Category: News

Only 2 November Graphic Novels Exceed 10,000 Units

  • News
  • December 23, 2008

According to ICv2′s of Diamond’s numbers, the top selling graphic novel for November was Vertigo’s  Fables Vol. 11. The 12,800 units sold was good for first place but shows a dip from the previous volume. Second place went to Aspen’s Michael Turner Tribute Graphic Novel, “ the only other book with over 10,000 copies sold in by Diamond.”

In terms of revenue, the $99 Absolute Sandman Vol. 4 took the top spot with an estimated 3500 copies sold. The Watchmen hardcover edition was in second place.      

Marvel’s first appearance on the list was in 13th position with Hulk Vol. 1: Red Hulk while  Naruto Vol. 32 took 9th place for best manga.

Here’s a look at the top 25:

Rank         Index                 Title                                                                                         Price       Pub    Est.Qty

1                 12.4                 FABLES TP VOL 11 WAR & PIECES (MR)                        $17.99    DC         12,791
2                 9.74                 MICHAEL TURNER TRIBUTE GN                                      $8.99       ASP      10,047
3                 8.97                 BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 03 WOLVES AT THE GATE    $15.95    DAR        9,253
4                 8.95                 HEROES HC VOL 02                                                           $29.99    DC          9,232
5                 7.86                 WATCHMEN HC                                                                     $39.99   DC           8,108
6                 6.45                 JLA AVENGERS TP                                                                $19.99   DC           6,653
7                 5.61                 WATCHMEN TP                                                                     $19.99   DC           5,787
8                 5.34                 JOKER HC                                                                               $19.99   DC           5,508
9                 5.14                 NARUTO TP VOL 32                                                                $7.95    VIZ           5,302
10              4.38                 FRUITS BASKET GN VOL 21 (Of 23)                                     $9.99   TKP         4,518
11              4.3                   FREAKANGELS TP VOL 01 (MR)                                          $19.99   AVA         4,435
12              4.27                 BPRD TP VOL 09 1946                                                           $17.95   DAR       4,405
13              3.86                 HULK PREM HC VOL 01 RED HULK                                   $24.99   MAR       3,982
14              3.48                COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS TP VOL 04                      $19.99   DC          3,590
15              3.48                ULTIMATE X-MEN ULTIMATE COLLECTION TP VOL 02   $24.99   MAR       3,590
16              3.45                ABSOLUTE SANDMAN HC VOL 04 (MR)                              $99.00   DC         3,559
17              3.36                TWISTED TOYFARE THEATRE TP VOL 09                          $12.99    WIZ       3,466
18              3.35                 FABLES COVERS BY JAMES JEAN HC (MR)                      $39.99   DC         3,456
19              3.27                 BERSERK TP VOL 26                                                              $13.95   DAR       3,373
20              3.19                 WALKING DEAD HC VOL 04 (MR)                                         $29.99    IMA        3,291
21              3.18                 ULTIMATE HULK VS IRON MAN TP ULTIMATE HUMAN   $15.99    MAR      3,280
22              3.05                 STAR WARS REBELLION TP VOL 03 SMALL VICTORIES $12.95  DAR      3,146
23              3                       X-MEN POPTOPIA TP                                                               $15.95    MAR      3,095
24              2.92                 CHRONICLES O/CONAN TP VOL 16                                     $16.95   DAR      3,012
25              2.88                 BATMAN GOTHAM UNDERGROUND TP                              $19.99    DC       2,971

Sneak Peek: 2 From Dynamite

  • News
  • December 23, 2008

Dynamite Entertainment provided us with preview pages to two titles hitting shops tomorrow:

First up, just in time for the season, is the Asmy of Darkness: Ash’s Christmas Horror one-Shot. The story is from Elliot R. Serrano with art by Davie Simons and color from Ivan Nunes and Rael Sidharta. The 50-50 covers are from Simons and Nick Bradshaw.

The solicitation copy reads:

Everyone loves the holidays, right? Wrong! If you’ve ever worked S-Mart retail in December, you know it’s a special hell filled with something even worse than Deadites… dumbass holiday shoppers. And when the Necronomicon gets a hold of some classic holiday entertainment, it sends Ash through a voyage of twisted Christmas visions that beat him senseless and initiate something deeper in Ash. "It’s a blunderful life" for everyone’s favorite big chinned Chosen One and this year he’s going to face something tougher than the Deadite Santas and zombie elves. He’ll find a piece of his soul that was swallowed long ago…

Note: 40 pages (32 pages of story and art)

(more…)

Liev Schreiber, Comic Book Fan

  • News
  • December 23, 2008

Liev Schreiber spoke with Moviehole about next May’s X-Men Origins : Wolverine, in which he plays Sabretooth.

"I’ve seen some footage, and I think it’s going to be really very good. I’m really looking forward to people seeing it," he said.

Playing the feral mutant opponent to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine was a new kind of acting challenge. ”I found it to be really intense. The character I play is incredibly brutal and feral, has blood lust unlike any other character I’ve ever played, much, much more than Zus. Zus is basically a lover. This guy is a real killer.

