By ‘UK Correspondent’ Steve Morris
The last-ever Eagle Awards have just concluded here in good ol’ Blighty (that means Britain), with the ceremony due to switch names over to “The MCM Awards” in 2013. End of an era, awards-fans! In lieu of us not liveblogging the awards ceremony Oscars-style (complete with a drinking game in which you have to down a pint every time Scott Snyder wins something), here is the complete list of winners:
Remember when we told you all about the wonderful Italian Dylan Dog comic series from writer Tiziano Sclavi? It became a less than beloved feature film adaptation which was released on DVD earlier this month from director Kevin Munroe.
Well, we have obtained three copies of the perfect blend of sources as Munroe has autographed copies of Dark Horse Comics’ The Dylan Dog Case Files, an omnibus collecting Dylan Dog #1-6 and Dylan Dog: Zed. The book also has a cool Mike Mignola cover.
Between now and 11:59 p.m. Saturday, September 3, tell us what makes the international comic so good and we’ll pick the three best answers. The judgment of ComicMix will be final.
I first encountered the legend of Dylan Dog back when I was trying to cover foreign comics while at Comics Scene and then wrote about the film adaptation a while back over at Famous Monster of Filmland. A PI in the world of things that go bump in the night sounded like a lot of fun. That the Italian comic has been running for decades also spoke to its creative spark and the genius of Tiziano Sclavi. Then I saw that this was going to Brandon Routh’s third film based on a comic book and figured he was 1 for 2 so far (entertaining in Scott Pilgrim, not served well by Superman Return’s lousy script) and might improve his average. He had certainly improved as an actor, as witnessed by Fear Itself and his recurring role on Chuck.
The trailers certainly made the movie look lighthearted and wonky, much like the comic source material so there was reason to be encouraged. The movie then opened and closed so fast there was little time to determine what went wrong (and if anything went right). 20th Century Home Entertainment pulled out all the stops (including a fun, interactive Facebook page) to promote the DVD, which arrived last week, making you think maybe this was some sort of overlook gem that just needed better marketing.
Nope. The film is still a creative misfire that pays the barest lip-service to the comics and carved its own niche of awfulness. Set in a supernatural New Orleans, the film features Routh as Dylan Dog, a former PI specializing in monsters but now just down on his luck. He’s lured back in to the world of vampires, werewolves, and zombies by those who wish to keep their existence low key so angry mobs don’t show up on a weekly basis. He’s hired by Elizabeth (Anita Briem), who saw a werewolf murder her father and steal the movie’s McGuffin, the Heart of Belial. Yes, rather than your typical investigation, Dylan immediately gets dragged back into the monster realm in time to prevent the end of the world. (more…)
Dylan Dog: Dead of Night played for about three weeks in the spring and is being released Tuesday by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment on Blu-ray. In an exclusive conversation with ComicMix, director Kevin Munroe talked about the experience.
Munroe first came to attention with his revival of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, released in 2007 as TMNT and is absolutely no stranger to comics. “Yeah, I think I started with Sgt. Rock and then the European titles which I read growing up on the east coast of Canada. I read Tin Tin, Lucky Luke, Asterix then discovered Plastic Man, “he said.
An avid comic book fan, Munroe became an artist and found work storyboarding episodes of Nickelodeon’s Hey Arnold! before scripting and producing ABC Family’s Christmas special Donner. Comics weren’t far from his mind, though as he wound up writing Dark Horse Comics’ El Zombo Fantasma, with Dave Wilkins. His other comics work includes Olympus Heights from IDW.
Given his work with Dark Horse, Munroe found himself in consideration for the director’s chair at a fortuitous time. “That was happenstance,” he admitted. “I heard of the project, while doing my own project for Dark Horse. I saw they had just done the first issue of the American edition of Dylan Dog and I picked it up. The series had everything I liked about comics.”
His fan interests certainly informed his career choices and he’s perfectly happy finding ways to adapt comics to the screen. “I think comics are such rich world and it’s just so easy to do,” Munroe explained. “I’m a fan on a visceral level. I like how active it is to read a comic and see the pacing and hear the voices in your head. Personally, I get a kick out of it. Where are the best stories being told? In comics. Who has the best characters? They take their time; create an entire world and mythos.” (more…)
Italy’s Dylan Dog is interesting in that it is one of the first foreign comics adapted by Americans for the big screen. With the video release of the little seen feature film coming July 26, we were given to consider the foreign comics we know as readers and may have never seen the film versions. The first adaptation of Dylan Dog was a homegrown effort, 1994’s Dellamorte Dellamore (known in English as Cemetery Man or Of Death and Love) from director Michele Soavi.
Other countries have tried their hand at adapting their homegrown comics as films, with about the same level of fidelity and success as most American attempts. For example, there the dreadful 1966 movie based on Peter O’Donnell’s brilliant Modesty Blaise. Not to be outdone in awfulness, America tried their hand at a prime time series, starring Ann Turkel. The 1982 ABC pilot aired and got some reasonable reviews but Americanizing it robbed the show of its charm. The direct-to-video My Name is Modesty, released in 2004, was far worse.
America didn’t do any better with Britain’s beloved Judge Dredd. Danny Cannon and Sylvester Stallone share credit for ruining a wonderful concept with their ham-fisted 1995 feature film.
Italy’s Danger: Diabolik was turned into a 1968 feature film from horromeister Mario Bava based on the Italian comic character Diabolik, a 1962 creation by Angela and Luciana Giussani. The film is noteworthy simply because it was bad enough to be used as the final episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
More iconic was the 1968 film from director Roger Vadim, based on Jean-Claude Forest’s Barbarella. Starring Jane Fonda, it was psychedelic and campy and tremendous fun. Maybe that’s why attempts at a remake have stalled; hitting those notes is a trick most filmmakers today struggle with. John Philip Law deserves credit for appearing in both Diabolik and Barbarella in this year, showing his agent had no taste.
Maybe they should just faithfully adapt the source material much as the successful series about everyone’s favorite Gaul, Asterix, who has starred in 11 films since 1967.
They all could have taken lessons from Japan which pays a lot more fealty to the source material when adapting manga to anime or film to manga. A prime example is the seven films based on Lone Wolf and Cub. The first screened in America in the 1980s under the title Sword of Vengeance, just as comics fans were being introduced to First Comics’ editions of the classic tale. Shogun Assassin, also shown in the US, took the first film and a chunk of the second and for people unfamiliar with the concept, as I was when I screened it for Fangoria, it was eye-opening. Known as the Baby Cart series, they launched in 1972 and remained revered.
Of course, Belgium’s Tin Tin will take his turn this winter but that’s a story for another day.
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…)
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.
If you love DC UNIVERSE ONLINE, Marvel‘s new MMO is set to blow your mind, plus we take a few minutes to talk to RULES OF ENGAGEMENT‘s darling SARA RUE.
Drop us a comment below!
There’s more on Dylan Dog as we talk with director Kevin Munroe and stars Brandon Routh and Sam Huntington about all things scary including their own fears, plus [[[Smallville]]] fans get ready to sell a kidney!
Do you think [[[Dylan Dog]]] can take this weekend’s Box Office? Drop us a comment below!
Finally making it into theaters on April 29th, Dylan Dog: Dead Of Night is a new horror/comedy film based on one of the world’s most popular comics (originally published in Italy, 60 million copies worldwide, published in America by Dark Horse). Brandon Routh stars as Dylan Dog, world famous private investigator specializing in affairs of the undead. His business card reads “No Pulse? No Problem.”
Armed with an edgy wit and carrying an arsenal of silver and wood-tipped bullets, Dylan must track down a dangerous artifact before a war ensues between his werewolf, vampire and zombie clients living undercover in the monster infested backstreets of New Orleans.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vt4VA-6Zqc[/youtube]
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