The Dark Knight Rises: On Set First Look Of Bane

Ladies and Gentleman....BANE.

This was taken during production on The Dark Knight Rises.

Pretty bad ass and pretty darn scary.

Flashpoint Issue Five Cover

Today DC Comics, via their blog, released the cover to Flashpoint #5. This is the issue where everything truly changes in a flash...

Enjoy

DC Shows Off Its New Book Logos

The world of the DC Universe is not the only thing changing. All of their books will have updated logos for their titles.

Check them out here. Via newsarama.com

On a side note, you can still find fans who are really upset about what is going on at DC Comics. A lot of comments and reactions from fans are still negative with people saying that sooner or later...everything will go back to what it was.

I think those fans are in for a rude awakening.  

Avengers Movie Sneak Peek And Shot By Shot Images

Today Marvel and Disney have released the quasi-teaser for next years Avengers film. They have also released the shot by shot images.

Please enjoy.

Another Teaser For The New Ultimate Spider-Man

I have to say...I really dig this ALL NEW SPIDER-MAN's costume. We all know this character ends up in black and red jammies but still, this one here is a lot of fun.

But, Marvel, please please don't release a new picture every day. It's called over kill.

Marvel's comments about the character at SDCC 2011 said the identity of the character will be media news worthy and that its something that can only be done in the Ultimate Universe.

A friend suggested it might be Flash Thompson, I think its President Obama.

What you think?

Ultimate Comics Teases All New Ultimate Spider-Man

Here is the first image of the ALL NEW SPIDER-MAN...from Ultimate Comics.

Obviously he/she/it is in their pre-final Spider-Man costume...but even here in this other suit, it just proves Spidey looks cool in any costume.

Book of the Week: 'Daredevil' #1

By Don M. Ventura

Daredevil #1

Marvel Comics

««««

Do you have any prejudices that you’ve carried over into adulthood from your childhood? I do.

Daredevil.

As a young comic book enthusiast in the early 80’s, the brilliance of Frank Miller’s work on the book was lost on me. I was much more interested in the X-Men fighting the Brood or the Masters of Evil attacking Avengers Mansion while She-Hulk washes the car (Avengers #222). But the Man Without Fear just never did it for me because, as I’ve said before, he was always fighting some big fat guy.

Superman Returns: Return to Krypton Deleted Scene

Superman Returns was originally going to open with Kal-EL/Clark Kent finding the remains of his home planet. But due to the length of the film, the powers that be decided to cut it.

Which is a shame because its beautiful...and the moment Kal-EL sees his family crest is just AWESOME.

So...please, enjoy

Review: 'SVK'

By Mark Frankland

Quick show of hands of hands—who has heard of SVK?

Just me then? *Sigh* Oh well. I shall tell you what SVK is anyway. It is something that I personally have never come across for two reasons: one, it is very hard to get a hold of. Probably down to the rather elongated process one had to go through to actually obtain a copy (i.e. you had to join a special mailing list—the only link that I could find was from the writer’s personal website: WarrenEllis.com). Then you had to wait for the email some two months down the line to appear in your inbox. After this, instantly purchase it lest other very unemployed people (such as myself some three weeks ago) get it before you do. Reports of fighting dragons and untying the Gordian Knot with one’s teeth were also reported, although all I had to do was punch out an Orc with one leg, so your results may vary. Secondly, it’s written in UV ink. Right, WTF?

Will Darkseid Bring the Justice League Together in the DCnU?

That looks a lot like a Parademon!

On this week’s podcast, Max and I discussed the six-page preview of Justice League #1 in DC’s The New 52 preview book (above). We are taken back five years, to a point where super heroes were only just beginning to emerge and Batman was only a myth. The Caped Crusader is racing across the building rooftops of Gotham pursuing what looks to be a monster.

“Do you think this is a Parademon?” Max asked.

Well, I’ll be. I’m going to have to say yes, I believe so. This makes a lot of sense actually. When the new book was announced in early June, the publisher promised that the Justice League would come together due to a more substantial threat than its humbler 1960 beginnings (remember those meteors and the team being turned into trees?).

