James Bond film Skyfall begins filming; Batman trailer could be on the way; Lord of the Rings follows a War in the North
James Bond news, Dark Knight Rises preview coming, and Lord of the Rings gets a new videogame in this week’s Planet 46 Comics Podcast
(more…)
Felicia Day’s “The Guild” tops iTunes, returns on web, DVD, in comics
Felicia Day
In just the latest sign that geeks rule the earth, Felicia Day has topped Katy Perry with the No. 1 best-selling pop music video on iTunes in the United States and United Kingdom.
On Aug. 4, “Game On,” a Bollywood-themed gamer anthem by Day and the cast of the Web series “The Guild” topped Perry’s “California Gurls” on the chart. It’s the second music video for the “Guild” crew, who last year released “Do You Wanna Date My Avatar?”
“The Guild” is in its fourth season online as a Web series; the third season was recently released on DVD. “The Guild” follows the wacky real-world antics of a group of gamers who play a “World of Warcraft”-like game.
In a recent interview with The Oklahoman, Day, who created, writes and stars in the Web series, talked about the differences between creating a Web series and a traditional television show.
“The privilege I have with a Web series is that it doesn’t have to be as episodic as TV would be, where characters kind of stay emotionally static, and they go through different ideas every week,” Day said. “I think it’s important that like, just in real life, people are changed by what happens to them.”
She also said because people tend to watch Web series on a browser, they need to stay shorter and more on point.
“You can’t have as much space or time to tell the stories,” she said. “So you really have to kind of be ruthless and say we have to cut down to the bone.”
At Comic-Con International, it was announced that further “Guild” comics would be released this fall, following the well-received miniseries written by Day. She talked about writing the “Guild” miniseries and how it focused on some of the drama behind the characters.
“The comic, especially the way it started, is a lot more dramatic than some people actually expected,” Day said. “Because to me, these characters do come from a place of loneliness, and that’s why they’re together. So there is a hint of reality and a little bit of sadness in everybody. And for me, that’s kind of the basis of everybody finding themselves online.”
Day said she was pleased with the response, especially from comic-book fans.
“The biggest compliment is when somebody who’s a hard-core comic reader (gives) me a compliment, because I feel like comic guys and geeks are the most hardcore of the bunch, and I know they aren’t going to cut me any slack,” she said.
This fall, five one-shots featuring the main characters of “The Guild” will be released by Dark Horse. The first one-shot, “Vork,” will be co-written by Day and Jeff Lewis, who plays the Vork character.
“There is a lot more to be told in that format; because the great thing about comics is you don’t have to worry about the production values or how expensive something’s going to be to shoot, you just write it,” Day said.
- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
The Guild Season 3 DVD review
Felicia Day (“Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”) returns as Codex in the third DVD collection of the popular Web series “The Guild.”
As the third season begins, the group of gamer friends who make up the “Knights of Good” in a “World of Warcraft”-like game are fracturing. When they are publicly humiliated by a rival guild, The Axis of Anarchy, led by Fawkes (Wil Wheaton of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”), Vork (Jeff Lewis) resigns as leader, throwing the entire mess to Codex to handle.
A member short after Tink (Amy Okuda) defects to the Axis, Codex invites a new member to the Guild. Hoping to avoid asking love-struck Zaboo’s (Sandeep Parikh) sadistic new girlfriend, Riley (Michele Boyd), she instead invites Clara’s (Robin Thorsen) completely game-inept husband, George (Brett Sheridan). He’s so hopeless at the game, the group thinks he may be a saboteur.
Meanwhile, the Axis continues to humiliate the Knights, in game and out. Bladezz (Vincent Caso) nearly gets expelled after questionable materials are found in his locker; additionally, his modeling pictures are posted online with disastrous results.
Codex eventually pulls the group together for a final confrontation with the Axis that’s enthralling and hilarious. “The Guild” remains a must-watch for gamers, but even those who don’t play online games will recognize these characters. More clever and deeper than it gets credit for, “The Guild” is among the Web’s best series.
This DVD includes all 12 episodes from Season 3, along with bonus material not seen on the Internet.
— Matthew Price
Watchmen HeroClix are coming
According to CBR, NECA is releasing a Watchmen collector’s box set of HeroClix figures,to first be available at Comic-Con International in San Diego, then going on sale at comic and hobby stores. From NECA:
The Watchmen Collector’s Boxed Set includes 25 highly detailed, 3D miniatures including Dr. Manhattan, Rorschach, Nite Owl and Silk Spectre. The Collector’s Boxed Set, which includes a complete set of Watchmen HeroClix figures, comes in deluxe, display-quality packaging. The Watchmen HeroClix Dr. Manhattan Colossal Figure (sold separately) is built to movie-accurate scale and stands over 14 inches tall.
The figures are based on the movie versions of the characters.
“WizKids is very excited to add Watchmen to the HeroClix platform,” said WizKids/NECA president Lax Chandra in the release. “Watchmen is a groundbreaking movie which redefines the way costumed vigilantes are portrayed on the big screen. With 25 unique sculpts in the Collector’s Boxed Set, plus the colossal Dr. Manhattan figure, we’ve got a comprehensive offering that will satisfy both avid gamers and Watchmen movie fans.”
This could be a bellwether of things to come: Bleeding Cool recently reported that DC Comics was entertaining the idea of a Watchmen sequel, prequel or spinoff. From a dollars perspective, maybe this makes sense: Brian Hibbs’ Tilting at Windmills reported that “Watchmen” made up 5 percent of bookstore sales of graphic novels all by itself in 2009. Comics fans may have apoplexy, and Alan Moore will likely be less than thrilled. But given that Moore isn’t working for the publisher at present anyway, DC may not have that much to lose, from a financial perspective.
- Matt Price
Champions Online mini-game joins Facebook
Cryptic Studios, developers of Champions Online and Star Trek Online, has partnered with Lolapps to create a Facebook adventure set in the world of Champions Online.
According to a release, The Champions Online mini-game expands upon the story told within Champions Online, giving players a view into the events leading up to the alien Qularr attack on Millennium City. By working with Lolapps, creator of games such as Yakuza Lords and Diva Life, Cryptic Studios intends to introduce a broader audience of Facebook users to Champions Online.
“This is a great way for us to reach a new audience and introduce them to Champions Online,” said John Needham, CEO, Cryptic Studios, in a release. “The team at Lolapps has created a fun new adventure that dives into some of the back story of the Champions Universe and we’re very excited and happy to see their efforts go live.”
In the Champions Online Facebook mini-game, players will fight against a number of classic Champions villains and discover the origins and goals of the mysterious Sinister Syndicate.
Find out more at http://apps.facebook.com/championsonline
NECA acquires WizKids assets, including HeroClix
HeroClix fans may see the light at the end of the tunnel. The National Entertainment Collectibles Association, Inc. (NECA) has purchased the majority of the assets of WizKids, Inc. from The Topps Company, Inc.
This includes HeroClix, ActionClix, HorrorClix and SportsClix. Also acquired by NECA were the WizKids brand, the Pocketmodel Game family of games, including the Pirates of the Crimson Coast, Pirates of the Spanish Main and Pirates of the Cursed Seas games, and the Mage Knight line of games.
According to the release, the popular DC and Marvel HeroClix lines will continue under this new ownership, which has got to be a relief for the players who have been waiting to see if their game would return.
Click past the cut for the full release.
DC Universe Online trailer revealed
The trailer for DC Universe Online was revealed at E3. With comics talent including Marv Wolfman, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee on the game, I’m looking forward to it.
– Matt Price
PSP Go shown at E3
Joystiq took a look at the PSP Go at the E3 expo in Los Angeles. The new PSP go is about the size of an iPhone when collapsed and is set for an October release at $249.99. Ditching the proprietary UMD format, PSP Go games will be download-only. My first thought is, what makes this better than an iPhone? How many things do you want in your pockets? I suppose it will come down to what kind of games are available on the system and at what price.
- Matt Price
Topps closes WizKids; HeroClix to continue?
According to industry web site ICV2.com, Topps has announced it is shutting down the WizKids division of the company. WizKids was the company that premiered HeroClix, Mage Knight and Pirates of the Spanish Main. It was acquired by Topps in 2003; Topps itself was acquired in 2007 by Michael Eisner’s Tornante Company and Dearborn Partners, ICV2 reports.
Topps said in the statement it was pursuing “strategic alternatives so that viable brands and properties, including HeroClix, can continue without any noticeable disruption.”
This is rough news for fans of the WizKids games, and even moreso, obviously, for the people who worked there. Will HeroClix continue, and will it do so as a game focused on the hobby gaming market? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
– Matt Price
Need “Scrabble” help?
Gary Schwarzbard got tired of losing to his mom at Scrabble, and thus, Scrabblebard was born.
“My Mom is an excellent Scrabble player,” Schwartzbard said in a news release. “While playing with the family (at) Thanksgiving a few years ago, I had an idea to develop an application that would help me become a better player and to beat the socks off my mother.”
His Web site determines every possible play given the rack of letters and the letters on the board. Now, if you’re playing over a board face-to-face with someone, they may notice that you’re checking Scrabblebard every play; however, if you’re a Facebook player of Scrabulous, you’re a lot more likely to get away with it.
– Matt Price
