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.

Many of us who grew up learning about the nine planets took Pluto's reclassification hard, championing it as a celestial underdog. Meanwhile, astronomers were left to grapple with the question of what defines a planet as such. Mark Sykes of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, suggests that Pluto's demotion by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) stems from a misconception that full-fledged planets are somehow unusual:

"We are [now] in the midst of a conceptual revolution," he says. "We are shaking off the last vestiges of the mythological view of planets as special objects in the sky - and the idea that there has to be a small number of them because they're special."

As we learn more about Pluto and about objects outside our solar system, astronomers may well learn that the other eight solar planets have much more in common with Pluto than with other celestial bodies that exceed it in size:

Sykes believes that missions currently en route to Pluto and the asteroid Ceres, which orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter, will reveal these dwarf planets as active and intricate worlds. Meanwhile, astronomers may find distant objects as large as Earth which the IAU would not define as planets.

This leaves many astronomers clamoring for the view that any planet large enough to be pulled into a sphere by its own gravity should be considered a planet. By this definition, not only would Pluto be a planet, so would Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris, all currently considered dwarfs.

Although the International Astronomical Union, which classifies celestial bodies, convenes this year for the first time since Pluto's demotion, its chief does not expect any challenges to Pluto's status. But in 2015, NASA's New Horizons missions will reach Pluto, giving us our first up-close look at the sphere, and perhaps making Pluto the little planet that could.

Is Pluto a planet after all? [New Scientist]

Anthony Wesley reports that he noticed the spot (seen at the top of the photo above) while observing Jupiter yesterday from his home observatory near Murrumbateman in New South Wales, Australia. Wesley, who had observed the planet two days earlier but had not seen the black spot, speculates that the spot might be an impact spot, possible the result of a comet or asteroid strike.

And, while Phil Plait, Bad Astronomy blogger and author of Death from the Skies!, initially cautioned excited armchair astronomers that the spot might be a mere weather event, he agrees that the emerging data seems to point to an actual impact.

Impact Mark on Jupiter

The Horde
I'm getting very excited for the zombies cops and robbers flick The Horde by Benjamin Rocher and Yannick Dahan. All of the set reports and stills we've seen so far have been lovely, and I'm hoping it's as pretty as it appears to be. The basic premise is a high rise stake-out/shoot-out between a gang of cops and a bushel of robbers has been interrupted by a herd of zombies. Will foe become friend to help escape the tower of doom? Who knows, but please let there be at least one French Mime zombie, please. Here's the latest teaser trailer:

Planet Of The Vampire Women
A cute little graphic poster and a few sexy stills have been released from this campy film, still in production. The vampire ladies themselves are band space pirates who:

pull off the ultimate heist only to crash into an unknown world. Finding themselves trapped on a storm-shrouded planet overrun with monsters, the intergalactic outlaws unknowingly awaken an unspeakable horror that causes the dead to walk...with an insatiable lust for blood!

For more stills check out Monster Island.

Humpty Dumpty
Remember a few weeks back when we talked all about alien rape and the film Humpty Dumpty? Well, new concept art was released of the backwater abode of Brakk Brothers Swamp House. We can only guess that this is the classy habitat of the villains that brutally assaulted a crashed down UFO, thus ending in the unholy human/alien half breed the movie is calling Humpty Dumpty.

Human Centipede

Ok now this is something so disturbing I'm not even 100% sure it does or should exist. The comedy Human Centipede is screening at London's Fright Fest (which is worth a look on it's own) and it's all about a mad scientist hell bent on making a real life human centipede by conjoining bodies butt to face, no seriously:

Outside the more outré work of Takashi Miike and David Cronenberg, you won't have seen anything quite like Dutch avant-garde artist Tom Six' totally bizarre off-the-wall oddity. Internationally respected Siamese twin surgeon Dr. Josef Heiter has a demented vision for mankind's future existence. He wants to remove human beings' kneecaps so they have to exist on all fours and then surgically graft them mouth-to-anus to form a centipede chain. When two stranded female Americans arrive at his luxury home-cum-hospital looking for help, his long-gestating plan swiftly moves into chilling action with a shocking force. Kidnapping a third Japanese male tourist he begins the tissue matches, teeth removal and buttock moulding to create his triplet creature… The First Sequence in Six's intended trilogy features truly unforgettable imagery, clinically dazzling direction and a so-far-round-the-bend mad doctor performance from German superstar Dieter Laser you'll scream. Behold the grotesque New Flesh. If you dare!

