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Pope Rules

John and Joss

"Constantine" may not have finished first at the box office over the long weekend, but Warner Bros. is hailing its $34.6 million gross as the best  ever for an R-rated pic over a four-day weekend. Romantic comedy "Hitch" on its second weekend edged out "Constantine" with a $36.5 million gross to grab the top spot.

And Joss Whedon continues to rule the comics world. At this weekend's Wonder Con in San Francisco, Whedon says he and John Cassady will continue their run on Astonishing X-Men  to 24 issues, up from 12. The series, which will take a short break between issues 12 and 13, will be capped with an annual. Whedon also will be writing a three-issue "Serenity" series for Dark Horse to that will serve as a prequel to the film of the same name. The comics come out this summer and the film, based on the TV series "Firefly," premieres in September.

A Ripping Good Time

Taking "The Fall"

All-around comicbook/movie guru and "Batman Begins" co-writer David Goyer has optioned "The Fall," a graphic novel by Ed Brubaker and Jason Lutes. Goyer will produce with partners Bently Tittle and Pascale Faubert; Brubaker, currently writing Captain America for Marvel, will script it. Lutes wrote and drew such acclaimed graphic novels as "Berlin" and "Jar of Fools."

The "Sin City" movie website is live, with the usual trailers, character profiles, wallpapers and even a pretty cool game. Frank Miller is listed in the cast as playing "The Priest." This will be Miller's third on-screen film appearance, after cameos in "Robocop 2" and "Daredevil." And while it's been well-publicized Miller and artist Jim Lee will be doing the new All Star Batman and Robin series for DC, Miller also let it slip in a recent interview that he's working a graphic novel tentatively titled "Holy Terror, Batman."

"Krypto The Superdog," a new series for kids, debuts April 4 at 9 a.m. on Cartoon Network. A sneak preview will air March 25 at 9:30 a.m. The show will air weekdays.

The nonprofit Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has taken on the defense of Georgia comics retailer Gordon Lee, who has been charged with distributing material depicting nudity and distributing obscene material to a minor. The former charge is a felony and carries a penalty of one to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine, the fund says. Lee, owner of the Legends story in Rome, Ga., participated in a town Halloween giveaway by distributing comics. Alternative Comics #2, a comic created by Alternative Press for the annual Free Comic Book Day promotion, was inadvertantly included in the mix of books handed out. The book features a story that depicts the first meeting between artists Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso and accurately depicts that Picasso painted in the nude during this period of his life; there is no sexual content in the book. One parent of a minor who received the book complained to police, who arrested Lee. The fund has invested $10,000 into the defense of this case and is prepared to see the case through to its conclusion.

Heaven or Hell?

Expect "Constantine," the new film based on the long-running DC-Vertigo comicbook series "Hellblazer," to become the most debated comic movie since "Daredevil." There's two lines along which fans will be split: objecting to the obvious changes made to the character and his mythos; and whether the film itself is any good. (Variety subscribers can read the paper's full review here.)

Those who can get past the title change and moving the setting from London to L.A. will find a dense, fast-moving horror movie with some great visuals. The density of the plot is one of the strengths of the film in that there is definitely a story being told (something a lot of horror films forget to include) and it's an interesting one — if you can figure it out. While some viewers will soak up the information needed to fully understand the story or have the benefit of knowing the comics, the film could have spent a little more time making it clear who these people are and what they're fighting about. The fast pace and cool visuals will compensate for some viewers, but others will likely walk out of the theater with some frustration.

The film also is a rare recent horror film that evokes "The Exorcist" more than teen slasher flicks. At times, "Constantine" borrows a few too many tricks from "Exorcist," but benefits from the relative lack of competition in this subgenre. It will be interesting to see how the film's Heaven vs. Hell conflict is received by auds and political watchdogs in these touchy political and religious times.

Comparing the film to the comic, "Constantine" is closer to its source material than many would expect. Getting past the American setting and the casting of Reeves, the tone of the pic and Reeves' portrayal is in an overall sense consistent with the comic, which itself has changed tone and perceptions of the characters with each new writer and artist team that takes him on. There are elements of several comics plots, especially Garth Ennis' Dangerous Habits storyline, in which John gets lung cancer. And while the film uses Ennis' general solution to the problem, a better job could have been done with John's final "salute" to Satan, which was much more memorable in the comics.

