If you’re curious about this Thor fella, Marvel’s here to help with a 30% off sale on an annual subscription to their digital comics service, until the end of the month. Sign up right here.
How Smallville Should End
First up, I should admit that I’m not a regular Smallville watcher. I wasn’t interested until it left the high school villain of the week plots for the grander, DC guest star scenarios of the more recent seasons. I’ve only watched 2 complete series, and here in Australia the show hasn’t screened for years. In fact, the 9th season has only just been released on DVD, and season 8 is back on the air, at a rather unflattering and often changing timeslot. However, since the show’s final, 10th season is only days away from ending (on Friday, in the U.S at least) it’s been getting a lot of deserved attention, including how it won’t end. I was daydreaming at work, so I typed this up quickly. It’s only 2 scenes, with hints at the growing DC Universe with Batman, a guest star that was never realised in the show, although it was originally a young-Bruce Wayne-grows-up premise before the studio big wigs settled on Clark Kent. Chloe, portrayed by Allison Mack was always a proto-Barbara Gordon/Oracle too.
The last line will be important in this show, and we know Tom Welling will whack on the Superman suit. We also know actor Michael Rosenbaum’s back as Lex Luthor after years away, so a memorable throwdown between the two has to be inevitable.
So, here’s my brief and largely unedited, script, with the dialogue appearing mid-scene. Yes, I know the formatting may be off, and I’m happier with my first scene rather than the not-quite-there last, but I just thought I’d share it anyway. After all, how often does a decade running show on Superman end?
METROPOLIS STREET – DAY
ORACLE (laughs)
You misunderstand me, Miss Sullivan. We don’t need your help. I’m offering you a job.
CHLOE
A job? Thank you, Barbara, but I’d rather not be a mindless cog in WayneTech’s corporate machine, especially if it means moving to the hellhole of Gotham. No offense.
ORACLE
None taken, but you wouldn’t have to move. Gotham has a set of eyes and ears already – me. What we need is another pair of both, here in Metropolis.
CHLOE
Okay, I appreciate the cloak and dagger, but if you don’t start bringing some clarity to this conversation, I’m going to be on my formerly merry way.
ORACLE
Here’s the deal. I know all about your…nocturnal activities.
CHLOE
(interrupts) I…
ORACLE
Please. Hold the witty comments. Myself and my…boss need a woman of your skills. You know, almost as well as we do, that our world is on the brink of something terrifying and glorious. Your Wall of Weird was cute and all, and the Watchtower was a step in the right direction, but I’m here to tell you – you haven’t seen anything yet.
CHLOE
And you want to show me this big, bad world. Is that right?
ORACLE
Absolutely.
(hands her a business card)
Don’t let your curiosity fade into ignorance and regret. Here’s where you can reach me – 24/7 and on the other side – that would be your starting salary. I look forward to working with you Chloe.
METROPOLIS STREET – DAWN
Lex in his classic purple and green power suit is facing Superman in his classic costume. Both men are hovering above the city’s skyscrapers, facing each other. Lex is defiant and filled with hate. Superman is heroic, preparing himself for what he sense will be the first of many violent encounters with his nemesis.
LEX
This is my city. Mine. No alien will dictate terms to the human race. You’re either my subordinate, as you should be, or you get out of my way.
SUPERMAN
That’s ridiculous. I’m not your competition Luthor. I’m just here to help.
LEX
The human race has proved time and again that it can help itself. We have achieved wonders. Miracles. We have perfected ourselves by sheer genius and determination and yes, I have plenty of both.
SUPERMAN
True, and the misguided pride to use them in all the wrong ways.
LEX
I didn’t land here with a pristine costume and the powers of a god! I turned myself into this! You can’t take fate from my hands alien. This city, this world is mine… and I’m not sharing.
SUPERMAN
In another life, we could’ve been friends. Don’t force my hand.
LEX
(laughs)
You don’t belong here. It’s as simple as that.
SUPERMAN
You know what’s simple Luthor? There is a right and a wrong in the universe, and the distinction between the two is not that difficult to make.
LUTHOR
The bumper sticker ideology of a fool.
SUPERMAN
I know who I am Luthor, and I know that my fight against evil is just beginning. It’s a never ending battle.
Lex screams. The two men leap at each other. The action freezes just before they collide. John Williams’ Superman: The Movie theme rises.
End
Well, you get the idea.
In related Smallville news, there’s this from Warner Bros.
