Really great news for fans of Chris Schweizer’s great run of Oni OGNS:

Beginning Friday, March 15th, the Eisner Award-nominated Crogan Adventures series will make that jump with the first of a series of six half-hour audio drama episodes. The stories, written by Crogan Adventures cartoonist Chris Schweizer and directed by Gregg Taylor, were produced by the Canadian audio drama company Decoder Ring Theatre, best known for its ongoing series The Red Panda Adventures and Black Jack Justice.

March 15? Wait, that’s today – And for those in the U.S., here’s the iTunes link to find the show. I’m a fan of both Schweizer’s Crogan‘s books and old-timey radio plays, so this is pretty much ideal to me.

And say hello to your cast for NBC’s pilot adaptation of Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt’s The Sixth Gun: Deadline is reporting that Laura Ramsey has been cast as Becky Moncreiff in the upcoming television incarnation of the awesome series, with Deadwood‘s W. Earl Brown, The Hobbit and 24 alumn Graham McTavish and Leverage‘s wonderful Aldis Hodge also signing on for the show (as General Hume, Silas Hedgepeth and Agent Mercer, respectively). The pilot is being produced by Carlton Cuse of Lost fame, and I am ridiculously excited for this. Please, please let it be picked up by NBC.

Congratulations to both Oni Press and creators Brendan Hay and Justin Wagner on the news that their graphic novel Rascal Raccoon’s Raging Revenge has been picked up by Warner Bros. for possible movie adaptation. For those who haven’t read the book – which came out last year – imagine a cross between Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and “The Coyote Gospel” from Grant Morrison’s Animal Man: it’s about a cartoon character who crosses over to the real world after accidentally killing his longtime nemesis, out to find the animator that created the two of them.

The project already has a director attached, and it’s a good fit: A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas’ Todd Strauss-Schulson is the man planned to be in the big chair when the movie gets made, according to the Hollywood Reporter, with Matt Fogel on board to write the script for the planned CGI/Live-Action movie. With Warners being the studio behind the project, what’re the odds we’ll get to see some classic Looney Toons characters in there too…?

It’s not just DC Comics that’s getting a new lick of logo paint for 2012, it seems; now Oni Press has redesigned its logo, as revealed in Publishers’ Weekly. According to editor James Lucas Jones, the change comes as a result of the publisher’s own evolution:

We’re not the same company we were in 1997, and Art Director Keith Wood has continually raised the bar in terms of our books’ design and packaging. It was time to let him loose on the company’s core iconography. Throughout 2011, Keith worked with Cory Casoni (Director of Sales & Marketing), Joe Nozemack (Publisher), and myself to narrow down the pool of potential designs and refine his initial concepts into the modern, versatile, and downright awesome logo that will soon adorn all of our new comics.

I have to say, I really like the new logo; I’ve been a fan of Wood’s design work for awhile anyway, but I think this logo manages to retain enough of the original Dave Gibbons’ design while seeming more contemporary and, well, stylish. Here’s how it’ll look on covers:

The logo debuts with the first issue of The Secret History of DB Cooper, in March.

Today sees the release of both Oni Press’ Wasteland #33 and Dynamite Entertainment’s Lord of The Jungle #1, both of which are specially-priced promotional issues that offer a full-length issue for just $1.00. I’ve read – and enjoyed – both, but it’s a fair bet that I was going to pick both up nonetheless (Especially as I’ve enjoyed Wasteland for some time; if you’re a fan of post-apocalyptic sci-fi, you really should pick the series up). Why I’m mentioning the books, though, is that I’m wondering if specially-priced (i.e., cheap) promo issues work: Have you found yourself trying series that you usually wouldn’t because they were a buck? Or, just the opposite, have you ever found yourself avoiding a book because of this kind of stunt? Use the comments, people: I’d love to know what people think.

Lovely art alert:

That’s JH Williams III’s variant cover for the first issue of The Secret History of D.B. Cooper, a new Oni Press series by Brian Churilla that debuts in March next year. The regular cover (by Churilla, who you might know from the Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet mini awhile back) is kind of spectacular, as well: (more…)

Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt are on a televisual roll. Not only is their Sixth Gun being made into a mini-series for Syfy, but now Showtime has picked up their earlier series The Damned for adaptation. According to Deadline, David Hayter – screenwriter for Watchmen as well as the first two X-Men movies – will be writing a script adapting the supernatural crime comic into a series that can fit alongside Dexter and… Nurse Jackie, I guess? Congrats to Bunn, Hurtt and publisher Oni Press, anyway.

