There are now a little over three months until San Diego Comic Con and both Rach and I will be attending this year.

It’s too soon to know which TV shows and films will be represented at the convention however previous NPH projects have had a presence at the event – after all, this is a man who has voiced Peter Parker/Spider-Man (plus the Amazing Spider-Man in the recent video game, Nightwing and Barry Allen/The Flash. Really now, surely Joss Whedon must be able to find a space for him in The Avengers? This year we have a new Harold & Kumar movie to look forward (A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas) and certainly the stars of that franchise are no strangers to Comic Con.

And of course let’s not forget The Smurfs! If they can invade New York, is San Diego any safer?

One thing’s for certain: thanks to Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Neil is pretty much destined to always have a place in con-goers hearts. If we hear about any specific events planned for this year’s convention we’ll be sure to let you know and hopefully we’ll also be in a position to report back on these.

Titan Books very kindly sent us a review copy of the new official Dr Horrible companion, which is out now in the UK, and released on Tuesday in the US.  The 160 page book is packed with previously unreleased pictures, from the first table read through production and on to San Diego Comic Con and the various awards ceremonies that Dr Horrible was recognised at.

The design is gorgeous, with full colour pictures on almost every page in the first half of the book. Nathan, Felicia, Neil, and Simon Helberg have all written a page for the book, with Neil contributing the afterword and Nathan’s introduction coming in the guise of Captain Hammer.

The round-table interview with Jed, Joss, Maurissa and Zack is funny and reveals a lot of details about the early stages of production, and there’s a four page costume spread in which costume designer Shawna Trpcic goes into detail about the thought process behind most of the characters’ costume choices. Handwritten original lyric sheets and scribbled copies of Joss’ notes are a joy to look through, too.

The double page spread about the group’s trip to the 2008 San Diego Comic Con is also a nice addition, with a lot of photos and snippets from the panel discussion held that day, as well of pictures of some of the costumes that fans at that (and other) conventions have come up with!

The only slight disappointment is that a good portion of the book is taken up with content that’s either well known or only of interest to a select portion of the book’s audience. The sheet music takes up a good third of the book and if you’re not musically inclined those are 60 pages you’re not likely to look at. “Commentary! The Musical”‘s lyrics are a nice inclusion, though more likely to be used as a point of reference than something you’d sit and read. The full shooting script is also included, and while the dialogue isn’t something you’d necessarily need to sit and read, it’s nice to see the stage directions included and these pages in particular are covered with some of the best photographs.

All in all though, the pictures alone mean the book is a must-have for any fan of the series, definitely a worthy addition to your collection!

This month Titan books are releasing Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog: The Book, an official companion to the award winning web series.

Created for fun and released online for free, Joss Whedon’s musical tragicomedy Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog was an Internet sensation, winning numerous awards, including an Emmy, a Hugo Award and a People’s Choice Award and was named by Time magazine as one of the Top 50 Inventions of the year. Now a hit on DVD, and with whisperings of a sequel in the offing, Joss Whedon has teamed up with Titan Books to create DR HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG: THE BOOK!

This complete companion includes sheet music and lyrics, the full shooting script (and a transcript of Commentary! The Musical), and features exclusive new material from Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day and Simon Helberg. Plus, there’s a roundtable interview with the production team, heaps of previously unseen photos from on and off the set, costume designs and more!

The 45-minute long film tells the story of Billy, aka Dr. Horrible, a budding supervillain who wants to beat superhero Captain Hammer and take over the world… and pluck up the courage to speak to his laundromat crush Penny.

It was an idea that Whedon had been toying with for a while, but work commitments made it difficult to get off the ground; but in late 2007, unrest in Hollywood presented a chance. “The writers all got together and said, we have got to go on strike. And I said, this is my opportunity” recalls Whedon. “The only way to do it was by myself – and by “by myself” I mean with the help of everyone I know.”

Joining forces with brothers Jed and Zack Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen, the whole production was shot in just six days; and by the time it hit the Internet, fan anticipation was so high that initial demand for downloads crashed the server in a matter of minutes.

“I have to say, on reflection, that Dr. Horrible is the single best thing that I’ve ever done.”
– Neil Patrick Harris (from his afterword)

Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog: The Book is available from Amazon from March 29 with an RRP of $19.95 and for those outside the US, it can be purchased from some of the international Amazon stores too.

Whedonopolis got some exclusive scoop yesterday at Zack Whedon’s Terminator comic signing in Hollywood – Doctor Horrible 2 is currently being “organized and written”, with the script writing starting yesterday afternoon. While there’s still no news on a format, filming date or cast involvement, it’s much more concrete than anything we’ve heard before, so I can only imagine that news will start appearing over the next few weeks and months.

Check out Whedonopolis for the rest of the article!

Neil speaks to MTV about the sequel to the smash-hit web series and whilst he acknowledges that there are no firm plans at present, he believes it is unlikely to debut on the internet and is more likely to be a feature film (Of course it’s possible this may be in the form of Direct to DVD).

“I don’t know what their plans are, but I don’t think it will be on the Internet,” he added. “I think it will probably be a film. Now we have to figure out everyone’s schedules.”

Watch the interview here.

As part of the Television Critics Association winter press tour, journalists visited the HIMYM set yesterday, sitting in on the table read for episode 16, “Hooked”, as well as a press conference. At the press conference, talk turned to Dr Horrible 2, and SciFiWire reports on what Neil had to say.

“I keep sort of asking him if it’s going to happen, if there’s going to be any kind of Dr. Horrible-ness,” Harris said in a press conference Monday on the set of his CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother in Los Angeles. “They’re anxious to do it, but scheduling becomes the tricky issue.”

Harris’ sitcom leaves him only a few months between seasons to shoot other projects: enough time to shoot a movie or a Web series or even a Web series adapted as a movie, as Whedon has hinted.

But Whedon and company would have to have a script ready pretty quick to secure Harris. “We have from April till August off, which isn’t a huge window,” Harris said. “That’s kind of coming pretty soon, so I wouldn’t expect it to happen this hiatus.” That would mean we’d have to wait until late next year for Horrible 2.

Quantum Mechanix are now taking orders for a limited edition, fully licensed Dr Horrible Maquette. It is designed in a similar style to their Firefly range, and has a projected ship date of Feb 27th, 2010. The run is limited to 1,000, and costs $69.95.

If you’re in the US, you can watch Neil’s chat with Jimmy Kimmel last night on YouTube. It’s in two parts – part one, and part two. If anybody has a link for fans outside the US, please leave us a comment! It’s a great little interview, and they cover a lot, including the Big Gay Battle, the 100th episode and Neil’s directing stint.

And while Neil lost out to Steve Carrell at the People’s Choice Awards, we’d like to congratulate Alyson on her win in the Favourite TV Comedy Actress category.

ETA: Thanks to Kat, we now have an internationally viewable Jimmy Kimmel link. You can watch the whole interview here.

Neil has won his first Emmy Award – Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog took home the award for Outstanding Special Class – Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Programs at last night’s Creative Arts Emmys, beating off stiff competition from Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, 30 Rock’s Kenneth the Page, and Battlestar Galactica. Neil was there to pick up the award along with Felicia Day, Nathan Fillion, Simon Helberg, Maurissa Tancharoen and all three Whedon brothers, and you can see some pictures from last night in our gallery. And there’s a photo of Neil and Nathan posted on Twitter by Maurissa, here.

In other news, Neil recently lent his voice to a couple of episodes of Robot Chicken recently, episodes 14 and 16 of season 4 which went out in August. Sorry that we couldn’t warn you in advance!

Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog scooped Best Web Production at the Portal Awards.

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