Tuesday, June 18
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The X-Men: First Class promotion train keeps right on chugging, this time showing a full scene from the movie. In the scene, Charles Xavier and Raven Darkholme have a sit-down meeting with the CIA to reveal their powers. The CIA agents are nonplussed by the demonstration, until, that is, Raven stands up and becomes… well, why not watch the clip and find out?
Is this marketing blitz of new clips making you more excited for the film? Sound off below!
Kenshin fanart by “Tsuyoshi13″
Anime News Network and others are reporting that this week’s issue of Jump Square magazine holds a special announcement for the 15th anniversary of Rurouni Kenshin – a new anime has been greenlit! No word yet whether this will be a new series, OVA, or film, but any new Kenshin will certainly be welcomed by fans.
In addition, if the older material is more your speed, you’ll have a new higher-quality way to watch it soon as well. With Japanese release dates of late August, September, and October (no official word on US release yet), the two Kenshin OVAs and the full length feature will be hitting blu-ray, watchable in high definition glory.
The Kenshin manga spanned 255 chapters, and the original anime series had 95 episodes.
Well, if there was any doubt after the tiny flash of the Red Skull in the Captain America: The First Avenger teaser, this should erase it for everyone. Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we have the first full shot of Hugo Weaving as the maniacal Nazi villain from the film (Yes, folks, while he’s wearing a Hydra belt/armband, he is also a Nazi, will be seen with Nazis, and called Nazis, as confirmed to Newsarama by official tie-in comic book writer Fred Van Lente), and it is just spectacularly creepy. Hopefully we’ll get something in motion soon in the form of another trailer. The above link also has an interview with Director Joe Johnston, but who needs words with a picture like that?
This is the end, my friends. Smallville is coming to a close, and just as pretty much everyone suspected, it will be ending with a big two-hour finale. Officially announced today by the CW, the big finale hits Friday May 13, 2011.
Hopefully the fight between Clark Kent and Darkseid will be longer than the 2.5 second fight against Doomsday, and maybe will even see Clark don the iconic costume.
Check out the full official press release after the jump!
I am truly heartbroken at this moment. BBC News has reported that Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series of novels, has died after a heart attack at age 71.
Jacques is very much the reason I’m even typing this on this website today. My love for fantasy, my fueled imagination, they were born in the halls of Redwall Abbey, the mountain peak of Salamandastron (also the title of my favorite in the series, pictured above), and the trees of Mossflower Woods.
The well-crafted world was just the tip of the iceberg, though, as it was the incredibly relate-able characters that made these stories great. These warrior mice, these foul searats, these noble Badger Lords and their military genius Long Patrol rabbits… they all spoke with a level of humanity untouched by other stories written for children. As I grew older, I continued to read the new books for quite some time, and while I eventually fell out-of-touch with my friends at Redwall Abbey, I never forgot what they meant to me.
I was truly privileged to have met Jacques at a reading and signing once. He was gracious and kind, a man astounded by these people coming to him and telling them how he had touched their lives through his written word. He also taught me how to properly say “Mattimeo” and “Salamandastron.”
I’ll even admit that my confirmation name of “Matthias” came to me first because of these novels. We have lost a true and amazing literary talent today, and I want to express my love and thanks for the stories that will live on forever after.
Well, he certainly got people talking, huh?
In a video trying to inspire comic creators to make their own new characters and stories, “The Goon” creator Eric Powell made some statements that have turned out to be a bit, as he says, “divisive.” Our own Jill Pantozzi gave her opinion/interpretation of the video in yesterday’s “Hey, That’s My Cape!” column, and folks from The Beat to ComicsAlliance and everywhere in between have weighed in.
In an effort to clarify some of the issues, Eric Powell released a statement on Facebook, which he has asked we also share with you here. The statement in full follows the jump:
Can’t wait for the slightest newness when it comes to DC and Cartoon Network’s “Young Justice”? Well we have some bigtime preview images for you here for tonight’s episode, featuring soon-to-be-movie-star BANE!
Official episode description and many more images after the jump.
Entertainment Weekly reports that teen-themed network The CW is pursuing a new zombie show to ride the success of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” The show will feature “two sisters who face off…right as the zombie apocalypse” begins.
The interesting thing to us comic book fans, though, is the title of this zombie story, “The Awakening.”
That’s interesting, as “The Awakening” is already the title of a zombie story, the two-volume comic book from Archaia [read the first issue here]. There is no mention of the comic in EW’s news blurb, and the two don’t appear to share any story similarities aside from the presence of zombies, but this still seems odd; you’d think the first thing a studio would do before announcing the name of a new show would be a simple google search of “The Awakening zombies”.
