With Disney prepping a “John Carter” film for March release, Marvel Comics continues its collaboration with the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate to adapt the “John Carter” novels into the graphic fiction format.

“John Carter: The Gods Of Mars” No. 1 will be released in comic shops in March, from the creative team of writer Sam Humphries (“Sacrifice”) and artist Ramon Perez (“Jim Henson’s Tale Of Sand”).

“’Gods of Mars’ is going to be a blast — tons of action and intrigue in a fantastic environment,” said Humphries in a news release.

In the novels, John Carter is an American Civil War veteran transported to Mars, called Barsoom by those who live there. Carter debuted in 1912 in All-Story Magazine.

- Matt Price
From Wednesday’s The Oklahoman

Marvel Entertainment has announced a collaboration with the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate to create new graphic fiction adaptations of the John Carter novels, beginning with John Carter: A Princess of Mars #1 (of 5) in September 2011.

“With our new partnership with Marvel Entertainment, we believe we have found the best creative force to revive the thrills and adventures in the 21st Century of the legendary John Carter of Mars.  We are looking forward to introducing this original interplanetary adventurer to a new generation of fans and await the first issue with great anticipation,” said  James Sullos, President of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., in a news release.

According to the news release, by working closely with the ERB estate, all John Carter comics produced with Marvel Entertainment will be considered part of the official canon.

Here’s how Marvel describes the series: Transported to the dying planet of Mars, Captain John Carter must now fight for his life against creatures unlike any ever seen by mankind. But as he finds himself enveloped by an alien civil war, he meets the proud and beautiful Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, who will change his life forever!

Writer Roger Langridge and artist Filipe Andrade are the creative team for the project, which will feature covers by Skottie Young.

“Edgar Rice Burroughs created one of the great action heroes in John Carter and we’re excited to bring his novels to comics for a new generation,” said Axel Alonso, Marvel Editor-In-Chief, in a news release.  “Roger and Filipe are going to blow everyone away with their take on the John Carter novels, keeping fans new and old on the edge of their seats.”

New York-based rocker Ray Wall has been creating rock ‘n’ roll inspired by comic-book characters since 2005.   The Ray Wall Band has created songs inspired by the Joker, Watchmen, X-Men and Iron Man.

You can follow Ray on MySpace and Facebook, and purchase his music on iTunes.

He recently answered some questions for Nerdage about his music.

Nerdage: What is “Comic Book Rock” and how did you start creating it?

Ray Wall: Comic Book Rock is a new genre of music that we began introducing and defining in 2005 for what we viewed as an underserved and emerging fan base.  It’s an innovation that allows contemporary music to explicitly intersect with comics and imagination based fiction.  In other words,  Comic Book Rock is real deal, fan-based, content-true music that talks about super-heroes by name, their powers, what they do, their arch-enemies and so on.

For me this has been a kind of personal odyssey.  As a kid I was mega comic fan and collector, who like many, drifted away as they got older.  My teenage years were dominated by music and becoming a rock guitarist, while later still, college, grad school and career took me even farther away.  With few exceptions, comics seemed left behind.  That all changed with a vengeance after the first rounds of major Hollywood super-hero movies brought me back into the fold!

However, even as these new movies were getting better and better, I grew impatient with the pop/rock/urban soundtracks that accompanied them and felt that they were not delivering an experience as powerful as the movies themselves.  On a gut level something fundamental seemed missing.  Where were the cool super-hero tunes I remembered as a kid?  I wondered why the major film companies would spend over $100 million dollars on a movie and not even a few thousand on an awesome super-hero song that would prolong everyone’s enjoyment of it.

When the first FF movie came out I decided to submit my “The Fantastic Four Song” for it which I wrote years earlier, and at the same time make a music video.  In a strange twist, the music started to rank on iTunes and the video got on public TV in a couple of big cities.  All this was a couple of years before Myspace and Youtube hit big but the feedback we were getting as we went forward moved me to write and develop more Comic Book Rock.  I had the realization that we can move comics from our eyes to our ears and that combining music with super-heroes can be a powerful and fun listening experience.

