Reeve Carney

The creative team behind Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark emerged from today's meeting with an announcement about new producers and official word on the musical's lead actor.

What they didn't reveal, however, was a specific date for the troubled Broadway musical, only saying that it will open in 2010 at the Hilton Theatre in Manhattan. The show, whose proposed budget has ballooned to $52 million, initially was set to bow in late March, but the most recent rumors had it opening past April 29 -- the cutoff for Tony Award nominations.

The creative team confirmed relative newcomer Reeve Carney, long rumored for the role, has been cast as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. The casting initially had been reported this morning in the Los Angeles Times. The 26-year-old Carney, lead singer of the rock band of the same name, also will appear in Spider-Man director Julie Taymor's big-screen adaptation of The Tempest.

In Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Carney joins Evan Rachel Wood as Mary Jane and Alan Cumming as Green Goblin in a production scored by Bono and the Edge.

This afternoon's press release also included the announcement that Michael Cohl has replaced Chicago lawyer David Garfinkle as lead producer, with Jeremiah J. Harris becoming second producer. The full producing team is Cohl, Harris, Hello Entertainment/Garfinkle, Marvel Entertainment/David Maisel, and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

When Bendis puled him out of the Vault for his New Avengers, the stakes had already been changed.  The balance of good an evil was gone, just an implanted a virus from Mastermind and possible delusion villain The General that created psychological problems and the existence of the Void, which was just another extension of Reynolds himself.  We lost our philosophical battle and our more peacable idea of wrong and right to be able to tear Carnage in half in space.

Okay, there's nothing wrong with that.  Bendis even brought in Paul Jenkins as a character in the book to explain everything, kind of having him sign off on the project.  Despite his immense power and complexity, the Sentry was going to be an Avenger.  Hey, they've worked with gods and demi-gods before, what's the difference?

The difference is that Loki only guest-villains.  The Void is the Sentry is the Void and if one's going to live over your roof, the other is sure to follow.  Sentry: Reborn put Jenkins back in the driver's seat and we were driven back to introspection-ville with some absolutely beautiful work from John Romita Jr.  In this mini, the Void sends Bob on this funhouse chase throuh his own creation, turning the tables on him by saying the Void was the real byproduct of his origin and that the Sentry is just his guilty leavings.  Drinking an unknown serum could take one in either direction, from villany to heroism, and it's the person in that moment that makes the difference. Peter Parker, all Spider Totem BS aside, could have been anyone. Anyone can be a mutant. Any soldier could have been super, he just had to be at the test at the right time and really want it. Not to get too off-topic, but there is nothing particularly special about a Marvel character for the most part, they are written with everyone in mind.

At the end of this, there is a beautiful farewell where the Void admits to needing him as the Sentry comes to cope without him and the Void is thrown into the sun.  It's great comics and gets to me every time I read it.

The problem still remains, however: what about Bob?  Well, he comes back to Earth and continues to work as an Avenger as the story needs him to work.  Best used by Bendis as more of a scary cardboard cut-out, if you see the Sentry backlit in a doorway or used in a splash pag, you know you're doomed; but if he tries to act against you, you can probably outsmart him.  Just trigger his psychosis and leave him babbling in the street, bring up the Void and watch him freeze in terror or run away, mention off-panel that he's dealing with his agoraphobia or, in Ronin's case from Dark Reign - The List, wait until something more important in the world is going on and sneak into the Avengers' Tower right past his cape.  He was recruited into the Mighty Avengers by Stark because he wasn't a good hero, but he was powerful and I think it does the character a great disservice to be described in such a way.  Besides, a couple issues later when Yelena Belova absorbs the Sentry's powers and gets her own equal-and-opposite Void, Bob is extremly patient and clever when he tells her he'll set her free of the Void, but only if she answers their questions.  Incredibly calculating of the man, but in another few issues he'll be back to his bumbling self.

Since writing for the character, Bendis has wanted a Superman he can play around with and that is not the Sentry.  It's taken a while (and with decompression coming into play, he can say he's planned this all along), but we might be returning back to something like the original concept for the guy.  If say, he'd been given a few issues to contain all this story in, maybe it would have been easier to follow.  There are some moments, especially now under the Dark Avengers banner that he seems to be getting that second original concept down (I'd say first but it's been a long time since we've seen the dog), a man with powers of both good and evil and it's the human at the center that makes the difference.  Lindy Lee, his sad Rapunzel-eque wife who's haunted the books seems to be taking action in Dark Avengers #9, where action is shooting him in the face.  We're all smart cookies, we all know that's not going to work and we know that the Sentry will be back and fine in issue #10.

And after OVER A YEAR of waiting, this shot to the face might just reveal the Void that's been there all along.

