Articles by robert-greenberger
Tue May 27, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Interview: Bob Rozakis on Creating an Alternate History for the Comics Industry
What if Green Lantern and Flash were today's Superman and Batman?
The notion of retelling history with a twist has become a very popular sub-section of fiction, heavily mined by Harry Harrison and by Philip Roth. In comic books, Marvel’s What If? title and DC’s Elseworlds imprint also explored possible scenarios. But no one has ever looked at how a single element could propel comic book history in an entirely new direction.
Until now, that is.
Bob Rozakis has begun writing a series of articles tracing just such an alternate history for TwoMorrows’ Alter Ego and Back Issue. Rozakis is certainly no stranger to comics, given his lengthy tenure as DC’s Production Manager, co-creator of ‘Mazing Man, and writer of titles such as Superman, Freedom Fighters and Secret Society of Super-Villains.
COMICMIX: As DC’s "Answer Man," what can you tell me about the origins of your new article series?
BOB ROZAKIS: I had proposed an Elseworlds back in 1998; just after I left staff, in which Green Lantern and Flash were the heroes who survived the Golden Age instead of Superman and Batman. In addition to the story itself, I had created an "outside the box" chunk of history to go with it. The proposal was rejected, but the idea kept percolating. Finally, I approached Roy Thomas and Michael Eury with the concept of writing the entire alternate history and they were both quite enthusiastic.
CMix: What was the key event that would change comic book history?
BR: In 1946, after spinning off his All-American Comics line from DC, Max Gaines sold his share back to Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz. In my alternate reality, Gaines buys them out instead... and the DC line becomes part of AA Comics.
Continue reading Interview: Bob Rozakis on Creating an Alternate History for the Comics Industry ›
Tue Mar 25, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
ComicMix Exclusive Interview: Joe Lansdale on 'Pigeons from Hell'
Dark Horse taps noted horror scribe for Robert E. Howard adaptation
Joe Lansdale is a prolific author of horror stories, both short and novel-length, including Drive In and Bubba Ho-Tep. He’s also no stranger to comics, having partnered with Timothy Truman for projects featuring such characters as Jonah Hex and The Lone Ranger, and has even written for Batman: The Animated Series and other television series.
This spring, Dark Horse Comics is releasing his four-part miniseries, Pigeons from Hell, adapting a story by Robert E. Howard. It’s Lansdale's first time working with artist Nathan Fox, and he recently sat down for a brief chat with ComicMix and a preview of the first issue.
COMICMIX: Thanks for agreeing to chat, Joe. This is not your first work with Robert E. Howard. You previously wrote a Conan miniseries. So tell me, what is it about Howard that you like?
JOE LANSDALE: Howard has always appealed to me because there is a raw storytelling talent at work, and he has a
CMix: Did you ask to write Pigeons from Hell, or was it an assignment?
Continue reading ComicMix Exclusive Interview: Joe Lansdale on 'Pigeons from Hell' ›
Mon Jan 7, 2008 — by Robert Greenberger
Superhero Novelizations for 2008
Iron Man, Hulk, Indiana Jones, Batman, and Hellboy on deck
With the summer super-hero blockbusters come the inevitable novelizations. It used to be almost every movie from every genre would receive the prose treatment but with time, that has been winnowed dramatically. These days it appears just the genre films get the attention and not even all those receive a book.
The blockbuster, tent pole films for 2008 will be receiving not only novelizations but tie-in and spin-off books galore. One, Speed Racer, does not have a novelization but a ton of related books for the younger audiences.
Here's a look at the 2008 novelization list, in order of film release, with some rather familiar names attached:
Iron Man by Peter David
Speed Racer, none scheduled
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by James Rollins
Incredible Hulk by Peter David
Wanted, none scheduled
Get Smart, none scheduled
Hellboy II: The Golden Army by Robert Greenberger
The Dark Knight by Dennis O'Neil
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, unknown
The X-Files 2, none scheduled
Punisher: War Zone, none scheduled
Star Trek, unknown
Fri Dec 7, 2007 — by Robert Greenberger
Romance! Action! Prose!
Super-hero super-love without the pictures
It used to be, the most successful comic book heroes would eventually wind up in prose. These days, with superheroes fully integrated into mainstream America, it’s no surprise that several novelists have taken their own, unique looks at the genre. Already this year we’ve had the well received Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman and Perry Moore’s Hero. It’s no surprise, then, that the romance genre would also introduce their own take on the subject.
