Alex Ness over at PopThought had some very nice things to say about the recent “Freaks of the Heartland” trade paperback (which you can purchase in the Steve Niles . com Store signed by Steve himself).

“This is Niles’ greatest work and combined with the awesome painted art of Greg Ruth this comic should enter the grand pantheon of the great comics. Beyond the quality of story and art is the brilliant package offered here. A die cut cover, new art, sketchbook and more, you easily get your money’s worth here.”

Steve and Tom just can’t stop talking! That’s good news for their fans, naturally. The latest interview about the RAW Entertainment venture is now up at Cinescape under the unfortunate title of “Rubbing It Raw With Steve Niles and Tom Jane.” Although the guys knew this headline was going to come one of these days. It’s a nice interview. Go check it out.

Our friends over at Comic Book Resources snapped a pic of the “Bad Planet” crew during this past weekend’s Comic-Con International and they happily agreed to let us run it over here! Check out this happy group.

On the off chance you didn’t know, from left-to-right that’s Thomas Jane, Steve Niles and Tim Bradstreet.

Your friend and mine, Mr. Steve Niles, has been a busy little writer lately, talking about all the work he’s got coming up. If he keeps this up, he’ll be doing interviews for a living and won’t get any writing done. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. Unless he unleashes the dogs on us again, in which case we have absolutely no control over what happens next.

First up is an interview he did along with his friend/co-writer/producer-pal Thomas Jane over at About.com. This interview mostly focuses on the work Steve and Tom will be doing together as Raw Entertainment. Next up is an interview covering the finally solicitied “Batman: Gotham County Line” over at Newsarama. Check ‘em both out, then stop by the Steve Niles Forum to discuss. That’s what I’ll be doing.

So you’re thinking to yourself, “You know, self, I’m going to be at Comic-Con International in San Diego this week and I’d really like to meet that cool cat Steve Niles. I mean, it would be a scene, man.” We understand and we’re happy to oblige. Steve will be all over the place during the show and you have many opportunities to meet the man.

FRIDAY

2:00 - 3:30 - Lions Gate Film Booth #3913

signing: Thomas Jane (actor - “The Punisher”), Steve Niles (writer - “30 Days of Night”), and Tim Bradstreet (artist - “The Punisher,” “Hellblazer”). Signing on behalf of their new upcoming Lions Gate Films projects from RAW Entertainment - “In the Blood” and “The Lurkers”

3:30 - 4:00 - Pocketbooks signing. Booth #1132

4:00 - 5:00 - BOOM Studios signing. Booth #1533

SATURDAY

11:00 - 12:00 - Desperado publishing. Booth #2744

12:30 - 1:30 - PANEL: Fanged and Furry Fiction Horror and Monsters and Spooks, Oh My! Room 9

2:00 - 3:30 - Booth #2643

Image signing. There will be a limited edition “Bad Planet” poster, featuring the cover art of issue #1, that will be given away & then signed by the trio. Only 500 of these will be given out and that is all, so make sure to stop on by! Get ‘em while they’re hot!

4:00 - 5:00 - BOOM Studios signing. Booth #1533

SUNDAY

12:00 - 1:00 - BOOM Studios signing. Booth #1533

Ever since the announcement of Steve and Tom Jane’s new production company, Raw Entertainment, it seems everyone wants to talk to the guys. Steve spent some time talking to Fangoria the other day about the deal. In the interview he also announced a new project. “I’m also doing a kids’ comic called ‘The Cryptics’ with Ben Roman,” Steve told Fangoria. “It’s pretty much like a scary ‘Peanuts’; it’s all the monsters when they are little kids, living in the same neighborhood.” Sounds good to us!

Steve also gets in on the fun in an article at the LA Times (registration required) as part of their coverage of the Horror Writers Association awards.

In a story posted on Newsarama it’s revealed that our buddy Steve’s first Marvel work will be a book called “Marvel Monsters: Monsters On The Prowl.” Here’s Marvel’s solicitation info:

MARVEL MONSTERS: MONSTERS ON THE PROWL
Written by STEVE NILES
Penciled by DUNCAN FEGRADO
Cover by ERIC POWELL

Brace yourself for the most original, innovative tale you ever–nah, it’s just giant monsters breaking things! It’s the Hulk, the Thing, Giant-Man and the Beast vs. a tidal wave of the most terrible monsters of the Marvel Universe! The Collector has inadvertently unleashed classic creatures Droom, Grogg, Goom, Rombuu, Grattu and more on New York City! Can our heroes save the day and have fun doing it?

Plus: A classic tale from the past, “We Found the Ninth Wonder of the World” from Tales to Astonish #1, January 1959 by Jack Kirby/Chris Rule

48 PGS./Marvel PSR …$3.99

Official Press Release

Santa Monica, CA, July 6, 2005- Lions Gate Films, the motion picture acquisition, production and distribution arm of Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE and TSX: LGF), has acquired worldwide rights to many of popular comic book author Steve Niles’ extensive catalogue, in addition to confirming a first look deal on all film projects by or found by Niles and actor Thomas Jane, it was announced today by Peter Block, President Acquisitions and Co-Productions, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Michael Paseornek, President, Lions Gate Films Productions.

The deal includes the hit catalogue title The Lurkers, The Dark Country by Tab Murphy (Tarzan, Atlantis: The Lost City), In the Blood, and a new project which is to be unveiled at the upcoming Comic-Con genre convention in San Diego, where Niles and Jane will be present. Jane, who toplined Lions Gate’s hit THE PUNISHER, will take leading and supporting roles in the films, and he and Niles will serve as producers with Lions Gate Films. Block, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions Jason Constantine, Paseornek and Director of Development Alex Franklin will oversee the productions for the studio.

“Steve Niles’ graphic novels are horrific and visionary, and are ripe for adapting into atmospheric, terrifying feature films,” said Block. “We are very excited to be in business with Niles and the talented actor/writer Thomas Jane, and are looking forward to working with them to bring these properties to the screen and to the large number of fans eager to see them realized on film.”

“There is no other place to go with boundary-pushing genre material than Lions Gate, as they have proved countless times. I am happy to have found the best place for my books to be transferred to the screen,” said Niles. “My experience with Lions Gate on THE PUNISHER was fantastic, and I am looking forward to working with them on these projects both in front of, and behind the camera,” added Jane.

Block and Sam Wollman, Director of Business and Legal Affairs, negotiated the deal on behalf of Lions Gate. Eddy Yablans of ICM, Bryan Wolf of Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca & Fischer LLP and Alex Kohner of Barnes, Morris, Klein, Mark, Yorn, Barnes & Levin represented Niles and Jane.
Lions Gate is the premier independent producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment and video-on-demand content. Its prestigious and prolific library is one of the largest in the entertainment industry. The Lions Gate brand name is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.