Sinestro’s got a point. Halloween is a busy time for geeks and parents alike, so I’ll keep this week’s dose brief.

With a double dose of DC Undead (Green Lantern and Blackest Night shipped–both were solid), I didn’t expect my favorite read this week to be so far removed from the Halloween spirit–yet somehow, amidst all the ghouls and gore, my favorite comic moment would be a simple superhero beatdown. But when the Dark Avengers came a-sniffing for Bucky-Cap in New Avengers #58, the star-spangled substitute showed them why he is more than qualified to weild the sheild:

I agree with Ares.

Ultimate Cap didn’t have such a bad week either, as he tussled with Nick Fury’s new team of black-ops ”heroes” in Ultimate Avengers #3. And what a team? The new Wasp plays human bullet to assassinate a roomful of baddies, the new Black Widow is Snake Eyes with lady parts, a new “smart” Hulk has been grown in a lab, a creepy new Hannibal Lecter-like Spider-Man fills the quickly-becoming-cliched role of mysterious team member with the unknown alias,  and Ultimate War Machine is a transformers with attitude!

I was surprised to see the epic Fantastic Four debut of Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham wrap up so abruptly. Those two creators are still on the book, but they seem to have closed the door (at least for the time being) on the League of Infinite Reeds, infinity gauntlets from around the multiverse, and foot-racing Celestials…all so our Mister Fantastic can spend some more time with his family. Noble…but Sunday brunch with the kids won’t make for the same kind of excitement we’ve grown accustomed to from this book.

The last book in my pull this week actually does fit this spooky season–FVZA: Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency is a 3-issue horror book from Radical Comics and (according to Radical) based on a website, http://www.fvza.org/. Written by David Hine and illustrated by Roy Allan Martinez, FVZA is creepy, violent, sexy, and gross–and it manages to put just enough of a spin on vampires and zombies that it is complementary to, rather than derivative of, True Blood and Zombieland. Check out this preview and decide for yourself.

And now I’m left trying to figure out who I’d want to see cast as The First Avenger: Captain America.

The word on the street is that the movie is going to be Cap’s origin as a runt kid volunteering to become a World War II super soldier, so it will be a period piece or, if it is set in modern times, it will be heavy on the WWII flashbacks. It’s speculation at this point whether the movie will touch on plot points such as the U.S. military testing the super soldier serum on guinea pig black soldiers (from Marvel’s Truth: Red, White, and Black mini), which could create an interesting context for all those rumors about Will Smith being considered for the role of Cap (he just wouldn’t be Steve Rogers). There’s also no official word on how much if any of the plot will involve SHIELD or Iron Man or, as it happened in the comics, Namor the Sub-Mariner fishing a frozen-in-ice Captain America out of the ocean and thawing him out to become a modern-day Avenger (though it’s probably a safe bet the movie will at least get us up to the moment, even if the whole reawakening bit doesn’t play out until the actual Avengers movie).

The casting of Steve Rogers may need to cover two roles: the scrawny kid with a big red, white, and blue heart and no chance of passing his army physical, and the genetically-enhanced super man that he is tranformed into–the ultimate blond-haired, blue-eyed Nazi ideal ironically engineered to kick those Ratzis up and down Europe, while en route to popping Hitler one on the jaw. Cap will need to look like he was injected with super soldier serum–big, muscular, imposing. Before that, he’ll need to look like a sunken-chested twerp. I suppose it is possible that technology can make it so we’re always looking at the same actor’s face, even if a stand-in needs to play the body of pre-serum Steve.

I believe in the comics Steve Rogers is from Brooklyn, but one change they should make for the movie is to make him more of an all-America boy from the heartland. He can always move to New York when he’s older (and discover his inner cartoonist, just like in the comics), so such a change shouldn’t be a problem to anyone. This consideration has more to do with an actor’s ability to play country mouse over city mouse, more than it has to do with the actor’s look.

And even though we tend to think of Cap as older–mainly because he’s got the midset of all the other Marvel heroes grandfather–he’d be a kid in this origin story. Thirty-plus-year-old men don’t generally enlist in the military. Steve is going to be 18, 19, maybe 20, to start things off. Even if the story has him in the military for years, he won’t be more than 20-something by the time he winds up in ice. Casting that is going to be tricky. The best bet will be to cast someone young enough to pull off a clean-shaven, bright-eyed 20, but who can then man up convincingly enough to ultimately wind up as the man barking orders at Tony Stark and the God of Thunder in the Avengers. But you can’t just cast Jon Hamm or Matthew McConaughy or any other actor pushing 40 who have been suggested.

