Comic Book Movie: Gene-Fusion

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: DVD, Editorials, Movies,

Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America, Cowboys & Aliens.

Yeah, I got all that. But did you know there's another comic book movie coming out this year that should be worth checking out?

This one's an animated feature called Gene-Fusion.

It's based on the comic book by Jeff Amano (Red Warrior) that was written by Ivan Brandon (Doc Savage), and illustrated by Neil Vokes (Dr. Strange) and Jay Geldhof (Grendel).

Here's the pitch from the press release: "In the year 2310, a new sport, Gene-Fusion, is all the rage… specially-trained athletes, called Fusers, design their own super-creature by combining three forms of animal DNA..."

Against that backdrop, four teens become Fusers only to find themselves part of a greater conspiracy that threatens the Earth.

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The Bullpen: New Webseries For 2011

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,

What happens when a group of visionary yet disgruntled comic book creators think they can do a better job making comics on their own?

They start their own comic book company and then record every delirious minute of it for posterity, that’s what. And then they post it on the internet. Because they can.

That’s the premise of a new live-action web series called The Bullpen, which will follow the fictional comic book company Bullpen Comics from start-up to recurring meltdown.

“It’s The Office meets , says co-creator Shaun McLaughlin who will star in and co-write the series. McLaughlin, who’s written comics for DC and Dark Horse, was also a producer at Warner Bros. for nearly a decade where he worked on Static Shock, Batman Beyond, and various incarnations of Justice League, usually in conjunction with Bruce Timm.
 

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Cheapjack Shakespeare: Graphic Novel Play Breaks Records

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews,

That new Spider-Man musical might want to call Shaun McLaughlin and ask him how it’s done. His play Cheapjack Shakespeare: The Non Musical just opened to a sold out crowd, “the largest fall opening in the history of (Buffalo’s) Alt Theatre,” according to the press release. According to McLaughlin, “Sex, drugs and iambic pentameter has proved a potent draw.”

And competition for opening night was fierce: Friday night’s debut was the kick off of Curtain Up!, the official start of Buffalo’s theatre season. Cheapjack Shakespeare: The Non Musical was competing against 16 other show openings. And first-time playwright McLaughlin emerged victorious. According to the author, “it was a sell out crowd. And they laughed. A lot.”

I’ve written about Cheapjack Shakespeare before. It’s McLaughlin’s adaptation of his own graphic novel, a comedy about a summer Shakespeare company falling apart as they’re beset by infidelity, egos, ambition “and a particularly ill-timed lightning strike.”

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