R.I.P. MIKE WIERINGO 1963-2007

Comic artist; co-creator of DC's Bart Allen a/k/a Impulse; co-creator of Tellos; best known for runs on Fantastic Four and Flash with writer Mark Waid

Rest in Peace

Stefan Blitz adds:
More details of Mike's untimely passing can be found at Newsarama. forcesofgood sends it's condolences out to Mike's friends and family.

HELL FREEZES OVER . . . FANBOY HEADS EXPLODE

Two terminally late books ship in the same week!

All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #6 by Frank Miller and Jim Lee

Onslaught Reborn #4 by Jeph Loeb and Rob Liefield (with a cover by J. Scott Campbell)

Interesting that the three artists involved in these books were Image Founders (Lee, Liefield) and members (Campbell) - wonder why their books failed over there, too?!

Now, if Wildcats #2 came out next Wednesday, I think the Earth would explode on top of Hell freezing!

MOVIE REVIEW - FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER

The original Fantastic Four suffered from a weak script, lackluster direction, missed opportunities and unfortunately inevitable comparisons to the far superior release of The Incredibles.

Nevertheless, I put all that aside and saw the sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. And yet, despite advanced word and personal prejudice, I'm happy (and a bit embarrassed) to say I liked it. A lot.

Director Tim Story returns along with his ensemble of Ioan Gruffudd (Reed Richards), Jessica Alba (Sue Storm), Michael Chiklis (Ben Grimm), Chris Evans (Johnny Storm) and Julian McMahon (Victor Von Doom).


This film marks the arrival of creator Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's metaphorical Christ character, The Silver Surfer (played by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne), who has come to Earth as a herald for Galactus. Every planet that the Surfer has appeared on has been destroyed eight days later, and his arrival on Earth causes a series of phenomenons (including the resurrection of Dr. Doom). The United States military enlists the Fantastic Four's assistance, interrupting the nuptials of Reed and Sue, to capture the Surfer. Initially disappointed by the results of Reed's research, the military (led by Andre Braugher), turn to Doom for help, much to the chagrin of our heroes.

The major theme of The Fantastic Four has always been family and Story has constructed a film that focuses on just that; the relationships and connections between all of the characters is the very heart of this film. Gruffudd does a better job channeling Reed in this film, and both Chiklis and Evans do a phenomenal job. Only Alba, in a distracting blond wig and bright blue contact lenses, doesn't live up to the potential.

Nevertheless, The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer probably isn't the best film that you'll see this summer, but it's harmless popcorn entertainment and an entertaining distraction that actually delivers. With rumors of a J. Michael Straczynski Silver Surfer spin-off already circulating, I'm hoping the next FF film focuses on some of their other colorful nemeses, such as the Mole Man, The Skrulls or the denizens of the Negative Zone.

'Nuff Said!

THE INCREDIBLE HULK GETS HURT

William Hurt has been announced as the latest addition to the cast of Marvel Studios' The Incredible Hulk.

Hurt will be taking over the role of General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross; Long time nemesis, and father of Bruce Banner's love interest, Betty Ross.

William Hurt joins an already strong cast featuring Edward Norton, as Bruce Banner/Hulk, Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, and Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky/Abomination.

Finally, Marvel has the freedom to express the stories they want to tell with out compromising to a big movie studio. Add that to the amazing cast, the script written by Zak Penn, the writer of X2 and X3, and the rumored cameo by Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark.

I, for one, haven't heard one thing yet that diminishes my excitement for this release.

THE SHORT BOX - COMIC BOOK RELEASES 6/13/07

This is one of those weeks with several monumental releases, and in this case three by the late, great King of Comics, Jack Kirby.

Be sure and check out JACK KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOLUME 1 and THE FANTASTIC FOUR OMNIBUS VOLUME 2. For the casual or more budget conscious fan, check out the first issue of AVENGERS CLASSIC featuring a swell Art Adams cover.

As always, the complete list is in COMMENTS.

