Once a week I sift through the millions of Etsy listings to find the best in geek chic for Blog@ readers. Last week I showcased poor, neglected Luigi. This week it’s all about the St. Patrick’s Day spirit! And what better way to celebrate than going green with shamrock shaded comic book characters?

For the Emerald Archer fans out there, heres some Green Arrow Comic Tags for gift-giving, bookmarks, etc. User ZombiepieceTheater has put these together for you out of recycled comics and kraft cardstock, $3 for a set of 5. You can also check out the other characters s/he has available.

Looking to share a highball with Highball? Why not do it out of these Green Arrow/Green Lantern Glasses? Just $12 for the set from user erindara, who has lots of other decoupage comic items for sale as well.

Show off your Green Lantern pride with this set of seven Green Lantern Corps buttons! User mutantcactus has button-fied Sinestro, Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kiliwog and the Green Lantern Symbol all for $5.

Granted, this is not a handmade craft but a vintage item, I just couldn’t pass showing this one off. It’s a full deck of Original 1966 GREEN HORNET Playing Cards w/Action Pics. User GreatOldStuff has these for $28.50 and they’re pretty sweet if you ask me.

You think Jen Walters would wear a bracelet of herself? My thought is, yes, she most certainly would. This is a Vintage She-Hulk Comic Book Bracelet from user Customcomix for $17. Lots of other cool, less green, characters from this user as well.

I’d be remiss in leaving out the largest green guy out there. How’d you like to look at the Hulk every time you turn on the lights? The Hulk Wall Place Light Switchplate Cover is just $5 from user savagejesse. Interesting placement for the screw hole…

(I know, I left out the Green Goblin. I fully intended on including him but there weren’t too many items on Etsy for him. Unless you’re interested in a Green Goblin Ball Macbook Decal…yeah, didn’t think so.)

As always, bear in mind, since Etsy is a craft website and not a commercial, mass-market dealer, items are almost always one-of-a-kind or in very limited availability. When you see something you like, buy it. It may not be there the next time you surf round. (Yes, it’s a very dangerous site for your wallet.) Also, since most items are created individually, many sellers are willing to customize something specifically to suit your needs. Just ask!

Have a happy and safe St. Patrick’s Day everyone!

This just in from the Hollywood Reporter: British director David Slade is in talks to develop and direct a new Daredevil film for 20th Century Fox. Slade has past comic book adaptation experience as the director 2007′s 30 Days of Night film, and in news that will either comfort or horrify you, also directed the most recent Twilight film, Eclipse. He also helmed 2005′s Hard Candy, starring Ellen Page (X-Men: The Last Stand‘s Kitty Pryde!) and videos for Muse and the Killers, among other big music names.

There’s, of course, already been one Daredevil film — 2003′s relatively infamous Ben Affleck-starred feature. The Hollywood Reporter article says that though Affleck isn’t involved in this project (which doesn’t currently have a writer attached), the plan, rather surprisingly, is to continue the story from the first film. We’ll see how that shakes out. In the meantime, wonder if any outlets will mistakenly report this as David Spade directing Daredevil?

Just a few days after getting an official release date — October 18 — a new Batman: Arkham City gameplay trailer is here, courtesy of IGN and showcasing, among other new elements, Two-Face.

Batman: Arkham City, the sequel to 2009′s Batman: Arkham Asylum, is out October 18 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on October 18.

No doubt inspired by the upcoming X-Men: First Class movie, Iceman and Angel #1 is a First Class-like one-shot featuring work from first class writer Brian Clevinger and first class artist Juan Doe, and thus isn’t to be missed. Sealing the deal is the antagonist the two mutant superheroes are dealing with—Goom, the Thing From Planet X!

DC Comics Presents: Batman—Irresistable: This one should probably be called DC Comics Presents: Tom Peyer and Tony Harris, since the creative team seems to be the unifying factor in the two stories collected in this $8 almost-trade. The title story is a three-issue, 2003 Legends of The Dark Knight story arc, and to round it out they stuck in Hourman #22, which featured fill-in art from Harris and the Young Justice team looking up their Happy Harbor neighbor Hourman and failing to find him.

