Berkeley Place

Marvel didn’t crack the top 10 books sold in January 2012.  For realsies.  DC had all ten of the top 10 titles (four were Batbooks, two Superman, and then Justice League).  But oddly enough, Marvel almost had all of the bottom half of the top 20.  Other than #16 (Wonder Woman) and19 (Teen Titans), Marvel’s mutants controlled slots 11 through 15, followed by The Avengers and Spider-Man to round out the top 20.  DC’s domination continued in the trade charts, with several Batbooks and a couple Vertigo books (Unwritten, Sweet Tooth) taking 5 of the top 10 slots.  As usual, most of the rest were indies (Walking Dead trades had two slots) and Marvel had only one solitary top 10 book.  Sadly, it wasn’t any of the more worthy books that came out in January, like volume one of Mark Waid’s phenomenal Daredevil book or Hickman’s latest FF volume or even Bendis’ latest Avengers collection.  It was Fear Itself, possibly the most disappointing thing Marvel put out last year.

Anyway, see below for a cool little teaser on an as-yet unreleased doc (titled Wonder Women: The Untold Story of American Superheroes) about chicks and comics, then hit the break for news about movie adaptations of Nonplayer and Footnotes in Gaza; updates on The Avengers and GI Joe; Nick Fury’s black son; and a little tidbit about a new kids book being written by one of the most profane writers in comicbookdom…

Let’s kick it off with the new ASM trailer…

And now, THE HEADLINES (Scroll down for the news bullets)

STEVE DILLON JOINS INCREDIBLE HULK.  Jason Aaron’s recent reboot of the Hulk as a character independent of Banner has had some pretty good moments, like his meeting with the moloids in issue #1, which was reminiscent of Planet Hulk—the greatest Hulk story of all time.  Now that he’s separated, the gimmick is that he has to “stay angry,” since he can’t revert to Banner anymore.  It’s a little silly, but then, Hulk always is a little silly.  Anyway, with the new “Stay Angry” story arc (beginning in issue #8), Jason Aaron’s PunisherMAX artist, Steve Dillon, will sign on as Hulk runs around the U.S. looking for people to fight.  (So he can stay angry.  Remember the premise, people.)  I’ve enjoyed Dillon’s work on Punisher, but it’s a pretty static art style—it’s hard to imagine how he’ll handle the muscular energy of a character like Hulk.  But I’m in to check it out.

NICK FURY HAS  A(NOTHER) KID.  Fans of Fury know that Mikel Fury, a son of the Nick, led a team in the wonderful Jonathan Hickman series “Secret Warriors.”  I’m sure none of you are reading Battle Scars, the post-Fear Itself Marvel mini that has been a complete snoozer from the jump, but the latest issue did have a little bit of a bombshell:  Nick Fury has another son, and he’s black.  And bald. And in the final issue, the kid (now a young man and a soldier) will lose an eye.  Can anyone say “contrived movie tie-in?”  I knew you could!

THE REBRANDING OF VENOM.  I’m digging Rick Remender’s work on the new Venom series, in which the symbiote is used as essentially a suit of armor for Flash Thompson, enabling him to become a superhero—of sorts.  My chief criticisms of the book are that there’s a little too much interior dialog of Flash’s consistently dark and dreary thoughts (show, don’t tell) and the lack of a consistent artist (why can’t Tony Moore do every issue?).  If you’re not reading the book, though, you’re missing a high octane action comic that also has thorough and provocative character development.  That’s not a common thing in comics.  This is also the perfect time to jump in.  They’re finishing up an arc guest starring X-23, Ghost Rider and Rulk (and you can miss this arc—it’s a bit of an “event”), and soon will launch “Savage Six,” to be co-written by Remender and Cullen “The Sixth Gun” Bunn.  The six villains will include Remender’s terrific reboot of Jack O’Lantern as one of the most sick, sadistic foes in the Marvelverse, as well as Toxin (you remember Toxy, don’tcha?  He’s Carnage’s kid); and some of the monsters squad Remender played with during his Frankenpunisher years.  Coming in May.

IRREDEEMABLE/INCORRUPTIBLE CONCLUDE.  If you’re like me, you love Mark Waid’s “evil Superman” book Irredeemable and you like-but-don’t-love his spin off, about a bad-guy-gone-good, Incorruptible.  Both series are scheduled to end, which kind of makes sense.  The stories are not “single arc return to status quo” books—they’re long-form, continually developing comics and there doesn’t seem a way to sustain the breakneck pace much longer.  Most of Earth has already been destroyed, after all.  And with just 34 issues (when it ends in May), we can probably expect a very nice hardbound Irredeemable Omnibus.  Which will be well worth getting.

