Yesterday we brought you the news that British comedian Lucy Punch was getting cast as half of the main detective duo in the upcoming FX adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis’ Powers comic series.

It looks like the network wasn’t stopping with casting Detective Deena Pilgrim, as former hero Christian Walker is also getting a real-life counterpart in 80s actor Jason Patric. Here’s the scoop from THR.

Patric will play Christian Walker, a cop who works in the Powers division of the police force and deals with crimes involving those endowed with special abilities.

The first story in the Powers comic, which is serving as the basis for the pilot, involves the murder of Retro Girl, a superpowered celebrity. Walker, who gets paired up with a rookie on the case, is determined to track down the killer even if it costs him his badge.

With Patric and Punch playing the leads, it looks like FX and series director Michael Dinner is trying to stay away from fan favorites and is going for more of a gritty and off-beat casting style, much like what AMC’s The Walking Dead did. We all know how that turned out.

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For what feels like years (and probably is), the idea of a TV series based on the popular dark comic Powers was that of a myth. In the last few months, that idea has become more concrete, as Brian Michal Bendis has pushed to get his famed crime fiction adapted into an ongoing series on the FX network.

Now, things are getting more real as British comedian Lucy Punch (Dinner for Schmucks) has been cast as the lead in the upcoming series. From Deadline.

Lucy Punch has been tapped as the female lead in the FX drama pilot Powers. Based on the graphic novel by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, the project, written by Charles H. Eglee and to be directed by Michael Dinner, is a police procedural set in a world where superpowers are relatively common. It centers on two detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim (Punch), in a Homicide department that deals with cases involving “powers” (people with superpowers).

Super 8 star Kyle Chandler is currently being pursued to play opposite Punch as Christian Walker, a detective who is put on “powers” cases because he himself was once a superhero.

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Ever since The Walking Dead went off famously on AMC, it seems like other networks are ready to jump on the “indie comic” bandwagon. Showtime has recently picked up a script based on the comic book series Chew about a detective who gets a psychic impression of things he eats. From Deadline.

Showtime has bought a script for Chew, a quirky half-hour cop show based on John Layman and Rob Guillory’s bestselling comic book of the same name. Stephen Hopkins is attached to direct and executive produce the project, which hails from Circle of Confusion, the company behind AMC’s hit series adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead.

Chew tells the darkly comic story of federal agent Tony Chu, a “cibopath” able to get psychic impression from the things he eats who is assigned to the most usual and bizarre crimes.

Not only is Circle of Confusion the studio behind the brilliance of bringing The Walking Dead to screen, but they’re also the company that is working on bringing Brian Michal Bendis’ Powers to FX. Expect the next few years to be quite huge for the lesser-known comic book world. Which is not a bad thing at all.

With news of Chew hitting, who would you like to see as the titular character Tony Chu? John Cho? Stephen Chow? Are these all too easy?

You tell us.

If you needed a more clear example of TV-based original superhero shows, there is none more showing than this. NBC has decided to pull their two-part Cape finale from TV and only air the episodes online.

The series was on a steep decline in ratings since it’s start back in January, and NBC had even cut it’s original order of 13 episodes for the season down to 10. Now they have pulled this past week’s episode and have decided to air both parts of the finale online only. From TV Line:

The disappointing performance of both The Cape (which early last month saw its 13-episode order cut to 10) and The Event has caused much shuffling of NBC’s midseason schedule. At first, The Event‘s return from a winter hiatus was pushed back a week so that The Cape could wrap its run on February 28 with a pair of episodes. Instead, NBC made way for Chuck (no argument there!), leaving The Cape‘s finale unaired.

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With the fun of E3 pretty much over we can again turn our attention to other important matters like comics. In that spirit we’ve got your weekly look at the comics coming out from one of our favorite companies: Marvel. Of the ones dropping this week we’re particularly interested in the latest Secret Warriors, Avengers #2, Powers #5 and Ultimate Comics Avengers 2 #4.

Remember, comics come out on Wednesday this week so be sure to head on over to your favorite comics store early for best selection. Don’t know where your nearest comic store is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Comics On-Sale:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #635 FYLES COVER
AVENGERS #2 (HA)
AVENGERS #2 IRON MAN BY DESIGN 2.0 VARIANT (HA)
AVENGERS #2 JRJR CHARACTER VARIANT (HA)
DAREDEVIL MGC #26
DRACULA #2
FANTASTIC FOUR #580 (HA)
FRANKEN-CASTLE #18
HERALDS #4
HULK #23 (WWHS)
HULK #23 KUBERT VARIANT (WWHS)

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This week finds Marvel out with another bunch of new comics and other goodies. Of the ones dropping this week we’re particularly interested in Iron Man Noir #1, Powers #4, Punishermax # 6 and the debut of Black Widow #1.

