It's Still a Marvel Movie World

The big surprise at the weekend box office wasn't that "Iron Man" came out on top again, but that "Speed Racer" debuted in a distant third place. Best known as an anime TV series, the film version of "Speed Racer" is heavily influenced by manga, with the argument and the proof summed up well by the folks at Frames Per Second. ... Marvel's plans to crossover its characters as a setup for its planned "Avengers" pic appear to be further along that previously thought, with eagle-eyed fans spotting what could be Captain America's shield in an "Iron Man" workshop scene. Rumors are that another Cap setup will be worked into "The Incredible Hulk," which already is rumored to have Robert Downey Jr. playing Stark in a cameo. ... The Toronto Star's Paul Corupe looks back at the time when Marvel's movies weren't so spectacular, with yours truly filling in some of the details.

NON-MARVEL MOVIE NEWS: In non-Marvel comics movie news, Platinum Studios and Top Cow are teaming up with Arclight Films to take another stab at a "Witchblade" movie. Property had previously been in development as a pair of pics a few years back, and prior to that was a live-action skein on TNT that is coming to DVD in July. Most recently, an anime version was produced in Japan. ... E! Online is only the most recent to wonder where all the DC movies are. ... Producer Joel Silver is trying to answer that question, telling Ain't It Cool News that he's close to making a "Sgt. Rock" movie, based on the classic DC war comic, with Guy Ritchie directing. ... He may not don the Man of Steel's cape again until next year, but Brandon Routh has signed on to star in "Dead of Night," based on the Italian P.I. comicbook "Dylan Dog" for Hyde Entertainment and Platinum Studios. ... The Guardian says moviegoers will soon be treated to the cinema's first French superhero, "Vendome."

FROM COMICS TO CANNES (WITH CLINT!): Writer J. Michael Straczynski was on hand at last weekend's Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, ostensibly to talk about his upcoming work for DC on "The Brave and the Bold." Instead, the creator of "Babylon 5" talked more about his movie work, including "The Changeling," the Clint Eastwood-directed pic showing shortly at Cannes that JMS wrote. "I'm the first comics guy to have a film at the Cannes Film Festival," he told fans with a smile. 

EISNER EVENT: Storyopolis in Studio City has set a special one-night exhibit honoring the works of Will Eisner on May 28. Event is held in conjunction with the Assn. of Booksellers for Children and The Denis Kitchen Art Agency, and is timed to coincide with the trade show Book Expo America. Details on the event can be found here.

Director Donner's 'Action' tale wraps at last - Reviews for 5-8-08

Action Comics Annual #11 (DC, $4.99) wraps up the long-delayed "Last Son of Krypton" story co-written by "Superman: The Movie" director Richard Donner. Despite the delay, this was a very satisfying ending with some truly epic art by Adam Kubert marred only by what seem like some coloring glitches. ... DC Universe #0 (DC, 50 cents) is a low-cost primer for fans old and new in advance of Final Crisis, and as such is more of a recap than an actual story. The big thing with this issue is the return of a long-missing fan-favorite character, though the execution of it is implied to the point where it's not clear how many people would have really understood that was the point without all the surrounding hype.

Invincible Iron Man #1 (Marvel, $2.99) kicks off the Golden Avenger's second ongoing series with a smart script from Matt Fraction and fantastic looking art from Salvador Larocca. This is the sort of book that might have a real chance at convincing moviegoers to pick up a comic and stick with it. ... Logan #3 (Marvel, $3.99) is a disappointing conclusion to the Brian K. Vaughan-Eduardo Risso collaboration. The Hiroshima idea that seemed so cool in the first issue has degenerated into a strange and sadly routine fight in which Logan's nemesis rips out his heart and eats it — an attack that merely slows down the mutant and points up how invincible and unable to be put in serious jeopardy the character has become.

Glamourpuss #1 (Aardvark-Vanaheim, $3), Dave Sim's follow-up to 300 issues of Cerebus, isn't really a story as much as a parody of fashion magazines and discussion of the photorealistic comics artwork of Alex Raymond, John Prentice, Al Williamson and Neal Adams. Sim's recreations of specific panels in this style and his own fashionplate illustrations are stunning, making this a book that really is all about the art. ... Local #11 (Oni Press, $2.99) is the best issue to date of the series, with a Toronto art student forcing wandering protagonist Megan to face the artifacts of her life. Ryan Kelly really outdoes himself on the art, which is expessive, detailed and distinct.

