Johnny Depp is popular among the “just-released set photos” this week. Yesterday, he was shown in his pirate garb for a fifth (yawn) Pirates of the Caribbean film. This time, however, he appears in the first still from a much more interesting project, playing White Bulger in the Scott Cooper film Black Mass.
Depp, sporting some thinning hair, a hefty midsection, and a dangerous firearm, plays Bulger, a vicious mobster turned FBI informant in Boston. Here is the first shot of Johnny Depp in action in Black Mass, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly:
Seeing Johnny Depp as Whitey Bulger in a film like Black Mass is much more exciting, at least to me. We will see what comes of it. Black Mass opens September 18.
Maggie is about a teenage girl in the Midwest becomes infected by an outbreak of a disease that slowly turns the infected into cannibalistic zombies. During her transformation, her loving father stays by her side.
Maggie is directed by Henry Hobson and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Abigail Breslin, and Joely Richardson. The film film will be in limited release on May 8th.
This spring, Marvel brings its A-game to a truly unique show that puts the fans center stage – the Atlantic City Boardwalk Con. Every turn at ACBC will offer fans, both old and new, an experience that has been designed to capture your attention and excite your senses and Marvel Comics will be there to headline this all-new pop culture event. From May 14th to May 17th, ACBC will be gathering some of the largest names across film, television and the comic book industry and presenting them for those who truly matter – the fans!
Guests who attend the first year of ACBC will be the first to witness as Marvel Comics takes center stage and introduce the building blocks for what comes next within the Marvel Universe at the Marvel Booth and ACBC exclusive Marvel panels.
“Being able to host Marvel Comics at Atlantic City Boardwalk Con during this amazingly exciting time in their history is an honor,” says ACBC’s CEO Michael D’Alessio. “We know the ACBC fans are anxiously awaiting the happenings on the Marvel stage and at Marvel panels.”
“With great fans, comes great responsibility! Marvel is honored to be invited to ACBC and we plan to bring some bold announcements and big names to this new and exciting convention,” says David Gabriel, Marvel SVP Sales & Marketing.
Also scheduled to appear at ACBC: Stan Lee (Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron), Michael Rooker (Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy), Kevin Smith (Comic Book Men), William Shatner (Star Trek), Georgina Haig (Once Upon A Time), Elizabeth Lail (Once Upon A Time), Rebecca Mader (Once Upon A Time), Sean Maguire (Once Upon A Time), Tom Cavanagh (The Flash), Manu Bennett (Arrow), Willa Holland (Arrow), many more and several yet to have been announced!
Comic-Con International announced the nominations for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards 2015 this morning. Seven nominations were for books published by Image Comics, and an additional seven nominations were shared with other publishers, bringing the total nominations for Image Comics to 14.
FULL LIST OF IMAGE COMICS EISNER 2015 NOMINATIONS:
Best Single Issue (One-Shot):
MADMAN IN YOUR FACE 3D SPECIAL by Mike Allred
Best Continuing Series:
SAGA by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples
SOUTHERN BASTARDS by Jason Aaron & Jason Latour
THE WALKING DEAD by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, & Stefano Gaudiano (Image/Skybound)
Best New Series:
THE FADE OUT by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips
THE WICKED + THE DIVINE by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie
Best Writer:
Jason Aaron, SOUTHERN BASTARDS (shared nomination)
Kelly Sue DeConnick, PRETTY DEADLY (shared nomination)
Brian K. Vaughan, SAGA (shared nomination)
Best Penciller/Inker:
Mike Allred, MADMAN IN YOUR FACE 3D SPECIAL (shared nomination)
Fiona Staples, SAGA
Best Cover Artist:
Jamie McKelvie/Matthew Wilson, THE WICKED + THE DIVINE (shared nomination)
Best Coloring:
Laura Allred, MADMAN IN YOUR FACE 3D SPECIAL (shared nomination)
Matthew Wilson, THE WICKED + THE DIVINE (shared nomination)
“I could not be more proud of all the phenomenally brilliant men and women currently working with us right now, and seeing so many of them nominated for these awards is always extremely gratifying,” said Eric Stephenson, publisher at Image Comics. “Few things make me happier than watching all these incredible people follow their dreams by turning exciting ideas into amazing comics, and I think our strong showing on this year’s Eisner ballot only further emphasizes the importance and vitality of creator-owned comics.”
