It was a summer Friday at the DC Comics offices, meaning everyone had the day off and most of the team scattered for extended weekend plans.  But due to a scheduling quirk, the softball team was also scheduled to play Archie Comics that day.  Only ten players said they’d be able to make the game, and three of those cancelled earlier in the day – and one Bullet just plain stood the team up.  With only six players in attendance, Adam Schlagman brought a friend to the field, and Archie lent two of their own to the DC squad.

Short-handed, without a fourth outfielder and with three of their nine players inexperienced softball players, the Bullets put forth their best effort, but came up on the short end of a 10-7 loss to Archie Comics.

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Archie Comics released the first issue of their new magazine format title this week, Life with Archie. And the contents are so bizarre, it makes the likes of Peter Milligan’s Shade the Changing Man look downright prosaic.

That’s not a knock — the publisher has put out some impressively timely material as of late, releasing Jersey Shore and Twilight parodies, plus debuting gay character Kevin Keller this September. The Life with Archie magazine is the follow-up to the “Archie Marries Veronica” and “Archie Marries Betty” stories that started last fall, offering two stories an issue, one focusing on Archie’s life married to Veronica and, you guessed it, one focusing on Archie’s life married to Betty.

They’re both solid, written by Michael Uslan and penciled by Norm Breyfogle. But man, are they weird. Huge spoilers after the jump.

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The DC Comics Bullets and the Marvel Comics Avengers softball teams went at one another Thursday afternoon in Central Park.  The injuries, one on each side of the field, were purely accidental, we promise.  And what more fitting way for a big game between the two biggest comic book publishers in the land to end than … in a tie?

Yep, DC’s field permit gives the Bullets North Meadow Field #2 in Central Park from 5:30-7:00pm, and if there’s another team waiting with their own permit at 7, the Bullets’ game had better be finished.  In this case, thanks to the 7pm team’s graciously allowing the comic book makers an extra ten minutes to finish the seventh inning, DC and Marvel finished regulation, but the limits of a standard seven-inning game didn’t allow time to determine a winner.

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Because you always wanted to know what Kate Beaton’s Jerry Orbach would look like: Today is the last day that These are Their Stories, a neat-o art show in which artists interpret a one-line episode summary of one of the nine billion episodes of the various Law and Orders, is up at Gallery Meltdown in LA. But you can still see the pieces online. Cartoonists like Kate Beaton, Scott Campbell, Box Brown, Chip Zdarsky, Michael Kupperman and David Malki are among those who contributed work to it.

“Graphic novels for people who hate comics”: This piece by Therese O’Neill suffers a bit from the difficulty that comes from wrestling with ill-defined terms, but the books she suggests are all certainly good ones, whatever your level of experience with comics is.

About nine more minutes of Pekar: Ken Mills, the director of The Cartoonist, the documentary about Jeff Smith and Bone, has shared the outtakes featuring Harvey Pekar.

“It might be the only movie we have without any explicit pot references”: Seth Rogen tells the LA Times what differentiates next year’s Green Hornet from all the other films he’s done with partner Evan Goldberg, as well as his plans for sequel. I dig the suggested name, anyway.

I didn’t care for what I’ve seen of it so far, either: “Ryan Reynolds Hated Green Lantern Suit” (Actually, Reynolds is just talking about the material the motion capture suit he had to wear, not the way the final product looks).

Speaking of that Green Lantern movie…: “Five Things a ‘Green Lantern’ Fan Should Know”

Here’s pen in your eye: The Flog blog borrows a Johnny Ryan drawing depicting one of the signature events of this year’s Comic-Con.

Top Shelf and company’s Con: Brett Warnock has a pretty big and thorough report on the publisher’s con, including examples of James Kochalka’s American Elf strips dealing with it.

Revolver
Written & Illustrated by Matt Kindt
Lettered by Steve Wands
Published by DC/Vertigo

With Sweet Tooth’s Jeff Lemire and now Matt Kindt in house, Vertigo’s done a fine job enlisting two of the best talents from Top Shelf Comics’ roster.  Lemire’s Essex County trilogy and Kindt’s books, Pistolwhip, Pistolwhip: The Yellow Menace, 2 Sisters and Superspy, rank among the most promising graphic novels of the past decade.

