Update 1:15 PM: The final cancelled title is Voodoo, as revealed in the Edge Group Solicits.

The WildStorm carry over was mired by a rough run from the beginning. First came the criticism that it was too overtly sexual with scenes in a strip club in the first issue. Then writer Ron Marz was replaced before his first arc even finished, launching the wave of creative changes that hasn’t stopped since.

Regardless, September sees the end of Voodoo, Resurrection Man, Captain Atom, and Justice League International, having seen all four through year-long runs. Final solicitation for Voodoo follows:

VOODOO #0

Written by JOSH WILLIAMSON

Art by SAMI BASRI

Cover by PAULO SIQUEIRA

On sale SEPTEMBER 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+ • FINAL ISSUE

• The truth about Pris is revealed at last as she sets off on a mission for vengeance that can only end in genocide!

Update 12:15 PM: And Resurrection Man makes three. Revealed in the Dark Group Solicits, this is it for the man that can’t die. Whoops. Still to come: Young Justice Group, Edge Group, and Superman Group.

RESURRECTION MAN #0

Written by DAN ABNETT and ANDY LANNING

Art by JESUS SAIZ

Cover by FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA

On sale SEPTEMBER 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+ • FINAL ISSUE

• Mitch Shelley discovers the truth of his existence, and even the ability to return from the dead won’t save him!

Original Story: DC’s Solicitations will roll out throughout the day today, and with that the question of the other three cancelled series, joining Justice League International, will be answered.

First up is Captain Atom, with #0 listed as the final issue in the Justice League Group solicits:

CAPTAIN ATOM #0

Written by J.T. KRUL

Art and cover by FREDDIE E. WILLIAMS II

On sale SEPTEMBER 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE

• Captain Nathaniel Adam volunteers for a dangerous experiment that will make him one of the most powerful heroes in the DC Universe!

• How much can man lose before he is no longer human?

That’s two down and two to go, then.

Which other two titles do you think will be cut? Note that both Hawkman and Firestorm, two “bubble” titles, seem to have survived, based on their solicitations for September.

… as an actor. The Hollywood Reporter cites the ubiquitous “sources” saying the Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director has joined the cast of Iron Man 3, reprising his role as Happy Hogan, though it is unknown has large a role it will be this time around.

THR is spinning his casting as indication as an endorsement by Favreau of new director Shane Black.

The film began principle photography in Wilmington, North Carolina earlier this week, and at least according to one report has received a $60 million dollar budget boost (from $140m to $200m) in wake of The Avengers global box office success.

In other Avengers-verse movie news, Mads Mikkelsen, perhaps best known as Le Chiffre in the James Bond revival Casino Royale, has been cast in a villainous role next to Tom Hiddleston (Loki, of course) in Thor 2. Games of Thrones’s Alan Taylor directs that sequel, which will feature most of the cast from the first film.

Speaking of which, Anthony Hopkins (Odin) is looking to carve out time in his Thor 2 shooting schedule to join the cast of Red 2, the sequel to the Warren Ellis-written comic book inspired film starring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich.

Hopkins would reportedly play a genius scientist who was locked up in an insane asylum, which wouldn’t be the first time the veteran actor has been fitted for a straightjacket for a big screen role.

Sparkshooter has been going for a few months now, and writer Troy Brownfield (Newsarama readers may have heard of him) and artist Sarah Vaughn are clearly having fun with the rock n’ roll webcomic.

To celebrate the coming of Sondra Li, the band’s new lead singer, the creative team put together a fun promo image. The image shows off her introduction in a familiar fashion, giving a shout-out to Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson.

Check out the image, and the full press release, below, and go to Sparkshooter.com for more band comic goodness.

Press Release: When Sparkshooter, the webcomic from Troy Brownfield and Sarah Vaughn, launched in February, it came with the promise that a new singer would shake up the group of friends that formerly provided the backbone of the group Crazy Yeats.  With Crazy Yeats dissolved and a new band in the offing, get ready to meet Sondra Li!

Sondra debuts on Page 13 of Sparkshooter, which posts on Wednesday, May 23rd.  To commemorate this shift in the story, series artist Sarah Vaughn created a special promo inspired by the work of Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson on the cover to Justice League of America #75, the issue wherein Black Canary joins the team.

Writer Troy Brownfield said, “With the arrival of Sondra, the whole story moves into a new direction.  Immediately following Sondra’s debut, you’ll also meet Jack Spencer, the once and future manager of the guys.  He’s going to give you some info in the coming weeks that explains how the boys got together and sets up one of the central conflicts for months to come.”

Become our friend on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sparkshootercomic

You can also follow Sparkshooter on Twitter @sparkshootercom

A new page of Sparkshooter posts every Wednesday at www.sparkshooter.com

UPDATE MAY 17: The official fall schedule has been revealed for the CW, and we now know where Arrow fits in. The new DC Comics series will be airing at 8pm on Wednesday nights, as a lead-in to the popular genre series Supernatural, giving CW a “Kick-A** Wednesday Night,” said a press release. The series, and their full fall schedule, should launch October 2012.

Original Story: Deadline.com reports Friday afternoon the CW has officially picked up Arrow – the Green Arrow-based hour-long drama.

30 year-old Canadian Stephen Amell plays the title role. The series is helmed by David Nutter, who directed the Smallville, Supernatural and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles pilots, and written and executive produced by Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti and comic book veteran Marc Guggenheim.

More importantly to our readers, CW has also picked up The Carrie Diaries, a Sex and the City prequel series.

CW’s official description follows after the jump.

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So, you have a line of collectible toys, statues, and DC-branded bits like power rings and pins, and you want to sell them directly. Moving from one of the words in that sentence to the other isn’t a huge, drastic name change, but the fact that DC Entertainment is going to actually move into “Direct” sales is.

DC announced the name change of their toy line today via a post on The Source blog, but the bigger part of the announcement is the opening of a webstore that will hold all of the DC Collectibles products. Found at DCComics.com/Collectibles, the site currently merely acts as a portal to the existing WB Store, “WBShop.com”. Some products are currently unavailable online, and instead only have links to “Comicshoplocator.com” which helps fans find the product at their local store. When the full online store launches in May 2012, all products will be available directly there, without any external linkage needed.

Will retailers get upset over this “step” into the direct market? Well, it’s really just a lateral motion, and a way to try to leverage more direct dccomics.com visits, so probably not much to speak of. Regardless, your DC Direct branded figures just became more… Collectible.

In the latest DC New 52 creative shakeup, Paul Jenkins, currently the writer of Batman: The Dark Knight and DCU Presents‘ first six issues, will be taking over Stormwatch in March 2012 – but only for two issues.

Writing issues 7 and 8, as announced on DC’s The Source blog, Jenkins will be telling the story of inter-dimensional raiders coming to steal Earth’s gravity. Sounds like a “heavy” tale (I’m so sorry). On the blog, editor Pat McCallum said of the story:

“The Stormwatch crew can’t ever catch a break — no simple threats like bloodthirsty monsters or world-dominating supervillains to stop, it’s always some mind-cracking knot that Apollo, Midnighter and the rest of the crew have to untie,” says editor Pat McCallum. “This time out, Stormwatch have to solve the puzzle of dimension-stepping gravity miners, creatures so alien they’re not even technically alive. The last stand of humanity or, as Stormwatch calls it, ‘Monday.’”

No word on who will be writing the series with issue #9. Current series writer Paul Cornell announced he is off the book after issue #6 and won’t be returning on his Twitter account. He is staying on his other DC New 52 title, Demon Knights, however.

Marc Bernardin is the new ongoing writer of Static Shock starting with issue #7, currently due March 2012, DC announced this morning on The Source. Scott McDaniel, the current artist on the book, is sticking around with the new scribe.

John Rozum launched the book as part of the DC New 52 initiative, and had the distinction of being the first creative change for the line-up, resigning from the title just one week after the first issue was released.

Bernardin has extensive credits in TV and comics, having previously written The Authority for DC under the now-defunct WildStorm banner. Currently, he writes for SyFy’s Alphas. On the Source, he had this to say about the new gig:

“The thing that excites me, as both a writer and a reader, about STATIC SHOCK is that it features a hero that we don’t really know yet — at least, in comics, anyway. (Fans of the Static Shock TV show will kindly forgive me.) Virgil Hawkins is young, still figuring out the full extent of his powers, and navigating the full range of teenage tragedies: Being the new kid in a new school, asking out the pretty girl, finding time for his homework, etc. And he’s one of the few young heroes without a built-in father figure: He’s not an offshoot of Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, or the Martian Manhunter. He’s his own man, for better or for worse. And all of that offers a lot of grist for the writer-y mill. And I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t feel a humbling sense of responsibility to get this one right. The late Dwayne McDuffie still stands as a titan in this industry – and while I’m not so presumptuous as to think I can write Static as well as he did, I’m hoping I can write a Static he’d get a chuckle out of.”

The “Red Circle” group of heroes has returned to Archie Comics after a brief run with DC Comics, but they are returning with more than one twist.

Archie announced the return of super hero comics in their line via the New York Times last night. In the announcement, they detailed the return, which features the classic heroes living in retirement in a community called, appropriately enough, “Red Circle.” Most of these retired heroes are killed, and replacements, the New Crusaders are brought in to save the day, led by veteran The Shield. The new stories will be 6-page digital exclusives written by Ian Flynn and drawn by Ben Bates, with no release schedule revealed.

In addition to these shorts however, Archie will be offering an extensive digital archive featuring their superheroes. For a low (not yet determined) monthly fee, only $3 or $4, readers will have access to the new stories plus an archive featuring “thousands and thousands of pages” of older stories. More details as they come, but what do you think of this deal so far?

Action Comics, Justice League, and Batgirl previously were announced by DC Comics as going to third printings of their first issue, and now Detective Comics and Swamp Thing join the crew.

Detective is a natural: along with Action and JL, it is absolutely considered a flagship book for the company. Likewise, Batgirl received a lot of attention from the media (us included) due to the miraculous healing of paralyzed Barbara Gordon, placing her back in a walking, running, jumping costume. Swamp Thing is a bigger indication of the diversity of stories being told in the New 52, though, and the fact that they are also selling well.

Justice League #1, so far, is the only one of the titles on its fourth printing. The second issues of the week one titles, including both of these new additions to the third printing club, hit stores tomorrow.

Today’s SWTOR Friday update is a big one, a whole new feature on the website. Through the new Galaxy Map, fans can tour the Galaxy, checking out the location of many of the planets you’ll be adventuring to within the game, from core worlds to Hutta, from wretched hives of scum and villainy to the ancestral home of the Sith.

The real fun, though, comes in exploring the 3D mode with the help of a very quick install plug-in. Here, you can zoom in on planets, watch videos that give you brief fly-by tours of actual places on the planet you’ll be able to see in-game, read detailed descriptions of the planet, what happens there, their allegiance and other facts, and even see the starships that are found commonly in that system, complete with rotating 3D models and text detail there as well.

As a note, if you have the means to hook a computer up to a big screen television for this experience, do it. With the epic Star Wars music playing in the background, it becomes a different experience at full screen in the living room.

With the game recently announced as coming out December 20th in the US, it’s nice for new features like this to be added into the site so that die-hard fans can explore the worlds of Star Wars: The Old Republic early and prepare for their journey into a long (long, long, long – hey, this takes place 3,000 years before the movies, people) time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Click here to jump directly to the new Galaxy Map!

