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Manga Friday: Slight Return

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  • February 15, 2008

This week the theme is “stuff I liked the first time around,” as I review the second volumes of four series that I enjoyed in volume one. For those who came in late, the reviews of the first volumes are here and here.

Mu Shi Shi, Vol. 2
Yuki Urushibara
Del Rey Manga, 2007, $12.95

Mu Shi Shi is still a quiet, atmospheric comic that feels steeped in folklore, even if most of its stories are completely invented. Since the background was explained in Volume 1, this time around we get five separate, freestanding stories.

Ginko wanders through the countryside of a Japan neither in this century nor any other, finding various mushi – tiny, primitive creatures that come in a bewildering array of forms and which often parasitize or otherwise harm humans – and helping the nearby humans to live with them, or just to survive.

In this volume, he meets another mushishi, who had made himself master of a mountain’s mushi, but is about to be overthrown. Then there’s a young woman cursed with hereditary mushi that she controls by writing them on scrolls, and a younger girl who dies and comes back to life every day to heal her local villagers. Ginko also helps a man searching for a rainbow, and a family with a cuckoo-ish mushi child.

Some of the stories here are as powerful as in Volume 1, especially the first and last. But I do wonder how long this series can be just about Ginko wandering around, with each story being discrete and separate. I hope Urushibara is building up to something – several characters look like they’re being set up for a return in a later story – because Mu Shi Shi is quite good as a series of individual stories, but could be great if there’s something to tie it all together. (more…)

More ‘Hellboy 2’ Production Videos Hit the ‘Net

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  • February 15, 2008

Universal Pictures has added two new Hellboy II: The Golden Army production videos to the film’s official website. The first video highlights the very first meeting to discuss creature design and the second features a meeting of the production team to discuss the design of Johann Kraus.

The Hellboy sequel features many of the same cast from the first film including Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones and John Hurt, and tells the story of a rebellion against humanity that Hellboy and his team must stop in order to save the world.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army opens July 11th.

 

(via SH)

Warren Ellis’ ‘FreakAngels’ Webcomic Launches

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  • February 15, 2008

 

The first episode of FreakAngels, the free webcomic created by Warren "I am Internet Jesus" Ellis has finally gone online.

… And there was much rejoicing.

Announced at last year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, FreakAngels is written by Ellis and illustrated by Paul Duffield. The webcomic is hosted by publisher Avatar Press, who will post a new episode each week on the FreakAngels website.

CBR spoke with Avatar founder William Christensen about FreakAngels and the unique online publishing plan unfolding around the series.

Though other publishers have offered content online, sometimes even new material, “FreakAngels” is perhaps unique in that its creators will be paid as they would if it were a standard, print comic. “After I spent a little time looking around, I realized there hasn’t been much in the way of a focused effort at providing streamlined, quality material,” Christensen said. “We’re not interested in setting up a huge site with a grab-bag of daily strips—Warren and Paul are going to make an amazing serial comic, and we’re going to make sure it’s being produced and displayed as well as anything you’d pick up on a shelf.”

Amen!

 

Harlan Ellison on the Writers Guild Strike Settlement

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  • February 15, 2008

 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is taken from Harlan Ellison’s online community, reproduced in its unedited entirety. If there’s one person whose words you don’t change without checking with him, it’s Harlan. — GH]

 HARLAN ELLISON ON THE WRITERS STRIKE SETTLEMENT

YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO RE-POST THIS ANYWHERE:

Creds: got here in 1962, written for just about everybody, won the Writers Guild Award four times for solo work, sat on the WGAw Board twice, worked on negotiating committees, and was out on the picket lines with my NICK COUNTER SLEEPS WITH THE FISHE$$$ sign. You may have heard my name. I am a Union guy, I am a Guild guy, I am loyal. I fuckin’ LOVE the Guild.

And I voted NO on accepting this deal.

My reasons are good, and they are plentiful; Patric Verrone will be saddened by what I am about to say; long-time friends will shake their heads; but this I say without equivocation…

  (more…)

My Follow Americans, by Michael Davis

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  • February 15, 2008
 
Hey, did I miss something? I may have as I don’t visit the site every day but did we not just pass one year of ComicMix?!! Where is the fan fare? Where is the celebration? 
 
Where is the love?
 
I’m not sure if fans know just how much goes into maintaining and producing a site like this. This is a HUGE deal. For any business to survive a year is a massive achievement and for an entertainment company to do so is nothing short of monumental! So my hat is off to the rest of the ComicMix crew! I am very proud of my small part in the ComicMix story and look forward to many more years from what has become comics and related media’s best place for great stuff!
 
A while ago I wrote a column about what I would do if I ruled the world. I realize now that was unrealistic at best. Ruling the world has been the mad dream of history’s idiots and I am no one’s idiot. I thought about how foolish it was for me to attempt to rule the world. That was perhaps the second silliest thing I have ever done. The first was assuming that a certain entertainment company would make toys from a wildly successful animated show I had a hand in creating. What was I thinking? 
 
