Tagged: Doctor Who

ComicMix at Toy Fair: Eisner’s ‘Spirit’ Meets Conan at Dark Horse

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  • February 18, 2008

There was quite a bit to see at the Dark Horse Comics booth during this year’s Toy Fair, from statues based on Doctor Who and The Dark Crystal to busts based on Robert E. Howard’s Conan universe and various other products inspired by comics.

Most notable of the bunch, however, were a pair of statues based on the title character of Will Eisner’s The Spirit comics. With a Frank Miller-helmed film based on the character scheduled to hit theaters early next year, Dark Horse Comics’ statues are based on the original Eisner design for the character — literally.

According to DH’s Vice President of Product Development, the statues are based on sketches Eisner made in the event that a 3-D sculpture was ever made of the character. Dark Horse acquired the sketches from the Eisner Estate after the creator’s passing, and had the statues made from teh sketched designs.

"The statues aren’t just in the Eisner style," explained Scroggy, "but actually designed by Eisner."

Dark Horse also had a few busts from its upcoming "Savage Sword Collection" of products based on the work of Conan creator Robert E. Howard. The design of the busts will be based on recent covers of each character’s current Dark Horse Comics series.

In the spirit (pun totally intended) of letting a picture speak a thousand words, we’ve put together the following gallery of highlights from the Dark Horse booth.

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Fan Comics Celebrate ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Torchwood’

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  • February 12, 2008

Pia Guerra may have her work cut out for her.  While Guerra’s first issue of IDW’s Doctor Who comic book series is scheduled to come out in July, fan-drawn strips about the British sci-fi phenomenon and its spinoffs are already well underway.

Pseudonymous LiveJournal bloggers calling themselves spastasmagoria and jigglykat have created Torchwood Babiez, which is so unbearably adorable it could give Cute Overload a run for its money.  So far the ladies are up to Page 10, and they’re just getting rolling.

Meanwhile, Rich Morris is currently up to Page 81 of his wonderful strip The Ten Doctors, which can be enjoyed by casual viewers of the show but is really designed for the more fanatic trivia buff who remembers over a quarter century of Doctors, companions, villains and planets.  Only three of the story pages have been inked and colored so far, but Rich’s art is worthwhile even in pencil form.

Doubtless there are a ton of other fan-based comics making the rounds; we’d be especially interested to see any paying tribute to the kid-friendly "Sarah Jane Chronicles."

Inside the ‘Y: The Last Man’ Party

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  • February 11, 2008

We told you about this event before and now Kevin Kelly at i09 let’s us in on the highlights of Friday night’s "Y: The Last Party" in L.A., celebrating the conclusion of Y: The Last Man, Brian K. Vaughan’s hugely popular tale of the last man on Earth.

The party, which took place at Meltdown Comics on Sunset Blvd., featured guests such as Vaughan himself, comic co-creator and artist Pia Guerra, Grant Morrison, Drew Goddard, Mark Waid and Joss Whedon.

Among the highlights of the event, whose proceeds went to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, were many revelations regarding the creation and inspiration of the comic as well as some tidbits about who might play the comic’s title character, Yorick Brown, in the oft-discussed, big-screen version and what co-creator Guerra’s next project will be.

According to the report:

[Vaughan] originally came up with the concept for Y as a project called Boyson, "The Last Boy On Earth" for Penthouse Comics full of "women built like robot fuck machines" and one boy remaining on the planet. After they folded, he replaced the robots with a Gloria Steinem quote and sent it over to Vertigo.

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Russell T. Davies on ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Torchwood’ and ‘Sarah Jane Adventures’

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  • February 4, 2008

The Los Angeles Times has posted a fairly extensive interview with "Doctor Who"  Executive Producer Russell T. Davies, touching on everything from the upcoming broadcast schedule for various "Who"-related projects to the sexuality of "Torchwood" and his decision to distance himself from the "Who" fanbase.

According to the interview, the highly anticipated "Sarah Jane Adventures" – another "Who" spin-off project with a decidely younger target audience – will hit U.S. networks in April, along with the next season of "Doctor Who." The world of "Doctor Who" is quickly becoming a universe, according to Davies, and with the expansion comes some necessary sharing of resources.

"’Sarah Jane’ inherited some of our ‘Doctor Who’ monsters," Davies said. "We can’t afford new prosthetics."

Davies goes on to discuss the controversial sexuality of the more adult-themed "Who" spin-off, "Torchwood", as well as his unusual stance against becoming too entangled in fan message boards and fan-community response to the various series.

"I think we’re an unusual science-fiction franchise in taking a very big step back from fandom and having nothing to do with them. . . . Every program on the BBC has a message board on the website. I forbid it to happen on ‘Doctor Who.’ I’m sorry to say this, all the science fiction producers making stuff in America, they are way too engaged with their fandom. They all need to step back."

(Hat Tip: Outpost Gallifrey)

‘Doctor Who’ Dalek For Sale

  • News
  • January 31, 2008

Inmates at the Woodford Correctional Centre in Queensland, Australia, recently put the finishing touches on a full-size Dalek replica complete with wheels, voice changer and space for a ride-in occupant.

The "Doctor Who" villain took six months to build, and the finished product is currently being auctioned on eBay. Proceeds from the sale will go to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane.

Bidding starts at $3,000 and the auction ends on Feb. 8.

A reporter who recently took the Dalek out for a spin had the following to say about her experience:

You climb underneath, and in the back of the Dalek there’s a seat. You lift the seat up. I’m inside the Dalek. And then you look up and it’s got this voice-altering mechanism.

Ex-ter-min-ate! Ex-ter-min-ate!

If you’re tempted to place a bid, keep in mind that you’ll have to travel to Brisbane to pick up your prize. Imagine all the fun you’ll have getting it through airport security, though!

 

MySpace and BBC Reach Doctor Who Deal

  • News
  • January 27, 2008

MySpace users will soon be able to view bits, pieces and even full episodes of BBC original programming, thanks to a deal between the two entities announced last week.

According to the deal, the site’s video platform, MySpaceTV, will present selected programming from the BBC, including interviews and episodes of programs such as Doctor Who, Torchwood and Robin Hood. The deal is the first of its kind for social networking site MySpace, which is heavily concentrating its efforts on video and multimedia development.

MySpace launched MySpaceTV in June 2007. The BBC video channel on MySpaceTV can be found at: www.myspace.com/bbcworldwide.

 

Jack Harkness to Keep Torchwood Burning?

  • News
  • January 26, 2008

John Barrowman, the actor who plays Capt. Jack Harkness on the hit BBC series Torchwood, says he plans to stay on the series as long as they’ll have him.

In this interview with SciFi Wire, Barrowman said he hopes to see a few more seasons come out of the darker, more adult-oriented Doctor Who spin-off series. He added that he has no plans to vacate his command of the Torchwood crew, either.

If I was asked to do Jack for the next five or six years I would do it with a big smile on my face, because I absolutely love playing him.

Barrowman also provided a few hints at what viewers can expect from the second season of Torchwood, which already premiered in England, but is set to air its first episode in the U.S. tonight, Jan. 26. SciFi Channel will broadcast the episode at 9 PM ET.

You’re going to also see much more of Jack’s history. Our time travel in Torchwood is different. [In] Doctor Who, the Doctor gets in a Tardis and travels. Our time travel is done through memory.

 

Transformers, Star Trek and Doctor Who: Talking IDW in ’08

  • News
  • January 22, 2008

How did we love IDW in 2007? Let us count the ways:

  1. The kickoff of their new Star Trek comics

  2. The first collection of Terry and the Pirates strips

  3. The big-screen debut of 30 Days of Night

  4. The announcement that they would be publishing comics based on the BBC series Doctor Who

  5. Transformers, Transformers, Transformers

  6. …

You know what? We’re probably better off just pointing you to this interview with IDW Publisher Chris Ryall over at ComicBookResources.com, explaining the company’s editorial philosophy and what they have in store for ’08.

Ho Ho Ho, It’s Magic, by Elayne Riggs

  • News
  • January 9, 2008

elayne100-2528299In a comment to Mike Gold’s column on Monday regarding Marvel’s "One More Day" storyline, Michael H. Price noted, "It comes down to the question of ‘What is Sacred Screed, and what is negotiable?’ How far can the re-invention, or the seemingly likely evolution, of an established character go before the Powers That Do Be dictate a market-pandering reversal?" He even quoted the line that fanboy favorite Alan Moore borrowed for "Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel?" — the famous "This is an Imaginary Story … aren’t they all?"

Now, I must confess off the bat that I haven’t yet read the "One More Day" saga. I think I may have read the first issue, but I’m still waiting for delivery of most of my non-DC comics from December. It’s something I’ve learned to live with, this being one or more months behind the "early adopter" new-comics-every-Wednesday crowd of which I was once a part, ever since my former job moved out of Manhattan, rendering impractical my weekly visits to the local comics store. It makes responding to the fan outrage du jour a little trickier, as I can’t cite specific examples of one thing or another, so I’m left with responding to the response, as it were.

I like to think it’s a tribute to writers and artists of the past that the characters and situations they had a hand in creating have taken on such illusory "lives" of their own that inspire such passion in readers that they seem to argue endlessly over something that doesn’t exist. If only that energy could be harnessed for good!

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Doctor Who Turns 100

  • News
  • January 8, 2008

Not to encroach on Glenn Hauman’s turf, but, hey, happy 100th birthday, William Hartnell!

The man who created the role of Doctor Who – his first broadcast was transmitted immediately after the BBC announced the death of President Kennedy – and stayed with the role for three years had been performing on stage and in movies for 40 years by the time he was cast, including the classic British comedy Carry On Sergeant.  

Retiring due to ill health, Hartnell returned to the role to film a few scenes in the groundbreaking 10th anniversary episode "The Three Doctors." His role, in which he helped save the Doctor’s next two incarnations, was curtailed somewhat due to his poor health. It was Hartnell’s final performance; he died two years after the show was broadcast.

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