Quickie Weekend post

I wasn't planning on posting on the weekend, but my dad's plane is delayed and I had some spare time. So just a couple quick things I found while perusing the blogosphere:

• Interview with DC scribe Dan Jurgens, who is writing the back-up "History of the Multiverse" stories in Countdown, over at The Pulse. Also they have all of their Countdown articles compiled here.
• Comics Alliance has photos of the new Mach 5 from the upcoming Speed Racer movie. Not a Speed Racer fan here, but the car looks awesome.
  
• DC Comics announced Sept 18, 2007 release of feature length animated Superman movie called "Superman Doomsday". Interesting thing about this is that it will be rated PG-13, which DC seems proud of for some reason. I wouldn't think limited the audience of a cartoon is necessarily a good idea, much less something to crow about on the day you announce it.
• Got an hour to kill? Head over to CBR and read an interesting article on the topic of comic creators "selling out" by selling their properties to Hollywood.
  
• Scipio at The Absorbascon pointed out yesterday where Jimmy Olsen's superspeed may have come from:

  Jimmy Olsen once gained the power of superspeed in "Jimmy Olsen, Speed Demon" (Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen 15, September 1956). Just so you know.

  If he turns into a turtle or a porcupine next week, we'll have a better idea of What the hell is going on with Jimmy Olsen.

Well my time is up, have fun with your weekend. See you on Monday.

CG

More for the Weekend

OK, got lots of stuff I am going through here, so I am going to update this the rest of the day, give you some good stuff to get you through the weekend. CG

• More Teen Titans movie news, courtesy of IGN:

  In a posting at his official blog, Verheiden revealed, "I wish there were an emoticon big enough to express how thrilled I am to be involved in the project! I'm not a fan of super-early spoilers, but I will say the script involves the Nightwing character and will be exploring the Titans at an interesting (and universal) crossroads in their lives."
  
  He later added, "I'm not sure why so many folks are assuming we won't be using the 'top tier' Titans. I'm not ready to list the characters we ARE using (other than Nightwing), but you won't be disappointed. There's also a lot of discussion about possible 'rights issues.' There were internal conversations re: which characters we'll be using, but last time I checked, Time/Warner still owned DC Comics, meaning it's all in the family."

• From NeilGaiman.com, who has been working on a movie adaptation of Stardust:

  Got an email from Paramount telling me that Stardust now has a myspace account at http://www.myspace.com/stardustmovie and they want lots of friends.

• Went to said myspace page and found a trailer, looks pretty good and stars Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer (yum) and Claire Danes (double yum):

• One more tidbit from NeilGaiman.com:

  He is listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography as one of the top ten living post-modern writers, and is a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama.

  Yeah I can see that. Dude is amazing. I have been reading some of the 1602 Marvel series and am even more blown away than when I read Sandman for the first time. Ok enough Gaiman man-love, onto other things.
• From a Newsarama interview with Flash scribe (among other projects) Marc Guggenheim, a few hints as to the future of the Scarlet Speedster and what the future holds for him:

  NRAMA: And, um, there’s the matter of a certain issue of Flash shipping next week that’s been generating a lot of buzz…can you offer us any hints as to what will happen?
  
  MG: Big stuff is coming up. Huge. However, it's been so huge we can't even solicit it outright without spoiling, so there's nothing I can tell you without doing the same. That having been said, some hints about Flash #13:
  
  1) Barry appears. Kinda.
  
  2) The splash page is a homage to a classic Flash-related cover.
  
  3) There are a lot of candles.
  
  4) Bart says, "I. Am. The. Flash!!!!"
  
  5) Inertia gets his comeuppance.
  
  6) Everyone who thinks I've gotten Piper wrong should check this issue out.
  
  7) Bart's relationship with Val takes a major step forward.
  
  8) Bart puts a chokehold on his grandmother. No, really.

  Holy shit, Barry Allen comes back is all I got out of that. Seriously though, sounds huge for the Flash starting with issue #13. It may just get the Flash back on my pull list if they do this right.
• I hope you all enjoy the kickass countdown clock up top. You can get it for your own blog or website at www.incrediblehulk.com.
• From CBR:
  

  SPAWN 2
  
  How bad does creator Todd McFarlane want the sequel/reboot to happen? So much that he's willing to put his money where his mouth is, according to an interview at Home Media Magazine (it's a bit of a download, be patient). McFarlane, who's writing the script now, said, "I can make a spooky, suspenseful thriller that will scare the crap out of you."

