Category: News

Video Game Review: “Ace Combat: Assault Horizon”

  • News
  • November 2, 2011

I’ve never been very good at playing flight simulators. Invariably, I always end up crashing into the ground or a mountain as I’m trying to swing the camera around to follow the bogey on my six. However, the most recent entry in the Ace Combat series has made me a fan all over again, and its new cinematic approach is a good reason as to why. Taking cues from the Call of Duty series, as well as listening to critic and fan reviews of previous titles, [[[Ace Combat: Assault Horizon]]] is the most diverse and fun title I’ve played in the series yet.

The game starts you off in a dream sequence taking out enemy planes over Miami. It’s here that you’ll first utilize the game’s star feature, DFM, or Dog Fight Mode. When tailing an enemy, pressing both shoulder buttons locks you onto your target and gives you a cinematic behind-the-plane view with a focused targeting reticule on the ship in front of you. Since most enemies are fairly adept at maneuvering out of missile locks, this is the ideal way to lock-on to foes to take them out. While in a lock, you also have to watch out for foes putting a lock on you, and the dogfights can get pretty harried in the skies above. Luckily, there are awesome-looking counter attacks you can perform if locked on to, which has your plane looping around after lining up arrows on screen and pressing the appropriate buttons on the controller. However, there tends to be a LOT going on on screen, so attention to details is a must.

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MIKE GOLD: For Whom The Bell Tolls

  • News
  • November 2, 2011

There are few songwriters – few writers – I respect more than Pete Townshend. Were this a music column I’d go into detail why I hold this belief, but today in this venue he’s a means to an end.

Last week, Pete (okay, we’re not on a first name basis; the only time we were within 10 feet was when he bashed my boss in the back of his head with his guitar) accused Apple’s iTunes online retail store of being a “digital vampire.” His analysis was fraught with mistakes and revealed a genuine lack of knowledge of the situation. He was defending a system that treated him and his band, The Who, very, very well – a system that no longer exists as a creative outlet for newcomers going back at least a full generation. He also mistook iTunes for a label and not what it actually is: a retail outlet. A very successful one, but then again Pete’s net worth is in the neighborhood of $75,000,000 – a true one-percenter – so success isn’t the issue here.

What does this have to do with the wonderful world of comics? Hang on. I’ll get there.

Pete also said “It would be better if music lovers treated music like food, and paid for every helping, rather than only when it suited them … Why can’t music lovers just pay for music rather than steal it?” That’s the heart of my diatribe today: people who sort of steal artists’ works instead of paying for it.

Bootlegging is a serious issue, but more a moral one than financial. Sure, Disney and Warners will bitch about all the milions they’re losing but that’s because they see every bootlegged item as a lost sale. Few are.

When it comes to comics, sometimes it’s a matter of convenience. Some people boot stuff they’ve already purchased because they prefer reading on a tablet. After all, we’re in our third generation of comics fans who go bugfuck whenever somebody folds the cover back in order to read the damn thing. Still others are sampling new wares: with literally over 300 new comics released each month and maybe a third of them brand-new titles or “reboots” (a word with unintended irony) a reader can’t afford to sample even a fraction of the new stuff.

And then there are the idiots. Stupid people who live the life of Wile E. Coyote until they finally look down.

Our buddy Rich Johnston at Bleeding Cool reports of a guy named Stephen Chandler out in Glasgow, Scotland who is offering every comic book published each month by the “major” publishers (DC, Marvel, IDW, Image, Dark Horse, Dynamite, and perhaps others) in electronic form for the low price of about $27.00 a month – 20 Euros, so the price fluctuates.

His is a for-profit operation. No matter what you think of readers downloading comics illegally, this guy is taking money out of publishers’ pockets. Most publishers can’t afford that; even the big guys are responsible for delivering an acceptable bottom line to their masters.

Steve, pal… look. Maybe your heart is in the right place. Most comics readers pay more than $27 a month for a fraction of the content you’re delivering on disc. And you’re entitled to a reasonable profit for your work. But that’s only in the sense that Al Capone was entitled to a reasonable profit for his work.

Eventually, Wile E. Coyote looked down. So will you, Steve. You work and perhaps live near the All-Saints Secondary School. You might dine at the Delhi Darber. Maybe you drink at the Aushinairn Tavern and shop at Asda Robroyston. Or perhaps you go to the Food Cooperative off of Wallacewell Road.

In other words, Steve, you’re an idiot.

THURSDAY: Dennis O’Neil

GUEST REVIEW-CHARLES SAUNDERS’ DAMBALLA!

