Net-Beetle 6-5000 At Your Service

IDW is set to publish yet another CSI book this time set in New York.

Jen C. talks with Drew Geraci about taking over the inking chores on Captain America.

Heidi MacDonald has more details on the Carmine Infantino lawsuit. You can see the actual complaint here.

The suit alleges that the Flash, Batgirl, Poison Ivy and other DCU mainstays were created by Infantino with no editorial guidance, and with no existing contract. "The works created by the plaintiff do not fall within the purview and definition of any of the nine enumerated categories which qualify as 'works for hire,'" according to the complaint. "Many of the art works referred to…were created and developed by the plaintiff long before any relationship with the defendants existed."

Isn't this the Barry Allen Flash and the Barbara Gordon Batgirl? Are those considered separate characters from the new Batgirl and the Wally West Flash? If so would this change the lawsuit as DC no longer publishes those characters in the form that he created them? If he's seeking past damages is there a statute of limitations since the time of creation? The statute of limitations for breech of an oral contract is two years and a written contract seems to be four years if >this is to be believed. Since there was no written contract would this be an oral agreement? "with contracts non-existent or consisting of a gentleman's agreement" would make it seem that there was some type of oral agreement. Though supposedly Infantino wasn't even contacted directly by DC editors according to his story. This should be an interesting case to watch.

Looks like there is some news in All The Rage this week which should make some people who weren't thrilled with the art on She-Hulk pretty happy this month.

Paul Pelletier has left CrossGen, and is currently working on She-Hulk for Marvel. Pelletier reportedly still wants to complete the Negation War miniseries, as a “thank you” to the fans who supported CrossGen and to provide closure for the Sigil-verse. While his Marvel work is his top priority, he will be working on pages for Negation War one to two days a week, as his schedule permits. From what I’ve heard, he’s determined to see it through to the end.

Graeme talks about emotional attachments to certain comics, Invisibles in particular, in Grim Tidings this week. I don't think I'm that attached to Invisibles, but other books hold sway over me in the way he describes. In Morrison's body of work, my choice would be Animal Man. That was the first book that really made me think about how comics could interact with the reader.

The Spin Doctors redesign the Superfriends!

Scott Morse and B. Clay Moore are the guest judges on Comic Book Idol 2 this week. Check out these awesome covers from Round 2 as well. I can't pick.

James Sime talks sense with his column The Comics Pimp this week when he says "Listen up, Mr. and Mrs. Comic Industry Professional, your comic book covers are killing your books."

Adrian Brown talks about Des Vylenz's film "The Mindscape of Alan Moore"

John Cusack is set to play the lead in a new movie where he will play a sci-fi writer who, shattered by the death of his fiancee, adopts a 6-year-old because he wants to be a dad. Suprise...suprise...his kid is a martian.

James Marsters says there will be a "Spike" telemovie, nothing official yet though.

Sam Raimi talks about Spider-man 3.

Chris Columbus has signed to direct Sub-Mariner?

New Batman pictures in Newsweek.

Looks like James Cameron might return to the Terminator after all as it's rumored he's been given complete control of the franchise along with "a pay day that wil rival or eclips Peter Jackson's deal for King Kong (20 million upfront plus a huge percentage)."

Tobey Maguire says that trailers give away too much about Spider-man 2. I'd have to agree.

Kryptonsite has information on the Global Frequency tv series.

Pee-Wee's Playhouse comes to DVD this fall.

Why realistic graphics make humans look creepy.

Would you like a Damask desktop?

Three new Macs! Ahhhh! Stop! I hate them! Actually I wouldn't have a problem if it was easier to switch and develop from platform to platform.

Not really a whole lot of news today. If you want more Dream Team picks check out Otto's, Kevin's, Ken's, and Rick's. Did I forget anyone?

Dream Teams Part 2

Challengers of the Unknown by Warren Ellis and Geoff Darrow
Ellis can think up something truly worthy of the Chals to face as you can see in Planetary and all the mini-series he's put out lately. Give them new frontiers to explore and while your at it have Geoff draw those frontiers. Have you seen this guy draw 50 foot tall rampaging monsters and tentacled robots that can rip a man in half? Geoff can draw the ribs as they splinter.

Blue Beetle/Booster Gold by Peter David and Kevin Maguire
Give Peter David the comedic duo who has their hearts in the right places, but always seem to just barely get by. David has shown he has what it takes to write this series on The Hulk, Captain Marvel, and others. Get Maguire on the book because nobody draws Beetle better than Kevin Maguire!

Detective Comics by Brad Metzer and Gene Ha
Put the mystery back into Batman by letting Meltzer take the reigns of the Dark Knight. Make this series less about big fights and more about detective skills and a crime that needs to be solved again. Have Gene Ha supply all the moody lighting and forensic details and you have a hit written all over every page.

Aquaman by Alan Davis
Just give this guy Aquaman. He's proven he has the chops to write the book as he has years of experience on titles like Excalibur and the superb The Nail. Have him draw it as well. Anyone who doesn't think Davis draws the best Aquaman covers ever is insane.

Superman by Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immomen
Just take a look at Superman:Secret Identity and tell me this team doesn't do THE perfect Superman.

