Marvel's Days of Future Past

Marvel Comics’ past and present will come together this Saturday, as Stan Lee and Marvel editor in chief Joe Quesada appear at UCLA with Kevin Smith in a benefit event for The Hero Initiative called Marvel Then & Now.

“With a guy like Kevin Smith acting as the interlocutor, I don’t think there will be any problem having a real fun evening,” says Lee, who as most people know co-created most of Marvel’s classic superhero characters. “I’ve done things with him before. Of course, he’s a lot smarter and cleverer, more articulate and more innovative than I am, but at some point he always has to stop for breath.”

The Hero Initiative is an org that provides financial assistance to comicbook creators, many of whom created or worked on classic characters at a time when there were no royalties or retirement benefits. Lee says that there was little time to think about such things in those days.

“Years ago, nobody was making enough money that they could say, ‘Gee, maybe we ought to help out the other guy.’ Everybody was just hoping they could pay his own rent,” he says. “But now comics are paying better, there are royalty arrangements and a lot of really top writers and artists in the business – and even those who aren’t quite at the top but are working steady – they’re making fairly good money. And when we think about the people who were in it years ago, who were really the ones who helped start the business, and who for some reason or other aren’t finding employment and are down on their luck, it seems that it’s kind of a nice thing to do to get a fund and help them out when we can.”

The death earlier this week of Dave Cockrum, who co-created such seminal characters as Storm, Nightcrawler and Colossus during his stint as X-Men artist in the 1970s, is one such example. Cockrum benefited from a pension arranged by Marvel a few years ago, when his health was in decline and medical bills were piling up. But that arrangement is not the norm for artists in his situation.

Lee says he hopes the efforts of The Hero Initiative will encourage comics publishers to make such arrangements common. “I would think they’re all decent human beings and I would think that there’s a good chance that this will make them all feel we should set something up. It’s just a case of we should take care of our own.”

The Hero Initiative, while modeled on a similar program for retired baseball stars, also has analogs in Hollywood, such as the Motion Picture & Television Fund.

“Most of the people in the entertainment business have things like this where they help their own. And I think it’s just a sign that the comic business is growing up,” he says.
Of the event itself, Lee says he will go in and see what the crowd is interested in hearing him talk about.

When it comes to Quesada and today’s Marvel Comics, Lee says he’s impressed with them, especially the current Civil War storyline in which Spider-Man revealed his secret identity to the world.

“If I had thought of it, I would have tried to have done it. I think it’s that great an idea. I would have fought for it,” Lee says. “In those days, just having Spider-Man get married or having an issue were he decides to give up to stop being Spider-Man for a months or two, those things were considered revolutionary. But we’ve gone beyond that now.”

The event is set for 7 p.m. at UCLA’s Ackerman Grand Ballroom, and will be preceded by a VIP reception at 5:30. Tickets to the event cost $20; admission to the VIP reception is $100 and tickets are available by calling (310) 825-2101.

"Preacher" to HBO

After years of speculation, including a flatly denied round of rumors last spring, "Preacher" is coming to HBO.

The hour-long series will be exec produced by Mark Steven Johnson and Howard Deutch, who will write and direct the pilot respectively. Michael De Luca, George Agusto, Chris Bender and JC Spink will join them in exec producing the series. Johnson wrote and directed the 2003 "Daredevil" pic and the upcoming "Ghost Rider" pic. Comicbook creators Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon, who own the property, will exec produce with well-known comics biz attorney Ken F. Levin, who reps the pair.

HBO is perhaps the only place on TV where "Preacher" could get made. Story is about Jesse Custer, a Texas preacher who is joined with Genesis, the offspring of an angel and a demon who has power equal to that of God's, and has the power to make people obey his every word as if it were the voice of God. Custer teams up on with a hard-drinking Irish vampire named Cassidy and his assassin ex-girlfriend Tulip and learns God has abandoned his creation. They set out to find God and make him live up to his responsibilities.

The series wowed readers with its over the top violence and humor, as well as characters such as Arseface, a good-natured teen who tried to shoot himself in the face after the death of his idol, Kurt Cobain, but lived through it and becomes a strange idol all his own. Those elements made any kind of faithful adaptation on network or basic cable next to impossible.

Preacher was published by Vertigo from 1995-2000, spanning 66 regular issues and a whole bunch of specials, and remains in print as a series of trade paperbacks. Some of Ennis' Punisher stories formed the basis for the 2004 feature film.

It will be interesting to see how fans react to the involvement of Johnson and Deutch. Johnson's "Daredevil," while a moderate success, is often criticized by fans. Deutch's career, which began with him directing 1980s John Hughes pics "Pretty in Pink," "Some Kind of Wonderful" and "The Great Outdoors," veers more toward comedy than drama. His most recent feature credits is "The Whole Ten Yards."

No word on casting, though a previous attempt to make the book into a feature film had "X-Men" and "Superman Returns" actor James Marsden attached to the lead role and Rachel Talalay set to direct.

Superman: Ultimate Collector's Edition DVD

Warner Bros. Home Video, 14 discs, $99.92

So? How much Superman is too much? This is a DVD set that enthusiastically puts that question to the test. And while there are deficiencies that will annoy the completist in us all, they are more than made up for by a true smorgasbord of extra features, even when they gloss over the troubling parts of the Superman story that it appears Warner Bros. would prefer to downplay.

With 14 discs, the only way to really tackle this is one at a time. So here we go:

Disc 1: This is the theatrical cut of “Superman,” available on DVD for the first time (only the extended cut was available previously — more on that in a moment). This cut runs 143 minutes – presaging the amount of time fans will spend digging into this set – and remains an excellent film. This cut is tighter and better than the extended version, which adds nothing that a section of DVD deleted scenes can’t handle. Features include previously available trailers and a vintage TV spot. New to this disc is a commentary by producer Pierre Spengler and exec producer Ilya Salkind, who does most of the talking and goes to great lengths (and sometimes great tangents) explaining the approach he and his father, Alexander Salkind, took in making the movie. There’s a fair bit of good stories to be gleaned from this, though all of this presages the controversial making of the second film.

(Note, disc 1 doesn't have the original 1978 audio - it's got an edited down version of the remixed audio from 2000. This is a manufacturing oversight and WB is issuing replacement discs, see disc 8 below for more info).

Disc 2: This is the extended Richard Donner cut of “Superman,” with a commentary by Donner and creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz, and it is identical to the version released on DVD in 2000. There is also is a music-only audio track for fans of John Williams’ score, again the same as the 2000 release.

Disc 3: This is the first of two bonus discs for the first film, and features a trio of docs that, again, were first seen on the 2000 disc. The screen tests and restored scenes also are from the 2000 edition.

Disc 4: At last, we start to get some new and very interesting material. First up is a vintage TV special, “The Making of Superman.” Such specials were common in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and offered some very cool behind the scenes info despite being essentially hour-long ads. I distinctly remember such specials for the various “Star Wars” films and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” so it’s very cool to see that someone at WB is digging these things out. This disc also includes the 1951 feature film “Superman and the Mole Men,” starring George Reeves. This was in an odd way a kind of pilot for the popular TV series. Rounding out the disc is perhaps the true gem of this set, nine Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons from the 1940s. These have been released elsewhere, but they look terrific in this release and are a true must-see for any fan of Superman.

Disc 5: This is the official version of “Superman II,” directed by Richard Lester. By now, everyone knows that footage for this film was shot concurrently with the first film, but a dispute between Donner and the Salkinds lead to a parting of the ways. Lester came in to finish the film, which differs quite a bit from Donner’s version. There’s one new deleted scene (thankfully) and the Spengler-Salkind commentary continues from the first film, explaining things like why Marlon Brando’s footage was not used. Again, Salkind’s version of events is an interesting, if rambling, experience.

Disc 6: The Richard Donner cut of “Superman II” is a most fascinating thing to watch for fans, who have heard for years about Donner’s version of the film and finally have a chance to see it, albeit in a rough form. The disc includes a new commentary from Donner and Mankiewicz and a few deleted scenes.

Disc 7: More treasures from the vault, including “The Making of Superman II” TV special, the rather goofy “Superman 50th Anniversary” TV special hosted by Dana Carvey (and featuring a very brief interview with Superman’s then-chronicler John Byrne), and the remaining 1940s Superman cartoons — this set made by Famous Studios. There also is a new featurette on the Fleischer toons that’s definitely worth a look.

Disc 8: Here’s where the deficiencies come in. Be warned if you must have this set now that due to some kind of error most copies (if not all) come with the 2000 DVD version of “Superman III.” That means there’s no commentary from Salkind and Spengler, “The Making of Superman III” TV special, deleted scenes or trailer. Replacement discs can be obtained by calling 1-800-553-6937, but be aware of this in case you can’t live without hearing what Salkind has to say about this one.

Disc 9: Desperation may set in with “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.” This was the end of the franchise for a while and it’s hard not to see why. The Salkinds were not involved in this film, which pales in comparison to the first two films. Commentary comes from co-writer Mark Rosenthal. There’s a handful of mildly interesting deleted scenes, including an interesting recap of Superman’s origin.

Disc 10: This disc is Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns,” which looks very good in this DVD transfer. The disc is just the film, as all the bonus features on this one are kicked over to …

Disc 11: The centerpiece of this disc is a nearly three-hour documentary (and at this point, you may be punchy enough to want to call it a three-hour tour) on the making of “Superman Returns.” There also is a short featurette on how Brando footage shot for the original film was adapted into the new film, as well as the usual deleted scenes and trailers. What’s disappointing about the two “Superman Returns” discs is the obvious omission of a commentary from Singer and the highly anticipated return to Krypton scene that reportedly cost $10 million to shoot and was cut from the film. Those items surely will turn up on a later edition, much to the annoyance of anyone who’s bought this one.

