JMS new Superman and Wonder Woman writer

Superstar scribe J. Michael Straczynski is the new ongoing writer of both Superman and Wonder Woman as of July, taking the reigns on two of DC's banner titles with issues #701 and #601 respectively. No artists have been announced for the Babylon 5 creator's new gigs, which are in addition to his current assignments on Brave and the Bold and the forthcoming Superman: Earth One series of original graphic novels.

Gage/McKone open Avengers Academy

Marvel's Heroic Age revamp of the Avengers family continues in June with the launch of Avengers Academy, a new ongoing title from writer Christos Gage and artist Mike McKone. The first teaser image for the series reveals the first team member as a new female character named Veil.

 

Bendis/Davis examine Avengers trinity; Spider-Man rejoins New Avengers

In the aftermath of Siege and the dawn of Marvel's new Heroic Age writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Alan Davis will examine the reunited Avengers trinity of Thor, Iron Man and former Captain America Steve Rogers in Avengers Prime: Siege Aftermath, a five-issue limited series beginning in June. Meanwhile, Marvel's latest teaser image confirms Spider-Man will join Luke Cage in the relaunched New Avengers series also kicking off in June.

Stan Lee's back at Boom

Legendary comics creator and Marvel emeritus Stan Lee will launch a new superhero comics line at Boom Studios, with Boom editor in chief Mark Waid set to pen one of three titles debuting later this year in a new universe developed by Lee.

New Avengers relaunch in June

Marvel has confirmed New Avengers will relaunch in June with a new #1 issue from the continuing pairing of writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Stuart Immonen, with Luke Cage the first confirmed team member. Meanwhile, Bendis has revealed both Avengers and New Avengers will feature backup strips from the Eisner-winning writer, with artists to be confirmed.

 

Detective #27 sells for over 1 million

A Texas auction house has confirmed the sale of a copy of May 1939's Detective Comics #27, featuring the first appearance of Batman, for $US1.075 million. The unrestored CGC 8.0/'very fine' copy was acquired by the seller for $100 back in 1960, with its sale coming just days after a similar high-grade copy of Action Comics #1 went for $1 million in an anonymous online auction. Detective Comics launched in 1937 as a crime-themed anthology series, with the debut of Bob Kane and Bill Finger's 'the Bat-Man' in issue #27 proving so popular the character soon became the focus of the title.

Rumour mill: David Goyer to write new Superman movie

Latino Review claims Batman Begins and Blade trilogy screenwriter David Goyer has been tapped by Legendary Pictures/Warner Brothers to pen the next big-screen take on Superman, to be based on John Byrne's 1980s reboot of the character and accordingly titled The Man of Steel. The movie news source also reports Superman Returns director Bryan Singer and lead Brandon Routh will not return for the new production.

Action #1 sells for 1 million

A rare high-grade copy of Action Comics #1, featuring the first appearance of Superman, has sold for $US1 million in a private online sale through auction website ComicsConnect.com. The unrestored CGC 8.0/'very fine' copy, one of only 100 known to exist from an original print run of 200 000, was purchased by an anonymous but reportedly well-known collector and smashes the previous sales record for a 6.0/'fine' copy bought last year for $US317 000 by System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan. Considered the 'holy grail' for comic book collectors because of its rarity and historical significance, Action Comics #1 features the first 13-page Superman story by creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and was originally sold on US newsstands in April 1938 for 10 cents.

Mark Strong to play Sinestro

A Twitter post from Geoff Johns has apparently confirmed rumours that Mark Strong will play Sinestro in Warner Brothers forthcoming Green Lantern feature film. The London-born Strong was most recently seen as the villainous Lord Blackwood in Guy Ritchie's big-screen reimagining of Sherlock Holmes.

 

DiDio, Lee, Johns new DC executive team

DC has announced its new executive team to replace outgoing president Paul Levitz, with current editorial head Dan DiDio and superstar artist and Wildstorm founder Jim Lee promoted to joint Co-Publisher of DC Comics and fan-favourite writer Geoff Johns appointed as Chief Creative Officer of parent company DC Entertainment. All three have confirmed they will be charting the future creative direction of DC, with DiDio and Lee overseeing comics publishing and editorial and Johns expanding his role in bringing DC characters and properties into other media including movies, TV and video games.

Spidey reboot to be 3D

Sony Pictures has confirmed its forthcoming Spider-Man reboot from director Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) will be shot in 3D, and set a provisional release date of 3 July 2012.

 

Nolan to oversee Superman reboot?

Movie gossip blog Deadline Hollywood claims Batman Begins and The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan will oversee a cinematic reboot of Superman, in addition to moving forward with a third Batman film. While Nolan is unlikely to write or direct Warner Brothers is reportedly keen to have the London-born filmmaker play a 'godfather' role in developing a new take on the Man of Steel, separate from 2006's Superman Returns.

