Tagged: Top Cow

iVerse and Top Cow Launch Try ’em before you Buy ’em Program

WACO, TX – 12/5/12- iVerse Media and Top Cow are offering, for a limited time, free trial programs to help celebrate the recent relaunches of Witchblade, the Darkness and Artifacts.  These three popular franchises recently kickstarted fan passions with new storylines. In order to continue to drive excitement, iVerse wants fans to be able to sample each of these series at no risk.

“We’re thrilled to help spread the word on these exciting series,” said iVerse CEO Mike Murphey. “We like what Top Cow is doing and want to do whatever we can to help fans find out what which series they like best.”

Fans can use the codes below to get the issue for free:

Artifacts #14-22 Bundle = TCARB12

Darkness Bundle #101-107 = TCDRB12

Witchblade Bundle #151-161 = TCWRB12

Fans can just go to the “more” section in the ComicsPlus app, click on “redeem” and enter in these codes.  But fans are encouraged to hurry, as this offer expires on March 5, 2013.

Top Cow to Give Away Tens of Thousands of Free Comics in 2009

newtcplogo-7460645Top Cow Productions, Inc. announced Monday it will launch the Let Us Win YOU Over initiative in February 2009 that will see the publisher distribute thousands of free comics a month to new readers through participating retailers across the United States and Canada.

Over the course of the yearlong promotion, Top Cow will send 200 free comics each to 25 comic book stores per month (a total of 5,000 free comics per month). Each month, a different set of stores, each month a different free comic. The stores will be spread out geographically and demographically.

Combined with the books it plans to give away during Free Comic Book Day on May 2, 2009 and the many books Top Cow gives away at various conventions across the country, the publisher stands to give away up to 200,000 free comics during the year.

Top Cow’s goal with the Let Us Win YOU Over initiative is threefold: to invite new readers to give Top Cow comics a try and win them over to their line of titles; to generate buzz and excitement for fans and the retailers they support; and to pump some much-needed energy into an industry not immune to the current economic crisis.

“We feel strongly that Top Cow titles are the best they’ve ever been and it’s important for to invite readers and retailers to discover why,” explained Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik. “While our competitors are straining the wallet of the average fan, Top Cow is making it easy to try new comics.”

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Top Cow Pledges not to Raise Cover Prices

topcow-logo11-4730370The major publishers, DC Comics and Marvel Comics are both inching towards the standard 32-page comic book retailing for $3.99, a dramatic $1 increase during these difficult recessionary times.  The following release arrived from Top Cow, one of the founding imprints as part of Image Comics.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., December 5, 2008 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. announced today it will maintain a $2.99 price point for its regular-sized comic books throughout 2009, despite the recent move of other publishers to raise the cost of some of their books to $3.99.

“We looked around and saw cover prices creeping up and up all around us,” noticed Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik. “It seems wrong to raise your prices on customers during these tough economic times. Once we knew we were going to hold the line on our prices, it made sense to call attention to it. Hopefully, it will encourage some fans to try our titles.”

And despite the price freeze, Top Cow will not compromise the quality of its regular-sized books to cut overhead costs.

“Our content pages will remain the same as it is now and in fact we’re adding more and more added-value pages, including interviews, back-matter articles and preview art,” said Sablik. “We want to be the value and quality leader in the industry.”

The $2.99 price point does not apply to oversized books, exclusive variant covers and special editions.

Happy Birthday: Marc Silvestri

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Born in 1958 in Palm Beach, Florida, artist Marc Silvestri joined Marvel Comics in the late 1980s, and became the penciller on Uncanny X-Men from 1987 to 1990.

In 1992 he and six other artists broke away to form Image Comics. Each artist had his own imprint, and Silvestri’s was Top Cow, which is best known for its major hits Witchblade, The Darkness, and Fathom. Top Cow has continued to be a major portion of Image, although Silvestri has spent less time doing his own art and more time publishing.

He has returned to Marvel a few times to work on various X titles.

 

Top Cow and Myspace Comics Announce ‘Pilot Season’ Winners

velocitycyblade-6505422Recently, Top Cow Productions and MySpace Comic Books announced the winners of their Pilot Season contest, the first annual event which encouraged established comic book writers to create a pilot for a potential series using characters already well-known by comic fans. During the contest, five potential winners were submitted and the MySpace Comic Book community was told to "Take Control" and vote to determine which two charactes would get their own series in 2008.

The winning titles chosen by over four million voting fans were Velocity and Cyblade, two of the dynamic female characters from Marc Silvestri’s Cyberforce. Both new series are slated to debut in the fall of 2008, just in time for Cyberforce’s 17th anniversary.
 
The new Velocity series will be written by Joe Casey, whose previous credits include The Last Defenders and Youngblood, with art by an as-yet undetermined artist. When told of his new gig, Casey was, as you might expect, excited.
 
"I couldn’t believe the voting topped four million votes," said Casey. "Better than a New Hampshire primary! If only that many folks would buy the comics…! In any case, the Pilot issue was only the beginning of what we’re going to make sure is a wild ride when the new series hits in the fall."
 
The other winning series featuring the character Cyblade will be written by Joshua Hale Fialkov of Marvel Comics Presents and Punks The Comic Book and Rick Mays, writer of Kabuki and Gen 13. Flalkov was also very excited about his latest project and eager to get started.
 
"I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who voted for the book, and I’m positive they won’t be disappointed with where the series goes," said Fialkov. "It’s going to be balls-to-the-wall explodo, and I’m psyched to be along for the ride."
 
For more on the contest and the winning series, head on over to the Pilot Season official site.
 

Top Cow Launches Darkness, Witchblade Search Tools

In a press release issued this week, Top Cow announced the debut of a pair of Google-powered search engines themed around two of their most popular properties, The Darkness and Witchblade titles.

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With each normal, everyday Web search conducted on one of these Top Cow-branded search engines, users gain a chance to earn Swag Bucks, which are digital dollars that can be redeemed for Top Cow comic books and other prizes at the Witchblade and The Darkness Swag Stores, including iPhones, plasma TVs, digital cameras and game systems like the Sony PSP and Nintendo Wii.

One of the most interesting aspects of the promotion, in my humble opinion, was this note:

In addition, Witchblade and The Darkness toolbars are available to download for Internet Explorer and Firefox Web browsers so that users can utilize the search engines more readily. The toolbars also feature quick links to Top Cow’s MySpace page, message boards, news blog, online store and more. There are no pop-up windows, no spyware, and no adware — guaranteed.

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No spyware and adware? Color me intrigued — but before I install anything, I’d love to hear about other users’ experiences. Anyone willing to give it a shot?