Category: News

Blades of Box Office Gold

  • News
  • April 2, 2007

Blades of Glory was the number one film for the April Fool’s weekend, with an estimated take of $33 million.  Disney’s Meet The Robinsons came in second, with $25.1 million.

300 came in next, with $11.2 million, followed by TMNT with $9.2 million.  If  Hollywood realizes that both films owe their existance to Frank Miller (whose graphic novel, Ronin, was the inspiration to Eastman and Laird back in the 1980s), no one admits it.

Wild Hogs, Shooter, Premonition, The Last Mimzy, The Hills Have Eyes 2 and Reign Over Me rounded out the list.

MATT RAUB Reviews Doctor Who season 3 premiere

  • News
  • April 1, 2007

2007-01-12-9724203The Doctor is back, and not only does he get a new companion but a new Sonic Screwdriver to boot! I just set my peepers on a back-to-back marathon of last year’s “The Runaway Bride” and the brand-spanking-new season 3 premiere, “Smith and Jones”, and I figured I’d drop in to throw down my two cents on the episode. Be forewarned, there are some spoilerific parts to this review, so if you decide you want to wait until Sci-Fi finally airs the show in 2023, then I’d turn away now.

From the first episode in season 1, I was a huge fan of Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, I thought she was gorgeous, and had incredible range. Though there were a good 12 episodes or so where she cried through the majority of the program, I still couldn’t dislike her. With that said, I was pretty hesitant to like this new companion, the intelligent and attractive medical student Martha Jones, played by Freema Agyeman. We first get a taste of Agyeman in last season’s “Army of Ghosts” as she was one of first victim of the Cybermen. We now find out she was the cousin of Martha Jones, and that’s a clever touch.

Looking back, this episode can very easily be put in stark comparison to season 1’s opener, “Rose.” Much like in that episode, the majority of this episode is exposition on our new companion’s life, an unexpected conflict, and the random entrance of the Doctor to save the day. Also, there is a scene very reminiscent of “Rose” where the Doctor grabs Martha’s hand and tells her to run…sound familiar? Of course, the doctor is still pining over the loss of Rose, but as established in “Runaway Bride,” it was time to find someone new.

The concept: the hospital where Martha Jones works gets transported to the moon. The Doctor, posing as the meandering patient John Smith, discovers that the transportation as by an intergalactic rhino-police (that’s intergalactic police that look like rhinos, not intergalactic police that only police the rhino population). The transportation was to single out a fugitive that they believe is hiding out in the hospital. The Doctor and Martha jump on the case to find the criminal and get the inhabitants back to Earth before they all lose oxygen.

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Marvel to Launch 365

  • News
  • April 1, 2007

Saying, "Anything DC can do, we can do better," Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada today announced plans for next summer’s big event.  "365 will be a daily comic," he said.  "Every single day, including weekends and holidays."

Like 52, the new series will have a team of writers and artists.  Twenty-eight writers, including Marvel All-Stars Ed Brubaker, Garth Ennis, Mark Millar, Chris Claremont, Tom DeFalco, Peter David, Brian Bendis, Mike Carey, Robert Kirkman, Paul Jenkins and Roy Thomas, among others.  All will follow the direction of "show runner," Andrew Helfer, who is coming on board to see that all the deadlines are met.

"We have everything in place," Quesada said.  "Andy lined up Bill Sienkiewicz and George Perez to alternate covers." 

The first issue of 365 will go on sale on a year from today.  Cover price will be $10.00 each issue.  "That’s what it took for Diamond to handle the shipping," Quesada said.

In retaliation, Dan DiDio announced that DC would launch The Hundred Years War.  "Superman, Batman,  Wonder Woman and other super-heroes get stuck in a line at the Motor Vehicles Bureau,"  he explained.  "It’s up to the rest of the DC Universe to fight  the universe-threatening evil.  Can Comet the Super-Horse and Ambush Bug save the day?  Will someone die?  Will anyone live?  You might think you don’t care, but you will."

Exterminate… crochet… bake… exterminate

  • News
  • March 31, 2007

dalek_crochet-2379992

For the lucky ones who will be watching the Doctor Who season opener soon – and for those who think Daleks make for lovely bric-a-brac – here’s some things to do around the home on a rainy day, courtesy (again) from our friends at Bibi’s Box!

From time to time this blog receives visits of people searching for Daleks. Those incredible extraterrestrial mutant creatures from Doctor Who series are much more popular that I imagined. The first time I made a post about the Daleks I had no idea that it wouldn’t be enough to cover it. Then, a while after, I saw a very nice tutorial of How to Make a Dalek and IR Control Daleks.

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Of course that wasn’t enough. Every time there are new stuff about them: crochet and more crochet Daleks (via Quiddity), Dalek cakes and many other kind of related Dalek stuff that fans collect. For fans it’s never enough. And to keep you busy for a while, here is a list of tutorials to you make your own Dalek. Chose the material and start working:

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Online comics exhibit features McCay, others

  • News
  • March 31, 2007

 

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We’d like to bring your attention to this fascinating comics event, courtesy of the Bibi’s Box website:

The on-line exhibition from the Bibliotèque nationale de France Comics Before Comics (La BD avant la BD) presents precious panorama of the comics beginning. The visual travel begins with the ancient illustrated bibles made for Kings and the aristocracy’s books, inquires about its style origins, it shows the story of narrative, the page layout procedures and it ends with the use of sound in images – dialogues and onomatopoeia.

The exhibition gives a short vision of the comics pre-history, using great examples, like the Bible of Stephen Harding, Danse macabre, Cantigas de santa Maria, Histoire de la fondation de l’ordre cartusien and Little Sammy Sneeze by Winsor McCay, among the several other examples. For a fast visual panorama try iconography page.

Stan Lee, Jack Kirby speak on ComicMix Podcast #21

April Fool’s weekend, and we offer nothing but the truth from Sushi Based Super Heroes to a Close Encounter From Jean Luc & Q to the Secret Origin Of How Stan Lee’s Secretary Got Me Through Puberty. We’ve got the low down on the new Spider-Man animated series AND the new Santo animated show (our editor-in-chief is a big Santo fan).

All this, Timeline, e-mailbag, and Vanessa Williams on ComicMix Podcast #21 – available by clicking right here:

Comic book Starz

  • News
  • March 31, 2007

From April 4 through May 4, the Starz cable network will promote the new movie, Spider-Man 3.  The month-long event features behind-the-scenes footage, a sweepstakes, and a day-long marathon of super-hero movies.

The "Starz Spider-Man 3 Sweepstakes" begins on Wednesday, April 4 and runs through Sunday, May 4. One grand prize winner will be awarded a Sony Bravia 40" LCD HDTV and 100 first prize winners will receive a Spider-Man 3 poster. Enter to win the "Starz Spider-Man 3 Sweepstakes" by filling out the entry form at http://www.starz.com.

The "When Comic Books Attack" marathon airs on Starz Thursday, May 3 and will feature "On the Set: Spider-Man 3" and other comic-book inspired films including Sin City, Underworld: Evolution, Silver Hawk, Blade, Judge Dredd, Dick Tracy, Darkman, and Batman and Robin.

Underworld?

To-Do April 5: Buy Superman, Oz Props

  • News
  • March 30, 2007

If you have the time next Thursday and you’re in Los Angeles with a little spare change burning a hole in your pocket, you might want to stop by the Profiles in History auction house. They have a Christopher Reeve Superman costume from the first movie, a Winkie uniform from The Wizard of Oz (the Winkie’s were the guards of the Wicked Witch of the West, the ones who sing the song with words that always sounded to me like "Oreos – Oreos – Oreos – Oooh – Oh").

Other iots feature a Batman costume from the 1995 Batman Forever, an alien costume from Alien (1979) and various other Superman ephemera, including transcripts from brainstorming sessions.

In all, there are more than 700 lots.  If you’re not in LA and want to bid, you can go online at ebayliveauctions.com or profilesinhistory.com.

MICHAEL DAVIS: The Davis List

  • News
  • March 30, 2007

michael-davis100-1542738There seems to be a whole lot of people who get to tell us what they think we should see, what they think we should buy what is the best, worst, the must haves and the stay away froms. Most of these experts put out a list so that we can revel in their genius. How many lists are we subjected to? Let’s see, off the top of my head…

David Letterman’s Top Ten List, the only list I pay any attention to

The Top Ten Movie List

The Hollywood Power List

The richest people in the world list

Blackwell’s worst dress list

The Sexiest Man List (I can’t believe that I have not made that one)

Joan Rivers best / worst dress list

The New York Times Best Seller list

AFI greatest movies of all time list

Rolling Stones greatest albums ever list

These are just the ones I can think of while waiting at LAX for a flight to Chicago. There are a multitude of lists out there. Everybody has a list, every magazine, every TV news show, every critic, every commentator, every Tom, Dick and Harry has a list. Well why can’t we have a list? You, me everybody? What makes Rex Reed’s list better than yours or mine?  With all due respect to Mr. Reed, I seem to remember he hated Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Need I remind everybody that that film is one of the greatest Sci-Fi films of all time. Well I think that it’s time we all have a list. Let’s start with mine.  My list will not be a Top Ten list. Nope. I’m twice as cool, so mine will be a top 20!

Comics:

  1. The greatest comic book ever: Avengers #66 (My first comic!)

  2. The greatest superhero ever: Batman

  3. The second greatest superhero ever: Captain Marvel (Shazam!)

  4. The greatest super team: 60’s Teen Titans

  5. The greatest superhero fight ever: Hulk vs. Thing

  6. The second greatest superhero fight ever: Hulk vs. Sub-Mariner

  7. The greatest team up ever: Spider-Man and Superman (the first one)

  8. The greatest graphic novel ever: Watchmen

  9. The second greatest graphic novel ever: The Killing Joke

  10. The third greatest graphic novel ever: The Death Of Captain Marvel

  11. The fourth greatest graphic novel ever: Marvels

  12. The saddest event in comic books: The death of Gwen Stacy

  13. The saddest event in the comics industry: The death of Jack Kirby

  14. The greatest writer in comics: Denny O’ Neal

  15. The greatest artist in comics: Jack Kirby (DUH!)

  16. The greatest publisher in comics: Milestone

  17. The second greatest publisher in comics: DC (love them or hate them, they do great books)

  18. The smartest man in comics: Mike Richardson

  19. The guy with the best job in comics: Paul Levitz

  20. The sexiest man in comics: Michael Davis (finally!)

Movies:

  1. The greatest movie ever (Tie): My Best Friend’s Wedding / Team America (long story)

  • The greatest movie superhero ever: Batman

  • The second greatest movie superhero ever: Superman

  • The greatest movie team: The Magnificent 7

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    • Actor from Batman and Beowulf to appear in Indiana Jones IV

    • News
    • March 29, 2007

    You can’t make a pop-culture classic without Ray Winstone. At least, that’s what the BBC is reporting.  Veteran character actor Ray Winstone is rumored to be the newest addition to next year’s Indiana Jones film.

    Winstone has appeared in Batman Begins and The Chronicles of Nania, in addition to The Departed, Sexy Beast, Cold Mountain, Quadrophenia and many more films.  He was Will Scarlett in the British television production of Robin Hood.  This fall, movie audiences will be able to see him in Robert Zemekis’ Beowulf, with a screenplay by Roger Avery and somebody named Neil Gaiman.

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