The Mix : What are people talking about today?

The Point Radio: Jason Lee Back To TV

From CHASING AMY to The Chipmunks to MY NAME IS EARL, no one does “quirky” better than Jason Lee and now he has a new series to add to the list, coming this month to TNT. Jason talks about what brought him back to TV plus his feelings on EARL‘s demise. Plus DC gets behind GREEN LANTERN in a big way and more cast added to X-MEN FIRST CLASS.

And be sure to stay on The Point via badgeitunes61x15dark100-2397316, RSS, MyPodcast.Comor Podbean!

Follow us now on facebook100-6426938 and twitter100-1709246!

Enjoy the long weekend! We’re taking Monday off, too but we will be
right back here on Friday June 4th.

Don’t forget that you can now enjoy THE POINT 24 hours a Day – 7 Days a week!. Updates on all parts of pop culture, special programming by some of your favorite personalities and the biggest variety of contemporary music on the net – plus there is a great round of new programs on the air including classic radio each night at 12mid (Eastern) on RETRO RADIO COMICMIX’s Mark Wheatley hitting the FREQUENCY every Saturday at 9pm and even the Editor-In-Chief of COMICMIX, Mike Gold, with his daily WEIRD SCENES and two full hours of insanity every Sunday (7pm ET) with WEIRD SOUNDS!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN LIVE FOR FREE or go to GetThePointRadio for more including a connection for mobile phones including iPhone & Blackberrys.

 

 

Comic art auction to help animal shelters in Nashville

With all the devastation that’s occurred recently across the United States, it’s time we comic book fans do a little bit to help. ComicMix contributor (and recent birthday boy) Mark Wheatley has donated a pair of awesome sketches to an Ebay auction collection. The proceeds from these auctions will go to help the Nashville Animal Rescues & Shelters devastated by the recent flood, which caused over 1.9 billion dollars in damages to the area. Both sketches, one of Batman, the other, Conan, are 11″ x 14″ and are original black marker sketches by the artist. Do yourself a favor and click the links above to visit the auctions, or see what else is available and drive the bids up. It’s going to help a great cause, and could win you some great original art.

Exclusive: Hallmark Ornaments to debut at SDCC 2010

Hallmark will return to Comic-Con this summer with a line up of exclusive DC Comics, Star Wars, and Simpsons products for the event to introduce enthusiastic collectors (that’s you,
fanboys…) to the world of “Keepsake Ornaments”. Just in case your calendar isn’t marked yet, Comic-Con
International falls on July 21-25 this year, at the San Diego Convention Center in California. Here’s the run-down:

75 Years of DC Comics features the publisher’s three most iconic heroes bursting into action from the very comic books in which they made their first cover appearances—Wonder Woman in Sensation Comics No. 1 (January 1942), Superman in Action Comics No. 1 (June 1938) and Batman in Detective Comics No. 27 (May 1939). Limited run of 750. (more…)

Happy Birthday Mark Wheatley!

From all of us at ComicMix, we’d like to extend a hearty and happy birthday today to artist, writer, and all-around awesome man, Mark Wheatley! Join us in wishing him a day of fun, quirky gifts, and trick candles! Leave your wishes below, and then do yourself a favor and check out his contributions to the ‘Mix, EZ Street, Frankenstein Mobster and Vampirella, Hammer of the Gods, and Lone Justice!

jh-gun-6841683

‘Jonah Hex’ Animated Images Unveiled

jh-gun-6841683The second DC Showcase animated short, Jonah Hex, will appear as a bonus feature on the Special Edition Blu-Ray and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD release of Batman: Under the Red Hood.

Scripted by renowned author Joe Lansdale and starring the voices of Thomas Jane (The Punisher), Linda Hamilton (The Terminator), Michelle Trachtenberg (Mercy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Michael Rooker (Days of Thunder), the PG-13 rated DC Showcase short is based on the award winning comic series created by John Albano and Tony DeZuniga.

In the DC Showcase story, the tough-as-nails bounty hunter Jonah Hex always gets his man – until someone else gets to him first – in this case a murderous madam who wants to steal more than just her bounty from Jonah Hex.

jh-02-8123614The first DC Showcase short was The Spectre and was, in many ways, superior to the Justice League feature it was attached to. Similarly, this is likely to be better than the live-action incarnation due out June 18 if the early buzz is to be believe. Certainly having Lansdale, who wrote two miniseries with the gunslinger, involved helps matters.

Batman: Under the Red Hood is being released July 27 by Warner Premier, Warner Home Entertainment and Warner Bros.Animation. The series of direct-to-video releases has been a n ongoing program which led to WP exec Diane Nelson being promoted to president of the renamed DC Entertainment late last year. The next release in the series has not been formally announced but is expected to be teased on the disc following a pattern established in previous releases.    

madame-05-5955745

Jonah Hex continues to appear in his monthly DC title, cowritten by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray with a variety of top talents illustrating the stories.  A hardcover Hex graphic novel, by Palmiotti, Gray, and DeZenuiga is due out in time for the film.

