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‘Dark Knight’ Gamerpics and Theme Free on Xbox LIVE

  • News
  • June 25, 2008

I woke up this morning depressed that there’s no videogame based on The Dark Knight coming out around the time of the movie. Luckily, the hope that they’re taking extra time to make a good movie-based game sometime down the road gave me the energy to turn on my system.

Joy!

I turned on my system to find that Warner Bros. marketing executives decided to distribute free Xbox gamerpics and themes to promote the upcoming Batman Begins sequel.

For the unitiated, gamerpics are pictures attached to your Xbox online profile to represent you when playing other gamers. Themes are basically customizable desktop graphics for your game system. On the Xbox LIVE service, there’s a wide selection of both, some for free, some for a price.

Recent superhero themes were based on the Iron Man movie-based game, The Incredible Hulk movie and The Incredible Hulk movie-based game. In an unusual reversal, non-U.S. fans got exclusive Hulk ones that left their American opponents jealous.

Don’t worry PlayStation 3 fans, according to some leaked photos available around the ‘Net, you’ll see a similar system sometime this year.

Hold the Phone, by Elayne Riggs

  • News
  • June 25, 2008

I’ve admitted it before, I have no idea how to text message. Oh, I think I understand the basic principle behind texting; it’s like IM’ing using a handheld device, right? Only, I’ve never done it. I’ve sat through television shows that use instant polling via cell phone text devices for viewers to cast pointless votes for their favorite this-and-thats, but it all seemed like so much mysterious, impenetrable jargon. "Text 12345 to 67890"? In what world is this plain English?

In the world of the "late aughts," apparently. By the way, I’ve never used a PDA either, although I’ve "hot-sync’ed" my ex-boss’ Palm Pilot with a PC. Again, I get the principle, but the idea somewhat alarms me. During my recent 6-month job search I saw so many ads for executive assistants that required knowledge of a Blackberry that I was seriously considering taking some sort of tutorial just to familiarize myself with exactly how it worked. As it is, we don’t even have a text messaging plan for our cell phones. Every time I get a text message, which 90% of the time is a spam offer from T-Mobile, we get billed 5 cents. That’s right, they get to spam me and charge me for the privilege. Shouldn’t that be illegal or something to do to customers who have opted out of texting?

I’m still getting used to the idea of the ubiquity of cell phones on the New York City streets. The last time Robin and I visited England, that’s the main thing he noticed about Londoners that hadn’t been present when he lived in the UK, all the folks who had a cell phone practically attached to their ears. I was in the East Village last week, and just from a quick glance around at pedestrian traffic I approximated one of every three people was using a cell phone as they traversed the intersections. (This is something comic book artists, particularly at Marvel as so many of that company’s titles are based in New York City, should note if they’re going to draw a lot of city scenes.)

I have a theory that there are probably fewer cigarette smokers in urban areas now than there were even a few years ago because, if you need one hand free to swing as you walk or to hold a shoulder bag or briefcase, and therefore you leave your other hand the choice between lighting up and dialing up, more people will currently choose their electronic toys to satisfy their oral fixations than the drag on the cancer stick. Plus, if you’re smoking you’re going to be too short of breath to be able to carry on a phone conversation while you walk! (more…)

The Fragile Nature of ‘Geek Cred’

  • News
  • June 24, 2008

Beware the power of words, folks. Over at Cinematical, the movie news site’s resident "geek beat" contributor Elisabeth Rappe has taken a comment I left on one of her recent posts and turned it into a full-blown column, titled "The Touchiness of Geek Cred."

In the column, Rappe discusses the Survivor-esque mentality of geekery and the first time she realized that niche-culture gatherings like comic and science-fiction conventions weren’t the friendly grounds she expected them to be. The ever-present drive to cull the herd and create a higher place on the social ladder is in full effect just as much inside the niche cultures as outside, she observes.

For geeks of the feminine persuasion, the environment is even more cut-throat, according to Rappe:

As a female, I find I have to prove myself even more. The first time I went to ComicCon, I fell into a casual conversation with a guy about the comic book movie spin-offs. I mentioned that I really wanted to see the eventual Wolverine, and he sneered: "You just want to see it because you’re a girl, and Hugh Jackman is hot!"

"Hey," I replied tartly. "Wolverine is the best at what he does, and what he does isn’t very nice."

"You know the catchphrase. I take that back."

Well, thanks. This is something a geeky girl runs up against often, and it is useless to fight it. Men can see Catwoman for Halle Berry, girls cannot see 300 for Gerard Butler. Frankly, I do it too. One woman I was friends with joined my online movie community solely to talk about Butler. She was horrified when the fanboys called her on it. But I too was aghast. "You can’t just go in and talk about hot guys – you have to talk about Frank Miller first! You have to prove yourself a geek!"

Head over to Cinematical for the rest of the column.

Rappe’s observations reminded me of a recent post here on ComicMix, in which I mentioned that I have yet to read any of the Harry Potter books and narrowly escaped a nasty tar-and-feathering by readers.

