Category: News

‘V’ is for Vicious Alien Lizards

The lizards are coming, and we’re not talking about Dr. Curt Connors’ family reunion.

A remake of the 1980s miniseries V is being developed by ABC. The series is written by The 4400 co-creator/executive producer Scott Peters, who will also executive produce V.

"Whenever I mention V to anybody, they still have a lot of good memories about the original movie and series," Peters told Variety. "It’s a science fiction icon and too good to pass up."

The revamped series focuses on "Erica Evans, a Homeland Security agent with an aimless son who’s got problems. When the aliens arrive, her son gloms on to them — causing tension within the family."

Though taking significant departures from its predecessor, the new V will pay homage to the original series. One example includes the ’80s series’ opening with an army of spaceships hovering over Earth’s major cities, which will carry over to the updated series.

V struggled as a weekly series in the hands of people who thought science fiction gave them license to do whatever they please.  It was canceled despite a cliffhanger ending and ever since, Johnson has talked of reviving the property.

So has Warner Bros. and NBC and at one point a revamp courtesy of  J. Michael Straczynski got as far as the script stage.  Then, in 2004, Johnson pitched a remake but NBC asked for a new sequel, set 20 years later, and was given a green light to develop the concept. He finished the four-hour miniseries script for V the Second Generation in 2006 and NBC stalled approving it.

Johnson, to push his case, turned the screenplay into his first prose novel which Tor published in February 2008. All along, he kept hoping NBC would give him the go signal but it never came. Instead, rumblings were that the peacock network was getting cold feet while ABC was expressing interest.

In April, Johnson said, "… since I own the motion picture rights to V, we’re in the process to do a remake of the original mini-series first as a theatrical feature, which I’m so jazzed about because it will give me an opportunity to really realize it and execute it in a way that was impossible to do back then. Then that will lead to the obvious sequel, because it is a franchise, and then we’ll get into The Second Generation and I’m hoping we’ll be able to do two movies, because there’s certainly enough material in the novel to warrant two separate sequels. That’s my goal at this point and that’s what we’re in the process of doing. I just literally came from a meeting, 15-20 minutes ago with a fellow in Beverly Hills who really says that we’re gonna do it."

As recently as Thursday, his website was discounting word the property was headed for ABC and out of his creative control entirely.

Warner Bros. TV is producing the project. Former Warner Bros.’ video game division leader and current HDFilms employee Jace Hall will translate V to other platforms aside from television, including gaming. Previously, the series had been adapted into a series of original novels and an 18-issue comic book from DC Comics. The miniseries and single season of the original were released on DVD in 2004.

In My Life, by Michael Davis

 

Though I know I’ll never lose affection / For people and things that went before / I know I’ll often stop and think about them…

In My Life, by Lennon and McCartney
 

I was thinking about my departed sister the other day. I always think about her but more so this time of year because her birthday is approaching. My sister Sharon died a tragic death leaving a part of me forever sad. That’s a part of me, for the most part I’m an upbeat guy but there are some times when I have to be alone to just think about her and cry. I’m not talking about tearing up, I cry, sometimes so uncontrolled I shake like a child out in the cold without a coat. I call those times when this happens to me my “chick” moment.

Make of that what you will.

When these “chick” moments happen, I have to sit in place for some time before I can return to normal. Now that’s funny, who would have thought me… normal?

I know that some people see me as a fast-talking driven dealmaker. I also know that some people see me as a lucky SOB or asshole. I’m fairly confident that talking to people about me you will get one or a combination of those three descriptions.

I’m fairly confident that is what you will get. I’m positive that you will not get this: “Michael Davis? Him? Oh, every so often he breaks down and sobs like a little bitch.” Well you may get that now because of my big mouth, but up until now you would not have.

Yes, this is ComicMix and yes there is a comic book article coming but please allow me to have a moment here. Speaking of moments I had a “chick” moment last night. I was sitting in my office and I started thinking about my sister. I was fine for about five minutes until the song You Are Not Alone, by Michael Jackson came up on my iTunes. My sister was attacked and left to die while people walked passed her all night thinking she was drunk or high on drugs. No one stopped, no one helped. Her life, which could have been saved, simply faded away.

Sharon hated to be alone. She was always with friends or family so when You Are Not Alone myself out of these “chick” moments I try and think about what’s good in my life. This time I started thinking about my friends. Man, do I have great friends. I don’t have many but as a friend of mine once told me, “You know good people.” I do know good people. That made me feel a bit better.
(more…)

‘Ballad of Frankie and Vampi’ Comes to ComicMix Friday

Starting Friday, ComicMix will publish the complete Ballad of Frankie and Vampi, starring Frankenstein Mobster and Vampirella.  Written and drawn by Mark Wheatley (EZ Street, Hammer of the Gods), the series originally ran in 2003 on several sites, including SundayFunnies.com, gemstonepub.com and Vampirella.com.  The original series was edited by Maureen McTigue. 

