Tagged: fan

ComicMix Quick Picks – February 21, 2009

ComicMix Quick Picks
February 21, 2009

Today’s list of quick items that don’t fill a full post on their own:

Hugh Jackman to Do Oscars Drunk and Nude. Okay, maybe that would deserve a post of its own, if only it were true. Still, the post from E! Online wins headline of the week around here. Also, Ricky Gervais will write some of Hugh’s Oscars gags.
If you’re a fan of anime, manga and/or other Japanese pop culture in New York City, run, don’t walk to BookOff in Midtown – they’re having a 20% off sale on almost everything in the store until the end of this month. This emporium for used Japanese language books, CDs, DVDs, manga and videotapes ALSO has a substantial selection of good-condition second-hand materials in English. Their usual US edition manga prices are around 40%-50% off and the current sale takes the percentage off of that. They also sell $1 books and $3 CD’s, which don’t get the 20% discount but what the hey, those prices are already a steal.
Since it’s second-hand, the selection is kind of catch-as-catch-can, but this reporter always ends up walking out of the store with SOMETHING cool. Just make sure you give yourself a strict spending limit…this reporter also has been known to get a little carried away with the bargains.

Are your pop-culture tastes more Anglophile than Japanophile? (Or, hey, it’s OK to be both — I loves me my Monty Python as much as my Mobile Suit Gundam) you will want to keep your eyes on BBC America. Ashes To Ashes, the BBC sequel/spinoff of the time-travel (or something) series Life on Mars (the Americanized version of which is currently airing on ABC) will begin airing on the cable network in March. Check your cable or satellite system for BBC America On-Demand — you can catch a 25-minute sneak preview of the first episode of Ashes to Ashes now.

DOCTOR WHO MEETS THE BIONIC WOMAN! Well, no actually, it’s actually pictures from the set of the new Doctor Who Easter special, which also features Michelle Ryan, late of last year’s Bionic Woman reboot.

And, getting back to anime, in case you haven’t heard — a new Full Metal Alchemist TV series is coming in April! The scuttlebutt seems to be that it will explore the continuity of the manga that diverged from that of the original TV series.

Anything else? Consider this an open thread.

Coraline… the Musical?

News
February 10, 2009

Not content with having a Newbury Award, the the top-debuting, wide-release, stop-motion film in movie history, and throngs of adoring fans dressed in black, now Neil Gaiman is trying for a Obie Award.

Coraline the musical goes into previews on May 7 at the Lucille Lortel Theater, off-Broadway in Greenwich Village, where it will run through June 20. The book is by David Greenspan and music and lyrics by Stephin Merritt, and directed by Leigh Silverman.

Casting will be– unconventional, to say the least. 9-year-old Coraline will be played by 55-year-old actress Jayne Houdyshell, with the Other Mother played by David Greenspan. (Cross-dressing in Greenwich Village? That never happens…)

‘Farscape’ #1 Finally Coming Christmas Eve

News
December 10, 2008

BOOM! Studios has announced a December 24 in store date for its Farscape miniseries.

"We originally solicited this for November, but we pushed back the release because we had to make sure the book was the best product possible for fans awaiting Farscape‘s return,"Chip Mosher, BOOM!’s Marketing and Sales Director in a release. "And let me tell you, it will be worth the wait!"

Farscape #1 is written by television series creator Rockne O’Bannon with script by Keith R.A. DeCandido, interior art by Tommy Patterson and cover art by fan-favorites Dennis Calero and Joseph Corroney!

Picking up directly where the television miniseries Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars left off, fans can look forward to show creator O’Bannon steering their favorite characters into new and original stories, keeping with the existing canon – and then extending it!

Debuting on the Sci-Fi Channel in 1998, Farscape follows the adventures of astronaut John Crichton, who has a freak accident during an experimental space mission that catapults him across a thousand galaxies to an alien battlefield. Suddenly, he’s trapped among alien creatures wielding deadly technology – a battle that 20th century sci-fi pop culture never prepared him for. Hunted by a merciless military race, Crichton begins his quest for home from a distant galaxy.

A groundbreaking award-winning sci-fi production, Farscape from The Jim Henson Company and [Hallmark] has become a global favorite. Named by TV Guide as one of television’s "Best Cult Shows Ever" and most recently named by Empire Magazine as one of the "50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time," Farscape is known for the overwhelming fan-based campaign that led to its miniseries production. The show has continued to find new audiences as it airs in syndication and is available on iTunes and DVD.

Look for a conversation with DeCandido closer to release.

Nickeloedon Wants Your Vote

News
December 8, 2008

Nickelodeon has created their own Comic Book Awards, inviting fans to come vote in eight different categories during the entire month of December.

The categories include Best Hair, Best Guest Character, Cutest Comic Character , Best Comic, Favorite Manga, Grossest Thing in Comics, Favorite Fantasy Graphic Novel and Favorite Comic Strip. Nominees are an eclectic choice culled from comics, comic strips, graphic novels, and pop culture. Our toughest choice was for best hair, without Wolverine in the mix. We opted for Veronica Lodge.

The winners will be announced at the website on March 17 and appear in the April issue of Nickelodeon magazine.

‘Heroes’ to Simplify for Volume Four

News
November 21, 2008

At the Screenwriters Expo in Los Angeles, Heroes’ creator Tim Kring addressed the criticism heaped on not only the second but the current third season of the NBC series.

“The problem is you run into a whole series of issues,” he said. “Where show and business run into each other. The network falls in love with characters, the audience falls in love with characters, the press falls in love with characters. And it’s contractually hard to get people onboard for a brief period… You find yourself writing for characters you thought would be gone.”

As a result, characters intended to be short-lived have gained prolong life. He does like having a large cast of characters to work with since it allows storytelling flexibility. “An hour of television should have the vibe as a day of your life,” he said.

He assured fans that the oft-used time travel elements would be dropped after the current volume, “Villains”, concludes next month. Kring called the serialized format, which he was working with the first time an “absolute bear of a thing. The serialized story is so Writers Room-intensive and requires an ‘all hands on deck’ quality to it; you’re often just carrying the water for the next storyline.”

After discussions with NBC and the dismissal of Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb, Kring said the series would continue to break the season into volumes to ensure compact storytelling and allowing different characters to be spotlighted. As a result, viewers who might have found the mythos off-putting can sample each new arc.

“You can hop on the train and you won’t have missed too much."

Naruto Ramps Up Schedule

News
November 19, 2008

VIZ Media, LLC has announced an innovative and unprecedented multimedia plan to provide near-simultaneous Japan-US. release of Naruto, one of the most popular Japanese animated and Manga properties in the world. This campaign is the latest expansion of VIZ Media’s ongoing strategy to utilize the web to its maximum potential to stream a variety of hit animated properties.

Beginning on January 15th the latest episode of the Naruto Shippuden (English-subtitled) animated series will be available for free viewing on the ultimate destination for anything Naruto – the official NARUTO website, www.naruto.com, within days of its original airdate in Japan. A new English-subtitled episode will be added every Thursday thereafter.

On January 2, 2009 VIZ will also debut, for free, eight uncut, English-subtitled episodes from the beginning of the Naruto Shippuden series on their website. Each Friday thereafter there will be an additional eight uncut, English-subtitled episodes added on the site until the series eventually catches up to the current third season of the hit program. Also, coming this week, an exclusive sneak peek of Naruto Shippuden (English-subtitled) debuting on Naruto.com.

On the Manga side, VIZ has accelerated their publishing schedule for upcoming editions of the best-selling series, making them available to North American audiences sooner than ever before. Beginning in February 2009, 11 new volumes of Naruto will be released over three months, moving the series from Volume 34 (February 2009) to Volume 44 (April 2009) before returning to a quarterly release schedule beginning with Volume 45 (July 2009). First print-run editions of the volumes released in March and April will include a special promotional item – a bookmark or sticker.

“This kind of accelerated and coordinated broadcast and publishing schedule is a first for VIZ Media and we are very excited to bring new episodes of Naruto Shippuden to millions of eager domestic fans for free with this special campaign,” Alvin Lu, Vice President of Production, VIZ Media said in a release. “The adventures of Naruto and his friends are underscored with themes of friendship, loyalty, responsibility, as well as failure and redemption, and have turned this unique series into a tremendous international hit. New and old fans alike won’t want to miss this special opportunity to watch online the latest episodes featuring the world’s favorite ninja mere days after their original air dates in Japan.”

Latest Manga Releases

Interviews / News
November 12, 2008

VIZ Media has announced the upcoming release of a special Bleach Posterzine, which features 11 massive full-color posters inspired by the smash hit Manga and animated series created by Tite Kubo. The title will be released December 2, retailing for $9.99 with two original creations made especially for this unique release. Each poster in the collection folds out to 16” x 22” and depicts the heroic Soul Reaper Ichigo and his friends as well as villains rendered in beautiful detail. This special publication will also include 2 free Bleach sticker sheets and an iTunes gift card valid for a free download of episode 59 of the popular Bleach animated series and access to an interview with the creator of Bleach Tite Kubo.

