by Ethan Kaye
Comic books weave threads through all popular media. What once lived in attics and dingy strip mall stores are now headlining box offices, Broadway stages, and magazine covers. So how far do these tentacles stretch? This column looks at what's popular, and uncovers some of the hidden connections to the comic world!
This week: "Castle!" When best-selling mystery author Richard Castle runs into a bout of writer's block, he does what any writer does: goes into the field and shadows a real cop, Kate Beckett. His writing takes on a new life, as he gets dragged into case after case by his "partner." The best part? Actual novels by "Richard Castle" are available at bookstores. And not just books – comics!
» Nathan Fillion: Castle himself is the cream of the Comic-Con celebrity crop. After starring in "Firefly" (which has been sequentialized by Dark Horse), Fillion can't go to a con without being mobbed. He's popped up in "Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," four comics from Dark Horse, and the "Castle" graphic novel from Marvel. Nathan's a go-to voice talent for animated geek TV too: he's done spoken roles for "Wonder Woman," "Green Lantern," "Justice League," and the upcoming "Justice League: Doom."
» Stana Katic: The real cop, recently discovered to be lying about her memory loss. Love is in the air in "Castle" but Stana's also been another famous love interest: Talia al Ghul. Her love affair with Batman has woven a thread through comics for decades and her appearance in "Arkham City" definitely spiced things up. When Stana strolled out on the stage at Comic Con, the whole audience dropped their jaws and said, "She's Talia al Ghul? Daaaamn."
» Jon Huertas: Jon plays Detective Esposito, one of the members of NYPD who's actually trained as a cop and not as a writer. When Jon was just starting out as a TV actor, he ran a respectable 12-episode stint on "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch." You can bet that was a comic first! "Sabrina's" first appearance was in 1962 and she's been published consistently since!
» Andrew W. Marlowe: He's not on-screen, but Marlowe's one of the most important people in "Castle" – he's the creator and head writer. If all goes according to plan, you'll be linking his name to a big comic property soon—as recently as August 2010, it was said that Marlowe is writing an upcoming "Nick Fury" movie!
» Richard Castle: Art imitates life, which imitates art—the fictional adventures of the fictional detective duo are immortalized in the Marvel comic "Castle: Richard Castle's Deadly Storm." The one-shot came in fourth in overall trade sales for September 2011 and was by Brian Michael Bendis and Kelly Sue Deconnick with interior art by Lan Medina.
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