Disc 12: “Look, Up in the Sky!” is the documentary about the character of Superman produced by Singer and documentarian Kevin Burns. There is probably a little too much overlap between this doc and the next disc. To hear Hollywood’s take on it, Superman is mainly a character in TV and features who first appeared in a comic book. If you want to know anything about Superman’s comic book history, this is the one place on this set you’ll see it dealt with in any way. There are interviews here with DC talent such as Denny O’Neil, Elliot S! Maggin, Mike Carlin, Paul Levitz, Dan Didio and Gail Simone.

But this also is where comics fans (and anyone with an interest in an accurate and truthful record of the history of Superman) should have a big beef: Siegel and Shuster are barely mentioned as part of the story after the publication of Action Comics #1. No mention is made of their feelings of being mistreated by their publisher, their multiple unsuccessful attempts to reclaim the rights to the character, their blacklisting from the comics biz, decades in poverty and the eventual “curse” they put on the first Superman feature that finally convinced Warner and DC to give them credit and financial support for the remainder of their lives. Neal Adams would have been an ideal interview for this part of the story, given his role in helping Siegel and Shuster (not to mention creator rights as a whole) and the number of excellent Superman comics and stories he drew during this period. There’s not even a mention of the Muhammad Ali vs. Superman special that Adams drew, which is perhaps one of the greatest comic books of all time.

Instead, this semi-official documentary is like a press release, basically going from movie project to movie project and saying directly on several occasions that Superman was out of the mainstream of pop culture when no movie or TV show was in production. The few comic book eras discussed are filler, with more time spent on the death of George Reeves than on the massive contributions of longtime DC editor Mort Weisinger or writers and artists such as Gardner Fox, Curt Swan or Wayne Boring. In fact, as the doc enters the 1970s, it only brings up comic books to illustrate how declining sales showed how badly a movie was needed to prop up the franchise. No mention is made of the 1986 “Man of Steel” relaunch, no context given to the comics business state in the 1980s or 1990s that is important to understanding the whole “Death of Superman” story. And no mention is made of the deaths of Siegel and Shuster in 1996 and 1992 respectively.

It also would have been interesting to see more details on the various attempts to make a Superman movie in the 1990s, which is addressed on this disc, but doesn’t get much into the details of those productions and what was wrong with them. Surely, Kevin Smith would have been willing to chime in.

Disc 13: This is kind of the catch-all disc, with some oddball bits. “You Will Believe: The Cinematic Story of Superman” once again recounts the history of the Christopher Reeve films. A pair of decent featurettes cover “The Mythology of Superman” and a tribute to Reeve. Then, it gets strange, with the rarely seen 1958 TV pilot, “The Adventures of Superpup.” Then there’s some actually imaginative and fun choices, with three Warner Bros. cartoons featuring their classic characters spoofing Superman in specific and superheroes in general, with “Super-Rabbit,” “Snafuperman,” and “Stupor-Duck.”

Disc 14: The set is wrapped up with a disc of Bryan Singer’s Video Journals, which originally were posted online, including one about Singer’s 2005 visit to Comic-Con, for which he flew 20 hours from Sydney.

All in all, this is one of the most comprehensive sets ever devoted to a single film series. While the breadth of the material is impressive and certainly essential to Superman fans, there is a growing sense as you wade through these discs that there is very little depth to most of it. The rah-rah, often self-important and self-indulgent nature of the bonus materials — with everyone talking so much about how great Superman was, is and always will be — becomes repetitive and boring after a while.

There could have been some nice DVD-ROM features as well. Who doesn’t want to read the famous 500-page original screenplay with the much-discussed Telly Savales scene? They could also have included the Salkinds’ 1984 “Supergirl” spinoff, but at least fans will have the option to buy that separately with a new DVD release.

The completeness of the set and the quality of the main features themselves is the top attraction of this set, which comes in a nice-looking tin and compact book-like case. It also includes a booklet listing all the features and miniature comicbook reprinting the story from Superman #7 by John Byrne and Karl Kesel in 1987.

The big question is: Is this set worth it? The answer is a qualified yes. If you’re enough of a fan to want to add the Donner cut of “Superman II” and “Superman Returns” to your collection, you will surely find a lot to like about the extras exclusive to this disc. (It’s also worth noting that while the list price of the set is $100, discount outlets have advertised it for as little as $60, which is an excellent deal.)

Each feature also is available on its own, and if all you're interested in are the first two features and you have the 2000 discs, you may not find the new commentaries worth buying the movies again for. If you've got an HD setup, you also may just want to pick up "Superman Returns," the only pic available in Blu-Ray and HD-DVD and wait for the rest to come to HD. (Unfortunately, blogging isn't lucrative enough for us to afford the equipment to review those editions, though what we saw of them at the DVD release party was very impressive.) And if you just like “Superman Returns” but don’t feel the need to wade into the franchise’s backstory, then you’re better off just buying that disc and renting whichever other film you’re most interested in. Grade: B+

DC goes for girls with Minx

DC's plans to make comics for girls was front and center in Sunday's New York Times. Here's the relevant bit right here:

In May, DC plans to introduce Minx, a line of graphic novels aimed at young adult female readers, starting with six titles in 2007, each retailing for less than $10. The stories will be far removed from the superheroes who more typically appeal to young males. They include “Clubbing,” about a London party girl who solves a mystery; “Re-Gifters,” about a Korean-American teenager in California who enjoys martial arts; and “Good as Lily,” about a young woman who meets three versions of herself at different ages.

The line will be overseen by Vertigo chief Karen Berger. And DC has brought in Alloy Marketing + Media to help promote the book. DC and parent company Time Warner are giving this a major push unlike anything seen at DC in recent times.

Dave Cockrum, seminal X-Men artist, dies at 63

Dave Cockrum, a popular comics artist known for influential runs on DC's Legion of Super-Heroes and Marvel's X-Men, died Sunday at the age of 63.

Cockrum was a contributor to comics fanzines of the early 1970s before he broke into the business as a pro. A prolific creator of characters, he did a well-regarded run on LSH before he moved over to Marvel, where he landed the assignment of reviving the then-defunct X-Men series. Working with editor and writer Len Wein, Cockrum designed such seminal X-Men characters as Storm, Colossus and his personal favorite, Nightcrawler for 1975's Giant-Size X-Men #1. While he didn't create Wolverine, he was the first to draw the character without his mask, giving him his distinctive hairstyle and sideburns.

Cockrum stayed with the series when Wein left and was replaced by Chris Claremont. Together, they transformed Jean Grey into Phoenix and laid the groundwork for the eventual success of the X-Men. Cockrum drew the series from its return in #94 through #107, after which he contributed a few covers for the series while he worked on other series including Marvel's short-lived "Star Trek" comic based on the first feature film. In 1981, Cockrum returned to the X-Men for a second stint, serving as the series' regular artist from #145-164. Those stories established Magneto's background as a Holocaust survivor and introduced the alien Brood as enemies.

Many of Cockrum's favorite characters were in the mode of fun-loving swashbucklers, such as the piratical Starjammers of X-Men and his later creation, The Futurians. Cockrum's art style was a unique combination of cartoony fun and the illustrative realism that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s.

In recent years, Cockrum has suffered a number of health problems stemming from his diabetes. Marvel Comics arranged in 2004 a pension for Cockrum to help pay his medical bills. Cockrum also received credit for his contributions to the characters Storm and Colossus on the DVD release of "X-Men: The Last Stand."

Cockrum is survived by his wife, Paty, a one-time colorist for Marvel Comics.

Jerry Bails, fandom founder, dies

Jerry Bails, regarded by many as the founding father of comics fandom, died Thursday at the age of 73.

Bails is best known for founding Alter-Ego, the first fanzine devoted to comicbook superheroes, in 1961. In those pre-Internet days, Bails wrote many letters to his favorite writers, editors and artists in search of information on and copies of his favorite comics from childhood, most notably the Justice Society of America.

When the letters pages in comics began to include full street addresses, Bails got in contact with another fan, Roy Thomas, and together they worked on Alter-Ego. Thomas eventually took over Alter-Ego and today edits a revived version of the zine for TwoMorrows (Alter Ego #25, the cover to which is reproduced her, was Thomas' tribute to Bails on his 70th birthday), but Bails remained a fan.

A professor at Wayne State University in Michigan, Bails produced indices, organized conventions, helped assemble the first collection of comics on microfilm and wrote such publications as "Who's Who in 20th Century American Comic Books." 

Salkind on Superman — Past and Future

Ilya Salkind was perhaps an unexpected face to spot at the launch party for the "Superman Returns" DVD and videogame. But the man who produced "Superman: The Movie" with his father, the late Alexander Salkind, was more than happy to talk about his past — and future — with the Man of Steel.

Most interesting is Salkind’s plans to make a film about the lives of Superman's creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster from a script by Rick Palacioz and Shuster’s nephew, Warren Shuster Peary.

The film will start with the duo’s early and unsuccessful attempts as teenagers in the 1930s to sell Superman as a comic strip or comicbook, up until the first Superman movie, when DC Comics and its parent company Warner Bros. gave them full credit for their work and financial support after decades of struggle and poverty.

