Now Brolin believes the movie will be solid, as an “absurdist Western” and he goes on to spin its improvement as a result of edits, re-edits, and delays. He also seemingly dismisses the fan bases worries because of all of this. Obviously, I still am not sold. Could be a serious dud here instead of a solid little hit loved by all fan boys and girls.

Probably put this up there on a shelf with Watchmen as a film full of potential, that Hollywood didn’t “get”, and could not creatively translate into something enjoyable and true-to-spirit in terms of source content onto the big screen.

I mean if Brolin, the man playing the title character, has to point out Hex as being a bit “absurd” then it may really be in trouble. And, oh yeah, if you are doing a movie based on a comic, never use the word “campy.” Ever. Fans will shutter and think if Joel Shumacher.

Kick Ass is officially showing at a theater near you. Reviewers’ hype for this film, along with blogs, is positive it would seem. Of course I take all reviews with a grain of salt until I see something myself and am able to throw in my own two cents. Hopefully, I’ll get to see the movie myself this evening, with all the other fan boys and girls.

Looking ahead we only have 21 days until Iron Man 2 hits theaters. I may pee my spandex pants in anticipation for this one. Hero Complex, the LA Times’ entertainment/comics blog is dropping behind-the-scene tidbits of the film along with a countdown clock on a regular basis. I’m enjoying what I am reading there about Iron Man 2.

It is particularly intriguing to read director John Favreau’s approach for the second  installment of what is to be at least a trilogy of Iron Man films when confronted with the fact Marvel hopes to do an Avenger’s film with the title character between films 2 and 3. For one it means a long delay before the third film, and two it means Favreau will have to deal with any potential impact on the character in what is the most ambitious ensemble movie I can think of.  (And Marvel studios still has Thor and Captain America to debut before Iron Man as well) So, no cliffhangers for IM2. Favreau describes how he still tried to craft a couple of potential story points to propel his piece of the Marvel franchise forward when it returns.

On the Avengers’ front perhaps the most interesting news is the tentative commitment from Joss Whedon to direct the mega-summer blockbuster. The news is a gamble on a gamble. The man has done well continuing his Buffy The Vampire work in comics in recent years, along with the Doctor Horrible musical and comics in general, but lost ground with the big networks who dropped Firefly after season one and Doll House after season 2. He’s also been dismissive in the past when asked about directing The Avengers. Dicey.

On the plus side though, he has a huge fan base, shows genuine talent when left alone and given a chance (Buffy and Horrible). Serenity, the film ending to Firefly, was fantastic too. And really, I met Whedon at a convention. He’s a generally nice and pretty enthusiastic guy. So here is hoping The Avengers can truly assemble in a mind blowing, exceeds all expectations fashion.

The only recent potential bad news in terms of comic books to film news is Jonah Hex. It seems Warner Bros. is having a hell of a time delivering even a trailer on this film about a bedeviled and scarred gunslinger based on the DC Comics/Vertigo character. The cast looks solid enough with Josh Brolin as Hex. Of course the studio took a chance (in my opinion) with Jimmy Hayward, a Pixar animator turned director. And maybe that is where the trouble is. Or maybe it’s Warner Bros., who I personally feel are dubious at best when it comes to their comic book properties (they own DC).

As Marvel produces a monsoon of mostly successes, now backed by Disney as well, Waner Bros. gave us a mediocre Superman remake, a collapsed rumor of a Justice League film, and a promise of Green Lantern we can only hope is good. Oh, they also empaled Superman in the 80s and Batman in the 90s, only having resurrected the latter franchise with one hell of a director, actor, and script (it’s glowing star so full of promise). Oh, they also gave us Shaq as Steel. How could we forget?

Anyway, what seems to be going on with Hex, according to Mtv’s Splash Page, is recent reshoots after primary filming is complete, an addition of 12 pages to the script, and delays-delays-delays with that trailer for a film due out in June. Plus the studio is bringing in “special” advisors, supposedly.

Sigh.

This does not sound good at all in terms of the quality of the actual film. And it’s heartbreaking too, because honestly, DC Comics and Vertigo have always been a favorite of mine. But you got to respect quality, so Kick Ass.

That said, I’m tempted to go ahead and read reviews of other works. Instead I decided to pick through news and reviews of books I either don’t read, or comic book news in general.

