Batman 676 variant from Tony Daniel’s blog.
Kyle Roberts and I discuss the first part of “Batman: R.I.P.” in “Batman” #676. We also talk about the upcoming “Gotham Knight” anime DVD starring Batman, and “The Dark Knight,” the upcoming film starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. Check it all out at this week’s comic podcast.
– Matt Price
Photo: Michael Pasquale / Mezco Toyz
From NBC:
“HEROES” ACTION FIGURES TO HIT STORES THIS SUMMER
Burbank, CA — NBC Universal Television, DVD, Music and Consumer Products Group has teamed with Mezco Toyz to introduce the first set of collectible figures based on the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated hit series “Heroes.” Hitting shelves in June, the first of three sets planned for this year include five main characters and will be available in specialty stores, major retail outlets, online retailers and NBCstore.com, as well as the NBC Experience Store.
Included in the first set of characters are: “Claire Bennet,” the heroine cheerleader with incredible recuperative powers; “Hiro Nakamura,” the office worker with the ability to bend time and space; “Peter Petrelli,” the most powerful of all the heroes with the ability to absorb the powers of others; “Mohinder Suresh,” a genetics professor from India who truly believes there are people with super powers living among us; and of course, “Sylar,” a manipulative and murderous villain. Mezco’s award-winning artists designed the seven inch scale action figures, which boast highly detailed features and extremely accurate accessories. Mezco will also provide an assortment of alternate heads and variant figures for the “Heroes” collectibles.
“The drama and intrigue of ‘Heroes’ has captured the imagination of so many fans around the world and we are really pleased to be able to introduce these special collectibles as part of the growing ‘Heroes’ brand,” said Kim Niemi, Senior Vice President of NBC Universal. “We are certain that the loyal ‘Heroes’ fans will feel that these figures reflect the action and excitement of the series and we look forward to introducing additional characters in the months to come.”
“NBC has a rich and proud history and Mezco is very excited to become a part of that tradition,” said Mike Drake, Director of Special Projects for Mezco. “Having our first series of seven inch ‘Heroes’ action figures on display at the storied ‘30 Rock’ building in New York City is truly a dream come true for us and seeing the excitement of the ‘Heroes’ fans as they view the figures makes the dream all the more sweeter.”
“Heroes,” which will return to NBC in the fall for a third season, chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities. In its first season, the epic drama was honored with a People’s Choice Award, an AFI Award, a Multicultural Prism Award and the TV Land Future Classic Award, as well as the TV Critics Association Awards’ Outstanding Program of the Year and nominations at the Golden Globe Awards, NAACP Image Awards, WGA Awards and Satellite Awards.
From Konami:
El Segundo, Calif. - March 15, 2008 - Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced the availability of a limited edition Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system bundle for North America. Featuring a Gun Metal Gray PLAYSTATION®3 system with a 40GB hard drive, the bundle also includes a matching DUALSHOCK®3 wireless controller and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Limited Edition game. The bundle will be exclusively available at Konami’s website, www.konami.com, for a SRP of $599.99. Pre-sell for the bundle begins on May 19th, 2008, and limited supplies are available.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake, which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the earth to foil Liquid Ocelot’s plans for total world domination.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is rated “M” for Mature by the ESRB and will be available on June 12, 2008 exclusively on the PLAYSTATION®3 system. The Standard Edition of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will be priced at $59.99 SRP while the Limited Edition will be priced at $84.99 SRP and only available at Gamestop retailers. The Limited Edition PLAYSTATION®3 system bundle SRP is $599.99, and pre-orders start on May 19th. For more information, please visit www.konami.com.
Nerdage received a heads-up e-mail from Bob “Mr. Media” Andelman about Friday’s guest. This could very well be of interest to Nerdage readers:
David Hajdu, author of the bestseller “The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America,” will be the live guest on the Mr. Media podcast on Friday, May 16 at 1 p.m. EST.
The one-hour show is broadcast live over BlogTalkRadio.com and takes listener calls. There is also an accompanying web chat.
Listeners can catch the interview live - or later as a downloadable archive here:
– Matt Price
Journalista is reporting the death of Mad magazine pioneer and Little Annie Fanny co-creator Will Elder at 86.
Elder was born as Wolf Eisenberg in New York City on September 22, 1921. He attended New York’s High School of Music & Art. After graduation, he was drafted and saw action in World War II, at the Battle of the Bulge, according to science-fiction writer Steve Stiles‘ article about the artist.
Returning from the war, he eventually formed an art studio with Harvey Kurtzman, and found his way to E.C. Comics by 1951, where he frequently worked as an inker for John Severin.
Elder was one of the original Mad magazine artists when the magazine launched in late 1952, spearheaded by Kurtzman. Elder’s parodies of characters including Mickey Mouse, Sherlock Holmes and other well-known characters put him at the forefront of Mad illustrators.
In 1962, Elder and Kurtzman began “Little Annie Fanny” for Playboy. Elder worked on “Annie Fanny” until his retirement in 1988.
“A finer cartoonist never lived,” said Eric Reynolds of Fantagraphics, who published a retrospective on Elder’s work in 2003.
The funeral is scheduled to take place on Sunday in New Jersey.
1007
Brian Cronin at CBR points out some ways to help longtime Marvel and DC artist Gene Colan, who is hospitalized without health insurance.
Clifford Meth will be handling a tribute with proceeds going to Gene Colan:
Aardwolf Publishing will be publishing Meth, Colan & Other Theologians, the proceeds of which will go directly and immediately to Gene and Adrienne Colan. The new book will include everything that was in Perverts, Pedophiles & Other Theologians (the short-fiction collection that Gene and I did together for Aardwolf in 1997) plus two never-before-published stories illustrated by Gene. This will be a limited edition (aprox. 100 pages) of only 500 copies, all signed and numbered. You can order it NOW by sending (via PayPal) $20 plus $3 shipping to: sales@aardwolfpublishing.com
Daniel at 2oth Century Danny Boy provides an address for postcards and Get Well Cards:
Gene Colan
2 Sea Cliff Avenue
Sea Cliff, NY 11579
USA
Colan’s work on “Tomb of Dracula” made for one of the best comic-book runs of the 1970s. Colan was also involved with “Daredevil,” “Batman,” “Captain America” and dozens more.
– Matt Price
Comic Zone Radio talked about the rise and fall of Sparkle City Comics with Jay Maybruck, one of the most prominent comic-book dealers of the 70s and 80s, in a recent podcast. Check it out here.
– Matt Price
Marvel has provided an early look at the Gabriel Dell’Otto variant to “Ultimate Origins” #1.
StarWars.com has the trailer for “Star Wars: Clone Wars” that aired this past weekend with “Speed Racer.”
