ATCHITY PRODUCTIONS TO REPRESENT SHADOW GHOST BT SIFU KURTIS FUJITA

Atchity Productions, the company behind the wildly successful film franchise The Meg, has signed an agreement with independent comic book publisher Fifth Ring Studios to represent and bring the critically acclaimed martial arts comic Shadow Ghost to Film and TV.

Shadow Ghost: The Kung Fu Comic by a Kung Fu Master is a spellbinding coming of age tale about a young man whose search for the truth about a legendary hero leads him to study Kung Fu in Chinatown, and through a twist of fate, becomes part of the legend himself.

The groundbreaking comic book is written and illustrated by real life Kung Fu Master and Fifth Ring Studios founder, Sifu Kurtis Fujita.

“We are thrilled to bring the saga of the Shadow Ghost comic to live action and animation audiences with Atchity Productions who has an impressive record of success in the global film market.” said Fujita.

Given the universal appeal of both the martial arts and comic book genres along with the unprecedented uniqueness of the Shadow Ghost property, fans of action cinema will have much to look forward to with the adaptation of the Kung Fu comic by a Kung Fu master.

DABEL BROTHERS PLANS 'MEG'-A TIE-IN

Dabel Brothers will be releasing a comic book tie-in for the Jason Statham-starring film MEG.  Steve Alten, who wrote the novel on which the film is based, is writing the six-issue series. The first issue will ship in April.

The comic, book, and film center on Jonas Taylor, who finds himself face-to-face with the largest predator in the history of the animal kingdom: Carcharodon megalodon, an immense (not so) extinct species of shark that is closely related to the great white.

Jon Turtletaub (National Treasure) is directing the film, with Statham starring as Taylor. The film also stars Cliff Curtis (Fear the Walking Dead), Masi Oka (Heroes), Ruby Rose (John Wick: Chapter 2), and Bibgbing Li (Transformers: Age of Extinction).

Dabel Brothers announced last week that it would release a comic series based on Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles, which the publisher will distribute to comic stores itself (see "Dabel Brothers to Launch 'Iron Druid Chronicles' Comic").

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New Comic Book Release by Kareem Abdul Jabbar & Raymond Obstfeld: Mycroft Holmes: The Apocalypse Handbook

 
Basketball legend, novelist, and superstar polymath Kareem Abdul-Jabbar brings his take on Sherlock Holmes' older brother to comics at last! An all-new adventure set in the world of the bestselling Mycroft Holmes novel, The Apocalypse Handbook, sees the diffident, brilliant Mycroft pulled into a globe-spanning adventure at the behest of Queen Victoria and a secret organization at the heart of the British government.

A madman is on the loose with civilization-destroying weapons, each two hundred years in advance of the status quo. Can the smartest man in England set aside his idle, womanizing ways for long enough to track down the foe that may be his match?

Pop Culture Uncovered

 
"I actually gasped aloud at several points, when I wasn’t cackling with laughter, the dialogue and personalities are just so on point and so well supported by the art that this was a joy to read."

ComicWow

 
"This is a great issue to start off a series that is going to be full of adventure and intrigue. Our protagonist is, thus far, really interesting. His intelligence resonates really well, and is almost mesmerizing. The creative team on this series has done an amazing job so far, and I can’t wait to see where things go from here!"

The Hulking Reviewer 

 "Mycroft Holmes and the Apocalypse Handbook #1 is a sensational start to the series combining an intriguing story setup with entertaining character development and action. It’s an engrossing issue from the first page to the last due to the smooth writing and beautiful visuals. The way the attack on the British museum unfolds sets the tone early, and the focus on Mycroft’s behavior makes him feel like a unique character while leaving room for some serious growth. I know it’s only one issue but at this rate this series could easily become one of my favorites. I highly recommend it." 

Jeff Katz bows genre label

Bases multiplatform shingle on comics
By MARC GRASER

After shepherding installments of several high-profile franchises including "Friday the 13th," "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "X-Men" at New Line and Fox, Jeff Katz has ventured off on his own to launch genre label American Original.

Referring to the company as a "nerd machine," American Original will produce movies, TV shows, Web projects and graphic novels. Katz has inked a deal with Top Cow Prods. -- which was behind "Wanted" and vidgame "The Darkness" -- to publish the comicbooks.

Company will initially launch two divisions. American Original Press will publish up to 10 comicbook titles per year, with the goal of adapting them as films, TV shows, Web series or games; American Original Entertainment will serve as the production arm.

Ben Austin, a former New Line, Fine Line and Fox staffer, will be director of development.

Katz will own and produce all titles under the American Original label, with Top Cow's Matt Hawkins and Marc Silvestri exec producing select books.
Company's advisory board includes director Richard Donner, producer Ralph Winter and former New Line distribution chief David Tuckerman.
Aim is put more control in the hands of creatives by pairing up with them to publish a library of graphic novels in order to generate a fanbase around the properties, and then use that established awareness to set the projects up at studios.

Strategy isn't that unusual from that those of other companies that have ventured into the comicbook space, but Katz's shingle will share ownership of the properties with the creators and pay out a percentage of any coin generated by the projects across the various platforms on which they appear.

"The genre audience has been derisively labeled with a variety of names -- 'fanboys,' 'geeks' and the like," Katz said. "While the bad news is that we are only a niche, the good news is that the future of entertainment is a future built on niches. This audience is expanding and is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the new entertainment model."

Katz recently exec produced "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" at Fox, where he served as VP of production. He ankled the studio last year to set up the new shingle.

He landed at Fox after rising up the ranks at New Line, where he began as an unpaid intern after becoming pen pals with company topper Bob Shaye. While there, he shepherded such pics as "Freddy vs. Jason," "Snakes on a Plane" and "Shoot 'Em Up," also as VP of production.

Katz also has established himself as a comicbook scribe, having written "The Wicked West" for Image Comics and co-written DC Comics' "Booster Gold" and Wildstorm & Dynamite's "Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash."