Today's Sneaks & News

It’s a very small peak, but click here to see a Ghost Rider clip. The link will take you to the movie site, click on the Enter Site, you will see numbers going up to 100 and then a cool image of Nicholas Cage/Ghost Rider. Click on the upper left hand link, “The Rider Revealed.” And you will see the very short clip. Now I’m even more bummed that they’re putting the movie off another 6 months, because it looks pretty cool. Granted, we don’t see much, but still…

Click here to read an article about former IL resident Julian Darius, author of "Batman Begins and the Comics,” as well as founder of the web site, Sequart.com. His book is a historical account of the various media forms of the Batman genre, comics, movies, television series, and books. It details the real-life history of the comics that first presented the super hero and the movies based on the comics, plus the fictional history of the Batman character and his many portrayals. Apparently he dissects the movie scene by scene, comparing it to the comics and to Batman at other stages of his life. If you are a fan, it seems like quite a detailed piece of work. It sells for $17.95 on Amazon.com.

DC Comics, “A History of Violence,” as you probably know, is now also a movie by the same name. And, it’s getting quite a good reception. The movie has been named best picture of 2005 by the Toronto Film Critics Association. The Toronto critics also named Cronenberg best director and chose Violence as the best Canadian film. Canadians aren’t the only ones who love it, since the movie also has a Golden Globe nomination and was named one of the year's 10 best films by the American Film Institute.

The Krueger/Braithwaite/Ross creation, Justice, has been very well received. It was just announced that issue #2 (with #3 having been released this week) is now sold out at the publisher and will go to press for a second print, something that DC Comics rarely does. Click here to see the cover and read the details.

The 1990’s “The Flash” live-action TV show will be available in a couple of weeks, on DVD, in its entirety.

Heroclix fans can get an early click for the new DC Collateral Damage set by sending in a coupon and 4 box tops. Click here for the details and coupon. I couldn’t find it on the site, but to let people know, starting Monday they are also sending out FREE packs at random to both stores and registered players. Before the set is officially released, there should be, according to Wizkids, enough individual pieces to make several full sets. Also, Wizkids pushed back the release date so that stores can get more of their original order in the first wave. I know that we’re VERY happy to see them finally come to their senses on this one!

And, just for laughs, “Bad Santas” wreak havoc worldwide! Drunken Santas on a rampage in New Zealand, armed German robbers in Santa disguises, a British St Nick wanted for flashing, and a Swedish vandal in a Santa outfit are giving the big man in red a bad name this year. Reports of "Bad Santas" breaking the law or otherwise wreaking havoc have been circulating around the world.