I was a little late to the Scott Pilgrim party. I started reading the books by Brian Lee O’Malley last year, just finished the sixth one and watched the movie starring Michael Cera this past weekend. And well, I’m a fan. Once a week I sift through the millions of Etsy listings to find the best in geek chic for Blog@ readers. Last week I found some wicked Dungeons & Dragons items for your raiding parties, this week I’m going to show you some handmade items worthy of a power up.

Well here’s something you don’t see every day. A Scott Pilgrim vs. the Day of the Dead statue. User comradecalacas has created this unique item featuring Scott and his Power of Self-Respect sword and it could be yours for $68. Confused skeleton and all.

You won’t find this in just any campus shop but if you partake not in the meat, nor the breastmilk, nor the ovum, of any creature with a face, well then, you’re in luck. Pick up this Vegan Academy t-shirt for $18 from timeandspaceclothing. Todd Ingram would wear it proudly…and then get arrested in it by the Vegan Police. Wanna be the one to do the arresting? Grab this Vegan Police patch for $3.75 from PaladinAnderson.

Want to wear your awesomeness on your head instead? Try this 1Up headband, it will give you that extra edge. User janinebasil will make you one of your own for $20.

Professions of love can be big or small but in Scott Pilgrim’s world they’re always as big as billboards. If you’re one for such expressions something like this Scott Pilgrim Kissing Ramona Flowers Giant Wall Decal might be the way to go. $47.99 from user FixerUp. If you prefer smaller details, perhaps this Scott Pilgrim Initials decal or the Gideon Triforce Symbol if you’re the evil type. Both $5 each from user GlueJunkie.

Totally awesome. Who wouldn’t want this Knives Chau ne0xel? User ne0xel created this 24×30 inch masterpiece of Knives’ depiction in the Scott Pilgrim game out of 1 centimeter wooden “pixels.” This art cost $320 but you have to admit, it is pretty sweet.

As always, bear in mind, since Etsy is a craft website and not a commercial, mass-market dealer, items are almost always one-of-a-kind or in very limited availability. When you see something you like, buy it. It may not be there the next time you surf round. (Yes, it’s a very dangerous site for your wallet.) Also, since most items are created individually, many sellers are willing to customize something specifically to suit your needs. Just ask!

It’s been a while since Ted Naifeh has dabbled in the world of his series Courtney Crumrin.

Over at Naifeh’s site, he presents a few preview pages for the upcoming for the upcoming Courtney Tales 2. Newsarama has got the exclusive interview with Naifeh, as well as the first look to the cover, as well as the official name: Courtney Crumrin Tales: The League of Ordinary Gentlemen.

Blog@: You’ve written another Aloysius story before, what made you want to write another about Courtney’s mysterious uncle?

Ted Naifeh: The first one was really part one of a two parter. I wanted to resolve that story, and this book does exactly that.

Blog@: Without giving too much away, where does this story take Aloysius?

Naifeh: The story explores the roots of my little magical world, where it came from, why it’s there, and what Aloysius’s role is in it. Aloysius is a pretty mysterious character in the main series, and I wanted to reveal some of his secrets. I’d like to think this story addresses why he’s such a lonely old man.

Blog@: Does this tie into any of Courtney’s adventures?

Naifeh: It will in the next Courtney adventure. I start digging more deeply into the back story of Courtney’s world, the community of witches and warlocks in the town of Hillsborough. Some of what comes up will have direct bearing on Courtney’s life.

Blog@: Who are some of the new characters we’ll get introduced in this tale? Any old favorites coming back this round?

Naifeh: One of the characters I had fun with in the last story was the pulp hero Goose Daniels. But since he was transformed into a goose at the end, I needed a replacement. So he has a confederate that comes looking for him, and ends up getting press-ganged by the Anti-Sorcery Society to take his place. Another character that shows up is Aloysius’s grandmother, who was briefly mentioned in Courtney vol 3 as the first witch in Hillsborough. It’s through her that some of the world’s back-story is revealed.

