Archive for the ‘iron man’ Category
Filed Under bonekickers, conventions, gabriel hunt, indiana jones, iron man, spider-man, stykman, treasure hunters, wonder woman
My Wizard World Chicago reports
I haven’t linked yet to the reports of Wizard World Chicago I wrote for Newsarama, so here they are. There are ones for the Marvel/DC panel, the Wonder Woman panel, the Kids and Comics panel, and the Women in Comics panel.
The Miscellaneous Adventures of Stykman
I love Stykman. It’s been a long time between issues, but in the most recent newsletter from aka Comics, creator/publisher Jonnie Allan explains that he had to drop Diamond as his distributor.
Truth be told, we allowed a certain distributor … to in a sense dictate how we would continue to publish our books. In their “wisdom,” they decided to no longer carry The Miscellaneous Adventures of STYKMAN™ in individual issue form, but rather distribute it solely in Trade Paper Back (TPB). In other words, if you wanted issues 4 and 5 you would have to purchase the TPB – Basically forcing fans and retailers alike who have already purchased issues 1-3 to buy them again. Although we begrudgingly played along for a little while, in the end we decided that was not the way we wanted to do things. All orders for our first TPB were cancelled by us and a departure from said distributor was made.
So what now? One thing is for sure, STYKMAN™ has not been thrown into the wood chipper, cast onto the firewood pile or gone the way of the dinosaur. In fact, the first licensed collectible is on its way from China and is now available for order. As for the comic series, our plans are to continue publishing STYKMAN™ in individual issue format collecting it in TPB once all issues have been produced and offered to our adoring fans like yourself. Our plans are to offer our title directly to you through our website and conventions, as well as alternative distribution methods.
More details are promised.
I’m mentioning this partly – like I said – because I love Stykman and I’m anxious for more comics about him. But I’m also mentioning it because – although I’ve always liked Jonnie Allan – I’m especially proud of him for making a bold move away from Diamond. Diamond’s the only distributor in the country for a lot of comics stores, so Jonnie’s automatically cutting out an enormous potential audience by making this decision. That he’s doing it because he believes it’s the right thing to do by his current readership is nothing short of stunning. I hope you’ll check out the website and order the first three issues. You won’t be sorry.
Why Cate Blanchett kind of sucked in Crystal Skull
As disappointed as I was in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the Castle Vardulon blog hated it more. Enough to run a 20 day “I Hate Indiana Jones” series. While I don’t agree with all the posts there, I think he makes a really good point about why Cate Blanchett’s character is pretty weak.
…Cate Blanchett’s utter inability to have useful psychic abilities hurts the film more than a little. By this, I mean that if she’d actually been psychic, the film could have gotten rid of the useless ‘Mac’ character. Instead of a close friend betraying Indy to the Russians, the information they needed could have been plucked from Indy’s head. Instead of using a radar setup to follow Indy to the Valley of the Crystal Skull, Cate could have just followed their psychic traces.
Bonekickers
This BBC show about a group of Indy-like archaeologists is too new to start wondering when it’s coming to the States, but it sure looks interesting.
Coolest Spider-Man toy EVER.
Topless Robot has others too, but they’re dead right about Number One.
Iron Man 2 will be Awesome.
Favreau’s back.
And speaking of that…
It was only a matter of time before Warner Bros. and DC realized that they really need to get their act together. (Although – as Kevin points out in the link – it’s not like they haven’t had any success with their movies so far.)
Who said they don’t make cool playsets anymore?
I’m tempted to start buying action figures again.
The Adventures of Gabriel Hunt
I’ve been waiting a long, long time for something like this. As Bookgasm describes it:
Hard Case Crime editor Charles Ardai has announced a new pulp series titled THE ADVENTURES OF GABRIEL HUNT. Debuting next May, the novels will be issued once a month in true serial fashion, ghostwritten by several Hard Case authors under the nom de plume of Hunt himself, the globetrotting adventurer, with painted covers by Glen Orbik. “These books are for anyone who grew up reading H. Rider Haggard and Edgar Rice Burroughs or watching Harrison Ford wield his bullwhip at the movies,” said Ardai. “We’re talking classic adventure fiction, complete with horses, snakes, shovels, pickaxes, torches, traps, bottomless pits, barroom brawls, jungles, jewels, and just about everything else that’s ever made your heart beat faster.”
