I haven't written much about Book Expo America, which kicked off yesterday at the Los Angeles Convention Center and runs through Sunday, for two reasons: One, I've never been to BEA and don't know quite what to expect from this trade show; and, two, I haven't had a chance to go down to the show yet because of other commitments.

But tomorrow that changes as I will be moderating a panel called "The New Comic Book to Film Machinery: What's Next and Who is Buying What from Whom," as part of the show's Comics and Graphic Novel Day. I'm lucky to have joining me for this discussion IDW prexy Ted Adams; Brendan Deneen, senior VP of Objective Entertainment and comicbook writer; Jon Silk, VP production at Lin Pictures, which is developing several comics properties for WB; agent Peter McHugh of The Gotham Group; and Rick Jacobs, a producer and manager at Circle of Confusion. The panel is set for 11 a.m. to noon in room 406B, located in the concourse section connecting the two main halls.

Other comics panels set for tomorrow (full schedule here) include: 

* A graphic novel author breakfast with Art Spiegelman, Mike Mignola, Jeph Loeb and Jeff Smith.
* A panel titled "What's Hot, What's Good, What's Next in Graphic Novels" moderated by Milton Griepp of ICV2.
* "Manga's New Generational Trade-up: The Publishers' Quest for New Readers," moderated by Calvin Reid of Publisher's Weekly.
* "The New Literacy:  How Graphic Novels, the Web, and Video Games are Changing the Way We Process Information."
* And Variety's own Peter Debruge will moderate "Upfront and Unscripted: Stan Lee."

Fans of the classic 1990s CG-animated series "ReBoot" are getting their first taste of new material with the online debut Friday of a new comic story, new website, and word of a writer chosen to write the first of three planned feature films.

The comic, titled "Paradigm's Lost," was developed from and molded by ideas from fans at the comics site Zeros 2 Heroes. Fan participation has been a driving principle of Rainmaker Studios' efforts to revive the property, says Paul Gertz, exec VP of the Vancouver-based operation. So far, the strategy has successfully engaged the diehard fans that are essential to the success of genre entertainment, he says.

"The hard core fans of this kind of entertainment, these are the people that stand in line for a week before 'Star Wars' opens," he says. "These are the people who make or break films their opening weekend."

The new comic was created by writer Jeff Campbell, producer Shea Wageman, artist Shaun Martens and designer Kelly Schmidt. The story features the heroic Guardians and merciless Codemasters setting aside their differences to battle a viral outbreak that threatens the stability of cyberspace. Fan input will continue to shape the story as it goes along, Gertz says.

Jon Cooksey has been tapped to write the script for the "ReBoot" feature film, which Gertz says is in treatment phase. While a feature film doesn't allow the same level of fan involvement that the comic can, Gertz says they are paying attention to what fans want.

"What we learned is that engaging our fan base and engaging our fans in a unique way, in a social way, a web 2.0 way, is a viable course of action that keeps your fans invested in what you're doing," he says.

The summer comics awards season is in full swing, with the nominees announced last night for the Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award as follows:

• Fred Chao, writer/artist of Johnny Hiro (published by AdHouse)
• Barry Deutsch, writer/artist of Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword (self-published)
• Cathy Malkasian, writer/artist of Percy Gloom (published by Fantagraphics)
• Mukesh Singh, artist of Shadow Hunter (published by Virgin Comics)
• Christian Slade, artist of Corgi (published by Top Shelf)

The winner will be announced at the Eisner Awards ceremony July 25 at Comic-Con Intl. in San Diego. ... Meanwhile, the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame, administered by the folks who bring us the Joe Shuster Awards, has inducted four new members: Stanley Berneche, John Byrne, Pierre Fournier and Edwin R. “Ted” McCall. Byrne is the name most likely to be familiar to regular comics readers, but the contributions of the others are fascinating and worth commemorating. ... Master Mad Magazine artist Al Jaffee won the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award for outstanding cartoonist of the year.

SITE-INGS: The full site for "Wanted" has gone live, as has a teaser site for the just-announced "Witchblade" movie.

EVENTS: Book Expo is in Los Angeles this weekend (more on that in a later post), while Wizard World rolls into Philadelphia. Storyopolis' Will Eisner event is set for tonight, and the Los Angeles Comic Book Sci Fi Convention returns to the Shrine Expo Center on June 8 with special guests William Shatner and actor/writer Kevin Grevioux.

For years, fans have always assumed that should “Watchmen” come to the big screen that the “Tales of the Black Freighter” plot would be the first cut made to the story. Now, it’s going to be its own movie, with WB set to release a “Tales of the Black Freighter” DVD a mere five days after "Watchmen" premieres next March.

