Author: Glenn Hauman

Heavenly Heroes - Supergirl, Mary Marvel, Dark Supergirl

Weekend Window Closing Wrap Up: April 22, 2010

167647_134993413231021_100001610898855_223035_2619390_n-300x383-4269055Closing windows on my computer so you can open them on yours:

Ugh– and I still have dozens of tabs open. But this should do for a start.

Gerard Jones On Comics Life & Death

With half a dozen comic book based films set to open in weeks and sales inside the comic shops at an all time low, where is it all heading? We talked to Comic Historian and Author GERARD JONES on his perspective, plus trouble with the HAPPY DAYS Crew and a DOCTOR WHO History Crash Course.

 

Do you think comics are dying? Drop us a comment below!

Ben McKenzie, Bryan Cranston, Katee Sackhoff, and Eliza Dushku cast in animated ‘Batman: Year One’

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The voice cast has been revealed for the animated version of Frank Miller’s [[[Batman: Year One]]], which premieres in July at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con. Heat Vision reports that Ben McKenzie (The O.C.) will provide the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman, with [[[Breaking Bad]]] star Bryan Cranston portraying Lt. James Gordon. Katee Sackhoff ([[[Battlestar Galactica]]]) is voicing Detective Sarah Essen, and Eliza Dushku ([[[Dollhouse]]]) will voice Selina Kyle/Catwoman, and Alex Rocco (Moe Greene from The Godfather) will be the voice of Carmine Falcone.

 

Tab Murphy ([[[Superman/Batman:Apocalypse]]]) adapted the script, and Sam Liu and Lauren Montgomery ([[[Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths]]]) are directing. Miller’s original novel lends itself nicely to a film adaptation, and large hunks of the story were used in Christopher Nolan’s [[[Batman Begins]]]. Executive producer Bruce Timm points out:

“The source material is surprisingly cinematic; it’s a pretty straight forward literal retelling. [David] Mazzucchelli’s artwork is beautifully composed and we were able to refer to the comic for about 80 percent of the camera setups.”

Miller’s Year One storyline– along with Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which is also being adapted into an animated version– were both pivotal in restoring a dark and gritty style to the Caped Crusader.

To refresh your memory on Miller’s original 1987 four-issue story arc, “Batman: Year One”:

A young Bruce Wayne spent his adolescence and early adulthood traveling the world so he could hone his body and mind into the perfect fighting and investigative machine. But now as he returns to Gotham City, he must find a way to focus his passion and bring justice to his city.

Retracing Batman’s first attempts to fight injustice as a costumed vigilante, we watch as he chooses the guise of a giant bat, creates an early bond with a young Lieutenant James Gordon, inadvertently plays a role in the birth of Catwoman, and helps to bring down a corrupt political system that infests Gotham.

Batman: Year One comes out on Blu-ray and DVD on September 27th.

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Wake Up, It’s Judgment Day!

the_sarah_connor_chronicles_poster-150x222-4429079Forget your troubles, come on, get happy…
You better chase all you cares away…
Shout hallelujah, come on, get happy…
Get ready for the Judgment Day.

According to [[[Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]], Skynet went fully live two days ago on April 19, 2011 and will begin its attack against humanity sometime today, in an attack the few survivors will call Judgment Day.

Computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon figure it’s a reaction to yesterday’s announcement of Apple’s earning statement, or it’s a Facebook game that went horribly, horribly wrong.

Here’s a highlight reel of what to expect:

With #Skynet a trending topic worldwide the last few days on Twitter, we fear the worst. Since the series was canceled prematurely by Fox, we won’t actually know until later today if Sarah Connor, John Connor, Cameron, and Reese were able to stop the machines until it&^%$JKiuyfgg

***NO CARRIER***
***SKYNET ACTIVE***
***MISSILE LAUNCH***

Happy 160th Birthday, Detective Stories!

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Facsimile of Edgar Allan Poe's original manuscript for "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", from the Susan Jaffe Tane collection, Cornell University. Image via Wikipedia.

On this day in 1841 in Philadelphia, PA, Edgar Allen Poe’s first detective story, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” was published in Graham’s Magazine.

It has been called the first detective story ever, with C. Auguste Dupin as the first true detective in fiction, the precursor of everyone from [[[Sherlock Holmes]]] to [[[Scooby Doo]]], from [[[Veronica Mars]]] to [[[Angel Investigations]]], from [[[Castle]]] to [[[Psych]]]. The Dupin character established many literary devices which authors have used ever since:  the brilliant detective, his friend who serves as narrator, and the last revelation being presented before the reasoning that leads up to it.

And of course, without detective stories, we don’t have Detective Comics… which means we don’t have either DC or Batman. Nor do we have the Elongated Man, [[[GrimJack]]], [[[Dick Tracy]]], Tim Trench, Richard Fell, Jason Burr, The Dead Boy Detectives, Jessica Jones, [[[The Maze Agency]]], or Detective Chimp.

So here’s to you, sleuths! To you we raise a glass (free of exotic poisons, we hope). May your locked room mysteries always have a way in and out.

Read “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” here.

Elisabeth Sladen, 1948-2011

Elizabeth SladenThe BBC reports that Doctor Who actress Elisabeth Sladen, who joined the television series in 1973 as Doctor Who’s assistant Sarah Jane Smith and starred in the spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, has died from cancer at the age of 63.

Elisabeth Sladen was born on February 1, 1948 in Liverpool, England. She attended drama school for two years before joining the local repertory theatre in Liverpool. She met actor Brian Miller during her first production there, they married in 1968. Early television work included appearances on “Coronation Street”, “Doomwatch”, “Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em”, “Public Eye”, and “Z Cars”. Between 1974 and 1976, she had a regular role on [[[Doctor Who]]] as Sarah Jane Smith opposite Jon Pertwee and later Tom Baker, a part she reprised in K-9 and Company: A Girl’s Best Friend in 1981, “Doctor Who: The Five Doctors” in 1983, the radio serials The Paradise of Death & Doctor Who and the Ghosts of N-Space; the Children In Need skit Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time in 1993; the spin-off video drama Downtime in 1995, the new “Doctor Who” series, and most recently The Sarah Jane Adventures in 2007, which lasted for four series.

She is survived by her husband Brian and her daughter Sadie. Our deepest condolences to them.

Zorro Rides Again #1 by Matt Wagner

Matt Wagner returns to Zorro

Zorro Rides Again #1 by Matt WagnerMatt Wagner (Mage, [[[Grendel]]]) returns to conclude his story of Alejeandro de la Vega and his son, Don Diego, in Zorro Rides Again #1, coming this July from Dynamite Entertainment.

“It’s a special joy for me to return to the world and adventures of America’s first costumed adventurer– the original archetype of the modern superhero– Zorro,” says writer Wagner . “As longtime readers know, we left the narrative of the previous Zorro series on a bit of a cliffhanger and now that storyline finally comes to its exciting fruition.  These next two storylines not only introduce some major new characters but also represent significant and catastrophic changes in Zorro’s world-events that cause him to call question everything he does and everything for which he stands.”

“From cover to script to everything in between, Matt has proven himself over and over again with his thrilling, pulp-y and defining take on Zorro,” says Dynamite Editor Joe Rybandt.  “We’re pairing him up for Zorro Rides Again with artist Esteve Pols, who’s kicking the dust off his boots from the Lone Ranger/Zorro cross-over. Together, they’re going to shake up Zorro’s world as you’ve never seen before.”

Bruce Campbell Burns Out

Bruce Campbell gave us a special prequel film to BURN NOTICE last week, but what’s next as the USA hit heads into Season 5? Bruce talks about that and the fate of the next MY NAME IS BRUCE, plus no good news for fans of NO ORDINARY FAMILY and Shatner sings yet again.

 

Are you a fan of BURN NOTICE? Drop us a comment below!

Quote of the Day: George R.R. Martin on ‘The Case for Comic Books’

George RR Martin at the Comicon

George R. R. Martin. Image via Wikipedia

As part of the coverage of [[[Game Of Thrones]]] debuting on HBO, the New York Times quoted author George R. R. Martin delivering a speech at Ambercon 3 in Wichita, Kan., on May 31, 1981.

Every would-be writer needs comic books. I certainly did. I can still vividly recall my discovery of comic books, followed closely by the revelation that this reading stuff was actually good for something. Because comic books had it all over Readers. Comic books had pictures, and so did Readers, but in comic-book pictures somebody was flying or punching somebody, while in my Reader little Sally was crying about her little red boat. Even in my prepubescent days I had this vague feeling that Wonder Woman had it all over Jane, although I couldn’t put my finger on the reason. I did know that watching Spot run was a real drag when I could watch Krypto the Superdog fly instead. And I knew that if they ever met, Krypto would bite Spot’s head off.

So I read every comic I could get my hands on, and my reading got better and better. My teachers soon began to marvel that I read with such “expression,” while the rest of my class read . . . like . . . this. I knew the reason. You need a lot more expression for, “Aha, Superman, now my red kryptonite will turn you into a BOILED EGG!” than you do for “See Spot. See Spot run. Run, Spot, run.” So if the schools don’t do it, remember comic books. Maybe your kid won’t be as quick as I was, and regular comic books won’t do, but even that’s no problem in this day and age. There’s always the undergrounds. “Tales of the Leather Nun” should do it every time.

Of course, anybody who’s ever read Wild Cards knows how much George loves his comics.

via NYTimes.com.

DC Animated Tackling ‘The Dark Knight Returns’? But It’s Already Been Done!

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Image via Wikipedia

Bleeding Cool reports from multiple anonymous sources that The Dark Knight Returns by Frank (we are obligated to include Sin City and 300 in his middle name now) Miller and Klaus Janson is in early development at Warner Premiere/WB Animation.

But people seem to be forgetting– the adaptation’s already been done, at least partially, back on The New Batman Adventures in an episode entitled “Legends Of The Dark Knight” which aired on October 10, 1998. Take a look: