The holiday season and new books to buy and expect!

There are going to be quite a lot of new comics coming up over the next few weeks...which coincides with the Christmas shopping season, meaning that I've got to learn how to save and budget and prioritise like never before!

Brian Michael Bendis' Secret Invasion just finished...and what a series it was! The anticipation of what would happen in the next issue was just like Mark Millar's Civil War a couple of years ago and boy, was that a fantastic series and Secret Invasion certainly ended with more questions than resolutions.

Yes, the Skrull invasion was halted...was there really any doubt? But the fallout is just about to happen, and it leads nicely into Marvel's event of 2009: Dark Reign. I won't list any spoilers for those who haven't yet read Secret Invasion (and if you haven't, hurry up and go read it already!), but the gist of it is, the Marvel Universe has just become a much darker place with even MORE conspiracies than ever before at the conclusion of the failed Skrull invasion.

While Tony Stark was heralded as the Marvel Universe's saviour only a mere two years ago, with the Superhero Registration Act implemented as a result of the Civil War, he now finds himself discarded by his own government. All his plans post-Civil War failed to yield any fruition and he's failed to deliver on his promise of protecting America with the 50-State Initiative program.

So the government has sacked Tony from being the big kahuna of S.H.I.E.L.D. Wait until you see who they've chosen to be the new big boss...it's the shock ending of Secret Invasion that will resonate and create a ripple effect in all of Marvel Comics' books for years to come!

Anyway, I'll give Secret Invasion a proper review sometime down the line. Back on topic, another new title I'll be adding to my standing list is Dark Avengers, which spins off from the ending of Secret Invasion. There have been quite a number of huge releases in the TPB and HC format such as The Boys: Definitive Edition HC which collects the first 13 issues of Dynamite Entertainment's superb series.

The Boys is a guilty pleasure and the world it's set in is as realistic as it comes in posing the question: What would it be like if there really were superheroes in the real world? Garth Ennis (of Preacher and Punisher: Max infamy, and one of my favourite writers) crafts such a splendid tale of absolute power corrupting absolutely. He certainly doesn't hold back and while there are some moments in the series which are just flat out gross, it IS classic Ennis, which means fans will be treated with over-the-top humour in the vein of Preacher.

Hmm...methinks I should review The Boys sometime down the line too! It's just too good not to have a review!

The Rising Stars Compendium HC also gets released after the new year, which collects the entire series of Rising Stars, from the original 24 issue mini-series by J. Michael Stracyznski, to the three related mini-series. Rising Stars was absolutely brilliant, especially in the first third of the series where it established the world in which 113 special humans with powers lived and how they interacted with society at large.

It's a great time to be a comic book fan...not good for our wallets though!

Francis is also helping me to get the entire series of the Slam Dunk manga in English, published by Chuang Yi Comics in Singapore. 31 volumes means that it'll be a while before I can actually pay him for the order...yipes. Good reading times ahead!

From comics to Hollywood

Would you pay to watch a movie which had its script written by your favourite comic book creator? I would. Just see how Sin City turned out!

Wizard Universe interviews five comic book creators who may be making the move to Hollywood!


FROM COMICS TO HOLLYWOOD
A quintet of comics’ biggest creators talk about making the move to Hollywood

By Ben Morse

Posted December 18, 2007 5:00 PM

ROBERT KIRKMAN
The writer of Marvel’s surprise hit Marvel Zombies as well as enduring cult favorite The Walking Dead from Image, Robert Kirkman signed the film rights to his self-created teen superhero comic Invincible to Paramount in 2005 and came on board to write the movie’s screenplay a year later. “Transformers” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has also signed on.

“I have turned in the second draft [of the ‘Invincible’ screenplay] and it’s being looked at right now. I haven’t really had to fight the studio or anything. So far any changes they’ve asked for have been minor things that make sense and that I agree with. It’s been a pretty good experience so far, but the movie hasn’t been made yet, so I’m sure it’s coming. So far, they haven’t wanted any talking dogs—and I already have one in the comic anyway. Either they come back and say, ‘Hey, this is awesome, we’re shooting it,’ or ‘Hey, this is awesome, but we’re getting somebody to rewrite it anyway,’ or even ‘Hey, this is awesome—so awesome we want you to write it again.’

