As you can see by the pic, Thor will thankfully NOT be wearing jeans or a black leather jumpsuit as his costume in the upcoming flick from Marvel Studios (releasing May 6, 2011). Which is yet another sign that we should all be thankful that Marvel is now making it’s films in-house, as opposed to handing them off to soulless Hollywood suits with no imagination or affinity for the source material who obviously hate you and your childhood. Even more shocking is a leaked image of Thor adversary The Destroyer, who looks EXACTLY like the comic book version. Try not to wet yourself as you look upon it.  Now, again, if this movie were presented by Fox Studios, instead we’d be invited to share in such brain nuggets as “How about instead of enchanted ‘armor’, it’s just a magical necklace??” or “Can’t we just get Michael Clarke Duncan?” Thankfully it looks like Marvel doesn’t subscribe to the baffling belief that you have to take something people already like and change it into something else, otherwise they won’t like it.

Speaking of Thor, be sure to stick around after the credits of Iron Man 2 for a brief send-up (just don’t expect to see a costumed Chris Hemsworth). If there’s one thing that can be taken from Iron Man 2, it’s that Jon Favreau and company are certainly playing nice with the larger Marvel sandbox (expect Sam Jackson to Sam Jackson his ass off as Nick Fury), because this film largely seems to act as a precursor for The Avengers project and future inclusion of other heroes into the world . In fact, Favreau himself touches on that when discussing potential Iron Man 3 villain, The Mandarin. Essentially, Favreau would love to use the Mandarin, but still isn’t sure his 10 magical power rings fit in the tech-based universe of the Iron Man franchise, so he’s waiting to see how films like Thor and The Avengers introduce other fantasy elements to gauge the sliding scale of reality that he’ll be able to work with in Iron Man 3. This is actually a nice concession, considering he’s seemingly willing to allow those other films by other directors affect what he will or won’t do in further Iron Man films, as opposed to a less collaborative director who might just stick to their vision, for better or worse…

And just to geek about it, the Red Skull in the upcoming WWII era Captain America film (supposedly July 22, 2011… although I remember when Marvel said it would be out in 2009, so we’ll see…) is going to be played by Hugo Weaving, which may in fact be the best casting ever in the history of both man and film. Along with lead Chris Evans (Fantastic Four, The Expendables, Scott Pilgrim… CLEARLY he wants to be a superhero more than Nic Cage), director Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer, October Sky, effects/art director for original Star Wars & Indiana Jones flicks) and screen writer David Self (Road To Perdition, long tied to a never-developed Sub-Mariner film trilogy), this one is shaping up to have all the ingredients for one delectable cinematic cookie.

Close Call! +500 XP

Also in comic movie news, Scott Pilgrim vs The World (out August 13, 2010, based on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s brilliant and hilarious manga series), for which shooting wrapped months ago, is actually heading for a round of re-shoots. According to director Edgar Wright, the extra footage is actually warranted because the film is testing so positively, and is something that he’s done with previous films, including Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. Hopefully they can still add a CGI layer over Michael Cera to make him ANYONE BUT MICHAEL CERA.

Jonah Hex (June 18, 2010, starring Josh Brolin and Megan Fox) has finally nervously pulled back it’s veil and released a full trailer, although anyone who’s a fan of the comic may be put off by the bizarre inclusion of supernatural elements to the genre book that may have been better served as a straight-up Western. Of course, it’s doubtful that the film would have survived solely on the mercy of all 87 die-hard Jonah Hex fans to begin with, so scaring off the fan base was probably never an issue for the studio… Conversely, the Solomon Kane film (based on the Robert E. Howard character), which was released partially last year and this year overseas to favorable reviews, is still awaiting general release here in the states. Rogue Pictures has apparently acquired the release rights, but a date has yet to be set. Check out the trailer here, which is surprisingly spry for only a $35 million budget.

…and don’t forget to brush up on your comic trivia before attending weekend openings! I won a shirt for answering an easy question at the Iron Man 2 premiere. Unfortunately it was at an AMC theater, and the shirt was actually a Paranormal Activity shirt, which somehow must have escaped from the garbage pile into the trivia-prize pile. I threw it to a man 5 rows back, who was far too excited to be receiving such a shirt.

Some random thoughts on some books I bought.

Thor #609

I picked up the Iron Man By Design variant which says “Iron Man does not appear in this Issue” on the back.  Neither does Thor.  Much like Gillen’s ‘Loki’ one-shot, he shows a deft touch and dealing with the god of mischief and finally resolving story arcs set up by JMS.  Recent previews have shown the Fractions debut on Thor has been pushed by a an issue or two, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The Walking Dead #71

Again, I have to heap more praise on this book.  Kirkman delivers a pretty wicked twist and not one zombie appears in the issue.  Evil really is in the eye of the beholder and we finally enter a phase were we get a new perspective on the crew we’ve been following and  just what sort of toll these people have paid.  For the first time you realize just how deeply affected Rick and his son really are, and it’s a brutal scene.  TWD is easily my second favorite title after Scalped, do yourself a favor and don’t miss this issue.

