Tagged: ComicMix

Win an ‘I am Legend’ Digital Download

Warner Bros’ adaptation of Richard Matheson’s novel I am Legend helped sustain Will Smith’s star power. Now the movie is coming to phones and digital notepads everywhere.  The movie comes to iTunes for the first time ever with Bonus Content including behind the scenes footage and interviews with the star himself:  
Robert Neville is a brilliant scientist, but even he could not contain the terrible virus that was unstoppable, incurable, and man-made. Somehow immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and maybe the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague — The Infected — lurk in the shadows… watching Neville’s every move… waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind’s last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered… and quickly running out of time.

To win a digital download of the movie with extras, all you have to do is tell us what makes YOU a legend. The most creative answer, as solely judged by the ComicMix braintrust, to arrive by 11:59 p.m. November 30 will be chosen. 

Giving thanks

It’s that time of year again… a time when you need to remember just how got you’ve really got it. Because no matter how annoyed or inconvenienced or sad you may be,
somebody else out there has got it as bad or worse.

Just consider that somewhere today:

  • Somebody will be missed at the table because they have to work.
  • Somebody was in that car accident that kept you stuck in traffic for an extra hour.
  • Somebody will be sharing dinner with someone who molested them– maybe earlier that day.
  • Somebody will be wondering how they’re going to pay for this dinner now that the job’s gone.
  • Somebody will be able to smell the turkey, but for the first time not be able to see it. Others won’t be able to hear the dinner
    conversation. A few won’t remember the people that they’re eating with.
  • Some will have to make do with hospital food. Many of those folks will have to have help in being fed. Some won’t be able to keep their food down because of the chemo treatments.
  • Some families will have no kitchen to cook a dinner this year. Some have no homes to have a dinner in. (And in the spirit of the holiday, some had their homes taken from them generations ago.)
  • For many, this will be their last Thanksgiving ever. Some folks will
    know it and savor what they can. Others won’t know it’s the last one
    until it’s too late.
  • And somebody– too many somebodies– just won’t have any dinner at all.

For you and yours from all of us here at ComicMix, have a happy Thanksgiving. Be grateful for what you
have, mindful of what you have taken, and share what you can.

And even
though it may be hard to remember all this when you’re stuck on the
road, just remember– the traffic behind you is worse. Be thankful.

What we are thankful for, and how you can help ComicMix (and thank you for asking)

We’re thankful to you. Each and every one of you who keeps coming back to the site because you like the people, or the comics, or the occasional snark.  We all know how tough it is out there, not acknowledging that fact doesn’t make it any less tight in the wallet. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who
arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress
in this period in history. But we’re glad that you’re here, reading and occasionally commenting.

We’d also like to ask you, if you’re doing any shopping at Amazon this holiday season, do it through us and help us keep the lights on. If you want to support ComicMix every time you shop at Amazon, bookmark this link and use it whenever you do your online shopping. And if you order before December 16th, you can still get free shipping before Christmas ends.

We are NOT asking you to forgo shopping at your local comic store, far from it. Support your local shops. If you don’t know if you have one near you, go to the Comic Shop Locator. Many stores are doing door-buster sales– Cosmic Comics in NYC, for example, is doing 80% off of back issues and 50% off new books on Friday. I don’t care what kind of advantage you get from Amazon, that’s real tough to beat.

Things may be a bit light over the next few days with holidays and tech stuff, so enjoy yourself and watch out for crazy drivers and rogue TSA agents.

Fox Prepares Plethora of Holiday Gift Items Plus a Major Sale

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has made their list and are checking it twice to prepare DVD gift sets for every conceivable taste and special interest. We’ll be exploring some of those options when ComicMix launches its Holiday Gift Guide in the coming days.

With Black Friday imminent, we want to tip you off that FoxConnect is having a Black Friday Sale that runs from November 22nd to December 5th.  Savvy shoppers can save up to 70% off on favorite Movies and TV shows on Blu-ray and DVD – Some favorites for as little as $4 for select titles!

