Yearly Archive: 2008

Disney has signed Colin Trevorrow (Stealing Time) to write the adaptation of Scott Christian Sava’s Pet Robots. The studio optioned the graphic novel in 2007.

Described by The Hollywood Reporter as “a high-tech comedy set in the present, Pet Robots revolves around futuristic robots that fall into the hands of the least likely group of people.”

Sava founded Blue Dream Studios to produce animation and graphic novels before selling it to IDW which continues to publish the graphic novel. Trevorrow sold the screenplay to Tester to DreamWorks, in addition to Time which is currently with Walt Becker at Sony.

Chris Bender and JC Spink of Benderspink will produce.
 

BOOM! Studios have announced that their upcoming trade paperback, Warhammer: Crown of Destruction, includes an exclusive in-game item for Mythic Entertainment’s critically acclaimed MMORPG, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Each copy of Warhammer: Crown of Destruction, written by Kieron Gillen (Phonogram), and drawn by newcomer Dwayne Harris, contains a unique code to unlock the Book of BOOM!, a special item said to have an explosive effect on a player’s character.

"I’m so happy to bring together the fans of Warhammer gaming and Warhammer comics," said BOOM! Studios’ Games Workshop editor Ian Brill in a release.  "BOOM! is all about telling stories with visual art, conveying our tales of adventure and human drama as comics.  Video games are interactive stories, and while their interfaces may differ from ours, the goal of escapism and fun is still present.  This promotion is meant to expose readers of comics and video games to see what the other side has to offer."

Warhammer: Crown of Destruction is BOOM! Studios’ third series from the blood-soaked Warhammer battlefield.  Greatsword Frohlich, last seen in Forge of War, leads his men into a clash with the bloodthirsty Skaven.  What seemed like just another test of Sigmar’s power reveals itself to be more.

D.J. Coffman’s Hero by Night has been optioned by IM Global for adaptation into a live-action television series. The book, released by Platinum Studios, won their 2006 Comic Book Challenge competition.

The Hollywood Reporter says the project is about “young landlord Jack King, who uncovers the lair of the title character. Determined to make some extra cash, Jack auctions the Hero’s journal on eBay, raising the ire of a dormant madman.”

Coffman went on to serve as a judge for the 2007 competition before a highly public falling out between the creator and Platinum over rights and payments.  The conflict largely stemmed from Hero being used on Drunk Duck and Wowio, the digital portals Platinum owns, and payments coming erratically, if at all. The series, as a result, was suspended after three issues.

At his blog, Coffman admitted, "No, I was not informed. I can’t say that I’m surprised because Platinum Studios probably were afraid I’d blab about it on my blog, which has been known to kill deals and stuff I’m told. And I can’t say I’m surprised at all as how things have gone down this year, which is probably no secret at all to anyone who knows anything about this stuff in the slightest.

"I’m going to bite my tongue a little here, but only for the sake of having OTHER things going on that NOBODY in the outside world knows about, so having my name and creation in the Hollywood Reporter and out in the BUZZ isn’t a bad thing. (although sometimes I feel like I do need to shower afterward)

"I can say this about Hero By Night. It is without a doubt the BEST thing Platinum Studios has in it’s entire library. The best universe for sure. And that’s not meant to slam anything else, and it’s not meant as just cocky-creator speak… it’s truth culled from a thousand destinations.

"How do I feel about the news? Well, it’s a press release, and that doesn’t mean a whole lot about actually getting something made, as you can learn from the plethora of press releases that fire out of Hollywood daily. It’s buzz, I guess. I’ve never heard of IM Global before. You’d hope they would consult the creator, and I’d be happy to talk to them. Hero By Night could be a big success for anyone who goes about it properly.

"As for Platinum… well, I’ll bite my tongue and see if they even contact me at all about this now after the fact. I know they don’t HAVE to but…. (I’ve been down that road before) –  Ironically, just yesterday I was thinking about sending them communication about what they owe me from my other contract regarding the so far 12 installments of the animated comic online and I noticed that Hero By Night is the #4 downloaded thing on Wowio, so I’m owed something from the downloads there too. Yeah, I keep tabs, I kinda have to. I just figured there was “no money” there. Maybe that’s changed? Hurm. Maybe IM Global or the new advisory board at Platinum will tell em ‘Hey, just let this guy go and make the comics!’”

IM Global is a sales and distribution company founded in March 2007 by Chief Executive Officer Stuart Ford. Their best known theatrical release is Religulous and their home video division is handling Bruce Campbell’s My Name is Bruce. Their television efforts to date have included reality and animated series although they are developing the live-action Hidden Crimes to star Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica).
 

Sometimes I even confuse myself, and I think I’ve just done it with that sub-head. These three books are all the fourth volumes of their series, all things I reviewed before, and all from Yen Press (because they and Del Rey are the most consistent at sending me books for review – hint, hint, other manga publishers).

Alice on Deadlines, Vol. 4
By Shiro Ihara
Yen Press, November 2008, $10.99

I’ve reviewed all three of the previous books in this series: one, two, three. And I’ve enjoyed them each slightly less than the one before, as the series wandered away from its lecherous-angel-of-death-wreaks-havok-on-the-life-of-a’”normal”-teenage-girl premise into more generic monster-fighting, evil-corporation, and true-love lands.

Lapan is that angel of death I mentioned – shingami, to be more Japanese about it – and Alice is the nubile young woman whose body he is currently inhabiting, and cladding in unlikely underwear almost as often as he’d like. Alice was bounced out to a skeleton in the first volume, but she’s off in the spirit realm as this book opens – spending a season dead, more or less – and returns later on. There are a number of other characters, including, in this book, several members of the Tsurukame family, which owns and runs the corporation that sends out the shingami. They, confusingly, also seem to be part of the natural order of things, so perhaps the Tsurukames are subcontracting from whatever gods are behind everything.
 

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