Archive for the ‘Comic Books’ Category
Key Superhero Issues reach new heights at auction.
February 27th, 2010 | 
Author: 
Just a few days ago, the first appearance of Superman, Action Comics No. 1, sold for an extraordinary 1 million dollars. Now, the Caped Crusader has broken that record. According to the Associated Press, Detective Comics No. 27, Batman’s first appearance in 1939, was auctioned off for $1,075,500. All parties remain anonymous. The transaction was overseen by Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas. Both comics were graded an 8.0 out of 10, which is stunning for books of that age, with numbers in circulation dwindling. This shows that it doesn’t take superpowers to win the comic arms race; only a fanboy with a bank account that could give Bruce Wayne himself a run for his money.
—ExSleepyInk
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Mark Strong Confirmed as Sinestro
Fan favorite and newly appointed wunderkind of creative affairs at DC Entertainment, Geoff Johns, just visited the set of the Green Lantern movie in New Orleans. He left some small production tidbits on Twitter, such as “Mark Strong is going to be a brilliant Sinestro”, while also adding “Kilowog, the Guardians, Oa…all breathtaking”. I agree on the casting of Strong, as I hope it begins to ease the pain of not seeing Nathan Fillion as the headstrong Hal Jordan in the G.L. costume. I know you all wait with bated breath, as we do at FHTI, for some pictures and further story details. We’ll keep you posted as it comes to us. On a sidenote; if you haven’t been reading Blackest Night, it is one of the craziest Lantern storylines to date. Penned by Johns, it now involves the whole spectrum of ring colors reluctantly teamed up against one common threat…Nekron and Black Hand’s Black Lanterns. With two issues left at this point, will they stop death from bringing the entirety of creation back to complete and utter darkness? Well, since the upcoming series is dubbed Brightest Day, I’m guessing the good guys triumph, but it is certainly still worth a read. With Barry Allen being reborn, after being lost to the speedforce, and the Return of Bruce Wayne, DC is certainly making big moves and upping the ante.—ExSleepyInk
DC Entertainment Names Executive Management Team
Source:DC Entertainment
February 18, 2010
DC Entertainment, founded in September 2009 to unleash the power of the DC Comics library of characters across all media platforms, has named its executive management team, including new co-publishers of DC Comics and a Chief Creative Officer, as well as heads of Sales/Marketing/Business Development and Finance/Administration. Diane Nelson, President, DC Entertainment, made the announcement today.
The new senior executive team includes Jim Lee and Dan DiDio, who have been named Co-Publishers of DC Comics, and Geoff Johns, who will serve as Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment. Additionally, John Rood has been named Executive Vice President, Sales, Marketing and Business Development, and Patrick Caldon will serve as Executive Vice President, Finance and Administration. Each of these executives will report directly to Nelson.
“DC Entertainment’s new executive team is a creative ‘dream team,’ with accomplishments and talent unrivaled in the business,” said Nelson. “This announcement continues and underscores DC’s legacy as the ultimate destination for creators. We’ll benefit enormously from the deep experience this team represents, while re-energizing the direction and focus of the company. I’m excited and honored to have each of them with me at the helm of DC Entertainment.”
“With this new leadership team, Diane will be able to fully and respectfully integrate DC’s brand and characters, not only as key content drivers in the film division, but across all of the businesses of Warner Bros. and Time Warner,” said Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group. “I am very proud and excited about the accomplished executives who are charged with expanding this powerful library. They each have a diverse and complementary skill-set and are deeply committed to contributing to the DC Comics legacy.”
Prior to his current post, Lee served as Editorial Director, where he oversaw WildStorm Studios and was also the artist for many of DC Comics’ bestselling comic books and graphic novels, including “All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder,” “Batman: Hush” and “Superman: For Tomorrow.” He also serves as the Executive Creative Director for the upcoming DC Universe Online massively multiplayer action game from Sony Online Entertainment.
Lee is an award-winning comic book illustrator/creator/publisher who started his professional career at Marvel Comics where his work on the X-Men continues to hold the all-time sales record for single issue sales at eight million copies sold in one month. At Marvel, he also drew the Punisher and co-created many characters, the most popular being Gambit, featured in 2009’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” feature film. In 1992, he started his own production company, WildStorm Productions, and co-founded Image Comics, an independent comics company which quickly grew to become the number-three North American comics publisher. His most notable creations, “WildCats” and “Gen 13,” saw life beyond comic books as a CBS Saturday morning cartoon and as a direct-to-video animated movie distributed by Disney, respectively. In 1998, he left Image Comics and sold WildStorm to DC Comics.
DiDio most recently served as Senior Vice President and Executive Editor, DC Universe, overseeing the editorial department for the DC Universe imprint, including the ongoing adventures of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and scores of heroes and villains. He also worked to develop new titles with the industry’s premier writers and artists. At DC Comics, DiDio has spearheaded such bestselling projects as “All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder,” “Identity Crisis,” Green Lantern, Teen Titans and The Outsiders.
Before joining DC in 2002, DiDio was with Mainframe Entertainment, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President, Creative Affairs, overseeing the development, distribution, marketing and promotion of all Mainframe’s television properties. Prior to that, he served as Executive Director of Children’s Programming for ABC, where he was also a publicity manager, having started his television career at CBS, working in a variety of positions.
Johns builds on his current role at DC from being one of today’s most prolific, popular and award-winning contemporary comic book writers with this new executive role. He is a New York Times bestselling author who has written highly acclaimed stories revitalizing Green Lantern, Superman, the Flash, Teen Titans, and the Justice Society of America for DC Comics.
Johns began his comics career creating and writing “Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.” for DC Comics while at the same time working with film director Richard Donner. After acclaimed runs on Flash, Teen Titans and the bestselling “Infinite Crisis” mini-series, Johns co-wrote a run on Action Comics with his mentor, Donner. Johns has also written and produced for various other media, including the acclaimed “Legion” and “Absolute Justice” episodes of Warner Bros. Television’s “Smallville” and Adult Swim’s “Robot Chicken” and “Titan Maximum.” He also wrote the story of the DC Universe Online massively multiplayer action game from Sony Online Entertainment.
Rood returns to Warner Bros. after 10 years with the Disney ABC Television Group, where he most recently was Senior Vice President of Marketing, ABC Family. While at ABC, he also consulted for ABC News during the recent transitions at “Good Morning America” and “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer.”
Prior to Disney, Rood worked for six years at Warner Bros. Consumer Products, negotiating promotional deals with national advertisers using Warner Bros.’ properties, including the DC Comics characters. He has also worked in promotions for Equity Marketing on the Burger King account and in advertising for Leo Burnett on the McDonald’s and Miller Brewing accounts.
Caldon most recently served as Executive Vice President, Finance and Operations of DC Comics and MAD Magazine. Before that, he served as Senior Vice President, Finance and Operations, and his other posts at DC include Vice President, Finance and Operations, and Controller, the position in which he joined the company in 1985. Prior to joining DC Comics, Caldon spent a decade at Warner Communications in corporate accounting and as Senior Vice President and CFO of the Cosmos soccer team (owned by Warner Communications at the time).
DC Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, is charged with strategically integrating the DC Comics business, brand and characters deeply into Warner Bros. and all its content and distribution businesses. DC Entertainment utilizes the expertise the Studio has in building and sustaining franchises to prioritize the DC properties as key titles and growth drivers across all of the Studio, including feature films, television, interactive entertainment, direct-to-consumer platforms and consumer products. The DC Comics publishing business is the cornerstone of DC Entertainment, releasing approximately 90 comic books through its various imprints and 30 graphic novels a month as well as continuing to build on its creative leadership in the comic book industry.
So, what are your thoughts, friends?
—ExSleepyInk
A First Look at First Wave.
In case you haven’t been keeping up with DC comics lately, or my articles over the last two months, I’d like to show you the first few pages of Brian Azzarello and Rags Morales’s First Wave. It’s going to be a Golden Age fan-boy’s wish come true. Their goal is to harken us back to a time before super powers, when justice was best served by a good slugfest and warm lead. I’ve seen other glimpses and am very excited myself. Other than what you will see below, Blackhawk, the original Black Canary, and various vintage crime syndicates will find their way onto the pages. Hopefully they get the rights to The Shadow, because that will truly round things off. And yes, you can most likely expect Batman to be packing his twin guns under his cape!
—Your Buddy, ExSleepyInk
All six covers of Morrison’s Return of Bruce Wayne!
