Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Zenescope NEWS - Ralph Tedesco Interview on Charmed


On the heels of the announcement of a new Charmed comic book series, Comic Vine decided to catch up with Zenescope's Editor-in-Chief Ralph Tedesco to ask him what we can expect to see with the all new series. We found out who will be working on the project, whether or not it will be an ongoing as well as whether or not the characters in the television series will look like the ones in the upcoming comic. Check out the full interview below!

Comic Vine: Rumor has it you recently acquired the rights to publish a 'CHARMED' comic book based on the hit television series. How did that come about? What was the process like?

Ralph Tedesco: Yes, we finally made the official announcement yesterday. To answer your question, since releasing SE7EN and FINAL DESTINATION, which we licensed through New Line Cinema a few years back, we've focused mainly on publishing original content. However those series did very well and we always wanted to do more licensed projects but only if it made sense and only if we knew we could do the title justice. CHARMED was just a no-brainer to us because it fits in our wheelhouse of beautiful and strong-willed female lead characters.

The process definitely took a little while and was in the works for well over a year.. We were discussing all the potential storylines and details with CBS for quite some time and they also needed to make sure the lead actresses were all okay with us using their likenesses. The main thing was that we all wanted to make sure this was something we were going to do right so we didn't want to rush anything.


CV: Will the characters from the television series appear in the comics? Will you model the characters in the comic after the respective actress that played them on the small screen?
RT: Yes, all the girls have agreed to their likenesses being used which is great news. It was definitely important to CBS and to us that Alyssa, Holly and Rose were all on board with the idea... I also learned that Alyssa has been posting updates about the news of the comic on Twitter which is very cool of her to do.


CV: When will you publish the series? Will it be an ongoing?
RT: We have a special Spellbook preview issue hitting stands in June. And although it will be ready beforehand, it looks like we'll wait to debut issue #1 at Comic Con International in San Diego in July.

CV: Can you reveal who the creative team for the book will be?
RT: We found a truly excellent writer named Paul Ruditis who has penned quite a number of CHARMED novels. He knows the universe inside and out and has co-written a few books with series creator Constance M. Burge. He was our first choice to do this series. Then we brought in Raven Gregory who has written numerous Zenescope titles for us to co-write and to help Paul make the jump into writing comics. Those two have really meshed extremely well. Then there's the talented Dave Hoover providing pencils for the series and Milen Parvanov will be coloring. We also have numerous wonderful cover artists including Greg Horn, Al Rio and David Seidman to name just a few.


CV: Were you a fan of the TV series?
RT: This is funny because I didn't really watch it much for the first few seasons but my girlfriend at that time was hooked so I started watching with her and then of course I got into it. Joe's (my business partner) wife and daughter are enormous fans still so he was following the series for a while. Needless to say they flipped out when he told them the the news that we were publishing the comic.

CV: Do you think that the new series will change Zenescope? What's the target audience you have in mind for the book?
RT: I don't think it will necessarily change Zenescope other than hopefully pulling more fans toward following our titles. What people sometimes don't realize is that we have a large female fan base because our Grimm Fairy Tales and Wonderland books have such strong female lead characters and we're very proud of that fact. So our hope is that Charmed will strike a nice balance of both male and female readers and we certainly want fans of the TV series who might not already be reading comics to jump on board as well.

CV: Thanks again for doing this, Ralph. I look forward to your replies! Also, are you going to be attending any conventions this year? Will you be at Wonder Con?
RT: Thanks again Sara. I had fun doing this. We won't be at Wonder Con unfortunately but we'll be at C2E2 in April, we're also doing Wizard Philly in June, of course San Diego in July, Fan Expo in August and NYCC in October.

If you liked the television series, then chances are you will enjoy the comic. Charmed hits store shelves with Issue #0 this June release and issue #1 is set to debut at Comic Con International in San Diego this July.


Full Interview Details @ Comic Vine - HERE

Zenescope NEWS - Charmed Update !!!


Zenescope Entertainment has officially announced they have obtained the comic book and graphic novel publishing rights to the television property Charmed (1998-2006) created by Constance M. Burge from Spelling Entertainment, under license from CBS Consumer Products.

The comic book publisher, known for beautiful, sultry and strong female characters, has now added three more to the mix. The ultra-popular Charmed television series aired for eight seasons on The WB network and averaged more than 4 million viewers throughout its run.

Zenescope's comic book series will feature a brand new storyline which picks up where the television series left off. The story follows the Halliwell sisters, a beautiful trio descended from a line of powerful but good witches, as they battle against evil beings in modern day San Francisco.

Attached to write the new comic book series is author Paul Ruditis, who has written several Charmed novels such as Leo Rising (with Constance M. Burge) and As Puck Would Have It. Co-writing with Ruditis will be Raven Gregory, writer of the acclaimed Wonderland trilogy published by Zenescope. Renowned artist Dave Hoover (Captain America, The Wanderers) will be providing interior illustrations for the series.

"The key to this series success is to strike a nice balance in creating a brand new, intriguing storyline for fans of the television show while also not alienating Zenescope and comic book readers who haven't really followed it before but might want to now that it's a comic," said Zenescope Editor-in-Chief Ralph Tedesco. "The great thing is that Paul and Raven have done just that with this story arc. Anybody will be able to pick up this series and follow it whether or not they ever watched the show before. Moreover, fans of the show are going to be thrilled when they see where this story goes."

Issue #0 is scheduled for a June release with issue #1 to debut at Comic Con International in San Diego this July.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

ZeneGirl of the Year 2009 - WINNER !!!!


FYI voting for the 2009 Zenescope girl has ended on the Zenescope Forum on March 3rd. The winner will receive a 3 day and 2 night trip for two to San Diego Comic-Con this July!

Zenescope Entertainment is known for their beautiful, brainy and butt-kicking female characters, so it's only natural for us to hold our first ever Girl of the Month Contest. One winner will be chosen each month to represent the Zenescope website as the Zenescope Girl of the Month 2009 and all you need to do to enter is email us a picture of just you along with a brief bio that includes your favorite Zenescope title and issue and any other fun facts about yourself that you want us to know to info@zenescope.com and make sure the pic includes a Zenescope theme! Whether it's you wearing a Zenescope T-shirt, holding a Zenescope comic or dressed as your favorite Zenescope character, just get a photo to us for your chance to win.
One winner will be chosen each month and that winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to COMIC-CENTRAL.COM online store as well as a Zenescope Gift Pack.
Fans have selected one of the 12 monthly winners who will take the GRAND PRIZE: a 3 day, 2 night trip to COMIC CON International 2010 in San Diego courtesy of Zenescope Entertainment. The grand prize winner will also make an appearance at the Zenescope booth to sign autographs and to hang with the Zene-crew.







Please give Big CONGRATS to -
Samantha
The 2009 Zenescope Girl of the Year

ZeneGirl of the Month - Kandy


CALLING ZENESCOPE GIRLS FOR 2010!!
Little Red thinks you should do it and so do we...

Do you want to be a Zenescope girl in 2010? Do you have a girlfriend, fiance or wife who you think should be the next Z girl? Submit a minimum of 3 pics dressed as your favorite Zenescope character to info@zenescope.com at any time starting right now... You heard us, go get that camera and get moving! Prizes will be announced next later this month. Entrants must be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the U.S. or Canada to enter this contest. All specific contest details, prizes and prize details to be determined by Zenescope in its sole discretion. Please make sure picture resolution meet the following specifications: 5"x7" / 150dpi.jpg / no more than 2MB in size

ZeneGirl of the Month
Kandy

Please give conrats to - Kandy
The 2010 - 3rd Zenescope Girl of the Month





March
IMPORTANT! PLEASE DOWNLOAD,
SIGN & MAIL THE MODEL RELEASE FORM TO BE ELIGIBLE:


Girl of the Month Release Form

*You MUST be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the U.S. or Canada to enter this contest. All specific contest details, prizes and prize details to be determined by Zenescope and/or contest sponsors in their sole discretion.

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