Nick Fury by Andy Diggle and Jim Lee
Make Fury matter again. Give him to a writer who knows action and let him run free through the mine laden fields. Get him back to the Super-spy he used to be. I mean this guy should be the James Bond come Clint Eastwood of the Marvel Universe. Give him all the latest high tech toys and have at it. Give Jim Lee the art reigns and this would be one red hot book. Guest stars like Black Widow and villians like Viper up the babe quotient enough to give the fans what they want. Jim Lee can do action like no bodies business too. I can see Fury vaulting through a shot up office building breaking a window on the 60th floor and jumping out into his waiting flying car now!

Dr.Strange by Alan Moore and P. Craig Russell
No one does other wordly better than these two. Put them together on Dr. Strange and you have a perfect fit. When Moore describes a cthulu come Ditko type demon for Strange to fight Russell would be right there on the same page with him blowing us away. The clean poetic art of Russel would fit well with Moore's decriptive prose. This would be Dr.Strange done right. Make Dr.Strange return to the dark recesses of the Marvel Universe again. The places where the Avengers are scared to tread.

Dream Teams Part 1

Legion of Superheroes by Grant Morrison and Phil Jiminez
How could this book not be good. Reboot the series again and let Morrison have free reign in the future of the DC universe. I think he would get a kick out of all the Lass, Lads, and Boys around, plus I think he would remain faithful to the past while making the DC Universe of the future really seem like the future. Combine this with Phil Jiminez's detailed pencils and design work evident in his Invisibles and Wonder Woman runs and you have a guaranteed hit.

Flash by James Robinson and Oscar Jimenez
James Robinson is THE writer for legacy characters. Look what he did with Starman. He gave Jack Knight so much personality he couldn't help but be cool. Imagine what he could do for Wally West and his cohorts. He's also great at taking old school villians and making them dangerous again. You can see this in his re-imaginings of the Shade and The Mist. Finally he would make Keystone City and Central City characters in themselves the way he did Opal City. Make them real places and you can ground a character. Oscar worked on the Flash once before shortly after Weiringo and Pacheco. I don't think anyone has shown the motion and energy evident in Flash's powers before or since and would love to see what he could do on the title redesigning the cities and supporting characters.

More to come, but for now I have to go to a rehersal for the wedding tomorrow.

Link Pimping...A Fine Art.

My friend David Chapman who wrote the Palmiotti interview I told you about the other day seems to be doing pretty well as the link to the article showed up on Newsarama, Comics2Film, Paper Films, and SuperheroHype this morning. Congrats David!

Speaking of friends, my buddy James Curran is getting married tomorrow. I wish them all the best and I don't know two people that belong together more than you two. Congrats and I'll see you at the wedding!

In addition to the wedding this weekend I'm also planning on hitting DreamCon on Sunday. You can check out all the guests that will be attending the convention in Jacksonville here. David should be hitting the place with me.

Palmiotti and his Paper Films is mentioned in Newsarama's third installment on the company, this time with the talented Amanda Conner.

Are you behind in your Green Arrow reading? Well Newsarama can help you catch up here.

Jennifer Contino talks Evan Dorkin's Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.

That silly Jen C. stays busy doesn't she? Here she is again talking to Pete Woods about War Games.

Matt Maxwell discusses the pros and cons of having an online comic book related column.

This is even more the case when you’re writing strictly about a field as small as comics. I was talking with a favorite creator of mine at Wondercon this year and we both noted the ferocity over which subjects in comicdom (particularly, though not limited to, superheroserial comics) are discussed/debated/fought over. To use a simile I used with a friend recently, it’s like watching a pack of pit bulls tussling over the body of a rat. Yes, that’s a loaded view, I admit. But that doesn’t change the truth of it.

At any rate, we came to some agreement that this was due to the contracting nature of the comics business (whether real or simply perceived). The more scarce a resource becomes, the harder people who require/consume the resource will fight to dispose of it in their chosen manner. Kinda like academics, where the biggest battles aren’t fought over giant, over-arching theories, but rather over the most microscopic, microcosmic theories (and this, I believe, is true primarily because of the orientation of most Ph.D. studies on proving a tiny little new theory instead of reassimilation of older works.)

Check out the lucky folks who made it into round 2 of Comic Book Idol 2.

Oddball Comics looks at Strange Tales.

Jerry Ordway returns to the JSA with #63.

Eric Bana is set to star in Speilberg's movie on the '72 Olympics.

Gollum looks like he may be climbing the Empire State Building soon.

Jennifer Aniston starring in the Bullit remake?

The Punisher returns to theaters on June 25th.

First look at Krypto The Super Dog.

Follow the money to Spider-man 2.

Jeremiah: The Last Empire heading to comics.

I can't wait till February and Knights of the Old Republic 2.

Damn those theives for delaying Half Life 2! Give 'em the chair!

John Layman talks about his new Gambit series.

What I Thought

Identity Crisis #1
To me this series has already lived up to the hype. For one it shows true emotion in the heroes and truly changes one B-level (A-level in my book though, I always liked him better than his superpowered counterpart) and introduces a mystery focusing on the Satellite era JLA. The villians all seem more realistic than previously portrayed and in one issue Meltzer has done more for DC's villians than the entire DC event Underworld Unleashed a while back. This is one comic where neither the art nor story let me down. Good stuff and worth the wait. I'll talk more about this after it's been out for a while.

