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Shazam!, one of the 2019 entries in Warner Bros’ DC Cinematic Universe slate, has had a tentative date of April 5, 2019 attached to it for a few months now. It seemed like an awfully long time away to have Dwayne Johnson tied up into something that won’t see release for years.

While nothing has officially changed on that front, Johnson himself hinted to MTV that perhaps we may see Shazam! sooner than we think:

Well, you know, it may happen a little earlier than what has been predicted. The script is coming in, it’s great, the support from the studio has been great, and it’s just a great opportunity especially with Black Adam where you can take a guy who starts off as a bad guy, turns into an anti-hero, we can make him vicious, a little bit of winking charm.

Given that Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad are both locked in, and Wonder Woman begins shooting this Fall, it’s doubtful that Shazam! can get moved up too far ahead. This goes doubly so for 2017 with both Wonder Woman and Justice League Part 1 headed for release that year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Shazam! take over The Flash‘s spot in the 2018 schedule though. With not even a screenwriter announced for the latter as of yet, that might be the most likely development.

While Marvel Studios is making news of fairly unprecedented proportions, its most likely challenger for king of the Superhero Movie mountain, Warner Bros, has been quiet in recent weeks.

Sure, we know that after a three year long absence from the big screen, the studio will be rolling out their two big universe establishing properties in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad in 2016, but what can we expect after that? Other than titles, a few stars, and a director; details are relatively slim.

Dwayne Johnson, star of Shazam! (one of the later films of the DC Comics-based slate), was able to shed a little light on his character, Black Adam, in a recent interview with Total Film (via GamesRadar):

I think Black Adam is going to grow into becoming an anti-hero…It’s all written within the spirit of respecting and paying homage to the comics. As we know, Black Adam started out as a slave. When he’s given the powers, he utilized them. Then in the wake of his powers, tragedy strikes, which turns his sentiment and tone in terms of psychology.

Not surprisingly, it sounds as though scriptwriter Darren Lemke (Jack the Giant Slayer) is taking some cues from the popular Geoff Johns version of the character.

But what about the actual in-universe continuity between Shazam! and the rest of the DC films? There had been some concern that, since New Line was co-producing, Billy Batson’s first big screen adventure in over 70 years might not even take place in the same universe as Zack Snyder‘s Justice League. Johnson addressed this as well:

It was all agreed that the worlds are all interconnected… One day you will see Black Adam go at it with Superman or Batman or any of the DC characters. But that said, there’s a great independence to Black Adam from the DC world, allowing us to inject, not only viciousness, but also winking humour.

Shazam! is scheduled to open on April 5, 2019.

Tweet

“Kneel at his feet or get crushed by his boot.” My honor to become.. #BlackAdam #TheAntiHero #DCComics pic.twitter.com/Qk55eNf3R7

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) September 3, 2014

For months, nay years, The Rock, Duane Johnson, has been hinting that he would love to play either Shazam or Black Adam in a not-really-announced-but-we-kinda-know-they-are-going-to-do-it Shazam movie. I guess Hercules just wasn’t enough for him, movie-wise. And now via Twitter, he announced that it’s Black Adam, an older version of Shazam from the days when Egypt was the center of civilization. Black Adam is often a villain these days but he’s a classic anti-hero.

Here’s a fan-made version of Johnson as Black Adam that seems fairly representative.

Still known where and or when Black Adam will debut in the DC Cinematic universe — maybe the Bats v Supes pre JLA launch?

Also, one more thing. If you’re going to make a Shazam movie—a Shazam Movie WITH THE ROCK IN IT—good luck not having any humor in it, Warner Bros.

By David Nieves
If you’re a lifer, comics have always been the cool thing. Certain people personify what’s “out there” and distinct about comics more so than any other industry; and at the very top of that list is Bone creator Jeff Smith. On SDCC Saturday afternoon, moderated by his friend Tom Spurgeon(The Comics Reporter), Jeff talked about all things Jeff Smith during his spotlight panel.

Opening with the news from Scholastic, Bone vol 1 will see a special Scholastic Anniversary edition of the book with colors and an eight page poem about the Rat Creatures alongside a whole bunch of pinups from Scholastic artists like Kate Beaton. Scholastic is set to release it in the Spring of next year.

You could tell by Jeff’s laid back demeanor and rocking back and forth in his seat that Tom held the opening talk with Jeff as if they were just having lunch together looking over comic books.  Jeff enlightened his buddy, along with the room 9 audience in attendance, about off-the-wall character design, getting older in comics, and meeting a larger age ranges of fans.

Jeff praised about the Rasl sculpture that was at his booth. A group of art students 3D built it for him, they took the little hints in the darkness of the engines to build something that resembles a Tesla Coil and an alternating engine. Seeing the final piece astonished Smith because he himself never knew what the inside of the engines never looked like because they were always draped in shadows, only showing hints of what was inside.

Smith was asked if SDCC was a better place to present your projects than when he started? “it’s a very different landscape then when I came into it. In 1991 there was only two kinds of comics; the mainstream Marvel and DC, then there were the alternative comics,” Smith explained. He defended the extravaganza known as Comic-Con for its potential to attract new readers.

His latest work, TUKI, is out first digitally with a print version available shortly after. What’s great about the print version is that it’s still read horizontally true to its digital roots. Unlike other digital to print books that have to crop pages in awkward ways. Jeff took the simple notion of keeping things the way they were meant to read.

One question he hears a lot was asked during this panel. Other company owned characters he’d like to do?
DC Comics said he could come do the second half of Shazam and the Monster Society of Evil whenever he wants but has no plans to do so in the near future. Unless he gets, “really bored or really broke.” The Rocket Raccoon 1 cover was also shown and he chalked that one up to it simply being, “up his alley.”

A fan asked Jeff, “when did he decide to make Bone more epic?
According to the cartoonist, the moment happened organically when he decided to turn the jokes it was based on into story. Particularly the stories he liked such as the works of Tolkien. It was a time where he couldn’t hide behind the Donald Duck style comics purely laced with jokes and running gags. In his words, “he had to come out.”

The last question was about how Smith transitioned Bone from college comic strip to real comic book. He had opportunities to bring bone to publishers but it would have required him changing or eliminating things like the Rat Creatures and selling his copyright. Before that time he’d never been inside a comic book store and during his first time inside one, saw that there were people self-publishing their own comics. It gave him the epiphany to create his own company and all the stories he’s done in his career.

With that the panel came to an end. You can listen to the full spotlight below (note: delay at beginning starts at 0:09) full of all Smith’s quips and insights about the industry. You can find Rasl, Tuki, and all things Bone on his website Boneville.com

by Brandon Schatz

Do you like hearing movie stars talk in circles around some Non-Disclosure Agreements? Well then do we have a video for you.

For those who don’t feel like clicking and dealing with a few minutes of talking, the news is this: Dwayne ‘The Rock” Johnson has been talking with DC for quite a while and the two sides have been trying to get him into their movie universe for quite some time. A man who looks like Johnson’s distinct polar opposite asks him what character he might want to play in the DC universe. Johnson blushes and scuffs his toe on the ground and tells the interviewer that DC has him locked to be a character in one of their movies, and that there will be an announcement coming soon. Then he says the character will have “the power of Superman” and that the interviewer should just “say the word”, causing folks to freak out about him being Shazam.

As things stand, Shazam is one of the movies Nikki Finke rumoured to be announced at the San Diego Comic Con this week – and if that’s the case, The Rock would be a good pick to fill the character’s shoes. That said, take this with a grain of salt. Even things that are set in stone tend to erode on the odd occasion. Regardless, keep an eye on the SDCC announcements for more as we go through the week.

New app SoundTracking (allows users to build the soundtrack of their lives by selecting tracks, adding images, and tagging them with locations. Users can then share their soundtracks on Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare. Meanwhile Shazam,... Read the rest of this post

Tony Hawk hosts (the first-ever sports awards show for kids on Cartoon Network, the Hall Of Game awards. The Feb. 25 airing is the result of a partnership between the kids' net, Turner Sports, and "Sports Illustrated Kids" magazine, which brings the... Read the rest of this post

In the first of what we hope are many journalistic coups, The Indubitable Dweeb has managed to land an interview with the erstwhile most-wanted-man-in-America, accused Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad. We asked some tough questions. He gave some surprising answers. No matter what you think of miranda rights and the role of bloggers in the reporting of terrorism, you’ll want to read this fascinating journey into the mind of a man who a few days before was just another immigrant, another face in the crowd.

ID: Let’s start with your name. Faisal Shahzad. That’s not a name most Americans are familiar with, or certainly comfortable with. Is there something else we can call you? A nickname? Anything like that?

FS: Sure, sure. A lot of people, they call me Fievel.

ID: Like the cartoon mouse?

FS: Exactly! An American Tail. It’s a funny story actually. Back in Pakistan, when I was a kid, my sister and I, we use to love to sing together. Duets, you know? There was a talent show at the local mosque and we signed up to do Close My Eyes Forever, which is a song by Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne.

ID: We’re familiar with the song.

FS: Showstopper, right? Anyhoo, the night before the talent show, we see this movie. This cartoon.  And there’s this song. Somewhere Out There. It’s sung by cartoon mice and it’s out of tune and it’s almost like a bad Andrew Lloyd Webber ballad, but damn it, it works. I’m telling you, it absolutely breaks your heart. So we ditched the ripped jeans and teased hair which, come to think of it, weren’t exactly Taliban-friendly, and we sported some rags and mouse ears and sang Somewhere Out There. And we killed. Just blew the beards right off the crowd. The next morning, people started calling me Fievel. “Keep wishing on that same bright star, Fievel!” That sort of thing. A few years later, I went through a Gomer Pyle phase, I tried to convince people to call me Shazam!, but it never took. It was Fievel then. It’s still Fievel now.

ID: You are aware that Fievel is Jewish, aren’t you?

FS (after a long pause): But he is a mouse?

ID: Yes. A Russian Jewish mouse. His last name is Mousekewitz.

FS: No. You’re wrong. I have the blu-ray at home. I watch it once a year. I’m pretty sure he’s Chechen or something.

ID: Fair enough. You’re entitled to your interpretation. In any case, do you find yourself relating to Fievel’s story.

FS: You know, I do. I was an immigrant to America, just like him. I’m not particularly fond of cats, just like him. There are a lot of coincidences between our stories.

ID: Did Fievel ever try to blow up Times Square?

FS: Well, no…but that doesn’t mean he didn’t want to. It’s never stated explicitly, but I’ve always assumed that sometime before he reached America, Fievel travelled to Pakistan for some training in explosives. There’s a scene where he unleashes the

With more and more magazine, publishing and TV execs exploring the potential of creating interactive, social apps for the iPad, we thought we'd point to a few of those getting an early start for our latest Ypulse Toolbox. Feel free to add more in... Read the rest of this post

MySpace launches a social calendar (with concert listings, links to buy tix and more features coming soon. TechCrunch calls the revamped MySpace Events platform "an elegant weaving of products that plays to a core strength of MySpace." Watch this... Read the rest of this post

Today's second Ypulse Youth Advisory Board post is from our resident techophile Michael Hayball on the apps he loves and why. Though the brand of smartphone (Google's Android vs Apple's iPhone) might put him in the minority, his apps of choice and... Read the rest of this post

I strongly encourage you all to visit Shazam's blog and read the two posts from Sunday, 9/28.

Enough said.

Hello from New York, comic fans!! I’m home on the East Coast, visiting the fam for the holiday. So - comics!

Picked up a few things this week that I’m already reading - Trinity, Echo - and there were some interesting new things as well. First, there’s Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam, an all ages book by Mike Kunkel. Kunkel wrote a charming book a few years ago, Hero Bear and the Kid, but like many self-published projects, it didn’t last. The good news is someone at Marvel was smart enough to hire the guy and we get this book. Also new this week, Neil Gaiman’s graphic novelization of Coraline with art by P. Craig Russel. And, for you Buffy/Joss fans, Whedon returns to this week with issue #16 of season 8.

As long as I’m in New York, I went over to the Met to see the “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy” exhibit, which I have to say was disappointing. Not so much from a fashion standpoint - I love Mugler and Galliano and McQueen, but it felt like Superheroes as a theme was an excuse to show rubberized clothes. What I found coolest was the stuff for sale in conjunction with the show: there was a pop up history of Marvel comics, a comic book guide to NYC and cool op pop t-shirts.

Finally, I need to ask how you all feel about your comic shops. I am so spoiled by Golden Apple and never even realized it. It’s light and bright and well organized, and the staff is friendly. If they’re out of something, which they rarely are, they’ll re-order or find it for you. I went to a store today in Manhattan on the Upper East Side - I don’t want to slam anyone by name, but they’re on the second floor of a pet shop - and had a really unpleasant experience that reminds me why many girls don’t read comics. The store is small and cramped - okay NY real estate is expensive - and the owner was smoking the whole time I was there. I went by at about 11.30am and they were closed while they stocked today’s books. Okay…So, I came back a couple hours later to find they had sold out of most of what I had planned to buy, once I could locate where the books would have been. They explained that they only ordered what they knew their loyal customers would buy, but that I should order from them in the future. Why would I do that? I live in LA and they made me feel very unwelcome. And there was a creepy guy kinda following me around. Yuk.

How’s your comic book store? Any weird experiences? Good ones? Bad? Purple?

© deborah c johnson 2008
www.deb-johnson.com

Anette Heiberg
www.anetteheiberg.com