Don’t worry, it’s not another variant cover, I swear!

John Hodgman, writer, voice actor and professional nerd, gave a great speech over the weekend at the 2009 Radio and TV Correspondents Dinner, in which he grills President Obama over Superman, Conan and Dune.

Whether or not you agree with the man’s politics, it’s a very funny look over the 100 Year War between Jocks and Nerds, and how we nerds have struck back from the icy planet of Hoth. (I won’t lie, though, Hodgman totally schooled me in Dune trivia — and I read that series cover to cover!)

[Via Entertainment Weekly]

Despite big news events like Steve Rogers’ return and Wednesday Comics’ jump to USA Today, it’s still been a gloomy week for comics, due to the passing of creator Dave Simons.

But the Hero Initiative, in their upcoming publication Hero Comics, has collected one of Dave’s last scripts for their book, which will appear as a tribute page in the July book.

While Simons had yet to start drawing the page, the script is completed, and is available for you to read right here. It is very much a sort of mission statement of the Hero Initiative, which helps creators in need.

All right, New York fans — if you dig Steve Dillon, here’s your chance to meet and greet!

The Hero Initiative has announced that on Wednesday, June 24th, the Preacher and Punisher penciller will be hitting Jim Hanley’s Universe in Manhattan from 6pm to 8pm.

All proceeds, both for the $5 raffle as well as the $15 sketches, will go to the Hero Intiative, which helps out creators in financial or medical need. If you’re in the area, check it out!

Looking to give back to the comic book community?

There are few organizations that help creators more than the Hero Initiative, which helps out creators in financial or medical need. (And the Hero Initiative has also had some cool incentives for signing up, including free gift packages at some of the Comic Cons nationwide.)

However… the time to sign up is getting limited.

Hero’s Jim McLauchlin announced that sign-ups for 2009 would end June 30, 2009, because “we’d just kinda feel badly taking your money for a yearly membership when you’re only there half a year.” However, hope is not lost, as they are planning some major surprises for 2010 — but if you sign up now, you can (A) renew your membership in 2010 for discounted price, (B) if you sign up at the Philadelphia Comic Con, they promise a special incentive, as well as all the new premiums and events in 2010!

Colleen Coover has shown on her blog that Wolverine is the best there is at what he does.

And what he does…

…is freakin’ adorable.

Seriously, if it ever became a series, I would buy “Wolverine: The Tuff Li’l Canadian” and read it till my fingers bleed. If you click the above link, there’s an equally amusing back cover as well.

This sketch for the Wolverine: Weapon X #1 blank variant cover will benefit the Hero Initiative, an organization which helps creators in medical or financial need. Jeff Parker and Steve Lieber are also doing their own versions, all of which will be auctioned in the near future.

Recently, Hero has been helping out with creator Josh Medors, who has been battling cancer. Click here to get more news on that auction, which is still continuing.

For our readers in the Los Angeles area: the Hero Initiative, which works with struggling creators including Josh Medors, who we reported a few days back, has announced their schedule for Free Comic Book Day!

Free Comic Book Day this year is on May 2nd, just one day after the upcoming film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The Hero Initiative will be teaming up with other charities for L.A.’s Big Sunday event. Here’s the schedule:

- BOOM! Studios Editor in Chief and Kingdom Come/52/Superman: Birthright* scribe Mark Waid will be hitting Collector’s Paradise in Winnetka, starting at noon and running until 3pm. Other luminaries in attendance will be Marc Guggenheim (Amazing Spider-Man), Mike Kunkel (Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam), Joe Benitez (Titans), Jim Mahfood (Clerks), and J.T. Krul (Fathom).

- Meanwhile, mighty Meltdown Comics will be having an event with Tim Sale, artist for Heroes and Batman: The Long Halloween! Timing is still pending based on the Hero Initiative and Meltdown’s web site.

- And finally, the Hero Initiative has hinted to a “smorgasboard of fun” that will be taking place at 4 Color Fantasies out at Rancho Cucamonga. More details hopefully to come.

