And now we have the Post-Flashpoint lineup of the rebooted Justice League, set five years ago at the dawn of DC’s superheroic age. So for the big seven, we have the usual suspects, like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, plus a few mainstays like Aquaman, Green Lantern and The Flash, and then we have the inexplicable inclusion of Cyborg. Fucking Cyborg. And then, we also have Deadman, Firestorm, The Atom, Doctor Light, Hawkman, Green Arrow, Mera, and a girl who can either be Black Canary or Power Girl.

Eh. Really unimpressed by this. Why Cyborg? Martian Manhunter’s always been a Justice League mainstay, why not the guy who’s been a vital part of the Justice League from the fucking beginning? Why a second-rate character like Cyborg? If they want to have racial representation, DC has Black Lightning, John Fucking Stewart (seriously get rid of Hal from JL), or Mister Terrific too. Now those are excellent characters, and I’d love to see Black Lightning back in JL again.

Let’s not even get started on how bad those costume changes are. I’m looking at you, Superman.

Meh. I’ll be in my angry dome if you need to talk to me.

HOLY. SHIT.

We all know that Captain Marvel (or Shazam, because DC can’t use his name on covers and titles because of some copyright dispute with Marvel Comics) is a thinly-veiled Superman ripoff, albeit with his own rich background and mythology. Now put Superman and Captain Marvel together in a cartoon and make them face off against Black Adam, a.k.a. the most badass motherfucker who ever lived, and we have explosions. Of the awesome, magical kind.

Here’s the plot synopsis:

In Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam, Clark Kent’s latest interview subject is street kid Billy Batson. What Clark doesn’t know is that Billy is more than a feisty kid with a lot of heart – he has been chosen by an ancient wizard to represent the good of man as the World’s Mightiest Mortal just by invoking the name of the wizard, “Shazam!” Billy’s powers come none-too-soon, as he also discovers he’s being pursued by a centuries’ old, murderous villain, Black Adam – a foe so powerful, even Superman can’t stop him alone. The all-star cast of Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam is led by Jerry O’Connell (Crossing Jordan) as Captain Marvel, George Newbern reprising his Justice League role as Superman, Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy) as Black Adam and two-time Emmy Award® winner James Garner (8 Simple Rules) as The Wizard.

Bruce Timm (Superman: Doomsday) is executive producer and Joaquim Dos Santos (Justice League, Avatar: The Last Airbender) is director of the first series of DC Showcase titles. Michael Jelenic (Wonder Woman) wrote the 22-minute script.

Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam comes out on DVD November 9, 2010.

[cover art from Sarazorel]

At SDCC, Marvel finally announces the complete cast of The Avengers movie, to be directed by Joss Whedon.

(L-R) Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Clark Gregg, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk, Director Joss Whedon, Producer and Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige.

Not too sold on Ruffalo because, well, this isn’t a chick flick, but this cast is amazing. What do you think?

[via]

Truth be told, I’m not really a fan of Judd Winick’s writing. Yeah, he’s the guy who can write really great character stories if he wanted to, but he’s not really someone I can see writing a timeless story. I don’t hate him with as much fervor as another Comicgasm editor *cough RJ cough* but I’m no fan either.

Which brings us to his arguably most controversial storyline, Under The Hood, in which we see – SPOILER ALERT – Jason Todd, the second Robin, come back from the grave as the new Red Hood to haunt Batman and the man responsible for his death, the Joker. It’s been adapted for this DC Universe Animated Original Movie, Under The Red Hood, and it is awesome.

(continue reading…)

Welcome back traveller! Let me, Ade, treat you to this week’s unbelievably-late-but-still-ass-kicking reviews, brought to you only by Comicgasm.

Ok, Black Mask, let’s see some of that pimp hand you’re famous for.

Batman #692

This is Tony Daniel’s first Batman issue. I’m really not too keen on reading his run on Batman because I’ve been left utterly unimpressed by Battle Of The Cowl.

And really, I am disappointed with this issue. There are quite a few problems with this issue – Daniel crammed way too many story threads. (continue reading…)