Con News: Castle/Firefly Star Nathan Fillion to Attend Wizard World Philly

Nathan Fillion Of 'Serenity,' 'Firefly,' 'Castle,' To Attend Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con, June 1-2

Joins Stan Lee, Summer Glau, William Shatner, WWE® Superstars John Cena® And Daniel Bryan® At Pennsylvania Convention Center

NEW YORK and PHILADELPHIA, March 7, 2013 – Nathan Fillion, star of the hit ABC-TV series “Castle” and well-known to fans for his iconic roles in the series “Firefly” and film Serenity, will make his first Wizard World appearance at Philadelphia Comic Con on Saturday and Sunday, June 1-2, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

The Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, native portrayed “Captain Malcolm Reynolds” in “Firefly” and its continuation Serenity, vaulting him into the spotlight.  After a few other well-received appearances, the Emmy Award nominee landed the title role in the hugely popular “Castle,” as the quirky writer “Richard Castle,” who helps New York detective “Kate Beckett” (Stana Katic) solve crimes.  Fillion will also appear in the feature film Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, due out this summer.

Fillion will meet Wizard World fans, pose for photo ops, sign autographs and conduct an interactive Q&A at Philadelphia Comic Con.  He will join comics legend Stan Lee, Summer Glau (Serenity, “Firefly”), William Shatner (“Star Trek,” “Boston Legal”), WWE® Superstars John Cena® and Daniel Bryan®, “The Walking Dead” duo of Michael Rooker and Norman Reedus, and Manu Bennett (“Arrow,” The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, “Spartacus: Vengeance”) as headliners scheduled at the event, held May 30 – June 2.

Fans will also be able to purchase “Nathan Fillion VIP” tickets, for the full experience including photos, autographs and reserved seating at the Fillion programming panel, sure to be an extremely popular event.

Wizard World Comic Con events bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, graphic novels, comics, toys, video gaming, television, sci-fi, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more.  Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con show hours are Thursday, May 30, 3-8 p.m.; Friday, May 31, noon - 7 p.m.; Saturday, June 1, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.; and Sunday, June 2, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

For more on the 2013 Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con, visit http://www.wizardworld.com/home-pa.html.

About Wizard World:
Wizard World produces Comic Cons and pop culture conventions across North America that celebrate graphic novels, comic books, movies, TV shows, gaming, technology, toys and social networking. The events often feature celebrities from movies and TV, artists and writers, and events such as premieres, gaming tournaments, panels, and costume contests.

The full event schedule can be found at www.wizardworld.com.

***** SAVE THE 2013-14 DATES *****
March 22-24 – Wizard World St. Louis Comic Con
May 30 - June 2 – Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con
June 28-30 – Wizard World New York City Experience
August 8-11 – Wizard World Chicago Comic Con
September 20-22 – Wizard World Ohio Comic Con
October 18-20 – Wizard World Nashville Comic Con
November 22-24 – Wizard World Austin Comic Con
January 24-26, 2014 – Wizard World Portland Comic Con
February 7-9, 2014 – Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con

COMICS ON THE SCREEN # 3 - JUSTICE LEAGUE DOOM

  JUSTICE LEAGUE DOOM

by Frankie Rodriguez (Seraph)

Starring:

   Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne/Batman
   Tim Daly as Clark Kent/Superman
   Susan Eisenberg as Diana/Wonder Woman
   Michael Rosenbaum as Barry Allen/The Flash
   Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordon/Green Lantern
   Carl Lumby as J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter & Ma’alafa’ak
   Bumper Robinson as Victor Stone/Cyborg
   Phil Morris as Vandal Savage
   Claudia Black as Barbara Ann Minerva/Cheetah

Written by Dwayne McDuffie


Directed by Lauren Montgomery

            Ah. Welcome once again to Comics On the Screen. Tis I, Frankie Rodriguez (also known to many as Seraph) here to give you another review of a comic book related feature. So, I guess you are wondering what feature we are going to examine this time. Well … I can say it in 3 words:

            JUSTICE.        LEAGUE.        DOOM.

            Yes. The final work of the late, great Dwayne McDuffie as well as a loose adaptation of Mark Waid’s JLA storyline “Tower of Babel”, Justice League Doom deals with some very interesting tactics used against them. And while the tactics seem effective, the source of those tactics are even worse. Warning, SPOILERS ARE ABOUND. Confused a little? Then allow me to explain as we dive into Justice League: Doom.