Identity Disc #1
Everything Crisis does right Disc does wrong. Identity Disc wants to focus on these different villians and blackmails them into working together to help a mysterious figure find a disc with every costume hero/villians personal information on it. First it's kind of dumb that this disc even exists without the heroes or even S.H.E.I.L.D. knowing about it. Second the reasons for all the characters joining up are thin at best, especially given their personalities in other books. Juggernaut is with the X-men but joins the mock-team because he sees a headline of a past murder? He dealt with all that already I thought. The other characters reasons for joining are thin as well. All in all it's not a good showing for the first issue of the series and the similarity in titles doesn't help any. I won't be picking up the next issue.

100 Bullets #50
We finally reach the half way point in this series. A lot is explained in this issue. We learn the history of the 13 and the Minutemen. I like how everything is closely tied to events in American History. I won't say anymore for fear of ruining the story, but it's an excellent read. We also get to meet another Minuteman this issue. Eduardo Risso's art seems more polished than usual this issue as well. I wonder if this is due to his recent stint on Batman? I don't think any other team in comics can make people sitting and waiting in a bar so interesting.

Batman:Death and The Maidens #9
Well, it took a long time to get here, but I would say the finale was worth the wait. Ra's gets the ending he deserves as Nyssa takes up his banner. I thought Talia's fate was particularly well handled. Now I wonder if some other writer will come in and undo what Rucka has wrought. I hope not as I think Nyssa is an interesting character and her exploits seemed more human than Ra's. That touch makes her all the more formidable as the demon's head.

Nightwing #94
I wasn't a big fan of Dixon's work on the series, but always read it because I think Dick is such a great character. Even with all of Dixon's work I don't think Dick has changed much over the years. Grayson's run seems like it may finally do that. Everything in Dick's life has been taken away except for his new interest in Tarantula. After the events of the last issue can even that last? This issue we see Dick dealing with the strain of Tarantula's actions last issue as he plays over the events in his head over and over again. Meanwhile Copperhead is hired to go after a kingpin trying to take over Blockbuster's turf. Will Dick ever get the time to deal with all these momentous events in his life? Probably not as the title will be involved in the upcoming War Games crossover. Here's hoping Dick makes it through unscathed. He needs a break now.

Street Angel #2
This is just a flat out fun book. You don't need any backstory or anything to read this book. You just pick it up and delve right in. In this issue Ninja's, Time Traveling pirates, an astronaut from Australia and Incans all mesh into a story that doesn't fail to entertain. Laughs and good times abound. Check it out if you haven't already.

Punisher #7
First of all I'm a huge fan of Leandro Fernandez's art so I was very happy to see him as the penciller on this Punisher arc. This arc focuses on the I.R.A. bombing of an Irish pub in New York. The Punisher happens to get caught in the blast and we see the blast from his perspective as he sees all the innocents around him dying. Even the Punisher can't help but be affected by the tragedy. Very good read by Ennis and Fernandez. I hope to see more of this team in the future.

Global Frequency #12
I had thought this series was done already. I'm glad it wasn't as this is perhaps my favorite issue of the run. Ellis teams up with the very talented Gene Ha (Top Ten) this issue as one former administrations mistakes come back to haunt us in the future. A rogue satellite is about to eliminate Chicago from the map and all available members of the Global Frequency has to be called in to stop it. A fitting end to a magnificent series. I'm looking forward to the television show based on the series as well.

Fallen Angel #12
I will be very upset if DC decides to cancel this series. This issue is all flashback and tells the story of Juris and Lee's first meeting in New Orleans during Marti Gra. It's sexy without being vulgur and mysterious without being hard to follow. I think this series is Peter David's strongest work to date. This book is different from any other out there. Take a look. You won't be disspointed. You can preorder the trade here. The existence of this series relies on it's sales figures on the tpb so go get one otherwise I'll have to hunt you down.

Stormwatch #23
I'm really sad this series is ending. I've enjoyed it throughout all the artistic changes and controversy surrounding Wright. I think I'm one of the few people who seem to be able to dissassociate an artist from their work. What an artist does in life doesn't necessarily carry over to the work. Just my two cents. We get an anti-climatic non-ending for a book that was cancelled before it's time. I know the sales were bad, the Wright controversy was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I still wish I could have read that last issue though.

Green Arrow #39
While Winick's Arrow has been an entertaining read, it just doesn't live up to the previous run by Meltzer. I keep expecting great things from the book, but it keeps letting me down. It gets almost up to something really interesting and then flops. I'll keep reading, because I like the character and I've read good stories by Winick before. Hopefully it will get better.

Action Comics #816
We learn nothing new this issue except for the fact that Magog is using liquid kryptonite. As Revoltin' Developments said this comic lives up to it's title because thats about all it is. The art is amazing on the title though as Ivan Reis turns out a great looking Superman. Overall I like the book, but it's not great.

Aquaman #19
I'm still highly impressed with Pfeifer and Gleason's work on this title. They portray Aquaman as regal, but also he's more true to his roots and more like he used to be portrayed in the Silver Age and the original JLA. I'm glad this arc is wrapping up next issue as I'm anxious to see more by the team. Nice work. I'll miss the Alan Davis covers though.

Iron Man #84
Avenger's Disassembled Prologue. This issue sets up a conflict between Tony's loyalty to the US and the Avengers loyalty to the World at large as Tony is tasked to prevent Arsenal, an android from his father's past works from coming back to haunt him. His divided loyalties and the Avengers distrust of him because of those loyalties keep him from doing so and lead into Disassembled.

