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  1. You've turned the page to the place where panels and popcorn meet. From coverage of comic-inspired flicks to that buzzed-about graphic novel that's being primed for the big-screen, you'll find it all here at MTV's Splash Page. Check throughout the day for breaking news, exclusive chats with Hollywood stars and comic legends, and first looks at the blockbusters of tomorrow.
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  1. Splash Page welcomes Ed Tadem to our cover artist family (our custom-designed theme up top). Currently working on the forthcoming "Avengers" animated series, Tadem's work can also be seen in the "Jackie Karma" issues of Image's "'76," and in "Pop Gun, Volume 1." Ed Tadem can be found online at EdTadem.com.

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Spider-ManRumors, spin-offs, cameos and behind-the-scenes art dominated this week's headlines, and the week's top stories reflected that trend. From "Spider-Man 4" and "Thor" to "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and, yes, Chuck Norris, it was a week of varied projects.

Here's how the week's most popular stories stacked up:

10. Wes Anderson gave us the behind-the-scenes info on a potential "Fantastic Mr. Fox" spin-off comic.

9. In this week's poll, we asked you which "Spider-Man 4" rumor you wished were true. Go! Vote!

Read more...

By now you've all heard the latest "Spider-Man 4" casting rumors — depending on which source you read, both Julia Stiles and Anne Hathaway are up for the role of Felicia Hardy, the burglar known as Black Cat. We offered up our own suggestions for the role a while back in our weekly Secret Identity column, and also pondered Eliza Dushku's willingness to play the role.

However, Stiles' arrival on the rumor scene got us thinking about a recent interview with the actress in which she discussed her interest in comic book movies and debunked a casting rumor that had been floating around the 'Net. While the interview was conducted prior to the recent "Spider-Man 4" buzz, it seemed a good time to throw the clip out there and see what possibilities fans can draw from it.

"No, not that I'm aware of," Stiles said when asked about a rumor that she was up for the role of Sue Storm in the "Fantastic Four" movie. "I was never told that I was being considered for that role. I was surprised by that." Read more...

When "Shaun of the Dead" director Edgar Wright was first announced for the big-screen adaptation of of Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim" series, you could practically hear the collective sigh of relief around the 'Net. For many fans, the belief was that if anyone can successfully bring the surreal adventures of slacker hero Scott Pilgrim to theaters faithfully, it's Wright.

And while we haven't seen any footage from the much-anticipated film yet, "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World" actor Jason Schwartzman would seem to agree with the sentiment that Wright was the right man for the job. Schwartzman plays Gideon, one of the final "evil ex-boyfriends" the title character must battle to win the affection of his girlfriend.

"One of the things that's so great about Edgar is that if he wasn't directing this movie, he would be Ticketholder #1 in line for it," Schwartzman told MTV News. "He is such a fan of movies and of these comics and what this movie is going to be. He gets just as excited as the people do — the fans. He's a fan." Read more...

Batman 3Mining the multitude of fan-made trailers on the 'Net occasionally yields a real gem (for example: "Thundercats: The Movie"), and that's definitely the case for this "Batman 3" mash-up trailer that offers up a hypothetical brawl between Christian Bale as Batman, Johnny Depp as The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin.

Created by YouTube user HawkeyeProtagonist, "Batman: Caped Crusader Teaser 1 (Penguin & Riddler)" splices clips from Christopher Nolan's previous Batman movies, as well as clips from Depp's "Secret Window" and Hoffman's villainous turn in "Mission: Impossible III" (among other films I could be missing). The final product is a compelling argument for both actors and their respective villains to make a bow in the next Batman movie.

Heck, with that monologue, Hoffman might even be able to strike terror into the Dark Knight's heart. Read more...

BadrockThe worlds of comic books and "Twilight" overlapped unexpectedly back in August when "Youngblood" director Brett Ratner mentioned a desire to see "Twilight Saga" star Robert Pattinson in the lead role for the superhero team-up movie. Now, on the eve of the "New Moon" premiere, we have another "Twilight"/"Youngblood" crossover for you.

"Youngblood" creator Rob Liefeld revealed on Twitter earlier today that "New Moon" director Chris Weitz had drafted a script in 1996 for a movie based on Badrock, one of the fan-favorite Youngblood superheroes. Describing the screenplay as a "Beavis/Butthead/South Parky take on a kid superhero," Liefeld said studio New Line balked at the film's initial budget and eventually dropped the project.