Bleach follows the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, a fifteen-year old student with the ability to see ghosts. His fate takes an extraordinary turn when he meets Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper who shows up at Ichigo’s house on the trail of a Hollow, a malevolent lost soul. Drawn to Ichigo’s high level of spiritual energy, the Hollow attacks Ichigo and his family, and Rukia steps in to help but is injured and unable to fight. As a last resort, Rukia decides to transfer part of her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo. Ichigo, now a full-fledged Soul Reaper, and Rukia join together to face the challenges that lie ahead.

Christopher Boily, VIZ Media Sr. Director, Magazine Sales, Brand & Product Marketing, said in a release, “Building upon the incredible momentum and excitement which surrounded the first ever North American appearance of creator Tite Kubo at San Diego Comic-Con, we’re ecstatic to release this special collectable Bleach Posterzine, which features two amazing images created exclusively for this publication by Studio Pierrot, which animates and produces the massively popular animated series. We look forward to fans visiting their local newsstand to pick up this special release!”

Aurora Publishing has announced two new josei/shojo fantasy Manga to debut during the first quarter of 2009. Tengu-jin ($10.95, 160-pages) by Sumomo Yumeka, will be a one-volume Manga released in February containing two fantasy stories, one set in a future Japan that has split apart into two warring factions, and the other in a feudal kingdom.

Then in March will be the first book in the two-volume series of Chika Shioma’s Queen of Ragtonia ($10.95, 160-pages). Princess Faruna is the last hope of her kingdom when it is attacked by evil sorcerers in this action-packed fantasy series.

Both Tengu-jin and Queen of Ragtonia were published in Japan by Shodensha (Paradise Kiss, Happy Mania, Suppli).

British Cartoon Archive goes Live

News
November 9, 2008

The BBC reports that the British Cartoon Archive has gone live online. Based at the University of Kent, it has over 120,000 political and social cartoons from over 250 artists from the 18th century through today.

The archive is the result of two years’ work to digitize the University’s Carl Giles collection.

Dr Nicholas Hiley, head of the British Cartoon Archive, told the press, "Whether you are a cartoon fan or an academic interested in using the archive content for teaching and research purposes, the new website provides the widest possible access to the most important collection of British newspaper cartooning.

"The development of the site, catalogue and services over the coming months will extend the use of the resource to a far larger number of academics, specialists and enthusiasts and build a considerable international community around these important works."

Kring Promises to Simplify ‘Heroes’

News
November 4, 2008

Tim Kring, creator and executive producer for NBC’s Heroes, watched the dust begin to settle after the network insisted on changes which resulted in the dismissal of Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb on Sunday. According to a story in Variety, the peacock network was concerned that Kring had delegated too much of the show’s storyline to others which has resulted in an uneven second season and a third season that is not bringing back audiences as everyone had hoped.

As he committed to the personnel changes, he also promised his bosses at NBC and Universal, which produces the series, that he will take the criticism – from the media, network and their rabid fan base – and tweak the series to reflect the issues. Simplification may become the new watchword on the set. The trade said the goal was to “get back to the show’s comicbookish good vs. evil themes and to emphasize character development more than plot twists.”

Kristin dos Santos at E! reports that Entertainment Weekly’s recent cover story on their perceived problems with the show was a public embarrassment and final straw.

The trade went on to note that Kring took his eye off the story because the series requires so much of his attention in terms of wrangling the expansive cast and the large amount f/x and post-production requirements which pushes the budget for each hour to $4 million. Even so, budget overruns have been an issue for Universal which deficit finances the series and will only make their money back from eventual off-air syndication, home video sales and merchandise.

The current volume, “Villains”, will wrap up December 15 with an episode Loeb wrote called “War”. Then the series will take an already scheduled break before returning in January with Volume Four, “Fugitives”. Kring told dos Santos, “There are a couple of more deaths planned. Someone you have come to know will not make it to the end of the season."

The ratings have been weaker than the first breakout season, with the show averaging just 10. 4 million viewers, a 21% drop from its weaker second season.

Frankenstein Mobster Halloween masks

News
October 31, 2008

If you find yourself short of a Halloween mask today, or if you’re a fan of our Frankenstein Mobster series (or his trip to Munden’s Bar), then we have just the thing for you– Halloween masks you can print out yourself.

Choose from Frankie, Janus the Werecat, Ozmed the Mummy taxi driver (add your own toilet paper) or detective Terri Todd. Just save these images to your computer and print.