The Latest in Comic Book News

Smallville and Brian Austin Green fans can rejoice!  Metallo will be returning to Smallville in the Spring.
 
Wait, what?  Didn't Metallo die in his second episode?  Well, when has anyone stayed dead in comics?  Why should a TV show (loosely) based on a comic be any different?  Michael Ausiello at EW does it again.  He got the exclusive news on Metallo's return.  Brian Austin Green will reprise the role for this season's 18th episode.  No details as to how Metallo will return after he accidentally ripped out his Kryptonite heart (oops).  We can bet that Tess Mercer will be behind it.
 
What did you think of Green's performance as Metallo?  Are you happy that Metallo will be returning to give Clark a hard time?

Call me a traditionalist, but motion comics have always been somewhat hard for me to swallow due to the fact that they lie somewhere between cartoon animated features, and comic books, but are neither one nor the other. I will be honest, most of the Marvel motion comics have really done nothing for me. I found them to be too flashy and in your face. Not to mention the fact that most of them have some really terrible music. I had sworn off of motion comics almost entirely until I stumbled across this Black and White Batman series. I have decided to post one of each for you guys to watch and enjoy at your leisure. Which do you prefer? What elements make them good or bad? Do you like motion comics? 
 

Astonishing X-Men: Episode 01 Gifted

    
 
  

BATMAN: Black & White Episode 03 Two of a Kind

  
After having watched the motion comic animated 'Black And White Batman' short I fell in love and wanted to purchase the entire series on iTunes. I thought I would never enjoy motion comics, but I feel like this series really proved me wrong. If you know me well enough, then you know that Batman is my absolute favorite comic book character, so anything related to the character I always find I have some appreciation fo; especially anything that is backed by Bruce Timmr. However, there is something really gorgeous about this series that I felt struck me. It feels so raw, and beautiful. Everything from the use of shadows, to the fact noir element that is captured in the style of the series is simply breathtaking.

You can purchase the Marvel motion comics here, and if you enjoyed the Batman motion comics series then you can purchase them here.

Which do you prefer and why? Do you like motion comics at all?

U.S. and UK viewers agree that Doctor Who is a great show.  We've had some friendly teasing over the fact that U.S. audiences have to wait to see the new episodes.  It's fair that it should air on British television before coming to America.  With Doctor Who: The End Of Time, we will see the beginning of the end for David Tennant as the Doctor.  The first part will air in Britain on Christmas Day.  When will U.S. audiences get to see it?
 
BBC America has announced that U.S. viewers will get to watch the episode on December 26, 2009 at 9 pm ET/PT, one day later!  That is great news!  I am both excited and saddened over these two episodes.  Check out the following sneak peak of the episode (I assume this video will only work in the US so overseas viewers may have to check with their local BBC website if you haven't already seen this):
 
 
  
What could possibly bring on the end of this regeneration of the Doctor?  I almost hate to find out.  The episode will guest star John Simm, Timothy Dalton, Catherine Tate, Lindsay Duncan and Bernard Cribbins.  The premiere date for Part 2 will be announced soon.

With Blackest Night in full swing, DC Direct, yet again, has more figures from the series coming out on Tuesday, 11/25.  In series one, we saw the release of Black Lantern Earth-2 Superman, Atrocitus, Saint Walker, and Boodikka. And with this next week, we see the release of Indigo, John Stewart, Black Lantern Martian Manhunter, and Kryb. 



These figures all are based off their likenesses from the current Blackest Night storyline

   All four figures feature multiple points of articulation and include a display base. John Stewart and Indigo each come with their own version of a lantern, and Kryb comes with a baby accessory that fits into the cage-like sack affixed to her back. 

Series one, to me, was a little bit of a let down. I picked up Atrocitus and Satin Walker. For this weeks series, I will be picking up every figure. The amount of detail within these figures is amazing. One of the best parts about this current Green Lantern Figure run is that each figure comes with it's own little accessory. Indigo has her staff, John has his lantern, M.M. has that wicked torn up cape (accessory?), and Kryb has two little babies that fit into her back... Anyone else creeped out by that? Each figure will range from $14.99-$17.99, depending where you buy it from. Sometimes it may seem like a little too much for a toy, but with the high quality DC Direct puts out, it is worth it.
 
