Hi everyone, I hope you are all having a good week back after Thanksgiving. This has been a busy and hard week for the comic industry as it lost two of its own Franco Urru and Josh Medors.
Artists Franco Urru and Josh Medors Pass Away
Courtesy of CBR. Spike and Angel artist Franco Urru passed away this week. The news broke Thursday on IDW Publishing Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall’s Twitter.
Between flights now, I just got terrible news that Angel artist and wonderful person Franco Urru passed away. Rest peacefully, dear friend.
Urru was from Italy and got onto American comic readers radar in 2006 with Spike: Asylum. Our condolences go out to his family.
Josh Medors artist on such books as Frank Frazetta’s Swamp Demon and his creator-owned Willow Creek passed away this week at the age of 36. Medors had been waging a four year long battle with spinal cancer. He is survived by his wife Charlotte and his son, Garth Our condolences go out to them.
Matt Fraction to Donate his Pay from Hurricane Sandy Themed Issue of Hawkeye to Red Cross.
Courtesy of MTV. In an extremely generous gesture Hawkeye writer Matt Fraction announced that he would be donating his royalties, incentives, whatever sales bonuses he gets to the Red Cross.
We’re blowing up our schedule and squeezing Hawkeye #7 out in record time to do a story of the two Hawkeyes, Clint Barton and his young protege. One half is going to take place in Brooklyn and the other half is going to take place in Jersey. It’s sort of the story about people surviving, overcoming this catastophe. I don’t think you need costumes and fisticuffs and gnashing of teeth and rending of garments to tell that story.
It’s going to be written by me, half is drawn by Steve Lieber and the other half is drawn by Jesse Hamm. And I’m going to donate my royalties, incentives, whatever sales bonuses I get I’m going to donate.
But why not hear it directly from the writer himself, which you can when you check out the video below.
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Gaiman Foundation Donates $60,000 to the CBLDF.
Courtesy of the CBLDF. This week the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund acknowledged a $60,000 donation from Neil Gaiman’s foundation the Gaiman Foundation. The generous donation is meant to fund the organization through 2013 as well as sponsor the Kids Right to Read Project, Banned Books Week, and new resources such as the book Manga: Introduction, Challenges, and Best Practices. Gaiman stepped down from the CBLDF board earlier this year.
Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart Set to Return for X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Courtesy of Twitter. Earlier this week Bryan Singer revealed that Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart would be returning to the X-Men cinematic universe for The Days Of Future Past. They will be joining James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, & Nicholas Hoult. It was also no surprise when The Hollywood Reporter reported this week that Hugh Jackman was in talks to also join the movie reprising his role of Wolverine. The film is scheduled to hit theaters July 18, 2014.
Four New Iron Man 3 Images Released
Courtesy of Marvel.com. Iron Man 3 hits theaters May 3rd ,2013.
Arrow Casts Their Deathstroke.
Courtesy of IGN. Spartacus star Manu Bennett has been cast as Slade “Deathstroke” Wilson for a multi-episode arc on Arrow. The character has previously only been seen with his mask on so the casting change will be pretty unnoticed. For the most part I have found Arrow to be a very enjoyable show and this casting is pretty awesome. Bennett has an imposing and charismatic presence and will really thrive as Slade Wilson… Darn it…now I want to see a spin off focusing on Bennett as Deathstroke.
Warner’s Television Starts Casting it’s Amazon.
Courtesy of Deadline. Warner’s new television series Amazon, based on Wonder Woman, is looking for it’s lead. The character (in the sides she’s named “Iris” but writer Allan Heinberg and Geoff Johns reassured fans in the shows she will named Diana) is being described as,
…She comes from a remote, secluded country and until now has spent most of her life as a soldier and a leader on the battlefield. Because of relentless brutality of her life at home, Iris looks at our world with absolute awe and astonishment. She’s delighted and just as often horrified by the aspects of everyday life that we take for granted: skyscrapers, traffic, ice cream. It’s all new and fascinating and sometimes slightly troubling to her. Iris is completely unschooled in our world, our culture, our customs. And she’s completely inexperienced at interpersonal relationships. She has no social filter, does not suffer fools, and tends to do and say exactly what’s on her mind at all times. She’s bluntly, refreshingly honest. She can tell when you’re lying to her. And she doesn’t have time or patience for politics or tact because she’s too busy trying to experience everything our world has to offer. There are too many sights to see and things to learn and people to care for. Hers is a true, noble, and generous heart. And she will fight and die for the people she loves. Iris is a fierce warrior with the innocent heart of a romantic and she will fight to the death to make the world safe for innocents and true romantics everywhere.
That sounds very much like the Diana I want to watch on television. She is a character rife with potential and I really hope this series comes together. I’m very encouraged by Allan Heinberg’s involvement, his Wonder Woman run in criminally underrated .
1966 Batmobile To Be Put Up For Auction.
Courtesy of SuperHeroHype. With the holidays just around the corner and the Powerball winners announced now the geek who has everything has a chance to bid on the original Batmobile from the 1966 Adam West Batman TV Series. The auction will be held on Saturday, January 19th from 5:00pm – 9:00pm at the 42nd annual Scottsdale auction.
Well there you have it guys, enjoy the rest of your weekend. I will see you all here this time next week for an all-new installment of The Impact.
Matt Todd
matthew@comicimpact.com