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Study: To teenagers, printed comics are ‘irrelevant’

  • News
  • July 14, 2009

To counteract the rah-rah of San Diego Comic-Con’s impending arrival, here’s a chunk of depressing news for comic companies looking to reach the teen market: Bloomberg reports on a new study from a 15 year old intern at Morgan Stanley says that teens think printed media, such as newspapers and comics, are “irrelevant”.

And if you think going to the movies will save comic companies, the news ain’t all great there either: teenagers go to the movies “quite
often” although it’s “not about the film, but the experience
and getting together with friends.” Young people will often
choose the film once they arrive at the movie theater.

“Teenagers are consuming more media, but in entirely
different ways and are almost certainly not prepared to pay for
it,” Morgan Stanley analysts Edward Hill-Wood, Patrick
Wellington and Julien Rossi said in a note.

What else?

Teenagers don’t twitter; they
resent intrusive advertising on billboards, television and the
Internet and they are willing to chase content and music across
platforms and devices such as mobile phones and Apple Inc.’s
IPod. They do not listen to the radio, preferring music Websites
that stream music for free and allow them to choose their songs.
They are “very reluctant” to pay for music and 80 percent
download it illegally. Most have never bought a CD.

And now you know why comics sales are heading up on the iPhone. Hear that? It’s the sound of the comics business model changing…

Note: this is an intern from Eurpoe, so his experience is somewhat different from the US market– but I’ll bet good money it’s not that different.

Webcomics You Should Be Reading: ‘Cyanide and Happiness’

  • Uncategorized
  • July 14, 2009

headache-5046614

Yup. I’m sick. Twisted. Perverse. Warped. Dare I even say (dare… dare….) a little insane in the membrane. Why you ask? Simply put… someone sent me a link to this crudely drawn little webcomic, and after a single strip, I knew I must share this with the six or seven of you who haven’t heard of it. What lay ahead in this article will make some of you angry. Others will throw their hands up in disgust and curse loudly at the screen. But there will be those who see this as a new beacon of hope. Yes my friends, I bring to you something so wrong it must be right. A webcomic that appears to challenge xkcd in artistic merit, and tickle the nethers of the Parking Lot is Full for content. Look quickly beneath this velvet drape and behold the evil hilariousnesstitude of… Cyanide and Happiness!

The strip starting humbly by a young Kris Wilson, who was then suffering from strep throat (seriously folks, if Wikipedia didn’t exist, I might not know anything.). Kris caught the eye of web hosts Matt Melvin, Rob DenBleyker and Dave McElfatrick. Soon thereafter, the strip was given a home on what is now Explosm.net. While Wilson was the originator of the comic, over time, Matt, Rob, and Dave joined the fray, helping to add strips since it’s inception in 2005. But seriously, enough with the “information”… I know those who didn’t heed my warning above want to know why I’m giggling like priest in an elementary school over this ugly ugly strip.

Cyanide and Happiness by definition is described as “dark, cynical, often offensive, and exceedingly irreverent. Frequent topics of humor include disabilities, rape, cancer, murder, suicide, necrophilia, pedophilia, sexual deviancy, sexually transmitted diseases, self-mutilation, nihilism, and violence. The comic does not always have a definite punchline in each strip, or may have several panels of “awkward silence” after (or instead of) the punchline, with characters simply staring at each other.” (again, kudos to those wikipedia writers… where do they get the time?!). If that description doesn’t make you foam at the mouth for examples, well, you’re probably more normal than I am.

As one cycles through Cyanide and Happiness, it’s obvious there’s a good sense of timing, and a deliberate storytelling ability, despite the art being all but non-existent. Yes, it’s essentially stick figure humor, much like the aforementioned xkcd, but for all of dumb people who find strips like these far funnier than these. And yes, I know I’ve already waxed poetic on xkcd, and now you loyal FOMAFers (again, if you DON’T know, well, look it up.) are getting your panties in a bunch. Did Marc just go back on his word? Is he saying Cyanide and Happiness is somehow superior to xkcd? Is he trying to start a flame war? Yes. I am. I want all of you to get riled up and start a crazy posting war. Tell your friends… get them involved. Tweet about it on your dingleberries, and update your mybooks with your facespace messages. I want to see vile comments lambasting my parents for even giving birth to me, which leads (eventually) to you having to read this article, and now you’re so angry you just have to…. AAAAHHHH!!!