DC Universe Legacies #10: This is the tenth and final issue of the series chronicling the history of the DC Universe, as it supposedly stands after the continuity-bending events of Infinite Crisis, 52 and Final Crisis. So trade-waiters like me are now almost done waiting (The hardcover is due in August, according to the latest solicitations). So, what was the verdict readers? Was this any good or no? The old-civilian-remembers-continuity-like-history schtick from JLA: Incarnations and Marvels doesn’t seem like the most compelling premise. The main page has a preview here.

Egg Story: This is a comic book by artist J. Marc Schmidt about some eggs trying to escape the refrigerator. It sounds delightful.

Fear Itself: Book of the Skull #1: Ed Brubkaer and Scot Eaton kick off Marvel’s next big crossover event story with this special prologue one-shot, involving the Red Skull and his daughter. There’s a preview of it on the main page. It’s a $4 book.

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There’s a new X-Men: First Class trailer out there — and it’s in Russian, which kind of adds to the overall gravity of it all. Though it’s structured similarly to the domestic trailer, there’s plenty of new glimpses at things, including Banshee, Hank McCoy turning into Beast, and Emma Frost shifting into her diamond form. Here it is!

The film is out — in English — on June 3.

Listed among the newly released DC Comics solicitations for June 2011, but worth noting on its own: Kelly Sue DeConnick, writer of current Marvel miniseries Osborn, is taking over Supergirl for three issues. Most of DeConnick’s work has been at Marvel as of late, including Rescue and Sif one-shots, and her husband is Marvel “architect” Matt Fraction. Between this and the New Mutants and Heroes For Hire team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning writing two Flashpoint tie-in miniseries, is this an indication that writing simultaneously for Marvel and DC — something fairly rare over the last decade — is becoming increasingly more common? Maybe, maybe not, but feel free to ponder that notion as you read over the solicitation text for June’s issue #65, which also features ChrisCross on art. That and the cover are after the jump.

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It sounded so good at the time: in early September, news surfaced that Warner Bros. TV was working with Supernatural creator Eric Kripke on a TV adaptation of Sandman, Neil Gaiman’s universally acclaimed DC Comics fantasy epic that inspired the creation of the mature readers Vertigo imprint. That initial surfacing was pretty much the only news to materialize about the series though, and with the TV biz in the deep throes of pilot season (and a well-publicized DC pilot in production starring Adrianne Palicki as Wonder Woman), it wasn’t a surprise to see today’s news on the Hollywood Reporter that a Sandman series is not happening — at least this coming season.

Kripke is quoted as saying that the project has stalled for “a lot of varying reasons,” without getting into specifics. Kripke’s a noted fan, and doesn’t seem to be giving up on the idea on a Sandman TV show happening somewhere at some point.

This new commercial for the latest Lego video game offering, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars is Lego humor at its best.

As you can see, the tough Clone Trooper showing off his stuff is nothing when faced with real danger. We’ve seen Lego animals relieve themselves in-game but never characters and well, I guess this answers the age-old question about whether or not Troopers have some sort of hatch when the need arises. And apparently, it’s automatic!

The game is available everywhere games are sold on March 22 but you can get a head start by playing the mini-game online. You can’t do much in the way of building but you can unlock images and trailers as well as characters for use in the actual game. And, you can dance.

Brian Michael Bendis is a busy guy. He’s writing “the Death of Spider-Man” in Ultimate Spider-Man, plus Avengers, New Avengers, creator-owned titles Powers and Scarlet, just released a new original graphic novel called Takio, is working on development of both the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon and the Powers live-action pilot, and the screenplay for the Fire adaptation, starring Zac Efron. That’s only the stuff that’s publicly known, and the writer also said there’s a “big Icon announcement” coming up at this weekend’s C2E2 convention in Chicago.

