Just try and escape "Iron Man"-ia

"IRON MAN" ROUNDUP: The impending release of Marvel's "Iron Man" is generating tons of interest as fans and the industry see the possibility of the first big hit of 2008. In checking out some of the new clips available online, including this one of director Jon Favreau touring the set in a classic Iron Man T-shirt and this clip at Apple, more interesting bits are coming out. I particularly like the twist of Tony Stark naming the computer in the armor "Jarvis." Not only does it give Tony someone to talk to in action sequences, it's a cool way to work in the name of the Avengers' long-suffering butler, Edwin Jarvis. ... Reports have snuck out that Samuel L. Jackson's cameo as Nick Fury has been cut from "Iron Man."

MORE MARVEL: Another pic from "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" shows a worm's eye view of Logan's claws. ... Ed Norton, star and co-writer of "The Incredible Hulk," is downplaying the creative differences he had with Marvel on the film.

"THE SPIRIT," "DARK KNIGHT" AND MORE: The first stills from "Will Eisner's The Spirit" came out at IGN, though they depict Scarlett Johansson as Silken Floss and Samuel L. Jackson as the Octopus rather than Gabriel Macht's titular hero. An image of an action figure based on the lead character has leaked out — as have a bunch of unofficial pics Lionsgate has been quick to take down — show The Spirit's all-black suit with red tie look. ... Check out "The Dark Knight" viral site I Believe in Harvey Dent. ... Pics of action figures from Zack Snyder's forthcoming "Watchmen" have been released, while Snyder himself has lined up the animated "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" as his next film.

DEALS: David DiGilio has been signed to adapt Oni's "The Damned" into a feature film. ... Stan Lee has teamed up with Brighton Partners and Rainmaker Studios to develop "Legion of 5," a new superhero project they plan to turn into a series of CG animated films.

FANBOY DEBATES: A new poll anoints "Batman Begins" as the best superhero movie of all time. ... Is Superman the best superhero or the worst ? Two columnists take sides. ...

New York Comic-Con goes deeper for third outing

The New York Comic-Con is about to kick off its third edition, and while I won't be there this year, the events and programming planned for this year's con move it one step closer to being the No. 2 show in the land after Comic-Con Intl.: San Diego. (Disclaimer: The NYCC is run by Reed Exhibitions, a sister company of Variety parent Reed Business Information.)

The programming this year has a much stronger Hollywood flavor than the previous two years — a function both of the show now having enough of a track record in pulling in attendees for studios to promote their wares to and moving from February to spring dates that are ideally positioned in advance of the summer movie season. (The double good news is that those who are attending won't have to face the freezing river wind walking over to the Jacob Javitz Center.)

Among the goodies: Fox will have a panel on the just-named "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" movie; Disney has panels on Pixar's "Wall*E" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian"; Universal will be playing up "Wanted," "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" and, in collaboration with Marvel, "The Incredible Hulk"; WB has "The Dark Knight" and "Speed Racer"; Lucasfilm will talk about "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "Star Wars: Clone Wars"; Lionsgate is bringing in Frank Miller and Eva Mendes for a panel on "Will Eisner's The Spirit"; and a pair of New Line panels spotlight "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay" and "Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3-D." On the TV side of things, Sci Fi will again have a big presence promoting "Battlestar Galactica" and "Doctor Who"; Nick and ABC also will be on hand.

If you're a fan of older comics, this is a great convention for meeting some of the the folks who started this crazy business. Joe Simon, co-creator with Jack Kirby of Captain America and recently profiled in The New York Times, will be on hand, as will Golden Age artists Irwin Hasen and Leonard Starr. It will be almost impossible to miss Stan Lee, who will be accepting a "Legend" award, appearing at a VIP reception sponsored by Virgin Comics and Pow! Entertainment tonight at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square, and promoting his collaboration with Hiroyuki Takei on the manga "Ultimo" for Viz. There also will be a screening Saturday of the documentary "Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist," followed by an Eisner tribute panel. Mark Evanier will host a  panel about the late-great Jack Kirby, tied in to his recent biography of the master artist.

The show also is marking the announcement of business deals, with TOKYOPOP having three right out of the gate: A multiplatform development deal with Spacedog Entertainment, whose manga "eV" has already come out from TOKYOPOP; a deal with game-maker Blizzard Entertainment to produce three years of manga based on such popular titles as Warcraft and Starcraft; and the company's deal with mobile partner GoComics has been made exclusive.

Meanwhile, Devil's Due is bringing in "Heroes" actor Milo Ventimiglia and producer Russ Cundiff to sign autographs and announce a new comicbook project. Autograph signing schedules also are full; the best resource for those lists is, as always, Heidi McDonald at The Beat.

Platinum's "Atlantis Rising" at DreamWorks

Platinum has sold its second major project to DreamWorks, again working with the rising-star duo of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci ("Transformers," "Star Trek").

Full PR follows:

DREAMWORKS STUDIOS OPTIONS RIGHTS TO PLATINUM STUDIOS’ “ATLANTIS RISING”

Los Angeles, CA (April 16, 2008) - DreamWorks Studios has optioned the rights to make a feature film from Platinum Studios Inc.’s (OTCBB: PDOS) comic book “Atlantis Rising,” it was announced today by Adam Goodman, President of Production for DreamWorks Studios. 

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who brought the project to the studio, will produce through their DreamWorks based company.  Platinum Studios’ Chairman and CEO, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, will also produce.  The Greenberg Group CEO and former Universal Pictures senior executive Randy Greenberg will executive produce and Platinum Studios Rich Marincic will co-produce.

Created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, “Atlantis Rising” is a five-part mini series first published by Platinum Studios Comics in November of 2007.  The fifth and final installment in the series is due on comic book shelves in late April 2008.

Continue reading "Platinum's "Atlantis Rising" at DreamWorks "

Quick hit reviews for 4/14/08

THE INDIES: Maintenance #7-9 (Oni Press, $3.50 each) works because it's a complete concept, albeit one that seems heavily inspired by the flicks of Kevin Smith. Funny, well executed and goofy. ... Having fallen behind on the series, Wasteland #14 (Oni Press, $3.50) was only partially satisfying because it's just a bit too difficult to tell what's going on. Joe Infurnari fills in on art for Christopher Mitten and produces some lovely drawings that nonetheless make it hard to tell who's who from panel to panel. ... Gravel #0, #1-2 (Avatar, $3.99) are solid, hard-core genre entertainment. Warren Ellis and Mike Wolfer deliver on the kind of emphemeral mood and thrills that periodical comics can be so very good at but often aren't, anymore. ... Warren Ellis' Anna Mercury #1 (Avatar, $3.99) is more accessible, with a good twist and a heroine that's tough and buxom in all the right places to please the fanboys.

MARVEL: Fantastic Four #554-555 (Marvel, $2.99 each) can only be said to be rockin' cool. Why can't the movies be this cool? Bryan Hitch can draw the hell out of Mark Millar's sci-fi big concept stuff better than anyone. It's still not Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, but what is? ... Secret Invasion  #1 (Marvel, $3.99) kicks off the publisher's next big event with some panache, as Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu deliver an old-fashioned mystery and some fascinating revelations over who truly has been a Skrull. What's going to make or break this is how far it decides to go: too much retconning can annoy fans into rebellion, e.g., The Clone Saga.

DC: Wonder Woman #18 (DC, $2.99) gives the Amazon princess an appealing — albeit a bit light — personality as she takes on the Khunds from way back when. Gail Simone seems to have the best chance of any recent writer to give Wonder Woman the winning mix of action and fun the character has long seemed to need but has rarely ever had. ... Writer Kurt Busiek has been sorely underrated in his excellent run on Superman, and issue #674 (DC, $2.99) is no exception. This is a hip, modern and very cool take on the Man of Steel, lushly illustrated by Renato Guedes. ... Paul Dini brings an enjoyably simple take on Batman to his tales in Detective Comics #841 and 843 (DC, $2.99 each), with a fill in on #842 from Peter Milligan in much the same tone. If you miss the Batman seen on the old 1990s animated series, this is the Batbook for you, even as artist Dustin Nguyen goes for a completely different and stylish look that works just great on the page. ... Grant Morrison shakes up (usually in a good way) every book he takes on, and his version of the Dark Knight in Batman #674 (DC, $2.99) is his most successfully radical-yet-logical take on a classic comic since New X-Men. This is the build up to the Batman R.I.P. storyline, and you can't help but get sucked into the idea while reading this issue that something big and very cool is happening. ... All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #9 (DC, $2.99) sees Frank Miller and Jim Lee make up (a little bit) for Batman and Black Canary doing the nasty on the docks in issue #7. Most of the issue makes fun of Green Lantern (which Garth Ennis did first and arguably better way back in the late, lamented Hitman), but Batman and Robin finally show some emotions recognizable as human and even kind of sympathetic toward the end of this issue. ... Countdown to Final Crisis #3 (DC, $2.99) ticks the clock one issue closer, as Superman and Darkseid duke it out. What's really going to be fun is next issue, as we'll finally get to see the long-promised Giant Turtle Jimmy Olsen in action.

2008 Eisner Awards nominees announced

The nominees for the Will Eisner Comic Book Industry Awards were announced this morning, with a very diverse group of books and creators being honored.

It's fascinating to see how the Eisner nominations reflect the changes in comics. Take a look back at the 1998 nominees, and you have a list that reflects the times by being very focused on the direct market and the genres most popular in it. The 2008 edition casts a much wider net and puts the focus on graphic novels from a wide number of publishers. While I wish — as always — that the number of categories could be whittled down, this is a fascinating list as much for what I haven't read as what I have.

Congratulations to all the nominees and to the judges, who do a lot of very hard work to arrive at this list. The winners will be announced in a gala ceremony July 25 at Comic-Con Intl. in San Diego.

2008 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees

Best Short Story

• “Book,” by Yuichi Yokoyama, in New Engineering (PictureBox)
• “At Loose Ends,” by Lewis Trondheim, in Mome #8 (Fantagraphics)
• “Mr. Wonderful,” by Dan Clowes, in New York Times Sunday Magazine (accessible online at www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/magazine/funnypagesClowes.html)
• “Town of Evening Calm,” by Fumiyo Kouno, in Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms (Last Gasp)
• “Whatever Happened to Fletcher Hanks?” by Paul Karasik, in I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! (Fantagraphics)
• “Young Americans,” by Emile Bravo, in Mome #8 (Fantagraphics)

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)

• Amelia Rules! #18: “Things I Cannot Change,” by Jimmy Gownley (Renaissance)
• Delilah Dirk and the Treasure of Constantinople, by Tony Cliff (self-published)
• Johnny Hiro #1, by Fred Chao (AdHouse)
• Justice League of America #11: “Walls,” by Brad Meltzer and Gene Ha (DC)
• Sensational Spider-Man Annual: “To Have or to Hold,” by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca (Marvel)

Best Continuing Series

• The Boys, by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson (Dynamite)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, by Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, Georges Jeanty, and Andy Owens (Dark Horse)
• Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz)
• The Spirit, by Darwyn Cooke (DC)
• Y: The Last Man, by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, and Jose Marzan, Jr. (Vertigo/DC)

Best Limited Series

• Atomic Robo, by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegender (Red 5 Comics)
• Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, by Peter David, Robin Furth, and Jae Lee (Marvel)
• Nightly News, by Jonathan Hickman (Image)
• Parade (with Fireworks), by Michael Cavallaro (Shadowline/Image)
• The Umbrella Academy, by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá (Dark Horse)

Best New Series

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, by Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, Georges Jeanty, and Andy Owens (Dark Horse)
• Immortal Iron Fist, by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, David Aja, and others (Marvel)
• Johnny Hiro, by Fred Chao (AdHouse)
• The Infinite Horizon, by Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto (Image)
• Scalped, by Jason Aaron and R. M. Guéra (Vertigo/DC)

Best Publication for Kids

• Amelia Rules! and Amelia Rules! Funny Stories, by Jimmy Gownley (Renaissance)
• Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, edited by Jeremy Barlow (Dark Horse)
• Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 and Mouse Guard: Winter 1152, by David Petersen (Archaia)
• The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, by Peter Sis (Frank Foster Books/Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
• Yotsuba&!, by Kiyohiko Azuma (ADV)

Best Publication for Teens

• Laika, by Nick Abadzis (First Second)
• The Mighty Skullboy Army, by Jacob Chabot (Dark Horse)
• The Annotated Northwest Passage, by Scott Chantler (Oni)
• PX! Book One: A Girl and Her Panda, by Manny Trembley and Eric A. Anderson (Shadowline/Image)
• Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion)

Best Humor Publication

• Dwight T. Albatross’s The Goon Noir, edited by Matt Dryer (Dark Horse)
• Johnny Hiro, by Fred Chao (AdHouse)
• Lucha Libre, by Jerry Frissen, Bill, Gobi, Fabien M., Nikola Witko, Hervé Tanquelle et al. (Image)
• Perry Bible Fellowship: The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories, by Nicholas Gurewitch (Dark Horse)
• Wonton Soup, by James Stokoe (Oni)

Best Anthology

• Best American Comics 2007, edited by Anne Elizabeth Moore and Chris Ware (Houghton Mifflin)
• 5, by Gabriel Bá, Becky Cloonan, Fabio Moon, Vasilis Lolos, and Rafael Grampa (self-published)
• Mome, edited by Gary Groth and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
• Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened, edited by Jason Rodriguez (Villard)
• 24Seven, vol. 2, edited by Ivan Brandon (Image)

Best Digital Comic

• The Abominable Charles Christopher, by Karl Kerschl, www.abominable.transmission-x.com
• Billy Dogma, Immortal, by Dean Haspiel, www.deanhaspiel.com/immortal.html
• The Process, by Joe Infurnari, www.theprocesscomic.com
• PX! By Manny Trembley and Eric A. Anderson, www.pandaxpress.com
• Sugarshock!, by Joss Whedon and Fabio Moon, http://www.myspace.com/darkhorsepresents?issuenum=1&storynum=2

Best Reality-Based Work

• Laika, by Nick Abadzis (First Second)
• The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam, by Ann Marie Fleming (Riverhead Books/Penguin Group)
• Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion)
• Sentences: The Life of MF Grimm, by Percy Carey and Ronald Wimberly (Vertigo/DC)
• White Rapids, by Pascal Blanchet (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Graphic Album—New

• The Arrival, by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
• Bookhunter, by Jason Shiga (Sparkplug Books)
• Essex County, vols. 1-2: Tales from the Farm/Ghost Stories, by Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
• Exit Wounds, by Rutu Modan (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Percy Gloom, by Cathy Malkasian (Fantagraphics)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

• Agents of Atlas Hardcover, by Jeff Parker, Leonard Kirk, and Kris Justice (Marvel)
• Gødland Celestial Edition, by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli (Image)
• James Sturm’s America: God, Gold, and Golems, by James Sturm (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Mouse Guard: Fall 1152, by David Petersen (Archaia)
• Super Spy, by Matt Kindt (Top Shelf)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Strips

• (The Complete) Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, by Winsor McCay (Ulrich Merkl)
• Complete Terry and the Pirates, vol. 1, by Milton Caniff (IDW)
• Little Sammy Sneeze, by Winsor McCay (Sunday Press)
• Popeye, vol. 2: Well Blow Me Down, by E. C. Segar (Fantagraphics)
• Sundays with Walt and Skeezix, by Frank King (Sunday Press)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books

• Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus, vol. 1, by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (Marvel)
• Apollo’s Song, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)
• The Completely MAD Don Martin, by Don Martin (Running Press)
• Daredevil Omnibus, by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson (Marvel)
• I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! by Fletcher Hanks (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

• The Arrival, by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
• Aya, by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Obrerie (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Garage Band, by Gipi (First Second)
• I Killed Adolf Hitler, by Jason (Fantagraphics)
• The Killer, by Matz and Luc Jacamon (Archaia)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Japan

• The Ice Wanderer and Other Stories, by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
• MW, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)
• Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz)
• New Engineering by Yuichi Yokoyama (PictureBox)
• Tekkonkinkreet: Black & White, by Taiyo Matsumoto (Viz)
• Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, by Fumiyo Kouno (Last Gasp)

Best Writer

• Ed Brubaker, Captain America, Criminal, Daredevil, Immortal Iron Fist  (Marvel)
• James Sturm, Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion)
• Brian K. Vaughan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse); Ex Machina (WildStorm/DC), Y: The Last Man (Vertigo/DC),
• Joss Whedon, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse)
• Brian Wood, DMZ, Northlanders (Vertigo/DC); Local (Oni)

Best Writer/Artist

• Jeff Lemire, Essex County: Tales from the Farm/Ghost Stories (Top Shelf)
• Rutu Modan, Exit Wounds (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Shaun Tan, The Arrival (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic)
• Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #18 (Acme Novelty)
• Fumi Yoshinaga, Flower of Life; The Moon and Sandals (Digital Manga)

Best Writer/Artist—Humor

• Kyle Baker, The Bakers: Babies and Kittens (Image)
• Fred Chao, Johnny Hiro (AdHouse)
• Brandon Graham, King City (Tokyopop); Multiple Warheads (Oni)
• Eric Powell, The Goon (Dark Horse)
• James Stokoe, Wonton Soup (Oni)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

• Steve Epting/Butch Guice/Mike Perkins, Captain America (Marvel)
• Pia Guerra/Jose Marzan, Jr., Y: The Last Man (Vertical/DC)
• Jae Lee, Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel)
• Takeshi Obata, Death Note, Hikaru No Go (Viz)
• Ethan Van Sciver, Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps (DC)

Best Painter or Multimedia Artist (interior art)

• Ann-Marie Fleming, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam (Riverhead Books/Penguin Group)
• Eric Powell, The Goon: Chinatown (Dark Horse)
• Bryan Talbot, Alice in Sunderland (Dark Horse)
• Ben Templesmith, Fell (Image); 30 Days of Night: Red Snow; Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse (IDW)

Best Cover Artist

• John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); Lone Ranger (Dynamite)
• James Jean, Fables (Vertigo/DC); The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse); Process Recess 2; Superior Showcase 2 (AdHouse)
• J. G. Jones, 52 (DC)
• Jae Lee, Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel)
• Jim Lee, All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder (DC); World of Warcraft (WildStorm/DC)

Best Coloring

• Jimmy Gownley, Amelia Rules! (Renaissance)
• Steve Hamaker, Bone, vols. 5 and 6 (Scholastic); Shazam: Monster Society of Evil (DC)
• Richard Isanove, Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born (Marvel)
• Ronda Pattison, Atomic Robo (Red 5 Comics)
• Dave Stewart, BPRD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cut, Hellboy, Lobster Johnson, The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse); The Spirit (DC)
• Alex Wald, Shaolin Cowboy (Burlyman)

Best Lettering

• Jared K. Fletcher, Catwoman, The Spirit (DC); Sentences: Life of MF Grimm (Vertigo/DC)
• Jimmy Gownley, Amelia Rules! (Renaissance)
• Todd Klein, Justice, Simon Dark (DC); Fables, Jack of Fables, Crossing Midnight  (Vertigo/DC); League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier (WildStorm/DC); Nexus (Rude Dude)
• Lewis Trondheim, “At Loose Ends,” Mome 7 & 8 (Fantagraphics)
• Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #18 (Acme Novelty)

Special Recognition

• Chuck BB, Black Metal (artist, Oni)
• Matt Silady, The Homeless Channel (writer/artist, AiT/PlanetLar)
• Jamie Tanner, The Aviary (writer/artist, AdHouse)
• James Vining, First in Space (writer/artist, Oni)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

• Comic Art #9, edited by Todd Hignite (Buenaventura Press)
• Comic Foundry, edited by Tim Leong (Comic Foundry)
• The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean, and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
• The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon and Jordan Raphael (www.comicsreporter.com)
• Newsarama, produced by Matt Brady and Michael Doran (www.newsarama.com)

Best Comics-Related Book

• The Art of P. Craig Russell, edited by Joe Pruett (Desperado)
• The Artist Within, by Greg Preston (Dark Horse)
• Manga: The Complete Guide, by Jason Thompson (Del Rey Manga)
• Meanwhile . . . A Biography of Milton Caniff, by R. C. Harvey (Fantagraphics)
• Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean, by Douglas Wolk (Da Capo Press)
• Understanding Manga and Anime, by Robin Brenner (Libraries Unlimited/Greenwood Publishing)

Best Publication Design

• (The Complete) Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, designed by Ulrich Merkl (Ulrich Merkl)
• Complete Terry and the Pirates, designed by Dean Mullaney (IDW)
• Heroes, vol. 1, designed by John Roshell/Comicraft (WildStorm/DC)
• Little Sammy Sneeze, designed by Philippe Ghielmetti (Sunday Press)
• Process Recess 2, designed by James Jean and Chris Pitzer (AdHouse)
• Sundays with Walt and Skeezix, designed by Chris Ware (Sunday Press)

Hall of Fame

• Judges’ Choices: R. F. Outcault, Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson

Nominees (4 will be selected by voters):

• Matt Baker
• John Broome
• Reed Crandall    
• Rudolph Dirks
• Arnold Drake
• George Evans
• Creig Flessel
• Graham Ingels
• Mort Meskin
• Tarpe Mills
• Gilbert Shelton
• George Tuska
• Mort Weisinger
• Len Wein
• Barry Windsor-Smith

Variety View on Comics for 4/10/08

COMICS ON FILM: "Punisher War Zone" director Lexi Alexander writes on her blog that the film's release has been pushed back to Dec. 5. ...  Rogue has tapped Justin Marks to adapt "Hack/Slash," published by Devil's Due. ... A New Zealand newspaper reports  that country may end up hosting George Miller and his "Justice League" movie after the production was denied a tax break in Australia. ... Missed that the Euro-comic "XIII" will be turned into an NBC miniseries starring Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff.

COMICS NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Kick-Ass writer Mark Millar and Ex Machina artist Tony Harris will team up on War Heroes. Coming from Image, the series gets a preview in Wizard #200 Platinum. (Yes, it appears that there is more than one edition of Wizard #200.) ... ... Singer Tori Amos is spearheading Comic Book Tattoo, a 480-page color anthology of comics stories inspired by her songs. Book (art pictured) features an intro from Neil Gaiman, whose Sandman comics Amos has long been a fan of, and will be out in July from Image Comics. ... Platinum Studios  has signed with the Villard imprint of Random House to publish the graphic novel version of Unique, a three-issue comicbook series that's in development at Disney as a feature film. ... Top Cow is going back to press on Witchblade #116, which kicked off the run by writer Ron Marz and artist Stjepan Sejic. ... DC Comics  will publish a hardcover edition of Watchmen in October that will fit in format and price between the perennial selling paperback edition and the deluxe Absolute edition. ...  Boom! Studios'  experiments with free online publication continues with Giant Monster, currently available in  its entirety on Comic Book Resources. ... Similarly, the sold out Cemetery Blues #1 from Image Shadowline can be read for free at the Image site.

EVENTS: David A. Lewis, writer of such religious-themed comics as "The Lone and Level Sands," and his publisher, Archaia Studios Press, are hosting a three-day symposium called "Graven Images: Religion in Comic Books and Graphic Novels" for April 11-13 at Boston University. ... British comicbook icon Dan Dare is at the center of a new exhibit at the Science Museum in London called "Dan Dare & the Birth of Hi-Tech Britain," running from April 25-Oct. 25. The hero's current publisher, Virgin Comics, plans to catch up Americans with a panel at the New York Comic-Con  featuring Garth Ennis, writer of the current Virgin series; Peter Hampson, son of "Dan Dare" creator Frank Hampson; and Virgin marketing VP Larry Lieberman.

HELPING OUT: The Major Spoilers podcast is raising funds PBS-style all month for The Hero Initiative. ... Hero also is teaming up with Comix Experience for a one-day Comic Book Boot Camp on making comics that includes face time with the likes of Top Cow chief Matt Hawkins, former Batman writer and editor Denny O'Neil and X-Men writer Chris Claremont. Camp is set for April 17 in New York.

AWARDS UPDATES: The Lulu Awards, given out each year by The Friends of Lulu org, will be presented at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival on June 7 in New York. Org, which encourages women and girls to read and create comics, previously handed out its honors at Comic-Con Intl. in San Diego. ... The noms for the Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards have been announced. ... The Diamond Gem Awards winners have been announced, with DC being named the major comicbook publisher of the year. IDW won small publisher of the year; VIZ got the manga nod; and Red 5 was tapped as top new publisher. ... And voting is underway for England's Eagle Awards.

