Ranking DCnU Week One

Last Wednesday, September 7th, marked the first official week of the reborn DC Comics Universe. 52 new titles will launch this month, and last week saw the release of the first 13 titles. Below I’ve ranked those 13 titles, plus I’ve thrown in the new JUSTICE LEAGUE which debuted the last Wednesday in August. I’ve broken the 14 titles into 5 different categories and keep in mind the dip in quality between the last title in one group and the first title in the next group is significant. Now here’s the best of the best:

MUST READ

1. ANIMAL MAN: The DC model has often been plot over character, but Animal Man is unquestionably a character driven title. Where many of these DCnU comics start with the cliche first issue “hero in mid-battle” scene, Animal Man starts around a family’s kitchen table. At the same time, it’s not all talking, there’s plenty of action, and a trippy dream sequence revealing Animal Man’s villains. Animal Man balances the mundane with the fantastic brilliantly.

2. SWAMP THING: While a little heavy on narration, Swamp Thing offers a very interesting lead character and some truly impressive and disturbing horror sequences.

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PROMISING

3. BATWING: I have to be honest, before reading Batwing I thought it would be taking up residence at the bottom of this list. But Batwing is a pleasant surprise. Taking place in Africa, Batwing offers something new and is a welcome addition to the overcrowded Bat-corner of the DCnU.

4. STORMWATCH: I had high hopes for Stormwatch given it was penned by Paul Cornell, it didn’t live up to my expectations. Nonetheless, Stormwatch #1 has a few moments of greatness. Here’s hoping the second issue can deliver them more consistently.

5.OMAC: While I think Dan Didio had a fairly awful run as DC’s Executive Editor, I have enjoyed the couple books he’s written. His Metal Men story for WEDNESDAY COMICS was old school fun and the same can be said for OMAC. Didio isn’t reinventing the wheel here and OMAC feels a bit derivative of Marvel’s INCREDIBLE HULK, but still, OMAC is a light, campy ride and a needed departure from all the darker titles that were released in DCnU’s first week.

6. MEN OF WAR: Another nice surprise, Men of War starts as a fairly standard war comic, but gets tipped on its head when super-powered beings enter the mix.

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DISAPPOINTING

7. JUSTICE LEAGUE: The new Justice League feels like a relic from the 1990s. If you’re going to reboot your entire universe, shouldn’t the formation of the Justice League feel new and epic? Here it feels stale and unoriginal.

8. JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL: Remember all those 1980s cartoons where a character from another country would always be a one-note walking stereotype? Well, those days are back in the DCnU with the new JLI! I have a soft spot for Booster Gold, and his character is fairly enjoyable here, but the rest of this book is a mess.

9. ACTION COMICS: Action Comics #1 may be the most boring comic Grant Morrison has ever written. Morrison-penned comic books almost always elicit a strong reaction (whether positive or negative), but they are rarely boring. Here though, the author of the outstanding ALL-STAR SUPERMAN delivers a truly yawn-worthy tale.

10. BATGIRL: If you’re going to put Barbara Gordon back in the Batgirl costume and eliminate Oracle from the DCnU, you sure as hell better deliver a story that justifies such a drastic action. This issue fails to do that in any fashion. On the bright side, the events of THE KILLING JOKE haven’t been written out of continuity altogether.

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FORGETTABLE

11. DETECTIVE COMICS: While this issue ends with one truly haunting page, the rest of Detective Comics #1 is otherwise just another generic Batman/Joker tale.

12. STATIC SHOCK: I was happy to see Static was getting his own book as part of “The New 52″ but, sadly, this book is a bore.

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BURN IT

13. HAWK AND DOVE: Honestly, I could bash Rob Liefeld’s art here, but if you buy a Liefeld book, you know what you’re getting. The story, however, is a bigger mess than the art. I criticized JLI for having one-note characters earlier, but JLI at least has a large cast of characters that each need to be given time. Hawk and Dove has two and both are about as three-dimensional as the paper this comic’s printed on.

14. GREEN ARROW: The emerald archer battles a group of baddies who post videos of their crimes on the internet. The subject feels so forced, you’d think writer J.T. Krul had never been on the web.  Meanwhile, Green Arrow’s weird new beard looks less like facial hair and more like Oreo crumbs or ants crawling over his chin.

So what are your thoughts on DCnU’s first week? Post your comments below!

