Calgary Comic Con Forced To Turn Thousands Away

There's naturally been plenty of talk in recent months about the success of DC's New 52 editorial-side strategy, and what, if anything, Marvel might do to counter. Or if Marvel will stick to their long term strategies, and what exactly those might be.  But this week [and sorry, SPOILERS, spoilers everywhere] we've seen this and'

Latest Trailer For The Suicide Shop Is Packed With Black Humour

A kids' film about assisted suicide doesn't sound like the most commercial of propositions, but I've been following Patrice Leconte's next pretty closely, and it's only drawn me in deeper every step of the way.

The latest trailer for The Suicide Shop has some great new gags, and a laurel announcing the film's selection as part of next Month's Festival de Cannes. The wide release is set for September, however, so I'll be left hanging on a rope for a little while yet.

Now Really Is The Time To Buy Farscape: The Complete Series

If you don't know Farscape, you probably don't know why so many got excited about Ben Browder being cast in the new run of Doctor Who. He's the star of the show, a NASA test pilot who ends up passing through a wormhole to another part of the universe.

Another part of the universe in which several alien races would seem to be at war.

It's sci-fi adventure with a socio-political bent, loosely in the vein of Star Trek, Babylon 5 or Battlestar Galactica. It's probably far more in love with alien-ness than any of those, though, and there's a lot of Henson-created creatures throughout the run. A lot.

Amazon have made the Blu-ray collection of all four series one of their deals of the week, priced at $68.49, down from an RRP of $199.95. I can verify first hand that these discs play on both Region A and Region B players ' so the US, Europe and Australia are all sorted.

The DVD version is also available at a greatly reduced price too ' $46.99, down from $149.95.

Note: there was a 'sequel miniseries' called The Peacekeeper Wars, and the rights for that lie with a different publisher. As such, it's not going to appear in either of those sets, but can be purchased on DVD separately, and for less than $8 too. Some, UK-published DVD sets of the whole thing are still available at £59.97, but it's technically out of print.

Two of the show's most interesting regular characters are creations of the Jim Henson Creature Workshop. There's Rygel, a former despot who has fallen on the grace of others and who doesn't taken to this position well, and Pilot, the biologically bonded pilot (don't you know) of the huge Leviathan spacecraft, Moya, where much of the series takes place.

The Henson crew also provide a real variety of aliens throughout the run. Brian Henson says, in one of the sets many, many supplements, that the inspiration was the Star Wars cantina, and I think you'll see what he means from the grand array of alien life forms we get to meet.

Farscape has a rather devout fan following who I expect to leap on this deal, both feet first. As you might imagine, the show had me at 'Jim Henson Creature Workshop.'

Is Leonard Nimoy Coming Back For The Next Star Trek Movie?

As of yet, there's no video of the conversation online, but Leonard Nimoy this week appeared on CNN during coverage of the Shuttle Enterprise heading into New York.

As you'd expect, there was questioning about the new Star Trek film, and Nimoy ended up giving an answer I really wouldn't have expected.

Here's the relevant portion of the chat, as transcribed by Airlock Alpha:

CNN Person: we were talking about the new Star Trek movie. It was great, you did a great job in it. And we were just about talking about that just before ' will you be in another Star Trek movie?

Nimoy: Uhh, we're talking. We're talking.

CNN Person: Talking' [laughs] Hopefully.

In short, Nimoy has said that he's talking about another appearance. This pretty much flies in the face of everything I thought I knew: that he'd retired, that the sequel wasn't going to feature any old-Trek faces, that the script would be so locked down that something as significant as this couldn't be up in the air at this point.

But I don't think he'd make it up.

I'll continue looking for video or audio, as hearing the tone might throw some slightly different light on the picture but it does seem, from this transcript, that Abrams and co. aren't quite done with Old Spock yet.

FCBD 2012: Orbital, Gosh And Forbidden Planet, London, UK

This year, I'll be going to Free Comic Book Day with my kids as always. But not just my kids. Their friends too. On Saturday morning, we'll be getting the bus, then two tube trains into Central London with a gaggle of young girls to raid the comic shops of London like they are giving away free comics. Which they are.

