As a quick follow-up to an earlier post about Art Brut's recent visit to the DC Comics (now DC Entertainment) offices, here's a video piece from Pitchfork...
September 16, 2009
August 18, 2009
Lex Luthor Goes for Federal Bailout Money
John Hamm should consider playing Lex in the next Superman movie.
July 16, 2009
NPR Blog Calls Thor a Jerk
Writing on NPR.org's Monkey See blog about the addition of Natalie Portman to the cast of the upcoming Thor movie, Glen Weldon calls the God of Thunder a "jerk" who always has "a puss on his face."
Now I'm not sure what that latter phrase means (though it certainly doesn't sound like a bad thing), but on the whole I'd say that Mr. Weldon is either very brave or very, very stupid. That's awfully ballsy talk for a public radio man. I have one word for you, sir, and that word is "smite."
Needless to say, I would avoid walking anywhere near Glen Weldon during inclement weather.
Just for fun, here's an episode of Thor's cooking show, Thor's Kitchen...
July 14, 2009
WEDNESDAY PULL LIST 7/15/09: Ryan Reynolds to Portray All Remaining Superheroes
Well despite my brazen prognosticating, the seemingly impossible has happened. Warner Bros. selected Van Wilder as the big screen's Green Lantern, officially kickstarting Ryan Reynolds's campaign to star in every single superhero adaptation from now on. Having already appeared as Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity and signing on to play Deadpool, Reynolds (who was at one time also the favorite to play the Flash)
In other casting news, Natalie Portman has signed on to join a cast of nobodies in the upcoming Thor movie (as Jane Foster, not Sif), and Holt "His name is Robert Paulson" McCallany has joined the cast of Warner Bros.' adaptation of The Losers.
And now for the severely vacation-delayed Wednesday Pull List...
The long-awaited Blackest Night storyline finally kicks off this week (after an absolutely stellar lead-in from Green Lantern #43 last week), and the DC-porn will be in full effect as scores of long-dead characters are reanimated by the Black Lantern(s). The appearance of a zombie Martian Manhunter will be worth the price of admission, but Geoff Johns excels at this kind of universe-building endeavor so it should be great across the board. High hopes abound on this one.
Not sure why I passed on the first issue of what has already become a universally lauded weekly series, but hopefully I can pick up a copy this week. The premise is simple: a large-format, fold-out compendium of short comics stories by a veritable who's who of today's talent, featuring characters like Deadman, Metamorpho, Batman, Adam Strange, and more.
The Dark Avengers/X-Men crossover (a concept that I was mocking mere weeks ago as too ridiculous for even Marvel to entertain) continues, to diminishing returns. I may have to drop this book, as it continues to inspire yawns and little else.
I hate to jump on the deluxe-edition bandwagon, but this pricey little number compiles the first twelve issues of my all-time favorite comic book into a lovely hardcover package. So yeah, I'm gonna drop the dough on this and the rest of the volumes as they come out. What can I say, I'm a merchandiser's wet dream.
July 10, 2009
Random News Roundup
With just under two weeks to go until the 2009 San Diego Comic Con, the newswires are rife with comics news, wild speculation, and feverish message-board dork battles.
The most interesting tidbit so far today is the rumor that the lead role in the upcoming Green Lantern movie has been narrowed to three candidates: Bradley Cooper, Ryan Reynolds, and...wait for it...Justin "Dick in a Box" Timberlake! (I guess my boy Nathan Filion is too old for the part.) But Reynolds couldn't possibly be the next Hal Jordan, as he's already set to play Deadpool, and he has long been rumored as the top choice for any potential Flash movie as well. Cooper is an intriguing idea, and his dick-ish streak matches Hal's devil-may-care attitude. I'm a big JT fan, but I just can't see America's favorite mother lover as the Green Lantern for sector 2814.
In other news, Scott Ian, legendary goatee aficionado and lead guitarist of Anthrax, is set to write the upcoming Lobo: Highway to Hell miniseries for DC. Ian is just the latest in a recent rash of celebrities getting into comic books.
Sad (though no longer timely) news came my way yesterday: First, J. Michael Straczynski is leaving Thor. This is terrible news for one of Marvel's best-written properties, especially on the heels of the Captain Britain and MI-13 cancellation. No word yet on JMS's replacement.
And speaking of sudden and unwelcome departures, comics superstar and burgeoning Hollywood talent Brian K. Vaughan has confirmed that he is leaving the writing staff of LOST for "greener pastures." No further details have been made available on this one, either.
Finally, your weekend would be incomplete without footage of Doctor Doom doing stand-up in Baltimore...
June 26, 2009
WEDNESDAY PULL LIST: Lowbrow Superbook Extravaganza
Calling this column the Wednesday Pull List is getting downright ridiculous.
This week's pulls were 100% major label and 100% superhero. In other words, all the fun, none of the intellectual enrichment. It's like a weekend eating nothing but dessert.
The god of thunder has been exiled from Asgard, his indestructible hammer, Mjolnir (yes, I spelled that from memory), has been broken, and his girlfriend is stuck in the body of an old lady or something. It's been a bad few weeks for the mighty Thor. I'm hoping he decides to work out his frustrations by beating a frost giant to death or splitting a mountain in half or something equally METAL, but most likely his response will be something emo like asking someone to cast a spell.
This book was frigging amazing under the stewardship of Joss Whedon and Dan Cassaday. Under the direction of Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi, it has become increasingly baroque and hard to follow...or care about. We have entered a(nother) fallow period for the various X-books, and I finally dropped Uncanny X-Men this week. AGAIN. Depending on this week's issue, Astonishing may share its sibling's fate.
And speaking of X-books, I have no idea what to expect from this. Yet another crossover issue. These things have become so commonplace that I actually forgot to buy this issue when I was in the shop. They all just flow into one another, and not in the good way. Hell, I don't even know what the premise is.
So there's all these different lantern colors now, each based on a different part of the "emotional spectrum," and right now Hal is fighting the orange (greed) lantern. Well at the end of the last issue, the greedy orange dude chopped Hal Jordan's fucking arm off!! Needless to say, I am looking forward to seeing how this shakes out. Will it magically reattach via lantern power? Does Hal get a Luke Skywalker robo-hand or a hand made of pure green energy? Maybe he should get a claw, or perhaps some kind of ornate and wholly impractical weapon.
Apparently the new Sorcerer Supreme is finally chosen in this issue. (SPOILER: It's goofy-ass Brother Voodoo! Is someone at Marvel headquarters hopped-up on goofballs, or what?) I've already registered my extreme displeasure at Doctor Strange losing the title in the first place, but I am encouraged by the news of his replacement. Brother Voodoo is so inessential and ridiculous a character that his death is more than a little plausible, clearing the way for good ol' Doc Strange to reclaim that bitchin' Cloak of Levitation.
To be completely honest, I'm not even sure what's going on in this book. There are so many Avengers titles these days, they may as well just slap an "X-" in front of them all and be done with it.
June 22, 2009
Celebrities Are Nerds Too!
Honestly, I didn't think I could like R.E.M.'s Peter Buck any more than I already do, but then I saw this picture. (Thanks for the link, Lane.) R.E.M.'s guitarist as a clerk in a comic shop? As my friend Rob says, "Mint."
"Likes comic books" is always a huge plus when it comes to celebrity worship. Seth Myers and Bill Hader, Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Kevin Smith... more often than not, I like 'em better once I find out they're nerds. My better half even posted a gallery of comics-friendly musicians over at Spinner.com, and now I'm a Ryan Adams fan despite his music.
BONUS VIDEO: Bill Hader for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
"Likes comic books" is always a huge plus when it comes to celebrity worship. Seth Myers and Bill Hader, Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Kevin Smith... more often than not, I like 'em better once I find out they're nerds. My better half even posted a gallery of comics-friendly musicians over at Spinner.com, and now I'm a Ryan Adams fan despite his music.
BONUS VIDEO: Bill Hader for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
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