Author: Rick Marshall

Battlestar Galactica Interview: Update!

Hey, Battlestar Galactica fans! First, I just want to thank all of you for your interest in our weekly interviews with BSG‘s Mark Verheiden. Every week, you and your fellow Battlestar fans make these interviews one of the most popular features on ComicMix, and we can’t thank you enough for doing so!

Unfortunately, this week’s interview will be a bit delayed, as big things are brewing in the world of Battlestar Galactica, and Mark is hard at work on a few projects that demand his attention. In the interest of always keeping ComicMix readers in the loop, we anticipate this week’s edition of BSG Weekly posting in the next day or two — so be sure to keep an eye on the site for your weekly fix of BSG questions from fans and answers from the series’ talented co-executive producer.

Oh, and don’t worry — we’ll be sure to pester Mark for some info about some of those other, super-secret projects he has in the works, too! Remember: you can always send your questions for Mark to our BSG Weekly interviewer, Chris Ullrich at: chris [at] comicmix [dot] com.

Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #4 – Sontarans Strike Back!

The hit BBC series Doctor Who is now in its fourth season on the Sci-Fi Channel, and since we’re all big fans here at ComicMix, we’ve decided to kick off an episode-by-episode analysis of the reinvigorated science-fiction classic.

Every week, we’ll have our best Who-philes go through the most recent episode with a fine-tooth comb (or whatever the “sonic screwdriver” equivalent might be) and call out all of the continuity checks, names dropped and storyline hints we can find to keep in mind for future episodes. We’ll post our analysis each Monday, so you have ample time to check out the episode once it airs each Friday at 9 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel before reading our review.

Missed a week? Check out our “Doctor Who in Review” archive or check out any of the past editions of this column via the links at the end of this article.

Keep in mind, we’re going to assume readers have already watched the episode when we put fingers to keyboard and come up with our roundup of important plot points. In other words, SPOILER ALERT!

Let’s begin now, shall we?

Season Four, Episode #4: “The Sontaran Strategem”

(more…)

Interview: Todd Nauck on WildGuard, American Dream and Teen Titans Go!

A quick scan of the shelves at your local comic shop this month should be all it takes to realize that writer/artist Todd Nauck has been keeping busy. The popular Young Justice artist’s name graces the cover of four different issues in a five-week span, including the launch of two new miniseries and the grand finale of another series.

One of those new miniseries marks the return of Nauck’s popular creator-owned series WildGuard to comic shops, and provides yet another look at a world where superheroes are chosen via American Idol-esque competitions and readers have helped determine everything from storylines to costumes.

Nauck also lends his considerable talents to the first two issues of American Dream this month, featuring the alternate-reality heroes of Marvel’s MC2 universe — specifically, the female Captain America. The first issue was a sellout for Marvel, with rave reviews for the work of both Nauck and series writer Tom DeFalco.

However, it isn’t all new beginnings for Nauck, as he helps close the door on the cartoon-inspired DC series Teen Titans Go! with issue #55 at the end of May. The kirds-oriented series has had Nauck embracing a new artistic style — one that’s now turning up in his other projects, too.

I spoke with Todd about nearly achieving the "quadfecta," finally finding time for more WildGuard and juggling the different artistic styles required for each of his very-different projects this month.

COMICMIX: When we spoke during New York Comic Con, you were excited to have the "quadfecta" schedule this month, with an issue hitting every week of May. Although some last-minute scheduling shifts pushed up one of the release dates, it’s still an impressive run of four comics in five weeks. When you first found out there was a chance of the schedule lining up like this, did you push for the quadfecta or was it entirely by chance?

TODD NAUCK: Entirely by chance. I couldn’t have planned it. The only book I could have a say in the release date was WildGuard: insider since that is my creator-owned book. I had the release date on May 14th for WildGuard: Insider #1 set around December or January for solicitations.

Then I come to find out my Marvel series American Dream is coming out bi-weekly with issue #1 out May 7th and issue #2 out May 21st.

Then I had to find out when Teen Titans Go #55 (the last issue of that series) was coming out. As I frantically flipped through the DC section of Previews I was hoping it would be May 28th. And wouldn’t you know, that was the exact date for Teen Titans Go #55.

I had hit the "quadfecta!" Four books, each coming out in a different week of the same month.

WildGuard: Insider #1 did get released early for Free Comic Book Day, though. But a lot of WildGuard fans probably expect it in their pull boxes for May 14th. So it’s still quadfecta-ish! (more…)

Random Video: Tokyo’s Robot Hotel

I’m not quite sure what to make of this video of the Tokyo Grand Guardian Hotel, but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to book a room there any time soon. Although, come San Diego Comic-Con time, I might think differently.

 

 

 

(via Sean T. Collins)

 

Fundraiser Update: DC/Warner Bros. Cancer Charity Fiasco, Gene Colan News

It seems as if DC/Warner Bros. have relented a smidge in their decision to shut down a set of auctions benefitting a childhood cancer charity… but only a smidge. Actually, it’s more like a half-smidge. Or possibly a micro-smidge. Anyways…

Thomas Denton reported on his blog this week that DC/Warner Bros. has allowed him to reactivate one of the charity auctions the company had previously shut down. After noticing that the auction had been reinstated on eBay, Denton claims that he sent a letter to DC/Warner Bros. (which he’s posted on his site) asking if this meant he could reactivate all of the aborted auctions.

One of DC/WB’s anti-piracy department representatives responded, telling Denton, "We made a [sic] exemption for the item that was relisted."

Denton writes that he’s currently investigating whether it will be feasible/worthwhile to relist the piece, a Paul Salvi illustration pictured here, but reminds readers that he still has a number of impressive, non-DC properties available on eBay.

In other news, Cliff Meth recently reported on his website that he has spoken with unnamed "executives at Marvel" who "offered Adrienne [wife of suffering artist Gene Colan] and I some of the many things that they plan to do for the Colans to provide immediate and long-term relief." However, Meth offers no further details about the arrangement.

We reported earlier this week on the various ways the industry has rallied to support legendary illustrator Gene Colan as his family struggles to pay for mounting medical costs related to his kidney failure.

Spider-Man 4 and 5 to be Filmed Together?

Cinematical is boasting quite the scoop today, reporting that one of their industry insiders confirmed that Zodiac writer James Vanderbilt has turned in a script for Spider-Man 4 that will stretch over multiple films. Negotiations regarding the script are still going on, so there’s no certainty that Vanderbilt’s two-part story arc will end up on the big screen.

From Cinematical:

… according to our source, "his story arc has encompassed two films, making Spider-Man 5 shootable at the same time. The studio saw dollar signs and is in the process of reworking his deal to snatch up the story arc."

Sure, everyone’s happy now… but wait until they hear the working titles for the films: Spider-Man 4: Brand New Day and Spider-Man 5: The Clone Saga.

sigh

 

William ‘Willie’ Elder, R.I.P.

William "Willie" Elder, one of the illustrators instrumental in launching MAD Magazine, passed away today at age 86, according to various reports.

Elder was one of several creators hired by MAD founder Harvey Kurtzman when the popular parody magazine first launched in 1952.

No details have been released regarding Elder’s cause of death. His funeral will be held Sunday in New Jersey.

From the official statement on behalf of DC, the current publisher of MAD Magazine:

“Willie Elder was one of the funniest artists to ever work for MAD. He created visual feasts with dozens of background gags layered into every MAD story he illustrated,” says John Ficarra, Editor of MAD Magazine, “He called these gags “chicken fat.” Willie’s “anything goes” art style set the tone for the entire magazine and created a look that endures to this day.”

“Willie’s passing saddens all of us here at MAD,” says Sam Viviano, MAD Magazine Art Director, “Everyone who has attempted to draw a funny picture over the course of the last fifty or sixty years owes an enormous debt to Willie, who taught us all how to do it — and no one has ever done it better than he did.”

 

Heath Ledger’s Oscar-Winning Performance?

Whenever the subject of The Dark Knight comes up, everyone seems to be asking the same question (when they’re not talking about the film’s viral marketing, that is): Do you think Heath Ledger will receive an Oscar post-humously?

Over at Cinematical, they’ve started a discussion thread on exactly that subject, and the resulting comments have been interesting, to say the least. Reader response is all over the spectrum, but I thought commenter "techstar25" summed up the debate pretty darn well:

Last year the Academy recognized the work of two brilliant actors playing two of the most heinous villains ever put to film (Javier Bardem and Daniel Day-Lewis). There is now clearly a baseline with which Ledger’s Joker will be compared. How does "Joker" stack up against "Anton Chigurh" and "Daniel Plainview"? We’ll see, but at least now we know that the barriers have been broken and the voters will take a second look at "the bad guy".

This subject has certainly been the topic of conversation at many a ComicMix meeting, but I’d like to throw it out there for discussion among our readers. Is Ledger a lock to take home an Academy Award, or is the entire discussion premature with the film’s July 18 release still months away?

The Single Greatest Comic Book of All Time?

Chris’ Invincible Super-Blog continues to be one of my favorite comic blogs on the InterWebs, as it never fails to crack me up while also turning me on to some comics that might not have otherwise been on my radar. Yesterday’s celebration of his one-year anniversary with the new ISB site was no exception.

In order to commemorate a full year with the "new" ISB, Chris revisits his assessment of "The Single Greatest Comic Book Of All Time" — which happens to be November 1988’s Batman #425, featuring a Jim Starlin story and Mark Bright pencils.

According to Chris, a single page featuring Batman’s creative use of a car battery changed the course of his entire life:

That’s it. That’s the moment. That’s where the ISB was born, although it wouldn’t actually show up for another seventeen years. You can draw a line straight to the comics I read today and everything makes sense: The way Batman casually looks around for something to use, the delight he takes in “getting improvisational,” the thug’s reaction and the grin Batman’s got in the shadow, the way the guy just crumples. You don’t hear a whole lot about Mark Bright, but man. That is a beautiful page.

Much like Chris Ullrich‘s post a while back, directing you to a list of comics that "hooked" popular creators, it’s always interesting (to me, at least) to find out what issues were the "first" for various readers.

Mine? Marvel Team-Up #129, featuring Spider-Man and Vision vs. The Mad Thinker’s Robots. They smash evil versions of Albert Einstein, Mark Twain and, I believe, Abraham Lincoln. Vision questions his own humanity – or lack thereof – and there’s a big robot with a club for a fist. Ed Hannigan’s cover remains one of my favorites to this very day.

When Superheroes Get Old

Geriatric superheroes appear to be all the rage these days, as a number of sites are linking to Italian artist Donald Soffritti’s illustrations of Superman, Spider-Man and a variety of other super-types in their Golden Years. Soffritti’s work is great, and I can’t help but giggle every time I look at his take on DC speedster The Flash.

(And please, for everyone’s sake, don’t tell DC/Warner Bros. about this stuff.)

(via ComicNerd.com)

 

Along the same lines, BoingBoing points us to a similar piece that fast-forwards the age of popular cartoon characters, including Popeye, Felix the Cat and Dennis the Menace (my personal favorite).

 

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