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Most comic book publishers have released their January 2012 solicitations. Many teased their January offerings during New York Comic Con (NYCC) 2012 earlier this month. I covered the Top 10 NYCC 2012 news bits including some really cool January 2013 shipping books. I won’t regurgitate that list here. So, this month, our Top 5 January 2013 comic book solicitation covers those solicitations that surprised and intrigued me after NYCC 2012.

Also, following that Top 5 (which becomes a Top 15 is read with my NYCC coverage), is the latest Cartoon Network / DC Nation postponement news covering Young Justice Invasion and more.

Ok, let’s have at this week’s column: The Top 5 non-NYCC 2012 January 2013 comic book solicitations!

5. A Beginning And An End for Bionic Woman (Dynamite)

Well, the good news that I reported from NYCC 2012 was that we’d be getting a Bionic Man vs. Bionic Woman mini-series starting in January. The bad news? Well, the Bionic Woman solicitation shows that she will no longer have her own series after January 2013. Fear not, the Bionic Man series continues and we don’t what will be the pay-off from the mini-series. So, January is one step backwards and one step forward for Dynamite’s bionic franchise.

THE BIONIC WOMAN #10

The conclusion of the Fembot War in Russia, with the Bionic Woman caught in the middle! And when all hell is breaking loose in Mother Russia, will Jaime be forced to be Mother Fembot? It’s the hardest decision of Jaime’s life when her mind is the key to fembot salvation, but her finger is on the trigger of fembot annihilation!

4. N.O.W.H.E.R.E. is Back! (DC Comics)

After causing havok for the Teen Titans, Superboy, the Legion Lost and the Ravages during the teen-teams cross-over “The Culling”, N.O.W.H.E.R.E. resurfaces to tangle another teen hero: Firestorm! I think the character fits better with the teen side of the DC Comics than the Justice League, so hopefully this is a shift in that direction. So, let’s start the “Have Firestorm join the Teen Titans” movement / petition now! In Dan Jurgens I trust.

FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MAN #16

• And to make things much worse, Firestorm has been targeted by N.O.W.H.E.R.E.!

3. Another Court of Owls’ Talon Gets A Series (DC Comics)

Certainly, the Talon ongoing series that was part of DC Comics New’s Third Wave, written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV with Guillem March on art, has gotten most of the buzz, but Birds of Prey welcomes their own Talon in January. Strix, last seen tangling with Batgirl in that series penned by Gail Simone, leaps to BOP. I’m curious how that happens and how she becomes a team player. Should be fun.

BIRDS OF PREY #16

• Plus: Something goes terribly wrong for Black Canary…

2. Bloodshot’s Secret Origin Revealed… Or is it? (Valiant)

In my NYCC coverage, I indicated I was excited for Archer and Armstrong #6 because it would include the Eternal Warrior and a new Geomancer. I heard about Bloodshot “Harbinger Hunter”, and I wasn’t sure what it was or whether I’d like it. Even in the old says Harbinger was not one my fave properties, but when I read the solicit my fears were alayed as Blooshot #7 will seemingly focus on Bloodshot’s origins hunting Harbingers. I doesn’t appeat that it will be a forced cross-over and that pleases me.

Kudos to writer Duane Swierczynski who makes this list twice! First with DC Comics’ Birds of Prey and now with Valiant’s Bloodshot. He’s also doing Judge Dredd for IDW if you’re interested.

BLOODSHOT #7

$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs. ON SALE JANUARY 16th!

1. Star Trek 2 Movie Into Darkness Gets a Prequel (IDW)

If you haven’t checked it out yet, Star Trek: Countdown was a great prequel to the first Star Trek movie in the reboot led by J.J. Abrams. It is available in trade paperback form at finer book stores and comic shoppes. I highly recommend it.

Carrying on that tradition, IDW brings us a new mini-series starting in January 2013. It leads into the Star Trek 2 movie, titled Star Trek Into Darkness, and is set to hit the silver screen in May 2013. I imagine the mini-series will reveal what role BBC Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch will play in the movie.

STAR TREK: COUNTDOWN TO DARKNESS #1

*Variant cover: Unique variant cover, graded by the CGC! Ask your retailer about the totally unique CGC-Graded variant cover! Limited to 100 copies only, each issue of the prequel will have one! The only copies of this unique variant will be graded!

Any thoughts on the Benedict Cumberbatch role in Star Trek Into Darkness?

With all that, what books are you looking forward to in January 2013?

DC Nation News

As has been the case for the last few weeks, we still have not heard back from Cartoon Network or DC Entertainment regarding their reasons for the postponement of new episodes of the DC Nation block to 2013. To get caught up on all the developments on this story, including its impact on Young Justice Invasion, Green Lantern The Animated Series, and more, please check out our e-library here.

However, our friends at the Superman Homepage have indicated that the postponent may have a lot to do with some kind of breakdown with Milestone Media who DC Entertainment licenses properties like Rocket, Static and Icon from for their comics, TV, etc. They compare two comic book covers for the Young Justice Invasion tie-in comic book to make their point: the previous solicited version with Icon on it on the left and the one that hits stands without him on the right. In Young Justice Invasion continuity, Icon is a member of the Justice League. That would impact the whole DC Nation block since Young Justice Invasion accounts for around half of the programming along with Green Lantern The Animated Series plus the DC Nation shorts peppered in the cracks. An interesting theory.

In other news, the DC Nation Hiatus petition has surpassed 15,000 in only 2 weeks! You can still sign it here. In addition, the Facebook group that started to push for the return of the DC Nation earlier than 2013 has gotten close to 1,200 members in that same two weeks . To join you can visit here.

Lastly, if you’re interested to see what’s coming during the rest of Season 2, check out the Young Justice Season 2 teaser reel and our breakdown of its Top 3 reveals.

Sigh. January can’t come soon enough.

Till next week, thanks for reading. As always, all feedback welcome.

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“It seems to be driven by marketing. Think of John Carter and how Disney wouldn’t allow for a title with either “Princess” or “Mars”

What do you think? Is this just more screwing with the TMNT franchise to try and completely take apart what makes them unique? Or is this a good idea? Let us know below.
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When Paramount Pictures shuffled some of its releases around for 2012 and 2013, one project stood out. The studio had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pic penciled for Christmas 2013. Up until now, Warner Bros. has handled the Ninja Turtles as a film property dating all the back to the first film’s release in 1990 up through the 2007 CGI-enhanced TMNT.

But Paramount, along with Nickelodeon and Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes production company, is looking to reboot the franchise in live-action form (with Wrath of the Titans‘ Jonathan Liebesman as director) by altering the origins of the Ninja Turtles.

Apparently, they will no longer be mutants.

At the recent Nickelodeon Upfront event in New York Bay told those in attendance that these reptiles would be an alien race.

Bay explained his vision for the 2013 remake: “When you see this movie, kids are going to believe, one day, that these turtles actually do exist when we are done with this movie.” He then followed that with, “The turtles are from an alien race, and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny, and completely loveable.”

For those not familiar with the original concept of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, they were four orphaned turtles who, after crawling in some mysterious mutant ooze, morphed into two-footed turtles who are trained in the art of being ninja by a rat named Splinter, who also mutated. Each turtle is named after Renaissance artists (Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michaelangelo). The four fight crime from their home base in the sewers of New York City.

The Pulse from Mike Noyes: Wait… what? Michael Bay, you’re going to take a beloved franchise with tons of hardcore fans and do something irrationally stupid like change the entire origin of the characters? The internet has been ablaze with backlash over this statement with fanboys hoping and praying that their collective voice would be heard and Bay would change his mind.

Well, Bay has spoken, but I don’t think it’s going to make anyone happy, “Fans need to take a breath, and chill. They have not read the script,” he wrote. “Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles to help expand and give a more complex back story. Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world.” He went on to add, “When you see this movie, kids are going to believe, one day, that these turtles actually do exist when [we] are done with this movie.”

Cause English speaking pizza loving alien Ninja Turtles with a Rat sensei (presumably from the same planet somehow) is more believable than some sewer critters getting hit by some radioactive ooze?

I think Bay has directed three too many Transformers films. Not everything needs to be from outer space to make sense. In fact, nothing about this makes sense. Sure, the Ninja Turtles origin is a little silly, but it’s part of who they are and part of the charm of what makes them them. To change that changes the very essence of where these characters came from and who they are. And if Michael Bay can’t understand that basic concept he’s an even worse filmmaker than I ever thought.

Robbie Rist (Michelangelo in the original live action films) wrote in a letter to Bay that he posted online (via TMZ). “I know believing in mutated talking turtles is kinda silly to begin with but am I supposed to be led to believe there are ninjas from another planet? The rape of our childhood memories continues.”

What do you think? Do you care that Bay is making these changes? Will you see the film anyway or will you boycott based on principle?
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Also, there’s movement on Tom Cruise’s picture for Universal, Oblivion. Helmed by Tron: Legacy‘s Joseph Kosinski, the science-fiction actioneer has been pushed up from its July 10, 2013 release and will now open on April 26, 2013.
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The Devil Inside is another found footage exorcism picture. It had midnight showings at 1,400 theaters and early estimates have it with an opening of $1 million. Going into wide release today on 2,300 screens, the exorcism feature will undoubtedly make back its print and advertising costs and then some. Expect this to be very frontloaded, as early word of mouth isn’t all too positive. But these genre releases tend to skew to a younger demo looking to waste time on a Friday or Saturday night.
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2012 will be a different story, as PA 4 will open a week prior to Dimension Films’ Halloween 3D on October 19th. Keeping the budget low will guarantee its success after the first weekend haul. (PA 3 cost $5 million to produce and earned more than $200 million worldwide.)

As far as to where the story will take us in this fourth installment. Well, with no writer or director yet named, leave it to producer Oren Peli to remain coy on the subject. He told The Hollywood Reporter back in December that “we are never going to make a sequel … just for the sake of making a sequel.” Adding, “It’s safe to say there are discussions.”
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In an early announcement to retailers, Paramount Home Entertainment has told us to expect a “meticulously restored” Wings in store on Jan. 24, 2012. The 1927 World War I drama explores the devastating effects of war through the story of two men who go off to battle and the woman they both leave behind.

Michael Bay would take a similar approach with Pearl Harbor, but besides both being cinematic spectacles, Wings has the distinction of being the first film awarded an Oscar for Best Picture. This landmark in cinema stars Clara Bow, Charles “Buddy” Rogers and Richard Arlen, and also features Gary Cooper in one of his first feature film roles.

Because the original negative was lost decades ago, Paramount resorted to using state-of-the-art digital tools to have the film meticulously restored frame-by-frame. Original tints and effects, such as colors that were embossed onto the film strip to give flames and explosions a fiery look, were also digitally recreated based on a detailed continuity script that still existed and tinting/toning guides from the period.

For this release, the film’s original score was recorded with a full orchestra. Like many silent film scores, the music was a combination of original composition, popular songs of the period and themes from classical music. Musicians with expertise in silent film music were chosen to recreate a truly orchestral experience.

In addition, Academy Award-winning sound designer Ben Burtt (Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark) and the outstanding team of sound engineers at Skywalker Sound added World War I sound effects as authentically as possible using library sounds from earlier eras to give viewers a true-to-the-period experience.

The Blu-ray includes the new documentaries “Wings: Grandeur in the Sky,” which gives perspective on the remarkable cinematic achievements of William Wellman and his team of filmmakers; “Dogfight”, which explores the history of early aeronautics; and “Restoring the Power and Beauty of Wings”, which details the painstaking process of returning this monumental epic to its original glory.

The Wings Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with a newly-restored musical score by J.S. Zamecnik in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and an organ score by Gaylord Carter in 2.0 Dolby Digital that Wings fans may be familiar with, as well as French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.
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Plot Summary: “The Adventures of Tintin” is the first in the series of 3D motion capture films based on the iconic character created by Georges Remi, better known to the world by his pen name “Herge” and is due for release December 23, 2011.

The film stars Jamie Bell as Tintin, the intrepid young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure, and Daniel Craig as the nefarious Red Rackham. Bell and Craig are joined by an international cast that includes Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Gad Elmaleh, Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook.

You can check out all of our Tintin coverage by clicking here.
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