  • News
  • November 2, 2011
DAMBALLA!
A Review of Airship 27’s Damballa
by Andrew Salmon
We’ve all been thrilled and enthralled by Classic Pulp. It has influenced so much of pop culture today. However for all its ability to be of its time yet ahead of its time, there is one black mark in the history of the form – racism. Now I am of the camp that believes it is not fair to judge the work of decades past with modern sensibilities. The great pulp yarns of yesteryear were products of their time, written for their time and should be read as such regardless of their faults however offensive they may be.
The New Pulp movement, however, allows us to revisit those bygone days and tell adventurous stories based in the past yet geared for the modern reader. And, more importantly, affords us the opportunity to correct the mistakes of pulp’s forefathers.
Enter: Damballa!
All of the wondrous trappings of pulp are here in this incredible work: action, adventure, evil scheming Nazis and a hero determined to foil their plot to embarrass the United States, politically, in the boxing ring – the key component here is that Damballa is a black man.
Given the classic pulp elements present in the novel, it would have been easy for Saunders to just trot out a pulp archetype and just changed the color of hero’s skin but an author of his skill and ability would not be limited to taking the easy way out. Instead Damballa has deep, African roots and an intriguing origin and supporting cast, the surface of which has only been scratched by this first adventure.
Some of you may be thinking, ‘Okay, Damballa makes history as the first black pulp hero, so what? I read pulp to be entertained. Is the book any good?’ All right let’s get down to brass tacks and tackle some questions:
What is the book about? Is it pulp?
Let’s tackle that first one, shall we? Set in 1938, Damballa gives us a fictional retelling of the real boxing re-match between Joe Louis and Max Schmelling. The real life bout had both political and racial ramifications as the German, Schmelling, went toe to toe with African-American Louis at a time when the world was on the cusp of WW2 and the Nazis were keen on proving their racial superiority. In the novel, the fighters are Jackhammer Jackson and Wolf Krieger but the stakes are the same. Thing is, the Nazis are cheating as only they can and it’s up to Damballa to level the playing field before disaster strikes. What follows is an engaging action yarn peopled with characters of every shade of gray. One of the wonderful, telling, modern touches Saunders brings to the pulp form can be found in one scene where Damballa, no slouch in the disguise department, has to masquerade as a white man to enter certain parts of 1930s society unmolested in his quest to stop the Nazis before it’s too late.
Yeah, but is it pulp?
Damballa is a pulp novel and a very, very good one. Punctuated by short, staccato chapters, Saunders keeps the story moving while layering in wonderful historical details that recreate the time period to perfection. Within this framework he inserts memorable characters, crackling dialogue, mysteries and a compelling hero for the ages. By arming Damballa with a wealth of African lore and real science to go along with brains, brawn and physical ability, Saunders introduces us to a costumed hero bad guys do NOT want to mess with. And one adventure fans won’t be able to get enough of. The book features an atmospheric cover by Charles Fetherolf and moody interior illustrations by Clayton Hinkle – the end result is one of the best looking, best reading pulp books of the year.
Damballa is one of the shining lights in the New Pulp movement, a truly exceptional novel you cannot afford to miss.

Happy 84th Birthday, Steve Ditko!

  • News
  • November 2, 2011

And those are just the characters he created for DC. We won’t even mention Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, the Question, Mr. A…

But who, you may still ask, is Steve Ditko? By a handy coincidence, there was an hour-long documentary four years ago asking that very same query…

Long may he wave.

Occupy Comics

  • News
  • November 1, 2011

In our continuing coverage of comics crossover with #OccupyWallStreet, we have this photo by Marcus Santos for the New York Daily News on how Zuccotti Park protestors spent their Halloween, as well as this appearance last night from Countdown With Keith Olbermann on Current TV:

Hat tip to Peter Sanderson and evil twin Torsten Adair.

 

“Batman: Arkham City” Destroys Week-One Sales Records

  • News
  • November 1, 2011

In what may be the really profitable digital strategy for DC, Batman: Arkham City, the critically acclaimed sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Rocksteady Studios has become the Highest Reviewed Video Game of 2011 on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, and has shipped more than 4.6 million units worldwide since its October 18 launch in North America.

These sales figures are more than double the number of units the previous title sold in the same time period, and has already solidified the games rank as a contender for one of the top-selling titles of this year. Also, the game currently stands as the highest reviewed PS3 and 360 game of this year on Metacritic.com with average scores of 96 and 95 respectively.

Building on the intense atmosphere and story from the original game, Batman: Arkham City drops players into a section of Gotham, shut off from the main city, and over run by the inmates of the former asylum. Gangs wage war against each other and a new threat looms to take over Gotham as a whole. Cameos from Catwoman, Two-Face and more from Batman’s Rogues Gallery litter every single scene in the game, and coupled with the excellent storytelling, make it one of, if not the best superhero game ever. Look for our review in a day or two.

DC Universe Online MMO becomes Free-To-Play

  • News
  • November 1, 2011

DC Universe Online, available for both PC and PS3, is switching to the free-to-play model that many other Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) titles are adapting in the genre. During a live webcast last Thursday, it was announced that the transition is coming today.

