Last week if you visited a number of comic book websites, or read the LA Times, you may have seen an ad that read “Stan’s Back” that lead to stansback.com, which simply contained the “Stan’s Back” logo and nothing more.

Today it was revealed what those ads meant. BOOM! Studios announced today via press release that they have entered into an agreement with POW! Entertainment to to publish three new superhero titles presented by Stan Lee.

There was no information about the actual titles, other than that they will be released sometime later this year, and that one of them will be written by BOOM! Editor-in-Chief Mark Waid. BOOM! promises that the other two titles will also feature “A-list writers as a part of the creative team.” We’ll have to wait and see who will be handling the art, and what these stories will be about [...]

Whiteout
DVD | Blu-ray | Video On Demand
Directed by Dominic Sena
Starring Kate Beckinsale, Tom Skerritt, Gabriel Macht
Warner Bros Home Entertainment
Release date: January 19, 2010

In the frozen wasteland of the South Pole a serve storm, known as a ‘whiteout’, is rapidly making its way to the across Antarctica, prompting an early winter evacuation of a geological encampment. All non-evaculating personal will stay behind for the winter with no flights in or out for six months, so those scheduled for winter leave have get out now. Agent Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) is one of the people on their way out. After a two-year stint in Antarctica, the agent is ready to leave her sub-zero beat and resign from her position as a U.S. Marshal all together. Unfortunately, just as she’s about to finally leave, a body is found on the ice, with evidence of foul play. While her friend, Dr. Fury (Tom Skerritt) offers to ship the body elsewhere to absolve Carrie of her duties, the Agent decides to continue the investigation herself with only days left to solve the case before she’s stuck there for the winter.

Based on the graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber, Whiteout takes quite a few liberties from its source material, the major one being how Agent Stetko is presented. In the film, Beckinsale plays Agent Stetko as a beautiful, yet withdrawn woman married to the job which she seemingly once loved, but is now conflicted about after a pre-Antarctica drug bust gone array left her traumatized. In the comic, Agent Stetko’s reasons for taking an assignment in Antarctica remain the same — to run away from the trauma from her previous assignment — but how others treat her is entirely different [...]

Are you as excited about DC’s First Wave as I am? I’ve been inundated with previews in the back of every DC book and I can’t wait for the first issue to hit stands tomorrow. But what if I told you there was an even more awesome way to experience First Wave? ‘How,’ you ask? How about reading it with two of comics biggest names?

Geoff Johns and Jim Lee will be reading First Wave #1 on Wednesday, and you can share the experience with them on Twitter, where you can tweet your thoughts and comments to the superstar creators and hear what they think as they flip from page to page. Not on the Twitter bandwagon? Sign up!

Everything kicks off this Wednesday at 3pm PST, so you have plenty of time to run to your shop and join in on the action. While you’re at it, don’t forget to follow GeeksOfDoom, too [...]

Marvel Comics has always been the most current/relatable of all the comic publishers and they’ve never shied away from the hot-button issues of the moment.

So it comes as no surprise that this week’s issue of Amazing Spider-Man finds our favorite wall crawler relating to those Americans hit hardest by the recession when Peter Parker becomes unemployed in Amazing Spider-Man #623.

The publisher released a new Pasqual Ferry teaser to the upcoming story by Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta. Check out the image and Marvel’s full press release below regarding the issue, which comes out tomorrow [...]

Universal Pictures and director Roel Reiné (The Marine 2, The Lost Tribe) have begun principle photography on Death Race 2, the new prequel to Paul W.S. Anderson’s 2008, Death Race.

The film started shooting on February 13th in Cape Town, South Africa and will become a member of Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s DVD Originals line, which just means straight to video.

The original was actually a remake of the 1975 film, Death Race 2000. The story is similar to that of Escape from New York, and it takes place in a dystopian future where a prison inmate is offered his freedom if he takes on the persona of Frankenstein — a legendary racer who recently perished — and can win five Death Races. These races are put on by the corporations who own the prisons, and they are aired as a futuristic reality show, which brings more viewers than any other show can ever dream of, and an unbelievable amount of income. [...]

Last week Radical Publishing halted the production of its American Manga series Incarnate as accusations of plagiarism arose against the series’ creator Nick Simmons, son of KISS founder Gene Simmons [read Nick Simmons Accused Of Plagiarism For ‘Incarnate’ Comic; Publication Halted].

Simmons issued a statement via representative today responding to the allegations, claiming that his work was “meant as an homage” to the artists that inspire him. He also apologized to Manga fans and artists who may have thought he’d gone too far in his intentions.

