Comic News

Roger Langridge Goes Kaboom!

Boom! and Kaboom!’s second “announcement” this week is that Roger Langridge will be joining Kaboom! which is of course the new kids line from Boom! Studios. The title that Langridge is bringing is titled Snarked and suspisously looks like two characters from Alice in Wonderland. If the name sounds familar it might be do to the fact that he wrote Boom! The Muppet Show and Marvel’s recently cancelled Thor: The Mighty Avenger. Both are terrific books that appeal to all ages. Kaboom! is coming out strong we can only wait to see what comes tomorrow.

Graphic.ly Goes Android

Hey Android users! You finally have an app for comic books! No more of those one off issues that count as an app themselves. Graphic.ly announced today that they’re on the Android market place and not that they said, but before Comixology got out of their beta app stage. The deal is that anything you buy on the Android you can read anywhere else. Meaning you can read it on your PC or on your phone or in the Chrome app as well. Which is better than the crappy Marvel app that only allows you to read the books you bough on Chrome… on Chrome. This is also the first and currenlty only app to have Marvel books on the Android market place so if you need your Marvel fix you can do so now. Personally I alreay have Graphic.ly on my Windows Phone 7 so I don’t particularly care, but it’s good to spread the word.

“Where in the World is Radical?” Coachella Contest

Win Two Tickets to the Coachella Music Festival through Radical Publishing’s “Where in the World is Radical?” Contest.  Radical Publishing is happy to announce the launch of their most recent contest, “Where in the World is Radical?” The contest will run from February 11 to March 15, 2011. The winner of the contest will be flown from wherever they live in the United States to Indio, California, where they will receive two tickets to the Coachella music festival (April 15 – 17, 2011) and a 3-night stay at a local hotel, all courtesy of Radical. To enter, visit the contest page and upload a photo of yourself holding a Radical book or the provided Radical printout in a location that shows where in the United States you live. Note that this does not necessarily mean you need to take a photo in front of a national landmark—submissions can be as simple as a photo taken next to a street sign. Think creatively, though— photos will be judged on the basis of originality. 

Dwayne McDuffie Passes

As of yesterday comic writer, producer, and editor Dwayne McDuffie has passed away. Dwayne McDuffie is known for his excellent work on the Static Shock series and Justice League Unlimited. While he is better known for his animation work for comics, he has written numerous story lines for DC Comics and Marvel. While his most recent film was All Star Superman, he has done amazing things in his life for both media and print.

Marvel and the NBA in a True Team Up

The latest Marvel team-up is upon us and it’s not in the pages of Marvel Comics–it’s in arenas and sporting goods stores across North America! Marvel Entertainment, LLC and the National Basketball Association today announced a collaboration to launch an exclusive collection of co-branded merchandise featuring NBA team logos alongside some of the most renowned Super Heroes in the Marvel Universe.We sat down with Michael Jerchower, Marvel’s Director of Licensing, to get some additinoal info and background on this colossal collaboration.

“Co-branding is an important part of Marvel’s consumer products licensing strategy,” Jerchower explained. “It allows Marvel to expand into new channels of distribution.  As examples, we have co-branded product with Harley Davidson, Reebok, NYPD and FDNY. Sports is a key area where we saw a huge connection. The NBA is all about tremendous athleticism and super hero-type abilities on the court. This ties directly to the powers of our characters.

Robocop Statue Could Happen

In February 2011 there was a humorous ploy asking Detroit Mayor Dave
Bing if there was to be a RoboCop statue in his ‘New Detroit’ proposal,
which is planned to turn Detroit back into a prosperous city again. When
the Mayor said there was no such plan, and word of this reached the
internet, there were several fund raising events to raise enough money
for the statue which would be built at the Imagination Station. There is
yet to be seen if there will actually be a statue built, but it is
reported that over $50,000 has already been raised on the internet.

Detroit — It looks like a RoboCop statue may be erected in Detroit after all.Just
six days after an online fundraising campaign began, a loosely
organized group of Detroiters has raised more than $50,000 to build a
statue to pay homage to the 1987 film.The group met its goal following a $25,000 matching gift Tuesday evening from a company called Omni Consumer Products.The group is using Kickstarter.com, a “crowd-raising” website that challenges visitors to help meet a short-term goal.

Archaia Free Comic Book Day Covers Revealed

Ah, free comic book day. One of the best Saturday’s of the year is appraoching again. Sure it’s not till the beginning of May, but it’s never to early to generate buzz about the event. It’s like Black Friday for comics in a ways since retailers almost always have sales and creators in there shops. Archaia has the covers to their flip book release for the event and it’s Dark Crystal and Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard. If you need more on Mouse Guard Legends you should read some of our reviews and if you’re excited for Dark Crystal then you can sit and wait with anticipation with the rest of us.

Boom! Announces Kaboom! and Peanuts

Last week it became clear that the Disney Pixar line of comics was moving over to Marvel, which seemed inevitable since Disney and Marvel are totally in bed with each other. Boom! promised that the Boom! Kids line would be getting a major face lift and that they would still be holding onto the Disney afternoon block which includes: Darkwing Duck, Chip-n-Dale Rescue Rangers and the recently announced Duck Tales ongoing. Today Boom! has announced that Boom! Kids will now be known as Kaboom! which is very fitting and that their next big release? That’s right the Peanuts are coming to Boom! It hasn’t been announced in what capacity the Peanuts will be at Kaboom! if it is just collected reprints which Boom! handles very well or something else. Regardless this is pretty big news as Boom! Kids disappears and paves the way for something new and exciting in Kaboom!

Real-Life Lois Lane Dies

Jerome Siegel was the writer of the original “Superman” comics that based the man of steel’s love interest Lois Lane on his own. Sadly, Joanne Siegel died Tuesday, February 15th at 93 years of age.

Joanne was originally a model of about 15 or 16 years old during the Depression. In the year 1938, Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster contacted her and she met with the two men to pose for sketches drawn by Schuster for the character Lois Lane. She was the basis for not only Lois Lane’s physical appearance, but some of her character traits as well. Joanne and Siegel were married ten years after their first meeting when Siegel’s divorce from his wife was finalized.

Fables and The Walking Dead Video Games Inbound

Steve Allison, SVP of marketing for Telltale Games shares the exciting
news in the announcement of an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement
with Warner Bros.
Interactive Entertainment to develop videogames for the comic-book
series Fables, and an exclusive worldwide agreement to develop and
publish a series of videogames based on the AMC cable network’s zombie
hit “The Walking Dead.” It’s also working with Universal Pictures on
“Back to the Future” and “Jurassic Park” games. With these new
blockbuster titles coming soon, Allison said the goal is
to produce a title that hits one million digital downloads, and thinks
“The Walking Dead” could become a $20 million to 30 million franchise if
all goes well.