Author: Van Jensen

‘Exterminators’ Headed to TV

  • News
  • July 10, 2008

Simon Oliver and Tony Moore’s bug-annihilating comic series The Exterminators appeared to have taken a lethal dose of RAID, with this month’s issue #30 scheduled as the series finale.

But the story, which was originally pitched by Oliver as a TV series, now comes full circle as it will live on in televised form on Showtime. The Hollywood Reporter has the story:

Showtime is reteaming with "Dexter" executive producer Sara Colleton for "Exterminators," a drama project based on the comic by Vertigo/DC Comics.

Created by Simon Oliver and Tony Moore, the comic centers on an ex-con who joins an exterminator company, working with a freakish supporting cast of characters. A mystery surrounding his girlfriend and the manufacturer of an insect poison percolates on the periphery, and the insects are much more dangerous than they seem.

‘Elfquest’ Movie Moves Ahead

One of the more shocking moments in my life came when I was pretty young and randomly picked up an Elfquest comic book. Tolkien’s stately creatures, these are not.

Now, after years of failed efforts to get the property to screens, Warner Bros. appears to have made major headway toward an Elfquest movie, going so far as to announce a writer/director/producer.

The original comic, which Wendy and Richard Pini initially self-published in 1978, followed a tribe of elves known as the Wolfriders in their attempts to survive and link with other dispersed elves on a Earth-like planet with two moons while on the lookout for tribes of humans and trolls, both of which acted as allies and enemies.

The series — later published by both Marvel and DC Comics — attracted a more mature audience as it went along, with scenes of battles and sexuality that were intense for that time.

Rawson Thurber ("Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story") will write, direct and produce the feature, whose format is undetermined.

One can only wonder how graphic the film will be, and if a whole new generation is set to be startled.

It’s Hulk vs. Wolverine and Thor in New Animated Features

  • Uncategorized
  • July 9, 2008

Maybe Marvel has decided to make it up to all the fans who’ve been waiting years for that third issue of Ultimate Hulk Vs. Wolverine, as the publisher announced big green and Logan will be mixing it up in one of two new direct-to-DVD properties.

The Marvel announcement included two films:

Hulk Vs. Thor – It’s gods versus monsters in this epic 45 minute movie! Never have we explored the explosive power of the Hulk like we have in this new film, every major character from the Marvel Thor universe is thrust into battle with this Green Goliath as he brings a new Ragnarok down upon the realm of gods.

Hulk Vs. Wolverine – This dark, violent, smash and slash story was first told in issue 181 of THE INCREDIBLE HULK and the rematches have continued to thrill comic fans ever since. Now Marvel and Lionsgate takes the best of those famous comic book battles and merges them into one heart pounding 33-minute story.

They’re set to debut at Comic-Con. Trailer below:

New Dark Horse Site Goes Live

It’s a big week for Dark Horse.

Friday sees the release of Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, and in the meanwhile, the publisher has given its Web site a much-needed facelift.

The new site is updated with a cleaner and more easily navigable framework, though I haven’t noticed much in the way of new features.

I don’t know that it amounts to a hill of beans for comic readers, but as a reviewer I’m happy to see the "new releases" and "upcoming comics" sections given a makeover, as there’s nothing as annoying as having to dig through the Internets for some product info or a cover image.

Enough of what I think. Why don’t you head on over and judge for yourself.

Shelf Watch: This Week’s Comics

ikillgiants_cover-8368705Every week I look ahead at Diamond’s shipping lists to see what I’ll be reviewing for the Weekly Haul. Here’s what’s on tap this week (reminder, comics aren’t out till Thursday):

Not sure why, but I’m looking forward to Image’s I Kill Giants #1, even though I don’t have much of an idea what it’s about. The art reminds me a lot of Alex Robinson’s — but with more manga influences — so that might be a lot of it.

Dark Horse has a couple of usual suspects on the way in The Goon #26 and B.P.R.D.: The Warning #1, as well as the Hellboy: Oddest Jobs trade. I’ve been especially impressed with The Goon of late, after it nosedived when Eric Powell shifted his focus to Action Comics and the Chinatown GN.

DC has a fairly ho-hum slate. Tops would be Booster Gold #1000000, though DC’s Web site says that’s not coming out till next week. There’s Final Crisis Requiem, the one-shot that deals with the Martian Manhunter’s death (glossed over in Final Crisis), and the Batman books are tied into the lackluster RIP storyline. Nothing screams “must read.”

Marvel has a big headline with Secret Invasion #4, but aside from that there’s nothing of exceptional interest, aside from the preview for Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Captain America: White and the always excellent Nova (issue 15). Am I the only one already tired of Matt Fraction’s Invincible Iron Man, even though only the third issue is coming out now?

In the small presses, there’s the eighth volume of Bone and the trade of Badger Saves the World. Other than that, pretty slim pickings.

What are you looking forward to?

