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Ledger Death Leaves Imaginarium Uncertain

  • News
  • January 24, 2008

According to SciFi Wire, the sudden death of actor Heath Ledger has thrown at least one film into a state of limbo. Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus recently wrapped filming in London, but Ledger was expected to play one of the lead roles in the film.

According to the SciFi Wire report, Ledger’s involvement was a key factor in raising the money necessary to produce the film. Imaginarium‘s producers have yet to issue a statement regarding the film’s future.

 

 

Guardians of the Galaxy Return!

  • News
  • January 24, 2008

The crew at Marvel.com have announced the return of Guardians of the Galaxy to the lineup of ’08 titles, with the first issue of the cosmic superteam’s series hitting shelves in June.

Co-writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning will continue to play puppeteers to the adventures of space-savvy characters such as Nova and the roster of names from their Annihilation: Conquest series. Paul Pelletier will provide art for the series.

"For reasons we’ll reveal later, [the] stories will be off-beat, quirky and strange," teases Lanning. "One of our first stories will deal with somebody taking advantage of the aftermath of CONQUEST to expand their power base. [And] apart from the new threats and menaces, we’re planning on the return of at lest one old, old foe and an even older hero."

Marvel’s keeping mum about the actual roster for the cosmic team, hinting that some of the cast from Conquest won’t survive long enough to join up with the Guardians. However, they have provided a list of potential members from the ranks of Marvel’s cosmic character pool and the odds of each character making the cut.

We’re pulling for Howard the Duck, of course.

Mike Mignola Talks Hellboy and Beyond

  • News
  • January 24, 2008

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola explained his growing separation from the character in comics and on screen during this recent chat with Publisher’s Weekly.

The creator’s ever-changing role on the masthead of many of the stories taking place within the Hellboy universe has certainly become more noticeable over the years. With the big-screen sequel to 2004’s Hellboy feature film scheduled for a July 2008 release, as well as a pair of Hellboy animated films hitting shelves over the last few years, many have credited Mignola’s absence to the needs of caretaking for the character’s multimedia growth.

The real reason, according to Mignola, might be a simple case of wanting to move on to the next thing – in comics, that is.

“After 13 years of doing Hellboy, I love the character, I love doing the covers, I love writing the stories, but I’m kind of looking to do something a little different,” Mignola said.

The articles provides a detailed list of many of the Hellboy-centric comics and other projects you can expect to see in ’08 and beyond, including a definitive reference guide and a project Mignola will be working on that occurs within the Hellboy universe, but lacking Hellboy as a character. Fans of the first two Hellboy animated films will be disappointed, though. Mignola says he doesn’t plan to continue producing the straight-to-DVD features.

 

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Marketing Your (Web)Comics 101

  • News
  • January 24, 2008

occasionalsupe-7502864Gary at Fleen points us to an interesting bit over at Occasional Superheroine, the online home of creator Valerie D’Orazio. It’s a nice little checklist of things to make sure you’re doing if you ever want your comic to evolve from something your friends and family occasionally peruse to something that’s a regular destination for a larger audience.

One strategy you might find useful is to not depend on the bigger sites/blogs but concentrate on the key smaller ones. A key smaller site/blog may not have as many hits as Newsarama, but would have good writing and a core readership.

This is not to say you shouldn’t send your PR e-mails to the large sites. You should definitely cover those bases. But sometimes it is better to be a well-featured fish in a smaller pond than a drop of water in a big ocean.

 

The Worst TV Show Ever – Part 1, by Michael Davis

  • News
  • January 24, 2008
 
kim-kardashian-sex-tape-2-8-07-3109261There’s a show on The E Network called Keeping Up With The Kardashians. After watching that show once I am now convinced we are living in the last days of The Apocalypse. 
 
I won’t even get into why the show makes me want to shoot puppies and beat old  – it just does. Let’s just say The Kardashian family is full of a bunch of elitist assholes and it is my hope that their limo breaks down in the hood and they have to ask some poor people for help. 
 
