Sherlock star to play dragon in Hobbit film

Benedict Cumberbatch, star of the excellent "Sherlock" series, will play Smaug, the dragon, in the upcoming "Hobbit" film. He'll wear a big dragon suit. No. Actually"motion-capture" animation will be used for a CGI Smaug, while Cumberbatch also lends his voice to the role. Interestingly, Cumberbatch's Dr. Watson, Martin Freeman, will be in the lead role of Bilbo.

52 thoughts about the new DC Comics universe

As you may have seen on the Web, DC Comics is revamping its entire line of superhero comics with a slate of new #1 issues, the first batch of which will appear in September. The full line will include 52 titles, some familar, some new. Some characters are being changed a little, some a lot. Everyone's speculating whether this is good or bad, etc. Here are some of my thoughts:

  1. 52 titles?!! That's too many.
  2. What's up with the silly collars on the slightly revamped costumes of Superman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, etc.?
  3. From the preview images, I'm not excited about the art style of most of these new books. Seems mid-90s, Image-style generic to me. I'd rather see some more unique, diverse looks.
  4. The new Aquaman looks like a Nazi storm trooper. Very grim'n'gritty.
  5. The Wonder Woman TV series looks dead, but the pants costume has survived.
  6. Meanwhile, Superman has lost his outside underwear. You don't step on Superman's cape. Also, bad idea to steal his shorts. The collar is one thing, but it's a bad idea to mess with iconic looks.
  7. A new Firestorm title. I admit to picking up this title in it's original form -- great Al Milgrom art early on. But I'm baffled as to the ongoing fascination with the character. Maybe it's the flaming hair.
  8. DC Presents: A new anthology series. I like those.
  9. A new Action Comics #1? This seems a little sacriligious.
  10. I wouldn't be surprised if DC reverts to the original numbering on some of these titles due to fan protests, or merely to cash in on big anniversary issues.
  11. While I'm not crazy about a lot of his stuff, I enjoyed Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman. Will his stint on Action have the same sense of fun, wonder and whimsy? I hope so.
  12. George Perez is writing and providing art breakdowns (at least on issue 1) of a new Superman title. I'd be more excited about full Perez pencils, but this may hold promise.
  13. Bruce Wayne is back as Batman. Big surprise.
  14. If this revamp is a new jumping-on point for new readers, why are people buying DC's Comics now?
  15. I see a few interesting ideas here and there, and I like the idea of starting fresh, in a way. I want more people to be reading good comics. I want them to be more accessible. But I see little in this huge slate of comics that seems to offer this. Mostly, it seems about rolling back issues numbers to #1. We'll see.
  16. There are too many Batman titles
  17. Is keeping continuity under control part of this new initiative? How will DC achieve that with it's natural inclination to cross storylines over multiple books, put heroes in half a dozen different titles, and stage seemingly mandatory Big Events? I see a big, new mess in the making.
  18. Of the Bat titles, I'll try Batman, penned by Scott Snyder, who's currently writing some compelling, spooky Bat-stories in Detective Comics.
  19. Batwing: Batman of Africa. This title won't last.
  20. Barbara Gordon is back as Batgirl! This is good. Alan Moore is stupid.
  21. I don't have much use for Nightwing. Or Damien Wayne. Keep Batman solo.
  22. The entire Bat cast is just too plain big.
  23. Red Hood and the Outlaws. This is a series? 
  24. Bloody Green Lantern fist on the cover of Green Lantern #1. I'll skip this. I perceive mass darkness and grim storylines in this new slate of series. Not the take I'd use if I was trying to reinvent the DC superhero line. I'd gear things toward younger kids and keep things relatively upbeat and heroic, not dark and conflicted.
  25. Red Lanterns. This is a series?
  26. Justice League Dark. See #24. Plus, what a weird lineup. I can understand Deadman, Zatanna and Madame Xanadu as a team, but Shade the Changing Man? Seems random, and these characters are better solo.
  27. Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder. That could be good.
  28. Still, I'm not terribly excited by the art on any of these titles.
  29. Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. Seems like a funny, bizarre one-off. But as a series?
  30. This whole slate of supernatural superhero comics -- Swamp Thing, I Vampire, Frankenstein, Demon Knights, Voodoo, etc. -- seems Vertigo, but not Vertigo, as that imprint is evidently continuing. It's weird.
  31. If you're going to do horror, why not stick to anthology spook tales? 
  32. Suicide Squad looks blechh.'