The film will contrast Siegel and Shuster’s real life with the fantasies they created in their minds. “It will be real, with dreams that use some really cool visual effects,” he says.

Salkind says the original deal for the film was made with National Periodicals Publications, which officially changed its name to DC Comics when it was bought by Warner Bros. National bought the rights to Superman from Siegel and Shuster when it agreed to publish the character in 1938’s Action Comics #1. After World War II, Siegel and Shuster lost a lawsuit to recover the rights to the character.

Both men struggled for decades, becoming so bitter about their treatment that they famously wrote letters to newspapers putting a curse on “Superman: The Movie" when production began in the 1970s. That publicity played a key role in convincing DC and Time Warner to restore their credit and support both men financially until their deaths in the 1990s.

Salkind says the final scene in the film will feature a producer character very much like himself welcoming Siegel and Shuster to Washington, D.C., for the premiere of the movie in 1978.

Turning to “Superman Returns,” Salkind praised the performance of Brandon Routh for the way it evokes Christopher Reeve. “I think Brandon was channeling Chris,” Salkind says. “Chris was Superman. Brandon got that, and by taking that approach made it work.”

Much has been made of the replacement of Richard Donner with Richard Lester as director of “Superman II,” with Donner’s account getting a lot of attention with the DVD release of his cut of the film. Salkind says he is pleased to be able to tell some of his side of the story in commentary tracks recorded for the new DVDs of the first three Superman films.

One such dispute was the discussions of camp. At the DVD launch of Donner’s cut two weeks ago, Donner criticized the producers’ approach as campy, citing scenes in early drafts of the script in which Superman gives a lollipop to a bald man on the street who turns out to be Telly Savales.

Salkind says in response that everyone knew that scene was on the way out. He also says Donner’s version was not camp free, pointing to Ned Beatty’s Otis character. Salkind says the plan was always to make the film a realistic fantasy. “It was always going to be larger than life,” he says. “You don’t hire Brando to do camp.”

Salkind says he and Donner are on friendly terms and talked on the phone for 40 minutes a few weeks back. He remains happy with the released version of "Superman II" and praised Lester’s take on the character, which he still believes to be the correct one. “Lester taught me you laugh with them, not at them.”

Salkind recently produced “Young Alexander the Great,” about the leader’s youth. He says the film’s star, Sam Heughan, auditioned for the Superman role in Singer’s version and has many of the same qualities Reeve had. There is a trailer on Salkind's site.

Splashy bash for the return of "Superman Returns"

The event was lavish, with guests entering into a Krypton themed room with an ice bar shaped like Kryptonian crystals, a mannequin displaying the Superman outfit from the film, videogames old and new, a slinky trapeze artist and, of course, jugglers and mimes — because nothing says Superman like jugglers and mimes.

VIP guests and press wearing cool lenticular badges milled about in larger back rooms, which featured Xbox 360 consoles and HD monitors where attendees could play the game. While I can’t navigate games as well as comics and movies, stopping meteors from crashing into Metropolis and putting the smackdown on Mongul and his minions was a lot of fun. The game looks fantastic, too.

Another HD monitor showed off the high-def version of the film, which also looked fantastic. Costumes from the film, including the formal gown worn by Kate Bosworth and Brandon Routh’s Clark Kent costume, were on display as well for partygoers to look at as they munched on Kobe beef sliders, hot dogs, quesadillas, fries and onion rings.

Bryan Singer showed up briefly for the party, posing for pictures with young Tristan Lake Leabu, who played Jason White in the film, before playing the videogame with him for the cameras to catch.

The VIP area upstairs saw press hanging with Routh, Singer and actors from the long history of Superman films such as Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane in the 1950s TV series; Marc McClure, Jimmy Olsen from the 1980s films; and Sam Huntington, who played Olsen in “Superman Returns.”

Routh, who has slimmed down from his peak Superman physique, says he’s looking forward to Singer’s plans for the sequel. “He has talked about there being some more fighting, that sort of thing,” he says. “We’ll also see the relationship continue to evolve with Lois.”
While he’s not a comicbook reader, Routh says he was a big fan of the Christopher Reeve films.

He’s currently looking for other projects and expects to have something to work on in the new year. A short film he starred in, “Denial,” will be available soon for download on iTunes. “It shows me in a different light,” he says.

Oddly for a launch party, there were no actual copies to be seen anywhere of the DVD or videogame – meaning guests will have to line up with everyone else to get their copies when they go on sale Nov. 28.

"Fiend" on Film

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is screening a program Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. called “A Century Ago: The Films of 1906” that will include the rare chance to see the animated pic "Dream of a Rarebit Fiend," based on the seminal comic strip by Winsor McCay.

Anyone who has seen McCay's originals in the Masters of American Comics exhibit, or is lucky enough to have a copy of "Little Nemo in Slumberland: So Many Sundays" knows how outstanding McCay's work is and what a unique opportunity it is to be able to see this film.

