DC’s ‘Blackest Night’s’ Reign Continues

Thanks largely to the success of its Blackest Night event, DC dominated the top ten once again with eight out of the top ten titles in November. Blackest Night #5 actually boosted its circulation by 5% with help from a special ordering incentive that featured seven differently colored "Lantern Promotional Rings." A similar promotion was potent enough to lift Booster Gold #26 into the top 25 at #19. Four other Blackest Night tie-ins, Green Lantern #48, Justice League of America #39, Adventure Comics #4, and Green Lantern Corps #42 all made the top ten.

The top Marvel title was Captain America: Reborn #4, which came in at #3, didn’t ship in November where its absence hurt the Marvel line-up, which couldn’t manage better than a seventh place finish. Marvel still managed to secure 14 out of the top 25 spots with 25th place going to the Thor Giant Size Finale written by JMS, which in spite of a slew of variant incentives (1:25 and 1:50), suffered an 18% decline in sales from the previous JMS issue (#603), which came out in September.

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Comic Book Review - BATMAN: BATTLE FOR THE COWL – THE UNDERGROUND

Context:
Who’s behind the black mask?

Story:
This is a ‘Battle For The Cowl’ tie-in one-shot. The Black Mask, or someone dressed like him, is wreaking havoc in Gotham’s underworld and The Riddler, and Catwoman, are on the case. I have a fondness for film noir, and that’s what this issue reminded of as I was turning the pages. The story takes place from the point of view of two characters: The Riddler and Catwoman. The dialogue background colors were a great way to distinguish who was speaking during the issue and it added a nice touch to the atmosphere of the overall arc.

All of the Batman’s core cadre of villains are here with each getting their own quality time on the page. The Penguin, Harvey Dent/Two-Face, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and of course Catwoman and The Riddler give a bow here. The writing drew me in and gave enough information to want me to keep turning pages, but not so much as to give anything away too soon.

In the very back of the issue is a special preview of ‘The Last Days Of Animal Man’, which is continued in ‘The Last Days Of Animal Man #1? in stores late May.

Art:
Pablo Raimondi’s art in this issue seems to be a direct homage to the film ‘Batman Returns’ starring Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, and Michelle Pfeiffer. The Penguin’s likeness especially is a great rendition of Devito’s character from Tim Burton’s 1992 film.

I liked the way that the colors and shadows blended nicely with the mood of the story. Not too dark, and not too bright, but a nice combination. The pages were clear, crisp, and worked well with the dialogue to complete the plot.

The only thing I missed from the art was more sensuality from Poison Ivy. She just seemed to be standing there in each panel like she’d just woke up from a nap.

What to look for:
The Riddler and Catwoman looking for the same thing but with entirely different methods.

What might put you off:
I didn’t really care for the Riddler’s low-energy part in this tale. Don’t get me wrong. I like the writing. I just would have liked to have seen the Riddler show a little more energy.

Recommendation:
This is a must read addition to the ‘Battle For The Cowl’ story arc and lays a great foundation which is continued in ‘Batman: Battle For The Cowl #3? and ‘Gotham City Sirens’ coming soon. Read more

Green Lantern Movie Set For $150 Million Budget, Filming In Sydney

Warner Bros has decided to shoot The Green Lantern at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney. THR is reporting that the film’s budget is around $150 million. To put that in perspective (and these are all estimated numbers…), Fantastic Four was $100M, Iron Man was $140M, Watchmen was $150M, The Dark Knight was $185M, X-Men: The Last Stand was $210M and Spider-Man 3 topped $258M.

But why Australia? The reported $150 million budget is worth a lot more in Sydney. The production was attracted by the decline in value of the Australian dollar, a 15% location rebate from the Australian federal government, on top of the incentives supplied by the New South Wales government.

The film is planning to begin in July with actual filming scheduled to start in November. The film is currently set to hit theaters on December 17th 2010.

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‘Green Lantern: First Flight’ Gets New Release Date

GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT GETS NEW STREET DATE

FIFTH DC UNIVERSE ANIMATED ORIGINAL MOVIE ARRIVES JULY 21, 2009 FROM Warner Home Video

BURBANK, CA, (April 6, 2008) – The street date for Green Lantern: First Flight, the fifth entry in the popular DVD series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies, has shifted to July 21, 2009. A co-production of Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation, the illuminated hero’s first-ever full-length animated film will be distributed by Warner Home Video. Green Lantern: First Flight will be available as a special edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def for $24.98 (SRP) and $29.99 (SRP), respectively, as well as single disc DVD for $19.98 (SRP). Order due date is June 16, 2009.

Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) leads the cast as the voice of Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern. The cast includes Emmy Award nominee Victor Garber (Milk, Titanic), Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) and Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs). Produced by animation legend Bruce Timm, Green Lantern: First Flight is directed by Lauren Montgomery (Wonder Woman, Superman Doomsday) and scripted by four-time Emmy Award-winning writer Alan Burnett (The Batman).

Green Lantern: First Flight finds Hal Jordan recruited to join the Green Lantern Corps and placed under the supervision of respected senior Lantern Sinestro. The earthling soon discovers his mentor is actually the central figure in a secret conspiracy that threatens the philosophies, traditions and hierarchy of the entire Green Lantern Corps. Hal must quickly hone his newfound powers and combat the treasonous Lanterns within the ranks to maintain order in the universe.

Green Lantern: First Flight - 2 Disc Special Edition and Blu-Ray versions include more than three hours of incredible bonus features as well as a Digital Copy Download.

DVD Details Released for Animated ‘Green Lantern: First Flight’

ComicNews.info has a ton of information on the new animated Green Lantern: First Flight movie coming this summer to a home theater near you…

The fabric of intergalactic justice is threatened – until Hal Jordan arrives for his initial mission – in the animated Green Lantern: First Flight, the fifth entry in the popular DVD series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies. A co-production of Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation, the illuminated hero’s first-ever full-length animated film is set for release by Warner Home Video on July 28, 2009. Green Lantern: First Flight will be available as a special edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def for $29.98 (SRP) and $34.99 (SRP), respectively, as well as single disc DVD for $19.98 (SRP). Order due date for all versions is June 23, 2009.

Acclaimed actor Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) fills the lead voice of Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern. Meloni is joined by fellow Emmy Award nominee Victor Garber (Milk, Titanic) as the villainous Sinestro, Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as the voice of Boodikka, and Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs) as Kilowog.

Produced by animation legend Bruce Timm, Green Lantern: First Flight is helmed by heralded director Lauren Montgomery (Wonder Woman, Superman Doomsday) and scripted by four-time Emmy Award-winning writer Alan Burnett (The Batman).

Green Lantern: First Flight finds Hal Jordan recruited to join the Green Lantern Corps and placed under the supervision of respected senior Lantern Sinestro. The earthling soon discovers his mentor is actually the central figure in a secret conspiracy that threatens the philosophies, traditions and hierarchy of the entire Green Lantern Corps. Hal must quickly hone his newfound powers and combat the treasonous Lanterns within the ranks to maintain order in the universe.

Green Lantern: First Flight - 2 Disc Special Edition versions will include incredible bonus features such as: Read more

Watchmen Motion Comic Coming to DVD & Blu-ray March 3rd

The Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons critically acclaimed Watchmen graphic novel will come to life on both DVD and Blu-ray on March 3rd, three days before the release of the feature film. The Watchmen Complete Motion Comic will be presented in 12 episodes with the two-disc DVD priced at $29.98 and the Blu-ray priced at $35.99. On top of that you’ll also receive $7.50 that you can apply towards the purchase of your Watchmen movie ticket. Win/Win situation if you ask me!

The DVD and Blue-ray will also come with the following special features.
- Sneak Peek of Wonder Woman DVD.
- $7.50 Movie Cash good towards a movie ticket to Watchmen.
- A “prison break” scene from the Watchmen film (Blu-ray only).

Here’s a portion of the Warner Home Video press release.
Watched any great books lately? Now you can. The most celebrated graphic novel of all time that broke the conventional mold continues to break new ground Watchmen illustrator Dave Gibbons oversees this digital version of the graphic novel that adds limited motion, voice and sound to the books strikingly drawn panels. All 12 chapters of the story are here nearly 5 hours spanning everything from the mysterious demise of the Comedian to the crisscrossed destinies of loosely allied superheroes to their fateful impact on the world. Be in the know. Be watching. With Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic.

