I saw the original 1987 Oliver Stone film not that long ago, and it really is a well constructed drama. Now, Stone and star Michael Douglas have reteamed for the sequel. Unlike long delayed sequels these days, this holds promise. The first film revelled in ’80s excess, while Money Never Sleeps will hopefully take the same tact with the current global financial crisis. It opens on April 23.
AC/DC and Iron Man 2 Team Up
I’ve never been a huge fan of AC/DC, but director Jon Favreau’s decision to use their Back in Black song on the first film 2 years ago set helped establish the bold playful mood, and distinguish it from other more serious superhero movies. The team from the film and the Aussie rockers are reuniting for May’s sequel and below is the brand new music video, which shows clips of Iron Man 2, but nothing too exciting except a bunch of dancing girls from the film’s Stark Expo. Well I guess that’s mildly exciting. Press release and track listing for the IM2 soundtrack under the clip.
MARVEL STUDIOS AND COLUMBIA RECORDS POWER UP AC/DC MUSIC PROMOTION FOR “IRON MAN 2” MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK
AC/DC’s Music to be featured in “IRON MAN 2”; Band to Release AC/DC: Iron Man 2 Album on Monday April 19, 2010
Through a unique collaboration between Marvel Studios and Columbia Records, AC/DC’s music will be featured in Marvel Studios’ “IRON MAN 2,” the sequel to the 2008 blockbuster film. In addition, Columbia Records will release the album AC/DC: Iron Man 2 on Monday, April 19, 2010. AC/DC: Iron Man 2, features 15 classic AC/DC songs selected from ten of the band’s studio albums, ranging from 1976 to 2008. The complete track listing can be found below.
The film opens internationally beginning on April 28, 2010 and in the U.S. the film is scheduled for release on May 7, 2010.
The debut video from AC/DC: Iron Man 2 is the AC/DC’s classic album cut “Shoot To Thrill,” which was filmed live last month in Buenos Aires during the band’s highly acclaimed Black Ice World Tour, the second highest grossing world tour of 2009 according to concert industry trade publication Pollstar. The video also incorporates exclusive footage from “IRON MAN 2” and debuts today worldwide. Check www.acdc.com and www.marvel.com for more information. “Shoot To Thrill” was originally recorded for the band’s 50-million selling album Back In Black, one of the best selling albums of all time.
“Jon Favreau’s vision and passion for AC/DC’s music blend seamlessly into this incredible film” said Steve Barnett, co-chairman of Columbia Records. “The music really underscores the high energy and excitement of the film.”
“Music is an integral part of the Tony Stark and Iron Man experience, and we are pleased that Columbia and AC/DC are taking part in the franchise’s phenomenon. Through this relationship, the band is delivering fans supercharged Iron Man branded music through all our combined consumer touch points, from the movie to retail outlets and even virally with the debut of the new video,” said Tim Connors, Chief Operating Officer, Marvel Studios.
Jon Favreau returns to direct “IRON MAN 2,” with Robert Downey Jr. reprising his starring role as the larger-than-life leading character, along with Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke and Samuel L. Jackson.
Based on Marvel’s iconic Super Hero, “IRON MAN 2” continues the story of 2008’s box office smash hit “IRON MAN,” which grossed nearly $600 million worldwide, and was the first feature film produced independently by Marvel Studios. “IRON MAN 2” is being produced by Marvel Studios’ President, Kevin Feige.
AC/DC: Iron Man 2 Track Listing:
1. Shoot to Thrill
2. Rock ‘N’ Roll Damnation
3. Guns for Hire
4. Cold Hearted Man
5. Back in Black
6. Thunderstruck
7. If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)
8. Evil Walks
9. T.N.T.
10. Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be
11. Have a Drink on Me
12. The Razor’s Edge
13. Let There Be Rock
14. War Machine
15. Highway to Hell
Scott Kolins On The Flash
Is this piece (from next month’s Blackest Night: The Flash #3) the best thing Scott Kolins has ever done? I would say yes. Though it’s not hard to make The Flash look dynamic, with lines and lightning everywhere, especially in his wonderful new Blue Lantern costume, but this is a great pic.
