Yearly Archive: 2008

Last ComicMix Baltimore trade paperbacks on sale

  • News
  • October 3, 2008

As we previously mentioned, we printed special editions of Grimjack: The Manx Cat, Jon Sable Freelance: Ashes of Eden, and the Harvey-nominated EZ Street for this year’s Baltimore Comic-Con, limited to a print run of 100 for each title. And just as quickly, there were people asking if they were going to be available if they couldn’t get to the show.

The answer is yes– we’re now selling the remaining copies here. GrimJack and Sable are priced at $25 each, EZ Street sells for $35. Just click on the buttons below to add the books to a PayPal shopping cart. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, debit cards, and PayPal.

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We have very few copies left, so once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Zack Snyder on ‘300’ Sequel/Prequel

  • News
  • October 3, 2008

With the wild success of Zack Snyder’s 300, it’s hardly a surprise that there’s a sequel in the works. Yes, most of the cast is dead by story’s end, but before you call call madness, remember that this, is, SPARTA!! we’re talking about here.

IESB caught up with Snyder at a Watchmen event in Hollywood the other day, and got his two cents on the film’s follow-up. According to the director, development on the film project will only occur when Frank Miller has finished writing and illustrating the graphic novel’s sequel. Snyder wants Miller to have full creative control of the novel’s story, as was the case with 300.

It’s hard to imagine a sequel to 300 with Leonidas and the gang considering the film’s ending. There’s been speculation that the project would be a prequel rather than a sequel, thereby allowing Leonidas to return to fight again. Snyder set the record straight by pegging the film’s timeline between the Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Platea. In the film’s final narration, which takes place just before the Battle of Platea, Dilios reveals that Leonidas "died barely a year ago." Snyder says that the sequel will take place during this time, so the odds of Leonidas returning are pretty slim unless it’s in rotting carcass form.

300, based on a graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller, is a dramatization of the famous Battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartan warriors battled against the Persian Empire. The film, released in March 2007, was the biggest March opening weekend of all time and the third biggest opening for an R-rated picture. The untitled sequel will be based on an as yet completed graphic novel, also by Frank Miller.

The Doctor Seeks the Eternity Crystal in Multi-Platform Experience

  • News
  • October 3, 2008

Doctor Who is journeying somewhere new, even for him.  A multi-platform adventure known as The Darksmith Legacy kicks off as a book and online experience for fans of the Time Lord.

Fans who want the fill experience will need to register online and create an avatar so they can participate in the adventure by completing tasks, earning points and helping the Doctor when things get most dire.  Collaboration with other fans online to earn extra points will release exclusive content and assist in the Quest to keep the precious Eternity Crystal safe from the dangerous Darksmith Collective. It’s the cyber equivalent of clapping your hands if you believe in fairies.

Fans can log in at a special website www.thedarksmithlegacy.com starting in mid-November.  Meantime, the book component will be ten volumes, with the first two being released in January and then one per month throughout 2009. Penguin UK will be releasing the books with no known American publishing announced. (more…)

Big Screen Bears

  • News
  • October 2, 2008

kung-fu-panda-2We just love bears here at ComicMix. Be it real bears, scary bears, Gummi Bears or Care Bears, we can’t get enough of these furry fellas! That’s why we’re pleased as punch to report that two famous bears are coming to a big screen near you.

Up first, Warner Bros. has announced a live-action feature version of Yogi Bear, based on the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Ash Brannon (Surf’s Up) is attached to direct, while Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia (Tooth Fairy, executive producers on That 70’s Show) are writing the screenplay. The film is said to be a live-action/animated hybrid along the lines of the recent Alvin and the Chipmunks. Yogi, who first appeared on The Huckleberry Hound Show before launching his own series in 1961, will be done in CG alongside his sidekick, Boo Boo. The majority of the film will be shot in live action.

And panda lovers will be happy to learn that a sequel to DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda is officially in the works. Set for release on June 3, 2011, Panda 2 will be released in 3-D on both regular and IMAX screens worldwide. Jack Black, Angelina Jolie and other voice cast members will reunite for the sequel. Panda veteran Jennifer Yu Helson has signed to direct, while producer Melissa Cobb and co-producers/writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger are also set to return. Kung Fu Panda 2 will compete against Disney/Pixar’s Cars 2, also set for release in summer 2011.

