FBC Worldwide Non-Exclusive: Warren Ellis talks "Doktor Sleepless"!

Warren Ellis, writer extraordinaire, has finally broken his silence on his top secret new project from Avatar Press, Doktor Sleepless! In a worldwide non-exclusive, Mr. Ellis answers three questions about it for FBC (and anyone else with a thing for comics and a website to prove it).

Following is the totally unedited transcript of our top secret correspondence:

Fanboy Corps: How did the idea of DOKTOR SLEEPLESS come to you?

Warren Ellis: The day I reanimated Abe Vigoda. Check his website. He's still going. I became a Mad Scientist on that day. See all those two-headed animals being born now? You think those are flukes?

FBC: What do you want readers to know about DOKTOR SLEEPLESS?

WE: DOKTOR SLEEPLESS knows which way the wind is blowing. DOKTOR SLEEPLESS feels real weird and has stars in his beard. Except he doesn't have a beard. DOKTOR SLEEPLESS is the smoke that banishes sleep in the night. DOKTOR SLEEPLESS has never raped a schoolgirl with his tentacles. DOKTOR SLEEPLESS does not go to the toilet.

FBC: Will DOKTOR SLEEPLESS eat our souls?

WE: DOKTOR SLEEPLESS hates empty calories. DOKTOR SLEEPLESS likes MAO inhibitors. DOKTOR SLEEPLESS drinks blood and milk in the Masai manner. DOKTOR SLEEPLESS invalidates all manufacturer's guarantees.

There you have it faithful readers: there is a God, and his name is Doktor Sleepless! More on this breaking story as it develops...

See Also:
Three words: "Future Science Jesus"

My Favorite Comic Book....Ever!!!!

I thought long and hard about all the books I have ever read, and after lots of deliberation I have decided that my favorite comic of all time is.....Spectacular Spider-Man 200.

The great thing about this book is the dark tone and spooky feelings it gave me as a kid, and still does to this day. Harry Osborn has once again donned the mantle of the Green Goblin, and is out to destroy both Spider-Man and Peter Parker. Throughout the issue, Harry struggles with the madness of being the Green Goblin, (much like his father did), and with his twisted perception of Peter ruining his life. Harry gives up on his wife and son, and goes mad with thoughts of revenge. In the book, all to familiar scenes of pain and memories of the past haunt Peter, and Mary Jane, as Harry Osborn interferes with their lives. There is a great scene in which the Green Goblin kidnaps M.J. and confronts her at the place of Gwen Stacy's death. But instead of shattered Spidey's life by killing her, he pledges that no matter what happens between the Green Goblin and Spider-Man, she will never be harmed. and the Goblin, and the insanity and I guess the great thing about this book is you can really see the eternal struggle between Spidey bloodlust that consumes the Osborn family. In the end, the serum Harry takes to defeat Spider-Man kills him, but not before becoming a hero himself. I wish comics could be "remade" like they do with movies. It would be great to see this book drawn by an artist that could really add to the darkness of the story. Nothing against Sal Bushema, but the art is totally 90's.

If you get a chance, read this book. It is a great story about a character that can never find a balance between his normal life and his life behind the mask.

Spectacular Spider-Man 200
Marvel Comics 1993
J.M. DeMatteis
Sal Buscema

Awesome, just awesome!

Newsarama is reporting that soon, very soon, we will witness the first comic adaptation on Broadway......"Spider-Man: THE MUSICAL!" Apparently, there are some big names attached to this project, and it will get underway this July.

I would fly to New York to see this show, and to hear a chorus sing, "Spider-man, Spider-man, does whatever a spider can".

Check it!

Three words: "Future Science Jesus"

One look at this and I knew immediately that I'll be reading Doktor Sleepless.

More news on this one from FBC very soon...

FBC Wants To Know: Simonson's Orion?

So, I was reading this article all about Walt Simonson's Orion series for DC from the early 2000's, and, you know, it sounds really fun. As a general fan of all things New Gods-related and with the obvious importance of these characters in upcoming DC universe happenings, I got to wondering if I should track some of this run down. I see there's a collection of the early issues, but I'd have to scour the virtual back issue bins on the internet to get the rest.

So, good readers, FBC wants to know...what are your thoughts on this series? Post your thoughts and opinions to the comments section.

It's gonna be a Black Summer

One of my favorite writers, Warren Ellis, is going to be messing with heads everywhere this August (well, more so than usual I guess). It all started with a dare from Avatar Press chief William Christensen:

"...[H]e bet me I couldn't come up with a high-concept superhero 'event' book that naturally featured all new characters and ideas, but also hit some of the notes of a standard Big Two event program. Huge technical challenge, and I like those, because they keep me sharp. It took me more than a year, mind you... Until I hit on the two ideas. What if a superhero killed the President? And the underpinning: where do you draw the line?"

And thus was born Black Summer.

With art from Juan Jose Ryp (he who draws like Geof Darrow on acid) and published by Avatar (they who are known for anything but superhero books), I don't think this is going to be quite like anything we've seen before. All of which totally guarantees I'll be buying it.

Wonder Woman #6: Gold or Garbage?

The new issue of Wonder Woman was a cool step in the right direction. Diana is at a point in her superhero career where a secret identity is needed. How to go about maintaining said identity is the theme for this latest run. Plus, she is ordered to do everything in her power to apprehend Wonder Woman. How do you catch yourself? Overall, I had fun with the issue, and I have high hopes for this run. We shall see if the new scribe, Jodi Picoult is the real deal or not. The interiors are not as consistent as I would like, but overall, a good book. So what do you think? Gold, or garbage?

The FBC Question: Who is Rip Hunter...Really?

With the announcement that Geoff Johns will be launching a Booster Gold series with Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund and comics newcomer Jeff Katz, we know that everyone's favorite super capitalist will survive 52. But what about his partner in time Rip Hunter? Do we even know who he really is?

Lots of hints have been dropped throughout the weekly series that Rip's hidden his true identity so that his time-traveling enemies can't find him before he grows up to become their biggest headache. So is he someone DC readers might already know, or a nobody that secretly rose to greatness? What's your theory? Better share it quick before the answers turn up in the last month of 52...or in Booster's new book!

Gail Simone to leave Birds of Prey

What?!?

Friend of mine just tipped me to this. Apparently it showed up in the DC Nation column for this week's books, but I won't get those until Monday. Newsarama has an interview here, though.

Simone has consistently impressed on this book. Any time I thought about maybe not reading it any longer, she's done something to bring me back and get me excited. Sorry to see her go. We'll have to see how her replacement, Sean McKeever, does on the book. I always hear great stuff about him, but I've never actually read any of his work.

Moving on, in the interview mentioned above, Gail says this:

But the truth of this matter is, I was simply offered a project I couldn't turn down. A dream book with a dream art team, and a real chance to reshape comics’ history. DC's always been great to me, but this is just...insane. It's unbelievably exciting.

And I want to pour everything I've got into it. I had to let something go, and for reasons that I think will make more sense as things are revealed, it meant letting go of some beloved bird friends of mine.

Let the speculation begin! I can't imagine what's she's talking about. A monthly like JLA or Wonder Woman? Or a big miniseries event? Maybe it's what's Countdown is Counting Down to?

Mrkvm's pick of the week for 03/28/07

This week was tough, as both 52 and Green Lantern were fantastic issues. However, my pick goes to Batman 664. Despite scheduling problems, Grant Morrison's run on this book is really shaping up to be phenomenal.

This issue is essentially broken into two parts. The first focuses on Bruce Wayne as a character, something Morrison has said he wanted to emphasize. The second shows Batman tracking down some leads no one else cares about, which in turn leads Batman to meet a frightening (and familiar?) foe. A new mystery brews with mentions of the black casebook, and there's also some nice references to earlier in Morrison's Batman run, which make me realize that he's slowly building a bigger story. I also think that this issue is the best so far drawn by Andy Kubert, who has been a little spotty for me on this book.

Ultimately, though, reading this comic reminded me of being in 7th grade, when I first became a more serious comics reader. Batman and Detective Comics were my favorites back then, even if some of those stories (Death in the Family, among others) seem a bit goofy now. Morrison's Batman seems to be mining the good parts of that era and others to build the post-Infinite Crisis Batverse. Can't wait to see where this goes next.