Author: Rick Marshall

‘Superbad’ Writers to Script ‘Simpsons’ Episode

‘Superbad’ Writers to Script ‘Simpsons’ Episode

  • News
  • June 11, 2008

Various sites are reporting that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, co-writers of the recent comedy Superbad, are currently writing an episode of The Simpsons.

Much like most deals in Hollywood, the arrangement was initiated when the pair met Simpsons producer James L. Brooks at a party, made a connection (he liked Superbad), and then the pair wound up pitching ideas to the staff of the animated series. The episode is expected to air sometime next season, and Rogen could voice one of the characters introduced in the episode.

According to Rogen:

We went in and pitched them like five ideas and surprisingly hadn’t done some of them. And we all kind of settled on one in the meeting and then we went out and wrote an outline and they gave us notes on it.

(via toonzone, CelebrityCafe and somewhere in the jungle of IGN)

Archie Goes Digital With ‘Bronze Age’ DVD-ROM

Archie Goes Digital With ‘Bronze Age’ DVD-ROM

  • News
  • June 11, 2008

Following in the footsteps of previous digital media initiatives, Archie and the crew from Riverdale will soon be making their adventures available via the ol’ computer machines.

A recent press release from Archie Comics indicates that the publisher has put together a new DVD-ROM collection that will feature high-quality image files from a large number of Bronze Age Archie comics.

The specs, according to the official PR:

This includes a total of 97 comic books covering a span from February 1970 through December 1979, including annuals, all articles, and every single advertisement. All comics can be printed or viewed on your PC. The high-quality DVD-ROM is compatible with nearly every platform, including Windows 95 / Me / 98 / XP / 2000 / Vista, Mac OS X, Mac OS 9 and below, Linux, Mac OS X Intel. Purchase the Archie Bronze Age Series at your local computer software store or buy it online at http://stuffshop.archiecomics.com/arbragesedv.html

Since the Archie titles remain one of the only current series that seems to stay afloat selling in supermarket checkout lines, I have to wonder how well they’ll do in the new frontier of "computer software stores." I’m not going to bet against them, though, as it seems like anything is possible with Archie.

‘Iron Man 2’ Release Date ‘Unrealistic’ Says Jon Favreau

‘Iron Man 2’ Release Date ‘Unrealistic’ Says Jon Favreau

  • News
  • June 11, 2008

After Marvel Studios released a comprehensive lists of upcoming films and their release dates, Iron Man director Jon Favreau recently told fans on his MySpace page that the March 2009 scheduled start date for filming of Iron Man 2 is "unrealistic."

Apparently, Marvel Studios was a bit hasty in announcing release dates for the upcoming slate of films that, if all goes as planned, will eventually lead to a big-screen team-up involving all of the characters in The Avengers. When asked about year’s time between the scheduled release of Iron Man 2 and Avengers, the director (who has also been pegged as a potential director for both of the films) said, "I was really bummed when I saw that there was only a year between the two when Marvel announced the release dates. It would be impossible to direct both."

According to Favreau:

It’s been five weeks since the one and only phone call my reps have gotten from Marvel. I know their hands are full with the Hulk and I’m sure they will get into it shortly, as they tell me they intend to. I ran into the Marvel guys at the Hulk premiere and everyone sounded eager to get to work on IM2.

I am concerned, however, about the announced release date of April 2010. Neither Robert nor I were consulted about this and we are both concerned about how realistic the date is in light of the fact that we have no script, story or even writers hired yet. This genre of movie is best when it is done thoughtfully and with plenty of preparation. It might be better to follow the BB/DK, X/X2 three year release pattern than to scramble for a date. It is difficult because there are no Marvel 09 releases and they need product, but I also think we owe it to the fans to have a great version of IM2 and, at this point, we would have less time to make it than the first one.

Owch.

Thomas Scioli on Gødland, Day Jobs and Joe Casey

Thomas Scioli on Gødland, Day Jobs and Joe Casey

Over at The Comics Reporter, Tom Spurgeon has been conducting a great series of weekly interviews that, for no good reason whatsoever, I’ve been neglecting to point out here on ComicMix. It’s time to change that.

