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Quesada contributes Colbert variant cover for Spider-Man

asm-573-colbertvariantcover-4673902Amazing Spider-Man #573 will guest star television host Stephen Colbert and now the company has announced a variety of variant covers to celebrate the event.  One will be a variant itself on Amazing Adult Fantasy #15 as interpreted Marvel EiC and artist Joe Quesada. The issue will have two standard covers – one from Romita Jr. and one from Kevin Maguire, a zombie variant from artist Marko Djurdjevic, and now the Quesada/Colbert cover.

Writer Mark Waid and artist Pat Olliffe produce the eight-page story, a chapter in Colbert’s quest to become president in the Marvel Universe.  Readers can also find campaign trail updates at a special website, http://blog.indecision2008.com/tag/marvel/

The issue’s main event will be the conclusion to “New Ways To Die” from writer Dan Slott and artist John Romita Jr.
 

The Needs Of The Many… yeah, right… by Michael Davis

I’m not a joiner. 

I’m too much of an asshole to belong to any organization. I have no patience for debates when it comes to making a decision. I hate focus groups and polls. I would rather live and die by my own choices without the benefit of a vote.

I know, I know. I told you I’m an asshole. 

Just so I am very clear, when it comes to business I’m all about listening and being a team player unless what’s on the table is so asinine I have to speak up. When I say I’m not a joiner, I’m talking about organizations outside of the work place. Why my distain for “joining?”

One reason could be, when I was a kid, ten years old, my stepfather was having a drunken conversation with me. Yes, a drunken conversation with a ten year old. Look, DON’T YOU DARE JUDGE HIM! Listen, it WAS a weekday – what else was he supposed to do? Get a job? Take care of my sister and me? Let my mother quit one of her three jobs? Don’t be silly and for god’s sake give the man a break.

In his own slurred speech way he was telling me I should join the Boy Scous. Most times I would have known better that to give him a “Is you stupid” smartass come back.

Hey, in a black household you do not talk back to your parents. I’ve made this point before. Super Nanny and Nanny 911 feature NO black families. If I would have tried any of the antics those white kids get away with on the show, I would have been shot.

On this fateful day I forgot the rules of the black household… (more…)

DDP to Aid Josh Medors’ Cancer Battle

sabbath-3772290Devil’s Due Publishing announced that it would partner with Hypergraphia Comics, the American Cancer Society and the Hero Initiative to assist comic artist Josh Medors’ fight against cancer.  Hypergraphia will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sales of their graphic novel, Sabbath: All Your Sins Reborn, to the Hero Initiative, to be used directly in Medors’ battle with spinal cancer.
 
Devil’s Due and Hypergraphia Comics will also host a special evening at The Bean Post Pub in Brooklyn to raise additional funds for Medors’ medical expenses.  The benefit event will take place Saturday October 4, from 8 p.m. to midnight.  Medors, well-known for his art in the Sabbath series, has fought cancer since the beginning of the Sabbath line.  Sabbath: All Your Sins Reborn is a special edition collection of the Matt Tomao/Josh Medors horror title, Pogrom.
 
“We are thankful for the support of Devil’s Due and Hypergraphia,” said Tomao in a release. “They have really extended a kind hand to help Josh in his battle and gone above and beyond, a true testament to their friendship.”
 
The Bean Post Pub is located at 7525 Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn. For more information or to make a donation to Josh Medors, please visit Devil’s Due Publishing or the Hero Initiative.
 

Shia LaBeouf Injured on ‘Transformers 2’ Set

"You’re too Shia, Shia! Hush-Hush, eye-to-eye!"

That’s Shia LaBeouf’s new theme song after this latest incident. The young actor has had a string of bad, painful luck lately that’s left him with some significant injuries. He was arrested in July after an early morning drinking related car crash that left his hand badly injured. There were some rumors that LaBeouf’s hand would never be fully functional again, going so far as to potentially losing a finger. Now recovering from the incident, the actor is back to work on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, his injury having been written into the film’s plot.

