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ComicBookNetworkEmag Archives Index
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------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts! http://us.click.yahoo.com/rkgkPB/UOnJAA/Zx0JAA/bGIolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> MARVEL EXTENDS STOCK REPURCHASE PROGRAM Press Release Marvel Enterprises, Inc., a global entertainment and licensing company, announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized an additional $150 million to be utilized in Marvel's common stock repurchase program and extended that program to June 30, 2006. As of May 10, 2005, Marvel had approximately $13 million remaining under its initial $100 million stock repurchase authorization. Giving effect to today's authorization, Marvel now has a total of approximately $163 million authorized for share repurchases. Marvel currently has cash and short-term investments in excess of $200 million. Morton E. Handel, Chairman of Marvel's Board of Directors, commented, "Marvel's strong cash position and our expectations for continued strength in our business and our annual cash flows are the attractive byproducts of our unique, risk-averse, business model. Given these factors, Marvel's Board of Directors continues to believe that share repurchases represent an excellent use of capital that should enhance shareholder value over the long term. Accordingly, the Board felt it should act ahead of the completion of our initial $100 million repurchase authorization so that Marvel would be able to continue to pursue repurchase transactions as market conditions permit." Pursuant to the authorization, Marvel may purchase shares from time to time in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. Marvel has no obligation to repurchase shares under the authorization, and the timing, actual number and value of shares to be purchased will depend on the performance of Marvel's stock price and market conditions. Marvel's Chief Executive Officer, Vice Chairman and largest stockholder, Isaac Perlmutter, has agreed to continue not to sell any of his shares of Marvel stock while the expanded repurchase program is in effect. Mr. Perlmutter had previously agreed, when the initial $100 million stock repurchase program was authorized in July, 2004, not to sell any of his shares of Marvel stock until that initial authorization was completed. BECKETT MOVES TO IMAGE The face of the publishing game gets a change in September, as Beckett Comics will move under the Image "I" in September. Newsarama spoke with Beckett Comics President Jeff Amano to get the story of the move. The move to Image was precipitated, according to Amano, by the sale of a portion of the larger Beckett Entertainment company to Apprise Media. "Even though there were three divisions, the magazine publishing, beckett.com, and the comics, we shared the common support staff for sales, marketing, shipping, and those things," Amano said. "With the sale of the company, the comic division lost that, and we were in the process of trying to set that up again, talking about the people we'd need to hire and the staff we'd have to assemble. As we were doing that, it dawned on us - 'Should we do that again, or should we think out of the box a little?' "I was brainstorming on it with Mike Oeming, and he told me he thought Image Central would be a good match. I don't know why I hadn't thought about that, but he was right - it's a perfect match. It's a way for us to not go about rebuilding a support staff, and just saying with producing the stories and the art." Production-wise, the Beckett Comics office will be comprised of Amano and editor Gabriel Benson, the managing editor of the line. Jim Beckett will remain as the CEO of Beckett Entertainment. The move of Beckett's titles to Image will begin in September with Ronin Hood of the 47 Samurai, an OGN written by Amano with art by Craig Rousseau (which was recently previewed through an issue made of the first 22 pages given away for Free Comic Book Day). This will be followed in October with the trade collection of Ganglords of Chinatown, the trade of Fade From Grace in November, and the trade of Kiss & Tell in December. The trade collection of The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty will ship in June, from Beckett, as the solicitation for the issue had already run, and orders placed by retailers. "We're very exicited about the move, even though it's delayed our schedule a little to wait