Marvel Teases 'Throne of Blood: Birth of a Vampire'

Victor Gischler appears to have a comfort zone at Marvel. After kicking off his first X-Men arc with a tale of mutant-hating vampires, he is getting ready for his slice of Marvel’s Fear Itself event. Marvel released a bad-ass teaser for something called Throne of Blood: Birth of a Vampire. I’m new to Gischler’s work, but he wrote writes good-humored and entertaining stories.

I’m not sure who this villain is in the shadows, but he has a pretty awesome collection trinkets: Green Goblin’s pumpkin bombs, Doctor Doom’s mask, Thor’s hammer, Cap’s shield, Iron Man’s glove, Magneto’s helmet and Daredevil’s nunchucks. If that doesn’t establish the villains formidability, nothing else could.

Throne of Blood: Birth of a Vampire is scheduled for release on April 6.

Marvel Allows Retailers to Sell This Week's 'Fantastic Four' #587 on Tuesday

Usually when a loved one is on their deathbed, we pray for extra time with that person. “Just another day or two” we say.

Not Marvel Comics though. They have pushed the release of Fantastic Four #587 up by one day to Tuesday, January 25. This is the book which is growing evermore infamous because it involves the death of one of the four original members. February’s Fantastic Four #588 will be the final issue of the 50-year-old book that will transform into the somewhat familiar-titled FF in March.

Marvel released the following statement via Comic Book Resources:

“Due to the expected mass media attention scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 25th, Marvel is allowing retailers who have received copies of Fantastic Four #587 to make it available that day… This unexpected opportunity is a result of both the new earlier shipping schedule and worldwide mass media coverage. Marvel cannot guarantee the secured press placement will hit on 1/25 (as other breaking news may bump it), though if it does, retailers who have received the issue may sell their copies. For retailers who don’t receive early shipments, or have customers calling in advance of the shipment arrival, Marvel encourages them to take down customer information and inform them when copies do arrive.”

I’m not sure how the mass media attention is going to change based on the date of publication, but I am excited to be able to finally read the conclusion of this storyline that has put each of its main characters in mortal danger. I will be avoiding all human contact until I read this issue all by my lonesome—I will not have this spoiled for me by some co-worker who doesn’t understand the gravity of wrecking a story.

Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. will be blubberin’ time!

Cape Town Community Podcast - Ep. 001 - Pilot

After months of discussing, planning, and a week of not sleeping well, the first episode of the Cape Town Community Podcast is here!

This blog has been a real blast for me to put together on an (almost) daily basis, but the work Jerry and I have done on the podcast has been a lot of fun. We hope you enjoy listening to our comic book discussion and enjoy listening to our views on the comic book news of the week.

The show is embedded below and will be available for subscription shortly on iTunes and Zune. 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.

Vaughn Dismisses 'First Class' Cast Photo and Two New Pics Hit the Web

Now I don't feel so bad for being underwhelmed by the first picture of the cast of the X-Men: First Class film. It just looked a bit on the amaturish side if I can be honest. I thought the oddest choice was the light coming from behind Emma Frost even though she has Azazel directly behind her. Then there's Beast's head which is awkwardly cast in shadow while everyone elses faces seem to basking in the glow of meticulously-placed lighting. Nevertheless, someone from Fox sent the photo to the movie sites for posting and the damn thing took on a life of its own.

First Class director Matthew Vaughn told /Film the following:
"I freaked out on them yesterday. I don't know where the hell that came from. I don't think it's a Fox image. It's not a pre-approved image. When I found out, I said, what the f*ck is this sh*t, and Fox is running around trying to figure out what happened as well. I agree. It's like a bad photoshop, which maybe it was by someone. It didn't reflect the movie. I was shocked when I saw it. I was like 'Jesus Christ'...

Two more photos from the film were released today.

What Will 'Flashpoint' Do to Our Favorite DC Titles?