Elementary, my dear Ganges! Wildly acclaimed, prodigiously talented cartoonist Kevin Huizenga has taken a break from chronicling the vagaries of our daily existence in his series Ganges and (the late, lamented) Or Else to take on the greatest detective in literary history and his arch-nemesis. (No, not Batman and the Joker, but I like the way you think.)

At his blog, Huizenga has posted a two-page comic featuring the first and final face-to-face confrontations between none other than Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty. The strip is part of the Famous Fictional Villains show at St. Louis's Mad Art Gallery, curated by Huizenga's friend, fellow cartoonist, and occasional collaborator Dan Zettwoch. The opening reception for the show -- which features baddies ranging from Macbeth's witches to Alien's facehugger, interpreted by Zettwoch, Huizenga and over a dozen other artists -- takes place tonight from 7pm to 11pm.

Nancy Vol. 1

Nancy Vol. One
by John Stanley
Drawn and Quarterly, 128 pages, $24.95.

When faced with the challenge of adapting Ernie Bushmiller's classic comic strip to longer comic book format, John Stanley's response was simple and economical: Turn her into Little Lulu.

That's the only conclusion I can come to after reading this collection of stories in D&Q's ongoing "John Stanley Library" project. Nancy is pretty much Lulu with frizzier hair, Sluggo is a thinner and slightly more benign Tubby. There's even a snotty rich kid and bratty little boy similar to Wilbur and Alvin. Stanley even repeats one of his Tubby stories involving a burglar almost note for note.

That doesn't make Nancy a bad book by any stretch of the imagination. Mediocre Stanley is still miles above most people's best work. The best stories here though are the ones involving Oona Goosepimple, an odd, Wednesday Addams-type girl who supernatural antics cause no end of anxiety for poor Nancy. It's those stories where Stanley -- freed of the Bushmiller formula -- really gets inventive and inspired. If the ratio of Oona stories increases as the volumes do, then I'll keep buying these books as long as D&Q are able to get them out.

Reviews of Moomin, Amulet and more can be found after the jump ...

The Book About Moomin

The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My
by Tove Jansson
Drawn and Quarterly, 20 pages, $16.95.

I'm a sucker for die-cut books -- anything that plays upon the whole "Oh, it looks like it's part of the page, but look closely and you'll see it's a window into the next one" thing gets extra points from me. And D&Q has already won me over on Jansson with the wonderful job they've done reprinting her Moomin strips, so it's not like I had to be won over with the company's first entry in their new kids Enfant line. The only real surprise here is Jansson's lovely use of limited color and composition on these expansive two-page spreads. So yeah, it's a great book that will be sure to please the young and old at heart. Buy it, read it, enjoy it.

Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood
by Tony Lee, Sam Hart and Artur Fujita
Candlewick Press, 21.95.

This is a rather odd and needlessly dark and depressing retelling of the Robin Hood tale. Honestly I'm really not quite sure what to make of it. Are kids really clamoring for some sort of gritty, psychological portrait version of this story? Isn't the whole point of Robin that he's carefree and dashing and not burdened by guilt? Shouldn't the art be featherlight, colorful and fun, with detailed, intricate backgrounds that convey a sense of place instead of having everyone constantly drawn in half-shadow or worse and clumsy coloring that seems splotched on by a computer? Maybe it's my own nostalgia talking, but I can't imagine young readers preferring for an instant this version of the character over one of the countless other variations that already exist, both in and out of comics.

Amulet, Vol. 2

Amulet Book Two: The Stonekeeper's Curse
by Kazu Kibuishi
Scholastic, $21.99.

There's nothing particularily surprising or original in Kibuishi's ongoing fantasy series. It follows the plot and themes of countless other young adult books -- there's an evil dictator , a bad guy who's conflicted about the side he's working for, a talisman that grants its user fabulous powers, assorted wise men, amusing sidekicks and two plucky kids who find themselves tested by an inheritance they'd rather not have.

But if Amulet treads upon familiar ground, it nevertheless remains a captivating and enchanting read, largely due to Kibuishi's skills as an artist and storyteller. He paces the tale exceedingly well, gives his characters just enough detail and back story to make them seem more than cardboard cut-outs and never gets so bogged down in the mythology of the world he's created that the reader becomes bored or disinterested. Really, Amulet is an excellent lesson in how to deliver a satisfying genre exercise that both stands apart and with the crowd. If I were interested in creating something similar I'd be studying the hell out of this book.

Vermonia Vol. 1: Quest for the Silver Tiger
by YoYo
Candlewick Press, $9.99.

As if to underscore my point about how the importance of execution comes this dull, confusing, ill-thought-out manga about a group of skateboarding teens who turn out to have the necessary power or inheritance or what-have-you needed to save a lost world. The whole thing is a muddled, inane mess, and really only serves to show just how much effort and skill went into Amulet.

