Tagged: DC

SDCC: DC’s Animation Panel

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

newfrontier-1533514An area DC Comics has been pushing hard is animated adaptions of the company’s comic book properties, including last year’s Justice League: The New Frontier, which earned an Emmy nomination.

At a Comic-Con panel, DC publisher Paul Levitz and others discussed upcoming animated projects, including Wonder Woman. Newsarama has a wrap up:

Noveck says “Wonder Woman” is not an adaptation of a specific comic, like “Justice League: The New Frontier.” Instead, it features an original story by “Wonder Woman” comics writer Gail Simone and Michael Jelenic, with the screenplay by Jelenic. That approach was decided on because the character can be a tricky one to get right, Levitz says.

Voice director Andrea Romano says they like to use a lot of name actors for these projects and joked that fans can often tell what she’s watching on TV and in the movies by who she casts. She says, for example, she liked very much the film “Waitress,” which played a role in her casting Keri Russell as Wonder Woman. Russell was right for the part because she can convey both strength and the vulnerability the character needs as she adjusts to living in the world of men.

Other cast members include fellow panelist Nathan Fillion as Steve Trevor, Alfred Molina as Ares, Rosario Dawson as Artemis, Virginia Madsen as Hippolyta and Oliver Platt as Hades. Romano says Platt had to record his lines in New York and couldn’t be filmed in the booth because of the distance — which turned to be a good thing when his starched shirt made so much noise he ended up having to work shirtless.

Review: This Week in Trinity – Part 8

As Comic-Con starts to lull into submission (begin your hype for ’09!), I finally get a chance to sit down with the latest issue of DC’s weekly [[[Trinity]]] and ask myself again why I ever agreed to do weekly reviews.

Yes, the series is still so much better than [[[Countdown]]] that it’s useless comparing the two, but after last week’s big explanations of some of the major mysteries, issue eight has no tension among much weirdness.

We start off with Morgaine Le Fey, Enigma and Despero all hanging out on the largest moon of Itatoq (funny, I’m vacationing there this winter). Because they’re villains, a fight ensues, but after some “We’re all so evil” dialogue the three agree to form their own evil threesome.

At their disposal is the Cosmic Egg, which confused me, since last issue seemed to imply the JLA had the egg (and the villain inside it) stashed somewhere safe. Apparently they stashed it on the largest moon of Itatoq (miles and miles of sandy beaches!).

After that are scenes of the heroes going about their lives, still filling the generic roles prescribed to them by the universe (aka Kurt Busiek). Bruce is sleuthing, Clark is fighting robots and Diana is… shopping. Ahem.

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SDCC: Vertigo and WildStorm News

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

Vertigo and WildStorm — both imprints of DC Comics — talked about their respective futures at a couple of Comic-Con panels.

While Vertigo (led by editors Karen Berger and Will Dennis and a ton of creators) talked about an array of new projects and the Vertigo Crime imprint, WildStorm had just a little bit of news on already existing properties.

Newsarama has an exhaustive roundup of the Vertigo panel, including some insight into Vertigo Crime:

New Vertigo Crime books that are coming out include Dark Entries, a new book by writer Ian Rankin with Werther Dell’edera artist. Rankin is best known as the writer of the Rebus novels, on which the BBC show is based. "It’s using the character of Constantine from Hellblazer," Dennis said. The story follows what happens when John Constantine is called in to investigate what went wrong on a reality television show.

Filthy Rich is a new Vertigo Crime book by writer Brian Azzarello and Victor Santos, an artist from Spain. "Basically, it’s a story of a big man who makes even bigger mistakes through his life," Azzarello explained. "He is hired to be a clandestine bodyguard for a wealthy automobile heiress."

Filthy Rich takes place in the early ’60s so it has that "upbeat vibe," he said. "It’s all about the celebrity culture of wealth and why people find that fascinating."

Meanwhile, CBR kept tabs on the WildStorm panel.

Overheard at San Diego 2008, part 4

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

The San Diego Comic-Con Masquerade is in full swing right now, but people are still letting their personal masks down at the most interesting times…

On the dealer’s floor:
Let’s face it, comics aren’t for kids anymore. So get ’em out of here and let me enjoy the last ten years of the industry.