Most of the supporting cast in the film — Papa Midnite, Balthazar, Satan, the androgynous Gabriel and John's hapless helper Chas — all are basically the same as they are in the comics. Tilda Swinton is especially striking as Gabriel and Rachel Weisz really stands out as a police detective who enlists Constantine to help her investigate her sister's death and is smart enough not to fall in love with him. It should be a kick for comics fans everywhere to catch the opening logos for Warner Bros., Village Roadshow — and DC/Vertigo. And don't leave early; there's a short coda after the credits.

Happy Days of Summer

Four-Color Love

On Valentine's Day, even comics fans turn to thoughts of love. Comics have their fair share of romantic moments — both goofy and serious — that rival the biggest battle for drama and excitement. Here are just a few examples (and click on the images for a closer look at the art):

One of comics' premier romances is the decades-long give and take between the X-Men's Cyclops and Jean Grey. this is a romance that has survived death, resurrection and death again. But the best moment in the whole story was a quiet one that occurred atop a secluded butte in Uncanny X-Men #132, a classic from Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin.

Few romances have been as action-packed as that between Jesse and Tulip from Preacher, Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's 1990s Vertigo quasi-religious action masterpiece. The story of Jesse's sick and evil grandma whose henchmen shoot Tulip through the head only for God to "fix it." This was a couple that would stick with each other, truly, until the end of the world.

Peter Parker had lots of romance back in the heyday of the 1960s (though free love was definitely not part of the equation back then). But the most exhilarting Spidey moment of the last 20 years is arguably in Ultimate Spider-Man #13, in which Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley have Peter reveal his secret to Mary Jane Watson, whose joyous reaction to Peter's trust in her is as fun to read as it is touching.

A bit less of a gentleman is Guy Gardner, the onetime Green Lantern whose crude, frat-boy sense of humor helped make J.M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen's Justice League the funniest of superhero comics. In #28, Guy manages to talk Ice (whose name is appropriate) into a date that is just as disastrous as she feared it would be when he actually takes her to a peep show called "Three Men and a Babe" instead of "Three Men and a Baby." Of course, there was punching involved and it was hilarious.

The X-Men's Wolverine may not seem like the marrying kind, but he had given his heart to Japanese noblewoman Mariko Yashida in a great arc in the late 1970s-early 1980s. Their marriage was set and the X-Men came to Japan for the occasion only to have a thrilling showdown with Viper and the Silver Samurai in Uncanny X-Men #173, by Chris Claremont and Paul Smith. But the real surprise came at the end, when for reasons readers had to wait a few more issues to confirm, Wolvie was spurned at the altar as his bride-to-be struck the cruelest blow and declared him unfit for her love. The final, wordless page was enough to make a grown comics fan cry.

And no discussion of comicbook romances would be complete without a mention of the ultimate couple, Superman/Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Their long-tormented relationship got a modern twist when John Byrne rebooted the Superman line in 1986, making Clark less of a klutz and introducing some fun twists. In Superman #11, Byrne gave readers the new Mr. Mxyzptlk, who wooed Lois disguised as Ben De Roy (who looked a LOT like the Beyonder from Marvel's Secret Wars II series) and yanked the duo around in good fashion. But it was also a turning point for Lois and Clark. Lois had been warming up to Clark, who was trying to fend off the aggressive advances of Cat Grant. But when Lois showed up at Clark's apartment to try to surprise him she found Cat answering the door. Luckily, she and Clark eventually got together and got married, but this kind of soap opera helped give the Superman books the boost they needed back then.

Four Reschedules

The release date for the "Fantastic Four" movie has been moved back a week to July 8. The film was set to open opposite "War of the Worlds," starring Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Speilberg.

"V for Vendetta," a film based on the 1980s graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, has received $818,000 in production support from German film funding body Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg. The pic will shoot at Babelsburg Studios in Potsdam and stars Natalie Portman. The pic is written and produced by "The Matrix" directors Andy and Larry Wachowski and will be directed by the Wachowskis' longtime 1st asst. director James McTeigue.

The website for the upcoming film version of "Watchmen" has gone live with a single page advertising a 2006 release for the film. "Watchmen," also written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons, is one of the most successful and popular graphic novels of the past 20 years.

Viz has announced Shojo Beat, a manga magazine aimed at girls in the same format as its popular Shonen Jump. The first issue will go on sale in July and be priced at $5.99.

The winners of TOKYOPOP'S first Rising Stars of Manga competition are back with a full-length series for the publisher called Von Van Hunter. The series by Mike Schwark and Ron Kaulfersch of Pseudome Studio is based on a webcomic and is set for a May release.

TOKYOPOP also announced it will produce a new series of Warcraft manga based on the popular video game. The three-book series will be written by Warcraft novelist Richard Knaak and drawn by Jae Hwan Kim; it debuts in March.