Kindt’s latest book, Revolver, verges on science-fiction, though in the oblique manner Kindt’s previous books touched on genre elements.  The book’s protagonist, Sam, finds himself shackled by dead ends: his job, his relationship and his self-righteous boss.  He wakes up one day to find himself in a terrifying world of avian flu outbreaks and dirty bombs, an apocalyptic landscape with danger in every minute.  And then he reawakens and finds himself again in his dull old world.  Flipping back and forth between two worlds, one dynamic but life-threatening, another safe but lifeless, Sam explores the limits of his relationships and searches for an answer to which world is ultimately his.

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If you like what you’ve read so far (c’mon, how can you not?) totally check out more super cute comics at:www.sosuperduper.com!

Weather willing, this afternoon at 5:30pm in Central Park, on North Meadow #2, the DC Bullets softball team squares off against the Marvel Comics team.  Though the two squads play in different softball leagues, the annual summer showdown is obviously a season highlight on both sides.  In that spirit, here’s a team photo of the DC Comics Bullets taken earlier this season.

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Over the course of the last week and a half or so, the Big Two direct market publishers released their solicitations for the books they plan on publishing in October.

I responded in my customary fashion—publicly expressing my excitement over the cover art and stories that look most appealing, shaking my head sadly at the number of Deadpool books, demonstrating how hard a time I have accepting change by still expressing shock at $4 comic books and generally starting to decide what I will be buying and what I won’t be buying at the comic shop in three months time.

Then I realized that the solicitations offer a pretty good, monthly snapshot of the state of the two companies, where they are right now, how they compare to one another.

So I went back through the solicits (posted on the main site here and here) with a fine-tooth comb (metaphorically…as a Bald-American, I own no combs) and made hash marks in various categories to compile some arbitrary, maybe meaningless to you statistics.

As an English major with a minor in Batman continuity, math isn’t my strong point, so I wouldn’t be surprised if many, many mistakes were made, not only in addition, but also in simple counting. So, um, keep that in mind.

Also keep in mind that I tried to concentrate on DC and Marvel’s serial, superhero comic book lines, ignoring the reprints, collections and various imprints, so this is more a measure of a part of each publisher’s output for a single month than the full range of it.

So after the jump, fun—or “fun”—with numbers!
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Image’s Shuddertown #5, scheduled to debut October 27, has been “canceled indefinitely,” according to series writer Nick Spencer.

Spencer broke the news on his Twitter: “Okay, let’s get the bad news out of the way: solicit for Shuddertown #5 is canceled indefinitely due to circumstances beyond our control. The book will be back down the road, albeit somewhat differently, to give you the ending you deserve. Sorry, completely out of our hands. The 4th Issue (and last of the arc) drops on August 4th. Then a beautiful oversized hardcover in September. Then a new chapter…”

The title, with art by Adam Geen, started in March. Read more about it in Chris Arrant’s interview with Spencer here.

Well, how about that. Somehow, the Thor Comic-Con footage has leaked online in a big way, spreading through the web like veritable fire called down by Surtur himself. It’s just over five minutes, and pretty much everyone that’s seen it has unanimously agreed that it’s awesome. It’ll also probably disappear very quickly. Check it here (if you still can) on ComicBookMovie.com.

Over on MSN today, there was a special report about a family that was packing up due to them losing their house and in the midst of doing so found some old comics in the basement. Now they weren’t just random Age of Apocalypse issues or even some classic Gardner Fox/Murphy Anderson goodies. Nope, they found the grand-daddy of them all: Action Comics #1.

Now, the family wishes to remain anonymous but contacted Stephen Fischer of ComicConnect to verify it’s authenticity, as well as put it up for auction (where the lowball would be about $250,000). Obviously more than enough to keep them in their home, which had been in the family for more than fifty years.

Talk about a Godsend.

Find out more about Global Freezing here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or at ComicsByEgg.com.

Edi Gathegi, who portrayed one of the evil vampires, Laurent, in the Twilight Saga franchise is joining X-Men: First Class as Darwin. Real name Armando Munoz, he has the power of “reactive evolution,” which allows him to adapt to any situation or environment. Sort of like, should he be sucked into the vacuum of space, he doesn’t need oxygen. Or if it’s incredibly dark, he gains night vision and so on.

I think this is interesting that they’re putting in a somewhat new mutant in the movie when this film is supposed to concentrate on the early adventures of the X-team, but I guess I should have guess considering Fox’s cavalier attitude towards x-continuity.