Voting for the awards will be open soon at www.eisnervote.com. All professionals in the comic book industry are eligible to vote. The results of the voting will be announced in a gala awards ceremony on the evening of Friday, July 10 at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
ABOUT THE EISNER AWARDS:
Named for acclaimed comics creator the Will Eisner, the awards are celebrating their 26th year of highlighting the best publications and creators in comics and graphic novels.
Secret Wars is Marvel’s huge event that will redefine the universe for decades to come (but isn’t a reboot). The Marvel epic is written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Esad Ribic.
Kwame Opam of The Verge, asked Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso, would you say that there are certain characters that take a central role in the overarching conflict? Characters who really bear the weight of this conflict more?
“I’m reluctant to give spoilers, but I will say that people who overlook [the upcoming] Ultimate End run, featuring Ultimate Spider-Man, do so at their own peril. Miles is a very, very important character to the story. And he’s not alone. So too with the female Thor. You’ll see when you read,” said Alonso.
Ultimate End #1
The wheels are in motion, and the Ultimate Universe is set to crash headlong into the monumental Secret Wars. The end is nigh…but is there any hope for the Ultimate Universe or its most beloved hero?
ULTIMATE END #1 BAGLEY SPIDER-MAN VARIANT (FEB158574)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Art & Cover by MARK BAGLEY
On-Sale – 05/20/15
Due to an unforeseen health issue, Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston’s anticipated creator-owned series Black Hammer has been delayed until a future date.
“Black Hammer has been a labor of love for me. It’s a project that I’ve been working on in various forms for seven years,” series cocreator Jeff Lemire said. “And as excited as I am to share it, sometimes life gets in the way of comics.
“On March 26, my amazing collaborator Dean Ormston suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on the left side of his brain, which affected his whole right side,” he continued. “Dean is now at home and recovering. As a result, we have decided to postpone the launch of Black Hammer until Dean is able to work regularly again. I’d like to thank all the fans and retailers for their patience and understanding as Dean recovers and promise that Black Hammer will be worth the wait.”
“In essence, this is a dream project, and to top it all off, I get to have my art enhanced by colorist supremo Dave Stewart,” Ormston told Comic Book Resources. “Sadly, about a month ago, I had a bleed on the brain, so things have been put on hold until I recover and get back to drawing fully. I am tentatively getting back to drawing Black Hammer, albeit slowly, but the outlook is positive and I’m confident of a full recovery.”
Retailers will be notified of a new date for Black Hammer in a future communication.
“Dean’s made Black Hammer’s visuals his own, and none of us can imagine launching the book before he’s able to draw it uninterrupted,” said series editor Brendan Wright. “We’ll reschedule the launch as soon as we can, and Jeff and Dean’s work on the full issue is going to blow everyone away!”
The entire Dark Horse staff wishes Dean Ormston a smooth and speedy recovery and encourages fans and retailers to keep their eyes peeled for further updates as to when Black Hammer will debut.
It’s been sixteen strange years for M. Night Shyamalan. Let’s all travel back to 1999, when the unknown filmmaker blindsided audiences with The Sixth Sense, a quietly devastating ghost story about a young boy who sees dead people and the heartbroken child psychiatrist trying to save him. The film was lean, understated, and supremely acted by Haley Joel Osment, Bruce Willis, and Toni Collette as the boy’s mother, and thanks to some crafty camera work throughout, the twist ending left jaws on the floor all across the world.
The Sixth Sense was a sensation. It grabbed six Academy Award nominations, unheard of for a suspense film of its kind, and it catapulted Shyamalan not only to the upper tier of fresh new directors, but to the very top of that mountain. Quentin Tarantino was the other fresh face, but had been around the block by 1999, was old news, and was in between films, so M. Night Shyamalan was anointed the new king of Hollywood.
Fast forward to today, right now, and how far this once-named “Next Spielberg” has fallen. The decline has been sharp, sad, epic. Failure after failure began piling up for Shyamalan, and deservedly so in most cases, all the way to the point where his films barely mentioned his name in press campaigns. No longer was “From Director M. Night Shyamalan” slapped across trailers or posters; his name was kept in the background, secret from audiences who now expected the very worst from him. This decline is incomparable, mainly because of the expectations that came along with The Sixth Sense. But how did M. Night Shyamalan get to this sad place in his career? Let’s back up again, to the aftermath – or afterglow – of The Sixth Sense – and pinpoint what happened, when, and why.
Unbreakable was one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2000; the next M. Night Shyamalan film! What was the twist going to be? The trailers, showcasing Bruce Willis as a man who is the lone survivor of a train crash, were ominous and foreboding, and quite perfect. They gave nothing away, and audiences were foaming at the mouth to see what Shyamalan had up his sleeve for an encore. Only Unbreakable was never intended to be some sort of offspring of The Sixth Sense.
There is a twist involved, sure, but this film is so much more than the final moments audiences were so eager to see. The film left some audience members feeling hollow, as if they had been lied to in some way. This was nowhere near as good as The Sixth Sense, at least for the general public. But fans of comic books and superheroes recognized the brilliance of Shyamalan’s work here. This was a comic book story set in a very real working class Philadelphia, with very honest performances, suspense, and a twist ripped from panels, not meant to shock. No matter what the general public thought of Unbreakable, many consider this (myself included) Shyamalan’s finest hour.
Whatever the case, Shyamalan did what any director looking for a big hit would do: he went to the alien well. With Signs, however, Shyamalan did not make an entry into the Independence Day genre, or a retread of other big, loud invasion films. Instead, he borrowed a little bit of Hitchcock, a little bit of Spielberg, and made a small-scale alien invasion film. Mel Gibson is a father and a former priest, dealing with his two children in the wake of a tragic accident that killed their mother, his wife. His religion has left him, and his brother (Joaquin Phoenix) is adrift in his own life, living with them. When the aliens invade, it is through a series of crop circles and news reports, and the building suspense and dread is what makes Signs so effective.
The final reveal of the aliens left audiences, once again, perplexed. And the twist this time around, the aliens dying when they come into contact with water, caused an uproar. Why are these aliens invading a planet that is 70% water?! There have been numerous theories surrounding why, and most validate the film, but that is for another time. Whatever the case may be, Signs was one of the biggest hits of 2002, and it kept Shyamalan atop the mountain.
But then, real trouble began. The Village was released in 2004, and this time the twist was met not with oohs and ahhs, but collective groans. I, for one, appreciate the good qualities of The Village enough to admire it as a whole, twist be damned. It was the first true misstep for Shyamalan, but everyone is allowed a mistake on their directing ledger. I mean, Steven Spielberg directed Always. Big deal, Shyamalan will bounce back in his next film.
Unfortunately, the disdain for The Village became too much to overcome, or at least it did something bad to Shyamalan’s ability to effectively write and direct coherent suspenseful movies. His follow up the The Village was the 2006 fantasy… bed time story… thing… Lady in The Water. The film was derided, dismissed as an example of Shyamalan’s ego that had spun out of control (he wrote himself into the film as a writer who becomes the savior of mankind, how’s that for ego?), and the vitriol was at a fever pitch.
Things got worse.
The Happening was Shyamalan’s next film, a preposterous and overacted pile of garbage about air that makes people kill themselves. Air. That causes mass suicide. Air. Or maybe it was trees. No, I’m pretty sure it was air.
If Lady in The Water was an ego-fueled disaster, The Happening felt like the final blow in the credibility and good will built up in Shyamalan’s corner. And deservedly so, as The Happening is nothing short of an insult to audiences. Gone was Shyamalan’s ability to write soulful and compelling human characters, his ability to create true suspense in its purest form. What was left was Mark Wahlberg whispering and Zooey Deschanel staring into space. Everything about the film felt lazy and uninspired, and it effectively destroyed Shyamalan’s name as a device to sell tickets and fill theaters. From there, until now, his name would be buried.
Following The Happening, Shyamalan was forced to depart from his writing/producing/directing final-cut prowess, and he took on a big-budget tentpole picture, The Last Airbender, as a hired gun. This was not Shyamalan’s forte, as the film was drab and hard to sit through. Maybe he didn’t have much power on the set, but it doesn’t matter, this was the fourth failure in a row. In 2013, Shyamalan once again avoided human drama and traveled to space for After Earth, yet another drab and lifeless genre film starring Will Smith and Jaden Smith as two of the most unlikeable heroes in sci-fi history. While these films made a hefty haul at the box office, relatively speaking, they were awful nonetheless.
