The first issue of Serenity: Better Days, a new three-issue series set between Firefly and Serenity written by Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews hits comic shops tomorrow! Will Conrad, who also worked with Whedon and Matthews on 2005's Serenity: Those Left Behind series returns for the series.
Better Days revisits everyone's favorite space cowboys in this thrilling, action-packed adventure, with Mal and his crew on a heist that promises a big payoff--what's surprising is that this heist just might make good on that promise.
Whedon reunites with Brett Matthews and Will Conrad, his collaborators on the best-selling 2005 series Those Left Behind. Adam Hughes joins the team for covers.
* Prequel series to the blockbuster film Serenity by Joss Whedon.
* Front covers by critically acclaimed Adam Hughes.
* Serenity: Those Left Behind has sold over 85,000 copies!
Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews return to Serenity!
Also check out CBR's preview of issue #2 for more!
On sale in March 12, 2008 • 40 PGS./FC, $2.99
press release:
Mark Millar, creator of Chosen, published by Dark Horse Comics, will be the special guest at New York’s Midtown Comics, Times Square location. Dark Horse has created a free, limited Chosen print for the occasion. Chosen is the latest graphic novel in the Millarworld line of books from writer Mark Millar, (The Ultimates, Superman: Red Son).
Millar will sign at the store on Saturday, September 24 from 2:00-5:00 P.M. The Saturday signing is a first for the location. Midtown Comics store owner Gahl Buslov is excited about the event: “We may see a bigger turnout than expected because this group can now attend a signing that normally they weren’t able to attend. It’s something we’ve wanted to try for a while. Now that we have a big enough name, we are expecting fans and weekend tourists in the store”.
Chosen is being released as a trade paperback by Dark Horse in October. Midtown Comics, Times Square is located at 200 West 40th Street, New York.
press release:
Spirit of Will Eisner Lives on at Eisner Awards
The 17th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards were bestowed on Friday July 15 in a gala ceremony in the ballroom at the San Diego Convention Center. The awards event was dedicated to Eisner, who died in January. His presence was felt throughout the evening, as presenter after presenter shared thoughts about the late comics giant. The ceremony was preceded by a slide show of Eisner’s career and a video with taped tributes from many creators who couldn’t attend, including Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, and Dave Sim. Will’s widow, Ann, appeared briefly on stage to welcome everyone.
The Eisner award winners were spread out among a variety of creators and titles, with only a few projects winning two trophies. The multiple winners were Kyle Baker and Plastic Man (Best Writer/Artist Humor; Best Publication for a Younger Audience), Eric Powell and The Goon (Best Humor Publication, Best Continuing Series), Brian K. Vaughan and Ex Machina (Best Writer, Best New Series), Fables (Best Serialized Story, Best Cover Artist for James Jean), and The Complete Peanuts (Best Archival Project, Best Publication Design).
Dave Gibbons’s The Originals (Vertigo) took the Best Graphic Album–New category, while Jeff Smith’s massive Bone One Volume Edition was named Best Graphic Album–Reprint. The Best Single Issue award went to Dan Clowes’ Eightball #23, following in the footsteps of the 2002 win for Eightball #22. Similarly, Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha vols. 3-4 was awarded Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material, the category won by vols. 1-2 last year.
Comic Book Artist won the Best Comics-Related Periodical for the fourth time, while the Best Comics-Related Book award went to Gerard Jones’s Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book. The first winner of the award for Best Digital Comic was Brian Fies for the autobiographical "Mom’s Cancer," and many members of his family were on hand to see him accept. Writer Sean McKeever (A Waiting Place, Mary Jane) took home the trophy for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition.
Among publishers, DC Comics and its imprints had seven (plus five shared) winners, led by Plastic Man, Ex Machina, and Fables. The Best Penciller/Inker category was a tie between two DC artists: John Cassaday (WildStorm’s Planetary, along with Astonishing X-Men for Marvel) and Frank Quitely (Vertigo’s WE3). DC creators also took home the honors for Best Painter (Teddy Kristiansen for the graphic novel It’s a Bird . . .) and portions of Best Coloring (Dave Stewart) and Best Lettering (Todd Klein—his 12th win in the category). The Best Limited Series award went to Darwyn Cooke’s popular DC: The New Frontier.
Dark Horse can claim five winners along with shares of two others. Besides Powell’s The Goon, Dark Horse winners included Best Anthology (Michael Chabon’sThe Amazing Adventures of the Escapist), Best Writer/Artist (Paul Chadwick for Concrete: The Human Dilemma), and Best Short Story (Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson’s "Unfamiliar").
