Red 5′s “Zombies of Mass Destruction” now has a duo of screenwriters, says the Hollywood Reporter!

Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain, whose credits include Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and Outlander, have been signed up to write an adaptation of the Kevin Grevioux comic.

Benderspink, the production company, is also working on “Y: The Last Man,” “Pet Robots,” and “The Ghouly Boys.”

ZMD follows a pack of soldiers as they comb the Middle East for the U.S. government’s “untracable” WMD gone awry: a zombie that creates 24-hour progeny with its bite.

Hello, darlings. It’s 9:30 on Monday evening and I’m finally sitting down on my own couch for the first time since Thursday.

Each time I come back from a comics convention, I’m even more in love with comics. We have such a bizarre, beautiful little community and it’s full, for the most part, of sincere love, not irony and posturing.

I see grown-ups letting loose and playing in costume like kids, and I hear panel discussions on everything from all-ages comics to Vertigo Crime.

In addition, I get to see people I’ve met before, catch up, and I get to meet people whose work I’ve loved for years (shaking Colleen Doran’s hand was a personal high). I get to discover new artists and new comics, and talk to people from the smallest indie houses and the biggest names in the industry.

I’m not trying to brag that I have great connections. The point is that anyone can do all that stuff, just by going to the convention. We have a uniquely accessible world, and it’s a wonderful thing.

As you know, we recently brought you the early news on ComicsMonkey, the new distrubtion system offered under the auspicies of Ka-Blam. We spoke with Barry Gregory, of Ka-Blam, ComicsMonkey, and IndyPlanet, for some quick answers on the overview.

Newsarama: What motivated you to get involved in distribution in this fashion?

Barry Gregory: Direct Market distribution was a part of our plan from the beginning. We considered it a phase two project. Phase one was establishing Ka-Blam as a viable printing solution for independent creator/publishers. Phase two was to create opportunities for independent creator/publishers increase their audiences and sell their products. IndyPlanet.com — our indy comics webstore — was our first phase two project. We’ve got almost 2,000 items there now, with more being added almost daily, and sales have been steadily climbing since we launched it.

We’ve had ComicsMonkey specifically on the drawing board for over a year. We had planned to launch a brief pilot program of sorts later this spring with a limited catalog and a few volunteer retailers, then take what we learned from the pilot program, retool, and have our official launch sometime in late summer or fall. But then circumstances changed and we realized we had to scrub the pilot program and move our launch up significantly. Even if it meant a rockier start than we’d like.
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High Moon, the cowboys-versus-werewolves web comic by David Gallaher, Steve Ellis, and Scott O. Brown, will be kicking off its third season tonight!

The web comic has become one of the most prominent of Zuda’s titles, and will get the printed treatment in October of 2009.

In the previous season, mysterious gunslinger Robert Macgregor investigated a train robbery in Oklahoma that led him into a pitched battle with a mechanical, yet bestial foe. Gallaher and company haven’t yet revealed what will be the case in this season.

Mr. Sequential Presents: Motion Comics Comics?

“I really should watch the mainstream TV news more for cartoon-idea-gathering purposes, but my stomach just isn’t that strong”:
Twenty answers from The Boiling Point cartoonist Mikhaela Reid.

“There are so many superheroes in New York, you can’t even get on the subway without bumping into one of them”: Writer Glen Brunswick explains why he chose to set his new book Jersey Gods where he did, and finds a receptive ear in the writer of this pretty thorough Star-Ledger profile of the project.

“If it’s not the end of the alternative comic book, it’s certainly a vicious blow to those comics as we’ve come to know them”: Tom Spurgeon offers a long, compelling think-piece entitled “Why Diamond’s New Minimums Policy Is Wrong, & What They Should Do About It.” Spurgeon offers ten ways in which the decision is wrong, and five suggestions on how Diamond can move forward to mitigate some of the damage he argues they’re doing to the Direct Market, themselves and maybe even comics as a whole. Probably this weekend’s must-read piece of writing on comics. (Except for maybe this, but that’s more of a great news kind of thing than a look at the state of the industry kind of thing).