Remember, comics go on sale this Wednesday so get to your favorite comics store early for best selection. Don’t know where your nearest comic store is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Comics On-Sale:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS: JACKPOT #3
BLACK WIDOW #1 (HA)
BLACK WIDOW #1 FOREMAN VARIANT (HA)
BLACK WIDOW #1 MOVIE VARIANT (HA)
BLACK WIDOW #1 WOMEN OF MARVEL VARIANT (HA)
DAREDEVIL #506
DAREDEVIL #506 IRON MAN BY DESIGN VARIANT
DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #894
DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #894 IRON MAN BY DESIGN VARIANT
ENDER’S GAME: THE LEAGUE WAR #1
HULK MGC #1
IRON MAN LEGACY #1 LARROCA COVER
IRON MAN LEGACY #1 MEINERDING VARIANT
IRON MAN LEGACY #1 MOVIE VARIANT WRAPAROUND COVER
IRON MAN NOIR #1

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Even though many of us here at The Flickcast are looking forward to the SXSW Film/Interactive/Music Festival which starts at the end of the week, it doesn’t mean we don’t care about new comics coming out tomorrow. What are we, crazy?

Of course, being the huge Marvel fans we are, we’re always on the lookout for new books to add to our collections. Fortunately, the fine folks at Marvel are always happy to oblige. They’ve even sent us yet another list of comics coming out this week to help.

Remember to get to your nearest comic shop early for best selection. Don’t know where your nearest comic shop is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Check ‘em out:

Comics On-Sale:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #624
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #624 YF VARIANT
BREAKING INTO COMICS THE MARVEL WAY! #1
CABLE #24
CRIMINAL: THE SINNERS #5
DARK X-MEN #5
FANTASTIC FOUR #575 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
HULK: LET THE BATTLE BEGIN #1
IRON MAN 2 SPOTLIGHT

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This week on The Flickcast, Matt and Chris fly solo again as they take on Conan’s last episode and the classy way he handles it as well as the casting of a different Conan in a reboot of Conan the Barbarian. In addition they also talk about the upcoming Powers TV series, The Goon going digital and the amazing success of Avatar. They also discuss some other topics including the new Fox show Human Target, Jackie Earle Haley’s career, Spactacus: Blood and Sand, the nature of modern movies and the greatness of Die Hard.

Chris and Matt also made more picks this week. Matt went with Swimming with Sharks, and Chris picked the cult classic Coogan’s Bluff starring Clint Easwood as a cowboy in the big city who teaches those city slickers a thing or two about justice.

As usual, if you have any comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitterand at Facebook, MySpace or via email.

Premium Hollywood has word about a potential series based on Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming’s Powers comic book series, which will be for the cable network FX. Not only is the pilot being written by Bendis, but Kevin Falls has stepped in to give Bendis a hand.

Falls, who’s show Journeyman was cancelled after only one season, was about a man who mysteriously gained the ability to spontaneously travel through time. The series’ main character was seemingly given the power to solve mysteries. Or as the similar Quantum Leap would phrase it: “putting things right, that once went wrong.”

Requiring intricate plots, it seems a natural match for the neo-noir setting of the superhero world of Powers where police detectives Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim who solve crimes in a city where superheroes exist.

With The Walking Dead, Human Target, and now Powers coming to the TV screen we may be moving into the comic book-ing of another medium — much like movies have now become flooded with superhero stories. I have to say I’m pretty excited to see where this all goes.

Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! This week, the Blackest Night event takes center stage, Bendis and Oeming make a triumphant comeback and Archie gets married (again). As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Blackest Night #5 [of 8]
DC Comics – $3.99 US
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ivan Reis
Score: 9.0

The mastermind behind the dead rising stands revealed as the Blackest Night prophecy inches towards becoming true, but will the unified heroes of the world have enough to stop it? Not if a late dinner guest bearing gifts has anything to say about it.

Geoff Johns welcomes you all to hell. How could he not? In the thirty plus years that I’ve been reading comics, I can’t remember a time when things looked so grim in a story thanks to this issue. The big guns of the Justice League arrive in time to assist the Flashes – Barry Allen and Wally West – in confronting Nekron as the Black Lanterns’ power battery reaches full charge. Fast forward to the end of the issue and only two heroes remain standing while the rest are chomping at the bit, dying to feast on some good, old fashioned heart muscle. And this is only the fifth issue in an eight-issue series?!? Wow.

Johns, along with artist Ivan Reis, are obviously toying with us and giggling madly along the way. The re-emergence of “Bruce Wayne” – his name was in quotations in the issue as well – signaled that the next phase was about to begin, but what he did to heroes like Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, etc I don’t think anyone saw coming, characters and readers alike. The sixth issue cannot get here fast enough, if you ask me.

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Brian Bendis’ career is one that most writers and lovers of comics can surely envy. He’s taken on some of the most well-known characters in the Marvel Universe and created some of the most well-liked characters and stories in comics. One such original work is Powers, which he co-created with writer/artist Michael Avon Oeming. Powers has been a popular title and now, according to the official marvel press release, its so popular they are bringing it back for another, brand new series.

Check out all the info below. And, of course, make sure to take a look at the brand new cover art and preview pages we’ve got for you from this book as well. They’re pretty darn cool. The brand new Powers adventures hit store shelves on November 4th.

The most popular super hero crime comic of the decade returns in November with Powers #1, from the award-winning team of Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Oeming! Lauded by fans and critics alike, Powers has emerged as one of the most successful creator owned comics of our time and begins an all-new chapter perfect for readers new and old.

Homicide detectives Christian Walker and Enki Sunrise investigate murders specific to super hero cases. Shipping monthly—yeah, you heard us—Powers returns not only with your favorite detectives, but also with the letter column you have to read to believe!

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