Source: ComicNews.info

Warner Brothers and Fox Have Reached a Settlement over Watchmen!

Earlier today, we dared to hope that Fox and Warner Brothers might settle their beef over Watchmen this afternoon. Now, The Hollywood Reporter claims that a settlement has been reached:

Warner Bros. and Fox have resolved their dispute over Watchmen, with the studios scheduled to present the settlement to Judge Gary Feess on Friday morning and request that the case be dismissed. Terms of the agreement will not be disclosed, but it is said to involve a sizable cash payment to Fox and a percentage of the film’s box office.

Although Feess originally ruled that Fox retained the rights to at least distribute the film, it will not do so under the terms of the settlement agreement, nor will Fox retain any future rights to the Watchmen property [while Warners issued no comment about the settlement, THR says a Fox spokesman said "no final deal had been reached."]. We’ll see how things play out tomorrow morning, but if everything goes smoothly, it looks like we’ll be able to see Watchmen come March 6th, as we’d always hoped.

With Fox’s lawsuit seemingly over, a number of other questions now emerge. What will become of the relationship between Warner Brothers and producer Larry Gordon? Warners may try to extract reimbursement from Gordon for legal fees incurred during this entire mess. Additionally, with the cost of the film, legal fees, production and marketing, plus the fact that they’re already splitting the distribution of the film with Paramount (and that they co-financed the film with Legendary Pictures), the bigger question is: Will Watchmen be financially successful enough to make it all worth Warner Brothers’ time and money? What do you think?

Source:

/film

New Comics Shipping For The Week Of 12/31/2008

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DC Comics Unveils Book Titles for Summer ‘09

With the end of 2008 near, DC Comics looks forward to 2009 with amazing new book titles from all its imprints. Now, DC kicks things off with a look at the summer book lineup with DC Universe titles for May and June.

Please note that this information is not final and may be subject to change.

Watch for more announcements of summer 2009 titles later this week!

DC Universe titles scheduled to arrive in stores in May include:

BATMAN: THE RESURRECTION OF RA’S AL GHUL TP
Writers: Peter Milligan, Grant Morrison, Fabian Nicieza, Paul Dini and Keith Champagne
Artists: Don Kramer, Jason Pearson, Tony Daniel, David Lopez, Freddie Williams II, Ryan Benjamin and others
Collects: BATMAN ANNUAL #26, BATMAN #670-671, ROBIN #168-169, ROBIN ANNUAL #7, NIGHTWING #138-139, and DETECTIVE COMICS #838-839!
$19.99 US, 256 pages

BATMAN: MAD LOVE AND OTHER STORIES HC
Writer: Paul Dini
Artists: Bruce Timm, Mike Parobeck, Matt Wagner, Dan DeCarlo, John Byrne, Klaus Janson and Glen Murakami
Collects: BATMAN: MAD LOVE, BATMAN ADVENTURES ANNUAL #1-2, BATMAN ADVENTURES HOLIDAY SPECIAL, and stories from ADVENTURES IN THE DC UNIVERSE #3 and BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE VOL. 1
$19.99 US, 208 pages

BATMAN: SCARECROW AND TWO-FACE YEAR ONE TP
Writers: Bruce Jones and Mark Sable
Artists: Jesus Saiz, Sean Murphy and Jimmy Palmiotti
Collects: YEAR ONE: BATMAN/SCARECROW #1-2 and TWO-FACE YEAR ONE #1-2
$19.99 US, 200 pages

BOOSTER GOLD: 52 PICK-UP TP
Writers: Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz
Artists: Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund
Collects: BOOSTER GOLD #1-6 and the origin story from 52 #24
$14.99 US, 160 pages

DC COMICS CLASSICS LIBRARY: ROOTS OF THE SWAMP THING HC
Writer: Len Wein
Artists: Bernie Wrightson, Nestor Redondo and Michael Wm. Kaluta
Collects: SWAMP THING #1-13 and a story from HOUSE OF SECRETS #92
$39.99 US, 320 pages

GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY: A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN TP
Writer: Judd Winick
Artists: Mike Norton, Diego Barreto, Wayne Faucher and Robin Riggs
Collects: GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY #11-14 and GREEN ARROW SECRET FILES #1
$17.99 US, 128 pages Read more

Justice Society Of America: Kingdom Come Special - The Kingdom

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