Nerdage: Tell me about the various songs you’ve created.

Ray Wall: To date we have released about half a dozen songs covering The X-Men, The Joker, Watchmen, FF, etc.  The tunes are quite different from one another in part because the characters demand it and because we change around our sound and bandmates as needed.  Some of the tunes have voice actors and sound effects as a kicker.  Others are classic theme song structured like our Spider-Man track and still others like Watchmen attempt to covey the essence of an entire graphic novel in one sitting.  To date we have covered both Marvel and DC but eventually we will expand into other universes.

For our upcoming songs, we did a thought experiment and imagined what the world would be like if “only” super-hero songs existed on the radio (laughs).  Well, you would have super-hero love songs, comic book dance tunes, hero-hip-hop, super-villain operas, and bad guy blues – all of which you may see us release in the future.

Ray Wall composing.

Nerdage:  What are you working on now?

Ray Wall: Next year we will be putting out our first full length CD.  Until now we have only released singles and generally not pre-announced our songs.  Most of our fans understand that we release new music when major comic book movies come out.  Usually, when Hollywood starts advertising a new movie our mail box fills ups with letters asking if we are making a song for it.  This approach has been fun but it has really limited the quantity of recordings we have done to date.  The other result is that I have a huge stack of songs that have been written and are waiting for their respective movies to come out.  Hence, now we feel the need to speed things up.  It’s a big change from our old approach and requires a lot of planning so right now we are working on finding the right studio and producer to work with.  A major goal is to push our new production values as high as possible.

Nerdage:  What’s the process – do you immerse yourself in particular issues or trades to get a feel for the characters?

Ray Wall: For me writing music, as opposed to playing music, is a very mysterious process.  I usually like to walk around and gently think about the characters for a few hours or couple of days.  The next time I pick up the guitar I often just start playing a new tune immediately out of thin air. I don’t understand how this happens but most of the lyrics and music are just sitting there with a few gaps that I fill in later.  But realistically, sometimes I get stuck and a particular song may sit for months before I figure it out.  Other times, yes, I do have to immerse myself but usually only if I don’t know much about the character.  When I wrote The X-Men Song: A Super-Hero Rock Opera, I knew almost nothing about the X-universe because it was not one of the comics I ever read.  Before the first X-movie was released I went to our public library and checked out one hundred collected X-Men comics across all the years and read one a night.  Since it was close to bedtime I started to dream the music and lyrics.  Because this went on for three months I ended up writing a nine minute opera rather than a normal song (laughs).  Lately, I find it’s a movie trailer that can jump start a song.  I had already read the Watchmen series, but it was the dark spooky looking trailer that hooked me to create our music for it.  Also, I would have never written The Joker without seeing what Heath Ledger was doing in the Dark Knight trailer clips.

Lastly, I think emotions play a big role in all this.  The best comics you will ever read in your life are those you read when you were a kid. We’re adults now (laughs) but we still have the capacity to tap into our pre-adolescent brain if we want to.  On a real level part of my process is to try to feed those feelings back through my ears to make this music.

Nerdage:  What’s been the most difficult song to work on?

Ray Wall: We have something coming up on our CD called Silver Surfer Rises which will be an extension of the Comic Book Rock concept into something  I call “Musical Comic Books”.  The song has a full plot:  a beginning, middle, and end.  You can practically read the lyrics like a comic book.  We were going to release it when the FF-2 movie came out but the track was not ready.  The music is very simple but the unfolding arrangement is difficult to figure out as elements appear and disappear in the track.  Moreover, it is a long song and the singing is very exacting and emotional.  I have already made a few attempts and it’s going to be tough.  If you can think of how Robert Plant sang Stairway to Heaven and how perfect, poised, well timed, and expressive he was throughout that vocal to tell the story you get the picture.  Not easy!

Nerdage: Who is your favorite character?

