HELL FREEZES OVER . . . FANBOY HEADS EXPLODE

Two terminally late books ship in the same week!

All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #6 by Frank Miller and Jim Lee

Onslaught Reborn #4 by Jeph Loeb and Rob Liefield (with a cover by J. Scott Campbell)

Interesting that the three artists involved in these books were Image Founders (Lee, Liefield) and members (Campbell) - wonder why their books failed over there, too?!

Now, if Wildcats #2 came out next Wednesday, I think the Earth would explode on top of Hell freezing!

SAMUEL L. JACKSON'S GOT "SPIRIT"

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Samuel L. Jackson is taking on the role of the Octopus in Frank Miller's film adaptation of the Will Eisner comic, The Spirit.

The Octopus, who is The Spirit's arch nemesis, never had his face revealed in any of the stories, but could be identified by readers by his distinctive gloves.

Will we see Sam, or just hear him telling everyone what a "bad mutherf*cker" he is?

FRANK MILLER'S "BATMAN YEAR ONE: THE MOVIE"

As Hollywood has gone Frank Miller-crazy after the success of both Sin City and 300 and the upcoming Sin City 2 and Ronin, should we forget his collaboration with Darren Aronofsky on the unmade reimagining of Batman in their screenplay for the unproduced, BATMAN YEAR ONE.

The original story, by Miller and artist David Mazzuccelli remains my favorite comic of all time. Their screenplay, a homage to Seventies vigilante films, is a very different animal.

Read it here!

THE DESPERADO AND JACK SPARROW ARE OFF TO SIN CITY

MTV spoke to director Robert Rodriguez about the next chapters of the Sin City film series that he's working on with collaborator Frank Miller.


According to Rodriguez, Sin City 2 is "based on 'A Dame to Kill For,' which has a lot of the old characters still alive because it's a prequel to 'The Big Fat Kill'".

Rosario Dawson and Jessica Alba are expected to reprise their roles as Gail and Nancy Callahan, respectively in Sin City 2.

Rodriguez also suggested that the third film will revolve around "Hell and Back," the story of Wallace, a brooding artist who, due to being drugged repetitively, wanders through most of the tale hallucinating. Johnny Depp is expected to play Wallace in the film, and although no deal is in place yet, Rodriguez in confident that the actor will sign.

According to MTV, Rodriguez stated that,"He (Depp) was interested in doing the Jackie Boy character that Benicio [del Toro] played [in the first one], but he was doing that movie 'Libertine' in Europe and it just kept getting pushed and delayed and went right through our shooting schedule," Rodriquez said of the actor he directed in "Once Upon a Time in Mexico." "But there is a better role for him in ['Hell and Back']. I kept going, 'Gosh, Jackie Boy is a small part, he could be really good [as Wallace].' When he wasn't available, I thought maybe it was meant to be."

Miller is also working to find a place in the saga for frequent Rodriguez collaborator Antonio Banderas.

"When I showed him the first sample of the work, he went, 'Man I'll do anything in that. I'll be the hunchback. You have to bring me onboard, that looks amazing,' " Rodriguez recalled. "So Frank met him that time too and he said, 'I have got to find something for that guy. I've never met him before. He's amazing.' [So we're] looking at the cast of characters and [looking] to see where he can fit."