Big Business

WonderCon is underway this weekend in San Francisco. Among the stars expected to be there are "Spider-Man" himself Tobey Maguire and "Aliens vs. Predator’s" Lance Henrikson. Comics guests include Howard Chaykin, Kyle Baker, Darwyn Cooke, Harvey Pekar and Jim Steranko. Expect there to be plenty of announcements, leaks and hints about upcoming projects trickling out over the next few days.

Lots of movement this week on the biz end of comics publishing, with DC Comics acquiring the North American license to U.K. publisher Rebellion, home of legendary mags such as "2000 A.D." and "Judge Dredd." DC plans to release 36 books a year of Rebellion material, which should go nicely next to the 36 books from Euro publisher Humanoids that DC made a deal with earlier this year.

Manga publisher Viz has replaced its longtime bookstore distributor with a new deal with Simon and Shuster that takes effect June 1. Viz will field its own sales force while S&S handles logistics. Meanwhile, two Viz manga titles, "Naruto Vol. 3" and "Rurouni Kenshin Vol. 4," made USA Today’s Top 150 bestsellers list. "Naruto" is ranked at 131 and "Rurouni Kenshin" at 125.

Under new publisher Erik Larsen, Image Comics has lured MV Creations studio back to the publishing house. MV originally published its titles, including the licensed "Masters of the Universe," through Image before leaving for CrossGen’s CGE imprint last year. That publisher’s much-publicized financial ills forced MV to go it alone before its return to Image.

The Pulse has more on CrossGen, which lost yet another employee in artist Gred Land, who had been working on "Sojourn." Land, who worked on Batman-related books such as Nightwing for DC before heading down to CG’s Florida offices, had been slated to draw the now-shelved "American Power" series with writer Chuck Dixon.

The Xeric Foundation, established by "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" co-creator Peter Laird, gave out its most recent round of grants to comics self-publishers. This round of grants gave a total of more than $27,000 to Mark Britt, James Campbell, Leland Myrick, Josh Neufeld, Karlk Stevens and Ivan Velez.

The winners of Tokyopop’s third annual Rising Stars of Manga contest were announced. The contest, which seeks out new manga talent in the U.S., honored 10 submissions from artist who range in age from 15 to 39. Their work will be published in a special anthology coming out in July. Tokyopop also signed a deal with the NBA to produce "NBA Sports Manga" books featuring the likes of Shaquille O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Jason Kidd. The books are scheduled to hit stores this winter.

The employment wheel turned this week for Mark Powers, a former Marvel editor who worked on "X-Men" and "Wolverine." Powers will be senior editor at Devil’s Due, which publishes "G.I. Joe" comics. And B. Clay Moore, the writer of last year’s "Hawaiian Dick" miniseries, is the new PR and marketing coordinator for Image. "Hawaiian Dick" was recently optioned by New Line.

On the movie front, check out the new issue of "Entertainment Weekly" for a peek at Christian Bale as Batman; Goran Visnjic of "ER" has joined Jennifer Garner and Terence Stamp in the cast of "Elektra"; scribe David Hayter is said to be on board to write and direct a "Black Widow" movie at Lions Gate; and former "Futurama" producer David X. Cohen is working on bringing Joe Matt’s autobiographical comic "Peepshow" to HBO.

Warren Ellis announced on his email list this week that he will make his first appearance at a U.S. convention in years when he wings to Dragon-Con in Atlanta in September. And popular DC writer Geoff Johns confirmed on his message boards that this fall’s "Rebirth" miniseries will see the return of Hal Jordan, the original Silver Age Green Lantern who went nuts 10 years ago and was replaced by Kyle Rayner, prompting howls of protest from die-hard fans. Let's hope the inevitable campaign to keep Kyle can come with a better acronym than Hal's fans, who aggressively made their case on message boards as Hal's Emerald Attack Team, or H.E.A.T.

Super Debut

Superman #204

Creators: Brian Azzarello, Jim Lee and Scott Williams

DC Comics, 32 pages, $2.50

So? Given the immense success of Jim Lee's run last year on Batman, it only makes sense that he'd turn his attention next to Superman. After all, Lee's slick style has made him one of the most popular comics of the past 15 years, even if his art output suffered while he founded and ran Wildstorm studios, which he eventually sold to DC. What's surprising, is that Lee's teamed up for his year-long run on the title with writer Brian Azzarello, whose gritty crime masterpiece 100 Bullets is a must-read, but not the sort of thing that automatically makes you think this guy would be great on Superman. Azzarello really does a nice job of not tipping his hand as to where this story's going in this first issue. Superman finds himself talking to a preist about his personal doubts and a large failure. The priest is having his own crisis of faith. This is the sort of stuff that's been done with grittier heroes, like Daredevil, but it's pretty different for Superman, perhaps the most lilly-white of all superheroes. Even more fun is the way Lee draws the story, with a full splash page that pretty obviously compares Superman to Jesus, which is somewhat appropriate given his godlike powers. This potentially disastrous idea is handled with taste by both Azzarrello and Lee. And by the time Superman reveals the reasons for his crisis of faith, it's hard not to want to come back for the next issue. Inker Scott Williams and really nice production values make this book a great example of what can be done on a monthly comic. And that this is, so far, better than Lee's run on Batman makes the inevitable topping of the sales charts something to really enjoy. Grade: A-

Batman: Harley and Ivy #1 (of 3)

Creators: Paul Dini and Bruce Timm

DC Comics, 32 pages, $2.50

So? Dini and Timm are best known as the driving forces behind the extremely popular 1990s TV show Batman: The Animated Series. Their most popular addition to the Batman mythos was Harley Quinn, the criminally cute girlfriend of The Joker. Over the years, Harley and her creators have moved into the comics realm more and more: the character is now part of the "regular" Batman canon and Dini writes a fair number of comics these days on the side from Cartoon Network's Duck Dodgers series. Having hit the ball out of the park on their first Harley comics, Batman: Mad Love, in the mid-1990s, there's more than a little excitement about this title. The good news is that, creatively, it's a blast. Reading the dialogue is almost unnecessary because Timm's beautiful art (inked by Shane Glines) tells the story perfectly. But Dini's script adds a lot of the personality to Harley and her partner in crime, longtime Bat-foe Poison Ivy. There's even a shower scene with lots of conveniently placed balloons that should tease fanboys old enough to get it but without being out of bounds for (slightly) younger readers. The bad news isn't really bad, as much as it is a question as to why DC chose to do this project as a three-issue miniseries and then have the printing be so muddled. This would have been nice to see as a single, 72-page comic printed on nicer paper and selling for a bit more (that's the format that worked so well for Mad Love). As it is, the flat reproduction of the colors just kind of seeps some of the life out of what is otherwise a really fun book. Grade: B+

A Pair from PlanetLar

Planet of the Capes

Creators: Larry Young and Brandon McKinney

AiT/PlanetLar; 72 pages, $12.95

So? On the surface, this is a fairly straightforward superhero story that uses the same “iconic” characters that many comics, big and small, have tapped into over the years. But the title, “Planet of the Capes,” really refers to the comic book market, the superheroes who have dominated it for the past 40 years, and the troubles its faced as its audience dwindled from millions of everyday kids to thousands of hard-core fans. Brandon McKinney does a great job with the art — which switches from graytones to cool, retro color at just the right moment — just as he did on “Switchblade Honey” last year with Warren Ellis. But it’s understanding which characters represent which company or person in the comics biz’s history that will make or break it with readers. Those who get it and have a sense of humor about comics will get at least a smile if not a few outloud laughs. The rest … well, let’s just say that the small number of people who even have a chance to see a black-and-white graphic novel like this for sale anywhere near their homes or schools is a big part of what this book is really all about. Grade: B-

Hench

Creators: Adam Beechen and Manny Bello

AiT/PlanetLar; 72 pages, $12.95; ships in June

So? This is a story about the little people of comics, about a hard-luck bastard who finds himself attracted to, then stuck in, the world of being a henchman to the supervillains who inevitably lose to the superhero. There’s a lot of fun in this book to go with the pathos of the traditional hard-luck crook genre. And the more you know about comics, the more fun you’ll have spotting the in-jokes and homages sprinkled lightly throughout. Beneath its clever premise, though, Beechen finds moments of black and comic strangeness and even kindness of the sort that you expect to find in an HBO series. Manny Bello’s art varies from excellent to crude, but always carries an appropriate tone for a story whose more ludicrous moments work better with an “amateur” look. While not something that would work as anything but an original graphic novel or one-shot comic book, this really does make for a fun story for those enamoured with — or obsessed with — the intricacies of the superhero genre. And if you’re reading comics, doesn’t that pretty much automatically mean you? Grade: B+

Bendis' bigscreen Jinx

In Variety: Announced during Brian Michael Bendis' panel at Wizard World LA, the deal is now solidifying ... Universal Pictures will turn the graphic novel "Jinx" into a feature film, with Oscar-winner and "Aeon Flux" vixen Charlize Theron attached to star and produce under her D and D banner.

She and Meagan Riley-Grant will produce the film with Circle of Confusion partners David Engel, Lawrence Mattis and Jason Lust.

Bendis, who created the graphic novel, will adapt his crime noir creation for the screen. Theron will play a bounty hunter who must trust a man framed for murder so they can recover millions in abandoned mobster money and start a new life together.

Complete Story

Alba a 'Sin'

In Variety: "Dark Angel" and "Honey" actress Jessica Alba is in final negotiations to join the ensemble cast of the Dimension Films crime drama "Sin City" for co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller.

If you didn't know, the film unites storylines from three of the seven graphic novels in the long-running series created, written and illustrated by Miller. Set in the world's grimiest, toughest town, the tales of vengeance and redemption are taken from "Sin City," which launched the series, as well as "That Yellow Bastard" and "The Big Fat Kill."

Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Elijah Wood and Carla Gugino also star.

Complete story

Screen Dreams

David Hayter may be writing the "Iron Man" movie, but it looks like he'll be vacating the director's chair on a planned adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' "Watchmen" to be replaced by Darren Aronofsky, according to Ain't It Cool News. Aronofsky is a big comics fan and once worked with Frank Miller on a film version of "Ronin" and wrote an intro to one of the "Transmetropolitan" collections.

Tokyopop will begin advertising its manga books on cable TV outlets starting in May.

Sales estimates from ICV2 show that comic book sales in the direct market were up 15 percent in March over the same month last year. Comic books led the way with a 17 percent boost while graphic novels showed a more modest boost of 2 percent. Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Dreamwave, Tokyopop and Viz all had boosts, while Image and Crossgen dropped off.

B. Clay Moore and Steven Griffins' Image miniseries "Hawaiian Dick" was optioned for a film by New Line. Johnny Knoxville of MTV's "Jackass" is attached to star in the 1950s noir story.