Nim’s Island made me sad that there isn’t a real series of Alex Rover books to read. This is so made for me.
Filed Under apocalyptic, bond, comics, harry potter, iron man, peter pan, predator, star trek, talking animals, three musketeers, vin diesel
The Monday post date on this one is a lie. I actually started it late last week and didn’t wrap it up until Tuesday night. Unfortunately, the extra time I spent on it does not mean a corresponding increase in quality. It just means that I’m getting ready for Chicago and am falling behind.
Guardians of Ga’Hoole
They’re making an animated movie from Kathryn Lasky’s Guardians of Ga’hoole series of Young Adult books. I haven’t read the series, but I’m down with a Watership Down/Secret of Nimh-esque fantasy quest movie about talking owls.
No drunken Tony Stark?
This is pretty old, but just in case you missed it: Jon Favreau on why Iron Man 2 probably won’t feature the “Demon in a Bottle” storyline about Tony Stark’s struggle with alcoholism. Hint: it’s Will Smith’s fault.
Babylon A.D.
Welcome back, Vin.
Three Musketeers prequel
A new movie featuring Athos, Aramis, and Porthos? I’m all for one. (Sorry.)
Stan Winston RIP
See how far behind I am? Stan Winston’s passing deserves its own post, but by now everyone’s already said everything that needs saying about how awesome and influential a designer he was. Robert Hood has my favorite tribute with a huge, excellent gallery of Winston’s work. I’m gonna miss him.
Why Star Trek sucked
Ronald D. Moore has done mostly wonderful things with Battlestar Galactica. It’s hard to believe he was one of the guys under whose watch the Star Trek franchise started sucking so hard. He explains why in this interview, mainly blaming in on an over-abundance of continuity and in the process predicting why he thinks JJ Abrams’ version will rule.
We’ll see. Voyager needn’t have been continuity-laden, but they chose to go that direction and more or less repeat Next Generation. Yes, continuity was undoubtedly a problem, but it was a problem they seemed to bring on themselves. I’m all for starting over; I’m just skeptical about anyone’s being as awesome as this guy.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Construction of the Harry Potter theme park is progressing nicely, including a new, park-exclusive mini-movie written by JK Rowling and starring the film series’ cast.
The Saint Paul library rules
Sorry for the regional news, but if you live in the Twin Cities there are a couple of reasons to visit the Saint Paul Public Library this summer. One is their outdoor film festival featuring movies based on books (including comics) and movies about politics. The other is a continuing discussion of graphic novels by Jewish creators.
Tigerheart
A friend emailed to tell me about a couple of fantasy books I need to read. I’ll tell you about the other one later, but the first one is Tigerheart by Peter David. I like David’s comics work pretty well, but I’m not such a huge fan that I pay attention to absolutely everything he does. He’s way too prolific for that anyway. But he’s got a wicked sense of humor that I enjoy and the thought of him writing a Peter Pan sequel is irresistible. Read more about his take on it in this interview.
Devil May Care not so hot
Speaking of pastiches, Double O Section has the only review of the new Bond book that I need to read. It doesn’t make me completely uninterested, but it sure pushes the novel further down my reading list.
Filed Under doctor who, horror, hulk, iron man, sea adventures, steampunk
Fiship
By Pierre Matter.
Gallifrey
By Peter McKinstry. (Much more Doctor Who concept art in the link.)
The Hulk
They totally should’ve gotten Jonas Thornqvist to design the movie Hulk. Just sayin.
Iron Man
Derek Toye’s is just one of many versions of Iron Man at the Tony Stark: Your Go To Guy blog.
Monsters in the book
By Genevieve.