Well, what could be a more substantial threat than Darkseid? I like the idea of the Apokalips baddie trying to take over Earth and the world’s finest heroes joining together to protect the blue planet. This also establishes a new longstanding adversarial history between Darkseid and the League.

Thoughts?

By the way, if the Royal Flush Gang turns out to be the League’s first threat, I’ll be acknowledging that there was no basis to Max's Darkseid idea.

Cable Reborn: Nate or Not?

On Saturday's Marvel: Cup o' Joe Panel at SDCC, Joe Quesada officially announced the new project "Cable Reborn" by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuiness. While I'm always excited for a new yarn by Loeb and McGuiness, I have a (possibly crazy) theory about the forthcoming series I'd like to put out there to insure I attain all possible bragging rights through the appropriate channels.

My Premise: the Cable featured in "Cable Reborn" will NOT be Nathan Summers.

My Theory: the Cable featured in "Cable Reborn" will be Scott Summers (Cyclops).

My Reasoning: Several factors have led me to propose this theory. First let's look to the comments made by Marvel EIC Axel Alonso and other panelists at Friday's Marvel: Year of the X-Men panel. It was made relatively clear, without spoiling the particulars, that Cyclops would not be appearing in the pages of Uncanny X-Men #1 or Wolverine and the X-Men #1. In fact, the teaser image shown for Uncanny X-Men #1 shows Emma Frost supported by several silhouetted characters. However, to the best of my recollection (and I was there in person for the panel), no one said that "Scott" would not by in either of the books (remember this for later).

Secondly, we already know that Wolverine and Cyclops have a huge battle royale in the pages of X-Men: Schism #5 as evidenced by preview art shown at the panel, so Scott survives at least that long. Now, so far many people are speculating that Scott will die. I have a hard time believing this for one very important reason: I don't think there is any plausible explanation that any X-Man would follow Logan if he killed Scott. Furthermore, I don't think Logan could live with himself. What I do think is plausible? Logan ends up cutting off one of Scott's arms during the battle.

With me so far? So we now have a Scott Summers/Cyclops missing an arm and, conveniently, we have the severed mechanical arm of his son (the only thing left after his death in Second Coming). In the above teaser, the only parts of Cable's body we see are the mechanical arm and a glowing eye. Scott already has glowing eyes, and the transplantation of Cable's arm onto himself would make Scott fit the bill.

Now that the events of Schism have irrevocably changed the X-Men and Scott, and Scott has taken the arm of his deceased son, Scott changes his codename to Cable. Now we have a Scott Summers in Uncanny X-Men, but no Cyclops (because he's changed his name to Cable (just so we're 100% clear)). Will this come to pass? Well we'll probably have to wait until the last pages of Schism or the first issue of Uncanny X-Men to find out.

One last thing, just in case this happens instead: I have an even crazier theory that the new Cable will be Hope Summers. I don't have very much to base this on but if anyone were to take Cable's name I would think Hope would be the most likely candidate.

Max Beckman is a manager at Pulp Fiction in Long Beach, CA and CheapGraphicNovels.com. You can follow him on Twitter @CheapGNsdotcom and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pulpfictioncomics. Pulp Fiction can be found on the web at www.pulpfictiononline.com and at 1742 Clark Ave. Long Beach, CA 90815.

SDCC '11: The Dark and The Edge Panel

I, Vampire interiors by Andrea Sorentino.

After DC announced their big September shakeup and the new titles that were a part of the New DC, I was struck most by the new talent that that has been hired to work on the less commercial books. I see these as the titles that might just hook new readers who might not be interested in the capes and the tights stuff.

At DC’s Dark and Edge panel we got to listen to DC’s next generation of writers talk about their goods—and the books sounded and looked good. Damn good. The panel included Scott Snyder (Swamp Thing), Jeff Lemire (Animal Man and Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Mike Costa (Blackhawks), Adam Glass (The Suicide Squad), Ivan Brandon (Men of War), Paul Cornell (Demon Knights and StormWatch), Kyle Higgins (Deathstroke), Moritat (All-Star Western) and Joshua Fialkov (I, Vampire).

Before I start, I was thrilled beyond words to listen to these writers speak about their work. DC has gotten a lot of hell for their decision to revamp their entire line of superhero comic books, but when I listen to these writers talk about how thrilled they are to work on these books, and the energy they all appear to have to tell good stories, I just want to shout to the negative comic book readers and say “Give. Them. A. Chance” (in actuality there would probably be an expletive in there somewhere).

Legion Lost: Review

Legion Lost

DC COMICS

Written by DAN ABNETT and ANDY LANNING; Art and cover by OLIVIER COIPEL and ANDY LANNING
««««

 

A few months ago I reviewed DC Comics 100 page special 'Legion of The Damned'. If you have not picked up that book, do yourself a favor and grab it...and while you are at it, mow a few more lawns, take in some over time, or beg and plead with your parents for a raise in your allowance and pick up 'Legion Lost'.

 

As excited as I am for DC Comics New 52 there is absolutely no reason to forget or throw out what has come before.

 

I am a huge fan of this particular take on The Legion of Superheroes and I haven't put this trade down since I got it.

 

This story takes place right after 'Legion of the Damn', where an event involving several members of the Legion disappear after trying to close a rift in space.

 

Aboard a space ship Apparition, Brainic 5.1, Chameleon, Kid Quantum, Live Wire, Monstress, Saturn Girl, Ultra Boy and Umbra awake to find themselves on the other side of the galaxy with no means to get home.

 

Writers DnA, must be huge fans of Star Trek, because where 'Legion of The Damned' plays like a superhero take on The Borg invasion, 'Legion Lost' feels like Voyager.

 

'Legion Lost' is a 12 part story where you pretty much get it all...great drama, one amazing action sequence after the other, character development, inner turmoil, betrayal, death, murder and in the end, a heroic sacrifice.

 

When these characters where given to DnA and (yet to be known artist superstar) OLIVIER COIPEL I have no idea what the mandate was from DC Comics. It's fairly obvious that the Legion of Superheroes needed a shake up but I don't think any input was given from the editors. I could be way off but these stories just don't feel like typical DC Comic superhero stories. And I mean this in the most wonderful way.

 

'Legion Lost' is highly entertaining and the energy and the "what is going to happen next" feel that started with "Legion of The Damned" continues here in 'Legion Lost', which then also continued in the series that followed 'Legion'.

 

I don't know if DC Comics is planning on putting together a trade for DnA's 'Legion' run, but they would be foolish not too.

 

Reading 'Legion Lost' made me fall in love with the Legion of Superheroes again, which now makes me wonder what is happening with them post DC's New 52.

 

LONG LIVE THE LEGION!

SDCC '11: Cup 'o Joe Panel

Jeph Loeb seemed to be the star of this year’s Cup ‘o Joe panel at Comic Con on Saturday, but that didn’t keep Joe Quesada from running down the list of exciting new books heading our way in the coming months from Marvel.

Quesada opened with a teaser featuring pictures of a couple dozen Marvel characters with the words Point One in the middle. While it seemed to be announcement for the next batch of Point One titles (this was the initiative that Marvel began earlier this year to bring new readers onto books through easy to follow one-shots), this was actually a teaser for a 64-page comic book that acts as a precursor to the big event of 2012.

We moved onto Loeb’s big announcement: Cable Reborn. Loeb and frequent collaborator Ed McGuiness are teaming up to work on a new Cable series this December. When asked by a fan if Deadpool was going to be guest-starring at some point in the series, Loeb responded “Ed McGuiness is drawing it.” Of course, long time fans of the Merc with the Mouth will recall that McGuiness drew some of the characters wackiest adventures.

Cape Town Extra: “Captain America: The First Avenger” Review

In this Special Edition episode, Don and Jerry review Captain America: The First Avenger. It has costumes! It has action! It has romance! It has a sneak-preview of next summer’s Avengers film! But does the film have the Cape Town Community seal of approval? Listen for yourselves True Believers!

As always, we remind you that this episode is as spoil-heavy as our review show, so you may want to give it a listen after you’ve seen the movie.

The show is embedded below and is now available on iTunes for subscription. Each episode is labeled "podcast" so you can link to previous episodes here on the blog. Refer to the Direct Download link after the jump to download the MP3.

Cape Town Community Podcast - Ep. 027 - "Who Crowned Terry Salsa the King of Strippers?”

