Author: Robert Greenberger

Romance! Action! Prose!

  • News
  • December 7, 2007

It used to be, the most successful comic book heroes would eventually wind up in prose.  These days, with superheroes fully integrated into mainstream America, it’s no surprise that several novelists have taken their own, unique looks at the genre.  Already this year we’ve had the well received Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman and Perry Moore’s Hero.  It’s no surprise, then, that the romance genre would also introduce their own take on the subject.

 

Long-time comic book fan and one-time DC Comics staffer Elizabeth M. Flynn, writing as Ellis Flynn, has produced Introducing Sonika.  The novel is an eBook, available from Cerridwen Press as of December 13, 2007.

 

According to the publisher, “Sonika is actually 28-year-old Sonya Penn, a Gen Y gal working hard as a physical therapist in order to pay off the enormous medical bills that remained after her parents’ deaths. Like so many of her generation, her career has left her no time for romance. But unlike so many others like her, the medical bills she’s working hard to pay off were incurred when her super-hero parents were killed by their arch-nemesis, Gentleman Geoffrey.

 

“Sonya could hardly know that when she met her newest client, he would not only turn out to be John Arlen, the heir to an engineering fortune, but that he, too, was injured by a super-villain. (more…)

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Is Manga a Passing Fad?, by Robert Greenberger

  • News
  • October 23, 2007

bobgreenberger100-1138724Well, duh.

That was my first reaction when I read USA Today’s story regarding Manga’s loosening grip on readers in Japan.

After all, we lived through it in America starting some 30 years ago, where three things happened around mid-decade:

  1. Cable television was introduced and began snaking through the country, suddenly captivating television watchers and keeping them watching with extra channels, premium movies and so on.
  2. At much the same time, the first home video games were also capturing peoples’ attention.  I still remember being fascinated playing Pong on the playroom television and then flipping to watch an uncut movie on HBO.
  3. The rise of the direct sales distribution system for comic books, which began an evolution away from readers finding comics at the local stationary shop and towards hole-in-the-wall outlets that sold comics and related stuff.

(more…)

Superhero Casting Announced

  • Uncategorized
  • September 21, 2007

While Mike Gold shared the news about the honest-to-goodness JLA movie, another project was also announced yesterday.

Dimension Films will be producing the inevitable spoof entitled, what else, Superhero. The casting has been completed with filming about to begin and a March 28, 2008 release date set.

The film features perennial spoof master Leslie Neilsen, in addition to Brent Spiner (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Marion Ross (Happy Days), the amazing Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development), Drake Bell (High Fidelity), Sara Paxton (Sydney White), Christopher McDonald (Fanboys), Kevin Hart (Scary Movie 4), and Ryan Hansen (Veronica Mars).  The satire will be written and directed by Craig Mazin (Scary Movie 3 and 4).

Of course, Mystery Men was a wonderful superhero spoof ahead of its time, so we’ll reserve judgment until next spring.

Speed Racer’s Return to Comics

  • News
  • September 18, 2007

pzsispr0001-8143206The deals are taking their positions by the pole, ready to make “Go, Speed Racer, go,” next year’s biggest catch phrase.  Just announced by Speed Racer Enterprises are a series of new licensing deals; the most interesting (to you readers) is IDW landing comic book rights.

In addition to all new comics, they have the rights to collect previous incarnations of the anime series, one of the earliest to be imported from Japan.  There have been eleven different comic series from publishers including Now, Malibu, and DC Comics with the earliest dating back to 1990.

IDW expects to have their first releases out in the first quarter of 2008 to catch the anticipation of the new feature length film from the Wachowskis, due May 9.  Speed racer joins IDW’s growing line of licensed books which already includes Angel, Star Trek, and Transformers.

A new animated series, entitled Speed Racer: The Next Generation, will also debut with twenty-six episodes on Nicktoons.  LionsGate has already announced the first DVD collection of this series will also be available in 2008. The original fifty-two episodes are already available in a multi-volume DVD set.

Star Trek Readies to Leave Drydock

  • News
  • September 12, 2007

0412anton-8472804With its 41st anniversary just a week past, the saying “Star Trek Lives!” has never been more true.  The franchise has spent the year retooling and gearing up for a major relaunch in late 2008.

The details, though, get murky as people mix rumor with fact.  We here at ComicMix are happy to help divide wheat from chaff so we may all live long and prosper.

