May
18 Friday notes: Jane out on Punisher 2

* Actor Thomas Jane announced in a missive to Ain’t It Cool News.com that he’s pulled out of Punisher 2, the long planned sequel to the 2004 film based on the Marvel character. Meanwhile, Freeze Dried Movies reports that John Dahl may be close to coming on board the film as director.

* “300” hits on DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray on July 31. The DVD edition will come in both single-disc and double-disc editions. Look for a big push for the disc at Comic-Con Intl. a week before it hits.

* Check out my profile of Platinum Studios at Variety sister publication Publisher’s Weekly’s Comics Week newsletter.

* ILM and Skywalker Sound sign on to Marvel’s “Iron Man.”

* The remaining original sketch cover editions of Ultimate Spider-Man #100 done to benefit The Hero Initiative go up for auction on eBay starting Monday. If you’ll remember, more than 80 artists sketched 100 custom covers for the org, which assists older comics creators in financial need. After trips to MegaCon and New York Comic-Con, the remaining copies are ready to go up for bidding. More details at The Hero Initiative. The org also has an auction going on right now and ending May 25 for the right to put a short message on the cover of an upcoming issue of About Comics’ Licensable Bear, due to be released this summer.

* MTV Networks Music Group and Gain Ltd. Have stuck a deal to develop new media versions of comic books, graphic novels and children’s books for computers, portable video players, game consoles and mobile phones. From the PR:

“Some of the best characters and stories come from comics and graphic novels, but until now distribution channels have been very limited,” said David Gale, Executive Vice President, New Media for MTV Networks.  “Gain combines the original format of comic books, graphic novels and children’s books with the emotional excitement of a great movie that fans can see on-the-go or on-demand, but always in high-quality.”