Berkeley Place » Deadpool

WAAAAAAAANT!

ekko — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:24:07 +0000

COMIC BOOK NEWS AND HILARITY

ekko — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:27:39 +0000

They have totally changed the opening to the Walking Dead.

Now, hit the break for lots more foolishness, including the latest on the “real” Batman movie, the status of the Deadpool flick, Green Arrow’s TV show, new Garth Ennis work, and the latest on The Walking Dead.

It’s been a while since I did an update, so lots to tell. Let’s start with the world of film…

MOVIES ABOUT COMICS

DARK KNIGHT RISES. And it’s now certain: The movie will involve Talia al Ghul as a young girl.

DEADPOOL. Starring Ryan Reynolds. It’s a go (or as certain to be a go as anything in Hollywood ever is) to start shooting this year. And it’ll be R-rated. The director will be Tim Miller, an FX guy from the X-Men movies, and they’re still working with the script from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who wrote the stellar R-rated horrorcom Zombieland. A leaked shot of Reynolds in costume appears at right.

THOR, TONY, CAP AND FURY. Marvel Studios is wrapping Thor 2 this year, beginning filming on Iron Man 3 in May, and will then launch into Captain America 2 and then…A Nick Fury movie. Is that really what everyone is clamoring for? I would so much rather see something like a well done Punisher or Daredevil or the Ant Man movie they’ve been promising us, or even the Doc Strange flick that’s apparently in development. Fury is best as a side character, even in comics.

WOLVERINE. Is also a go, and will still star Hugh Jackman.

KICK ASS 2. Will NOT be directed by Matthew Vaughn. And volume 2 of the comic book doesn’t come close to vol. 1. So there’s a high suckage risk here. Still, I loved the first movie…

BONE. Yes, Jeff Smith’s genius book is being adapted as a cartoon movie by Animal Logic, the gang behind “Happy Feet 2″ and “Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.” It’s being written by Patrick Sean Smith, creator of ABC’s “Greek” TV show, with P.J. “Muriel’s Wedding” Hogan to direct. Can’t say that any of that sounds particularly promising to me…I hope Jeff is at least getting some bux out of it.

THE GOON. David Fincher, one of my all-time favorite directors, is producing the adaptation of the critically acclaimed comic book, and Paul Giamatti is signed to voice Franky, The Goon’s sidekick. The movie is slated as a CGI production, but is still in early development.

HACK/SLASH. The horror comic from Image will be translated into film by Marcus “Conan the Barbarian” and lame remakes of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Friday the 13th” Nispel. Let’s just say that the magic 8 ball doesn’t like the looks of that.

HANCOCK 2. Oh, God, please. No. Make it stop.

I’m as excited by the above films in the order they appear here. (I was one of the few who actually liked the Wolverine movie.) And now for the boob tube:

TELEVISION SHOWS ABOUT COMICS

ARROW. The Green Arrow live action TV show I reported on a few weeks ago now has a title. And the worst news is, it’s being produced and written by the guys who wrote the Green Lantern movie. The cast list has been released, and it includes roles for Black Canary and Tommy Merlyn (the Green Arrow version of Lex Luthor). There’s also an ex-soldier named “John Diggle,” which I assume is a nod to Andy Diggle, who wrote the best Green Arrow story of all time, Green Arrow: Year One. That’s kind of damning with faint praise though because other than some of the old Neal Adams Green Lanter/Green Arrow stuff, Green Arrow comics have been consistently dull. I’ll watch this, but I’m not waiting with baited breath.

THE WALKING DEAD. Lots of folks associated with the series are doing the press junket in prep for the show’s return. In doing so, they’ve given away/revealed some interesting tidbits:
Micchone will NOT appear this season, but will appear in future seasons.

The band will leave the farm this season…And Shane will still be along for the ride.
The team will also meet up with “other survivors” who might be able to help them…I figure that’s got to be the Governor’s crew, especially since Robert Kirkman just wrote a book about the dude.
Darabont has confirmed that he left the show because they wouldn’t give him the budget he felt he needed to do justice to the project.

And finally, the most important medium of all media…

COMIC BOOKS ABOUT COMICS

GARTH ENNIS KNOWS WHAT EVIL LURKS IN THE HEARTS OF MEN. Dynamite publishing signed Garth to write a new Shadow comic, based on the old radio serial hero. Ennis’ stuff is rarely bad, so I’m hopeful. I haven’t read a good Shadow comic since Howard Chaykin’s book from the 1980s. And speaking of Ennis…

ENNIS BACK ON CROSSED. “Crossed,” the “hard R-rated” book about a plague that turns people into sex-crazed lunatics who are impervious to pain and get off on murder and mutilation, has fallen on sad times since Garth Ennis left the book after the original 8-issue series ended. It’s a staple book, always selling pretty well, but the quality hasn’t kept up. Don’t get me wrong, I think David Lapham is a very talented comic book writer, but his work on Crossed seems to be more about being as gross and offensive as possible than it is about telling a story. So it’s good news that Ennis and Jacen Burrows, his co-creator on the original series, will be returning to the book. Coming this March from the great Avatar press.

