I’d just like to begin this review by pointing out that close to 50% of the audience for the latest Wolverine film was women. Yes….women. Why may you ask? Was it because of the brilliant action scenes in which Wolvie slowly walked away from an explosion that would normally kill a human being very quickly? No.

Was it because adding a fan-favorite character like Cyclops, who in the normal Marvel-verse would not have been born yet, but due to the need to add as many discernible characters as possible was thrown into the mix? No.

The answer is Hugh Jackman looks damn fine without his shirt on and women crave a alpha male who can kill any of your ex-boyfriends lickety-split but would rather spend time by the fire listening to your day. What does this all have to do with Wolverine Weapon X #10 you ask?

The answer (the final answer) is Marvel every once in awhile sticks behind their writers and their crazy hatched plans to write an issue about…..oh no….gasp…characterization and relationships.

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Probably the biggest news during the premiere of James Cameron’s new film Avatar came from outside the theater on the blue carpet when MySpace’s camera crew talked with Bryan Singer, who spilled the beans on his next projects. First up, seems to be Jack the Giant Killer – written by Mark Bomback (Live Free and Die Hard) and Darren Lemke, about a princess that goes missing, and disrupts a truce between man and giants. And Singer says, he’s gearing up to use the same technology that Avatar used.

But that’s not the biggest news from the premiere. Singer also said: “I just yesterday signed a deal to do an ‘X-Men: First Class Origins’ picture, which is kind of cool. I’m very excited.” The movie was originally said to be in the hands of Chuck and Gossip Girl creator Josh Schwartz and also had writer Zak Penn, who had worked on the first two X-Men films, attached to direct at one point.

So this revelation by Singer is surprising, and exciting news. Bryan Singer, of course directed the first two X-Men films, which together grossed more that $600 Million, before leaving the franchise to direct Superman Returns and last year’s Valkyrie.

Here’s a link to the UStream video, that if you forward to the 27-minute mark, will give you the news directly from Singer’s mouth.

Our friends at Marvel are out with quite a few new books this week, on Wednesday the 9th of course, so following is a list of them for you to make sure you’re up to date. Among the new books we’re looking forward to this week are the latest Deathlok, the latest Punisher Noir, X-Men Noir: Mark of Cain, S.W.O.R.D. #2 and the debut of Nation, which looks pretty interesting.

As always, click through to check out larger versions of covers for some of these cool new comics. Enjoy.

Comics On-Sale:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #614 (GNTLT)
BLACK WIDOW: DEADLY ORIGIN #2
DARK REIGN: THE LIST – PUNISHER 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
DARK REIGN: THE LIST – WOLVERINE 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
DARK X-MEN #2
DEADPOOL #18
DEATHLOK #2
ENDER’S GAME: WAR OF GIFTS SPECIAL
GHOST RIDERS: HEAVEN’S ON FIRE #5
INCREDIBLE HULK #605
INCREDIBLE HULK #605 DJURDJEVIC 70TH ANNIVERSARY VARIANT
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #20

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For those of you who don’t know who Grant Morrison is you’re likely to be made aware of him soon.  The groundbreaking comic book writer behind such legendary runs on X-Men, Animal Man, and Doom Patrol is getting his own biopic, and the director of that movie, Patrick Meaney, is profiled over at Wired.

In the profile, Meaney says Morrison is about to become one of those creators that will receive mainstream recognition that only creators such as Alan Moore and Frank Miller have enjoyed.

“Most ‘civilians’ that I talk to about the project still don’t know who Grant Morrison is,” Meaney said in the interview, “but Moore is definitely a name they recognize, as is Frank Miller. I feel like we could soon be seeing a bunch of Morrison film projects in the not-too-distant future.”

Currently in-development is Morrison’s work WE3, which is a favorite among many of us Morrison fans. The story involves pets enhanced with cybernetic weaponry to become assassins who rebel against their programming and their creators. The project is currently being handled by Kung Fu Panda director John Stevenson.

Morrison’s sensibilities lends well to the screen, however, his ideas are far left of Richard Kelly-weird so I’m not sure how well they are likely to be received by the bigwigs in Hollywood, or by audience members for that matter.  But I applaud any would-be producer in developing an idea of Morrison’s, it shows a willingness to take chances and I appreciate that. But if WE3 gets a true to form adaptation for the screen, I would suspect many parent’s groups raising holy hell over it.

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Previously, we had taken you behind the scenes to see how these motion comics are made with some of the production team. This time around we’ve got another look behind the scenes with a different facet of the production. This one, hosted by David Goldberg of Edge Studio, give some insight into how the dialog and sound effects are designed and recorded. It also shows you a few of the voice actors hard at work giving life to their characters.

Also, as we agree to do, here’s the official Marvel description of the video and the motion comic:

Get a behind the scenes look at the chart-topping Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic with this all new video. Based on the acclaimed story by superstars Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and John Cassaday (Captain America), the X-Men are faced with a mysterious new villain and a possible cure for the mutant gene. Now Cyclops, Wolverine and all your favorite mutants must face the greatest threats of their lives and, before it’s all done, experience one of the most jaw-dropping moments in Marvel history.

Be sure and check out the video after the jump, especially if you’re a fan of these kinds of behind the scenes things like we are. The Astonishing X-Men MOCO is available now at iTunes and on Hulu.