“’Black Panther’ Creator Keeps it (Comic) Real”: Reginald Hudlin writes comics, and is, therefore, in comic fan vernacular, a “creator.” He’s also writing Black Panther (and has been for quite a while now), so he’s technically a Black Panther creator, or, more accurately, a creator that works on Black Panther. That headline is still kind of unfortunate, however, as that specific wording implies that Hudlin created the character.

“I understand if you don’t know what a Super Mario Brother is, but were you really never aimless and selfish in your 20′s? Lucky you”: Savage Critic Abhay Khosla tackles Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Universe in this excellent review, which points out how Young Neil is the key to everything.

Variety reports that Reliance Big Entertainment is in the Youngblood business.

The Indian media conglom has acquired Rob Liefeld’s iconic graphic novel “Youngblood” for Brett Ratner to direct.

I know, I know.  Some of you will be stuck on iconic.  There’s more.

“Most of the great graphic novels are gone, and ‘Youngblood’ is one of the few comicbooks left with tentpole potential,” Ratner told Daily Variety. “It was a real personal passion project for me, and a lot of people wanted (‘Youngblood’), but the amazing thing about the guys at Reliance is the speed with which they’re able to move.”

I’d like to note a point that they’ve used twice in this discussion: Youngblood was a series of series that rarely made it into trade form.  It’s annoying to hear “graphic novel” used in the way that it is.  If people discussed the music industry and referred to singles as albums, it would get old real fast.

“Say, Mr. Bono, sir; I loved that album “Where the Streets Have No Name.”  I dug it.”

“Sorry, young man, that’s a single, not an album.”

“Okay, Mr. Bono, but I think that calling it an album gives it more weight.”

“Whatever.  I’ll be over here negotiating peace in the Middle East.  Play the blues, Edge!”

Ratner also has the rights to the French “Fly Wires”, which will be renamed “Infinity” for film.

[Via Variety]

AFI’s man in New York, Cesar “Masked Avenger” Zamora brings video coverage of the ins and outs of the Javits Center. Take a look and pay special close attention around the 1:23 mark for a sneak peek at the late 2009 DCUC Joker along with a shot of some sweet Deadshot action!

Hey everyone. Now that the doors are closed and the crowds have dispersed, I thought I’d share a few of my best pictures from the convention with you. Hope you enjoy!

The Watchbanana!

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I can’t remember the last time I ever sat down to write a review and felt as daunted by the task as I am at the moment, as I stare past my laptop screen and think of how to best address Larry Marder’s Beanworld Book 1: Wahoolazuma!, Dark Horse’s upcoming hardcover collection of the first nine issues of the well-regarded series.

Those already familiar with Marder’s Beanworld, those who caught it the first time around, as an independent book in the ‘80s, don’t need a review, of course. For them, a simple, “Hey, Dark Horse is collecting Beanworld!” should suffice.

But the current generation of readers, those of us who have never read Beanworld, or would respond to that same news with a, “Um, what’s a Beanworld?” How to review it to that audience, an audience I myself was in until a few days ago?

Scott McCloud, a guy who knows a thing or two about explaining comics, suggests in his introduction to the volume (originally penned in 1989), that there’s probably little point in doing so.

“You’re the first person on earth to read this comic,” McCloud writes, “Others have been here…but they all saw something different, and they all left thinking different things…you’re the only one able to see it this way. Your way.” Because of how truly collaborative the work is between the creator and his audience, McCloud explains, the reader inevitably brings a lot to the table when it comes to the perception of this work.

To a certain extent, all comics—all art, really—is a work of collaboration between author and audience, but Beanworld asks a lot more from the reader, and, in fact, seems specifically engineered—either through intent or accident—to remain just abstract enough, just self-contained enough that this enormous amount of collaboration is encouraged…and rewarded.

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So as I’ve been patrolling the Comic Con, I happened to overhear a scene that really made me kind of sad. I saw a father, maybe in his late 30s, and his son walking into the Con.

…And the kid didn’t want to go in.

To make matters worse, the dad — wearing a Spider-Man button-down shirt — started really browbeating the kid, snatching away his Game Boy, telling him to pay attention. “Stop that! You need to follow me, we’re going to be late for the panel!”

