This week The Watchtower comes to you Live(ish) from the Toronto Convention Center, and Fan Expo!

We took a few moments and talked with some lovely Suicide Girls, Gaming Fans, and Friend of the program Richard Crouse, all from Table A49 in the Artist Alley.

Then, using our magical Slideways Technology, we whisked ourselves back to the comfort of The Weather Submarine to give you guys the lowdown on the good, the bad, and the ugly in this week’s Forecast!

Thank you so much to any and all of you who came by the table to talk comics with us! It’s incredible to know you guys are out there diggin’ what we’re puttin’ down. We’ll keep at it as long as you promise to spread the word, and we’ll see you at Fan Expo 2009!

... and we ain’t gonna take it anymore!!

On this week’s Watchtower, we ask some tough questions of our comics.

Ultimate Origins: What’s your deal?

Kick-Ass: Where ya been?

Spider-Man: Brand New Day was 7 months ago. When are ya gettin’ good?

All this, plus we give you the total Fan Expo rundown for The Watchtower and No Reason Comics. We’ll be there all weekend at table A49, rocking out Skrull shirts and copies of No Reason #0, so come on by and say hello! Plus some special events, the details of which are contained within!

It’s The Watchtower, we never rest so we must be wicked!

This week on The Watchtower, we kick things off with talk of this year’s Fan expo, as well as how dumb Iron Man is.

Also, this is probably the first time “initiative” and “The Watchtower” have been in the same sentence. We talk with Jim McLauchlin, President of The Hero Initiative, the only not-for-profit organization aimed at comic book writers, artists, and creators.

All this, plus thinly veiled references to Donnie’s dating life in The Forecast.

It’s The Watchtower, sealed, and in mint condition!

With the San Diego Comic Con firmly in our rear-view mirrors, the world of Comics has entered into a bit of a post-con lull. We here at The Watchtower however, are just ramping up!

This week we dig deep and come up with some movie news and rumors, as well as ask some hard questions about comic book Annuals. Are they a crucial part of telling a larger story? Or just another excuse for publishers to offer lackluster content and reprints? Be sure to weigh in with your view!

All this, and an extended version of The Forecast, during which you have the chance to win some of my stuff! Also, will the Cosmic Egg show up when Donnie Does Trinity? Only one way to find out, dear hearts!!

This week on The Watchtower we take a look at some of the bigger announcements made during last weeks San Diego International Comic Con. There were a lot of stories to come out of the con, and shockingly we haven an opinion on just about all of ‘em.

Then we attempt to up our cool factor by touching base with the good folks at New Era Caps. They have a great new line of exclusive comic book hats, and we were at the launch party for their Dark Knight line.

All this, and of course, The Forecast (featuring more news of The Cosmic Egg!). It’s The Watchtower, high in fiber, low in cholesterol!

This week is a very special edition of The Watchtower as we dig deep into one of our favourite “guilty pleasure” books of all time.

August 6th, 2008 sees the return of everyone’s favourite redhead as Marvel Comics launches the lastest volume of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. Wanting to know more, we decided to go straight to the source.

We are extremely fotunate to have Artist Craig Rousseau (Impulse, The Perhapnauts), and Writer Terry Moore (Strangers In Paradise, Echo) join us to let us in on their plans for MJ, Gewn, Peter and all the gang.

All that, and The Forecast! It’s The Watchtower, more catchy than a Katy Perry song!

Our good friends at Toronto @ Noon with Dave Trafford on Newstalk 1010 CFRB asked me to join them on the air today to review The Dark Knight. I thought it was a fun couple of minutes that you guys would enjoy hearing. Because, y’know, I haven’t talked about The Dark Knight enough in the past week.

What we really want to hear though is that YOU think! Now that The Dark Knight is out for everyone to see, we want to know what you think of the biggest comic book movie to hit the screen this year! Comment, E-Mail, Forums, however, just get in touch!

Yes, it’s a long title, but it applies for a couple of reasons.

First, because I saw The Dark Knight, and provide a full review right off the top. Also, becuase this episode contains one of my biggest technical screwups ever. You gotta hear it to believe it, and trust me: this is a collectors edition episode, because it will never happen again.

We have all that, as well as an Extra-Sized in depth interview with Shuster Award Winning JSA Penciller, Dale Eaglesham!

I tell ya, on The Watchtower, even when it’s the worst of times, it’s still the best of times!!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending an IMAX press screening of The Dark Knight. I don’t know if words can do justice to the Awesomeness of this movie, but I will do my best to get across every jaw-dropping, eye-bugging, mind-blowing aspect of the flick.

In other words, I liked it. A lot.

When Batman Begins came out, my review stated “This is everything a Batman movie should be.” With The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan has made me eat those words, and say “This is everything a Batman movie should be.”

The Dark Knight kicks into high gear right off the bat. I know we have all seen the “leaked” footage of the bank heist online, so there’s no real need to say spoiler warning when I tell you that it’s the opening of the flick. On the big screen, it looks even more stunning. The ride from there, just gets better.

All your favourite characters are back, Gary Oldman’s Jim Gordon is spot-on again, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman provide their seasoned, veteran charm, and even Maggie Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Rachel Dawes (a throwaway character in Katie Holmes’ hands) is given great treatment, and more importantly, a great role in the story. She has an actual reason for being there this time, and it brings her character up to the level of the rest of the cast.

Heath Ledger’s twisted version of The Joker is every bit as incredible as the hype has made it out to be. If he did not receive a posthumous Oscar nomination for it, I would be shocked. The voice he puts on alone makes it worth my while, and he makes Jack Nicholson’s Joker look like Cesar Romero. To echo a statement, this is how The Joker should be. Twisted, devoid of all trace of sanity, and very, very scary.

Also worth mentioning is Aaron Eckhart’s transformation as Harvey Dent. A character previously given horrible treatment by Billy Dee Williams, and Tommy Lee Jones. The special effects here are definitely worth a shudder or two, because they are just plain creepy.

And what of Christian Bale’s second turn beneath the Cowl? Brilliant. He takes the dark, gritty Batman from Batman Begins to even deeper levels as he begins to question his quest, and his motives.

All that, and then we have the plot. Fans of Loeb & Sale’s work, will be pleased to see that the story continues to borrow from the comics, with nods to Frank Miller’s work, and other Batman comic scribes over the years as well. The story moves as quickly as a Batman fight scene, and the viewer is hooked all the way through. The Dark Knight clocks in at just over 2 and a Half hours, but it dose not feel like it, and there are more than enough “OH MAN!!!” moments to keep you wanting more after the credits start to roll.

I think that the ending of the movie is going to be somewhat controversial amongst the comic and movie faithful. It sets the stage to take Batman in a somewhat different direction that we are used to seeing him. For the record, I love it. It’s breaking fresh ground without straying to far from the source material. But we can talk about all that after the movie is released.

The Dark Knight is so great that even after saying all that, I’ve barely scratched the surface of it’s awesomeness. It is one of those rare sequels that not only lives up to it’s predecessor, but easily surpasses it. This is the movie of the summer, possibly the year.

Iron Who? The Incredible What? Wanted? What’s wanted? Tickets to see The Dark Knight? Yes, you’ll want some. Now.

Tie those ties, and polish up them cufflinks!

This week on The Watchtower, we attempt to bring some class into our affair by speaking with Andrew Bolton, Curator of Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy. An Exhibition currently showing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

We also take a look at the new class of creators on Astonishing X-Men, Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi. Do they manage to pick up where graduates Whedon and Cassaday left off?

All this, and much more as we Talk, Shout, and Forecast our way into your ears and hearts!