Sophomoric Foray Into the "Grimm Fairy Tales" Universe

Zenescope Entertainment's "Grimm Fairy Tales: April Fools Edition 2012", available April 2012, is written by Ralph Tedesco and illustrated by TBD, with a cover by Anthony Spay :

"...the sophomoric yet hilarious foray into the 'Grimm Fairy Tales' universe makes a return! The first two editions left most fans wanting more and left others' wondering if we'd completely lost our minds. But we're back at it yet again so read at your own risk! Some of your favorite stories are completely relettered to create brand new story-lines that will have you laughing out loud..."

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Training For The Knights Of The Realm

Zenescope Entertainment's "Grimm Fairy Tales" #72, available April 2012, is written by Raven Gregory and illustrated by TBD, with covers by Mike Capprotti and Pasquale Qualano :

"...the journey of 'Sela' to find the place known as the 'Tomb Of Death' leads her to a small town that may hold the secrets to its location. There she learns the truth of the temple that was once the training grounds for the knights of the realm and the tragic tale of their corruption and downfall at the hands of the 'Dark One' minion, the evil 'Winter Witch'..."

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Casting Call For The CW's Green "Arrow" Pilot

Sneak Peek the new character casting breakdowns for the prepping CW TV pilot "Arrow," based on DC Comics 'Green Arrow' superhero character :

Producers are looking for :

"'Oliver Queen', a 27 year old reformed bad boy, who after having spent five years shipwrecked on a tiny, brutally dangerous island in the South China Sea returns to town a different man. Or to be more specific, a tortured, thoughtful master of the bow with a ferocious determination to make a difference.

"'Dinah Laurel Lance', 28 years old, smart sexy, Laurel is a legal aid attorney determined to use her life as a one-woman war against the 1% following the death of her younger sister Sara.

"A sister, who as luck would have it, just so happened to have died aboard Oliver’s yacht.

"'Tommy Merlyn', 28 years old and devil-smooth, Tommy is a trustafarian like Oliver, a spectacularly rich young man whose life revolves around parties, clubs, liquor and lots of anonymous sex. Unlike Oliver, he can’t seem to understand his former best friend’s sudden change of lifestyle and direction.

"'Moira Queen' is 48 years old, a beautiful woman and Oliver’s mother. Moira is a very wealthy woman who is not used to being shaken. Having remarried during the five years that former husband Robert and Oliver were both presumed dead, Moira has had free rein over the Queen billions. Not surprisingly, she’s deeply interested in learning whether or not Robert will also return unexpectedly, to ruin her present marriage and go over the books with a fine-tooth comb.

"'John Diggle', 35 years old, African-American, Diggle is really, really big, a former military man who served with the Army Rangers in Afghanistan, and has been a bodyguard for hire for the last four years. Hired by Moira to be Oliver’s chauffeur and protector, Diggle soon finds he is trapped in a battle of wits, as Oliver repeatedly eludes his protection. But in fact, Diggle’s primary conflict is one of loyalty — he has to show that he’s working for Oliver, not Moira, before Oliver will give him a smidgen of trust.

"'Thea Queen', 17 years old (suggest 17-22 years), Oliver’s Lolita-esque sister, Thea was a 12 year old girl when he went on his infamous yachting voyage — but now she’s a celebutante who’s testing the boundaries of acceptable behavior. Thea loved her big brother with all her heart, and is delighted to have him back in her life — but she’s spreading her wings, and is unprepared for Oliver to become the Bad Cop in the family, restricting her access to boys and drugs..."

The "Arrow" TV pilot, is from writers Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg ("Green Lantern").

"Arrow" joins other new TV pilots in development, based on DC Comics superheroes, including "Booster Gold", "Deadman" and "Spectre".

Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, "Green Arrow' first appeared in "More Fun Comics" #73 (November 1941), as 'Oliver Queen', a billionaire and former mayor of 'Star City'.

Dressed like 'Robin Hood', Green Arrow is an archer who invents trick arrows with various special functions, including glue, net, explosive, time bomb, grappling, fire extinguishing, flash and tear gas arrows.

Originally developed as an archery-themed 'Batman' vigilante, the character has developed over the years into a voice of left-wing and progressive politics.

The 'Green Arrow' also appeared in the live-action, Vancouver-lensed "Smallville" TV series.

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IDW's "Mars Attacks!"

IDW Publishing's upcoming "Mars Attacks" comic book series, available June 2012, will be written by John Layman and illustrated by John McCrea.

"I'm a huge fan of 'Mars Attacks' from a long way back," said Layman. "I own about half the original card set from 1962 and have a pretty big collection of collectables and doodads. It's always been a dream of mine to destroy the Earth...with this 'Mars Attacks' series, I finally get my chance."

The first issue will ship with 55 different covers (!), each depicting one of the original trading cards from the 1962 debut set of "Mars Attacks".

A complete collector's set of all 55 covers in a box replicating the original card packaging will also be offered.

Topps' "Mars Attacks", 'space adventure' bubblegum trading cards were created in 1962, then adapted into the 1996 feature "Mars Attacks!" by director Tim Burton.

"We are excited to be partnering with Topps on this classic brand," said Greg Goldstein, IDW’s Chief Operating Officer.

"Mars Attacks" was created by Len Brown and Woody Gelman, after Brown was 'inspired' by illustrator Wally Wood's 1950's cover to EC Comics' "Weird Science" #16.

The cards were illustrated by salacious, crime pulp magazine cover illustrator Norm Saunders.

Topps revived the franchise in the mid 1990's with a second card set, comic book series and toy line.

"When looking for a comics partner for Mars Attacks, we wanted a publisher with the right creative sensibilities and an appreciation of our brand’s fifty-year legacy," said Ira Friedman, Topps/VP, Global Licensing.

"There’s no doubt that IDW will provide a great home for us. We’re looking forward to 'Mars Attacks' complementing their existing stable of powerhouse franchises."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks!"...

Relativity Flys With "The Crow"

Following a recent settlement between The Weinstein Company and Relativity Media over screen rights to the comic book character "The Crow", F. Javier Gutierrez ("Before The Fall") is now attached to direct a screenplay by Jesse Wigutow for Relativity Media's developing "The Crow" feature.


Created by James O'Barr and published in 1989 by Caliber Comics, "The Crow" was written by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his girlfriend at the hands of a drunk driver. The comic book series quickly became an underground success and was later adapted into a Dimension Films' release in 1994 :

"...'Eric Draven' and his fiancée, 'Shelly', are assaulted by a gang of street thugs after their car breaks down. Left for dead on the side of the road, Eric is 'resurrected' by a crow and seeks vengeance on the murderers, methodically stalking and killing them. When not on the hunt, Eric stays in the house he shared with Shelly, spending most of his time lost in memories of her. The crow itself, acts as a guide for Eric, giving him information that helps him in his quest but also chastising him for dwelling on Shelly's death, distracting him from his purpose..."

Three "The Crow" film sequels, a television series and numerous novels have already been produced, with "The Crow" comic book series, translated into a dozen languages, selling over a quarter-million copies worldwide.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek the 1994 feature "The Crow"...

"The Double" On Blu-ray and DVD

The 2011 spy thriller, "The Double", from VVS Films, will be released on a DVD/Blu-ray combo pack, On Demand and Digital Download, January 31, 2012, in both English and French.

From a screenplay by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, the co-writers of "Wanted" and "3:10 To Yuma", "The Double" is Brandt's directorial debut.

Cast includes Richard Gere, Martin Sheen, Topher Grace and Odette Yustman-Annabel :

"...when a US Senator is killed, the evidence points to a Soviet assassin code-named 'Cassius', who was long-thought to be dead.

"'Paul Shepherdson' (Gere), a retired CIA operative is paired with FBI Agent 'Ben Geary' (Grace), to stop Cassius before he finds his next target..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Double"...