Author: Stephen Schleicher

You know what would increase attendance at comic book conventions around the country?  Cage matches.  Not cage matches with the GLOW or those Octagon fighters, but epic battles between the Editor-in-Chiefs of the comic book publishing world. Since the New York Comic Con is taking place this weekend, and since NYC is the supposed center of the universe, why not kick off these EIC Cage Match Battles with the head honchos from DC and Marvel. FIGHT! [poll id=”69″]

Those guys and gals at Electric Tiki really know how to take popular characters and turn them into magnificent maquettes and statues.  Sideshow Collectibles has announced Electric Tiki will be taking Jessica and Roger Rabbit, as well as the characters from Rescue Rangers and giving them the Electric Tiki Tooned Up treatment.

Because if IGN doesn’t make a spoof now, Hollywood will actually make a Dig Dug movie later.

I wish there was an IMAX theater near here that would show the Watchmen movie.  This visuals for this film look so slick and jaw dropping, that I would love to see it on a screen the size of a building.  Of course, I’m not sure I want to see Doctor Manhattan’s wang in IMAX, but you have to take the good with the bad. via MTV Splash

Hasbro has announced the 3.75-inch Wolverine Animated figures to go along with the current cartoon series. If you purchase an entire case, here’s what you get: 2x Cyclops 3x TBD 1x Iceman 1x TBD 1x Avalanche 1x Beast 2x TBD 1x TBD (subject to change) The figures are expected to release in March 2009, although I’ve seen reports that the articulation on the figures is not that good. via Entertainment Earth

Boom! Studios has previously announced Mark Waid is Evil, then Mark Waid is Irredeemable, now the company is set to announce what is next for Mark Waid at the New York Comic Con ’09 this weekend. Boom! has sent Major Spoilers its signing and panel schedule, that you can check out after the jump.

Good news for Reaper fans, the CW has announced it is bringing back the show early for the spring season. The move puts “Reaper” at 8 p.m. Tuesdays followed by “90210,” a shake-up that protects the teen soap from Fox’s “American Idol.” “Reaper” will still air its 13 episodes straight, through without repeats as originally planned. I like the idea of airing all the episodes in a row without a rerun, but still find myself confused as to why Reaper keeps getting a mid-season slot instead of a full year.  Last year it was one of the best shows on…

The Wild Asses of the Kush I wasn’t really thrilled with the last Buckaroo Banzai outing from Moonstone Books, but the glutton for punishment that I am over my slavish devotion to the hard rockin’ scientist and his Hong Kong Cavaliers had me sitting down and checking out the simply titled Wild Asses of the Kush.  No, it’s not a story about a drug trip on some of the best weed you’ve ever inhaled, but it is full of more ass jokes than you can shake a stick at.

This week on the Major Spoilers Podcast, the crew tackles the subject of Sex in Comics – not sex on comics, because, well, we keep falling off (ba-dum-bum). What do you think of the portrayal of sex in the funny books?  What should be allowed, what shouldn’t? How far is too far? What comics feature the best and the worst on the subject?  It’s a topic that is deep, and one we’ll attempt to tackle. 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…

Major Spoilers is the third website I’ve had the pleasure of building from the ground up. I’ve previously written about the professional video and audio industry, ran a site that was dedicated to streaming media before podcasting was ever a word and the world ran on dial-up, and have written about the consumer electronics arena. And through it all, there’s one thing that struck me as odd – the relationship between a reporting site and comic book publishers.

“I know there are plenty of web comic artists who are able to subsist on the income they make from their website, but they aren’t making money from their comics; they’re making money from merchandise. Not to belittle web-only comic artists, but when their income is derived from t-shirts, it makes them salesmen first, artists second.” — Neil Swaab Oh man, talk about opening mouth and inserting foot.  This lead to all sorts of reactions including this well thought out post by Jeph Jacques, which ultimately lead to Mr. Swaab issuing a public apology. Oh and hey, those webcomic things…

Here is the New Comic Release list for comics scheduled to be in stores February 4, 2009. There may be items on this list that are not shipped at the last minute, or new material may be added. Check with your local retailer for more details. This list was last updated February 2, 2009.

If you’ve been following the Major Spoilers site for some time, you know we were pointing out the $3.99 price increase way before Marvel made it official.  For every email sent to Marvel, I either recieved no reply or a firm No Comment from the House of Ideas. Times are tough, I know, and a price increase is certainly one way to counteract the cost of print.  However, not everyone is as sympathetic with Marvel – including retailers. Take the jump to see what Robert Kimmons of Brainstorm Movies, Comics, and Gaming of Chicago, IL had to say in his…

Marvel has announced Obama-centric Amazing Spider-Man #583 is headed back to press for a fifth printing that is scheduled to arrive in stores on February 18, 2009. via Marvel