Yearly Archive: 2008

SDCC Interview: Justin Marks on the ‘Hack/Slash’ Movie [UPDATED]

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

hack-slash-omnibussmall-6443094[EDITOR’S NOTE: Our original link to this interview didn’t play nice with the formatting of the film’s title, so I’ve fixed the link and reposted the article here on ComicMix. -RM]

Writer Justin Marks has come a long way as a Hollywood screenwriter in a relatively short span of time. After working as a producer’s assistant for several years, while writing scripts in his off-hours, Marks has achieved nearly A-list status by writing several high-profile screenplays including Streetfighter and He-Man. He’s also worked on Supermax, co-written with A-List scribe David S. Goyer, and featuring the DC Comics hero Green Arrow who, after being wrongly incarcerated, has to join forces with the very villians he put behind bars in order to escape.

Marks is also writing another big-budget Hollywood film, this one an adaptation of the very popular comic series Hack/Slash, created by writer and artist Tim Seeley and published by Devil’s Due Press. I caught up with Marks at the San Diego Comic-Con to talk a bit about the Hack/Slash film, what we might expect story-wise and the film’s current status.

COMIC MIX: Hey Justin, thanks for talking with me. How did you get involved in the Hack/Slash movie?

JUSTIN MARKS: It was a book that was given to me about a year or year and a half ago. at the time it was already set up as a movie and I thought that was great because I thought it would make an increadible movie. Actuallly, I was kinda jealous.

But then a few months ago I got a call, I was actually in Bangkok working on the Streetfighter movie, and the producers of Hack/Slash asks if I would be interested in working with Todd (Lincoln) the director on the script to sort of push it throuhg and get it ready for production.

So I got on a plane for seventeen hours back to LA to try and get that job.

CMix: It seems you really wanted the job?

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NY Times: Have Superhero Movies Peaked?

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

dark_knight_joker-4797358There’s an interesting question posed by the New York Times film critic A.O. Scott in a new piece regarding superhero movies.

He surveys the Summer of the Superhero and notes the genre’s success, but then wonders if it might have hit a creative high-water mark. In other words, could the conventions of the superhero limit every superhero film, keeping it from exceeding The Dark Knight?

But to paraphrase something the Joker says to Batman, “The Dark Knight” has rules, and they are the conventions that no movie of this kind can escape. The climax must be a fight with the villain, during which the symbiosis of good guy and bad guy, implicit throughout, must be articulated. The end must point forward to a sequel, and an aura of moral consequence must be sustained even as the killings, explosions and chases multiply. The allegorical stakes in a superhero are raised — it’s not just good guys fighting bad guys, but Righteousness against Evil, Order against Chaos — precisely to authorize a more intense level of violence.

… the disappointment comes from the way the picture spells out lofty, serious themes and then … spells them out again. What kind of hero do we need? Where is the line between justice and vengeance? How much autonomy should we sacrifice in the name of security? Is the taking of innocent life ever justified? These are all fascinating, even urgent questions, but stating them, as nearly every character in “The Dark Knight” does, sooner of later, is not the same as exploring them.

As much as I liked The Dark Knight, I agree with Scott on its limitations, owing mostly to the abundance of “speechifying.”

But, personally, I disagree with his main point. Watchmen, if it truly ends up following Alan Moore’s vision, would certainly represent a new creative high for the genre.

What Scott reveals in the piece isn’t the great limitation of superheroes, but rather a limitation in his understanding of what a superhero can be.

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ComicMix Radio: Mike Grell And Warlord Back Together

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

 grell_warlord-6678292Saturday at Comic Con  ’08 has set a number of records and not just for the bodies walking the floor. A few news “bombs” were dropped about new characters and comics, like

  • Impact and Milestone returning to the DC Universe
  • ComicMix’er Mike Grell returns to the character that started it all
  • Some insight into the lady director bringing The Punisher back to the big screen

 And then we get visits from Jamal Igle, Michael Davis and “Bumblebee” himself, Mark Ryan. It’s a full house so step in and  Press The Button

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-8971305 or RSS!

 

SDCC: Joss Whedon and the Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog Panel

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

drhorrible-00-3703776At San Diego Comic-Con’s Doctor Horrible panel, Joss Whedon and company used the opportunity to make a few announcements regarding the future of the Doctor Horrible franchise, as well as a surprise bit of information on the return of a popular character in the Buffy: Season Eight comics.

The big announcement of the panel was the development of a fourth act of the Doctor Horrible saga somewhere on the horizon. While they wait for Act IV, fans of Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog can expect the release of the soundtrack on iTunes in “a couple weeks.” In addition, for the planned DVD fans will be invited to submit their own three-minute video applications for admittance to the Evil League of Evil, the show’s writers will decide on the best 10 and include them as a special feature.

In news not related to the topic of the panel, Joss Whedon announced that fan favorite character Oz will be returning in the Buffy: Season Eight comics.

Featuring Horrible director and writer Joss Whedon, actors, Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, Nathan Fillion, and Simon Helberg, as well as co-creators and writers, Jed Whedon, Zach Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen, if nothing else the panel served to confirm suspicions that Joss probably has the best job in the world.

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SDCC: The Eisner Awards

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

comic_con_logo-7262280The staple of Comic-Con, the Eisner Awards, occurred yesterday evening, and Heidi MacDonald over at The Beat did everyone a favor by liveblogging the ceremony.

Check out her coverage right here.

The Eisners, in case you aren’t familiar, are essentially the Academy Awards of the comics world.

Here’s a taste:

Next up…Best Painted Work, and it’s Eric Powell! Eric says he poured his blood, sweat, and years into CHINATOWN and he’s very gratified.

Best Cover Artist…James Jean…big shock! No one saw that one coming.

