Modern Mythology

This trailer dropped Tuesday morning so you've probably seen it already but if you haven't...

I have to say it appears to be a bit more of a gritty Spider-Man picture than what we've seen in the prior films by Sam Raimi. Although, the Raimi flicks had some dark moments.

Perhaps it's too soon for another set of films but an argument can be made that in this era of instant information the movie remake window can indeed be smaller. And look at what me and my fellow Spidey-geeks get: Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy and young science prodigy Peter building his mechanical web shooters!

Also, the director's name is Marc Webb.

"The Amazing Spider-Man" in 3D stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field and opens July 3, 2012.

Just in case you missed the fun, here's the video link for "The Avengers" Super Bowl XLVI trailer.

Are you hyped to see this flick or what?  Please take a second to answer the poll question below.

"The Avengers" stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo and opens May 4, 2012.

And here is a very short look at "The Avengers" Super Bowl teaser from Marvel's website.

The images new to me in this clip included flying (alien?) vessels and Captain America and Thor together post-combat. I expect a bigger segment to be presented during the actual Super Bowl XLVI.

Among my friends, this film needs to get its groove back in the buzz department. "The Dark Knight Rises" and "Prometheus" are generating a lot of interest so Marvel Studios better bring it.

And since I feel bad the above clip is a shorty, here's the first full "The Avengers" trailer via Comic Book Resources I previously ran a few months back on Modern Mythology.

MATT MOORE
Associated Press

PHILADELPHA (AP) -- More than a quarter of a century after "Watchmen" intrigued readers with tales of less-than-heroic and all-too-human -- save for Dr. Manhattan -- crime-fighting vigilantes, DC Entertainment is revisiting them in a series of original prequels this summer.

The publisher of DC Comics said Wednesday that it will launch seven interlocking and inter-connected miniseries -- each focusing on a specific character -- as it revisits the world first and last seen in the 1986-1987 12-issue series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, which has remained a staple of critics and consumers and a near-constant best-selling graphic novel.

The seven titles will carry the "Before Watchmen" banner, DC said.

"It's our responsibility as publishers to find new ways to keep all of our characters relevant," DC Entertainment co-publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee said in a statement. "After 25 years, the Watchmen are classic characters whose time has come for new stories to be told. We sought out the best writers and artists in the industry to build on the complex mythology of the original."

Moore is not participating, but Gibbons noted that their original series was "the complete story that Alan Moore and I wanted to tell. However, I appreciate DC's reasons for this initiative and the wish of the artists and writers involved to pay tribute to our work."

In that vein, the publisher said that the writers and artists bringing the miniseries about Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan, Nite Owl, Ozymandias, Silk Spectre, Comedian and the Minutemen include writers Len Wein, who edited the original series; Darwyn Cooke; Brian Azzarello and J. Michael Straczynski. Artists include Amanda Conner, Andy and Joe Kubert, Adam Hughes, Jae Lee, J.G. Jones, Lee Bermejo and Cooke.

Wein, who is writing "Ozymandias," is also penning a two-page backup feature in each of the series dubbed "The Curse of the Crimson Corsair," which is illustrated by John Higgins, who did the colors on the original "Watchmen" series.

"'The Curse of the Crimson Corsair' was actually my idea when we first started talking about doing these new stories," Wein said. "Since, in the world of the Watchmen, DC stopped doing superhero comics early on and started a line of pirate comics instead, I thought it might be fun to see what one of the other books in the line looked like."

That's akin to the similar pirate comic that played out in the pages of "Watchmen" that Moore wrote called "Tales of the Black Freighter,'" Wein said. "'Crimson Corsair' introduces a new character to follow from the beginning of his adventure to its grisly end. I must say I'm having a lot of fun getting creeped out by what I'm writing here."

Higgins said he and Wein have kept the sense of foreboding and darkness that permeated the "Black Freighter" story.

"What we are trying to achieve with the Crimson Corsair pages within the regular new series is to create a graphic 'buffer' and to use the darkness of the Crimson Corsair stories as a literary counterpoint to the regular book," he said.

Looking ahead, Higgins said that even though the Watchmen has become a touchstone for comics and graphic novels, the new series can expand on its mythology.

"The challenge is to make the stories modern and relevant to 2012 and to show what can be done with respect and consideration for the source material that has inspired so many people over the years. By adding to the mythos and not to detract from it," he said. "'The Watchmen' had such an influence on graphic storytelling since it first appeared and is a timeless classic. If we can create a new set of stories that can be enjoyed 25 years on, that would be an achievement and a reward in itself."


Follow Matt Moore at www.twitter.com/mattmooreap.

... And now I've seen everything.

Combine remote controlled planes with cutouts resembling human figures and we get one of the neatest YouTube clips I've seen in a while.

This clip appears via Comic Book Resources who report it's part of a promotion for the film "Chronicle" which is set for release Friday.

"Chronicle" opens February 3.

Rebecca Garland holds a focus group with area teens at a Barnes & Noble book store. (Scott Varley / Staff Photographer)

By Kelly Puente
Press-Telegram

LONG BEACH - In a time of "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" fanatics, getting young readers excited about books written over a century ago isn't an easy task.

But with Disney's action-adventure "John Carter" hitting theaters next month, fans hope the movie will turn a new generation of readers on to the classic character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in the early 1900s.

That's the hope for Long Beach mother Rebecca Garland, who fell in love with Burroughs' series of fantasy/sci-fi books after seeing a special screening of "John Carter" in December.

"I just devoured the books, one after the other," she said. "My kids love them, too."

Garland, who was laid off from her job as a teacher at Long Beach's

Lafayette Elementary in 2010, became involved in the John Carter Teen Reading Project this year after meeting fellow fan Michael Sellers.

The project, created by Sellers, aims to create special focus groups to find out whether today's teens can enjoy reading Burroughs.

On Thursday, the project held its first focus group at Barnes & Noble in Long Beach. About a dozen local teens discussed the book "A Princess of Mars," on which the new Disney movie is based, and filled out a questionnaire about what they liked and didn't like.

So far, the feedback has been positive, Garland said.

"What we're finding is that boys and girls equally love the book," she said. "They like the book because it doesn't read like it was written a hundred years ago. It's very easy to get into, and it's very addictive."

Students who participated in the focus group will get to see a special pre-screening of the Disney movie March 3.

Published in 1917, "A Princess of Mars" tells the story of Earthling John Carter and his adventures on planet Mars. The book is part of a series that skyrocketed to popularity in the mid-20th century and inspired such writers as Ray Bradbury and Arthur C. Clarke. The series was also the inspiration for James Cameron's blockbuster movie "Avatar."

Burroughs, who died in 1950, is best known for creating Tarzan, the famed jungle hero.

While the books have dwindled in popularly in recent decades, Sellers, a Los Angeles- based filmmaker, believes the new movie will rekindle an interest in the visionary author.

With the help of Garland, the reading project plans to find more teens and hold more focus groups to get students excited about reading.

Alana Lardizabal, a 14-year- old Lakewood High student, said she joined the focus group out of curiosity. The teen said she loves "A Princess of Mars" because of the action, romance and amazing attention to detail.

"Everything he describes I can totally picture," she said. "It's like being in another world."

For more information about the John Carter Teen Reading Project, visit http://johncarter files.michaeldsellers.com.

kelly.puente@presstelegram.com, 562-714-2181, twitter.com/kellypuentept

By Tom Webb twebb
@pioneerpress.com

A new thrill ride with a blast-from-the-past name is coming to Mall of America - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shell Shock.

The ride will open in March at the megamall's Nickelodeon Universe. It promises to "take riders 70 feet in the air in a matter of seconds, reaching up to 25 miles per hour," the park posted on its Facebook page.

"Each rider will control their seat, which can rotate wildly like a plane propeller or a gentle teeter-totter...making no two ride experiences the same," the Facebook post said.

Dan Jasper, Mall of America spokesman, confirmed today that the new ride will open in mid-March.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a popular craze in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but the four main characters - Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael - haven't been so visible in recent decades.

But Nickelodeon is planning to revive the franchise, and will introduce a new computer-generated animation series on its network, sometime in 2012. A feature film is also said to be in the works. So the ride's name is aimed at helping to revive the Turtles brand.

Tom Webb can be reached at 651-228-5428. Follow him at twitter.com/TomWebbMN

PHOTO: Image of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Donatello. (Getty Images)

The world's most famous fictional "Sailor Man" returns to comics to deliver knuckle sandwiches to the bullies and make bean-pole ladies swoon.

Writer Roger Langridge and artist Bruce Ozella will helm IDW's "Popeye" set to debut in April. Veteran creator Langridge, of the award-winning "Muppet Show Comic Book" and "Thor: The Mighty Avenger," sites the pipe-chompin' character as an influence on his comics work.

From the press release

"Ever since I was a kid, the two cartoonists who have had the biggest influence on me have been Carl Barks and E.C. Segar, so getting a chance to write Popeye is quite a thrill," said Langridge. "I'm especially pleased that IDW have decided to go with a Segar-flavored interpretation. As much as I like some of the later versions of the character, for me, it's those early strips where the magic really happened. Just as well Segar drew everybody with big feet, because Bruce and I have some enormous shoes to fill!"

"Popeye #1" goes on sale in April.

MATT MOORE
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Valiant Comics is bringing its premiere hero back to the pages of comics after a nearly decade-long absence, debuting X-O Manowar in May and promising a hero that longtime fans will know but with new adventures that will carry him to new heights.

"Plenty of foundation was laid in the original X-O Manowar run, and when I went back and read those stories, the possibilities leapt out at me," writer Robert Venditti told The Associated Press on Tuesday. He said his goal is to "build upon the foundation that has already been laid. Of course, new characters and story elements will be introduced, but it will always be done with the aim of staying true to what has made X-O such a beloved character."

An X-O Manowar book was last on store shelves in 2002, which capped a decade-long run for the fifth century Visigoth who was ultimately kidnapped by aliens and taken into space. After donning a suit of sentient armor, he returned to 20th century earth where he became a hero.

Created by Jim Shooter, Bob Layton and Jon Hartz, X-O Manowar debuted in 1992. The character was paired with Marvel Comics' Iron Man for a video game in 1996.

Valiant Executive Editor Warren Simons said the launch of the new title, illustrated by Cary Nord, will spearhead more books and characters -- including Harbinger, Bloodshot, Ninjak, Archer & Armstrong and Shadowman -- later this year as the publisher brings them back to a new audience, with nods, but not direct ties, to the original Valiant continuity.

"By modernizing the characters while also being faithful to the core concepts that drive them," Simons said. "Valiant fans have been waiting for a new take on these characters for years."

Valiant Entertainment planted the seeds for the comic imprint's return last year, putting together a new management team and lining up writers and artists after it got financial backing from Cuneo & Co. LLC, a private investment firm focused on consumer products, media and entertainment.

During its heyday, Valiant, founded in 1989, sold 80 million comics with characters such as Shadowman, Armorines and Ninjak. It was later acquired by videogame maker Acclaim Entertainment, which used the characters for its games before it went out of business in 2005.

Dinesh Shamdasani, the company's chief creative officer, said Valiant aims to recapture the appeal of the previous incarnation for existing and new audiences.

"What the original Valiant did so well and we're working hard to do again is embrace the super-hero aspects of our universe, but we also push our characters to be more than just men and women in capes and tights," Dinesh said. "We aim to give the reader an adrenaline-fueled super-hero comic book the likes of which they can't get anywhere else."

As for keeping X-O Manowar fresh, but rooted, Shamdasani said the idea is to balance those attributes and pursuits.

"We've looked at many examples of characters being successful modernized from Marvel's Ultimate line and DC's New 52 to 'Casino Royale' and 'Batman Begins' and found that in almost every case what worked was to stay true to the core conventions and iconography of the concept and put everything else up for examination," he said.

Venditti said it would come down to creating a vibrant, eye-catching story, too.

"The audience will always respond positively to good stories about compelling characters facing intense situations," he said. "This is what the original incarnation of Valiant is known for, and it's certainly what Cary and I are striving for with the new X-O Manowar."

Follow Matt Moore at www.twitter.com/mattmooreap.

ABOVE: In this image provided by Valiant Entertainment, Valiant Comic "X-O Manowar" is shown. Valiant Comics is bringing its premiere hero back to the pages of comics after a nearly decade-long absence, debuting X-O Manowar in May. (AP Photo/Valiant Entertainment)


Online:

http://www.valiantentertainment.com

Vintage furniture store, Warehouse 1333, will showcase "Steampunk," a genre-bending mixed- media art exhibit, featuring emerging artist Pete Ramirez and mixed-media creations by several other artists. Saturday Jan. 21, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

Also, a treasure hunt and live music. 1333 Redondo Ave. Long Beach, CA. 90804 562-494-1333. http://www.warehouse1333.com/