February 2, 2015 by Brian Pate
Additional Guests To Be Announced In The Coming Weeks
SAN DIEGO- Comic-Con International (Comic-Con), the nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and popular art, today announced the first wave of special guests for its venerated summer show. The event will again be held in San Diego beginning on Thursday, July 9, and running though Sunday, July 12, 2015, at the San Diego Convention Center.
“Comic-Con is grateful to feature such talented individuals from comics and popular art,” commented David Glanzer, spokesperson for the nonprofit organization. Indeed 2015 is shaping up to be another spectacular year in terms of talent joining the four-day extravaganza.
The first round of guests include
Writer Kelly Sue DeConnick: Captain Marvel, Pretty Deadly, Bitch Planet.
Artist Carlos Ezquerra: Co-creator, Judge Dredd, Stontium Dog.
Author Lev Grossman: The Magicians.
Writer/director/producer Reginald Hudlin: Django Unchained, Black Panther animated series.
Artist/illustrator William Stout: The Dinosaurs.
For up-to-date information on guests and all aspects of the huge summer show be sure to visit www.comic-con.org and check out Toucan Blog, the only OFFICIAL blog of Comic-Con International.
About Comic-Con International:
Comic-Con International (CCI) is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular artforms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture. In addition to its San Diego convention each summer (the world’s largest comics convention of its kind), CCI organizes the Anaheim-based WonderCon Anaheim each spring. On the web: Comic-Con.org, Facebook.com/comiccon, Twitter.com/comic_con.
Read more here.
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By Nate Jones at Vulture.com
Reginald Hudlin directed House Party while he was still in his 20s; produced Django Unchained, The Boondocks, and The Bernie Mac Show; and helps put on the NAACP Image Awards. So when he wants to talk about race in Hollywood, you listen. In a new essay for The Hollywood Reporter, Hudlin uses the recent Selma Oscar snub to talk about the struggles of the film industry as a whole. “It’s easier for a black person to become president of the United States than it is to be president of a movie studio,” he notes, arguing that, “given the shrinking white population in this country, the lack of people of color in the suites and on the screens is just bad business.” Though the industry will say things have improved since the ’50s, Hudlin notes that many of the excuses for Hollywood’s lack of diversity are the same: Back then, those in power worried openly about turning off southern audiences; now they say the same thing about the international market. Both times, he says, they were wrong.
To make Hollywood walk the walk of its diversity talk, Hudlin proposes “taking action at every point in the food chain”: more internships to get young people of color into the industry, a greater emphasis on multiracial casting, and diversity bonuses for executives. Also, he says, we should change the way we talk about movies: “It would be great if the phrase ‘black film’ wasn’t just used when a movie makes less than $100 million.”
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Anthony Anderson
Special to the AmNews
Hollywood will be celebrating its fabulous Blackness with the the 46th NAACP Image Awards, a two-hour star-studded (live) event Friday, Feb. 6, on TV One at 9p.m. (ET/PT tape-delayed).
I’ve had the pleasure of working with host Anthony Anderson (in an indie film), and I know that he’s a hard-working man, despite his comedic persona. So Anderson hosting the NAACP Image Awards for the second time isn’t a surprise, but a welcoming confirmation.
Unless you reside under a very large and isolated rock, you know that Anderson is currently executive producing and starring in, alongside Laurence Fishburne and Tracee Ellis Ross, the ABC series “Black-ish,” for which he is also nominated for an Image Award this year.
“It is an honor and privilege to be asked back to host the NAACP Image Awards,” said Anderson. “The nominees this year are stellar and a testament to the talented individuals in our community. As a nine-time Image Award nominee, I could not be more proud, and I look forward to holding the record for most nominations without a win!”
In addition, also returning are Reginald Hudlin and Phil Gurin as executive producers. The production team includes Tony McCuin as director, Byron Phillips as producer and Robin Reinhart as the talent producer. Actor and musician Lance Reddick will be the in-show announcer.
Hudlin is the executive producer and writer of the “Black Panther” animated series and executive producer of “The Boondocks” animated series. From 2005 to 2009, Hudlin was the first president of entertainment for BET Networks, creating some of the networks’ highest rated shows during his tenure.