(more…)

bat-clench-joker-6582518

John DiMaggio Talks ABout Voicing The Joker in ‘Batman: Under the Red Hood’

  • Uncategorized
  • May 26, 2010

bat-clench-joker-6582518Known to adults as Bender in Futurama and tweens as Dr. Drakken in Kim Possible, John DiMaggio takes an iconic step forward as the voice of The Joker, the pivotal villain in Batman: Under the Red Hood.

In the animated film, Batman faces his ultimate challenge as the mysterious Red Hood takes Gotham City by firestorm. One part vigilante, one part criminal kingpin, Red Hood begins cleaning up Gotham with the efficiency of Batman, but without following the same ethical code. And when The Joker falls in the balance between the two forces of justice, hard truths are revealed and old wounds are reopened.

DiMaggio gets free reign to play the iconic villain amidst a stellar voice cast that includes Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek) as the Caped Crusader, Supernatural star Jensen Ackles as Red Hood, and Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) as Nightwing.

Best known for his near-100 episodes as Bender, DiMaggio has parlayed his deep, gravelly tones and versatile acting style into a major force on the voiceover scene for the past decade. DiMaggio’s credits include roles in Kim Possible, Samurai Jack, Teen Titans, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Duck Dodgers, Jackie Chan Adventures, The Penguins of Madagascar and Chowder.

Voiceover has so dominated his time that DiMaggio has virtually abandoned his on-camera career – despite past work as a regular cast member on Chicago Hope and a number of guest roles in TV series such as Becker, N.Y.P.D. Blue, Felicity, Bones, Without a Trace and My Name is Earl.

Batman: Under the Red Hood is due out from Warner Home Video on July 27, 2010.

(more…)

Aardwolf Publishing Book Release Party, and you’re SO Invited…

  • Uncategorized
  • May 25, 2010

madrigals-6348282Who: Why you, you lovely person you!

What: A party to celebrate the release of Aardwolf Publishing’s The Whorehouse Madrigals by Hank Magitz

When: Wednesday, May 25th, at 7:30-10:30 PM

Where: Manitoba’s Bar, 99 Avenue B. New York, NY

Why: Let us count the reasons! 1. Cause it’s ‘New Book Day’ and it should be celebrated. 2. An appearance by the legendary Gene Colan! 3. Performances by Clifford Meth, Peppi Marchello, and Handsome Dick Manitoba!

How about a link?  Why here you go, sport!

What if I can’t get there? Order the book anyway!

daybreakers-72dpi1-5886925

Review: ‘Daybreakers’

daybreakers-72dpi1-5886925One of the interesting themes rarely explored in vampire movies is the idea that the more vampires you create, the more demand there is on the human blood supply. That changed earlier this year with Michael and Peter Spierig’s Daybreakers
. The movie opened in January and explored an America that saw human beings on the brink of extinction while the ruling vampire majority was on the brink of rioting as the blood began getting rationed. Lionsgate released the film on DVD earlier this month.

We’re told some medical pandemic turned mankind into vampires but the rules of vampirism are barely sketched out causing confusion. We do know that blood deprivation begins mutating the vampires from humans with fans to “subsiders”, something more like a man-bat hybrid.

On the one hand, you have pharmaceutical company Bromley Marks, led by the cold, calculating Charles Bromley (Sam Neill). Then you have vampire hematologists Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) and Chris Caruso (Vince Colosimo) working on the desperately-needed blood substitute. Until then, they continue to milk captured humans, attached to rigs to steadily drain the blood and keeping them barely alive.

On the other hand, you have the remaining humans working for survival as exemplified by Audrey (Claudia Karvan) and Elvis (Willem Dafoe), who has somehow been cured of the disease. Audrey reaches out to Edward to enlist his support in working on a massive cure to save vampires and humans alike. Of course, not everyone endorses this sort of cooperation.

Much of the dramatic tension is seen through the relationship between Edward and his soldier brother vampire Frankie (Michael Dorman). While Edward is trying to help, all Frankie has it a hatred for humans and close-minded attitude despite the growing crisis.

The movie’s strength is in how society has changed and yet remained startlingly familiar as humans ceded society to the vampires. People still buy their blood-laced coffee, board the subway and go to work in their suits. Cars can switch to daylight mode, sealing off the windows with three video monitors showing the traffic and geography outside.

What is missing from the worldbuilding is any sense of what the rest of the world is experiencing and how other countries are handling the panic. No geopoltiics are raised at all which is odd considering the Australian pedigree of the production crew.

While the society is interesting, the characters are flat, dour, humorless people. The film has one tone and never varies so you have no highs and lows. You feel nothing for any of them, human or vampire, because the writing gives them no dimension. As forces move towards one another, stemming public riots or undermining the humans’ efforts to cure the disease, you see a lot of sound and fury and fangs and blood and you feel nothing. The all-too-obvious tension between brothers and romance between Edward and Audrey fails to engage the viewer. Worse, the horror things Charles inflicts on his daughter Alison should be an emotional highlight but is dull and uninteresting.

The movie is supplemented with 1:24 Making of… feature showing the development of the project from the 2004 script to the 2007 production. Some of the best parts are showing us the work from New Zealand’s Weta Workshop, which created the creature effects. Interestingly, the film sat on the shelf until it began screening around the world in 2009, ending with the American release. You also get a Poster Art Gallery, trailer and nothing else.

