Actor Robin Williams loves the Vertigo series DMZ and is quite fond of the anime Tekkonkinkreet which he describes as “Rain Man meets Crouching Tiger.” Go here to check out the brief interview excerpt with Williams from USA Today. The man seems to know his stuff.
Smell Like Stark, Look Like Osborn
Fragrance manufacturer Diesel has put out a new men’s cologne, with their Only The Brave bottle now covered in red and gold. Fittingly so, as the fragrance is tying into May’s Iron Man 2. Fair enough, as all manner of products are getting in on the marketing ploy. The scent consists of, “top notes of lemon blossom, mandarin and coriander leaves,” and a bunch of other stuff. It’s been noted that an Iron Man fragrance consisting of mandarin is rather ironic, as Mandarin is one of his earliest foes. What’s more interesting, and rather surprising (and frustrating) is that the box’s artwork shows Iron Patriot, NOT Iron Man. What?! Usually Marvel licensing don’t drop the ball on stuff like this, but considering Tony Stark’s armoured alter ego is Marvel’s current golden boy and cinematic cash cow, this opportunity for further brand recognition is quite the missed opportunity.
For those not in the know, Iron Patriot is classic Spider-Man foe Norman Osborn (Green Goblin) who stole one of Tony Stark’s Iron Man suits, and had it rebranded with a Captain America colour scheme, when he formed his own Dark Avengers. In fact the interior pages on the box don’t even look like they’re from an Iron Man comic at all. Do the Diesel people not even know what he looks like?
Ghost Recon Future Soldier Teaser
The latest in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon series of games is due out this year. Not much is known yet, but the live action teaser certainly shows that Future Soldier is an apt title. Game trailers are fast becoming better than what Hollywood can produce.
See what I mean?
Ron Marz’s New Site
Along with Chuck Dixon, Ron Marz is one of my favourite under-appreciated writers. I’ve interviewed Marz before, for Broken Frontier, and he’s always been a consistent and reliable writer with storytelling know-how that doesn’t need to revert to “adult” tactics to create an entertaining story. Most of his work recently has been with Top Cow, and now he has a new site (it launched last month.) Marz has been writing comic for years so has some good advice and anecdotes. Check out his ideas for an Hourman series for DC from a long time ago here, and discover how it relates to his new Velocity series.
A-Z of Awesomeness
Now here’s the perfect way to teach your kids the alphabet and pop culture at the same time. Courtesy of artist Neill Cameron you can view 26 renditions of awesomeness, such as, “F is for The Fantastic Four saving the Finnish ambassador from Fred Flintstone, who’s flinging flaming fajitas at his Ford Fiesta,” or the much simpler, “U is for Uhura and Ultraman on a unicorn underwater.” Hilarious, absurd and educational. See the whole alphabet here and check out Cameron’s site here.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World Trailer
Oh yeah. This film, along with next month’s Kick Ass will again show the world the awesome diversity inherent in my beloved medium of comics. Directed by Brit Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) and starring everyone’s favourite downtrodden gent Michael Cera as the titular hero who must defeat 7 evil ex-boyfriends to win the woman of his dreams, the long awaited trailer shows much promise. With slacker humour, video game design and all conquering charm it looks as good as I (and countless other fans of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s series from Oni Press) hoped. Behold the splendour and then wait for the film until August 13.
The Losers and Iron Man 2 Posters
Based on the Andy Diggle and Jock Vertigo series, The Losers opens April 23. Iron Man 2 opens May 7. Below are new posters for both films, and it appears as though Black Widow has a S.H.I.E.L.D logo on her arm, indicating a beefier presence for the shadowy organisation in the sequel. Good news.
Aussie + Boomerang = Superhero
I used to love reading the X-Men titles in the early ’90s, as the team was so international. The different accents (Nightcrawler’s German, Colossus’ Russian, Rogues’ Southern,etc) were all handled superbly and it served to give the book a real global flavour. Image’s new Guardians of the Globe series looks to offer up more ethnicity, as the name suggests. Image sent sneaky teaser images last week, seemingly revealing who the new members of the super team would be, including Barack Obama and Harry Potter. Huh?! Of course, it was all a nice in-joke, referencing Marvel’s earlier teasers revealing their new Avengers team.
Now, the real Guardians are making their presence known. The latest one (after Outrun and Brit) is, a new character I believe, called Kaboomerang. With his”yeah mate,” quote and earthen colour scheme I assume he’s an Australian, and and Aboriginal. Now, as an Aussie myself I can say that yes, I say “mate,” and I have thrown a boomerang in my time, but really? The only other Australian character in mainstream comics I can think of is the (now deceased) member of Flash’s Rogues Gallery. Yep, Captain Boomerang, an overweight stereotype who threw boomerangs and wore a handkerchief around his neck.
Granted, Kaboomerang, by the ridiculously yet somehow cool name alone seems to be a tongue in cheek character created with a sense of humour. Thanks must also go to writer Robert Kirkman for putting an Aboriginal hero in a superhero team, as Gateway, the Aboriginal mutant who sometimes aided the X-Men hasn’t been seen in years.
It’s just a shame that overseas exposure of Australia seems to be limited to spandex wearers throwing curved hunting implements, and kangaroos of the caged or boxing variety.
More Iron Man By Design Variant Covers
To celebrate May 7’s Iron Man 2 Marvel are allowing Tony Stark to get all the attention on a few variant covers of their upcoming titles. Details below.
Marvel Unveils New IRON MAN BY DESIGN Variant Covers
Get a look at Iron Man like you’ve never seen him before! Marvel is proud to unveil even more of the stunning Iron Man By Design variant covers by some of the top artists of today!
Marvel urges retailers to check their orders on these hotly-anticipated variant covers, as Iron Man continues to garner mainstream media buzz! No Marvel fan can miss April’s Iron Man By Design variant covers!
DARK WOLVERINE #85 (FEB100573)
DARK WOLVERINE #85 IRON MAN BY DESIGN VARIANT (FEB100574)
Written by DANIEL WAY & MARJORIE LIU
Pencils & Cover by STEPHEN SEGOVIA
IRON MAN BY DESIGN VARIANT by SKOTTIE YOUNG
Parental Advisory …$2.99
FOC—3/25/10, On-Sale—4/21/10
X-MEN LEGACY #235 (FEB100561)
X-MEN LEGACY #235 IRON MAN BY DESIGN VARIANT (FEB100563)
Written by MIKE CAREY
Penciled by GREG LAND
Cover by ADI GRANOV
Variant Cover by DAVID FINCH
IRON MAN BY DESIGN VARIANT by DAVE JOHNSON
Rated A …$2.99
FOC—3/25/10, On-Sale—4/21/10
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #47 (FEB100575)
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #47 IRON MAN BY DESIGN VARIANT (FEB100576)
Written by DANIEL WAY
Penciled by WILL CONRAD
Cover by SIMONE BIANCHI
IRON MAN BY DESIGN VARIANT by HUMBERTO RAMOS
Parental Advisory …$2.99
FOC—4/1/10/10, On-Sale—4/28/10
Tom Taylor Goodness
The Melbourne based playwright/comics scribe (Star Wars: Invasion from Dark Horse, The Authority from DC/Wildstorm and Rombies from Gestalt) has more goodies coming out in the coming weeks. In the latest Previews catalogue the second issue of the new Invasion series is out, as is a Vader-related one-shot. Check out the info below. You might also want to listen to an interview with Taylor and his Rombies collaborator Skye Ogden as they discuss the genesis of the great concept, undead gazelles and political subtext.
STAR WARS: INVASION—RESCUES #2 (of 6)
Tom Taylor (W), Colin Wilson (A), Wes Dzioba (C), and Jo Chen (Cover)
On sale June 30
FC, 40 pages
$2.99
Miniseries
New and vital knowledge sends Finn Galfridian with Jacen and Jaina Solo on a mission to the planet of Artorias. Though Finn does not know if his father, Caled, lives, if there is any chance, he must be warned of new dangers. It’s a hot and dangerous ride to Artorias, and the occupying Yuuzhan Vong are ready with a toothsome, ravaging welcome . . .
Meanwhile, Kaye and Nina, board their newly acquired Vong ship, embark on their own mission. It’s one they can’t refuse: rescuing captives held on a dead planet. There is no telling what peril will meet the rescue party . . .
STAR WARS ADVENTURES: THE WILL OF DARTH VADER
Tom Taylor (W), Brain Koschak (P), Dan Parsons (I), Michael Wiggam (C), and Sean McNally (Cover)
On sale Aug 11
FC, 80 pages
$7.99
TPB, 5 1/4″ x 7 1/2″
Darth Vader is on a mission for the Emperor!
When the Rebellion’s hit-and-run attacks on Imperial cargo ships become too audacious to be ignored, Darth Vader is sent in to find the Rebel base and destroy it. But the base, hidden in the center of a constantly shifting asteroid field, cannot be attacked directly.
To reach his target, Vader will have to team up with a recently captured smuggler named Zika—and dealing with an unwilling, wisecracking partner may be more of a trial for the Dark Lord than the actual mission!
Marvel’s Marvelman
Well, the press release below says it all, but I don’t think anyone’s surprised to see Marvel doing something with this classic character. No news of new Marvelman adventures yet though.
Marvelman Returns In June!
Marvel is proud to announce the return of Marvelman to shelves everywhere with the release of Marvelman Classic Primer #1 in June! Who is the mysterious Marvelman? And just why is he one of the most enduring super heroes of all time? The answers arrives in this commemorative one-shot featuring interviews with creator Mick Anglo, superstar Neil Gaiman and more who contributed to this character’s history over the years! Plus, get all-new pin ups of key Marvelman characters by superstar artists Mike Perkins, Doug Braithwaite, Miguel Angel Sepulveda, Jae Lee, Khoi Pham and Ben Oliver! This landmark issue features two covers—one with the timeless art of Mick Anglo and another with the now-iconic rendition of Marvelman by Marvel Editor-In-Chief—and superstar artist—Joe Quesada!
Then, in July, thrill to the debut of Marvelman Family’s Finest #1, a new ongoing series reprinting Marvelman’s greatest adventures for the first time in the US ! Plus, no comics fan can miss Marvelman Classic Vol.1 Premiere HC, reprinting Marvelman’s earliest adventures in chronological order!
Now’s your chance to learn just why Marvelman is one of the most important characters in comic book history—it all begins in Marvelman Classic Primer #1, this June!
MARVELMAN CLASSIC PRIMER #1
Written by JOHN RHETT THOMAS
Cover by JOE QUESADA
Variant by MICK ANGLO
Rated A …$3.99
ON SALE IN JUNE!
McCarthy’s Drift
Yesterday’s storm was all anyone could talk about in the usually dry city of Perth today, it seems. It certainly was spectacular. Beyond the pics of hail damage to windows and cars was a great little article on local writer Shane McCarthy. Here’s the article about the All Hail Megatron writer and his new addition to the Transformers mythos – Drift, a Japanese racing car with a sword. Oh yeah. See pics of the toy and more at McCarthy’s blog.
Iron Man By Design Variant Covers
I was going to put these pics in the last This Week In Pictures post, but they really do deserve their own focus. Basically, Iron Man 2 is landing on cinema screens on May 7 and Marvel have given free rein to some very talented folks to create unique covers over a variety of Marvel titles for the month of April. They had a similar approach with their Wolverine Art Appreciation covers from last year, and these samples below look to do even more for Ol’ Shellhead. Mmmm…luscious. Just a reminder that these are variant covers, so you’ll have to ask your friendly neighbourhood comic shop specifically for them, or get there early on new comics day and grab them yourself. Oh, and don’t expect Iron Man to actually be in the comic – he’s just used to the Hollywood treatment now. Below the pics you’ll find more info including release dates on these specific issues.
Happy Birthday Mark Waid!
The legendary writer is now 48. Waid is one of the few writers who cemented my love for comics almost 2 decades ago. His run on Flash and the excellent Kingdom Come mini with artist Alex Ross made me want to follow him anywhere and I pretty much have since discovering him. He’s doing great work as the Editor In Chief of BOOM! Studios, and as the writer behind their flagship series, Irredeemable. Here’s a list I totally agree with of Waid’s Top 10 books for those unfamiliar with the legendary world creator.
Here’s to 48 more Mr. Waid!
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