Spectacular Spider-man #15
I don't know about this issue. I love the beautiful artwork by Michael Ryan, but I can't quite tell where the story is going or how this ties into the Avengers except a guest appearance by a very gruff Captain America. A formidable but cliched villian is introduced as well.

Spider-man #3
Wow, Electro and Vulture have gotten a major boost in power. Electro takes the stage this issue as he almost cripples our hero in a knock down drag out fight leaving Vulture ready to take care of the peices. We also learn why the Owl gave in so easy during Spider-man's interrogation of the villian last issue. I haven't seen Spider-man this bleak in a long time.

District X #2
I'm still enjoying this new series focusing on the cops and mutants living and working in Mutant Town. I hope they use this series to not only focus on Bishop, but the everyday mutants as well. It's seems they are planning to so far. Excellent artwork by David Yardin as well. Don't just think of it as Marvel's Gotham Central, besides the cop angle this book isn't at all like it's competitor.

Bite Club #3
Who would have thought vampire's as mobsters would be so entertaining? Each member of the family has a distinct personality and agenda and I literally have no idea what is going to happen from page to page. The shocks keep coming as an old flame returns to Leto's life.

Captain America #27
Not much to say about this issue. It was a compitent showing by Morales and Campbell, but they've both done better work on other books. They both seem like they are holding back. Maybe it's an edict from the higher ups as they move Cap back towards the mainstream marvel universe?

That does it for this week. Peace.

Here I Go Again On My Own... Linking All the Sites I've Ever Known!

Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
An’ I’ve made up my mind
I ain’t wasting no more time

Sorry I had to get that out of my system before it did irreparable damage. Now for today's links:

Speaking of the 80's this is one of the coolest things ever. How can you beat breakdancing transformers?

Looks like the Excorcist is back for more head spinning action.

Apple moves to 30-inch HD-ready monitors.

Pictoplasma Conference: The First Conference for Contemporary Character Design and Art

The GUI Olympics

A Geek's Dream Tool

Too bad Mark Millar didn't know this. How to turn your PC into a Mac.

A look into the lives of soldiers in Iraq. Gunner Palace.

I like Blue Beetle, Laura likes Aquaman, this guy really really likes Batman.

Got a bald head? Want to be the letter Q in a new font? Someone tell Bendis.

Hi. I'm a F*cking mayor.

Marvel Comics has distributed two million Summer Reading Calendars and two million copies of Marvel Age: Spider-Man #2 comic books to school children in 46 states around the country. Thats awesome, but why #2?

Marvel targets 3 different levels of readers in their new prose line.

Even more Clone Wars Cartoons head to Cartoon Network.

The other actors in that casting call for Superman I talked about yesterday have been revealed.

Dave Richards interviews Scott Rosenberg on Cowboys and Aliens.

Want some stats on how the Comic Book Idol 2 contestants are doing? Well the CBI2 Mini Site has them.

Steven Grant has the low down on the Carmine Infantino suit as he asks "What If Stan Lee Drew the Flash?" in his new Permanent Damage column.

Joshua Hale Fialkov feels the same way I do about the current Nightwing series.

Grayson (Devin not Dick) has managed to make this book one of my must read books. She’s taken the torment and drive that makes Batman such a fascinating character, and imbued Nightwing with it. She’s taken Dick and made him his own tormented soul, with his own problems, far from Gotham. Breaking up the relationship between Oracle and Nightwing was one of the strongest choices of the past year, leaving Dick without a single soul to turn to, save for Tarantula. These are the sorts of extreme situations Grayson has continued to put Dick in, and by allowing each event to weigh more and more on him, we’ve been treated with the chance to actually see a classic DC character grow.

Ok so I was wrong. Tim Hartnett does like some books that came out this week.

Ulf Imwiehe talks to Brian Meredith, creator of the webcomic series Lucifer Fawkes.

Jennifer M. Contino and Matt Brady both talk about Identity Crisis.

Jennifer also has an interview with Tony Harris, Brian K. Vaughan, and Darren Murata about Ex Machina and it's website.

Daniel Robert Epstein interviews Paul Hornschemeier about Mother, Come Home.

Chris Arrant has part 2 of his interview with the fine folks at Paper Films. This time he talks to Justin Gray.

Benjamin Ong Pang Kean talks to Chuck Austen about his upcoming Humanoids book, Flywires.

and that does it for today's link wrap up...

I’m just another heart in need of rescue,
Waiting on love’s sweet charity
An’ I’m gonna hold on
For the rest of my days,
’cos I know what it means
To walk along the lonely street of dreams...

Damn it!

Jimmy Palmiotti on Gamespy

David Chapman sits down with Jimmy Palmiotti for Gamespy as he talks about writing for the new Punisher game as well as other upcoming titles. Check it out here.

GameSpy: Have you got any plans to work on any other video-game projects?
Palmiotti: Yes I do. I am looking at the opportunities available after this is complete, and I'm going to try and get some of my own properties like The Pro and Monolith involved as well. All good things in time. First we have to make THIS game brilliant. Then I will worry about the next thing.

All the News of Yesterday Today!

Peter David talks to Newsarama about Fallen Angel.