(more…)

Review: ‘Leverage Season Two’

  • Uncategorized
  • May 24, 2010

leverage-s2-e-9315970Cable dramatic series take chances on shoestring budgets, casting a few familiar names and plenty of unknowns, shooting in unfamiliar locales and yet, have continually been delivering the goods, making the quality of television overall much better than it has been in a long time.

Among the more inventive, engaging and entertaining of these shows is TNT’s Leverage
, which returns for a third season with a two-episode debut on June 20. This week, Paramount Home Video releases the complete second season
in a four-disc DVD set. By now, most might be familiar with the high concept: a band of thieves teams with an emotionally damaged insurance adjuster to apply the right amount of “[[[leverage]]]” to do good.

The show has evolved into more than just the caper of the week as this band of dysfunctional people grows as individuals and as an odd family. In the center is Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton), who lost his son because his own insurance company declined to cover a potentially life-saving treatment. This has cost him his job and his wife, sending him into an alcoholic binge. For the first 27 episodes, Ford continues to insist that bending and breaking the law to accomplish justice makes him a good guy, not a thief. That all changes as his character arc reaches a crisis point in the 28th show.

His emotional damage is such that he has not been able to maintain real relationships with people including Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman), the grifter he’s harbored feelings for over the years. Season two was broken into halves and by the end of the summer 2009 half, she left the team to find herself (a clever way of writing her out to cover Bellman’s pregnancy). To protect the team, she has asked her friend Tara Cole (Jeri Ryan) to take her place so injecting her into the family brings up trust issues. Throughout the winter 2010 half season, members of the team are seen seeking advice from Sophie as she globetrots and is seen on viewscreens only.

The entire second season builds up to breaking Ford down, as he falls off the wagon in Sophie’s absence and is gradually distancing himself from the team. The fifteen episodes comprising the complete second season have somewhat slight cons while carrying forward many of the character arcs, enriching the overall series.

Several figures from season one return, among them James Sterling (Mark A. Sheppard), Nate’s former rival and now opponent. The Sterling-Ford confrontations are well played by two gifted actors and keeps reminding us of Ford’s tortured past. The return of his ex-wife Maggie Collins (Kari Matchett) also complicates matters as does Nate’s decision to relocate to Boston and live above the Pub where his father used to do business and drink heavily.

The show is uneven to be sure, as the supporting cast is nowhere near as well-developed as they should be. Parker (Beth Riesgraf)’s background is the most intriguing but little is done to show us more and the potential romance with her and Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge) has gone nowhere. Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane), the deadliest muscle on Earth, has been given too few opportunities to show he’s anything more. Ryan’s character mixed in well and was intriguing but no effort was made to explore how she became a grifter.

The final two-part episode nicely brings things to a climax, resolving some things, and leaving you wondering what will happen next.

The discs contain some nice extras including production crew commentaries on all fifteen episodes, which provide tremendous insight into how much thought goes into setting up arcs and motifs. There’s a Creators of Leverage Q&A from a public appearance, John Rogers Set Tour, a featurette on the special effects, an unevenly funny “The Hand Job” spoof video, a short piece on Any Lange’s music seen in one episode; and finally, the Season 2 Wrap Party Gag Reel.

A nice package and great way to catch up before the ten new episodes arrive to brighten the summer.

(more…)

Howie Post: 1926 – 2010

Howard “Howie” Post, one of America’s premiere cartoonists, passed away last Friday.

At Harvey Comics, Howie worked on Hot Stuff, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Wendy the Good Little Witch, Richie Rich and his own creation, Spooky The Tuff Li’l Ghost. He produced literally hundreds of stories for the company during his tenure. He is best known among comics fans for his creation Anthro at DC Comics, where he also produced The Adventures of Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis (both with and without Dean Martin) Doodles Duck, J. Rufus Lion and numerous romance stories. He did The Monkey and the Bear, Stawberry Shortcake, Heathcliff, and other features for Marvel Comics as well as their Star Comics imprint.

In the mid-60s Howie succeeded Sy Kneitel as head of Paramount’s animation studio. He was fired for producing a cartoon called Two By Two, which lampooned a story
from the bible. This was very much in keeping with Post’s unconventional lifestyle – called “bohemian” in the days before the beatniks and the hippies. He played a variety of musical instruments and spoke numerous languages. Howie also did television animation for Hanna-Barbara, including their Richie Rich series.

Howie’s greatest exposure under his own name came from his syndicated strip The Dropouts, shortly after Anthro was canceled. It ran from 1968 to 1982 in hundreds of newspapers and enjoyed a short tenure as a Saturday morning animated feature.

In recent years Howie supplemented his retirement income by giving training sessions to budding young cartoonists in the general New York / Connecticut / New Jersey area.

Personally speaking, Howie Post was one of the most outrageous and interesting people I had ever met; I was always in awe of his sharp wit and his unique worldview.

(Thanks to Craig Yoe and Linda Gold for the lead.)

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks