Apparently, Marvel and DC sent a memo to each other declaring this week would be filled with origins and character building stories as evidenced by the three books appearing on today’s edition of The Pull List. Not to say that’s a bad thing by any means, character building is what helps us care most about this who we normally see just in the heat of battle.

Also thankfully for our wallets, this was a “light” week in terms of shipping. After the three weeks of 20 or more pulls, it was nice to have a week to be able to sit down, relax and get to enjoy the work in these issues.

Pull of the Week:

Green Lantern #43 – DC – $2.99

Score: 8.0

Contrary to the image on the cover of the Black Hand clutching the grave of Bruce Wayne, this issue takes the reader back before the events of Blackest Night #0 (reviewed here on The Flickcast from Free Comic Book Day). The opening page is told from the perspective of one of the Guardians, one of the little blue men who plays a role in keeping order to the universe with the Green Lanterns, as he recalls how long he has been around and the many things he has seen and been a part of. Almost joyfully, he tells how he is taking part in the birth of the very first Black Lantern.

Enter William Hand, the awkward middle child living with his loving family who knows there is something off about him by his obsession with death from even the youngest age. After sending him for psychological help, William is much the same person until he accidentally crosses paths with the Green Lantern Hal Jordan and his partner Sinestro as they fight Atrocitus. After it, William was never able to sleep right and turned himself in to the Black Hand, obsessing over the light of Hal Jordan’s ring.

After losing his hand and being experimented on by aliens, William’s connection to death grew, as he was now able to see death, like those of Martian Manhunter and Bruce Wayne. He also began seeing those who had escaped death like Superman, the Green Lantern and the Flash. From there, William returns to a fateful location where the events that turn him in to the first Black Lantern take place.

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As a huge Johnny Depp and Christian Bale fan, I was curious when reviews started pouring in and friends kept talking to me about Public Enemies, since most of them felt mixed. I didn’t get it. How could a movie with Michael Mann directing, starring these two plus Marion Cotilliard, possibly be bad?

Let’s set the record straight here- this is not a bad movie. It’s very strong. But like any movie, it’s got some problems.
The film revolves around John Dillinger (Depp), a real-life bank robber in the 1930s, and his heists, robberies, escapes from jail, and love life. Along the way we get to know about his gang and the police hell bent on capturing him.

First and foremost, this movie is slow. While the bank robberies and car chases are action packed, loud, and fast paced, they are often few and far between. Most scenes with dialogue sort of quietly slug their way along. These scenes, although slow, give use chance to learn about and fall in love with John Dillinger.

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With DC’s animated division releasing Green Lantern: First Flight later this year, the marketing for the next direct-to-DVD film is already starting up. This time, the focus will shift on the world’s finest, as Superman and Batman take on Lex Luthor in an adaptation of Jeph Loeb’s Public Enemies story arc. From a Warner Home Video Press Release:

The movie reunites the lead voices of Superman, Batman and Lex Luthor from the landmark “Superman: The Animated Series” and “Batman: The Animated Series”. Tim Daly (Private Practice), Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League) and Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption) reprise their roles as Superman, Batman and Lex Luthor, respectively.

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In a world where people are spending less on things like comics, companies often have to try to do different things to keep readers interested and entertained. Comic companies, and in particular the big ones like DC and Marvel, often have “events” like “Final Crisis” and “Civil War” to help keep sales brisk.

They also sometimes have other tactics up their sleeves like improving the color and printing of comics and coming up with new and innovative ways to produce comic covers. On that subject, Marvel has come out with something new: Foilogram Covers.

I won’t try to explain it but instead, will leave it to the experts in the form of the official Marvel press release. Be sure to check out the larger covers after the break. Sadly, seeing them here doesn’t really illustrate how cool they look. For the full effect, check out the comics at your local shop.

Here’s the info:

Marvel is pleased to unveil the special variant covers to Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1, Ultimate Comics Avengers #1 and Ultimate Comics Armor Wars #1 utilizing the brand-new Foilogram cover treatment! Part foil, part hologram, these reflective covers will jump at you from shelves! Watch as Spider-Man’s webbing catches the light! Examine the intricate technology of Tony Stark! And, yes, that’s Captain America’s shield shining back at you!

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Its no secret that Cartoon Network and Adult Swim feature some of the funniest and most innovative shows around. With programming like Robot Chicken and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, they really show their true creative abilities and, in the case of Robot Chicken in particular, often makes us laugh our butts off.

Because we’re such fans of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim here at The Flickcast, we’re particularly excited to see what they have in store for Comic-Con. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait any longer to find out because today they’ve released the official Cartoon Network and Adult Swim schedule of all the events going on in San Diego.

Here’s all the info from the press release:

Cartoon Network and Adult Swim Series Panels and Events Lineup

for 2009 Comic-Con International

Cartoon Network and Adult Swim announces a number of panels, fan events and signings at 2009 Comic-Con International in San Diego, Calif., Thursday, July 23 – Sunday, July 26, 2009.  All times, dates and locations subject to change.

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One of the nice things about working for a site such as this (besides the huge salary) is that you sometimes get to see things like movies and tv shows early. You also get a lot of trailers and promos thrown your way, which is pretty cool too. Case in point are the three promos NBC sent us today for some of their upcoming series and a tv movie.

We’ve been able to bring you some stuff about two of these shows, Parenthood and Community, before. But now we’ve also got some cool Meteor goodness to share with you as well. As a big fan of those 70s disaster movies like Towering Inferno and Earthquake, movies where a giant meteor is hurling towards earth and only a handful of people, including Marla Sokoloff (The Practice) and Billy Campbell (The 4400, The Rocketeer) can save us, hold a special place in my heart.

So naturally, I’m looking forward to NBC’s show about just that. Be sure and check out all the cool promos after the jump. Meteor hits your tv this Sunday at 9/8C. For all the info on NBC’s upcoming slate of other shows, head on over to their official site.

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Yahoo has just released the first full trailer for District 9, and with it we get a lot more footage of aliens, things blowing up, and the general plot of the film. The first teaser gave us very little to go by, alluding that there were aliens, and they were being held hostage in South Africa. Now we know that they revolt, and cause a lot of havoc in the process.

The film stars Jason Cope, Kenneth Nkosi, and William Allen Young, with Peter Jackson producing and Neill Blomkamp directing. It looks as if it’s meant to utilize elements of Cloverfield with hand-held photography and bigger special effects. The one downfall is that there are gigantic robots, which seem to be everywhere in theaters this summer.

The plot has been under wraps for quite some time, but from what we know now, an alien race has come to earth on a one-way ticket, becoming stranded in Africa. Now seen as yet another mistrusted minority, the “non-humans” live in a dangerous ghetto and labor for little to no pay. But when a human encounters some strange non-human technology that begins to affect him in disturbing ways, his perspective on the situation changes drastically. Click here for the full trailer, and expect to see District 9 in theaters August 14.

We haven’t posted much about the film adaptation of SNL’s recurring MacGruber skit here at the site, frankly because none of us think it’s a good idea. There’s now word coming in that Ryan Phillippe and Val Kilmer may be joining the cast as well, which may actually add to the film’s credibility. From the Hollywood Reporter,

Ryan Phillippe is in negotiations to star in the feature, with Val Kilmer in negotiations to also join the Relativity Media production. Will Forte and Kristen Wiig are reprising their roles from the skits. Jorma Taccone, who created the character and directed most of the skits, is helming; “SNL” producer and creator Lorne Michaels is producing.

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That Deadpool character is pretty popular these days. He’s got a bunch of comic titles, was one of our own David Press and John Carle’s picks and even has a movie coming out. One of his recent comics, Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth #1 has even sold out, at least through Diamond.

Fortunately, Marvel is keeping fans happy and is bringing the book back with a second printing. Of course, what’s a second printing without a new, variant cover, right? So, they’ve got that one for you also — and we’ve got the pics to prove it.

Check out all the info from the official Marvel press release:

Marvel is please to announce Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth #1 has sold out at Diamond (though copies may be available at retail level) and will return with Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth #1 Second Printing Variant! Fan favorite writer Victor Gischler and rising star artist Bong Dazo present the beginning of an all-new Deadpool epic that no fan can afford to miss!

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Any real fan of film lives with a certain curse. When you go to see a movie and the whiny-yet-lovable main character switches between a green shirt and a red shirt in the middle of a scene, it can drive you mad. You saw it, but none of the other people in the theater did. Thankfully MovieMistakes.com was created to keep your sanity intact by showing you that folks like McG and Ron Howard aren’t perfect.

The site was created to help see the flaws in some of our favorite (or least favorite) films. Mostly, it can be used as an educational tool, but it’s also good to see how bad a really bad movie is. For example, a film as recent as Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight has 79 total mistakes, and once you read them, you may not see the movie in the same light again.

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Two and a half weeks ago, Columbia Pictures shut-down the Steven Soderbergh helmed Moneyball, just days before it was to start production. Last week, Soderbergh formally bowed out of the project.

Since then, the explanations as to why the project was put into turnaround at the last-minute, especially with a big star like Brad Pitt have been fast and furious, with each side wanting to get their view across.

Trying to parse the entire situation is very (forgive the pun) “inside baseball.” That said, here is a brief summary of this summer’s hottest off-screen drama.

Initially, the explanation for the “Moneyball” axing was blamed on a script that had deviated from its original awesomeness. By all accounts, the original script by Steve Zaillian was great. Soderbergh’s rewrite, well, the consensus was “not so great.”

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The colossal and beautiful Wednesday Comics hits stands this week for its first installment of twelve weekly issues. I shouldn’t really explain to you why you should buy this comic, but does Paul Pope doing an Adam Strange story do it for you? No? How about the 100 Bullets team of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso doing Batman? Or Neil Gaiman and Mike Allred doing Metamorpho? I’ll stop.  For $3.99 you’ll get a newspaper sized issue full of great comics.

We’re big fans of Chuck here at The Flickcast. Especially me, I’ve been waiting for this collection for what seems like months. Written by series writers Peter Johnson and Zev Borow, it seems like this series was the first phase of trying out TV series as comics if that series would end up getting canceled. Thankfully, Chuck was not canceled and we still have this fun comic.

My final recommendation is Jeff Lemire’s The Nobody, published by Vertigo Comics and inspired by H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man. I hear nothing but wonderful things about his Essex County trilogy and just as many wonderful things about this book.

As always we here at The Flickcast care about what you read, and if these don’t get you going, Midtown Comics has an excellent list of this week’s listings.  So, tell us what you liked this week in the comments section. Happy reading!