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'Boardwalk Empire': The Secret Comic Book History

Posted 12/12/11 11:07 am EST by in Commentary


Boardwalk Empire

by Ethan Kaye

Comic books weave threads through all popular media. What once lived in attics and dingy strip mall stores are now headlining box offices, Broadway stages, and magazine covers. So how far do these tentacles stretch? This column looks at what’s popular, and uncovers some of the hidden connections to the comic world!

This week: HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire.” Martin Scorsese's take on Prohibition-era Atlantic City gives viewers a ground-level view of America's greatest gangsters right as they're getting on their feet. With alcohol outlawed (and women just given the right to vote), politics and violence are the words of the day, and gangsters like Al Capone mix with bootleggers and presidents. And it has some pretty good comic connections!

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'Sons Of Anarchy': The Secret Comic Book History

Posted 12/7/11 10:39 am EST by in Commentary, TV


by Ethan Kaye

Comic books weave threads through all popular media. What once lived in attics and dingy strip mall stores are now headlining box offices, Broadway stages, and magazine covers. So how far do these tentacles stretch? This column looks at what’s popular, and uncovers some of the hidden connections to the comic world!

This week: FX’s "Sons of Anarchy"! Biker gangs get a bad rap, and the members of SAMCRO absolutely deserve it. Murder, gun-running, porn, dope… it’s everything you expect from a no-holds-barred drama about the seedy gangs that control the underbelly of America. And some pretty big connections to the comic world!

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'Man Of Steel 2' Writers: Weighing The Candidates

Posted 11/18/11 1:55 pm EST by in Commentary, DC Comics, News


Man of Steel

Earlier this week, rumors began circulating that Warner Bros. are already looking for a writer to pen a script for the "Man of Steel" sequel. The news came as a bit of a surprise, as the first of Zack Snyder's Superman movies is still more than a year and a half away, but was not unprecedented.

The three names said to be on the shortlist are Travis Beacham, Lawrence Kasdan and Steve Kloves, the rumored frontrunner.

Each candidate seems like a realistic choice for the job, and an argument could be made for all three. So we've taken the time to break each man down to decide who should get the gig.

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'Avengers' Trailer Analysis: Five Keys Scenes

Posted 10/12/11 8:00 pm EST by in Commentary, Marvel, Photos, Video


By now, you've probably seen the first trailer for "Marvel's The Avengers" with all of its explosions, in-fighting and Iron Man caddishness. For such a hotly anticipated movie with relatively little known about it, any scrap of information out there will be analyzed over and over again for any tiny secret that can be found.

We already dissected the New York City locations from the preview, so let's take a look at the trailer to find out what are the most important pieces of info you'll need come May 2012. Here are the five keys scenes from the trailer for "The Avengers."

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'Dark Knight Rises': What's With All The Tumblers?

Posted 8/11/11 5:45 pm EST by in Commentary, DC Comics


The Dark Knight Risesby Brian Phares

There has been much rumor and speculation surrounding "The Dark Knight Rises," ranging from the motives of Joseph Gordon-Levitt to the merit of Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman costume, and even the involvement of Ra’s al Ghul. Yet nobody seems to be asking the most important question of all: what is up with all these tumblers?

It seems tumblers have taken over Gotham City. In almost every photo surfacing online a tumbler is there, ready to photobomb. Don’t believe me? Let me break it down for you: Joseph Gordon-Levitt holding a gas can looking shady? Behind him, a tumbler. Bane assaulting the field of a Gotham Rogues football game, who does he have in tow? A group of tumblers three. Marion Cotillard on set standing on top of a rather large vehicle? You guessed it, it’s a tumbler. And lastly, Catwoman is riding a motorcycle, the same model that lurks in the jaws of Batman's own tumbler.

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'Dark Knight Rises' Lessons: How I Learned To Love The Catsuit

Posted 8/9/11 1:30 pm EST by in Commentary, DC Comics


By Brian Phares

I was in a state of shock. Had Anne Hathaway actually read my article? Had my crafty wordplay about her Catwoman costume touched her heart in some way? This just couldn’t be the case. And yet...

...and yet here I was, manning a camera during an interview with Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess in the Waldorf-Astoria as our own Josh Horowitz began inquiring about the "Dark Knight Rises" star's thoughts on reactions to her newfangled Catsuit. "I happen to know that MTV’s reaction was, 'Meh,' " Anne replied, with a disapproving bat of the eyes.

Could she mean my article? Was that accusing glance directed at the wrong person in the room? As if to drive the point home she repeated the phrase a second time. I think she was trying to tell me something.

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Anne Hathaway's Catwoman: How's She Stack Up To Past 'Batman' Felines?

Posted 8/5/11 3:16 pm EST by in Commentary, DC Comics


By Brian Phares

The cat is out of the bag! We have finally glimpsed Anne Hathaway as Selena Kyle (a.k.a. Catwoman). Whether or not this costume is Catwoman’s final form remains to be seen; in fact, whether or not she even becomes Catwoman in the film is still a topic of debate (though we're willing to bet a week's salary she will).

Staying true to "Batman" traditions, for every new installment in the franchise we can be sure there will be new costumes, new gadgets, and new Batmobiles. Below we trace the lineage of the Catwoman’s costume through the annals of history, and give you our thoughts on which Cat takes the proverbial fish cake.

Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar (and Eartha and Lee too)
The old cat is definitely not old hat. When I look back on the Catwoman costumes of yesteryear, I am shocked and delighted by their sexy simplicity. Despite Julie Newmar’s crazy eyebrows, her classic getup of all black satin and a cute kitty cat headband turns heads. Later cats Eartha Kitt and Lee Meriwether eschewed eyebrows for face masks fit for a masquerade. But don’t let Meriwether’s demure looks fool you. See those kitty claws? They will slash your effin’ face off!

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'Cowboys & Aliens': The Journey To The Big Screen

Posted 7/29/11 2:54 pm EST by in Commentary, Platinum Studios


Cowboys & Aliens"Cowboys & Aliens," the big-budget blockbuster film starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, hits theaters today. Many fans are likely aware that the film has been billed as based on a graphic novel, like so many other recent blockbusters. But what they may not be aware of is just how tangled and torturous a path it was for "Cowboys & Aliens" to reach the big-screen, and how very different its origins are from other comic book films.

To shed some light on that, we're taking a look at the trail this property blazed all the way to the Wild West of Hollywood.

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The All-New 'Spider-Man' Musical: What Changed, What Didn't, And Why It's Worth Seeing

Posted 6/10/11 6:01 pm EST by in Commentary, Hot Stuff, Marvel


Spider-Man: Turn Off The DarkOkay, I'll admit it: A few months ago I wouldn't even have entertained the idea of seeing "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" multiple times, let alone recommend that you see it. Back in January, when we published a list of five things we liked about the show and five things we hated, we had trouble coming up with enough items for the former, and had even more trouble narrowing down our list of the latter.

Since then, the budget-busting Broadway show has undergone a massive overhaul, with former director Julie Taymor departing the production, and an entirely new set of writers — including comics scribe Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa — brought on to rework the script.

With the show finally ending its record-breaking run of preview performances next week and marking its official Broadway debut, I found myself in the audience a second time to find out whether "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" had finally spun a web that will keep audiences in the seats. Read More...

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Building A Better 'Superman' Movie: Three Requests For The 'Man Of Steel' Reboot

Posted 5/16/11 11:16 am EST by in Commentary, DC Comics


SupermanWith the popularity of comic book movies at an all-time high, the absence of Krypton’s last son from summer lineups seems especially conspicuous, given talk that lesser-known characters like Dr. Strange and Shang Chi are being discussed for their own movies. This is Superman, after all — one of the most popular comic book characters of all time and the owner of the best spit-lick in town...

However, although the ball was slow to roll, the upcoming "Superman: Man Of Steel" movie seems to be moving forward. The director has been chosen (Zack Snyder), many of the main characters have been cast, and script details are slowly leaking out. And while we would never presume to know what the filmmakers are thinking, it's worth noting that a lot's riding on this project: if a second attempt at relaunching the franchise goes wrong, who knows when Superman will ever see the screen again?

With that in mind, we've come up with a few recommendations for the "Man of Steel" team. Read More...

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Cover Artist

Splash Page welcomes Ed Tadem to our cover artist family (our custom-designed theme up top). Currently working on the forthcoming "Avengers" animated series, Tadem's work can also be seen in the "Jackie Karma" issues of Image's "'76," and in "Pop Gun, Volume 1." Ed Tadem can be found online at EdTadem.com.