Tagged: Spider-Man

Barack Obama, Fanboy

Barack Obama, Fanboy

  • News
  • November 13, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama is apparently closer to our audience than any of his predecessors.  According to “The 50 Facts You Might Not Know” in the London Telegraph, the following information has emerged:

• He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics
• He has read every Harry Potter book
• His favorite films are Casablanca and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
• He enjoys playing Scrabble and poker
• He uses an Apple Mac laptop
• His favorite fictional television programs are M*A*S*H and The Wire

So the question is this: does he prefer Barry Windsor-Smith or John Buscmea’s depiction of the Cimmerian?

Review: ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 3: Wolves at the Gate’ by various

Review: ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 3: Wolves at the Gate’ by various

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 3: Wolves at the Gate
Written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard; Illustrated by Georges Jeanty
Dark Horse, October 2008, $15.95

I have to admit something right up front, by quoting myself:

Not only have I never read any [[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]] comics, I’ve never seen the TV show – or the movie it spawned from, or the [[[Angel]]] spin-off show. Nor have I played any Buffy card games, fondled the increasing number of muppet-y creatures, written BtVS fan-fiction, or attended Buffy-centric conventions.

So I came to [[[Wolves at the Gate]]] a complete innocent. Sure, I have a vague sense of who Buffy and the rest of the Scooby gang are – see? I even know the term “Scooby gang” – but not much more than that. I was surprised to see the guy named Xander has only one eye, for example, and I imagine most of the people reading this have had entire conversations about whatever episode it was when he lost the other one.

I didn’t think that would be a big problem, but one of the first things I realized after opening Wolves at the Gate was that it wasn’t aimed at people like me. When the plot synopsis on the inside front cover says things like “these Slayers must prepare for an impending war with humans and a mysterious new Big Bad, Twilight” and “Also, Dawn: still large-ish,” it’s clear that this series is to let those who are already fans revel in their knowledge and have some more stories about characters they already love.

And that’s cool for them, it’s just that, y’know, I have to figure out how to review this thing. (My apologies: the aggressively colloquial, post-Mamet cross-talk is infectious.)

(more…)

‘Watchmen’ Tops 3Q Sales Charts

‘Watchmen’ Tops 3Q Sales Charts

  • News
  • November 11, 2008

ICv2

reports that graphic novels tied to feature film release saw a massive increase in third quarter sales.

“Sales of the Watchmen graphic novel exploded after the trailer hit theaters and it will clearly be the number one graphic novel of 2008, but a number of Batman-related graphic novels including The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight Returns also showed huge increases in sales, while Mark Millar’s Wanted graphic novel published by Top Cow clearly benefited from having a hit movie adaptation,” the site noted.

As the summer features arrive on DVD for the holidays, additional trade sales are anticipated.  Marvel cannily released additional Iron Man product when the related DVD came out September 29.

Manga did not suffer according to the site’s analysis, saying “Viz Media’s shojo series Vampire Knight, the top Manga series to debut in 2007 gained strength in 2008 and Viz Media also has one of the best new series of 2008, Rosario & Vampire, but with the maturing of the Manga market, the number of new releases slated for 2009 is declining, though the quality of those new series appears to be going up.”

Top Superhero Properties–Q3 08

1 Watchmen, DC
2 Batman, DC
3 Spider-Man, Marvel
4 Wanted, Top Cow
5 League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, DC/Wildstorm
6 Iron Man, Marvel
7 Marvel Zombies, Marvel
8 Hulk, Marvel9 Superman, DC
10 Green Lantern DC

Top Genre Properties–Q3 08

1 Star Wars, Dark Horse

2 Y: The Last Man, DC/Vertigo
3 Indiana Jones, Dark Horse
4 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dark Horse
5 Dark Tower, Marvel
6 Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Marvel
7 The Walking Dead, Image
8 Fables, DC/Vertigo
9 Sandman, DC/Vertigo
10 Angel, IDW

Top Latino Super-Heroes Ranked

Top Latino Super-Heroes Ranked

  • News
  • November 9, 2008

Websites like to make lists. Lots of lists.  One that caught our eye recently was over at Dark Fantasy which surveyed the top 12 Latino super-heroes.

The site notes that the list is “heavy on Marvel, light on DC and indies, and biased toward the time periods when I happened to be keeping up with comics.” As a result, modern day Latino heroes, especially DC’s current Blue Beetle is conspicuously absent.

“The most disturbing trend is the overwhelming dominance of white or light-skinned Latinos. On the one hand, it’s somewhat refreshing to see recognition that there are white Latinos; too often “Latino” is imagined incorrectly as a racial category rather than a very broadly defined cultural group, which is what it is. But it’s deeply disappointing that comic books, like so many other media, are largely failing to recognize the existence of Latinos who are Black or Brown. The invisibility of Black Latinos—who make up the majority of the population within some Latin American nationalities and countries—perpetuates racism in both the U.S. and Latin America.”

