The plight of Haiti in the wake of the recent earthquake has
captured the attention of the world. Whether you are following the latest news
online, through your TV or newspaper, or via your smartphone, it is
heartwarming to see the way so many people are reaching out and trying to do
whatever they can to help.

While a great many people immediately began researching ways
to help on their own right away, some people weren’t sure what to do, and it is
wonderful to see influential people stepping up to inspire and inform. Some of
the shining examples of how people have been making a difference are Scott
Hertzog (@hertzog on Twitter) of the SciFiDiner Podcast, who, in addition to
keeping the best Twitter tabs on the crisis, also had a live broadcast on
January 13^th to discuss what is happening; Alyssa Milano
(@Alyssa_Milano), who has donated $50,000 to UNICEF and is challenging
corporations to match her donation; Blink 182 has put out a special shirt for
which they will donate 100% of the proceeds to the Red Cross; celebrity
humanitarian couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who donated an impressive one
million dollars to Doctors Without Borders while George Clooney organized a telethon on MTV; and President Barack Obama, who
continues to be far more tech-savvy than his predecessors in reaching the
public about important issues.

You can also donate art or collectibles to Heroes 4 Haiti,
a collective effort of comics creators who are pooling their resources
and talent to auction off items to benefit the people of Haiti.

While many other celebrities were donating funds
and lending their tweets to help in Haiti, one TV actor was experiencing the
tragedy on a very personal level. Heroes star Jimmy Jean-Louis, who was born in
Haiti, lost several family members when his childhood home collapsed during the
quake. He was able to confirm on Thursday, however, that his parents had
survived, and has stated that he is planning to return to Haiti to assist in
humanitarian aid.

In addition to individuals who are making a difference, many
corporations have stepped forward to assist. Google has taken over the person
location database, and many cell phone and credit card companies have decided
to waive fees on donations made to the efforts. (more…)

While everyone is getting excited at the prospect of Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths in just a few weeks, little has been revealed about the bonus feature.

Today, Warner Premiere revealed the first glimpse into the new line of DC Showcase shorts. Debuting with the Spectre, DC Showcase puts the spotlight on favorite characters from throughout the DC archives in short-form tales.

For those, just tuning in, the Spectre focuses on a detective story with an ethereal twist, featuring the otherworldly character originally introduced by DC Comics in 1940. The short is written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) and directed by Joaquim Dos Santos (G.I Joe: Resolute). The voice cast is led by Gary Cole (Entourage) as the title character and Alyssa Milano (Charmed) as Aimee Brenner. The Spectre was a creation Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily and remains a major player throughout the DC Universe.

Future DC Showcase titles include, no surprise here, Jonah Hex (written by Joe Lansdale).

Special effects wizard Drew Flynn gets spooked inside his own personal house of horrors.

A bit of romantic history flows between Detective Corrigan and Aimee Brenner in The Spectre. Gary Cole and Alyssa Milano provide the voices of Detective Corrigan and Aimee Brenner, respectively.

(more…)

Why just read The Anchor, when you can be in the actual comic?

Westfield Comics and BOOM! Studios have announced a contest where one lucky fan will be drawn into an issue of The Anchor, the new series by Phil Hester and Brian Churilla published by BOOM! Studios.

To enter the contest, send an email to anchor.me@westfieldcomics.com saying why you should be drawn into The Anchor. Entries should be no more than two sentences and 100 words or less. The contest begins Monday, January 11 and ends on Monday, January 18.

Each entry will be judged by both BOOM!’s editor-in-chief Mark Waid and Westfield’s Content Editor, Roger Ash. The winner of the contest will be announced on Sunday, January 31 with the winner to be drawn into a forthcoming issue of BOOM!’s The Anchor. For a complete list of rules, go here.

TNT’s Leverage returns to the schedule on Wednesday with six new episodes running weekly through February 17. The series, co-created by former Blue Beetle writer John Rogers, was one of the network’s bright spots when it debuted in December 2008.

As the second season opened this past summer, the Leverage team reunited in Boston to settle more scores against those who use power and wealth to victimize others.  The gang is led by former insurance investigator Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton), who first got into the racket after his former employer refused to pay for treatment that could have saved his son’s life.  His highly skilled team includes Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman), a grifter who uses her acting skills to corner her marks; Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane), a “retrieval specialist” with bone-crunching fighting skills; Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge), a gadget and technology wizard who keeps the team informed; and Parker (Beth Riesgraf), a slightly off-center thief adept at rappelling off buildings or squeezing into tight places.

SPOILERS AHEAD if you haven’t seen the second season so far and don’t want to watch the marathon before Wednesday’s premiere…

By the end of summer, the Leverage team had scammed a hedge-fund manager who happened to be in the custody of U.S. Marshals; used Eliot’s martial arts skills to corner a corrupt fight promoter; and took over a private school to recover millions of dollars lost in a Ponzi scheme.  They also went head-to-head with an almost identical team of grifters to recover a painting that had been stolen by Nazis during World War II.

But for Sophie, something just wasn’t feeling right.  Her conflicted relationship with Nate left her questioning if she wanted to continue working with the team.  She decided to take some much-needed time away, but not before she arranged for a friend and fellow grifter, Tara Cole (Jeri Ryan), to fill in for her.  Tara immediately proved her worth by not only helping the team save a client’s estate from a corrupt lawyer, but also fooling everyone into thinking she was the client’s attorney. (Of course, Bellman is merely taking a maternity leave but they have written her out in a nicely dramatic fashion.)

Here’s a look at the upcoming episodes (SPOILER: with brief plot synopses) and we’ll have a review of the first two on Tuesday.

(more…)

What is it with Stuart Townsend and characters with swords? First, he leaves the role of Aragorn early in the shooting of  the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and now we hear that he’s out of the role of Fandral in the adaptation of Marvel’s Thor. AP cites that old standby, “creative differences”. Fandral will now be played by Joshua Dallas, who was in the Doctor Who episode “Silence in the Library”.

I can think of a few possibilities:

His swordsmanship isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.

Director Kenneth Branagh thinks having Townsend leave the production early is some sort of a good luck charm (see LOTR).