Pop Culture Safari!

Cobie Smulders to play Nick Fury's sidekick in Avengers film

Cobie Smulders from TV's "How I Met Your Mother" will play Samuel Jackson's sidekick in the upcoming Avengers movie, reports Empire mag.'

For those without an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Marvel universe, Hill is an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D who eventually becomes executive director of the organisation after Nick Fury goes into hiding following a massive scandal. She’s a superb fighter and able negotiator, but also has a mean streak and has never been above blackmailing superheroes to get her way.

It’s not known how much time Smulders will have in the Avengers – after all, she’s sharing the screen with Jackson, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans and Mark Ruffalo – but in true Marvel fashion, the deal for the Hill role also comes with a batch of options for other films.

CD, download and vinyl new releases Feb. 8, 2011

Doctor Who: Series 5

Jailbreak: Deluxe Edition Thin Lizzy

Bitches Brew LIVE Miles Davis

At the Cotton Club Duke Ellington

Stan Getz Quintets: The Clef & Norgran Albums

Mink Hollow Road The Mummers

DVD new releases 2/8/2011

Doctor Who: The Movie (Special Edition)

Doctor Who: The Mutants (Story 63)

Awesome update to animated Superman film

A great update to the Fleischer Studios super toons:

Antiques Roadshow features Jack Kirby comics

A description for this week's episode, check your local listings. I don't know if this has aired previously, but it's new to me:

Host Mark L. Walberg and appraiser Nicholas Lowry head to San Diego's Allen Airways Flying Museum to look at some of the earliest-known posters of mechanical flight. Highlights include "Captain America" and "Fantastic Four" co-creator Jack Kirby's personal collection of comics from the 1930s to the 1970s; a set of circa 1915 Cartier cuff links, buttons and studs; and an original Hortus Eystettensis, the groundbreaking collection of botanical illustrations published in 1613, valued at $250,000 to $350,000.

Bone creator Jeff Smith working on Superman project

Jeff Smith posted the following sketch on his blog, saying it's from an upcoming project for DC. That's all we know so far, but I'm looking for to learning more!

Captain American: First Avenger movie poster unveiled

Tim Burton plans Dark Shadows film

Director Tim Burton is reportedly working on a big screen adaptation of the cult 1960s vampire TV show "Dark Shadows." Johnny Depp would star as lead vamp Barnabas Collins. Actress Eva Green may play Angelique.

New Captain America movie pictures

Some new images of Chris Evans as Captain America from Empire mag:

Beach Boys version of Smile album on the way

I take Beach Boys news with a grain of salt, particularly when it comes to rumors about Smile, the band's legendary, never officially released album of 1967. But in this case, details come from Al Jardine, a former member of the band:

Capitol Records plans to issue a Beach Boys version of Smile sometime this summer to begin the celebration of The Beach Boys’ anniversary. Smile is the Holy Grail for Beach Boys’ fans, so it will be good.

I don’t have many details on it, although we didn't do any new recording. I'm happy to see it finally come out. Brian’s changed his mind about releasing the material, but it was inevitable, wasn’t it? (Al chuckles)."

Beach Boys leader completed and released his own newly recorded version of Smile a few years back and it's marvelous. The Beach Boys, during the 60s and 70s, released various songs from the project and a few tantalizing fragments turned up in the 1990s Beach Boys box set. And there are tons of bits and pieces available on bootlegs.

So, putting together a "finished" version wouldn't be too terribly difficult, especially if you use Brian's new version as the template of how it should be organized. Of course, it could be done as a multi-disk set, too, including a "finished" version on CD and outtakes and fragments on additional disks.

I hope it happens!

New Sucker Punch character posters

New photos of Emily Browning, Abby Cornish, Jena Malone, Jamie Chung and Vanessa Hudgens from the upcoming film.

Comics Journal takes a look at new Smurfs books

As ickingly annoying as these little blue people appear in their animated form (a new CGI Smurfs movie is on the way), the comic strips they stem from were pretty good, reports the Comics Journal. Peyo's original Smurfs comics from the 1950s are now being reprinted by Papercutz and I may need to give them a look.

From the Journal:

the Smurf stories I’ve seen so far are sagas for all-ages, and the artwork, a delicious mixture of bigfoot and “little foot,” deploying a Disneyesque passion for visual detail in settings and backgrounds

The Smurfs #2: The Smurfs and the Magic Flute

The Smurfs #6: The Smurfs and the Howlibird

Amazon steps up streaming service

Looks like their set to go head-to-head with Netflix as a streaming platform.

From Variety:

The e-tailer plans to offer a single subscription fee for unlimited streams or downloads of movies and other entertainment fare through its Amazon Prime service that will provide studios with yet another digital platform through which they can generate revenue for their projects outside the megaplex.

Official plans have yet to be unveiled, but the company let it slip to Amazon Prime's existing members Tuesday that it will soon offer "unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of 5,000 movies and TV shows." That could start as early as the end of the month, insiders at the company say.

Details on Wonder Woman TV pilot

Via the Futon Critic:

1. What's the main thrust of the show? Meet Diana Themyscira. By night, Diana fights crime as Wonder Woman, a Los Angeles-based superhero. By day, Diana runs Themyscira Industries, which among other things, sells Wonder Woman-related merchandise to fund her crime-fighting efforts. And since the public knows Diana Themyscira is Wonder Woman, she's recently invented a secret identity, Diana Prince (complete with a Clark Kent-esque disguise involving contact lenses, glasses, pulling her hair back and a housecat named Desi), to allow her a more normal perspective on the world.

2. What does the costume look like? The script only details it as "a colorful spandex suit." It won't be the original, iconic costume though (don't worry, she still keeps it hung in her closet). Despite that look being the company's top seller, Diana insists her current outfit is a tad more appropriate.

3. What about her gadgets? The golden lasso of truth is there, as are her bullet reflecting bracelets. In lieu of an invisible plane (or being able to fly), Diana uses various sedan-sized aircrafts, made by BMW no less ("The Ultimate Air Machine").

New comics Feb. 2, 2011

Stuff I'll buy:

Little Lulu Volume 26: The Feud and Other Stories My daugher loves these.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #653 For my son and me.

UNCLE SCROOGE #400 As I mentioned, the Duck titles are back to printing classic reprints, which is just dandy with me. My kids like these, too.

Things I'll browse and (maybe) buy:

DC UNIVERSE ONLINE LEGENDS #1 Penned by Marv Wolfman, a new weekly limited series. I'll browse and maybe buy.

LEGION OF SUPER HEROES ANNUAL #1 Featuring the team of Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen. I loved their 80s run on the title. Of course, I have no idea what's going on in the title now, not really having followed it since those days.

SUPERMAN 80 PAGE GIANT 2011 This appeals to my sense of nostalgia -- a big anthology of short, presumably standalone, stories featuring the Superman Family. Depends on how it strikes me.

DOCTOR STRANGE FROM MARVEL VAULT Penned by Paul Stern, a "lost" standalone story about Doc Strange's early days is definitely worth a look.

The Strange Case of Edward Gorey As a Gorey fan, I'm curious about this one: "...a loving memoir of a singular artist, written by a best friend."

New collections of note: