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While many drivers have embraced loan lender refinance of using their cellphone while driving, some jurisdictions have made the practice against the law, such as the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The BLVD art collective (John Paul Leon, Sean Chen, Trevor Goring, Tommy Lee Edwards, and Bernard Chang) will be releasing the SECOND BLVD sketchbook at this year’s show, along with, we hope, their beautiful wooden booth.

Published by Boom! Entertainment, the new sketchbook contains original comic stories, layouts, thumbnails, life drawings and more. Inside you’ll find never-before-seen artwork from Fantastic Four, The Question, Batman, Superman Returns, X-Men, Wintermen, Waterloo Sunset, Star Wars, and tons of others.

Once again, the BLVD studio is making an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con- And the guys will be there all four days taking requests for commission sketches, selling original art, and selling their first and second sketchbooks.

Appearances by the legendary Steranko, Basil Gogos John Romita Sr. and more highlight the Vanguard schedule, along with the premiere of 3 new calendars. More in the cut.

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INfo on the HACK/SLASH movie project, moving forwrad with director Todd Lincoln,and signings with R.A. Salvatore, Tim Seeley, Josh Blaylock and appearances by characters from GI JOE and FAMILY GUY more highlight Devil’s Due’s San Diego plans:

Fans, prepare to be rocked…Skeptics, converted…Devil’s Due Publishing, Inc. (DDP) is packing its bags for Comic-Con International: San Diego (July 19 – 23). Everyone – and we mean everyone – should stop by DDP’s booth (#1732) and check out the new Family Guy, Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance Chronicles, G.I. Joe: America’s Elite, and the cult hit Hack/Slash comics and creators. Artist and creator signings, convention exclusives, comic character appearances and freebies will be featured at the booth.

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WEHT Derek Kirk Kim, anyway? He was hailed far and wide as a comics genius back in 2004 for his wonderful collection SAME DIFFERENCE AND OTHER STORIES, and scored a rare triple, winning the Eisner, Harvey and Ignatz awards for best newcomer. Since then he’s dabbled with a few webcomics, and announced an upcoming book for First Second, HEALING HANDS, and is rumored to have written a graphic novel for a new line yet to be announced at DC.

Now at his website, he’s tersely announced that he’s given up on HEALING HANDS.

After much debate and creative wrestling, I’ve decided to give up on “Healing Hands”. It just isn’t working for me. It’s shit. And I don’t want to be knee-deep in shit later. Neither do you, believe me.

which is as alarming as heck. You can see some of the HEALING HANDS material here.

On a small bright note, Kim also posted a panel from his contrbution to the FABLES graphic novel. Which only prompts us to say WE NEED MORE DEREK KIRK KIM!

Variety has a few new details on the 22 episode PAINKILLER JANE TV show just annonced by the SciFi Channel:

As for “Painkiller Jane,” a superhero actioner about a young Marine officer with self-healing powers, series order arrives more than a year after the pilot was shot. Show reps the third consecutive original series ordered by Sci Fi that falls outside the space-opera genre. Others are quirky small town drama “Eureka,” premiering July 18, and sleuth hour “The Dresden Files,” on the docket for later this year.

Casting for “Painkiller” has not yet been finalized but Emmanuelle Vaugier, Tate Donovan, Richard Roundtree and Eric Dane appeared in the pilot.

Vancouver-based Insight Film Studios and Kickstart Comics will produce the series based on the comic book of the same name by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada. Show premieres in January, followed by a broadcast weekly syndication window in fall 2007. Details of the latter deal have not been disclosed.

Is it wrong of us to hope that hunky Eric “MADROX” Dane, from X3 shows up in the new show?

Here as a PDF. Also up: The Gaming schedule, and a PDF Program Schedule in table form.

Also while we were remarking on the shocking lack of Oscar® winners at the con, now TWO TIME Oscar® winner Hilary Swank will promote her new film THE REAPING Friday at 11 am, along with an appearance by Bryan Singer:

In person, stars Hilary Swank and Anna Sophia Robb, director Stephen Hopkins, and producer Joel Silver of The Reaping, a supernatural thriller in which Hilary plays a world-renowned expert in disproving religious phenomena. But when she investigates a small Louisiana town that is suffering from what appear to be the Biblical plagues, she realizes that science cannot explain what is happening. Plus: Bryan Singer Returns! Please welcome long-time friend of Comic-Con, director Bryan Singer, to answer your questions about Superman Returns and give you an idea of what’s next. Plus: more news and special promo items will be given to all who attend. Hall H

Avatar Press will have a booth presence at SD for the first time in a few years, and Brian Pulida, George RR Martin, Antony Johnson, Stuart Moore and Sharon Scott will be signing. in addition to STARGATE SG-1 cast members Gary Jones and Cliff Simon. In addition, EIC William Christensen is looking for talent.