  Wow, make sure you follow that Home Media link if you have any interest in online media like magazines or comics. That's how it should be done. Good resolution, easy to use interface, very nice layout and free.
  

Probably have a couple more things this afternoon, so check back. Otherwise, have a good weekend, and see you on Monday for lots of comic goodness.

CG

So I was wrong...

Just finished reading Action Comics #850 and everything I said the other day about the artwork of Renaldo Guedes and Jose Wilson Magalhaes was wrong. First of all, I saw no bicycle shorts anywhere. Second, Supergirl looks hot!

I could actually become a fan of this type of artwork, it is "hyper-realistic" and while I wouldn't want that in every comic, I could get used to in one or two of the titles I buy regularly.

So, yeah, I am sorry for all the business I gave them for this, but I still think those sketches from the other post make her look a little too "biker dyke"-ish. Though she does know Wonder Woman pretty well.... do I smell an adult-oriented spinoff?

CG

Previews Review

Over at Mike Sterling's Progressive Ruin, he takes a look at all the fun stuff in the merch section of the new Previews . I was looking at it with my wife last night, and almost convinced her to spend $125.00 on a trash can. Yes.... a trash can. Cooler heads prevailed, but it is still the coolest trash can I have ever seen.


Full-size, 24' tall and you step on his center foot to open it up. Now I am not a crazy Star Wars fanboy, just a regular one (you crazy ones know who you are and what makes you special), but this really piques my interest. Other than this, all I ever really wanted was a wise green midget to give me advice in weird sentences. And a Vader helmet to wear around the house when I am in a foul mood. Maybe Previews will have that next week.

CG

New Weekly Feature: Friday Funny

What the hell is going on with Jimmy Olsen?

Last week in Countdown #49, Jimmy Olsen gets attacked by Killer Croc and goes all spazoid with what seems to be residual elasticity powers (he was Elastic Lad at one point in time, in case you forgot). With Ralph Dibny hanging up the mantle of Elongated Man, maybe DC is positioning Olsen to take over, but I hope not.



Now, in Countdown #48 (released today), a piece of a building is falling on some people and he seems to exhibit super-speed. No explanation, and Olsen didn't seem to know, so that kinda blows the Elongated Man theory out the window.


So, what the hell is going on with Jimmy Olsen? Does he have some red kryptonite in his pocket? Is it some strange space rays or something? Or is DC really going to punish us all and make Jimmy frickin Olsen a superhero again? I was running out of reasons to continue reading Countdown since the Legion interludes are rare and very small, not to mention they are all covered in the Lightning Saga crossover in JSA and JLA. But now I am going to continue reading just to see how disappointed a fanboy could be in his favorite company.

CG

New FF2 Trailer

New Fantastic Four 2 trailer shown last night on "So You Think You Can Dance". Some good stuff in here, including scenes of each of the Four taking on Johnny's powers.



Thanks to Superhero Hype.

CG

Teen Titans Movie

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Teen Titans will be made into a movie by Warner Bros. It is being written by Tom Verheiden:

Verheiden was a writer-producer on "Smallville," the TV series that revolved around the adventures of a young Clark Kent/Superman, and is a writer-producer on "Battlestar Galactica." Verheiden also is a comic writer and creator, penning "Timecop" and "The Mask," both of which were adapted to the big screen in the early 1990s.

Hollywood Reporter speculates, without a source, that Nightwing may, or may not, be one of the characters used for the movie and that it will be made in the same style as "Batman Begins", "Superman Returns" and the upcoming Watchmen movie, whatever that means.

Batman Begins and Superman Returns are nothing alike in style or substance. And since no one has seen The Watchmen movie yet, we don't know what style that will be either. For all we know they could make it look like the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake and really screw it up.

So what have we learned? That a guy who writes a TV show (albeit one of my absolute favorites), sees Will Smith as a superhero (in the upcoming "superhero-themed" movie "Tonight He Comes), and owns the rights to the "Doom Patrol" movie (do I smell a Beast Boy crossover here?) is going to tackle an ensemble cast movie starring not only a lot of people's favorite hero's, but also a lot of sidekicks of a lot of other people's favorite hero's (whew, that was a long sentence with a lot of parentheses). Ugh. I see a romantic comedy "Teen Titans" with faux-leather outfits, bad acting (James Franco is already waiting by his phone), and not enough time in 2 hours to define even the main characters, much less the large extended family that is core to the Titans.


CG



Update: I just went over to Newsarama and saw they have the same thing on their front page. I want to make it clear that I didn't just take their story and run with it. If I ever get something from somewhere else, specifically another blog, I will always give a hat tip. Other than that, it's kinda nice to know that I am on the same page as some of the more experienced sites.

