Directors are presented with many opportunities to helm a variety of projects. In Sam Mendes case he took on a film called Preacher, which never could get off the ground, and took a pass at The Avengers, which ended up becoming a blockbuster hit. But that’s okay, he can take comfort in knowing that Skyfall is a critical hit and is sure to be a box office smash stateside.

In an interview with Collider, Mendes explains why Preacher couldn’t get into production and why he passed on the chance to direct The Avengers.

Thwipster, an online deal-a-day geek site, is offering the first volume of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon‘s seminal anti-hero series Preacher for an astonishingly discounted price of $20.99 with a $3 shipping and handling rate. The standard retail price of the book is $39.99, so you’re saving 47 percent. If you’ve been waiting to find a great deal to get you started on this series, there is no better time than now. Check out the video at the bottom of this article to see some specifics about the book.

Thwipster is a great site, and I’ve already ordered two books from them in the past week. They are easily the cheapest place to find comics right now. For example, at the beginning of the week they were selling the first volume of Morning Glories by Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma for only $5.99, while last week they were selling Batman: Year 100 for $12.99. Thwipster offers a daily deal that goes up from midnight EST, which lasts 24 hours, considering it doesn’t sell out, of course.

ComiXology is running a sale this holiday weekend on select Vertigo titles.

Through Monday, July 4, 2011, you can get over 230 titles from the Vertigo comic book imprint for only $.99 an issue, including issues of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and its spin-off Lucifer, American Vampire, 18 issues of The Unwritten, Preacher, Northlanders, and much more. Issues 1-9 of Grant Morrison’s Animal Man are also included in this sale, with issue #1 being totally FREE.

You can check out this great deal through the Comics by comiXology app for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Android, the DC store at comiXology, and on comiXology’s web page.

A movie adaptation of Preacher has been talked about for so long that it’s rarely worth even bothering with news like this, but fans of the comic still hold on to hope that some day a faithful adaptation will find its way to the screen…or at least they did, until today that is.

According to director D.J. Caruso via his own Twitter account, he’s officially closed a deal to take on Preacher, making him the latest in a line of names attached to the movie at one point or another. Caruso is of course best known for his work on action/thrillers like Disturbia, Eagle Eye, and the new movie, I Am Number Four.

Would you watch Taskmaster and Preacher movies?

The A-Team director Joe Carnahan certainly hopes so.

Carnahan recently spoke to Superhero Hype about the Taskmaster adaptation he was working on with The A-Team producer Alex Young.

Taskmaster is a Marvel Comics villain who first appeared in 1980 in Avengers #195, and is a character that Carnahan considers to be “below the radar.”