Just when you thought DC would calm down after the backlash of their drastic logo change earlier this month, they’re here to alter more of your childhood favorites by bringing us a series of prequels to Alan Moore’s epic Watchmen series from decades ago with their Before Watchmen line of books.

Catchy name, right? That’s about the caliber of originality you can expect to see with these books, with the major saving grace being the talent that DC has gathered for the event. Here’s what they had to say.

Stepping up to the challenge is a group of the comic book industry’s most iconoclastic writers and artists – including Brian Azzarello (100 BULLETS), Lee Bermejo (JOKER), Amanda Conner (POWER GIRL), Darwyn Cooke (JUSTICE LEAGUE: NEW FRONTIER), John Higgins (WATCHMEN), Adam Hughes (CATWOMAN), J.G. Jones (FINAL CRISIS), Andy Kubert (FLASHPOINT), Joe Kubert (SGT. ROCK), Jae Lee (BATMAN: JEKYLL AND HYDE), J. Michael Straczynski (SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE) and Len Wein (SWAMP THING).

BEFORE WATCHMEN includes:

• RORSCHACH (4 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: Lee Bermejo
• MINUTEMEN (6 issues) – Writer/Artist: Darwyn Cooke
• COMEDIAN (6 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: J.G. Jones
• DR. MANHATTAN (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artist: Adam Hughes
• NITE OWL (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artists: Andy and Joe Kubert
• OZYMANDIAS (6 issues) – Writer: Len Wein. Artist: Jae Lee
• SILK SPECTRE (4 issues) – Writer: Darwyn Cooke. Artist: Amanda Conner

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It’s hardly controversial to say that most nerds are not fashionistas. There probably isn’t a lot of demographic crossover between The Twilight Zone and Project Runway. Those nerds who are sew-inclined tend to spend their time on cosplay; their catwalk is the convention floor. The majority of us simply have no idea what fashion is about or how it fits into the Campbellian Monomyth.

It’s not a coincidence that most classic sci-fi depicts the future populace in shiny matching coveralls. We just don’t pay that much attention to clothing. The only thing most nerds wish was in their wardrobes was the magical land of Narnia.

But we have to wear something.

Hence the Nerdy Tee. A simple, classic article of clothing that never seems to go out of style, the T-shirt is the epitome of casual cool. It looks equally at home on a guy or a girl. It can be worn tight for those of us who want to show off our shape or loose for those of us who’d rather not. It’s relatively cheap and easy to launder. And since there’s nothing nerds like more than showing off their obsessions (with buttons, stickers, lunchboxes, action figures, posters, etc.), adorning our T-shirts with nerd iconography is a no-brainer.

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Well Superman fans, the search for the person to take on directing the Christoper Nolan produced Superman reboot is at an end. Of course, as you can tell from the headline for this post, that director will be none other than Zack Snyder.

In case you’re not aware for some reason, Snyder has quite the track record with comic to film adaptations having both 300 and Watchmen under his belt so far. Because of this and his long relationship with Warner Bros., he was on a short list of directors reportedly in consideration for the gig. Others on that list included Tony Scott, Matt Reeves, Jonathan Liebesman, and Duncan Jones. However, Snyder got the nod and is as you would imagine, pretty excited about it.

“I’ve been a big fan of the character for a long time, he’s definitely the king of all superheroes, he’s the one,” said Snyder about the decision. “It’s early yet, but I can tell you that what David and Chris have done with the story so far definitely has given me a great insight into a way to make him feel modern. I’ve always felt he was kind of awesome. I’ll finish Sucker Punch and get right at it.”

I’m sure some will argue that Snyder isn’t the right choice for a Superman film but I’m a fan so I feel he will do an excellent job. He’s capable of bringing amazing visuals to the screen and knows his way around action. Plus, he’s also good with actors — traits a Superman director must have.

Now that Snyder is on board the real fun can begin like who will play the Man of Steel, Lois Lane and what the story will be. What do you guys think? Who should be Superman in the new film?

There aren’t a lot of movie or TV franchises that help shape the world of science fiction for all future properties. Star Wars and Star Trek obviously had a lot of influence, as did others like Blade Runner or even, to a lesser extent,  the more recent Avatar. One show that should not be overlooked on this list is the 1980′s series Max Headroom.

The show took the concept of cyber terrorism and technological advances to a whole new level at the time, opening the doors to loads of references to the subject of subliminal messages in a media driven world. Taking place “20 minutes in the future,” the show follows hard news journalist Edison Carter, who gets taken out during a sting to uncover a new subliminal commercial that kills it’s viewers.

The company that obtains Carter attempts to expose downloads his memories into a computer-generated program (years before this was common to us geeks) which calls itself Max Headroom. From there, the show’s focus falls mainly on Headroom and his comedic “Greek chorus” narration of the episode.

The cast alone was enough to get any non-fan interested. Featuring a pretty geek-friendly cast lead by Matt Frewer, who true nerds remember from Watchmen and the Fox TV movie Generation X. Along for the ride is the late SNL member Charles Rocket, love interest from the epic Flash TV series, Amanda Pays, and the always lovable Jeffrey Tambor as “Murray.”

The show became more than law to many sci-fi and fiction fans at the time, years before things like Quantum Leap and VR-5 dominated the minds of fans everywhere.  For years, people would have to get their Max Headroom fix from brief clips on YouTube and rundown copies in basement comic conventions. Not any more, as Shout! Factory released the complete series on DVD for the first time yesterday.

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This week on The Flickcast Chris and Matt are recovering from Comic-Con in San Diego but are still managing to do a show this week. Some of the topics they cover this time around include thoughts on several NBC pilots like Outsourced, The Event, Undercovers and Chase. Also, the boys discuss the new Sucker Punch trailer and director Zack Snyder, potential X-Men First Class casting and a bit more about the fun and some issues with Comic-Con.

They also made some picks this week including Matt’s pick of Blazing Saddles on Blu-ray and Chris’ pick of the Stanley Kubrick film Full Metal Jacket.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook and MySpace or via email.

Like his movies or not, make no mistake, Zack Snyder is one of the most interesting directors working today. His trademark visual style and imaginative creations, honed with the release of 300, are remarkable in so many ways. Sure, his films don’t always make a ton of money (like in the case of Watchmen) but they do pack a visual punch and in most cases it is difficult to look away from the stunning images unfolding before your eyes.

Snyder’s new film Sucker Punch looks to further enhance his reputation as a visual virtuoso. Previously, we brought you some pictures of the main female cast of the film. Now, we’ve got the new trailer for Sucker Punch which promises to capture your imagination.

In the trailer there is so much going on I had to watch it several times to try and digest it all. I would try to describe it for you here but in truth it’s just better if you watch and digest it yourself. Then, let us know what you think of it in the comments.

Check out the new trailer after the jump. Sucker Punch opens in March of 2011.

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This weekend, Warner Bros. will be kicking off this year’s epic summer blockbuster season with…you guessed it, a comic book film. Though this story isn’t a traditional comic book story. There are no capes, no costumes, just spies and renegades blowing stuff up in The Losers.

The film follows the Vertigo comic by Andy Diggle about a Special Forces team for the C.I.A. who are betrayed by their handler and left for dead. They decide to take revenge, uncovering a much bigger plot. It’s a regular who’s who of sci-fi and comic book film actors with Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen), Zoe Saldana (Star Trek, Avatar), Idris Elba (Thor), and of course the ubiquitous Chris Evans, who’s in Fantastic Four, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and now the titular lead in Captain America.

Check out the first two clips from the film, in which you get a sexy-ish fight scene between Dean Morgan and Saldana, and some fun banter between Elba and Evans. We’ll be bringing you tons of new stuff for the film this week, and be sure to catch The Losers in theaters everywhere this Friday, April 23rd.

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It was a shocking and unusual weekend at the box office. Fanboys (and girls) are all scratching their heads trying to figure out how Kick-Ass got its butt kicked by a four week old dragon. That’s right, How to Train Your Dragon claimed the number one spot by a narrow margin of about $250,000, which means we may have a repeat of last week. If you recall, when I wrote the box office piece last week, Date Night was the winner, but by the time the final numbers came in on Monday, it turned out that Clash of the Titans had edged out Date Night by a cool million.

How to Train Your Dragon fell only 20% (remarkable for four weeks in release), and now has made $158 Million. Early numbers are showing about $20 Million for the weekend. Other films that actually seemed to gain momentum during their theatrical run were A Christmas Carol, and Avatar. Dragon was well received by critics and audiences alike, and is truly family friendly, but to win the box office your fourth week out is rather rare. Dreamworks has got to be thrilled.

Kick-Ass got some pretty solid critic reviews (78% on Rotten Tomatoes as of Sunday evening), but it seems like audiences just didn’t connect with the movie, and much as it pains me to say so, it appears movie and comic nerds are not a strong enough force to prop a movie up.

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Originally titled Guardians of the Ga’Hoole, Zack Snyder’s next directorial work, Legend of The Guardians has been picking up quite a lot of steam lately. This is the first thing that Snyder has worked on since he’s finally settled down after the epic task of adapting Alan Moore’s Watchmen last year.

Originally based on the young adult series by Kathryn Lasky, it’s basically an epic adventure of heroism and wonder, but with owls. The book series ended in November of 2008, topping it off at 15 books, and now Snyder and Warner Bros. are planning on taking that success to the world of film.

The film has a pretty huge cast list, as most big-budget CGI films do these days. Sam Neill, Hugo Weaving, Emilie de Ravin, Ryan Kwanten, Jim Sturgess, Geoffrey Rush, and Helen Mirren round out a pretty well known list of players.

USA Today recently got their hands on the first images from the upcoming film, which is currently set for a September 24th release date. Check out the pics along with the very first trailer after the jump, and be sure to keep it here for any new info as we get closer to the release date of Legend of The Guardians.

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With the SXSW Film/Music/Interactive Fest starting next week, the deluge of info about films being screened during the event is starting to increase. One film that caught our eye is director Chris D’Arienzo’s comedy Barry Munday, which features Watchmen’s Patrick Wilson in an atypical comedic role, the always funny Judy Greer and a great supporting cast.

And now, courtesy of the folks doing PR for the film during the Fest, we can share a trailer and some stills with you today. Also, here’s more on the story of the film from its official synopsis:

Barry Munday, a suburban wanna-be ladies man, wakes up in the hospital after being attacked in a movie theater, only to realize that he is missing one of his most prized possessions… his testicles. To make matters worse, Barry learns he’s facing a paternity lawsuit filed by a woman he can’t remember having sex with.

With this being Barry last chance to ever be a father, Barry reaches out and embraces the journey of parenthood and the onslaught of bumps that face him along the way.

Check out the new trailer and some stills from the film after the break. Barry Munday premieres at SXSW on Saturday, March 13.

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The Internet was abuzz last week with reports of a possible Watchmen sequel.  There was some suggestion that in the wake of DC President Paul Levitz stepping down Senior VP Dan DiDio was championing a sequel to the “unfilmable” film directed by Zak Snyder. Further, speculation had DiDio planning multiple spin-off projects based on one of DC’s most profitable comic book runs.

Adding to the confusion, and controversy, was the somewhat untimely use of art by comic book authority Wizard magazine. A portion of the picture depicted Batman laying some smack down on resident Watchmen psychopath Rorschach.

Let me say at this point I loved Watchmen. In fact, I loved it so much I never want a sequel to be made.  Thankfully, it seems, that will never happen…at least from what we’re hearing now.

Deadline.com looked into the Watchmen 2 rumor and a well placed insider stated: “There is no truth to anything related to a movie sequel. Not a chance by a long shot. With regards to the comics, well, I guess anything is possible. I’ll keep my opinion to myself as to whether it’s a smart idea to do so.”

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Here’s a list of some of the new movie and TV shows coming to DVD and Blu-ray this week that we’re looking forward to seeing. Also, there’s some classic, and not-so-classic, movies hitting Blu-ray for the first time this week as well.

Of all the new releases, we’re particularly interested in the Blu-ray versions of movies and TV shows such as Michael Mann’s awesome film Heat (shown above with Robert De Nero and Val Kilmer), Logan’s Run, Up, Monsters, Inc. and the Watchmen “Ultimate” Cut. Plus, there’s the second volume of Batman: The Brave and the Bold coming out this week as well.

Check them out:

Movies

The Accidental Husband ~ Uma Thurman, Colin Firth, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Sam Shepard (DVD and Blu-ray)

The General (1926) (Silent) ~ Buster Keaton (Blu-ray)

Heat ~ Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer (Blu-ray)

Logan’s Run ~ Michael York (Blu-ray)

Love Finds a Home ~ Patty Duke, Jordan Bridges, Haylie Duff (DVD and Blu-ray)

Monsters, Inc. (4-Disc Edition) ~ Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Bonnie Hunt (DVD and Blu-ray)

Near Dark ~ Lance Henriksen, Adrian Pasdar, Bill Paxton, Jenny Wright (Blu-ray)

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