Ray Wall: My all time favorite character is Spider-Man and favorite team book is The Fantastic Four; pretty much hands down.  During my boyhood years I also collected Cap, Iron Man, Hulk, Sub-Mariner and a few other books.  I also loved the worlds of The Inhumans and of Glactus and the Silver Surfer.  I think the Lee and Kirby years were the best for this material as they invented most of it. When I was an even younger kid, I was completely in the DC camp and liked Superman, Flash, and funny stuff like The Metal Men.  Batman I was watching on TV.

My favorite female character is the underappreciated Kitty Pride because in her origin she rescued the X-Men while barely knowing how to use her powers and being not much more than a scared kid.  I guess I like her bravery.

Finally, my interest lately has been really drawn to The Justice League, but not totally by the comics.  I’ve been listening to DC’s stories on CD about them.  These are much more than someone just reading a novel.  They have a full cast of professional actors, readers, sound effects, and great music soundtracks.  These are awesome; it’s like a movie in your head!  That’s really cool and after all that’s in part where I want to take Comic Book Rock in the future.  To have comic books in your ears!

According to MTV’s Splash Page blog, Tulsa author S.E. Hinton will bring several projects to comic books, from Bluewater Productions.

The first project will adapt Hinton’s young adult novel “Taming of the Star Runner.”  That series is planned for early 2010.

According to the Splash Page, Hinton’s children’s book “The Puppy Sister” is set to be adapted, and Hinton

S.E. Hinton

plans to create an entirely new title for Bluewater.  Don Smith, CW Cooke, Guilherme Rafid and Yasir Fajardo will collaborate on Hinton’s projects, according to the blog.

“I grew up reading S.E. Hinton’s books, so to bring these to a graphic novel format is a dream come true for me,” said Bluewater publisher Darren G. Davis at MTV Splash Page. “The best part is getting to work with Hinton one on one. We have talked about the new title, which is on the lines of her iconic work ‘The Outsiders.’”

Hinton is one of Oklahoma’s best-known authors. It’ll be interesting to see the local response to comics based on her work.

- Matt Price

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Megan Fox (“Transformers”) is in final negotiations to join the film “Jonah Hex,” based on the DC Comics Western hero. She’s also attached to star in “Fathom,” based on Michael Turner’s aquatic hero.

“Jonah Hex” is set to begin filming in April, directed by Jimmy Hayward.  Fox will play Leila, a “gun-wielding beauty,” according to THR, and love interest to Josh Brolin’s Jonah Hex.

“Fathom” is being written by Jordan Mechner, the creator of video game “Prince of Persia.” “Fathom” was created by artist Michael Turner, who died in 2008 at age 37.   According to THR, Fox had been a fan of “Fathom” since it debuted in 1998.

This is probably the best excuse I’ll have this week to run a lot of Megan Fox photos.   I met Fox at the “Transformers” junket in 2007, and it seemed likely then that she would become a bigger star.

– Matt Price

It will be based in the storyline of the movie, which varied rather substantially from the comic, but bringing in some elements from the original series that didn’t factor into the original movie, Millar said.

Unfortunately, it will most likely be missing something that nearly everybody loved from the first film… find out what after the cut.

Entertainment Weekly talks to Zack Snyder about his adaptation of the Alan Moore-Dave Gibbons graphic novel “Watchmen.”  The cover shown is from EW’s Comic-Con preview issue.  (This is yet another sign, comic book fans — we won.)  Writer Alan Moore, however, isn’t thrilled:

“I increasingly fear that nothing good can come of almost any adaptation, and obviously that’s sweeping. There are a couple of adaptations that are perhaps as good or better than the original work. But the vast majority of them are pointless.”