And this is where we now sit, on this pile of forgettable garbage, a string of messy disasters. Shyamalan had gone from fresh new ruler of the mountain to the ego-poisoned minion of a molehill in sixteen years. Shyamalan had become a slave to his own devices, crippled by audiences desiring a twist and looking past all the work he did in his films leading up to those final moments. Twists were all anyone cared about. And on top of that, Shyamalan did himself no favors by allowing his own ego to crush his creativity. He felt infallible, as if he could write anything, direct anything, and people would come. The climb out of perdition feels insurmountable from this viewpoint, but give credit to the director, for he is trying again.
Shyamalan is tackling a TV series with Wayward Pines, but what has my interest piqued is the new poster and upcoming trailer for his next feature, The Visit. The director is returning to his roots, to suspense. Now, The Happening was a pure suspense film, or at least an attempt at one, so this may not be as promising as the poster suggests. My hope is that Shyamalan has finally, finally, reeled in his own ego. Perhaps The Visit is something he feels passionately about once again, because you cannot convince me he has been passionate about anything in almost a decade.
I hold out hope for M. Night Shyamalan and The Visit because I know what he is capable of, what kind of films and stories he has told and surely could tell again. Had The Sixth Sense been the only truly great film he made, nobody would even concern themselves with him or care about what he was doing now. But Unbreakable is close to being a masterpiece, Signs an effective and inventive invasion thriller, and The Village is beautiful and has its own merits. Even Lady in The Water looks nice. There are skills in the mind of Shyamalan, but his career has spiraled out of control like a drug addict. My hope is that he has gone to director rehab, taken a good look at his career, and realizes he must truly insert his own passion into his filmmaking once again.
The Visit could be that film, the one that redeems M. Night Shyamalan. At least that’s my hope. Then again, it could just be The Happening, and air could be responsible for murders.
The awards will be given out during a gala ceremony on Friday, July 10 during Comic-Con International: San Diego.
Best Short Story
“Beginning’s End,” by Rina Ayuyang, muthamagazine.com
“Corpse on the Imjin!” by Peter Kuper, in Masterful Marks: Cartoonists Who Changed the World (Simon & Schuster)
“Rule Number One,” by Lee Bermejo, in Batman Black and White #3 (DC)
“The Sound of One Hand Clapping,” by Max Landis & Jock, in Adventures of Superman #14 (DC)
“When the Darkness Presses,” by Emily Carroll, http://emcarroll.com/comics/darkness/ (link is external)
Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
Astro City #16: “Wish I May” by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson (Vertigo/DC)
Beasts of Burden: Hunters and Gatherers, by Evan Dorkin & Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)
Madman in Your Face 3D Special, by Mike Allred (Image)
Marvel 75th Anniversary Celebration #1 (Marvel)
The Multiversity: Pax Americana #1, by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely (DC)
Best Continuing Series
Astro City, by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson (Vertigo)
Bandette, by Paul Tobin & Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain)
Hawkeye, by Matt Fraction & David Aja (Marvel)
Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples (Image)
Southern Bastards, by Jason Aaron & Jason Latour (Image)
The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, & Stefano Gaudiano (Image/Skybound)
Best Limited Series
Daredevil: Road Warrior, by Mark Waid & Peter Krause (Marvel Infinite Comics)
Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, by Eric Shanower & Garbriel Rodriguez (IDW)
The Multiversity, by Grant Morrison et al. (DC)
The Private Eye, by Brian K. Vaughan & Marcos Martin (Panel Syndicate)
The Sandman: Overture, by Neil Gaiman & J. H. Williams III (Vertigo/DC)
Best New Series
The Fade Out, by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips (Image)