Bob Layton's Future Comics is back with manga-style trade paperbacks of its comics instead of regular periodical comics. The company will self-distribute its product to comic stores.

The Comics Buyers Guidewill convert this summer from a weekly tabloid newspaper to a $5.99 monthly squarebound format that will feature more color, a large price guide and more reviews. The Comics Journal also will be changing format, redesigning its look and adding more color, starting in August.

The ABCs of manga

Man-ga. (n.) - Japanese comic books that ... ummm. Hmmm. If you don't know exactly how to define or categorize manga, or even what it really is, here's a mini primer.

Bags and Boards had a quick talk with Anime Insider's Managing Editor Robert Bricken to see if he could shed some light on an art form that older collectors may not be as well versed in. The first, and most important, thing you need to know about Robert is that he has a tattoo of Lum, a character from a hit manga series called Urusei Yatsura. We didn't ask where.

For those who aren't in the know, tell me, umm, them what's out and hot now.

In America, you may see the name Shonen and ShoJo thrown about. These are usually reserved for girl (shojo) and guy (shonen) books. Shonen Jump is one of the more recognizable titles in comic books stores. There's been a surge of shojo titles, and American comics have never been a girl's medium at all. But the Shonen titles also appeals to girls.

Two to look out for would be Love Hina and Chobits published by Tokyo Pop. They're more or less romance comics that revolve around action or comedy or whatever. On the book scan charts, it's [Manga] blowing the American trade paperbacks out of the water.

Why the heck is it so popular, and money-making?

The bestsellers that we tend to hear about often are the graphic novels, or tankoban. These are 300-page books, and are printed in anthologies on a monthly or weekly basis ... One of the reasons that manga is so popular and profitable is because everything is creator-owned, but doesn't go on into infinity. The popularity is that a creator doesn't really change ... When they're done, the property is done.

What's the most notable tankoban currently?

One Piece, which is probably the top selling tankoban in Japan. It's published by Shonen Jump, and it's about a group of pirates who are searching for a legendary treasure called the one piece. It was hidden by a pirate called Gold Roger, and the main character is Monkey D. Rufi. If you look around, he's known for his straw hat (and stretching ability).

Comics/manga in Japan cross the age barriers a lot easier than here. Is there a reason?

Forty percent of all printed material in Japan is comics. It's not that it skews older, just that it's always skewed for everyone. There are books for most economic classes. for housewives, kids and businessmen. Of course, porn is also a big business.

Of course. Well, what can Anime Insider offer, and where can we, ummm, those not in the know get more information on what's going on in the manga world?

In Anime Insider, we publish a ten-page manga preview in our issues. We can usually get two pages of manga in our magazine by turning the format ... It's unique in that it serves all level of fans.

For more, you could try www.animenewsnetwork.com. They also have an anime and manga encyclopedia that could be helpful.

An 'Iron' quill

Variety reports that "X-Men" movie writer David Hayter has signed on to rewrite "Iron Man" for New Line Cinema.

Tony Stark's story was first written (for the bigscreen) by "Smallville" creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.
Rumors have persisted for a while that Tom Cruise was interested in the role, but nothing has been set in the casting world.

Marvel Studios and Don Murphy's Angry Films will produce the project, which New Line hopes to turn into a tentpole for its 2005 slate.

Heated Harvey showdowns

Nominees were recently announced for 'the most prestigious award ceremony for graphic storytelling, the Harvey Awards,' as the website says. The new Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, set to open in October 2004, will host the ceremony for the 17th annual kudos June 26, as part of the Third Annual MoCCA Art Festival. This year’s awards dinner will feature New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman (Sandman, etc.) as keynote speaker, and Staten Island’s own Evan Dorkin (Milk and Cheese, Dork) as emcee.

Comics from twenty-three publishers were nominated. Here are a couple of the major categories, but a full list can be found here.

Best Writer
Chester Brown | Louis Riel - Drawn & Quarterly Publishing
Gilbert Hernandez | Love & Rockets - Fantagraphics Books
Alan Moore | Promethea - America's Best Comics / Wildstorm / DC Comics
Brian Vaughn | Y: The Last Man - DC Comics
Mark Waid | Fantastic Four - Marvel Comics

Best Artist
Charles Burns | Black Hole - Fantagraphics Books
Jaime Hernandez | Love & Rockets - Fantagraphics Books
George Perez | Avengers / JLA - DC Comics / Marvel Comics
Craig Thompson | Blankets - Top Shelf Productions
Ashley Wood | Popbot - IDW Publishing

Best New Series
Belly-Button | Sophie Crumb - Fantagraphics Books
Human Target | Peter Milligan and Javier Pulido - DC Comics
Love Fights | Andi Watson - Oni Press
Plastic Man | Kyle Baker - DC Comics
Pogo Stick | Al Columbia and Ethan Persoff - Fantagraphics Books

Best Continuing or Limited Series
Black Hole | Charles Burns - Fantagraphics Books
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume II | Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill - America's Best Comics / Wildstorm / DC Comics
Love and Rockets | Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, edited by Gary Groth - Fantagraphics Books
Promethea | Alan Moore and J.H. Williams III - America's Best Comics / Wildstorm / DC Comics
Supernatural Law | Batton Lash - Exhibit A Press