The DCnU Dead Pool: Picking the 10 Titles Most Likely to be Canceled

Unless you’re not a comic book fan or you’ve been living under a rock without wireless internet access, you’ve likely heard about the DC Comics relaunch. DC will be rebooting their entire super hero universe and launching/relaunching 52 comic book series (you can see the full list here). Taking a cue from Charles Darwin, DC is clearly utilizing a “survival of the fittest” method to decide which series will live and which will suffer a quick death. Titles featuring Superman and Batman are obviously destined to survive the initial bloodbath of cancellations, titles like BLACKHAWKS and ANIMAL MAN might not be as lucky. These are my picks for the first ten DCnU titles to be canceled:

10. Resurrection Man: Resurrection Man squeaks in at number 10 because the book features a virtually unknown character (a commonality between most of the comics on this list). What spares Resurrection Man from a higher spot in the DCnU Dead Pool is the writing team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (who created the title character back in 1997). Abnett and Lanning have a bit of a following from their work on the cosmic titles over at Marvel. Whether that audience will follow them over to Resurrection Man is anyone’s guess.

9. Deathstroke: DC is launching it’s own mercenary book, but the likelihood Deathstroke will come close to the popularity of Marvel’s myriad of Deadpool titles is highly unlikely. Having a villain as the title character does give Deathstroke a very small chance at standing out in the DCnU crowd.

8. Blackhawks: Military books are a tough sell even with a top notch creator on board. Writer Mike Costa is a virtual unknown. Blackhawks’ place on the list would be higher, but I’m betting DC will hold the non-super hero titles in the relaunch to a slightly different standard.

7. Hawk and Dove: Is anyone out there clamoring for a new Hawk and Dove series? No? I didn’t think so. With Rob Liefeld on art, the series may just die from an inability to keep on a monthly schedule.

6. Men of War: See all of my reasons for Blackhawks and add a generic title and a generic cover for the first issue.

5. DC Universe Presents: This sort of spotlight series never lasts. Some Deadman fanatics may stick through the first 5-issue arc, but when the second arc starts with a new character, readership will drop. Heck, even Deadman fans might not pick up this book given he’s featured in Justice League Dark as well.

4. Blue Beetle: DC has tried to shove this new Blue Beetle down readers throats multiple times and each time DC has failed. There’s no reason to believe a new Blue Beetle series will survive this time around… unless in this universe Jaime Reyes dies and Ted Kord takes up the mantle of Blue Beetle.

3. Voodoo: Directly from the solicitation info: “Who is Voodoo? Is she hero, villain – or both?” Does anyone care? There are a few Wildstorm characters who could carry their own book, Voodoo is not one of them.

2. Mister Terrific: I was a huge fan of Greg Rucka’s series Checkmate, in which Mister Terrific was a major player, but that book was constantly on life support from a sales standpoint. If the inclusion of Mister Terrific couldn’t bring readers to a team book with a top tier writer, what makes DC think he can survive in a solo title?

1. Captain Atom: I’ve not read a single comic book written by J.T. Krul, but even the most ardent DC supporters seem to hate him with every fiber of their being. A loathed creator writing a character few readers care about would appear to be the perfect storm of likely cancellation and puts Captain Atom at the top of the DCnU Dead Pool.

The scariest part of making this list, for the DC fan in me anyway, is how difficult it was to narrow it down to ten books. I could have easily expanded this to a top 15 or top 20 list. There are so many titles that seem destined to get the axe. Demon Knights, Frankenstein and Animal Man escaped the top ten because I’m excited by their creative teams and hope the likely good reviews will keep them alive a bit longer than other titles. Batwing didn’t make the list only because it has the word ‘bat’ in the title. And OMAC wasn’t included because Dan Didio’s writing it and I have doubts the co-publisher would cancel his own book so quickly.

Feel free to share your picks for the DCnU Dead Pool in the comments section below.

10 Signs of the Geek Apocalypse

The rapture may not have happened on May 21st, but that doesn’t mean we’re safe. Be on the lookout, for these are the ten signs of the geek apocalypse:

1. Craftsman releases their first line of Sonic Screwdrivers.

2. Oscar Winner: Nathan Fillion.

3. Alan Moore supports the film adaptation of one of his graphic novels.

4. A Gotham Central television series launches with Andre Braugher as Crispus Allen.

5. Joss Whedon writes and directs The Avengers.

6. Comic scribe Kieron Gillen meets Doctor Who actress Karen Gillan.

7. Bruce Campbell reprises the role of Ash in Evil Dead 4.

8. George Lucas disowns the Star Wars prequels.

9. New episodes of Firefly begin filming.

10. One word: Hoverboards.

Previously… In Comics (Special THOR Edition)

I’m going to change it up this week and share my thoughts on the first big comic book movie release of the year, THOR.

