Category: News

A CLick Survival Guide for Comic-Con International

With Comic-Con International, ak.a. San Diego Comic-Con, now just days, almost hours, away, those traveling to the extravaganza are packing to hit the road. There are several noteworthy survival guides we can recommend to those of you less familiar with what it’s like being there. Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter has his valued 150 tips, the gold standard of advice.

p714742038-2-9614356

But our friends over at Click Communications has also assembled a witty Survival Guide of their own. Click is a leading media public relations firm and we’ve been dealing with them for years. They talk the talk, walk the walk, and have plenty of good pieces of advice to share along with thumbnails on many of the properties near and dear to their hearts. While Tom’s tips are good for everyone, even veterans, this guide is great for newcomers and those who don’t speak Geek as fluently as the rest of us.

They explained to us, “This guide began as a way to offer some helpful tips—and a little entertainment—to anyone working the Con who might not count down the days ‘til July the way we do.  Now in its fifth year, our simple How-To manual has grown into something that “n00bs” and nerds alike can appreciate. This year, the guide also features original artwork from some talented, up & coming comic book artists: Tess Fowler, Tony Fleecs, and Scott Arnold.”

Since you’ll be stuck on lines for a good portion of the con, they have even come up with a useful way to pass the time: The Click Communications Comic Con Survival Kit Contest!

Enter to win a Survival Kit of your very own by visiting our blog, or join us in playing Comic-Con Bingo.  Grab the Bingo card from the back of the Guide and share your pics online via Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest to line up your finds to win fabulous prizes while in San Diego.  For more information, and to enter to win, visit either here or here.

Now for Click’s OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER:

Click’s Comic-Con Survival Guide is just a little something they put together for your information and our amusement. There’s zero guarantee that the information they found online is 100% reliable.  After all, release dates change, actors need rewrites, directors run out of budget, writers go…insane. Things happen. Since we all know that, no one should take any of the information contained within as locked-in gospel or anything. Okay?  Okay.

PRO SE ANNOUNCES STUNNING ADDITION TO 2012 PUBLISHING CALENDAR!

Pro Se Productions, a leading publisher in the New Pulp Movement, announces an addition to its already dynamic publishing calendar for 2012!


pspmasthead-1958443

“Even though the New Pulp Movement,” stated Tommy Hancock, Partner in and Editor in Chief of Pro Se Productions, “is still in its infancy, relatively speaking, there have already been some writers and works that stand out.  Authors and books who will truly be remembered as being the best of what New Pulp has to offer and considered classics by those after us, and even by many today. One such book from the last two years was “Sun Koh: Heir of Atlantis” written by Dr. Art. Sippo.   Pro Se is extremely proud to announce that we will be publishing and promoting Volume Two of The Collected Stories of Sun Koh, tentatively titled ‘ Quest of the Secret Masters’ written once again by Dr. Art Sippo.”


According to Sippo, “Sun Koh was a character created by Paul Mueller for Germany’s pulp magazines who was based on Doc Savage. He was intended to be the Nietzschean Übermensch. He was an Aryan prince from ancient Atlantis who came to the future and descended out of the sky to land in London. He had come to prepare for the coming of the next Ice Age when Atlantis would rise again from the ocean. He would save all those who were fit to survive and use them to repopulate the lost continent. Of course, those he considered to be most fit were of Aryan/German extraction according to the theories of the Theosophists whose mythology had been taken over by the Nazis.”


“Between 1933 and 1938 there were 150 Sun Koh stories published. Sun Koh epitomized the Aryan ideal and fought all sorts of villains and super-science threats very similar to those from the Doc Savage stories.  Strangely enough, the Nazis found these stories frivolous and in some cases subversive. Eventually they forced the series to end and Mueller had Sun Koh discover and conquer the newly risen Atlantis inside the Hollow Earth in 1938. That brought an end to the series.”


Cover of original Sun Koh Pulp

Sippo continued, “Sun Koh was the most successful of all the Doc Savage clones (if we exclude the comic characters like Superman and Batman). I was fascinated by the idea of such a character having so many adventures in a language that I could not read. I became frustrated and decided to write my own stories about Sun Koh preserving as much of the original adventure ideas as possible and excluding all the Nazi nonsense.”


“We are ecstatic,” Hancock stated, “to be a part of the work Art is doing with this great character.   He has taken a character that could have been lost to history and even more, marred by the country and period it originated in, and using the original tales and roots of the story, created and woven an intelligent, action packed adventure that not only does not skirt the philosophical issues involved, but instead turns them on their ear by showing Sun Koh to be more than what label anyone puts on him.   Art writes him as, even as a Prince of Atlantis, a very human hero who has to make choices about what sort of man he will be in the world around him.”


“Quest of the Secret Masters” is currently in production and will be published in late 2012 from Pro Se Productions!   Press releases featuring more information and interviews with Dr. Sippo and more will follow in coming weeks as publication approaches!


Pro Se Productions-Puttin’ the Monthly Back Into Pulp! 

For interviews and further information, please contact Tommy Hancock at proseproductions@earthlink.net.



Monkeybrain and ComiXology announce exclusive distribution agreement for Monkeybrain’s new line of independent creator-owned comics

 

A press release from Chip Mosher of ComiXology.com:

 

New York Times bestselling comic book creator Chris Roberson is celebrating “Independents Day” a little differently than others this year as he and co-publisher Allison Baker launch MonkeyBrain Comics, with a slate of creator-owned titles from some of the top names in the field. MonkeyBrain Comics will debut digitally first on comiXology—the revolutionary digital comics platform with over 75 million comic and graphic novel downloads to date—through a exclusive distribution agreement between the two companies.

 

Joining Roberson (iZombie, Memorial, Cinderella) under the Monkeybrain Comics umbrella with their own independent titles will be a who’s who line up of creators, including: Grace Allison, Nick Brokenshire, J. Bone, Chad Bowers, Wook-Jin Clark, Colleen Coover, Kevin Church, Dennis Culver, Matt Digges, Ming Doyle, Curt O. Franklin, Ken Garing, Chris Haley, David Hahn, Phil Hester, Joe Keatinge, D.J. Kirkbride, Adam Knave, Axel Medellin, Jennifer L. Meyer, Michael Montenat, Ananth Panagariya, Thomas Perkins, Adam Rosenlund, Chris Schweitzer, Brandon Seifert, Chris Sims, Matthew Dow Smith, Paul Tobin, J. Torres, Josh Williamson and Bill Willingham, among others.

 

More creative teams with new titles will be announced next week at Comic-Con International during the Monkeybrain Comics panel on Friday, July 13th at 7PM.

 

“MonkeyBrain Comics was born out of a desire to directly explore what opportunities there were in the newly expanding digital marketplace for creator owned material,” said Roberson. “We knew from the get go that we’d want to work exclusively with comiXology, who have become the undisputed leader in the digital comics field with their platforms’ unparalleled reading and shopping experience. And we’re pleased to have so many of our close creator friends along for the ride. I can’t wait to see what fans around the world think about our first batch of releases!”

 

“We’re excited to be the exclusive digital home of MonkeyBrain Comics,” says co-founder and CEO David Steinberger. “ComiXology’s mission is to get comics into the hands of people everywhere and we look forward to doing just that with Chris and Allison’s stellar line of creator owned comics!”

MonkeyBrain Comics is a new comics imprint of Roberson and Baker’s long-running publishing company MonkeyBrain Books. Over the past decade, MonkeyBrain Books has published a line of prose novels by authors such as Phillip Jose Farmer, Michael Moorcock, Rudy Rucker, Paul Cornell and genre collections edited by such notables as Joe R. Lansdale, Lou Anders and others.

Launching their first titles on July 4th with the slogan “Independents Day” exclusively on the comiXology digital platform, Monkeybrain Comics are currently exploring following up their digital releases with trade paperback collections.

 

 

The Point Radio: Heading On The HAUNTED HIGHWAY


Some spooky stuff, different venue. SyFy takes us to where the creatures are just off the road in the new series, HAUNTED HIGHWAY. Star Investigator Jael DePardo, along with Devin Marble, tell us what makes this show really scary. Meanwhile, Marvel says “It’s not a reboot”, but????