Best Single Issue or Story
Astro City Vol. 3, #2 | Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson - Homage / Wildstorm / DC Comics
Black Hole #11 | Charles Burns - Fantagraphics Books
CSI: Serial #1-5 | Max Allan Collins and Gabriel Rodriguez - IDW Publishing
Gotham Central #6-10 | Greg Rucka and Michael Lark - DC Comics
Love & Rockets #9 | Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez - Fantagraphics Books
Quicken Forbidden #12 | Dave Roman and John Green - Cryptic Press
Supernatural Law #38 | Batton Lash - Exhibit A Press

Spy Life

Queen & Country, Vol. 5: Operation Storm Front

Creators: Greg Rucka, writer; Carla Speed McNeil, artist

Oni Press, 168 pages, $14.95

So? With all the fantasy that goes around in comics, it’s sometimes amazing to see just how well reality can play in this medium. From its first issue, Greg Rucka’s Queen & Country has been one of the most captivating and fascinating series in the comics shops, and it’s a shame it’s not at the top of Diamond’s sales chart. Taking a cue from an old U.K. TV series, The Sandbaggers, Rucka has created a British spy series that owes more to The New York Times or the BBC than it does to Ian Fleming or TV’s Alias. This chapter in the series has Tara Chace heading to Tblisi to save the businessman son of a Russian defector who Tara’s boss, Paul Crocker, had failed to help defect during the Cold War. All this comes after one of Tara’s fellow “minders,” Ed Kittering — with whom Tara once had an affair — turned up dead in his Caracas hotel room of apparently natural causes after another foreign op. These are pretty complex characters with believable motivations and real humanity in the face of events that feel real because Rucka has really done his homework on the nature of intelligence work. Carla Speed McNeil, creator of the excellent "Finder," is the latest artist to kick butt on this series. Even though different artists have drawn each arc, each one still feels very much like a part of the series. This is one smart comic and if you’re not reading it, you should be. Grade: A+

It had to happen ...

Marvel Age Spider-Man

Creators: Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Daniel Quantz (w); Mark Brooks, Jonboy Meyers (a)

96 pages, $5.99

So?: There's a scene in Mel Brooks' Spaceballs in which Dark Helmut and Colonel Sanders grab a copy of the already-produced VHS cassette "Spaceballs: The Movie" from the merchandizing department so they can use it to locate their enemies. It's played as a joke on the ever-closing gap between theatrical and home-video release dates. A gap comparable in the comics world to the lag between serialized stories and their TPB collection release. A gap which Marvel has recently closed (and then some) with Marvel Age Spider-Man.

The digest-sized collection reprints issues 1-4 of a series that just two weeks ago released issue number two! It's stories are modern-day retellings of Amazing Spider-Man #2-5 and aimed at bringing in new readers (isn't that what Ultimate Spider-Man was supposed to be?) Plots follow the Ditko/Lee storylines fairly tightly, and while Brooks' pencils and the computer coloring are both top-notch, their reproduction quality suffers in the digest format, printed smaller and on a newsprint stock paper.

Grade: C+

Tough Markets

“The Punisher” opens today on 2,649 screens amid a bit of fire from critics. It also faces some tough competition from “Kill Bill, Vol. 2,” which almost certainly will outgross the Marvel pic. After the so-far underwhelming domestic $40 million b.o. of “Hellboy,” we have to wonder if the immediate future for comicbook superhero movies lies in the hands of Frank Castle and his sidekick fire hydrant. “Spider-Man 2” will be a definite hit, but then there’s the iffier prospects of “Catwoman” and “Constantine” to come before next summer gives us “Batman Begins,” “Elektra” and “Fantastic Four.” Good thing for Hollywood that comics offer more than superheroes, right?

The most-talked about news in comics this week was Wildstorm’s decision to cancel the acclaimed “Wildcats Version 3.0” and “Stormwatch: Team Achilles.” Both titles earned acclaim from those who read the books, but in the end the sales just weren’t high enough to continue. Each ends with its 24th issue, due this summer.

“Deep Sleeper” creators Phil Hester and Mike Huddleston are taking the four-issue miniseries to Image Comics after a disagreement arose between them and the series’ original publisher, Oni Press. The series’ third issue will be out from Image this summer.

Diamond’s sales rankings for March are out. Marvel held a slight edge in the dollar share market share over DC and a slightly larger edge in the unit sales market share. This is most likely due to Avengers/JLA #4, the DC-produced, $5.95 finale to the fanboy favorite crossover. Beyond that, the top 20 was evenly split with 10 Marvel books and 10 DC books, mostly the usual suspects.

CrossGen’s director of direct market and foreign sales, James Brietbeil, resigned earlier this week, the most recent in a string of departures from the company. CrossGen also confirmed it’s pulling out of Free Comic Book Day because it had planned to promote its now-shelved “American Power” series for the event.

Dark Horse announced a comic-book tie in to the upcoming film “Van Helsing.” The publisher also announced a delay in its "Shi Ju-Nen" miniseries after its creator, Billy Tucci, cut his hand in a household accident.

Over at DC, a big crossover event will hit the Batman books for the first time in a few years. War Games will run through 25 issues of the Bat-line for three months this summer. Michael Turner and Jim Lee are keeping all eyes on Superman. The artists plan to do variant covers for each other’s stints on Superman titles, with Turner covering Superman #205 and Lee doing Superman/Batman #10. Also, the second printing of Superman/Batman #8 has sold out.

"Magnus Robot Fighter," created by Russ Manning in the 1960s for Gold Key comics, will be returning in a new line of novels and graphic novels at ibooks. The character enjoyed a popular revival in 1991 as part of Jim Shooter’s Valiant Comics line.

Mignola goes home

"Hellboy" creator Mike Mignola is happy to be able to get back to doing what he loves: creating comic books. He sat down for a quick talk with us just after returning from being limo-ed and wined and dined for a couple of weeks in Los Angeles. Mignola says that he was happy with what ended up on the bigscreen for his creation, partially because he didn't enter the process with blinders on.

Mike Mignola (MM): It just seemed as if the deck was stacked against this movie ever being made. I didn't go into it with any preconceived notions.

And with Guillermo Del Toro at the helm, Mignola was sure that the film would be done right

MM: I knew that if anybody could get some of what I'd done on the screen, it would be this guy.

This weekend's "The Punisher" may take the mantel as the current hot comic book movie, but Mignola relishes getting back to his book(s), and already has things in the works.

MM: I've got a Hellboy miniseries starting in the next year. And I'm going to do my first giant non-Hellboy project in 10 years.

So, who and/or what's out there right now that YOU admire?

MM: "The Goon" by Dark Horse is fantastic. So well done ... it is like a breath of fresh air. Jim Woodring's "Frank" book and stuff done by Dave Cooper . . . And for a good artist, you look at their work and you see their personality, and seeing someone's personality shine through a comic is what excites me. I don't see that in many of the cases today.

With the jetsetting and party sessions, we were wondering what you do for a vacation?

MM: Hmmm .. I'm bad with vacations. But I'm one of the fortunate in that my hobby is also my professtion. I draw, read and sleep.

Spoken like a true professional.

Blood and guts

Some weeks, you just can’t wait to get to the comics shop … then you spend more than you wanted to, which only helps when you have a blog like this to fill every day:

Spider-Man #1

Creators: Mark Millar, writer; Terry Dodson, pencils; Rachel Dodson; inks
Marvel Knights, 32 pages, $2.99
So? Marvel Knights is an imprint within Marvel that takes on the publisher’s superheroes in a slightly more adult fashion. Not as adult as the R-rated type of stuff seen in its Max line, but definitely PG-13. This is the first such regular Spider-Man book to appear in such a line and it’s a bit of a mixed blessing. The dialogue from Mark Millar is hip in an HBO originals kind of way and the characters are clearly farther along in life than in the teen-themed "Ultimate Spider-Man." Somewhat reconciled with his wife, Mary Jane, and his alter-ego accepted by a more spritely Aunt May (who’s moving to Manhattan), the story involves a mystery villain figuring out who Spider-Man is. Well-drawn by the Dodsons, the opening fight with the Green Goblin is grittier and more realistic (does that word even apply?) and perfect for teens and adults addicted to vidgames and action sequences like we saw in “Hellboy.” But somehow, the more adult and capable you make Peter Parker, the less interesting he becomes and that makes the raison d’etre of this series puzzling given the rumors that the House of Ideas wants its comics to be more family friendly. Grade: B-

Dead@17: Blood of Saints #1 (of 4)

Creator: Josh Howard
Viper Comics, 32 pages, $2.95
So? The first four-issue series was a surprise hit, and it’s not too hard to see why. This full-color indie comic about a teen girl who’s murdered and comes back to life as part of some strange occult activity is done with style and humor that makes for a fun and breezy read. Howard’s script combines wit, soap opera and horror in a kind of “Buffy” way. The animated art style has a hipness to it and is just sexy enough to be really cool without going too far with a teen character. Having missed out on the first series (coming in a collected edition in May, naturally), some elements are confusing but still interesting enough to want to keep reading. It’s always nice to see a new indie that’s as well-done and fun as this, so let’s hope it sticks around. Grade: B+

Bite Club #1 (of 6)

Creators: Howard Chaykin and David Tischman, writers; David Hahn, artist
DC/Vertigo; 32 pages, $2.95
So? The comic cynicism oozes off the page in this story (titled “Suck Off and Die!”) that introduces the Del Toro family, the most powerful, well established clan in Miami’s vampire community. In this world, vampires not only are real, they’ve been living openly as a kind of minority in society and even have their own division of the police force to investigate their crimes. When 265-year-old patriarch Eduardo is shot and falls from a skyscraper to his death, his bickering family has to deal with the fallout and each other. Among them are one son who’s become a priest, a daughter with a mouth like a sewer and a body like a centerfold, and the son who’s trying to make sure his teen-age vampire son grows up a little smarter than he did. The dialogue is — as usual for Chaykin and Tischman, who formerly worked on projects including "American Century" — pull-no-punches profane, smart and funny. This issue is like a great TV pilot, one that sets everything up, makes you wonder what’s gonna happen next, and make sure you’re back for the next one. Wrap it all up in a great, sexy Frank Quitely cover and we have no choice but to call this very cool. Grade: A-

Punisher preem

Highlights of the ArcLight (in Hollywood) event attended by what seemed to be ALL of the cast and crew and studio executives that they could fit in the Dome:

• First there was popcorn in buckets! Not little cups, but buckets. With soda! All gratis. Nice.
  
• Then there were quick intros by producer Gale Anne Hurd, Avi Arad, and Jonathan Hensleigh, who chided the audience into telling all of their friends to help him kill 'Bill' this weekend. That'll be a tough mountain to climb.
  
