Monthly Archive: April 2008

‘Incredible Hulk’ to Speak – ‘Captain America’ Film Hinted?

‘Incredible Hulk’ to Speak – ‘Captain America’ Film Hinted?

  • News
  • April 19, 2008

The panel for The Incredible Hulk movie at New York Comic Con had a few big surprises for fans. If you don’t want any minor spoilers, get away from this post right now.

Still with us? Sweet.

A not-quite-finished version of the full length trailer was shown (the completed version will appear before Iron Man). The new trailer had some added scenes showing the Hulk and his enemy the Abomination (referred to only by his real name of "Emil Blonsky" in the film) fighting in New York City and smashing helicopters in the process. It also included a quick clip of a military official referring to Blonsky as a subject of a General Ross’s "bio-force project" who winds up going out of control.

During the panel, a couple of clips were shown with actor Tim Roth as Emil Blonksy. One clip showed him receiving an injection of a blue-colored serum which was supposed to prepare him to take on the Hulk in physical combat.

The second clip involved Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, being cornered by the military. Seeing his beloved Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) in danger, Banner transforms into the Hulk and begins fighting off the soldiers. On the order of General Ross (William Hurt), Blonksy then shows up and challenges the Hulk.

Apparently as a result of the serum he’s been injected with, he is now able to operate with enhanced agility and speed. While not exactly superhuman, his newfound physical prowess reminded me of Captain America in action as he dodged and weaved between the Hulk’s physical attacks while letting loose with guns and rockets. This was a phenomenal action scene and the direction made it feel very personal and in-your-face.

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NYCC News: ‘Halo’ Bible In the Works – Movie in the Making?

NYCC News: ‘Halo’ Bible In the Works – Movie in the Making?

  • News
  • April 19, 2008

Just goes to show you never know where you can expect to get news from. While attending the New York Comic Con panel about the X-O Manowar: Birth hardcover, ex-Valiant Comics editor and current Valiant Entertainment consultant Jeff Gomez revealed that his company, Starlight Runner Entertainment, has been commissioned by Microsoft to create a bible for the Halo videogame universe.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, "bibles" are used by media companies as any reference outline for writers, producers and licensees. Usually in the production of television and movies.

NYCC News: ‘Marvel: Ultimate Battles’ Collectible Card Game Premiered

NYCC News: ‘Marvel: Ultimate Battles’ Collectible Card Game Premiered

  • News
  • April 19, 2008

In years past, I wanted to get a Green Lantern T-shirt that Upper Deck was giving away at a convention. In order to get it, I had to sit though a 15-minute class that explained the rules of their DC Vs. and Marvel Vs. collectible card games. Even with my nerd fashion prize in sight, I have to admit I started feeling antsy and my eyes glazed over a little bit.

It’s with that in mind that Upper Deck has officially announced their new Marvel: Ultimate Battles card game. This CCG was designed to be easier to learn with a more mass audience appeal.

ComicMix Translation: While the depth of the Marvel Vs. card game was great for you Magic: The Gathering types, it left kids in the dust. To keep them from going to back to Pokemon (nobody wants to revisit that craze again), Upper Deck has made a seperate series that’s a lot more casual. And expect lots of Iron Man and Hulk cards in this series to tie-in with the movies this summer.

 

ComicMix Radio: What Peter Purchases – Milo Ventigmilia at NYCC

ComicMix Radio: What Peter Purchases – Milo Ventigmilia at NYCC

No wonder he looks so good using his powers – Heroes star Milo Ventigmilia is no stranger to the comic book store.

So, what’s in his brown bag each week? We catch him on the floor of The New York Comic Con to find out.

 

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via iTunes - ComicMix or RSS!

 

NYCC: Vertigo ‘Welcome to the Edge’ Panel – Getting Bullish on Grant Morrison and Seaguy

NYCC: Vertigo ‘Welcome to the Edge’ Panel – Getting Bullish on Grant Morrison and Seaguy

  • News
  • April 19, 2008

When you attend some of these publisher panels, you’re usually shown a few slides and given a brief description of upcoming titles — kind of like someone reading the Diamond Previews catalog out loud. So, instead of just parroting the entire affair, I’ve assembled an account of what you need to know  about Friday’s "Vertigo: Welcome to the Edge" panel at New York Comic Con.

Before we get started, I just want to note that the room was surprisingly packed. Being a fan of the Vertigo Comics imprint, I’ve attended a few of these over the years and they’re usually well attended, but not crowded. Maybe this one is the exception because New York is the home of literati?

