SUPERNEWS ABOUT SUPERDUDES: MOSTLY MOVIES AND T.V. EDITION

Posted on June 22nd, 2010 by ekko

1.  THE STARS OF DCTV. Details about DC television projects have come to light during the past week or so.  First, Aqualad, an original Teen Titan who was so lame that he was left out of Wolfman/Perez’s New Teen Titans for the first three years of the team reboot, is a member of the upcoming DC animated series “Young Justice” (a non-Teen Titans cartoon about Teen Titans like Superboy, Kid Flash, and Robin).  And he’ll be in comics, too, starring in Aquaman: Reborn #10.  Sorry, I meant Brightest Day.  Why do all the Brightest Day covers have Aquaman front and center?  Second, it looks like Darkseid might be the big bad for the final season of Smallville.  And finally, DC is working on a live-action Blue Beetle show with a Latino star as the Jaime Reyes incarnation of the (kinda lame) hero.

2.  MEN IN BLACK BACK IN 3D. So, with two minority-featuring DC live-action projects underway, it’s time for an indie project to jump in as well, right?  Too bad it’s this warmed over Will Smith flick.

3.  MARVEL MOVIES. Some updates on the Marvel big screen front.  First, Deadpool.  Rumors abound that Robert Rodriguez has been offered the director’s seat.  I dunno how they’re gonna film it, though, what with Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern flick already getting the (ahem) green light for a sequel.  (Wouldn’t it be cool if Deadpool’s self-awareness that he is in a comic book translated on the screen as self-awareness that he is also Green Lantern?)  The screenplay is being drafted by the dudes who wrote Zombieland, one of the most fun violent movies I’ve seen in years.  Second, the next Ghost Rider flick will be directed by the team who did “Crank” and “Crank 2” (not terrible movies, but not great ones, either), and will likely continue to star Nic Cage.  Based on the title (“Spirits of Vengeance”), it sounds like it will be based on the Jason Aaron story arc involving Danny Ketch.  Not Aaron’s best work, but a solid story.  Finally, Captain America: First Avenger may include The Invaders—or at least some of them.  Wicked!

4.  BLACK PANTHER ON iTUNES! It’s just the title sequence, but the Marvel Studios/BET manga project is now up on iTunes.  I truly hope this is in advance of the series being released in the USA.  So far, only Australia has seen it.  Reggie Hudlin, who wrote the comic for several years and is now a BET executive, talks about the show here.  It’s supposed to come out tomorrow, June 23, on iTunes–which is annoying as hell–and some gamer networks (Xbox, Zune, Playstation).  But Shout! Factory has the DVD rights.  Their website is silent about it, but I’m hoping it will be released on a “normal” platform so I don’t have to huddle round the computer screen with my kids.

5.  THE WALKING DEAD. AMC released more stills.  Every shot looks true to the comic, from the zombies to Rick Grimes (left).  High, high hopes here.  The show blog has some other photos, here.

6.  Finally, a free ad spot for the free webcomic Wayward Sons, written By Benny Powell with art by Weilin Yang.  I thought it looked pretty good.

Tags: Blackest Night, Comic books, Superheroes

WHO SHOULD WIN THE EISNER AWARDS?

Posted on April 20th, 2010 by ekko

The prestigious (for comics anyway) Eisner awards have been nominated, and, of course, I haven’t read most of the books on there because I mostly read capes, and mostly Marvel at that, and the Eisners tend to be about indie creativity rather than mainstream popularity or hot-fun action. But that doesn’t stop me from having some opinions about some of the major categories . . .

Best Limited Series or Story Arc.

Nominees: Blackest Night (DC); Incognito, (Marvel Icon); Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka (VIZ Media); “Old Man Logan” story arc (Marvel); The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Marvel).

First of all, I haven’t read “Pluto,” so it shouldn’t win. And at the risk of committing sacrilege, I like Brubaker’s superhero work but his crime comics leave me a little cold, so that takes out Incognito. Blackest Night was a lot of fun, but the first three (and a half) issues were lengthy exposition that made for good reading only if you were a DC Nerd of the highest order. And it’s final payoff—that DC won’t resurrect dead people anymore—is completely unbelievable. I’ve only read parts of Old Man Logan, and I loved what I saw, but I have to go with Oz. Eric Shanower’s knowledge of the original books is bottomless, and he managed to create original characters here that didn’t simply crib from the iconic film. And Skottie Young’s art is some of the best kid-friendly but adult-savvy art I’ve ever seen. And I do mean EVER. If you haven’t picked this up just for the pictures alone, shame on you. I’d also pick Oz for the Best Publication for Kids category, but Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute, another nominee, is a very close second.