for some things to happen here and there," Amano said. "But I think in the long run, it will be better." Looking into 2006 and the future, Amano said that Beckett's future publishing plan is to continue with OGNs rather than trades. "That's something we're working on during the time we're gearing up to move to Image," Amano added. "We're looking to deliver entire stories to readers at once, so we're going to be moving to original graphic novels from here on out. Although, I have to say that Free Comic Book Day has been very successful for us, so I wouldn't doubt that we'll do what we did with Ronin Hood this year again for next year's Free Comic Book Day." MARVEL'S DAREDEVIL: FATHER STATEMENT In addition to announcing the schedule for the remaining issues, Marvel has announced to retailers that unsold copies of Daredevil: Father #1 (which shipped in April of 2004) are returnable. Additionally, in August, Marvel will release a "Director's Cut" version of issue #1. Featuring no ads and some of the same extras in other "Director's Cut" editions, Daredevil: Father #1 Director's Cut will go on sale 8/3 with a price of $2.99, 51 cents lower than the original price of $3.50. The remaining four issues of the series will also all feature cover prices of $2.99, seemingly as a conciliatory gesture to fans and retailers who have waited since April 2004 for the completion of the limited series. Issue #2 will go on sale 8/31 and issues #3-5 will go on sale September through November. DYNAMITE COLLECTS CLASSIC SONJA Press Release Dynamite Entertainment today released images and information concerning more great comics and collectibles featuring the She- Devil with a Sword - Red Sonja! Shipping in July, The Adventures of Red Sonja Volume 1 is now available for PRE-ORDER from your local comics shop. "These are the formative tales of the mysterious Red Sonja," explains Dynamite Spokesperson J. Allen. "Featuring the best writers and artists of their day, these are the stories that help set the foundation for the modern version of Red Sonja that we're telling monthly in our new series. This book is a MUST for any fans bookshelf." The upcoming TPB will feature the first seven Red Sonja tales from Marvel Feature with each page completely re-mastered. Colorist Jose Villarrubia will be specifically re-mastering Neal Adams story for this collection. The two covers, each featuring art by legendary artist Frank Brunner, will be available with an exclusive edition for comic retailers. The covers shown are not final cover designs. THE ADVENTURES OF RED SONJA VOLUME I: SHE-DEVIL WITH A SWORD TPB $19.99 SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE COVER A: http://www.dynamiteentertainment.co.../p-C103539.html COVER B: http://www.dynamiteentertainment.co.../p-C103540.html $19.99 SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE Containing the Red Sonja tales from Marvel Feature #1-7, these tales are where it all begins, and help set the stage for the current Red Sonja series from Dynamite! This is a must-have collection of never-before reprinted material. Plus, this volume will feature covers by legendary artist, Frank Brunner!. Plus, legendary Red Sonja writer and form Marvel Editor-in-Chief, Roy Thomas, provides an introduction! +++++ From ComiX-Fan at http://www.comixfan.com/xfan DALRYMPLE TO DRAW MARVEL'S OMEGA REVIVAL Following on from the news that The Fortress of Solitude writer Jonathan Lethem would be reviving Omega The Unknown for Marvel Comics next year comes word that Pop Gun War creator and Caper artist Farel Dalrymple will be drawing the series. In a post on his blog, Dalrymple wrote, "So this is from the new book I am working on for Marvel. It is a pretty sweet gig for me because Jonathan Lethem is one of my favorite writers. "Check out the current issue of Time Magazine for a tiny little blurb about the project. It features artwork of Omega (uncredited) reproduced very small." COMIXFAN NEWS BRIEF- MAY 10 2005 NEWSFLASH! CHUD caught up with X-men 3 director Matthew Vaughn to talk about his latest film Layer Cake, but he dropped a few mutant related tidbits, specifically about the back story of everyone's favorite step brother. According to Vaughn, "He's [Vinnie Jones] going to play Professor X! No, what's interesting is that Juggernaut is the step-brother of Professor X, and I thought it was interesting to have this English thug opposite Patrick Stewart. And they're sort of similar looking!" When asked about the origin of Juggernaut, Vaughn