- On sleep, work, and the site itself, that is. This update should mark a full catch-up on all the news that’s fit to print here at the site. It was actually a pretty slow week up until Green Arrow, so we weren’t being lazy out on the west coast. The days were long and there wasn’t a lot of spare time, but there really wasn’t much else going on, anyway. After Green Arrow arrived on Wednesday though, things took off. So, here we’ve got all the latest news for ya. This stuff took precedence over out own set report, which is coming soon, still in the works. Sorry for the delay, we figure at least a few of you are waiting to read it, we just wanna make sure that’s it’s done right. Give us some time and we promise a good read for ya. Also, we finally got a new poll topic out there for ya to weigh in on, too. That being said, let’s have a look at today’s stuff, including an excellent new top story feature:
Archive for March 2nd, 2001
EXCLUSIVE! Scott Mosier’s On Set Photos…
- It was tough to get good shots of the set due to the distance we had to stay from cameras as well as the limited zoom on the Digital Elph Camera, so Kevin and Scott were kind enough to hook us up with some non-spoiler on-set photos. We’ll be running a few NEW, exclusive photos from the set every Friday (at least, that’s the plan).
Coming soon, we’ll have our own set report complete with photos (the ones that looked decent enough to use, anyway), production art, and lots more. Thanks again to Kevin and Scott for supplying these photos and giving us the rights to post them up exclusively. Enjoy, and look for more of these great shots next week.
Green Arrow #1 Released & Sold Out!
- Green Arrow #1 was released on Wednesday and, to no surprise, the sucker’s blowing off the shelves and going back to press for a second printing. WizardWorld has the report:
GREEN AND GONE
Green Arrow #1 Sold Out and Back to Press
“We’re going back to press!” was the enthusiastic cry from Patricia Jeres, DC’s Director of Marketing Communications, on the announcement that Green Arrow #1, the first of Kevin Smith’s run, completely sold out even before it hit the stands.
Though DC doesn’t confirm print run counts, the rumored six figures is almost unprecedented. “But the great reception for Green Arrow was anticipated as soon as we started seeing the advance material,” Jeres explains. “That’s why it was generously overprinted. The initial orders were strong and only seem conservative in retrospect of the quick sell-out.”
From the set of “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” Smith said, “I guess they’re doing 15,000 overprint copies that have already sold out. I’ve got my complimentary box of 25. I’m hanging on to ‘em.”
And he wouldn’t be wrong to do just that. According to Jeres, retailers have reacted “with great enthusiasm for the series and support for DC’s reorder policy and willingness to go back to press to meet their needs.” It should be noted that DC’s retailer support is unparalleled in the comics industry, providing hands on reorder assistance from the in-house Direct Sales staff.
Green Arrow isn’t just a flashy book that everyone wants; the story itself is something to see. “This success couldn’t happen to a more deserving creative team and project,”Bob Schreck, DC Group Editor and Green Arrow editor says, “We’re all very excited by the initial response to the work and grateful to retailers for their early confidence and support. This issue is one for the vault; it’s aesthetically sound as well as commercially viable; it’s not just a book it’s a book-and-a-half! Since I know what happens well into the series, I can guarantee it’s only going to snowball from here.”
Jeres is looking forward to continued success. “Knowing where the story is going, seeing the upcoming art and covers,” she said, “I have every confidence we’ve got a hit on our hands!”
Smith is hanging on to his hit. Holding a copy of his own book, he leaps to the rescue in the L.A. drizzle: “Put that back in the bag! Don’t let that get wet!
Congrats to Kevin and the Green Arrow team for an amazing success. And it gets even better. Reviews are pouring in and are overwhelmingly positive. See the next story…
More Green Arrow Praise & Reviews!
- Reviews keep pouring in on Green Arrow #1. Fans and top reviewers alike are calling this book an instant classic.
Randy Lander is one of the net’s big comic reviewers and he called it his best of the week! Check out his review HERE.