Our next presenters…adorable Paul Dini and Misty Lee! But Misty isn’t here– what the….Paul goes off to call her…and brings out a big giant empty box…and next thing you know….MISTY LEE was in the box all along? How did that happen? Is it…MAGIC?

The first award they present is Best Colorist and Dave Stewart wins the popular vote in the hall and the award.

SDCC: ‘Greatest American Hero’ Returns

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

Here’s some Comic-Con news that’s sure to have the old "believe it or not, we’re walking on air…" song stuck in your head, the people behind the ’80s superhero show The Greatest American Hero have unveiled some upcoming projects.

At a panel session involving the show’s creator (on video) and some stars, it was announced that a new comic book series and an animated series are in the pipeline. CBR reports:

The comic coming out in November is a retelling of the origin story from the show with a few changes. The story takes place in present day, there will be less of a focus on Ralph’s teaching job, he no longer has a son and his hair is … not as big.

But everything else fans loved about the show is still there. "We’re retelling how I got the suit and met Bill Maxwell and Pam," said Katt. He went on to say that the book is initially planned as a six issue story, but that after they’ve retold the origin, they have Cannell’s blessing to branch off in other directions.

And how about a GAH movie?

Finally, the cast was asked about the long running rumors of a feature film adaptation of the series. Katt did confirm that producer Stephen J. Cannell has a finished script for the feature film. He went on to say that he has read the script and thought it was fantastic.

He also said that Cannell currently has funding for the film but is looking for a distributor and that he is in talks with 20th Century Fox and director Steven Spielberg’s company, with production beginning sometime in 2009.

SDCC: Marvel Adapts ‘Ender’s Game’

  • News
  • July 26, 2008

Marvel continues to expand on its comic adaptations of literary properties with the news out of Comic-Con that a six-issue miniseries of Ender’s Game is on the way.

The famed sci fi series was written by Orson Scott Card, who also has written Ultimate Iron Man for Marvel. The artist on that book, Pasqual Ferry, has signed on for this new Card project, which is scripted by Christopher Yost.

"I’m a fan, a big fan. So talking with him was one of the best experiences that I have had working on comics so far," Ferry told CBR News. "When talk of the adaptation started, Orson sent a lot of explanations and details about environments, outfits ships. It was a nice work of discovery and creativity between [Editor] Nick [Lowe], Orson and me."

Ferry said "Ender’s Game" is rich with quality ideas and concepts, giving the artist plenty to explore and develop when bringing the book to life visually. He gushed, "The human feelings of the characters and his interrelatedness of the work, the incredible quality of the story, the Battle Room action sequences…"

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SDCC Photo Gallery: Costumes!

  • News
  • July 26, 2008

As with every Comic-Con, the cosplay masses made their presence known at this year’s show. While the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds made quality in-crowd photos a bit difficult, here are a few shots from the floor provided by my intrepid partner, Jessica Bloustein. We’ve tried our darndest to caption the photos as best we can, but keep in mind that things are a bit hectic out here on the West Coast, so there was rarely enough time to do anything more than point-and-shoot. Feel free to identify some of the costumes in the comment section if we weren’t able to do so.

Oh, and if you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out the webcomics-related photos posted in my latest news roundup posted earlier today.

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It’s a "d*ck in a box," of course…

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Webcomic News Roundup: Comic-Con Photos & “Overcompensating” Gets Animated!

  • Uncategorized
  • July 26, 2008

This week’s roundup of webcomic news is arriving a little late because, well… I arrived a little late to this year’s Comic-Con. It’s a long story, and involves a sprained ankle (not mine), a "security breach" at a major airport, two canceled flights and a storm that had me expecting to see cows flying across the highway at any moment. That being the case, this week’s roundup also features some images from the show floor that will hopefully be worth 1000 words — because I’m still too jet-lagged to write ’em.

Overcompensating creator Jeffrey Rowland told me this week that he’s "so excited not to be going to San Diego" — and judging by my own experiences thus far, his excitement was justified. However, be sure to check out Tuesday’s OC by guest artist (and animator) Carly Monardo, who provided one of my favorite moments of guest-ifaction in quite a while. Everyone does the robot! ‘Nuff said.

robot-joanna-00-5822328

Gary Tyrrell over at Fleen has been following recent developments on the Wowio/Platinum front with great attention. And rightly so, it seems. While you’re over there, make sure to read the comment section for each post, as Fleen has become a lightning rod of sorts for creators involved with these developments.

I tracked down You’ll Have That creator Wes Molebash at Comic-Con yesterday, and he told me about his recently launched YHT website at: www.yhtcomic.com. While he described the convention as "mediocre" at this point — since he didn’t have any new projects to promote this year — he did say he was hard at work on his mysterious graphic novel project.

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Dabel Bringing ‘The Warriors’ to Comics

  • News
  • July 26, 2008

MTV has a new comics blog (wrap your brain around that), and already they have some interesting news.

The Dabel Bros. are going to be doing some original comic books based on The Warriors, that cult classic movie of a group of gangsters trying to survive a run through hostile gang territory… while they wear ridiculous leather vests.

With a tentative release date of early-2009, Dabel is already looking towards adding its own contribution to the Warriors mythos. “The plan is to do stories set before and after the movie,” revealed Ruiz. “We really want to flesh out the world and let you know even more about these characters.”

Ruiz promises two things: first, that the iconic gangs that inhabit the Warriors’ Manhattan will indeed grace the pages of the comic, and second, that nothing will be watered down for a younger audience. “We will be sticking to the movies vision,” he stated. “So the comic will be just as dark, gritty and violent. You will see the Warriors and the other gangs beat the hell out of each other. There’s no way we could do it justice if we ‘kiddy’ it up.”

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