Over on Marvel editor Tom Brevoort’s blog, a previously unannounced “Howard the Duck” series was revealed, via the preview page mirrored to the left. If this series is as good as his recent appearance in Civil War: Choosing Sides, it may actually be an interesting read, though the art definitely looks a bit different.

It’s worth mentioning that this is maybe the third time in the last 10 years that Marvel’s tried a Howard the Duck revival… But that this time they may be doing it without original creator Steve Gerber in the mix. At the moment, this page is all we know about the series, but if you’re interested in a quick-n-dirty version of Steve Gerber’s sordid past with Marvel, Tom Brevoort, and creator rights, then read on after the jump.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Stormwatch PHD #5
written by Christos Gage, art by Doug Mahnke

About two weeks ago, I was in the shop picking up my books, and one of the guys from the small mob that lives there pointed out that the book I was picking up was by Christos Gage. He and I briefly chatted on Gage’s excellent track record, starting off with his fantastic Deadshot mini, his recent Batman work, and before that, how he was writing episodes for Law & Order: SVU (the best of the Law & Orders, really). We dug issues 1-3 out of the back-issue bins, but I’m still missing 4, which now leaves a gaping hole in my soul.

The premise is that the Stormwatch: Post-Human Division (AKA superhero division) features a team of (mostly) humans tasked with taking down super-powered bad guys. The team does have one guy that’s half evil alien, and there’s also the chick who used to have heat powers, but lost them. The rest of the team is just badass humans, mostly with a law enforcement background. Christos Gage does some of his best work here, bringing out his strength of writing cops from Law & Order and melding those skills into a comic story, creating a fantastic book that reads more like a cop drama than you’d expect.

And Doug Mahnke’s no slouch on the art either. He’s constantly called to go back and forth between scenes of a super-villain mayhem slaughter, training scenes in a gym, and then scenes of a lab where a woman’s body has been splattered everywhere. His art matches his most work on the Frankenstein mini, but if you have a sharp memory, you’ll recognize the name as the original artist of The Mask. All in all, you’ve got a quality creative team putting together a really great book. Get onboard while it’s still on the ground floor.

In our ongoing coverage of Captain America’s alleged passing, two new developments have recently come to light. First, Joe Quesada (editor-in-chief of Marvel) sent a Cap’s shield over to Stephen Colbert for safekeeping, and we’ve got the video from the show to prove it. Secondly, there’s a strange new Punisher image that Marvel put out for circulation. See it side-by-side with the cover to Punisher: War Journal issue 7, and the video from The Colbert Report, after the jump.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

The third (and final?) Hellboy Animated movie hasn’t been officially greenlit yet, but big man Tad Stones (what a manly name! – Er, I mean, the supervising director and co-writer on the previous two movies) decided to start talking about it on the Hellboy Animated blog. The blog post is largely about the process of deciding on and planning the story when it comes to creating these movies. Over the course of the discussion he gives us this delightful quote: “If Sword of Storms was the folklore side of Hellboy, Blood and Iron the vampire/Hammer Films side then The Phantom Claw is the mad scientist/weird technology aspect of Hellboy stories.”

He also shares the name The Phantom Claw, and he discusses Mike Mignola’s suggestion to use Lobster Johnson (see image to the left) in the movie. I’m guessing “The Phantom Claw” refers to him. (Please note: Lobster Johnson is not an actual lobster, nor does he have actual claws.)

EDIT: Its also worth noting that the second Hellboy installment, Blood and Iron, will air on Cartoon Network this Saturday at 7 PM EST.

A new R-rated trailer for 300, a brief glimpse of the upcoming Watchmen movie therein, and just for fun, The WORD from last night’s Colbert Report, featuring the death of Captain America. All of that and more (not really, just that) after the jump!
[Read the rest of this entry…]

UPDATED – The direct links expired today at 9 PM, PST. Stick with the YouTube links now, kiddies.

The new Spidey trailer debuted a couple days ago at San Francisco’s WonderCon, and was featured during last night’s Heroes episode. To briefly summarize, it features a lot of Peter and Mary Jane’s love story, and a crazy badass fight sequence.

Today, finally, it’s available on NBC’s site, with the main site link right here. Or, if you’re looking to download directly, here are some direct links to the files:

480p HD Version (229 MB)

720p HD Version (285 MB)

Make sure you have Quicktime 7. Though it goes without saying, you won’t need Quicktime if you happen to stick purely to YouTube versions.

Dynamo 5
written by Jay Faerber, art by Mahmud Asrar

When Captain Dynamo died, his widow discovered he’d been unfaithful. Now, as his enemies descend on his unprotected city, Captain Dynamo’s widow rounds up his five illegitimate children, each of whom have inherited one of their father’s super-powers.

Kind of sucks to be Captain Dynamo’s widow. Not only does she find out about her husband’s infidelity, she also has to hunt down his illegitimate children, and then she has to flaunt his infidelity in her own face by sending out these children to follow and fight in his footsteps.

Honestly, it’s tough to say too much more about this book, as I’ve never read Faerber’s popular Noble Causes book, which this spins indirectly out of. All I know is that it successfully (financially as well as storywise) deals with family in the superhero context too. And honestly, the idea of these kids being asked to avenge a father who wasn’t there for them has my interest piqued all on its own. I’m definitely onboard for the first issue, and you should be too.