G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA

Actor Joseph Gordon-Leavitt escaped his sitcom past to be considered a serious actor ... and now he's Cobra Commander? Sci Fi Wire has an explanation. "It's fun," Gordon-Levitt said. "It's like playing with toys. It's like being a kid and playing."

Starring Marlon Wayans, release date: August 7, 2009.

HEROES

Speaking of Sci Fi Wire, you might consider their Claire-specific article chock full of spoilers.

Actor Greg Grunberg has a Twitter post saying, "Finished up Episode 2 of Season 4 today on #Heroes. Love working with Zach, Lisa, Baby Matt, etc. Fun, scary fun... just ask @jamesprops."

Next episode: September 21, 2009.

IRON MAN 2

Speaking of Twitter, director Jon Favreau tweeted about some developments on the set, saying, "A fond farewell to Mickey Rourke, JP, and Superbad!" Wait, what?

Starring Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle, release date: May 7, 2010

SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES

CBR News has a press release declaring the release date for the direct-to-DVD animated feature.

Starring Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, and Clancy Brown, release date: Setember 29, 2009.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD

Today's set photo could make you a little thirsty, n'est ce pas?

Starring Michael Cera and Chris Evans, release date: 2010.

OLDBOY

IGN reports that despite the "legal fracas" surrounding the property, producers Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are moving forward with the manga adaptation.

No release date announced.

THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN

CBR News also has an interview with voice actor Josh Keaton, who brings the web spinner to life.

Next episode: July 6, 2009.

OH ... AND ONE MORE THING

It is with a heavy heart and a great deal of difficulty that these words are written: this is the last regular Comic Reel column that will be written by Hannibal Tabu.

First person perspective? All right then: there are a number of changes happening in my life, including the impending birth of my very first child I actually spawned myself (I've played a role in helping kids along their way, as surrogate and uncle, but never had one from scratch that I made), and I simply cannot continue on as the jet-setting bon vivant I once was. The daily grind of delivering this news to you is just too much for the demands of my new life, so I must make a change.

Again, this is not done easily nor without care and deliberation. CBR's head honcho Jonah Weiland has been a friend, a verbal sparring partner and a tireless supporter through the many, many things I have screwed up since my October 2003 start with the site. In all that time, I have missed exactly five days -- for my honeymoon -- in bringing this news to you, the fans, who love these stories and these characters as much as I do.

That's also something I have to say -- the people. From Craig Byrne to Borys Kit, from those who never wanted to be named to those who came up with amusing pseudonyms, from even those creators and publicists and industry figures who I've amused or annoyed or enthralled, I have been blessed to come into contact with so many of you and get so much positive feedback on the work (I had to get used to getting more "yay" mail than "hate" mail, which was my past life in urban journalism) that I've come to really enjoy poring through the Cyrillic spam of my CBR inbox (don't ask) to find what you're all saying, what sets you snuck on to, which links I missed, when I screwed up the code and so on.

You will not be abandoned. Jonah has combed the world wide web to find a person that can take care of you, the readers, with the same level of intensity and care that I have shown these ... wow, six plus years. Starting tomorrow, the illustrious and praiseworthy Erik Amaya will bring you the links, legends and lies every weekday, and he will be your source of news about comic book and genre properties heading to TV and movie theatres (and in the case of "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark," Broadway). I've given him all my secret files, all my classified data and spent weeks training him in my ancient Sith magics, so I trust he'll make you all proud.

Finally, I just want to say thank you. Every day for years and years now, thousands of people have clicked on a link and read my words, seen my name, every single day, and that kind of platform is humbling. I appreciate you for reading. I appreciate the many, many people who wrote in. I appreciate Jonah for giving me this opportunity, appreciate Image's grand poobah Eric Stephenson for ever introducing me to Jonah in the first place, and sincerely appreciate the time I've spent doing this work.

This is not goodbye -- I still buy comics every week, so there will still be The Buy Pile (unless Diamond or some disgruntled creator finally guns me down in the streets). I'm still on Twitter, and what not, so I'm never too far.

Oh, and I'll have an announcement on The Hundred and Four on July 14th. Maybe another one on the 31st, depending on how some plates spin. I hope to make a return to the CBR message boards (where, one day, maybe I'll have a Buy Pile forum) and maybe even Usenet if the home life and my own personal writing doesn't eat up all my brain energy. Let's just call this "fare well" until we meet again.

Shade and sweet water to you all, and thanks for all the fish.

TOMORROW

The Erik Amaya era ... begins!