Newsarama.com recently posted a 5-question Q&A with DC Comics Chief Creative Officer (and writer of Smallville’s “Absolute Justice”) Geoff Johns. He talked about his position at the company, the comics he will be writing, and more. But one comment, near the end, was particularly interesting:

“And speaking of Deadman…wouldn’t Deadman be a great TV show…?”

An concept for a Deadman TV series had come up a few years ago but sadly sounded like it was played more for comedy and less in keeping with the DC comic book. With Brightest Day focusing on the character in the comics, could it be that this one could be a possibility for TV once again? Or is Johns just speculating?

Sound off in the comments below.

It’s not TV, but a lot of the people reading this blog are likely comic fans who would enjoy seeing the poster for Warner Bros.’ upcoming Jonah Hex movie starring Josh Brolin and Megan Fox.

Here’s the official Warner Bros. synopsis of the film, which comes out June 18:

Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) is a scarred drifter and bounty hunter of last resort, a tough and stoic gunslinger who can track down anyone… and anything. Having survived death, Jonah’s violent history is steeped in myth and legend, and has left him with one foot in the natural world and one on the “other side.” His only human connection is with Leila (Megan Fox), whose life in a brothel has left her with scars of her own.

But Jonah’s past is about to catch up with him when the U.S. military makes him an offer he can’t refuse: in exchange for his freedom from the warrants on his head, he must track down and stop the dangerous terrorist Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich). But Turnbull, who is gathering an army and preparing to unleash Hell, is also Jonah’s oldest enemy and will stop at nothing until Jonah is dead.

Talk about Jonah Hex on KryptonSite’s DC Comics Movies forum!

The Cartoon Network has announced that a cartoon mixing elements from DC Comics’ Teen Titans and Young Justice comic book series is on the way. No news yet on a release date, but here’s a press release:

In Young Justice, being a teenager means proving yourself over and over—to peers, parents, teachers, mentors and, ultimately, to yourself. But what if you’re not just a normal teenager? What if you’re a teenage super hero? Are you ready to join the ranks of the great heroes and prove you’re worthy of the Justice League? That’s exactly what the members of Young Justice—Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian and Artemis—will found out, whether they have what it takes to be a proven hero. This all-new series is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and based upon characters from DC Comics. Sam Register (Teen Titans, Ben 10, Batman: The Brave and the Bold) is the executive producer. Brandon Vietti (Batman: Under the Red Hood, Superman Doomsday, The Batman) and Greg Weisman (Gargoyles, The Spectacular Spider-Man, W.I.T.C.H.) are the producers.

Perhaps time to do something with the JusticeSite.net domain I bought a few months ago? (For now that link just leads to forum discussion)

Anything with the Conner Kent (Superboy) character is good by me. “There’s much more to come from DC Entertainment,” DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns said at the DCU Source blog. “This is just the beginning.”

Review by Craig Byrne

TwoMorrows Publishing recently released the hardcover book Age of TV Heroes, written by Jason Hofius and George Khoury and sporting a cover by the always-excellent Alex Ross. The book takes a look at the history of live action television – a subject that I know I myself have had interest in as long as I can remember. This book, in addition to being a retrospective of sorts, contains many production photos – several of which I have never seen before – and exclusive interviews with such comics-TV folk as Adam West (Batman), John Wesley Shipp (The Flash), Patrick Warburton (The Tick), Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman), and more.

I have been a fan of many of TwoMorrows’ book publications and magazines prior to this. Back Issue, Alter Ego, and The Jack Kirby Collector are three of my favorite periodical reads, and some of their books – especially Kimota! The Miracleman Companion by one of the co-writers of this very book, George Khoury – are the kinds of things that I find myself reading and referring to over and over again. When I heard they were making a book about this subject I was very excited.

Inside, one can find a decade-by-decade look at the history of comic books brought to TV, with much larger chapters devoted to many individual shows. I think for me, the most exciting parts were reading about shows I didn’t know much about – for example, the 1970′s Spider-Man series starring Nicholas Hammond. Not only was it interesting to read about, but it left me wishing that Marvel would do a Spider-Man TV series again someday rather than rebooting the movie franchise yet again. I’m sure the Sony/Marvel money people would disagree with me on that one.

Some goofy stuff even gets a mention, like the Legends of the Super-Heroes Roasts that were done in the late 70′s on television, which contained the first on-air live action appearances as characters such as The Huntress and Black Canary. There are even looks at the Captain America and Doctor Strange TV-movies of that era.

