For comic book fans, some of the biggest news of the past year was that Ben Affleck would take up the role of Batman in the next Man Of Steel film. The news of a Superman-Batman collaboration alone was fairly explosive on its own. And following a relatively brief period of speculation on who might take up the role of the Caped Crusader, the Affleck news set the Internet ablaze for weeks.

So, what exactly has Affleck signed on for? Is it a good idea with the potential to launch a successful franchise? Is it a disaster waiting to happen and an insult to Christopher Nolan’s incredible Dark Knight trilogy? Our thoughts on these questions and more are below!

What Has Ben Affleck Agreed To?

Right now, no one is 100 percent sure what Affleck’s agreement to play Batman entails. What we know for certain is that Affleck will play the Caped Crusader—likely in a somewhat limited role—in the 2015 follow-up to Zack Snyder’s Man Of Steel film. However, the International Business Times recently speculated that Affleck’s agreement may go well beyond 2015, encompassing a fresh Batman trilogy as well as additional follow-ups and collaborations with Superman. Wow.

Is Ben Affleck The Right Man For The Job?

When Ben Affleck was announced as the next Batman—even after Argo launched him to a new career peak—most fans were immediately up in arms. But now that the dust has settled a bit, it seems as if the real outrage was in anyone playing Batman so quickly after Nolan’s franchise concluded. Affleck himself may be a pretty decent pick, though, in the end.

To begin with, he’s exactly the right physical type, and he’s also been hitting the gym even more lately to beef up. But going beyond that, Affleck has demonstrated the kind of quiet, brooding strength that defines Batman. He can also pull off the boisterous arrogance that can at times represent Bruce Wayne. For the quiet strength, check out Argo, or even The Town, both of which show Affleck in full control, but never over-the-top. For a bit of Affleck’s action chops, take a look at Smokin’ Aces. This wasn’t the most popular film, which means you may have missed it. The movie’s actually currently available at Picturebox Films, an online streaming service with a fluid selection of films, and it’s worth a watch if you want a more comic book-style look at Affleck. And for Bruce Wayne-style charisma, take a look at the (critically slammed) Runner Runner in which Affleck himself was, while nefarious, quite enjoyable. All
in all, he may not be a bad pick all things considered.

Is There Disaster Potential?

Of course there is, but it’s not Affleck’s fault. The dirty little secret in the room is that Man Of Steel was, quite simply, not a good film. Where Nolan’s Dark Knight franchise thrived on character conflicts and situational drama, Snyder’s Man Of Steel fell into mindless action for the sake of action. There’s always the chance that Affleck himself offers a fine take on Batman while films themselves simply aren’t up to snuff.

Only a true fan could have made this film and director Steven Spielberg completely indulges himself in the world of Tintin and Herge. He often keeps the shot wide or medium which lets the audience view and admire the beautifully animated landscapes and locations. Spielberg must have known the weight of expectation on his shoulders when making the movie, and he never diverts from Herge’s original M.O; adventure, mystery and thrilling action. If you’ve read our interview with Tintinologist Michael Farr, then you’ll know Herge (back in the day) named Spielberg as the man to bring Tintin to the big screen, and it’s done with a huge amount of love and passion.

The Adventures of Tintin is surely the pinnacle of motion capture, and Spielberg treats the technology like an over-excited child with a super 8 camera and a toy set; he fluidly moves the action across scenes and locations and the action set pieces are pure spectacle. In a scene in which Captain Haddock recounts the story of the Unicorn, Spielberg cuts the action between Haddock recounting the story and the actual events in the past. The frame whizzes around at high speeds and cuts effortlessly between both locations, it’s stunning, and the action sequences on board the Unicorn are truly magical, I was in effing awe.

Screenwriters Moffat, Wright and Cornish have freely taken story points from across the Tintin volumes and have created a patchwork quilt of a script, which perfectly matches up to any Herge story. The cast all fill their roles well, and the animators have done a great job re-creating the characters on screen. When it comes to Tintin himself, considering that Herge’s drawings of the boy hero lacked any great amount of detail surrounding his facial features, I thought he looked pretty good in the film. Pegg and Frost also shine as Thompson and Thomson, and Andy Serkis is brilliant barging his way across the scene as Captain Haddock (even if his accent does sometimes drop).

The Adventures of Tintin starts not with a shot of the hero himself, but brilliantly begins with a shot of his creator Herge drawing a portrait of Tintin in a busy market square. The film is littered with little in jokes and trivia, and I will need to see the film again to catch them all. Tintin is pure old school fun, full off adventure, mystery and action. I already know when I will be seeing the film again upon its release, and I cannot wait.

Will Pond.

