'Battle Angel Alita' to be directed by James Cameron

All the guesswork is now officially over as James Cameron has announced a live-action version of the famous manga 'Battle Angel Alita'. He also mentions a strange mixture of CGI and 3-D in his vision for the movie which is due out in 2007.

For more info go here.

Outsiders Loses Great Artist

Tom Raney has just announced a two-year exclusive deal with Marvel Comics. As a fan of his work on DC Comics latest version of The Outsiders it's a sad day to see him go.

To read the announcement go here.

The Iron Giant - Special Edition DVD

Well if you haven't seen this movie then I'm afriad you've probably missed one of the most excellent animated features to come out of the USA in a long while. Directed by The Incredibles directer Brad Bird this DVD is a must buy for adults and kids of all ages. Check out info on the special edition DVD here.

Michael Turner Covers Wizard

A lot of people love Michael Turner and a lot more love his horde of stunning cover art that he has produced in the last year or so. Wizard Magazine covered his top 30 covers of the past year and have 10 beautiful pieces of Turner goodness available for download. Go grab some nice pics for your desktop from Wizard Magazines official site here.

Avengers Dissed

The Ninth Art's John Fellows has graced us with an amazing deconstruction of Avengers Dissasembled, this is serious stuff folks, heh heh ok I say that in jest but read on for a hella funny look at Marvels 'Big Event'.

"Following quickly in the wake of Grant Morrison's JLA revamp - Only 7 years later! - Marvel have decided to revamp their lynchpin title with a team of A-Listers rather than the rag-tag bunch of slack-jawed fuckwits who made up the previous team. Bendis' amazing idea, "What if Wolverine was in the Avengers?" - akin to asking "What if the world was round?" - has left critics and particle physicists the world over questioning the very foundations of reality. On a creative roll, the even more ingenious addition of both Spider-Man and African-American Stereotype Man has further sealed this 22 pages of wonderment as the FUTURE (TM & (c) 2004 Marvel Comics)!

Joining the revolutionary mind of Bryan Michael Bendis OBE are the pencils of the godlike genius, David Fincher - director of THE GAME, and part-time comic-book artist. After his Eisner Award-winning run on ULTIMATELY POINTLESS X-MEN, he's become the focus of mystical artistic energies channelled into the future eschatonic nexus that this series will become. His shabby pencils in the past will most surely become alight with new wonders when he gets to draw Spider-Woman on a monthly basis.

If you missed AVENGERS DECONSTRUCTED over the past several months, then the trade will be out soon. Never before has a super-hero team been ambushed by super-villains and several of their ilk allegedly died in such a new and creative way. Never before has the entire of fandom (And even those weirdos who read black & white comics about not getting laid) joined together in a glorious End-of-RETURN OF THE JEDI-esque celebration of new joy into their lives. Hopes are high for this continuation.

Disbelievers to the cause have been swayed by the announcement of 18 additional variant covers which can only be unlocked by completing AVENGERS on the hardest difficulty setting and collecting all the Continuity Coins that Bendis left scattered through every issue. And with our breath suitably bated (And sales of breath mints rising to match), a secret member was glimpsed on future covers... Who is this masked man? His secret identity kept secret even from us in a fourth wall breaching meta-fictional gambit equal to the greats of the milieu.

You'll start to see the lines of tents camped outside your local comic store any minute now as everybody wants to have the hottest item in town. You'll want to make sure you witness Bendis writing Spider-Man like none other! Showing us Wolverine as we never imagined! And remembering that he hasn't killed all the previous Avengers members and has to give Captain America and Iron Man something to do ("More tea, bub, and make it snappy!"). Then you'll despair at the fact that he's actually got more negative publicity than Chuck Austen. And you'll all go out and buy it anyway, won't you? I know it and you know it. Fools! [John Fellows]"

Samurai: Heaven & Earth Part 2

Just to get you a little bit more amped for this far eastern tale go check out 4 more preview pages of luscious artwork here.

Samurai: Heaven and Earth

This five part mini-series from Dark Horse looks like a winner. In the fine tradition of Lone Wolf & Cub and other wandering ronin comics, this should appeal to both mainstream, manga and historical fantasy comics fans everywhere.