IGN goes Kevin crazy today, first with Sean Milstead’s column featuring three reviews and a love letter to Kevin as well. You can find that one HERE. A second review, also overwhelmingly positive, appears at IGN HERE. Will this book surpass the incredible Daredevil numbers and priase? Looks like it!
So, how about you? Want to talk about the Green Arrow comic? Have we got the spot for you! Surf over to the News Askew Forums, where a new category dedicated to discussion of the Green Arrow series has been created. The board’s at 400+ members and in just a week is alerady over 4,000 posts strong. Let’s hear what you think!
Spiderman/Spawn Crossover: Last Word?
- Remember the offer that Joe Quesada placed on the table for a 2-book Spawn/Spidey crossover drawn by himself and Todd McFarlane, with a story arc by Kevin Smith himself? Last we’d left the offer, Todd had turned it down, simply stating that he wasn’t going to jump back into pencilling just because he was dared into it. Well, seems that Joe really wants to see this one happen (as do we and TONS of other fans, we imagine), so he gave it one last try. By the way, if Todd or any of his people might be reading this…Check out those GREEN ARROW numbers this week, then imagine what THIS book might do for ya. Nuff said. Here’s Joe, with a reprint of that same letter (and a nice reminder to those of you that missed it before):
Dear Jim,Todd responded briefly and politely to my letter, but basically went back into hiding. Toddster, this is my final offer:
You draw a book, and I draw a book. And let’s make it worth everyone’s while. I’m talkin’… Spider-Man/Spawn!
That’s right, you draw a Spidey/Spawny crossover on the Image side and I draw one on the Marvel end. And I’m not done yet.
I put a call in to a friend of mine to see if he was interested in writing my end of it, and he immediately accepted. Not only was he blown away by the whole “Get Todd penciling again” idea, but the next day he e-mailed me a synopsis of the story ’cause he couldn’t stop thinking about it. It wasn’t bad for a beginner like… Kevin Smith!
Oh, one more thing: I have recently agreed to be on the Board of Directors of ACTOR, “A Commitment To Our Roots,: a non-profit corporation dedicated to helping out old time comic creators in financial need. Since many Golden Age or Silver Age creators toiled to build today’s groundwork by working only for page rate with no pension, this fund has been set up to help some of our elder statesmen. I’ll donate $10,000 of my proceeds from Spider-Man/Spawn as well as half the artwork. Kevin has agreed to donate cash from the project as well.
What more could you ask for, Toddy Boy? I’m giving you the wall crawler to have some fun with and we’re helping an amazingly good cause, and you get Kevin Smith! Oh, and you still get a $1,100 check from me!
Fans, send Todd a letter! We want Todd to come back to what gave him his start. I would hate to think that he didn’t feel it was worth his time because there was nothing to be gained from it.
See ya in the funnybooks.
Joe Quesada
Marvel Comics
Fans can write to Todd McFarlane at: Todd McFarlane Production, P.O. Box 27228, Tempe, AZ 85285-7228. Maybe a polite letter letting Mr. McFarlane know how much you’d like to see him do the crossover? Ya never know!
First Look: Affleck In Pearl Harbor…
- A very regular and reliable scooper for News Askew had one of the first looks at “Pearl Harbor” last night, and had some high praise for Affleck and the film itself. We thought you might like to know that it sounds like this one’s not just a Titanic clone, but a genuinely good flick that should rip up the box office this summer. Here’s his non-spoiler report:
Tonight, I was amongst the first group of people on the planet to see Pearl Harbor. I cant say much, but I will tell you that even though it still hasn’t been cut down below the three hour mark, and a few of the special effects were shown as computer animations, this flick is awesome. One of the best I have ever seen (seriously), and I usually hate war movies. Affleck does an absolutely AMAZING job in this one, as does the rest of the cast. I cant say enough good things about this one – in fact, I shouldn’t be saying anything at all. However, I cannot stress this enough: GO SEE THIS FILM WHEN IT COMES OUT! Pearl Harbor is on track to become the big hit this summer, and I smell an Oscar for Ben. And by God that man deserves it.
View Askew NewsBites™
- Did you somehow miss the Sci-Fi Channel’s “Exposure: Unofficial Star Wars Edition” hosted by Kevin a few months back?Want a chance to see it, or see it again? You got it. Sci-Fi’s airing it THIS Sunday @11pm, yep, right AFTER the 2 hour Sopranos premiere on HBO. You can read our original review of the show HERE!
- A new Daredevil from Kevin? Maybe! Check out this excerpt from an interview that Russell Lissau conducted with Marvel Knights editor Stuart Moore:
RL: When I last spoke with Joe, he said there might be a Kevin Smith-written “Daredevil” hardcover. What’s new there?
SM: That’s a speculative project at this point. Both Kevin and Joe want to do it, but they’re both insanely busy. Obviously I’ll be happy to stick my nose in and “ooh” and “ah” over the pages whenever it comes about.
Read the full interview HERE.
- Heads up, Aussies. A screening of Clerks is happening on Tuesday March 6th at the outdoor Sunset Cinema, Kings Park in Perth, Western Australia. The fun starts around 8 PM.
- Speaking of the flicks, you can catch a few of them on your very own TV set in March.
Clerks airs on IFC March 17-10:00pm, 18-3:45am, 21-8:00pm, 22-1:00am; 6:00am, 29-8:00pm:10:00pm, 30-12:00am. This is uncut, of course.
Mallrats airs on FX March 6 at 12:00pm. This one’s the funny cut and re-edited ABC version, we believe.
Dogma’s on Starz! all through the month. Check your local listings.
- Brand new in our Files Askew section: Clerks TAS: Uncensored WALLPAPER! Thanks to Scott Mayle of Kala Productions for supplying the file.
- The DVD of “Bounce” (out on April 17th) will contain a commentary track by Director Don Roos, BEN AFFLECK & Gwenyth Paltrow.
- At Fade In Online, the website of the screenwriting magazine FADE IN / The Writers Network, they’re offering an audio tape copy of Kevin’s talk there last year for $12.50. It runs around 70 minutes and is a question and answer session with the audience. It was taped probably last spring. In it, he talks about the CLERKS animated series before it’s aired, among other things (it’s also pre-Scream 3). Surf over for more details.
- The comic strip “Life’s So Rad”, appearing HERE, made a Silent Bob reference in yesterday’s (3/1) edition.
- The February 22nd edition of The Adventures of Sod and Git (another online comic) has a Clerks poster in the background. You may wanna check it out HERE.
- News Askew reader & View Askew fan Ryan McLelland’s new book, “Still Waiting / Wise Intelligence: Two Screenplays” was released today. One’s a crass comedy, other one’s a drama, four years in the making, finally coming out in one book for all to read. The book features an intro snippet that features how his first screenplay came about. From the intro:
My buddy and I were invited to a sneak preview of New Jersey prodigy Kevin Smith’s new movie, Chasing Amy. Kevin Smith has always been an idol of mine. For years, working late nights at a crappy video store, my co-workers and I would throw on Clerks night after night, relishing at its brilliance. The movie was great for 3 reasons (1) It really showed the crap you went through in a dead-end job like a convenience store or video store (2) It WAS Jersey. All those curses, vulgar material, just the way people spoke to one another, the movie captured New Jersey attitude at its finest and put it on film. The movie might have been “original” to some, but for me, it was everyday Jersey life and (3) It was made by a guy in Jersey! An everyday guy who worked in the convenience store, wrote a script, raised money, and filmed his own movie. After meeting Kevin, it gave me exactly what I needed, a jumpstart in my writing. And there, in Red Bank, New Jersey, my screenplay Wise Intelligence was born.
Read more about his book HERE or buy it online at the usual haunts.
- Whew! That JUST about does it. There’s some minor stuff still left but this is good enough for one day…Look for more updates, stories, exclusive pics, and more real soon…And don’t miss that new poll topic before ya go either! Until next time…