Here is what I read so far:

1. Action Comics #1 received solid reviews in Newsarama (linked) and Comic Resource Guide. In particular Francis Manapul received high praise for his artwork in both reviews. It seems Conner has been taken back to basics and retrenched back into the DCU in preparation for future adventures by writer Geoff Johns. Just by reading the reviews I am glad that Conner is back. He and John Henry Irons were my favorite characters to have come out of the whole Reign of Supermen storyline way back when. Conner’s maturing as a character has been fun to watch and I do think he brings something to the table in terms of possible stories with his unique origin.
2. The Marvels Project #1. Having read a bit of this in preview form the CBR review of issue one makes this sound like a great book to be following, especially if you love Marvel continuity and want to see its past a little more fleshed out and connections between characters made. This seems to be Marvel’s dawn of the superhero title that will frame much of what already exists in Marvel U from the perspective of an insider, instead of the outside casual observer.
3. Thank goodness. It is being reported today that Darwyn Cooke’s The Hunter, which is sold out, is being set up for a second printing by publisher IDW. The Hunter has been on the New York Times bestseller list for two weeks and has received infinite praise from critics, both comics based and more mainstream.
4. Yesterday marked the two years since Mike Wieringo passed suddenly. He was a fantastic artist and one of my personal favorites for his unique style of drawing. There are memorials for his passing here, here, and here. Also, Wieringo’s own blog can still be viewed here.

Of course nothing will make me happier than to read my tasty line up of the evil dead rising up in comics this week once I sit down in an easy chair under a non-leaky roof.

Over-all it was a cool experience. It was the first time I ever saw Stan Lee in person and saw the big booths of Marvel and DC and before I remember hearing the buzz about San Diego. My buddies credentials probably made the trip a little more fun too.

Of course this remembrance was sparked by a recent opinion piece by Troy Brownfield on Newsarama and the accompanying comments about this years Chicago Con. With the two big publishers not there I’m personally sort of saddened by what seems like a shift in con schedules and popularity, while at the same time appreciating there is a verdant field for smaller publishers, alternative presses, and artists to bask in the exposure and con spotlight without having it lost in the loud roar of television and Hollywood. If anything I wish I had more cash and time to visit this con, Heroes Con, and the New York City con so I could make the call myself on what might play out and work better.

But I just know, as I look at the Superman for All Seasons poster I had signed at the DC booth in 1998, that Chicago might feel a little less without the booths of the big two.

B: The new high madame — the new leader– of the religion of crime . . . is a lunatic who thinks she’s Alice Pleasance Liddell?

A: How do you know I’m not?

B: Maybe because you speak fluent crazy. Didn’t anyone give you the memo? Gotham already has one Carroll-inspired freak.

A: I don’t think I can be of any use to him.

One of the few ha-ha moments I had reading this week. Great stuff.

The Stuff of Legend vol. 1: The Dark

This story presented by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith, with illustrations by Charles Paul Wilson III and published through Th3rd World Studios, was the recommended read of Comixology a couple weeks back and a few professionals this week on Twitter. I actually had to go to two comic book stores to find it. The first either did not carry it or sold out. The second had two copies left. I am so glad I took the advice of those who promoted the book and went to that second store.

Basically, the story is set in 1944 Brooklyn during the height of World War II and takes place in the dark of a boy’s bedroom, where his toys must wage war against the Boogeyman who whisks the boy away into his world. The sepia tones and pencil work of the story are fantastic and the story takes on deeper meaning with some well placed flashback panels that reminds the reader of the boy’s father’s own perilous fight against the Nazi’s in Normandy. Within the first volume the mortal danger is made clear and the characterization is phenominal. And the transition from the boy’s bedroom to the dark where his toys journey to save hims is breathtaking in terms of visual surprise. By far this was my favorite read this week. I cannot wait for the second volume in September.

Batwoman in Detective Comics #855

The second part to the Elegy story arc starring our scarlet heroine did not disappoint this week. The intro splash panelling to the action on pages 2-3 of the book are a chaotic blur as Batwoman rushes into battle. J.H. Williams is the master of this type of movement. The dialog between Kane and Alice is crisp and quick as well. Rucka does a great job of characterizing crazy and Kane’s no-nonsense reaction to it. The cliffhanger ending is good stuff too. Alice shows her bonafides as a new villain in the Batman mythos.

The back-up story, The Question, is good too. I loved watching Renee Montoya take of her coat and stretch in preparation to kick some ass. It’s those little details that make Detective so much fun right now.

Tale of the Corps

The final issue of this background story arc to Blackest Night ends with sole focus on the classic Green Lanterns, Kilowag and Arisia written by Peter J. Tomasi. The characters’ backgrounds are fleshed out by focusing on how death affected both and most GL careers. As someone late to the GL bandwagon this three issue mini has really helped in a lot of ways. The artwork of Chris Samnee and Mike Mayhew were perfect for each story. I particularly liked the coloring by Andy Troy in Arisia’s story. I also enjoyed the Geoff Johns/Eddie Berganza/Adam Schlagman commentary on the penciled sketches to the Blackest Night 0.

I still need to read Citizen Rex by Gilbert and Mario Hernandez and DC’s Wednesday Comics, though I doubt they’ll change the order up of things too much.

