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With Netflix’s The Sandman hitting the streaming service, fans can take a trip in the mystical and often surreal world of dreams. Comic fans have long heralded Neil Gaiman’s story arc as one of the greatest stories told not just in graphic novels but in all literature. His run of comics is often discussed in the same reverence as such titles as Watchmen or The Dark Knight Returns.

Fans were wondering if it would ever get turned into a live-action project that would be treated with the respect and budget it deserved. Netflix was happy to step up to the plate and make it happen. The ten-episode series has captured fans’ imaginations, and they are eager to hear about a second season. The whole series is filled with all sorts of Sandman easter eggs for comics fans and references you may not be expecting.

Warning: There Will Be...

Toy Story has been a staple of pop culture for more than 20 years. The movies, which largely center on Woody and his relationship to his human owner, Andy, have touched the lives of many Disney fans over the years and it remains one of Tom Hanks' most recognizable roles, despite the fact that he's not actually on screen. Or is it really one of his most recognizable roles? As it turns out, Tom Hanks has a brother named Jim Hanks and, believe it or not, Jim actually voices Woody rather frequently.

Yes, when you're watching any of the main Toy Story movies, or the upcoming Toy Story 4, it's Oscar-winner and generally beloved man Tom Hanks providing the voice for Woody. However, there's a lot of licensed merchandise, such as short videos, toys and video games that are made for the Toy Story franchise. Given that Tom Hanks is...

John Dimaggio has the kind of résumé that would leave most voice actors envious. He’s best known for his work on Futurama as Bender, but he’s also made appearances on Adventure Time, American Dad! and Samurai Jack. At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, he took part in the I Know That Voice panel. The 2013 documentary is being developed into a television series, with each installment focusing on a particular voice actor and exploring their creative process and career trajectory. Before the panel, we sat down with Dimaggio to find out which classic voice actors most inspired him.

Dee Bradley Baker has had a long and diverse career in voice acting, giving life to Spider-Man villains, flying bisons and winged lemurs, and of course the Tazmanian Devil in Space Jam. At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, he took part in the I Know That Voice panel. The 2013 documentary is being developed into a television series, with each installment focusing on a particular voice actor and exploring their creative process and career trajectory. After the panel, Baker gave us a crash course in doing a good Taz.

Let’s just get this out of the way now: Amongst we ComicMixers, the esteemed (and far prettier) Emily S. Whitten is a bigger and better fan of voice actors than I shall ever be. With that being said… aren’t voice actors amazing?

You see, in between bouts of crippling sinusitis and binge-watching Breaking Bad like I was addicted to meth, I opted to catch John Dimaggio’s documentary I Know That Voice. A fantastic little flick dedicated in celebration of a continually (mostly) unsung hero of the animated world: the voice performer. With interviews from some – if not most – of the current tribe of working actors and actresses who lend their larynx to the cartoons of the day, I simply must recommend watching it yourself soon if you haven’t already.

But that recommendation is not my singular premise of the week, kiddos. For you see, it was...

David Oyelowo knew seven years ago that he was destined to play Martin Luther King. How? God told him. In our telephone interview, 38-year-old Oyelowo unpacks his road to "Selma." Back in May, 2007, the British stage actor moved to L.A. from London to boost his movie career. Two months later, he first read the script for "Selma." "I was a British actor who hadn’t done any Hollywood movies," he says. "Playing Dr. King, a role of that size or that nature, was by no means on my mind. I'm realistic, but when I first read the 'Selma' script, I had this deep-seated spiritual knowing that I was going to play this role. God told me I would. I'm a Christian. I know that voice, it told me to marry my wife, gave me the names of all my children. That voice was in my life at pivotal moments,...

The thing I love about voice actors is that even if you don’t know their names or faces, you will “know that voice.” And considering voice actor Eric Bauza was responsible for one of my favorite scenes in the voice actor documentary I Know That Voice, I’m super glad that I not only know that voice, but got to interview it (and the man behind it!) at this year’s New York Comic Con.