THE SHORT BOX - COMIC BOOK RELEASES 6/6/07

To see all of the wonderful four-color magic coming this Wednesday, click on the COMMENTS section.

THE SHORT BOX - COMIC BOOK RELEASES 5/31/07

As always, click COMMENTS for shipping list. The Funny Books hit this Thursday because of Memorial Day.

THE SHORT BOX - COMIC BOOK RELEASES 5/23/07

PICKS OF THE WEEK!

As always, click on the COMMENTS for the complete shipping list.

MY SECOND DAY AS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AT MARVEL COMICS

If you didn't read about my first day in charge, click HERE.

6. THE MIGHTY THOR by Mike Mignola


Mythology. Monsters. Gods. People punching each other. Good comics.

7. CAPTAIN AMERICA by Mark Waid and Leinil Yu

Waid's runs on Captain America revitalized the character after decades of being stale. Together with his Superman Birthright collaborator Yu, Waid can chronicle the adventures of the new Captain America, Steve Rogers!

8. DAREDEVIL, MAN WITHOUT FEAR by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark

No need to mess with perfection.

9. THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN by Joe Casey and Steve McNiven


Casey is a die-hard Avengers fan and McNiven drew one of the most definitive Iron Man stories in Civil War.

10. CAPTAIN AMERICA AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon

The most insane men in comics chronicle the chaos and mayhem during World War II with the original Captain America, Nick Fury, fighting Nazis and the Red Skull with his battalion of rag tag soldiers.

THE SHORT BOX - COMIC BOOK RELEASES 5/16/07

Click the COMMENTS box for this week's funnybooks.

THE BROCK SAMSON OF THE MARVEL U

This soon-to-be-released Luke Cage series from Marvel Comics's Marvel Knights imprint looks like a cross between the Venture Bros. and the mad artistic stylings of Nathan Fox (most recently the artist on Brian Woods'/Vertigo's DMZ!) Right on!

MY FIRST DAY AS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AT MARVEL COMICS

I can tell already that my tenure at Marvel is going to anger many readers. No more Ultimate line. It failed. The original point of the line was to make the books accessible to new readers. Ultimate continuity is as boggled as mainstream Marvel U. Instead of a ground zero relaunch, I'm proposing a new take. We're instituting some major changes, but how it fits into the history of the Marvel Universe doesn't matter.

Clear, concise storytelling.

The most major change is that no longer was Steve Rogers Captain America during World War 2. The original Captain America was Nick Fury, who fought as Captain America alongside his Howling Commandos during the second World War. He is currently the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and leads the Avengers in a Mission Impossible type scenario. If you are a super-hero in the Marvel Universe, you're an Avenger. Each mission designates it's own group of characters, which in turn allows more action, less soap opera and more opportunities to create interesting stories.

Here are my first five books, their creative teams and the pitch.

1. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN by Jeph Loeb and J. Scott Campbell





















Teen-age Peter Parker has been Spidey for 18 months or so (all the characters throughout the line have been active for approximately 1-2 years). No need to reintroduce bad guys, but gives the opportunity to play around with the strong Lee/Ditko/Romita supporting cast.


2. THE FANTASTIC FOUR by Darwyn Cooke

The best cartoonist in comics today needs an opportunity to tinker in Stan and Jack's toybox.

3. THE UNCANNY X-MEN by Warren Ellis and Salvador Larocca


Warren Ellis' strengths include incorporating science into pulp conventions. If the next stage of evolution isn't scientific enough of an opportunity to play around with genetics, pop-sci and futurism, then I don't know what is. Larocca has proven to collaborate well with Ellis with his clear storytelling on newuniversal and has a history with the characters. Excelsior!

4. THE AVENGERS by Joe Casey and Arthur Adams

Nick Fury runs the Avengers (as a division of S.H.I.E.L.D)

Every super-hero in the Marvel Universe is game.

Including the new Captain America, Steve Rogers.

5. THE INCREDIBLE HULK by Erik Larsen



Larsen can draw action and mayhem (and monsters!) Make the Hulk a book about a man on the run searching for a cure and redemption, throw in plenty of destruction, the military and creatures and you've got the opportunity to tell Hulk stories on par with Lee and Kirby's first six issues.

ROTH IS AN (THE) ABOMINATION

The Hollywood Reporter announced that indie-actor Tim Roth will be playing the villainous Abomination in the upcoming Universal Picture, The Incredible Hulk, opposite Edward Norton and Liv Tyler.





In the comic book series, The Abomination is KGB agent Emil Blonksy who subjects himself to a higher dose of gamma radiation, making him more powerful than the Hulk.


Louis Leterrier directs the film which promises to be far more exciting that the first Hulk film.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF??? YOU GOT THE JOB!!!

Let's imagine that the post 52 and Civil War universes of DC and Marvel Comics have deemed so unsuccessful (which they weren't) that the shareholders demand an immediate change! You have been given the reigns at DC or Marvel (or both).

Here's the rub:

You need to re-imagine the lines. 15-20 titles. No more.

A writer can write up to three titles a month, an artist can do only one book. You can only use living creators. There are currently no exclusivity contracts. A one line synopsis of the book can also be submitted. Be creative!


Now go, and reinvent mainstream comics!!!

LIV TYLER IS (A) BETTY

According to The Hollywood Reporter, my longtime crush Liv Tyler has signed on to play the part of Betty Ross in the upcoming Marvel Film, The Incredible Hulk.

The part had been played by Jennifer Connelly in 2003's The Hulk.

With Edward Norton as Banner, Louis Leterrier directing and now Tyler joining the cast, I have high hopes that this "re-imagining" will be pretty darned entertaining.

HEY LADIES, HE'S INVINCIBLE...

FOG! INTERVIEW - JEFF PARKER, COMIC BOOK WRITER

Jeff Parker is a renaissance man in the comic book world. He's an Eisner nominated cartoonist (The Interman) and publisher (Dear John - The Alex Toth Doodle Book) and has been writing a variety of titles for Marvel Comics and has recently collaborated with Eurythmic Dave Stewart on Virgin Comic's Walk In. Among Parker's latest work is X-Men: First Class, Marvel Romance Redux, Marvel Monsters, Marvel Westerns, the new Spider-Man/Fantastic Four mini-series and Marvel Adventures The Avengers. Last week, Marvel Comics published a collection of Parker's latest project, The Agents of Atlas in a definitive collection which includes the entire mini-series AGENTS OF ATLAS #1-6 plus the Agents’ first appearances in stories from YELLOW CLAW #1 (Jimmy Woo; October 1956), MENACE #11 (Human Robot; May 1954), VENUS #1 (August 1948), MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS #82 (Namora; May 1947), MARVEL BOY #1 (December 1950), MEN'S ADVENTURES #26 (Gorilla Man; March 1954) and WHAT IF? #9 (1950s Avengers; June 1978). The book also includes creator interviews, character designs and material found from the series blog and website.

Jeff took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with FOG!

HOW DID THE AGENTS OF ATLAS ORIGINATE, DID YOU PITCH IT OR WAS IT ASSIGNED TO YOU BY MARVEL?

It, like a lot of things was one my editor Mark Paniccia asked if I might have a pitch for. Not because they had an agenda to get old unused characters in, but because he was looking at the old What If with the Agents (then the Secret Avengers) and had a hunch. I'm glad he thought of me with that hunch.

THE CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN AGENTS OF ATLAS HAVE THEIR ROOTS IN MARVEL'S GOLDEN AGE, YET MANY OF THEM ARE UNFAMILIAR, EVEN AMONG MOST READERS. WAS THIS AN ASSET OR AN OBSTACLE?

More an asset, because it can be a real challenge writing current characters with decades of continuity behind them. The Agents were relatively an open book.


WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE COLLECTED EDITION OF THE BOOK?

It's the nicest production I've ever been part of. They really went all out on that book with the original stories of the characters, the nice paper, everything.