“I think I’m pretty good at writing comics, but writing screenplays is new to me, so there’s definitely a learning curve. I didn’t read any screenplays growing up so it’s a completely alien art form. When I get to page 22, I’m usually done. There’s definitely something difficult psychologically about not being able to believe you just wrote 60 pages and then realizing you’re only halfway through.”

BRYAN HITCH
Best known for his collaborations with writer Mark Millar on Ultimates and their upcoming Fantastic Four run, artist Bryan Hitch has worked quietly behind the scenes in both Hollywood and for his native England’s BBC: He’s a designer for the pending “Star Trek” movie directed by J.J. Abrams and the “Dr. Who” television series, respectively.

“My first real design job was on ‘Dr. Who.’ I was musing with a journalist who had interviewed [series writer/producer] Russell Davies that I’d kill to design the TARDIS set, so I had him e-mail Russell assuming he’d have no idea who I was and then he sent back, ‘The Bryan Hitch? Oh, I love him!’ I had a hand in the redesign of the Daleks, though it was more just scribbling over other people’s designs. The last [‘Dr. Who’] work I did was a two-parter from series two because I owed the [executive producer] a favor after she got me tickets to a BBC concert series.
“[Producer] Damon Lindelof and I started talking about ‘Star Trek’ way back. I was involved in the early discussions and was going to get to do the fun stuff like the Enterprise, then Paramount pulled the plug temporarily. When it came back, there had been a script leak so nobody ‘off the lot’ was allowed to work on sensitive material.

“Mark Millar and I are working with Joe Ahearne, a highly respected writer/director, about developing a new BBC series. Joe would be the lead writer and director with Mark as a writer and me as lead designer. There’s been discussion of me directing as well. Stylistically, working on BBC shows is similar to American TV because stuff like ‘Dr. Who’ is an attempt to replicate what [America] is doing with genre family entertainment. The difference between comics and television or film is that while with comics Mark and I are lucky to be almost completely autonomous, the film stuff is about servicing somebody else’s vision. I can’t see why I can’t do both, do a six-issue comic and then direct some television or make a film. It’s all telling stories, and that’s what I want to do.”

GEOFF JOHNS
Before writing comics like Green Lantern, Geoff Johns earned his college degree in Media Arts with a minor in Film Theory from Michigan State University and spent four years working under legendary director and producer Richard Donner. Johns served as a writer on the “Blade” TV series and currently works alongside “Robot Chicken” creators Seth Green and Matt Seinreich as a producer, writer and director on their upcoming stop animation feature film “Naughty or Nice.” He also has a film based on DC’s Metal Men in development.

“It was a hard decision to leave Donner, but there was so much going on for me in comics. I could have spent another year at the company working in development, but I like being on set. Matt and I sold two pilots to Fox after I left and when the crew from ‘Robot Chicken’ wanted to do a movie, he and I pitched this idea for a Christmas movie we’ve had since 2002 and Dimension bought it. We’re in preproduction, we’ve got test puppets made and in a perfect world we’d like to see this movie out Christmas 2009. It’s a lot easier to get what you want out of a comic book since with a TV show or movie you’re limited by budget and by all the other people working on it. I remember my first episode of ‘Blade,’ I wrote this huge fight scene with vampires literally throwing cars around and being told, ‘You can’t do that.’ I had to cut it way back and even then they went ahead and choreographed their own fight. Donner, even with his status, had to go through that stuff. With movies or TV, there are a lot more people involved, a lot more money involved, and a lot more time involved than with a comic book. But it’s also fun! Hollywood isn’t some huge, crazy maze; it’s just a bunch of people trying to make movies.”

J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
A six-year veteran of Amazing Spider-Man and the current writer of Thor, Straczynski made a name for himself in television, most notably creating Emmy-award winning sci-fi series “Babylon 5,” before comic fans had any idea what the initials “JMS” stood for. At present, Straczynski has several film projects ongoing, including: a Silver Surfer feature spinning out of “Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” which he will write the screenplay for; “The Changeling,” a thriller directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Angelina Jolie; and “World War Z,” based on Max Brooks’ bestselling novel. He’s also developing a script for Paul Greengrass based on a story the director wrote called “They Marched Into Sunlight.”

“[Film] is a field I’d actually gone out of my way to avoid for 20 years since it’s so much of a crapshoot in terms of what gets made. But thanks to ‘Changeling,’ I’m working with directors and studios at a much higher level than a development deal, and the road to production is much shorter. I have to say there have been very few hurdles or problems. When you’re working with directors like Greengrass or Eastwood, or with Brad Pitt’s company, which is doing ‘World War Z,’ it makes all the difference in the world. The hardest thing for me to get past as far as writing comics was getting used to the fact that the pictures don’t move. Otherwise, consider everything else the same.”

GRANT MORRISON
One of the most well-respected comic book writers of the last 20 years, Grant Morrison’s credits range from seminal tales like Arkham Asylum to current works like All Star Superman. In 2006, New Line optioned We3, Morrison’s quirky miniseries about robotically enhanced killer animals with the creator attached as screenwriter. Paramount recently hired Morrison to adapt the “Area 51” video game into a film.

“I met [‘Transformers’ producer] Don Murphy back in the ’90s because his wife was a good friend of mine from Glasgow. He got me started with my first official work in Hollywood, which was a screenplay for a film called ‘Sleepless Nights,’ which is stuck in development somewhere. When New Line wanted to make ‘We3,’ they asked Don to produce since he knew me and asked me to do the script. I think what I turned in is better than the comic. I’m always the guy who is saying, ‘Don’t change my work, I’ll cut your head off.’ I like listening to people’s suggestions, but if I don’t agree with them, I’m quite boorish about it. They’re currently looking for a director and they’ve got one great name who I think would do a great job. I’m used to comic books that come out three months after you write them so I just want to see this movie now!

“Hollywood is worse than comics—they don’t want you to talk about anything. Comics are all about explanation and exposition. Movies are a lot more direct. They have to play to the audience in middle America as much as in China. I enjoy doing something I can focus on for 120 pages and craft into something great. There are all these rules and everything is very specific. Comics are much more seat-of-the-pants improvisation, which is fun as well. Movies are hardcore.”

J. Michael Straczynski on his Hollywood projects

J. Michael Straczynski, one of the most controversial scribes on any Spidey title in the character's long long history, is moving back to Hollywood! Seems like someone's tapped him to write a script for the Silver Surfer live action movie. Goodness me!

Could it be possible that he might ALSO write a script for the new Spidey movie?


J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI ON HIS HOLLYWOOD PROJECTS
The Amazing Spider-Manwriter talks about the ‘Silver Surfer’ movie and reveals whether he’d like a shot at a Spidey movie script

By Rickey Purdin

Posted December 10, 2007 2:45 PM

The Silver Surfer’s about to get some web-slinging assistance—but it’s not from who you think.

Best known to comic book fans as the man scripting Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man since 2001, writer J. Michael Straczynski has been tapped to pen the big-screen solo adventure of the Silver Surfer. Thanks to his experience creating cosmic epics (he developed the TV fan fave “Babylon 5”) and writing the naked spaceman’s comic exploits (he wrote 2007’s Silver Surfer: Requiem miniseries), JMS makes a perfect match for ol’ Chrome Dome.

But a “Fantastic Four” spinoff isn’t the only foot JMS has in the Hollywood waters, as he is attached to at least three other projects with the likes of big stars Brad Pitt (“World War Z,” based on the bestselling Max Brooks novel about the aftermath of a zombie epidemic), Tom Hanks (“They Marched Into Sunlight,” about a day in 1967 in which two events galvanize the anti-Vietnam War movement on college campuses) and Clint Eastwood (“The Changeling,” based on a true story about a woman who is declared insane after insisting her returned child is not the right boy).

We cornered the super-busy scribe for details on what we can expect from him down the road as he heads further into the welcoming arms of Tinseltown.

WIZARD: What can you say about the Silver Surfer movie script you’re writing?

STRACZYNSKI: It picks up after “FF2” and includes the origin of the Surfer. That’s literally all I’m allowed to say about it.

Your thriller, “The Changeling,” is attached to producer Ron Howard, director Clint Eastwood and star Angelina Jolie. How does it feel to know that talent of that caliber is attached to one of your projects?