So yeah, busy. So it’s not entirely surprising that given all of this, Bendis has declared on his message board that C2E2 would be his last convention “for a while, maybe for years,” adding that he’s also got “some amazing game stuff yet to be announced” in the works. So, if you’re a Bendis fan and you’re going to be in the Chicago area this weekend but have been on the fence about attending C2E2, let this be motivation. And fresh from his board, his convention schedule (signings, panels, y’know) is after the jump.

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Political cartoonists on the tragedy in Japan: Daryl Cagle has begun assembling his gallery; Katsushika Hokusai’s famous wave image was a popular source of visual inspiration, as was the Japanese flag. Dave Fitzsimmons and Gary Markstein went with Godzilla, however.

A brief history of E.C. Segar’s Popeye: Writing for the LA Times, Anthony Mostrom details the origins of the comic strip character turned cartoon star.

I hope Oni Press uses this as a blurb on future editions: “The No. 1 Graphic Novel for Little Lambs”

Kevin Nowlan draws Yoda: I repeat, Kevin Nowlan draws Yoda.

Two great posts full of great art: iFanboy rounds up a week’s worth of sketches from the Internet, including a nice Batman Vs. Gorilla Grodd image by Gabriel Hardman and an even nicer Batman Vs. Wonder Woman image from Phil Noto (Didn’t that exact scene happen in an issue of JLA? Only Batman looked a little less nervous?) Meanwhile, Yan Basque posts a bunch of images form a young artist who seems to specialize in drawing great images of teen heroes—especially current Robin Damian Wayne (Who is the Colin he’s sharing a couch with in the first image? Should I recognize that character? )

iZombie v. 1: Dead to the World
Written by Chris Roberson
Illustrated by Mike Allred
Colored by Laura Allred
Lettered by Todd Klein
Published by DC/Vertigo

It’s probably not Roberson and Allred’s fault, but I found this particular trade paperback less than satisfying. It just never provided any sense of resolution to the reader – and I understand, this being an ongoing serial, some storylines will remain open for perhaps years. Yet I still prefer that each book in a series gives some closure to some piece of the narrative. I quit monthly comics ten years ago because trades were a more satisfying reading experience. With longer stories becoming the norm, but publishers opting for low-cost collections of only five, maybe six, issues, even trades are often unsatisfying these days. Putting more pages in these collections is strongly encourged, by me anyway. Price resistance kicks in when I know I have to pay many times for what I could have in fewer installments.

Of course, even if Dead to the World provided a clearer resolution, I’m not sure I’d be back for more. iZombie‘s a cute series, about Gwen, a zombie lady who must eat brains once a month or become a mindless, shambling monstrosity, and what occurs when her latest brain comes with memories of its own murder. But it’s still a zombie book, with vampires, monster hunters, ghosts and a were-terrier. It’s building its own particular take on these creature mythologies, but it’s all still monster mythology.  The monster subgenre of horror isn’t really my thing, so I can appreciate a solid twist and some nice art, but there’s no deeper hook here to bring me into it.

Roberson’s stiff dialogue carries the story, but doesn’t get deeper into the characters. The plot swerves effectively in a few key places, such as Amon’s back story, but it’s all plot – there’s no deeper significance to any of it. Mike Allred’s long been a favorite comic artist of mine, with a clean pop-art, cute-girl style that doesn’t seem obviously suited to a monster comic. Yet he acquits himself very well in iZombie, with strong character designs and clear page layouts, bringing a brightness and clarity to Gwen’s sullen lot in life.

In short, iZombie‘s an interesting series, but not necessarily a compelling one. I’m sure many readers will dig it – those with more interest in monster movie riffs than I, for example – but Dead to the World doesn’t set the series up to be anything more than a middling (if pretty-looking) genre exercise.

