DHep190 - Baltimore Invasion

The Hideout invaded Baltimore for the comicon and Baltimore survived the experience. On this show we talk about our experience at the con, the Hurricane Apocalypse, the people who shouldn't do CosPlay and the parts of Baltimore The Wire never told us about. Enjoy.

DC's Don't Ask Don't Tell

Over the weekend Teen Titan artist Brett Booth confirmed that Bunker, a new character in the relaunched Teen Titans written by Scott Lobdell (and drawn by Booth) is gay. He may not be the first gay Teen Titans character (there were rumors about Jericho), but he is certainly the most flamboyant, openly gay character in the group’s history. Bunker appears in the background on the cover to Teen Titans #1, which is due to hit retail on September 28th, and makes his full debut appearance in issue #3, which hits retail in November. On his blog, Booth reprinted Lobdell’s thumbnail bio of the character: “His real name is Miguel Jose Barragan. He was raised in a small Mexican village called El Chilar. He was very loved by his family and the village as well—and they were as accepting of his homosexuality as they were of his superpowers when they first manifested. To that end he grew up in an angst free environment. He was born out of the closet and so he has a very refreshing outlook on life.”

Dynamite Entertainment will release The Art of Howard Chaykin, a 200-page 9” x 12” hardcover, in December. The volume, written by Robert Greenberger, includes perspective from long-time friends and colleagues, and extensive selection of artwork, including many never-before-published pieces. Chaykin is widely known for American Flagg!, The Shadow, Batman, New Avengers, Dominic Fortune, Black Kiss, and more. Black Kiss is being revived by Image Comics.

Live Chopper

A live action Web series starring Tyler Mane, who played Sabretooth in The X-Men, and Andrew Bryniarski - from Texas Chainsaw Massacre & Batman Returns - will premiere October 18th to promote the launch of Chopper, a new five issue mini-series from Asylum Press. The first issue of Chopper, written by Martin Shapiro with art by Juan Ferreyra (Falling Skies, Rex Mundi), streets October 5th. The series targets “horror hounds, heavy metal fans, and motorcycle enthusiasts,” according to the publisher. The story is a re-imagining of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, with a headless Hell’s Angel on a motorcycle who collects the souls of sinners in the afterlife.

DHep189 - That E3 Show

In the first of our catch-up shows we go back to the E-3 show we record way back in June. This plus a rant about law shows, talk about TV gone by and a new Hideout member - the sexy Alice. Hold on to your daughter because you're about to get more Hideout then you can shake a stripper at. enjoy.

King of the 3-D Jungle

Disney's retread 3-D version of The Lion King easily topped the weekend box office, earning more than the combined total of three other new widely-released films. Strong performances from some holdovers, notably Contagion, The Help, The Debt, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes kept the box office from slipping too far as the top 10 films’ total gross was just 4% below the same weekend last year when Ben Affleck's The Town debuted with $23.8 million.

Ultimate Downloads

Marvel has announced that that Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1, the issue in which Miles Morales becomes the official new Spider-Man (see “Marvel Unveils New ‘Ultimate Comics’ Spider-Man”), is the top seller to date in the Marvel iOS app. The new #1 was released digitally on the same day as the print edition.

There Can Be Only Another One

Summit Entertainment’s attempt to reboot the Highlander fantasy film franchise got its director. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, the Spanish director who helmed 28 Weeks Later and the horror/thriller Intruders starring Clive Owen that debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, will direct the remake of the 1986 cult sci-fi/fantasy film that starred Christopher Lambert and featured Sean Connery in a supporting role.

It Contagious

The "plague thriller" Contagion easily topped the 9/9/2011 weekend box office with an estimated $23.1 million, but it led the weakest session of the year by far—a weekend that included the worst performance ever by a widely released film. Even The Help, which has shown the best “legs” of the summer, was off 40%, though it did manage to earn an estimated $8.6 million in its fifth weekend at the box office and bring its total to $137 million.

52 Commercials

With DC’s “New 52” off to a quick start at retail it should also be noted that DC is continuing TV support for the project on six key cable and satellite networks. The spot is running on BBC America, the Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, IFC, SyFy, and MTV2. It is airing on Comedy Central during the following shows: The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Tosh.O, South Park, and Futurama. On SyFy the commercial can be seen on Ghost Hunters International, Stargate, Star Trek: The Next Generation, American Ninja Warrior, and WWE Smackdown. The MTV2 venues for the spot are: Pranked, Vive La Bam, The Challenge, Rivals, and Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory. The “New 52” commercial will also air on IFC’s highly satirical The Onion News Network.

We Won't Except Change

Hardcore Star Wars fans are all over the Internet excoriating the latest round of changes that George Lucas has made to the original Star Wars Trilogy in preparation for the Star Wars Blu-ray release, which is due out on September 16th. The new Blu-ray set will not only feature a sparkling new high-def transfer of the film, but will also include over 40 hours of extras, some of which have never been released before (see “'Star Wars' BDs”).

The problem is not the extras, but the changes that Lucas has made to the original films themselves (and the fact that he is only making the altered versions available and not the “original” films). Some of the changes like the new painting hanging on the wall in Jabba the Hutt’s palace or the replacement of the Yoda puppet in The Phantom Menace with a CGI model, or new CGI Ewoks who now blink, are less controversial than others, especially the overdubbing of Darth Vader screaming “No, Noooo!” as he saves Luke from Emperor Palpatine’s Force Lightning attack in Star Wars: A New Hope rendering the scene in the opinion of the Sydney Morning Herald “into a cringe-worthy farce.”