Now comes word that LaBeouf’s Final Destination-inspired luck has followed him to the Transformers set. According to TMZ, the troubled actor was injured by a prop on the set, cutting his face just below the eyebrow. After the injury was stitched, Shia hopped back on set and resumed filming. What a champ.

You know, it’s kinda like being lactose intolerant: eventually, you just live with the fact that dairy’s gonna give you the runs. Poor Shia’s gotta live with the fact that he’s always going to get beat up or otherwise publicly embarrassed. Trouble clings to this guy like a freakin’ symbiote. Still, it’s a small price to pay for hanging with Indiana Jones and Optimus Prime.

Last ComicMix Baltimore trade paperbacks on sale

As we previously mentioned, we printed special editions of Grimjack: The Manx Cat, Jon Sable Freelance: Ashes of Eden, and the Harvey-nominated EZ Street for this year’s Baltimore Comic-Con, limited to a print run of 100 for each title. And just as quickly, there were people asking if they were going to be available if they couldn’t get to the show.

The answer is yes– we’re now selling the remaining copies here. GrimJack and Sable are priced at $25 each, EZ Street sells for $35. Just click on the buttons below to add the books to a PayPal shopping cart. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, debit cards, and PayPal.

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We have very few copies left, so once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Zack Snyder on ‘300’ Sequel/Prequel

With the wild success of Zack Snyder’s 300, it’s hardly a surprise that there’s a sequel in the works. Yes, most of the cast is dead by story’s end, but before you call call madness, remember that this, is, SPARTA!! we’re talking about here.

IESB caught up with Snyder at a Watchmen event in Hollywood the other day, and got his two cents on the film’s follow-up. According to the director, development on the film project will only occur when Frank Miller has finished writing and illustrating the graphic novel’s sequel. Snyder wants Miller to have full creative control of the novel’s story, as was the case with 300.

It’s hard to imagine a sequel to 300 with Leonidas and the gang considering the film’s ending. There’s been speculation that the project would be a prequel rather than a sequel, thereby allowing Leonidas to return to fight again. Snyder set the record straight by pegging the film’s timeline between the Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Platea. In the film’s final narration, which takes place just before the Battle of Platea, Dilios reveals that Leonidas "died barely a year ago." Snyder says that the sequel will take place during this time, so the odds of Leonidas returning are pretty slim unless it’s in rotting carcass form.

300, based on a graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller, is a dramatization of the famous Battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartan warriors battled against the Persian Empire. The film, released in March 2007, was the biggest March opening weekend of all time and the third biggest opening for an R-rated picture. The untitled sequel will be based on an as yet completed graphic novel, also by Frank Miller.

The Doctor Seeks the Eternity Crystal in Multi-Platform Experience

Doctor Who is journeying somewhere new, even for him.  A multi-platform adventure known as The Darksmith Legacy kicks off as a book and online experience for fans of the Time Lord.

Fans who want the fill experience will need to register online and create an avatar so they can participate in the adventure by completing tasks, earning points and helping the Doctor when things get most dire.  Collaboration with other fans online to earn extra points will release exclusive content and assist in the Quest to keep the precious Eternity Crystal safe from the dangerous Darksmith Collective. It’s the cyber equivalent of clapping your hands if you believe in fairies.

Fans can log in at a special website www.thedarksmithlegacy.com starting in mid-November.  Meantime, the book component will be ten volumes, with the first two being released in January and then one per month throughout 2009. Penguin UK will be releasing the books with no known American publishing announced. (more…)

Big Screen Bears

kung-fu-panda-2We just love bears here at ComicMix. Be it real bears, scary bears, Gummi Bears or Care Bears, we can’t get enough of these furry fellas! That’s why we’re pleased as punch to report that two famous bears are coming to a big screen near you.

Up first, Warner Bros. has announced a live-action feature version of Yogi Bear, based on the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Ash Brannon (Surf’s Up) is attached to direct, while Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia (Tooth Fairy, executive producers on That 70’s Show) are writing the screenplay. The film is said to be a live-action/animated hybrid along the lines of the recent Alvin and the Chipmunks. Yogi, who first appeared on The Huckleberry Hound Show before launching his own series in 1961, will be done in CG alongside his sidekick, Boo Boo. The majority of the film will be shot in live action.

And panda lovers will be happy to learn that a sequel to DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda is officially in the works. Set for release on June 3, 2011, Panda 2 will be released in 3-D on both regular and IMAX screens worldwide. Jack Black, Angelina Jolie and other voice cast members will reunite for the sequel. Panda veteran Jennifer Yu Helson has signed to direct, while producer Melissa Cobb and co-producers/writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger are also set to return. Kung Fu Panda 2 will compete against Disney/Pixar’s Cars 2, also set for release in summer 2011.

If you can’t wait that long for more Panda action, all you have to do is wait until November 9 when the original film is released on two-disc DVD and Blu-ray. The package includes an original companion story, Secrets of the Furious Five. Ska-doosh.

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ComicMix Radio: Mortal Kombat, DC Universe – FIGHT!

mk-7218976It’s just over five weeks until the long-awaited Mortal Kombat vs DCU game gets in our hands, and we’ve got even more fuel on the fire to get you pumped including the real truth why Superman won’t be the strongest character, plus:

  • Johnny Depp as Tonto and a new role for Buffy
  • Dick Grayson TV hunk
  • One more time for The Partridge Family

     

Kill some time before the debate and  Press the Button!

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-4556675 or RSS!

 

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Robin in Media

nightwing-reflections-3881831So if you checked our site yesterday faithful readers, you know that the CW has given the green light to a new live action series to replace Smallville (or join it if it continues for a ninth season). This series, The Graysons, woud focus on the life of young Richard John Grayson (called DJ in the show), who many of us know will grow up to become the first hero called Robin.

Whether you think such a show can work or not, it’s undeniable that Robin is a household name, partly due to his contant appearances in various media.  And that’s not even considering the fact that he’s gone through quite an evolution in comics, uniquely so compared to many other super-heroes.

In DC Comics, Richard John Grayson, known to everyone as "Dick", was a circus acrobat along with his parents. The Flying Graysons were a famous act in the traveling Haley Circus. But during a stay in Gotham City, a protection racket organized by mobster Tony Zucco tried to get money out of the circus owner. When he refused, the trapeze was sabotaged and Dick’s parents fell to their deaths in front of a live audience. The audience included Bruce Wayne, secretly the Batman, who took in the adolescent boy and aided him in bringing Zucco to justice.

Dick was a natural due to his inherent talen and years of training in athletics and acrobatics. This, along with his heart and determination, allowed him to pursuade the Batman that he was worthy of staying on as a full-time apprentice and, later, a partner. Wearing a costume that emulated his old circus outfit, Dick called himself "Robin." Originally, it was said this was because he was styling himself on Robin Hood. In later years, it would be said that "Robin" had actually been his mother’s nickname for him, either because he was born on the first day of spring or because as a child he never sat still and was constantly  "bop-bop-boppin’ around." Part of the reason he was called Robin and not given a serious super-hero name was because back in the 1940s, sidekicks were only given nicknames so that the writers would be able to save any cooler titles only for more serious super-heroes.

Over the years, Dick proved himself to be a formidable hero and a gifted detective, becoming leader of the original Teen Titans. As he entered adulthood, he was no longer satisfied being viewed as Batman’s kid sidekick and believing that the Dark Knight did not give him enough credit, he left Gotham to carve out his own life. Eventually, inspired by a story Superman had told him of a Kryptonian hero, Dick returned to his super-hero role under the new name of "Nightwing", an identity he has kept for nearly twenty five years now. He is well-respected in the hero community and was even made leader of the Justice League for a short time. And whenever Batman needs him, this black-clad acrobatic avenger is willing to return to Gotham to help out.

That’s the comics. What about his appearances in film and television?

(more…)