Blog@: Do you feel your style has evolved since last dabbling with Aloysius?

Naifeh: I tried to make it as similar as possible, but I’ve acquired new influences, and I can’t help it if they shine through a bit. It’s not a jarring difference, at least. Just a bit better.

Blog@: Tell us about some of those new influences.

Naifeh: In my promotional trips to Europe, I had had the honor of being exposed to some truly amazing artists. Sergio Toppi is a real artist’s artist. He’s been around forever, and you can see his influence on Bill Sienkiewicz as well as french artist Phillipe Druillet, who I used to adore back in the early Heavy Metal Magazine days. The new one is named Roger (which sounds much more romantic with a French accent), artist of Jazz Maynard (ditto). His lines are so incredible, so elastic yet under precise control.

Blog@: You took a break for a while doing Good Neighbors with Holly Black, how does it feel coming back to the world of Crumrin?

Naifeh: Like returning home, really. Courtney’s world is as comfortable to me as my own bedroom. I’m looking forward to adding some new flourishes. But I really had a ball working on Good Neighbors, trying out some Toppi-style line work (which was ill-advised, but I eventually got some really nice results out of it), and getting to do real fingers instead of Courtney’s spikes or Polly’s nubs.

Blog@: Do you foresee an end to Courtney and Alyosuis’ tales?

Naifeh: I foresee a stopping point. But that doesn’t mean I’m done with them forever. In this new volume, I added a single story element that completely changes their world, and that makes me want to explore the world a bit more. I have a definite conclusion for the Courtney Crumrin series, which is pretty final. But it’s not like Courtney’s going to die or anything. So we’ll see. As for Uncle Aloysius, this second volume concludes the Anti-Sorcerer Society storyline. I’d love to continue his adventures if I have time. But I want to explore new worlds as well. Princess Ugg is calling to me, demanding that her story be told. And there are others.

Rashida Jones, of NBC’s frequently hilarious Parks and Recreation, was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night promoting her role in The Social Network, and they also found time to talk a good deal about Frenemy of the State, the Oni Press comic book she’s co-writing with Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis.

Pretty great exposure for Oni, getting the covers of both issues out thus far on camera. Issue #3 is in stores Oct. 13.

The last time I remember a comic book being promoted on a late night talk show was when Kevin Smith was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2002 and was supposed to air a trailer for Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do, but from what I remember the trailer wasn’t approved by the FCC and I don’t know if they ended up talking about the comic or not. So yeah, this is better. Let’s hope it doesn’t take another eight years!

Over at Project: Rooftop, P:R regular Jemma Salume put a little twist on the Seven Evil Exes, well, maybe not little. With a bit of creativity, Salume put together all of the Exes, if they had been the opposite sex. Must admit, there is some pretty cool stuff. I love how “Ingrid Todd” turned out. Dean Trippe added the clever names. Be sure to check out the rest of them here.

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.

It’s completely fair to refer to this week as “Scott Pilgrim week” — the movie’s out on Friday, the soundtrack and video game hit today, and we here at Newsarama ran this nifty feature with comments from Michael Cera, Jason Schwartzman, Edgar Wright and Bryan Lee O’Malley.

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Scooted over to Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles last night for their Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour midnight release party — one of many such events toasting the sixth and final volume of Oni Press’s popular series and inspiration for the Edgar Wright-directed, Michael Cera-starred film coming out next month that you’re probably well aware of.

Look who else was there!

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With the dearly departed Phonogram having finished its run, there’s a new comics contender to take on sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll.

Mateus Santolouco, Eduardo Medeiros and Rafael Albuquerque have announced that Oni Press will publish Mondo Urbano as a full-length graphic novel! The 128-page black-and-white book will be released in May, and cost $11.99.

“We are absolutely proud and excited about this,” they wrote on their blog. “We hope you all enjoy reading it as much as we enjoy doing it.” The graphic novel will include the original four stories, as well as a new “Bonus Track.”

Cory and Eric’s father must just be constantly looking for an opportunity to delve into a complicated geopolitical topic and/or an excuse to tell the life story of one of his ancestors.

