Archive for February, 2010
Key Superhero Issues reach new heights at auction.
February 27th, 2010 | 
Author: 
Just a few days ago, the first appearance of Superman, Action Comics No. 1, sold for an extraordinary 1 million dollars. Now, the Caped Crusader has broken that record. According to the Associated Press, Detective Comics No. 27, Batman’s first appearance in 1939, was auctioned off for $1,075,500. All parties remain anonymous. The transaction was overseen by Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas. Both comics were graded an 8.0 out of 10, which is stunning for books of that age, with numbers in circulation dwindling. This shows that it doesn’t take superpowers to win the comic arms race; only a fanboy with a bank account that could give Bruce Wayne himself a run for his money.
—ExSleepyInk
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God of War Media BlowOut
The end of the greatest series to come out of Sony is upon us. God of War 3 is a Titan size 35gb. And an awesome exclusive for the PS3. Coming out on March 16th, no one that has a a PS3 should miss out on this game. I just may have to stop playing Final Fantasy XIII for a bit to play this. For the little bit of time that we still have to wait, enjoy these videos that show us exactly what we’ll be getting in a few weeks. “My Vengeance Ends Now!!!”
Mark Strong Confirmed as Sinestro
Fan favorite and newly appointed wunderkind of creative affairs at DC Entertainment, Geoff Johns, just visited the set of the Green Lantern movie in New Orleans. He left some small production tidbits on Twitter, such as “Mark Strong is going to be a brilliant Sinestro”, while also adding “Kilowog, the Guardians, Oa…all breathtaking”. I agree on the casting of Strong, as I hope it begins to ease the pain of not seeing Nathan Fillion as the headstrong Hal Jordan in the G.L. costume. I know you all wait with bated breath, as we do at FHTI, for some pictures and further story details. We’ll keep you posted as it comes to us. On a sidenote; if you haven’t been reading Blackest Night, it is one of the craziest Lantern storylines to date. Penned by Johns, it now involves the whole spectrum of ring colors reluctantly teamed up against one common threat…Nekron and Black Hand’s Black Lanterns. With two issues left at this point, will they stop death from bringing the entirety of creation back to complete and utter darkness? Well, since the upcoming series is dubbed Brightest Day, I’m guessing the good guys triumph, but it is certainly still worth a read. With Barry Allen being reborn, after being lost to the speedforce, and the Return of Bruce Wayne, DC is certainly making big moves and upping the ante.—ExSleepyInk
Splinter Cell Conviction: Story Trailer
Hopefully we can rest assured the Splinter Cell Conviction will hold to it’s April 14th release date. If by some unknown reason you have no idea what this game is about you should really look at this trailer. For all Xbox 360 owners, this is the stealth action shooter we’ve been waiting for.
Indie Writer David V. Mammina. An Expose’.
Once in a while you’re faced with the rare oppurtunity to meet one of the people who inspire you; whether it be a sports figure, actor, author, or comic book creator. These moments are what fuel you to want to go on and make something great, to be something bigger, to achieve your long dormant goals. These are the people who, when given a face, when shaking your hand, make all these dreams that much more real; that much more attainable. Hearing their struggles, learning of the long road they took to finally be worthy of your admiration, seeing that they have acne too; these are the things that are, hopefully, the proverbial kick in the butt(and if nothing else, at least make us feel that anything is possible because we are all humans). But, of course, sadly, these moments come few and far in between. Maybe at the yearly convention (if you can make it), or straggling at a baseball game, or the ever popular chain-bookstore signing, where you get a passing glimpse and a cliche’ adage written on your book jacket. And albeit run-of-the-mill for the over-stimulated artist, or the sweaty and exhausted baseball player, and the disillusioned, jetlagged, black-frame wearing, “What city am I in again?”, bestselling author; that one moment can be a milestone for any of us fans.
Well, some of us get one better; some of us are good friends with those who they admire(those who push them to accomplish dreams they’ve been putting off). I’ve known Dave Mammina for at least half of my life, and he has changed little. He has always been not only a force unto himself, but a person of great character. He is one of the funniest people I have ever met and it seems to come from such a natural and confident place. Those fortunate enough to know him can attest to this. Dave, among other things, is also a dedicated writer. He published his first book in 2005 and it’s sequel the following year; the Angels of Resistance saga. It’s a story about an evil force that invades the planet, and the group of heroes and heroines that band together to stop it and uncover the truth behind its arrival. Being that he started writing his first around the end of his highschool career, between working and a college education, he has since gone back and combined the two into a more concise, trimmed down, and better editted Epic Collection of the two. 
