MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER RETURNS from IBooks

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 9:31 pm

IBOOKS INKS DEAL WITH CLASSIC MEDIA TO PUBLISH NEW
NOVELS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS BASED ON THE CLASSIC COMIC BOOK, MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER
New York, NY -- ibooks, an imprint distributed by Simon and Schuster, announced today the signing of a deal with Classic Media, the New York-based family entertainment company that is home to UNDERDOG and THE LONE RANGER, to publish new novels and graphic novels based on the classic science fiction superhero, MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER. ibooks plans to reintroduce the hero, last published by Acclaim Comics almost a decade ago, to a new generation of fans.

"Magnus is a fantastic property," said ibooks' publisher Byron Preiss. "We are thrilled to begin working with Classic Media on the revival of a hero made famous through the original Gold Key comics illustrated by Russ Manning."

Leslie Levine, head of worldwide licensing at Classic Media added, “ibooks is one of the industry’s most innovative publishers. They are the perfect partner to help create a whole new series of thrilling Magnus adventures.”

On the immediate plans for Magnus by ibooks, which was named the #1 standout small publisher by Publisher's Weekly for the second year in a row this month, Preiss said, "We intend to go into production with the first novel and the first graphic novel simultaneously and are embarking on discussions with talent in the field.” Interested professionals can contact our editor in chief, Steve Roman, at starwarpco@aol.com.

Classic Media manages some of the world’s most recognizable family properties across all media including feature film, television, home video and consumer products. The company’s extensive library features a diverse collection of popular animated and live-action characters such as: Casper the Friendly Ghost, Hot Stuff, Mr. Magoo, Richie Rich, Peter Cottontail, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, The Lone Ranger, Lassie, Underdog, Little Lulu, pat the bunny, Lamb Chop and Rocky & Bullwinkle. For more information on Classic Media, visit us online at www.classicmedia.tv.

ibooks is at www.ibooks.net and its graphic novel site is www.komikwerks.com.

MAGNUS TM & „ Random House, Inc. Used under license by Classic Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/pulse.cg ... m%26f%3D37
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Happy day for Magnus fans like myself!!

x-omatic · Post by **x-omatic** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 9:33 pm

Very interesting. Can't wait to see what they come up with.

kryptonitecomics · Post by **kryptonitecomics** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 9:38 pm

x-omatic wrote:Very interesting. Can't wait to see what they come up with.

Me either, Magnus was always one of my favorites!!!

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 9:51 pm

I'd say it's time for them to give Big Jim a call!

I wonder if the novels will be geared more for children or adults?

FunkiTron · Post by **FunkiTron** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 10:18 pm

Is this an April Fool's Day joke??

mrwoogieman · Post by **mrwoogieman** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 10:18 pm

NEW MAGNUS STORIES!!!

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 10:20 pm

FunkiTron wrote:Is this an April Fool's Day joke??

It's still March 31st here

riptide_soccer · Post by **riptide_soccer** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 10:29 pm

OH HAPPY DAY!!!! New Magnus stories!! Where can I get a subscription????

twofour · Post by **twofour** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 10:41 pm

I knew something like this was going to happen. Please oh please get a great writer. Any chances they would hire Shooter? I doubt that would happen.

twofour

dellamorte · Post by **dellamorte** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 10:48 pm

this is such great news. I have a feeling we are going to be hearing a lot of news regarding new material as the old books begin to heat up. It's about f*c*i*g time.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 11:16 pm

twofour wrote:I knew something like this was going to happen. Please oh please get a great writer. Any chances they would hire Shooter? I doubt that would happen.

If you look at the Ibooks site, they are more interested in sci-fi and other properties, not just comics (actually reminds me a lot of Phobos, the company Shooter is/was working for). That leads me to believe they will get someone lesser known or 'outside' the comics industry to write it. My big question is whether it will be in a Manning-esque 4000 AD, or some newly re-imagined sci-fi world. I'm personally hoping for Manning-esque, but I'll be open to try whatever they do.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 11:27 pm

I have purchased one Ibooks graphic novel a few months ago, Icaro by Moebius and Taniguchi (http://www.komikwerks.com./previews/pre ... icaro1.php). Although this is only a reprint I thought the quality was good and I have seen it several times at Barnes & Noble.

sonicdan · Post by **sonicdan** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 11:39 pm

Awesome!!
DAN

Flinx · Post by **Flinx** » Thu Apr 01, 2004 6:23 am

Ryan wrote:<snip> I wonder if the novels will be geared more for children or adults?

ibooks have published novels for a few different comics like J. Michael Straczynski's "Rising Stars", "The Red Star", "Transformers" & "Micronauts".

The books, if published, will probably be geared towards adults.

I said if published, because I have heard that the books are rarely out on time, frequently put out months late, and apparently sometimes they never get around to putting out announced books.

I have also found that the distribution of their books is inconsistent. I have seen some of their books here in Australia but been told that it was unavaliable in the US & vice versa.

Flinx

DawgPhan · Post by **DawgPhan** » Thu Apr 01, 2004 9:44 am

I that these would be new stories, but I could be wrong...I think that the best thing is adopt a wait and see attitude towards this...it could be good or it could be completely worthless...they could really be hitting it at the right time if valiants blow up a little bit...

FunkiTron · Post by **FunkiTron** » Thu Apr 01, 2004 7:01 pm

Ryan wrote:
FunkiTron wrote:Is this an April Fool's Day joke??

It's still March 31st here

I thought you were trying to get an early jump on it....

April Fool's Day pranks were on my mind cos my neighbours busted one on us. They tied a desk to our flat's front door, making it impossible to open from inside. I was sleeping at my girlfriends house so unfortunately I missed it :x ...my flatties then took the desk and barricaded the neighbours door with it.

Anyways....any guesses about how much these new Magnus books will cost (in the States)?

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Thu Apr 01, 2004 8:26 pm

FunkiTron wrote: Anyways....any guesses about how much these new Magnus books will cost (in the States)?

Looking at the Ibooks site most of their novels are priced at $6.99 (I assume softcover) or 22.95 (hardcover) with a few inbetweeners at $12-15.

The graphic novels are priced between $9.95 (manga) to $18 with a few $25 deluxe hardcovers. Most are in the $12-15 range depending on pages, size, etc. (here is a list of their graphic novels so far, some quality stuff from my perspective http://www.komikwerks.com./previews/previews_ibook.php)

Is anyone else excited that this will be graphic novels AND novels? That could be a lot of fun if they have continuity and perhaps some spin-off characters (Dr. Solar is still available

).

edlockman · Post by **edlockman** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 3:22 pm

True. I will believe it when I see it I remember seeing the four or five pages of art on the last Magnus project that got killed after it was "almost ready to go."

Maybe I missed something, but will this be just graphic novels or both novels and graphic novels?

I am hoping for just graphic novels because let's face it, there has been fan fiction of Magnus for years. I'm just worried that it will be sub-par.

However, if anyone hears anything, please let all of us know WHEN they will be released.

ManofTheAtom · Post by **ManofTheAtom** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 5:26 pm

Very cool.

I joined the mailing list. Hopefully there will be some good new soon.

I hope it falls more in line with the Manning Gold Key/VALIANT version than the VH 2 or failed relaunch Fifth Element/Robotech-like version.

ManofTheAtom · Post by **ManofTheAtom** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 11:21 pm

Ryan wrote:Leslie Levine, head of worldwide licensing at Classic Media

Hmmm, coincidence?

"Everyone's favorite voodoo jazz musician may be making the transition to the big screen soon. Producer Barry Levine of Takoma Entertainment Group told Comics2Film that a movie adaptation of the quirky Acclaim Comics character Shadowman is currently in the works. Michael Henry Brown (Dead Presidents) and Paul Aaron (In Too Deep) are currently developing a script. Scripting is scheduled to be completed within the next two months. If the screenplay looks good Levine is ready to take Shadowman immediately into production.

Levine is also a producer on another Acclaim character: Magnus: Robot Fighter. The producer is currently hearing pitches from writers for this project. John Davis (Doctor Dolittle) and Akiva Goldsman (Lost In Space) are also producing.

Levine has Marvel's Damage Control set up with Village Roadshow Pictures.

Another very interesting Marvel property in the early stages at Takoma is The Inhumans. This one is a co-production with Pacifica Entertainment."

Magnus: Robot Fighter

Could the two Levine's be connected?

Maybe this will lead to them finally making a Magnus movie.

oxygen · Post by **oxygen** » Mon Apr 05, 2004 8:24 am

Is there anywhere that I can see the failed Magnus relaunch?

ManofTheAtom · Post by **ManofTheAtom** » Mon Apr 05, 2004 12:28 pm

oxygen wrote:Is there anywhere that I can see the failed Magnus relaunch?

I don't know if you'll be able to see these.

I'm uploading them to a Geocities account, so hopefully you will be.

These are some images I managed to save to my comp when the project was first announced.

http://www.geocities.com/solarmota/magnusvh3.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/solarmota/magnusvh3-3.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/solarmota/magnusvh3-2.jpg

Ok, try it now.

oxygen · Post by **oxygen** » Mon Apr 05, 2004 8:39 pm

Those looked interesting. Thanks, manoftheatom.

Byrneout · Post by **Byrneout** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 9:43 am

This is great news. Particularly if we can get the Jack Boniface Shadowman, and if MAgnus also does well on the big screen, we could see a reason for some of the other VH1 Heroes to be picked up either by iBooks or by motion picture studios.

And, darn it all, I can't see the art from the failed relaunch.

Later,
Ric

magnusr · Post by **magnusr** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 1:53 pm

Byrneout wrote:And, darn it all, I can't see the art from the failed relaunch.

The artists can be found at
http://www.blastplatform.com/

Select Gallery, then Sean Clauretie, then scroll down.

Btw, the other creators involved were Damon Hacker (inks) and Chris Sotomayor (scripts and color). I'm sure they would have made a great Magnus.

/Magnus

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