COMMENT: Terrence Howard as the Joker?

While adding a few new blogs to The Watchtower today, I came across Valerie D'Orazio's Occasional Superheroine and a post she made about Robin Williams' desire to portray the Joker in the sequel to Batman Begins.But Williams, despite a career slump in sub-Disney hell, is still an Icon. And maybe that's what the franchise needs. I mean, I can't even remember who played the villain in "Batman Begins."Bad idea, says I.Jack Nicholson completely stole the first Batman, and the sequels tried to one-up their predecessors with increasingly ridiculous stunt casting that ultimately gave us Ah-nold as Mr. Freeze."Chill."No thanks! Christopher…

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REVIEW: Artesia Besieged #1

I started going through some #1s I’ve read recently last night, intending to write up another round of Quickee reviews, but it turned into a lovefest for the previously hyped Artesia as I was sucked back into the Known World and didn’t want to leave!

As I noted a few weeks back, I picked up Artesia: Besieged #1 on a lark, having enjoyed several of the other titles Archaia Studio Press has recently released — The Lone and Level Sands, Robotika and Mouse Guard — and was totally captivated by it, so much so that I bought the first two TPBs, Artesia and Artesia Afield, over the following two weeks and quickly devoured both of them. Mark Smylie has constructed an impressive medieval world that deftly mixes high fantasy with sword and sorcery, and created one of the most compelling lead characters I’ve ever encountered in Artesia, a former concubine who becomes a respected war captain, feared priestess and, eventually, self-proclaimed Queen.

In this first installment of the Fourth Book of Dooms, aptly sub-titled “The Calm Before”, Smylie does an excellent job of setting the stage for new readers without explaining every single detail of what’s come before, instead offering just enough information to make it clear that there’s a much larger world beyond the pages of this issue while placing the spotlight squarely on Artesia and her place in that world. Whether musing about the path that has found her leading an unstable army into war, strategizing plans for engaging in said war, or indulging in “distractions of the flesh”, she is as three-dimensional a fictional character as has ever been presented in the genre, with or without pictures. The story itself sets a couple of intriguing subplots in motion, and ends with a twist that works thanks as much to its context as to Artesia’s reaction to it.

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On the Shelves: 7/6/06

Support GOOD Comics! Try something new EVERY month. My weekly look at select comic books being released Thursday, 7/6/06. The full shipping is list available at ComicList. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com] PICK OF THE WEEK Second Wave: War of the Worlds #4BALLANTINE BOOKS Flight Vol 3 GN, $24.95 For all the praise the first two volumes of this anthology has received, the second one remains buried in my…

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Say What?: Superman Returns Edition

"Well, it didn't suck... It would take all the combined good parts of Elektra, Batman and Robin, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze to equal half of Superman Returns, but Superman Returns would have to be twice as rad to equal The Incredibles or Spider-Man 2."--David Campbell, Off-topic: The Official Dave's Longbox Review of Superman Returns - Like You Care"Screw the fact THE INCREDIBLES is a cartoon, give me a story that's better than that, because animated or not, THE INCREDIBLES is the new gold standard for superhero movies. SUPERMAN RETURNS was in live-action (partially)…

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COMMENT: Does Superman Have Batman’s Legs?

Batman Begins

[Edited to add a conclusion!]

The early numbers are in and Superman Returns has raked in an estimated $84,208,000 at the domestic box office over its first five days in release, $12m ahead of Batman Begins over the same period, but with 2/3rds of that difference coming in over the first two days. Its $52,150,000 during the Friday-Sunday period — which ranks as only the 5th best opening in 2006, 47th overall — is almost tied with Batman Begins’ opening Friday-Sunday haul (June 17-19: $48,745,440) which ended up representing 23.7% of its total $205,343,774 gross.

If the Man of Steel can match the Dark Knight’s pace, Superman Returns should come in around $220 million at the domestic box office, notably short of its well-publicized $260 million production budget, a figure that doesn’t include what is very likely a hefty marketing budget of at least $50 million. Figure a foreign box office total matching Batman Begins’ $166 million, and you have a potential $400+ million blockbuster that in some circles will be considered a disappointment, a la Peter Jackson’s King Kong ($218m domestic BO, $207m budget).

The big question, though, is does Superman have Batman’s legs, and is not reaching the $200m plateau a possibility?

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Renaldo Balkman

I'm not a big basketball fan, and I stopped following the Knicks after Jeff Van Gundy left town, but this was funny:9:36 -- There are those moments in sports when you expect something great, and then it actually happens. And then there are those rare moments in sports when you expect something great, and something even greater happens. This was one of those moments: The Knicks on the clock, the crowd pushing for Marcus Williams, and then ... --Stern: "With the 20th pick, the New York Knicks select ... Renaldo Balkman."(Crowd explodes in horror.)--Stern (over the boos): "Renaldo is not…

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Me, Me, Me Meme

1. What time did you get up this morning?7am 2. Diamonds or Pearls?Silver3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?X3: The Last Stand4. What is your favorite TV show?Grey's Anatomy5. What did you have for breakfast this morning?Coffee6. What is your middle name?LeCharles7. What is your favorite cuisine?I like a wide range of food, but I got in trouble last time for not saying "Anything my wife cooks." ;-)8. What foods do you dislike?Weird textures, especially mushy stuff.9. Your favorite Potato chip?Pringles10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?The last mix CD I made.11. what kind…

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