Let's get the familiar names out of the way first, shall we? Marvel have the first issue of Ultimate Comics: Armor Wars, which places Planetary and Transmetropolitan writer Warren Ellis in charge of Iron Man again, freed of too many continuity woes and watches what happens. Also out of continuity, Spider-Man Noir reimagines Peter Parker in 1920s New York, while the in-continuity (and non-Sam Jackson-esque) Nick Fury realizes the futility of existence in Secret Warriors Volume 1: Nick Fury, Agent of Nothing. Less existential pondering and more ass-kicking can be found in Hulk: Planet Skaar and Hercules: Prince of Power, both of which explain the finer points of "smashing," I believe.

Smashing may help the political state of the Romulan empire, which is somewhat shaky in IDW's Star Trek Romulans: Schism, while Dynamite add their voice to the licensed choir with what may turn out to be the surprise of the week: The first issue of Galactica 1980, resurrecting (and promising to improve) Lorne Greene's far-from-finest hour as the original Battlestar Galactica finds Earth in the middle of disco.

DC Comics have a couple of interesting collections to consider this week: Showcase Presents Warlord Vol. 1 reprints the beginnings of DC's premiere sword and sorcery comic - with some great art by Mike Grell - while Tom Strong Deluxe Edition Vol. 1 does the same for the first year of Alan Moore's retro "science hero" series which lurches from semi-parody to sincere tribute to stories gone by, with amazing art by people like Chris Sprouse, Art Adams and Dave Gibbons.

If you're looking for more Gibbons, this is definitely your week; he pops up (again working with his Watchmen collaborator Moore) alongside many other creators in the enjoyable The Spirit Archives: The New Adventures hardcover collection of a short-lived 1990s attempt to revive Will Eisner's classic character, but the motherlode for Gibbons fans - or Frank Miller fans, for that matter - is the deluxe collection The Life and Times of Martha Washington In the 21st Century, which brings together all of Miller and Gibbons' alternate future political satire, from Give Me Liberty all the way to last year's The Death of Martha Washington. Individual, powerful and weirdly compelling, it'd be the book of the week, if it wasn't for two other Dark Horse releases.
Those would be Beasts of Burden, a new series by Space Ghost (and Milk & Cheese) writer Evan Dorkin and artist Jill Thompson about the pet protectors of a particularly supernatural neighborhood (Look here for a sample of what to expect and fall in love), and Super Spy creator Matt Kindt's new graphic novel, 3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man, which takes a serious and beautiful look at the old cliche of the man who was as tall as a building. Both are highly recommended.

Whether you're looking to buy all of Dark Horse's impressive slate this week or something else, the Diamond Shipping List can help you decide what you should be spending money on, and the Comic Shop Locator Service will make sure you know where to spend it. Just remember to pick up something new and unusual this week; it's a good week to go outside your norm.

I know we've been showing a lot of darker Stargate Universe trailers, but these brief moments give me hope that it will still be Stargate, and have witty banter. I especially like David Blue glaring down Shooter's daughter at the dinner table. Here are a few stills we grabbed just so you can get an even closer look at what's to come.

Caprica, meanwhile, looks like more of the same. But note the gorgeous detail shot of the city, which looks a bit CG-heavy but I'll take it, if skimping on the FX budget brought us Stoltz. Everything is looking pretty rosy for Syfy, who must be nervous as hell with the departure of BSG. I'm still not 100% sold that Caprica can fill that hole in my heart, but you never know.

Big Man Japan
A nobody who moonlights as a giant superhero has to battle all sorts of beasties but also has to deal with a growing mob of superhero haters, and an Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather. BMJ will be out in March.

Pandorum

The amazing, astounding, fantastic Ben Foster is stranded on a spacecraft with his coworker Dennis Quaid — and there's something aboard that wants them dead. Release date is September 4.

The Princess and the Frog

Hooray for old timey animation! Disney returns to the princess animations with a New Orleans set Princess in the Frog fairytale out December 25.

Push

It's like Heroes, the movie. Everyone has a brain power in Push, be they Movers or Sniffers (sadly, no Shakers) The powered film comes out February 6.

