Tagged: Sci-Fi

Atari Comics Receive Digital Reprint

Atari Comics Receive Digital Reprint

  • News
  • March 13, 2008

The Steam online digital distrubution system announced that Atari PC games would be added to their catalog of programs. One of the games, Atari 80 Classics in 1, is more of a bargain then meets the eye. A collection of retro Atari games from the arcades and the Atari 2600 game system, the package includes a bonus not listed in any of the marketing materials.

Each game in the collection has an Extras bonus content section. Usually this includes box art and original manuals. But the Atari archivists were very thorough and included the bonus mini-comics that were published in conjunction with DC Comics. These comics, while never valuable, do entertain on a cult status level. Atari comics had surprisingly high quality for what was essentially a marketing pack-in item.

Comics included in the collection are as follows:

Swordquest #1-3. Written by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway, but the real star of these comics is the amazingly great art by George Perez and Dick Giordano. Swordquest was intended to be an epic multi-part adventure game. Each game in the series would include a comic to explain the story while the games would be puzzle adventures based on mythology.

Atari Force #3. Sci-fi from Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas. Artists included Ross Andru, Gil Kane, Dick Giordano and Mike DeCarlo. Atari Force proved popular enough that DC Comics published a second volume in the regular, monthly comic format. Unfortunately, the games collection only includes one of the issues since the rights for the other games that included the comics are no longer held by Atari.

Centipede #1. A light-hearted kids’ book in the style of Harvey Comics. An evil wizard turns Oliver the Elf’s forest friends into monsters. Who knew Centipede had a deep back story? We thought we were just shooting bugs.

Atari 80 Classics in 1 is available at Steampowered.com for $18.95. That’s 80 games and five hard-to-find comics… Why not?

Updates on ‘Thor’ and ‘Ant Man’ Films

Updates on ‘Thor’ and ‘Ant Man’ Films

  • News
  • March 10, 2008

Empire Online has the latest news on two Marvel movies currently in development, Ant Man and Thor, straight from the mouths of the directors behind the projects.

Ant Man is being written and directed by Edgar Wright, the English director responsible for Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. In regards to the pint-sized hero’s big screen adaptation, Wright said:

“It’s written and we’re doing a second draft of it,” said Wright. “It’s going to be less overtly comedic than anything else I’ve ever done. It’s more of a full-on action adventure sci-fi film but with a comedic element – in the same spirit of a lot of escapist fare like that. It’s certainly not a superhero spoof or pastiche and it certainly isn’t a sort of ‘Honey I Shrunk The Kids’ endeavor at all.”

Wright was mum on the subject of casting and whether or not the Ant Man in the film will be Scott Lang or fan favorite Hank Pym.

While Ant Man is chugging right along, the god of thunder seems to be stuck in neutral. The film adaptation of Thor, scheduled to be directed by Matthew Vaughn (Stardust, Layer Cake), is currently in a holding pattern until the parties involved decide on the future of the project.. The Odinson hath been forsaken.

 

ComicMix Broadcast Blog: Indie Online and New York Comic Con

ComicMix Broadcast Blog: Indie Online and New York Comic Con

  • News
  • March 9, 2008

Our process here is simple – at the end of every weekend we clear off our desk and give you the links for things we’ve covered recently on ComicMix Radio. Ready to click?

Add Jonathan Hickman’s  all new miniseries, Pax Romana, to the list of cool indie comics now available online. Here is the first issue. Jonathan hopes it inspires you to go seek out the second issue which hit comic stores last week.

ABC announced the creation of Stage 9 Digital Media, a separate creative studio dedicated to producing original series for the Internet. Their  first project, Squeeges, is available here . The 10-episode series was created by a comedy troupe that calls itself "Handsome Donkey." New episodes  will appear on ABC.com and on YouTube each Monday and Friday. Other projects in the works include a sci-fi thriller called Trenches from Shane Felux (creator of fan film Star Wars: Revelations). Meanwhile, more Hollywood talent is jumping to the online world. Actress Justine Bateman (Family Ties), writer/producer Jill Kushner (The Ellen DeGeneres Show), Peter Murrieta (Wizards of Waverly Place) and Alan Sereboff (Snowblind) are working on an original web video portal.

