Trailer For New CW Fall Series “Arrow” Out Now

Comics Alliance passes on the 411 about the new CW series, Arrow:

The trailer pretty much lays out what to expect from the series: Something more grounded than Smallville, with definite “I will avenge my father” overtones (That’s a new twist on the origin story, isn’t it?) and influences definitely taken from the Andy Diggle/Jock Green Arrow: Year One comic (Seriously, some of that island footage looks very Jock-ish to me). From the looks of what’s on show here, this looks much more in tune with the network’s Nikita than the earlier “One day I will become Superman but it’ll take me ten years” DC show… and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, to be honest.

And here’s the trailer:

I agree that we can do without another Smallville, although I’m bummed that Justin Hartley won’t be coming back as Oliver Queen. He, and my good buddy Lagavulin, were the only things that made the last couple seasons of that mess bearable.

Meantime, I’ll probably give this show a day in court when it debuts in October. I can always use excuse to buy another bottle of whiskey.

On To Greater Glory – Review Of Glory #26 And Wonder Woman #9

Once upon a time, in 1941, the character of Wonder Woman was created by a Harvard educated psychologist (and apparent bondage enthusiast) named William Moulton Marston. Wonder Woman is/was an Amazon princess, sent to the world of man as an ambassador of peace. Marston created Wonder Woman to be the embodiment of a type of liberated woman who was atypical in that period of history. Indeed Marston wrote, “Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world.” (Wow. Auspicious.) However, “psychological propaganda” origins aside, the character has been popular with men and women for decades. In fact, in 2011, IGN named Wonder Woman fifth from the top on a list of the Top 100 Comic Book Characters Of All Time.

Meanwhile, in 1993, the character of Glory was created by comic book illustrator (and foot extraction hobbyist) Rob Liefeld. Glory was created for Liefeld’s Extreme Studios at Image Comics. Glory is a half Amazonian/half demon offspring, who leaves the Amazonians to enter the world of man and kick a lot of ass. Liefeld created Glory to have a Wonder Woman type character to run around in his Extreme universe and give him an excuse to draw cheesecake.

Since DC’s reboot this past fall has served to drag 90s comic book culture back kicking screaming to the profitable fore, it is not surprising that Image has decided to relaunch some of Liefeld’s past creations, such as Supreme, Youngblood, and Glory. What might be surprising is that Glory is a better Wonder Woman comic than the one being written currently at DC by Brian Azzarello.

Why?

Read on for spoiler laden comparisons, Scooby Gangs, and basement dwelling emo gods.

News From KAPOW! – Rufus Sewell Teases Sequel To Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Straight from the Kapow! Comic Book Convention in London, here’s news from ComicBookMovies.com about the possibility of a sequel to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Rufus Sewell:

“They couldn’t quite make their mind up during filming whether my character lived or died actually at the end. But to tell you the truth as people kept saying, ‘I’m a vampire so it doesn’t really matter.'”

“In terms of the sequel, I mean, from what I’ve seen it looks really exciting. Until I’ve seen the entire film, I couldn’t make a pronouncement on that. But I loved doing it. Dominic Cooper is an old friend of mine and we really enjoyed working with each other. Ben I liked very much.”

“It was great fun working in New Orleans. The only regret I had is that if I had known how hot it was going to be in New Orleans, when they tried the cape and the gloves on me, I might have had something to say about it! It’s very difficult eating New Orleans food if you don’t want to be the world’s first tubby vampire of the film world, you know?”

“The experience of doing it was great fun. And if the movie is as fun to watch as it was to do, then I’d be up for a sequel possibly. But you know, I’ll hold back on that for the moment.”

In case you’ve been under a rock and haven’t heard about the movie adaptation of the book by Seth Grahame-Smith, here’s a trailer to get your attention:

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter drops in theaters on June 22, 2012.

When Exposition Is A Four Letter Word – Review Of Deathstroke #9

I must admit I’ve been dragging my heels on this review of Deathstroke #9 all week. I’ve been pretty clear about my feelings on the subject of Rob Liefeld’s take over of Deathstroke. Liefeld certainly has his fans and his detractors. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m in the “I Hate Rob Liefeld” club, we here at the Crisis On Infinite Midlives home office have been more than willing to use Liefeld’s name as an easy punchline, the same way Tim Allen might make grunting noises into a microphone instead of telling an actual joke. But, honestly, in the 90s, if I was looking for ridiculously silly, overblown art, I read The Tick. At least the silly had a purpose in that. Liefeld has never done much for me art wise. However, I’ve never read his actual writing. I’m aware he’s created a number of characters for which such comics luminaries as Alan Moore have written spectacular stories. I mean, he must know what he’s doing if he keeps staying employed in the business and Alan Moore has played in his sandbox, right? Or does he just have some incriminating photos of Bob Harras somewhere?

After reading Deathstroke #9, I’m inclined to believe it’s the latter.

Read all about Deathstroke and his new playdate, Lobo, after the jump!

Teaser Poster For Sin City 2 Now Out

Did you know that mixing chardonnay, two kinds of beer, some cider, and a 12 year old single malt will result in a vicious hangover? Yeah, I did too. But I did it anyway. So, until it abates and I can write something more coherent than “BLEEEEAAAARGH!”, I offer you this tidbit posted by Bleeding Cool – the first teaser poster for Sin City 2, with director credits for Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller.

Now I’m going to find some Vicodin and a sauna and go all Marv on this hangover. Later y’all.

