More from Moore

Well, that’s a surprise, to me anyway. Newsarama reports from the San Diego Comic-Con that “Strangers in Paradise” creator Terry Moore will be the new writer on Marvel’s “Runaways” after Joss Whedon. It had already been reported that Moore would be writing “Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane,” also for Marvel. Moore was in the Springs a couple of months ago and acknowledged he had work coming up for a major publisher, but wouldn’t spill the beans then.

From the small screen to comics

DC announced today that it’ll gather the “Heroes” graphic novels that have appeared on NBC’s “Heroes” Web site (www.nbc.com/Heroes) into a hardcover collection. The book is slated for this fall through DC’s WildStorm imprint. A great idea, I say, although I think it’d be cooler if WildStorm would publish some new “Heroes” adventures as well.

"Jonah Hex" headed to the big screen

The Hollywood Reporter says Warner Bros. Pictures is saddling up to bring DC’s “Jonah Hex” to the big screen. The Western tale will have some supernatural elements and is in the hands of filmmakers Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the duo behind “Crank.”

Meanwhile, D.J. Caruso and Carl Ellsworth, the pair behind the hit thriller “Disturbia,” are back together again for the big screen adaptation of Vertigo’s “Y: The Last Man,” the Hollywood Reporter says.

World of Warcraft: The comic book

Attention, gamers. This today from DC:

DC Comics, the world's largest English language comic book publisher and home to Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman announced plans today to publish a new comic book series based on World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment’s popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Preview art from the series will debut at Comic-Con International, held in San Diego, CA from July 26–29.

The World of Warcraft comic book will be published through DC’s WildStorm imprint and debut this fall. The ongoing monthly series will be written by industry veteran Walter Simonson (Thor, Orion) and feature art by Ludo Lullabi and inker Sandra Hope. The first six issues of the World of Warcraft comic series will each feature two covers, one by superstar comic book artist Jim Lee and a second by Blizzard Entertainment Senior Art Director Samwise Didier.

The Warcraft series has been a pillar of gaming culture for over a decade, with multiple #1-selling titles. Blizzard’s World of Warcraft MMORPG allows thousands of players to explore the rich, war-torn setting of the franchise together, and has attracted more than 8.5 million subscribers worldwide. The Burning Crusade, the first expansion to World of Warcraft, recently shattered PC game sales records by selling more than 2.4 million copies in its first 24 hours of release and approximately 3.5 million in its first month.

The first storyline of the new ongoing series begins when a human is found unconscious on the shores of Kalimdor, with no memory of who he is or how he arrived there. Enslaved by an orc shaman, the man must fight for survival against members of both the Alliance and the Horde. He strikes uneasy relationships with other races in his quest to find the secrets of his past.

San Diego lures Hollywood

So, who's headed to San Diego? The latest Entertainment Weekly (the one with "The Simpsons" on the cover) has an article on the San Diego Comic-Con coming this week and its importance to Hollywood. "Hollywood has figured out the location of the supergeek clubhouse," says writer Brad Meltzer. EW also has a review of "A Crooked Little Vein," the debut novel by comics writer Warren Ellis. "If Ellis could just ease up a smidge on the 'is I shocking you?' pedal, he's got a bright future outside of the picture books," concludes reviewer Whitney Pastorek.

Comics on the small screen

The latest TV Guide is its sci-fi spectacular, with plenty of nuggets for comic book fans. There’s a peek at “Star Trek: Year Four” from IDW Publishing, updates on “Smallville” and “Legion of Super Heroes,” and a Q&A with Stan Lee, who we’ll see soon on the small screen with the return of “Who Wants to be a Superhero?” He’s also, TV Guide reports, creating a Paris Hilton cartoon series for MTV. Why, Stan, why?

"World War Hulk" - the rampage continues

Issue No. 2 of “World War Hulk” came out today. I’ve only had time to sift through the pages - that pesky work thing, you know - but it looks like another action-packed issue. It should come as no surprise that Reed Richards, like Black Bolt and Iron Man before him, doesn’t fare well at the hands of the Hulk, who’s out to avenge his exile into space. And though the Thing is right that it's "clobbering time," he's wrong about who's going to get clobbered.

Also at the top of my reading list when I get home: “All-Flash” No. 1, with Wally West back as the Flash - and more than a little miffed at the villains who killed the most recent Flash, Bart Allen.

Headed for the "Final Crisis"

So what is DC’s weekly “Countdown” series counting down to? Check out Newsarama for a teaser to “Final Crisis,” coming May 2008.

Summer reads

The latest Time magazine has an article on well-known authors’ guilty summer reading pleasures. Joyce Carol Oates, it turns out, is a big fan of MAD magazine. And Janet Evanovich lists Dark Horse’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” as her top read.

Green Lantern story a grabber

I picked up two weeks of comics Wednesday at Bargain Comics. First in my stack to read: “Green Lantern” No. 21, which continues the story of the Sinestro Corps. Other than “World War Hulk,” it’s about the most dynamic story in comics right now. I’m always a sucker for the story on the hero facing overwhelming odds. And that’s what Green Lantern is facing these days, with Sinestro leading villains such as Superboy-Prime, the Cyborg Superman and, apparently, the Anti-Monitor. Plus there’s the little problem of Kyle Rayner having been transformed into the new Parallax.

A new dimension

I’m a bit behind on my comics reading, since I missed my weekly trip to the comic book store last week. But I read “Action Comics” No. 851 last night, written by Geoff Johns and “Superman” director Richard Donner and illustrated by Adam Kubert. It’s the one that’s largely in 3-D, and it’s definitely worth a look. The 3-D effects are fun and even serve the story, which is set in the Phantom Zone. According to DC, the world’s first 3-D comic, “Mighty Mouse 3-D,” was published in September 1953. The artist? The legendary Joe Kubert, Andy’s dad.

DC embraces Web comics

DC is moving into Web comics big time, so get your submissions ready now. Here's the press release from DC:

Already established as the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world, DC Comics announced today the creation of Zudacomics.com, a new web comics imprint. The home to such iconic characters as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Sandman, DC Comics will soon publish new, never before seen online content featuring new characters and concepts through Zudacomics.com.

The site is scheduled to launch this October and will feature multiple ongoing web comics. Following the site’s launch, the majority of the web comics will be selected by Zudacomics.com’s visitors, who will vote on new web comics presented to them in periodic competitions. Winners of the competitions will receive commissions to create a year’s worth of their web comics for the site, and will have their work published in print formats as well.
“There is an explosion of creativity in web comics,” said Paul Levitz, DC Comics President & Publisher. “We want to build a great stage for this new generation of creators to perform on, a solid system for their work to reach audiences online and in print, and for the creators to share in the profits their creations can generate. In this time of rapid technological and cultural change, DC wants to be a good publisher for the evolving and growing community of online comic creators, so that we can be their partner for showcasing new kinds of works to entertain future generations.”

Creators will be encouraged to send submissions that run the full gamut of comic book genres—from humor, romance, science fiction, fantasy and superheroes. Editorial for Zudacomics.com will be handled by Ron Perazza, DC Comics Director of Creative Services and Kwanza Johnson, DC Comics Online Editor, and overseen by DC Comics SVP-Creative Director. Richard Bruning. Johnson and Perazza will be charged with selecting the submissions for the site’s competitions; additionally, the editors can declare as many as six submissions as instant winners during the calendar year. All Zudacomics.com creators who are instant winners, competition winners and competition finalists will be paid by DC Comics.

Zudacomics.com’s official tagline is “click here to continue.” The site will have numerous variations of a site logo that reflects the scope and ambition of the imprint. “In designing the Zuda logo, it was important to echo back to the interactive nature of the web, the creativity of our medium and the diversity of the comics community,” said Richard Bruning. “We soon realized that there shouldn’t be just one logo. We wanted to reflect the different ‘faces’ of web comics that we are looking to publish. It’s all about the diversity of the readership and the medium.”

Unlike a traditional comic book page (which traditionally measures 6 5/8” X 10 1/4”), a Zuda web comic will consist of a series of 4:3 aspect ratio screens, so that users will be able to read a web comic installment without opening an additional window in their browser or excessive scrolling. Ongoing Zuda web comics will run for at least 52 total installments, in addition to the initial submission.

DC Comics has chosen IBM Global Business Services to design and build the new Zudacomics.com site. The site will embrace leading Web 2.0 technologies such as blogging, commenting, rating and tagging to encourage maximum community participation and feedback on artists' submissions. The DC Comics creative and technical teams are working side by side with consultants, visual designers, information architects and developers from IBM's Media & Entertainment practice to design everything from the technology architecture to the look and feel and overall user experience for the site. Through the use of open source technologies, the new site will enable collaboration and innovation as well as flexibility to allow DC Comics to continue to enhance the site with industry leading functionality over time.

A final farewell for Cap

I'm in Kansas City this week, and the cover to today's FYI section in the Kansas City Star has an Associated Press article on the funeral of Captain America. The AP says the funeral is in the latest issue of "Captain America," out today, but it's actually in the Iron Man issue of "Fallen Son." (The article even shows the cover of "Fallen Son." )

At any rate, it should be a heart-wrenching issue. And it's not the only funeral today. Look for Bart Allen to be laid to rest in today's issue of "Countdown."