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Justice League: Doom to Debut at the Paley Center for Media in February

Warner Home Video, MTV Geek and The Paley Center for Media proudly present the World Premiere of Justice League: Doom, the next entry in the popular, ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies, in New York on February 13, 2012. Filmmakers and members of the voice cast will attend the event for red carpet media interviews and a post-screening panel discussion.

A limited number of free tickets are available for the general public. Fans in the New York City area wishing to receive free tickets to the NY event on Feb. 13 must RSVP via email to JLDoomNY@yahoo.com. Email RSVPs should include the fan’s first and last name, and a valid email address.

Tickets to the event will be distributed on a “first come, first served” basis. MTV Geek will also be giving away special seating for the event.

Justice League: Doom finds Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg and Batman on their heels when a team of super villains discover and implement the Dark Knight’s “contingency plans” for stopping any rogue Justice League member. The story is inspired by Mark Waid and Howard Porter’s much-heralded JLA: Tower of Babel.

The film features the voices of Nathan Fillion (Castle) as Green Lantern, Tim Daly (Private Practice) as Superman, and a grand reunion of actors who provided the voices of the Justice League for the cartoon of the same name and its follow-up, Justice League Unlimited, including Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series) as Batman, Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville, Breaking In) as Flash, Susan Eisenberg (Superman/Batman: Apocalypse) as Wonder Woman and Carl Lumbly (Alias) as J’onn J’onzz/Martian Manhunter. Bumper Robinson (A Different World, Transformers: Animated) joins the cast as Cyborg. The cast features three villainous alumni of the Justice League animated series: Phil Morris (Smallville, Seinfeld) as Vandal Savage, Olivia d’Abo (The Wonder Years) as Star Sapphire, and Alexis Denisof (Angel) as Mirror Master. Also opposing our heroes are Carlos Alazraqui (Reno 911) as Bane, Paul Blackthorne (The Dresden Files) as Metallo, and Claudia Black (Farscape, Stargate SG-1) as Cheetah. David Kaufman (Danny Phantom) also reprises his Justice League role of Jimmy Olsen.

The filmmaking team includes executive producer by Bruce Timm, director Lauren Montgomery, producer Alan Burnett and dialogue/casting director Andrea Romano. Justice League: Doom is the final DC Universe film script from the late Dwayne McDuffie.

Voice cast members and filmmakers will be announced as confirmed for the event. The Paley Center for Media is located at 25 West 52nd Street, New York, NY.

Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, the all-new Justice League: Doom arrives February 28, 2012 from Warner Home Video as a Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack and DVD, On Demand and for Download. Both the Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack and DVD will include an UltraViiolet™ Digital Copy.

 

 

COMMANDER XMAS IS HERE FOR THE HOLIDAYS FROM NEMO PUBLISHING

  • Uncategorized
  • December 23, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

4th Annual free “Commander X Adventures” comic book released by Nemo Publishing: New limited edition Commander X Knight Avenger collectible action figure ties into story

PORTLAND, MAINE (December 23, 2011) – Nemo Publishing, publisher of Jay Piscopo’s “The Undersea Adventures of Capt’n Eli” all-ages graphic novel series and “The Sea Ghost” comic book, has released its 4th annual Commander X-Mas “Commander X Adventures,” a collection of pulp adventure stories and artwork featuring the renowned time traveler, Commander X, who is an integral character in the “Capt’n Eli” series.

This free comic book is available at – http://www.captneli.com/dailycomic.php.

“Depression-era comics were promoted as ‘all in color for a dime,’ which meant you were getting more than you paid for,” noted Piscopo. “That same spirit and enthusiasm is what the creators behind ‘Commander X Adventures’ bring. In the Golden and Silver ages, the stories were very plot driven and action oriented and, in their own way, reflected the times. There was a lot of crudeness in the art and storytelling and a certain exuberance and imagination really carried the day. This free comic is a wonderful opportunity to re-experience the fun and excitement that came from Golden Age comics and the pulps. And we always add in a lot of Christmas-themed material just for fun.”