This summer, he partnered with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the Hollywood Bowl to produce a live cinematic concert experience titled “The Black Movie Soundtrack,” which was a critical and commercial success.
“Building on the momentum and success from last year, we are planning an extraordinary show and securing today’s leading talent to be part of the celebration,” Hudlin and Gurin said in a statement. “It is an honor for us to work with the NAACP and TV One to create a show that recognizes such a diverse group of talented people, and we look forward to producing one of the premier awards show telecasts in America.”
The NAACP Image Awards celebrates the accomplishment of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film and also honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors. Winners will be voted on by NAACP members and announced when the envelopes are opened Thursday, Feb. 5 during the awards ceremony for non-televised categories. The remaining categories will be announced live on stage during the two-hour, star-studded TV One telecast Friday, Feb. 6. The telecast will also include a one-hour, pre-show airing live from the red carpet (8p.m. ET/PT tape-delayed).
For all information and the latest news, please visit www.naacpimageawards.net
Facebook: /naacpimageaward
Twitter: @naacpimageaward
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Albert Ching, Managing Editor, Comic Book Resources
Milestone Media is back.
The return was made official earlier today, with the announcement that Denys Cowan and Derek Dingle — two of the founders of the original Milestone — have joined forces with Hollywood and comics veteran Reginald Hudlin to form what’s being referred to as “Milestone 2.0.”
CBR News sat down with both Cowan and Hudlin, who explained that in this new incarnation, the “Media” part of the name “Milestone Media” comes with an extra emphasis.
“This company is called Milestone Media,” Hudlin told CBR. “[Milestone] was never just a comic book company. [The] name indicated being bigger than a comic book company. and now that’s true more than ever. We’re going to be working on multiple platforms, and all kinds of ways of presenting these ideas.”
In fact, the next Milestone-related media project was actually revealed months before today’s news, an in-development live-action “Static Shock” digital series to be produced for Warner Bros. by Hudlin and Cowan, starring Static — one of Milestone’s flagship characters, and the star of an animated “Static Shock” series that ran from 2000 to 2004.
But the focus on “Media” doesn’t mean that Milestone is shying away from its comic book roots. Founded by Black comics and publishing professionals Cowan, Dingle, Michael Davis and the late Dwayne McDuffie, the company started with the goal of increasing representation of minorities in comics, both characters and creators. Milestone debuted in 1993 under a publishing deal with DC Comics, with “Hardware,” “Blood Syndicate,” “Iconic” and “Static” all running for dozens of issues before the imprint ended in 1997.
The characters have appeared sporadically since then — including “Static Shock” being incorporated into the DC Universe’s New 52 line in 2011 — and it looks like the new Milestone will continue this relationship with DC, while also expanding to other publishers.
“We’re working with DC on stuff,” Cowan said to CBR. “We’re currently speaking to a number of different publishers about a number of different projects that they want to do with us. DC’s an important partner for us. We’re exploring everything that’s being put in front of us. It’s been a very busy, exciting time. Hearing people’s enthusiasm about Milestone has been very encouraging to us.”
“Obviously Milestone and DC have a great history together,” Hudlin added. “We’re going to be doing more projects together. but we’re going to be doing business with a lot of different companies. Other publishers, other media companies.”
Other than the “Static Shock” live-action series, the details of exactly what the new Milestone is working on remain to be revealed. But Hudlin said there are “several other deals in motion” and more news will be coming “pretty soon,” as the revived company looks to structure itself based on “maximum flexibility for maximum creativity.”
“I look at what Mark Millar does and I’m very inspired,” Hudlin said.
Milestone 2.0 isn’t something that developed overnight — the origins date back to 2011. In February of that month, Hudlin organized a launch party at Golden Apple in Los Angeles for his website “Reggie’s World,” an online storefront to purchase comics by himself and like-minded creators. Dwayne McDuffie, shortly following the release of the “All-Star Superman” animated adaptation that he wrote, was scheduled to appear at the event, along with Hudlin, Cowan, Rashida Jones, Ziggy Marley and more.
“Dwayne was kind of the unofficial godfather, because he was so helpful to so many up and coming comic book people, like myself,” Hudlin said, citing McDuffie long with Cowan and Kyle Baker — as his three mentors in comics.
As comics fans know well, McDuffie tragically passed away at age 49, a day before his scheduled appearance at Golden Apple. The launch party turned into an ersatz memorial for the prolific writer, who beyond his Milestone work was a frequent contributor to both Marvel and DC’s superhero lore, along with numerous credits in animation.
“It was supposed to go from 7 to 9,” Hudlin said of the event. “It ended up starting at 6. As soon as I got there, there was this mob around the block. And it went to about 11 o’clock. It just kept going and going. At a certain point, it seemed like every Black creator on the west coast was in the room. We all gave some remarks about Dwayne. It was a celebration, it was sad, it was joyous, it was all these things.”
“Golden Apple had ordered all these extra books for the event,” Hudlin continued. “By the end of the night, the stocks were bare. you could not find a copy of ‘Black Panther,’ or any Black character. The place was just stripped.”
A couple of weeks later, many of the same names assembled at a more traditional memorial for McDuffie, with Hudlin, Cowan and Dingle all in attendance.
“After the event, Derek goes to Dennis and myself and says, ‘It’s been too long. We have to restart Milestone,'” Hudlin related. “Basically, at that moment, that was it. Milestone had reformed. Now, there was two years of legal paperwork after that. But that didn’t matter. The moment was right then. It was the call to arms. We’ve got to do this. There was nothing to say.”
Despite being an integral part of this new venture, Hudlin wasn’t a part of the original Milestone Media. His background is primarily in film and TV, having directed features including “House Party” and “Saturday Night Live” spinoff “The Ladies Man,” plus episodes of sitcoms like “Modern Family” and “The Office.” His first published comic book work was co-writing the 2004 original graphic novel “Birth of a Nation,” followed by a run on “Black Panther” for Marvel that started a year later.
Art from “Icon,” one of the flagship books of the original Milestone. Cowan and Hudlin say they’re not going to coast on nostalgia, but will revive existing characters.
That doesn’t mean that Milestone was off Hudlin’s radar — or vice versa. As a lifelong comics fan, Hudlin was inspired by the work the company was doing, and Cowan said they long wanted to work with the writer/director.
“To me, there were a couple of really important things about Milestone,” Hudlin said. “First, the craftsmanship was excellent. The second thing, they kind of fulfilled what I thought their mission was: To make real comic books that really capture the complexities of Black life. There’s not one kind of Black person in those books. There are all kinds of Black people in those books; capturing all of those nuances, subtleties and complexities. That’s what made the line so fantastic.”
“We wanted him to join,” Cowan said of Hudlin. “From before we did our first comic book, we wanted Reggie to join. We were after him to join. We’ve always considered him part of the family.”
“I just thought, I’ve only made one movie, I should probably get this movie thing down a little bit before I overextend myself,” Hudlin added with a laugh.
There’s still a lot to be unveiled of the new Milestone Media, but Hudlin and Cowan both made one thing clear: While the old characters will be a part of it, they won’t be the only part of it, as they’re looking to also aggressively pursue new ideas and concepts, to develop across multiple platforms. And even the familiar characters may not be so familiar.
“We’re not just going to be a legacy company,” Hudlin said. “Yes, there were some fantastic creations made, and we’re going to certainly revive those characters. But we’re not just going to revive them. We’re going to make them relevant for this generation.”
“We’re not in the nostalgia business,” Cowan added. “We feel, if anyone wants to read those books, those books exist. You can go out and find those books and read them. If you love those characters as they were then, those characters exist as they were then. But in order to reintroduce them, there’s going to be some necessary adjustments made to these iconic characters.”
In the Washington Post article announcing Milestone 2.0, this July’s installment of the annual Comic-Con International in San Diego was named as a possible venue for debuting more of what Hudlin, Cowan and Dingle have in the works. Whether or not a new comic book or the live-action “Static Shock” will be the first product released to the public isn’t yet clear, but Milestone is aiming to be a lot of different things in a lot of different places, while building off of the legacy and ideals of the original company.
“We have so many new ideas, some of which might be right for comics, for television, for movies, for online,” Hudlin said. “We’re going to be a lot of things. That’s who we are. We are a new company with this fantastic legacy behind us.”
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