Posted 14/05/2004
Source Newsarama

After copious speculating and guessing by fans, WildStorm has confirmed for Newsarama that Dustin Nyguen is the new penciller of The Authority, coming on board for upcoming writer Ed Brubaker’s run.

The move will mark Nguyen’s return to the WildStorm Universe following his five-part Batman story, “As the Crow Flies” with Judd Winick, which is slated to wrap in July. Prior to Batman Nguyen had been the artist on Wildcats 3.0, which had recently been cancelled. “I had already planned to head back to WildStorm after Batman,” Nguyen told Newsarama. “I promised a lot of people I would, plus I’ve always felt at home there. They were the first to give me a shot at things, so I was hoping if Batman had gotten me any good press or recognition, I could drag that back with me to WildStorm and see what damage I could do there. Plus it’s all one world to me... I still get to hang out at the DC booth every year, so that's plenty.” Given the title lineup at the imprint, as well as Nguyen’s desire to come back, it didn’t take long for him to be matched with Brubaker on the series. “As I said, they knew I wanted do something Wildstorm,” Nguyen said. “Knowing that Ed was involved really made it for me though. I like saying his name. Brubaker...heh.” And the pairing is just fine with the writer. “Dustin’s name came up a few times in the early talks, but we all knew he'd be returning to Wildcats, so it never got serious. I'm a big fan of what Joe and Dustin were doing on that book, and would've never tried to steal him away. We actually had another great artist in place, but there were some difficulties, and he had to drop out. So then Ben [Abernathy, editor] and I were back to kicking names around again and I was getting kind of worried, really. There were a lot of artists that wanted to work with me on this book, but they were all committed to other jobs and just couldn't do it. And just when I was fretting, word came down that Wildcats was going to be cancelled, so Ben brought Dustin up again, and I said, yeah, call him up. Get him before DC lets him stay on Batman. (laughs)”

Brubaker agreed with Nguyen’s assessment of bringing some attention back with him to the WSU following his Batman run. “From the beginning I knew we needed to have one artist draw my entire run -- that was my one demand really, since my run is one big 12 issue arc -- and I knew it had to be somebody really awesome, too, preferably someone with ‘heat’ as they say,” Brubaker said. “So I was <bleeping> thrilled that we were able to secure someone of Dustin's talent, and to get him right after he comes off an acclaimed and high profile Batman run doesn't hurt, either. I think it's ironic that my first Authority story was drawn by Jim Lee right after he finished Batman, and now I get Dustin right after his Bat-run, too.” Speaking of filling big shoes, Nguyen knows that’s what he has to do, given that The Authority’s artistic legacy consists of names like Hitch, Quitely, and…Nguyen. “I guess the first time I did the fill in a few years back [vol. 1, issues #23-#26], I watched myself a lot, worrying,” Nguyen said. “Nowadays, I really just want to make my mark on things instead of attempting to fill the shoes of the great. When I jumped on Batman, I didn’t really think about how awesome Neal Adams or Klaus Janson was, I just really wanted to do my best and contribute what I could to the already legendary title. I realize The Authority hasn’t been around quite that long, but I think there's enough history there dating back to early WildStorm Universe that makes this book along with titles like Wildcats very iconic.”

As Brubaker mentioned, another artist was slated to pull the art duties on the series, meaning that, from accepting the gig, Nguyen was already slightly behind the eight ball in terms of scheduling. But – Nguyen’s been a quick study. “I've been reading up on the title and Ed's pretty elaborate on the details and order of things, so I’ve been pretty much caught up…since - Wednesday.” Given the orbits the two have been in for the past few years, it comes as a mild surprise that Brubaker and Nguyen haven’t worked together before. Ships that pass in the night, and all that. “Joe [Casey] is a good friend of mine and has always told me how easy he was to work, and I've been a fan of his stuff for years,” Brubaker said. “And he's one of those guys who just gets better every issue, too, so I've been watching him grow the last year. I remember when I saw the Wildcats issue that was all motorcycle sword-fight action and I was just floored. That was some of the best action I'd seen in comics lately.

“I love to work with artists like that, who are still growing, and who are up to a challenge. Dustin is definitely up to the challenge of taking on The Authority, and that's important for a book like this, because it's not an easy book to draw, but it's also a book that has made two artists into superstars. So to have Dustin raring to go, and willing to draw whatever is supposed to be on the page, and to know that he's dedicated, too, that he hits his deadlines, is awesome. Because like I said, I really needed one artist for this book. No one has had one solid artist on the book since Warren [Ellis], and I think that consistency is part of what helped set the bar so high on The Authority. “One thing that was mentioned when discussing him before he got the gig, was that he'd drawn the book before, so it wouldn't be as excited to some fans, maybe, for him to do a longer run. But I felt that the situation was so weird back then that we never really did see him draw the team. He drew the fill-in team during a time when fans were already pissed off about having to wait for Mark [Millar]'s last issues. And besides that, he's so much better than he was then, too. I mean, just look at his first cover -- It's already different that anything we've seen from him and different from every Authority cover we've ever seen.”