said that there would be changes made. "Does he [get his powers in Vietnam]? No, I'm going another way. It's the war in Falklands. In Vietnam, huh? Yeah, there is some stupid **** in X-Men. I've been looking at some stuff - like the Dark Phoenix story, I've been looking at that a lot and bits of it are great but bits of it you're like." That sound you just heard was a million fan boys exploding at once. NEWSFLASH! Batman Begins writer David Goyer recently sat down with Premiere magazine to hype the coming release and gave a few hints about where the series will be heading in the future. "The next one would have Batman enlisting the aid of Gordon and Dent in bringing down the Joker- but not killing him, which is a mistake they made in the first one." The article also said that Joker may play a role in Harvey Dent's transformation into Two Face, acting as the one responsible for his court room scarring. You may remember that crucial bit of plot development from the time it was featured on a TV screen in the background of a scene in Batman Forever. Credit goes to Superhero Hype Forums. NEWSFLASH! The Official Spawn Site has some news from Development Hell (no pun intended) on the future of the long in production Spawn animated series. According to the article "As we have mentioned before, we are creating this new animation in partnership with IDT Entertainment and Film Roman, an IDT Entertainment company. The relationship between our two companies is something we are very excited about, as we will be able to create and distribute our product within the same family of companies. Film Roman is a leading producer of animation and special effects, including such series as The Simpsons, King of the Hill, X-Men: Evolution and Tripping the Rift, season 2 of which will premiere this summer on the Sci-Fi network. Sister company Anchor Bay Entertainment is one of the largest independent distributors of DVDs and videos to retail outlets. All parties are enthusiastic about the relationship and we hope to have another hit on our hands with Spawn: Animation." Other notes included answers to some common questions someone somewhere may have been asking. The series will not be a continuation of the original HBO program, will be co-written by Todd McFarlane, and will sport an R rating. The projected DVD release date for the 70-minute feature is scheduled for early 2006. NEWSFLASH! Diamond Comic Distributors have issued a press release on the success of last week's Free Comic Book Day. Per the release- "On FCBD 2004, the folks at Kingdom Comics in Veslavia Hills, Alabama stopped counting customers after 600, co-owner Stan Daniel told Diamond Daily. But in 2005? "Our guy counting this year stopped at 850 before 1:00 pm.... Why did he stop? Because the store was so packed and had so many visitors that at one o'clock it ran out of FCBD 2005 comics!" "We had to restock the shelves with leftovers from last year," Daniel recounts, "which almost lasted another hour. We then began using excess store stock. Others who were volunteering at our event insist we easily saw a thousand or more people through the store by 5 pm. It was outstanding. We did a week's worth of business in a day (compared to the successes last year!). This was amazing. Our local 501st Imperial Stormtrooper Legion was on hand and it was like a mini-con. The effort and planning (about 6 to 7 months worth) was well worth it. Our biggest complaint was that we weren't able to move around the store with everyone there to restock as quickly as we wanted -- as you can imagine, I am willing to live with that problem!" This success was shared by other stores nation wide, and even stretched into the mythic land known as "Canada". "In Alberta, Canada, Jay Bardyla of Happy Harbor Comics & Toys admits that he may have underestimated the potential of the event: "...we were very unsure about how big the day would end up being. Our file customer base didn't seem too excited either so we entered into it cautiously. That was a mistake. "Our special guest Andrew Foley, writer by trade but a very capable artist, had a very steady day of making sketches for a handful of the 350-375 people that came through our doors. Quite a step up from the normal 20-30 people we see on a typical Saturday.... Moms who had no idea comics were still for kids and that comic stores could be fun for them as well left with smiles and many thanks. In the end, we could have not asked for a more rewarding day. We have found dozens of new comics