From Comic-Con International in San Diego comes this dispatch concerning the forthcoming Afro Samurai TV movie coming next January.

“…it’s the complete Martha. It’s everything that’s ever been in print about Martha. It’s the GIVE ME LIBERTY, MARTHA GOES TO WAR, MARTHA SAVES THE WORLD, all the short stories in both their colored and black & white versions. Also there are different covers for things and things done for t-shirts. Really, if it’s been in print and it features Martha, it will be there.”

Martha Washington Omnibus

Rosario Dawson appears in this new NBC webseries called Gemini Division, which has a trailer you can view here. I tend to agree with IO9 in that the CGI Sin City-esque backgrounds look unappealing.

And, um, McCain too.

“I’ve read some of [the stories] and seen Conan with James Earl Jones. Obviously, that’s where my passion for the story came from. I always think it’s quite exciting to see somebody who is trying to do good and finds himself turned so evil for the sake of that. Because of a few corrupt people around [him], it would force one to turn evil. I always find that quite intriguing.”

Djimon Hounsou

“…With ZMD, what they’re doing is performing experiments in cellular regeneration and respiration by manipulating mitochondrial DNA, among other things. I call them Necronites for the most part, because these zombies don’t follow the traditional paths of most zombie stories.

“I wanted it to have some sort of logical premise for why it would occur. I mean, it’s all pseudo-science anyway, but the more plausible it sounds the more fun it is immersing yourself into the story. What I really wanted to do was a metaphor for how science always winds up becoming a weapon, and winds up being abused.”

Kevin Grevioux

And would you believe the film rights to ZMD have already been sold.

“[The Spectre] starts the series in a really bad place, because he may have divine power, but he hates his boss. And he hates his job. More than anything, Revelations is Cris’ story and his evolution further into the role of the Spectre. Emotionally, he starts from a place where he just hates God. The first thing he did when he got the job was God told him to kill his son. That gets you off on a bad foot.

“That said, the initiating action for the Spectre is the action in Final Crisis, which is the death of the Martian Manhunter. This is a genocide. This is the death of the last Martian of his kind. It’s the murder of a hero. It’s a vile, vile crime in the context of the DC Universe. And The Spectre goes to exact vengeance for it. And that starts his ball rolling.”

Final Crisis: Revelations

“I don’t have a thing against [Charlize] Theron — I loved her in Monster. And I don’t have anything against Will Smith, either — he’s done an enormous amount for African-Americans in Hollywood by proving to studios that actors of color can open movies here and overseas. I don’t even have anything against interracial couples on screen — in fact, that’s a nice sign of progress. My beef is that Hollywood opts for these couples again and again. The result? Black actresses are getting the shaft, and reality as I know it is not getting portrayed on the big screen.”

Thanks to Fred for the link.

Apocalipstix GN
50-page preview (yes, that’s right, FIFTY pages)
CBR interview with creators Ray Fawkes & Cameron Stewart

Post-atomic holocaust rock ‘n’ roll in this new graphic novel.

Also this week:
Justice League of America #23. Written by McDuffie.
Black Panther #38. Written by Hudlin.
Immortal Iron Fist #17. Pencils by Foreman.
New Warriors #14. Written by Grevioux. Secret Invasion tie-in.
Gold Digger #98, GD Sourcebook #19, GD: Tiffany & Charlotte #2 (of 4). By Perry.
Return of the Super Pimps #5 (of 6)

Also notable:
Comic Book Tattoo HC, SC. I am a huge Tori Amos fan, so you know I’m gonna get this - a bunch of top comics creators interpret her music into comics in this great big anthology.
New Avengers #43. Secret Invasion tie-in.
Uncanny X-Men #500
Flight V5 GN. I gotta catch up on this. I only have the first two.

My verdict on The Dark Knight: Good but not great. Got sick of Christian Bale’s Bat-growl very quickly, Heath Ledger had his moments but spent way too much time chewing almost as much scenery as Jack Nicholson did, and there a few too many leaps in logic needed to believe in this story. However, Aaron Eckhart was terrific, the action was mind-blowing, and the ending was a fascinating surprise I didn’t expect. I recommend seeing it, but do not buy into all the hype surrounding it.

Djimon Hounsou has signed up to be in a movie based on Conan bad guy Thulsa Doom.

Drawing Barack Obama is apparently trickier than you’d think.

…as well as Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, and Eric Bana as Nero in this Star Trek image. They’re only head shots, but damn! [From Entertainment Weekly]