THE RUNDOWN

            Our film starts the way all good films from DC Comics films start of late . . . with a robbery. And while there seems to be some very interesting things going on . .. like Batman seemingly walking through a solid wall .. . WHAT THE . . . as we see who the robbers are. And oddly enough, instead of one playing card type villain behind this heist, it is several. Yes. We see the Royal Flush Gang going after diamonds. After a brief scolding from Queen, Jack takes a look around.

            OH HAI BAT MAUN!

            And Batman makes his way down … after dodging a blast from Jack. After rough landing, Jack states that he’s gonna kill the Bat and that’s when we see the rest of the team. Well . .. most of team except for one other member.  Green Lantern Hal Jordon, The Flash Barry Allen, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman & Superman himself.

            There are a few quick quips traded amongst the League; Hal telling Batman many how many times he’s saved his life; Martian Manhunter teasing Superman about being sucker punched by Ace the last time they fought the Royal Flush Gang. The two groups go into combat and we see some great scenes. Like Wonder Woman using her lasso like whip against Queen or Hal Jordon vs 10 and my personal favorite . ..

            Superman channels his super testosterone to give Ace his best “I AM A MAUN!!!” punch . .. right through Ace!  Geez!

            As the rest of the Royal Flush Gang goes down, King seemingly gets away. I say seemingly cause when the League regroups to go after him, they are met outside by their final Leaguer, Cyborg. And Cyborg had knocked out King. Yay!

            The League looks over a machine that allowed the Royal Flush Gang to make the wall of the bank intangible in the first place. Batman states that they should look for clues when Diana reminds him his hurt. But does Batman listen … no. Then he says he should check out the machine when Cyborg tells them that there are  .. .. 38 … whatever is above a Tetrabyte, worth of data to go over and that he’ll call him as soon as he’s done. And with that, Batman takes his leave, as does the rest of the League.

            Wait a second. Batman seen something in the mirror for a second. It was there and then it wasn’t. Who could that be?! Batman makes it home where Alfred forces Bruce to bed. Out of the Mirror we hear . .. Mirror Master. Oh wow! That’s awesome cause he talks to someone quietly as he seeming takes information from the Bat Computer .. . completely undetected.

            After that, we find ourselves in a swamp. And suddenly we see Bat-villain Bane fighting off a tiger. He is soon joined by Star Sapphire, Metallo, Ma’alafa’ak (another  Martian like Maritan Manhunter … but EVIL) & Cheetah. They all said they were told to meet there and before they leave, a giant dome structure comes up from the ground. A  . . . some what familiar structure.

            The villains enter within where Mirror Master is standing by Vandal Savage. Savage offers the villains a chance to help him on a later project but the job for now is to take out the Justice League. And he offers each villain $100,000,000 . .. a piece for each leaguer they take out.

WAIT . . .

            Take out a Leaguer for $100,000,000?!  I . . . I . ..  I . . .

            *The Emperor from Star Wars comes out* “ Yes. Let the hate flow through you.”

     I . .. I . ..

            $100,000,000 DOLLARS!!!  I . .. I . ..

            NO! I am not evil. I am not evil.  But for the love of Primus . ..  $100,000,000 DOLLARS!!!!!!????!!!!

            Anyway, the villains are not retarded as they take up Vandal Savage on the offer. And what commences is by far one of the sickest, more twisted and beyond glorious schemes in history.

            Well, you see first ****** runs outside to find that *** ****** ****** has been *** ****. And then we see Superman trying to talk down a guy from the ledge and  ***** ****** **** ******** ********. Wonder Woman ends up fighting Cheetah who then ***** **** **** *** ***** ****. Martian Manhunter is disguised in his human form when he sees a woman and  ****** ***** ********* *** *****. Hal Jordon is called in to ****** and then he ***** ***** ***. The Flash races to a ***** where he saves  *******. We find then that **** ****** *******.

  The Villains, aka The LEGION OF DOOM, reconvene after *** ***** ******** and Vandal Savage reveals his true motives: Cheetah then slashes her nails against his neck when *****  ****  ******.

            OH GOD!!! I am stopping this here. I can’t spoil this movie!!!

THE BREAK DOWN

            This is a first for me. This movie is, as of right now, the best DC Animated film they have EVER made. No ifs. No ands. No butts. I normally do not have a problem giving spoilers but by the Matrix, I cannot reveal this movie.

            The pacing in this movie was exception. From start to finish, it was a roller coaster ride that just felt so good that you wanted to ride it over and over again. The animation was crisp, colorful and set each tone and each hero and villain perfectly. Motion in this movie was like water when it needed to be or like truck when it had to be. Every frame filled with pure unadulterated awesome.