(more…)

Charles N. Brown, ‘Locus’ publisher, 1937-2009

  • News
  • July 13, 2009

Sadly, and yet appropriately, from Locus itself:

Locus
publisher, editor, and co-founder Charles N. Brown, 72, died peacefully
in his sleep July 12, 2009 on his way home from Readercon.

Charles
Nikki Brown was born June 24, 1937 in Brooklyn NY, where he grew up. He
attended the City College of New York, taking time off from 1956-59 to
serve in the US Navy, and finished his degree (BS in physics and
engineering) at night on the GI Bill while working as a junior engineer
in the ’60s. He married twice, to Marsha Elkin (1962-69), who helped
him start Locus, and to Dena Benatan (1970-77), who co-edited Locus
for many years while he worked full time. He moved to San Francisco in
1972, working as a nuclear engineer until becoming a full-time SF
editor in 1975. The Locus offices have been in Brown’s home in the Oakland hills since 1973.

Brown co-founded Locus
with Ed Meskys and Dave Vanderwerf as a one-sheet news fanzine in 1968,
originally created to help the Boston Science Fiction Group win its
Worldcon bid. Brown enjoyed editing Locus so much that he continued the magazine far beyond its original planned one-year run. Locus was nominated for its first Hugo Award in 1970, and Brown was a best fan writer nominee the same year. Locus won the first of its 29 Hugos in 1971.

During Brown’s long and illustrious career he was the first book reviewer for Asimov’s;
wrote the Best of the Year summary for Terry Carr’s annual anthologies
(1975-87); wrote numerous magazines and newspapers; edited several SF
anthologies; appeared on countless convention panels; was a frequent
Guest of Honor, speaker, and judge at writers’ seminars; and has been a
jury member for various major SF awards.

As per his wishes, Locus will continue to publish, with executive editor Liza Groen Trombi taking over as editor-in-chief with the August 2009 issue.

A complete obituary with tributes and a photo retrospective will appear in the August issue.

Charlie was a hoot and a half, always around taking an incriminating photo of you. It is nearly impossible to imagine science fiction as we know it without his contributions to the field. He will be missed.

The Point San Diego PreGame

  • Uncategorized
  • July 13, 2009

Both AMERICAN IDOL and AMERICA’S GOT TALENT owe a lot to THE GONG SHOW, and creator CHUCK BARRIS explains why – Plus it’s the kick off for our big COMICCON PreGame coverage and we introduce you to COMIX4SIGHT.

 

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Chicago Comic-Con To Host John Ostrander Benefit

  • News
  • July 12, 2009

comix4sight-small1-6989470An auction will be held at the Chicago Comic-Con (nee Wizard World Chicago) the evening of Saturday, August 8, 2009 to raise funds for comics veteran John Ostrander, who is undergoing a series of operations and medical treatments to fight off blindness.

A 27-year veteran of the comics field, Ostrander, has long
been suffering from glaucoma. Recently, John underwent a series of operations that might have saved his remaining eyesight. Progress has been made but he faces considerably more treatment in the months ahead.

To help Ostrander cover his costs, a committee has been
organized called Comix4Sight. Solicitations for the benefit auction have gone out, and the response from the comics community has been overwhelming.

“The cost of these John’s procedures has been astronomical, and are only partially covered by insurance. And by ‘partially,’ I’m being polite,” committee co-chairperson Mike Gold disclosed. “John has to
go up to Boston repeatedly for treatment, and on two occasions thus far he had to spend a week there for the actual surgery.

“Like so many other Americans John is without sufficient
medical coverage to cover these types of expenses; sadly, his insurance will
expire in about a year,” Gold noted. “With the assistance of Peter Katz and
Wizard Entertainment, Adriane Nash, Mike Raub and I have organized a benefit auction to raise funds for John’s medical expenses. We will be having this auction Saturday night at the Chicago Comic-Con to be held at the Rosemont Convention Center near O’Hare Field on August 6th through 9th.”

Original art, signed scripts, comics memorabilia,
autographed books and similar items are being donated to the auction. “Within the first 24 hours we’ve received pledges of contributions including original art and signed books by Howard Chaykin, David Lloyd, Dave Sim, Norm Breyfogle, Dick Giordano, Dennis O’Neil, Hilary Barta, Kevin Van Hook, Mark Badger, Michael Davis, Rick Stasi, Paul Gulacy, Joe Landsdale, and, of course, John’s GrimJack collaborator Timothy Truman. We’re getting commitments every day,” committee co-chairperson Adriane Nash stated.