From the graphic novel pile, comes X-O Manowar: Birth (Valiant Entertainment, $24.95), which includes the first six issues of the classic series as well as issue #0 and a new short story. The story mixes Conan and Iron Man to produce a satisfyingly cool hero. The art ranges from serviceable to fantastic, with #0 featuring one of the early bravura efforts from Marvel editor in chief Joe Quesada and his frequent collaborator, Jimmy Palmiotti. The recoloring job is good, though it's always a shame when such a nice package shows at times the ragged line reproduction common to not having original art or film to work from.

Revealed: Samuel L. Jackson as the Octopus

The cover of the new issue of Comic-Con Magazine includes a first look at Samuel L. Jackson as The Octopus in Frank Miller's film adaptation of "Will Eisner's The Spirit." The free mag includes an interview with Miller should be easily found at your local comic shop or in the mail if you're a regular attendee of the show.

'Spirit' an early gift - News for 5/7/08

Lionsgate has moved up the release of "Will Eisner's The Spirit" to Dec. 25 from Jan. 16. This seems to be a vote of confidence for the film, which is Frank Miller's solo directorial debut, as it moves the film squarely into holiday season and even Oscar eligibility. ... CAA has signed on to represent the estate of "Spirit" creator Will Eisner and his extensive catalog of graphic novels. ... Lionsgate has optioned another comics property, this time it's Victor Carungi's "Pencilneck," published by Paper Street Comics.

SUPERHERO MOVIE MANIA: The success of "Iron Man" has resulted in some title changes at Marvel Studios, where Kevin Feige is now president and David Maisel continues as chairman. ... "Superman Returns" star Brandon Routh tells IGN he expects to begin shooting the sequel in early 2009. 

LIVE COMICS EVENTS: Longtime comics journo and commentator Blair Marnell is back with a new site and project called "Comics on Comics."  The main attraction is a video podcast in which three standup comics and one comicbook creator discuss the comics news of the week a la Bill Maher's "Real Time" or "Politically Incorrect." The first show will be recorded tonight at 7 at Meltdown in Hollywood, featuring comics scribe Brian Lynch (Angel: After the Fall) and comedians Chris Mancini, Ken Cosby and Pat Evans. The public is invited to attend the free event. ... The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture in Santa Fe opens what sounds like a fascinating exhibit called "Comic Art Indigene" on the influence of comics on American Indian artists. A preview is set for Saturday, with opening day Sunday, May 11. ... A theatrical performance of Alan Moore's epic poem, "The Mirror of Love," is set for June 12 and 14 at the Armory Ballroom in Macon, Ga. Jose Villarrubia, who took the photographs for the Top Shelf book, will be signing at both perfs. ... The BEAT covers the debut of the "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy" exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York over a trilogy of posts.

SCREENINGS: The Los Angeles Film Festival will be bookended by comic flicks, with "Wanted" opening the fest on June 19 and "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" closing it on June 29. ... Anime fans will want to take note of some upcoming special screening: the live-action version of "Death Note" is set to screen at more than 300 theaters nationwide, including 20 in the L.A. area, on May 20 and 21. The anime film "Bleach: The Movie — Memories of Nobody" will screen in similar fashion on June 11-12. Details, including specific venues and tickets, available at Fathom Events.

SUPERMAN FANS PROTEST: With the huge success of "Iron Man" and the subsequent announcement of release dates for a bunch of Marvel movies through 2011 has a lot of fans wondering how DC Comics and its parent company Warner Bros. have fallen so far behind in the comics movie derby. If Marvel can do "Iron Man," why can't DC/WB do something similar with say, The Flash or Green Lantern? Even with "The Dark Knight," for which everyone seems to have sky-high expectations, fans are down on DC movies. One site, www.savesuperman.com has started a petition and campaign aimed at convincing WB to completely reboot the Superman film franchise rather than proceed with another outing from director Bryan Singer and star Brandon Routh. A separate petition also is pushing "Smallville" star Tom Welling to play the Man of Steel. Taking a cue from the WGA's pencil tactic, fans also are contributing money to a campaign called "Stop the Monkey Business," which will send 6-inch stuffed monkeys to WB execs Alan Horn and Jeff Robinov. Monkeys go out with a sign that includes the sender's choice of a Superman logo or "Welling for Superman."