No more. Enough.
 
My days of unrealistic fantasy daydreaming are over. Well except for the Asian girl hot oil Michael Davis sandwich daydream. I’m holding on to that one.
 
But all other silly daydreams are gone. That said I still want to help my follow man and I intend to do so. So today I am announcing my candidacy for The Presidency Of The United States.
 
This, I can do!
 
I am neither Democrat nor Republican. I am a member of the Comic Book Party. We are a small but powerful party that believes in whatever I say, as I am the only member. I told you it was small.
 

(more…)

Free Comic Book Day Titles Announced

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  • February 15, 2008

Free Comic Book Day is fast approaching, and the titles that will be available on that magical day at your local comic shop are now posted on the official FCBD website. Movie and television tie-ins look like the name of the game again this year, with Marvel, Dark Horse and IDW all offering titles based on current or upcoming big- and small-screen projects.

Of course, be sure to keep in mind that you can always find free comics here on ComicMix every day of the year, so if you dig that whole "free comics" scene, make sure you check out our archive of free comics.

But I digress…

Some of the highlights of the 2008 Free Comic Book Day titles include:

First-issue reprints of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All Star Superman and the kids-oriented Tiny Titans, by Art Baltazar and Franco, comprise DC’s FCBD offernigs — and should definitely generate some interest in the collected All Star Superman editions.

Marvel offers up another original issue with a FCBD 2008 story involving the X-Men. With a Mike Carey script and art by Greg Land, it looks like the Merry Marvel Marketing Machine certainly didn’t phone it in on the free stuff. Oh, and as a tie-in to the upcoming big-screen debut of Iron Man, they’re also offering a Marvel Adventures story featuring Iron Man and the Mandarin. (more…)

Shia LaBeouf Talks ‘Transformers 2’

  • News
  • February 14, 2008

Empire News caught up with actor Shia LaBeouf during a break from filming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to hit him up for some info about another huge franchise film he’s starring in that’s set to be released next year: Transformers 2.

Of course, as the project is in the early stages, with only a storyline written by director Michael Bay and some info on new species that could appear, LaBeouf can’t say too much about what we can expect from the film.

Still, he does drop a few hints, especially about the films’ scope and the characterizations of the robots.

"It’s going to be bad-ass. We’re not making another one unless it is, and Mike is definitely not resting on his laurels — he’s doing insane shit again. And the pre-vizes that I’ve seen… it’s just massive. If the first one was any indicator of how massive massive can be, this is going to blow that out of the water. It’s insane. Mike’s mind was just kind of made for this — it’s amazing. There’s going to be a lot more characterisation with the robots, which I’m excited about. I was a fan of Transformers before the movie came out. And there’s going to be a lot of action…That goes unsaid, I guess”.

Transformers 2 hits theaters in an insanely massive way June 9, 2009.

‘Star Trek’ Bumped to Summer ’09 Release

  • News
  • February 14, 2008

Paramount Studios has shuffled the release dates for several of its films now that the writers strike is over, including J.J. Abrams’ much anticipated Star Trek.

Star Trek was originally scheduled to hit theaters this year on Dec. 25, but will now be released on May 9, 2009.

While many of the films being rescheduled have been moved due to stalled scripts or other issues related to the strike, Paramount has stated that the situation with Star Trek is actually quite different.

"’Star Trek’ is moving to summer because its has so much boxoffice potential," Par spokesman Michael Vollman said. "It does not need any script tweaks. They’re two-thirds of the way through shooting, and we would have delivered a great movie at Christmas."

The Hollywood Reporter has details on the Star Trek move, as well as other Paramount films likely to be rescheduled.

 

On This Day: ‘Wayne’s World’ Premieres

  • News
  • February 14, 2008

Today in 1992, the Saturday Night Live spin-off film Wayne’s World premiered, making Valentine’s Day that much more… romantic?

A-sphincter-says-what?

The film starred starred Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, reprising their roles from the SNL sketches that spawned the film. If nothing else, Wayne’s World gave hope to basement dwellers everywhere who hoped to someday beat up Rob Lowe and score with Tia Carrere.

AWESOME!

 

Jim Davis and Garfield Target Scott Kurtz and ‘PvP’

  • News
  • February 14, 2008

Sure, people give Garfield a lot of flack, but after Scott Kurtz of PvP received a mysterious package from Garfield creator Jim Davis, you can bet that the famous orange cat — and his creator — have a friend for life.

Over on the PvP site, Kurtz describes the gift he received from Davis in recognition of the strip’s 10th Anniversary.

I’ve been sitting on this for a week now, not sure how to properly frame or present it. Paul Southworth described it as “…like getting a Valentine from God.” Today it came in the mail and I decided the best thing to do was just photograph the unboxing. This office is now hallowed ground. I have no words beyond this: yes it’s real, yes he drew it, yes he likes PvP.

Kurtz has posted a Flickr Album of the Garfield box-opening event, with some commentary about why the gift has helped make PvP‘s ten-years-young celebration a very, very special time.

 

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