Avatar Press is encouraging all artists looking for work to stop by and drop off portfolios at our booth #2851. “We’re always hunting for new talent for a wide range of new projects,” says Editor-in-Chief William Christensen who will be attending the show. “We’ve got new licensed series and Avatar Horror projects coming up, as well as new projects from major creators like Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis, George Romero, John Russo, Brian Pulido, and Alan Moore slated for 2007 for which we need artists. As one of the fastest growing publishers in the industry we are always looking for talent.” Avatar will not be reviewing portfolios at the show itself, but will take all of them back to the office for review. We look forward to seeing you in San Diego!

Signing schedule in the jump:
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Marcela Valdes has a good piece in WaPo’s Book Notes section nicely tying together LOST GIRLS and the Gordon Lee case:

Alan Moore better be careful. The long-haired comix genius from England — whose V for Vendetta was recently turned into a movie and whose Watchmen series Time magazine called one of the greatest novels of the 20th-century — is about to release his most provocative book. Called Lost Girls, it’s produced with the American cartoonist Melinda Gebbie, and it contains explicit depictions of Alice in Wonderland and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz engaging together in sex.

Comic book sellers may be reluctant to touch it once they consider the ongoing case of Georgia v. Gordon Lee , which revolves around a much tamer volume published by Alternative Comics.

The annual Friends of Lulu Awards ceremony and party will be held, as always Thursday night, July 20th, at the Starlight Ballroom at the Bristol Hotel, starting at 8:30. In addition, FoL will have a booth, and is still looking for some volunteers. In addition colorist Marlena Hall will be participating in a blogathon to raise funds for FoL. Details in jump.

The enormous, amazing San Diego Comic Con is hitting the West Coast from Thursday, July 20 to Sunday, July 23, and Friends of Lulu will proudly be there, opening minds about which women are creating comic books, and opening doors to those who want to make it into, or find more success in, the biz.

If you’d like to help us out at our always-fun San Diego table, even for an hour or two, please contact our president, Katie Merritt, at katie@friends-lulu.org (by Monday, July 17, if possible). We’d really appreciate your pitching in and letting people know about Lulu.

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The nominations for the 2006 Doug Wright Awrads have been announced, celebrating the best in Canadian cartooning, and it’s a diverse, high quality list:

BEST BOOK

* Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle (Drawn & Quarterly Books)

* Wimbledon Green by Seth (Drawn & Quarterly Books)

* Dragonslippers: This Is What an Abusive Relationship Looks Like by Rosalind B. Penfold (Penguin Canada)

* Paul Moves Out by Michel Rabagliati (Drawn & Quarterly Books)

* Scott Pilgrim Volume 2 by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni Press)

EMERGING TALENT

* Skim by Mariko Tamaki
and Jillian Tamaki (Kiss Machine)

* Northwest Passage Volume 1 by Scott Chantler (Oni Press)

* Nil: A Land Beyond Belief by James Turner (Slave Labor Graphics)

* Dark Adaptation by Lorenz Peter (Pedlar Press)

* The Unexpurgated Tale of Lordie Jones by Marc Ngui (Conundrum Press)

Check out the links if you’re not familiar with the work — there’s some good stuff there.

The debut of ELEPHANTMENT and the return of KAFKA are highlights of the Active Images booth at SD,
with Richard Starkings, Tim Sale ad JG Roshell around. Ask them about lettering!
Active Images — publishers of

The World’s Greatest Comic Book Fonts and a number of fine graphic novels and books, including STRANGE EMBRACE by David Hine, SOLSTICE by Steven T. Seagle and Justin Norman, THE NIGHTMARIST by Duncan Rouleau and the indy smash hit HIP FLASK series by Richard Starkings and Ladrönn — will be at booth #2106 at Comic-con, located in the Independent Publishers Pavilion. Starkings will also be signing copies of his new monthly Image series, ELEPHANTMEN, along with the regular artist on the book, Moritat, at the Image Comics booth #2729.

Active Images will be premiering Steven T. Seagle and Stefano Gaudiano’s Eisner nominated graphic novel, KAFKA, at the show, as well as a new sketchbook, PIN UPS, by Tim Sale. We’ll also have a special ELEPHANTMEN print by Ladrönn, another by Tim Sale and all sorts of ELEPHANTMEN promotional items, including free posters and postcards, and news about our annual font sale over at comicbookfonts.com.

