Good news for comics and Sci-Fi fans: Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, who’s no stranger to the world of comics having penned several titles for Marvel, will be taking over DC Comics’ Superman and Wonder Woman titles on an ongoing basis, starting in July.

According to the DC Comics Blog:

Starting in July with SUPERMAN #701 and WONDER WOMAN #601, superstar writer J. Michael Straczynski—a man who’s created layered and compelling characters and worlds on the big screen, on television and across the comic book spectrum—dives head-first into the DC Universe by taking the ongoing writing reins for two-thirds of the fabled DCU trinity.

Straczynski himself is very excited to take on these two iconic characters. According to the writer:

“For as long as I’ve been doing conventions (starting in the early Cretaceous period, when it was just me and a handful of pterosaurs on a panel debating whether or not mammals with opposable thumbs were really necessary to the writing of quality comics, a point still hotly debated today), there has always been the same question from folks in the audience: “Is there any one character who is your dream character to write for?” The answer has always been the same: Superman.

When I first came over to DC, that dream was realized in part by Dan DiDio’s gracious invitation to write the first of potentially many Superman original graphic novels. Now the dream has come fully true with the opportunity to write for the mainstream title, in a story that returns Superman to his roots in a way that will have the whole country talking about him in ways that we haven’t seen in a long time.

Continue Reading →

With both Chris and Matt extremely busy and the American Thanksgiving this week, you know what that means? The Canadians are taking over The Flickcast (are you with me Sal?).

Having celebrated Thanksgiving weeks ago, we’re in the clear to keep the geek news coming while our neighbors to the South take a few days off.  So be prepared to face sentences ending with “eh”, weird dialect (can you say “aboot”) and an abundance of unnecessary apologizing.  Alright, maybe I’m overstating all that but let me take a moment to wish a very Happy upcoming Thanksgiving from all of us up North.

Now, let’s get to that geek news I was talking aboot. Speaking with Collider, writer J. Michael Stracynski commented on one of our highly anticipated film adaptions, Max Brooks’ World War Z. Even having written five drafts of the film Stracynski only had one response as to whether the script was finished, “One never knows.”

He did however mention that a director (no name was given) was attached to the project and Paramount was looking to get the film done having invested so much money in development so far. Given the unique first person narrative of the story Stracynski took a somewhat simple approach to adapting the book for film:

“A series of interviews, so I basically said, ‘Well, who did those interviews?’ And you tell the story of the guy who works for the UN going around the planet interviewing folks to see what happened to them and report on what happened. Through his eyes, you see flashbacks of those storylines.”

The great thing about this is that Stracynski is one of the best character-driven writers in the industry in my opinion.  As great as the zombies will be, the characters should be as equally entertaining to watch. We can’t wait to see World War Z move forward and will keep you posted as more news develops, eh!

Even with Thanksgiving right around the corner, that hasn’t stopped Marvel from dropping some great comics this week for your reading pleasure. Some of the one’s we’re particularly interested in this week include the latest issue of Avengers: The Initiative, the new Hulk, the latest Criminal: The Sinners and Dark Wolverine #80.

Be sure to check out the list of all the upcoming Marvel comics below. And, as always, be sure to click through for some cool cover art from some of these comics after the jump as well. Now go and enjoy some Thanksgiving comics.

Comics On-Sale:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #613 (GNTLT)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #613 VILLAIN VARIANT (GNTLT)
AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #30
CRIMINAL: THE SINNERS #2
DAREDEVIL #501 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
DARK AVENGERS: ARES #2
DARK REIGN: THE LIST – HULK 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
DARK REIGN: THE LIST – SECRET WARRIORS 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
DARK TOWER: THE FALL OF GILEAD #6
DARK TOWER: THE FALL OF GILEAD #6 RANEY VARIANT
DARK TOWER: THE FALL OF GILEAD #6 SKETCH VARIANT
DARK WOLVERINE #80

Continue Reading →

We’ve been pretty excited for Warner Bros.’ newest action film, Ninja Assassin around the office, and we just came across a few clips that got us even more excited. The film hits theaters a week from Wednesday, but we thought it would be okay if we gave you on a sneak peak now.

The film, co-written by comics’ “Who’s Who” J. Michael Straczynski, is about a cult of ninja killers who raise a boy to become a superior ninja. Later, he learns that the ways of his clan need to be stopped. Straczynski has been the man behind such other fan favorites as Spider-Man and Silver Surfer in comics, and Babylon 5, Jeremiah, and even The Real Ghostbusters on TV.

In both 3D and Digital theaters, the film is said to be visually stunning. With James McTeigue (V For Vendetta) behind the wheel, you can believe that the film won’t be boring. We’ll be sure to have plenty more coverage of the film, including a review next week.

In the meantime, check out these new clips (totaling nearly 7 minutes!) from Ninja Assassin, in theaters November 25th.

Continue Reading →