THOR (starring Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman): THOR follows virtually the same formula as the first IRON MAN film: title character starts as a jerk, is humbled, becomes a hero, and then there’s a battle tacked on the end. I don’t mean that as a criticism because IRON MAN was an excellent super hero film, so using the same structure was certainly not a bad idea.

The casting is spot-on.  This film will make Hemsworth a star. Natalie Portman, unlike Jessica Alba in the FANTASTIC FOUR films, can successfully remain smoking hot while being believable as a scientist. Kat Dennings provides a bunch of comic relief. Tom Hiddleston is the perfect Loki. The worst thing I can say, in relation to casting, is I wish Ray Stevenson’s Volstagg had been fatter.

While all the fish-out-of-water stuff on Earth is brilliant, there are a few issues with the Asgard/Jotunheim scenes that bookend Thor’s story on Midgard. All the bits in Jotunheim, the land of the frost giants, are so dark, you can barely see what’s going on. I saw THOR in 2D, so I can only imagine how difficult it would be to follow the action while wearing 3D glasses that further dim the picture. The other issue I have with the film is the final battle. I’ll do my best to avoid spoilers here, but there are two battles scenes towards the end of the film. The first makes total sense and redefines Thor as a hero. The second feels totally unnecessary.

Overall though, THOR kicks ass. The film moves at a brisk pace, it’s funny, and pretty much delivers everything you want from a summer action flick. Grade: A-

Blog-A-Day Challenge: Day 30!

Previous Previouslies:
4/27/2011 Releases
4/20/2011 Releases
4/13/2011 Releases
4/6/2011 Releases
1/21/2009 Releases

My Top Ten Favorite Comic Book Superheroes

To celebrate Free Comic Book Day (go here to find a store participating in your area), I thought I’d provide a list of my top ten favorite comic book superheroes:

10. Iron Man: As a kid, I was never a fan of Iron Man. As an adult, Matt Fraction’s run on INVINCIBLE IRON MAN convinced me how awesome Tony Stark is.

9. Emma Frost: It’s not what you’re thinking… unless what you’re thinking is that, even if I can’t hear it, I still love a girl with a British accent. The only reason Marvel hasn’t brought Jean Grey back from the dead is because Emma Frost is so much more interesting as Cyclops’s significant other.

8. Leonardo da Vinci: What? You didn’t know da Vinci was a superhero? Then apparently you aren’t reading the best comic book on the stands. Go pick up the first SHIELD trade, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

7. Rorschach: Would as many people have wanted to watch the Watchmen if Rorschach wasn’t in it? Doubtful.

6. Promethea: Best. Origin. Ever. If you’re a writer or an artist, I can almost guarantee after you read PROMETHEA, she will have your favorite superhero origin story.

5. Nightcrawler: Nightcrawler is a tough character to write, which I imagine is why he was killed off, but when he’s written well, he’s probably the most interesting X-Man.

4. Kitty Pryde: I swear I didn’t put Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde back-to-back on my list because they’re both name-checked in a Weezer song (“In the garage” from the blue album). They just really are my two favorite X-Men. And given Kitty Pryde was a huge inspiration for Joss Whedon when he created Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it’s not very surprising that Kitty makes my top five.

3. Iron Fist: Even before Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction revitalized the character, I always loved the look of Iron Fist. When he finally got to star in a series by a brilliant creative team, he became one of my all-time favorite superheroes.

2. Spider-man: Peter Parker is the everyman. Do I really need to explain his place on the list? Who doesn’t love Spidey?

1. Daredevil: Daredevil is probably the only superhero known more for what he can’t do rather than what he can. The guy can’t see; he’s blind. Matt Murdock’s handicap makes him stronger, it’s a brilliant concept.