Marvel teases Secret Avengers

Marvel has released the first teaser image for Secret Avengers, debuting in May from writer Ed Brubaker and artist Mike Deodato Jr as part of the 'Heroic Age' relaunch of the Avengers family of titles.

Zatanna to launch solo series; more Avengers revealed

DC has confirmed the long-rumoured Zatanna solo title from writer Paul Dini and artist Stephanie Roux will hit shelves in May.

Marvel has released more teaser images revealing that Hawkeye, Iron Man and Spider-Woman will join Captain America in the new Avengers title launching in May from Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr.

Bendis/JR JR to relaunch Avengers

Marvel has revealed the May relaunch of the Avengers will feature the all-star creative team of writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist John Romita Jr, and that the new Earth's Mightiest Heroes will include Bucky Barnes as Captain America.

 

Avengers to relaunch in May

Marvel has confirmed it will relaunch the Avengers in May in the aftermath of its current Siege event, with a new #1 issue from writer Brian Michael Bendis spearheading a line-wide shakeup of the Marvel universe under the banner 'the Heroic Age'. USA Today's feature notes the new Avengers title will reunite Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, with Marvel editor in chief Joe Quesada commenting that after events such as Civil War and Secret Invasion 'heroes will be heroes again'.

Webb to helm Spidey reboot

Marc Webb, director of recent indie comedy (500) Days of Summer, will helm a reboot of the Spider-Man series for Sony's Columbia Pictures slated for release in mid-2012. Sony recently cancelled development on Spider-Man 4 after director Sam Raimi walked away from the project, electing to pursue a fresh take on the franchise with a screenplay by James Vanderbilt. After an award-winning career as a musical video director Webb moved into features with this year's (500) Days of Summer, nominated for a Best Picture Golden Globe, and during a recent red carpet appearance commented on his appreciation for both the original Lee/Ditko Spider-Man stories and the Ultimate reimagining of the character. Early speculation on casting for the new Peter Parker centres on Twilight star Robert Pattinson and 500 Days lead Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

 

Siege to end Avengers titles

IGN's preview of Marvel's April solicitations reveals all four Avengers titles will end to coincide with the finale of Siege. Dark Avengers #16, Mighty Avengers #36 and Avengers: The Initiative #35 will be the final issues of their respective titles, while New Avengers #64 leads into a New Avengers: Finale one-shot from Brian Michael Bendis and Bryan Hitch.

DC to launch weekly MMO tie-in

DC will bridge the comic book and video game worlds with the launch of a new weekly series tieing in to DC Universe Online, the hotly anticipated massive multiplayer online roleplaying game set in the DCU. DC Universe: Legends will debut later in the year to coincide with the release of DCU Online, with writers Dan Jurgens and Tony Bedard to be joined by other talent yet to be revealed.

Levitz to pen new Legion series

Veteran writer and former DC head Paul Levitz will return to the 31st century and launch a new Legion of Super-Heroes ongoing title in May with artist Yildiray Cinar. The New York-born comics fan turned professional penned several acclaimed runs on the Legion between 1974 and 1989 during a 35-year career at DC in which he eventually rose to president and publisher in 2002, a position from which he resigned last year during a restructure of the company. Levitz is also still set to take the reigns on Adventure Comics and its Legion co-feature in June.

Simone/Benes relaunch Birds of Prey; Casey/Noto explore Avengers origin

Gail Simone and Ed Benes will relaunch Birds of Prey mid-year with a new ongoing series under the Brightest Day banner, renewing their popular collaboration from 2003-5 and returning Black Canary to the team.

Joe Casey and Phil Noto will return to the first adventure of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: The Origin, a five-issue miniseries kicking off in April and expanding on the classic Lee/Kirby origin story from 1963's Avengers #1. The project is Casey's third retro Avengers story after 2005's Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and its 2007 sequel.

Justice League International returns

The fan-favourite Justice League International take on the JLA from the late 1980s will return in Justice League: Generation Lost, a 26-issue biweekly series from original JLI co-writer Keith Giffen and Judd Winick, with covers by Tony Harris. Alternating weeks with recently announced biweekly book Brightest Day, the series will reunite most of the original roster including Captain Atom, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Fire and Ice and Rocket Red. Giffen also confirmed he and regular writing partner J.M. DeMatteis will be taking the reigns on Booster Gold's solo series, along with new artist Chris Batista.

Carol Ferris, Hector Hammond cast in GL movie

Two key supporting roles have been cast in Warner Brothers' forthcoming Green Lantern movie, with Gossip Girl lead Blake Lively signing on to play Carol Ferris and Peter Sarsgaard securing the role of villain Hector Hammond. The pair join Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan in the Martin Campbell-helmed production, set to begin shooting in New Orleans this March for a scheduled release in June 2011.