*Can you tell which series of his I like?

 And of course, there’s nothing geeky about using a homophone (words spelled differently, but sound the same - yes, your English teacher is ashamed you forgot) to “re-name” your brand…

In a move that will further embolden its critics who claim that Sci Fi is far more “Fi” than “Sci,” and sometimes not “Sci Fi” at all, the network has announced that it will be changing its official name from “Sci Fi” to SyFy – in order not to seem so geek-oriented. David Howe will make the announcement at a network upfront today in New York.

From TV Week:

“The name Sci Fi has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that, as opposed to the general public and the female audience in particular,” said TV historian Tim Brooks, who helped launch Sci Fi Channel when he worked at USA Network.

Mr. Brooks said that when people who say they don’t like science fiction enjoy a film like “Star Wars,” they don’t think it’s science fiction; they think it’s a good movie.

“We spent a lot of time in the ’90s trying to distance the network from science fiction, which is largely why it’s called Sci Fi,” Mr. Brooks said. “It’s somewhat cooler and better than the name ‘Science Fiction.’ But even the name Sci Fi is limiting.”

Mr. Howe said going to Syfy will make a difference.

Though 2008 was the network’s best year ever, the network’s management had the feeling that the name was holding it back. 300 possibilities were considered before “SyFy” was selected. The changeover to the new name is slated to take place July 7th, in conjunction with the debut of the network’s new series, Warehouse 13.

Holding out for a HERO? Well, look no further.

The HERO Initiative, which helps creators in need, will be hitting the Orlando MegaCon this weekend! Dan Jurgens (Booster Gold) and George Perez (Crisis on Infinite Earths) will be at the organization’s booth for signing.

“For far too long, we, as an industry, failed to come together as a group to help those who needed it. The Hero Initiative has changed all that and it really is an honor to chip in and offer assistance to our friends and colleagues who have shared so much of their talent and creative energy over the years,” said Jurgens in a press release.

To make it even better? The Initiative will be auctioning off lunches with Jurgens, Perez, Darwyn Cooke (New Frontier), and DC mastermind Dan DiDio. Want to know more? Here’s the HERO schedule below!

FRIDAY, February 27, 2009 (Show hours: 12 – 7 p.m.)
12:30 – 2 p.m. Dan Jurgens
2:30 – 3:15 p.m. “Hulk 100 Project” signing: Jim Cheung, Mike Perkins, Andy Smith
3:30 – 4:30 p.m. Ron Marz
4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Dan Jurgens
5:30 – 7 p.m. George Pérez

SATURDAY, February 28, 2009 (Show hours: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.)
10:15 – 11:30 a.m. Dan Jurgens
12:30 – 2:30 p.m. Nelson DeCastro
2:30 – 4:30 p.m. Dan Jurgens and George Pérez

SUNDAY, March 1, 2009 (Show hours 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. George Pérez
11 a.m. – 12 p.m. Steve McNiven
2:30 – 3:30 p.m. George Pérez

Now that Heath Ledger’s posthumous award has shown once and for all that superhero movies are as worthy as any other films of the best talent out there, it seems like an even better time to discuss casting for Bat-sequels.

MTV Splash Page has an interview with Greg Rucka saying he’d love to see Catwoman in the next Nolan Bat-movie, and I couldn’t agree more. As Rucka said, with the death of Rachel Dawes, the time is ripe to introduce a new love interest, and the traumatized Bruce Wayne we saw at the end of The Dark Knight would be ripe for an unhealthy, dark, messy relationship with a Nolanized Selina Kyle.

Nothing campy about Catwoman in Nolan’s Gotham City. She’d have to be sexy, of course, but also capable of being conflicted, complicated–as much so as Bruce/Batman himself. I love the idea floated of Rachel Weisz (also, the picture!). She did the genre in Constantine (eminently watchable if you allow yourself to forget that Keanu Reeves is supposed to be playing, well, John Constantine), and she’s pretty but not in a conventional way (not unlike Maggie Gyllenhaal, who fit so well into the Dark Knight cast).

