Comic Book News & Resources

Media Release -- With the Dredd film, starring Karl Urban, set to debut later this year, two of the world's biggest comic book writers are brought together to send the world's most famous lawman on a mission to find God!

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Media Release -- BrickJournal #17 (84 full-color pages, $8.95), the magazine for LEGO enthusiasts, launches a special SPACE WAR issue, as we hurtle into hostile territory, LEGO-style! There's a lesson in starfighter building by Peter Reid, a look at why Space Marines are so popular by Mark Stafford, and a trip behind the scenes of Alien Conquest, the new LEGO theme that hit the shelves earlier this year! Plus, there's our regular column on minifigure customization, building tips, event reports, our step-by-step "You Can Build It" instructions, and much more, so set your course for BrickJournal! Edited by Joe Meno.

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Warner Bros.’ ill-fated adaptation of "Akira" hits another wall as the Vancouver production offices shut down while WB looks at casting and budgetary issues. SPINOFF has details.

With a new arc starting in "Justice League" #7, Geoff Johns and Gene Ha discuss team dynamics in the current DCU, hint at a new villain who attacks the core of the characters and discuss more about the industry's #1 title.

By Marc Strom

Scott Porter loves the X-Men. Even before landing the gig of voicing Cyclops in the English-language version of their anime, Porter was a devoted Marvel and X-Men fan.

Lending his strong vocal talents to the cast of "X-Men" and giving Cyclops an authoritative presence, Porter helped bring the team's anime adventure to life for English-speaking audiences. Now, with the finale airing tomorrow, January 6 at 11:00 p.m. ET on G4, Marvel.com spoke with Porter about the series and his love for all things Marvel.

Marvel.com: I know you’re a big Marvel and comics fan, so what was your first reaction when you heard you got the role of Cyclops in the "X-Men" anime? Has your view of the character changed since your work on the show?

Scott Porter, the voice of Cyclops in "X-Men"

Scott Porter: I was driving down the road on the way home from work when [Head of Marvel Television] Jeph Loeb called and asked if I'd be interested in playing Cyclops. I pulled over and asked him if he was kidding me. True story. Now, I was never really a huge Cyclops fan. I always found him to be a bit of a stick in the mud and too much of a goody-goody to really be interesting to me. I've always been a fan of the characters who have yet to reach their full potential for one reason or another, who are overshadowed and sometimes don't realize how powerful they are. Iceman and Havok really spoke to me for ages and were my favorites, so I really connected with the other Summers brother.  
That being said, once I got into Cyke and really started putting in my research, I found him to be way more interesting than I had before. He's always had responsibility thrust upon him, and he's always responded by being a leader. Not a perfect leader mind you, but someone who has the courage to step up and take that role regardless. Not a lot of people can do that, but Scott did time and time again. He's suffered loss after loss with his parents and with Jean and with Nathan, and somehow has always pulled it together and stood tall. He's led a ragtag group of oppressed outsiders without flinching.
The other aspect of him that I really began to appreciate is just why he is always so in control. What forces him to always check himself. It's his power. His raw power, his ability to level towns if he wanted to. He is dangerous and he has to be in control or people get hurt.
So yeah, I'd say my opinion of him has changed.

Cyclops in "X-Men"

Marvel.com: Were there any challenges to voicing Cyclops?

Scott Porter: The challenge with Cyke in this series was not to allow him to wallow in his self-pity too much. He can often be a bit emo in shows like this, especially starting where the anime began, right at the end of Jean's Dark Phoenix saga. I think we found a good mix and a good arc for him during this series; we figured out how to bring him out of that darkness and make him a leader again.
The other challenge was just that--making him sound authoritative, making him sound like a leader. You can't do the typical moves of giving him a gruff tone like a lot of cartoon leaders have because Wolvie is there doing that. We had to find a nice pitch for him. That was fun.

Marvel.com: Apart from some work on "Robot Chicken," I believe this was your first voice over role--what was the experience like overall?

Scott Porter: This was my first real voice over work outside of "Robot Chicken" and the video game "X-Men: Destiny." I did the game and the cartoon concurrently and man, are they two different worlds, both of which are entirely different than acting on screen or on stage. You have to really find yourself, and it's a struggle to make it real with all of the action involved in the genre of this show.

Cyclops in "X-Men"

The really tricky thing that folks have to understand about this particular show is that it was already produced, voiced, and aired in Japanese. So all the "lip flaps," when the character is opening and closing his mouth, was built for an entirely different language. It was a real adventure not only trying to translate the dialogue to English but also doing it in a way that fit the art. We wrote and re-wrote a ton of lines to try and get it right.
To be completely honest, I think you can feel a little stiffness in my voice in the game and the anime early on, but I think we really started to find something great as we went along. I can't wait to get another crack at it.
Marvel.com: As a fan, what was your favorite part about the series?

Scott Porter: Figuring out the identity of the main villain was one of my favorite moments. The back and forth with Wolverine throughout the series was another. That is just classic X-Men right there. And the teasers at the end of the episodes of all the mutants outside of our show...I'd love to see some of those characters anime'd up.
Marvel.com: What are some of your personal favorite X-Men stories?

Cyclops and Jean Grey in "X-Men"

Scott Porter: Wow. Too many to count. The first Nimrod saga was my first introduction to the X-World. Watching Harry Leland die made this universe so dangerous to me that it grabbed me immediately. This wasn't a book where no one bit it or where everyone was safe, and it intrigued me. Peter David's X-Factor runs--both the '90s and current--are some of the best X-books ever. His grasp on relationships is untouched. "Days of Future Past" and the "Dark Phoenix Saga" go without saying. Inferno was a blast. I read that as a kid and it was my favorite of that '80s period. I'm really enjoying Regenesis, it got me back in on the main X-books after being away for a bit and I'm enjoying the Schism stuff.
Marvel.com: What other Marvel heroes/series are you a fan of right now?

Scott Porter: Other characters I'm really into? I love the Guardians of the Galaxy and all of the books that came out of Annihilation. The galactic scale books are great for me. SECRET WARRIORS was a book I really enjoyed. Bring back NEXTWave! Please?
I'm always a Hawkeye guy, I love Iron Fist, and I've loved Hercules for the past few years. Really love seeing Alpha Flight in most of their forms, and I tend to follow [writer] Greg Pak around from book to book.

Marvel.com: If you could voice any other character in the Marvel Universe, who would it be?

Scott Porter: Wow. I'd go with Iceman, Human Torch, Hawkeye, Iron Fist, Madrox, or Quicksilver...I don't think I can choose just one. Give me a call and I'll do ‘em all.

Tune in to the "X-Men" finale tomorrow, January 6 at 11:00 p.m. ET on G4 to see the conclusion of Cyclops' anime saga!

Courtesy of Dark Horse, CBR presents exclusive previews of new comics hitting stores Wednesday, January 25, including "King Conan: The Phoenix on the Sword" #1, "Usagi Yojimbo" #143 and more.

By Jim Beard

“And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born—to fight the foes no single super hero could withstand!”

Each week Marvel.com will present a different column focusing on the one and only Avengers. From line-ups to costumes to villains to classic stories and beyond, we’ve got you covered on the history of Marvel’s most prolific team of heroes!

So let the call go out: Avengers Assemble!

By the time of the storyline known as “The Crossing”—set to be collected later this year in an Omnibus edition—the Avengers’ ranks began to fluctuate once more. After the departure of Sersi and The Black Knight, it essentially fell to Hercules, Crystal, Quicksilver, The Vision and Hank Pym to carry on the legacy of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Writer Bob Harras’ last hurrah on the title from AVENGERS #390 to #395 did provide the team with a bit more meat in the form of a returned Hawkeye and a strangely-mutated Wasp, but it would fall to another legendary writer to really beef up the soup before they all fell before the power of Onslaught.

“The Crossing” saw Tony Stark, driven half-mad by years of secret manipulation by Kang the Conqueror, embark on a killing spree throughout Avengers Mansion and brought about some serious change to the team. Tony sacrificed himself to save everyone from Kang and when the dust cleared, a new Iron Man emerged in the form of his teenage self from an alternate dimension.

Teen Tony joined with a returned Captain America and Thor plus the regular crew of Quicksilver, Wasp and Giant-Man to see what they could see in AVENGERS #396. Their first foes to vanquish called themselves the new Zodiac, but success didn’t seem to be written in the stars for them.

By AVENGERS #397, the team swelled to include The Vision, Black Widow, The Swordsman, Hawkeye, The Scarlet Witch and a curious addition: Madame Masque.

To be fair, the real Guilietta Nefaria had nothing to fear from this Masque, a “bio-duplicate” that ranked as an Avenger just long enough to help them against The Leader in AVENGERS #397and the alien Shi’ar in AVENGERS #398.

Writer Mark Waid jumped onboard for the big anniversary issue, AVENGERS #400. He crafted a battle royale pitting the Avengers’ first adversary, Loki, against Quicksilver, Crystal, The Scarlet Witch, The Vision, Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor, Giant-Man, The Wasp and Black Widow.

AVENGERS #401 brought about the group’s first encounter with Onslaught, a double-trouble threat that sprang from the combined psyches of the villainous Magneto and the X-Men’s Charles Xavier.

The very next issue, AVENGERS #402, signaled the end of the line for the team and their long-standing title, as their clash with Onslaught would lead them directly into a new book, a new membership and a whole new universe…

Grant Morrison's "Action Comics" #5 gets 4 stars from Greg McElhatton, who calls the Andy Kubert-illustrated origin story "fresh and different, but in a way that (theoretically) won't offend long-time readers."