Category: News

Super Bowl XLIII — We watch it for the movie trailers

  • News
  • February 1, 2009

We understand that there will be a big football game today in Tampa. But if you’re like me, what you’re really looking forward to are the new movie trailers that premiere during the time outs.

We already know there will be an ad for Monsters vs. Aliens, as there’s been a big push to get the 3D glasses into people’s hands. More than 125 million pairs of glasses are being distributed for free at stores nationwide at SoBe displays, they may still be available at your local supermarket. (If you want to know more about the 3D, Wired has a write up.)

Off the top of my head, I expect to see ads for Star Trek, Transformers, G.I. Joe (all licensees of IDW, which should make them happy), Angels and Demons (the sequel to The DaVinci Code), The Year One, Race To Witch Mountain and Pixar’s Up. Budget cutbacks seem to indicate that there will be no ads from Fox or Warner Brothers, so we probably won’t be seeing ads for Watchmen, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Terminator: Salvation, or James Cameron’s Avatar.

What do you think will be appearing? What did you think of what actually aired? Consider this an open thread for discussion.

Oh, and by the way– Steelers by 10, Bud Light by 3.

I for one welcome our new zombie overlords

  • News
  • January 30, 2009

We’re getting zombie outbreaks all over the place. First, we have this news footage from Austin, Texas:

From Amazon, we have reports of zombie invasions in Netherfield Park:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! 

And just for completism, we have Zombie Tales, Volume 1 from Boom! Studios. Boy, wouldn’t that look nice in the ComicMix reader…?

The Point – January 30th, 2009

Stop worrying about Super Bowl and let’s deal with more pressing issues like why is LOST looking backwards? Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet) and Michael Emerson (Ben) give us their perspective. MAD Magazine is slowing down (and Mike Gold isn’t happy) – but on the bright side, TORCHWOOD hits NYCon and today we get music from WATCHMEN

PRESS THE BUTTON and you’ll Get The Point!

 
And be sure to stay on The Point via badgeitunes61x15dark-2512220 or RSS!

 

Star Trek setting licensing phasers on stun

  • News
  • January 30, 2009

As Yogurt the wise teaches us, "Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made. Spaceballs-the T-shirt, Spaceballs-the Coloring Book, Spaceballs-the Lunch box, Spaceballs-the Breakfast Cereal, Spaceballs-the Flame Thrower." CBS has learned their lessons well, one could even say it’s a paramount lesson.

CBS Consumer Products has cranked its Star Trek licensing up to 11 in preparation of the new Star Trek movie, which will debut on May 8th.  In addition to the IDW comics tying the movie to Next Generation continuity, the Pocket book publishing license, and the previously announced Star Trek Barbie Dolls, Mattel has also acquired the rights to create radio-controlled flying vehicles for its Tyco subsidiary, a Star Trek Scene-It DVD movie/TV game, and a 20Q Star Trek Trivia Game. (Bob Greenberger’s on our team, we take on all challengers.)

 

Other game tie-ins include a Star Trek-branded Monopoly edition from USAopoly, and co-branded games for UNO, Scrabble ("Ferengi" is a 61 point word, "Klingon" is 62– no ruling on whether words from their languages count), Phase Ten, All About Trivia, and a Magic 8 Ball. If only the good Kirk from "The Enemy Within" had one.

Has the world hit ‘Peak Anime’?

  • News
  • January 30, 2009

anime-shock-8634149Disturbing if true: ICV2 has an article entitled, simply, Worldwide Anime Market Shrinking. In a lecture by TV Tokyo’s Keisuke Iwata, he noted that due to market saturation, illegal downloading, the worldwide recession, and the rising yen, “It is easy to imagine the global marketplace shrinking from 2010 onward." According to Iwata there may be little or no growth potential for anime sales outside of Japan and that the industry “may have to go back to the way it was in the past — back to selling Japanese animation only to the Japanese marketplace."

And with a market already glutted and the massive lead time and resources required to create anime, we should expect to see big crashes. Imagi Studios already had to get bridge financing to complete production of Astro Boy.