RANDOM RECOMMENDATION. Gail Simone’s “old DCU” Secret Six book was far and away one of the best things DC did this century. The final volume, “Darkest House,” is available now and is a great example of how to end a series.

CUL DE SAC. Finally, we offer best wishes for Richard Thompson, the creator of the most brilliant strip you’ve never read, “Cul De Sac,” who has put the comic on hiatus while he undergoes treatment for Parkinson’s Disease. I met him at Balticon. He’s a hell of a guy, and his strip is easily as great as Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom County or any of the other more famous, more celebrated comics.

MY TOP 10 WISHES FOR MARVEL COMICS IN 2012

ekko — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:50:39 +0000

The top 10 things Marvel oughtta consider for 2012. Look back for my suggestions for DC and indies.

10. Make Marvel Digital iPad compatible. This is a no brainer.

9. Collect the Micronauts. Whatever the legal bullshit may be, do what it takes. And donate a huge chunk of it to Bill Mantlo’s medical fund while you’re at it.

9. More animated movies! Your Avengers Next, the Ultimate Avengers DVDs, X-Men Anime, and Planet Hulk proved you can do it right. So keep it up!

8. You should be having less, not more, Avengers books. I know they sell, but the quality is slipping, guys. I have hopes for Rick Remender on Secret Avengers—if that’s good, maybe you’ll change my mind.

7. Except for Black Avengers. Or were you kidding about that?

6. The Ultimate universe books are scattered, unfocused, and mostly kind of suck. Fix that, please.

5. Instead of cancelling DeadpoolMAX, grow it! If this book doesn’t have legs, then make it a bimonthly double size book with other satirical takes on heroes. You could have the X-Statix crew or Madrox, or include NEXTWAVE or even Irving Forbush! It could be an opportunity for stories like Matt Fraction’s brilliant Punisher tale about the funeral for Stilt Man. How about featuring some of the odder Morrison characters from New X-Men (like the see-through guy, the floating head, and Beak)? Even a look back a the old Power Man and Iron Fist rogues gallery, who were largely inane but terrific fun to read (Chemistro!). This is a book that could, can, and should reward nerds—we’ll buy it, I promise.

4. But cancel the “regular” Deadpool. When the horse is dead, it is prudent to dismount. Put the book on hold for a while and then bring it back when/if the movie gets made.

3. Contain the X-Verse, at least a little bit. It’s all over the place. New readers can’t jump in. You need a new “Astonishing” title, like the one Joss Whedon did, which rewards long-time readers but doesn’t alienate those of us who don’t have enough resources (or patience) to read 7 mutant monthlies.

3 (tie). And while you’re at it, leave some money on the table. Yes, you can probably sell a million X-books or cross-overs with the “events” you hold, but your fans are irritated with you for holding us hostage.

2. Break the Omnibi! I loved the Byrne and Simonson Omnibus editions you released in 2011, but they’re just too damn big. For the same price, you could easily print three softcovers and sell them as a set (maybe in a nice bookshelf hardcover sleeve, like they do for DVD sets). It would prevent breaking the binding. Of course, reading an Omnibus is sometimes my only form of exercise, so I can’t complain that much…

1. No more events. Schism was good, but it really wasn’t an “event,” it was just a good, fairly self-contained X-men story. Fear Itself, on the other hand, really, really, really sucked.

1 (tie). And since you’re going to ignore that last one, make events matter. There really was no fall out after Fear Itself. Bucky Cap and Thor died, but then came back just .1 and .3 issues later. And nobody thought they’d really died anyway. Ho hum.

THE BEST OF 2011: COMIC BOOKS!

ekko — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:19:45 +0000

From Marvel

Celebrating the best of the year….Hit the break.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

ekko — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 22:44:45 +0000

POST COMIC-CON NEWS…Part One

ekko — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:21:27 +0000

No, I wasn’t there. But I have been on vacation. Hit the break for news about Marvel Lego, Green Lantern, Walking Dead news, new Marvel TV projects, and much more. There’s so much news, I’m splitting it into two posts!

Be warned: Spoilers abound after the break…

THE TOP NEWS STORIES FROM SAN DIEGO COMIC CON!

In no particular order….

JUSTICE LEAGUE. The mystery JLAer is a chick called Lady Luck. I don’t know who that is, and don’t really care. I have the series on my pull list because I really want to see if Geoff Johns and Jim Lee can pull it off, but I suspect I’ll know by about issue 3 whether I’ll want to stick around.

EVIL DEADPOOL. Apparently, Daniel Way’s next big arc will be “Evil Deadpool,” wherein he’s hunted by a bunch of heroes who finally figured out that he’s a murderous dipshit and a pain the ass. Foolkiller will be in it. Oh, and he’s supposed to die or something in February 2012. Does anyone really believe that? And do they really need to hype DP to sell him?

MARVEL SEASON ONE. Starts next year, and it’s designed to be a jump-on point for new readers. I guess they still have a fantasy that people who see movies will become new comics readers. Word to Marvel: In the history of media, moving media has always been doom for still media. CDs? Gone. Youtube is how everyone finds music now. Books? Going, going, almost gone, as people seek entertainment from all kinds of broadcast alternatives. My prediction: Comic books will be gone in 10 years. But I can’t fault Marvel for trying. Hell, I praise them. I’m just cynical. A good idea, though, is that the concept will include original graphic novels. Sales of graphic novels about movie characters do, in fact, sell.