For me, it was just really jarring. It’s not to say that I didn’t get my own share of discipline when I was with my folks (hi, Mom!), but what really got me was that the New York Comic Con — an event that is as exhilirating as it is exhausting — was a chore for this kid. It was endurance, not fun.

If you haven’t gone to a Con, believe me, it can be pretty overwhelming. I can only imagine what that feeling would be like if you’re three feet tall. And while the Con can have the best parts of comicdom — low-cost comics, people in costumes, previews of the Next Big Thing — it’s just a shame that this particular scene took place.

What makes it worse is I think I know the culprit: the dad’s own enthusiasm for the show. He wanted to see a panel, and was so wrapped up in his zeal that he didn’t give his kid a chance to get up to speed. Being a fan for as long as I’ve been, I can’t even remember not loving comics. (I indoctrinated my family from a very early age.) But I think sometimes people lose sight of that, whether it be kids or spouses, and rob a potential fan from falling in love with a great medium.

It’s always been my philosophy that everyone has a favorite comic — they just don’t know what it is yet. But if you taint the biggest comics event with haste and hostility, why would that next generation even give it a shot?

DC’s NYCC ’09 Batman panel focused on the franchise’s plans post-Cheap Batman Stunt Event 2008/2009 post-Batman: R.I.P. During the panel DC announced a slew of new titles debuting in June, and the one that piqued my interest the most was Detective Comics, by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams, and starring Batwoman.  So far DC hasn’t done anything with Batwoman to make me really give a damn about her, but I am all over this. Rucka’s run on Detective back in 2000 was some really great stuff, and hot damn a 12-issue run by Williams is cause for celebration.

The Q&A session of the panel featured a couple of interesting tidbits as well:

Since there’s no Nightwing book, does that mean there’s no Nightwing? Rucka: There’s a character in Action Comics named Nightwing.-

When will we see Nightwing’s lair again? Tomasi: Unfortunately, the lair is not going to be around. Sattler: Along with Nightwing, possibly.

Oh man, I hope DC isn’t trying to work everyone into a frenzy of anxiety by teasing Nightwing’s death again. If they’re really planning on killing off Nightwing, that makes me think that they have no idea what their fans really want. Nobody wants Dick Grayson dead, except for Dan Didio.

On the other hand, the hints Rucka, Tomasi and Stattler dropped likely just mean that Grayson is briefly retiring the Nightwing identity. With another character named Nightwng appearing in the Superman books, and with Grayson the leading candidate to assume the Batman identity something had to give.

What’s the motivation of those three characters who are battling for the cowl? Why isn’t Dick Grayson the obvious choice?   Daniel: Well, Grayson doesn’t think there should be a new Batman. He thinks he’s irreplaceable. But they all realize that without him, Gotham is a mess. But Tim might have a different idea, and think maybe he should step up before someone else takes over Gotham.

It’s funny, but I was just thinking about this the other day. Batman’s “leave of absence” puts the Bat-family in a tough spot. Batman can’t and shouldn’t be replaced, and I don’t think that Tim or Dick would really want to accept the mantle. But Batman has become such an important symbol for justice in Gotham City that without him, the criminal element would grow overly confident and inspire them to run rampant throughout the city. Gotham City needs a Batman to keep all hell from breaking loose. The fact that Tony Daniel understands that gives me confidence that allowing him to write the Battle For The Cowl series is a good idea.

And finally:

How did Tim Drake grow his hair back?   Marts: Fabian has an answer for that and it will be addressed.

I’m sure that by that point in the panel, all the really good questions were already asked, but gee whiz… was this something that was keeping the inquirer awake at night? And is there a really more compelling answer for that than “He waited for it to grow back, and it did”?

Pop culture website Gawker.com is running an article on their blog today taking pot shots at the New York Comic Con and its attendees. Featuring a number of pictures of attendees in costume, there’s no real “article” to accompany them but only the headline “Nerd Alert” and a nasty paragraph that makes jokes at the expense of both comic fans and New Jersey. Typical of Gawker, they cover this story without ever actually attending the convention, taking their photos from wire service offerings.

