Source Material

Over the next few months, a number of new comic collections will begin popping up. As you might suspect, each of these characters has the distinction of being adapted in a live-action film.


In June, Fantagraphics presents another chapter in Hal Foster’s Arthurian epic with the release of Prince Valiant Volume 5: 1945–1946. This outing features Val’s marriage to his true love Aleta and an escapade involving the Saxons.


This July, Dark Horse will release the fifth volume in its Hellboy Library series. The hardcover edition features two completes trades, a short story, and previously unpublished artwork.


Look for the mischievious adventures of Percy Crosby’s Skippy Skinner sometime in September. IDW will release Skippy Volume 1: Complete Dailies 1925–1927 under its Library of American Comics imprint.


(Image: cover of Skippy Volume 1: Complete Dailies 1925–1927, Percy Crosby, IDW Publishing)

Are We Friends Yet?

Be sure to “Like” our Facebook page for the latest CBC updates. (And tell your friends, too.)

Turtle Team Leader

Happy 50th birthday to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator and Heavy Metal publisher Kevin Eastman.

(Image: TMNT cake, Jimmy Cakes)

Dead Man Talking

Artist Charlie Adlard discusses the upcoming 100th issue of The Walking Dead with CBR. Earlier thoughts from creator and writer Robert Kirkman here.

(Image: cover art for The Walking Dead #100, Charlie Adlard, Image Comics)

May We Quote You?

“Ah, Ms. Bagstock, your girlish laughter hit me like the lash of a hunting crop.” - Rupert Everett as Headmistress Camilla Fritton in St. Trinian’s (2007), based on the cartoons by Ronald Searle.


Everett, who celebrates his 53rd birthday today, reprised the role in St Trinian’s II: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold (2009). He also portrayed the arch villain Dr. Claw (a.k.a. Sanford Scolex) in Inspector Gadget (1999).


(Image: Rupert Murdoch as Camilla Fritton and Talulah Riley as Annabelle Fritton in St. Trinian’s, Ealing Studios)

Soldier Stories

Memorial Day seems a fitting time for a quick look back at the art of two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Bill Mauldin (1921–2003). While serving in the 45th Infantry Division during World War II, Mauldin began chronicling the plight of the average soldier through his characters Willie and Joe. The two regular grunts appeared in a pair of live-action slapstick films, Up Front (1951) and Back at the Front (1952), with Tom Ewell as Willie and David Wayne followed by Harvey Lembeck as Joe. To learn more about Mauldin, check out the online tribute from the Library of Congress.

Clowes Close Up

The Oakland Museum of California shines a spotlight on the work of Dan Clowes. The renowned graphic novelist’s comics were adapted for the screen in Ghost World (2001) and Art School Confidential (2006), both directed by Terry Zwigoff. “Modern Cartoonist: The Art of Daniel Clowes” continues through August 12, with a special panel discussion on July 27 featuring Clowes and fellow comic artist Chris Ware.

(Image: Ghost World cover, 1997, Daniel Clowes)

An Awesome Span

The Golden Gate Bridge turns 75 today -- no thanks to the Hulk and Magneto.

On This Date: May 26

1949: Columbia Pictures releases the 15-chapter serial Batman and Robin starring Robert Lowery and Johnny Duncan and directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet.

1949: Pam Grier is born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Making a name for herself by appearing a number of blaxploitation films in the early 1970s, she portrayed as the title character in Friday Foster, based on the eponymous comic strip created by Jim Lawrence, and later guest starred as Agent Amanda Waller in three episodes of the television series Smallville.

1960: Doug Hutchison was born in Dover, Delaware. He played James Russoti/Looney Bin Jim in Punisher: War Zone.

1995: Amblin Entertainment releases Casper, based on the eponymous cartoon ghost created by Seymour Reit and Joe Oriolo. The cast includes Bill Pullman, Christina Ricci, Cathy Moriarty, Eric Idle, and Ben Stein with Malachi Pearson providing the voice of Casper.

2006: X-Men: The Last Stand is released by 20th Century Fox. Based on the Marvel Comics mutant superhero team created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the film features Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, Hallie Berry as Ororo Munroe/Storm, Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier, Anna Paquin as Marie/Rogue, Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast, James Marsden as Scott Summer/Cyclops, Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat, Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake/Iceman, Ian McKellan as Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto, Famke Janssen as Jean Grey/Phoenix, and Rebecca Romijn as Raven Darkholme/Mystique. Directed by Brett Ratner, the movie also includes cameos by Lee and Uncanny X-Men scribe Chris Claremont.

On This Date: May 25

1939: Sir Ian McKellan is born in Burnley, Lancashire, England. The Tony Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated actor portrayed the mutant criminal Magneto (a.k.a. Erik Lehnsherr) in X-Men, X2, and X-Men: The Last Stand.

