The Dark Knight Rises First Footage

Here we have Christian Bale in the rain, knocking on someone's door. Who's the lucky girl?? No sound though :( Sowwy

Thor and Wolverine Movie Updates!

So today was a big news day for Marvel movie fans. Hugh Jackman has announced that The Wolverine (sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine), is in full swing. And by full swing, I mean it starts filming in October. Now... I, and many others, weren't huge fans of the first Wolverine spin-off. What makes this one any better? Well, rumor has it that it'll take place in Japan, as the after-credit scene showed a bit of. And Wolverine in Japan is one of his greatest storyarcs. He gets humbled by some samurai, and all that jazz! Let's hope they do this one well. Hugh Jackman can't be Wolverine forever (or can he?) This guys made a literal career of playing the role of Wolverine. And he's got it down. This movie will mark his sixth movie appearance as the character (if you're counting his cameo in X-Men: First Class).

In other news, it was confirmed today that Thor 2 is under way, slated for 2013. Kenneth Branagh is not returning to direct the film however. Good thing? Bad thing? Does it matter? Believe it or not, Thor is a hard character to adapt to the silver screen, and Branagh did it better than we imagined. Let's hope his successor takes some good notes!

Batman & Robin #26 - Fantastic Coverart

To put this bluntly, if I lived in a world in which I had no idea who Batman and/or Robin were, and I saw this coverart, I'd be sold, I'd get it framed, and hang it up next to pictures of my kids.

Anyway, issue #26 ends this series great run, until it gets rebooted a month later... Written by David Hine, art by Greg Tocchini, and this beautifully odd cover by Chris Burnham.

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(Edit) Batman gets stabbed in the eye by the Eifel Tower!

Game of Thrones Comic Coming September!

If you're a fan of the book series in which A Game of Thrones takes place, by unparalleled author George R. R. Martin, a fan of the HBO show adaptation that recently concluded it's ten episode epic-first season, or just a fan of anything fantastical and/or adventurous, you should really consider being excited for this book. Due out this September, the series will be published by Dynamite. Written by Daniel Abraham, and drawn by Tommy Patterson, with covers from Alex Ross (above) and Mike S. Miller. This is going to be good.

Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers

I saw the new Thor animated movie, Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers, maybe about a week ago, so this update is late. But nonetheless. If you are a fan of Thor comics, or Norse mythology, or eclectic art/animation styles, THIS FILM IS FOR YOU! If you do not fall into any of those subcategories, and you just like really good movies, OR will settle for hollywood dramatics this movie IS NOT FOR YOU!

What I mean is... this isn't that great. At best a 7/10. But don't dismay, because it's far from bad. This has absolutely nothing to do with the major motion picture Thor that recently came out, but it's a good time to create Thor products. And this was one of them. 

The story is told through the eyes of Loki, who has recently taken control of Asgard. as he faces his own demons, he also must accept that there is good in. And although this may not make for a great movie, the story is extremely well written. The art is something completely and entirely different than I have ever seen, and I'm into the artsy/experimental stuff. It's almost as if you're watching the ghost of a cartoon, that took classes on how to become CG renderings, but settled on photography, and is now in it's old age. Yep. Watch it, if you think you can handle it. If the story doesn't keep your attention, the art will force it on you.

Young Justice

I'm a kid at heart. I need the occasional cartoons to sate my hunger. And what better way to do that then by watching something you can easily relate to. In my case, superheroes are something I can relate to AND enjoy. Anyway, where am I going with this? A good friend of mine from school, and now workmate, gave me the heads up to check out the show Young Justice. So I checked it out. And I liked it a lot.

It takes me back to my youth, watching Teen Titans Go and Justice League Unlimited. It's very funny, and Robin in particular is hysterical. The story is very well-advanced for a kids show on Cartoon Network, and I like that. It's a cartoon I can get into, and just recently it's been picked up for a second season. Check it out!

Another Shot at the New Justice League

So here's another shot at what we're to expect from the Justice League. I'm assuming these seven will be the main league members, and the few in the background will jump in and out unannounced as they please. This was taken from Toon Tumblers Facebook page, and is intended to be used as a drinkable glass cup for SDCC.

Aquaman looks about the same, except for this fins on the back of his calves which look kinda cool. Makes him more hydrodynamic. Green Lantern Hal Jordan looks the same, and it makes sense. @GeoffJohns0 is doing a great job keeping him a top seller. Wonder Woman looks completely different, so I don't even want to talk about her. Superman looks... platey, like he pieced his costume together. nd his belt is now red, instead of his tights. His shoes are... metal. Sure. I'm positive @jimlee00 know what he's doing. And the 'S' shield is actually cool, now that I've gotten a chance to look it over properly. Oh, oh, and the popped-collar. Superman knows what's in! Batman also looks the same, but his costume is also platey and looks like he pieced it together. His boots are also metal. The Flash looks the same, besides the metal boots. Cyborg... grew crab claws and a big metal underbite. I think he might have too much going on.

On the left we have Deadman (JLA status? yeah okay), Ray Palmer's Atom, Element Woman, Firestorm, and on the right we have Green Arrow, Hawkman, Black Canary (some speculate this may be Power Girl, because we haven't seen anything of her new look yet), and Mera.

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Edit: Nevermind what I said about Aquaman's leg flipper thing. It's always been there.

Catching Up on Thor

Yesterday, I started my Twitter feed, and I kicked it off by posting my reviews of the last 5 canonical Thor issues. With the limited message space on Twitter, I feel I'd like to discuss my thoughts a bit further. If you're not into spoilers, or haven't read all the way up yet, read at your leisure :)

Marvel decided a few months back that the greatest way to make a jump-on-point with their more popular series was to make an issue between continuity, and thus: Marvel.1! Thor #620.1 was enjoyable enough. It shows an average feast in the hall of the Asgardians. An average feast meaning the Grey Gargoyle came and turned everyone into stone! Only in comics, I swear. Mark Brooks artwork is noteworthy for it's detail and crisp look, and great for a Thor book. As far as jumping on points go... eh, maybe. The cover art was extremely bland. I feel like most of Thor's cover art looks like this. I gave this issue a 7/10.

From what I've heard, this is the last issue of the long-running Thor series, Vol. 1. The numbers pick up at 622 in a new title, under the Fear banner, "Journey Into Mystery". For a last issue, I was fairly disappointed. In fact, Matt Fraction's story hardly delivered. The art was very cartoony, but easy on the eyes. The high point I found in this issue is that the colors chosen were so vibrant, they became easily more enjoyable than the story, which was everywhere at once. Some panels were extensively trippy. I gave Thor #621 a 5/10.

Matt Fraction, Olivier Coipel and the gang, really bring Thor back with a great new Galactus themed run and start to a new series. Matt, you've redeemed yourself. The artwork is superb throughout, and so far the story has kept me on the edge of the page (I have to watch out for papercuts!). In the midst of the end of the Thor run, Asgard has fallen to Earth, and in so doing the world tree Yggdrasil has been "rendered in twain". Seeing the possibility and the state that Asgard is in, the Silver Surfer attempts to end Galactus' hunger forever, in sending him to the remains of Asgard. Thor and his folks ain't too happy. Great concept. The cover artwork for issue three is beautiful. It reminds me that these books are as much pieces of art as they are great stories! I rated issue #1 with a 10/10, issue #2 with a 9/10, and issue #3 with a 9/10.

Happy reading! 

To Tweet Or Not to Tweet

So I've got this Twitter... And I've been tweeting. And I think it's a good way to advertise this blog. SO!
Here it is! It's (obviously) comic book based. It's a decent way to just review individual issues, and that's primarily all I've actually done so far. 

Just Watched Marvel's Iron Man Anime (in Japanese)

After recently watching the new Marvel Anime's Iron Man episode 1, I can testify that it's going to be a gorgeous series. The art for the actual suit looks to be a semi CG rendering, and it blends in with the actual penciling of the cartoon. The story, although a little slower than I'd have liked, proved worth my while before long. I found that the voice acting was great, and they got Tony Stark's humor right on key. But, it was in Japanese. Can't wait to hear it in English!

Here's a little tease, in Japanese, if you please.

First Avengers Poster Art Revealed!

As many may know, Marvel's had this huge epic movie line going for a while, where they were creating films for several heroes that corresponded to the superteam the Avengers, and eventually they would make an Avengers movie, using all the same actors. Well, that's finally happening. After two Iron Man movies (soon to be a third), a Thor movie, a Captain America film, a Hulk remake, and a whole bunch of Samuel L. Jackson cameos at the end of the credits, The Avengers shall hit theaters next year. Recently at a sales pitch someone snagged a quick photo at a poster of the superteam, and although it may just be conceptual at this stage, it's still our first look at the film itself. Take a look.

The Avengers featured on the poster are Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye (who had a cameo in Thor) and Black Widow (who had a cameo in Iron Man 2). Nearly all of the actors who played these characters shall return to reprise their roles, a huge endeavor and success on Marvel's part.