So readers and x-fans, what do you think of the new addition?

While it’s less likely than its predecessor to become a “cinematic classic” replayed endlessly in middle- and high-school classrooms all over the country, this year’s remake of Ray Harryhausen’s The Clash of the Titans has something that movie studios like even better: dudes with incredible musculature kicking the snot out of CGI-constructed baddies against an epic backdrop.

Let’s face it—as amazing as the original Clash’s special effects were for their time, most people looking back at it now viewed it with a kind of vague, bemused interest. I remember watching it for the first (of four) time in a classroom setting when I was in eighth grade, and thinking, “Wow…this movie is old, and what’s with the robot owl?”

In fact, that same robot owl makes a brief (and memorable) appearance in the remake, only to be cast aside as ridiculous. And that, in a nutshell, is what this film is about. While no truer to the myths it was adapted from than was the original, it found plenty from the original to cast aside in search of a more modern, marketable way of telling the same story—and ultimately it succeeded. What’s ironic is that the most “modern” aspect of the film, and the one possibly most marketed when the flick was in cinemas, was the 3-D compatibility that was overlaid on the thing after principal photography wrapped. It was widely made fun of by “serious film people,” who thought if it was meant to be in 3-D then they should have shot it that way. It appears as though Warner Home Video may have agreed with them, as there is no 3-D option included on the DVD or Blu-Ray of Clash of The Titans.

Other than that—relatively major—disappointment for fans of the flick who were hoping to see the 3-D version at home, the discs have a lot to offer. The movie itself has a great sense of pacing and a lot of action to keep the average viewer engaged. In today’s cinema culture, where every movie is looking for a sequel, this one has a pretty good chance of launching 1,000 ships—or at least a franchise. There’s still plenty of Greco-Roman mythology to mine (and mangle), and the response on the part of the core demographic seems pretty good, from what I’ve heard. Myself, I could take or leave this iteration. As a superhero fan, I would love to see some more true-to-the-source-material adaptations of Greek mythology, which in many ways provided the template for today’s superhero universes. The softball/fast food way of approaching those tales is a little discouraging—even when it’s as much fun as this one was.

Clash of the Titans hit the streets from Warner Home Video on Tuesday. It’s available on DVD and Blu-Ray Combo Pack, as well as Warner Home Video’s On Demand pay-per-view.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds is the first installment of the series in 10 years, and scheduled to hit Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in spring 2011. Naturally, there’s been a lot of speculation as to which Marvel Comics and Capcom characters will be included in the game, and thanks to preview videos and what’s been demoed, we already know a few, including Captain America, Deadpool and Wolverine on the Marvel side, plus Ryu, Chun-Li and Morrigan on the Capcom side.

But it looks like a reader of French Web site PS3Gen may have cracked the code, quite literally, allegedly viewing the source code of Capcom’s Japanese site to find what could be a complete roster of playable characters for the game. (View a translated version of the page here, plus enjoy fun phrasings such as, “When the official channels are silent or too slow, some fans redouble their imagination to get their hands on what they want.”) Here’s what they’ve got: (more…)

It doesn’t hit comic book stores until October, but Top Cow‘s Crosshair has already been optioned as a feature film courtesy of Mandeville Films.

Part of Top Cow’s latest “Pilot Season” initiative, Crosshair certainly sounds like the kind of high-concept plot ideal for a movie: a former CIA assassin discovers he’s been brainwashed to kill the president, unless he discovers (and reverses) the trigger in 48 hours. Out October 6, it’s written by Jeff Katz (who co-wrote Booster Gold with Geoff Johns for DC Comics) with art by Allan Jefferson. Top Cow founder Marc Silvestri is credited as creator and co-writer.

Mandeville produced 2009′s Sandra Bullock/Ryan Reynolds romantic comedy The Proposal, and last year optioned Top Cow’s Alibi, so they’re no strangers to the publisher. The deal was put together, of course, at last weekend’s Comic-Con International: San Diego. Full press release after the jump.

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Speculation, activate! For those who haven’t checked out the Avengers animated trailer on the Mothership, take a peek. But what interests me a little bit is taking a look at the small-screen cast:

For those keeping score at home, that’s Hawkeye, the Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man and Thor — all of whom will be in the Avengers movie. But then you’ve also got some additional characters, like Giant-Man, the Wasp and the Black Panther.