So, you can see where I had my doubts about the mere existence of this flick, and yet in these tiny pictures (I can't make them any bigger I'm sorry) you see a group of people with bandages on their knees, attached face to backside. Make of it what you will readers, it terrifies me.

Deadgirl

And finally, last week we showed you the new trailer for the deeply disturbing story about a group of teenaged boys and their love for a naked zombie girl tied up in their basement. In this new, highly NSFW clip, watch as one boy lovingly rubs dark lipstick all over his undead girls lips, because who wants to spend their days raping a zombie if she looks all tired?

Deadgirl is getting a small little release on July 24th, at these particular theaters:

Landmark Sunshine Cinema - NY
Screening July 24th & 25th @ midnight

Nuart Theater - LA
Screening July 24th @ midnight

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema - AUSTIN
Screening July 24th & 25th @ midnight

Landmark Tivoli - ST. LOUIS
Screening July 24th & 25th @ midnight

Music Box Theater - CHICAGO
Screening July 24th & 25th @ midnight

Grand Illusion - SEATTLE
Screening July 24th & 25th @ midnight

Inwood Theater - DALLAS
Screening July 24th & 25th @ midnight

River Oaks Theater - HOUSTON
Screening July 24th & 25th @ midnight

Fantasia Film Festival - MONTREAL
Screening July 24th @ midnight

Note: As always, this includes a few fantasy movies that are set in the present day, involve technology, or feature an urban setting. Feel free to let us know what we missed!

January:

Outlander (Jan. 23)

What's it about? An alien (Jim Caviezel) crashlands in the middle ages, and has to rally a bunch of Viking warriors to fight an escaped alien monster. Dude.

Early indications: The long, long delay in its U.S. release may not be the best sign for this film, or it may just mean the Weinsteins don't know what they have on their hands. Early reviews have been sort of lukewarm. Clips look fun and cheesy, mostly in a good way. My guess is, it's either a fun ride, or it's this year's Doomsday. Either way, I'll be there on opening day.

February:

Coraline (Feb. 6)

What's it about? Based on the Neil Gaiman book, this stop-motion animated movie follows a girl (Dakota Fanning) who finds a secret door to an alternate version of her real life.

Early indications: Meredith just saw it and said it was amazingly beautiful and cool. John Hodgman seems to be having a blast as both versions of Coraline's dad. Check out this trailer:

Push (Feb. 6)

What's it about? Teens with mental superpowers (like telekinesis and clairvoyance) flee from a secret organization that wants to exploit them. Luckily, they wind up in Hong Kong, where cool fight scenes just naturally happen. (It's true. I used to live there.)

Early indications: At first it looked like Jumper meets Heroes, but everything I hear about this film's weird use of mental powers (false memories, spontaneous embolisms, telekinetic gunfights) sounds more and more fun.

Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li (Feb. 27)

What's it about? It's a Street Fighter spinoff, focusing on the kicky young fighter (Kristin Kreuk).

Early indications: Well, we just posted the trailer at last. And apparently, there's a whole coming-of-age story about Chun-Li overcoming her thirst for revenge. Best case scenario: it could be a fun-but-dumb action movie. You don't really want to know what the worst case scenario is.

March:

Watchmen (March 6)

What's it about? Like you don't know. The graphic novel, by Dave Gibbons and that guy who wants nothing to do with it, gets an adaptation by Zack (300) Snyder. In an alternate 1985 where Nixon is still president, someone is killing current and former superheroes, and it turns out to be part of a bigger coverup.

Early indications: The footage looks very, very pretty. Snyder, and all the actors, are totally committed to presenting the story and characters as they are in the graphic novel (with one important change.) The only question, really, is will all of those random pieces of brilliance build up to a shining mosaic, like they do in the comic, or will they remain just random pieces of brilliance? (Oh, and will Fox let the movie come out on time?)

Race To Witch Mountain (March 13)

What's it about? A reboot of the classic old series, where a cab-driver (The Rock) picks up two telekinetic kids who have to get back to their spaceship before the government (and a Master Chief-looking guy) hunt them down.

Early indications: The trailer is cute, with the requisite robo-talking kids. It's a Disney movie starring The Rock. What do you want?