Orbital Comics will have Simon Furman, Andy Wildman, Stephen Baskerville, John-Paul Bove and Jason Cardy signing copies of their Transformers#80.5 giveaway comic book, which is likely to have hundreds, even thousands of UK Transformers fans flocking for the revival of that timeline by the creators a couple of decades later. Draw the World Together will be collecting donations at the signing with all proceeds going to the Make A Wish charity.

Gosh Comics will have Karrie Fransman, Ray Friesen, Tom Humberstone, Roger Langridge, Sarah McIntyre, Will Morris, Louis Roskosch, Julia Scheele, Richard Short, Christian Ward sketching and signing their work, with window painting, live drawing, and classes to get young kids drawing, and bumping up the free comics with Small Press free comics from Sean Azzopardi, Orful Comics, Kel Winser and Evan A.

And Forbidden Planet will be creating themed free comic book bags for adults, for kids ' and a premium one for those willing to queue outside before doors open at 10am, with the Mouse Guard hardcover in it!

Sam Raimi Producing, David Lindsay-Abaire Writing Poltergeist Remake

I wouldn't rush out to declare Tobe Hooper's haunted houser Poltergeist a masterpiece, not by any measure, but it has its moments, and I'm certainly fond of it. If Steven Spielberg did direct it (I don't believe he did, but you've heard the rumours, I'm sure) it would be the one of his films I have the most affection for.

Still, there's no harm in remaking it, and I'd even be keen to see a do-over if there's real talent involved. And it looks like there is.

Getting to the bottom of some swirling rumours, Heat Vision have clarified that Sam Raimi will produce a new remake of the film with Nathan Kahane, Roy Lee and (of course) Rob Tapert.

There's no director yet, though Raimi will be on the hunt for one in the coming months. What there is, though, is a writer.

And one heck of a writer.

David Lindsay-Abaire collaborated with Sam Raimi on the upcoming Oz ' The Great and Powerful, though he's possibly best known for writing Rabbit Hole, both as a screenplay, and originally for the stage. The stageplay was awarded the Pulitzer in 2007 and I recommend the film version, starring Aaron Eckhart and Nicole Kidman, very highly indeed.

If Lindsay-Abaire really puts his elbow into the characters and family dynamic of Poltergeist, and finds a good way to use the haunting tropes for scares and drama, we'll be in for something splendid.

It's a shame that Raimi isn't directing himself ' he could knock this one out of the park ' but there's plenty of other directors out there I'd love to see in the canvas chair on this one.

I can't wait to hear more.

Thor, Unkillable Thunder Christ, For July

We knew it might well be coming in Secret Avengers #27. Because of, you know, the cover and content descriptions, and that kind of thing. But instead, it turns out it actually happened in Secret Avengers #26. In deep space, the body of Mar-Vell is captured by the Kree race, who then use the M'Krann'

FCBD 2012: Comics And Collectibles, Memphis, Tennessee

Another look at a comic store going above and beyond this Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, May the 5th.

Memphis Comics & Collectibles will have a signing with Chris Haley, artist on Lets Be Friends Again and Captain American Idol (yes that one) will be signing copies of our new comic' a lot of copies.

He wil be sharing signing space with Adam WarRock, the comic book styled hip hop writer and performer, signing his new album You Dare To Call That Thing Human. He  who will perform a set after the signing closes at 7pm.

The shop will be also running a 20% sale on non-sale stock'

 

Millar Says: Matthew Vaughn Co-Writing Kick-Ass 2, A New Director Has Been Selected, Official Announcement Soon

There are those of you who refuse to believe a single word that comes out of the mouth, keyboard or' anything else of Mark Millar. You might want to click away now.

For the rest of us, here's a series of updates by Mark, as posted to his Millarworld forum.

These snippets all come from his latest Millar Hour thread in which he answered questions from the forum members. We'll start with the Kick-Ass 2 answers.

Kick-Ass 2 films this Summer. I expect there will be an announcement of some sort in the next week. Certainly before Kapow next month for sure.

Matthew [Vaughn] is co-writing and producing, Kick-Ass being a labour of love for him. He selected the perfect director last year and we're very, very happy. Trust him' he knows what he's doing.

