Saturday, January 28
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Marvel Comics announced Dead Avengers today, a three-issue series tying in to this fall’s Chaos War event. We talked with Dead Avengers writer Fred Van Lente about the book, but also reached out for comments from series editor Mark Paniccia, and you can read them right here on Blog@Newsarama.
“I like Marvel…I’ve kind of given up on DC at this point”: That’s actor Seth Rogen talking comics in an LA Times piece…probably not doing much to increase his chances of playing any DC Comics superheroes in the near future. Which is really too bad because he’d make a great…um. Hmm. Blue Devil? Maybe?
“Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, bowed to a disappointing $4.5 million and a likely fifth place in the rankings”: I’ve seen a lot of the box office reporting for the weekend talk about Scott Pilgrim vs. The World in terms of disappointment (like the one quoted above), and/or expressing surprise at its showing. Did anyone—anyone on earth at all—really think a Michael Cera vehicle had a chance in hell of beating a Julia Roberts movie (based on a super-popular memoir/publishing phenomenon) and a Sylvester Stallone movie featuring just about every action star from any action movies in the last twenty years? As Albert Ching noted below, Scott Pilgrim at least beat its main competition out in one category—critical assessment. Not that anyone in Hollywood considers positive reviews as important as a huge opening weekend.
“Trust me, it’ll be much cooler than you think”: Speaking of Edgar Wright movies based on comics characters, Vanity Fair recently had a Q and A with the filmmaker in which several questions were devoted to the Ant-Man movie. They managed to spell Ant-Man wrong every single time, too. Something to keep in mind next time you find yourself disgusted by a typo on Blog@—at least we remember to hyphenate the names of Marvel superheroes here!
“…And the 7 Other Best Film Adaptations”: I don’t know, Sammy Perlmutter of The Huffington Post, if you include the movie The Dark Knight on your list as an adaptation of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, I think it’s safe to say you’re really reaching.
“If you were a librarian in 2612 working at the Grand Library Of Comics located on a floating platform above the city of Des Moines, and a student from Neil Gaiman Academy came to you wanting to know what comics in the 1970s were like, what works would be on the shelf you walked them over to see?”: Inspired by Tucker Stone and David Brothers’ consideration of the “Panther’s Rage” Black Panther storyline from 1973, Tom Spurgeon wonders what comics wer emost emblematic of the 1970s. He offers some suggestions, and asks readers for more.
Wow: Phineas X. Jones covers the cover of an Usagi comic on Covered. (Via Flog)
Almost Silent
Written & Illustrated by Jason
Translated by Kim Thompson
Published by Fantagraphics
Four of Jason’s past comics – Meow, Baby!; Tell Me Something; You Can’t Get There From Here; and The Living and the Dead – get compiled into one 300-page hardcover in Almost Silent. True to the title, most of the comics within operate in pantomime, though text appears more often than you might expect.
First of all, I have to say how much I enjoy the format. Fantagraphics has done a fine job with this book, with a striking cover, sturdy spine, and essentially giving me everything I want in my comic books in terms of collected treatment. Lots and lots of pages in a portable size – Almost Silent looks and feels like a book, slips into a murse easily, and can easily be read on mass transit, in a waiting room or surreptitiously at your desk during work (not that I did, but one could).
Facing serious competition from fellow openers and respective box office #1 and #2 — all-star action flick The Expendables and popular memoir adaptation Eat Pray Love — Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, the Edgar Wright-directed adaptation of the Oni Press graphic novel series, finished at #5 for its first weekend in theaters, according to Box Office Mojo.
Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg buddy cop comedy The Other Guys, in its second week of release, came in third, with Christopher Nolan’s Inception holding strong after five weekends at #4. Scott Pilgrim‘s weekend total is an estimated $10.5 million, right around industry projections. The film had a reported $60 million production budget.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World beat its weekend competitors in terms of critical marks, with a 68 Metacritic score denoting “generally favorable reviews.” Eat Pray Love is at 51; The Expendables at 45.
Jason Flemyng is no stranger to geek culture, having already starred in Stardust (based on the Neil Gaiman novel), the much-loathed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and even had a bit part in Kick-Ass (he was the bell hop). Flemyng now has another interesting role he can add to his resume: Nightcrawler’s father, Azazel.