Long-time comic book fan and one-time DC Comics staffer Elizabeth M. Flynn, writing as Ellis Flynn, has produced Introducing Sonika. The novel is an eBook, available from Cerridwen Press as of December 13.
According to the publisher, “Sonika is actually 28-year-old Sonya Penn, a Gen Y gal working hard as a physical therapist in order to pay off the enormous medical bills that remained after her parents’ deaths. Like so many of her generation, her career has left her no time for romance. But unlike so many others like her, the medical bills she’s working hard to pay off were incurred when her super-hero parents were killed by their arch-nemesis, Gentleman Geoffrey.
“Sonya could hardly know that when she met her newest client, he would not only turn out to be John Arlen, the heir to an engineering fortune, but that he, too, was injured by a super-villain.
Tue Oct 23, 2007 — by Robert Greenberger
Is Manga a Passing Fad?, by Robert Greenberger
Sales fade in Japan, a harbinger for America
Well, duh.
That was my first reaction when I read USA Today’s story regarding Manga’s loosening grip on readers in
- Cable television was introduced and began snaking through the country, suddenly captivating television watchers and keeping them watching with extra channels, premium movies and so on.
- At much the same time, the first home video games were also capturing peoples’ attention. I still remember being fascinated playing Pong on the playroom television and then flipping to watch an uncut movie on HBO.
- The rise of the direct sales distribution system for comic books, which began an evolution away from readers finding comics at the local stationary shop and towards hole-in-the-wall outlets that sold comics and related stuff.
Continue reading Is Manga a Passing Fad?, by Robert Greenberger ›
Fri Sep 21, 2007 — by Robert Greenberger
Superhero Casting Announced
Capes and tights due for satire
While Mike Gold shared the news about the honest-to-goodness JLA movie, another project was also announced yesterday.
Dimension Films will be producing the inevitable spoof entitled, what else, Superhero. The casting has been completed with filming about to begin and a March 28, 2008 release date set.
The film features perennial spoof master Leslie Neilsen, in addition to Brent Spiner (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Marion Ross (Happy Days), the amazing Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development), Drake Bell (High Fidelity), Sara Paxton (Sydney White), Christopher McDonald (Fanboys), Kevin Hart (Scary Movie 4), and Ryan Hansen (Veronica Mars). The satire will be written and directed by Craig Mazin (Scary Movie 3 and 4).
Of course, Mystery Men was a wonderful superhero spoof ahead of its time, so we’ll reserve judgment until next spring.
Tue Sep 18, 2007 — by Robert Greenberger
Speed Racer's Return to Comics
IDW Adds Title
The deals are taking their positions by the pole, ready to make “Go, Speed Racer, go,” next year’s biggest catch phrase. Just announced by Speed Racer Enterprises are a series of new licensing deals; the most interesting (to you readers) is IDW landing comic book rights.
In addition to all new comics, they have the rights to collect previous incarnations of the anime series, one of the earliest to be imported from
IDW expects to have their first releases out in the first quarter of 2008 to catch the anticipation of the new feature length film from the Wachowskis, due May 9. Speed racer joins IDW’s growing line of licensed books which already includes Angel, Star Trek, and Transformers.
A new animated series, entitled Speed Racer: The Next Generation, will also debut with twenty-six episodes on Nicktoons. LionsGate has already announced the first DVD collection of this series will also be available in 2008. The original fifty-two episodes are already available in a multi-volume DVD set.
Wed Sep 12, 2007 — by Robert Greenberger
Star Trek Readies to Leave Drydock
ComicMix separates facts from rumors for you
With its 41st anniversary just a week past, the saying “Star Trek Lives!” has never been more true. The franchise has spent the year retooling and gearing up for a major relaunch in late 2008.
The details, though, get murky as people mix rumor with fact. We here at ComicMix are happy to help divide wheat from chaff so we may all live long and prosper.
The eleventh feature film is entitled simply Star Trek and will be released on December 25, 2008. The story, early drafts of which have already leaked out, was written by the new hit team of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Producing will be the Lost duo J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof with Abrams directing. Abrams’ frequent collaborator, Michael Giacchino, has already signed to write the score.
Now comes the tricky part – the casting.
As of today, only three parts are official: Spock to be played by the inimitable Leonard Nimoy and Heroes antagonist Zachary Quinto and Chekov, to be played by newcomer Anton Yelchin (pictured above).
That’s it.
Many actors have expressed an interest in a variety of roles. Such is Abrams’ relationship with his cast that many veterans have said they’d happily board the newly designed U.S.S. Enterprise if Abrams but asked. As a result, gossip mongers have already cast Tom Cruise as Captain Christopher Pike (James T. Kirk’s predecessor). Greg Grunberg, who has been in every Abrams production is expected to have a role, be it large or small, human or alien. Today’s media dump includes word that Jennifer Garner owes Abrams so much she would don Vulcan ears if he wanted.
Beyond that, for the last month, word has been circulating, reaching a deafening crescendo this week that Russell Crowe is Paramount Pictures’ choice for the bad guy (whoever or whatever that may be). Promoting 3:10 to
Beyond that, the roles of Kirk, Leonard McCoy, Montgomery Scott, Hikaru Sulu and Uhura remain uncast. Sure, William Shatner has been publicly campaigning to return from the dead but as of now, nothing formal has been announced.
Production begins in November and will include two weeks shooting in
Wed Sep 5, 2007 — by Robert Greenberger
Summer Box Office Closing Report
The summer is now officially over and our minds are already beginning to turn to… the Christmas movie season. But first, let’s take stock and see where we are with comic book-based movies. We have just one left for release this year, the feature version of Steve Niles’ 30 Days of Night, but that’s waiting for the appropriate Halloween period.
Much has been made of the $4 billion summer box office and how it set a new record, until you adjust for inflation and then it doesn’t beat 2002. Studios say that’s okay, because the hits will also prove strong sellers this holiday season in DVD (regular, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, collect them all!). With average ticket prices creeping up to $6.85 (it’s $10.25 in
Here’s an updated look at the genre films released this year with their total box office to date followed by their budgets. Again, following that logic, 300 remains the clear winner by traditional
Ghost Rider, $115,802,596 / $110,000,000
300, $210,250,922 / $65,000,000
TMNT, $42,273,609 / $34,000,000
Spider-Man 3, $336,530,303 / $258,000,000
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, $131,451,007 / $130,000,000
Stardust, August 10, $31,912,000 to date / $70,000,000
Thu Aug 16, 2007 — by Robert Greenberger
Fantastic Voyage gets a facelift
Classic sci-fi film to be remade
Fantastic Voyage, the 1966 feature film to begin a new cycle of “serious” science fiction on the big screen, is being remade at 20th Century Fox. The film is being helmed by Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, Godzilla) with National Treasure’s Marianne and Cormac Wibberley in talks to write the new version. Emmerich toyed with the remake possibilities a decade back and only got re-interested when he saw a draft from the writers.
The original film, directed by Richard Fleischer (Doctor Doolittle, Soylent Green) and turned into a novel by Isaac Asimov, was known for its concept, its cutting edge special effects and the fantastic notion of Raquel Welch as a scientist.
Should this actually get produced, the earliest audiences can revisit the human bloodstream from the inside will be 2009.
Tue Jul 31, 2007 — by Robert Greenberger
Wolfman, Niles, Mariotte Snag Scribes
First ever ceremony held in San Diego
On Sunday at San Diego Comic-Con, the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers held a mid-afternoon program where their first Scribe Awards were handed out.
Member Andy Mangels played host to a small but enthusiastic crowd as they watched winners in attendance collect their prizes. The association was formed so the best-selling category of fiction could be acknowledged as a category of its own, joining groups for authors of Thrillers, Mysteries, Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction.
There were six categories and Jeff Mariotte snagged two of them in a bit of a surprise given the volume of works submitted.
The winners:
Speculative Fiction, Best Novel Adapted: Superman Returns by Marv Wolfman
Speculative Fiction, Best Novel Original: 30 Days of Night: Rumors of the Undead by Stephen Niles and Jeff Mariotte
General Fiction, Best Novel Adapted: Snakes on a Plane by Christa Faust
Best Novel Original: Las Vegas: High Stakes by Jeff Mariotte
Young Adult All Genres, Best Novel: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Portal Through Time by Alice Henderson
Grandmaster, honoring career achievement in the field: Donald Bain.
