The following is a joint blog post from Gerry and I. I can't guarantee that it will make any kind of sense, but it was a labor of love.
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Your two favorite bloggers, in one entry together!

It's been a little while since we hyped our joint blog…okay, it's been more than a little while. But at last, get ready for Gerry and Loyal's summer comic book movie preview of "The Punisher" and "Spider-Man 2" a.k.a. "Sony makes a hell of a lot more money."

For the past few years, Hollywood has maintained a precarious grip on the fervent and profitable fanboy audience with a series of comic book and literature adaptations. The most successful movies are the ones that stay true to the author's original vision. The Lord of the Rings movies, both Harry Potter movies, and most of the Marvel comics movies have been faithful and high quality. With such an unnaturally high rate of success, there is an unnerving feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop. History shows that any time a genre enjoys a boom in its early years; it often crashes hard in the waning years. The American western, the old Hollywood musical, and other popular styles have bitten the dust in a significant way. Bearing this in mind, what does the future hold for the comic book genre? This summer will be the litmus test for the future direction of science fiction cinema.

So, enough screwing around playing in the street. It's time to preview two films that will capture America's attention and become water-cooler fodder—okay, maybe not. But work with us here.

Gerry: Actually, if Spider-Man 2 is anything like its predecessor, it will claim America's undivided attention. The original Wall Crawler flick not only generated more money than the national debt, it also received rave reviews and spawned a new era of Spidey merchandise. The new film features another baddy from the comic books, Doctor Otto Octavious, affectionately known as Doctor Octopus, or Doc Ock. Unlike the Green Goblin's Power Ranger costume in the last film, Doc Ock looks very sharp in his moody trench coat and four metal prosthetic arms, which would no doubt make him a great bartender. Of course, Doc Ock won't be serving up drinks, he will be serving up a healthy dose of mayhem, evil, and all-around annoyance for Peter Parker.

Peter has more to worry about than just the supervillain of the week—ol' redhead Mary Jane is causing our hero all sorts of romantic problems. It appears MJ is moving on to J. Jonah Jamison's son, who is an astronaut. Gee, I don't know why a girl would rather date an astronaut than a journalist. What a crazy way to go.

Loyal: Ah, Peter Parker, when will you learn? The double life is surely a rough one. Is it worse to be thrown off of a building with a bomb strapped to your head, or to discover that your camera will be in the shop for a week? Either livelihood is fraught with difficulty.

Gerry: You know, my computer, not camera, has been in the shop for about a week, and I can't scale buildings to burn off steam.

Loyal: Yeah, life is hard that way. Of course, there are worse ways to deal with problems. You could always forsake your current identity and go on a mad homicidal rampage against anyone with even a slight criminal bent. This would be the theme behind The Punisher, another comic book coming to the movie screen this summer. The title character is a grim fellow with every reason in the world to be angry, but no real moral justification for his methods. The Punisher movie will be loosely based on the recent comic book run written by Garth Ennis. I haven't read too much in the way of the movie plot, but I do expect a cool movie.

Gerry: Screw the Punisher. I wanna talk about Spider-Man. Is that okay with you?

Loyal: Of course, proceed. The world waits on pins and needles for your opinion of Spider-Man.

Gerry: Pins and needles? Sounds painful. Speaking of pain, I'm in agony waiting for Spider-Man 2 to be released. This flick is going to rock. The first film set up the characters nicely, and this will allow Spidey 2 to hit the ground running. Director Sam Raimi tells us to expect more humor, drama, and action, and I believe him. Doc Ock looks incredible, and everyone is anxious to see what develops between Peter and MJ. One just gets a sense this film is going to top the original.

Loyal: I'm looking forward to seeing a superhero movie without an origin story. The pacing of the movie will be better without having to explain everything to the audience. I've been looking forward to this movie since the representative from Sony Digital Imaging at the Siggraph convention two years ago promised more web-slinging action like the finale of the first movie. Spider-Man 2 will be one of the highlights of the summer.

Gerry: I can't say with confidence that The Punisher will be a summer highlight. I still have bad memories of the straight-to-video Punisher flick--

Loyal: La-la-la! Not listening! Never happened!

Gerry: --and John Travolta as a villain? Come on. The Punisher's popularity in the comic books tends to rise and fall. I don't know, something makes me nervous about this film. Maybe it's shipping our favorite black-clad gun-toting vigilante to Miami. What's he gonna do there, attend Marlins games?

Loyal: Agreed, it's never a good thing to monkey with continuity. It might work in this particular instance, but I'm afraid of what this could mean for comic book movies as a whole. As a genre, each summer's batch of releases lives and dies by the previous summer's successes and failures. With a questionable Catwoman title on the horizon—

Gerry: Questionable?! Questionable?! Catwoman will be terrible and you know it! Warner Bros. should be fined for making a mockery of the character, and…

Loyal: Yes, yes, I know. I reserve judgment until it comes out and I don't see it. Anyway, speculation aside, this summer is looking good for geek entertainment.

Gerry: And geeked out, we are. I am giddy with anticipation for Spider-Man 2, and I suppose I'll give The Punisher a shot. Until next time, make sure your utility belts are tight and your capes are pressed.