The Peanuts and Eightball wins gave Fantagraphics three awards. Marvel shared in three awards (Penciller/Inker, Lettering, Coloring), but no other publisher had more than one winner.
Sergio Aragonés presented the Hall of Fame Awards. The judges’ choice awards went to the Golden Age artist Lou Fine and to the Asterix team of René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. The four elected inductees were Johnny Craig, Hugo Pratt, Nick Cardy, and Gene Colan. Both Cardy and Colan were present to accept their trophies. Adele Kurtzman accepted for Craig.
Besides Aragonés, Eisner presenters included Denis Kitchen, Jill Thompson, Scott McCloud, Joss Whedon, Michael Uslan, Michael Chabon, Pia Guerra, Dave Gibbons, and Jeff Smith. All made introductory comments about Will Eisner, from amusing anecdotes to heartfelt gratitude.
Among the other awards given out over the evening were the Comic-Con’s Clampett and Manning awards. The Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, presented by Bob’s daughter Ruth, went to George Pérez for his donation of artwork to raise money for several charities, especially A.C.T.O.R. The Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award went to Chris Bailey, writer/artist of the all-ages title Major Damage, published by Sky Dog Press.
New this year was the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing. The chair of the awards jury, Jerry Robinson, presented the first Bill Finger Awards to Jerry Siegel (accepted by his widow, Joanne) and to Arnold Drake, who roused the crowd with a hilarious a caeplla song about the San Diego Comic-Con.
The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award was presented by Joe Ferrara. This year’s winner was Night Flight Comics of Salt Lake City, owned by Mimi Cruz and Alan Carroll. CBLDF board member Greg Ketter presented the Fund’s Defender of Freedom Award to Denis Kitchen, founder of the Fund, who spoke about the fact that 20 years after its inception the Fund is needed more than ever.
The major sponsor for the 2005 Eisner Awards is mycomicsshop.com. The principal sponsors are Century Guild, Diamond Comic Distributors, Gentle Giant, Isotope, and Odd Lott. Supporting sponsors include Alternate Reality Comics (Las Vegas), Atlantis Fantasyworld (Santa Cruz, CA), Comic Relief—The Comic Bookstore (Berkeley, CA), comicsunlimited.com, Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff (Concord, CA), Quebecor Printing, and Star*Reach. Ballots were tabulated by Mel Thompson and Associates.
Following is a complete list of the 2005 award winners. More information on the awards can be found at www.comic-con.org.
Winners, 2005 Eisner Awards:
Best Short Story: ""Unfamiliar," by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson, in The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft (Dark Horse Books)
Best Single Issue (or One-Shot): Eightball #23: "The Death Ray," by Dan Clowes (Fantagraphics)
Best Serialized Story: Fables #19-27: "March of the Wooden Soldiers," by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, and Steve Leialoha (Vertigo/DC)
Best Continuing Series:The Goon, by Eric Powell (Dark Horse)
Best Limited Series: DC: The New Frontier, by Darwyn Cooke (DC)
Best New Series: Ex Machina, by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris, and Tom Fesiter (WildStorm/DC)
Best Publication for a Younger Audience: Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker and Scott Morse (DC)
Best Humor Publication: The Goon, by Eric Powell (Dark Horse)
Best Anthology: Michael Chabon Presents The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, edited by Diana Schutz and David Land (Dark Horse)
Best Digital Comic: Mom's Cancer, by Brian Fies
Best Graphic Album—New: The Originals, by Dave Gibbons (Vertigo/DC)
Best Graphic Album—Reprint: Bone One Volume Edition, by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books)
Best Archival Collection/Project: The Complete Peanuts, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material: Buddha, vols. 3-4 by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)
Best Writer: Brian K. Vaughan, Y: The Last Man (Vertigo/DC); Ex Machina (WildStorm/DC); Runaways (Marvel)
Best Writer/Artist: Paul Chadwick, Concrete: The Human Dilemma (Dark Horse)
Best Writer/Artist—Humor: Kyle Baker, Plastic Man (DC); Kyle Baker, Cartoonist (Kyle Baker Publishing)
Best Penciller/Inker (tie): John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); Planetary (WildStorm/DC); I Am Legion: The Dancing Faun (Humanoids/DC); Frank Quitely, WE3 (Vertigo/DC)
Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art): Teddy Kristiansen, It’s a Bird . . . (Vertigo/DC)
Best Coloring: Dave Stewart, Daredevil, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Six, Captain America (Marvel); Conan, BPRD (Dark Horse); DC: The New Frontier (DC)
Best Lettering: Todd Klein, Promethea; Tom Strong; Tom Strong’s Terrific Tales (ABC); Wonder Woman (DC); Books of Magick: Life During Wartime; Fables; WE3 (Vertigo/DC); Creatures of the Night (Dark Horse)
Best Cover Artist: James Jean, Fables (Vertigo/DC); Green Arrow, Batgirl (DC)
Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition: Sean McKeever (A Waiting Place; Mary Jane; Inhumans; Sentinels)
Best Comics-Related Periodical: Comic Book Artist, edited by Jon B. Cooke (Top Shelf)
Best Comics-Related Book: Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book, by Gerard Jones (Basic Books)
Best Publication Design: The Complete Peanuts, designed by Seth (Fantagraphics)
Hall of Fame: Judges’ choices: Lou Fine; René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo; Voters’ choices: Nick Cardy, Gene Colan, Johnny Craig, Hugo Pratt
Other awards presented:
Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award: George Pérez
Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award: Chris Bailey (Major Damage)
Bill Finger Excellence in Comic Writing Award: Jerry Siegel, Arnold Drake
Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award: Night Flight Comics, Salt Lake City; Mimi Cruz and Alan Carroil, owners
CBLDF Defender of Liberty Award: Denis Kitchen
Tales of hustlers in the film noir comic-book adaptation 'Sin City' took top honors at the North American box office over the weekend, knocking 'Beauty Shop,' into second place. R-rated 'Sin City' pulled in enough viewers to make $28.1 million at North American theaters, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations on April 3, 2005. Rosario Dawson and Clive Owen star in the film. Perhaps the most literal translation of a comic book to film to date, Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s Sin City is based on the graphic novels Sin City: The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill and That Yellow Bastard.
The film’s budget was an estimated $40 million, and opened in 3,230 theaters, averaging $8,707 per screen. For Rodriguez, it was his second best opening ever, after 2003's Spy Kids 3D, which saw an opening weekend take of $33.4 million.
Sin City easily beat the weekend’s #2 film, Beauty Shop, which brought in $13.5 million. Currently, the film is the third best April-opening film ever, behind Anger Management and The Scorpion King. Last April, Hellboy, also based on a Dark Horse Comics published property opened with $23.2 million.
The movie has received largely positive reviews, both from critics who know of its roots, as well as those who encountered Miller’s city without pity for the first time on the screen. Unrelentingly violent, the film has also attracted critics for its portrayal of several murders and acts of revenge, with some of the more bizarre commentators wagging a finger at audiences for making it the #1 movie the weekend during which the Pope died.
In perhaps a pre-emptive move against possible complaints about the violence, many theater chains checked IDs of all patrons seeing the movie, making sure that no one under 17 was admitted, unaccompanied by a parent or guardian. Some individuals reported being carded when they purchased the tickets, and again at the door to the theater where the film was being shown.
Mark Bagley still on Ultimate Spider-Man
from Ugo.com
Fan-favorite Spider-Man artist Mark Bagley has extended his exclusive contract with Marvel Comics, re-confirming his ties with the company he's called home since the beginning of his comic book career.
"I'm enjoying my working situation more every day I'm with Marvel," said the penciller. "I'm working with a terrific creative team and have wonderful support from both editorial and the big guys upstairs. A commitment from Marvel is a hell of a compliment. I've had an incredibly stable and fulfilling career with Marvel, and I'm as happy with the company now as I've ever been. And I think the contract means they are just as happy with me."
Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley is more than delighted with Bagley's work and his long-time association with the company. "I'm blown away by the length of Mark's tenure on Spidey's books. He's outdistanced both Steve Ditko and John Romita, Sr. in that respect and he's at least equaled them in putting a definitive and unique stamp on the character."
"We know a good thing when we see it, and we want Mark to know we love him and appreciate the incredible time and energy he puts into the Marvel characters," said Joe Quesada, Marvel Editor-in-Chief. "We're proud he got his start right here...he's our Marvel Boy!"
Bagley is well known for having gotten his professional artistic start by winning the famed Marvel Try-Out Contest. From there he distinguished himself on such titles as Amazing Spider-Man, New Warriors, Thunderbolts, The Pulse, and currently is wowing the fannish masses on the immensely popular Ultimate Spider-Man book. He's also been teamed with a bevy of top writers, including Brian Michael Bendis, Kurt Busiek, and Fabian Nicieza.
The artist is quick to recognize the warm and favorable reaction he's gotten from Marvel readers and the creative talent he's worked alongside since the beginning. "I'm pretty proud of my Thunderbolts work. It was gratifying the way the fans embraced the series. I look at my Ultimate Spider-Man work as a blessing. It is so great to work with such a talented bunch of guys, and the fact that fans so enjoy the book is really a tribute to the team."
Bagley's immediate future brings him to the drawing board, producing the kind of pages his fans like best. "I'm trying to make Ultimate Spidey my main focus for the time being. We're doing six fewer issues this year, and I'm really going to try and bring all I can to the book."
The New Batgirl?No, thats not a typo.
The Caped Crusader will be joined by Batgirl when Season 2 of The Batman begins in the fall. (The first year is still airing on WB Saturdays at 10:30 am/ET, with repeats on Cartoon Network on Saturdays at 8:30 pm/ET beginning April 2.)
As in previous TV and comic-book incarnations, this Dark Knight Damsel is Police Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara. But in a new twist, she's just a teenager who turns to fighting crime with cape and cowl after her father puts the kibosh on her plans to become a police detective.
Batgirl's fighting style will be heavily influenced by her background as an Olympic gymnastics hopeful. "She has this nice, explosive little-kid dynamic," says producer and art director Jeff Matsuda.
At first, Batman doesn't approve of a youngster getting in the middle of Gotham City's depraved underworld. "But he also knows he can't stop her," Matsuda says. "Later on, we'll probably have that moment where he accepts her, but in the beginning, it's more of a stay-out-of-my-way deal."
Matsuda based the Batgirl character's design on the '60s live-action Batman series, especially the striking purple hue made famous by Yvonne Craig. He also cops to being influenced by "the cartoons I grew up on," including Battle of the Planets and Thundercats. Kids' WB! unveiled its 2005-2006 lineup on Wednesday, including the return of The Batman for a second season that will include Batgirl.
The Batman will air this fall on Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. and will also air weekdays at 4:30 p.m.
Here's how the network describes the new season:
"In this captivating second season, The Batman will face a little competition to protect the citizens of Gotham from a teenaged girl -- Batgirl. She has just flown into town to do her part in keeping the streets safe from the most dangerous and occasionally hysterical super villains out there. Is there enough room in Gotham for two Caped Crusaders?"
Marvel Movie Magic
X-men 3 has been confirmed to release on May 26, 2006 & they're looking for extras. Why not be one? And on the Spider-Man front, Thomas Hayden Church will take on the role of Sandman, not Venom as it was previously speculated. Also, here's an important excerpt from the interview in the New York Daily News:
But at 30, Sevigny is mellow about it all. After a decade as the poster child for edgy movies, the party girl from Darien, Conn., has let it be known she wants to go mainstream.
Way mainstream.
"I'd love to be in 'Spider-Man 3!'" Sevigny says. "There's a villain in it who's a blond, buxom girl, and I'm trying to get it!
"That [may] surprise people, since actors are always thought of as their last film or who they were. I think I'll always be drawn to films more difficult to watch, but I don't want to be a snobby cinephile."
Now who does that sound like? The planned release date is May 4, 2007.
Best Buy, Free Movies & Sin CityStarting March 27, electronics chain Best Buy will give out free DVDs promoting April 1 theatrical release Sin City, from Dimension.
Consumers will be able to get the teaser DVDs--which contain a trailer, behind-the-scenes interviews and scenes from the film--with the purchase of any CD, DVD or videogame. Also included are promos for Dimension movies currently on DVD and $50 worth of Best Buy coupons toward purchases of those titles. The giveaway will be featured prominently in the March 27 circular.
The chain first tried this type of theatrical cross-promotion with last March's Hellboy, giving out more than 300,000 teaser DVDs in the few weeks before the movie's premiere. On Sin City, the giveaway window is only a week long, so Best Buy will give out about 150,000 discs this time, according to Rob Cummins, business team leader for movies.
"We identified properties like Hellboy and now Sin City quite a ways out, and our goal is to give our customers something that … will put them in the know amongst their peer group about what's cool and exciting," Cummins said. This sort of theatrical marketing rewards customers for coming into the store regularly and builds loyalty, he added.
There's an upside for the studios involved as well.
"The theatrical division sees it as a grassroots opportunity to promote their movie beyond just what they'll do on TV, and home video sees it as a chance to probably sell some catalog," Cummins said.
With less than a week until the opening of Sin City, the anticipation is through the roof. "Sin City" is the title that Miller gave his cult comic-book series of the early 1990s, the tawdry, salacious depiction of which will spill onto the big screen next Friday in a film he co-directed with Robert Rodriguez. Based on the series of graphic novels created, written, and illustrated by Miller, Sin City is infested with criminals, crooked cops and sexy dames, some searching for vengeance, some for redemption and others, both. The movie incorporates storylines from three of Miller's graphic novels including 'Sin City,' which launched the long-running, critically acclaimed series, as well as 'That Yellow Bastard' and 'The Big Fat Kill.'
