1. FLASH NEWS FLASH! Rumor is that before it even hits the screen, the Green Lantern movie is so good that one of its writers, Great Berlanti, has been tapped to make a Flash flick. And the movie is on the (ahem) fast track. It’s about time D.C. stepped up. Of course, it may be too late. If Kick-Ass is a hit, we may be seeing an end to unrealistic cape capers, and a movement towards neorealism. (Which would be a boon for a Daredevil reboot!)
2. LET’S RAP ABOUT CAP. Another rumor says that the Captain America has been put on hold. I hope they’re firing the director. The Wolfman sucked, and dude has not been doing the hero justice in his public discussions about Steve Rogers.
3. GHOSTBUSTERS 3!(?). There have been dozens of rumors about a third “Ghostbusters,” especially around the time the video game came out last year, so it’s hard at this point to give credence to any of them. But this time it was Bill Murray himself spreading the news that he’d come back for a threequel as the ghost of his character, Peter Venkman. Who knows if it’s true at this point. All I know is, Murray was fantastic in Zombieland.
4. METRIC VS. SCOTT PILGRIM. Finally, a way to combine my two favorite things: Music and comics! The soundtrack to the upcoming comic-turned-Michael-Cera-film ,Scott Pilgrim, features a band you’ve never heard of, “The Clash At Demonhead,” whose music is actually played by a band you have heard of, on this site, many times . . . Metric! The band posted a song, “Black Sheep,” on their Facebook page.
5. MOUSE GUARD. And in a paragraph for my wee ones, the exceedingly high quality kids graphic novel series, David Petersen’s “Mouse Guard,” promises to grow by two titles this year. First, “Legends of the Guard” will be a gonzo book by Petersen’s friends and associates consisting of one-and-dones. Second, “The Black Axe” will take place before the first Mouse Guard book and will feature the origins of Celanawe. One of the Legends tales will be featured on Free Comic Book Day. Now, when will the movie be developed?
6. WANTED 2! Apparently, the movie is a go, sans Jolie. She was hardly the best part about the first one, anyway, which I thought was a really solid action flick.
7. MORE WOLVERINE! I guess Logan got jealous of all the Deadpool books out there, ‘cause they’ve announced yet another Wolverine monthly. In addition to Weapon X, Wolverine, X-Men, whatever Avengers book he’s in, and Dark Wolverine. Oh, and X-Force sometimes, too. And guest shots. What makes this one special? Neal Adams! I wouldn’t really associate his clear, muscular style with the gritty and dirty Wolverine character, but I’ll take a look at anything Neal does. He’s a comic God, and he’s been out of the Marvel biz for about three decades now.
8. PREDATORS. This summer will see the release of “Predators,” and all of my readers who will be at SXSW have a chance to see a preview screening. It’s produced by Robert Rodriguez, which is a good thing if it’s produced by the dude who did El Mariachi and Desperado, but bad if it’s the dude who made that crapfest with Tarantino a few years back . . . And it stars Laurence Fishburne, which, again, points only to ambiguous potential.
9. BATMAN AND ROBIN. And not last but least, a brief review of Grant Morrison’s B&R so far: I like the ideas. The story is cool. The villains are terrific throwbacks to vintage Bob Kane. The art is undependable, but when it’s by Cameron Stewart, it’s great. So why don’t I love this series? Because, as usual, Morrison expects me to be able to read his mind (and/or know every little bit of Bat-lore) in order to understand the story. Grant, all the elements of a story are well and good, but they’re just elements. Story matters.
10. I’M A BLACK LANTERN . . . WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO BE A LANTERN, TOO? Done reading? Go HERE TO find out which Lantern you are!