“Frankly, I’m mystified why the Fallen Angel is suddenly the poster child for ‘If a character is too enigmatic, you lose audience.’ To use The Prisoner again, did anyone stop watching the series while complaining, ‘They’re not spelling out whether Number 6 is actually secret agent John Drake and that’s ruined it for me.’ I mean, it was understood: If you wanted to think of The Prisoner as a continuation of Secret Agent, then fine. If you wanted to think of Number 6 as a wholly original character who just happens to be a dead ringer for Drake, also fine. For that matter, Wolverine was an enigma for decades. Irrespective of the quality of the series itself, does anyone think Wolverine was improved as a character by Origin? Are today’s audiences dumber or needier than they were back then? I’d like to think not. The fact is that anyone who is really, really reading the series has already learned a hell of a lot more about the Fallen Angel in one year than they learned about Wolverine in twenty or the Prisoner in forty.”

Steven T. Seagle will be on NPR's Fresh Air talking about "It's a Bird" today.

Jim Valentino, Scott Morse, Jim Mahfood, Steve Rolston, and others form A United Front.

Jennifer M. Contino talks to Robert Rodi on his upcoming works including Loki, Rogue, and Identity Disc.

DC expects a lot of mainstream coverage for Identity Crisis.

Craig Johnson of SBC looks at Strangehaven #16.

Tim Hartnett goes a little overboard in his dislike of Astonishing X-men.

So I guess this story will be lauded as groundbreaking and beautiful. It may even break recent sales records, for all I know. But this is an overhyped, underwritten, poorly paced, out-of-character collection of recycled ideas, and a horrible excuse for a replacement to Grant Morrison. Somehow, I’m not astonished. And Christ, does the Beast look awful…

He doesn't like too much else out this last week either apparently.

This weeks The Panel: Do Fans Really Want Change?

I agree with Alan Grant's answer:

I think it was Stan Lee who claimed that fans want the illusion of change, rather than change itself. I think that statement could be refined to: "publishers want the illusion of change, rather than change itself."

Comic books are published for profit. If a character or series is successful, the publisher wants to continue it for as long as possible, with as many spin-offs as possible. The last thing he wants is this money-spinning hero killed off, retired, or sidelined...*no matter what the fans--or for that matter the writer--might think.

Mike Bullock of Broken Frontier talks to Lewis Larosa, artist on The Punisher.

J.P. Dorigo has the recipe for a disaster.

Ed Cunard is excited about The MoCCA Arts Festival.

First of all, the primary focus of a show like MoCCA is comics. Not aging stars and starlets of sci-fi and horror, not finding the best-priced bootleg DVD or toy, but comics, comix and minicomics. Also, it’s not strictly a small press show – Mike Mignola, Jimmy Palmiotti, Klaus Janson, James Jean, Kyle Baker and Jim Salicrup will be there. Any time I can immerse myself in comics goodness is a good time. With a focus like that, you also get to hang with the people that really love comics as a medium – right now, I’ve got plans to hang with some comics people from here and other comics sites, as well as some comic fans I’ve met in my travels.

He's got me wishing I could go.

Matthew J. Phillon defends the Catwoman movie against the immortal line “So… she’s using her breasts to fight crime?”. Funny stuff.

The judges have responded to the first round of Comic Book Idol 2. Check it out here.

John Rogers and Gregory Noveck talk about Global Frequency.

There were two essential elements in the "Global Frequency" comics that the production staff believes are essential for the series to work. "The comic has a real kinetic and global feel," said Noveck. "The things that they tackle have to be dealt with right away . . . High stakes . . . World peril. I think these things are very important to maintain. That every episode there is something seriously high stakes that is out of the ordinary that only a committed group of individuals with very specific skill sets will be able to tackle. Additionally, I think that is what's great about the comic as well. There's a great sense of individuality with all the comic people not only with the regular characters but with the people that are then brought into the fold with whatever the issue is. Whether it's a bike messenger who has the unique ability to make it cross-town in two minutes or some sort of nuclear physicist with knowledge of rare isotopes. It's important to maintain that kind of individuality," Noveck said.

Augie De Bliek Jr. has a new Pipeline up. This time he looks at Queen and Country.

Kevin Melrose is keeping busy. He's got a new Research and Destroy up at Scryptic and a preview of Demo #7 at Thought Balloons.

Cagney & Lacey are coming to the big screen and this time it won't be a comedy like Starsky and Hutch.

Sly wants to get both Rocky VI and Rambo IV out in the year 2006.

Final Destination 3 is a go.

Kevin Smith is no longer directing Green Hornet.

3 of the Superman contenders are revealed.

Madonna stars in a new film by Martin Scorsese.

Frances McDormand and Charlize Theron are set for the live-action adaptation of Aeon Flux.

The X-files are still out there.

Chronicles of Riddick may head to the small screen. The video game is highly recommended. I got a chance to play it the other night and I really enjoyed it, more than I have any video game in a good while.

Looks like the ads for Spider-man 3 are already starting.

The teaser for the new Batman film may play at Spider-man 2 or Catwoman. That still won't get me to see Catwoman.

Music From the Movies has a huge list of composers attached to different movies.

Looks like Tivo is getting cheaper and adding downloadable content.

Laptop owners remain reluctant to pay by the hour for wi-fi access.

Hasslehoff is learning to much from Ice-T.

A bra that helps you stop smoking?

Very impressive Star Wars art.

Chuck Palahniuk Movie News. I love this guy's stuff.

Chimaera Studios Joins Image

Honey! My genes made me do it!

I'm picking up quite a few books this week:

STAR WARS REPUBLIC #65
100 BULLETS #50
ACTION COMICS #816
AQUAMAN #19
BATMAN DEATH AND THE MAIDENS #9
BITE CLUB #3
FALLEN ANGEL #12
GLOBAL FREQUENCY #12 (Of 12)
GREEN ARROW #39
IDENTITY CRISIS #1 (Of 7)
NIGHTWING #94
STORMWATCH TEAM ACHILLES #23
WORLDS BEST COMICS THE SILVER AGE DC ARCHIVES SAMPLER
WALKING DEAD #8
CAPTAIN AMERICA #27
DISTRICT X #2
IDENTITY DISC #1
INCREDIBLE HULK #73
IRON MAN #84
MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #3
OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE SPIDER-MAN 2004
SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #15
THE PUNISHER #7
ULTIMATE X-MEN #47
DEMO #7

And I leave you with the wonder of wonders...hamster porn. Gotta love the hamster on hamster action.

Some of Today's Links are Below

I don't know whats up with Blogger's draft system. It seems when you save a draft and publish it later it puts it in the place where you last saved it instead of a new post. If anyone knows how to set this please let me know.

For now you can see some of today's links two posts below or click here.

A Few of My Favorite Things: Non-Comics Related Post

I was wondering how my music tastes match up to everyone reading my blog today so I thought I would post some of my favorite albums that I've been listening to recently.

• The Rapture- Echoes
  
• South- With the Tides
  
• Jack Johnson- On and On
  
• Death Cab For Cutie- Transatlanticism
  
• The Vines- Winning Days
  
• The Beta Band- Heroes to Zeros
  
• Modest Mouse- Good News For People Who Love Bad News
  
• The Postal Service- Give Up
  
• Jason Mraz- Waiting for My Rocket to Come
  
• Air- Talkie Walkie
  
• Muse- Absolution
  
• Iron and Wine- The Creek Drank the Cradle
  
• Lost Prophets- The Fake Sound of Progress
  
• Phantom Planet- Phantom Planet
  

Thats just what I had in my car this morning. All of those albums are highly recommended. Peace.

Today's Links Are Brought to You By Blockquote

Chris Arrant has a three day look at the folks at Paper Films; Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner and Justin Gray.

Sadly, Omaha the Cat Dancer's creator Kate Worley lost her battle with the cancer over the weekend.

Jennifer M. Contino speaks to Chuck Austen about his Action Comics run.

So far, almost entirely positive. In fact, I'd say enthusiastically positive. The best and most consistent reaction I've ever had to any work I've done in comics, which may or may not be saying much [laughs]. It surprised the hell out of me [laughs]. I expected a lot more hatred and negativity with what I was doing, it was so different. Everyone but Tom and Eddie was so unsure about this when I first pitched it, that I began to doubt my instincts. I was enjoying writing it, and Eddie and Tom were both having fun with it, giving me a lot of good ideas, but who knew for sure? This business is sometimes so hard to figure out.

So far, though, the response has been overwhelmingly, enthusiastically positive. There are a few naysayers, and there always will be. But one store is actually selling more Action, now, than he does X-Men. Of course, people are liking Jim Lee and Brian Azzarello five times that, so take my instincts for what their worth [laughs].

Moving on, Jennifer M. Contino also interviews Demo's Becky Cloonan.

DEMO is free of a lot of the trappings and stereotypes found in a lot of superhero books, mostly because neither Brian and I don't normally write superheroes," continued Cloonan. "Also, each issue being it's own story is a big step in a different direction. In most of the stories, their 'powers' aren't the main focus of the comic. It's what happens because of it, or how it effects their life. I think DEMO is just as accessible to people who don't read comics as it is to people who are already familiar with superheroes. Each issue is different, like a clean slate. I can start over in a whole new style and try out different ideas on each issue. Each issue is stand alone, so you can pick it up whenever and still get it. I wish they had comics like this when I was a kid, I couldn't really get into comics because I had no idea where to start.

Jason Henderson (SWORD OF DRACULA) and Ryan Ottley (INVINCIBLE) help to make Digital Webbing Presents monthly.

Markisan Naso talks to Darick Robertson, artist on the upcoming Nightcrawler series with Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. The interview includes the Nightcrawler pitch below:

There are some things in this world that are neither human nor mutant, but threaten both species. There are places in this world where shadows rule—and creatures of darkness and light struggle, hidden from view. Where the superhuman and the supernatural meet, where the line between sorcery and science blurs, where the occult and the quotidian intermingle… there stalks the Nightcrawler.

Beau Smith has some Good News and some Bad News.

More to come, but alas I must work.

Ken Lowery...The Next Big Thing?

< pimp >Ken participated in the 24 hour comic thing that went on a while back and while not having a completed comic he did finish a script. A pretty damn good one in my opinion. You can read it and tell him what you think over at Scryptic. If any of you are artists be sure to drop him a line too.< /end pimp >

The Link Before Yesterday

Time for another weekly dose of all those rumors you don't really want to read, but you know you have to. Check this weeks Lying in The Gutters and All the Rage for all the gory details.