Further Adventures In Digital Comics – Review Of Hopeless, Maine: Personal Demons #1

Spent from a road trip to catch The Avengers with Rob, Trebuchet, and Pixiestyx, I found myself with barely enough energy to stare blankly at ladies in silly hats during the three hour coverage of the Kentucky Derby yesterday on the TV. Fun fact: only about 4 minutes of the race coverage is about the race. The rest is about women in silly hats, bemoaning how other women’s silly hats invade their “hatmosphere”. There is also a fair amount of bourbon and “My Old Kentucky Home” karaoke sing-a-long. I could have played along with the bourbon part at home, which would have helped with both the “hatmosphere” and the karaoke. Unfortunately, Rob is on antibiotics this week as he nurses a vicious stab wound obtained while refereeing “Bum Fights For A Week’s Worth Of Coors Light Empties”. What can I say? We live in an interesting neighborhood. So, anyway, I was trying to show solidarity by joining him in the not drinking.

Eager to find a diversion for my sobriety, I turned to the Comixology app for my smartphone. I worked my way down to the “Digital Firsts” section. I’ve really been trying to only use the app for books that are only available digitally, since I like to support our LCS, where the owner knows us by name and has asked Rob to stop hosting the bum fights on the sidewalk outside the store because it’s “bad for business”. Recently, Archaia has digitally released part one of a graphic novel called Hopeless, Maine, by Nimue and Tom Brown. Nimue is an author and Tom is an artist. Hopeless, Maine began its life as a Web comic, which is up to two booksworth of material on their site. The digital download of Hopeless, Maine: Personal Demons Part One contains chapters 1 and 2 of the first book in the series. So, what’s it about?

Hopeless, Maine is a little, forgotten island where many of the children have become orphaned through mysterious circumstances. There are magic and strange creatures. Chapters 1 and 2 center around orphan Salamandra, a young girl who greets the reader on the opening page of the story by informing us that “my mother wants to drink me”. Okay, Salamandra: you have my attention.

Can Salamandra’s tale distract me from my own strange world of silly hats and bum fights? Spoilers and more after the jump.

Hey, Spider-Friends, New Amazing Spider-Man Trailer Is Out And, Well, Amazing.

Ok, I’m behind on my comic book reading for the week and in a fit of desperate jealousy right now because Rob is at a showing of The Avengers at the moment and I am not. Stupid “having to go to my day job” thing. Boo! However, here’s a little something to cheer us all up: a new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man! It’s got a bit deeper insight into Dr. Curt Connors, aka The Lizard, in relation to the events of the film. We see more of him, both in pasty pale scientist and green scaly goon forms. Also, more shots of the new web shooters in action. Cool! I have to admit that I didn’t see the point of rebooting the franchise, particularly so soon. But, this trailer does get me more interested in seeing the new film. Good job, marketing department!

The Amazing Spider-Man opens in US theaters on July 3, 2012.

Third Dark Knight Rises Trailer – Now With More Intelligible Bane Audio!

In case you haven’t seen it yet, the newest trailer for The Dark Knight Rises is out. Not only do we get to see more of Batman, Catwoman, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s John Blake, we also get to hear Bane’s voice more clearly as he menaces Batman. Yay! Complaining about stuff on the Internet works!

The Dark Knight Rises opens in US theaters on July 20, 2012.

Our America – Review Of Crossed: Badlands #4

What are the Crossed? Zombies? Infected, delusional maniacs? Cleveland Cavaliers fans? Who are these creatures and why do they want to violate various orifices in my body while they eat my face? The latest entry in Avatar’s own, never-ending man vs. monster in a post apocalyptic setting, Crossed: Badlands #4, kicks off a new story arc written by Jamie Delano with art by Leandro Rizzo.

Delano’s new arc follows a very brief one by series creator Garth Ennis. That one, set in Scotland, went in perhaps the most predictable direction of any story in Crossed thus far – after 3 issues, everyone was dead or turned Crossed. Pretty much what you’d figure would happen if the world was actually over run by contagious monsters. This new story moves the action back to the United States, somewhere in the swamp lands of the South. Delano showcases a new cast of characters, most of which illustrate the way some of us worry that we Americans come across to the rest of the world: the meth head trailer trash, the disgruntled, water boarding Islamophobe, the degenerate, bored offspring of cocaine cowboys. About the only broad stereotypes that seemed to be missing were The Situation and Snooki – but this is just the first issue. We may still have time to shoehorn them in, yet.

But, is it a worthwhile read? That and infectious spoilers, after the jump!

Brain Bleach – Wolverine Gets Mercury Poisoning Edition

Hey, remember that time when Wolverine and Freddie Mercury teamed up to fight crime? Yeah, I don’t either. However, Crisis On Infinite Midlives own Lance Manion has passed along this wacky comic pitch that has recently gotten renewed play on both IO9 and Rolling Stone. While it didn’t get the unnamed artist a job with Marvel, it did get the attention of bullpen member, Steve Bunche, as he noted on his own blog:

During my years in the Mighty Marvel Bullpen (February 1990-October 1998), one of my favorite pastimes was collecting the frequently wacky and often downright insane letters and submissions sent in by Marvel’s readers and eager hopefuls who aspired to join the ranks of Chris Claremont and Frank Miller as comic book storytellers…Seriously, how the fuck does someone even make the leap in narrative logic from depicting Wolverine stalking through the forest to having him run into Freddie Mercury of Queen for no apparent reason? That, dear readers, is a sign of true creativity.

Indeed. I would like a kilo of whatever that kid was smoking to come up with that idea…and a crate of whiskey. Stat.

Meanwhile, for your viewing pleasure, here are the Muppets with their cover of Bohemian Rhapsody. Enjoy what remains of your weekend!