  33. O.M.A.C. by Dan Didio. They shouldn't let this guy run a comics company, let alone try to write a Jack Kirby character.
  34. Men of War, featuring an updated, modern Easy Company led by "Joe Rock." Ick. Give me Sgt. Rock, Joe Kubert and World War II. If Joe can't do new ones, just reprint the old ones every month. It would be better than this.
  35. Teen Titans #1: Hideous Image-style art and costumes to match.
  36. Hawk and Dove by Rob Leifeld?!! Is it 1993?
  37. Paul Levitz still on Legion of Superheroes. I haven't tried his recent stint on the characters, but enjoyed his 1980s run. I may try it, although trying to figure out Legion continuity post Crisis makes my head hurt. Hopefully, the revamp will be a way to simplify all this.
  38. Much has been made of the same-day digital distribution of these titles. The same day they are available in print, they'll also be available for digital download. While I just don't see myself migrating my comics reading to a screen, this idea makes sense. It's a way to perhaps get more new readers to try out comics, and some existing readers (namely younger ones than me) may be perfectly fine reading comics on a computer or iPad or whatever. For new readers, though, DC will need a strategy to advertise these comics in places they'll see. Gaming sites? Pop culture sites? It'll be interesting to see what sort of numbers are generated, both in print and digital sales.
  39. I doubted I'd ever download music, too. But I do. Still like CDs (and LPs) more, though.
  40. Think about how many cubic feet of my house would be free if I didn't have all those long boxes and bookshelves...
  41. As much sense as the digital idea makes, I'd have liked to try DC do something new in regards to distributing it's print comics. Something radical that wouldn't hurt comics shops, but would get comics in front of more young, first-time readers. A different format? Maybe larger, magazine-size titles that could stand out on a newstand. Distribution deals to get comics in more book retailers, game shops, etc.? (I saw someplace that more DC Comics are turning up in Barnes and Noble stores -- albeit not in my community. Maybe this is part of the plan?)
  42. I can't help feeling that, if the goal was to reinvent DC Comics and get more people reading them, the company isn't going nearly far enough. This move seems more at shaking up existing readers than earning new ones.
  43. I'm curious whether storytelling styles will be different. Will plots still be padded out for collection in trades? Will DC be doing anything to excite readers enough to pick up titles every month instead of waiting for the collected version? Will single issues be easy enough to understand that new readers can jump on at any point?
  44. Evidently there will be no appearances by the Justice Society for a while. The concept is "getting a rest." I'm ok with that. As a kid I loved the annual JSA-JLA summer team-ups and I loved seeing reprints of 1940s Justice Society adventures in those 80- and 100-page "giants." I liked Roy Thomas' All-Star Squadron, too. But Crisis, as it did with the Legion of Superheroes, really messed everything up, to the point I just didn't understand what the heck was going on anymore. Which, I don't think was the point. Anyway, good idea to put JSA appearances on hold for a while in order to figure out how the heck to use them in a way that makes sense.
  45. Did anyone seriously have trouble understanding the whole "Earth 1" and "Earth 2" concept? It only became confusing, I think, when writers starting adding other "Earths" to the mix. But, on it's own, it was a pretty cool thing.
  46. Will there be an Earth 2 in the new DCU? It would be cool to reintroduce the idea in the new JLA eventually. But keep it simple.
  47. A key to success, in terms of new readers, will be to offer stories about character, with plots that make sense to people jumping on board. Too many superhero comics now are about writers just tinkering with continuity. Stripping things away. Bringing them back. Twisting things around. That, and the silly direct market distribution system, has alienated new readership.
  48. It may likely turn out that this whole new DCU becomes nothing more than another continuity game -- as happened with Marvel's Heroes Reborn. I think that would really be the death knell. A sign that the comics companies really can't succeed in creating new generations of readership.
  49. Watch DC try to shove this whole thing into a "pocket universe."
  50. Anyone want to wager what percentage of these comics get canceled during the first year?
  51. Why not -- out of 52 titles -- publish one that includes reprints of classic comics? Something that whets the appetite for DC's line of hardcover and Showcase reprints? I'd love to see something like that each month. They could call it 80-page Giant and reprint standalone stories from throughout DC's history. 
  52. September will be interesting.

Video find: Sesame Street lampoons Spider-Man musical

Marvel Comics solicitations September 2011

ART OF SPIDER-MAN CLASSIC
Written by JOHN RHETT THOMAS
Penciled by VARIOUS
Cover by JOHN ROMITA
Comics’ most iconic character gets his own coffee-table book chock full of the best Spidey art through the decades! The names of the great artists cascade down through the years: Ditko, Romita Sr., Kane, Andru, Romita Jr., McFarlane, Bagley, Deodato, Garney, Martin and more — from 1962 to today, they’ll all be represented. The finest art — augmented by sketches, pencils and character designs from the Marvel Vault — combined with commentary from the creators who’ve helped shape the web-spinner’s world, will make THE ART OF SPIDER-MAN CLASSIC a book for fans to treasure forever.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. VOL. 3

Written by VARIOUS
Penciled by VARIOUS
Cover by JIM STERANKO
The MARVEL MASTERWORKS are proud to present the continuing adventures of Col. Nick Fury in the Swinging Sixties! The irascible Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s series was a truly innovative lightning-in-a-bottle merger of comics and the spy craze of the day, and where better to start our collection than with a Nick Fury origin issue housed inside an iconic Jim Steranko cover? Next up: Steranko’s last S.H.I.E.L.D. epic, “Whatever Happened to Scorpio?,” will dazzle you before we launch into a new era of adventures including a moon-busting space mission, a mind-bending trip Fury may never come back from and a sub-earth battle with Supremus! Then, Nick Fury faces one of his oldest enemies in the Hate-Monger (a.k.a. Adolf Hitler); the British invade as Steve Parkhouse and Barry Windsor-Smith offer the one-shot “Hell Hath No Fury;” and Hydra returns with its sights set on assassinating the S.H.I.E.L.D. director. It’s a cliffhanger that will shock and surprise you! Also packed with cool covers from the Colonel’s many S.H.I.E.L.D. reprint comics, and his appearance from MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #31, this Masterworks completes every fan’s classic Nick Fury library! Collecting NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. #4-15, AVENGERS #72 and MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #31


MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN AGE U.S.A. COMICS VOL. 2 HC
Written by VARIOUS
Penciled by SYD SHORES, VINCE ALASCIA, ALEX SCHOMBURG, MIKE SEKOWSKY, BASIL WOLVERTON, CHIC STONE & VARIOUS
Cover by ALEX SCHOMBURG
Hot on the heels of the explosion of star-spangled super heroes, U.S.A. COMICS presented a wild and wooly selection of patriotic characters fighting for the Red, White and Blue. From the Victory Boys and the American Avenger to wilder heroes like Roko the Amazing, the Blue Blaze and the Fighting Hobo, U.S.A. was a comics magazine bursting at the seams with crazy concepts. But with the Second World War raging, it became clear there was only one hero who could headline a book titled U.S.A.: Captain America! Backed up by the Destroyer, Marvel Boy and the Whizzer — as well as the adventures of regular joes like Sergeant Dix and Jeep Jones, and true tales of WWII — U.S.A. COMICS was the perfect dose of four-color excitement for the American G.I.! Sporting some of the most famous covers of comics’ Golden Age, the early Captain America issues of U.S.A. are some of the rarest Marvel comics of all time, and they’re collected here for the first time ever! Collecting U.S.A. COMICS #5-8.


MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL. 6 TPB
Written by STAN LEE
Penciled by JOHN ROMITA with DON HECK & LARRY LIEBER
Cover by JOHN ROMITA & DEAN WHITE
Take another swing through the life of the Amazing Spider-Man! Peter Parker’s been taken to the edge, and he’s come back — but now he faces the Kingpin! And the boss of New York City’s crime scene doesn’t just have it in for Spider-Man, he’s looking to deep-six both Spidey and Mr.-Hugs-and-Kisses himself, J. Jonah Jameson. Will the web-slinger save the day, or will he do a favor for all humanity and let Jonah take a well-deserved dip with the fishes? Then, it’s horror on the home front when Peter Parker becomes the third wheel to comics’ odd couple. Yes, Aunt May’s found a new friend — in the person of Dr. Otto Octavius! Yowza! While a klonk on the head may help Spidey forget that one, teaming up with Doc Ock isn’t going to improve his image as public Enemy No. 1! Also featuring a rumble in the urban jungle with Ka-Zar, the return of Jolly Jonah’s Spider-Slayer, the first appearance of Captain Stacy, plenty of go-go dancing by the gorgeous Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy, and a huge Hollywood SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL adventure with the Human Torch! You know the drill if you wants the thrills: Reserve your copy today, True Believer! Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #51-61 and ANNUAL #4.