The animated “Freighter” will be directed by Zack Snyder and the disc also will include a documentary style look at the characters of “Watchmen” called “Under the Hood,” the same name used for the faux autobiography of Hollis Mason that supplemented the first few issues of the comic series. This experimental release is part of an effort to inject some of the old life into the flagging DVD market. Fans can expect a regular DVD of "Watchmen," followed by the eventual “ultimate” edition in which the “Freighter” footage is edited into “Watchmen.”

Meanwhile, a pic of the 1940s heroes, the Minutemen, has shown up at AICN. Take a look:

The picture plays a fairly prominent role in the book, though a quick flip through a copy shows no one clear look at the full image. The costumes are so far the element that raises the most questions about whether the screen “Watchmen” will live up to the print version. Not that they’re bad, but they do look a little too much like the standard Hollywood superhero costume of the 1990s — the era of “The Flash” TV show and the Tim Burton “Batman” flicks — when puffy muscles and sculptured armor were the look. That could be cause for worry among fans who appreciate the serious, literary tone of the novel and would be quick to cry foul at the first hint of "Watchmen" tilting toward comicbook action.

The Marvel movie news never seems to stop. Latest word is that the studio plans to adapt "Runaways" to the big screen, with the comic's co-creator, Brian K. Vaughan, a co-producer and writer on "Lost," attached to write the script. If it gets made, it will be the first Marvel film based on a comic or characters created after the Carter administration.

The picture is clarifying for Marvel's planned "Captain America" and " Avengers" pics, with Kevin Feige confirming to CHUD that the Cap pic will be a period piece set during WWII. With the pic, officially titled "The First Avenger: Captain America" coming out six weeks before "The Avengers," expect Cap to get frozen at the end of his pick and thawed out in the present for the second pic, a la 1964's classic Avengers #4. (Feige also dispelled the rumor that Matthew McConaughey was in talks or had been cast as Steve Rogers).

Other tidbits Feige told the site:

• The "Thor" film will take place mostly — but not completely — in Asgard.
• Talks have begun to sign Jon Favreau to direct "Iron Man 2."
• The rights to the Spider-Man and X-Men franchises remain with Sony and Fox respectively, so don't expect them to join the crossover fun anytime soon.

Speaking of Spidey, Marvel's Peter Cuneo says Sony has re-upped its option for the character, making it likely that a new film will come along in 2010 or 2011. And Cinematical reports that screenwriter James Vanderbilt has turned in a script for 4 and has an arc in mind that would roll into Spider-Man  5, raising the possibility of two new sequels being shot back-to-back. No word yet on whether Sam Raimi or the main cast will return, but it seems more likely now that Raimi's out of the running for "The Hobbit" gig that went to Guillermo del Toro.

Sports Illustrated has tapped its Time-Warner cohort DC Comics for an image to match its "Bizarro Baseball!" cover story in the May 26 issue of the magazine. The cover, drawn by Mark Bagley, features Superman's backwards foe Bizarro , a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the New York Yankees' Derek Jeter. Take a look at the cover at right, and read the press release from DC below.

FOR NOT IMMEDIATE RELEASE: BIZARRO NOT MAKE COMIC BOOK HISTORY WITH APPEARANCE ON SPORTS ILLUSTRATED COVER

(And, for those not familiar with Bizarro-speak: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: BIZARRO BECOMES FIRST DC COMICS CHARACTER TO APPEAR ON THE COVER OF SPORTS ILLUSTRATED)

May 20, 2008--Superman has appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine. Wonder Woman graced the debut issue of MS. MAGAZINE. And Batman has appeared on a number of magazine covers, most notably LIFE MAGAZINE. Now, classic Superman villain Bizarro, smashes his way onto the newsstands with the latest issue #2263 of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, which reaches newsstands on May 26. The cover, by comic book superstar Mark Bagley, takes a look at the “Bizarro Baseball Season” and features a member of the Tampa Bay Rays knockin’ the stuffing out of everyone’s favorite Yankee, Derek Jeter. Despite the headline, this marks the first time a DC character has appeared on the cover of SI.

Artist Gene Colan, who started drawing comics in the 1940s and drew such mainstream comic hits as Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Batman, Wonder Woman, Tomb of Dracula, Howard the Duck and Wolverine, was hospitalized for liver failure recently and in need of financial help to pay the medical bills. Writer Clifford Meth quickly organized a benefit book sale and auction, and soon after was able to report that Marvel has  stepped in to offer "immediate and long-term relief" for Colan and his wife, Adrienne. (Marvel deserves credit for doing this, both for Colan and previously for late X-Men artist Dave Cockrum.) Tom Spurgeon wonders if this won't become a frighteningly common occurrence in coming years, which is as good a reason as any to help out The Hero Initiative, which exists to help creators like Colan who face financial and medical difficulties in their later years. 

COMICS IN FILM: Io9 explains How Superhero Movies Made Comic Books Cooler (If Not Better), though I don't necessarily agree with all the reasons cited, particularly decompression, which was on the rise long before comic movies, and more realistic art, which could maybe only be said about DC/Marvel style books. ... Comic Book Movies.com has three new TV spots for Marvel's "The Incredible Hulk." ... Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead is said to be in talks to star opposite Michael Cera in the film adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's "Scott Pilgrim." ... Some recently spied production art suggests that Hank "Beast" McCoy will appear in the long-rumored "Magneto" prequel David Goyer is set to helm. ... You may have missed that actor Paul Bettany provided the voice of Jarvis in "Iron Man." Turns out, he did the gig for Jon Favreau and had no idea what movie he was working on until recently. ... The "Justice League" movie may be on hold for now, but Adam Brody — cast as The Flash in the pic — talks about the superhero training camp the cast members attended in Sydney. ... Sony has won a bidding war for the big-screen rights to "Flash Gordon," with Breck Eisner set to direct. ... Comics Waiting Room gets a sneak peak at the pilot for "The Middleman," which apparently survived the journey from spec pilot script to comicbook to full skein-dom pretty much intact.

ODDS AND ENDS: Top Shelf is the latest publisher to jump into the webcomics arena, with a site it calls Top Shelf 2.0. ... If you've ever wanted to know the political affiliation of your favorite DC heroes, then you'll be sure to check out DCU Decisions, a four-part series shipping in September and October. The series draws its heroes into a political situation and for the first time, nails down where they stand on the issues, though it stops short of having them endorse real-life candidates.

The deaths of comics professionals have always seemed especially sad, at least in part because their personalities and real lives are rarely well known or celebrated — even when their work is. The past week has seen the deaths of two important figures in comics, retailer Rory Root and artist Will Elder.

Root, owner of the influential Berkeley comic shop Comic Relief, died yesterday at the age of 50. Cause of death was complications from recent hernia surgery. The Comics Reporter has the most detailed obit for Root, who was by all accounts a tireless advocate for getting the best comics into the hands of readers. I wish I could say I had more than the most minor of interactions with him — I bought some EC reprints from him at the Comic Relief booth at WonderCon in 2006; he also defended that show in a comment on this blog regarding a post about convention scheduling. The store he founded is marching on, with a minisite celebrating his life and contributions to comics. The site also invites fans to make a donation to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in Root's name.

Elder, who was 86, was one of the original contributors to EC's great Mad back when it was still a comicbook, and stuck with the publication's founder, Harvey Kurtzman, through the rest of his career. Elder worked with Kurtzman on everything from Help! to the classic Little Annie Fanny strip for Playboy. Mark Evanier has plenty of info on Elder at his blog, including a recounting of a panel in Elder's honor he hosted at the 2000 San Diego Comic-Con. That alone should serve as an excellent reminder to check out Evanier's annual panels with the greats and appreciate the folks who gave life to comics while we can. Meanwhile, Mad sent out a press release (read it in the jump) honoring Elder's contributions the magazine.

A bunch of new posters for the comics pics "Punisher War Zone," "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" and "The Dark Knight" have surfaced online. Here's what they look like:

Comics fans looking for the next superhero blockbuster will be bypassing the box office this next week on their way to the comics shops, as DC Comics' long-awaited Final Crisis #1 drops Wednesday, May 28, courtesy of writer Grant Morrison and artist J.G. Jones.

Dan Didio, executive editor of the DC Universe, promises that this is indeed the last crisis — "We've retired that word," he says — and that the series will put the publisher's vast array of heroes to the ultimate test, forcing them to face the possibility of complete defeat. "The log line is, 'The day that evil won,'" he says.

The first issue deviates from the world-shattering jump starts of its predessors, 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths and 2005's Inifinite Crisis, and sets up its storylines and mysteries in a way that's both welcoming and intriguing. Characters, some of them major, die in this first issue (I'm keeping spoiler-free on that point). Didio says in this case the deaths are essential to later events in the series and that killing a character is a decision that isn't taken lightly. "You don't want it to be random, haphazard and pointless," he says.