How else to explain the fact that when he and his wife end up refereeing a conflict between their boys, involving Eric stopping Cory from buying a particular type of candy, because the older, wise brother knew it contained an ingredient the younger one didn’t really like, he boils it down thusly:

You know, you boys aren’t the first to argue over this principle…You’re arguing whether or not one entity—in your case, a person, but sometimes we’re talking about a country—can take away another’s capacity to act on its own choices.

After a little back and forth between the four members of the family, the patriarch launches into the story of Corporal Peter Crogan of the Foreign Legion, who naturally had to face the issues revolving around the ethics of imperialism as part of his job, occupying and defending swathes of North Africa for France, whether the native people wanted him to do so or not.

If I were Cory or Eric, I’d be afraid to open my big mouth around my dad…or maybe not, depending on how great a storyteller he is.

Writer/artist Chris Schweizer cuts away from the kitchen scene set-up in Crogan’s March (Oni Press) to present the story of Crogan as an unfiltered comics story, so we don’t hear exactly what the dad says or how he says it, but he must know how to tell a story, given the wide-eyed, slack-jawed looks of awe on the two boys’ faces when we return to the kitchen after hearing about Crogan’s story.

Schweizer, however,  sure knows how to tell one.

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Universal has released the first official pictures of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and might I say they are a beaut:

Scott Pilgrim. Flaming sword. Kick-flips. Who’s excited to see our indie slacker guitarist face off against seven evil ex-boyfriends?

To paraphrase the great urban philosopher Ricky Bobby, this might win the Academy Award. For Best Movie Ever Made. Another image of the gang is up after the cut!

[Via Slashfilm]

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No, my linkblogging posts don’t come on any particular day, they just tend to appear when I’ve gathered enough links that I like but don’t really have enough to say about to warrant their own posts. In case you were wondering. Now, onward!

At The Nation (full disclosure: I’m currently a Nation intern), Melissa Harris-Lacewell talks about the conservative campaign to paint President Obama as the Joker, and does an excellent job teasing out some interesting political parallels with The Dark Knight film.

Via When Fangirls Attack, a post on close female friendships in comics. How many female “buddy” or “bromance” pairings can you think of?

A comparison of Marvel Divas and Gotham City Sirens, also via When Fangirls Attack.

Johanna Draper Carlson looks at Huntress: Year One.

From Splash Page, Charlyne Yi of Paper Heart and Knocked Up is doing a comic with Oni Press. Insert random blather about how Yi is actually a geek here, right? Well, because she’s not Megan Fox (read, sexy girl everyone slobbers over) this hasn’t gotten that much attention, but it makes me happy: Charlyne Yi is funny, and from what I’ve seen of Paper Heart, is actually creative as well.

Jezebel looks at my favorite superheroine from childhood: She-Ra.

Finally, Defamer wants to know how gay Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes is going to be. Apparently word leaked out that there was going to be some sexual tension between the leads (Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr.), which was enough to send Michael Medved into a panic. Apparently there’s nothing to offend Medved in the screenplay, at least, and so he can go back to doing what he does best–which certainly isn’t knowing what women would like to see in a film. Or at least, this woman.

First off, this Saturday I’ll be headed for this:

If you’re in New York, you too should check it out.

You don’t have to be in NY to read NYC Graphic Novelists’ profile on A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge creator Josh Neufeld. And if you haven’t read A.D. yet, um, it’s free and on the Web. Read it.

Finally, for iGoogle users, you can now get a constantly-updated iGoogle theme with the best of Oni Press’s creators’ work. Currently, it includes the work of Chris Mitten (Wasteland), Chynna Clugston (Blue Monday), Chris Schweizer (The Crogan Adventures), Lars Brown (North World), & Brandon Graham (Multiple Warheads). You know you want it.

Steve Lieber has announced that Warner Bros. has launched its web site for the upcoming film adaptation of the Greg Rucka/Steve Lieber graphic novel from Oni Press, Whiteout. IGN has posted the following trailer:

The film, which stars Kate Beckinsale and is due September 2009, follows a U.S. marshal as she investigates a series of brutal murders throughout the Antarctic science stations placed along the continent. Meanwhile, if you’re already at the San Diego Comic Con, you should hit up Steve at Artist’s Alley at table FF16!