Matt D. Wilson
MondoCon Confirms 2014 Lineup, 2000 AD Documentary, Shaolin Cowboy Cartoon, Will Probably Be Sold Out By The Time You Read This
When Mondo, the merchandising arm of the celebrated Alamo Drafthouse theater known for selling super-cool movie posters, announced that it would host a convention in Austin, Texas, September 20-21, it wasn't entirely clear what the focus would be. Movies? Artists? Movies about artists?
As it turns out, it's all of the above. In addition to hosting the world-premiere screening of the new documentary about the British comics anthology 2000AD, Future Shock!, the weekend event will also host an array of comic artists, many of which have contributed their talents to film. Some of those artists, including Alex Ross have contributed art to celebrate the 15th anniversary of The Iron Giant.
Zack Snyder Called Into A Detroit Radio Show To Defend Aquaman’s Honor
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice director Zack Snyder apparently has a superpower: The ability to know when radio DJs are talking smack about Aquaman.
Last week, after the on-air personalities on Detroit's sports-talk radio station The Ticket spoke somewhat disparagingly about the character, who will reportedly be played by Jason Momoa in the upcoming Batman V Superman, Snyder called in to school them about Aquaman's "cool abilities."
Report: Sony Planning A Woman-Led Superhero Movie In The Spider-Man Franchise
As fans debate what superheroine should get a solo movie from Marvel Studios, it would appear that Sony is looking to beat the Disney superhero factory to the punch using a Marvel character.
According to a Deadline report, Sony Pictures is planning to release a movie in its Spider-Man franchise led by a woman, though it's not clear which character will be front-and center. The movie would see release in 2017.
Spider-Man With Super-Speed: Comics Alliance Reviews ‘The Flash’ Television Pilot
If you've read my recaps of The CW's Arrow, then you likely know I've been pretty hard on it. Yet I ultimately think the show accomplishes what it has brazenly set out to do since it started: be a television version of the Christopher Nolan Batman films.
The CW's new series The Flash, which spun off from Arrow and even features a guest appearance from Arrow star Stephen Amell in its pilot episode, takes much the same approach, but the movies it attempts to emulate aren't the dark, brooding Batman films. It's chasing after the Spider-Man franchise. And for both better and worse, it nails it.
Laughing At The Joker: Adam West & Developers Talk ‘LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham’
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham is going to be a positively huge video game.
I got to see that first hand when I played a brief demo at DC's booth at Comic-Con International in San Diego last weekend. First off, it's got a huge playground for players to explore. The "Beyond Gotham" of the title refers to outer space, and the game will go to a whole host of different worlds. Then there are the playable characters--105 or so, according to the game makers, and they include characters in both their superhero guises and as their secret identities. A new feature enables players to change from Clark Kent to Superman using a phone booth, for example.
‘Oh, F–k Me': The Good And Bad Of The Leaked ‘Deadpool’ Test Footage [Video]
Test footage from the unlikely-but-not-impossible Deadpool movie has been appearing and disappearing all over the Internet for the past few days, with a high-res version popping up on Vimeo (since deleted) and DailyMotion (the player above).
Here's what we know about it: director Tim Miller and actor Ryan Reynolds made the two minutes or so of footage back in 2012 to convince 20th Century Fox to greenlight a film. It hasn't convinced them yet, and Reynolds has been less than optimistic about the movie's chances in recent interviews. Fans can assume that if there had been (or could be) a Deadpool movie, it would have looked a lot like this. There's a lot to like about what's in here, and a few things that seem to be missteps. Let's take a look.
Vampire Batman, Hypnotic Induction, And God: Grant Morrison Talks ‘The Multiversity’ [Interview]
For years now, DC Comics fans have been hearing about writer Grant Morrison's The Multiversity -- a universe-jumping series of one-shot stories tied together by an introductory and concluding issue that tracks the cosmic monitor Nix Woton as he tries to save multiple universes from an existential threat. Universes that become aware of this threat by reading about it in comic books... comic books that, it turns out, take place in neighboring universes. We first saw artwork from Frank Quitely's installment all the way back in 2012, but the project has been in the works since even before the advent of DC's line-wide 2011 reboot, the New 52 (a name that has proven confusing in the past, but, we promise, never more so than in this interview).
Now it's finally starting next month, featuring auspicious collaborations with artists including Cameron Stewart, Ben Oliver, Chris Sprouse, Ivan Reis, Frank Quitely, and even more besides, introducing readers to a Vampire Batman, a Nazi Superman, a dinosaur cop, "Sister Miracle," an evil comic book called Ultra Comics, and tons of other ideas inspired by the deep history of DC Comics lore.
The Dark (And Sometimes Silly) Art Of The ‘Batman: Arkham Knight’ Cape/Cowl/Create Exhibition
What if Batman had a fur-lined cape? Or had Scribblenauts on his cowl? Or was Rorschach?
All those questions and more were answered at the Cape/Cowl/Create Exhibition hosted by DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Vice magazine at Comic-Con International in San Diego. The whole thing was a promotion for the new Batman: Arkham Knight game, and used the cape and cowl designs from the game as a basis for the artwork. The concept resulted in some pretty cool stuff, and the opulence of the event was a vivid expression of just how big the Arkham games have become -- often, installations like these are reserved for big tech franchise announcements.
Uncredited Batman Co-Creator Bill Finger’s Family Accepts Posthumous Inkpot Award At Panel Celebrating His Work
As one might suspect, the major thrust of Thursday's "Spotlight on Bill Finger, Co-Cceator of Batman" panel was that Bill Finger never got the credit he deserved.
Comic-Con's organizers made one big gesture to make up for that, presenting Finger's granddaughter, Athena Finger, with a posthumous Inkpot Award just as the panel got started. The panelists tried their best to heap credit on Finger, too.
Original Nova Richard Rider Was Cut From The ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Movie
Undoubtedly the Marvel Comics stories that brought the Guardians of the Galaxy back to the forefront of fans' minds -- and shaped the versions of the characters that appear in the movie that opens next week -- were Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest.
Those series were also a bit of a revival for another character, Nova. And in a recent interview with ScreenCrush, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said some early drafts of the Guardians of the Galaxy script included the Richard Rider version of Nova.