YOU TEND TO WRITE IMAGINATIVE ALL AGES STORIES SUCH AS SPIDER-MAN/FANTASTIC FOUR, MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS AND X-MEN: FIRST CLASS. DO YOU FIND IT DIFFICULT WRITING IN THIS READER-FRIENDLY STYLE OR DO YOU WISH THAT YOUR WORK WAS FIRMER EMBEDDED IN CONTINUITY?
It depends. Some things I would happily jump into the continuity, and others have had storylines that I wouldn't want to have address. The all ages work is only restrictive when I want to explore more mature themes. But I'm getting more outlets to do that. And I believe strongly that there need to be more all ages books from Marvel and DC, or we'll die out. And kids could be becoming better readers.

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS IS BECOMING AN ONGOING SERIES. WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR SERIES HAS DONE DIFFERENTLY THAT HAS MADE IT SUCCESSFUL VERSUS PREVIOUS FAILED ATTEMPTS THAT COVERED THE SAME CONCEPT?


Just by the nature of the setting, we've been able to pare things down and try to find the core of what readers like about the characters. And they make a perfect entry book into the world of Marvel and mutants, I think. Really we're just embracing escapism as hard as we can.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE CHARACTERS TO WRITE AND ARE THERE ANY CHARACTERS THAT YOU WANT TO WRITE THAT YOU HAVEN'T YET?

Almost any of the characters that were around (and long before) I was a kid are interesting to me. That, or characters where I'm given a lot of freedom to interpret them. At Marvel, I would like to write some Dr. Strange. Brian K. Vaughan did a great job with him in "The Oath".

MANY OF YOUR FANS MIGHT NOT BE AWARE THAT YOU STARTED YOUR CAREER AS AN ILLUSTRATOR, EVENTUALLY WRITING AND DRAWING YOUR ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL, THE INTERMAN. DID YOU INTEND ON BEING A WRITER AND DO YOU NOW THINK OF YOURSELF AS A WRITER WHO DRAWS OR AN ARTIST WHO WRITES?

I always planned on writing for others along with doing my own cartooning, but it just never saw the light of day until recently. In the 90's I had editors who were trying to get me on books as a writer, but it just never happened. I even wrote some stuff way back for Malibu, but it never saw print because books were shut down when the company was bought... by Marvel! How's that for a circle?

WHAT'S THE STATUS OF INTERMAN 2?

I've written it, I just need to draw it. And without blowing my paying deadlines. If the movie actually goes into production, that will certainly help because I'll be able to count on sales.



WHAT ARE YOUR UPCOMING PROJECTS?

I can't remember what I can talk about now. Sorry! I don't want to jinx things.

WHAT POP CULTURE DISTRACTIONS ARE TEARING YOU AWAY FROM YOUR WORK?

I just got that new Fountains of Wayne, that ruled. I'm also liking The Shins latest album, Wincing the Night Away. And the Casino Royale dvd, which I haven't had a chance to watch the extras. I don't play video games because they're designed by The Man to keep us down. I'm wishing that next volume of Popeye would come out, but I hear it will be a while. Ooh, that Pogo collection that Jeff Smith is helping with, I gotta get that. I recently read Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, a book half your readers have probably already enjoyed.

Thanks Jeff and FOG!-gers be sure to check out Jeff's website HERE.

THE SHORT BOX - COMIC BOOK RELEASES 5/2/07

As always, hit COMMENTS for the list!


And remember, this Saturday is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!!!

HE'S A COOL EXEC, WITH A HEART OF STEEL

USA Today has published another sneak of the upcoming Iron Man film with Robert Downey, Jr.

Nostradamus couldn't have cast this role better. "He struggles with his lifestyle, he struggles with the drinking," Downey says of Tony (Iron Man) Stark. "He faces the same issues a lot of people do."

THE SHORT BOX - COMIC BOOK RELEASES 4/28/07

Ah, sweet Wednesday!

Complete shipping list found in the COMMENTS section.