Kick-Ass 2 and Supercrooks both around 40 mill budgets, American Jesus 25, and that's quite a nice number for me.

And there's more, on his other films.

For example, Millar is clearly expecting that Joe Carnahan will stay attached to the Nemesis project saying:

Joe Carnahan and I both very busy though. We'll get to this before the end of the year.

And here he is addressing the changes made by filmmakers in adapting his comics:

Nacho spent a week here as we did the Supercrooks screenplay. The comic is a little different as you don't have as much room, but Nacho brought a lot to it. Same with Matthew. We talked about Secret Service for 2 years. He's writing screenplay as I write the comic.

Perhaps he's courting cynicism even more than normal with this next comment, but Millar even has quite a clear calendar in mind regarding American Jesus, both on page and screen:

American Jesus book 2, The Reluctant Messiah, starts in December. Then book three is Summer 2013. The movie is out Easter 2014. All Jesus movies should come out in Easter.

I can't corroborate any of the American Jesus, Secret Service or Supercrooks comments, but I can tell you this: work really has been done on a second Kick-Ass film, a new director really was selected, and a new writer too.

It was news to me that Vaughn was working on the Kick-Ass 2 screenplay, but good news.

The rest' well, as always with Millar, he's ready to talk about his projects a long time ahead of there being anything to show. So far ahead, perhaps, that things could be in serious flux.

Some of the above will most likely come to pass. More of it may not. Kick-Ass 2, though, is a real, ongoing concern. It may not make it to production, but it's certainly in the works, really and honestly.

Now, next time there's one of these Millar Hour things, I think we should all gang up and ask him about his low-budget, directorial debut Miracle Park, where it is and why it was never finished. Those are the Millar movie questions I really want to see answered.

First Images From Django Unchained Introduce The Main Characters

As part of their preview feature on Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino's 'Southern', Entertainment Weekly have premiered the first official promotional shots from the film.

The first of these introduces Christoph Waltz as Dr. King Schulz, the German dentist-cum-mercenary, and Jamie Foxx as Django, the slave that Schulz liberates as part of his revenge plan.

Django is, as the title would suggest, the film's lead character. EW quite Foxx as saying:

All Django wants to do is [rescue] his wife. He's not trying to cure or solve slavery. He just wants to get his life back.

This scene appears to have been shot on the standing set also used for Deadwood, the Santa Clarita Melody Ranch. We previously ran some good images of the set ' just without any actors in them.

In the second image we have Leonardo Di Caprio as Calvin Candie, a plantation owner who pits slave against slave in brutal death matches. He is one of the major obstacles in the path of Schulz and Django. On paper at least, Candie comes across as rather disturbed and this image seems to tap just a little of that.

I'll be very interested to how Kerry Washington looks as Broomhilda, Django's wife, and what look they've given Samuel L. Jackson for his role as Stephen, Candie's manipulative house slave.

Django Unchained will be released in the US on Christmas day. For the rest of the world, the release date is officially 'soon.'

Which essentially means at, around or later than in the US. Not so soon at all.

Preview: Robert Kirkman, Marc Silvestri And Brian Stelfreeze's Hardcore

Neal Adams writes for Bleeding Cool; For everyone who receives this, Tony DeZuniga was the first Filipino artist whose work was accepted by an American Publisher. And it was he who opened up the door for Alex Niño, Nester Redondo, Alfredo Alcala, Rudy Nebres, Dusty Abell, Ernie Chan (Chua), and a dozen other artists. Tony'

Superman #8 ' Before For The Man Who Has Everything

I possibly could have guessed from the cover. But I didn't.

This month's issue of Superman, by Giffen and Jurgens, gives us the Wildstorm villain Helspont in his war against the Daemonites on Earth, but in doing so captured Superman, in a rather familiar fashion.

In a Superman Annual back in the eighties, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons gave us a tale, For The Man Who Has Everything, with Superman captured by an intergalactic dictator, kept passive in a dream by a parasitic plant that gave him his ultimate fantasy, that Krypton had not been destroyed and that he still lived there with a family.