Hey all. I hope you enjoy these fantastic covers by Andy Kubert for Grant Morrison’s upcoming, time-spanning, Batman:The Return of Bruce Wayne miniseries. After shooting Darkseid at the end of Final Crisis, Batman was blasted back through time by the Omega effect. Meanwhile the evil New God left a Bruce clone for everyone to grieve over. Believed dead by his family and friends, join him as he taps into his lifetime of training on an epic quest through the centuries to take back his rightful place in Gotham City, and hopefully, under the cowl. It is due out in April.
I might have gotten the order wrong between the pirate and puritan scenes, but I’m sure you see where it’s headed (plus I blew them up extra big for you!) 
—ExSleepyInk
Christopher Nolan reportedly aquired to mentor new Superman movie.
Warner Bros has supposedly asked filmmaker/producer Christopher Nolan to act as a mentor in the development of the studios next Superman movie. Deadline.com reports that Warner Bros hopes Nolan will guide Superman to the same kind of box office success seen by his Batman franchise. 
The studio is looking for a direction (do not confuse this with direct-or) to take the Man of Steel’s future film in; especially after the previous incarnation, Superman Returns, failed to make much of an impact among audiences. An unidentified insider revealed that the new film will not be a follow-up to the previous Superman attempt. This would lead us to believe that the project is going down a fresh new avenue. Sources have yet to say whether Brandon Routh will be participating in this venture. Some sites have also remarked that, because of The Dark Knight’s runaway success, they were looking to go with a darker, grittier take on Supes. What do I think? I think the reason why Batman worked for Nolan is because he was acclimated to creating dark, brilliant, noir atmospheres in all of his previous movies. His tone was perfect for THAT character and HIS struggles. If they are using Nolan to merely boost up revenue in the conception of their new franchise, I think that is short-sighted…but…if they are using him to do what Marvel has set out to do, and find a way to develop a lush interconnected universe of live-action DC characters, then bring on Superman, bring on World’s Finest, and finally, for the love of all things holy, bring on The Justice League! The only thing is, Chris Nolan’s vision of Batman has been that of realism (as real as it can be); how would a orphaned, flying alien man fit into that world? A world that didn’t even want Robin. Would we get to see some more outlandish rogues in Batman? Maybe Clayface? Killer Croc? The Mad Hatter? Am I getting ahead of myself? Maybe…but a boy can dream, can’t he?
As for the mentoring gig; why not give Geoff Johns, Richard Donner’s old protege’, a sort of co-advising position? Maybe even let him team up with Goyer and pen a story? Sounds full circle to me, and fluid enough. Let us not forget that Johns is the hottest thing in DC comics right now, and Goyer helped, with his knowledge, to shape the Batman franchise into a global phenomenon. Not too shabby, wouldn’t you say? I’m sure this team would do everything they could to please the fans, being big nerds themselves (no offense guys, it’s a compliment)! Maybe instead of Nuclear Man (snicker) we’d finally see fleshed out versions of Brainiac, Metallo, and Parasite!! Let me know what you think, boys and girls.
—Yours truly, ExSleepyInk
Marvel’s Heroic Age Avengers
Marvel is playing this New Heroic Age close to the vest. They have been showing a few ads for The Avengers. This book starting back at #1 will be done by writer Brain Bendis. And art by John Romita Jr.Every character has their own slogan for being an Avenger. With the group theme being “I am an Avenger”
Oracle, Huntress, Black Canary, and Lady Blackhawk posing in a dark alley for a photo op can mean only one thing…the Birds are back!
Hello, boys and girls! I’ve been away for a little while getting my ducks in a row, so to speak, and I sure did miss writing for ya. Been working on some fun little projects, but that might be for another time: Let’s get down to brass tacks!
Gail Simone divulged in an interview with Comics Alliance,”I don’t plan to let go this time. I left the book in good hands with some very talented people and they did swell work and all, but I’ll personally bite anyone who tries to take this book in the face…It’s classic Birds of Prey but maybe just a little tougher and a little naughtier. I’ve been given some really surprising approvals and I think long-time readers and newbies will find it quite unlike any other comic on the stands. I’ve always said the secret of the book is that it’s a female buddy cop story, basically, and that is a surprisingly rare thing in all media.”
Of course everyone knows she’s been keeping the torch burning with Secret Six and, if you’ve been reading recently, that she has teamed up with comic great John Ostrander in a crossover for Blackest Night that started in Suicide Squad. She has also hinted at a future cross with the Six and the Birds. Exciting, no?
