It’s getting harder and harder to find books for this column that go together in any meaningful way. And how do I deal with that problem? Why, by utterly ignoring the problem and throwing together whatever books happen to be lying around. Here, I’ll show you how that works…

Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning, Vol. 5
Story by Kyo Shirodaira; Art by Eita Mizuno
Yen Press, October 2008, $10.99

For the long version of the backstory of this series, see my earlier reviews of Vol. 4, Vol. 3, and Vol. 2.

The short version: there are “Blade Children” – teenagers who were abducted and had a rib removed (and probably had other things done to them, starting with psychological conditioning), and who form some kind of secret society. And there’s a teenage boy who is almost always called “Little Brother” – by people who are not, in any way, related to him, and because his now-vanished older brother was a genius, special and wonderful and better than his little brother ever could be in every way imaginable – who keeps getting caught up in their convoluted schemes, which generally involve logical puzzles, death traps, and lots of posturing about who is smarter than whom.

At this point, it’s becoming clear that the Blade Children have serious divisions in their ranks, since one group of BCs is sending an assassin against the local Japanese BCs that we’ve been watching torment – and be defeated by – Little Brother repeatedly over the last few books. (Of course, as is typical in modern manga for teenagers, everyone who matters in the entire world is a teenager.) (more…)

Joby Harold will write the screen adaptation of Platinum Studios’ Atlantis Rising for director Len Wiseman according to The Hollywood Reporter. The writer/director is also adapting Frank Miller’s Ronin for the screen.

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci will be producing the project for DreamWorks.

"As a writer, Joby has an amazingly strong understanding of how to take genre seriously, which is prerequisite No. 1 for us when it comes to these kinds of movies," Kurtzman told the trade.

Scott O. Brown and Tim Irwin crafted the five-issue miniseries which concluded in the spring. The story tells of an underground civilization that begins to cause concern among the surface world’s governments.  A war between surface and sea is inevitable, it seems.

"In all the classic versions of this kind of movie, the threat is always from the stars," Orci said. "The idea that it’s somehow our cousins who went off in a different path of evolution who have been here, literally, underneath our oceans. … That’s fascinating, the idea of secrets right under your nose."

DreamWorks reportedly sees this as a big budget summer tentpole picture for the summer of 2011

As part of its divorce agreement, Paramount Pictures will have an option to co-finance and co-distribute the film.

Given the long lead times, staking out turf two and three years ahead is becoming increasingly important.  Already scheduled for summer 2011 in addition to Atlantis Rising are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, The First Avenger: Captain America, The Avengers, Cars 2, and, Kung Fu Panda 2.
 

Agent Mark Roesler released the following statement announcing the death of Bettie Page:

Los Angeles, December 11, 2008 – Bettie Page, sweet-smiling legendary 1950s pin-up queen with the killer curves and coal-black bangs, died today of pneumonia at a Los Angeles area hospital. She was 85 years old. She suffered a heart attack one week ago and never regained consciousness. Her popularity as an underground, guilty pleasures phenomenon has continued to soar despite the fact that the reclusive Page disappeared almost a half century ago, leading many to believe that one of the most photographed individuals of the 20th century was already dead.

As the model who many have argued raised cheesecake to an art, Page combined exuberant, wide-eyed innocence with confident, sometimes aggressive sexuality. VANITY FAIR praised the playfully seductive Page as “our Über-pin-up.” The NEW YORK TIMES has declared that today “her star shines more brightly than it did in her brief heyday from 1950 to 1957.” PLAYBOY immortalized Page as one of its inaugural centerfolds and recently named her “the model of the century, yet she remains one of its best kept secrets.” In a recent TVGuide.com poll, Bettie Page was voted the “ultimate sex goddess,” outscoring others such as Marilyn Monroe.

Born on April 22, 1923 in Nashville, Tennessee, Bettie (spelled “Betty” on her birth certificate) Mae Page was the second child of six born to Walter Roy Page and Edna Mae Pirtle. The family was poor, moved often, and as a child, Page frequently found it necessary to take charge of her siblings. On several occasions they were dispatched to an orphanage. Life was hard. They were raised in the Church. Page owed her extraordinary looks and high intelligence to her parents, but it was a mixed blessing. Her mother did not want her. Her father molested her.

