Author: Alan Kistler

‘Incredible Hulk’ to Speak – ‘Captain America’ Film Hinted?

  • News
  • April 19, 2008

The panel for The Incredible Hulk movie at New York Comic Con had a few big surprises for fans. If you don’t want any minor spoilers, get away from this post right now.

Still with us? Sweet.

A not-quite-finished version of the full length trailer was shown (the completed version will appear before Iron Man). The new trailer had some added scenes showing the Hulk and his enemy the Abomination (referred to only by his real name of "Emil Blonsky" in the film) fighting in New York City and smashing helicopters in the process. It also included a quick clip of a military official referring to Blonsky as a subject of a General Ross’s "bio-force project" who winds up going out of control.

During the panel, a couple of clips were shown with actor Tim Roth as Emil Blonksy. One clip showed him receiving an injection of a blue-colored serum which was supposed to prepare him to take on the Hulk in physical combat.

The second clip involved Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, being cornered by the military. Seeing his beloved Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) in danger, Banner transforms into the Hulk and begins fighting off the soldiers. On the order of General Ross (William Hurt), Blonksy then shows up and challenges the Hulk.

Apparently as a result of the serum he’s been injected with, he is now able to operate with enhanced agility and speed. While not exactly superhuman, his newfound physical prowess reminded me of Captain America in action as he dodged and weaved between the Hulk’s physical attacks while letting loose with guns and rockets. This was a phenomenal action scene and the direction made it feel very personal and in-your-face. (more…)

‘Star Trek: Year Four’ Review

  • News
  • March 26, 2008

When I was a wee lad of, oh, let’s say 13, to hear the words "untold tales" was a thrill in itself.

"What’s that, you say? In this story, I will discover that Wolverine met Spider-Man’s parents for about an hour several months before the web-spinning super-hero was even born? And it turns out Green Lantern’s landlord was once involved with the Russian mob? Awesome! How did I live before now?"

But now, I am in my mid-20s, long past the prime of life, and my standards are a mite higher. A story that fills in gaps of the past for its own sake just isn’t enough. It must also be a good story by itself. It must be able to entertain me and interest me and, if at all possible, elicit emotional reactions from me that would make even a positronic android react with a cry of "Neat!"

And so, let’s talk about the first comic book miniseries entitled Star Trek: Year Four (IDW Publishing), which was written by David Tischman and penciled by Steve Conley, and which has recently been collected as a trade paperback. In the original Star Trek TV series, Kirk informed audiences every week that the Enterprise was engaging in a "five-year mission" of exploration. Sadly, the show was cancelled after its third season. Tischman and Conley’s series attempts to inform us all about just what happened next, long before the time that the Star Trek films picked up. (more…)

11 Batman Stories to Read Before Watching ‘The Dark Knight’

  • News
  • March 24, 2008

Batman Begins and its upcoming sequel, The Dark Knight, are both feature films that deal with Bruce Wayne at the beginning of his career as a crime-fighting detective. But some in the movie audience may be curious about how these rookie years unfolded in the continuity of the comics.

So, here at ComicMix, we’ve put together a timeline of the stories you should read (and the order in which to read them) to learn about Batman’s early days. This list is focused on collected storylines from the single issues and one-shot stories rather than individual issues, and includes what is deemed to be currently in continuity within the mainstream DC Universe (so certain stories such as BATMAN: Year Two are not included). If a story’s place in the greater Batman continuity is uncertain, but hasn’t been directly contradicted by other stories, we’re including it.

Please note that this is focusing on Batman’s early solo years and is, as stated above, a timeline. Therefore stories such as Arkham Asylum and The Killing Joke, while famous, aren’t being included here since they take place much later in Batman’s career.

ADDED NOTE: If you like this, be sure to check out our related article, the Top Six Greatest Joker Victories.

Now let’s begin …

batman-yearone-9930894Batman: Year One – It all starts here in this story by Frank Miller (Sin City) and David Mazuchelli (DAREDEVIL: Born Again). After years of learning how to be a detective and training in the martial arts and ninjitsu in the Far East, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City to begin his war on crime. Learn how he first met a young Lt. James Gordon (who would later become the famous commissioner of the GCPD) and hot-shot District Attorney Harvey Dent, as they all try to free their city from a corrupt police department and fight against the mobster known as Carmine “The Roman” Falcone.

This comic also features the reason Bruce Wayne chose a bat as his symbol and his first encounter with Catwoman. The end of this story leads directly into another item on our reading list, BATMAN: The Man Who Laughs.

Batman and the Monster Men – In Year One, you might notice a large gap of time that passes between November and December. This story, written and drawn by Grendel’s Matt Wagner, takes place during that gap and reimagines one of Batman’s earliest stories from the Golden Age of Comics. Meet Bruce Wayne’s early girlfriend, Julie Madison, and watch his first encounter with the sociopathic Professor Hugo Strange. This story also introduces the proto-version of the Batmobile.

Batman and the Mad Monk – Another Golden Age story is brought into the modern day by Matt Wagner with this follow-up to Batman and the Monster Men. Following his encounter with the monsters of Hugo Strange, Batman now faces a potentially supernatural enemy and a deadly cult. Batman’s car truly becomes the Batmobile in this story and we also see the developing partnership between him and Jim Gordon. And see just what happened to make the Dark Knight lose the first serious love in his life.

(more…)

Review: ‘The Last Days of Krypton’ by Kevin J. Anderson

cover-last-days-of-krypton3-1550228

Everyone knows the basic story of [[[Superman]]]. Baby Kal-El, last survivor of the planet Krypton, rocketed to Earth by his parents Lara and Jor-El, found by a nice couple in Kansas, raised to be Clark Kent AKA Superman. But what about the story of Krypton before Kal’s birth? What about the lives of his biological parents?