So who can be our Star-Spangled Avenger? Here are a few possibilities:

Blond hair, blue eyes, strong chin, all-American looks–it makes sense that Paul Walker’s name has been floated for the part for a while now. He’s young enough–but not too young–to play the age range necessary for Cap, from young roughneck recruit to eventual leader of the World’s Mightiest Heroes.

Channing Tatum has already played one super soldier in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, so maybe he could slip on the wing-eared mask as well. I’d worry that he’s a little too young, and pretty green as an actor. But then again, if he’s surrounded by the kind of A-list actors Marvel has been putting into it’s recent crop of movies, maybe there will be some impressive castmates around to help elevate the kid’s game:

And then there’s The Marine–John Cena. He’s a genetic freak, but he’s still relatively young. And I’m a pro wrestling fan who knows what the guy has to do every night in front of live arena crowds for WWE, so I don’t doubt his acting ability or his capacity for physicality. Like the other two, his name has already come up in the rumor mill, but wrestlers are always mentioned and quickly dismissed when it comes to super hero movies. But if you want to get across the idea that the pipsqueak Steve Rogers is transformed into the ultimate prototype super soldier, it wouldn’t hurt to have the beanpole end up looking like this:

Who would you cast as Captain America?

Intro
Captain America #600 (BUY IT)
Power Girl #2 (SPLIT VERDICT)
Batman: Streets of Gotham #1 (BUY IT)
Ultimate Spider-Man: Requiem #1 (BUY IT)
Brave and Bold #24 (DON’T BOTHER)
Invincible #63 (BUY IT)

Agree? Disagree? Think we don’t know what the heck we’re talking about? Leave your comments below!

Special thanks to Comic Smash for providing Diana & Shola’s books for review and Midtown Comics for providing Jon’s.

Joe Johnston named Film’s Director

· Joe Johnston has signed on to direct Marvel Studios’ THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA based on characters developed by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. The film will be produced by Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige. Executive Producers on the project are Louis D’Esposito, Stan Lee and Marvel Studios’ Chairman David Maisel. Paramount Pictures will distribute THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA worldwide. The film will come to theatres domestically on May 6, 2011.

· LOGLINE: In the early days of the Marvel Universe, Steve Rogers volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America.

· Johnston is currently directing THE WOLF MAN, which comes to theatres early next year. He is developing THE DEATH AND LIFE OF CHARLIE ST. CLOUD. Johnston previously directed OCTOBER SKY, JUMANJI, JURASSIC PARK III, THE ROCKETEER, and HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS. Johnston won an Academy Award® in 1982 for Best Visual Effects for RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.

· Marvel Studios most recently announced an agreement with Raleigh Studios to film each of its next four films at Raleigh’s facility in Manhattan Beach, CA which will include THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA.

· Johnston is repped by CAA and attorney Lawrence Rose.

About Marvel
Marvel Entertainment, Inc. is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 5,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in licensing, entertainment (via Marvel Studios and Marvel Animation) and publishing (via Marvel Comics). Marvel’s strategy is to leverage its franchises in a growing array of opportunities around the world, including feature films, consumer products, toys, video games, animated television, direct-to-DVD and online. For more information visit www.marvel.com.

Honestly, I can’t necessarily think of a better guy to direct The First Avenger: Captain America than the guy who directed The Rocketeer, can you? From the Hollywood Reporter:

“This is a guy who designed the vehicles for ‘Star Wars,’ who storyboarded the convoy action sequence for ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ ” Feige said. “From ‘Rocketeer’ to ‘October Sky’ to ‘The Wolfman,’ you can look at pieces of his movies and see how they lead to this one.”

…and also directed Jurassic Park III, the only one in that series that’s any good. No, I’m not joking.

