ComicsAlliance.com

New 'R.I.P.D' Movie Trailer Offers Guns, Ghosts, Bridges And Reynolds

Ziah Grace — 2013-04-18T13:00:00+00:00

Universal Pictures has released a trailer for its upcoming supernatural action film R.I.P.D, based on the comic series by Peter Lenkov and Lucas Marangon, published by Dark Horse.

The upcoming film, starring comic book movie alums Jeff Bridges (Iron Man) and Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern/Blade Trinity, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), is about two deceased former-lawmen tasked by God to hunt down renegade ghosts hiding among the living as part of a secret organization known as the R.I.P.D. (Rest In Peace Department). Check out the trailer after the jump.While the film is based on the 2003 comic by Lenkov and Marangon, Dark Horse relaunched the series in 2012 to prepare fans for the upcoming movie. A short story will be available in the Dark Horse Comics issue available on Free Comic Book Day (May 4), and a collected edition of the latest miniseries written by Lenkov and Jeremy Barlow and drawn by Tony Parker is solicited for release on May 22.

The full cast includes quite a few names that might be familiar to comic book movie fans, as Kevin Bacon (X-Men: First Class) and Mary-Louise Parker (RED) join Bridges and Reynolds. Directed by Robert Schwentke (RED) and written by Lenkov, Phil Hay (Aeon Flux) and Matt Manfredi (The Tuxedo), the film is planned for a July 17 release.

[Via SuperHeroHype]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

'Superior Carnage' Miniseries Coming in July From Shinick And Segovia

Ziah Grace — 2013-04-03T13:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Marvel

It's been a pretty... superior... week of news for Spider-Man fans. Following up on the recent solicitation of the upcoming The Superior Foes of Spider-Man series due in July, Marvel's just announced that Carnage will get his own five-issue miniseries, written by Kevin Shinick (Robot Chicken) and drawn by Stephen Segovia (X-Treme X-Men), starting in July.From Marvel's official press release:

The homicidal villain, Carnage, is deteriorating in the confines of his asylum-but his fellow inmates are not giving up just yet! Watch as their Frankenstein-style experiment unfolds for better or for worse. Can they restore the deadliest of the symbiotes to its former glory, or better yet, do they have what it takes to build a more dastardly, more sinister, more superior Carnage?

Shinick says that readers will see a new Carnage design after longtime Fantastic Four and Avengers foe, the Wizard works to transform the spawn of Venom "into an agent of evil the way the Avengers converted Venom for good" and that "It's very rare that you can say the words "Like you've never seen him before!" and truly mean it."

Readers will see the new Carnage when the comic goes on sale in July, and can see a Carnage-ized homage to the cover of Superior Spider-Man #1 below.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Dark Horse Comics To Adapt 'The Star Wars' Original-Draft Screenplay

Ziah Grace — 2013-04-01T15:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Dark Horse, Movies, Sci-Fi

It's been a good year for fans of the original Star Wars trilogy and Dark Horse comics. There's the new Star Wars series by Brian Wood and Carlos D'Anda that takes place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, (the first issue of which CA's own Dylan Todd reviewed here), and now J.W. Rinzler (The Making of The Empire Strikes Back) and Mike Mayhew (perennial Best Art Ever This Week favorite) are teaming to adapt the original draft by George Lucas for what would become A New Hope, which features a six-foot lizard Han Solo and Annikin Starkiller, as Dark Horse Comics limited series.From Dark Horse's official press release:

Three years before his 1977 film, George Lucas put down on paper his first story set in a galaxy far, far away-a tale of fantastic adventures, daring escapes, "lazer swords," romance, and monsters. A story of Jedi Annikin Starkiller and General Luke Skywalker, an alien named Han Solo, and evil Sith Knights. The screenplay was titled The Star Wars!

Slated for a September release, the eight-issue mini-series may be among the final Dark Horse-published Star Wars comics, as the rights will revert back to Disney, and subsequently, Marvel after 2013.

[Click Page To Enlarge]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

New 'Judge Minty' Fan Film Teaser Released [Video]

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-29T15:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Movies, Video

Following the unfortunate box office performance of Dredd (which CA's own Chris Sims liked quite a bit), fans have appropriately been full of... dread... about the possibility of seeing their favorite futuristic judge doling out vengeance on the big screen. Luckily, it looks like John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra's seminal Judges will finally be leaping from the pages of 2000 AD in the long-awaited Judge Minty, which is set for online release in the coming months.The Judge Minty short fan film has been in the works since 2010, and has been shown in several UK comic conventions since the Leeds Film Festival last November. Scripted by frequent 2000 AD contributor Michael Carroll, and adapting the likewise-titled 1980 storyline by John Wagner and Mike McMahon, the short film's received a fair amount of critical praise. Now, the production team behind it has announced that it will be free to watch on streaming sites like Youtube or Vimeo sometime in either April or May.

In likewise Dredd-focused short film news, producer Adi Shankar revealed in an AMA on Reddit that a feature-length Dredd sequel was not possible, but hinted at a short film in the works, similar to the Dirty Laundry Punisher short.

In the meantime, you can check out the teaser trailer for Judge Minty below or check out the production crew's blog while you wait for the April/May release.

[Via Robot 6]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Marvel Unveils New 'Iron Man 3' Armors Including "Igor" And Space Suits

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-28T16:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Marvel, Movies

If it pays to be prepared, then it's no wonder Tony Stark's a billionaire. This week, Marvel's unveiled new images of some of the dozens of different armors to be featured in the upcoming Iron Man 3 movie. As seen in the latest IM3 theatrical trailer, from the heavy-lifting specialized "Igor" to the cinematic take on the Silver Centurion suit, the film's going to literally pack tons of Iron Man variations.

Iron Man's had plenty of different armors since his creation in 1963, but it looks like Iron Man 3 will be upping the stakes with new takes on comic classics, plus original concepts developed just for the film. Considering how protective Marvel was over the Mark 39 suit leaking via toy images a few months back, it's interesting to see it up close now, but with all of the Guardians of the Galaxy news filtering in of late, it makes sense to be a little less shy about a suit of armor capable of space travel (a major deficiency from previous models, as seen in the first two Iron Man movies).

Though there's more armors to come, fans can currently get a closer look at designs for armors including:

- Mark 17: Artillery Level RT Suit "Heartbreaker"
- Mark 33: Enhanced Energy Suit "Silver Centurion"
- Mark 35: Disaster Rescue Suit "Red Snapper"
- Mark 38: Heavy Lifting Suit "Igor"
- Mark 39: Sub Orbital Suit "Gemini"
- Mark 40: Hyper Velocity Suit "Shotgun"

Fans will see a lot more of the (remote controlled?) armors when they make their onscreen debut in Iron Man 3 on May 3. For now, though, you can take a closer peek at their components below.

[Click Images To Enlarge]

[Via Marvel/IM3]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

'The Wolverine' Gets Official Domestic And International Trailers [Video]

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-27T14:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Marvel, Movies

It's only Wednesday, but it's probably safe to go ahead and proclaim it Wolverine Week. Following the release of a teaser trailer and a bunch of posters for The Wolverine was released, 20th Century Fox has premiered both the domestic and international trailers for the upcoming film. The new trailers give more information on the plot, and show at least two more Marvel characters that comic fans will be excited to see.It looks like the new movie will focus on the Clawed Canadian as he ventures to Japan to meet an old acquaintance with an enticing offer. More importantly to fans of disposable ninjas, The Hand have a larger role in the trailers as demonstrated by an action scene in a snowy village.

What looks like the Silver Samurai and Viper (sans green hair) make an appearance too. The Silver Samurai, created by Steve Gerber and Bob Brown in 1974, has often fought against, and very occasionally, with Wolverine throughout his publication history, while Viper, created by Jim Steranko in 1969, is a long-standing villain of the Marvel universe.

The Wolverine is slated for a July 26 release, and stars Hugh Jackman (Wolverine: Origins), Will Yun Lee (Hawaii Five-0), and Tao Okamoto.

You can check out the new trailers below.

[Via Apple Trailers]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' To Cast Georges St-Pierre As Batroc The Leaper?

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-26T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Marvel, Movies

Latino Review has reported that Georges St-Pierre has been cast in the upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger sequel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which has led many to... leap... to the hypothesis that he'll be playing the fan-favorite French mercenary, Batroc the Leaper.St-Pierre is a Mixed-Martial Artist and current UFC Welterweight Champion, and has appeared in action movies like Death Warrior and Hell's Chain. If the Batroc is indeed officially confirmed to appear in the film, then St-Pierre's UFC and MMA experience should help boost the profile of the Savate-using (French Kickboxing) Leaper onscreen. Batroc has been leaping around the Marvel universe since his creation by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1966, usually as a villain and often as a comedic foil. Should he appear in Cap 2, it'll be interesting to see which approach filmmakers take.

Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, and starring Chris Evans as Captain America, Emily VanCamp (Revenge) as Sharon Carter, and Sebastian Stan (Captain America: The First Avenger) as the titular Winter Soldier, the movie's planned for a April 4, 2014 release date.

[Via Latino Review]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

New 'The Wolverine' Movie Teaser And Posters Deliver Ninja-Fighting Action [Video]

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-26T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Marvel, Movies

There have been a few poster and picture teases this week for the upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine sequel, The Wolverine, but aside from a Vine preview, most footage of the movie has stayed hidden. Luckily for eager fans, MTV has released a 30-second trailer showcasing Yakuza fights, swords, and a furry Hugh Jackman. What's more, new movie posters have surfaced on The Wolverine Facebook page, featuring the hero wielding a samurai sword.While the teaser is light on plot details, viewers can get a clear look at Yukio, Wolverine's ninja-pal and occasional love-interest, fighting some Yakuza, and a shadowy sword/claw fight.

The upcoming movie will be largely-based on Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's seminal 1982 Wolverine mini-series, focusing on his travels through Japan. While everyone's favorite disposable ninja clan, The Hand, will be appearing, it's as-yet unknown how closely the movie will be relating to either Marvel's established continuity, or the X-Men films and previous Wolverine movie's canon.

The Wolverine arrives in theaters on July 26. You can see the latest teaser and posters, below.

[Via MTV]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Julie Taymor's 'Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark' Lawsuit Gets Official Court Date

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-19T15:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Marvel

While the production drama associated with the Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark has seemingly passed, it seems that legal battles associated with the Broadway musical haven't been put to rest just yet. Former Turn off the Dark director Julie Taymor's lawsuit against producing company, 8 Legged Productions, now has an official court date.The most expensive Broadway musical of all time, SM:TotD was fraught with controversy almost immediately, with frequent delays, actor injuries and the eventual departure of Taymor. Once released, however, the show became successful, Taymor filed a lawsuit on the grounds that she was owed unpaid compensation for her contributions prior to leaving the show, which include work on the production's original book and more.

The lawsuit was supposedly settled last August, but somehow remained ongoing despite numerous talks of shortly-upcoming settlements. Now, U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Forrest, has declared "Trial is and will be on May 28, 2013."

Whether the upcoming trial will face as many delays as the musical did remains to be seen, but it's probably safe to bet there'll will be fewer physical injuries involved.

[Via THR]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Elena Satine Cast As Missy Hume In NBC's 'The Sixth Gun' TV Pilot

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-19T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Television, Oni, News

Following M ichiel Huisman's recent casting in the upcoming NBC adaptation of The Sixth Gun comic series by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt, all eyes have been peeled for who would play the last uncast role in the series, Missy Hume. According to the latest announcement from NBC, Elena Satine (Magic City) will star as the ruthless and eternally youthful series antagonist.Satine joins the previously cast W. Earl Brown (Deadwood) who plays Missy's similarly villainous husband General Hume, Graham McTavish (The Hobbit) as Silas Hedgepeth, his evil lieutenant, and Aldis Hodge (Leverage) as Agent Mercer, a PI investigating the series' cursed guns.

