This will be my last post of comic book news of the year, and I’m going out with a big one.  You’ve probably heard some of this before, but even if you have, it bears repeating.  I’ll probably bring this “news” feature back next year, but I’m undecided for sure.  Do you all enjoy it?

MOVIES and STAGE

IRON MAN 3 LOSES A DIRECTOR. By now you all probably know that Jon Favreau walked away from Iron Man 3, and instead is signing on to make a movie based on Disney’s Magic Kingdom ride.  Is this an example of Disney raiding Marvel Studios?  Perhaps.  They’ve also snagged David Fincher for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Guillermo Del Toro for Haunted Mansion.  None of which sound even remotely interesting, but I imagine they bring with them a significant paycheck.  I’m probably in the minority here, but I think this could be a good thing for Tony Stark.  Iron Man 1 was terrific, but the actual action sequences were just okay—it was Robert Downey, Jr., who made the film so good.  And Iron Man 2 was pretty humdrum, even with the addition of War Machine.  I’d rather see IM3 attach a fresh voice with new ideas, especially since it will be the first Marvel Studios film to follow The Avengers.  If it turns out that Marvel Studios cultivates talent and Disney snatches it away, that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing: It will mean that up-and-comers will be treating their Marvel movies as auditions for a big paycheck, which means more of the film budget will be on the screen and that the talent will really be trying their best.

X-MEN FIRST CLASS. The “official” plot has been press-released, and it says that the movie “Charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga, and reveals a secret history of famous global events. Before mutants had revealed themselves to the world, and before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Not archenemies, they were instead at first the closest of friends, working together with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop Armageddon. In the process, a grave rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men.”   Rumors abound that this is code for the Apocalypse saga, but that story is so continuity-heavy and confusing that I doubt it’s true.  After all, this has to be the story of how they all come together.  Plus, we all know that Kevin Bacon is signed on to play Sebastian Shaw, leader of The Hellfire Club (a school for muties that competes with Xavier’s own school).  Wonder if they’ll even bother to try to fit it into Wolverine/X-Men movie continuity?  I wish Marvel Studios still had this property, although, if they did, we probably wouldn’t be getting the movie out next year since MS has its hands full already.

THE FLASH. Screenwriter (and comic-book writer) Marc Guggenheim has revealed that Flash (probably Barry Allen) will be a CSI guy.  Way too many of those these days.  He also indicates that the show will be “dark,” referencing Se7en and Silence of the Lambs.  Look, I’m not a big D.C. guy and I’m sure not a Flash fan, but isn’t he supposed to be kinda funny?

JUDGE DREDD. Bits and pieces, snatches and still-shots are leaking all over the place—I’ll let you find ‘em yourself—and they look (gasp) good!  I’ve always been a Dredd fan, so much so that I can actually stomach the Sly Stallone version.  Barely.  But I’ve always felt it would make a much better cartoon than movie—something along the lines of the original Spawn or Afro Samurai.

SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK. Is sold out through April 2011.  And I would have bet money it wouldn’t have lasted more than four weeks beyond previews.

T.V. news at the break, including a link to a very very cool Walking Dead video.

T.V.

THE WALKING DEAD. Nominated for a Golden Globe, check out all the zombie deaths mashed together!  Go here.  Also, word is that this show will come back in July, back-to-back with Breaking Bad.  Two of the best hours of TV!

ALIAS’ ALIAS IS “AKA JESSICA JONES.” It’s confirmed, Brian Michael Bendis’ brilliant, vastly underappreciated “Alias” series is being developed for ABC by Melissa (“Twilight” and “Dexter”) Rosenberg.  The concept is to begin right after Jessica Jones quits being Jewel and starts her P.I. service.  As you’d expect, Marvel Comics will synergize with a new Alias miniseries.  No indication whether this will fit into Marvel Movieverse continuity.  That makes three total Marvel TV projects, with the other two being Hulk and Cloak & Dagger.  Alias is perhaps Brian Michael Bendis’ “smartest” work for Marvel, as well as being his “indie-est.”  The books are highly recommended, and just got “ultimate collection-ed” or something like that.

LOCKE AND KEY COMING TO FOX. Fan and critic favorite IDW series “Locke & Key” got the green light for a pilot.  I’m not a reader—just haven’t gotten to it—but I’ll check it out.

SMALLVILLE. We will be getting a Geoff-Johns written episode featuring Booster Gold.  Now there’s an idea with potential.

POWERS. Powers, the Brian Michael Bendis indie comic, is being developed for FX television by Charles H Eglee, who is also a writer for AMC’s The Walking Dead (as well as The Shield and Dexter).

For news about printed books, hit the break . . .

COMIC BOOKS—FOR PEOPLE WHO STILL ACTUALLY READ!

F(4-1) (Fantastic Four #587). Despite all the hype, and the pretty decent sales, in the issues building to the final issue of Jonathan Hickman’s “Three” story arc (in which he promised to remove one of the FF from the team), Marvel has announced it will not reprint the issue nor sell it on newsstands, and it’ll be shipped in a sealed bag so browsers can’t flip to the end and find out that it’s Sue.  (I don’t actually know anything, it’s just my guess—process of elimination: Thing is too valuable to other teams in the MU; Hickman is totally wet for Reed; and Human Torch is the only member of the team who isn’t completely filled with angst all the time.)  In other words, the issue will have a limited run and might (gasp) actually be worth something.  It ships in January.  Personally, I’m still waiting for the trade—even if I know the ending will be spoiled for me by then.  I like Hickman’s run, but I’m just so luke warm on the FF overall that I can’t see myself shelling out for the monthlies.

DEATH OF SPIDER-MAN. Relax.  By now you know they’re hyping the death of ULTIMATE Spidey, not the real deal, and even then, USM is the best book on the Ultimates lineup right now (the only one worth reading, actually) so you know this is more hype than substance.  But the great news is that Mark Bagley will return to the character as artist.  Look for Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #156 in March 2011.

CAPTAIN AMERICA. Cap has been around for 70 years, and in celebration of the past (and anticipation of the 2011 film), Marvel will be releasing a lot more Cap books.  Dunno if that’s necessarily a good thing—recent overexposure hasn’t helped Thor all that much—but at least a few of them sound interesting.  In particular, numbers 1 (because the Marvel Universe doesn’t have nearly enough Falcon—seriously); 2 (which is supposed to establish the fan-favorite villain as a larger character in the MU); and 3 (about Cap’s funniest enemy, Batroc the Leaper), below.  Marvel also says that issue 616 of the main Cap title will be 100 pages, with contributions by lots of big names including Howard Chaykin and Frank Tieri.  These gangbang issues are usually disappointing, but I always end up buying them anyway.  I guess I’m stupid.  Here’s all the Cap books:

* Captain America and Falcon, by Rob Williams Rebekah Isaacs
* Captain America and Crossbones by William Harms and Declan Shalvey
* Captain America and Batroc by Kieron Gillen and Renato Arlem
* Captain America and the First Thirteen by Kathryn Immonen and Ramon Perez
* Captain America and the Secret Avengers by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Greg Tocchini

MARVEL’S FEAR EVENT. Marvel’s been teasing and hyping “Fear,” which will be the 2011 “summer” event (but it begins in April—go figure) designed to get you to buy a whole bunch of comics you wouldn’t otherwise purchase.  All the main Marvel superdudes and dudettes will take on the God of Fear to find out who is “most worthy.”  This sounds a little Contest of Champions-y to me, but at least there’s major talent associated with it.  Matt Fractionis the spearhead (so figure that Iron Man and Thor will be a big part of it), but the first of the seven issues will be about Captain America (who “happens” to have a flick coming out in July) and will be handled by Ed Brubakerand Scot Eaton.  The art will otherwise be handled by the incomparable Stuart (NEXTWAVE, New Avengers) Immonen.  Since it will deal with so many threads (Fantastic 3, the trial of Bucky, etc.), those of us (like myself) who tend to rely on trade paperbacks may want to wait until the book comes out . . .

THE RETURN OF FISH POLICE! And in what may be my favorite news item of the day, one of the most underrated indie books of the 1980s is poised to make a comeback: Steve Moncuse’s “Fish Police,” starring Inspector Gill, which originally ran on Comico as a black-and-white.  IDW will be reprinting all 26 original issues, along with a new series.  If the idea of an underwater noir book sounds stupid to you, you haven’t seen the art.  Trust me, this will be a book you’ll want to read again and again.