The new release we’re most looking forward to is the studio’s 75ht Anniversary Gift Set, coming December 7. Check out the formal release:Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment paints the town diamond white with the release of the TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX 75TH ANNIVERSARY GIFT SET, a 75-film, three-volume set, highlighting a remarkable, rich and unparalleled heritage of classic films, Academy Award® winners and box office smashes.  Debuting on DVD December 7, each volume covers 25 years of the studio’s legacy along with an exclusive hard cover companion book highlighting the historic significance of Fox’s 75th anniversary featuring legendary stars, compelling stories, timeless music and unforgettable images.

The massive DVD set features a variety of genres and some of the finest films of all time from South Pacific to Star Wars, Alien to Avatar and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes to The Devil Wears Prada.  Among its 46 Academy Award®-winning features, the collection highlights seven Best Picture winners including the DVD debut of Cavalcade, How Green Was My Valley, All About Eve, The Sound of Music, Patton, The French Connection, and Slumdog Millionaire.

Just in time for the holiday season, the TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX 75TH ANNIVERSARY GIFT SET will be available for the suggested retail price of $499.98 U.S.

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Win a BBC America Gift Set!

Great Gifts with a British Accent!

This Holiday season, discover the perfect holiday gift from BBC films and TV series to unique British collectibles now available at the BBC America Shop.
For him find TV favorites on DVD like Dr. Who, Top Gear; for her find holiday collectibles for the home; and for the kids animated favorites, music, books and more.

Plus this holiday season WIN $1,000 (two $500 Gift Cards for you and a friend) redeemable toward purchases on the BBC America Shop with the annual Holiday Sweepstakes.

ComicMix readers now have a chance to win a BBC Gift Set!

All we’d like you to do is name your favorite BBC America series and why. We’ll judge the responses and select the winning entry. One submission per e-mail address and all entries must be posted in the comments section here no later than 11:59 pm. November 23.

ComicMix endorses Elvira– she’s not a witch either

Finally, someone who we can support– and let’s face it, she needs a lot of support.

Yes, Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark and star of stage, screen, and a few hundred comic books, has a brief announcement for you. After all… she is you.

Hat tip: Lisa Sullivan.

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October is National Graphic Novel Writing Month!

nagranowrimo-5704834Every November, thousands of intrepid souls, all around the world,
embark on a great novel-writing adventure. National Novel Writing Month,
or NaNoWriMo, as it’s affectionately called by participants, was begun
by Chris Baty in 1999, with the goal of getting writers to tackle a big project.

But that’s next month. For October, ComicMix is declaring it to be National Graphic Novel Writing Month! Or, yes, NaGraNoWriMo. Or #NaGraNoWriMo on Twitter.

The goal is simple: By October 31st, you write a script for at least a 48 page long graphic novel.

You brush your teeth every day? Feed the dog every day? Complain about Brightest
Day
? Good. Now add “write part of my graphic novel script” to that
list. No excuses. If you’ve said “I should do it, but–” this is your time.

For our part, we’re going to have posts every day about what goes into a graphic novel script from a wide variety of comics pros, talking about how to do it and– most importantly– how to keep going.

We should also note for the TRULY hardcore that tomorrow’s the annual 24 Hour Comic Book Day.
Comic creators all around the world participate to create an entire 24
page comic book in just 24 hours… written and drawn! We implore you to
think about that. Think writing a 48 page graphic novel in a month is
too hard? Well, just realize there are some awesome people out there who
can knock out half of that in just one day! And hey, if you participate
at 24 Hour Comic Book Day, you could use that for the first half of your NaGraNoWriMo
project. If you don’t want to crank out a comic in 24 hours, you don’t have to, of course,
although it can be considered training for working for certain
publishers.

So who’s in? Sound off in the comments!

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Review: ‘Superman/Batman: Apocalypse’

superman-batman-apocalypse-edit1-5986381While the various animated series featuring the DC Universe heroes have had a loose connectivity, the feature films from Warner Premiere have been fiercely independent with variations in look, vocal cast and attitude. That is, until now. In Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, out today from Warner Home Entertainment, we have the first animated feature to immediately pick up on the events of a previous offering, in this case Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Of course, it makes sense since they both are drawn from the Superman/Batman ongoing series and comprise the title’s first two story arcs.

The arc, from Jeph Loeb and the late Michael Turner, introduced Supergirl to New Earth. In [[[Public Enemies]]], President Luthor tried to blame a large kryptonite asteroid en route to Earth on Superman. After the World’s Finest team destroyed the threat and exposed Luthor’s criminal activity, all seemed safe. As the new feature opens, a voiceover recaps those events and sets up a chunk of the shattered rock splashing into Gotham Bay. As [[[Batman]]] investigates, he encounters a naked, confused teen girl who is speaking gibberish. Demonstrating super-powers, she is confused and causing havoc, requiring intervention from the Man of Steel, who comes to realize this is his cousin Kara Zor-El.

The personality differences between the Dark Knight and the Metropolis Marvel have never been better portrayed in a story, which was adapted for the film by Tab Murphy. Batman’s suspicious and cautious while Superman is delighted to find a blood relative after all these years of emotional isolation. How they react to her arrival informs their actions for the remainder of the story. Also, Murphy does a nice job of delineating a teen who has lost her parents and home, finding herself a stranger in a very strange land. She’s young and innocent, striving to find an identity and rebelling when the adults try to dictate her future without consulting her.

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Twilight: Messin’ With the Kids’ Brains

Since science has cured all disease, and we’re living in a world with jet packs and super-candy (which never causes tooth decay, don’cha know), a symposium was called to finally figure out why teenagers are so influenced by the art and media with which they surround themselves. Led by Maria Nikolajeva, the conference was held in England just a few weeks ago. Nikolajeva, a Cambridge University professor of literature, brought together “people from different disciplines to share what we know about this turbulent period we call adolescence.” Why, you ask? We’re guessing that Nikolajeva (we love typing that name) has a teenage daughter who recently started wearing black, talking back to her, and becoming infatuated with pale boys who drive their own ’96 Honda Accords. We’re just guessing, though.

Thanks in part to an in-depth article on MSNBC, there’s plenty to glean from this recent conference. Some facts we learned? According to Karen Coats, a professor of English at Illinois State Univeristy, “the teenage brain processes information differently than a more mature brain.” We’re blown away. Really? Coats (again, an English professor…) goes on to add that the teenage prefrontal cortex goes through a growth spurt before puberty, followed by a period of organizing and pruning of the neural pathways. We asked Doctor Gregory House of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital about this fact, and he was quick to add “Duh! It turns out right before and even during puberty, kids’ noggins get bigger. And as boys grow hair in weird places, and girls grow sweater puppies…their bodies are flushed with hormones and other science-type stuff that makes them act out in odd and strange new ways.”

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Review: ‘The Big Bang Theory the Complete Third Season’

1000149528brdlef1-7176949By the beginning of its third season, CBS’s [[[The Big Bang Theory]]] had crossed over from well-reviewed sitcom for geeks to a ratings blockbuster. The characters remained oblivious to this elevation in esteem while their performers and creators didn’t let the success get to their heads. Instead, the season’s 22 episodes remained sharp and funny, delving deeper into the characters, revealing back stories, and expanding on the work place dilemmas.

As seen in The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Third Season, now out from Warner Home Video, the major arc of the year was Penny and Leonard’s relationship, with her making efforts to understand his working world while he tried to socially adjust to her world. And when they broke up, the repercussions are keenly felt among the others – Sheldon, Raj, and Howard. The show nicely builds up the Sheldon/Penny relationship, which hit a dramatic point halfway through the second season and the chemistry between Kaley Cuoco and Emmy-winning Jim Parsons makes their scenes sheer delights. Penny’s romantic entanglement with Leonard also altered the roommate dynamic with Sheldon, which played out nicely throughout the season.

The four guys remain geeks that ComicMix fans recognize, for better or worse. As a result, episodes such as “The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary” and “The Wheaton Recurrence” with guest nemesis Wil Wheaton and “The Precious Fragmentation” are particularly enjoyable. But, the show begins to bring in stunt casting gimmicks such as “The Excelsior Acquisition” and the legendary Stan Lee, which is fine once a season, but can easily devolve if not kept in check. And as the third season begins, mastermind Chuck Lorre will be overseeing not only this gem, but [[[Two and a Half Men]]] and the newcomer, [[[Mike and Molly]]], so if the show jumps the shark, it could be this season.

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