• The movie. Stuck extremely close to Garth Ennis' 'Welcome back, Frank' storyline. Casting was great. Tone was cool. Action was primo. Acting wasn't over-the-top or too ... off. It has the edge over the Dolph Lundgren original. Guys: See Laura Harring! Girls: Thomas Jane has the six-pack working! Enough campaigning.
  
• The party. Fun. Popsicles were given out, referring back to an ingenious torture scene from the movie. Haha, got you thinking? A friend and avid Punisher fan was a bit disturbed by some of Frank's actions in the movie, which will not be revealed here so far in advance of the release. But regardless, I asked Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad at the afterparty about the differences between the book and the bigscreen. Among other things.
  

  Avi Arad: When you bring a comic book to life, you want to elevate the art form. But in a movie, you cannot do four frames like you can in a comic book. We thought that this was a good way to dramatize that he didn't really want to be alive. He just wanted to exact punishment and go.

  Why Thomas Jane?

  Avi Arad: I'd been chasing Thomas for a year before the start of the movie. What Thomas has is humanity, and it's very important in movies like this. We learned this with Hugh Jackman in "X-Men," if you can get emotion, then the character can do anything. But it was important for me to get Thomas because he has soft eyes...

  
  
• Thomas Jane was gungho over the project, and raring to go on the already-signed sequel. He named the "Dirty Harry" films, "Point Blank" by Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson's "Hard Times" some of his inspirations. Also ran into Lions Gate exec Tom Ortenberg, who was excited over not only the "Punisher" release, but the upcoming "Iron Fist" and "Black Widow" films the company is doing with Marvel. And talked up Kevin Nash and ... well, he's a BIG guy.
  
• We also learned that Arad's 'wishlist' bigscreen project is none other than Norrin Rad himself, the Silver Surfer. Nothing's stirring, though. And Marvel has it's plate pretty full for a while.

Gears and ammo

ENGINEHEAD #1
Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist: Ted McKeever
DC Comics, $2.50 US

So? Weird. The art, the storyline, the feel is a bit hard to follow. It was off-putting at first, but then I thought about it, and the main character (Jackhammer would be considered this) was feeling the same: a bit discombobulated. Then suddenly he's being added to other machine-like people (only Tin is recognizable) and melded into one big (hopefully crime-FIGHTING) construction. This could be taken as a tale of redemption, as all of the other characters have different, but seemingly not destructive, reasons for going through the process. An interesting read that bears further analysis as the story and path of the combined entity take shape, but it's pretty hard to get through as it is now. Grade: C

WOLVERINE/PUNISHER #1
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artists: Lee Weeks (p), Tom Palmer (i)
Marvel

So? These team-up books are everywhere!! Captain America/Wolverine, Superman/Batman, Captain America/Falcon, JLA/Avengers, etc. But so what? They're fun. It's usually interesting to throw characters together, especially if both of them are killers of the highest caliber and are in a no-holds-barred imprint like Marvel Knights. This first issue is the Punisher's (showcasing his single-minded obsession with destroying a criminal outfit) and his prey's, a bank-robbery mastermind named Napoleon who will do anything to escape Frank's wrath. He flees to Shangri-La, a place where crooks go to get away from the law, and a place the Punisher would salivate over. Wolverine has a cameo at the end as Castle closes in. Surely fireworks will ensue as a color clash of Wolverine's grey-area sensibilities and Punisher's black-and-white mentality offer up another few rounds of mayhem. And don't be surprised if Captain America shows up! Grade: B

Duty Calls

The Variety offices are closed today for Good Friday, but we’re putting the news wrapup together on our day off anyway because we know how comics fans hate to wait for their next fix.

Tim Story, director of “Barbershop” was announced as the director of Marvel’s “Fantastic Four” adaptation at Fox. Story was scouting locations for the film in Vancouver this week while he’s finishing up “Taxi.” Rumors about casting began to swirl immediately, with Emmy-winner Michael Chiklis of FX’s hit cop drama “The Shield” talked about for The Thing while Tim Robbins’ name came up as a potential Doctor Doom.

The nominees for the 16^th annual Eisner Awards, the comicbook industry’s version of the Oscars, were announced this week. Books such as Eric Powell’s The Goon, Neil Gaiman’s original graphic novel Sandman: Endless Nights and Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly’s Little Lit earned the most nods. DC Comics and its various imprints had the most noms among the 25 categories with 35 noms, followed by Dark Horse with 15 and Marvel with 8. Writers Brian Michael Bendis and Greg Rucka each earned five nominations to lead the pack for individual creators. The awards will be presented at Comic-Con Intl: San Diego, set for July 22-25.

Marvel made a splash late this week by confirming its new Icon imprint for creator-owned comics. The first two books from the imprint will be Powers (created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Avon Oeming) and David Mack’s Kabuki, both moving over from Image Comics. The planned relaunch of Powers under Image is now dead and the new first issue will come out in July under the Icon banner instead.

Marvel and Lions Gate, its partner on “The Punisher” film set to be released next Friday, will give away reprint editions of the Punisher’s first appearance from Amazing Spider-Man #129 at some theaters. Also, Eagle One Media announced it will distribute the digital comic books based on Marvel and CrossGen characters that play on DVD players and videogame consoles.

That’s not the big news this week from Florida, though, where CrossGen continues to struggle with its financial footing. Senior VP of Publishing Bill Rosemann and VP of marketing and sales Chris Oarr both resigned this week as the publisher canceled plans for a comic called “American Power” that apparently made new investors nervous because of its content.

