Interlude: Things I'm Looking Forward To/Dreading This Week

AH! Finally rested from a complete phone-in of updates on my part on sunday, I return with a possible new feature (and an attempt to increase hits on this relatively visitless day) wherein I talk things I actually give a shit about comics wise this week. Oh and just to make it a little more negative, things that are shit this week. For a self proclaimed miserable bastard I'm being far too optimistic nowadays.

HELP ME FEEL POPULAR BY READING THE ARTICLE!

THINGS I CARE ABOUT THIS WEEK:
- More than anything this week I'm overly enthusiastic about Marvel's decade variant covers. Honestly I started out thinking they'd all be terrible but with each that appears my heart melts and I want to hold them and never let go. Except the Ms. Marvel one. That ruined the chain.

- Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth #1. Why? Simply enough because it's directly related to those promised video reviews (I'm actually almost done scripting the first. I'm new at this shut up). Oh and because the reprint of New Mutants #098 renders the original releases collector's value MOOT! AHAHAHAHAHA OH HOW SWEET IT MUST TASTE TO KNOW THAT SOME POOR STUPID FUCK MAY HAVE ACTUALLY PAID THE FULL 45 DOLLARS FOR THE COMIC WHEN IT'S GETTING REPRINTED!

- Cable getting Paul Gulacy as the new artist. Ariel Olivetti isn't a BAD artist, just a bad artist with his run on Cable. Gulacy has flaws, at least from the one work of his I've read (Penance: Relentless) but I can excuse that because we're talking a living legend here (at least if I were to believe the man's wikipedia page. Which I do) so me dishing out any criticism of his art would be hasty at best. That and anyone who overuses bracket (like me) doesn't deserve an opinion on people above his station. Still means I can call Jeph Loeb a cunt though.

- Uncanny X-Men. Last issue reminded me why I love the main comic for the X-People so I'm understandably stoked for.... Oh, a crossover... NO I WON'T CHANGE MY MIND!

- Batman & Robin #2. As far as I'm concerned it'll be the missing half to issue 1, which felt awesome yet incomplete. Oh and I'm hoping Pyg will die horribly to make me feel good.

- Anything Green Lantern related. I'm a fan of the Corps but both are solid things for me to see anything to do with them as brilliant.

THINGS I DESPISE THIS WEEK:
- No further information on the highlight of my year; Nomad: Girl Without A World. I need more stuff on that like air.

- Captain America Reborn #1. I just don't care. I like both Caps but when I prefer both USAgent and Rikki Barnes to them it's hard to care about this massive moment in Marvel history.

- Having NO idea when The Great Unknown #3 (of 5) will appear, or even if it has already. My favourite Image mini and it seems to just not exist. Ugh.

- These special "after Watchmen what's next?" editions of comics I actually PREFER to watchmen. It degrades their own importance by essentially cashing in on how people love to buy Watchmen and anything with the words Watchmen on it. Which means that comic fans presumably have a lot of gay porn. Or porn aimed at voyeurs. It doesn't matter which.

- Being unaware of updates on the Scott Pilgrim movie. I don't know if any information is continuing to come out now that it's in production but I really wish I could find something more on it than what I know already (very little).



So yeah. Now that I've stroked my own ego why don't you small quantity of readers tell me what YOU are looking forward to or despise this week. Or don't make any comments. Like you usually do. Torment me by not acknowledging my existence.

God I hope that sounds satirical and not like I'm begging for attention.

Lazy Sundays #2: ACTUALLY LAZY SUNDAY

I'M REALLY FUCKING TIRED

The One They Call Unusual: Green Lantern Actors

THE GREEN LANTERN FILM IS COMING SOON. But who should be playing the main role?

Welcome to a shameless plug for my blog that is coming up (more details after the jump). I might periodically appear in these hallowed comic halls when something film (or television) related in the comic world appears, but for the meantime, read and enjoy my mind dribble.

(Note to y’all: I BARELY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT COMIC BOOKS. Seriously. What I DO know is film and television. And some sports.)

Green Lantern, one of DCs most famous comic book heroes. With the use of his power ring, he defeats villains, be they domestic, foreign or even out of this world (in the literal sense and dimensionally speaking of course) with a great control on the physical as long as he has the willpower.