THE WALKING DEAD. Season two starts October 16^th. Apparently, though, Frank Darabont is leaving the show behind. That doesn’t bode well for it.

MARVEL T.V. Lots of news, which I’ll pass along as bullets. No info on whether these shows fit into the movie continuity, but Agent Colston is in the Spidey toon:

A series based on Mockingbird is in development. Yes, Hawkeye’s resurrected bride will get her own series on ABC Family. So they’ll greenlight this, but not a Luke Cage series?!?
Ultimate Spider-Man, the animated series, is still scheduled for 2012.
Joss Whedon and John Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men will also get a cartoon (awesome!).
The Hulk TV show, produced by Guillermo Del Toro, is going to take place early in the creature’s life, when Banner wasn’t known to the world and he was still trying to get down Bett’s pants.
The show based on Brian Michael Bendis’ brilliant Alias series will be titled A.K.A. Jessica, and Luke Carol “Ms. Marvel” Danvers will be included.
Cloak and Dagger will take place in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Red Hulk will infect Marvel TV as well, on toon called Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. series featuring Rulk, Hulk, Skaar, A-Bomb and She-Hulk.

UMBRELLA ACADEMY. A movie is in the words to be directed by Rawson “Dodgeball” Thurber.

SUPERMAN NEWS. Well all know Grant Morrison is taking over the character. He’s got a full year and a half plotted out, and has plans that extend beyond that. Yeah, they’ll be retooling the origin (again), but I completely trust Grant to do it in a cool way. Jimmy Olsen will be a part of the new series, which will take place in Metropolis, as will Steel. Luthor will still be bald. And Superman will indeed go back to kicking some ass. That’s pretty much a direct quote. It’s about time.

MARVEL SUPER HERO SQUAD: COMIC COMBAT. Most of the video game news wasn’t really news, but Marvel did announce this new game for Wii uDraw, Xbox 360 (with Kinect support) and PlayStation 3 (with Move support) in November. Players will use a drawing panel and stylus to engage in combat with enemies by drawing with a stencil-like tool and tilting the device. Sounds a little bit like Drawn to Life. But it will feature …. Squirrel Girl! There was also some discussion of the next Marvel vs. Capcom, which will include Ghost Rider and Hawkeye and Ant Man. I’m not that excited, though, because it doesn’t come out on any platform we have at Berkeley Place.

CABLE REBORN. Fortunately, Cable is returning from the dead. Unfortunately, he’ll be written by Jeph Loeb. Fortunately, Ed McGuinessis on the art. Balance sheet seems positive, but only barely so.

WHY JMS LEFT SUPERMAN AND WONDER WOMAN. At a panel, JMS claimed that leaving Superman and Wonder Woman in the lurch wasn’t his idea; his “Superman Earth One” graphic novel did so well that DC Comics told him to stop all other projects and focus on just doing a sequel. It will come out in 2012. I find this a little hard to believe, as it is hardly the first time JMS has left a series suddenly without wrapping up his storylines. See: The Twelve, Supreme Power, Thor, etc.

FEAR ITSELF CONTINUES. After Fear Itself will come another miniseries titled Battle Scars, a bunch of 4-dollar one shots called Shattered Heroes, and a biweekly new series by Matt Fraction called The Fearless, which will be about the hammers…Please, make it stop. This gives new meaning to the famous quote: The only thing we have to fear, is Fear Itself.

GREEN LANTERN. Hal Jordan is history, man (at least as a GL). Apparently, Sinestro will be a major player in next year’s stories, and Hal will be a civilian.

GREEN LANTERN. THOR. CAP. AND TMNT?

ekko — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 09:33:21 +0000

My semi-regular post about all things related to comic books–America’s greatest contribution to the literary field. This week, updates about the Chew TV show, the Deadpool movie, and more….

FOR ART’S SAKE . . .

This is a neat little site: It’s all “corner art”–you know, the little rectangle picture in the upper left corner of most Marvel books.

COMICS ON FILM

Let’s start with celluloid news this week…..

THE BOYS. Rumors abound that director Adam McKay has offered the key role of Butcher to Russell Crowe. I can see that working fairly well, although Crowe seems a bit old for the role. The real casting coups, for those familiar with the groundbreaking, ultra-violent comic book, would be getting Stan Lee to play “The Legend” and Simon Pegg to play “Hughie.” The script isn’t even done yet, though, and I can’t imagine what studio is going to be willing to produce a hard-R superhero movie with a fairly large FX budget. I’m thinking it could be made on the cheap—the CGI in G.I. Joe, for example, was about $18 million (chump change) and certainly was good enough. The main thing that will sell The Boys is the script and the acting—unlike, say, Green Lantern or Thor, which will fail if they don’t have a high visual “wow” factor. And speaking of “R” rated superhero movies . . .

