Category: News

Monday Mix-Up: When ‘LOTR’ Met ‘the Transformers”

  • News
  • April 5, 2010

Hey guys, at least this time, Frodo can just drive to Mt. Doom. I mean seriously, it took them like 9 hours of film to walk up to a mountain and drop the damn ring into the volcano. If they were smart, they’d just give it to Jetfire. I mean seriously guys… Frodo walked all the way to that mountain, and then gets picked up by an eagle? You’re telling me the eagle’s couldn’t have dropped him off like…months ago? And speaking of nothing… Gandalf is like this super awesome wizard, right? How come he doesn’t cast anything in the movies except “light” and “light beam” and “beam of light”. Hello? My second level warlock in D and D could cast more useful spells.

But I digress. Enjoy this mash-up.

New Doctor Who For You, Too

  • News
  • April 5, 2010

 

The eleventh doctor debuted on British teevee this weekend, in the 31st season of Doctor Who. It will be airing on BBC America on
the 17th, so I’m going to avoid any spoilers. Still, consider this something of a warning;  if you don’t wanna know diddley, go no further.

If you’re still with me, here’s what you will need to know:              Matt Smith and Karen Gillan will do just fine, thank you. Smith plays the
new doctor as a younger and brasher version of David Tennant’s doctor, which is only appropriate given Smith’s age. He wisely retains the 10th doctor’s joie de vive; he’s having a ton of fun. And Gillan plays the skeptical sense of wonder beautifully in what is this time a particularly demanding role. But the actors are not the most important aspects of doing Doctor Who correctly.

The most important aspects are the writing and the production. I never met a doctor I didn’t like, but the last two guys on the original series were hamstringed by uninspired scripts. No worries here: Steven Moffat is an excellent writer and as producer he truly gets it. His predecessor ran each show at breakneck speed; Moffat kicks it up a notch.

The season-opener presents a particular nightmare for the writer: he has to introduce a new lead character in a show that’s been around for 31 seasons. Origin shows, often called pilots, are a bitch to write because you’ve got to introduce everybody and set everything up while you’re telling a
compelling story. That’s a lot to squeeze into one episode; Moffat had the
additional problem of satisfying those fans of Tennant’s or, for that matter, any of the preceding doctors.

The fact that he pulled it off is a minor miracle. Matt Smith won’t be the only person having fun here.

2010 Hugo Nominees Announced

  • News
  • April 5, 2010

Science fiction followers take note: The 2010 Hugo nominee list is out. For those not so in-the-know, the Hugo awards (named for Amazing Stories’ creator Hugo Gernsback) have been recognizing great work in Science Fiction or Fantasy since 1955, and have recently added comic books to their categories under consideration. This year’s nominees are an amazing bunch; Allow us to share some highlights.

In the fight for comic book supremacy this year, fan favorite Neil Gaiman leads off in the “Best Graphic Story” category with his Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? Going toe-to-toe with Neil though comes a bevvy of other hot comic talent including Bill Willingham (with, among other folks, Simone & Ajax‘s Andrew Pepoy) for Fables Vol. 12: The Dark Ages, as well as Paul Cornell for Captain Britain And MI13 Volume 3: Vampire State, and Kaja and Phil Foglio for their Girl Genius Volume 9. Rounding out the nominees comes Howard Taylor for Schlock Mercenary.

Also interesting this year will be the fight for “Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form”. Where Peter Jackson’s Oscar winning Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King was once crowned with this Hugo, 2010 pits James Cameron’s 3D epic Avatar against District 9, the Star Trek reboot, Pixar’s Up, as well as Moon by Duncan Jones. Without his ex to steal his thunder, will Cameron walk away with the award? Only attending and supporting members of the AussieCon could tell you. The awards will be given September 5th.

For a complete listing of nominees, simply check it out after the jump.

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April Fool’s Day 2010 Roundup

  • News
  • April 5, 2010

Let’s see if we caught them all– there have been some real gems this year:

World’s Top Writers Hate Brad Meltzer – Comic Book Resources 

Mark Waid Goes On Rampage At BOOM! Offices, Wounded By Police – ComicMix news 

#aprilfoolscomics – Twitter Search 

Oh, Right…It’s April Fool’s Day: The Best Internet Gags – Humor – io9 

April Fool’s Link Ink: Where Nothing You Read Is Really Happening! – ComicsAlliance | Comics culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews

April Fools’ Day On The Web : 2010
April Fools 2010: The Definitive List 

Who Will Play J. Jonah Jameson In Spider-Man Reboot? 

Behind The Scenes Of YouTube’s ASCII Prank 

On reflection, not very dangerous: Harlan Ellison’s The Last Dangerous Visions

Locus Online April 1st: 2010: News Summary of the Year To Date

Splash Page
April Fools Day: New Marvel/DC Crossovers, ‘Halo’ Movies, ‘Lost’ Clocks, And Other Fake Stuff! 

