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Dylan Dog has sold over 60 million copies all over the world making it one of the most popular comic books around. Courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, we examine the history behind Dylan Dog and the Italian comic series that was created by and originated in 1986. We will give fans background information on Dylan’s character and adventures, as well as educate fans of the flick to explain differences between the film and comic version.
Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) stars as Dylan Dog, a supernatural detective who will go where the living dare not — facing friend and foe alike in the monster infested backstreets of New Orleans. Armed with an edgy wit and an arsenal of silver and wood-tipped bullets, Dylan must solve a series of murders before an epic war ensues between his werewolf, vampire and zombie clients. Based on one of the world’s most popular comic books (over 60 million copies sold), this inventive horror comedy will slay you with humor and genuine frights.
Acclaimed horror director Kevin Munroe (TMNT) guides this comedic cast, which also includes Taye Diggs (Private Practice), Peter Stormare (Minority Report), Sam Huntington (Being Human) and (Kurt Angle (Death From Above). (more…)
Time to adjust your movie calendars as Warner Bros admitted today that having Zack Snyder’s Superman: Man of Steel film for Christmas 2012 was impossible. The new date is now June 14, nestled between two Marvel sequels.
Given the effects-heavy movie’s post-production requirements and the fact is has yet to start shooting, it seems likely that production concerns forced Warner’s hand. It’s also theorized that the testosterone-laden film might not play as well during the holidays given the Academy Award contenders that normally crowd multiplexes during that time of the year. There are also other genre competitors that will suck up screens, complicating the planned release including Warners’ own first installment of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit in addition to Disney’s planned reboot of The Lone Ranger. Back in the far simpler 1970s, Superman the Movie opened for the holidays and performed quite well and Warners was hoping for lightning to strike twice.
Instead, it will now face off against similar competition bringing May 3 with Iron Man 3. DreamWorks’ kid-oriented Turbo precedes Superman on June 7 and is followed by Pixar’s Monster University on June 21 so there’s little live-action, adult competition and now studios know which weekends to avoid. Marvel’s Thor 2 follows a month later on July 26.
The extra six months will afford Snyder plenty of time to perfect the script, which has to be note perfect after the disappointment of this summer’s Green Lantern. It also means producer Christopher Nolan will be done with his The Dark Knight Rises in plenty of time to have a more active role in overseeing the production.
TimeWarner has to release the film in 2013 to satisfy legal obligations arising from the Siegel Estate’s lawsuit that saw elements of the Superman mythos awarded to them, the repercussions of which are being seen this fall in the Superman reboot from TW’s DC Entertainment division.
September is shaping up to be a marvelous month for comics fans. Not only does the DC Universe reboot,ut while awaiting issues to be released, you can rewatch your favorite heroes on DVD. 20th Century Home Entertainment just announced X-Men: First Class is coming to disc on September 9 ( a rare Friday release) and on the following Tuesday, the 13th, Thor will arrive from Paramount Home Entertainment. Here are the details:
Before they were superheroes, the fate of humanity depended on an extraordinary group of youngsters who went on to become X-MEN: FIRST CLASS. Based on the international bestselling Marvel Comics franchise, this box office hit bursts onto Blu-ray and DVD Friday, September 9 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. For the first time ever, “X-Men” fans will have the power to choose a side between Professor X and Magneto with two versions of premium collectible Blu-ray packaging. Also exclusively on Blu-ray, fans receive access to over two hours of special interactive features PLUS ten Marvel “X-Men” Digital Comics including a never-before-seen “X-Men: First Class” backstory— redeemable through each Blu-ray’s unique packaging code.
Director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Kick Ass) tells the true origins of the multi-billion dollar film franchise, guiding exceptional performances by Golden Globe®-nominee James McAvoy (Atonement), Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds), and Golden Globe®-winner Kevin Bacon (“Taking Chance,” Mystic River). A “rare movie event that balances an intelligent story with solid performances, first-rate action and top-of-the-line special effects” (Ben Lyons, E!), X-MEN: FIRST CLASS has drawn an impressive $150 million at the domestic box office and nearly $350 million worldwide.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9Aq7TWRevI[/youtube]
Before STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA hits shelves on September 16, fans can get a sneak peak at the 40+ hours of bonus footage on the Blu-ray collection through the Star Wars Blu-ray: Early Access App. The App, available for all iDevices including the iPad and iPhone will highlight a sampling of bonus materials featured in the Blu-ray collection, including never-before-seen content sourced from the Lucasfilm Archives such as matte paintings and concept art; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; and more.