Eric, who hails from Canada and began his animation career as a character designer who also did animatics, is now most known for the legacy voice of Marvin the Martian from The Looney Tunes Show and for a myriad of other great voices, including Tiger Claw on the current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, Foop on The Fairly OddParents, Belly Bag on Uncle Grandpa, Buhdeuce on Breadwinners, Amadeus Cho on Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher,...

Goooooood evening, boys and girls! Before we get on with today’s column, let us have a moment of silence (because we’ve all fainted from excitement) to celebrate that a Deadpool movie is really, truly, finally in the works. For real this time. Like, totally.

…

…

(Obligatory Nsfw test footage shot)

Aaaaaand, we’re back. Everyone have time to get up off the floor? Yes? Excellent. And don’t be ashamed of fainting. I’m that excited, too! Now, we just have to hope that they don’t screw it up.

And now on with the column. The convention season has been just flying by, it seems. Barely did I return from Sdcc before it was time to start finalizing my costumes and setting my meet-up plans for Dragon Con; and of course after Dragon Con, Baltimore Comic Con was literally right around the corner, being the next weekend. And...

After reading my Twitter feed one night during Sdcc weekend, my friend (and cool voiceover dude) Bob Joles joked that I was just at Sdcc for the parties. And while that’s not entirely true, I do love a good party and folks at Sdcc host some killer shindigs. I’m eternally sad that I can’t somehow clone myself and be at all of them at once, but I did manage to make it to a good handful this year, so here’s my Sdcc Party Round-Up!

Gabe Eltaeb’s Comics Kickoff Fundraiser with Jinx Clothing

Wednesday night I didn’t actually expect to be at any parties, but I did meet some friends for a late dinner over at Basic Bar & Pizza, and it turned out that Jinx Clothing was co-sponsoring a comics party there with artist Gabe Eltaeb. It was pretty cool! For atmosphere they had the...

Burger King upsets the haters, the rise of the intergenerational gay couple, why George Takei loves America even when it betrayed him

Fresh off calling Michele Obama a “tranny,” Joan Rivers sat down with CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield to talk about her new book. After some joking around, Whitfield asked legitimate questions, like if Rivers felt she was mean to celebrities, or how she could call herself an animal rights activist and wear fur on the cover of her book. It was at that point that Rivers told her she was the wrong person to interview someone who does humor, and left the set of the live interview. I get that Joan thinks being a comedienne gives her a blank check to say whatever she wants, but it doesn’t excuse her from answering to it, and reporters aren’t just there to be a part of your PR machine.

CBS

It is no secret that the world of Star Trek is a somewhat incestuous one with actors returning for more than one role. We have all had the moment of watching a character on screen thinking “I know that voice, where was he/she from again?” Only for the penny to drop and the realisation that they had appeared in a previous episode and, sometimes, in different series.

Even in the films the legendary David Warner managed to appear in two films back to back as different characters. He played St John Talbot in the lamentable Star Trek V only to return briefly but triumphantly in the follow up Undiscovered Country as Chancellor Gorkon. Incidentally, he also returned to provide voice overs to more than one Star Trek computer game. Ethan Phillips, the lovable Neelix, played two different Ferengi characters, as well as appearing in Voyager as Neelix pretending to Be a Ferengi.

Song. Dance. Sketch. These are three things that Maya Rudolph is planning to bring back to prime time — along with a good time. The Maya Rudolph Show, a variety special that airs May 19 at 10 p.m. on NBC, will take the Saturday Night Live vet to familiar places with familiar faces: SNL alums Fred Armisen, Andy Samberg, and Chris Parnell, along with Sean Hayes, Kristen Bell, and Craig Robinson, are among the featured guests. (SNL overlord Lorne Michaels is serving as executive producer.) It’s a chance to reunite with some old pals but also bring back a piece of a different past.

