Who's going to play Captain America? Filming on "The First Avenger: Captain America" is just a few short months away and we still don't have an answer to that all-important question. But unless something catastrophic happens in the next few days, we at least know who he's going to be fighting - Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull.

Heat Vision reports that Weaving is in "a delicate stage" of negotiations with Marvel Studios over whether or not he'll play the Skull in director Joe Johnston's "Captain America" adaptation. Casting should be finalized within "the next day or so," with the only obvious roadblock being the studio's reportedly tough negotiation tactics with prospective talent, as demonstrated when Mickey Rourke almost walked away from "Iron Man 2."

Agent Smith as Red Skull? I definitely dig it. It's one of those obvious casting calls that I never considered but makes total sense. Now it's just a matter of waiting to see who lands Steve Rogers, so keep those fingers crossed. If Keanu Reeves gets it, I'm going to punch somebody.

Despite a thriving community of readers, well-wishers and an ever-diversifying talent pool, the sequential art medium still isn't quite met with the kind of social approval it deserves. "Comic Book Literacy," a new independent documentary feature film, aims to change that however, by educating viewers on the medium's vast potential to entertain, teach and communicate.

C2E2 attendees can be the first to catch the documentary during its premiere on Sunday, April 18 at 1:45 p.m., followed by a Q&A session with director Todd Kent.

Here's CBL's official synopsis:

"Comic Book Literacy" emphasizes the positive attributes of a misunderstood medium. The film features appearances by comic book writers and artists such as Paul Dini, Scott McCloud, Terry Moore, Joe Quesada, Jim Salicrup, Gail Simone and Art Spigeleman as well as historians and scholars who discuss the role comics play in education in both an historical and contemporary context.

Debuting the doc at a convention stocked with present-day comic lovers isn't a matter of preaching to the choir, either, as the filmmakers will be showing the film at schools, film festivals and book conventions through 2010 with a goal of reaching the masses by obtaining wide distribution.

"Comic Book Literacy" joins "Dig Comics" as yet another enthusiastic documentary project spreading the reading word and I say the more the merrier.

You can watch a short trailer for the documentary after the jump.

Threads: A design from Sean T. Collins's sweet David Bowie comics sketchbook by "TV on the Radio" singer Tunde Adebimpe is now on sale as a t-shirt, with the proceeds to benefit disaster relief in Haiti. (via ADD)

Too Hot: Barnes and Noble has reportedly refused to carry Molly Crabapple's lovely erotic graphic novel "Scarlett Takes Manhattan," calling it "too pornographic." iPhone preview here. (via Robo t6)

Manga: Guess who's throwing their hat into the manga ring? Eminent indie publisher Fantagraphics, that's who. The line, which has been four years in the making, launches in September with a short story collection by shoujo creator Moto Hagio, who helped spearhead the shoujo movement in the 1970s. They're following it up in December with "Wandering Son" by Shimura Takako, a manga that explores the transgender issues of a boy who wants to be a girl and a girl who wants to be a boy. If you don't like the controversial nature of LGBT topics, you are "strongly encouraged to lump it."

As Earth's Mightiest Heroes prepare to enter a new Heroic Age at Marvel, the publisher is revisiting the team's earliest days with a perhaps a touch more scrutiny this spring in the pages of the brand new "Avengers: The Origin" five-issue miniseries.

Marvel Comics has provided us with an exclusive first look at the upcoming "Avengers: The Origin" #1 by Joe Casey ("Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes") and Phil Noto ("X-Men Origins: Ice Man"), an issue that won't see stores until April 7.

Here's how Marvel sums up the upcoming reading experience:

The true story of the Avengers is revealed right here! This five-issue extravaganza reveals previously untold details of the historic first meeting of Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Ant-Man and the Wasp! You only THINK you know the full story.

Check out our exclusive four-page preview, along with a cover by Noto, after the jump.

Here at ComicsAlliance, we value our readership and are always open to what the masses of Internet readers have to say. That's why we've given Senior Writer Chris Sims the punishment pleasure of stepping into the grand tradition of the Answer Man as he responds to your reader questions!



Q: Red Tornado vs. Wonder Man... who wins? --Clemfold

A: For those of you who aren't familiar with my work, Clemfold is referring to my deep, long-standing hatred of these two characters, and putting me in the spot of deciding who I hate the least. But really, when you get right down to it, that's pretty simple.

We've created our share of obnoxious salutational stationary here at CA, but as reinforced by the veritable treasury of "Superman and Friends" greeting cards at Andertoons' Flickr account, the truth is sometimes twice as splendid as fiction. Andertoon's massive gallery includes nearly 50 individual cards wishing recipients well and/or commemorating all manner of non-seasonal occasions through DC's trinity of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman plus Bats' rogues and at least one humble Captain Marvel appearance. The best part? It's from the happy, crisis-free year of 1978.

The cards' content is technically all-ages and loaded with gags, but some of the best content stems from Superman and Wonder Woman's (and Lois' - Superman gets around!) intense sexual tension. It's so thick you could cut it with a Kryptonite/enchanted Amazonian knife. It almost makes me wonder if these cards inspired Frank Miller's mountain-pulverizing "The Dark Knight Strikes Again" love scene between the two titans.

Big ups to Kevin Church for pointing this gallery out to the Internet at large via The Daily Batman.

Check out the hilarious gallery after the jump, but be prepared for a heaping helping of disbelief.

There's a new "Fall of the Hulks – Hulk Fine Art Statue" on the way courtesy of Kotobukiya, and I am excited. Not because the Hulk's pose is particularly noteworthy or because his teeth are so perfectly pearly white or even because he's specifically designed to look cool when paired up against Kotobukiya's Red Hulk statue. All of those things are fine and dandy, but the real reason I'm excited is this: Erick Sosa, the statue's sculptor, is really excited.

Declaring himself a lifelong fan of Hulk since the days of Lou Ferrigno, Sosa seems to have given a lot of thought to his opinions of the Hulk, which greatly informed his sculpting process.

"To me, Hulk is a noble character, always trying to protect the weak, yet misunderstood by everyone around him. He always finds himself fighting for his very survival, and this appeals to me very much," Sosa tells Marvel. "My humble depiction of Ed McGuiness' version was sprinkled with a bit of '80s nostalgia -- his hair is a bit scruffy, the expression is similar ... to the cartoon Hulk as well. I wanted to create a Hulk that feels as though he is jumping out of the comic book page! I wanted something dynamic, powerful and very very angry! Red Hulk won't stand a chance."

See what I mean? His enthusiasm is just infectious. The Hulk statue will be available for purchase later this summer, so keep an eye out.