If you can’t wait that long for more Panda action, all you have to do is wait until November 9 when the original film is released on two-disc DVD and Blu-ray. The package includes an original companion story, Secrets of the Furious Five. Ska-doosh.

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ComicMix Radio: Mortal Kombat, DC Universe – FIGHT!

mk-7218976It’s just over five weeks until the long-awaited Mortal Kombat vs DCU game gets in our hands, and we’ve got even more fuel on the fire to get you pumped including the real truth why Superman won’t be the strongest character, plus:

  • Johnny Depp as Tonto and a new role for Buffy
  • Dick Grayson TV hunk
  • One more time for The Partridge Family

     

Kill some time before the debate and  Press the Button!

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-4556675 or RSS!

 

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Robin in Media

  • News
  • October 2, 2008

nightwing-reflections-3881831So if you checked our site yesterday faithful readers, you know that the CW has given the green light to a new live action series to replace Smallville (or join it if it continues for a ninth season). This series, The Graysons, woud focus on the life of young Richard John Grayson (called DJ in the show), who many of us know will grow up to become the first hero called Robin.

Whether you think such a show can work or not, it’s undeniable that Robin is a household name, partly due to his contant appearances in various media.  And that’s not even considering the fact that he’s gone through quite an evolution in comics, uniquely so compared to many other super-heroes.

In DC Comics, Richard John Grayson, known to everyone as "Dick", was a circus acrobat along with his parents. The Flying Graysons were a famous act in the traveling Haley Circus. But during a stay in Gotham City, a protection racket organized by mobster Tony Zucco tried to get money out of the circus owner. When he refused, the trapeze was sabotaged and Dick’s parents fell to their deaths in front of a live audience. The audience included Bruce Wayne, secretly the Batman, who took in the adolescent boy and aided him in bringing Zucco to justice.

Dick was a natural due to his inherent talen and years of training in athletics and acrobatics. This, along with his heart and determination, allowed him to pursuade the Batman that he was worthy of staying on as a full-time apprentice and, later, a partner. Wearing a costume that emulated his old circus outfit, Dick called himself "Robin." Originally, it was said this was because he was styling himself on Robin Hood. In later years, it would be said that "Robin" had actually been his mother’s nickname for him, either because he was born on the first day of spring or because as a child he never sat still and was constantly  "bop-bop-boppin’ around." Part of the reason he was called Robin and not given a serious super-hero name was because back in the 1940s, sidekicks were only given nicknames so that the writers would be able to save any cooler titles only for more serious super-heroes.

Over the years, Dick proved himself to be a formidable hero and a gifted detective, becoming leader of the original Teen Titans. As he entered adulthood, he was no longer satisfied being viewed as Batman’s kid sidekick and believing that the Dark Knight did not give him enough credit, he left Gotham to carve out his own life. Eventually, inspired by a story Superman had told him of a Kryptonian hero, Dick returned to his super-hero role under the new name of "Nightwing", an identity he has kept for nearly twenty five years now. He is well-respected in the hero community and was even made leader of the Justice League for a short time. And whenever Batman needs him, this black-clad acrobatic avenger is willing to return to Gotham to help out.

That’s the comics. What about his appearances in film and television?

(more…)

Jon Favreau Discusses ‘Iron Man 2’

  • Uncategorized
  • October 2, 2008

jon-favreau-iron-man-movie-image-2721114With Iron Man 2 set to fly on May 7, 2010, it’s no wonder that director Jon Favreau is hard at work tuning up Tony’s armor and gadgets for his next adventure. But the big lug loves his fans so much that he took time out of his busy schedule to give an update on the upcoming sequel. Favreau participated in a live chat with fans through the LA Times yesterday and divulged plenty of information about Iron Man 2.

As of now, the film is still in the writing stages. "I’m working with Justin [Theroux], a writer," Favreau says. "He’s writing the first draft of the script. I’m working with a story board artist, [as] well as designing the costumes for good guys and bad guys."

The mention of "good guys" as a plural indicates that War Machine is a sure bet, "shoulder cannons and all," Favreau teases. But he also responds to a question about Nick Fury’s further involvement by saying, "SHIELD is important to the franchise, and what is SHIELD without Fury?"

