'Blackbeard' captures harsh realities of the high seas, circa 1700

These pirates don't wear mascara!

Indeed, one only has to look at the covers of Dynamite's outstanding new series, "Blackbeard: Legend of the Pyrate King," to realize this is a brutal, realistic tale that couldn't stand in starker contrast to "Pirates of the Caribbean" - the only successful pirate-themed entertainment vehicle in recent memory.

Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow stood out in the cartoonish, campy "Pirates" films with traits highlighted by his clownish nature and affinity for eyeliner.

"Blackbeard," on the other hand, invites the reader into the extremely harsh world of life on the high seas near Boston in the early 1700s. More than most stories involving pirates, "Blackbeard" - with absolutely incredible art by Mario Guevara - conveys the monumental challenges that something as simple as a storm can present to those trying to survive and thrive at sea.

Being stout of heart and strong of sinew are necessities for every man portrayed in these pages, since the slightest individual failure against the whipping winds and wicked waves can put the ship and every man aboard at risk.

The only thing more unforgiving than the elements is Captain Richards. Richards punishes his men so frequently and viciously for their failures that his lash is known as "The Devil's Hand." The flip side of Richards is Teach, a man distinguished by his nobility, loyalty to his men and . . . a black beard.

Teach is the kind of man who, rather than give up the names of the men who deserve a flogging in Richards' eyes, assumes responsibility for his men and demands he feel the sting of "The Devil's Hand" in their place.

Frustrated by what he sees as weakness in not allowing his men to be punished for their mistakes, Richards threatens to flog Mr. Woods - perhaps Teach's closest friend - unless he finally gets Teach to give up the name of one of his crew.

When Teach finally relents, the guilty party is flogged - and so is Woods as a lesson to Teach of the price of defying Richards.

When Woods dies as a result, Teach takes his first step toward becoming Blackbeard.

So far, this is one of the most rollicking adventures you will read in comics. Eduardo Sanchez (writer of "The Blair Witch Project") and Gregg Hale (producer of "The Blair Witch Project") have collaborated with Robert Napton and Jamie Nash to craft a world that couldn't help but create a man like Teach, who comes off as a cross between Jason Bourne and Jonah Hex. Readers should eagerly anticipate adventures that are not only worthy of him, but also inevitably transform him into Blackbeard.

"Blackbeard" is a treasure.

Dynamite's Joe Rybandt acknowledges that "Blackbeard: Legend of the Pyrate King" may take readers aback for a number of reasons. He first explained to Comics Guy why they chose to spell "Pyrate" that way.

"It's just a cool deviation of the spelling that we thought would fit well with the historical take on the character," he says.

As for those who wonder how Dynamite wound up with the creators of "The Blair Witch Project" doing a pirate comic, he cites writer Robert Napton as the link.

"He's done work with them and us and hooked us all up," says Rybandt. "These guys had been looking to get into comics for awhile and had a ton of ideas. We eventually ended up with 'Blackbeard'."

"The funny thing is, we started development of this before the pirate craze really hit full swing," he adds. "But either way, some things are timeless, despite their presence in pop culture or lack thereof. We just hit the upswing of this particular resurgence. But this isn't a cartoony adventure. This is the real deal."

Radical Publishing has announced that Sam Worthington ("Avatar") has signed on as both star and producer for the film adaptation of "The Last Days of American Crime," based on the soon-to-be-released comic series created and written by hot scribe Rick Remender.

Worthington's producing partners include Michael Schwarz and Radical President/Publisher Barry Levine. Remender will executive produce and write the film and Radical Vice President Jesse Burger will also executive produce.

"The Last Days of American Crime" is set in the not-too-distant future. As a final response to terrorism and crime, the U.S. government plans in secret to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts.

Three big pieces of the "Thor" casting puzzle have been filled. Variety reports that Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg, longtime friends of the Thunder God and fellow Asgardians, who usually work together as a team known as the Warriors Three, have been cast. Fandral will be played by Stuart Townsend. The job of Hogun goes to Tadanobu Asano and Volstagg will be portrayed by Ray Stevenson.

"Thor" is set to hit screens May 20, 2011.

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