Prepare for the SMALLVILLE Series Finale!
Relive each heroic moment by downloading the series now on iTunes.
To celebrate Warner Bros, Digital Distribution is giving fans the chance to get FREE Downloads of all 10 season premieres in HD and discounts on seasons 1-9, now for a limited time on iTunes.
Shadowline’s New Website
The headline says it all really.
SHADOWLINE LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE
ShadowlineOnline and Tales of Mr. Rhee Debut Today
Shadowline, LLC, Jim Valentino’s partner studio at Image Comics, home of such hits as MORNING GLORIES, GREEN WAKE, THE INFINITE VACATION, BOMB QUEEN and many more, has announced their new website at www.ShadowlineOnline.com will go live today.
“We felt the website needed a complete overhaul,” said Shadowline President/Publisher, Jim Valentino. “We wanted a site that was easy to navigate, one where it would be easy to purchase our books, with all the latest news and other fun stuff. Our new site, designed by D.C. McQueen, has given us all that and more! We’re very excited to show it to the world!”
The launch will also debut Dirk Manning’s latest web-comic, TALES OF MR. RHEE, which will upload a new page every Tuesday and Thursday.
Valentino continued, “Dirk gave us NIGHTMARE WORLD (now collected in two print volumes with a third set for an October release) and this is his latest venture. This brand new horror series is an excellent addition to our web-comics feature on the site.”
Dark Horse FCBD 2011 Comics
Dark Horse are giving away digital copies of their Free Comic Book day offerings from the weekend. Yay!
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY COMICS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD FOR LIMITED TIME!
If you missed out on picking up your Free Comic Book Day comics at your local comic-book store, you can get them from Dark Horse Digital for a limited time!
Downloads will be available starting Wednesday, May 11, and run through the end of the month!
Just hop on any computer or Mac iOS device (iPod, iPad, iPhone), go to Digital.DarkHorse.com, or the iTunes app store and download the free Dark Horse Comics bookshelf app!
Both Criminal Macabre/Baltimore and Avatar: The Last Airbender/Star Wars: The Clone Wars will be available for free download!
Make sure you check out these awesome titles from Dark Horse and support Free Comic Book Day! Ten years in the running!
Nate Powell’s Any Empire
Swallow Me Whole is one of the best OGNs I’ve ever read and a testament to the emotional power that comics can contain, just like any other medium. Now, its creator Nate Powell is back with his new book. It’s also black and white and it’s also from the same publisher – Top Shelf. Official details below and a preview here.
Nate Powell, hailed by the London Times as “a writer-artist of genius,” is back.
His new book, Any Empire, is a vivid examination of war and violence, and their trickle-down effects on middle America. First, a group of small-town kids find themselves bound together by geography, boredom, and a string of mysterious turtle mutilations. Years later, with Army tanks rolling through the streets of their hometown, these young adults are forced to confront painful questions of privilege, duty, betrayal, and courage.
Any Empire recalls aimless summers of Nancy Drew and GI Joe, treehouses and army surplus stores… but when fantasy starts to bleed into reality, whose mission will be accomplished? — a 304-page deluxe hardcover graphic novel, 6.5″ x 9.5″
ENLIST TODAY IN THE NEXT GREAT BOOK FROM THE AUTHOR OFSWALLOW ME WHOLE, 2009 EISNER AWARD WINNER FOR BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL!
SHIPPING IN JULY 2011!
Get To Know Green Lantern
Dc’s The Source blog is letting newbies, and those who need a refresher, know a few important things about the ever growing Green Lantern mythos, just in time for next month’s film. Every Monday to Thursday until the film’s premiere you can get the lowdown on the history and characters. First up is a quick look at the oath, the batteries and the ring. Handy.
X-Men: First Class Character Trailers
As the ’60s set X-Men prequel nears its June 3rd release, this week has seen four character specific trailers. After seeing these, I’m a lot more confident about the quality of the film. Check out Beast, Mystique, Banshee and Havok below.
Rebranding Dark Horse
The Dark Horse blog has a nifty post from art director Lia Ribacchi giving us a peek behind the scenes of the rebranding of Dark Horse, specifically using images of Darth Vader, Conan and Liara from the Mass Effect games and comics. See more of the process at the link above.
Free Comic Book Day 2011
It was another great Free Comic Book Day in my neck of the woods this year. I started the day at Comic Zone, who were taking part for the 2nd year running and although I was there only minutes after opening, there were quite a few other customers already there. The bevy of freebies were displayed in an “U” shape on their generous counter so everyone could easily see what was on offer.