If you are unfamiliar with these characters check out early 2009 issues of Green Lantern Corps for Kryb, current issues of Green Lantern for Indigo, Blackest Night 1 & 2 for Martian Manhunter, and current issues of Green Lantern Corps for John Stewart. 

The new episodes for The Super Hero Squad keep on coming.  With them we get more guest stars.  In the sixteenth episode, the Defenders must come to help save the day.  Debuting at 7:30 pm ET on Saturday (although I noticed last week the new episode still aired in the morning as well), the next episode will have Baron Mordo transform Iron Man into the evil "Iron Menace."  The Iron Menace is a deadly threat that overcomes both the Lethal Legion and the Squad!  When the Silver Surfer and Hulk team with Dr. Strange and Valkyrie to form "The Defenders," the forces of good will "Hero Up!" like never before!
 
Michelle Trachtenberg (Gossip Girl) reprises her role as Valkyrie on this action-packed episode.  Who do you think will show up next?
 
I also dig how they continue to spoof classic overs with these promos for the episodes.

 
 
 Diana has tossed away her bracelets and lasso.  She has renounced her Amazonian heritage. In addition, Ares is back and has a bone to pick with her. To top it all off, she's now in considered a criminal by her own people.  
DC's The Source released these images, along with a re-release of the solicit,  this morning highlighting next week's issue of Wonder Woman.  
 

 

 Wonder Woman’s world is turned upside-down as she finds herself branded a criminal by her own people. And who are the Crows, and what awful secret do they carry that will affect Diana forever? I can’t reveal it all here, of course, but I can show off a few pages from  WONDER WOMAN #38, courtesy of Gail Simone and artist Aaron Lopresti, which hits 11/25.    

Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti have both been working together on this volume for over a year now. You may know Lopresti's work from earlier issues of the current Ms. Marvel run, and Gail Simone from DC's Secret Six. And although this is midway through a current storyline, Diana is on the verge of being executed. Will this happen? Will she ever gain the acceptance of her people again?

I'm telling you, it's going to be a party in Asgard when the Thor movie is released.  Another Asgardian God has been cast.  Heat Vision has reported that Idris Elba has been cast as Heimdall. Heimdall is the guardian of the Bifrost Bridge, also known as the Rainbow Bridge.  The bridge is the way between Asgard and Midgard (Earth).
 
Elba is probably best known for his role as Russell "Stringer" Bell on The Wire.  He also recently appeared on seven episodes of The Office (U.S. version) as Charles Miner. 
 
The cast for Thor just keeps getting bigger and bigger.  While Heimdall might not be the biggest name in Asgard, the fact that he's included is pretty interesting.  We know that at some point in the movie, Thor will be traveling to Earth.  Natalie Portman has been cast as Jane Foster so we can assume Thor will appear as Don Blake as well.  Whether or not Elba will have a big role in the movie or just appear when it's time for Thor to go traveling will remain to be seen.

You love Marvel, right?  DC gets you excited too.  Now don't worry, I won't ask you to admit how much you dig Twilight.  The following video may be a dream come true.  Check out what ItsJustSomeRandomGuy does when he combines all three.
 
 

Comic Vine gives you the latest news update from the ruins of our studio!

 

  
Necrosha, Blackest Night, who can keep track of all the zombie story lines in comics these days? Check out our new weekly segment where we choose some of our favorite news stories from the past week and highlight them on our news show. This week we talk about Hawkman on Smallville, Catwoman, and zombies attack the Comic Vine studio! Will the staff get infected? Will they make it out alive? Will someone tell Babs to drop the awful faux British accent? Please?

In 1995-96, I finished reading what I thought to be the greatest comic book story of all time, Age of Apocalypse. In fact, I thought it was so good that I stopped reading comic completely. "Nothing can be better than that!" Well, that was one reason. I was 14, at the time, and I desperately wanted to be cool. I was a nice kid, I played sports, I had a few friends, but I wanted to be someone people looked up to and wanted to hang out with. So, I did something I regret. I became a punk-rock d-bag. (I only regret the d-bag part) I made fun of comics quite a bit. I never made fun of the people that read them, but I considered comics to be "only for kids." I never truly believed this, it's just something I said hoping that the cooler kids would like me. I was never the really popular guy I thought I could be, and I had given up something I really, truly enjoyed: reading comic books. Fast-forward to 2003, I'm finishing up my associates degree and about to move Chicago to work on my BA. I've had a torrid love affair with non-fiction for quite some time, but when it came to fiction, I wasn't too keen on it. I quickly realized, while flipping through my old comic boxes, that the stories, characters, and books of my teenage years still make me feel happy. This was the first year that I went to Chicago's Wizard World Convention. I wanted to jump back in to reading, but I wanted to do it right this time. I wanted to start following certain writers' work. I want to be engrossed in stories again. So below, in the order that I found them in the upcoming months and years. These are the books that brought me back into the fold of comics. (If you want actual information on this book, and not just my opinion, click the link to it's page)
 
 
 

Battle Pope

At Wizard World Chicago, I stumbled upon the "Funk-O-Tron" booth where one of the people I talked to was Robert Kirkman, who I had no idea who he was at the time. He was pushing his book Battle Pope. The idea of the book was intriguing to me: Hell comes to Earth and the Pope becomes a super-hero in order to kind of keep the peace. He's also accompanied by his sidekick Jesus. This was the first time, I can remember, where I laughed at a comic. I literally "laughed out loud." The most memorable thing for me, with this book, was the relationship between the Pope and Jesus. It walks the fine line of sidekick/barely bearable roommate. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Batman: Hush

This was actually the second book I picked up after Battle Pope. I really wanted to get into Batman again, and my friend told me that this storyline was essentially every Gotham City character hanging out with Batman and fighting all the G.C. villains. He was right. This was the first Jeph Loeb story I had read and I really enjoyed the mystery and action-driven plot behind the book. As you may know, I'm a huge Jeph Loeb fan, and it all started because of this book. The most memorable scene from this book was Superman, under the influence of Poison Ivy, and Batman fighting. It was my first time I saw Batman as a big-timer in the DCU, not just as the detective with no powers.
 

 

Green Lantern: Rebirth

Before this book, I knew who Green Lantern was (I thought Alan Scott was the main Green Lantern, showed what I knew), and that was about it. I grew up on Marvel comics and the last time I read anything with Green Lantern in it was the Death of Superman, featuring snipits of Guy Gardner. This book threw me deep into the G.L. mythos. I was surrounded by Kyle, John, Guy, Hal, Oliver, Sinestro, and everyone else in the GLU. The story really grabbed a hold of me, and little did I know, this was only Act 1 of Johns' three act story. Since reading this, I have gone back and read GL from the Silver Age and beyond to understand every nook and cranny from the mythos. The most memorable scene is when Green Arrow gets a hold of Hal's old ring and uses all his will to force out a single arrow into Sinestro.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Common Grounds

This is a book a lot of people I know passed over. I sadly don't remember too much about this book, other than the fact it made me think differently about comics as an art form. Essentially, this book is about a diner where super-heroes/villains hang out. R ule no. 1 is "No fighting." This is more of a character study of individuals who put their lives on the line day-in day-out and the personal problems they have to deal with on a regular basis. Each issue contains at least a couple of stories about certain characters within this universe. Is it sad I don't have a most memorable moment? For me, this book was more about opening my own eyes to comics
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

New X-Men

Love it or hate it, you have to admit that this story is epic. This was the first time that I saw the team-up of my favorite duo: Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. The art and the writing complimented each other incredibly well. My favorite story, from within this volume, was the story of a sect of students challenging the teaching's of Prof. X and the students taking over the school. Not only was this story compelling, but it's the first time in my history of reading X-Men where I really enjoyed the new characters. The most memorable moment was when the new teacher Xorn removed his helmet to reveal who he truly was. It was a jaw dropping moment for me.
  
 
 
 
 

 
What about you guys? What 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 book got you into comics? What grabbed a hold of your leg and never let go?