DEADPOOL. In a recent interview in Empire Magazine, producer Lauren Shuler Donner states that the DP movie will begin shooting in the next year, but still doesn’t have a director. Ryan Reynolds is still attached, and is assisting in writing the script along with the guys who wrote Zombieland. And it won’t be anything like DP from the Wolverine movie—this will be the genuine article: “irreverent and violent,” to quote Ms. Donner, and rated R. They’re calling it a complete reboot. I’d love to see ‘Pool, who is known for breaking the fourth wall, walk right up the screen and tell the readers that the Deadpool from X-Men Origins: Wolverine was pure crap. Overall, considering the number of times we’ve been told the movie is about to get made, and the likelihood of a big budget supermovie that won’t let teens in the theater without a parent, I’m taking this with a (very hopeful) grain of salt. In related news, she says she shopped X4 and X5 to Fox Studios, and they’re on board. Sigh. I was hoping the rights would revert to Marvel Studios, so we could see some crossover with Avengers characters.

SUPERMAN. Amy Adams=Lois Lane. Dunno why I’m even reporting that–I’m sure you all knew it already. But did you hear that we’re going to (finally) get to see a villain other than Zod and Luthor? Rumors is, Superman will face General Lane and Metallo. Now that’s something I’d like to see.

THOR AND CAPTAIN AMERICA. I’m getting more and more psyched. Now that I’ve seen pics of Dum Dum Dugan and Howard Stark from Cap, and there’s a confirmed Hawkeye cameo in Thor (complete with firing arrows!), I just can’t wait to see these flicks. Funny—the Green Lantern movie didn’t seem to be able to generate half the advance hype or excitement. It’s engines have just gotten running. Speaking of which . . .

GREEN LANTERN. Ryan Reynolds appeared at WonderCon, and tried to distance the film from the cute/funny trailers that have previously informed us of what the movie will be about. He’s saying it will be an aggressive move, full of “rage and purpose”. Hmm. I’ve never been a fan of GL. It’s a decent enough comic under Geoff Johns, but the character has never resonated with me. Part of it is the whole space thing. Space stories generally make my brain ache. I’m still excited to see it, though. Somehow I think it will translate better on the big screen. We’ll see on June 17^th.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2. Yes, they haven’t even done shooting the “reboot” and they’ve contracted for a sequel. I still think the new costume sucks.

JUSTICE LEAGUE? So now Warner Bros is confirming that a script is being developed and they plan to have a movie ready for a 2013 release, one year after Batman and Superman in 2012. From there, they’ll try big picture Flash and Wonder Woman movies, and the two planned sequels for Green Lantern will fit in somehow as well. They also confirmed that this will require a complete Bat-reboot, as Christopher Nolan’s Batman and mythology will not fit into a comprehensive DC movie universe, and a new Batman movie is already being planned. Nolan is on board to produce the JLA flick. Of course, if Thor, Cap, Avengers or Green Lantern fail, I’m sure we’ll see a quick backtrack on all this.

TELEVISION

CHEW. Despite earlier rumors that the TV series based on John Layman and Rob Guillory’s “Chew” would be on AMC, it looks like it was actually sold to Showtime. It’s about a cop who gets psychic reads off of stuff he eats. Naturally, he eats lots of gross things. Yeah, it’s a flimsy premise. It held up for the first five or six issues but got (ahem) stale pretty quick after that. Of course, they’re doing it as a half-hour comedy, so that means they can stretch that first arc out for at least one full season.

SMALLVILLE. They’ve released a pic of Booster Gold and the Blue Beetle. But does anyone care about this show anymore? I’m barely watching—it’s running on fumes. They’ll have one really cool episode and then several eps of stale filler.

DC ANIMATION NATION. Next year, on Cartoon Network, we’ll get an hour of DC ‘toons. Lots of it will be DVD extras and already-released material, along with some new stuff. This hour will be in addition to the Green Lantern and Young Justice ‘toons. Wish there was more original stuff, but DC’s animation is usually pretty darn good. Especially that recent, hilariously random Batman: Brave and the Bold ep featuring silver age Superman and the one with Bat Mite. Wonderful stuff—no wonder Grant Morrison is an admitted fan. And in other DC cartoon news, their next full-length DVD will be Justice League: Doom, based on Mark Waid’s Tower of Babel arc from JLA #43-46 originally—it’s Ra’s Al Ghul vs. JLA.

MARVEL ANIMATION. Not to be outdone, Marvel’s “Thor: Tales of Asgard” DVD arrives May 6. It’s a great time to love superheroes, folks.

MARVEL ANIME-TION. Looks like the “Iron Man” and “Wolverine” animes will arrive on the G4 cable network in July. I’m not a huge fan of the “look” of the Wolverine one, but the Iron Man advance art I’ve seen is pretty cool. And Tony will be voiced by Adrian Pasdar. The Blade and X-Men animes will come later in the year. For more info go to g4.

VIDEO GAMES!

SPIDER-MAN: EDGE OF TIME. I don’t usually report on games here, but this week I’m making an exception. After struggling for a few hours with the controls (and then continuing to struggle as I beat the game), I was ultimately convinced that Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions was actually a darn cool game. It would have been even better if the controls worked—they’re very hard to master and they’re glitch—or if it had been a 2 or 3 player game. But I enjoyed it. Marvel and Activision have announced a sequel: Spider-Man: Edge of Time. Unlike the first game, there will only be two Spideys (not four): Amazing and Spider-Man 2099. It’s written by Peter (X-Factor) David, and the cool part is this: It’s a timetravel game taking place in present day and 2099, and players will see how their actions in the game change the timeline of the other Spider-Man. No release date yet.

