Sterling Gates confirms Kid Flash ongoing series
SAN DIEGO — An Oklahoma writer is hitting the fast lane.
Sterling Gates, an OU graduate who was born in Tulsa, was named the writer of a new Kid Flash ongoing series at Comic-Con International. The series will star the character Bart Allen and will tie into Geoff Johns’ Flash series.
“It’s too early to talk about specifics, but I’m really psyched to be working closely with Geoff Johns. We want to make the two Flash universe books as exciting as possible,” Gates said, “and I think we can do it.”
Gates is the writer of “Supergirl” and is writing a “World’s Finest” miniseries featuring characters from the Superman and Batman families of characters.
- Matt Price
Quick hits from Smallville panel at Comic-Con
Tom Welling’s first appearance at Comic-Con was a hit, as a very full room cheered for the stars of Smallville at today’s Smallville panel at Comic-Con, moderated by Jeph Loeb. Callum Blue, Cassidy Freeman, Allison Mack, Justin Hartley, Erica Durance joined Welling on the panel, as did Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson.
Here are a few quick notes and impressions from the Smallville panel:
* Clark is finally in some version of a Superman suit, with a black shirt bearing the S-shield and a flowing black overcoat, in preview footage shown at the panel.
* Geoff Johns will write a Justice Society episode.
* Season premiere will touch on the flight issue.
* Green Arrow will be in more episodes this season, as will Lois Lane. Lois will be in 18 episodes.
* Lex is absolutely not dead.
* Tom Welling is directing two episodes this season; Allison Mack will also direct.
* A possible Green Arrow sidekick story is being explored.
* In the first eight episodes this season, we’ll see Green Arrow hit “rock bottom.”
* Smallville is moving to Fridays this fall, debuting Sept. 25. The DVD and Blu-ray of Season 8 hits Aug. 25.
- Matt Price
Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammmer aims to take down Tony Stark in Iron Man 2
SAN DIEGO — Sam Rockwell said there’s some pressure coming into a high-profile project like “Iron Man 2,” but added that director Jon Favreau made the process very actor-friendly.
The actor, receiving great buzz for his role in the sci-fi film “Moon,” attended the “Iron Man 2″ presentation in Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center on Saturday and talked to reporters following the panel.
“It’s definitely nerve-wracking; the first one was such a big success,” he said of the pressures of “Iron Man 2.” “But you find a home and realize there’s a reason you’re there.”
Rockwell plays a rival arms dealer to Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in “Iron Man 2.”
“He’s kind of a Tony Stark wannabe,” Hammer said. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to take Tony down.”
Rockwell said most of his scenes in the film are with Mickey Rourke’s Ivan, who becomes the Whiplash character.
“I’m sort of a patron of evil,” Rockwell said. “Mickey is the main adversary. I come to his aid.”
The comic-book Justin Hammer is an older British man. So Rockwell obviously took some liberties from that version of the character.
“I looked at the comics, but they wanted me to create something a little different,” Rockwell said. He also said he decided against playing the character with an accent due to the amount of improvisation “Iron Man 2″ required.
Meanwhile, the fan and critic accolades keep coming in for “Moon.” Rockwell, who described himself as a sci-fi fan, was asked about his Oscar chances for the film.
“It’s very flattering,” he said. “From their lips to God’s ears. It’s very early in the year for that sort of thing.”
- Matthew Price
Comic-Con photos for Friday
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- A performer portrays Kato with The Black Beauty car at Comic-Con International.
Marvel developing 4 anime properties
SAN DIEGO — Cort Lane of Marvel Animation, Masao Maruyama of Madhouse, Alex Yeh of Madhouse and writer Warren Ellis were on hand at the Marvel Animation panel to discuss Marvel’s forays into the anime world.
Clips were shown of the upcoming “Wolverine” and “Iron Man” projects, which will be written by Ellis. Ellis indicated “Blade” and “X-Men” would be the other two properties developed for this project.
Lane said the project was “a re-imagining of key Marvel characters in the anime format.”
Yeh, translating for Maruyama, said the company was aiming for “a perfect marriage of traditional anime with Marvel characters.”
Ellis said he enjoyed the freedom, and money, he’d been given in animation.
“You get to do visual narrative with very few hurdles between you and the audience,” he said.
The Iron Man story will be set in Tokyo, Ellis said, and is about an unexpected clash of cultures and the history of weapon design.
Wolverine has its basis in the 1980s miniseries by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller.
Blade, a character Ellis said he’d never written before, would have ties to London and a more novelistic approach.
The X-Men was the final anime mentioned as being in development at the panel.
- Matt Price
Stan Helsing cast jokes at Comic-Con
SAN DIEGO — Writer/director Bo Zenga and the cast of Stan Helsing held a riotous, freewheeling panel at Comic-Con International on Friday night. Attendees were introduced to several clips from the film, which features four partygoers running across parodies of six top horror characters.