As for those "bad guys," Favreau’s sticking to his stance that Mandarin and other villains "don’t hold up well to time and to the big screen, but their essence should inspire the characters." Nonetheless, the director has an "interesting take" on the ring-clad baddie which "allows us to incorporate the whole pantheon of villains." Can you say Fing Fang Foom?

(more…)

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Review: ‘Love & Rockets: New Stories #1’ by The Hernandez Brothers

  • Uncategorized
  • October 2, 2008

 

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Love & Rockets: New Stories #1
By The Hernandez Brothers
Fantagraphics, July 2008, $14.99

It’s hard to believe [[[Love & Rockets]]] has been around for twenty-seven years now – longer than any of its peers in the “indy” comics world, and longer than a lot of “mainstream” comics characters as well – but dates don’t lie. This trade paperback marks the beginning of a third series of things called “Love & Rockets” – the first was magazine-sized, and started in 1981 (though it shrunk to the size of a regular comic eventually), and then the second was the re-launch of the comic in 2001 for the twentieth anniversary.

This time around, Fantagraphics and the Hernandezes have bowed to the winds of the comics world – the new Love & Rockets will be an annual hundred-page book, rather than a more frequent and smaller pamphlet. And so this book contains exactly fifty pages of comics each from Jamie and Gilbert Hernandez – with prodigal brother Mario turning up to script a six-page story for Gilbert’s art.

Love & Rockets has always swung between the dramatic and the silly – sometimes story-by-story, and sometimes in the space of a single panel. This volume isn’t entirely on the silly side, but it definitely tilts that way, with the first two parts of a long oddball superhero story from Jaime and some shorter, mostly minor pieces from Gilbert, probably unrelated to his major ongoing plots and characters.

(more…)

‘Bleeker the Rechargeable Dog’ Headed for TV

  • News
  • October 2, 2008

Jonathan Mahood’s Bleeker the Rechargeable Dog may soon be coming to television. The strip was optioned by producer Radical Sheep Productions in May 2007, and recently announced a deal with TVO to develop an animated series based on the strip. The series is planned to be 26 11-minute episodes aimed at the six to 12-year-old audience. Script writing and animation design is already underway.

The strip tells the story of a ten-year-old boy who wanted a dog and got Bleeker: a canine-shaped walking cell phone/mp3 player/camera/printer/smoke detector/GPS that isn’t actually very good at being a dog. As Skip struggles to enjoy dog ownership, he is hampered by Bleeker’s quirky operating system, low battery life and frequent calls to technical support.

Pat Ellingson, Creative Head of Children’s Media, Content and Programming for TVO says of Bleeker, “What we love about Bleeker is that it’s a show that makes you laugh but has a lot of heart. Amongst all the comedy and the antics, Bleeker teaches us life lessons about the importance of friendship, community and family. It’s both educational and fun. We think it’s a great fit for TVO.”

Bleeker the Rechargeable Dog was launched in July 2006 on Comic Sherpa. In February 2007 it was picked up by GoComics.com for online syndication, where it can be seen daily. Mahood has a Cafepress storefront with the usual assortment of branded clothing, and the first collect of Bleeker stripsis available from Lulu.com.
 

Illustration West Adds Comic/GN Category

  • News
  • October 2, 2008

The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles’ annual juried competition, Illustration West, is the largest illustration competition west of New York worldwide. Throughout the 47 year history of the competition, they honored some of the most accomplished and emerging talent. For the first time ever, they have added a Comic Book/ Graphic Novel category. The Illustration West 47 show chair, Tatiana EL-Khouri told ComicMix, "I’m proud that we are embracing the Comic Book and Graphic Novel industry and all it’s contributions to the art community."  The deadline has been extended to October 3 for the ComicMix community. Artwork created in or published between June 1st 2007 and June 1st 2008 is eligible.

The esteemed judges include ComicMix’s Mike Gold and Michael Davis, as well as BET’s Denys Cowan, writer Marv Wolfman, Bob Kato, Simone Legno, Isabelle Dervaux, Joe Cepeda, Penelope Dullaghan, Tomasz Opasinski, Edel Rodriquez, Heidi Volpe, and Nate Williams.

To enter the competition, visit http://www.entersila.com

For more information about the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles, visit http://www.si-la.org
 

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