I was just surfing around online yesterday and I saw this trailer for this movie that looks kind of cool. It's called "The Dark Knight Rises." Anyone heard of it? Is it supposed to be good?

Less than 3 weeks remain before the ridiculously-hyped and highly-anticipated final installment of Christopher Nolan's critically-acclaimed Batman trilogy reaches theaters. In my final installment of the "What You Should Read" series for summer 2012, I have prepared a few titles that could enhance your experience with The Dark Knight Rises. These should help familiarize you with some of the stories and characters that may have inspired TDKR. Or, perhaps you're like me and just can't wait.

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Next week on July 3, Sony's relaunched Spider-Man franchise with The Amazing Spider-Man debuts starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. Already, the film has received very positive reviews, and is expected to do well for the Spider-Man name.

As a fresh take on the hero, fans old and new can treat this as a jumping-on point without regard for the Tobey Maguire movies. Whether to re-familiarize yourself with the classic icon, or to discover his virtues, now is a great time to start reading some classic Spider-Man stories. He's one of Marvel's most iconic heroes with almost 50 years of continuity behind him, so there's plenty from which to choose. I've compiled a short list of those stories I think will will best prepare you for the movie — whether to improve your notice of fanservice, or to get you more excited!

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It's finally here! In just four short days, Joss Whedon's "The Avengers" will hit movie theaters nationwide and officially kick off the summer movie season. If you're like me, you're already flying through back issues and trades to psych yourself up for the movie. If you're just a casual fan or someone who's only followed the movies, I can only imagine that choosing source material to read would appear insurmountable, especially for those lesser known heroes the movies haven't yet touched on. Here's a few key stories that you should take a look at if you're interested in getting a feel for some of the characters you'll be seeing in The Avengers.

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MOGO DIES. Crickets everywhere suddenly feel self-conscious about being so loud. Alan Moore gets mad again. Few people take notice, yet the story surrounding this particular death and its consequences continues to affect the Green Lantern Corps in a noticeable way.

SUPERMAN DIES. Suddenly, people everywhere who grew up reading Superman comics, watching Superman cartoons, movies, or TV shows stand up and take notice. Superman dies?! How can it be?

A few months later, he comes back to life.

What motivates changes in the world of comics? For A-list heroes like Superman, Batman, Captain America and Iron Man, it's a want for sales. For B-listers like Deadman, Dr. Strange and Daredevil, it's a want for story. In fortunate circumstances the two motivations lead to similar outcomes, but as readers seeking quality, we must pay most attention to those latter cases. B-listers need your support to keep doing great things for comics.

There is a reason why heroes like Wolverine, Green Lantern, The Incredible Hulk, and The Flash always get solo titles propelled forward into the public eye. These characters are classics - iconic in every sense of the word. They have movies, TV shows, cartoons, merchandise, theme park rides and worldwide recognition & adoration. They're forever embedded into popular culture as the mythic heroes of our era, akin to ancient heroes like Herakles, Perseus and Medea.

But what about those other characters? You know, the supporting cast members. The teammates on the Avengers, the X-Men, the JLA and the JSA who always seem to do a lot of the grunt work so someone like Cap or Supes can deliver the final blow. Don't they deserve their time in the spotlight too?

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