Bleeding Cool has been the source of some very interesting Flashpoint rumors this week—remember that Flashpoint is DC’s line-wide crossover event that, while Flash-centric, is promising to involve all of DC’s big guns.

On Tuesday the website reported that, according to a source from across the pond, DC is going to substitute several titles with alternate-reality versions of the books. This would be similar to the renaming of several X-Men titles during the Age of Apocalypse event in the mid-90’s. Bleeding Cool’s source also stated that DC’s renaming of titles will be more expansive than that of the supersized X-crossover.

There seems to be a grain of truth to the rumor because Bleeding Cool reported today that George Perez has stated he will be working on a book called The Secret Seven; the assumption is that this is either a renaming of The Secret Six or possibly a Justice League of America title.

Let’s hope we get some more answers about alternate DC timelines tomorrow when DC officially begins their “Flashpoint Friday” post on their blog tomorrow.

DC Drops the Comics Code Authority Seal of Approval

DC announced today that their comic books would no longer carry the antiquated Comics Code Authority (CCA) Seal of Approval that has gone unnoticed by me for several years. The CCA was formed in the mid-50’s out of concern for the perceived violence and depravity that appeared each week in the country’s best-selling comic books.  The code has been rejiggered and its confines loosened over the years to allow for comics to grow into the respectable storytelling form it is today.

DC announced that it is moving towards the use of a ratings system, which is now the industry standard. The letter ratings are as follows:

E – EVERYONE

Appropriate for readers of all ages. May contain cartoon violence and/or some comic mischief.

T – TEEN

Appropriate for readers age 12 and older. May contain mild violence, language and/or suggestive themes.

T+ - TEEN PLUS

Appropriate for readers age 16 and older. May contain moderate violence, mild profanity, graphic imagery and/or suggestive themes.

M – MATURE

Appropriate for readers age 18 and older. May contain intense violence, extensive profanity, nudity, sexual themes and other content suitable only for older readers.

MMM – TRIPLE MATURE

All your favorite characters in mature stories and saucy scenarios that aren’t for the faint of heart.

Okay, I made the last one up.

'Green Lantern' pic: Hammond and Pal Jordan

There has been a deluge of some pretty fantastic new pics from the most highly anticipated comic book movies. well, ever. Last week we saw a new picture of Chris Hemsworth from Thor, the first picture of Andrew Garfield in the Spider-Man costume sans mask, a few cool new shots of a geared up Chris Evans from Captain America: The First Avenger. This week has served up a number of exciting new X-Men: First Class photos that, minus the photoshopped cast pic, have been met with warm reactions online.

Then Warner Bros. offered up the picture above from Green Lantern featuring Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond with Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan. This one feels like weak shot of a set of better photos. I do like the creepiness of Sarsgard who looks to be a pre-mutated Hector but it would have been nice to get a shot with a little more punch. Who am I to complain though? We already have an awesome teaser trailer and that cool Entertainment Weekly cover to fawn over.

Green Lantern lights up theaters on June 17, 2011.

Comic Twart Celebrates its First Birthday

Comic Twart celebrates its first birthday this week and they have served up a lifetime of great art over the last year. For the uninitiated, Comic Twart is a sort of jam session of talented comic book artists who are given a topic by the site's moderator and several of them will do their take on said topic. The results are often stunning (a favorite of mine remains Chris Samnee's minimalist JLA).

In commemoration of their first milestone, site collaborator Evan Shaner contributed a wonderful retrospective piece covering all of the topics so far (Hercules, Marvel's What If, Italian Spider-Man and many more). If you are not following Comic Twart do so right away! For comic book fans it is one of the most singularly pleasing sites on the web.

Marvel's April 'Fear Itself' Solicitations

You have nothing to fear… unless you are a comic book completist. Marvel’s 2011 company-wide crossover Fear Itself begins in April and Marvel featured all of the comics that will be released under the Fear Itself banner.

First off, we appear to be easing into things in terms of crossover titles since Iron Man (Invincible Iron Man #503) and Thor (Journey Into Mystery #622) are the only characters to have tie-ins come April. Of course there is the Fear Itself book and a supplemental title, Fear Itself: The Home Front, which sounds like a book that remains on the periphery of the action (ala Frontline). For total immersion into the event, Marvel is reprinting early Sin (Red Skull’s daughter) stories (Fear Itself: Sin’s Past) and a book that takes readers behind the scenes of Fear Itself (Fear Itself Spotlight).

'X-Men: First Class' Teaser Poster and New Set Photos Arrive

After a somewhat unmemorable cast photo for X-Men: First Class was released yesterday by 20^th Century Fox, today brought some significantly more interesting pictures via the Los Angeles Times. We also have been treated today to the first teaser for Director Mathew Vaughn’s new X-Men film (above).

No J. Jonah Jameson in Marc Webb's Spider-Man Reboot

To be fair, it was going to be hard to fill J.K. Simmons’ crew  cut anyway.

IGN has confirmed through “reliable” sources that the classic Spider-Man foil, J. Jonah Jameson, would not appear in Marc Webb’s 2012 Spider-Man reboot. I think this might be a good choice. Sure J. Jonah has been a part of the Spider-Man lore since the beginning, on film he can become a one-note character. We’ve already had three films with the character-assassinating character,  I think it’s refreshing to see that Webb and screenwriter James Vanderbilt aren’t mining everything that has come before it.

And hey, we’re going to get real web-shooters in the next film.

The next Spider-Man film hits theaters on July 3, 2012.

Hardy is Bane and Hathaway is Catwoman in 'Dark Knight Rises'

Warner Bros. made the official announcement today that Anne Hathaway would be playing Catwoman and Tom Hardy would be playing Bane in the The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan’s finale to his Batman-trilogy.

This ends all of the speculation as to who Hardy would play and what female villain would go up against Batman in the 2012 film. Almost all at least.

Last year a number of female names were bandied about for two possible female roles: a love interest for Batman and an adversary. Given Catwoman’s most recent past with the Dark Knight, I suspect that Catwoman is not his enemy in this film. I could be wrong, but I still don’t think it’s far-fetched to believe that Talia al Ghul and the League of Assassins are the villains (aided by Bane) and Catwoman is something of the anti-hero she has been portrayed for years now in the comic books.

Time will tell as more casting is announced for the hotly-anticipated film.

The Dark Knight Rises is scheduled for release on July 20, 2012.

'Thor Goes Hollywood' Variants Pay Homage to Classic Films

I believe I've mentioned previously that my days of collecting variant covers are far behind me. But I seriously love some of the cool ones that come out! This May Marvel will release a number of "Thor Goes Hollywood" covers to commemorate Thor's big-screen debut this summer. Mike Del Mundo is responsible for the Frankenstein homage for Uncanny X-Force #7 variant (below). Harvey Tolibao created the very cool take on the original Jaws movie poster for Heroes for Hire #5 (above). Who needs a bigger boat when you have Mjolnir?

Thor hits theaters on May 6, 2011.

My 300th Blog Post!





So it's come to this, my 300th blog post. Who would have thought that I could have come up with 300 hundred things to says about comic books? Well, I did. Nuff said.

First 'X-Men: First Class' Pic Hits the Web

When I saw the first promo photo of X-Men:  First Class I wasn’t overwhelmed with excitement. I thought, “Okay, they might look cool individually, as they will eventually appear in each character’s own poster, but together it’s not clicking. From left to right we have Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Rose Byrne as Dr. Moira MacTaggert, January Jones as Emma Frost, Jason Flemyng as Azazel, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Lucas Till as Havok, Zoe Kravitz as Angel Salvadore, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique and James McAvoy as Professor X.

Then it occurred to me, sometimes the X-Men movie posters just look plain awkward when the characters are standing together. All the poster-creators do is take the individual characters shots and place them together.