Other pics on the program include another early animated film, "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces," a hand-tinted print of “Voyage autour d’une étoile” and real footage of the San Francisco earthquake. Most films will be shown in 35mm, with live musical accompaniment.

Tickets are $5 for the general public; $3 for Academy members and students. The program will be screened at the Linwood Dunn Theater in the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Studies, 1313 N. Vine St. in Hollywood.

Masterworks Recreations in Burbank

An exhibit and sale of the work of Michael Kelleher, who has been faithfully recreating artwork for the Marvel Masterworks line of hardcover reprints, will be held at The Hyaena Boutique and Gallery, 1928 W. Olive Ave., in Burbank from Nov. 16-30. A reception for Kelleher will be held at the gallery Friday from 8 p.m. to midnight.

Kelleher's work will be for sale, with proceeds benefiting The Hero Initiative.

A look at Kelleher's recreations and the items that will be up for sale can be found at his website. The recreations were commissioned by Marvel to replace artwork from the late 1950s and early 1960s where the company's films of the original art had become lost, damaged or altered.

McLauchlin joins Platinum

Platinum Studios has hired Jim McLauchlin as as editor in chief of its print and online comics division.

McLauclin has extensive experience in the comics biz, including an 11-year stint at Wizard and two years as editor in chief of Top Cow Productions. He also started the charitable group ACTOR, recently renamed The Hero Initiative, to provide financial assistance to comics creators in need.

Since leaving Top Cow, McLauchlin has been working as a freelance writer. Platinum has strong ties to Top Cow, representing all its properties for film and TV, including upcoming versions of "Witchblade" and "The Darkness."

Dark Horse at 20

The New York Times' George Gene Gustines profiles Dark Horse Comics on the company's 20th anniversary. The Dark Horse story is worth revisiting when you consider how remarkable an achievement it really is for anyone besides Marvel or DC to really thrive in the long term in this business. That they've done it by focusing on content and treating their talent with respect is also worth noting, considering the history of the comics biz and the number of publishers that have launched with a splash only to fade away just as quickly.

Fall Xeric Winners

The fall Xeric Foundation grant recipients have been announced. The org, founded by "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" co-creator Peter Laird, offers grants of up to $5,000 twice a year to assist comics creators in self-publishing their work. The fall grants go to the following creators and works:

* Joel White, "Bronzeville"

* Gregory Corso, "And How"

* Aron Nels Steinke, "Big Plans"

* Toc Fetch, "Kids of Lower Utopia, Vol. 6, No. 1: Of Softdoor Scout Finnagain and Daffodil Dash Eleven"

* Joshua Hagler, "The Boy Who Made Silence"

* James Vining, "First in Space"

Cage on "Sadhu"

Nicolas Cage has signed on to Virgin's film adaptation of "The Sadhu," based on the comicbook from Virgin's own comics line.

"Sadhu" was created by Virgin Comics chief Gotham Chopra, but the screenplay will be written by his father, international bestselling author and renowned spritualist Deepak Chopra.

Cage is the latest comics fan from Hollywood to jump on the Virgin bandwagon. He and his son, Weston Cage, are writing a five-issue series for the publisher called "Enigma" that will start in March. Other top talent writing for the outfit include Virgin Comics co-founder director Shekhar Kapur, John Woo and Guy Ritchie.

"Spider-Man 3" trailer

The "Spider-Man 3" trailer was shown last night simultaneously on the various Viacom outlets, from MTV to CBS. It now can be seen exclusively on iFilm.com, and not on the usual Apple Quicktime format/site (meaning I can't grab the stills I usually do from such trailers).

The trailer looks fantastic and there's little doubt this will be the must-see movie of next summer. The Sandman looks especially excellent. It will be interesting to see what kind of reaction fans will have to the revelation that Thomas Hayden Church's Sandman is responsible for the death of Uncle Ben — a major deviation from the comicbook lore.

Venom looks great and the trailer confirms Franco as a third villain in the mode of Hobgoblin. There is little sense of how important Gwen Stacy will be to the story as she's only seen in one brief shot.

First Look: "300"

Warner Bros. gave a first look at “300” at The Lot in Hollywood on Wednesday , and the film – as anyone who’s seen the trailer can attest – is shaping up to be another stunning-looking and faithful adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel.

“300” director Zack Snyder, who helmed the cult horror pic “Dawn of the Dead,” says that was very much the idea and there’s little point in adapting a graphic novel if you don’t replicate the look. “When the text is an image, you have an obligation to respect that,” he says.

About a half hour of completed footage from the film was shown, including most of the film’s opening, in which Leonidas’ boyhood training and encounter with a wolf are told; the first encounter with the Persian messenger (yes, the infamous “boy lover” line from the comic is in there); Leonidas’ first meeting with Persia’s King Xerxes, and of course plenty of amazing battle footage.

