Category: Other

84th Academy Award Nominations Announced!

Finally the moment movie lovers and film snobs have been waiting for. The official list of nominees for the 84th Academy Awards!

Continue reading “84th Academy Award Nominations Announced!”

Comikaze Preview

The first ever Comikaze Expo takes place this weekend, November 5th and 6th at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  Billed as the largest gaming, comic, horror and multimedia pop culture convention, the event will kick off with appearances from Stan Lee and  the official “spokesperson”, Elvira.  This expo is expected to draw over 60,000 attendees and have more than 300 vendors on the convention floor.  Tickets for the event are on pre-sale at $12 each on the Comikaze website. With each ticket,  the holder will receive their choice of a celebrity lithograph photo valued  between $79-$189.

Comikaze will feature several name guests and exciting panels for attendees to see and meet.  There will be several cast reunions, including several members from the various police Academy films as well as a number of actors who were on the Nickelodeon (SNICK) sketch comedy show “All That.”  Other guests will include a few Star Trek actors, along with Ernest  Borgnine, Morgan Fairchild and Ernie Hudson.

Some of the panels of note include an “All That,” reunion taking place on Saturday afternoon, in addition to the famed comic and animation creator Jhonen Vasquez.  Other panels of interest include, but are not limited to, Steampunk 101, “Team Unicorn’s Super Happy Fun Panel,” The Making SyFy’s Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files, Paleontology with Morgan Fairchild and many others catering to people’s various interests and hobbies.

Since this is the first ever Comikaze Expo, it is sure to be an event to remember.  It will be like no other convention before or after because of the eclectic and diverse guest list and panel discussions. This is something that comic, movie, horror and pop culture fans don’t want to miss and with the scope and scale being so large, there is sure to be something for everyone.  Hopefully with a large and positive turnout, the Comikaze Expo will become an annual event and a Los Angeles tradition.

Long Beach Comic Con 2011 Preview

What are your plans for Halloween weekend? If you are in the LA area, why don’t you come down to the third annual Long Beach Comic Con, held at the Long Beach Convention Center? Started only back in 2009, this convention is shaping up to be a fun event as we draw the 2011 convention season to a close with numerous guests and exhibitors, not to mention the ever growing number of extremely talented entries featuring their costumes at the Masquerade Ball.

This will be my first time attending this event but I am very much looking forward to the experience. I have heard nothing but great things about this con and its show runners whenever I talk about convention experiences with others from the comic industry, and now I can finally experience it for my self. This year’s featured guest list consists of Jimmy Palmiotti, Tim Bradstreet and Felicia Day as well as MANY other fan favorites. I am very excited to see Scott Lobdell will be in attendance since I grew up reading his X-Men comics and I am looking forward to potentially saying hi and maybe talking to him for a minute about his current run on DC Comics’ controversial Red Hood and The Outlaws. Artist Alley also has a great list of names from the comics world such as Phillip Tan, Scott Williams, Amanda Connor, Joey Esposito, and Dustin Nguyen as well as the next big artist that we have not discovered yet!

One of my favorite aspects of traveling to conventions all over the United States is the amount of elaborate and unique costumes that I see fans walk around in. With the Masquerade also taking place on what can be seen as this year’s big night for Halloween celebration, I expect to see great things from the entrants as well as what I predict will be an amazing time at the surrounding bars afterward. The deadline for entrants has been extended to 10/15, so if you are interested please see the link below for more information.

On the shopping side of things, one item that I have been keeping my eye on is the debut of Darwyn Cooke’s Parker: The Martini Edition from IDW Publishing at their booth. This book is an oversized collection containing the previously released The Hunter, The Outfit, and The Man With the Getaway Face as well as an all new original story that can be exclusively found in this edition. Aside from IDW there will be dozens of other exhibitors on the show floor, each providing a little something for fans of all tastes. I hope to see bargains on graphic novels and comics so that I can have my favorite creators in attendance sign them and CGC can grade them.

All in all this looks like a fun two-day show that features a little something for everyone. For more on LBCC such as registration and ticket purchases, please be sure to visit longbeachcomiccon.com, friend them on Facebook at facebook.com/LongBeachComicCon, and watch their Twitter feed @longbeach_CC for up to the minute additions and information as it becomes available.

IDW Publishing Breaks Into iBooks!

This is big news for the comic industry! IDW has just announced a deal in which their content will be made available directly through Apple’s iBooks service, making them the first major comic publisher with such an offering . Previously IDW’s books were made available digitally through providers such as ComiXology and iVerse in which you could purchase individual issues as well as collections, or numerous standalone apps for various series and titles (as shown below) created to take advantage of iTunes’ search function.

A deal such as this could potentially open IDW to a larger audience than ever before with impulse buys via the “Featured” section of the program. Apple has built a reputation of being a king maker whenever it features anything in one of its commercials, be it song, movie or app, and I would love to see this record include comic books.

Imagine this; the next generation iPad commercial just started and there is the device against a solid white background. As the narrational finger swipes across the screen, highlighting the device’s various functions in sync with a reassuring voice over, we momentarily stop on the cover for True Blood: All Together Now via iBooks. As the commercial moves on half a second later that ever so brief screen time could potentially drive a large amount of customers to purchase the book for themselves. In a time when the industry is looking at ways to bring in new readers an official Apple nod might be just what we need.

 

IDW is currently focused on using this format to distribute longer-form graphic novels and collections with hopes of bringing in new readers in the same way book retailers such as Barnes and Noble has. While the release schedule for upcoming titles are not directly tied to when we may see them in comic shops, there are a few titles books as Code Word: Geronimo that will see day and date release on iBooks to maximize its exposure as IDW continues to look toward the future of the industry and how fan consumption will evolve.

If you are not an iBooks customer or do not own an iOS device then don’t worry. IDW will continue to work with technology partners on distribution for iOS and Android apps, Sony devices, Nokia devices as well as the web. Also, content will remain available for purchase through these methods and pricing will be as closely consistent as possible throughout all outlets. Just consider this as another way for you to get the stories that you love.

Check out the official press release below for more information!

IDW Graphic Novels Debut on Apple iBooks

First major comics publisher to offer iBook graphic novels and comics
for the iPad™, iPhone®, and iPod touch® !!

[iBook Shelf]Continuing to lead the charge of digital comics, IDW Publishing, a leader in digital comics, proudly debuted today the first large collection of comic and graphic novel titles ever available within Apple’s iBooks store. As the first major comics publisher to offer significant content, IDW’s initial iBooks entrée features nearly twenty complete graphic novels, including award-winning books and works by best selling prose authors.

This one-of-a-kind launch kicks off with CODE WORD: GERONIMO, which is launched simultaneously in iBooks and in print. An original graphic novel detailing the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound by SEAL Team 6, CODE WORD: GERONIMO is expertly written by military insider Captain Dale Dye (USMC, Ret.) and Dr. Julia Dye, Ph.D., and offers the amazing, moment-by-moment inside story of the clandestine raid that rid the world of this terrorist mastermind.

“IDW’s graphic novel line is a perfect fit for iBooks,” stated Jeff Webber, IDW’s director of ePublishing. “While our various comic storefront apps, such as IDW Comics, TRANSFORMERS Comics or Doctor Who Comics, are extremely popular with experienced comics readers and fans of those brands, having this significant presence in iBooks will help readers discover creators and titles, much the same as browsing in major book retail chains.”
[CodeWord: Geronimo]
IDW’s rich catalog of top prose authors and comics creators is especially suited for iBooks. Fans of IDW writers such as Joe Hill, Anne Rice, Max Brooks, Peter S. Beagle, or James Patterson can now find IDW graphic novels right next to their respective prose releases. Award-winning creators like Darwyn Cooke and his acclaimed  adaptations of Richard Stark’s Parker books and the first installment of the BLOOM COUNTY: THE COMPLETE LIBRARY are also included in IDW’s diverse iBooks line.

The IDW launch has something for all ages, from classics like Eric Shanower’s OZ series for younger audiences, and Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s best-selling LOCKE & KEY series for mature readers.

“Our internal technology team, led by Lorelei Bunjes, has put a huge effort into developing a great reading experience for iBooks,” Webber continued. “We’re very proud of the team’s efforts to create a quality experience.”

The initial lineup includes the following titles:
[Witch & Wizard]•    Code Word: Geronimo
•    Bloom County: The Complete Digital Library 1980-1981
•    Locke & Key Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft
•    Locke & Key Vol. 2: Head Games
•    Locke & Key Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows
•    Locke & Key Vol. 4: Keys to the Kingdom
•    Parker: The Hunter
•    Parker: The Outfit
•    Star Trek: Movie Adaptation
•    Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon Movie Adaptation
•    The Last Unicorn
•    Little Adventures in Oz Vol. 1
•    Dead Space
•    Dragon Age
•    G.I. Joe: Hearts & Minds
•    Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland
•    The Murder of King Tut
•    True Blood Vol.1: All Together Now
•    The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures

Visit IDWPublishing.com to learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

Experience SWEETS: A NEW ORLEANS CRIME STORY In Louisiana

SWEETS: A NEW ORLEANS CRIME STORY, the acclaimed noir-inspired comic book miniseries written and drawn by Louisiana native Kody Chamberlain, will soon be collected into a complete trade paperback through Image Comics. Chamberlain’s gritty and richly illustrated series tells the story of a down-and-out detective trying to bring a killer to justice before his city and evidence are washed away by an impending storm. SWEETS is steeped in effortless local detail, recalling readers to the sights, sounds, and flavors of New Orleans.

While Chamberlain’s fans await the release of the new trade paperback collection, his work is being presented for the first time ever in a fine arts gallery setting at The Arcadiana Center for the Arts. The gallery exhibition is now open and available for viewing until October 1st, 2011. Arcadiana Center for the Arts will also host a release party and book signing for the trade paperback comic with Chamberlain on September 10th at 6pm.
Gallery details: 
Kody Chamberlain – Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story
The Acadiana Center for the Arts – Mallia Gallery
101 W. Vermilion St., Lafayette, LA 70501
337.233.7060 (phone), 337.233.7062 (fax)
Hours: Tuesday – Friday: 10 AM – 5 PM, Saturday: 10 AM –  5 PM
Admission: Members: Free; General: $5; Students & Seniors: $3;
17 & Younger: $2; 4 & Younger: Free
SWEETS: A NEW ORLEANS CRIME STORY TP (JUN110516, ISBN: 978-1-60706-413-8), a 136-page full color crime noir comic book, will be on sale for $14.99 in stores September 9. For more information about the work of Kody Chamberlain, visit http://www.kodychamberlain.blogspot.com/.
“Kody Chamberlain’s work in this exhibit transcends the genre of comic illustration with a depth of perspective and intensity of vision that can only be described as masterful,” said Dr. Gerd Wuestemann, Executive Director, Acadiana Center for the Arts. “The chiseled technical detail of his work combines with solid psychological underpinnings to draw the viewer down the rabbit hole and lets us wander in strange and exciting landscapes.”
“This is a highly unique exhibit. I was able to install my entire miniseries, with lettering, in a gallery setting,” said Chamberlain. “The 117 pages of sequential story completely fills the space with only a half inch of wall between each page, the end result is a striking visual experience. This comic feels like it’s alive in that room.”
SWEETS: A NEW ORLEANS CRIME STORY,  was the winner of the 2011 Spinetingler Award in the category of Best Mystery/Crime Comic or Graphic Novel, and has also amassed an impressive list of positive reviews, including these:
“[Chamberlain]’s a one-man band, and the fact that this story read so well as a complete package is nothing short of amazing. …This kind of care and craftsmanship isn’t just art — it’s magic.” — David Pepose, Newsarama
“…a thrilling read that executes a stellar story with beautiful art… I have never possessed anything even closely resembling a sweet tooth, but the experience of reading this book was so palpable, I found myself wanting a good ol’ fashioned pecan praline after I was done.” — Joy Hog
“I enjoy the rare one man comic book trifecta that actually works out. 4/5 stars!” — The Daily BLAM! 
“Chamberlain is an impressive artist who captures New Orleans with such a sense of authenticity and accuracy that at any second you expect to see Ignatius Reilly pushing a hotdog cart through the French Quarter in the background of one of his panels.” — Shawn O’Rourke, Pop Matters
“…a cop drama for people who are sick of cop dramas. …SWEETS feels far more visceral and dark and somehow less like it’s mugging for the camera than the endless string of unrealistic cop-schlock shows that permeate the airwaves…” — Andy Grossberg, Tripwire Magazine
“…incredibly rendered” — Examiner.com
“A phenomenal graphic masterpiece.” — Comic Geek Speak