ci.santa-cruz.ca.us. For questions or any issues with the voting here, contact gtweekly@gtweekly.com.

Batman, Rorschach, the Flash and Wolverine are just a few familiar faces that will be dominating the genre landscape in 2009, so you can bet there's plenty to be excited about as the new year looks to continue the recent trend of quality comic content across all mediums of entertainment.

DC will definitely make some headlines with Neil Gaiman sinking his teeth into a stint on the Batman books with a two-issue run titled "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" A story that will apparently be highly reminiscent of Alan Moore's swan song for the silver age Superman back in 1986 - and speaking of the silver age, Barry Allen will be making an incredibly long-awaited return from the dead and into the red and yellow tights as The Flash: Rebirth re-unites the creative team responsible for Hal Jordan's triumphant revival as the Green Lantern in an all new highly anticipated six-issue series.

{mosimage}Meanwhile, Marvel has "Dark Reign" in the cards. A post "Secret Invasion" event with the added twist of Spider-Man's archnemesis Norman Osborne finding himself sanctioned by the government as the head of a national peacekeeping force. While that may seem scarce, keep in mind that convention season is about to kickoff in February, with the inevitable outpouring of surprise announcements for the coming year on the printed page.

On the film front, Marvel's most popular mutant hits the ground running in his first big screen solo outing when X-Men Origins: Wolverine slashes its way onto theater screens in May. A prequel to the X-Men trilogy, the story is primarily set during Logan's days at the Weapon X project and promises to offer plenty of fan service with the live action debut of severable memorable characters from the long-running comic series. Be sure to keep an eye out for a certain card-wielding cajun.

Then there's the terribly unfortunate question on many fans minds: When will we be watching the Watchmen? Recent legal troubles have a very real potential to delay the release of 2009's most anticipated comic event as rival studios compete over ownership and distribution rights to the material. Fingers are crossed for the film to meet its original release date of March 6, but who knows?

In any event, buckle up comic nerds ... this year is going to be one to remember.

The Organic Materials Exchange has a subtitle on its webpage: “Manure—Compost—Mulch.” This is all that there is to understand about this exchange program, and it’s suitable for the holiday giving season and the cleansing of the old and ringing in of the new. Started by popular demand, this Craigslist-esque site allows people with organic waste to search for places to dump their unwanted materials both locally and in surrounding counties. Whether you need these materials or are looking to rid yourself of compost, wood chips or manure, this website can find people who would love to give (or receive) your huge pile of crap.

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omexchange.org, support@omexchange.org, 464-2950.

Twenty-six teenagers. One museum. Mary Alice Copp’s portraits present the positive influence that The Newark Museum’s Science Explorer’s Program in Newark, New Jersey has had on its student participants. The program employs urban high school students for three years, prepping them for college and exposing them to ample opportunities. Copp featured 26 students from the program’s past three years in these portraits, celebrating diversity, education and personal success, and this is the final weekend to see the results.

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6:30 p.m. Museum of Art & History Auditorium, 705 Front St, Santa Cruz. Free. 429-1964. Through January 11.

Howard “Boots” McGhee: Surfer. Photographer. Altruist. Truly a Renaissance man of the sea, Boots is opening his photography exhibit that showcases a splendid panoramic of his water-centric work. Warm desert sands and perfect sets illustrate his Baja trip, while photos of stoked kids riding their first waves depict the joy garnered at a philanthropic event. His photography captures the reality of the moment, be it a bird traversing a sunset or a local catching a wave. This semi-autobiographical exhibit will awe both the experienced artist looking for fine photography, or just someone wanting a glimpse of beautiful scenes.

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Nuevo Southwest Grill, 21490 E Cliff Dr., Santa Cruz. Exhibit runs through December. 475–2233.