Yesterday was Aquaman’s 70th birthday, a huge achievement for a character that has often lacked definition, and at some times been a laughing stock.

To celebrate the character’s birthday, fansite Aquaman Shrine threw a big old birthday party for Arthur, bringing along some big names and notable friends.

They have writers like Dan Abnett and Tony Bedard. They have the voice of Aquaman from Superfriends. Dan DiDio, Patrick Gleason, and many more contributed to say Happy Birthday to the King of Seas, and show why the character should be celebrated.

Of course, that’s not all for Aquaman this week, as he also gets a brand new #1 issue of an ongoing series, from writer Geoff Johns and artist Ivan Reis!

So pop on over to our friends at Aquaman Shrine and add your best wishes!

We’ve talked a lot about Star Wars: The Old Republic, BioWare’s upcoming MMORPG, including talking about its tie-ins in novel and comic book form.

Today on the official site of the game, senior writer Alexander Freed, who has also written two arcs of the SWTOR comic for Dark Horse, has an extensive post about writing tie-ins, writing licenses, and just writing in general. Some of his writing rules definitely reach outside of just game comics, especially this one:

Assume Nothing

In addition to having connections to the game, a The Old Republic tie-in also needs to stand on its own. Not every reader is going to be intimately familiar with the game’s background and characters (especially before the game has come out!). For that matter, some may only have a broad familiarity with the Star Wars movies–perhaps they’ve only ever seen the original trilogy and don’t know Jar Jar Binks from Mara Jade.

So how do you write for an audience of casual fans along with the hardcore? You assume no foreknowledge on the part of the reader and you introduce everything he or she needs to know–and you make sure that you have characters and situations that resonate regardless of how they interact with the game.

Does a reader of The Lost Suns need to know that Theron Shan’s mother is a Jedi? Absolutely, and seeing Satele Shan in action during her youth (as we do in both the “Return” cinematic and The Lost Suns issue one) helps establish Theron’s identity and the setting as a whole.

Does a reader of Blood of the Empire need to know that Exal Kressh is the latest child of a Sith bloodline going back to Ludo Kressh (a character established in Tales of the Jedi comic series)? Absolutely not! Knowledgeable fans will spot the reference and infer its impact on Exal’s character, but it’s an extra–not an integral part of the plot.

There is one exception to the rule, however, and that is to always assume that your audience is smart. Give readers a strong story with characters they care about, and they’ll figure out what matters. There is no need to spoon-feed people. Simply make sure everything they need is there and they will put it all together.

Tons more from Freed at the link here as part of SWTOR.com’s weekly Friday updates. And just in case you don’t feel like exploring once you click over, here’s the awesome new Smuggler class progression video for you, too, right after the jump.

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The short answer is no, but that’s not how one retailer felt after a tweet Kurtz put out into the internets inquiring about Justice League #1. The webcomic creator told the story on his Google+ account, seeming not to be picking a fight, but just genuinely baffled.

“”So wait, can I just buy Justice League #1 on my iPad now? Do I even need to go to a shop?”

Immediately my followers let me know the facts. Yes. I can purchase it via the comixology app. For the exact cost of the print version (no discount). If you want to skip the store today. Fair enough.

And the truth is, I do. I want to skip the store today. I do not want to drive to Lynnwood to purchase a $3.99 comic out of curiosity. I don’t collect floppies. I don’t polybag. I don’t fill longboxes. I’m fine reading this digitally with the idea that I’m kinda only “renting” the comic anyway.

Then, I got a twitter reply from a retailer who said:

“@pvponline with the disdain you seem to have for us brick and mortars, it makes me wonder why I carry PVP books in my shop”

Which I found unsettling and very telling. He followed up to let me know that “the tone of [my] post made it seem as though comic shops don’t provide any value-add or service.”"

Kurtz goes on to analyze the retailer’s statement, and finds that in some cases, the answer is unfortunately, “no, they don’t.”

He told about how personally he makes more money selling PVP books directly than he does selling them through Diamond. He talked about the simple ease of getting books digitally or from an online store.

So it does beg the question: What do retailers need to do to continue providing “value-add” to customers who have an increasing ability to pick up their wares more easily?

When the shadowy first image showed up from Superman: Man of Steel, we wondered, along with many fans, if the well-placed shadow was hiding the red trunks or not. Turns out, not.

The image, from Superhero Hype (click the name for a couple more), shows clearly that like his DC “New 52″ counterpart, the new movie Superman will not have red trunks as part of his costume. On the right side of the image is the black-clad villainess Faora of Krypton, as well. The guy between them dressed like Metamorpho is likely not, but dang, that’s uncanny isn’t it?

So what do you think now that we can see the full costume clearly, folks?

We may have little, shy of a teaser trailer and some production shots, from The Amazing Spider-Man, due in theaters in 2012, but the sequel is already underway, with a release date announced by Sony Pictures today.

May 2, 2014, less than two years after the July 3, 2012 release date of the first film, is the tentative release for the sequel.

Now that we’ve looked 3 years in the future, let’s all take a step back and let the first Marc Webb directed, Andrew Garfield starring film come out first, shall we?

While we won’t have the video embedded for you here (sorry, but it’s disappearing just as quickly as it shows up), the Amazing Spider-Man teaser that is likely to premiere at the SDCC panel for the movie later this week has leaked online.

The big focal points for the teaser are a slightly darker tone to the story, Peter being a bit more of a loner by choice, and that crazy POV sequence at the end. Whether the movie itself will ever show us what it looks like being inside the Spider-Man mask, the teaser nailed the effect, and has people talking.

The teaser can currently be found on What Would Tyler Durden Do, but no guarantees, folks. When the real-deal gets released later this week, we’ll have it here for you asap.

So now she doesn’t have pants?

With the costume change last year for Wonder Woman, a lot of focus was placed on the fact that she had pants, losing the star spangled bathing suit style bottoms. When the relaunch of the entire line was announced, people wondered what costume Diana would don, and some were disappointed to see the long blue leggings once more.

Now, however, on DC’s seasonal preview magazine cover, Wonder Woman is back in the original bathing suit, and out of the pants that were seen in the solicited cover to Wonder Woman #1. Could she, like her failed TV Pilot counterpart, be switching back and forth between the two? More as soon as we hear it…

UPDATE: When we reached DC for comment, a representative simply had this to say:

“We can confirm that the actual cover to issue 1 has now been revealed.”

Sounds like Wondy’s doing the no-pants dance after all!

The Batgirls. Just two of our top missing heroes over at the main site (click here for the full countdown). As we’ve done before, we thought now would be a good time to reach out through our cosmic treadmill-connected computer here at Newsarama HQ and ask these characters themselves what they think of being excluded. Some of them had a lot to say, some of them were just too shocked to say much at all. See what they think after the break, then tell us what YOU think.

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This is one of those wonderful times that I get to just let the post speak, or as the case may be sing for itself. If you haven’t heard nerdrock group Kirby Krackle’s Green Lantern themed song “Ring Capacity” yet, now it’s easier than ever to take in with their all-new animated video! Check out the video below, then hit the jump for information on the animator and links to more Krackle-y goodness!

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Latino Review, who get things right more often than not when it comes to the world of movies and breaking secrets before anyone else, has been playing their game with Marvel Studios from the start. Of course, at the top of their minds is The Avengers, the big get-the-whole-band-together film coming in May of 2012.

They correctly predicted back in March of this year that Loki would be a villain in the team movie, a point proven in the Joss Whedon-directed after-credits scene of Thor. At that same time, they posited that Loki would be the impetus bringing in the rumored Skrulls to the mix. Now, they have another major villain they assure readers will be in the film. See who after the jump, with the obligatory “potential spoilers ahead.”

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