Particularly I like to hear that Wagner is tentatively tying the events of this Vertigo title to the regular DCU, perhaps in the vein of Neil Gaiman’s work on Sandman. (I am a big fan of Vertigo anyway)

The first trade for this title just came out. I saw it last week. I don’t know how much more my budget can take in terms of ongoing titles, but this solid review definitely gives me further pause.

I wonder what other readers of this book think.

Obviously, like all media, digital aspects of the business have grown exponentially since that time.   I probably would never have realized how much the new medium revolution could potentially affect the habits of comic book readers like myself if I had stuck with my tentative plan to get back into reading regular. It involved either borrowing trades off  friends and then collecting the books myself, or limiting myself to those books that I could check out at my local library for free, to ease back into collecting. (Lame I know, but I’m also cheap and comics are my crack)

It was a chance tweet on Twitter of all places that introduced me to the comic book matrix, a healthy Digital social media web that changed my approach dramatically.

Like any good little obsessive/neurotic type I took that one “discovered” Tweep (Mark Waid of Boom! Comics in a hilarious ‘twitter war’ with Gail Simone) and went down the data pipe of following artists, writers, editors, recruiters, and those who report on comics at sites with a strong web presence. Before I knew it I was following over 80 comic book folks, many of whom promoted their own interests and works in under 140 words.

These folks also lead me to a plethora of comic book Podcasts by those who cover comics that I was able to download to my iPhone. The podcasts recommended a whole host of reads with great discussion in order to give me a basis to start shaping my new pull list on a limited budget. Many, such as some of the iFanboy video podcasts gave me the background I needed to follow such things as Blackest Night, along with a recommended GL reading list with direct links to Amazon where I could purchase those titles in trades.

Perhaps the biggest revolution though came after reading Isotope comic shop owner James Sime on Twitter promoting a new Web 2.0 venture, Comixology. The site has a free and paid application through iPhone, as well as a site on-line (much like iFanboy.com) that organizes, tracks, previews, reviews, rates, and pulls comics for ever Wednesday shipment of books. It also has a spotlight to highlight more independent works each week and pages that grow a community organically around the multi-publisher platform promotional tool.

As a concept ComiXology blew my doors off. It builds itself around the comics community and appears to be as inclusive to publishers as possible. Basically, as a word herder in community journalism and having seen multiple attempts in my own industry for individual publications to try to jockeying for platform position within various niches, it is astounding to see a third party organize and promote multiple sources for its audience that seems beneficial to all parties involved. Of course this is an outgrowth of the paper publications that would list solicitations for weekly publications no doubt, but the bringing together of all elements of what can be done on-line is fascinating to watch and use.

Most recently the group at ComiXology launched Comics, an application that allows folks to view previews and free issues, and to purchase comics on-line or on iPhones (as well as guiding them to purchasing the paper products). This test drive approach to allow participants to view comics before purchase has me reading one more title. And I like the way the frame transition of comics works on my iPhone.

Even better, competition for Comics seems to be on the way with a project called Longbox by Rantz Hoseley. In a long interview on CBR the project is being described as an ‘iTunes for comics’ that will allow download purchases as seamlessly as possibly from multiple participating publishers of not only paper comics in a digital form, but solely digital comics too. A whole host of community features will be provided as well according to Hoseley who is partnering with CBR for news content on Longbox. A tentative release date for the project, which is in closed beta, is set for September or October according to the CBR article.

These ventures move much further to empower the reader and allow them to make choices in a sprawling market. I know a digital approach to disseminating news about comics and the comics themselves has introduced me to titles, publishing companies, and independent works I may never have been introduced to before. (Quite humorously I got around to listening last week’s Around Comics podcast after I posted this to hear the gang in Chicago basically say the same thing about comic podcasts. Great minds.)

Of course this does not even broach the subject of solely on-line comics that already exist like Zuda, Marvel, Top Shelf 2.0, motion comics, and others. Hopefully they participate with projects like ComiXology and/or Longbox to aggregate their catalogue of works as well.

For someone like myself, whose been out of the game for a while, this robust on-line presence for comics is a spectacular thing. May the Digital age of comics be golden.

The reviewer of First Flight believes fans will enjoy it and if a Green Lantern film does materialize this does well in helping to promote the character of Hal Jordan to greater prominence between fans of the DCU. The review will at least have me adding the 70 minute animated film to my Netflix list.

Oh, and speaking of Con, @nerdybird put up this wonderfully geekish YouTube posting of the Green Lantern oath being spoken aloud by a host of fans at a Geoff Johns panel.

• Ed Brubaker’s Criminal: Coward trade
• The Walking Dead Vol. 6 (still)
• Queen & Country trade

So far my pulls for this week include:

• Tales of the Corps #3
• Detective Comics #885
• Darwyn Cooke: Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter

In related news, I finally found and read all five issues of Brubaker’s Incognito. Fantastic stuff that I’ll write more about later this evening if I can stay awake.