ComicMix presentation will include exclusive, never-before seen art.

A blog about Frankie and Vampi can be found at FEARnet.

The Frankenstein Mobster used to be Terry Todd, a crusading cop for whom the law was at least a compulsion, if not more. Life as a good cop in a bad town wasn’t easy, but death is apparently even harder. Now he’s been revived in a patchwork body, and he finds himself sharing his own skull with three unscrupulous mobsters. Obviously, this is one Made Man you don’t want to mess with.

Here are excerpts from an interview between the two characters.

Vampi: I understand there’s another woman in your life. Who’s Terri Todd?

Frankie: Terri? I don’t like talking about her, Vampi. But I don’t mind tellin’ you that she is a damn fine cop! And I’m not sayin’ ‘just for a woman’ neither!  She’s the youngest to ever make detective grade on the Monstros City force. And that’s sayin’ somethin’.  She’s smart, pretty and pitches a mean softball to boot.

Frankie: So, why the hell are you in Monstros City?

Vampi: Since my last visit I just can’t get this place out of my mind.
(more…)

Puddles Begins ‘Search for Santa’

Client newspapers of Newspaper Enterprise Association will be treated to a special 16-strip, The Search for Santa.  According to Daily Cartoonist, the strip is effectively a spin-off from Luann by Greg Evans.

NEA has been producing annual Christmas strips for their papers since 1937 and this year’s is a reprise to one Evans created previously.  Told from the point of view of Puddles, Luann’s dog, it triers to resolve the eternal question of why St. Nick does bring gifts to dogs.

 “The nagging question leads Puddles on a long journey, during which he finally finds Santa – and the spirit of the season,” Evans said.

Papers will carry the strip from December 8 through Christmas Day.
 

What do Jonah Hex and George W. Bush Have in Common?

Update: Variety is now confirming that Josh Brolin is in talks for Jonah Hex.

Just yesterday we reported that several films are gearing up for production starts between spring and summer of 2009. One of those films is Warner Bros.’s adaptation of Jonah Hex, DC Comics’ resident western gunslinger. Though actor Thomas Jane put himself through make-up testing to prove himself right for the role, it looks like the studio has its eye on a different actor — someone who’s no stranger to the Country.

Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere reports that "the deal is sealed for Josh Brolin to star in Jonah Hex." The film will be directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Crank, Game). Although representatives from the Brolin camp say that the actor isn’t attached, Wells is confident that the actor is locked in.

"A voice is telling me to consider the word of a friend who tells me the deal was locked down last night," Wells says.

According to Wells, the movie will be "some kind of sci-fi western with CG up the wazoo. There’s nothing sci-fi-ish about the Hex comic book that’s explained on the Wikipedia page, but there’s always the creative option." (more…)

Marvel asks, ‘Are you Ready?’

Over the last two days, Marvel has been sending out graphics asking, "Are you ready to hero up?" and "Are you ready to villain up?"

Given the art styles, we can only surmise that some new youth-oriented project is in the offing.  The art is certainly cute and polished.

Any guesses?

Sci Fi Channel Sets Up Five Telefilms

The Sci Fi Channel and RHI Entertainment are teaming up for their fourth multipicture deal in the past 12 months. This new deal includes basic cable rights for the U.S. premiers of five new horror and thriller projects. Three of these telefilms will begin shooting in Romania soon. According to The Hollywood Reporter, these films are:

Sand Serpents, starring Gedrick, follows American combat soldiers in the Afghan desert who battle the Taliban and a horde of giant carnivorous serpents.

Alien Western is set in an Old West town in the 1890s where monstrous buglike machines from another world attack.

Carney, based on the Jersey Devil legend, where a fiendish carnival side-show attraction escapes and terrorizes a Depression-era Mid-Atlantic town.

Also included in the deal are Ricky Schroder’s Hellhounds and the Eric Balfour-starring Rise of the Gargoyle. Fun fact: Schroder and Balfour were co-stars on the sixth and most recently televised season of 24.

RHI produced a third of all Sci Fi’s movies in the last season, according to RHI’s Robert Halmi Jr.

"What sets our product apart is that we spend more money so that we can get better cast and have better production values onscreen," Halmi Jr. clarifies.

RHI, who also produced Sci Fi’s record-breaking Tin Man limited series, will distribute the telefilms in key territories across the globe.

