PENDRAGON'S POST: Jan 6, 2010

Toy News: New Marvel Toy Images

Hasbro has released new Marvel toys images.

Super Hero Squad Battle for Doom’s Castle

Super Hero Squad X-Men Danger Room

Web Splashers Spider-Man Hyperwave

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Hasbro has released new Transformer toys images.

Breakdown

Decepticon Bludgeon

Evac

Mudflap

PowerBots Sideswipe

Rampage

Recon Ironhide

Sonar

Wideload

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Jonathan Ross and Tommy Lee Edwards Mark Their Turf at Image in April!

British television and radio personality Jonathan Ross makes his comics writing debut at Image Comics this April with TURF, an all-new four-issue miniseries co-created and illustrated by Marvel 1985's Tommy Lee Edwards. Set in 1920s New York, TURF offers a twist on the hard boiled crime thriller, adding vampires and aliens to the traditional mix of booze, broads and bullets.

"As anyone who has seen Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and my documentaries like Searching for Steve Ditko knows, working on my own comic has long been a dream of mine," Ross explained. "Collaborating with a talent of Tommy's caliber has made the whole experience that much sweeter, and we're looking forward to introducing the comics reading public to our mad war between gangsters and vampires – and the extraterrestrial who will either save or destroy them all."

TURF begins in Prohibition-era New York as a vengeful gang war erupts between booze-smuggling mobsters and the blood thirsty Dragonmir Family. As an ancient prophecy unfolds amidst the maelstrom of violence, the entire city is up for grabs and it's anyone's guess who will come out on top. The only glimmer of hope is an unlikely alliance between tough guy Eddie Falco and a stranger from another world.

"I've been looking forward to this April since Jonathan and Tommy first pitched TURF to me over breakfast in San Diego last summer!" said Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson. "Jonathan really has come up with a fantastic story and we couldn't be prouder to be publishing it through Image. Watching Tommy bring his vision to life has been one of the best parts of my job over the past few months and I can't wait for everyone to finally see the finished product!"

Added Edwards, "Having illustrated some of pop culture's biggest icons like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and James Bond, it's incredibly liberating to be able to create a whole new world with Jonathan. TURF doesn't look or read like anything I've worked on in the past, and I believe fans on the lookout for something new and different are going to be very happy this April."

TURF #1, a 32-page full color comic book with a cover price of $2.99, will be available for order in the February issue of Previews and will go on sale Arpil 7.

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VETERAN ACTOR BRUCE DAVISON
MAKES ANIMATION VOICEOVER DEBUT IN
JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON TWO EARTHS

Bruce Davison is no stranger to political office – at least in a fictional situation. He’s played an ambassador, senator, congressman and judge, but Davison steps up in class – in his first voiceover for animation – as President Wilson in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, an all-new DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movie coming February 23, 2010 from Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation.

Bruce Davison (X-Men, Longtime Companion) is the voice of President Wilson in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, the next DC Universe animated original movie. The film will be distributed February 23, 2010 by Warner Home Video. (Photo courtesy of Gary Miereanu)

In Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, a “good” Lex Luthor arrives from an alternate universe to recruit the Justice League to help save his Earth from the Crime Syndicate, a gang of villainous characters with virtually identical super powers to the Justice League. What ensues is the ultimate battle of good versus evil in a war that threatens both planets and puts the balance of all existence in peril. Davison’s President Wilson is caught in the middle of the battle, attempting to find a balance between leading the human citizens of the parallel Earth and not being crushed by the powerful Crime Syndicate.

Davison’s credits stretch through film and television to the tune of 160 different movies and series roles, catching the world’s attention in 1971 as the title character in the benchmark rat-attack thriller Willard. He has since been a regular on primetime series, covering the gamut from The Waltons, Murder She Wrote and thirtysomething to Seinfeld, Lost, Close to Home and Knight Rider. Davison’s film career has featured memorable and critically acclaimed roles in X-Men and X2, Six Degrees of Separation, Short Cuts, Grace of My Heart and Longtime Companion, the latter performance garnering an Academy Award nomination, a Golden Globe Award, an Independent Spirit Award, and top honors from the National Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics Circle. Though he has recorded numerous books-on-tape, Justice
League: Crisis on Two Earths represents Davison’s first foray into the animated world.

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths is an original story from award-winning animation/comics writer Dwayne McDuffie (Justice League). Bruce Timm (Superman Doomsday) is executive producer, and Lauren Montgomery (Wonder Woman, Green Lantern: First Flight) and Sam Liu (Superman/Batman: Public Enemies) are co-directors. The full-length animated film will be distributed by Warner Home Video as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def, as well as single disc DVD, and On Demand and Download.

During his recording session, Davison had a few minutes to discuss his inaugural animated role, his personal history with super heroes, an early adoration for EC Comics, and his ascent up the fictional political ladder. We’ll let his words take it from here …

QUESTION:
What’s it like being one of two characters without super powers in an all-super hero movie?

