Jack Kirby original Captain America art

Via the excellent Kirby Dynamics:

Sucker Punch movie character posters

According to Wikipedia:
Sucker Punch is an upcoming American action-fantasy film written by Steve Shibuya and Zack Snyder, who is also directing the film. Sucker Punch features an ensemble female cast that includes Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, Jamie Chung and Jena Malone. The film follows a young girl in the 1950s about to be lobotomized and as she attempts to escape the asylum with her inmate friends.

Complete Beatles Ed Sullivan Show appearances coming to DVD

They've been out before, but this sounds like a spruced up edition:

THE 4 COMPLETE ED SULLIVAN SHOWS STARRING THE BEATLES, DIGITALLY REMASTERED AND INCLUDING SOME PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED MATERIAL, TO BE ISSUED ON DVD BY UNIVERSAL MUSIC ENTERPRISES

When The Beatles stepped onto Sullivan's New York stage on Sunday, February 9, 1964, to make their American TV debut, 86 percent of all TVs on at that hour - 73 million Americans - tuned in. It was the most-watched program in history to that point and remains one of the most-watched programs of all time.

Nearly 50 years after the four landmark live performances of The Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show," those legendary appearances with newly remastered audio and carefully restored video will finally be made available worldwide on home video through a major distributor. The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring The Beatles will be released September 7, 2010. The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring The Beatles was produced by SOFA Entertainment.

"We used the full extent of today's technology," says Andrew Solt, Executive Producer and CEO of SOFA Entertainment. "The quality is better than it ever was, in fact, better than when the shows aired, especially visually. For example, the February 16 performance was from Miami's Deauville Hotel, not from a studio. The quality of the tape image was very fragile. We went back and improved it frame by frame."

With a running time of more than 250 minutes, The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring The Beatles presents those shows uncut, including not only all of the other performances but also all of the original commercials. The audio is available in both mono and a 5.1 remix. In addition, the new DVD set has been augmented with approximately 13 minutes of additional footage.

The Universal Music Group (UMG) will release "The Ed Sullivan Show - The 4 Complete Shows Starring The Beatles" on September 7th

Paperback cover parade: The Stars are Ours!

Joss Whedon will indeed direct the Avengers movie

Hope it's better than Dollhouse:

Whedon said he remains in the outline phase for the movie and continues to rework the story that will bring together some of Marvel's top properties. "The thing I love about it is how completely counter-intuitive it is," confessed Whedon. "These people should not be in the same room, much less the same team. The very definition of family."

Wonder Woman to shill cosmetics

From the Hollywood Reporter:

DC Comics is teaming with MAC Cosmetics on a limited-edition collection of Wonder Woman products including lipsticks, eye shadows, blush and nail lacquers. The line, ranging from $13-$49.50, will be available in the spring at MAC locations worldwide.

Picture: Claudette Colbert

Monty Python's Eric Idle recalls his friendship with George Harrison

Nice interview from the Liverpool Echo:

“We were also close in our groups. I was sort of the odd one out in our group too; there were two blocks (of writers) and then me,” he explains, referring to George’s lone songwriting role alongside the partnership of Lennon and McCartney.

“We definitely gelled, and he was fabulous.”

Beach Boys reunion tour on?

Al Jardine says so today. But late last month, Brian Wilson said there were no such plans. So we'll see:
"We're definitely doing at least one show," Jardine said. "It's a big deal. I don't know where it will be yet, but it'll probably be free. Golden Gate Park was mentioned, as was the [National] Mall in Washington, DC, and the north shore of Chicago by the beach."

Going on to confirm that the line-up for the show would include Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and possibly even early guitarist David Marks, the guitarist went on to explain that he wants the band to tour.

Official Thor and Captain America movie websites are up

Not much to see so far, but here they are: Thor, Cap.
 

Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman finally coming to DVD

I have fond memories of these shows. Were they any good? Probably not. But I wouldn't mind checking. Here are the details on each:

This Fall, Time Life - the home of such classic TV as GET SMART, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E and THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS - will give TV DVD aficionados, cult classic completists and genre fans six million reasons to get excited about one of the most eagerly anticipated and buzzed about home entertainment releases in years with THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN: THE COMPLETE SERIES. The set, which will initially be available exclusively online at a specially branded site, will be released in November 2010 and feature all five action-packed seasons of the futuristic, fan-favorite adventure series never before available in the U.S. on any format!

Although the collection will not be bionically-enhanced, the singular set - the 4th most requested unreleased show at TVShowsonDVD.com - is certain to thrill fans both old and new. Across the 40-disc configuration, housed in a box sporting an audio chip and eye-popping lenticular images, Time Life proudly presents the series in its entirety with all 100 digitally-preserved and re-mastered hour-long episodes. Also included will be the three pilot movies ("The Six Million Dollar Man", "Wine, Women and War", "Solid Gold Kidnapping"), the three made-for-TV reunion movies ("The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman", "Bionic Showdown" and "Bionic Ever After?"), the never-before-released cross-over episodes with The Bionic Woman and more than eight additional hours of never-before-seen bonus programming, with all-new cast and crew interviews, featurettes and docs featuring - among others - Lee Majors and Richard Anderson ("Oscar Goldman") and much more.