So, will Archaia be pursuing a name-change from The CW? We’ve asked, and we’ll fill you in as soon as we get any response.
B.P.R.D.: HELL ON EARTH—GODS #2 (of 3)
Mike Mignola (W), John Arcudi (W), Guy Davis (A), Dave Stewart (C), and Ryan Sook (Cover)
On sale Feb 9
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
Monsters overrunning the American southwest, a volcano in Houston burning in the night, and a group of outcasts with a prophetic leader; prove to be great threats to a struggling bureau.
• Introducing a pivotal new character!
• Learn the origin of the Hyperborean shaman!
Hit the jump for the preview!
ComiXology, with their own app plus individual apps for companies like Marvel, DC, and BOOM!, has emerged as a leader in the digital comics game. They’ve been making strides on a regular basis in their approximate year and a half in this growing market, adding apps for the iPad, a web-based reader, and recently announcing Android readers as well.
Now the company, who has always pledged loyalty to direct market comic book specialty stores, is helping them get into the digital market as well. Announced today via press release, comiXology’s Digital Storefront Affiliate program lets retailers set up an online store for digital comics. It’s an interesting step to help move retailers forward as more companies begin to offer same-day digital releases and discounted prices. The full press release is after the jump, and stay tuned to the homepage for an interview with comiXology CEO David Steinberger later this afternoon.
Yes, April Solicitations just came out, but darnit, we can’t wait a whole month when something like this hits our inbox. So, here are the covers and solicitation info for two brutal barbaric comics from Dark Horse coming in May! Hit the jump for the pretty.
THE BOYS: HIGHLAND LADDIE #6 (of 6)
32 pages FC • $3.99 • Mature
Written by GARTH ENNIS
Art by JOHN McCREA
Cover by DARICK ROBERTSON
Our hero’s visit home turns violent, and everyone loses something- Hughie a friend, Tupper his sense of humor, and Big Bobby something even more vital. Hughie finally comes to terms with his home and his past, but not before one last secret is revealed: his own.
Warning: Mature Readers, some NSFW violence/language after the jump…
Though nothing official has come through from Wizard or owner Gareb Shamus, there are multiple reports, including Bleeding Cool, saying the magazine has shuttered.
Our own calls to Wizard’s listed public relations phone number go unanswered, and their “bullpen website” is down, listed as under maintenance mode. The Subscriptions page on WizardUniverse.com gives a 404 error as well.
Johnston speculates ToyFare and the multitude of Wizard conventions will continue on. Shamus has come under heavy fire in the last several years, with reports of non-payment of freelancers, mail fraud from the Wizard store, and hefty layoffs, all while purchasing more comic book conventions in his own name.
UPDATE
We’ve just received a Press Release from Gareb Shamus announcing his intent to launch a digital magazine called “Wizard World” in February 2011, and a 12-city convention tour. While there’s no explicit mention of the print magazine in the release, this serves as functional confirmation of the print monthly’s end. Full Press Release follows:
GAREB SHAMUS UNDERTAKES PUBLIC COMPANY WIZARD WORLD, INC. AND LAUNCHES NEW ONLINE PUBLICATION ‘WIZARD WORLD’
New York, NY (January 24, 2011) – Gareb Shamus, recently appointed President and CEO of public company Wizard World, Inc. (“Wizard World”) (OTC: GOEE.PK), today announced that the Comic Con Tour, which consists of pop culture conference events that provide high visibility marketing opportunities to pop culture brands and companies in multiple venues throughout the year, is now being produced by public company Wizard World. The Wizard World Comic Con Tour intends to cover 12 cities in 2011, including major cities such as New York City, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Austin and New Orleans. The Tour will include sponsors ranging from major movie studios and TV networks to gaming and toy companies to content publishers.
In addition, Wizard World plans to launch in February 2011 an all-new digital magazine called ‘Wizard World’ that will appeal to pop-culture fans, the same audience to which Mr. Shamus has catered to, for over 20 years. Wizard World digital magazine will provide coverage of the world of comic books, toys and superheroes, and the personalities behind them.
“This is a very exciting day for Wizard World and the industries it serves,” said Shamus. “Having the Tour produced by a public company provides additional opportunities to expand and grow the Tour. The new digital magazine Wizard World will give consumers the content they want in a magazine format with which they are familiar, but distributed in a form that is always available at any time on any device. It is a natural evolution for us in this market.”
Wizard World Comic Con will begin its North American tour at New Orleans Comic Con held from January 29 to 30, 2011. The full event schedule can be found at www.wizardworld.com.
