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WOLD NEWTON DAY 2011-HANCOCK’S TIPS HIS HAT TO MYTHS OF THE MODERN AGE

  • News
  • December 13, 2011

TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews of All Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock
MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE:  PHILIP JOSE FARMER’S WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE
Various Authors
Edited by Win Scott Eckert
Monkeybrain Books
2005

This is the first review of three today in recognition of Wold Newton Day.   What is Wold Newton Day?  In short, it commemorates the date in 1795 when a meteor crashed into the small English village of Wold Newton.  According to iconic Author Philip Jose Farmer, this meteor crashed as a group of people were passing through the village and radiation from the space borne rock affected the genes of these already mostly fantastic specimens in such a way that their descendants became both the Heroes and Villains of Fiction via mediums of all sorts.  This posit by Farmer led to Sherlock Holmes and Tarzan sharing family as well as hundreds of thousands of others being tangled together in the Wold Newton Family Tree.  Other writers and scholars have taken up the cause of Wold Newton and have developed fantastic tales as well as scholarly works about both Farmer and the wonderful universe he brought into existence.

MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE is a wonderful piece of scholarship, a grand escapade into imagination, and a fitting remembrance of a man who with words and ideas literally captivated creators both while he lived and will likely for centuries to come.  In his introduction to the volume, Mr. Eckert, the editor, poses several questions, queries about Holmes, Moriarty, Mowgli, Doc Savage, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and more and although he states that the essays that follow do not answer every question, they prove a good place to start.

Counting the introduction, MYTHS contains 29 works, essays focused on Farmer, his work, and on Wold Newton.   Authors such as Rick Lai, Brad Mengel, Matthew Baugh, Dennis E. Power, Jess Nevins, Farmer himself, and many others fill these pages.  Names like Tarzan, Captain Nemo, Rick Blaine, Lord Rufton, Charlie Chan, Zorro, Chtulhu, Fu Manchu, Joh Carter, and oh so many more dot these pages like spectacular plumage of a grand bird.    Although not a Wold Newton Scholar, I do have a background as a historian and can say that the research and effort to be academic that went into each article is impressive and notable.   These are not people sitting around having fanboy chats, although I’m sure they all have and would do that.  This is instead a serious endeavor to bring true study to Wold Newton as a concept, to Farmer as a Man, and to the duty of imagination in furthering our society.

FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT-You need to know what Wold Newton is?  You want to know more than just the basics?  This is as close to a Wold Newton Textbook as we may ever get.

Rise of the Apes Street Mural

  • News
  • December 13, 2011

Over the weekend, we told you that Australian born street artist Anthony Lister had arrived in Los Angeles, working throughout the nights to create a gigantic street mural that was inspired by Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Today marks the film’s debut on Blu-ray and DVD, coming from Twentieth Century Home Entertainment.

Here’s a look at the production using time lapse photography:

PlanetoftheApestimelapse

 

 

 

MICHAEL DAVIS: I’ve Got A Secret

  • Uncategorized
  • December 13, 2011

davis-column-art-111213-9556112This week I received a very early Christmas gift! It’s something I’m dying to tell everyone, but I have to be cool for at least a little while.

However…

If I tell people what it’s not then I can talk about it without talking about it! And… if someone guesses what it is, how is that my fault?

Well, except that I opened my big mouth in the first place and talked about what it wasn’t thus giving raise to what it could be so someone could guess, except for that, how is it my fault?

I mean really.

There’s an old TV game show called I’ve Got A Secret. The object of that show was to figure out the secret of the contestant on the show. This was done with questions being asked by a panel.

I’ll give clues as to what my secret is and will if someone guesses cool! If not and some of you out their want to send me questions to answer that help you along, great!

If no one plays that means no one will win the fantastic prize!

What’s the prize? No idea, but when I figure it out it will be fantastic!

So here are the clues!

It’s a huge deal that features comics.

It features a book but not a comic or graphic novel.

Some of the biggest names in the industry are involved.

The project will take a year to complete.

It’s not a TV show or movie.

It’s not a benefit or comic convention.

It will be newsworthy in comics and mainstream.

It’s not a new comic company.

That’s all I’m going to share because there are way too many nerds and geeks out there that can figure this out very quickly.  Yes, I am a proud and geek and I know just how smart my people can be.

Let the guessing begin!

Send your e-mails now to my erstwhile editor, mike@comicmix.com

WEDNESDAY: Mike Gold

Justice League: Doom Coming in February

BURBANK, CA (Dec 12, 2011) – Earth’s greatest super heroes face foes on all fronts – using a plan initiated from within – in the all-new Justice League: Doom, the next entry in the popular, ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, the all-new, PG-13 rated film arrives February 28, 2012 from Warner Home Video as a Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack ($24.98 SRP) and DVD ($19.98 SRP), On Demand and for Download. Both the Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack and DVD will include an UltraViiolet™ Digital Copy,

Justice League: Doom finds Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg and Batman on their heels when a team of super villains discover and implement the Dark Knight’s “contingency plans” for stopping any rogue Justice League member. The story is inspired by Mark Waid’s much-heralded “JLA: Tower of Babel.”