Spider-Man 4 scrapped as Sony plans reboot

In a surprise move Sony Pictures has canned its proposed fourth Spider-Man movie after continued script and scheduling problems prompted series director Sam Raimi to walk away from the project. Sony has confirmed it will move ahead with a reboot of the franchise with a new director and cast and a fresh screenplay from writer James Vanderbilt, with an eye to a mid-2012 release.

The news comes shortly after acclaimed actor John Malkovich apparently confirmed rumours he had signed on to play the Vulture in the now-aborted Spider-Man 4. Raimi is expected to move on to a previously announced commitment to helm a movie based on massively popular online roleplaying game World of Warcraft.

Brightest Day to dawn on DCU

DC has announced the followup to current crossover event Blackest Night will be Brightest Day, a 26-issue biweekly series penned by Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi. Launching in April with a #0 issue pencilled by Fernando Pasarin and featuring covers by new DC exclusive artist David Finch for the entire series, Brightest Day will also include tie-in issues of titles including Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Flash, Teen Titans and Justice League of America.

Black Widow set for ongoing series

IGN has the scoop on Marvel's new Black Widow ongoing title, launching in April from writer Marjorie Liu and artist Daniel Acuna.

 

Zombieland writers to pen Deadpool movie

Variety confirms 20th Century Fox has tapped Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick to pen its forthcoming Deadpool movie. Ryan Reynolds is slated to reprise his role as the wisecracking mercenary from X-Men Origins: Wolverine but will not be available until at least mid-2010 due to his separate commitment to play Hal Jordan in WB's Green Lantern feature, set to begin shooting next month.

David Finch signs for DC

Artist David Finch has signed an exclusive contract with DC, after several years of high-profile work under a similar agreement with Marvel. The Canadian-born penciller started his professional career at Top Cow, where he worked on titles including Cyberforce and Aphrodite IX, before moving to Marvel in 2002 for projects including Ultimate X-Men, New Avengers and most recently Ultimatum. Speaking with Comic Book Resources Finch commented he will be initially working on covers for DC ahead of his first interior project later in the year, with Bleeding Cool suggesting he will be both writing and illustrating a high-profile ongoing title.

 

Avatar takes $1bn at box office

Avatar has become the fastest film in history to take $US1 billion at the box office, with 20th Century Fox reporting the James Cameron-helmed science fiction epic has earned around $350m in the US and $670m in the rest of the world during its first 17 days. Having already passed The Dark Knight's own $1bn haul Avatar is expected to overtake Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King to become the second-highest grossing movie of all time behind Titanic, also directed by Cameron, which amassed $1.8bn during a lengthy theatrical run.

With an estimated budget of up to $300 million Avatar is also reportedly the most expensive movie of all time, having spent years in production including the development of the Fusion Camera System used to shoot the film digitally in stereoscopic 3D -- with some attributing its box office haul in part to higher ticket prices for 3D sessions.

While Avatar may have eclipsed The Dark Knight in overall worldwide revenue the latter still holds many of the US domestic records tracked by Box Office Mojo including highest opening week and opening weekend (just ahead of Spider-Man 3), but recently lost its opening day and single day crowns to Twilight: New Moon.

Rucka/Williams to launch Batwoman ongoing series

Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III will leave Detective Comics in favour of continuing their acclaimed Batwoman serial in a new ongoing book featuring the character. Rucka confirmed in an interview with the Word Balloon podcast that issue #860 will be the pair's last together on the title, with guest artist Jock illustrating issues #861-863 ahead of a new Batwoman #1 from Rucka and Williams during 2010. A critically lauded crime novelist in addition to his Eisner-winning comics work, Rucka may also stay on as writer of Detective Comics with a new artist, and noted his Question backup feature with artist Cully Hamner will continue.

Singer to direct X-Men Origins: First Class; Warcraft and Starcraft move to OGNs

Bryan Singer will return to the X-Men franchise to direct X-Men Origins: First Class, a prequel film chronicling the origins of Professor Xavier's original mutant team. After garnering critical acclaim for The Usual Suspects Singer brought Marvel's mutant heroes to the big screen as director of 20th Century Fox's X-Men and X-Men 2, before jumping ship to Warner Brothers to helm 2006's Superman Returns. Fox has hired screenwriter Jamie Moss to pen a new draft of First Class, building on an earlier version of the project that was to be written, produced and potentially directed by The OC and Gossip Girl creator Josh Schwartz.

DC/Wildstorm has announced its World of Warcraft and Starcraft titles, licensed from the popular Blizzard computer game series, will switch format from single issues to original graphic novels in the new year. DC recently revealed plans for a new boutique line of original graphic novels under the Earth One banner, with the first Superman book by J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis slated for September 2010.

Writers and Artists Unite
@ the Grace Emily April 3rd

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 3rd of April from 2pm for a 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?