11/06/13 @ 3:41 pm EST
In another peer to peer interview from Dynamite Entertainment, Nancy Collins chats with Devin Grayson and Gail Simone about taking on Red Sonja as part of the new Legends Of Red Sonja series being released during the characters 40th anniversary. First Devin Grayson: NANCY COLLINS: What inspired you to give your Red Sonja story in LEGENDS OF RED SONJA #1 a nautical spin? DEVIN GRAYSON: I haven’t played with magic much in my comics writing, but it’s been factoring heavily into some prose work I’m doing now–a YA novel series about a young ghost hunter and her friends, one of whom is a mage. So the chance to work with an artist who could bring some of those themes to life was irresistible. Magic in Sonja’s world—as shown so beautifully in your story– is dark, powerful, raw and dangerous…essentially a force of nature in and of itself. So I wanted something that would echo that visually, a setup in my story that would lead to people being visibly out of control of their environment, such as fire at sea. And the moment I seized on that, a whole mood and tone and antagonist for the story fell into place. Or maybe I just watched that Science Friday “Where’s the Octopus?” video on YouTube too many times. NC: Did you have an interest/background in heroic fantasy prior to being brought on the Legends of Red Sonja project? DG: Not in my reading or writing life, but I’m an avid RPGer, and when you’re gaming—whether online or in traditional pencil and dice campaigns—you’re going to end up submerged in heroic fantasy. Most relevant to this project was the online game Age of Conan. I never actually played it, but before the game officially launched, the role playing crowd took over one of the Beta message boards to use for Conan-themed round robin story-telling. I was very active there, playing an Aquilonian guard, so Sonja’s world felt like a place I’d already lived. NC: You’ve worked in the video game industry in the past. How does writing for games compare to writing comics? DG: There are a lot of similarities. Both start as blank pages but grow up to be primarily visual media, both have a commitment to inviting the audience to identify with the characters in as immediate a way as possible and both are shaped by external story limitations—continuity in the case of comics and game mechanics in the case of video games. Both are also unusually social experiences for a writer. Unless you’re working with a partner, writing is usually a pretty solitary exercise. Being alone with a story is one of my favorite parts of the writing experience. But with both comics and video game scripts, you’re just a cog in the wheel, working as part of a team and relying on those other team members to bring your vision to life. I love finishing a manuscript and eventually getting to hold an actual book in my hands, but it’s a whole different kind of thrill to finish a script and eventually get to see the characters acting out the dialog. NC: Do you have anything on deck for 2014 that your fans should keep an eye out for? DG: In addition to the YA novel series I briefly mentioned –which won’t make its debut in 2014–I’m currently working on a radio play, which will, and a few other projects it’s too early to talk about. I’m really enjoying being back in comics though and, who knows, there may even be some more work with Dynamite in my future. And now over to Gail Simone: NC: What inspired you to propose an All-Woman jam to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Red Sonja? GAIL SIMONE: I have to give a lot of credit for this to Dynamite and to Nick Barrucci. They are just fantastically open to ideas, and consequently, you don’t feel like the doors are all shut and locked before you even try to open them. I had what I thought was a fun idea, to have all the covers of my run on the ongoing RED SONJA title be drawn by women, all my favorites, and it’s just worked out amazingly well…they all turned out beautiful. And it made this nifty little side statement, as well, that some of the very best artists in the business are female, AND could draw this sword and sorcery stuff beautifully. It was such a success, it made me think of how fun it would be to invite a bunch of my writing heroes to try the same thing, women who had provided inspiration to me with the quality of their work. It turned out to be one of the most fun and rewarding things I’ve ever been a part of, we were all collaborating immediately. And we brought back people like Devin Grayson, Tamora Pierce and yourself, Nancy, to comics, who have been gone for too long. And we got Mercedes Lackey’s and Meljean Brook’s first comics stories, and a-list artist Nicola Scott’s first scripting credit…it just makes me happy. I am proud to be in this company, even if I cheated and put myself in! NC: Did you have an interest in heroic fantasy prior to landing the monthly RED SONJA gig? GS: Oh, yeah, absolutely. I often see people who object to the blood or flesh in this genre, particularly in the Robert E. Howard-inspired stuff, but really, I like it. It feels very primal, very ill-mannered. It’s not like the Tolkien stuff that I also love, it’s sweatier and lustier. But you can tell very sophisticated stories with the genre, heartbreaking and heart-soaring stuff. I love it. C: How does it feel being the first woman to write for Red Sonja in the 21st century? GS: Is that actually true? I believe one of my other heroes, the great Jen Van Meter, did a Sonja one-shot just a couple years back. But as ONE of the first, what can I say, it’s one of those joyful things that happen that could never be predicted. I always loved Sonja, now I get to do ferocious things with her. NC: What up-coming comics and special appearances can your fans look forward to in 2014? GS: A lot, and some things I can’t mention yet, but the hugely successful Kickstarter graphic novel I did with co-creator and artist Jim Calafiore, LEAVING MEGALOPOLIS, is finally out to backers, and I am thrilled about that. I’m writing the TOMB RAIDER comic for Dark Horse, which has all the good history and travel stuff I love so much. I’m writing BATGIRL and THE MOVEMENT for DC Comics, both very close to my heart. And of course the LEGENDS OF RED SONJA anthology and the ongoing Sonja monthly title for Dynamite. There may be a few surprises, as well, it’s been a year of big changes for me. As for appearances, yikes, my convention calendar is mostly filled up until 2015, but very few have been announced yet, so I have to keep mum about that. Legends Of Red Sonja #1 goes on sale November 6th and features a cover by Jay Anacleto and interior art by Jack Jadson, Noah Salonga and Carla “Speed” McNeil. Nancy A. Collins is the author of numerous novels, short stories, and comic books, including DC Comics’ Swamp Thing. A recipient of the Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker Award, The British Fantasy Society’s Icarus Award, as well as a nominee for the International Horror Guild, John W. Campbell, James Tiptree, Eisner & World Fantasy Awards, her works include Sunglasses After Dark, Lynch: A Gothik Western, and Knuckles And Tales. Legends of Red Sonja #1 marks her return to comics, and her newest novel is Magic And Loss, the 3rd book in the Golgotham series, scheduled to be released November 5th. <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]-->
02/05/25 @ 8:55 pm EST

