Dudes–I’m sorry. Such regrets.  I haven’t been good about keeping up with my news posts.  Job has been off-the-hook busy.  Anyhow, it’s been a long time, so some of this may be old news, but I’m sure you’ll find some surprises.  After all, the Superman movie is getting cast fast-and-furious–and it looks like the hottest cougar in Hollywood will be playing his mom!  Oh, and then of course there’s the new X-Men cartoon.  That’s right.

Hit the break.

COMIC BOOK MOVIES!

SUPERMAN (BEGINS). Over the last month or so, we’ve heard that Viggo Mortensen may play General Zod (why is he back—are there no other good Superman villains?), and Kevin Costner and (the incredibly hot) Diane Lane as Ma and Pa Kent (but not in that order).  I hate to say this, but I have nothing but low expectations on this one.

THE PUNISHER. Ray Stevenson (who will play Volstagg in Thor in a few months) is in talks to do a sequel to the godawful Punisher: War Zone.  >Heavy sigh.<  I’d heard there might be an HBO show on Punisher.  That would be a much better idea.  Garth Ennis has already provided all the scripts and storyboards they need….And if they’re gonna go for another big pic, I must admit that the Thomas Jane version wasn’t all that bad.  It was certainly better than Superman Returns (shudder!).

THE AVENGERS. According to the casting call, we’re gonna see the Loki story and Kree/Skrull war.  Could be intentionally misleading.  Could be overly ambitious.  Could be awe-freakin-some.

BLADE RUNNER. A prequel is being developed, with none of the original creators.  Damn shame.  BR is probably one of the top 10 movies of all time.  Now they’re gonna ruin it

COMIC BOOK T.V. SHOWS!

X-MEN ANIME. First off, when the hell do I get to see this?!?

17TH PRECINCT. This one wasn’t even on my radar, but the creator of probably the best Sci Fi TV show of all time (Battlestar Galactica) is working on the
pilot for a supernatural cop show.  Don’t know if it will be for a major network or a cable station.

POWERS. For a while now, FX has been considering a project based on Brian Michael Bendis’ creator-owned series.  Well, it’s been greenlit, and it may star Katee “Starbuck” Sackhoff.  Y’all probably know this already, but the series is about two cops who investigate super-hero homicides.

COMIC BOOK COMIC BOOKS!

VENOM.  Yeah, Rick Remender and Tony Moore were the contraversial team behind Frankencastle–which offended Punisher fans but thrilled fans of real comic books–like me–who want unpredictability, mayhem, and crazy, balls-out fun.  But this new book, which basically Venom as James Bond, is way better.  At least so far.  I mean, based on the concept, the prequel issues by Dan Slott, and this first issue by the Remender/Moore team.  The art is fantastic, the script sows the seeds of mad potential to be as great as Sinister Spider-Man was (and if you didn’t read that, you missed all kinds of animals being thrown at Venom and Venom eating all kinds of badguys–a truly amazing, overlooked classic).  I’m really looking forward to the next one.

MARVEL UNIVERSE VS. WOLVERINE.  Did you read Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher, a 2010 mini that’s now out in hardcover, written by Jonathan Maberry and illustrated by PunisherMax artist Goran Parlov?  Well, then shame on you.  You missed the best Marvel Zombie type apocalyptic tale in years–and the best use of Deadpool, too.  Go buy it.  Or, if you’re waiting for paperback, check out Mayberry’s latest–also with a PunisherMax artist (this time it’s Laurence Campbell)–Marvel Universe Vs. Wolverine.  I can pretty much guarantee this will be awesome.

THE STATE OF THE BATMAN. No, not the movie, which is getting way too much press for a movie that is still at the script stage.  The comic(s).  I’ll close on this: All last year, I told you over and over and over that Grant Morrison’s Batman & Robin was the best Batbook since . . . Well, probably, ever.  Well, that’s over.  Batman is back.  So, what’s it like now?  There are still way too many Batman/Gotham books, but a few are well worth your time and money.  Ironically, B&R itself has become more—not less—incomprehensible since Morrison left the title, and it is the worst of the books with Batman in the actual title.  The art chores are a moving target, some good some bad, but the writing and storylines are dull.  Morrison’s new book, Batman, Inc., is on the other hand quite awesome.  The main Batman book, still written by Tony Daniel, continues to be a solid superhero book.  If you dig capes and/or The Bat, this is a book you’ll dig.  But it won’t change your life.  And Detective Comics?  Scott Snyder is killing it.  I’d hoped Jock would stay as the artist, but when they replace him with Francesco Francavilla, I can’t complain a bit.  The other new Batbook is Batman: The Dark Knight, which I’m a little disappointed in—but I had very high expectations, so I’m willing to come down a little and stick it out for the first arc.  The art is incredible, but the stories haven’t caught me yet.  Also in the Batverse: Batgirl, Birds of Prey, The Outsiders, Knight and Squire, Red Robin, Batman: Brave and the Bold (for kids only), Streets of Gotham.  Way too many to read or care about, and some of which are being cancelled as we speak.  So, in sum, there are three regular batbooks worth reading: Batman, Batman Inc., and Detective.  Oh, and there’s Batwoman, which has been great in the past but never seems to come out on schedule.  So: Go add Detective and Batman Inc. to your pull list, and if you’re a big fan, cop Dark Knight and Batman, too.