TokyoPop Manga: Psy-Comm

TokyoPop Manga: Dark Metro

Fantasy Flight Games Announces Warhammer ® Fantasy Roleplay ™ 3rd Edition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 12th 2009.

Fantasy Flight Games ('FFG') announced today they will release Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition, a new version of the classic roleplaying game set in Games Workshop's Warhammer world. This version features an entirely new innovative approach to role-playing, one that FFG hopes will attract a whole new generation of gamers to the role-playing experience.

'We're proud to re-introduce the Warhammer world to role-playing with this revolutionary approach,' said Christian T. Petersen, CEO of FFG. 'It is one that harnesses the flavor of prior WFRP editions, but brings about that experience in a more evocative, tactile, and visual way than the past,' he continued. 'We’ve worked long and hard to to publish a game that we hope will represent a positive paradigm shift in roleplaying game design, production, and play experience. This is not another re-tread of the traditional RPG approach, this is something new, something exciting. Something that existing RPG fans will want to test for themselves.'

The massive Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition box, which will retail for $99.95, contains everything a group of adventurers will need to play – four different rule-books, 36 custom dice, over 300 cards, counters, 'character keeper' boxes, and much more.

'We're bringing something new to the table,' added Jay Little, Senior RPG Developer for the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay line. 'This is a roleplaying system that captures the grim and gritty Warhammer world that fans have grown to love, wrapped up in an innovative design and shipped with the stunning production quality that FFG is known for.'

Jay Little will be hosting seminars showcasing Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition at the Gen Con games convention in Indianapolis, IN August 13-15, where a preview of the core set and its components will be on display in FFG’s booth. Preview articles will begin their publication on FFG's website – www.fantasyflightgames.com – in the weeks following the Gen Con convention and will continue leading up to the game's release this Fall.


About Fantasy Flight Games:
Fantasy Flight Games is a publisher of board, card, and role-playing games based in Roseville, MN. Founded in 1995 by Christian T. Petersen, Fantasy Flight has published hundreds of successful titles, including Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game, the Lord of the Rings series of board games; board and card games based on H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos and George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones, and many original board games such as Twilight Imperium, Runebound, and Descent: Journeys in the Dark.

For more information, visit the Fantasy Flight Games website at www.fantasyflightgames.com.

For further information:
Fantasy Flight Games
Jeremy Stomberg
jstomberg@fantasyflightgames.com
Phone: (651) 639 1905

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay © Games Workshop Limited 1986, 2005. This edition © Games Workshop Limited 2009. Games Workshop, Warhammer, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, the foregoing marks’ respective logos and all associated marks, logos, places, names, creatures, races and race insignia/devices/logos/symbols, vehicles, locations, weapons, units and unit insignia, characters, products and illustrations from the Warhammer World and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay game setting are either ®, TM and/or © Games Workshop Ltd 1986-2009, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world. This edition published under license to Fantasy Flight Publishing Inc. Fantasy Flight Games and the FFG logo are trademarks of Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved to their respective owners.

Six Years of Bootie

It's the 6th Anniversary of BootieSF and BootieSL and Club Republik are part of the show. There's a cover charge to hear the music in real life, but in Second Life all you have to do is show up and have fun (and maybe tip your DJs too).

For the 6th Anniversary of Bootie in San Francisco, they're throwing a party that is not just one but two nights long -- tonight and tomorrow. Plus, come to BootieSL in Second Life and hear Second Life's best mashup DJs: DJ Walton Vieria and Miss Cyberpink setting the tone for the nights with their opening DJ sets. Friday hear a special edition of DJ Walton Vieria's Boot Camp for the anniversary party and Saturday drop in to hear Miss Cyberpink's Mash and Grab start things off. The fun in Second Life starts at 7pm SLT with these DJ's sets and then continues at 9pm SLT with a live free of the party in San Francisco.

Click here for a SLurl to take you to Club Republik in Second Life.

My setlist for the special edition of the Boot Camp:

1. Wax Audio - George W. Bush's Imagine (Full Version) (2:18)
2. Copycat - Film Girls in Town (Little Boots vs. Duran Duran) (5:13)
3. DJ Schmolli - Bulletproof Radar (La Roux vs. Britney Spears) (3:25)
4. team9 - Screaming Pro (Beck vs. AC/DC vs. Micheal Jackson) (3:52)
5. Simon Iddol - Don't Stop The Dance (4:33)
6. DJ Le Clown - U Not Alone (Will Smith vs Michael Jackson vs The Beatles) (4:44)
7. Divide & Kreate - Forever Denser (Alphaville vs The Killers) (3:50)
8. ToToM - Slave to David Bowie (Roxy Music vs. David Bowie) (4:05)
9. DJ Schmolli - The Trooper Believer (Iron Maiden vs. The Monkees) (3:42)
10. Scott Cairo - Macamuppet (The Doors vs. The Muppets vs. The Macarena) (5:36)
11. Chaos Productions - Wordy Girl (Edwyn Collins vs. Tom Tom Club vs. Chicks On Speed) (3:07)
12. Bobby Martini - Killer Client (Extended 'Hattie' Mix)(Killers vs Client) (7:50)
13. Party Ben - Egy Ket Skank (Fatboy Slim VS Belga) (6:52)
14. Jerver73 - Fuck Word Up (Peaches vs. Cameo) (2:11)
15. Lionel Vinyl - Half Arsed Beats Party Favour No. 1 (Deee-Lite vs. Salt-N-Pepa) (6:33)
16. DJ Lumpy - Fight a Hero (Aphrodite vs. Bonnie Tyler) (5:05)
17. DJ Tripp - Busy French Saviour (Beastie Boys vs. Le Tigre & Rapture) (3:42)
18. Agent Lovelette - Une Professional Destruction (3:01)
19. Miss Frenchie - Camisra Slash Nation Dot Com (Fatboy Slim vs. Unknown) (3:10)
20. Scott Cairo - Rhinestone Cowboy (Glen Campbell vs. Disco Assassins) (3:33)
21. DJ Earworm - I've Got Seventeen Angels (Eurythmics vs. Ladytron & Chic) (6:06)
22. Party Ben - Poker Face (Just What I Needed) (3:07)
23. Mike W Twitch - Pop Up the Muzik (M vs. M.A.R.R.S.) (6:05)
24. lobsterdust - I Will Survivor (Gloria Gaynor vs. Survivor) (3:34)
25. Dublxero - Who's Diner (Suzanne Vega vs. Stereo MC's) (3:07)
26. Pheugoo - In Your Pony Eyes (Pony Pony Run Run VS Kylie Minogue) (4:11)
27. Divide & Kreate - Dance Dreams (Lady Gaga vs. Eurythmics) (3:49)
28. MP3J - Youve Got To Hide Your Lighthouse (The Beatles vs. Fireman) (2:51)
29. MadMixMustang (20 Fingers vs. Enur vs. Vanilla Ice vs. Sesame Street) - The Ice Cream Mash (3:23)
30. World Famous Audio Hacker - Piece Of Me (World Famous Audio Hacker Mix-Up) (4:52)

Click here for the SLurl to take you to Club Republik and two night of BootieSL.

Life in Comics: The Shape of the Industry - 8/3/2009 5:27:00 PM - Publishers Weekly

This is an interesting viewpoint that I think gets lost in the shuffle of big budget comic movies and over-hyped summer comic events. Click through and give this a read.

In March, the New York Times inaugurated its Graphic Books best seller list, just in time to acknowledge the runaway sales of Watchmen, as the trade paperback reaped the benefits of movie hype. ('Comics have finally joined the mainstream,' wrote George Gene Gustines in the NYT's Arts Beat Blog, perhaps a little self-servingly.)

At Comic-Con, the line for Bryan Lee O'Malley created a lively wall of fans of his graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim, currently in film production with Michael Cera as its lead. O'Malley has been popular for a long time, but news of the movie seems to have pushed that popularity to comics rock stardom. (I admit that I had a twinge of 'I liked Bryan Lee O'Malley before he was cool! Even before Scott Pilgrim!' as I inched my way around this wall.)

But this isn't just another commentary about comics and Hollywood. I've been thinking about it in the context of what Comics Reporter writer Tom Spurgeon recently wrote: 'A successful convention rarely leads to increased industry success because the infrastructure is damaged in fundamental ways....' You can substitute 'convention' for 'comic book movie' in that sentence—or anything at all, really—and it remains just as true.

Diana Jones Shortlist

SHORTLIST FOR 2009 DIANA JONES AWARD ANNOUNCED

Two RPGs, a card-game, a mystery and a Scandinavian collective vie for hobby-gaming's most exclusive trophy

The committee of the Diana Jones Award has released the shortlist for its 2009 award. This year the shortlist contains five nominees that in the opinion of the committee exemplify the very best that hobby-gaming has produced in the last twelve months. In alphabetical order, they are:

Dominion, a card game by Donald X. Vaccarino (published by Rio Grande Games)
Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition, a role-playing game by Rob Heinsoo, Mike Mearls and James Wyatt (published by Wizards of the Coast)
Jeepform, a game-style from Scandinavia (fostered by the Vi åker jeep collective: http://jeepen.org/)
Mouseguard, a role-playing game by Luke Crane (published by Archaia Studios Press)
Sweet Agatha, a mystery game by Kevin Allen Jr (self-published)

The winner of the 2009 Award will be announced on Wednesday 12th August, at the annual Diana Jones Award and Freelancer Party in Indianapolis, the unofficial start of the Gen Con Indy convention.

ABOUT THE AWARD
The Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming was founded and first awarded in 2001. It is presented annually to the person, product, company, event or any other thing that has, in the opinion of its mostly anonymous committee of games industry luminaries, best demonstrated the quality of “excellence” in the world of hobby-gaming in the previous year. The winner of the Award receives the Diana Jones trophy.

The short-list and eventual winner are chosen by the Diana Jones Committee, a mostly anonymous group of games-industry alumni and illuminati.

Past winners include Peter Adkison, Jordan Weisman, the role-playing games Nobilis, Sorcerer, and My Life with Master, and the board-game Ticket to Ride. This is the ninth year of the Award.

CONTACT
For more information, see the website www.dianajonesaward.org or contact the committee directly: committee@dianajonesaward.org

MARVELman Belongs To Marvel Comics

The biggest news of Comic Con International in San Diego was revealed moments ago and jaws are still on the floor-the world-renowned super hero MARVELMAN is now part of the Marvel Comics family! Marvel Comics has purchased the rights to MARVELMAN from creator Mick Anglo and his representatives, finding a home for one of the most sought after heroes in graphic fiction!

'It is an honor to work with Mick Anglo to bring his creation to a larger audience than ever before,' said Dan Buckley, CEO & Publisher, Print, Animation & Digital Media, Marvel Entertainment Inc. 'Fans are in for something special as they discover just what makes Marvelman such an important character in comic book history.'

Originally created in 1954 by Mick Anglo and appearing in some of the most celebrated comic stories of all time, MARVELMAN is Micky Moran, a young reporter gifted with the power to save the world by simply uttering the word 'kimota!'

'I did not think it would ever happen,' said Mick Anglo. 'It's a wonderful thing to see my creation finally back.'

MARVELMAN is back and he's found a new home at Marvel Comics! What's next for Mick Anglo's legendary creation? Stay tuned to Marvel.com for all the news on Marvelman and this exciting new addition to the Marvel family!

And to join in the celebration, visit the Marvel Shop to purchase limited edition MARVELMAN t-shirts! Plus, this September, don't miss the MARVELMAN BY QUESADA POSTER exclusively at comic shops everywhere!

Court Rules DC & WB Didn't Violate Superman Licensing Agreement w/ Siegels

Another court decision has been made in the Siegel family’s tense relationship with DC Comics. By virtue of previous decisions, the heirs of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel have been co-owners with DC Comics of the Superman copyright from 1999 until now. In 2008, the Siegels alleged that DC, in licensing the Superman characters to Warner Bros. Entertainment for audiovisual projects including 'Smallville' and 'Superman Returns,' violated the terms of their profit-sharing agreement.

The plaintiffs felt that because Warner Bros. Entertainment and DC Comics are both part of the same corporate entity, the licensing fees paid to DC Comics in the period between 1999 and 2002 (for the aforementioned 'Smallville' and 'Superman Returns' projects) were below market value. Essentially, the Siegels argued that DC Comics gave Warner Bros. Entertainment a 'sweetheart deal,' which would result in DC (and due to their co-ownership, the Siegels) not receiving as much money as they would in a traditionally 'fair market deal.'

In today’s decision, the court ruled that DC and Warner Bros. Entertainment did indeed participate in a 'fair market deal,' and that the Siegels are not entitled to any payments beyond the terms of the audiovisual licenses as they presently stand.

Braveheart writer will revise McG's Captain Nemo script

Disney is bringing in Braveheart writer Randall Wallace to rewrite Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, a new movie based on the classic Jules Verne novel. Terminator Salvation's McG will direct.

Warner Bros. seals up Midway acquisition

With no other bidders emerging for Midway Games, Warner Bros. has bought most of the company’s assets for $33 million, including the “Mortal Kombat” franchise as well as the company’s legacy arcade games, such as “Joust” and “Spy Hunter”.Mkvsdc

The bankruptcy judge overseeing the sale apparently wasn’t swayed by Threshold Entertainment’s argument that film producer Larry Kasanoff was the driving creative force in the franchise. (The Chicago Tribune quotes the judge as saying the objections, as well as those of Vin Diesel-owned development studio Tigon Games were ‘resolved’.