This is what a Power Ranger looks like at the end of the day…
via weareuncivilized
Alright, I know that a live action adaptation for the Voltron series had been announced before (almost three years ago now), and that it was recently scrapped, despite the vast amount of concept art that was released for it (with that whole Transformers/Michael Bay-esque thing going on with it). But this time, it’s going to be different. It’s real, and it’s happening as I type this post.
World Events Productions (WEP), who brought the original Voltron series to the states, announced at it’s Comic-Con panel on Thursday (partly associated with Nickelodeon’s booth), that Relativity Media, along with Atlus Productions, had optioned to produce a live action adaptation of the Voltron animated series.
And while this announcement is official, many Voltron fans have yet to really celebrate the news, partly due to the fact that Comic-Con is still going, but also out of fear from another cancelation. Given the fickle and money-driven nature of Hollywood, I can’t blame them.
Personally, the only thing that I see as a possible concern is this live-action adaptation of the series crossing into Power Rangers’ territory. And you know what happens when two giant robots run into each other:
Of course, since they’re both on Nickelodeon Networks now, they probably wouldn’t fight each other, too big a risk to job security.
More on this as news comes out.
-M.C., the Quantum Twin
The Japanese company Hero’s will be launching a new seinen manga (a manga whose target audience is 20+ year-old males) called Monthly Hero’s on October 25th, and one of the first new mangas coming from this line will be a new Ultraman title.
The new Ultraman manga, created by Shimizu Eiichi and Shimoguchi Tomohiro (who both worked on the anime Linebarrels of Iron), will be launched with this new magazine.
To celebrate the new series, they will be releasing a special Ultraman Begins 2011 Aratana Tatakai no Hajimari doujinshi, which will be available at Comic Market in the Tokyo Big Sight Convention Center next month, where they can be purchased by donating 500 yen to the Ultraman Foundation.
In addition, the book will have an interview with Shimizu and Shimoguchi, and contain illustrations by them and the the follwoing artists: Umezu Kazuo (Drifting Classroom), Okazaki Takashi (Afro Samurai), Kitazaki Taku (Angel Cop), designer/modelmaker Nirasawa Yasushi (Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust), Hiromoto Sin’Ichi (Hells Angels) and Fujisawa Tohru (GTO). There will also be written contributions from Ultraman novel author Shukawa Minato, Ultraman director Yagi Takeshi, author Yamamoto Hiroshi, and essayist Uno Tsunehiro. There will also be an interview with Ultraman scriptwriter Uehara Shozo.
So for those of you who are either big fans of manga or big fans of Ultraman, this could potentially be a must-have for collectors and a must read for manga and toku fans, so if you feel like picking up a copy of the new manga or doujinshi, go out and get it!
-M.C., the Quantum Twin
This year’s San Diego Comic-Con 2011 kicked off yesterday (7/21), and guess who showed up for the party? That’s right, the Samurai Rangers! They came this year as part of Nick’s exhibit at the convention, and they’ve been showing off stunts and posing for photos with conventioners since they first popped up yesterday. Here are a few photos from the event:
As you can see here, Brittany Anne Pirtle, who plays Emily/the Yellow Samurai Ranger, was interview by NBC to talk about her role in the show, and about Nickelodeon’s booth at Comic-Con. Video of the interview can be found here:
http://media.nbcsandiego.com/designvideo/embeddedPlayer.swf
View more videos at: http://www.nbcsandiego.com.
You like the little “stunt show”?
As part of the Power Rangers Samurai exhibition, there will be an “Origins of the Samurai Power Rangers” panel hosted by Paul Schrier (Bulk), between 7-8 pm on Saturday, where attendees will get a chance to see the origins special 3 months before it airs on Nick, followed by a one-on-one interview with the cast of the show. So, if you happen to be at or headed over to Comic-Con this weekend, be sure to drop in on that! (And maybe send me some “leaked” footage from the event.) 😉
-M.C., the wishing-he-could-go-to-Comic-Con Quantum Twin
Henshin Head 