What interests me is this: Considering that this show is likely one that’s meant to springboard off the 2012 movie, is it likely that we might see some of these other characters in the film version? Not seen in this image, but seen in the trailer, is also the Black Widow and Nick Fury (albeit Nick Fury Classic, not Ultimate Samuel L. Jackson Nick Fury). The cartoon is slated to come out this fall. Speculators, sound off!

Longtime readers of Best Shots know I absolutely adore the work of criminally underrated artist David LaFuente. But now that I’ve seen his cover for Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #16, I have even more respect for the man. Check this out:

Spider-Man, pining in a park with all the loving couples. But what’s that to his far right? Your eyes aren’t deceiving you — that’s a happy homosexual couple, moving in for a kiss. Is this a first for Marvel Comics, putting a gay kiss on a cover? For the Big Two in general? Am I wrong? I’m sure it’ll cause some hubbub among some readers, but I gotta say, just looking at the way the world works these days, it feels a little overdue. Either which way, good for LaFuente for drawing it, and good for Marvel for printing it! Rama readers, let’s start discussing this book!

What? Say it ain’t so!

Early reports from bystanders are saying that firefighters are responding to a fire in or around the Times Square branch of Midtown Comics, one of the retailers of note in New York City.

Initial statements from those close on the scene say that they believe there was a grease fire from one of the restaurants below Midtown. These reports have also stated that the fire currently does not seem catastrophic to the comics institution, although with so many flammable objects in the store, that could change.

Obviously, take all this with a grain of salt, as this stuff is still breaking. More news to come as it arrives…

UPDATE: Here’s the official statement from Midtown Comics, seen on their Twitter feed:

Everything is OK! The place below us had a flame up. All the comics are safe and we are open! Of all the days to catch fire it had to be WED

Glad to see that the store is taking this in good stride. More news to come if we get it!

[Image via ThorParker, who has been snapping pics on the scene, and an extra hat tip for Brendan McGuirk for additional reporting]

When the mutant called Cable first showed up, he was a soldier approaching middle age who sported a bionic eye and a cyborg arm who quickly revealed he was from the future. Not long after this, Scott Summers AKA Cyclops, the first X-Man, suffered the tragedy of watching his son Nathan get infected with the techno-organic virus (called “T-O”), a disease that would painfully alter the child into a biological machine. A member of the Askani Clan, a sisterhood that existed 2000 years in the future, offered to take the child to her time where advanced technology could treat his condition. Cyclops reluctantly agreed and sent his son to the Askani in the far future. It was later explained that this boy had grown up to become the man called Cable, who was not a cyborg but was still suffering from the T-O virus and had to constantly use his incredible mental abilities to keep it from spreading beyond his left arm and eye.

Nathan Christopher Charles Summers AKA Nathan Dayspring Askani’Son AKA Cable was raised in a dark future ruled by the near-immortal mutant terrorist Apocalypse. Told he was the “Chosen One” meant to defeat Apocalypse, Nathan used time travel to prevent this future from happening, hoping to kill the villain in the past when he was younger and weaker. In the present day, Cable formed the original X-Force team before later leaving to pursue his own agenda, occasionally working alongside the X-Men teams.

After he seemingly killed Apocalypse (though the villain would resurface later), Cable’s T-O virus seemed to enter a state of remission and his full power as the world’s most powerful telepath and telekinetic finally surfaced, inspiring him to take a new path in life. After becoming an enemy of several governments and losing his power for a short time, Cable was eventually entrusted by Cyclops to be the guardian of Hope, a mutant child fated to be the key to the race’s future. Recently, while helping time-lost friends get safely back home, Cable was forced to allow the T-O virus to overwhelm his body and then seemingly died in an explosion, leaving only his left arm behind. But those infected by the virus have been able to regenerate themselves from body parts before, so who knows if he’s really gone?

And if that all seems complicated, I deliberately left out and glossed over several details in order to keep your head from spinning.

But for now, while folks are still chatting away about his life and his death, let’s take a look at the many looks Cable has sported over the years. I warn you though, don’t blame me for some of the outfits you’re about to see. Unlike many heroes and anti-heroes in the Marvel universe, Cable doesn’t have a costume so much as a look that he’ll sport for a while. Because of this and because of how frequently he’s altered his looks, these images are in rough but not exact chronological order and this is definitely not a complete list.

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