“Like most artists I am inspired by work I admire. There are certain similarities between some of my work and the work of others. This was simply meant as an homage to artists I respect, and I definitely want to apologize to any Manga fans or fellow Manga artists who feel I went too far. My inspirations reflect the fact that certain fundamental imagery is common to all Manga. This is the nature of the medium.

“I am a big fan of Bleach, as well as other Manga titles. And I am certainly sorry if anyone was offended or upset by what they perceive to be the similarity between my work and the work of artists that I admire and who inspire me.” [...]

After a two-week hiatus due to Winter Olympics coverage, NBC’s Chuck returned tonight for the second half of season three, which shows no signs of slowing down.

While the preview (embedded below) shows Chuck (Zach Levi) possibly getting busy with fellow Nerd Hearder Hannah (Kristin Kreuk), Casey (Adam Baldwin) losing a tooth, a tiger, and tons of kung fu action, stars Zach Levi and Josh Gomez were gracious enough to sit down for a press conference call to discuss even more about what to expect in the episodes ahead.

Levi will pull double duty as both actor and director for “Chuck vs the Beard” airing March 8, which sees Chuck being taken off active duty after having problems trying to use the Intersect. The episode is said to have the entire cast involved and could have major repercussion on future story lines.

“I had reservations about it until it was signed off by the powers that be,” Levi said. “I can’t believe they let me do this episode.” [...]

Some strange and interesting breaking news being reported by G4 tonight. Apparently right this moment as you read this, Infinity Ward has been taken over by a bunch of “bouncer-type” security sorts who refused to disclose who they were or why they were there.

None of the employees of Infinity Ward seem to have any clue why this is happening or who’s behind it, but everyone there is naturally concerned and worried about what is actually going on. To make matters even worse for the employees, apparently studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West had a meeting with Activision earlier this morning, but have not been seen or heard from since then.

This is such an odd and random situation, one must wonder what’s going on. Is something severely wrong at the video game developer’s building? Is some sort of messed up mass prank being pulled off a month early? Are they trying to sell a game with extreme methods? Answers are sought by many who are concerned. [...]

Not too long ago, we got our first peek at the new Fraggle Rock comic book from the Jim Henson Company and Archaia Entertainment. According to the folks at Henson, this is just the beginning; they have plans to bring us new comic books based on puppet-fueled titles like The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth as well!

Both Labyrinth and Crystal are also majorly beloved titles to those who grew up in the ’80s, and both have had comics based on them before by places like Marvel.

These two planned comics are still in the earliest of stages, but it looks as though first issues of one or both could be seen by sometime at the end of 2010 or maybe the beginning of 2011. At the moment, Fraggle Rock is the main focus of 2010.

Here’s what Melissa Segal, Vice President of Global Consumers for the Jim Henson Company, had to say about the two new comics and when we may see them: [...]

ZMD – Zombies of Mass Destruction #6
Written by Kevin Grevioux
Art by David Youkovibch
Cover Art by Paul Ballard
Red 5 Comics
Price: $3.25; Release date: February 24, 2010

Brass Is As Brass Does

Previously in ZMD…

Devastated to find that his wife Aldura is now a zombie, Colonel Matthew Drake and his squad follow a zombie child to meet with the one they call “Father.”

With the situation getting out of control, military officials int he U.S. order the Operation: Deadzone failsafe be put into affect in 24 hours barring any new intel.

With a nuclear weapon in tow, Drake’s team is ambushed by a flood of zombies. Among them is Aldura, and she beckons the soldiers to follow her to a massive chamber where Zombie Zero sits on a throne like a king. The amazingly sentient zombie taunts them before revealing his true identity…Drake’s former commanding officer, General Nathan Dax [...]

We all know that Taylor Lautner has been Mr. Popular since Twilight and The Twilight Saga: New Moon have hit theaters. Job offers and casting announcements have come often, including for roles in teen superhero project Max Steel, a possible remake of Vision Quest, and the latest announcement that he would become Stretch Armstrong in the new toy-turned-movie project.

Along with other films like Abduction, Cancun, and of course The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, it appears this onslaught of jobs was just a little too much for the 18-year-old actor, and he has decided to step away from the Max Steel role. Lautner also walked away from a film called Northern Lights recently as well.

The reason behind the departure seems to reside within the rival toy companies involved, Hasbro and Mattel. Hasbro, as you know, is going cinema-crazy with movie versions of various toys and games of theirs including Candy Land, Battleship, Monopoly, Ouiji, Risk, and Clue ready to join their pre-existing Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises. [...]

Grab your fedora and your trenchcoat as Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet Hits Stands This Week!

Still upset that Kevin Smith’s version of the classic noir radio hero isn’t going to make it to the silver screen? Now you’ll get your chance to see Silent Bob’s version of the Fran Striker’s Green Hornet with art by Jonathan Lau. Dynamite Entertainment will be publishing a 10-page miniseries based on the unproduced Green Hornet script Smith wrote for Miramax films. Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet #1 will hit newsstands this Wednesday, March 3, 2010, with covers by Covers: Alex Ross, John Cassaday, J. Scott Campbell, and Stephen Segovia.

Smith had been tapped to write and direct a Green Hornet film for release back in 2005, with George Clooney slated to star as the Hornet and Jet Li as his martial arts side-kick Kato, but the project never went anywhere [...]

WALL-E #3
Written by J. Torres
Art by Morgan Luthi
Colors by Digikore Studios
Letters by Deron Bennett
BOOM! Studios
Release date: February 24, 2010

Some people think bugs and rodents are pests, others think they’re pets. I happen to fall into the latter category, having owned several pet insects and a rather large lab rat named Cornelius. Wall-E #3 tells the story of how everyone’s favourite trash compactor met his pet cockroach and only companion in a terrible trash-filled world.

Much like the Pixar animated movie, Wall-E #3 tells its story with almost no dialogue. This works well on some degree, but the comic suffers due to the lack of movement available to the character. One of the ways WALL-E was able to demonstrate so much emotion in the film without even having a face was through his frantic arm movements. It’s harder in a drawn still shot to demonstrate that same range of emotion.

Despite that, the J. Torres script still carries much of the charm that the original film did. The complicated Rube Goldberg-like traps that WALL-E concocts in an attempt to catch his six-legged friend are hilarious, and you can sense the loneliness of WALL-E through the pages as he attempts to make his first real friend [...]

Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths
2-Disc DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Lauren Montgomery & Sam Liu
Starring Mark Harmon, Gina Torres, William Baldwin, James Woods, and Chris Noth
Warner Home Video
Release Date: February 23, 2010

Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths is the seventh direct-to-video animated film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line released by Warner Premiere and Warner Bros. Animation and it might just be the best yet.

The story begins in a parallel universe, where the lone survivor of Earth’s Justice League, Lex Luthor, travels through other world dimensions to join forces with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and J’onn J’onzz in a desperate attempt to save his world and its people. But the villainous Crime Syndicate controlled by Ultraman, Owlman, and Superwoman will stop at nothing to maintain their domination.

The stellar voice cast includes Mark Harmon as Superman, James Woods as Owlman, Chris Noth as Lex Luthor, Gina Torres as Superwoman, William Baldwin as Batman, Bruce Davison as President Slade Wilson, Nolan North as Green Lantern, and Josh Keaton as The Flash [...]

After what looks like being on the losing side of a convention-planning battle over New York, Wizard Entertainment continues to move into the smaller markets by expanding their stable of shows in three new cities: Nashville, Tennessee; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Cleveland, Ohio.

The Nashville Comic and Horror Festival, the Cincinnati Comic and Anime Show, and The North Coast Comic Con will now respectively be retitled the Nashville, Cincinnati, and Cleveland Comic Cons — giving Wizard a total of 12 events, with at least eight happening in 2010.

Similar to their actions in Atlanta [READ: Wizard World Atlanta Take Two], all three of these shows existed previously before being purchased by Wizard Entertainment. They’ll also retain their original promoters, which is significant given the company’s track record for handling convention guests (noted excellently by former Wizard Magazine staffer Chris Ward) [...]

Shane MacGowan, best known as singer and songwriter in the band The Pogues, was moved by the devastation we’ve seen in Haiti, as most of us were. Wanting to help, he and his girlfriend Victoria Clarke started putting together a musical collaboration with some well-known and respected names in the industry to raise some money for the cause.

The result is a wonderful cover of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins‘ “I Put a Spell on You,” which was first recorded in 1956. Joining MacGowan on the collaboration is people like Nick Cave, members of The Sex Pistols, The Pretenders, The Clash, and even the talents of none other than Pirates of the Caribbean and Alice in Wonderland star Johnny Depp.

Musical collaborations seem to be popular when it comes to the tragedy in Haiti: Recently a new group of the most popular music stars were brought in to cover legendary group song “We Are The World.” Sadly, that group included the likes of Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, and Justin Bieber, who are about as far from the names that they were covering as one can get. Hopefully not a sign of the evolution of talent on our planet. [...]