His most recent interview, with Gødland co-creator and artist Thomas Scioli, was a real gem. Much like Spurgeon, I’m not very familiar with Scioli himself, but I’ve enjoyed the way he’s channeled Jack Kirby in Gødland ever since I came across the first issue. However, despite the critical praise the series received, Casey and Scioli recently announced that Gødland would end with issue #36.

Spurgeon has a frank chat with the award-winning artist about Gødland, the reasons behind its cancellation, the collaborative process and what he has planned for the future.

Here, Scioli discusses one of the conditions that led to the series’ termination:

The collections did a lot better than the single issues. The first collection was far and away the most successful book. Most of my earnings from this series are from that single volume. Before this series came out, I had a lot of assumptions about what would sell, and I was pretty much wrong. I thought that there was more of a hunger for this type of material. I know this is the kind of comic I’d like to see more of. Maybe my expectations were too high, though. I mean it is the most successful thing I’ve ever been involved in. We sold a lot of comics, relatively speaking, but the number you need to consistently sell to really make a go of it is awfully high.

The main frustration is that I wish there was more room for us. It’s crowded out there. I kept hearing from people who couldn’t get a certain issue because their store sold out of it, or they ordered it but it never showed up at their store. Hearing that kind of thing makes me crazy.

Head over to The Comics Reporter for the full interview, and be sure to check back there every Sunday for more of Spurgeon’s interviews.

New ‘Twilight Zone’ Graphic Novels Announced

New ‘Twilight Zone’ Graphic Novels Announced

  • News
  • June 10, 2008

Earlier this year, publisher Walker Books announced that they would be adapting episodes from the classic television series The Twilight Zone into a series of graphic novels. When the announcement was first made in April, the plan was to release two episodes this September and six more in the future. Today, the publisher released the names of the rest of the  episodes they’ll be adapting.

According to ICv2:

In December, The Monsters are Due on Maple St. from Season 1 and The Odyssey of Flight 33 from Season 2 will be released.

Spring 2009 will see The Midnight Sun and Deaths-Head Revisited, both from Season 3.

And in Fall 2009, Walker will release The Big Tall Wish from Season 1 and Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up from Season 2. 

For those who might have missed the initial announcement, Mark Kneece will be adapting the books from original scripts written by Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. The 72-page, full-color projects will be illustrated by students from the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Sequential Arts Program. The books will retail for $9.99, which seems like a good deal if the projects turn out well.

The first two episodes hitting shelves will be "Walking Distance" and "The After Hours" — with the former holding a special significance in Serling’s life, according to ICv2:

Walking Distance, which is illustrated by Dove McHargue, is one of the most personal of all Serling’s scripts for The Twilight Zone.  It revolves around Martin Sloan, a successful middle-aged man who attempts to re-enter the world of his childhood, (which is based on Serling’s hometown of Binghampton, New York).

(Yes, I know they mispelled "Binghamton." But the books look pretty interesting, eh?)

‘Incredible Hulk’ Countdown Roundup

‘Incredible Hulk’ Countdown Roundup

  • News
  • June 10, 2008

With the release of The Incredible Hulk looming, there have been a few items of note hitting the ‘Net that might be worth, well… noting. While I could probably re-write that sentence to make it read a little better, I think it fits in well with the overall Hulk vibe, which seems to go something like this:

HULK SMASH YOUR PUNY GRAMMAR!

Over at Marvel.com, The Incredible Hulk Smash game is a free, online game in which you play as the Hulk and try to smash everything in sight — which consists of buildings, taxis and military vehicles. Apparently, Hulk really hates taxis. While I understand the whole "power-up" and "super smash" abilities, I’m not quite sure I understand why Hulk is also able to freeze time in this game. But anyways…

Did anyone catch the "Hulk Up" episode of American Gladiators last night? I missed it, but I’d love to hear how that cross-promotion turned out. It was a nice idea, so I’m curious about viewer reaction. At least one reviewer wasn’t impressed. Anyone else have an opinion? Is anyone who reads ComicMix watching American Gladiators?