Ben Affleck is ramping things up on his upcoming Netflix thriller Animals. He not only will direct the pic but star as well, Deadline is reporting. Insiders add that Gillian Anderson also is aboard. The plan is for the film to shoot in Los Angeles from a script by Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray. Plot details are being kept under wraps other than the film revolving around a kidnapping. Affleck was eyeing this film as his next directing outing last year but was only planning to direct, with Matt Damon in line for the starring role. A holdup with the rights delayed start of production, and Affleck ultimately had to move on to a sequel to The Accountant with Animals pushing. Affleck still wanted to make Animals, and after starring alongside Damon in another Netflix and Artists Equity crime thriller RIP, which will bow later this year on the streamer, saw an opportunity to make Animals his next movie.
02/05/25 @ 8:58 pm EST

BOOM! Studios today revealed a first look at WYND: THE POWER OF THE BLOOD #3. Eisner and GLAAD Award Winner James Tynion IV, visionary artist and GLAAD Award Winner Michael Dialynas, and letterer AndWorld Design continue the much-anticipated adventures in the years-long, Eisner and GLAAD Award-nominated fantasy series with WYND: THE POWER OF THE BLOOD, with the third issue of the much-anticipated new bi-monthly series continuing in March. The Teen Vamp and Yorik must rescue Wynd from Zedra and the malignant machine that is harvesting his blood. But to do so, they’ll have to contend with the forces of Zedra’s army and her vampiric guards! WYND: THE POWER OF THE BLOOD #3 features main cover art by series artist Michael Dialynas and variant covers by acclaimed illustrators Frany (The Neighbours) and Tula Lotay (Faithless). WYND: THE POWER OF THE BLOOD is the newest release from BOOM! Studios’ eponymous imprint, home to critically acclaimed original series, including BRZRKR by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, and Ron Garney; Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera; bestselling horror anthology Hello Darkness; Grim by Stephanie Phillips and Flaviano; Stuff of Nightmares by R.L. Stine and A.L. Kaplan; A Vicious Circle by Mattson Tomlin and Lee Bermejo; Ghostlore by Cullen Bunn and Leomacs; Rare Flavours by Ram V and Filipe Andrade; Underheist by David and Maria Lapham; Animal Pound by Tom King and Peter Gross; Minor Arcana by Jeff Lemire; Vicarious by Ryan Parrott and Eleonora Carlini; The Creeping Below by Brian Azzarello and Vanesa Del Rey; and the upcoming Bronze Faces by Shobo, Shof, and Alexandre Tefenkgi; and In Bloom by Michael W. Conrad and John J. Pearson. The imprint also publishes popular licensed properties, including Dune: House Corrino from Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Simone Ragazzoni; Power Rangers Prime by Melissa Flores and Michael YG; and The Expanse: Dragon Tooth by Andy Diggle, Rubine, and Francesco Pisa. WYND: THE POWER OF THE BLOOD #3 will be available in comic shops on March 5, 2025. It is available for pre-order at your local comic shop. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including Kindle, iBooks, and Google Play. Wynd: The Power of the Blood #3 A: Main: JAN250050 Wynd: The Power of the Blood #3 B Variant: JAN250051 Wynd: The Power of the Blood #3 C: 1:10 INCV JAN250052 Wynd: The Power of the Blood #3 D: 1:20 INCV JAN250053 Wynd: The Power of the Blood #3 E: Unlockable Variant JAN250054         
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02/05/25 @ 6:25 pm EST

While Sony’s universe of Spider-Man spinoff films may have collapsed, there are still plans for Spider-Man TV series spinoffs in the works. The first of these projects will be the live-action TV series Spider-Noir starring Nicolas Cage, who is reprising his role as the Spider-Man Noir character from the animated Spider-Verse films. The cast of Spider-Noir has been growing as the show has been in production. Today two new names have been added to the cast: Amy Aquino (best known for playing Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan’s therapist in Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) and Andrew Robinson (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). Character details for both actors are being kept under wraps. The series is set in an alternate reality of Marvel’s New York City, 1930s era, where we find Spider-Man Noir is an aging private investigator and the only superhero the city has. Spider-Noir will stream exclusively on MGM+ before expanding to Amazon Prime Video. (via ComicBook.com)
02/05/25 @ 3:01 pm EST

Universal has unveiled the trailer for “Jurassic World Rebirth.” This feature will mark the seventh film in the 31-year-old cinematic franchise. The official synopsis for “Jurassic World Rebirth” reads: “Five years post-‘Jurassic World Dominion,’ an expedition braves isolated equatorial regions to extract DNA from three massive prehistoric creatures for a groundbreaking medical breakthrough.” Scarlett Johansson plays Zora Bennett, a covert operations expert hired to lead an expedition to secure genetic material from three dinosaurs. The cast also includes Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Ed Skrein, Mahershala Ali, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, Philippine Velge, David Iacono, Audrina Miranda and Bechir Sylvain. “Jurassic World Rebirth” filmed in select locations in Thailand, London and California. The film will be distributed by Universal and is set for a theatrical release on July 2. (via Variety) Trailer: https://youtu.be/jan5CFWs9ic
02/05/25 @ 2:54 pm EST

L-R: Byron Mann, Milo Ventimiglia, Ashley Greene and Anson Mount Byron Mann (Wu Assassins), Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us), Ashley Greene (Twilight) and Anson Mount (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) are set to topline Kill Him ‘Til He’s Dead, a sci-fi action film from writer-director Michael Winnick (Guns, Girls & Gambling), which has wrapped production. Fivel Stewart (The Recruit) rounds out the cast. The film follows a broken-down hitman (Mann) who finds himself waking up in different bodies as he tries to save the love of his life (Greene) from a ruthless tech titan (Ventimiglia) and his deadly associates (Mount & Stewart). Lan Kay (Bob Trevino Likes It) is producing via Lankis Entertainment, alongside Winnick, Mann, Charles Berg and John Zhang. (via Deadline)
02/04/25 @ 1:41 pm EST

Jurassic World Rebirth is expected to be one of the biggest movie trailers to drop during Super Bowl LIX, and Univeral Pictures has let the hype train out of the station for an early promotional run. Today brings a teaser for the upcoming trailer, featuring stars Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali in what look to be some dire straits. This first promotion seems to be selling director Gareth Edwards’ (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) dark and thrilling vision of the Jurassic World franchise. Jurassic World Rebirth has a theatrical release date of July 2nd. (via ComicBook.com) Teaser: https://twitter.com/i/status/1886807176242462981
02/04/25 @ 1:24 pm EST

The first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps teases a retro-future world and an impending threat from Galactus, one of Marvel’s most famous antagonists. The Fantastic Four is one of the most anticipated Marvel movies in some time, as fans have waited years for the Kevin Feige-led studio to make a film starring Marvel’s First Family, as the team is known. The Fantastic Four are a cornerstone of the Marvel Universe in the comics, with writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby’s 1961 Fantastic Four No. 1 launching the universe. But the property has never had its due on the big screen. It spent decades at 20th Century Fox, which made a pair of middling movies in the 2000s and a universally reviled 2015 feature. (A 1994 Roger Coreman-produced Fantastic Four was famously never released). The Fantastic Four: First Steps has a July 25 release date. (via The Hollywood Reporter) First official trailer: https://youtu.be/AzMo-FgRp64
02/04/25 @ 1:14 pm EST
Oni Press – the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning publisher of groundbreaking comics and graphic novels since 1997, is proud to present an extended look inside PLAGUE HOUSE #1 — the FIRST ISSUE of a deep and disorienting reinvention of the haunted house genre from acclaimed writer Michael W. Conrad (Wonder Woman, Double Walker) and 2024 Ringo Award-winning artist Dave Chisholm (Miles Davis and the Search for the Sound)! On April 2nd, it’s not the house that’s haunted… It’s the soul of America itself when PLAGUE HOUSE #1 makes its damnable debut! “I've always loved horror books, movies, and comics--the weird, the occult, and ghost stories are part of my DNA--and so I am incredibly pumped to get to make this book with Michael and Bess Pallares and everyone at Oni Press,” said artist Dave Chisholm. “Michael's story works on so many levels--it's got great characters, it's got a fresh take on the haunted-house genre that's relevant--and it's scary, shocking, and fun all at the same time. I'm really bringing everything I've got to this art, too, and I can't wait for this book to keep people up at night.” “As I’ve worked on this PLAGUE HOUSE I’ve discovered things about myself that I’m not entirely comfortable with, and perhaps that’s where true horror lives,” said writer Michel W. Conrad. “PLAGUE HOUSE is a story about haunted locations, how they work, and the demands they make of the living. It’s a story about violence, revenge, and the petty vulgarity that can get trapped in locations soiled by violence. PLAGUE HOUSE is a horror story about us, and the specters created in the wake of our most selfish deeds.” Thirteen years ago, Orin McCabe was a family man living a privileged life in the suburbs. Today, he’s condemned to death row for murdering his entire family in an unexpected fit of hammerwielding brutality. In the aftermath of his heinous crime, it’s fallen to a trio of eclectic, but dedicated, ghost hunters—Jacob, the holy man; Holland, the skeptic; and their leader, Del, a true believer in the occult and worlds beyond—to surveil the abandoned McCabe home in search of proof for the existence of the undead . . . and whatever supernatural source may have possibly fueled McCabe’s inhuman massacre. But this ill-matched and uneasy squad of investigators is about to discover something much more terrifying than any ordinary spirit. . . . Something much more pernicious, much more contagious, that if not contained, could take full advantage of America’s unquenchable appetite for violence and deliver a plague of blood unto us all . . . These never-before-seen preview pages usher you into a strange and dangerous world stained with blood, fear, and the deepest depths of the unknown... In addition to the issue’s main cover by Dave Chisholm, PLAGUE HOUSE #1 will feature variant covers from Brian Level (Star Wars: Vader – Dark Visions), Noah Bailey (Wonder Woman: Black and Gold, Tremor Dose), Nathan Ooten (Neptune), and Alex Eckman-Lawn (Mouse Guard: Legends of The Guard, Art Brut). The infection is coming, whether you’re ready or not, when PLAGUE HOUSE #1 begins to spread this April! PLAGUE HOUSE is the next chapter in Oni Press’ genre-colliding slate of must-read titles for Spring 2025 that also includes MINE IS A LONG, LONESOME GRAVE #1 by Justin Jordan & Chris Shehan (February), FREE FOR ALL #1 by Patrick Horvath (March), OUT OF ALCATRAZ #1 by Christopher Cantwell & Tyler Crook (March), and THE GODDAMN TRAGEDY #1 by Chris Condon & Shawn Kuruneru (April.)
      




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02/03/25 @ 9:50 pm EST

Those rumors of Marvel Studios re-casting the part of T’Challa in the Marvel Cinematic Universe appear to have been greatly exaggerated. The rumor popped up last month and stated that Marvel is reportedly looking to replace Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa for future appearances, such as Black Panther 3. ComicBook.com spoke to Nate Moore, the VP of Production & Development at Marvel Studios, in support of Captain America: Brave New World. When asked about the rumors of finding a new T’Challa to play Black Panther, Moore shot them down. “The truth is, there’s no truth to those rumors. Never say never to anything, we haven’t really had a lot of creative conversations with Ryan Coogler yet, because he’s finishing his film Sinners, which comes out this year,” Moore said. “We’ll get into it later this year, but everything you read online is not true, if for no other reason than we just haven’t started [working on it].” One person we know who will be starring in Black Panther 3 is Denzel Washington. The famed actor revealed he’d be a part of Black Panther 3 in November while promoting Gladiator II, although it’s unclear what his role in the movie will be.
02/03/25 @ 9:35 pm EST

In every generation, there is a chosen one — again. Variety is reporting that a sequel series to the beloved show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is nearing a pilot order at Hulu. Sources say that Sarah Michelle Gellar is in final talks to once again play the iconic title character in the untitled project, although it would focus on a new Slayer and Gellar would appear in a recurring role rather than leading the series. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” has proven to be a massive cult hit and highly influential since its debut. The series is credited for helping to popularize ongoing story arcs in television while also building a show around a strong female lead. It is frequently cited as one of the best television shows of all time.
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