The Sixth Gun pilot will star Laura Ramsey as heroine Becky Montcrief, and the previously mentioned Huisman as co-protaganist Drake Sinclair. Written by written by Ryan Condal (Hercules: The Thracian Wars), produced by Carlton Cuse (Lost), and directed by Jefferey Reiner (Do No Harm), the pilot is set for a tentative fall release date.

Based on the Oni Press published comic, The Sixth Gun follows Montcrief as she inherits the most powerful of six cursed guns, and along with outlaw Drake Sinclair, must battle undead bandits who want the weapons for themselves.

[Via Deadline]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Smith Micro Releases MotionArtist With Comics In Mind

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-15T18:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Video, Animation, Digital Comics

With creators like those contributing to Mark Waid's Thrillbent site, the indie Trip Fantastic and elsewhere working to add meaningful features to comics built for the web, it was only a matter of time before a company released a specialized program catering to online comic presentation. Following months of press, Smith Micro Software Inc, the makers of Manga Studio, have released the full version of MotionArtist, a new program designed to get comics moving.The program is meant to appeal to everyone "from graphic novelists and comic creators to web developers and photographers", although most comic fans are likely to be focused on how it will be used in digital comics. According to the website, main features include "endless panel tools to slice-and-dice your comics," HTML5 interactivity, "Motion Assist" functionality that lets users drag and drop objects for on-the-fly animating, and an easy to use "Presentation Mode."

Smith Micro also showcases the following features specifically aimed at the comics crowd:

-Panel Shapes: Select from rectangle, oval, or polygonal, then simply click and drag to create.

-Panel-cutting (Slice): Simply click and drag across a panel to split it at any angle. Adjust the cut with too!

-Balloons & Text: Dynamic word ballons, thought bubbles, and text can be added and re-edited at anytime. Just be careful, words can hurt.

-Camera Targets: Camera Targets are used to layout imported scans of printed comic pages. You simply trace the area of the existing hand drawn comic panels and the camera moves and sizes to that location.

-Layering and Masking: Panels can be moved and layered in any order. Panel contents can also be layered in any order and are automatically masked so that they are not visible outside the bounds of the panel.

-Panel Frames: Apply brushes to panel edges to create unique and hand drawn styles. Create your own brushes and share them with your friends.

While Marvel and DC have both experimented with major motion comic releases, they've almost entirely been adaptations of pre-existing works, which haven't exactly thrilled some reviewers. Building a comic around an entirely digital medium seems like it could be a better bet than just adding motion to traditional comics. You can check out Smith Micro's official promo video to get an idea of what creators might be able to accomplish with the software. Those who've used Adobe Flash before will probably note some familiar capabilities, albeit potentially more targeted to comics.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Dave Bautista Joins 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' Movie As Drax The Destroyer

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-15T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Marvel, Movies

Following the announcement that Chris Pratt would take the starring role in Marvel's upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie as half-human half-alien Star Lord, fans have been waiting to see who else would help him in, well, guarding the galaxy. Now, Dave Bautista, former WWE wrestler and current MMA fighter, has signed on to portray the green-skinned warrior Drax the Destroyer.Created by Mike Friedrich and Jim Starlin in 1973, Drax the Destroyer was a human whose family was killed by Thanos, and was bestowed with muscular green body to get revenge. Like Star Lord, and really, most of the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Drax the Destroyer came to more recent prominence in the Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning-written series of titles with art by Paul Pelletier, Brad Walker, and Wes Craig that included Guardians of the Galaxy and Annihilation: Conquest.

Their revitalization of GotG is a strong part of why fans are getting a major motion picture starring a talking raccoon and monosyllabic alien tree. With Thanos rumored to have a big role in the Avengers sequel, it looks like the Guardians of the Galaxy movie will be used to prepare audiences for some of the cosmic settings and characters they'll be encountering in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's second (and third?) phase.