The Point Radio is on the air right now – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or mobile device– and please check us out on Facebook right here & toss us a “like” or follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

The Course of the Force to San Diego Comic-Con starts this morning

course-of-the-force-300x100-4786103Lucasfilm Ltd., Nerdist Industries and Octagon have teamed up to present Course of the Force, an Olympic torch style relay run with lightsabers, where participants will make a journey from Santa Monica to the San Diego Comic-Con to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

At quarter-mile markers (much less than 12 parsecs), participants will hand off the official Hasbro Ultimate FX Course of the Force lightsaber to the next runner as they begin their leg of the journey. Course of the Force will take place July 7-11, in the days leading up to the San Diego Comic-Con International. The run starts at 10 AM Pacific time this morning at the Santa Monica Pier, with a variety of activites prior to the start of the relay.  At 11:00 a.m, The Spazmatics will perform, and master of ceremonies Chris Hardwick will take the stage at 12:30 p.m., before he starts the lightsaber journey with Make-A-Wish Foundation kids.

Runners in the relay will include Drew Carey, Zachary Levi, Michael Rosenbaum, Paul Scheer, Katie Linendoll, Vanessa Lengies, Neil Everett, Alex Heartman, Tyler Posey, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Kal Penn, and Adrianne Curry.

Nerdist Industries’ founder Chris Hardwick and co-hosts will follow the action from the Course of the Force lead vehicle each day, broadcasting live to the Nerdist platform, including its YouTube channel and StarWars.com. As the Course makes its stops along the California coast, Star Wars-themed parties, contests and live Nerdist shows will cap off each day for fans to enjoy.

And if you must ask how this came to be, well…

Oh, and to Robert Kirkman: have you never heard of spoilers, man?

Get the Gringo Swag and More at Comic-Con International

Get the Gringo, the latest action-comedy starring Mel Gibson, will be making its debut on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download July 17, 2012

Before the film comes home, it will be making an appearance at SDCC at Fox Booth #4313, where attendees can pre-order the film and participate in numerous activities. Fans will also be treated to loads of cool swag, including an exclusive mini-poster where fans are tasked to find the ‘Gringo’s’.

In addition to the mini-posters, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will be hosting a few fun activities to promote the release, including photo-ops with Lucha libre wrestlers and sexy ring girls (on Friday, July 13 and Saturday, July 14, 2012).

Attendees can also take part in the #GetheGringo San Diego Comic-con social media experience. The ring girls will be carrying posters with an exclusive QR code and fans who scan the code, post photos of the wrestlers via Twitter (using #GettheGringo) or upload pictures to Facebook, will receive a voucher for a free taco from Lucha Libre Taco Shop in San Diego.

Fans are also be encouraged to ‘like’ Get the gringo on Facebook via: https://www.facebook.com/GetTheGringo

*****

Written produced by and starring Mel Gibson, Get the Gringo is an explosive action filmed infused with dark comedy directed by Adrian Grunberg from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mel Gibson and produced by Mel Gibson, Bruce Davey and Stacy Perskie. Filmed in Mexico, the multi-lingual film also stars Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Jesus Ochoa, Roberto Sosa, Dolores Heredia, Kevin Hernandez, Fernando Becerril, Mayra Serbullo, Mario Zaragoza, Gerardo Taracena, Tenoch Huerta and Peter Gerety.

During a high-speed car chase with the US Border Patrol and a bleeding body in his back seat, Driver (Mel Gibson) violently crashes his car into the border wall as he tries to outrun them.  Driver survives the crash only to land inside a hard-core Mexican prison where he enters the strange and dangerous world of “El Pueblito.”  He finds unlikely guidance from a 10-year-old kid who shows him the ropes.

Avengers Second Screen App now Available

Marvel Studios has announced that people with iPods and iPads can now download the Avengers Second Screen app to access additional bonus material to extend your Avengers film experience.

Here’s the fact sheet:

App Overview:                     Second Screen transforms the movie watching experience by allowing viewers to explore the story behind the film perfectly synched on a second device, like an iPad™ or laptop, without interrupting their enjoyment of the movie. By accessing the Second Screen companion application on their Internet-connected device, consumers are able to dive deeper into the film by engaging with key elements of the movie.

This groundbreaking new application allows users to interact with their Blu-ray™ player by simply starting the Blu-ray movie, and then syncing Second Screen to the film automatically by following the easy on-screen instructions.  Once connected, they can explore interactive galleries, play games, and learn interesting facts about the scenes they’re watching.

