ComicBooks Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Unfortunately, David S. Goyer doesn't have a lot to tell us about any of the many projects he's working on, but most of us will no doubt settle for even the tiniest updates. So, just as I was, you'll probably be satisfied with the little interview he gave to Wizard magazine, in which he was asked about the hottest things he's got in the pipeline. First up is Magneto, the X-Men spin-off/prequel that he scripted and will soon be directing. All he could say is that he's been scouting locations and right now it looks like he'll be primarily filming in Europe and Argentina. He also hinted that he's going to have to budget wisely to get the thing in for a cheap enough price (meaning he wrote some expensive-to-do scenes or Fox doesn't see good reason to spend too much on this one).

Of further interest to comic geeks, Goyer shared that his script for Super Max (aka the Green Lantern Arrow prison movie*) features a number of obscure, "third-tier" super villains, including Icicle from the comic JSA. He says that he gave DC a list of villains he wanted to use and then the comic publisher weeded out the ones it didn't want appearing in the movie. Speaking of DC, Goyer also told Wizard that he's returning to comic books soon with his JSA writing partner Geoff Johns. All he could reveal is that it takes place following the upcoming Final Crisis series.

Goyer isn't all comics, though. He shared with Wizard his inspiration and basic idea for The Invisible Man, which he sees as sort of a sequel to H.G. Wells' novel, and mentioned that he also played loose with the young adult books that Jumper is based upon. The most exciting thing he had to say, at least for Heroes fans, is that he's really interested in scripting an episode of Heroes: Origins. I don't know how he has the time to tackle all of these things right now -- all I can think of is that his real name must be Jamie Madrox -- but I'll just have to patiently await each one in due time.

[ Thanks to ComingSoon.net for the tip. ]

*You know, I think if I had actually been a DC fan, I still would have confused the two Green characters. Apologies to the fans and readers.

Of all the comic books I've read (and believe me, there have been quite a few), Metal Men, which concerns the exploits of a robotic team of super heroes, was probably one of the last ones I expected to see on the big screen. It was reported here on Cinematical about a year ago that producer of the X-Men films Lauren Shuler Donner was interested in the property, and now The Hollywood Reporter has an update on the project. The film is being set up at Warner Bros., with Shuler Donner and Jack Leslie producing, and Eric Champnella writing the screenplay. Comic book writer Geoff Johns helped develop the idea and will serve as executive producer, and Gregory Noveck will supervise for DC Comics.

Metal Men first appeared in 1962 in the 37th issue of DC's classic anthology series Showcase before graduating to a book of their own. Built by Dr. Will Magnus -- whose pipe smoking habit always reminds me of Fred MacMurray in My Three Sons -- The Metal Men consist of six robots who exhibit the characteristics of the metals from which they take their names. If you look at the picture above, starting at the twelve o'clock position and proceeding clockwise, we have Gold, Mercury, Iron, Platinum (a.k.a. Tina), Tin and Lead. Recurring concepts included Tina's infatuation with Doc Magnus, as well as the idea that since they are robots, the characters can be killed then rebuilt. As I recall, these guys died more often than X-Men's Jean Grey, if you can believe it. I don't believe there is a current incarnation of the comic book (if I'm wrong, please correct me in the comments section), but Gold and Platinum recently appeared -- and died yet again -- in an issue of Justice League of America. When Shuler Donner discussed the project last year she described it as "much more like Men in Black. It's miles away from X-Men. It's lighter and it's fun. A lot of CGI."

Mark Burton has been hired by Warner Bros. to write the feature film adaptation of James Turner's comic book Rex Libris. The comic is about "an everyday guy who becomes part of a secret sect of librarians who battle forces of darkness in chasing down overdue or stolen books." Seriously! The "comedic action-adventure" will focus on head librarian Rex Libris, a man "who must protect the world's knowledge and most dangerous secrets from falling into the wrong hands." When a squad of punks storm the library and remove a certain card from the catalog, the library's walls collapse and a secret stack of books is revealed, which apparently leads the crew on a string of global and intergalactic adventures. I've said it before and I'll say it again: You don't mess with the Dewey Decimal System.

Rex and the other librarians have a huge array of high-tech weapons, but they are also helped by an ancient god who lives underneath the library. Geez, haven't we seen this story enough? Variety doesn't mention whether the film will be animated or live action, but Burton wrote Madagascar and worked on Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, so using context clues I'm assuming it'll be a cartoon. Hopefully they don't try to sneak in some message about how kids should read and use their imaginations and crap like that. I've got to tell you, reading the synopsis, I thought of the perfect man to join Rex's team: Bookman, the Library Cop from Seinfeld! "I don't judge a man by the length of his hair or the kind of music he listens to. Rock was never my bag. But you put on a pair of shoes when you walk into the New York Public Library, fella!"

With Ghost Rider and 300 -- two big-budget, big-spectacle movies based on comic books/graphic novels -- opening just weeks apart, we thought it an opportune time to rank the Top 20 Movies Based on Comic Books. Of course, we recognize that comics fans can be really, really ridiculously passionate when it comes to defending the honor and merits of their favorite books and the movies based upon them. And that is why we present you with this: a forum to bash, glorify, rebut and/or praise our choices for the top 20 and to offer up your own.

POST: What are your favorite movies based on comic books?

Marvel Comics tends to walk a fine line between comic book continuity and movie continuity. Everyone realizes they aren't going to go all Sin City and do a frame for frame, word for word adaptation of their decades-old titles, but it's vitally important for the films to maintain a reasonably strong resemblance to their comic counterparts ... or else they'd have a geek riot on their hands. Every now and then it works in the opposite direction, with the movie storylines leaking into the pages of the comic books. In saying that, it appears Marvel is at it again:

• After the events of Marvel's massive Civil War crossover, Peter Parker will toss his current costume (no, it isn't the red and blue one -- it's a Tony Stark build) in favor of the classic black (aka Venom) outfit. Amazingly, this costume just so happens to be a major feature in Spider-Man 3. However, Marvel insists this is only a tiny part (10%) of the decision to move the comic book Spidey into black. (Add to that a big old corporate wink.)
• Marvel is also gearing up for the launch of a few new titles, most notably The Irredeemable Ant-Man. This comes after the announcement that Marvel will also back an Ant-Man movie. Coincidence? I think not.

Thanks to everyone who answered our last call for bloggers. We're still looking specifically for writers with a vested interest in the geek world: science fiction, comic books, superheroes, video game-based movies, movie-based video games, etc etc. Interested? Here's what we need from you:

1. A 100-300 word write-up of a news or gossip item. Bonus points if you find something from the past 24 hours that we haven't yet reported on.
   
2. A 450-800 word review of a film, DVD, movie trailer, film related book, etc.
3. A 100-300 word post on a geek-related news item or issue - here's your chance to impress us with your expertise and analysis.

As always, we're looking for strong writers with excellent editorial skills and a sharp sense of humor. Sound like you? Send us your stuff here.

Thanks!