Like “Sin City,” the film is almost completely virtual. Snyder says the film was shot in order and in a fast 60 days on a greenscreen set in Montreal. The only shot filmed outside that environment was a shot of the Persian messenger approaching Sparta on horseback that required more room than the studio environment provided.

Also on hand was Miller himself, who says the story for him originated when he saw “The 300 Spartans” as a child, and the fact that the Greeks died at the end made a huge impact on him. He says the film was never meant to be a film, but he was over by the passion of Snyder and the producers for the project and the story. “Zack blew me away with all this stuff,” Miller says. “I think what this team has created with verve, with humor, is another story that will haunt little kids.”

Both Miller and Snyder talked about their next film projects: “Watchmen” for Snyder and Will Eisner’s “The Spirit” for Miller. “The Spirit” will be shot with a greenscreen technique, Miller says. Snyder says “Watchmen” will be somewhere in between traditional live action and the extent of greenscreen in “300.”

Notes of Note

* Tickets for "Marvel: Then and Now, An Evening with Stan Lee and Joe Quesada," a benefit event for The Hero Initiative set for Dec. 2, are now on sale at the UCLA Box Office and at Ticketmaster. Tickets cost $18 for UCLA students and $20 for non-students. Tickets to the VIP reception before the event are available for $100 and are available at the UCLA Box Office at (310) 825-2101. All tickets go to benefit The Hero Initiative, a not-for-profit group that provides financial assistance to comicbook creators in need.

* The Hachette Book Group announced its plans for a new line of graphic novels under the name of Yen Press. The new imprint will be directed by former DC Comics VP of book trade sales Rich Johnson and former Borders graphic novel buyers Kurt Hassler. The imprint plans to focus on licensed manga titles, but also will include original manga and American comics as well.

* Rumors swirled earlier this week that the sequel to "Sin City" was in trouble because of clashes between co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller. Rich Johnston, of "Lying in the Gutters" fame, debunked the rumor in his column this week   when he received an email from Miller through Miller's legal rep that the rumor was "patent nonsense."

Report Projects Strength at Marvel

Marvel released its third-quarter financial report Monday with plenty of tidbits for fans. Yes, the company reported a drop in net income from last year, but is firming up a strong lineup of movie releases for the next few years.

Most interesting was that most of the decline came from Marvel’s licensing segment, while publishing and toy sales showed strong increases. Publishing posted a net sales increase of 20 percent to $31 million for the quarter, mostly due to strong sales of trade paperbacks and hardcover editions, as well as the success of Civil War. Marvel took in $33 million for the quarter in net sales, though comparisons to last year’s $4.9 million are comparing apples to oranges as Marvel took over toy production this year from its master toy licensee.

On the movie front, Marvel set a June 27, 2008, release date for “The Incredible Hulk,” which will be directed by Louis Leterrier from a script by Zak Penn. That means Marvel will have two major pics set for summer 2008, with the Jon Favreau-helmed “Iron Man” set for a May 2 release. While Marvel only had “X-Men: The Last Stand” released in 2006, it will release three films in 2007: “Ghost Rider” on Feb. 16, “Spider-Man 3” on May 4, and “Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer” on June 15.

On its slate of self-financed pics, Marvel reports a writer and director are attached to “Ant Man” and writers are working on “Captain America,” “Nick Fury,” “Thor” and “The Avengers” with no release dates set. Other properties that may be developed under this deal are “Black Panther,” “Cloak & Dagger,” “Doctor Strange,” “Hawkeye,” “Power Pack” and “Shang Chi: Master of Kung-Fu.”

Marvel’s upcoming licensed pics include “Wolverine” and “Magneto” at Fox, “The Punisher 2” at Lionsgate and “Namor” at Universal. No release dates have been set for any of them.

Animated TV series in the works include the “Fantastic Four” series that debuted in September on Cartoon Network, “Wolverine and the X-Men” and “Iron Man.” No new titles have been officially added to the DVD animated features lineup, which will release “Doctor Strange” and “Iron Man” films in 2007. “Alter Ego,” “Moon Knight” and “Skrull Kill Krew” are in development as live-action TV projects.

On the videogame front, Marvel will follow up the release of “Ultimate Alliance” with 2007 releases for “Ghost Rider” and “Fantastic Four 2” (Take Two), “Marvel VS. Card Game” (Konami), “Spider-Man 3” and “Spider-Man Trilogy” (Activision), and “Marvel Nemesis 2” (Electronic Arts). Marvel announced that Sega has acquired the rights to do a game based on the “Iron Man” film that will be released day and date with the film. Sega is in talks with Marvel to do another game, possibly “Hulk.”

