Tagged: Spider-Man

Free ‘Incredible Hulk’ and ’30 Days of Night’ TV Goes Online

  • News
  • March 12, 2008

The Incredible Hulk. Hulu.

Now that you have a silly Hawaiian image stuck in your head, here’s the scoop: We’re talking about Hulu.com, the online streaming service that lets online viewers watch entire television episodes legally and, most importantly, without cost. Hulu is the product of a cooperative effort by several movie and TV studios in the wake of YouTube and other services where users frequently uploaded copyrighted content. The service was in private beta form until now, but recently went public.

For comic book fans, the top program offered on the site will likely be the entire first season of the classic 1970s series The Incredible Hulk. The show followed Dr. David Banner (the late Bill Bixby) in his search for a cure to his rampaging alter-ego, the Hulk (played by Lou Ferrigno). The show is considered one of the best comic book adaptations in mainstream media because it was faithful to the spirit of the character and treated its subject matter seriously. Lou Ferrigno, looking as impressive as ever, is a popular fixture at comic book conventions to this day.

But the Hulk isn’t the only comic-book monster on the site. 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails, the web-based miniseries based on the popular vampire comic by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith created as a prequel to the recent film adaptation, will also be available.

Other notable shows for comic book fans inculde Battlestar Galactica (both versions), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, Family Guy, Firefly, Heroes, and Spider-Man (the CGI-animated series).

Hulu.com programs are free with limited commercial interruption, requiring only that users register.

Interview: Fabian Nicieza Talks New ‘Captain Action’ Comic

  • News
  • March 3, 2008

Writer Fabian Nicieza’s career spans over twenty years with stints at Marvel, DC and Darkhorse Comics. During that time he’s plotted, edited and written some of the most popular comic books around including Thunderbolts, Cable and Deadpool and Uncanny X-Men.

Recently, Nicieza competed against many other accomplished writers for the chance to bring one of the most beloved heroes from the ‘60s, Captain Action, back to the pages of a brand-new comic book series set to hit stores later this year. His pitch was selected and he’s now hard at work bringing Captain Action back to life.

ComicMix caught up with Nicieza to ask him a few questions about the Captain Action comic, his earlier work, his future and if a hero created and deeply-rooted in the ‘60s has a place in today’s comics culture.

COMICMIX: For people who might not know, can you give us a bit of info on your background? How did you get started writing comics? What were your favorites growing up?

FABIAN NICIEZA: I grew up reading comics. Out of college, I interviewed at both Marvel and DC, eventually landing a job at Marvel in 1985. After a couple years of learning the ropes, I started selling some stories to editors. I kept writing and working on staff, eventually, reluctantly, becoming a full-time writer.

I grew up reading Batman and Superman, then gravitated towards Marvel — Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Avengers. Then "offbeat" series like Conan and Captain Marvel. Offbeat for an 11 year old, I guess.

I also got lots of Superman, Justice League, the Engelhart/Rogers Detective run. I bought both Marvel and DC through the early ’80s, until I got the job at Marvel, then I got everything for free for a while.

CMix: Free is nice. How much did you know about Captain Action before you started 
writing the comic? Did you ever read the original?

FN: I read the original DC comic, but only because the toy was my favorite as a kid. I had the figures and lots of the costumes. (more…)

Marvel Unveils Ultimate Spider-Man in Spanish

  • News
  • February 27, 2008

Marvel’s PR department just sent over news that Ultimate Spider-Man Ultimate Collection Vol. 1 and Ultimate X-Men Ultimate Collection Vol. 1 will be translated into Spanish and rereleased in late March.

The collections, which retail for $29.99, include the first year’s worth of stories from each series, all redone in Spanish. This is just the latest effort by Marvel to make a play for Spanish-speaking readers, as in recent months the publisher released a special issue of the Fantastic Four in Spanish. Fantastic Four: Isla De La Muerte #1 was released in Spanish and English in January.

It’ll be interesting to hear if anyone tracks sales of those issues by language. Though publishers of all stripes are interested in tapping into the growing Hispanic population in the United States, such efforts are clearly in the early stages.

More Animated ‘Spectacular Spider-Man’ Art Revealed

  • News
  • February 26, 2008

The WB’s new Spectacular Spider-Man animated series doesn’t premiere until March 8, but artist Sean Galloway has posted some character designs from the show  to hold you over until then.

feb26spidey-1923254

The art depicts teenaged versions of Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker, along with Parker in his web-slinger duds. Spider-Man looks limber and ready to do some crime fighting, but what’s with Harry’s pose? Perhaps he likes to dazzle his classmates by doing "the robot" at random moments.

 

 

Hercules Goes Green

  • News
  • February 25, 2008

All but admitting that replacing the Hulk in his own book with Hercules was a mistake, Marvel is trying to rectify the problem by spray-painting Herc green. It’s clearly a rushed and uneven job, as paint seems to be collecting in big drips under his chi–

–beg pardon? This is something about a Skrull invasion?

Geez, they’re just going to say every mistake Marvel made in the last few years was a Skrull, aren’t they?

Coming soon: It wasn’t really a clone of Spider-Man, it was a Skrull pretending to be a clone of Spider-Man. And Harry Osborn? Skrull. Rhodey? Skrull. Crusader? Skrull. All the members of the Skrull Kill Krew? Skrulls.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: The copy editor for these promo posters? Also a Skrull. -RM]

 

Filling The Big Shoes, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • February 25, 2008

 

After much discussion with friends and the unwashed and bewildered, today I have decided to weigh in (again) on one of the many ongoing and irresolvable debates that have haunted the hallowed halls of comics academia since time immemorial. The question: when the instigator of a series retires from his or her creation, should the series be retired as well?
 
It seems a lot of creators and many fans think it should. To this, I say “ka-ka.”
 
I understand that a creator’s vision is important, and I strongly feel that creator should have the word on continuing the feature. For many creators, such choice was denied to them when they signed their publishing contracts. That was exploitative. Today, well, creators should know better. And many do: there are financial advantages to allowing a continuation of the feature, and there’s the idea that, to quote John Ostrander from the Stuart Gordon play Bloody Bess, “My words… my words shall live forever.” It should be the creator’s call, and there’s nothing wrong with deciding either way. Of course, after you drop dead your estate will likely overrule you, but that’s a matter between the dead you and your living family.
 
Aesthetically… well, that’s another matter. Bitch and moan all you want, but the replacements generally work out pretty well. 
 
If DC retired Batman when Bob Kane left the character 40 years ago, we never would have had the masterworks of Dennis O’Neil, Steve Englehart, Neal Adams, Marshall Rogers, Frank Miller and a legion of other superlative storytellers. Carl Burgos and Bill Everett were not involved in the Marvel Age resurrections of their Human Torch and Sub-Mariner (respectively), but all those Lee and Kirby stories sure were swell. Spider-Man didn’t truly take off until after Steve Ditko left; John Romita, Gil Kane and many others took Peter Parker to heights previously unimagined by the publisher.
 

(more…)

Eight Comic Books to Read Before You Die

  • News
  • February 22, 2008

Just in time for the opening of WonderCon in San Francisco today, the online arm of the San Francisco Chronicle, SF Gate, has decided to put out its list, a comics "mix tape" as they call it,  of the "Eight Comic Books to Read Before You Die."

Posted by Peter Hartlaub, the list includes many notables in the comics world such as Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman and their works — which are probably considered classic must-reads by most comics fans already.

In addition, the list also features one or two other works traditional comics fans, those who usually confine themselves to one or more Marvel or DC titles featuring spandex-clad heroes, may be less familier with. Books such as Jeff Smith’s Bone and Y:The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan, although successful and well-known to many in the comics community, are perhaps not as well-known to the masses as the X-Men, Spider-Man or Batman.

Here, then, is the list of what the folks at SFGate think you should read, and in the order you should read them, before you die. Hopefully, you’ve already had the pleasure of discovering some of these works. Maybe after reading this list, you can discover a few more.

Y: The Last Man: Unmanned by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra

Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

Swamp Thing by Alan Moore

Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross

Bone Volume 1: Out From Boneville by Jeff Smith

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman

The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

I’m pleased to say that, besides Bone, I’ve read all the books on this list and am a particular fan of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Brian K. Vaughan’s Y: The Last man. Of course, now that I’ve read this list, I can never, ever read Bone. That is, unless I’m ready to die. 

What comics would be on your list?

ComicMix at Toy Fair: Coverage Round-Up and Extra Photos

  • News
  • February 21, 2008

Well, Toy Fair is officially over, folks. All that’s left is to sweep up the wayward Legos, find a place for all of the free promotional swag, and calmly reflect on the passing of yet another convention.

Oh, and there’s always the "Clip Reel" — or, as we call it in the InterWebs News, the "Round-Up" article. So, just in case you missed any of our Toy Fair 2008 coverage, here are some of the announcements, audio, video and photos from Toy Fair ’08 we collected thus far.

We still have some audio and video wrap-up coverage, including today’s edition of ComicMix Radio, so keep an eye on the site over the rest of the week. As a special "bonus feature" of sorts, I’ve included a few photos after the round-up below of some sights, scenes, and, of course, toys that  were favorites of the ComicMix crew but didn’t quite fit into the rest of our coverage.

 

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Government Recalls Spider-Man Cups

  • News
  • February 19, 2008

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall of 6,600 Spider-Man water bottles sold exclusively at Sears last summer. These bottles carry a sufficient risk of choking, as the screws under the lid can come loose and fall into the cup.

Even though these items haven’t been sold for some time, the news is significant as many were purchased by and for fans old and young. Quite frankly, they look sort of cool. So if you’ve got ’em, you might want to take them out of service and put them on a shelf beyond the reach of small children who are not endowed with the powers and proportionate strength of a spider.

More info here.

ComicMix at Toy Fair ’08: A Bulk of ‘Incredible Hulk’

  • News
  • February 17, 2008

Hulk and Iron Man have had their share of dust-ups throughout Marvel history, from the days of the old gray armor to the recent "World War Hulk" story arc. More often than not, though, the Green Goliath whips Tony Stark’s pampered playboy butt.

With both characters expecting big things from live-action films this year, Toy Fair 2008 was shaping up to be another battle of epic proportions — at least on the licensing front.

Unfortunately, this battle between the two Marvel heavyweights ended up more lop-sided than most, with Incredible Hulk products popping up in just about every other booth at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center while the guy in the metal suit was yesterday’s news.

Along with yo-yos and radio-controlled planes (Why would Hulk have a plane? Because he can, puny human.) the big green guy was also spotted on puzzles, bop-bags and — my personal favorite — a puffy backpack that allows you to walk around all day with hulk’s massive arms wrapped around your neck in a gamma-fueled sleeper hold. 

  (more…)

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