Results tagged “X-Men” from Modern Mythology

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) -- An auction of rare comics found in the basement of a suburban St. Louis home has brought in nearly $500,000 so far.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the first day of the auction on Sunday in St. Charles included $101,000 for the comic X-Men No. 1. All told, the auction has generated $490,000. It continued on Monday at Ameristar Casino.

About 3,000 comic books were found in the basement of a home in Arnold. The owner collected them as a boy. He died several years ago, and his mother died earlier this year. A cousin who became heir to the estate found the comic books. The heir has remained anonymous.


Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com

Note: The possibility of Bryan Singer directing another X-Men film has been the blog item du jour of the last few days and this is the AP story that sparked it.

MIN LEE
AP Entertainment Writer

BUSAN, South Korea (AP) -- Bryan Singer said Sunday he's interested in making another "X-Men" movie and has discussed the possibility with Twentieth Century Fox.

The American director made "X-Men" and "X2: X-Men United," but passed on the third installment so he could make "Superman Returns." ''Rush Hour" director Brett Ratner ended up shooting that film, "X-Men: The Last Stand." South African filmmaker Gavin Hood made another spin-off, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," which was released earlier this year.

"I'm still looking to possibly returning to the 'X-Men' franchise. I've been talking to Fox about it," Singer said at a talk at South Korea's Pusan International Film Festival.

"I love Hugh Jackman. I love the cast," he said, referring to the Australian actor who plays Wolverine.

Singer said he enjoyed making science fiction and fantasy movies because they allowed him to discuss serious issues through entertainment. He said the "X-Men" series, which follows a group of mutants with superpowers who struggle to fit in with humans, is about tolerance and social structures.

He said he likes to "trick audiences into thinking they're seeing fireworks, but they're learning about themselves and listening to what I have to say."

"The excitement about working in science fiction and fantasy is -- the stories, if they are good, are about the human condition," Singer said.

Appearing at a panel discussion with South Korean director Kim Ji-woon, the American director also said he appreciated the creative freedom South Korean filmmakers enjoyed to make the final cut, compared to Hollywood, where directors must negotiate with studio executives.

Hollywood movie budgets are so high that "the risk is too great to leave it in the hands of a filmmaker," he said, adding that he "has a responsibility to help studios feel secure in their investments."

Singer made his name with the 1995 critically acclaimed thriller "The Usual Suspects" but later earned a strong following among comic books fans for his adaptations of popular comic book series.


ABOVE: American director Bryan Singer talks in the Open Talks during the Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Sunday, Oct. 11. 2009. One of Asia's top film festivals opened Thursday by taking a lighthearted look at the South Korean presidency. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Based on the first arc of "Astonishing X-Men," the newest series featuring the worlds most popular "gifted children," this Marvel motion comic features the work of writer Joss Whedon and artist John Cassaday.

I'm enthusiastic about this choice for a motion-story.  Whedon not only allowed the mutants to confront the hottest storyline issues in the series (Anyone want a cure for being a mutant?), he also made it possible for audiences to get reacquainted with the characters and their personal conflicts.

The animation aspect of this trailer is a little bit of a problem for me.

I watched the first part of the new "Spider-Woman" motion comic and found it to be subtle and exciting in its use of motion, moody backgrounds, sound effects and actor dialogue.  This X-Men project is obviously more animated.  More Bending limbs.  More moving mouths.  I'm not sure if I like it yet. 

This may only be my issue because I liked the Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev "Spider-Woman" so much.  Motion comics are going to be a little different and every style will not thrill every audience.

Well, if I didn't ruin it for you, enjoy the trailer courtesy of Comic Book Resources.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Sony is adding a digital reader service that will allow owners of its handheld gaming system, the PlayStation Portable, to download comics.

The service will start in December and will include content from Marvel Entertainment's Spider-Man, X-Men and the Fantastic Four.

Users will be able to read classic and new comics page by page or frame by frame. Sony says PSP owners will be able to access a range of media through the digital reader service, but it gave no further details.

Sony did not announce prices Tuesday. The service will initally be available through the PlayStation Stores serving the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Comics are expensive. The average price for a single 22-page issue can run you anywhere from $2.99 to $3.99. That makes those comics seem awfully thin for the green you're shelling out.

Now, what if that $2.99 book not only contained an engrossing story but had some of the most impressive artwork you could find in any comic being published today? Maybe that price wouldn't be so bad since you're collecting something that is a pleasure to look at.

Marvel's "Astonishing X-Men" teams one of the busiest writers in the game -- Warren Ellis -- with the Italian art sensation Simone Bianchi. The squad over at Comic Book Resources have an interview with the artist and more samples than I can show you here at Modern.

I caught Bianchi's work over on the ongoing "Wolverine" series. It was violent, vivid and not so realistic that I disconnected. That's the knock some fans, myself included, sometimes hang on the brilliant Alex Ross whose work is so real it can cause a subliminal cancellation of the comic storytelling experience.

I am an X-Men fan from the earliest days of my life and there are so many key moments in the series' history that I define by not only the storyline of the time but also the visuals on every page every issue.

I remember artists Dave Cockrum, John Byrne, Paul Smith and Jim Lee. When this run on 'Astonishing' is done, I may love or hate the story but I can say I will definitely recall Simone Bianchi's artwork.

Check out the interview here and if you can't afford those individual issues of "Astonishing X-Men" stay on the lookout for the inevitable collected paperback sometime next year.


Images courtesy Marvel Comics 

I'm still a little hurt about the series "Civil War." A number of Marvel Comics characters I thought I understood from the Fantastic Four's Reed Richards to Iron Man were so offbeat I thought I was reading a "What If?" series.

Then I had to check myself. I'm one of those fans who want fresh takes on old stuff. And "Civil War" changed the game in the Marvel Universe, like it or not.

The 'Civil' writer Mark Millar and artist Steve McNiven re-team on the "Wolverine" comic arc "Old Man Logan" which takes us 50 years into the future and the picture aint pretty. The heroes have fallen and from what we know the country, maybe even the world is under the divided mercies of different villain factions.

Logan A.K.A. Wolverine is still alive and only two issues in we are given glimpses of the past events that kept the tough guy X-Man on the sidelines operating a farm in Sacramento. The character has gone from berserker avenger to docile farmer.