Ok, this film could have its challenges; Green Lantern is also a glorified policeman, belonging to the Green Lantern Corps (so... Green Lantern isn't even a hero name but a job title?), and at times, depending when he was written, he is defeated by the colour yellow or anything wooden. Right... they're not all that scary or life threatening.

When the Dark Knight came out (as well as Iron Man) Hollywood, specifically DC's sister company Warner Bros., came to a realisation. Warner decided after the Dark Knight, they wanted to actually make comic book films that don't have heroes with the word man in their names. So here we are, wondering when or where this film will appear and with what tone.

-2011 is the date this mother will be whipped out.

-Tone? Yeah, Dark Knight = $. Dark means to Warner = $. So, it can be dark or light (Iron Man light, not Spider-man emo angst). So we don’t even know who this is even aimed at, as the character doesn't shout out DARK as much as goofy and cocky. So it could be good, it could be bad in this respect.

This is where the casting begins. They can choose the actor, then they'll find the aim of the story and the vision. The reason this is important is that it could judge how the film is going to be and how it is going to be seen by viewers. I haven’t read the script so all we have is a date and a probable budget of $150 million, easily.

Let's get started.




Bradley Cooper as... Hal Jordan.


Should I just say it? He is one of the main attractions of The Hangover, the alcoholic comedy about a stag night gone wrong. While he is not the main star of the actual storyline, his presence means that he could well become the next thing in Hollywood: Funny Pretty Boy. Ryan Reynolds counts as well. But comedy will not be the main attraction to star in this beast; it's action packed manic goodness with comedy added in. His role in ‘He’s Not That Into You’ does not inspire hope. However, Robert Downey Jr. was an interesting choice.

Now that he is starring in the A-Team film (Ed-note: AS FACE?! HELL'S YEAH! *ahem* sorry I won't interrupt...), we cannot say if he will star in this or even be able to, but if we did it would be okay casting, not brilliant, not interesting. Why not? Well, if we look at his Filmography and his television work we find that in his roles he's the cocky guy that entertains us, much like Vince Vaughn, but action wise? Can he look kick-ass? We may never know.

Verdict (Out of Four Stars): **


Common as... John Stewart.



He at least has screen presence for a rapper. I cannot say he is a great actor or even a bad one because in his roles I find him mostly silent. He mysteriously refrains from taking on dialogue heavy roles in films so we can't determine his talent, but his presence in the role of John Stewart (sorry but I just keep on imagining Common in a biopic about Jon Stewart, it makes me laugh) could mean a fun action film is present in the role he'd take.

However, what we could find is with Common, lacking in range at present, is that comic elements will probably be absent from his skill set. While it is okay to have just action and ‘pathos’, a lot of people enjoyed Iron Man for the combination of the comic to the dramatic. Without this it might be a betrayal of the character, but then this is Hollywood and they do this for the money. The Dark Knight made a heck load with big themes and dark atmosphere, but does not mean it will work with the Green Lantern. As well as this, this is only one version of the Green Lantern, and the script supposedly uses Hal Jordan, a white guy.

You never know, but I am interested, so let’s see if he can do a bit more light-hearted stuff than Terminator Salvation.


Verdict (Out of Four Stars): ***


Chris Pine as… Hal Jordan



Well, Captain Kirk wants to set sail on another franchise (if this doesn’t die the same death as Daredevil), so they might give him this one (this is the strongest candidate). Pine proved that he can fulfil the cocky/dramatic quota to the tee, however we get into another problem (Ed-note: "Yeah we do!" AHAHAHAHA *is punched* Sorry, sorry).

With two very similar characters we might say that Pine might get into trouble with this; while Robert Downey Jr. actually could change his range to fit the mold of the character, Pine will have to contend with the fact that with these two heroes, we will have a case of the mild but deadly déjà vu (just ask Christian ‘SHOUTOUTINGRUFFVOICE’ Bale). If Pine succeeds, it will be because the public enjoy the way he acts but it will become tiresome in the near future, but heck that is what the future can worry about!

Verdict (out of Four Stars): ***1/4


Sam Rockwell as… Guy Gardner



Just look at the guy’s work. He’s brilliant. But then he isn’t a star and a bit older though. That sucks.