"Beginning in the feudal Japan of 1704, Samurai: Heaven and Earth follows a lone samurai warrior sworn to be reunited with the love of his life who has been spirited away by his enemies. His pursuit of her will carry him farther than he could have imagined-from his native Japan to the sprawling empire of China, across Europe, and finally to Paris itself. There, in the fabled halls of King Louis XIV's Versailles, he must cross blades with the greatest swordsmen ever known if he is to reclaim his love."

Ron Marz writes while artist Luke Goss renders some magnificent artwork, check out the preview and more info here.

Warcraft Manga

For all you Otaku/Gaming fanboys out there Tokyopop is producing a Warcraft manga just for your sweaty little palms to grab off a comicshop bookshelf near you.

"Set in the rich universe as Blizzard's Online Role-Playing Game World of Warcraft, Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy recreates the world of Azeroth as you've never seen it before: as a manga!

The three-volume graphic novel series follow the adventures of Kalec, a blue dragon who has taken human form to escape the forces that seek to destroy his race, and Anveena, a maiden with a mysterious power. What starts as a flight for survival turns into a quest to save the entire High Elven Kingdom from the forces of the Undead Scourge.

Written by New York Times Best-selling novelist Richard A. Knaak (Warcraft: War of the Ancients) and illustrated by Korean manga superstar Kim Jae-Hwan (King of Hell), The Sunwell Trilogy is a must-read manga for gamers around the world."

For more info click here.

500 Issues of Spider-Man for $50

Yep that headline is the truth. The good folk at Topics Entertainment have just released an 11-CD-ROM package that includes PDF versions of all of issues #1-#500 of Amazing Spider-Man. All of this for only $50, buy it while the exchange rate is good people.

For more info go here.

Damon Hurd MP3 Interview

I posted a link to Hurd's new book that's coming out in Feb next year. Heres a neat link to an MP3 interview with the man himself. If you ever wondered what he sounds like now is your chance. The interview focuses on his earlier works such as My Uncle Jeff and is really great fun to listen to.

Download the MP3 interview with Damon Hurd here. [Warning: 4.07 MB Download]

Warren Ellis - Things Online That I Am Sick Of

Warren Ellis, prolific comic writer and man of much knowledge busts down the following classic comments about Online Rubbish in his Brain Powered column:

"Things Online That I Am Sick Of

Today, the things I am sick of:

- RSS. The geek superpower of being able to collect in a single window the most current entries from dozens of blogs all making the same pot/kettle gags about Michael Moore's weight. Sing hosanna, the next iteration of the Apple operating system will contain an RSS thing. See, when Bill Gates talks about starting a blog, everyone says blogs must be tired. But when a corporation that partners with the loathesome Pepsi to make people swallow the latest Britney Spears horseshit says they're making an RSS enabler, suddenly there are angels in the air. When did it get so hard to just go to a website?

- Blogs with the suffix -pundit in the title. These must all immediately be changed to -wankerinbasement. Not only is pundit just a horrible word with intimations of some barstool idiot with an uninformed opinion on everything, but, frankly, if they had any kind of useful take on anything, they'd have a real fucking job doing it.

- Blogs as tool of "emergent democracy". Worked out well for the Dean campaign in America, eh? Emergent democracy apparently means getting seven women in immense glasses and 1974 nylon floral print dresses to turn up outside your speaking engagements. It means paying for a computer and a net connection and often webspace and calling it Free Speech. Listen, free speech is that place in Westminster called Speaker's Corner where people can stand and rant about anything they like. Getting billed to broadcast what passes for thinking in your TV-deadened head is called Hard Money. Using your own money to tell anyone who'll look that hospitals should compete for your business and that schools don't need heating is called Being That Mad Bloke In The Corner.

- "Free Culture". Or: people with salaried day jobs telling me I shouldn't have the right to own and control my ideas and creative property and have it handed down in any way I fucking well see fit. You go and make a living solely off your own imagination for ten years and then come back and talk to me, shiteyes. Or go and design your own house and build it with your own money and sweat -- and I'm going to come and fucking live in it. How's that? Get away from me.

- Bar staff complaining that passive smoking poses a health risk to them. So your job is to cajole people to buy tasty poison, break up fights, get bottled, mop up spew, breathe in old mens' aspirated diseases as they bellow for more beer over the counter, deal with a dozen different kinds of physical assault -- and it's passive smoking that's a threat to your health? You don't need new laws -- you need new jobs. (No, this has nothing to do with the web. Shut up.)

- Hippies. (Thought I'd throw a crowd-pleaser in there.)

-- Warren"

Damon Hurd - A Strange Day

Damon Hurd has been producing some of the most consistant and heartfelt underground work over the last few years and in Feb 2005 his latest work, A Strange Day with Tatiana Gill on artwork, will be released.

"Skipping school to buy the latest Cure album, Miles arrives at the deserted Media Play parking lot waiting for the store to open. Here he meets Anna, who skipped her own classes for the same agenda. A free spirit, Anna takes it upon herself to bring introverted Miles out of his black-clad shell. A Strange Day is an original graphic novella about alienation, kindred spirits, and two Cure heads' serendipitous friendship, and the lessons they learn from each other.

By Damon Hurd and Tatiana Gill. 48 pages, B&W, $3.95, ISBN: 1-891867-74-1, Diamond Code: DEC04 2315"

For a 4-page preview of this book click here.

SA NEWSFLASH: Pepic and Kraus Publishing

A local comic publishing arm of European books has opened up in SA, see the following excerpt from thier website:

"Apart from Asterix and TinTin, both of which are at least 50 years old, comic books have been virtually unknown to the South African public. Pepic and Kraus Publishing is the first publishing house to tap into the wealth of the European comic market, a genre which has grown into one of the continent's most popular art forms.

The titles we have selected to publish have been chosen for both their artistic and commercial success - most of them having sold in excess of one million copies in France alone.

Depending on interest shown, we intend to publish between 12-24 books a year. We plan to publish only the latest and most successful comics in the market at the moment, but if demand requires it, we will also publish some of the greatest comic series published in 20th century, as well.

To illustrate the range of comic styles we have access to, we have chosen four sample titles all of which are appearing in English for the first time."

Got to the Pepic and Kraus Publishing website here.

Tokyopop and CLAMP go Southside

Upon reading through the Tokyopop site earlier today I came accross this pretty little artbook by the ladies at CLAMP and it just happened to have the name Southside in the title, coincidence or not? Anyway this looks like a must buy for manga artwork fans, check the rundown and details below.

"South Side features art from such manga classics as Man of Many Faces, Duklyon: Clamp School Defenders, Clamp School Detectives, Suki, Wish, CLAMP School Paranormal Investigators, Miyuki-chan in Wonderland, The One I Love, Shirahime-Syo, and Legal Drug.

Also included in this sumptuous collector's edition are original Clamp artwork, a how-to-draw-manga section and a complete catalogue of all featured images with a description of each.

The work in South Side spans the period between 1989-2002."

Check out more details on this book here.

Image & Top Cow Solicitations for Feb 2005

More solicitations for February 2005, this time it's Image Comics,Top Cows and McFarlane Toys turn.

Click here for the full listing of products due Feb 2005.

Highlights include:

BATTLE HYMN #3 (0f 5)
On sale 02.02
$2.95
five-issue monthly miniseries
full color
32 pages

written by B. CLAY MOORE
art by JEREMY HAUN
color by DAVE BRYANT
cover by JEREMY HAUN & BRIAN FREY

CONCEPT
1944. In the waning days of World War II, at the dawn of the nuclear age, super-powered beings are emerging from the shadows of conflict, beginning with the arrival of the Artificial Man. The United States government has a plan to turn these beings into heroes. Too bad nobody told the heroes.

----------------------------------------------

THE WALKING DEAD #17
on sale 02.02
$2.95
monthly ongoing miniseries
black & white
32 pages

written by ROBERT KIRKMAN
art by CHARLIE ADLARD
cover by TONY MOORE

CONCEPT
An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months society has crumbled: There is no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally begin living.

----------------------------------------------

Hunter-Killer #1
ARROW: Mark Waid and Marc Silvestri's NEW ongoing series STARTS!
(W) Mark Waid (P) Marc Silvestri (I) Joe Weems (Col) Steve Firchow (Cov) Marc Silvestri, Trevor Hairsine, and J. Scott Campbell
It's a new and different kind of Top Cow excitement as high-octane action and character-driven suspense bring you into a world where none of the standard rules of heroism apply! Led by Wolf and Ellis, the Hunter-Killers are out to save the world from paranormals--and they'll go to whatever extremes they must!
Full color 32 pages $2.99 ongoing series

----------------------------------------------

Top Cow 2005 Preview Book
ONLY 99¢!
Art by Marc Silvestri, Alex Ross, Francis Manapul, Dale Keown, Tyler Kirkham, Tony Harris and more! New cover by Tyler Kirkham
Find out what's in store for the mighty, mighty Cow throughout all of 2005 with sneak peeks at both new and existing projects and creator interviews! It's all bargain-priced at under a buck! And if ya wanna milk the Cow in person, this book will also be available at Top Cow's 2005 convention stops!
Full color 24 pages 99¢ one-shot special

Click here for the full listing of products due Feb 2005.