Anime News Network has reported that the total revenue of the Japanese anime industry rose rapidly from 2003 when it was estimated at 167.4 billion yen (about $1.9 billion), peaked in 2006 at $258.8 billion yen (about $2.9 billion) and then fell to 236.9 billion yen in 2007.  Figures for 2008 aren’t available yet, but given the financial distress of many anime producers, another decline is a foregone conclusion.

Also note that Iwata’s market factors of market saturation, illegal downloading, and the worldwide recession apply equally to comics.

PREVIEW: ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold’ with the Atom, Aquaman, Plastic Man and the Elongated Man!

  • News
  • January 29, 2009

We’ve obtained preview footage of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode, “Journey to the Center of the Bat!” airing this Friday, January 30 on Cartoon Network at 8:00 PM.

This week Batman’s life hangs in the balance when he is poisoned by Chemo, who is under the control of the evil Brain.  The Atom races to the rescue with Aquaman by shrinking down and entering Batman’s bloodstream.  While Aquaman and the Atom battle the infection deep inside Batman’s body, Batman struggles to end Chemo’s rampage and defeat the Brain!  This week’s teaser features Elongated Man and Plastic Man teaming up to derail a bank heist and capture the criminal Baby Face. Take a look… (more…)

Tomb Raider returning to the big screen?

  • News
  • January 29, 2009

Lara Croft may be returning to the big screen in a continuation of the Tomb Raider franchise. Warner Bros. and producer Dan Lin are in early development of a project with Ian Livingstone of gaming publisher Eidos as co-producer. No word if Angelina Jolie will return to the role of Ms. Croft, or if they’ll recast the part.

Tomb Raider has been licensed as a Top Cow comic since 1997.

Fight the downturn! Here’s how…

  • News
  • January 28, 2009

Yes, we know it’s getting ugly out there. If Robot 6 has a daily roundup called Food Or Comics, and we’re covering stuff that they’re missing, it’s just outright brutal.

So what to do about it? Kristine Kathryn Rusch, award-winning author and editor, posted the following to an email list regarding the shutdown of Realms Of Fantasy:

If you’re really worried about the magazines, subscribe to them.  If you already have a subscription, give a few gift subscriptions.  If you can afford it, ask if the magazine has lifetime subscription rates and buy one. Or purchase a five year subscription.

In this economy, an upturn in subscriptions will help any magazine.  If everyone on this list bought a subscription, either as a gift or for themselves, that would seriously help. 

If you read the information on Realms, it’s pretty clear that the downturn in the fourth quarter hit Sovereign Media hard.  Apparently, they rely heavily on newsstand sales.    This is one area where the digests have already suffered, so their losses in the fourth quarter won’t be as severe as other companies.  However, they’ll see a trickle downward of subscriptions as renewals don’t come in at the usual pace. 

So they have time—provided that people continue to renew or subscribe anew.

Just a thought in all the gloom and doom.

That’s good advice in general. If you are in a position to do so, subscribe to your favorite comics. If your local store has a pull list or subscription list, take advantage of it– if they know they’ll have some set income coming in, that will help them budget.

If there are online comics or websites you like, drop some cash in the tip jar.

If you’re downloading comics, buy paper editions as well. It’ll be good practice when MinuteMan loses his job and stops buying and scanning the comic that you were reading.

Compare and contrast…

  • News
  • January 28, 2009

From Salon:

A Wall Street retiree wearing a red latex bodysuit and a black hood is strapped to a table…. Talking to Daniel Bergner in his new book, "The Other Side of Desire," the man compares his masochistic ecstasy to having onion skins stripped off his psyche.

"Is this a weird way to deal with life?" he asks Bergner at one point. "Consider the man who bought Mark McGwire’s seventieth home-run ball for three million dollars. Who’s weirder?"

Let’s see, who bought that home-run ball? Oh yeah… Todd McFarlane.

No doubt about it. Todd’s much weirder.

And this quote comes on the day when Neil Gaiman wins the Newbery. Hey, does Neil own Todd’s balls yet?

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