|
ComicBookNetworkEmag Archives Index
|
|
| << October29, 2005 - [ComicBooknet E-Mag] CBEM 547.1 |
October29, 2005 - [ComicBooknet E-Mag] CBEM 547.3 >> |
|
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/bGIolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> BEST-SELLING ACTION THRILLER NOVELIST DAVID MORRELL TO PEN NEW STORYLINE FOR MARVEL'S CAPTAIN AMERICA NEW YORK - Considered by many to be the father of the modern action novel, award-winning author David Morrell will be the creative mastermind behind a new Captain America project, slated for next year. With a complex body of work that traverses the Horror, Espionage and Thriller genres, Morrell is a giant in the literary world. He is the author of First Blood, the award-winning novel in which Rambo was created. He has written numerous best-selling thrillers, including The Brotherhood of the Rose (the basis for a highly rated NBC mini-series), The Fifth Profession, Extreme Denial and Assumed Identity. Most recently, he wrote the dark suspense-thriller Creepers (CDS Books, September 2005). Two of his novellas received Stoker awards from the Horror Writers Association. In his first comic book writing effort, Morrell will bring his action writing talent to Captain America, in the story of a young Marine, Corporal James Newman, who is on his tour of duty in Afghanistan. In the midst of a brutal fire fight with enemy forces, Captain America leads him out of the battle while helping him rescue his wounded comrades who are trapped by enemy fire. When the smoke clears, Newman is unsure if Captain America was really there, or a hallucination in the stress of battle. "As the creator of Rambo, Morrell is known for heroes who've been trained to handle action and danger. He is a master of weaving action into a thought-provoking plot with more than a few twists, and I am eager to see the thrills he has in store for the newest installments of Captain America," said Joe Quesada, Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics. "I want the characters to feel real," says David Morrell. "In particular I want the reader to believe in Captain America. Also, I want to explore the major theme of what it means to be a hero in this troubled modern world. I hope the story is deeply moving as well as exciting." +++++ Teshkeel Media Group Brings Marvel Comics to the Middle East NEW YORK, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Teshkeel Media Group, KSC announced today a comprehensive agreement with Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:MVL), a leading global character-based entertainment and licensing company, to bring Arabic-language Marvel comics, trade paperbacks and magazines to the Middle East region. The agreement was announced by Naif Al-Mutawa, CEO of Teshkeel, and Bruno Maglione, President of Marvel International. Under terms of the agreement, Teshkeel will engage in a wide- ranging multi-year publishing program which for the first time will bring Marvel's world-famous comic books to the Middle East in local language. The Marvel comics will be distributed throughout the region, from the Arabian Gulf to North Africa. "We're extremely excited and proud to be working with Marvel," said Al- Mutawa. "Marvel's Super Heroes provide positive role models for children worldwide, and it's extremely gratifying to be able to bring them to an Arab audience." Maglione added, "The Arab world is emerging as one of the fastest growing markets in the world. Our character franchises each began as comic books, and introducing Marvel comics is a crucial first step to developing our full business model in new regions. We met with a variety of potential partners, and it was clear that Teshkeel was uniquely situated and best able to execute on bringing Marvel's comic book franchise to this region." Headquartered in Kuwait, Teshkeel is a publisher and developer of comics and other children's entertainment in the Arab world. According to the terms of its multi-year agreement with Marvel, Teshkeel's product offering will include Arabic language magazines, comic books and trade paperbacks featuring some of Marvel's most well-known characters including SPIDER-MAN, the X-MEN, the FANTASTIC FOUR, THE INCREDIBLE HULK and THE AVENGERS. Al-Mutawa added that Teshkeel will begin Arabic publication of several of Marvel's most well-known and successful titles early next year. The company may also release additional titles to tie in with the release of next year's highly anticipated X- MEN 3 and GHOST RIDER motion pictures. "Naif has a great vision for launching Marvel's products in the Arab world and has assembled a great team to execute the plan," added Maglione. "We look forward to working with Teshkeel for many years to come, and to building on Marvel's global success." About Teshkeel Media Group, KSC Teshkeel Media Group, KSC (http://www.teshkeel.com) is one of the Middle East's leading developers of comics and children's entertainment. Based in Kuwait, and with offices in New York, the Company's mission is to fill a significant void in positive, high-quality children's content in the region, including in print and electronic media, film and television. In addition to working with global publishers, Teshkeel is also developing its own properties, including a new superhero concept that it plans to launch in the region in 2006. Marvel to Report Q3 Results and Host Webcast on November 9 NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)----Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:MVL) will release financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2005 prior to the market's opening on Wednesday, November 9 and will host a webcast at 9:00 a.m. EST that day. On the webcast Marvel's management team will provide an overview of its financial results. WEBCAST URL: www.marvel.com/webcasts or at www.fulldisclosure.com. An archived version of the webcast will be available for 30 days. +++++ From THE BEAT by Heidi McDonald at http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/ October 22, 2005 Harvey Awards and MOCCA part ways Confirming what had been rumored for months, MoCCA today issued a press release stating that the Harvey Awards will no longer be administered by the New York-based comics museum. A new venue was not announced. The Harveys had been held at the June MoCCA festival for the past two years, but complaints from publishers regarding high table costs in the first year had caused lingering tensions. With the conclusion of the 2005 Harvey Awards Ceremony, the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) and the Kurtzman family jointly agreed to end MoCCA's administration of the Harvey Awards, effective immediately. "MoCCA greatly enjoyed hosting the Harvey Awards these last three years," said MoCCA Chairman Lawrence Klein, "but we realized that - at this time -- it would be best for us to direct our resources and the focus of our dedicated all-volunteer staff back to the things that MoCCA does best: mounting wonderful exhibits of original comic and cartoon art; providing a venue for comics and cartoon classes, lectures, presentations, panels, meetings, screenings, signings as well as other fun events; and running the annual MoCCA Art Festival." MoCCA would like to publicly thank the Kurtzman family for the opportunity to carry on the Harvey Awards, which serve such an important role in the comics industry, both to recognize worthy achievement in the field of comic and cartoon art, and to honor the memory of pioneering cartoonist Harvey Kurtzman (1924-1993). Founded in 1988 at the Chicago Comic-Con, the Harvey Awards are one of the comic book industry's oldest and most respected awards. Prior to coming to MoCCA in 2003, the Harvey Awards enjoyed long runs at the Dallas Fantasy Fair, Oakland's Wondercon and the Pittsburgh Comicon. McFarland a GoH at NY Comic-Con Controversial and outspoken cartoonist/toy king Todd McFarlane will be making a rare comics convention appearance at next February's inaugural New York Comic-con. He'll also be the subject of an art exhibit at MoCCA. Details in press release: Spawn creator Todd McFarlane is slated to be a guest of honor at New York Comic-Con, February 24-26, 2006 at the Jacob Javits Center. In addition, he will participate in a panel discussion with other artists and industry experts, and will be present for as-yet-unscheduled autograph signing sessions. The McFarlane Companies will have a strong presence at the convention, with members of the Spawn creative team manning an exhibit booth, visiting with attendees and showcasing upcoming product releases. McFarlane's Comic-Con appearance coincides with his February 24th attendance at an exclusive Preview Reception hosted by New York Comic-Con at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) of a retrospective exhibit showcasing McFarlane's art and career. The multimedia exhibit will include original artwork and artifacts from private collections and the McFarlane Companies archives including original comic art pages, animation cels, character designs and layouts, as well as toy designs and prototypes. The official opening of the exhibit will be held the following night, Saturday, February 25 and is scheduled to be open to the public through May 1, 2006. "We're honored to be hosting this anthology of Todd McFarlane's career," says Greg Topalian, group vice president in charge of Launch Pad for Reed Exhibitions. "He has been a driving influence not only in comics, but in the arenas of toys, television, feature film and music video. The MoCCA exhibit will present convention-goers with a wonderful and rare opportunity to see Todd's extraordinary art, while the two receptions held during the convention weekend will offer the additional and rare opportunity for people to meet him in person." Widely recognized as one of the most influential comic book creators of the last two decades, McFarlane is best known as the creator of Spawn. The book's hugely popular 1992 debut sold an amazing 1.7 million copies - an unprecedented feat in independent comics. A whirlwind of growth and expansion followed: more comics, action figures, film and award-winning animation. New York Comic-Con organizers note that tickets for the public have just gone on sale via the convention's Web site at www.nycomiccon.com. The first 1000 people to purchase a ticket to the show will receive an exclusive limited edition Serenity Action Figure. Those attending New York Comic-Con may also stop by the MoCCA booth to pick up a complimentary pass for free admission (while supplies last) to the museum