Iron Man #25

As much as I love what Matt Fraction did with this volume of Invincible Iron Man, it seems a bit odd that what took several issues to undo is practically redone in a few pages.  Worse, the best part, the new armor (Mark MMXVIII?) is all a ‘secret’, Tony just has an epiphany and rolls to Reed Richard’s lab and now has Super Extremis Armor, but we are invited to keep reading to see all the new capabilities of the armor.  As a huge Iron Man fan, new armor is something you look forward to, and I feel shortchanged on what we are given in this oversized issue.  Stark’s new company direction (I like the fact that Stark turns down an Asgardian bail-out) harkens back to the Circuit Maximus days and the whole issue feels like an homage to the late 80′s Invincible.  Hopefully, Fraction is only using some of these rehashed beats to set the table before he sets off in a new and fresh direction.

Most comics come out on Wednesdays, from what we hear, so we figure we can start your new comics lust on Mondays. We’ll point you in the direction of books WE are interested in, and YOU can, in the comments below, let us know what YOU are interested in, k? This week, we’ve got plenty to get excited about.

Rob’s Picks

Fell: Feral City, Volume 1

Yeah, I already have this, but you need to get it right now. It’s Ben Templesmith AND fooking Warren Ellis, so you know it’s good. It’s better than good. It’s freaking must-own classic comic book goodness. The  melancholy of the colors and Templesmith’s crazy artistic sensibility mesh ever so perfectly with Warren Ellis’ traditional poignant insanity. If you don’t own this, grab it NOW before it goes out of print AGAIN.

Demo #2

I’m so enamored by the concept of this book – Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan get to revisit their zine-like black and white roots and have complete creative control over this book, including not allowing ads in it. The story in #1 was well told, paced well, and felt like a slice of life gone mysteriously supernatural. You’re doing yourself a disservice by not picking this one up on Wednesday.

Mike’s Picks

Invincible Iron Man #24

Matt Fraction is definitely one of the most talented writers working today, and he deserved the Eisner nod he got on his IIM relaunch (the 3rd in 15 years).  This is the last book before the new era of Tony Stark begins.  Fraction created a clever and entertaining ‘end of life’ storyline that comes to a close here, before we get the new suit, back to basics, no more ‘Extremis’, ‘Age of Heroes’ shellhead.  The question is, will he have redeemed himself after Civil War and World War Hulk?

The Boys #40

I’ve been reading this since it started, and after Garth Ennis got done ‘taking the piss’ on all the main DC and Marvel characters, and even a certain famous creator, he started to turn the book into a narrative about the internal struggle of shadow governments and how they utilize powered up d-bags.  While the quality of his satire has been hit and miss, lately the book has been pretty on target, especially coming off the ‘started strong and fizzled at the end’ spin-off “Herogasm”.  Finishing up the origins (if they are to be believed) of the Boys (and one Girl), a new arc has begun, this time looking to poke some fun at the Legion of Super Heroes.

Tyler’s Picks

Green Hornet #1

So a million years ago, our favorite fatty Southwest flier was hired to develop the Green Hornet screenplay for Hollywood. Cut to this week: Dynamite Entertainment has blown the dust off this puppy and is prepping 2 other A-list titles (Matt Wagner’s Year One and Brett Matthew’s The Green Hornet Strikes!) for release this spring. Smith’s script has been speculated on for years so hopefully the wait for a female Kato and revamped origin is worth the wait.  Here’s to hoping Smith’s writing is as taut as the the days on Daredevil and Green Arrow and not as indulgent as the recent run on Batman. With Seth Rogen’s GH movie approaching fast, we’ll soon know who deserved the paycheck.

Mass Effect Redemption #3

Okay, I admit. I have played waaaay too much of this game trying to get all the possible dialogue trees out of the deep soil of this Game of the Year contender. Mac Walters did a fine job on the RPG crafting characters that rival Farscape in breadth and this filler story is no exception. I would talk about it more, but I actually have to pick up the 3rd printing of Issue 1 and 2nd printing of #2 because its been frakking sold out since the dawn of the Reapers. Word is Liara collects Shepard’s remains, which turns me on because my Lesbo Cmmdr. Shepard and Liara got it on hardcore in the firs t game. Space sex FTW!

First Wave #1

The DC pulp universe is finally unveiled. Seems 2010 is the Year of Noir, with Marvel schucking a few similar titles (Spidey, etc.) but its the Doc Savage and Batman books that are looking gritty and nifty. With an alternate DCU sans supermen, mere mortals Doc Savage, Batman and the Spirit fight for the city’s allegiances and likely suffer much angony at the expense of Brian Azarello’s brilliant writing. It doesn’t hurt that Rags Morales is doing the scribbles for this one either. Here’s to hoping DC can launch a new A-list book that doesn’t end up lining the bird cages (Ahem…”Trinity?”)

Marvel Animation and Method Films have released their next installment of the Iron Man: Armored Adventures series.  Iron Man: Armored Adventures Volume 2 is a six episode DVD to wet your appetite until the Iron Man movie hits this May.

Armored Adventures Volume 2 will introduce two new villains by the names of Living Laser and Madam Masque.  All this fun for the ultimate gadget man, Tony Stark.  It may not fully hold you over till the movie, but you know you want it.  Here, I’ll even give you a link to get you started!