In this hardcover novel published by Harper Entertainment, Kevin J. Anderson ([[[Captain Nemo]]], [[[Hopscotch]]], [[[Star Wars: Darksaber]]]) gives us a story of the ill-fated planet and its people, who are so tranquil and advanced in science that they have stopped dreaming and questioning reality. One man, Jor-El, still dares to dream — but finds his technology constantly censored by the Science Council and by Commissioner Zod. Eventually, Jor-El meets someone much like him, an artist named Lara Lor-Van who never hesitates to speak her mind, and the two fall in love. When disasters begin to occur, Jor-El and Zod may have to join forces to save their planet from destruction. But is Zod really concerned about the benefit of Krypton or is he plotting his own take-over?

In the foreword to this novel, comic writer Marv Wolfman (New Teen Titans, The Crisis On Infinite Earths) stated that Kevin J. Anderson’s goal was to create a story that took elements from all of the various and contradictory interpretations of the planet Krypton, its society and just why it was destroyed. (Did the sun go supernova, was it destroyed by a shifting orbit or was it a victim of a war involving terrible weapons?) The result would then be a tale that would allow everyone to at least find one or two familiar elements and would be entertaining for people who knew very little about the Superman mythos.

Unfortunately, that is not quite what we get. But more on that later. First, I should mention there are many good scenes here and there, as well as some touching moments. Of particular note is Anderson’s version of the first meeting between Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van. It involves danger and nice characterization and the date that it leads into shows just why these two fall for each other. Too often these days, we are shown a couple who are in love but who don’t really show this in their actions, requiring the writer/director to spell things out by having their characters awkwardly say things such as “I’m blinded by your love.” (Are you listening, George Lucas?!)

(more…)

‘Watchmen’ Movie to Keep Original Ending?

  • News
  • February 23, 2008

We’re all used to Hollywood changing endings for comic book adaptations, usually to make them happier and more palatable to mainstream audiences (such as Mary Jane being saved from the Green Goblin on a Manhattan bridge rather than Gwen Stacy being thrown from one). And yet, the involvement of Neville Page in the upcoming Watchmen movie suggests that this film may try to be more true to its roots, considering that Page is known for monster/creature effects.

The official Watchmen film site has a discussion on effects specialist Neville Page’s involvement in the upcoming film.

The site also includes an excerpt of an e-mail from Page himself:

"As for The Watchmen, I am not able to discuss what I had done in terms of the creature … The production designed [Alex McDowell] is amazing, so the production should be fantastic … I am working as a concept designer but the focus as of late has been creature."

Is the "creature" mentioned by Page the monster from the story’s final scene? After all, as the site itself points out, the only other odd-looking beast in the film is a genetically engineered lynx and it doesn’t seem that a specialist such as Page would be needed for such a simple design.

 

Mark Millar not doing Superman movie

  • News
  • October 25, 2007

When Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris (screenwriters for X-2: X-Men United and Superman Returns) stated that they would NOT be writing the new live-action Superman sequel, Warner Bros. Pictures announced they would be looking at new pitches. Mark Millar (Ultimates, Civil War) was immediately vocal in his desire to take on the task. “I want to revamp Superman like Hillary wants thin ankles. Revamping this franchise is what I as given fingers for and so, invited or not, I’m putting my plan together now. I’ve been asked to work on half a dozen screenplays lately, but this is the only one I have ever truly wanted. As most here know, I have literally hundreds of pages of notes and sketches just waiting for this opportunity. This would be my dream gig and, as a fan, I know exactly what this project needs to work. This has to be Superman for the 21st Century, keeping everything we adore, but starting from scratch and making the kids love it as much as the 30-somethings. I would honestly write this thing for free.”

Sadly for Millar, it looks like it’s not going to happen. A couple of days later, he made the following statement: “I spoke to some friends at DC and they explained this has happened with a couple of big Marvel writers in the last couple of years and I absolutely respect that. It’s a business after all and to have a guy writing ‘Fantastic Four’ … which would be mentioned in every article about a Superman movie is not only an insult to their own writers, but makes bad business sense. I have nothing but respect for the DC high-ups and, though obviously disappointed, can absolutely appreciate their position. They’re the custodians of these properties and they obviously know what they’re doing.”

Who will write the new film and whether or not he’ll be an established comic book writer remains to be seen.

TV REVIEW: Jekyll

bbcjekyll-9178210What if the story of Jekyll and Hyde were based on a real person, a true case? And what if there were someone alive in the present day that had the same horrible curse?

This is the premise of the new BBC mini-series Jekyll, premiering this Saturday at 8 PM on BBC America. The series was envisioned by producer Jeffrey Taylor and Steven Moffat, creator of the British comedy Coupling and writer of several episodes of the new Doctor Who series (such as “[[[The Girl In The Fireplace]]]” and “[[[The Empty Child]]]”). Steven Moffat handles the writing for all episodes.

The six episode mini-series features Doctor Tom Jackman, a man who doesn’t know who his parents were, having been found as an abandoned baby in a railway station. For the past several months, Dr. Jackman has been having black-outs during which another force is inexplicably inhabiting his body. Along with this darker personality that seems to lack any morals, there is a physical change. Jackman’s alter ego is actually younger, thinner, two inches taller, and has borderline superhuman strength and speed. Jackman soon finds out that the famous story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was based on a real person who lived and died in the 19th century. Now Jackman struggles to keep his life in control and his family safe, a family he prays that his own “Mr. Hyde” will never find out about lest he decide to attack them.

(more…)

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