FEAR ITSELF VS. FLASHPOINT.  With FP at #3 and FI at #4, we’re smack dab in the middle of both series.  With Flashpoint, we’re seeing tweaked versions of DC heroes, but we’re all wondering, “Why does any of this even matter?”  After all, we know damn well Bruce—and not Thomas—will be Batman in the DCnU (DC new universe, for the ungeekified of you), so who cares about the Thomas Wayne Batman?  And Superman being locked away without the sun?  And Krypto being…Dead?  And Martha Wayne as The Joker?  None of this will hold true in the new U, so who cares?  I’m regretting buying into this thing. But not as much as I regretted Brightest Day.  That one was a complete dog.  As for Fear Itself, all I’m seeing is a bunch of villains/heroes turned into supervillains by the magic hammers and fighting a lot.  A lot.  All fight and no plot makes Matt Fraction a dull writer.  Except that Tony Stark falls off the wagon and drinks again.  Which, I have to say, if that’s the Big Lasting Change from FI, that’s really something that should have happened in his own book.  Alcoholics who drink again?  Hardly an event.  The sad thing is, Fraction is capable of so much better (see current issues of Iron Man, e.g.).  Not sure I can say the same about Geoff Johns anymore.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE FLASH ITSELF/FEAR POINT SPIN OFFS?  I’ve read several of the DC ones, but only the Marvel Spider-Man one.  Both are pretty dull.  Except that Gorilla Grodd one shot.  That was pretty fun.

DARK KNIGHT RISING POSTER.  The poster for Summer 2012’s third-and-final Batman movie shows Gotham crumbling into rubble.  I’d love to interpret this to mean that the movie will be based on Brubaker and Rucka’s classic “No Man’s Land” storyline, but I’m sure it won’t.  It’s so annoying, though, that this has to be the “last” in the series.  I truly hope that the next Bat-creator after Christopher Nolan doesn’t feel the need to tell the origin story (yet again).  Can’t the fourth film, with a new creative team and actors, just tell a good Bat-story without all the origin stuff?  How about giving us “Batman and Son?”  (How cool would it be to see an army of Man Bats?!?)

BATMAN: YEAR ONE.  Speaking of moving Batman stories: The DVD adaptation of Frank Miller’s second greatest Batman work (I got a letter printed in the first issue of the arc!) will arrive on October 18th, and will feature a Catwoman short, voiced by Eliza (Dollhouse and Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) Dushku and written by Paul Dini.

EVIL DEAD 4.  On Twitter, Bruce Campbell says it’s a go.  But it won’t be directed by Sam Raimi.  Rumors are that it is not a sequel, but a reboot.  Ugh.  There is simply no way in (ahem) “hell” that anyone could ever improve on the original trilogy.

GARTH ENNIS: “BUT WHAT I REALLY WANT TO DO IS DIRECT.”  Ennis—one of the top 10 comic book writers of all time—has written and directed a short horror film, “Stitched,” co-produced by Avatar Press.  It will debut at San Diego Comic-Con.  It’s about three soldiers who survive a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, and are attacked by some kind of ghost-thing.  I’m assuming they all die in the end.  Avatar Press will publish a follow-up comic book.

SGT. ROCK THE MOVIE.  Lastest rumor is that Guy Ritchie will direct, after he wraps another crappy Sherlock Holmes movie.  In a remarkable example of stunt casting, the part of Sgt. Rock will be played by New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez.

CAPTAIN AMERICA 2.  Any comic book movie fan knows to stay after the credits of Captain America: The First Avenger, and apparently we’ll be treated to another “Nick Fury meets the hero” scene.  In interviews, director Joe Johnston has indicated that he wants the sequel to be a Winter Soldier flick.

GHOST RIDER #1 ACTUALLY DOESN’T SOUND STUPID.  Johnny Blaze will transmit his curse to a chick Ghost Rider, in the new series to be written by indie fave Rob Williams (who also wrote the Shadowland GR one-shot, and the son-of-Hulk Skaar mini).  Why do I think it sounds cool?  Well, the solicited art by Matthew “Doom Patrol/Superman” Clark is pretty neat, for one thing.  For another, here are some of the ideas we know about so far: GR’s got a scythe instead of his usual chain weapon; the new host for the Spirit of Vengeance has some kind of evil mercenary background; GR’s gonna fight Sin (yeah, Red Skull’s daughter); and, most importantly, Giant Eyeball Man is back (a.k.a. The Orb)!

SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL.  Who knows if any of the latest leaks are accurate, but it looks like the new film will be based on the Mark Wait graphic novel “Birthright,” in which a young Clark Kent goes back to Smallville to learn about his origins and turn into Superman.  So it’s not a “baby” origin, but it’s still a “how I first put on the tights” type story.  Sigh.

IS THIS PANDERING?  Todd McFarlane is working on a comic book starring Yoshiki, a Japanese rock star with a huge following in that country, as the alter ego of “Blood Red Dragon.”  The book will come out under Stan Lee’s Pow! Entertainment company.  Comic books sell well in the land of the rising sun, so I totally get why Lee and McFarlane would do this.  Whatever it takes to get folks to read and buy, right?  But if you don’t like gimmicks, stay away: There will be a chip in the book that plays Yoshiki’s music.

SEE, NOW THAT’S THE JOB I WANT.  Recently, at a press conference for the Greg Rucka/Marco Checchetto Punisher series, editor Steve Wacker said Frank Castle has killed 48,502 people since his first appearance.  I wonder who counted them all?  And did they include the times when he kills folks but they come back later, like Jigsaw?  This is a very important statistic that needs independent verification!

PARKER.  I’m not a huge fan of the Darwyn Cooke comic book adaptations, and I’ve never read Donald Westlake’s novels, but now I want to see the movie.  The villain and hero will be played by Michael Chiklis and Jason Statham.

THAT WAS A JOKE.  Rodriguez isn’t tied to the Sgt. Rock project.  But early leaks of the screenplay indicate that Rock will be stuck on a desert island at some point in the film with a woman who does whatever he tells her to.