Next up was Quality Comics who have taken part for a few years now. With their nifty sign out the front (created by one of their talented staff members I believe) showing Superman and Deadpool in the gear of their opposing publishers, and plenty of people inside, it looked to be another success. With staff wearing hats and this year’s cool FCBD shirts from artist Darwyn Cooke, there was quite the crowd, and lots of parents bringing their kids (some of whom even dressed up as their fave superheroes). The freebies were all displayed on a large board behind the counter, and QC even had people dressed up and promoting the event with flyers in the streets of Perth. Passers by seemed to dig this and take a few photos with them. I saw a few teens dressed up as anime characters and also ran in to Batman and Batgirl.
Last on my journey was Empire Toys. This marks their 4th FCBD and their first in their swanky new location (only metres from their old place, but a lot better). Again, there were heaps of people and a few youngens. Their freebies were wisely numbered and displayed on the counter, so instead of asking, “Can I please have the Super Dinosaur Origin Special?”, they can just ask, “Number 8 please.” Makes sense.
I already had quite a few of the almost 40 (!) freebies on offer this year, but still picked up another 7 new ones today, such as DC’s Young Justice/ Batman: Brave and the Bold, and the all-ages issues from both Oni Press and Top Shelf, all for my nephew. Free Comic Book Day is such an awesome idea and it’s great to see retailers and publishers embracing it. It’s events like this that get the comic curious in to their nearest comic shop, some perhaps for the first time. Hopefully those newbies will become dedicated comics readers, well on their way to discovering the joys of sequential art. Thankfully, all 3 shops mentioned above are all on Hay Street in Perth, Western Australia and although I went to all of them early this morning, they all had more people in them than I usually see. High fives all round!
Free Comic Book Day Tomorrow
As if it wasn’t obvious from the podcast post below, it’s the 1oth annual Free Comic Book Day tomorrow – a perfect time to bring a friend or comics newbies to your LCS (local comic shop) to see what freebies are on offer. Bleeding Cool has a handy post on some of the LCSs around the world that are taking part this year, including signings from various creators.
This week, Quality Comics in my hometown of Perth, Western Australia was featured in a local community newspaper about the event, and Comic Zone, and Empire Toys in Perth will also be taking part, and they all happen to be on Hay Street. How convenient! Make sure to drop by.
Extra Sequential Podcast #39-Free Comic Book Day
67 mins. In honour of the awesome annual tradition of Free Comic Book Day around the world, we discuss some of our faves – what you should definitely pick up and what you should avoid. Also, our usual rambling shenanigans.
LISTEN TO IT BELOW, DOWNLOAD IT HERE OR ON ITUNES
0: 32 NEWS
Green Lantern Animated Light Up Display is a fire hazard
More details about the Star Wars Blu-Ray
The new Conan trailer
Cobra: The Space Pirate film
8: 58 WHAT WE’VE BEEN READING/WATCHING
Low budget, but great film Monsters by Gareth Edwards
Red starring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, etc
The Punisher from 1989 starring Dolph Lundgren and a Ms. Pac Man mention
The Mighty Thor #1
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 video game
Alastair Graham’s Full Moon Soup picture book
Koren Shadmi’s The Abaddon webcomic
23: 08 FEATURE TOPIC – FREE COMIC BOOK DAY
FCBD is on Saturday May 8. Yay! We read a whole bunch of the many free comics on offer this year and give a rundown of what we like and don’t like this year.
SOME PRETTY GOOD FREEBIES
Bongo Comics’ Bongo Free-For-All, featuring a few The Simpsons stories, including cool ones by Evan Dorkin and Sergio Aragones
Dark Horse’s Avatar: The Last Airbender/ Star Wars: The Clone Wars flip book
Ape Entertainment’s Richie Rich/ Kung-Fu Panda flip book. This ain’t your daddy’s Richie Rich!
Drawn and Quarterly’s classic reprint collection, John Stanley’s Summer Fun
12 Gauge’s I.C.E/ Loose Ends crime tales
FREEBIES TO AVOID
Bluewater’s The Misadventures of Adam West (the actor who played Batman in the ‘60s TV series)
FREEBIES THAT ARE OK, BUT NOT AWESOME
2000AD. The classic U.K magazine style format with a bunch of sci-fi stories inside, including a great Judge Dredd tale
Marvel’s The Amazing Spider-Man is good for fans who may have been away from the web slinger for a while and want to know what he’s up to these days
DC Comics’ Green Lantern Special Edition. Same as above, except for Green Lantern AKA Hal Jordan
OUR TOP PICKS (GET THESE IF YOU SEE THEM!)
