Author: Mike Gold

DC announces first D2DVD release

DC announces first D2DVD release

Following Marvel’s lead, DC Comics is entering the direct-to-DVD animated feature business with the first of a slate of programs featuring their popular heroes.

First at bat is Superman Doomsday, based on the historic Death of Superman storyline from a decade ago. Previewed at this weekend’s Wondercon in San Francisco, the DVD will be released in September and carries a PG-13 rating. Adam Baldwin voices Superman, Anne Heche Lois Lane, and James Marsters plays Lex Luthor. Marsters is no stranger to the Superman mythos, having played Brainiac on the Smallville teevee series.

DC is also adapting Darwyn Cooke’s brilliant DC: The New Frontier for D2DVD release.

#9… #9… #9…

#9… #9… #9…

Mike Raub has a major interview with George Perez who tells us all about the new Brave and Bold and gives us the low-down on the Hero Initiative plus our usual allotment of  comics and media news and Timeline.

All you have to do is… press play:

You – Who!

You – Who!

The BBC has made an arrangement with YouTube to air clips on the popular website, already servicing two of their three planned channels.

Up already and of interest to Doctor Who fans – on-set video diaries from David Tennant, the current Doctor, and from Freema Agyeman, the new companion. Freema makes her debut as Martha Jones when the new season of Doctor Who begins airing in Great Britain the end of this month.

No word yet on the availability of Torchwood, the PG-13 rated (maybe R-rated) spin-off from Doctor Who. The series is being broadcast in much of the English-speaking world, but no arrangements have been made in the United States as of yet. Torchwood‘s Captain Jack will be returning to Doctor Who for the final three episodes of the upcoming season.

“Cavemen” make the leap

“Cavemen” make the leap

You know those cavemen who hawk insurance on teevee? Well, now you’ve got to give them proper respect. They’re getting their own sitcom pilot.

According to Variety, ABC announced they are planning to do a series pilot based upon the Geico commercials created by Joe Lawson, the copywriter who created the original spots. If available, Jeff Daniel Phillips and Ben Weber will be offered the chance to reprise their roles in the new series.

No word yet on who might be sponsoring the series. Maybe State Farm?

Anime, manga awards awarded

Anime, manga awards awarded

The first American Anime Awards were handed out at the New Yorker hotel in (where else) New York last Saturday, and by popular demand (Sid Popular sent us an e-mail – and thanks to Steve Allen for that gag!), here are the winners:

Best Actor: Vic Mignogna (Fullmetal Alchemist, Macross)

Best Anime Theme Song: Rewrite (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Best Actress: Mary Elizabeth (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG)

Best Comedy Anime: FLCL

Best Actor in a Comedy: Dave Wittenberg (Zatch Bell)

Best Anime Feature: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

Best Actress in a Comedy: Debi Derryberry (Zatch Bell)

Best Short Series: FLCL

Best Cast: Fullmetal Alchemist

Best Long Series: Fullmetal Alchemist

Best DVD Package Design: Fullmetal Alchemist

Best Manga: Fruits Basket

The full list of nominees and more information.

“The Times It Is A-Changin'”

“The Times It Is A-Changin'”

If you think we’ve come a long way in butting out of people’s personal affairs, remember this: the last anti-miscegenation law prohibiting people of different races from marrying was repealed on November 7, 2000. Seven years later, an interracial couple breaks down one of the last barriers to a normal American family life: the newspaper family comic strip.

On April 2nd, the Creators Syndicate will be debuting Charlos Gary’s Cafe Con Leche. Gary, a 39 year old cartoonist living in Chicago, got his start with a strip called Working It Out. It was initially carried by the Chicago Tribune, but is now syndicated by Creators. He told Editor & Publisher "Cafe con Leche is about an interracial couple learning about each other’s cultural background. It’s loosely based on the first year of marriage to my wife Agustina, who is originally from Argentina."

This marks the second time a newspaper strip has been built around such a theme. Color Blind ran for one year, at the end of the 20th century. Let’s hope Cafe Con Leche enjoys a much longer run.

Worm turns on Doonesbury

Worm turns on Doonesbury

Some wag said 9/11 marked the death of irony. Well, that was certainly ironic.

Gwynne Dyer, writing for the London Independent, pointed out recent Doonesbury strips have been parroting the official Bush / Cheney line that the people to blame for our defeat in Iraq are "those brutal, stupid Iraqis."

Whereas the strip has never voiced support for the war – and, in fact, has been quite supportive of how our troops have been mistreated by our government – some recent strips have portrayed performance as, according to Dyer, "lazy, cowardly Iraquis shun(ning) their duty… It is a shameful, childish lie."

Personally, I didn’t get quite the same drift, although I understand where Dyer is coming from. Garry Trudeau couldn’t be reached for comment, being too busy removing the shoe from the other foot.

Black Betty screams just for you

Black Betty screams just for you

After Dark’s Black Betty speaks to ComicMix about To Die For!, the scoop on Superman’s changes, our update on teevee news, 

All this, Timeline, more news and serious thrills on ComicMix’s eighth exclusive Podcast — available right here:

 

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ComicMix Podcast #7 arrives!

ComicMix Podcast #7 arrives!

Neal Adams tells Mike Raub about teaming up with Frank Miller on a Batman mini-series, we uncover the roots of the Suicide Squad, our Timeline stops on 1968, Walter Cronkite talks parallel history, and new releases are exposed!

You can here all the thrills by pressing the play button, right here:

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Mike Gold: True Convention Thrills!

Mike Gold: True Convention Thrills!

Great Caesar’s Ghost, my first comic convention actually was 38 and one-half years ago. I thought about that a lot this past weekend. I recall hearing about 300 people attended that show; we were completely astonished by the huge turnout.

It was one of the late Phil Seuling’s first Fourth of July shows in New York, and he established the standard by which I measure all comic book conventions. I helped run the Chicago Comicon for ten years, and I tried to hold us to that same standard. Phil’s shows were absolutely great, and of course they grew in size and importance with the times.

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