Elektra:The Hand

Ninjas, ninjas and more ninjas as we take an in-depth look at the origin of Marvels clan of deadly assailants, The Hand. This five issue mini series looks like a winner in the art department as Christian Gossett [The Red Star] brings forth some glorius Samurai imagery with writing from Akira Yoshida to back his artwork up. If you liked The Last Samurai you might want to take a gander at this one.

- For an interview with Gossett and some great art previews go here.

- For an article covering the writing of Akira Yoshida and the art of Gossett go here.

Mystique Cancelled: Sean McKeever Speaks Out

Yep it's that time of year again, well actually Marvel seems to sprout forth new books and cancel them whenever they feel like it so I guess the time of year means little really. Unfortunatley fans of McKeevers writing and Mystique will be left with little to be happy about, but there is some solice in that McKeever says he's got a stack more projects lined up. One has to worry however that after four cancellations this guy might go jump off a tall building before he actually makes it to issue #12 in an ongoing series. Don't do it Sean!!!

Click here to read about McKeevers reaction to the cancellation and for his upcoming plans.

SA NEWSFLASH: British Cartoonist Steve Bell in Cape Town

Steve Bell, legendary satirist and cartoonist for The Gaurdian will be in Cape Town this Friday the 26th November.

When: Friday 26th Nov 17:00-19:00
Where:IDASA, 6 Spin Street, Church Sqaure, Cape Town
RSVP: harriet.duplessis@britishcouncil.org.za, ph: 021 460 6673/ 460 6660

Kids Not Allowed To Read Morrisons X-Men

I picked up this link from Rich Johnston's column Lying In The Gutters. A classic 'parent freaks out at content in comic in kids school bag' story.

Gillespie said she found derogatory language, erotic images and talk of molestation in the book, which she felt also promoted violence.

What do people really expect it is Grant Morrisons X-Men after all isn't it? Enjoy the mayhem that is American censorship here.

Craig Thompson Clean Sweep

Craig Thompson [Blankets, Goodbye Chunky Rice] has managed to clean sweep all three major comics awards by getting first place in the Eisner,Harvey and Ignatz Awards for Best OGN [Original Graphic Novel] and Best Cartoonist. Congrats to Craig for his awesome work, check out the Top Shelf Comix press release here.

The Comic Book Digest

If you're still just reading Wizard alone in your bathroom while your mother knocks on the door waiting for you to finish up then it's about time you changed your ways my little fanboy friend. The Comic Book Digest is a better way to go, cheaper and with more previews than Bush gets dodgy votes this little black & white digest has everything a fan could need.

Released monthly The Comic Book Digest is a 132 page comic preview magazine full of upcoming releases and a full comic or two to boot, throw in a few well written interviews and commentary on the industry and you got yourself a winner, all this for only $1.95/ZAR R24.95.

See the official Comic Book Digest website here for more info.

Adam Strange

Adam Strange looks like a great little comic. Andy Diggle [The Losers] is a tight writer and Pascal Ferry's artwork has never looked better. If you don't believe me then go and look for yourself. Click here to see a four-page preview of Adam Strange #3.

Free Online Comic of Witchblade #80

Top Cow has been kind enough to give away the entire issue of Witchblade #80 online for all you rabid fanboys out there. Hurry on over to read the freebie by clicking here.

Marvel Solicitations for Feb 2005

Marvel Comics has announced it's lineup for February of next year. Highlights include the re-launch of Runaways, Black Panther #1 and Fantastic Four Vol.2 HC. For the full list and cover art go here.

Neil Gaiman at Dark Horse

For all you Gaiman fans out there take a gander at Dark Horse Comics new Neil Gaiman Zone mini-site. With a focus on all things Gaiman produced by the publisher and a special look at his upcoming hardcover collection Creatures of the Night this is a must see for fans of the master scribe.

Matrix Comics Vol.2

In case fans of the movies missed the first volume of Matrix Comics there is redemption around the corner as the second volume of stories is due out this December. Check out the mouth-watering info here.

Dustin Nguyen Video Interview

Dustin Nguyen [Wildcats,Batman,The Authority] has a wicked little video interview up on the Wildstorm website. One of the hottest artists around talks drawing Batman, Wildcats and Authority:Revolution so be sure not to miss it. Local South African users can even get a skanky low res version to watch on their pathetic little Telkom dialups so there is no excuse not to check this one out people.

For the Authority:Revolution mini-site and the video interview go here.

Hellblazer Movie Tie-Ins

DC Comics/ Vertigo has announced a bunch of new and re-releases of Hellblazer comics to co-incide with the Feb 18th [USA] release of the film starring Keanu Reeves. For the full list of Hellblazer stash go here.

SA NEWSFLASH - Mdu Website

Local is lekker. Mdu has a website with daily and weekly comic strips up for your enjoyment. Check out the fun at www.mducomics.co.za

Teenagers From Mars - Trade Paperback Release

This is a certified goodie, and now it's being collected in one big ass 272pg trade in Feb 2005. Nice freaky, disturbing stuff for the kiddies.

“Teenagers From Mars is a story about kids getting in trouble and falling in love. It’s about a rolled up comic book stuffed in one back pocket with a still warm slingshot crammed in the other. It’s about making comics dangerous again”, explains Spears. He continues, “It’s about this kid, Macon, a young comic book artist, who is targeted by the local censors for obscenity, so he targets back. With the help of Max, a grave robbing thirteen-year-old, and Madison, the strong and independent punk beauty, he forms the world’s first comic book liberation army.”

Full info can be found here.

Readers Den - New Shipment

Yep yep, all you peeps in Cape Town better make your way to the good ol' comic shop this weekend. Readers Den [Atrium,Claremont] just got a new shipment of the good stuff in.

Highlights include:
JLA Classified # 1
Astonishing X-Men # 6
She-Hulk Vol 1 : Single Green Female TP
Ghost in the Shell SC
Cowboy Beebop Figures

Check out the full list of goodies here.

Dreamwave Solicitations for Jan 2005

Pat Lee's little company in Canada has got a list of upcoming stuff for Jan 2005 on their website. Included in the list is a possible goodie in the new Warlands book, WARLANDS : MALAGEN'S CAMPAIGN. I also noticed Pocket Book editions of early Macropolis and Warlands stuff, hmmm why does it seem that everybody has to rip of Tokyopops manga cover design/production style? Silly silly designers.

Top Cow Hardcovers

Why does this always happen to me? After springing way to much cash on the WANTED single issues and waiting a lifetime for them to actually be released, now Top Cow goes and makes a sweet as hell Hardcover that I would have prefered to begin with. Ho well burnt again by the comics industry :}

Nevertheless Top Cow is releasing a sweet WANTED hardcover collecting 1-6 and the Dossier and a massive 656 page hardcover collection of the entire Rising Stars run.

For all the info on these two collections click here.

Clockworx Comic - Cape Town Launch Party

The following press release from Moray of Insurrection Studios:

Friday 19 Nov 2004 is official Cape Town Launch night for Clockworx.

Clockworx has been called the best SA comic ever (admittedly by my mom, but still...), so don't miss out on the chance to buy it at the low, low
price of R25.

Clockworx is 40pages, full colour, eclectic mix of sci-fi/fantasy/humour glossy goodness, featuring 8 exceptional artists from all over SA.

Venue: Evol, 69 Hope Street, Cape Town, 10.30pm, R20 cover charge.

Band on the night: the Wild Eyes from 11.30pm
DJs: David West, Dark Pi Graph, Sigue Sigue Huil + mr Sean play indie,rock,alternate and electro

Also: dress up theme - "I can't believe you wore that to my party"

This is for everyone who commented that Stellenbosch was too far or
midweek events suck ;)

see you there,
Moray

Midnight Nation goes back to press

"Midnight Nation, the 12-issue magnum opus from writer J. Michael Straczynski, is going back to press with a special bonus for fans: A new, lower price."

I have been tempted to buy this for the last year or so, looks like the wait was worth it as the price has dropped. It will be in stock at a comic shop near you this December.

X-Men/Fantastic Four # 1: 5 Page Preview

All you Marvel Zombies out there can get your fix here. A five page preview of Pat Lee's upcoming Marvel crossover between the X-Men and FF.

DC Announce Trade Paperback List for March/April 2005

If you are keen to know which DC trades and graphic novels are coming up in early 2005 click here. The list includes such hot titles as:

SUPERMAN: FOR TOMORROW VOL. 1 HC
DC: THE NEW FRONTIER VOL. 2 TP
PLANETARY VOL. 3: LEAVING THE 20TH CENTURY TP
FABLES: THE MEAN SEASONS TP

The Black Panther Returns - Africa Represented

I dunno what to say about this one. On the one hand it's cool to see a classic African character get represented in a mainstream setting on the other hand I just don't know how long this can last before it becomes a camp spectacular. At least the first arc has art by Romita Jr.

Read about the return of the Black Panther here.

Top Three Upcoming DC Books for Feb 2005

Well heres my two cents worth of what's hot for DC Comics shipping Feb next year. After reading through the solicitations I have narrowed it down to the following choices of goodness:

BATMAN: THE MAN WHO LAUGHS
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art and cover by Doug Mahnke
Acclaimed writer Ed Brubaker (CATWOMAN, GOTHAM CENTRAL) joins forces with fan-favorite artist Doug Mahnke (JLA, JUSTICE LEAGUE ELITE) for a Prestige Format Special that tells the tale of the Dark Knight's first battle against his eventual archnemesis: The Joker!
A mysterious homicidal maniac is killing prominent citizens of Gotham City, each time leaving an unusual calling card: a ghastly rictus grin plastered on the victims' lifeless faces. The Dark Knight Detective is on the case, and before long finds himself taking on the Clown Prince of Crime!
This adventure establishes the conflict that rages to this day!
On sale Feb 9 o Prestige Format o 64 pg, FC, $6.95 US
- You gotta back Brubaker whenever he does something, and a retelling of the Joker vs. Batman sounds fun.

THE FLASH: IGNITION TP
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Alberto Dose, Howard Porter & Livesay
Cover by Porter & Livesay
Where's the Flash? Find out in this collection of the thrilling story arc from THE FLASH #201-206! A series of bizarre incidents helps police mechanic Wally West discover that he is the Flash! Can he relearn his powers in time to solve a series of murders in Keystone City?
On sale Feb 9 o 144 pg, FC, $14.95 US
- I have been waiting for the next trade in Geoff Johns fabulous Flash run for what seems like an eternity, pure joy!

SEVEN SOLDIERS #0
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and cover by J.H. Williams
A devastating global threat is on its way - one never imagined nor prepared for. It consumes entire civilizations and leaves behind only ruins. It razed Camelot and bombed the Rama kingdoms back to dirt. It strip-mines and enslaves whole cultures. Its hunger is unstoppable; its origins, unspeakable. Now this devouring empire of cruelty-without-limits has set its sights on the treasures of the 21st century. SEVEN SOLDIERS: A mystery spanning generations and millennia. A story unlike any other. Welcome to a whole new world in the DC Universe.
On sale Feb 23 o 48 pg, FC, $2.95 US Edited by Peter Tomasi
- Grant Morrison is a twisted genius and this has both twisted and genius written all over it, after all is said and done this could be one for the history books, be sure to jump on early.

Online Sketchbooks - Jim Lee & Ale Garza

Jim Lee & Ale Garza have two wicked online sketchbook collections going down. Go check out some amazing unseen art by two of the hottest talents in the industry. After scanning through some of their aforementioned blog [see below] these guys just seem to be on top of the game when it comes to funny as hell, down to earth, modern comic creators. Keep it up guys.

Jim Lee Sketchbook

Ale Garza Sketchbook

Jim Lee & Wildstorm Blog the World

Jim Lee, Ale Garza, Richard Friend and many more join us via their newly found blog. Expect some dodgy pics, some nice sketches and a lot of infighting between the hipsters over at Wildstorm.

Join them and read about their merry misadventures here.

DC Solicitations for Feb 2005

Here in comicland we alsmost love the upcoming stuff as much as we do the current so with no further ado click on the link below to go and see brief overviews and awesome cover previews of your favourite up and coming DC Comics books for February 2005.

Full DC Solicitaions for February 2005

Top 100 Graphic Novels October 2004

Below are the top 5 on the list of the top 100 Graphic Novels for October 2004:

1. ALIENS VS PREDATOR THRILL O/T HUNT
2. BATMAN HUSH VOL 2 TP
3. MARVEL 1602 VOL 1 HC
4. SUPERMAN TRUE BRIT HC
5. FABLES VOL 4 MARCH O/T WOODEN SOLDIERS TP

Click here for the top 100 Graphic Novels list for October as officially supplied by Diamond Indexing and actual Publisher Title Data.

ANIME NEWSFLASH - Miyazaki's latest film get's largest release ever

Yahoo News in Japan reports the following for the release of Hayao Miyazaki's latest film:

"Howl's Moving Castle is to be screened on 450 Japanese movie theatre screens. This is the largest theatrical release for a Japanese movie ever. With approximately 2700 theatre screens in Japan, this means that Howl will be screened on one out of every 6 theatre screens. Previous record holder, Mononoke Hime, was released on 348 screens, while Spirited Away, the highest grossing movie ever in Japan, was released on 336 screens."

The official website for Howl's Moving Castle can be found here.

Abadazad - Light at the end of the tunnel

Good and bad news for fans of the old Crossgen series Abadazad. Good news first, it has been saved by a buyout bid from Disney, bad news next... it probably won't see the light of day as a comic again. Ploog and DeMatteis [the creators of Abadazad] have plans along with Disney to re-work the property into an illustrated childrens book.

“We're developing a format that will combine prose, illustration and sequential art. Something that will bring together the best of all worlds...and create a book series that will be, we think, utterly unique in its approach to storytelling." - J.M. DeMatteis
[Source: Newsarama]

Ho well better something than nothing but it would have been the bomb to see this series continue with the great start it had months ago with Crossgen.

- To read the interview with J.M. DeMatteis and for more info go here.

- To read a full breakdown of the Disney acquisition of Crossgen and the future of Abadazad click here.

- To see a review of the first issue of the initial comic series click here.

SA NEWSFLASH: Sax Appeal 2005 - Animators Needed

Animators - Sax Appeal 2005

Get your work into 80 000 grubby little paws. For free.

Sax Appeal 2005 has created SA's first independent media channel for emerging animation talent. We want to bundle a CD in with this year's edition, containing short film and animation clips.

To fit the bill, your work will need to be slick, funky, visually engaging and, possibly, funny.

Clips should be between 1 second and 5 minutes.

This is truly unprecedented exposure, and you'd be madder than a bag of snakes to pass it up.

Deadline for submissions is 3 December 2004.

Requirements - the ability to create funky, slick, engaging animation.

Details
Type: Permanent
Level: Student/Entry
Remuneration: fame, fame, fatal fame.
Benefits: 1000 midgets singing 'Happy Birthday
Cape Town based, but national

Contact
Gavin Haynes
072 611 2951
SaxCD@webmail.co.za

REVIEWS: New Reviews are up!

Hey Folks, go on over to www.southside.za.net and check out the new reviews for the last months worth of reading:

Arrowsmith: So Smart in their Fine Uniforms

Batgirl: Year One TPB

Edentia: Other Forces

Tokyo Tribes Vol.1

Cheers
Iain

ANIME NEWS: Makoto Shinkai - The Place Promised In Our Early Days

From the mind of the insane anime genius that is Makoto Shinkai who brought us the amazing 'The Voices of a Distant Star' comes his next production 'The Place Promised In Our Early Days'.

Leave a man alone with his MAC G4 for long enough and you're bound to get something good happening. His last film is probably my favourite anime of all time. To check out amazing artwork and renderings/previews etc. of his upcoming work check out his site here [warning: japanese content]. A great Shinkai fansite is also available here.

Wildstorm Winter Special

If you're an art lover then this looks like something you can't miss. Josh Middleton, Michael Turner, Cary Nord and many more give you their versions of popular Wildstorm characters in a quartet of stories based in and around the Wildstorm Universe. To check out the run down and some gorgeous art previews of Middletons work click here.

Hip Hop and Gang Culture in Comics

With almost everbody I know not showing up for work in favour of becoming a gangsta by day and by night, yep thats right I am talking about Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas or as it's become known as...The Disease, I felt it was time to look at some qualified hip hop gang related comics.

