UPDATE, 7:57AM: Marvel.com now has the official word. As readers speculated below, David’s casting ideas were utterly ridiculous. From Marvel:

Fandral will be played by Stuart Townsend. The job of Hogun goes to Tadanobu Asano. And Volstagg will be portrayed Ray Stevenson.

Now read on, and everyone point and laugh at David. Go on, it’s okay this time. -The Management

UPDATE, 11:48PM: Variety has since taken down the link to the story — no word yet as to the reasons why. It could be incorrect, or it could be simply because it was posted prematurely. Until they repost the article, I’d take this all with a grain of salt. That said, this is Variety we’re talking about here, so if anyone’s to be believed at this point, it’s them.

11:24PM: Wow, that was some quick turnaround — while Chuck’s Zachary Levi was reported today to have backed out of playing Fandral the Dashing, Variety seems to have announced that Kenneth Branagh has found his Warriors Three!

According to Variety (from left to right), Stuart Townsend (from the Anne Rice film Queen of the Damned), Ray Stevenson (from Punisher: War Zone), and Tadanobu Asano (from Mongol) have been cast as the Warriors Three. The film is due out May 2011.

I could certainly see Townsend and Stevenson as Fandral the Dashing and Hogun the Grim, but that leaves me wondering where Asano would fit — he certainly isn’t as massive as Volstagg the Voluminous, but perhaps they’re toning down the humorous aspect of the character? That said, this could also be a slip on Variety’s part as well — this comic book continuity stuff is hard work! But what say you, Rama readers? You ready to ride into battle with the Warriors Three?

Sorry, Felicia — you just didn’t hit the jackpot.

Entertainment Weekly has reported that Rachel McAdams — heavily rumored last week to be in the running for the role of the Black Cat in the upcoming Spider-Man 4 film — is most definitely not going to be stealing any scenes as the black-leather-clad cat thief anytime soon.

“That’s a total rumor, I have to say,” McAdams said to EW. “I was hanging out in Toronto the other day and someone came up to me and said, ‘I just heard you’re doing Spider-Man 4.‘ And I said, ‘Really? No one told me!’ It’s not true.”

With that rumor out of the way, the question remains — who would you want to see as the Black Cat? Sound off!

Those of you who have been fans of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, this might be some great news for you!

According to Shock ‘Til You Drop, the prolific author said a a book signing that he had “one more Dark Tower book to write.”

The Liljas-Library site also issued the following note, allegedly from Stephen King’s message board — that said, I’m taking this one with a grain of salt, as I have not been able to find a direct link yet:

“Stephen has given me permission to pass along that he has an idea for a new Dark Tower book, the working title of which will be The Wind Through The Keyhole. He has not yet started this book and anticipates that it will be a minimum of eight months before he is able to begin writing it.”

Considering the Dark Tower series has been lovingly rendered by Marvel, with creators such as Peter David, Robin Furth, Richard Isanove, and Jae Lee, this could be some welcome news for comics fans. It may not focus specifically on the Gunslinger himself — according to Zach Dionne at GQ, this will likely focus on supporting characters, especially dealing with events from Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla — but this may definitely tie up some loose ends. Thoughts?

Usually the “almost-cast-but-didn’t” kind of news doesn’t really stir our fancy, but USA Weekend has a post up that makes me almost mournful regarding the upcoming Thor film.

According to their interview, Chuck star Zachary Levi was apparently cast in the Kenneth Branagh-directed film to play Fandral the Dashing. He also said that at one point he had been considered for the main role of Thor himself, having even begun an exercise regimen to bulk up.

(Un)Fortunately, Levi had to back out of the production in order to film six more episodes of Chuck that NBC had ordered. At the very least, however, this means that the Warriors Three have to be in the film — who would you cast as Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg? Sound off!

Is it that time of the month again already? Last week, Paul O’Brien and Marc-Oliver Frisch posted their monthly analysis of Marvel Comics and DC Comics sales figures, assembled from ICv2.com’s numbers, at Publisher Weekly’s The Beat.

And then I read the results. And had some thoughts while reading those results. And I wrote them down. And now I’m going to post them on the Internet. And then you can read them and we can all talk about these figures, and what they mean.

But not here, in public like this. Let’s meet after the jump and do it there, okay?

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Gosh darn that Parker luck!

The L.A. Times has reported that Ol’ Spidey has gotten himself into a little bit of a tangled web — with the LAPD.

What happened? 39-year-old Spider-Man impersonator Christopher Loomis was arrested by police, after calls came in of Spider-Man assaulting someone at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

A cultural landmark known for costumed versions of Stormtroopers, Chewbacca, Superman, and more, it proved to be difficult for the police to find which of four Spideys clocked a bystander in the face. Second one proved to be a charm, and he was arrested for oustanding warrents to the tune of $5,500.

Looks like somebody’s going to be crashing with Aunt May for awhile.

Considering how we’ve heard how Marvel intends to reboot certain underperforming film franchises — the Fantastic Four and Daredevil being two that spring to mind — MTV has some interesting news about the Spirit of Vengeance himself. Namely, that a reboot is not in Johnny Blaze’s future.

“This story picks up eight years after the first film. You don’t have to have seen the first film. It doesn’t contradict anything that happened in the first film, but we’re pretending that our audience hasn’t seen the first film,” David Goyer told MTV. “It’s as if you took that same character where things ended in the first film and then picked it up eight years later—he’s just in a much darker, existential place.”

Goyer said he hoped that the next film — which will be darker and less over-the-top — would do the Ghost Rider franchise what Casino Royale did to reenergize the James Bond series. The thing I’m curious about is: will Nicholas Cage return? On the one hand, he wasn’t exactly hitting Leaving Las Vegas levels with the last film, but on the other hand, his recent financial troubles may make him a bit of a bargain for Marvel. What say you, Rama readers?

Dragons, dragons everywhere! The She-Dragon has returned–looking ten different kinds of creepy–and finds herself facing off against a revived Savage Dragon who may be suffering from acute amnesia–or may have Emperor Kurr’s memories restored to him. All the while, there are bad guys trying to use Dragon’s blood to turn some of their B- and C-listers into Dragon-baddie hybrids, and a dark, ominous dragon calling some of the other ones names. (more…)

Karl Kerschl has posted up an awesome sketch this weekend of that fiercest of X-Men, Wolverine, and with this image — forgive the pun — you better believe he tore up from the floor up:

Kerschl quipped that this image is probably of Logan frustrated that he lost his keys, but I say if that would mean we could see this guy take on Wolverine more often, I’d probably toss those keys down the sewer drain myself. What do you think, Rama readers?

Muscles, long flowing hair, a European vibe — I’m not talking about Thor, I’m talking about Fabio!

But Colleen Doran reports that the two could have very easily become synonymous, as she posted some images from a now-decommissioned animated series the European model green-lit. Considering the series’ logline — “with power comes responsibility” — sounds fairly similar to a well-known Webhead, part of me is kind of glad this thing is in development hell. What say you?

Comics Alliance has a particularly fascinating post up, going back to the days of yore — 1990, that is.

In those glory days of million-selling comics, House of Ideas architect Stan Lee also did some video interviews with “Comic Book Greats” — and in this case, the interview is with Rob Liefeld.

What’s so fascinating for me is to see Liefeld really at the beginning of his career. For frame of reference, in this video, Rob Liefeld is 23 — which is both cool and a bit intimidating, as that’s exactly how old I am right now. Listening to him discuss how he broke into the industry — at age 19, no less — is a good story, even as breaking into the industry is tougher than ever.

If you click the Youtube link up above, there are additional parts to this interview — watching Rob draw “Cross” — one of the early names for Cable, if I recall correctly — is additionally cool. Do you think Rob knew how popular that character would become? And listening to him talk about style, about working with editors, well, it’s definitely something you should see. Check it out, let us know what you think!

Well, considering that new books are coming out tomorrow, if you HAVEN’T read Mighty Avengers #30 yet, and don’t want to be spoiled, just move along, nothing to see here.

Seriously, nothing to see here. Just keep reading. We’ll wait.

Okay, ready to have some high-falutin’ comics discussion? Then SPOILERS ON and read away…

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Just when you thought it was safe to go out into the comic shop…

Deadpool editor Axel Alonso has released a teaser image for the upcoming event, the Deadpool Corps! And yes, kids, they will have an oath, and they likely will be scarier than even a pack of your zombified loved ones.

According to the Deadpool Bugle, the event will come together March 2010, featuring Deadpool, Lady Deadpool, Kid Deadpool, Headpool, and Dogpool. UPDATE: Alonso has put a few more images up, including Major Deadpool, the Deadpool Kid, and a group shot with Lady Deadpool partially unmasked…

DC Comics have long been full of dark and evil gods, constantly making trouble for our heroes and heroines. But as bad as Darkseid, Ares and their ilk might be, you know the comic book gods that really scare me?

The ones some of DC writers seem to worship.

Now, the existence of a secret cult that meets in the basement of 1700 Broadway on the nights of full moons, their identities hidden even from one another by ritual cloaks and hoods, to chant in a secret, blasphemous language and bow before a profane, obscene stone idol of a hideous monster-god is just a theory of mine.

I have no actual proof of it, other than the suggestion that surely there must be some reason so many writers have begun their new series or new story arcs with a blood sacrifice, as if it were part of a ritual beseeching some entity for success.

It’s 2003, and Judd Winick and Geoff Johns are about to launch new volumes of The Outsiders and Teen Titans respectively. Their storyline kicks off in a special miniseries in which several characters are killed.

It’s 2005, and the pair—joined by Greg Rucka—are about to set the DC Universe on a course towards Infinite Crisis, and they kick it all off in a special one-shot in which they kill Blue Beetle II.

In 2008, Winick gets ready to relaunch a new Titans title, and he does so by slaughtering a half-dozen minor characters.

That same year, the Grant Morrison-written Final Crisis opens with the deaths of Orion and Martian Manhunter.

Surely there must be some reason for all this blood, and since it is the blood of fictional comic book characters, I can only imagine it’s a very peculiar, quasi-religious reason.

It can’t possibly be a creative or dramatic reason, because it’s been done so often in such a short span of time, and despite their occasional shortcomings, all of these men—even Judd Winick, whose work I like the very least—are talented, and have certainly read enough comic books to know that seeing a character get killed barely moves the needle of fan interest, let alone excitement.

These same writers have also been simultaneously restoring dead characters to life during that same time, even undoing some of the most “sacred” comic book deaths, like that of Jason Todd and Barry Allen, further making the act of death meaningless within the context of their fictional universe.

So they must worship an evil god that feeds on the imaginary blood of fictional characters—It’s the only thing that makes any sense.

I haven’t mentioned James Robinson yet.

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Todd Klein has posted on his blog that letterer Joe Rosen has passed away.

Rosen, who was 88, started his career at Harvey Comics, and had credits stretching back all the way to 1948. His most influential credits include the Frank Miller run on Daredevil (shown above), as well as the Spider-Man/Superman crossover.

The Comics Reporter had this to say about Rosen:

Rosen’s work managed to combine a certain hushed quality with routine clarity and even, one could say, a muscularity achieved through the crowded precision of the kerning. He enabled Miller’s unique voice in a way that was quite unique, and the work would have been slightly but I think perceptibly different without him. The long-time letterer’s work continues to be seen through Marvel’s increasingly aggressive reprint programs.

It’s a shame, as a lot of readers — indeed, even a lot of folks in the industry — will snub letterers, not even realizing that lettering is the glue that holds the whole she-bang together. Mark Evanier has a nice article up about the value of good lettering — check it out.

The race is on again, as Jon Favreau will not be assembling the Avengers on-screen.

The Iron Man director spoke with MTV about his decision, confirming that Marvel will have to find another director to take on the group franchise, as he says he has really focused his energies on Iron Man.

“It’s going to be hard, because I was so involved in creating the world of Iron Man and Iron Man is very much a tech-based hero, and then with ‘Avengers’ you’re going to be introducing some supernatural aspects because of Thor,” Favreau told MTV. “How you mix the two of those works very well in the comic books, but it’s going to take a lot of thoughtfulness to make that all work and not blow the reality that we’ve created.”

That said, Iron Fans, Favreau will be involved in the Avengers film as an executive producer, which presumably will give him a decent amount of say in terms of maintaining Tony Stark’s characterization and well-being in the event additional Iron Man and Avengers films came out.

So what say you, Avengers fans? Are you disappointed? Is this good news? Who do you feel should helm the Avengers franchise?

After returning from the sunny Midwest for a little R&R with the rest of Team Pepose, I’ve had some interesting stories popping up in my Inbox — especially with some news honoring one of the architects of the House of Ideas.

And lo, there came… STAN LEE DAY! The Hero Initiative has posted a copy of the actual citation given to Stan from the city of Los Angeles, where the creator of Spider-Man, the X-Men, and Fing Fang Foom was honored with his very own holiday!

I don’t know about you guys, but the idea of the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors even thinking about “the development of flawed, complex and naturalistic superhero personalities into what had previously been largely a childish and simplistic universal of one-dimensional characters” in an official capacity kind of makes me laugh a little. Congratulations, Stan!

Last week, Paul O’Brien and Marc-Oliver Frisch posted their monthly analysis of Marvel Comics and DC Comics sales figures, assembled from ICv2.com’s numbers, at Publisher Weekly’s The Beat.

I always read these with great interest, in large part because they give me the best idea of how single issues of comics seem to be selling—at least in relation to one another—in a format someone as numbers-averse as me can I understand.

God only knows how accurate the numbers themselves actually are, as Marvel and DC don’t share their exact figures (and, of course, why would any business open up their ledgers to consumers? I wouldn’t mind knowing how much it costs to print an issue of New Avengers, or what Brian Michael Bendis’ page rate is, and how much Marvel might profit off of each, but hell, it’s not like it’s any of my business).

Anyway, this particular round of analysis, addressing August sales, was particular interesting to me, as it revealed how certain books I was rather curious about were did or were doing in the Direct Market.

After the jump, some random thoughts I had while reading through the data, for your edification/entertainment/time-wasting/ignoring.

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I love snark, I love comics, and I love online social networking programs. So basically this is the Fluffernutter sandwich of the Internet for me.

The Invincible Super-Blog’s very own Chris Simms has posted even more of these superhero Facebook statuses over on Comics Alliance. It’s almost impossible for me to pick a favorite — they’re all equally brilliant. (But Daredevil and Spider-Man might be a little more brilliant.)

Marvel has a music video up, featuring the Spider-Woman motion comic by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. The song, called “Watch Your Step,” is by Dan Phillips with Anna Abbey and the Marvel Music Group.

I’ll be honest, I hadn’t heard of the Marvel Music Group before, but this song does start to grow on you after awhile — and the amount of personalization for this song was really cool. What do you think?