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As we’ve done previously, we’ve got a preview of the brand new Marvel motion comic Astonishing X-Men: Gifted. Featuring the talents of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday, this project offers fans a cool way to enjoy a great comic story on their favorite portable device like an iPhone or iPod Touch.

Even though I’m a fan of reading paper comics and I hope they don’t go away any time soon, this is just another way in which new fans can potentially be brought into the fold. Which is a good thing. Plus, with this kind of story and the talent involved, you have to expect this to be a pretty big success for Marvel. Hopefully, that will mean more comics will be getting the “motion” treatment.

So, check out this preview and enjoy it. Also, as we agreed to do in order to bring you cool things like this, following is Marvel’s “official” info about this project and this preview.

Marvel is proud to unveil your first look at episode 2 of the Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic! Based on the acclaimed story by superstars Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and John Cassaday (Captain America), the X-Men are faced with a mysterious new villain and a possible cure for the mutant gene! Now Cyclops, Wolverine and all your favorite mutants must face the greatest threats of their lives and, before it’s all done, experience one of the most jaw-dropping moments in Marvel history!

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If you’re a fan of Ninjas and hot chicks who kick considerable ass then the character Psylocke is one you should definitely get to know. Now, thanks to Marvel, if you haven’t had the pleasure of her acquaintance yet, you can know get to know Psylocke up close and personal in her very own mini-series. But first, if you check out the info in this official press release, you can find out how to get a cool Psylocke sketch book for the mini-series right now.

Check out all the info below. Also, be sure to click through for a larger preview of the cover to Psylocke #1.

Torn from the pages of Uncanny X-Men, the most dangerous mutant ninja assassin is getting her own mini-series, and you have a chance to go behind the scenes of Psylocke for FREE! Discover the Psylocke Sketchbook, courtesy of Marvel Digital Comic Unlimited, right here! Red hot writer Christopher Yost and fan favorite artist Harvey Tolibao provide in depth commentary on never before seen sketches from the upcoming series!

What sends Psylocke into a murderous frenzy? And how is Wolverine involved? Fans can’t afford to miss this sneak peak into an explosive story of betrayal and revenge! This highly anticipated mini-series promises to change the already significant role of Psylocke forever! Be sure to check out the Psylocke Sketchbook for FREE right here!

Don’t forget to get your hands on the very pulse-pounding Psylocke #1, in-stores November 11th!

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If you happen to live in New York, or are planning on being in the city on October 28th and you love all things Marvel, this post is for you. Why? Well, glad you asked.

Marvel is having a big party and you’re invited. Check out all the details about Marvel’s upcoming event “MarvelFest” from this very official press release:

Marvel is proud to announce MarvelFest NYC 2009 (www.marvel.com/fest), an all-new interactive outdoor experience in New York City to celebrate the iTunes release of the groundbreaking Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic on October 28th. In celebration of the release of the AXM Motion Comic, based on the award winning story by superstars Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and John Cassaday (Captain America), this landmark first episode will be projected three stories high so that fans can experience the adventure like never before! Join celebrities and the biggest names in Marvel history to commemorate the Astonishing X-Men premiere!

The festivities begin at 4pm at Forbidden Planet (www.fpnyc.com), when some of Marvel’s most legendary creators, including Neal Adams (Uncanny X-Men), Chris Claremont (Uncanny X-Men, X-Men Forever), and Dan Slott (Amazing Spider-Man) sit down to meet fans and sign autographs. This is your chance to meet some of the most influential writers and artists in Marvel history!

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Marvel is at it again and bringing back some characters to spin the X-Men in a new direction.This time, its Cable and Hope dropping by for a short run and you know that wherever they go, trouble follows. Need more info? We can oblige by bringing you this official Marvel press release.

Yes, we get a lot of those. And yes, we like to share. Of course, be sure to check out some preview pages from this new comic after, you guessed it, the jump. Check it out!

Marvel is proud to unveil your first look at X-Men: A Girl Named Hope, from Duane Swierczynski and Steve Dillon, beginning the return of Cable and Hope to the X-Men! Running as interconnected short stories (appearing as bonus content) through Psylocke #1, Dark X-Men #1, X-Men Legacy #230 and X-Force #22, X-Men: A Girl Named Hope begins the most shocking change to the X-Men you can imagine!

Will Hope save or damn mutantkind? What is Cable’s agenda? The answers begin in X-Men: A Girl Named Hope!

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This week on The Flickcast the band, um, team is back together as Christina rejoins Chris and Matt for the show. This time around, the trio talk about even more cool and interesting topics including the recent troubles with Apple’s Snow Leopard and “Guest” account, the T-Mobile Sidekick’s data loss and the marketing strategy, merits, and box office success of Paranormal Activity. Plus, Joss Whedon’s Cabin in the Woods being converted to 3-D, Chuck coming back to TV sooner, Bryan Singer returning to the X-Men franchise, the ending that Zombieland could have had and a whole lot more.

The team also made some great picks, as they always do. This week its Christina’s pick of the FX comedy Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Matt’s pick of Jim Henson’s 1986 film Labyrinth and Chris’ pick of Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which you can now watch in its entirety on Hulu.

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

Thanks for listening.

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