Tags: robert kirkman

Alex Giles

The next TV and Film shows made from a comic?

by Alex Giles Email

There have been so many good comic book adaptation movie's released in recent years like the Ironman, Spiderman and Batman movies with more recently Green Lantern (yes I liked this film), X-Men: First Class, Captain America not to mention movies coming to our screens very soon that I am excited about like the Batman sequel ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012), Spider-Man reboot ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ (2012) and the next Superman instalment Man of Steel (2013).

Along with the movies there is has been and still are some great TV shows both Animated and Live action for example Smallville, Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes, Batman: Brave and the Bold and not to mention the totally brilliant Walking Dead from Robert Kirkman along with the soon to come Green Lantern Animated series.

This is fantastic for comic book fans like you and I. This got me thinking, what if I could choose which was to be made next what would I pick?

After thinking about this for a while I have chosen four that I would love to see. It would be far to big a column if I chose script writers, directors and the like so all I have done is choose the medium, the comic I would like seen transformed and lastly the main actor/actress role and who I would like to see play them.

If you have any ideas as to what you would like to see please leave a comment telling me or hit me up on twitter and let me know.

Witch Doctor - Dr Vincent Morrow played by Michael Sheen

First up is my beloved Witch Doctor, I would ABSOLUTLY LOVE this comic to be given a TV deal in the same way as Walking Dead has. Brandon Seifert could help with the writing as Kirkman has done with walking dead, it would be amazing. In the lead role of Dr Vincent Morrow I could only see one person and that one person just happens to be my favourite actor in the world Michael Sheen. He not only looks a bit like Dr Morrow but he would bring that depth to the character we see in the comic to screen so well and I think it would be a smash hit.

Aquaman – Arthur Curry played by Daniel Craig

Three films ive chosen now the first of which is Aquaman, this has been the surprise smash hit of the DC new 52 titles,I think with the right direction and making him more gritty and less comedy that the film would be amazing. Ive put Daniel Craig in the role here as I think for a less comedy approach he would be great.

Animal Man – Bernhard "Buddy" Baker played by Ewan McGregor

Another DC new title here and another male, Animal Man has been one of the best received comics of the relaunch and if there was ever a time to capitalise on this with a movie its now. Ive chosen a Welshman for Witchdoctor, an Englishman for Aquaman and now a Scotsman for Animal Man, step forward Ewan McGregor, not only an amazing actor but a Jedi too how could this possibly fail.

Suicide Squad – Harley Quinn played by Zooey Deschanel

Ok lastly is another DC title and to be perfectly honest ive chosen suicide squad with Zooey Deschanel just because I would love to see her in the new Harley Quinn outfit, I am a red blooded straight male what can I say. I do though, firmly believe that she would great in the role, she has a real cheekiness about her and is not a waif like so many actresses that I could totally see her in the sexy uniform swinging a big hammer about.

Alex Giles

Coming Back to Comics: Witch Doctor, More than Just a Comic to Me

by Alex Giles Email

Link: http://www.witchdoctorcomic.com/

Every now and again something happens to each and every one of us that stirs a passion inside, something that has perhaps lapsed or maybe we never knew was there.

Let me tell you a little story about a guy who had collected comics for eleven years up until the age of twenty three.

When he was twenty three his girlfriend at the time was pregnant with his first child and they had just recently moved in together after dating for around three years.


Money being low and a new house on the go with a baby due soon too, he took the adult decision (pushed and prompted by his partner at the time) to sell all his comic books and graphic novels. And that was that, he was not to even step foot into a comic book store for another decade, let alone buy a comic.

In case you haven’t already guessed, the guy I am telling you about is me; those were my comics and my fallen passion.

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Joe Glass

Tales from the Four-Colour Closet: Invincible vs. Over-Sensitive

by Joe Glass Email

As a gay man, I feel pretty strongly rooted and secure in my identity and connection to gay culture. As an avid comics reader, I feel strong in the thought that I am not overly fanboyish and can remain reasoned and thoughtful through the multitude of characters and situations I digest on a weekly basis.
So, you can imagine my concern when I find myself feeling these ideals of the structure of my personality come into question.

One such thing that I have found has the habit of doing this (not often, but casually, and recurring in such rarity that I’m always left for a momentary loop when it happens) is the comic Invincible.
For those of you who don’t read Invincible (something I’ve recently learned there are far to many of), it’s the brainchild of Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley and Cory Walker. Following the adventures of young, new superhero Invincible (Mark Grayson) on his rollercoaster, rocket-fuelled ascendance as one of the leading superheroes in his world, the story is fraught with family drama, betrayals, teen angst; and yet it’s bold, exciting, funny and, most of all, fun.

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Gavin Jones

FCBD 2011 Reviews: Super Dinosaur Origin Special!

by Gavin Jones Email

FCBD 2011 Super Dinosaur Origin Special

Welcome to the second day of our Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) reviews, today we take a look at a relatively new book from Image; Super Dinosaur. From the brain of The Walking Dead and Invincible creator Robert Kirkman comes this all ages book about a boy and his super-smart, super-teched, super-friend; Super Dinosaur (SD). The first issue of SD was released just a couple of weeks ago so this FCBD edition is perfectly timed to pick bring readers along for the ride right from the start. The FCBD issue is actually an origin story which was eluded to in the first issue but it's nice that Kirkman chose to reveal it here to the widest audience.

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Gavin Jones

Comic to TV round up: Sandman, more Locke & Key and more The Walking Dead *UPDATED*

by Gavin Jones Email

Link: http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/09/fox-picks-locke-key-gives-series-order.html

Warner Bros lining up Vertigo's The Sandman

It seems strange that Warner Bros. TV would be looking to replace their teen angst ridden Superman TV show; Smallville which is just about to go into it's final season with another show based on a comic book; Sandman. It's not starnge that they're based on comic boks but rather that they're so far apart in terms of style, content and approach but according to THR's heatvision blog that's exactly what they're doing.

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Gavin Jones

The Walking Dead Trailer

by Gavin Jones Email

Link: http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/08/the-walking-dead-trailer-video.html?

Ok so we're two days in from my last TWD post in which I clearly declared that I wasn't going to spoil it for myself and I suggested y'all did the same. I'm surprised I lasted this long to be honest. In my defence I had already seen the dodgy comic con footage of this trailer so I think we're on safe ground. It's looking good though, what do you think? Please let us know in the comments section.

In a brilliant move of scheduling and opportunism, AMC are taking full advantage of the U.S. obsession with Halloween by premiering the first episode on the 31st October. Perfect.

Gavin Jones

Waiting for The Walking Dead

by Gavin Jones Email

Link: http://splashpage.mtv.com/2010/08/10/the-walking-dead-score-bear-mccreary-tv-music/

Waiting for The Walking Dead

We are now merely months away from the debut of The Walking Dead (TWD) TV adaptation, the show is set to launch in both the states and the UK sometime in October. It's something we've covered quite extensively on the Sidekickcast and blog, and for good reason. From the moment I started reading TWD I knew that I had found something special and also something that could cross from comic book gold into the mainstream with very little effort at all. The story is essentially a soap opera with zombies in it, you really care about all the people you meet but you truly have no idea how long they are going to survive. So a compelling story about interesting characters with an ever changing cast and zombies? How could it fail?

Currently this is my biggest problem with TWD, the expectation is just so high I'm worried that it won't be able to live up to the hype. I've done this many times before, seen so many photos/clips/teasers/trailers/behind the scenes features of a movie/TV show before release by the time it actually hits I'm kind 'meh' and I couldn't bear it if this happened with TWD.

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Gavin Jones

Life imitates Art: Charlie Adlard is a Zombie

by Gavin Jones Email

Link: http://blogs.amctv.com/the-walking-dead/2010/08/charlie-adlard-interview.php

One of the nicest guys in comics is now one of the nicest guys in Hollywood too. During his visit to Frank Darabont's The Walking Dead set, Charlie Adlard decided to don the makeup himself and rock out as zombie.

Charlie Adlard is a Zombie in The Walking Dead TV Show

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Gavin Jones

From This Life to Walking Dead

by Gavin Jones Email

Link: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i48b556a1527d0b65e7998d9c8d00a6b5

Andrew Lincoln to play Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead TV show

According to THR Andrew Lincoln has been cast as Rick Grimes, the lead character in The Walking Dead televison adaptation of the Robert Kirkman book. Lincoln is pretty well known here in the UK with acclaimed roles in Teachers and my personal favourite This Life where he played Egg the lawyer turned chef in a world of twenty something tossers.

In The Walking Dead comic Rick Grimes is a small town sheriff who sets out on a mission to find his family in a world overrun by zombies. If the Frank Darabont written, directed and produced series follows the same story as the comic, the character of Rick is easily the most important and would offer a challenge to any actor so it's promising they've chosen someone of Lincoln's ability. He certainly wouldn't have been my first choice in terms of likeness as I've always seen Rick as more of a Josh Holloway but I'm interested to see what Lincoln does with the role.

Gavin Jones

The Walking Dead TV show

by Gavin Jones Email

Link: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118007161.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

It really is a great time to be a comic book fan, last month we got Fear Agent coming to the movies and this month we get Image comic's The Walking Dead possibly hitting the smaller screen. That's right folks according to Variety Robert Kirkman's zombie soap opera is said to be in development by none other than Frank Darabont. There is still no studio attached but given the popularity of the book and the talent involved finding a home for the show should be a given. It seems Joel Stillerman head of programming at AMC, the production company putting the show together, want's to keep true to the original vision and was attracted by the "quality of writing" on the book.

I've always said the Walking Dead would make a great tv show, low budget, ever changing cast and it's written in a way that the script is pretty much ready to go straight from the comic book. Of course as it was clearly my idea first I'll be expecting a royalty cheque in the post any day now ;)