You’re familiar with J’onn J’onzz of Mars but do you know John Carter? The trailer from Disney’s epic adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom series has made it’s way to the internet.

The film stars Taylor Kitsch, formerly of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, in the lead role as well as several other superhero film alums: Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin), Thomas Hayden Church (Sandman) and Mark Strong (Sinestro). Previously referred to as John Carter of Mars (the way the character is often referred to in the book), the film is based on the first book from the Barsoom series, A Princess of Mars, first printed in 1912. Carter is an American Civil War vet, who turns out to be more than that, transported to Barsoom (Mars) which he finds inhabited by large green aliens (not unlike our J’onn).

Studios have attempted to make a John Carter film since 1931 when Looney Tunes director Bob Clampett asked Burroughs to make it into an animated film. It never took off and neither did any other attempt until now. Directed by Pixar’s WALL-E director Andrew Stanton, John Carter hits theaters March 9, 2012.

We’re still months away from DC going day-and-date with their entire DCU line, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not already quietly experimenting with digital comics. (more…)

As if the relaunching of First Comics wasn’t interesting enough, co-founder Ken Levin offers this surprising bit of news very casually in an interview with CBR:

My understanding is that the initial First Comics titles will be made available to retailers in November, and that First Comics will be directly marketing to comic book stores rather than go through distributors. Retailers at Comic-Con will be able to arrange for books at the First Comics booth, #2001 (mnemonic “Space Odyssey” — it’s the only booth number I remember). Their press runs aren’t so many that they can’t deal with stores directly or that stores can’t deal with them directly. Fortunately not my problem; they’ll get it figured out.

Going directly to retailers? Is this just the first releases, or an ongoing program? It’s an interesting thought – Bypassing Diamond means that the books will be absent from the sales charts, but also means that their print runs can be as small as they need to be without falling afoul of Diamond rules that would see them dropped from Previews. But without the books appearing in Previews in the first place, will enough retailers know they exist in order to buy them directly from the publisher…?

As the creator of Hack/Slash, Tim Seeley is no stranger to feisty (and frequently scantily clad) females, so it shouldn’t be too shocking to hear that he’s replacing Ron Marz as the writer of Witchblade as of October’s issue #151. As first reported in USA Today, Seeley is joined by penciler Diego Bernard and inker Fred Benes.

Top Cow crossover Artifacts also ends in October (that’s out 10/5, Witchblade #151 is released 10/26), and Seeley’s run will pick up on the direct fallout of that story, with the character moving to Chicago along with “a new job and a bunch of new supporting characters.” Marz, who’s leaving the book as of #150, had been on the title since November 2004′s issue #80, collaborating with artist Stjepan Sejic since #116. Marz and Sejic are leaving the book to launch a yet-unannounced title with Top Cow.

Want to get inside the head of Bone and RASL creator Jeff Smith? Of course you do – and Smith, ComiXology and Reddit.com are here to help. Tomorrow, from 4-6pm EST, Smith will be answering questions as part of a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) session to be held at comixology.com/reddit, so you have 24 hours to prepare questions on anything from what Fone Bone is up to these days to what sci-fi has inspired RASL (and, maybe, some behind-the-scenes info about Smith’s spectacular Shazam series from a few years ago, as well). Me, I’m already trying to work out how to best convince Smith to come up with some new Bone sometime…

As disinterested in X-Men: Schism as I find myself, I really do wish that Kieron Gillen could get away with this for the post-Schism status quo:

Can you give us any insight into the amount of communication there will be between the X-teams following “Schism?” Pretty please?

Passive-aggressive messages on Twitter, probably.

Really? There is bad blood between the teams. On a higher level, they simply disagree and aren’t talking any more. However, there’s always the personal individual connections. It’s not that everyone on each side is a robot. They all have their own feelings towards the status quo. Their tweets would be less passive-aggressive, though retweeting a friend on the other side’s message would probably lead to stern tutting from the high command.

Twitter-X. Or The Social NetworX. Come on, Marvel. You know that the world needs one more X-Men comic.

For all the people you hear blabbing about going to San Diego Comic-Con next week there’s tons more who aren’t. It’s a good thing lots of places are putting together parties and events for those not going to the con. Once such event was organized by Geek Girl On The Street’s Kate Kotler. It’s happening THIS Friday and it’s called “Heroes in Disguise: a San-Diego Comic-Con Pre-Party & Hero Initiative Benefit.” The press release is below.