Bob Greenberger on ‘The Essential Batman Encyclopedia’

  • News
  • June 24, 2008

I’ve directed you to Tom Spurgeon’s "Sunday Interview" series before, but this time around, the ol’ Comics Reporter has posted a special treat for ComicMix readers. Our very own Bob Greenberger, who most recently interviewed Bob Rozakis about his alternate-history project with Alter Ego and Back Issue magazines here on ComicMix, spoke with Spurgeon about his work on The Essential Batman Encyclopedia.

While Spurgeon and Greenberger chat at length about many interesting aspects of the Batman project that’s currently being hyped heavily in the lead-up to the release of The Dark Knight, I’ll admit that Greenberger’s discussion of life at the Weekly World News office was one of my favorite elements of the interview.

SPURGEON: I’ve always wanted to ask someone who worked there — what was your Weekly World News experience like?

GREENBERGER: Wild and chaotic and even more seat-of-your pants than Marvel under Bill Jemas. Our editor-in-chief Jeff Rovin would have us shoehorn in new stories the day before we were due on press. Our publishers sometimes changed their minds and wanted an entirely new cover story produced in two or three days. Yet, we got it down to a system where four of managed to edit, proof, layout and design the 48-pages every week without break too much of a sweat. The articles and columns rolled in, got scheduled and printed and we never had to stay late — okay, maybe once or twice. We were all incredibly optimistic at the newspaper fortunes as licensing deals were getting signed and we were reshaping the magazine for new audiences and then we got canceled, largely because I don’t think AMI ever understood the value of the brand until the week the news broke. It was an incredible delight and a heck of a lot of fun.

Head over to The Comics Reporter for the full interview.

On a side note, one has to wonder if Greenberger has ever tired of writing "Bat Boy" stories.

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Review: ‘Maps and Legends’ by Michael Chabon

mapslegends2-9137528Maps and Legends
By Michael Chabon
McSweeney’s Books, May 2008, $24.00
 
Michael Chabon has had the good luck to be writing in an era when it’s possible to both be a respected, bestselling literary writer and have a public, abiding love for some of the more disreputable genres. His best-known novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Klay, is not only a fictionalized story of the fledgling comic-book industry during World War II, but also has a very definite fantasy element. And his latest novel, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, is a detective story set in an alternate history – tying it into two types of genre fiction.

If he’d started writing twenty years earlier, or even ten, he probably wouldn’t have been able to do that; only in the last decade or so have writers like Chabon (and Jonathan Lethem, who transitioned from genre science fiction straight into the “literary novel”) been able to admit to their love of genre. Previously, literary writers could go slumming and use genre ideas once in a while – think Doris Lessing with the “Canopus in Argo” series, or The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood – but they could never admit to reading or liking books actually published in that genre. Kurt Vonnegut, after all, was only taken seriously because he ritually denied being a SF writer every day before breakfast.

But Chabon goes even further than his pop-culture-loving compatriots do; he doesn’t just admit to liking science fiction and detective stories – he’s even willing to claim that comics can be pretty damn good, and that some of them have influence him.

(more…)

Happy Birthday: Jesse Santos

  • News
  • June 24, 2008

Born in Teresa, Rizal, in the Philippines in 1928, Jesse F. Santos was already displaying his art as a young boy—at the age of ten he did the mural for his church.

By 14 he was working as a professional artist. During World War II Santos sketched portraits for American G.I.s. This led to an invitation to work on Halakhak Komics, the Philipines’ first serialized comic book, in 1946. Santos teamed with writer Damy Velasquez to create Kidlat, and later they created the detective strip DI-13 for Pilipino Komiks.

In 1969 Santos and his family moved to the U.S. He then got work with Western Publications, where he illustrated books like Davy Crockett and worked on several Gold Key comic books, including Dr. Spektor, Brothers of the Spear, Tragg, and Dagar.

 

ComicMix Radio: Grab Some Comics and Head West!

Wizard World Chicago begins in just two days and we have almost 100 things to help pass the time – most of which are new comics and DVDs in the stores hours from now, plus:

— Another Supergirl – the Peter David version – is headed back to DC

— Bane joins The Secret Six

— Get ready for The Marvel Super Hero Squad and the “Wacky Adventures of Wolvie”

Don’t forget – we will be broadcasting direct from Wizard World on Friday, Saturday & Sunday (there will be no Thursday ‘cast this week) so you won’t miss a thing. Hurry and  Press the Button – we have to pack!

 
 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-3798715 or RSS!

 

‘God of War’ Creator Talks Spider-Man Videogames

  • News
  • June 24, 2008

Unless you’re a rap star, it’s rare for established entertainment professionals to openly criticize someone else in the industry. But when they do, people pay attention — if only as a reminder that the pros can occasionally be angry fans just as much as the rest of us. One of comics’ famous feuds was the Peter David and Todd MacFarlane debates from the ’90s. Now videogames based on comics get theirs.

David Jaffe is considered one of the big names in the videogame industry for designing the Twisted Metal and God of War series, among other hits. On his personal blog, he posted images from the upcoming Spider-Man: Web of Shadows game and wrote a plea for the makers of Marvel Comics videogames to make the games more true to the spirit of the comics.

Please stop putting Spiderman games in big open sandbox environments where you swing around and do oh so slight variations on 4 pretty dull mission types (chase/race/collect/etc) and then once in a while toss in a boss fight and/or a somewhat unique mission.

I LOVE Marvel Comics and I LOVE the promise of games based on Marvel Comics. But why can’t you guys make a game that feels like a comic? I don’t mean art style wise; I don’t mean like Comix Zone with panels and cliche stuff like that. I mean feels like a comic in a story based, narrative way: a game that shows off the OTHER aspect that makes Marvel Comics so special: The characters/story. It’s not JUST about the powers, you know. But your games are always ONLY about the powers.

The post was followed up by another entry where he countered some reader rebuttals. His argument concludes:

I LOVE Marvel comics and want to see them start making games worthy of their amazing history of great products and characters. I want to see them apply their smart logic to making films to their games division.

The posts are rare example of a AAA-level creator speaking out like a fan. If you agree or disagree, let us know in the comments.

I would like to point out that Marvel: Ultimate Alliance had a story that rivaled any recent Marvel crossover, accurately detailed Marvel history, and gave us some theatrical-quality cinematics. (See below.) Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 has been announced for 2009 and will cover the events of Civil War.

wodnd_02_storya0003_colorsmall-2579757

Interview: Neil Kleid on ‘Worlds of Dungeons and Dragons’

  • News
  • June 24, 2008

worldsofdnd1cover-6078099Writer and Xeric Grant winner Neil Kleid has come a long way since he wrote his award-winning improvised comic Ninety Candles. Since that time, he’s managed to have a diverse and interesting writing career tackling various comic book titles such as G.I. Joe and X-Men Unlimited.

Recently, he’s signed on to help bring Devil’s Due Publishing’s upcoming series The Worlds of Dungeons & Dragons to eager comics fans. ComicMix caught up with the busy author to get the latest info on Worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, his other upcoming projects and his love of axes.

COMICMIX: How much did you know about Dungeons & Dragons before you started writing the comic book? Did you ever play the game growing up?

NEIL KLEID: Once or twice, as a kid. I was mostly into the Bard’s Tale videogame and the early Dragonlance books. When I did play, I was always a dwarf. I liked the axes.

I’d stopped reading the DL books years ago, but my pal Andrew Dabb’s been adapting them for Devil’s Due for a while now and so, to check out his work, I’d flip through them at the store and I kind of got hooked again. I’m mostly into the books that focus on the characters from the War of the Lance.

CMix: What attracts you to a project like Worlds of Dungeons & Dragons in the first place?

NK: Intriguing characters, creepy monsters, short, condensed stories. Also, free rein and choice. Good editors. Stories I liked when I was younger that strike a chord inside.

CMix: How did this project first come about and how did you get involved?

NK: I’d been talking to the folks at Devil’s Due for a while now, trying to set something up with them – specifically with the G.I. Joe license. I had a meeting with former editor Mark Powers a few years
back and then traded several emails with current editor Mike O’ Sullivan. We always talked about the possibility of doing something together.

Then, Dabb mentioned they were looking for new D&D writers just as Mike emailed asking if it was something I’d be interested in. He hooked me up with editor James Lowder and we ran through the types of stories I wanted to do, narrowing it down to “The Legacy.” It’s been a lot of fun so far.

CMix: This is your first time doing something in the sword-and-sorcery genre, right? This comic seems like new territory for you based on your previous work. (more…)

kistler-countdown-breakdown-09-200-1416753

Countdown Breakdown: An Illustrated Guide to DC’s ‘Final Crisis – Part 2

  • Uncategorized
  • June 24, 2008

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Yesterday, we gave you the first half of our "Countdown Breakdown" courtesy of comic book historian Alan Kistler. Today, Alan gives us the second half of his guide to everything a reader should know to get the most out of DC’s latest mega-event, Final Crisis. Oh, and Alan provided all of the artwork seen here, too. Quite the jack-of-all-trades, eh? – RM]

kistler-countdown-breakdown-09-200-1416753So, where were we?

Ready? Here we go…

By the time Apokolips was destroyed, just about all of the New Gods had caught a mild case of death thanks to a mysterious killer who turned out to be the Infinity Man, a New God warrior who usually only showed up when the Forever People (basically, New God hippies) summoned him.

Infinity Man had been ordered to kill the New Gods by "The Source," the sentient energy that binds the cosmos together and manifests itself as a talking, glowing ball. The New Gods had been born when the Third World of gods had erupted and given birth to New Genesis and Apokolips (known collectively as the Fourth World). Now that a Fifth World was coming, the New Gods had to make way for new cosmic beings that were to come.

This reminded some fans of a couple of Grant Morrison JLA issues where the New God called Metron had said that Earth would be the cradle of the Fifth World and that the JLA were fore-runners for the next phase of New Gods.

metron-morrison-400-6945182

(more…)

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