It has been a few decades since we’ve had Conan the Barbarian on the big screen, and more than a year since Jason Momoa was cast as Robert E. Howard’s classic character. We’ve seen a few shots here and there, and now there’s finally a teaser via Yahoo! movies.

Well it certainly teases, that’s for sure.

So we’re still getting a sword and sorcery vibe still, but nothing really solid to the plot. This whole not showing but telling approach worked for The Dark Knight, but here I’m just confused. What do you readers think?

Eisner Award winning Jeff Smith of Bone fame has just found himself in a very nice position. His black-and-white comic book RASL has been optioned for a feature film.

RASL is a science fiction noir comic book series written and drawn by Smith, originally self-published in 2008. The book centers on an ex-military scientist turned art thief, named RASL, who travels to parallel universes to steal parallel paintings. Of course the life of a thief is fraught with problems as RASL is hunted by the police, the government and an lizard-faced assassin.

According to Deadline, Lionel Wigram, the producer who cleverly put together a short comic treatment with artist Gregory Noveck for his Sherlock Holmes movie pitch to Warner Bros., is the one who has acquired the rights to RASL.

“Wigram, who just wrapped Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, said he was tipped to the comic by colleague Peter Eskelsen and bought it with his own cash” reported Deadline. Wigram will act as producer with Eskelsen and Smith along as executive producers. ”We’ll team with a writer and figure out how to adapt it to the screen and hopefully it will become a big movie franchise for Warner Bros.,” said Wigram.

And the latest in the Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark saga: With a new creative team in place, the new opening date for the troubled, much-delayed, most-expensive Broadway musical in history is June 12, approximately three months to this very day, according to Deadline. Previews start up again on May 12, all previews before that have been canceled. Will the nth time be the charm? We’ll find out in about 90 days.

Mere days after Bluewater Productions announced their completely inevitable Charlie Sheen bio comic, Ardden Entertainment co-president Brendan Deneen has given us news of his own Charlie Sheen-related project: a novella (not a comic, it should be noted) called Vatican Assassin Warlock, which appears to take Sheen’s extreme rhetoric quite literally — for instance, the two “goddesses” are, in this case, actual goddesses. Deneen is co-writing with author Max Brallier (author of Can You Survive The Zombie Apocalypse?), and, clearly in the interest of capitalizing on the current cultural zeitgeist, the Vatican Assassin Warlock will be out as a 99-cent e-book on Amazon and iVerse next week.

Full cover below.

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We’re doing something different this week, boys and girls. Some of you might have realized by my post earlier this week concerning the nature of Superman and what I want in the next movie that the Man of Steel is on my mind. This week, we will not be discussing him but rather his imperfect reflection.

BIZARRO #1: What down, cat?

And joining me this week is the imperfect duplicate in person: Bizarro #1, as he calls himself. Now, as continuity stands, Bizarro was initially created during an attempt to clone Superman. The scientist who made him, employed by Lex Luthor, was unable to fully understand the alien DNA of a Kryptonian. As a result, this “bizarre clone” became an imperfect duplicate, with calcified skin and a twisted form of logic. Later attempts led to the same results and each clone was destroyed, until finally the Joker-

BIZARRO #1: Not speaking frontwards! Bizarro #1 am me and not end that way!

I’m sorry? “Not speaking frontwards”? Is that you’re Bizarro way of saying you WANT me to tell it backwards?

BIZARRO #1 (nodding head): NO!

But I’m speaking chronologically. It’s how we do things on round Earth as opposed to your square Bizarro World.

BIZARRO #1: Your DAD not speaks chronologically!

There’s no need to make this personal! Look, let’s just jump into the fashion discussion, okay? I warn you though, we’re doing the rest of this chronologically! And we’re sticking primarily with mainstream continuity!

BIZARRO (growling): Me like you very much.

Whatever. Let’s get on with this.

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Marvel’s hosting another one of their conference calls with the press at 2 p.m. this afternoon, and it’s a big one: writer Matt Fraction and Marvel senior vice president of publishing Tom Brevoort will both be on the call, talking the big Fear Itself miniseries (and related tie-ins) starting next month. As always, Newsarama will be on the line providing live coverage, and if you have any questions you’d like to see asked, feel free to let us know in the comments and we shall do our very best.

Are we ever going to see a Peter Wheat collection of some kind?: I see these lovely looking Walt Kelly Peter Wheat comics linked to here and there on the comics blogosphere every few months or so. Here’s one at Whirled of Kelly, which I saw linked to at Comics Reporter the other day. I do hope some publisher somewhere is contemplating this.

Of all the comics in creation, I can honestly say Fletcher Hanks’ were the last ones I would have ever expected to be used as RPG source material: But what do I know?

“Hulk not understand second act! Hulk smash!!!”: Ward Sutton channels John Romita for a Turn Off The Dark review in the form of a comic story for The Village Voice. Within the panels you’ll learn what such Marvels as Spidey, The Green Goblin, Aunt May and The Hulk think of the it.

So what are the chances that the folks at DC designed the new, improbably revealing Star Sapphire costumes just in the hopes that cosplayers would wear them?: That was my first thought when I saw this picture. Okay, my second thought. Wait, I also wondered how it was staying on, so third thought.

The Mindless Ones vs. The Joker: Check out the first part of a three-part series examining different portrayals of The Joker, beginning with Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s The Killing Joke. It’s a great piece.

I sold my copy of Mouse Guard #1 to a Half Price Books for a dime when I got the trade collection: I really wish Rich Johnston wouldn’t do this; I thought the death of print Wizard would be the end of comics speculation, or at least comics media’s promotion of it as an important aspect of the medium, but I guess not. Of course, maybe I’m just bitter because if I would have kept my copy of Mouse Guard until today, I could trade it in for five tanks of gas…

X-9: Secret Agent Corrigan v.1: 1967-1969
Written by Archie Goodwin
Illustrated by Al Williamson
Published by IDW/Library of American Comics

The daily newspaper Secret Agent X-9 debuted in 1934 with an impressive creative pedigree. Dashiell Hammett, following his successes with The Maltese Falcon and Red Harvest,  scripted the sleuth’s adventures, and Flash Gordon/Rip Kirby creator (and perhaps the most influential comics illustrator ever) Alex Raymond handled the artwork.

Both men soon abandoned their nameless detective, who travelled with a variety of creators for three decades until 1967 when Al Williamson, a longtime disciple of Raymond’s style, was hired to take over drawing the strip. Williamson recruited colleague and friend Archie Goodwin to write adventures for X-9, which was retitled Secret Agent Corrigan.

This book collects the earliest stories from Goodwin and Williamson’s twelve-year Corrigan run.

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“Look, up in the sky!”

It’s not just a geek thing. Americans who’ve been in the habit of watching television and films for the past thirty years should know that phrase, even if they’ve never picked up a comic book in their life. But it’s not just a joke or a cliche. It is actually, when you break it down to basics, what Superman is all about.

“Look, up in the sky.” Not a bird or a plane. And certainly not just one of a crowd of superheroes. That figure flying towards us is an angelic (though humanly flawed) being who came down from the stars, wearing a shield on his chest decorated by an alien symbol for hope. He’s an orphaned farm boy who hates bullies and has dedicated himself to protect and inspire the planet that adopted him.

People are talking and arguing about what has to happen in the new Superman movie that will be directed by Zack Snyder. I could talk about what kind of story I’d like or what villains I want to see (Christopher Eccleston as Brainiac!), but that’s a matter of personal preference. My main concern is that this movie be great. A “decent” Superman film will not cut it for me, not after many were disappointed with Superman Returns (some fine acting, but a lackluster story). I want great. And part of how to do that, I think, is to remember that Superman can still stand out among hundreds of other costumed heroes who have followed in his wake. He’s not just Kal-El, Last Son of Krypton, he’s also called the Man of Tomorrow.

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