Piscopo edited this free on-line comic book with a team of creators, including legendary writer Brian Augustyn with the debut of his new pulp character, Mr. Gabriel in “All Through the Night…A Mr. Gabriel, Angel of Broadway Adventure.”

“I’m honored to have Brian’s contribution,” said Piscopo. “He’s one of my heroes in the comics business and it’s great to see him join the ranks of the new pulp writers. Pulps preceded Golden Age comics and were all about hard-boiled action and mystery and Brian captures that perfectly.”

Regular contributor, Frank Schildiner, also wrote a story illustrated by Delfin Barral and there is a special Sunday strip by Robert J. Kelly and Dan O’Connor, the creators of the daily web comic “Ace Kilroy.”

Pinups were created by comics greats Michael Netzer and Mort Todd, Marvel cover artist Mike Fyles, Joe Zierman and Randy “Sarge” Sargent, Pierre Villeneuve, Harold Cupec, Jim Mohan, and Jay Piscopo.

Piscopo also wrote and illustrated a story called “SHIVA 99” in which fans meet Commander X as the Knight Avenger. In conjunction with this, Nemo Publishing has released the Knight Avenger as a limited edition Mego-style collectible action figure.

“This year, I also had a lot of fun featuring public domain superheroes in cameos and guest shots with Commander X,” continued Piscopo. “This whole story is an homage to the Golden Age of superheroes, a large number of which are now in the public domain (http://pdsh.wikia.com/wiki/Public_Domain_Super_Heroes).”

The Knight Avenger is the seventh figure in the Commander X collectible action figure line. The other figures include: Golden Age Commander X, 1950s Commander X, Western Knight, Barbary Knight, Archer Knight, and the Undersea Knight. These eight-inch figures are created in a retro-style reminiscent of those made by the Mego Corporation in the 1970s and are designed by Piscopo and produced by Paul “Dr. Mego” Clarke. A short video about the variant collection can be viewed at this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/CaptnEli#p/a/u/1/ZyIxl_SBaS8

All seven figures are available exclusively at www.captneli.com at a special price of $15 (regularly $19.95) through February 15, 2011.

On the World Wide Web:

CONTACT:

Tami Kennedy

Nemo Publishing

207-838-0816

MARTHA THOMASES: Friends With Benefits

  • Uncategorized
  • December 23, 2011

Originally I’d thought about putting together a “naughty or nice” list. However, in the spirit of the season (max out your credit cards or we’ll kill this economy!), I thought it would be more appropriate to spread a little cheer in our little corner of the pop-culture community‑ Hence, I’m sending the following:

• To Frank Miller: The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the movie Malcolm X, so he can understand that some people he admires might have a different perspective on the subject of Islam.

• To James Robinson: An extra 25,000 in sales for each issue of his Shade mini-series. This is a gorgeous, elegant comic, and I want it to stay alive long enough so I get to read the whole thing.

• To all the owners of comic book stores: A subscription to the New York Times Book Review. Please notice that there are a lot of books that sell millions of copies that are not limited to one genre or style. If you place orders with this in mind, you might actually be able to grow your audience and stay in business.

• To all the people who work at comic book stores: The thanks of a grateful nation of fans. We probably don’t tell you this enough, but we’d be lost without you. Sorry we’re so surly on Wednesdays.

• To Dan Didio and Axel Alonso: The complete works of Sue Grafton and Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander books so they can see how it’s possible to create exciting stories starring women in the lead roles that sell tens of millions of copies without the heroines having to display their giant breasts at all times – or ever.

• To Mike Richardson: First look at my graphic novel.

SATURDAY: Marc Alan Fishman

Celebrate Festivus with the Titanium Man!

  • News
  • December 23, 2011

It’s a Festivus for the rest of us! And here we see the Titanium Man performing both the Airing of the Grievances and the Feats of Strength by pounding on his arch enemy, Iron Man! Truly, is there more of a Festivus miracle than what we’re witnessing right here…

…what? Pardon me?

I’m sorry. We’re not supposed to have a Titanium Russian for Festivus… we’re supposed to have an aluminum pole.

(Ba-DUM-dum.)

FORTIER TAKES ON ‘HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE!’

  • Uncategorized
  • December 23, 2011

 ALL PULP REVIEWS-by Ron Fortier

HUGH MONN –Private Detective
By Lee Houston, Jr.
Pro Se Press
176 pages
Genre blending has always been a staple of pulp fiction and there have been many sci-fi based private eye creations over the years.  Writer Lee Houston Jr. isn’t breaking any new ground with this collection. What he is doing is adding to it with a truly sympathetic character in Hugh Monn, a human residing on the planet of Frontera.  For background, we are told that there was an intergalactic war between isolationists who opposed species interaction and the allied worlds who favored it both for moral and economic reasons.  The isolationists lost although remnants survive in bands of outlawed terrorists.  Monn is a battle weary veteran of the campaign having fought with the allies.  Now he’s settled down in his one man private investigations business and the eight cases in this volume have him mixing with various humanoid species also inhabiting the city island of Galveston 2. Each is well done and adds in creating a fascinating supporting cast.
“Dineena’s Dilemna,” in which a disinherited son attempts to frame his cousin for the murder of his own mother.  Alas, private detective Hugh Moon is on the case and spots enough clues to free his client and bring the murderous heir to justice.
In “Shortages” Monn is hired by a docking outfit to solve the theft of merchandise from a highly secured storage facility. It looks like an inside job and evidence implicates one of the alien employees unless Monn can figure out how the thieves are working their operations.
In “Law and Order,” Monn is retained by a Felinoid lawyer named Mau to help clear her client from an armed robbery charge.  The problem is the store’s video tapes clearly show the defendant committing the crime. Monn has to prove that even the eyes can be deceived by digital chicanery.
With “The Siege,” Houston gives us his version of the move “Die Hard,” with Monn going up against a group of ant-like terrorist secretly taking over a major business tower at the heart of the island where he resides. Super rifle in hand, the gutsy private eye takes on this squad of trained commandos single handed.
“Where Can I Get A Witness?”  Monn is hired to subpoena an elusive witness in a motor vehicle accident case.  In the process he stumbles over the case of a popular female singer who mysteriously vanished decades earlier. What’s the connection between that disappearance and the old man becomes the puzzle he must solve before someone dies.
Then a paternity issue results in a kidnapping and ends with Monn trapping an embezzler who became too greedy, all in the story, “For The Benefit Of Master Tyke.”  This one gives us more of the detective’s character and sensitivity as he tries to keep a family from falling apart.  While “At What Price Gloria?” Monn helps an old acquaintance from an earlier case outwit foreign blackmailers and foil an assassination plot.
Finally the book ends with our hero attempting to spend, “A Day At The Beach,” only to end up solving a brutal murder with the help of a few other beach goers.
What is particularly refreshing in these tales is that Houston wisely opts not to make his hero a hard-boiled, typically cynical type.  Hugh Monn is a genuinely nice guy who likes people and aliens alike and is sincere in trying to make his world a better place for all to live in.  He’s a good guy I liked meeting and hope to see him again real soon.

THE ADVENTURES OF FORTUNE MCCALL DEBUTS TODAY FROM PRO SE!

