Thor is Officially an Avenger, Plus Secret Avengers and New Thunderbolts

Thor was announced as a member of the upcoming Avengers team ( I am avoiding calling them the New Avengers, since we've been there, done that...) which means this is looking more and more like a classic line-up. I am very glad they are going this direction, as the multiple iterations of the Avengers (each with their own Wolverine, it seems) were wearing thin on me.


Marvel is also coming out with a second Avengers title, Secret Avengers, written by Ed Brubaker, but so far no official word on who will be on that team. The teaser images suggests Gorilla-man and maybe Doctor Strange, and if that is case, count me in.
I am also optimistic about the post-Siege Thunderbolts line-up as written by Jeff Parker. The new team is led by Luke Cage, and includes Juggernaut, Ghost (my favorite from the current crappy line-up), Moonstone, Crossbones, and the coup de grace: Man-Thing. The title will go back to the series roots and be more about the reformation of villains under Cage's leadership. This story starts in issue #144 and is the first issue I am actually looking forward to since Warren Ellis left the book.

A Heroclix Named Desire

It is OK to want:

Heroclix announced their new Blackest Night starter set for 2010. Other figures in the set are Hal Jordan Green Lantern, Lex Luthor, Mera, The Flash, Wonder Woman, and The Atom, all in their appropriate lantern colors.

The NEW Old (New?) Avengers!

As you may or may not know, after the events of Siege wrap up the current myriad of Avengers titles will axed. Dark, New, Mighty, Initiative; they will all be finished to make way for an Avengers reboot, as well as a new attitude in the major titles at Marvel dubbed "The Heroic Age." Marvel has slowly been revealing the Avengers line-up for the relaunch, and so far I like it. Here is the link to Newsarama detailing the roster so far.

Tony Stark: Iron Man!

Finally, Clint Barton back in the purple Hawkeye costume.
Looks like the Bucky Cap. I am ok with this, I'm just wondering what is going to happen to Steve Rogers.
Spider-Woman.
So far, so good. Rumor has it that Thor is also going to be on this team. I am looking forward to the new #1 issue.

What Could Have Been

If you needed more proof that we indeed are not living in the best possible of worlds, animation director and storyboard artist Steven E. Gordon told Marvel Animation Age (as reported by MTV's Splash Page), that there was maybe going to be, but now definitely won't be a Beta Ray Bill animated movie:

“The DVD was going to be done like they did the 'Hulk Vs.' DVD where half would be devoted to the ‘Ultimate War’and the other half was planned to be a ‘Thor’ story,” continued Gordon. “At one point the ‘Thor’ story they intended on adapting was Beta Ray Bill, but I believe they dropped that after some exploration. We never got too far on finding a look for the Thor adventure.”

Argh! So close. This news begs the question: is it better to know the miserable truth, or live in ignorant bliss? I blame Steven E. Gordon for not fighting hard enough to get us a Beta Ray Bill animated feature. And there is your non-news of the day.

Beta Ray Bill appears in Planet Hulk movie!

According to reviews I have read, Beta Ray Bill makes an appearance in the new Planet Hulk movie due out on DVD on Feb. 2! Apparently, Bill is replacing Silver Surfer's role from the original story, which isn't a large role, but an important one. And it is always nice to get some more animated Beta Ray Bill, since all we have up to this point is an episode of the 90's Silver Surfer cartoon, in which the Korbinites are depicted as weaklings trapped in an illusion of gladiatorial combat. (with Scottish accents?) I am now more excited about this release than I was, and I was pretty excited before.

A Cheery February

There is some cool stuff coming down the pipe, and frankly, I can't wait! Those long, excruciating weeks between the Super Bowl and the beginning of the baseball season needs to be filled with something, lest you are driven into the depths of depression and despair by winter's icy grip, and this year we are extra lucky. In February we get the Winter Olympics, complete with hockey and curling, two of my personal favorites, as well as the animated feature Planet Hulk on DVD Feb. 2.

Plus, on Feb. 23, we get Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths DVD from Bruce Timm, which looks fantastic.