Bain was on hand to accept the award in person, thrilled tghat his accomplishments, incouding over 80 novels, were recognized by peers. The IAMTW (www.iamtw.org) is accepting nominations for works in published 2007 with the awards scheduled for next year’s convention.
Tue Jul 24, 2007 — by Robert Greenberger
Hollywood Casting Announcements Flow Towards San Diego
Comic-Con is upon us and Hollywood studios, like the various publishers, have lined up a series of announcements to whet the appetites of fanboys, geeks, and the mainstream media. I should note it’s pretty fun the con is receiving more coverage this year than the political conventions will likely receive next year.
Over the last week or so, numerous announcements have been slipping out through the trade press, starting with word that Seth Rogan, riding high from being Knocked Up, will write and star in the long-awaited Green Hornet movie.
Yesterday, word spread pretty quickly about likely casting for the forthcoming adaptation of Watchmen, being helmed by 300’s Zack Snyder. Matthew Goode looks to be Adrian Vedit, a.k.a Ozymandias. Joining him will be Billy Curdrup (Dr. Manhattan), Patrick Wilson (Night Owl) and relative newcomer Malin Ackerman (Silk Spectre). Jackie Earle Haley, who was recently nominated for an Academy Award, will play the pivotal role of Rorschach.
The Hollywood Reporter, today, added to that by named Disturbia’s director, D.J. Caruso, as the man behind New Line Cinema’s version of Vertigo’s Y the Last Man. Caruso is paired once more with writer Carl Ellsworth, who cut his teeth writing for Joss Whedon, before leaping to features. J.C. Spink, Chris Bender and Blade’s David Goyer are producing the film, which was optioned some two years ago. The comic book series wraps up a little later this year with nine trade collections currently available.
Additional announcements expected this week include casting for Frank Miller’s directorial debut on The Spirit and maybe some additional word on the long-stalled Wolverine film that now inches towards a green light.
Tue Jul 3, 2007 — by Robert Greenberger
Analyzing Amazing
Three times a month: uncanny or astonishing?

Marvel Comics announced recently that they will be canceling Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Sensational Spider-Man, while upping Amazing Spider-Man from monthly to three times a month.
Editor Steve Wacker explained to WizardWorld, “It's a chance to get more Amazing Spider-Man comics out there, quite honestly. It's because we were already publishing three Spidey books, but what inevitably happens – and it's happened for decades – is that the books that aren't Amazing Spider-Man are the first ones that people drop when they need to re-adjust their lists. So the thought was combine what we're already doing with three titles into one, make them each roll right into one another, almost like a weekly soap opera or television show, and so it's one-stop shopping for your Spider-Man stuff. You know, historically, from Marvel Team-Up from Web of Spider-Man to Peter Parker to even the current books, no matter how good the stories were within there, they were rarely able to come to the same heights sales-wise as Amazing.”
Taking his lessons from running 52, the summer announcement over the creative team will likely involve key figures running the story and art with built in teams assisting both. Who they are and how they work will remain to be seen.
But, is the theory a correct one? Will Amazing, selling at over 100,000 copies a month work at that level? Or will the average monthly sale be closer to the 50-55,000 a month that the canceled titles were averaging? The Back in Black theme to the three titles these last few months should have bumped Sensation and Friendly closer to the flagship title, but the disparity remains sharp.
Odds are, once the dust settles, some four or five months after the changeover, the title will sell lower, possibly splitting the difference. If so, that puts it in the 70-75,000 range, which is exactly where Ultimate Spider-Man currently resides (down 50,000 copies or so from its first year numbers). The title has been pumping out 18 issues a year for a while now and the sales have been steady.
Mon Jun 25, 2007 — by Robert Greenberger
The Shadow Knows
Anthony Tollin talks about the Shadow/Batman connection
In the first part of our extensive interview with publisher Anthony Tollin (yesterday), we learned how a story that apepared in The Shadow Magazine some two and a half years prior to Batman's debut, proved to me the template for the Cpaed Crusader's debut in Detective Comics #27. This is fodder for the historians who have studied what Bob Kane and Bill Finger each brought to the table during the creation of DC's second successful super-hero. The story will be publsihed this summer in the ninth volume of Shadwo facsimiles being publsihed by Tollin.
