Posted 22/07/04
Source Newsarama

October will see a classic return at Marvel, with a new Tomb of Dracula miniseries getting underway. We spoke with writer Robert Rodi to learn what the vampire hunters are doing in the new millennium.

Tomb was originally developed by editor Axel Alonso and Bruce Jones, prior to Jones signing his exclusive contract with DC and leaving the project without about one issue in the can in terms of art. “Axel asked if I'd like to step in -- not to finish the series per se, but to write my own series using the same concept he provided Bruce as a springboard,” Rodi told Newsarama. “The only caveat was that I should try to use as much of the first-issue art as possible - which was a pretty generous offer, so I said yes. In the end, I used most of the extant first issue, revamping some characters and having a few pages redrawn accordingly, plus some restructuring and reshuffling of pages and even panels, and of course rewriting the whole thing from scratch. So I now feel fully invested in it -- this baby's mine. And starting with the second issue, I deviate pretty significantly from where I understand the series was headed before.”

As to where the series is headed, think The Matrix with vampires. “Dracula has called in the troops from all four corners of the globe, to come hunker down in Transylvania -- you'll discover why in the first issue,” Rodi said. “And what we'll establish is that there are different breeds or tribes of vampires, with different abilities and customs. But they're all, of course, lethal, amoral, blood-crazed, and nasty as a three-keg hangover.”

And – they’re being hunted. Despite it’s gothic horror name, Tomb of Dracula was always about the hunt for Dracula by a variety of individuals. The new incarnation is no different. As to who’s on the team? Don’t think too hard…

“Blade’s here, of course,” Rodi said. “As well as a posse of other vampire hunters from different parts of the globe, each possessing a different skill sets -- a Japanese weapons experts, a Native American sorcerer, a Vatican researcher, etc. Heading up the operation is a new character, Noah Van Helsing. Noah's got a very interesting backstory, but we won't be getting to it right away.”

The lines are drawn early in the first issue, as its revealed that an event – a scary, ugly, and potentially apocalyptic event that happens once every 1,000 years is coming down the pike. Safe to say, Dracula sees the advantages in surrounding himself with hundreds of subservient vampires.

While the world has changed since the first Tomb of Dracula haunted the halls of Marvel, but newer doesn’t necessarily mean better. “That's one of the dichotomy we'll be dealing with here – the tech available is worlds beyond what we could've imagined thirty years ago - and in fact our vampire hunters go for broke in this respect; but is it really any more effective against the supernatural?... We'll all find out together.”

In closing, Rodi made it clear – if readers give him the thumbs up, he’s in for the long run. “This is Dracula we're talking about. You never close the book - or the coffin lid - on Dracula.”

With the arrival of our newest member, Freshmutt, I thought it might be nice to point everyone at an older work in which I participated, Ed (Freshmutt) was kind enough to coordinate the whole thing for us and it was probably one of the most organised collaborations in the history of C2F. Anyways click on the following link to see a veritable cornucopia of manipped marvels..

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze49p8r/secretwars.htm">http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze49p ... etwars.htm</a><!-- m -->

Can anyone explain that one?

I understand that Isaiah is from a mini-series called Truth, though I have no idea what it was about. I have missed zero issues of Cap since the early '80s and I know of no "famed Black Cap." So I guess the writer is assuming everyone read that mini.

I sort of followed the plot, so I don't need that explained unless someone has input that would make it not suck.

What I want to know is what the ending was about. What did Cap do? Did he use the Infinihedron (BTW are we supposed to know what that is?) to make his neighborhood like the alternate reality he visited? Why? He said some thing about his "duty." Is it his duty to bring hovercars and blimps to his block, or did he reshape the whole world?

The credits list three editors. What shape was this script in before they edited it? Was is complete gibberish?

With the team gathered back on the island and Chandi still glowing about having flown the most high tech piece of equipment she ever had, the Guardians went about getting ready for their first real assignment.
The man sleeping on the sofa was still there and try as they might, he simply would not awaken.
With De and Kei manning the computer bays, 'Vok and AJ ransacking the weapons locker and finding all sorts of delightful laser guns, rocket launchers, and something that looked rather like a Star Trek phaser rifle, Chandi and Cameron were left getting the Jet prepared for the assignment.
As the mission parameters finally appeared on screen, Kei smiled broadly and whirled the chair around several times.
"Woohoo! Hiroshima here we come!"