ACTUAL COMIC BOOKS! THAT YOU CAN READ!

AMERICAN PANTHER. As a result of Marvel’s “Fear Itself,” Black Panther will trade in what may be the coolest costume in the Marvel pantheon for new duds that look like something between a mechanic’s overalls and an American Gladiator costume. Yechhh. Since when does a formal African King become a second rate Captain America.

CAPTAIN AMERICA. And if they’re going to star spangle T’Challa, why do so now, when we’re so close to Steve Rogers returning to wear the “A” cowl? In June, Captain America will get a #1 (again!), Steve McNiven will come on board for the art, but Ed Brubaker will continue as the writer. Why a #1? To sell books, I’m sure. I trust Ed Brubaker, though, because his Captain America run has probably been the longest time that a single writer has been consistently good/great since . . . Well, I can’t think of anyone who’s stuck around for this many years on one title and kept it fresh and interesting. Although, to make things even more confusing, the regular Captain America title will become Captain America And Bucky, also still written by Ed Brubaker (with Marc Andreyko) and Chris Samnee doing the pictures. The story will be flashbacks—tales of Cap in days leading up to WW2. So, basically, it’s a retcon that freakishly corresponds with a major film about Cap during WW2.

JIM STARLIN’S BREED. I’m wondering if any of my indie-fan readers have checked out Jim Starlin’s Breed comic? I hadn’t even heard of it until he signed with Image to finish the storyline. One of my favorite books of all time was Dreadstar, which switched publishers well into its run between Epic and First. He revolutionized comic books with that title, being one of the first well-established creators to go indie. According to the press release, a Breed trade paperback is also set to release on May 11, which will reprint the first story arc. It’s about a guy who finds out that he’s literally part monster. I’ll definitely check this out: Jim Starlin is one of the greatest.

TMNT. I made $150 overnight thanks to the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craze, when I managed to get a copy of #1 for just a buck fifty. Those early TMNT books were actually really good, oversized black and white books. And you can have them now in an oversized hardcover edition collecting the first 11 issues—with annotations by Kevin Eastman. An annotated comic book? The nerd in me is popping wood right now.

THE FEARSOME FOUR. It’s still too early to tell whether Marvel’s 2011 “Fear Itself” event will be more House of M and less Secret Invasion, or more Civil War than Siege, but a heartening portend is a four-issue spin off mini titled, “Fearsome Four” and featuring (get ready): Howard the Duck, She-Hulk, Nighthawk, Frankenstein’s monster, and Man-Thing. The basic idea is that when the God of Fear comes a-callin’, Man-Thing (whose mission is to burn away fear) loses his mind, so the other four castmembers try to save him—and stop him from causing all kinds of havoc with his interdimensional-gateway abilities. (Thunderbolts use Man-Thing as a teleporter, because the creature can move people and objects though the “Nexus of All Realities” to reach any place in the universe within seconds.) It looks like they’ll be playing it relatively straight, so there may be cause for alarm here, but if they don’t take it all too seriously, this could be a lot of fun.

ABSOLUTION. Most of you probably know Christos Gage as the writer/creator of Avengers Academy, but you ought to know about his tremendously cool anti-hero superhero miniseries, “Absolution.” Avatar has announced a sequel, to be released in late 2011. Seriously, you need to scoop up the Absolution trade. It’s brilliant, and recommended if you like good-guys-gone-bad stuff like Irredeemable and The Boys.

Go here to read about how good Absolution really was. Buy independent!

AQUAMAN. I used to think I liked Geoff Johns. I loved his work on Teen Titans and Action Comics—in my view, these were probably the best takes on those characters that I’ve ever read. Then he went to Green Lantern and that was pretty good, but I’m just not a huge GL fan. Then he went to Blackest Night, which was still pretty good, but less pretty good. Then Brightest Day came along, and ugh. Now, he’s launching an Aquaman series that he says will “kick ass.” Hmm. Believe it when I see it. And by see it, I mean skim it at Victory Comics in Falls Church. ‘Cause I sure as hell ain’t buyin’ it.

SWAMPIEST BRIGHT DAY. By now you should all know that Swamp Thing has returned to the DCU as a White Lantern. Or something like that. I’m kinda hating Brightest Day. But this represents DC following through on bringing Vertigo characters like Swampy and Madame Xanadu back into the DCU.