Comics and Chris Ware in Virginia Quarterly Review

Comics have long battled against proponents of "serious literature," who have often decried comics as a less intellectual medium than prose.

In the past few years, comics have become increasingly accepted into popular culture, and now it seems they’re well established in the literary world too.

The Virginia Quarterly Review, one of the elite literary magazines, ran a special comics issue this spring, which I just happened across on a recent trip to the bookstore.

It features a cover by Art Spiegelman (seen at right) and, best of all, a new story from Chris Ware. The fictional biography of Jordan W. Lint shows the character’s life through a glance at single days of his existence.

You can see a preview at the VQR Web site, right here.

The Real Day Evil Won

Comic books usually fall back on stories of good versus evil, superheroes battling against villains with the fate of the world on the line.

DC Comics is taking a new spin on that with their big summer event, Final Crisis, which posits that the dark side of Darkseid has triumphed, and the heroes are left scrambling. Grant Morrison, the writer of that incoherent mess, would be well served to take a few lessons from an all too true story of evil defeating good.

In the not so recent past, a wealthy Oklahoma businessman swooped in to buy the Seattle Supersonics (my favorite team in my favorite league, the NBA). The new owner, Clay Bennett, agreed to keep the team in Seattle, where the Sonics had won a championship and built a legion of fans.

Gradually, it became clear Bennett wanted all along to steal the team away to Oklahoma City, spurning his supposed "good faith effort" to remain in Seattle. The man who’s supposed to oversee the NBA and prevent things like entire fan bases from being ripped off is commissioner David Stern, at right.

Unfortunately for Sonics fans, Stern and Bennett are old chums, so the commish managed to actually speed along the move, even telling Seattle it was the city’s fault.

The city did all it could to fight back, but ended up not having the muscle, and the Sonics are now history.

We’ll see if Superman, Batman and company end up victorious in Final Crisis. But in the real world, the good guys don’t always win.

Mike Mignola Says ‘Hellboy 3’ in the Works

hellboy2poster5-2089479The end of Hellboy is in sight, though it’s still quite a ways out on the horizon.

In a new interview on Metromix, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola talks about Friday’s Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, but more importantly he says planning is already underway for a third film.

Also, Mignola hints at the future of Hellboy in comics:

[Guillermo] has thrown out so many ideas for the third movie, you go, ‘Geez, if he puts everything into “Hellboy 3” that he says will be in “Hellboy 3,” it’ll be 36 hours long.’ The third film, being the end of (the film trilogy), is hard for me. The comic is going to go for 10 to 15 more years, so I don’t want to give him my ending. I want my ending to be a surprise.

While you’re waiting on that, make sure to check out all of ComicMix‘s extensive Hellboy 2 coverage, including this interview with actress Selma Blair and this interview with director Guillermo del Toro.

Stan Lee Media Central to Case Against Clinton

stanlee-2309587Some diligent journalist needs to jump in and write a book about the ongoing fight for the rights to Stan Lee’s Marvel creations, because it becomes a little more bizarre every day.

The case is essentially between Stan Lee Media and its shareholders, who are collectively filing suit against Marvel and Stan Lee, saying they conspired to keep the rights to Lee’s creations from Stan Lee Media.

Sound confusing? Barron’s has a good breakdown of how this all came to be.

In short, Lee assigned his rights to Stan Lee Media, the failed dotcom that’s now run by Peter Paul, who wants the company to assert those rights over the many characters that have boosted Marvel’s fortunes through comics and movies.

Paul is saying that Lee left Stan Lee Media, and conspired with Bill Clinton (yes, that Bill Clinton) to break business promises made to Paul.

Paul is throwing corruption allegations against Clinton in a California suit, which is ongoing. For what it’s worth, Paul recently ran afoul of the SEC, which is also covered in that last link, from World Net Daily.

Wal-Mart Stocks ‘Racist’ Comic

meminsml-6211600Back in 2005, the Mexican government heard quite a bit of outcry when the country’s popular comic book character, Memin Pinguin, was commemorated on stamps.

It was a controversial decision because, as many see it, Memin is a racist stereotype of dark-skinned people. Look at the image at right and decide for yourself.

Now Memin is back in the news, as some reprints of the comic book series have turned up in Texas Wal-Marts. And a few shoppers are none-too-pleased.

She found one passage particularly offensive. In the frame, Memin Pinguin is being kicked by a light-skinned man and is called “a black troublemaker.”

Activist Quanell X said the problem with the book is more than just words.

“This is poking fun at the physical features or an entire people. Making them look buffoonish (and) portraying the young (black) kid as stupid,” said Quanell. “Whenever they are beating him, they are referring to him as Negro. Even here when he is being punched, slapped (he is called) Negro.

“This is a disgrace.”

Wal-Mart didn’t offer a comment for the story.

You can find a bit more background right here, including some evidence that the book isn’t racist.

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