THE AVENGEFULS BY HEMBECK.  I loves me some Fred Hembeck.  I still have a worn and dogeared copy of The Fantastic Four Roast #1 from the 1980s—which I urge all of you to go find a copy of.  (Spoiler alert: The butler did it!)  And I kept my value-less copy of Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man #86 just ‘cause I love the cover.  (The comic is kinda meh.)  Well, Fred’s back: He’ll be working on an Avengers satire for BOOM!   Sadly, he’s just doing the covers.

GARTH ENNIS TO WRITE A CHILDREN’S BOOK.  Yes, Garth Ennis, the man responsible for “The Boys,” about superheroes who love to have sex and do drugs—and the men who love to kill them; “The Pro” about a super-powered hooker; and the man who had Punishers slowly and graphically run Wolverine over with a steam-roller.  Not to mention “Preacher.”  He’s launched a kickstarter website for “ERF,” about four creatures rising from the primordial ooze and adapting to life on the land.  He calls it “An evolutionary tale of love and loyalty for children aged four and up.”

STUMPTOWN VOL. 2.  If you missed Stumptown by Greg Rucka (one of the finest crime writers currently working in comics) and amazing artist (and Harvey Danger guitarist) Matthew (Spider-Man: The Grim Hunt) Southworth, you missed a great noir told at a breakneck pace and featuring a tough-as-nails female lead.  It actually reminded me a lot of the AMC series “The Killing,” which, like Mr. Southworth, was located in Seattle.  The team confirms that a second volume is in the works.

QUICK HITS AND ZINGERS

• NONPLAYER THE MOVIE.  Nate Simpson’s 2011 Eisner-winning Image Comic Nonplayer got a movie deal, and it’ll be written by no less than Jane “X-Men First Class” Goldman.
• JOHN CARTER.  Cost $250 million to make.  And it will take just one opening weekend to bomb.  It looks awful.
• G.I. JOE THE SEQUEL.  Saw a new preview before Safe House.  Looks pretty good.  Of course, I thought the first one was a pretty cool Larry Hama-type cheesecake flick, and I know lots of more “serious” guys hated it…
• THE AVENGERS.  Saw a new preview before Safe House.  And I came twice.
• I AM LEGEND 2.  I actually enjoyed the first one.  But I sense I’m one of the few.
• THE WOLVERINE.  Has a release date of July 26, 2013, and will be directed by James Magnold (who did the first one aws well).  And Wolverine will be getting married in it.
• TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES.  Jonathan “Battle: Los Angeles” Liebesman will likely be directing the third film reboot (after several other animated reboots).  Is there a reason they can’t tell an ongoing story, rather than go back to the origin well yet again?
• FOOTNOTES IN GAZA THE MOVIE.  Joe Sacco’s graphic novel may be heading to the big screen in a live-action adaptation by indie darling Denis “Incendies” Villeneuve.
• ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER.  Is apparently based on a true story, in that there was a man named Abe Lincoln who visited Louisiana.
• THE WALKING DEAD.  Spoiler alert: By the end of this season, Shane dies.  How do I know?  He’s been cast on Frank Darabont’s next series, LA Noir.
• THE BOYS…NOT THE MOVIE.  Columbia Pictures has given up on adapting Garth Ennis’ super-violent, semi-pornographic comic.
• SUPERMAN VS. THE ELITE.  I haven’t seen DC’s direct-to-DVD animated feature “Justice League: Doom” yet and we’re still waiting for Batman: Year One, but I’ve enjoyed most of the movies DC’s made over the past 5 years.  The next one will be “Superman vs. The Elite,” based on “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way” from “Action Comics” #775, by Joe Kelly.
• I KILLED ADOLF HITLER.  The Eisner-winning OGN, by the Norwegian creator who goes only by “Jason,” was optioned by Studio Eight.  It’s about a dude who killed Hitler.  Using time travel.  And remarkably, it doesn’t suck.
• BLEACH.  My sons’ best friend’s favorite magna is being developed by Warner Bros. for a live-action film to be written by Dan “Wrath of the Titans” Mazeau.
• PORN!  Chyna, the star of WWE and Dr. Drew’s show about celebrity addicts will star as She-Hulk in a porno.  The storyline is that Chyna wears green makeup and gets banged by some guys.  It’s based on Dan Slott’s amazing Sensational She Hulk comic.