No, that’s not right. Forgive me for being so mean. Truth is, I hope their limo breaks down in the middle of a gang shootout and they are each shot in their plastic asses. 
 
Oh, by the way, the Kardashian women have HUGE asses so a bullet won’t hurt. 
 
I have sold four TV shows in my career. “Sold” meaning I had meetings at a network and they made a commitment to “develop” the show. 
 
‘Selling” does not mean the show will ever see air. Trust me, being in “Development Hell” is no fun at all. It occurs to me while watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians that I have been barking up the wrong tree. I have tried selling shows that have some kind of redeeming message and it seems what some in America really want is the stupidest crap you can think off. 
 
So I’m officially jumping on that bandwagon!
 
I have come up with the worst possible TV pitch in history…except for MTV’s Sweet 16 or The Janice Dickerson Modeling Agency. Even I can’t come up with shows worst than those.
 
Here’s my pitch Mr. Network Executive:
 

(more…)

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Cloverfield Easter Eggs?

  • News
  • January 24, 2008

cloverfield_poster-3235109Okay, so I’m the last person in the world who hasn’t seen Cloverfield. I can deal with that, because I’m a professional – that’s what we do. But for everyone who has seen the film, SciFi Wire has this great little piece about some of the Easter Eggs hidden throughout the film.

Sure, there are definite spoilers in this one, but since I’m the only person in the world who has to worry about them, you can knock yourselves out, folks.

Take for instance, this comment from director Matt Reeves about a certain shot described earlier in the article:

"The thing about that shot is that almost nobody sees the shot, but once you see the shot and the thing in it, you’ll never stop seeing it."

*Sigh*

X-Men, X-Force, Messiah CompleX: What’s Next?

  • News
  • January 23, 2008

From X-Factor to X-Men, "Messiah CompleX" to the return of X-Force, Marvel certainly isn’t making it easy for fans of their much-loved mutants to stay current with team rosters, allegiances and the number of mutants bopping around these days.

That’s why this interview with new X-Force series editor John Barber gets a nod for helping to sort out the mess of mutant storylines and provide some perspective on the new title’s place in the greater Marvel Universe. (And it gets extra points for showing off some great interior art!)

Cyclops knows what he’s asking them to do.  But are they heroes?  I don’t know.  It’s like Wolverine tells them in the first issue, once they cross the line they’re crossing, they can’t go back.  They’re not X-Men anymore.  They might act like it sometimes, they might stand next to the X-Men, they might be friends with the X-Men, but deep down, Warpath, X-23 and Wolfsbane will be different.

The new X-Force ongoing series teams New X-Men scribes Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost with artist Clayton Crain, whose work on Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears still gives us the heebie-jeebies. X-Force #1 hits shelves Feb. 6.

 

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Free Jumper Comic Preview

jumper-3944718Oni Press is offering a free 23-page preview of the comic tie-in to Jumper, the upcoming big-screen adaptation of the Steven Gould novel. The film stars Hayden Christiansen and Samuel L. Jackson.

From the description of Jumper: Jumpscars:

For centuries Jumpers have lived among us — special individuals with the ability to teleport or "jump" nearly anywhere in the world. For almost as long, the Paladins, a secret and powerful order, have protected us from these dangerous and unpredictable individuals, sacrificing everything to keep humanity safe!

The comic tie-in will be available February 13, while the film opens the following day.

 

Happy Birthday, David Firth

Happy 25th, David Firth!

The creator of a few strange but entertaining flash animations such as Salad Fingers, Burnt Face Man and Devvo is celebrating his quarter-century one today. Firth’s characters depict what must go on in his head: they are strange, stick-figured  humanoid creatures dealing with the abtract, the surreal and often mentally ill. Although it’s fun to venture into someone else’s subconscious imagination, we must remember it’s mere vacationing, lest it remind us too much of our own deeper selves. That’s not blood, it’s red water. Creepy.

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