A short Nicktoons preview for “Wolverine and the X-Men,” debuting in January.
Kyle Roberts and Matt Price discuss comics for the week of Nov. 21, 2008: Supergirl #35, Uncanny X-Men #504 and X-Men: Legacy #218.
ARLINGTON, Texas - Writer-artist Billy Tucci hopes his newest comic book can be “a bridge across generations.”
“Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion” features DC Comics’ World War II character Sgt. Rock. But this story is based on real-life events.
In October of 1944, 275 Texans of the Alamo Regiment, of the 141st Infantry, were surrounded by German forces. After rescue attempts failed for six days, the general of the 36th division called for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. This unit was made up primarily of Japanese Americans.
“They pretty much were sent on a suicide mission,” Tucci said. “It was 1600 men against 7000 German soldiers, in tanks.”
The 442nd succeeded in breaking through the German lines and reaching the 141st.
“By the end of that battle though, of the 1,600 men that went in to save 275, 800 were able to walk out,” Tucci said. “And it’s come down to be the most decorated action in U.S. military history. These guys have become friends of mine, and they want their stories told.”
What’s even more amazing is that so many of these men died defending freedom while their own families were being held in internment camps, Tucci said.
“After Pearl Harbor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt incarcerated 125,000 Japanese American citizens in interment camps. And their only crime was their heritage,” Tucci said. “And something incredible happened during this war … by the hundreds, these boys started to volunteer out of the camps. Because they loved America, and they wanted to prove that they were good Americans.”
Tucci visited the battle sites in France as part of his research for “The Lost Battalion”
“I’ve seen the battlefields, I’ve walked the beaches of Normandy, I’ve seen the foxholes of the Lost Battalion,” Tucci said. “I’ve touched the graves in the cemeteries where 10,000 Americans never came home.”
Tucci said meeting veterans who shared their stories with him has been the most rewarding part of creating “The Lost Battalion.”
“It’s become a really wonderful experience of my life,” he said. “It’s a heartfelt story, it’s not a rah-rah war story. It’s a story that you could say celebrates the American soldier.”
Tucci will tell the story of the Lost Battalion, through the lens of Sgt. Rock, in six comic-books being released through March. The first issue is on sale now.
A version of this story ran in Friday’s Weekend Look in The Oklahoman.
The Web-based baseball simulation “Baseball Boss” is now formatted to work with the iPhone.
Jeff Petry, head of marketing for Challenge Games, answered some questions about how “Baseball Boss” will play in that format.
Q: How will “Baseball Boss” adapt for iPhone?
A: Baseball Boss is a web-based baseball game. It’s not an app that players have to buy and download. We’ve formatted the game to work with the iPhone functions and layout. No installation is needed, but players need to create an account at www.baseballboss.com via a computer. Then they can access Baseball Boss using the iPhone’s web browser.
Q: What will be the major advantages to being available on the iPhone?
A: Our company mission is to create online, short-form games that are challenging, fun and easy to play whether you’re a serious or casual gamer. This makes the iPhone a perfect fit. You can use iPhone’s browser to play Baseball Boss anytime, from anywhere. So it is perfect for someone on-the-go or who has a few minutes to to get that quick baseball and gaming fix.
Q: Have features been added to the game? Will some features not make the iPhone cut?
A: Players can accept challenges and see the results, read messages, browse their cards and review the status of auctions on their iPhone.
There are few differences between the play on the iPhone versus a computer, and we are planning to add to what you can do on iPhone over time. You start by creating an account via a computer, then can play on a either you computer or iPhone.
Before being able to use the iPhone to play Baseball Boss, players will need to use a computer to create a free account at www.baseballboss.com.
Q: Explain more about how the game works.
A: Baseball Boss is very unique to the baseball game genre. It is the first game to combine baseball simulation games with collectible card games. Baseball Boss is an official licensee of MLB Advanced Media and the MLBPA. It is a free to play web based game based on 3 simple things:
Players collect and trade virtual Baseball Boss branded baseball cards of current and historical players - it’s like iTunes meets baseball cards.
Players use those cards to create a baseball team.
Players then challenge others through a variety of head-to-head baseball game play modes.
Players can register and play free at www.baseballboss.com. We give all new players free packs of our Baseball Boss cards when they register.
iPhone users will love being able to play baseball on their iPhone without having to buy and install an app.
A version of this Q&A ran in Friday’s Weekend Look in The Oklahoman.
Actor Edward Norton and studio Marvel reportedly had some disagreements on the final cut of “The Incredible Hulk,” now out on DVD. With the plethora of deleted scenes included on the 3-disc special edition, you can argue that Norton was right. Most of the deleted scenes bring more humanity to Bruce Banner, Norton’s character who, when angry or excited, turns into the green monster the incredible Hulk.
Perhaps stung by criticism of the 2003 Ang Lee-directed “Hulk,” Marvel chose to move the action up in the film. The film concludes with a CGI fight sequence that’s overlong. Still, the released “Incredible Hulk” was an exciting, well-acted film. But it seems from the scenes we’re given on the DVD that Norton’s version could have been better.
Marvel fans will also appreciate the blink-and-you’ll-miss-him appearance of a frozen Captain America in the alternate opening to the film. While the film works better without that opening, it’s a nice Easter egg.
Also included on the 3-disc edition of the DVD are multiple documentaries, a commentary by director Louis Letterier, and a digital copy of the film.
- Matthew Price
In “Supergirl” #35, out this week, Tulsa writer Sterling Gates has a shout-out to his home state of Oklahoma: As 100,000 Kryptonians from the bottle city of Kandor have been freed, several of them spread out to check out the United States. In this issue, one is seen flying through a pasture in Pauls Valley.
– Matt Price
In spring of 2004, I attended Planet Comicon in Overland Park, Kan., and heard two of the most successful comic-book creators of the 1970s and 1980s: Marv Wolfman and Len Wein. Julius Schwartz, longtime DC editor, had recently died, and so he was on the minds of both creators. A few things discussed at the show four years ago that still haven’t come to fruition: Wein was working on a “Swamp Thing” movie script, and Wolfman was hopeful his long-delayed “Teen Titans: Games” graphic novel would be finished by George Perez. As of 2005, the “Games” graphic novel was on indefinite hiatus. I haven’t heard any updates recently about a “Swamp Thing” film. The following article was originally published April 9, 2004.
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OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Two former editors in chief of Marvel Comics talked about their work in comics and other media adaptations of some of their most famous creations at the recent Planet Comicon. Marv Wolfman created many of the New Teen Titans for DC with artist George Perez. He’s written episodes of the “Teen Titans” series for the Cartoon Network based on his comic and has more episodes in the pipeline.
Wolfman also created Blade, the vampire hunter who will be featured in a third motion picture this year, and Bullseye, a villain in the recent “Daredevil” film.
Len Wein is working on a screenplay for “Swamp Thing,” which he co-created with artist Berni Wrightson.
Wein said the new “Swamp Thing” would be a true horror movie, with the creature done in CGI rather than a “guy in a rubber suit.”
Wolfman and Wein both had hits in the 1970s horror resurgence in comics, following the relaxation of the comics code to allow more horror elements. Wolfman’s “Tomb of Dracula,” with Gene Colan, introduced “Blade,” and Wein’s “Swamp Thing” brought a philosophical slant to a horror staple.
Wein and Wolfman broke into DC in the late 1960s, when Julius Schwartz was one of the top editors at the company.
Wein and Wolfman paid tribute to Schwartz, who died Feb. 8.
Wein told how he received his first assignment from “Julie.” He was waiting in the DC offices to pitch a story for “Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane,” when Schwartz barreled into the office.
“What are you doing here?” Schwartz said.
Wein responded, saying he was pitching a “Lois Lane” story.
“No, you’re not,” Schwartz said, grabbing Wein by the collar.
Schwartz sat Wein down in his office and said, “You’re writing the Flash.”
When Wein protested that he hadn’t prepared anything for the Flash, Schwartz said, “You couldn’t be any worse than that S.O.B. I just fired!”
While Schwartz could be gruff, he also was very influential.
“It’s astonishing when you look at one man’s impact,” Wein said, noting that Schwartz’s revival of Flash, Green Lantern and the Justice League motivated Marvel’s 1960s output.
Wolfman and Wein, who each briefly served as editor in chief of Marvel in the 1970s, trail only Marvel’s Stan Lee in the number of characters they have created or co-created that have been adapted into film or television. Besides Swamp Thing, Wein also co-created Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Storm and Colossus of the X-Men.
Though these creators appreciate the opportunity to bring these characters to a larger audience, they feel some in comics are trying too hard for movie success without noting what makes a good comic.
“Comics used to be ahead of the curve; now we’re following the curve,” Wolfman said.
Wolfman also wrote the hit series “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” of which Wein served as a consulting editor. The artist was Perez. The landmark miniseries aimed to clear the barnacles off DC Comics’ continuity, which at the time included multiple universes and versions of main characters. The series, released in 1985-1986, will reach its 20th anniversary next year.
“Crisis on Infinite Earths” was targeted at hard-core Marvel fans, who at that time didn’t follow DC Comics.
“And wouldn’t,” Wolfman said, “because it was too confusing to them.
“We needed to do something incredibly large and incredibly loud to say to these people, ‘Come on over and take a look. DC has great characters.’”
“Crisis” merged all the continuities into one Earth. In the process, Flash and Supergirl were killed, and the multiple Earths were destroyed.
Wolfman said despite its sales and critical success, “Crisis” didn’t clear up continuity problems as much as he would have liked.
Characters weren’t supposed to remember the Crisis, and all the books were supposed to start new with No. 1 issues, with no recollection of what had gone before, Wolfman said.
“It failed only because the people (in charge) in 1986 and on decided to go in a different direction,” Wolfman said.
However, the books made a mark in sales and in readers’ minds. “The ‘Crisis’ was a way of getting (Marvel) fans over. … We actually succeeded and got them to come over … we were 100 percent successful in that,” Wolfman said.
To commemorate the series, still popular in trade paperback, Wolfman is writing a “Crisis” novel.
Another series still with a strong fan following is the Wolfman-Perez issues of “New Teen Titans,” which DC will release in trade paperback. Also expected late thisyear or next year is the long-awaited “Titans: Games” graphic novel reuniting Wolfman with Perez.
The release date isn’t set yet, as Perez is still recovering from a wrist injury he suffered drawing “JLA-Avengers.”
“Games” was originally set for a 1989 release, but stalled after Perez was “burned out” on drawing the Titans. Now, Wolfman said, the project is back on track.
While DC would like the graphic novel out for Christmas, Wolfman said, he’d prefer it to come out in 2005 for the 25th anniversary of the first Perez-Wolfman issue of “New Teen Titans” in 1980.
Sadie Mattox, at Extremely Graphic, a manga and graphic novel focused blog here at NewsOK, takes a look at “Stardust Kid,” by the creative team of J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Ploog.
From the review:
“The full color, bright and even *sparkly* illustrations are enchanting. Most of the story takes place in an underground world where plant life comes to life and the creatures who inhabit this land are lush. If you have a child who’s into fantasy, this may be a good pick.”
According to Variety, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have been hired by Marvel Entertainment to write the screenplay for the upcoming “Captain America” film. The pair wrote the screenplays to both “Chronicles of Narnia” movies.
– Matt Price
