A very Jim Shooter Thanksgiving
Former Marvel e-i-c Jim Shooter's blog has become the repository of some amazing stories -- some of them even true -- but here's one that could well become a holiday tradition: Thanksgiving in Newark. It's got everything a TV movie could need: a freelancer in need -- IRON MAN scripter David Michelinie -- an editor with a mission, two holiday orphans, and a quest to bring it all together:
Continue ReadingComing Attractions: Fall 2011: Random House (and friends)
This season's graphic novel offerings from Random House!
Continue ReadingHappy Turkey, everyone!
Hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving...and a lot to be thankful for. Including old comic book covers, courtesy of Cover Browser.
Continue ReadingActual Asian person Ken Watanabe potentially offered role in AKIRA remake
The long on-again, off-again life action Akira movie is decidedly on again at Warners, with Jaume Collet-Serra to direct the Steve Kloves script. Given that AKIRA is a worldwide classic of anime and Japanese film in general that hugely influenced both animation and the cyberpunk movement, it seems ripe for reinvention in that Hollywood way. And of course, also in that Hollywood way, despite the story being set in and infused with Japanese culture, because American moviegoers are all white and cannot be persuaded to pay money to watch Asian people on the screen, the film is being moved from New Tokyo to "New Manhattan " (essentially New New York) and replacing all the Asian characters with white people if casting rumors are true.
Continue ReadingDC New 52: Here come the crossovers
Just like the girl in the above panel from SWAMP THING, the New DC Universe is beginning to BRANCH OUT (haw haw) and get ENTANGLED (hee hee) in the vines of....continuity and crossovers! This according to hints and forebodings from EIC Bob Harras:
Continue ReadingRIP: Anne McCaffrey
First woman to win a Hugo Award (1968, for “Weyr Search”) First woman to win a Nebula Award (1969, for “Dragonrider”) First with a science fiction title on the New York Times Bestseller List (1978, The White Dragon) Named Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America (2005) Joined Science Fiction Hall of Fame (June 2006)
Continue ReadingNice Art AND Gift Guide Yuko Shimizu art book
Yuku Shimizu, the illustrator best known in comics circles for her covers to various DC books, has a new art book out. While this surely qualifies as Nice Art, it might also make a nice gift for someone!
Continue ReadingGift Guide: Drew Friedman’s new Tor Johnson print
Drew Friedman's print shop offers this stunning view of wrestler/Ed Wood Jr stock player Tor Johnson for a mere $150. Friedman's site contains many more prints of a similar quality level: Frank Sinatra. The Three Stooges. JF. Surely you know someone who would like such an object as a holiday gift? If not, you are hanging out with the wrong class of people.
Continue ReadingMark Millar: Digital comics should not be day and date
Mark Millar has staked a place out for himself as both a franchise comics creators, able to sell books on his name alone, and someone who isn't afraid to hold a renegade opinion -- and he is prepared to defend his answer with his own logic, which may or may not conform to what is generally considered common sense. Thus this long piece in which he says day and date digital is not a good thing for comics, suggesting that a theatrical to dvd type model make more sense -- print being the theatrical release, digital being the DVD. Digital readers "aren't as hardcore as the first group, but they're a great place to recoup any money lost in the initial phase. Digital comics are like TV rights to me in that they're the tertiary phase of all this. These are for the most casual, mainstream readers or viewers and much cheaper than the primary or secondary waves. They're a great way of pulling people in for the next product coming out in theatres or in comic stores, but absolutely not the bedrock of your business."
Continue ReadingComics among top-grossing book apps on iPad
Every month, AppData releases a list of the top-grossing apps for the iPad, and once again comics apps lead the pack for the book category. Predictably, comiXology is at the top, but it's followed closely by DC, Marvel and The Walking Dead. The chart represents purchases made THROUGH an app, not sales of an app.
Continue ReadingMore Occupy Comics reports: Sarah Glidden in Miami
Matt Bors writes to alert us to a news Occupy Comics sketchbook -- Sarah Glidden on Occupy Miami. Glidden was in town for the Miami Book Fair, but found time to visit the OWS site. She explains more here, including the view from Europe where she's currently working:
Continue ReadingBOOSTER GOLD latest superhero to get his shot on TV
Continuing the quest for a follow-up to Smallville, Booster Gold is the latest DC superhero to get a TV development deal, this time at the SyFy channel, under Greg Berlanti's production banner. The script is being written by Andrew Kreisberg, formerly of Fringe. Booster Gold appeared on the final season of Smallville, so he isn't a complete TV virgin.
Continue ReadingAs Marvel Turns: Buzz and Business Factors
The business side of Marvel has been quite a wild ride lately. First you had layoffs. Then you had cancellations. Then iFanboy wrote a piece about what other titles were falling into roughly the same sales range on the Diamond estimates, and could conceivably be in danger of cancellation. Then Ivan Brandon got worked up about such talk of sales levels and cancellation. Right on cue, a title on the iFanboy watch list (Daken: Dark Wolverine) got cancelled. Bickering ensued. Now Kiel Phegley is stepping back and taking a more measured look at Marvel's line and business factors than we've seen, thus far. I'd like to add a few factors into the discussion of what goes into deciding a book's fate.
Continue ReadingHow much does it cost to buy a convention? $77,500
Thanks to some SEC filings, you can see how much a good-sized regional convention is worth -- in the case of Wizard World's 2010 acquisition of the Mid-Ohio Con, the amount was $77,500. $60,000 was to be paid in royalties on booth sales and sponsorships only over a period of several years, with a five-year consulting fee of $3,500 to be paid out after $60k in royalties was reached. The Wizard World page doesn't have booth costs for Mid-Ohio, but several people complained that they were raised this year, so everyone was getting their share of the till. Wizard World has just announced its first 2012 show, January 28-29 in New Orleans, and the current lineup for next year is a modest 4 scheduled shows -- with the Big Apple con and Austin still TBD.
Continue ReadingGift Guide: Superman socks with mini calf capes
Although Edna Mode famously cried "No capes!" people can't seem to get enough of them these days, with capelets and mini capes among the outerwear options for fall and beyond. But if you need capes on all your extremities, these Superman socks with attached capes will get you flying down the street. According to the seller, they are for schoolgirls, but they go up to Women's size 9, so a variety of ages and sizes can get in on the fetish fun. Usually, however, it is males who get socks for Christmas since there is little giftable that can be purchased for them. Maybe these are a comedy option for the BIg Bang Theory types in your household?
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