Max is back in the co-host chair for our post Comic-Con episode and we’re keeping it quick this week and only reviewing the books—we’ve saved the comic book conversation for a super-sized Comic Con News episode. However, we do take a few minutes to discuss the recently leaked Avengers teaser and the first few preview pages of Justice League #1.

The show is embedded below and is now available on iTunes for subscription. Each episode will labeled "podcast" so you can link to previous episodes here on the blog. Refer to the Show Notes after the jump as well as a direct link to download the MP3.

The Walking Dead Season Two Trailer

Again, thank you AMC for more sleepless nights.

Season Two of The Walking Dead premiers in October.

SDCC '11: Marvel Releases 'Avengers' Concept Art

Our first good look at Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye.

We got a quick (very, very quick) glimpse of most of the Avengers in action in the teaser to next summer's The Avengers after the credit role in Captain America: The First Avenger. But here we have a better look at the concept art for the characters that Marvel released yesterday.

Captain America's costume gets less of an army fatigue look, and looks even more like his Ultimate Universe counterpart. The biggest change, according to the teaser seems to be Thor, whose costume is an amalgamation of his film costume and the Ultimate Thor look. I'll be interested to see if there are many changes to the look of the Hulk, who is played by Mark Ruffalo in the film.

The Avengers is set to assemble on May 4, 2012.

Christ Evans gets an updated look as Captain America.

If it's not broke (and still tight) don't fix it. Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow.

Iron Man appeared to have a new chest plate in the teaser trailer.

SDCC '11: Review: 'Locke & Key' Pilot

By Don M. Ventura

Friday at Comic Con, the makers of Locke & Key were finally able to air the pilot adapted from the Eisner Award-winning comic by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez of the same name, after Fox decided not to pick it up as a series for the 2011/2012 Fall season.

And I assure you, a mistake has been made. Director Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) and writer Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds) faithfully adapted the comic book in a way that maintains the book’s dark core themes and characters, while still presenting entertainment that could air on network television. The production on this pilot felt cinematic for certain; one of the more surprising aspects of the pilot is that it covers the first volume of the series, “Welcome to Lovecraft.”



SDCC '11: Marvel's 'Next Big Thing' Panel

So who is the new Spider-Man in Ultimate Comics Spiderman? We have a few more weeks before we find out according to Marvel Comics’ Director of Communications Arune Singh at the Marvel’s “Next Big Thing” panel.

“It’s going to be talked about in comic book shops all over the country,” said Singh of the reveal that will take place in the six-issue mini-series Ultimate Fallout. “We’re going to do something you could never do in the regular Marvel Universe.” My interest is piqued and, while I have not read the entire run of Ultimate Spider-Man, I get the distinct hint that the new Spidey is going to be someone we know from the comic books.

Come September, the Ultimate Universe begins anew with Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1 by Bendis and Sara Pichelli, Ultimate Comics The Ultimates by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic, and Ultimate Comics X-Men by Nick Spencer and Paco Medina.

Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso said that this mini-relaunched universe will feel more cohesive in the past because the three writers responsible are working together to do so. Alonso also announced that some of the books would be double-shipping during their initial months of publication.

SDCC '11: Grant Morrison Panel

DC featured a question and answer session with Grant Morrison today which was more entertaining than I could have ever imagined. Morrison was charming and funny, but always thoughtful and serious about his approach to his writing. What struck me most was that, for a guy who is notorious for his layered and sometimes complex storytelling, he has very straightforward ideas about the characters he writes.

The writer discussed a number of projects that he is working on, but most questions centered around DC Comics’ two most famous heroes: Superman and Batman.

SDCC '11: DC Comics' The New 52 Panel

Wonder Woman artwork by Chiang.

DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio and company opened today’s “The New 52” panel by opening a question up to the audience: “What are you are you worried about?” Fans shouted their concerns about the publisher’s upcoming linewide relaunch as a poor gentleman operating a boom mike ran around the filled auditorium so that they could be heard.

One reader expressed disappointment that the numbering was going to change on such long-running comics as Action Comics and Detective Comics. To that DiDio replied, “Numbers don’t matter if the sales aren’t there and the numbers end.”

DiDio was accompanied by  Executive Editor Eddie Berganza Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras and creators Paul Cornell, J.T. Krul, Paul Levits, Scott Lobdell, Freddie Williams II, Dan Jurgens and Cliff Chiang.

Superman: Man of Steel Moved to Summer 2013

Today Warner Bros. Pictures announced that Zack Snyder's Superman film has now been pushed back from December 2012 to June 14, 2013.

 

This could mean a few things, one that the WB feels strong enough about the film to place it with the normal Blockbusters of the Summer, or that despite a solid winter 2012 release, it still has a lot to compete with.

 

With such films as The Hobbit and the next James Bond film...which all follow films like The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Avengers.

 

However, looking at the summer of 2013, it will be fun to spend it with Iron Man 3, Thor 2 and now Superman: The Man of Steel.

 

So really, it just makes for a whole better experience.

 

Right?

 

 

 

SDCC '11: 'Avengers' Teaser Poster Released in Time for Comic Con

Spoiler Alert!

For about twenty magical minutes on Sunday night, I was able watch and rewatch the Avengers teaser that is expected to be tacked onto the end of Captain America: The First Aveneger. I'm hopeful that a High Definition version of the teaser featuring the cast in some brief moments of actions. There was Iron Man (Rober Downey, Jr.) in his new armor, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) looking more his Ultimate counterpart, Captain America (Chris Evans) in a more contemporary costume, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders). And there was the great opening phrase: Some. Assembly. Required.

Spinoff reported today that Joss Whedon, Clark Gregg and Evans would be signing autographs on Thurday and Saturday at Comic Con. So for now, we have no teaser trailer to watch. But we do have this shiny new Avengers teaser poster that was released today by Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures.

The Avengers bursts into theaters on May 4, 2012.

'Amazing Spider-Man' Teaser Debuts

I read last week’s Amazing Spider-Man feature in Entertainment Weekly last week and was excited to read what director Marc Webb was aiming for in terms of the tone of the film. Sure, we’re talking about a kid who gets bit by a radioactive spider—but Webb seems interested in presenting a story with one foot firmly planted in reality.

And I get that sense in the trailer which was released today by Sony. There’s something more epic feeling about the story that relaunches the franchise next year. I was surprised to see that Richard and Mary Parker  (Campbell Scott and Embeth Davidtz, respectively) were not only featured in the trailer, but their mysterious fate appears to be a key element of the plot.

And we were worried that Webb was going down familiar territory too soon. I was pretty shocked and excited by this. I appreciate an adaptation that doesn’t feel forced to slavishly recreate the beloved source material. All I’m looking for is something that is respectful to the book’s classic characters and maintains the spirit of the comics—there is a reason people have been reading them for 50 years Ms. Taymor.

In the Entertainment Weekly article Webb says the following about immersing the audience in 3-D: “You’re going to see the world through his eyes.” This is clear in the teaser in which Spidey climbs walls and soars across the New York skyline. “I wanted the audience to feel what it’s like to be Spider-Man.”

This is the only part of the trailer that doesn’t feel right for me. I’m going to chalk it up to incomplete effects (the film recently finished principal photography and is now beginning several months of special effects work). However, I tend to not like these types of scenes because I feel like I’m watching someone play a video game. Other than this minor quibble, I’m incredibly excited for this new reboot. Spider-Man deserves a long and healthy celluloid life.

The Amazing Spider-Man swings into theater on July 3, 2012.

My Advice for the DC Relaunch: Make it Easy for New and Returning Readers

We’re just about a month away from DC’s relaunch of all of their superhero titles. The publisher is, in an unprecedented way, attempting to garner new readers though new approaches to storytelling and offering all of their books digitally on the same day they are released in the comic shops.

I’ve been listening to John Siuntres discuss how he thinks DC should approach grabbing new readers on his Word Balloon podcast. One of his main concerns is that new readers might find the idea of a story arc jarring—and that more self-contained stories will be what people expect when they buy a book. I agree and have come up with a few more suggestions on making DC Comics more accessible to new and returning readers:

DC Announces 'DC Comics: The New 52'

DC announced on their blog that they will release DC Comics: The New 52 a big-fat 1,216 page behemoth containing every one of their 52 #1 relaunch issues! This is a pretty sweet collectible featuring the majority of the title’s that DC is gambling will turn a whole a generation of new readers onto their goods.