The eleventh feature film is entitled simply Star Trek and will be released on December 25, 2008. The story, early drafts of which have already leaked out, was written by the new hit team of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.  Producing will be the Lost duo J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof with Abrams directing.  Abrams’ frequent collaborator, Michael Giacchino, has already signed to write the score.

Now comes the tricky part – the casting.

As of today, only three parts are official: Spock to be played by the inimitable Leonard Nimoy and Heroes antagonist Zachary Quinto and Chekov, to be played by newcomer Anton Yelchin (pictured above).

That’s it.

Many actors have expressed an interest in a variety of roles.  Such is Abrams’ relationship with his cast that many veterans have said they’d happily board the newly designed U.S.S. Enterprise if Abrams but asked.  As a result, gossip mongers have already cast Tom Cruise as Captain Christopher Pike (James T. Kirk’s predecessor).  Greg Grunberg, who has been in every Abrams production is expected to have a role, be it large or small, human or alien.  Today’s media dump includes word that Jennifer Garner owes Abrams so much she would don Vulcan ears if he wanted.

Beyond that, for the last month, word has been circulating, reaching a deafening crescendo this week that Russell Crowe is Paramount Pictures’ choice for the bad guy (whoever or whatever that may be).  Promoting 3:10 to Yuma, co-star Christian Bale told the press Crowe would be perfect for the film.  Today’s New York Post continues to speculate Crowe is a signature away from beaming aboard the film.

Beyond that, the roles of Kirk, Leonard McCoy, Montgomery Scott, Hikaru Sulu and Uhura remain uncast.  Sure, William Shatner has been publicly campaigning to return from the dead but as of now, nothing formal has been announced.

Production begins in November and will include two weeks shooting in Iceland. There will be eleven buildings on the Paramount lot dedicated to sets for the expansive, eighty-five day shoot.  Along with the studios’ Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, these make for two of next year’s most eagerly awaited movies (let alone topping the must see sequel lists).

Summer Box Office Closing Report

  • News
  • September 5, 2007

The summer is now officially over and our minds are already beginning to turn to… the Christmas movie season.  But first, let’s take stock and see where we are with comic book-based movies.  We have just one left for release this year, the feature version of Steve Niles’ 30 Days of Night, but that’s waiting for the appropriate Halloween period.

Much has been made of the $4 billion summer box office and how it set a new record, until you adjust for inflation and then it doesn’t beat 2002.  Studios say that’s okay, because the hits will also prove strong sellers this holiday season in DVD (regular, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, collect them all!).  With average ticket prices creeping up to $6.85 (it’s $10.25 in Connecticut, where on earth is it only $6.85?), the receipts have also risen.

Here’s an updated look at the genre films released this year with their total box office to date followed by their budgets. Again, following that logic, 300 remains the clear winner by traditional Hollywood logic.  When all the home video sales get counted next spring, we’ll see if that remains the case.

Ghost Rider, $115,802,596 / $110,000,000

300, $210,250,922 / $65,000,000

TMNT, $42,273,609 / $34,000,000

Spider-Man 3, $336,530,303 / $258,000,000

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, $131,451,007 / $130,000,000

Stardust, August 10, $31,912,000 to date / $70,000,000

(more…)

Fantastic Voyage gets a facelift

  • Uncategorized
  • August 16, 2007

Fantastic Voyage, the 1966 feature film to begin a new cycle of “serious” science fiction on the big screen, is being remade at 20th Century Fox. The film is being helmed by Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, Godzilla) with National Treasure’s Marianne and Cormac Wibberley in talks to write the new version. Emmerich toyed with the remake possibilities a decade back and only got re-interested when he saw a draft from the writers.

The original film, directed by Richard Fleischer (Doctor Doolittle, Soylent Green) and turned into a novel by Isaac Asimov, was known for its concept, its cutting edge special effects and the fantastic notion of Raquel Welch as a scientist.

Should this actually get produced, the earliest audiences can revisit the human bloodstream from the inside will be 2009.

Wolfman, Niles, Mariotte Snag Scribes

  • News
  • July 31, 2007

On Sunday at San Diego Comic-Con, the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers held a mid-afternoon program where their first Scribe Awards were handed out.

Member Andy Mangels played host to a small but enthusiastic crowd as they watched winners in attendance collect their prizes.  The association was formed so the best-selling category of fiction could be acknowledged as a category of its own, joining groups for authors of Thrillers, Mysteries, Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction.

There were six categories and Jeff Mariotte snagged two of them in a bit of a surprise given the volume of works submitted.

The winners:

Speculative Fiction, Best Novel Adapted: Superman Returns by Marv Wolfman

Speculative Fiction, Best Novel Original: 30 Days of Night: Rumors of the Undead by Stephen Niles and Jeff Mariotte

General Fiction, Best Novel Adapted: Snakes on a Plane by Christa Faust

Best Novel Original: Las Vegas: High Stakes by Jeff Mariotte

Young Adult All Genres, Best Novel: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Portal Through Time by Alice Henderson

Grandmaster, honoring career achievement in the field: Donald Bain.

Bain was on hand to accept the award in person, thrilled tghat his accomplishments, incouding over 80 novels, were recognized by peers. The IAMTW (www.iamtw.org) is accepting nominations for works in published 2007 with the awards scheduled for next year’s convention.

Hollywood Casting Announcements Flow Towards San Diego

  • News
  • July 24, 2007

Comic-Con is upon us and Hollywood studios, like the various publishers, have lined up a series of announcements to whet the appetites of fanboys, geeks, and the mainstream media.  I should note it’s pretty fun the con is receiving more coverage this year than the political conventions will likely receive next year.

Over the last week or so, numerous announcements have been slipping out through the trade press, starting with word that Seth Rogan, riding high from being Knocked Up, will write and star in the long-awaited Green Hornet movie. 

Yesterday, word spread pretty quickly about likely casting for the forthcoming adaptation of Watchmen, being helmed by 300’s Zack Snyder.  Matthew Goode looks to be Adrian Vedit, a.k.a Ozymandias.  Joining him will be Billy Curdrup (Dr. Manhattan), Patrick Wilson (Night Owl) and relative newcomer Malin Ackerman (Silk Spectre).  Jackie Earle Haley, who was recently nominated for an Academy Award, will play the pivotal role of Rorschach.

The Hollywood Reporter, today, added to that by named Disturbia’s director, D.J. Caruso, as the man behind New Line Cinema’s version of Vertigo’s Y the Last Man.  Caruso is paired once more with writer Carl Ellsworth, who cut his teeth writing for Joss Whedon, before leaping to features. J.C. Spink, Chris Bender and Blade’s David Goyer are producing the film, which was optioned some two years ago. The comic book series wraps up a little later this year with nine trade collections currently available.

Additional announcements expected this week include casting for Frank Miller’s directorial debut on The Spirit and maybe some additional word on the long-stalled Wolverine film that now inches towards a green light.

Analyzing Amazing

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Marvel Comics announced recently that they will be canceling Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Sensational Spider-Man, while upping Amazing Spider-Man from monthly to three times a month.

Editor Steve Wacker explained to WizardWorld, “It’s a chance to get more Amazing Spider-Man comics out there, quite honestly. It’s because we were already publishing three Spidey books, but what inevitably happens – and it’s happened for decades – is that the books that aren’t Amazing Spider-Man are the first ones that people drop when they need to re-adjust their lists. So the thought was combine what we’re already doing with three titles into one, make them each roll right into one another, almost like a weekly soap opera or television show, and so it’s one-stop shopping for your Spider-Man stuff. You know, historically, from Marvel Team-Up from Web of Spider-Man to Peter Parker to even the current books, no matter how good the stories were within there, they were rarely able to come to the same heights sales-wise as Amazing.”

Taking his lessons from running 52, the summer announcement over the creative team will likely involve key figures running the story and art with built in teams assisting both.  Who they are and how they work will remain to be seen.

But, is the theory a correct one?  Will Amazing, selling at over 100,000 copies a month work at that level?  Or will the average monthly sale be closer to the 50-55,000 a month that the canceled titles were averaging? The Back in Black theme to the three titles these last few months should have bumped Sensation and Friendly closer to the flagship title, but the disparity remains sharp.

Odds are, once the dust settles, some four or five months after the changeover, the title will sell lower, possibly splitting the difference.  If so, that puts it in the 70-75,000 range, which is exactly where Ultimate Spider-Man currently resides (down 50,000 copies or so from its first year numbers).  The title has been pumping out 18 issues a year for a while now and the sales have been steady.

(more…)

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