DC

If you had asked me if I had wanted to see a movie about Green Lantern, I would have been neutral, but if you had asked me if I wanted to see a movie about a giant space octopus made of fear and smoldering owl fewmets busting loose from green chains, I would have said hell yes! GREEN LANTERN is probably the most comic-book comic book movie since SPIDER-MAN. All the imagery and spirit come straight from the yellowing pages of some old comic by John Broome and Gil Kane -- a boldly colored, nuance-challenged world of wonder and battle in the stars.

Designing the Green Lantern Corps for the screen left veteran designer Neville Page spent with exertion -- it dwarfed his previous projects AVATAR, SUPER 8 and STAR TREK. To solve the problem, Page turned to the work of the comics giants who paved the way:

As the film GREEN LANTERN opens nationwide, a segment of the population, mostly male, is wildly excited because their favorite superhero is finally getting a lavish and respectful big screen treatment. Yes the reviews have been mixed, but under the watchful eye of Lantern's flamekeeper Geoff Johns, the whole mythology has been faithfully brought to the screen in expansive CGI splendor. For the Lantern fans out there—and there are many -- this is a treat. But are they really a cult within a cult, as this Onion video suggests? I admit to being completely unable to answer this question myself; I'm completely immune to the Lantern's power, and I find this highly puzzling. Everyone's life has gaps, memory holes that remain a mystery. In my case, one such example is learning to swim. One moment, I seem to recall, I was learning how to float as a tot. The next I'm a full grown adult standing on the beach and afraid of the water. Something must have happened...but what?

Will DC's retconning/realignment/simplification/post-Crisis world include a married Superman and Lois? Comments co-publisher Dan DiDio made to NBC's nerd new blogs seem to indicate Lois and Clark may be facing a moment in time when they are single once more:

Russell Crowe will attempt to banish memories of Marlon Brando as he assays the role of Jor-El, father to Superman, in Zack Snyder's MAN OF STEEL reboot. Crowe joins Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Michael Shannon in the cast. THe script is by David Goyer, while Christopher Nolan instructs from the sidelines.

And what of the other BIG event this weekend? GREEN LANTERN is the movie that will either justify the creation of a whole universe of DC superheroes (akin to Disney's Marvel-verse) or....well, it won't Thus far, reviews are...unfavorable, with a 24% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. . Despite this the movie is tracking very well with young men and should easily open at #1.

DC's Editor in Chief Bob Harras and executive editor Eddie Berganza explain what's going on and invite you to what they hope will be a big party where everyone is welcome.

DC has released the video of Grant Morrison from the Hero Complex Film Festival talking about Superman. Since Morrison has already reinvented Superman once with ALL-STAR, this is familiar but welcome territory.

The final pieces of the DC relaunch are revealed over at Hero Complex, and #52 is revealed as the Grant Morrison/Rags Morales ACTION COMICS #1. A whole new backstory for Superman is teased -- probably to be spelled out at tomorrow's Jim Lee/Geoff Johns event for the LA Times. Dan DiDio also gives a new big picture statement.

As all of DC's Batnews has been rolling out today, the biggest question has been "Whither Grant Morrison?"

Via MTV, proof that nothing spices up the red carpet like a dying alien with a power ring.

Good news! Turns out DC isn't trying to destroy the direct sales market with their "Flashboot" -- or whatever it's called -- relaunch after all! And it is a relaunch, not a reboot, according to a letter sent by SVP of Sales Bob Wayne to retailers, announcing a pricing strategy that will see digital comics at the SAME price as print comics for their first four weeks of release. Wayne calls this "price parity" -- " No DC digital comic will be cheaper than its physical counterpart at launch." The Johns/Lee JLA #1 will be available with a digital download for $4.99, in print and digital only for $3.99 each.