Forever Geek

Whatever Happened To The Reprint Market?
Bungie Aerospace Is Not What You Were Hoping For
The Awesomeness that is Army of Darkness Defense
Whoa! Never Seen David Tennant Like THIS

Whatever Happened To The Reprint Market?

Posted: 01 Jul 2011 03:08 AM PDT

Classic X-Men #15, retelling the death of the Phoenix

And no, I do not mean trade paperbacks. I mean the good old-fashioned monthly comic. Remember Marvel Tales? Or Marvel Triple Action for that matter? It was these titles that as a young reader, drew me into the rich history of the Marvel Universe, rather than just focusing on the hottest and newest events.

Reliant as I was at that age on the newsstand, as the direct market was only just in its infancy, there was little other ways I could have been drawn into the urge for back issues, never mind having that desire fulfilled.

Of course the concept evolved over time. Enter the Classic X-Men, reprinting stories, but with each having an eight-page back up strip that a) expanded on the story or b) retroactively introduced elements to the story that could be utilised again. Easily a concept that could be utilised in today's fashions.

Of course, now we are firmly in the age of reboots and retcons, this could be a very useful tool. However, the concept evolved itself out of existence, if we look at teh poorly executed ‘Professor Xavier and the X-Men’, which if I remember correctly, barely lasted for eighteen issues.

In the age of direct market shops and digital archives, is there a place for such a product? Every store is burdened with endless back issue stock, while the popular stories can be found collected in the trade paperbacks.

But….

There is always discussion about attracting new readers, how comics are competing for the entertainment dollars with the gaming industry, and how the average age of the comics' reader is rising.

What youngsters have the cash for a trade paperback, and even if they have, does a complete story deliver the urge to come back for more? Where now do parents get the opportunity to just grab a comic off the rack to give their child something to keep them quiet on the long journey they are about to take? Or just to keep them occupied for an hour?

Are they really going to swing by the local comic book store to pick up an issue? With the loss of the newsstand, there lies the loss of potentially thousands of new readers, who despite the many Hollywood movies remain unlikely to visit such stores, either due to geography or finance.

Reprints of such stalwart favourites such as the Hulk or Batman, Superman or the Fantastic Four could and should be made available on the newsstand. So what if they must be sale or return? These are loss leaders at worst, and at best recruit a whole new generation of readers with a passion for their favourite heroes. Readers that will collect not just for months, but for years, their consumption growing in proportion to their income.

Overheads are low. There’s no creative team to be concerned with (unless as a safety the eight-page back up idea of Classic X-Men is continued, and these can be collected later in a trade or direct market specials). Use a lower quality of paper, comics used to be disposable (blasphemy, I know), which is what made original issues so very special.

After all, it’s a lot cheaper than producing a cartoon for the networks; but coupled with the cartoons, you have parental brand recognition, and entire new vistas open up for the industry.

Make them cheap, make them throwaway; but make them and get them out on the newsstands.

Bungie Aerospace Is Not What You Were Hoping For

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 03:24 PM PDT

bungieaerospacelogo 930x248 Bungie Aerospace Is Not What You Were Hoping For

Remember “Bungie Aerospace,” that new trademark registered by the makers of Halo? Sadly, it’s not in any way related to Bungie’s mysterious new mega-franchise. It’s not related to air and space travel, either. So what is it? Not what you’re guessing.

Bungie Aerospace, as announced today by the game company, is a new arm of their studio that’s devoted to indie mobile and social game publishing. As in, games for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Facebook. And in case you missed it: these aren’t games being created and developed by Bungie itself. These are games being made by unknown, “indie” developers, and shepherded through the publishing project with Bungie’s help.

Bungie says that Aerospace games will give indie studios access to Bungie’s proprietary resources, such as “the Bungie.net platform,” and the publicity that comes with being associated with one of the world’s best-known game developers. Bungie stressed that their staff will not be helping to create any of these games, as their entire workforce is “laser focused” on their new action game franchise.

Seattle developer Harebrained Schemes is the first beneficiary of a Bungie Aerospace partnership. Harebrained is known to fans as the people behind the Halo 2 viral campaign/game, “I Love Bees,” though they also created Wizkids, MechWarrior, Shadowrun, and lots more. Crimson is the codename for Harebrained’s first mobile game, launching this summer from Bungie Aerospace, for iOS and Android.

That’s all the details released by Bungie so far, but more indie studios and games are believed to already be in talks to sign on with Aerospace.

The Awesomeness that is Army of Darkness Defense

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 10:52 AM PDT

You can’t possibly question it. Army of Darkness was one of my favorite cult classics. So when we discovered that Army of Darkness Defense was available on FREE TO DOWNLOAD for a limited time (as of this writing it still is!), there was no question about it: It was my turn to defend the Necronomicon.

You star as Bruce Campbell’s most memorable B film character — the time traveling Ash — department store salesman brought back to a medieval age to help the humans defend their castle against the evil Deadite constructs. The Army of Darkness franchise is very much alive making its first crossover in Marvel Comics. This time, it’s Backflip Studio’s turn to churn out a game.

Army of Darkness Defense is a side scrolling defense game. The objective is simple: defend the Necronomicon (a powerful book that can help bring back Ash to the present time) from the Deadites that push their way forward into the castle gates. You play Ash and automatically fire your boom stick when near an enemy. At melee range you use your fists (upgradable to the chainsaw) to push back enemies. You also have the ability to summon help from the castle’s guards through the blacksmith and the power to harness magical and support abilities such as the Wrong Book and the Deathcoaster.

The in game references in Army of Darkness are spot on. Backflip Studios were huge fans, to be sure. This is the scene of the Wrong Book.

As you progress through wave after wave (50 in total), you gain the ability to upgrade and unlock more units. The strategy is deeply involving albeit repetitive after about halfway into the game but considering that the game is free with heartfelt production value, you will forgive some of the repetitiveness.

Backflip Studios did an amazing job with the soundtrack and voice overs, putting in all of the famous quotes (“This is my BOOMSTICK!”) from Ash and the Deadites.

Bottomline
Army of Darkness Defense is 100% worth it. Not just because the game is well-made but simply because it’s also free to download from the iTunes Store. You can’t get a better deal than this!

Download Now (opens iTunes Link)

Whoa! Never Seen David Tennant Like THIS

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 06:56 AM PDT

Scrape me off the floor with a spatula! I never knew David Tennant — aka the much-loved and respected 10th Doctor on Doctor Who — could look so grungy and bad-to-the-bone. To all the ladies out there: you’re welcome for this.

Aside from various appearances on British TV, global audiences haven’t seen or heard much from Tennant since he departed Doctor Who in early 2010 (to make way for Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor). Fright Night is a remake of a 1985 cult classic about a high schooler (played by Anton Yelchin — the new Star Trek‘s Chekov) who discovers that his new neighbor Jerry (Colin Ferrell) is really a vampire preying on the neighborhood. Christopher Mintz-Plasse co-stars as Yelchin’s best friend, Imogen Poots is the requisite girlfriend, and Tennant rounds out the cast as a macabre stage magician who knows a thing or two about slaying vamps. Expect loads of blood, gore, action, and dark comedy.

Just imagine if we could turn this guy loose on all those emo vampires from Twilight…

Check out more posters from the film below, courtesy of Empire.