Radical Publishing recently won Diamond Comics Distribution’s 2008 gem award for “New Comics Publisher of the Year,” a fact I mention here not to congratulate them (but hey, congratulations Radical!), but to point out they haven’t been around very long at all.

I’ve read at least one issue of every series they’ve put out so far—they have a very strong public relations strategy—and have been impressed with their aggressive, confident growth and the extremely high production values of each and every one of those books.

What I haven’t been quite so impressed with was many of the books themselves, which have tended to fall into the emerging category of movie pitches packaged as comics. That probably makes pretty good business sense in today’s media environment, but it also makes for less than ideal comics. If comics are created with the idea that the medium itself is merely a proving ground for another medium, they’re somewhat creatively hobbled right out the gate. (Which isn’t to say the whole line is lousy or anything; I have liked an issue here or there).

Hotwire: Requiem For The Dead #1 may also fall into this same category. It certainly has a pitch-ready premise, the opportunity for some neat special effects and I didn’t have to squint too hard to see Christina Ricci as the petite, small-faced heroine with the round forehead.

But where it differs from other recent Radical books is that it also works quite well as a comic book.

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This morning, I hit the Friends of Lulu-sponsored panel on the representation of women in comics, moderated by writer Abby Denson.

Robin Furth, writer behind the Dark Tower Stephen King adaptations, Mariko Tamaki (writer of the Minx book Emiko Superstar, among others) and her cousin, artist Jillian Tamaki, editor Calista Brill of First Second books, and Chris Butzer of Rabid Rabbit.

The Tamakis agreed that there were lots of amazing, incredible, diverse voices of women in comics outside of the superhero world.

Mariko joked, “Cheers if you’re wearing a homemade catsuit here today,” and Robin Firth agreed. “It’s how you wear it.”

The problem, in other words, isn’t the outfits. “The frustrating thing is when you never see yourself in comics,” Mariko said. “The power of being in this position is that you can put yourself out there.”

Furth noted that the range of body types in comics is expanding.

Jillian noted that even when male writers write sympathetic female characters with a range of body types, the bodies end up being fetishized to some degree (for example, the Hernandez Brothers’ work).

“I got really good at being a boy,” Furth said, pointing out that she grew up on adventure stories and she was never in them. She said as well that when she appeared at a con in England, people expected a man and were surprised to see her show up.

The authors noted that women and men should all be able to write for women or men, and of all ages.

“What is pushing the boundaries in one time period then becomes the norm in another,” Jillian said, pointing out that there are lots of women in underground and indie comics. She compared it to cooking, an interesting metaphor, because many women are cooks but top chefs tend to be male.

Chris Butzer, the only man on the panel, noted, “Comics have always been an outsider’s art form.”

Butzer said that he wants to work on a historical comic about Harriet Tubman geared at an adult audience, rather than children, so he can properly deal with the real historical complexity of the character.

Furth noted that the culture is changing and the popular perception of women and what they can do is changing as well.

Mariko pointed out that the women at the indie shows are doing comics on their own, not being supported and making a living at it. “The question is, how do we filter these stories into the mainstream? Because it would be nice to see women making a living at comics,” she said.

Troy touched upon this briefly in his initial post, but the first thing that struck me when I hit the New York Comic Con was the free booklet given to all conventioneers upon entry.

In the back of the book, there were reviews for two books: Geoff Johns and Ethan van Sciver’s Flash: Rebirth, and Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III’s Detective Comics (starring Batwoman, hot off the heels of Final Crisis: Revelations).

So here’s what I was wondering: where’s the Marvel books?

Granted, I haven’t had as much time as I’d have liked to be patrolling the con, but DC’s presence seems to be comparatively enormous, based on the size of both the Marvel and DC booths. But having this in the guidebook seems like a coup on DC’s part — especially with Detective Comics.

I know that plenty of fans were underwhelmed with the fallout of Batman RIP, but seeing Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III take on a character that hasn’t really hit her potential since her introduction in 52 makes me really want to pick up this book. (It doesn’t hurt that the art looks sickly good.)