In any case, seems like Marvel has the director thing pretty locked down, huh? To wit:

Iron Man II – Jon Favreau
Thor – Kenneth Branagh
The First Avenger: Captain America – Joe Johnston

That’s a certain level of director who is very, very good at their craft, but not so big that they can push around the producers or cause problems. Plus, all three are reliably going to do a job, not throw tantrums (see: Punisher War Zone).

Oh, and one more thing you guys might have not heard over the weekend: J. Michael Straczynski is doing the rewrite on Thor. How cool is that?

Writers: Daniel & Charles Knauf
Artist: Mitch Breitwieser

Art: 6/10
Story: 8/10
Overall: 7/10

The Knaufs serve up an entertaining issue that hooks the reader early with an explosive beginning and keeps the reader’s attention until the very end thanks to plenty of adrenaline-pumping action scenes and one bad-ass Captain America.

What impressed me is that the Knaufs actually pulled off some nice research before writing this issue. And that is surprising considering it seems that many writers simply go through the motions and put in little effort when writing a one-shot “special” issue.

The version of Steve Rogers that we get in this issue is different from the modern day version that Brubaker was giving us prior to Steve’s death. The Knaufs present the reader with a Captain America who is still young and raw, similar to the Daniel Craig version of James Bond. This younger version of Steve Rogers is a bit more cocky and sarcastic.

I also liked the fact that the Knaufs write Captain America as real soldier rather than a super hero. This version of Captain America is more militaristic in attitude. It is clear that this young version of Captain America is a soldier and a national symbol and not a crime-fighting super hero. And the Knaufs let Captain America fight like a soldier as Steve has no problems putting away his shield and relying on machine guns to blast his way through the Nazis.

Of course, what has always been present with Captain America has been the way he keeps calm, cool and collected no matter how intense the fighting may get. I like how the Knaufs appear to have read Brubaker’s run on Captain America. Way back in Captain America #17, Brubaker made a point of having Steve mention that he is able to dodge bullets because he can see things faster than a normal person.

The Knaufs play with this concept by having Steve mention that he sees everything happen in battle slower than it really seems. And how the scientists think it is a side effect of the Super Soldier serum. I always appreciate it when one writer pays attention to what another writer has previously done with a certain character and then builds on it.

Of course, it is the kick-ass action scenes that make Captain America: Theater of War: Operation Zero Point #1 such an enjoyable read. The Knaufs make Captain America look like a total bad-ass as he lays waste to the Nazis in his path. All of the fight scenes are impressively well choreographed.

Personally, I am not a fan of Mitch Breitwieser’s style of artwork. It is a bit too drab and dull looking. Having said that, Breitwieser’s old school style of artwork does match the story in that this is a Golden Age Captain America tale. So, while I might not be overly impressed with Breitwieser’s artwork in general, it worked fine with the mood and tone of the story in this issue.

For more in-depth reviews, story recaps, scans and news visit Comic Book Revolution!

And there you have it. My question is: Is this awesome? Is this a great nod to the fanboys?

At first I thought Marvel’s strategy of linking all of their films together and creating a movie version of comic book continuity was a bold and risky move. Would Marvel really risk alienating mainstream audiences by creating a tight little Marvel world. But I think this blurry image points to how it will be done across the board: they fanboy nods will be slight and subtle, the non-comic reader won’t even register the difference.

But that strategy leaves me hoping for more. How cool would it be to have the Hulk confront a man frozen in ice in Antarctica: Doesn’t that idea speak to Bruce Banner’s imprisonment inside the body of the Hulk? The connections are there and if Marvel can make them in the right way then the movie continuity could be a great boon, a thread that binds them all together and makes them stronger rather than a much talked about, blurry, throw-away image.

What is even more interesting about the news is that it confirmed some upcoming film projects that fans have been speculating on for quite some time. Even better than that, we even know the anticipated release dates for the films as well.

The five movie deal includes:

‘Iron Man 2′ Anticipated Release Date: May 7, 2010
‘Thor’ Anticipated Release Date: July 16, 2010
‘The First Avenger: Captain America’ Anticipated Release Date: May 6, 2011
‘The Avengers’ Anticipated Release Date: July 15, 2011
‘Iron Man 3′ Anticipated Release Date: TBD

We’ll have more information on these projects as they break. In the meantime, you can read PopCultureShock’s review of the Blu-Ray release of ‘Iron Man’ right here.