Active Images is located alongside MAN OF ACTION, and BEN 10 creators Joe Kelly, Steve Seagle, Joe Casey and Duncan Rouleau will be on hand to sign copies of KAFKA, SOLSTICE, THE NIGHTMARIST, BALLAST and HIP FLASK, which will all be available at the Active Images booth. Comicraft’s Secret Weapon, John JG Roshell, will also be happy to sign of our best selling How To book, COMIC BOOK LETTERING THE COMICRAFT WAY, and Tim Sale will be signing copies of his new sketchbook and TIM SALE BLACK AND WHITE at our booth at scheduled times all week.

You can watch the first 24 minutes of A Scanner Darkly over at IGN. Our old laptop is a little too jerky for us to watch, but it should be interesting.

We haven’t actually been putting too much energy into a cadaver derby here at SBM, but chances are, in any random polling, the frontrunner for the next comics company to fold would have been Narwain, the Italy-funded company that never seemed to go anywhere. Although they had top-name talent attached, and put out a number of comics and “prestige format books,” no one seemed to know or care about their output.

Were getting word from numerous sources that the company has officially closed up shop — details are sketchy, but it would seem to apply only to the American publishing arm — as we mentioned, Narwain was funded by a large Italian printing company, which published in 15 different countries — or maybe 14.

Developing.

UPDATED 15:00 hours: Now we’re hearing that ALL of Narwain’s publishing, which included licensed titles in several countries, is shutting down. Unconfirmed.

The SciFi Channel has announced their upcoming TV slate with new shows from Mark Burnett and Lynda Obst, but of most interest to comical types will be the news that the PAINKILLER JANE tv show has been greenlit for 22 episodes starting in January.

Also, Ben Edlund (THE TICK) is developing a show called Witch Doctor, “a comedic drama that centers on a man who finds himself endowed with amazing healing powers, which opens him up to a magical world.”

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Today mobile payments ranging from mobile banking to mobile credit cards to mobile commerce are very widely used in Asia and Africa, and in selected European markets.

While the Man of Action collective has been storming the castle with BEN 10, their hit CN toon, Messrs. Seagle, Casey, Kelly and Rouleau realize that to truly be real men of action, they must be able to show their mettle in the toughest activity known to man: BLOGGING.

Not only has the MAN OF ACTION website been redesigned, but they will be “live blogging” from San Diego. Ha ha. This is where we separate the men from the boys, alright.

The Hollywood Reporter has a story this morning about how SUPERMAN producer Pierre Spengler has a 12-picture option on titles drawn from the library of Humanoides, starting with I AM LEGION, by Fabien Nury and John Cassaday, who is set to direct the movie. Spengler has things like hedge funds involved for backing, and a $20 mil privately funded war chest to get going.

We hear rumblings that Humanoides may be planning another venture into the American comics market as well, and the movie deal would only fuel the speculative fires. The last run of Humanoids ended after a distribution deal with DC folded.

According to the Reporter:

“I think there’s great potential there. We’ve picked 12 titles to develop first,” Spengler said, ahead of a trip to next week’s Comic Con in San Diego. English translations of Humanoides’ major titles have been distributed in the U.S. through D.C. Comics since 2004, “I Am Legion” being the first to go this route.

Set in 1942, “Legion” tells of a diabolical attempt by the Nazis to develop a new weapon through controlling people’s minds. Cassaday will follow in the footsteps of fellow graphic artists such as Frank Miller (”Sin City”) and Enki Bilal (”Immortal”) and make the transition to director for the movie adaptation. Nury has written the screenplay. Budgeted at about $15 million depending on cast, the film is due to shoot early next year in Croatia. Spengler will produce along with former Humanoides president Fabrice Giger.

Other titles in the initial film lineup include an adaptation of the “Metabarons” series penned by Alexandro Jodorowsky; “The Horde,” a future-set fantasy about a Russian dictator who models himself on Genghis Khan; Mexican wrestling story “Lucha Libre”; the zombie love story “Fragile”; and an animation adaptation of the series “The Zombie That Ate the World.”

The Comic-Con website hs handy hints on how to park at Comic-con, ans a guide to taking the trolley:

Parking can be one of the most challenging aspects of coming to Comic‑Con. While Comic-Con itself has no control over the parking situation in downtown San Diego, it’s a good idea to arrive early, as parking tends to fill up fast.

As previously noted, this year there will be no Padres homestand, which should make downtown traffic conditions a tiny bit more bearable. Apparently, San Diego city planners saw the traffic jams and figured out that pretending the Comic-Con didn’t exist wouldn’t make it go away.

According to The Late Night TV Page Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada will be on The Colbert Report on Thursday 7/27, perhaps to discuss CIVIL WAR? Host Stephen Colbert is known to have strong ties to such nerd topics as D&D and has been known to read excerpts from his ersatz science fiction novel on the air. In fact, we’ve been salting away the cover to the World of ColbertCraft for a rainy day and it looks like that rainy day is here!

Thanks to Beat Spy “Dawn Patrol” for the link.

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Nickelodeon Magazine will be presenting their own variation of R. Sikoryak’s cartoon carousel which has been delighting audiences here in NYC for a few years. Now you can see just how thrilling it is!

Nickelodeon Comic Carousel: Interactive cartoon slideshows
At the San Diego Comic Con
Friday 3:30-4:30 in Room 1B
Featuring plenty of gags, goofiness, and audience participation. Definitely for kids and alt-comics-loving adults

Chris Duffy and Dave Roman give a quick overview on Nick Mag¹s history of publishing the best in alternative comics for kids.

R. Sikoryak.(RAW) reads his comic strip bending, ³Real FUNNY Estate² then asks the audience if they can identify the comic strips and characters involved.

Sam Henderson (Magic Whistle) creates a soundtrack for pantomime classic “Scene But Not Heard” then asks volunteers from the audience to improve their own.

James Kochalka (Monkey Vs. Robot) reads a collection of his popular Impy and Wormer comic strips and his SpongeBob comics as well!

Johnny Ryan (Angry Youth Comix) and Steve Weissman (Yikes!) face off against Deep Orange, Nickelodeon¹s advanced cartooning computer! Audience reaction will determine whether technology can outwit humanity when it comes to creating gag cartoons.

Parties! Auctions! Luncheon auctions! So much to do…

CBLDF Welcome Party
Thursday, July 20
Westgate Hotel
1055 2nd Avenue
7:30 PM – 11:00 PM

Image Comics, IDW Publishing, SuicideGirls.com, Prism Comics, Diamond Select Toys, and Dark Horse have teamed up to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund by hosting the Fund’s Welcome Party at Comic-Con International!

Mix and mingle with comics brightest stars, and get a chance at winning some great door prizes from our sponsors. You’ll also be able to bid on breakfast with Jose Villarrubia or lunch with Paige Braddock, courtesy of Prism Comics.

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A while ago, on the Old Beat we told you about a new comics series to be published by IDW based on Edgar Rice Burroughs A PRINCESS OF MARS, to be written by Dan Taylor, with art by Ted McKeever and covers by Frank Cho and Mark Wheatley. However, yesterday, eagle-eyed Jen Contino spotted something on Ted McKeever’s website which made it look like the series had been scrapped.

McKeever wrote:

The Princess of Mars project is now officially dead in the water. Two covers done, and the first half of the first issue completed, and word comes that IDW has decided it best not to continue with the project.

It has not been, needless to say, a very pleasant time for me. IDW has been totally gracious and forthcoming without all the legal mumbo jumbo , in telling me to halt all work, so I didn’t waste anymore time than I already had. Frustrating? Yeah. Creatively stunting? Definitely. Enough to cause me to fall apart completely? No friggin way.

This was swiftly taken down, but not before Detective Beat of Helium was on the case. As you know, tracking the various appearances of John Carter, Warlord of Mars, is one of our more pleasant little hobbies.

Now, A PRINCESS OF MARS, the first ERB Martian novel is now in the public domain, but the word on the street is that the Burrough Estate was not too pleased with the adaptation nonetheless. Although the copyright is in the public domain, trademarks may apply and so on. Plus Paramount is working on a JOHN CARTER movie, or has been for a zillion years. So what was the real story?

IDW had no comment, as expected. We decided to call up Danton Burroughs, the grandson of ERB, and head of Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., which administers the Burroughs estate. Danton Burroughs had no comment on the proposed IDW comic. When asked if he knew why it was stopped he said only, “No, but I would like to.”

While the supposed demise of the Mars comic may be mysterious for now, Burroughs did allow as to how he had just been to NYC to see the Tarzan musical on Broadway, and perhaps more excitingly, he recently saw some of the presentation art put together by Jon Favreau, who is still on tap to film John Carter after he’s done with Iron man. According to Burroughs the art is “staggering. We’re quite pleased with what he’s done.”

