Author: Glenn Hauman

Iron Man: Armored Adventures breaks Nicktoons rating record

Iron Man: Armored Adventures breaks Nicktoons rating record

  • News
  • April 29, 2009

The debut of Iron Man: Armored Adventures this past Friday, April 24, gave Nicktoons Network a ratings record.  Based on Marvel’s Iron Man character, the series premiered with back-to-back episodes at 7-8p, with the 7:30p episode earning Nicktoons Network its highest-rated original series premiere among Boys 6-11 125,000.  The hour-long block of Iron Man debuts also boosted the network’s ratings during the 7-8p time period by +43% with K6-11 and +55% with B6-11.  The Iron Man premiere helped NicktoonsNetwork.com reach its biggest week ever, earning 239,000 visitors, an increase of +389% vs. last year.

Chris Claremont speaking tonight at MoCCA about Wolverine

Chris Claremont speaking tonight at MoCCA about Wolverine

  • News
  • April 29, 2009

wolverinejacket-sm-1The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art
is pleased to present:
Wolverine: Inside the World of the Living Weapon
Discussion and Book Signing event with Chris Claremont and Matthew K. Manning, moderated by Peter Sanderson
Wednesday, April 29th, 7pm
Admission: $ 5 |  Free for MoCCA Members

In anticipation of the May 1 theatrical release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, join us as Chris Claremont, best known for his work on Marvel Comic’s X-Men series, leads a discussion with Matthew K. Manning, author of DK Publishing’s newly-released Wolverine: Inside the World of the Living Weapon, a comprehensive guide to the savage world of the X-Men’s most popular super hero.

Chris Claremont has encountered more success than most writers ever dream of. Although best known for his work on the X-Men series, he has written other seminal characters as Batman and Superman; originated several creator-owned series such as The Black Dragon and Marada, the She-Wolf (artist: John Bolton), and the contemporary superhero series, Sovereign Seven; is published throughout the world in many different languages; authored nine novels including the science fiction series First Flight, Grounded!, and Sundowner, and the contemporary dark fantasy Dragon Moon; and even had his first video game premiere in Spring 2006.

Matthew K. Manning has written numerous comics for a variety ofpublishers, including Marvel and DC. His work has appeared in the pagesof The Batman Strikes!, Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century, Justice League Adventures, Spider-Man Unlimited, Looney Tunes, and Marvel Romance Redux. For DK, he has penned the updated versions of Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide and Hulk: The Incredible Guide, the children’s title Marvel Heroes: Greatest Battles, and contributed to the Marvel Chronicle.

Secret messages in ‘Farscape: D’Argo’s Lament’ #1

Secret messages in ‘Farscape: D’Argo’s Lament’ #1

  • News
  • April 28, 2009

Come with me, ladies and gentlemen, as I reveal the secret hidden messages in Farscape: D’Argo’s Lament #1, written by Keith R.A. DeCandido, drawn by Neil Edwards, published by BOOM! and out in stores tomorrow.

Some spoilers of jokes ahead, along with the truth of where writers really get their ideas, so we’ll put them behind the cut.

(more…)

Alan Moore reads Rorschach’s Journal

Alan Moore reads Rorschach’s Journal

  • News
  • April 28, 2009

This recording, taken straight from the text of Watchmen, is incredibly creepy and dark. You’ll listen to this and think Jackie Earle Haley was an amateur:

‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ premiere scuttled in Mexico City; massive theater closings in Mexico

‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ premiere scuttled in Mexico City; massive theater closings in Mexico

  • News
  • April 28, 2009

Twentieth Century Fox has decided to postpone the premiere of X-Men Origins: Wolverine set for Wednesday in Mexico City, as the city remains paralyzed by the virus that has killed over 150 people. In addition, the major cinema chains in Mexico City have already announced they will be closed for the weekend, and may end up being closed for much longer.

Hugh Jackman, who was expected to attend the premiere, will now pull back. “We were not only concerned about Hugh’s welfare – and we would never send anyone into harm’s way – but we also have an enormous office filled with people we care about,” says a rep for Fox quoted in People. “There was no point in proceeding under the current conditions.”

Mexico’s film market share is about 13% of the US, so a misfire will make a dent in worldwide box-office. But the bigger concern may be the US– New York is a major market, and more swine flu cases have been reported here. In any pandemic situation, people will be told to avoid gathering in crowds– like movie audiences.

If this keeps up, the only way to watch this film at all will be online. Which, considering how an early version of the film hit the Internet a month early, would be terribly ironic.

Nebula Awards: And the winners are…

Nebula Awards: And the winners are…

  • News
  • April 26, 2009

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) announced the winners of their annual Nebula Awards tonight in Los Angeles, California. The ceremonies was toastmastered by Janis Ian— yes, that Janis Ian. Ian Randal Strock of SFScope stayed up extra late to cover the ceremony and post the results in real time, and we’re shamelessly cribbing from him here.

And the winners are:

Best Novel (presented by Joe Haldeman): Powers by Ursula K. Le Guin (Harcourt, September 2007)

Best Novella (presented by Mary Robinette Kowal): “The Spacetime Pool” by Catherine Asaro (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, March 2008)

Best Novelette (presented by David Gerrold): “Pride and Prometheus” by John Kessel (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 2008)

Best Short Story (presented by M.J. Engh): “Trophy Wives” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (Fellowship Fantastic, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes, DAW Books, January 2008)

Best Script (presented by Wil Wheaton): WALL-E by Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon. Original story by Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter (Pixar, June 2008)

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy (presented by Karen Anderson): Flora’s Dare: How a Girl of Spirit Gambles All to Expand Her Vocabulary, Confront a Bouncing Boy Terror, and Try to Save Califa from a Shaky Doom (Despite Being Confined to Her Room) by Ysabeau S. Wilce (Harcourt, September 2008)

Other, non-Nebula awards, previously announced but awarded tonight, include:

Grand Master: Harry Harrison

Author Emerita: M.J. Engh

SFWA Service Award: Victoria Strauss

Solstice Award: Algis J. Budrys, Martin H. Greenberg, and Kate Wilhelm

Bradbury Award: Joss Whedon (accepted by Jane Espenson)

Hey, wait, we have Joss’s acceptance speech right here! The wonders of the future…!

Reminder: ‘Iron Man: Armored Adventures’ cartoon premieres 7 PM tonight on Nicktoons

Reminder: ‘Iron Man: Armored Adventures’ cartoon premieres 7 PM tonight on Nicktoons

First Look: Iron Man: Armored Adventures Animated Series

“[[[Iron Man:Armored Adventures]]]” returns Shellhead, and the first two of 26 animatedepisodes will begin airing on Nicktoons tonight at 7 PM.

Here’s a brief description of this high tech new action adventure series:

Tony Stark, heir to a billion-dollar corporation, lives a life of luxury,free to pursue his chief interests — seeing extreme thrills, solving scientific mysteries, and creating mind-boggling inventions.

But everything goes horribly wrong when a tragic accident robs Tony of his father and nearly costs him his own life. Now dependent on his ownamazing technology for survival and dedicated to battling corruption,Tony must reconcile the pressure of teenage life with the duties of asuper hero.

Inside his remarkable invention, Tony Stark is geared for high-speed flight,high-tech battles and high-octane adventure! He is IRON MAN!

And here’s a preview:

Steel Spider webs coming

Steel Spider webs coming

  • News
  • April 24, 2009

Scientists make super-strong metallic spider silk

LONDON (Reuters) – Spider silk isalready tougher and lighter than steel, and now scientists have made itthree times stronger by adding small amounts of metal.

The technique may be useful for manufacturing super-tough textiles andhigh-tech medical materials, including artificial bones and tendons.

“It could make very strong thread for surgical operations,” researcher Seung-Mo Lee of the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle, Germany, said in a telephone interview.

Lee and colleagues, who published their findings in the journalScience, found that adding zinc, titanium or aluminum to a length ofspider silk made it more resistant to breaking or deforming.

They used a process called atomic layer deposition,which not only coated spider dragline silks with metal but also causedsome metal ions to penetrate the fibers and react with their proteinstructure.

Lee said he next wanted to try adding other materials, including artificial polymers like Teflon.

The idea was inspired by studies showing traces of metals in thetoughest parts of some insect body parts. The jaws of leaf-cutter antsand locusts, for example, both contain high levels of zinc, making themparticularly stiff and hard.

Yeah, sure. We know where they really got inspired– Web of Spider-Man #100.

Save your favorite TV shows by watching them online…?

Save your favorite TV shows by watching them online…?

  • News
  • April 23, 2009

Dave Mack has been pushing this lately, and I can’t blame him: Want To Save Your Favorite TV Show? Stop watching it on television.

The number of viewers that is reported in the press—the 24.4 million people who watch American Idol, say—is extrapolated from the readings from those Nielsen boxes. The “save our show” campaigns are ill-advised because they fail to take into account this all-important gap between the sample size and the size of the sampled audience.The alternative is to drive people where they can actually be counted—and these days that’s online. The Internet offers metrics everywhere you turn. The networks can analyze the number of streams, number of ad impressions, number of page views, number of visits, number of visitors, number of comments, etc. It’s a democratic space where the eyes and participation of fans can actually be seen by the network bosses making the decisions. Unlike with analog TV, online fans can actually speak directly to power. So whether it’s through iTunes, Hulu, or one of the networks’ proprietary streams, the smart way to campaign for a show’s renewal is to stream it after the fact.

You hear that, Sarah Connor fans? Get clicking!

Of course, no one will ask what happens if you click on the viewer, and then go to work while it plays to an empty room. Because that would be wrong.

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