[Garry's Blog via Kotaku]

So I’m doing my morning read around the net and I come across this fascinating little tidbit. You know the new Incredible Hulk movie? The one with Ed Norton? The one with Tim Roth as The Abomination? Turns out they’re not going to be the only Marvel characters inhabiting the Hulk-a-verse this time around.

Robert Downey Jr. will be making an appearance as Tony Stark, better known to the comics-reading public as Iron Man. A pretty significant and pretty cool crossover for two of this summers biggest blockbusters. Also? Sam Jackson as Nick Fury.

Certainly an awesome full circle, as Bendis/Millar have gone on record as saying Jackson was their inspiration for the re-imagined Ultimate Nick Fury a few years back.

For more on the upcoming Hulk flick check out the newly released trailer here or this article about Norton going all American History X on the control of the film. Or — if you had no interest in the geekgasm I’m having, hop on over to Film Junk to listen to Sean (with all due respect) shit all over this movie.

Originally posted at fjetsam.com — Jim’s receptacle for pop culture nonsense.

‘Nuff said.

Originally posted at fjetsam.com — Jim’s receptacle for pop culture nonsense.

I love The Punisher. There, I said it. I know that might make me a little creepy, but there’s just something I can’t help but dig about a guy waging a one man war on the underbelly of society. That’s why as a Punisher fan, I was so disgusted with that Thomas Jane/John Travolta atrocity. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a bad film, it just wasn’t The Punisher.

Jane’s Frank Castle still seemed to have some redeeming qualities, but what makes The Punisher great is that he’s an amoral unforgiving animal. He’s the well-armed embodiment of kharmic retribution. To put it another way — if you’ve fucked up, you’re getting fucked up. ‘Nuff said. The producers of the original Punisher film both knew and embraced this, and as a result gave us one of the best comic book movies you’ve never heard of.

Starring Dolph Lundgren as The Punisher and Louis Gossett Jr. as the cop on his trail, The Punisher (1989) literally has everything. Drunken hobo stoolie? Check. Triple digit death count? Check. Dolph Lundgren’s partially visible ball bag in the final shot? Check. In the first 20 minutes alone he blows up a house, hangs a guy, gets caught in the middle of a mafia/yakuza war on the docks, and rides a zip cord made from a rope tied to a crossbow arrow that he shot through a guys chest. Let me repeat that for you — in the first 20 minutes.

Also, he fights ninjas. In a funhouse. I’ll give you a minute to digest that one.

I just can’t find enough good things to say about this movie. As long as you know what you’re getting yourself into (after all, this is one of those Van Damme/Seagal era action flicks), there’s no way it can miss. Just check out the trailer, and tell me you aren’t already in the car and on your way to the nearest DVD bargain bin.

I’m borrowing my cues from The Who this weekend and giving you a quick one while I’m away. The downside is you won’t get the same lengthy Sunday joy from me you usually do. The upside? You’re about to get your first taste of the Perry Bible Fellowship.

PBF is a web comic that’s been around for quite some time now, and I’m ashamed to admit I’m only just getting into it. I first heard about PBF a few weeks back during the Around Comics podcast Christmas Spectacularrrrrrr (typing rolling r’s isn’t as easy as it looks, people.) Someone on the show was giving a print collection of these as a gift, and as is the case with most of what they talk about, my curiosity was piqued.

Every strip is a one off joke so you’re not missing out on anything in the way of continuity, and the art style can vary so greatly that you may sometimes find it hard to believe you’re reading the same strip. Anyways, enough of my rambling. Click the thumbnails below for a sample of the genius work at PBF, and then hop on over to their site to check out even more!

I know, I know — it’s been a few weeks since we’ve had a Sunday Funnies post. But there was the holidays, and scheduling, and… well.. we’re not very good at sticking to a weekly column around here. Either way, we’re back! This week I thought it might be fun to take a look at a few things I’ve been reading and give you a quick take on whether or not it would be worth your while to pick them up.