Greenberger: How will you celebrate this discovery in volume nine?
Tollin: Well, two double-novel pulp reprints a month is keeping me pretty busy, and this will only increase when The Avenger and some of the other S&S characters are added as quarterlies. I am expanding a Shadow coffee table history that I wrote a few months back. And at this year's Friends of Old-Time Radio Convention, I'll be directing an X-Minus One cast reunion. We're thrilled that this year we'll be reuniting the series' scriptwriters, Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, who haven't seen each other in 40 years. Kinoy of course went on to win an Emmy for his screenplay for the landmark TV miniseries Roots.
Artwork copyright DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.
Sun Jun 24, 2007 — by Robert Greenberger
The Case of the Chemical Syndicate
How The Shadow was the template for Batman
Every so often historians find something that appears to be the final piece to a puzzle. Comic book historians have certain mysteries or questions they’d like answers to. Recently, Anthony Tollin and Will Murray pinpointed the source material that helped inspire Bob Kane and Bill Finger to create the character of Batman. The results can now make people further consider how much of Batman is Kane and how much is a result of the popular culture of his day, providing fodder to be reimagined in a new medium.
Comic Mix talked with Tollin, a longtime comic book veteran, who has been producing new facsimile editions of The Shadow and Doc Savage for the full details.
Greenberger: Tony, for those less familiar with your name, give us the short hand background on your career in comics and old time radio.
Tollin: 20-year DC career, beginning as proofreader, then assistant production manager/color coordinator, then cover colorist for a decade and interior colorist of Green Lantern (15 years), Justice League of America, Superman, Crisis on Infinite Earths, The Shadow Strikes, Doc Savage, The Phantom, etc. Also co-colored Batman and Detective Comics as a team with Adrienne Roy through much of her 16-year run on the titles (190 issues of each, not to mention The Brave & The Bold, Batman and the Outsiders, Shadow of the Bat, Robin, etc.) And also work at Disney, Topps, Marvel, National Lampoon’s Sunday comic section parody, PS Magazine for Murphy Anderson. Also wrote 70-plus old-time-radio historical booklets for Radio Spirits and the Smithsonian Historical Archives, scripted Stan Freberg's When Radio Was for six years, and co-authored The Shadow Scrapbook with Walter Gibson.
Greenberger: You've been researching the Shadow on radio and in print for years. How did you finally discover this nugget?
Tollin: Well, it clearly establishes that without The Shadow, there would be no Batman! Since the first Batman story was a start-to-finish lift of an earlier Shadow novel, it establishes that the similarities between the two characters were no accident. Bruce Wayne is wealthy young man about town Lamont Cranston. The friendship between Bruce and Commissioner James Gordon (whose name comes from The Shadow's sister magazine, The Whsiperer) is no different from the relationship between
Tollin: The opportunity to bring Walter Gibson's wonderful stories back into print, after a 22-year hiatus. And the reprints have been as successful as I'd hoped. There are a lot of others who love these classic characters. One of the nice rewards is that most of the subscription checks and renewals are accompanied with "thank you" letters from people telling me how glad they are to be getting the stories in this double-novel trade paperback format. And everyone seems to really like the historical articles too.
One thing I'm hoping to accomplish is to introduce readers to the real Shadow of Gibson's novels. Too many comic fans and creators see The Shadow as a murderous executioner, which he certainly wasn't in Gibson's novels. People see the strong cover images of the blazing '45 automatics and think that's what the character is about. No, The Shadow is about mystery, deduction and misdirection. The Shadow's powers of deduction are rivaled only by Sherlock Holmes and Nero Wolfe. (By the way, Gibson did know Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; they were introduced by their mutual friend, Houdini.) The Shadow is certainly well armed, usually carrying four '45 automatics into battle. But he basically treats them as a soldier or police officer would, only using them when his life or an innocent's is at stake. The Shadow is certainly not a bloodthirsty executioner (while his imitator The Spider certainly is).
I certainly hope the availability of these new reprints well help comic book and motion picture creators to get the character right in the future, and allow them to draw inspiration from more than just the cover paintings.
TOMORROW: Tony talks about what other goodies can be found in this special issue plus some additional insights to DC Comics, Batman and the pulps' legacy.