First stop, the Annie Awards which honor excellence in the animated world. And the winners are:

Best Animated Feature:

Frozen, Walt Disney Animation Studios

Annie Award for Best Animated Special Production:

Chipotle Scarecrow, Chipotle Creative Department, Moonbot Studios

Best Animated Short Subject:

Get A Horse!,Walt Disney Animation Studios

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial:

Despicable Me 2, Cinemark - Universal Pictures

Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children:

Disney Sofia the First - Disney Television Animation

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children.s Audience:

Adventure Time, Cartoon Network Studios

Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production:

Futurama,20th Century Fox Television

Best Animated Video Game:

The Last of Us, Naughty Dog

Best Student Film

Wedding Cake, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, Viola Baier, Iris Frisch

Animated Effects in an Animated Production:

Jeff Budsberg, Andre Le Blanc, Louis Flores, Jason Mayer, The Croods, DreamWorks Animation

Animated Effects in a Live Action Production:

Michael Balog,...

Walt Disney Animation's Frozen took top honors as Best Animated Feature at the 41st Annual Annie Awards held Saturday, February 1 at UCLA's Royce Hall. The Best Animated Special Production was awarded to Chipotle Scarecrow (Chipotle Creative Department, Moonbot Studios); Best Animated Short Subject Get a Horse (Walt Disney Animation Studios); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial Despicable Me 2 (Cinemark-Illumination Entertainment/Universal); Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children Disney Sofia the First (Disney Television Animation); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Children's Audience Adventure Time (Cartoon Network Studios); Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production Futurama (20th Century Fox Television); Best Animated Video Game The Last of Us (Naughty Dog); and Best Student Film Wedding Cake (Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg - Viola Baier, Iris Frisch).

Often a predictor of the annual Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, the Annie Awards honor overall excellence as well as individual achievement in...

Walt Disney Animation’s ‘Frozen’ took top honors as Best Animated Feature at the 41st Annual Annie Awards held Saturday, February 1 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. The Best Animated Special Production was awarded to ‘Chipotle Scarecrow’ (Chipotle Creative Department, Moonbot Studios); Best Animated Short Subject ‘Get A Horse!’ (Walt Disney Animation Studios); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial ‘Despicable Me 2′ (Cinemark-Illumination Entertainment/Universal); Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children ‘Disney Sofia the First’ (Disney Television Animation); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Children’s Audience ‘Adventure Time’(Cartoon Network Studios); Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production ‘Futurama’ (20th Century Fox Television); Best Animated Video Game ‘The Last of Us’ (Naughty Dog); and Best Student Film ‘Wedding Cake’(Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg - Viola Baier, Iris Frisch).

Often a predictor of the annual Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, the Annie Awards honor overall excellence as well as...

You can say this about voice-over actors: They love to talk. One hundred and fifty of Hollywood's busiest performers and casting agents from the often overlooked industry enthusiastically share their stories in the new documentary I Know That Voice, available on VOD platforms and at iTunes starting Tuesday.

Director Lawrence Shapiro was inspired to make the film when he saw how animated (pun intended) fans became when meeting his friend John Dimaggio, voice of the curmudgeonly-yet-beloved robot Bender on Futurama. "I'll admit it, applause is great," says Dimaggio, one of the industry's most popular and prolific stars, whose résumé also includes roles on Adventure Time, The Penguins of Madagascar and Kim Possible. But outside of fan-centric events like Comic-Con, voice actors work in relative obscurity, which motivated Dimaggio to sign on as producer. "I want my peers to get a little bit of recognition. These are some of the most talented people I know,...

The International Animated Film Society, Asifa-Hollywood, announced nominations today for its 41st Annual Annie Awards recognizing the year’s best in the field of animation. The Annie Awards cover 30 categories and include Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Special Production, Commercials, Short and Outstanding Individual Achievements.

