Comic Roundup
When I’m not doing the reviews, my columns normally are each about one subject, as I raise a point for discussion, or try to establish a position. But sometimes there’s just a bunch of fun stuff in the news, and it deserves to be talked about. So in case you haven't heard about these already, check it out:
Tatum-Cap
The first item is about the casting for the Captain America movie. This subject as been heating up the message boards for a while now. I don’t remember such intense coverage by so many pop culture sites before. This is good news in one sense, because it signals a high amount of interest in the movie, which is always good for opening weekend (after that, the movie needs to not suck). I’ve been on the sidelines during the debate, because I tend not to have time to ponder who I would put in which movie role. I gave up after they didn’t cast Grace Jones as Storm, back when she was young enough to pull it off. Although I could still see her as Limbo-dimension alternate Ororo in a movie treatment of the Magik mini-series…
Anyway, I hadn’t seen any names offered up that really got me excited… until today. I spotted on CNN.com that Channing Tatum had his hat in the ring. All previous announcements, I checked out the guy that was rumored to have the part, and walked away dubious. The idea of Tatum as Cap, I think is a good idea.
Tatum is young enough to play the part, but not too young. We know from G.I. Joe that he can do some of his own action stunts, and he’s played a military role before, so he can definitely bring that sense, or military feel, to the big screen. He’s not the biggest star in the world, which helps because Marvel has to keep things in budget. But he’s big enough to be considered a good draw, and he’s probably smart enough to realize the doors this can open for him down the line if he is interested in a part like this. Do a good job, and you could end up like Samuel Jackson, with a nine-picture deal!
At the end of the day, the question is do you think he can convince you that he is Captain America. For some of the other names mentioned, I can’t see many of them pulling it off. Tatum, I can see it working. The massive amount of coverage on the casting rumors tells me that this movie will have huge attendance right out of the gate, which means that Marvel’s past successes is translating into trust by a majority of movie-goers right out of the gate. Point for Marvel.
Spider-Gran
There are always plenty of people dressing up like Spider-Man or Batman and trying to climb a building. Our next story is a little more offbeat than that, but the media have tacked on the “spider” label to it. A grandmother in China decided she really, really wanted to return to her village, so she climbed out the window with a rope tied to her waist. She miscalculated the length, and ended up dangling around for a while before the firefighters got her down. Just long enough for the Spider-Man jokes to start.
Tpull is Travis Pullen. He started reading comics at 5 years old, and he can't seem to stop.