In Superman #8, it's flipped, Superman shown a number of futures by the intergalactic dictator Helspont, using his own mind altering orgamism to warn Superman of the consequences if his continues his life as he does, rather than being subjugated.

You can imagine that it doesn't go well. But it does paint a rather possible future, with Superman hunted down, referred to as an 'it' rather than a person of any description' given recent issues of Justice League, is this the way Superman is going?

Chris Sims wrote a piece mocking Before Watchmen by suggesting other DC Comics by Moore that they could prequelise. I didn't think he expected to be proven right quite so soon.

Comics courtesy of Orbital Comics of London. Their Roger Langridge signing is on Saturday, as well as their new Roger Langridge gallery exhibition into May.

Now Is The Time To Buy The Alien Films On Blu-Ray (But When Isn't It?)

We're getting closer and closer to the release of Ridley Scott's Prometheus every day, and if you still need to do some revision with the other films in the Alien series, you might want to take advantage of this dipped price.

At the moment, the Alien Anthology on Blu-ray is available for just £8.99, or around $17.50 by my calculation. The discs are region free and therefore import friendly.

This is a four-disc edition so you'll get the films and the special features on the film discs ' oodles of commentaries and an alternative cut of each film.

But if you're not the sort who will plough through the 60-odd hours of supplements in the full Anthology set, or if you're just looking to gift someone up and bring them over to Alien fandom, then this box is spot-on. I certainly wouldn't fault the way the films have been presented at all.

I'm planning a full Alien marathon before Prometheus, and I'll definitely including the alternate cut of Alien 3 that's included here alongside the release one. I think I'll go 'theatrical' on the last film, however. Aliens, it's the special edition' but for Alien itself?

Hard one. Both maybe. I'm genuinely torn.

Incidentally, if you do want the full set, that's priced at £17.49 right now, and is also fully region free.

First Image From Ang Lee's Film Of The Life Of Pi

Reputedly making great use of 3D and set to wow us with wall-to-wall but invisible FX work of the highest calibre, Ang Lee's adaptation of The Life of Pi is, in fact, a relatively contemplative and thoughtful drama dressed up with some fantasy trappings.

To say too much more would be to spoil it, but fans of Yann Martel's original novel are many and vocal and could possibly drive this to some solid box office come December. It would certainly to have a good chance come awards season too.

The first image from the film shows Pi on his boat with the Bengal tiger, Richard Parker.

This nice big version of the image was posted by The Criterion Cast.

Sign Me Up for the Kool-Aid: My Voice on Sound Of My Voice

Let's dissect the first twelve minutes of Sound of My Voice, the new film from Fox Searchlight Pictures in association with 1737 Films / Skyscraper.

The first thing I'm going to need you to do is check out the trailer, so you know the context, and then we'll discuss.

So, Peter and Lorna are documentary filmmakers intent on investigating and discrediting a Los Angeles cult leader. And they get a little too wrapped up in it.

I watched the first twelve minutes of Sound of My Voice (and you can too; see below). But here are my thoughts on the three scenes presented in the film's opening:

First, the couple of Peter and Lorna are provided strict instructions on the way to approach and gain entrance to the cult. There's something truly unnerving about the sequence, as they read the rules and are approached by a silent, imposing figure. Don't get out of the car. Remove your possessions. Dress in the garments of followers. Put on a blindfold. The sequence is a balance of follower faith (or risk, as we know that Peter and Lorna are subversives) and cult leader distrust. From this first sequence alone, you immediately want the cult to be brought down. It's a bad thing, and you know it.

We move onto the 'entrance exam,' as a cult higher-up, Klaus, engages Peter in a sophisticated and undeniably silly dap greeting. Despite all the slapping, fist bumping, and hand-jiving, it's a test that's taken very seriously. Klaus is cold, almost dangerous, as he and Peter perform the greeting. As ludicrous as the experience is, you can read a hint of fear in Peter's expression, until that moment when the greeting is completed, and the once-predatory Klaus becomes a kindly, welcoming older man. The switch is flipped, and Klaus' humanity is turned on. Chilling.

And then' we meet Maggie.