More casting announcements will surely follow over the coming months as it gets closer to GotG's planned August 14, 2014 release date, which means there's plenty of time for fans to get excited about additional team members.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

JManga Digital Manga Service Shuts Down

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-14T17:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Manga, News, Digital Comics

Digital manga retailer and reading platform, JManga, has announced its imminent shutdown after just about two years in business. The company has ceased selling its in-app currency and is giving users until March 26 to redeem any unused "points" before operations cease completely on May 30.JManga never seemed to catch on with a mass audience, taking nearly a year to offer services via mobile device applications, having trouble with maintaining and acquiring lucrative licenses, and struggling to establish prices users wanted to pay due to a variety of internal and external factors.

Unused JManga currency already purchased by users will be redeemed for Amazon Gift Cards for the same monetary value as their points. What's troubling, however, is that manga already purchased will no longer be viewable past May 30, and JManga is not offering any way for customers to download or otherwise retain their previous purchases.

Following the recent crash on ComiXology's servers this past week, JManga's closure points to the potentially problematic nature of Cloud-based comics services with no option for downloads, especially when the option to consume purchased material is dependent on the success of the company.

[Via JManga]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

IDW And The Library Of American Comics To Collect 'Superman' Newspaper Strips

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-14T15:30:00+00:00

Filed under: IDW, News

After saving the world for almost 75 years, Superman's publication history across comics of all kinds is pretty staggering, meaning some of the Man of Steel's printed adventures were bound to slip through the cracks. Take the Superman newspaper strips that ran from 1939-1966. Only about 10 percent of its 25-year run have been reprinted. Luckily for Man of Steel completionists, the Library of American Comics, a subsidiary of IDW Publishing, has announced a partnership with DC Entertainment to re-publish the entirety of Superman's newspaper adventures in a series of deluxe hardcovers.The complete series will run through three different sets of hardcovers, each comprising a different era in Superman's publication history, The Silver Age, The Atomic Age, and The Golden Age. Starting with The Silver Age Vol. 1: 1958-1961, available in July, the hardcovers will collect more than 800 strips from Superman artists like Curt Swan, Wayne Boring, and Stan Kaye. Perhaps most importantly, the republished strips also feature Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel's scripts that adapted of some of the then-current regular DC Comics storylines.

"It's like discovering an entire alternate universe of famous Silver Age comic book stories. It's better than an imaginary story-it's Jerry Siegel doing a remake of his classic Superman's Return to Krypton! ...it's Curt Swan, not Al Plastino, drawing The Menace of Metallo. Superman fans might want to consider these strips as taking place on a brand new world- Earth-N for Newspapers!" said Dean Mullaney, creative director of the Library of American Comics, in IDW's official press release.

Batman and Wonder Woman newspaper strip hardcover collections have also been announced, though specific release details are still pending.

[Click Image To Enlarge]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Marvel Teaming With Feld Entertainment For A Touring Live Show

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-13T15:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Marvel

Not content with putting its heroes and villains on the big and small screens, it looks like Marvel's working to bring its characters to a city near you with a new touring stage show. Marvel has announced that it's teaming up with Feld Entertainment Inc., the organization behind the Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey Circus, and Disney on Ice, to produce a Marvel superhero live show.The new live show follows the oft-mocked Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark Rock Musical, which was initially infamous for being dangerous, wildly expensive and fraught with in-fighting. Of course, Turn Off The Dark has also been a serious and steady financial success thus far, making a different brand of live show seem like a safe bet for the House of Ideas.

Marvel's Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada told Billboard that he'd been weary of attempting this with other companies before and that "You always have those questions - how are you going to keep it from being goofy, or silly, or unbelievable?" Feld Entertainment Inc. productions apparently had the skill to sway him, though as Quesada remarked "They're already doing feats that are superhuman to begin with."

The show's plot is still in the planning stages, but Kenneth Feld, Feld Entertainment CEO, said that the basic plot outline is a no-brainer. "The world will be in jeopardy, and the Marvel superheroes will save the world."

If the planned Marvel show is anything like DC's live Batman show, chances are it could please arenas of fans.