What should have been nominated: Tony Stark’s mind melting story, or Geoff Johns’ Adventure Comics run, even though that one had a few missteps.

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)

Nominees: Brave & the Bold #28: “Blackhawk and the Flash: Firing Line” (DC); Captain America #601: “Red, White, and Blue-Blood” (Marvel); Ganges #3 (Fantagraphics); The Unwritten #5: “How the Whale Became” (Vertigo/DC); Usagi Yojimbo #123: “The Death of Lord Hikiji” (Dark Horse).

I don’t have a lot to say here because I haven’t read any of these except Cap, but I can safely say: Pick any of these except that one. I know it was a big deal to bring Gene Colan back, but all it did was remind me why I wasn’t so crazy about him in the first place.

Best Writer

Nominees: Ed Brubaker for Captain America, Daredevil, Marvels Project, Criminal, Incognito; Geoff Johns for Adventure Comics, Blackest Night, The Flash: Rebirth, Superman: Secret Origin; James Robinson for Justice League: Cry for Justice (DC); Mark Waid for Irredeemable, The Incredibles; and Bill Willingham for Fables.

This is the toughest category for me to pick. I’ve never been a huge Fables fan (I like it, but don’t get what all the hype is about), and ditto everything Mark Waid has ever done, so those two are easy to eliminate. Justice League hasn’t been good since the second nominee in this category left the book, so that leaves just two: Ed and Geoff. Both are great, and both are nominated for great work. But I’m giving the edge to Ed because he took his characters to places they’d never been before and, at the end of the day, Blackest Night didn’t change much about the DCU.   It resurrected a few characters, but there wasn’t any development of those characters.

Who should have been in this category: Garth Ennis, Jason Aaron, Brian Michael Bendis.

Best Continuing Series
Nominees: Fables, by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Andrew Pepoy et al. (Vertigo/DC); Irredeemable, by Mark Waid and Peter Krause (BOOM!); Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Media); The Unwritten, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Vertigo/DC); The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard (Image).

The answer here is so obvious it’s painful. The Walking Dead is like nothing you’ve ever read before: A long form story, with no obvious arcs or cliffhangers. It’s real life. With zombies.

What should have been here: The Boys, New Avengers, Batman and Robin.

Tags: Blackest Night, Captain America, Daredevil, Filthy Muties, Spider-Man, The Caped Crusader, Zombies

THE END OF BLACKEST NIGHT

Posted on April 12th, 2010 by ekko

Now that it’s over, we can look back over the 8-issue expanse of D.C.’s most recent “event,” Blackest Night, and see how it measures up. First of all, I can easily say, without a doubt, that it’s the best D.C. event ever. Hands down. All of their past Crises (except perhaps Identity Crisis) have been cluttered, unmanageable affairs with a few assets or game-changers. Batman R.I.P. was confusing and required way too much background knowledge for the average reader. Yet Blackest Night, by focusing on the Green Lantern universe but threatening all existence, was at once self-contained and expansive. And, most importantly, it actually had a slam-bang ending. The climax of an event is where even mighty Marvel missteps (Cap surrenders at the end of Civil War?!?), but Geoff Johns’ conclusion—with its reunions and resurrection no-shows–was enough to warm the heart and bring tears to the eyes.

The first three and a half issues had me doubting whether it would be worth reading. It was just a lot of esoteric characters “rising” and other characters dying without any real emotional impact or any sense that they were, in fact, truly dead. The only cross-over miniseries that I read, Superman, Batman, Titans, and Flash, were disposable. As a casual D.C. reader, there wasn’t much for me there. I was in doubt.

But then the series began to gain momentum. I began to notice how brilliant Ivan Reis’ layouts were—I’ve never seen an entire series told in widescreen before. Geoff Johns’ philosophical discussions began to actually have impact—he was done with exposition and was ready to “show not tell.” Green Lantern has always been my least favorite major D.C. hero. The only time I really liked him before Geoff Johns took over the reigns was when Robin handed him his hat in All Star Batman and Robin. And although I liked the return of Hal Jordan, and liked Sinestro War a little more, I still wasn’t loving the character or concepts. Yet I found myself looking forward to each issue of Blackest Night. It became the book I read first each week.

Was it perfect? No. Johns still spends a little too much time on concept and not enough on character, which creates emotional distance between the reader and the action. And Reis can be a little too busy—he’s the student, while George Perez is the master. And I’m not sure I believe that from here on out, dead is dead in the DCU. After all, the next big thing will be the return of Bruce Wayne. (I know, I know, he was never really “dead.”)
And in the final issue, a lot of what we all knew would happen happened. But it still hit me right in the gut. And left me trusting in, and eagerly awaiting, Brightest Day.