Crank: High Voltage

Wow Crank 2 just got a whole lot more insane. Will they be stop motion animating Jason Statham, but huge? God, I hope so. Crank 2 is out April 17.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li

Kristin Kreuk masters the high-kicks, in her own Chun-Li Street Fighter origins story, due out February 27.

17 Again


Matthew Perry gets shrunk back down to the age of 17, and injected into his own teen's high school, to try and "fix" his crumbling family. That's in theaters April 17.

Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian


Bill Hader and Amy Adams join the museum cast as General Custer and Amelia Earhart (or rather, the wax figures of these historical figures that come to life after the museum closes). Museum 2 is out on May 22.

Fanboys


A group of serious fans try and break into George Lucas' Skywalker ranch, and mayhem ensues, on February 6.

Coraline


Neil Gaiman's story about a young girl who visits an alternate world comes to life in breathtaking 3D stop-motion animation, out February 6.

2012


John Cusack cools his heels while the wold ends around him, in one terrible natural disaster after another, in 2012. It's out on July 10.

Knowing


Nicolas Cage uncovers a time capsule that details in numbers when everything awful will happen on Earth. Knowing will be released on March 20.

They Came From Upstairs


Ashley Tisdale and her family have an awesome spring break, before an alien invasion happens. Or maybe after, it's hard to tell. Either way, we'll find out on July 31.

Race to Witch Mountain


Dang teens and their alien abilities to move things with their minds. This reboot of a an old Disney classic is released on March 13.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince


The magic boys and girls are back in school, and ready for the fight to end all fights, yet again. Harry is out on July 17.

Cirque du Freak


John C. Reilly is a vampire who runs a circus with Salma Hayek, and your chances of seeing Hayek do something sexy are pretty much guaranteed. There is no release date yet.

More pics at the link. [L.A. Times]

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• Tiger Man from Buck Rogers: Princess Ardala may have been bitchy and vampy, but she didn't have a lot of muscle. So, she had this sword-wielding, shield-bearing muscly bald dude do her bidding for her. Buck couldn't hit a girl (although Wilma sure could), so he frequently went toe to toe with this guy.
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• Omega Man from... Omega Man: This Charlton Heston starrer was the second adaptation of the I Am Legend novel, leaving him as the last person on Earth. No idea why they didn't just call this thing I Am Legend, but maybe Omega sounded a lot more sci fi high tech to good old chuck.
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• Hawk from Buck Rogers: Okay, I've been referring to this guy as Hawk Man for years now. Turns out I was wrong, and he's just called Hawk. Which still seems a bit too simple. Doesn't he look more like an Owl?
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• Mega Man from the countless Mega Man video games: This little guy might be tiny in size, but his heroic actions were "mega," and he's become one of the most recognizable characters in the video game universe. After all, you fight Dr. Wily and his robot minions all day, and you you're going to end up with some recognition.
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• David Bowie in The Man Who Fell To Earth: Bowie became "the man" in this 1976 film who came to Earth looking for water. Although he may have been Thomas Jerome Newton, he'll always be "The Man" to us.
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• Demolition Man: Sylvester Stallone plays a retardo cop from the past who destroys everything in his path in order to get the job done. The proof? Right here:
  T.V. Reporter: [to John Spartan] "How can you justify destroying a $7 million dollar mini mall to rescue a girl whose ransom was only $25,000 dollars?"
  Little Girl: "FUCK YOU, LADY!"
  John Spartan: "Ha! Good answer"
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• The Invisible Man: Claude Rains sucks down a secret formula that turns both him, and his name, invisible. He's forever known by his invisible moniker afterwards, and the name Claude Rains just doesn't have that spark anymore. Sadly, this also gave birth to Kevin Bacon in Hollow Man. Egads.
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• Ultraman: This Japanese supercop was part of the Science Patrol, and activated when the normal Hayata uses the Beta Capsule, and becomes the giant, ass-kicking monster fighting Ultraman. I guess they wanted to be sure you still knew he was a man.
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• The entire slew of comic book "mans": For decades there have been a slew of "man" (and "woman) characters spewing forth from the pages of comic books. They gave us Superman, Batman, Ant-Man, Wonder Man, Giant Man, Spider-Man, and pretty much everything-you-can-think-of man.