I think another sign of my enjoyment of this book is that I learned things I had never read before. I didn’t know the circumstances of The Incredible Hulk‘s final season, and now I do. The writers tried to be as thorough as possible and tried to cover as much as they could within 192 pages.

For that reason, the pages on Smallville might not have been as exciting to me as they could have been, because it didn’t cover a lot of new ground, at least not to me. Someone unfamiliar with the show would enjoy it a lot more, and I’m very glad it was included in this history. There are some nice photos there, and it seems they interviewed Jeph Loeb about his time on the show for the book which was nice. I also cringed at the misspelling of “Alison Mack” though it seems to only have happened in or two places (it, of course, has two L’s, like most of the ladies in Superman’s life). I might have also appreciated more pages or interviews on Lois & Clark; they interviewed DC Comics’ Mike Carlin but a lot of the behind-the-scenes history of the show seemed to be missing to me.

Chapters in the book are mostly confined to series originally based on comic books; so no Heroes here. And although some pilots like Power Pack, Aquaman and the horrid 1997 Justice League are mentioned (sometimes complete with never-before-seen imagery!), aborted concepts like The Graysons or the Todd Komarnicki Flash project are not mentioned. The Greatest American Hero, while not directly inspired by a comic, does get an entry, though I’m not complaining about that at all because it is one of my favorite sections.

Please don’t let my commentary on the Smallville section deter you, however; it’s a fantastic book and well worth reading. I’m so thankful and glad someone took the time to re-tell this history in one volume.

Age of TV Heroes can be ordered now at a very discounted rate at Amazon.com (all orders support this site!), or directly at TwoMorrows.com’s website. It’s a great read and I definitely recommend it.

Want your TV-related book or DVD reviewed here at KSiteTV? Send us an e-mail!

Interview by Craig Byrne

The movie “Pizza Man” is currently shooting now to be delivered to a theater near you sometime in the future, and one of the highlights of the film is the return of actor Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle, Agent Cody Banks) to the acting world. In this exclusive KSiteTV interview, Mr. Muniz talks a bit about the movie, his starring role in it, and what fans should expect from his return to the big screen.

This is the first of several interviews to be rolled out in a special “Pizza Man Week” here at KSiteTV. Enjoy the interview!

KSITETV: What made you choose “Pizza Man” as the movie that brings you back to acting, and what have you been up to?

MUNIZ: I’ve been off racing cars for a while, and I’m in a band now. I’ve been really busy trying to find some other things I’m into. I always said I would get back into acting, and I just didn’t know when. It literally was a luck of the draw kind of thing. I called my manager for the first time in like four years, and like two weeks later the Pizza Man script came to me. I read it, and I really, really enjoyed the script. I thought it would be a lot of fun; a bunch of good guys working on it, and here I am. I’m having a really good time and I think we’re getting some really good stuff.

I’m really happy to be back as an actor. I didn’t think that I would miss it as much as coming back has reminded me that I did. So I’m really excited to be here.

KSITETV: Can you tell us a little bit about the character you will be playing in the movie?

MUNIZ: I play Matt Burns, who’s just a kind of regular guy. He’s working in his family’s pizza restaurant with his mom and trying to go to college. Like all other kids in college, I have to work full time to pay my way. I kind of get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, at a science lab where the bad guys come to take over everything. I end up getting shot; I’m dying, so I eat a tomato that the scientist, Professor Tucker, has been developing, where you can basically inject this serum to heal. So I’m the first person – they don’t think it’s going to work, but it ended up working, but it makes me into this indestructible person. So, the bad guys are after me, because they want to get the serum out of me, so they can make an army of indesctructible men. But they’re using not for a good cause, but just to be able to go everywhere – if people get their heads cut off, it’ll grow back, and that sort of thing. So I become Pizza Man, which is the mascot of the pizza parlor; a guy dressed in a super hero costume. I end up putting it on to hide my identity a little bit. It’s kind of funny, because I have a big P on my chest, and I go ‘I’m Power Man!’ and everyone goes ‘that’s Pizza Man!’ So everyone’s kind of making fun of him, but I really am a super hero in the end.

KSITETV: How does working on a film like “Pizza Man” differ from something like “Agent Cody Banks” which had a significantly higher budget?

MUNIZ: For me as an actor, it’s the same for me as an actor. I’m here and I’m giving it 100% no matter what the budget is. If we were filming it with our iPhones, I’d still try to be the best actor I can be in the film.

