Comics Thursday - 28 January 2010
Hey hey, and welcome to Comics Thursday. I hope our American readers had fun on New Comics Day - with dozens of titles available, I'm sure everyone found something to keep them entertained. There's a lot of interesting news in the comic book movie front, so let's jump straight in.
To my surprise, plans are in the works for a movie based on Lobo, the indestructible anti-hero of DC Comics who has been causing havoc and doing his own thing for twenty years now. And who better to direct a movie about a hard-drinking, foul-mouthed, rough and tumble alien who killed his own planet than Guy Ritchie? Indeed, the man who brought us Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Swept Away (well, maybe we'll ignore the last one) was signed up to direct.
Notice the word "was" in that last sentence. Ritchie has left the project, as the success of Sherlock Holmes has Warner Bros. itching for a sequel as soon as possible. Joel Silver, the producer of both Holmes and the Lobo movie, told the Los Angeles Times that he didn't think Ritchie would be doing it now and someone else would most likely sit in the director's chair. This is a shame, as Lobo's been a fanboy favourite for years, and having movie goers cheer a person so lacking in moral fibre would have been a hoot. Still, the news allowed me to post a picture of "The Main Man" himself in this column, so I won't complain.
Sticking with DC - is this the first image of Kilowog? According to Cosmic Book News, the answer is yes. The gruff Green Lantern Corps member and trainer of GLC recruits will no doubt appear in the upcoming adaptation, but this is the first anyone has seen of how he'll look. Complaints will probably be made about the brown skin tone (in the comics, Kilowog is closer to pink) but other than that he seems to share a lot of the same physical characteristics. Known for his fearsome bravery and good heart, it would be wonderful to see this supporting character get his dues on the big screen. What I really want to know is if he'll be presented entirely in CG or will someone suit up in a big pink muscle suit? Hey, what's Michael Clarke Duncan doing next month?
Over in the Marvel camp, Access Hollywood sat down with comic book legend Stan Lee to discuss the Spider-Man reboot and his cameos in numerous Marvel pictures. Said Lee on the new Spidey: "Playing him younger, playing up the problems of a teenage kid with a superpower - which is the way he was originally written when we first did the book - I think it will be interesting." I wonder how concerned Stan is about the treatment of the webhead on the silver screen, as the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man is arguably the writer's most famous creation. You can watch the interview here.
As Brian Michael Bendis stays busy with Siege, one of his earliest books is set to be adapted. Fire is a short tale about a college student who joins a CIA intelligence operation and slowly discovers that he is being trained as an expendable agent. Zac Efron has signed on to star, continuing the tough transition from teenage heart throb to serious screen actor. Efron's got the looks but does he have the chops to take on this political thriller?
Samuel L Jackson will appear in Thor (as Nick Fury, I can only assume.) Apparently this was news to him, too.
We move on to television now and an interview with Jackie Earle Haley about his role in Human Target, the new action show on FOX based on the titular comic character created by Len Wein and Carmine Infantino. Playing Guerrero, a shady information gatherer, Haley was asked by Comic Book Resources if he worried about the stigma usually attached to movie stars switching to television. His answer was no, as he's enjoying the process of developing his character with each episode: "I'm used to doing everything out in front and then working very closely with the director as we're on the set, but this is neat because so much gets developed behind what you're doing." Read the whole interview here, in which he talks more about Human Target, his phenomenal turn as Rorschach in last year's Watchmen, and the trials and tribulations of playing Freddy Krueger in the upcoming Nightmare on Elm Street remake.
Coming Attractions recently got their hands on Frank Darabont's script for the Walking Dead pilot, which as I reported was greenlit for production by AMC last week. They give the script a big thumbs up, telling readers that while the visceral gore one expects will be there, the show's real trick will be the impact of the psychological horror. Indeed, having feverishly read through the comic's entire run to date this past week, I can say that the real horror is often the effect on each character as they struggle to retain some semblance of humanity. This isn't going to be an easy sell for viewers, but if the characters are half as sympathetic and well-rounded on screen as they are on the page, it has all the makings of an incredible series.
I'll finish with some comic book news, with two items concerning future storylines in Marvel and DC. But before I touch on those, I recently became aware of the furore surrounding Blue Water Productions, the company behind Roger Corman's Black Scorpion and, uh, Bo Obama: The White House Tails. Blue Water's business plan was brought to light; in what some might refer to lightly as a "dick move," they utilise a "work for hire" scheme that only pays creators when and if a comic turns a profit. Naturally, the company have received a ton of bad press. Heidi MacDonald of Publishers Weekly, Christopher Butcher of Comics 212 and Johanna Draper Carlson of Comics Worth Reading have already commented on this crap, so all I'll just say that if a company doesn't offer proper compensation to its writers and artists for the work they do, that's a company that doesn't deserve our custom. And it's a shame - I was so looking forward to reading Michelle Obama: Year One.
As I mentioned in previous weeks, DC will follow Blackest Night with Brightest Day and they're going to run another promotion to celebrate. If you've already picked up the Lantern rings that were given away with certain titles last November, you'll have to make more room on your fingers. Flash #1 and Green Lantern #53 will ship with new Flash and GL rings respectively as a "thank you" to fans who made DC's latest crossover event a success. Coming so soon after the last rings promotion, I wonder if this had less to do with saying thanks and more to do with the marketing boys saying, "Stick some crap on there and they'll eat it up!" Still, the Flash ring looks pretty cool, and DC are asking retailers for a minimum order of only ten copies to receive them, which is pretty damn reasonable.
Marvel haven't been sitting on their hands, offering fans information on The Heroic Age. When the dust finally settles after Siege, a new dawn will rise over the Marvel Universe, and with it a brighter, more optimistic tone. It all begins with Avengers #1, set to come out in May and featuring a new line-up (larger, kickass image is here.) Marvel CEO and Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada had this to say:
"Our heroes have experienced some of their greatest trials and tribulations recently, but now there's going to be a renewed hope among their ranks. As our heroes emerge from the darkness, the Marvel Universe is going to be a more optimistic place than we've seen in a quite awhile. But that doesn't mean we're making things easy for our characters!"
With The Heroic Age and Brightest Day both coming along so close to each other, could it be that comics are starting to move out of the "darker, grittier" hole they've been trapped in for a solid twenty years at least? Will there be more light to counteract the shade? Will Blue Beetle get his own comic again?
I live in hope; nothing is certain. This is, after all, Joe Quesada, the man who didn't think readers could relate to a married Peter Parker and OK'ed One More Day. I also wonder if this new approach was an editorial decision or an order from Marvel's new corporate overlords, Disney. But I think this is a good move for the company, and comics in general. Getting younger readers to regularly buy titles is important to keep the industry afloat, and considering the state the world is in, a little hope never hurts. With that in mind, I'll sign off here. Check back in next Thursday for more comic book news and remember: "All will be well."
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Good article. Saw an interview where McG said the main reason for the difference in the Human Target comic where the guy assumes the targets personality is because they didn’t want to hide the actor who played Keen Eddie’s face. Which is understandable that you don’t want a new lead actor every episode, but how cool would that be?
That would be pretty cool, and perhaps as the series progresses they can start bringing in some of the elements from the comic that they haven’t yet used. Obviously at the moment they want viewers to build up a “relationship” with the main characters, so switching the lead every week might be confusing, but in later seasons the writers could start having fun with that.
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