Much of the comic book Twitterverse had opinions on Anthony Hopkins newly announced casting as Odin in Marvel's upcoming "Thor" movie. A few more, including Jeff Parker and Andy Diggle seemed to be partial to him over Brian Blessed, who had previously been mentioned for the role.

Elsewhere in the Twitter Report feed, I don't usually include non-comics-related talent, but director Paul McGuigan mentioned that he and Grant Morrison are working on new project together in Scotland. No word on whether this is something for comics, film or both—but the Twitter Report will be watching. Check that out after the jump, along with a great Judge Dredd mask, how one DC editor is dressing for Halloween and which zombie film Ed Brubaker has been watching.

It's all in the Twitter Report for October 30, 2009. Read more...

Some comics folks are stoked about "The Beatles: Rock Band." Some are less so, but I kick-started today's Twitter Report playlist with perspectives from Brian Reed and Chris Ryall, so you can see which side they're on.

The Fab Four weren't the only ones generating tweet commentary over the last 24 hours, though. I'm actually more excited about watching Rob Liefeld and Jeff Katz tweet about the new "Melrose Place" series than I am about any actual TV shows right now.

There was also a rare tweet from "Achewood" creator Chris Onstad, who's looking to coordinate costumes with Tony Millionaire for an upcoming appearance.

It's all below in the Twitter Report for September 9, 2009. Read more...

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...

When I spoke to former 20th Century Fox exec (and regular comics writer) Jeff Katz last month about his experience on the set of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," he had a lot to say about Hugh Jackman's "bad-ass" performance as Wolverine. But Jackman wasn't the only "Wolverine" star Katz raved about during our conversation.

The comics-savvy Katz gushed about Ryan Reynolds' portrayal of the "Merc with a Mouth," Deadpool, as well as Taylor Kitsch's performance as the card-tossing Cajun mutant, Gambit -- and offered up a unique insider's perspective on what it took to bring both of these fan-favorite characters to the big screen.

(For instance, would you believe a "Deadpool" movie has been in the works for more than five years? Yeah, I was surprised by that one, too.) Read more...

FROM MULTIPLAYER: It’s always nice to meet someone in the entertainment industry with a real reverence for the games, comics and the assorted geekery I hold near and dear to my heart — and former 20th Century Fox exec (and occasional comics writer) Jeff Katz is exactly that sort of person.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Katz, who returned from the set of the upcoming “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” film just a few months ago, and get a few details about the upcoming “Wolverine” game based on the film — as well as how he mixes business with pleasure when it comes to gaming.

“A couple of the Fox execs, myself and a couple of the principals involved [in 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'], we’re all gamers,” said Katz. “So when it came to the ‘Wolverine’ movie game, it was like, ‘Let’s do the coolest possible version of an X-Men game.’”

Read more about the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" game at Multiplayer.MTV.com.

Sure, any comic book fan worth his longboxes knows that Wolverine is the best there is at what he does -- but will his upcoming debut as a solo act in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" live up to the hype? Former 20th Century Fox exec (and comic book author) Jeff Katz, who returned from the set of "Wolverine" just a few months ago, certainly seems to think so, bub.

"I think it delivers -- so I’m not particularly worried about that," Katz told MTV, only to add exactly why he thinks Logan's upcoming solo debut will be his best story yet.

"I’m of the belief that you can boil down these characters to a couple of key words, phrases or images that sum up the tone and tenor of what they should be," explained Katz. "And to me and [Hugh] Jackman, our mantra for Wolverine has really been one term: 'bad-ass.' As long as Wolverine is consistently bad-ass, people are generally going to go with you. That’s what they want from that character." Read more...

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" isn't out in theaters until May 1, 2009, but there's already been plenty of talk about a potential spin-off film focusing on Marvel's "Merc with a Mouth," Deadpool. (In this case, a "spin-off of a spin-off" is more accurate, given the move from team-oriented "X-Men" movies to "Wolverine" solo -- but you get the idea.)

During a recent "Comic Book Club" chat session between comedians and comics creators in Manhattan, former 20th Century Fox Studio Exec Jeff Katz (who had returned from the set of "Wolverine" just a few months ago) offered up his own thoughts about the potential for a "Deadpool" movie -- as well as what you can expect to see in "Wolverine," bub.

"The film nicely tees [Deadpool] off for his own spin-off film," said Katz, who raved about Ryan Reynolds' portrayal of the wise-cracking mercenary. In Marvel's comic book universe, Wade Wilson (a.k.a. Deadpool) is a product of the same "Weapon X" experiments that Wolverine was subjected to by the Canadian government, but the experiments left him disfigured and mentally unstable. Read more...