 

Primetime television stars Nathan Fillion (Castle) and Tim Daly (Private Practice), the reigning voices of Green Lantern and Superman, respectively, join a group of eight actors reprising their famed Justice League cartoon roles. Fillion made his debut as Green Lantern/Hal Jordan in the recent Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, and took his initial DC Universe movie bow as the voice of Steve Trevor in the 2008 hit Wonder Woman. Daly originated his role as Superman’s voice in the landmark cartoon, Superman: The Animated Series. He has reprised the role in two DC Universe films: the 2009 extravaganza Superman/Batman: Public Enemies and the 2010 thriller Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.

The grand reunion of actors who provided the voices of the Justice League for the cartoon of the same name and its follow-up, Justice League Unlimited, includes Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series) as Batman, Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville, Breaking In) as Flash, Susan Eisenberg (Superman/Batman: Apocalypse) as Wonder Woman and Carl Lumbly (Alias) as J’onn J’onzz/Martian Manhunter. Bumper Robinson (A Different World, Transformers: Animated) joins the cast as Cyborg.

The Justice League faces two sets of villainous teams in the film – The Royal Flush Gang and a sextet of notable evildoers. The latter group includes three voice acting alumni of the Justice League animated series: Phil Morris (Smallville, Seinfeld) as Vandal Savage, Olivia d’Abo (The Wonder Years) as Star Sapphire, and Alexis Denisof (Angel) as Mirror Master. Also opposing our heroes are Carlos Alazraqui (Reno 911) as Bane, Paul Blackthorne (The Dresden Files) as Metallo, and Claudia Black (Farscape, Stargate SG-1) as Cheetah.

David Kaufman (Danny Phantom) also reprises his Justice League role of Jimmy Olsen.

The film is executive produced by Bruce Timm (Batman: Year One), and directed by Lauren Montgomery (Batman: Year One), who is also credited as producer alongside Alan Burnett (Batman: The Animated Series). Justice League: Doom is the final DC Universe film script from the late Dwayne McDuffie (All-Star Superman, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths), who passed away in February 2011. Casting and dialogue direction is once again in the capable hands of Andrea Romano (Batman: Year One, Justice League).

“Justice League: Doom has all the classic ingredients of a great super hero film – a cavalcade of dynamic villains, internal strife amongst our heroes, treacherous twists and turns, and a cast that brings together some of today’s popular primetime television actors with many of the fans’ favorite voices from the original series,” said Hersin Magante, Warner Home Video Marketing Director, Family & Animation. “I think fans will embrace Dwayne’s McDuffie’s final DCU script, particularly as it has been nuanced by Bruce Timm and the Warner Bros. Animation team. Warner Home Video is proud to distribute Justice League: Doom as the next DC Universe Animated Original Movie.” (more…)

The Point Radio: Can SHERLOCK 2 Save The Box Office?

  • Uncategorized
  • December 12, 2011

Director Guy Richie gathered Robert Downey, Jude Law and some new players to create SHERLOCK HOLMES 2: GAME OF SHADOWS, but can it bring in tickets to bolster up the Box Office for year end? Guy, Robert and the cast weigh in on why they think the film has the muscle it takes, plus some “new” old DOCTOR WHO surfaces.

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

November 2011 finds comics unit sales up 26% post-relaunch

  • Uncategorized
  • December 12, 2011

As reported here on Friday, Diamond Comic Distributors has released figures showing that the Direct Market is into positive territory for 2011. You can find more details on what this moment means for the market here, but a few additional observations come out in looking at the complete table of estimates.  Click to see the Top 300 comics and trade paperbacks for November 2011.

This November had one more shipping week than last November, and that results in a unit sales bias of about 11%. However, September, the first full month of the relaunch, had one less shipping week than the previous September, so the timing balances out when you look at all three months together. The “DC Relaunch Quarter” from September to November saw retailers order 21.87 million copies of the Top 300 comics, an increase of 26% over the 17.34 million comics ordered in the same period in 2010.

The number of offerings from each publisher that made the Top 300 seems to have normalized in November after October’s boom of DC relaunch reorders; reorders for a few of the #2s made the list again, but nothing like in October. Marvel had 90 entries in the Top 300, versus 86 for DC. (Find breakdowns by publisher for offerings in the Top 300 since 1997 here.)

