Author: Robert Greenberger

The popular voiceover actor took time last week to speak about his days as the new Caped Crusader in preparation for this week’s release of Batman Beyond: The Complete Series, a nine-disc limited edition DVD set that presents nearly 20 hours of animated action spread over 52 episodes, as well as including all-new bonus featurettes and a 24-page, 8”x 12” collectible booklet.

Batman Beyond: The Complete Series centers on Terry McGinnis, an ordinary teenager … until his father is mysteriously murdered. Suspecting foul play at his father’s company, Wayne/Powers Corporation, Terry meets Bruce Wayne and learns of a secret identity hidden for decades. Now too old to don the cape and cowl as Batman, Wayne refuses to help – so Terry does what any brash young kid would do: steal the Bat-suit and take matters into his own hands! Vowing to avenge his father’s death, Terry dons the high-tech suit tricked out with jetpacks, a supersensitive microphone and even camouflage capabilities in search of his father’s assassin.
The all-star production team was headed by executive producer Jean MacCurdy and producers Bruce Timm, Alan Burnett, Glen Murakami and Paul Dini. Writers on the series included Burnett and Dini, as well as Stan Berkowitz, Bob Goodman, Rich Fogel, Hilary Bader and John McCann.

Friedle made his mark in live-action television and film from the time
he turned 10, starring in hit series like Boy Meets World and Don’t Just
Sit There. He gradually shifted his attention to voiceover work, taking
the lead in Batman Beyond and co-starring in Disney’s Kim Possible to
name but a few. Today, he primarily stays behind the microphone, voicing
such notable roles as Doyle on The Secret Saturdays and Blue Beetle on
Batman: The Brave and the Bold.Will Friedle took a futuristic
Dark Knight in altogether new directions as the voice of Terry McGinnis
in Warner Bros. Animation’s breakthrough 1999 series Batman Beyond.

QUESTION: When you think back on all those Batman Beyond sessions, what are your favorite memories of recording the series?WILL FRIEDLE: This sounds like a cheesy answer, but working with Andrea (Romano) is just the greatest experience. Every week you go in and it’s amazing and fun. You just never knew who the guest cast would be. My favorite was  recording Return of the Joker. Sitting between Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill for five days was pretty incredible. I learned more about being a voiceover actor in those five days than I did in the five months before that. Just watching the two of them work – how Mark got so into the character, completely losing himself in that role. And then there’s Kevin with that deep, booming voice, always sitting with his back straight and working perfectly with the microphone. It was an education.

QUESTION: Do you have a favorite Batman Beyond episode?

WILL FRIEDLE: There was an episode called “Out of the Past” where it’s Bruce Wayne’s birthday and as a birthday present Terry takes Bruce to see a new play, “Batman: The Musical.” So there’s Bruce sitting in the audience, watching these people in costume jumping on stage, singing about the Dark Knight, and Terry’s right behind him humming the songs. And Bruce just hates it. Seeing Bruce Wayne watching “Batman: The Musical” was pretty funny.

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Tim Burton’s Charlie and The Chocolate Factory arrives exclusively for Download on iTunes for the first time with Bonus Content. The extra content Includes interviews with Johnny Depp and Tim Burton. For the curious you can check out a preview here.

The film, adapting Roald Dhal’s marvelous novel, starred Johnny Depp and was a visual delight which we here at ComicMix highly recommend.

Thanks to Warner Digital, we have a free digital download to give away. Since this is Thanksgiving week, please tell us what you are most thankful for. The entry that moves us to laugh, sagely nod in agreement or wipe away a tear will be declared the winner. You have until 11:59 on Wednesday November 24 to tell us. One entry per e-mail address and the judgment of ComicMix is final.

Marvel Comics has always had a special relationship with New York City so today’s press release merely continues this. Check it out:

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment Commissioner Katherine Oliver, Small Business Services Commissioner Robert W. Walsh, Marvel Entertainment Editor-in-Chief and Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada, New York Daily News CEO Bill Holiber and Editor-in-Chief Kevin Convey, and Spider-Man today announced the creation of Spider-Man, You’re Hired, an all-new comic book highlighting City resources available to New Yorkers who are navigating the job market. The comic, which features an unemployed Peter Parker starting his job search, is the Administration’s latest effort to connect out-of-work to New Yorkers to job training and placement services. It was inspired by the NYC Media original television production, “Job Hunt,” a ten-part series on how the City is helping New Yorkers to get back to work – focusing on Workforce1 Career Centers, libraries and other City services. Mayor Bloomberg made the announcement at Midtown Comics’ new store in Lower Manhattan.“New York City provides free, first-rate job training and placement assistance, and we want every New Yorker that needs help to know about it, so we asked Spider-Man to help us spread the word,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “One of the reasons we created the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment was to find new ways to connect with New Yorkers. Our partnership with Marvel and the Daily News is a fun and innovative way to let everyone know about the web of resources the City has to offer New Yorkers that need job assistance.”

“Marvel’s proud to team-up with the City of New York to help inform all New Yorkers about the free services designed to assist them in finding employment. We couldn’t ask for two better leading men than Spider-Man and Mayor Bloomberg,” said Marvel Entertainment Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada “Because even New York’s most famous Super Hero needs a day job!”

