It’s Friday again and basically the weekend! But before you head off to find the next Mr. or Ms. Right (unless you’ve already found them), take a few moments and listen to this brand new episode of The Flickcast! Or maybe you’ll end up listening with a new (or current) person in your life? Try it. Could be fun.

Listening alone, with a friend (or two), here’s what you can expect from this week’s episode: Supergirl! Captain America: Civil War! Star Wars! The Walking Dead! Legends of Tomorrow! More! More! More!

Picks this week include Chris’ pick of the classic horror film Poltergeist and Joe’s pick of Greg Rucka’s Black Magic, with art by Nicola Scott.

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, Google+ or via email.

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With his previous works such as Whiteout and Queen and Country, writer Greg Rucka has established himself as one of the premiere voices in comics today. And now he’s set to launch a new creator-owned comic being published by Dark Horse.

The comic, called Veil, concerns “a beautiful girl wakes up in an abandoned subway station with no memory of how she got there. When men try to hurt her . . . they wind up dead. Where did she come from? And what is she capable of?

What indeed. We have some preview pages for the comic for you today to get you interested. Well, more interested as we’re sure you’re curiosity is already piqued.

Veil #1 is on sale March 5. Check out the preview pages after the break.

Even if both recent big screen adaptations of Marvel’s Punisher left something to ber desired, that doesn’t mean the comic book version of the classic character has been left in the dust. In fact, Marvel is launching a brand new Punisher series soon and we’ve got a preview for it for you today.

The upcoming comic features writer Greg Rucka and artist Marco Checchetto and “brings Marvel Universe’s deadliest man back out onto the streets. Frank Castle is locked and loaded for his most violent mission yet as he takes aim on New York City’s newest criminal organization, The Exchange.”

“Can Marvel’s one man war machine mow down the entirety of the Exchange or will they prove to be too much for Frank Castle to take on alone? With every clip the Punisher empties into the guilty he gets further away from being able to find the man he used to be…and he has absolutely no problem with that.”

Look for The Punisher #1 to hit comic store shelves on August 3rd. Check out some preview for the series after the jump.

Buffy’s got a brand new bag, Superman makes his pitch for “World’s Greatest Detective” and the Sentry gets to the heart of the matter in this latest edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Buffy The Vampire Slayer #32
Dark Horse Comics – $2.99 US
Writer: Brad Meltzer
Artist: Georges Jeanty
Score: 9/10

While the ongoing war against Twilight hits a lull, Buffy and Xander take the break to examine the Slayer’s new power set, much to Dawn’s chagrin. Meanwhile, Giles – along with Faith and Andrew – find themselves in Twilight’s grip and Willow makes a horrifying discovery.

Best-selling author Brad Meltzer – no stranger to comics – kicks off the “Twilight” story arc with this issue in a round-about way. Twilight himself doesn’t factor into the story much, but Meltzer took the “maximum fun” approach in setting up the pieces via tiny revelations sprinkled throughout the issue while focusing on Buffy’s new powers. The result is an incredibly enjoyable read that’s sure to please virtually any fan of comics or comics-related media.

Artist Georges Jeanty continues to pump out the work that has become the glue that holds everything together for this series, and this latest issue is no different. The scenes involving Buffy and Xander, especially, were a hoot, and how could you not love Buffy hovering in mid-air while asking the General to step outside? If this issue doesn’t symbolize having fun while making a comic, I don’t know what will.

Other issues came close – it was a really good week for comics – but this issue took home the Pull of the Week title thanks to an offering that was part major story arc launch and part open love letter to comics; it’s been quite some time that a comic has made me smile this much.

Welcome to the first edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews for 2010! This week both Blackest Night and Siege took center stage with numerous titles, but don’t worry as the Caped Crusader and the Wall Crawler make appearances, too. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Blackest Night #6 [of 8]
DC Comics – $3.99 US
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ivan Reis
Score: 9/10

When we last saw our heroes, well… let’s just say that some of them were no longer heroes. As black rings zoomed towards the Flash and Green Lantern, their friends and allies who had suddenly switched sides surrounded them. Superman. Wonder Woman. Green Arrow. And so on. With the universe slipping precariously into a never-ending pool of black, a new group of Lanterns have risen to the cause, and you won’t believe your eyes when you see who they are.

I’m starting to think that Geoff Johns should have been a major league pitcher as opposed to a writer, just with the sheer number of curve balls he’s thrown at readers throughout this series so far. Clearly outdoing himself, Johns put together a new group of Lanterns consisting of some of the most inspiring choices to date. The story beats keep pumping along, making the rapidly approaching ending all the more bittersweet.

Artist Ivan Reis continues to weave his magic in this series. Classic speedster moments? Check. Glorious double-page spreads? You bet. Jaw-dropping panels for significant moments? Of course! All this, and a slew of costume re-designs for the new Lanterns, just in case you didn’t know that Reis is drawing at a level that’s almost peerless. The art in this issue, and the series overall, can be summed up in one word: unparalleled.

The fifth installment of this mini-series received a Pull of the Week and a spot on the Best of 2009 list, so I wasn’t expecting an encore performance with this latest chapter. Shame on me. Both Johns and Reis raise the bar once again, and let the record show that, if this upward trend continues, I might not survive the series in its entirety. For sheer comic brilliance – and Lex Luthor! – this was easily the Pull of the Week.

Happy Holidays everyone, and just in time for those holidays there are some excellent comics coming out this week.

From DC Comics, we have the constantly-getting-better Detective Comics. I swear to God, this book just gets better and better with every issue. If you’re not buying this book than you are missing out on one the most groundbreaking comics of the year.

From Image, we have the line of Image United comics. With art by the founding fathers of Image and written by Robert Kirkman, this is sure to be a collector’s dream.

I’m most looking forward to the new issue of Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four, I think this book is in my early running for Best Continuing Series, if I was allowed to vote for the Eisners. Dale Eaglesham is off for two issues but I’m sure that it won’t slow down the brilliant writing that Hickman is doing with the characters.

I’ll also be checking out the spoilerific Captain America: Who Will Wield The Shield book. Now that Steve Rogers is officially back, it’ll be intriguing to follow the reaction.

That’s all I’m getting this week. As always, we here at The Flickcast care about what you read so let us know what you liked/didn’t like in the comments. Otherwise, check out the complete list at Midtown Comics.

Have a Happy Holiday!

With 2009 coming to a close, the challenge was to pick and rank the 10 best comics from the entire year. I’ve estimated reading approximately 1,500+ issues over that time frame, so obviously it wasn’t the easiest task to complete. Still, after much deliberation, these are my picks for the 10 best comics of 2009.

1. Jonah Hex #50
DC Comics
Writers: Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Darwyn Cooke
Originally reviewed on December 3, 2009

Perfection. Defined as the highest degree of proficiency, skill or excellence, perfection is near impossible to achieve, especially when every comic ever printed is subjective in nature. You know, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and all that jazz. Still, when I thought about all the comics I’ve read this past year, this issue of Jonah Hex kept coming back to me. While not perfect (frankly, what is?), it’s pretty close.

A wonderful done-in-one tale following our “hero” as he diligently goes about his day job, in this specific case while hunting down 50 various bad guys who had it coming to them. A fine story on it’s own. Now add a dash of romance – or the bounty hunter’s version of it – to the mix, sprinkle in a little personal vengeance, and top it off with a jolting reminder of how cruel life can be, and you’re left with a portrait of a man who makes no excuses for who he is or what he does, life expectations be damned.

Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! This week Jonah Hex takes top billing, a couple more Blackest Night mini-series debuts and a slew of over-sized annuals and one-shots invade your pull list. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Jonah Hex #50
DC Comics – $3.99 US
Writers: Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Darwyn Cooke
Score: 9.5

The landmark 50th issue of Jonah Hex hits the stands, featuring a done-in-one tale of the scarred bounty hunter’s latest task: to locate and dispose of 50 various bad guys. The cost of victory, however, may prove to be too much to bear…

Jonah Hex is no stranger to violence. We’ve been exposed to his brand of “justice” for decades now, so it’s very easy to forget that, under all of that hatred, this killing machine does have a heart. Thankfully, writing team Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti weave a story that is sure to please the loyal Hex fans with plenty of merciless vengeance, while injecting a tragedy that goes to great lengths to humanize the central character.

Darwyn Cooke handles the art chores on this commemorative issue, further cementing how incredible a read this was. Gorgeous pencils accompany the artist’s usual cinematic flair, with numerous examples of how to kill a man mixed in with a few touching moments, and a final page that speaks volumes without the aid of dialogue. With the holidays around the corner, I’d gladly accept this final page in all of its original glory as a nifty Christmas gift.

We’ve been anticipating the arrival of the film based on Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber’s graphic novel Whiteout for some time now. Previously, we’ve had some info to share with you about the film, including two trailers and an interview with Lieber about his latest project, Underground, where we also talk a bit about the film.

Now, thanks to the MySpace page of Trailer Park, we’ve got the brand new poster for Whiteout to bring you today. This one features a large Kate Beckinsale close up looking pretty great and also very cold. To be honest, I kinda like some of the earlier posters a bit better but at least this one features more Kate, which is never a bad thing.

The movie, which tells the story of U.S. Marshall Carrie Steko (Beckinsale) investigating the first murder ever to take place in Antarctica, is directed by Dominic Sena and co-stars Gabriel Macht, Columbus Short, Alex O’Loughlin, Shawn Doyle and Tom Skerritt. It hits theaters on September 11.

Click through to check out the brand new poster.

It looks like Comic Con broke this week’s comics, because there is a whole LOT of nothing to read this week.

Sure, I suppose you could find reason to get Detective Comics #855, because it was (quite honestly) the best book to come out last month.  I don’t think  you’ll get a better schooling in comic book design sense than reading this book.

Then there is the new trade paperback of the Eisner-award winning Best New Series Invincible Iron Man: World’s Most Wanted, but if you know what’s good for you you already have these single issues. Also, congrats to Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca on their win for that series.

Really,  however, you should just buy The Surrogates: Flesh and Bone, which is a prequel to the original series, that the movie (starring Bruce Willis) is based on.  Don’t know anything about this comic or movie? Check out our coverage.  

Though if you really think about it and are willing to try new things, there’s probably something this week for you. If you want to see for yourself Midtown Comics has a great listing of what comes out this week. As always we care about what you read, so let us know what you liked/didn’t like from this week’s or any week’s comics in the comments.

Happy reading!