I can see Moore’s argument — “Watchmen” works on its own, it sells well years after its original release. Does it need a movie? Will having a movie version mean people don’t feel they need to read the book?  It’s a situation I saw to some degree with “From Hell,” by Moore and Eddie Campbell.  My comic-book store sold the collected edition well from its original release, and sales increased through all the pre-movie hype.  After the film, sales fell off, and while we still sell some copies of the work, it’s not as many as it possibly should be, given the quality of the book.  I haven’t looked at specific numbers on these other books, but I wonder if the same could be said for “V for Vendetta,” “Sin City” or “300.”  Increasing sales up through the movie’s release, then numbers that settle below where the book was selling before the film.  In most cases, I think it’s still a win for the publisher — that surge sells more books than the slow-and-steady movement would have over a certain number of years — but is that true for “Watchmen,” a book that’s been one of the top comic store sellers since the original release in graphic novel form?

– Matt Price

DABEL BROTHERS TO ADAPT ROBERT JORDAN’S BESTSELLING
WHEEL OF TIME SERIES IN COMIC BOOK FORMAT

NEW YORK, NY – July 1, 2008 – Dabel Brothers Publishing announced today that they will adapt Robert Jordan’s bestselling Wheel of Time series, which has sold more than 14 million copies in North America alone, into comic book format. The first issue is scheduled to release in December 2008.

The Wheel of Time began in 1990 with the publication of The Eye of the World; ten more volumes have followed. The most recent four books of the series have reached #1 on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list. It is the story of a world – both our past, and our future – in which the battle between the Light and the Shadow must be fought every day; and of the people, both ordinary and extraordinary, who must fight that battle. Jordan wrote eleven volumes of the series and one prequel; he was unable to complete the twelfth and final volume before his death in 2007. That volume, A Memory of Light, will be completed by Brandon Sanderson, a writer chosen by Jordan’s widow and editor, Harriet McDougal, and published by Tor Books in 2009.

The Dabel Brothers published a comic adaptation of Jordan’s A New Spring in March 2005. In conjunction with that project, Robert Jordan provided them with extensive notes for use in further possible publications, including character descriptions and other visuals.

“I’m delighted to be working with the Dabel Brothers! Their work is splendid. Robert Jordan liked it enormously,” says Harriet McDougal.

For more information on Dabel Brothers Publishing: http://www.dabelbrothers.com.

Talk about a treat: Monday night, I got to see an advance screening of “The Incredible Hulk” and let me be the first to say, this movie smashed my expectations.

Much like Iron Man earlier this summer, The Incredible Hulk is a both a loving tribute to fans and an audience-friendly action flick. It’s not high art, but who cares when it’s this much fun?

I’m sure Matt will have plenty to say on the subject soon, but one thing that really stuck out to me was Bruce Banner’s vivid memory flashes of the Hulk’s activities — he has post-traumatic stress disorder.

It makes perfect sense, of course. He’s not a soldier. Bruce Banner is a scientist thrust into a very unhappy situation that makes wherever he is a war-zone.

Fans of the TV show, fans of the comics and fans of big-budget action movies will really enjoy this one. Coming from someone who liked Ang Lee’s earlier film, I can honestly say this is a more mainstream product that I predict will do big box office.

I think Matt and I might do some competing Top 5 lists on the best superhero movies of all time. Let us know what your favorites are in the comments.

– Greg Elwell

Press release from BOOM!:

BOOM! Studios and James L. White have attached Mekhi Phifer’s Facilitator Films to adapt the graphic novel HUNTER’S MOON as a starring vehicle for the actor, it was announced today by Phifer and BOOM! Co-founders Andrew Cosby and Ross Richie. Phifer and his Facilitator Films partner Ronnie Warner will produce the film along with Cosby and Richie, via their Boom Entertainment banner.

The graphic novel was created and written by James L. White, scribe for the Oscar-winning film RAY. The story follows a single father who takes his teenage son into the woods for a weekend of bonding. When the son is kidnapped, the father is forced to do the bidding of the captors in a desperate bid to save his son.

LAS VEGAS — Joe Rybandt of Dynamite said the long-awaited “American Flagg” reprint project will finally come out in July.  Howard Chaykin’s influential 1980s science fiction tale had some problems in production, but the remastered book with the first 14 issues as well as some new material is now set for a hardcover release.