The list, for what it’s worth:

#12 Rictor (X-books)
#11 Isaac Mendez (Heroes)
#10 The White Tiger (Marvel)
#9 Echo (a.k.a. Ronin of The New Avengers)
#8 Kennedy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
#7 Spider-Man 2099 (Marvel)
#6 Victor Mancha (Runaways)
#5 The Question (DC Comics)
#4 Kyle Rayner (DC Comics)
#3 Spy Kids
#2 Araña (Marvel)
#1 Zorro

Who’s missing?
 

White Replaces Story on ‘Losers’

White Replaces Story on ‘Losers’

  • News
  • November 7, 2008

Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) replaces Tim Story (Fantastic Four) as director on the Warner Bros. adaptation of Vertigo’s Losers.

He inherits a script from James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) as production responsibilities move from a Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures co-production to one managed by Joel Silver’s Dark Castle Entertainment. Production is expected to begin in early 2009 according to Variety.  No casting or release date have been announced.

The Losers lasted 32 issues from 2003-2006 and was written by Andy Diggle and illustrated by Jock.  The story told of “band of black ops commandos who are set up to be killed by their own government. They barely survive and set out to get even.” The title derives from a feature that ran in Our Fighting Forces from 1970-1985, mostly handled by writer Robert Kanigher and artists Russ Heath and John Severin although a memorable run was done by Jack Kirby.

White is also attached to the film version of Frank Miller’s first creator-owned property, Ronin, which DC Comics published in the early 1980s, and Castlevania, a live-action version of the popular video game. Vanderbilt also wrote an early draft of Spider-Man 4 before being replaced.
 

ComicMix Radio: Free Comics For The IPhone

ComicMix Radio: Free Comics For The IPhone

IVerse offers up some great free comics, including Shadowhawk, Oz:The Manga & more.  We tell you how to find them, plus:

  • Spider-Man 4 gets a writer – maybe
  • Todd gives Spawn a sell out
  • This week’s new comics and DVDs plus the Best Bets we love to share

Just like you are doing elsewhere, exercise your right and Press the Button!

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via iTunes - ComicMix or RSS!

 

Two ‘Heroes’ Go Down

Two ‘Heroes’ Go Down

  • News
  • November 3, 2008

If you thought Uatu’s jaw dislocation was surprising, wait until you’ve heard this one… Jeph Loeb is no longer involved with Heroes.

The producer of NBC’s television epic and the frequent comic book writer has been axed from the daily ongoings of Heroes, according to Variety. Jesse Alexander of Alias fame is also off the series, says the trade. Both Loeb and Alexander were day-to-day managers of the show under the direction of creator/executive producer Tim Kring since season one.

No reasons are listed as to why the two producers have been kicked off the show, though it’s no secret that Heroes has been disparaged since the debut of its second season. The show, now in its third year, promised a departure from the formulaic nature of its sophomore season, and with consistent critical hammering, a hardcore decision was bound to be made to save the series’ financial future. The departures of Loeb and Alexander are likely seen as moves to fit that bill.

Jeph Loeb has made a career in the super-hero industry. His graphic novels Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory, in particular, have gained him critical acclaim, as has his work on Superman: For All Seasons. He’s also known for his work on the "color-centric" comic books over at Marvel Comics, specifically Hulk: Gray, Spider-Man: Blue, Daredevil: Yellow and the forthcoming Captain America: White. Loeb, whose best known super-hero work may be his collaboration with artist Jim Lee on Batman: Hush, had been involved with Heroes from the show’s beginning.

Loeb’s frequent collaborator Tim Sale, who illustrated both much of Loeb’s comic output starting with Challengers of the Unknown, is the artist behind the show’s frequent "future-telling" paintings such as those by Isaac Mendes or the newly introduced African painter. Whether or not Loeb’s departure will influence Sale’s continued work remains to be seen.

Whether or not Heroes, which suffered poor ratings during its strike shortened second season, will be negatively effected by the apparent removal of Loeb and Alexander remains to be seen. However, given that the show should be "King of the Jungle" but has merely kept its head above water in the midst of poor ratings, a true reckoning for Heroes remains to be seen.

Vertigo/WildStorm at the Movies

Vertigo/WildStorm at the Movies

  • News
  • November 3, 2008

Since Dark Knight hit the screen, the world of superheroes in film may not be the same again. With the inevitable success of Watchmen in 2009 and many more non-cape-wearing heroes on the way to theaters, we’ve collected just where things lie on some of our favorite Vertigo and WildStorm franchises, and how far we could be to seeing them at the local multiplex. For the super-heroes, see yesterday’s report.

Y the Last Man

New Lien optioned the recently completed  Y the Last Man several years ago and creator Brian K. Vaughn wrote the initial screenplay. In 2007, New Line assigned the stalled project to the creative team behind Disturbia — director DJ Caruso and screenwriter Carl Ellsworth — with producer David Goyer.

In an interview with Caruso, he claimed that the story was too much for just one movie, and they decided to focus on making the first film primarily about issues 1-14 of the comic series. The entire series would be plotted into three films and rumors have been circulating that Shia LaBeouf was in line for the role at one point. Caruso and LaBeouf worked together of Disturbia and Eagle Eye and LaBeouf expressed interest in the role.

Caruso told Slash Film in July, “I was talking to Shia [LaBeouf] about this yesterday when we were looping him, because he really wants to do it as well, I would like to prep this movie in October, and start shooting it by January. Warner Bros keeps saying ‘We need movies for 2010′ I’m like ‘We’re the movie!’” said Caruso. “[Shia] wants to do it, I want to do it. I think we just need to worry about him being exhausted, so I told him, if I prep it in the fall and we start in January, that’s a nice big break.”

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Interview: Nate Powell on ‘Swallow Me Whole’

Interview: Nate Powell on ‘Swallow Me Whole’

  • News
  • November 1, 2008

Nate Powell hits upon some pretty heavy subject matter in his latest graphic novel Swallow Me Whole, now out frolm Top Shelf. We’re talking childhood schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, family breakdown, animal telepathy, and misguided love, just to name a few. The Indiana-based cartoonist traverses the familiar territory of teen angst and all the growing pains associated with it in his new work, but without the formulaic melodrama that so often saturates the topic. When he isn’t tackling the troubling madness of adolescence as an author and artist, Powell splits his time operating DIY punk label Harlan Records and works with adults with developmental disabilities.

Despite his oh-so busy schedule, ComicMix recently had the chance go catch up with Powell before he hits up the Alternative Press Expo this weekend in San Francisco. Here’s what he had to say about his new work, how he hooked up with publisher Top Shelf and what’s next on his plate:

ComicMix: First off, let’s start with some background material. You’ve lived in a number of locales, that’s for sure. Where have your travels taken you and where are you at now? As for comics, do you remember when you first discovered them and what led you to create your own.

Nate Powell: I’m from North Little Rock, Arkansas, and since early 2004 I’ve lived in Bloomington, Indiana. In between I’ve also lived in Montana, Alabama, DC, New York City, Kansas City, Michigan, western Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

As for comics — when I was a toddler in Montana I read a lot of Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, and Hulk comics. Apparently I spontaneously began reading out of a Fantastic Four activity book when I was three years old.

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Lindsay-Abaire to Pen ‘Spider-Man 4’

Lindsay-Abaire to Pen ‘Spider-Man 4’

  • News
  • October 31, 2008

Relative newcomer David Lindsay-Abaire is stealing James Vanderbilt’s webshooters and hitting the New York skyline with Spider-Man 4.

The Hollywood Reporter states that Lindsay-Abaire, traditionally a novelist and playwright, is writing the fourth installment of the Spider-Man franchise for Columbia Pictures. Spider-Man 4 will once again feature Sam Raimi as director and Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. Kirsten Dunst is expected to return, though no officiall announcements have been made, apart from her impromptu "I’m in!" during an MTV News interview.

THR notes that Lindsay-Abire has little screenwriting experience. He wrote the scripts for Robots and Inkheart, and is working on an adaptation of his novel Rabbit Hole. The writer’s work tends to focus on "outsiders in search of clarity," which makes him like-minded with Peter Parker. It’s a sign that the studio wants to take Spider-Man in a more character-centric outing, "something that critics said got lost in the third installment" according to THR‘s report.

Previously, all signs had pointed to scribe James Vanderbilt putting the pen to Spidey’s script. The writer had allegedly scripted a two-part Spider-Man epic that would’ve led to the fourth and fifth installments being shot back-to-back. In THR‘s report, it’s noted that Vanderbilt "previously wrote a draft of Spider-Man 4," so whether or not his draft is being used as a template for Lindsay-Abaire or is being scrapped entirely remains a mystery.

Even when Vanderbilt was on board, plot details remained quite sketchy. Most fans assumed that actor Dylan Baker would finally get his chance to play The Lizard in the newest installment, but director Raimi isn’t quite as sure.

"[Dylan Baker’s] a great actor, and I think one day The Lizard’s story will be told," Raimi told MTV News. "I don’t know if it will be this one or not. I just don’t know. I’m definitely hoping to work with Dylan in the picture. I just don’t know who the villain is yet."

Whether or not he was playing coy remains to be seen. What’s certain, however, is that whatever little we knew before about this movie, we probably know even less now. Isn’t Hollywood fun?

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