Just thought I would post some links to a couple of new pics of Halle in costume, for those interested.

click here for images click here for the official site

Personally I would have preferred to see them using Selina Kyle backstory for the movie and would have liked to see anyone but Ms Berry in the role. She might have 'won' an oscar, but that doesn't make her a great actress.

Ok, my books haven't arrived this week yet, but I'm anxiously anticipating the end of 1602. Well, I can't say I'm anticipating the end of the book. I'd really like to see it go on to become a serious full time series to replace some of the schlock Marvel is producing right now.
Neil Gaiman greated GOLD with 1602. I've LOVED it from beginning to end.

Greetings!
I know my presence has been mysterious of late and for that I apologize. I think you guys are doing a great job without me interferring so I am letting you run with it.
Remember this is your game not mine. I am here only as an observer and to move things along if they need be. Right now I'm seeing some wonderful character interactions and I'm enjoying reading everything. I don't see a point in moving the game along when people seem to be enjoying what they are doing.

Keep up the great job!

The Watcher

Posted 04/04/2004
Source: Newsarama

Newsarama has learned that CrossGen’s Vice President of Publishing, Bill Rosemann quit his job this past Thursday. Little is known beyond that at this point, aside from the fact that it was Rosemann who left the company, and that he was not fired.

Rosemann was promoted to VP of Publishing in the latter part of last year, as the company went through its “reorganization” following widely reported financial difficulties. He had originally joined the company in February of 2003 as the Director of Marketing Communications, shortly after leaving Marvel Comics.

As with his position at Marvel, Rosemann quickly became the public voice and later face of CrossGen, as CrossGen chief Mark Alessi took a lower-profile approach in regards to the press and media. Rosemann was responsible for both coordinating media coverage of the company's output, as well as providing various outlets with preview material, acting as public spokesman, and overseeing publishing. To the end, Rosemann was a stringent defender of the company, its output, and many of its policies.

Rosemann's departure is the second high profile such leave-taking that happened last week, as writer Ian Edginton reported to Newsarama and other outlets that he had quit Sojourn in protest of company policies and management. Edginton particularly cited the company's upcoming book, American Power, which has been drawing mostly negative publicity from fans and the online comics community.

The book, likened to the first issue of Captain America in 1941, featured "real world" heroes going after terrorists, with the cover to the first issue featuring a leather-clad hero punching Osama bin Laden. An interview with the series writer, Chuck Dixon had been arranged with Newsarama through Rosemann, but was pulled at the last minute with no reason given. The title has remained a hotbed of controversy since its cover was revealed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Extracted from Ian Edginton's Newsarama Interview a few days earlier.
(Ian Edginton was already a well-known writer when he came to CrossGen over a year ago. Named heir to Ron Marz’s titles that continued from the launch, Sojourn and Scion, Edginton took up the reigns of both titles, anxious to finally be doing sword and sorcery (after a fashion at least)

"The Christmas incident clinched it for me but obviously I needed to try and get back as much money as I could first. Then last month, Bill called me and said that they were looking to wind down Sojourn with issue #41, so could I start planning and plotting for that event? He also mentioned that Greg Land would be taking an extended break from the book to concentrate on other projects. I was pretty gutted. Despite everything, I actually quite enjoyed working on Sojourn and Scion. I’d wanted to write a sword and sorcery book for years and so when the chance to write two came along, I was well pleased. There’s a perverse kind of logic at CrossGen, at a time when fantasy films are riding high, they cancel their major pair of fantasy titles and when Sojourn is actually moving up the sales charts, making it their only top 100 bestseller, they pull the rug from under it?

The thing that really got to me though was the launch of the American Power title. I realise that I’m basing my opinions on a single picture and a couple of paragraphs of copy but isn’t that what everyone is supposed to base their orders on too and what’s worse it’s for Free Comic Book Day, when more kids are likely to pick it up than usual? That book is just wrong in so many ways I don’t know where to start. It’s crass, morally questionable and outright offensive to the families and memories of the men, women and children who died in 9/11 and the Atocha station bombing. From the way the book has been pitched, we’re not talking about a piece of finely crafted, probing, investigative literature or even journalism. It’s exploitation plain and simple."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is it just me or are things going from bad to worse over there at Crossgen?

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040403/ap_on_el_gu/no_time_switch">http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s ... ime_switch</a><!-- m -->

Ok, you guys know that Thor and I live in Indiana. Both of us grew up outside of the state, in normal states that actually go with the Daylight Savings Time change.
However, the part of Indiana we live in now, does not EVER change time. Read the above article and see how hard Indiana has made it for their citizens to grasp Daylight Savings Time.

The Hollywood Stock Exchange ran a list of upcoming release dates and it's generated some interest from readers for its predictions on the openings of X-MEN 3, BATMAN BEGINS and FANTASTIC FOUR. According to the site, the new BATMAN film is targeting an opening on June 17, 2005; X-MEN 3 is May 5, 2006 and FANTASTIC FOUR is on at July 1, 2005.

