Sequart.org Down

Sequart.org has experienced a loss of service due to a server-related issue. Our webhost migrated the site from one server to another, and it turned out that the complex site simply didn't work on the new server. So they shut us down... and will soon be shutting off the old server completely.

We are working nonstop to resolve the situation, but it doesn't look like it's going to more than a few days. We will most likely have to recode the entire site to one degree or another, since it was designed for a server that's being shut down.

We were all very shocked at this news, as we'd been assured that the server migration wouldn't cause many problems. It happened today, suddenly leaving us with only painful options. The most feasible one would seem to be simply moving to a different webhost.

On the upside, when we return, we'll probably be able to see the return of some features that were discontinued on the old server (such as comments and the database section). After all, if we're recoding anyway, we might as well revamp those aspects and make them work in the new environment.

So please bear with us... and rest assured that everything else has been dropped until we resolve this situation. We're dealing with this too, though we didn't want to be, and we're working hard to make sure that it turns out for the best, at least in the long run.

CBR Covers Teenagers from the Future

Comic Book Resources has a great interview with Timothy Callahan about Teenagers from the Future: Essays on the Legion of Super-Heroes.

The interview covers the whole of Legion history, not just the book, and is well worth reading. Interviewing Tim is CBR's Andy Khouri, who does an excellent job, as always.

The book is a big collection of essays, from scholars, fans, and comics creators alike. It'd edited by Tim (Grant Morrison: The Early Years, available in comic stores now), and it sports a foreword by Matt Fraction, an afterword by Barry Lyga, and a copia of essays on the whole history of Legion.

The book is currently in Previews for November ordering (order code NOV084474). For more information, click here.

We here at Sequart are grateful to the good folks at CBR (where Tim is a reviewer!) for the coverage!

Fox Plans X-Men: First Class Movie

Variety is reporting that Josh Schwartz has been tapped to write and possibly direct a new X-Men film named X-Men: First Class and focused on a younger cast.

Schwartz's record is well-suited to the task, given his creation of Gossip Girl, The OC, and Chuck.

Fox has been considering a film focused on younger X-Men for some time, which would allow most of the cast to be changed. This would avoid their higher salaries and keep costs down, while also avoiding the problem of where to take the characters after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand.

Past rumors focused on such a film featuring a new generation of mutants, not unlike the concept of Marvel's New Mutants, the 1980s X-Men spin-off title. Reportedly, Fox has now turned towards Marvel's current X-Men: First Class for inspiration, hence the working title for the film. That series is set in the past, showing established characters when they were younger and new to the X-Men.

If First Class goes forward, it's likely to hit theaters sometime in 2010.

In the meantime, however, Fox is offering X-Men Origins: Wolverine, set for release in May 2009. The film will feature the return of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and will reportedly introduce Deadpool to the cinematic X-Men universe. Fox is also developing X-Men Origins: Magneto and is reportedly considering a Deadpool movie if his appearance in Wolverine is well-received.

This was cross-posted as news on Sequart.org.

Want more information about the X-Men movies? The definitive book on the matter is Thomas J. McLean's Mutant Cinema: The X-Men Trilogy from Comics to Screen.

Teenagers from the Future in Previews

Sequart Research & Literacy Organization is proud to annouce that Teenagers from the Future: Essays on the Legion of Super-Heroes is now available for order through comic shops.

The book is listed in November's Previews catalog, which was published at the end of October. You can find it in the books section, which comes just after the comics section. We're proud that the book was chosen as the top "Featured Item" in books. You can see the Previews listing here.

The book, edited by Timothy Callahan (Grant Morrison: The Early Years), sports a foreword by Matt Fraction and an afterword by Barry Lyga. The collection includes the following essays:

"The Perfect Storm: The Death and Resurrection of Lightning Lad," by Richard Bensam
"Liberating the Future: Women in the Early Legion," by John G. Hemry
"The Silver Age Legion: Adventure into the Classics," by Christopher Barbee
"The (Often Arbitrary) Rules of the Legion," by Chris Sims
"Shooter's Marvelesque," by Jeff Barbanell
"The Legion's Super-Science," by James Kakalios
"Bridging the Past and the Present with the Future: The Early Legion and the JLA," by Scipio Garling
"Decades Ahead of Us to Get it Right: Architecture and Utopia," by Sara K. Ellis
"Those Legionnaires Should Just Grow Up!" by Greg Gildersleeve
"Thomas, Altman, Levitz and the 30th Century," by Timothy Callahan
"The Amethyst Connection," by Lanny Rose
"Revisionism, Radical Experimentation, and Dystopia in Giffen's Legion," by Julian Darius
"Pulling Back the Curtain: Gender Identity and Homosexuality in the Legion," by Alan Williams
"Diversity and Evolution in the Reboot Legion," by Matthew Elmslie
"Fashion from the Future, or 'I Swear, Computo Forced Me to Wear This!" by Martin A. Perez
"Generational Theory and the Waid Threeboot," by Matthew Elmslie
"A Universe in Adolescence," by Paul Lytle
"The Racial Politics of the Legion of Super-Heroes," by Jae Bryson

This essay collection, from fans and scholars alike, is as diverse as Legion history. No Legion fan or comics scholar should go without this critical celebration of the Legion.

The 6"x9" softcover book runs 344 pages and carries a $26.95 cover price. The order code is NOV084474.

Legal Disclaimer: the Legion of Super-Heroes and related characters are trademarks of DC Comics. This book is not endorsed or authorized by DC Comics.

About the Publisher: Sequart Research & Literacy Organization is a non-profit devoted to the study and promotion of comic books as a legitimate art.

We here at Sequart are proud to be listed in Previews and available through comics shops. We really want this book to be a success through comic stores, in particular, so it would mean a lot to us if you would support this effort. Essentially, we're asking you to vote with your dollars for our unique brand of well-written, accessible comics scholarship. And you get a really great book.

But please don't count on your store to order copies -- most stores won't. The best thing you can do is to order copies in advance by telling your store that you want them to get a copy for you. That's the only way to make sure you get a copy of this second edition in your store. Because we're buried in the catalogue, it might help to give your local retailer the book's order code, which is NOV084474.

If you believe in our mission or even just like more quality books on comics, spread the word. Blog about the book, even if it's just to point out this interesting item. Tell others. Whatever you do, get your store to order copies.

And thank you so much for making this and our other books like it a success! It means the world to us that we have such loyal, outgoing fans, and it's always inspiring us to do better.