Category: News

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10 Must-Read Stories Before You Watch ‘Iron Man’ in Theaters

  • News
  • April 30, 2008

iron-man-movie-poster-1294169Even people who’ve never picked up a comic book are looking forward to seeing the new Iron Man movie debuting tomorrow, starring Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, "the cool exec with a heart of steel!"

When Stan Lee and Don Heck introduced Anthony Stark, he was a modern-day Howard Hughes, a weaponsmaker who was investigating his interests in a war zone when he was injured by shrapnel and captured by guerilla soldiers. Desperately needing a life-support system to keep his heart beating, as well as a weapon to fight off his captors, he used materials around him created a make-shift suit of high-tech armor that  earned him the name "Iron Man."

Returning to the states, the world welcomed its new superhero, believing him to be the rich playboy’s bodyguard, and he soon became a founding member of the famous Avengers. Over the years that followed, "Ol’ Shellhead" has been through many armors, as well as many personal changes. He had his heart repaired and battled alcoholism. He had his heart injured again and replaced it with a mechanical one that needed  constant recharging. Recently, his body was finally healed and  his resources greatly enhanced after merging with an experimental form of nano-technology.

Much like The Dark Knight reading list we provided you as prep for Batman’s upcoming return to the big screen, ComicMix has assembled ten recommended reads that showcase how clever and resourceful our hero is while also displaying the forces and passions that drive him in his double-life. They have been assembled in chronological order, so you can follow Iron Man’s evolution.

Enjoy!

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Interview: Paul Azaceta on Daredevil, Monkey Art and ‘B.P.R.D: 1946’

  • News
  • April 30, 2008

bprd19464fcfnl-2651836One of this year’s big additions to the Hellboy universe has been the series BPRD: 1946, which features Hellboy’s father-figure, Trevor Bruttenholm, as he investigates the occult legacy of the Third Reich.

I recently spoke with series artist Paul Azaceta, who discussed the ins and outs of playing in Mike Mignola’s sandbox. Azaceta also provided insight on his many other projects for Marvel and BOOM! Studios, and on the joys of drawing monkeys.

Though still a relative newcomer to the comics scene, Azaceta has churned out an impressive amount of books in the past few years. His future looks to remain busy, with the possibility of more B.P.R.D. and a mystery project for Marvel. 

COMICMIX: How did you get your start in comics? I noticed that you worked on manga books a few years back.

PAUL AZACETA: Oh CPM, how I miss you. Those old manga books are when I first got into the business but not as an artist. Those were the good old days when C.B. Cebulski was the editor of a manga line and I was his assistant. I used to make copies for him and scan in manga art and other things I’m not too proud of. C.B. was a very loving boss.

CMix: How did you end up making the connection with BOOM! Studios?

PA: After doing a couple of small books here and there, I met [BOOM! Publisher] Ross Richie through a friend and it just so happened he was looking for someone to draw these two gritty-type books. When I heard that Mr. Mark Waid was behind one of those books, I jumped at the chance.

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Unsporting Behaviour, by Elayne Riggs

  • News
  • April 30, 2008

headbutt-3718782The 2008 Major League Baseball season is now well underway, so much so that broadcasters tend to get bored already and search around for anything else sports-related about which to pontificate; last weekend, as I recall, it was the NFL draft. Heaven forfend we stick to one sport at a time, after all. Or that we enjoy the leisurely pace of a game that used to be America’s Pastime until what happened between the lines got crowded out by commercial concerns, steroids and Americans’ need for speed.

Still, I’ll take the off-topic prattling of networks like FOX and ESPN over some of the local shmoes. Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay is particularly infuriating. Do he and his colleagues really need to make it so obvious how beholden they are to the Steinbrenner family by being completely unable to criticize the home team when the Yankees objectively act like schmucks?

