We've been privileged to have a pretty good run of comic book movies lately, and this summer's Incredible Hulk and Iron Man movies look set to continue the tradition. But with Marvel having set up a new production company, will these films cross-over with each other? Scuttlebutt says yes: Rumor has it that Samuel L. Jackson, at least, will appear as Nick Fury in the new Iron Man movie.

But according to Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr, Tony Stark will also be making an appearance in The Hulk:

It happens to be a scene where I basically approach [William Hurt's character, General Ross], and we may be considering going into some sort of limited partnership together...  I don't want to give too much away -- but he's in disrepair at the time I find him. It was really fun seeing him play this really powerful character who's half in the bag.

Call me a geek, but it sounds like this takes place at the end, General Ross has been beaten up by the Hulk, and Stark approaches him about the possibility of Hulkbuster Armor.

Robert Downey Jr Talks 'Iron Man,' 'Hulk' Cameos [MTV Movies Blog]

Are you ready for the Andromeda Strain, a disease of extraterrestrial origin threatening to destroy all life on Earth? Are you prepared for the impossibly sexy, sultry and multi-ethnic scientists ready to fight that threat... sexy, sultry and multiethnic scientists such as Erin McCormack, Christa Miller, Ricky Schroder, Andre Braugher and Daniel Dae Kim? And are you ready for a two-night, two-part television event filmed entirely in slow motion thanks to the producing skills of Misters Tony and Ridley Scott?

I hope so! It's coming to your television screens soon, courtesy of A&E. Based on the novel by Michael Crichton and, of course, remaking the 1971 version, here's the plot:

Continue reading "The Andromeda Strain Comes Again!" »

If pulp fiction is the literature of the subliterate, comic books are the pulp fiction of the illiterate. That's not an accident, of course -- pulp fiction evolved into comics, so that nowadays, it only exists between the pages of a superhero adventure. Our only acquaintance with the pulp fiction of old is through reprint volumes or discarded pulps (sold for 50 cents each, shivering with small, blood-red spiders) at used book stores.

But DC hasn't forgotten its origins. Eleven years ago, in 1997 (am I so old?), DC featured pulp-style painted covers over the course of the summer and christened the event "Pulp Heroes." This event single-handedly redeemed DC's summer of '97: This was the same summer, for the record, that Superman lost his powers and became "electric"... one of the stupidest decisions in modern comics history.

Over at Super Punch, they have a gallery of the covers up. The art is wonderful, particularly the covers by Glen Orbik. I surely can't be the only fan out there who wishes all comics came with covers like this.

DC Comic Pulp Heroes Cover Gallery [Super Punch]

I think I speak for all of us when I admit to a philosophical sympathy with Mr. David Icke: I, too, believe that our world leaders have been replaced by an evil race of reptilian extraterrestrials. Reptoids, dinosauroids, lizardfolk, Republicans... whatever you want to call them, there's no doubt in my mind that they are silently accruing power with the slither of a bifurcated tongue, waiting for the moment when they can tear off their plasticky human faces and reveal the unholy visage beneath.

Why am I so convinced? Dude, I saw Kenneth Johnson's V as a kid, the NBC miniseries detailing just such an alien invasion. Did anyone walk away from that thinking face-ripping reptilians weren't walking among us? Raise your hand and I will call you a liar, sir.

Continue reading "V: The Second Generation Tears Face Off, Unmasks" »