Green Lantern Comes to Theatres

With all the advertisement and money DC is pouring into this movie, everyone should already know this is happening. And it looks damn good. I may just see it opening night, which is... Thursday night, wow. Crept up on me. If the persistent TV spots and well placed billboards haven't sold you, maybe this will. Here's an exclusive first look at some footage shown at Wondercon not too long ago. (Yes, this trailer came out months ago, but it doesn't make it any less cool.)

Books to Look Forward To

Alright, so we all know DC is ruining all that they've spent 75 years to make in the coming months, BUT that's okay! Well... I'm okay with it. Well... No I'm not. But it's cool. Just because there are going to be rolling restarts on all of DC's servers, that doesn't mean the new patch will be disappointing. So, of the 52 titles that DC is launching August/September, what titles will you read?

Here are the few titles I'm looking forward to:

Justice League #1
Aquaman #1
Wonder Woman #1
The Flash #1
Green Arrow #1
Green Lantern #1
Green Lantern Corps. #1
Green Lantern: New Guardians #1
Batman #1
Detective Comics #1
Teen Titans #1
Action Comics #1
Batman #1
Supergirl #1

The titles that I may look into:
The Savage Hawkman #1
The Fury of Firestorm #1
Batman and Robin #1
Swamp Thing #1

To be frank, I'm actually very excited to see what becomes of DC and I wish them the best on their next venture. To see a full list of what's to come, check out DC's blogs:
Justice League Titles
Green Lantern Titles
Batman Titles
The Dark Titles
Young Justice Titles
The Edge Titles
Superman Titles

Happy Reading!

Marvel Anime Coming to G4

Alright. So, as some of you may know, the company Madhouse has teamed up with Marvel to give you what appears to be a truly spectacular experience: adapting some of your favorite Marvel characters into a unique anime spectacular. The project is called Marvel Anime (don't ask me where they came up with that), and from what I've seen this is something to really look forward to.

It's apparently not an ongoing series, which I'm a little saddened by (I need something to replace what I lost now that Smallville is over), but not disappointed. It's said to be a four-part series, much of which has already been released weekly to Japanese audiences. The four parts will follow Iron Man, Wolverine, the X-Men, and Blade, in that order, each part being 12 episodes. As only the first three parts have been aired in Japan, all I can say is Wolverine makes plenty of appearances throughout.

What will the story entail? Not sure. You can look it up if you wish to spoil it for yourself. OR you can wait until July 1st, 2011 to see it air on G4. Your choice. Oh wait, there's a third option. Watch it in Japanese with subs? Nah.

Anyway, I look forward to this and so should you. Let me know your thoughts!

While I'm Roasting New Costume Changes:

Might as well post this one. I'd like to first mention that when I showed my father this picture after the other reboot pictures his first comment was "they should fire that artist." My thought is that DC made her comic more playful, so the artwork is duller, and thus friendly for girls... I know, after reading that last sentence it didn't make much sense to me either.

Her costume is distinctly reminiscent of Wonder Woman and you'd be hard pressed to get that mistaken, but it doesn't scream "Wonder Woman," and it certainly isn't cool. Lose the pants princess. We wanna see those legs that Hippolyta gave you.

After letting the look settle in a little, yeah. It can work out. It probably will, but only time will tell if she gets reverted back.

Alas, Superman Loses the Tights

When someone tries to describe the cliché superhero, they may use the nouns 'super-powers,' 'capes,' and 'tights.' Why is that? Well, I'll tell you why. Superman. As the first superhero, he fits all the clichés and, by definition, he started them. So, by removing the tights, you remove something as symbolic as his S shield. And this is what's going on in the world of DC currently.

Along with the other restarts, Action Comics, the series that brought you this worlds first superhero, the first American comic series to reach it's 900th issue, will be getting it's first reboot. In it Superman tries to save a world that isn't too fond of it's first hero. This is a good premise for a first issue, and as long as the origin story doesn't take too much of a spin, it should turn out well. It's interesting that the costume he's wearing on the cover isn't full suit. Maybe there's gonna be some explanation as to why he's so tight-less. His lifting an object at that angle is homage to the original first issue, which I was expecting. It's a solid pic, but he's a little too buff for my tastes. I prefer the muscular yet slim supe.

(edit) Notice also they've kept Clark Kent's classic curl. It's those little tidbits that make my day...

Next we have the reboot of the 'Superman' title. Whoever made the cover art... Not a fan bro. Sorry. He looks like an alternate earth Superman that's really mean. And with the loss of his red tights, it just looks downright off-putting. Also, he still has the outline of his tights, just shaded blue... and the shading on his crotchal region makes him look very... brolic. And what are those, kneepads!? Notice though, that the 'S' is back to normal.

Here's a reboot I can stand behind: Supergirl #1. Her new look looks really really cool. I'm totally sold on the trimming of the cape, and how it folds together in the front. Her shield has been stylized very appropriately for that whole 'I'm a teenager from another planet' look, and the boots work really well. The artist also did a great job, so let's hope the story holds true.

And finally we come to Superboy. This is really confusing me. I'm not sure if this is going to be Conner Kent as Superboy, a new Superboy, or what. He is still a clone of Kryptonian/Human DNA, but this is a very strange look. Maybe this is just his uhh... factory look? And when he gets his skin he becomes the Superboy of the Teen Titans series? Dude. I dunno. I like how the S pops out at you like a 3D movie, but I can't see him wearing the Tron outfit to school like that... Superhero school that is. Or maybe they consider it camp?..

The New Teen Titans

Alright, so today they've given us another look at the cover art for the new reboots annnd that includes the new Teen Titans. All I can really say is "uh oh.."

So here we see six heroes. On the bottom right we have Kid Flash in his new costume, which reminds me of Green Arrows old pal Speedy, but nonetheless it looks cool. Then top left we have the new Wonder Girl. Not liking this one... All red, with a bandana/hood thing? She is going to be themed as a "belligerent powerhouse thief." I'm not happy about her costume. And on the top right we have Tim Drake reuniting his roll as the Red Robin. His costume isn't so bad, I rather like it. Dead center we have Conner Kent's new look as Superboy... What the hell? Why does he have a black and white cape taped to his back? Does he know it's there? And he apparently cut his sleeves and got a barcode-ish Superman shield on his shoulder. Hmm. Okay. Whoever that is crawling on the bottom left, I have no clue. And on the right... Oh no. PLEASE don't tell me that is Starfire!?!

Green Lantern Clip 8

And now, the final clip that aired today shows Hal Jordan facing off against Parallax, the entity of fear. Enjoy.

Green Lantern Clip 7

This scene looks fantastic! So many of the Green Lantern Corps. that they've done justice. Total geekout.

Green Lantern Clip 6

A great first look at the Green Lantern Corps'. planet Oa, and also a nice show of the rings willpower.

Green Lantern Clip 5

The classic oath of the Green Lantern.

Green Lantern Clip 4

Here we have Hector Hammond introduced to by Amanda Waller. Hector, as we've seen from the trailers, is one of, if not the greatest super threat within the film. Amanda Waller on the other hand is someone you may remember in the comics leading secret groups such as the Secret Six or the Suicide Squad. A subtle cameo for the fans.

Green Lantern Clip 3

Here we have the dying alien Abin Sur sent to earth by the ring for the "selection." They've done a great job with Abin Sur, as you can see.

Green Lantern Clip 2

Forgive me for the sponsor message by the way. It gets old quick. But the clips are worth it I think. Hal Jordan taking his flight test.

Green Lantern Clip 1

Thankfully, the clips were posted in what seems to be chronological order. Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris before a flight test.

Green Lantern to Be the Truest Comic Book Adaptation Yet

Well, I hope so anyway. There are a few things that seem to be off from the comic book lore of Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), as we've already seen in the trailers, but not much. At worst, the greatest change is Hal Jordan's personality. He's a very serious character. Very very serious... But it wouldn't hit home very well if he was serious on the silver screen, sooo they got Ryan Reynolds to say a few jokes. But from a story standpoint, from a mythos standpoint, to Corps. members, to origins, to Parallax... They're doing a fantastic job. At least from what I've seen anyway. So, today HitFix.com has released 8 brief scenes from the coming movie that prove it may just be the best adaptation of a DC Comics movie to date, BUT I feel as though it may be truest in both the DC and Marvel universe. I'm really excited about it! I'll post them in future updates to the blog.

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In other news, along with the upcoming reboot that DC has in store is Batgirl #1. This will be the first time that Barbara Gordon will appear as Batgirl since the late 80's. Being someone who's grown up in the post Crisis on Infinite Earths DC Universe, I've known Barbara Gordon only as the Oracle; a crippled hacker in a wheelchair who's saved more lives from that seat than she ever has before the Joker shot her spine as Batgirl. Hopefully DC has something big planned for her.