Above is what DC released as the cover of Birds of Prey#1
What can we expect? “Someone wants the band back together, and it’s NOT the Birds. Zinda gets a date. A long-promised headquarters is built. Black Canary kicks ass. Huntress thinks a certain big league bat villain should be left to die. A bird is charged with murder. Another might be working for the other side. And Catman leaves a naughty phone message for the wrong person. Everything’s right because it’s so, so wrong. I love this book.”
–ExSleepyInk
First Trailer For The Losers
I really must say this looks great. I never read the comic but you can bet you I will stat. With an all star cast such as this The Losers may be another comic to film that does extremely well. This comic book cover is done up with all the actors names pretty cool.
Marvel Comics: The Heroic Age
For over fifteen years I have collected comic books. Going out of my way to make sure that I had both the money and means to get them. Times have changed so much. Story lines like Secret Wars, Inferno and Acts of Vengeance come to mind. I was never to heavy into DC Comics. But I always had a soft spot for Captain Marvel.
Seeing the Comic industry changed over the years. Artist from Marvel leaving to create an independent company for the guys that do the creating. The summer Image Comics was born was one of the best of my teenage life. The Death of Superman. Batman’s back being snapped by Bane. And Hal Jordan becoming Parallax. Nothing could beat those moments. Even the birth and sudden death of Cross Gen Comics. Which was some of the best stuff to ever hit print. I’m so glad I had a chance to be a part of that. Not something to be missed.
Slowly as I became older. Comic seem to get away from me. There was never enough money or enough time. I was lost within a world that I once called my own. Now as I write this, I feel the familiar call of youth. Beckoning me to visit the old comic store. See what’s going on. I ignore it. But old loves have a way of returning. With the same fire it once held. This is what Marvel is doing. Rekindling the fire of these awesome heroes. join me as I venture once more into the world first crafted by Stan Lee. Now in the hands of men that have made themselves icons as he has. Come with me as Marvel usher’s in “The Heroic Age”.
The follow is an excerpt from Marvel.com. Prepare yourselves. This is going to be one Amazing ride.
Marvel Comics is proud to announce The Heroic Age, the dawn of an exciting new era of heroism in the Marvel Universe! Beginning in May 2010 with the release of AVENGERS #1, The Heroic Age ushers in a brighter Marvel Universe and a bold new era for the world’s greatest super heroes as they emerge from darkness with a renewed sense of hope and optimism, leading to the formation of all new teams with new members…and brand new characters! Titles branded with the Heroic Age banner offer a perfect jumping on point for readers new and old alike, as the top comic book creators in the world deliver a Marvel Universe like you’ve never seen before!
Over the past few years, the Marvel Universe and its citizens have found themselves living in a dark age of despair. Beginning with the disbanding of the Avengers, the heroes of the Marvel Universe have been caught in a demoralizing downward spiral that has included the genocide of the mutant population, a divisive civil war between heroes, the assassination of Captain America, a worldwide subversive alien infiltration and invasion, and the media-fueled and publicly-supported ascension of the Green Goblin’s civilian identity, Norman Osborn, to power and control of the United States. Now, the heroes have united once again, stronger than ever and are prepared to face the dangers that lie ahead.
“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,” said Joe Quesada, Chief Creative Officer & Editor-in-Chief Marvel Entertainment LLC. “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!”
From the tone of the storylines, to the stunning new artistic look, The Heroic Age ushers in a dramatic new vision of the Marvel Universe. Marvel’s most elite characters will be at the center of The Heroic Age, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and more!
David Gabriel, Senior Vice-President of Sales & Circulation, Marvel Entertainment LLC. added “We’ve been working out the details of THE HEROIC AGE for about a year now. The plan is to give old and new fans alike the perfect place to jump into the Marvel Universe without feeling like they’ve missed out on anything that’s come before. If there’s a Heroic Age banner on one of the books, we’re serious when we say ‘the Marvel Universe Starts Here!”
A new Age of Heroes dawns this May as THE HEROIC AGE begins and changes the face of comics as you know them! Join Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman, John Romita Jr, and more of the industry’s hottest creators as they bring a bold new era for the world’s greatest super heroes, with a stunning new look for the Marvel Universe!