This is how cults grow in power and influence. For all the outlandish behavior, the very obvious and sinister shadiness of it, there's something that appeals, that draws us in. Maggie, quiet and peaceful as she can be, has a magnetism about her ' she's mysterious and alluring, fragile and believable. She tells a tale of herself as a victim, lost in the strange and frightening landscape of the Big City (haven't we all been there?). It's a performance that makes us, as viewers, drop our guard. I may not be 100% convinced that Maggie's a time-lost prophet from the future, but I'm compelled to learn more about her.

If the rest of the film can unnerve me and keep me guessing as much as its opening sequence, then Sound of My Voice will have me gladly drinking the Kool-Aid.

Now it's your turn. Let's see if you feel the same. Enjoy the first twelve minutes below.

REmake/REmodel: The Shadow Competition Results

The Bleeding Cool competition. Redesign The Shadow,win an Alex Ross sketch cover of The Shadow #1 and a Jae Lee sketch cover of #1. Here are some of the entires we received' and the winning two at the end!

Robert Rath ' It was a tough challenge to come up with a way to redesign The Shadow that didn't suddenly turn him into an existing character. Put a mask on him? Suddenly he's the Golden Age Sandman. Goggles? Dr. MidNite. And on and on'.I thought it would be fun to make him more Steampunk inspired, so that's the direction I took.

 

Kenny Matlock

 

Jacob Haynes

 

Timothy Lim

 

 

Chris Campbell ' The design for this was tough to get it straightened out at first but I wanted to try to stay original and true to The Shadow and his Legacy, so I kept his traditional scarf and his cape, But I went with a cloak instead of a hat to try to make him look even more mysterious. as for the things on his sides I figured I'd add gun holsters to his belt. as well as Gauntlets and armor instead of the overcoat' I tried my best on this piece, I'm still trying to my best to improve on my art.

 

 

Matt Price ' His redesigned mind power is, The Shabro has the ability to 'Blind the brains of bad brothers, with visions of big booty bitches!'

 

Karl Brown ' In the interests of full disclosure, most of the figures are traced from some fairly easily identifiable Disney stills ' Guess which one was hand drawn?

 

Dene Conway

Raymond  Roel ' My idea for the redesign is simple.  When the host (Cranston)  is asleep the 'shadow' emerges from him.  The Shadow now in physical form can become virtually anything or anyone easily disappearing into smoke or darkness. The Shadow is unstoppable unless The host is woken or killed. [I read DP7 too - Rich]

 

 

 

Dave Withers

Sean Andress

Evan M Dent

Matt Kane

Basically its clothing that projects what is behind you.  Basically making you invisible.

Now my idea is that the Shadow's outfit is made of this technology.  His name is derived from a Shadow is about the only thing you can see when it is active.

If you can imagine the pic it would be a faint outline of a person plus the trademark hat and scarf, the only real visible piece is his eyes, except for the shadow that can clearly be seen on the ground.

Jason Smith

Jay Sellers

1) The Chav Shadow ' baseball cap and Burberry scarf with two bling guns

2) The Brit Shadow ' bowler hat, red umbrella and a walking stick ( with a silver handle in the shape of a nose)

3) The Future Shadow ' robot with on-going snigger every time a joint moves ( hahahaha), key processor unit in the nose and two laser guns

Alan Henderson

RUNNER UP: ' winner of the Jae Lee sketch cover.

Phoebe Peterson

WINNER: ' winner of the Alex Ross sketch cover.

 

Kent Heidelman ' The concept of my character is that he's albino and his shadow is all white and it comes alive and attacks!   Except it's not alive at all.  It's all just hypnotic, because he's a master of hypnosis (like the original shadow).  People just imagine it and hurt themselves! I wanted half and half of old and new.  So I flipped color scheme on head and instead of shadow being the only thing seen by criminals' to the focus of his attacks against them. His classic shadow ring is now his main weapon for hypnotic attacks (continuing old and new theme).  As well as an extra brooch (because brooches are awesome on men, haha).  He also has a hidden sword in his umbrella for when hypnosis fails (always does sometime right?).  Along with far east mystical training he has eastern sword style training.  I also kept the classic red bandana as a swell necker-chif.

