By Bad Man | Follow on Twitter

With 2011 in the bag, it’s time to look forward, and what do I see when I look into 2012′s approaching nerdy horizon?

Why all this glorious shizz below! Have a look and believe me when I say, that all the stuff I’ve made note of for you will be so absolutely brilliant you might actually cry tears of proper joy. Don’t worry, you can thank me later. And if for some strange and unbeknownst reason I prove to be wrong on anything, then I hold my hands up now and say: It was the BAD HAVEN interns, I had nothing to do with it, don’t blame me. I told them not to write that! They’ll be fired immediately etc.

Anyway, off you go and enjoy my list. It’ll probably change your life

Fatale

Synopsis:

The book follows a newspaper reporter that lucks into the true story of a woman on the run since the 1930s, and the monstrous mobster who’s on her trail. Skipping through genres and time periods Fatale tells an epic story that spans one woman’s life and one monster’s immortality.

Verdict:

Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips have the magic. Having served up two excellent slices of hard boiled fiction with Criminal (a straight up crime thriller series) and Incognito (the super-villain equivalent), it’s almost written in stone that this new series, giving a twist of horror to the proceeds, is going to dish us something dark, gritty and murderous to devour in the new year.

Looper

Synopsis:

Looper is a time travel movie, set in a near future where time travel doesn’t exist but will be invented in a few decades. It’s pretty dark in tone, much different from Bloom, and involves a group of killers (called Loopers) who work for a crime syndicate in the future. Their bosses send their targets hogtied and blindfolded back in time to the Loopers, and their job is to simply shoot them in the head and dispose of the body. So the target vanishes from the future and the Loopers dispose of a corpse that doesn’t technically exist, a very clean system. Problems arise when one of the killers recognises a target as his future self.

Verdict:

Director by Rian Johnson, the man behind Brick and The Brothers Bloom, Looper is a dark science fiction thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt and Paul Dano. Johnson’s Brick was understated genius (I never saw Brothers Bloom) and the cast isn’t to be sniffed at. Can you say sleeper hit. I think you can.

AvX

Synopsis:

The Avengers and X-Men have learned that the all-powerful embodiment of both death and rebirth known as the Phoenix Force is on a crash course for Earth…and it needs a new host to unleash its immeasurable power. But what is the shocking decision tied to the Phoenix’s return that will pit the Avengers against the X-Men? And when good friends become bitter enemies, what does this mean for the future of the Marvel Universe?

Verdict:

A money spinner for MARVEL. Undoubtedly. But if we’ve learned anything from MARVEL’s past mega-events’; it’s that they have left long lasting ramifications for the MARVEL U that have not just been orchestrated for the sake of it. Being written by the companies top 5 architects: Hickman, Fraction, Brubaker, Aaron and big daddy Bendis, with an amazing team of artists, this is likely to be a real earth shaker, and wont require you to read a million cross-over books to keep up with it according to MARVEL’s Tom Breevort. Probably the comic popcorn event of the year.

Prometheus

Synopsis:

Visionary filmmaker Ridley Scott returns to the genre he helped define, creating an original science fiction epic set in the most dangerous corners of the universe. The film takes a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey that will test their physical and mental limits and strand them on a distant world, where they will discover the answers to our most profound questions and to life’s ultimate mystery.

Verdict:

Is it a prequel? Isn’t it a prequel? Who knows? But what we do know is that an excellent cast (Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, and Guy Pearce, among others) under a legendary director (Ridely Scott) with an ace script (from sci-fi wunderkind Damon Lindelof) surely guarantees us a bit of quality film making. The trailer debuted an epic return to a universe Scott hasn’t ventured into in over 30 years, and as much as I’m opposed to directors returning to the well, it’s hard not to be impressed by the trailer and assembled talent so far. Love it or hate it. you’ll be going to see it.

The Secret Service

Synopsis:

A globe trotting superhero spy story filled with massive action and espionage Mark Millar has described the project as: “Something to do with the government and something to do with the military intelligence wing of the government. It’s not a spy story as such,. That would be WAY too straight for a couple of guys who made their names in superhero comics… It’s a hero book, and there’s a sidekick and there’s vast headquarters and a secret origin and all the stuff you’d expect to see in a superhero book. But we really, really play around with a lot of conventions here.”

Verdict:

Mark Millar (Kick-Ass, Wanted, Nemesis, The Ultimates, Superior), Matthew Vaughan (Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class) and Dave Gibbons (Watchmen!!!!) collaborating on one book. Seriously, do I need to say more. Must Read!

The Avengers

Synopsis:

Continuing the epic big-screen adventures started in “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” and “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Marvel’s The Avengers” is the super hero team up of a lifetime. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster.

Verdict:

The cast and ‘big superhero team up’ Vs ‘earth invaders’ theme alone would capture your attention, but add to that a director whose talents for large ensembles have seen him create 3 of the most popular TV shows of all time (Buffy, Angel, FireFly) and whose writing has given us one of the best CG trilogy’s of all time (Toy Story) and we’re looking at something seriously special here. While MARVEL’s films so far have been fairly ho hum ventures (with the exception of Iron Man) producing nothing that could come close to rivalling Warner Bros. Dark Knight for dense, complex action, this may be the year that MARVEL brings it’s ‘A’ Game, with a director perfectly suited to the team dynamic and a cast that are too huge to be ignored.

DC Cross-Overs

Synopsis:

Company Co-Publisher Dan DiDio has recently announced that cross-overs in the New 52 will be taking place, and not just for the sake of a quick buck, but with genuine innovative story telling and a vast interweave universe as an end product. With this in mind Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. and OMAC lead the charge, but the real Big’ie is Animal Man and Swamp Thing, which ST Writer Scott Snyder has tweeted is ‘go’

Verdict:

With DiDio’s frank announcement that the New 52 crossovers will be for art, not for profit, it’s an exciting time for genuine great reading in the DCnU. And the low key characters being optioned as opposed to the usual big names makes me tend to believe DiDio’s not full of spoofs, as this move is less cynical than a Batman/Superman team up lets say. The big news however is that Animal Man will crossover with Swamp Thing, as the two legacy characters likely go toe to toe with ‘The Rot’ that seems set on destroying both their worlds. Two of the best low key horror titles and creative teams coming together for a nasty little horror fest. My hopes are high, and should they be met, then long may this tradition continue.

The Dark Knight Rises

Synopsis:

Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, the terrorist leader Bane arrives in Gotham City, pushing it and its police force to their limits, forcing its former hero Batman to resurface after taking the fall for Harvey Dent’s crimes.

Verdict:

Fan wank aside, this could be one of the greatest superhero films of our times. The prologue alone was enough to leaves jaws on floors in Imax theatres across the country, and if the film itself lives up to the hype it might just be the perfect ending to a perfect trilogy. With a director at the peak of his powers and an ensemble cast that is simply sublime, it’s hard to be overly objectionable of this film from what we’ve so far seen. Which is in a word: EPIC!

SuperCrooks

Synopsis:

Supercrooks will follow a team of supervillains who move to Spain to pull off one last job in a place where there are no heroes to stop them.

Verdict:

It’s hard to argue that Mark Millar’s stuff isn’t some seriously crowd pleasing fare. The sort of ott gratuity mixed with sassy dialogue and a cinematic plot that just adds up to damn fine comics entertainment. That, and he always lands an incredible art team, in this case the insanely talented Leniel Yu on pencils (they previously worked together on Ultimate Avengers and Superior to great effect). Billed as a combination of Oceans 11 and The X-Men it’s hard to see SuperCrooks being anything other than a slick, quick paced thrill ride full of bastardly, yet charismatic:relatable characters that you can’t help but root for. It might just be one of the most hands down entertaining things you read this year.

Bond 23: Skyfall

Synopsis:

Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack. 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

Verdict:

Director Sam Mendes claims that with Skyfall he’s taking a much more 1960′s tone, in a return to the vintage Connery era of bad ass Bond. This alone sounds great, and the plot rumours surrounding a replacement M, a new Q and the modern debut of Miss Moneypenny also seem to indicate that Mendes is staying true to his word and making a modern film with some classic sensibilities. What else he has in store is as of yet a mystery, but after the lacklustre Quantum Of Solace, it all hinges on Skyfall to bring Bond back to his best. Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Judi Dench, Bérénice Marlohe and Ben Whishaw are set to star.

Parkers The Score

Synopsis:

Parker gets wind of a plot to rob an entire town of its riches. Reluctantly roped in for the job despite his uneasiness about some of his colleagues, the job is pulled off without a string until a double cross ruins the fun. That’s when things get interesting.

Verdict:

Darwyn Cooke’s third full length volume of the Donald Westlake (under the ‘Parker’ pseudonym) Stark novels is adapted from celebrated crime fiction, with Parker’s original Novel’s publication in the 60′s and 70′s proving to be some of the best Pulp on the market. Cooke’s decision to revisit those novels has brought the genre back into the public eye and given us some of the most gorgeous art going, in Cooke’s inimitable style that perfectly fits the genre it’s adapting. Brilliantly written and with art to die for, this is another volume of crime fiction too cool to pass on.

Powers TV Series

Synopsis:

Powers is set in a world where superpowers are relatively common but not mundane. It follows the lives of two detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, police officers in a Homicide department devoted to cases that involve “powers” (people with superpowers).

Verdict:

Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Avon Oeming’s indie Magnum Opus finds it’s way onto the telly via FX, with Jason Patric in the lead role of Christian Walker, relative newcomer Lucy Punch as Deena Pilgrim, and veteran TV actor Charles S. Dutton (The Corner, Roc) as Captain Cross. Aimed to be a crime drama similar to Se7en or Zodiac this could be one of the most interesting new drama’s to come out of the increasingly popular superhero/crime genre, and with Bendis’ assurance that the re-shoots are only to fix up the shows tone, this could be a neat little TV gem for 2012.

Watchmen Prequels

Synopsis:

Here’s what we know so far: Darwyn Cooke has supposedly been set to write one, Joe and Andy Kubert are set to draw one, and JG Jones and Amanda Conner have had art leaked that may be to do with one. The Watchmen Prequels it seems, are coming.

Verdict:

Love em or hate em, there’s no avoiding them. The Watchmen Prequels are the cash in that DC have been trying to get nailed down for years, and finally they seem to have all the pieces in place. This will be a royal poke in the eye for fans and lovers of the original (Original writer Alan Moore is unlikely to be amused), but the level of talent that seems to be involved may draw in a wave of newcomers. I personally hate the idea, but like an approaching train/car collision, I will be watching from afar to see how it turns out.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Synopsis:

Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit, journeys to the Lonely Mountain accompanied by a group of dwarves to reclaim a treasure taken from them by the dragon Smaug.

Verdict:

After losing a director in Guillermo Del Toro, the troubled Hobbit Production has finally kicked back into life, and several vlogs and a trailer later it’s safe to say that middle earth is back in the safe hands of the team that guided LOTR to Cinematic and indeed Oscar glory. Word is a lot of Del Toro’s design work has been incorporated and for a children’s story it seems apparent that the darkness that enshrouded LOTR has crept into the Hobbit as well. Under Peter Jackson’s wing Christmas is about to become a fantasy event again.

Guillermo Del Toro’s Hulk

Synopsis:

Set to follow a similar formula to the original Bill Bixby Incredible Hulk TV Show Guillermo Del Toro’s vision of the Hulk will follow Bruce Banner in his early years on the run from the US Military, fighting his inner beast and his romance with Betty Ross.

Verdict:

Under Del Toro’s guidance this could be the perfect mix of strong story telling and a much hinted at fusion of CGI and Animatronic effects. The Hulk is much more complex than a simple rage monster and with a background in dark tales of fantasy, overlaid on incredibly trying human landscapes (The Devil’s Backbone, Cronos, Pans Labrynth), not to mention a foot in the indie superhero genre (Hellboy 1 & 2) Del Toro is the perfect choice to give us a new take on Hulk. Hopefully we’ll get to see some of that this year.

Dredd

Synopsis:

In a violent, futuristic city where the police are known as Judges and have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a Judge teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.

Verdict:

Despite some dodgy reports of a writer director conflict and the worry that Dredd has been marred by a minuscule budget ($65 Mil), I’m optimistic that Director Pete Travis and Writer Alex Garland have worked it out in the editing suite, and that all this waiting has been worthwhile. This time round, with Karl Urban underneath the visor and a promised grittier take on the Big Meg (MegaCity 1) we could be in for a proper representation of the Future’s toughest Lawman, with old chin face done right. Fingers crossed, eh.

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