This Post Is About Comic Books, So Don't Read It If You're a Close-Minded Subculturephobe

Okay, we all know that Spiderman 3 is going to be badass, but let's not overlook the comic book movie event of 2007:



The official 300 trailer website.

**300 has a certain visual style that the Youtube clips don't convey very well - I'd recommend checking out the Large trailer at the official website as well.**

Whereas Spiderman is going to wow you and zow you, you'll ultimately end up disappointed at the way they handled one element or another. It's an invariable fact when dealing with comic book megafranchises.

Frank Miller's 300 is going to blow everything outta the water because it's relatively unknown, and because this is the best thing to happen to gladiatorialesque period pieces since Gladiator.

But hey, I got love for Spidey too. So if you haven't seen them already...

High quality, official Spiderman 3 trailer.
The same trailer, but with fucking VENOM at the end. This is the one Sony doesn't want you to see.

I wish I could embed the videos, but Sony's keeping these suckers on a tight leash.

Oh wait, I forgot...I'm awesome, so here you go:



In other news...

If you know any comic geeks or connoisseurs of fine graphic literature, get them this for Christmas:


The Watchmen: Absolute Edition

While Alan Moore is currently most famous for his other work (you may have heard of it), The Watchmen is absolutely his masterpiece. If you're a fan of noir, superheroes, gritty crime serials, comics of any sort, murder mysteries, musings on obsolescence, the value of a superhero in a real society or just some good ol' fashioned storytelling, get this book. It's worth it, I promise.

I've heard that they're making a movie too, but I'll save that rant for another day.



The Marvel crossover event Civil War took place in 2006, and I avoided it because A) Civil War would have gone berzerker barrage on my wallet and B) I hate waiting months for a series to conclude.

That being said, the trade paperbacks are out now, and if you were sick to death of the same old shit happening in the Marvel universe, this is the event that knocked it to its foundations. The story is an allegory for issues that we talk about every day: the threat of unknown danger, whether or not it is just cause for taking away basic rights, and conflicts between the marginalized minorities of society. Good shit.

Although, I'd recommend reading Avengers: Disassembled and House of M if you're a stickler for complete backstory.



I'm still waiting for more news on the Batman Begins sequel, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, but it looks like even the people involved don't really know when shit is really gonna start up. Yes, Heath Ledger will be Joker. Apparently, Ryan Phillipe will be considered for Harvey Dent (Two-Face). I hope the latter isn't true.

If you've got doubts about The Ledge, I don't blame you...especially in terms of whether or not he can convey the level of sheer insanity that is the Joker. Hopefully this will quell some of those doubts:



Until then, please read Frank Miller's original, fucking SEMINAL, The Dark Knight Returns (the cover is shown above). It revolutionized the way people perceived the Batman character, and stripped him of the campy, cartoony gaudishness (sic...I make words up) that scarred his reputation for most of the 60's and 70's.

As fun as it is to watch, this is NOT real Batman:



Forward!



Robert Downey Jr. is cast as Tony Starks, aka Iron Man, for John Favreau's adaptation. John Favreau is the dude from Swingers who's not Vince Vaughn. He was also Pete on Friends. I don't know what kind of credentials he has to be taking on the fucking IRON MAN movie, but seriously, how low key is this project? People in general haven't heard shit about it, and it's supposed to start filming in January 07.

In any case, I think that the Downs will make a great Tony. Passive-aggressive rage? Check. Alcohol abuse? Check. Strength-enhancing neuronetic armor, in flashy red and gold? Working on it.

Aaaaand to round things out, probably the worst looking, least anticipated comic movie of all time (or, at least, of the 21st century):



I realize that was probably more information about comic books than you'll ever want to know about in your lifetime, but like it or not, you're going to see those movies. The comic book industry has a venerable back-catalog of badass stories that would translate well onto film, and usually even the shit ones are better than standard Hollywood blockbuster crap.

And yes, I just wasted an hour of finals studying to make this post. So care, goddamnit.




P.S. DeepDiscountDVD.com is having a ridiculous Buy 1 Get 1 Free sale on a ton of TV box sets. If you're an X-Files fan, this is by far the cheapest way to (legally) own all nine seasons of the best sci-fi franchise ever. Yeah, I said it. SG-1 comes in at a close second though. Those are on sale too.