Everyone knows that Wednesday is new comic book day. While picking up your new issues consider looking at some of the trade paperbacks and hard covers of past issues and story lines. But which ones should you choose?

That’s why every Tuesday, The Flickcast will recommend a collection of comics that are just as good, if not better, than the issues you are currently buying. Books that deserve to be read, and bought the next time you walk into your local comic book store.

The trade paperback you should check out this week is Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft by IDW Comics. Locke & Key is one part horror, one part mystery, and ten parts of intrigue. It is a book that immediately after you finish reading it, your first thought will be, “Why haven’t I read this before?”

Locke & Key is the story of the three young Locke children, and what happens to them after their father is murdered. Their uncle invites the kids and their mother to move to Lovecraft, Massachusetts, where the home of the Locke family mansion also known as the Key house resides.

Everything seems to be settling back to normal for the kids until the youngest Locke boy finds a key with a skull on it, and when he inserts it into a certain door, he becomes a ghost. That one single turn of the key leads the three Locke children into a bigger mystery about the true nature of the house, its multiple special keys and doors, and the secret of what exactly is in the well out back.

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Think back to the early 1990′s. Everyone loved skating and nightclubs, Clinton was taking jogs and having heart attacks, and MTV was blowing up with their original animated content late at night with a block they titled Liquid Television.

Here was the training ground for some of the most iconic shows of the decade got their start and later became huge shows on MTV. Shows like Aeon Flux, Beavis & Butthead, and The Maxx all started off on Liquid Television, and later went on to brand off into major motion pictures and more.

Much like how Adult Swim got its start on Cartoon Network, Liquid Television attempted to spawn more than just a few popular animated series, but possibly a bigger block. Sadly, the TV block met its demise in 1994, locking away some of these obscure shows and shorts for what would seem to be forever.

Now, thanks to the power of the internet, we get to relive some of those awesome moments again online, all over at LiquidTelevision.com. There, you can enjoy some classics like Dog Boy, Winter Steele, and The Maxx, while catching a few series and shorts that should have made it onto the weird block of TV back in the day, such as MTV2′s Wonder Showzen.

So head on over to their official site, and let’s see if MTV can find space on one of their several channels to re-air some of these awesome shows on TV once again.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: It’s no secret that one of the most highly anticipated comic book movies of all time is Marvel’s upcoming The Avengers. Directed by Joss Whedon and featuring an all-star cast, the movie’s geek pedigree could not be better.

It has all your favorite characters including Iron Man, Captain America, Nick Fury, Thor and Scarlett Johansson in skintight leather. Come one, what more could you want from a comic book movie?

Recently, we shared some cool pics from the upcoming film. Today, we’ve got something even better: the first trailer.

In it we get our first real look at the film, the characters and what’s going to be the biggest movie of 2012. And man, does it look good.

Check it out after the break. The Avengers, which stars Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson, arrives in theaters on May 4, 2012.

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It’s always nice to see someone like Edgar Allan Poe get some love in a cinematic era when caped crusaders and the living dead are the hot items. That’s why we like it when someone like John Cusack and James McTeigue is getting his whack at the classic poet/writer in what is being marketed as a true crime thriller.

That’s what we’re hearing about Relativity’s The Raven, which is set to hit March 9th of next year. Here’s an in-depth synopsis of what you can expect to see in the film.

When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered in 19th century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) makes a startling discovery: the crime resembles a fictional murder described in gory detail in the local newspaper–part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe. But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also inspired by a popular Poe story. Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe’s writings as the backdrop for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author’s help in stopping the attacks. But when it appears someone close to Poe may become the murderer’s next victim, the stakes become even higher and the inventor of the detective story calls on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before it’s too late.

Take a look at the brand new trailer after the jump.

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This week’s pick is the Vietnam MIA rescue film Uncommon Valor (1983) directed by Ted Kotcheff (Rambo: First Blood). It stars Gene Hackman, Fred Ward, Patrick Swayze, Reb Brown, Tim Thomerson, Robert Stack and Randall “Tex” Cobb.

Uncommon Valor touches on the subject of American servicemen who had been designated POW/MIA since the end of American involvement in The Vietnam War. Gene Hackman stars as Col. Jason Rhodes, a retired Marine and Korean War veteran who believes his son has been a POW for over ten years in a Laos prison camp.

Rhodes has spent years combing Southeast Asia finding clues that lead him to believe Frank is still alive. Rhodes even enlists the help of the U.S. State Department who offer little or no help.

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If you were one of the people disappointed by Apple’s recent iPhone 4S announcement, lack of an iPhone 5 announcement and sure the company was starting a downward spiral because of user backlash against the lowly iPhone 4S, fear not. It seems Apple is gonna be just fine.

The company has confirmed that they have sold over one million iPhone 4S devices in the first 24 hours. That beats the previous record holder, the iPhone 4, which sold just over 600,000 in one day when it launched.

Of course, sales numbers for the iPhone 4S are helped by the fact that the device is available on three US cell phone carriers (AT&T, Verizon and Sprint) instead of just one like the iPhone 4 was at the beginning. Still, that doesn’t take away from the impressive sales figure.

So, to those of you talking about how Apple “disappointed” people with “just” the iPhone 4S announcement and started discussing the company’s imminent downfall now that Steve Jobs is gone, all we can say is “Suck it.” Apple isn’t going anywhere. Deal with it.

Check out Apple’s official press release is after the break.

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Fairy tales are all the rage these days. Between two brand new series starting on both ABC and NBC later this month about mystical worlds, and the ever-growing popularity of vampires and zombies, people are loving fantasy lately.

Which makes sense why two studios are racing to the finish line with exciting new projects involving the Snow White universe. Twilight star Kristen Stewart is making some moves over at Universal with Snow White and the Huntsman, while Relativity Media is now pushing some new images of their untitled Snow White Film.

For those who still need help differentiating the two projects, here’s Relativity’s breakdown of their film.

Visionary director Tarsem Singh (Immortals) rewrites fairy tale history as a wicked enchantress (Julia Roberts) schemes and scrambles for control of a spirited orphan’s (Lily Collins) throne and the attention of a charming prince (Armie Hammer). When Snow White’s beauty wins the heart of the prince that she desperately pursues, the Queen banishes her to the forest, where a ravening man-eating beast hungrily awaits.

Rescued by a band of diminutive highway robbers, Snow White grows into an indomitable young woman determined to take back her realm from the treacherous Queen. With the support of her subjects, she roars into action in an epic battle that blends spectacle, magic and contemporary humor in Singh’s signature, jaw-dropping visual style.

We’ve got a whole slew of new images for you to check out after the jump, which will have to hold you over while Relativity decides on a release date (and a title) for the film.

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Stormwatch has the potential to be the best book of the DC Comics New 52 Relaunch. It combines the old school superheroes of the DC Universe with the crazy, forward thinking concepts of the Wildstorm Universe into one book. Members of Stormwatch have powers like the ability to talk to and control cities, and the ability to mold and control all media. Its brilliant ideas like that mixed with Martian Manhunter that makes this book rock. It is also its greatest weakness.

Stormwatch #2 picks up right where the last issue left off. Midnighter is trying to recruit Apollo to join him, and not Stormwatch. The Swordsman fights the moon, who wants to attack the Earth.

Yes, you heard me right; the moon is the enemy in this book. We learn that team leader Adam One was born at the beginning of time at old age, and has been aging backwards. While Martian Manhunter proves himself a badass in what I will name his greatest character moment in his entire history.

It’s all these moments and more that make Stormwatch so much fun to read. So many concepts explode in these pages that it boggles the mind. It’s almost too much. Paul Cornell, the writer, is a veteran of Doctor Who, a television show that confuses and delights in one hour more than most shows do in an entire season. So you can see where his writing style comes from. Sadly, what works well in an hour television show, doesn’t work as well in twenty pages of sequential storytelling.