Paramount is still weighing whether to move forward with the film, but a decision is expected soon.
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Dear God, this is cool. The SciFi Channel has put the entire first episode of Mike Mignola’s THE AMAZING SCREW-ON HEAD cartoon online. We’ll let SF describe it:

In this hilarious send-up of Lovecraftian horror and steampunk adventure, President Abraham Lincoln’s top spy is a bodyless head known only as Screw-On Head.

When arch-fiend Emperor Zombie steals an artifact that will enable him to threaten all life on Earth, the task of stopping him is assigned to Screw-on Head. Fortunately, Screw-On Head is not alone on this perilous quest. He is aided by his multitalented manservant, Mr. Groin, and by his talking canine cohort, Mr. Dog.

Mignola drawing brought to thrilling animated life? You bet. Dark yet whimsical story? Check. Vocal stylings by Paul Giamatti, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon and Patton Oswalt? YES YES YES! Make sure to fill out the online survey and tell the SciFi Channel that only by airing more of THE AMAZING SCREW ON HEAD can nuclear disaster be averted for all times.

Well…that was…interesting. Apparently when we post within WordPress, instead of our usual Ecto interface, it throws in all sorts of formatting code that throws everything to hell. We figured it out now. Can any of you WordPress whizzes explain how to make HTML instead of WYSIWYG the default for posting?

In the meantime, we’re kind of in mental flux here. We figured out that our San Diego has already started for all intents and purposes. Battlefield conditions. You wouldn’t believe the cock-ups we perpetrated yesterday, and more to come today, doubtless. From here on out we’re just posting when we can. The postings may have very odd timestamps, but that’s just the way it’s gotta be. We nipped off to the rooftop for some G&Ts tonight for an hour or so, but that was the last break in our training regimen. From here on out, it’s all a mission to Burma.

EC Crypt and Gemstone are teaming up for a new full-color reprinting of the classic in deluxe hardcovers. WE WANT OURS!

Once unjustly maligned as a cause of escalating teen delinquency during the ’50s, the EC Comics line — created by publisher William Gaines and a host of some of comics’ most legendary artists — is now considered by scholars, fans, and collectors alike as a milestone achievement in graphic storytelling, years ahead of its time. These comics entertained millions during their all-too-short runs and influenced some of our generation’s most talented writers, filmmakers, and artists. They have inspired cartoons, movies, TV series, and countless parodies and tributes, and now these classics of the 20th century are set to return, presented in a stunning new format for the 21st century!

EC Crypt and Gemstone Publishing are proud to present the first volume in The EC Archives, launching in October 2006 with Weird Science Volume One! Previous collected editions of the classic EC Comics line reproduced the stories in black-and-white which, although showcasing the beautiful line art rendered by such EC greats as Graham “Ghastly� Ingels and Wally Wood, did not preserve the wonderful coloring expertly applied by EC and Marvel Comics veteran, Marie Severin. The EC Archives editions will present these stories with all-new colors based on the originals, but utilizing new methods of shading and texture to enhance and improve each story’s impact. The reproduction of these volumes will be the best ever presented, as each of The EC Archives will be shot directly from the original EC art!

Weird Science Volume One kicks off the series in October with a 212-page hardcover volume collecting the first six issues of the legendary Sci-Fi comics series! Included are stories by Al Feldstein, William Gaines and more, with art by legendary illustrators Wally Wood, Harvey Kurtzman, Joe Orlando, Jack Kamen, Al Feldstein and others. Each volume will also include all of the original EC advertisements, editorial pieces, and even letters pages, to give readers a true idea what made EC one of the most influential comic book lines ever created.

“The EC Comics line was a classic in its day, “said Publisher Russ Cochran. “It is still popular with collectors and has been an influence on everyone from comic creators to filmmakers in Hollywood.�

One filmmaker in particular who holds the EC Comics line in high regard is legendary Star Wars creator, George Lucas, who provides a nostalgic foreword for this first volume. One can assume that comics such as Weird Science helped to expand the imagination of a young George Lucas, steering him towards an eventual journey to A Galaxy Far, Far Away…

And Lucas isn’t alone in his appreciation for the EC Comics line. His own friend and frequent collaborator, Steven Spielberg, provides the foreword for the second volume in the series, Shock SuspenStories Volume One, which will be released in November 2006. Thereafter, fans and collectors can expect additional volumes such as Tales from the Crypt Volume One in December 2006, Two-Fisted Tales Volume One in January 2007, and additional volumes to follow throughout 2007!

All volumes are priced at $49.95 and will be available at bookstores and comic book specialty stores.