Hellboy! Hellboy! Hellboy!

Hellboy fan art by Kory Bingaman at Elfwood.com.

The NY Daily News has not one, but three Hellboy articles up today on their site.

The first, 'Hellboy': A match made in Hades, talks with Ron Perlman and Guillermo Del Toro about the path that finally took Hellboy to the big screen. Favorite quote:

"Hellboy would much rather sit and eat a pizza and watch a Marx Brothers movie than go out and save the world." - Ron Perlman

The second, Mike Mignola, Hellboy creator, didn't see character's success coming, is a candid interview with Mignola and how after all his success he still worries no one likes his work. My favorite quote comes from his experience working on concept art for Bram Stoker's Dracula:

"As a reward for the little bit of stuff I did, Francis [Ford Coppola] invited me up to watch a rough cut of the picture," says Mignola. "I assumed it was going to be a dozen guys, but it was just me, him and George Lucas. At that point I was thinking, 'Well, my life has taken an odd turn.' It was pretty weird."

The third, 'Hellboy: The Science of Evil' video game packs a digital punch, reviews the non-movie related game where you get to play the big red guy himself along with Liz Sherman, Abe Sapien and Lobster Johnson. Favorite quote:

"If you have ever wondered what was going bump in the night, the video game 'Hellboy: The Science of Evil' has the answer. It's Hellboy punching the forces of darkness. Repeatedly." - Stu Horvath

Hellboy: The Science of Evil is in stores now while Hellboy II: The Golden Army hits theaters this Friday.

Nerdy News

Welcome to Rapture. Or should I say Hollywood?

Take-Two Interactive is coming together with Universal Studios to develop the highly-successful and awesomely creepy video game "BioShock" into a feature film. Pirates of the Caribbean's Gore Verbinksi will be directing and producing. John Logan of Gladiator and Sweeney Todd fame is in talks to write the script. No other details have been given at this time.

Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K Games, said, "BioShock fans appreciate the depth and complexity of the game, and our partnership with Gore Verbinski will introduce the world of Rapture to an even wider audience. In addition to his impressive body of work, Gore is an avid video gamer and true fan of BioShock. That was extremely important to us in deciding to move forward with this project."

A sequel to the game, BioShock 2, is set to be release in late 2009.

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In other video game news, there's a new "LEGO Batman" trailer online. I know I say this a lot but, it's ridiculously adorable. Especially the little strut they gave Catwoman. But, no Poison Ivy?

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How would you like to attend an Unexpected Party? Peter Jackson and Guillermo Del Toro are inviting you to a live internet chat about The Hobbit. This is similar to what Jackson did before production started on The Lord of the Rings.

"So this is how it will work: we ask all fans with an interest in The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings to send one question to this website. As us anything! Guillermo and I will select and answer the 20 most common questions, so that we can both attempt to address the key issues as best we can," Jackson said in a statement.

The answers will be given during a one hour live web chat hosted by Weta. The chats will start May 1st and continue through May 10th. The date and time of the live chat depends on what part of the world you live in so check the site for details. Besides the chosen 20 questions, Jackson and Del Toro are willing to take additional questions live and chat about the project. They are suggesting it's a good idea to register in advance.

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There is some sad news to report. Illustrator, and one of the founders of Mad Magazine, Will Elder passed away yesterday morning at the age of 86. Journalista! was the first to give word and soon The New York Observer and others followed.

After leaving Mad, he and Harvey Kurtzman worked on an Archie Comics parody "Goodman Beaver Goes Playboy!" Though it resulted in a lawsuit by Archie Comics it garnered the attention of the original playboy, Hugh Hefner. The result was Elder's other famous work with Kurtzman, "Little Annie Fanny," which was published in playboy from 1962 - 1988 and in 2001 was published in trade paperbacks by Dark Horse Comics.

May the hair on his toes never fall off!

After hearing this rumored for months, it's finally official. New Line Cinema announced yesterday Guillermo Del Toro will be directing "The Hobbit." Not only that, he'll be moving to New Zealand for a few years to give it his full attention. The film will be split in two with executive producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh also on the team. You may remember Jackson had sued New Line over "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy profits. "The Hobbit" could not move forward until that was settled, which it was this past December. 

"Contributing to the 'Lord of the Rings' legacy is an absolute dream come true," said Del Toro in a statement. Jackson and Walsh also released a statement saying, "We have long admired Guillermo's work and cannot think of a more inspired filmmaker to take the journey back to Middle-Earth." 

You can find out all you need to know and keep up to date on what's going on with "The Hobbit" at the films official blog, TheHobbitBlog.com. As of right now, filming is set to begin next year with the movies being release in 2010 and 2011. Del Toro is currently out promoting his latest film "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" in theaters July 11th.