COMICS PROJECTS: Here's our annual update on Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine, direct via email from writer and "Lost" exec producer Damon Lindelof: "Marvel has all the issues through five.  I'm completing six by Memorial Day." ... EW continues to be a big venue for promoting comics, with Marvel releasing the first look at new Spider-Man villain Anti-Venom and DC serving up a preview of Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones' Final Crisis, complete with Morrison's original script. ... Danny Simmons (older brother of Run DMC's Rev Run and Def Jam mogul Russell Simmons) has adapted his 2003 novel "Three Days as the Crow Files" into a graphic novel titled "'85," published by Simon & Schuster. Blogger Michael A. Gonzeles reports on the duo's recent signing at Forbidden Planet and some interesting background on the duo and their project here.  ... Image Comics says Jason Howard and Robert Kirkman's Astounding Wolf-Man series is going monthly, starting in June. ... The May contenders are up over at Zuda Comics. April's winner is "Melody," by Ilias Kyriazis of Athens, Greece. ... Across the pond, AAM Markosia will debut its new series Lazarus: Immortal Coils at this weekend's Bristol Comic Expo. ... DC Comics is teaming up with children's book publisher Stone Arch to create illustrated chapter books for kids starring Superman and Batman. ... Radical Comics is changing the name of its Steve Niles sci-fi series from Khrome to City of Dust, after Marc Patten of Destination Entertainment informed the company he had a series by that name.

CON FUND RAISER: The Hero Initiative's Hulk #1 Project is coming to Emerald City Comic Con this weekend. The project, similar to last year's Ultimate Spider-Man #100 Project, features 100 copies of the recent Hulk #1 comic with special covers featuring original art from some of the industry's top talents. The books will be auctioned off The first 50 of 100 covers will be on display at the con, where the org also is auctioning lunch with DC exec editor Dan Didio.

COMICS TECH: Dennis Budd and Joe Caramagna have signed a deal for Platinum Studios to create mobile phone content based on their indy comic "Model Operandi." ... Hands-On Mobile is creating the phone content, including games, for Marvel's "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk." ... Archaia Studios Press has begun releasing its series Artesia on free download service Wowio. The publisher plans to put more of its books on the site, which has a nice selection of free comics to read.

"Iron" a precious metal for Marvel

Who would have thought iron would be worth so much gold?

As you've likely already heard, "Iron Man" was a smash hit its debut frame taking in $104 million domestically and about $97 million abroad for an impressive total north of $200 million. Not a bad start for a movie that Reuters (via Yahoo!) says cost Marvel about $150 million to make and $75 million to market.

The movie itself is remarkable for a number of things, most notably it being perhaps the purest adaptation of a comicbook superhero to screen ever accomplished. The little things that drive fans nuts are all in the right place — everything from the armor A.I. being named "Jarvis" to seeing a "Roxxon" building in the background of the freeway fight and Terrence Howard's Rhodey looking at a suit of armor and saying, "Next time." As critics have been saying (mostly), the big stuff all works too, with Robert Downey Jr. making an ideal Tony Stark, the writers turning in an entertaining script and excellent visual effects that avoid looking too much like a videogame about 95 percent of the time. In all, it's excellent as an "Iron Man" film and very good as an overall movie.

If you didn't stick around through the credits, you missed a very cool tag scene featuring a certain SHIELD director, played by Samuel L. Jackson. If you did miss it, then Marvel's 1st quarter report this morning contains some relevant spoiler material, as the company announced "Iron Man 2" will come out April 30, 2010, with "Thor" to debut on June 4, 2010, followed in 2011 by "Captain America: The First Avenger" on May 6 and "The Avengers" in July. While that means Marvel itself won't produce any pics for 2009, Fox's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" will ensure a steady stream of Marvel movies at the box office.

Meanwhile, that financial report shows Marvel beating expectations on its 1st quarter results. The report shows a drop in revenues attributed to a decline in Spider-Man licensing over last year, when "Spider-Man 3" was gearing up. Publishing results were down $1 million, or about 4 percent, based largely on strong sales last year of Civil War and the death of Captain America.

Radical's 'Herc,' 'Caliber' seek the light - Reviews for 4/30/08

Hercules: The Thracian Wars #1 and Caliber #1 (both 32 pages for only $1) are the first comicbook releases from new publisher Radical Comics, headed up by rock photographer turned producer Barry Levine and featuring dark stories smothered even more in what looks like buckets and buckets of oh-so-serious painted artwork.  Everything is so dark that it's at times hard to follow the story and characters from panel to panel — and the noir-ish scripting does little to alleviate this. Hercules in particular is light on plot but easy enough to figure out; fantasy Western tale Caliber was tougher to follow but more obviously could be very cool if its concept can escape the dark art into the light of day. ...

Dead, She Said #1 (IDW, $3.99) tells the tale of a private eye who continues his case even though he's so dead his guts are spilling out. Full pencils and inks by Berni Wrightson are a big draw on this one, though somehow it fails to live up to the cool factor he established on DC's 1970s horror books. ... Igor Movie Prequel #1 (IDW, $3.99) tells two tales that help set up this fall's animated feature from The Weinstein Co. The art has a clever, CG-assisted look  and the story is fun enough to raise my interest in the film, but the dark colors make the reader spend too much time figuring out what they're looking at rather than just enjoying the story. ... Batman #675 (DC, $2.99) is my favorite single issue of Grant Morrison's run, for the great Bruce Wayne scenes and a particularly cool ending. ...

The Uncanny X-Men #497 (Marvel, $2.99) featured another good script from Ed Brubaker — with the exception of Emma Frost's dialog being far more colloquial than I expect from the former White Queen. Both plots — San Francisco reverting to 1969, and Wolverine, Colossus and Nightcrawler's Russian adventure — were entertaining and progressed enough to be worth the cover price. ... Doktor Sleepless #6 (Avatar, $2.99) is getting more interesting as the larger plot starts to take shape, proving to be one of Warren Ellis' more interesting sci-fi premises. ...

American Splendor Vol. 2 #1 (DC/Vertigo, $2.99) tells you more about the life of writer Harvey Pekar, who judging by his recent stories has mellowed out a bit. The lineup of artists is particularly nice — never thought David Lapham would draw a Pekar story — and for some reason I'm really glad this is still published in black and white. ... Young Liars #2 (DC/Vertigo, $2.99) is better than the first issue, feeling more like a particularly good issue of Stray Bullets than the first. Colorist Lee Loughridge does an excellent job coloring creator David Lapham's always-cool art. ... If you've read it up till now, you're not going to snub Countdown to Final Crisis #1 (DC, $2.99), which struggles to generate some excitement as it wraps up the weekly series and sets up the board for the next OMG don't-dare-miss-it event, Final Crisis. 

Free Comic Book Day is back

It's that time of year again: Free comics! This is the seventh year for the promotional event, for which comics shops across the country will be giving away this Saturday a whole bunch of free samplers. As always, it coincides with the opening weekend release of a big comicbook movie, in this case "Iron Man." (For some reason, Marvel has a lot more sway in getting the event tied to its movies, rather than say DC's "The Dark Knight.")

This year's sampling includes 10 "gold books" from the top publishers — Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Archie, Virgin, etc. — that every participating store will carry. There also will be more than 30 "silver books" from a wider array of publishers. This year's giveaways also includes a couple of collectible game miniatures, which is the first non-comics item to be officially included in the promotion.

