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February18, 2006 - [ComicBookNetwork E-Mag] CBEM 563.07 >> |
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BONGO COMICS AT WONDER CON BY STEVE CHUNG The Bongo Comics Panel had Bill Morrison, Batton Lash, Terry Delegeane, Terry Moore, Eric Powell, and Paul Dini ready and willing to talk about the Simpsons and more. Terry Delegeane began by talking about how Bongo Comics is going to have some divided issues with back-up stories focusing on secondary characters. In issue # 115 of The Simpsons, there's a story called "Clown Therapy" where Krusty finds that he can't be funny. Some random notes about upcoming stories included: In "Vertigo Reno", Ned Flanders keeps seeing a woman who resembles his dead wife Maude. "Mall In The Family," is a funny story about how, when the Simpsons decide not to move, a mall is built around the family's home. In "Sandwiches Are Forever", Homer Simpson heads for Turkey in search of the perfect turkey sandwich, and winds up in a Turkish prison. His cellmate just happens to be Hank Scorpio. In "Ex-Men", the various bachelors of Springfield become interested in adopting an extreme sports lifestyle. An "Apprentice" parody finds Mr. Burns launching his own television series. When Mayor Quimby repeals Daylight Savings Time, Snake decides to serve out his five-year sentence by moving his watch forward, and his time is served. "25" is a parody of the TV series, "24", with each page representing the passage of time in the story. Chuck Dixon and Ty Templeton are working on a Simpsons International story. Linda Medley ("Castle Waiting") is working on a Simpsons Fairy Tale story. Bill Morrisson said, "I wanted to see a story which has the adult Simpsons characters as kids." Then noted that Mary Trainor, writer of Lisa Simpson, will be doing a parody of Archie with the Simpsons as kids. The story is called 2+1=0, and is based on the classic triangle of Archie/Betty/Veronica. Eric Powell is working on the upcoming Treehouse of Horror Issue. Three years ago, Powell came up with an Simpsons story idea, and Bongo contacted him. He emailed the pitch, and was afraid that Bongo would find it over the top. Instead, it turns out that the story was picked up. Bill Morrison lets the writers keep their own voices and inflict their own sensibilities on the characters. Artists are allowed to do their own style. For fans of the creative people, they should be pleased when they check out the stories. The story pitched by Eric Powell is a Simpsons story, and is completely Eric Powell's own. Terry Moore doesn't like solicitations which have to be written out five months in advance, and lies about them since he doesn't know at that point what the stories is going to be about. His story has got a soap opera theme with a surprise. Just this week, Moore pitched several movie ideas. The one story which Moore told those attending the panel has Homer being told by God to build a big sphere because the Almighty plans to get rid of cockroaches by spraying the planet. Terry Moore also mentioned that in "Strangers In Paradise", Freddy is his favorite character. He's fun to write, being an out-of-control character who doesn't do the right thing. Ian Boothby and Pia Guerra ("Y The Last Man") are also doing a story for "Treehouse of Horror". Kyle Baker is also contributing art chores for "Treehouse of Horror". Bill Morrison mentioned Radioactive Man and Simpson Super Spectacular. A book may win an award, but Eisner doesn't equal sales. Since there wasn't any Homer or Bart in "Radioactive Man", it was decided that the Simpsons would be depicted as super- heroes. Pie Man and Stretch Dude are to appear. Ian Boothby writes "A League Of Their Own", where the League of Women Voters outlaw super-heroes in Springfield. Since outlaws are allowed to operate, the various heroes become outlaws in order to function. Tom Beland ("True Stories Swear To God") writes a Homer as Galactus parody. As Gastridus, he goes through many heralds and worlds. Tom Peyer writes a Bartman story with Martin Prince as the Sciencester. Batton Lash observed that with the advent of solicitations, the element of surprise is gone in Diamond. At Lash's booth, he sells Radioactive Man Comics, and is frequently asked if the Simpsons people know what he's doing. Batton and Dan Brereton have done a "Marvels" parody entitled "Bongos". Batton Lash writes and draws a homage to Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff with the story, "The Day Radioactive Man Gave Up". Lash also writes/draws a Weasel Woman story, where the character goes up against the Crazy Cat Lady. He likens this story to those of Marvel's Strange Tales, where the characters were great, but the stories were terrible. Futurama will have an Anthology of Interest. Three issues were hard to do, so it will become Twice Told Tales of Interest. Frye wonders what life would be like if Christmas were everyday, and in another story, what it would be like to live in a