Author: Rick Marshall

Battlestar Galactica Webisodes and TV Movie Update

Chicago Tribune blogger Maureen Ryan recently posted an update on the future of several Battlestar Galactica projects that BSG fans have been buzzing about for quite some time now.

Not only will there be a series of "webisodes" produced that will link the first and second half of the current season, but a trio of BSG TV movies is also a very likely possibility.

According to Ryan:

Executives are now doing number-crunching for these proposed films, and any deals for these movies are far from done. However, it would make sense to make more “Battlestar” TV movies while the show’s creative team and actors are still all in one place, as it were.

According to one source at the network, the talk about the films is just idle chatter “at this point.” But several other sources close to the show says there is good reason for “cautious optimism” about one to three future “Battlestar” films, which would get made this summer, if they get the green light.

More on the webisodes, movies and a few links to great BSG content found elsewhere around the InterWebs over at Ryan’s blog, The Watcher.

And remember to check back here on ComicMix every Monday after a new episode of Battlestar Galactica airs for our BSG Weekly interviews with series co-executive producer Mark Verheiden.

Neil Gaiman to Write ‘Doctor Who’ in 2010?

Rich Johnston ignited a flurry of discussion among both comics fans and Doctor Who fans this week by reporting a rumor in his weekly "Lying in the Gutters" column that author Neil Gaiman had been approached to write an episode of the popular BBC series in 2010.

According to Johnston:

Such as the rumour running around my BBC sources that Neil Gaiman being approached to write an episode for 2010. That would be this Neil Gaiman, comic author, fantasy novelist, screenwriter, poet and writer of the Duran Duran Biography 1985. With possibly the most non-committal non-confirmation I’ve ever read. And I’ve read the responses of current Labour ministers.

In fact when I asked Neil if he’d care to comment, he pleaded the Francis saying, "You may very well think that, but I could not possibly comment."

I do very well think that. I do.

Of course, nothing will actually have been commissioned by the BBC at this stage, and there’s many a slip ‘twixt cup and prosthetic lip, but it’s looking good.

For more on the rumor, including other "potential facts" regarding the future of Doctor Who, check out this week’s "Lying in the Gutters."

And remember to check back here on ComicMix every week after a new episode of Doctor Who airs in the U.S. for our weekly Doctor Who in Review analysis of all the Easter Eggs, hints and continuity checks from the current series.

‘Hobbit’ Film Details Emerge During Jackson/Del Toro Q&A

The Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson Q&A I told you about last week seems to have been fairly interesting and full of information for eager Hobbit fans.

Over at The Frodo Franchise, Kristin Thompson has a nice roundup of some of the highlights, including this bit:

Peter hints that Gandalf the Grey will be important in both The Hobbit and what’s currently just called Film 2. That seems to hint that Ian McKellen is willing to act in both, since later on Peter says that only characters whose actors will return for the second film will be written into its script.

There’s also a transcript of the full Q&A available at the Weta website.

Roundup: Reuben Awards, Lulu Awards, Canadian Awards, Erlangen Festival

Apparently, everyone decided to give out awards and/or nominations in the past week, as my email is filled with messages about the various winners and nominees. Here’s a quick rundown of what was awarded, who won it (or in some cases, was nominated for it) and where to find a more comprehensive report on the whole affair:

The Beat has a roundup of the 2008 Reuben Award winners, including the least surprising recipient of them all, legendary MAD Magazine cartoonist Al Jaffee (pictured here). Here are a few others:

COMIC BOOKS: Shaun Tan, (The Arrival)

NEWSPAPER STRIPS: Jim Meddick, (Monty)

MILTON CANIFF LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Sandra Boynton

Tom Spurgeon provides some additional context for the Reuben Awards over at The Comics Reporter, including the following note:

I do know that the Reuben and the NCS division awards have a reputation for 1) rewarding creators that have been around a while or that are seen as having properly paid their dues maybe more than first-time nominees or those early in their careers, and 2) rewarding creators in non-popular categories according to their better-known work. To be honest, I couldn’t tell you if those two characterizations are deserved or not.

(more…)

New ‘Watchmen’ Film Image Released – Meet the Minutemen!

Aint It Cool News posted a new image from the big-screen adaptation of Watchmen today, and its a pretty impressive one.

The image features a 1940s-style photograph of "The Minutemen," the precursor to the superteam that came to be known as The Watchmen.

From AICN:

Who are the Minutemen? Well in WATCHMEN – it was the first TEAM of superheroes that formed in 1939 and pulled a BEATLES in 1949. In the pic below you’ll see the classic SILK SPECTRE and NITE OWL… you’ll see CAPTAIN METROPOLIS, MOTHMAN, SILHOUETTE, COMEDIAN, DOLLAR BILL and with the noose… HOODED JUSTICE.

I love this photo… just look at those costumes, the hairstyles and makeup. Isn’t that classic? It’s that attention to detail that I think bodes very well for this project. Cuz with WATCHMEN, the devil’s in the details.

