While taking a beating at the DC Comics New 52 panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2011, DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Dan DiDio offered up a few bits of interesting information that did get reaction — good and bad — from the packed house.

DiDio question after question regarding Wally West, a staple in the Flash family that has been missing from the DC Universe for quite some time, at least in a major role. DiDio explained that the main goal of the new 52 is to focus the stories on one character making it easier for new readers to jump into the books. For now, and the foreseeable future that character, when it comes to Flash, is Barry Allen. Many audience members complained that there are still going to be multiple Robins, so there should be multiple Flash’s. DiDio stuck to his guns though. In an attempt to assuage some tensions about the history of the characters, DiDio and team explained that the histories that we all know and love aren’t being forgotten, just retold and modernized in one issue, the first of these new series [...]

Adventure Time, the hit cartoon from the brilliant mind of Pendleton Ward, has come to San Diego Comic-Con International 2011 in full force.

Not only has Cartoon Network rented out a pizza parlor in downtown San Diego to promote Adventure Time, but they’ve also paid more than two dozen boyish-looking dudes to dress up like the show’s main [human] character Finn (Jeremy Shada). (Yet, I’ve only spotted one real-life Jake (John DiMaggio a.k.a the voice of wise cracking robot Bender on Futurama), the shape-shifting yellow dog who is also Finn’s best friend — as shown in the images below.)

For those who have absolutely no idea why this is so amusing to myself and several others, let me explain. Adventure Time is a cartoon about a boy and his magical best friend dog and the awesome adventures they have in the mystical Land of Ooo. Mostly, these adventures consist of saving princesses and fighting heinous villain types like the Ice King. There are plenty of talking pastries, a Rainicorn (Rainbow Unicorn), and tons of guest celebrity voices like Henry Rollins, Mark Hamill, George Takei, Lou Ferrigno, and Erik Estrada [...]

Some more important characters set to be introduced in season 2 of HBO’s hit new fantasy series, Game of Thrones, now have actors to portray them.

Live Feed is reporting that the characters Stannis Baratheon, Davos Seaworth, and Melisandre have all been cast. Stannis, of course, is the biggest of the three, being the brother of King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), and the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. HBO has announced that they have cast Stephen Dillane in the role. Dillane has previously appeared in numerous roles, including Hamlet, Spy Game, The Hours, King Arthur, and the HBO miniseries, John Adams, where he played Thomas Jefferson.

Also newly cast is Liam Cunningham, who’s set to play Davos Seaworth, and Carice van Houten, who was cast in the role of Melisandre. Cunningham is known for his roles in Jude, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Centurion, and Clash of the Titans. Carice van Houten is known for her work in Black Book, Valkyrie, and Repo Men, to name a few. [...]

BOOM! Studios has released the second installment of their Rise of the Planet of the Apes prequel comic this week.

Anticipating the worldwide release of the new horror/science fiction film, BOOM! Studios is producing a free weekly episodic prequel comic atapescomics.com.

Starting on July 13, writer Daryl Gregory with artists Damien Courciero (Hawks of Outremer) and Tony Parker (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) began telling the tale of the events leading up to the upcoming theatrical release of Rise of The Planet of the Apes. Each weekly installment is a five-page voyage into this unique world where apes are destined to take over our world, ultimately leading to the 10- page conclusion on August 3, just two days before the movie’s release [...]

At the Marvel Comics Digital Comics panel at San Diego Comic Con 2011 Marvel execs made some big announcements regarding day and date releases to print and to the Marvel Comics App.

The first big one is that starting in August is that all of the Ultimates line will begin moving to day and date releases on the App, with all of these titles available by the end of September. Also in September, expect all of the Spider-Man titles to get day and date releases. Based on the success of the X-Men Schism #1 day and date release, Marvel will have all of the other X titles hitting the App day and date by October [...]

Geeks of Doom is back in San Diego this weekend to cover all the best of Comic-Con International 2011. First of all, don’t let the lack of support from major movie studios make you think there isn’t anything exciting going on, because there is.

Photos from the Convention Floor
While Marvel may have canceled its plans to hold a panel on its new movies, the house of ideas is well represented on the convention floor. The company set up a full scale replica of a S.H.I.E.L.D. ready room, with agents stationed on either side and a beautiful The Avengers movie logo hanging from the top.

There’s also some ridiculously morbid television shows that went the extra mile to give fans excellent photo opportunities. The folks from Spartacus built a scene from the show, complete with decapitated head and roman pillars. But better than that, The Walking Dead has the familiar rooftop scene set up. The door is chained up while hordes of zombie limbs are poking out and pushing the door ajar. (It’s super creepy and we have video we’ll post of it.) [...]

Following up this weekend’s release of Walter Simonson’s Thor: Artist Edition, IDW has announced an expansion to their exclusive line of reprints with Wally Wood’s EC Stories: Artist Edition.

EC, or Entertaining Comics, was a comic book publishing company that focused mainly on crime, horror, military, and science fiction stories. And Wally Wood‘s stories were some of the most celebrated. IDW’s Artist Editions are oversize hardcovers that feature full page presentation of the artwork in the same size of the artist’s original work. The original artwork is scanned to preserve the integrity of the work for the highest quality reproductions possible. Artists tend to sell their art pages through dealers and shows, so if you’re looking for a nice collection of EC stories, then this isn’t for you. However, if you want to have a beautiful, gigantic, art book that features some of the best comic art in the history of the medium, then make sure to pick this up.

The $10 t-shirt deal of the day over at RIPT Apparel is a mash-up of Game of Thrones and The Legend of Zelda called “Game of Blades” by artist Adho1982.

The sale at RIPT began today, Thursday, July 21, 2011, at midnight CST, and will continue for 24 hours from then, and once it’s over, it will not be sold on the site anymore [...]

The video game deal of the week over at Amazon this week is L.A. Noire for Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 for $37.00 each (that’s 38% off the list price of $59.99).

Note, this deal is valid all this week through Sunday, July 24, 2011, at midnight PST while supplies last.

From the Xbox 360 product page:

L.A. Noire is a gritty, single player detective game set on the infamous streets and in the smoke-filled back rooms of postwar Los Angeles. Designed and developed with a nod to the classic film noire movie genre, L.A. Noire blends crystal clear graphics that bring the iconic look and feel of the era to life, with a combination of innovative technology and unique gameplay that allow you to solve crimes through interrogations and investigation. Additional features include: five LAPD based crime desks to work, the ability to analyze the case as well as suspects for clues, an accurate block-by-block recreation of eight sq miles of 1947 Los Angeles, multiple difficulty settings and more. [...]

If you have been a huge fan of Captain America like I am, then you should be excited about Marvel’s newest blockbuster Captain America: The First Avenger.

The movie looks like it will be the best Marvel movie yet, but we here at Geeks of Doom don’t want to neglect Cap’s comic counterpart. I mean without the comic, there would be no movie. So, here to spread some comic love, we’re proud to present Captain America’s Top 5 Partners In crime.

Continue on to check out the list!

Diamondback
So we all know the best partners in life are the ones that challenge you and no partner changed Cap more than Rachel Leighton, aka Diamondback. As a founding member of the villain super-group The Serpent Society, Diamondback was initially called upon by her group to take down the good Captain, but his crime fighting ways got the best of her. Maybe it was his earnest demeanor or maybe it is because women love a man who wears an American Flag as a costume but she was smitten the first time they met. Diamondback eventually switched sides for Cap and they went on several missions together, proving once again that when you are patriotic, blond, and pumped full of government sanction drugs, the ladies will turn over a new leaf for you in a heartbeat. [...]

After a poor quality copy leaked online several days ago, and with the San Diego Comic-Con gearing up this week, Columbia Pictures decided to release the first official teaser trailer for their major 2012 summer release The Amazing Spider-Man.

The past week has seen the movie getting a lot of exposure after going into production late last year, and in addition to the new trailer, the new issue of Entertainment Weekly devoted the cover and lead story of its new Comic-Con-themed issue to the Marc Webb-directed reboot.

You can watch the much clearer version of the teaser trailer for The Amazing Spider–Man here below.

The new film was announced early last year after efforts to get a fourth film in the franchise with original director Sam Raimi and stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst into production failed. Raimi wanted the Vulture to be the lead villain and couldn’t meet the studio’s desired summer 2012 release date so Sony handed him and his stars their walking papers and went to work on the reboot. [...]

Jon Favreau‘s new film Cowboys & Aliens hits theaters on July 29, so in anticipation of the film, we here at Geeks of Doom have one (1) prize pack to give away to a lucky reader!

One (1) winner will receive:

- One (1) Official Cowboys & Aliens T-Shirt
- One (1) Cowboys & Aliens Metal Replica Wrist Blaster
- One (1) Cowboys & Aliens Playing Cards Deck

1875. New Mexico Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hardscrabble desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear. [...]

We can expect a lot of comics news later this week as San Diego Comic-Con International descends upon us, but the smart individual will get the word out early, as Bryan Lee O’Malley, creator of Scott Pilgrim, has.

O’Malley tweeted a teaser of his new project called Seconds. This week, the official announcement was made that Seconds be released by Random House’s Villard Books at some point in 2013. [...]

Recorded July 17, 2011.

Our July Doom Of The Month will be Baltimore: The Plague Ships! If you want to read along with us, head on over to Instocktrades.com or DCBService.com to pick up the Baltimore Plague Ships HC Vol 01 for a super price! Read up and be sure to check out our special review episode!

Check out Episode 78 of Comics of Doom, the official comics podcast of Geeks of Doom. Click HERE to open the podcast player in a new window.

Podcast player is here below, along with an Episode Guide.

Listen now!

E-mail us at comicsofdoom [at] gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter – @ComicsOfDoom
Subscribe to the Podcast: RSS | iTunes | Zune [...]

Each and every week “The Hench” and “The Fac3″ read a lot of comics. Seriously you guys, a lot of comics. Maybe too many comics. I mean, it is possible. They look forward to some more than others, I mean, who doesn’t? So, let’s take a look into the depths of their pull list, grab some issues, and we’ll let YOU know what the top books to look forward to are for the week of July 20, 2011. Single issues and trades, they’re all here.

On this week’s The GoD List, “THE HENCH” goes crazy over the newly revamped Daredevil, The Rocketeer, and One Soul, while “THE FAC3″ gets excited by Retro DC, a Flashpoint tie-in, and a lot of collections. The common threads between this demented duo? Adam West and horror comics. Stay tuned, folks, you’re in for a bumpy ride [...]

The t-shirt deal of the day over at RIPT Apparel today is The Warriors-themed shirt called “Warriors Baseball” by artist Heartjack.

The shirt went on sale at RIPT today, Wednesday, July 20, 2011, at midnight CST, and will continue for 24 hours from then, and once it’s over, it will not be sold on the site anymore [...]

The $10 t-shirt deal of the day over at TeeFury today is a mash-up of He-Man-themed shirt called “Master’s Ruin” by artist gaunty.

The sale began at Teefury today, Wednesday, July 20, 2011, at midnight EST, and will continue for 24 hours from then, and once it’s over, it will not be sold on the site anymore [...]

Gene Roddenberry is a name synonymous with science fiction. The former Los Angeles police officer is responsible for creating one of the biggest sci–fi franchises known to mankind, Star Trek, which continues to thrive to this very day, well over four decades after its initial premiere.

Roddenberry created many other things in his life along with Star Trek, but he also started a production company called Roddenberry Entertainment, which to this day strives to find revolutionary ways to bring science fiction to the masses.

In keeping with that goal, today it was announced that Roddenberry Entertainment will be teaming up with technology lab Social Animal to create the first–ever 360° film titled White Room: 02B3. The movie will see six strangers forced to take part in an experiment that could change the face of humanity as we know it.

Continue reading for more and to see a video demonstrating how the technology works. [...]

Captain America: The First Avenger Soundtrack
CD | MP3
Alan Silvestri
Walt Disney Records
Release Date: July 19, 2011

This summer movie season has brought us the now customary overpowering glut of blockbuster superhero epics, and with them some interesting but ultimately unmemorable orchestral scores. It’s disappointing when esteemed composers like Patrick Doyle and James Newton Howard are put to work on movies such as Thor and Green Lantern and they can’t even be moved to create good music for them. Neither musical score packed even the slightest amount of the mystery, tension, and high adventure all classic action-movie scores bring to their accompanying films, although to be fair Doyle’s Thor soundtrack had its share of moments worthy of the God of Thunder. If the music doesn’t care about the characters and the on-screen action, then why should we? Most composers tend to fall back on the same musical motifs that do little to stand out as nothing more than the components of a standard soundtrack. It all sounds nice, but you won’t be humming the themes for hours or days after you see the movie or purchase the soundtrack CD [...]

It’s being reported that Helena Bonham Carter, Barry Pepper, and Dwight Yoakam are all in talks to join Walt Disney’s revival of The Lone Ranger.

The trio join stars Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer on the project, as well as director Gore Verbinski, who of course directed Depp in the first Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and the recently released Rango.

Depp is playing the role of Tonto, while The Social Network star, Hammer, will be playing the title character, who’s attacked and left for dead by a ruthless gang before putting on the mask and becoming the Ranger. Yoakam would be playing the leader of said gang, while Bonham Carter would be the Madame of a brothel and Pepper an officer in the military. [...]