WARREN ELLIS ON SECRET AVENGERS. True comic nerd favorite Warren (Planetary, Thunderbolts, Transmetropolitan, RED, etc.) Ellis will take over Secret Avengers in July with issue #16. He’ll have a six-issue run of done-in-one adventures. Coincidentally, six happens to be the number of comics usually contained in a trade paperback.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. Just a little update, because if you’re not reading this series, you’re really missing out. In recent weeks, Spidey has (1) Lost his spider sense, which has been handled in an extremely well-thought-out way—Dan Slott has shown how the ability to predict trouble affects everything about how both Spidey and Pete Parker go about their daily business; (2) served as the launch pad for Rick Remender’s terrific new Venom series; (3) J. Jonah Jameson’s wife was killed, making JJJ even more maniacal than before (and let’s not forget, this is the guy who funded the creation of Scorpion); (4) been the subject of some truly revolutionary artwork by Marcos Martin; (5) introduced a new Hobgoblin!; and (6) dealt with the deaths of Marla and Johnny “Human Torch” Storm in probably the best post-death issues I’ve ever read. In the coming weeks: (1) We’ll start seeing “infested” back up features, which will lead to a free full-length story on May’s Free Comic Book Day and then will lead to all of Manhattan under quarantine in the “Spider-Island” event/arc; (2) said event will featuring a bunch of Spiderfolks as well as Avengers, The FF, The Jackal, Shang Chi and Venom; (3) Chris Gage will write a 2-issue crossover with an Avengers team Spidey isn’t in (he’s in two of them), Avengers Academy (which also happens to be far and away the best Avengers book on the stands); and (4) a cover featuring Spider-Man dressed as the Statue of Liberty. Why the hell aren’t you reading this book?

MY TRIP TO THE COMIC STORE THIS WEEK: Reviews

ekko — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 13:32:36 +0000

I don’t buy a lot of loose issues–I tend to be a wait-for-the-trade kinda guy, ’cause bound volumes are easier to store and more durable, and most of the books I read are more fun in larger arcs. But there are some titles I read month to month. These are their stories.

This week I picked up two weeks’ worth of books: This week’s and last week’s.

BOOK OF THE WEEK: DEADPOOL MAX: A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE #1. This book reprints issues #1-3 of the acclaimed–but largely unread–Deadpool Max series. I scooped it up because $.99 for three issues is just too good a deal. I am so glad I did. I buy a lot of Deadpool each week because my oldest son is a fanatic. Even has Rob Liefeld’s autograph on his wall. But this series by David Lapham (the man behind the indie book Stray Bullets) is, by my account, the only one that’s a must-read. The others are of varying quality, some good, some bad, but this one is groundbreaking. It reads like an indie. The reader is thrown off-balance by Deadpool’s insanity, and we are never really certain what is real and what is not, as Deadpool controls the narrative. Bob–who serves as a comic relief for the Marvel Universe Deadpool–is tragically abused in service to his country. And it’s still hilarious. This is the blackest of black comedy and some of the best comic writing I’ve ever had the good fortune to read. Kyle “Plastic Man” Baker’s art is the perfect compliment: It’s realistic enough to be disturbing, but abstract enough that we can even laugh at pictures of Hitler. Baker’s sense of color, his panel layouts, and his choice of odd add ins (Danny Devito and Big Nurse!) are nothing short of brilliant. Grade: A+.

BATMAN #708. I just started picking up Batbooks-other-than-Grant-Morrison recently, so DC’s plan to reign in Grant’s weirdness and have him focus on good stories must be working. And, I must say, I haven’t been disappointed, The main batbook has been hard to follow for new readers. This one is clear enough, but it’s an entree into a Red Robin story. Grrr. They’re just trying to get me to buy Red Robin. Which I won’t do. I did enjoy the issue, though, as well written and beautifully illustrated by Guillem March. Truly, it was the art the kept me turning the pages. Forcing me to follow yet another Bat-title to get the end of the story just ticks me off to no end. Do this again, Mr. Didio, and I drop Batman from my pull list. A for art; B for writing; C for where they went with it.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #656. New spider armor. I love–love!–what Dan Slott is doing with this series. And series regular artist Marcos Martin is fantastic. Only these guys could get me not to miss the classic red-and-blue pajamas with the web-underarm fringe. This is grade “A” comic book work.

THUNDERBOLTS TP CAGE. Collecting Thunderbolts #144-47, wherein Luke Cage takes charge. I appreciate Jeff Parker’s writing, and Kev Walker is a fine illustrator, but try as I might, I just can’t get into this book. First of all, it’s ridiculous to think Crossbones could ever come close to being a good guy. Second, the book just never seems to go far enough. And Cage’s “criminal” past has been reconciled as a frame-up/misunderstanding, so he’s not even a reformed criminal–which means there’s a complete lack of genuine wrestling with morality. T-Bolts hasn’t been great since Warren Ellis left. As it stands, it’s just fair. Nice to see Man Thing, though. Grade: B-/C+.

BATMAN INCORPORATED #4. In this issue, we see both the old and new Batwoman characters, through a present-day mystery and past-day flashbacks. We also get to see Robin jealous of Batman having a girlfriend (he tries to sic Ace the Batdog on her), and, generally, a level of fun and goofball Batzaniness that’s been missing from the Batverse for a long time and that’s been missing from Grant Morrison since…Well, he’s never been this way in the Batbooks before. Morrison is a true professional, but most of the time I find him unapproachable. It’s great to see a master storyteller focus on telling stories–rather than mystifying readers with innuendo and subtlety. This book keeps getting better. At this rate, I’ll soon stop missing Grant’s work on Batman & Robin. Grade: A.

BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #2. Issue #2 of David Finch’s take on The Bat. The art is still great, the story is getting a little better. I’m still curious enough to keep going with it. Grade: B.

