Boy that’s a long title. Sure is some perty art though. Text-free preview below of the comic which hits digital and print stores on the same day in January.
Your First Look At ULTIMATE COMICS CAPTAIN AMERICA #1
Marvel is pleased to present your first look at Ultimate Comics Captain America #1, from the acclaimed creative team of Jason Aaron and Ron Garney (Wolverine: Weapon X)! The Super Soldier project was a secret and mysterious undertaking that took a frail young man named Steve Rogers and forged him into the Captain America of World War II…but Rogers wasn’t the only one to emerge from the program. Enter the Captain America of the Vietnam War! Prepare for a battle between two Captain Americas…and only one living legend is walking away!
Ultimate Comics Captain America #1 hits stores and the Marvel Comics app on January 5th!
ULTIMATE COMICS CAPTAIN AMERICA #1 (of 4) (NOV100523)
ULTIMATE COMICS CAPTAIN AMERICA VILLAIN VARIANT #1 (of 4) (NOV100524)
As I’m impatient I usually order DC’s excellent animated films from America as it takes us a long time to get them here in Oz. However the great animated films like Green Lantern: First Flight, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, etc are now readily available here which is great news. Now I’ve just (accidentally) discovered that the Marvel Knights Motion Comics will be available at JB Hi-Fi stores around the country from December 1. Hopefully they’ll promote them more for the Christmas shopping season. Based directly on respected runs within the Marvel comics these mature and great looking films are all $30 and on DVD and Blu-Ray. These are very high quality fluidly animated films that really bring the original art to life. The titles are Astonishing X-Men: Gifted (by far the best one, based on the work of Joss Whedon and John Cassady), Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D, Iron Man: Extremis and Black Panther. All are visually different and a great intro to the characters and comics themselves. There’s no mention of the special features but I assume, like the U.S versions there will also be trailers, interviews and the like. Check them out here and some of the motion comics in action here.
Co-edited by yours truly is the latest, FREE issue of the digital Frontiersman magazine. Get it at Broken Frontier.
Inside its 46 pages is a feature on Fables and an interview with its creators, writer Jim Zubkavich on his great and popular Skullkickers, a look at Superboy’s history, an exclusive preview of January’s Who Is Jake Ellis? from Nathan Edmondson and Tonci Zonjic, and more.
Oh, thank you ABC. The Australian TV network always has diverse offerings of arty stuff. This special on comics was first aired on November 11 and I just managed to view it. You can too, right here or read the transcript. The show is described thusly:
Jennifer Byrne presents this special on graphic novels, or if you prefer: comics, picture books, Illustrated fiction or sequential art narrative. To discuss the wonderful combination of words and images, we are joined by special guests Eddie Campbell, Sophie Cunningham, Burce Mutard and Nicki Greenberg.
Eddie Campbell, the artist on From Hell written by Alan Moore, has the most interesting things to say, but it’s great to see local creators get some exposure, and I must give ABC much respect for giving a half hour primetime show devoted to comics.
Want something to distract you in between bouts of reading comics? How about games based on comics, then? Three different comic publishers have all made launches within days of each other.
First up is Papercutz with their first of many games based on The Smurfs.
Smurftastic news! Papercutz, the premier publisher of such popular graphic novel series as BIONICLE, DISNEY FAIRIES, GERONIMO STILTON, NANCY DREW, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, and THE SMURFS has posted the first of three all-new Smurfs games on its website. “Brainy’s Bad Day” is now available to play at www.papercutz.com/smurfs. Papercutz will post more free games in the following months. These games can be played online and on any Flash-enabled phone with a web browser.
Recently, Capcom launched its iPhone game “Smurf Village” which quickly became the most popular game on the Apple iPhone App store. “Brainy’s Bad Day” lets you take on the role of a mischievous Smurf attempting to bean Brainy with a tennis ball. You have 30 seconds to score 10 points and move on to the next round. For extra points, try to bop Brainy as he walks through the woods. Highly addictive and great for all ages, “Brainy’s Bad Day” is easy, free, and more fun than a barrel of smurfberries!
Radical Publishing’s game based on their sci-fi Shrapnel series has the most potential to please serious gamers.
Gamers take on the role of Vijaya “Sam” Narayan, a former military hero, who is fighting to save the galaxy from the Solar Alliance. Gamers navigate Sam and the Alliance across multiple planetary terrains, battling enemies, all while unlocking secret missions and compiling money to purchase weapons and upgrades. During game play, players also accrue points to stay atop of the leader board in hopes of winning cash prizes.
Unlike other games, this dual stick shooter is based on an intelligent engine that modifies game difficulty based on the player’s ability – perfect for the novice or expert player. The 3-D graphics and sound effects make game play realistic and engaging.
“Once you start battling enemies, it is hard to stop playing … the game play is very addicting.” stated Barry Levine, President of Radical Studios. “Our partner, Moyo Studios, has created a fun and challenging game that immerses casual gamers inside Sam’s world”.
Specific Game Play Features Include:
16 mission types + 5 secret missions
9 weapons and upgrades to help Sam defeat her enemies
Unlock codes to increase points on the leader board
For a limited time, Shrapnel is available for $.99 at the Apple App Store.
Lastly, BOOM! Studios have released a new game based on their new Stan Lee’s The Traveler comic.
Alongside the much anticipated release of the time-bending superhero saga STAN LEE’S THE TRAVELER #1, comes the debut of STAN LEE’S THE TRAVELER in SPLIT-SECOND MAYHEM available now in the iTunes store for the iPhone & iPod Touch and brought to you by Stan Lee, BOOM! Studios, GameSalad, and D7!
In this fast-paced puzzle game, you play as The Traveler battling against the Split-Second Men to defeat evil and save the future! Speed up or slow down time to navigate citizens through perilous traps and dangerous encounters with the Split-Second Men. Straight from the pages of STAN LEE’S THE TRAVELER, SPLIT-SECOND MAYHEM makes you the hero and puts you in control of the adventure!
Because WE demanded it! Two podcast episodes in one week! Actually, we’re just changing the day on which we record our show, so we can have more time to properly digest new comics.
49 mins. After our sweet sixteenth episode, comes our sour seventeenth episode. It’s not that sour really, but we do run the gamut of topics as usual. Apart from comics, films and manga news and reviews, we also discuss Mladen’s dodgy pronunciation of “news,” the Back to the Future game and unfunny Ricky Gervais films.
Pretty boy actor Matthew Goode as a possible Clark Kent/CGI Superman, the Locke and Key TV series based on the hugely popular horror comic, San Diego Comic-Con online registration crashes again and the film based on Daniel Clowes’ Wilson.
11:40 WHAT WE’VE BEEN READING
Manga Ooku by Viz Media set in feudal Japan, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Star Trek II and III, El Borbah by Charles Burns, the fun, time travelling Rift Raiders OGN, Dynamite’s relaunch of Vampirella and Firebreather Vol.3 #1 from Image Comics.
Editor, writer Andy Schmidt and I had a virtual discussion about his intriguing new series for IDW Publishing, G.I. Joe: Future Noir. It’s a bold take on the characters and the first issue (of 2) of the black and white tale is out right now. Check out the interview at Broken Frontier here.
From the fine artists at Udon, comes these two nifty looking pieces of art to promote the upcoming Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds game. The newer one at the top is from Alvin Lee and Saejin Oh, and the one underneath it is from Joe Ng and Espen Grundetjern. Both are, obviously awesome.
78 mins. During the increasing heat, Mladen and I yak about a plethora of awesome Batman comics, Ellen Degeneres, the lack of Parisian skyscrapers, how reading comics and novels differ and unusual eBay items.
Dennis Leary as Captain Stacy in the upcoming Spidey film, the Green Lantern film trailer, Ninja Turtle’s co-creator Kevin Eastman’s fire sale and the first photo of Karl Urban as Judge Dredd.
17:50: WHAT WE’VE BEEN READING
Batman Inc. #1, Batman: The Return, Batman #704, Superman/Batman #78. As for non-Bats titles, we discuss manga horror Parasyte, Assassin’s Creed, Dungeons and Dragons, Nikopol (videogame), and the huge collection Sundays with Walt & Skeezix.
36:05: FEATURE THEME: DETECTIVES
We talk about the different categories of detectives as seen in comics, including the private investigator, the supernatural detectives, and the quirky genius obsessive.
We mention Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics, Batman in Hush, The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, classic Dick Tracy, Hairbutt the Hippo / Elephantmen, Dylan Dog, Hellboy, Image Comics’ hit Chew, Death Note, Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, new Aussie series The Dark Detective: Sherlock Holmes, the gorgeous looking Blacksad and Max Allan Collins’ intelligently written female detective Ms Tree.
Publishers Taschen who seem to focus on very well presented, artistic books are behind the new 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking. It’s a huge book, not only in size, but also in page count (over 700!) and is written by Paul Levitz (shown below with the mammoth tome) who knows the company better than most, seeing as he’s been a writer, editor, executive and until recently publisher for them over the last 38 years.
You can discover more about the book here and see a generous 100 page preview here. There’s over 2000 pics, fold-out timelines and some great art design by Josh Baker.
This impressive diaroma from the artisans at Sideshow Collectibles should erase any doubts that Ewoks are just cute teddybears who can’t fight. Suitably titled Fall of the Empire – Ewoks vs Stormtrooper, it stands 16 inches high and weighs almost 4 kgs, and costs $250US. It’s available for pre-order now for shipping next year. Check out more photos here.
Tony Brownfield at Newsarama has written an informative and concise timeline for Batman from his first appearance in 1939 until today, through comics, films and cartoons. Batfans will know most of it, but it’s definitely worth reading for newbies too, as it gives a rundown on Bruce Wayne’s rather hectic life.
Something that will make my podcast cohort Mladen happy is the recent news that Daniel Clowes’ indie comic Wilson is set for the big screen, as reported by Deadline. Clowes has had his stories Ghost World and Art School Confidential previously adapted into films, and will be writing the screenplay for the Wilson film with director Alexander Payne (Sideways, About Schmidt) attached as director. Seems like a great fit.
Go here to publisher Drawn and Quarterly’s site for a preview of the darkly humorous 80 pager about a lonely man’s quest for attachment and connection, and to get 30% off the purchase price in celebration of its cinematic journey.
Marvel have always had a good website and have welcomed the digital domain much more than DC. Now they have revamped it and it looks good. Below is the official info.
Welcome to the all-new Marvel.com! And when we say new, we really mean new!
“It’s an utter and complete overhaul, we ripped it to its studs and rebuilt it,” says Seana Baruth, Marvel’s Vice President, Digital Product Management.
In addition to a new look specifically designed to better showcase Marvel’s rich artwork plus color-coded sections letting readers know where they are in the larger context of the site, the real changes have function in mind instead of form. For example, Search has been completely rebuilt to give more accurate results.
“We’ve completely replaced our site search, so if you go to Marvel.com and type in ASTONISHING X-MEN #1, you’re immediately going to get results that are relevant to that query which is a far cry from the old site,” Baruth explains.
The new Comics Browse function allows for customizable searching through Marvel’s vast catalogue of titles with various filters to help find exactly what you’re looking for fast. For example, if you want to find every issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN written by Dan Slott in 2010, first browse the title, then filter by creator, get the results and filter once again by year—you’ll have a complete list of the comics you’re looking for!
Other brand new features include a section devoted to playing games on the site, Comic Events pages chronicling crossovers like Chaos War and Shadowland all in one place and the ability for readers to comment on more than just news stories.
So as you surf around the site, be sure to visit some of your old favorites, but don’t forget to try out the new stuff, too!
Here’s a list of things to do on the new Marvel.com to help you get started:
comicbookjesus 