Yearly Archive: 2008

New Iron Man Movie Photo, Toys Debut

  • News
  • January 24, 2008

Marvel Studios has released yet another teaser shot (seen here) from the Iron Man film set to hit theaters May 2, but they’re not the only ones riding the Iron Man promotional bandwagon this week.

Hasbro recently launched a new "Iron Man’s Hall of Armor" website that will debut a new figure from the upcoming Iron Man movie toy line each week. The first two figures, "Iron Man Mark III" and "Iron Man Mark I," are already on display.

The Hasbro site also features links to animated "webisodes" featuring Iron Man.

 

The Dark Knight – Go or No? ComicMix Radio Has the Story

The untimely death of actor Heath Ledger has put the future of Warner Brother’s Batman sequel, The Dark Knight, in question. ComicMix Radio has the latest on this growing story.

Plus:
• You know him from Power Pack and Franklin Richards – now find out what writer Marc Summerac is reading these days
• Start the search: there are two rare variants coming from Marvel, including one for X-Force
• Image goes for round two with Frank Frazetta
 
On Saturday, catch ComicMix Radio for our exclusive interview with the late Heath Ledger, where just weeks ago, in his own words, he explains his reasons for taking on the role of The Joker -–a part that some Hollywood insiders feel was just too dark. 
 
Meantime, just Press The Button and we’ll hit your speakers!

 

Or subscribe to our podcasts via iTunes or RSS!

 

Y: The Last Man Concludes

  • News
  • January 24, 2008

It’s been difficult to ignore all of the hub-bub concerning Brian K. Vaughan’s long-running series Y: The Last Man drawing to a close this week. But seriously, why would you want to?

Of course, "Y: The Last Party" on February 8 will no doubt provide the best seat in the house for celebrating the end of such a great series – and the fact that the event is raising funds for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, well, that’s just a little good-karma bonus. Heck, even Joss Whedon will be there!

However, if you’re like me and can’t get a ticket (or a flight) to the big blast, you’ve had to make do with reading all of the great coverage the conclusion of Y is receiving. Take, for instance, this piece from The Portland Mercury that includes all sorts of fun comments from Vaughan about his work on Y, as well as other projects.

Chances are Y‘s audience never knew they wanted a genre-defying book that’d somehow blend Star Trek references with socio-sexual politics. Y‘s disparate but graceful mix is echoed in another of Vaughan’s books, Ex Machina, about a superhero mayor of New York. "Ex Machina was probably born out of watching the political debates and thinking, ‘This would be so much better if someone just had a jetpack!’" Vaughan says. "I guess I have always [balanced] being intellectually curious and just a dumb kid who just wants to see ray guns and ninjas and pirates. It’s never been like, ‘Oh, I’ll be able to sneak in something really smart if I hide it behind pirates and these other trappings!’ That’s just who I am. I like that balance of both the profound and the profoundly ridiculous."

I guess the owner of my local comic book shop was on to something when, six years ago, I asked for a recommendation to fill out my weekly stack and he tossed me a copy of Y: The Last Man #1.

 

Ledger Death Leaves Imaginarium Uncertain

  • News
  • January 24, 2008

According to SciFi Wire, the sudden death of actor Heath Ledger has thrown at least one film into a state of limbo. Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus recently wrapped filming in London, but Ledger was expected to play one of the lead roles in the film.

According to the SciFi Wire report, Ledger’s involvement was a key factor in raising the money necessary to produce the film. Imaginarium‘s producers have yet to issue a statement regarding the film’s future.

 

 

Guardians of the Galaxy Return!

  • News
  • January 24, 2008

The crew at Marvel.com have announced the return of Guardians of the Galaxy to the lineup of ’08 titles, with the first issue of the cosmic superteam’s series hitting shelves in June.

Co-writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning will continue to play puppeteers to the adventures of space-savvy characters such as Nova and the roster of names from their Annihilation: Conquest series. Paul Pelletier will provide art for the series.

"For reasons we’ll reveal later, [the] stories will be off-beat, quirky and strange," teases Lanning. "One of our first stories will deal with somebody taking advantage of the aftermath of CONQUEST to expand their power base. [And] apart from the new threats and menaces, we’re planning on the return of at lest one old, old foe and an even older hero."

Marvel’s keeping mum about the actual roster for the cosmic team, hinting that some of the cast from Conquest won’t survive long enough to join up with the Guardians. However, they have provided a list of potential members from the ranks of Marvel’s cosmic character pool and the odds of each character making the cut.

We’re pulling for Howard the Duck, of course.

Mike Mignola Talks Hellboy and Beyond

  • News
  • January 24, 2008

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola explained his growing separation from the character in comics and on screen during this recent chat with Publisher’s Weekly.

The creator’s ever-changing role on the masthead of many of the stories taking place within the Hellboy universe has certainly become more noticeable over the years. With the big-screen sequel to 2004’s Hellboy feature film scheduled for a July 2008 release, as well as a pair of Hellboy animated films hitting shelves over the last few years, many have credited Mignola’s absence to the needs of caretaking for the character’s multimedia growth.

The real reason, according to Mignola, might be a simple case of wanting to move on to the next thing – in comics, that is.

“After 13 years of doing Hellboy, I love the character, I love doing the covers, I love writing the stories, but I’m kind of looking to do something a little different,” Mignola said.

The articles provides a detailed list of many of the Hellboy-centric comics and other projects you can expect to see in ’08 and beyond, including a definitive reference guide and a project Mignola will be working on that occurs within the Hellboy universe, but lacking Hellboy as a character. Fans of the first two Hellboy animated films will be disappointed, though. Mignola says he doesn’t plan to continue producing the straight-to-DVD features.

 

Marketing Your (Web)Comics 101

  • News
  • January 24, 2008

occasionalsupe-7502864Gary at Fleen points us to an interesting bit over at Occasional Superheroine, the online home of creator Valerie D’Orazio. It’s a nice little checklist of things to make sure you’re doing if you ever want your comic to evolve from something your friends and family occasionally peruse to something that’s a regular destination for a larger audience.

One strategy you might find useful is to not depend on the bigger sites/blogs but concentrate on the key smaller ones. A key smaller site/blog may not have as many hits as Newsarama, but would have good writing and a core readership.

This is not to say you shouldn’t send your PR e-mails to the large sites. You should definitely cover those bases. But sometimes it is better to be a well-featured fish in a smaller pond than a drop of water in a big ocean.

 

The Worst TV Show Ever – Part 1, by Michael Davis

  • News
  • January 24, 2008
 
kim-kardashian-sex-tape-2-8-07-3109261There’s a show on The E Network called Keeping Up With The Kardashians. After watching that show once I am now convinced we are living in the last days of The Apocalypse. 
 
I won’t even get into why the show makes me want to shoot puppies and beat old  – it just does. Let’s just say The Kardashian family is full of a bunch of elitist assholes and it is my hope that their limo breaks down in the hood and they have to ask some poor people for help. 
 
No, that’s not right. Forgive me for being so mean. Truth is, I hope their limo breaks down in the middle of a gang shootout and they are each shot in their plastic asses. 
 
Oh, by the way, the Kardashian women have HUGE asses so a bullet won’t hurt. 
 
I have sold four TV shows in my career. “Sold” meaning I had meetings at a network and they made a commitment to “develop” the show. 
 
‘Selling” does not mean the show will ever see air. Trust me, being in “Development Hell” is no fun at all. It occurs to me while watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians that I have been barking up the wrong tree. I have tried selling shows that have some kind of redeeming message and it seems what some in America really want is the stupidest crap you can think off. 
 
So I’m officially jumping on that bandwagon!
 
I have come up with the worst possible TV pitch in history…except for MTV’s Sweet 16 or The Janice Dickerson Modeling Agency. Even I can’t come up with shows worst than those.
 
Here’s my pitch Mr. Network Executive:
 

(more…)

Cloverfield Easter Eggs?

  • News
  • January 24, 2008

cloverfield_poster-3235109Okay, so I’m the last person in the world who hasn’t seen Cloverfield. I can deal with that, because I’m a professional – that’s what we do. But for everyone who has seen the film, SciFi Wire has this great little piece about some of the Easter Eggs hidden throughout the film.

Sure, there are definite spoilers in this one, but since I’m the only person in the world who has to worry about them, you can knock yourselves out, folks.

Take for instance, this comment from director Matt Reeves about a certain shot described earlier in the article:

"The thing about that shot is that almost nobody sees the shot, but once you see the shot and the thing in it, you’ll never stop seeing it."

*Sigh*

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