Tagged: television

ComicMix Radio: We May Have Hit 200, But Who is the Final Cylon?

ComicMix Radio: We May Have Hit 200, But Who is the Final Cylon?

We start our 200th broadcast with the first round of a new survey asking who that final model might be… TV and comic writer Marc Guggenheim weighs in with his theory, and then we head over to the Battlestar set to ask co-executive producer Mark Verheiden what he picked up at his comic shop this week, plus:

— It’s a Christmas Spirit in the theaters

— Dark Horse collects Clover

— Astounding WolfMan makes it easy to jump in!

Just as you did 199 times before, please press the button!

 

 

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

‘Farscape’ Comics on the Way

‘Farscape’ Comics on the Way

  • News
  • April 21, 2008

In the past few months, BOOM! Studios has had a spate of comics picked up for movie adaptations, but now that flow of comics-to-screen is reversing course. The publisher just announced a deal with the Jim Henson Company to create multiple four-issue series adapted from the sci fi TV show Farscape.

The show ran for four seasons before an abrupt cancellation, and the new comics look to expand on the untold parts of the story, according to the press release sent over from BOOM. The creative team hasn’t been announced, and the art at right is preliminary.

"Farscape took science fiction television to a new level and ushered in a whole host of shows that wouldn’t have been possible without Farscape‘s pioneering. As a long-time ‘Scaper’, I am incredibly excited to mine the dense universe of Farscape for new stories and adventures in comic book form," said BOOM! Marketing and Sales Director, Chip Mosher. "I watched the show as it came out, I bought the DVDs the day they hit the shelves, and I can’t frelling wait to publish these comics!"

The Farscape comic book series will be taking advantage of the upcoming webisodes to be produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with RHI Entertainment for SCIFI.COM. The webisode series will re-unite Farscape executive producer Brian Henson with creator Rockne S. O’Bannon.

Skipalong Rosenbloom, by Michael H. Price

Skipalong Rosenbloom, by Michael H. Price

  • News
  • April 13, 2008

“In the days before the cultural faucets of radio and television had become standard equipment in each home,” wrote the social critic Gunther Anders in 1956, “the [American public] used to throng the motion-picture theaters where they collectively consumed the stereotyped mass products manufactured for them…

“[The] motion-picture industry … continues the tradition of the theater,” added Anders, “… a spectacle designed for simultaneous consumption by a large number of spectators. Such a situation is obsolete.”

Anders’ influential gadfly manifesto, The Phantom World of TV, came fairly late in the initial outcropping of a Cold War between movies and teevee. Earlier during the 1950s, the movie industry had begun arraying such competitive big-screen ripostes to television as widescreen cinematography, three-dimensional projection – and such passive-aggressive lampoons of television as Arch Oboler’s The Twonky and Sam Newfield’s Skipalong Rosenbloom.

Anders’ perception of obsolescence for moviegoing has proved no such thing over the long stretch, of course – despite many movie theaters’ best efforts during the past generation to render the experience overpriced, inconvenient and unsanitary with cheapened operational standards and automated film-handling procedures. And yet film exhibitors as a class continue to raise the question, “Is moviegoing dead?” This, as if the post-WWII threat of mass-market television had never gone away despite a sustained détente between the big auditorium screen and the smaller home-viewing screen.

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Final Episode of ‘Sam & Max: Season Two’ Wraps

Final Episode of ‘Sam & Max: Season Two’ Wraps

  • News
  • April 10, 2008

That’s a wrap. Steve Purcell’s Sam & Max have just finished the second season of their episodic computer game series with the latest chapter, "What’s New, Beelzebub?" scheduled for release on Friday, April 11. Not only is it remarkable in its own right as one of the few successful examples of episodic content in videogames, but that Sam & Max has discretely become one of the best quality franchises in the realm of multimedia.

Originally a comic book released under various publishers, the dog and rabbit detectives took on hilarious cases with a unique outlook: Sam used wry observations, Max used psychotic threats of violence. Before long, they became a hit computer game in the DOS days of  computers, a television series and an Eisner-nominated webcomic.

The latest bit of multimedia stardom for the franchise has arrived via critically acclaimed episodic content videogames. In this format, smaller chunks of games are sold online and released on a shortened schedule as opposed to a single, standalone game release every few years. In the end, it’s like watching a television program season-by-season instead getting the boxed-set DVD. And just like television, episodic videogames have annual seasons that continue the adventures as long as the public wants them. And with storylines that involve assasinating the Lincoln memorial after it comes to life and decides to run for office, how could the public not ask for more?

You can download one of the episodes from the first season of Sam & Max absolutely free. (Psst… There’s a wickedly funny Superman joke contained within the game, comics fans.) If the first episode gives you the game bug, you can purchase more episodes or the Season One Collected Edition.

On a related note, Sam & Max producer Telltale Games recently announced that Season One would be coming to the Nintendo Wii system. However, in a little bit of ComicMix exclusive news, Marketing Coordinator Emily Morganti revealed that the rumored Xbox Live Arcade version of the episodic content would not be coming anytime soon, saying, "We’d like to bring Sam & Max to XBLA some day, but right now it’s not something we’re working on. We had a huge fan response to the idea of Sam and Max on the Wii, so it felt like the right place to start."

Since even the PC version is basically just pointing and clicking, we can hardly disagree that the Nintendo Wiimote is ideal for this kind of game. Just make sure the strap is on your wrist, because you might laugh enough to drop the controller.

Which Comic is Getting a New 4-Player Arcade Game?

Which Comic is Getting a New 4-Player Arcade Game?

  • News
  • March 27, 2008

Who says comic book fans are antisocial? I grew up hanging out at pizza parlors and movie theaters with my friends, playing arcade games like Captain America and the Avengers, Spider-Man, TMNT and X-Men.

Well, cue a flashback to the ’90s, because arcade developer Signature Devices announced in a press release that they’ve finished work on a four-player arcade game that featuring "several well known comic book and television superheroes."

The game will feature a four-player arcade style co-operative play. Players can play solo or as a team against the plot, which takes place in three separate locations on earth and other planets. Signature Devices has developed the game to allow players to control the powers and abilities of
earth’s mightiest heroes [Ed. Note: emphasis ours] in an action packed fight for justice against some of the greatest comic book villains. The Company has developed the game to truly come to life using the co-operative methods best utilized with two to four players at a time.

But they didn’t say which comic book heroes, probably because that’s the responsibility of the arcade game publisher. Meanwhile we’re left to speculate which superheroes it could be. It helps that they say they’ve been on television. Candidates include Justice League, X-Men, Spider-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or maybe even NBC’s Heroes, among others. One interesting phrase we highlighted in the quote is "earth’s mightiest heroes," a term commonly used by The Avengers, who had a brief cartoon run.

We’ll admit we’d be excited to grab a few beers and play this with friends at Dave & Buster’s. ComicMix readers, any ideas what you think this might be… or, of course, which characters you want this to be?

A ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Movie? Stars Say They’re Game

  • News
  • March 25, 2008

I guess it has to do with comic book culture becoming ever more enmeshed in celebrity culture, but it seems like MTV has become the place to go for interesting material in the world of comics and comics-related movies and TV shows.

The latest: At a reunion of Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast members, several spoke favorably of the potential for an all-new Buffy movie. And, of course, they also brought up the recent lesbian tryst in the Buffy comics series.

"I don’t know if Sarah [Michelle Gellar] wants to be kissing girls, so for Sarah’s sake, we’d say, start from the TV show," said Nicholas Brendon, who played Xander. "But I think for everyone else, start from the comic book. I want to see Sarah kissing girls."

Beyond the question of whether or not to include girl-on-girl action, a few other pitfalls stand in the way of a movie. No script or studio is in place, and Joss Whedon is busily crafting a superhero musical.

Speaking of Whedon, he certainly didn’t sound opposed to the project, although he seemed far to dismissive of the comics:

As Whedon said on the panel, "many stars" would have to align — not the least of which would be a certain lead actress wanting to participate. "But if I had to shoot down everything that we’re doing in the comics because we’re doing a film," Whedon said, "I wouldn’t lose a lot of sleep over it."

Interview: Tom Peyer on ‘The Flash’ and ‘Tek Jansen’

  • News
  • March 18, 2008

With this week’s release of Flash #238, writer Tom Peyer begins scripting the adventures of DC’s fastest man alive — and, appropriately enough, he plans to hit the ground running.

With his first six-part story, "Fast Money," Peyer begins his term as regular writer on the series, picking up where popular DCU author Mark Waid left off: with Bart Allen dead, Wally West back in the bright red suit along with his wife and rapidly aging children, and a brand new villain primed to join the hero’s rogues gallery.

Taking the reins from fan-favorite writers is nothing new for Peyer, however, who has taken critically praised turns on a variety of team titles, but could be best known for his popular run on the entirety of the 25-issue Hourman series published from 1999 to 2001 — a character spun-off from Grant Morrison’s run on JLA.

And, much like with Hourman, Peyer has also been tapped to script the first solo adventures of Tek Jansen, a character created by The Colbert Report‘s Stephen Colbert, for an upcoming series published by Oni Press.

In this interview, Peyer discusses his role as the new, ongoing writer on The Flash, as well as the status of Stephen Colbert’s Tek Jansen.

COMICMIX: Thanks for talking with me today, Tom. Flash #238 is out this week, so what’s the pitch for the new storyline, "Fast Money?"

TOM PEYER: Money is definitely a theme in this story. I think early on I put out an oversimplified description and gave people the idea that it’s really just about Flash having money troubles. Which it really isn’t. Although he is… Money’s the theme that holds together a whole bunch of events. We have a villain who, in the sort of great — or, if you prefer, corny — tradition of early Flash stories, commits a robbery. I don’t think we’ve seen that in a while — a villain who’s purely at it because he wants to steal a Faberge Egg. It’s a little old-fashioned, and I’m kind of nervous about it, but money is a theme that runs throughout the whole story.

Television news is also a big part of the story. TV news gets involved in the story in a big way, and we all know how they feel about money. They are totally willing to just wind us up and tie us into emotional knots so we’ll keep coming back and they can charge their advertisers more money. To me, that’s empirically how they see their job. I call them "freedom’s crazy girlfriend" because they keep winding things up emotionally. Of course, it could be "freedom’s crazy boyfriend," too – I don’t want to stereotype.

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Our Comics Community, by Dennis O’Neil

Our Comics Community, by Dennis O’Neil

  • News
  • March 18, 2008

Things are fanning out all over.

But before we go any further, let me explain and, while I’m about it, issue an OFA, or Old Fart Alert.

Back in the day – now you begin to understand the reason for the OFA – part of the fun of attending science fiction and comics conventions was seeing stuff like outtakes and blooper reels and old movies and especially old serials, entertainments virtually unavailable anywhere else. Another pleasure was listening to other fans who were In The Know reveal secrets, or at least semi-secrets, about the actors and artists and, yes, even writers whose work we enjoyed and was the raison d’etre for the whole she-bang.

Now…bloopers are shown on network television, as are outtakes, and one major international star has, for the last decade or so, incorporated them into the films themselves. And although nobody, to my knowledge, is showing serials regularly, a cable channel used to and somebody almost certainly will again and even if that doesn’t happen, these crusty old flicks are easily buyable, or rentable, or, maybe, available at your local public library. As for other kinds of old movies…Well, let’s just say that I’ve filled in some of the gaps in my appreciation of Rocky Lane, Lash LaRue, Wild Bill Elliott, the Durango Kid, and the indomitable Sunset Carson by watching the Westerns Channel from the comfort of my living room.

Insider info? It’s practically a national industry, only they call it gossip and push it at us on television and in the magazines I read in doctor’s offices. Push a lot of it, I might add. And most DVDs have material in addition to whatever movie’s on them and these, too, frequently feature gossipy tidbits, though never scandalous ones.

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South Korean Comic Labeled Anti-Semitic

  • News
  • March 17, 2008

The international comics scene is always interesting to keep an eye on, with bizarre stories cropping up every now and again. In that vein comes the news that the U.S. State Department made a report criticizing a South Korean comic book for being anti-Semitic.

According to the report, which was later presented to Congress, the book is the American volume of the Far Country, Neighbor Country series, according to this story in the Chosun newspaper. The series is intended for South Korean children, and it gives brief histories in comic book form of various countries around the world.

In the article, the anti-Semitic passages are listed as explaining the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks being caused by Muslims who hate the United States because "Jews use money and public discussion as weapons to make WASPs do what they want."

Here’s a few panels:

The article continued:

The series, written by Rhie Won-bok, a professor at Duksung Women’s University, was designed to teach youngsters the history and culture of other countries in comic book format. The "best-selling" children’s book series sold more than 10 million Korean-language copies, according to the report.

The report cited two examples of anti-Semitism in the book. One comic strip shows a newspaper, a magazine, a television, and a radio, each with a Star of David, and is captioned, "In a word, American public debate belongs to the Jews, and it’s no exaggeration to say that [U.S. media] are the voices of the Jews."

Another strip shows a man climbing a hill and then facing a brick wall inscribed with a Star of David and a STOP sign. The caption reads, "The final obstacle [to success] is always a fortress called Jews."

The author later acknowledged his mistake and pledged to write "in a more responsible way," the report said. In March 2007, the book’s publisher agreed to pull the controversial book from stores, the report added.

Like I said, lots of strange stuff here. For instance, it strikes me as strange to see anti-Semitism appear somewhere like South Korea. Also, I had no idea that the State Department’s duties include keeping tabs on anti-Semitism.

The Moment Of Truth, by Michael Davis

The Moment Of Truth, by Michael Davis

  • News
  • March 14, 2008

Who in the world is stupid enough to go on shows like The Moment Of Truth and the Maury show?

I’ve always thought that stupid is what stupid does, but these people are just as dim as a black room. No, even dimmer. I can almost see why people go on The Moment Of Truth, they pay you cold hard cash and all you have to do is tell the truth. Of course the truth may destroy your family and spill the beans about your dirty laundry to MILLIONS of people, but, hey you will be able to buy a new car. You can ride your new car to the therapist’s office because you will need to seek help after realizing what a moron you are.

You idiot.

How obtuse are these people? Sorry, I just realized that there might be some people out there reading this who may have appeared on one of those shows. A word like “obtuse” may make their brains explode. OK, if you have appeared on one of these shows I am going to help you. First, sound it out. URB-TWOS.

Got it?

Now for the meaning; Obtuse; URB-TWOS: Your children are doomed to a life of crime, poverty or shame because you are an idiot.

Before I go on, I should tell you that I love BOTH those shows! They are like a bag of popcorn. Popcorn has absolutely no nutritional value but while you are eating it, boy does it taste good! You may be asking why I have not included Jerry Springer with these shows. I hate to break it to you, but that show is as fake as wrestling.

Yes fanboy, wrestling is fake.

Take a moment. I understand…

The Maury show has a repeating theme: the “paternity” show. On those shows men are confronted with women who claim they are the fathers of their newborn kids. The men deny it, so Maury does a DNA test and reveals the results on the show!

(more…)

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