Knowing (March 20)

What's it about? Nic Cage is a guy whose son digs up a time capsule that includes some mysterious numbers which some kid wrote down in the 1950s. They predict every disaster that's ever happened — including some doozies that are on the way.

Early indications: The trailer hasn't wowed me; it looks a lot like National Disaster. On the other hand it's Alex (Dark City) Proyas.

Monsters Versus Aliens (March 27)

What's it about? A 3-D animated adaptation of the comic book Rex Havoc And The Ass-Kickers Of The Fantastic, this film follows a group of monsters (including Hugh Laurie's Dr. Cockroach PhD) who have to defeat an invading alien (Rainn Wilson).

Early indications: We couldn't possibly be more excited about this one, based on the trailer and featurette we've seen.

April:

Dragonball (April 8)

What's it about? Goku (Justin Chatwin) has to hunt down seven Dragonballs before the evil Lord Piccolo (the weirdly made up James Marsters) gets them. They fight, and fight, and fight and fight and fight.

Early indications: Every time we post about this movie, the collective eye-rolling sounds like a million Dragonballs rolling toward a bottomless money pit.

Crank: High Voltage (April 17)

What's it about? Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) didn't die at the end of Crank, all indications to the contrary. Instead, he had his superpowered heart stolen by an elderly Chinese gangster, and replaced with a car battery or something. Chev has to keep jolting himself with electricity to stay alive, but he still finds time to hang out with strippers.

Early indications: This movie is the reason Jason Statham exists. Forget dross like Death Transporter — he should be shocking us and his battery heart at the same time. If this film isn't a disgusting, bizarre mess that I want to see three times, I'll be terribly disappointed.

May:

X-Men: Origins: Wolverine (May 1)

What's it about? What it sounds like — the origin of Marvel's stabbiest mutant, whose skeleton (and claws) get replaced with super-hard adamantium in a military project. And then he goes rogue. Of course.

Early indications: Well, it has a Wolvie jumping from a burning truck onto a helicopter. And merc-with-a-mouth Deadpool shows up. My guess is, it'll be slightly better than X-Men 3.

Star Trek (May 8)

What's it about? We get to see James Kirk (Christopher Pine) evolve from arrogant flakewad to suave leader of men and women. Plus, Leonard Nimoy's elderly version of Spock shows up to help out the younger, prettier version played by Zachary Quinto.

Early indications: You already know if you're excited for this shiny, retro-looking Trek, complete with an "Apple Store" bridge. On the one hand, some of the comedy sounds pretty broad and Pine's Kirk may actually be too immature for his own good. On the other hand, the space battles look better than any we've seen in years, and Quinto actually seems to work better as Spock than he does as Sylar these days.

Terminator Salvation (May 22)

What's it about? It's 2018, and John Connor is stepping up to lead the fight against Skynet. But the presence of another time traveler named Marcus (Sam Worthington) throws all of Connor's convictions into doubt.

Early indications: Lots of skeptics seem to have been converted by the early footage, and our first glimpses at the Harvester, the Moto-Terminators and the Hydrobots. At the very least, there will be cool robot attacks in a ruined wasteland, and there may actually be a meaty story about John Connor struggling with his destiny amidst alternate timelines.

June:

Land Of The Lost (June 5)

What's it about? A remake of the Krofft Superstore show about explorers who find of dinosaurs and reptilian Sleestaks.

Early indications: We read some of the script, and it read like a standard Will Ferrell buddy comedy, with Anna Friel along for the ride. The Sleestaks look cute, at least.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (June 26)

What's it about? A sequel to the Shia LaBoeuf vehicle about big robots that turn into cars, among other things.

Early indications: If you disliked the first Transformers, you'll probably hate this one like eye cancer. I kind of liked the first movie, but this one may or may not deliver. On the one hand, it has more robots and bigger robots, plus more delving into Transformer mythology. On the other hand, Jonah (Superbad) Hill took one look at the script and bailed out of the film.

2012 (July 10)

What's it about? John Cusack is a cab driver/aspiring writer who discovers the world is ending, in this movie by Roland (Day After Tomorrow) Emmerich.

Early indications: Well, the trailer looks kind of silly, but the early script reviews are totally damning. At this point, an Emmerich film would need glowing early buzz to get me excited anyway.

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (July 17)

What's it about? The latest film (delayed from last December) in the Harry Potter series follows the young wizard as he finally learns the secrets of the virtually unkillable Voldemort.

Early indications: It's directed by David Yates, also helmer of 2007's Order Of The Phoenix and next year's Deathly Hallows. The featurettes and trailer look pretty great.

They Came From Upstairs (July 31)

What's it about? A group of teens on vacation (including High School Musical's Ashley Tisdale) discover an alien invasion is happening, and they're the only ones who can stop it. Because everyone else is under alien mind control. Or something.

Early indications: Well, it's got a cute chick, and a cute CG alien (right). If you like HSM and alien invasions, it might be pretty good.

G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra (August 7)

What's it about? An elite squad of soldiers (wearing power armor) face off with the terrorist organization Cobra, which wants to unleash a nano-bomb full of nanites that will eat everything in their path. And there are ninjas. And a Baroness.

Early indications: It has silly costumes. It has Marlon Wayans as Ripcord, in a comedy subplot. It has Christopher Eccleston and Joseph Gordon-Levitt acting their little hearts out as the villains. The only person who's seen a trailer so far called it "horrible."

September:

Game (Sept. 4)

What's it about? This delayed film follows Gerard Butler (300) as a convict forced to take place in a real-life video game, where he's controlled by viewers thanks to a chip in his head. But there's an underground movement, led by Ludacris, fighting to end this injustice and close Thunderdome or whatever.

Early indications: Early reviews say the film is beyond boring.

9 (Sept. 9)

What's it about? A group of rag dolls struggle to survive under attack from deadly robots, in a world where humans have died off. It's an expanded version of an acclaimed short film, produced by Timur Bekmambetov and Tim Burton.

Early indications: Few people had even heard of this film a month ago, but since the trailer came out, it's suddenly become a hotly anticipated film. Weirdly, it does look like the sort of thing both Bekmabetov and Burton would love.

The Surrogates (Sept. 25)

What's it about? Based on a little-known graphic novel, this movie takes place in a future world where nobody goes out — instead they use robotic "surrogate" to interact with the world. A cop (Bruce Willis) is forced to venture outside himself, for the first time in years. Complete with horrible wig.

Early indications: The first images look intriguing, and our exclusive first look at the robots was intriguing. Producer Elizabeth Banks (star of Zack And Miri) says it's Blade Runner-ish. On the other hand, director Jonathan Mostow is best known for Terminator 3.

October:

Zombieland (Oct. 9)

What's it about? Weirdly, there are two movies called Zombieland in production. This isn't the zany Woody Harrelson movie, which comes out in 2010. Instead, this one stars Brad Dourif (the psycho from Star Trek: Voyager and many horror movies) as someone who turns a funeral home into a zombie tourist attraction.

Early indications: No clue. Brad Dourif gives good psycho though.

Astro Boy (Oct. 23)

What's it about? A CG animated movie based on the anime classic about a Pinnochio-bot who gets turned out of his home and goes on wacky adventures.

Early indications: The super-brief teaser trailer looked fun, and the concept art promises some demented-looking robots and painterly vistas.

November:

The Box (Nov. 6)

What's it about? Based on a Richard Matheson story (and a Twilight Zone episode), this film follows a young couple (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) who get a box with a button. If they press the button, they get a jillion dollars — and someone they don't know dies.

Early indications: It's directed by Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko). Maybe having to stick somewhat more closely to a Matheson short story will lift Kelly out of his Southland Tales delirium. We can hope.

The Wolfman (Nov. 6)

What's it about? Benicio Del Toro is a wolfman. Grrr.

Early indications: Yet another movie hit with delays, this time due to post-production problems with the transformation effects. Judging from the quotes on IMDB, it sounds like Anthony Hopkins and Del Toro get to gnaw scenery, with lines like "I am what I say I am. A monster," and "The prodigal son returns," and "I will kill all of you!"

New Moon (Nov. 20)

What's it about? The second movie in the uber-successful Twilight series, based on Stephenie Meyer's mega-selling books.

Early indications: Well, director Catherine Hardwicke got dropped, supposedly because she wanted to spend more than 50 cents and a few minutes on special effects. I honestly don't know how they can have this film in theaters by November.

Planet 51 (Nov. 20)

What's it about? Another animated film. The Rock is an astronaut who lands on an alien planet where it's the 1950s and everybody's xenophobic. Everybody thinks he's an invader. So he has to befriend a little alien boy.