On the Rack - 5/30/07

A few things going on today that warrant a mention:

• Marvel announced the release of a bunch of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer action figures here. Also a kick-ass looking Walmart exclusive Silver Surfer here.


• The first 52 TPB is released tomorrow covering issues #1-#13, which means there will probably only be either 4 or 5 (if they release the 52 Covers TPB as rumored) to pickup if you missed the series the first time around.


• Newsarama speculates on the recently released Flash teaser and whether it spells doom for Bart Allen. (My take is he won't die, however, one poster there makes an interesting point that a Flash movie starring the dead Bary Allen is in the pipe...)


• Newsarama also has a first look at the Michael Turner variant cover for World War Hulk #1.


• Don't forget as World War Hulk steamrolls the Marvel Universe, that you can find a full list of comics the Hulk will be obliterating here at The Comic Rack.

That's all today folks, see ya for more comic goodness tomorrow.

CG

Something NOT Marvel or DC

I said before that I would probably find reasons to talk about things other than Marvel or DC, and to be honest, it didn't take long once I found this. Ok, ok, I realize this news is about 2 weeks old, but it's the first I have heard about it.


GROO IS COMING BACK!!!


Yes, I really am excited. Groo Comics by Sergio Aragones were the ones I found upstairs in my uncle's bedroom, because he had to hide them, or my grandma would've whooped his ass for reading such filth.

If you have ever picked up a Mad Magazine, you have likely seen some Aragones art. If you have never read Groo, you are missing out on some very funny and irreverent comics. Groo's 25th Anniversary Special will be released by Dark Horse Comics on Aug. 1st, 2007.

Celebrate twenty-five years of the world's stupidest barbarian doing stupid and barbaric things! After a brief hiatus, the Champion of Cheese Dip is back to battle the menace of "The Plague," an all-new story by the same guys responsible for all the Groo stories for the last quarter-century, Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier. Also, thrill to The Groo Alphabet, a primer of that hero's friends and foes (mostly foes), followed by a special illustrated text story by Sergio and Mark on how this comic came to be and why it just won't go away. Plus other silly features.

Here's a little taste of Sergio Aragones from the comic "Sergio Aragones Destroys DC". Clicking each one will blow them up large enough to read. Sorry if the layout gets all screwed up, first time I have tried to post pages like that.

August can't come soon enough.
CG

The Pulse interviews Tony Bedard

Being a red-blooded male comic geek, I, of course, love Supergirl if for no other reason than every artist decides to draw her wearing what amounts to a bustier and a skirt my wife would slap me if I asked her to wear it in public, much less fly around town in. Blond haired, blue eyed, a little vacuous sometimes, pretty much the perfect woman, and that's before you throw in the whole Kryptonian thing. And then there is this:


Excerpts from The Pulse:

THE PULSE: For those of our readers who might need a primer on this Supergirl, who is she? What sets her apart from the Linda Lee/Kara Zor-El that most might have grown up reading about ...?

BEDARD: One nice thing is that I am relatively unburdened by knowledge of previous Supergirls. Yeah, I read some of their previous appearances, but I never did figure out what the deal was with the girl/matrix/angel thing or anything like that. I'm just sticking to the basics: Kara is from Krypton, she's insanely powerful, but she wants to be good. I also happen to think she needs to eat a sandwich and cover up a bit, but then I'm a father.

THE PULSE: What's it like working with artists Renato Guedes and Jose Wilson Magalhaes on Supergirl?

BEDARD: I'm just getting going, so I'm waiting to see what Renato does on this story, but I'm very excited about it. This guy is brilliant! I saw some character studies he did of Supergirl, and they're brilliant. Now, if I was 17 and ruled by hormones, the zero-bodyfat, nearly-naked Supergirl would probably be my fave. But Renato's take is much more like a living, breathing person, which makes her all the more endearing and fascinating. This guy is on his way to Tony Harris-style fame and fortune, and I'm honored to have a chance to work with him.

OK, so she is still blond haired and blue eyed, and nothing will change the fact she is a few issues short of a longbox, but bicycle shorts??? Seriously, look at the bottom left of that image, her dress flies up and she is wearing bicycle shorts! What's next? Will Black Canary give up fishnet stockings for those stupid leggings with the stirrups that soccer moms tend to wear? Is Wonder Woman going to start wearing a sarong?

Then there is this series of sketches:


I think most of us know this girl. She is the one in high school who was convinced she could kick any of the boys asses, and in most cases (re: my high school), she was right.

If it sounds like I am just bagging on this new creative team, I am not. But I think there is a place in comics for a little T&A and this was one of them.

Here's some of their previous work:

Tony Bedard
Renato Guedes
Jose Wilson Magalhaes (for some reason he doesn't pop up on cbdb.com, if you know about his previous work let us know in the comments)

CG

Silver Surfer coins illegal

From Newsarama:

Last Friday, the Mint issued a release in which it said it had learned of the quarter, and the planned promotion, and advised the studio and The Franklin Mint that they were, in fact, breaking the law. As many Newsarama posters had pondered and posited, it’s illegal to turn US currency into an advertising vehicle. Violators can face a fine.

From the release:

"The promotion is in no way approved, authorized, endorsed, or sponsored by the United States Mint, nor is it in any way associated or affiliated with the United States Mint."

This seemed fishy to me to begin with, but the Franklin Mint seems to carry a lot of credibility, so I think many probably just brushed it off and assumed it was all legit. The interesting part of this is how many have been distributed so far, and what will the value be if they are pulled? Did Marvel and/or Fox do this on purpose, knowing that is was illegal? Think about it, it is a little difficult to produce "viral marketing" on something as big as the Fantastic Four movie, so maybe they pulled this little stunt, leaked it to the U.S. Mint and got themselves some publicity.

On the day of their release I had one of the Fox reps come into my work with a bucket full of these quarters that they told him to go out and spend to get them in circulation. I saved several of the ones he spent in my store for myself of course P. Since these coins were given to me at the point of purchase from a Fox Rep himself I can say with 100% certainty that they are uncirculated and in mint condition, straight from the mint!

"Bucket full"? That's alot of quarters, and you would think if they knew everything was on the up-and-up they wouldn't be taking bucketfuls of quarters to dealers and telling them to circulate them.

CG

Holidays make me cry

Normally by Tuesday, I am figuring out which comics I am going to buy this week, and trying to convince my wife that we really can afford to spend $20-$30 a week on comics (that's more than my car payment! Yes, I drive a beater).

But no, someone has a BBQ and next thing you know, I have to wait until Thursday. Luckily this week, the pickings are pretty slim. This has to do with it being a 5-week month and for whatever reason they won't crack the whip on those lazy, lazy creators and have them produce an extra weeks worth of comics for us... All sarcasm aside, there are some good comics coming out this week.

Marvel Comics releasing this week:

• New Avengers: Illuminati #3
• New Excalibur #20
• Daredevil #97
• Ultimate Fantastic Four #42
• Spider-Man Fairy Tales #1
• Wolverine #54
• X-23: Target X #6

DC Comics Releasing this week:

• Action Comics #850
• Amazons Attack #2 (of 6)
• Countdown #48
• Green Lantern #20
• Justice Society of America #6
• JSA Classified #26
• Teen Titans #47
• Blue Beetle #15
• Hawkgirl #64

A few things here I want to talk about. First and foremost, I am a DC fanboy, always have been, ever since I sat in my grandma's basement for hours on end reading old issues of Adventure Comics and dreaming I was in the Legion of Superheroes. Luckily she also had alot of X-men, too, so I am familiar and appreciate the Marvel Universe quite a bit, too. In fact, I named my first born son Logan after Wolverine, by far my single most favorite character in comics. All of that just to explain why I don't list any of the other publishers. Maybe this little thing I am doing will bring me a healthy respect for them.

Secondly, I wanted to go into a little detail about some of the comics releasing this week. If this all gets to wordy for you, let me know, when it comes to comics, I can get long-winded.

Spider-man Fairy Tales #1

This is being done in the same vein as X-Men fairy Tales, and if you read any of those, then no doubt this will be on your pull list soon. If you didn't, what Marvel does is takes our beloved heroes and place them into fairy tales (hence the name). Issue #1 here places Peter and Mary Jane in the world of Little Red Riding Hood, with Mary Jane on her way to Aunt May's house.

Wolverine #54

This is one of the ones that is going to bug me having to wait until Thursday for. Simon Bianchi's art is amazing and Jeph Loeb is an absolute mastermind spinning a tale out over 5 issues and pitting the two nastiest dirtiest fighters to walk the earth. Wolverine vs. Sabretooth. 'Nuff said.

