I won’t necessarily say that I can’t see what all the fuss is about, because I can understand how seeing a pre-pubescent girl wielding a samurai sword, and a variety of guns while swearing can be jarring. However, I’ve read all the issues of the comic and it’s a lot more in your face on the page. What is sorely lacking from the transition to celluloid is the dark humour, and the likeable aspects of protagonist and titular vigilante Dave Lizewski.
It’s certainly a fanboy film, and comic creators Mark Millar and John Romita Jr, and film director Matthew Vaughan (Layer Cake) know their target audience well. From the Superman-like intro credits to the many scenes set in Atomic Comics, it is an experience for comic readers who can embrace the silly aspects of the superhero, with Nic Cage doing his best Adam West Batman impression, and Kick Ass hitting the streets in a green wetsuit. What is missing is the sense of fun, which does arrive too late at the film’s emotional and satisfying climax. Aaron Johnson is a fine actor, but he’s overshadowed in his own film, by baddie Mark Strong, Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as the fumbling Red Mist. It’s not long into the film that Kick Ass deviates from the source material (particualarly in who dies and who lives) but with only 8 issues released in 2 years, the film makers had a lot of room to move.
It is an enjoyable film, but not as ‘out there’ as I expected. There’s no nudity or excessive swearing or intestine spilling. And that’s certainly a good thing. Any Tarantino film pushes the envelope more than this in respect to blood letting. Raising issues of family, friendship and standing up for your fellow man may get lost in all the gaudy costumes and gunplay, but don’t dismiss this film straight away. It’s not another great cross-over film with daring and artistic mass appeal like say, Sin City was, but at the same time, it does stand out more as a parody amongst the horde of comics films that have landed on cinema screens in the last few years and proves that even sequential art can be self referential rather than self reverential.
They keep cranking them out, but they keep getting better. Thanks DC! Details below about July’s animated film based on the resurrection of Jason Todd, the second Robin.
GOTHAM CITY MEETS A NEW VIGILANTE WITH A MYSTERIOUS, VIOLENT TWIST IN
BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD STELLAR VOICE CAST FEATURES BRUCE GREENWOOD, JENSEN ACKLES & NEIL PATRICK HARRIS IN
ALL-NEW DC UNIVERSE ANIMATED ORIGINAL MOVIE FROM WARNER HOME VIDEO ON JULY 27, 2010
SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY AND 2-DISC SPECIAL EDITION DVD INCLUDE DC SHOWCASE SHORT, JONAH HEX
Batman confronts new enemies, old foes and painful memories when a powerful vigilante with a penchant for violence comes to Gotham City in the intense graphic-novel-come-to-life Batman: Under the Red Hood, the next entry in the popular ongoing series of DC UNIVERSE Animated Original PG-13 Movies coming July 27, 2010 from Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The full-length film will be distributed by Warner Home Video as a Special Edition version on Blu-Ray™ and 2 disc DVD for $29.99 (SRP) and $24.98 (SRP), respectively, as well as single disc DVD for $19.98 (SRP). The film will also be available On Demand and for Download.
The stellar voice cast has Bruce Greenwood (Captain Pike in the 2009 blockbuster Star Trek) donning the famed cowl as the voice of Batman. Supernatural star Jensen Ackles is Red Hood, and Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) voices Nightwing. John DiMaggio (Futurama) and Jason Issacs (the Harry Potterfilms) round out the main cast as The Joker and Ra’s Al Ghul, respectively.
Batman: Under the Red Hood is scripted by award-winning comics writer Judd Winick and based on his popular 2005 comics storyline and subsequent comics graphic novel of the same name. Animation guru Bruce Timm returns as executive producer, as he has for all eight DC Universe animated original movies. Director is Brandon Vietti, who served as co-director of Superman Doomsday and was responsible for the first one-third of that film, including the fatal battle between the two title characters.
In Batman: Under the Red Hood, Batman faces his ultimate challenge as the mysterious Red Hood takes Gotham City by firestorm. One part vigilante, one part criminal kingpin, Red Hood begins cleaning up Gotham with the efficiency of Batman, but without following the same ethical code. Killing is an option. And when The Joker falls in the balance between the two, hard truths are revealed and old wounds are reopened.
Fans will be treated to an incredible package of DC Universe storytelling as the Special Edition Blu-Ray and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD include the second animated short in the all-new DC Showcase series – which features the popular DC Comics character, Jonah Hex. The short is scripted by renowned author Joe Lansdale and stars the voices of Thomas Jane (Hung), Linda Hamilton (The Terminator), Michelle Trachtenberg (Mercy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Michael Rooker (Days of Thunder).
Batman: Under the Red Hood – 2 Disc Special Edition DVD will have more than two hours of fascinating bonus features, including:
Featurette – Robin’s Story – It was decided it was time to add a fresh face into the story mix, which turned out to be Dick Grayson, aka Robin. This is the story of Dick Grayson and how he transformed into Robin, with Batman as his father-figure role model.
Extended Sneak Peek at the next DC UNIVERSE Animated Original PG-13 Movie.
Widescreen (1.78:1)
Two title-themed episodes from of Warner Bros. Animation’s 20-year history of Batman television series, hand-picked by animation legend Bruce Timm.
Batman: Under the Red Hood Special Edition Blu-Ray will have more than three hours of bonus materials, including all the great extras from the 2-disc Special Edition DVD as well as:
Featurette: Death in the House of Batman – The story of how DC Comics heard the fans’ cry that the new Robin was not going to fit the cape, and how the Boy Wonder was scheduled to die.
Two additional bonus Batman-themed episodes personally selected by Bruce Timm
Digital copy
“Batman: Under the Red Hood is another terrific entry in the groundbreaking series of DC Universe animated movies, a shining representation of the adult storytelling that comics-turned-to-film has to offer, and further evidence of the combined creative power within the collaboration of DC Entertainment, Warner Premiere, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Home Video,” said Matt Bierman, Senior Vice President Production, Warner Premiere.
“Judd Winick’s and Doug Mahnke’s story of a Robin gone wrong introduced Batman’s most personal enemy to date. It’s unbelievably cool to see it brought to life like this,” said Geoff Johns, Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment.
“With each exciting new chapter of the DC UNIVERSE films, fans have come to expect more – and Batman: Under the Red Hood delivers with an action-packed tale of mystery and emotional struggle brought to animated life by an outstanding filmmaking crew and voiced by the all-star talents of Bruce Greenwood, Jensen Ackles, Neil Patrick Harris and John Dimaggio,” said Amit Desai, WHV Vice President of Family, Animation & Partner Brand Marketing.
“In his feature length solo directorial debut, Brandon Vietti has brought this dark, psychological thriller to the screen with all the action and emotion of a great Batman story,” said Sam Register, Executive Vice President, Warner Bros. Animation.”
These are two series from Radical that demand “Must Buy” stamped boldly on their covers. The Hotwire TPB is out on April 28, as is the second print of The Last Days of American Crime #1. Steve Pugh’s Hotwire is an awesome, and visually stunning addition to the realms of great sci-fi, and Last Days does the same for hard edged urban crime tales. Last Days #2 and Aladdin: Legacy of the Lost #3 are also out on April 28, and certainly purchase worthy.
Like City of Dust, I also collected all the individual issues of Hotwire, but having it in a collected form on high quality paper, with a cover gallery and extras means that it can be easily shown off to mates, as well it should.
Below is the official description of the Hotwire TPB and the cover of the 2nd print of Last Days #1.
In the near future, the living and the dead share the same space. Known as “Blue Lights,” the dead are mostly harmless, roaming the streets as mindless drones. But when the Blue Lights start showing up as ghostly weapons of mass destruction, Metro Police has only one person for the job: She’s Alice Hotwire, Detective Exorcist. She’s the best there is at reining in the Blue Light beat…and she’s the only one who can save the city from certain destruction.
Written/ illustrated by Steve Pugh and based on a story by legendary creator Warren Ellis, this four-issue miniseries is collected for the first time as a trade paperback in a special “director’s cut” edition that includes creator notes and early character designs that evolved into the Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead series. This trade paperback edition also contains newly remastered tales from Alice Hotwire’s past, featuring never-before-seen pages written by Warren Ellis (Planetary, Transmetropolitan) and amazing newly painted artwork. Also included is an extensive gallery showcasing the evolution of the character, Alice Hotwire, a spotlight gallery of artwork from celebrated artists Steve Pugh, Stjepan Sejic (Witchblade), Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic (The Immortal Iron Fist) and Garry Leach (Judge Dredd, Marvelman) as well as an in-depth interview with co-creator Steve Pugh.
So the complete list of items being released from DC Comics in July is now out. As always, there’s a bunch of great stuff on offer. Here’s what caught my eye.
The Death and Return of Superman from the ’90s was what pulled me into the comic shop for the first time, so I’ve always had a soft spot for Cyborg Superman. Here’s his classic look from Batman: Brave and the Bold #19 and his current appearance in Green Lantern Corps #50.
Jeff Lemire, the creator of Sweet Tooth and the awesome Essex County trilogy from Top Shelf, has now hit the big time, as the scribe of Brightest Day: The Atom Special #1.
I just picked up some of Neal Adam’s TPBs showing his groundbreaking art from the ’70s with Batman and Green Lantern/Green Arrow. Now his long awaited 6 ish mini, Batman: Odyssey is almost here, with Adams taking over the writing and pencilling duties.
Detective Comics #867 is by David Hine and Scott McDaniel. That’ll be a good team, and how awesome is that cover by Peter Nguyen?
John Cassady is now doing Superman covers!
Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris farewell Ex Machina with issue 50.
I’m loving Demo. Brian Wood’s and Becky Cloonan’s supernatural, slice of life, self-contained stories are simply the epitome of great sequential art. I’m a new convert to this series, but after loving the current Volume 2 I picked up the TPB of the first series too. Buy this!
It’s about time the Atomic Robo writer got some grander opportunities. Of course, everyone and their grandma loves Robo for its refreshing mix of humour and action in a very aware pop culture package. It’s the kind of quirkiness that geeks like me find irresistible. Now, Brian Clevinger is writing an all-ages mini focused on The Infinity Gauntlet saga for Marvel. Nice one.
So, back to Robo. The old robot adventurer is really Red 5’s flagship character, as he should be. Instead of an ongoing series, Clevinger and artist Scott Wegener have wisely chosen to create a series of mini-series, of which this is the fourth, with the subtitle Atomic Robo and the Revenge of the Vampire Dimension. Last month’s first issue had Robo interviewing two candidates for an Action Scientist position, filled with the usual great dialogue such as:
Bernard: What were you doing in a volcano?
Robo: Action geology.
and an attack on Tesladyne Industries’ base by the titular “vampires.” This second issue (set in 1999) is fittingly titled Big in Japan, in which Robo meets Japan’s version of his team, the Science Team Super Five! It’s not long after the introductions that a few nasties invade Tokyo Bay and the Science Team must go out on their first real mission with all the energy, dramatic posing and primary coloured costume wearing of the Power Rangers parody that they are. Then a rather…crabby former colleague of the Science Team’s leader shows his face and Robo comes to the rescue.
With a subtle Star Wars reference, a Mecha Robo and photocopiers as weapons, this is yet another winner in this series. It’s not as funny as previous entries, but there’s still two more issues to go (and presumably more of the vampires, as they don’t show up here). Wegener’s timing and spot on expressions are chuckle worthy as always. He and Clevinger really are a great duo, with an eye on reliable fun at all times, and show yet again that Robo is a witty and accessible series; the kind of book that both jaded fanboys and comic book newbies need.
First it was Spider-Woman’s turn, then the Astonishing X-Men. Now, it’s the cinematic golden boy Tony Stark who gets the motion comic treatment, and I must say, this could be the best one yet. The trailer is below, as is the official synopsis.
IRON MAN: EXTREMIS Motion Comic On Sale NOW!
Marvel Knights Animation is proud to announce their newest motion comic epic: Iron Man: Extremis, is on-sale now! Now you can experience the groundbreaking motion comic, adapting the critically-acclaimed storyline by superstars Warren Ellis and Adi Granov, on iTunes, Xbox LIVE, Microsoft Zune and PlayStation®Network with an extra-sized, nearly 20 minute long debut episode! Tony Stark redefines Iron Man’s mission for the 21st century, setting the Armored Avenger on a new direction that’ll alter his life forever…if he can find a way to defeat an unstoppable force fueled by the powerful bio-engineered Extremis super-soldier serum! Each of the six episodes is only $1.99 for Standard Definition or $2.99 for HD and will be released every two weeks through June.
“Iron Man Extremis is an incredible piece of storytelling by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov. The Extremis motion comic takes their creative brilliance and seamlessly shapes it into a unique new experience within the digital animation realm,” says Ruwan Jayatilleke, lead creative and producer for Marvel motion comics. “Having the opportunity to work on Warren and Adi’s story while extending Marvel’s commitment to this new entertainment space has been hands-down phenomenal!”
The worldwide leader in bringing super heroes to life, Marvel redefined the motion comic medium with their first two releases—Spider-Woman (from Brian Bendis & Alex Maleev) and Astonishing X-Men (from Joss Whedon & John Cassaday). Staying true to their source material, Marvel Motion Comics utilize each story’s original art and scripts while adding seamless motion, dynamic voice acting, and stunning special effects to deliver a whole new way to experience some of the greatest storylines in Marvel Comics’ history.
Don’t miss the first episode of Iron Man: Extremis, on-sale now through iTunes, Xbox LIVE, Microsoft Zune and PlayStation®Network! For more information, and a first look at the groundbreaking motion comic, head over to http://www.marvel.com/extremis
Please note that Iron Man: Extremis is intended for mature audiences only.
One of BOOM! Studios earliest concepts gets a new ongoing in July. The nonsensical teaser image below was released this week, but now seems to make a tad more sense. I love the simple design, but I can’t be the only one who doesn’t get what the text (assumedly an acronym?) means. I’m sure BOOM! will reveal more though.
And now here’s the official skinny from BOOM! about their new horror title.
At C2E2 today, BOOM! Studios announced a brand new ongoing horror series, THE CALLING: CTHULHU CHRONICLES, debuting this July from writers Michael Alan Nelson (FALL OF CTHULHU, 28 DAYS LATER) and Johanna Stokes (DEATH VALLEY, SAVAGE BROTHERS.) An all-new ongoing Lovecraft-inspired supernatural horror series with a decidedly modern spin, THE CALLING: CTHULHU CHRONICLES marks the return to the Cthulhu mythos that BOOM! built its reputation on with bestselling titles like FALL OF CTHULHU and CTHULHU TALES.
“If you are a fan of Lovecraft, if you worship Cthulhu, if you love horror, don’t miss this book,” said BOOM! Studios Marketing Director Chip Mosher. “This is BOOM! at its best, returning to our horror roots with a great new title that is guaranteed to creep you out… and drive you mad!”
Joining Nelson and Stokes, THE CALLING: CTHULHU CHRONICLES features covers by 2010 Eisner Award-nominee and CRIMINAL Co-Conspirator Sean Phillips along with hot newcomer Federico Piatti, and rising star Christopher Possenti on interior art.
In THE CALLING: CTHULHU CHRONICLES a cruise ship comes to port with hundreds aboard dead. But why? Clayton Diggs is a pharmaceuticals salesman who discovers his sister has committed herself to an insane asylum. She’s checked herself in, fearing she’ll hurt herself or someone else. And she’s afraid that something is out there… All across the world, moves are made, hands are being dealt, and momentum is shifting, while ordinary people in an ordinary world find themselves drawn by fate to see darkness and despair unlike anything they ever could imagine. Meanwhile, a cult sets their plan in motion, believing that there is a great one sleeping that will hear THE CALLING.
BOOM! Studios’ THE CALLING: CTHULHU CHRONICLES, a new ongoing horror series, debuts this July.
Out this month is a one-shot from Bluewater focused on Jesus. There’s a few random preview pages below. The art’s better than I anticipated and the visual interpretation of Satan as a He-Man villain is interesting, but the approach at light humour, I’m unsure of.
THE FAITH SERIES: Jesus CHRIST Author(s): Don Smith
Artist(s) Jacob Bear
Cover Artist(s): cover by Mike S. Miller Bluewater Productions has pioneered and popularized the “bio-comic” genre with its series “Female Force” and “Political Power.” Now Bluewater will make history again as it tackles the life of, arguably the most famous person in history, Jesus Christ. The book highlights different aspects of the life of Christ to show that Jesus of Nazareth was more than just a great man in history, but proof of a providential force at work in the universe.
I just discovered this awesome April Fool’s Day joke revealing great film heroes from the decade that produced the best of them. B.A. Baracus, MacGyver and Back to the Future’s Doc Emmett Brown teaming up to fight a vampire Tony Montana from Scarface? If only this were true. See the full solicitation info right here.
Justifiably, fanboys and girls often glance sideways with when they see a celebrity’s name stamped boldy on a cover in their LCS. Lately, actors and musos have flocked to create, or sometimes, “create” comics in ways they never have before, and you can’t blame their timing, or the publishers who want to capitalise on their pre-assembled audience. It is a business after all.
These celebrities aren’t always particularly aware of modern comics, and sometimes it seems they lend nothing more than their name for some geek cred, but the last fortnight has seen two honest to goodness celebrinerds step up to the plate. UK talk show host Jonathan Ross, aka Wossy, released Turf last week from Image Comics. I must say it was a relief to see the “Created and written by” credit and know that it wasn’t mere hyperbole. As fellow writer Mark Millar explains in his afterword, Ross is a real fan of comics who knows his stuff and isn’t afraid to use his fame as a platform to share the inherent greatness of sequential art. Turf #1, with fitting art by Tommy Lee Edwards, is more wordy than a Bendis script, but its tale of old school gangsters in the age of Prohibition, with a smattering of vamps and aliens, is a worthy debut.
Now, we’re spoiled with Cold Space #1 from the ambitious BOOM! Studios. C0-created and written by actor Samuel L. Jackson, he probably had less to do with this output than Ross had with his vision, but at least we know Jackson has comic book cred too. Perhaps he’s not in the exact same boat as Ross, but he’s ceratinly in the same river. Jackson has appeared in The Spirit and Iron Man, and the Ultimate version of Nick Fury is based on him. Cold Space is created by Jackson and Eric Calderon, the same duo responsible for the animated series Afro Samurai. So, it’s off to a good start then.
The background of Cold Space is not a far off world, so to speak. There’s no talking robots and exotic alien races, so far. It begins with Mulberry’s (Jackson’s comics doppelganger) ship fleeing four enemies in the year 4012, before being boarded by cops he’s obviously dealt with before. After some swift moves, and swifter talk, Mulberry gives the aggravated officers the (pardon the pun) shaft, and leaves with a smirk on his face. However, that doesn’t last long, as Mulberry’s stolen ship explodes and crashes on a planet filled with Wild West-like lowlifes.
From the solicitation info it’s clear that Mulberry soon becomes caught in the middle of a civil war on the small mining town he’s stuck on, and rather than choosing sides, he chooses to make a profit. That’s an interesting premise, but one that doesn’t get revealed in this first issue. We are introduced to Mario Ward (who reminds me of Lenny form Motorhead) and his crew, and are given glimpses of the other gangs in this desolate place, but that’s about it for now. This has a great beginning, (even if it takes a page or two to realise the text boxes aren’t captions, but rather off-panel dialogue) with its succinct action filled introduction of Mulberry, and I do want to see more of him. There’s no real surprises here, but I have a feeling the true ‘meat’ of the story is yet to come. It’s a great entry point for comics newbies and Jeremy Rock’s crisp approach to art is reflected in its accessible story structure. How Mulberry interacts with the dodgy residents of El Matador, yet still remains a sympathetic main character, will be interesting to see.
Rock’s visuals are clean and though there’s no Bryan Hitch level of realism, the look of Jackson still shines through Mulberry’s appearance, and even his speech at times. The costume and character design is varied, making the cast easily recognisable, and they obviously have great tailors and dry-cleaners as they look immaculate for a community inhabiting a dusty mining town. I wasn’t expecting an almost cartoon approach to the look of this series, knowing its starting point of Jackson as a sci-fi criminal, but the lack of harsh language and bloodletting is actually quite refreshing, and will hopefully encourage older kids, as well as curious fanboys, to give this series the look it deserves.
Over at The Source, DC’s official blog, are the latesttwo posts from Grant Morrison describing his inspirations and motivations for the new Batman and Robin series, with assorted art from Frank Quitely’s sketchbooks. I love all this behind the scenes stuff, and here you’ll see preliminary sketches of new enemies, the flying Batmobile, Damian Wayne as Robin and Dick Grayson as Batman (which is also covered by Alex Ross in his Rough Justice book). Some of the scribe’s inspirations are as wild as to be expected. Who else would take My Fair Lady as such a firm starting point?
On sale April 14 is this excellent debut from Image. Written by scribe on the rise, Nathan Edmondson (the equally excellent Olympus) and art by the always dependable Brett Weldele (The Surrogates) this is a hard to resist welcome to a new 5 issue mini-series. The Light is bookended with an excerpt from a poem by Alfred Noyes and an afterword by Edmondson in which he ruminates on the engulfing rise of technology and interconnectivity. As the characters in this issue discover, “there is no escape from it.”
Edmondson wisely reveals very little, and dramatically kicks things off straight away. It’s a daring choice, but also one that makes perfect sense. I can’t imagine anyone picking up this first issue who won’t want to see what happens in the months to come. This is a comic written with intelligence and restraint. There’s no time to take a breath and catch up on exposition here.
It begins with middle-aged welder Coyle losing his job. It’s not soon before you realise that this “hero” is also a wife beater and alcoholic, as he returns home to his daughter (who he’s raising with his mother’s help) who he wants to avoid and the next bottle that he wants to befriend. So, not your typical protagonist, but mere moments later Coyle must man up. He wakes up in the early hours to his neighbour running down the street screaming to not look into the light. We soon discover, with Coyle, that “the light” is not a particular orb of incandescence hovering in the sky, but a much more dangerous threat – all light.
Putting on his welding goggles, and waking his disbelieving (though not for long) daughter Avery, he blindfolds her and leads her through suburban streets of chaos as those that do indeed look into lamp posts and light bulbs spontaneously combust with some sort of electrical discharge. It’s a no hold barred introduction to a new story, and one with a hectic pace.
Weldele’s art is absolutely perfect for this. It fits into Edmondson’s tale wonderfully. His moody, subtle renderings and contrast of light and dark put an extra urgency onto these pages. It’s hard to imagine anyone interpreting this unique concept with greater visual flair. For those who may have found his minimalist approach to sci-fi in The Surrogates jarring, you’ll be much more welcoming here, as he shows that even suburban streets can be creepy.
Whether this is a national, or global outbreak is yet to be seen. There are no answers here, only confusion and fear, which puts the reader right in the running shoes of the survivors. From what seemed like a concept almost too simple (“Light as a killer?” Really?”) The Light will quickly erase any doubts with its crisp storytelling and horror premise.
The Marvel teaser onslaught continues, with this new image showing Psylocke and Spider-Man as members of the X-Men. I doubt Peter Parker would stamp on “X” on his costume, as he’s not a mutant, so maybe its a curve ball. However, no-one thought he’d be an Avenger too.
On a somewhat related not, last week’s Shield #1 is unsurprisingly sold out, so here’s the cover for its second printing. It features an interior image from the comic by Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver, revealing a battle in ancient Egypt with the alien Brood species. The second printing with this variant cover goes on sale on May 5.
comicbookjesus 