But while there aren’t as many DC repeat performers on the list, the number of Top 300 comics ordered topped 7 million copies again for the second time in three months, something that hasn’t happened since 2008. And the 300th place title, which was boosted to record levels in October due to the reorder wave, remained at a high level: 4,330 copies.

November’s Top 300 unit sales were up 28% over last November, and only off 12% against the five-year-comparative, November 2006, the best month for comics unit sales this century. That month saw orders of 7.96 million copies, so being in the 7 millions, even barely, puts the market in a nice range historically. The unit orders are still much less than the 11.29 million copies seen exactly fifteen years ago in November 1996, which featured the wedding of Superman; there were at least two thousand more comics shops then.

DC Comics March 2012 Solicitations

  • News
  • December 12, 2011

titi_cv50-291x450-5401614We hold in our hands the covers for DC Comics this March. As a child of four can plainly see, these comics have been hermetically sealed in a CGC 9.8 slab, and they’ve been kept in a #2 mayonnaise jar under a giant pile of Christmas tinsel since noon today.

What do we have worth noting? The first fill-in artist on Justice League, although Gene Ha is certainly no slouch in that department. We also have new writers on Firestorm and Green Arrow, new backups in Justice League and Action Comics, and the DC 52 hits lucky number 7.

Shall we see who is the fariest of them all? Oh indeedy, let’s do!

As usual, spoilers may lurk beyond this point.

(more…)

“Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Next Level” Will Be Released on January 31

We knew this was coming and finally, here are the details:

LOS ANGELES – The beloved series STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® will be transferred to high definition for the first time ever and released on Blu-ray™, it was announced today by Ken Ross, Executive Vice President and General Manager of CBS Home Entertainment.

All 178 episodes from seven seasons will be transferred to true high-definition 1080p for release on Blu-ray and eventual runs on television and digital platforms both domestically and internationally.

“Fans have been clamoring for a high-definition release of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® for years,” said Ross. “Transferring the series to high-definition presented difficult technical challenges, but our team has come up with a process to create true 1080p HD masters with true HD visual effects. We can’t wait to show fans how pristine the series looks and sounds with our upcoming Blu-ray releases.”

Transferring STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® to high-definition presented numerous challenges – The series was originally shot on film and then transferred to videotape, which was used to edit episodes together. In order to create true HD masters, CBS is going back to the original uncut film negative – all 25,000 plus film reels of it – and cutting the episodes together exactly the way they originally aired. The visual effects were all shot on film and will be painstakingly recompositioned, not upconverted from videotape. The newly cut film will then be transferred to true high-definition with 7.1 DTS Master Audio. Denise and Mike Okuda are consulting on the project.

While the first full season won’t be available until later in 2012, CBS Home Entertainment is releasing STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® – THE NEXT LEVEL, a single Blu-ray disc to give fans a taste of the series in HD, on January 31, 2012. The disc will include the feature-length pilot – “Encounter at Farpoint” – as well as two more “fan favorite” episodes, “The Inner Light” (Season 5) and “Sins of the Father” (Season 3). The single disc will be available for a suggested retail price of $21.99.

One of the most popular series in the STAR TREK franchise, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2012. It premiered in first-run syndication during the week of September 28, 1987 and ran through 1994.

Set in the 24th century on the Starship Enterprise, about 100 years after the original STAR TREKseries took place, the series starred Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard,

Jonathan Frakes as Commander William T. Riker, LeVar Burton as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge, Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi, Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data, Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf, Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher and Wil Wheaton as her son Wesley Crusher.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION® won numerous accolades, including 18 Emmy® awards, and was the first – and only – syndicated television show to be nominated for the Emmy® for Outstanding Drama Series for its seventh season. It was also ranked #46 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time list in 2002.

TONIGHT! A SUPERSIZED EPISODE OF PULPED!

  • Uncategorized
  • December 12, 2011

Listen to tonight’s live episode of the PULPED! radio show tonight at 8 p.m. EST at http://www.tmvcafe.com/ to discuss the recently released Airship 27 Presents: All-Star Pulp Comics comic book anthology from Red Bud Studios.

Press Release:

YOU HAVE TO TUNE INTO THE FIRST EVER PULPED! SPECIAL TONIGHT!
Two Hours of Pulpy Goodness talking to the creators and publishers of ALL STAR PULP COMICS!

Airship 27’s own Ron Fortier and Rob Davis will be on tonight with the crew of talented writers they recruited for this Pulp event! Barry Reese, Bobby Nash, Sean Taylor, and Adam L. Garcia will join Tommy Hancock and Derrick Ferguson tonight to discuss their stories in ALL STAR PULP COMICS and comics and pulp goodness all around! http://www.tmvcafe.com/ at 7 PM CST, 8 PM EST!

Your Head will Explode in a good Pulpy Way!

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