Author: Glenn Hauman

SDCC: Kevin Smith to do Batman miniseries

From today’s DC Nation panel at San Diego, Kai Connolly and Arthur Tebbel send the news that Kevin "Silent Bob" Smith will be doing a Batman five issue miniseries.

Titled "Cacophony", it features the return of the villian Onomatopoeia from Smith’s run on Green Arrow, as well as Deadshot, Joker, Mr. Zsasz, and will be drawn by Walt Flanagan. Those familiar with Smith’s View Askewniverse will recognize that name as Smith’s longtime friend, actor and character in his film, most notably as Walt Grover the Fanboy.

Noting Smith’s, shall we say, tardiness on certain comics projects, we’ve been told that solicitations won’t happen until scripts are in hand. Nevertheless, the firstissue is expected out in November.

And with Onomatopoeia as the villian, we can safely assume that somewhere in this Batman story, we will have lots of Pow! Biff! and Sock! action. Just when we thought we were done with all of that…

Overheard at San Diego 2008, part 1

Continuing our award winning wackiness from last year, ComicMix presents the ongoing whispers that you might have missed while you were on line waiting to get in…

On the way to the Dr. Who panel:
"If I see another Stormtrooper, I’m going to drop-kick one."

Luckily, we found one that’s just the right size to drop-kick…

Around Entrance A:
"Find The Six? And what the hell is that guy with the 5-3 on his back?"
"Third base to first?"

Comics pro who wishes to remain anonymous:
"Chris Tucker is really upset that all of his scenes as Ebony have been cut out of the Spirit movie."

 

 

Weekend Window-Closing Wrapup: June 22, 2008

Back from a long break, crazy deadlines, and other fun stuff… and, man, it didn’t take long for my windows to stay open again, particularly with the new version of Firefox. So, what’s keeping my browser from running well?

Harry Bliss got picked on for lifting a Kirby image for a New Yorker cartoon contest, but it wasn’t the first time he lifted an iconic image for the contest.

Scarlett Johannson tells you to get on your knees. Jamie King tells you to come to her. Sarah Paulson tells you to keep the mask on. Man, the Spirit movie is going to be kinky. Hubba-hubba.

Wonder Woman finds a dead body in the Potomac. Cue the Jack C. Harris cred– what? It really happened?

If you’re using Verizon to read alt.binaries.comics, you’ve got until Thursday before Verizon shuts off your access. I’m cancelling my service over it, how about you?

Robotech of the Lost Ark? (more…)

How To Lose Money On ‘Iron Man’

Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywod Daily points to the most delicious piece of schadenfreude pie I’ve seen in a long while:

So fired New Line founder Bob Shaye told his close pals the following story: Years ago, as everyone knows, New Line had Iron Man in development. But then Shaye and Avi Arad, the longtime chairman and CEO of Marvel Studios, got into an argument over whether Iron Man should fly. (This is what grown men debate in the movie biz…) Bob contended that Iron Man would look goofy soaring in an iron suit. But Avi was adamant that the pic had to stay true to the comic book so the character should take to the sky. Eventually the option ran out, and Avi announced a deal with Merrill Lynch to self-finance Marvel’s future films. Now, most men would have left the argument there. Not Bob. He told his friends that he was so convinced Marvel would run into trouble on its Iron Man movie that he took out a big short on Marvel stock. But, as we all know, the pic not only made gobs of money, but Marvel shares shot skyward to an all-time high. And then the stock was recently listed on the S&P’s midcap index so it went up another 4%. Now, most men would have given up there and then. Not Bob. He told his friends he was still shorting the stock because he believed Marvel would give it back when The Incredible Hulk failed. That didn’t happen either.

Wow. And I thought Shaye keeping Peter Jackson from making The Hobbit was dumb. A shame he’s already been fired from New Line — this is almost worth hiring him back just to fire him again for good measure.

‘EZ Street’ Nominated for Harvey Award

ez-street-1-200-9907702The 2008 Harvey Award nominations are out, and ComicMix is proud to have EZ Street nominated for "Best Online Comic." Congratulations to Robert Tinnell and Mark Wheatley!

Sure, EZ Street is up against some tough competition — Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Penny Arcade, Perry Bible Fellowship, and The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo — but we think it will do okay.

This year’s Harvey Awards will be handed out at the Baltimore Comic-Con, held September 27-28, 2008.  Convention hours are Saturday, 10 AM to 6 PM, and Sunday, 10 AM to 5 PM.  The ceremony and banquet for the 2008 Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, September 27, hosted once again by Kyle Baker.