In an elevator with fourteen people at the Westin:
There are no girls in this elevator…

Over in the Webcomics section, at the Girl Genius booth:
Phil Foglio: We’re giving away free sandwiches! Want one?
Me: Sure! Are you sure?
Phil: Yeah, we bought sandwiches for every booth here, but a few weren’t hungry.
Me: Web cartoonists aren’t going hungry? This is front page news!

In the hallways between conference rooms:
Joe Straczynski is doing the Impact books for DC? Are they sure it’s not supposed to be Len Strazewski and somebody’s spell-checker got confused?

On the way to the trolley in the crush of people, a man was jostled by David Gerrold, leading to a retort of, "Hey, watch it, Cusack!"

And finally, ComicMix‘s Editor-in-Chief Mike Gold and media mogul Michael Davis were seen lunching at the Marriott with Denys Cowan. Old home week or something more? Mike’s not talking.

 

SDCC Interview: Justin Marks on the ‘Hack/Slash’ Movie [UPDATED]

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

hack-slash-omnibussmall-6443094[EDITOR’S NOTE: Our original link to this interview didn’t play nice with the formatting of the film’s title, so I’ve fixed the link and reposted the article here on ComicMix. -RM]

Writer Justin Marks has come a long way as a Hollywood screenwriter in a relatively short span of time. After working as a producer’s assistant for several years, while writing scripts in his off-hours, Marks has achieved nearly A-list status by writing several high-profile screenplays including Streetfighter and He-Man. He’s also worked on Supermax, co-written with A-List scribe David S. Goyer, and featuring the DC Comics hero Green Arrow who, after being wrongly incarcerated, has to join forces with the very villians he put behind bars in order to escape.

Marks is also writing another big-budget Hollywood film, this one an adaptation of the very popular comic series Hack/Slash, created by writer and artist Tim Seeley and published by Devil’s Due Press. I caught up with Marks at the San Diego Comic-Con to talk a bit about the Hack/Slash film, what we might expect story-wise and the film’s current status.

COMIC MIX: Hey Justin, thanks for talking with me. How did you get involved in the Hack/Slash movie?

JUSTIN MARKS: It was a book that was given to me about a year or year and a half ago. at the time it was already set up as a movie and I thought that was great because I thought it would make an increadible movie. Actuallly, I was kinda jealous.

But then a few months ago I got a call, I was actually in Bangkok working on the Streetfighter movie, and the producers of Hack/Slash asks if I would be interested in working with Todd (Lincoln) the director on the script to sort of push it throuhg and get it ready for production.

So I got on a plane for seventeen hours back to LA to try and get that job.

CMix: It seems you really wanted the job?

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The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 26

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  • July 26, 2008

Wait a second, reviews of actual comic book? Isn’t Comic-Con going on?

Yes and yes. I made it to the comics shop a bit belated this week on account of the San Diego craziness, but apparently real comics came to real comic book stores this week, although it was an understandably small batch. That being the case, it’s a somewhat truncated Weekly Haul this time around.

9999_400x600-8545251Book of the Week: X-Files #0 — One of the great all-time shows is back in a big way with this week’s movie and DC’s one-shot comic. Reviews aren’t kind to the movie, but the book (set in the show’s early years and scripted by one of the creators) is top-notch.

Comic adaptations are always tricky, as the art can go too far into trying to perfectly recreate actors and the writing can fall flat. But this issue reads and looks just like a classic episode.

Scully and Mulder investigate a series of weird deaths, where victims have no signs of injury or illness. Turns out there’s something playing the possession game, which puts the heroes into a fun game of chess with the invisible adversary.

It’s strong throughout, but the final reveal is a doozy, making it a must-read for fans.

Runners Up:

Daredevil #109 — This arc is (finally) all about Matt getting his life back on track, but of course he can only do so while bringing some gangsters, the FBI and the CIA down on his head. A tense read, as Matt and his crew pull themselves further into danger’s path with each page.

Invincible #51 — Lots of daddy issues surface as Mark shows Oliver the superhero ropes and they each get a new costume (in a sequence fairly ripped out of The Incredibles). A few big plot developments, but mostly this is Robert Kirkman doing the teenager-as-superhero thing better than it’s been done since Ditko’s Spider-Man.

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San Diego Comic-Con: But enough about me… by Martha Thomases

  • News
  • July 26, 2008

Being the conscientious sort, I thought about writing my column early in the week so it would be finished before I had to leave for San Diego. That way, I’d have one less thing to worry about what with the packing, the schlepping, the hob-nobbing, the drinking.

At the same time, because I feel a responsibility to you, my readers, I thought you might appreciate my keen insights into the event that has come to define not only comics fandom, but also pop culture in America in the early parts of the 21st century.

Eventually, I decided my responsibilities as a journalist were more important than my personal desire for efficiency. (Also, I ran out of time before I left.) As I write this, the first full day of the show has ended, and the evening’s parties lie ahead.

What have we learned?

For starters, Wednesday night, which used to be the Preview night, primarily (it seemed) so exhibitors could check out the show, is now so crowded with people that it makes Times Square look like the dark side of the moon. Getting to a restroom was impossible, much less getting across the floor.

And while television and movie and game and toy folk have used the show for ages to promote fantasy, science fiction and action-adventure stories to fans, this year such distinctions are irrelevant. The Office has a booth. There are giant posters promoting Dexter everywhere. I think both of these shows are great, but they have nothing to do with comics.
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Overheard at San Diego 2008, part 3: Warlord, Milestone, and S&M

  • News
  • July 26, 2008

manchesterhyatt-5228242Look, I’m not all that inconspicuous– I’m 6’6 with bushy hair and a ComicMix t-shirt. If you keep saying interesting things within earshot of me, it’s not my fault. (Okay, I have lots of spies and moles out there too, but that’s still no excuse.) So if you’re a famous comics writer who’s looking to hire a dominatrix while you’re in town, just use Google like the rest of us, okay?

First, the things where I’m completely removing the sources except that I heard them at the Manchester Hyatt, but expect to hear them confirmed at DC Nation panels before the weekend is through:

  • Mike Grell (Jon Sable Freelance) will be returning to his most famous creation at DC, The Warlord, in time for the character’s 35th anniversary. This from a Mike Grell panel on Friday from Mike Gold, who commented, "I haven’t worked for DC for years, what are they going to do to me for telling?"
     
  • Milestone is coming back, and will be (pardon the choice of words) integrated into the mainstream DC universe. How they’ll do this exactly is unclear, and we won’t commit potential spoilers by speculating… but there are a couple of ways they could do so.

And with those out of the way, back to the other tidbits overheard…

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ComicMix Radio: Kevin Smith And The Greatest American Hero

As things heat up at Comic Con ’08, The Big Announcements come fast and furious. We don’t just report them, we let you share the exact moment in time when they happen, like:

    * Kevin Smith wowing the DC Nation with news on his Batman project
    * William Katt bringing The Greatest American Hero back into comics
    * Mortal Kombat Vs DC – just who are the players?

And yes, that was comedian Margaret Cho seen on the con floor? Yes, and she’s joins us here, too so Press The Button

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-9137326 or RSS!

 

SDCC: Stephen King and Marvel Make Video Comics

  • News
  • July 25, 2008

Hot on the heels of announcements of the pseudo-animated versions of DC’s Watchmen and Image’s Invincible, the Wall Street Journal breaks early word that Marvel will join that game with an adaptation of an unpublished Stephen King short story.

Marvel’s announcement probably will come today. The story, N, will be available in 25 installments starting next week, available for download on iTunes, Amazon and elsewhere.

It’s sort of a tie-in promotion for King’s new book of stories, including N, from publisher Scribner. And no one’s sure what to expect:

For Scribner, the venture is a shot in the dark. There’s no way of forecasting how well the videos will translate into book sales. While Scribner’s corporate sibling, CBS Mobile, cites Nielsen data showing that roughly 14 million cellphone users in the U.S. pay for video services, it doesn’t know how many of those people are regular book buyers. However, the links from the videos to the NisHere.com pre-ordering Web site will allow Scribner to get a sense of how many sales result from video viewings.

Mr. King is optimistic about the video’s prospects. "I think they’re readers," he says of likely video viewers. But he admits that the venture is "something of a test" whose outcome isn’t certain.

 

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