The thing to keep in mind is that all future release dates for movies are extremely tentative and can change overnight. For example, Fox's FANTASTIC FOUR is no further along than it was a year ago when it was slated for a July 4, 2004 opening. It was then bumped to a December 2004 release, and when still no forward movement had happened, now the film is slated for a summer 2005 slot.


-This update brought to you by the fine folks over at Cinescape.com

Just a short note to let you all know about some additions and changes that have been made to the forums.

[IMG] Tag:
I have extended the [IMG] tag to allow you to align your linked pictures
left or right and have any associated text in the post wrap around the
picture. You can now start your tag with [img=left] or [img=right]
as desired.

User Profile:
I have added a section to show the current signature text/image

Latest Posts
I have amended the scroller at the bottom of the front page so now when you click on the link it will take you to the latest post in the thread rather than the first post.

by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean
Reported: 01/04/2004
Source: Newsarama

Marvel Comics and Excalibur artist Aaron Lopresti have provided Newsarama with a preview of the new series written by veteran X-writer and upcoming Uncanny X-Men scribe Chris Claremont. Also provided are two character sketches.

In an earlier interview with Claremont, the writer revealed that the new Excalibur kicks off with Professor Xavier in the ruins of the island of Genosha to deal with ramifications of the massacre that happened during former New X-Men writer Grant Morrison’s “E is for Extinction” arc.
“I suspect he has a far more graphic and literal sense of the consequences of failure, which in turn leaves him that much more committed to the ideals of his dream,” Claremont said. “To my eye, this is Xavier very much as an active, action hero, regardless of the fact that he’s a functional paraplegic. This is - I hope - where we get to see the reason why teenagers were willing to commit to him, and his dream, so wholeheartedly that he became, and remains, the defining thrust of their lives. What is there about him that makes him so irresistibly charismatic and admirable? But at the same time what aspect of him allows him to place children in positions of such ongoing peril? To me, these are questions that have never been addressed much less answered. This is where I’d like to start. Basically, it deals with Charley’s first days on the island, introducing the setting, certain characters, certain adversaries, stuff like that. There’s a moment with Unus the Untouchable that I really can’t wait to see.”

When we last got in touch with Lopresti, the artist had just been offered a chance to draw the series following original artist Igor Kordey’s departure from the book. And he mentioned that he was just “three pages into it” at that time. The first two issues were originally solicited for a May release, but the second issue has since been resolicited for June. “I am progressing at the slow rate of one issue a month,” Lopresti told Newsarama. “I have finished the first issue and I am currently knee deep in the second. I should have close to three issues complete when the first issue comes out. That is not a huge buffer, but its certainly workable. As long as I never get sick, I will be just fine.”

Lopresti has worked on the Rogue limited series, Uncanny X-Men and Ultimate X-Men #1/2. How different is Excalibur from the previous X-projects? “It is a little more intimidating because I am working with [Chris] Claremont who is the co-creator of the [All-New, All-Different] X-Men and the original driving force behind the franchise,” he admitted.

“Probably the hardest thing about working on Excalibur, though, is all of the design work involved. It is easy to work on someone else's characters because if they look stupid or silly it's not your fault. But when you have a hand in creating or designing things you're the one who is responsible for it. I didn't look at anything Igor did [when designing the characters]. I don't think it is the appropriate thing to do.”

The team members on the core X-titles, namely Astonishing X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, X-Men and New X-Men have sort of been confirmed on the covers shown in the recent previews. However, with Excalibur, only Professor X and Warren Warthington III aka Angel have been confirmed. Who else is in the new series?

“I'll let you know when I find out. Actually, it is a combination of new characters and some older characters that might have an interest in Genosha. Again, I am not really supposed to say. However, I will say that the new characters in the book are really cool. I think it can be really hit and miss with creating new characters, especially [the] X-Men. A lot of times characters are repetitive or just plain stupid but I really believe that some of the new characters in Excalibur can have staying power. What Chris, Mike [Marts], and I are trying to do is create iconic characters like the original "new X-Men". In other words, characters that not only are interesting people but also have unique looks to them. There is no mistaking Storm or Nightcrawler or Wolverine no matter what they are wearing. That is the type of sensibility we are trying to bring to our "new mutants" in this series.

As for who’s on the cover that accompanied the solicitations for the June issue of Excalibur, Lopresti said: “I believe you are referring to the cover to issue #3. I don't believe there is a cover for #2 yet. (As odd as that may seem) If you are speaking of the girl that is part human and part robotic, that is Karima. They tell me she is a juiced up mutant killer. I will say that there are a few - well at least one - surprises in this book that will make it a must read for all X–fans.”

Other images:
http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Excalibur/Hub.jpg
http://www.newsarama.com/Marvel/Excalibur/jaunt.jpg

Well, I picked up Trades Vol 3 and 4 from Forbidden Planet the other week there and I must admit it is a very good book indeed. I liked the cliffhanger (pun intended) at the end of volume 3 and indeed the change of pace at the beginning of Volume 4 with a bit of back story for Arwyn.

I am gonna have to see if I can get a hold of volumes 1 & 2 now or i will be incomplete adness:

Who'd be the first to break 100 posts???




:pink:

*shameless self promotion here*


So, what's this weekend hold for you?