  • News
  • December 22, 2011

PRO SE’S SOVEREIGN CITY PROJECT EXPLODES WITH THE LATEST CHAPTER-
THE ADVENTURES OF FORTUNE MCCALL BY DERRICK FERGUSON
Press Release-For Immediate Release and Available for Cross Posting and Sharing
Pro Se Productions, a leading New Pulp Company that Puts the Monthly Back into Pulp, proudly announced today the release of its latest book as well as the next chapter in Pro Se’s SOVEREIGN CITY PROJECT.
From noted New Pulp Author Derrick Ferguson, creator of the popular characters Dillon and Diamondback among others, comes THE ADVENTURES OF FORTUNE MCCALL!  A man shrouded in mystery, McCall is a known adventurer and owner and proprietor of The Heart of Fortune, a luxury gambling ship that finds itself docked off the shores of Sovereign City.   But McCall has come to Sovereign with a purpose, one that soon turns into action, adventure, and mayhem for he and his companions.  Traveling with heroes in their own right, McCall brings his unique brand of investigation and justice to a city that wants neither! 
Follow McCall and his aides as they confront the darker side of lust when they meet ‘The Scarlet Courtesan of Sovereign City.’
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Instant death and insanity will lay claim to an entire city unless Fortune McCall survives ‘The Day of the Silent Death!’
McCall meets a woman who challenges him to his very core.  While trying to save her missing husband, Fortune comes face to face with ‘The Magic of Madness!’
Money, Money, Everyone Wants the Money!  A mad chase through Sovereign ensues as Fortune hunts to find ‘The Gold of Box 850!’
“This collection,” stated Editor-in-Chief Tommy Hancock, “shows two things.  First off, it shows what great creators Pro Se is working with and how wonderfully solid a concept the Sovereign City Project is.  Secondly and most important, it is just one more example of how Derrick Ferguson is one of the modern masters of this sort of writing, being able to shift from intense mystery to wonderful characterization, from masculine pulp to humorous screwball comedy type scenes, and all in the space of one story.  Derrick makes words flow better than most around today and he shows that best in THE ADVENTURES OF FORTUNE MCCALL!’
Featuring fantastic cover art by David L. Russell based on a concept by Peter Cooper, this volume features amazing interior effects and design by Sean E. Ali!  THE ADVENTURES OF FORTUNE MCCALL are waiting for you!
THE ADVENTURES OF FORTUNE MCCALL

Available at www.amazon.com or through Pro Se’s site-www.prosepulp.com and soon in all online retailers!  And Coming Soon in Ebook Format!

Paperback: 158 pages

            Publisher: Pro Se Press

            ISBN-10: 1468112562

            ISBN-13: 978-1468112566

Sequential Pulp’s Romantic Adventures With ERB’s The Cave Girl

  • Uncategorized
  • December 22, 2011
hannibalcavewoman2-7125781
Artwork © Hannibal King

New Pulp Author Martin Powell announced on his blog (http://martinpowell221bcom.blogspot.com/) that he is writing a graphic novel adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs The Cave Girl, in time for the original story’s 100th anniversary. The Cave Girl graphic novel will be released in 2013 from Sequential Pulp Comics and Dark Horse Comics.

hannibalcavewoman1-5742469
Artwork © Hannibal King

“I’m thrilled to be reunited with artist Hannibal King,” Powell said of the artist he worked with on The Phantom Unmasked and Tales of The Spider. “And, as you can see from these lovely illustrations of the prehistoric princess Nadara, the book will be gorgeous.”

The Cave Girl is authorized by ERB, Inc. Published by Sequential Pulp/Dark Horse Comics.

You can learn more about Sequential Pulp Comics at http://www.sequentialpulpcomics.com/
You can learn more about Dark Horse Comics at http://www.darkhorse.com/

Click on images for a larger view.

hannibalcavewoman3-9949324
Artwork © Hannibal King

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Artwork © Hannibal King

Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action: Genre-Bending: How Pure Should Pulp Fiction Be? New Pulp authors respond.

  • News
  • December 22, 2011

Sean Taylor posted an interesting query on his blog http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/. Sean asked ‘How Pure Should Pulp Fiction Be?’ Some of New Pulp’s finiest responded.

When you think of pulp fiction, what springs to mind? The hard-boiled P.I.? The lost Earthman winning and wooing on Mars? The jungle lord? The aviator adventurer? The masked vigilante precursor to the comic book super hero? Weird horror tales with skeletons and damsels in distress? (For the sake of argument, let’s all assume you didn’t immediately go to the movie with John Travolta and Samuel Jackson, even as good as it is.)

Pulp has covered many genres, and was originally so named because of the cheap paper on which it was published. Pretty much everybody who loves the style knows that.

But, over time, some genres tended to become more synonymous with the definition of pulp than others.

And some would argue that pulp itself is a genre. (For the sake of this article, we’re going to treat pulp as a style of telling a story and not a genre unto itself, since so many genres were represented within its ranks.)

To explore this idea further, we went straight to several of new pulp’s top creators. You can see their responses at http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2011/12/genre-bending-how-pure-should-pulp.html?spref=tw

DENNIS O’NEIL: Santa or Scrooge or the Grinch?

