DC Comics adds entire periodical line to Apple, Nook and Kindle Stores

Look, up on the Apple Store! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's the new addition of the entire line of DC Comics periodicals, which are also being added to the Kindle and Nook Stores today.

Apparently, it’s far easier to fight Darkseid and the demonic hordes of Apokolips than it is to break new ground in the digital distribution world. After all, DC Entertainment’s line of monthly comic books – including such hit titles as Batman, Green Lantern, Justice League and Action Comics – are more than a year from their much-publicized New 52 relaunch (from September 2011), but only now will they be offered on multiple digital platforms including Amazon’s Kindle Store, Apple’s iBookstore and Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Store.

The announcement of the partnerships was made earlier today as DC Entertainment confirmed that the entire line of DC Comics – which goes beyond the more well-known superhero line to include other imprints such as the mature reader Vertigo line and tie-in comics to such kid-friendly fare as Young Justice, Superman Adventures and various Cartoon Network cartoons – will be made available on what it called “the top three e-bookstores.” In the announcement, DC co-publisher Jim Lee said that, “As e-readers and tablets continue to explode in popularity, it’s important for us to offer consumers convenience and choice in how they download digital comics and graphic novels and these new distribution deals with the top three e-bookstores do just that. We’re very excited to work with Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble to bring bestselling DC Comics and Vertigo periodicals to their e-bookstores.”

Previously, only collected editions of these titles have been available through these three outlets, with the digital editions of the regular monthly print releases being limited to release through ComiXology.com (Initially, the collected editions were under exclusive release from Amazon, leading to Barnes & Nobles to pull the print editions of the books from their bookstores in protest; after the exclusivity period finished, both print and digital editions were added to B&N stores across the country). DC and ComiXology signed an exclusive partnership for the digitizing and digital distribution of their catalog in November 2010, initially beginning with back catalog material. In September 2011, coinciding with the publisher’s New 52 relaunch, ComiXology started to offer new releases on the same day as their print release; prices were set to match their print counterparts for the first four weeks of release, before dropping a dollar as each release became back catalog. DC has confirmed that its partnership with ComiXology is no longer an exclusive one, although it is unknown whether or not the new outlets will follow the ComiXology pricing model.

“We were the first to offer our entire comic book line same-day digital,” Lee continued, “and now we are the first to offer fans the convenience of multiple download options.” Each digital outlet will make the DC releases available as of today.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Superman Home: Planet Krypton ‘Found’ in Sky

A panel from DC Comics, in which astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson helps Superman find Krypton. Image: DC Entertainment.

Look!  Up in the sky!  It’s — oh, forget it.

Superman is, of course, a fictional character, the stuff of comics and movies.  But that didn’t stop DC Comics, which owns the Superman franchise, from enlisting the astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson to “find” the location of his lost home planet, Krypton.

It’s in the constellation Corvus the raven, in the southern sky not far from Virgo and Hydra.  The planet Krypton — not that it ever existed — would have orbited a red dwarf star called LHS 2520, Tyson concluded. The star is 27.1 light-years from Earth.

You’ll recall that according to the story, the baby Kal-El was sent in a spaceship to Earth by his parents, who knew that Krypton would soon be destroyed.  As an adult in the city of Metropolis, he disguises himself as Clark Kent, a reporter fighting a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way.  But he also has feelings.  In the newest comic, out this week, Tyson is seen helping the homesick Superman trace his roots.

It’s all a good bit of publicity — both for DC Comics and for Tyson, who directs New York’s Hayden Planetarium and has become a popular science communicator — but you can also tell he has tongue firmly planted in cheek.

“As a native of Metropolis,” said Tyson in a statement, “I was delighted to help Superman, who has done so much for my city over all these years.”

DC Entertainment, which says it approached Tyson, had its own take.  Co-publisher Dan DiDio said, “Having Neil deGrasse Tyson in the book was one thing, but by applying real world science to this story he has forever changed Superman’s place in history. Now fans will be able to look up at the night’s sky and say, ‘That’s where Superman was born.’”

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

Bam, pow, vroom: Cars and comic books

In comic books, mild-mannered reporters can fly, and cars can do some pretty amazing things too. These four-wheeled comics characters are the perfect rides for anyone with a fondness fro masked crime fighting, or zombie killing.

Car and nerd cultures rarely intersect, but when they do, great things can happen. Superheroes with more money than powers need a way to get places fast, and the cars writers and artists have created to get them to those places have become (almost) as famous as their drivers. Like any good comic book character, these cars are loaded down with gadgets and can hold their own against the bad guys.