Classic Lord of the Rings Toon on DVD
I vaguely remember this animated film back in my youth, and being kinda weirded out by it! Now I can watch it again and see if it makes more sense.
Warner Home Video Distributes Heralded Animated Film as Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack and DVD with All-New Extra Content
Combo Pack features Blu-Ray, DVD and Bonus Digital Copy
Journey back into the world of Hobbits, Humans, Elves and Dwarves in the all-new The Lord of the
Rings Remastered Deluxe Edition coming April 6, 2010 from Warner Home Video. This original animated classic from acclaimed director Ralph Bakshi and Academy Award Winning producer, Saul Zaentz, has been remastered with pristine New Dolby 5.1 audio and picture quality and will be distributed as a single disc DVD and Blu-ray combo which features a Blu-ray, DVD and bonus digital copy. The film will also be available for Digital Download. This film is rated PG.
One of the great visionary animation directors of the modern era, Bakshi went to artistic extremes to meticulously bring the legendary world of J.R.R. Tolkien to animated life – adding yet another stunning
title to the director’s canon of ground-breaking films. Bakshi’s animation accomplishments include Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic, American Pop, Wizards and Cool World.
All the magical adventure of the fantasy classic comes to life in Bakshi’s brilliantly animated tale of the enchanted land of Middle-earth – and the brave band of Hobbits, heroes and Wizards who set out to protect it. When a dangerous and powerful gold ring falls into his hands, a courageous Hobbit named Frodo embarks on an epic adventure. Along with the mighty Wizard Gandalf and some daring Elves,
he defends his homeland from the Dark Power who would destroy it. Set in a mystical age of magic, monsters and unlikely heroes on incredible journeys, The Lord of the Rings will cast its spell over the entire family!
The deluxe edition also features a never-before-seen, 30-minute in-depth interview with legendary director Ralph Bakshi entitled Forging Through The Darkness: The Ralph Bakshi Vision for The Lord Of The Rings. This special feature explores his concept for creating an illustrated film, his pioneering rotoscoping process, and inspirations for his visual storytelling.
“The Lord of the Rings is a timeless classic that continues to be a favorite for generation after generation,” said Amit Desai, WHV Vice President of Family, Animation & Partner Brands Marketing. “The theatrical release in 1978 had a domestic total gross of nearly $90 million at the box office and shipped 1.1 million net videos. We are looking forward to offering this remastered deluxe edition to the fans for their library collections and providing endless enjoyment for years to come.”
Biomega In Feb
Press release from Viz Media below about their new series launching next month. Cool cover.
MAN AND MACHINE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE IN SCI-FI ACTION MANGA BIOMEGA
VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, will debut the cyberpunk action manga series BIOMEGA on February 2nd. The new series, rated ‘M’ for Mature Audiences, will be published under the VIZ Signature imprint and will carry a MSRP of $12.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN.
Zoichi Kanoe plunges into the depths of 9JO, a sprawling island city in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in search of Eon Green, a girl with the power to transmute the N5S virus. The deadly contagion is spreading across the world, turning humans into disfigured, zombie-like “drones.” But he’s not the only one looking for her. Agents of the Public Health Service’s Compulsory Execution Unit are also in hot pursuit, with sinister designs of their own. Zoichi and his trans-human allies have no time to waste; the countdown to the apocalypse has begun!
“Tsutomu Nihei created BIOMEGA with a jaw-dropping, intensely powerful art style that reflects his background in modern architecture,” says Leyla Aker, Editorial Manager, VIZ Media. “The main characters—the “enhanced” human Zoichi and Fuyu, the AI in his rocket of a motorcycle—navigate this apocalyptic landscape in a story that offers pure speed, action, and suspense. Both manga and American comics fans won’t want to miss this exciting debut!”
Tsutomu Nihei debuted with the acclaimed manga short story BLAME!, which was nominated for North America’s Harvey Award and won the Shiki Award in Japan. The artist also created NOiSE, a manga prequel to BLAME!. His visually striking Wolverine tie-in SNIKT! was published by Marvel Comics along with a commission by Bungie Studios for the HALO graphic novel.