Also on a side note, Tintinoligist Michael Farr (who we did a recent interview with HERE) will be giving a talk all about Tintin at the Wigmore Hall in central London on October the 22^nd in aid of charity, to apply for tickets and for more information head to www.justgiving.com/sdftintinlecture.

Will Pond.

Everything looks super sized; the cast, the sets and even the explosions, the wide shot 18 seconds in is particularly impressive. Director Joss Whedon is keeping his cards pretty close to his chest, and the trailer shows less than it feels like it does; but he does introduce the main characters and the villain, so it’s enough to get me excited.

Oh, and if your wondering where the hell is the Hulk, just wait to the end. Check out the trailer below and get back to us with your thoughts.

In preparation for the home entertainment release Warner Bros’ UK distribution arm have released the details of the Blu-Ray and 3D Blu-Ray extras and the cover art for both Blu Ray release formats and the DVD release. And yes, it does come in a green case!

Both the Blu-Ray and 3D Blu-ray will come with a DVD and digital copy of the film. The Blu-Ray extras will include:

• MMM and Picture in Picture Focus Pods
• The Art of Green Lantern
• Weapons Hot: The U.C.A.V. Dog Fight
• Reinventing the Superhero Costume
• Ring Slinging 101
• We Are the Corps
• Acting Under 10 Pounds of Silicone
• Guardians Revealed
• When Parallax Attacks
• The Universe According to Green Lantern
• Ryan Reynolds Becomes the Green Lantern
• Deleted Scenes
• Justice League #1 Digital Comic
• Preview of Green Lantern: The Animated Series

The Blu-Ray release will also include an extra 8 minutes of footage, get back to us with your thoughts on where this extra footage could fit and check out the cover art for all three releases below.

He’s a much more difficult character to handle because unlike someone like Batman (billionaire playboy by day, brooding one-man-army by night) he isn’t cool. He’s a big blue boy scout and proud of it, but unfortunately for him, since Han Solo came around all the kids want to be Wolverine, not Cyclops. So what can you do? The solution most writers and artists found was to emphasize his god-like power. This meant gigantic alien fistfights and virtually no character development. Yes they’ve killed him, brought him back to life and turned him electric blue, but have we seen these creators truly push the limits of the man of tomorrow? Has anyone tapped his true potential? I didn’t think so until I read All Star Superman.

The series doesn’t really run along a singular narrative (something that the recent animated adaptation suffered from trying to force) but sufficient to say it features a super powered Lois Lane, an encounter with Black Kryptonite, an interview with an imprisoned Lex Luthor, an excursion to Bizarro World, an altercation with Kryptonian explorers and a sun eater among other things. The scale of the series is at once epic and intimate and it succeeds in crossing many subgenres within the realm of science fiction. Presumably taking his lead from Alan Moore, Morrison is hugely respectful of the character’s rich history and revels in the opportunity to turn many of the sillier or ‘goofy’ ideas from the Silver Age into some brilliantly cool components.

This is helped in no small part by the outstanding artwork of Frank Quitely whose style transcends decades of mythology to capture the essence of the character. His depiction of Superman perfectly encapsulates his power and humility; tall, broad and a little bit clumsy. Unlike Bill of Kill Bill fame, I don’t think that Clark Kent is Superman’s critique of the human race. To me they are one in the same sharing strengths and insecurities. Quitely finds the overlap and brings it out for all to see. Together this artist and writer have found the vulnerability in a seemingly indestructible character and proceed to strip him bare with each new adventure.

In the ninth issue, Superman describes himself as ‘a scientist’s son. It’s in my nature to observe and learn…’ This is a quality in the character that helps to anchor the tone of the series. It’s a celebration of life, the universe and everything. He is not humanity’s resident strong man, more a scatterbrained genius with one hundred plates spinning at once. He is an inspiration, a symbol of human potential. This comic put a fresh spin on an already iconic character and in my opinion it is the greatest Superman story ever told. I highly recommend it to everyone.

Joe Read.

Batman Live is defiantly more Batman Forever than Batman Begins (fun fact: I stole this line from Joe Innes, don’t tell him!) so don’t go expecting any broodiness or soul searching, and no murky brown colour scheme; Batman Live is bright and loud, the stage is vibrant and full of movement, particularly helped by a large animated screen behind the performers (one of the stars of the show). The acting is completely hammy and over the top, I didn’t think anyone could ever be as plucky as the guy who played Robin is; also, look out for the faces that Batman makes in the shows final bows, looking tough dude.

