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Planet Buzz 03-12-02
Comics:
CrossGen Gets 15 Harvey Award Nominations
…and already some are grumbling about ballot stuffing. Please. The Harvey Awards, named after cartooning great Harvey Kurtzman, are the only industry awards nominated and selected entirely by comics professionals.
So why are 15 nominations worth trumpeting? Because that's more than any other major publisher got, speaking not so much to a lack of quality projects elsewhere, but to the overall quality of the CrossGen line. In addition, penciller Karl Moline received a nomination as Best New Talent for his work on Joss Whedon's Fray. And who's got Moline all sewed up to an exclusive contract for the upcoming Route 666?
Sigh. If you have to ask, it's just not worth answering.
Oops…Make That 14…
Yesterday superwriter Mark Waid withdrew from the Harvey Awards, citing only personal reasons. Waid had received a nomination for his work on Ruse.
On the heels of that announcement, CrossGen put a spin on it, lauding Waid for his acknowledgment that a comic book is not just the effort of one creator, and that artists Butch Guice and Mike Perkins were an integral part of Ruse's success.
So on the heels of that, Mark Waid stepped forward once again and said that while he basically agreed with the points made by CrossGen, he hadn't actually made any of them himself. Again he stressed that the withdrawal of his name for nomination was for personal reasons.
My guess is that Waid is just a front for Dalton Trumbo and can't take the guilt.
Deathlok Lives Again, But Not Night Nurse…Is There No Justice?
Marvel Comics made a lot of noise about their MAX line this week, announcing some long-term plans and dashing the hopes of those who looked forward to the Night Nurse revival. The schedule simply has not worked out for the Gail Simone-penned series, though she has obviously not fallen out of favor with the powers that be. Already she has the revamp of Deadpool under way.
What MAX editor Axel Alonso really wanted to push is the imminent re-imagining (for what, the fourth or fifth time?) of Deathlok for the mature imprint, launching this summer. Written by Daniel Way, with art by Darick Robertson (Fury), the series promises to be "a sci-fi black comedy," according to Alonso.
"If you hated Fury, you're really gonna hate Deathlok," Alonso says. "Think Waterworld -- only there is no water and there is a plot." I didn't see Waterworld, but I thought the speedboat stunt show at Universal Studios was pretty entertaining. And I ended up hating Fury. I'm so there.
Hulk Smash…Constructively
Some of you may be aware that Toy Fair, the annual toy industry showcase, wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. More toy-oriented sites have been abuzz since then over all the great figures coming from Toy Biz (Marvel's wholly owned toymaker), tying in both to the Spider-Man movie and the Marvel Universe as a whole.
But what most sites have not been talking about is a strange sub-set of Marvel superhero figures that make DC's Pocket Heroes look positively cool. Toybiz will be releasing a line of heroes for fans under 5, dressed for pro-social activities in their neighborhoods. Okay, so it's for the kiddies, I can accept that. But didn't Spider-Man suffer enough in his "beach fun" edition a couple of years ago?
Apparently not. I'm including a shot of "Firefighting Spider-Man," which again, at least teaches kids something about real heroes. But "Construction Worker Hulk?" Kids are going to take The Hulk to heart, as, strangely, they always seem to do (kids love Hulk, Hulk love kids…as a between meal snack), just in time for Ang Lee's film adaptation to completely traumatize them.
And Now The Expected Slice of Cheesecake…
A couple of years ago, I found myself walking along a row at the San Diego Comic Convention when I hit a crowd staring forward in an hypnotic trance. Wondering what the hullabaloo was all about, I discovered that I'd accidentally wandered in front of the Harris Comics booth, where Vampirella was making an appearance.
The name of the model escapes me, but the claustrophobic sensation of being surrounded by sweaty fanboys never will, even though I, too, became one of them for a few moments.
Anyway, Harris Comics has a new spokesmodel wearing the fabled red floss, chosen a few months ago with a flurry of attention from Wizard. But now the rest of the world has caught on. Maria DiAngelis appears in the April issue of FHM, on sale today, in a three-page pictorial both in costume and, um, out of costume and in another one that's really just as good if not better.
I need to lie down.
Movies:
It Has To Be Better Than Final Fantasy…
20th Century Fox (currently a comics fan's best friend with X-Men 2 and Daredevil getting underway) has just acquired the rights to make a live-action version of DragonBall Z.
Created by Japanese writer Akira Toriyama as a comic, DragonBall Z has spun into videogames, cartoons, Burger King toys and a never-ending library of video releases. But then, many of you probably knew that.
Anybody got an opinion on this one? Here's the Fanboy Planet editorial confession for the week: I've never seen the show. Never played with the toys or the games. So what's the big deal. How about you tell me - is this something that begs to be made into a live-action film?
Television:
Justice Never Dies…
As reviewer Michael Goodson noted this week (and as I should have mentioned last week), Cartoon Network has renewed Justice League for a second season of 26 episodes. So there is justice after all.
Discuss this and more in the Fanboy forums.