STRACZYNSKI: It’s humbling. Every day I feel as though I woke up in somebody else’s life. I’ve had five feature deals/assignments/scripts in a tad over a year, all big budget, all big names. Even I’m astonished.

Five scripts? How did all of this occur in such a small window of time?

STRACZYNSKI: It’s pretty astonishing, yeah. Most screenwriters get maybe one, sometimes two scripts in a year, sometimes one every couple of years. To do five is just unheard of, and there may be a sixth.

I think it has a lot to do with my background in TV, which teaches you to write fast, and write so it can be produced efficiently. I don’t take a year to turn in a script; it’s done fast and so far they’re going into production or looking for directors based on very few drafts. “The Changeling,” Clint’s shooting the first draft. “World War Z” will be greenlit once we have a director based on the second draft. “Silver Surfer” is also solid based on a second draft. This is a business where you go through five, 10, 15 drafts. I must be doing something either incredibly right or incredibly wrong.

You’ve been writing Amazing Spider-Man for over six years now. Have you been itching to take a whack at writing a Spidey flick?

STRACZYNSKI: I’d love a shot at it.

If you had to guess, which would we see first: A movie based on your comics Rising Stars or Midnight Nation?

STRACZYNSKI: Since “Rising Stars” has been pretty well ransacked by “Heroes,” I’d suggest probably “Midnight Nation,” but we’ll

Top 10 Most Controversial Moments in J. Michael Straczynski's run on Amazing Spider-man

Another long-writer Marvel writer is about to finish his run on a series. After six years writing Amazing Spider-man, J. Michael Straczynski is about to leave the book he helped recreate and infuse awesome stories into, in the wake of the success of the three Spidey movies. I loved his run, but there were quite a number of controversial moments that other fans did not like one iota.

This story on Wizard Universe:

STICKY SITUATIONS
As J. Michael Straczynski ends his long Spider-Man run with October's 'One More Day,' we look back at his 10 most controversial moments

By Mur Lafferty and the Wizard Staff

Posted October 2, 2007 4:15 PM

In 2001, Marvel’s flagship hero Spider-Man faced the danger of being squashed from years of bad stories and dwindling fan interest.

Marvel rolled the dice and tapped an unlikely savior: J. Michael Straczynski. Coming off his first major comic success as writer of Top Cow’s Rising Stars, and sporting an impressive TV résumé that included the sci-fi hit “Babylon 5,” the man known as JMS seemed a quirky but intriguing choice to take over Amazing Spider-Man.

However, along with a penchant for epic storytelling, JMS brought with him a reputation for shocking and often controversial twists, and wasted no time in making waves with the Spider-Man fanbase. But redemption would always arrive with the numbers, as JMS’ Amazing Spider-Man became a perennial performer in the Top 10 of Diamond Distributors’ sales charts.

With JMS’ swansong “One More Day” story alongside Marvel Editor-in-Chief/artist Joe Quesada promising to completely rock the Webhead’s status quo and be the most talked-about Spider-event in years, relive the 10 most unbelievable and controversial Straczynski shockers of the past six years!

10. Spider-Man joins the New Avengers
(Amazing Spider-Man #519)

Following the “Skin Deep” storyline (AMS #515-#518), Spidey, Mary Jane and Aunt May found themselves homeless after an old schoolmate of Peter’s with a grudge torched the Parkers’ Forest Hills home. In swept generous benefactor Tony Stark—aka Iron Man—who offered them free crash space in Avengers Tower. Spider-Man had always been a lone wolf, declining the Avengers once before because they cramped his style, then subsequently getting rejected by the government as a security risk. Living the high life with a whole team to back him up proved new and not entirely unwelcome. He did, of course, wonder when it would all end, as life with MJ and Aunt May in Avengers Tower seemed too good to be true. And sadly this proved correct, as Stark turned Spidey into a government stooge, coerced him into revealing his secret identity on national television and then turned on him when he questioned the Superhuman Registration Act.

9. Spider-Man turns the tables on the Kingpin
(ASM #542)

JMS once said, “Put your character up in a tree and then throws rocks at him.” He sagely followed his own advice by pushing Peter to question the one edict he’s always firmly held: no killing.

After Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, ordered the assassination of Aunt May, Peter—donning his infamous black costume as a symbol of his inner turmoil—tracked down the sniper who pulled the trigger, brutally torturing him for information, then broke into Riker’s Island to confront Fisk. Mercilessly beating Kingpin to within an inch of his life, Peter left the criminal alive, not out of mercy, but to serve as a warning that anyone who messes with his family would suffer the same fate. Adding insult to injury, Peter promised that if Aunt May died from her wounds—or any further attacks—Kingpin would follow her to the grave.

8. Peter and MJ get back together
(ASM v.2 #50)

Mary Jane Watson-Parker has become a topic of hot debate among fans and creators alike since her marriage to Spider-Man two decades ago. Should she be the unattainable girl beyond Peter’s reach, or his loving and supportive wife? After a protracted “will they, won’t they” period during which the couple attempted and failed at reconciliation following an earlier separation, JMS landed on the side of the marriage with this issue, which finds Peter and MJ bumping into one another at an airport, each en route to tracking the other down. In true hard-luck fashion, a terrorist attack aimed at Doctor Doom subverted their reunion, but only temporarily, as this installment ended with a kiss and a happily-ever-after conclusion (for now).

7. Spider-Man unmasks
(ASM #533)

For decades, Peter Parker religiously guarded his identity as Spider-Man, even at the cost of his own ego and personal standing in both guises—but war makes a man do crazy things.

To prove his allegiance to Tony Stark during Civil War, Peter, against his better judgment, revealed himself to the world as Spider-Man on national TV.
The fallout, of course, shook Peter’s world to its core. Friends, family and co-workers turned against him; employer J. Jonah Jameson fired him and sued him for damages; not only did his worst enemies know his real name, they began targeting Aunt May and Mary Jane. And when Peter flip-flopped his registration stance, benefactor Tony Stark pulled the plug on his resources and turned him into a wanted criminal. Without a doubt, Peter’s unmasking has changed Spider-Man forever—and opened a Pandora’s box of potential storytelling for future writers.

6. The 9/11 issue
(ASM v.2 #36)

Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, artists in every medium struggled with how to address the tragedy.

Credit JMS with actually seeking out the task by using Spider-Man—the quintessential New York City hero—to tackle the difficult subject with integrity. In a powerful, moving issue, JMS used Spider-Man to essentially say that he didn’t know what to say, eloquently portraying the anger, sadness and frustration—and even hope—that the nation as a whole felt in the aftermath. The story also allowed JMS to express his thanks and admiration to some real heroes, the emergency crews of firefighters, police and EMTs, in a touching story that still resonates to this day.

5. Aunt May learns Peter is Spider-Man (ASM v.2 #35)

In allowing Aunt May to learn Peter’s alter ego, JMS shattered yet another cornerstone of the Spider-Man mythos and a longtime source of angst for Peter and sometime comic relief for readers.

The revelation established a new dynamic for the series in subsequent issues, one that often resulted in high drama as May wrestled with the knowledge, and sidesplitting moments like a to-do list that included canceling her Daily Bugle subscription. In retrospect, this story arc begged the question: “What took so long?”

“We all tend to conceal things from those we love most because we think the truth might break them,” explains JMS. “I wanted to say that no, the ones we love can bear the burden of our truths, because they do love us. We don’t have to carry these things alone. I’ve always said that Peter got his powers from the spider, but his strength from Aunt May, and this story was the chance to put that out there for others to learn from.”

4. Spider-totem origin
(ASM v.2 #32)

Right out of the gate, JMS’ very first Spider-Man story had some fans scratching their heads and others howling in protest. Everyone knew the familiar origin story of Spider-Man, but in JMS’ tweaked retelling, the writer raised an important question: Why did that radioactive spider bite Peter?

The writer added new layers to the existing tale, giving Peter a spiritual link to ancient mystic totems that worked in cooperation with his science-fiction roots. While the changes rankled some fans, JMS would get serious storytelling mileage out of them and introduce new characters like Spidey’s similarly powered sometime-mentor Ezekiel and vampiric foe Morlun.

At the same time, JMS acknowledged the criticism and laughed at himself a bit, having Peter add his own voice to the chorus of protest and disbelief.