“We’ve set up a website – www.comix4sight.com
– that will be carrying updated information about both the benefit and the
auction items,” Nash continued. “We’ll also be posting the results of the
auction, and any items that came in too late for the benefit will be auctioned off at the site. We will donate any excess revenue to other comics
professionals suffering from major vision issues or to The Hero Initiative.”

Monetary contributions would also be gratefully accepted by check or through PayPal at www.comix4sight.com.
Individuals and corporations interested in making contributions should send them to:

Mike Gold and Adriane Nash
arrogantMGMS
304 Main Avenue,
#194
Norwalk, CT 06851

Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig hit Broadway

  • Uncategorized
  • July 11, 2009

hugh-jackman-wolverine-nude-6079446First it was Doctor Who meets Captain Picard in Hamlet. Now it’s James Bond meeting Wolverine.

Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig
will appear in the Broadway production A Steady Rain this fall, a play about two
Chicago policemen and how the events of a few days change their lives
forever.

Jackman has been on the New York stage before, winning a
Tony for his role in the musical The Boy from Oz, but this is Craig’s Broadway debut, although he has appeared
in the West End.

A Steady Rain is expected to open on September 29 and run for 12 weeks. Previews begin on September 10 at the Schoenfeld Theater. Tickets are expected to sell very quickly, for some reason. Let the fangirl drooling begin.

Deadpool Becomes Green Lantern

  • News
  • July 11, 2009

After months of speculation and jerking around, Warner Bros. announced the casting of Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern in their forthcoming movie of the same name.

No stranger to the world of super-characters, Reynolds most recently played Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He will be reprising that character in the forthcoming solo movie. He also played Hannibal King in the third Blade movie and, at one time, was alleged to play The Flash in the movie project that disappeared in a wink.

The husband of Scarlett Johansson, Reynolds beat out Bradley Cooper, Jared Leto, and Justin Timberlake. He’ll be playing Hal Jordan, the off-again/on-again GL who dominated the continuity over the past half-century.

Green Lantern is produced by Donald De Line and Greg Berlanti and written by Berlanti, Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim. It will be directed by Martin Campbell for a 2011 release.

No word on who’s playing Ch’p.

Review: ‘Up’, Pixar and Storytelling

One of the things that I love about Pixar is that they
remember what a lot of filmmakers – and sadly, particularly those working in
the CG medium – have forgotten:


A film needs a story.

So many films today focus on technological dazzle, shock value, making pretty
pictures, or cleverness. None of these are bad things; any and all of them can
add enjoyment, but for me a good story is more important than anything else. I’ll
enjoy the spectacle, the beauty, the wit, but what stays with me is the story.
If story is absent, everything else fades quickly. Pixar’s films have had
consistently strong storytelling, letting the characters carry the viewer along
on their adventures, and this summer’s offering, [[[Up]]], is no exception.

Up doesn’t come near to matching the sheer dazzling brilliance of last
summer’s [[[Wall-E]]], but it is a sweet and charming movie in its own right,
and like Wall-E, it remembered to have a story.
Not only that, but Up takes a startling number of storytelling risks,
particularly for a movie aimed at children.

First there was the absolutely heartbreaking montage of Carl
and Ellie trying to save for their dream trip, and having their dream
constantly derailed by crisis after crisis, only to have Ellie fall ill and die
just as the trip was finally in their reach. This montage is also a rare
instance of a wedding being the beginning of a couple’s story rather than the
“happily ever after.” Seeing Carl lose the legal battle to stay in his home was
also painful.

(more…)

The Point More Ryan Reynolds as GL?

  • Uncategorized
  • July 10, 2009

WEDNESDAY COMICS made a big splash this week and Mike Gold dissects the good and bad, plus Chuck Barris tells us how he came to write a mystery and is Ryan Reynolds wearing a red or green super-hero costume?

PRESS THE BUTTON to Get The Point!

And be sure to stay on The Point via iTunes - ComicMix, RSS, MyPodcast.Com or Podbean!

Follow us now on and !

Don’t forget that you can now enjoy THE POINT 24/7. Updates on all parts of pop culture, special progarmming by some of your favorite personalities and the biggest variety of contemporary music on the net.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN LIVE FOR FREE or go to GetThePointRadio for more including a connection for mobile phones including iPhone & Blackberrys



Comedy Tonight: The State, Stella, and Victor Von Doom

  • News
  • July 10, 2009

Tonight at 1 AM Eastern, Comedy Central is running episodes of The State, the 90’s sketch comedy show from MTV featuring the comedy group from NYU, and Stella, with three alumni from The State.

And just for the heck of it, the comedy stylings of Victor “Boom-Boom” Van Doom.

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