Marvel has made a slew of announcements, including:

• Ed Brubaker, current writer of Captain America, has signed an exclusive contract with Marvel. Brubaker is best known for his work on Catwoman and Gotham Central for DC.
• Ultimate Iron Man #1 will feature covers by The Ultimates artist Bryan Hitch and series regular artist Andy Kubert, both with foil enhancements and no increase in price. The covers will ship in equal amounts and goes on sale March 2.
• Marvel has sold out its supply of Phoenix: Endsong #2 and Black Panther #1. Second printings with variant covers are planned.
• The long delayed conclusion to NYX, the series that introduced the popular X-23 character, will see print this summer, with issues 6 and 7 set to arrive in July and August.
• Marc Silvestri will draw a variant incentive cover for Wolverine #26, set to arrive March 16. Retailers will be able to order one variant for every 15 copies they buy of the regular edition, which features a cover by Greg Land.

DC Direct will preview its line of high-end collectibles based on the upcoming film "Batman Begins" at the American Intl. Toy Fair in New York from Feb. 17-23. The line includes statues of actor Christian Bale as Batman, a bust and replicas of the Batmobile and Batarang.

Sidekicks and Throwbacks

Young Love on the Streets

Personal Heroes

Comics History Deserves Better

The comics blogosphere is buzzing this morning about the Stan Lee segment last night on CBS' "60 Minutes Wednesday." The story was basically an updated version of a story the program did two years ago on Lee, in which Lee stated he tried not to think about all the money Marvel had made from his work that it was not sharing with him. Shortly thereafter, Lee filed a lawsuit against Marvel to enforce his 1998 contract with the company, which stipulates he is entitled to a share of Marvel's TV and movie revenues. A judge recently ruled in Lee's favor, obviously prompting "60 Minutes" to update its previous story.

But the resulting piece was misleading and inaccurate, mostly for its failure to mention Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko or any of the other artists who co-created the Marvel characters with Lee. This is nothing new; but it's a topic that's been debated for decades now and one that CBS News could and should have easily been able to research and present clearly. Instead, the report gave the false impression that Lee was the sole creator of characters such as Spider-Man, X-Men and the Fantastic Four and that his victory was in some way compensation for his role in creating those characters. Ditko's artwork was shown and the hand of an unknown artist was seen drawing Spider-Man, but it is not made clear that Lee was the editor and scripter at Marvel and never actually drew any comics. That these distinctions were not made clear falsely represents Lee's accomplishments, the facts of the recent legal ruling, and the public's understanding of the history of comic books. It also reflects extremely poorly on CBS News; the "60 Minutes" brand, which until recently was one of the better examples of broadcast journalism; and TV news in general.

Especially embarassing for CBS is that the facts of the story are so easy to come by, even from firsthand sources. Last year, while preparing Variety's special report on Stan Lee, I wrote a story on his collaborations and interviewed Lee in his office about the subject. I also talked to artist John Romita and writer Roy Thomas, both of whom worked with Lee at Marvel in the 1960s; and Mark Evanier, a longtime friend of and expert on Kirby, who died in 1994. In all cases, they were very easy to track down and willing to talk openly and honestly about who did what at Marvel. For his part, Lee was quick to share credit and stories about his collaborators, and he seemed to enjoy talking about artists and writers such as Joe Maneely, Kirby, Ditko, Thomas and Romita.

With even some comics fans misinterpreting the contract ruling as the court saying Lee is entitled to compensation for his role in creating Marvel characters, the details of Kirby's and Ditko's cases bears repeating. In the 1980s, the cause celebre of the comics biz was pressuring Marvel to return to Kirby his original artwork. Kirby never filed a lawsuit against Marvel, and a summary of the events at The Comics Journal website quotes Evanier as saying Kirby never wanted to challenge the copyrights. All he wanted was his artwork back and to get credit for his creations. Details of the 1987 resolution were not made public, but Kirby did get some 1,900 pages of art back and most of what he asked for, according to the summary.

Ditko has refused to give interviews or speak in public for more than 40 years. A follower of  author Ayn Rand's philosopy of objectivism, Ditko still lives in New York City and his thoughts on the subject of his work for Marvel remain a mystery that can only be guessed at based on the politics of the comics work he has done since.

While Lee has long been criticized for not being vocal enough about the contributions of Kirby and Ditko, his willingness to discuss the subject puts the fault for its omission at the feet of "60 Minutes Wednesday," which failed to present this story in a fair, accurate and complete manner. This black mark on CBS' record though, does the most damage to the history of comics. Fans of comics and the "60 Minutes Wednesday" audience deserve better.