ICEMAN AND ANGEL #1. A comedy relief buddy comic. Much better than it should have been, it’s a light-hearted romp. We used to get a lot more of these in the 1980s, so it’s nice to see. Grade: B.

DAREDEVIL REBORN #3. Somebody end this awful rehash of Frank Miller’s “Badlands” done-in-one from Daredevil #219. Grade: D.

PREACHER: GONE TO TEXAS. This isn’t new. It’s a hardcover I got from the library and read over the course of the last two weeks, reprinting the first 9 issues of Garth Ennis’ series about a Preacher who literally goes searching for God . . . For revenge. It’s not Ennis’ best work, but it’s pretty damn interesting. It’s rare that a comic book about God makes me think about faith. Solid book. Grade: B+.

DEADPOOL #34. Haven’t read it yet. Love the cover.

ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON #4. Haven’t read it yet. The prior issues, though, were some of the sickest stuff I’ve read in comics. Check it out. Grade: B+.

SUPERMAN 5, X-MEN 4, HELLBOY 3, GHOST RIDER 2 . . . BUT NO WONDER WOMAN 1

ekko — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 19:00:21 +0000

ZACK SNYDER IS THE NEXT SUPERDIRECTOR.

There were three Christopher Reeves Superman movies and one with Brandon Routh, making four so far. (I refuse to recognize “Quest for Peace.”) Get ready for yet another reboot of the most all-American, least cynical hero in comicdom. Zack Snyder, who lensed “300″ and “Watchmen,” will take the helm, with Christopher Nolan attached to produce. I hope this isn’t part of the trend to make comic book movies dark and scary–I can’t imagine Snyder behind a character who really needs to be told in a brightly colored, epic story. And no cursing! General Zod will be the bad guy (again). Haven’t they ever heard of Braniac? Darkseid? Mxyzptlk? Metallo? Bizarro? My advice: (1) Skip the origin–play it out the way they did it in the otherwise-unwatchable Jonah Hex: Show a “motion comic” of it, and then launch the main story. (2) Include more than one villain–perhaps in a twenty minute, self-contained drama that plays out during the larger arc. And (3) make Superman proud, strong and confident. Not like the mealy Brandon Routh.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS. More details have been spilling about what will be the fourth X-Men movie. It looks like they’ll be taking some of the unused plotpoints for the Magneto movie, including reshooting his concentration camp scene from X-Men 2, and word is Mystique will be in the flick. Naked. I don’t remember her being important in the early X-Men stories, but then again ,this isn’t Stan Lee’s early X-ers.

HELLBOY 3. Guillermo del Toro will return. Personally, I think the first two films are some fine examples of comic book moviemaking.

GHOST RIDER 2: SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE. The villain in the next Nic Cage overactathon will be The Devil, played by Ciaran (“Aberforth” of Harry Potter) Hinds. The plot will be Blaze trying to repress his Ghost persona while hiding out in Easter Europe, when a bunch of anti-devil worshippers find him and get him to foil the Devil’s latest dastardly plan. Idris Elba will be a drunken dude on GR’s side. Why are they reinventing the wheel here? Jason Aaron’s GR
story wasn’t good enough? Frankly, it would be much cooler if Ghosty fought
Dumbeldore.

WONDER WOMAN. There will be no Wonder Woman movie, but David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal/The Practice) is attached to a
Wonder Woman television series project. Without more information, it’s hard to predict whether it will be worth your eyetime, but I can think of two likely reasons to watch–the right one and the left one.

JMS=LOEB. Years ago, there was a brilliant writer named Jeph Loeb who teamed up with an equally brilliant artist named Tim Sale to produce a “color” series in which he examined key events in the lives of famous Marvel heroes—Spider Man: Blue, Daredevil: Yellow, Hulk: Gray—and also produced some of the greatest Batman stories of the past 20 years (“The Long Halloween”). Not gradually but suddenly, and without warning, Loeb became the kind of hack who created a giant red Hulk who likes to use guns and start in several-issue-long fistfights without plot or point. Now, we have J. Michael Straczynski, who was once a cutting-edge creator responsible for what many think of as the high water mark for Spider-Man stories, as well as the imaginative and acclaimed MAX series about Squadron Supreme. Now, though, JMS seems to be interested in presiding over a conservative costume change for D.C.’s hottest chick, not to mention dull rehash stories of the Amazon wonder, and putting Superman on a walkabout. A what?! Dude can fly! Why walk when you can fly? I just don’t get it.

SMALLVILLE NEWS. In other Supernews, now that the show is cancelled, they’re finally making it get good. Last week they brought in Deadshot (albeit as a cowboy), and next will come Deadpool look-a-like Deathstroke! If they keep bringing in DCU guys, they might actually make me miss it when it’s gone. Actually, I think they should cancel it but next season bring in a live-action Justice League with the same characters. They could do that, I’m sure, and if Tom Welling’s quote is too high, dump him. It’s the suit they need, not the actor.

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NEWS! (Maybe a little old news . . . )

ekko — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:38:11 +0000

It’s been a few weeks—I’ve been busy—so some of this may be old . . . But at least there’s a lot of it!

1. WALKING DEAD. Of course this is the lead story . . . AMC released a 4-minute trailer, and confirmed that the show will launch on Halloween for a special 90-minute episode directed by Frank Darabont, followed by 5 more episodes for the first “season.” (They’re already in pre-production for season 2.) If you’re not saying you can’t wait until Halloween, you are hereby forbidden to read my blog ever again.

2. SMALLVILLE. Buzz is starting about the September 24 debut of the final season of the [pretty good, then bad, then really good, then pretty good, then dull] series “Smallville,” which has been around long enough to wear out its welcome. The final season will be not-Superman-or-Superboy’s battle alongside Green Arrow and probably at least half a dozen others (not-Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman, Hawkman, etc.) against Darkseid. Also, the incredibly hot prudish nudist Erica Durance (anybody who heard her interview with Howard Stern a few years ago knows what I mean), who plays Lois Lane, will also play Isis(?) this season. Oh, and Supergirl will be back. Could be good, but keeping Clark out of the tights has gone on too long. Folks are asking what to replace this series with? Howzabout Superman??? ‘Cause this show never had him.

3. ANT-MAN. Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim flick got a mixed reception (but I loved it!) and was a box office dud, but he’s still the only guy attached to an Ant-Man movie. Wright wants to make it a spy thriller. Really? Ant-Man (to me) is kind of a silly character. I only really liked him when he went inside Iron Man after Tony’s systems were fried during a battle with the Hulk (I think that was Iron Man #153, but I’m doing this off the top of my head) during the terrific Roger Stern days. (I did like Scott Lang’s appearances in the brilliant Brian Michael Bendis series, “Alias.”) Other than that, he’s a b-lister who should stay off the a-list. If they’re looking for lesser-known folks to get the spotlight, a Giant Man/Wasp movie would be more interesting, or more Blade flicks! Hell, I’d rather see a whole slew of guys: Power Man and Iron Fist, a Daredevil reboot, Moon Knight . .

4. IRON FIST. Marvel Studios hired Rich Wilkes (of the horrible “xXx” action film) to write a screenplay. Of course, we all know that “write a screenplay” rarely translates into a movie that human beings can actually see. But if the chi is with him, Danny Rand will be the first star of a Disney film about a Marvel character (the currently slated Marvel movies are all Marvel Studios productions, started before the merger).

5. DEADPOOL. You have to give it to Ryan Reynolds. Despite all indications to the contrary, he’s pushing to get the Deadpool movie made and talking it up constantly. As Rob Liefeld tweets, “There needs to be a &^%# Deadpool movie NOW!”

6. NEIL GAIMAN’S SANDMAN. Sandman, a most excellent comic book series under any criteria that ran from 1988-96 and was partly responsible for the creation of D.C.’s Vertigo imprint, may be coming to T.V. I know, you’ve heard that before (it was supposed to be coming to HBO), but now it looks like D.C.’s bigger sister, Warner Bros., sees a market on the CW—which is starving for material and is owned by (of course) Warner Bros. The odds, then, of the project actually reaching completion seem a lot greater.

7. BATMEN. If you were a fan of Batman: International (I wasn’t) then you may be excited by the news that when Bruce Wayne is done returning, he will wear the Batsuit. But Grayson will, too. Apparently, Batman is going to incorporate himself around the world—kind of like the Avengers: Initiative idea. Se, we’ll have Batman, Detective, Batman and Robin, Batman Inc., and Batman: The Dark Knight. Every month. Marvel should do this with Deadpool, since they can’t seem to publish enough of him every month, either.

8. DAREDEVIL AND GAMBIT. Looks like Gambit will be the new Daredevil. I’m not psyched about it, but my son is apeshit. Daredevil and Gambit are, respectfully, his two favorite heroes. So for him, this is like a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup: Two great tastes that go great together. Daredevil will be ending at the end of the Shadowland arc in November with issue #512. Andy Diggle will return with Daredevil Reborn #1 in January. How much you wanna bet Daredevil Reborn” lasts about 13 issues, and then they go back to the regular numbering with #525? (Or later with #550?) Murdock will be back, that’s for sure. Reborn will feature the art of Davide Gianfelice, who is currently impressing the world on the indie ”Northlanders” series. Here’s the cover of “Reborn,” drawn by Jock:

And to close this out . . . Nuthin’ but:

SPIDER-MAN NEWS

Yeah, Brand New Day is ending and the book will drop to a twice-a-month schedule. As of now, I don’t think Marvel plans to fragment the Spider-Universe the way it was before BND by having half-a-dozen Spider Books each month (thank God), but major changes are afoot. I hope so, because BND is going out with an uncharacteristic whimper. The usually great series’ concluding arc “OMIT,” is not just silly, it’s lame and boring and doesn’t even seem to fit in with the overall BND story. Here’s some of the changes a’coming that I’ve heard:

- Spidey will get new tech.

- The next storyline, “Origin of the Species,” was originally called “The Sinister 666” as it features several classic Spider-Villains like a new Scorpion, Rhino, and Electro.

- Norman Osborn, Carnage and Spider Girl (a.k.a. Arana) will be getting their own titles, although Oz and Carnage’s will be miniseries. One will be Oz in prison, the other will be Spidey and Iron Man vs. Carnage. No announcement yet about creative teams.