In manga land, Tokyopop and Disney will expand their line of Cine-Manga with 24 new titles over the next three years. Dreamwave, publishers of the popular Transformers comics, will be introducing some manga sized digests of Transformers Energon and Duel Master.

“Hellboy” was a great comic-to-screen adaptation and star Ron Perlman said earlier this week on The Best Damn Sports Show Period that the sequel has the greenlight. “Hellboy” creator Mike Mignola had his “Amazing Screw-On Head” comic picked up as a half-hour comedy series by Sci Fi Channel. The cabler also is planning a trio of pics to be produced by Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee.

DC announced late last week the first titles to be produced in its new relationship with Euro comics importer Humanoids Publishing. And lastly, for collectors looking for Golden Age finds, a large collection of 1930s comics was discovered in New York state.

A gruesome fate...

Tone and Scope

A quick look at a few of the books we've liked a lot (and not as much) the past few weeks.

Planetary #19 (Wildstorm — Warren Ellis, writer; John Cassaday, artist. 32 pages, $2.99). So? Elijah Wood’s battle with the villainous Four heads into space as Planetary sends a trio of “angels” to investigate an alien craft in orbit that is home to millions of humans and one humongous corpse large enough for dozens to stand on a single fingernail. This is one of the few Planetary stories to be continued next issue, but its track record shows it will likely be just as mind-blowing as this one. Ellis writes a story that has plenty of astonishing images for Cassaday’s delicate pencils to illustrate. That he also throws in a few theories about the 2-D nature of the universe and the origin of all the series’ protectors makes the months we’ll have to wait for the conclusion all the more aggravating. But in a good way. Grade: A

Kinetic #1 (DC Comics — Kelley Puckett, writer; Warren Pleece, artist. 32 pages, $2.50). So? This second series in the new DC Focus line is potentially interesting though it’s still not too clear what separates Focus from Vertigo. The approach appears pretty similar, aiming at a slightly older crowd that may have a harder time with the bright costumes and simple morality of most superheroes. The story of a very sick teen trying to cope with high school doesn’t get quite far enough in this first issue to hook readers completely. However many return for the second issue (almost always fewer than tried the first) may get a better read to complement Pleece’s attractive and uncluttered art and the spot-colored pages. Grade: B-

Robin #124 (DC Comics — Bill Willingham, writer; Francisco Rodriguez de la Fuente and Aaron Sowd, artists. 32 pages, $2.25) So? The Boy Wonder gets into trouble at home in this issue, which reads more like an Afterschool Special than part of the Batman line. This issue, the parents of Robin’s alter-ego, Tim Drake, learn he’s been less than truthful with them about his extracurricular activities, and Tim’s father eventually discovers the secret and sets out to confront Bruce Wayne. Tim, meanwhile, is scolded by Batman for being distracted ever since he may have killed someone. He’s told to snap out of it by his girlfriend and occasional partner in crimefighting, Stephanie. While this stuff probably appeals to die-hard Bat-fans, it’s hard to jump into this cold because the mix of soap opera and superheroics is as heavy as that on TV’s Alias. That Stephanie will be taking over the Robin identity shortly may give the book a boost sales wise, but the merely adequate art and stories will have to get a little more exciting for it to be more than a temporary blip. Grade: D

Superman/Batman #8 (DC Comics — Jeph Loeb, writer; Michael Turner, artist. 32 pages, $2.95) So? Aspen Comics star Michael Turner joins regular writer Jeph Loeb in a story that introduces a new Supergirl. Turner’s art is lovely and there’s no slicker example of modern comics production values. But this title has, despite its popularity, gone a bit over the top with cartoonish stories that don’t seem to match the videogame meets anime fashion model tone of the art. Whether this new Supergirl will stick around or get her own title remains to be seen, but the inherent problem of putting a fantastic character like Superman on a par with a more realistic one like Batman remains a big creative stumbling block despite hot sales and pretty pictures. Grade: C

Don't start none ... Dwayne McDuffie

One of the hardest working writers in the comics biz, currently in the TV sector, Dwayne McDuffie is producing two of the hottest toons on the tube in Static Shock and Justice League of America (or the soon-to-launch 'Justice League Unlimited'). Known for his co-founding of Milestone Media, whose comics line is not active but TV production is shockingly brisk, the busy McDuffie sat down with us for a quick one-on-one catch-up session.

First with the old question: Any plans to bring Milestone Comics back?

Dwayne McDuffie (DM): We hope to do some more comics in the future. We would definitely love to get it out there again.

Any Milestone characters planned for Static Shock appearances? Hardware or Blood Syndicate, maybe?

DM: Well, there have been appearances, but a lot of those characters are a little too hard-edged for Saturday morning.

True. And about Static. The 'Jimmy' epsiode won a Humanitas Award, and the show was also nominated for 2 Emmys (this year). How rewarding is it to receive these honors?

DM: It's been absolutely terrific. I'm most proud of the Humanitas Award. And I have my certificate framed.

Favorite episode(s)?

DM: Static in Africa. It's probably the most personal statement that I've been able to make in the show. I could sit here and come up with many others, but Flashback and Soul Power also stand out.

McDuffie on other shows that he writes (or has written) for:

Teen Titans: That was really fun
Scooby Doo: Out of all the stuff I've done, if I go to a party or something and say that I wrote for Scooby Doo ... That's impressive. It's the name dropping show.
Justice League: I came on staff as a story editor and I'm staying on as a producer. I love writing Justice League. And Hawkgirl is my favorite character.