 

Andy Lau Said To Be Lining Up Role In Iron Man 3, Bringing His Iron Army With Him

As soon as it was announced that Iron Man 3 would be co-produced by a Chinese company, as well as partially filmed in the country, I started speculating as to which Chinese stars would be making an appearance.

First to get linked to the film is Andy Lau, star of Infernal Affairs, House of Flying Daggers and Detective Dee. I'm sure he's far from the last.

Neon Punch (via Twitch) say that he's in negotiations to play 'an old friend of Tony Stark' who enlists China's own armored heroes ' I didn't even know they had any ' to help fight The Mandarin.

It seems a little awkward that the notoriously censorious Chinese film industry would support a film that features a villain called The Mandarin, but who knows: maybe he won't even be Chinese in this new film.

Or perhaps Andy Lau and the iron army do more than enough to redress the balance? Neon Punch are reputable enough, and I think they're at least working with a kernel of truth here, however the fine points shake out.

How long now, do you think, until a Chinese movie star heads up a Hollywood movie, all by themselves? It's starting to look more and more likely that somebody will take that gamble soon.

Avengers Assemble: Action Figure Smackdown.

Well, if Archie Comics are doing it, why not the Legion Of Superheroes?  Take this fight scene with a certain physically malleable young lady. Going in for the kill there, she's got no leverage, what's she going to' Of course, grow a ten foot hinged barbed penis. That will work. Still, despite the fighting, at'

Dave McKean On The Power Of Story, Mythologizing Jesus And Retelling The Passion

I recently got to sit and speak with Dave McKean for a good long chat, about his past and future work, both in print and on screen, and particularly about his current film, The Gospel of Us.

McKean's film was filmed over the Easter weekend in 2011, capturing and reframing a live, three-day theatrical event that located the story of the Passion Play in modern Port Talbot. Michael Sheen took the lead role of The Teacher, an analog of Jesus Christ, and over three days, acted out the gospel of his trial, suffering and death.

For McKean, this film is not a simple case of following the play with a video camera on his shoulder, nor of simply tossing out a tale from the Bible. His ambitions lie in exploring belief, and the power of story ' and not just this one.

Here is some of what he told me about how this film came together in the way that he wanted it.

The Port Talbot Passion happened whether I was there or not. I'm credited as being a director but I didn't direct anything [of the play]. Whatever happened between Michael and Bill Mitchell, his co-director, and Owen, his co-writer, happened whether I was there or not. I just fetched up in Port Talbot with nine other camera men.

Ten cameras in all. We had a day briefing where we went round to all of the locations and told them, as far as I knew, what would happen, when it would happen, and from which direction the actors would come in. We tried to work out which shots we would have tried to get if we had been shooting 'a proper film.' I told them, roughly, what kind of shots I like, and what shots I imagined working well.

I knew it would have a guerrilla style, documentary style, because it would have to, with people all around fighting for room. For this, I like stuff in the foreground and finding the subject in the background, dirty shots, and asymmetry. Changing focus or zooms during the shots were down to them. We took on people who were not just camera operators but fully fledged DPs. They didn't have crews and were completely autonomous units ' a man and a camera.

My tacit agreement with Michael and the theatre company was that we would be discreet, blend in with the crowd. That was the only way they would allow it to happen. We just shot stuff like it was a live event. Like a real thing. The actual direction, if any took place, was in the selection and shaping of that material.

My film is my witness of what happened and even though I've added animation and effects and various treatments, essentially, that's what I saw. As that story was telling, that's what was going on in my mind.

I'm an illustrator really, and so that was the relationship here too. Michael and the theatre piece were like the writer creating the text, and then I, as the illustrator, shaped it and emphasised certain things, and tried to communicate the ideas in the best way for an audience.

I worked out what the ideas were, for me. And it's very much a personal thing. Owen has written a novel, and that's his gospel. The locals who were at the premiere had made this beautiful big exhibition and that's their gospel. It is a parallel of how story works.