Lumberjanes, by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, & Brooke A. Allen (BOOM! Box)
Ms. Marvel, by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona (Marvel)
Rocket Raccoon, by Skottie Young (Marvel)
The Wicked + The Divine, by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie (Image)
Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)
BirdCatDog, by Lee Nordling & Meritxell Bosch (Lerner/Graphic Universe)
A Cat Named Tim And Other Stories, by John Martz (Koyama Press)
Hello Kitty, Hello 40: A Celebration in 40 Stories, edited by Traci N. Todd & Elizabeth Kawasaki (VIZ)
Mermin, Book 3: Deep Dives, by Joey Weiser (Oni)
The Zoo Box, by Ariel Cohn & Aron Nels Steinke (First Second)
Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)
Batman Li’l Gotham, vol. 2, by Derek Fridolfs & Dustin Nguyen (DC)
El Deafo, by Cece Bell (Amulet/Abrams)
I Was the Cat, by Paul Tobin & Benjamin Dewey (Oni)
Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, by Eric Shanower & Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
Tiny Titans: Return to the Treehouse, by Art Baltazar & Franco (DC)
Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)
Doomboy, by Tony Sandoval (Magnetic Press)
The Dumbest Idea Ever, by Jimmy Gownley (Graphix/Scholastic)
Lumberjanes, by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, & Brooke A. Allen (BOOM! Box)
Meteor Men, by Jeff Parker & Sandy Jarrell (Oni)
The Shadow Hero, by Gene Luen Yang & Sonny Liew (First Second)
The Wrenchies, by Farel Dalrymple (First Second)
Best Humor Publication
The Complete Cul de Sac, by Richard Thompson (Andrews McMeel)
Dog Butts and Love. And Stuff Like That. And Cats. by Jim Benton (NBM)
Groo vs. Conan, by Sergio Aragonés, Mark Evanier, & Tom Yeates (Dark Horse)
Rocket Raccoon, by Skottie Young (Marvel)
Superior Foes of Spider-Man, by Nick Spencer & Steve Lieber (Marvel)
Best Digital/Web Comic
Bandette, by Paul Tobin & Colleen Coover, Monkeybrain/comiXology.com (link is external)
Failing Sky by Dax Tran-Caffee, http://failingsky.com (link is external)
The Last Mechanical Monster, by Brian Fies, http://lastmechanicalmonster.blogspot.com (link is external)
Nimona, by Noelle Stephenson, http://gingerhaze.com/nimona/comic (link is external)
The Private Eye by Brian Vaughan & Marcos Martin http://panelsyndicate.com/ (link is external)
Best Anthology
In the Dark: A Horror Anthology, edited by Rachel Deering (Tiny Behemoth Press/IDW)
Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, edited by Josh O’Neill, Andrew Carl, & Chris Stevens (Locust Moon)
Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It, edited by Ann Ishii, Chip Kidd, & Graham Kolbeins (Fantagraphics)
Masterful Marks: Cartoonists Who Changed the World, edited by Monte Beauchamp (Simon & Schuster)
To End All Wars: The Graphic Anthology of The First World War, edited by Jonathan Clode & John Stuart Clark (Soaring Penguin)
Best Reality-Based Work
Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast (Bloomsbury)
Dragon’s Breath and Other True Stories, by MariNaomi (2d Cloud/Uncivilized Books)
El Deafo, by Cece Bell (Amulet/Abrams)
Hip Hop Family Tree, vol. 2, by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)
Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood, by Nathan Hale (Abrams)
To End All Wars: The Graphic Anthology of The First World War, edited by Jonathan Clode & John Stuart Clark (Soaring Penguin)
Best Graphic Album—New
The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil, by Stephen Collins (Picador)
Here, by Richard McGuire (Pantheon)
Kill My Mother, by Jules Feiffer (Liveright)
The Motherless Oven, by Rob Davis (SelfMadeHero)
Seconds, by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Ballantine Books)
This One Summer, by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki (First Second)
Best Graphic Album—Reprint
Dave Dorman’s Wasted Lands Omnibus (Magnetic Press)
How to Be Happy, by Eleanor Davis (Fantagraphics)
Jim, by Jim Woodring (Fantagraphics)
Sock Monkey Treasury, by Tony Millionaire (Fantagraphics)
Through the Woods, by Emily Carroll (McElderry Books)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips (at least 20 years old)
Winsor McCay’s Complete Little Nemo, edited by Alexander Braun (TASCHEN)
Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan: The Sunday Comics, 1933–1935, by Hal Foster, edited by Brendan Wright (Dark Horse)
Moomin: The Deluxe Anniversary Edition, by Tove Jansson, edited by Tom Devlin (Drawn & Quarterly)
Pogo, vol. 3: Evidence to the Contrary, by Walt Kelly, edited by Carolyn Kelly & Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse, vols. 5-6, by Floyd Gottfredson, edited by David Gerstein & Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books (at least 20 Years Old)
The Complete ZAP Comix Box Set, edited by Gary Groth, with Mike Catron (Fantagraphics)
Steranko Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
Walt Disney’s Donald Duck: Trail of the Unicorn, by Carl Barks, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Son of the Son, by Don Rosa, edited by David Gerstein (Fantagraphics)
Walt Kelly’s Pogo: The Complete Dell Comics, vols. 1–2, edited by Daniel Herman (Hermes)
Witzend, by Wallace Wood et al., edited by Gary Groth, with Mike Catron (Fantagraphics)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material
Beautiful Darkness, by Fabien Vehlmann & Kerascoët (Drawn & Quarterly)
Blacksad: Amarillo, by Juan Díaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido (Dark Horse)
Corto Maltese: Under the Sign of Capricorn, by Hugo Pratt (IDW/Euro Comics)
Jaybird, by Lauri & Jaakko Ahonen (Dark Horse/SAF)
The Leaning Girl, by Benoît Peeters & François Schuiten (Alaxis Press)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
All You Need Is Kill, by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, Ryosuke Takeuchi, Takeshi Obata & yoshitoshi ABe (VIZ)
In Clothes Called Fat, by Moyoco Anno (Vertical)
Master Keaton, vol 1, by Naoki Urasawa, Hokusei Katsushika, & Takashi Nagasaki (VIZ)
One-Punch Man, by One & Yusuke Murata (VIZ)
Showa 1939–1955 and Showa 1944–1953: A History of Japan, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)
Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki, by Mamoru Hosada & Yu (Yen Press)
Best Writer
Jason Aaron, Original Sin, Thor, Men of Wrath (Marvel); Southern Bastards (Image)
Kelly Sue DeConnick, Captain Marvel (Marvel); Pretty Deadly (Image)
Grant Morrison, The Multiversity (DC); Annihilator (Legendary Comics)
Brian K. Vaughan, Saga (Image); Private Eye (Panel Syndicate)
G. Willow Wilson, Ms. Marvel (Marvel)
Gene Luen Yang, Avatar: The Last Airbender (Dark Horse); The Shadow Hero (First Second)
Best Writer/Artist
Sergio Aragonés, Sergio Aragonés Funnies (Bongo); Groo vs. Conan (Dark Horse)
Charles Burns, Sugar Skull (Pantheon)
Stephen Collins, The Giant Beard That Was Evil (Picador)
Richard McGuire, Here (Pantheon)
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo: Senso, Usagi Yojimbo Color Special: The Artist (Dark Horse)
Raina Telgemeier, Sisters (Graphix/Scholastic)
Best Penciller/Inker
Adrian Alphona, Ms. Marvel (Marvel)
Mike Allred, Silver Surfer (Marvel); Madman in Your Face 3D Special (Image)
Frank Quitely, Multiversity (DC)
François Schuiten, The Leaning Girl (Alaxis Press)
Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)
Babs Tarr, Batgirl (DC)
Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
Lauri & Jaakko Ahonen, Jaybird (Dark Horse)
Colleen Coover, Bandette (Monkeybrain)
Mike Del Mundo, Elektra (Marvel)
Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad: Amarillo (Dark Horse)
J. H. Williams III, The Sandman: Overture (Vertigo/DC)
Best Cover Artist
Darwyn Cooke, DC Comics Darwyn Cooke Month Variant Covers (DC)
Mike Del Mundo, Elektra, X-Men: Legacy, A+X, Dexter, Dexter Down Under (Marvel)
Francesco Francavilla, Afterlife with Archie (Archie); Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight (Dark Horse); The Twilight Zone, Django/Zorro (Dynamite); X-Files (IDW)
Jamie McKelvie/Matthew Wilson, The Wicked + The Divine (Image); Ms. Marvel (Marvel)
Phil Noto, Black Widow (Marvel)
Alex Ross, Astro City (Vertigo/DC); Batman 66: The Lost Episode, Batman 66 Meets Green Hornet (DC/Dynamite)
Best Coloring
Laura Allred, Silver Surfer (Marvel); Madman in Your Face 3D Special (Image)
Nelson Daniel, Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, Judge Dredd, Wild Blue Yonder (IDW)
Lovern Kindzierski, The Graveyard Book, vols. 1-2 (Harper)
Matthew Petz, The Leg (Top Shelf)
Dave Stewart, Hellboy in Hell, BPRD, Abe Sapien, Baltimore, Lobster Johnson, Witchfinder, Shaolin Cowboy, Aliens: Fire and Stone, DHP (Dark Horse)
Matthew Wilson, Adventures of Superman (DC); The Wicked + The Divine (Image), Daredevil, Thor (Marvel)
Best Lettering
Joe Caramagna, Ms. Marvel, Daredevil (Marvel)
Todd Klein, Fables, The Sandman: Overture, The Unwritten (Vertigo/DC); Nemo: The Roses of Berlin (Top Shelf)
Max, Vapor (Fantagraphics)
Jack Morelli, Afterlife with Archie, Archie, Betty and Veronica, etc. (Archie)
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo: Senso, Usagi Yojimbo Color Special: The Artist (Dark Horse)
Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)
Comic Book Creator, edited by Jon B. Cooke (TwoMorrows)
Comic Book Resources, edited by Jonah Weiland, www.comicbookresources.com (link is external)
Comics Alliance, edited by Andy Khouri, Caleb Goellner, Andrew Wheeler, & Joe Hughes, www.comicsalliance.com (link is external)
tcj.com, (link is external) edited by Dan Nadel & Timothy Hodler (Fantagraphics)
Best Comics-Related Book
Comics Through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas (4 vols.), edited by M. Keith Booker (ABC-CLIO)
Creeping Death from Neptune: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton, by Greg Sadowski (Fantagraphics)
Genius Animated: The Cartoon Art of Alex Toth, vol. 3, by Dean Mullaney & Bruce Canwell (IDW/LOAC)
What Fools These Mortals Be: The Story of Puck, by Michael Alexander Kahn & Richard Samuel West (IDW/LOAC)
75 Years of Marvel Comics: From the Golden Age to the Silver Screen, by Roy Thomas & Josh Baker (TASCHEN)
Best Scholarly/Academic Work
American Comics, Literary Theory, and Religion: The Superhero Afterlife, by A. David Lewis (Palgrave Macmillan)
Considering Watchmen: Poetics, Property, Politics, by Andrew Hoberek (Rutgers University Press)
Funnybooks: The Improbable Glories of the Best American Comic Books, by Michael Barrier (University of California Press)
Graphic Details: Jewish Women’s Confessional Comics in Essays and Interviews, edited by Sarah Lightman (McFarland)
The Origins of Comics: From William Hogarth to Winsor McCay, by Thierry Smolderen, tr. by Bart Beaty & Nick Nguyen (University Press of Mississippi)
Wide Awake in Slumberland: Fantasy, Mass Culture, and Modernism in the Art of Winsor McCay, by Katherine Roeder (University Press of Mississippi)
Best Publication Design
Batman: Kelley Jones Gallery Edition, designed by Josh Beatman/Brainchild Studios (Graphitti/DC)
The Complete ZAP Comix Box Set, designed by Tony Ong (Fantagraphics)
Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, designed by Jim Rugg (Locust Moon)
Street View, designed by Pascal Rabate (NBM/Comics Lit)
Winsor McCay’s Complete Little Nemo, designed by Anna Tina Kessler (TASCHEN)
Simon Pegg will pen the next Star Trek film with Doug Jung. The film is rumored to be called Star Trek Beyond. Pegg stated he’s watching old episodes of the television show while writing the script.
“We want to make a Star Trek for today that doesn’t forget where is came from,” said Pegg.
Star Trek Beyond begins production in June and stars Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho and Anton Yelchin with direction from Justin Lin. The film opens July 8, 2016.
Star Trek Beyond begins production in June and stars Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho and Anton Yelchin. The film opens July 8, 2016.
Here is a close up look of Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman’s costumes from Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice is written by Chris Terrio, from a screenplay by David S. Goyer. Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder are producing, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Wesley Coller, David S. Goyer and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers.
The film stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, with Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, and Holly Hunter.
The film is set to open worldwide on May 6, 2016, and is based on Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster, Batman characters created by Bob Kane, and Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston, appearing in comic books published by DC Entertainment.
