Author: Robert Greenberger

Colan: Visions of a Man without Fear Opens in San Francisco

  • News
  • November 11, 2008

Gene Colan’s artistic career will receive the retrospective treatment as San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum presents Colan: Visions of a Man without Fear, opening November 15 and running through March 15, 2009.

On December 4, there will be a special opening reception with Gene and Adrienne Colan in attendance.

The exhibition will include over 40 examples from Colan’s long creative career, from his one and only story illustrated for legendary publisher EC Comics in 1952, through his career-defining work for Marvel Comics from the 1960s and 1970s on titles as diverse as Iron Man, Tomb of Dracula and Howard The Duck, to his notable run on DC Comics’ Batman in the 1980s, to his more recent efforts, including illustrations commissioned by his fans and his beautiful pencil artwork on titles such as Michael Chabon’s The Escapist, published by Dark Horse Comics.

Guest Curator Glen David Gold, author of the novel, Carter Beats the Devil, put the museum show together.  An exhibition catalog featuring high-quality reproductions of Colan’s artwork and essays from many of his most notable collaborators, including writers Stan Lee, Marv Wolfman, Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart, will be available at the Cartoon Art Museum prior to the exhibition’s opening reception on December 4.

For those unfamiliar with Gene “The Dean”, he was born in New York in 1926 and studied at the Art Students League of New York under illustrator Frank Riley and surrealistic Japanese painter Kuniashi. After a stint in the army, Colan’s official career in comics began in 1944 at Fiction House and Timely.

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Review: ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’

This is a first.  I’ve been living with the story for [[[Hellboy II: The Golden Army]]] since last Thanksgiving, when I accepted the assignment to write the novelization. However, given personal circumstances, I missed its release and am only now finally seeing it, nearly a year later, on DVD.   As a result, I’m looking at the film from some fairly unique angles.

That the entire production team and cast has returned is asset to film, out on standard disc and Blu-ray today. It looks good and clearly, there’s an ease and comfort between the principal players and their director, Guillermo del Toro.

Del Toro’s [[[Hellboy]]] is somewhat different in tone and certainly in story direction from what Mike Mignola has been chronicling in his Dark Horse comics.  And that’s fine, that’s part of the adaptation process.  That Mignola remains involved and is credited as a producer and for helping del Toro craft the story shows his willingness to see others play with his characters.

Since the first film, del Toro captured the world’s attention with Pan’s Labyrinth, and this follow-up film seemed to indicate a willingness to show he was not a one-trick pony. The film is therefore a visual treat. In terms of the story, we’re some months after the first film so Hellboy and Liz Sherman are now romantically involved and living together at BPRD HQ.  Beyond that, the other characters are somewhat static.

The story of an exiled elfin prince returning from exile to break an ages-old truce with Man is a strong one, especially given a world Hellboy knows is filled with freaks of all kinds.  We follow Prince Nuada’s efforts to assemble the crown that would given him command over the Golden Army, 70 times 70 mechanical soldiers built by the goblin forges. With them at his command, all humanity would be wiped out and the elves can regain control of the planet.

Mixed in with that is the stresses between Liz and Hellboy living together, Abe Sapien falling in love with the Princess Nuala, who opposes her brother’s jihad, and the exposure of the [[[BPRD]]] to the general public.  This necessitates Washington sending a new field leader, Dr. Johann Krauss, who happens to be an ectoplasmic being living in a containment suit.

There’s plenty of story and threads and everyone has something to do and people to play off one another.  Add in deadly Tooth Fairies, the last Elemental, a Troll Market, an Angel of Death, and the revived Army, and you have plenty to deal with.

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L. Frank Baum’s Santa Claus Coming to the Screen

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  • November 11, 2008

It’s nice to see people remember that L. Frank Baum wrote stories featuring characters other than the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  In fact, he also tackled someone even more impressive: Santa Claus.

Variety reports that Hyde Park Entertainment will team with Toonz Entertainment to adapt The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus as a CGI-animated film, similar to the just-announced John Boorman-directed interpretation of Oz. And like the oft-adapted Oz, this one will be coming for Christmas 2010.

Tom Tataranowicz, president of Gang of 7 Animation, will direct alongside Rich Arons, and Dick Sebast. Tataranowicz co-wrote the script with animation veteran Mark Edward Edens (Hot Wheels, Sonic, Young Hercules). The film is being produced at the Toonz Animation Studio in India.

The trade describes the story as following “Santa’s formative years, including a battle against the heart of evil that establishes the Santa mythology.” There’s a lot more to it and was a personal favorite to read the kids in days gone by.

The 1902 novel has previously been adapted less often than Oz, beginning with the 1985 Rankin-Bass production. Japan, in 1994, tried their hand with Shounen Santa no Daibôken (Young Santa’s Adventures). America folded it into The Oz Kids’"Who Stole Santa?"  In 1996. Gen Hill also did an animated version in 2000.  Michael Ploog also turned it into a graphic novel, published by Tundra in 1992.
 