For more information on this title, or others from VIZ Media, please visit www.viz.com.
Samuel L. Jackson Goes BOOM!
BOOM! Studios are doing the Marvel thing and releasing a teaser image, with no text. Here’s their lone picture of Samuel L. Jackson, but eagle eyed fans have noticed that it’s in relation to a new series called Cold Space, as seen in the April solicitations.
COLD SPACE #1
Samuel L. Jackson, Eric Calderon
(A) Jeremy Rock
From legendary actor Samuel L. Jackson and Emmy nominated writer/producer Eric Calderon, the team that brought you the Emmy-award-winning, best-selling Afro Samurai, comes their next original series — Cold Space! When an on-the-run outlaw crash-lands on a hostile planet on the brink of civil war, he finds himself caught in the crossfire between two warring factions. But in chaos lies opportunity… because where there’s war, there’s money to be made! A hard-boiled sci-fi action-adventure with covers by Eisner Award-winning artist Dave Johnson and Irredeemable cover artist, Jeffrey Spokes!
Asylum Press FCBD Preview
May 1 is the annual Free Comic Book Day event, to promote the diversity of our beloved medium. For that day only anyone is welcome to garb selected titles from participating FCBD retailers. Asylum Press have now released a preview of their FCBD one-shot right here. You can take a look at Fearless Dawn, Warlash and previews of upcoming books. If you like cheeky humour and horror, it’s definitely for you.
ASYLUM PRESS ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF A PREVIEW OF THEIR FEARLESS DAWN/ASYLUM PRESS SAMPLER FOR FREE COMIC BOOK DAY COMIC
Frank Forte, publisher of Asylum Press, has announced the release of a preview Fearless Dawn/Asylum Sampler FCBD issue.
“I’m excited to be a part of Free Comic Book Day for the first time, “explains Publisher Frank Forte, “readers will get a great sampling of the books we publish. Some of the titles are current and others will be published this fall. It gives retailers and fans a chance to see what’s coming.”
A great way to introduce Asylum Press to retailers and fans. Featuring a sampling on new and upcoming comics. Fearless Dawn By Steve Mannion features our favorite new heroine battling a troop of mutants. Black Powder, a bloody frontier adventure, by Dwayne Harris, can be described as a “Buckskin Apocalypse Now”. Warlash:Origins features a tale of Bladeviper by Royal McGraw and J.C. Wong. Farmhouse is a tale of a drifter who falls in love with an artist undergoing an experimental art therapy regimen, by Elizabeth J. Musgrave and Szymon Kudranski. In Warlash: Zombie Mutant Genesis, our armored hero goes up against a horde of brain eating monsters, by Frank Forte. EEEK! by Jason Paulos, is an anthology of retro style horror tales.
Star Wars Shoes
George Lucas has given the thumbs up for use of sound effects from his timeless films, most notable for Family Guy parodies, but this trumps them all. Check out the Adidas ad below with classy Star Wars references. I feel cooler for having seen it. To view more of the collection, including shoes and clothes, go here.
Tumor Review
Available next week is this pulp influenced tale from Archaia that held the #1 place on Amazon’s Kindle Graphic Novel Bestseller list for 2 months.
Occasionally narrated by main character, private investigator Frank Armstrong, who’s middle-aged and ill of health, the book can be filed proudly under N for noir. Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov with black and white art by Noel Tuazon (the same team behind Elk’s Run) the tumor of the title is inoperable and clings to Frank’s brain. As he sees his own life slipping through his fingers, he also tries to save the life of Evelyn, a drug kingpin’s daughter.
This book is dirty with its jagged visuals, harsh characters (all of whom seem to swear with reckless abandon) and good old-fashioned life and death stakes. It’s like Frank Miller’sSin City, but far more grounded. Tuazon uses different levels of artistic detail to reveal Frank’s flashbacks and this technique mirrors Frank’s failing memory perfectly. His tenacity and dedication to what could be his last case is admirable and Fialkov never allows the story to become too muddled, or his ageing hero to become unsympathetic.
After reading the first few pages, you’ll certainly want to know how this jagged, frantic tale ends. The 225 pager is available on January 27, and you can also check it out here. There’s also an interesting interview about the history, and great success of the book with Fialkov here.
