Derrick Ferguson Ducks The Mighty Shield of CAPTAIN AMERICA
For those paying attention, Green Lantern’s failure to remain in the domestic box office top five has to be of concern to Warner Bros. The film took in an estimated $6,270,000, down a steep 65% from the second weekend which was already down a steep 66.1% from the opening weekend. This means that the core geek audience expected to revel in the galactic adventure multiple times decided once was enough and word of mouth was not positive enough to make up the difference.
Beyond that, the studio gambled on the 3-D effects being a lure but by the time the movie opened June 17, the warning signs were already crystal clear that 3-D was once more a passing fad and not a silver bullet to re-energize theater going habits.
After 17 days in release, the movie has taken in approximately $101,962, about a third of what was spent on production and marketing. The international box office has been anemic as well, with just $33.3 million taken in so after three weeks, the film has not cracked the $200 million barrier that would have at least allowed Warner and DC Entertainment to save face.
And while Warner has commissioned work on a second script, there is no guarantee that they will invest in an expensive sequel. The mantra among the fans is that it took Paramount two films before they got Star Trek right but DC had a lot riding on this as their first entry into the shared universe superhero market and attempting to compete directly with Marvel. A core difference between the rivals is that Marvel’s production arm is independent of studio interference while DC’s Creative Officer, Geoff Johns, still has to dance to Warners’ tune. There’s no direct evidence that Warner execs meddled in the film, but if they didn’t then the film’s disappointing commercial results has to be placed at Johns’ feet.
Should they choose not to go forward with a sequel, Green Lantern will continue to headline multiple titles from DC plus continue his animated adventures on the Cartoon Network. It will, though, limit his merchandising appeal which will affect the conglomerate’s bottom line.
How this may impact the films already in development, notably The Flash, Johns’ other baby, remains to be seen. In some ways, not having it before the cameras means there’s plenty of time to take the lessons learned and apply them. On the other hand, Marvel has already staked two key dates in 2013 (for Iron Man 3 and Thor 2) so if the DC Universe expects to compete on the silver screen, there has to be energy expended to get things rolling.
DIAMONDBACK: IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME
Derrick Ferguson
Pulpwork Press
ISBN 978-0-9797-3298-0
Derrick Ferguson is well-known in the pulp community, primarily for his character Dillon. But he’s also the creator of Fortune McCall, Sebastian Red and… Diamondback Vogel. It’s that last character who gets the spotlight here, in a story set in the shared world of Denbrook. No prior knowledge of Denbrook is required, however, as Ferguson capably gives you all the required information.
This is a place full of bad people and evil deeds. Overrun by crime and corruption, Denbrook is thrown for a loop when Diamondback arrives, selling his rapid-fire gunhands and keen skills for the right price. Word has gotten around that Diamonback should already be dead and, indeed, we’re given information from the very first chapter that causes us to doubt if our protagonist is who he says he is. To be honest, it’s this identity crisis that sets the story apart from other “badass” action adventure fests that are so common.
Ferguson’s trademark skills are well represented: well-drawn characters, fun dialogue and the sense that you’re reading a tough-guy novel.
I have to comment on the names the characters sport because I was alternately laughing my ass off and rolling my eyes every time a new one was introduced: the aforementioned Diamondback Vogel, Baby Delroy, Titus Hegemon and (my favorite) Nickleby LaLoosh. I loved this and it helped set the tone considerably.
There’s a sequel promised at the end of this one and given the lingering questions about the main character, it’s a well-deserved one. This is a high-octane thriller. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and that’s a good thing. Will it change your life? No — but it’s not meant to. It’s meant to entertain and make you crack a smile along the way.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8TNkeHk3Fo[/youtube]
In the year 2000, American McGee’s Alice took the story of Alice in Wonderland and turned it on it’s already twisted head. As a sequel of sorts to the books, the game opens with an accidental fire destroying Alice’s home in Victorian London, in which her parents and sister die. Alice then attempts to commit suicide (due to survivor’s guilt) and is committed to Rutledge Asylum. While there, her shattered psyche has her (and players) revisiting the Wonderland of her childhood, now decayed under the rule of the Queen of Hearts. By the game’s end, she destroys the Queen (who some believe to be a manifestation of her own insanity) and restores Wonderland to its original charm and glory, and is declared stable (or stable enough) to leave the asylum.
Perhaps that wasn’t for the best, however. In [[[Alice: Madness Returns]]] (out now on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360), it’s eleven years since Alice left Rutledge (and, ironically, eleven years after the original game). Alice is living with and being cared for by a child psychiatrist in London (as his oldest patient), and the death of her family continues to stalk her. Her madness has manifested again, and now she finds herself returning to Wonderland – albeit the Wonderland that we now know to be imagined – in order to restore order to its now-recurring chaos. This time, though, there’s an bigger question fueling her madness: was the fire that caused it all accidental?
The game divides its time between two settings: Victorian London, with its bleak, muted color palette, and the visual mind-bender that is Wonderland. Take Tim Burton, throw him in a blender with Dali and Picasso, and add a dash of steroids and heroin, and you’ll have a rough approximation of the visuals here. The settings are stunning, from the steampunk-esque Hatter stage, to the underwater follies of the carpenter and the Walrus, to the card bridge and the Queensworld…it’s all, well, fairly crazy actually. The animation is also fluid, as Alice jumps, twirls and floats through demonic paranoias and her own destroyed psyche, made visual in Wonderland. She can even shrink in size to pass through keyholes, which also gives her a new perspective on the layout of a level, revealing hidden clues as to where to go next, or thing she just couldn’t see at normal size.
At it’s heart, Madness Returns is a platformer, but there’s a heavy bent on action. Alice has many weapons at her disposal to use against the negative densiens of her mind. At first, black slime with babydoll faces known as “ruins” populate the land, and Alice can dispatch them with her trusty Vorpal Blade (which goes Snicker-Snack!) or a Pepper Grinder (basically a hand-cranked machine gun). Later she gains a Hobby Horse, which she uses as a melee club to bash and smash. All of these weapons flow effectively into one another for combos, and when combined with the dodge move, become invaluable in escaping hasty death from an onslaught of enemies. After traversing some areas, the foes become more familiar, namely the Card Guards, only now more…demon-esque.
As a platformer, there’s also a good amount of gathering collectibles, and each one has it’s own use. Scattered throughout the land are memories, which piece together the story for Alice (and the player). There are also teeth, which Alice gathers from fallen foes or smashable objects, and are used as currency in the game to upgrade weapons. It all seems like typical fare for an action platformer, but teh setting and storyline are really what set this one apart. There’s some truly messed-up things here, and the game really pushes the M rating.
If there were one complaint to make towards the game, it’s more about the little hiccups you encounter during gameplay. Sometimes, Alice will get hung up on an invisible wall or something in the floor, usually after releasing the “shrink” button on the controller. It’s a minor setback, but when the animation is usualy so fluid, getting held up in a graphical glitch can take one out of the moment. Also, the level layout is preposterously long. One chapter can have several individual sections, feeling like their own levels, but are really part of the chapter istelf. Sometimes this works to move the story along, and sometimes it gives the player the feeling of the developers trying to drag out the length of the game. Alice herself even comments on this, in a manor, when asked repeatedly by various characters in the game to do tasks for her, acting as though the level would be much shorter had they simply done teh task themselves. But then, it wouldn’t be a game then, would it?
While it isn’t a perfect game, it is certainly a fun one, and visually, one that will take hold of you, with it’s abstract settings and newspaper cut-out style cut scenes. It’s all very stylized and slick. As an added bonus, the original American McGee’s Alice is included on the disc (unlockable by download on an online pass included with new copies of the game). Playing through it is definitely a treat to those not familiar with the original, though I will say, it hasn’t held up well over time.
If you’re looking for solid action, decent platforming and puzzles, and a intriguing storyline, you needn’t look much further than here. While it may seems a bit unfair at times with the number of enemies beset upon you, the story is one certainly worth going through, and the adventure is truly a fascinating one. Horiffic though it may be for our heroine.
Rating (based on a scale of BUY IT, RENT IT, SKIP IT):
BUY IT!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
The theater day opened at PULP ARK with a rousing fight scene involving most of the cast that took two of them literally tumbling down the stairs into the middle of a panel! After that, the cast gathered and presented the third and final act of this fast paced, high adrenaline Pulp play like no other! And without further adieu….
CAST-
Merlin Montgomery-Tommy Hancock
Benita Isadore Magready (Bim)-Shannon O’Cain
Newt the Newsboy-Alex Hancock
Simon Sanders, The Rogue-Brian Coltharp
Nikola Deveraux-Tanya McClure
August-Bo Elrod
Captain Mordechai Maelstrom-David Jones
Buster-Lucas Smith
Shevara/Penny Preston-Megan Smith
Little Sister-Mackenzie Haugh
Merlin Montgomery antagonizes Shevara BLOODY PULP, ACT THREE |
Shevara faces off with Merlin Montgomery BLOODY PULP, ACT THREE |
Cast of Bloody Pulp trying to decide what to do next BLOODY PULP, ACT THREE |
Pro Se Productions, the company sponsoring PULP ARK, the first annual Pulp Convention/Creators Conference being held May 13-15 in Batesville, Ark., announced today that major publisher Simon and Schuster is one of the many publishers taking part in the activities.
According to Tommy Hancock, Pulp Ark Coordinator, Simon and Schuster is participating in Pulp Ark in order to promote the upcoming release of a major novel by Paul Malmont. Malmont, best known for his best selling works ‘The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril’ and ‘Jack London in Paradise’ has completed ‘The Astounding, The Amazing, and the Unknown’. This novel, a sequel to ‘Death Cloud Peril’ follows pulp writer L. Ron Hubbard on adventures into the 1950s that will rival the fantastic pulp tales the future cultural icon wrote. The first book in this two-book series was a fictional romp involving Hubbard, H.P. Lovecraft, and pulp authors Lester Dent and Walter Gibson and others that carried them across the map and through two fisted, pulse pounding adventures.
“Malmont,” Hancock stated, “takes real life historical personages and weaves them into these realistic, yet wildly entertaining, fast paced tales. Pulp Ark is pleased to be able to say that various items, like postcards and such, will be handed out Saturday, May 14, to commemorate the July release of the new novel. Also, a galley copy of the new novel will be on display and given away at 4:30 Saturday afternoon. To register for the giveaway, all you have to do is come to Pulp Ark at 151 West Main, Batesville, Ark starting at noon Friday, May 13 and put your name in the box! The winner will be drawn on Saturday!”
For further information on the giveaway and Pulp Ark, Hancock can be reached at 870-834-4022 or proseproductions@earthlink.net.
Performing live for scores of college audiences helped the guys at Broken Lizard put together their plan for the long awaited SUPER TROOPERS 2. So who’s coming back for the sequel? KEVIN HEFFERNAN shares the news, plus Brett Ratner on Hercules? And yes, there IS that ComicCon thing happening….
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Batman: Arkham Asylum was one of the best games of 2009. Only four months after its release, Rocksteady and DC Comics are already giving us a teaser trailer and a new website for the sequel.
Color me excited, but aren’t we at least a couple years away from a sequel?
Still slow going around these parts, but have these tidbits to keep you warm during the cold season:
What’s getting you through the lean news season? Tell us in the comments.