1964: Ray Stevenson is born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. He starred as the Punisher (a.k.a. Frank Castle) in Punisher: War Zone and later appeared in Thor as Volstagg.

1970: Jamie Kennedy is born in Upper Darby, Penn. He played would-be animator Tim Avery in Son of the Mask.

1970: Octavia Spencer is born in Montgomery, Alabama. Prior to receiving the Academy Award for her role in the 2011 film The Help, Spencer was cast as a check-in girl in Spider-Man.

1976: Cillian Murphy is born in Douglas, Cook County, Ireland. He took on the role of the Scarecrow (a.k.a. Dr. Jonathan Crane) in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

2012: Men in Black 3 is released by Amblin Entertainment. The movie stars Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and Emma Thompson.

May We Quote You?

“Avi Arad, when they bought it, said, ‘Don’t worry, you’re going to be the Nick Fury forever,’ and they lied.” - David Hasselhoff

In the Beginning . . .

Comic strip characters found their place in the cinema just as the industry of filmmaking was starting to take shape. In September 1897, pioneering British filmmaker George Albert Smith, who would later develop an early process for color motion picture film known as Kinecolor, directed Weary Willie. Based on Tom Browne’s comedic tramps Weary Willie & Tired Tim (originally known as Willie Waddles and Tired Timmy) that began appearing on the cover of the weekly magazine Illustrated Chips a year earlier, the film’s slapstick plot involved Willie inadvertently whacking a woman who hires him to beat a rug. 

Though short and simplistic in its approach, the movie remains significant not only as the first live-action adaptation of a comic strip character but also as a forerunner to the films of Charlie Chapin, who claimed to have drawn inspiration for his iconic Tramp figure from Browne’s work. Despite its historic relevance, no copies of the film are known to remain in existence. Weary Willie & Tired Tim would be featured in several more silent shorts and remain on the cover of Illustrated Chips until its final issue in 1953. Browne, who remained extremely popular throughout much of his career and became an influence on British cartoonists who followed him, died of cancer in 1910 at the age of 39.

(Image: “Innocents on the River” by Tom Browne, Illustrated Chips #298, May 16, 1896)

A Marvelous Chronology

The Marvel Cinematic Universe now comes complete with its own official timeline.


Hat tip: Andrew Farago


(Image: Marvel Cinematic Universe Timeline, Marvel Entertainment)

Something to Crow About

As pre-production work commences on a new film adaptation, James O’Barr’s dark spirit of vengeance the Crow appears ready to return to comics this summer. The character, which first appeared in 1989, has been featured in four live-action movies and a television series.

(Image: The Crow #1, cover B, IDW Publishing)

Promotional Art (1920–2012) Ctd.

“I gotta say, I had no idea there were that many films based on comics. And what a great amount of work that took to compile. Thanks on behalf of comic movie fans everywhere. Oh, and I love seeing El Muerto as part of that pantheon.” - Javier Hernandez

Ernie Chan 1940–2012

Comic book artist Ernie Chan, best known for his work on Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian and Savage Sword of Conan, has passed away. Piror to his move to Marvel, Chan worked on several titles for DC Comics including House of Mystery, The Unexpected, Weird War Tales, Detective Comics, and Batman.

(Image: Conan the Barbarian, Ernie Chan)

Target Practice

The CW offers a preview of the new series Arrow.


(Image: Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow in Arrow, Warner Bros. Television)

Promotional Art (1920–2012)

We’ve added a poster gallery on our Facebook page chronicling nearly 100 years of live-action movies based on cartoons and comics. We hear that it scrolls very nicely on an iPhone.


(Image: theatrical poster for Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land, 1952, Columbia Pictures)

Happy Mother's Day

We salute all the super moms out there whose love and devotion gives us the power to reach new heights.

(Image: Annette O’Toole as Martha Kent in Smallville, Warner Bros.)

Bullseye

It’s official: Green Arrow will be a TV star later this year.

On This Date: May 11

1964: Tim Blake Nelson was born in Tulsa, Okla. He played Dr. Samuel Sterns in the 2008 movie The Incredible Hulk and is slated to played the green-skinned hero’s nemesis the Leader in a future sequel.

1968: Jeffery Donovan was in Amesbury, Mass. Star of the espionage series Burn Notice, Donovan appeared in the 2002 episode “Lagrimas” of the superhero show Witchblade.

1985: Chester Gould died in Woodstock, Ill., at the age of 84. Born in Pawnee, Okla., he created the comic strip Dick Tracy in 1931. Over the next 46 years, Gould has his square-jawed detective face off against a slew of twisted and aptly named criminals such as Flattop Jones, Mumbles, 3-D Magee, Pruneface, and Shoulders. The strip inspired a number of live-action adaptations including four movie serials, several feature films, and a television series. Gould retired from the strip in 1977.