As far as the quality of what I’m seeing in the dailies, I’m actually shocked at how amazing everything looks. Visually, the movie looks really, really good. So I’m happy about that. I think Joe Eckardt, the director, is doing a really good job, and I’m having fun working with him.

Frankie with Diamond Dallas Page, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and director Joe Eckardt

KSITETV: Can you talk about some of the actors who are also starring in “Pizza Man?”

MUNIZ: We have a pretty good cast put together. I’ve got Shelley Long playing my mom. My girlfriend and all of my family are like “oh my God, I love her!” And Diamond Dallas Page; I was a big fan of his while growing up watching wrestling. He’s a really great actor. It’s been really great to work with him, because he’s really into it, and he really is putting in a lot of time to get into his character. It’s been good. We have a lot of cameos lined up. Adam West, the original Batman, we’re going to shoot that on Sunday. There are a lot of those, so that’s kind of been the most fun so far. We had Rowdy Roddy Piper. It was really cool. We’re getting a lot of good stuff. Everyone I’ve been working with has just been really fun, and we’ve been having a good time.

KSITETV: How do you feel when you first put on the “Pizza Man” costume?

MUNIZ: I’m not gonna lie. It’s just that little shameful embarrassment, but it’s perfect for what the character is feeling as well. At the beginning of the movie, my mom makes me go out on the street and hold the sign, as my punishment for dropping a pizza. So I don’t like it, and it is embarrassing. Everyone makes fun of me in it.

I remember the first time I tried it on, I was like ‘Oh my God. I can’t believe I’m actually wearing this,’ but I think that’s a lot of the comedy in me being Pizza Man. So I think it’s good.

As unrealistic as a super hero is, it’s almost more realistic, because my character is such a normal guy. Even when he is kicking butt, he is still kind of shocked by it. He’s just trying to do good, but he is just a normal guy trying to get the girl. He doesn’t turn into a super cool guy.

KSITETV: Will any music from your band be heard in the movie?

MUNIZ: Potentially. We talked about it. We have a bunch of original songs. Marco [Mannone] the writer asked if we could maybe put something together that ties the story in a little bit through the song. We’re working on that now, so we’ll see. Hopefully. That would be really cool to incorporate my band and my movie. I think it would be good. We’ll see.

KSITETV: You still have many fans across the world who still actively follow your every move. Do you have something special you’d like to say to those fans who might be reading this?

MUNIZ: I’m really excited to be back in the acting world, and I hope everyone accepts me coming back. I’ve kind of ventured off and done a few other careers and new things, and I’ll still be pursuing those as well, but I’m hoping everyone enjoys the movie.

The release date for “Pizza Man” has yet to be announced. Stay tuned tomorrow for another interview as KSiteTV celebrates “Pizza Man Week.” Please do not reproduce this interview on other websites; instead, just link to the original article! Thanks very much to the folks at “Pizza Man” and especially to Frankie Muniz for making this interview possible.

Here’s a new photo from the set of the upcoming film “Pizza Man” starring Frankie Muniz and “Diamond” Dallas Page.

Above you can see Frankie and DDP with “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who makes a memorable appearance in the film, and director Joe Eckardt.

Be sure to come by KSiteTV for “Pizza Man Week” next week as we interview members of the cast and crew!

Those who are familiar with this site and site network probably know that this all started with Superman – first as an online newsletter/website for Lois & Clark and then of course KryptonSite for Smallville.

In 1997, soon after Lois & Clark ended but a few years before Smallville premiered, a Superman-related character made his big-screen debut in the form of the character John Henry Irons, aka Steel, who first appeared in the Superman comics from DC after the character “died.”

Unfortunately, like the Halle Berry Catwoman disaster, this is one of those spin-offs that could even make Batman & Robin look good.

Warner Bros. through their “Warner Archive” program recently made this available. From my understanding, Warner Archive releases lesser-known movies directly onto DVD rather than going for a full release. I admit, I was a bit excited to see this as 14 years later I still haven’t seen this part of Superman (sort of) history.

The first surprise I had was that this was written and directed by Kenneth Johnson, the creator of V who made that fantastic mini-series. He also was the writer and producer tasked with making the Hulk incredible, in the original TV series which I still believe to be superior to the two recent films. I thought “this couldn’t be so bad, really?” And… well…

I don’t have much other frame of reference so I don’t know if Shaq’s “acting” got better than this, but Judd Nelson as the movie’s villain isn’t any better. The problem with Shaquille O’Neal (who is playing John Henry Irons aka Steel in this movie) is that he’s one of those actors where it’s clear he’s trying too hard and he’s, well… acting. It doesn’t make him believable in the role.