Heroes in Disguise: a San Diego Comic-Con Pre-Party & Hero Initiative Benefit

Challengers Comics
http://www.challengerscomics.com/
1845 N. Western Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647

Pop culture webzine Geek Girl on the Street (geekgirlonthestreet.com) and Chicago’s own Challengers Comics (http://www.challengerscomics.com/) will be honoring the Hero Initiative  with a pre-San Diego Comic-Con party and fundraiser on Friday, July 15 at the Western Avenue comic book shop. This event will feature:

• Complimentary cocktails provided by Desiree Vodka from Tipton Spirits
• Complimentary snacks provided by Geek Girl on the Street
• VIP Schwag (click link for complete list of schwag) packaged in reusable tote bags donated by Yelp, schwag items include pieces donated by EdenFantasys, FilmCatcher, Geek Girl on the Street, Luxury Lane Soaps, ThinkGeek and Threadless
• Three Tier Raffle/Auction (click link for current list of raffle items) featuring original artwork by Thom Zahler and Jeffery Brown, autographed books from Lynda Barry, Robert Kirkman and others, a Tauntaun sleeping bag donated by ThinkGeek (valued at $100) and a publishers package of books donated by Oni Press + among other great items.
• ALL PROCEEDS GO TO BENEFIT THE HERO INITIATIVE.

“When you give whatever you can spare to HERO, you must not think of it as just a donation. Think of it, instead, as a small payback to talented and deserving comicbook creators, now down on their luck, who have brought all of us so much reading pleasure for so many years. It’s far more than charity. Its a way for all of us to say — ‘Thanks.’”

—Stan Lee, former president and chairman of Marvel Comics and creator of Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and many other notable comic series

Most comic book writers and illustrators would agree that it’s a labor of love that drives them to create, not a goldmine, and for every new creator who signs a deal with DC or Marvel, there are exponentially more who can barely cover the cost of a booth at their local comic convention. The Hero Initiative (http://www.heroinitiative.org/) began in 2000 to create a “financial safety net” for comic book writers and artists to aid in covering basic needs and cost of living: A not-for-profit lead by gracious benefactors from within the comic industry, The Hero Initiative offers a chance to give back to the people who have given comic book lovers so much enjoyment over the years, and even provides an avenue back into paying work for unemployed comic creators.

Updates on this event will be posted to Geekgirlonthestreet.com as they come in.

Readers may remember that last month’s issue of Superman, #712, went through a last minute change of content – something that many suspected was down to corporate concern over the original, unpublished, story’s use of a Muslim American superhero – but others explained away as DC editorial refusing to publish a story that featured Superman rescuing a cat from a tree.

Funny thing about that second option. (more…)

The announcement of Marvel’s new retailer initiative – the New Stores initiative, to give it it’s proper title – is an interesting one, both in terms of timing (Coming, as it does, at a time when DC seems to be concentrating on opening up its digital space as much if not more than it is concentrating on print) and what it’s actually offering – or, more specifically, who it’s offering it to. (more…)

So now she doesn’t have pants?

With the costume change last year for Wonder Woman, a lot of focus was placed on the fact that she had pants, losing the star spangled bathing suit style bottoms. When the relaunch of the entire line was announced, people wondered what costume Diana would don, and some were disappointed to see the long blue leggings once more.

Now, however, on DC’s seasonal preview magazine cover, Wonder Woman is back in the original bathing suit, and out of the pants that were seen in the solicited cover to Wonder Woman #1. Could she, like her failed TV Pilot counterpart, be switching back and forth between the two? More as soon as we hear it…

UPDATE: When we reached DC for comment, a representative simply had this to say:

“We can confirm that the actual cover to issue 1 has now been revealed.”

Sounds like Wondy’s doing the no-pants dance after all!

Once a week I sift through the millions of Etsy listings to find the best in geek chic for Blog@ readers. Last week I gave you a Grab Bag assortment of geeky items from the crafting website but this week is something closer to my heart – Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling’s über-successful book series has already come to a close but this week sees the final installment of the film franchise. And boy am I bringing tissues with me to the theater. Even though the end will be sad, Harry Potter will remain awesome in my eyes forever. Here is a special extended edition of Etsy Made Me Do It. Accio crafts!

One of the biggest parts of going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry is getting sorted into one of the four Houses. User TheTrendySparrow lets you choose for yourself! (Something Harry was able to do) Here is a Slytherin Keepsake Trinket box measuring 6 1/4″ x 3″ x 3 1/2″ with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff also available for $17 each. A larger Gryffindor box is also for sale for $27 or a Golden Snitch box for $22.