Verdict: ***3/4











Matthew McConaughey as… anyone but John Stewart



Well well well, he has the charm, I'll give him that but it would be a bad decision to go with the orange man (just look at that tan!). Also his charm might be good but too laid back for the role. As well as this, in Sahara (one of his action films I've seen), he fails to prove that he could actually be serious (the less we talk about the rom-coms, the better humanity will be for it)
(Picture of something horrific but funny possibly)

SQUIDS IN NEW YORK! DESTORYING YOUR MINDS AND EATING YOUR SOULS!

Verdict: *... bitch.

One more to add to the list of likely Lantern heads


Jack O’Lantern as… The Green Lantern.



Perfect for Halloween, not for much else.

No, this is the real final pick:

Nathan Fillion as… Hal Jordan.

You've seen the videos, you've seen Firefly (or at least Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place), you know he can handle action, cockiness, fanboy frenzy as well as being handsome for the ladies. You have seen the fake trailer, and it just feels right. If Sam Rockwell was younger, I would have chosen him, but Fillion is the natural choice.


Here’s the link to those of you who didn’t see it.

Verdict: ****.


You got an idea? Write them down before you explode into a furious rampage of fire in the comment box.

This is The One They Call Unusual (Milan).

MORE CHANGES!

Sick of these changes yet? ME NEITHER! This time we're welcoming someone who knows next to nothing about comics.

"Buh-whaaaa?!" I hear you cry! Well fear not strange noise making people! For what this person doesn't know about comics he certainly knows about film. He even has his own (soon to be revived) awesome film blog! So it's with great pleasure that I welcome The One They Call Unusual, MILAN!

There totally isn't a pattern in me defacing people's photos here.

Anyway, Milan will be bringing us interesting comic book movie (or movies related to comics) material, starting with a snazzy who's who of Green Lantern candidates for the (eventually) upcoming film! Expect that soon enough (he's finished it, I'm just a crappy ass editor) and look forward to his future work.


Extra news: I was going to do my Quick-Fire Reviews earlier in the week but have been sluggishly trying to do some edits to the site. Expect them tonight, save me being worse than usual.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES!

So, I'm sure that some of none of you have spotted one small change to the site, Mainly because It's unnoticable at present. The thing in question is simply enough the addition of another writer: Tim!

He's here to provide a fortnightly feature reviewing the Paninininini comics mag-thing ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN. Something that will not only provide great insight into the UK marvel scene (we're WAY behind) but also be a great retrospect for anyone who's read these stories in the past.

... and for the UK people it'll be a good review thing. That too.

So we welcome Tim (yeah his name is so much snappier than Flip The Page shut up) and you'll see his contributions soon!

To Those Who Recognise My Profile Picture:

This shit just went up a notch!

Nomad: Girl Without A World Announced

To most this is just another announcemeny of ANOTHER minor character getting a spotlight limited series, but we're talking about RIKKI BARNES here. As the new Nomad for now too (apparently. don't hold me to that)

Not just that but the writer is Sean Mckeever, who wrote some good stuff with Young Inhumans.

So the best news for me, a chance to update my profile picture AND pretty pointless news for everyone else.

On the note of updates I've finished the notes for New Mutants #098 (this stuff is HARD) and am getting ready to churn out the Top Ten #2: Black Avengers update soon as. MIGHT do a previews thing but my opinions are fanboyish schlock at best.

EDIT: turns out the good people at IGN have an interview with mckeever about NOMAD. Check it out here. Yeah, I'm making this a long link 'cause I can.... And so you can actually notice it.

Lazy Sundays #1: The Rob Liefeldephant

So, every sunday I'm going to stave off boredom by doing whatever my friends tell me to do on this blog.

This Week:

DOT told me to draw an elephant. Not particularly relevant to comics, so I made it EXTREEEEEEME LIEFELD STYLE! (apologies to anyone unfortunate enough to gaze upon my awful doodle)

Note the misproportioned body, diamond feet, massive arms

(or would they also be feet?) bad mullet, random addition of

a diamondy star thing on one of his eyes, no eyes at all

(youngblood's disease), bad shading, gravity defying tail

and a ridiculously emphasised crotch.

HAI LIEFELD I AM ARTIST TOO NOW DOYYYY!

.... I'm not very nice to him am I?