G.I. Joe Retaliation trailer released
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars in “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” the sequel to 2009′s “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.” The film, directed by Jon M. Chu, is set for a June 29, 2012 release.
What do you think of the trailer? The star quotient has certainly been upped in the second film.
- Matt Price
First look at Henry Cavill’s Superman; reaction to the new Ultimate Spider-Man; Captain Victory to relaunch from Dynamite
Superman and Spider-Man both have big news this week, and Oklahoma writer Sterling Gates is tabbed to write “Captain Victory,” based on the Jack Kirby character, from Dynamite.
G.I. Joe, Doomwar among recent comic book reviews
IDW’s reprint series of “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” begins in “Classic G.I. Joe vol. 1″ with issues 1-10 from the original Marvel Comics run.
Power Man and Iron Fist, Silver Surfer among recent comic book reviews
Fred Van Lente and Wellington Alves are the creative team for the “Power Man and Iron Fist” that teams Danny Rand with Victor Alvarez, a city kid with the ability to absorb chi. In issues 2-5, There are a lot of neat touches, including “Twilight Idol,” a underground auction that sells off equipment and DNA of Golden Age heroes. With characters the mystery of Crime-Buster, the character of Noir, and Iron Fist versus an entire prison, this is a fun miniseries. Despite the new Power Man, this remains a book that fans of the long-running 1980s series should enjoy.
Captain America gets hot; Robot Chicken Star Wars giveaway; Adrianne Palicki suits up for Lady Jaye; Tara Platt and Yuri Lowenthal prep superhero comedy
This week’s Planet 46 comics podcast features a Robot Chicken: Star Wars III giveaway! Just tell us your favorite Star Wars character for a chance to win.
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Adrianne Palicki: A Real American Hero? Nerdage and Staticblog discuss the GI Joe sequel
Nerdage: So, the first GI Joe movie was, to put it kindly, a bit of a mess. Casting announcements for the sequel, thus far, have been a mix of “huh” and “hmmm”…. RZA may play the Blind Master. DJ Cotrona likely to play Flint. Channing Tatum and Ray Park set to return as Duke and Snake Eyes. Elodie Yung signed as Jinx. John Chu set to direct. The Rock expected to play Roadblock. Bruce Willis keeps being rumored. And this weekend, the news that may cause Staticblog’s George Lang to see a GI Joe movie: Adrianne Palicki, Deadline reports, will play Lady Jaye.
What do you think, Lang? Are you buying tickets for a Dwayne Johnson/Bruce Willis film based on 3 3/4 inch action figures?
StaticBlog: Actually, if it were based on the 12-inch Vietnam-era guy with the awesome bristle-cut hair and beard combo, I’d be in, because Kung-Fu Grip is freaking insurmountable in plastic hand-to-hand combat.
But because this is the “Real American Hero”-era Joe, I’m basically in for the reason you surmised — Palicki, Palicki, Palicki. They can have the guy who directed the last two “Step Up” time-wasters and “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” at the helm, and yet they have Palicki, so everything’s going to be just fine.
Adrianne Palicki was, without a doubt, one of the best things about the first three seasons of “Friday Night Lights,” and as NBC viewers will certainly enjoy this Friday, her character, Tyra Collette, returns for the final two episodes of the series. She got a ton of bad press this spring when early costume photos from David E. Kelley’s “Wonder Woman” were given a trial balloon treatment by NBC and failed miserably in Internet comments sections everywhere. My personal view is that Palicki, standing nearly 6 feet tall with a distinctive beauty, was perfect for the role, but Kelley wasn’t the right guy. Joss Whedon was always the best choice. Palicki also got seriously screwed over when “Lone Star,” the best reviewed pilot of the 2010 television season, got dropped by hair-trigger cancellation champion Fox after two episodes. Considering that “Friday Night Lights” is one of the best dramas of the past 10 years but never was a ratings success, Palicki could stand a break — even from a clankety-clank monstrosity. Having her involved suddenly makes the thing interesting.
Nerdage: Tangentally, the rumor mill has it that Bruce Willis may be intended to play the original “GI Joe,” though I don’t know if Bruce is likely to rock the bristle-cut and beard… The character made, I believe, only one appearance in the Larry Hama comics and didn’t, as far as I know, appear on the TV show.
I, of course, enjoyed the original Larry Hama comics as a kid, and heard he consulted on the first film. Still, I found that movie mostly a confusing mess, though it was filled with attractive people. Will John Chu have better luck than Stephen Sommers?
StaticBlog: OK, so I understand how Sommers got from the first two “Mummy” movies to “GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” but how does Jon Chu parlay the “Step Up” movies, which are essentially “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo” with electro-pop and slightly larger budgets, much less the Bieber hagiography, into “GI Joe 2: Cobra Strikes”? He must know how to follow a budget and make money or something.
Nerdage: Chu told The Deadbolt that he’s a big fan of GI Joe from back in the day, played with the toys, had the comic and everything, so maybe he’ll make a movie the fans of the property want to see. Here’s hoping, anyway.
StaticBlog: At least there’s Palicki.
Palicki, Palicki, Palicki.
Captain America, G.I. Joe, Fighting American and more among patriotic weekend comic-book reviews
With the July 4 weekend upon us, here are some patriotic comic-books to check out and celebrate the United States of America.
Captain America Comics 1 (1941)
This Joe Simon/Jack Kirby creation shows a ton of energy and excitement, as the origin of Captain America is revealed for the first time. This issue also has the first appearance of the Red Skull, who in this issue is a traitorous American industrialist.
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Former Oklahoman S.L. Gallant to draw Family Guy comics
Titan Comics has announced the “Family Guy” clan will return to comics in a new series. One of the artists announced for the series, S.L. Gallant, who has drawn “Torchwood” and “G.I. Joe,” was previously an Oklahoma resident.
The series is based on the “Family Guy” TV series created by Seth MacFarlane. Titan Comics and Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products says that Peter; his wife, Lois; kids Meg, Chris and Stewie; along with family dog and martini aficionado, Brian, will headline their own series, to be released on July 27. Anthony Williams will also be an artist of the series. T
Titan says the series also will feature other characters from its television counterpart, including Glen Quagmire, Cleveland Brown and Joe Swanson.
I talked to Gallant in 2008 about his Oklahoma past.
“Both wives (Current and EX) are natives of OK and graduates of the OU Vis Com program (which according to the professor I am officially banned from any more wives thru that program),” he said. “I also lived in OKC for several years and worked for Jordan Associates in Edmond, which is where I met my current wife. Silly girl.”
With the more realistic style he’s typically employed on G.I. Joe , Gallant might not be the first name you’d think of for “Family Guy,” though he revealed a long list of influences in an e-mail.
A page from "GI Joe: A Real American Hero" 164 by S.L. Gallant.
“If we’re only speaking of comic illustrators, then anyone known for their drafting skills,” he said. “Some specific names would be Adam Hughes, Jackson Guice, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Neal Adams, Alex Raymond, Gene Colan, Hal Foster, Milo Manara, Vittorio Giordanio, Park Jong Ki, Bryan Hitch, Alan Davis, Steve Rude, and the list never ends. Of course being a student of art history we’d also end up with a mile long list of fine artists and illustrators but there’s a character limit to this email and we’d violate that with a list for sure. I think Steve Rude once said I’ll steal from anyone who can teach me something.”
Gallant continues his association with “G.I. Joe.” Issue No. 165 of “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero,” written by Larry Hama, is set for release on April 20. Gallant said he had an appreciation for Hama’s original run on GI Joe from the 1980s.
“I was more a fan of the comic and the cartoon, more so than the toys,” he said. “It came in at the end of my childhood, so I was more of a Star Wars kid; the empty box Christmas and all that. I loved the Snake Eyes origin story line because I was really into ninjas, so that pulled me in, but not the toys.”
He says his favorite thing about being a comics artist is “getting to draw all day, every day, and not be homeless because of it. So far anyway.”
- Matt Price
IDW has big plans for G.I. Joe, Transformers in 2011
G.I. Joe Civil War #0
The world of the Transformers, robotic aliens who can shape-shift into cars and planes, will expand this summer with a third Michael Bay-directed film. IDW Publishing plans to give fans additional tie-ins in comics to further explore the characters and storylines based on the Hasbro toys.
IDW also holds the rights to the G.I. Joe license from Hasbro, and the anti-terrorist team of military specialists will receive a revamp this year as Cobra Commander, the leader of the Cobra terrorist organization, has been killed.
G.I. Joe Day declared in Rhode Island
From left, Amanda Arroyo, Brady Moran, and Kiley O'Brien, first-graders at Cumberland Hills Elementary School, wrap up G.I. Joe figures that were launched with parachutes from the rotunda of the Rhode Island Statehouse in Providence, R.I., to open the 2010 International G.I. Joe Collectors' Convention, Friday, April 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)
From Hasbro:
Providence, RI – April 30, 2010 – The world’s first action figure comes home to Rhode Island for the 17th annual G.I. JOE Convention, hosted by the G.I. JOE Collectors’ Club and Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS). To celebrate the homegrown hero and its fans, Rhode Island Governor, Donald L. Carcieri, proclaimed today as “G.I. JOE Day” as Rhode Island schoolchildren were on hand for the celebration in the State House rotunda. The Governor was also joined by Hasbro’s President and CEO, Brian Goldner, as well as 250 parachuting G.I. JOE action figures that descended from the upper level of the domed structure, kicking off the official and largest convention of G.I. JOE enthusiasts.
Thousands of G.I. JOE fans will converge on the Rhode Island Convention Center on May 1st and 2nd to participate in events and activities that surround the brand’s 45-plus year history that includes action figures, comic books, animated series and a blockbuster movie.
“We are excited to have the G.I. JOE brand and its many legions of fans come to Providence for its annual convention this year,” said Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri. “We are proud to have such an internationally iconic hero call Rhode Island home.”
This year’s convention will feature some of the original G.I. JOE vs. COBRA creators, industry guests, artists, and the Hasbro G.I. JOE brand and design team. The convention will celebrate G.I. JOE, the original action figure, and its journey through the decades from the 1960s, all the way through last summer’s blockbuster, G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra, and beyond.
“Hasbro is thrilled to celebrate the G.I. JOE brand in Rhode Island” said Brian Goldner, President and CEO of Hasbro, Inc. “G.I. JOE is a property that was created and developed here at Hasbro in Rhode Island over 45 years ago and is now known around the world. This year’s convention will showcase the full history of the G.I. JOE brand, with special emphasis on the future of the iconic action and adventure property. We’re thrilled that Governor Carcieri has bestowed such an honor to the world’s first action figure hero and we’re excited to celebrate “G.I. JOE Day” with our employees, fans and fellow Rhode Island residents.”
The convention is being held at the Rhode Island Convention Center located at 1 Sabin Street in Providence, Rhode Island. General admission tickets are available at the door, $12 for adults and $8 for children ages 5-12 (free child’s admission with a paid adult). And, as always, admission is free for those 4 years old and under. General Admission tickets provide access to the showroom on Saturday, May 1st from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., or on Sunday, May 2nd from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Additional details and pre-registration information can be found at gijoecon.com, or by calling (817) 448-9863.
Hasbro inaugurated the G.I. JOE Collectors’ Convention in 1994 to bring collectors, fans and the G.I. JOE team together to share in the history of the brand. The annual event attracts thousands of people for G.I. JOE-related presentations and activities, along with buying, selling and trading rare and vintage G.I. JOE action figures.
Click past the cut for more pictures from the GI Joe Day celebration.