Donner's Vision Soars at Last

Warner Bros. Home Video hosted a star-studded premiere party Thursday night at the DGA for the DVD release of “Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.”

Attending were cast members Margot Kidder, Sarah Douglas, Jack O’Halleran and Marc McClure, as well as writer and creative consultant Tom Mankiewicz and Donner himself. Brandon Routh, Sam Huntington and Bryan Singer were on hand from this summer’s “Superman Returns,” as were Brando’s son Miko Brando and daughter Rebecca Kotlinzky.

Other guests included and Noel Niell, who played Lois Lane in the 1950s TV series, actor and writer Seth Green, DC Comics writers Mark Waid, Paul Dini and Geoff Johns, and Donner’s wife, “X-Men” producer Lauren Shuler Donner.

At a reception before the screening, Donner says he never thought his version of the film would be seen after he was fired from the production by producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind and replaced by Richard Lester. “I’m particularly thrilled that fans after this time will get to see the film.”

Donner says he felt that the film as finished by Lester was not true to the tone he had established with the first film and he was unhappy with what he calls their less-than-respectful treatment of the material. “They treated it as a parody,” he says. “This (cut) is really the tasteful one.”

The film is an exciting experience for Superman fans. While the basic plot may not differ as much as you might expect when as much as 75 to 80 percent of the footage is new, it’s a lot of fun to watch Christopher Reeve (to whom the film is dedicated), Kidder and especially Brando play these classic roles once again. Some sequences, such as Lois Lane’s first attempt at convincing Clark to admit he’s Superman, are so good it makes you wonder why anyone would cut them from the film.

The performances in particular are much better in this version, with Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder giving their roles a sparkle that was missing from the Lester version.

Some of the new sequences, especially the Brando scenes, do a lot to explain plot points that the original omitted, such as how exactly Superman’s powers were restored. Other elements tie the film more closely to the original, with the finale of the first film providing the impetus for the escape of Zod, Non and Ursa instead of the Paris nuclear bomb sequence.

Other elements show the unfinished nature of the film, with some scenes cobbled together from screen tests, visual effects crudely finished (if at all) and choppy editing no doubt due to lack of appropriate footage.

At a panel after the screening moderated by Pete Hammond, Kidder talked about how upset she and Reeve were at Donner’s removal from the film and the result of her expressing that anger to press. “As a result, I got like 12 lines in Superman III.”

Michael Thau, producer of the restored cut, said they had to sort through about six tons of footage brought over from Europe to find the footage Donner had shot. “No one had any idea what Dick had shot and what we had in the vault,” he says. Amazingly, all of Donner’s footage was found and the film was reconstructed using Mankiewicz’s shooting script.

“I think it’s so much better than what was put out,” Kidder says. While she says Lester is a good director, he was the wrong choice for Superman. “You can feel the difference. There was a hip, glib feeling and a resistance to get into the material.”

Kidder says many scenes had to be reshot because for Lester to supplant Donner in the credits he had to have shot more than half the film.

Mankiewicz agreed, recounting how the original script for the first two pictures was 500 pages long and featured many throwaway pop culture references and scenes such as Superman giving a lollipop to a bald man on the street only to have it turn out to be Telly Savalas. “The only way pictures like this work is if you get inside the material,” he says.

Copies of Action Comics #844, featuring a story written by Donner and Geoff Johns, were handed out to guests as they departed. On the comic book project, Donner gave most of the credit for its success to his collaborator. “It’s 90 percent Geoff Johns,” he says.

Golden Apple Opens on Melrose

The opening of a comic shop’s new location is usually not big news — unless you’re talking about Golden Apple, the popular family-owned Melrose shop that opened the doors at 10 a.m. to its new location today at 7018 Melrose.

A large crowd of loyal customers and a camera crew from G4 TV’s “Attack of the Show” assembled on the sidewalk out front just prior to the store’s opening. General manager Ryan Liebowitz, who came in to help run the store after the death of his father and Golden Apple founder Bill Liebowitz two years ago, spoke a few words about the new location and how it is a big step toward achieving his vision for the store.

His mother, Sharon Liebowitz, took the stage to thank the store’s staff for their hard work and introduce special guest Stan Lee. Lee’s appearance was brief, but he cut the ceremonial ribbon that opened the store and the crowd quickly filed in.

Inside, the store is larger than the previous location, with more shelf space to display new comics and books. It also is more spacious, well organized, very cool looking and far less cluttered. The high ceiling, fresh coat of paint, large windows and tile floor give the store a polished feeling that the previous location lacked.

A long line quickly formed as people lined up to buy new comics. David Mack, creator of Kabuki, was already on hand to talk with fans and sign comics even though his appearance was not slated to begin until 7 p.m. Other faces in the crowd included DC Comics sales and marketing VP Stephanie Fierman and “AoTS” comicbook critic/reporter Blair Butler.