Feeling a bit nostalgic for the old Hulk television series? SciFi Channel is currently running a marathon of the series, with 10 episodes airing each day until Friday’s film release.

Oh, and on a completely unrelated-to-the-movie but Hulk-related all the same, I wonder if the Elias Hulk album "Unchained" is feeling the effects of all the Hulk mania. Just check out that excellent, semi-NSFW album cover!

Be sure to keep an eye on ComicMix this week for our special ComicMix TV video interviews with the people behind The Incredible Hulk, as well as our review of the film later this week.

MoCCA Recap: Day Two – Fire! Smoke! Sellouts and Links!

MoCCA Recap: Day Two – Fire! Smoke! Sellouts and Links!

Day Two at the MoCCA Art Festival was… an experience.

Except for the few moments when the possibility of dying via fiery inferno was an issue, much of the day felt as if I was slogging through a sweaty, soupy mess thanks to the outdoor conditions and the exhaustion from the previous day (which I detailed in my MoCCA: Day One Recap).

As ComicMix‘s Elayne Riggs pointed out earlier today, the forced evacuation of the Puck Building generated quite a buzz as attendees, guests and staff were asked to leave the building (and its air conditioners) while emergency personnel did their thing. (On a side note, for a comprehensive look at exactly what "doing their thing" meant for the emergency crews, check out Fleen’s MoCCA Emergency ’08 report.)

Okay, confession time: When the fire alarm first started ringing, I honestly thought somebody in the room had won something… and according to a few reliable sources, I started clapping.

Apparently, all the bells, whistles and sirens I’ve been exposed to over the last few years at larger conventions have succeeded in reversing decades of training regarding what to do when I hear an alarm. Nevertheless, it looks like I won’t die alone.

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Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #6 – The Doctor’s Daughter

Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #6 – The Doctor’s Daughter

The hit BBC series Doctor Who is now in its fourth season on the Sci-Fi Channel, and since we’re all big fans here at ComicMix, we’ve decided to kick off an episode-by-episode analysis of the reinvigorated science-fiction classic.

Every week, we’ll have our best Who-philes go through the most recent episode with a fine-tooth comb (or whatever the "sonic screwdriver" equivalent might be) and call out all of the continuity checks, names dropped and storyline hints we can find to keep in mind for future episodes. We’ll post our analysis each Monday, so you have ample time to check out the episode once it airs each Friday at 9 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel before reading our review.

Missed a week? Check out our "Doctor Who in Review" archive or check out any of the past editions of this column via the links at the end of this article.

Keep in mind, we’re going to assume readers have already watched the episode when we put fingers to keyboard and come up with our roundup of important plot points. In other words, SPOILER ALERT!

Let’s begin now, shall we?

Season Four, Episode #6: "The Doctor’s Daughter"

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MoCCA Recap: Day One – Heat, Buzz, Star Wars and Dinosaur Comics

With one day down, I still feel pretty good about declaring MoCCA Arts Festival my favorite comics event thus far this season.

Sure, it doesn’t have the numbers or names of New York Comic Con or San Diego’s Comic-Con International, but it also doesn’t have 100,000 people vying for seats in 1,000-chair auditoriums and competing, mind-numbingly overpowered loudpseakers at every other booth. What it does have, however, is a great opportunity to actually meet, greet and have an honest-to-goodness conversation with professionals at every level of the industry.

So how did the first day go?

Well, I arrived a few hours after the doors opened to the show — just about the time the weather outside turned from "oppressive" to "unbearable," but before the transition to "stay the hell inside at all costs" occurred. After bumping into Fleen.com’s Gary Tyrrell, the main mustache himself took me on a whirlwind tour of the show, culminating with my purchase of Harvest Is When I Need You The Most, the Star Wars fanbook featuring the work of eight cartoonists paying homage to the film franchise. The Harvest crew had only brought 50 with them to the show, and I believe I purchased one of the last dozen-or-so remaining.

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