By Steven Roberts
It’s not every day that an Eisner Award-winner teams up with a Los Angeles streetwear company, but judging by Stan Sakai’s collaboration with The Hundreds, it might not be a bad idea. The Hundreds will release two t-shirts Saturday, November 21 at their flagship store in Los Angeles and their store in San Francisco celebrating the 25th anniversary of Stan Sakai’s series "Usagi Yojimbo."
For those who haven't tapped into the world of "Usagi Yojimbo" yet, Miyamoto Usagi is a rabbit ronin samurai (the series' title translates to rabbit bodyguard in Japanese, kids), and the main character of Sakai’s long-running Dark Horse comic series. Sakai created the character in 1987 and modeled him after legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi. Read more...
By Lindsay Soll
FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: Greetings Gleeks and members of the Whedonverse! We're betting that since the news broke that Joss Whedon would be heading over to McKinley High School to direct an episode of "Glee," you haven't been able to contain your sci-fi/musical excitement.
Apparently, neither has the man himself. "I talked to him a bunch [at a party], he's really excited," noted Cory Monteith (who plays Finn) during a "Glee" club fieldtrip to the MTV offices. "He's a big fan of the show — and [we spoke] before it actually came out that he was going to direct. He spoke to us, the cast, for an hour at this party."
Read more about Joss Whedon's "Glee" episode at HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.
Halloween Week is drawing to a close around Splash Page HQ, but that doesn't mean we're finished with the scary stuff. All week we've brought you lists of our favorite fright-friendly characters from the world of comics, as well as the easiest Halloween costumes to create and the nigh-impossible comic book characters to dress up as this year.
However, the scariest characters in any comic book universe still wouldn't be truly frightening without a good story behind them. That's why your Splash Page team has put together this long list of some of the most terrifying tales they've ever read. Editor Rick Marshall and writers Brian Warmoth, Caleb Goellner and Josh Wigler have each assembled a list of the scariest comics that have stuck with them through the years and skulked in the dark recesses of their comic book memory.
From supernatural threats and viral terrors to alien invasions and sadistic supervillains, these books offer the perfect scary stories to celebrate Halloween. Read more...
Today we post the final installment of our five-part Halloween Week retrospective on "The Crow," celebrating the film's 15th anniversary with cast and filmmaker interviews that explore its origin and legacy. If you're just discovering this feature, be sure to look back through our "15 Years Of Devil's Night" archive.
PART FIVE: REMEMBERING BRANDON LEE AND "THE CROW"
By Ryan J. Downey
James O'Barr originally conceived The Crow to channel, process and release his anguish and heartbreak over the death of his girlfriend, who was killed by a drunk driver. Brandon Lee, whose famous father had passed away at the all too young age of 32, was cast to play the lead in the film version of the comic.
Many strange and awful circumstances surrounded what would nevertheless eventually emerge as a triumphant and transcendent film. As Time Magazine reported in 1993, sets were ravaged by a storm, a carpenter was almost electrocuted. As the cast and crew have recounted, illness, accidents and even death touched many of them in their personal lives as well. And of course, as is now widely known, Brandon Lee was killed during a tragic onset accident with just days left of filming to complete. Read more...
Our five-part Halloween Week retrospective on "The Crow" continues, celebrating the film's 15th anniversary with cast and filmmaker interviews that explore its origin and legacy. Check back each day this week for another installment of our "15 Years Of Devil's Night" series.
PART FOUR: BEST. SOUNDTRACK. EVER?
By Ryan J. Downey
"The Crow" soundtrack is quite possibly the greatest alt-rock compilation assembled in the '90s. Coupled with Graeme Revell's hauntingly moving score, bands like The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, The Jesus and Mary Chain and Machines Of Loving Grace perfectly complimented the movie's dark and romantic themes.
Even the bands who contributed cover songs selected material that lined up well with the flick, intentionally or not. Nine Inch Nails covered "Lost Souls," by one of The Crow creator James O'Barr's favorite bands, Joy Division. Rollins Band did a version of Suicide's "Ghost Rider," about the Marvel hero. Pantera's take on "The Badge" was even more savage than the original by punk legends Poison Idea.
My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult and Medicine both appear in the film. And of course, Eric Draven's background was enhanced by making him a musician (Brandon Lee even learned to play guitar). Read more...
Our five-part Halloween Week retrospective on "The Crow" continues, celebrating the film's 15th anniversary with cast and filmmaker interviews that explore its origin and legacy. Check back each day this week for another installment of our "15 Years Of Devil's Night" series.
PART THREE: THE SKULL COWBOY SPEAKS! THE CROW'S LOST CHARACTER.
By Ryan J. Downey
The Skull Cowboy appears in James O'Barr's comics and nearly made it into "The Crow." An other-worldly guide for Brandon Lee's resurrected avenger Eric Draven, the mysterious figure would have provided a great deal of the film's exposition, setting up the "rules" of the afterlife and Draven's mission.
The character, portrayed under heavy prosthetics by actor Michael Berryman ("The Devil's Rejects," "Weird Science," "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest"), can be glimpsed in a deleted footage montage on the collector's edition DVD of "The Crow" and longer scenes, including one with dialogue, have made their way online. The Skull Cowboy would have first appeared as Draven emerges from the grave.
The absence of Berryman's character from the final cut of the film subsequently caused a bit more footage to be left out, most notably, an extended fight sequence with Funboy (Michael Masse). Read more...
Halloween Week continues with yet another guest blog from one of the industry's most notable creators of horror comics. This time around, it's "30 Days of Night" co-creator Steve Niles, whose series "Criminal Macabre," "Freaks of the Heartland" and "Wake the Dead" (among others) are also currently in development as feature films. His sequel to "30 Days of Night," "Dark Days" is also currently in production.
I imagine for a lot of folks out there Halloween is a fun time, but not one of the bigger times of year. In my house, Halloween is right up there with all major holidays. I’d even go as far as to say I spend more in October than I do in December.
It’s the truth. I have a problem. My name is Steve Niles and I’m a horror addict. I’m also one lucky monster-kid. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Read more...
Today we continue our five-part Halloween Week retrospective on "The Crow," celebrating the film's 15th anniversary with cast and filmmaker interviews that explore its origin and legacy. Check back each day this week for another installment of our "15 Years Of Devil's Night" series.
PART TWO: JOHNNY DEPP? CHRISTIAN SLATER? BON JOVI?! CASTING ERIC DRAVEN
By Ryan J. Downey
Before "The Crow," Brandon Lee's biggest role was in "Rapid Fire," an above-average action flick carried mostly by his grace, charm and combination of various martial arts styles years before the phrase "MMA" was popularized. His other credits included "Showdown in Little Tokyo" opposite Dolph Lundgren, little seen low-budget foreign action flicks "Laser Mission" and "Legacy of Rage" and the televised "Kung Fu: The Movie," with David Carradine.
Brandon dropped nearly 40 lbs. to play Eric Draven and was deeply involved in his characterization and fight choreography. His performance was at once natural yet supernatural in style throughout the film, which would define his legacy and remove him from the shadow of his famous father. Here, one of the producers, one of the writers, and one of the actors in the film reflect on Lee's casting and contributions. Read more...
Not only is it Halloween Week here on Splash Page, this year also marks the 15th anniversary of Brandon Lee's debut in the live-action adaptation of James O'Barr's dark comic book series "The Crow." With that in mind, we're celebrating with a five-part retrospective on the 1994 film, its origins and its legacy, culled from interviews with the cast and filmmakers behind director Alex Proyas' celebrated film. Check back each day this week for another installment of our "15 Years Of Devil's Night" series.
PART ONE: 52 MEETINGS FROM THE COMIC TO THE SCREEN
By Ryan J. Downey
Sure, there's Richard Donner's Superman, the Christopher Nolan Batman films, but to many, "The Crow" remains the greatest comic book flick ever made.
The late, great Brandon Lee, who was killed in a tragic onset accident just days away from completing the film, completely embodied the pathos, grace, otherworldly invincibility and dark humor of James O'Barr's Joy Division fueled black and white comic book about murder, heartbreak, the afterlife and justice. Read more...
Halloween Week kicks off here on Splash Page with the first in our series of guest columns from comic book creators known for their work with vampires, werewolves, ghosts and all manner of terrifying subject matter. First up is writer Tony Lee, who's currently hard at work on the comic book adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," as well as the webcomic "Where Evils Dare" and his original graphic novel "From The Pages Of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula': Harker," a sequel to the classic 1897 novel. Keep it locked to Splash Page all week for more Halloween-themed guest columns, features and exclusive previews!
I was never much of a horror fan as a kid. Growing up in the '70s and '80s, I was too young for movies like "The Exorcist," "Rosemary's Baby," "The Shining" and "The Omen," only finding them later in my life. No, I was a child of the '80s, and as such, my first exposure to horror was the movies of Wes Craven and Sam Raimi. But I had a problem with the genre—I just didn't understand why there had to be so much blood. Read more...
