The Mix : What are people talking about today?

ComicMix Radio: World Of Warcraft Wave Two Revealed

There’s more from Toy Fair 2008 as we jump into the newest Star Trek & Seinfeld DVD games and a talk with DC Direct on the next phase for the World Of Warcraft Action Figures — they are going to stun you, plus:

— DC plugs the holes between Final Crisis and Countdown

— Millar and Hitch score a sellout on Fantastic Four

Dora The Explorer hits live-action, prime-time TV

— Another brand new trivia question and a chance to grab an exclusive Graham Crackers Comics variant by e-mailing us (podcast [at] comicmix.com)

—  And finally, a new winner of our ComicMix Radio contest

So drop-kick an Orc and Press The Button!

 

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-6840657 or RSS!

 

Simone & Ajax: Head Juice!

 In today’s full-color, brand new episode of Simone & Ajax, our heroes try to protect the jungle village from monstrous dinosaurs.  

Will they fight?  Will they run?  Will they find allies in the giant Tiki heads?  

Andrew Pepoy is your party planner, and Jason Millet chooses the theme colors.

 

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Lynn Johnston Ending ‘For Better Or For Worse’, Starting Over

After 29 years of For Better or For Worse, Lynn Johnston is ending her long-running newspaper comic strip… and then she’s starting it over again.

Say what?

In the same week that Nicholas Gurewitch announced that he’ll be moving Perry Bible Fellowship into semi-retirement, Johnston recently announced that she’ll be doing the same — albeit with a different definition of "semi-retirement" — to her long-running series.

According to ChicagoTribune.com, Johnston plans to tie up the series’ current plot threads by September, then relaunch it from the beginning, running strips from the start of series and "augmenting" them for present-day presentation. She also plans to redraw strips for which the original art is missing.

The semi-retirement has been long in the making, as Johnston has been peppering the series with "flashback" strips since September 2007 in preparation for her retirement. This move to the "hybrid" strips has caused some confusion among regular readers, and has led to at least one newspaper announcing that it will drop the series once the current run is completed and before the relaunch kicks off.

As of now, readers are seeing present-day strips on some days, and old strips — some from as far back as 28 years ago — on other days. Some readers have expressed confusion because they don’t realize some of the strips are old. They think someone else is drawing it on the days when old strips appear, because Johnston’s earlier drawing style is significantly different from her current one.

According to Johnston, returning to the early years of Better or For Worse creates a new set of challenges for her as an artist:

"The work that I’m doing now is very structured," she says. "The characters are much more realistic. I draw every brick on a building. The way I used to draw was much more fluid and easygoing and big expressions and lots of slapstick. … I would like to go back to that, and I think I can."

 

Columbia Pictures Snaps Up ‘The Boys’

In their continuing quest to find new, exciting and original content, Hollywood studios often turn to the world of comic books and graphic novel as source material for new projects. Today is no exception as Variety is reporting that Columbia Pictures has picked up the rights to Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys. The feature film adaptation of the comic book, which is published by Dynamite Entertainment, will be produced by Neil Moritz through his Sony-based Original Film company.

In case you’re not familier with the comic (although you should be) the story follows a CIA squad informally known as "the boys" whose job it is to keep track of the superheroes in town and make sure they don’t do anything wrong or make mistakes that hurt other innocent people. If they do, "the boys" are there to straighten them out or even, in some cases, kill them.

In the Variety article, producer Moritz characterized the comic as an original take on the superhero genre.

"Rather than begin with a romantic idea of superheroes out to save the world, ‘The Boys’ imagines a world in which superheroes really exist, with all of the flaws that real people have," he said. "The boys are there to make sure that people with superhuman powers don’t get out of line."

No word yet on if Ennis himself will be writing the script for the film, any potential casting or a start date. But when there is, we’ll bring it to you.

 

Darwyn Cooke on ‘Justice League: New Frontier’

With the Justice League: The New Frontier DVD hitting shelves next week, a New Frontier Special comic scheduled for March 5 release, and DC re-releasing Darwyn Cooke’s miniseries that inspired the film, the award-winning creator is in the midst of a good kind of perfect storm these days.

In a recent interview with CBR, Cooke explains the genesis of the original New Frontier miniseries, his work with the creators of the animated film, and his plans for a potential sequel to the New Frontier story.

“I have a story in mind. And it would take us up to the year 1972. That’s when [Jack] Kirby comes to DC, basically. And so I would probably say, if there was a sequel, it would span that time period from when Kennedy is elected until then. Right now, at this point, it’s pure vapor and rumor.”

Cooke also hints at what readers can expect from the upcoming Justice League: The New Frontier Special, which will feature three stories from the New Frontier era written and drawn by Cooke.

“In ‘The New Frontier,’ there is an article that appears about superheroes being hunted down and Hourman dying and Batman and Superman having a big duel where Batman actually defeats Superman. It’s the story behind all of that,” revealed Cooke. “What it does is give me a chance to have those two beat the crap out each other, which some people say, ‘Oh no, not again.’ But well, heh, you know, sorry, you only live once and here we go.

”But it’s all 1950s style. The technology for this type of a fight for Batman, he’s got to be incredibly ingenious because technology-wise, it’s different world.

Cooke also shares some thoughts about his critically praised work on DC’s The Spirit series, based on the Will Eisner character, and hints that he’ll be returning to an ongoing title at some point in the near future.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Make sure to check out the ComicMix review of Justice League: The New Frontier animated film.]

