“Autopsy has driven the hearse to bring death metal to the masses since the late 1980s,” said E-Comix President and Publisher Vince Brusio. “It was a natural fit to fuse their brand of music with a grisly ghost story. So we took the cover image of Severed Survival, expanded on it, and developed a story that takes place on Halloween night. It’s pretty gory stuff. As it should be.”

Vocalist/drummer for Autopsy, Chris Reifert, commented, “We’re damn excited about this, and know it will be a real killer when it’s done!”

The comic book tells the tale of college kids who make a terrible mistake. One for which they must suffer, and pay in blood. When they play with stolen property at an impromptu field party, they open a doorway that allows spirits into our material world. A rescue is planned, but none of this is made known to a biker gang that doesn’t appreciate their turf being trampled on by strangers. Seeking vengeance, the gang approach an old abandoned house to wreak havoc on their party crashers, and learn too late that once the door to Hell is opened it can’t be closed.

Order Autopsy: Feast For A Funeral online at www.jsrdirect.com.

Rock Hard \m/

ComicCons the world over serve many purposes. But the main purpose, and one that reaches us to the core here at Yell! Magazine, is that they, like us, provide a place where all realms of subcultures collide. Whether you’re into superheroes or Manga, Horror or Sci-Fi, comic books or graphic novels, board games or card games, or just video games, you can find it all at a comic convention. Even for those of you who are only minimally into any given subculture, you’re sure to find a beloved celebrity guest hanging around to snap pics with, get autographs, and even a hug to last a lifetime (this hardcore fangirl nearly cried when she got to hug one of her movie heroes, Tom Savini).

And though the halls are often filled with fans lining up for hours in order to sneak a peek of a childhood hero, or celebrity crush, we know that at their core, ComicCons are for those of us who love all aspects of the subcultures, not just the cute actors. It is for this reason that after spending a rewarding, but exhausting three days at the Montreal ComicCon, I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 reasons we love ComicCons, that will satisfy hardcore and lightweight nerds alike.

Enjoy.

[Editor's note: This list of the Top 10: Reasons We Love ComicCons is also a very nerdy Top 10: Reasons That Start With The Letter 'C' We Love ComicCons.]

No.10 Celebrities

I don’t care if you’re a horror buff, a Sci-Fi nerd, or a closet cheesy TV show addict, there will be someone for you to geek out over at your local ComicCon. While you won’t find Brangelina here (and who would want to, anyway), there are always big names within our realms that provide enough excitement to have even the most stoic geek (I know, total oxymoron right? Heh, heh, heh) creaming his or her Superman jammies (if that happens though, don’t worry! You can buy a new pair a few booths down).

There are a few celebrity staples that hit up the Con circuit every couple of years. This list usually include Elvira, Bruce Campbell, Tom Savini, Lloyd Kaufman, and Gunnar Hansen, but every so often, we can catch a glimpse of someone like William Shatner or Malcolm McDowell. They don’t do Cons often, but when they do, you better get in line early, and make sure your wallet is full, because they’re only available for autographs and pics for a limited amount of time, and they can be quite pricey.

No.9 Collectibles

Vendor booths abound at ComicCons, and you can find everything your geeky, little heart desires. And I’m not even talking comics here. You want a $400 limited-edition Jason Voorhees hockey mask in an oak showcase with glass viewing window? Done! Vintage Star Wars action figures still in the original packaging? No problem! Three-foot Buffy The Vampire Slayer Spike statue? Absolutely! There are discontinued Living Dead Dolls, superhero body jewelry, T-shirts, hoodies, bathrobes, slippers, pillows, and jammies galore.

If you can dream it up, you can be pretty much guaranteed to find it at a ComicCon.

As with the celebrities, though, you better make sure that you have enough cash to go around, because a collector geek can get lost in a world of wondrous things at conventions and go broke in a matter of minutes (I’ll be eating ramen noodles for a week…).

No.8 Chicks

Ah, the female form. It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? For the male (or lesbianic) geek, ComicCons are a literal wet dream come true. Have you ever wondered what your favorite (read into this whatever you want, perv) female video game character would look like in real life? Well, at a ComicCon you can fill your dirty little mind, and camera, with a year’s worth of stimulation inspiration. I promise! There are babes of every color (and trust me, I don’t mean black or white), height, weight, and bra-size, walking around in costumes that are either barely there or painted on.

See our ComicCon gallery for some glimpses of the latex ladies Montreal had to offer this weekend. They’re all ready, willing and able to give you a little dry-hump if you get your picture taken with them. They eat that shit up. ComicCon ladies: We salute you! [Writer's note: You would not BELIEVE the number of websites devoted to masturbation euphemisms!]

No.7 Q&As

(Ok, so it doesn’t start with C, but phonetically speaking, it sounds the same): For those of us whose geekity goes deeper than just watching what’s on the screen or reading what’s in the books, throughout any ComicCon weekend you can find numerous panels to whet your nerditite.

You can get up close and personal with your favorite actors, as most celebrity guests will do Q&A panels, where you can ask whatever questions have been burning deep inside your brain. That way, when you get home, you can spout your uber-geek knowledge to all your friends who weren’t cool enough to attend the celebrity panels. There are few things in this world that make a super fan happier than being able to show up other friends with useless trivia that no one else knows. True fact. I do it too. But I’m getting away from the topic here.

There are a lot of other cool classes and shows you can find at any ComicCon. These include things like comic book drawing classes, movie and TV show screenings, fashion shows, droid-building courses, and a whole whackload of other cool shit.

No.6 Costumes

Until you’ve actually been to a ComicCon, you will never be able to fully understand or appreciate the amount of time and effort the majority of cosplayers put into their costumes. They, in themselves, are a reason to shell out the cash for a day at a Con.

You haven’t lived until you’ve been chased through a group of people by a guy in a life-sized Dalek costume (if you don’t know what a Dalek is, shame on you! Go look it up), or felt like an ant among giants as you passed beneath the elbow of an 8-foot tall Incredible Hulk who’s stopped in the middle of a packed room to smile as people take pictures. This ain’t your grandma’s costume ball. This is Halloween on Steroids with a protein shake thrown in for good measure. The costumes are dazzling, overwhelming, and holy-fuck-how-did-they-do-that-ing.

Worst Comic Book Movies That Deserve A Do-Over!

Is there a more widely accepted social convention than the do-over? People from all walks of life use it in everyday situations. Failed to make that 10 point ball of paper dunk in the office waste basket? Do-over! Fail to nail a particularly horrific tongue-twister during a verbal presentation? Do-over! Accidentally refer to your girlfriend’s sister’s ass as two ripe volleyballs glued together with love? Well, I tried to call do-over on that one, but apparently there are some limits to its powers that I wasn’t previously aware of. Also, my girlfriend has a mean overhand right.

Worst Comic Book Movies That Deserve A Do-Over!

Hollywood loves to shout do-over. With the market overcrowded by a glut of movie remakes and reboots of popular (or once-popular) franchises, it’s a do-over world. We’re all just living in it. With the upcoming reboot of the Judge Dredd movie universe right around the corner (in theaters September 21), we here at Yell! Magazine thought it would be a good time to examine the worst comic book movies that deserve a do-over. We also really want to know if Dredd 3D, starring geek icon Karl Urban, will wash away the stench of Stallone’s 1995 clunker? Or will it, and the entries on this list, prove that some things are best left alone?

Without further ado, let’s get to the Worst Comic Book Movies that Deserve a Do-Over…

Earth-shattering news just keeps on breaking out with regard to the 2012 Montreal ComicCon. Word just hit the Facebook pages that a press conference will be open to the public on Wednesday, August 1, 2012, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.. Best part of it all is that more major guests are also promised to be announced.

Got nothing planned? Why not swing by, and get the exciting news firsthand?

About Montreal ComicCon

Based on similar popular conventions held throughout North America, the Montreal ComicCon offers a lot more than just meeting famous guests. It is also a great place to discover independent artists and their creations, hundreds of merchants selling rare comic books, exclusive toys, pop culture-inspired apparel, well-established companies in the industry, and other great surprises along the way. Of course, we would not succeed without our fans. Great purveyors of entertainment, awesome makers of inspiring costumes, and maintainers of the pop culture scene, we salute you!

Top 10 Horror Comic Books

Or: Pornstar Zombies, Antichrists, And Blashphemy Galore! Oh My!

With Hollywood vomiting out a seemingly endless wave of “found footage” horror movies and assembly-line dead teenager films, where can the true horror fan find interesting products worth consuming? The Asian markets have been dominating the horror genre for over a decade and a half and the trend doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. American movie studios have made it quite apparent that they have no interest in producing thought-provoking fright flicks, being quite content to release lowest-common-denominator movies year after year.

Gee, I wonder what target audience they’re aiming for?

Television viewers get to consume much better fare. FX’ American Horror Story is a prime example, as is AMC’s ubiquitous The Walking Dead. It’s the latter which concerns us today, springing forth from another genre that has, of late, produced better and smarter horror content than the last few decades’ worth of major Hollywood releases: comic books. With many people first discovering Robert Kirkman’s long-running post-apocalyptic zombie series via their TV screens, how long will it be before some bright bulb of a producer gets the idea to mine the comic book world for further crowd pleasers? How long will it be before comics written by such genre luminaries as Garth Ennis, Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, and Joe Hill get a shot at stardom?

This is Yell! Magazine’s Top 10 Horror Comic Books That Need Hollywood Adaptations! Join me, your faithful, zombified, decomposing, infected, possessed by an Elder God, tentacle-faced, leaking black oil from every stitched-up orifice reviewer as we run down the list of comic books most likely to catch Hollywood’s eye. [Editor’s Note: Not to worry: TheMatt isn’t contagious. It’s just Tuesday.]

No.10 Neonomicon

Created by Alan Moore, and Jacen Burrows

Coming up on the 75th anniversary of H.P. Lovecraft’s death, his tales have lost none of their sanity-reducing madness. In the decades since his demise, the universe built around his Cthulhu mythos has been mined by countless writers, not the least of which is the legendary Alan Moore, perhaps best known to comic book fans as the creator of Watchmen and to everybody else as a Neopagan; occultist; practicing Wizard; worshipper of the snake god, Glycon; and all-around crazy, hobo-looking gentleman.

Oddly enough, none of that is important. What is important is that Moore’s four-issue Neonomicon series is as terrifying and as well-researched a take on Lovecraft’s stories as we’re ever likely to get.

Two undercover FBI agents attempt to infiltrate an underground cult. They are completely unprepared for what they find. The male agent is quickly dispatched, but for his female partner, the terror is only just beginning and she’s abused, both physically and mentally, to the brink of insanity. Neonomicon doesn’t shrink away from the “nameless rituals” that Lovecraft only hinted at, by detailing the entire scope of sexual abuse our helpless protagonist suffers at the hands (fins?) of one of Dagon’s offspring.

This is so the last time I go on a blind date!

Neonomicon isn’t for the faint of heart, especially if you’re a member of the fairer sex. Yet, it’s perfectly in keeping with Lovecraft’s established lore, even if Moore’s story gets several levels more graphic than the master originally intended. I’m not entirely sure if Neonomicon would work as a movie, but as a cable television mini-series, it could work, although I predict a massive outcry at the overabundance of fish rape.

No.9 Blackgas

Written by Warren Ellis

Blackgas is the tale of a worldwide flatulence epidemic that soon begins to claim lives – due to explosive diarrhea. OK, not really, but knowing writer Warren Ellis, he could take that idea and totally run with it. Ellis is a writer who switches genres as easily as you and I change socks. From the gonzo journalism of Transmetropolitan to the big-screen superheroics of The Authority, he’s done it all. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that his take on a zombie epidemic is as interesting as the rest of his output.

Before spiraling out into the world at large, Blackgas begins on Smoky Island. Couple Tyler and Soo are visiting the in-laws before setting up shop at a small cabin on the other side of the island. An earthquake soon hits, splitting the earth open and releasing the titular substance from the bowels of the planet. The pair is spared the infection, but the rest of the island’s inhabitants are turned into cannibalistic monsters with black goop leaking out of their orifices.

Excuse me, sir. Your mascara is running.

Blackgas isn’t the most original property on this list, serving as yet another take on the zombie invasion genre, but Ellis brings his usual flourishes to the material, peppering the story with some nice emotional beats and well-thought diatribes on the history and origin of the black substance. In a typically nihilistic twist, the story ends with the U.S. government using a nuclear option to contain the threat, which only serves to throw up a black gas cloud over the entire surface of the planet. Whoops! Your tax dollars at work, folks!

No.8 XXXombies

Created by Rick Remender, Kieron Dwyer, and Tony Moore

OK, granted: you’d probably have to pay a visit to the closed-off section of the local video store that your mom used to cover your eyes from to rent this sucker, and you can forget bringing a date to the screening, but still! This needs to be made into a movie! A movie quite possibly shot in San Fernando Valley starring Riley Bigguns and Jon Rambone! SOMEBODY NEEDS TO MAKE THIS MOVIE!

OK. Deep breaths. Combining the undead with porn stars isn’t exactly a brand new idea, see Joanna Jaguar’s recent review of Zombies Vs. Strippers if you don’t believe me. However, Rick Remender’s hilariously satirical XXXombies concerns actual porn stars lazily fighting off a zombie invasion.

I say lazily because, well, the cast aren’t exactly brain surgeons. It takes them a while to even realize zombies have taken over, since they’re either too busy fucking, stoned, or just too plain dumb to notice something’s gone wrong. When a cast member of a porn shoot starts craving fresh meat, things swiftly go downhill – after the director attempts to get her to fuck a male co-star first, of course.

 Quite possibly the only time a guy has ever turned down a blowjob.

Believe it or not, there’s actually a tender love story somewhere in this. Of course, your definition of tender must include losing your virginity to a trio of horny porn actresses to pass the time, while this stupid zombie apocalypse blows over. Heh, I said blows… Anyway, XXXombies is puerile to the nth degree but you can’t deny that Remender just takes the concept and runs with it. Also, an entrepreneurial porn producer gets the bright idea to round up undead Hollywood celebrities and create a zombie whorehouse. In what world is that not awesome?? Undead Kate Beckinsale, here I come!

[Editor’s Note: Coincidentally, here comes Ms. Beckinsale’s lawyers…]

No.7 Stitched

Created by Garth Ennis and Mike Wolfer

From the prolific mind of my favorite comic book writer working today, Stitched contains a little bit of everything from Garth Ennis’ work that tickles my fancy: tough-talking military bravado, multi-faceted characters one can relate to, and sheer creativity when it comes to introducing new twists to the well-worn zombie genre. Three poorly armed NATO troops, survivors of a Blackhawk helicopter crash, find themselves trapped in the middle of Afghanistan, tracked by Taliban and something far worse. Unlike most of the entries on this list, Ennis goes for the slow burn approach to storytelling, letting the tension reach a boiling point before unleashing his creation: the Stitched.

Dressed in tattered cloth rags, which help to camouflage them in the searing desert, the Stitched are the victims of a black magic ritual in which they were forced to swallow an unnamed black substance. Then, his mouth, nostrils, ears, eyes, penis and rectum are stitched shut with needle and thread to prevent the soul from escaping, thus allowing the victim to endure catastrophic damage and still keep moving, and endowing him with a degree of supernatural strength capable of ripping limbs off.

Eerily, the creatures can be controlled by whirling a tin can filled with rocks, and cease to move when the sound stops, leading to some incredibly tense moments, such as when the antagonist behind the creatures has the bright idea to tie the tins like cowbells around the Stitched themselves to keep them mobile. Garth Ennis has already shot a short film designed to accompany the still ongoing comic book series, but the premise of Stitched deserves a grander scale. Get on it, Hollywood!

No.6 Gravel

Created by Warren Ellis and Mike Wolfer

Already scheduled for a big screen adaptation in the near future, Warren Ellis’ character, William Gravel, is an English soldier and a one-of-a-kind combat magician, which means he spends as much time shooting spells as he does handguns. Gravel’s adventures often take place in the world just beneath our own, a shadow realm containing a mix of Lovecraftian horror, where strange beings attempt to infiltrate our world, and wild, gravity-defying Jon Woo firefights exist. First appearing in the Strange Kiss mini-series, Gravel’s first case involves solving the murder of an old comrade in arms who dies after giving birth to a clutch of lizards.

Personally, I’d put an APB out on Godzilla.

William Gravel is a fascinating character, at times a completely amoral individual, he nonetheless treasures such qualities as loyalty and honor, but often leaves a trail of bodies wherever he travels. The series’ approach to magic spells is unusual, to say the least. Gravel uses his abilities to perform feats of acrobatics leading to amazing gun-play sequences, and he maintains a mystical forest, existing just sideways to our reality, where guns and bullets literally grow on trees. Gravel is just begging for a quality TV series.

2012 Montreal ComicCon Poster

If you are a Montreal resident, and you haven’t been paying any attention to the Montreal ComicCon news feed. May I add “coolest comic book convention” the city of Montreal has to offer. Then have no fear, William Shatner is here to save the day. Sorry, I mean us, Yell! Magazine is here to help remind you of the new guests that have been added to the celebrity roster.

You can bet your money that two great cartoonist will join the convention that is set to beginning on Friday, September 14, 2012.

Doug Sneyd Illustration

First up, Playboy cartoonist Doug Sneyd will make his appearance at ComicCon. Doug had over 450 full-page color cartoons published in Playboy since 1964. Second, Terry Mosher also known as “Aislin” will also appear at the event. Aislin is a Canadian political cartoonist for the Montreal Gazette, but also had drawings in numerous international publications, such as Punch, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, Time, and The Washington Star just to name a few.

Lastly, you may have also noticed that the official 2012 Montreal ComicCon poster above has been shatnerized, and was made public this past Monday. Benoit Godbout is the artist who created the fantastic poster.

So, anyway, this week TheMatt kicked me in the balls. If we’d known he’d had OMG Ninja training killing Pedobears in hell, we would have shoved his ass on a twin-prop plane headed for Antarctica when he came into the office for an interview. Unfortunately, the little bastard didn’t divulge such information, or that he can pick his nose through his ass, and he got the job.

As usual, thanks to Abby Howard and TheMatt for documenting our insanity.

Enjoy,
-Evil

Like every year, for three days, attendees have the chance to dress up, purchase a myriad of things (from comics to toys to games to clothes), and to meet their favorite stars in the worlds of Sci-Fi, Horror, Anime and Comic books, among others.

Never one to disappoint, or fail to entice, the creators of the Montreal ComicCon bring you guests to tickle your every fancy. This year, guests include William Shatner, who’s famous for, well, everything, and Wil Wheaton, who played Gordie Lachance in the cult-classic movie Stand By Me, as well as Ensign Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and who’s recently renewed his cult-y fame by playing himself (and Sheldon’s nemesis) on the TV Series The Big Bang Theory.

Next up, we have Malcolm McDowell, probably best known for his eerily fantastic portrayal of sadist Alex in Stanley Kurbrick’s A Clockwork Orange. Get your DVDs ready for autographing folks, I know I will be!

There’s even something for the girlfriends (unless, of course, they’re positively geektactular broads like myself). Hunky and so-bad-it’s-oh-so-good vamp Spike (James Marsters) and adorable, fumbling side-kick Xander (Nicolas Brendon) of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame will be eagerly awaiting your fan-girl swooning (OK, MY fan-girl swooning).

Not to be outdone by providing eye-candy for the ladies, Supergirl (aka, Laura Vandervoort), will be there, providing all the boys with yummy-dreams for years to come.

