Riddles in the Dark

Haha! Riddler here, taking over the blog for a moment to stump you slow-thinking cretins with a Halloween riddle. Methinks you'll have to chew off your own leg to get out of this snare. The winner for this month wins the recent horror-themed Manbat mini-series. That's right - all 5 books. But as bonus, it'll come with Superman #666, Hack/Slash: Slice Hard, and all 3 Halloween comics solicited by Previews a few months ago. Think you're an insane genius like me, Francis? Maybe you'll be able to figure this one out, but I doubt it.


Delectable, like tearing flesh from the bone,
Though 20 years pass, it stays as sweet,
The oh-two remake, bitter fare,
The oh-seven prequel, did they dare?
It feels like Miami Vice, looks like CSI,
He spreads his wings like an iron butterfly.

The first to comment with their answer on this blog post is the winner. One answer per person - no guessing!

Note: The answers to these riddles will always be something I've talked about in this blog - not necessarily comic-related.

Attempting to answer assumes agreement to the Riddler's rules.

Minor Updates

Update of upcoming movies:

According to Marvel News, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, starring Hugh Jackman, has received a release date of 5/1/09. (added to releases)

Incredible Hulk, Hellboy 2, and The Spirit all have official sites out. (links at right)

Alos note that Hellboy 2 also has a new production blog on the site.

September 2007 Previews Pop Culture Crossover

Better late than never! Well, if I was late in August; I'm really late this month. Of course, when your Local Comic Shop (LCS) doesn't save you a Previews like you asked, and you can't seem to find one anywhere, it's hard to look over the whole catalog...finally, Hit Video in Huntsville gave me their old desk copy. I told him I wanted it for my comic blog, but he didn't really seem to be interested. But it was pretty cool for them to just give me their old copy.

So here I am, writing the September Previews crossover. I didn't want to mess up my run so far, so here's last month's list of other-media trades, new series and graphic novels for last month's Previews.

(Maybe I'll follow up next week with October's.)

TV

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, vol 3 (TPB, Dark Horse)
  Since I got turned on to Buffy so late, it'll be nice to have all the early comics collected into just a few volumes.
• Heroes (Hardcover, DC/Wildstorm)
  The collected on-line comics find print - all 34 chapters from season one.
• Tek Jansen #1 (offered again, Oni Press)
  Yes - Stephen Colbert's fake adaptation from his "unpublished novel." Is the comic so bad they couldn't get rid of the entire run the first time around?

Movies

• Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash (6-part mini, DC/Wildstorm / Dynamite)
  It's a movie monster smorgasborg. Nightmare on Elm Street meets Friday the 13th meets Evil Dead. Good grief.
• God Loves, Man Kills ("Premier" Hardcover, Marvel)
  Hardcover release of the series that X2: X-Men United was partially based on.
• Highlander: Way of the Sword #1 (mini, Dynamite Entertainment)
  So, are the comics as good as the first movie, or as bad as the second? (The third doesn't even count.)
• Wanted (Top Cow, Graphic Novel)
  Re-release of another comics-to-film project - this one starring Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. Due out March of next year.

Books/Stories

• Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born ("Premier" Hardcover, Marvel)
  The collected edition of Peter David and Robin Furth's comic adaptation Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Rumor has it, there's more to come.
• Dracula vs. King Arthur (TPB, Silent Devil)
  Interesting idea...
• The Picture of Dorian Gray (6-issue mini, Marvel)
  The price of immortality. Marvel Illustrated's take on the classic book.
• The Wind in the Willows - Classics Illustrated Deluxe Volume 1 (Graphic Novel, Papercutz)
  Adaptation of the classic book - if it's done well, this could be a pretty cool addition to any comic collection.

Animation

• Red Lotus: Mark of the Warrior (One-shot, Arcana Studios)
  From an animated series on Spike (this past summer). I completely missed it - was it any good?

Games

• World of Warcraft #1 (new series, DC/Wildstorm)
  New ongoing series based on the on-line fantasy game.

Other

• Shifter #1/2 (prelude to a 4-part mini, Fangoria)
  Not really a crossover, but it's Michael Madsen starring in a comic book.
  

Anything else worth mentioning that's coming out in November?

30 Days of Night (2007) mini review

based on a comic
[7/10]

A few years ago, Steve Niles developed a story for a movie pitch - what would happen if vampires visited the northern-most cities in Alaska that go for weeks without sunlight? The movie pitch didn't work out as well as he wanted, and he ended up pitching it to artist Ben Templesmith as an idea for a comic book. A little later, 30 Days of Night was published by IDW. [While you'll continually hear that the movie was based on a graphic novel, it was originally published in regular comic book format as a 3-part mini-series.] As you know by now, the idea came full circle and was released to theaters this past Friday.

That's the plot - a group (tribe? pride?) of vampires, comes to Barrow, Alaska, looking forward to a complete month without having to view the sun (Wikipedia's got an interesting article on Barrow - take a look to see the facts). The film stars Josh Hartnett (Sin City) and Melissa George as Eben and Stella (see also the 30 Days of Night mini-series sequel of the same name - Eben and Stella). Eben is sheriff of Barrow; Stella is his estranged wife. Together with a group of people from the village they attempt to survive until the sun comes out again (including Mark Boone Junior (Flass - Batman Begins, and Wristcutters (!)) and Joel Tolbeck (Ghost Rider)). In addition, the Stranger is played by Ben Foster (Angel - X-Men: The Last Stand, The Punisher).

While it was a good movie, I think that it fell a bit short as a horror film. It just wasn't scary - it was very intense, extremely suspenseful, and very, very bloody - but it's not going to keep me up at night. (Not like that creepy girl in Ringu. *shudder*) It's an interesting take on the vampire tale, and I thought it was worth the time and money spent. It's got a lot of the sensibilities of the comic (which I just finished a little while ago). The story strays somewhat (as is expected), but there are a lot of scenes and lines lifted right from the page.

Dark Horse Comics had a credit (see their name up on the credits at the beginning) - apparently, Mike Richardson (founder of Dark Horse) had some hand in getting it made; he's actually in the IMDB credits as producer (as well as Timecop, The Mask, Hellboy, Son of the Mask, the upcoming Hellboy 2, and the Hellboy animated movies). I probably missed his name in the movie credits. Sam Raimi (director of Spider-Man 1, 2, and 3, and Darkman; producer on Darkman II, III, and Timecop, and the upcoming Priest) is also listed as producer.

See it if you like horror films.


Don't see it if blood makes you a bit squeamish.

This Stuff Never Happens To Me

I'm sure that every comic fan knew about this before me - my mom e-mailed me Wednesday night with the story.

But apparently, a comic book store owner in Ellwood City, PA was snatched up the opportunity to buy a Near Mint version of Detective Comics #27.



Newsarama even got an interview Tuesday.

Of course, some stories may not have the comic book ending...there's a possibility he got took.

Wristcutters: A Love Story

I guess this festival favorite finally found a release date.

This is pertinent, why?

Simply because Wristcutters: A Love Story is based on the short story Kneller's Happy Campers.

And...?

The graphic novel, Pizzeria Kamikaze was also based on that short story.

So, while it's not quite a comic book movie, Wristcutters almost makes it.

Comic Book Tips

Ha! Great tips from VideoJug.


VideoJug: How To Handle Collectible Comic Books

The Riddle Game

Win Jim's Junk Cool Stuff

I was thinking the other day (actually, about 8 or 10 months ago - it's taken me this long to actually do this) that I need to get rid of a lot of the comic-related stuff I've accumulated over the years. I was trying to figure out what to do with it, and thought I might just give it away to the good people who visit my blog.

So, starting in October, I thought I'd invite The Riddler, once a month (approximately), on some random day, to post a riddle. Whoever comments on that post first with the correct answer will win something cool (or at least that I think is cool) from my collection.

Good Luck!

Note: The answers to these riddles, will always be something I've talked about on my blog...though not necessarily comic related.


The fine print:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY!!

All you have to do is be the first to comment on the riddle post of Comic Books, Movies, and Superheroes with the correct answer.

If you are the first correct answer, and you have a link to your blog or website in the post, I can maybe find some contact info there - otherwise, you can find my e-mail by clicking my profile and looking under the About Me section.

And let's give this an honest try! If you think you've really got the right answer - just post once.


The really fine print:

By attempting a guess at the riddle you agree that the prize is awarded upon the condition that Jim is not liable whatsoever for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind resulting from the acceptance, possession or use of any prize; no matter what kind of stupid thing you do. You also agree that Jim shall not be liable in the event of any hardware, software or other malfunctions of any kind, whether due to human or technical error. Jim is also not liable if the delivery agency mutilates or loses the prize en route. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited by law. And let's just play nice!

Terminator Homage in The Batman

Did anyone catch the homage to Terminator in The Batman last Saturday? At first I thought it was just a reference, but the more I look back at the movies, I think it may have been a conscious homage. Of course, we have Metallo - who kind of looks like the Terminator, anyway; but the one that jumped out at me was Robin's "Hasta la vista, baby!"


It wasn't until after I started looking at screencaps did their seem to be more than just the reference above. Maybe just a coincidence, but tell me these look like an accident...


And the spoiler-filled final moments of both:

Release Updates

Added the Dimension Films comedy Superhero at the right, slated for March 28, 2008.

Afro Samurai is up at iTunes - $1.99 an episode, or $9.95 for the complete "season". Hey that's a savings of...oh, it's not. I doubt it's the uncut version; it's listed under TV Shows. Maybe I'll finally get to watch it.

And, apparently, I completely missed the El Muerto (The Dead One) DVD release a couple weeks ago. Crap. That's not on iTunes. I guess I'll have to either buy it or find it at one of the expansive local movie stores we have in Florence.


Thanks to Comics2Film and SuperheroHype!