 

Nicholas Gurewitch Semi-Retires ‘Perry Bible Fellowship’

Nicholas Gurewitch, creator of the weekly comic Perry Bible Fellowship, announced plans this week to move his phenomenally successful web- and print-based comic strip into semi-retirement.

After the first print collection of his PBF strips, The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories, sold more than $300,000 in pre-orders alone, Gurewitch announced on Monday to both the newspapers carrying his strip and the general public that he now plans to move the strip into semi-regular production.

"I feel I owe it to myself and the Perry Bible Fellowship not to turn a joyful diversion into a long career," wrote Gurewitch of the decision.

According to Gurewitch, several of the newspapers carrying his strip will continue to do so, despite its irregular production. The creator now plans to devote his time to other projects.

This announcement came on the heels of what could possibly be one of the strangest interviews ever conducted on FOX News, in which Gurewitch and the FOX interviewer, Greg Gutfeld, attempted to perform a live-action reenactment of a PBF strip.

Blorgable.com spoke with Gurewitch about the experience:

"Visiting Fox News in New York felt like journeying into Mordor," Gurewitch confided later. "Pretty exciting. And a lot more pleasant, probably."

According to Gurewitch, who plans to live off sales of the collection and PBF prints for the immediate future, a second print collection could be in the works, too.

"At this point we’re selling off what remains of the second printing," Nicholas says. But what lies in the future? "I think we’re looking at something larger for the next book. Dark Horse Publishing said they were down for doing a 256-pager, which is great by me. Maybe something to the effect of the Perry Bible Fellowship Almanac.""

 

Blue Moon, You Saw Me Standing Alone

If you’ve ever said something happens once in a blue moon, well, today’s the day.

According to the Farmer’s Almanac definition of the third full moon in a quarter of the year when there are four full moons, today is a blue moon.

So now you need a new excuse.

 

David Fincher to Direct ‘Black Hole’

I’ve been a fan of director David Fincher since he used to direct music videos. His visual style has always been very interesting to me and many of his films, particularly Se7en and Fight Club, rank among my all-time favorites. So, when Fincher decides to sign-on to a new film, as he just did today, I start to get very happy.

Fincher’s latest film, according to the Hollywood Reporter, will be the sexual thriller Black Hole, based on the graphic novel by Charlie Burns. This story follows a group of High-School students whose lives are dramatically altered when they come into contact with a sexually-transmitted disease known as "the teen plague." Then, while they try to deal with the social stigma and physical effects of the disease, that’s when the murders start.

Not only will Fincher be handling the directing chores, which already makes this a must-see movie for me, but the graphic novel will be adapted for the screen by two of the most-talented writers working today: Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman.

Fincher is currently wrapping up his next release The Curious Case of Benjamin Button starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, but there’s no word yet if Black Hole will be his next film or if it will be one of the others he currently has in development including Torso (based on Brien Bendis’ graphic novel), The Devil in the White City and The Killer.

 

Stranger Bedfellows, by John Ostrander

 

ann_coulter_origin-6149618Forget whether or not Barack Obama is “black enough.” The newest wrinkle in the Presidential Campaign That Never Ended is whether or not John McCain is “conservative enough.” Evidently, according to two of the biggest conservative blowhards on the air – Rush “Dr. Feelgood” Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, She-Wolf of the Neo-Cons – the answer is “no.”
 
Limbaugh has been on a rampage about McCain, tearing the presumed Republican nominee a new asshole almost daily over issues like immigration and McCain’s voting against tax-cuts. Rush jokingly says he would endorse Barack Obama over McCain as Obama was “a blank canvas upon which anyone can project their fantasies and desires.” (Why am I not amazed that Limbaugh finds a black man to be a “blank canvas?” And you’re going to project your “fantasies and desires” on him? Oh, Rush – how Mandingo of you! Heavens, I feel all flushed! I swear I may have to swoon!)
 
Coulter has gone so far as to declare, on Fox’s Hannity and Colmes, she would campaign for Hilary Clinton rather than support McCain. That, if it came down to Hilary Clinton or John McCain, she would vote for Hilary Clinton as being more truly conservative. And on her site, she continues to champion “her Hilary.”
 

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From ‘Punisher’ to ‘Phantom Eagle’: Garth Ennis Q&A

Garth Ennis ends his four-year run on the Marvel MAX Punisher series next month, but fans won’t have long to wait for his next project. War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle #1 hits shelves the same month.

War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle features the return of Phantom Eagle, a Marvel character who first appeared in 1968. In this interview with Publishers Weekly, Ennis discusses his decision to leave Punisher, the draw of war-themed subject matter and his affinity for adult-oriented fare.

“Writing for adults has always made sense to me. The [backwards] nature of the comics business, with most people writing and drawing stories under the restrictions of children’s/teen’s publishing, is something I find rather frustrating—particularly as the actual audience is mostly well over 20,” said Ennis. “That doesn’t mean every single story should read like The Punisher; it just means you should have free reign to write each story as it feels appropriate.”

Ennis also hints that return to the Punisher character is certainly plausible, as he is the "kind of character you never completely say goodbye to."

(And yes, we realize that PW referred to the character as "Iron Eagle" — it’s an understandable mistake. The movie certainly was a classic.)

For more on War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle, conducted this interview last month with Nick Lowe, the editor of the series.