And Nguyen is raring…“I'm a huge fan of the Carrier and it's history and existence,” the artist said. “I'd love to blow it up. So far, I've found that I feel most comfortable drawing the doctor, but I’m still getting used to the others - I didn’t really draw much of the team in my last fill in run. Hell... it took me 16 issues to get to know Agent Wax in Wildcats. Technically, I find that Midnighter is the toughest to draw. I'm always conflicted on how I want his expressions to look. A lot of people would like to think of him as Batman or something, but I really doubt it. They don’t really have much in common except that they both wear dark clothing and masks. Oh yeah, and that pointy nose thingie...and I had already planned to secretly draw the Beef Brothers [S&M…enforcers/persuaders] on every other page no matter what book I’d be on!” Brubaker: “I imagine Dustin and I are both adapting what we do well to the strengths of the book as much as adapting to each other. One thing I've learned from working on this book is to allow it to be The Authority. I'm bringing my voice to it, certainly, but I'm also wallowing in what I loved about this series from the very first, so it's different from a lot of my previous work, I think. I'll wager it'll be the same for Dustin, more detail and crowd scenes than he's used to drawing, but still that attention to faces and character and action that make his work his own. I can't wait to see more, honestly. This is the most fun I've had in comics since the first Catwoman stuff.

“I know this story is going to kill Dustin while it's hopefully knocking the fans on their asses thanks to his art, so I'm just hoping all the ridiculous things I'm making him draw don't destroy his hands. The first issue has a riot in it that is going to be a blast to see. Beyond that, I'm not revealing anything, because there are too many cool moments that could be spoiled. But I will tease that this storyline is going to really appeal to readers who've been with the book and these characters for the long haul. I've worked hard to make it new reader friendly, too, but if you were a fan of the book in the days of old, this run is really up your alley. The big thing in mainstream comics right now is to re-examine the past, and so one of the things we're doing in this book is to stick our thumb in the eye of that idea, while being as good a superhero team book as we can be at the same time. It's a high-wire act, for sure, but this book set the tone for every team book that followed it in a lot of ways, so I think it's time to really do something new and <bleeped> up with The Authority again. “I guarantee that anyone who gets to the end of our second issue will be hooked for the long haul.”

The first issue of the Brubaker-Nguyen Authority run will be #14, tentatively slated for an August debut.

http://www.chriswetherell.com/elf/Default.asp

Thought everyone might get a kick out of this. In my search for baby names, I've been playing with the Elven Name Generator.

My Hobbit Name: Daisy Sandydowns
My Elven Name: Idril Eärfalas

Enjoy!

Well chanty was our first member to reach and breach 100 posts. And now the board has reached another milestone. This is now our 1000th post

I would just like to say a big thanks to all of our members. Without you there would be no community, and it is a community that we are building her more than just a website. Give yourselves a round of applause and let's get going for the next 1000 posts and beyond.

The place to be with views and news on the next X-Men movie

Posted 13/05/2004
Source Comics2Film/IMDB

Berry Returns to 'X-Men' for Bigger Role
Halle Berry now looks set to return to 'X-Men'. She has apparently agreed to star in the second X-Men sequel after studio bosses agreed to give her a bigger role in the forthcoming movie. The Oscar-winner was reluctant to reprise her role as Storm in X-Men 3 - but producer Lauren Shuler convinced her by boosting her character's involvement. Schuler says, "I love working with her. We would only write a huge role for her, so she's right in that respect. We would make sure that would happen." Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Famke Janssen are also expected to reprise their roles in film, set to begin shooting next year.

Posted 13/05/2004
Source Newsarama

In a move that will continue Marvel’s relationship with Barnes & Noble, the bookstore chain will offer a “Limited Edition” collection of Ultimate Spider-Man - 992 pages, which will collect material that was previously only available in three separate collections. The kicker (read that both ways, depending on whether you’re a customer or a retailer) is the retail price: $49.95 or $34.96 online. Prior to the release of this collection, the cost of the separate hardcovers would have cost approximately $90, or $47 in softcover. Previously, Marvel had entered a publishing/packaging relationship with Barnes & Noble with its early Marvel Masterworks volumes in softcover – a format which comic retailers have been asking Marvel to provide to them for years. The softcover Masterworks, as with the upcoming Ultimate Spider-Man collection are Barnes & Noble exclusives, that is, not available to direct market retailers via Diamond.