sitcom. The crew of Planet Express find themselves on a medieval planet, where Bender becomes a modern-day Robin Hood. Another story pays homage to the Bottle City of Kandor. When someone gets down- sized, they're sent into the bottle. Leela is split into three, and finds herself being old, young, and normal at the same time. A graphic novel - one story - is coming out in trade. Simpsons/Futurama will be released with new material. Among the new material, we learn what happens when Police Chief Wiggum samples his own peyote chili. Paul Dini is working on a holiday special which should be out oddly enough at Christmas. Bill Morrison wondered who could he get to do such a thing, then remembered Dini's "Jingle Belle", and also recalled how Paul did a Homer/Comic Book Guy story. Dini wondered how does Santa Claus view Springfield and the Simpsons. It turns out that Santa's least favorite task is reading the letters sent to him from Springfield. Each page of the story will be about what Santa does with each of the letters. Harper-Collins has published the Simpsons Books of Wisdom. Next up will be a Krusty Book and a Lisa Book. Bill Morrison is always curious to see what creative people can come out with the characters. Evan Dorkin had written the Comic-Book Guy Book of Pop Culture, which had done very well, and which had readers enjoying the various references. A question and answer session followed and here are some highlights from it. The Bongo folks don't know anything about what's coming up on the Simpsons TV show. Since there is a clone of Mr. Burns in Futurama, don't be surprised if Ian Boothby decides to write about it in the Simpsons/Futurama hardcover. A Lisa Simpson Mystery Novel by Gail Simone was mentioned, but Simpsons creator Matt Groening was concerned about how well the characters would do in prose. Harper-Collins were excited about the idea, and we may see an oversized one-shot with text/illustration. Although there have been "Life In Hell" Cameos, they will remain separate from the Simpsons. Bill Morrison mentioned the possibility of a "Roswell" Halloween/X-Mas Special. Julian, Jasper, and Roswell go Christmas shopping, but there are no holiday decorations to be seen in town. They discover that Halloween has been celebrated each and every night. This has not received the green light yet. Harper-Collins - Episode Guide For Season 14 will be available. There are plans to expand the books into one book. From the first two books having 200 pages to an 800 page volume. "Heroes Anonymous" is in development at Sci-Fi. A two-hour script for the pilot. Sci-Fi has not mentioned "Heroes Anonymous" but it looks viable. Paul Dini was asked if he'll be doing a parody of "Lost" for the Simpsons Comic. He said, "You never know". Attendees observed that J.J. Abrams would be giving a panel on Saturday, and they planned on putting him into a bag, and getting their "Lost" answers from him. FRIENDS OF LULU TELLS THE PULSE ... MegaCon, The huge three day event in Orlando, Florida will have FOL in attendance! MegaCon, MegaCon '06, sponsored by Coliseum of Comics, and one of the south's largest conventions is taking place on February 24th - 26th, 2006 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando Florida. With George Perez as the Guest of honor and numerous notable personalities scheduled to appear, Friends of Lulu is proud to announce that we will be exhibiting at this exciting show! So come by and check us out at booth #733! National Vice President Ron???e Bourgeois will be there with plenty of goodies and a plethora of information. Hope to see you there! For more info: http://www.megaconvention.com http://www.friends-lulu.org +++++ From THE BEAT by Heidi McDonald at http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/ The Red Star at Universal THE RED STAR by Christian Gossett has been acquired by Universal. Timur Bekmambetov (NIGHT WATCH) is set to develop and the studio is seeking writers. THE RED STAR has won numerous comics awards, and the story is a sci-fi fantasy epic set in a futuristic Soviet Union where technology and sorcery co-exist. Marc Platt is producing while Gossett and Ken Levin have exec producer credits. +++++ From the Comics Continuum at http://www.comicscontinuum.com/: WONDERCON: FRANK MILLER PANEL SAN FRANCISCO -- Appearing at his own panel on Sunday at WonderCon, Frank Miller said he's inked 120 pages of some 200 pages for an original graphic novel called Holy Terror, Batman! Miller called the book "a propaganda piece" in which "Batman kicks al-Qaeda's ass." "Superman punched out Hitler, and so did Captain America," Miller said. "It seemed kind of silly for Batman to chase around the Riddler, when you have al-Qaeda out there." Miller said the book is "very pulpy" and "quite emotional" and features "some of my best art ever." DC Comics did not have a release date -- or any information, for that matter -- for the book. In other notes from the panel: * Asked about why Batman is "a dick," Miller replied: "He