3. Aunt May gets shot
(ASM #538)

Throughout Spider-Man’s four-plus decades, kindly May Parker served as nephew Peter’s rock. Even when she didn’t know about his secret, she served as his mother figure, the person he could turn to for wisdom and strength. The Kingpin shattered that refuge when his hired gunman shot her, propelling Spider-Man into one of his darkest, most intense periods under JMS’ direction.

Already publicly outed as Spider-Man and on the run from his former friends and teammates, Peter faced the possibility of life without May, one of the two people he loved most in the world. May’s situation removed a stabilizing force from Peter’s life and drove the character to question the very values he had defended for years.

“I needed to get Peter to the very, very end of his rope,” notes JMS. “And an attack on May, where he felt he was responsible, would take him right to the very edge of his emotions”—and readers to the edge of their seats.

2. Spider-Man killed/reborn
(ASM #527)

“The Other,” a crossover event that ran through every Spider-Man title, saw Peter pursued by Morlun yet again, beaten badly, half-blinded and taken to the brink of death. Peter’s spider instincts took over, allowing him to defeat Morlun, then a new body emerged from his deceased physical shell and built a cocoon to regenerate.

Reborn stronger than ever before, Peter Parker fully accepted the totemic side that saved his life. “The Other” met with mixed results: strong sales as well as derision from hardcore fans.

The event paved the way for Peter to unmask and join the New Avengers, setting the stage for a continuous series of dramatic shifts in Spider-Man’s world.

1. Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn’s love children
(ASM #512)

Taking the beloved memory of Gwen Stacy and putting it through the wringer, JMS revealed that Peter’s first love had a one-night stand with Norman Osborn—aka Spidey’s mortal enemy the Green Goblin—and gave birth to twins! Not only that, this stunning revelation came from a very unexpected source: Mary Jane, Peter’s wife, who had known all along and kept it a secret.

JMS, no stranger to criticism and controversy, shrugs off the potshots from outraged fans: “I try not to let it affect me one way or the other. If you believe the good comments, then you have to believe the bad ones. I just try to honor that character as best I can while still being free enough to take some chances here and there.”

Love or hate his work, fans can’t deny that JMS has definitely given the Spider-Man universe new life, with new directions and plotlines to be argued over, played off of and dissected for years to come. And with “One More Day,” JMS has one more chance to do just that.


ONE MORE DAY



J. Michael Straczynski, known for his controversial Spider-story arcs, keeps his cards close to the vest when it comes to discussing his swan song, “One More Day” with Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada on art, but he does make the following proclamation:

“There’s one more big change a’coming.”

Entering “One More Day,” Peter Parker finds himself broke, unemployed, on the run from the government, his secret identity public and his Aunt May on her deathbed. But there’s one final straw that could break the spider’s back: the fate of Peter and MJ’s marriage. “One More Day” will show where Peter can go from here, as it’s his despair over his current status quo that drives the plotline.

“I think [his current situation] does to him what it would do to any of us: lead to confusion, despair and self-recrimination,” explains JMS. “The wheel turns, and sometimes we’re on top of it, and sometimes we’re under it. Peter has spent most of his life under it, and he allowed himself the possibility, the hope, that this time, when everything’s going so well, that it wouldn’t turn. But it does. It always does.”



I cringed when I read the "Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy had kids" storyline. I mean, here are the most reviled and loved characters, respectively, in the Spidey mythos. And to cheapen Gwen to say that she had something going on with Osborn...and bore his children? Ugh ugh ugh!

I haven't read that many of the above stories above, seeing as how a lot of them were recent stories and my single issues of Amazing Spider-man are in a box, waiting for me back in G&B Comics in Singapore, but I did read the very awesome and poignant 9/11 story. It was extremely beautiful since Spidey is pretty much an iconic hero based in New York and the way Straczynski wrote the story really would have brought tears to anyone's eyes. Err...well, anyone except for the people who have gripes against America that is.

And the story in which Aunt May found out Peter's secret was brilliant as well. I'd say Straczynski had more hits than misses in his time on Amazing Spider-man. He shook up the title and brought people back, identifying with and loving Marvel's premiere superhero. You will be missed, JMS. Long live the king.