The wait for the new Guillermo Del Toro produced horror movie, Antlers, may be longer than expected thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the film’s Comic-Con@Home panel helped to take the edge off, if only a little. Before the panel got started in earnest with both Del Toro and director Scott Cooper, fans were treated to a behind-the-scenes featurette that dug deep into the mythology and creation of the movie’s monstrous antagonist: The mythological Wendigo.
While the most prominent representation of a “Wendigo” in pop culture may be the skeletal (and entirely metaphorical) creature in NBC’s Hannibal, the actual folklore behind the creature reaches much deeper. Born from Native American history, Wendigos are allegorical spirits that “come to reconcile what people are doing incorrectly,” First Nations consultant Chris Eyre explains in the video. Take a look at the featurette–and the complete panel–bellow.
“All this rage, all this abuse, incarnates. It’s like an invocation for this creature,” Del Toro added. “It’s truly powerful, what we do to nature, what we do to each other. It is a metaphor made flesh.”
Keanu Reeves joined director Francis Lawrence and producer Akiva Goldsman at Comic-Con@Home today to look back at the original live-action version of the Hellblazer himself for Constantine’s 15th anniversary. It’s hard to believe it’s been 15 years since the DC character was first realized in live-action — long before the DCEU was even a twinkle in Warner Bros. execs’ eyes. The reunion panel was a lot of fun, with Reeves in top “the world loves you, Keanu” form. Several interesting tidbits were revealed during the session, including how the team talked a lot about making a sequel at one time.
Read on for the highlights from the Constantine panel, which was hosted and organized by Collider.com‘s editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub. Watch the Constantine reunion panel in its entirety below:
Goldsman recalled that during the making of the 2005 film a potential sequel was frequently discussed.
“Yes, oh my God, yes,” he said. “[It] endlessly came up. Boy, we wanted to. We wanted to make a hard R [rated] sequel, we wanted to … I think we could probably make it tomorrow. Yes, we tried a lot of different ways to find [a way]. It was always, to the studios who made it, which was Village Roadshow and Warner Bros., a little bit of a feathered fish.”
Goldsman feels the studio didn’t quite know what to make of the film’s “oddness.”
“I do think [that] is one of the most lovely things about the film, the way it’s equally comfortable in a character scene between Keanu and [co-star] Rachel [Weisz] as it is with demons flying, hurling themselves at a man who’s going to light his fist on fire and expel them,” he continued. “It’s odd, right? It’s not really action-packed. It just has a bunch of action. And this movie isn’t exactly a thing, it’s kind of a few things, which is what I think is beautiful about it. Those seem to get harder and harder to make. And even then, as much as we wanted to, and we’ve talked about it and we’ve had ideas… [sighs] I like that one where he wakes up in a cell and he has to identify the prisoner, that was Frank’s idea, remember? And it was Jesus! … Yeah, we talked about it!”
Lawrence, who made his feature directing debut on Constantine, said that the creative team thought about a potential sequel or sequels more than the studio did. He thinks they always “loved it” more than the studio did, but the director is gratified by what he sees as an ever-increasing fanbase for the film in the years since it was released.
“You know, the movie did fairly well,” said Lawrence. “And this was also still a time when people sold DVDs, and so I think it did decently at the time. But it wasn’t a knock-out success, and it also wasn’t really sort of critically acclaimed by any means at the time. I mean, the kind of cool thing for me about this movie is just in the 15 years since it released, every time I do a movie and go out and travel the world and do junkets, I am signing Constantine DVDs more than any other movie that I’ve done. Over the years, different countries… people really, really love this movie. And I think that it’s found a sort of a new life in a weird way.”
Could Keanu Have Played a Blond, British Constantine?
The character from the comics is of course blond and British, which caused some small amount of controversy in fandom when the distinctly brunette and American Keanu Reeves was cast in the role for the movie. When asked during the panel whether or not there were discussions about Reeves maybe going with the blond hair and a British accent for Constantine, his answer was simple.
“No, no,” he smiled, without elaborating further.
Lawrence confirmed that they never even discussed the matter.
“And then I remember in costumes too the one other big change for the Constantine character was the coat,” said the director. “And we did try the sort of Constantine coat and wound up going with the black one, which is different from the one in the comics and the graphic novels. We wanted to do what was right for what we were doing.”
