Comic Books

Perfectly timed to generate some buzz ahead of the geek-chatter petri dish that is San Diego Comic-Con, DC Nation’s Beware the Batman will launch on Saturday July 13th at 10am. Here’s hoping that the buzz is actually good. This extended trailer – or sizzle reel, as they’re calling it – certainly has some elements of distinctive style. Click here to view the embedded video. Trailer For Beware The Batman – Premiering On DC Nation In July

If you pick up a Walking Dead: Michonne resin statue from your local comic shop, you may be slightly worried to discover it doesn’t come with it’s Todd McFarlane Certificate of Authenticity. Don;t worry, your shop isn’t trying to palm you off with a knock off, it’s just that the certificates idn;t ship with the statue. Keep your receipt and pop back next week to pick your certificate up. Before slicing it in two, just like Michonne would! The certificates will be signed but not numbered. Like this… Walking Dead Michonne Statues Ship Without Their Certificates – Don’t Panic

“… obviously, you look at your own early work and you’re sometimes dismayed. Was I that bad? Did I use that cliché, miss that nuance, mess up that character beat? But it’s also why you should know to leave well enough alone – because the you that’s doing the correcting isn’t the you who wrote [...]

Tweet DC is holding four “retailer roadshows” over the next few weeks to boost retailer confidence and tell them what’s coming up. If you were wondering why there was such a DC news dump on Monday, this is why: projects like JLA 3000 and Superman/Wonder Woman were unveiled to NYC area retailers on that day and a roomful of retailers is about as likely to keep secrets as Justin Bieber is to teach driver’s ed. One such attendee, Roderick Ruth has written up a fairly detailed account of the event, complete with a video of the new lenticular covers for Villain Month—these are costly to print, so DC is actually taking a loss on each issue. Attendees got a lenticular SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #1 and a Trinity War poster (Above). Much was made of DC’s foray into tying in with video games—Injustice: The Gods Among us is only one of the successful tie-in titles. There was also a look forward to Zero Year tie-ins, according to Ruth: After that, Dan Didio continued to discuss Forever Evil, which will arrive in October and shifts the focus of the DC Universe on some of it’s most notable villains.  There’s also another Green Lantern event in the works titled Lights Out in October.  He also touched on the crossovers that will be happening from the Zero Year arc in Batman.  Didio informed retailers that these stories were not manufactured as crossover titles just for the sake of crossing over and spreading out the success of Batman, but that these writers and creators had expressed a genuine interest in writing a story that occurs at the same time as Zero Year.  It seems there will be crossovers in Action Comics, Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern Corps, Batgirl, Nightwing, Batwing, Catwoman, Detective Comics, and Birds of Prey. And then there was that cranky retailer who asked uncomfortable questions: After that, one retailer expressed her concern over the promises that were made by DC two years ago and her difficulty in instilling confidence to her customers with so much inconsistency over creative teams at DC.  Co-publisher, Dan Didio gave a boisterous speech about admitting that DC’s “new 52? had only been planned up for a first act, and they had all been surprised that the “new 52? would have garnered so much momentum two years ago.  He also confided that with any raising momentum, there inevitably a decline in momentum and DC is now prepared to unveil their second act.  He also addressed that creative changes are common place in the business of comic books and the seeming severity of it now is only much more apparent due to social media.  Didio’s admission and affirmations had re-instilled confidence amongst the retailers, but only time can officially tell how successful this “second act” will be. One of the retailers present at the event told The Beat that DiDio said he had looked at old Comics Journals between 1978 and 1983, and creative teams changed all the time. (It should be noted this was right after the Famed DC Implosion, and a time of terrible sales and general floundering for the company.) If this was a movie, the scene of Dan DiDio looking at old Comics Journals and taking notes of the news sections would definitely be accompanied by that chugging string music all superhero movies use as the hero peers into a microscope and fiddles with a laptop to get the formula right. My collection is in storage, but maybe someone else can enact a similar research project. According to another report on the meeting, DC plans big events every September—last year it was the Zero month, and now villains. It’s a good idea to keep the news coming if, as the above paraphrase seems to indicate, The New 52 has moved on. Future roadshow dates: Thursday, June 20, Orlando, FL Saturday June 22, Burbank, CA Monday, June 24, Portland OR Of course we’d love to hear the thoughts ay any attendees at these events. You know the email: comicsbeat at gmail.com. #call_to_action h4{padding:0px 5px;} #social-essentials {margin

Here are the results of the survey I posted last week. Thank you for all of your help and input, the next survey will be coming soon… (Click the image below to view a larger version.)

Beware the Batman debuts July 13. Sizzle reel, stills and more details on the website.

Three episodes in, and this one almost broke us. The King of Fighters is one of the all-time worst movies we have ever watched, so if you enjoy listening to two guys getting unexpectedly mad about half an hour into a podcast, this is the one for you. Over the course of the show, we share memories of dropping quarters into Neo Geo machines at Pizza Inn, the lasting appeal of Mai Shiranui, and why Ray Park should maybe never have a speaking role in a film. Sorry, Ray. Plus, we try to sort out just what the hell is happening in this movie and why, and (spoiler warning) we fail pretty miserably. You can grab this episode (and our first two, where we tackle Double Dragon and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li) right now for only $1 each! That’s almost 90 minutes of comedy (or at least our suffering) for a buck! Pick it up and let us know what you think!