Rybandt talked about several of Dynamite’s projects to the retailers assembled for the ComicsPRO annual meeting in Las Vegas.   “The Boys” vol. 1, from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, is now in its third printing.  Volume 2 is now in stock, and volume 3 will follow this year. 

Rybandt reiterated the involvement by painter Alex Ross in “Project Superpowers,” from Dynamite, and “Avengers/Invaders” from Marvel, being packaged by Dynamite. 

“Each issue (of Project: Superpowers) has the character work that Alex has done for the series in the background of the issues,” Rybandt said.  “Alex is as involved in every aspect of both (“Project: Superpowers”) and ”Avengers-Invaders” as anyone could possibly be. From plot to script to reviewing the pencils to providing art to reviewing the colors, the whole nine yards.”

Rybandt showed an Alex Ross cover for “Red Sonja” No. 30.  He said issues 30-34 would be “done in one” stories by rotating creative teams.   Issue No. 34 would be a one-issue story by writer Brian Reed and artist Mel Rubi, who become the regular creative team with issue No. 35. 

“Lone Ranger” will be back from Dynamite soon; issue No. 11 was resolicited for April.   Paul Pope and Sergio Cariello provide the art.   Issues 12-15 are scripted, and Dynamite is working on getting back to a monthly release schedule.   The other Lone Ranger book from Dynamite, “Lone Ranger and Tonto,” is slated to come out quarterly.

“The Man with No Name” No. 1 ships from Dynamite in May.   The series will have a 1-in-10 Arthur Sudyam variant cover.  The book is based on the Clint Eastwood films starring the Man with No Name.  The writer is Christos Gage, and the artist is Wellington Dias.  Richard Isanove provides the cover to No. 1.

– Matt Price

“The Stand” is considered by many to be Stephen King’s masterwork.  Here’s a synopsis from StephenKing.com:

One man escapes from a biological weapon facility after an accident, carrying with him the deadly virus known as Captain Tripps, a rapidly mutating flu that – in the ensuing weeks – wipes out most of the world’s population. In the aftermath, survivors choose between following an elderly black woman to Boulder or the dark man, Randall Flagg, who has set up his command post in Las Vegas. The two factions prepare for a confrontation between the forces of good and evil.

From Variety:

Plan B and producer Kevin Messick are developing the project that’s based on Charles Burns‘ graphic novel. Burns wrote and illustrated the 12-issue series that became the graphic novel over a 10-year period.

Story kicks off when a sexually transmitted “bug” is passed from teenager to teenager.

Link via Blog@Newsarama.

– Matt Price 

From industry Web site www.icv2.com:

The as yet unnamed project will be produced in collaboration with the band with heavy involvement in particular from bassist Pete Wentz and drummer Andy Hurley. Hurley, a self confessed lifelong comics fan, noted that the project provided “the opportunity to create different versions of ourselves and tell an interesting story at the same time.”

Stuntman Dick Durock performed in hundreds of television shows and movies, but he’s best-known for his role as the hulking monster Swamp Thing, which he portrayed in two movies and a television series. The television series “Swamp Thing,” based on the DC Comics character, arrived on DVD this week, with the first 22 episodes.
Originally, Durock wasn’t even supposed to play the Swamp Thing. In the initial film, producers planned to use Durock’s 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame for long shots, and have actor Ray Wise for closeups.

“They wanted a guy who could move, carrying that load of a costume,” Durock said in a phone interview.

Wise played Alec Holland, who was turned into the Swamp Thing.

Wes Craven (“Nightmare on Elm Street”) was the director on “Swamp Thing,” and he met with Durock.

In discussing the film with Craven, Durock indicated he didn’t think changing actors for the different shots would look good in the finished film.

“(Wes) said, Dick, just be prepared to do the whole thing. So that’s what occurred,” Durock said. “I think Wes had a good feeling for it, to bring out sympathy for the guy and his own failings and weaknesses and so on.”

Durock wasn’t known for his weaknesses as a stuntman, however, after landing his first job on “Lost in Space” in 1967. He’s been very busy in the science fiction genre, with spots on “Star Trek,” “Battlestar Galactica,” and “The Incredible Hulk.” In fact, while Durock wasn’t going to be the first “Swamp Thing,” he was in some ways the “first” Hulk.

