This amazing custom was done in response to the desire by many fans for a Superman in the Superman Vs. He-Man 2 pack that would match the size of the Masters of the Universe Classics figures.

you can see more at His DeviantArt page/

Warner Brothers has made a fantastic decision and has purchased the London based Rocksteady Games. Rocksteady developed the fantastic Batman: Arkham Asylum and it’s critical and financial success probalby made the purchase that much easier for WB. The main goal of this purchase is to have Rocksteady work on many WB properties, but no exacts were mentioned. Hopefully this will lead to a good Superman, Green Lantern, Flash and many other DC properties getting games they deserve. More news to come once we get more information on upcoming projects.

Exciting Breaking News… ToyFare is reporting that Mattel will be bringing the Classics line to Toys “R” Us stores as DC Vs. MOTU 2-packs. More on this news at Toy News International

¡Hola mis amigos nerdy!  How about some comic-book-turned-movie news, yes?

Captain America:  (here), (here), and (here)

Green Lantern:  (here)

Superman: (here)

Daredevil: (here)

That was fun, no?  Until next time, ¡Ruego para que usted pierda su virginidad!

Starting November 22nd at the Museum of Modern Art, they will be presenting a retrospective on Tim Burtons career. This showing will include many props from his films, personal letters to his actors, paintings of his interpretation of his movies and many other things his fans should enjoy. This event will run till April 26th of next year so there is plenty of time to plan your trip. Check out the official MOMA exhibit page for further details on the event and check out MTV Splashpage for some preview photos of some of the work that is offered. I’ve attached my two favorite preview pieces by Burton, including a design for Brainiac in his unused Superman relaunch.

So I just scored a copy of the new Ed Mcguiness/Jeph Loeb inspired Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, and I got to tell you, it’s pretty o.k.

Direct Youtube Link

Not nearly as good as the recent Green Lantern: First Flight, but still worth a watch, “Public Enemies’” animation and art are very cool, but the whole film gets dragged down by a lackluster ending and third act. Some of the battles are exceptionally cool, especially those that feature a dozen or so super characters, and the movie definitely shows revererance for the source material. And I really like a lot of the Batman stuff. It just sort of drags a bit @ the finale, and I don’t know, sometimes I just find Superman kind of lame. The voice work is pretty stellar, and the idea is obviously very inspired, but in the end, it didn’t leave me with that “Wow, holy shit. That was cool.” feeling that so much of Bruce Timm’s work usually results in. I would still say check it out, but only if you’ve already seen First Flight and Gotham Knight, and just need a quick DC animated fix.

Check out this sweet new figure from Tone Tank and Scumlife.  He takes the great elements of various bootleg action figures (80’s to present) and combines them into one awesome piece of resin!

From Tone Tank:

Over the past year or so I developed an addiction to bootleg action figures.
You know the kind where they have five Spiderman figures with Chinese glowing chest action? There’s also the variety packs that have every action figure that ever existed, in the same pack, which often have a big-headed Superman with a Samurai sword… and glowing chest, always with the glowing chest.

Since then quite a few days have been spent trying to get my fix in Brooklyn 99 cent stores. I have also  been on a quest to acquire all the toys I had in the 80’s that my mother swears she hasn’t thrown out… as well as the toys she wouldn’t buy me as a kid. That crusade has led to many a night sneaking around on Ebay.

Anyway, all of this brings us to: ‘Beast Hombre’… with glowing chest action.
A bi-product of my obsession with Chinese bootlegs and 80’s action figures.
They are handmade out of resin by me. I made 24 of them.
They are available at http://scumlife.com/scumlife-store/ for those who are interested.

More pics after the jump. (more…)

Man, DC and Warner Bros are definitely getting their shit together when it comes to their character franchises. Coming fresh off the news this summer of writing another Smallville episode about the JSA and being the head writer for the upcoming Flash movie, Geoff Johns has been tasked at writing the big screen adaptation of Shazam. Once again WB has made an excellent decision by choosing Johns as he really has been one of the best comic writers over the past 10 years. Anything he seems to touch, whether it be The Avengers for Marvel or any of his DC projects (Green Lantern, Flash, JSA, Superman, all the Lantern War stories, etc) turns into absolute gold so I am very excited to see that he is helming another DC movie franchise. No release date or casting news for Shazam has been released as of this time.

From our friend Rusty Nails comes summer horror film fest Terror in the Aisles 2, Saturday August 15th @ The Portage Theater. Every one of Rusty’s film fests rule, and this should be no exception. Featuring multiple appearances, and the Midwest premiere of Trick ‘R Treat, the horror film by X-men 2/ Superman Returns scribe Michael Dougherty that stars True Blood hottie Anna Paquin, this event is going to be so much fun it’s scary. (Get it?) And because Rusty and Nerd City are so cool, we have decided to give a pair of free tickets to the first Nerd who emails max@nerdcityonline.com with the subject heading “Terror”. (Make sure to include your full name)  Pretty rad. So do it. Right now. And win.