While paparazzi pictures of Shailene Woodley on set made it pretty obvious that Mary Jane Watson had been written a role in the next Amazing Spider-Man movie, the actress’ early wrap date made it similarly clear that the role was a small one. And now, according Woodley herself, it has been cut from the film altogether. Speaking to EW for their current print issue, the actress said: Of course I’m bummed… but I’m a firm believer in everything happening for a specific reason….based on the proposed plot, I completely understand holding off on introducing [Mary Jane] until the next film. Thanks to SHH for the transcript. I wonder what other implications this decision might have. Will it be related to Sony’s recent commitment to a a third and fourth film in the series? How much is Amazing Spider-Man 2 being reworked and re-edited? Will MJ just pop out cleanly or will there be a lot of reconfiguration necessary? I doubt she’ll get to meet Gwen Stacy now… unless there are flashbacks. And… well, we presume that Woodley will return, and that the role won’t be recast, but that possibility is there now, I suppose. At the very least, they could change their plans for a hammer-wielding, sandwich maker and go for an MJ more like the model-turned-actress of the Raimi era. I kind of hope they don’t, though. We’ve had that one already. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be along on May 2nd next year. Mary Jane Watson Cut Out Of Amazing Spider-Man 2

Mark Sable in Occupy Comics represents everybody reading Bleeding Cool. Possibly some of them writing it as well. A pottymouth Red Skull? Honestly, such language, I don’t think I’ve ever heard the like. I know he’s a Nazi, but there’s a time and a place. Look at that instant apologia for similar, more misogynist language in Batwoman there. Classic Jimmy Carr trick. Not that I’m saying Jimmy Carr is a seven foot scaly lizard creature. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But, again, such uncouth language, not fit for a lady’s ears. Oh, no, apparently it is, in this scene from The Liberator #1. What is it with Bloodshot and cows? He does seem to have a thing for them. Howabout a spinoff title, Bloodshot/Cow with them kissing on the front? Captain Midnight #0 also has a problem with language, though it seems to be the information being imparted rather than the specifically chosen words that’s the issue here. Talking of language choice, Captain Marvel notes that you can say “Giant Flying Robot” four times in a panel and it’s fine. While in Wonder Woman, Lennox is probably at his most English-authentic with this classic Millwall football chant. You can hear it here. House Of Gold And Bones encounters a little sexually flirtation. Taking the last word of the book’s title a little too literally. Wild Blue Yonder #1 features some boots. I like well drawn boots in a comic. Chris Weston probably does them best, but this isn’t bad at all. All though, like the panel above this one, our co-star doesn’t seem to appreciate old boots. Don’t people know that a woman isn’t anyone’s property? Come on Edgar Allan Poe’s Fall Of The House Of Usher! Things are getting too sexist around here, anything we can do to solve that? I don’t think it is Mara. This is getting to be a real problem in this article. How did we solve it last time? That’s right, the moment you have any sexist comment, you need an apologetic lizard to make it all right again. In the Superior Spider-Man, the Lizard appears to be sniffling, which will do. And despite being a lizard, manages not to call anyone a bitch, whcih is an improvement. Not the only animal-people wandering around with the return of Bronze Tiger in Red Hood And The Outlaws. Now a fully humanoid tiger. But which would win? Bronze Tiger or the Lizard? You know, I wonder if we may see a Marvel/DC crossover for September 2014? it’s about due, isn’t it?  Supergirl despenses with the humanoid aspect in this little al fresco scene. Clerly Val-Ro is giving Dramonicus a much needed mane-cut. It’ll just get in his eyes, otherwise. X-Files is back… and those who wondered if old continuity would be junked, need not worry. It’s still all about the baby! Mulder and Scully aren’t the only familiar faces who are back. Can we call this 101 Bullets now? Say, is that Mark Millar’s Sonic The Hedgehog-style character Kraakkl, the Flash’s imaginary friend, in the Vibe enclosures? I can envisage Vive hijinks there… Judge Dredd Year One decides to show us that love is blind. Dream Thief also seems to be taking the last word of the book’s title a little too literally. While Darth Vader seems to be performing exploratory surgery on a prolapse. That’s it! congratulations, you made it through another week’s worth of comic books. So how exactly are you feeling, Baltimore: The Inquisitor? Yeah, that’s about right. Comics courtesy of Orbital Comics, London. Currently hosting Jason Atomic‘s Satanic Mojo, inspired by underground comics with work from Atomic, Shaky Kane, Garry Leach and more… for adults only. Go to the gallery and buy the comic… adults only. Twenty-Two Thoughts About Twenty-Two Comics – Bloodshot, Occupy Comics, X-Men Legacy, The Liberator, Batwoman, Captain Midnight, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, Wild

The largest and most highly anticipated pop culture event of the year is right around the corner, and Dark Horse is bringing you the latest and greatest in exclusive comics and products from Dark Horse Deluxe! This year at the Dark Horse booth, a dedicated store will be open throughout the convention where fans can purchase these limited and highly collectible products. Game of Thrones 7-Inch Stark Shield Wall Plaque (Limited Edition of 1,200) Sculptural replica of Stark...