“I was ‘Hulk the First,’” Durock said, referring to the two-part episode called “The First” from 1981.

“He was called Frye’s creature. And he was totally different than Lou Ferrigno’s Hulk. He was a big, skinny berserk … he was kind of a takeoff on Frankenstein’s creature.”

Frye, played by Harry Townes, was a scientist who wanted to discover the secret of life. But the monster he turns into is uncontrollable.

“He thought he could develop this guy and find out the secret of life, ergo Frankenstein. But Frye’s creature was a totally berserk nutcase,” Durock said. “Years later, in the modern Hulk’s time, he says ‘Maybe now I can correct my mistakes.’

“So he resurrects this guy, and he’s worse than it was before. It was a two-parter, and from what I understand, it was the most popular Hulk episode of all of them.”

Outside the genre, Durock appeared on shows including “B.J. and the Bear,” “Mike Hammer,” and “Starsky and Hutch,” in addition to dozens of motion pictures.

“A lot of people are just amazed about how many … things I’ve been involved in. There’s been over 700 of them in 40 years. And they say, how is that possible? You know, I think I did seven “Fall Guy” and four “Magnum,” five “A-Team” and seven “Rockford Files.” There were times when I was really working hot at Universal, I’d do two shows in one day … Credits add up in a hurry.”

Durock’s versatility and look made him even more valuable.

“I was a pretty good-size guy, made a good heavy,” Durock said. “Eventually, guys would say, why don’t we get Dick to play this thug. He only has one or two lines … and we’ll still throw him out the window or down the stairs or hit him with a car, and we don’t have to double him.”

Durock, 70, is now retired, but frequently attends conventions, where he answers questions about his career and his “Swamp Thing” experience. One he won’t answer, however, refers to the leading ladies of the “Swamp Thing” movies.

“I think most people ask me, referring to Swampy – how did you like Adrienne Barbeau compared to Heather Locklear? But you can’t answer questions like that without sticking your foot in your mouth,” Durock said.

– Matt Price

BuddyTV reports a new comic book based on the “Supernatural” TV series is launching in April.  “Supernatural,” on the CW, stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki as the demon-hunting Winchester brothers.

From BuddyTV:

The first issue is set to hit stores on April 23 and will pick up a few years after Origins, following a 7-year-old Sam and 11-year-old Dean as they travel with their father, John.  “Whereas the first series was more about John and his becoming a hunter, this one’s much more of a dysfunctional family story,” explains writer Peter Johnson, who’s also a co-executive producer on the TV show.

– Matt Price

From Gestalt’s site:

  “In 1994, ten years after I made REPO MAN, I became interested in the idea of a sequel. Specifically – what had happened to Otto, during his ten-year absence from Earth? And what would he make of the changes which had taken place in his absence? Otto, it would appear, has been held prisoner, in great luxury, on the planet Mars. Now he has returned to Earth, and changed his name — to Waldo,” Alex Cox says.

Waldo, recently returned from Mars, is forced to choose where his allegiance lies — his boss, Duke Mantee, or the sex goddess, Velma; money or knowledge; the past or the future; Earth – or Mars? 

A podcast with the artists about the sequel can be found at Faster Than Light.

The rest of the visit kaleidoscopes crazily by: I watch footage of Rorschach pulling Nite Owl off a bloodied Knot Top; I flip through an issue of the Black Freighter; on a laptop, I see raw CGI blocking for the Vietnam sequence; I hold a smiley face pin splattered with what looks like real human bean juice; sitting in my own personal director’s chair, I sign dozens of books and posters for cast and crew…

I don’t know that I need to explain “Watchmen” to Nerdage readers, but if so: it’s the groundbreaking graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons being adapted into a motion picture by Zack Snyder (“300″).

Quick synopsis from the “Watchmen” site:

A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the “Doomsday Clock” – which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union – is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion – a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers – Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity…but who is watching the watchmen?

– Matt Price

But enough about that, here’s the scoop — “Smallville” fan-fave Chloe will be joining the DC Universe in Superman #674.

Now, before you purists get your Spider-Man Underoos in a knot, let’s look at the long history of comic book characters who have come from outside the comic book world.

1. Jimmy Olsen — Superman’s Pal, was not created for the comic book page, but rather for the radio (or “talkie box,” if you’re 200 years old). That’s right, kids — Jimmy was not in canon to begin with.

2. Firestar – This red-headed mutant was first drawn on a cel for animation before she made it to the Marvel Universe. She appeared on “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends,” taking the place of the Human Torch (who was tied up in legal limbo at the time).

3. Kryptonite — Superman’s greatest weakness also came from the Adventures of Superman radio show. That’s right, fellow nerds, all your base are belong to us. Nothing is what it seems. Black is white. Dogs sleep with cats. Talkies are going to ruin this business!

4. Harley Quinn — Dr. Harleen Quinzel, the femme fatale with a taste for homicidal clowns, first showed her pretty painted face in “Batman: The Animated Series,” long before getting her own series, she was working it on the small screen in one of the greatest cartoons in the history of man, ape, lizard or 8th dimensional imp. 

What am I missing? Matt, I know you’ve got some science to drop on this. Let me know in the comments or lose me forever.

– Greg Elwell

PRESS RELEASE:

Universal Pictures is bringing out the big guns for Hellboy II: The Golden Army! Check out the Hellboy II Production Site to view the FIRST shot of Hellboy with his Big Baby and send your friends a personalized holiday eCard from the big red guy himself!

A few tidbits about what you’ll find on the HBII Production Site: www.hellboymovie.com -

**NEW** HOLIDAY ECARD: Send your friends a
Holiday eCard – Hellboy Style!

- **NEW** IMAGE: First photo reveal – Hellboy with his big baby.

- NEWS: Terrific Hellboy II news hits, feature articles and early cast interviews featured on various publications.

- GALLERY: Guillermo del Toro’s amazing HBII Scrapbook- including the incredible concept art and descriptions of each image.

- HBTV: Watch Abe Sapien, live from the BRPD Headquarters as he gives you a personal welcome message to the site! You can embed Abe’s welcome video and share it on your Facebook profile as well.

- Message Board: Chat with fellow fans of Guillermo del Toro about everything Hellboy II… and don’t be surprised if you get a response from GDT himself on the message boards! Hellboy II: The Golden Army blasts into theaters July 11, 2008!

The three-issue series is a look back on the early days of the space-faring crew and it’s due out in March.

Lest you think some lesser-knowns would be in charge, Joss Whedon his own self will be writing the series with Brett Matthews. Will Conrad will provide interior art and Adam Hughes will do all three covers.

While I’m still anxiously awaiting news of a revived TV series or a movie sequel, I guess Whedon-verse comics will just have to suffice.

If you’re not reading “Buffy: Season Eight” or “Angel: After the Fall,” you’re missing out on the fun.

– Greg Elwell

The comic, written by Mark Millar, was hyped as the villain-version of “Watchmen.” How that would actually read, I do not know, but when I read the series, I didn’t feel like I was reading a visually dense literary meditation on what it means to be a villain in the world of today.

Rather, it was a great story that asked the question: What if the bad guys won?

During the series release, we also heard that Eminem (to whom the lead character Wesley bore a striking resemblance) was in talks to play star in a film version. Could Halle Berry – the visual basis for “The Fox” – be far off?

Of course neither of those two ended up in the movie, which is now due out June 27, 2008.

But neither of those previous falsehoods made any difference in my enjoyment of the comic book. Sadly, the fact that the movie is going by the name “Wanted” is a betrayal in and of itself.

Super-villains? No, they’re assassins. Anti-hero? No, Wesley is on a hero’s journey.

I like James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie, but from what I’ve seen in the trailer, I don’t particularly want to see “Wanted.”

– Greg Elwell