The slate of nominations for Best Animated Features this year include: A Letter to Momo (Gkids), Despicable Me 2 (Universal Pictures), Ernest & Celestine (Gkids), Frozen (Walt Disney Animation Studios), Monsters University (Pixar Animation Studios), The Croods (DreamWorks Animations), and The Wind Rises (Studio Ghibli and The Walt Disney Studios).

The Croods

Juried awards, honoring career achievement and exceptional contributions to animation, will also be presented. Three Winsor McCay recipients have been selected by the Asifa-Hollywood Board of Directors – Katsuhiro Otomo, Steven Spielberg and Phil Tippett for their career contributions to the art of animation; June Foray Award – Alice Davis for her significant and benevolent or...

How often does one get to go to both the West and East Coast premieres of a movie – if you’re not involved in it, that is? Probably not that often. But I just did, and that was pretty darned cool. This past week, I got to experience the world premiere of I Know That Voice at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood; and then two days later, the East Coast premiere of the voice acting documentary at The National Press Club right here in D.C.

If you read my columns at all, you’ll know I’m a big fan of the talents of the voiceover industry and of this documentary. So it was a ton of fun to go to the world premiere, because literally 80% of the extensive cast was in attendance, and everyone was really happy to be there.

It was fun to watch the red...

I love visiting New York City, and New York Comic Con is one of my favorite shows. I always have a great time, and this year was no exception. One other thing that remains consistent every year I go is that it all goes by in a total whirlwind blur, and I can barely remember all the things I saw and did, or when they occurred.

But for you, my faithful readers who may not have been able to attend, I’ll try to remember some of the best parts of the weekend, and, as Inigo Montoya would say, “sum up.” So here we go! In no particular order, some of the coolest experiences I had in NYC:

I saw First Date, the Broadway musical starring Zachary Levi, and it was fantastic. I also interviewed Zac at The Nerd Machine booth during the con – so stay tuned for my review...

At Dragon Con a few weeks ago, I was delighted to catch up with voice actor John Dimaggio (a.k.a. Bender from Futurama) once again. John was at the con for several voice actor and Futurama panels, and also to continue spreading the word about his new voice actor documentary, I Know That Voice, which I interviewed him and the other producers about during San Diego Comic-Con. John was actually selling limited collector’s edition/advance copies of the documentary at the con, so not only did I check in with him on further documentary news, but I also snagged a copy of the film! Read on for our short I Know That Voice follow-up interview, and my review of the documentary!

What has the reception to the I Know That Voice documentary been at Dragon Con, and have you sold some of the advance copies?

It’s been really wonderful.

Well, actually, he’s a lot of animals. From Perry the Platypus on Phineas and Ferb to Appa and Momo on Avatar: The Last Airbender, voice actor Dee Bradley Baker is the man behind a whole slew of animal and creature sounds you might not even guess could come from a human being. Of course, he also voices awesome speaking characters, such as all of the clones on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Klaus the German fish on American Dad! And then there are all of those video games he’s provided voices or sounds for, like the Halo series, Portal 2, Gears of War 1 – 3, Diablo III, Left 4 Dead 2, the Ben 10 video games, and several Marvel and DC games, including Batman: Arkham City. In fact, if you look over his ridiculously long IMDb page (329 titles!) I think you’ll find that even if you are not a heavy consumer of entertainment,...

Hey ComicMixers! It’s time for more news from Sdcc. W00t!

While at the San Diego Comic-Con, I was happy to get to see the panel for I Know That Voice, the new documentary about voice actors that is slated to come out this fall (and don’t forget to visit that link and sign up for DVD pre-order news!). The panel was moderated by executive producer John Dimaggio, voice of Bender Bending Rodriguez on Futurama and Jake on Adventure Time (and many other voices as well!). It featured Iktv producer Tommy Reid; co-producer and director Lawrence (Larry) Shapiro; voice actors Rob Paulsen, Dee Bradley Baker, Fred Tatasciore, James Arnold Taylor, and Tom Kenny; casting director Andrea Romano; and Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward. And it was a blast!

I’ve talked about how excited I am for this documentary before, and this panel definitely highlighted the reasons I am looking forward to it.

San Diego Comic-Con International has come and gone, and it was a blast! But boy, am I exhausted. I definitely need a little bit of mellow down-time after all of the (great!) excitement of the biggest genre con in North America (or maybe the world? I’m too tired to look this up, y’all). That’s why even though I’ve got lots of fantastic news and interviews coming your way (Psych! Almost Human! I Know That Voice! Warehouse 13! Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D.! Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox! Captain America: The Winter Soldier! Guardians of the Galaxy! Interviews with voice actors Rob Paulsen and Dee Bradley Baker!), today I want to talk about the most chill place I hung out this weekend – Nerd HQ.

Nerd HQ, now in its third year, is technically not part of Sdcc, being the brainchild of Chuck star Zachary Levi and operating as its own thing,...

Guess what, ComicMix readers? Convention season is upon us! Hurrah!

“Aw, shucks,” you say. “I can’t make it to any conventions.”

Fear not, faithful friends! I am here to save the day by attending and reporting back for you. And I am psyched about it. Yes, I’ll probably need to hibernate my con exhaustion away afterwards, but man, I love the energy and excitement of a good con. And good thing, too, because this year, I’m planning to attend The North American Discworld Convention; San Diego Comic Con; Dragon*Con; Baltimore Comic Con; the Small Press Expo; New York Comic Con; and Capclave. Whew!

NADWCon and Sdcc are right around the corner, so I’m extra excited about those! Here’s what I’m looking forward to:

The North American Discworld Convention

The NADWCon is taking place in Baltimore, MD from July 5th to 8th, and memberships are still available!

There’s something really satisfying and simultaneously surreal about seeing the person behind a cartoon voice in the flesh. It’s why Hank Azaria always gets asked to do all of his Simpsons voices whenever he does the late night circuit. It’s a serious profession undertaken by seriously talented people, but it’s one that’s been shifted to video games as a result of growing popularity and the continued use of movie stars to do animated voices. So it’s a triumph to see a documentary celebrating and exploring that craft. I Know That Voice features a long list of the best in the business. Billy West, Tom Kenny, Andrea Romano, John Di Maggio, June Foray, Charlie Adler, Carlos Alazraqui and Tara Strong are just a few of the people who lent their voice (and the rest of themselves) to the doc. Check out the trailer for yourself: Source: Aint It Cool...

As a kid, one of my favorite cartoons was the Nicktoon "Doug" to the point that I bought all the seasons on DVD and have watched them as an adult. Thankfully they still hold up, but the one thing that blew my mind was when I became a fan of "Futurama" in my later years, I learned that the voice of the titular character from my childhood was in fact the voice of Philip J. Fry, all provided by the talents of Billy West. You might find that there's plenty to learn about the voice actors behind cartoons, TV commercials and movie trailers in this cool new documentary I Know That Voice, for which a trailer has been released. Watch! Here's the first trailer for Lawrence Shapiro's documentary I Know That Voice via The Daily What: Lawrence Shapiro directs I Know That Voice, a documentary that looks at the...

The first trailer for the documentary I Know That Voice has gone online. The film takes a look at the talented actors behind some of the most familiar voices in TV, film, and video games. Yes, Movie Trailer Guy (his name is David Kaye) is there, but also included in the documentary are Futurama’s Billy West, Rocky and Bullwinkle’s June Foray, and the voice of Batman himself, Kevin Conroy. I think voice-over work is an excellent subject for a documentary, and this trailer gives a fun look at the people behind those familiar characters. Most interesting, perhaps, is the fact that many of them look absolutely nothing like the characters they voice. Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and be sure to have IMDb up and running. No release date is scheduled for the pic, but hopefully we get a look at it sooner rather than later.