* I wasn’t going to say anything because I kinda get sick of chasing these rumors all around the Internet from initial leak through to DVD release, but Jason Adams posted on it, and that gives me permission to mention that maybe they’re going to make a prequel to John Carpenter’s The Thing, presumably starring those ill-fated Norwegians. There, I mentioned it.

* I want to note that yes, I realize that when I post about movie biz rumors and remakes and so on I tend to say “they’re planning” or “they’re talking about” or “they’re going to make” rather than name the interested parties. This is because I see the kinds of Hollywood people who make these plans as an undifferentiated They–for what it’s worth, in my mind They wear jeans and nice shoes and dress shirts with the collar unbuttoned and the sleeves rolled up, and they tend to have goatees. They sing along to “Opportunities” by the Pet Shop Boys and mean it.

* Speaking of Them, They have not yet told Edward Norton whether they want him to have anything to do with the Incredible Hulk sequel. He also kinda poo-poos the idea of an Avengers movie. All of this is a shame, because he’s good.

* Motions for new trials of the West Memphis Three, based on DNA evidence, have been denied. Accidentally stumbling across the HBO documentary about the case years ago, Paradise Lost, was one of my most memorable “sitting alone late at night at my folks’ house flipping through the channels” experiences ever. For those who are unfamiliar, three teenagers were convicted of the murder of three eight-year-old boys based on the “confession” of a kid with an IQ of 72 and rock-solid evidence that the three teenagers liked Aleister Crowley and heavy metal.

* Americans joins residents of Azerbaijan, Egypt, Russia, and Iran among the populations most likely to support torture. This includes nearly six in ten Southern evangelical Christians.

* Kevin Melrose spots a treat in Marvel’s December solicits: Incognito, a new superhero-noir series from the Criminal and Sleeper team, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Part of me hopes that this isn’t some sort of reflection on the nature of the demand for non-superhero genre titles in the Direct Market, but another part of me is just plain excited for another superhero book from the guys who did Criminal.

* Tom Spurgeon enjoyed Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #1. With that, Geoff Johns’s critical rehabilitation is complete.

* Writer J.M DeMatteis blogs about the genesis of my favorite Spider-Man story, Kraven’s Last Hunt. It’s a pretty overbaked bit of reminiscing, but if you like the story you really oughta read it, if only to see the quirks of fate that prevented it from being a Wonder Man or Batman story. (Via Rick Marshall.)

* Would you like to know why I like He-Man? Here’s a for instance: The action figure for Mer-Man looked completely different than how he was depicted on the figure’s packaging, so in their new Masters of the Unvierse Classic series, Mattel will be releasing him with an extra head.

Meanwhile, click over to He-Man.org and scroll down to the September 11th post (no permalinks on Eternia!) and you’ll find this amazing passage in a post about whether or not the Classic series will retain the original’s action features–springing, spinning, extending, and so on:

To elaborate on the action features question, yes obviously Tri-Klops will have a spinning visor, Man-E-Faces will have a spinning head and Rio Blast would have pop out guns. (pending we can get to all of those great characters)

Where you won’t see action features is on mechanical features – ie: Snout Spout will likely not spit water, Sy-Klone will likely not have a spinning mechanism, Stinkor will likely not smell and Ram-Man would likely not have a pop out body.

But Extendar would extend, the Rock people would fold up and Scare Glow might even have glow in the dark paint if it works out.

Yes, obviously Tri-Klops will have a spinning visor. People, He-Man is so, so great. I’m not a toy collector anymore, but I have to admit that this MotUC thing, coupled with the existence in my new house of a “rumpus room” dedicated solely to my crap, has me sorely tempted. They go on sale starting this December. (All via Topless Robot.)

* Speaking of Topless Robot, Kevin J. Guhl presents The 8 Biggest Reasons the G.I. Joe Comic Kicks the Cartoon’s Ass. I was most definitely a Joe-cartoon kid rather than a Joe-comic one, so if nothing else this is a glimpse at what the comic kids found appealing about the surprisingly long-running series. (12 years! Longer than your childhood!) However, I could guess before getting any further than the headline that one of the reasons would involve making fun of Cobra-La, the crazy Himalayan race of mutant ur-humans, in whose number G.I. Joe: The Movie “revealed” that we could count none other than Cobra Commander. Sure enough, Guhl pisses all over this wonderfully nutso concept in favor of CC’s comic-book origin, which is that he was a used car salesman who got fed up with the system. I am totally not kidding. For some reason, this origin is supposed to mesh better with the notion that G.I. JOE IS SERIOUS BUSINESS. Go figure!

* This Space Ghost Coast to Coast segment (via–where else?–Topless Robot) pretty much encapsulates every thought College Sean had about the fundamental nature and awesomeness of Thom Yorke, Björk, Tricky, and Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

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