NewsOK Comics Podcast: X-Men vs Agents of Atlas 2, Haunt 2, Black Widow: Deadly Origin 1, Stumptown 1
Kyle Roberts and Matt Price review X-Men vs Agents of Atlas 2, Haunt 2, Black Widow: Deadly Origin 1, Stumptown 1.
Marvel Comics reveals Black Widow’s ‘Deadly Origin’
Marvel Comics’ Black Widow began as a Soviet spy, introduced as a foil for Iron Man in 1964’s “Tales of Suspense” No. 52. While her first few appearances saw her as an antagonist to Marvel heroes, she’s since joined with them, even leading the Avengers for a time.
The Black Widow, aka Natalia Romanova or Natasha Romanoff, will be played by Scarlett Johansson in next year’s film “Iron Man 2.” Marvel is doing its best to catch up readers on the character before the film, starting this week with the comic-book series “Black Widow: Deadly Origin.”
Tulsa author S.E. Hinton plans comic-book projects
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
In comics, Dracula ranges from spooky to silly
Vampires are as hot as ever in popular fiction, with movies such as “Twilight” and shows such as “The Vampire Diaries.” Vampires have been big in comics, too, and none more so than Dracula.
While the word “vampire” dates from the 1700s, the 1897 novel “Dracula” by Bram Stoker popularized the vampire. The book’s main character could have been partly based on former Transylvanian governor Vlad the Impaler.
IDW Publishing has created a new version of Stoker’s book (now in public domain) illustrated by Eisner-winning artist Ben Templesmith. Templesmith, who with Steve Niles created “30 Days of Night,” provides full-color illustrations for all 27 chapters of the novel.
Multiple movies have made Dracula the world’s most famous vampire. The 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi is a horror classic selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Longtime “Dracula” fan Mike Mignola (“Hellboy”) brought his take on Dracula to Topps Comics in the 1990s, with an adaptation of “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” the film by Francis Ford Coppola. Mignola also was an illustrator for the film.
The most famous adaptation of Dracula in comics is the long-running “The Tomb of Dracula” series. Gene Colan was the artist for the series’ entire run, beginning in 1972. Marv Wolfman took over as writer with issue No. 7 and stayed on through the series’ conclusion in 1979.
This series introduced Blade the vampire hunter and is one of the longest-running horror series in Marvel Comics’ history. The entire run of “Tomb of Dracula” as well as the stories from “Dracula Lives” and the black-and-white “Tomb of Dracula” magazine have been reprinted by Marvel as “The Essential Tomb of Dracula” Vols. 1-4.
DC Comics also has its version of Dracula, which faced off against Batman in the story “Batman/Dracula: Red Rain,” by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones. “Red Rain” along with the two sequels, “Batman: Bloodstorm” and “Batman: Crimson Mist,” are collected in the “Batman: Vampire” trade paperback.
In “Red Rain,” Dracula comes to Gotham City. When Batman tries to stop him, he himself is bitten, becoming a vampire.
The silliest version of a comic-book Dracula came from Dell Comics in the 1960s. In 1962, Dell adapted the Lugosi feature into a comic book, but four years later, perhaps inspired by the “Batman” TV show, Dell made Dracula into a superhero.
This Dracula was a descendant of the original Dracula, who conducts medical experiments on bats, according to Don Markstein’s “Toonopedia.” When he accidentally ingests his own chemical, he gains the power of turning himself into a bat and vows to fight crime and injustice.
Columnist Chris Sims at comicsalliance.com describes the ridiculousness of the series.
“Once in America, he sets up a ‘Dracula Cave,’ adopts the secret identity of — wait for it — Al U. Card, dedicates himself to battling the rampant scourge of zeppelin crime (which actually does sound awesome, but trust us, it’s not) and even manages to rustle up a sidekick, Fleeta, whose name is short for ‘fleidermaus,’” Sims writes. “Unsurprisingly, it lasted for only three issues before it was given the ax, though his series went for another three issues of reprints that gave the world a second chance at his mind-numbing adventures. They probably shouldn’t have bothered.”
- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
NewsOK Comics Podcast Halloween Special
Kyle Roberts and Matt Price discuss some of the best bets for Halloween, including Tomb of Dracula, Batman: The Long Halloween, and Angel: Frankenstein.
Oklahoma writer Sterling Gates creates World’s Finest team-ups
World’s Finest #1, kicking off a miniseries teaming Superman and Batman family characters, is in stores today, written by Tulsa native Sterling Gates.
At DC Comics’ official “Source” blog, Gates is called a “writer to watch.”
“Gates has made a name for himself for his tight plotting and knack for strong and precise characterization,” blogger Alex Segura writes.
Meanwhile, at Newsarama, Vaneta Rogers has an extended Q&A with Gates about the series.