AVENGERS: WEST COAST AVENGERS — SINS OF THE PAST PREMIERE HC
Written by STEVE ENGLEHART, MARK BRIGHT & DANNY FINGEROTH
Penciled by AL MILGROM, MARK BRIGHT & STEVE DITKO
Covers by AL MILGROM & ALEX SAVIUK
It’s the greatest heroes of the left coast! Hawkeye! Mockingbird! Tigra! The Thing! Wonder Man! Iron Man! Hank Pym! Firebird! See these unlikely allies take on the quirky and deadly threats of Graviton, Headlok, the Griffin, Razorfist, Zzzax, Master Pandemonium, Whirlwind and more! Guest-starring Nick Fury and the Cat People! Collecting WEST COAST AVENGERS (1985) #10-16 and ANNUAL #1, and AVENGERS ANNUAL #15.

DRACULA
Written by ROY THOMAS
Penciled by DICK GIORDANO
Cover by JELENA KEVIC-DJURDEVIC
Dracula lives! Since 1897, Bram Stoker’s DRACULA has mesmerized audiences as a novel, in movies — and in comics. Now, this definitive comics collection tells the tale of Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, Abraham Van Helsing and Count Dracula in the story that invented the vampire genre: the classic DRACULA! This volume from master comics artisans Roy Thomas and Dick Giordano spans more than three decades of work, starting in Marvel’s DRACULA LIVES! magazine in 1974 and concluding in STOKER’S DRACULA in the 21st century. Thomas and Giordano’s brilliant adaptation is presented here in color for the first time, brilliantly rendered by June Chung! Read the greatest comics adaptation of one of literature’s greatest works! Collecting DRACULA #1-4.

ESSENTIAL DEFENDERS VOL. 6
Written by J.M. DEMATTEIS, MARK GRUENWALD, STEVEN GRANT & DON PERLIN
Penciled by DON PERLIN, SAL BUSCEMA, AL MILGROM & KERRY GAMMILL
Cover by SANDY PLUNKETT
The Hulk! Dr. Strange! Namor! The Silver Surfer! The Beast! Valkyrie! Gargoyle! Along with their offbeat allies Daimon Hellstrom, Hellcat, Overmind, Iceman and Moondragon, they are Defenders all — but which heroes will stay, and which ones will go? And why? Witness the dynamic non-team’s amazing adventures in Asgard, against all-powerful aliens, in Hell and in a dimension of rhyming aliens! Plus: the secret origins of Valkyrie and the truth behind the Elf with a Gun! Collecting DEFENDERS (1972) #107-124, NEW DEFENDERS #125, AVENGERS ANNUAL #11 and MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) #119.

DC Comics September 2011 solicitations

If you follow the comics Web, you know that DC is revamping its entire line, starting all its monthly titles at #1 again. I plan to offer some observations on that later in the week. In the meantime, though, I wanted to look at some highlights from the solicitations list, including what look like the most interesting of the new titles, and the usual batch of collections.

ACTION COMICS #1
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Art by RAGS MORALES and RICK BRYANT
Cover by RAGS MORALES
Variant cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
On sale SEPTEMBER 7 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.
The one and only Grant Morrison (ALL-STAR SUPERMAN) returns to Superman, joined by sensational artist Rags Morales (IDENTITY CRISIS), to bring you tales of The Man of Steel unlike any you’ve ever read! This extra-sized debut issue is the cornerstone of the entire DC Universe!

SUPERMAN #1
Written by GEORGE PEREZ
Breakdowns and cover by GEORGE PEREZ
Art by JESUS MERINO
On sale SEPTEMBER 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
The new adventures of Superman begin here! What is The Man of Steel’s startling new status quo? How does it affect Lois Lane and The Daily Planet? There’s no time for answers now, because Superman must stop a monstrous threat to Metropolis – one that he somehow is the cause of!

BATGIRL #1
Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art by ARDIAN SYAF and VICENTE CIFUENTES
Cover by ADAM HUGHES
On sale SEPTEMBER 7 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Yes, it’s really happening!
Barbara Gordon is back as Batgirl – and she’s going to have to face the city’s most horrifying new villains as well as the dark secrets from her past. You won’t want to miss this stunning debut issue from fan-favorite BIRDS OF PREY writer Gail Simone!


BATWOMAN #1
Written by J.H. WILLIAMS III and W. HADEN BLACKMAN
Art and cover by J.H. WILLIAMS III
On sale SEPTEMBER 14 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
At last! Batwoman’s new series begins, from the multiple award-winning creative team of J.H. Williams III and Haden Blackman!
In “Hydrology,” part 1 of 5, Batwoman faces deadly new challenges in her war against Gotham City’s underworld – and new trials in her life as Kate Kane.
Who or what is stealing children from the barrio, and for what vile purpose? Will Kate train her cousin, Bette Kane (a.k.a. Flamebird), as her new sidekick? How will she handle unsettling revelations about her father, Colonel Jacob Kane? And why is a certain government

THE BIBLE HC
Written by SHELDON MAYER
Art by JOE KUBERT and NESTOR REDONDO
Cover by JOE KUBERT
For the first time ever, DC reprints the 1975 comics adaptation of the Bible, featuring the earliest chapters of the book of Genesis, including the stories of The Garden of Eden, the Flood, and Sodom and Gomorrah! Don’t miss this once in a lifetime hardcover edition!
ADVANCE SOLICITED • On sale FEBRUARY 29 • 64 pg, FC, 10” x 13.25”, $29.99 US

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA ARCHIVES VOL. 10 HC
Written by DENNIS O’NEIL, MIKE FRIEDRICH and ROBERT KANIGHER
Art by DICK DILLIN and JOE GIELLA
Cover by NEAL ADAMS
In this collection of issues #81-93, the JLA and their Earth-2 counterparts, the Justice Society, must save the Red Tornado. Plus: Solomon Grundy and the timely threats of world hunger and pollution.
ADVANCE SOLICITED • On sale FEBRUARY 29 • 272 pg, FC,
$59.99 US


THE GREEN LANTERN OMNIBUS VOL. 2
Written by JOHN BROOME and GARDNER FOX
Art by GIL KANE, JOE GIELLA and SID GREENE
Cover by GIL KANE and MURPHY ANDERSON
A second massive collection of GL epics from issues #22-45! As Hal Jordan becomes a master of his power ring, he faces off against some of his most classic and deadliest foes, including Sinestro, Star Sapphire, Sonar, the Shark and the Tattooed Man.
On sale NOVEMBER 23 • 624 pg, FC, 7.0625” x 10.875”, $75.00 US

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: GHOSTS VOL. 1
Written by VARIOUS
Art by VARIOUS
Cover by NICK CARDY
From the 1970s comes this value-priced collection of classic ghost stories, featuring stories like:
“Ghost in the Iron Coffin”
“The Tattooed Terror”
“Death Held the Lantern High”
“The Dark Goddess of Doom”
“The Haunted Hero of Saint Helena”
“The Screaming Skulls”
On sale OCTOBER 5 • 512 pg, B&W, $19.99 US

Review: X-Men: First Class

The second big flick of what's turning out to be Superhero Summer, pales in comparison to "Thor," but is entertaining nevertheless.

Where "Thor" was a surefooted romp that treated it's source material with a mixture of respect and good-natured amusement, "X-Men: First Class" has trouble settling on a tone. It's at times deeply earnest and at others campy.

Set in 1963, the film does a good job capturing the cool decor and fashion of the pre-Beatles era. James McElvoy, as a young professor Charles Xavier, is especially fun to watch. He's funny, low-key and warm. You really get a sense of the deep, albeit mutated, humanity of this man, who makes it his young life's work to seek out and help fellow outcasts.

Like the earlier X-Men films, that theme -- the prejudice and exclusion experienced by superhuman mutant freaks living in a human-dominated world -- is at the center of the plot. Whereas Professor X seeks to help humans and mutants accept and understand each other ala a Martin Luther King, Michael Fassbender's Magneto is a pre-reformed Malcolm X: angry and vengeful at humans and eager to do violence against them.

It's good material, and particularly deep for a superhero film, but now that we've explored it in four X-Men films, it also seems a little played out and heavy-handed.

So, given that we've seen all this before, it's tough to single out what's new in this film and why an X-Men prequel story is particularly necessary. The answer is, the film really isn't necessary. A lot of it seems rather perfunctory, offering us scenes that show us, for example, how Magneto got his telepathy-blocking helmet, how the beast became blue and fuzzy, and how Professor X ended up in a wheelchair.

There are some cool scenes, though, and some good performances. Jennifer Lawrence, who was fascinating to watch in "Winter's Bone," is compelling as the young, shape-shifting Mystique and Kevin Bacon is a kick as the villainous Sebastian Shaw. January Jones has been singled out for her wooden performance as Emma Frost and it's true that she doesn't bring much life to the role. I think she's wonderful as malfunctioning Stepford wife Betty Draper on "Mad Man," but here her chilly line delivery isn't right for the part, despite her character's last name.

"X-Men" fans will mostly enjoy the picture and it certainly stands up as a good summer night's diversion, despite not matching up to its Marvelous competition.