April Fools’ Day: Michael Cera Is The Flash! No, Zachary Levi Is! Wait — Neither Of Them Are!

April Fool’s Tweet : Edgar Wright Here 

Zachary Levi Is Front Runner For Lead Role in DC’s The Flash 

April Fools’ Day Roundup: Taylor Lautner Is Superman? Avatar Sues Avatar? Don’t Believe The Hype!

DC and Hot Wheels Announce a Hot New Toy, If You Can Find It

Halo: The Bollywood Epic, and YES… It’s Real.

iPad launches, comics will never be the same, blah blah blah

  • News
  • April 3, 2010

Lorem ipsum dolor sit iPad, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec
sollicitudin mattis dui, in Apple dui tempor ut. Vestibulum augue
nisi, Disney in tincidunt vitae, Marvel et elit. Vivamus ultrices
tempus mollis. Quisque rutrum libero comiXology risus blandit sed porta enim
ultrices. Pellentesque congue ipsum id neque battery life ultrices. Duis nec
sapien massa. Sed eu ornare massa. Morbi suscipit iVerse velit in
molestie. Andy Ihnakto vel felis ac dolor varius pellentesque vitae tincidunt
ligula. In aliquet, odio app mollis vehicula, felis metus congue mauris,
et molestie ligula leo iTunes purus. Aliquam posuere turpis et quam pinch and zoom condimentum. Vestibulum ComicBookLover tempus urna ut posuere.

Quisque vel @AgentM vel risus consequat scelerisque. Nunc venenatis Gary Groth  Dirk Deppey sapien sed condimentum. IDW non ante quis enim sagittis
pellentesque. Nulla vel mattis too expensive. Ut ut dui semper risus Zuda no Flash faucibus
in at ipsum. Aenean WonderCon ut turpis augue. Proin convallis odio et urna
fermentum id accumsan lectus manga tentacles.

Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet,
consectetur, adipisci velit…

(Complelety ripped off from Jason Kottke. Hat tip: Making Light.)

Easter Goodies from 20th Century-Fox and MGM

  • News
  • April 2, 2010

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and MGM Home Entertainment has released Easter-themed family friendly fare complete with Easter Basket Approved! stickers. 

At More Easter Fun there are Easter activities including downloadable character coloring pages,
coupons, games, and a chance to win a $50,000 Nest Egg.

The titles involved include

Alvin and the Chipmunks                                  
Horton Hears A Who                                                      
Ice Age                                                        
Ice Age: The Meltdown                               
Night at the Museum   
The Black Stallion                                
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang                                      
The Pink Panther 2                                                        
The Secret of Nimh

Personally, we here at ComicMix can recommend the Ice Age films for modern day humor and The Secret of Nimh as a fun, underrated animated escapade. And while Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is based on the Ian Fleming book and features that nifty car, it was too long and devoid of magic.

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Mark Waid Goes On Rampage At BOOM! Offices, Wounded By Police

  • News
  • April 1, 2010

You thought it was just a slogan… they were trying to warn us.

Authorities were investigating this morning’s shooting spree at the BOOM! Studios offices that ended when a shotgun carrying Mark Waid was wounded by officers.

Los Angeles police spokesman Lee Travers said Waid went to the office at about 11:10 a.m. and began shooting up computers with a shotgun.

Officers confronted Waid and told him to drop the shotgun. Instead he pointed the gun at the officers, at which point they fired at Waid, Travers said.

Waid was taken to an area hospital for treatment and was expected to survive– a great relief to publisher Ross Richie, who was concerned that Waid’s script for Irredeemable #13 might be late.

Sources say Waid was upset because no one remembered his birthday a week and a half ago.

Millar to Ebert: ‘Kick-Ass Will Knock Your Jaw Off’

  • News
  • April 1, 2010

With the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo coming soon to the shores of Lake Michigan, it seems that the con has been given it’s first scandal. In a back-and-forth flame war posted yesterday on his message board, Kick-Ass writer Mark Millar got into a little wordy wrestling match, when fans started discussing the film’s upcoming premiere in the Second City.

A board member with the handle “Wanted2Vmt” posted, “Can’t wait to see this film flop at C2E2.  Who’s gonna see it when they can see Gaiman, a real writer, instead?” Mark Millar, known well for his Scottish rage, was quick to fire back, inciting a war of words with his would-be fans.

“There’s not a way Kick-Ass won’t take over the con in Chicago. Gaiman is a sissy fairy who writes for emo-goths anyways. Let those black boot wearing ninny’s go listen to their goblin king whine about his wee shiters… The rest of the real people will be having their asses kicked by our movie!”

As more fans chimed in, Millar kept firing insults left and right towards those who criticized his work. And when one fan quoted famous Chicago movie critic Roger Ebert’s review of Wanted, it set the Scottsman to a nova-like rage. The quote, “Wanted,… is a film entirely lacking in two organs I always appreciate
in a movie: a heart and a mind. It is mindless, heartless,
preposterous. By the end of the film, we can’t even believe the values
the plot seems to believe, since the plot is deceived right along with
us.”

Minutes later, Millar fired out a salvo of his own:

“First off all, that fat bastard wouldn’t know a good movie if it up and bit him in the goolies. He wrote “Valley of the Dolls” for f#@! sake!” Millar quipped. “And if Ebert can wheel his arse into a theater to see Kick-Ass I promise it’ll knock his jaw clean off!”

Roger Ebert, as shown in his recent Esquire exposé, had bones in his jaw removed due to cancer four years ago. While the cancer has stopped Ebert’s ability to speak, it’s only strengthened his desire to write. And as word traveled fast over the internet, it seemed Mr. Millar’s rants reached the north shore home of Mr. Ebert. Choosing his words wisely, Roger fired back a single post on his own blog close to the end of day:

“It seems without even trying, my mouth and I are at the end of a promised ‘arse kicking’ at the boot of comic book writer Mark Millar. Millar and artist J.G. Jones were the creators of the characters in 2008’s Wanted. Had the writer chosen to actually read my review instead of the pulled quote by one ‘Ben the Obiwomble” … he would have found that I rather liked his creation. Was it mindless? Certainly. But it reveled in it’s mindlessness. Not to jab an angry bear over this matter, but did Millar not think his teflon hide might be scratched a bit for trying to sell his fans on “the Loom of Destiny”? It seems without any reason, Mr. Millar is ready for me to turn a thumb down at his next film before it even comes out. By the looks of the trailers for Kick-Ass, I’m already preparing my suspension of disbelief to super-human like levels, ready to accept pre-teen samurai’s and ski-masked adolescents easily defeating shotgun toting thugs with ease. As far as Mr. Millar’s promise that my surgically removed jaw may be installed once again, if only to be blown off by seeing the film, I simply ask him to take the time to read my entire forthcoming review before firing his words off like so many a curved bullet.”

Millar’s final post of the day was near incomprehensible… demanding something to the effect of  a challenge to Ebert in a round of “Whiskey-Eyes”.

Ghost Rider Rides To Broadway!

  • News
  • April 1, 2010

In a move some consider surprising, Disney announced their first musical to hit Broadway since acquiring Marvel Comics will be Ghost Rider, complete with motorcycle, flames, and song and dance.

Moreover, teevee’s Craig Ferguson will be cast in the lead. Ferguson, a former punk rock musician, has long professed his love for the character. “I’m only disappointed that Nic Cage wasn’t able to take the role. Nic’s an even bigger Ghost Rider fan than I am, and I would have been thrilled to play the villain. That would have been ooh-la-la-ing awesome.”

It isn’t known if Ferguson will be moving his show out to New York during his run, or if he’ll simply leave CBS and Dave Letterman for the Great White Way. “I don’t have a clue; I just know I can’t pass this aye-carumbaing opportunity up!” Ferguson noted.

As one would expect, Sir Elton John will be writing the original music and Randy Newman will be orchestrating the less important bits. The show is expected to open on Times Square sometime shortly after Labor Day.

Merchandising deals are in progress.

blackest-night-8-recalled-9742779

‘Blackest Night’ #8 Recalled: Production Error Changed Story In Non-variant Editions

  • News
  • April 1, 2010

blackest-night-8-recalled-9742779In one of the most stunning mistakes in comics, Blackest Night #8, which came out yesterday and was supposed to end the series, is being recalled due to a production error that caused the wrong pages to be run in most copies of the issue, changing the story heavily.

DC Comics is asking retailers to remove the issue from shelves immediately, and to issue refunds on the issue. A corrected version of Blackest Night #8 will be available in stores next week, with a new cover to distinguish between versions. No word has yet come down on how DC will be reprinting the variant cover editions, or if they had the same errors across all editions.

This is not without precedent: I worked in DC’s production department during “A Death In The Family”, the let’s-use-a-900-number-to-see-if-Jason-Todd-lives-or-dies event. What was not widely known at the time was that different versions were prepared in advance, depending on the voting. I had a xerox of the page where Jason lived for years, just to prove to people that it could’ve gone either way. Also, when The Simpsons did “Who Shot Mr. Burns?” different results were animated. It just seems that in this case, the wrong pages ended up getting printed, with one version showing up in the regular issue and another showing up in at least some of the variants.

Action is already beginning to heat up on eBay, as various versions are already beginning to get traffic. And I can’t imagine that a lot of retailers are going to turn all their copies in, although that may be the only way they get their replacement issues. 

So what actually happens? What are the differences? MAJOR SPOILERS after the jump…

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