* Unfortunately I was not able to monitor the field recorder during this panel (which was very important to me) and it ran out disk space before completion. Oh, and I miss the beginning due to overlapping panels. Yeah, and I wasn’t able to use my full recording system nor set up any mics. Not bad though, huh? - Adam

Only days after it’s huge opening weekend had passed, Marvel Studios was announcing their upcoming slate of movies among them an April 2010 release of Iron Man 2. This it would seem was a large surprise to the movie’s director who pulled no punches on MySpace or in media interviews about not being consulted or happy with the schedule or for that matter that he was not yet actually contracted to produce the movie either. However, with the movie unexpectedly raking in well over 311 million dollars at the box office so far, this may have just been a game of cat and mouse with the studio to make sure he got the proper pay increase for their second project.

Either way, it’s doubtful movie or comic fans will not care about any of this back and forth with Favreau and the Studio any longer as seems all is well in Iron Man movie world.

We go topic light and comics heavy this week as we talk about many things including: our continuing unhappiness towards Grant Morrison’s crossovers at DC, our love of letter columns, our unsureness about the new Astonishing X-Men, Adam’s thoughts on Hancock and more contests for great Heroes Con swag on this edition of the Dollar Bin.

Nicholas Gurewitch is the author of the wildly–insanely, ridiculously, preposterously–popular Perry Bible Fellowship online strip, which has nothing to do with the more famous Bible, before you ask. His recent collection The Trial of Colonel Sweeto broke all sorts of records, and was even on the Amazon Top 10 list for a little while, which is nutty for a comic book, no matter who you are. Having been interviewed by everyone from Newsarama to The Guardian and Fox News, Nicholas foolishly consented to be interviewed live by HeroesCon’s Creative Director, Dustin Harbin, while you watch. Will his career survive? Most likely, yes.

Choose from the links below to play the video!

There are a surprising number of couples in comics where both partners are working in the industry in some capacity; and most of them are attending this year’s HeroesCon! Tom Spurgeon of the Comics Reporter sits down with three of them: Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick, Stuart and Kathryn Immonen, and Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer. This discussion of the ins and outs of where work and love meets is bound to be one of the most entertaining panels you’ll go to at ANY convention this year, so be sure and add it to your schedule!

Comic book fans might be split about how much they want to see or even how much they like the latest comic to screen adaptation Wanted starring James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. But I think most other movie goers won’t have the same questions. I think they’ll just think it’s a great action movie that’s well worth their 10 bucks and 2 hours.

From Marc Silvestri’s MySpace blog:
“For all you comic fans out there who have read and no doubt loved the books, the answer is yes, the movie does veer from the source material. But it does so for all the right reasons because the comic series would be literally impossible to film unfiltered. The “inside gag” of super villains having killed off super heroes had to be jettisoned for the bulk of the audience to accept the core message of the movie. Just explaining that concept would have taken the first hour. The character arc and message that we all “want” a life that matters is intact as is Millar’s twisted comic sensibilities. The books and the movie both offer an outrageous and entertaining answer to the question: “What if I really did get everything I WANTED?” In the hero Wesley’s case it’s a life of less suck and more meaning. Sound relatable? I thought so.”

And as far as rides go…it is a great one. I didn’t read the book as it was being published but I picked up the highly touted trade when it was released and I liked it. Millar and Jones turned in some excellent work as they always do and it was $19.99 well spent. But I have to say…I liked Wanted the movie more and it’ll get my money again when it hits DVD. The action is great with some fantastic and innovative scenes that you barely get a glimpse of in the trailers. James McAvoy does a fantastic job as Wesley before and after his turning into a badass. Morgan Freeman is…well he’s Morgan Freeman what else do I need to say about him? And of course Angelina Jolie is everything you’d expect from her, sexy as hell and a performer that demands your attention when on screen.

So while this might be only half of a comic adaptation in terms of story, this flick is an entire dose of awesome that I highly recommend you check out regardless if you are a fan of the series or not. I really think if you like slick summer action flicks you’ll enjoy what the movie version of Wanted has to offer no matter your thoughts on the book. Did I mention it has Angelina Jolie in it yet?

I remember back in 2000 when Michael was diagnosed with bone cancer, chondrosarcoma, in his right pelvis. I thought how fitting it was that part of this recovery and therapy from surgery was done in a swimming pool since his creator-owned book, Fathom, was about a race of aquatic humanoids.

It always sad to learn about someone passing away. It’s even sadder when that someone is so young. Michael and his contribution to comics will be missed and our hearts go out to his family, friends and the comic book community.

Michael Turner 1971-2008

All seemed well with the world until it was discovered that these fake gold coins were actually Huggles and could be redeemed with the friendly, neighborhood J. Chris Campbell for a hug. ECK-GAD! How awesome is that? So awesome in fact that if those coins were real I bet J. Chris Campbell make a fortune off these along with his inventory of Wide Awake Press comics and goodies.

What’s even better is the fun didn’t end at Heroes Con. Jack Blakeney, one of Tre’s best buddies and a past guest on our show, decided to join in the fun over the Interwebs. “How,” might you ask? The best way to find out is to head on over to J. Chris’ blog post, Playing, and read the comments (read J. Chris’ post too). Just look for Jack’s comment, eighth one from the top, and then find out how you can join in on the fun by reading J. Chris’ 10 simple rules for getting a hug.

The digital age has allowed a deeper understanding of comics criticism and reporting than has ever been possible before. Tom Spurgeon of the Comics Reporter moderates this discussion featuring some of the leading lights on the comics journalism scene, including Heidi MacDonald of The Beat, Matt Brady of Newsarama, and Johanna Draper-Carlson of Comics Worth Reading. From industry reporting and journalism to criticism and good ole gossip, this is sure to be a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the comics news!

You often meet interesting people at conventions and Heroes Con 08′ is no exception. A lot of these interesting people are creators looking to promote their latest work and sometimes, like in the case of Chris Harden, they are wearing tights and have huge afros. Jam with us on air guitar as we talk to the creator of The Fro about his upcoming projects.

Tom goes on to thoroughly discuss many aspects, happenings and people at Heroes Con 2008 and we are humbled to be included in his article. Thanks Tom!

While this isn’t very comic book related (no shock to our regular listeners) we won’t have a non-Heroes Con 2008 audio update until next week and there was some very sad celebrity news this weekend that we would have made time to comment on if we were doing a show this week. (also no surprise to our listeners)

Comedy legend George Carlin died of heart failure hours after visiting the St; John’s Health Center in Santa Monica on Sunday at the age of 71. His last performance was the previous weekend in Las Vegas at the Orleans Casino and Hotel. During his career he produced two dozen comedy albums, 14 HBO specials, multiple bestselling books, was a frequent guest on every late night talk show of note, had his own sitcom and appeared in many notable movies. Carlin also won four Grammy Awards and was nominated for five Emmys. He was a pioneer for many comedians for successfully going well beyond the nightclub stage with his talent.

But Carlin was much more than just that to his chosen profession. Along with other comedy icons like Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce, he helped to birth new life into a dying and stale artform by showing other performers and their audience what comedy could be. We can and should laugh at anything, everything and everyone. No topics are too taboo, stupid, angry or sad that intelligent people should not be discussing them, learning from them and ultimately laughing from them. If there was a comedy Mount Rushmore, George Carlin would be on it and I really don’t think that statement begins to explain his importance and impact. It was recently announced that Carlin was being awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, to be presented in November and broadcast on PBS. It is a shame we will not get to hear his acceptance speech.

George Carlin - 1937-2008 - RIP