Constantine the Movie’s Origins… With Nicolas Cage
Goldsman discussed how this was the project that helped him to break into producing. There had been a script “laying around that was really compelling,” and so a package was put together with Tarsem Singh (The Cell, Immortals) as director and Nicolas Cage as star. Prep on the movie started, and then it stopped and then it “went to sleep for a while.” Cage’s involvement with the project ended when Singh parted ways with the studio.
Keanu Reeves impersonates the film going “to sleep for a while.”
“And surely but slowly, the idea was durable enough — like any interesting scripts — to outlive whatever struggles it had,” he continued. “And there was this video director who was really something.”
He’s referring, of course, to Lawrence, who got his start as a director making music videos. By 2002, Reeves was also attached to the project, although he recalls that he wasn’t familiar with the character at the time.
“I hadn’t read Hellblazer or seen any of the [creator] Alan Moore stuff in Swamp Thing,” he said. “So I didn’t know the character.”
The group laughed about how Reeves was “one of the gauntlets” that Lawrence had to pass to get the job on Constantine. Their meeting happened just days after Reeves had returned to the U.S. from Australia, where he had been shooting the Matrix sequels.
“I really loved the script,” continued Reeves. “And then I did some research on the character and I was, not hesitant, but I’m not English and I’m not blond. And the character is, and so I had to reconcile that, and part of that was what is the base of the character. What could I bring to the character? Why even do it? And it’s such a beautiful character, this kind of humanitarian cynic. Tired, world-weary, tired of all the rules and morals and ethics and angels and demons, but still a part of it. And I loved his sense of humor.”
And Nic Cage got to play Ghost Rider a few years later anyway.
Other DC or Vertigo Characters
The team was asked during the panel whether or not other DC or Vertigo characters were ever considered. Vertigo Comics, of course, was DC’s long-running imprint of adult-leaning titles that often had a more supernatural slant to them. Constantine was a key part of Vertigo back in the day. But Reeves jokingly took exception to this question.
“Wait, you got Midnite, you got Chas!” he smiled. “What are you talking about?”
Djimon Hounsou played Papa Midnite, a Hellblazer supporting character, and Shia LaBeouf played Constantine sidekick Chas Kramer in the film. But today’s superhero films obviously are often focused on world-building and shared universes, a concept that was not prevalent on the big screen in 2005. Lawrence said that for as long as he was on the project, there was never any talk about bringing in other familiar faces.
“The focus was on Constantine and Constantine’s world,” said the director. “So all the characters that surround him, but not weaving in the other kind of classic DC heroes.”
Best Wrap Gift Ever
At one point during the panel, Lawrence whipped out the Holy Shotgun prop from the film, much to Reeves’ delight. It turns out it was a wrap gift from Reeves to his director, and he actually had the props department make a replica of the piece from the shoot.
Made of bronze, the gun weighs “probably 35 pounds.” Unfortunately, when asked if he has the original, Reeves said he doesn’t. Which sounds like the perfect reason to finally make Constantine 2…
Legendary television host Regis Philbin has died at the age of 88.
Philbin passed away on July 24, 2020, and his family gave a statement to People;
“We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved Regis Philbin passed away last night of natural causes, one month shy of his 89th birthday. His family and friends are forever grateful for the time we got to spend with him – for his warmth, his legendary sense of humor, and his singular ability to make every day into something worth talking about. We thank his fans and admirers for their incredible support over his 60-year career and ask for privacy as we mourn his loss.”
Philbin made his big break in 1988 as one of the hosts of Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee alongside Kathie Lee Gifford. In 2001, the show became Live! with Regis and Kelly, and Philbin co-starred with Kelly Ripa.
He left the show in 2011 after 23 years on-air and was replaced by former New York Giants star Michael Strahan.
Philbin was also the original host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? from 1999 to 2002, and also appeared on Million Dollar Password, the first season of America’s Got Talent, and was a reoccurring co-host on Rachael Ray.
Born on August 25, 1931, Philbin was raised in the Bronx and graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School in 1949 and earned a sociology degree in 1953 from the University of Notre Dame.
He also served in the Navy, and made his first appearance in front of the camera in 1961 with The Regis Philbin Show, a local talk show in San Diego.
His accolades include winning a Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding talk show host for Live! in 2001 and 2011, and one for being an outstanding game show host for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Furthermore, he received his Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2003 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daytime Emmy Awards in 2008.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Joy Philbin, and his daughters J.J., Joanna, and Amy. His first wife was Catherine Faylen and they had a son, Daniel Philbin, who passed away in 2014.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
The winners of the 2020 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards have been revealed. Essentially the comic book industry equivalent of the Oscars, the ceremony was again held (albeit virtually) during Comic-Con, this year hosted by actor Phil LaMarr.
G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward’s Invisible Kingdom was among the big winners this year, taking home awards for Best New Series and Best Painter. Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell’s graphic novel Laura Dean Is Breaking Up with Me also won big, taking home the awards for Best Publication for Teens, Best Writer (with Tamaki also being recognized for her work on Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass and Archie) and Best Penciller/Inker.
David Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Greene won Best Continuing Series. George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steve Scott and Harmony Becker’s graphic novel They Called Us Enemy won Best Reality-Based Work (it also won IGN’s Best Original Graphic Novel of 2019). And the massively popular Guts by Raina Telgemeier won Best Publication for Kids and Best Writer/Artist.
It was also a very noteworthy year in terms of creators being inducted into the Eisners Hall of Fame. Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson was among those honored, along with Nell Brinkley (The Brinkley Girls), E. Simms Campbell (Cuties), Alison Bechdel (Fun Home), Howard Cruse (Stuck Rubber Baby), Louise Simonson (X-Factor), Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo) and Comics Buyer’s Guide creators Don and Maggie Thompson.
Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations, by Mira Jacob (One World/Random House)
Grass, by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, translation by Janet Hong (Drawn & Quarterly)
Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos, by Lucy Knisley (First Second/Macmillan)
Moonbound: Apollo 11 and the Dream of Spaceflight, by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm (Hill & Wang)
My Solo Exchange Diary, vol. 2 (sequel to My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness), by Nagata Kabi, translation by Jocelyne Allen (Seven Seas)
They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker (Top Shelf)
Best Graphic Album—New
Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden (First Second/Macmillan)
Bezimena, by Nina Bunjevac (Fantagraphics)
BTTM FDRS, by Ezra Claytan Daniels and Ben Passmore (Fantagraphics)
Life on the Moon, by Robert Grossman (Yoe Books/IDW)
New World, by David Jesus Vignolli (Archaia/BOOM!)
Reincarnation Stories, by Kim Deitch (Fantagraphics)
Best Graphic Album—Reprint
Bad Weekend by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)
Clyde Fans, by Seth (Drawn & Quarterly)
Cover, vol. 1, by Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack (DC/Jinxworld)
Glenn Ganges: The River at Night, by Kevin Huizenga (Drawn & Quarterly)
LaGuardia, by Nnedi Okorafor and Tana Ford (Berger Books/Dark Horse)
Rusty Brown, by Chris Ware (Pantheon)
Best Adaptation from Another Medium
Giraffes on Horseback Salad: Salvador Dali, the Marx Brothers, and the Strangest Movie Never Made, by Josh Frank, Tim Hedecker, and Manuela Pertega (Quirk Books)
The Giver, by Lois Lowry and P. Craig Russell, (HMH Books for Young Readers)
The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel, by Margaret Atwood, adapted by Renee Nault (Nan A. Talese)
HP Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness, vols. 1–2, adapted by Gou Tanabe, translation by Zack Davisson (Dark Horse Manga)
The Seventh Voyage, by Stanislaw Lem, adapted by Jon Muth, translation by Michael Kandel (Scholastic Graphix)
Snow, Glass, Apples, by Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran (Dark Horse Books)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material
Diabolical Summer, by Thierry Smolderen and Alexandre Clerisse, translation by Edward Gauvin (IDW)
Gramercy Park, by Timothée de Fombelle and Christian Cailleaux, translation by Edward Gauvin (EuroComics/IDW)
The House, by Paco Roca, translation by Andrea Rosenberg (Fantagraphics)
Maggy Garrisson, by Lewis Trondheim and Stéphane Oiry, translation by Emma Wilson (SelfMadeHero)
Stay, by Lewis Trondheim and Hubert Chevillard, translation by Mike Kennedy (Magnetic Press)
Wrath of Fantômas, by Olivier Bouquet and Julie Rocheleau, translation by Edward Gauvin (Titan)
Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia (tie)
BEASTARS, by Paru Itagaki, translation by Tomo Kimura (VIZ Media)
Cats of the Louvre, by Taiyo Matsumoto, translation by Michael Arias (VIZ Media)
Grass, by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, translation by Janet Hong (Drawn & Quarterly)
Magic Knight Rayearth 25th Anniversary Edition, by CLAMP, translation by Melissa Tanaka (Kodansha)
The Poe Clan, by Moto Hagio, translation by Rachel Thorn (Fantagraphics)
Witch Hat Atelier, by Kamome Shirahama, translation by Stephen Kohler (Kodansha)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
Cham: The Best Comic Strips and Graphic Novelettes, 1839–1862, by David Kunzle (University Press of Mississippi)
Ed Leffingwell’s Little Joe, by Harold Gray, edited by Peter Maresca and Sammy Harkham (Sunday Press Books)
The George Herriman Library: Krazy & Ignatz 1916–1918, edited by R.J. Casey (Fantagraphics)
Krazy Kat: The Complete Color Sundays, by George Herriman, edited by Alexander Braun (TASCHEN)
Madness in Crowds: The Teeming Mind of Harrison Cady, by Violet and Denis Kitchen (Beehive Books)
Pogo, Vol. 6: Clean as a Weasel, by Walt Kelly, edited by Mark Evanier and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
Alay-Oop, by William Gropper (New York Review Comics)
The Complete Crepax, vol. 5: American Stories, edited by Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
Jack Kirby’s Dingbat Love, edited by John Morrow (TwoMorrows)
Moonshadow: The Definitive Edition, by J. M. DeMatteis, Jon J Muth, George Pratt, Kent Williams, and others (Dark Horse Books)
Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo: The Complete Grasscutter Artist Select, by Stan Sakai, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
That Miyoko Asagaya Feeling, by Shinichi Abe, translation by Ryan Holmberg, edited by Mitsuhiro Asakawa (Black Hook Press)
Best Writer
Bobby Curnow, Ghost Tree (IDW)
MK Reed and Greg Means, Penny Nichols (Top Shelf)
Mariko Tamaki, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass (DC); Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (First Second/Macmillan); Archie (Archie)
Lewis Trondheim, Stay (Magnetic Press); Maggy Garrisson (SelfMadeHero)
Jean-Francois Beaulieu, Middlewest, Outpost Zero (Image)
Matt Hollingsworth, Batman: Curse of the White Knight, Batman White Knight Presents Von Freeze (DC); Little Bird, November (Image)
Molly Mendoza, Skip (Nobrow)
Dave Stewart, Black Hammer, B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know, Hellboy and the BPRD (Dark Horse); Gideon Falls (Image); Silver Surfer Black, Spider-Man (Marvel)
Best Lettering
Deron Bennett, Batgirl, Green Arrow, Justice League, Martian Manhunter (DC); Canto (IDW); Assassin Nation, Excellence (Skybound/Image); To Drink and To Eat, vol. 1 (Lion Forge); Resonant (Vault)
Jim Campbell, Black Badge, Coda (BOOM Studios); Giant Days, Lumberjanes: The Shape of Friendship (BOOM Box!); Rocko’s Modern Afterlife (KaBOOM!); At the End of Your Tether (Lion Forge); Blade Runner 2019 (Titan); Mall, The Plot, Wasted Space (Vault)
Clayton Cowles, Aquaman, Batman, Batman and the Outsiders, Heroes in Crisis, Superman: Up in the Sky, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen (DC); Bitter Root, Pretty Deadly, Moonstruck, Redlands, The Wicked + The Divine (Image); Reaver (Skybound/Image); Daredevil, Ghost-Spider, Silver Surfer Black, Superior Spider-Man, Venom (Marvel)
Emilie Plateau, Colored: The Unsung Life of Claudette Colvin (Europe Comics)
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo (IDW)
Tillie Walden, Are You Listening? (First Second/Macmillan)
Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
Comic Riffs blog, by Michael Cavna, www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/comics/
The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, RJ Casey, and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
Hogan’s Alley, edited by Tom Heintjes (Hogan’s Alley)
Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society, edited by Qiana Whitted (Ohio State University Press)
LAAB Magazine, vol. 4: This Was Your Life, edited by Ronald Wimberly and Josh O’Neill (Beehive Books)
Women Write About Comics, edited by Nola Pfau and Wendy Browne, www.WomenWriteAboutComics.com
Best Comics-Related Book
The Art of Nothing: 25 Years of Mutts and the Art of Patrick McDonnell (Abrams)
The Book of Weirdo, by Jon B. Cooke (Last Gasp)
Grunt: The Art and Unpublished Comics of James Stokoe (Dark Horse)
Logo a Gogo: Branding Pop Culture, by Rian Hughes (Korero Press)
Making Comics, by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)
Screwball! The Cartoonists Who Made the Funnies Funny, by Paul Tumey (Library of American Comics/IDW)
Best Academic/Scholarly Work
The Art of Pere Joan: Space, Landscape, and Comics Form, by Benjamin Fraser (University of Texas Press)
The Comics of Rutu Modan: War, Love, and Secrets, by Kevin Haworth (University Press of Mississippi)
EC Comics: Race, Shock, and Social Protest, by Qiana Whitted (Rutgers University Press)
The Peanuts Papers: Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and the Meaning of Life, edited by Andrew Blauner (Library of America)
Producing Mass Entertainment: The Serial Life of the Yellow Kid, by Christina Meyer (Ohio State University Press)
Women’s Manga in Asia and Beyond: Uniting Different Cultures and Identities, edited by Fusami Ogi et al. (Palgrave Macmillan)
Best Publication Design
Grunt: The Art and Unpublished Comics of James Stokoe, designed by Ethan Kimberling (Dark Horse)
Krazy Kat: The Complete Color Sundays, by George Herriman, designed by Anna-Tina Kessler (TASCHEN)
Logo a Gogo, designed by Rian Hughes (Korero Press)
Madness in Crowds: The Teeming Mind of Harrison Cady, designed by Paul Kopple and Alex Bruce (Beehive Books)
Making Comics, designed by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)
Rusty Brown, designed by Chris Ware (Pantheon)
Best Digital Comic
Afterlift, by Chip Zdarsky and Jason Loo (comiXology Originals)
Black Water Lilies, by Michel Bussi, adapted by Frédéric Duval and Didier Cassegrain, translated by Edward Gauvin (Europe Comics)
Colored: The Unsung Life of Claudette Colvin, by Tania de Montaigne, adapted by Emilie Plateau, translated by Montana Kane (Europe Comics)
Elma, A Bear’s Life, vol. 1: The Great Journey, by Ingrid Chabbert and Léa Mazé, translated by Jenny Aufiery (Europe Comics)
Mare Internum, by Der-shing Helmer (comiXology; gumroad.com/l/MIPDF)
Tales from Behind the Window, by Edanur Kuntman, translated by Cem Ulgen (Europe Comics)
Best Webcomic
Cabramatta, by Matt Huynh, http://believermag.com/cabramatta/
Chuckwagon at the End of the World, by Erik Lundy, https://hollowlegcomics.tumblr.com/chuckwagon
The Eyes, by Javi de Castro, https://www.javidecastro.com/theeyes
Fried Rice Comic, by Erica Eng, https://friedricecomic.tumblr.com
reMIND, by Jason Brubaker, https://is.gd/T7rafM
Third Shift Society, by Meredith Moriarty, https://www.webtoons.com/en/supernatural/third-shift-society/list?title_no=1703
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Wizards of the Coast’s hit tabletop card game Magic: The Gathering is expanding the user experience. Revealed at the Comic-Con@Home panel, the game’s head designer Mark Rosewater showcased the upcoming set Zendikar Rising, which will arrive this September.
Set Boosters are the new addition to MTG, giving players a brand-new experience when it comes to gaining cards for their decks. “There are a few differences between a Set Booster and the traditional Draft Booster,” MTG’s product architect Mark Heggen told GameSpot. “The 15-card Draft Booster is tuned for Limited play–Draft and Sealed Deck–with spots for commons, uncommons, and rares locked in to optimize those competitive formats. The Set Booster is a curated experience that’s meant to be fun to open. There are things in there for lots of different kinds of Magic fans, and it allows us to play a little bit with the spread of card rarities in the Pack.”
These new Set Boosters will consist of 14 cards: 12 MTG cards, an art card (which has a small chance of being a golden artist signature-stamped card), and a final card which could be a token card, an ad card, or a card from “The List.”