At 1200 (+) pages, there probably won’t be a lot of room for extras, but that’s okay—it’s 1200 pages! It comes with a pretty reasonable price tag of $150. I think it would be fun to haul around to conventions to see how many of its creators you could get to sign it!

DC Comics: The New 52 drops (and makes a hell of an impact) on December 7^th.

Hey! His Spit Curl's Gone! And the Changes Don't End There for Superman.

Superman is going spit curl-less this September.



There’s been a lot of talk about the changes in store for Superman once DC relaunches its entire superhero line of comic books come September. But I just realized something: Big Blue’s spit curl is gone!

This makes me kind of happy. I’m racking my brain trying to think of the last time a spit curl on a man was in fashion. Maybe on a baby, but not on a man. And definitely not a Superman.

Warner Bros. Unveils Teaser for 'Dark Knight Rises'

There’s nothing particularly flashy. There’s no exploding hospital or a villainous voice-over. The new teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises is pleasing nonetheless.

It’s the tone. That wonderfully serious, realistic tone that Christopher Nolan has brought to his magnificent Batman films. And while we are half-served clips from the first two movies, we get enough to get the blood pumping for the final film in Nolan’s Batman trilogy. This series of films is just about the only superhero franchise that feels sincerely like a planned franchise (whether it originally was or not).

Warner Bros. will continue making superhero films if they can ring in the excitement and dollars that Batman Begins and The Dark Knight have netted. It would serve many studios well to use these films as an example of how to adapt a superhero property. I don’t mean that the films need to be dark and gritty (two adjectives that have cinematically lost any meaning). But they need to respect the source material and understand the art of adaptation. I think these are the factors employed by Nolan and company in bringing Batman back to the big screen.

The Dark Knight Rises is scheduled for release on July 20, 2012 (one week after Comic Con 2012!).

SDCC '11: My Comic Con Itinerary

Okay, that wasn’t so bad. I’ve gone through the entire Comic Con Programming schedule and chosen my panels carefully. There were some definite rough spots—on Friday, the Image Comics Show (featuring Scott Snyder, John Layman and Nick Spencer) is going up against DC’s Superman panel with Grant Morrison. I opted to attend DC’s Grant Morrison spotlight to hear his plans for Supes after September’s relaunch so that I might still see my heroes from Image. I’m also worried that the Locke & Key Pilot might get too packed, so I’ve selected the State of the Industry panel—what you find snooze worthy, I find exhilarating!

I’m also opting to attend almost no television and movie panels because I’m really more interested in the comic books than anything. However, I am going to try to get into the Terra Nova screening (that’s that dinosaur series on Fox this Fall). Unfortunately I also won't be able to attend the The 6th Annual Comics Podcasting All-Stars because I'm planning to attend the Batman and Next Big Thing panels. Perhaps I'll attend once I'm asked to join the panel discussion.

So here goes—my complete San Diego Comic Con 2011 itinerary (I hope I don’t have any stalkers):

Cape Town Community Podcast - Ep. 026 - "It’s a Big, Big, Big, Big Week for Comic Books”

Don is joined by Max this week to review a large stack of books. The boys play, whose stack is larger—Max wins with an astounding 42 books last week. Don’s own stack comes in at a mite 27. Nonetheless, that amounts to more reviews for you! Does X-Men: Schism live up to the hype? Does the Captain America relaunch? Or Ultimate Fallout? Or The Red Wing? There were a lot of first issues this week—so sit back and enjoy the reviews!

The show is embedded below and is now available on iTunes for subscription. Each episode will labeled "podcast" so you can link to previous episodes here on the blog. Refer to the Show Notes after the jump as well as a direct link to download the MP3.

'Avengers' Teaser Trailer

Spoiler Alert!

So it looks like we will be getting our first peak at 2012's The Avengers after the credits of Captain America: The First Avenger. The very low-quality clip does not give anything away really, but oh boy, does it have us excited.

The Avengers is scheduled for release on May 4, 2012.