But perhaps the most fun aspect of FCBD is the opportunity for stores everywhere to stage signings and events. The most interesting is at Atomic Comics in Mesa, Ariz., where all seven Image Comics founders will be signing Saturday afternoon. Closer to Hollywood, writer J.M. DeMatteis of Justice League International and Abadazad fame will make a rare West Coast appearance at Meltdown Comics' Hollywood location on Sunset. Golden Apple Comics has a full day of events planned, including appearances by Top Cow creators. Manhattan Beach's Comic Bug will have a large crowd of pros and plans a special screening of "The Rocketeer" featuring screenwriters Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo in honor of the character's creator, Dave Stevens, who died a few months back.

If you're looking for a participating comic shop, head over to the event's site or the Comic Shop Locator Service, available online or by calling 1-800-COMIC-BOOK.

'Iron Man' week news update for 4/29/08

Variety's top critic Todd McCarthy gives the film good marks. So does Anne Thompson and the AP. ... More behind-the-scenes footage on MySpace with director Jon Favreau. ... Project Rooftop artists redesign Iron Man. ... Speculation appears to be moving into guessing the opening weekend gross. My guess is in the $60 million to $70 million range, but some are going as high as $100 million. That seems like a lot, but past Marvel movies such as "X-Men" and "Spider-Man" have a record of defying even high expectations.

BATMAN'S ON DECK: A new trailer for "The Dark Knight" is coming to reward the patient among us. ... A new round of very cool looking posters for "The Dark Knight" also are making the rounds. While reaction has generally been positive, a lot of folks are noticing how similar the new posters are to the ones made for "Batman Returns" in 1992, and College Humor.com pretty successfully fools folks into thinking that the trailer to the new film is eerily similar to that for the first Tim Burton "Batman" in 1989. The real Burton trailer is here. ... Speaking of "Batman Returns," the film looked absolutely fantastic when I caught it the other night on HBO in HD ...

MORE COMICS AND MOVIE STUFF: Heritage Auctions has a rather extensive group of Golden Age and Silver Age comics, including Action Comics #1, Detective Comics #1, Detective Comics #27 and Marvel Comics #1, up for grabs in its next auction, set for May 22-23. ... A comics fan and student journalist wonders if it might be a good idea for Hollywood to rein in its comic book obsession just a little bit. ... Comics artist John Cassaday tells Portfolio.com that he plans to start making films in the next couple of years. ... Actor Mekhi Phifer's Facilitator Films shingle has optioned the comic book series "Hunter's Moon" from its author, novelist James L. White, and publisher Boom! Studios. ... Universal has picked up "Resurrection," a comics series by "Eli Stone" creator Marc Guggenheim and published by Oni Press. ... Michigan comics shop owner David Pirkola was critically injured last week during a robbery of his store in Grand Rapids. ... Fishbowl LA reports on the graphic novel panel held Sunday at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.

AWARDS STUFF: Nominations are being taken for the Friends of Lulu Awards. ... And the Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award also is looking for nominees.

 

Comics Party Comes West — News for 4/23/08

Now that the East Coast party known as New York Comic-Con is done, the nation's ongoing celebration of comics comes back west, where the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books sets aside for the first time a section called The Comix Strip that spotlights the art form. Exhibitors include Image Comics, Boom! Studios and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Three panels are planned: "Comics: Superheroes of the Stage and Screen" is Saturday at 10 a.m., with "Heroes" exec producer Jeph Loeb, "Hellboy" creator Mike Mignola and "30 Days of Night" creator Steve Niles; "Reading Manga: A Japanese Phenomenon Comes to America" will be held Saturday at 3 p.m., with Liza Coppola of Viz Media, Lillian Diaz Przybyl of TOKYOPOP, and manga expert Frederik Schodt; and "Graphic Novels: Every Picture Tells a Story" on Sunday at 3 p.m.  with moderator Deborah Vankin, "The PLAIN Janes" writer Cecil Castellucci, "Love and Rockets" co-creator Jaime Hernandez, and "Peepshow" creator Joe Matt. Check out the official site for The Comix Strip for details on times places and tickets (likely all sold out). ... The following weekend not only features Free Comic Book Day, but on Sunday, May 4, the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention returns to the Shrine Expo Center with special guest Stan Lee, who's promoting his new book "Election Daze," original "Speed Racer" voice actress Corinne Orr and "Gumby" creator Art Clokey.

COMICS TO FILM: Frank Miller's been talking a lot as he promotes his upcoming solo directing debut on "The Spirit." Miller says he's written "Sin City 2," which he expects to be part of a trilogy, and he wants to direct a film adaptation of "Hard Boiled," which he wrote for Geof Darrow back around 1990. ... The Los Angeles Times' "Scriptland" column also talks to Miller about the explosion in films based on graphic novels, including the following fascinating hook: "In a faddish frenzy, no fewer than 22 film projects born of graphic novels or comics have been announced in the last six weeks." ... New posters have surfaced for "The Spirit" — head here if you missed the teaser trailer — and "Wanted," pictured below.

CHALLENGE VIDEO: Platinum Studios has put together a promo video for its annual Comic Book Challenge competition. Check it out below. Submissions open May 1, with judging set again for Comic-Con Intl. in San Diego.

MORE MARVEL NEWS: Fellow Variety blogger Anne Thompson reports midnight screenings are planned for the release of "Iron Man" next week, even as the studio attempts to tamp down possibly overhyped expectations for the pic. ... Marvel has lured Ira Rubenstein away from Sony Pictures to head up its growing online and digital ambitions. Formerly exec VP of Sony Pictures Digital, Rubenstein will oversee all the company's online sites, including Marvel Digital Comics and MarvelKids.com. ... Eric Rollman has been promoted to president of Marvel Animation. Rollman's previous title with the company was exec VP home entertainment and TV production. ... Marvel's plans for a theme park in the United Arab Emirates has switched developers as the company signs with Tatweer.

Quick hit (Marvel) reviews for 4/21/08

Our reviews get down to the Marvel section of the stack, starting with The Mighty Avengers #10-11 (Marvel, $2.99 each). While I've never quite taken to The Sentry, the 1970s look and feel of the story as Sentry and Iron Man go back in time to the 1970s with Dr. Doom and then come back for a big throwdown in Latveria made for some cool, old-school comicbook action that went down easy. .... I liked The New Avengers #39 (Marvel, $2.99) for different reasons, not the least of which was the dark mood evoked by David Mack's art as Maya Lopez and Wolverine tackle Skrull imposters. ... I cared not one whit for the way in which the Peter Parker-Mary Jane marriage was dissolved, but the rollicking nature of the thrice-monthly "Brand New Day" stories is definitely a throwback — in a good way — to the comics of yore. Toss in some stunning visuals by Chris Bachalo, whose art seems much better suited to Spider-Man than it ever was to X-Men, and The Amazing Spider-Man #555-556 (Marvel, $2.99 each) are winners. ...

Kick-Ass #2 (Icon, $2.99) is about as gut-wrenching as it gets. It also proves that sometimes it's extremely entertaining to watch characters do something they know is incredibly stupid. ... War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle #1 (Max, $2.99) was much goofier than I expected for a World War I flying ace story by Garth Ennis and Howard Chaykin. It has its charms, though I can't help but feel the tale of a naive pilot expecting glory only to face the true horrors of war is going in a predictable direction. ...

Cable #2 (Marvel, $2.99) is hard to judge because so far the story been little more than a continuation of the plot from the recent "Messiah Complex" crossover. Still, the combination of painted art and Photoshopped realism by Ariel Olivetti is fantastic and worth a look at on its own. ... X-Men: Legacy #209 (Marvel, $2.99) is another continuation from "Messiah Complex," though there's a lot of stuff going on in here that will appeal to the longtime X-Men fan. Mike Carey mines continuity with unusually interesting results and it's all drawn very nicely by Scot Eaton and Philip Tan. ... More "Messiah" fallout in Young X-Men #1 (Marvel, $2.99), as "Eli Stone" creator Marc Guggenheim catches fans up on the various New X-Men characters, reducing this spinoff's appeal to that of fans of that now-canceled book. ... Wolverine: First Class #1 (Marvel, $2.99) falls into the same concept as X-Men: First Class — simple, all-ages stories focused on younger characters from the X-Men's past. I think appealing to that kind of audience works better when you don't turn it into a separate line of comics. This book, featuring Wolverine and young Kitty Pryde, doesn't succeed qutie as well as Jeff Parker's X-Men: First Class, but the nostalgia and simple fun make it hard to pick on this one too much. ... Wolverine #63-64 (Marvel, $2.99 each) continue the "Get Mystique" storyline, which straddles a modern encounter in Afghanistan and an early meeting of the characters in 1920s Kansas City. This works pretty well, thanks to creators — Jason Aaron of Scalped and underrated veteran Ron Garney — who manage to make Logan's tough nonchalance and Mystique's sexy/evil combo an entertaining and convincing one.

NYCC news hangover

CON WIPEOUT: Expect things to be quiet the next few days as the industry recovers from New York Comic-Con, which is being hailed as a smashing success across the comics blogosphere. ... The con's official blog estimates attendance as at least 64,000, a pretty big jump from the 49,000 who showed up last year. ... Sci fi site IO9 has a gushing report on the panel and preview of Marvel's "Incredible Hulk" movie. ... IO9 also reports on the new trailer for "The Dark Knight" previewed at the show. ... Boom! Studios announced a deal with the Jim Henson Co. to produce a series of miniseries based on the cult-favorite sci-fi show "Farscape." ... "Heroes" star Milo Ventimiglia's previously mentioned comicbook project with Devil's Due is titled "Rest." Variety's Marc Graser writes the four-issue series "will revolve around the dangers of staying awake as a man is drawn into a conspiracy between a malevolent pharmaceutical company and the U.S. government." ... Tom Spurgeon at Comics Reporter offers a fascinating list of 50 notes and observations from the con floor. ... Midway Games has confirmed that its next version of "Mortal Kombat" will pit the videogame's famed fighters against the heroes and villains of the DC Universe.

COMICS IN FILM: CHUD reports Joel Silver saying at this weekend's "Speed Racer" junket that WB's troubled "Justice League" movie is being tabled. ... Jennifer Garner's Vandalia Films banner is developing the Oni Press series "Three Days in Europe" as a feature in conjunction with Hugh Jackman's Seed Productions. The actors would star as a couple who face danger on what was to be a romantic vacation.

NYCC: BET does 'Panther' toon; T'POP adds color

Black Entertainment Television has set an animated series based on Marvel's "The Black Panther." The Panther was the first black superhero, first appearing in 1966's Fantastic Four #52, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He's been an on-again, off-again member of the The Avengers, and starred in two solo comic series in the past decade. Here's the PR description:

THE BLACK PANTHER – From Marvel Comics®, who brought the world Spider-Man, X-Men, the Fantastic Four and Iron Man, comes a primetime animated series featuring the first Black superhero. A wise and just African warrior king. A technologically advanced superhero with a proud past. BET presents THE BLACK PANTHER. PREMIERING Q1 2009

In other news, TOKYOPOP has announced a new graphic novel line, called — shockingly — TOKYOPOP Graphic Novels, that will bring full-color GNs from around the world to the U.S. The line will launch next February. Full PR details, including launch titles, in the jump.

Continue reading "NYCC: BET does 'Panther' toon; T'POP adds color "

NYCC: Stan Lee flies to Virgin

Stan Lee has signed on with Virgin Comics to create and oversee as editor a new line of superhero comics.

According to the L.A. Times, Lee will write one title himself and describes the project thusly:

"It will be a team of 10 heroes and they will be dealing with personality conflicts, personal problems and chemistry within the team," Lee said in an interview this week. "I'm going to get started working on it right away and I'm very excited about doing something that will be fresh and breaking new ground. I can't give away the details or the names yet, but I have some exciting things in mind."

NYCC: "The Spirit" and "Hellboy 2" posters

These both look pretty cool. Look for "The Spirit" trailer online later today, after its NYCC panel.

NYCC: Gordon Lee case is dismissed

At a benefit reading for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, writer Neil Gaiman surprised the crowd with news that a Georgia judge has  dismissed the criminal case against retailer Gordon Lee. Lee had been charged with distributing materials harmful to a minor and local prosecutors aggressively pressed the case against him, and had promised to proceed with the case despite a mistrial. The judge's dismissal ends the case against Lee. The fund, which defended Lee, reportedly spent more than $100,000 on the case.