            The plot came from Towel of Babel but the late Dwayne McDuffie and the rest of the writing team of Justice League Doom transformed this into something that can stand on its own as a different story from Towel of Babel, just using similar plot devices and points. Spoiler: The fact that Mirror Master successfully infiltrated Batman’s lair, took the information he needed and returned to Savage undetected was genius. One of the biggest selling points was the actual information being that Batman had made plans on ways to take down every member of the Justice League (save for Cyborg, who had just joined). Vandal Savage used that information and twisted it for his own purposes. And  that is what made Doom such an incredible viewing experience.

            The tone shifts in Doom keep you at the edge of your seat. From the light hearted banner at the beginning between Hal and Batman to the (spoiler) Brian DePalma like scene where Superman is falling after being shot with a Kyptonite bullet; and believe me, that is NOT the most amazing thing about the movie but the music, animation and cuts scenes during that one sequence helped elevated this movie into DC’s top animated film.

            The voice cast was BEYOND Superb. Many Justice League alumni were here as Carl Lumby returned as Martian Manhunter alongside Susan Eienberg as Wonder Woman. Michael Rosenbaum returned to Flash but was a different Flash; most notably known as Wally West, Rosenbaum excels as Barry Allen in Doom. For what might be the first time in a Justice League movie, Tim Daly is Superman; playing the character to the tee as always alongside the voice of animated Batman for the last 2 decades, Kevin Conroy. Conroy gave a great intensity to his role, with the personal implications during his  particular problems during Doom. Nathan Fillon, once again, plays Hal Jordon and once again Fillon’s Jordon is perfect. No other actor has been able to cover Hal’s multifaceted character as well as Fillon and it really shines during Doom. Bumper Robinson’s Cyborg was more than worthy of the character; letting him be smart, strong and really finding his way with this team. And these are just the heroes.

The villains are equally as exquisite. Carl Lumby also played Ma’alafa’ak, giving a slightly darker tone to the voice that was seductive in its own way. Carlos Alazraqui gives an outstanding performance of the Man who broke the Bat back in the comics; even giving us some great voice range. Alexis Densof (aka Mr. Alyson Hannigan) performs a wicked Mirror Master who seems deadpan with his delivery but the voice hints at the twisted man that Mirror Master is. His scenes with Rosenbaum’s Flash were amazing. Oliva d’Abo’s Star Sapphire was the epitome of a woman scorned; sexy, angry but sly. Paul Blackthorne’s Metallo was so welcome cause it fit him; a psychotic human inside the body of a robot who hates Superman. Phil Morris gave one of his best performances as the ruthless, upper crust Vandal Savage. He tapped into something because his Savage felt real. Yet, the MVP of the movie in terms of voice cast goes out to Claudia Black. Her Cheetah was DEAD ON. Never has a voice fit so well with a villain. Black’s Cheetah was sexy, vicious, cunning and intelligent and the movie allowed her to show that. The chemistry between Black’s Cheetah & Eisenberg’s Diana alone is worth watching the film. They embodied the long time foes so well that you want more of them. I want another movie with Black’s Cheetah alone.

The movie is a triumph in all respects. Timm, Romano & McDuffie gives us a movie that WILL be a classic and a new standard bearer for DC movies to come. You will NEVER guess at how things happen at the movie. Things you think are predictable are not. Not Savage’s true plan. Not the ways the League are taken out. Not even what is going on. You will be surprised over and over again. A strong plot, excellent pacing, exquisite animation & a voice cast that will make fans wet their pants in delight; I cannot recommend this movie enough.

So It is my honor and great privilege to give Justice League Doom a 7 out of 5 Rating. YOU MUST OWN THIS MOVIE AND SHOW IT TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW! And with that … I am gonna go watch it again. Lata!

NEWS EDITION #22 - JL DOOM TAKES MANHATTAN, AVENGER VERSUS X-MAN, IMAGE'S GENERATION LAST

Here we are again with news for the week.


JUSTICE LEAGUE DOOM TO PREMIERE IN NYC

by Frankie Rodriguez 

    The long awaited Justice League Doom animated movie is coming and will be seen in grand fashion. MTV Geek and Warner Home Video will be holding a grand premiere for the new animated movie on February 13th at the New York City's Paley Center for Media.

    The new animated film is an adaption of the JLA's Towel of Babel storyline that was originally written by current Daredevil scribe, Mark Waid. Rewritten for animated movie format by the late, great Dwayne McDuffie, the story revolves around the Justice League being picked off one-by-one by villains. Yet, these villains are able to take down the League because these plans were made and stolen from Batman. These plans were made by the Dark Knight himself in case any of the Justice League ever went rogue.  The cast of the League in the movie are  Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern Hal Jordon, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg (who has become a founding member of the League with the new 52 continuity) & of course, Batman.

      The voice cast is solid with Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordon, Carl Lumbly reprising his role as Martian Manhunter (from the Justice League/Unlimited cartoons), Susan Eienberg as Wonder Woman (from the JL/U cartoons), Michael Rosenbaum as The Flash (yet as Barry Allen this time), Bumper Robinson as Cyborg, Tim Daly as Superman (voice of Superman in Superman the Animated Series) and of course, Kevin Conroy as Batman. Villain voices include Phil Morris as Vandal Savage, Alexis Densiof (Wesley from Angel) as Mirror Master, Claudia Black (from Farscape/Stargate SG1 fame) as Cheetah and more.

   The production crew and members of the voice cast will also be at the red-carpet premiere in a special panel to answer questions as well as enjoy the movie on February 13th. Justice League Doom will hit stores on DVD and Blue-Ray on February 28th, 2012. And expect a special review on JL: Doom on the February 29 edition of Comic Book Clash.


AVENGERS & X-MEN TIE IN BATTLES WITH VERSUS

by Frankie Rodriguez 

    Remember when we ended the year with news of Marvel's huge Avengers vs X-Men maxiseries event? Well, we have follow up cause Marvel seems to be going to give face a real hard look at their battles with a tie-in miniseries called AvX: Versus!

    The miniseries was announced that it will be focusing on actually one on one battles between members of the X-Men and members of the Avengers, with 2 stories each issues and a rotating creative team, much like it's daddy book Avengers Vs X-Men. Marvel Senior Vice President Tom Brevoort commented about the new miniseries:

We’re only doing tie-ins in the core Avengers and X-Men titles. Avx: Versus is the least essential lead of AvX, yet it will probably be the best-selling. It is wall to wall combat, taking moments of conflicts in the main series and giving them the room to breathe they need and require. There’s not a lot of subtext. There’s not a lot of conversation. Literally, from the first page, someone is punching someone else. This is all about those quintessential questions of who would win in a fight.

    So we got confirmation that the tie ins will be in the main Avengers and X-Men books, expect for Versus. The first issue's creative teams and battles were revealed by Senior Editor Nick Lowe to be Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert in an Iron Man versus Magneto bout followed by Kathryn and Stuart Immonen working on Namor vs The Thing, two characters that have a long history with each other.

Editor-in-Chief of Marvel, Axel Alonso added about why Versus exists:

There’s a lot of story across the twelve issues of AvX… Game changers no one will be able to anticipate. There’s a lot of fights, but you always wonder, what if there was more room for this fight, or this fight?

 And Lowe did promise that fan favorite fights were definitely not going to be ignored, such as a long demanded and awaited battle between Rogue and Ms. Marvel; as well the oddly demanded fight of Pixie vs Squirrel Girl. And most bouts will be given different locales for each battle; much like different levels to fight in a fighting game. And since the casts of book books are so massive, this is merely another great arena for battles to happen and tell the stories.

Brevoort stated:

 In the course of 'AvX' #2, there are about forty characters fighting in the very first skirmish and we aren't going to be able to spend more than a page or two on it. They're going to be pretty exciting pages, but there's a lot more you can do with any of these conflicts. All of these things will work in lockstep. You won't see bouts in 'Versus' that aren't in some way reflected in the main book, but you will see them in much greater depth.
 

And unlike every event since Civil War, there will NOT be a Frontline tie-in book. Brevoort explains why:

This is the uncut heroine of this event. Doing a ground level, normal people view didn't seem as appealing of our characters grinding each other into the dirt.

 AvX: Versus # 1 written by Jason Aaron & Kathryn Immonen with art by Adam Kubert and Stuart Immonen will hit selves in April.


THE LAST NEW GENERATIONS OF HEROES SAY "HELL YEAH"

by Frankie Rodriguez

     Image Comics has become the premiere house for independent comics, including very different looks at superheroes. And come March, what may be the final generation of heroes have come. From Eisner and Harvey Award winning writer Joe Keatinge and cult favorite Elephantmen artist Andre Szymanowicz bring able this new and final generation of heroes in time for Image's 20th Anniversary.

   20 years after the emergence of super heroes collapsed Sports and Entertainment industries and changed the world economically, a new generation has come out, trying to survive this very different landscape. This new superhero epic, according to the creators, will give you a very different look at superheroes and their effects on the world. And writer Keatinge says the creation of Hell Yeah is attributed cause of Image Comics.

Keatinge stated:

HELL YEAH exists because Image Comics exists. I read superhero comics my whole life, but when Image Comics debuted, it made me realize all the rules and restrictions I saw in other superhero comics didn't have to exist. Anything could happen. You could kill lead characters in first issues. Obliterate long-standing villains in a page turn. They could be in different tone than what's normally presented by the diversity shown in anything from YOUNGBLOOD to CASUAL HEROES. They didn't have to be noble, they didn't have to maintain the same status quo. It was turned into a genre where the term 'impossible' didn't exist. Due to all this my imagination went into over drive and after twenty years of percolating in my brain, HELL YEAH was born.

Our story starts with Ben Day, a college student who finds out that his other selves throughout the Multiverse are being murdered and why these murders are interesting to even the world's most popular and powerful super-celebrities. Szymanowicz stated how much he is enjoying drawing this new world and story:

I've been having a ball drawing HELL YEAH and watching how these characters develop, and at the same time its just a great blend of mainstream and indie comics coming together. On one hand they are just like how I was at this age: aimless, going to rock shows and trying to find someone to date. Then there's the side of it where they are in this superhero world and can sorta kick somebody's ass (or get their own handed to them) from time to time.

And Image Publisher Eric Stephenson added:

Nothing excites me more than raw, undiluted creativity, and HELL YEAH delivers that in spades. Joe and Andre are dragging superheroes kicking, screaming and spitting blood into a brave new world where the impossible is possible, nothing is sacred and no one is safe. HELL YEAH, indeed.

HELL YEAH #1 written by Joe Keatinge with art by Andre Szymanowicz will hit selves and digital on March 7th, 2012.


 
VIDEO OF THE WEEK:

THE WALKING DEAD SEASON 2 TRAILER .. .  CAUSE WE KNOW IT'S YOUR ADDICTION!!


A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
  Welcome Ladies and Gents, to the end of one Era and the Beginning of a new  Era. Comic Book Clash is evolving. We are going through changes. Added some new staff, Added more content. And there will be more. Comic Book Clash is making a name for itself  and we are building our own niche in comic book dom. You are gonna see more new names, such like Jake Estrada (Under the Net) and Darryll (Batwoman).
    You will be seeing those names for a while. We have a whole lot planned this year and certainly more than just news and reviews. You will be seeing all sorts of different content, such as the surveys and countdowns. We are even doing something special for Spider-man's 50th Birthday. But, we want to hear from you, our fans, our readers as to what you would like to see.
   We are gonna be hitting the independent scene hard this year alongside looking at the big 2. This is a very big year and you will see A LOT of names and faces get reviewed, interviewed and more. But we need you to spread the word. Say what you like. Say what you don't like. Comic Book Clash is always looking for more staff; send us a sample of your writing and what you would like to do to francisco.k.rodriguez@gmail.com with the title CBC Staff Writing Sample. We will get back to you with an answer about a position with us within 48 hours. 
     There is a lot more that is to come, including our 1st Year Anniversary extravaganza but more on those later. Remember, support CBC. Support J1Studios. We are doing our best to give you all sorts of content in comics, music, anime, tv and more and we always love your support. Tweet it. Tell your friends. We'd love it.
  Well, till we are ready to unravel our plans for our 1 year Anniversary, that is all for now. Feel free to check out all the reviews this week and all the special content. We got an independent book and one book from each of the Big 2. Plus we got another countdown and survey. I hope you enjoy them all. And do forget to read the J1Studios comics (we can't review for obvious reasons) and listen to the music, including Shinigami's & Forafire's latest, SPIN DASH AUDIO. Till next time Clashers. 


SERAPH (aka Frankie Rodriguez)


PLACES TO GO, THINGS TO SEE

One of the few Tokusatsu Reviews I know. Great guy with a good set of reviews, a few countdowns and some specials. Tokusatsu is special effects in japanese but it is what the genre of live action stuff like Power Rangers and Kamen Rider Dragon Knight are based off of. Toku Time or Reviewtopia: Toku Time is where you can find him.

Johnny Saturn that was recently the subject of the first UNDER THE NET: Johnny Saturn


AND OF COURSE, THE NEWLY RELEASED SPIN DASH AUDIO:

The new Sonic Remix album by Shinigami and Forafire. Plus, hit the rest of J1 Studios for other comics, tv and more.  Downloads for Spin Dash Audio for FREE