(By the way, Mark Harmon of NCIS fame will be voicing Superman in that one!)

These bits of animated goodness should be able to get me through the winter, and tide me over until the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament starts in March.

So rejoice, for this is a rare February that won't feel like it is actually longer than its total 28 days suggest. Just try not to get stuck in a loop on Groundhog's Day to make up for your life's moral failings and everything will work out just fine.

Sif mini-series to contain Beta Ray Bill, awesomeness

That's right, there is a Sif mini-series due out in March from writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Ryan Stegman. Thor's Asgardian girlfriend gets to go on her own head-busting solo adventure, and the best part is that none other than Beta Ray Bill makes a showing as well. I can't wait for this series, as Sif will have a serious chip on her shoulder for Loki who had been hijacking her body for quite awhile leading up to the current Siege event. If you don't know, Sif and Beta Ray Bill have a bit of romantic history as well, from way back during Walter Simonson's epic run on Thor, and I'm guessing that issue will be dealt with as well. I wonder if Bill's new Korbinite girlfriend will play a part in this saga? I can't wait to find out!

S.W.O.R.D. over in five

Straight from the blog of Kieron Gillen himself, Marvel has officially canceled S.W.O.R.D. after 5 issues. I am, of course, saddened by this news, as I was enjoying the title very much. This news is made worse by the timing, basically cutting off the series before it even has a chance to get going. Perhaps there wasn't enough Wolverine in the series...


It is a shame, as there aren't enough really unique comics like this one out there (at least not at the Big Two) I hope in the future, Marvel can at least bring these characters back for another round, be it mini-series or some other format.

Excuses, excuses...

So far the New Year is not looking promising for the Beta Ray Blog. Came back from a trip back east to see the family for the holidays, and returned to NO comics. Then the hard drive on my main machine turned itself into a poorly shaped hockey puck. So, no comic reviews for the foreseeable future. Once I get some comics in hand, I'll do a big multi-title story arc review of the past few months, as there have been some interesting events leading up to the coming Seige, as well as my enjoyment of Gotham City Sirens for the most part.

So there will be reviews and content in the future, but right now all I can offer you is empty promises and excuses, so take that as you will. In the meantime, look at this cool picture of the Spider-man lamp I got for my birthday:Cool.

Ultimate DC!

Newsarama and DC's own blog The Source have announced a new project from DC that is essentially Marvel's Ultimate imprint done right. The upcoming Earth One series will start off with retelling the origins of Superman and Batman free of existing continuity. Of course, DC tried this once before with their All-Star titles, with differing results, (Superman = great, Batman = not so great) but the difference this time is that they will be done in graphic novel format. I think this is perfect.
The whole point of these reboots is to tell stories with recognizable characters, but make them accessible to new readers or casual readers by jettisoning the 70 plus years of mind bending continuity loops. The problem has always been the actual physical accessibility of doing them in the monthly floppy issue format: casual readers don't want to read it in monthly installments, nor do they want to get shafted on, say, issue 3 when Diamond decides to not ship that month's issue. With the graphic novel format, you can entice new readers with the single contained story anyone can read without knowing the results of any of the myriad of crisisi.
I think its a great idea, and if executed properly, could be a new dawn for the comic book industry. JMS and Geoff Johns are slated to write the first two, so here is hoping it will be a success. Now, lets take bets on how long it takes for Dan Didio to get greedy and start the Earth One MEGA CROSS-OVER EVENT! NOTHING BE THE SAME AGAIN!

Thor the Movie: Update!

Kat Dennings, who played Norah in something called Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, has just been added to the cast of Thor, according to Marvel.com. No word yet on who she is going to play, but if I had to make a guess based on looks alone, I would say Hela.

Do you see a resemblance?
That's just my guess.

More Thor Movie News!

Another Asgardian has been cast! Heimdall, the guardian of the Bifrost bridge, will be played by Idris Elba. Known for his work on "The Wire" and as Jim's nemesis Charles Miner on "The Office". A great actor and another great addition to what I believe is shaping up to be a fantastic cast.