Michael San Giacomo returns with another Journey Into Comics. This time he talks about Common Grounds and Identity Crisis.

Josh Middleton and Chris Claremont both have signed 2 year exclusives with Josh going with DC and Chris going with Marvel. I thought Dave Gibbons was going to be the last DC exclusive?

Jennifer M. Contino has a sit down with Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley.

Graeme chimes in about the recent outbreak of prose books based on comics in his Grim Tidings column while Matt Maxwell talks about Grant Morrison and his upcoming Superman run in his column Full Bleed.

Jeff Mason of Alternative Comics sent me a press release that James Kochalka signed to Rykodisc. As his first offering he will release a 25 song CD which will include a DVD of music videos.

Larry Young updates us with his latest Proof of Concept. I personally can't wait for the collected edition.

The contestants for this years Comic Book Idol have until noon today to get their first assignment in. To see what that assigment was, check out the Comic Book Idol 2 site here.

Jonah Weiland talks to Steve Niles about his upcoming projects.

Seth Jones has a little get together with B. Clay Moore, Image PR head and writer of the wonderful Hawaiian Dick.

James Sime just can't stop talking about those zombies.

Over at Ninth Art Lindsay Duff comments on late comics.

While we're at Ninth Art, Senior Editor of Oni Press James Lucas Jones sits down and answers some questions for First & Last, a new regular feature.

In movie news Chevy Chase talks about Fletch and Caddyshack 3 while it seems there is a new contender for the role of Dr.Doom in Jason Isaacs.

While the rumors of John Woo attached to helm Rambo 4 were proven false there are other names being thrown around such as F. Gary Grey (The Negotiator), John McTiernan (Die Hard) and Martin Campbell (The Mask of Zorro).

Speaking of John Woo, after his upcoming Spy Hunter, Woo will return to direct the sequel to "Face Off" and "The Romance of the three Kingdoms" starring Show Yun-Fat.

Ready for The Chronicles of Riddick this weekend? Everyone have their new Special Edition Pitch Black DVD? Did you see the first ten minutes of the movie on MTV last night? Well here are two interviews to tide you over till the opening. One with Vin Deisel and one with Alexa Davalos.

A supposed plot for the next Terminator film has surfaced that would have The Rock taking on a Rebel character that Arnold's Terminator robot was based on.

Contrary to what many sites are reporting the new Harry Potter movie didn't break Spider-man's box office records.

ComingSoon.net has this years MTV Movie Award Winners.

We have some interesting news courtesy of ICv2 as graphic novels were more noticable at this years BookExpo America as well as being more noticable in general as sales are up 50% this year. In celebration ICv2 releases it's own guide to graphic novels.

They also have some news on Spawn. Suprise! Spawn is so late that all orders have been cancelled and the issues will be resolicited at a later date.

Oh yeah, and that little Peanuts book that a few people have been talking about, it's gone back to press.

In other news cities around the nation have implemented constitutional safe zones.

Know someone that's bothering you and you don't know how to deal with them? See someone who can "take care" of your little problem.

Pixel Surgeon reviews the Pixies as well as The Day After Tommorrow.

The folks at Gamespy managed to get their hands on some Halo 2 Multiplayer action.

Oh and how come the Japanese don't have to put up with that damn annoying Fanta song.

The Return of "What I Thought" Part 2

Thor #80
Ummm..this definitely isn't you're typical Thor issue. I don't want to give anything away on this, but even if you haven't been a Thor fan for a long time, you need to pick this up. This leads into whatever is going to happen in Avengers Disassembled. If this issue is any indication Bendis wasn't lying when he said it was going to be big. This first issue is damn big.

Para #3
This is turning out to be a really good read. I was really skeptical at first for some unknown reason so I went into this story expecting it to be something that it wasn't. I was in for a suprise. I like the whole thing down from the psuedo-science to the paranormal aspects to the FBI agent and the love interests between the characters in the series. All are intertwined and handled quite well. This comic does X-files better than X-files in my opinion as I never could get into the show but liked the paranormal/scientific premise of the series. Every issue leaves me with more questions as the old ones were answered. PARA does it right. (Btw, I'm still missing issue #1 of the series because I came in late at issue #2. Hopefully i'll find it somewhere around here. Online with shipping and handling it costs $8.95. I'm actually thinking about spending that on it.)

Lee Ferguson's Freak #1
This came out of left field for me. I bought it because I remembered seeing a profile on the work at one of the major comics websites and it sounded interesting. It was so long ago I forgot about the series. The artwork isn't as polished as one would expect from most works at Image, but the artwork does it's job well as it works well with the story. It's moody and sparse and sometimes vague, but the main character is like that himself. I'm also a sucker for stories where our "hero" is left with nothing to fall back on as everything he ever cared about is stripped away. It's interesting to see what a human being would do when that happens. That is a captivating premise to a story for me. Throw in a weird agency, mysterious powers, some asylum inmates and a lover that won't give up on her man and you have something that could either go terribly wrong or produce something worth digging in to. This is the latter.

Halls of Hysteria

Slovman, one of the nice folks over at Creation Matrix, has taken his forum of insanity and comic book thoughts, The Halls of Hysteria, on to greener pastures. He can now be found with all his usual hijnks at his new site. Check it out sometime soon. It has a comic forum as well as all the usual zany threads that were in the forums at Creation Matrix.