Early indications: Well, it might be better than Space Chimps. The early stills look sort of cheap but cute. See above: it's a kids' movie with The Rock.

December:

Avatar (Dec. 18)

What's it about? The film James Cameron has been working on for the past ten years, where a disabled ex-marine (Sam Worthington) takes on an "avatar," or alien shape, that lets him walk among the aliens on a distant planet. Sigourney Weaver and Zoe Saldana co-star.

Early indications: Cameron has been talking up the enormous technical breakthrough in 3-D filming and motion capture his film will involve. Weaver sounds jazzed about her character and the overall storyline. But even Cameron himself warns: "I don't know whether it will be a great film from a narrative and critical standpoint. The experience of Avatar will be an experience unlike any other movies." My guess is, it won't be as great as Aliens or Terminator 2, but it could still be the best film of the year.

No release date:

The Road (??)

What's it about? The adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel about a father and son struggling to survive in a world where everything's fallen apart.

Early indications: Yet another delayed film, because of post-production issues. It looks like the film will really push the bleak setting and dissheveled protagonists to the limit. Early script reviews say it could be the most important post-apocalyptic film — and the darkest — of all time. If they don't ruin it in the editing room.

The traditional theory has been that comets and other debris get caught in Jupiter’s gravity well and neutralized by the immense planet. But that theory has come under fire in the past year, and new simulations indicate that Jupiter’s gravitational field could be doing more harm than good:

Using a model of some 40,000 planetesimals, Kevin Grazier of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and his colleagues found that debris in the outer solar system initially had circular orbits and posed no threat to Earth or the other inner planets early in the history of the solar system. But the researchers showed that, through a series of close gravitational encounters with the outer planets, especially Jupiter, the objects assumed more elongated orbits and were handed down to the inner solar system.

In the simulation, Jupiter was responsible for most of the debris that entered in the inner solar system. And, dinosaur-killing comets aside, such debris may have had an impact on the development of our planet:

Not all of the bullets were destructive, Grazier emphasizes. Some of the material that had been delivered to Earth from the outer solar system contained water and other compounds that could have helped life to gain a foothold.

Sniping at Jupiter [via Science Not Fiction]

Artist Mark Goerner paints concept art for film and illustration projects, and in his spare time he likes to paint desolate images like the one above. In fact, this is the first part in a series of paintings that follow the aftermath of the moon crashing to the Earth through Spring, Summer, and Autumn.

The scenario starts with the effect of a meteorite's collision with one of the planet's moons as the catalyst for a series of events that would get the process of organic reanimation started. Imagine the fragments of a moon falling out of orbit, dashing across the planet's surface, and burrowing into the tectonic plates causing massive volcanoes and the release of giant gas clouds and dust.

You play through the game as weaponless systems engineer Isaac Clarke aboard the USG Ishimura, and not only to you have to survive the onslaught of demon hordes out in space, but you also have to seal up their doorway so they can't get back out. All in a day's work. It seems like spacefaring folks don't ever have things go that well. Just ask anyone in the Doom universe. However, we sure wouldn't mind having a Planetcracker to fly around.

• Richard Cook, designer of MSL, said that it's three times heavier than Spirit and Opportunity, the two rovers currently on Mars right now. It's powered by nuclear energy, designed to last 20 years, travel 10 km, and comes equipped with a laser for vaporizing rocks so it can do chemical and mineralogical analysis on them. "We call it the death ray," he confessed. Joked NASA Jet Propulsion Lab Director Charles Elachi, "In a few years people will be visiting Mars and see bullet holes all over the place [from the laser]."
• When Cook and his team were designing Spirit and Opportunity, they wanted to do what he called a "built to print," meaning to the specs on paper. They wanted to base it on the model they'd developed for Sojourner, the previous generation Martian rover. But immediately they figured out that wouldn't work, especially with the more-complicated MER rovers, since they still had to fit inside a small lander. "it's hard to take a rover and put it inside a tetrahedron," Cook said with a laugh, referring to the shape of the lander.
• The MSL rover, which will blast off next year, will be able to do experiments that tell us a lot more about Martian water sources. It can do gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS). It has an onboard camera.
• Steve Squyres said he was disappointed when Spirit landed in Gusev Crater, which he hoped would be a lakebed. Instead, it was covered in a layer of lava rocks. "I believe the lakebed is there, but it's covered in lava," he said. Luckily, Spirit was able to make it to the Columbia Hills nearby to study a wide variety of rocks.
• Some of the rocks that Spirit studied show strong evidence of having been saturated by water, probably steam. Most likely, the hit that created the Gusev Crater shot a bunch of superhot rocks out to the Columbia Hills, and these melted ground water into steam.
• "When we talk about water on Mars, what we really mean is sulfuric acid," Squyres explained with a grin.
• There is absolutely no doubt that there has been water on Mars, Squyres said, but the fact is that the ratio of water to rocks has always been very low. One piece of compelling visual evidence he showed us was from a study of the sorts of patterns water leaves in soil over years of flowing on it. He compared images of a characteristic, smile-shaped pattern created by waters from the Colorado River with images from rocks on Mars. The smile shapes and sizes were nearly exactly the same.
• The rover Opportunity is currently at the Victoria Crater, where it is studying layers in the cliffs to learn more about the geological history of Mars. Some layers make it clear that water did at one point saturate the planet's surface. The walls of the crater are so steep that scientists have to pilot the rover based on satellite images taken by a recently-arrived spacecraft. He showed us images from the spacecraft, which are so high-resolution that you can see Opportunity and the shadow of its antenna at the edge of the crater.
• About the Victoria Crater mission, Squyres said, "It takes a lot of guts to drive an 8 hundred million dollar piece of equipment along the edge of a cliff on another planet."
• Andrew Knoll said that the real question isn't whether there has been water on Mars, because surely there has been. The question is whether that water is habitable for life as we know it.
• Unfortunately for people who want to meet alien life, the prognosis is not good. Chemical and mineral evidence suggests that water on the planet is so salty and acidic that it wouln't support any organisms we know. "Water on Mars would be challenging for life as we know it," he said.
• Knoll added that water could have flowed on Mars if it was extremely salty because salt lowers the freezing point of water. Or it could have flowed as a result of asteroid hits that temporarily melted ice.
• MSL will do more definitive mineral analysis to determine what the chemical composition of Martian water might have been (or might be).
• There has been a lot of debate over the Martian "gullies," structures that look like they were cut into the Martian surface with water. Squyres said, "Some were created during the last five years and look like they've been created by water. But all the ones we've looked at have slopes that suggest they were probably caused by avalanche not water."

It's a tale of two planets, Earth and Arkanar, who live together in brotherly love and all that boring jazz until a bitter war broke out between the two worlds. Afterwards, the Earth ages, matures and develops things like technology, computers, and digital watches. However, Arkanar stays rooted in medieval-era weaponry and warfare and starts stagnating. No one know why until the forces on Earth decide to send a spy to Arkanar, and guess who you get to play? It sounds a bit like Assassin's Creed where you get "regressed" back into the a similar era inside your head, except this time you get to take a blaster, a missile pod, or a hand grenade with you.

This might be the closest that a game has come to sticking you into a Harry Turtledove novel, except you have to also unravel the mystery of Arkanar's situation to boot. Bonus points if your character gets to brandish a laser rifle and tell everyone "This is my BOOMSTICK!"

This film marks the first time that New Line will be venturing into the waters dominated by Disney/Pixar and Dreamworks Animation, and interestingly enough it was written by Joe Stillman, who wrote both Shrek and Shrek 2 for Dreamworks. The film will be directed by Jorge Blanco, who created the Commandos video games for the PlayStation 2 back in 1998.

New Line will apparently be activating their marketing juggernaut for the film. Ilion CEO Ignacio Perez Dolset said, "The deal has been made with the objective on everybody's part of going out on no fewer than 3,000 screens."

That means New Line will be spending an amount of money equal to the budget or more in an effort to put people in the seats and sell a ton of Planet 51 merchandise and video games. Let's hope they fare better than Fox did when they released Titan A.E. That sci fi animated film tanked in 2000, and single-handedly shut down Fox Animation Studios. Still, New Line won't be selling their shirts for this one, since they're only buying the U.S. distribution rights.

Based on the pictures they've released, and if they're able to attach some A-list voice talent, they might give the other players in the CGI pool a run for their money. If Planet 51 manages to capture any of the whimsy of The Iron Giant, we're in.

New Line Lands On 'Planet 51' [Variety]