Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Hickman talks PS: Twilight Guardian

Top Cow's second annual Pilot Season initiative consists of six one-shots by top industry creators featuring new or under-utilized Top Cow characters. After all six issues have hit stands, fans will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite Pilot Season installments at the Pilot Season MySpace page, and the top two vote getters will be awarded their own series. CBR News caught up with Troy Hickman to talk about his contribution to Pilot Season 2008, "Pilot Season: Twilight Guardian," on sale now. READ MORE.




Review: Twilight Guardian #1

This is the weirdest comic I've read in a while.

I picked it up because I recognized Troy Hickman's name and had been pretty pleased with the stuff I'd seen of his previously, and because I was in the mood to pick up something new and different. It's part of Top Cow Productions' "Pilot Season" promotion, where six new series are introduced, and the two that get the most votes from readers will get a new ongoing series next year. READ MORE.




Interview: JG JONES

Newsaramaa Interview with JG Jones.

NRAMA: At what point did you say you weren't going to be a "painter" and decide to become a comic book artist?

JGJ: I went to grad school in Albany and then I moved to New York City. And I was working at a little local newspaper in Brooklyn to subsidize my painting habit. And I just decided I didn't like the people in the art world here. And I got interested in comics again because a friend of mine at the newspaper was a big comic fan. We drew a comic together, and I brought about five pages into a show at the Javits Center, showed them to Jim Shooter. I didn't know who Jim Shooter was, but this big, tall man kept saying, "I want to give you a job," and I kept saying, "I have a job." So I don't know -- it took, like, two months of them calling me for me to realize drawing comics was actually a job choice and something you could do in life. READ MORE.





Preview: Witchblade #118

Top Cow has provided Newsarama with your first look at Witchblade #118, due in stores on June 11th. READ MORE.




Preview: The Darkness #4

Jackie Estacado's self-created problems with women continue next month in Top Cow's , and the publisher has provided us with a look at five penciled and inked pages from the issue. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.




Monday, May 26, 2008

Witchblade teaser site pops up

Sign up to the Witchblade movie site and get the news as it's released, The site is under Construction, But you have to love the teaser image!. http://www.witchblade2009.com/




Friday, May 23, 2008

See the Russian Trailer for 'Wanted'!

Since director Timur Bekmambetov is like the Steven Spielberg of Russia, it's only fitting "Wanted" will debut there a day before it hits theaters in the States on June 27.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE R-RATED RUSSIAN TRAILER FOR "WANTED." WARNING: NOT SAFE FOR WORK OR THE KIDS!

Also, the official movie website has been updated to include links to a cool Facebook application, a "Wanted" widget, and more.

CLICK HERE FOR THE WANTED MOVIE WEBSITE




Wednesday, May 21, 2008

REVIEW: PILOT SEASON'S TWILIGHT GUARDIAN

When Pilot Season 2008 was announced at this year's Wizard World Los Angeles, there was one preview image in particular that drew my eye. Twilight Guardian's promo of a young woman in a hoodie and domino mask standing against a wall in what appeared to be a suburban neighborhood just jumped out at me as a character that I could get behind. Something seemed extremely average yet, at the same time, extremely unique about her. The image delivered what appeared to be perfect juxtaposition for a spin on the superhero genre and make a really engaging read. Plus, Reza' art looked pretty awesome, so I was hooked and ready to dive into Twilight Guardian as soon as it hit stands. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.




Get the Top Cow Gadget on Google

Get the Top Cow Gadget!! With Comic Previews and News about everything you need to know in the Top Cow Universe on your google homepage. CLICK HERE.




Brand New Clip from "Wanted" on YouTube

Still not convinced "Wanted" is going to blow your mind this summer? Check out this brand new extended clip which shows Wesley trying to get away from an assassin...
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE CLIP.

Want to get deeper into the "Wanted" film? Check out this mysterious Fraternity site...


Tuesday, May 20, 2008

INSTORES THIS WEEK

Pilot Season: Twilight Guardian #1
(W) Troy Hickman (A) Reza (Cov) Hendry Prasetyo

Pilot Season 2008 kicks off! Six books enter, two books leave! It’s up to you to decide which one-shot gets their own series next year by voting on your favorite, starting in August when the polls open. It’s your chance to tell us what to publish!
The first book is Troy Hickman’s Twilight Guardian. She’s the hero who could be you! Eisner nominee Troy Hickman (Common Grounds) brings you more of his unique view of the superhero genre, with stunning artwork by Reza. Enter the world of the Twilight Guardian and the nine-block area she patrols each night, a world of everyday intrigue, brown and green gargantuas, marital aids, and yes, donut shops. Superheroics meets slice-of-life as you’ve never seen before!

Full Color 32 pages $3.99 pilot issue
BUY NOW.


Madame Mirage #6
(W) Paul Dini (A) Kenneth Rocafort (Cov) Kenneth Rocafort

Don’t miss the finale of MADAME MIRAGE Season 1! This captivating tale of murder, intrigue and revenge has all the makings of a classic film noir, with a mix of supervillains and high-tech weapons thrown in for good measure. The answers to the questions surrounding Madame Mirage’s motives and her unexpected alliance with the villains of ASI are revealed at last in this issue. Paul Dini’s latest smash comes to a shocking conclusion here!

Full Color 32 pages $2.99 continuing series
BUY NOW.


Interview with Kenneth Rocafort

Wizard Universe caught up with Madame Mirage artist Kenneth Rocafort since issue #6 of the series comes out this week. You can read the interview HERE.




Monday, May 19, 2008

PREVIEW: Pilot Season: Twilight Guardian #1

Pilot Season: Twilight Guardian #1
(W) Troy Hickman (A) Reza (Cov) Hendry Prasetyo

Pilot Season 2008 kicks off! Six books enter, two books leave! It’s up to you to decide which one-shot gets their own series next year by voting on your favorite, starting in August when the polls open. It’s your chance to tell us what to publish!
The first book is Troy Hickman’s Twilight Guardian. She’s the hero who could be you! Eisner nominee Troy Hickman (Common Grounds) brings you more of his unique view of the superhero genre, with stunning artwork by Reza. Enter the world of the Twilight Guardian and the nine-block area she patrols each night, a world of everyday intrigue, brown and green gargantuas, marital aids, and yes, donut shops. Superheroics meets slice-of-life as you’ve never seen before!

Full Color 32 pages $3.99 pilot issue




PREVIEW: Madame Mirage #6

Madame Mirage #6
(W) Paul Dini (A) Kenneth Rocafort (Cov) Kenneth Rocafort

Don’t miss the finale of MADAME MIRAGE Season 1! This captivating tale of murder, intrigue and revenge has all the makings of a classic film noir, with a mix of supervillains and high-tech weapons thrown in for good measure. The answers to the questions surrounding Madame Mirage’s motives and her unexpected alliance with the villains of ASI are revealed at last in this issue. Paul Dini’s latest smash comes to a shocking conclusion here!

Full Color 32 pages $2.99 continuing series






Saturday, May 17, 2008

'Wanted' Featurette Shows How Movie Borrows Heavily from the Comic

Despite what you may have heard about the upcoming film adaptation of the Wanted mini-series (due out in theaters from Universal Pictures on June 27), many of the scenes have been taken straight out of the source material.

In a new featurette that debuted on Empire Online, writer Mark Millar, director Timur Bekmambetov and producer Marc Platt explain how scenes in the movie were ripped directly from the comic, which was superbly drawn by J.G. Jones. The movie stars James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, and Morgan Freeman.

Check out the immensely fascinating clip HERE.




Friday, May 16, 2008

Marc Silvestri Video Interview

The gang over at Comics on Comics caught up with Marc Silvestri at Wizard World LA to ask him about his first convention appearance and how it compares to cons today. There's even some high math involved! Check it out over HERE.




MATT HAWKINS ON THE WITCHBLADE MOVIE

Earlier this week Top Cow Productions, along with its partners Platinum Studios and Arclight Films, announced a new joint production effort to bring Top Cow's signature comic book property Witchblade to the screen in a feature length movie.

First published 1995 with Top Cow founder and CEO Marc Silvestri and superstar comic book artist Mike Turner among the original creative team, the series has centered around, "a deadly ornate gauntlet that gives superpowers to the wearer, a chosen female bearer of each generation, who possesses it", and has previously been adapted into a TNT television movie and then weekly series that ran for two seasons on the cable network, and more recently into a successful anime TV show in Japan. full Story...




Filip Sablik interview with Joo-See

With the announcement this week that Platinum Studios, Top Cow Productions and Arclight Films will team on a live-action feature adaptation of “Witchblade” (based on the Top Cow comic book franchise), I thought it was a good time to check in with Top Cow publisher and friend of Joo-See.com, Filip Sablik!

Before we get to our little chat, a little Witchblade background is in order.

The exact story line and nature of the Witchblade script is being kept under wraps, but the movie will stay true to the Witchblade mythology (which centers around a deadly ornate gauntlet that gives superpowers to the wearer, a chosen female bearer of each generation, who possesses it). CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.




Thursday, May 15, 2008

Top Cow August Solicitations

AUGUST 2008

Broken Trinity #2
(W) Ron Marz (A) Stjepan Sejic (Cov) Stjepan Sejic, Dale Keown

The earth-shattering saga revolving around the three main players of the Top Cow Universe continues! The paths of the Witchblade, The Darkness and The Angelus converge on New York City once more.
By the end of Broken Trinity, a new balance of power will be forged as new players are introduced and at least one established character will be gone forever. The team of Marz and Sejic that dazzled you with First Born xxand their ongoing adventures on Witchblade is back to change the face of the Top Cow Universe one more time in spectacular fashion!

Cover A – Stjepan Sejic
Cover B – Dale Keown

Full Color 32 pages $2.99 Limited Series


Broken Trinity: The Darkness
(W) Phil Hester (A) Jorge Lucas (Cov) Jorge Lucas, Jeffrey Spokes

Depowered and alone, Jackie Estacado latches on to the only two people in the world he still cares about: Sara Pezzini and her baby, Hope. So when the man he’s hired to watch them doesn’t check in, Jackie makes his way back to New York City. But he quickly realizes the journey home is littered with obstacles, and he’s in no mood for delays.
This is the first of three tie-in issues to Broken Trinity, featuring the art of Jorge Lucas (Pilot Season: Ripclaw) and the first of three alternate covers by Jeffrey Spokes (Sadhu: The Silent Ones). Subsequent tie-in issues will feature Witchblade and The Angelus.

Cover A – Jorge Lucas
Cover B – Jeffrey Spokes

Full Color 32 pages $2.99 One-shot


The Darkness #7
(W) Phil Hester (A) Jorge Lucas (Cov) Jorge Lucas, Stjepan Sejic

Never has Jackie Estacado’s dark, evil history served him so well as when he crosses paths with La Bruja de Las Paredes. Fleeing from the Central American country he once ruled over, Jackie runs afoul of the witch, who has enslaved a Mexican town by eating the memories and nightmares of its citizens.
Guest artist Jorge Lucas (Pilot Season: Ripclaw) steps in and shows how his gritty art style perfectly captures the spirit of The Darkness. Stjepan Sejic (Witchblade) contributes a stunning variant cover.

Cover A – Jorge Lucas
Cover B – Stjepan Sejic

Full Color 32 pages $2.99 Ongoing Series


Witchblade #120
(W) Ron Marz (A) Stjepan Sejic (Cov) Stjepan Sejic, Matt Haley, Kevin Nowlan

Shaken by a failed and very nearly deadly romance, rookie bearer Dani Baptiste confronts her feelings of betrayal and realizes this life, and the Witchblade, might not be for her. Dani seeks the advice of Sara Pezzini, who's had her share of experience with both the Witchblade and with being betrayed by men like Ian Nottingham and Kenneth Irons. It's time for some girl talk and some ass-kicking, with Dani's future as a bearer hanging in the balance!

Cover A – Stjepan Sejic
Cover B – Matt Haley and Kevin Nowlan

Full Color 32 pages $2.99 Ongoing Series


Witchblade: Origins Volume 2 Trade Paperback
(W) David Wohl, Christina Z. (A) Tony Daniel, Michael Turner, Marc Silvestri
(Cov) Michael Turner

The adventure continues as Sara Pezzini, bearer of the Witchblade, and now free of Kenneth Iron's grasp, must struggle between being in control…and being controlled. Sara soon discovers that supernatural and weird events are drawn to the Witchblade, or is it the other way around? Life with the Witchblade is always complicated, but at least it’s never dull!
Collects Witchblade #9-17.

Full Color 224 pages $14.99 trade paperback


Wanted Movie Edition Trade Paperback
(W) Mark Millar (A) J.G. Jones

Filled with exclusive new images from the hit movie plus original interviews with the cast and director, this brand-new collection of the hit mini-series is a must for every movie-loving comic book fan. Featuring a movie photo cover, this hot trade paperback is also perfect for those who’ve seen the film but have never read the source material!

Full Color 224 pages $19.99 Trade Paperback


Wanted Poster
(ART BY) J.G. Jones

“Wanted” posters have outgrown post offices with this magnificent, glossy, 24” x 36” wall poster of J.G. Jones cover art from the popular mini-series and now a hit film from Universal Pictures. Perfect for your bedroom, den, dorm room or just about anywhere you need to feel “Wanted.”

Full Color $7.99 Poster


Witchblade/Devi #1 Emerald City ComiCon Exclusive Variant
(W) Ron Marz (A) Eric Basaldua (Cov) Eric Basaldua

Two, beautiful ladies in a seductive pose highlight Basaldua’s mesmerizing variant cover. Limited to 1,000 copies, allocations may occur.

Full Color 32 pages $10.00 Convention Exclusive


Witchblade #117 Emerald City ComiCon Exclusive Variant
(W) Ron Marz (A) Stjepan Sejic (Cov) Eric Basaldua

Basaldua (Witchblade/Devi) provides a stunning, alternate vision of Witchblade bearer Sara Pezzini. Limited to 1,000 copies, allocations may occur.

Full Color 32 pages $10.00 Convention Exclusive


The Darkness #1-6 Empire Pack
(W) Phil Hester (A) Michael Broussard

If you haven’t read the new The Darkness series, don’t miss out! Read “Empire,” the inaugural story arc by Hester and Broussard, with this set of the first six issues. Limited to 100 sets.

Full Color 32 pages each $11.99 Comic Set (6 issues)


Freshmen Summer Reading Pack
(W) Hugh Sterbakov (A) Leonard Kirk, Will Conrad, Jorge Correa, Sheldon Mitchell (Cov) Rodolfo Migliari

New to Freshmen? The complete series co-created by actor Seth Green is now available with this pack containing Volume 1: Introduction to Superpowers, Vol. 2: Fundamentals of Fear, and the recent Summer Vacation Special. Limited to 200 sets.

Full Color 300 pages $29.99 Complete Set (2 Trade Paperbacks, 1 One-Shot Special Issue)



SHEDDING LIGHT ON TWLIGHT GUARDIAN WITH TROY HICKMAN

In Twilight Guardian, writer Troy Hickman is exploring what it might be like for a single middle-aged woman to make that choice in the real world. The main character takes the tragedies of her life and attempts to turn them around by becoming the vigilante Twilight Guardian, trying to do something meaningful in the wee hours of the night. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.




Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Spacedog and Top Cow Kick Off New Contest

Contest gives aspiring comic writers and artists a chance to get published — and paid!

Spacedog Entertainment and Top Cow Productions have teamed up to create a contest where aspiring comic writers and artists can submit their work for publication. The contest, dubbed “Choose Your Own Creator,” launched on May 1st, 2008 and runs through April 15th, 2009. The contest will have 22 winners total that will be paid for their work and be included in the resulting five-part comic series to be published by Top Cow Productions.

Entries can be submitted for the series’ treatment, character designs, individual issue scripts, cover art, black-and-white sequentials, and color sequentials. The contest consists of seven rounds, with each new submission building off the winning entries of the previous round. Contestants are welcome to submit entries for as many rounds as they like.

“Since its inception, Top Cow has been a beacon to comic writers and artists, launching many of the industry’s best. We believe that with Spacedog’s ability to create compelling stories, married with Top Cow’s artistic expertise and credibility, we have the ability to create something special while helping to launch the careers of upcoming artists,” says Roger Mincheff, founder and CEO of Spacedog Entertainment.
Entrants will be responsible for creating a prequel to Spacedog and Top Cow's already successful Proximity Effect graphic novel. To learn more about the contest, visit www.chooseyourowncreator.com.




Monday, May 12, 2008

Witchblade to Hit the BIG SCREEN!

ARCLIGHT FILMS, PLATINUM STUDIOS, INC. AND TOP COW PRODUCTIONS PARTNERING TO BRING “WITCHBLADE” TO THE BIG SCREEN

LOS ANGELES, May 12, 2008 – Platinum Studios, Inc. (OTCBB: PDOS), an entertainment company that controls an international library of more than 5,600 comic book characters which it adapts, produces and licenses for all forms of media, in conjunction with Top Cow Productions, Inc., an entertainment and publishing company specializing in building intellectual properties through comic-book and graphic-novel publication, and Arclight Films, one of the leading international film sales companies, today announced a deal to co-produce a feature film based on the action fantasy thriller Witchblade. The best-selling comic book franchise created by Top Cow has sold over 100 million units worldwide since its #1 debut in 1995.

It is anticipated that the film would be shot on location in Australia. The exact story line and nature of the script is being kept under wraps, but will stay true to the Witchblade mythology, which centers around a deadly ornate gauntlet that gives superpowers to the wearer, a chosen female bearer of each generation, who possesses it.

“Witchblade is one of the premier comic-book titles in the world,” said Gary Hamilton, CEO of Arclight. “This property is the cornerstone of our upcoming production and sales slate and we hope to be able to start production in September 2008.”

Hamilton, Nigel Odell, head of Arclight’s production operations, Platinum Studios’ CEO Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and Steve Squillante of Havenwood Media are all set to produce. Top Cow’s CEO Marc Silvestri and President Matt Hawkins would serve as executive producers as would Platinum Studios’ Rich Marincic. Former Universal Pictures senior executive Randy Greenberg of the Greenberg Group, who helped negotiate the deal with Platinum Studios General Counsel, Helene Pretsky, would also executive produce. Hawkins and attorney Harris Miller negotiated on behalf of Top Cow.

“In my opinion, Witchblade is one of the finest comic-book properties yet to be made into a full-length feature film,” said Platinum Studios’ Rosenberg. “’I believe that Witchblade’s fantastic origin, intriguing mystery and wonderful story should satisfy the core audience while giving all moviegoers an amazing ride.”

“We have been looking for the right opportunity to bring Witchblade to the big screen,” said Marc Silvestri, CEO of Top Cow. “We are fortunate to have production partners who value the story and the characters so much and have a shared vision.”

