G4 announces new “Runaways” team
Kathryn Immonen and Sara Pichelli will take over Marvel Comics’ “Runaways,” G4′s Blair Butler announced on “Fresh Ink.” See upcoming art from the series in the above video.
– Matt Price
Filip Sablik talks Berserker, Fusion
Matt Price interviews Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik at the ComicsPRO Annual Meeting in Memphis, Tenn.
Top Cow to launch Milo Ventimiglia’s Berserker
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Norse warriors are loosed on the modern world in “Berserker,” a new Top Cow series spearheaded by actor Milo Ventimiglia.
Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik said the violent series should appeal to fans of “Wanted.” In the story, the two lead characters discover they have incredible strength when they become filled with rage.
“It’s all about these ordinary people who find out that they’re descended from Norse berserkers, these fierce warriors,” Sablik said at the ComicsPRO annual meeting. “But at this point, it’s so underneath, they have no control over it. It’s an uncontrollable rage, and they basically fly off the handle like we all do, but when they fly off the handle, things and people break.”
A special signed variant-cover edition of “Berserker” No. 1 will be distributed to comic-book retailers who sign up to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund through Diamond Comics. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of First Amendment rights for members of the comics community.
The issue will be signed by Ventimiglia and the writer and artist of the book. Retailers can sign up in the April Previews magazine.
Ventimiglia brought the project to Top Cow; the team creating “Berserker” is made up of writer Rick Loverd (“Friday Night Lights”), artist Jeremy Haun (“Civil War: Iron Man/Captain America”) and cover artist Dale Keown (“PITT”).
“Berserker” started as a screenplay from Loverd, a staff writer on “Friday Night Lights.” Ventimiglia, who portrays the superpowered Peter Petrelli on “Heroes,” and his producing partner Russ Cundiff both loved the script. But they thought the violence could make it a hard sell.
“They found this screenplay. They read it. They loved it; and they said, no one in their right mind is going to make this as a TV show or a movie – we should totally buy this,” Sablik said. “Both Russ and Milo are comics fans, so they said this would be perfect for comics fans.”
The preview issue of “Berserker” is available now; the first issue is set to ship in June.
– Matthew Price
From Wednesday’s The Oklahoman
Run from dinosaurs on “Wolverine” 71 second print cover
“Wolverine” 71, by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven has sold out, and a second printing is on the way, set for an April 22 release. In the new cover, Hawkeye and Wolverine are on the run from a rampaging “Venom” dinosaur.
– Matt Price
Sterling Gates profiled at The Oklahoman
For those of you who may have missed it in the Sunday edition of The Oklahoman, comic-book writer Sterling Gates (“Supergirl”) was profiled by Randy Ellis.
“I graduated from OU in 2005 with a degree in art, with a specialization in film and television production,” (Gates) said. “I wanted to be a television writer.”
“I made some terrible short films in college that I pray never see the light of day,” Gates laughed. “We watched them one night a few weeks ago, my girlfriend and I. I was so pretentious, like trying to make these artsy, intense deep films, and I had no idea what I was talking about.”
Full article found here.
– Matt Price
Spectacular Spider-Man makes a move
“The Spectacular Spider-Man” is moving to a new network, but the show’s co-creator says the new episodes will retain the same contemporary but classic feel of the first season.
The animated series “The Spectacular Spider-Man” will move to Disney XD (151 on Cox Digital Cable, 174 on Dish Network, 292 on DirecTV). New episodes will debut on the network in summer 2009.
“The Spectacular Spider-Man” animated series is based on the Marvel Comics superhero “Spider-Man,” and is set during his junior year of high school. Spider-Man was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko in 1962.
Greg Weisman, the supervising producer of the series, talked about Season Two of “Spectacular Spider-Man,” and the inspirations for the series, in a recent phone interview with The Oklahoman.
“When I first got the job, I went back and bought all the big, ‘Essential Spider-Man’ volumes and reread all the Lee-Ditko and Lee-(John) Romita Sr. issues,” Weisman said. “It wasn’t that I hadn’t read them before, but I wanted to have them all fresh in my mind.”
Weisman wanted to take those original tales and make them resonate for a modern audience.
“What we were going to try to do is take 1962 and reboot it in 2008,” Weisman said. “And really try and capture the magic of the character, the thing that had made us fall in love with Spider-Man when we were kids.”
In Season Two, new villains will be introduced from the pages of the comic book, including Mysterio and Kraven the Hunter. And Weisman hopes there’s more to come.
“For a big-time geek like me, this is a dream job,” he said. “I have been working as a professional superhero writer since 1983, when I was a sophomore in college.”
Weisman said he and his team on “Spectacular” want to get to the core of the “Spider-Man” character and do something definitive for this generation.
“I hope we’re doing this for another decade, because I’ve got 10 years worth of stories to tell; there’s just that much material. And I’m loving it.”
– Matthew Price
A version of this story ran in Friday’s The Oklahoman
Actor’s voice has heroic quality
He can’t fly or bend steel with his bare hands, but actor Yuri Lowenthal has an affinity for superheroes.
The actor, who voiced the Prince of Persia in video games and will guest-star on “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” tonight, says one of his most satisfying roles was portraying Superman in the animated series “Legion of Superheroes.”
“As an actor, I audition for jobs every day,” Lowenthal said. “When it gets to be one of ‘those’ jobs, because I’m a huge comic book nerd, and have been since I was a kid … that always really gets me going because that’s my stuff.”
“Legion of Superheroes” features a young Superman who goes to the 31st century to aid a group of young superheroes in their battles with the villains the Fatal Five.
After his first audition, Lowenthal was called back to read for two members of the Legion of Superheroes: Lightning Lad and Brainiac 5. He also was called back to read for the Man of Steel himself.
Upon arriving at the callback, he read the “sides,” or script, for Superman and Brainiac 5 before the producers asked him to stop.
“I was too nervous to say, ‘Hey, what about Lightning Lad?’”
Lowenthal thought he’d blown it but decided to try to forget about it and move on. A few weeks later, he got a call from his agent.
“You’re Superman,” she told Lowenthal.
“I started screaming … and jumping around the apartment,” Lowenthal said.
Much later, the director revealed to Lowenthal that he wasn’t asked to continue because he had the Superman role locked up.
“The reason we sent you home after reading just two of the three characters we called you back for,” Lowenthal recalled the director telling him, “is that we realized that, ‘Here’s our Superman,’ and we didn’t need to have you read anything else.”
Lowenthal also voices the superheroes Iceman in “Wolverine and the X-Men” and Ben 10 in “Ben 10: Alien Force.”
“Hero characters suit me, I think,” Lowenthal said. “I always wanted to be a superhero when I was a kid, and I really haven’t stopped.”
Three DVDs featuring the “Legion of Superheroes” are available, and episodes are available for download online at iTunes and Amazon.com.
– Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
DVD review: Punisher War Zone two-disc special edition
“Punisher War Zone” took a critical lambasting upon its release, and made less at the box office than its predecessor, 2004′s “Punisher.” The DVD came out recently, and comic-book fans who can handle some R-rated gore may realize that “War Zone” took more punishment than it deserved.
Lexi Alexander directed “War Zone.” She’s a former kickboxing champion who directed the Academy Award-nominated short film “Johnny Flynton.”
The Punisher is portrayed by Ray Stevenson, best-known for HBO’s “Rome.” He’s darker than the previous Punishers, Dolph Lundgren and Thomas Jane. The movie reveals its intentions in the first 10 minutes, as the Punisher busts into a mob meeting and brutally kills the attendees.
He then trails mobster Billy Russoti (Dominic West); in the melee Russoti’s face is disfigured, turning him to the villain Jigsaw. Their conflict is the focus of “War Zone,” which mixes relentless action with at-times corny dialogue.
In a lot of ways, “War Zone” resembles the 1980s action films that dominated when the Punisher was at his most popular as a comic-book character.
The filmmakers were aiming for a filmed version of the Punisher MAX comic-book series by writer Garth Ennis, and while it doesn’t quite have the depth of those stories, it’s as close of an adaptation as we’re likely to see.
- Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Captain America returns to original numbering with 600
Marvel has found a way to double its anniversary issue pleasure with “Captain America.” Issue #50 will be followed by issue #600, as the series returns to its original numbering.
While I realize this may be a cheap boost and hard to follow in the future, I’m excited! Legacy numbering returns! Ed Brubaker’s run has been simply amazing, and judging from the solicit info at Newsarama, issue 600 will be no exception.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #600
Written by ED BRUBAKER with MARK WAID, ROGER STERN & OTHERS
Pencils by BUTCH GUICE, LUKE ROSS, DALE EAGLESHAM & OTHERS
Cover by STEVE EPTING
50/50 Cover by ALEX ROSS
Where were you when Captain America died? It’s the anniversary of the day Steve Rogers was killed, a day of reflection and mourning in the Marvel U…a time to look back on the things Steve did and what he stood for… or is this issue actually the beginning of the most wicked plot twist since issue 25? Yeah, actually it’s both. Plus, contributions from Cap creators past and present, including a very special essay by Joe Simon, a classic story from Cap’s Golden Age, a full gallery of 600 Cap covers, and more anniversary shenanigans than you can shake a shield at!
104 PGS./New and Reprints/Rated T+ …$4.99
I’m pumped for it already.
- Matt Price
Monday movie quote challenge #22
“I’ll be taking these Huggies and whatever cash ya got.”
Identify who said this quote in what film in the comments!
