“Green Lantern” celebration set at Toy & Action Figure Museum
Green Lantern toys are on display at the Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley.
Green Lantern, an intergalactic peace officer who stars in comic books from DC Comics, has probably his highest profile ever this month.
Ryan Reynolds will star as Hal Jordan, Earth’s defender in the Green Lantern Corps, in the movie “Green Lantern” opening Friday, June 17.
The Toy & Action Figure Museum, 111 S Chickasaw St. in Pauls Valley, is celebrating the release with a weekend-long event starting Saturday, June 11.
Wolverine battles Cyclops in X-Men Schism teaser
Marvel has released the above teaser for “Schism,” the X-Men event that leads to the conclusion of the “Uncanny X-Men” series.
Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso says about “Schism”:
“‘Schism’ is the X-Men’s ‘Civil War.’ The biggest X-event in a decade divides the mutant universe across distinct battle-lines and asks readers the question: Whose side are you on? And there’s a reason ‘Schism’ ends at exactly the same time as ‘Fear Itself.’ Next summer, the entire Marvel Universe will have its eyes on the X-Men.”
- Matt Price
Batwoman, Batgirl to be part of DC Comics relaunch
DC Comics announced the creative teams of some of the female characters of Gotham City via the DC Comics Source blog.
Batwoman #1 is by J.H. Williams III, Haden Blackman and Amy Reeder. 
Batgirl #1 is by Gail Simone and artists Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes.
The most surprising part here is that, from the preview image, this appears to be Barbara Gordon in the Batgirl costume, though that hasn’t been confirmed by DC.
UPDATE: In a new posting at the Source, Gail Simone confirms Barbara Gordon’s role:
“Barbara Gordon is pretty much my everything. Because of the Batman TV show, she was the reason I fell in love with superheroes. Because she was a redhead who could kick ass, she is the reason I fell in love with comics. She was always forward-looking as Batgirl, a girl who was smarter than the male characters, who had class and elegance and style, as well as tough-as-nails grit. For a long time, there was simply nothing else like her in comics, and for me and a lot of other readers, her every appearance was joyful and explosive.
For many years, I got to write the character as Oracle, and there is to this day, no character who means more to me. This is classic Barbara as she was originally conceived, with a few big surprises. It’s a bit of a shock, to be sure, but we’re doing everything we can to be respectful to this character’s amazing legacy, while presenting something thrilling that a generation of comics readers will be experiencing for the first time…
…Barbara Gordon leaping, fighting, and swinging over Gotham. Now, when citizens of that city look up, they are going to see BATGIRL.
And that is absolutely thrilling.”
Catwoman #1 is written by Judd Winick and illustrated by Guillem March.
Birds of Prey #1 is by Duane Swierczynski and Jesus Saiz.
- Matt Price
DC Comics to relaunch line; Geoff Johns, Jim Lee to create Justice League
As USA Today and the DC Comics Source blog are reporting, the publisher is relaunching its entire line starting in August, with 52 No. 1 issues across the line.
This relaunch will start with a new “Justice League” No. 1 on Aug. 31, and all DC’s superhero titles will be offered digitally on the same day from there forward.
“What’s the human aspect behind all these costumes? That’s what I wanted to explore,” Geoff Johns told USA Today. He’ll write Justice League, to be drawn by Jim Lee.
Another 51 No. 1 issues will ship in September.
“We really want to inject new life in our characters and line,” Dan DiDio, co-publisher of DC with Lee, told USA Today. ”This was a chance to start, not at the beginning, but at a point where our characters are younger and the stories are being told for today’s audience.”
More about the changes to come at USA Today.
What do you think of the announcement? Will you buy more DC Comics than before? Fewer? Are you excited or fearful?
- Matt Price
Free Comic Book Day live-blog 2011!
Free Comic Book Day logo
It’s the 10th annual Free Comic Book Day! Comic book shops around the country will be giving away comic books to fans who come in today. Free Comic Book Day creator Joe Field said about 2.7 million comics will be available for giveaway Saturday. Retailers have given away more than 25 million comics since the first giveaway in 2002.
9 a.m.: It’s an hour til kickoff at Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman, OK.
9:30 a.m.: 30 minutes til kickoff! Comics are set out and ready to go. Reports of “Thor” box office from Friday may bode well for people thinking about comic-book characters.
9:40 a.m. Lines are forming!
9:50 a.m. Parking lot is full… pretty decent line of folks waiting to enter.
10 a.m. And it begins!
10:25 a.m. Wow! That was a rush. Nearly 100 people in the first 15 minutes! Lots of kids in the group.
10:45 a.m. Lots of people talking about having seen Thor – pretty good reports so far. People are excited about getting free comics!
10:55 a.m. The stickers have been a fun addition – this is the first year we’ve had them at Speeding Bullet, anyway. Kids like to get stickers for things!
11:10 a.m. If I had to guess, I’d say Captain America/Thor has been the most popular giveaway in the first hour.
11:30 a.m. Great weather this year for Free Comic Book Day – traffic has been steady throughout.
11:45 a.m. Betty and Veronica has also been a popular choice so far.
12 p.m. The Sonic the Hedgehog issue has “sold out,” and Robert Kirkman’s “Super Dinosaur” is almost gone.
12:25 p.m. Darkwing Duck and Avatar have now “sold out.”
12:45 p.m. Starting to heavily supplement the free comics with additional giveaway comics – several of this year’s comics won’t end up lasting the entire day. At 5 comics per person, a group or family with several kids can really clean up today in reading material.
1 p.m. The heavily ordered Spider-Man and Green Lantern will probably last the day – not sure any of the other “new” Free Comic Book Day issues will. There will be comics to give away here until 7 p.m., though. Lots of people here excited for the Captain America film – and the Captain America/Thor giveaway is down to just a handful.
1:15 p.m. Speeding Bullet is on pace to have as many people in as any day in history – breaking last year’s record. The staff tells me they don’t think it will happen, though: They’re anticipating a slowdown when the Thunder game starts at 4.
1:45 p.m. Adam West’s comic from Bluewater has “sold out.” So has Mouse Guard from Archaia.
1:55 p.m. Kung Fu Panda, Baltimore and Atomic Robo have sold out, as well.
2:10 p.m. A rough, quick count indicates Speeding Bullet has given away as many comics as any year except 2010 – and that’s still in reach depending on traffic the rest of the day!
2:30 p.m. The relatively breakneck pace of the morning has slowed down just to “busy.” Some of the people who have seen “Thor” have picked up “Fear Itself,” which prominently features Thor and Captain America.
2:35 p.m. Out of “Elric” and “Young Justice/Brave and the Bold.”
3:05 p.m. The store has exceeded its 2009 traffic totals and comic giveaway totals! Still behind the 2010 record – but four hours remain in the day, so we’ll see!
3:10 p.m. Just had in some customers who have been in each year of the 10 Free Comic Book Days! It’s kind of amazing it’s been going on for 10 years now.
3:30 p.m. Green Lantern/Flashpoint FCBD edition looks to be the top giveaway so far this year. It was also one of the most-ordered, so there are still some to go!
3:40 p.m. Traffic has started to thin out, really for the first time – making me wonder if the “Thunder theory” is accurate — people tried to get their free comics before the basketball game today!
4 p.m. The heavily ordered Spider-Man and Green Lantern FCBD issues are the last new-to-this-year issues remaining to give away; they’re also the top 2 new giveaways this year.
4:30 p.m. With things kind of slowing down, I’m going to wrap up the live-blog. Speeding Bullet will remain open until 7 p.m. Traffic and giveaway totals probably won’t top 2010, but still it’s beaten every other year in FCBD’s 10-year history. And Free Comic Book Day is almost always the top traffic day of the entire year. Hope everyone had a wonderful Free Comic Book Day! Thanks again to Joe Field, Diamond Comics and all the sponsors of this fantastic event!
- Matt Price
Chris Hemsworth excited for Avengers; new Green Lantern trailer; Free Comic Book Day 2011!
CHRIS HEMSWORTH STARS IN THOR, READIES FOR THE AVENGERS
“Thor” star Chris Hemsworth talks getting ready for the Avengers and a possible Thor sequel.
Chris Hemsworth (AP)
“I had such an amazing time … can’t wait for Avengers, and the idea of doing more of them is incredibly exciting. I really do love the character, and I’m excited to see what other directions we could take it,” Hemsworth said in a phone interview.”I’ve hung out with Chris Evans a few times, and talked about the film and how excited we are, and the same with Downey, I’ve bumped into him at a couple of events,” he said. “We’ve all seen these characters come to life individually, and now to mesh it all together is going to be a fun ride.”
NEW GREEN LANTERN TRAILER
Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for “Green Lantern,” opening June 17 and starring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, chosen to be a Green Lantern, a member of an intergalactic peacekeeping force. Warner Bros. seems to be upping the epic feel for this one, as you get a sense of Hal Jordan as the newest member of this awesome peacekeeping force.
Speaking of Green Lantern, he’ll have a comic book featured in Saturday’s
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY
For the 10th year, comic book shops and participating locations around the world will give away comics to customers and visitors. This Saturday marks the 10th celebration of Free Comic Book Day. Characters such as Spider-Man, Thor, Green Lantern and the Smurfs star in special comics, sold at low cost to stores, to be given away free on this special day.
Free Comic Book Day was created by Concord, Calif., comic book retailer Joe Field, ComicsPRO trade organization president and owner of Flying Colors Comics and Other Cool Stuff.
Field said about 2.7 million comics will be available for giveaway Saturday. Retailers have given away more than 25 million comics since the first giveaway in 2002. More than a dozen stores in the Oklahoma City area are participating.
REVIEW FILE: Axe Cop 3, Fear Itself 2.
- Matt Price
Comics read in 2011: 594 Still to go: 1417
Chris Hemsworth embraces Thor’s fun side
Chris Hemsworth at Comic-Con International in San Diego. Photo by Annette Price
SAN DIEGO — In Marvel Entertainment’s “Thor,” based on the long-running comic-book series, star Chris Hemsworth plays the mythical god of thunder, cast to Earth by his father to learn humility.
While Hemsworth said he wouldn’t say he has Thor’s arrogance, he did relate to Thor’s fun side.
“He has a great sense of humor. He likes to have fun. Even among all that arrogance and what have you, there’s a real fun side to him, too,” Hemsworth said in a recent interview promoting the film. “And I tried to bring that part of me out in the character.”
Joe Quesada draws variant for Ultimate Spider-Man #160 – Death of Spider-Man issue
Marvel has revealed the Joe Quesada variant cover to Ultimate Spider-Man #160, part of the Death of Spider-Man storyline, which concludes in June.
There will be a full color Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #160 Quesada Variant and a penciled version for Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #160 Quesada Sketch Variant.
“Ultimate Spider-Man” #160 goes on sale June 22.
Click past the cut for the sketch variant cover.
- Matt Price
Greg Horn to provide art for “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark”
Comic book artist Greg Horn will provide artwork for the Broadway show “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” creating high-end illustrations for the play’s line of merchandise and imagery for the official program guide, according to a news release.
Marketing plans, improving comic-book stores discussed at ComicsPRO meeting
ComicsPRO retailers and sponsors at Lone Star Comics.
DALLAS — Improving comic stores and growing the market were the themes at this year’s ComicsPRO Annual Membership Meeting. Member retailers met with representatives from 23 sponsors, including publishers and distributors.