For fans lucky enough to score a ticket to Comic-Con, stop by booth #3528 to check out the App and get an even bigger sneak peek at the Blu-ray Disc and experience one of the Saga’s most iconic moments from a unique, in-universe vantage point!
What would you do if you could fully tap your brain’s capabilities? Every generation or so, the question is pondered, thanks to the latest breakthroughs or studies in neuroscience. It makes for an interesting discussion and sometimes, brilliant works such as Flowers for Algernon (the great book by Daniel Keyes, and Charly the movie with Cliff Robertson). The most recent addition to this sub-genre of fiction is The Dark Fields, a novel by Alan Glynn, which became the basis for the movie [[[Limitless]]], which was released on DVD this week by Twentieth-Century Fox Home Entertainment.
If you were Eddie Morra, you apparently turn into something unlike yourself. We meet him teetering atop a high-rise as people bang on his security door to enter his apartment fortress. Flashing back, we learn what happened to turn a slacker into a genius. Leslie Dixon’s screenplay, which makes huge changes from the novel, shows us a sad sack, but a sad sack with a novel contract, unable to write. After months of not writing and living like a slob, he meets his book editor girlfriend Lindy only to be dumped.
A chance meeting with the brother of his ex-wife introduces him to the experimental drug NZT-48 which clarifies his thinking, making him hyper-aware of the world around him and focuses his mind, allowing him to accomplish more in a day than he has in six months. We see him write the overdue first chapters and actually hand printed pages to his stunned editor (mostly because editors so rarely see printed anything until the final book, but I digress).
The brother-in-law winds up dead and Eddie locates and steals the remaining supply of the drug and begins using them with increasing regularity to take his newfound powers of concentration and improve his life. He masters the piano, learns multiple languages, can see trends and capitalize on them– and here’s where both book and movie begin to veer off course. Rather than tap the creative energies that led to Eddie’s career, he somehow switches gears to become a day trader to get rich and then moves into the financial world. Meantime, his drug dependency grows and weird things begin to happen to him. (more…)
Doctor Who, under producer Steven Moffat, feels very different than that of the shows from Russell T. Davies. In some ways, it feels as if Moffat needs to top Davies so we go from the terrifying Weeping Angels to The Silence. And we go younger, with Matt Smith as Eleventh Doctor, the youngest yet. Everything old is new again, it seems, while a show once aimed strictly at kids is now being criticized for being too scary for the audience.
The new season, Series 6 of the reboot, is the first to be shown in halves, a marketing device that cable channels in the USA have been quite successful using, nabbing viewers during major network lull periods. It also provides a dramatic cliffhanger, which may be thrilling for viewers but no doubt causes headaches for the producers.
Speaking of commercial, BBC Video, distributed here through Warner Home Video, today releases Doctor Who Series 6 Part 1, collecting the seven episodes aired to date while we eagerly await part two this fall (with Part 2 and Complete Series 6 DVDs no doubt to come).
Moffat has introduced meta arcs and mini arcs that require a fair amount of attention and makes the series increasingly difficult to attract newcomers. Miss an episode and vital clues to the Big Picture are absent, potentially confusing the viewer the next time a story is watched.
At this point, the Doctor, along with Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), has settled into a comfortable relationship. The couple continues to act like newlyweds and the Doctor delights in having them around. As a result, it’s business as usual with the opening two-parter “The Impossible Astronaut”/ “The Day of the Moon” which sets up the big threat, that of The Silence, referenced in previous seasons and made manifest here. They are an eerie addition, for sure, but what they want and how they’ll be defeated seem saved for the second half season. We also learn Amy is pregnant and the little girl, who manages to call President Nixon and ask for help, leads audiences to believe she is Amy’s child. The story opens with the Doctor being shot dead but we discover he’s a Doctor from 200 years into the future so the duo conceals this information only to fret about it in every subsequent episode. (more…)
Paranormal crime scenes combined with comedic mishaps are all in a day’s work for New Orleans’ most surreptitious investigator in DYLAN DOG: DEAD OF NIGHT. The producers of Terminator Salvation and Cowboys & Aliens introduce audiences to a whole new genre of dark fantasy filmmaking that blends crime-fighting and humor in this tongue-in-cheek supernatural horror in the spirit of Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead.
Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) stars as Dylan Dog, a supernatural detective who will go where the living dare not facing friend and foe alike in the monster infested backstreets of New Orleans. Armed with an edgy wit and an arsenal of silver and wood-tipped bullets, Dylan must solve a series of murders before an epic war ensues between his werewolf, vampire and zombie clients. Based on one of the world’s most popular comic books (over 60 million copies sold), this inventive horror comedy will slay you with humor and genuine frights.
Acclaimed horror director Kevin Munroe (TMNT) guides this comedic cast, which also includes Taye Diggs (Private Practice), Peter Stormare (Minority Report), Sam Huntington (Being Human) and Kurt Angle (Death From Above).
Dylan Dog: Dead of Night is available July 26 as a 1-disc Blu-ray and a 1-disc DVD.
For your chance of winning one of three DVD copies of Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, courtesy of our friends at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, simply answer the following question:
In Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, what city does Dylan Dog practice his supernatural investigations?
The winner will be selected from the proper answers submitted by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, July 26.The judgment of ComicMix is final.
After years of seeming neglect, now everyone seems to be jumping on the John Carter bandwagon. No, not the Noah Wylie character from ER, but Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic hero. A Civil War vet suddenly finds himself on a strange new world, with powers and abilities that make him far above your normal human. The Mars novels are great pulp fiction and have longed to be revived for a new generation and that time appears to be today.
Not only is Dynamic Forces producing comics material based on the novels, but now Marvel Comics is jumping onto the bandwagon with a series of authorized comics based on the parent comapny’s 2012 spring release, John Carter. Directed by Pixar’s Andrew Stanton, the trailer was released to universal acclaim.
Now comes word of the October arrival of John Carter: World of Mars, a prequel miniseries from Peter David with interior art by Luke Ross and covers by Esad Ribic.
According to a press release, John Carter: World of Mars #1 reveals the shocking events that transpire before the motion-picture story begins by showing fans just how John Carter, Princess Dejah Thoris and Tars Tarkas are set on the path that would bring them all together. Amidst this brutal thousand-year war, find out what decisions were made that let events escalate this far—and why.
“We’re thrilled to bring fans their first look at the world of John Carter before the blockbuster film wows audiences next year,” said Axel Alonso, Marvel Editor In Chief. “It’s been a pleasure working with Disney, Peter and Luke to craft a powerful story that will appeal to both the legions of John Carter fans and those who are new to this exciting world.”
Stanton adds, “I am really thrilled to be collaborating with Disney & Marvel on this project and look forward to audiences exploring the world of John Carter via this exciting comic offering. I have wanted to see this property on the big screen since I was a young boy and hope that John Carter: World of Mars will excite and inspire fans of the series much like I was inspired many years ago.”
The miniseries debuts in October with a trade collection expected in time for the March 9, 2012 feature film release.
Growing up, there was nothing more captivating than Frank Frazetta’s amazing cover paintings for the Science Fiction Book Club editions of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter series of novels set on Barsoom, er, Mars.
While there have been many abortive attempts at adapting John Carter as a cartoon or live-action film, we’re finally getting one with a strong pedigree. Pixar’s first live-action film, directed by Andrew Stanton, is shaping up to be 2012’s first blockbuster. Opening March 9, it leads a super-heroic slate of films and now the first trailer for the feature is available.
From a screenplay by Andrew Stanton & Mark Andrews and Michael Chabon the movie stars Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Daryl Sabara, Polly Walker, Bryan Cranston, with Thomas Haden Church and Willem Dafoe.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, here’s the studio’s official synopsis: The studio goes on to note: From Academy Award®–winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton comes John Carter—a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). John Carter is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.
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Columns / Glenn Hauman / News
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