Filed Under bond, captain america, gorillas, gwyneth paltrow, hulk, indiana jones, iron man, keira knightley, moon colonies, perils on planet x, pirates, scifi, shakespeare, tintin, wonder woman
“Amazons from Space” and other stories
I never had this Wonder Woman one, but I had a couple of these superhero records (like this Hulk book-and-record one) when I was a kid. Clicking either of those links will take you to the Power Records blog where you’ll find tons of these things. Very cool site.
Indiana Jones makes everything better
X-box
Jack Sparrow tells all
Confessions of a Disneyland Captain Jack. It’s an extremely interesting behind-the-scenes look into the challenges of adapting a drunken, horny pirate to a family setting without losing the initial appeal. Be sure to read all the way to the end. It sounds like he’s complaining in parts, but it’s got a very sweet finish.
Disney wanted us to tone Jack down, so they put us through an acting class to discover reasons why Jack walks and talks the way he does. Obviously he is based on Keith Richards, who’s always messed up, which is why they came up with the class. “Don’t be flirtatious,” they told us. “See women as trouble.” And they said as far as alcohol goes, don’t even mention drinking. But the Pirates of the Caribbean song is all about drinking, and they’re drinking all along the ride. So I eventually broke that rule, because it would have taken me out of character. When parents took pictures, I’d say, “Everyone say ‘rum,’ ” and the parents loved it.
Flying gorillas
Do you remember my raving about Gene Gonzales’ flying gorilla? Turns out its for Perils on Planet X, so we can thank Christopher Mills and be even more excited about his and Gene’s comic.
Moon Town
“Moon Town is a series of science-fiction episodes being created by writer/director Steve Ogden. He is planning to use a ‘Production-Based’ approach to developing the series, in hopes of keeping down the production cost and amount of time it takes to develop each episode. Look for finished episodes to be released online in serial form. The first episode, “Arrival,” is slated for completion in Spring 2008.” (Thanks, SF Signal!)
Tintin movies a trilogy
Sounds like Spielberg’s directing the first one, Peter Jackson’s got the second one, and they’re co-directing the last.
I’ve never seen a review of an action figure doll before
At least, not one this in depth. Lots of great pictures too. It really is a great-looking doll.
Devil May Care
The new Bond novel is out. I had my hands on it the other night at Borders, but decided I didn’t have time to read it right now. Besides, I’m saving up for the Fleming hardcovers. Devil May Care is definitely on my list though.
“So young, my lord, and true.”
It’s no secret that we like Keira Knightley around here. And thanks to a re-watch of Emma and her performance in Iron Man, I’m kinda developing a crush on Gwyneth Paltrow too. Put them together with Anthony Hopkins and you’ve got a can’t-miss King Lear. The only thing that could make it better would be for Kenneth Branagh to write, direct, and produce, but we’ll give this Joshua Michael Stern fella a chance too.
Hulk connections
Saw Iron Man again last night and dang it if I didn’t forget to look for Captain America’s shield at the appropriate time. I thought about it as the movie started and then got sucked in and didn’t think again about Easter eggs. (Or maybe I was just way distracted by Gwyneth Paltrow.)
I’ll probably do the same with The Incredible Hulk, which is going to have plenty of its own Easter eggs and connections to other Marvel movies.
Filed Under avengers, battlestar galactica, burn notice, captain america, giant monsters, hulk, indiana jones, iron man, jack the ripper, lost, psych, thor, x-men
Josie gets Psyched
Rachel Leigh Cook is going to be on an episode of Psych; playing Shawn’s high school crush. Also, Cybill Shepherd will be playing Shawn’s mom in a couple of episodes.
Even more important to know: the next season kicks off July 18.
Six gets Burned
Man, I’m just full of the puns today, aren’t I? Genuinely sorry.
Anyway, in other awesome USA Network news, Tricia Helfer’s going to be in a few episodes of Burn Notice. Season Two begins on July 10.
Jin gets Strained
Okay, I guess I wasn’t that sorry.
Finding out that Daniel Dae Kim from Lost is in A&E’s Andromeda Strain mini-series on May 26 and 27 makes me sort of want to see it.
Marvel movies and TV
I haven’t talked much about Iron Man, because I really don’t have anything to add to the discussion. I feel just like everyone else who’s seen it: it’s the best superhero movie ever made and it makes me want to read about that Tony Stark in the comics. I’m thinking I’ll probably start with Enter the Mandarin. I hear good things.
Also, that scene after the credits was awesome and it makes me even more excited to see The Incredible Hulk because I have a feeling we’re going to see it repeated there. The weekend Iron Man was released, Marvel announced it’s movie plans for the next couple of years: Iron Man 2 and Thor in 2010, then Captain America and The Avengers in 2011. An Ant-Man movie is also supposed to fit in there somewhere.
I’ve been wondering why Marvel would bother with an Ant-Man movie until I saw this schedule and realized that Iron Man, the Hulk, and Thor are the original Avengers, with Captain America joining soon afterwards. Except that Iron Man, the Hulk, and Thor weren’t the entire original team. There was also Ant-Man. (And the Wasp, but she’s Ant-Man’s wife and could possibly appear in the Ant-Man movie, if they plan to use her at all.)
So, I’m speculating that we’ll see a similar post-credits scene in all the upcoming Marvel movies, culminating in an amazing cross-over movie event, The Avengers.
In other Marvel screen news, Marvel recently announced a new cartoon for next year. Marvel Super Hero Squad is a “’super stylized’ animated series geared toward 6- to 8-year-olds.” It’ll be joining Marvel’s current cartoon properties: Spectacular Spider-Man (possibly the greatest super-hero cartoon of all time), Wolverine and the X-Men, and Iron Man: Armored Adventures.
Giant, floating, space squid
Undead Backbrain profiles my new favorite giant monster: Dogora.
The Outlander monster
Looks Awesome, doesn’t it? It’s from that Vikings vs. alien vs. giant monster movie Undead Backbrain has been telling us about.
Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods
The ads for Dark Horse’s Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods comic have been frustrating in their lack of information about the story. Here’s the solicitation for the first issue:
Dr. Henry Jones Jr. may be the world’s preeminent archeologist, but that doesn’t mean he’s spent his life in the library! Ready and able to do whatever it takes to preserve the final remnants of history’s most significant happenings, he’ll go head-to-head against Hitler’s elite who want nothing more than to exploit objects of ancient power in pursuit of world dominance!
Be there for the beginning of this roller coaster thrill ride of non-stop excitement as Indiana Jones dons his hat, packs his whip, and undertakes an endeavor more awesome than anything ever!
Indiana Jones sets out on an all-new adventure that will take him around the globe!
I’m not looking for spoilers here, but that’s not at all helpful, right? It’s just a summary of the basic Indiana Jones concept. Like we really need to know what that is. It doesn’t tell you anything about when the adventure takes place or even what “the Tomb of the Gods” is supposed to be. The ads for issues 2 and 3 aren’t any better.
Fortunately, Comic Book Resources has an interview with some extra information. It’s set in between Temple of Doom and Raiders at a time when Indy is transitioning from being all about “fortune and glory” to becoming the “it belongs in a museum” guy. Personally, I’m not sure those two statements show the character growth that Tomb of the Gods writer Rob Williams sees in them, but that’s a subject for a longer post. Williams says that the “fortune and glory” Indy would’ve shot the ark with a bazooka at the end of Raiders and Tomb of the Gods is meant to depict that change. (I agree that Indy has changed by the end of Raiders, but it’s a change we see within Raiders itself, not off-camera sometime after Temple of Doom.)
They’re still not telling what The Tomb of the Gods is, but I can let that go. Even if I don’t agree with him, I appreciate the thought that Williams has put into his story, so I’ll be checking it out when it’s available in collected form.
Indiana Jones makes everything better, part whatever
This is another travel package, but unlike Expedia’s that just lets you visit the locations from the various Indy films, Viajes Con Imaginación have a deal that’s part Egyptian travel; part mystery party.
…they not only organize your entire itinerary, but they also plan strange things and make them happen to you. For example: robberies, kidnappings, ghosts coming to haunt you at night…
They also do a Jack the Ripper themed London tour. So very, very cool.
Michael Bay: Crystal Skull is “gonna suck.”
You might be surprised to hear it after reading that headline, but I have new respect for Michael Bay.
Filed Under christina ricci, indiana jones, iron man, narnia, rambo, speed racer, spies, writing is hard
This Weekend
Iron Man: I’m not a fan of the character, but I am a fan of Robert Downey Jr. His charisma — along with Jon Favreau’s passion for the movie — makes me way more excited about this than I ever thought I would’ve been.
Son of Rambow (limited release): The poster makes this look like a cheesy kids’ movie, but the trailer reveals what looks to be a really funny, really charming British comedy.
May 9
Speed Racer: Another property that I never cared about until I started seeing trailers. I didn’t think I was so distractable with pretty colors, but the look of this movie is mesmerizing. Now I know how my wife felt when she saw the Sin City trailers.
Of course, having Christina Ricci in it has nothing to do with my attraction to it. (Ahem.)
May 16
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: Not sure why, but I’m looking forward to this one more than I did The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Maybe it’s that I never read Prince Caspian and don’t know what to expect. Maybe it’s that it looks like a darker, less-Disneyesque film than the first one. Whatever it is, I’m into it.
Reprise (limited release): I’m not sure what to expect, but it’s a film about writing and I’m curious to see what kind of themes they pull out of that subject.
May 23
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Do I even have to explain this one?
War, Inc. (limited release): I’ve got a very low tolerance for political satires, but this one about John Cusack as a spy trying to protect US oil interests in the Middle East while falling for liberal reporter Marisa Tomei looks fun. It hasn’t forgotten to include the guns and explosions. Or Hillary Duff with purple hair and a Russian accent.
Filed Under cavegirls, doctor who, gi joe, hellboy, iron man, jericho, jungle, lost, spies, star wars, terminator
Kala & Go–Go
I can’t tell much about 5-Color Comics from their website, MySpace page, or even their mention in Rich Johnston’s column, but I’m pretty sure that all I need to know is in that picture right there. Also, some damn fine comics creators are involved.
I’m going to start reading Iron Man comics
People keep telling me that before he was Marvel’s greatest villain, Iron Man was the star of a pretty cool spy comic. I’m on the verge of checking that out for myself, but in the meantime, Matt Fraction’s taking a stab at the character and I know he can write an awesome spy story.
Clone Wars cartoon to hit theaters before TV
And here’s the trailer.
Doctor Who is Destro
The G.I. Joe movie just got a lot more interesting.
Speaking of Doctor Who
I was just wondering what Pia Guerra’s next project after Y: The Last Man would be. I could hug IDW’s Editor in Chief Chris Ryall right now.
Cavegirls in Fur Bikinis
The name pretty much speaks for itself, really.
Hellboy stuff
PVC characters, a mug, and action figures.
Lost plans
Carlton Cuse talks about how the rest of the season will go now that the strike’s over:
“Damon [Lindelof] and I are going to try to make five more episodes before the end of May, which is ambitious. But we’ve found ourselves in a situation where we had eight episodes of story planned, and we’re going to try to fit that into five hours of the show. Even though it’s going to be very hard to execute, we felt like any less would be doing a disservice to the story we had planned. We really want to give the fans the best possible experience and ending… to Season 4.”
Much, much more at the link.
Also, those five episodes will air after new episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, meaning that ABC now totally owns Thursday night.
Jericho graphic novel
I must be living right or something.
Terminator 4
I’ve been ignoring news about new Terminator movies, because frankly I lost interest in the franchise when Linda Hamilton stopped being part of it. But… I wanna check out The Sarah Conner Chronicles and before I watch my TiVoed episodes I want to rewatch the movies. I’m also going to finally see T3, which I’ve never seen before, but have been told is sort of necessary viewing before watching the TV show.
I say all that to say that now that I’m immersing myself in that world again, I’m interested in the new movie sequels, especially with Christian Bale playing John Conner in them.
