Radiation from the largest solar flare in six years will be hitting planet Earth today. This, of course, means that many of us will be getting new super powers. Some of the effects will be immediate, while others will see their powers manifest over a longer period of time. Since a number of us are about to become Übermensch, I thought it would be a great time to discuss the superhero powers of your dreams.

As for me, I’m going to go with Wonder Man’s ionic powers. The dude is pretty much immortal and invulnerable since he’s made of ionic energy. Not having to eat, drink, or breathe is handy too — super useful for apocalyptic events and alien invasions. And to be completely honest, this choice is mostly derived from picking up Peter David’s underrated My Fair Super Hero from the discount rack at the comic-book store recently.

Now it’s your turn! As your body is bombarded with an unusually high amount of solar radiation today, what kind of super powers are you hoping to get?

In case you missed any of the “Best of 2011″ stories, here are links to your fellow RPadholics’ picks for the best game, videogame graphics, videogame sound, movie, and gadget. While you’re here, feel free to leave any “Best of 2011″ choices that weren’t covered last week. From your favorite comic book, Netflix rental, TV show, sports team, coffee, fast food, WWE Superstar, and more, use this post to get 2011 out of your system (please)!

Here’s the latest trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. Loads of my friends are raving about it, but it doesn’t do much for me. I don’t think it’s bad at all, but I’m not blown away like some of my friends are. Also, I hate Bane’s mask. I mostly dislike Bane’s entire outfit. Surprisingly, I’m mostly unmoved by the trailer.

How about you? How do you feel about the new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises?

It looks like Booster Gold will be the next comic-book superhero making his way to television. I never thought I’d type a sentence like that. As many of you know, Justice League International is one of my all-time favorite comic books. The hilarious team of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold was a huge reason why. I’m a big Booster booster, but I still can’t believe that someone ordered a script for a show. Here’s more from The Hollywood Reporter:

Syfy is looking to bring Booster Gold to life on the small screen. The NBCUniversal cable network has ordered a pilot script for the one-hour drama based on the DC Comics franchise.

The story will center on Booster Gold, a washed-up athlete from the future who travels back to the present in hopes of becoming the greatest super hero of all time. Instead of chasing criminals, however, his main priority is chasing fame and money. But Booster Gold discovers that being a hero takes more than just a megawatt smile, and that the future doesn’t happen without first protecting the present.

I’m excited and scared all at once. I love that a minor character like Booster is getting a shot at mainstream glory. I want the show to get green lit and charm America, but I have my doubts. Most people don’t know who Booster Gold is and it will be hard to get them to care. Remember, Birds of Prey had a great debut and quickly fizzled. I’m not even sure a show about Booster Gold will do as well as that…but I’d love to be wrong.

What do you think about Booster Gold getting green lit for a pilot? What obscure comic-book character will be next? Blue Devil?!?

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Any of you digging the updated look? Or are you disappointed. Please let me know what you think of Bane’s costume from The Dark Knight Rises?

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DC Comics’ “The New 52″ is still entertaining the hell out of me. In fact, yesterday’s release of Justice League #2 made me laugh out loud. Comic books provide me with so much entertainment, but usually not the “LOL” kind. Check out the panel above. It’s fantastic. Batman is doing his detective thing. Flash is being earnest, wholesome, and helpful. Green Lantern is being brash — acting first without thinking of the consequences. The characterization is perfect and I found the whole thing hilarious.

Comic books rule.

Today’s Coffee Talk was inspired by a post from RPadholic Thundercracker and seconded by N8R. The former asked me about my favorite comic-book artist and the latter suggested that the topic should get its own Coffee Talk. Well here it is! Unfortunately, I don’t have much to contribute. I enjoy looking at comic-book art and appreciate it, but I’m so awful at drawing that a lot of it is beyond me. I like to write and reading is one of the best ways to improve writing. For example, my blogging style is influenced by the writing of Mark Waid, Peter David, and Brian Michael Bendis (love my parenthesis!).

As far as artists go, I dig the technical proficiency of guys like Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane. That said, I enjoy Frank Miller’s stuff too; his pencils aren’t the sharpest, but his style is so distinct. I like artists that use exaggerated styles like Ed McGuiness and Humberto Ramos. Mark Waid’s comedic writing in Impulse was perfectly complemented by Ramos’ playful art style. Of course I love Alex Ross’ paintings. Should I win the lottery, I would pay Ross to paint one of my walls.

Now it’s your turn! Who are some of your favorite comic-book artists?

Here’s the official trailer for The Avengers. It looks like it’ll be completely awesome or an all-over-the-place mess. That’s my take anyway. I want to know what you think, true believer! Kindly leave a comment with your thoughts on The Avengers trailer.

It has come to my attention that a lot of you have recently had the opportunity to read Preacher, an outstanding comic-book series written by Garth Ennis and illustrated Steve Dillon. This is one of my favorite comics of all time and I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. So let’s have a book-of-the-month club discussion, Opera style!

While I really enjoyed Dillon’s art, it’s Ennis’ writing that truly dazzled me. Preacher’s storytelling is just a wonderfully unique blend of clever, creative, ridiculous, obscene, violent, caring, and emotional elements. Throughout the series, I was continually amazed by how deftly Ennis moved from feeling to feeling. He created an interesting world with characters that you’ll never forget.

Out of all the characters in Preacher, Cassidy was by far my favorite. A large part of this is because during the height of Preacher’s popularity, I was spending an inordinate amount of time in NYC Irish pubs. He reminded me of a lot of bartenders I knew. Plus, Cassidy had so much range. He was instantly likable, almost always made me laugh, disappointed me with some of his actions, generated pity with others, and had a touching redemption at the end. He’s definitely the coolest vampire I’ve ever read. How awesome would it be to have a Cassidy limited series where he kicks the crap out of all the characters in Twilight?

Whether you’ve read Preacher recently or devoured it in the past, kindly share your thoughts on this outstanding series in the comments section. Also, when the hell is HBO going to green light a Preacher series?!?

Anyway, head on over to The Daily Mail if you have a chance, check out the photos, and let me know what you think.

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