There will be three subscription levels available, each with varying types of access to the game’s content. Legendary status is for those who still wish to pay the standard $15 a month to play DCUO and grants you all of the Downloadable Content (DLC) for no additional cost. The following membership level, Premium, is awarded after you spend at least $5 on the in-game store and will never expire once purchased. Finally, the completely free-to-play status has the obvious least cost but most restrictions on just about every aspect of the game, including chat functions.

There is a complete layout of all the subscriber listings on the DCUO website and you can check out the FAQ there as well.

TALES OF YESTERYEAR FROM PRO SE TO DEBUT AT IPULPFICTION.COM!

  • News
  • November 1, 2011

PRESS RELEASE

Pro Se Productions and Tommy Hancock, Editor in Chief/Partner in Pro Se and Author of the novel YESTERYEAR, announced today that a series of stories set in the YesterYear universe Hancock created in his novel would be debuting on November 4th from iPulpFiction!

www.iPulpFiction.com is the brainchild of Keith Shaw and is a venue where short stories, both Classic and New Pulp, appear as individual tales and can be downloaded and enjoyed at extremely reasonable prices. “This,” Hancock stated, “relationship with iPulpFiction is a natural fit for Pro Se, but especially for TALES OF YESTERYEAR (the name of the series of short stories from Hancock to appear on the site).  This is a chance to tell tales of the Heroic Era, the Golden Age of my cast of characters.  And the fact that they will appear regularly and be extremely affordable only adds to my excitement about this partnership.”

Tales of YesterYear will feature stories from 1929-1955 in Hancock’s YESTERYEAR Universe and will add insight to events in the first novel and coming tales, but also will work as stand alone Pulp adventures.  The first four stories to kick off this series are actually drawn from the novel itself, taken right from the pages of the fictional book that is the axis the story turns around.  “These tales,” Hancock explained, “are a great jumping on point and that’s why they showed up in YESTERYEAR.  You get the origin of the Heroes basically and some of the earliest stars in that pantheon. But many have requested even more tales from this part of the story, from this era.  So don’t worry, there’ll be all new never before published stories from the fifth one on in this series as well.”

The initial story, THE FIRST YESTERYEAR, introduces the series and will be FREE and available on November 4th.  Next will be MURPHY’S WAKE, probably the most popular tale of the YesterYear mythos thus far, the origin of The Night. This intriguing Pulp tale debuts on December 2nd for 50 cents!  January 2nd sees the release of ONE GOOD EYE introducing yet another hero at a price of 75 cents!  The fourth tale, FOR FLAG AND COUNTRY, goes live on January 27th for the fantastic price of one single quarter!

TALES OF YESTERYEAR revisits an era held dear by many Pulp fans and mixes in Hancock’s own characters with that period of history, weaving action, adventure, excitement and mystery into this familiar, yet new world of Heroes and Villains!

Pro Se Productions- www.prosepulp.com
iPulpFiction-www.iPulpFiction.com

The Point Radio: Justin Timberlake Defends IN TIME

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This weekend the science fiction thriller, IN TIME, opened in theaters. Is is really LOGANS RUN redone? Star Justin Timberlake says NO and explains it why right here –  plus remember WILD CARDS? It might be coming to a theater near you!

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 Facebookright here & toss us a “like” or follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

WSJ To Run E-Book Bestseller Lists Powered By Nielsen BookScan — Are E-Comics Next?

  • News
  • October 31, 2011

With e-books now making up about 20 percent of sales for many big publishers, it’s essential for bestseller lists to include them in order to give an accurate picture of what is selling. The Wall Street Journal will start running e-book bestseller lists starting this weekend, following a move by the New York Times earlier this year and USA Today in 2009. But there is something unique about the WSJ‘s e-book lists: They are powered by Nielsen BookScan, which has not publicly tracked e-book sales until now. Nielsen BookScan tracks print book sales, and is believed to cover about 75 percent of hardcover and paperback sales. The company had said earlier this year that it would begin tracking e-book sales at some point.

The WSJ is running four lists: “Combined e-book and physical sales for fiction and nonfiction, and e-sales only for fiction and nonfiction. Eligible releases will include self-published books, children’s books and ‘perennials,’ older works that continue to sell strongly.”

via paidContent.

So in a very short time, BookScan will have data on electronic sales. The next question: will E-Comics sales be included in Bookscan numbers? If so, when? Will it include individual pamphlet sales, or will it only be for graphic novels? And will Comixology and Graphicly share their data with Bookscan? (Can they? Comixology has already said that various non-disclosure agreements are in place with publishers that have prevented them from releasing sales figures.)

This has been one of the biggest blind spots in the comics industry in the last year— with all of the digital initiatives that have been undertaken, we have no idea how they’ve been selling or changing the marketplace in general. If we’re going to have any idea where the comics medium is heading, we need this data.

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