Julia Garner has joined the cast of Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, which is now filming in Austin at Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios. Garner, an up-and-comer whose credits include Martha Marcy May Marlene and The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, will play a young stripper opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Johnny in the follow-up to 2005′s Sin City, adapted from Miller’s own graphic novel series.

Also onboard for Dimension Films’ October 4, 2013 release are Josh Brolin, Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, Dennis Haysbert, and Juno Temple, while Sin City vets Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Michael Madsen, Rosario Dawson, Jamie King, and Clive Owen are returning.

Garner made her feature debut in Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene and nabbed roles last year in Wallflower and Not Fade Away. She recently hit Park City with Jim Mickle’s cannibal pic We Are What We Are, bought by eOne out of Sundance last week. Garner also stars as a young Mormon teenager in Rebecca Thomas’s Berlin entry Electrick Children, which Phase 4 Films will be opening theatrically this March and will next be seen in CBS Films’ horror sequel The Last Exorcism 2, in theaters March 1. She is repped by Authentic Talent & Literary Management and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.

Ok, Sandy was coming all day yesterday, which gave me a chance to read and review some comics! Expect a few today and more throughout the week. Here’s some news to keep you busy until then.

Around the Blogs

Bleeding Cool – Sin City 2 Started Shooting Today, Some New Cast And Some Key Roles Still Empty – I’m here to hire!

CBR – Frank Grillo is Crossbones in “Captain America” Sequel – Could be interesting to see where this goes.

Bleeding Cool – The Comic Book Retailer VISA Gift Card Scam – Assholes, that really sucks.

Talking About Games – Digital Comics: The Way To Go? – Definitely for some.

Around the Tubes Reviews

CBR – Captain America & Black Widow #638

The Beat – Shadowman #1

The weekend is almost here and looks like there’s a few cons going on…. anyone going?

Around the Tubes:

Spinoff Online – Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson Returning For Sin City Sequel – Can’t wait for this.

Bleeding Cool – Chris Roberson Quits DC Comics – And that’s one way to quit…

Around the Tubes Reviews:

CBR – Avengers Vs. X-Men #2

CBR – The Sixth Gun #21

Paste Magazine – Comic Book & Graphic Novel Round-Up (4/18/12)

The weekend is almost here!  So excited….

Around the Blogs:

Bleeding Cool – So We Finally Know Who Loki’s Alien Army Are… But Does It Matter? – Yeah, still don’t know who they are and no, it doesn’t matter.

CBR – “Sin City” Sequel Officially Announced – About time.

SFGate – Cloud 9 Comix Brings Indie Comics to Android – Might have to check this one out.

The Mary Sue – Anti-Trust Suit Against Ebook Publishers That Aren’t Amazon Announced; Amazon Immediately Lowers Ebook Prices – Will see more digital comic price variation?

ICv2 - ‘Avengers’ Tracking For Big Opening – Have my tickets for a midnight showing.

Croydon Guardian – Gay superhero team launched by Upper Norwood artist – Nice to see this happening.

Around the Tubes Reviews:

CBR – Avenging Spider-Man #6

ICv2 – Is This A Zombie? Vol. 1

CBR – Thief of Thieves #3

IGN – Comic Book Reviews for 4/11/12

So I previously ranked the best comic book-based movies of Marvel and DC in the past, and I want to take it in another direction and exclude those two publishers to look at other comic book-based movies. I will NOT be including Manga or anime, since I don’t read those and I don’t watch the movies. For the Marvel and DC lists, I didn’t include any of their imprints, such as Icon or Vertigo, so I will be including them here. With that being said, here are the Top 5 Comic Book Movies That Are Not From Marvel or DC…

Honorable Mention: Alien vs. Predator (2004), American Splendor (2003), The Crow (1994), Ghost World (2001), Hellboy (2004), A History of Violence (2005), Road to Perdition (2002), Sin City (2005), The Spirit (2008), Wanted (2008)

5. 30 Days of Night (2007): I don’t usually like vampire films that much, but this one had such a great premise and tone, such great sets and effects and it was just plain scary that it is pretty close to being the best vampire movie of all time.

4. V for Vendetta (2006): About as good a dystopian film as has ever been made, this one improves upon the ideas that many have had before and really hits every note a movie like this should hit.

3. Men In Black (1997): Again, it’s hard to complain about anything in this movie. It has a great concept and plot, it masters the unlikely partner buddy cop thing like few movies ever had, it has great costumes and top-notch, groundbreaking special effects, it’s hilariously funny and has great action. And most importantly it has the amazing personality and chemistry of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.

2. Kick-Ass (2010): Some were turned off by the violence in this movie, but I really think that this is one of the better uses of violence in any film I’ve ever seen. The violence is excessive, but it’s done for effect and it helps remind you that the movie isn’t real, despite the realness of the story. It makes sure that you know you’re in a comic book world. The cast is great, the story is superb and the changes from the comic don’t bother me a whole lot.

1. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010): This is maybe one of the truest adaptations from comic to film that I’ve ever seen. There are some changes made, but they rarely are changes that deviate from the intention of the comic. The casting in this is superb and the movie itself looks great at all times, frequently taking shots directly from the comics and making them look both cinematic and comic-like. This is a movie I’m going to watch over and over and over again.