dresses up like a Batman and throws people through windows. He's the smartest super-hero on Earth, and yet he can't fly and he can't pick up cars." * Why should people like Batman if he's a dick? "Because he's our dick," Miller said. "If you're in a dark alley with a bunch of thugs with knives, you want Batman to show up. You don't have to have dinner with him." * Miller said that Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder will run as long as he and Jim Lee enjoy doing it. "It's kind of an old-fashioned pace," Miller said. "We'll stay on the strip and when we don't love it, we'll end it. It's very open. There will be a lot more of them." * Miller said the Sin City sequel will be mostly based on A Dame to Kill For. He said he's written a new story about Nancy Callahan after the suicide of Hartigan "that should surprise you." "There will be some other short stories, " Miller said. "There might be some Blue Eyes stuff." Shooting on the sequel might begin as early May. * Miller said there will be another Sin City graphic novel, but wouldn't elaborate on a time frame. * Miller said photography on 300 from Warner Bros. has been completed. "From what I've seen, it looks wonderful," he said. * Miller said he's involved in a Hard-Boiled movie and wants to direct more. BRIEFLY * Rittenhosue Archives is producing trading cards for X-Men: The Last Stand. MARVEL COMICS FOR APRIL * Iron Man is launching Sideshow Collectibles' line of Comquettes, sculptural studies of comic-based characters. The 1:4 scale Iron Man Comiquette is based on the cover art from Iron Man #76, by artist Adi Granov. It will be availabe in the fall. Click on the thumbnail for a larger image. * Black Panther will be featured in the second Ultimate Avengers animated movie. * Cartoon Network Enterprises has awarded Bandai the toy license to Ben 10. The animated series that launched on Cartoon Network on Jan. 14 was created by Man Of Action (Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau and Steve Seagle). * Bandai also announced it will publish a series of manga-sized digest essential collections of Top Cow's Tomb Raider and Witchblade. Each volume will feature a color cover with black and white interiors reprinting ten issues of each respective comic series, for a total of 220 pages. Each manga sized digest will retail for $9.99. *The first volume of Tomb Raider will be released in May, followed by the first volume of Witchblade in June, with subsequent volumes coming out on a quarterly schedule. * Heralds of Galactus will be a fall-releasing Booster Set for the Marvel TCG series from Upper Deck. +++++ From Newsarama at http://www.Newsarama.com/ WONDERCON '06: PETER DAVID EXCLUSIVE TO MARVEL Saturday afternoon on his "Spotlight" panel at WonderCon, veteran writer Peter David announced he has agreed to a three-year exclusive contract with Marvel Comics, the first such contract he has signed in his freelance career. "They asked me," David said straightforwardly, asked why he decided to sign with Marvel. "It's really not much more complicated than that. They made me a great offer that boiled down to, 'Hey, you wanna keep doing the exact same thing you're doing now, except we'll cover medical insurance and we'll guarantee you work." This will be the first time David has signed an exclusive contract in his freelancing life, though David did write while a full-time Marvel employee as sales manager, "So naturally I couldn't write for DC or other publishers since that would have been a clear conflict of interest." David said this was the first time he felt like he wanted to be in an exclusive freelance situation... "In the past, I doubt I would have been amenable to it since I was getting plenty of work from DC, but I haven't heard from them in a while, and although they keep telling me that they want to work with me, well...talk is cheap and utility bills aren't," he said. As to why he hasn't heard from DC in a while? "Beats me. I'm reasonably sure they haven't lost my phone number. But I haven't been offered any work since blasting Fallen Angel loose. Feel free to ask them what's up." So while he won't be writing any DC properties for at least three years, that does not mean fans of David's work outside the "Big Two" are s*** outta luck. Asked how it will affect his IDW work, for instance, David replied, "Not at all. When Tom Brevoort, who was the one who made the initial approach to me about it, first brought it up, I told him I couldn't see myself ditching such titles as Fallen Angel and [Claypool's] Soulsearchers and Company. Marvel came back and told me that they would write waivers for those titles and other works-in-progress into the contract." As to David's now exclusive relationship with Marvel, just a few years ago even he would've had a hard time imaging this scenario. Though he'd continued to work with them throughout, his relationship with the publisher a few years ago (i.e. and bluntly put, the Bill Jemas years) wouldn't have exactly been described as