Tags: Blackest Night, Comic books, Zombies

MORE NEWS NEWS NEWS!

Posted on January 17th, 2010 by ekko

1.  SPIDER-MAN 4. Seems like there’s a new rumor every week.  Or, in this case, several.  First, John Malkovich said he’d been been cast as The Vulture for Spider-Man 4.  But at the same time, Sony was putting its foot down and saying it wouldn’t pay for a movie with a lead villain who was . . . Old and in green tights.  And now, in an incredible turn of events, Sony is saying the entire project is scrapped.  That’s right.  They’d rather leave Raimi, Maguire and Dunst behind than make a movie with Oscar-winner Malkovich.  Great thinking, Sony!  Way to kill a billion-dollar baby!  Now, they’re going to revive the franchise as Ultimate Spider-Man.  Great.  So now we have to sit through ANOTHER origin movie?  Sam Raimi said it best: The origin story is the one everyone has to sit through before they get to the story they really want to see.  Even if the reboot is great, there’s no way anyone can re-tell Amazing Fantasy #15 better than Raimi did in SM1.  There’s no way to make an origin fresh and exciting after what Sam and Tobey did—that was pure genius.  Top that off: Sony’s top choice for director is Marc “(500) Days of Summer” Webb.  A music video director who made a brilliant but cute-as-hell love story?  The whole reason SM1 and 2 worked was Raimi’s eclectic horror/action perspective—his ability to find humor in the darkness is exactly what makes for a good Spidey comic.  David Fincher’s name is also being kicked around, which isn’t bad, but I can’t think of anyone who would do better than Raimi.  Except maybe Joss Whedon.  And they want to shoot it in 3D, with those godawful glasses.  What a lousy way to lead this week’s news roundup post.

2.  In better news: No date is announced yet, but AMC—home of one of my favorite shows (no, not Mad Men—Breaking Bad!)—will be serializing Robert Kirkman’s “Walking Dead” comic book.  Comic is a ton of fun . . .

3.  I saw my first movie of 2010—Daybreaker.  Was it great? No.  But it was amusing, and definitely had its moments.  My main problem with it was that it was too well produced.  Stylized monster movies just don’t tend to be scary to me.  I prefer the grit of Romero and Carpenter.  Did see a preview for The Crazies, though, and it looks vile.  Can’t wait to see it.

4.  Did you hear that David Finch, the genius artist of Millar’s Ultimates run, recently signed exclusively to DC?  How did that happen?  I can’t believe Marvel would let him go like that.  Anyway, he’ll be the cover artist for the post-Blackest Night event, titled “Brightest Day.”  It’s not entirely clear what the even will mean, but it will have lots of cross-overs so that you can spend your money on titles you wouldn’t normally buy just to get a page or two of necessary continuity.  The series will start in April, will last a year and be published biweekly.  Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi are the writing staff.  I know lots of folks praised 52, but I guess I’m just not enough of a DC guy to get all wet about this.  I do dig BN, though.  In fact, Newsrama ran a great interview with Geoff Johns, where he explained about Blackest Night and the fight between mortals and Nekron: “We [mortals] age because we’re not supposed to be here. So we grow old. It’s the universe fighting against us. We age and die because we aren’t wanted here. Space was here then life came and messed up everything. In truth, life is chaos and death is order.”  I never read the series that way before.  It’s kinda deep.

5.  Why aren’t you all reading the hilarious, ultraviolent, carefree and insane Punisher comic book yet?  It’s like Deadpool, only way more wild.  Seriously.  Punisher isn’t a stupid idea anymore, not since Warren Ellis did the “serious” PunisherMax series.

6.  There’s an A-Team trailer out, with Liam Neeson as Hannibal!  The real key to this film will be whether Quinton “Rampage” Jackson can fill Mr. T’s bejeweled shoes . . . And believe me, I have doubts.

7.  Joe Johnston, director of The Wolfman, discussed the Captain America movie with BOXOFFICE.com recently, and showed that he doesn’t know much about Cap. First, he says, “The great thing about Captain America is he’s a super hero without any super powers.”   Really?  So that super soldier serum was a placebo?  Then, Johnston says that after Steve Rogers was turned into Cap, “You’d think he got everything he wanted. Well, he didn’t get everything he wanted.”  Yes, he did!  He wanted to be a hero!  One of the best things about Captain America is that he never, ever doubts being a hero.  He doesn’t let a burglar run by him and kill his uncle; he doesn’t miss his mommy and daddy as a drive for vengeance; and for a long time, he hasn’t even had a secret identity!  The movie will be an origin story, and I’m not real psyched about that.  I’d much rather see him and Bucky tearing ass through the Nazis than skinny-boy-gets-big.  Cap is probably my second favorite superhero, so I hope to God they do right by him.  Or at least pattern him after Brubaker’s Cap, not Bendis’ or Millar’s.

