Tagged: San Diego Comic-Con

SDCC: IDW and ‘Ghostbusters’

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

gb1_nickrunge-9814285Going into Comic-Con, we all knew IDW would be talking about their plans with the recently acquired G.I. Joe franchise. But another ’80s reboot came as a little more of a surprise.

In October, the publisher will trot out a four-issue Ghostbusters miniseries, by writer Keith Champagne and artist Dustin Nguyen. Newsarama caught up with Champagne in San Diego, who had an interesting take on the property:

Is Ghostbusters a successful franchise? It’s definitely generated a lot of revenue in different formats so I guess one could consider it successful in a bottom line kind of way, but creatively, I think it’s been hit or miss. Granted, I’m not the target audience for the cartoon stuff so maybe I’m wrong.

I think the greatness of the first movie has more or less born the weight of the entire franchise over the years. None of the other iterations has seemed to come close although I’m hearing that the upcoming video game is really good, basically a third movie in itself. And hey, there’s no shame in shooting for the stars and falling a little short. Let’s face it: guys like Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis and Bill Murray firing on all cyclinders, that’s a tough act to follow for us mere mortals.

Also, no Slimer, which is sure to please some and annoy others.

SDCC: A Retailer Revolt?

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

comic_con_logo-8747095There’s been plenty of talk about how Comic-Con isn’t really about comic books anymore, with the influx of marketing about upcoming movies and TV shows (a few of which are at least based on comics).

That discussion typically revolves around how the movie booths and panels draw more attention than the ones dedicated to comics, but there’s another angle to the story.

Comic-Con began all those years ago as a smaller affair, dedicated to readers and retailers, and the star of the show was boxes and boxes of comics. Now? With the con’s huge growth, retailers are unhappy with their marginalized role, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

They complain about rising fees for exhibit hall booths. “We are being priced out of existence,” said Richard Muchin of Tomorrow’s Treasures, a Long Island, N.Y., dealer.

They complain about the cost of traveling to, and staying in, San Diego. “It’s too expensive to be here,” said Lee Hester, owner of Lee’s Comics in San Mateo.

Most of all, they complain that they’ve been shoved aside by the Hollywood studios, whose enormous displays dominate the exhibition hall. “If we’re that important,” asked Jamie Graham, who runs nine comic shops in the Chicago area, “why aren’t we in the middle of the room, where more people can see us?”

Hester and Al Stoltz, of Maryland’s Basement Comics, said they will not return to the Con next year. Rozanski, one of the biggest vendors here with 25,000 books, said he may join them. “There’s actually a movement afoot to pull all the comic-book dealers out of Comic-Con and move to a separate venue,” he said.

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.

SDCC: Jeph Loeb Presents ‘Heroes’ Panel

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

The NBC show Heroes went from fan-favorite to afterthought very quickly during last year’s strike-impaired season two. The cast and producer Jeph Loeb set about rebuilding momentum with an energetic panel at Comic-Con.

From the L.A. Times comes word that a full episode was shown and it did the trick:

Tim Kring came in with a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. He held aloft a DVD, the DVD for the premiere of season three’s villains-themed offerings.

Then we got to see "The Second Coming."

It’s a great episode, and it should draw back those who’ve dropped off. It may even bring in new viewers. And if not, maybe you’ll want to watch simply because, as the guy in my row said, "Hayden is hotter than ever!"

If you’re inclined, there are some spoilers in the link.

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: Pixar Previews ‘Up’

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

Pixar’s still coming off the massive (critical at least) success of WALL-E, and already they’re putting out a first look at their next film, titled Up.

The preview is below.

 

 

Original Video– More videos at TinyPic

 

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?

(more…)

SDCC: The Eisner Awards

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

comic_con_logo-7262280The staple of Comic-Con, the Eisner Awards, occurred yesterday evening, and Heidi MacDonald over at The Beat did everyone a favor by liveblogging the ceremony.

Check out her coverage right here.

The Eisners, in case you aren’t familiar, are essentially the Academy Awards of the comics world.

Here’s a taste:

Next up…Best Painted Work, and it’s Eric Powell! Eric says he poured his blood, sweat, and years into CHINATOWN and he’s very gratified.

Best Cover Artist…James Jean…big shock! No one saw that one coming.

Our next presenters…adorable Paul Dini and Misty Lee! But Misty isn’t here– what the….Paul goes off to call her…and brings out a big giant empty box…and next thing you know….MISTY LEE was in the box all along? How did that happen? Is it…MAGIC?

The first award they present is Best Colorist and Dave Stewart wins the popular vote in the hall and the award.

SDCC: ‘Greatest American Hero’ Returns

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

Here’s some Comic-Con news that’s sure to have the old "believe it or not, we’re walking on air…" song stuck in your head, the people behind the ’80s superhero show The Greatest American Hero have unveiled some upcoming projects.

At a panel session involving the show’s creator (on video) and some stars, it was announced that a new comic book series and an animated series are in the pipeline. CBR reports:

The comic coming out in November is a retelling of the origin story from the show with a few changes. The story takes place in present day, there will be less of a focus on Ralph’s teaching job, he no longer has a son and his hair is … not as big.

But everything else fans loved about the show is still there. "We’re retelling how I got the suit and met Bill Maxwell and Pam," said Katt. He went on to say that the book is initially planned as a six issue story, but that after they’ve retold the origin, they have Cannell’s blessing to branch off in other directions.

And how about a GAH movie?

Finally, the cast was asked about the long running rumors of a feature film adaptation of the series. Katt did confirm that producer Stephen J. Cannell has a finished script for the feature film. He went on to say that he has read the script and thought it was fantastic.

He also said that Cannell currently has funding for the film but is looking for a distributor and that he is in talks with 20th Century Fox and director Steven Spielberg’s company, with production beginning sometime in 2009.

SDCC: Marvel Adapts ‘Ender’s Game’

  • News
  • July 26, 2008

Marvel continues to expand on its comic adaptations of literary properties with the news out of Comic-Con that a six-issue miniseries of Ender’s Game is on the way.

The famed sci fi series was written by Orson Scott Card, who also has written Ultimate Iron Man for Marvel. The artist on that book, Pasqual Ferry, has signed on for this new Card project, which is scripted by Christopher Yost.

"I’m a fan, a big fan. So talking with him was one of the best experiences that I have had working on comics so far," Ferry told CBR News. "When talk of the adaptation started, Orson sent a lot of explanations and details about environments, outfits ships. It was a nice work of discovery and creativity between [Editor] Nick [Lowe], Orson and me."

Ferry said "Ender’s Game" is rich with quality ideas and concepts, giving the artist plenty to explore and develop when bringing the book to life visually. He gushed, "The human feelings of the characters and his interrelatedness of the work, the incredible quality of the story, the Battle Room action sequences…"

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