healthy. "But that was then," he said. "Time tends to heal wounds, plus when Bill departed much of the circus atmosphere went with him. Joe [Quesada] and I get along fine now; he was the prime instigator for the Hulk mini-series that wound up growing into "Tempest Fugit." And Tom Brevoort and Andy Schmidt have done a Herculean job in reviving my Marvel career, with Andy getting Madrox into print through literal force of will - which led to X- Factor - and Tom offering me Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. And it was my work on those titles that prompted Marvel to come to me and say, 'We love what you're doing; we want you on the team full-time'." "Full-time" very likely also means "more time", as David fully expects to add more work to his schedule that already includes X- Factor and Friendly Neighborhood Spidey... "Marvel editors have been calling right and left," David said. "And I'm getting involved in some really fun projects. I did a couple of those insane rewrite-the-balloons-in-a-romance-story, including - get this - an 18-page Patsy Walker story. Plus I'm writing a bunch of issues for Marvel Adventures Spider-Man, which is a hoot. Nice, straightforward tales for all ages that aren't bogged down in on-going continuity. "Plus there's still the Wonder Man limited series, and other projects I can't really discuss yet." So as opposed to projects he is working on, how about Marvel franchises or characters he'd like to work on..? "Wouldn't mind working on Thor at some point," Davis said. "Had fun with him in a couple issues of Captain Marvel. Also Hercules...maybe team them up for something?" WONDERCON '06: DC CRISIS COUNSELING - ONE YEAR LATER Sunday afternoon DC held their third major DC Universe panel of the WonderCon weekend, their Crisis Counseling: One Year Later panel, attended by he now familiar editors and creators from the weekend - including Dan DiDio, Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Steve Wacker, ? Sunday's panel began with an impromptu slide show. Geoff Johns has some pages of Infinite Crisis #5 on his computer, and they hooked it into the A/V system to show the audience. A double-page spread of the skyline over Titans Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge showed many, many Earths in the background sky. ? Also previewed was the full Jim Lee cover to #5 (the Batman/Beetle/Booster cover), that also had two Wonder Womens in the frame, one featuring a traditional look and the other sporting more "warrior"-like tiara. ? DiDio said that in many respects, Infinite Crisis closes the door on the DCU past and that everything is new from there on out - a new tone, a new direction, a new style... DiDio: "One Crisis is over, the DC Universe is standing naked in front of you." Grant Morrison: [quickly] "Remember though, it's almost 80 years old, you may not want to look." Crowd: [big laughs] ? It was strongly stressed that after Crisis is over, DC really wants to stay way from crossovers for a long time, because they want the entire Universe to be exciting, as opposed to building event on top of event on top of event, etc... Johns said Crisis and 52 is being used to revitalize the entire DCU line. DiDio added they didn't want to get into "One- Upsmanship" like they were 10 years ago where subsequent crossovers were weaker than the previous, and eventually the entire line fails on you. ? From there the panel opened up the floor to audience questions, but a typically lethargic Sunday crowd sometimes were a little slow with the inquires, and DiDio wound up sometimes interjecting questions to the panelists. ? Asked what could be said about the upcoming new Flash series, the panel quickly responded, "Next question", but Johns added while the new series starts in June, readers will see Flash in Crisis #5. ? The panel was asked if the Jim Corrigan character introduced in Gotham Central was originally intended to become the new host for the Spectre instead of Crispus Allen, or if he was intended as a red herring? Rucka said the idea of introducing Corrigan was DiDio's idea, and Johns made it clear that it was intended to be Allen all the time. DiDio said he thought what made the Spectre work previously was that his previous host Jim Corrigan was a police detective, and that fit with the character. He felt making Hal Jordan the Spectre was a very stupid idea and didn't like making an already established hero into another, and much more liked the idea of taking a fully developed character like Allen becoming a hero. Later in the panel, a fan asked that since the Spectre is the wrath of God, does that mean that "God" exists in the DCU? The panelist agreed that while individuals may not agree with the existence of God, God does exist in the DCU. Johns clarified by saying God is not a character that is going to come down from heaven with a staff and fight alongside the Justice League, to which Waid quickly responded, "Oh, that would be cool though." The same fan then asked why God let the Spectre