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Comics:
I
Have The Power…of the Sigil…
It's
musical chairs in the comics industry. After leaving Image
to start their own label, then deciding to jump over to CrossGen,
Team Redstar has left the house that Alessi built to restart
their own imprint.
By all
reports, it was an amicable move with no hard feelings. And
lest you think that CrossGen is collectively crying in its
beer, here's a little something that dulled the pain of losing
The Red Star.
He-Man.
Yep.
The studio producing the Masters of the Universe comics,
so good that our own Mish'al Samman refused a U.N. job for
fear of not being able to get his He-Man fix, have left Image
and will be headed to CrossGen in June.
Of course
this means yet another first issue, which apparently makes
three for the same title in one year, breaking the previous
record set by Marvel Comics and their Captain Marville
Adventures.
Let's
Be Careful Out There…
The critical
acclaim for Gotham Central has been nothing short of
worshipful. And why not? The ordinary cops of Gotham City
have long been a rich mine of characterization, and let's
face it: Ed Brubaker writes great cop stories. If they're
your cup of tea…
Which
is why DC will be giving the book an extra little push on
April 9. Retailers have been given notice that the publisher
will be sending them 50% more copies of #6 for free, in hopes
that we, the reading public, will suddenly start buying.
This
issue kicks off an arc written by Greg Rucka with art by Michael
Lark, focusing on Det. Renee Montoya. They promise a side
of her we've never seen before, but belay the hype. Montoya
has been a great character from the get-go, and a decent story
giving her center stage has got me intrigued.
Movies:
Butch
Cassidy and The Monster Society of Evil…
Variety
reported this week that Oscar-winning screenwriter William
Goldman has signed to write the big-screen version of Shazam.
Calling himself a fan of Captain Marvel from childhood, Goldman
claims the usual "this is a dream come true."
It could
be something pretty exciting for fans, too. When Goldman is
good, he's very, very good. Of course, when he's bad, he's
doing things like Dreamcatcher.
The movie
has been set up at New Line (owned by AOL/Time-Warner), and
if nothing else, let's applaud somebody there for believing
there's life in the DC catalog beyond Bruce and Clark.
…And
Speaking Of Bruce…
Ho ho
ho. The beautiful thing about the Batman film franchise is
that Warner Brothers can say just about anything they want
to about it, and apparently never actually have to make a
film.
And yet,
there's been some consistency to the news that Memento
director Christopher Nolan had been tapped to helm the next
"in-continuity" Batfilm (not to be confused with Batman:
Year One or Batman Beyond).
According
to Entertainment Weekly, Nolan has a partner in crime. Screenwriter
David Goyer has agreed to write the script. Right now, there's
no official word as to what it will be about, though again,
rumors have long been flying around that the villain will
be The Scarecrow.
As long
as we don't have to see batnipples again, I don't care who
the villain is.
See?
See?
We interviewed
Parker Smart last
fall about his mini-series CiCi. In that piece, he
expressed his hope that he could sell it to Hollywood. No
cynicism, please; just about everybody wants to make that
sort of deal. Heck, we're putting together the Fanboy Planet
movie pitch in our heads every day.
Smart
has taken a step closer to his dream, last week inking a deal
with Energy Entertainment to put together a package. While
this doesn't necessarily mean that CiCi will be on the big
screen anytime soon, it increases the chances.
And if
nothing else, it will mean Smart can get a nice cash infusion
and buy back some of his action figures.
Congratulations,
Parker. (Why do I hear myself sounding like J. Jonah Jameson?)
Television:
One
Step Closer To Jordan Rosa's Aneurysm…
The WB
has given Smallville a vote of confidence, or at least
one for the men behind it. Creators Alfred Gough and Miles
Millar got a two-year commitment to be the showrunners, a
deal which should net them a tasty seven figures.
It's
rumored that if Superman ever gets off the ground,
that would mean the end of Smallville, so read into
all this what you will. I'd say we're not due to believe a
man can fly before pigs do, or at least before Tom Welling
simultaneously graduates from high school and attends his
ten-year reunion.
And by
the way, in their spare time Gough and Millar are putting
together an Iron Man movie script for New Line, after
Iron Giant scribe Tim McCanlies got the boot.
Oh,
Please Give Us The Ripper…
According
to a recent interview with Anthony Stewart Head, Joss Whedon
has backed away from the idea of doing a Ripper series
with the BBC, instead proposing a two-hour movie that would
go in-depth into Buffy character of Rupert Giles.
That
doesn't mean we won't eventually see a series, either. By
American standards, this sounds an awful lot like a backdoor
pilot. But Head has obviously tired of being in America, hence
his "now you see him, now you don't" status on Buffy The
Vampire Slayer. Indeed, he has used his large hiatus to
co-star in a BBC series called Manchild, which can
be occasionally seen on the U.S. satellite channel BBC America.
"Joss
has got so many ideas - it's not good for one man," Head commented.
Good
lord. What will Whedon do with all his free time?
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