(Image: poster for Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome, 1947, RKO Pictures)

Let's Be Friends

We took the plunge and are now on Facebook. Please “Like” us. Thanks!

Tony DeZuniga 1932–2012

Famed Filipino comic book illustrator Tony DeZuniga, co-creator of Western bounty hunter Jonah Hex and the superheroine Black Heroine, has passed away. Josh Brolin portrayed as the gun-wielding antihero in the 2010 Warner Bros. release Jonah Hex.

(Image: Weird Western Tales #14, October-November, 1972, Tony DeZuniga, DC Comics)

Advantage: Archaia

Feeding Ground by Chris Mangun, Michael Lapinski, and Swifty Lang appears to be latest graphic novel slated for cinematic treatment.

Happy 50th Birthday, Ya Big Green Lug!

The first issue of The Incredible Hulk hit newsstands back on this date in 1962. The super strong hero with a serious Jekyll and Hyde complex soon became one of the flagship characters at Marvel Comics. Since then, he’s appeared in cartoons, video games, and even a television show. Here’s a quick look at the green mountain of muscle’s journey from print to live-action star.

May, 10 1962 The Incredible Hulk #1 debuts. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, it relates the story of Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, who, after being exposed to gamma radiation, transforms into a 900-pound, grey-skinned behemoth at night. The story also introduces General Thanddeus E. “Thunderbolt” Ross, who would become obsessed with stopping the often misunderstood giant, along with his daughter (and Banner’s love-interest) Betty.

September, 1963 The now-green Hulk battles along side Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp against Thor’s malicious brother Loki in The Avengers #1. By the end of the second issue, the Hulk leaves the group.

April, 1967 The Hulk has the first of many battles with the Abomination (Emil Blonsky) in Tales to Astonish #90.

November 4, 1977 The Incredible Hulk airs on CBS. Developed by writer and director Kenneth Johnson, the two-hour, live-action television pilot stars Bill Bixby as Dr. David Bruce Banner and professional bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk.

November 28, 1977 The two-hour sequel The Return of the Incredible Hulk airs.

Series Champs

The recent release of The Avengers may have brought the number of movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to six (the other entries include Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)), but there’s still room for growth if its ever going to the top list as the live-action comics-inspired film series with the most entries.

• In 1970, Lone Wolf and Cub by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima became a huge hit upon its release in Japan and spawned a series of six films. Tomisaobor Wakayama portrayed Ogami Ittō, a disgraced samurai who, along with his three-year-old son Daigorō, seeks venegeance on the clan that dishonored him.


• Long before wrapping up an impressive 54-year-run in 1984, Ham Fisher’s comic strip Joe Palooka found its way into radio, toys, and television. From 1946 to 1951, Monogram Pictures produced 11 films featuring Joe Kirkwood, Jr. as the boxing champ along with Elyse Knox as Joe’s girlfriend Ann Howe and Leon Errol as manager Knobby Walsh. 

Talking Dead

Robert Kirkman shares his thoughts with CBR on the upcoming release of The Walking Dead #100.

(Image: zombie by Robert Kirkman, 2012)

Ode to the Comic Book

With The Avengers continuing to smash through theaters, Brent Cox takes a look at where today’s superhero blockbusters got their start.

One Sheet Wonders

Total Film unveils its list of the 10 best posters from comic book-inspired movies.

(Image: poster for A History of Violence, 2005, New Line Cinema)

The Right Women For The Job

Bringing a well-known cartoon or comic book personality to life requires much more than the proper attire, a big name director, or a CGI backdrop. Here’s our list of talented actresses who we feel manage to make the characters their own while still satisfying audience expectations.


Penny Singleton as Blondie Bumstead Other film series may break box office records, but few can match the impressive run inspired by Chic Young’s famed comic strip Blondie. Between 1938 and 1950, Singleton and co-star Arthur Lake appeared in a total of 28 movies chronicling the misadventures of Blondie and Dagwood and their family. With her sweet, mousy tone and coiffed hair, she rolled along the ups and downs of middle class life at the time, including childbirth and World War Two, in a wholesome, comedic style. Fun fact: Singleton originated the voice of future homemaker Jane Jetson in Hanna Barbera’s animated series The Jetsons.


Linda Carter as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman She may be overly squeaky clean by today’s standards, but Carter’s Wonder Woman definitely knew how to get down to business. From 1975 to 1979, television audiences tuned into Wonder Woman to watch the Amazon princess smash up Nazi spy rings, halt alien invaders, and tackle the occasional rampaging robot or gorilla. A former Miss World USA, Carter’s disarming smile, raven hair, and dynamic figure helped set the standard by which all future portrayals of the iconic superwoman will be judged.

An Exhibition Unlike Any Other

As The Avengers movie fever takes hold, San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum assembles an impressive retrospective of the superhero team and the creators (Kirby, Buscema, Adams, etc.) behind it.

(Images: The Avengers #1, September 1963)