UPDATE #2
Albert here. Just got an e-mail from Jerry Milani at Wizard World PR, confirming that ToyFare is also ending publication:
Wizard Entertainment is ceasing publication of the print magazines Wizard and ToyFare. Wizard World, Inc. will begin production of the online publication “Wizard World” beginning in February. We feel this will allow us to reach an even wider audience in a format that is increasingly popular and more readily accessible.
NEW AVENGERS #8
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils & Cover by STUART IMMONEN
Epic in scale and fraught with danger at every turn, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones face their most challenging adventure yet…a date?! Plus: another illustrated chapter of the oral history of the Avengers!
32 PGS./Rated A …$3.99
Transformers: Sector 7 #5 (of 5)
John Barber (w) • Joe Suitor (a) • Brian Rood (c)
Jetfire makes his final judgment against humanity, as he comes face to face with Sector 7 founder Walter Simmons! Meanwhile, in Sector 7′s Arctic Command, still housing the frozen frame of Megatron, someone has turned traitor… or is there a Decepticon in their midst? All the answers are here, as the lead-up to TRANSFORMERS III heats up!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
R.P.M. #2 (of 4)
After issue #1’s surprise betrayal, and with an army of hired mercenaries on his tail, Revere races down the East Coast with the world’s largest synthetic diamond in-tow. When a helicopter loaded with gunmen hurtles down from the sky in full attack mode, Revere uses his hyper-kinetic depth perception in a must-see, “Holy $#!t” fashion. Fasten your seatbelts and see the speed, as R.P.M. takes you on a super-charged, non-stop action ride—with twists and turns that only the hardcore mind of New York Times #1 Bestselling author and World Heavyweight Champion Mick Foley could conceive. Don’t miss it!
So, remember those teasers from yesterday? Yes, those, the ones we were all having fun speculating on.
Well, it turns out we were quite right about many of them, if these logos revealed today on The Source are any indication.
So, we were right about Batman and the Wayne Casinos.
We were right about the “marriage” being Wonder Woman and Aquaman.
But hey, those of you who pointed out that there are some other big rings in the DCU, including the one worn by The Flash himself, were right on target. No new info on the Spaceship crash or the one being experimented on, but DC promises new teasers each Friday moving forward.
Good golly, it’s a smorgasbord of new actors-in-costume shots! Just minutes after we found Chris Evans as Cap, we have Andrew Garfield in Spider-Man costume, sans mask! The spider is certainly different than the last incarnation, and there seems to be more ribbing. Garfield looks like he just took a bit of a beating, and isn’t too happy about it. What do you think, readers?
Flashpoint is coming, and today DC’s The Source blog is dealing out the teasers all day today. We’ll have them here lickity split for you as well. The heading of the first post was “Whatever Happened to the World’s Greatest Super Heroes?”
So what does that ominous tagline mean? Well, the first tease is: “The Spaceship never crashed.” The most famous spaceship in the DC Universe is the one that brought baby Kal-El from Krypton to Earth, allowing Superman to eventually lead Earth’s heroes.
As Rob pointed out in the comments though, another big spaceship crashed, belonging to Green Lantern Abin Sur. That crash directly lead to the Green Lanterns being heavily involved in Earth history and events, from Hal Jordan receiving his ring, to the other 3 Earth GLs, all their friends and interactions; that one has a LOT of consequences behind it.
What is it that caused the spaceship to never crash? Which one was it? Does this mean it landed naturally, or didn’t make it to Earth at all? Quite a few questions from a single line come to mind, so feel free to speculate below, and stay tuned as we update all day with new teasers.
Updates, and more teasers after the break:
OK, just let that image sink in for a minute.
Announced this morning on The Source, Jesus Saiz is the new ongoing artist of Birds of Prey, starting with issue #12 in May. The Gail Simone-written book has had approximately 350 artists (well 4 or 5, and all pretty great) in its run since last year’s relaunch, but it’ll be nice to see an impressive regular artist joining the team. Plus, he draws everyone as individual people! Look! They all have different faces! With Brave and the Bold Saiz drew a lot of the DC Universe, and Simone is excited to have him on board, according to DC’s blog:
“Jesus is at the top of a very short list of dream artists on our, “Oh, man, wouldn’t HE be fantastic?” list. His previous work has been silky and sexy and powerful all at the same time. He’s fantastic with design, storytelling, body language…an artist this good frees up the writer to make the stories even bigger and more complex.”
Now, of course, Barbara Gordon is front-and-center on that cover, but is also at the heart of the current BoP storyline, “Death of Oracle.” What does that mean for the title of the story? Your guess is as good as mine, so why not share it below?