“We are always looking for new ways to reach people in all forms of media about the job resources offered by the City,” said Katherine Oliver, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. “Working with Marvel, the Daily News and Small Business Services on this special ‘Spider-Man: You’re Hired’ edition is a tremendous example of how the government can work with the private sector to really help people.”

“Thank you to Mayor Bloomberg, Commissioner Oliver, the New York Daily News and the City’s great new partner, Marvel,” said Small Business Services Commissioner Walsh. “This is an exciting collaboration and a real super hero effort that will ensure that many more New Yorkers know about the City’s excellent free employment services. I’m glad that Peter Parker is helping us to spread the word to jobseekers that visiting a Workforce1 Career Center can help them get a job in this tough market.”

“As New York’s Hometown Newspaper, the Daily News is proud to use our printed pages and the power of NYDailyNews.com to help New Yorkers, like unemployed Spider-Man alter-ego Peter Parker, find work,” said New York Daily News CEO Bill Holiber. “The City of New York and the Daily News have been tremendous partners on this and other projects – such as the “Hire Me” series that partnered with the “Job Hunt” show and caller helpline – by combining our resources to help New Yorkers get to work. In today’s Daily News, not only will New Yorkers find a special edition of the Spider-Man comic created by Marvel Entertainment, but we’ve also provided readers with a guide to the city’s services for job searches, training and research. We hope our efforts not only help one of New York’s most famous super heroes find work, but other ‘real’ New Yorkers, as well.”

The recently created Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment is identifying and implementing new ways to let New Yorkers know about City resources available to them. To promote the City’s free workforce training and job placement services, the Office worked with Marvel Custom Solutions, a special division within Marvel Entertainment that develops innovative programs addressing the specific needs of partners and philanthropic interests, to create a special edition Spider-Man comic book featuring Mayor Bloomberg.
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Prepare for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 by reliving the First Five Harry Potter films now on iTunes.

Before fans see the all-new Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 on Friday, they can now see the beloved from franchise from the beginning via their phones, iPads, and more…

And courtesy of Warner Digital, we have one Harry Potter t-shirt to give to one lucky Hogwarts aficionado. You have until 11:59 p.m. November 20 to tell us which Harry Potter film you think best adapts the J.K. Rowling novel. One entry per e-mail address please and the judgment of ComicMix will be final.

Here’s the release and the details. A shame, really, since Brett Matthews and Sergio Cariello have been doing a pretty terrific job with the masked rider.

November 15, 2010, Runnemede, NJ –  Dynamite Entertainment and Classic Media, a global media company with a portfolio of the world’s leading family entertainment brands, today announced that Brett Matthew’s critically acclaimed run on The Lone Ranger® series will comes its historic end when issue #25 lands this January.  Expertly drawn by Sergio Cariello and with a cover by the amazing John Cassaday, this issue will be a must-read for long-time fans of this “Eisner Nominated” series and America’s favorite hero of the Wild West!

Is it the end of the line for The Lone Ranger when he and Butch Cavendish meet and do battle for the first and final time?  Will The Lone Ranger destroy Cavendish and himself, or will he find a way to save both?

“Bringing this unique and personal version of The Lone Ranger to life has been an incredibly satisfying experience for me on a lot of levels,” says writer Brett Matthews. “To collaborate with talents like John Cassaday, Sergio Cariello, Simon Bowland and Marcello Pinto over the last couple years has been a pleasure, and is a testament to both the character and their craft. I’m glad to call them my friends. My thanks to Dynamite Entertainment and especially the fans — old and new — for their support along the way. I’m proud of the story we told and the men John Reid and Tonto became while we rode along with them. Hi-Yo!”

“This is a bitter sweet moment for all of us at Dynamite Entertainment,” says Dynamite President Nick Barrucci.  “The Lone Ranger helped define Dynamite as a publisher who could produce commercially successful titles to one who could publish a comic with critical acclaim.  We knew that this day would come, and it’s almost upon us.  I cannot express enough the appreciation and respect that I have for Brett, John, Sergio, Dean (White), Marcello and Simon.  They helped make this great story the best it could be.  From the moment I first read Brett’s script, to when the pages started coming in and seeing John’s first covers, success or fail, this series would be a series to be proud of.  It surpassed all expectations.  All good things come to an end, and the journey to this great ending has been one of the proudest parts of our publishing history.  Issue #25 will be the end of this great series.  There will be more stories, but the creators who come next will have big boots to fill.  Hi-O Silver!”

“Dynamite Entertainment has been a fantastic partner and together we are excited to present the conclusion to this very successful story arc in The Lone Ranger series,” said Karyn Schneider, VP, Licensing, Classic Media. “As America’s favorite hero of the Wild West, The Lone Ranger has captured fans’ hearts and imaginations for generations, and this dramatic conclusion will be sure to inspire readers and new stories for many more years to come.”

The Lone Ranger premiered as a last-ditch effort to save a depression-wracked Detroit radio station.  Since the show’s premiere broadcast in 1933, no other fictional Western hero has proved so enduring.  More than 2,900 Lone Ranger radio programs were produced, as well as many movie serials, short stories, novels, feature films, phonograph records, newspaper strips and an astounding three million comic books.  The Lone Ranger television series, begun in the late 1940’s, consists of over 500 episodes. A new live-action feature film is currently in development with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Walt Disney Pictures.