Category: News

How Amazon could force comics to go digital

  • News
  • January 30, 2010

Remember about a month back, we posted an article about Fox Networks and Time Warner Cable playing hardball over being carried?

Well, as of Friday books from Macmillan, including all sub-imprints like Tor books and St. Martin’s Press, have vanished from Amazon.com. According to the New York Times, the disappearance is the result of a disagreement
between Amazon.com
and book publishers that has been brewing for the last year. Macmillan,
like other publishers, has asked Amazon to raise the price of
electronic books from $9.99 to around $15. Amazon is expressing its
strong disagreement by temporarily removing Macmillan books.

Now with this as a precedent, let’s take it to the next level:

“Hello, DC Comics? Jeff Bezos here. Hey, how come we don’t have Batman: Black & White available for the Kindle yet?”

“Oh really? Do you know how many thousands of copies of Watchmen we sold for you last year? How many Batman and Sandman graphic novels? Don’t even get me started on Smallville DVD sets.”

“Let me spell it out for you. If we don’t start getting files for the Kindle by the end of this month, we’re going to stop selling the print editions of your books.”

Think it can’t happen? Are you sure?

Saturday Morning Cartoons: He-Man and the Master of What’s Going On.

  • News
  • January 30, 2010

Eternia is a complicated land folks. When young Swedish looking princes have too many emotions bubbling up… Sometimes they need an outlet. Some, yes, will turn to their mystical sword, and say a little oath, and poof! Problems replaced with muscles and loin-cloths. But other times… when your little faceless floating buddy isn’t there for you, when you mistake your father for the Burger King, and when you’re tired of your pathetic excuse for pussy… It’s time to bah-ring-it girlfriend.

It’s time to let the world hear those amazing pipes you’ve hidden beneath your pink tunic all these years. Without further adieu, I give to you Four Minus Three Don Blondes’ with his breakout hit…

What’s going on?

Thanks to the hilarious folks at Slack Circus.

The iPad costs too much? Compared to what?

  • News
  • January 29, 2010

One of the ongoing shibboleths coming out about the iPad, with prominent examples coming from Dirk Deppey, is that it won’t change the game for comics because the iPad costs too much.

To which we have to ask: compared to what?

Let’s take a simple example: Marvel’s Siege crossover event. If you wanted the entire thing and were to pay full retail for the comics, at $2.99 an issue you’re going to spend $100 or so on the full thing.

Now’s let’s assume the digital version of a series at 99 cents an issue. You end up with a savings of $60 over the life of the crossover series.

Or put it this way: If you normally buy an average of $30 of comics a week at a store, and you replace half of them with digital versions of the same books that cost 25% of their paper counterparts, you’re going to save over $560 in a year. That’s the price of a low-end iPad, plus tax and shipping.

I know a lot of people who would take that deal.

The Point Radio: Dawson Lands On ‘Mercy’

  • News
  • January 29, 2010

NBC has given their freshman medical drama MERCY  a jump start by adding James VanDerBeek to the cast,. “Dawson” is here to tell us about his place in the show, plus are you ready for a JOE DIRT cartoon and Media Mercenary Ric Meyers covers the new HUMAN TARGET.

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Ralph Bakshi ‘s ‘Lord of the Rings’ Coming to Blu-ray in April

  • News
  • January 28, 2010

While we all knew to expect the Blu-ray debut of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy this spring, Warner Home Video issued a release regarding the previous film incarnation of the classic tale. Here’s the release:

BURBANK, CA (January 27, 2010) – Journey back into the world of Hobbits, Humans, Elves and Dwarves in the all-new The Lord of the Rings Remastered Deluxe Edition coming April 6, 2010 from Warner Home Video.  This original animated classic from acclaimed director Ralph Bakshi and Academy Award Winning producer, Saul Zaentz, has been remastered with pristine New Dolby 5.1 audio and picture quality and will be distributed as a single disc DVD and Blu-ray combo which features a Blu-ray, DVD and bonus digital copy.  The film will also be available for Digital Download. This film is rated PG.

One of the great visionary animation directors of the modern era, Bakshi went to artistic extremes to meticulously bring the legendary world of J.R.R. Tolkien to animated life – adding yet another stunning title to the director’s canon of ground-breaking films. Bakshi’s animation accomplishments include Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic, American Pop, Wizards and Cool World.

All the magical adventure of the fantasy classic comes to life in Bakshi’s brilliantly animated tale of the enchanted land of Middle-earth – and the brave band of Hobbits, heroes and Wizards who set out to protect it. When a dangerous and powerful gold ring falls into his hands, a courageous Hobbit named Frodo embarks on an epic adventure. Along with the mighty Wizard Gandalf and some daring Elves, he defends his homeland from the Dark Power  who would destroy it. Set in a mystical age of magic, monsters and unlikely heroes on incredible journeys, The Lord of the Rings will cast its spell over the entire family!

The deluxe edition also features a never-before-seen, 30-minute in-depth interview  with legendary director Ralph Bakshi entitled Forging Through The Darkness: The Ralph Bakshi Vision for The Lord Of The Rings.  This special feature explores his concept for creating an illustrated film, his pioneering rotoscoping process, and inspirations for his visual storytelling.

“The Lord of the Rings is a timeless classic that continues to be a favorite for generation after generation,” said Amit Desai, WHV Vice President of Family, Animation & Partner Brands Marketing. “The theatrical release in 1978 had a domestic total gross of nearly $90 million at the box office and shipped 1.1 million net videos. We are looking forward to offering this remastered deluxe edition to the fans for their library collections and providing endless enjoyment for years to come.”

(more…)

Newsarama has a virus AGAIN?

  • News
  • January 28, 2010

Promoted from comments here:

I’ve gotten the same virus TWICE from The Rama in the past two days…I go to the site and my OneCare tells me that the software n.exe is trying to access the net and I tell it no and then my firewall, auto-updates, and virus protection fail, won’t re-open and pop-ups start…I had to do a system restore. Done with the site over the computer. Accessed it on my phone and got a message saying there was a problem with it’s security certif. Guess I’m onto a new Comics site! :(

Guys?

action-comics-442-8931713

Irredeemable #10: Boy, Mark Waid must’ve hated ‘Action Comics’ #442

  • News
  • January 28, 2010

action-comics-442-8931713Warning: We’re discussing Irredeemable #10, out in stores this week, and we’re probably going to spoil a minor plot point. You might want to read it first before you go any further.

Based on part of Irredeemable #10, I can tell that Mark Waid read Action Comics #442 at a very impressionable age– specifically “The Midnight Murder Show” written by Cary Bates, with art by Curt Swan and Kurt Schaffenberger.

And he was struck by the sheer implausibilty of it all. And re-reading it, I can’t blame him.

Let me recap the plot a bit: Late night talk show host Johnny Nevada, host of GBS’s “The Midnight Show” has been kidnapped by the psychotic and trigger-happy “Touch” McCoy and his henchman, Louie, because all criminal henchmen in Superman stories are named Louie. 

Nevada is being held for ransom of ten million dollars. (In 1974, that was enough to stun a TV network– in 2004, ABC spent more than that on the pilot of Lost, and today, there are pilots rumored to cost fifty million dollars. My, how times change.)

To catch the kidnapper, Superman hatches a plan to goad the kidnapper into shooting, which he will be able to hear with his super-hearing. So Superman goes on The Midnight Show and goads Touch into shooting his .45
at Carso– er, Nevada, which Superman will hear fire from across the
city, and can get there before the bullet travels the distance to hit
Nevada.

All well and good, except that Superman has forgotten that a .45 caliber bullet travels at 800 feet per second. In a 20 foot room, it will take 1/40th of a second. 

In
that time, the sound of the gunshot will only travel 28 feet. It’s not
going to matter if he’s faster than a speeding bullet if he can’t hear
it before it hits the target.

We won’t even get
into the argument of how Superman knew how far away the shot was or the
exact direction to fly off in– suffice it to say that it’s a
completely implausible story.

I mean, really– TV networks caring about the hosts of their late-night talk shows?

(more…)

The Future of Media… Again

  • News
  • January 27, 2010

 

apple-itablet1-2454626After years of rumors, I finally understood what the playing field was going to look like when ComicBookLover released their viewer
for the iPhone yesterday. I knew that Apple’s new iPad would run on the iPhone OS, that it would be high-resolution enough to read comic books on a 10” screen. I knew it was going to become the cool platform of choice for newspapers and magazines and books that need color and graphics support.

All stuff that had been generally predicted, along with a lot of other stuff. But what I didn’t know was the price. And I don’t know if people are even interested in reading newspapers any longer, although Apple chief Steve Jobs doesn’t know that either.

If the iPad price was too high, a whole lotta people in the media racket would be out of jobs. Magazines and newspapers, and to a slightly lesser extent book publishers, cannot survive with the present distribution models. Textbook publishers would be marginally more secure. So if
I heard a figure with five nines in it, I knew there’s be quite a number of
people on Sixth Avenue selling their pencils.

Apple always prices their products high under the belief
that a BMW is worth more than a Toyota. But this time they took a turn. Pricing between $500 and $830 – the difference is in 3G connectivity and the amount of memory you get – even the high-end model is reasonably priced. AT&T’s service is low-priced; $15 a month for 250 MB of service, and only $30 for unlimited service. This includes full access to AT&T’s Wi-Fi hotspots, providing even faster service than 3G. And the iPad promises 10 hours of video use on a single charge.

Oh, and it weighs 1.5 pounds. Check out Marc Fishman’s excellent piece with all the details here.

It’s got a large on-screen keyboard and it can use Apple’s Bluetooth keyboard. You can get Apple’s word processing, spreadsheet and
presentation software – fully comparable with Microsoft Office – for $10 a
module. Doubtlessly, Microsoft will offer their far more expensive versions of the same stuff before too long.

Lots of publishers have already signed up: Penguin, Harper-Collins, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, Gameloft, Electronic Arts, the New York Times, and Major League Baseball. And the iPad will run most all iPhone and iPod apps as well.

So. Will the media thrive? Maybe. Is this a lifeline?
Absolutely. Will it be the cool thing to own? Probably. Will it save the comic book format? It will if I have anything to say about it. Will the streets of
midtown Manhattan be splattered with mediaworkers’ blood?

No more than usual.

Apple unveils iPad, prescribed newest tablet

  • News
  • January 27, 2010

Once again, the mighty Steve Jobs took the stage in front of scads of Mac-o-philes to present them another device they need so bad it hurts. The iPad debuted to the standard “ooohs” and “oys”, and we here at ComicMix feel no need to wax poetic. We know you don’t care about our awesome alliteration adeptness. How about a little meat n’ potatoes:

  • It’s meant to bridge the gap between a smart phone (like that iPhone already collecting dust in your pocket) and a laptop (that horrendously underpowered Macbook Pro heating up your desk).
  • It operates on a hybrid OS from the iPhone, on it’s Apple A44 1ghz processor. Meaning you can use all 14.4 bajillion iPhone apps on it, right out of the box.
  • iPhone apps will run at a pixel to pixel representation, or you can “double” the size at the same resolution for a faux-full screen effect.
  • The aspect ratio is closer to 4:3 than 16:9… A 9.7″ IPS Display.
  • Has already won this season’s American Idol (unconfirmed).
  • The keyboard pops up like on an iPhone, though it’s now close to lifesize (as in your normal keyboard.)

(more…)

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