Brian K. Vaughan News

[goldenboy]

D.J. Caruso Wants Shia LaBeouf to Be His 'Y: The Last Man'

Posted Sep 15th 2007 2:02PM by Erik Davis

Filed under: Action & Adventure, Casting, RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek

If there was only one man left on earth, would you want that man to be Shia LaBeouf? And I'm talking to all the women out there, because while there aren't any men left, there are loads and loads of women. Yup, I'm talking about the comic Y:The Last Man, which is set to become yet another comic-turned-movie -- and it will be directed by D.J. Caruso. The director, as you may or may not know, previously helmed Disturbia -- watched it rule at the box office -- and has since become the go-to guy for films that involve Shia LaBeouf. In fact, the two are teaming up once again on Eagle Eye, a thriller set to shoot once Shia is finished with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls. And after Eagle Eye is finished, Caruso will jump onto Y: The Last Man -- and right now it's looking like the lead role in that flick (a guy by the name of Yorick Brown) will most likely go to Shia ... well, if both Caruso and LaBeouf have their way.

See, LaBeouf has already gone on record saying how much he'd love to play the title character, but now Caruso is adding his two cents. While speaking to MTV, the director had this to say when asked about Shia's potential involvement: "This is funny, but unbeknownst to me: Shia was already chasing this part prior to anything. I haven't talked to him yet about it because he's off shooting 'Indiana Jones 4,' but Shia is the right type and the right personality because you want to have the humor, but you also want to have the seriousness. So we'll talk about it when we get there." Sounds to me like Shia is the top choice, although when MTV asked fans who they think should play the part, names like Mark Ruffalo, Tobey Maguire and Ryan Gosling spewed out. What, no love for The Shia? Originally created by Brian K. Vaughan, Y: The Last Man will be adapted for the screen by Disturbia writer Carl Ellsworth (with help from Caruso as well). Those interested in learning more about Y: The Last Man should definitely check out the rest of this MTV article (http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1567696/20070823/story.jhtml); it's packed with all sorts of juicy info. So what do you fans think: Shia or no Shia?
D.J. Caruso Wants Shia LaBeouf to Be His 'Y: The Last Man' - Cinematical (http://w.cinematical.com/2007/09/15/d-j-caruso-wants-shia-labeouf-to-be-his-y-the-last-man/)

[goldenboy]

BKV ON BUFFY
With his finesse toward writing quirky characters and encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture, Brian K. Vaughan proves an ideal follow-up for Joss Whedon on “Season 8” of Buffy. Fans of the sultry slayer seem to be in agreement as sales on the title remained consistently steady after Whedon’s move to “executive producer” status after issue #5. BKV’s first foray into the Buffy-verse on issue #6 dusted the competition and received an overall positive response from fans. The issue is already a hot seller on the back market, with its variant cover going for around $6. Already a celebrated writer, BKV sports a number of popular franchises under his belt. He recently found himself in the writer’s pen on the critically praised television series “Lost” and is the creator and writer of the insanely popular Y: The Last Man series, slated to be a feature film. Early issues of Y go for quite a pretty penny, with issue #1 going for around $45 and issues #2 and #3 a little behind that at $25 and $20, respectively.
Wizard Entertainment (http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/006045332.cfm)

[N4H]

Come to think of it BKV's second installment of the Faith arc in the Buffy comics is on sale starting today, isn't it?

[goldenboy]

Yeah, I picked it up on my lunch break. It's good (big surprise).

[goldenboy]

Saying goodbye to ‘Y: The Last Man’

Comic book creator Brian K. Vaughn talks about the end of one of his most successful books
By Shawn Munguia

Brian K. Vaughn’s fascination with comic books began early in life — the day his parents gave him one a day when he was home from school.

The stories, driven by pure imagination, captivated Vaughn and later enticed him to devote his life to writing. He eventually became one of the most sought-after authors.

Vaughn has written for titles like Superman, Batman and Spider-Man, but he has earned a cult-like following through his creator-owned works like “Pride of Baghdad,” “Ex Machina” and “Y: The Last Man.”

And when the final issue of “Y” hits stands on Jan. 2, fans likely will rush to grab their last copy of the tales of Yorick, the last man on Earth.

The comic focuses on the life of the last man left on the planet after the rest of the males, human and animal, die. Women take control, but the conflict and chaos don’t settle quickly.

