Gaiman to Write New "Sandman" Series

Comic-Con News: Neil Gaiman appeared at the Vertigo panel via a 4-minute film clip in which he described a new Sandman miniseries that he is writing, and which Vertigo plans to release in 2013, the 25th anniversary of the publication of Gaiman’s first Sandman comic book. The miniseries will be a prequel and it will explain how what happened to Morpheus before we met him in the first issue of Sandman. "This was one of the few stories that I felt, that after I finished Sandman, I felt that I had failed because I had not told this story," Gaiman explained in the video.

The as-yet-untitled Sandman miniseries will be published day and date digtially and will be drawn by J.H. Williams. Gaiman was enthused at the prospect of working with Williams telling the Comic-Con crowd, "I am incredibly excited that it is going to be drawn by J.H. Williams. I’ve been a fan of his since Promethea. I love his Batwoman stuff, but on this you are going to see a side of J.H. that you have never seen before."

In other Gaiman-related news, according to The Guardian, the author has signed a contract with Harper Collins for five children’s books. The first, which is due out in January is Chu’s Day, the story of a little panda with a big sneeze that will be illustrated by Adam Rex. Gaiman’s contract includes a sequel to Chu’s Day along with Fortunately the Milk, a middle grades novel that Skottie Young (Oz) will illustrate, a sequel to Gaiman’s 2008 saga Odd and the Frost Giants, and an as-yet untitled project.

"Wolverine" Villain Cast

Will Yun Lee has been cast as the villain, the Silver Samurai, for The Wolverine feature, according to Variety. His credits include: TNT's Witchblade series, Elektra, Die Another Day, and Hawaii Five-0.  The film starts production next month with director James Mangold, after a number of delays.

New 'Sailor Moon' Anime



A new anime series based on Sailor Moon will be released in the summer of 2013, according to Anime News Network. The new series will be released simultaneously worldwide. The theme song will be performed by Momoiro Clover Z.

Despite its age, the Sailor Moon manga has been tearing up the charts here in the U.S. since its re-launch by Kodansha last year, a new anime series, especially if it’s broadcast on TV, can only fuel greater awareness and sales.

"Iron Man 3" Concept Art

New concept art released by Marvel Studios for Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 appears to confirm the widespread speculation that Warren Ellis’ 'Iron Man Extremis' storyline will form the basis for the film’s storyline. The illustration by Marvel Studio’s mainstay Ryan Meinerding appears to show Tony Stark under attack employing his armor without his wristband sensors. This sort of action would be possible for an "Extremis-enabled" Stark, since in the "Extremis" storyline Stark’s armor actually becomes part of his physiology thanks to nanotechnology.

The concept art was first published by Entertainment Weekly  , which notes that the "Extremis" storyline is perhaps the most logical explanation for what is happening in the concept art. But nobody including EW can definitively explain the black-ops types who are attacking Stark, though they could be members of the domestic terror cell that is featured in the “Extremis” storyline.

But it is important to note that so far Marvel Studios’ movie storylines have rarely been confined to one comic book story arc. While this can make selling graphic novel tie-ins more difficult for retailers, it provides lots of narrative flexibility for Marvel Studios, which can mine the entire Marvel universe compatible characters and events. Last month Variety noted that James Badge Dale was joining the cast of IM3 as the cyborg character Coldblood. While the character of Coldblood, who was originally Army officer Eric Savin before he stepped on a landmine and was then transformed into a cyborg, makes sense in an Iron Man movie, Coldblood has yet to appear in an Iron Man comic.

Tom Hanks' "Electric City" Animated Web Series to Launch on July 17, 2012



Yahoo! has announced that Playtone and Reliance Entertainment's Electric City animated series will be premiering on July 17, 2012, with the first ten 5-7 minute episodes going live on that date. The series was created by Tom Hanks, who stars along with Jeanne Tripplehorn, Holland Taylor, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Antoon, Chris Parnell, Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Georg Stanford Brown. The series focuses on the seams and cracks in the facade of the urban utopia of Electric City, which stands for peace and order in a dystopian future world.

Avengers to Home Video in September

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will release The Avengers for home video in three packages, and will also release the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One: Avengers Assembled, a six-movie set. The Avengers release will take place on September 25 as a single DVD for $29.99; a two-disc DVD/Blu-Ray Combo Pack for $29.99; and a four-disc 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray combo pack with DVD and digital copy at $49.99.

Of course, special features will abound, including Joss Whedon commentary (on all versions) and featurettes.

Disney is also planning a limited edition 10-disc Blu-ray boxed set, Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One: Avengers Assembled, with all five movies leading up to The Avengers, as well as 3D versions of The Avengers, Captain America, and Thor, plus a bonus disc of The Phase One Archives. The release date for this set has not been announced.

Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014?

The previously un-named Marvel movie for 2014 will be Guardians of the Galaxy, according to the usually reliable Latino Review. The film is to be announced at Comic-Con, according to the report, and will feature Thanos, who was teased in the closing of Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. That will put four movies in the run-up to The Avengers 2, including two in 2013: Iron Man 3 and Thor 2.

Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige had previously revealed that a Guardians of the Galaxy film was in the Marvel slate, albeit unscheduled. And Disney had reserved dates for two Marvel movies in 2014. It’s expected that one of those two films, scheduled for May 16th and June 27th, will be Captain America 2. Now Guardians of the Galaxy is expected to be the second 2014 Marvel feature. Stay tuned for the official announcements at Comic-Con.