With the upcoming Jonah Hex live- action film (out in theaters on June 18) starring Josh Brolin and Megan Fox, it seems like the perfect time to visit some adventures from Mr. Hex’s past. Warner Premiere believes the best way to do that is to buy their 8th motion comic, Jonah Hex Motion Comics.

Based on the comics written by John Albano and drawn by Tony DeZuniga, these new Jonah Hex Motion Comics are perfect for all you western lovers out there. If you recall, Warner Premiere is the same company that brought us both the Batman: Black and White and Watchmen Motion Comics series.

Over the course of 7 episodes, which will lead up to the theatrical release, the Motion Comics specifically cover three archival stories from Jonah Hex’s comics past. The first five episodes are adapted from the graphic novel Two Gun Mojo, which features Jonah Hex seeking justice and revenge against Doc Williams and his gang over a murdered friend. The other two stories are taken from the 1970’s comics The Gunfighter and The Hangin’ Woman. Viewers should be aware these stories are re-colored and animated for the first time.

UPDATE #2: I was able to hear back from Fox again, and was told that Billy West and John DiMaggio did indeed sign on along with everyone else. Futurama is back, folks!

UPDATE: The trades are reporting that all of the cast members, including West and DiMaggio, have signed new deals. As I said earlier, someone from Fox told me directly that only the three actors were confirmed so far, and I haven’t heard anything since then, but the big boys seem to have heard differently, so it all seems legit. Rejoice!

Earlier today, the news that we had all been waiting for was announced: the original voice cast had been signed for the upcoming new 26-episode run of Futurama. The news was initially reported by The Star, but has since changed up a bit: I contacted someone at Fox who confirms that Katey Sagal (Leela Turanga), Maurice LaMarche (Kif Kroker/Hedonismbot/Morbo/Donbot/Clamps), and Tress MacNeille (Mom) had all officially signed on. This of course means that the biggest name of them all, Billy West (Philip J. Fry/Dr. John Zoidberg/Prof. Hubert Farnsworth/Zapp Brannigan), and John DiMaggio (Bender Bending Rodriguez) — who admitted that he was confident all cast would return at Comic Con — had not yet signed on, but it is hoped that an agreement will be reached with the rest of the cast soon.

The news comes after the shocking report recently that the original voice actors with stuck in a financial dispute, and that a casting call had gone out to find new voice actors to take on all of the show’s roles.

I’m not feeling great this week, so when the floodgates opened up today with a frenzy of backlash in regard to the news that 20th Century Fox is looking to re-cast all of the voice actors for the revival of Futurama…well, my little illness tripled over on me. That’s right, after making the giant announcement that the show would return (Read: Never Underestimate The Power Of Hypnotoad: “˜Futurama’ Is Officially Back!), they now are looking to replace brilliant talents like Billy West (Philip J. Fry, Professor Hubert Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Leo Wong, Zapp Brannigan), John Di Maggio (Bender), Katey Sagal (Turanga Leela), Phil LaMarr (Hermes Conrad), Maurice LaMarche (Kif, Donbot, Morbo, Calculon), and others.

At first, many believed it was just some sort of marketing ploy and that the plan was to throw everyone into a panic and then throw some big surprise party with the cast showing up and all being well in the world. Though this scenario would be accepted and laughed about later, I believe it would still infuriate fans to hear they purposely did this. However, it appears that word first broke out when multiple cast members mentioned it on their Facebook, which takes away a Comic Con surprise. Then there is Forces of Geek, who brought the news to us with a giant official-looking casting call with all the characters that they want to re-cast as well as clips on Hulu to use as reference.

As it stands now, the situation looks like a good ol’ executive blackmailing attempt. Fox doesn’t like the salaries that the actors want to be paid for their work, so they tell everyone to screw and put out a casting call for other voice actors in hopes that the original cast will lower their fee. A truly dirty and despicable play by the studio. As any fan of the show will tell you, no other show’s voice talent is as important as the cast of Futurama. That core of talents is so good, it just doesn’t matter who they found or how accurate they sounded, you know it just wouldn’t be the same and we would all be able to tell the difference. These guys deserve every single dollar that they’re looking for, and it’s very unlikely that they’re demanding more than is fair.

Click over to the other side to get a look at the call for submissions the studio has put out.

Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
DVD
Directed by Peter Avanzino
Starring Billy West, John Di Maggio, Katey Sagal, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr, Maurice LaMarche
Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: February 24, 2009

Futurama aired from 1999 to 2003, but it was canceled after its fifth season. Though it got off a few more seasons than Family Guy and Firefly, it’s definitely classified among the shows that Fox has canceled way too soon.

As we know, Family Guy was brought back and soared to immense success, while sadly, Firefly remains buried and cold. Futurama kind of fell in the middle of these two. It wasn’t brought back to TV, but noticing the fan demand, it was decided that four direct-to-DVD movies would be made to see where the shows popularity stood.

The first three to arrive were Futurama: Bender’s Big Score, Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs, and Futurama: Bender’s Game. Bender’s Big Score was loved by fans and did well, while the other two did decent, but weren’t quite as praised as the initial offering. Either way, fans were thrilled just to be getting some fresh content.

The last movie to come along is our review today: Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder. It’s a little bittersweet this time, because after this movie, the future of Futurama is uncertain. There’s always the chance that this may just be the last we ever see of the gang.

101 Dalmatians 2: Patch’s London Adventure
Special Edition (2003)
Directed by Jim Kammerud, Brian Smith
Starring Jason Alexander, Jodi Benson, Barry Bostwick, Maurice LaMarche, Michael Lerner
Walt Disney Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: September 16, 2008

101 Dalmatians 2: Patch’s London Adventure takes place right before the epilogue of its 1961 predecessor with Roger and Anita Radcliffe and their 101 dalmatians getting ready to move from their London flat to a large farm in the country dubbed “Dalmatian Plantation” (the same as the tune from the first movie).

As with original animated 101 Dalmatians, the adult male dalmatian Pongo begins the narration of this 2003 direct-to-video sequel, which sees the Radcliffe clan accidentally leaving behind the adventure-seeking puppy Patch on moving day. Feeling like he’s nothing more than one out of 101, Patch decides not to find his family, but instead head into the city for an audition for his favorite TV show Thunderbolt Adventure Hour, which stars the title superhero German Shepherd who Patch idolizes.