Salvation Run

The Suicide Squad has found a rather Machiavellian solution to Earth’s supervillain problem: get rid of them. Starting with the Flash’s Rogue Gallery (with the cast increasing dramatically in the second issue) Salvation Run places the DC Universe’s greatest villains on a distant planet where they need to work together if they want to live to see another day. Think of it as Survivor meets the prison colony of Australia. We’re two issues in, and the book seems to be finding it’s direction quite nicely as a battle for leadership is being waged between The Joker and Lex Luthor. Bill Willingham really seems to bring out what’s best in both of these characters, and as usual, his writing is spot on. Definite YAY on this one. It’s a 7 issue limited series, with issue 3 hitting store shelves this Wednesday.

Doctor Who Classics

Who would have thought that old serialized 8-page comics from the late 70’s could bring so much joy? Originally printed in Doctor Who Magazine, the new Doctor Who Classics series from IDW Publishing is bringing the best of the olden days back for us Whovians. The first issue featured a story by John Wagner with art by none other than Watchmen penciller Dave Gibbons. The restoration work that has gone into these pages must have been monumental — the coloring popped in a way that I’ve never seen in a 70’s reprint before. The story itself, Doctor Who and the Iron Legion,” is pretty kitsch and probably wouldn’t be enjoyed all that much by anyone outside of Who culture. If you’re into Who though, big time YAY. If not, probably a NAY. Second issue hits stands this Wednesday (and a new ongoing Doctor Who comic featuring the tenth doctor will be starting later this month).

X-Men: Messiah Complex

Messiah Complex is the current multi-title X-Men crossover — the same sort of X-Men nonsense we see year after year. I’ve always been a huge fan of the X-Men, and after taking a three year break from comics this seemed like the perfect jumping on point. Ed Brubaker on Uncanny? Peter David writing a new X-Factor? How could it disappoint?? As it turns out, pretty easily. A generic story, sub-par writing from Brubaker and David (both of which surprised the hell out of me — these two are comics gods in my opinion) and a few nagging questions about things that have happened in the past few years that could have been explained away in a line or two (when in the blue hell did Gambit become a Marauder??) and you’ve got a series that I’m fighting to find a reason to finish. The only highlights thus far have been the issues of New X-Men, a book featuring a team of fresh-faced youngsters. It’s this generations New Mutants and both the writing and the cast have me wanting to know more. I’m seriously thinking about picking up a few more of these after the crossover is finished. But Complex itself? 110% NAY.

Teen Titans: Year One

Speaking of teen superhero teams, DC released the first of their six issue re-imagining of the Teen Titans origin, Teen Titans: Year One. The book takes attempts to give a 21st century setting to a team that developed in the 60’s, and the outcome is as awkward as you might expect. It’s an attempt to shoehorn the Teen Titans cartoon attitude into the origin of the founding Titans members. Rather than making for an intriguing teen superhero book, it feels more like a superhero book written for pre-teens. That being said, both the art and story are going to bring me back for the second issue. For some reason, Batman is being a real hard-ass to Robin — but why?? Plus the awkward/socially inept portrayal of Aqualad has me in stitches, and judging by the cover issue #2 may focus more on that. It’s not great, but it’s not terrible either. A MEH if ever there was one.

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It’s not something I’ve really mentioned in our Sunday Funnies columns yet, but I’ve only recently jumped back into reading comics after a three year hiatus. As a result I’m only now getting around to reading the death of Captain America. I picked it up in the form of the hardcover trade The Death of Captain America and I can officially say I’m hooked. I’ve always liked Ed Brubaker’s writing (Gotham Central was BRILLIANT) and he seems to be doing a more than capable job with Cap.

I’m now officially on the hunt for the Captain America Omnibusthat reprints his issues #1-#25, plus the Winter Soldier spin-off’s so that I can get all caught up and add start adding new issues of Captain America to my bag every month.

All this Cap love reminded me of something that I posted over at fjetsam a few months back — something that answers the age old question “What would it look like if Matt & Trey scored the critically dead direct-to-video Captain America movie from the early 90’s?” Check the video above for the answer, and check out Ed Brubaker’s official site for more info on the awesomeness that is Ed.