“The Batman universe is so full of change right now. So is the Superman universe,” Gates tells Newsarama. “Bruce Wayne is dead and Superman has left the planet Earth to be with his own people on New Krypton. The world is suddenly without its two greatest heroes. To me, that makes it a very exciting time for the DC Universe. You’re seeing new and different characters come to the forefront and stepping up to fill the void left with Superman and Batman gone.”
Gates talked to Nerdage back in September about the project:
“Each issue focuses on a different Batman-Universe hero and villain teaming up with a different Superman-Universe hero and villain,” Gates said. “So, you’re getting four great characters coming into conflict, and you just have to sit back and watch the fireworks.”
Gates said ” World’s Finest” also has some of his “all-time favorite villains.”
“Catwoman’s in there, Mr. Freeze, Penguin, Kryptonite Man, Toyman,” he said. “It’s gonna take all of these heroes working together to rein these supervillains in!”
- Matt Price
Who is your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?
With today’s announcement of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles being purchased by Nickelodeon, let’s find out who the favorite Turtle of Nerdage readers is.
NewsOK Comics Podcast: Incredible Hulk 602, Supergirl 46, Justice League 38
Matt Price and Kyle Roberts provide comic-book reviews for Incredible Hulk 602, Supergirl 46 and Justice League 38 in this week’s NewsOK Comics Podcast. It’s Hulk vs. Wolverine: The Next Generation in “Incredible Hulk” No. 602. The Hunt for Reactron ends in Supergirl 46. And James Robinson (”Starman”) begins his run on “Justice League of America” in issue No. 38.
Nickelodeon acquires Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, created in the 1980s by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, have been bought by Nickelodeon for approximately $60 million. Nickelodeon plans to develop a new CG animated series with the Turtles, and a new feature film is in the works with Paramount.
Nickelodeon is part of MTV Networks, which is a division of Viacom Inc. The rights to the Turtles had been owned by The Mirage Group and 4Kids Entertainment, Inc.
Nick now owns global intellectual property rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While the release doesn’t specifically indicate comics, global intellectual property rights would tend to include comic books.
The new animated series is expected to debut in 2012, as is the new motion picture. Merchandising rights go along with this deal, and Nickelodeon announced it planned to continue to work with longtime Turtles license-holder Playmates Toys.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shares a comedic sensibility with the Nickelodeon DNA, with added layers of action and fantasy that have kept this property an evergreen favorite with multiple generations of audiences,” said Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group, in a news release. “We are extremely happy to have the opportunity to be able to focus on this property and creatively re-introduce it to a new generation of kids.”
Paramount noted the Turtles could provide the studio a superhero franchise.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a property that maintains a very passionate global fan base, is rich with opportunity for a tentpole movie, and is exactly the right property for us to work together with Nickelodeon,” said Adam Goodman, President, Paramount Pictures.
Is this insurance for Paramount to grab some of the superhero audience after its deal with Marvel expires? Maybe. If so, $60 million could be seen as a bargain in a few years.
UPDATE: Peter Laird explains on his blog that while he hadn’t been actively seeking a buyer for the Turtles, this opportunity came along, and “the stars lined up.”
“I know that many fans are concerned with how the TMNT will be treated now that they have a new owner,” Laird writes. “I am also concerned, but I have faith that the new owner will treat the property with due respect and make the most of it. And the simple fact is — I didn’t have it in me any more, and the property DESERVED a new owner. Now it has one, with powerful roots in the entertainment business. I am actually quite excited to see where they take TMNT.”
- Matt Price
Former Oklahoman John Cassaday talks Dollhouse directing gig
The Beat talked to comic-book artist and former Oklahoma resident John Cassaday about directing an episode of Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse.” Cassaday is a comic-book superstar, having drawn “Astonishing X-Men” for Marvel and “Planetary” for DC/WildStorm. After the recent wrap-up of “Planetary,” Cassaday says he’s stepping back from major comics work for the next couple of years.
Here’s an excerpt from the interview; click here for the entire thing, which is well-worth reading.
The Beat: Directing? Why directing? How long has this been going on? Was this your childhood goal?
John Cassaday: Directing has always been half the dream for me, the other half being comics. Friends I had growing up would tell you exactly that. I always knew what I wanted, which was to be a visual storyteller…to tell those stories the way that I saw them… I believe there’s a tangible cross-section of thought here. When I read a comic script, I often see the scenes behind a camera—the shots, the movements and sound, the actors… At times, I’ve read screenplays and see the comic page. These things blend in my mind, so I do my best to shape them into what is needed. I believe in cinematic storytelling, whether it’s on a comic page or on film.
I’m looking forward to seeing what Cassaday brings as a director, though I’ll miss his comic work. However, he says in the interview he won’t give it up completely, so I imagine we’ll still see covers and occasional interiors on projects from Marvel and Dynamite.
Let’s hope Marvel will reprint Cassaday’s currently out-of-print “Captain America” to fill some of the demand for Cassaday sequential art over the next couple of years.
- Matt Price