The sets of this movie seem on par with the first Street Fighter movie that was made a year or two earlier. Not too impressive. Oh, and the soundtrack is ATROCIOUS.

I will say, though, that I actually like the Steel “armor” in the movie. The visible mouth is weird, but I thought the design was well done.

The other problem I have with Steel as a film in general is that the character’s origins in the comics are so based around Superman; I think a Steel movie can only properly exist as a direct spin-off from a Superman movie. Much like the previously-mentioned Catwoman; if Halle Berry had appeared as the character in a Batman film first, I might have been more interested. Though really, what I wanted was a Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman movie.

Anyhow, this movie satisfies a curiosity at the very least, and at its best it is an exercise of amusement. It makes me sad, though, that such a big movie studio couldn’t create something… better.

The other surprise I get from this movie is that, in nine years of watching Smallville it has never crossed my mind that John Henry Irons should appear on the show. Now, I’m wondering why he hasn’t already!

My final comment on all of this is that I am very impressed with the “Warner Archive” DVD program and really wish they’d expand it to include television series. There are several shows Warner Home Video has started and never finished the collections for, such as Superboy; and there are others like the Fugitive remake with Tim Daly or the Dukes of Hazzard spin-off Enos that might not sell too well in a wide release but with a program like this, might get to see the light of the day. If anyone from the Warner Archive is reading this, please consider it!

You can purchase Steel from the Warner Archive here.

Here’s another casting scoop about the new movie “Pizza Man” starring Frankie Muniz, Diamond Dallas Page, and Shelley Long, among others…

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper was on set today filming a cameo! This news should be big news to Piper fans, who should really enjoy his scene.

Look for some “Pizza Man” interviews here on KSiteTV later this week.

“Pizza Man” (Frankie Muniz) vs. Kryder (“Diamond” Dallas Page)

Frankie Muniz, David H. Lawrence XVII, and “Diamond” Dallas Page aren’t the only TV favorites appearing in the upcoming independent science-fiction superhero feature “Pizza Man.”

KSiteTV’s Craig Byrne visited the movie’s set today, and will be posting interviews with key members of the cast and crew shortly. While there, he was able to get the scoop on several actors who you can expect to see in the feature, which is now shooting.

Here are some of the cast members that are confirmed and/or already shooting:

Frankie Muniz (Malcolm In The Middle, Agent Cody Banks)
“Diamond” Dallas Page (Championship Wrestler)
David H. Lawrence XVII (Heroes’ Puppet Master)
Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law, Major League)
Shelley Long (Cheers, The Brady Bunch Movie)
Michael Gross (Family Ties, Tremors)
Leonard Roberts (Heroes’ D.L., Smallville‘s Nam-Ek)
Noah Gray-Cabey (Heroes’ Micah)

Currently UNconfirmed for the movie are some faces from superhero and comic book television series of the past. Once those are confirmed, hopefully the production will allow for those to be revealed.

Stay tuned for more information. Also to note: Dallas Page has been video-blogging from the set, where his character has undergone some pizza-like affectations to his face. You can see his latest video blog here.

Malcolm In The Middle star Frankie Muniz is returning to acting for the first time in five years for a new movie currently being filmed with the title of “Pizza Man.”

The film is executive produced by Foz McDermott, known to many online fans of Heroes as “TheMightyFoz” on Twitter. McDermott was involved in many aspects of the show’s production, also producing for the BBC “Heroes Unmasked” series in addition to writing episodes of the Heroes “Slow Burn” tie-ins as well as writing for the online graphic novels.

“Pizza Man,” envisioned as a family-friendly feature that could be enjoyed by fans of the genre as well as their kids, also features former championship wrestler “Diamond” Dallas Page as the villain.

Why is this on KSiteTV, you ask, as this is primarily a television site? The answer is simple: The hope is to incorporate some folks from past superhero-related projects either in full roles or cameos. Most of the appearances are yet to be announced or officially confirmed, although we do know that David H. Lawrence XVII, aka Heroes’ Puppet Master, will be in the movie as a character who is very different from his Heroes role.

Writing the script will be Marco Mannone. whose previous credits include 2008′s Vampire Killers.

Directing the film is Joe Eckardt, who directed High Hopes starring Jason Mewes of Kevin Smith movie fame.

Stay tuned for more information about this project as it becomes available.