Features:                              Enter the S.H.I.E.L.D. database on your second screen device accessing personnel files, comic book origins and exclusive interactive content with The Avengers Initiative: A Marvel Second Screen Experience. By downloading the app, you can:

–          Become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and participate in the Item 47 Comic-Con experience either remotely or in the field.

–          Examine the confidential files of the Avengers including heroes, agents and villains.

–          Sync to the movie and explore exclusive behind-the-scenes interactive content such as visual effects labs where you can explore sequences layer by layer.

–          Seamlessly link the characters, stories, and scenes of the movie back to their comic book origins through the interactive Marvel digital reader.

–          View the major events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – Phase 1 on the definitive timeline of all 6 movies.

Devices:                                                iPad or PC/MAC computer with FLASH

Formats:                               Optimized for Blu-ray™ and included in Combo Pack releases.

NEW – Now works with iTunes Extras

Access:                                  Visit http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/avengers-initiative-marvel/id539555261?mt=8

Select your version (either iPad™ or Web)

Sync to the movie or explore on your own

Currently only available in US and English-speaking Canada

RADIO ARCHIVES IN THE BOOK CAVE! LISTEN NOW!

Tom Brown and Will Murray visit the Book Cave to inform the listeners of some of the great new projects coming from Radio Archives!

http://thebookcave.libsyn.com/


http://www.radioarchives.com/

Our links:
Other Links:
The Works of Robert E. Howard
http://howardworks.com/
 


— 

San Diego Fans can pose with a Classic James Bond Car

WHAT: In celebration of James Bond’s Golden Anniversary, MGM and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment in partnership with EON Productions are bringing 007 to Comic-Con. Fans will be able to get behind the wheel of one of four famous vehicles featured in a past Bond film, with a new vehicle featured each day of the convention, and see props from the Bond archives representing 50 years of the iconic franchise.

Using RFID technology, attendees will be able to take a photo with the vehicle and have it instantly uploaded to their social media profile. Each day will feature a different Bond vehicle, so fans will have to check back in at booth #3528 with their RFID bracelets to see what’s new!

Fans will also be the first to get a sneak peek of the BOND 50 Blu-ray collection available September 25, 2012. Fans who pre-order the set on-site at Comic-Con will get an exclusive limited edition Bond 50th anniversary t-shirt.

BOND 50 features all 22 classic films on Blu-ray neatly packaged into one cool, sleek collectable box-set. The collection marks the debut of nine James Bond films previously unavailable in high definition Blu-ray and comes with a dossier of more than 122 hours of bonus features.

A Helpful Note re: “Redshirts” Review

There seems to be an idea floating about in the ether that my review of John Scalzi’s new novel, Redshirts (posted late yesterday) is negative, and that I don’t like Scalzi’s books.

Both are untrue. Redshirts didn’t strike me as laugh-out-loud hilarious, as it has been billed [1], but it’s a pleasant, quick entertainment — and Scalzi is reliably entertaining, which is why I keep grabbing his novels as soon as I see them. None of those books has been perfect, though, so when I’ve written about them the most interesting (and, I think, useful) tactics have been to poke at the bits that don’t work as well. [2] Writing otherwise — focusing only on the things a book does well — is certainly enjoyable for the author, but I don’t think it’s as effective for everyone else in the world.

My reviewing mode tends to be more negative than positive, I know, but you really can tell when I actively dislike a book. Take, for example, my reviews of two of last year’s Hugo darlings: Mira Grant’s Feed and Connie Willis’s Blackout/All Clear.

That’s what it looks like when I strongly dislike a book. (And, for an example of what it looks like when I keep reading a writer even after I realize I hate his current work, see P.J. O’Rourke’s Don’t Vote: It Just Encourages the Bastards.)

Redshirts, on the other hand, I basically liked — the “codas” at the end, in particular, are really good stuff. If I’ve driven any readers away from it by not stating that it’s the funniest thing since the invention of the seltzer bottle, then I do apologize. You may well find it substantially funnier than I did; at least four SFnal luminaries have already done so.

[1] Which was sad for me; I wanted to read a book as funny as I was told Redshirts was.

[2] Though I have definitely reached the point where noting that Scalzi is not interested in carefully building up his worlds from close readings of Nature and his flying slip-stick is entirely beside the point; he’s not that kind of writer. Come to think of it, I usually make fun of that kind of writer as well.

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks