Big news for Batgirl! Manhunter not One, but 15 years later! Batman makes sense?! The Holy War has ended but the war in Hell rages on! Vigilante is really boring! All that and more!
The news is surprising seeing as how Dawn Treader was already in preproduction and set for a May 2010 release but not so surprising considering Prince Caspian's lofty drop in profits from the original.
Born Eartha Mae Keith, she had an amazing career that spanned six decades, even keeping busy up until the very end. She taped a PBS special just six weeks ago to air in February and a ringtone of her 1953 Christmas hit "Santa Baby" was just certified gold this month. She garnered Tony, Grammy and Emmy award nominations through the years as well.
It's similar to the image used to tease Countdown in that it's very vague and probably misleading but it's cool to try and decipher anyway. But don't go too overboard. Newsarama later spoke with Daniel who had this to say, "Editorial gave me free reign on all of the Batman suits, so I just did what I thought would look cool. Except the first one, who is obviously Tim, in the classic yellow oval suit." He added that the suits aren't actual designs but rather representations.
Odd Lot Entertainment, the production company behind The Spirit, is in negotiations to secure the rights to Buck Rogers from Nu Image/Millenium. The Hollywood Reporter writes, "Miller will write and direct his own big-screen take on the comic serial; while the creator has only begun to sketch ideas, it's expected to be a darker take, with many of Miller's signature visual elements and themes, such as corruption and redemption."
Majel was a fixture in the Star Trek franchise from day one. After meeting Gene Roddenberry in 1964 he cast her as Number One in the shows pilot with the hefty status of second in command. Unfortunately the studio exectutives weren't ready for a woman with that much authority and ordered a second pilot. Gene wasn't ready to give up on her yet. She changed her stage name, donned a blonde wig and accepted the role of Nurse Chapel. The rest, as they say, is history.
Majel married Gene in 1969 and had an ongoing involvement in his work. Together they had a son, Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Jr. in 1974. She then went on to star as Lwaxana Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation as Deanna's outlandish and determined Betazoid mother. Her most prominent role in Trek was the of the ship's computer for all of the series and most of the feature films. She also lent her voice talents to Star Trek: The Animated Series and various computer games. Majel's parodied her talent as a computer as a guest-star on Family Guy.My mother truly acknowledged and appreciated the fact that Star Trek fans played a vital role in keeping the Roddenberry dream alive for the past 42 years. It was her love for the fans, and their love in return, that kept her going for so long after my father passed away.
Looks like the highlight for me will be DC's Blackest Night #0. We get a look at the new Black Lanterns symbol but unfortunately it's all previously published material inside. It's a good spot to catch up though as the book will include key moments in the Green Lantern universe that led to the "War of Light."
E! Online reported last week that a third Batman film is "alive and kicking" and that Christopher Nolan will indeed return to direct with Christian Bale to star. This is of course from "Warner sources" and "production moles" so take it with a grain of salt for now.
The two starred together in the horror flick Turistas back in 2006 but you probably know Wilde from her recent stint on House M.D. as "Thirteen" and Garrett from Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. 
And that's pretty much all I have to say today! I'm off to eat some delicious food and, from what I hear, a pudding pie with graham cracker crust! Yum!
Newsarama has posted another one of their Q&A's with Dan Didio. I'm posting this one mainly for it's Batman R.I.P. answers which I'm too annoyed about to even consider writing something on. Primarily due to this: "NRAMA: So – fundamentally, “Batman R.I.P” did not end in Batman #681? DD: Correct."
Parents and teachers are asked to encourage their children to "flex their muscles" and make positive changes using their natural "super powers" to create a better, safer tomorrow for themselves and their neighbors. Even small efforts can bring about big changes. Some examples are: recycling, planting trees, taking mass transportation, and reminding adults to take non-plastic carrying bags to the grocery store. Children may submit drawings, paintings, or photographs that show how families, classes, or individuals use their "Earth-Saving Powers" to protect the environment.The contest is only open to residents of NJ and entries must be submitted by December 19, 2008. Every entry wins a free child's exhibit admission. The grand prize is a free class trip to LSC and the second place prize is a free Super Powers party at LSC. For more info and where to send the entries check out Parents Guide.
Shocking news from someone who's live and breathed the JSA since 1999. Here's some of his goodbye:It’s hard to say this but officially, I will be leaving the title after JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #26, which is a single-issue story entitled “BLACK ADAM RUINED MY BIRTHDAY.” Following the Black Adam arc with Jerry and I, #26 will be my last issue, Dale’s last and our fantastic editor Michael Siglain’s last. I think we’re going out on one of my favorite stories to date and I’m glad we are all going out on this together.So, why is he leaving exactly? He says he has more stories to tell. Coming up in 2009 he'll be returning to The Flash, writing Superman: Secret Origin and being "obsessed" with making Green Lantern and Blackest Night the best they can be.
I’ve been writing JSA nearly my entire career. The book has steadily gained new and old fans and, with the re-launch two years ago, fixed itself as one of the staples of the DC UNIVERSE. Since then we’ve remained one of the top monthly books at DC alongside JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and BATMAN.
The JSA to me represents everything good about life, work and superheroes. In life, generations past, present and future all provide different viewpoints. There can be something magical when it’s past from grandfather to father to son or from mother to daughter or son to grandfather. There’s nothing more important than family – and family means a lot more than just blood relatives. That’s what my very first book, STARS & S.T.R.I.P.E., was about and that’s what JSA, and life, is about.Thanks for the memories Geoff and keep up the amazing work.
Summit Entertainment and Hardwicke jointly announced the director of the highly successful Twilight would not be returning for the sequel New Moon. The reason? Hardwicke's required prep time does not mesh with Summit's targeted late 2009, early 2010 release. "Catherine did an incredible job in helping us to launch the Twilight franchise and we thank her for all of her efforts and we very much hope to work with her on future Summit projects," said Erik Feig, Summit's President of Production. "We as a studio have a mandate to bring the next installment in the franchise to the big screen in a timely fashion so that fans can get more of Edward, Bella and all of the characters that Stephenie Meyer has created. We are able to pursue an aggressive time frame as we have the luxury of only adapting the novels into screenplays as opposed to having to create a storyline from scratch."
Hardwicke had until recently been thought a candidate to helm the sequel, titled "New Moon," but word began to circulate in the industry that the relationship between Summit and the helmer has not always been smooth.
The Hollywood Reporter states Six Degrees creators/executive producers Stu Zicherman and Raven Metzner will be writing the script and describes the two as "lifetime comic book fans," who are also fans of Fables. David Semel will be directing what's said to be an hour long drama following the fairy tale characters in their exiled home in modern day New York.
Ok, so technically you already have control of your light-switches and power-outlets but they'll be much cooler with this around them. Star Trek: The Next Generation plate covers. Made by son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, Eugene Roddenberry, these are the perfect gift for any ST fan. And by any, I mean me. Though I bet this guy buys them in gross.
"The magic isn't glass slippers, it's wands and spells," Levine explained enthusiastically at the unveiling of his copy at the New York Public Library yesterday morning. His book will be on display for all to see at the library's Humanities and Social Sciences Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street now through January 4, 2009. It seemed almost inevitable the book would have to be published for the public to own a copy for themselves and indeed, TBTB is available in-stores and online internationally today.
As you may recall, last year Rowling presented the Children's High Level Group, a charity she co-founded, with the last of her seven copies knowing it would be auctioned off to their benefit. It was a highly publicized event at Sotheby's that resulted in online seller Amazon purchasing the original for almost $4 million. "Out of that came the plan, well wouldn’t it be nice as a way to raise further funds for the charity, to distribute it in a wide way," said Levine. The net proceeds of the standard edition, UK edition and Amazon's exclusive collectors edition will go to supporting the work of the charity. 
Besides loving anything Potter, why are fans so enthusiastic about this new release? Part of the story behind The Tales of Beedle the Bard is that it's been translated from ancient runes by Hermione who's also uncovered Dumbledore's personal conclusions and theories on the subject. So, in the real life book Levine explains, "[Dumbledore] comments on the stories and what he thinks they mean and how they’ve been interpreted and gives a wonderful wizarding historical background and then occasionally she, J.K. Rowling, comments on Dumbledore’s notes, commenting on the stories." A story, within a tale, wrapped in a fictional world. Impressive.
Grant Morrison pulled a lot from Batman's long and varied past for this series (ComicMix has a great guide up) and I know a lot of that was lost on me but that's not what's so bothersome. In my opinion, R.I.P. was billed as it's own story and something like that should have an explicit ending. Anyone who's read it, knows it didn't. We were left with vague explanations of who the villain actually was. Yes, Batman's story continues after R.I.P. but wasn't there supposed to be a real conclusion?
Morrison hints that we’ve seen the last of Wayne. But what of Batman? “Well, do you really think a helicopter crash is enough to kill Batman?” he laughs. “The ultimate story of Batman is ongoing. Don’t forget he’s been around a while. He's 70 next year. The story of these characters is never ending.”Morrison goes on to say he thinks the status quo will eventually be restored but, "I don’t see the value in killing the character for the sake of it. I like exploring their mortality to see if they can survive in other ways. It gives them more depth.”
Believe it or not the first thing I noticed on this page of Terra #2 was not the naked, screaming woman, but Power Girl's ridiculously cute expression and posture. I really need Amanda Conner to draw me now. Doctor Mid-Nite's reaction is also a plus.
If you're easily distracted by scantily clad women you might miss the gem that occurs within those three skin-bearing pages. Doctor Mid-Nite picking up Owl poop from the floor with a moist toilette. Or "Fowl Towls" as they are so aptly named in a previous panel. PG's reaction is pretty great here too.
Speaking of fowls, this gem appears in House of Mystery #7. It's from the story inside the story called "The War" drawn by David Petersen. He said there'd probably never be a house cat in Mouse Guard so I was thrilled to see him draw some kitties here. Some of the panels made me rather sad (I hate to see cats hurt) but this one made me giggle. I've seen my cat in that pose many times, fortunately without the attacking birds. Reowr!
Last but not least is another work of Petersen's, the latest issue of Mouse Guard, Winter 1152 #4. Take a minute and see if you can figure out why this interested me so much before you read on. Mixed in with an enormous amount of mice bones (makes Jill sad) is a well-hidden Millennium Falcon (makes Jill happy)! It's harder to find within the context of the cover as a whole so I cropped it down to hopefully make it more prominent. David Petersen, you rock.