The Return of "What I Thought" Part 1

Firestorm #2
I'm still not quite sure about this book. It's two issues in and I don't know if I like it or not. It's interesting enough that I'll hang on for a while though. I want to know the method behind his absorption of other human beings to become Firestorm. I want to know his connection to the previous Firestorm. I want to know more about Jason himself as well. So I'll be around for a while. I'm digging Chris Cross' art as well.

Exiles #48
Color me intrigued. One regular Marvel Universe character leaves to replace another alternate universe character that stays in this universe. Wow that sounds weird. Is everyone still with me here? Where does this leave the person who stays? They don't join the X-men, but it seems someone else has something in store for them. The only clue I can find is that Excalibur is supposed to get a new member next issue. Tie-In? Color me intrigued.

Avengers/Thunderbolts #4
Wow. This is ten times better than any of the Thunderbolts work I've read before. The conflict of ideologies between the two teams make for some damn entertaining reading. I truly don't know how this is going to end. I haven't felt that way in a while about a comic. Personally I hope the Thunderbolts pull through and can have their own series again. I see them as the Vic Mackeys of the superhero set. (I think someone else said that too.) They do what they have to do to ensure that others don't have to worry, but yet it's not an Authority type of team at all. I'm impressed as originally I thought this would be a quick throw away read.

First you get the links, then the reviews

Newsarama talks with the mighty Mark Englert and Todd Nauck on Wildgaurd.

Wow, one of our own is now at Newsarama. I had wondered about what the return of ADD meant for his 5 questions...well, they are back at Newsarama now. Check it out as ADD interviews Seth. Congrats on the new column ADD.

The Pulse talks with the creators of Image's latest release, Ghost Spy. I'll have a quick review of the first issue in this weeks "What I Bought".

Been missing out on The Flash lately? Well The Pulse and Geoff Johns are glad to fill you in on what's been happening and what's in store for the character.

In related news it seems that Carmine Infantino has sued DC for the rights to the Silver Age Flash among others. I always admired his work, but I don't think he has two legs to stand on in this case.

DC has released their upcoming collected editions. Highlights include:

• The continuation of the George Perez Wonder Woman and John Byrne Superman work.
  
• Batman in the 80's
  
• Loeb and Sale's Challengers of the Unknown series
  
• Starman: Grand Guignol is finally collected.
  
• Superman: The Man of Tomorrow Archives
  
• A softcover edition of the excellent Batman Detective NO. 27
  
• Golden Age Sandman Archives
  
• Kirby's Jimmy Olsen Adventures
  
• finally a softcover of The Last Will And Testament of Hal Jordan
  
• Ellis' Hellblazer
  
• Vietch's Swamp Thing
  
• A hardcover for Smax that I may pick up
  
• and Millar and Ennis' Dredd work
  

Chris has a good run down as well.

Even more Zombies and Horror writing as Caleb Gerard chimes in. Are there ever too many Zombies?

Speaking of horror, Ken makes some good points about the genre and his definition of horror.

Oh and Dorian hates everyone.

Scott Shaw gaces us with yet another Oddball Comic while Augie takes a look at this month's Previews.

Once again the powers that be are trying to get Cameron for a Terminator sequel. How much do you want to bet he turns it down?

And in the bestest news ever thats like so totally cool the awesomest film like ever is heading to the small screen as an ongoing tv series. What am I like totally talking about? Why Legally Blonde of course. (I promise I will never do that again.)

Doom comes to Hollywood. No, not that Doom. The video game Doom.

Gary Winick, director of "13 going on 30" is directing the upcoming live action version of "Charlotte's Web."

I haven't read it because I'm avoiding spoilers, but Moviehole.net has a review of the Batman script.

Superherohype has news on Elektra, Ghost Rider, and The Fantastic Four.

Cillian Murphy talks about his part in Batman Begins.

FilmCritic.com has an interview with PATRICK WARBURTON. I felt his name deserved the all caps treatment.

Tokyo Pop is the borg of the comic book industry as evident in the announcement that they aquired the rights to produce manga based on Linkin Park. Is there anything they won't swallow up?

Purty game with purty Sounds from a purty cool band, The Polyphonic Spree.

How the hell do you own a double click? I got dibs on the triple click through the infinite click.

The world is going crazy. Men turn down sex. Women wonder what the hell is going on. I fear for the world. Via one of the few who will survive the upcoming carnage of a world without sex, the everchaotic Chaos Monkey.

Flat Earth talks Turok.

Thanks to Kevin we get to see some preview art from Diggle and Ferry's upcoming run on Adam Strange. Doesn't Diggle and Ferry sound like some English law firm? Either that or a sex term. Hey, man, did you diggle her ferry? I shall not diggle and tell, dude.

Fred Hembeck has been showing some awesome FOOM artwork lately.

PVP has been running some strips on City of Heroes lately. Start here and go forward young man/woman/person/thing.

While we're talking about City of Heroes and web comics check out the folks at InkTank as the Angst Technology crew enters CoH. Start here and move forward into the future. Be sure to check out the always funny Sorry We're Open for comic book hijinks too!

Scott at Polite Dissent has another excellent True Tales of Medical School post. It's quickly speeding up my list of favorite blogs.

That does it for now folks. Tune in next time. Same random NMH time, same NMH place. Peace!