Get ready for a big career move as cable network Chiller is once again hosting the "Dare to Direct Contest" where fans are invited to write, produce and submit short horror films. Prizes and the chance to be featured on Chiller’s 2008 Dare to Direct to Direct Film Festival on Halloween night will go to the finalists and winners. All contest rules and information can be found at Dare2Direct.com.

Michael Agrusso, comic book action figure director, has put together a trio of videos to help promote the New York Comic Con. See them here. Meanwhile, the NY Con itself has produced new guest lists that include a huge Artist Alley, reserved for comic book and pop culture creators — both legendary as well as emerging — and including Mark Buckingham, C.B. Cebulski, Colleen Doran, Danny Fingeroth, Keith Giffen, Bob Layton, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Monte Moore, Rags Morales, John Romita, Jr., Jim Shooter, and Jim Valentino. New additions are added almost daily and the complete listing is available.

This week on ComicMix Radio, find out a few interesting tidbits about the upcoming end of DC’s weekly series Countdown from the guy at the center of it all, Keith Giffen, plus some interesting notes from MegaCon, the list of new comics and DVDs previewed, and more.

Got a busy week coming up? Don’t miss anything by subscribing to ComicMix Radio on  iTunes - ComicMix or RSS right now!

 

‘Doctor Who’ Videogame On the Way

‘Doctor Who’ Videogame On the Way

  • News
  • March 7, 2008

Hot on the heals of our other various videogame announcements and some recent spoilers concerning a certain Time Lord and a show that’s popular here at ComicMix, word now comes from the site Videogaming247 that a videogame based on the hugely popular Doctor Who BBC television series is on the way.

According to the site, video game producer Edios confirmed the game is in active development and is being made for various gaming platforms including the PC, Sony PS2 and the Nintendo DS.

When asked to confirm the game was, in fact, in development, an unnamed rep for Edios said:

“That is correct. We haven’t announced a release date at the moment. It’s not too far away. We should be showing it to [press] quite soon.”

Well, there you go. Even though details are still mostly unknown right now, it doesn’t seem like eager fans will have to wait too long to know more about the game — and that’s great for them.

For me, if I had a choice, I would actually prefer a game based on a different BBC Sci-Fi show. A show that I actually like quite a bit: Torchwood. With all the innuendo, sex, aliens and action, that would be a cool game. Anyone else fancy a game of Torchwood?

Rumor: New ‘Doctor Who’ Doctor and New Cast for ‘Torchwood’?

Rumor: New ‘Doctor Who’ Doctor and New Cast for ‘Torchwood’?

  • News
  • March 6, 2008

SciFi Pulse is reporting rumors of major changes in the works for two of the BBC’s most popular sci-fi series, Doctor Who and Torchwood. These changes include a complete cast overhaul for Torchwood, and rumors about the future of both David Tennant, the current Doctor in Doctor Who, as well as his most recent companion, played by Catherine Tate.

If any aspects of the rumors are true, they’re pretty much the definition of the word "spoiler" — so consider yourself warned!

In order to give the spoiler-phobic among ComicMix readers a fighting a chance at avoidance, I’ve posted some details about the revelations after the jump.

 

 

 

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D&D Co-Creator E. Gary Gygax: 1938 – 2008

D&D Co-Creator E. Gary Gygax: 1938 – 2008

  • News
  • March 4, 2008

Chances are if you love comic books, sci-fi, fantasy and other great things like these, you’ve probably also played Dungeons & Dragons at one time or another as well. I’m not embarrassed to admit I used to play it quite a lot and before the days of the sophisticated computer and console games we have now, it was a great way to get together with a bunch of friends, roll the 20-sided-dice and kick some Beholder butt.

So, it’s sad news today to report that Gary Gygax, co-creator of D&D, co-founder of Tactical Studies Rules (TSR) and generally regarded as the "Father of the Role-Playing Game" has passed away. The news was first reported on the Troll Lord Games Forums but now has spread across the Internets with postings at various other sites. Plus, his Wikipedia page has also already been updated.

Born on July 27, 1938, Ernest Gary Gygax took his love of Avalon Hill wargames and his passion for the works of Robert E. Howard, J.R.R. Tolkien, Fritz Leiber, and other great sword and sorcery authors and created D&D. He also co-founded Tactical Studies Rules, the company that published the game.