The Witchblade’ comic book has been published in more than 21 languages and distributed in over 55 countries. The notable success of the comic book led to the highly rated made-for-TV movie in 2000, which spawned a weekly series that ran for two seasons on TNT. The property has been licensed all over the world in action figures, magnets, trading cards, posters, lithographs, skateboards, collectible masks, lunch pails, role playing games, collectible Halloween masks, soundtracks, novelizations, die cast cars, Digital DVD comics, statues, Christmas ornaments and multiple toy lines.

Most recently, Witchblade was licensed in Japan to Gonzo Digimation Holding and made into an anime TV show by Studio GONZO. The first season’s 26 original produced half-hour episodes ran on terrestrial television to rave reviews and ratings -- of the 97 different Anime series on the air in 2006, Witchblade was #17 -- and it was the highest anime debut of an American property ever. Late last year, FUNimation released the Japanese anime to the DVD market in the U.S. and it became the #1 Amine DVD debut of 2007. Witchblade is also the first American property to be fully adapted in Japan as an original anime and manga.

Platinum Studios’s film and TV division has various other properties in development at major film studios, including “Atlantis Rising” at DreamWorks and Kurtzman/Orci (“Transformers”) set to produce “Cowboys and Aliens” again at DreamWorks with Kurtzman/Orci partnering with Universal Pictures partnering with Imagine Entertainment, and “Unique” at Walt Disney Pictures. Platinum Studio has also recently announced its partnering with Hyde Park Entertainment to co-produce “Dead of Night,” based on the beloved Italian comic book series, Dylan Dog.

Top Cow’s TV series Witchblade, which was TNT’s #1 original show of 2000, is set to have the 2001-2002 episodes released on DVD on July 29, 2008. Top Cow’s The Darkness, was developed into a major next-generation video game release by Starbreeze and 2K Games and achieved platinum sales status. Additionally, Top Cow has turned Wanted, the best-selling Eisner Award-nominated miniseries and graphic novel published by Top Cow and written by comics superstar Mark Millar, into a major motion picture that is being released wide on June 27, 2008 by Universal Pictures. The film stars Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, and Morgan Freeman and is directed by Timur Bekmambetov .




ECCC 2008: Top Cow Panel

The emphasis of Saturday’s Top Cow Comics panel at the Emerald City ComiCon was on their Pilot Season Project, though other series were promoted along with one or two surprising announcements. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.




DVD Review - Witchblade Anime Vol 6

When we last looked in on this anime bearer of the Witchblade, Masane found out the relic was quietly killing her, and she definitely didn’t have much longer to live. How can she fend off all the nefarious forces out to take the Witchblade from her, protect her daughter Rihoko, and generally save the world? Obviously that’s what this last DVD in the series was for. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.




Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Rumors of Wanted sequel

Although Wanted, based on the miniseries by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones, doesn’t debut until June 27, it looks as if a sequel is already in the works. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.




Wizard has photos of Image Founder signing

Check out these pics of the magnificent seven together again after 17 years during Free Comic Book Day 2008 CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.




Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Image Comics Founders FCBD Signing

Here are some more pictures from Free Comic Book Day at Atomic Comics in Phoenix. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.






IMAGE COMICS FOUNDERS REUNITE FOR FREE COMIC BOOK DAY SIGNING

Well over 400 fans comprised a line beginning at the back exit of the Atomic Comics Mesa Superstore, wrapping around the exterior of building and ending partially into the parking lot at the front of the shopping plaza. Many stood. Some sat. A few held umbrellas to help alleviate the intense 90 degree Arizona heat. All were there for one reason and one reason alone: to see the seven founders of Image Comics signing together for the first time in history. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.




Free Comic Book Day feat. The Founding Fathers of Image Comics

In the soundtrack of our lives, there's no ignoring Johnny Paycheck's "Take This Job and Shove It," a tune that seemed to be going through the heads of some of Marvel Comics’ most popular and notable young artists of the ’90s. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.


FCBD Broken Trinity review

As The Quarterbin reported a few days ago, last Saturday was FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, in which comic shops and publishers worked together to give away free issues to the general public. Hit the jump for a rundown of this year’s swag. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.