Eight New Halo Legends Pics
February is a big month for Warner Bros., as both their Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Halo Legends animated films are released. Below the press release for the latter are 8 brand new pics from the anthology film, which is released on Feb 16.
Produced by 343 Industries, a part of Microsoft Game Studios, the exciting tales-beyond-the-games explore the origin and historical events of the Halo universe and its intriguing characters. Halo Legends has been created in the same breakthrough format as The Animatrix and Batman Gotham Knight with each individual episode imagined by a cutting-edge, renowned Japanese anime director/animator, including Shinji Aramaki, Mamoru Oshii, Hideki Futamura, Tomoki Kyoda and Yasushi Muraki. The stories are inspired and produced by the creative minds of 343 Industries, including Halo franchise development director Frank O’Connor and managing editor Kevin Grace.
The individual episodes fall within Halo’s 26th Century mythology as the battle between humanity and aliens rages on in an attempt to protect Earth and mankind’s expansive number of space colonies. The dramatic, action-packed stories feature characters and locales familiar to Halo fans, and episodes range in length between 10 and 17 minutes – resulting in nearly two hours of animated adventures.
The episodes are animated by some of the world’s most respected studios and directors in anime today. The studios range from Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell, Batman Gotham Knight), Bones (Cowboy Bebop, Fell Metal Alchemist) and Toei Animation (Dragonball Z, Digimon) to Studio 4oC (The Animatrix, Batman Gotham Knight) and Casio Entertainment. The stellar roster of animation talent on Halo Legends is highlighted by creative supervisors Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed) and Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell); directors Shinji Aramaki
(Appleseed), Hideki Futamura (The Animatrix), Daisuke Nishio (Dragonball Z), Hiroshi Yamazaki (Karas), Toshiyuki Kanno (Black Lagoon), Koichi Mashimo (Blade of the Immortal) and Koji Sawai (Patlabor); directors/action designers Tomoki Kyoda (Eureka Seven, Evangelion 1.0) and Yasushi Muraki (Macross Plus, Vampire Hunter D); and writer Dai Sato (Cowboy Bebop).
Halo is a centerpiece in the world of video games, selling more than 27 million units to a devoted legion of fans – including the latest hit Halo 3:ODST. The Halo franchise has driven more than $1 billion in revenue from its award winning Xbox games, New York Times best-selling novels and comics and a wide variety of other merchandise.
Mesmo Delivery Preview
On Feb 3 Dark Horse is releasing a unique OGN from Rafael Grampa. Below are what the Horse say about it, plus a few random pages. See more here.
When the Mesmo Delivery truck rolls into town, a heap of trouble is sure to follow.
Eisner Award-winning artist Rafael Grampá (5, Hellblazer) makes his full-length comics debut with the critically acclaimed graphic novel Mesmo Delivery — a kinetic, bloody romp starring Rufo, an ex-boxer; Sangrecco, an Elvis impersonator; and a ragtag crew of overly confident drunks who pick the wrong delivery men to mess with.
* Mesmo Delivery features an extended sketchbook section from creator Rafael Grampá and pinups from top comics creators Eduardo Risso, Mike Allred, Craig Thompson, and Fabio Moon! Introduction by Brian Azzarello.
* “I love [Mesmo Delivery] . . . It’s fantastic. [Rafael Grampá is] a major new talent.”-Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets, Joker)
* “[Mesmo Delivery] showcases the spectacular panache of Grampá’s Grand Guignol linework . . .”-Publishers Weekly
Ultimo From Lee And Takei
Stan Lee is co-creating a manga and it’s being released next month. Details below.
VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED RELEASE OF STAN LEE AND HIROYUKI TAKEI’S ULTIMO
Historic Collaboration Comes To Life In New Manga Release
VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, in conjunction with Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment (PK:POWN) has announced the highly anticipated release of the new manga ULTIMO on February 2nd. ULTIMO is the result of a historic collaboration between comics legend Stan Lee, co-creator of many iconic superheroes including Spider-Man™, the Fantastic Four™, and the X-Men™, and Hiroyuki Takei, the creator of the popular SHAMAN KING manga series.ULTIMO, rated ‘T’ for teens will carry a MSRP of $9.99 US/$12.99 CAN.
With girl and money troubles, life is hard enough for high school student Yamato, but then he stumbles upon Ultimo, a peculiar-looking puppet. Things only get stranger when Ultimo awakens and his archenemy, Vice shows up. Ultimo and Vice are Karakuri Dôji, the mechanical embodiment of pure good and pure evil, devoid of human emotions that can cloud one’s judgment. Their purpose: to battle to the death to prove once and for all whether good or evil is the most powerful force in the universe.
For over half a century, Stan Lee has been synonymous with superhero comics. In addition to creating countless memorable series and characters, including Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and Daredevil, he served as the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics. Lee remains a hugely respected and dynamic figure in the entertainment industry and continues to develop a variety of film, television and video game properties.
“I am indescribably thrilled to have the honor of working with the famous and extremely talented Hiroyuki Takei on our exciting creation ULTIMO. I feel that ULTIMO combines the very best of Western mythology with the very best of Japanese manga,” says Stan Lee. “It gives me the greatest pleasure to be associated with VIZ Media on such and exciting and ground-breaking project.”
Unconventional author/artist, Hiroyuki Takei began his career by winning the 1994 Tezuka Award. After working as an assistant to famed artist Nobuhiro Watsuki (RUROUNI KENSHIN), Takei debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1997 with Butsu Zone, an action series based on Buddhist mythology. His multicultural adventure manga SHAMAN KING debuted in Japan in 1998 and has been adapted into a popular animated television series. The SHAMAN KING manga series is also published in North America by VIZ Media; for many years it was serialized in English in SHONEN JUMP magazine.
”While it’s epic in scope and rich in mythology, the ULTIMO storyline is grounded in modern teen angst which is what fans will gravitate to. It’s manga, but it’s got that ‘Stan Lee’ feel of the teenager who suddenly has all this power and can’t believe how crazy that is.” Says Joel Enos, Senior Editor for Shonen Jump Manga, VIZ Media. “This story has found a common ground between Western comics and Eastern manga. Here you have two amazing creators, all this action, robots, and the universal theme of pure good vs. pure evil, all the while staying in high school youth culture and the drama and depth of everyday kids.”
The Walking Dead On TV
This is good news. Image Comics’ long running zombie series is coming to TV. Press release below.
THE WALKING DEAD MARCH ON AMC
“Madmen” and “Breaking Bad” Network Greenlights Walking Dead Pilot
Variety reported today that Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard’s ongoing tale of survival horror in a post-apocalyptic world, THE WALKING DEAD, has been greenlit as a pilot by AMC.
“THE WALKING DEAD’s road to the small screen has been a long one, but so far it’s looking like the best of all worlds,” creator and writer Robert Kirkman said. “Given AMC’s track record with shows like ‘Madmen’ and ‘Breaking Bad,’ combined with Frank Darabont writing and directing, I couldn’t possibly be more excited for this to come together. Having the pilot greenlit is a huge leap forward to this becoming a reality.”
THE WALKING DEAD has been published by Image Comics since 2003, with the series’ 69th issue due in stores next week. Current plans are for the AMC series to closely adapt the storylines presented in the monthly comics.
In addition to the ongoing com ics series, there are 11 trade paperbacks currently in print, collecting issues 1-66, along with a series of five hardcovers covering #1-60. The first 48 issues have also been collected in two limited edition slipcased hardcovers and a softcover compendium. Across are formats the series remains a sales juggernaut with the title charting on the New York Times’ graphic novels bestsellers list numerous times.
“Since its debut in October 2003, THE WALKING DEAD has been nothing short of unstoppable,” said Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson. “Over the last five years, sales on both the single issues and the trade paperback and hardcover collections have gone from strength to strength, so it’s no surprise that THE WALKING DEAD is now poised for success on TV. Everyone at Image is very excited to see this project come to light.”
THE WALKING DEAD #69, a 32-page black and white comic priced at $2.99, will be on sale at finer comic book stores everywhere January 27.
comicbookjesus 