Monthly Archive: April 2008

UPDATE: Doctor Who Review: Season Four, Episode #1 – New Companions, Old Feelings

Holy time-wimey, wibbly-wobbily bits, Doctor! It looks like the BBC/Sci-Fi Channel schedules got the best of us here at ComicMix, so  in the interest of preventing any  more spoilers, we’re pulling this article off the site and re-posting it on Monday , April 28.

Thanks to ComicMix reader David and our own John Ostrander for catching the time-traveling mistake!

Be sure to check out the Season Four premiere (here in the U.S., that is) of Doctor Who on Friday, April 25, at 9 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel, then return here the following Monday for our analysis of the episode!

 

ComicMix Radio at NYCC: Familiar Faces and Plans for ’09

It was the homestretch here in New York City yesterday when we rounded up some of the biggest news items from New York Comic Con, including a new Farscape series, more Dark Tower from Marvel and Mark Waid on Spider-Man. We also spent a family-friendly minute with comics legend Joe Kubert.

Head back to the floor – just press the button!

 

 

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‘Farscape’ Comics on the Way

In the past few months, BOOM! Studios has had a spate of comics picked up for movie adaptations, but now that flow of comics-to-screen is reversing course. The publisher just announced a deal with the Jim Henson Company to create multiple four-issue series adapted from the sci fi TV show Farscape.

The show ran for four seasons before an abrupt cancellation, and the new comics look to expand on the untold parts of the story, according to the press release sent over from BOOM. The creative team hasn’t been announced, and the art at right is preliminary.

"Farscape took science fiction television to a new level and ushered in a whole host of shows that wouldn’t have been possible without Farscape‘s pioneering. As a long-time ‘Scaper’, I am incredibly excited to mine the dense universe of Farscape for new stories and adventures in comic book form," said BOOM! Marketing and Sales Director, Chip Mosher. "I watched the show as it came out, I bought the DVDs the day they hit the shelves, and I can’t frelling wait to publish these comics!"

The Farscape comic book series will be taking advantage of the upcoming webisodes to be produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with RHI Entertainment for SCIFI.COM. The webisode series will re-unite Farscape executive producer Brian Henson with creator Rockne S. O’Bannon.

Battlestar Galactica Interview: Mark Verheiden on Starbuck’s Relationships and Cylon Motives

Welcome to the latest installment of Battlestar Galactica Weekly, our recurring Q&A with Mark Verheiden, co-executive producer of the hit Sci-Fi Channel series Battlestar Galactica. Each week, we’ll interview Verheiden about the events of the week’s episode, what those events might mean for both the season and the series, and hopefully unearth some clues about what to expect as the final season of Battlestar Galactic nears its conclusion.

Along with posing our own questions to Verheiden, we’re also taking questions from fans — so be sure to send your questions to me, your official BSG Weekly interviewer, after each episode airs at chris [at] comicmix [dot] com. New episodes of Battlestar Galactica can be seen every Friday at 10 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel. You can view previous interviews via the links at the end of this article.

This week, Verheiden answers questions about the third episode of Season Four, "The Ties That Bind," which aired April 18, 2008. Note: These questions contain spoilers so read at your own risk.

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COMICMIX: (from reader Susan): It makes sense that you want to break Kara and Sam up to make way for Kara and Lee to get together in the final season, but what’s with her brutal treatment of him in this episode? In seasons two and three, it seemed like she truly cared about him in spite of her deeper feelings for Lee, now her behavior seems truly unsympathetic. Why is this continuing, while Lee/Dee got to end cleanly?

MARK VERHEIDEN: Kara has never been the most stable of characters. She’s been through and continues to go through some extremely difficult, frustrating experiences. Not the least of which involves disappearing for two months, being almost shot by the President, and now struggling to command a ship looking for…well, something she can’t quite put her finger on. 

It’s sort of a truism that you hurt the ones you love, and maybe Anders caught the brunt because he was the only one who stood there long enough so she COULD go off on him.  But please remember this is Battlestar Galactica, where emotional entanglements can change on a dime…

CMix (from reader Molly): Are Kara’s words to Sam, like when she tells him "she’s not the girl he married" meant to be taken at face value? I always thought that what she said in "Rapture" was true, that she loved and hated both Sam and Lee. And I liked that ambiguity as it made Kara more sympathetic.

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NYCC Photo Gallery: ‘Create Your Own Superhero’ Kids Day Event

Sunday afternoon, John Gallagher led a standing-room-only workshop for kids to create their own comic book heroes.  Gallagher, creator of Buzzboy and NASCAR Heroes, cited his own work as a model.  For example, his villain, Doc Cyber, a mad scientist, saw the error of his ways and decided to use his abilities for good, thus becoming a baker.  John then suggested his students create a character who is "just like you."

The results?  See for yourself!

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Review: ‘J. Edgar Hoover’ by Rick Geary

J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography
By Rick Geary
Hill & Wang/Serious Comics, 2008, $16.95

Rick Geary has spent the last decade quietly turning himself into America’s most prolific and accomplished historical cartoonist, primarily with his long sequence of “[[[A Treasury of Victorian Murder]]].” (If I were Larry Gonick, I’d be very careful crossing the street, knowing someone so accomplished, so talented, so close in the alphabet, and so well-versed in murder methods was out there.) But with [[[J. Edgar Hoover]]] Geary branches out slightly – he’s still within the world of crime and criminals, but he’s on the side of the “good guys” (more or less) and telling one life story instead of focusing on a particular crime.

Hoover was an exceptionally divisive figure throughout most of his life: loved by the law ‘n order crowd and loathed by those he spied on (which was nearly everyone to the left of Spiro Agnew). These days, though, I’d guess Hoover is mostly thought of as a quaint figure – the supposedly cross-dressing boogey man of someone else’s youth.

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Superman Blue … Archie Orange, by Mike Gold

In the comments section of my column of two weeks ago, I told Van Jensen that today’s broad spectrum of color could not be printed on the cheap toilet paper employed in the days of yore. That stuff would soak up ink like a spirit gets sucked into Harold Ramis’s ghost trap. Back in those days just after the invention of papyrus, color artists were limited to a palette of three values each of red, blue and yellow, plus black. Not a lot to work with.

Still, as Van implies, the end result was fine. It didn’t bother us, just as riding a horse to work didn’t bother us. Except… except … it bothered me.

To be specific, blue hair bothered me.

I understand why hair was blue: if it were black, it’d just look like Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne had a big blob of India ink atop their brainpans. You couldn’t make it look like hair, and not everybody could have brown, red, or blonde hair. The blue stuff was supposed to suggest highlights, but with a few dozen colors to choose from, what can you do?  (more…)

ComicMix Radio Interview: Marc Guggenheim on ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ and ‘Eli Stone’

Quick! Connect George Michael and Peter Parker using only one name!

The link is writer Marc Guggenheim, who in his off time from Amazing Spider-Man is pushing to get his ABC show, Eli Stone, renewed at ABC. Having a show in the shadow of Lost isn’t that easy!

 

 

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NYCC Photo Gallery: Writers, Directors, Producers and Stars

At the New York Comic Con this weekend there were plenty of fans roaming the halls and the show floor dressed as their favorite comics character, purchasing issues of their favorite comics and manga and attending informative panels about upcoming comics and movies.

There were also quite a few celebrities in attendance — and we have photos!

Check ’em out:

 Milo Ventimiglia of Heroes, producer of Devil’s Due Publishing Rest

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ComicMix Radio at NYCC: Interview with Tim Roth on ‘Incredible Hulk’

After the first Hulk film, fans are hoping for a feature closer to the characters they love. Actor Tim Roth grew up with Marvel Comics, which seems to be a good sign!

 

 

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