“‘Y’ was really wanting to do a book about gender,” Vaughn said by phone while driving in Los Angeles. “It felt like comics had never really talked about gender in a sophisticated way. Whenever they talked gender it was always like … ‘Should Catwoman’s boobs be smaller?’ ‘should she be called the Invisible Woman instead of the Invisible Girl?’ I really wanted to talk about gender and it felt like this was sort of a sci-fi hook that would let me talk about gender.” With that in mind, Vaughn and artist Pia Guerra set out to create “Y.”

The 31-year-old author said that working with “Y” reinforced the premise that roles in society are not bound by gender. He said that history has proven that female leaders can be just as aggressive as their male counterpart.

“It didn’t feel like violence was something that was masculine. … Humans are really complicated and eliminating the men wouldn’t mean the end of things that were associated with men,” he said.

During the past five years, “Y” has depicted women in roles that range from docile to hostile and downright demonic — because they are human.

So why end the ride?

“From the first issue, I knew it was going to be a five-year run,” Vaughn said. “It was about the last boy on earth becoming the last man on earth and I sort of knew what that story was going to be and what becoming a man was going to be for Yorick.”

And so, his story told, Vaughn will guide Yorick into the sunset. Leaving the footprints in the stories he and Guerra left in the comics. We can look back over them and enjoy the stories again and again, and ponder what difference a little Ychromosome made on who we are now.
Columns: Saying goodbye to ‘Y’ | vaughn, last, gender - TheV247.com (http://www.thev247.com/articles/vaughn_1896___article.html/last_gender.html)

[goldenboy]

http://images.darkhorse.com/covers/300/13/13852.jpg


The Escapists

by Steve Duin
Wednesday December 19, 2007, 7:08 PM


The original conceit of a 21st century comic book reviving The Escapist is entertaining enough:

Let's resurrect the character and the creators of Michael Chabon's Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Let's pretend -- better yet, imagine -- that Kavalier & Clay were as much a part of the Golden Age of comics as Simon & Kirby & Schomburg & Zolnerovich, and that The Escapist and Luna Moth moved in the same literary circles as Superman and Wonder Woman.

Chabon and Dark Horse editor Diana Schutz first unveiled that conceit in 2004 with Michael Chabon Presents: The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist. Then they re-armed with Brian K. Vaughan, and returned with The Escapists, a six-issue miniseries that has just been collected into one of the year's best graphic novels.

Vaughan -- who hails from Cleveland and is now on strike in Hollywood with the rest of the television writers -- did not jump at the opportunity to lock horns with The Escapist. When Schutz realized the Chabon/Dark Horse anthology book needed an ongoing storyline to survive, she asked Vaughan to provide one.

"He turned me down cold," Schutz said. "He was too busy. So, I pulled out the big guns. I had Michael call him. While it was easy for Brian to say 'No' to me, he couldn't refuse Michael Chabon."

Only the first chapter of Vaughan's Escapists' tale appeared in the anthology book before it imploded, so Dark Horse decided to publish the entire storyline in a subsequent miniseries. I have no idea what the company paid Vaughan, who is best known for his work on Ex Machina and Y - The Last Man ("Not nearly enough," Schutz says). But Chabon attempts to repay Vaughan for his adventure with The Escapist by delivering an extraordinary introduction to this graphic novel, in whiich Chabon relates (for the first time, naturally) the serendipitous meeting of Sam Clay and Brian K. Vaughan, age 10, at ErieCon '86.

As Chabon tells the story, the aging -- and half-blind -- Clay leaves Artist's Alley at the regional comic convention looking for a restroom and ends up locking himself in a broom closet. He's eventually sprung by Vaughan, who fancies himself something of an escape artist.

You have a glimpse, then, of the conceits at play here. And you ain't seen nothing yet.

At the center of Vaughan's multi-leveled tale are three Clevelanders: an elevator repairman named Maxwell Roth, graphic artist Case Weaver and Denny Jones, who handles sheet metal for the family construction company. When Roth's parents die, he spends his $150,000 life-insurance settlement on the rights to The Escapist, convinced that his father -- who owns the world's greatest collection of Escapist memorabilia -- would have approved.

Roth then enlists Case and Denny to publish a new version of The Escapist. As a publicity stunt for the independent comic, Denny dresses up as their title character so that he can free the cleaning crew that's been locked inside the local big-box retail store for the night. When he sneaks into the back of the store, however, Denny discovers the cleaning crew held at gunpoint by two armed robbers. When the security video of a costumed superhero knocking those robbers for a loop goes nuclear on YouTube, The Escapist #1 sells 80,000 copies.

"There's a lot of debate about exactly what happened next," Roth, Vaughan's somewhat unreliable narrator tells readers, "and because Denny refuses to talk about it, the whole evening has taken on a bit of a mythical aura."

And so, suddenly, has the entire graphic novel. As our three "heroes" fight to retain the rights to the character, their character -- and the lovely Luna Moth -- are involved in a melodrama of their own. And the conceits Vaughan is playing with have only just begun.

The Escapists is so good because it is about so damn much. It is a glowing tribute to the imaginary hero in a work of fiction, The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. It is a testimonial to the city of Cleveland, the birthplace of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman; R. Crumb, Harvey Pekar and that famous escape artist, 10-year-old Brian Keller Vaughan. And it is a grand appeal for young creators -- such as Max, Case and Denny -- to forego wrestling with the usual cast of comic characters and create original legends of their own ... by Vaughan and a crew of artists, Schutz notes, who agreed to a work-for-hire gig on a character owned by Michael Chabon.

Very, very cool.
http://www.oregonlive.com/arts-books/index.ssf/2007/12/the_escapists.html


The Escapists (http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=13-907)

[goldenboy]

Damn, I would kill to attend this.

Y: THE LAST PARTY: VAUGHAN, GUERRA AND WHEDON AT MELTDOWN 2/8

by Emmett Furey, Staff Writer
Posted: January 17, 2008

On Friday, February 8th, MySpace Comic Books, the CBLDF (Comic Book Legal Defense Fund) and Meltdown Comics are hosting a party commemorating “Y: The Last Man,” with special guests Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra and Joss Whedon. And more than just a celebration of Vaughan and Guerra’s epic comic book series, the party is also a fundraiser to benefit the First Amendment work of the CBLDF. CBR News sat down with CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein to get more details about the gala event.

Joss Whedon will kick of the event by delivering the keynote speech in Meltdown’s Hollywood gallery space. After the speech, guests of honor Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, the creative team behind Vertigo’s “Y: The Last Man,” will participate in a Q&A. “I realize legends like Stan Lee would laugh at the idea of a party being thrown in honor of a couple of kids finishing a mere sixty issues of a comic,” Vaughan said in the official press release. “But Y has always been a very important story to me, so I really look forward to hanging at my favorite local store with many of the readers and creators who made this journey possible, especially when it all supports the essential work of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.”

Brownstein told CBR News that the event was the brainchild of MySpace’s Sam Humphries and Meltdown’s Matt Gagnon. “They wanted to come up with a new way to celebrate the achievements of comics in a fashion that throws the spotlight on our best creators and causes in a really classy way,” Brownstein said. “I have to say, they hit a home run.” After laying the groundwork, Humphries contacted Brownstein to see if CBLDF wanted to take part.

“Fortunately we have some experience with comics events, such as our Wrap Party for Strangers in Paradise last May,” Brownstein said. “Meltdown has experience with putting on some of the best comics art events in the country. Aand MySpace is masterful at throwing fan-oriented events, so we've been able to pool all of that collective expertise into making ‘Y: The Last Party’ something completely fresh and exciting.”

CBLDF chose to honor “Y: The Last Man” because they feel that that book is a good example of the full potential of free expression in the comics medium. “‘Y: The Last Man’ is loaded with challenging and pertinent ideas that are presented in innovative and engaging ways,” Brownstein said. “Brian and Pia have achieved something very rare by crafting a terrific narrative unlike anything else being done in media and seeing it through to its fruition.” Brownstein likened the book to HBO’s “The Sopranos,” in the sense that the end result of Vaughan and Guerra’s 60-issue epic is a successful execution of their original creative vision. “That's a victory worth celebrating for free expression at large and for comics in particular.”

The reasons for holding the party in L.A. were several fold. “MySpace is based out of Beverly Hills, which puts them right at the heart of LA's media elite,” Brownstein said. “So when you pair MySpace Comic Books and its position as the center of the one of the largest online comics communities and MySpace's physical proximity to the LA media world, you have an unbeatable ability to reach out to a tremendous range of people.” Over and above all of that, Brownstein thought that Meltdown would be the perfect venue for such an event. CBLDF is based out of New York, and hosts many a comics event in their home town, but Brownstein is committed to making the Fund more active other cities around the country.

Brownstein said that one of the party’s greatest achievements has been the industry-wide teamwork that has made the event possible. “MySpace Comic Books is a powerful and vibrant community of people who are passionate about our field, and their commitment to this event underscores how that shared passion can accomplish great things,” Brownstein said. Further, the event is being sponsored not only by Vertigo, the company that publishes “Y: The Last Man,” but also by competitors Dark Horse, Image, and Top Cow. “These factors really showcase a core value for the Fund, which is to be a big umbrella under which we all stand together in support of the comics medium.”

If the event sells out (and Brownstein has every expectation that it will), it will generate $8,750 for the CBLDF. “In wartime, that's a day at trial for our legal team,” Brownstein said. “Or alternatively, a legal brief arguing a motion in a case. In peacetime, that's a portion of an education initiative that helps prevent a case.” Either way, it helps to fund the expensive work of defending comics’ First Amendment rights.

Specifically, the funds raised by the party will contribute to keeping comic book creator Gordon Lee from spending up to two years in prison for allegedly distributing a comic book factually showing Picasso in the nude. The CBLDF has already incurred $100,000 in expenses for the three year long case. The money will help CBLDF stand up to the prosecutors who continue to deny Gordon Lee his day in court, and hopefully help to stave off the dangerous precedent that would be set for retailers if Lee were to be found guilty.

“What the Fund does on behalf of comics is stand up for the people who can't afford to stand up to the legal bullies coming after them,” Brownstein said. “Initiatives like Y: The Last Party allow us to continue to perform the important work that comics has been counting on us to accomplish since we started over twenty years ago. Thankfully, the support of the community we're seeing at this event and others like it are keeping us strong enough to continue the fight.”

Admission to Y: The Last Party will be strictly limited to 140 people, and tickets will be available at CBLDF's MySpace profile. VIP tickets are priced at $100 each, and grant admission to the reception before the event. There are only 70 VIP tickets available, and all VIP ticket holders will receive a limited edition print of brand new artwork by Guerra, signed by both Guerra and Vaughan. 70 additional “standing room only” general admission tickets will be available on the day of the event on a first come, first served basis for $25 apiece.
Comic Book Resources - CBR News: Y: The Last Party: Vaughan, Guerra and Whedon at Meltdown 2/8 (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=12763)

[goldenboy]

Project 'Runaways' in works at Marvel

Latest comic book to headed to the big-screen

By Borys Kit
May 22, 2008, 01:00 AM

"Runaways" is the latest Marvel Comics book to get the big-screen treatment from Marvel Studios.

Brian K. Vaughan, who co-created the series with artist Adrian Alphona, is writing the adaptation, for which Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige will act as producer. Vaughan is also a co-producer and writer on ABC's "Lost."

As opposed to other Marvel characters getting the silver screen treatment, such as the Hulk and Spider-Man -- who have been around since the 1960s and are pop-culture fixtures -- the heroes in "Runaways" are relatively new, with the comic series launching in 2002.

The title was critically praised for its honest portrayal of teens and their issues and in 2006 won a Harvey Award for best series.

"Runaways" follows a group of teenagers who find that some family secrets are bigger than others when they discover their parents are actually super-villains. Running away from their homes, the teens band together and begin a journey of discovery, both of their parents' origins and of their own inherited powers, while trying to make up for the evil done by their folks.

While Marvel has already scheduled its next four films through 2011, "Runaways," like the company's "Ant-Man" project, remains in the incubation stages.

Vaughan is well known in comic circles for his creator-owned works including "Y: The Last Man," which is in development at New Line, and "Pride of Baghdad."

Vaughan is repped by CAA.
Project 'Runaways' in works at Marvel (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i92601a875cdc027392104c8a4ddbd9f6)


http://www.marvel.com/universe3zx/images/thumb/7/77/Runaways_main.jpg/442px-Runaways_main.jpg

[goldenboy]

Oct 21 2008 8:55 PM EDT

Could 'Runaways' Movie Be The New 'Goonies'? Marvel President Hopes So

'I think all kids secretly wonder at one time or another whether their parents are good or evil,' Kevin Feige says of comic's setup.

By Shawn Adler

They are the masterminds who brought you "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk." They are working on films for characters like Thor, Captain America and Dr. Strange, not to mention their tag team "The Avengers."

But ask Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige what film he's most excited about, and the answer isn't a single adult superhero — it's a teen one. More accurately, a group of teen heroes. "Runaways" — which is currently being scripted by comic writer Brian K. Vaughan — is tentatively scheduled to be among the studio's many post-"Avengers" projects.

"I love the idea. Brian brought to Marvel one of the best new concepts that we've had in quite some time," Feige said of the film, for which he expects a finished script in early 2009. "It's very different than anything we've done before."

"Runaways" follows a group of kids who come to discover that their parents are up to no good — as in, a take-over-the-world kind of "no good."

OK, sure, not everybody's parents are supervillains, Feige laughed, but didn't everybody at some point think their parents were?

"I love the idea of kids banding together, discovering this thing, which I think all kids secretly wonder at one time or another whether their parents are good or evil. Well, these guys find out, unfortunately, that their parents happen to be supervillains," Feige said of the flick's setup. "I loved, when I was a kid, movies like 'Goonies' and 'Explorers' — and a non-genre example of that is 'Stand by Me' — the idea that when I came home from school, I could go on an adventure anywhere."

With the comic now in its fifth year and on its third major writer (including Vaughan, "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon and current writer Terry Moore), "Runaways," the film, will more or less follow Vaughan's creation arc, Feige said.

"In our discussions with Brian, we wanted him to be the person to bring it to life. I think it won't be a precise story line of any [of his comics], but certainly it will be most similar to the tone or origins of his structure in its initial run," Feige explained.

What it may or may not follow is the recent Marvel convention of cross-pollination, which is the buzzword of the summer thanks to cameos like Nick Fury's in "Iron Man" and Tony Stark's in "The Incredible Hulk." In the "Runaways" comic, several prominent heroes make brief appearances, but Feige thinks it's unlikely for the film version.

"If it fits a dramatic moment that we want to get across in the film, we would be able to do that — but I wouldn't want to rely on having Iron Man come in and wave every five minutes so we can put that in the commercial and sell more," Feige said. "I really want to build movies to stand on their own, and there's no reason that 'Runaways' — with the right script and the right cast — couldn't fit that on its own."
Could 'Runaways' Movie Be The New 'Goonies'? - Movie News Story | MTV Movie News (http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1597633/story.jhtml)

[goldenboy]

The Lost Geek Conquering Hollywood with Comic Books

Brian K. Vaughan saved the creators of Lost. Now they think he'll save the graphic novel -- and the original one -- on the silver screen.

By Benjamin Percy

Brian K. Vaughan is a weird guy. Just crazy, the stories he comes up with, like his graphic novel Y: The Last Man. It takes place in a world in which all the men have died of a mysterious plague. There's a battle for the last standing man. A mass female war. Yet amazingly, despite the far-fetched premise, the story still comes across as compulsively real. From the buzz-cut protesters cheering the demise of men to the widows of Republican senators who stage an armed coup, the fears, actions, and impulses of the characters who inhabit Y are absurd yet entirely human. And it's for this very reason that when Lost, that mad-hatter puree of Survivor, Twin Peaks, and Scooby-Doo, was foundering in season two--or maybe the right word is sucking--one of the show's creators, Damon Lindelof, did the unthinkable: He took Vaughan, a virtual unknown in Hollywood, into a dark cave somewhere beneath Malibu and opened the creaky old book of Lost's secrets. The effect felt almost immediate. Vaughan, now a producer, brought the show levity, weirdness, and political verve. Yet the scenarios, no matter how far-fetched or fantastic, still felt somewhat possible. It was everything that Vaughan had been doing while writing in near anonymity--first for X-Men and Spider-Man, and then for his own mind-tweaking comics, like Ex Machina, about a superhero politician in post-9/11 New York. "I usually dream up a dozen or so profoundly stupid 'high concepts' for stories every day," says Vaughan, a thirty-two-year-old Cleveland native. "When one is so bad that I can't seem to shake it after a few weeks, it usually means I have no choice but to write about it, often because that lame high concept is a way for me to explore something that makes me confused or furious about the world."

Following his success with Lost, Vaughan has been fully co-opted by Hollywood. He adapted Y for the big screen, and Ex Machina and Runaways, another graphic novel, about kids who find out their parents are supervillains, are next.

Like the conclusion of Lost, which Lindelof and cocreator Carl-ton Cuse have already sketched out, Vaughan has written his career arc--his twenties dedicated to comics, his thirties to film and television, and his forties, hopefully, to novels. "I'd love to work with prose. I feel I haven't earned that yet, but I'd like to end up there eventually," he says.

Lindelof imagines something similar. "I've been in this town a long time, and Vaughan is one of the only writers I've met who writes purely for himself. That being said, his vision is so unpredictable, he's likely to conjure up one of those Being John Malkovich game-changing scripts that sorta fries your brain and then wins the frigging Oscar."

What Lindelof is talking about is a plot that is so absurd and fantastic that it rings oddly true, much like Vaughan's career.
Lost Season 2 Turnaround - Brian K Vaughan Profile - Esquire (http://www.esquire.com/features/best-and-brightest-2008/brian-k-vaughan-1208)