As with the Masterworks news, several retailers are expressing a combination of dismay and anger at Marvel over the move with the bookseller, with retailers wondering how single volumes of the Ultimate Spider-Man hardcovers and soft covers will sell, now that customers and potential customers could pick up much more for less. “Here's another case of Marvel offering a bargain-priced product to other markets and bypassing us,” said Cliff Biggers of Dr. No’s Comics, Games & More in Marietta, GA. “I know, we've heard it before--Marvel isn't required to offer every product to us... But every time they work with other retailers to move customers from our market to other markets, it will have additional long-term ramifications. “I'm most disappointed to see this--particularly with a product like this. At almost a thousand pages - three hardcovers worth - for about the same price as what we're charging for one Ultimate Spidey hardcover, this is an incredible bargain... One that Marvel can afford to offer to B&N because we have amortized the setup cost for them via the sales of the hardcovers.”

As Newsarama reported when the previous Masterworks deal was announced: The Barnes & Noble collection won’t be the first time a comic publisher has licensed their material to a bookstore’s in-house publishing arm for publication – in the late ‘80s, DC did the same with the Longmeadow Press editions of The Complete Frank Miller Batman, and Stacked Deck: The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told: Expanded Edition (both designed by Dean Motter). Both were high-end leatherbound books sold exclusively through Walden Books, which owned Longmeadow. In that circumstance, both volumes were ultimately available to the direct market through distributors. From the Marvel side of the equation, the collection is a licensing deal, just as the Masterworks - Marvel most likely sold a one-time license to Barnes & Noble to collect and publish the collection, allowing B&N to print as many as they feel they could sell. Given the movie coming in July, the collection will get tremendous exposure at Barnes & Nobles across the country – including regions of the country that do not have a local comics shop. It could be argued that, as with the B&N Masterworks editions, thousands of more people will be exposed to comics in general. Additionally, the deal signifies, on B&N’s part, a high confidence in Marvel and Spider-Man, as well as a sense that there is an opportunity in this product specifically, and the graphic novel category, generally.

The hardcover is slated to be in B&N stores on May 24th.

Posted 13/05/2004
Source Comics Continuum

IDT Entertainment and Todd McFarlane Productions have announced a multi-faceted development, production and distribution agreement to produce animated programming and merchandise based on Spawn and other TMP original intellectual properties. The initial project is the return of Todd McFarlane's Spawn: The Animated Series. IDT Entertainment is an entertainment/animation company that includes animation and film production through DPS/Film Roman, Mainframe Entertainment, and DKP Effects, and video distribution through Anchor Bay Entertainment.

"This agreement is better than marvelous," said Jim Courter, IDT's CEO. "Worldwide, the demand for a new Spawn series continues to grow. The first series broke new creative ground for an animated series and was its generation's most popular comic franchise. With IDT Entertainment as the animation partner the new series will be even better."



McFarlane will oversee all aspects of development and production, as executive producer. Terence Fitzgerald, senior vice president of creative development of Todd McFarlane Productions, will serve as co-executive producer, and Sidney Clifton, senior vice president and head of programming and development for DPS Film Roman, will lead the creative development team on the IDT Entertainment side.

"Ever since the Spawn animated series left HBO in 1999, I have been asked -- almost daily -- when the show is going to return," McFarlane said Todd McFarlane. "I've been waiting for the right opportunity to not only bring the show back, but also do it with the intent of making it better creatively than its first incarnation. Teaming up with IDT Entertainment's DPS/Film Roman will allow us to take it to the next level of animation technology."

In addition to Spawn, McFarlane swill create two additional animated properties.

Click here for a rundown on the comics with images for August

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.comicwidows.com/crossover/index.php?link=0020">http://www.comicwidows.com/crossover/in ... ?link=0020</a><!-- m -->

I read this article tonight and then i read it again. It's a small article, but it's obvious that the feelings expressed are heartfelt. Personally I feel that publishers seem to forget that they are producing a medium that is supposed to entertain. In the past comic books were often a source for great innovation and enjoyment. Today that same innovation is usually reserved by small or self published titles and the large publishers seem mostly content to rehash old stories or even resort to cheap gimmicks to cream a few extra pennies from their audience, we the comic buying public. While the comics industry is the same as any other in that the companies involved are out to make as much money for their backers and shareholders as possible, there is an inherent difference between a comic book publisher and most other service suppliers. The core reason for any comic publishers existance is to publish comics, to provide written and drawn entertainment to the comic buying masses. Too often these days I think publishers are looking more towards movie deals than to their core business and thus they arew actually losing sight of what their core customers want. Fun four color action. Plain and simple.

This is the place to post any major spoilers you have for any of the upcoming X-Men titles.

And it doesn't get much bigger in the spoilage line than this.. an entire issue of Ultimate X-Men #46
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/marvel/ultxmen/">http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/marvel/ultxmen/</a><!-- m -->

If you have some spoilers to post for Avengers related characters this is the place to post it.

And it doesn't come much bigger than this. The whole entire issue of Thor #80
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/marvel/thor/">http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/marvel/thor/</a><!-- m -->