On your Web site, you mention that JLA is undergoing a revamp. With all of the new characters, which include Green Arrow and Zatanna, is it tough to write for a changing lineup?

DM: No. It's all about creating new relationships with these characters. Old DC comics fans will be very happy to see what we're doing.

Back to comics: Anything brewing?

DM: I'm self-publishing an original graphic novel right now. It's a romantic comedy. The Road to Hell. It's a love triangle. A guy, a girl and Satan. He loves her, she loves Satan.

Wow. OK, that's diverse. Who is/was your favorite character?

DM: My favorite is Icon. With that book, I had the chance to write about stuff that I never thought I'd have the opportunity to write about in comics. To create well-rounded, black characters ...

What was your defining moment, then. When was it that you knew you had to write?

DM: It was probaby in high school. I wrote a Super 8 movie with a friend. I was sitting there in class watching all the people around me laugh at the stuff I wrote. I thought to myself 'This is it.'

And it was called?

DM: Bic Flick -- about a religious cult that worshipped Bic lighters.

If that's not creativity ...

Battles of the Sexes

Y: The Last Man — One Small Step (DC/Vertigo — Brian K. Vaughn, writer; Pia Guerra, Paul Chadwick and Jose Marzan Jr., artists. 168 pages, $12.95) So? It’s no secret Y is one of our favorite ongoing series. Waiting for the collected editions is like torture, but it is, once again, more than worth the wait. This third volume finds the last man on Earth, Yorick Brown, happy to hear that a few male astronauts may also have survived the plague. But political machinations and the Israeli task force lead by the ambitious Alter lead to a great showdown that is as fun and thoughtful as anything else the series has produced. Vaughn and Guerra mesh so well on this series they’ll likely become one of those teams that’s inseparable in the fans minds, along with Lee-Kirby, Wolfman-Perez, Claremont-Byrne and Ennis-Dillon. The addition of the two-part tale about the theater troupe doing its own play about the world’s last man is a great bonus, especially with Concrete creator Paul Chadwick pitching in on the penciling. Grade: A-

Mighty Love (DC Comics — Howard Chaykin, writer and artist. 96 pages, $24.95) So? There really hasn’t been much in the way of romance comics for adults (at least the kind you don’t have to show ID and walk into a separate little room just to look at) in just about … ever. If this was anything other than superheroes, you’d have to call Mighty Love a romantic comedy, even though this has more humor than you might expect. Chaykin, who’s done everything from the first-ever Star Wars comic to groundbreaking work in the 1980s on titles such as American Flagg! and Black Kiss, has a lot of fun with this story of a detective and a defense attorney who hate each other’s guts by day but fall in love when they bump into each other as masked crimefighters. The action is fun, and Chaykin still draws the sexiest and smartest adult women in comics (the underwear supermodels most artists draw are pretty heavy on the fantasy). For fans of Chaykin’s racier material, this may seem tame, and at $24.95 for a 96-page hardcover, a tad pricey (A softcover will undoubtedly follow … at some point). But for those looking for some fun, some great art and a sharp wit, you won’t do a whole lot better. Grade: A-

Dates and Deals

Before fans head off to see "Hellboy" tonight, let's catch up on the comics biz:

Mark Millar's Wanted, which just sold out its third consecutive issue, is still hot in Hollywood, with "2 Fast, 2 Furious" scribes Michael Brandt and Derek Haas in talks to write the script.

A few release dates have been set for some upcoming comics movies, including "X-Men 3," now set to open May 5, 2006; "Spider-Man 3," for May 4, 2007; and "Batman Begins," for June 17, 2005.

Tokyopop was busy this week, confirming its plans to produce "Star Trek" manga in a 250-page digest format scheduled for next winter or spring 2005. It also announced a deal for Diamond Comics to be the publisher's exclusive distributor to comicbook stores.

A Baltimore-area newspaper reported that Diamond Comics founder Steve Geppi, who also is a part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, underwent surgery earlier this week for a head injury he suffered when he bent down to kiss his daughter.

DC Comics got some good exposure this week as Ed Brubaker's Catwoman series won the outstanding comicbook award at the GLAAD Media Awards. The American Express shorts starring Jerry Seinfeld and an animated Superman went live this week and were promoted in a segment on NBC's Today Show. Comics Continuum reports that the 1970s "Wonder Woman" TV show, starring Lynda Carter, is coming to DVD this summer. The company also announced a new series, Bloodhound, a bunch of new collected editions, and the sellout of Robin #124.

Marvel, meanwhile, consolidated its licenses for kids' underwear, costumes and candy with, respectively, Hanes, R.M. Palmer and Disguise.

ADV Manga announced the acquisition of 37 new titles. And Scholastic, the company that sells books to schoolchildren, has pulled Viz's manga anthology Shonen Jump from its catalog after getting complaints from parents about content such as a character who smokes and mild profanity.

Josh Blaylock's Devils Due Publishing will produce a comic book based on the movie "Army of Darkness", starting in July.

And lastly, The Beat column on The Pulse website has some interesting details on Rich Henn's upcoming video "Scenes from the Small Press: Colleen Doran," in which Doran, the creator of A Distant Soil and artist of last year's Orbiter graphic novel, tells some scary stories about her career in the comics biz. It also has an update on DC's comp policy controversy of a few months back.

Superteam showdown; exhale now