Sony Plans ‘Ghostbusters’ 25th Anniversary Celebration

  • News
  • November 11, 2008

While awaiting some real news about a potential third Ghostbusters movie, Sony is already beating the drums for the franchise’s 25th anniversary in 2009.  First, Atari has announced that Ghostbusters: The Video Game will be featuring the voices and likenesses of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, William Atherton, Annie Potts and Brian Doyle-Murray. The story is set two years after the events of the second film and was written by Aykroyd and Ramis. Atari and Terminal Reality anticipate the game to be available on multiple platforms.

Expect a complete array of anniversary toys, t-shirts, comic books, prop replicas and a theme park attraction.  Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will also release Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II on Blu-ray for the first time.
 

‘Buffy’ Back on Track

  • News
  • November 11, 2008

Editor Scott Allie provided frustrated Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans with an update on the oft-delayed series.

“Good news, gang — Andy Owens has just turned in the final inks for long-overdue Buffy #19,” he wrote at Dark Horse’s website. “So while Michelle wraps up the colors on Buffy #19, I want to thank you for your patience, apologize for the delay, and promise to do my best to keep it from happening again.” The issue will be on sale November 26.

He went on to assure all that Buffy #20-22 are completed so the schedule should stabilize in the coming months.

“You’ve probably read the news that Jane Espenson has joined the staff of Dollhouse, which means she’ll be seeing Joss daily while writing her much-anticipated arc, which will feature Oz,” Allie teased. “Jane makes her Season Eight debut in the issue #21 one-shot, kick-starting the next arc. We’re doing some unusual promotions for that issue, and you’ll want to keep your eye on MySpace Dark Horse Presents and other places come the first of the year.”

Josh Brolin Uncertain About ‘Jonah Hex’

  • News
  • November 11, 2008

Collider spoke with actor Josh Brolin about the Jonah Hex film and interestingly, he has yet to be signed despite reports to the contrary.

While saying, “I think Jonah Hex is a really, really interesting story. I think it would be risky also, which I like, and I don’t know if it’s the thing to do.” He admitted to not having spoken with the producer/director team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. They already announced their intention to begin production in March.

To the actor, about to be seen in Milk, picking roles is a very careful process. “Because it’s my process, man. It’s just like when I play a character. I carry around a memo pad and I write a thousand questions. I like to ask myself those questions before I start a movie so I’m not in the middle of the movie going, what did I do? I want to give myself entirely to the film and to the filmmaker when I decide to do the movie. So, I would rather go through all the crap before that and if it doesn’t turn out, that’s okay. That’s when I don’t worry about it because I know I went into it with the right intentions. I always have to weigh out, why am I going into this? Is it the characters? Is it the story? Is it the filmmakers? Is it the other actors that I can round up? Is it greed? Is it money? Is it the fact that they’re offering me a lot of money? Yeah, that’s nice. I don’t get paid, man. I do the art films or whatever. Character actor, fuck that. It’s a nice trajectory and I love working with great filmmakers, l ike I said. I would also work with a first time filmmaker. If I see his reel and I go, “Oh my god, this guy’s amazing.” There’s a great commercial director in London, Johnny Green. I think he’s a phenomenal talent, phenomenal, so I’m trying to get together with him and create something together because I think he’s an amazing talent. I could be wrong but I think he is. So, I don’t know. You just got that much of my process that goes on in my head just now. This happens for months. It’s exhausting. I’m starting to get embarrassed.”
 

‘Knight Rider’ Finds its Roots

  • News
  • November 11, 2008

Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Yancey Arias and Bruce Davison are being left at the curb as NBC orders a major retooling of its Knight Rider revival. The network has shown faith in the show, giving it a full season’s order, only to watch the ratings go into a death spiral.

"It’s a reboot," executive producer/showrunner Gary Scott Thompson told The Hollywood Reporter. "We’re moving away from the terrorist-of-the-week formula and closer to the original, making it a show about a man and his car going out and helping more regular people, everymen."

The series regulars were contracted for only the first 13 episodes and are not being renewed. Currently, the 15th episode is being filmed and the focus will be tightened on Mike (Justin Bruening), Sarah (Deanna Russo), Billy (Paul Campbell), Zoe (Smith Cho) and KITT.

The series kicks off the network’s Wednesday night crime block of shows, followed by Life and Law & Order. Viewers will have a chance to see the restyled series during a two-part episode in January.  They may even use its football prowess to run episode 10 on the weekend and wrap it up, bringing the audience they hope, for the conclusion the following Wednesday.
 

‘Wonder Woman’ Movie Rumors

  • News
  • November 11, 2008

wonder-woman-perez-1-6938899Some Wonder Woman news popped up over the weekend.  First, there was Beyonce Knowles telling Geoff Boucher at the Los Angeles Times that she’d love to portray the Amazon Princess.

"I want to do a superhero movie and what would be better than Wonder Woman? It would be great. And it would be a very bold choice. A black Wonder Woman would be a powerful thing. It’s time for that, right?" she said.