Fantagraphics’ Walt Disney Mickey Mouse. A dog walking a dog. Yes, that’s right. Floyd Gotfredson’s rascally Mickey.
Archaia’s Mouse Guard/ Dark Crystal flip book, with mature fantasy stories and also Season of the Dapper Men and A Tale of Sand by the legendary Jim Henson
Marvel’s Captain America/ Thor: The Mighty Fighting Avengers! A fun, time travelling adventure featuring the two cinematic superheroes in ye olde Camelot
Super Dinosaur Origin Special from Image. Another fun adventure for kids and adults with a kid, his heroic T-Rex, a secret base and evil mutant dinosaurs
Jake the Dreaming from Radical. An illustrated novel, not a comic. Like most Radical books, it looks superb. For fans of Narnia and Harry Potter
Red 5 bring us the always amusing Atomic Robo at the National Science Fair. Also previews of ’50s heroine Moon Girl, and Foster Broussard: Demons of the Gold Rush
Elric: The Balance Lost #1 from BOOM! Studios. Michael Moorcock’s pale swordsman returns to comic. I liked it much more than Mladen though
CHECK OUT PREVIEWS OF ALL THESE FREEBIES AND MORE, RIGHT HERE AND THE EXCELLENT ROMBIES IS NOW ONLINE FOR FREE FROM GESTALT COMICS. YAY!
Ghost Rider #0.1 Preview
I noticed in the last Previews catalogue how many titles Rob Williams was writing, such as Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force, Skaar: King of the Savage Land and Daken: ark Wolverine. He seems to have come from nowhere to be Marvel’s new go-to-guy, and I’m sure he deserves it, with the more responsibilities he’s being given, the latest of which is Ghost Rider. Text-free preview pages for this new series debut below.
POINT ONE Races GHOST RIDER #0.1
New readers, hold on tight – a bold new beginning for Ghost Rider begins amidst the chaos of Fear Itself as Marvel is pleased to present your first look at Ghost Rider #0.1! From the newly exclusive creative team of writer Rob Williams and artist Matthew Clark, Johnny Blaze has finally found a way to defeat the demon within and undo his pact for power. But can he allow himself to ‘Give Up The Ghost’? Find out in this special POINT ONE issue as Vengeance rides in a new direction and scorches the Marvel Universe like never before this June, only in Ghost Rider #0.1!
GHOST RIDER #0.1 (APR110617)
Written by ROB WILLIAMS
Artist by MATTHEW CLARK
Cover by ARTURO LOZZI
Parental Advisory …$2.99
FOC – 5/16/11. On Sale – 6/8/11
Eye Witness Wins
A huge congrats to writer/artist Robert Luedke for his well deserved win for his great Eye Witness series of OGNs. Details below.
|
||
|
||
Head Press Publishing received notification this week that author/illustrator, Robert James Luedke’s, Collected Eye Witness Slipcase Set, was chosen as the winner in the catagory of comics & graphic novels in Family Fiction Magazine’s, 2011 Reader’s Choice Awards! The awards, given in multiple genres of publishing and the media, were announced in the May/June issue of the publication (available for online viewing).
The Eye Witness series has attracted a tremendous amount of media and reader attention over the years due to it’s unique combination of a modern day action thriller with a Biblical adaptation (spanning from Jesus’ Passion story through the Book of Acts). Unlike most graphic novels, the series not only sells well in comic specialty and secular book stores, but also has done well in Christian bookstores and church libraries.
Since it’s premier in 2004, Luedke’s Eye Witness series has been honored with five indy book awards and been named a finalist in four others. “The project started out as my answering a calling to create a single graphic novel that could do a bit more than just entertain,” explains Luedke, “and it ended up becoming a mission that basically consumed the better part of a decade of my life!”
Top Shelf Kids Club
It seems every publisher has been getting in on the all-ages comics act lately, but Top Shelf have been ahead of the curve for a while. If you, or your kids, would like to be in the know on their upcoming releases, like Owly, Johnny Boo, Korgi and more, then sign up here and get a free poster too!
comicbookjesus 