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After nearly a month of children’s films make the number 1 spot in the box office, we finally get a film that isn’t just appealing to kids, but kids of all ages! That’s right, Hugh Jackman’s robot fighting flick Real Steel managed to pull off the top of the box office with just over $27 million.

That brings the film’s total gross worldwide to a solid $49.4 million, which isn’t bad for the film that was released in both standard theaters and IMAX.

Also hitting theaters this past weekend, the George Clooney written/directed political drama Ides of March was able to start strong with $10.4 million. Not terrible for the worst month of the year for the box office.

After the first two slots, more of the same that we’ve seen for a while now. Dolphin Tale came in at #3 with $9 million, while Moneyball hit at #4 with $7.5 and the cancer comedy 50/50 dropped down to $5.5 million.

Next weekend looks to be the weekend of remakes, as Footloose opens to 3,300 screens, while The Thing opens to 2,900. Also hitting theaters is the Fox comedy The Big Year, starring Owen Wilson, Jack Black, and Steve Martin. Could be a tough call for those who love mediocrity.

If one year ago you told me that DC Comics would take Superman back to his roots in the 1930′s and it would turn out to be the most modern and relevant take on the character, I would have called you crazy. But that is exactly what Grant Morrison has done to the character of Superman, and this comic is refreshing, exciting, and meaningful.

Action Comics #2 begins shortly after the end of last issue. The government has captured the being known as Superman, and under a task force led by Lex Luthor, they are experimenting and testing his powers. This is a Superman that can bleed; he is not the all-powerful god that he will become later. Superman breaks free, holds Luthor in a choke hold, and gets to meet Lois Lane for the first time.

Each and every beat of this book has a joy and energy that a Superman story hasn’t had in a long time. The issue ends with the readers discovering the true being that Luthor is working for. (Hint: It’s a classic Superman villain that has teamed with Luthor before.)

Part of the reason that this book works is the pure essence of motion instilled into every panel by Rags Morales. Last issue, his art came off as rushed. Well, Mr. Morales must have had a chance to catch up, because the art on this issue is fantastic. His Superman is always moving, has a smile on his face, and shows power in every shot.

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With the news that Cinemax’s Strike Back is getting another season it’s not too late to get into it. In fact, there’s a brand new episode tonight.

Even better we’ve got a preview for the episode to share with you today. The episode looks to feature quite a bit of action this week, if the preview is any indication.

Here’s the scoop on tonight’s episode:

While held hostage, Scott (Sullivan Stapleton) and Stonebridge (Philip Winchester) question undercover MI-6 agent John Allen (Adrian Rawlins) about his dealings with Latif (Jimi Mistry). They receive unexpected help when they try to escape Hasani’s (Mel Raido) compound with the hostages, but get separated after an assault on a bridge. Stonebridge goes MIA and Scott tries to rescue the rest of the hostages from another of Hasani’s facilities.

Check out the video after the break. Strike Back airs tonight at 10/9C on Cinemax.

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Dead Rising 2 was a slight departure from the tone of the original game from 2006. While the sequel was just as violent, outrageous, and insanely fun as its predecessor, the game carried a more somber feeling in regards to its story and protagonist. Chuck Green was a vastly different protagonist than wisecracking photojournalist Frank West (hero of DR 1); he was a more sympathetic character, and his quest to save his daughter made for a more earnest and emotional story.

Next week, however, Capcom is releasing Dead Rising 2: Off the Record – a ‘re-imagining’ of DR2 that puts Frank West back in the spotlight. Having been referred to as the video game version of a director’s cut, this release will feature new combo weapons, psychotic boss battles and entirely different dialogue and story points. While still being set in the same location (the Vegas-esque ‘Fortune City’), this is promising to be a very different game.

Check out the official launch trailer below, and stay tuned for our full review next week. Dead Rising 2: Off the Record is available on XBox 360, Playstation 3 and PCs starting October 11th, 2011.

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