2009 Harvey Award winners

Image Comics and independent creators were the big winners at the 2009 Harvey Awards, recently presented at the Baltimore Comic-Con. The Walking Dead won Best Continuing or Limited Series and Best Writer for Robert Kirkman, while Image stablemate Chew took out Best New Series and Best New Talent for artist Rob Guillory. David Mazzucchelli's acclaimed Asterios Polyp picked up both Best Original Graphic Album and Best Single Issue or Story, but Darwyn Cooke took out the individual Best Cartoonist award for his adaptation of Richard Stark's The Hunter. Other individual winners included Best Artist for veteran Robert Crumb and his adaptation of the Book of Genesis, Best Inker for Klaus Janson's work on Amazing Spider-Man and Best Colorist for Laura Martin's remastering of the Rocketeer, while Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley picked up the Special Award for Humor in Comics.

 

Writers and Artists Unite
@ the Grace Emily September 4

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 September from 2 p.m. 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?

Angel returns to Dark Horse in 2011

Dark Horse has regained the comics rights to Angel from IDW, and will debut a new series in late 2011 tieing in to its 'season 9' series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Originally a spinoff from the television series of Buffy, Angel was previously published by Dark Horse between 2000 and 2002 before the license moved in 2005 to IDW, which will launch its final six-issue arc of Angel this November.

 

Star Wars coming to Blu-Ray

Lucasfilm has announced the long-awaited release of the Star Wars series on Blu-Ray, with a box set of all six movies slated for mid-2011. The set will include extensive extras including never-before-seen deleted scenes but also feature only the 'special edition' versions of the original trilogy.

 

DC to release 75th birthday doco

DC Comics will continue its 75th birthday celebrations in November with Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics, a documentary film directed by Jeffrey Blitz and narrated by Green Lantern star Ryan Reynolds. Blitz was nominated for an Academy Award for his 2002 documentary Spellbound, and more recently won an Emmy for helming an episode of the US version of The Office.

Tony Scott to adapt Nemesis

Deadline Hollywood has confirmed reports that director Tony Scott is attached to helm a big-screen version of Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's creator-owned series Nemesis, published through Marvel Icon. 20th Century Fox has acquired the screen rights to the book for Tony and brother Ridley Scott's production company Scott Free.

Paul Dini joins Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon

Fan-favourite writer Paul Dini has signed on to Marvel Television and Disney's forthcoming Ultimate Spider-Man animated series, joining comics series creator Brian Michael Bendis and the 'Man of Action' group of Ben 10 creators Joe Kelly, Steven T. Seagle, Joe Casey and Duncan Rouleau. Speaking with MTV Dini confirmed Ultimate Spider-Man will debut on the Disney XD network in mid-2011, with an initial season of 26 episodes drawing on both the Ultimate Spider-Man comics series and original stories including many team-ups between Spidey and other Marvel characters.

In addition to his acclaimed comics work Dini has won five Emmys for his work on Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond, was a writer on the second season of Lost, and recently scripted the popular Batman: Arkham Asylum video game.

2000AD to launch in US; Watchmen producer options Mage

Longrunning UK science fiction weekly 2000AD is planning a move into the US market with a monthly anthology series and exclusive range of collected editions. 2000AD Presents will reprint classic strips in a 22-page US comic format but will not feature 2000AD mainstay Judge Dredd, with the futuristic lawman instead to be spotlighted in a series of Megacity Masters graphic novels collecting Dredd tales from the many British creators who cut their teeth on 2000AD before going on to work for US publishers including Mark Millar, Garth Ennis, Brian Bolland, Jock, Kevin O'Neill and Simon Bisley. There are also plans for a US edition of The ABC Warriors: The Meknificent Seven featuring exclusive material including a previously uncollected Alan Moore and Steve Dillon story and an omnibus collection of Grant Morrison's Zenith, widely acclaimed as one of the Scottish scribe's best works but out of print for many years largely due to rights issues.

Watchmen movie producer Lloyd Levin is looking to bring another acclaimed comics property to the big screen, optioning Matt Wagner's Mage with a view to independently producing and financing a movie adaptation. Watchmen director Zack Snyder was linked to a previous version of the project when it was set up at Spyglass Entertainment.

G4 announces Marvel anime

US cable network G4, Sony and Marvel Television have announced a slate of four new anime series featuring Iron Man, Wolverine, the X-Men and Blade, penned by Warren Ellis (Astonishing X-Men) and produced by Japanese studio Madhouse (Ninja Scroll). Each of the four series will first air on G4 as twelve 30-minute episodes, and while standalone stories will also feature interlinking plots and shared characters.

All-Star Superman gets animated

Warner Bros Animation has announced its next DCU animated project will be an adaptation of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's massively acclaimed All-Star Superman, to be scripted by Dwayne McDuffie.

Nick Cave writing Crow remake

Legendary Australian musician Nick Cave has been tapped to rewrite the screenplay for director Stephen Norrington's forthcoming reboot of the Crow. In addition to his musical work Cave is a critically acclaimed poet and novelist, and penned the screenplay for 2005' award-winning Australian movie The Proposition.

San Diego Comic-Con highlights

Joss Whedon is confirmed to be in the director's chair for Marvel Studios' Avengers movie, slated for release in May 2012. Mark Ruffalo replaces Edward Norton as the Hulk, while Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner will take the role of Hawkeye.

The 'Brand New Day' era of thrice-monthly Amazing Spider-Man ends with October's issue #647, with the series continuing as a biweekly book from writer Dan Slott and a rotating art team of Humberto Ramos, Marcos Martin and Stefano Caselli. Marvel has also confirmed Spider-Girl will be relaunching with Arana in the title role.

Brian Michael Bendis will write the pilot and serve as a producer for the recently formed Marvel Television's forthcoming Ultimate Spider-Man animated series. The 'Man of Action' quartet of comics creators Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau, best known for creating popular animated series Ben 10, will also write for the series.

Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness will wrap up their collaboration on Hulk with August's issue #24, handing the title over to the Atlas team of Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman, but reunite with the forthcoming Avengers 3 featuring Captain America, Iron Man and Thor. In addition, the Red Hulk is set to join the Avengers with issue #7.

Jonathan Hickman and Carlos Pacecho will debut a four-part Ultimate Thor limited series in October.

With Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason set to take the reigns on Batman and Robin, writer Grant Morrison will launch a new ongoing title Batman Inc with artist Yanick Paquette.

Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment is developing a 'hardcore violent' Suicide Squad video game, scripted by Geoff Johns.

John Byrne will launch a new series of his Next Men through IDW in December. IDW is also preparing a four-issue Rocketeer anthology featuring stories by Mike Allred, Kurt Busiek, John Cassaday, Darwyn Cooke, Michael Golden, Gene Ha, Bruce Timm and others, with covers by Alex Ross.

Forthcoming Robert E. Howard projects from Dark Horse include a Kull limited series from David Lapham and Gabriel Guzman, a second Solomon Kane limited series from Bruce Jones and Rahsan Ekedal, and an anthology title Savage Sword combining new and reprinted stories featuring Conan, Kane, Kull and lesser-known Robert E. Howard characters.

The second book of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century is slated for release during 2011.

Boom Studios revealed the first three titles in a new superhero universe created by Stan Lee: Soldier Zero by Paul Cornell and Javier Pina, The Traveler by Mark Waid and Chad Hardin, and Starborn by Chris Roberson and Khary Randolph.

2010 Eisner Award winners

Among the individual winners at the 22nd Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards were Marvel's Ed Brubaker for Best Writer, DC's Detective Comics artist J.H. Williams III for Best Penciller/Inker, and Best Writer/Artist for David Mazzucchelli for his acclaimed graphic novel Asterios Polyp; Williams also took out Best Cover Artist. Image had two series wins with Best Continuing Series going to The Walking Dead and Best New Series to Chew, while as expected Best Graphic Album went to Asterios Polyp and Best Adaptation to Darwyn Cooke's take on pulp classic The Hunter.

Eric Shanower and Skottie Young's adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz had a double win for Best Limited Series and Best Publication for Kids, while IDW claimed both archival presentation nods for its collections of The Rocketeer and comic strip Bloom County. Best Digital Comic went to Cameron Stewart's Sin Titulo. Among the inductees to the Hall of Fame were Steve Gerber, Dick Giordano, Michael Kaluta and Mort Weisinger.

Writers and Artists Unite
@ the Grace Emily October 2

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 2nd of October from 2 p.m. 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?