For all you Horror buffs out there, you can geek out on meeting Gunnar Hansen of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as well as flamboyantly bizarro Toxie-creator Lloyd Kaufman (seriously, is anyone as excited as I am?).

Rounding off our list of guests are Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys), Brent Spinner (Commander Data of Star Trek: TNG), and John de Lancie (Star Trek and Stargate SG-1).

Comic enthusiasts will be jumping out of their redshirts (heh, heh, see what I did there?) to learn that the ever amazing Mike Mignola of Dark Horse will be hanging around to sign your most prized comics, as will Tim Sale, Ben Templesmith, Kelly Tindall, and many, many others.

Aside from all the fantastic guests planned for this year’s Montreal ComicCon, there are also a multitude of special events planned. A professional photo booth will be set up so you can get yourself a beautiful memento of the time you nerded it up in front of your favorite star. Every year there are many panels and Q & As planned that you can attend. Though the schedule is not listed yet, you can be sure you’ll be hearing from William Shatner, Malcolm McDowell, Nicolas Brendon, and Laura Vandervoort. Most of the comic artists will also be on hand to sketch you out an original, one-of-a-kind sketch of your most-loved superhero. If you’re into Cosplay, make sure you have your best costume on while you attend because there’s always a Masquerade Ball and a costume contest. Be warned though, just coming in with some zombie makeup or store-bought super hero outfit isn’t enough to compete against the best of the best of Montreal’s Cosplayers. Those cats are crazy!

For all you geekalicious gamers out there, fear not, there’s something for you too! There are card tournaments set up throughout the weekend, and I challenge any of you to try to beat me in a Yu-Gi-Oh Battle! My deck is the superior-ist (or something).

Shopping is brought to you by the greatest of Montreal’s comic, Horror, and Sci-Fi vendors, and I guarantee you won’t leave without buying something. I never do. You can find Horror merchandise from Geektropolis/Graveyard Kids, Akumu Ink, and L’Hotel 54, Montreal’s biggest haunted house! Toys can be found at the booths for Toys on Fire, the Statue Guys, Star Wars Toy Hunter, and Legends Action Figures, among others. For anyone who’s curious, and I’m sure you all are, I buy all of my figures from Legends. Those guys have everything! For some wicked T-Shirts, make sure you swing by MTC Toys, Heavy Mental Designs, and Alternative Cinema’s booths. I don’t even have enough room to go into the Comic book vendors, so just trust me, there are tons! You’ll be able to find everything you need, and many things you never knew you needed until you saw it at the Montreal ComicCon!

So kids, I hope to see you all there! If you see me, come on over and say hi, I might be the one in the Cat Woman costume.

William Shatner, Montreal Comiccon 2012

DC Comics’ Green Lantern attempts to shine bright and escape from its shelved existence. Helping to achieve this goal is Ryan Reynolds, who fits the role perfectly with his wit and charm plying the hero, Hal Jordan.

The movie starts with a quick exposition, the history of the ring and the Green Lantern Corps. Parallax is an entity of fear, the greatest threat to the green lanterns gaining his powers from the yellow energy of fear. He was imprisoned by one of their greatest heroes, but Parallax escapes and we are taken six months into the future. Parallax has killed a few lanterns and injured the one who defeated him, Abin Sur. As a result, Abin makes for Earth to pass on his ring to the new chosen bearer.

The story of our hero starts off when Hal Jordan, after a somewhat pretend dogfight against two unbeatable jet drones and some back story of daddy issues, is suddenly encased in green energy and taken to Abin Sur’s crash site, where he receives Abin’s ring. Though, the story starts off with some action, which is always a good thing, the rest of the movie felt like a jumble of back story and explanation all crammed in. Hal is whisked away from Earth and taken to planet OA for basic training (he also discovers that he is the first human to join the corps.). Hal learns about the green energy of will and how he can forge anything into existence, limited only by his imagination.

After a nice beating from Sinestro, played by Mark Strong, our hero keeps complaining how he is the wrong guy and how he is scared. He believes the ring has chosen the wrong guy, because the chosen should be without fear.

If the movie could have focused on one villain, it would have been better grounded. However, that’s not the case and we have a potential villain, Sinestro, who shows his dislike for Hal. We have a recruit of Parallax; scientist Hector Hammond, who becomes an evil psychic; and we have Parallax himself.

For a time, it seems that Hammond will take the big role as the primary bad guy, showing a bit of his daddy issues and an interest for Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), an interest that Hal shares. This buildup is destroyed because Hammond is just a pawn for Parallax.

As for the love interest of our hero, the story tries to build on Hal and Carol Ferris’ affections, but even this could have used more backbone. This may be due to the lack of good characterization. The cramming of story to give us the big picture and idea of the world of the lanterns left us with two dimensional characters. It was hard to have any feelings for any of them as the story just moved too quickly.

The CGI in Green Lantern could have been better, but it fit with the rest of the feel of the story. It served to push on to viewers the effect it needed, which was entertainment.

The ending and defeat of the main villain should have been much more difficult, as the battle’s climax left somethign to be desired. It seemed too easy, compared to how much more powerful Parallax was said to be.

The entertainment was well enough to keep a good hold, but enthralling or exciting it was not. Still, it served its purpose for a night out at the movies and one can leave the theater with feelings of having an enjoyable experience.

Green Lantern (2011) Trailer

Written by SpiffyStaff

Yell! Rating (x/5 Skulls):

3 out of 5 stars

Year Released:

17 June 2011

Director:

Martin Campbell

Cast/Crew

Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard

Genre

Action, Crime, Sci-Fi

Official URL:

Green Lantern Official Site

Green Lantern (2011) - All Characters Poster

Green Lantern Corps. Overview

Opening June 17^th in theaters everywhere, Green Lantern is the third comic-based movie to be released so far this summer. It also has the most riding on its green shoulders. While movies based on Marvel Comics properties (Thor, X-Men: First Class) have practically become a summer movie tradition, fellow publishing house DC Comics, affectionately referred to as “The Distinguished Competition” by fans, has had poorer luck getting its characters to star in big-budget productions. As such, there’s a lot riding on the Green Lantern Corps.

The ratio of DC movies to Marvel movies rests somewhere on the 10 to 1 scale. Yes, Christopher Nolan’s relaunched Batman franchise is a shining gem of the genre, but Bryan Singer’s attempt to make the Man Of Steel relevant again in Superman Returns, while not the financial bomb many believe it to be, in no way revived interest in Clark Kent’s cinematic adventures. The less said about Zack Snyder’s upcoming Batman Begins-like reboot of the Superman movie series, starring very British actor Henry Cavill as the all-American superhero, the better.

Superman and Batman have always been the two biggest guns in DC’s arsenal of characters. A catastrophic attempt to shoot a pilot for a potential Wonder Woman TV show ended in complete rejection by its parent network and a long-gestating Flash movie is in no way doing its hero justice by being slower than a speeding tortoise.

The only other DC staple to get any traction in recent years is Green Lantern and the Green Lantern Corps. A spectacularly idiotic early attempt to make a movie starring the emerald warrior took the form of a Jack Black vehicle, which would have starred the comedian as the titular character, would have featured such sights as Green Lantern’s power ring creating giant condoms and would have turned Green Lantern himself into a lecherous, sexist parody of himself.

Luckily, cooler heads prevailed and the whole project was mercifully flushed down the crapper. Several years, scripts, and producers later, Green Lantern, starring a somewhat more acceptable Ryan Reynolds and directed by James Bond-franchise veteran Martin Campbell, looks to be a worthy adaptation of the comic book hero’s legacy. Whether you’ve ever picked up a comic before or not, everybody could use a little refresher on the Green Lantern universe and its inhabitants. So, without further ado or adon’t, your faithful Guardian presents, direct from the planet OA at the center of the universe, a general overview of the Green Lantern Corps. characters coming soon to a theater near you.

Get your Green Lantern Corps. education underway after the jump…