8.  And finally, in the advance hype section, I don’t know if I’ve told y’all that Animalogic Studios (Happy Feet) is working on a movie of Jeff Smith’s wonderful, all ages appropriate “Bone” comic.  Hope it’s good!

Tags: Blackest Night, Monsters, Movies, Spider-Man, Superheroes, Zombies

THE FIRST COMIC BOOK NEWS ROUND UP OF 2010

Posted on January 13th, 2010 by ekko

1. The lead story has to be the indefinite hold put on Spider-Man 4. Various reports indicate that Sam Raimi wanted to use The Vulture as the lead villain, but Sony wanted to young it up and was foisting a Black Cat storyline on the project. You may remember that Raimi had also sought to use Vulture in SM3, but Marvel’s Avi Arad convinced him to use Venom. Raimi apparently isn’t oblivious to the serious decrease in quality from SM2 to 3, and must be viewing this project as a way to redeem the franchise. Stick to your guns, Sam, we trust you. This has forced Sony to push the release date back, and Marvel’s movie house is scrambling to fill the void. Thor is now scheduled for May 6, 2011, the date previously occupied by Spidey. In response, Disney moved up the next Pirates of the Caribbean toy commercial, I mean movie, to May 20^th (the date that had been occupied by the thunder God). Read that last sentence again. It’s the last time you’ll read a mention of Pirates on this ipage. (I’m not a fan of the franchise, just the first one.)  BY NOW, YOU’VE ALL HEARD THAT THE FILM IS OFF.  I’ll report on that next week.

2. In the useless information that you might be curious about, Barack Obama’s guest shot in Amazing Spider-Man was the bestselling comic of the entire decade. Too bad it wasn’t a better comic overall, but as far as celeb shots go, it was a decent one.

3. Siege has begun. All signs point to it being great–Brian Michael Bendis is teaming up with artist Olivier Coipel again—and it looks like the story will be Norman Osborn’s attempt to extend his jurisdiction beyond HAMMER and Earth, all the way to Asgard. Readers of this page know that the Thor book stayed out of Marvel continuity at the request of its brilliant author J. Michael Straczynski who later quit when he was told to be a part of Siege. Matt Fraction will be taking over the reins on Thor on or about the time of Siege, so I’m hopeful the Thor book will be able to maintain its staggeringly good level of quality. As for Siege itself, it promises to be more dynamic than the dark and sad Civil War or the all-talk/little-action House of M, and better thought-out than the slapdash Secret Invasion. So, again, I’m optimistic. My only complaint about Siege is that Spidey should take down the Green Goblin. As it was and should always be. Oh, well. However, the timing of all the various tie-ins has me confused. Can anyone tell me this:

- The Captain America one-shot that leads into Siege–It seems to take place after Captain America Reborn #6, which isn’t out yet. Should I read it?

4. In anti-Deadpool news, there are reports that Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool in the Woverine movie, and titular star of the upcoming Green Lantern flick) is being considered for the lead in a new Flash Gordon movie. Not only do we not need another FG flick, but this means that he’d be attached to three franchises. And out of those three, Deadpool is clearly the least commercial and, therefore, the most likely to fall to the axe. Especially since Warner Bros. recently hinted that the movie will begin filming in New Orleans in two months, and has a 2011 tentpole release date. Another recent GL development: Kilowog will be in the flick! Awesome. On the other hand, the writers of 2009’s amazingly brilliant film, “Zombieland,” are being paid to write a Deadpool script. So, there’s hope yet.

5. I’ve been re-reading my old Swamp Thing books so I was happy to read that Alan Moore will be returning to comics next year, and teaming up with one of the best indiebook artists out there–Jacen Burrows. The book, Neonomicon, will be some kind of Sci Fi book. Those old Swamp Things he did were recently bound, and I recommend you all go pick them up. Moore was doing things there (in 1987) that seem progressive even by today’s standards. In fact, I’ll be writing about it. Soon.

6. And just to end with what probably should have been the first story . . . At the end of this month, Apple has scheduled a roll-out of it’s version of the Kindle. The iPod changed music forever, the iPhone revolutionized telephones, and this may do the same for the print world . . . Including comics! It will be digitalized full-color, high resolution, and will have the ability to use iPhone apps. I’ve never subscribed to Marvel’s digital on-line collection because there’s no convenient way to read it. This may change all that.