during normal hours (Friday thru Monday, 12-5pm) that entire week, February 25 - March 6. Fall '05 Xeric Winners announced The Xeric Foundation has announced the Fall '05 winners, who will be awarded grants to publish their comics work. This time out it's a quartet of cartoonists so little known that only one of them has a website. If anyone has more info on any of the winners, please drop us a line and we'll update. They are Catherine Hannah - Winter Beard Lance Christian Hansen - Don't Cry Melody Shickley - In the Hands of Boys Albert Benjamin Thompson -- HUSK More from the press release: The Xeric Foundation has announced its most recent grant recipients. A total of $28,191 was awarded to four comic book creators. The Foundation has awarded in excess of $1,565,000 to comic book creators and nonprofit organizations since its first grant cycle in September 1992. Established by Peter Laird, co-creator of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Northampton, MA based foundation offers financial assistance to self-publishing comic book creators in the US and Canada and to qualified charitable and nonprofit organizations in western Massachusetts. The next deadline and review dates are July 31, 2006 and September 1, 2006, respectively. The charitable organization grants were decided in June 2005 and announced separately. For information, write to: XERIC FOUNDATION 351 Pleasant Street #214 Northampton, MA 01060 check out: www.xericfoundation.com +++++ From Newsarama at http://www.Newsarama.com/ SIN CITY TO MOVE TO TV? As part of a growing television slate of projects, Variety reports that Harvey and Bob Weinstein's Wesintein Co. is looking to bring Sin City to television. According to the trade's report, the possible television series (no word on the outlets, ie, pay TV versus cable) would follow next year's sequel to the first Sin City film, which Frank Miller is currently working on. +++++ From The SCOOP! at http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/ Washington DC Comic-Con Sunday Industry News, Scoop, Friday, October 28, 2005 This Sunday, October 30, the Fall Washington DC Comic-Con will be held from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Marriott at Metro Center (775 12th St. NW, at the corner of 12th and H Streets) in the heart of downtown Washington, DC. There will be Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Modern and graded comic books, toys, t-shirts, non-sports cards, DVDs, original art, and much more. Supreme guest of honor Jim Steranko will be holding court all day, but get there early to avoid the lines. Fantastic comic book artists and writers including John K. Snyder III, J. David Spurlock, Matt Cail, Dan Nokes, Adam Beranek, and Steven Gellman will also be in attendance. Door prizes including comics, t-shirts, DVDs, and other goodies will be given out every hour on the hour. There will also be youth and adult costume contests, so come dressed in your best costume. All of this is easily accessible via Metro (Metro Center) and there will be plenty of free street parking. Admission is only $6 ($5 with this announcement) and children under 12 are admitted free. Visit http://www.capitolcollectibles.com for additional details. Image Comics Launches New Site Industry News, Scoop, Friday, October 28, 2005 Image Comics has announced the launch of their brand new website. Aside from the new design, the site adds many new features - the most anticipated of which is the Image Comics creators' blog. "The blog is a place where any creator working on an Image Comics title has a voice to talk about not only their upcoming work, but to share artwork, concepts, previews and more!" said PR & Marketing Coordinator Jim Demonakos. The sleek new design, by Steven (Hawaiian Dick) Griffin and Image Comics own Production Artist Allen Hui, has been in development for months and sports a host of features, including: * Accurate & Weekly shipping lists, updated weekly * A month-to-month title schedule with images * 5-page previews of upcoming books, updated every week * Entire issues of various Image Comics free to read * The aforementioned Creator Blog and more! Check out the website at http://www.imagecomics.com +++++ 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.] Failure Is Not An Option By Blair Marnell Welcome back to another edition of ATR. I'm pressed for time, so let's get it on... Not So Easy... Word is starting to spread quickly about a major restructuring going on over at Speakeasy Comics. Some of the details are still sketchy, but early indications are that the company is moving away from an Image style publishing plan, and will be putting out fewer creator owned titles in the future. Additionally, some of Speakeasy's titles will be moving to other publishers. Rocketo is heavily rumored to be heading to Image, with Chimera Studios said to follow suit, once their initial contracts expire. I'm also told that Hero@Large will be finishing at issue 4, but it's not clear where it will go from there. Thus far, none of the departures appear to be acrimonious, though some of the creators cited their disappointment with persistently low sales, which left them unable to recoup their production expenses. Which means that several creators now owe Speakeasy money. A common reframe I heard, blamed the "crowded comic market" and "massive crossover events" for diverting retailer dollars from indie books. However, I don't think that's the only reason. Speakeasy picked up a lot of books last summer, and even at the time I thought that there had to be a limit to how many they could handle. And I believe that may have played a part as well. But to be clear, there are several creators staying with Speakeasy and the company doesn't appear to be folding anytime soon. In fact, several creators spoke highly of new hire, Marshal Dillon (late of Devil's Due Publishing), who seems to have a good handle on the production side of things. So, this could all still work out. But ultimately, time will tell... This Has An "Enforced Prohibition" Factor of Seven Out of Ten Shadow of The Bat *****SPOILER WARNING!***** (If true, the following may be considered an Infinite Crisis spoiler. YES, I've said this before, but there are a few new details.) The rumors of a new Gail Simone helmed Batwoman series are continuing to heat up. Though, when I initially heard the rumor back in early September, the project was still being touted as a new Batgirl series. Presumably, the title was changed to Batwoman because calling Barbara Gordon a "girl" would just sound strange at this point... Anyway, the latest rumor is this: Simone may be reuniting with her Action Comics cohort, John Byrne on the new Batwoman. And there's also a rumor that Black Canary might be up for her own series as well... So, if both founding members get their own titles, where would this leave Birds of Prey? Simone may have dropped an interesting hint a while ago when she started a thread which raised the speculative possibility of the book continuing after the One Year Gap without ANY returning members... This Has A "Daughter of Cain" Factor of Six Out of Ten New Joe Millionaire Earlier this week, Gordon Purcell, the artist of Flare from Heroic Publishing, was a contestant on the syndicated TV Game show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?. And amid the outdated comic book references by the host, Meredith Vieira, Purcell did well for himself. Extremely well. He answered 11 questions correctly and walked away with $50,000 dollars. When Vieira asked him what he planned to do with the money, Purcell answered: My son, he's autistic and I want to give a little to charity for him and take him to the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyworld. Congratulations, Gordon. This Has A "Magic Carpet Ride" Factor of Nine Out of Ten Saving The Strange Girl Remender, I've got to say this: I never heard of him before this year, but I've been following his books since I saw what he had planned back in January. And so far, I've loved Sea of Red, Strange Girl, and Night Mary... I fully expect to enjoy the hell out of Fear Agent as well. In my opinion, he is one of this year's breakout comic creators. It's always a pleasure to watch someone's career start to really take off, and I fully expect big things from Remender in the future... Having said that, I was taken aback by something Remender posted this week: I'm very grateful for everyone's enthusiasm and support. I love this book and hope it finds a larger audience soon. Issue #1 has sold 13,000 copies to date (since it's release in June) that is amazing in today's market. The print runs on Strange Girl #2 and #3 are a bit over 8000 and we only have 200 copies left of each. So the book is basically healthy at that point. Then suddenly on issues 4-6 we've seen a marked drop in initial orders. Big enough to sink us. SG is suffering from low initial orders and VERY high reorders. Unfortunately we don't see the money form the reorders for seven months so low initials will kill this book very soon. Retailers prefer to initial low and reorder as needed, it's less risk for them and I understand it. Unfortunately it's going to kill Strange Girl if it continues. I won't lie, if this book doesn't gain 2-3000 copies in it's initial orders in the next three or four months we might be forced to end the story short... If you want to ensure the production of this comic-- get one new person to buy it. The trade of 1-4 is solicited right now. If every reader can bring in one more reader, I promise you'll see this series hit the planned out issues #25 at least. Ridiculous. There's no way this should happen... Which isn't to say that it won't. I'm not about to blame crossovers for the low orders, but clearly something has to be done. And I realize that starting a campaign is an unusual step for me to take, but this column is useless to me if I can't throw some support behind a book I really enjoy. So here's the rub: Remender has posted the first two issues online as PDF files, here and here here. Go ahead and click on the links, they're free, so what have you got to lose? Just give them a chance. And if you like them, buy them, or pick up the trade, talk to your friends, and especially your retailer... Whatever it takes. The next issue of Strange Girl #4 is coming out this Wednesday, the same day as Fear Agent, so make it a Remender double feature. You won't regret it. This Has A "Bat Out of Hell" Factor of Ten Out of Ten The Gods Must Be Crazy Speaking of titles canceled before their time, I've got some good news for fans of Small Gods. SG artist, Juan Ferreyra confirmed that will be a new Small Gods two issue miniseries: Yup, we got kinda lucky, because the book we were preparing for Shadowline was pushed some months due to advertising stuff (we want to wait for the right time!) and the response we had regarding the cancellation, image has given us another opportunity to do Small Gods!!! Is not official yet but we are working on it right now, Jason is writing some ideas for the script and it might be a 2 issue mini or something. So if the mini does any good, after the Shadowline Maxi series we might be able to do more SG goodness!!!!!!!! ...or not. Anyway thanks for all your support guys! and now more than ever you'll have to pimp it like it was heaven! This Has A "What If God Was One of Us?" Factor of Eight Out of Ten Jack's Aplenty And finally... Tycho and Gabe from Penny Arcade are locked in another feud, this time with self-proclaimed anti-video game activist, Jack Thompson. Let's see if I can explain this concisely... This all started when Thompson made a bizarre challenge to the video game industry. Thompson pledged to donate ten thousand dollars "to a charity if a publisher who 'creates, manufactures and sells a video game' based on his own premise. The premise: A father's vengeance on the game industry after his son is killed by a gamer." Seriously... You can read the entire text of his "A Modest Video Game Proposal" here. http://gc.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=5883 Anyway, Tycho and Gabe responded by making the ten thousand donation to the The Entertainment Software Association Foundation... in Thompson's name. Thompson's subsequent responses have been increasingly volatile. First with angry calls and e- mails to the Penny Arcade site, followed by an attempt to bring the police down on PA, though it appears to have been completely ineffectual: Tycho and I remain free men. The fact is that Jack actually sent the fax to everyone but the intended recipient at the Seattle PD. There were a lot of names to remember I don't blame him. I've received literally thousands of emails in the past couple days. They are all commending us for standing up to Jack the way we did. Most of them go on to ask what we can do as a community to stop him. I have to admit that is tempting. The more I think about it the more I think it might not be in our best interest. Let me explain. You can certainly mail the networks he appears on. You can even send letters to their advertisers. You can contact the senators he speaks with and demand they ignore him. If enough of us do that sort of thing and we do it long enough they will eventually get the message and drop him just like the National Institute on Media and the Family did. Would that be a good thing? I'm not sure. Jack is not special. He is not a unique snowflake as they say. He is just the latest vocal opponent of whatever is "corrupting" our youth at the moment. When my dad was growing up it was rock and roll devil music. Then it was comic books then movies and rap music. Today it's videogames. If we were to succeed in getting Jack blacklisted from the major news outlets someone else would simply take his place. Imagine him as an actor playing a part in a play. The point is that Jack Thompson is not important. If he were to be fired a new actor would simply take up the role. The same lines would still be delivered in the same way and the same audience would pay to see it. We are actually fortunate that the current actor is so impotent in his role. Imagine what might happen if some charming, efficacious attorney took his place. The more I consider it the more I think we may be lucky to have Jack playing the part of the alarmist. The alternative might be someone who is actually capable. Thompson followed up yet again, this time trying to bring in the FBI: Now there is new extortion, and it is coming from a Seattle company called Penny Arcade. I can provide the details to your investigators, but basically this company has been using, I believe I can show, their Internet site and various other means to encourage and solicit criminal harassment of me. This would appear to violate state and federal laws. I asked Penny Arcade's attorney to stop this targeting, and he said it was my fault. Maybe he's played too many video games and thinks that flesh and blood people are just pixilated pinatas. Please help me if you can... They claim the First Amendment, it seems, applies only to them. Thus far, Thompson's efforts appear to have come up empty. Over at PVP, Scott Kurtz suggests that he approach a higher power. This Has A "Pixelantes Unite!" Factor of One Out of Ten And we're done. See you in seven. Blair PS If anyone has any rumors, stories or news to share, please email me at blairm@silverbulletcomicbooks.com. Thanks to everyone who has been sending stuff in. It's greatly appreciated. +++++ 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/ |
|
| << October29, 2005 - [ComicBooknet E-Mag] CBEM 547.1 |
October29, 2005 - [ComicBooknet E-Mag] CBEM 547.3 >> |
|
ComicBookNetworkEmag Archives Index
|
|
|
Archives powered by Zinester's Mailing List Service
Details on ComicBookNetworkEmag |
Browse for more newsletters at Zinester's Ezine Directory
Managed by Zinester's Mailing List Management |