Before I get into my thoughts on the X-3 trailer I have to give credit where credit is do. Ok, so yesterday I put up this Free Lunch strip that, upon completion, sort of reminded me of a recent Theaterhopper strip with a similar theme. I'm chalking it up to indirect inspiration.

Today's JLCM, however, featuring the dream mutant power IS a direct rip off of this TH strip which is also about X-3.

I never planned on doing a strip dedicated to a trailer, but Tom did such a great job on his that I was inspired to do this strip. And put my little spin on it. So special thanks to Tom for his extra special kick ass strip.

Normally I like to focus on a movie but this trailer is pretty big news now, so why not. I like to keep it fresh. I'm warning you now, that I may get dangerously nerdy below, but I'll try to keep it relatable to non comic readers.

Everyone is reacting to the new cast members, and how they look being translated to screen for the first time. For the record ? Angle looks great, but the actor playing him Ben Foster I have questions about. His last film was Hostage with Bruce Willis where he was completely creepy and insane. Almost too much. Over the top. Is this just an example of really good acting, or bad method choices? I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt though and I'm more excited to see if they can pull off a cool Archangel look and bring in the villain Apocalypse for the 4th movie!

Beast looks good but I'm saving my finale opinion until I see him in action. That will be the true test. Kelsey Grammer is an outstanding choice for the voice and demeanor of the calm intellectual beast, but ? he's still a beast. Let's see him go nuts. Grammer is great in that he's willing to do stuff like this. A lot of people will thumb there noses up at comic book movies as something "less than". Even in today's box office where comics rule all. But Grammer is smart and willing to play. He's got how many appearances as Side Show Bob to emphasize that. And that's really cool.

Those are the biggest additions to the film but the biggest change has got to be the one addressed in the comic. Bryan Singer left the franchise to do Superman V and the man chosen to fill his shoes is Rush Hour director Brett Ratner. There was naturally some disappointment. I think a lot because of Ratner's past films being very plain, but more so because Singer REALLY got it. He understood the X-men, and he understood how to make it work. A lot of fans were sorry to see that go. But you know he'll just make a rockin' Superman film now.

To be honest I'm not anti-Ratner. I think both Rush Hour movies work well for what they are. Fast pacing, solid story, good clear action. How much of that is Ratner, and how much is the influence of Jackie Chan and his crew? I don't know, but let's not freak out too much. Brett might be able to pull this out.

From the trailer it's tough to figure out what's going on with the story. A lot of the fans are clamoring for the Dark Phoenix Saga. A story arc that featured the return of then dead Jean Grey, as this more powerful being. It's one of the signature storylines in X-men history. This has got to be part of the story because jeans walking around up on screen. But how much of it is being told. Hopefully just set up.

I can tell you now that if this is the full saga, it's going to suck hard. To give it a back seat to the storyline of Angle and his problems with his daddy would be comic book suicide. My hope is that they bring her back, and establish something, but save the good stuff for a later film when they can really focus on it.

Who knows how long this will all last though.

The trailer otherwise looks pretty good. Some solid action scenes from a franchise that has had good action, but has never really nailed it yet. It has a huge cast, which worries me. Someone has to go but whose expendable. I know, I know ? Storm. Hehehe

Even if the trailer sucked all the way through it's ALL ABOUT the Fast Ball Special. This is a move in the comics where one of the X-men named Colossus (who actually got some screen time in X-2. He saved the kids!) picks up Wolverine and? wait for it?. Throws him at the enemy.

I know, it sounds nuts, but it's the coolest thing when it happens in the comics. Basically because Wolverine is this little indestructible ball of fury. With CLAWS! To throw him at a huge robot is just sheer brilliance. Awesome enough to reference in the vote incentive today.

This shot is at the end of the trailer, so fast forward and look for a little shiny spot throwing Wolverine. The fact that they've put this is gives me huge amounts of hope for the project. I mean ? I was going to see it anyway, but now? well I'm kind of looking forward to it.

The comic is for those fans that wish Singer were still on the project. I say to you that ? Yes it would have been awesome, but don't give up hope just yet. I've got to thank Tom again for inspiring this. Truth is that Theater Hopper has had such a huge effect on the comics I do, specifically JLCM, that I should be thanking him every day.

As it should be. There are so many web comics out there but so few devoted to movies and the world of movies. I'm not sure why. Everyone goes to the movies, but not everyone plays video games. Still you've got about 3,000,000 video game comics on line. If they weren't funny as hell I would make my complaint more vocal.

There is of course the great Movie Punks which closed house some time ago. Thank god the archives are still up to route through, because Carrington put together one hell of a series.

There's also Instant Classic by Brian Carroll, which is almost a love story of true devotion to movies. It's beautiful and inspirational in a completely different way than the others. It even goes into different arcs and genres. It's the thinking mans movie web comic.

I was so thrilled to find last week via Beaver and Steve a new Movie comic that started this past summer called Multiplex by Gordon McAlpin. And I was even more thrilled to find out that it was really good. Like REALLY good. Multiplex takes a look at movies from the people that work at the theaters. A unique perspective that was in need of it's own voice. It's original in its art, and funny as hell right out the gate. There's under 30 strips archived right now so go spend some time with it and support the movie comics!

Seriously every strip mentioned is great, and you can tell the creators really love movies. It's rare in web comics so soak it in. And spread the love.

Oh, if you missed the Kong review it was yesterday. CLICK!

That's all for now, thanks for reading, folks! That sounds lame. I need some kind of send off or tag line like "save the isle seat" or "Suck my butt" or something. I'm taking suggestions.