She has appeared in Austin Powers in Goldmember, Dreamgirls, and Cadillac Records in addition to her pop music career.  Knowles indicated she has personally expressed her interest to both the studio and representatives at DC Comics.

The shapely and fit performer was ready for the revealing and tight tradition outfit as first designed by artist Harry G. Peters.  "I would definitely have to keep it right for that costume. The way that Lynda Carter wore it, she was sooo fine. She was amazing. I saw her costume at the Met. Her waist was unbelievable. It was pretty crazy, actually, her proportions. But I love Wonder Woman and it’d be a dream come true to be that character. It sure would be handy to have that lasso. To make everybody tell the truth? I need that. It would come in very handy."

The 27 year old also noted, "When you think about the psychology of the heroes in the films these days, they are still a lot of work, of course, and emotional. But there’s also an action element that I would enjoy."

IESB is reporting rumors that Warner Bros. may be circling back to McG to direct the long-stalled movie.  The man is currently in post-production on Terminator Salvation and was scheduled to direct the Superman reboot before walking off the project prior to Bryan Singer’s involvement. He was also interested in The Losers which went to Tim Story before the studio reassigned it to Sylvain White.

“Let me be very clear about this, I don’t know if he has been signed on or if his is just one of the names being circulated by the studio or if in fact it’s McG himself lobbying for the gig. Could be any of the three,” the site wrote.

“I double checked with a few other industry insiders and after a few phone calls they confirmed of hearing his name circling Wonder Woman as well.”
 

James Cameron sets the Record on ‘Terminator Salavation’

  • News
  • November 11, 2008

James Cameron’s name has been bandied around, with various reports indicating he supported McG’s Terminator Salvation film or hated it.  To clear the air, he issued the following statement to Harry Knowles, the man behind Ain’t it Cool News:

There’s been some discussion at AICN and elsewhere of me rescinding my so-called blessing of T4 and that’s not the case. The truth is there never was a blessing to rescind, and there’s been some kind of misunderstanding between me and McG, perfectly innocent I believe. He asked me in a phone call when I was shooting in New Zealand earlier this year if I would be a supporter and creative participant in the new film. I said sure, send me the script and I’ll give you my thoughts. And I warned him that free advice is usually worth what you pay for it. For whatever reason I never got the script and to date I haven’t seen a foot of film other than what everybody’s seen in the trailer, which is not enough to form an opinion. So I have zero basis for supporting or dissing the film. As I said in an interview, for all I know it could be a masterpiece or it could be a big steaming pile. I think all people heard was the steaming pile part and concluded I was against the film, which I’m not. In fact, it might be very good, an opinion based solely on what Sam Worthington has shared with me. He’s nobody’s fool when it comes to material, and has absolutely the lowest bullshit quotient of anyone I know, and he has repeatedly told me that he reckons the film is going to be good. I know him to be very critical (in a healthy way) of his own work, and an actor who always aspires to excellence, so I know he wouldn’t praise the film if he didn’t feel it.

Obviously I can’t give my blessing (whatever that means anyway) to the film completely blind. But I’m predisposed to be supportive based on Sam’s involvement and his judgment, because I believe in him. So there you have it. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that it’s not a steaming pile.

Jim out

So there. You of course can decide for yourself when the film opens in May 2009.
 

‘Watchmen’ Tops 3Q Sales Charts

  • News
  • November 11, 2008

watchmen-trade-paperback-6870880

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reports that graphic novels tied to feature film release saw a massive increase in third quarter sales.

“Sales of the Watchmen graphic novel exploded after the trailer hit theaters and it will clearly be the number one graphic novel of 2008, but a number of Batman-related graphic novels including The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight Returns also showed huge increases in sales, while Mark Millar’s Wanted graphic novel published by Top Cow clearly benefited from having a hit movie adaptation,” the site noted.

As the summer features arrive on DVD for the holidays, additional trade sales are anticipated.  Marvel cannily released additional Iron Man product when the related DVD came out September 29.

Manga did not suffer according to the site’s analysis, saying “Viz Media’s shojo series Vampire Knight, the top Manga series to debut in 2007 gained strength in 2008 and Viz Media also has one of the best new series of 2008, Rosario & Vampire, but with the maturing of the Manga market, the number of new releases slated for 2009 is declining, though the quality of those new series appears to be going up.”

Top Superhero Properties–Q3 08

1 Watchmen, DC
2 Batman, DC
3 Spider-Man, Marvel
4 Wanted, Top Cow
5 League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, DC/Wildstorm
6 Iron Man, Marvel
7 Marvel Zombies, Marvel
8 Hulk, Marvel9 Superman, DC
10 Green Lantern DC

Top Genre Properties–Q3 08

1 Star Wars, Dark Horse

2 Y: The Last Man, DC/Vertigo
3 Indiana Jones, Dark Horse
4 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dark Horse
5 Dark Tower, Marvel
6 Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Marvel
7 The Walking Dead, Image
8 Fables, DC/Vertigo
9 Sandman, DC/Vertigo
10 Angel, IDW

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