Countdown #48

Countdown continues as we get to see the ripple effect that Duela Dent's multiverse hopping and eventual execution by the Monitor has on the entire DC Universe. I can't say I am enthralled with this story yet, but I am giving it a shot. The Monitors seem like a creepy race of wanna-be pornstars or something, with their voyeuristic tendencies and those mustaches! Also Jimmy Olsen as a focal point? Only good way I can see this going after 52 is for Jimmy to become Elastic Lad (Man?) again and replace Ralph Dibney. My money is on Turtle Man making a return though.

Amazons Attack #2 (of 6)

Will Pfeifer was completely off my radar until this mini-series came out. But from what I have seen so far and what I have found in back issues to read of his, I am now a fan. Also the scene from the first issue of thousands upon thousands of Amazons invading Washington D.C. was absolutely amazing. I have to give credit to Pete Woods for that though, another creator off my radar altogether.

Justice Society of America #6

You see the Alex Ross covers and figure it just can't get much better inside, but it does. Geoff Johns (is it possible he is underrated, even after everything he has done?) has revitalized this franchise as even a fanboy such as myself never thought could be done. 52 has brought credibility to their fractured continuity and now the Lightning Saga is going to bring them into line with the JLA and the Legion as one of the great supergroups of the DC Multiverse. This is already my most anticipated storyline I have ever read. I don't want this blog to become a personal sounding board on what comics you should buy, and try to force my opinion on you, but the Lightning Saga storyline is absolutely can't-miss.

CG

What's on my mind - 5/28/07

World War Hulk

This guy absolutely scares the hell out of me, and now the entire Marvel universe has him very, very mad. Not that I blame him, if someone shot me into space, I would be looking for revenge too. The big difference being that I am not over 8 foot tall, green and strong enough to practically tear a world in two. I think it will be interesting to see who sides with him and who stands up to him.

Roadmap to World War Hulk

(all dates subject to change, as is the reading order)

Previous list erased in favor of new one posted below:

Update: Thanks to Sakrilege on the Z-Cult forums, who provided an updated list. I'll skip adding dates since Marvel is making it obvious they won't making them.


MAY


[x] WORLD WAR HULK PROLOGUE: WORLD BREAKER #1
[x] INCREDIBLE HULK #106


JUNE


[] WORLD WAR HULK #1
[] GHOST RIDER #12
[] HEROES FOR HIRE #11
[] INCREDIBLE HULK #107
[] INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #19
[] WORLD WAR HULK X-MEN #1
[] WORLD WAR HULK: FRONT LINE #1


JULY


[] WORLD WAR HULK #2
[] AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #4
[] GHOST RIDER #13
[] HEROES FOR HIRE #12
[] INCREDIBLE HULK #108
[] INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #20
[] IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #10
[] WORLD WAR HULK: FRONT LINE #2
[] WORLD WAR HULK: GAMMA CORPS #1
[] WORLD WAR HULK: X-MEN #2


AUGUST


[] WORLD WAR HULK #3
[] AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #5
[] HEROES FOR HIRE #13
[] INCREDIBLE HULK #109
[] WORLD WAR HULK: FRONT LINE #3
[] WORLD WAR HULK: FRONT LINE #4
[] WORLD WAR HULK:GAMMA CORPS #2
[] WORLD WAR HULK: X-MEN #3


SEPTEMBER


[] WORLD WAR HULK #4
[] HEROES FOR HIRE #14
[] INCREDIBLE HULK #110
[] WORLD WAR HULK: FRONT LINE #5
[] WORLD WAR HULK: GAMMA CORPS #3


OCTOBER


[] WORLD WAR HULK #5
[] HEROES FOR HIRE #15
[] PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #12
[] WORLD WAR HULK: FRONT LINE #6
[] WORLD WAR HULK: GAMMA CORPS #4

Link me!

If you have found your way here, you are one of two things:

1. a comic book lover like myself, or
2. terribly misguided

Either way, email me a link to your blog and I will add it to the list over there. In return, all I ask is that you do the same for me. (No, I am not a total noob, I know this is how blogs work, but just in case someone else doesn't, I wanted to make it clear.)

I love comics

There seems to be a void of quality blogs about comics and how people feel about them in the blogosphere by us, the fans (and fanboys). I hope I can help fill that. Why me? Because I love comics, and I know many, many others do, too. So if you enjoy them, please drop me a comment, and come back often. My plan is to post at least 3 times a week, and to encompass everything that I like I about comics, from back issues to current series, to movies and news about comics and the people who love them.

There will be bad moments, and I hope, there will be good moments, too. But I am new to this, so I will learn. Tell me when I screw something, it'll make this venture that much better for both of us.

Thanks

ComicGeek