Tidbits: Whedonverse Edition

***WARNING: Lots of nerd jargon in this post. You have been warned.***

New Christian Kane EP Out Today!




Christian Kane, who earned his entry to the Whedonverse by playing the role of conflicted Wolfram & Hart lawyer Lindsey McDonald on Angel, released a 5-song digital EP today! That’s right. Five brand new songs from the Southern rock-country musician. I downloaded this before sunrise and have been jamming to it on repeat ever since. “The House Rules” was previously available to stream from their Myspace page (remember Myspace, guys?), but the other four are completely brand new to my ears. I am in love, in LOVE with “Making Circles” and “Let Me Go.” I would list the other two songs, but then I wouldn’t be attempting to pick favorites anymore and that would sound lame. The point is that this is an amazing preview of Christian’s evolving sound. In an email sent out this morning, the Christian Kane team promises that there is “more to come later this year,” citing the fact that they just couldn’t let us wait for new music any longer as the reason for releasing an EP. Head over to iTunes, Amazon’s MP3 Store or (get ready for it, non-US fans!) Christian’s official site to get the EP now! And for those of you who are teetering on the edge with curiosity, if you head over the ChristianKane.com you can still download “The House Rules” for free and sample some of Christian’s bad ass tunes for yourself.

Oswalt Spills the Details on His Firefly Comic

A few weeks ago, Alan Tudyk (insert glorious list of Whedon accolades here) mentioned in an interview that comedian and actor Patton Oswalt was working on a one-shot Firefly—or more specifically, Wash—comic book. Oswalt earned his Whedon stripes in 2009 when he appeared in two episodes of Joss’s latest series Dollhouse. He will now extend his involvement from Dollhouse actor and avid Firefly fan to comic-writing genius. Oswalt spoke with MTV News about the project and what inspired him to write a comic that focuses on a dead character, saying, “I had always been kind of bothered by Wash's death.” The story, which picks up after the events of the 2005 Firefly movie Serenity, will introduce new characters to the Firefly universe as a few of Wash’s friends buy a new ship together and christen it—hence the title Serenity: Float Out (“float out” meaning to christen a ship). The comic will, to quote the MTV story, “explores how the end of one character's life spins out into the beginning of a new chapter in the "Serenity" universe.” Serenity: Float Out will be released from Dark Horse Comics on June 2nd. Click here to catch a first glimpse of the cover art.

BONUS: Don’t forget! There are more Firefly comics to come in 2010! Ron Glass recently confirmed to Ain’t It Cool News that the long-awaited A Shepard’s Tale comic will be released this fall! It’s been almost three years since this project was first mentioned. So, big sigh of relief, yes/yes?

Felicia Day Trades Vamps for Werewolves

SyFy network is working on beefing up their original telemovies slowly but surely. They are currently in the midst of a long term project giving fairytales serious makeovers. And they are off to a great start! Their re-imaginings kicked off at the end of February with Beauty & the Beasts: A Dark Tale. And things keep getting better! SyFy announced yesterday in a press release that actress Felicia Day will be their Little Red Riding Hood. Except Little Red won’t be heading to grandma’s house for tea and crumpets. She’s going to be a werewolf hunter. The film, simply titled Red, is scheduled to premiere in 2011. Click here to read the full release with more detailed plot info (I shielded my eyes as I prefer surprise, but be my guest!).

Netflix Has Whedon Fever!

Newly defunct site Streaming Soon, which has provided thorough up-to-the-minute news on Netflix Watch Instantly releases for the last year, went out with a bang when they released a string of announcements about Whedon shows that Netflix will soon be adding to their instant service. All seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, the entirety of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and season 1 of Dollhouse will be available via Netflix Watch Instantly in the very near future. So, for those of you out there who have never experienced the magic of Whedon or only visited some parts of the Whedonverse, now is your chance to delve deep into the world of Whedon!

The Whedon Oscars

Last month, Why I Watch hosted a lovely Oscar-themed poll that put all of the Whedonverse cast and crew in the spotlight for a change. The results are in! Click here to see who from the Whedon realm won Best Actor in a Leading Roll and Best Writing for an Original Screenplay!

UPDATE 12:58pm:

Speak of the Shep devil! Comic Book Resources just published an interview with Dark Horse editor Scott Allie and artist Chris Samnee for Serenity: The Shepard's Tale. The article also reveals that the graphic novel will be published in hardback and as a whole (rather than a three-issue mini series as previously reported). Click here to check it out, but beware of plot spoilers!