COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A FAN’S HOPE is from SUPER SIZE ME filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, and boasts an impressive line-up of comic notables including Stan Lee (also producing), Kevin Smith, and Eli Roth. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, and is headed into homes soon. A trailer, below, is first evidence for audiences at large of this fantastic project, and for the uninitiated, will be a first glimpse into the world of Comic-Con.

Synopsis (courtesy Wrekin Hill Entertainment):
“A behind-the-scenes look at the fans who gather by the thousands each year in San Diego, California to attend Comic-Con, the world’s largest comic book convention.” 

Comic-Con!

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field.  The script is from James Vanderbilt, based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The film hits theaters on July 3rd.

Take a look and share your thoughts!

Synopsis (courtesy Columbia):
“THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.” 

The documentary premieres at Slamdance Film Festival on January 24th in Park City, Utah. The features includes celebrity appearances by: Samuel L. Jackson, Nicolas Cage, Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Patrick Stewart, Jon Favreau, Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Avi Arad, Kevin Smith and Paris Hilton. But you can see the TRAILER now over at Entertainment Weekly.

Those of you lucky enough to go to Sundance should definitely check this one out, the rest of us will have to wait for it to show up on Blu-ray and DVD.

It was announced that writer Dan Gilroy (REAL STEEL) would write THE ANNIHILATOR for Magic Storm Entertainment.  The film is based off an idea generated by Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment.  Here’s the full press release from Magic Storm:

Hollywood, CA - December 5, 2011 – Screenwriter Dan Gilroy has signed on to pen The Annihilator (working title) for Magic Storm Entertainment. Eric Mika, the company’s CEO, announced today that Gilroy, represented by CAA, would introduce a new Stan Lee superhero of Chinese heritage to global audiences with the company’s first film project. Based on an original Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment treatment acquired by Magic Storm Entertainment, the story chronicles a young man who is given a second chance as an international superhero and returns home to mete out justice.

“Words can’t express how excited I am about this project. It’s based on the most incredibly original and unique superhero I’ve created in a long time,” said Stan Lee. “Best of all, we’re excited to be working with a writer as talented as Dan Gilroy to helm the script. I expect the startling saga of our hero, The Annihilator, to become one of the most talked-about and popular franchises for a new generation worldwide!” Stan Lee exclaimed.

Gilroy’s most recent international box office success includes Disney’s Real Steel, which has grossed over $200 million in domestic and international box office receipts to date. As an established filmmaker of over twenty years, his credits include Universal’s Two for the Money, starring wife Rene Russo and Al Pacino, as well as, The Bourne Legacy, currently in production.

“Stan’s created a ground-breaking superhero for our globalized world. The story spans cultures and continents in thrilling, character-driven style. Stan is straight-up at the top of his game and it’s a joy to have a hand in bringing this to the screen,” said Gilroy.

“We could not be more pleased than to have Dan Gilroy come aboard to write this exciting script for our film,” said Eric Mika, CEO of Magic Storm Entertainment. “Dan’s knowledge and creative mind will undoubtedly create a strong base for a new franchise to the super hero genre world-wide.”

Comic Book Legend Stan “The Man” Lee is back in an interview with THR about his new comic, a collaboration with pop culture website MTV Geek. The science fiction adventure comic entitled THE SEEKERS will launch digitally in 2012, but Lee has big plans for the property, citing print, feature films, television and video games as all legitimate possibilities.

Quoth Lee: Movie producers are always looking for the next big thing, and they really very carefully scan graphic novels and comic books all the time hoping to find something that would make a good movie, and sometimes a good TV series. We will always have that in mind as we’re working on THE SEEKERS.

What’s even more impressive is who’s working behind-the-scenes with Lee on the comic. During the development process Lee organized an online competition where aspiring artists and writers entered for a chance to work on THE SEEKERS. MTV Geek users voted on their favorite entries and Lee made his pick from the top contenders. Heather Kenealy, a screenwriter from Studio City, CA and Stephen Green, an illustrator from Savannah, GA.

I’ll be meeting with them. I’ll be going over the story as it’s written. I’ll be looking and critiquing the artwork.

Lee goes on to describe the concept of the comic, involving an alien race (the titular Seekers) fighting amongst themselves in an effort to either save or destroy planet earth. With big plans and a big story, Lee is ready to go all-out with this project.

I’m certainly going to do my best to make this one of the best comic books to be published in 2012 or any year.

Read the full interview.

Stan the Man.