Page and her two sisters grew up movie fans who enjoyed acting out memorable scenes from whatever “picture show” they had just been to see. “I’ve been a movie hound my whole life,” Page said. “That’s how I started learning to pose, when my little sisters asked me to mimic photos of movie stars we’d seen in the magazines and newspapers.” They would experiment with different hairdos and makeup styles. At an early age Page learned to sew at the local community center; it was a skill with a practical application years later when she designed and made her own costumes, lingerie and bikinis to wear while modeling. She was the salutatorian of her high school graduating class. She was also program director of the dramatics club, secretary-treasurer of the student council, co-editor of the school’s newspaper and yearbook, and voted “Most Likely to Succeed” by her classmates. (more…)

Tonight, the Batman: The Brave and The Bold episode airing at 8 p.m., “Invasion of the Secret Santas”, introduces Red Tornado and the villainous Fun Haus.

Red Tornado will be a recurring hero and is voice by award winning Corey Burton, while Gary Anthony Williams (Boston Legal) guest stars as Fun Haus.

The synopsis:

In this week’s episode, the evil Fun Haus plans to steal Christmas with his army of robot Santas and killer toys including Dynamite Dolly and the Presto Play Pals!  Red Tornado teams up with Batman to save the day and in the process, finds his holiday spirit.  In our weekly teaser, Batman and Blue Beetle throw Sportsmaster a perfect strike when he sets up a deadly game with human bowling pins at the alley!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid will be directed by Thor Freudenthal (Hotel for Dogs) according to The Hollywood Reporter. Casting continues to find a fresh face to portray the junior high school student who writes the diary. There was an open call back in October with no teen yet selected.

The Fox 2000 film will be produced by Nina Jacobson.

Jeff Kinney’s  characters gained life on the web before Harry N. Abrams’ Charlie Kochman brought the stories to print.  There are now two books plus a related activity title already on sale.  The third book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, is due out in January.

The series tell of  “the life of pre-adolescent Greg Heffley, a smart aleck who frequently gets caught up in escapades at school and with his family.”

Top Cow Productions, Inc. announced Wednesday that due to popular demand, redesigned and rebranded hardcover copies of the Witchblade Compendium Vol. 1 and The Darkness Compendium Vol. 1 are scheduled to be in comic shops on December 17. Softcover editions will be available December. 24.

The Witchblade Compendium Vol. 1 collects Witchblade issues #1-50 and a complete cover gallery. The Darkness Compendium Vol. 1 collects The Darkness vol. 1 Preview and issues #½-40, Tales of The Darkness issues #½-4, Witchblade/The Darkness issue #½, The Darkness vol. 2 issue #1, The Darkness: Wanted Dead one-shot and a complete cover gallery. Both books are an impressive 1,280 pages, and both hardcover editions feature bonus posters on the reverse side of the slipcovers.

The books were first printed in 2006 and immediately sold out. Demand for more copies was high, which prompted Top Cow to reprint the books after a complete rebranding of the company’s entire trade paperback line was complete.

“It’s taken us a bit longer to get the Compendium’s back into print, but the redesigned look was well worth the wait,” said Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik. “Plus, the price cannot be beat. Fifty comics for 60 bucks! Just another way Top Cow is giving you more than the competition.”

Copies of the compendiums can be ordered through local comic shops using the following Diamond item numbers:

Witchblade Compendium Vol. 1 Hardcover ($99.99)
Witchblade Compendium Vol. 1 Softcover ($59.99)
The Darkness Compendium Vol. 1 Hardcover ($99.99)
The Darkness Compendium Vol. 1 Softcover ($59.99)
 

Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, who has been a part of every incarnation of her husband Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek, has signed on to reprise her role as the computer voice in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek according to Variety.

As an actress, Majel Barrett was cast as Number One in the original television pilot but NBC had issues with a female as the second-in-command.  She was recast as Nurse Christine Chapel for the three seasons of the series and animated show that followed. She did a variety of voices for the show including the computer.

She reprised the computer voice for Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager.  Her voice work was also heard in the feature films and she appeared as Chapel in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek: IV: The Voyage Home.

Barrett-Roddenberry also played Lwaxana Troi in TNG and DS9.