The unique origins of Axe Cop — a webcomic co-produced by a 5-year-old and his 29-year-0ld brother — has helped attract copious attention to the property, and the biggest step forward came Tuesday, with Variety reporting that Fox is developing it as an animated series.

Taking a cue from Adult Swim, the order is for six 15-minute installments, to be aired during their in-development late-night Saturday “Animation Domination HD” block and, unsurprisingly, run on “digital platforms.” The block is set to debut in the first quarter of 2013.

Axe Cop, by Malachai and Ethan Nicolle, debuted in 2009 and subsequently received widespread acclaim and mainstream media coverage, along with print editions published by Dark Horse Comics.

Boom. (Click to enlarge.)

Released on the Disney XD Facebook page, it looks like Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is taking a cue from Justice League Unlimited, and adding a whole lot more superheroes to the show’s cast. (For this one scene, at least.) On Wednesday, the network posted this still from an unnamed episode, along with the caption, “The Avengers have called on some Fantastic friends to help defeat the villains–can you name all of the heroes below? Don’t miss a new season of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes every Sunday after Ultimate Spider-Man on Disney XD!”

You can probably recognize most of the characters present, but no one seems quite sure who the female character between Yellowjacket and War Machine is. Our current guess: Daisy Johnson, Quake from Secret Warriors. There’s a physical resemblance — and seeing as how Quake recently joined the roster in the main Avengers comic book series, perhaps that was another sign of Marvel TV/Marvel publishing synergy, like the new White Tiger joining Avengers Academy before debuting in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series. But that really is just a guess, so feel free to let us know who you think it might be in the comments.

Also notable: A clearly grown-up Luke Cage, as opposed to the teen version of Power Man in Ultimate Spider-Man, seemingly confirming that the two shows aren’t in the same “world” — or at least, not taking place concurrently. Plus, Ant-Man and Yellowjacket — is Scott Lang making his animated debut?

The second season premiere of Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes airs on the inaugural edition of the “Marvel Universe” block on Disney XD this Sunday, April 1, following the series premiere of Ultimate Spider-Man.

Well, this is embarrassing. Turns out that, while advertising the upcoming DVD set for The Walking Dead‘s second season, AMC accidentally spoiled the end of the (still airing) show. Entertainment Weekly caught the mistake, and also took a screen capture (Spoilers for all those who click through) of the offending ad before it was pulled by AMC, who explained that the ad was “completely unauthorized,” and that “the matter is currently under investigation.” Whether or not that fact will make the spoilage of a character’s death more palatable for those who saw the original ad remains to be seen.

Want to see something great? Yesterday, the Nerdist unveiled one minute of an upcoming Plastic Man short that’ll be part of Cartoon Network’s DC Nation block next month, and it is pretty great – Very much in tune with Kyle Baker’s Plastic Man series from, oh God, about a decade ago (I am so old), so fans of old school cartoons and gags should be very happy indeed.

Between this, Tom Peyer’s Doom Patrol and Lauren Faust’s Super Best Friends Forever, I find myself really looking forward to DC Nation. If only I had more interest in either Green Lantern: The Animated Series or Young Justice…

The CW’s Green Arrow TV pilot now has an actor for the DC superhero title role, 30-year-old Canadian actor Stephen Amell, Deadline reports.

Amell’s credits include stints on fellow CW dramas The Vampire Diaries and 90210, with his, ahem, largest part of late on HBO’s Hung, where he played male prostitute Jason.

The pilot — which is currently just called Arrow — was officially ordered earlier this month. Justin Hartley played Green Arrow in Smallville, which ended last year — no word at this point if this new series will have any palpable connection to what’s come before. David Nutter, who directed the Smallville, Supernatural and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles pilots, is helming this one, written by Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti and comic book veteran Marc Guggenheim — the latter two worked on 2011′s Green Lantern feature, and created the ABC series Eli Stone.

Color me a little disappointed here. The Daily Blam reports that during the Television Critics Association press tour, the Powers pilot that was greenlit may not be picked up after all for the 2012 television season. The show would feature Jason Patric as Detective Walker, Lucy Punch as Detective Pilgrim and Charles S. Dutton as the head of a homicide police precinct. The pilot also stars Carly Foulkes as Retro Girl, Bailey Madison as young orphan Calista, Titus Welliver as Triphammer, and Vinnie Jones as, you guessed it,  mobster Johnny Royale.

Everything seemed to be in place, so what exactly happened? “[It's a] fairly substantial rewrite,” FX president John Landgraf explained, adding that much of the pilot would have to be re-shot. “Right now we’re in the process of deciding whether to pull the trigger on that re-shoot.” After filming had completed late last year and the network screened the show, screenwriter Charles Eglee was brought back to perform rewrites on the script which would retool major aspects of the pilot that didn’t quite mesh well. The Hollywood Reporter described the project as “still in limbo.”

This really is a shame, especially with the success of The Walking Dead and Smallville‘s 10 year run, I think this program would be a great addition to any line-up FX might have planned. Maybe a lead in to the second season of American Horror Story?

Readers and Powers fans, what do you think about this situation?

Looks like the former house of Smallville is looking for another bullseye.

Deadline is reporting that the CW is finalizing a deal for a Green Arrow pilot, presently called Arrow. Written and executive produced by Green Lantern co-writers Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, and Fringe and Vampire Diaries writer, Andrew Kreisberg. This would take place outside comic canon and focus much on it’s own mythology, though I’m sure with nods and certain details from the Green Arrow comic origin.

Now take into consideration that there is still a Deadman pilot in the works and developing a series based on a DC property to succeed the departed Smallville is a priority for the CW this development season. No word yet if Justin Hartley will sling the bow and arrow again this round or if they are looking to start from beginning and start fresh.

So readers, what do you think of this matter? With NBC passing on Wonder Woman, and Smallville gone, is there room for the Emerald Archer on your tv screens?

The last-ever episode of Wizards of Waverly Place airs tonight, and I can safely say that I’m more emotional about it than most adult males.

I never had the Disney Channel growing up. It was a premium channel until the late ’90s, so the only glimpses I would ever get of it would be during those free preview weekends that used to happen. As a kid with plenty of entertainment options, it didn’t really seem worth it to me, even if my parents had been up for paying for it (which they weren’t).

By the time shows like Lizzie McGuire or Even Stevens started, I was in high school and far removed from the channel’s targeted demographic, even though I now live with the sad knowledge that I robbed myself of precious early moments in Shia LaBeouf history. Disney Channel was just never really something on my radar, especially compared to the indelible mark that Nickelodeon programming like Ren & Stimpy and Clarissa Explains It All made on my childhood.

That changed, drastically, at the perfectly normal age of 25. (more…)

On Thursday, TV Guide debuted two new photos of Erica Durance — Smallville‘s Lois Lane — dressed in a Wonder Woman costume on the Jan. 11 episode of NBC legal series Harry’s Law.

That alone would be worth at least a modicum of fannish interest, but when you consider the added wrinkle that David E. Kelley — he of the doomed NBC Wonder Woman pilot that became a mild national nightmare in the spring of 2011 — is also behind Harry’s Law, and it becomes a full-on, C&C Music Factory-esque thing that makes you go hmm. And, as you can see from the photo below, it happens to be pretty much the exact same costume as Adrianne Palicki wore in the mostly-never seen pilot:

No matter what you think of these photos, though, they still don’t highlight the main reason to watch Harry’s Law: prolific character actor Christopher McDonald, better known as Happy Gilmore’s Shooter McGavin.

What does Fables creator Bill Willingham think of the similarities between his series and the ABC show Once Upon A Time? Well, he interviewed himself over at CBR to explain:

Is “Once Upon a Time” (which we should now refer to as “Once” for brevity) a rip off of “Fables?”

My best guess, based upon the scanty evidence, is probably not.

Is “Once” influenced and at least in part inspired by “Fables?”

Despite superficial similarities, “Fables” creator Bill Willingham firmly believes any similarities “Once Upon A Time” has to his comic is simply a result of working form the same source material

My best guess, based upon the same scanty evidence is, yes, it probably is, but perhaps not on more than a “this is the type of thing that’s in the air these days” level.

He goes on to elaborate on the crossover between the concepts for the show and the series, and their similarities, before explaining that what he’s trying to do is “a call to arms — or more accurately, a call to disarm”:

As grateful as I am to discover so many loyal “Fables” readers, willing to man the barricades, to help protect a story they love; as much as it moves me to realize I’ve been part in creating something that clearly moves you, affecting your lives in ways only a good story, well-told can, I think it’s time to lay off. Perhaps it’s time to quit rising up in public venues to accuse these folks of Grand Theft “Fables,” even if you still think it’s so.

I’m quite enjoying Once Upon A Time, in part because I just enjoy seeing Jennifer Morrison’s attempt at being a badass private eye/bounty hunter on a weekly basis; I also love Fables, so I’m glad to see Willingham being so calm about similiarities between the two.

Really, who saw this coming? The Syfy channel has ordered a pilot script based on DC Comics’ Booster Gold, according to a report in the Hollywood Reporter. The script will be written by Andrew Kreisberg, a screenwriter who’s previously worked for DC writing both Batman Confidential and Green Arrow/Black Canary, as well as episodes of the Justice League animated series, and will “center on Booster Gold, a washed-up athlete from the future who travels back to the present in hopes of becoming the greatest super hero of all time,” according to the Reporter.

This won’t be Booster’s live-action debut; he appeared in an episode of the final season of Smallville written by Geoff Johns, although that will be unlikely to connect with this new version. Somewhere, Dan Jurgens is smiling to himself at the prospect of the word “boosterrific” breaking into mainstream geek usage.

Dear Friends,

The Batman: The Brave and the Bold series finale airs at 7 p.m. tonight on Cartoon Network. I’ve seen the episode. It’s awesome.

Without spoiling too much, here are some reasons why:

1) Henry Winkler as Ambush Bug (pictured)
2) Paul Reubens as Bat-Mite
2) It’s written by Paul Dini!
4) More fourth wall-breaking “meta” commentary than a typical episode of Community (or, well, an Ambush Bug comic)
5) It guest stars Aquaman, and science has proven that The Brave and the Bold Aquaman is the best Aquaman.
6) Ted McGinley (yes)

So, yeah. Even if you haven’t watched the series thus far, make a point to watch tonight.

Peace,

Albert

It’s a case of good news/bad news for fans who’d been hoping to see Brian Michael Bendis’ and Mike Oeming’s Powers debut on FX this fall. Let’s start with the bad: It’s not been picked up to series. The good? It’s not dead, either; FX has opted to “retool” the show, with reshoots being scheduled for the pilot, before making any further decisions about its future, according to Deadline Hollywood. On Twitter, Bendis was quick to explain why this was a good thing:

network spending more $$ on powers is good. they did the same to the sons of anarchy pilot. fx sees pilots diff then reg networks. a lot of pilots go through this. but they aren’t based on anything so you never hear about it. the network convos this week have been great.

However, the retooling/reshoots – which is more about tone and clarity than redefining the series, according to Bendis – doesn’t mean that FX has quietly given the show a green light; Outlaw Country, another pilot in contention for the same slot as Powers, had gone through the same process of retooling and reshoots before being officially dumped by the channel yesterday. Short version? Stay tuned – but don’t hold your breath just yet.

Something like this needs to be documented: Comic book writer Robert Kirkman, reaping the benefits of his creation The Walking Dead rolling in its second high-rated season on AMC, appeared Monday on The View‘s “Zombie Reality Halloween Spectacular.” It’s a bit of an odd fit, sure — as a friend of mine put it, “It must look like when you had a friend over at the same time your mom’s bridge group was there and they wanted to talk to your friend for a few minutes” — but Kirkman represented himself well. The clip is here:

That’s cued up to the beginning, but the whole episode might be worth a look, if only for the promise of “Zombie Kate Gosselin” and seeing how truly miserable Joy Behar seems in her unwieldy costume. Such an odd piece of TV history should be archived for posterity, but that Hulu video will expire in a few days, so get on it.

In an interview with VH1, current Dr. Who, Matt Smith revealed he will be leaving the show after the 2012/2013 season. He mentions he wants to take a stab at Hollywood and give American cinemas a try.

Interestingly enough  this would place the regeneration of the next Doctor right in the 50th anniversary season of 2013.

At the age of 26, Smith was the youngest Doctor to be casted, only 3 years shy of Peter Davidson when he was cast in 1981. When Smith began the role at of the previous season, he received a mixed reaction from fans, mostly because the previous actor, David Tennant was so well loved by audiences. However, with the BBC’s expansion to American television providers and not having to deal with an airing delay, Smith has gained quite a following and in some eyes, surpasses Tennant’s popularity.

While this is hardly set in stone, it does seem like Smith has already decided that he’ll be done playing Doctor after next season.

So Whovians, are you ready to see Matt off yet and to bigger things, or are you still wanting more?

Courtesy of Geoff Johns’ Twitter, here’s a NSFW look at next year’s Robot Chicken DC Comics Summer Special:

Remember: Geoff Johns is involved, so this is canon*.

(* – Okay, maybe not.)

It looks like The Punisher might be headed to TV screens soon, Deadline reports.

In a twist, the project is at Fox instead of ABC or another channel owned by Disney, Marvel’s parent company. Deadline reports that Fox has given a put pilot commitment to a series based on the famed Marvel character, co-executive produced by Marvel and Ed Bernero. What’s a “put pilot,” you might ask? Here’s how Variety defines it: “A deal to produce a pilot that includes substantial penalties if the pilot is not aired; a virtual guarantee that a pilot will be picked up.”

