Celebrity-created sequential art is always a sensitive subject among serious comic book fans. Many stars, such as “Mayhem” creator Tyrese Gibson candidly address their motivations for entering the medium, while others take a less hands-on approach to addressing audience skepticism. While it’s far too early to tell which route a given star will take, there should be plenty of opportunities to tackle the topic as Jeff Katz's American Original puts comics behind comics with the production of a new line of graphic novels collected under the “Comedy Death Ray” banner.

Announced during San Diego Comic-Con, the line is planned to feature titles by Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Silverman (pictured), Patton Oswalt, B.J. Novak, David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, Paul Scheer and Zach Galifanakis among others. Read more...

Late last year, I spoke to comic book writer and former studio exec Jeff Katz about "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and the various characters he helped bring to the big screen during the last decade. Along with co-writing DC's "Booster Gold" series and work on other titles, Katz has been a driving force in bringing comics to Hollywood as adaptations received well by both comics fans and mainstream audiences alike (including the "Blade" and "X-Men" franchises).

That's why today's announcement about American Original, the new entertainment company created by Katz for developing genre content across comics, movies, television, gaming, toys and just about every other possible medium, really didn't come as much of a surprise.

I spoke with Katz about the American Original announcement to get a "Hollywood-to-English" translation of what his new company will involve, and how it's likely to affect comic book readers and creators in the future. Read more...