[Via Billboard]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

NBC's 'The Sixth Gun' Pilot Casts Michiel Huisman As Drake Sinclair

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-13T14:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Television, Oni, News

Following a flurry of other casting announcements, NBC's The Sixth Gun TV pilot has officially named its Drake Sinclair. Michiel Huisman (Treme) will play the roguish gunslinger in the adaptation of the long-running The Sixth Gun comic from Oni Press, created by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Brian Hurtt.Huisman joins co-star Laura Ramsey, who is set to play The Sixth Gun's hero Becky Montcrief. The duo join W. Earl Brown (Deadwood) as General Hume, the main antagonist, Graham McTavish (The Hobbit) as Silas Hedgepeth, his evil lieutenant, and Aldis Hodge (Leverage) as Agent Mercer, a PI investigating the guns.

The pilot, written by Ryan Condal (Hercules: The Thracian Wars), produced by Carlton Cuse (Lost), and directed by Jefferey Reiner (Do No Harm), is set to begin shooting on March 18, with a tentative release date for this fall.

The Oni Press comic series follows Becky Montcrief as she inherits the most powerful of six cursed guns, and, assisted by Drake Sinclair, must battle the undead bandits who want the guns for themselves. With 30 issues released so far, along with a spin-off title, there's plenty of comic stories for future viewers to discover while they wait for more information on the show.

[Via Deadline]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Mini-Comics Day 2013 Coming March 24

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-12T17:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Art, Culture

One of the best things about the comics medium is its relatively low barrier to entry for storytellers, tool-wise. All anyone needs is a pencil or pen and some paper to translate what's in their imagination to the page, after all. Annual events like 24-hour Comic Day and Hourly Comic Day serve as healthy reminders of this each year, and while they've passed until 2014, Mini-Comics Day is coming on March 24 to encourage cartoonists everywhere to unleash their comics onto the world.Mini-Comics Day, now in its third year, encourages open participation to write, draw, and print an entire comic of any length and size in one day. The rules are few, meaning the process is open-ended and fairly unintimidating.

Created by the Cartoonist Conspiracy, a loose group of cartoonists with the goal of spreading comics collaboration through different organized efforts, Mini-Comics Day's official home page has full details and a sign-up platform for hosting local events. The Cartoonist Conspiracy has even created a downloadable PDF guide (a mini-comic itself) that gives some tips and advice on everything from producing, printing and distributing a finished mini-comic.

[Via Robot 6]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Viz To Kick Off 'Ben 10 Omniverse' Graphic Novel Series This Fall

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-12T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: News, Animation

Despite the fact that Man of Action's Ben 10 is now in its fourth consecutive animated series, it's been awhile since the hero last appeared in a proper ongoing comic. Viz Media's set to rectify that starting this fall with a new series of Ben 10 Omniverse graphic novels inspired by the current cartoon.Featuring artwork by Alan Brown, and a story by writer Cory Levine (probably best known from his time as a Marvel Assistant Editor on titles like X-Campus and and Spin Angels), the first installment of the graphic novel series is planned for a fall release. Future installments will feature rotating creative teams, but considering Man of Action consists of Joe Kelly, Steven T. Seagle, Duncan Rouleau and Joe Casey, there's a good chance that the project will attract talent similarly familiar to comic fans.

From Viz Media's official plot description:

In the animated Ben 10 Omniverse series, broadcasting currently on Cartoon Network, Ben Tennyson looks forward to being a solo superhero with his brand new Omnitrix, a watch-like device that allows him to change into different kinds of aliens. But Grandpa Max has other ideas. He assigns Ben a new Plumber partner, Rook, who is highly skilled with his Proto-Tool, but lacks any field experience - especially on Earth. Ben has absolutely no desire to be a tour guide, especially since a mysterious new villain has him in his sights! Ben has defeated all kinds of evil, and is quick to remind everyone that he's saved the universe at least a dozen times. But even with 10 brand new aliens at his disposal, Ben may have finally met his match!

The last time Ben Tennyson appeared in a series of graphic novels was in Random House's 2-volume Ben 10 Alien Force tie-in, "Doom Dimension" in 2008 by Peter David and Dan Hipp. Since then the character's comic appearances have largely been regulated to miniseries at DC, such as Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, and short stories in DC's former Cartoon Network 2-in-1 title.

While fans wait for more details, they can always catch the show's season finale this Saturday, March 16 at 9 a.m. EST on Cartoon Network.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

George Lucas Is Working On A San Francisco Based Comic, Illustration And Animation Museum

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-11T17:30:00+00:00

Filed under: News, Animation, Art, Culture

Director George Lucas may have largely turned over the fate of his Star Wars franchise to other hands following the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney in October, but fans still have plenty of reason to be excited by his projects. One of his latest projects since announcing he'd be using some $4.05 billion to fund education is building an illustration, comics, and animation art museum based in Presidio Park, San Francisco.The proposed Lucas Cultural Arts Museum's construction and endowment would be a gift from Lucas to the city of San Francisco, and stocked, at least initially, with his own vast personal art collection, which includes works by Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish and N.C. Wyeth. According to an interview with CBS This Morning, Lucas apparently has enough art to theoretically stock the museum for six years full years, rotating pieces every six months.

Lucas described the proposed museum as "dedication to cultural fantasy." According to the full museum proposal (pointed out by Cartoon Brew), this would be accomplished by providing young people with exhibits and programs -- including traveling ones not limited to San Francisco's main center -- equipped to teach storytelling and the means of executing ideas.

In terms of comics specifically, the museum proposal includes images of Carl Barks' 1972 oil painting "Money Bin Memories" and Frank Kelly Freas' 1960 cover to MAD: #58, presumably because they could be displayed at the potential museum.

Lucas is currently 1 of 16 different contenders for a newly vacant space in Presidio Park, but considering that the Lucas Digital Art Center is already based there, chances are strong that his proposal will be accepted.

[Via Cartoon Brew]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Toonami Announces Birthday Plans, New Shows, Logo And Host

Ziah Grace — 2013-03-11T16:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Television, Anime, News, Animation

Cartoon Network's action and anime-focused Toonami programming block returned to Sunday nights last May following a four-year hiatus, with plans to re-air much of its classic content while developing original programming and continuing to acquire freshly-localized anime. This past weekend at the MomoCon anime convention in Atlanta, Toonami staff announced its plans for the block's second year back, including launching a new logo, hosting the American TV debut of the 2010 Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone animated feature as part of its 16th(ish) birthday on March 16, unveiling a redesigned TOM and his Absolution ship for hosting duties in April (alongside webcomics fleshing out his own original storyline around the same timeframe), plus plans to air Funimation's uncut version of One Piece beginning later this year.From the Toonami Tumblr:

We're showing "Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone". Full schedule below.

12:00 - Bleach
12:30 - Naruto
01:00 - Evangelion 1.11
03:30 - FMA Brotherhood
04:00 - Cowboy Bebop
04:30 - Cowboy Bebop
05:00 - Inuyasha
05:30 - Inuyasha

Toonami also clarified on its Tumblr that the March 16 block will include, "a few other goodies airing on our birthday, so don't miss it! And no... NO HINTS. You gotta watch! :)" The Toonami staff also teased that "We are still exploring short series to air, short series fans, so we'll let you know if and when we have announcements in that area!"

The new TOM 5 and Absolution ship will not only serve as TV hosts, they'll also appear in "an online comic that will tell the story of How TOM 3 became TOM 4, how TOM 4 became TOM 3.5, where Sara and the Clydes are, and how we got TOM 5 and the new Absolution."

Many of the specifics behind Toonami's One Piece's broadcast plans are still up in the air, with Toonami writing that, "We're not sure yet it if will replace Tenchi GXP or come in later, and we're not sure where we will start in the episode order. We'll let you know more in the coming months."

Debuting as an action cartoon block hosted by Space Ghost villain Moltar on March 17, 1997, Toonami was rebooted in 1999 with an original spaceman host known as TOM, along with a new Japanese anime focus. Hosting shows like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Trigun, Dragon Ball Z, Cowboy Bebob, numerous Gundam series, and many others, Toonami served as a gateway to anime (and by extension, much of its manga source material) for a generation of viewers.

[Via ANN/Crunchyroll/ToonamiNews]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments