"It's not enough to survive. One has to be worthy of
surviving." - Adama
Who Me? - Catching you up on what I’ve been up to with writing, interviews and reviews.
Web Chatter - A collection of news bits bouncing around on the Web.
Strange News - Truth (or at least the possible truth) is often stranger than fiction. Explore, if you dare, the stranger side of The marX Files.
Not Comic Books, But I Like It - Movie and TV news that isn’t necessarily comic book related, but I like it.
For The Gamers - Role Playing Game news and reviews.
Prepare To Be Adapted, Resistance Is Futile - News on comic book adaptations.
Happy Embrace Your Geekness Day!
Hi, my name is Marx, but you can call me by my Indian name, ‘He who is really busy and needs to cut this short.’ Try saying that ten times fast…drunk. I’ve been really busy with multiple projects, so this one is a little shorter than my usual entry. But on the plus side, it is a little early.
As you can tell, my column keeps shifting and changing (hopefully for the better). I’m starting to get comfortable on how I want this column set up. Please let me know what you like or don’t like about the column. I’ve expanded beyond the typical comic book news with the ‘Strange News,’ ‘For The Gamers’ and ‘Not Comic Books, But I Like It’ sections.
I will be popping in at Wizard World Chicago and Dragon Con this year. So, email me if you would like me to stop by your booth. As always, feel free to email me if you would like me to review your book(s) or pass along news.
Forget Superman Returns, Its Spider-Girl Returns, Amazing! – Spider-Girl #100 was supposed to be the last issue of this fan favorite. Ah, but Marvel surprises all with the announcement of a new ongoing series starring May Parker: The Amazing Spider-Girl #1 by Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema. If you are new to the Spider-Girl world, then snap up the upcoming book, The Spider-Girl Saga #0. It should catch you up before the new series starts in October.
Superman Needs A New Agent - Guy LeCharles Gonzalez wrote an interesting article on the reasons why he thinks Superman Returns isn’t doing so well in theaters. First, he breaks down the box office math, and then covers the problems with marketing and casting.
Visionary’s First Wave! – It is no secret that I’m a big fan of the new Visionary Comics Studio. I wrote about them in the blog. I even interviewed their creative director, C. Edward Sellner. So be sure to check with Paperback Reader for updates.
Which brings us to an update…
On
“This is a contest for
every kind of creator and you can enter on your OWN merits, you don’t have to
find a team, we do that for you.” Edward
Sellner, VCS Creative Director stated.
“This is also not a scam where you pay us to print your art and send it
anywhere so it might be reviewed. This is actually a proving ground
where you end up published, a rep contract and a printed portfolio!”
At the San Diego Comicon VCS will be debuting their 2006 Preview Special, a full-color 24 page comic featuring previews of four of VCS’s current projects in development. VCS will also have print editions of covers from several books and collector item DVD’s of the hit zombie indy film Livelihood, with a free exclusive VCS Poster based on the film, and more.
Submissions can be made
online at VCS’s website at www.visionarycomics.com,
through email at csellner@visionarycomics.com,
standard mail to
For more information, check out the VCS web site: www.visionarycomics.com
Women, What Women? – Keeping us guys honest, Kyrrn’s Live Journal has a post about the lack of women creators at the San Diego Comicon. Meanwhile, Penpen2nd has started work on a list of female comic characters with their own series.
Dead (Wo)Men Do Tell Tales – According to CNEWS, a 25-year veteran police officer is convinced that the voice of a murdered prostitute was picked up on an audio recording. "I saw it. I heard it. I believe," said Const. Wayne Fermaniuk.
Are You A Grey Lady Voyeur? – 14WFIE
wrote an article
about the history of Willard Library’s Grey Lady ghost. You can check out the Willard Library GhostCams
at anytime to see if you can spot her.
Heal! – ABC’s Primetime
is doing a special report tonight on Adam, the 19-year-old New-Age healer from
The Mysterious Miracle Worker (pro)
versus
The Big Bird, the Big Lie, God and Science (con)
I’m Turning Jamaican, Mon – According to Telegraph, a woman awoke from her stroke to discover her Geordie accent had transformed into a Jamaican one. It is rare, but common enough to have its own name – foreign accent syndrome.
The Moon Is Artificial? – New Dawn Magazine interviews Christopher Knight. The British author’s most recent book is Who Built the Moon?, “Could it be that the Moon is artificial? Could it even be hollow? And does the Moon really exist through some happy accident, or is a blueprint apparent – and if so, who was the architect?”
Ah, those crazy Brits.
Orange You Glad I Can Read Now – According to Ananova, a student who could only read and write upside down has been cured by the use of orange paper and filters.
Robert Downey Jr., Psychic? – Considering his past with drugs, I have a hard time typing this one without grinning. According to Contactmusic, Robert Downey Jr. (Ally McBeal, A Scanner Darkly) said, “There have been times where I realised that my dreamscape is obviously being influenced by what I'm doing when I'm awake. I know for sure that I've had dreams and then realised that they were about movies that I was 10 or 15 years away from doing. That's the great thing about that whole dream world - it has nothing to do with space and time.”
X-Ray Vision, For Real – The Telegraph talks to two British scientists who have found a way to make microscopic objects invisible by using a specifically crafted beam of light. The scientists believe it is a stepping stone towards making anything transparent.
Not Comic
Books, But I Like It
Behind, The House Between – Lately John Kenneth Muir’s blog has been giving behind the scene info on his upcoming series, The House Between.
“The House Between is the creepy story of five strangers who awake to find
themselves in a stark, lonely Victorian house...with no furniture. They don't
know where they are; they can't escape; and they don't know who to trust. Is
the house actually Heaven or Hell? Or something all together
different? It's a mystery and more, and one that gets resolved a piece
at a time.”
Muir, author of An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith and The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film & Television, wrote and directed this science fiction/horror series. It is being produced by Joseph Maddrey, co-producer of A Haunting and author of Nightmares in Red, White and Blue. No, you won’t find the upcoming seven black-and-white episodes on a cable channel near you. This original live-action series will be available for streaming online in the very near future. Could this be the future of television? Could this be the start of an independent TV (or should I say web) series trend?
For more information, check out The House Between Production Page.
Box Office Numbers – According to Box Office Mojo, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest broke Spider-Man's four-year-old $114.8 million opening weekend record by raking in $132 million over the weekend. Heck, the movie made $55.5 million just on Friday, which is the biggest single day and opening day in box office history. Unfortunately, Superman Returns saw a drop of 58.4% for its second weekend (ouch).
To date (July 11), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
(production budget $225 million) has made over $169 million domestic and a
total of $216 million worldwide. Superman Returns (production budget $260
million) has made over $146 million domestic and a total of $182 million
worldwide. X-Men: The Last Stand (production budget $210 million) has made
over $231 million domestic and a total of $436 million worldwide.
Hex Has Been X’d - Hex has been canceled. If you are interested in signing a petition to bring it back for a third season (or ‘series’ as the Brits call it), then click over here.
Fallen Uses A Lost Tactic - Fallen, ABC Family's upcoming supernatural movie series, will have an alternate reality/online game, similar to Lost’s game The Lost Experience, that will further develop the mythology of the film and Thomas Sniegoski's young-adult book series on which it is based. The game begins after the two-hour film premieres on July 23.
"It's being built by Matt Wolf, who designed games for features like [The] Bourne Identity," said Paul Lee, president of ABC Family, speaking to reporters at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. "And when you play it, you're really going to be able to disappear down the rabbit hole of the mythology of Fallen." Similar to Lost, clues will be given in the end of the telecast promotion.
Fallen is about a young man (Paul Wesley) that discovers he is
half-human and half-angel, a race called the Fallen. He and his family are tracked down by a group
of killer angels. After the July 23
premiere, ABC Family plans to bring Fallen
back next summer as a four-hour limited series.
Recently Announced (or Rumored) DVD Release Dates (all prices are SRP):
The A-Team – Season 5 (October 10, $49.98)
Batman Beyond – The Complete 2nd Season (October 24, $44.98)
Dark Shadows – The Beginning: Collection 1 (February 2007)
Dungeons & Dragons (2007 or 2008)
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe – Season 2, Volume 2 (September 19, $49.98)
Ice Age: The Meltdown (November 21)
Justice League Unlimited – Season 1 (October 24, $44.98)
Krypto The Superdog – Volume 2: Superheroes Unleashed (October 24, $14.97)
The
She-Ra: Princess of Power – Season 1, Volume 1 (November 7, $49.98)
Stephen King’s Nightmares and Dreamscapes (October 24, $39.92)
Tales From The Crypt – The Complete 5th Season (October 31, $39.98)
Ultraman – Series 1, Volume 2 (October 10, $29.98)
The Very Best Of Sabrina – The Animated Series (October 17, $19.98)
Summer TV Is Heating Up, Finally – So far, most of the summer season has been boooooring. But a few weeks ago Blade: The Series started up. It is fairly entertaining to watch, if you liked the movies. It is still a little rough, but it has lots of potential. They just need to add more layers to Blade, more recurring characters, and further develop this Vampire: The Masquerade/Kindred: The Embraced vampire society feel that they are creating. Oh, and I want to see Moon Knight pop up. Hey, they did mention him in the pilot.
This Thursday, season two of Hex premieres on BBC America. I missed season one, but I’m looking forward to trying this show out. As you read above, the show was canceled. But I’m a foreign scifi/fantasy addict (me loves that Doctor Who), so I’m looking forward to seeing it.
This Friday is going to be a big day for me. It is Stargate day! Woohoo! Friday marks the premiere of Stargate SG1 season 10 and Stargate Atlantis season 3 on the Scifi Channel.
Another great show that started up last Friday was Psych on USA Network. It is about a guy who pretends to be a psychic, so that the police will let him use his detective skills to solve crimes. Give Psych a try, I predict laugh out loud moments in your future.
Eureka premieres on the Scifi Channel this Tuesday, July 18. I’m not sure what to expect from this new series, but I’m looking forward to giving it a try.
“...federal marshal
Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) wrecks
his car in the town of
Artesia Wins - Archaia Studios Press’s roleplaying game, Artesia: Adventures In The Known World (ISBN: 1-932386-10-6, $39.95, 352 pages, full-color, 8.5‰ x 11‰), recently won the Origins Award for Role-Playing Game of the Year at Origins Game Expo. New supporting supplements are in development by newly hired editor, Joe Martin.
Artesia: Adventures In The Known World is based on the award-winning comic book Artesia. The game uses a modified Fuzion-based roleplaying system.
Mark Smylie, artist and creator said, "When I first saw the list of nominees, I automatically assumed I didn’t have a chance; I was up against books from such established and talented publishers as White Wolf and Eden. I'm extremely honored---and shocked---to win. Saying I’m happy‚ would be an understatement."
GoO Out Of Order? – Remember last time when I talked about the likely end of Guardians of Order (GoO). Well, the design team of The Tekumel: Empire of the Petal Throne RPG posted this on the GoO forum:
“The Tekumel: Empire of the Petal
Throne design team is working on arrangements to keep the game in print.
T:EPT is not in a typical RPG industry situation: Guardians of Order does not
own it, and it will not become a casualty of their problems. Please be patient
as we finalize things; we will tell you as soon as we can. We will give you an
update before the end of July 2006.”
Prepare To
Be Adapted, Resistance Is Futile
Aquaman Is Sunk, But Not Out - According to Wizard Universe, Al Gough hopes to make the failed pilot available for the public. "We're working on a way to get the pilot out there," Gough said. "That's sort of all I can say at the moment. Whether it's some sort of addition on season six of 'Smallville' or not -- we're really proud of the pilot. We'd love for the fans to get a chance to see it. The implication when a network doesn't pick up a show is that the pilot sucks and that's not the case. It's not a perfect pilot by any stretch of the imagination. There are other reasons -- which are a mystery to us -- as to why The CW didn't pick it up. I think it definitely puts Aquaman in a modern context and he's not lame. It's a shame because it would have been a really fun series."
Batman Villain Gossip - Sir Michael Caine was recently interviewed
by Turner Classic Movies where he said that the Joker would appear in Batman Begins 2.
While you’re waiting for Batman Begins 2, why not watch this video, Batman Hullaballoo, where George Hamilton introduces a dancing troupe performing to the Batman (1960s) theme by The Markettess.
Heroes Sneak Peek – On Friday (July 21) you can see the pilot for this upcoming NBC series at San Diego Comicon.
"
Vidaaya!
That is all for now. If you have any questions, comments, scoops, criticisms, or even comic book trivia questions feel, free to send them to me at: marx@paperbackreader.com
Until next time...Marx out.
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