”I love Hugh. I mean, Hugh is the reason I did it. We’d been friends for a long time and it’s just so much fun to work with him. To do fight scenes with Hugh was really terrific, because as a dancer, he has that kind of discipline and choreography. And I always studied to be a fight choreographer, and always wanted to be a dancer too, but didn’t quite have the feet for it. But we had some remarkable fight scenes together, and I’m looking forward to people seeing those.”

Schreiber admitted to having grown up a comic book fan and being in a movie based on his hobby was too good to pass up. ”I was a fan of the comic books. I just loved the character of Wolverine,” he admitted. “I always have. That sort of deeply ironic and very urban sensibility in a super-hero was something that I thought was really groundbreaking. And the style of writing was – particularly the very sort of editorial style. I just always loved it. And I think that we were able to capture some of that darkness in this movie, so I’m very proud of it.

”I hope I’m not blowing anyone’s cover here, but I don’t think men really mature intellectually and emotionally beyond 22. Your bodies evolve, but nothing else, really. And so why should I stop wanting to be in a comic book movie?”

Neil Patrick Harris Loves Being One of Joss Whedon’s Players

  • News
  • December 23, 2008

drhorribleneilharris-2-2399059"Oh, God, I wish I could say there was going to be a Dr. Horrible sequel, but I know there’s so many people involved in the creation of it that have a lot of other stuff going on right now," Neil Patrick Harris told Sci Fi Wire. "Mainly, Joss [is doing] Dollhouse, and he has another movie, Cabin in the Woods, that he’s doing at the same time. So I don’t know that anything would happen soon. But everyone has been super-enthusiastic about it, and I think that means that hopefully something will come."

Dr. Horrible just hit stores as a DVD after becoming one of the most talked about Internet sensations of the year, appearing on numerous Best Of lists. Harris, as the super-villain, recognizes that once you work with Whedon, you tend to get cast in his future projects.

After all, Dr. Horrible featured Firefly’s Nathan Fillion and Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Felicia Day while Dollhouse was built around Buffy alum Eliza Dushku and now features Angel’s Amy Acker.

"Wow! Well, you know, I’m in CBS’ corner right now because of How I Met Your Mother, so I don’t know that I’d be able to, but I think [Dollhouse is] produced by 20th Century Fox, so, you know, they’re sort of cousins," he said. "That would be fun! All right. I’ll ask Joss! I like being a cousin in the Whedon family, so whatever he wants me to do. Except porn."

‘Spectacular Spider-Man Season 2’ Episode Descriptions

  • News
  • December 23, 2008

Marvel Animation has released episode descriptions for the second season of The Spectacular Spider-Man.

The second season kicks off will premiere on the Canadian network Teletoon at 10:30 a.m.  January 11, 2009. The American fans have to wait until March when the series moves from TheCW4Kids to Disney XD.

14 – Blueprints
It’s early December, and the first snow is falling. PETER PARKER has a long “To Do” list – leading off with talking to GWEN STACY about their surprise first kiss. But before he gets the chance, SPIDER-MAN has a run in with the sorcerer MYSTERIO.

15 – Destructive Testing
Both GWEN STACY and LIZ ALLAN like PETER PARKER. So whom should Pete pursue? Meanwhile, KRAVEN THE HUNTER has come to New York to make SPIDER-MAN his prey!

16 – Reinforcement
As Christmas approaches, the SINISTER SIX reconstitutes with SANDMAN, RHINO, VULTURE, ELECTRO and new members MYSTERIO and KRAVEN. All they want for Christmas is SPIDER-MAN – dead. Meanwhile, PETER PARKER finds his wandering eye prevents him from being with GWEN STACY. He’ll have to learn to focus if he wants to get the girl… and if he wants to stay alive. (more…)

Judge Dredd Returning to the Big Screen

  • News
  • December 23, 2008

Judge Dredd, England’s long-running weekly comic feature, is returning to the screen.   At 2000 AD’s website, they had the following short announcement:

“Rebellion and 2000 AD are proud to announce that Judge Dredd is coming to a cinema near you soon!

“Together with DNA Films, the movie production company behind such great sci-fi movies such as Sunshine and 28 Weeks Later, Judge Dredd will go into production in 2009.

“Jason Kingsley, CEO and Creative Director said, ‘We can’t give away too many details at this point, but we’re looking forward to working with DNA Films to bring Judge Dredd back to the big screen’.”

The British-based DNA Films was founded by Duncan Kenworthy and Andrew Macdonald (The Beach). The company has a production partnership with Fox Searchlight Pictures, which owns 50% of DNA Films in addition to backing from the UK Film Council.

Last seen in the ill-timed 1995 release, the Sylvester Stallone movie tanked both commercially and critically. The problem was that the inventive visual world of Mega City One, first seen in 1979, was partially co-opted for the look of Blade Runner and its knockoffs.  By the time this original made it to the screen, it looked redundant rather than trendsetting. That the story and performances were lackluster didn’t help either.
 

Sneak Peek: ‘Lone Ranger’ Vol 2.

  • News
  • December 23, 2008

Just in time for last minute gift buying, Dynamite Entertainment releases the second Lone Ranger trade paperback, Lines not Crossed, on Wednesday.  The book collects issues 7-11 of the well regarded interpretation of the classic radio hero.  The stories are from writer Brett Matthews with art by Sergio Cariello and covers from John Cassady.

From the solicitation copy:

The Lone Ranger is an unrelenting tale of the American West. Texas Ranger John Reid seeks revenge for the murders of his family and friends, only to find justice… and that he’s something greater than he ever thought he could be.

In "Lines Not Crossed" and "Downbeat" — the thrilling adventures of The Lone Ranger continue as he and Tonto find themselves caught between frontier justice and a condemned man. As the hangman’s noose draws tighter — and Butch Cavendish ever closer — The Ranger and Tonto must uncover the truth behind a violent shootout… and what course of action to take when the law and their morality fails to p¬rovide clear answers.
  (more…)

DelRey Adds Ninja Girls in 2009

  • News
  • December 23, 2008

Del Rey Manga has announced the acquisition of Hosana Tanaka’s Rappi Rangai, which it will arrive in bookstores under the name Ninja Girls.  Produced in Japan by Kodansha, the ongoing series has five volumes to date out in Japan. 
 
ICv2 describes it as “A young man in Japan’s distant past has an encounter with a beautiful female ninja that helps him discover that he’s the last living descendant of a feudal lord family; a group of beautiful ninjas that will help him regain his throne.”

This will mark Tanaka’s domestic debut.

James Cameron may be Joining JMS on ‘Forbidden Planet’

  • News
  • December 22, 2008

Lots of Forbidden Planet buzz spread across the Internet while you were digging out from the snowstorms.

IESB broke the news that James Cameron was to meet with writer J. Michael Straczynski to discuss the project.  The Latino Review reported, “I do know that Cameron has flipped for the current draft.”

The Review also confirms that the script is a prequel to the 1956 movie, picking up threads from the original’s dialogue. Warner Bros.. recently gave the script a green light with a 2010 release date pencilled in.

“I told [producer] Joel [Silver] this is how you do Forbidden Planet without pissing on the original that no one has ever thought of,” the screenwriter was quoted as saying. “When I told [the idea] to him, his eyes lit up. It’s not a remake. It’s not a reimagining. It’s not exactly a prequel. You’ll have to see it. It’s something that no one has thought of when it comes to this storyline.”

“The prologue to the script contains the following: Two ships traveled to Altair 4, a planet orbiting a star 16.7 light years from Earth. The first ship, the Bellerophon, came to explore that world. The humans on board encountered the relics of the Krell civilization for the first time and exhumed their dangerous past. The Bellerophon was never heard from again. Twenty years later, a second ship, a C-57D Starcruiser, came to investigate the disappearance of the Bellerophon and her crew,” the Review revealed.

Additionally, Straczynski has intentions of this being, what else, a trilogy. The Latino Review outlines the plan:

•    Movie One tells the story of the original ship that came to Altair 4.

•    Movie Two tells the story of the search for the Krell by the captain of the Bellerophon and his crew…as Diana continues to grow into something profoundly other-worldly. The search takes them beyond the limits of known space into other dimensions, passing from what’s known into what’s not.

•    Movie Three tells the story of the second ship to arrive at Altair 4 to investigate what happened to the Bellerophon. They discover Morbius and his "daughter," who is desperate to get off the planet and out into the rest of the universe, where her power would nearly be god-like…a fate we are spared when Morbius sacrifices his life to keep her there and eliminate the Krell homeworld once and for all.

Michael Uslan Teams with Sam Raimi on ‘The Shadow’

  • News
  • December 22, 2008

It’s been two years since there has been any serious movement on a new feature film adaptation of The Shadow.  Two years ago this month, Sony announced that they obtained the rights and will have Sam Raimi on board to produce and possibly direct the feature, telling the press,  “I’ve been a passionate Shadow fan ever since I was a kid and have long dreamed of bringing this character to the screen.”

Now, producer Michael Uslan tells IGN that his company will be coproducing with Raimi’s outfit.

In October, Raimi reported, "I don’t have any news on The Shadow at this time, except that the company that I have with Josh Donen, my producing partner, we’ve got the rights to The Shadow. I love the character very much and we’re trying to work on a story that’ll do justice to the character."

Uslan confirmed that last week, adding that Siavash Farahani has penned the screenplay. She has only one previous screenwriting credit, 1999’s Ingénue. Uslan, whose Spirit film opens on Thursday, has someone “unconventional” in mind for the lead role but wouldn’t say anything further.

The Shadow, perhaps the best known of the pulp magazine adventure heroes, was previously the star if a big budget film in 1994, with Alec Baldwin as Lamont Cranston/Shadow. The character began life as the unnamed narrator of stories taken from Street &Smith’s crime pulps. As readers asked news dealers for “the Shadow” magazine, the publisher recognized the need for one.  Editors commissioned the prolific Walter B. Gibson to create the character in 1931.  The Shadow dominated newsstands and radio through the 1930s and 1940s.  He went on to star in a movie serial and numerous comic book adaptations including the celebrated stories from Denny O’Neil and Michael Kaluta.

The original stories have been reprinted over the last year by Anthony Tollin.

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks