Sci Fi picks up Carey's 'Stranded,' Dawson comic

Sci Fi Channel's collaboration with Virgin Comics appears to have hit it off its first at-bat. Cabler has announced an order for a two-hour pilot based on "The Stranded." Script for the pilot will be written by Mike Carey, who created "The Stranded" series for Virgin/Sci Fi. PR from Virgin in the jump.

Sci Fi also decided to develop "True Believer," based on a comic co-created by "Sin City" star Rosario Dawson. 

And while it's not based on a comic, plenty of comics fans will be pleased to hear that "Caprica," the prequel series to "Battlestar Galactica" has been given a greenlight as a backdoor pilot.

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'Justice League' out of Oz

Man, George Miller's "Justice League of America" flick just can't get a break. After running into the roadbump of the WGA strike and controversial casting, the film now has been refused a rebate by the Australian government and will have to shoot elsewhere — most likely Canada.

Perhaps the strangest thing, though, is the title that's being attached to it: "Justice League: Mortal." I can't figure out if this is a typo or the actual title for the film. Best advice to WB: Pretend it's a mistake and go back to "Justice League of America," "JLA," just plain "Justice League" or even the 80s-inspired "Justice League International."

WB grabs 'Cyclops'; Miller blogs; Cera as Pilgrim?

WB has optioned Alexis Nolent's sci-fi Euro GN "Cyclops" for "Walk the Line" and "3:10 to Yuma" director James Mangold.

Frank Miller blogs about the making of "Will Eisner's The Spirit" at the movie’s official site.

"Arrested Development" and "Superbad" star Michael Cera is said to be in final talks to play Scott Pligrim in a film adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's popular Oni series.

Marvel strikes FX deal, sets toon outlet and may crossover

Marvel's struck a deal with FX for the TV rights to "Iron Man" and "Incredible Hulk." These is a big deal that has potential to pay off for the comics studio big time as evidenced by this passage from John Dempsey's Variety story:

As with most of the basic-cable pre-buys, the net agrees to pony up a license fee that hovers at around 11% of the domestic gross, a figure that cuts off at $200 million. If all five movies end up as $200 million-plus blockbusters -- a very big if, of course -- FX would pay the maximum $22 million apiece for a grand total of $110 million. That's a gigantic license fee, but lots of people watch big-hit movies on cable TV, so there wouldn't be any complaints from FX.

Over at MTV, Robert Downey Jr. talks about the crossover cameos between "Iron Man" and "Incredible Hulk," possibly paving the way for a crossover movie or the hotly anticipated "Avengers" pic.

Meanwhile, Marvel's "Iron Man" and "Wolverine and the X-Men" toons are set to air on Nicktoons in the first quarter of 2009.

Updates: BEA; George convicted; Haven; Oz events

* Book Expo America returns to Los Angeles this year and plans a full day of comics programming, one of which I'm set to moderate, on Saturday, May 31. GalleyCat has details on the event.

* Comics shop owner and convention organizer Michael George has been found guilty in the 1990 murder of his wife by a jury in Michigan.

* Archaia Studios Press is now selling hard copies of its comics through an online store at Indie Press Revolution, as well as electronic versions in pdf format at Drive Thru Comics.

* Haven Distribution is the new name for Cold Cut Distribution, one of the few direct-market alternatives to Diamond for non-exclusive publishers. Company was purchased recently by Rogue Wolf Entertainment and relocated to Chicago.

* Oz publisher Gestalt Comics has planned some noteworthy comics events are set Down Under, with launch parties for “Waldo’s Hawaiian Holiday,” director Alex Cox’s graphic novel sequel to “Repo Man,” set for April 4 at Brunswick Bound in Melbourne and April 11 at Planet Books in Perth. They also have an exhibit called “Art of the Graphic Novel” set for April 10-May 18 at the Heathcote Museum and Gallery in the metro Perth area.

"Ten-Cent Plague's" Hadju at L.A. Library tonight

We're trying to catch up on posting about WWLA and the comics-sphere while working on a major freelance project, but this can't wait.

Tonight at 7 o'clock at the central branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, author David Hajdu will discuss his book "The Ten-Cent Plague" The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America" with writer Ben Schwartz. The book (reviewed by Hajdu's former outlet, EW, here) talks about the comics censorship movement of the late 1940s and early 1950s, epitomized by Fredric Wertham's book "Seduction of the Innocent," the Senate testimony of E.C. Comics chief Bill Gaines and the formation of the Comics Code Authority. The lecture is free, but reservations are recommended. Visit this page for more information.

Dark Horse, U strike prod'n, distrib deal

Oregon-based comics and movie house Dark Horse has signed a three-year production and distribution pact with Universal. The crux of the deal is this, from the press release:

Under the terms of the deal, Universal would have creative access to all Dark Horse characters and properties, as well as any material that Dark Horse might acquire on its own and want to develop as a motion picture. In addition, Dark Horse would have the opportunity to distribute movies through Universal.

Universal is distributing Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" this July; the original pic was distribbed by Columbia.

The strength of Dark Horse is it's far less reliant on superheroes than DC and Marvel. In addition to "Hellboy," DH is the home of Frank Miller's "Sin City" and "300," as well as "The Mask" and such distinctive creator-owned titles as "Grendel," "Usagi Yojimbo," "The Goon" and "Concrete."

'Buck Rogers's' future is Dynamite

The New Jersey-based publisher has picked up the rights to do both new comics and reprint editions of the classic space-faring adventurer from the heirs of creator John Flint Dille. While a regular writer and interior artist have yet to be named, fan favorite artists Alex Ross and John Cassaday are contributing character designs and covers.

Full press release follows:

Dynamite Entertainment to Launch Buck Rogers Comics Series!

March 11th, 2008 Runnemede, NJ -- For almost 80 years, more than any other, the name Buck Rogers has simply meant “The Future”. And now that future is coming to you from Dynamite Entertainment!

Before caped heroes were leaping tall buildings, Buck was spanning the stars . . . and the centuries.  A man accidentally thrust into an extraordinary future, Buck is science fiction’s first superstar and one of our culture’s most enduring icons.  In its original version, Buck Rogers ran as a comic strip continuously for 38 years in over 400 newspapers.  True to his adventurous reputation, Buck is also known for his star turns in radio, movie serials, and television series. And now, comics and more from Dynamite Entertainment!

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'Hulk' trailer a hit

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First reactions to the first look at "The Incredible Hulk" trailer: Story looks cool with a bigger action focus than the previous version, but the CG still needs some refinement to avoid looking so, well, CG.

MTV, which is hosting the trailer, also has a moment-by-moment dissection of the trailer. It's also interesting to note that as of about 10:30 PT this morning, the site shows nearly a half-million views of the trailer.

Film news: 'Hulk' trailer, Singer's return, Marvel pics, Dark Knight

Comicbook movie news is coming at a rapid pace. Here's what's up:

* The long-awaited trailer for "The Incredible Hulk" is set to debut Wednesday at 9:56 p.m. on the following Universal family networks: MTV, MTVU, MTV2, VH1, Spike TV, Nick at Nite and CMT. It will be posted to MTV's movie site immediately after, and will be shown in theaters this weekend, most notably before "Doomsday." Meanwhile, Nikki Finke at her Deadline Hollywood Daily blog reports that star Edward Norton and Marvel are squabbling over the final cut of the film.

* The U.K.'s Empire Online has news on a number of fronts, including "Superman Returns." The site chatted with director Bryan Singer, who says work has resumed on the pic. The director, however, did not say if the rumor reported at IESB that "Transformers" and "Star Trek" scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman might write the script.

* Empire also checks in with director Edgar Wright, who says fans can expect to see both Hank Pym and Scott Lang in his "Ant-Man" film. The script is currently being polished. Meanwhile, Matthew Vaughn talks about  his plans for Marvel's "Thor":

“We’re in a holding pattern at the moment,” he said. “It’s up to Marvel, they have to decide if they want to make the movie and then we take it from there.”

* Interest in "The Dark Knight" is heating up, and will only increase as the pic approaches due to the death of star Heath Ledger. The New York Times talks to director Christopher Nolan. The viral campaign for the film moves on to Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent. The actor tells Wizard  he will be seen as the villainous Two-Face in the film.

* Producer Richard Saperstein has picked up the rights to Clifford Meth's comicbook "Snaked," published by  IDW.

'Rocketeer' creator Stevens dies

Dave Stevens, the writer and artist who is best known for creating "The Rocketeer," has died after a battle with leukemia. He was 52.

As usual, Mark Evanier has all the details on Stevens' life and art at his blog, including info on Stevens' work in animation. Stevens' page at the IMDB shows few film credits, but  the projects Stevens worked out were some of the most influential of their times, including Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

The movie version of "The Rocketeer," made by Disney, never made as big a splash as other comicbook pics despite being a well-reviewed film with good performances by Billy Campbell and young Jennifer Connolly. Having recently caught a bit of the 1991 film a few weeks back, it holds up quite well as an updated version of the pulpy 1930s action-adventure stories that inspired Stevens.

Stevens also was a prominent "good girl" artist, whose pinup illustrations of Bettie Page played a big role in maintaining her legend.

Par takes "Harbinger" for Ratner

This will surely be controversial, but I think Brett Ratner could do a good job directing a "Harbinger" film for Paramount.

'Bone' back on the boards

After years of largely staying away from Hollywood, Jeff Smith is back, having optioned "Bone" to Warner Bros. for Dan Lin to produce.

Deal is a potential blockbuster for Smith, who started self-publishing "Bone" in the early 1990s and retains all rights to the story and characters. The series ran 55 issues, with Smith publishing for a while with Image Comics before returning the book to his own Cartoon Books label, wrapping up in 2004.  Smith, who's been protective of the property, will exec produce the project.

It's also a savvy deal for WB, which would love a new kid-friendly fantasy franchise to replace "Harry Potter," which wraps after two more movie outings. "Bone" may have started as a self-published black-and-white comic, but its all-ages appeal and acclaim from critics and readers helped make it a big enough hit in the direct market for Scholastic to release color volumes that have been a smash hit with young readers in bookstores and schools. Offering a solid mix of fantasy, adventure, humor and a terrific look, a good movie version could vault "Bone" into the same arena as "Potter," "Spider-Man" or "Shrek."

Interestingly, Lin — a former WB exec who's also working on "Justice League of America" — is leaving open the option of doing "Bone" as a live-action film. While I know it's possible to do such a thing these days, I have a hard time imagining live-action as preferable to a good animated version.

More 'Y' party footage on MySpace

Another clip from "Y: The Last Party" is ready, courtesy of MySpace Comic Books.

Y The Last Party - Q&A with Brian K. Vaughn and Pia Guerra

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New "Wanted" trailer

MySpace.com has the exclusive new trailer for "Wanted," which is looking good ...

Wanted Exclusive Trailer

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