At a party at NYCC, I got into a discussion with the lovely Molly Crabapple about what we’d like to see in another Batman film, and we both agreed that it was time to up the female presence. To make the film pass the Bechdel test, what if Nolan added Harley Quinn? The Joker’s gone–they’re obviously not going to replace Heath Ledger this soon. So what about a psychotic Harley out for revenge? Instead of the girlfriend in the background, she’s in the foreground, out for blood.

I love the Joker archetype and I would love to see a woman playing that type of character. Molly and I quickly tossed out a few rules for Harley: we want her to not be uber-pretty, and even better if she’s a bit older. We want her dangerous, like the Joker but both more seductive and more unhinged, Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted ramped up to 11. But who could play the role? Angelina, sure, but she’d have the pretty-pretty thing going.

We didn’t reach any conclusions that night, but it hit me the next day:

Courtney Love.

Discuss.

This year’s New York Comic Con promises to have an expanded set of awards from the Comicbook Artists Guild, the Guild has said in a press release.

Growing from six awards last year, the third annual event will now have 15 awards. New categories include Best New Cartoonist, Best Web-Comic, and Best Workshop, in addition to old standbys like Best Writer to Art Direction Excellence.

Winners of the contest will be announced during NYCC on February 6th at 7pm in room 1A23.

GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has announced its nominees for its 20th annual media awards. Among its comic book nominees are:

The Alcoholic by Jonathan Ames (Vertigo/DC Comics)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Drew Goddard, Jeph Loeb and Joss Whedon (Dark Horse Comics)

Final Crisis: Revelations by Greg Rucka (DC Comics)

Secret Six by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott (DC Comics)

Young Avengers Presents by Ed Brubaker, Brian Reed, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Paul Cornell, Kevin Grevioux and Matt Fraction (Marvel Comics)

While the speculation over in the Bat-Books is rising to a fever pitch after the events of Final Crisis, Batman R.I.P., and the upcoming Battle for the Cowl, it looks like Project Rooftop is thinking more pragmatically:

What will this new Batman look like?

Over at their web site, they have a competition going on for a “Dynamic Do-Over” for Dick Grayson, who they peg as the likely successor for the cape and cowl.

Prizes for the competition include the Matt Wagner Batman: Black & White statue, the Batman Black Glove HC, a DC Direct Batman figure, and a copy of Detective Comics #849 signed by Dustin Nguyen. The prizes have been sponsored by Rogues Gallery in Round Rock, Texas.

Entries are due February 4. It’ll be interesting to see how the winners match up with Battle for the Cowl writer-artist Tony Daniel’s announced redesign of the Batman uniform…

The Hero Initiative, which helps yesterday’s creators in financial need, has announced that it has teamed up with ComicArtFans.com. Anyone who joins both organizations will receive a $10 discount as well as sketchcards by industry veterans.

Bill Cox, the owner of ComicArtFans.com, explained that the $10 discount will go into effect on his site, allowing the Hero Initiative to receive the full membership fees.

All CAF members who sign up with the Hero Initiative will also be flagged as Hero members, giving them added recognition.

“With 40,000 registered users and more than 500 premium members, we feel that many comic art collectors that frequent our site would love to support Hero in this manner,” said Cox in a press release. “CAF has supported Hero in various ways for the past several years and we expect that by helping raise awareness of this new Hero program to our membership, that we’ll continue to benefit Hero for years to come.”

You can join the Hero Initiative by either checking out their tables at various conventions, or by clicking here. Meanwhile, you can display, buy, auction, and sell sequential art at ComicArtFans.com by joining their organization here.

SCI FI Wire, SCI FI’s news division, has created an expanded expanded news site outside of SCI Fi’s main page called scifiwire.com. Here’s what the SCI FI Wire staff has said about the new site:

SCI FI Wire is hot news about movies, TV, games, books, top celebrities and more. Red-carpet photos. The newest movie trailers. Sneak peeks at upcoming TV shows and seasons. Exclusive on-set interviews. And with the team behind SCI FI Weekly, we’re about to add all sorts of new content: Top 10 lists, exclusive Q&As, satire, dispatches from the front lines of science fiction, fantasy and the supernatural, funny stuff and a lot more.

– So Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki’s Skim was named as a finalist for the Governor-General’s Award for children’s literature up in Canada, except that Tamaki’s name was left off of the official list of nominees, because technically, she’s the artist and not the “writer.” Letters of protest were written, but apparently to no avail. Tom has reactions from those involved, including Jillian Tamaki.

– Spurgeon also has an interesting interview with Slow Wave cartoonist Jesse Reklaw. I never knew, for instance, that Reklaw left Yale to pursue a career in comics.

– Some people were worried that Tribune Media might be ending the Dick Tracy comic strip. But it turns out those fears may have been premature.

– Aaron Albert talks the Hellboy talk to Mike Mignola for About.com.

– Hey, Kramer’s Ergot 7 is going on tour!

– Another day, another editorial cartoonist gets laid off.

– Finally, Vice magazine talks to Lynda Barry.

Plot synopsis released for X-Men Origins: Magneto

The latest issue of Production Weekly includes a plot synopsis for David Goyer’s planned X-Men Origins: Magneto — one that includes an altered role for a certain bald telepath:

“The original X-Men film began with a prologue that showed the character as a child being led to a concentration camp by Nazis and that is the period in which the Magneto film will take place. This setup will allow a future villain to at least flirt with the designation of protagonist since the character will be seen almost exclusively in his formative years. The storyline will heavily involve Professor X, the wheelchair-using X-Men leader. That character was a soldier in the Allied force that liberated the concentration camps. The professor meets Magneto after the war and while they bond over the realization that they are alike in their special powers, their differences soon turn them into enemies.”

According to David Bentley of the Coventry Telegraph, an early draft of the script featured Charles Xavier as a staff member at an Israeli hospital, not as an Allied soldier.

It’s unclear when Magneto will begin production. In August, Goyer said he hadn’t decided whether to tackle this project or The Invisible Man next.

(more…)

The judges have been announced for the 2009 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. The five-person panel selects the nominees, who are then voted on by eligible members of the comics industry.

The 2009 judges are:

• Amanda Emmert, owner of Muse Comics & Games in Missoula, Mont., and communications coordinator for ComicsPRO

• Mike Pawuk, teen-services public librarian for the Cuyahoga County Public Library in Parma, Ohio

• John Shableski, a sales manager for Diamond Book Distributors

• Ben Towle, cartoonist, educator and creator of Midnight Sun

• Andrew Wheeler, comics reviewer, blogger and former senior editor of the Science Fiction Book Club

Stan Lee does what he does best — promotes his latest book, this one a collection of his old Marvel Soapbox columns, in the video below. The book benefits the Hero Initiative.

If you’ve been looking for a reason to try out some of the comic book applications that have been popping up in the iTunes application store, here’s your chance to try them out and help a good cause.

iVerse, a company that’s turned Shadowhawk, Proof, Flash Gordon and several other comics titles into iPhone applications, will donate half of all proceeds from a “Hero Initiative Spotlight” book each month to the charity. The program kicks off this month with Shadowhawk v.2 #1, which is 99 cents in the app store.

“I think it is terribly important to support the creators that helped build this industry.” said iVerse owner Michael Murphey. “We are working on the future of this industry with these digital comics - but it would be completely impossible for us to be where we are, without the amazing work that these creators have done, and we’re honored to be able to work with Hero on this project.”

You can find out more about iVerse and the titles they offer (including several free ones) at their website.

Neil Gaiman, voice actor Tom Wayland and several others will attend a reading from Gaiman’s Sandman series to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The event will take place at the Helen Mills Theater in New York City on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. More details are available here.