Sci Fi Channel has many telefilms in the pipeline, including the Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, directed by Edward James Olmos, and a reimagining of Children of the Corn, starring Battlestar vet Kandyse McClure and Heroes‘ David Anders.

ComicMix Radio: The Stand Spreads Slowly

Those couple of issues out so far haven’t even scratched the surface of what lies ahead for Marvel’s adaption of The Stand. Artist Mike Perkins tells us what’s ahead, plus:

  • DC and Warner add more Motion Comics to the mix
  • Two new World Of Warcraft cards that will blow you away
  • Kevin Spacey Says He  Be Luthor

     

Stop laughing at that and Press the Button!

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-1308467 or RSS!

 

 

Mortal Kombat Versus DC Universe Kollector’s Konundrum

We’ve talked about Midway’s upcoming Mortal Kombat Versus DC Universe fighting game plenty. Consider it a done deal that we want to play Green Lantern fighting Sub-Zero. So the only question that remains is to get the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 version.

Not so fast.  A Kollector’s Edition has been announced. For an extra $10 you get a removable Alex Ross alternate cover, making of videos, and a 16-page comic book.

“But wait. There’s more,” as the cheesy infomercial announcers say. Pre-order at Gamestop and get a lithograph of The Joker finishing off Scorpion in the Batcave.

“We’re not done yet!” Another wrinkle in the mix is that the PS3 version will have a neat exclusive for comic book fans: a digital version of the Kollector’s Edition comic book viewable on your game system.

Mortal Kombat Versus DC Universe is scheduled to ship for release on November 10th.

G.I. JOE Relaunches with IDW

Back in the 1960s, the first doll to be called an "action figure" was created. The "G.I. Joe" line (named after a term used to describe a generic soldier) was a popular toy and depicted soldiers from different U.S. armed forces. In the 1970s, it was re-tooled as the Super Joe Action Team.

In the 1980s, the line was re-launched by Hasbro as "G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero" and now there was a story wrapped around the action figures. It was said that the different characters were all part of a group called G.I. JOE, essentially a counter-terrorist strike force involving the best agents from all branches of the military. Their primary enemy was said to be Cobra, an organization bent on world domination, led by the vicious Cobra Commander and aided by the Scottish war profiteer James McCullen Destro.

This new storyline ignited an interest among fans that has continued for years, inspiring multiple cartoon series, a new live-action movie coming out next year, and a comic published by Marvel and written by Larry Hama (Wolverine), who also wrote the "history files" of the characters for their trading cards and who was no doubt aided by his own experience in the military.

The series spanned 155 issues from 1984 to 1994, along with a few spin-off titles, all of which added deep layers of history and characterization to the JOEs and veered heavily away from the more light-hearted cartoons. Stories ranged from flashbacks to Vietnam to high-flying action in exotic locales to epic struggles between ninjas and battles with science fiction super-villains. In 2001, Devil’s Due Publishing began their own G.I. Joe series, picking up years after the Larry Hama series had ended and lasting over 130 issues, not including spin-offs.

Now IDW has taken the property and has new plans for their own G.I. JOE comics. But rather than continuing the original series and dealing with years of history, they’ve decided to reboot the entire universe from scratch, re-imagining the world and introducing the players to a brand new audience. And this isn’t just one new series. IDW is actually launching three titles under the G.I. JOE banner: G.I. JOE, G.I. JOE: Cobra and G.I. JOE: Origins. The third title will be written by Larry Hama himself.

The three titles will be edited under the direction of Andy Schmidt, who was Marvel’s editor for the cosmic crossover Annihilation. Schmidt spoke to CBR about the new titles and how they will relate to each other. Although each title will reflect the same people and occasionally reference events featured in the other books, the intention is to keep them separate so that readers can follow just one line if they so wish without feeling like they’re only getting part of a story. Likewise, a story that begins in one will not directly continue into one of the other titles.

Andy Schmidt remarked, “[G.I. JOE] has a large cast and will focus on characters and character beats but it’s more the ‘big action movie’ style title. If you really want to get to know Duke, Stalker and the other JOES, then Origins is the book for you. If you’re looking for more of a suspense-thriller feel then Cobra is the way to go. None of the titles is the lead book. Together they all form a strong foundation." Schmidt added, "Obviously, I’m hoping fans will want to try all three and I think those that do will be very happy, but I don’t want to twist anybody’s arm. Each book can be read on its own, but if you’re reading all three you’re going to get some extra layers."

To kick-start the relaunch, IDW is releasing G.I. JOE #0 this month to the tune of one dollar. "It’s not preview pages," Schmidt assured. "There’s actual story content in the issue, so you can see which one or two or three of the books you want to buy.” (more…)