Steve Howey, who starred on “Reba,” plays the title character, Stan Helsing. Kenan Thompson, Leslie Nielsen, Diora Baird and Desi Lydic joined Howey and Zenga on the panel.
Asked how he liked appearing in a Superman-like spandex suit the entire film, Thompson said, “It made me want to start running, stuff like that. Working out.”
Multiple fans expressed appreciation for the careers of Nielsen and Thompson. Nielsen, of course, boasts a 50-plus year movie career, while Thompson has been on television for most of his life, with roles in “All That” and “Kenan and Kel.”
Nielsen plays a waitress in “Stan Helsing,” spending his role in drag.
“It’s not often you get a chance to make that switch and get away with it,” he said.
Thompson said the slasher parody idea drew him to the film.
“I grew up in the 80s, so I was close to slasher films growing up,” he said. “And it was one of the few movies going last summer, so I jumped on that.”
Nielsen, 83, indicated he has no plans to retire.
“I hope to keep doing funny movies til I drop dead,” he said.
- Matt Price
Voice-over actors announce book
Yuri Lowenthal
SAN DIEGO — Voice over actors Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt will officially announce publication of their book, “Voice-Over Voice Actor: What It’s Like Behind the Mic,” this weekend Comic-Con International in San Diego.
Husband and wife duo Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt will give insider tips and in-depth discussion in this ‘How To’ book.
“So many people have asked us how we got into [VO] and how they can do it too,” Lowenthal said in a release. “And in the book we do our best to tell them all
about what we’ve done.”
Lowenthal’s credits include Superman (Legion of Superheroes), Ben (Ben 10: Alien Force) and the Prince (the Prince of Persia series of video games).
Platt has portrayed Wonder Woman (DC vs. Mortal Kombat), Dream Girl (Legion of Superheroes), and Temari (Naruto).
Preorders are available at www.BugBotPress.com.
- Matt Price
Gambit, Jean Grey to join Ultimate Alliance 2
SAN DIEGO — Activision announced X-Men Gambit and Jean Grey would join the video game Ultimate Alliance 2, based on the Marvel characters. A third character will be announced at a Saturday panel about 
the game.
From 11:30AM – 12:30PM in the Indigo Ballroom of the Bayfront Hilton (adjacent to the Convention Center), developers, voice actors, Marvel’s game team and Stan Lee will appear and discuss the game.
Players can demo the game at booth 5001 on the Comic-Con International show floor. Booth signings are planned for Saturday with Stan Lee, along with in-game voice actors Armin Shimerman and Fred Tatasciore.
- Matt Price
Smallville’s Tom Welling coming to Comic-Con for first time
Superman is coming to Comic-Con. Smallville star Tom Welling will appear for the first time at Comic-Con International: San Diego on Sunday, July 26.
Co-executive producer Welling will join the entire current cast: Allison Mack, Erica Durance, Cassidy Freeman, Justin Hartley and Callum Blue at the show’s panel session on Sunday at 10:30-11:30 a.m. in Room 6BCF of the San Diego Convention Center.
Showrunners Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson will also be on hand.
The session will feature an exclusive sneak peek at clips from the upcoming ninth season of the show and a Q&A with fans. The panel will be moderated by Jeph Loeb.
- Matt Price
Marvelman coming to Marvel Comics
SAN DIEGO — Huge news from Marvel at Comic-Con International, as it was revealed Marvel has bought the rights to the Marvelman character from creator Mick Anglo and his representatives.
“It is an honor to work with Mick Anglo to bring his creation to a larger audience than ever before,” said Dan Buckley, CEO & Publisher, Print, Animation & Digital Media, Marvel Entertainment Inc., in a release. “Fans are in for something special as they discover just what makes Marvelman such an important character in comic book history.”
The character was created in 1954 by Mick Anglo, and was most famously brought to life by writers Alan 
Moore and Neil Gaiman. Legal problems have kept Gaiman’s Marvelman (published in the US as Miracleman) stories from being completed, or Alan Moore’s stories from being reprinted. Marvelman is Micky Moran, a young reporter gifted with the power to save the world by simply uttering the word “kimota”!
“I did not think it would ever happen,” said Mick Anglo in a release. “It’s a wonderful thing to see my creation finally back.”
The Marvel Shop is selling Marvelman T-shirts, which were seen on all Marvel employees at the Marvel booth today at Comic-Con. A Marvelman poster by Joe Quesada is set to ship in September.
What this means for Todd McFarlane’s claim to the Miracleman character — which he thought he purchased when purchasing the assets to Eclipse — remains to be seen, but Marvel certainly appears to think they’re clear to at least begin selling merchandise based on the character. I hope an agreement can be reached to reprint the classic Alan Moore stories, and allowing Gaiman to finish his planned run on the character. Even after all this time, I imagine both would be instant bestsellers.
- Matt Price