'The Spirit' hype ramps up

Spotted this billboard for Frank Miller's adaptation of "Will Eisner's The Spirit" yesterday on Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock:

The countdown widget I talked about the other day can be found at a new site, www.mycityscreams.com.

The zero hour seems to be about 4 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 18. That's a few hours after "The Spirit" panel at New York Comic-Con, so I expect it'll be the online posting of the teaser trailer they plan to show at the con. Seems like a lot of promotion for a teaser trailer when the movie is still nine months away from release, so Lionsgate must be pretty confident that the film will meet the expectations this much promotion this far out will generate.

Quick hit reviews for 4/09/08

Don Pendleton’s The Executioner #1 (IDW, $3.99) may have come first, but this perfunctory script and fuzzy art offer little reason to be more interested in Mack Bolan than The Punisher. … Jenna Jameson’s Shadow Hunter #1 (Virgin, $2.99) is a perfect comics translation of the famous porn star, with artist Mukesh Singh giving readers something lovely to look at but suffering from delusions of grandeur when it comes to story. … Spawn #170-176 (Image/McFarlane, $2.95 each) is actually a very engrossing read, giving some context to Al Simmons’ family life and history with writer David Hine delivering a truly fun Western version of Spawn and featuring some terrific art from Brian Haberlin, Bing Cansino and Gierrod Van Dyke. … Casanova #11-12 (Image, $1.99 each) is a book I’m behind on but enjoying immensely due to the feeling that just about anything can happen and two-color art from Fabio Moon featuring a shade of blue that’s not easy to forget. … Elephantmen: War Toys #2 (Image/Active Images, $2.99) is, as always, worth a look for the outstanding Euro-style artwork by Moritat and excellent coloring and lettering, with this issue featuring some very nice rock tones in a story that engages even though I didn’t read #1.

Variety View on Comics for 4/8/08

Let's try something a little different and see what happens ...

COMICS IN FILM: The Ventura County Star writes about Sparky Greene, a Malibu writer and producer who’s trying to jump-start a new superhero universe through comics only to find that in the comics market it’s a lot harder than it looks (h/t to The Beat) … Boom! Studios continues to rise, with its comic “North Wind” optioned to Davis Entertainment … Ving Rhames, Radha Mitchell and Rosamund Pike have joined the cast of “The Surrogates,” a Disney feature film based on the Top Shelf graphic novel and starring Bruce Willis. … Something is coming for the new Frank Miller film of “Will Eisner’s The Spirit.” A Facebook widget is counting down to something — likely the planned unveiling of the teaser trailer and poster at the New York Comic-Con — and some poster images and photos are starting to leak out.

TV: With WB’s “The Batman” animated series wrapped up, the next DC toon series is “The Brave and the Bold,” which will feature Batman teaming up with other DCU denizens in each episode.

BUSINESS: The judge in the Superman copyright lawsuit has ordered the heirs of Jerry Siegel and DC/WB to spend 60 days working on a settlement. If none is reached, trial is set to begin Nov. 4. ... Platinum Studios, which recently went public, has filed its 2007 financial reports.

PEOPLE: Boom! Studios has hired Wendy Williams as its new general manager. Williams formerly worked at Universal in TV development, production and distribution. She also has worked as an independent producer and consultant, most recently as co-producer on Sci Fi’s “Eureka” series. She also is a VP in the Producers Guild and an executive member of Women in Film. ... Former Wildstorm editor Scott Dunbier has joined IDW as special projects editor.

COMICS PUBLISHING: Former Eurythmics rocker Dave Stewart’s “Zombie Broadway” has debuted as a 56-page special from Virgin Comics, which published last year Stewart’s previous comics effort, “Walk In.” An animated trailer can be seen here. … Troma Films character The Toxic Avenger will guest star in issue #45 of Batton Lash’s “Supernatural Law” series, due out in June. … The Hero Initiative and Marvel announces a tribute book coming in June in honor of artist Mike Weiringo, who died unexpectedly of heart failure last year at age 44. … Howard Chaykin’s classic series “American Flagg!” returns to print in July from Image and Dynamite in a newly re-colored hardcover collection of the series’ first 14 issues plus a new Chaykin story. The content will be split into two softcover volumes, the first of which will come out in September. … Writer Joe Casey and artist Andy Suriano’s new series about a magician, “Charlatan Ball,” will be published in June by Image. … IDW will publish an official sequel to last summer’s “Transformers” movie in the five-issue comicbook series “Transformers: The Reign of Starscream.”

BEYOND COMICS: A fan-made trailer for “Kick-Ass,” the new Icon comic from Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., is making the rounds online. Click on the video above to see it. … Captain Action Partners is working on bringing back the toy sensation of yesteryear, tapping classic DC and Captain Action artist Murphy Anderson to create new packaging art. … Alan C. Martin, co-creator of the comic “Tank Girl,” has written a new novel from Titan Press starring the character. “Tank Girl” also was turned into a film in 1995 that starred Lori Petty and was directed by Rachel Talalay.

CONVENTIONS: The Bristol International Comics Expo in England is set for May 10-11 with a guest list that should please any fan of 1980s comics, including Jim Shooter, Walter and Louise Simonson, Jim Starlin, Dave Gibbons, Mike Carey, Alan Davis and more. … L. Neil Smith, Mike Baron, Scott Bieser and Jen Zach will appear at Majesticon this Sunday in Denver. … An exclusive variant edition of The Uncanny X-Men #497 featuring a cover by Marko Djurdjevic will be given out at the sixth annual Emerald City Comic-Con, set for May 10-11 in Seattle.

Review: Star Trek: Year Four — The Enterprise Experiment #1

Creators: D.C. Fontana and Derek Chester, writers; Gordon Purcell and Terry Pallot, artists
IDW, 32 pages, color, $3,99
So? As a longtime fan of Star Trek, comicbooks and Star Trek comicbooks, this is a very good mixture of all the things that Trek fans like about Trek. The second Year Four series — remember, the U.S.S. Enterprise was originally on a five-year mission that was cut short after three by NBC — this story is a sequel to a Year Three TV episode in which Captain Kirk steals an experimental Romulan cloaking device from a very attractive female Romulan commander. That episode was written by D.C. Fontana, who has written episodes of almost every TV incarnation of the show and makes her debut as comics writer here. The art team of Purcell and Pallot also has a lot of experience with Trek, with each having drawn dozens of Trek comics for previous publishers. Not surprisingly, this ends up being a satisfying tale that hits all the right buttons for the die-hard Trek fan, even as its fan-friendliness makes it less likely to bring in casual or new fans. Given the number of bad Trek comics that have been published (Gold Key and Marvel, I'm talking mostly about you), that's more than good enough for now as we wait to see how much the new movie due out next year can revive interest in the Trek brand. Grade: B-

Deal memo: Stan Lee, 'Last Blood,' 'Afterburn'

Comics movie news from Variety and around the web:

* Stan Lee has set up three original pics at Disney through his POW! Entertainment company. The titles are "Nick Ratchet," "Tigress" and "Blaze." Lee and POW! partner are exec producing the pics, which all are based on stories by Lee.

* Tobey Maguire has picked up the rights to "Afterburn," a comic published by Canadian house Red 5.

* Benderspink has added the vampire title "Last Blood" to its slate of comics pics in development.

* Keanu Reeves tells MTV about turning the roles of Dr. Manhattan in "Watchmen" and Racer X in "Speed Racer."

'Comic Foundry' is the new must-read comics mag

I can't remember the last time I picked up a magazine and, flipping through it, instantly knew I wanted to read every last article within it. But that was truly the case with the second issue of Comic Foundry, which editor in chief and art director Tim Leong has expanded from its first issue and web origins into a gorgeous, full-color, modern and very smart guide to everything comics fans are into. That includes everything from fashion and videogames, to cool toys, celebrity interviews and humorous pieces such as a Goddamn All-Star Batman drinking game. But the overriding emphasis is on comics and the folks who make comics, all captured with a slick, modern and fun look.

This is essential reading, and has the potential to be the voice of today's comics scene, the way The Comics Journal was in the 1970s and 1980s and Wizard was in the 1990s. While blogs and web-zines are great and all, I have missed having a magazine like this around that's both fun to read and goes into more depth than most blogs go into. I have rarely if ever plugged anything like this in the more than four years since this blog began, so take that as a sign of how impressed I am and look for a copy of this mag when it comes out this week.

'Superman' ruling rocks comics world

By now, news of last week’s ruling that restores to the heirs of Jerry Siegel part of the copyright to Superman has spread far and wide. (Variety's report focuses on the Siegels' attorney, Marc Toboroff, and his antagonistic relationship with WB.)  It’s impossible to not want to comment on this case, given the stature of the Siegel and Shuster in comicbook history and the implications it may have for one of the most popular characters in the world.

I could prattle on about the fascinating details for pages, but will refrain as many others have already done so better than I could and apologize even so for the length of this post. I confess to having read the judge’s full ruling, available from Jeff Trexler’s comprehensive site, more than once and will probably go over it again. It also has sent me back to Gerard Jones’ excellent book, “Men of Tomorrow,” which recounts in detail the origins of DC Comics, Superman and the entire comicbook industry and is highly recommended.

The real issue is what does this mean for Superman? The copyright that was reclaimed by the Siegels was only to the Superman material in Action Comics #1. Which may not seem too significant given the thousands of issues published since, except that that story establishes a heck of a lot about Superman, including his origin as an alien child sent from a dying planet, that he wears tights and a cape, his alter-ego of Clark Kent, Clark’s employment as a newspaper reporter, his faux mild-mannered behavior as Clark, the odd love triangle with beautiful reporter Lois, and powers including invulnerability, super speed, super strength and the ability to leap long distances through the air. That’s a lot, but not all of what we’ve come to know as the Superman mythos. There’s no Jimmy Olsen, flight powers, Fortress of Solitude, Perry White, Kryptonite, Lex Luthor, Brainiac or General Zod. (The Superboy mythos, including Smallville, the Kents and Lana Lang is part of a separate case the Siegels have filed.)