The fact that everyone at the convention — easily thousands over the course of the weekend — will have this book on hand (if nothing else) really opens up anticipation that can easily get lost by readers (even those who religiously read the ‘Rama).

More observations to come!

Well it’s still no New York City…: The top five Connecticut locales featured in comic books.

Slick politician Obama carefully triangulates his position on an important issue, so as not to offend DC fans: “One child asked Mr. Obama whether he had a favorite superhero,” according to this Associated Press story about his visit to a second-grade charter school class, “Spider-Man and Batman, the president answered.”

Except for Bizarro, who hates him: “Everybody Loves Neil Gaiman”

So we have The Imperial Otters’ disinterest in Lost At Sea to thank for Scott Pilgrim?: The New York Times interviews O’Malley about the origins and future of Scott Pilgrim in this piece prompted by that NYC trade show going on this weekend.

While long offering an alternative to mainstream media in content, alternative papers unfrotuantely don’t enjoy an alternative economic model to spare them from the newspaperpocalypse: This Modern World Cartoonist Tom Tomorrow on the history of altweekly comics, which seem to be in the process of becoming history.

Comic strip Electro even dumber than 616 Electro: Comics Curmudgeon and perpetrator of Cartoon Violence Josh Fruhlinger continues to read the funnies so I don’t have to (Good thing too, because doing so only makes me deeply sad). This post covers a recent installment of the recently rebooted Spider-Man strip, and demonstrates how Electro and Spidey are just two sides of the same coin. The same, dumb coin.

By Richard Renteria

First Annihilation, than Conquest and now War of Kings, it’s nice to see Marvel putting so much effort into making the cosmic corner of their universe so dynamic. By having the Inhumans return to space, Marvel has really opened up a variety of story potential. With the War of Kings panel wrapped, let’s take a look at some interesting tidbits that were discussed:

* Darkhawk’s role in the Marvel Universe will be more clearly defined.
* Is Sakarr in danger? According to Rosemann’s hints Galactus and his heralds will be meeting up with the Hulk’s son Skarr.
* Seems the Silver Surfer is due for some much-needed polishing.
* The Inhumans will not be resuming their relationship with Earth if they make it out of War of Kings.
* The return of the original Quasar, Wendell Vaughn, seems to be in the cards.

Marvel is wise to continue utilizing their new status quo to effectively tie their universe together. By stitching threads from House of M, Silent War and Planet Hulk together in such a seamless manner it almost seems that Marvel has had a plan all along. It’s nice to see consequences of previous events enhancing stories that could not otherwise exist without those same events.

By Richard Renteria

One of comicdom’s worst kept secrets has finally been made official as Marvel Comics announced today that artist Dale Eaglesham has signed an exclusive contract with the folks at the House of Ideas, and I for one could not be happier. As much as I tried to get into JSA when he was on the title the characters really never did anything for me. That being said I have always enjoyed looking at Eaglesham’s art and its clean lines that have a smooth natural flow to them which accounts for the handful of JSA issues I do own.

Being such a versatile artist Eaglesham is a perfect fit for the Fantastic Four and should prove to be a good draw to a title written by relative newcomer Jonathan Hickman.

By Richard Renteria

Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-Sized Special

It seems that Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s Old Man Logan will conclude in a Giant-Sized special outside of the main Wolverine title. As a frequent visitor to Millar’s blog I suspected something like this could potentially happen when he mentioned earlier this week that he was still receiving art for part six of an eight-part story. As it stands now part six and seven will still see print as issue 71 and 72 but the final chapter will be moved to the special and thus freeing up the title for the new creative team coming on with issue 75.

What, you may ask, about issues 73 and 74? Well, they will be written by Jason Aaron and Daniel Way with art by Tommy Lee Edwards and Adam Kubert. The writers will be writing their own individual stories that will span over two issues. I really hope Aaron is paired with Edwards as I think his art will be a perfect complement to the writing.

Marvel sure does seem to be generating some excitement at NYCC. Does Adam Kubert’s return to the House of Ideas seem to be gaining more steam? First variant covers now story pages. Is a story arc coming soon?