be such a "bastard" in Day of Vengeance, killing people left and right, to which Grant Morrison responded, "Are you asking us to do 'The Trial of God'?" Rucka: "Oh, great, you just gave away the 2008 event." Johns then added in the opening scene of Crisis #5, God and Christianity in the DCU is touched on in a way that it hasn't before and more will be addressed in the Spectre mini-series by Will Pfiefer... ? In response to an inquiry, Johns said there were big plans for Nemesis. ? Mark Waid's Brave and the Bold series is still unscheduled. ? In response to DiDio saying the OYL will b more of a welcoming, friendly place, a fan asked if that meant more friendly to characters like the Wonder Twins or Apache Chief from the Superfriends? After some muttering among the panel, finally Johns said that Wendy and Marvin will be the new caretakers of the Titans Tower. ? The panel was asked if there were any new plans for the Joker..? Johns: "It's covered..." Rucka: "It's so covered..." ? Asked if the Captain Atom: Armageddon limited series is an attempt to pull the Wildstorm Universe closer/tighter to the DCU, DiDio said yes, and continues the work started with Majestic, to make interaction between the two Universes more acceptable. But that there are no plans whatsoever to merge or combine the Universes. ? On the subject of line crossovers, DiDio reiterated DC's familiar policy there is not crossover between the Mature Readers Vertigo line and the DCU. ? Johns said there are a lot of plans for the Marvel Family, who will appear in 52 along with Black Adam. ? Asked if there would be any more Giffen/DeMatteis I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League/"Superbuddies" type non- continuity stories, DiDio said they have stayed away from those type of stories for a while now, having put so much time in building the DCU they want to stay with it for now... ? The panel made sure to make clear - as word seems to have trouble spreading - that the upcoming new Green lantern Corps series is an ongoing series. ? Didio also repeated a sentiment he expressed during last year's con season, that he doesn't like and wants to stay away from Golden Age characters that have clear ties to World War II. Characters in their 20's during the war would be in their 80's now, and DiDio said, "Even though the intentions are good, 80 year-olds should not be running around in costumes fighting crime." Johns added however, that it can still be done with Alan Scott, Jay Garrick and Wildcat because all three have special circumstances that keep them from aging. DiDio said those will be the only major Golden Age characters still running around and active in the DCU. ? Morrison said Krypto will appear in All Star Superman #6 - the Superboy issue. The writer feels that Krypto should only appear in Superboy stories and not Superman stories, because it makes for great, "A boy and his dog" stories. ? At that point, like yesterday, the panel ended with a lightning round with fans throwing out character names they want to see in Crisis and 52 and beyond, to whatever response came from the panelists... Some of those exchanges are paraphrased and detailed below... - Ronnie Raymond: "Gone" - Ambush Bug: "52" - Bart Allen: "..." [although the message seemed to be "to be continued"...] - Martina Manhunter: "To be determined" - Azrael: "Dead, so dead, staying dead" - Jack Knight: DiDio: "We're waiting for James Robinson to do something with him again." - Dick Grayson: Johns: "He's a major player in Crisis #6." Wacker: "He's also a major player in the 'A Funeral for Nightwing' limited series Didio: "Yeah, we got tired of the Flash jokes so we had to come up with another character we say we're going to kill." - Hawkman: "JSA - eventually" - Deadman: "Now in Vertigo" - Guy Gardner: "Crisis #7, and in GL Corps" - Adam Strange: "52" - Wonder Woman: "Which one?" DiDio then looked to the panel and asked where the new Wonder Woman appears, but the panel did not respond... - Huntress: "At least at the start of OYL, Birds of Prey" - Obsidian: "JSA" - Atom-Smasher: "JSA" - Connor Hawke: "There's a plan..." - Batgirl: "She doesn't have her own book, but she does appear in a book." - Scarecrow: "52"" - Black Alice: "There's a plan..." - Dr. Fate: "52" - Speedy: "Teen Titans... maybe..." - Robin: "In the Batman books, in his own series, and in Teen Titans" Thanks for subscribing to the Comic Book Network Electronic Magazine (CBEM) --------------------------->Disclaimer<--------------------------- This is an ANNOUNCE only mailing list, only the Editor can send messages to the list. No one else has access to the subscriber list. Replies to these messages will be received by the Editor ONLY, so you must CC: individual contributors if you want them to get your E-Mail. 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| << February18, 2006 - [ComicBookNetwork E-Mag] CBEM 563.06 |
February18, 2006 - [ComicBookNetwork E-Mag] CBEM 563.07 >> |
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