fans." NEWSFLASH! JLAnimated has posted an interview with Justice League Unlimited producer and writer Dwayne McDuffie in which he covers everything from his love of Howard The Duck to Hawkgirl's mace being overpowered. When asked about the next season of the hit show and how it would be structured, McDuffie had this to say- "About the same mix as this season. We try to pick characters who we think will be the most interesting in the particular story we're trying to tell. Sometimes that's going to be big seven guys, sometimes it's going to be some guy you've never heard of. Keep in mind that for the general public, as opposed to comic book fans like us, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are the only ones they know about. There's no difference between J'onn and Aztek, so far as they're concerned. But that's fine, I watch Lost every week but before this year, I thought John Locke was a philosopher. I got to know and love the character by watching the show, not from any previous knowledge, or comparison with other versions. This stuff has to stand on its own." NEWSFLASH! Monsters and Critics has a brief interview with X2 and Superman composer John Ottman. Says Ottman about his potential involvement with the third mutant movie "I would love to do X3, and I know they want me to do it. The only hitch would be if Superman conflicts with their schedule. I really wanted to do X3 because I set up all the themes to be expanded upon later." +++++ From the DC Comics Online Newsletter at http://www.dccomics.com MICHAEL TURNER PROVIDES VARIANT COVER FOR AUGUST'S SUPERGIRL #1 Superstar artist Michael Turner, who illustrated the best-selling SUPERMAN/BATMAN storyline that introduced Kara Zor-El, is set to provide a special variant cover for August's SUPERGIRL #1! The issue, written by Jeph Loeb with art by Ian Churchill & Norm Rapmund, will feature two covers: one by Churchill and the other by Turner. This issue will ship to retailers with 75% Churchill covers and 25% Turner covers. "Ian and I having a ball with the Girl of Steel," says Loeb. "Our goal is to bring the same brand of excitement, adventure, fun and nail-biting cliffhangers that had Supergirl burst out of SUPERMAN/BATMAN into her own title. Getting Michael Turner to do the variant continues to show our love for Kara Zor-El and an added bonus for both the readers and the retailers!" SUPERGIRL #1 will be solicited in the June Previews (Volume XV #6), and is scheduled to arrive in stores on August 10 with a cover price of $2.99 U.S. Also, the SUPERMAN/BATMAN: SUPERGIRL HC (DEC040246), collecting issues #8-13 of the hit series, is available for reorder. ********** SUPERMAN/BATMAN #19 TO BE REPRINTED AS SUPERGIRL #0 The nearly sold-out SUPERMAN/BATMAN #19 (JAN050284) will return this August as SUPERGIRL #0, a special issue leading into the Girl of Steel's new series. SUPERGIRL #0 features the story from SUPERMAN/BATMAN #19, written by Jeph Loeb, with art and cover by Ian Churchill & Norm Rapmund. The cover, by Churchill & Rapmund, features the Supergirl figure from the original cover art from SUPERMAN/BATMAN #19 against a white background. "When Ian and I finished SUPERMAN/BATMAN #19, we realized it was Supergirl's launchpad, bringing the reader up to speed with what Kara had been doing since her superstar debut in S/B #8-13," says Loeb. "The reaction to that issue has been astonishing, and we're thrilled that DC has created this special edition as a preview to the series just as it explodes out in August!" SUPERGIRL #0 will be solicited in the June Previews (Volume XV #6), and is scheduled to arrive in stores on August 10 with a cover price of $2.99 U.S. DC COMICS STAFF AND FREELANCERS GEAR UP FOR WIZARD WORLD PHILADELPHIA May 10th, 2005 - On June 3, members of the DC Comics staff and freelance community will greet the public at Wizard World Philadelphia! DC freelancers scheduled to be at Wizard World Philadelphia include: Scott Beatty (BATMAN BEGINS MOVIE ADAPTATION, SON OF VULCAN) Tommy Castillo (DETECTIVE COMICS) Amanda Conner (JSA: CLASSIFIED, BATGIRL covers) Justin Gray (HAWKMAN, JONAH HEX, TWILIGHT EXPERIMENT) Jamal Igle (FIRESTORM) John Lucas (DETECTIVE COMICS) Sean Murphy (YEAR ONE: BATMAN/SCARECROW) Bruce Jones (YEAR ONE: BATMAN/SCARECROW) J.G. Jones (WONDER WOMAN covers) Rags Morales (IDENTITY CRISIS, WONDER WOMAN) Jimmy Palmiotti (HAWKMAN, JONAH HEX, TWILIGHT EXPERIMENT) Michael Turner (IDENTITY CRISIS covers) Walter Simonson (DAY OF VENGEANCE covers, ELRIC: THE MAKING OF A SORCERER) Ethan van Sciver (GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH) From DC's Editorial staff, Shelly Bond, Group Editor - VERTIGO and Dan DiDio, VP - Executive Editor, DCU, are scheduled to attend. Paula Lowitt, Senior VP - Business & Legal Affairs, is scheduled to be at the show, as are Terri Cunningham, VP - Managing Editor, Ronald Perazza, Director - Creative Services, and Kevin Kiniry, Manager - Licensing. DC's Sales & Marketing staff will be at the show as well, including Bob Wayne, VP - Sales, Patricia Jeres, Director - Marketing Communications, Vince Letterio, Manager - Direct Sales, Stuart Schreck, Administrator, Direct Sales, and Vinnie Costa, Representative, Events & Retailer Services. +++++ From ICV2.com Hugo Weaving is V In '...for Vendetta' May 09, 2005 Veteran genre film trilogy actor Hugo Weaving has been cast as title character V in V for Vendetta, which is in production now in Berlin. Weaving played Agent Smith in the Matrix movies and Elrond in the Lord of the Rings series. The cast also includes Stephen Rea and Stephen Fry. Release has been scheduled for November 4th. Does Weaving's involvement mean three V for Vendetta films? Stay tuned! Fox to Make 'Son of the Gun' Based on Jodorowsky Graphic Novels May 11, 2005 Variety is reporting that Fox Searchlight has tabbed Alex and Andrew Smith, the writer-directors of The Slaughter Rules, to adapt and direct a feature film based on the Son of the Gun series of graphic novels written by Alejandro Jodorowsky. In addition to writing graphic novels such as Son of the Gun, The Incal, and The Metabarons, the Chilean-born Jodorowsky wrote and directed two famous cult films, El Topo and Santa Sangre. Humanoides published the four-volume Son of Gun series of graphic novels in France, and before it abandoned its Humanoids line (see "DC Exits Euro-Lines"), DC Comics published the four volume series in two full color112-page paperbacks, Son of the Gun: Sinner and Son of the Gun: Saint (the cover price of each volume is $17.95). ibooks Switches Bookstore Distribution From Simon & Schuster to PGW May 11, 2005 Starting on August 1, all ibooks titles, including graphic novels and Milk & Cookies Press titles will be distributed to bookstores in the U.S. via Publishers Group West. Direct market retailers will still be able to order the ibooks titles from Diamond, FM International and other distributors specializing in the comic shop market. Simon & Schuster will continue to ship all ibooks backlist titles until July 31, 2005. In England, Diamond UK will be the exclusive distributor of ibooks graphic novels, but all other ibooks releases will be distributed by PGW's UK subsidiary, Hi Marketing. In moving to PGW ibooks joins a number of cutting edge publishers including Atlantic Monthly Press, McSweeney's, and Dark Horse Press (not to be confused with Dark Horse Comics). Ibooks has a number of interesting offerings, which PGW will distribute in the fall including The Swords of Rome, a sumptuously illustrated graphic novel by Philipe Delaby that does for the Roman Empire what the Sopranos did for the Jersey mob, and Tribeca Sunset, a compelling first-person account of an ?migr?'s relocation to New York in the days following 9/11. +++++ From Blair Marnell in his ALL THE RAGE Gossip Column at: http://www.SilverBulletComicBooks.com Write to him at: BlairM@silverbulletcomicbooks.com RUMOUR BARRIER "I accept that the following material is rumour and gossip, intended to entertain only. I won't repeat the information inside as fact. I understand if I want the truth, I will go to Silver Bulletins. I enter freely with my mind open and my blinkers off." Now, on to the rumours . . . [NOTE: this column may be slightly edited for language. - D.L.] The Judas Contract By Blair Marnell Welcome back to another edition of ATR. And with that out of the way, let's get started. Destiny Turns On The Radio Word is traveling quickly about Alan Davis' departure from Uncanny X-Men and possibly from Marvel altogether. For reasons that aren't entirely clear, Davis recently quit the book and early indications are that he may soon sign an exclusive with DC. This has surprised some observers, as Davis was thought to be under a three-year exclusive deal with Marvel, which he signed in October 2003. But keep in mind, those announcements sometimes overstate the lengths of the exclusives. Using Tom Raney as an example, DC announced that he was under a two year exclusive back in September 2003, and yet he