If you are a comics creative professional and would like to vote, you can download the .pdf Final Ballot or download .txt Final Ballot (for email) and send it to pjcjmc3 [at] sbcglobal.net. Final ballots are due to the Harvey Awards by Friday, August 15, 2008.  Full details for submission of completed ballots can be found on the final ballot.  Voting is open to anyone involved in a creative capacity within the comics field.  Those without Internet access may request that paper ballots be sent to them via mail or fax by calling the Baltimore Comic-Con (410-526-7410) or e-mailing baltimorecomicccon [at] yahoo.com.

The full list of nominees is after the jump.

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George Takei Boldly Goes Where No Men Have Gone Before

George Takei, known for his roles on Star Trek and Heroes, as well as co-writing Star Trek comics with Peter David, was the first to pay $70 for a same-sex marriage license in West Hollywood early today. George is expected to marry his partner of 21 years, Brad Altman, on September 14th in Los Angeles. (We won’t know for sure until we get the invite.)

George was quoted as saying "it’s going to be the only day like this in our lives and it is the only day like this in the history of America." He also told reporters and a swelling crowd outside the West Hollywood city auditorium "may equality live long and prosper."

We wish the two of them continued happiness, and we’re calling dibs on being the ones to buy them the toaster oven.

R.I.P. Erick Wujcik, Game Designer

Sad news from Kevin Siembieda at Palladium Books:

Beloved role-playing game designer, Erick Wujcik, passed away Saturday evening, June 7, 2008. He died from complications related to pancreatic and liver cancer. Kathryn Kozora, his sweetheart of more than 30 years, and other loved ones were at his side.

Erick was diagnosed with cancer in late November, 2007 and given 6-8 weeks to live. True to Erick’s indomitable spirit and zest for life, he proved the doctors wrong by lasting more than six months. Most of that time was spent with friends and loved ones.

Erick Wujcik’s accomplishments are many.

To the role-playing game community, Erick is best known for his many RPG games and contributions to Palladium Books®, including The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles® RPG, several TMNT® sourcebooks, After the Bomb® RPG and sourcebooks for it, Ninjas & Superspies™, Mystic China™, Rifts® China One and Two, Revised RECON®, Wolfen Empire™ and many others. He is also famous for Amber® Diceless, the first truly “diceless” role-playing game, published under Erick’s own label, Phage Press. Erick also published Amberzine® and founded Ambercon™, a series of conventions celebrating gaming, friendship and the world of Amber, hosted at numerous locations around the world.

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Happy Silver Anniversary, Return of the Jedi!

Twenty-five years ago today (and six years after the original Star Wars opened) the summer movie season of 1983 blew wide open with the finale to the Star Wars saga — if you don’t count the re-releases, the three movie prequels, the multiple animated series, the books, the comics, oh, you get the idea.

And what do we remember from the film? Do we remember the escape from the Sarlaac? Do we remember the light saber duel between (spoiler) father and son? Do we remember Leia’s slave girl outfit?

Well, of course we remember the outfit. But we also remember the true heroes of the film, as memorialized here:

 


 

I think I speak for everyone here at ComicMix when I say, "yub yub".

Happy 7th Anniversary, Peter & Kathleen David!

Seven years ago today in Atlanta, Peter David and Kathleen O’Shea got married in the chapel at Emory University. Harlan Ellison delivered a best man speech that was only slightly shorter than his fourth marriage, topping off a beautiful ceremony.

Happy Copper Anniversary, you two crazy kids. Enjoy the night.

Summertime… and the Grilling is Easy with a Munden’s Bar Apron

Here at ComicMix, we’re traditionalists that believe summer actually starts on Memorial Day weekend, no matter what movies premiere in early May. So, with the official start of grilling season, may we humbly recommend that you do so with a Munden’s Bar grilling apron?

Straight from the pages of Munden’s Bar, with our multiverse-famous slogan "If you leave here sober, it’s your own damn fault", this apron will protect you from grease, slime, beer, and other hazards of the barbecue. And at the low, low price of $17.99, how can you go wrong? Okay, you could go wrong by taking a chainsaw to school and saying the leprechauns are telling you to carve up the auditorium stage, but that’s a unique way to get out of final exams, at least.

Remember: the more Munden‘s merchandise you buy, the more Munden‘s stories we put out! So buy those beer steins and coasters too!

[/End of soft sell.]