BRUCE DAVISON:
Well, it’s par for the course. In X-Men, I played Senator Kelly and, as my son likes to say, I didn’t really have any powers – I just melted. It’s tough when your action figure can't stand up. I had to stick it in a glass of water because it didn't have any feet, just this sort of drippy stuff off the bottom (he laughs). So I'm used to not having any real strength powers. But President Wilson is a pretty macho guy, which is great.

The two men fighting for good on an alternate Earth – President Wilson (voiced by Bruce Davision) and Lex Luthor (Chris Noth) – have their hands full with the Crime Syndicate until reinforcements are recruited in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, the next DC Universe animated original movie. The film will be distributed February 23, 2010 by Warner Home Video.

QUESTION:
And you’ve got a nice progression here. Marvel makes you a senator, DC makes you President ...

BRUCE DAVISON:
Yes, I AM the President (he laughs). And I actually have feet in this one, plus an eye-patch. So I’m definitely moving up in the super hero world.

QUESTION:
How did you enjoy your maiden voyage into animation voiceovers?

BRUCE DAVISON:
I've done books-on-tape, including a Stephen King book and a few other things. But it's really interesting to be a character that will then be created as opposed to trying to fit in. I've spent a lifetime voicing over (looping) myself in films over the years. But it's a lot easier to just create something and then let the animators put it together. Oh, and it's just a blast doing the recording – it's like being six years old again.

QUESTION:
Were you picturing the character in your head while recording, or just focusing on conveying certain emotions?

BRUCE DAVISON:
Well, I always try to look at my characters as being better than I am.
That's one of the reasons I guess I became an actor – because you get to create a persona that's bigger or better or more interesting than your own. I sort of found President Wilson to be like Dale Dye, the guy that does all the military shows on History Channel. The guy who gets in the trenches. He's been there, done that. So, I'd better shape up.

President Wilson (voiced by Bruce Davision) is caught between good and evil super heroes while trying to protect his planet in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, the next DC Universe animated original movie. The film will be distributed February 23, 2010 by Warner Home Video.

QUESTION:
Did super heroes play a role in your youth?

BRUCE DAVISON:
I hate to date myself, but my earliest memories are Flash Gordon. I would love playing Flash Gordon in the neighborhood. We lived outside of Philadelphia in Drexel Hill, and I would be Flash Gordon and my friend was Dr. Zarkov – and we'd get beat up by the Catholic kids, who were the clay people, on the way home from school. And then we'd have auditions for Dale Arden. So that was sort of my childhood fantasy.

QUESTION:
Do you remember any first experiences with Superman or Batman?

BRUCE DAVISON:
Oh, yeah – George Reeves working with “Truth, Justice, and the American Way” – you know, in the '50s when there were just three channels on the TV, and you watched the Indian on the Test Pattern until nine when things started coming on.

I did have a cape and I did jump off my stairs – and survived (laugh).
I really loved running around the hill, trying to do the whole “Truth, Justice and the American Way” thing (hums the theme song). I’d try to take off just like he did, and end up sliding on my face down the hill. But that was always off camera for me and I figured they didn't see that part, just the great take off (laughs).

QUESTION:
How did comic books influence your upbringing?

BRUCE DAVISON:
I was a major EC Comic freak. I just loved them all. “Tales Of The Crypt,” “Weird Science” … all of the older stuff. I just really loved the artwork – Wally Wood and all of those great artists. But they scared the bejesus out of me as a kid. I remember one very vivid comic in which a baseball player would spike people, sliding into everybody, so they cut him all up and played baseball with his head and used his legs as the bats. I think they used his trunk as home plate. That really scared me (he laughs). It was a really interesting time. They used to run articles in the comics about how people in Congress were trying to make it a Commie plot to ban EC. I found that really interesting – that was really the dawning of my first understanding of politics and censorship.

QUESTION:
Why are superheroes important for us?

BRUCE DAVISON:
I think it gives us a sense of idealism and strength that we don't have but we wish we did. It’s like, why do we create religion? Because we need super heroes to take care of us, to live up to.

QUESTION:
You've done so many different things. What do people most often recognize you for?

BRUCE DAVISON:
Well, if they're my age, probably Willard, because that was an impressionable movie when you're young. The younger people know me from X-Men. And then if you're 12, it’s Knight Rider. It’s as though every few years something comes along and then I'm sort of remembered for that. But people don't really know that I can do anything else until the next time.

QUESTION:
Did you learn anything from your first animation voiceover experience?

BRUCE DAVISON:
I learned it's a lot of fun. It really is. And you just have to sort of wing it with the other actors. You do have to work within the iambic pentameter of the technical world of the medium. You can't pop things and you can't get too close to the microphone and you can't get too breathy. You really have to sort of create a character vocally within a framework of technology. So you can't step out of it in order to do something that maybe you would do as an actor on film or on stage. When you're on stage, even a whisper, you have to reach very far away. In film, you can be much more intimate. But just using your voice, you have to create something that's somewhere in the middle so that it paints a picture and yet it's not intimate enough to get lost.