signed a two year exclusive with Marvel in December 2004. How? From what I understand, Raney's "two year deal" was actually a one-year deal with a renewable second year (like an option year), which is why he was able to leave DC at the end of the first year. In Davis' case, his deal might have been a two-year exclusive with an optional third year. In which case, don't expect him to sign elsewhere until October. However, it's not uncommon for a creator of Davis' status to have opt out clauses at certain points in the contract, which may be in effect. If so, then he may leave sooner than expected. As for Davis' replacement on Uncanny X-Men, I mentioned Raney for a reason, as he is one of the artists heavily rumored to be lined up for the job. This Has An "Escape Clause" Factor of Eight Out of Ten The Signing Detectives Speaking of DC, it looks like their recent signing of George Perez was just the opening salvo for their latest round of exclusives, with more announcements expected in the weeks to come as we venture into convention season. In other news, which may or may not be related, one of our sources at DC tells us that there are BIG plans in store for Mark Waid. I'm not sure if he'll be signing an exclusive, but it sounds like DC editorial is very eager to get him back into the fold. This Has A "Player To Be Named Later" Factor of Five Out of Ten Tornado Claw Some late rumors out the Toronto Con indicated that David Mack would be writing some mainstream Marvel universe projects. One of the rumors even had him pegged as the next regular writer of Wolverine. However, it doesn't look like the ol' Canucklehead is in Mack's immediate future. Sorry, Wolverine fans. This Has A "Berserker Barrage" Factor of Three Out of Ten Finding Serenity There was a rumor going around this week that Adam Hughes would be providing the art on a Serenity OGN with Joss Whedon. However, that turned out to be a slight misunderstanding of the original announcement. It turns out that Hughes is only doing the cover for the Serenity trade paperback, which will collect the first miniseries from Dark Horse. In other news, Hughes recently made a short Tomb Raider film called The Cursed Chest, which uses action figures in place of actors. And judging by the teaser trailer, it looks pretty damn cool. Monthly webisodes are promised for this summer and the teaser can be found online here. This Has A "Two by Two, Hands of Blue" Factor of Eight Out of Ten Thanks for subscribing to the Comic Book Network Electronic Magazine (CBEM) --------------------------->Disclaimer<--------------------------- This is an ANNOUNCE only mailing list, only the Editor can send messages to the list. No one else has access to the subscriber list. Replies to these messages will be received by the Editor ONLY, so you must CC: individual contributors if you want them to get your E-Mail. The E-mail to the E-mag MAY be used in future issues at the Editor's discretion UNLESS you specifically request that they not be. It is our policy to withhold names and/or Addresses, by request only, from letters of comment. All contributors are required to use their real name and have a valid Email address for their columns to be published. Send Email comments to: ComicBkNet@aol.com Material for inclusion in the Emag - press releases, solicitations, column submissions, Letters to the Editor, guesses for the trivia contest should be sent to ComicBkNet@aol.com The EDITOR, not the submitter, has final approval and edit rights on ALL material. Printed comic books and advanced copies for review in the Emag should be sent via US Mail or UPS to David L. LeBlanc 84 Heather Circle Jefferson, MA 01522-1419 TO Subscribe send a message FROM the intended address to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com TO Unsubscribe send a message FROM the address to be dropped to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com You may also unsubscribe from the Egroups Web page at the short cut below. Shortcut URL to the Egroup page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ComicBookNetworkEmag All contents COPYRIGHT 2005 The Comic Book Network. This messages may be reproduced only in its original form, and in its entirety for non-commercial purposes. Contact the original author(s) or the Editor for permission to use individual items. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ComicBookNetworkEmag/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ |
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