 I’ve posted a full-size version of the image after the jump, but head over to AICN for the full story. (more…)

tobias-7610515

‘Arrested Development’ Characters Sketchbook

tobias-7610515Hidden within his massive, mind-numbingly comprehensive roundup of information about the looming San Diego Comic-Con International convention (which I intend to spotlight in at least one other post here on ComicMix), Tom Spurgeon of The Comics Reporter included a link to something semi-related to CCI but very interesting to me — and possibly quite a few other readers.

Shown here is one of a dozen sketches Zack Smith commissioned from comic book artists at the 2004 Wizard World Chicago convention. The sketches depict characters from the over-far-too-soon television series Arrested Development, which also happens to be one of my favorite series of the last 5-10 years.

You can get the full scoop on the series and information about its potential return over at the Arrested Development page on Wikipedia, but before you do, be sure to take a peek at James Kochalka’s sketch of Tobias (pictured here and played by David Cross in the series), as well as 11 other sketches of Arrested Development characters by artists such as Jill Thompson, Jeffrey Brown, Jim Rugg and other notable creators.

… Heck, even the foul-mouthed puppet, Franklin, has a sketch.

Worst Album Covers by Comic Book Artists

Over at LA Weekly’s geek culture blog, Topless Robot, they’ve put together a list of the worst album covers designed by artists from the comics industry.

Among the examples on their list is Canadian hip-hop group Swollen Members’ 2003 album Heavy, featuring a cover by Todd McFarlane.

McFarlane has at least one respectable album-cover credit: the five-times platinum Follow the Leader by Korn. (Oh, c’mon, don’t act like you didn’t own it, or at least headbang to “Freak on a Leash.”) That was in 1998, and five years later the Spawn creator/lawsuit magnet/frivolous spender agreed to pencil a cover for a—wait for it—Canadian hip-hop group that dubbed themselves the Swollen Members. From what we REAL North Americans can tell, these guys’ only notoriety comes from this album cover and an appearance in National Lampoon’s Going the Distance, whatever the hell that is. Heavy just reinforces what a great idea it was for McFarlane to quit drawing.

According to Spawn.com, McFarlane also directed one of the group’s videos, too. I feel obligated to mention, however, that the Swollen Members’ Wikipedia page actually makes them seem like a decent band… as far as Canadian music goes.

Head over to Topless Robot for the full list.

(Oh, and just kidding about the "as far as Canadian music" thing, folks… I promise.)

Random Video: Iron Man, Hulk and Spider-Man vs. Giant Robots

While I realize I’m a bit late happening upon this video, I can’t help posting it here anyways — just in case I’m not the only person who missed it. To be honest, I’m not entirely certain what this "Iron Man’s Adventure" video is intended to promote. It looks like a cinematic from a videogame, but with a cast of Spider-Man, Iron Man and Hulk, I can’t help but assume it’s tied to some sort of film promotion. Feel free to post a comment if you have any additional information about it.

Nevertheless, it features the three characters I mentioned, as well as some big honkin’ robots and some really superb CG animation. The dialogue is a bit "meh" (Spider-Man is spot-on, but Iron Man and Hulk don’t sound quite right, in my humble opinion) but the action is worth the price of, well… just check it out.

You can also watch a larger, high-res version at Marvel.com. 

 


 

 

 

Real-Life Versions of Cartoon Characters

Most digital art websites always remind me how little I know about Photoshop. For example, even if I spent the next full week with my nose in a copy of Photoshop for Dummies, I couldn’t begin to create anything like Pixeloo’s "Untooned" image of cartoon  and videogame characters.

Seen at right is Pixeloo’s "Untooned" version of Stewie Griffin from the animated television series Family Guy. Creepy, eh?

Wait until you see Homer Simpson… shudder

Head over to Pixeloo to view so-big-they’re-terrifying images of Stewie and Homer, as well as Mario (of the Mario Bros. videogame franchise) and Jessica Rabbit (of Who Framed Roger Rabbit fame). There are even a few animated versions of the images that successfuly up the creep-me-out ante.

Oh, and if you decide you want to see more of this type of "Untooned" image editing, check out the gallery of "Reality Cartoons" submitted to Worth1000.com as part of a recent contest. The images include a pair of real-life versions of Tycho and Gabe, the main characters from the Penny Arcade webcomic.

Now if we could only get an "Untooned" image of GrimJack.

Wes Molebash Reimagines ‘Oedipus Rex’

A while back, I spoke with You’ll Have That webcomic creator Wes Molebash about YHT, Zuda Comics and various other subjects, and it looks like the talented writer/artist has been keeping busy since that interview. This set of new character designs recently popped up in his Flickr gallery, and I can’t help but direct some attention to them.

The set is titled "The Legend of Eddie King," and Molebash provides the following description:

For my Interdisciplinary Arts class I had to create a modern adaptation of Sophocles’ stage play "Oedipus the King". Here are the character designs I created for the adaptation.

For my adaptation I wanted to use the vintage/rockabilly/biker scene as the backdrop for the story. Instead of becoming king of Thebes, Eddie becomes the sole proprietor and leader of a biker gang/bar called The White Knuckle Society. The Society was formerly lead by his father, Louis, who has been mysteriously murdered . . .

Here’s hoping we get to see the final product — and that it earns Molebash an "A" on the assignment, of course.

 

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