Here are my notes from the panel:

Karen Berger, Executive Editor of Vertigo Comics, takes the stage. Instead of introducing the panelists in order, she starts with Grant Morrison in the middle. The benefits of being a comic book rock star, eh? Introductions follow with Amy Hadley, G. Willow Wilson, Joshua Dysart, Jason Aaron, Brian Wood, Brian Azzarello (big applause, even a few yells), David Tischman and Russ Braun. Mark Buckingham arrives just in time and gets a big reaction out of the audience.

House of Mystery – Berger explains that this project will not be an anthology. It’s about a waitress stuck in a mysterious house with strangers who tell their stories, illustrated by a different artist every month. So basically it is an anthology — with a framing device. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…

Madame Xanadu – The mystic DC character finally receives an origin. Since she’s nigh immortal, her stages of life take decades. Puberty must’ve been hell. [Sidenote: This news was responsible for Olivia Newton-John’s "Xanadu" getting stuck in everyone’s head later at the ComicMix HQ.

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NYCC News: The Scoop on the ‘Iron Man’ Videogame

NYCC News: The Scoop on the ‘Iron Man’ Videogame

  • News
  • April 19, 2008

To coincide with the start of the New York Comic Con, Sega released the demo for the Iron Man movie videogame over Xbox LIVE. Marvel had the demo running at their booth. Watching the attendee reaction was Michael McHale, Senior Producer for the game. He took some time out to give us some new info.

When asked about the long list of videogames based on movies that fail to live up to the hype, he simply responded, "I don’t think anybody sets out to make a bad game."

To prevent the curse of bad movie-based games, Sega took advantage of the fact that Marvel was producing Iron Man themselves and got access to the materials earlier to allow for a longer development cycle than is usual for licensed games. For instance, early on they got the suit CGI models Industrial Light and Magic created for the movie — so the suits in the game are the same ones in the film.

The challenge for the game was, since Iron Man is pretty versitile, they had to make huge maps for him to fly around in but make them detailed enough so when he hovered or landed it still looked decent.

"You get to take on the mission objectives in any order you want," said McHale. And his abilities also make the game unique. Asked what games it compared to, McHale briefly mentioned the Superman Returns game, but the speed reminded him more of the Ace Combat jetfighter series. "I don’t think there’s another game like it to be honest."

"We definitely go beyond the film," he continued. "About 30-percent of the content is based on the film. The rest is drawn from the Marvel Universe. You battle aganst guys like Titanium Man, Whiplash and other famous villains. We’ve got factions like A.I.M. and the Maggia involved. Lots of fun things drawn from the comic books."

ComicMix Radio at NYCC: More Stan, a Little Disney and Eli Stone

ComicMix Radio at NYCC: More Stan, a Little Disney and Eli Stone

We kick off day two of the show direct from The Big Apple with a rundown of today’s big stuff including Stan Lee again, Peter Parker hanging out with Eli Stone and a sneak preview bonus for Lucasfilm fanatics! Plus, can you imagine the Top 10 Plants In Pop Culture?

Grab your con badge and press the button!

 

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via iTunes - ComicMix or RSS!

 

Is Ma Kent Old?, by Martha Thomases

Is Ma Kent Old?, by Martha Thomases

  • News
  • April 19, 2008

As I sit here, it’s Monday. TCM is kindly running The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca so I have snappy dialogue in the background. The sun is bright, my blueberry bushes are full of flowers, and it looks like it’s going to be a beautiful week.

However, as you read this, a momentous event is occurring. It’s my birthday. I’m 55 years old. When I was a child (until I was 31, at least), I thought 55 was old. People I knew who were that age had grown children, and were either biding their time towards retirement or starting out on new careers. How could they do it, I wondered, when so much of their life was over?

It’s a good question. How can I do it? I don’t feel like I’m 55 (see Column #47). More to the point, I’m not sure what 55 feels like. I don’t know what it looks like. Do you see women of a certain age in the media? Yes, you do. However, most of them have had so much cosmetic surgery, or Botox, or hair-dye, or liposuction, that there’s no way to see what they really look like.

In fact, I don’t have the personal medical records of famous women my age. It may be that Katie Couric or Diane Sawyer, for example, just naturally looks the same as they did 15 years ago, with no gray hair and full cheeks, while Tom Brokaw gets white hair and laugh lines. For women, wrinkles prevent one from delivering the news. Goldie Hawn is older than I am, but you can’t tell by looking at her recent photos.

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