Direct Youtube Link

And for those who don’t win, make sure to get your tickets here.

As I’ve mentioned before on the podcast, I am not neccessarily a fan of the Green Lantern. In fact, I kind of think his powers are, well, you know…stupid. Yet here I am, blown away by First Flight, the new G.L. animated feature from animation revolutionary Bruce Timm. With a stellar voice cast including Christopher Meloni as Hal Jordan and inspired choice Michael Madsen as pig-faced alien lantern Kilowog, this is one of the best animated films I have ever seen. Seriously.

Direct Youtube Link

Rated a hefty PG-13, (mainly for light use of the word ass, crap, and damn), First Flight details the origin story of Hal Jordan’s entry in to the lantern corps, as well as their betrayal @ the hands of the evil, mustachioed, aptly-named Sinestro. What’s really awesome about the movie is that Timm wastes no time getting to the meat of what makes the Green Lantern cool (which I have to admit is something I never imagined myself saying). Where most origin films get bogged down early, Timm goes right for the rush, wasting little time getting Jordan his ring and sending him out to space to kick some ass.

Featuring stunning animation, music, and voice work, First Flight handles the source material with a level of respect and enthusiasm that hasn’t been seen since the live-action Iron Man film. With Green Lantern: First Flight out now, and Superman/Batman Public Enemies on the way, DC is quickly establishing themselves as an animation powerhouse, and with ten scheduled live action movies in the works, they may soon end the superhero stranglehold Marvel currently has on the industry.

Direct Youtube Link

I cannot recommend Green Lantern:First Flight enough. Get it here.

The Four Horsemen have created some amazing stuff with Mattel’s DC Universe Classics line in the past, but the Kilowog that they unveiled @ SDCC this past week has to be one of their most exciting pieces, yet.  Kilowog will be the giant collect and connect figure that is a part of DCUC wave 11.  The wave will also contain Cyborg Superman, Deadman, Jon Stewart Green Lantern, female Green Lantern, The Question, Shark, and Steppenwolf plus green variant (50/50).

Image from Figures.com’s SDCC coverage.  Click here for more.

I just picked up DC’s new Wednesday Comics, a newspaper-sized publication with page-long comic strips featuring Batman, Superman, Deadman, Green Lantern, Hawkman, The Flash, Sgt. Rock, The Demon and Catwoman, and The Teen Titans. Each strip is done by the likes of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso, Neil Gaiman, Dave Gibbons, Kurt Busiek, Adam and Joe Kubert, and Walt Simonson. This is definitely one of the coolest comics I can remember picking up in a long time, and I really like the idea of DC trying something new that doesn’t require an encyclopedic knowledge of their multiverse (see Final Crisis). Seriously, even if you don’t get weekly books anymore, this is one to check out.

Get it @ Chicago Comics.

Erik Larsen is the man. A founding father of Image Comics and the writer and artist of the long-running Savage Dragon, Larsen is one of, if not the most, influential comic creators of the last twenty years. As his book approaches yet another milestone, Larsen spoke with Nerd City’s Max about his work, his achievements, and the future of the Dragon.

This has been a huge year for Savage Dragon, including a relaunch, consistently sold-out issues, a presidential endorsement, new merch, and the upcoming 150th issue. How does it feel to know that a character you’ve created is still so popular years after his original appearance?

It’s pretty great actually. I’m just happy to be able to continue doing the book after all this time. It’s something I wanted to do and it’s nice that enough people are into it to make it possible.

Why do you think Dragon continues to endure?

People seem to really like the character but I can’t but think that a good reason for its longevity is its consistency. A reader knows what they’re getting. They know that month after month, year after year, the book will be there and the creative team will remain committed to it.

Dragon recently returned to his home on the Chicago Police Force (and Nerd City could not be happier), what brought about the decision to return him to his roots?

It was something fans wanted and at a certain point it just made a lot of sense story-wise to go in that direction. It’s funny but for me that isn’t his roots. I came up with the character as a kid and he was pretty much a superhero from the beginning. When I started the book at Image I wanted to get the character to the point where I’d left him as a kid but take a different path getting there. I chose to start with him as a cop but having made that choice, for a lot of fans, that become the definitive Savage Dragon. Getting him back in blue was akin to getting Superman back into his costume after that Electric Superman period. It just felt right.

Without a doubt, S.D.’s endorsement of Barack Obama was the turning point in the election. Any word from the President on what he thought of the book?

No. It’s really not something I’d expect to hear about. He’s got other things to concern himself with.

Your work on Savage Dragon as writer and artist for 150 issues is nothing short of prolific. What has drawn you to continue to work with this character for so long?

It’s never boring. I have a lot to say with the character and because the book is set in “real time”, things are always changing so it always feels new to me at the same time that it feels very familiar. It’s a good fit.

Until recently, you served as publisher @ Image Comics. What did the job entail, and what was your reason for leaving?

It entailed a lot of e-mailing and talking on the phone and the like. A lot more meetings and planning and organizing. It got to a point where Image was going in the right direction , the books were better and were getting more positive attention and it didn’t seem that it was as necessary as it was that I stayed in that job, and I really missed doing comics. I wanted to be doing comics. I got into this business to create, not to administrate. I really haven’t looked back.

More and more comic books are being optioned for movies every day. What are the chances of seeing the big green guy on the silver screen?

We’ll see. There’s often talk and there’s been some movement in that direction. But I don’t want to say too much.

What does the future hold for Erik Larsen and Savage Dragon?

Hopefully a few more decades of comics. It’s been 150 issues but in many ways it feels as though I’ve just started. There are a lot of stories left to tell.

Direct Youtube Link

I know that this trailer has been floating around for a while, but I just wanted to point out how excited that I am about DC’s upcoming direct-to-dvd animated movie interpretation of Jeph Lobe and Ed McGuiness’s Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.  The dvd should be out late Summer/ early fall following the release of DC’s Green Lantern: First Flight dvd.

I’ve always been a fan of these books and can’t wait to watch an entire movie in the visual style of Ed McGuiness.  It looks like this might shape up to be the best superhero animated feature, yet.

From Peter Laird, himself:

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles™ Come Alive
In Major Motion Picture for 2011

New Theatrical Film to tell Origin Story of the Legendary Characters

Los Angeles, April 23, 2009— The Mirage Group has given the green light for development of a live-action major motion picture focusing on the origins of the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, targeted for release in 2011.

Announcement of the latest (fifth) big screen version of the crime-fighting “heroes in a half-shell” comes on the day the Turtles kick off their 25th anniversary national “Shell-ebration” in New York City with multiple events that include the honor of lighting the Empire State Building in ‘turtle green’ and a unique outdoor presentation of their beloved first “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” film at the Tribeca Film Festival “Drive-In”.

Mirage is partnering with producers Scott Mednick (“300”, “Superman Returns”, “10,000 BC”, and the upcoming “Where the Wild Things Are”) and Galen Walker (who produced the most recent computer-animated “TMNT” theatrical release) to create this live action film. Peter Laird, Gary Richardson, Frederick Fierst, Eric Crown and Napoleon Smith III will serve as executive producers of the film, which is based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Laird and Kevin Eastman. Mednick and Walker will serve as producers. The project is being funded through Lightbox Productions, LLC.

“It was critical to us to find people who both understood the Turtles franchise and were accomplished film makers who appreciated both the action and humor components of the Turtles’ identity ,” said Gary Richardson CEO, The Mirage Group. “With Galen and Scott we know we’ve found great talent with those essential attributes.”

“The original dozen comics created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman are some of the best source material one could hope for,” said Mednick. “We’re excited to bring this story to a whole new generation of moviegoers as well as the legions of fans that have made the Turtles - Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael as well as Splinter, April O’Neil, Casey Jones and, of course, the great villain Shredder - a part of their world for 25 years.”

Mednick has begun reaching out to writers and directors and is already in discussion with several high-profile actors interested in portraying Turtles characters they loved as kids.

4Kids Entertainment, master licensing agency for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property, will be handling all of the movie merchandise licensing.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made their public premiere in May 1984 in a comic book published and distributed by Mirage Studios. A hugely successful TV series quickly followed, along with a record-setting licensing program and three successful live-action theatrical films. In 2003, the Turtles were re-introduced to a new generation through a fresh TV series, a computer- animated theatrical movie and new merchandising program. The 25th year of TMNT will provide fans of all ages with the opportunity to experience this evergreen property in a ten-city mobile tour highlighted by the TMNT Party Bus, a rolling museum of TMNT memorabilia.

Additional information is available on the http://www.tmnt25.com and http://www.4kids.tv websites.

About Mirage Studios
Mirage Studios, Inc. is part of The Mirage Group, a group of companies located in Northampton, Massachusetts that owns, manages, nurtures and protects the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property.”

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Woo hoo! So here we go — another live action film! As you may recall from some of my previous comments, our initial discussions regarding the next film had to do with what we were calling a “hybrid” — live action with realistic Turtles rendered in CGI and blended in. This new idea — which, frankly, I am VERY pumped about — will have actors and stunt performers in full Turtle suits for filming in live action. As of right now, there is talk of using CGI to do “face replacement” for the suits so that we can get those great, expressive faces possible with CGI.

We are very early in the development process — no writer or director has been chosen yet. And we’ve just started talking about the story. But I’m really looking forward to getting into it! — PL

Badass image stolen from El Dave’s flickr.