Early review of Iron Man 2

From Variety:

There are enough fun moments in Jon Favreau's playful direction (from Justin Theroux's workmanlike script) and Downey's performance -- a tycoon who's equal parts Warren Buffett and Kid Rock -- to satisfy a weekend audience, but one needs a forgiving nature to get past the flabby midsection. The special effects, meanwhile, are more plentiful and polished once they fully kick into high gear, though there are still shots where that gleaming suit looks a bit more animated than it should.

Pop links: Don Martin! Ditko!

I either never realized or forgot that there ever was such a thing as Don Martin Magazine. Here's a peek at the first issue.



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Read, "Assignment Treason," a 1958 sci-fi tale illustrated by the great Steve Ditko.

Vinyl new releases April 27, 2010: Hole, Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper, Herbie Hancock, Paul Weller, Eric Clapton

Click the links to order LPs from Amazon:

 

CD new releases April 27, 2010: Hole, Big Audio Dynamite

Click the pics to order discounted CDs from Amazon:

DVD new releases April 27, 2010: Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, I Love Lucy: The Movie; Barbara Stanwyck Collection

Click the pics to order discounted disks from Amazon:

First, very brief, footage from Jonah Hex film

Live Batman stage show in the works

Bizarre:

Warner Bros. and DC Comics are in the early stages of developing a tour, tentatively titled "Batman Live" and starring the Caped Crusader, working with Nick Grace Management and Water Lane Prods., companies behind the popular "Walking With Dinosaurs" and "Mamma Mia!" touring shows.

The show is neither a musical nor a Broadway-bound theatrical production but rather an elaborate arena production aimed at kids and families.

Alan Burnett, a longtime animation veteran whose credits include Batman and Superman television shows as well as such animated movies as "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" and "Green Lantern: First Flight," is writing the story and script. The logline is

being kept under wraps, but it's known that the show will feature numerous villains.

Roy Thomas returns to Conan

Legendary comics scribe Roy Thomas will put pen to paper on another Conan series.

Conan: Road of Kings, a new 12-issue Conan comic series, for Dark Horse...will launch in December, with art by Mike Hawthorne.

The story follows Conan from the easternmost edge the Vilayet Sea to the western shore along the Road of Kings, which winds its way through the civilized kingdoms of the Hyborian Age. Along the way he’ll encounter inhuman monstrosities, sorcerers, and power-crazed men and women all trying to stall his progress.

LA Times has Nick Fury scoop from Iron Man 2

The Los Angeles Times takes a look at the character the movie version of Marvel's superspy, played by Samuel L. Jackson:

"The idea was just to do this tag, and we thought it would be really fun to get Sam since the comics version of Fury is based on him," said "Iron Man" and "Iron Man 2" director Jon Favreau. "Now it's become much more than that. In the ["Iron Man 2"] film, he has a significant role and becomes the entry point to connect Tony Stark to the agency called S.H.E.I.L.D. and, thereby, the rest of the Marvel Universe, with Captain America, Thor, the Avengers."

Avengers Emma Peel pictures

Picture: Star Trek goes Mad!

Picture: Diana Ross

All Top Jungle girl comics covers

These are all/mostly by Jack Kamen and Matt Baker I believe.

New streaming titles on Netflix

Titles of note:

• Wild at Heart
• Fargo
• It Might Get Loud
• Lenny Bruce Without Tears

Two new Iron Man 2 posters

Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine relaunched

Comic book publisher IDW will revive the late Forrest J Ackerman's famed mag in July. Here's the solicitation:

FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #251

Written and art by various, cover by Richard Corben.

The triumphant return of the #1 filmmonster magazine, now in full color and packed with more features than you can shake a death rattle at! Go behind the scenes of upcoming features Predators and Resident Evil: Afterlife, as well as the third season of True Blood! Explore horror cinema's history with our look at the career of cinematographer/director, Karl Freund! Chat with one of the all-time literary greats in our exclusive interview with Ray BradburyÉ and enjoy a new, never-before-published Bradbury short story! Celebrate the life of FM's beloved Forrest J Ackerman in a very special memorial! All of this and more wrapped up in a phenomenal cover by Richard Corben. Ask your retailer how to get the ultra-rare variant cover by the legendary William Stout!

128 pages, $12.95.

Cartoon Network Young Justice poster

Here's an image from the Cartoon Network's upcoming "Young Justice" animated series, mentioned here yesterday.

Hulu introduces subscription program

From the Los Angeles Times:

Hulu, the popular online site for watching television shows, plans to begin testing a subscription service as soon as May 24, according to people with knowledge of the plans.
Under the proposal, Hulu would continue to provide for free the five most recent episodes of shows like Fox's "Glee," "ABC's "Lost" or NBC's "Saturday Night Live." But viewers who want to see additional episodes would pay $9.95 a month to access a more comprehensive selection, called Hulu Plus, these people said.

Cool Disneyland Alice in Wonderland poster

Gorilla's Don't Blog, an excellent repository for all things vintage Disneyland-y, posted this lovely poster for the park's Alice in Wonderland attraction.

Also take a look at our own roundup of Disneyland posters from a few years back.