EA Sports picks Steelers in Super Bowl
EA Sports and Madden NFL 09 predict that the Pittsburgh Steelers will outlast the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. The video game simulation indicates the Steelers will outlast a 4th-quarter comeback from the Cardinals to win 28-24. Full release and more art after the break.
X-Men’s Wolverine to have big 2009
WORD BALLOONS
Wolverine, the clawed Canadian who is the most recognizable member of the X-Men, is at the forefront of “Wolverine and the X-Men,” an animated series premiering at 7 tonight on Nicktoons.
It’s part of a big year for the mutant, who will appear in a live-action film, an animated series, a direct-to-DVD film and scores of comic books in 2009.
“Wolverine and the X-Men” features Wolverine re-forming the X-Men a year after a mysterious explosion destroyed the Xavier Institute and broke up the X-Men. With Professor X and Jean Grey missing, it’s up to Wolverine to get the X-Men back together to prevent a nightmarish future. Included in this “X-Men” roster are Cyclops, Storm, the White Queen, Beast, Rogue and Nightcrawler.
Wolverine will make his big-screen debut as a solo star in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” with Hugh Jackman reprising his role from the “X-Men” films. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is scheduled to debut May 1.
And Wolverine comes to DVD on Tuesday, as part of the “Hulk Vs.” DVD. Hulk fights Thor and Wolverine in separate portions of the direct-to-DVD feature. Co-writer Christopher Yost said at Comic-Con International in San Diego that the creative team was given a lot of leeway in developing “Hulk Vs. Wolverine.”
“The only thing was, Hulk had to be in it and Wolverine had to be in it,” Yost said. “We really had a chance to delve into the two characters, like Wolverine’s entire past and rogues’ gallery. We tried to bring the comic book to life. Everything the fans like about the comic books, the action and the edge, we tried to put it in there. You’ll see a lot of things directly from the comic books.”
And of course, Marvel Comics has big plans for Wolverine in the comic books in 2009, including a Free Comic Book Day release, an omnibus edition of nearly 1,000 pages; new editions of “Origin” and Barry Windsor-Smith’s “Weapon X,” and a new ongoing series written by Jason Aaron (“Ghost Rider”).
Aaron’s series, “Wolverine: Weapon X” launches in April. The art is by former “Captain America” artist Ron Garney. Aaron said he hoped his Wolverine series would appeal both to fans and neophytes.
“This is a Wolverine series for people who’ve never read the character’s adventures, who don’t know anything about his long and complicated history,” Aaron told Comic Book Resources. “But hopefully it’s something that will also appeal to hardcore fans who want to see Logan in less of a superhero setting.”
– by Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
GamePro book highlights most influential video games
THE NEXT LEVEL
Mario, Master Chief, Link – these characters and others populate the pages of “The 25 Most Influential Games of All Time,” a hardcover book from GamePro.
“We decided to cast an eye towards a longer-term impact, either on the industry, or on gamers, or sometimes just in terms of dollars,” said George Jones, editor-in-chief of GamePro.
A team of writers came up with 40-50 initial nominees. Then, those nominees were discussed among a larger group of writers. A top ten was selected, then the following 15.
“It was an epic battle,” Jones said. “It took about two months of deliberating before we had them locked in.”
It’s a coffee-table type book with lots of art along with the text. It focuses on console and PC games, but excludes arcade games. This allowed the editors to focus on modern games that might otherwise have escaped notice, Jones said.
“We thought it would be more interesting to include titles like ‘Nintendogs,’” Jones said. “That game was one of the first games to make people understand that there was this whole big casual market.”
All of the games included came out between GamePro’s inception in April of 1989 and summer 2008. Only one game from each major series was selected, the most influential of the group.
To order, go online to www.gamepro.com.
– by Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Dark Knight snubbed; Ledger gets nod
The nominees for the Academy Awards were released this morning, and unsurprisingly, Heath Ledger was nominated for best supporting actor for “The Dark Knight.” However, “The Dark Knight” failed to receive a nomination for best picture or best director. Full list of the nominees from the Associated Press after the break.
Comics shipping 1-21-08
A happy new comics day, and a happy birthday to my wife, Annette, who is an unsung hero for what she contributes to my store, my family and helping me as a writer.
On to the comics! “Supergirl” gets a “Faces of Evil” tie-in as the “Who Is Superwoman?” story begins. “Faces of Evil: Deathstroke” is a one-shot focusing on the Titans villain. And Marvel launches “Dark Avengers” as part of its “Dark Reign” storyline. Full list and commentary after the break.
Superman, Human Torch to fight Scott Pilgrim
The Hollywood Reporter announced that Brandon Routh (“Superman Returns”) and Chris Evans (“Fantastic Four”) have joined the cast of “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.”
Director Edgar Wright (“Shaun of the Dead”) is adapting the Oni graphic novel by Bryan Lee O’Malley to the screen.
“Scott Pilgrim” is about a slacker twentysomething in a band who must battle his new love interest’s seven evil ex-boyfriends to win her hand. Michael Cera plays Scott Pilgrim.
Evans and Routh will each play ex-boyfriends: Evans will portray Lucas Lee, a pro skateboarder-turned-movie star. Routh plays Todd Ingram, a superpowered vegan rocker.
– Matt Price
Get your game on at the library
NORMAN — Prepare to shoot aliens, play guitar, and even sing a bit as the Norman Public Library hosts a video gaming event for adults.
Those 18 and over are invited to the The Norman Public Library, 225 N Webster, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23. Game systems available will include Xbox 360, Playstation 2, and the Nintendo Wii. Games expected include Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and Halo 3.
To register for the event, visit the Information Services Desk. For more information, contact the Norman Information Services Desk at 701-2620.
– Matt Price
“Lost in Space” actor Bob May dies
In this file photo showing the crew from the original cast of the television series “Lost in Space” pose for a group portrait with the shows’ robot in Boston in this Saturday, Dec. 2, 1995 file photo. From left in the back row are: Bob May, Bill Mumy, Mark Goddard, Jonathan Harris; in the front row from left: June Lockhart, Marta Kristen, Angela Cartwright. May, whose versatile career spanned more than 40 years and was best known for playing the robot has died. He was 69. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Bob May, who donned The Robot’s suit in the hit 1960s television show “Lost in Space,” has died. He was 69.
May died Sunday of congestive heart failure at a hospital in Lancaster, said his daughter, Deborah May.
He was a veteran actor and stuntman who had appeared in movies, TV shows and on the vaudeville stage when he was tapped by “Lost in Space” creator Irwin Allen to play the Robinson family’s loyal metal sidekick in the series that debuted in 1965.
“He always said he got the job because he fit in the robot suit,” said June Lockhart, who played family matriarch Maureen Robinson. “It was one of those wonderful Hollywood stories. He just happened to be on the studio lot when someone saw him and sent him to see Irwin Allen about the part. Allen said, ‘If you can fit in the suit, you’ve got the job.”‘
Although May didn’t provide the robot’s distinctive voice (that was done by announcer Dick Tufeld), he developed a following of fans who sought him out at memorabilia shows.
“Lost in Space” was a space-age retelling of “The Swiss Family Robinson” story in which professor John Robinson, his wife and their children were on a space mission when their craft was knocked hopelessly off course by the evil Dr. Zachary Smith, who became trapped in space with them.
May’s robot was the Robinson family’s loyal sidekick, warning them of approaching disaster at every turn. His line to one of the children, “Danger, Will Robinson,” became a national catch phrase.
The grandson of famed vaudeville comedian Chic Johnson, May was introduced to show business at age 2 when he began appearing in the “Hellzapoppin” comedy revue with Johnson and his partner, Ole Olsen.
He went on to appear in numerous films with Jerry Lewis and in such TV shows as “The Time Tunnel,” “McHale’s Navy and “The Red Skelton Show.” He was also a stuntman in such 1950s and ‘60s TV shows as “Cheyenne,” “Surfside 6,” “Hawaiian Eye,” “The Roaring 20s” and “Stagecoach.”
He was particularly fond of his Robot role, once saying he came to consider the suit a “home away from home.”
Lockhart said May wore the suit for hours at a time and learned the lines of every actor in the show so he would know when to respond to their cues. Because it wasn’t easy to get in and out of the suit, he kept it on during breaks.
“He was a smoker,” Lockhart remembered. “From time to time (when he was on a break), we’d see smoke coming out of the robot. That always amused us.”
May and his wife lost their house in November when a wildfire destroyed their upscale mobile home park in the San Fernando Valley.
Survivors include his wife Judith; his daughter; his son, Martin; and four grandchildren.
Funeral services are pending.
—
Associated Press writer John Rogers contributed to this story.
Diamond Comics raises threshholds; what does this mean for smaller publishers?
As seen at Newsarama and elsewhere, Diamond Comics, the primary distributor of comic-books to the direct market of comic-book stores, is raising its minimums. For a comic book to be carried by the publisher (with some exceptions), the wholesale total must be at least $2,500.
ComicChron does the math, and shows that a $2.99 comic book needs to move 2,090 copies to meet the Diamond threshhold. Now, there’s been much discussion about the price point of many comics moving to $3.99. Something worth remembering is that in the early days of the direct market, independent publishers routinely sold for 2-3 times the cost of a Marvel or DC comic book. Now, however, Marvel and DC are typically just as expensive as an indy book.
Do indy books need to raise their prices to survive? Will this encourage even more publishers to go to trade paperbacks only?
While I understand the economic necessities for this decision, it’s probably another nail in the coffin of the direct market being the first place aspiring publishers go to try their new idea. Would “Cerebus,” “Bone,” or “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” have existed first as direct-market comic books today? Or would they have been web comics or original graphic novels first?
– Matt Price
Monday movie quote challenge #15
“It’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that I just don’t care. It’s a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my a— off I don’t see another dime; so where’s the motivation? And here’s something else, I have eight different bosses right now. So that means that when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. My only real motivation is not to be hassled; that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.”
Identify who said this quote in what film in the comments!