If you can't get enough of hanging with your homes on da block then check out a new release from Tokyopop called Tokyo Tribes. It's a hip hop street warfare vibe manga from the now legendary creator Santa Inoue.

Heres a link to Santas Homepage, beware Japanese text :}
And heres another link to a profile of the prolific creator on Tokyopops main site.

Look out for a full review of Tokyo Tribes Vol.1 on Southside later today.

Marvel Comics Desktops

Looks like the guys in control of the ugly looking new Marvel website have finally gotten something right. For all the latest rage in official Marvel Comics desktops for your PC or Mac go here. They even have a snazzy previews option where you get some of the latest cover art on your desktop before it hits the shelves at your local store.

SA NEWSFLASH - Edentia & Duane Haylett

I just finished reading local Capetonian Duane Hayletts' first Edentia comicbook. The review and interview should be up on the website in the next few days, so keep your eyes open. To find out more about the Edentia series of comics and Duane himslef click here.

Octobers Comics Sales Charts

Ahhhhh it's all about the money isn't it? Well if thats all you're into then check out which comics are making the most green and selling like hotcakes. Find the official sales charts for October from Diamond Comics Distributors here.

Marvel Sues City Of Heroes

In a Napster like case Marvel Comics has decided to sue the producers of the MMORPG game City Of Heroes for allowing people to generate facsimiles of their characters in the online computer game. Marvel is on the hunt for contentious copyright money again, read all about it here.

Asterix Returns

With the latest reprints of old Asterix books comes a huge retro reflux towards a small village in Gaul. Don't miss out second time round and grab some of these comedic comicbook masterpieces. To have some fun and learn more about your favourite Asterix characters click here to check out the official Asterix site.

Brian K. Vaughan Interview

The ladies of Sequential Tart have graced us with a great little interview with prolific comic writing guru Brian K. Vaughan[Y:The Last Man, Runaways, Ex Machina]. To read all about why Brian didn't create X:The Last Woman, his wedding and much more go here.

The Incredibles - The Comic

Whats that smell in the air? Fresh flowers of spring? I think not... rather the smell of hard cold cash as another Pixar tour de force takes the world by storm. This time its the superhero themed 'The Incredibles' which launches Dec 10th in South Africa. The guys at Dark Horse Comics are producing a sweet looking 4 issue mini-series to go hand in hand with the film, click here to check some previews and more info on the series

SA NEWSFLASH - Insurrection Studios

Heres one for all you South Africans out there. Local peeps Insurrection Studios have a new site. They recently published Clockworx 1 a compendium of local comics goodness so go check out the site for more info on the SA scene and much more. Nice job and much props to Moray, keep up the good work.

Elektra - The Movie

I have been having inner turmoil within my soul over this one. It sounds like Catwoman 2 to me, in other words a crash and burn comic movie of note, but for my mate Neal's sake I had to put this link in, it is Jenniffer Garner after all, drool on desperate fanboys... drool on.

Ghost In The Shell - Aussies finally do something right

I guess it had to happen sometime... Australia has produced something good for once [LOL]. Local Australian Anime distributor MadMan entertainment has made a kick ass site for the Australian release of the Ghost In The Shell:Stand Alone Complex DVD's. Awesome bios of the major characters and some neat Flash work can be seen here

Fantastic Four Re-Shuffle

At the recent Wizard World Texas convention Marvel announced that the awesome team of Mark Waid & Mike Wieringo would be leaving Fantastic Four[this time of their own accord and not due to strange firing rumours]. Mike Wieringo seems like one of the nicest guys around and I have been a regular reader of his site and semi-daily blog for a few months now. To catch up on the news first hand and to see some great sketch work from Ringo! check out his site and blog here.

Marvel Solicitations Jan 2005

Yep yep it's almost 2005 people. To get you in the new years mood check out what Marvel's got planned for the first month of the new year by clicking here to view the solicitations for January 2005.

Welcome / Info

Hi,
Due to spammers killing the messageboard and due to it's general inactivity I have decided to move to a blog system for news flashes and comments on comics etc.

Please feel free to email any announcements/press releases to be posted here to me : iain@southside.za.net and I'll make sure they get on here.

Reviews and news and links etc. will be posted here so keep an eye open.

Cheers
Iain.