Writers and Artists Unite
SATURDAY @ the Grace Emily July 4th

Prospective writers and artists, professional scribes and illustrators, curious comic buffs and those up for a great chat or just a relaxing time are all more than welcome to get down to the Grace Emily Hotel, 232 Waymouth St Adelaide on Saturday the 4th of July from 2pm for the usual monthly gathering of awesome talent!

Yes, the Grace plays host to everyone creatively minded on a sunny Saturday afternoon; kitted out with some snacks and PFC-funded happy hours, how can you possibly go wrong?

Tango 9 Submissions due by the end of December

Cardigan Comics is once again seeking submissions for the annual Australian Romance Comics Anthology, TANGO.
This issue, the theme is 'Love and War', the deadline is August 31 (December release), and we are looking for stories 1 to 8 pages in length.

For more information, visit our site www.cardigancomics.com

Some earlier Tango anthologies are available at Pulp Fiction Comics, as well as all other exceptional comic stores.

Willingham, Andreyko team for Dynamite project

Fables writer Bill Willingham and Manhunter scribe Marc Andreyko will co-write a forthcoming Dynamite Entertainment project blending the superhero and fantasy genres, with plans for an initial six-issue limited series to lead into a longer epic. More details including the series title and artists will be announced at the San Diego Comic-Con later this month.

Japanese PM eyes manga museum

Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso is pushing ahead with plans for a $150 million museum dedicated to the history of manga, anime and Japanese comics culture, despite the country currently languishing in its worst recession since World War II. The cost of the venture has attracted criticism from opposition parties and members of the public but Aso, a self-declared manga fan, has countered that he is merely implementing a proposal introduced by the previous government.

JMS signs off on Thor

Bleeding Cool and the latest Marvel Previews catalogue have confirmed widespread rumours that writer J. Michael Straczynski is wrapping up his hugely acclaimed tenure on Thor with September's Thor: Defining Moments Giant-Size #1, a 64-page special illustrated by Marko Djurdjevic. The series has been a surprise hit for Marvel since its relaunch in July 2007 topped the sales charts for that month.

Current Thor artist Olivier Coipel is also tipped to be leaving the title, with Brian Michael Bendis recently revealing he is working a new project with the French illustrator with whom he collaborated on 2005's House of M.

Local comics anthology news

Issue #3 of Fist Full Of Comics (the bi-monthly comics anthology zine that focusses on South Australian creators) is out now and available from Pulp Fiction Comics! Hurry in to get your hands on our limited stock! The call is out now for people who would like to contribute to issue #4. For submission guidelines and more details, visit http://www.myspace.com/fistfullofcomics.

Rodriguez, Alba to adapt The Insiders?

ICv2 is carrying reports from the French media that Sin City director Robert Rodriguez and star Jessica Alba are looking to produce a movie adaptation of European series The Insiders, by writer Jean-Claude Bartoll and artist Renaud Garreta. Centred on a Colombian super-spy tasked by the US government with infiltrating a global crime syndicate, the graphic novel series has proved a hit on the continent with the seventh and latest volume selling over 30 000 copies; Cinebook is preparing to adapt the series into English with the first volume scheduled for release in October.

HeroesCon/WW Philly Marvel highlights

Norman Osborn's rise to power continues in the forthcoming Dark Reign: The List, with various writer/artist pairings spotlighting characters and teams including the Avengers (Brian Michael Bendis and Marko Djurdjevic), Daredevil (Andy Diggle and Billy Tan), Spider-Man (Dan Slott and Adam Kubert), X-Men (Matt Fraction and Alan Davis), Punisher (Rick Remender and John Romita Jr) and more.

With Doctor Octopus set to appear in the forthcoming Amazing Spider-Man #600, more classic Spidey villains will return later in the year in a series of connected story arcs under the banner 'The Gauntlet'. Mary-Jane Watson will also rejoin the book as a regular supporting character.

The new Sorcerer Supreme takes on dark forces in the Rick Remender-penned ongoing Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural, while the deposed Stephen Strange will feature in a four-issue miniseries by Mark Waid. Moon Knight will also be relaunched in a new ongoing series Vengeance of the Moon Knight by Gregg Hurwitz and Jerome Opena.

Little-known Marvel barbarian character Starr the Slayer, introduced in the 1970s by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith, is set for a revamp in a four-part mature readers series from writer Daniel Way and artist Richard Corben.

 

Robinson & Bagley new JLA team

DC has announced via its blog The Source that writer James Robinson and artist Mark Bagley are the new creative team of Justice League of America, beginning an ongoing run on the title in October.

Don't Touch the Office Sponge
-Completely true tales from the workplace by Niki Wallace

Don't Touch the Office Sponge is a new book by South Australian singer/writer/artist Niki Wallace, proudly available through Pulp Fiction.
What can you expect?

"Forget swine flu, what’s that hanging out on your office sponge?
Sponge germs are far scarier and far more prevalent than swine flu or any other National Health Alert, but they can be stopped," says Niki.
"Don’t touch the office sponge. It’s common sense, it’s a way of life; and it’s an adult story book about germs and horrible offices and if you’re an adult then you’ve probably been exposed to both - eep!"

So what can YOU do about it?
Come along to the book launch 7pm on Thursday July 2 at the Wheatsheaf Hotel where you can meet Niki in person, or get yourself an advance copy from Pulp Fiction Comics, and online at www.nikiwallace.com

Hardcover (sporting a "sponge" motif) and softcover editions of Don't Touch the Office Sponge are available from all superb outlets.

Planetary finale to land in October

Superstar artist John Cassaday has announced on the Comics News Insider podcast that the long-awaited final issue of Planetary is complete and slated to hit shelves this October. The Wildstorm series launched in early 1999 but a variety of personal and professional issues with Cassaday and writer Warren Ellis saw it soon slip from its original bimonthly schedule, with the penultimate issue #26 released back in 2006.

Planetary was Cassaday's first major ongoing gig after breaking into the industry during the mid-1990s, with the Texas-born illustrator going on to receive three Eisner awards for his work on the series and Marvel's Astonishing X-Men. He is currently focused on cover work for Dynamite and other publishers while preparing to direct the movie adaptation of French graphic novel series I Am Legion, which he illustrated for European publisher Humanoids during 2004-2008.

New titles spotlight Human Torch, Magog, Die Hard

As part of Marvel's continuing 70th birthday celebrations the recently resurrected Golden Age Human Torch will take the spotlight this September in a eight-part series co-written by Alex Ross and Mike Carey, with covers and character designs by Ross and interiors from an artist to be announced.

DC will launch a new Magog ongoing series in September from writer Keith Giffen and artist Howard Porter, featuring the recently introduced DCU version of the Kingdom Come villain. The recent shakeups in the Batman and Superman titles will be further explored in a four-part World's Finest miniseries slated for late in the year, while a forthcoming Brian Azzarello project featuring pulp heroes including the Spirit and Doc Savage will be illustrated by Rags Morales.

Finally, Boom Studios will chronicle John McClane's first year on the force in Die Hard: Year One, an ongoing series from writer Howard Chaykin and artist Stephen Thompson kicking off in September.

 

Australian to play Thor

Little-known Australian actor Chris Hemsworth has landed the lead role in Marvel Studios' forthcoming movie adaptation of Thor, to be helmed by Academy Award-nominated director Kenneth Branagh and scheduled for release in May 2011. Hemsworth, 25, spent several years on Australian soap opera Home and Away and most recently was seen as Kirk's father in J.J. Abrams' big screen revamp of Star Trek. Variety reports the Melbourne-born actor has also signed on to play the God of Thunder in Marvel's slated Avengers feature film.

 

Kevin Smith to pen Green Hornet, new Batman maxi

Entertainment Weekly has the scoop that cult filmmaker Kevin Smith will pen Dynamite Entertainment's forthcoming Green Hornet limited series, based on his mid-2000s screenplay for an aborted film version of the classic pulp crimefighter. While Dynamite has yet to name an interior artist for the project it has confirmed John Cassaday will be the regular cover artist with Alex Ross, Jae Lee and David Finch lined up to provide variants, and unveiled some of Ross' character designs and concept art including a female version of the Hornet's sidekick Kato.

Smith will also reunite with his Batman: Cacophony artist Walt Flanagan in August for a new 12-part series Batman: The Widening Gyre, with covers by Bill Sienkiewicz. To avoid the delays that have plagued much of Smith's previous comics work the series will unusually be released in two volumes with a six month gap between each six-issue instalment, and will lead into a new Smith-penned bimonthly title starring a vigilante hero to be introduced in the pages of Widening Gyre.

DC reveals Straczynski's Red Circle

DC's blog The Source has revealed more details of Eisner-nominated writer J. Michael Straczynski's revamp of the 'Red Circle' characters introduced by Archie Comics during the 1970s and 80s. The event kicks off in August with four one-shots pairing Straczynski with various artists, featuring the Hangman (Tom Derenick and Bill Sienkiewicz), Inferno (Greg Scott), the Shield (Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens) and the Web (Roger Robinson and Hilary Barta), to be followed by new ongoing series featuring the Shield and the Web.

'JMS' is also still lined up to be the next ongoing writer of The Brave and the Bold, with his debut delayed by screenwriting work including an adaptation of Max Brooks' novel World War Z and a remake of 1950s science fiction classic Forbidden Planet.

Fox eyes Wolverine sequel, Deadpool spinoff

Following a strong opening weekend for X-Men Origins: Wolverine which saw it top the US box office with takings of around $US85 million, Variety reports studio 20th Century Fox is already developing a followup which will take Logan to Japan along with a Deadpool spinoff film.

Local comics anthology news
    

Issue #2 of Fist Full Of Comics (the bi-monthly comics anthology zine that focusses on South Australian creators) is out now and available from Pulp Fiction Comics! Hurry in to get your hands on our limited stock! The call is out now for people who would like to contribute to issue #3. The deadline is 24 May - that's just under a month away!
For submission guidelines and more details, visit http://www.myspace.com/fistfullofcomics.

Warners eyes Death Note movie

Warner Bros has announced plans to adapt hit manga title Death Note into a Westernised live-action movie, hiring relative unknowns Charley and Vlas Parlapanides to pen a screenplay drawing from the first three collected volumes. Originally serialised in Japanese manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump during 2003-2006, the series has proved a bestseller both domestically and in North America through the English translation produced by Viz, while already enjoying adaptation into three Japanese live-action movies and a successful anime series.

Grant Morrison to pen The Multiversity

The latest issue of Wizard magazine (#212) has the first look at Grant Morrison's new project The Multiversity, a forthcoming series of seven interconnected one-shots spotlighting the superheroes and villains of various parallel Earths and establishing the post-Final Crisis connection between the main DC Universe and other realities in the 'multiverse'. Among the worlds to be visited is an an 'All Star' reimagining of the Captain Marvel family and the Fawcett Comics characters of Earth-5, and an ambitious take on Earth-4 merging Charlton characters such as Captain Atom and the Question with their analogues in the seminal Watchmen.

 

Writers and Artists Unite
@ the Grace Emily August 1st

Prospective writers and artists, professional scribes and illustrators, curious comic buffs and those up for a great chat or just a relaxing time are all more than welcome to get down to the Grace Emily Hotel, 232 Waymouth St Adelaide on Saturday the 1st of August from 2pm for A SPECIAL monthly gathering of awesome talent!

Yes, the Grace plays host to everyone creatively minded on a sunny Saturday afternoon; kitted out with some snacks and PFC-funded happy hours, how can you possibly go wrong?