Last month in spring training, the Yankees were playing the Tampa Bay Rays when Ray infielder Elliott Johnson, trying to score in the ninth inning, hit rookie Yankee catcher Francisco Cervelli hard, breaking Cervelli’s right wrist. His immediate strategy didn’t work, as Cervelli held onto the ball, but it precipitated retaliation, as these things often do. On March 12 outfielder Shelley Duncan (whom Robin and I have nicknamed "Mongo") slid spikes-high into the Rays’ second baseman Akinori Iwamuri, and naturally a benches-clearing brawl ensued. It was all Kay & co. could talk about — from a strictly Yankee-centric standpoint, naturally. Those awful Rays, breaking that young catcher’s wrist! Those brave Yankees, suspended for a paltry couple of games for their rally of revenge! It’s enough to make tonstant viewer fwow up.

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A Tale of Two Trailers: ‘Batman’ and ‘The Dark Knight’ Compared?

  • News
  • April 29, 2008

In case you haven’t seen the most recent Dark Knight Internet meme to hit Instant Message clients, blogs, Twitter, humor sites and just about every user-generated link farm around (I know it crossed my computer screen at least 20 times today), let ComicMix be the latest site to post the "Dark Knight/Batman Trailer Split-Screen" video — but with a twist. For those who haven’t heard about it yet, the video was passed around by many InterWebs users who claimed it was a split-screen comparison of the eerie similarities between the trailers for the 1989 Tim Burton Batman film and the upcoming Christopher Nolan film, The Dark Knight.

 


 

Despite the video’s sudden popularity today (with quite a few people linking to the video via the College Humor website — which also seemed to frame it as a comparison of the two trailers), this video has been around since late 2007, and was created by YouTube user VaportrailFilms after the Dark Knight trailer was released. As many Digg.com users have pointed out, this is also not a magical moment of synchronicity in the vein of Dark Side of the Moon and Wizard of Oz, either. In fact, it’s actually a "mash-up" of the Tim Burton film and the Dark Knight trailer — made up of bits and pieces sampled from the 1989 film and arranged for the best possible match.

So, while I hate to burst a good online conspiracy bubble, that’s not the original Batman trailer in the video, folks. It is, however, the product of some very nice video editing skills.

But I have to admit, <a href=”

version that used the 1966 Batman film is more my cup of tea.

 

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe: Super or Silly?

  • News
  • April 29, 2008

It’s been over a week since Midway announced that the rumored Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe game was in fact real. The reaction from both comic and gaming communities has been a collective, "Huh?"

At first it seems like an odd couple, but it isn’t without precedent. In the past, Capcom combined their 2D Marvel fighting games with their Street Fighter franchise to create X-Men vs. Street Fighter, the first of many successful Marvel vs. Capcom games. Look at it this way: people know Mortal Kombat and they also know the Justice League. So, from a sales point of view, this looks like a mainstream winner.

But from a fanboy perspective, does this work? Sure, we hear the cries of "Superman would just rip the head off of Sub-Zero," but it just might be more interesting than you think. If this Superman is reigned in to a reasonable level, he could be a boss-level character — but not invincible. Think less Silver Age or post-Infinite Crisis and more Superman: The Animated Series or John Byrne’s Man of Steel. And remember, Superman’s as vulnerable to magic as anyone else, so the Mortal Kombat warriors’ special abilities could be a hassle for Mr. Faster Than A Speeding Bullet. And when you think about it like that, Sub-Zero’s freezing power doesn’t seem so, well… powerless.


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First ‘Dragonball’ Poster Revealed

  • News
  • April 29, 2008

Dragonball may not be coming out until next year, but 20th Century Fox is getting an early jump on advertising. The first teaser posters for the film have been spotted in the wild and they’re, well, about what you would expect: a picture of a ball.

If someone was unfamiliar with the concept behind Dragonball, they might just think it’s a sports movie similar to Rollerball or a film inspired by Marble Madness. Depending on how you feel about the manga and the anime, those might be preferable options.

Slashfilm has the full-sized picture of the teaser poster if you can’t get enough pictures of balls.

Munden’s Bar: Ladies’ Night

  • News
  • April 29, 2008

In what may be the single greatest Munden’s Bar story ever (drawn by the lovely and talented Joanna Estep, with a writer too modest to name here), we see what happens every month to the women who live on Paradise Island.

The Amazons have been living together for three millennia. Their cycles are synced. And then ….

 

Credits: Bob Pinaha (Letterer), Joanna Estep (Artist), Martha Thomases (Writer), Matt Webb (Colorist), Mike Gold (Editor)

More: Munden’s Bar

ComicMix Radio: ‘Secret Invasion’ Required Reading

Marvel is doing their part to make sure you have all the pieces in hand to enjoy Secret Invasion by combining several recent sold-out titles in one volume, plus:

— Oni sends another comic to the big screen

— We send you into the comic store well-armed with a list of what’s cool this week

—  Harry Potter sends his stuff  on tour

So send the mouse over and press the button!

 

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-4010776 or RSS!

 

Rene Engström on SPX and the ‘Anders Loves Maria’ Tour

  • News
  • April 29, 2008

alm-02-2001-8730269A while back, I spoke with Anders Loves Maria creator Rene Engström about her webcomic and where she finds inspiration for the popular series. Yesterday, Engström provided a little more insight regarding her creative inpirations by posting a video tour of the Gamla Stan neighborhood in Stockholm, Sweden, where many of the stories in ALM are set.

Regular readers of the series will recognize many of the buildings, statues and other landmarks Engström has used as a backdrop for stories, including the monument where Anders and Bjorn recently had a heart-to-heart of sorts. For anyone not familiar with the strip, well… you’ll probably find it interesting, too — and for more than just the beautiful Stockholm scenery. After all, one of the most popular questions posed to comic creators tends to be “Where do you get your inspiration?”

Thanks to Engström, fans of ALM now have an answer.

Also of note: Engström has posted a recap of the Small Press Expo held this past weekend in Stockholm, as well as a few photos from the show. Apparently, confusion among event organizers when it comes to the webcomic side of the industry is a common occurrence, no matter where your show is held.

Mind you they did seem very unorganised when it came to booking a table (you couldn’t), and they really had no clue what to do with webcartoonists. At one point they were trying to push me into this locked, out of the way, media room, but I refused that idea and stole a spare table and set myself up right near the entrance to the con. Which was good and bad. Good because of the traffic, but bad because everyone thought I was the information desk. “No I don’t know where the toilets are, thank you very much, please read my webcomic.”

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Interview: Grant Morrison on ‘Final Crisis’ and ‘Doctor Who’

  • News
  • April 29, 2008

grantmorrisoncomic-3297974As I wandered around the press gathering at the New York Legend Award ceremony for Stan Lee, I saw a familiar face — a face I first saw in an issue of Animal Man many years ago.

It was, of course, Grant Morrison, who is currently wowing folks in All Star Superman and weirding them out in Batman.

Known for cosmic-scale work in such titles as The Invisibles and various stories during his run on JLA, Morrison seemed the perfect choice to handle DC’s upcoming crossover mega-event, Final Crisis.

I spoke with Morrison about the influences and potential ramifications of Final Crisis, as well as his future as one of the primary architects in the DC Universe. We also chatted a bit about another series that has us excited: the reinvigorated hit BBC science-fiction classic, Doctor Who.

COMICMIX: First of all, you have to settle a bet for me, Grant. In the weekly series 52, the villain called "The Ten-Eyed Man" was re-introduced for the first time since Crisis on Infinite Earths, except now it was a whole cult of ten-eyed warriors who were very creepy and seemed to be mystical and demonic. That revamp had to be your idea, right?

GRANT MORRISON: Yes, yes it was.

CMix: I knew it! I said, "That is pure Morrison!"

GM: Wait ’til you meet "The Nine-Eyed Man" in Batman. He’s a renegade who cut off one of his fingers and is crazy now.

CMix: That’s just so weird, I love it.

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