Captain America

Happy Monday Cape Town Commuters.

Empire Magazine has released its cover image of Captain America for its March issue.

July can't come fast enough.

Steve Rogers: Super Soldier...sorry, I mean Captain America: The First Avenger is scheduled for a 7/22/2011 release. It can be seen in both 3D and 2D. 

Cape Town Community Podcast - Ep. 002 - "H.E.R.B.I.E. Lives!"

All right folks! After some head scratching and technical difficulties, I'm ready to post our second podcast -- which Jerry and I are quite proud of!

The show is embedded below and is now available on iTunes for subscription and we are still awaiting confirmation for 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.

The WB Has It's New Man Of Steel

Hey there Cape Town Commuters...

We have a new Superman and his name is Henry Cavill.

The big announcement can be read here at SHH.

The British Thespian beat out fellow actors Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Matthew Goode (Leap Year, Watchmen) and Matthew Bomer (White Collar) for the title role. 

No other casting news has been announced as of yet but continue to check in as we are sure to follow this \s/uper news.  

This Superman film is scheduled for a winter of 2012 release and will be directed by Zack Synder. The film was writen by David S.Goyer and produced by Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder.

DC Teases 'Flashpoint' with the Names of 14 Crossovers

Talk about your ambitious stories.

DC revealed today 14 (of the 15) mini-series—a total of 50 comic books—that will flesh out the brave new world of Flashpoint. While this seems like a lot of books, I would caution readers to pick and choose based off of their favorite characters and creative teams, although the creative teams haven’t been announced (except George Perez’s admission to be working on Secret Seven).

Flashpoint is a story in which the time stream is seriously upset and the whole of the DCU is affected in big ways—hence 15 different titles to establish alternate universes for Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and many others. It looks like DC has every corner of their universe covered. Think Age of Apocalypse or House of M on a much grander scale.

I like the nostalgic touch of “Whatever Happened to…” as a means of grouping these minis into different categories (below). This is a nod to the classic Alan Moore/Curt Swan pre-Crisis Superman finale “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow.” Since Perez is involved, it’s going to be interesting to see what other talent has been hired to bring this sprawling epic together.

DC also announced that they have one more top-secret title to add to the list of Flashpoint titles as well as some one-shots that will appear over the course of the book’s five month run. I’d like to add that five months is a nice number when it appears to be a story that is affecting the whole of the DCU.

Now let’s get some names of the creators attached to these titles!

Leaked 'Thor' Script Reviewed (Briefly)

Why on Midgard would someone leak the script to Thor?

Paramount and Marvel were on the case after Comic Book Movie published a review of a Thor script that sounded pretty legitimate. According to The Wrap, Paramount asked the website to take down the script review about an hour after it was posted. This was followed up by a call from Marvel.

How would you like to get those two calls?

Spoiler Alert!

Marvel Comics Rumored to Drop Prices to $2.99

Please be true. Please be true.

Who would have thought we’d be using the phrase “During these difficult economic times” for three years straight?

But during these difficult economic times, the word on the web is that Marvel may be following DC’s lead and bringing their comic book prices down a buck to $2.99 (the price of almost all of their good titles is $3.99).

Bleeding Cool is reporting through a number of sources that Marvel will begin selling their books at the lower price-point and also reduce the number of pages from 22 to 20—also in the same manner as the distinguished competition. According to the article some of the books may contain as many as 24 pages.

Thank you Marvel—in advance—for the rumored savings!

Marvel Teases 'Fantastic Four' #588

Marvel Comics released a teaser for the final issue of its long-running title The Fantastic Four. Jonathan Hickman wrote a powerful issue which featured a hero’s death that arguably met the expectations of fans of the medium.

Hero saves friend. Hero saves world. Hero makes the ultimate sacrifice. Powerful stuff.

Hickman has proven that he knows how to write a touching scene and I imagine he will do so again when Spider-Man shares a comforting moment with Franklin Richards to discuss the loss of an uncle. That said, I found it odd that artist Nick Dragotta has drawn Spidey in a very menacing pose, looking as though he is about to pounce on young Franklin.

The Fantastic Four #588 is scheduled for release on February 23.

ComiXology Announces Digital Storefront Affiliate Program for Retailers

While the different comics publishers work out the best way to present their books digitally to readers, comiXology is fast becoming the iTunes of comic books in terms of providing a consistency in how Marvel, DC, Image and all the rest get their digital goods to the masses.

Today the digital comic provider announced the development of a new program for retailers to sell digital comic books on their websites using technology provided by comiXology. This allows retailers to gain a piece of the action from the sales of digital comics on their own sites.

ComiXology has already developed some pretty nifty technology for retailers outside of the growing digital revolution.  For example they have a fantastic online pull list application for retailers to add to their websites, which is really impressive in comparison to what your average comic book shop is able to produce on a weekly basis.

While all of this seems truly generous, we may be heading toward the inevitable end of many of the brick and mortars that have sustained the industry for more than three decades. As digital readers grow more significantly, people’s acceptance of reading their comics on a tablet will evolve to a point where reading a paper comic book will be as passé as shopping in a record store.

The Cape Town Community Podcast is Available on iTunes!

Well, it’s been a few days since Jerry and I got our first podcast recorded and I must say it has been difficult to talk about anything else. We are aware that we have some things to work on, but we are certain we are off to a good start.

Exciting news came in today when I got an email this evening informing me that the show was now available on iTunes for download and/or subscription. This has all been enormously satisfying for the two of us who just were looking to record a podcast where two guys talk about something they love to do: read comic books.

This link is our iTunes page which directs you to the iTunes store where you can subscribe to the show! Thanks again for everyone who has listened and offered kind words!

San Diego Comic-Con Tickets Go on Sale Feb. 5th

And you thought it would never happen.

San Diego Comic-Con ticket sales have finally been announced. On February 5th ticket registration begins after two failed attempts to conduct online sales late last year crashed the servers. In December, a test was conducted to determine if the problem could be identified and it looks like it finally has. Within seconds 1,000 tickets were sold to thankful fans who were eager to finally cement their plans for the weekend of July 21.

Comic-Con 2011 attendee registration will open at 9am PT on Saturday, February 5.

Bane Appears in this Week's 'Young Justice'

Why wait until The Dark Knight Rises to get your Bane fix. The Batman back-breaker is going to make his venomous first appearance in this week's Young Justice. Check out three clips from this week's stealthy episode.

Young Justice airs on Fridays on the Cartoon Network at 7 p.m./ 6 p.m Central.

Cape Town Capsule Reviews, 1/19/11 Releases

Well, our first podcast took up a lot of my time over the past week, but I expect to have more time for writing my regular weekly reviews. That said, we’re going to handle last week’s reviews in spitball fashion.

Here we go.

Supergirl #60

DC Comics

Nick Spencer and James Peaty have written a solid opener to this new arc, and kept from besmirching the work of former series writer Sterling Gates. Add to this, the gorgeous art of Bernard Chang who seems instantly at home on the book. Spencer and Peaty have created a truly vile new villain who might just be the “other son” of the Man of Steel’s bald nemesis. This was the best thing I read all week.

Morning Glories #6

Image Comics

Unfortunately, this is the weakest entry yet of the series. We jumped ahead about 20 years and found that life at Morning Glories Academy was just as confusing as ever. This was hopefully just a brief misstep in what has been an otherwise strong run by series writer Nick Spencer.

Iron Man #500

Marvel Comics

Matt Fraction tells an engrossing one-shot future-story in which Mandarin seems to be on the brink of world-domination as Tony Stark’s children attempt to stop the villain’s doomsday weapon. This is a great story in which Fraction establishes the resilience of Tony Stark’s character in the face of utter defeat. We also revisit Tony and Peter Parker’s relationship as it has been on rocky ground since Civil War.

Superman/Batman #80

DC Comics

This is one throwbacky story. You’ve got Bronze age Robin in his old speedos and wisecracking as he fights, Lois Lane with a thin striped tie, Batman smiling more than once, and a time travel story straight out of DC Comics Presents. The dialogue and story are all tongue and cheek and seems to be in writer Chris Roberson’s comfort zone.

Memoir #1 (of 6)

Image Comics

Memoir reminded me of 27 in that it didn’t really feel like the book that was solicited. The book’s dialogue was somewhat stiff and might have benefited from another draft or two. The plot was intriguing from afar, but in the end it did not grab me. John Cassaday has illustrated a mesmerizing cover.

Amazing Spider-Man #652

Marvel Comics

Dan Slott is really seeming a lot more comfortable with the world he’s established in this issue, the first part of his second arc on the title. Alistair Smythe, the Spider Slayer, is out for revenge on J. Jonah Jameson and plans to take out everyone he loves with the help of his insect army and Mac Gargan, the original Scorpion. This is a really strong story by Slott, but the surprise hear is the gorgeous art by Stefano Casselli. The last few pages with Spider-Man scaling the side of a rocket to save John Jameson are quite stunning.

Does the Death in 'Fantastic Four' #587 Matter?

As comic book fans, we’ve become so embittered by the conventions of the medium that we sometimes lose sight of the story. I’m referring to the death of a character in comic books.

It doesn’t matter does it? The Flash came back. Green Lantern too. Superman, Captain America, and Batman were all killed and brought back before too long. We’ve also seen the return of characters whose deaths were so important that they seemed to define those closest too them: “Bucky” Barnes and Jason Todd.

So death doesn’t really matter does it?

NBC Buys Kelley's Wonder Woman Pilot

It was announced this weekend that NBC has picked up the pilot for David E. Kelley’s Wonder Woman script.  

Deadline broke the story—and my heart—when they described Wonder Woman as “a vigilante crime fighter in L.A. but also a successful corporate executive and a modern woman trying to balance all of the elements of her extraordinary life.”

The only words from that description that match my own are probably “woman” and “extraordinary.” And maybe “the.” As much as I say it is unfair to judge something before we’ve seen it, things like this are the exception. I call it the “Jack Black Rule of Comic Book Adaptations” (made famous by the shocking choice by Warner Bros. to briefly cast Black as Hal Jordan in a Green Lantern movie).

I think screenwriters sometimes use the word vigilante as a synonym for gritty. The short description sounds like it has nothing to do with the character Wonder Woman that I know. I am the last person to expect a literal translation from comics to film, but I do expect the essence of the character to be there.

I believe bringing Wonder Woman to film or television would be no easy task for even the most talented of writers, but these guys shouldn’t do so at the expense of the character. If you’re going to rejigger that with which we are familiar to a point that it becomes pretty unrecognizable, then create a wholly original character like the Cape or the cheerleader from Heroes.

I really hope I’m wrong and that Kelley has developed something special for the Amazonian Princess. For now I’ll keep my arms crossed, my brow furrowed, and my expectations right where they belong. High.

'Wizard' Magazine Ends a Two Decade Run

Wizard Entertainment announced today that they are stopping publication of Wizard and Toyfare.

Let’s face it, Wizard was facing an uphill battle by trying to continue publishing a monthly comic book trade magazine when it fought stiff competition from its online counterparts. Between sites like Comic Book Resources and Super Hero Hype, the comic book companies’ own blogs, and Twitter, Wizard had become the last place to go for a breaking story.

The silver lining in the closing of the long-running magazine is that Wizard Entertainment promised to begin an online Wizard World magazine in February. Smart, smart move. Wizard has a warm relationship with all of the major publishers and they have the name recognition. I expect that the new site will be giving CBR a run for its money in no time.

Will they still run a list of the top ten writers and artists?