  • Uncategorized
  • December 22, 2011

You might be chipper, content, full of good cheer – that is, you might a person who enjoys crowds and deadlines and the giving of gifts. This is your time and I say, blessings.

Or you might feel like you’re sucking a bare electric wire, stressed and frantic because your always busy life has become a nightmare of scurrying and doubt. (Will Granny like the pajamas? What to get for Aunt Bertha, a Scientologist who’s just declared herself to be a vegan? And nephew Horatio….doesn’t he already have every comic book ever published?)

One size never fits all, in holidaying as in everything else.

Well, which it is? Santa or Scrooge or the Grinch?

Let’s eliminate the Grinch from this discussion. Dr. Seuss was a national treasure, but – let’s face it – the Grinch is fantasy and was never intended to be anything else. And the jolly old elf? Okay, there’s a vaguely historical basis for him, but the guy in the red suit with the beard? Naw. Not for anyone older than eight.

Leaving us with Scrooge. Old Ebenezer is fiction (and was never intended to be anything else) but his is a fiction rooted in some truth. Haven’t we known a Scrooge or two? Haven’t we been a Scrooge? Show of hands, please.

I’ve just put mine down.

Oh, I can, and have, justified my Scrooge attacks with sweet reason. Isn’t Christmas really a pagan holiday, a celebration of the end of winter and the coming of spring, with its brightness and warmth? An occasion for rest and renewal? Perhaps a way to reassure ourselves that, despite the darkness, we will survive? And hasn’t it morphed into something the opposite of what it once was, a festival, not of light, but of greed and showing off for the neighbors? The season of frayed nerves and bereft bank accounts? Of terror at the arrival of the Master Card envelope?

Yeah, afraid so. But we Scrooges – in the hush of our chambers, at three in the morning, we know the real reason for our sourness, don’t we?

When one’s life is flaking apart, for whatever reason, displays of cheer and the sound of song exacerbate the anguish. So the churches and the bars and the AA meetings do brisk business on the holiest of eves, because a lot of lives are flaking. Remember Thoreau: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Amen, and Thoreau’s observation can be most painfully true on Christmas. So we’re not mad at the season, we Scrooges. We’re mad at ourselves for allowing our existence to become one of quiet desperation.

When the holiday is a deserted street and an empty bottle, what’s to celebrate?

We have to blame someone or some thing, and Christmas won’t argue with us.

Some of us Scrooges will awaken in the morning and, I don’t know… send a kid to buy a goose?

FRIDAY: Martha Thomases

 

Earth Station One Episode 91: It’s Elementary, Dear Watson. The Game is Afoot!

  • Uncategorized
  • December 21, 2011

This week the ESO Crew is back in the station as we travel to 221b Baker Street to discuss the world’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes. Our guests this week are Holmes Artist Mark Maddox, Holmes Author Bernadette Johnson, and Holmes Historian Tom Elmore. Also Bobby sits down with Pulp 2.0 Press publisher Bill Cunningham to discuss his upcoming Sherlock Holmes project, the return of Martin Powell and Seppo Makinen’s Scarlet in Gaslight graphic novel.

Join us for yet another episode of The Earth Station One Podcast we like to call: It’s Elementary, Dear Watson. The Game is Afoot!

You get all this and more at http://www.esopodcast.com/.

Direct link: http://erthstationone.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/earth-station-one-episode-91-its-elementary-dear-watson-the-game-is-afoot/

Download this podcast from Itunes or Subscribe to our RSS Feed at http://www.esopodcast.com/.

Next week, Earth Station One steps back inside the TARDIS to review the new Doctor Who Christmas Special as well as a roundtable discussion with some special guests about our favorite holiday-themed stories as we travel from 2011 to 2012.

And we would love to hear from you. What are your favorite holiday-themed stories? Leave us a comment at http://www.esopodcast.com/, at the ESO Facebook Group, email us at esopodcast@gmail.com, or call us at 404-963-9057 with your list. We might just read yours on the show.

The ESO Crew

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