Stone Rabbit: Deep-Space Disco
by Erik Craddock
Random House, $5.99

This, on the other hand, I liked quite a bit. It's got a nice, manic energy and Craddock has a clean, crisp style that suggests many years spent in the animation trenches. It's basically about a put-upon rabbit who constantly gets ridiculous capers. In this particular case that means getting mistaken by space aliens for a dangerous interplanetary killer while the real killer assumes his identity on planet Earth.  It's replete with the type of one-liners and non-sequitar jokes you find in most children's cartoon TV programs these days, but thankfully it doesn't feel the least bit pandering or smarmy. Plus, the jokes are actually kinda funny.

The Archon by Adam Prosser

Johanna Draper Carlson points out that Adam Prosser has posted his 24-Hour Comics Day comic on the web. It's one part Kirby's New Gods, one part Archie Comics and all parts awesome -- heck, it's likely the coolest thing you'll see today.

From Berrio's 'Conversations'

Even if you can't read Spanish (and I totally can't) this sketchblog by Juan Berrio, based on snatches of overheard conversations is still worth checking out. (via)

The Abominable Charles Christopher

Earlier this week artist Skottie Young filled in for his friend Karl Kerschl on The Abominable Charles Christopher, Kerschl's webcomic about a a sweet but somewhat dim sasquatch-like creature and his forest friends.

This is the second time Young has filled in for his friend, as he explained on his own blog:

Karl reached out and asked me to do a guest strip for his webcomic while he was out on some giant world tour where people are worshiping him and what not. I was flattered and agreed instantly. Then I realized that his wasn't the first time I would be there to help save Karl in a rough spot. (just kidding, he needed no saving, and i'm convinced he actually had enough strips to cover his time away and just posted my out of pitty...haha) Eons ago, when I was waiting tables at Ed Debevics in Chicago, I got my first phone call from Marvel asking me if I could do a fill in issue in the ICEMAN mini series. And artist named... you guessed it, Karl Kerschl had some life things going on and they needed someone to fill in. I had never drawn a comic book in my life and was about to do my first for Marvel. And the rest is history...or still happening, or something like that.

After seeing the strip, now I really just want to see Young doing a webcomic of his own.

from Jon Vermilyea's He-Man and the 13 Trials of Eternia

He's done comics with Frank Santoro, made videos with Animal Collective, and forever redefined the way we look at Kool-Aid and breakfast foods in his buoyantly bizarre comics for MOME, but now cartoonist Jon Vermilyea is tackling something near and dear to the hearts of nerds everywhere: The Masters of the Universe!

Behold He-Man and the 13 Trials of Eternia, a gorgeous silkscreened 11" X 8" booklet featuring the Herculean labors of the hero also known as Prince Adam and illustrated in Vermilyea's inimitable day-glo style. Only 21 copies of the book were produced, and by god I'm getting my hands on one of them if I have to sell my soul to Skeletor.

(Via Sean Belcher.)

Sanders' Superheroes

Get your weekend off to the right start by checking out this collage of superheroes by illustrator and animator Allan Sanders. (via)

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

The fate of the financially troubled Spider-Man Broadway musical could be decided today.

According to published reports, producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, whose budget has soared to $52 million, are meeting in Manhattan with director Julie Taymor and other members of the creative team to discuss the cash-flow problems that stalled production for nearly a month and cast doubt on the future of the production.

The musical had been set to preview in late February at a renovated Hilton Theatre, and then open sometime in March. But Patrick Healy of The New York Times writes that Taymor is expected to say rehearsals for the technically complex show won't be able to begin before January, which could push the opening past April 29 -- the cutoff date for Tony Award nominations.

Perhaps of more pressing concern is the $24 million needed to cover a proposed budget that ballooned to $52 million from an estimated $35 million, in part due to theater renovations and restorations. According to the Los Angeles Times, Spider-Man will cost about $1 million a week to produce -- "hundreds of thousands dollars more than what some elaborate shows such as Mary Poppins or West Side Story cost -- and require the 1,700-seat theater to sell out for every show for four years just to break even.

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which boasts a musical score by Bono and the Edge, has cast Evan Rachel Wood as Mary Jane, Alan Cumming as Green Goblin and, apparently, relative newcomer Reeve Carney as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. (Carney, who will appear in Taymor's big-screen adaptation of The Tempest, long had been rumored for the role of Spider-Man but never confirmed.)

However, as the LA Times notes, with production delays the musical risks losing the cast to other projects. Cumming, for instance, was just added to the cast of Burlesque, which begins filming next week.

NOTE: A post detailing the announcements made after the meeting can be found here.