7. Postscript: They have a lot of balls to charge me four bucks for the latest Blackest Night and then fill it with 10 pages of covers of other comics on sale. Fuckers. They haven’t drawn this even out long enough that they have to bleed me dry?

Tags: Blackest Night, Deadpool, Movies, Spider-Man, Superheroes

MORE SUPERNEWS PLEASE!

Posted on December 16th, 2009 by ekko

1.  Oh, God, please . . . No (Part One). There’s actual development on a Hancock 2.  As if you didn’t get enough sleep during Hancock 1.

2.  Blackest Night #5. Just a mention: Finally, something happens!  This is the first time that I’ve read a BN story—and I’ve read ‘em all so far—where, when I was done, I couldn’t wait to see what happens next.

3.  D.C.’s Ultimate Universe. I’m not enough of a comic-book nerd to know who came up with the idea of alternate superhero universes first, DC or Marvel, but I suspect it was DC.  Alternate universes, in my opinion, have always been kind of stupid and lame—at least when they merge.  Sure, sometimes they can produce cool stories, most recently when the JLA met their evil counterparts (one of the last few good JLA storylines, in my view), but usually alternate universes are the only thing that aggravate me more than time travel.  As good as the art in DC’s various universe crises has been, the stories have been confusing gonzo gang bangs that come off as excuses to move units.  They aren’t art.  Marvel did a good alternate-reality job with the “What If?” series because they didn’t try to merge it with our own universe.  When that happens, it’s a suckfest.  Jeph Loeb even ruined the Ultimates with some kind of alternate universe crap that I couldn’t make any sense out of at all.  I was happy when Marvel launched Ultimates not as an alternate universe, but as a reimagining of Marvel stories.  There was no need for Uatu or other means to crowbar it into the bigger Marvel U.

Well, DC recently unveiled its plan to publish a new series of “Earth One” graphic novels that will basically reboot its two major characters (which is a good thing, because Bats is dead and Supes is in exile, so fans of these heroes really have nowhere to go these days).  The publishing schedule seems to be 2 of each title per year.  If DC devotes quality talent (and it looks like they are) and doesn’t try to mix this in with their “regular” universe, then this idea could have potential.  Maybe even lead to a new line of regular books—not just graphic novels.  Superman: Earth One will be by J. Michael Straczynski (who did a great job rebooting Spider-Man and Thor) with art by Shane Davis and Batman: Earth One will be by Geoff “I can do every DC comic in the universe because I don’t need sleep and Grant Morrison sucks anyway” Johns, with Gary “I’m Geoff’s muse” Frank. The bad news is, they’re starting with origin tales.  How many more Superman origins really need to be told?  And isn’t Geoff Johns already doing on of these?  Oh, well.  I’m still hopeful.

4.  Oh, God, please . . . No (Part Two). There’s buzz that Smallville will get another season.  Although a pack of wolverines with axes in their teeth pooping out poisonous snakes couldn’t keep me away from the January 20th Geoff Johns penned 2 hour Justice Society special, this season has been remarkably dull.  Especially in light of how the show really bounced back last season.  It’s like they’ve run out of things to say.  Which they have, really, and D.C.’s fault.  Let him wear the suit already!  It’s not going to damage the vitality of your movie franchise (which, let’s be real, is anemic as it is)!

5.  There’s probably nobody working at Marvel whose work I enjoy reading more than Mark Millar, and both of his collaborations with Steve McNiven (Civil War and Old Man Logan) have been genius.  Now, they’re back together . . . On an indie project!  You’ll remember that after Millar worked with (my favorite artist) John Romita, Jr., on the best Wolverine story ever (“Enemy of the State”), they teamed up on the creator-owned project, “Kick Ass,” which will be a household name next year when the movie comes out.  Based on that track record, Nemesis should be awesome.  It will be published by Marvel, like Kick Ass, but it’s fully independent.  The basic idea is billed as a filthy rich anarchist who tries to take down the government.  Kind of V for Vendetta meets Batman.  Based on what I’ve read, it appears that there will be no superpowers involved, just raw guns-and-fists, and tech.

6.  Ronin. Sylvain White, the director of the movie adaptation of DC/Vertigo’s, The Losers, is developing a movie version of Frank Miller’s brilliant and prescient 1983 miniseries.  Can’t wait.  This is one of those books I always thought needed to be made into a moving picture.  Which gives me an idea for a post about comics that should be movies/TV shows.  I think I’ll write that post!  Watch this space for details!

Tags: Blackest Night, Frank Miller, Grant Morrison Sucks, Movies, Superheroes, The Caped Crusader, Wolverine, Zombies