Comic Book guru Stan Lee, Creator of SPIDER-MAN, THE X-MEN, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, IRON MAN, THE FANTASTIC FOUR, DAREDEVIL, THE AVENGERS – …must I go on? – is to be given the Visual Effect’s Society’s 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be bestowed at the 10th annual VES Awards on February 7th, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

“Thanks to Mr. Lee’s fantastic creations and amazing stories he not only created a future filled with gadgets and inventions that we aspire to create for real — but all while inspiring the minds and imaginations of storytellers, visual effects artists and computer wizards everywhere.” VES Chair Jeffery Okun said in an interview.

Now working at the Chief Creative Officer of POW! Entertainment, Lee’s comic book creations have been distributed all over the world and adapted to the big screen many times. The next huge Marvel film is THE AVENGERS, due out next May.

Quoth Lee, “As a writer there is nothing more rewarding than to see your creations brought to life on the screen and I am indebted to all of the incredibly talented artists who have contributed to my projects.“

BLOOD RED DRAGON was created by Stan Lee, former Marvel mogul and practically a brand name in himself; Yoshiki, leader of the legendary X Japan (‘one of the greatest musicians of our time’ according to Lee); and Todd McFarlane, SPAWN creator and publisher of Image Comics.

So far, the comic itself looks fairly cool—your basic good vs. evil with a musical twist. But the real novelty lies in Yoshiki ‘s original music—pull the tab, hear him play piano. Whee! With a gimmick like this, the fun never ends!

Whether every issue of BLOOD RED DRAGON will feature its own music remains to be seen, but for now, color me entertained.

Upon arriving at the hotel in San Diego, Dave, Dolly and I took turns pushing Forry in the wheelchair down the hallway and into the elevator. We passed Stan Lee along the way; the grand old man of Marvel Comics was sitting with several friends in the foyer, holding court. Only a few seconds into the hotel and I was having a close encounter with someone honest-to-God famous! Our room was several floors up. Remember too, I had only left Kentucky a few weeks before…Comic Con, San Diego, the lavish accommodations and the promise of bona fide celebrities in the proximity were all really heady concepts.

The room we were accorded had a splendid overview of the Pacific Ocean. I’d spend many hours each night I was there just sitting on the balcony, marveling at the wondrous new turn my life had taken.

We had two adjoining rooms, with Forry and Dolly in one and Dave, Joe and myself in the other. I, being the youngest, slept in a cot while Joe and Dave took the twin beds. The situation was agreeably comfortable and even stimulating in a number of ways; the three of us would often talk long into the night about subjects ranging from UFOs to the dissolution of families in the wake of a mother or father’s death.

While we were at the Red Velvet table, John Landis stopped by to chat with FJA.

Forry was due to make two important Con appearances that year. The first was a special panel which would reunite him with Jim Warren and Verne Langdon and the other being an autographing session at Joe Moe’s Red Velvet table. That first event was a bit of a nail-biter, as Forry had to be helped up two or three stairs and onto a dais. This he achieved with the aid of a cane and my support. Dave and Dolly were, I perceived, very worried but the move was made smoothly enough.

Once Forry was seated in between Jim and Verne, with Phil Kim on the side, the panel began. It was largely carried by Verne, who proved that he could still work a crowd with the best of them, and Jim with his inimitable way of presenting the past. Forry, hampered by his subpar hearing, largely just smiled and punned his way through the talk but still managed to win over the hearts of everyone in the room. Following this panel, I helped Forry off the dais and into his wheelchair. From there, Dave and Dolly wheeled him off to the Red Velvet table for the signing session. Joe Moe asked a frankly astonished me to guide Verne and Jim down to the same locale. Me…with two genre legends in tow!

I did the best I could to lead the two through the dense crowd and down several flights of stairs, though the anxiety on my face must’ve been palpable when Verne asked, “Are you sure you know where you’re going?” “Oh, yes,” I replied, “I only look stupid.”

The 2008 Comic Con was notable for its heavy promotion of The Wolfman starring Benicio Del Toro. He, Rick Baker and other of the film’s cast and crew were there at the Con for a special panel and to introduce preview scenes from it. Many a jaw dropped among our little circle of Forry friends when we were told that Mr. Del Toro wanted to meet with Forry in his hotel room.

More on that to follow.

Shonen Jump Magazine’s July issue features Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei’s groundbreaking collaborative series, Ultimo. 

Ultimo represents a historic collaboration between comics legend Stan Lee, co-creator of many iconic superheroes including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, and Hiroyuki Takei, the creator of the popular Shaman King manga series. 

Hiroyuki Takei began his career by winning the coveted Hop Step Award for manga artists and the Osamu Tezuka Award. His multicultural series has made it’s way to North America. Lee served as the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics and remains an important figure in the entertainment industry. 

The innovative comic and manga collaboration is available now.

Who is the Legion?  Stan is keeping mum but may say something about them when he receives the first New York Comics Legend Award at this weekend’s New York Comic Con.