In Miller's Sin City, even the good guys are hard-drinking brutes with a barely restrained lust for the kill. The femmes fatales wield cigarettes like weapons, have legs up to there and breasts straight out of a teenage boy's fevered dream. The prostitutes are armed and dangerous, and they police the red-light district themselves - no cops allowed. Corrupt politicians are in cahoots with the church (jointly harboring pedophiles and serial killers); the town's sleazy bars are just brawls waiting to happen. In other words, "Sin City" takes the tropes of pulp fiction and film noir, crosses them with the outsized surrealism of the comics, and spikes it all with a toxic dose of horror-movie violence and sadomasochistic kink. It ain't pretty. But if you don't have the stomach for it, then stay the hell out.
Miramax, which produced the $40 million flick, is betting audiences will clamor to get in: "Sin City" is one of the most aggressively promoted movies of the spring, with an all-star cast that includes Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Rosario Dawson, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy, Benicio Del Toro and Nick Stahl. As helmed by Rodriguez ("El Mariachi," "Spy Kids") and Miller (on his first foray into film directing), it might well rank as the most faithful comic book adaptation ever: The actors were shot against green screen and the backdrops created digitally, often matching up panel for panel with the original comic - all in an effort to reproduce Miller's distinctive chiaroscuro lighting and skewed perspectives.
"Nobody's ever come this close to being this faithful," says the newly minted director by telephone two weeks before the "Sin City" opening. Miller, who also wrote the classics "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" and "Ronin," should know: Both "Daredevil" and "Elektra," recent movies based on two other Miller tales, sorely lacked the visual style and zest of the originals. And his last tour of duty in Hollywood - writing the screenplay for "RoboCop 2" - found the fiercely independent Miller at odds with the studio. So when Rodriguez first approached him about the possibility of adapting "Sin City," Miller had a one-word answer: No.
"I took an instant liking to Robert," Miller says, "but I turned him down. I just couldn't see it being done. I was afraid the endings would be changed and the whole thing made much nicer. It'd be shown to focus groups who'd say it was too violent." It wasn't until Rodriguez invited Miller down to his Texas studio to film a test scene (at the director's own expense) that he clinched the deal. As Miller recalls it, he arrived in Austin to find actors Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton already on the set. Quentin Tarantino showed up to "guest direct" one memorable scene: a surreal conversation between Dwight (Owen) and Jackie Boy (Del Toro) - the latter happens to be dead, incidentally - as they speed down a rain-slicked highway.
Here's a list of Miller must-haves:
Sin City (Dark Horse) The seven volumes of Frank Miller's noir-inspired tale of crime and redemption in the nightmarish title city: "The Hard Goodbye" ($17), "A Dame to Kill For" ($17), "The Big Fat Kill" ($17), "That Yellow Bastard" ($19), "Family Values" ($12), "Booze, Broads & Bullets" ($15) and "Hell and Back" ($28).
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (DC, $14.95) The story credited with inspiring the "Batman" movies of the late 1980s and the 1990s, "Dark Knight" brings Batman out of retirement, pairs him with a female Robin and pits him against an old ally - Superman. Illustrated with Klaus Janson.
Daredevil/Elektra: Love & War (Marvel, $29.99) Two beloved comic book characters forever associated with Miller: Daredevil, the blind superhero, and Elektra, the coed-turned-ninja assassin. Illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz.
Ronin (DC, $19.95). A 13th century samurai warrior whose master has been killed finds himself reincarnated in 21st century New York and seeks revenge against the ancient demon that dishonored him.
Hard Boiled (Dark Horse, $16.95) A suburban tax collector and family man is actually a homicidal android in this ultraviolent "Blade Runner"-ish tale illustrated by Geoff Darrow.
300 (Dark Horse, $30) The true historical story of a small force of 300 Spartan warriors who withstood the invading Persian armies at Thermopylae in 480 BC. With Miller's wife, Lynn Varley, as colorist.
Sin City opens Friday, April 1st. For more info, check out CBR's interview with the actors & their review of the movie. Also, check out the official site & trailer. Enjoy!
Maxim has revealed the alternate Sin City cover for its May issue, which features exclusive art by Sin Citycreator Frank Miller.
The issue features exclusive posters of Goldie, Dallas and Nancy from Miller’s creation, as well as a feature on Sin City star Brittany Murphy.
Check out the poster on Newsarama, and the interview on CBR.