I know he would suggest people who wanted to get the most out of it to try that on for size. In 2008 he published Protector of Children: Assassin’s Dreams. This story was a bit of a departure from his previous projects. It centers around a secret society of assassins called C.A.S.T. that are charged with silencing countless deadly threats before the public even knows they ever existed, and furthermore, a rogue agent who is cursed with a mental illness and isn’t sure whether he is being given orders by God to fulfil a righteous mission, or if he is merely going insane. This richly thought out thriller takes place a great deal on Long Island, New York. Within the last month David has released his latest work; Paltronis. It is his first illustrated novella, and, like C.S.Lewis, celebrates a more fairytale format. You get a glimpse into the author’s heart and mind when you realize his themes constantly convey the classic battle between good and evil. Namely, the power of good prevailing. You can tell how strongly he feels on the matter. It is refreshing to still see that in a world where we aren’t sure who the heroes are anymore; a world of flip-flopping sides; a world where we sometimes find ourselves routing for charasmatic villains more and more; in short, a world that thrives in the grey area.
Mr. Mammina is a steadfast writer, but, due to modesty, hasn’t always been the best self promoter, so please check out his site http://mamminabooks.com/ for more information about the author, and ways to purchase his books. His new one will be in both soft and hardcover formats, and they should be wherever books are sold online soon enough. Please support your independent artists and writers, they’ll remember you for it. Below are descriptions of his work thus far.
The Angels of Resistance (The Epic Collection) 2005, 2006,2009
When an unfathomable evil force known as the Demon Plague mysteriously invades the planet, bands of heroes and heroines must unite with each other in order to survive. A unique fighting force lead by a noble sage apprentice, Michael Miuriell, fights for their lives to repel the demons and uncover the truth behind their arrival.
Dark Fantasy/Drama
Paltronis 2010
In Mammina’s first fairy tale novel, the theories of justice and corruption are tested. This tale is about a ghostly knight named Spirit Warrior who dared to defend his own people against an assortment of villains, including that of an evil corrupt king and a vengeful sorcerer. In a quest to secure justice and peace, Spirit Warrior selflessly challenges all obstacles at once–giving rise to this classic saga.
Dark Fantasy
C.A.S.T., the Covert Alliance of Selective Termination, is a secret government society dedicated to exterminating the most dangerous criminals in the U.S. For decades, this clandestine band of legal assassins, organized and governed as a classic chivalric society, has “silenced” thousands of dangerous persons, ranging from serial killers to terrorists.
As C.A.S.T. member Vincent Putnam purues his calling to rid the world of evil, he must do battle with a special set of demons. This story is about an assassin diagnosed with schizophrenia, choosing a side on Long Island. This is the tale of a quest, a look into the mind of a man who challenges
the boundaries of faith and sanity, and the meaning of reality.
Fiction thriller/Fantasy
DC Entertainment Names Executive Management Team
Source:DC Entertainment
February 18, 2010
DC Entertainment, founded in September 2009 to unleash the power of the DC Comics library of characters across all media platforms, has named its executive management team, including new co-publishers of DC Comics and a Chief Creative Officer, as well as heads of Sales/Marketing/Business Development and Finance/Administration. Diane Nelson, President, DC Entertainment, made the announcement today.
The new senior executive team includes Jim Lee and Dan DiDio, who have been named Co-Publishers of DC Comics, and Geoff Johns, who will serve as Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment. Additionally, John Rood has been named Executive Vice President, Sales, Marketing and Business Development, and Patrick Caldon will serve as Executive Vice President, Finance and Administration. Each of these executives will report directly to Nelson.
“DC Entertainment’s new executive team is a creative ‘dream team,’ with accomplishments and talent unrivaled in the business,” said Nelson. “This announcement continues and underscores DC’s legacy as the ultimate destination for creators. We’ll benefit enormously from the deep experience this team represents, while re-energizing the direction and focus of the company. I’m excited and honored to have each of them with me at the helm of DC Entertainment.”
“With this new leadership team, Diane will be able to fully and respectfully integrate DC’s brand and characters, not only as key content drivers in the film division, but across all of the businesses of Warner Bros. and Time Warner,” said Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group. “I am very proud and excited about the accomplished executives who are charged with expanding this powerful library. They each have a diverse and complementary skill-set and are deeply committed to contributing to the DC Comics legacy.”
Prior to his current post, Lee served as Editorial Director, where he oversaw WildStorm Studios and was also the artist for many of DC Comics’ bestselling comic books and graphic novels, including “All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder,” “Batman: Hush” and “Superman: For Tomorrow.” He also serves as the Executive Creative Director for the upcoming DC Universe Online massively multiplayer action game from Sony Online Entertainment.
Lee is an award-winning comic book illustrator/creator/publisher who started his professional career at Marvel Comics where his work on the X-Men continues to hold the all-time sales record for single issue sales at eight million copies sold in one month. At Marvel, he also drew the Punisher and co-created many characters, the most popular being Gambit, featured in 2009’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” feature film. In 1992, he started his own production company, WildStorm Productions, and co-founded Image Comics, an independent comics company which quickly grew to become the number-three North American comics publisher. His most notable creations, “WildCats” and “Gen 13,” saw life beyond comic books as a CBS Saturday morning cartoon and as a direct-to-video animated movie distributed by Disney, respectively. In 1998, he left Image Comics and sold WildStorm to DC Comics.
DiDio most recently served as Senior Vice President and Executive Editor, DC Universe, overseeing the editorial department for the DC Universe imprint, including the ongoing adventures of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and scores of heroes and villains. He also worked to develop new titles with the industry’s premier writers and artists. At DC Comics, DiDio has spearheaded such bestselling projects as “All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder,” “Identity Crisis,” Green Lantern, Teen Titans and The Outsiders.
Before joining DC in 2002, DiDio was with Mainframe Entertainment, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President, Creative Affairs, overseeing the development, distribution, marketing and promotion of all Mainframe’s television properties. Prior to that, he served as Executive Director of Children’s Programming for ABC, where he was also a publicity manager, having started his television career at CBS, working in a variety of positions.
Johns builds on his current role at DC from being one of today’s most prolific, popular and award-winning contemporary comic book writers with this new executive role. He is a New York Times bestselling author who has written highly acclaimed stories revitalizing Green Lantern, Superman, the Flash, Teen Titans, and the Justice Society of America for DC Comics.
Johns began his comics career creating and writing “Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.” for DC Comics while at the same time working with film director Richard Donner. After acclaimed runs on Flash, Teen Titans and the bestselling “Infinite Crisis” mini-series, Johns co-wrote a run on Action Comics with his mentor, Donner. Johns has also written and produced for various other media, including the acclaimed “Legion” and “Absolute Justice” episodes of Warner Bros. Television’s “Smallville” and Adult Swim’s “Robot Chicken” and “Titan Maximum.” He also wrote the story of the DC Universe Online massively multiplayer action game from Sony Online Entertainment.
Rood returns to Warner Bros. after 10 years with the Disney ABC Television Group, where he most recently was Senior Vice President of Marketing, ABC Family. While at ABC, he also consulted for ABC News during the recent transitions at “Good Morning America” and “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer.”
Prior to Disney, Rood worked for six years at Warner Bros. Consumer Products, negotiating promotional deals with national advertisers using Warner Bros.’ properties, including the DC Comics characters. He has also worked in promotions for Equity Marketing on the Burger King account and in advertising for Leo Burnett on the McDonald’s and Miller Brewing accounts.
Caldon most recently served as Executive Vice President, Finance and Operations of DC Comics and MAD Magazine. Before that, he served as Senior Vice President, Finance and Operations, and his other posts at DC include Vice President, Finance and Operations, and Controller, the position in which he joined the company in 1985. Prior to joining DC Comics, Caldon spent a decade at Warner Communications in corporate accounting and as Senior Vice President and CFO of the Cosmos soccer team (owned by Warner Communications at the time).
DC Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, is charged with strategically integrating the DC Comics business, brand and characters deeply into Warner Bros. and all its content and distribution businesses. DC Entertainment utilizes the expertise the Studio has in building and sustaining franchises to prioritize the DC properties as key titles and growth drivers across all of the Studio, including feature films, television, interactive entertainment, direct-to-consumer platforms and consumer products. The DC Comics publishing business is the cornerstone of DC Entertainment, releasing approximately 90 comic books through its various imprints and 30 graphic novels a month as well as continuing to build on its creative leadership in the comic book industry.
So, what are your thoughts, friends?
—ExSleepyInk
New Trailer For Super Street Fighter 4: 3 New Characters
Wow!!!! That was really quick on delivering some solid information the last three characters to join the SSF4 roster. Buy it. Play it. Love it.
Halo: Reach ViDoc: Once More Into The Breach
I am not a Halo or Microsoft fan. But I am a big fan of fiction.It seems at last Microsoft is turning back to it’s roots. Story is very much a pillar in gaming. And even shooters have become rich in their story telling. Leaving Modern Warfare out of that circle. Anyway, Halo Reach is looking to be that sci fi shooter it was originally known for. Take a peek at how things are taking shaping at Bungie.
3 More For Super Street Fighter 4
With all the hoopla going on about the release of SSF4 in April, everyone is waiting to see more. hints of other characters have been there from day one. Now we have almost official news of who those characters are. Some people may say it’s fake, but come on already. A picture is worth a thousand words……if it’s not photoshopped. Here’s Dudley, Makoto, and Ibuki from Street Fighter 3rd Strike.