Batman Live contains a vast array of entertainment from acrobatics and trapeze to dance and high flying action sequences, and although this is all very entertaining I did feel the performance was limited to just the stage and a small amount of space surrounding it, which sometimes made the action feel quite distant in such a large venue. Screens relaying the show live (like in music gigs) or bringing some of the performance out into the audience would have helped here and made some parts even more thrilling. The show has a high technical standard; all scenes ran fast one into the other, with actors appearing from behind the back curtain, up through hidden trap doors and even down from the ceiling.

Batman Live bears no resemblance to either of Christopher Nolan’s films, and I did hear some disappointed comments being thrown around as everyone left, but if the production team had gone in a ‘Nolan’ direction, half of the audience at the I attended would have been too young to even get in! It’s an awful marketing phrase, but Batman Live really is family fun, the show has some great acrobatics and lots of inventive ideas. The production has just embarked on a world tour, so go and see it when it comes to a city near you… and if you don’t have a child to take then steal one.

Will Pond.

© Hergé/Moulinsart 2011

We here at GCB are pretty exciting about the new Tintin film coming out later this year, which you can see the trailer for HERE. So in preparation for the film’s release, GCB managed to grab a quick chat with tintinoligist and all round Hergé buff Michael Farr about Tintin, Spielberg and the abominable snowman.

GCB | Hi Michael, Have you seen the new Tintin trailer yet?

Michael | Yes I have, I’m actually speaking about it on the BBC tomorrow. Its quite interesting isn’t it, quite exciting and as action packed as you would expect, a lot more to it than any of the snippets we have previously seen. Captain Haddock’s nose has never looked more bulbous!

GCB | Will you be seeing the film in 3D?

Michael | Yes absolutely, I actually spoke to someone on the production team today and they said it would really add something when watching the film. Hopefully the film will also spread Tintin further and introduce him to places where the books are not so widely read.

GCB | Like in America?

Michael | Yes just like in America, you and I know and love Tintin but there are those out there who do not know him so well, so hopefully this film will catch their attention.

GCB | Tintin has never been as popular in America as he is in Europe, why do you think this is?

Michael | Hergé’s work is very much rooted in realism and this is different to American comics, you can’t have people flying around or climbing up buildings like you do in America, although Hergé did say to me himself that he did go a little too far on one occasion.

GCB | Oh really, which book did Hergé see as going too far?

Michael | He felt that looking back Flight 714 went a little too far with the aliens at the end and the flying saucer, although the book is still highly enjoyable up until that point. But who knows Hergé might be prophetic about Aliens, I certainly think he will be about the abominable Snowman.

GCB | That Tintin meets in ‘Tintin in Tibet’?

Yes, I do believe we will find the Abominable Snowman one day and it will look just like it did in Tintin.

GCB | When the Tintin books were first published they contained images of exotic locations that children and young adults might not of otherwise have seen, but with more resources readily available now do you think this can change the way Tintin could be read now by a reader for the first time?

Michael | That’s a very interesting question, I first read Tintin in French when my father was stationed in Paris, this was in 1957, and I remember waiting eagerly for the next Tintin book, for all the adventure and fun. If you felt the need, you could buy the magazine it was printed in weekly at two pages a time, but I always preferred to wait and get the nicely printed book, I only purchased the magazine out of desperation.

Like you say though, children weren’t exposed to all the things they are now so it might have been more exciting back then. The marvellous thing about Tintin is that you can enjoy the books endlessly even as an adult, when I am asked to speak at schools the children I am talking to see things even I haven’t seen! In fact, it was talking to children that guided me to writing another of my books, Tintin and Co.

GCB | This was a collection of characters?

Michael | Yes my first book sold quite a few copies and I was asked if I wanted to write another, the problem was my first book was Tintin, The Complete Companion, there wasn’t much else to write about! I noticed that when I was talking in schools all the children’s questions were about the characters, so I thought why not take a closer look at them. It was inspired by young people wanting to know why Captain Haddock, why Professor Calculus.

GCB | Do you still own your old Tintin books?

Michael | I do yes, and they are very well thumbed. My father was recalled to London in 57/58 when the books first came out in England so I could also read them in English.

GCB | What do you think makes Tintin so well loved across different continents, countries and languages?

Michael | I love the universal appeal of Tintin and what strikes me is how multicultural Tintin can be. There is a misconception that Tintin is all white and middle class, but that really isn’t the case, at book signings I see many people of different backgrounds and nationalities sharing their enjoyment of Hergé’s work. Tintin is also huge in Africa; they love seeing themselves in the book just like we do when Tintin comes to England in The Black Island.

GCB | You mentioned earlier that you met Hergé, what was he like?

Michael | He was delightful and terribly modest, when I first met him he was very young for 71, you would have thought he was 20 years younger. We first had lunch when I was supposed to be interviewing him but it was a disaster, he kept turning around and interviewing me, he hated talking about himself. He didn’t really care for celebrity he was just so terribly modest, he was most interested in other people and other things; he asked me what I thought about Pink Floyd! Can you imagine, how hip can you get at 71.

GCB | So he had a wide range of interests outside writing and comics?

Michael | Certainly yes, he had a passion for the cinema. You see, he lived in Brussels during the First World War and his mother took him to the cinema, it was one of the few forms of entertainment. He was terribly interested and influenced by the early Hitchcock films; you can really see that influence in his work, like in The Black Island. It’s really very good that Stephen Spielberg is directing the new Tintin film since Hergé was also a great admirer of his work.

GCB | I never knew Hergé was a secret Spielberg fan, do you know which Spielberg films he had seen?

Michael | The first Spielberg film he saw was an early one called “Duel” and he was very struck by it, he made a note 3 months before his death saying ‘if one person can bring Tintin to the screen it’s this young American director’ he didn’t actually name Spielberg, but he meant him.

GCB | What are you reading? Do you still read many comics?

Michael | Well I do keep up with many new titles, I often see them when I go to comic conventions, like the one in Barcelona or Copenhagen, and I find that very interesting as a learning process, very exciting. My passion though is for Hergé and he really is an influence on many artists. For me he is the pinnacle, I enjoy seeing how he has influenced both late artists and contemporary artists.

GCB | Do you think there is still an interest for Tintin in new readers?

Michael | Well I went to Brussels after Hergé had only passed away a few months previously, and everyone in the studio was waiting to find out what his will said about the future of Tintin, but I’m not sure if you know that the will said no one could continue producing Tintin past his death, and people were devastated and worried that everyone would forget about Tintin in 5 years time, but look at it now 30 years later we are still talking about Tintin and more and more books are being sold in an increasing number of languages.

Thanks for talking to us today Michael, it’s been a blast.

Egmont Press (who also publish Tintin) will be releasing Michael Farr’s ace ‘Tintin, The Complete Companion’ with loads of cool new stuff in the autumn.

The art is the driving force behind this adventure, dizzying and dazzling while keeping the reader fixed in another world. In fact I sometimes felt overwhelmed by some of the visual effects and distracted from a fairly simple story. If I have a problem it’s that this installment felt like Batman Inc just showing off another weapon in their arsenal.

By #6, Grant Morrison had convinced me that the operation was fully established and expanding by the second. I was impressed. But one of the biggest appeals of Morrison’s Batman has been watching the risks he is willing to take with the character. With no real challenge or depth a series can become as formulaic as a 3D CGI cartoon. However this is all very unlikely given the journey we’ve been on to get here.

I believe in Grant Morrison. You can’t argue with someone who writes villainous dialogue like, ‘Die, Batman! Die, Batman! Die, Batman! Die!’ Overall this was an enjoyable escapade, if a little light. It was fun to see Barbara and Bruce fighting side by side again and the reference to the return of an old flame was a great note to pause the series on. I might not be buzzing over the new 52 but this title will keep me coming back for many months to come.

Joe Read.

The cast is great; Chris Evans somehow manages to dominate the screen equally as the muscle bound super soldier and as the small, physically weak kid from Brooklyn. Stepping into the role can’t have been an easy task, but to his credit Evans keeps it simple and plays Cap’ just how he should be, his performance is engaging and the CGI used to reduce his body at the beginning is amazing. Hugo Weaving is always a complete pleasure to watch, and here is no different; it’s obvious he is having loads of fun playing Schmidt/The Red Skull. The accent is very ‘German’ and his mere presence on screen creates an ominous mood of tension and dread. Also, Tommy Lee Jones and Toby Jones are great.

The film does slightly loose its way somewhere in the second act, a completely miss-timed montage cuts through what could have been a nice scene of Cap’ and his team working together, and we would have been able to see Cap’ and Bucky together in the battlefield a little bit more. Also, the film’s final scene does really feel like a post credits sequence bumped up to the main feature to make way for The Avengers trailer, which by the way, looks awesome sauce.

Early in his career director Joe Johnston worked at Industrial Light & Magic on features that included Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and he has brought all of that blockbuster flare to Captain America. Johnston also directed the film adaptation of The Rocketeer in the early 1990’s, which Joe Innes loves (YEP – Ed)… Worth a mention! One of the best moments in the film is strangely enough during the credits. In the final few names; Ed Brubaker, Jack Kirby and Joe Simon all get a thank-you, among others. It’s great to see the filmmakers giving the comic writers and creators their dues.

Go and see Captain America: The First Avenger, and that’s an order soldier!

Will Pond.