Author: Glenn Hauman

Dynamite Entertainment has signed a comprehensive licensing agreement with Conde Nast for comic books based on The Shadow. Arguably the most famous pulp hero of the 20th century and an inspiration for Batman among many others, The Shadow has been featured in comic books, comic strips, television, video games, and at least five motion pictures.

“We are pleased and excited to entrust The Shadow to the capable, creative hands of Dynamite Entertainment,” said Jerry Birenz, licensing attorney for Conde Nast.  “We look forward to a continuation of the long tradition of The Shadow in comic books, and the enjoying of the new adventures and experiences Dynamite Entertainment will bring us.”

Introduced as a mysterious radio narrator by David Chrisman, William Sweets, and Harry Engman Charlot for Street and Smith Publications, The Shadow was fully developed and transformed into a pop culture icon by pulp writer Walter B. Gibson.

The Shadow debuted on July 31, 1930, as the mysterious narrator of the Street and Smith radio program Detective Story Hour.  After gaining popularity among the show’s listeners, the narrator became the star of The Shadow Magazine on April 1, 1931, a pulp series created and primarily written by the prolific Gibson.

“Pursuing The Shadow has been a life time quest,” says Dynamite Entertainment President and Publisher Nick Barrucci.  “Dynamite is working to launch the Shadow with some of the comic industries leading talent including John Cassaday, Alex Ross, Ryan Sook and Jae Lee, with more to be announced – creators who will bring justice to The Shadow.”

Just as with Dynamite’s pick up of The Green Hornet, this could also signal movement on a new Shadow movie. The Shadow was last seen on screen in 1994 in a film starring Alec Baldwin, Penelope Ann Miller, John Lone, Ian McKellen, and Tim Curry. In years past, Sam Raimi has also expressed interest in doing a Shadow movie.

A Larkspur native was charged with insider trading Thursday on allegations he made nearly $200,000 by buying Marvel Entertainment options before the comics publisher was acquired by the Walt Disney Co. in 2009, federal authorities said. The SEC said Toby Scammell turned a 3,000 percent profit in less than a month.

via Marin Independent Journal.

Related articles

• Fund manager charged as Marvel insider trader (omg.yahoo.com)
• Kibbles ‘n’ Bits 8/12/10 (comicsbeat.com)

…the only drawback is that you need either a key or sonic screwdriver to get out of the dang thing.

But after seeing this corset, I finally understand Neil Gaiman’s episode of Doctor Who.

Created by Mayfaire Moon.

Having drawn capacity crowds for its debut last summer, AniMiniCon SoHo 2011 returns this weekend featuring a great lineup of guests and events, plus the return of the SoHo Host Club, a group of young gentlemen fans of anime and manga, who interact with the crowd and ensure that every guest has a great time!

Guests include voiceover artist and host of Anime News Network TV Mario Bueno, Lizbeth R. Jimenez (creator of Sacred: The Manga) who is scheduled to do a live demonstration of manga illustration techniques; Brian Mah, animator, designer, and visual artist, who will do a live workshop on animation cel inking, plus portfolio reviews for a limited number of pre-registered students; and costume photographer Stephen Tang.

This year’s events include:

• Friday Night Cosplay Party with snacks, prizes, and more
• Anime Screenings furnished courtesy of Eleven Arts, Inc., including the films [[[Chocolate Underground]]] and [[[Ice]]]. (Note: Both these films have English subtitles.)
• Saturday Night Musical Concert featuring Alexandra Honigsberg
• Sunday’s Gothic, Lolita, Steampunk, Victorian, and Cosplay Tea featuring high-quality snacks, high-end teas, and other activities
• An expanded dealers room

The SoHo Gallery for Digital Art has high-resolution computer-controlled screens, creating the first gallery devoted to the of display digital art, both photographic and computer-created, as well as any traditional work of art that can be scanned in at a high resolution. For AniMiniCon SoHo 2011, the screens will show anime and manga art, as well as photorealistic scenes that transform the gallery into a virtual “time and space” machine.

TICKETS: Purchase 3-day pass online = $30.00 at www.animiniconsoho.com
At the door: 3-day pass = $35.00; one-day pass = $15.00 per day

TIMES: Friday, 5pm – 10pm; Saturday, noon – 10pm; Sunday 1pm – 6pm

…Or How The Fuck Did That Happen, Part Two

Where was I last week?

I was in the midst of a great crusade against the most terrifying villain ever unleashed upon the universe. A tyrant created by an evil greater than Mephisto – or Emperor Palpatine or Darkseid, choose your poison – whose sole purpose is to destroy humanity. A crafty, insidious, and totally nasty piece of work, capable of twisting even the greatest brains ever known – Einstein, Newton, Hawkings, Reed Richards – into Roquefort cheese, of destroying REM sleep, of chaining even the raging Incredible Hulk to a chair for weeks.

Oh, yes, it was a battle for the ages. He tried driving me mad with visions of z-scores and ANOVAs and Pearson Correlations and Chi-Square Tests for Goodness. Of blinding me with r_s = 1 – 6∑D²/n(n²-1) and SS_A = ∑T²_ROW/n_ROW – G²/N and t = (M₁ – M₂) – (µ₁ – µ₂)/s(M₁ – M₂) equations and incapacitating my ability to write my column.

Who is this creature from which Doctor Doom hides in the blackest caves of the deepest forests of Latveria? Who is this monster that chases Galactus through the Andromeda galaxy? What is this, this thing, which sends Doomsday scurrying for his Mommy?

He is Statistics.

And though in the end I was bloodied and broken, I triumphed.

So where was I?

I had found some typewriting paper in a drawer. I had pulled my old portable manual out from underneath my bed, where it has been collecting dust bunnies for I-couldn’t-remember-how-long. I had gotten a paper towel and some Windex and had wiped off the keys. I had prayed that the ribbon was still good. I had rolled the paper in. Had set the margins.

And started writing…

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