I got in touch with Liefeld to find out more info about the "Badrock" movie that never happened, how Weitz got involved and some details about the film's plot. Read more...

Spacious ThoughtsThis one veers off our normal subject matter a bit, but it's so full of awesome I had to pass it along. Boing Boing's Xeni Jardin alerted me to the recent debut of an animated music video for "Spacious Thoughts," a collaboration between Tom Waits and Kool Keith (no, seriously!) created by the N.A.S.A. (North America/South America) project.

The animation for "Spacious Thoughts" is absolutely wild (see it for yourself after the jump), and BoingBoing spoke to the creators of the video's visual element, the Montreal-based duo Fluorescent Hill.

"The giant Cloud in the chorus was the first thing we came up with," said the duo. "We felt the chorus had to be big, and Waits' voice is just so huge you just have to go with something towering over the rest of the video, and in this case the city....which ended up working out really well for the lyrics in that section. Also we didn't want to do caricatures of the singers, it had been done before with waits, I believe Ralph Bakshi had anmiated/rotoscoped him, so to try and just get at the quick pop of Kool Keith and the growl and bark of Tom Waits." Read more...

Sure, Anne Hathaway is the latest in a long line of rumored contenders for the role of Black Cat in "Spider-Man 4" (even though there's no confirmation the character is even in the film), but does anyone remember another rumor from a few years back that cast an entirely different actress in the role?

Well, even if you didn't remember the pre-"Spider-Man 3" rumor that had "Dollhouse" actress Eliza Dushku playing cat burglar Felicia Hardy, we did — and we asked her about it when she dropped by Splash Page HQ a while back.

"Don't you love the Internet and the fans out there?" Dushku laughed when MTV Movies Editor Josh Horowitz asked if she'd seen the fan-made "Spider-Man 4" posters with her as Black Cat. "They do it up!" Read more...

Transformers #1Last week, we gave you an exclusive peek at "Transformers: Continuum," the one-shot comic that catches readers up with the current Transformers continuity before IDW Publishing kicks off its new, ongoing series featuring the robots in disguise. The first issue of "Transformers" #1 arrived on shelves today, but the publisher has already announced two big happenings in the series' premiere issue.

Consider this your SPOILER ALERT, folks — but I guess the headline already gave this one away.

IDW has revealed that the Autobots' iconic leader, Optimus Prime, will be leaving office at the end of the first issue, concerned that the Autobots' war with the Decepticons has actually done more harm than good for the inhabitants of Earth. And if you're the sort that doesn't mind reading the last page first, you're in luck — because we have the final page of "Transformers" #1. Read more...

CondormanOver on MTV Movies Blog, they have a nifty little weekly feature called "Sick Day Stash," in which they highlight a lesser-known, older film that our writers hold near and dear to their hearts. While they're always a fun read, this week's author is regular Splash Page writer Josh Wigler, who managed to earn himself even more geek cred (in my mind) by choosing one of my all-time favorite films: Disney's 1981 film about a comic book creator who becomes a real-life superhero, "Condorman."

Calling the film "cinematic gold" (a description I can't really argue with), Wigler explains exactly why it's his "favorite superhero of all time" (again, no argument here). Here's a short excerpt:

Crawford's overeager and frantic performance as Woody might be cringe-worthy by today's standards, but that was part of the charm for me as a kid: this unspecial man turning himself into a slightly more special gadget-driven hero spoke to me in a way that Batman never could. Sure, Batman builds himself from the ground up and has no superpowers to speak of, but he's fantastically cool in every facet of his life.

For the full report on "Condorman" and why it's great for your Sick Day Stash, head over to MoviesBlog.MTV.com.

Spider-ManA while back, the third "Batman" movie seemed to be the subject of new casting rumors every day — from Michael Caine's assertion that Johnny Depp would play The Riddler to a British tabloid's "scoop" that Shia LaBeouf would play Robin. Nowadays, though, "Spider-Man 4" has been receiving the lion's share of casting rumors, including quite a few that have popped up, circulated widely and subsequently been debunked within the last week.

Last week, many blogs echoed an anonymous rumor that Rachel McAdams would play Black Cat, only to have the actress dismiss the casting report this week. The dust had barely settled, whoever, when another Black Cat rumor hit the 'Net — this time, featuring Julia Stiles.

So, now we find ourselves wondering which one of these rumors you'd like to see become official. Is it one of the Black Cat rumors or something else entirely? What about Dylan Baker's potential return as The Lizard or Bruce Campbell's "meaty" cameo? Read more...