And if the film is about anything it's about how story works. There probably was a man called Christ ' there's scant evidence for it but let's just say there was. Let's say that he was a traveling preacher, one of many. Let's say he was a very charismatic man and he said some very sensible and wonderful things. And let's say that he upset locals, and powers in the local religious groups, and that the Romans crucified him ' they crucified thousands of people, it was common practice. And out of these little pieces of historical evidence, these powerful and extraordinary stories developed.

The weird thing is, even now, in our age of 24 hour news and CCTV, there were people in Port Talbot that swore that The Stereophonics played at the social club [during the weekend of The Passion]. They didn't. Already it's been fictionalised, even in an era when everything is recorded. So imagine what it was like 2000 years ago when nothing was recorded and it was all word of mouth.

What we're dealing with is a mythologised version of a kernel of truth, and that's what I wanted to try and suggest with the film ' what we're watching is a mythologized version of a little piece of truth. I'm not a religious person but I think the power of the story, and it's a great story, is its ability to be reinterpreted, and to still mean something today.

The Gospel of Us is currently touring the UK, with Dave McKean appearing, as he said, at some screenings, for a Q&A. Keep an eye on the New Cinema Quarterly page to see if it will be coming your way.

Lots more from McKean later.

Rian Hughes Designs New Valiant Logo

Well, if Archie Comics are doing it, why not the Legion Of Superheroes?  Take this fight scene with a certain physically malleable young lady. Going in for the kill there, she's got no leverage, what's she going to' Of course, grow a ten foot hinged barbed penis. That will work. Still, despite the fighting, at'

Sunday Runaround ' Brian Wood's Free Massive

PoliticsWatch: Ostensibly a kids comic, the rather successful Spirou in France goes rather political with its upcoming issue, declaring that in the midst of political uproar, France needs saving. The last time it did this was when Belgium was without a government'

NovelWatch: Darkroom, is an autobiographical graphic novel by Lila Quintero Weaver about growing up in Alabama, in a time of racial upheaval. And it gets reviewed by those who live there.

As the years passed, the young Lila Quintero became more aware of the segregation and racial tension around her. In fact, being brown-skinned (her father's skin was designated wheat color), with full lips, put her into an uncomfortable no-man's land. She was not the same kind of Anglo white as her neighbors, but was not African-American either. And she had no culturally inherited racial prejudices.

LegacyWatch: Nicolas de Crecy and David B are feted as continuing the legacy of Moebius, by the Guardian.

So David B is pretty good; one of the most sophisticated cartoonists in the world, even. Certainly The Armed Garden blows the mind. But when it comes to producing work that is indescribably strange and yet beautiful, even he must bow before the 'mad genius' of French comics, Nicolas de Crecy.

DigitalWatch: Marvel is being seen as a digital pioneer for their embedded digital code in print copies' and the New York Post sees it as a model for other magazine publishers.

ClothesWatch: Cartoonist Paul Rainey tweeted 'I split my trousers in Gosh Comics this morning.'

This is Computo the Comic Link Conqueror speaking. I come for your women. But for now I merely collate comic-related bits and pieces online. One day I will rule. Until that day, read on.

They say I am a work in progress. The fools.

Read The Massive & Save the Planet this Earth Day :: Blog :: Dark Horse Comics

So head on over to the Dark Horse Digital store and download The Massive digital one-shot for FREE on EARTH DAY this Sunday!

DC Women Kicking Ass ' Before Super BFF there was almost Supergirls

Artist Saxton Moore posted some illustrations on Flickr this week that caught my attention. He told me they were for a never done animated project called 'Supergirls'

 

Isaac Perlmutter, Packing Heat And Pushing Disney

I've been frequently told that Isaac Perlmutter, billionaire, CEO of Marvel and largest shareholder of Disney now that Steve Jobs has died, and veteran of the Six Day War, is usually armed.

Well, the New York Post list him as one of the one percent in New York City with a gun license.