Detective Comics to Go Back to Issue #1

DC Comics flagship title, Detective Comics, will be thrown back to issue #1, along with some 51 other series. I didn't originally think they would do that. If anything I thought both Detective Comics and Action Comics would stay in continuity, being that they've never been reset... But it seems as though, where Marvel played their cards safe with the Ultimate universe, DC Comics is going all in! Fortunately, Batman doesn't seem to have gone through any major costume changes, but why should he? DC is making a large portion off his movie and comic paraphernalia franchise. He's safe. According to DC, Batman Incorporated will continue on into the reboot. We'll see how that works out.

What will this mean for Action Comics? I'm sure it will get a reboot. And, I'm fairly certain the artwork will have some homage to the original cover of Action Comics #1. Too bad. I was hoping to someday pick up a copy of Action Comics #1000. (I'm not fretting though; there's no way DC would give up the chance to have the first legitimate comic book go that far.)

Let's Try This Again...

So, let's try this again. I started this blog with a plan to keep active, but that's the opposite of what I've done. In fact, I only did make that first post...

Again, this blog is about anything geek/movie/comic/news/blah blah blah. I feel that this has to be discussed because of it's impact on comic book history. Come this August, this will be your new Justice League team.

At first glance, this seems perfectly normal, besides the sore thumb that is Cyborg: as he's rarely considered in the same line of thought as the JLA. But look closer and you'll see it's a little more weird than that. Although Cyborg is immediately identifiable to anyone who's seen the Teen Titans cartoon or walked into a comic book store recently, there are noticeable differences between the one we know and the one that's shown. He looks slightly more stylized, he has some weird little wings on his shoulders, and his chin is noticeably more macho.

The rest of the team looks different, albeit only slightly, except of course for Wonder Woman. Her costume is the most drastic modernization. No longer having her star-spangled banner look, she only shares a remnant of her former costume. The one thing that it seems all the heroes share now is that they all seem at least 10 years younger.

But wait a minute, who's that hiding in the back? Could it be Superman? Of course it is, but the more you look at him the more you realize something's different. Something's wrong. Ah, no wonder he was hiding in the shadows, or rather, no wonder Jim Lee drew him as such. He's saving the full impact of the heroes changes for later. But we can see what's up from here. He's A) noticeably darker, B) his S shield is less curved and sharper, C) he's popped his collar a little more like the Green Lantern and D) ...he lost the tights! (or at least the red ones). The outline is there, but painted in blue...

Now, what's this all about again? Well, DC has decided it's time to bring new life into their comics AND their heroes. They've chosen it's time for 52 of their titles to be rebooted and brought back to issues #1, including a reported 50 new costume changes. This is something even M. Night Shyamalan would call a "twist". So why the changes?! And what will the repercussions be for the comic book community?

Well, DC's been second in market share to MARVEL ever since 2002 (the year Spider-Man came to theaters near you). So naturally, they want to boost their profits. Start anew. BUT unfortunately, comic sales have been going down as comic prices have been going up, up and too much. Sooo, they feel that before the company goes under they'll try something new. By going back to issue #1 with EVERYTHING and ruining a few good costumes they believe they'll usher in a new age of readers.

Repercussions: THEY MESSED WITH SUPERMAN'S COSTUME! The one hero who's never had a costume change in 73 years of existence. The first superhero. THE superhero. But, I digress. I've had a few days to settle into this whole "thing." What do I think?

Geoff Johns/Jim Lee/ and the rest of the DC team are being very brave. However sacrilegious their actions may be, who knows if this will be the only way Superman will live to see another 73 years? And I'm purely singling out Superman here because lets face it, of all the superheroes throughout the years, there has never been one as symbolic and iconic as he, and a thousand years from now kids will certainly know who's S that belongs to... I'm scared for the future of DC. But I want to see what they'll do with it. Many longtime readers are upset and threaten that this is where DC will lose them as readers. Surely this is a risk that the writers at DC knew they were taking, but they could seriously bring comics out of the shadows again and into the hands of a new crowd. Many feel that this is DC saying "Thanks for your money, but we want new readers." And maybe, for some, this is the case, but only if the reader allows themselves to think that way.

Oh and about the costume. Personally, I don't mind the collar bit. But change the S back. It's not any cooler. And about the tights. Yes, we know, almost every other hero has already lost the tights, but once again, Superman started the trend. And there was a reason to him wearing the red tights: it broke up the blue on his costume. Blue all the way down wouldn't have looked nearly as iconic. We'll see what they have in store for us though... Stay tuned.