On Monday, Syfy kicks off their “Powerful Mondays” with Season 4.5 of EUREKA. Colin Ferguson and Salli Richardson-Whitfield catch us up on one of the network’s hottest shows,
plus news on the TV Barrage coming to ComicCon and it’s a classic Marvel Comics brawl coming to FEAR ITSELF.
Check out The Point Radio for constant pop culture updates – and please check us out on Facebookright here & toss us a “like”.
Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead
Steve Perry
ISBN 978-0345506986
I was thrilled to see a new Indy novel after many years and even more excited that it was being handled by a fairly “big-name” author.
Set during a period where we really haven’t seen much with Indy (the World War II period where Indy worked as a spy), this novel sends our hero after the Heart of Darkness, which is also being pursued by Germans, the Japanese and a Voodoo priest. The search leads them all into Haiti and the Island of the Dead. Along the way we learn about the Voodoo religion and get to see Indy taking on zombies, both of the living and undead varieties.
Unfortunately, while the story wasn’t bad per se, it didn’t really succeed as an Indiana Jones adventure. There were times when the book’s pacing was too slow and things seemed almost pedestrian (even with Zombies and Nazis running around!). There was no real sense of danger or excitement — it was like we were being told about things that were exciting, but without the excitement being displayed in the prose itself.
It was fun seeing Indy during WW II and there were one or two moments where I could see where the author was trying to go… but overall it fell flat. Go and read the Indy books by Rob McGregor. You won’t be disappointed there.
I give it 2 out of 5 stars.
Crazy 8 Press exists because the founders — Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Bob Greenberger, Glenn Hauman, Aaron Rosenberg, and Howard Weinstein — have found selling their original works to mainstream publishers increasingly difficult. Illogical barriers have been erected and the website was conceived to directly connect the authors with the readers.
The concept was conceived by Friedman at last summer’s Shore Leave convention and now, a year later, the site is officially open for business this afternoon. Its initial offering is an original novel, The Camelot Papers, which is unrelated to David’s previous Camelot trilogy. The novel is available in all eBook formats in addition to Print on Demand.
At a launch panel Saturday at noon, the founders will outline their plans for the future, addressing issues such as frequency, backlist, and if non-member authors will be published through the site. “It’s not a business,” Greenberger said. “It’s a consortium with a handshake binding friends together. Our goal is to have all our audiences come to one source to find our older and newer original works.”
To bring attention to the new operation and to raise much-needed funds for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the six authors will collaborate on a short story, written in shifts during the convention, based on an opening line supplied by a fan during Friday night’s Meet the Authors event.
Since most of the authors write for ComicMix, we’re particularly proud of their accomplishment.
Increasingly, publishers are making their titles available in digital form the day the print version hits shops. Today’s release from BOOM! is just the latest in this trend. Some retailers accept it as an inevitable realty, others cry about it. What do you, the readers, think?
PHILADELPHIA — Taking another step toward offering comics in stores and digitally on the same day, publisher BOOM! Studios says its new series, Elric: The Balance Lost will do just that.
The series, written by Chris Roberson and drawn by Francesco Biagini, is based on author Michael Moorcock’s fan-favorite fantasy hero Elric of Melnibone.
The book will be on sale in comic book shops Wednesday, but will also be available for download through BOOM! Studios own comics app and comiXology’s app, too. Unlike other publishers, however, the issue’s 10-page prelude will also be accessible on its own website at no cost.
“With Elric we’re not only focusing on print and mobile devices exclusively but getting out onto Internet browsers that billions of people use every day,” BOOM!’s marketing and sales director Chip Mosher said of the comic, which will retail for $3.99 in print and digital form.
“While there are only 25 million iPads out in the marketplace, there are billions of potential readers that have the ability to find comic books through the Internet,” he said.
Offering comics digitally and in stores on the same day is growing among publishers, with more and more of them embracing it as readers opt to read issues on tablets, smart phones and personal computers.
BOOM! first did so in January 2008 with the debut of its “North Wind” title and again a year later with “Hexed.”
At the end of May, DC Comics said it would start selling digital copies of its printed ongoing superhero titles through apps and a website the same day they’re released in comic shops, a move dubbed by the industry as day-and-date sales. That will affect the company’s superhero titles.
Similarly, Archie Comics began same-day digital and print sales in April, along with other smaller publishers.
With the video of release of Sucker Punch last week, the debate over director Zack Snyder’s vision and treatment of women has been renewed across the boards. Frankly, we were disappointed by the empty characterizations mixed with pretty visuals. Still, it has its fans so let us cluye you in to a new feature on the movie’s website.
Close your eyes. Open your mind. Engage in a spectacular fantasy adventure. Create your own Sucker Punch custom videos by combining clips, audio, effects and transitions. Then save your creations to the Gallery and share with friends!
Preferred Messaging:
Yeah, yeah, it ‘s a bit of shameless self-promotion but it’s for a good cause.
Hunt Valley, Maryland — They may not be wearing super-hero capes, but members of the new web-based writersâ group Crazy 8 Press will swoop in to help the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) at the 33rd annual Shore Leave science fiction media convention the weekend of July 8-10, 2011.
Crazy 8 founders Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Robert Greenberger, Glenn Hauman, Aaron Rosenberg and Howard Weinstein will raise funds for the CBLDF by tag-team writing an original story on the floor of the convention at Baltimore’s Marriott Hunt Valley Inn.
Fans will have a chance to participate by contributing possible opening sentences, one of which will be randomly chosen as the story’s starting point. First-sentence candidates can be submitted in advance through the Crazy 8 Press Facebook (www.facebook.com/pages/Crazy-8-Press) page, as well as at the convention on Friday evening. The finished work will be sold as a low-cost e-book, on sale through Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com and other internet booksellers.
Profits from this story will benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization fighting censorship and defending the First Amendment rights of comic book professionals. All of Crazy 8’s founding writers have worked in the comic book industry and David currently serves on the CBLDF board of directors.
Crazy 8 Press, which announced its formation in February, is a home for its established authors to sell original novels directly to readers through online book retailers. Together, Crazy 8’s founders have written hundreds of books and comics over the past 35 years, with combined sales of more than 15 million copies. The group has set a first-year goal of presenting at least one new novel-length title every other month.
The first new novel will be Peter Davidâs The Camelot Papers. Aaron Rosenbergâs novel No Small Bills will follow in September. Information on these and all future Crazy 8 Press projects can be found at www.crazy8press.com. All new stories (and some older, out of print works) by the Crazy 8 writers will be available for purchase through online booksellers including Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com.
Friedman described Crazy 8 Press as a natural response to upheavals in book publishing. âWith publishers and retailers under pressure,â he said, âdistribution channels are shrinking. We’re offering our readers a way to receive our work thatâs not dependent on any third party.â
âUntil now,â said David, âweâve been at the mercy of book store buyers, who would tell publishers if what we wrote was suitable for their stores. Now that barrier is down. Weâre coming to readers pure and unleashed, with stories they would never have seen in a traditional publishing environment.â
âScience fiction has always been a community where writers and readers enjoy a close relationship and exchange ideas,” Greenberger added. “The Crazy 8 platform allows us to make that relationship even closer and more interactive.â
Well, we know who we’re voting for and ComicMix will be on hand, covering events and news happening at next month’s Baltimore Comic-Con.
BALTIMORE, MD (July 5, 2011) — The 2011 Harvey Awards Nominees have been announced with the release of the final ballot, presented by the Executive Committees of the Harvey Awards and the Baltimore Comic-Con. Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry’s most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. They will be presented August 20, 2011 in Baltimore, MD, in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con.
Nominations for the Harvey Awards are selected exclusively by creators – those who write, draw, ink, letter, color, design, edit or are otherwise involved in a creative capacity in the comics field. They are the only industry awards both nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. Thank you to all that have already participated by submitting a nomination ballot.
Final ballots are due to the Harvey Awards by Saturday, August 6, 2011. Full details for submission of completed ballots can be found on the final ballot. Voting is open to anyone professionally involved in a creative capacity within the comics field. Final ballots are available for download at www.harveyawards.org. Those without Internet access may request that paper ballots be sent to them via mail or fax by calling the Baltimore Comic-Con (410-526-7410) or e-mailing baltimorecomiccon@yahoo.com.
This will be the sixth year for the Harvey Awards in Baltimore, MD. Our Master of Ceremonies this year for the 3rd year in a row will be Scott Kurtz (www.pvponline.com).
This year’s Baltimore Comic-Con will be held August 20-21, 2011. The ceremony and banquet for the 2011 Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, August 20.
Without further delay, the 2011 Harvey Award Nominees: (more…)
For those paying attention, Green Lantern’s failure to remain in the domestic box office top five has to be of concern to Warner Bros. The film took in an estimated $6,270,000, down a steep 65% from the second weekend which was already down a steep 66.1% from the opening weekend. This means that the core geek audience expected to revel in the galactic adventure multiple times decided once was enough and word of mouth was not positive enough to make up the difference.
Beyond that, the studio gambled on the 3-D effects being a lure but by the time the movie opened June 17, the warning signs were already crystal clear that 3-D was once more a passing fad and not a silver bullet to re-energize theater going habits.
After 17 days in release, the movie has taken in approximately $101,962, about a third of what was spent on production and marketing. The international box office has been anemic as well, with just $33.3 million taken in so after three weeks, the film has not cracked the $200 million barrier that would have at least allowed Warner and DC Entertainment to save face.
And while Warner has commissioned work on a second script, there is no guarantee that they will invest in an expensive sequel. The mantra among the fans is that it took Paramount two films before they got Star Trek right but DC had a lot riding on this as their first entry into the shared universe superhero market and attempting to compete directly with Marvel. A core difference between the rivals is that Marvel’s production arm is independent of studio interference while DC’s Creative Officer, Geoff Johns, still has to dance to Warners’ tune. There’s no direct evidence that Warner execs meddled in the film, but if they didn’t then the film’s disappointing commercial results has to be placed at Johns’ feet.
Should they choose not to go forward with a sequel, Green Lantern will continue to headline multiple titles from DC plus continue his animated adventures on the Cartoon Network. It will, though, limit his merchandising appeal which will affect the conglomerate’s bottom line.
How this may impact the films already in development, notably The Flash, Johns’ other baby, remains to be seen. In some ways, not having it before the cameras means there’s plenty of time to take the lessons learned and apply them. On the other hand, Marvel has already staked two key dates in 2013 (for Iron Man 3 and Thor 2) so if the DC Universe expects to compete on the silver screen, there has to be energy expended to get things rolling.
ALL PULP wishes everyone who celebrates July 4th or any day of freedome a HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY and specifically thanks each and every man and woman who ever wore a uniform, stood against tyranny, and/or fought for the right that every American has to be free today! Enjoy your families, fellowship, and your freedom, not just today, but every single moment. Happy 4th of July from ALL PULP!
Columns / Glenn Hauman / News
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