The crazy words Rowling created for her magical spells have become imbedded in my brain. Why not wear them? These Harry Potter Custom Word or Charm Necklace Silver or Gold are certainly one way to do it! User chloe24k will send you one of your choice for $24.

Although each House has their own crest, Hogwarts itself has one that combines all four. You can show your school pride with this Harry Potter Antiqued Looking Crest Wall Art Print. User pixturethis created a collage of 8.5″ x 11″ prints, 9 of them making a minimum size of 25.5″ x 33″ wall hanging overall. The collection comes framed, $45.

The films have spawned countless amounts of fan art through the years but some of my favorites have been fan-made posters. These Vintage Harry Potter Movie Poster Collection are some of the best I’ve seen. But then again, I’m a sucker for the minimalist approach. The posters are 11×17 and user balancedpersonality has a set of 7 for $90. He also has them each sold separately in his shop for $15.  (more…)

Color me fascinated by this post by Rich Johnston over at Bleeding Cool in which he talks to Paul Jenkins and discovers that… well, I’ll let him tell you himself:

[R]eaders will soon learn that he hasn’t just written issue two. He wrote issue one as well, it just never made it to the solicitations in time.Jenkins explains that while Dave Finch is heavily involved in the storytelling of the series, the demands of writing were cutting into his drawing time. Finishing one issue of The Dark Knight, he’d then take a while writing the next issue, rewriting, dealing with editorial, getting the story signed off, before he could start work on the art, so the gap between drawing each issue was widening.

Jenkins sees Finch as a great storyteller, but hampered by the demands of schedule. “The monthly grinds, the nuts and bolts, the editorial, it all wears you down. This is a matter of logistics.” Working together, Dark Knight is still telling the “cool, big stories Dave wants to tell”, but now by the time Finch finishes another issue, there is a script waiting for him from Jenkins, written after long chats with Finch, then signed and approved by editorial, for Finch to move right onto.

So, essentially, Finch is plotting (or co-plotting, maybe?) and penciling the book, with Jenkins scripting (and, potentially, co-plotting?). I’m not a massive fan of Finch’s art, but this seems like a win-win for everyone here, especially DC, which looks like it’ll be able to get the second volume of the book done on something closer resembling schedule than the first. Johnston continues,

Jenkins tells me that Finch wants to change the perception of the book so that readers and retailers feel more at ease with the delivery schedule – and that this will be achieved once Finch can spend more time concentrating on the art. He wants a reputation something closer to what he achieved with Brian Bendis on Avengers. Jenkins tells me he knows Finch can deliver on time, but they need to prove it to readers and retailers alike as a long-term monthly team on The Dark Knight.

A question for retailers and smarter minds in the audience: Does #1 being mis-solicited with Finch as writer mean that it’ll be returnable?

TV Guide is producing another Comic-Con special edition issue focusing solely on relevant Warner Bros. content, which includes DC Comics and what The Source is calling “An exclusive look at three superhero costume re-designs by bestselling artist and DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Jim Lee, for DC Comics The New 52, the upcoming historic renumbering of the entire DC line of comic books with 52 first issues.”

The issue will also cover Batman: Year One, Young Justice, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Green Lantern: The Animated Series and take a look back at Smallville, which wrapped its 10 year run this past May. The issue will be available at the Warner Bros. booth (#4545) during the con (and on newsstands starting July 21), with four covers: The Big Bang Theory, Fringe, Chuck, The Vampire Diaries.

Something’s sticking in my head about these new Marvel teasers featuring Iron Fist and Doctor Strange – Both of whom are members of the New Avengers, so it may be advertising a status quo change (A new writer? Nah, that’d never happen) for that book, or perhaps a wave of new solo books starring various B-level characters who haven’t shown the ability to support titles longterm in the recent past, but whom have movies in development and so are likely to get an increased spotlight soon nonetheless – and it’s not the fact that the design is so almost lovely, but not quite (Problems include the outlines of the characters, choice of font and that textured background, but that’s purely my art school snobbery coming into play). No, it’s the highlighted letters. Are they randomly chosen? Will they end up spelling something out, when all the teasers are revealed? Is there an importance to the color coding (Some letters are red, some yellow, some orange)?

So far, we have Iron Fist’s highlighted letters – T E H R F E H U T H V O S I N E T G E Y – and Doctor Strange’s – O V Y U H N E T R U O T U U E S – but I have to admit that I can’t see any obvious anagrams in there (Moreso for Strange’s). What am I missing, wordsmiths? Or am I barking up the wrong typographical tree?

In a great blog post, Colin Smith looks at the representation of non-white male characters in both Fear Itself and Flashpoint and finds it lacking:

I think it’s safe to finally say that no-one at Marvel has remembered to care a whit about the fact that their audience does include groups other than white males. Similarly, the corporation has clearly succeeded in ignoring any responsibility to shape “Fear Itself” # 4 in a way that promotes anything other than a picture of America which would have been mostly comfortable to a died-in-the-wool social conservative of 40 and more years ago. In short, the evidence of this book, designed as it is to be read by pretty much everyone buying into the Marvel brand this month, shouts that it’s produced by folks who simply aren’t thinking too much about anything beyond those very big explosions and those costume money-shots and those Marvel-mythos moments.

Spoiler: Flashpoint doesn’t do much better, and Smith makes some great points about the perils of placing both Lois Lane and Cyborg in primary roles in the alternate universe (“Cyborg is the superhero who’s the best of what’s left when all the white folks have been removed from the equation, and his role is to support the white men who are trying to return the DCU to a state where he’ll no longer be the greatest of the heroic classes, because his betters will have returned to rightfully displace him,” for example). Really, really thought-provoking stuff – and particularly damning for both publishers, in different ways. Smith makes a point of saying that he doesn’t think there’s malice behind the decisions being made – If anything, I think the Flashpoint problems may stem from poorly-thought-out good intentions more than malice – but this really does illustrate the problems almost inherent in diminishing “secondary” characters to make your primary characters seem more heroic, especially when your primary characters all happen to be white men.

Go, read.

by Manning/Ross/McKinley/Reddington/Shadowline

The Dark Knight Rises promotion starts in earnest with the first — and very stylish — teaser posters surfacing online today, via TheDarkKnightRises.com. That’s the film’s official website, so this is the genuine article, unlike that elaborate fake teaser trailer that popped up online a few weeks back.

Movie isn’t coming until summer 2012, but check out the full poster after the jump.

(more…)

Internet! Drop everything and go and read Lady Sabre & The Pirates of The Ineffable Aether. Today sees the first installment of a new webcomic by Greg Rucka and Rick Burchett, two names that should be enough alone to demonstrate how worth your time the strip will be. But in case you’re needing more persuasion, there’s also something that I’m hoping continues with future installments: The strip itself is accompanied by the script for that episode, allowing for us to enjoy Rucka’s wordsmanship. “The boot, obviously, is somewhat incongruous when compared to the fabulous gown that Sabre is wearing,” indeed.

(The strip updates Mondays and Thursdays, and I’ll be happily checking out each new episode.)

Lots of DC characters are getting new costume designs with the relaunch, some more accepted by fans than others, but with the release of the Red Hood and the Outlaws #2 cover an already scantily clad character gets a tinier, and even more implausible, design.

My Starfire, you sure must have some amazing alien powers to keep a top like that on.

Red Hood and the Outlaws sees Starfire as part of an anti-hero group along with Jason Todd and Roy Harper. It was hard to tell from the cover to #1 what Kori was actually wearing but here she is in her newly designed, gravity defying glory. Now, Kori was never known for her modesty so I take no issue with her baring her body, what I do take issue with is the face that this costume is unwearable. I’ve seen a few amazing cosplayers pull off the current Star Sapphire costume but even that is with clear straps holding everything together and lots of double-sided tape. How is an individual actually supposed to fight in a strapless bra that doesn’t connect in the middle? I’m not even going to get into the shoulder armor. The art for the cover is by Kenneth Rocafort and Blond but I’m not certain who is responsible for her specific design as of yet.

Of course Starfire isn’t the only one whose new costume is receiving loads of flack from readers. When the cover for Suicide Squad #1 was released, fans of Harley Quinn (including our own Agent of S.T.Y.L.E. Alan Kistler) were almost unanimously appalled by the acrobats new garb. Superhero costumes are notoriously unrealistic when it comes to real-world applications but these new duds are pushing the boundaries of what is plausible.

I, for one, can’t wait to hear Alan’s take on it. But until then, what do you think of Starfire’s new costume?

Airing tonight on PBS – but available online now – an episode of History Detectives that looks into the origins of a short-lived 1950s comic series called Negro Romance – a comic so rare that only ten copies are said to still exist today. It’s a weird little segment that nonetheless manages to offer some industry history about failed markets and unknown comic creators that’s worth watching.