Another comic publisher didn’t make it through the minimum order cuts through Diamond Comic Distributors. Classics Illustrated will however continue to be printed and distributed, it will just go through other venues.
Complete press release follows the jump.
(click each figure for larger view)
Those who plan on getting the Ghostbusters video game might want to upgrade to the Slimer Edition, that features among other things, a set of Ghostbusters Minimates.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game, based on the smash hit motion picture franchise and featuring a completely new story, is coming to six game systems in 2009. Coinciding with the 25th anniversary celebration of the film’s original theatrical release, the game reunites original cast members to recapture the unique blend of humour and fright that established Ghostbusters as a pop culture sensation. Remember, don’t cross the streams. It could end all life as we know it!
Instead of running down to the local GameStop, the Slimer Edition is an Amazon exclusive. I really don’t have an interest in paying $110 for a video game, but those cool-ass Ghostbusters Minimates just might have me jump.
This week on the Major Spoilers Podcast, the Major Spoilers Crew dive into Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka’s Gotham Central in Book One: In the Line of Duty.
The first ten issues of the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning series is collected in hardcover for the first time! Written by Ed Brubaker (Captain America) and Greg Rucka (Detective Comics, 52), this series pitted the detectives of Gotham City’s Special Crimes Unit against the city’s greatest villains – in the shadow of Batman himself.
This volume collects two cases of the Gotham Special Crimes Unit. In the first, a cop is killed by Mister Freeze, and the squad is in a race against time to bring him in without the help of the Dark Knight. In the second story–the acclaimed, award-winning “Half a Lifeâ€â€“Detective Renee Montoya is outed as a lesbian and finds her work environment and personal life turned upside down. Things only become more complicated when she’s kidnapped by Two-Face. This debut volume features an introduction by acclaimed mystery author Lawrence Block.
As always, the Major Spoilers Podcast is nothing without comments from great readers and listeners like you. You can use the comment section below, drop us a voice mail by calling (785) 727-1939, or record your comments and send it as an MP3 file in an email to podcast@majorspoilers.com.
Here’s your chance to be heard on the show! Give us your thoughts on Gotham Central, or if you want to share your thoughts on the state of the comic book industry, or anything else that might be on your mind drop us a line. Only the most awesome comments (good or bad) make it on the show, so get your stuff to us right away!
We record the new show Tuesday night, so make sure you have your contribution to us by 5:00 PM CST Tuesday evening.
This just in… Steve Rogers Lives!
The death toll continues to rise as Magneto takes the mass destruction of the world up another notch in Jeph Loeb’s Ultimatum #3.
This ski mask has to be one of the most disturbing bits of clothing I’ve seen, and it can be yours for the low low price of $16.99. While this certainly looks creepy, criminals are going to have a field day with this kind of ski mask as it makes it even harder to identify the perp.
Freddie Williams II fired off one of his monthly emails where he wraps up the things that have preoccupied his life for the last couple of months.
Just finished Robin # 183… the final issue of Robin! Not just my final issue, it’s the LAST issue of the series! It’s 24 pages, and not only did I draw the whole issue and the cover, but I colored the cover and the last six pages! Feels great to have fun with experiments like that! Robin #183 will be out February 11, you can see more about it here:
http://dccomics.com/dcu/comics/?cm=11115
What will I be working on next? A mini-series written by the notorious Matt Sturges, told from the villain’s point of view, call “RUN!” I just started on the rough layouts on the pages yesterday, so it’s still very early on, but I think the book will be a lot of fun!
After TWO YEARS in the making, my “How-To” book is FINALLY available for pre-order on Amazon! The release date is still a ways out, but I’m in the final edits, and just recently saw an early proof of the book, which is VERY exciting!
All worthy of checking out. Can’t wait to see Freddie’s How To book.
via Freddie Williams II
No, we are not changing our coverage to football and sports related talk, rather Marvel’s adaptation of the first volume of Stephen King’s The Stand is getting the hard cover treatment this March. Unlike other trades and deluxe editions which filter their way to Amazon, B&N, and other outlets, this hard cover is being released exclusively to direct market retailers.
“Marvel is excited to present this unique opportunity to our partners in the direct market who’ve helped make The Stand such a success,†explained David Gabriel, Marvel Senior Vice President of Sales. “We appreciate their overwhelming support for The Stand: Captain Trips and want to thank them with the option of either the regular cover or the limited edition gatefold cover.â€
The Stand: Captain Trips Premiere Hardcover arrives March 11, 2009 for $24.99.
The big trend in promoting comics has been taking a series or issue and turning it into a “Motion Comic”. This is where the art is scanned or imported into a motion graphics application like Adobe After Effects, and then manipulated to give the illusion you are watching an animated feature. I’ve seen some really good stuff, and I’ve seen some absolute drek.
The latest comic to get the treatment is the old Batman: Black and White series from DC Comics. I’ve watched the trailer and it does look pretty good, and will more than likely check out the ten episode series.
Complete press release and trailer after the jump.
Burbank, Calif., October 8, 2008 — Warner Premiere and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution today announced the renowned graphic album “Batman: Black & White†and graphic novel “Superman: Red Son†are being developed into short-form digital Motion Comics. In addition the first and highly anticipated second chapter of the “Watchmen†Motion Comics are now available for download via iTunes, Amazon Video on Demand, Xbox Live and the Sony PlayStation Store. Summary editions of the “Watchmen†Motion Comics are available to Verizon Wireless V Cast customers as well as Sprint TV customers via the DC Comics Channel.
I don’t know how I ended up getting so far behind on this stuff – I think it was either the three day weekend, or the first week of being back in the classroom, but regardless, tonight on the Major Spoilers Podcast, we’ll be discussing Hellboy: Seed of Destruction during the show.
From Amazon:
When strangeness threatens to engulf the world, a strange man will come to save it. Sent to investigate a mystery with supernatural overtones, Hellboy discovers the secrets of his own origins, and his link to the Nazi occultists who promised Hitler a final solution in the form of a demonic avatar.
I know many of you have read the first volume, so shout out your thoughts below and we may include them on the show.
According to the New York Times, the Watchmen Trailer Effect continues to affect the number of copies DC is releasing to meet demand. According to DC’s Paul Levitz, the Watchmen trade paperback will reach over one million copies before the end of the year compared to last year’s print run of 100,000 copies.
Even with all the printings, the Watchmen trade fell three spots to number 18 on the USA Today best seller list, and down to number 10 at Amazon.com.
Following the most amazing launch of the Watchmen trailer last week (and that really cool shot by shot comparison of the trailer and the graphic novel), DC is reporting that it has ordered 200,000 new copies of the trade to meet demand.
“Its all very exciting,†DC’s President Paul Levitz said. “A graphic-novel went to No. 2 on Amazon because of a movie trailer. That’s not something we’ve seen before.â€
At least DC is acting now in trying to meet demand. When 300 hit theaters, Dark Horse wasn’t able to get the book on shelves fast enough, frustrating many interested in the original source material.