Blog-A-Day Challenge: Day 27

Previously… In Comics (Books Released on 4/27/11)

THE MIGHTY THOR #1 (Writer: Matt Fraction, Artist: Olivier Coipel): I miss Pasqual Ferry. With THOR becoming JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY again, THE MIGHTY THOR is Thor’s new solo title debuting just in time for the hero’s new movie. Olivier Coipel, best known for his run on THOR with J. M. Stracynski, is on-board as penciller. I’m a huge fan of Coipel’s work and his previous run on THOR, but Pasqual Ferry was the perfect match for Matt Fraction’s storytelling. Stracynski’s THOR was very down to earth, Fraction’s has been a sci-fi epic. Ferry’s Kirbyesque approach to the art was the ideal fit. Apparently, Ferry will be drawing the next arc, so I don’t want to go overboard criticizing the decision to go with Coipel here, but I do think it hurts the story a tad.

This is intentionally a very accessible first issue. If you come out of the movie theater on Friday craving some Thor comics, this is definitely a good place to start. However, if you’ve been reading Fraction’s run on THOR, you might find the straightforward storytelling a little disappointing. As with any first issue, there’s a lot of set-up here, hopefully next issue we’ll see some real fireworks.

RUSE #2 (Writer: Mark Waid, Artist: Mirco Pierfederici): I never read RUSE when it debuted as a Crossgen title. Two issues into this new series, now I’m very disappointed I didn’t. RUSE has a Sherlock Holmes meets Doctor Who vibe and I’m loving it. RUSE’s male lead, Simon Archard, is a socially-inept genius who subscribes to the Whovian method of problem solving: leap off the building and then figure out how you’ll land on the way down. The female lead, Emma Bishop, is nearly Simon’s complete opposite and perfectly complements his emotionless pragmatism. RUSE’s is a tried and true formula and Mark Waid executes it brilliantly.

ACTION COMICS #900 (Writer (main story): Paul Cornell, Artist (main story): Pete Woods): 52 of this anniversary issue’s 96 pages are taken up by the main story written by Paul Cornell, so let’s start there. So often a year long story arc, like Cornell and Woods have crafted here, has fallen apart in the final issues; that’s not the case with ACTION COMICS #900. Cornell delivers a strong finale to a great Lex Luthor tale. All along, this has been Lex’s story, so even with the reintroduction of Superman into the mix, Cornell takes care to keep the focus on Luthor. We see Superman through Lex’s eyes as he tries to bring the Man of Steel to his breaking point. While I don’t want to spoil the ending, Lex’s downfall (no, shocker, he doesn’t succeed in killing Superman) is tremendously believable and in-character for the villain.

Onto the back-up stories: Damon Lindelof and Ryan Sook’s Jor-El story is probably the strongest. It’s a shame Ryan Sook can never meet the deadlines on a monthly book because his style is unique and pretty consistently gorgeous. The controversial 7-page story written by David Goyer is arguably the worst in the book. I have no real issue with Superman renouncing his American citizenship (if teabaggers thought this issue was bad, they need to read Mark Millar’s SUPERMAN: RED SON about Supes growing up in Communist Russia, I fear their heads might explode), but the story just isn’t that good. I’ve always thought Goyer was an overrated screenwriter and he doesn’t prove me wrong here.

Blog-A-Day Challenge: Day 23

Previous Previouslies:
4/20/2011 Releases
4/13/2011 Releases
4/6/2011 Releases
1/21/2009 Releases

Whedon Wednesday: Marvel meets the Whedonverse

Joss Whedon started filming THE AVENGERS this week and because of that, on their Twitter feed and on Facebook, Whedonesque asked what Marvel/Whedonverse crossovers would everyone like to see. Well, I thought of one… and then two… and then ten. Rather than just posting them in reply on Twitter or Facebook, I decided to post all my crossover ideas here. Some are definitely better than others.

1. ILLYRIA VS. DARK PHOENIX (Writer: Matt Fraction, Artist: Stuart Immonen): In a giant crossover event, two ancient deities battle it out while inhabiting the bodies of two skinny white women.

2. SERENITY/STARJAMMERS (Writer: Jonathan Hickman, Artist: Steve Epting): The crew of Serenity runs into Corsair and company in the middle of space. No bullets are exchanged, just tales of space pirating and smuggling.

3. SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP featuring BUFFY: THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (Writer: Dan Slott, Artist: Marcos Martin): The quippiest heroine in television history meets the quippiest hero in all of comicdom. At some point, Buffy asks Spidey, “is that you under that mask, Xander?”

4. JAYNE VS. THE PUNISHER: FOR THE LOVE OF VERA (Writer: Garth Ennis, Artist: Steve Dillon): Two men. One very special gun. Frank Castle wants Jayne’s beloved Vera and he’ll do anything to get his hands on it.