Based on the article, it looks to be a different take on the character, reinventing Frank Castle as a New York City police officer who moonlights as The Punisher, rather than a military veteran who makes vigilante justice his full-time mission.

Bernero, a former Chicago police officer, co-created NBC series Third Watch and served as an executive producer on CBS procedural Criminal Minds. This would be the first live-action TV series to feature The Punisher, who has been the focus of three films: One in 1989 starring Dolph Lundgren that went straight-to-video in the United States; another in 2004 starring Thomas Jane that had a worldwide total of $54.7 million; and 2008′s Punisher: War Zone, starring Ray Stevenson, which was a critical and financial disappointment.

Currently, Marvel has confirmed four live-action series in development at ABC networks — Hulk and AKA Jessica Jones (based on the MAX series Alias) at ABC, and Mockingbird and Cloak & Dagger at ABC Family.

Looks like The Spectre is the latest DC Comics property in development as a television series, according a report on Deadline.

The show has received a script commitment from Fox, with Love Happens co-writer and director Brandon Camp signed to pen the pilot, and Gran Torino producer Bill Gerber also on board. In one incarnation or another, The Spectre has been around DC Comics since 1940′s More Fun Comics #52, though he hasn’t yet been seen in the publisher’s current The New 52 relaunch.

In his classic version, The Spectre is murdered cop Jim Corrigan, reborn as the embodiment of God’s wrath. And hes not the only ghostly DC character currently in TV development — last month, news circulated that a Deadman series was in the works at The CW.

If a pilot is greenlit and picked up as a series — a big if with any project at this early stage — it would also mark the return of a DC adaptation to the Fox lineup, which canceled Human Target earlier this year.

The Locke & Key TV series may not be dead after all. Again.

After being passed on by Fox at the pilot stage and shopped around to other networks, Deadline reported Wednesday that MTV is interested in the show — at least mildly so. The post basically boils down to two factors, that the trailer has attracted a lot of buzz on YouTube (which hasn’t gone unnoticed by those in the biz), and that MTV programming chief David Janollari has seen the pilot and liked it. Yet Janollari also hasn’t talked to the producers and the show may very well be cost prohibitive for a basic cable network, so it may not necessarily mean anything. But that’s at least a hint of renewed hope.

This news came the same day as Newsarama’s own Jill Pantozzi (positively) reviewed the Locke & Key pilot in the latest installment of Hey, That’s My Cape.

Fans upset that the end of AMC’s The Walking Dead Season 1 veered away from the comics quite a bit will be happy to hear Season 2 has us back on track, heading directly to Hershel’s farm.

New showrunner Glen Mazzara spoke with AMC.com a bit about his past work but also what we can expect to see in The Walking Dead Season 2. “What’s been surprising is that in the graphic novel the story that takes place on Hershel’s farm is really only a few issues. We’ve been able to mine that for many episodes, and we’re very excited about the depth to which we’re able to push the characters, the different dynamics that we’re able to explore,” he told them.

“Our approach to our group of survivors when they reach Hershel’s farm is that they are a plague unto themselves,” he continued. “Nothing goes right for Hershel once Rick and his band show up. They make the zombie apocalypse look like kids in a candy story. What’s interesting is that if this was a show solely about Hershel, Rick and his band would really be the antagonists. And that’s been really surprising because every action that Rick and his band take is completely logical, but you’ll certainly sympathize with Hershel.”

We told you earlier this week that AMC has decided to split the second season of the hit show into two parts. The premiere will air October 16 and be 90 minutes long and after seven episodes the season will pick up again February 12. The role of Hershel will be played by Scott Wilson.

Mazzara also spoke about the adaptations originator. “What’s great about this adaptation is that Robert Kirkman is such a huge part of it. In Crash [his previous show], the writers and director of the film were involved at certain points, not involved at others, and then when the show deviated from what they believed Crash meant, I had a problem as a show-runner,” he said. “On this show Robert has been very open to letting us tell our own story. Robert sees them as two different works of art — and they’re not in conflict with each other. As long as it’s good and as long as it’s scary, he’s happy.”

Speaking of the comic, Mazzara said he’s “dying to meet the Governor” (as we all are) and that his family are excited about his new post. “My son seemed to have a lot of unique ways to kill zombies. None that I really am interested in putting on TV, but that’s a big topic of conversation at the dinner table.”