One of the pop culture smashes of the '70s, THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN starred Lee Majors as Colonel Steve Austin, a top NASA pilot critically injured when his experimental spaceplane crashed. Oscar Goldman (Richard Anderson), head of the OSI, used Austin as a test subject for an experimental procedure, rebuilding his body using cybernetic technology, making him the world's first bionic man. Now, Austin works for Goldman and the OSI, protecting the nation from a myriad of threats. Based on the novel "Cyborg" by Martin Caidin, THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN launched with several made-for-TV movies in 1973, which then spun off into a hit for ABC, running from January 1974 to March 1978. During its run, the program made Majors a pop culture icon, spawned three reunion shows, another series (The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner) and thousands of licensed products, making THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN one of the defining TV shows of the "Me" decade.

"As the show that introduced me to TV audiences the world over, I have a fond place in my heart for The Six Million Dollar Man," says Lee Majors. "And over the past several years, the one question I get asked most is 'when will it be available on DVD?' So, I'm truly excited to be involved in bringing the series to a new generation of fans."

"We couldn't be more excited to have the opportunity to deliver such a long-awaited classic to DVD for the first time," says Jeff Peisch, head of Time Life's video division. "We have a long history of reverential treatment towards the packaging of cult classic TV and we now have the technology and capability to build a better DVD set. Better...stronger...faster. Actually, we're pulling out all the stops for The Six Million Dollar Man, making sure that it's both a completist's dream set and the perfect DVD homage to an unreleased classic."
  And:

Fans can finally experience one of television's most memorable television series when "The Bionic Woman" Season One debuts on DVD on October 19, 2010 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.  Relive the excitement of this groundbreaking television series starring Primetime Emmy® Award winner Lindsay Wagner as Jaime Sommers, a woman leading the ultimate double-life.  Never-before-released on DVD in North America, this four-disc set includes every episode from the show's premiere season plus five crossover episodes from "The Six Million Dollar Man," and a Bionic Beginnings featurette, which tracks evolution of television's first Bionic Woman and includes an all-new, exclusive interview with Lindsay Wagner.  
"The Bionic Woman's" 1976 premiere introduced delighted television viewers to a thrilling new kind of action hero -- the blonde, brainy and beautiful Jaime Sommers.  Armed with an astonishing range of superhuman abilities, Jaime goes undercover as a schoolteacher to take on a host of evildoers in 13 action-filled adventures that take her to every corner of the globe.  
Inspired by the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-nominated action series "The Six Million Dollar Man," "The Bionic Woman" Season One stars Primetime Emmy® Award winner and Golden Globe®-nominee Lindsay Wagner (The Paper Chase) and Richard Anderson ("Dynasty"), along with an array of 1970s luminaries including Lee Majors ("The Six Million Dollar Man), Andy Griffith ("Matlock"), Tippi Hedren (The Birds) and Kristy McNichol ("Empty Nest").
The "Bionic Woman" Season One DVD comes with exciting bonus features to delight any collector, including:
  • Five "The Six Million Dollar Man" Crossover Episodes
    • "The Bionic Woman" -- the original second season "The Six Million Dollar Man" episode where Jaime Sommers becomes the Bionic Woman.
    • "The Bionic Woman:  Part II" -- Jaime Sommers is sent on her first assignment for the Office of Scientific Investigations in this second season "The Six Million Dollar Man" episode.    
    • "The Return of the Bionic Woman" -- Steve Austin learns that Jaime Sommers is still alive after seeing her die from a Bionic rejection.  However, Jaime has suffered brain damage and no longer remembers anything about her past life, including Steve.
    • "The Return of the Bionic Woman Part II" -- In an attempt to restore her memory, Steve Austin takes the recuperating Jaime Sommers to their hometown of Ojai, California.  However, facing her past results in violent headaches and confusing flashbacks. 
    • "Welcome Home, Jaime" -- In "The Six Million Dollar Man" episode that launched "The Bionic Woman" spin-off series, Oscar Goldman arranges a job for Jaime as a schoolteacher, but she also insists on taking on the missions for the Office of Scientific Investigations.  
  • Bionic Beginnings Featurette:  Featuring an all-new interview with Lindsay Wagner, this featurette tracks the evolution of television's first Bionic Woman from her introduction in a two-part episode of "The Six Million Dollar Man" to the launch of her own series.
  • Episode Commentary:  Commentaries featuring director Alan J. Levi, writer James D. Parriott and writer/director Kenneth Johnson.  
  • Gag Reel
  • Photo Gallery

Picture sleeve parade: California Sun by the Rivieras

Second "Parker" book from Darwyn Cooke out this fall

I love Cooke's art:

RICHARD STARK'S PARKER: THE OUTFIT
Written, art and cover by Darwyn Cooke.
Cooke is back and following up the New York Times best-selling Hunter with a heart-pounding sequel: The Outfit. After evening the score with those who betrayed him, and recovering the money he was cheated out of from the syndicate, Parker is riding high, living in swank hotels and enjoying the finer things in life again. Until, that is, he's fingered by a squealer who rats him out to the Outfit for the price they put on his head... and they find out too late that if you push Parker, it better be all the way into the grave!
160 pages, $24.99, in stores on Oct. 6.