5. GUNN and IRON FIST: HEROES FOR HIRE (Writer: Ed Brubaker, Artist: Michael Lark): The new Power Man is super lame, so Iron Fist kicks his protege to the curb and recruits a new crime fighter to patrol the streets with. With a fist like unto a thing of iron and stakes carved from wood, Danny Rand and Charles Gunn are the new HEROES FOR HIRE.

6. JONATHAN & PUCK in TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE (Writer: Jeff Parker, Artist: Skottie Young): A giant battle ensues as two universes hang in the balance. When Buffy, the X-Men, Echo, the Avengers, Angel, the Fantastic Four, and Spike are all captured, the shortest heroes of both worlds, Jonathan and Alpha Flight’s Puck, come together to save the day.

7. ECHO & MOON KNIGHT in MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISASTER featuring guest-villainess TYPHOID MARY (Writer Brian Michael Bendis, Artist: Alex Maleev): It’s utter bedlam when three individuals with multiple personalities meet up.  And with super-scribe Brian Bendis at the helm, how many of their personalities will talk like an old Jewish woman? Answer: ALL OF THEM!

8. X-FACTOR guest-starring ANGEL INVESTIGATIONS (Writer: Peter David, Artist: Mike Deodato): When X-Factor is hired to investigate a series of vampire attacks even Layla Miller doesn’t know how to stop it. So Jamie Madrox asks for a consultation from everyone’s favorite vampire with a soul, Angel.

9. WORLD TOUR with LORNE & DAZZLER (Writer: Kathryn Immonen, Artist: Greg Land): The talented team of demon and mutant tour the world, perform in front of millions, and solve crimes on the side.

10. WESLEY WYNDAM-PRYCE & BLADE: ROGUE DEMON HUNTERS (Writer: Mark Waid, Artist: Mark Bagley): What’s better than one Rogue Demon Hunter? Why, two of course!

Blog-A-Day Challenge: Day 17

Previously… In Comics (Books Released on 4/20/11)

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #503: $3.99 (Writer: Matt Fraction, Artist: Salvador Larroca): If you’re a regular reader of INVINCIBLE IRON MAN like myself, you were probably a little baffled to see the FEAR ITSELF cover dressing gracing this issue. This is the third part of an ongoing Doctor Octopus storyline and I couldn’t imagine how exactly the finale of that arc would tie in to FEAR ITSELF. Well, it really doesn’t tie in to FEAR ITSELF at all. Sure in the last few pages Tony Stark pitches his concept for building a new Asgard on Midgard for Thor and friends, but that storyline has been running through this book for months. So if you loved the first issue of FEAR ITSELF and you’re ready to scoop up a bunch of tie-ins, don’t pick this one up. It will only disappoint you. As a conclusion to the Doc Ock arc, the issue isn’t particularly satisfying. Part of that is clearly intentional, but part of that is also the art doesn’t do a solid job of portraying what exactly is going through Tony Stark’s mind at a key moment of the story. Though I will give Larroca credit for so effectively switching up his style for the flashback elements of the book.

THUNDERBOLTS #156: $2.99 (Writer: Jeff Parker, Artist: Kev Walker): This month’s THUNDERBOLTS jumps between two stories: the T’bolts first mission with new member Satana (daughter of Satan) on-board and the recruiting of the T-bolts minor league squad, the Underbolts. These stories on their own may have worked well, but together the narrative fails to get going. I love those issues when a new team is formed, but here the process is so very bland. Speaking of bland, let’s move on to Kev Walker’s artwork. I love Walker’s style, it’s incredibly unique and fun, but the current Thunderbolts line-up is full of villain/heroes with bland white, grey, brown, and black costumes, there’s no pops of color in the action scenes. Everything feels so muddy. This line-up desperately needs some cool colors (bright blues, greens or purples) to even it out.

GREEN LANTERN #65: $2.99 (Writer: Geoff Johns, Artist: Doug Mahnke): Sometimes a comic book has a brilliant cover that entices you to buy that book. Sometimes that same cover gives away the only worthwhile plot point of the entire issue and makes you regret buying the comic. This is one of those issues. On the cover of GREEN LANTERN #65, Hal Jordan stands with a yellow ring on his finger and wearing the full Sinestro Corps uniform. The entire issue just feels like filler until, in the final pages, he finally puts the ring on. It’s rare you can call Geoff Johns out for using decompressed storytelling, but he does it here, and after you’ve seen the cover, there’s no real reason to buy the book.