In the short term, the ruling seems like it won’t have much of an impact even if it is upheld on the inevitable appeal. The real impact would likely be behind the scenes as attorneys try to assign dollar values to the elements each party can claim ownership to since the copyright reverted in 1999. This would result in a massive and long overdue payday for the Siegels, especially given this ruling has opened the door for making WB account for its earnings from the character in other media. That means the studio would be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars to the Siegels for “Superman Returns,” various animated projects like “Justice League: The New Frontier,” the upcoming “Justice League of America” movie and any sequels to “Superman Returns.”

But given this complex situation, it's hard to imagine the character being significantly altered or departing DC/WB for another studio or publisher. Extricating the Action #1 elements from the rest of the Superman mythos and one side proceeding without the other appears practically impossible for either party. And since I also can’t imagine the Siegels have the interest at this point in creative control over the character’s comics or movies, DC and WB likely will be free to continue to do what they’ve been doing, with the only difference being that they will have to pay for the privilege of using someone else’s character.

What’s been disappointing in all this is that WB could have easily done more to help the Siegels and the Shusters — and could have done so while Jerry and Joe were still alive — not to mention avoided this hugely expensive legal dispute. WB bought DC in the late 1960s and was therefore free of the long history between DC founder Harry Donenfeld and the artists. Would it have been so hard to share with Siegel and Shuster a meaningful portion of the billions — yes, billions — Superman has brought in for the company? Yes, WB did in 1975 restore their credit, provide medical insurance and pay a small annual stipend to Siegel and Shuster, but the amounts involved were less than a pittance for so large a company.

The few fans who have been railing on message boards against the ruling out of fear it might affect the comics they buy should be ashamed of themselves for excusing the greed of a corporation that has done everything in its power to avoid compensating in any meaningful financial way the Siegels and Shusters. That the copyright act under which the Siegels were able to reclaim their copyright — as well as all subsequent revisions to said laws — was written to protect large companies’ interests in long-standing copyrights is a welcome irony in an otherwise tragic tale.

What this means for other characters has yet to be seen, but it’s certainly not a doom and gloom situation. The circumstances of the creation of the Action Comics #1 tale separate it from those of most other classic superheroes — particularly the Marvel ones, which appear to have been mostly created under conditions that qualify under the law as work for hire and are generally exempt from this kind of legal action.

This ruling also should serve as a cautionary tale for both creators and publishers: for creators to protect their rights to avoid losing control of their stories and characters, and for publishers to remember to treat fairly the creative talents that make your success possible.

Review: Logan #1

Creators: Brian K. Vaughan, writer; Eduardo Risso, artist
Marvel, 32 pages, color, $3.99; also available in a 24-page black-and-white edition for $3.99
So? Normally, a new Wolverine miniseries wouldn't elicit much interest from fans — but when it's written by Brian K. Vaughan, creator of "Y: The Last Man" and now writing for "Lost," and drawn by Eduardo Risso of "100 Bullets" fame, it's definitely worth a look. This comic, the first of three issues, was released in both a regular color edition and a black-and-white edition. If you only get one copy, get the black-and-white edition, which in a classy move excludes all the color ads and terrifically shows off Risso's astounding ink work. The story is as good a Wolverine story as Marvel has published in a long time. Set in Japan, Logan returns to the place where "he became a man" and flashes back to being a Japanese POW camp in World War II. His escape brings him into contact with an ethereal Japanese woman (he does have a tendency to fall for that type) and she protects him. This story doesn't reinvent the wheel, but the final page does present a plot twist that is sure to make the next two issues as cool to read and look at as this one is. Grade: A-

Review: Countdown to Final Crisis #7-5

Creators: Paul Dini, head writer; Adam Beechen, writer; Keith Giffen, story consultant; Tom Derenick, Mike Norton, Jim Starlin, Wayne Faucher, Jimmy Palmiotti and Rodney Ramos, artists.
DC Comics, 32 pages, color, $2.99 each
So? "Countdown" has taken a beating from fans for not being as good as "52," and many of their complaints through this weekly series have been legitimate. But to be fair, "Countdown" has improved tremendously in its second half in general and as the plot has begun to builds toward its conclusion in the most recent issues. I won't bother to go into too much detail about the specifics of the plot, but a plague has been unleashed through the multiverse, with the Monitors, Darkseid and the OMACs all lining up against the heroes for a big final showdown. The art in particular has been strong on these past few issues, which has helped make this a more compelling read. How well this series will hold up, though, is still up in the air. It took a long time and a good many issues that felt unfocused to get to this point, and I have the disappointing sense that "Countdown's" plot will not be resolved in its own pages, but rather in upcoming mega-crossover "Final Crisis." It seems the lesson of "Countdown" is to make sure that future weekly efforts find a laser-precise focus early on and stick with it, or risk becoming merely an expensive bridge between the publishing events that drive the superhero end of comics these days. Grade: B-