Which might be handy, if he ever bumps into Rich Ross in a dark alleyway. Recently fired as Disney Studio Chairman, with Kevin Feige rumoured to replace him, Deadline fingers Isaac Perlmutter as one of those with the knives in their hand. Or semi-automatics, in Perlmutter's case. They also report;

The comic book, TV, and film entertainment company's Israeli owner Ike Perlmutter is not just a notoriously tough customer but a budget-obsessed megalomaniac besides a recluse. He has taken control of Disney's consumer products division already (firing here, fixing there), and my sources tell me he is making Iger's life miserable with back-seat managing of everything, especially Walt Disney Studios. ('Iger has real problems with Ike. That's the real story,' one of my insiders tells me. 'Bob thought he could handle him. But Ike is uncharmable.')

New York-based industry veteran Heidi MacDonald backs this up, saying;

Although Marvel's publishing business is still being more or less left alone to do its comics thing, it is increasingly in the middle of Disney's New York real estate problem. Disney Publishing's lease on its New York office is up and a new home is being sought. Much of the staff was relocated to White Plains several years ago, but the editorial offices are still in New York. Ike has reportedly volunteered to have them move into Marvel's midtown offices'offices which are already 'snug', shall we say. The plan hasn't been approved'Disney has an entire department given over just to moving people around and they operate with military efficiency. They might even require more than one bathroom for their floor plan.

This also remains the only available photo of Ike, courtesy of Forbes. I don't suppose anyone else has another? No Montgomery Burns pics please, I'm serious.

WB Confirm That They're Going To Piggy Back New Dark Knight Trailer On Avengers

A third Dark Knight Rises trailer is on the way, and Warner Bros. have confirmed to Deadline that it's going to screen with The Avengers in the US.

It's very unlikely that it will roll out in time for the UK release of The Av' Marvel Avengers Assemble, but I'm sure a lot of cinema chains will add it into the mix when it becomes available. Makes sense from their end too.

The only people who could have some beef, I suppose, are Marvel Studios and their Disney chums, but they'd do the same thing too if the release dates were the other way around.

Apparently, the third Dark Knight trailer was paired with Iron Man and the final Inception promo was tagged onto Iron Man 2. Marvel have, in their way. been good to Chris Nolan throughout the years.

The Seven Year Old Batman Of Arlington

How a city government helped a seven year old kid with leukemia fulfill his dreams. Even if they happen to want to be Batman.

Kye's first mission was to stop a robbery in progress at Worthington National bank in downtown Arlington. With the help of an adult Batman ' and his brother and sister sidekicks Robin and Batgirl ' Kye apprehended the Joker and returned the bank's money.

After a lunch break ' a hero needs to stay fueled up! ' the young Batman was back to work, arresting a would-be purse snatcher. Next, he and his team were called to respond to a car bomb placed by the Riddler. Kye got to see the city's bomb robot and bomb squad in action as they removed and safely detonated the pretend bomb.

Police and fire officers of Arlington, Virginia, volunteered their time to help set up the experience with Wish With Wings . His mother dressed up as Batwoman, his brother and sister played Robin and Batgirl and got an award on the steps of City Hall from the mayor for his behaviour.

In other real life superhero news, a self-styled 'She Hulk' dragged a man who was flashing his genitalia around, off the train in Boston, holding him down until the police arrived.

Agent 13's Pulp Fiction And Comic Book Origins Revealed

As Universal take a stake in Rupert Wyatt's sci-fi action film, Agent 13, many more details have come to light.

It's not, as I had (perhaps naively) assumed, an original project, but derived from the pulp novels and comics published in the 80s by Starship Troopers: Invasion screenwriter Flint Dille and David Marconi, himself a successful scribe ' or, at least, the man behind the scripts for Enemy of the State and the last Die Hard film. It's not yet totally clear if either will be involved in the Agent 13 movie at all, but the pitch to studios was developed by TS Nowlin so it's a 'probably not.'

Charlize Theron is the only actor known to be attached to the movie right now, though as Heat Vision observe, this won't be in the lead role of Agent 13, who is a chap. My best guess is that she'll be cast as Maggie Darr, another operative in the same agency, and kind of Theron-looking in the art I can see ' though there is also a character called China White that might be a contender.

I've not read the books or comics, though there's a lot of info out there about what they contain (think: Sam Spade goes Rocketeer-ish on the trail of the Illuminati), and the covers themselves tell a lot of the story. Here's a compendium of that artwork.