Blog-A-Day Challenge: Day 16

Previous Previouslies:
4/13/2011 Releases
4/6/2011 Releases
1/21/2009 Releases

Happy Easter from Spider-Egg!

Spider-Egg! Spider-Egg!

Does whatever an egg drawn to look like Spider-man can do,

Sits in flowers, hides in leaves,

Look up now, he’s in a tree!

Watch out! Here comes that Spider-Egg!

The Amazing, Astonishing, Spectacular Spider-Egg!

Happy Easter everyone! — Erik

Blog-A-Day Challenge: Day 14

Fantasy Casting Daredevil: The Man Without Fear

The biggest downside of Disney buying Marvel is that all the studios that currently have the film rights to Marvel properties are going to continue to crank out comic book movies just so the rights don’t revert back to Marvel/Disney. One of these properties being forced into production is DAREDEVIL: THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR. Fox already brought Daredevil to the screen once in 2003 with Ben Affleck as the title character. Personally, I think that film has been unfairly lumped in with some of Affleck’s other atrocious films released around the same time. DAREDEVIL was a good adaptation in the early days of comic books movies, though choosing screenwriter Mark Steven Johnson as director was a mistake. He was clearly in over his head making a film of that scale.

David Slade (HARD CANDY, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE) is already attached to direct the rebooted Daredevil, but little else is know about the direction the film will take or who might be cast. Here’s my opinion on who should play the Man Without Fear and the supporting players.

GUY PEARCE as MATT MURDOCK/DAREDEVIL

Yeah, he's 43, so what?

When Daredevil was being made into a film the first time, the two actors I thought would be perfect for this part would be Edward Norton or Guy Pearce. Now it’s eight years later, Edward Norton has already played a Marvel hero and I still maintain Guy Pearce is right for the role of Matt Murdock. Sure, he’s 43, and the studio is going to want to go with a younger actor, but Daredevil isn’t Spider-man, if you’re going to tell Daredevil’s origin story again, you don’t need a young actor. Matt Murdock wasn’t Daredevil in high school. He was blinded as a child and became Daredevil much later on. And, frankly, I don’t see Daredevil as a long term franchise anyway. Make one great movie with the right actor and take it from there. Plus, Robert Downey Jr. is two years older than Pearce and Iron Man certainly turned out alright.

MORENA BACCARIN as ELEKTRA

Morena shouldn't play the Wasp, she should play Elektra

There’s been plenty of fantasy casting for the Wasp in THE AVENGERS or ANT-MAN where Morena’s been picked for the role. I don’t see that at all. Sure, she has short hair now, but a role is more than just a hairstyle.  The olive skin, the drop dead gorgeous looks, the way she carries herself, she’s Elektra. That’s the Marvel role she should be playing. (If you haven’t seen my painting of Morena as Elektra you can see it in this post from Wednesday.)

MARTIN FREEMAN as FOGGY NELSON

Martin Freeman is the perfect best friend

For the last ten or eleven days, I knew I was going to do a Daredevil fantasy casting post, and for about the first 9 of those days, I had no clue who I was going to cast as Foggy Nelson, Matt Murdock’s best friend. In the comic, Foggy’s at least a little pudgy, and every overweight actor I could think of would be an utter disaster as Foggy. Then I got to thinking about the BBC’s new SHERLOCK series, and everything fell into place. Martin Freeman’s doesn’t exactly fit the physical description, but he’s the ideal best friend. He’s the actor you want to play the guy you can always trust, the guy who will always be there for the hero, he’s the perfect everyman. He’s also good comic relief.

WALTON GOGGINS as BULLSEYE

Hawkeye? Bullseye? What's the difference?

I’m doing my best to avoid repeatedly offering the same actors’ names in these fantasy casting posts, but I’m doubling up on Walton Goggins here because he’s too damn good an actor not to. In my AVENGERS fantasy casting, I picked Goggins to play Hawkeye. Bullseye and Hawkeye are two sides of the same coin. They’re both expert marksmen. They both crack jokes while doing their jobs. The only difference is Bullseye is a psychopath. And if you’ve seen Goggins on THE SHIELD or JUSTIFIED, you know having him play a psychopath would be total genius.

Blog-A-Day Challenge: Day 12