One of the big problems with comics these days is that all the heroes are fifty and sixty years old. Sure, they may be in their thirties in the comic book universe, but we’re still reading about characters created in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. It’s been quite some time that one of the big two put any push behind characters created after even the 80s which is why this news is both surprising and quite awesome.

Runaways has been added to Marvel’s slate of future film releases. And series creator Brian K Vaughan is writing the screen play! WIN! I hope Adrian Alphona gets brought on as a visual designer, much like Adi Granov was tapped for Iron Man. Yes, the writing is amazing, but it’s Alphona’s work that breaths life into Vaughan’s words. The combination of the two made this series a fan favorite.

Epic win all around! I can’t wait to see cast pics.

[Via Superhero Hype]

Share This

The theme song for Spectacular Spider-Man isn’t all that great, but the animation and character design courtesy of Sean “Cheeks” Galloway is bloody brilliant! And now I must schedule a Saturday morning alarm so I can keep up with this series. I love Black Cat’s redesign. Super sexy without that ridiculously implausible plunging cleavage line. Comic book Black Cat must have stapled that thing in place.

I see Gwen but no MJ. Wonder how old this episode is. Argh! Must catch up! So good! I expect after a few episodes the theme song will grow on me. Or not. I really don’t like it. But I love everything else.

Share This

Reader Michael Tricksey points out an obvious flaw to the Superhero Registration Act (you know, besides the fact that it’s dumb shit in the first fuck place).

Now, I realize that I might be a lot late with mentioning the Superhero Registration Act, but I just have to say this. What is it, THREE YEARS NOW!!! WHY DO WE STILL HAVE THIS!!!! I know it’s trendy for comics to reflect world events realistically, but sometimes you need to REMEMBER THAT IT’S A COMIC! Am I just not thinking, or should have some major villain like Doom or Red Skull or some random alien threat already KILLED half the Marvel roster. If super-humans have to register, then that means that they have to put their info into a database of some sort. How many super-villains are tech-savvy? How many kids are on the government’s watch list for hacking into their info-structure in REAL LIFE? I mean, relevance is great, but think about the environment. Forget about the Spider men and Daredevils of the world, and let’s focus on the fact that Tony Stark is a drinker, that the Fantastic Four are dysfunctional. These little quirks have been exploited before. Why not do it on a mass scale? Am I really the only one who sees this?

Stark would need to hire a team of super nerds just to work computer security for that database. That thing would be a hacker’s dream come true. Imagine the mad cash some thirteen year old could make by selling even just a small snippet of data from that database. You’d need some sort of software imbued with the power of plot to keep out all the script kiddies, hackers, and crackers.

Also, by creating a superhero agency under government control, that agency is now subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). They would need to hire an army of legal experts to deal with the deluge of FOIA requests sent by the media and watchdog agencies. Every communique the superheroes send while on duty would be subject to FOIA. Daily activities would be subject to FOIA. You’d have to create this whole cumbersome bureaucracy surrounding your superhero agency. There’d be paperwork, mandatory sensitivity training, swipe cards, procurement, contractors, and all sorts of official mumbo jumbo that would get in the way of the business of saving lives. FEMA with tights.

Oh man, now my head hurts. Maybe this stupid Skrull thing will end the Registration Act. It’s certainly ended my interest in giant crossover events.

Share This

Reader Nathan Yuen sent along this link with a trailer for Batman: Gotham Knight. The DVD release will feature six animated shorts from different directors. The preview looks amazing. There’s only a quick shot but one of them looks to be inspired by Murakami’s Superflat style. Brilliant!

DVD drops July 8. MUST. GET!

[Via Wired]

Share This

Though Emma’s voice in my head is slightly older than the voice actor they chose, this is actually quite good. Whedon’s dialog works best when read out loud. I also love the subtle enhancements to the animation, the little wisps of hair, the undulating ocean, nice and subdued. Cassaday’s art doesn’t need any fiddling.

I know Crossgen was experimenting with this style of animated comics and if they were still around, I suspect they’d be at the forefront of this technique. So the question is, if Marvel does more of these animated comics and releases them for free to spread virally, aren’t they subverting their whole subscription online comics?

Hope they do more and I hope more companies do their own versions.

Share This

Hawk sent me this early in the morning to start my day. I think the trailer is a beautiful primer on who the Avengers are. Very well produced. Has an epic feel. Then they go ahead and ruin it with this whole Children of Avengers Avenge their Avenging Parents thing. That and I don’t like the character designs all that much. They’re clearly trying to pander to a younger audience. This is obviously not for old coots like me.

Sorry Marvel. I’m still holding out for anime Bats. Thanks to Hawk for the strange wakeup call.

[Via Marvel]

Share This

Leave it to Marvel to spoil their own comics. So, without further ado, I present Anti-Venom courtesy Entertainment Weekly:

What can I say, love John Romita Jr.’s art. Always a big fan. Not so crazy about Anti-Venom. A bit cheesy, like Anti-Spawn. Much funnier as Auntie Venom.

So, friendly neighborhood wall crawlers, let’s play the caption game! You know what to do, drop your caption in the comments.

[Via Entertainment Weekly via Occasional Superheroine]

Share This

Finally got this all edited together. We get a sneak peak at what the webcomic guests are really like when they’re away from their tables and panels. It’s a frightening world of pain and sorrow.

I’d like to thank Applegeeks, Dead of Summer, Rockets Rock Out, Onezumi, Fragile Gravity, Paradox Lost, Steve Bennett, Quest to Nowhere, Staccato, Partially Clips, Erfworld, and The Fump for not punching me in the face when I pointed the camera at them. Although, now that this is out, they might do so when I see them again.

Share This

Stan Lee does manga.

Drawn by Hiroyuki Takei and written by Stan Lee, Ultimo will be chronicled in Viz Media’s Shonen Jump. And that’s pretty much all I got. Oh, the character Dan pictured above is obviously based on Stan Lee. Looks like he’s dressed for sepuku.

UPDATE: Thanks to KamenOtaku, you can now experience the first chapter online. Um… well… meh. Only one chapter and it’s already convoluted as all hell which I suppose in some way is standard fare for manga these days. Color me underwhelmed.

[Via Anime News International]

Share This

Reader Devin Wolfe sent me news that BET will premier a Black Panther animated series based on the Marvel comic in their 2008-09 season.

BET Cages Black Panter

I hope that:

a) This thing is simulcast on Adult Swim or goes into immediate syndication, kinda like Boondocks, because it’d be a shame if they limit their target audience to a specific demographic with such a cool and enigmatic character like BP… It’d be like making a Wolverine spin-off cartoon only available on Canadian television because of the main character’s nationality.

b) That they do a bang up job on the animation, a la say Gotham Knight or Afro Samurai. Dear God let them tap I.G. or GONZO…

Whole heartedly agree. It’s about damn time. Regarding Devin’s second point, I haven’t been impressed with much of Marvel’s animated efforts lately. They’ve all left me rather underwhelmed while DC still manages to knock them out of the park. But I’m hoping for the best.

[Via Variety]

Share This