After D&D, Gygax went on to create the Dangerous Journeys and Lejendary Adventure RPGs, as well as a number of board games. He also wrote several fantasy novels. Over the years, Gygax became an icon to gamers and developed a huge following of fans, even appearing as himself in an episode of the show Futurama.

ComicMix’s own Glenn Hauman had a personal connection to Gygax.

"I met Gary a few years back, and he was a complete gentleman," said Hauman. "Ironically, he died on GM’s Day, a day created by various role-playing aficionados to pay tribute to the one who holds your character’s life in your hands. Gary’s influence on the gaming industry is immeasurable, and he will be dearly missed."

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

First Look: ‘Doctor Who’ Season Four

First Look: ‘Doctor Who’ Season Four

  • News
  • February 15, 2008

 

Wow. There are more spoilers, rumors and plot predictions than you can shake a stick at in this post over at io9.

However, if Doctor Who fans can resist the urge to scroll down through the full post (where the spoilers for Lost, Sarah Connor Chronicles and other series are collected), there’s also a great video preview of the sci-fi series’ much anticipated fourth season.

The video has been appearing in British movie theaters, and features (among other things) the return of Rose Tyler and Martha Jones, the creepy Ood from "The Impossible Planet" episode in Season Two, and a massive wasp. Good times are in store for the Doctor, it seems.

 

Free Comic Book Day Titles Announced

  • News
  • February 15, 2008

Free Comic Book Day is fast approaching, and the titles that will be available on that magical day at your local comic shop are now posted on the official FCBD website. Movie and television tie-ins look like the name of the game again this year, with Marvel, Dark Horse and IDW all offering titles based on current or upcoming big- and small-screen projects.

Of course, be sure to keep in mind that you can always find free comics here on ComicMix every day of the year, so if you dig that whole "free comics" scene, make sure you check out our archive of free comics.

But I digress…

Some of the highlights of the 2008 Free Comic Book Day titles include:

First-issue reprints of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All Star Superman and the kids-oriented Tiny Titans, by Art Baltazar and Franco, comprise DC’s FCBD offernigs — and should definitely generate some interest in the collected All Star Superman editions.

Marvel offers up another original issue with a FCBD 2008 story involving the X-Men. With a Mike Carey script and art by Greg Land, it looks like the Merry Marvel Marketing Machine certainly didn’t phone it in on the free stuff. Oh, and as a tie-in to the upcoming big-screen debut of Iron Man, they’re also offering a Marvel Adventures story featuring Iron Man and the Mandarin.

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Fan Comics Celebrate ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Torchwood’

Fan Comics Celebrate ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Torchwood’

  • News
  • February 12, 2008

Pia Guerra may have her work cut out for her.  While Guerra’s first issue of IDW’s Doctor Who comic book series is scheduled to come out in July, fan-drawn strips about the British sci-fi phenomenon and its spinoffs are already well underway.

Pseudonymous LiveJournal bloggers calling themselves spastasmagoria and jigglykat have created Torchwood Babiez, which is so unbearably adorable it could give Cute Overload a run for its money.  So far the ladies are up to Page 10, and they’re just getting rolling.

Meanwhile, Rich Morris is currently up to Page 81 of his wonderful strip The Ten Doctors, which can be enjoyed by casual viewers of the show but is really designed for the more fanatic trivia buff who remembers over a quarter century of Doctors, companions, villains and planets.  Only three of the story pages have been inked and colored so far, but Rich’s art is worthwhile even in pencil form.

Doubtless there are a ton of other fan-based comics making the rounds; we’d be especially interested to see any paying tribute to the kid-friendly "Sarah Jane Chronicles."

On This Day: The First Science-Fiction Television Program

On This Day: The First Science-Fiction Television Program

  • News
  • February 11, 2008

Today in 1938, the Brits did television a mitzvah when the BBC created the first sci-fi TV show, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Capek play "R.U.R.", which coined the term "robot."

For those of you who thought "The Matrix" was revolutionary, it was Capek who introduced androids that rebel against their human creators. We’re also pretty sure she wasn’t the first to think that one up either (the first probably being the golem stories from the Talmud).

Anyway, the piece was translated from Czech to English, which explains the etymology of the word, "Robot." In its original Slo, "robota" means "work."

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