For more information, images and updates, please visit the film’s official website at www.JUSTICELEAGUECRISIS.com. Read more...

The X-Men make their final stand against Ord to save the world in Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic Episode 6, now available on iTunes!

The epic conclusion to the motion comic based on the award-winning story by superstars Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and John Cassaday (Captain America) is now here and you can’t miss it! The X-Men battled valianlty but now that S.H.I.E.L.D. is involved, what will be the fate of Ord? And what does this mean for the future of mutantkind? CLICK HERE to purchase the latest episode and find out now!

Don’t miss a single episode of the chart-topping Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic-- subscribe to a season pass, available on iTunes, by clicking HERE!

For more information on motion comics please visit Marvel.com at www.marvel.com/motioncomics

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CELEBRATING ITS TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY THE SIMPSONS DELIVER A FRANCHISE FIRST: BLU-RAY!

America Toasts The Animated Family’s Two Decades Of Hysterical Hijinks And Their First Ever Blu-ray Release Arriving On January 12 From Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Collection Features Exclusive Hand-Drawn Menus From Creator Matt Groening

In January 1990 television history was made as households across the country were introduced to a one-of-a-kind family whose outrageous antics and wild behavior made them an institution of prime-time television and a pop culture staple over the next two-plus decades. Now, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment celebrates this historic milestone when “The Simpsons” Season 20 Blu-ray and DVD collection arrives January 12, marking the show’s first time ever in high-definition. Series creator Matt Groening has added his own special touch by drawing all-new menus for both the Blu-ray and DVD, creating another keepsake memento for “The Simpsons” fans. Highly collectible packaging will also include a character layout of Springfield’s most favorite characters sure to challenge the ultimate Simpsons fan to name them all.

A show that has remained culturally significant and hugely popular with audiences for over 20 years, the latest DVD collection features every outrageous episode from the 2008-09 season, including the family’s hilarious trip to Ireland, Homer and Ned’s turn as bounty hunters and Bart trading lives with a multi-millionaire lookalike of himself. The show’s impressive who’s who of guest stars continues with the likes of Denis Leary, Joe Montana, Marv Albert, Mark Cuban, Emily Blunt, Anne Hathaway, Ellen Page, Jodie Foster and Kelsey Grammer, returning for his 11th time as Bart’s nemesis, Sideshow Bob.

“The Simpsons” Season 20 includes a total of 21 hilarious episodes and features “The Twentieth Anniversary Special Sneak Peak” by Academy Award nominee Morgan Spurlock. Available in collectible packaging for a limited time only, the Blu-ray Disc will be available for a suggested retail price of $59.99 U.S. while the DVD will be available for $49.98 U.S. Prebook is December 16.

Blu-Ray Disc Content
Disc One:
o Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes
o Lost Verizon
o Double, Double, Boy in Trouble
o Treehouse of Horror XIX
o Dangerous Curves
o Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words
o Mypods and Boomsticks
o The Burns and the Bees
o Lisa the Drama Queen
o Additional Bonus Features Include:
• “The Twentieth Anniversary Special Sneak Peak by Morgan Spurlock”

Disc Two:
o Take My Life, Please
o How The Test Was Won
o No Loan Again, Naturally
o Gone Maggie Gone
o In The Name of the Grandfather
o Wedding for Disaster
o Eeny Teeny Maya Moe
o The Good, The Sad and The Drugly
o Father Knows Worst
o Waverly Hills
o Four Great Women and a Manicure
o Coming to Homerica

DVD Content
Disc One:
o Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes
o Lost Verizon
o Double, Double, Boy in Trouble
o Treehouse of Horror XIX
o Dangerous Curves
o Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words

Disc Two:
o Mypods and Boomsticks
o The Burns and the Bees
o Lisa the Drama Queen
o Take My Life, Please
o How The Test Was Won

Disc Three:
o No Loan Again, Naturally
o Gone Maggie Gone
o In The Name of the Grandfather
o Wedding for Disaster
o Eeny Teeny Maya Moe

Disc Four:
o The Good, The Sad and The Drugly
o Father Knows Worst
o Waverly Hills
o Four Great Women and a Manicure
o Coming to Homerica
o Additional Bonus Features Include:
• “The Twentieth Anniversary Special Sneak Peak by Morgan Spurlock”

“THE SIMPSONS” SEASON TWENTY
Street Date: January 12, 2010
Screen Format: Fullscreen (All)
Audio: English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio / 5.1 Dolby Digital in Spanish & French (BD)
English 5.1 Dolby Surround / Stereo in Spanish & French (DVD)
Subtitles: English & Spanish (All)
U.S. Rating: NR
Running Time: 482 minutes
Closed Captioned: Yes Read more...