In the air, on their way and loaded down with enough weapons to supply the Iraqis, the team began the 3 hour flight to Hiroshima. De and Kei again manned the onboard computer bays, Chandi in the pilot's chair and AJ as her co-pilot, it left Cameron and 'Vok strapped in for dear life and praying to the saints to perserve them from the two women at the helm.
Intel began spilling in over the computers on Hiroshima, site of a nuclear bomb drop and still dealing with radioactivity all these years later, it was one message that caught De's eye and made him voice a concern to the group.
Addressing 'Vok, he questioned rather breezily..."Mate, that rocket launcher...you think it can take out a bird as big as Godzilla?" before 'Vok could even answer, De continued..."cause if not, then I think we need a bigger gun."
The picture on the monitor behind him was a live satalite shot of the outskirts of Hiroshima...and as audio crackled and popped to life, a tell-tale sound crossed the airwaves. One that had been heard by most of the team, in countlessly badly made Japanese monster movies.

Click here for comics due in October

Just got another gig reviewing comics, but for a very genre specific website. Women in horror. So I'm looking for recommendations. Anyone know of any comics I should pick up that fit that one?

Thanks ahead of time,

Glenn

Posted 19/07/04
Source CBR/LITG

The death of Ant Man in recent "Avengers" didn't bode for Daniel Way's "Ant Man" series, supposedly due later this year. The series has been given a new lease of life and has been retooled for the Ultimate line. Apparently Joe Quesada loves Ant-Man too much to let him remain squashed.

Posted 19/07/2004
Source CBR, Jonah Weiland

Aside from the incredible journeys Lady Death has taken in her own book, the character has also taken a number of interesting journeys as a comics property. Originally published by Chaos Comics!, when the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 2002, the future looked bleak. Then along came CrossGen Entertainment, who brought the sexy character back to comic stands in February of 2003, although this time around the character was changed, offering up the story of a Medieval Lady Death with more mainstream appeal. The bumpy road continued for the character when earlier this year CrossGen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Once again the future looked bleak for the character.

That's all changed in recent weeks as the character has been saved and will be returning later this year in not one, but two new series from Avatar Press. CBR News spoke with Avatar Publisher William Christensen and Lady Death creator Brian Pulido to found out exactly what's happening with the character and when she'll grace comic shop shelves again.

Pulido told CBR News Sunday night that his company Mischief Maker Media, Inc., has purchased the rights to the character from CrossGen Entertainment. While published by CrossGen, Pulido told CBR News he had no rights or ownership of the character he created, but now after a long journey, ownership has returned to him. In addition to publishing Lady Death, Avatar Press also has a stake in the character as well. Licensing rights are held by another of Pulido's companies, Eternal Entertainment, LLC. "The purchase of Lady Death is something that has been in the works for a while," revealed Avatar's Christensen. "It was completed fairly recently, with the actual purchase made from CrossGen Intellectual Property, LLC."

As Christensen noted, the rights to Lady Death were owned by CrossGen Intellectual Property, LLC., not CrossGen Entertainment, the company which filed for bankruptcy. This allowed for the sale to proceed despite the problems faced by CGE. "I am pretty sad for Mark Alessi, the CGE staff and creators and their families," Pulido told CBR News Sunday night. "Their last year was catastrophic. I've gone through a similar experience. Very public, open to anyone's scrutiny. As a business owner you don't start out imagining your business will fail. Mark did some great things in comics. Look at ACTOR, the group he founded with Jim McLaughlin. That is a great contribution to the industry." For Christensen, bringing "Lady Death" to Avatar was a no-brainer. "I have always admired how well the book has done, and the connection Brian has been able to build with the character's fans," said Christensen. "It is actually a dream come true to get to publish 'Lady Death.' I think it's pretty clear that she fits in perfectly at Avatar. "Brian and I have a great relationship and I'm always happy to get a chance to work with him further. Not too many people are aware of this, but my first comic writing gig was at Chaos! just a couple of years before I started Avatar. It is also very rewarding to help re-unite a major creator with his greatest character."

The return of Lady Death later this year will be marked by not one, but two new, full-color series. "I had an amazing time writing 'Lady Death: A Medieval Tale' #1-#12, but I didn't have a good time writing Lady Death: The Wild Hunt," admitted Pulido. "We will launch our new monthly 'Medieval Lady Death' picking up after 'Lady Death: A Medieval Tale' #12. We will begin with a new series, 'Medieval Lady Death' #1 and I will be careful to make this a good jumping on point for new readers. To assure this, we've hired Barbara Kesel as editor on the new series. Barbara was also my editor on 'Lady Death: a Medieval Tale.' She knows the characters as well as I do and she is the secret weapon to the success of the series. Here's what fans need to know. We won't change the mood and tone of the series. It is still the 'mainstream' Lady Death. This won't turn into a 'boobs and blood' comic. We are very aware of the 'medieval' fan base and what their tastes are, and we won't change this LD one iota. This Lady Death aspires to a heroic ideal and we won't change that. I love writing her adventures and invite fans of 'Sojourn' - a great series - and 'Lady Death: a Medieval Tale' to jump on board.

"Our second Lady Death series will be the 'classic' Heaven & Hell/Bitch Goddess Lady Death. We had to bring her back because fans demanded her back. True to the Chaos! style I established, her adventures will be in a series of limited series. In a sense, we are starting over with her. Think of it as 'Ultimate' Lady Death. I was speaking with [Marvel Editor-In-Chief] Joe Quesada last summer and he was surprised that other publishers were not doing their version of the 'Ultimate' line since it sells so well. That wasn't lost on me. I pondered what I would do if I could start this Lady Death all over. We will keep all the critical elements that made her successful, but this is an expanded spin on her. I make no bones about it, this is a tough 'Bad Girl' book and it's about one of the ultimate bad girls. Lady Death is a fierce warrior who isn't above using sensuality as a weapon."

The return of Lady Death will begin in a special preview (called "Lady Death: Dead Rising") of both series in the Diamond Previews Catalog for November shipping. "Medieval Lady Death" #1 will start in January 2005, with "Classic Lady Death" to follow shortly after that. For readers looking for the original "Lady Death: A Medieval Tale" published by CrossGen, the series will be collected by Avatar in the early spring of 2005. The plan to publish two series starring the character was made in an effort to please fans of both the original incarnation of the character as well as the medieval version, according to Christensen. Of course it's not unusual for a single character to be featured in multiple books as is the case with "Batman," Spider-Man" and others.

Getting to story specifics, Pulido was happy to detail his plans for both series. We begin with 'Medieval Lady Death'. "Remember, this Lady Death was conceived between a human woman and one of the outer-worldly Eldritch," said Puldio. "She has the blood of both clans, but belongs to neither. She fights for humanity, but they fear her because she looks Eldritch and possesses their powers. She is coming off a great battle where her father Tvarus betrayed her and attempted to murder her mentor, Wolf. Lady Death needs time for Wolf to heal, but the forces of the Eldritch and the holy Knights are pursuing her. Cornered, she has no choice but to fight back in a way we haven't seen before. Wolf has trained Lady Death in the art of combat, but she has little training in her mystical abilities. Those will begin to unravel on her. The series will also involve the sly masters of trade and commerce, The Greelum.

"This is a good jumping on point for new readers because it shows the dynamics of Lady Death and her enemies," continued Pulido. "For existing readers it will have a few fun twists because an old enemy of Lady Death will return in an unexpected way. The interior penciler for the series is Di Amorim. He will handle the first story arc and alternating arcs. He is currently finishing up the first 'UnHoly' series as well. For the 'Classic' Lady Death, we will retell her origin story. We call her classic right now because we are stumped on how else to describe her. But since she was the first version of the character, classic seems as appropriate as anything for now.

"Readers will learn how a girl named Hope transformed into the female personification of death. The penciler and inker for the series will be my friend Romano Molenaar, who is a big favorite with long time Chaos! readers. His work is just simply amazing."

In a recent CBR News interview with Puldio in which he announced he'd created four new original horror comics to be published by Avatar, he stated that no one else would be writing these characters. While at Chaos!, "Lady Death" was often written by outside writers bringing their take to the character, but Pulido decided that only he would write the characters. "I learned that the fans want the guy who started the character out or not at all," Pulido told CBR News. This will remain true with the two Lady Death series at Avatar, with one possible exception.

"There is one Lady Death story not written by me that I would like to resurrect," said Pulido. "That is the 'Lady Death/The Crow' crossover written by Dan Jolley. It is a truly magnificent story. It is probably complicated to do, so we will see. Who knows?"

"I'm really of the opinion that only Brian should be writing Lady Death and his other works ('Belladonna,' 'UnHoly,' 'Gypsy')," said Christensen. "He has a unique style that fans really connect with and I think that connection gets lost when other writers take over the books. I am not planning on anyone else writing his books now or in the future."

With the business end of things handled by Avatar now, more time is available to Pulido to concentrate on his writing. "I'll simply keep going, writing up a storm," said Pulido. "Now that I don't have the managerial duties of owning a business, I can fly through stories. I'm good for three or four a month." Christensen noted, "Yeah, I'm taking all the heavy lifting of publishing off Brian's back so he can simply be a creative force. The plan is for three or four Pulido-written books to be solicited each month from Avatar." "What's cool is that readers will see all these books interact and connect, over time," added Pulido.

Production on the "Lady Death" animated feature from ADV Films continued despite the publishing troubles, with the DVD planned for release this October. "The 'Lady Death' animated feature will be world premiering at Comic-Con International in San Diego on Friday July 23rd at 9PM in room 5 AB. ADV films will be marketing and promoting it very heavily. I will be signing free movie posters at the ADV booth Thursday-Saturday from 1:00PM to 2:00PM. Also a live Lady Death will be at the booth to give fan free tickets to the movie. We are working on a number of promos with ADV in connection with the movie. The movie will also be showing four times at Wizard World Chicago. I will be at a few of the screenings to give out free promo items and to sign them."

The duo of Pulido and Christensen have a number of long term plans for Lady Death and both know a lot of hard, careful work will be required to return to the character back to comic shops with regularity. "We have our work cut out for ourselves," admitted Pulido. "Lady Death has the potential to be one of the most powerhouse independent properties out there, but it will take a lot of hard work from both Avatar and Eternal to put her back on the map." Christensen added, "We do have some ambitious plans, but we will proceed with caution so that we can grow the property again with retailer and fan support. Long term, we hope to get a line of licensed goods out there again as well as produce the best books we can."

More Images:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/preview.php?image=news/ldryp2.jpg">http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/ ... ldryp2.jpg</a><!-- m -->

~~~~~~~~~~~

I think this news is gonna have Chanty screaming for joy

A Sabretooth mini-series will launch this fall. It will be written by Daniel Way, with art by Bart Sears.. More details later.

I found this over on Ain't It Cool News. While it speaks well for the Superman franchise, it might just leave our beloved X-Men in the lurch. Read on to find out why...
---------------------------------------------------------

Saturday, July 17, 2004
Warners finally gets it right! SUPERMAN RETURNS! The Confirmed Details Spill To Earth!
Hey folks, Harry here... it is with a great deal of relief, joy and happiness that I can lay out what is happening with the Man of Steel.
As of Today, the deals for Bryan Singer, Michael Dougherty & Dan Harris have been closed to helm & write from scratch the new SUPERMAN film. This is the X2 team. The team that made, arguably the best of the Marvel Films (arguable only because Raimi nailed the hell out of SPIDER-MAN 2).
The J.J. Abrams script has been completely tossed out. Not of shred of it will remain. That McG ordered SUPERMAN cybersuit (Brilliant Ideas From Mr Hot Wheels, eh?) that Stan Winston's brilliant craftsmen were paid zillions to create is GONE! Today, long time sources like Frosty Skywalker, Sir Etch-A-Sketch and Sir Magnadoodle... those last two have been in the hallways of Warners for the better part of the past decade... and have access to every room. Frosty wrote to tell me that Bryan was signed, and that LOGAN'S RUN and X3 were now dead. While the first part of that is true... LOGAN'S RUN and X3 are not dead. The word from the halls of Warner Bros is that LOGAN'S RUN will be the film that Bryan Singer will make immediately after the Man Of Steel lands in theaters near us all. HOWEVER - if you begin talking to spies at Fox in Tom Rothman's offices and adjoining offices... X3 will be made after SUPERMAN by Singer, or Fox will leave him behind and continue forward with a new director. It'll be interesting to see how the cast will take to that... I know they all love Rothman so. He's a really cute dude, very lovable snugglebunny and obviously the reason that series has been the success that it has been. No, no, really. Ok, maybe that's a fib.
Details on SUPERMAN RETURNS, which is what Team Singer and WB seem to be calling it, are few and far between. But one source, that proved to me today to be quite close to some Warner exec that strikes an amazing resemblence to Lex Luthor himself, hinted to me that this film does not throw the Donner films away and allegedly somehow has something to do with their timeline and history!!! So... from the title, all we're left with is... he must have left, and now he's back. Does that refer to the child of Krypton's absence from theaters, Metropolis, our Planet or what? Will 3 & 4 be canon or merely tragedies? If he's returning, one can assume that he went somewhere, and now feels the need to be back... but why? Where'd he go? Why's he back? I can say though... SUPERMAN RETURNS will not be an Origin Story. We're not going to walk through all that molasses for the umpteenth time, waiting for Kal-El to do something or become Superman again!
The confirmed details are: Bryan Singer, Michael Dougherty & Dan Harris are on board. It will not be an origin story. And something regarding the Christopher Reeve films and that universe has something to do with this. (though that last one is a shady detail... My source heard that, but when they did... there was no elaboration for the how, what, when, where or why of it.)
I assure you... I'm on this case like Comet, the super-horse! That's right, I'm your super-stud!
While Warners continues to be the craziest most bi-polar studio on planet Earth... It seems they're nailing BATMAN BEGINS... and they finally have a team that I can get enthusiastically pumped up about. Now if only GREEN LANTERN was being done justice the way New Line proposed to Warners in a faithful 3 film Green Lantern Corps super epic. But, a comedic riff by Jack Black... that's just as good right? Sigh. No matter, the team behind X2 will once again have all of us believing that a man can fly!

-Harry Knowles