Now, my head is spinning on trying to figure out how they are going to include Azazel to the plot. Understandably they never touched on the fact that Mystique is Nightcrawler’s mother in the movies, so yes, it’s a bit different having the father this time around.
So we have elements of the Hellfire Club, a demon, and a really young Xavier. This is going to be either really good, or…just another X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
The final playoff rankings haven’t been determined yet, but the DC Bullets will be there following Thursday’s 12-7 win over WNYC’s shock jocks. The win completes DC’s 2010 New York Media Softball League schedule, as the Bullets earned an 8-2 record and currently stand a full game ahead of the second-place tie, Wall St. Journal and High Times. The Journal and High Times, both 6-2, have two games left to play (including the league’s season finale during which they go head-to-head), so the final playoff rankings won’t be determined for a few more weeks. We do know that the Bullets are guaranteed at least second place, making this their strongest NYMSL showing ever.
If you watch Futurama, The Daily Show or The Colbert Report, you’ve probably been inundated with commercials for Comedy Central’s Roast of David Hasselhoff. Airing this Sunday night, it’s their annual public humiliation of a dubious celebrity under a vague guise of mutual respect.
Though it may very well be funny, the art of the televised roast was already perfected more than three decades ago, courtesy of Legends of the Superheroes.
And the Bat goes on: readers already knew that Scott Snyder is taking over Detective Comics in November with Jock on art (interview with both here), and that Snyder would also be writing a Commission Gordon back-up co-feature on the book. What we didn’t know was the identity of the artist, but as DC’s official blog The Source broke Friday afternoon, it’s Francesco Francavilla.
The blog post says that the co-feature leads into a “greater story Snyder is telling,” and also quotes both the writer and artist on the upcoming run on the legendary comic book cop. This news marks an already busy day of announcements for Batman-family titles, along with Dustin Nguyen being named the new Batgirl artist, and more details on the upcoming Batwoman ongoing series.
Francavilla is known to DC/Wildstorm fans for his work on Garrison; his official site is here.
Today is a good day for female Bat-character news — earlier today, DC Comics announced Dustin Nguyen as the new Batgirl artist, and here comes new details from the publisher on the upcoming Batwoman ongoing series, to be co-written and drawn by J.H. Williams III and starring the Kate Kane version of the character, introduced in 52.
Adult Swim’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The Animation was scheduled at sort of a weird time – midnight on Thursday going into Friday last night, the exact same time that many hardcore fans would be at theaters watching a midnight screening of a little live-action film called Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Luckily, as things tend to happen in the 21st century, they posted all four glorious minutes of the short, adapting scenes from volume 2 of the Oni graphic novels, on their Web site this morning!
What a week it’s been for Scott Pilgrim fans. (Month, really, if you count from when Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour came out.) It looks amazing, but be warned — after watching this, there’s no way you wouldn’t want to see the entire series adapted in this format, and may never be able to truly rest until that happens. It’s just too cool and perfect. Ah, first-world problems.
Matthew Michael Murdock was raised in the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan by Jack “Battlin’ ” Murdock, a boxer and mob enforcer. Matt had a natural talent for athleticism, but his father forbade him from any physical activity or fighting, determined that the boy would become a doctor or lawyer instead. Matt’s unwillingness to fight off bullies in school earned him the reputation of a coward and the ironic nickname of “Daredevil.”
As an adolescent, Matt saw a hazmat truck heading towards a blind man. He pushed the pedestrian out of the way as the truck swerved to avoid a collision, causing its radioactive contents to spill out the back and strike the boy’s eyes. Matt’s retinas were burned away, but the radiation also affected his brain, pushing his other senses to superhuman levels. His fingertips could read ink on paper as if it were brail, his sense of balance was enhanced, he could smell the cologne of someone who’d been in a room hours earlier, and he could hear a person’s heartbeat.
Matt believed himself to be a blind freak but was then approached by a sightless martial artist named Stick. Over the course of several years, Stick taught Matt to develop a “radar sense”, allowing him to perceive the shape of three-dimensional objects by feeling how air moved around them and hearing sounds bounce off their forms. Stick also trained the boy in combat, acrobatics and secret ninja techniques, hoping Matt would join him as a warrior against evil forces such as the mystical clan of assassins known as the Hand. Eventually though, events led teacher and student to part ways and young Murdock went to Columbia Law School, fulfilling his father’s wishes for his academic/professional success and leaving his warrior life behind. But soon before Matt officially became a lawyer, his father Jack was murdered by mobsters because he wouldn’t throw a boxing match. Believing that sometimes the law needed outside help, Murdock used his unique abilities and the skills Stick had taught him to become a vigilante: Daredevil, the man without fear.
Over the years, many experiences led the joking Daredevil to develop a colder, harsher attitude. He’s also gone through a few wardrobe changes, more so than some of you might know. So let’s take a look at the fashion choices of Marvel’s famous blind superhero.
Ready for a new Dynamic Duo? Think Dustin Nguyen and Stephanie Brown, as the artist of Batman: Streets of Gotham will be moving on to draw Batgirl starting in November.
The series, which will team him up with writer Bryan Q. Miller, will allow Nguyen to help design a brand new rogues gallery for Steph to combat, according to a statement on the Source.
“This is definitely going to be an exciting venture for me, besides the outline Bryan has for us, I’m just plain excited to be drawing Batgirl,” Nguyen told the Source. “This latest incarnation of her has lots of the aesthetics of the original Babs that I love and some new ones. It’ll take me some getting used to drawing a female in horns, but I’m looking forward to putting away the ‘mean and moody’ for a while and kick in the ‘fun and sexy.’”
Of course not; the ring has a safeguard that prevents the use of lethal force: “Did Green Lantern just kill the Deadpool movie?”
“Now, philosophy professors are finding superheroes and comic books to be exceptionally useful tools in helping students think about the complex moral and ethical debates”: The BBC on why Batman doesn’t just kill the Joker…sorta.
11-word, one-pun review of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: Available at Living Between Wednesdays.
Uh-oh, the covers are usually the best part, aren’t they?: “‘Glee’ Comic Book Cover Evidently Drawn By Artist Who Has Never Seen ‘Glee’” (Via Journalista)
How J Chris Campbell writes a comic for an anthology: The cartoonist shares a predicably humorous account of his creative process. (Also via Journalista)
More of Mark Millar on his movie pitch-turned comic-turned movie: I always hesitate to link to Millar talking about anything other than comics, because I feel like I’m just helping his promotional efforts, but I found this interview with Empire about Nemesis: The Motion Picture kind of amusing. Remember how Millar was pitching Nemesis: The Comic Book as a Batman/Joker inversion? Well, he continues to do so in this story, even suggesting he would cast the film based around actors who have played Batman and The Joker in the last Batman movie:
“With Nemesis, you’ve got two great roles for two A-list stars,” he says. “The thing is, one guy has to be as good as the other. You’ve got Holmes versus Moriarty here or Batman versus The Joker, so each one has got to be a $20 million actor, really. I think you could go for the A+ list and get Johnny Depp as Nemesis and Brad Pitt as Blake Morrow.”
…“When I was writing the comic, I genuinely saw Johnny Depp as Nemesis,” explains Millar. “He’s a thin-faced guy, slightly creepy, a cross between Heath Ledger and Christian Bale, and someone who could pull off both those things at the same time is Depp. He would get it. He goes slightly crazy in his roles!”
Oh Mark Millar…what are we going to do with you?
Rip Kirby v.2
Written and Illustrated by Alex Raymond
Written and Edited by Ward Greene
Published by IDW
Alex Raymond, abetted by editor and co-writer Ward Greene, continued to refine Rip Kirby during the years 1948-1951. Raymond, the co-creator of Flash Gordon, created a new daily strip in the mid-1940s, following his return from military service, and the resultant Rip Kirby was as far from Flash’s romantic swashbuckling adventure as imaginable. A procedural detective drama, set in a world specifically as real as that outside contemporary readers’ windows, Rip Kirby follows a dapper, upper-crust private detective as he untangles a variety of mysteries.
Firstly, credit to IDW and The Library of American Comics for their impeccable reproduction of these sixty-plus year-old newspaper strips, as well as for their elegantly designed, hardbound collection of the material. A true classic strip created by on the field’s most acclaimed legends, Rip Kirby deserves a grand treatment, and IDW/The Library of American Comics have created a package that suits the bill.
Three years ago today, artist Mike Wieringo passed away. I can’t say I knew the man by any means. I did shake his hands a few times and watched him draw and talk about art. To quote fellow Blog@ and Newsarama contributor George Marston: “I love looking at a comic artist’s work, and seeing clearly that they love comics.” That was definitely the case with Wieringo. I’ve seen Facebook and Twitter updates and posts about him all day as well as tributes, such as Eric Canete’s.
Canete drew the central characters of Tellos, a comic created by Todd DeZago and Weiringo about a decade ago: Jarek, Koj and Sierra. After Weiringo’s passing, the series was put on hold, but DeZago has mentioned that he would put it out again where there a demand. I think the demand is out there, and is one of those books I wish I had created because it is that good.
I’m curious to know if you have a ‘Ringo story, or how his works have affected you. Mike Weiringo may have passed on, but his art, creations, and legacy will never fade away.
Today marks both the 14th anniversary of the death of Mark Gruenwald, and the third anniversary of Mike Wieringo’s death; two beloved comic book industry talents who passed away in their early 40s.
Following closely on the teen pop star footsteps of Justin Bieber, the cast of Glee is the natural next target of Bluewater Production’s “Fame” series of unauthorized biographical comic books, though it still probably won’t pacify the people who groused about the Fox show having a panel at Comic-Con.
This is the first of their bio comics to spotlight multiple people — Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, Jane Lynch, Cory Monteith and Chris Colfer are the ones mentioned in Bluewater’s press release, though from the cover it appears that Amber Riley, who plays Mercedes, will also be profiled. One worries that in only 32 pages, crucial details like Lynch’s role as Agent Russo in 2002′s Collateral Damage may be ignored.
Say Bluewater president Darren G. Davis in the press release: “Our Fame series has attracted an entirely new audience to the world of comics, whether they’re fans of Lady Gaga or Twilight. I expect that the same thing will happen with Fame: The Cast of Glee.” Not sure if that’s quite as diverse of an audience as he’s making it sound — seems that Lady Gaga, Twilight and Glee probably have a lot of the same fans, right? (Teenage girls.)
Given Bluewater’s apparent predilection for multicultural groups of young people singing and dancing, it’s only a matter of time before the publisher goes retro and puts out Fame: The Cast of Fame. This comic, though, is out in November.
If you like what you’ve read so far (c’mon, how can you not?) totally check out more super cute comics at:www.sosuperduper.com!
All of the books discussed in this column have been out for a while, so long that my colleague Michael C. Lorah has reviewed some of them quite a while ago and you’ve hopefully already read some of these. They’ve been sitting in a small stack in my office even longer than that, waiting for me to review them.
In an attempt to shorten the height of my review pile—and silence the incessant whispers in my head from these particular volumes, saying “Review me, review me, review me”—I decided to just steam through them all as quickly as possible. Each of these works deserve a lot more time, space, thought and quality critical writing then I’m giving there here, but I had to silence the voices, which only grew louder the longer I put off writing about them.
So here are some of my thoughts about Dungeon Quest, The Legacy, Market Day, Temperance and Wilson.
Dungeon Quest Book One (Fantagraphics) I’ve grown increasingly uncomfortable with top ten lists and other such best of the year rankings, in part because of how arbitrary the unit of time a “year” is and in part because reading comics is such a subjective experience, and my appreciation of them may be influenced by other factors I myself am not aware of.
So I don’t really want to declare this book by Joe Daly, the cartoonist responsible for The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book (one of the best comics of last year…oops! Shouldn’t do that!), one of the best of the year or anything…particularly since it’s only August as I write this.
When the October solicitations for DC Comics came out last month, fans of all-ages comics were distressed when copy indicated that #22 would be the “final issue” for Johnny DC title Batman: The Brave and the Bold, based on the current Cartoon Network series of the same name.
When asked about it at Comic-Con International: San Diego, though, DC representatives indicated that readers shouldn’t sweat the situation too much, and now we know why: as announced Wednesday on official DC Universe blog The Source, November sees the launch of a new Batman: The Brave and the Bold series, appropriately titled The All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold, complete with a new creative team: writer Sholly Fisch, well familiar to DC Kids fans for his work on DC Super Friends, and artist Rick Burchett — himself a veteran of comic book adaptations of Batman cartoons, having worked extensively on The Batman and Robin Adventures and Batman: The Gotham Adventures, picking up a couple of Eisners in the process.
As you can see from the cover of #1 here, it looks like a certain fellow DC icon that hasn’t yet (fully) appeared on the Brave and the Bold animated series will be showing up here. (Hint: It’s Superman.)