Comic books take the real world and add a bit more action, so its not surprising that cars play such a big role in so many comics, just as they play a big role in brick-and-mortar existence. Here are a few of the best.

The Batmobile

The ultimate comic book car really needs no introduction. The Batmobile has taken on many guises over the years, from an essentially stock sedan to Christopher Nolan’s “Tumbler.” In between, there was the repurposed Lincoln Future concept car that drove Adam West to television stardom, and the winged wonders from Tim Burton’s films.

The Black Beauty

The Green Hornet has a lot in common with Batman: an orphan’s desire for revenge, a faithful sidekick, and a lack of superpowers. Given that, it’s not surprising that Britt Reid’s crime-fighting alter ego has a tricke out car of his own. The Hornet’s ride was designed by George Barris, who built the Adam West-era Batmobile. Based on a 1966 Chrysler Imperial, the Black Beauty is loaded with enough weapons to survive the apocalypse, let alone Mafia gangsters.

The Question’s Volkswagen Beetle

Hub City’s protector has no face (really the best way to protect your secret identity) and his ride of choice is equally anonymous. What appears to be a stock red VW Beetle is packed with a Porsche engine, racing shocks, and a Ferrari transmission. This ultimate stealth racer is actually somewhat plausible: early Porsches and Volkswagens shared many parts, so an engine swap isn’t out of the question. The Ferrari transmission is another story.

The Fujiwara Eight-Six

Before drifting became a real-world phenomenon, most fans read about it in the manga Initial D. It starred a tofu delivery boy named Tak Fujiwara and his trusty steed: a 1986 Toyota Corolla AE86, or “Eight Six” for short.

The cheap, tunable, rear-wheel drive Eight Six has always been a favorite of real life drifters, but it was still an underdog in the stories, which took place in Japan’s Gunma Prefecture. They always pitted the little Toyota against Mazda RX-7s, Mitsubishi Evos, and other high tech machines. Somehow, the Eight Six always came out on top.

The Devil Z

When wayward Japanese teenager Akio Asakura wanted a fast car to race on Tokyo’s expressways, he found a derelict Datsun 240Z whose owner, Akio Asakura, was killed in a crash. The Devil Z became the star of the manga series Wangan Midnight, beating everything from Nissan GT-Rs to a Ferrari Testarossa, while nearly killing its new owner on several occasions.

The Star-Spangled Kid’s Star Rocket Racer

Sylvester Pemberton wanted to fight crime, but he had no superpowers. He did have money, and apparently thought a flying car was an important investment for a crime-fighter. The Star Rocket Racer was definitely the coolest thing about the Star-Spangled Kid, or his sidekick, Stripesy. No set of wheels could keep this Captain America-wannabe from falling into obscurity.

S.H.I.E.L.D.’s flying car

Captain America likes to travel by parachute, but his less adventurous comrades at the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division need a way to keep up. Since Nick Fury first donned his eyepatch in the 1960s, top S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have had access to flying cars. They’re usually Porsches: Fury first took flight in a 904, and more recent comics have featured a Boxster.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Acuras

Flying cars didn’t fit the realistic tone of Marvel Comics’ movies, which gave Acura a great opportunity for product placement. Phil Coulson and his squad chased Thor around a desert in MDXs and ZDXs, then showed up in Marvel’s The Avengers with a fleet of matte black TLs. They looked good, but even Joss Whedon couldn’t explain why the U.S. government equipped its spies with Japanese cars.

Hyundai Elantra Coupe Zombie Survival Machine

Most comic book cars start out as drawings, only to rendered in metal later. Hyundai decided to do the opposite, turning its compact Elantra into the ultimate zombie killer for the 2012 San Diego Comic Con. The car was designed by Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, and was built to publicize Dead’s 100th issue.

With its plow and numerous pointy edges, the Elantra definitely looks like it would be useful during the zombie apocalypse, but one wonders why Hyundai didn’t use one of its beefier SUVs instead.

Mach 5

Speed Racer needed a fast car to win races, and the aptly named Mach 5 is just that. Unlike most comic book cars, it’s not just for ferrying superheroes to crimes; it’s a racecar. That doesn’t mean Speed went without gadgets: the Mach 5 can jump over other cars, or cut them apart with its handy circular saws. With those weapons concealed, the Mach 5 also looks as good as any car, real or fictional.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

ComiXology launches ‘Submit’ website for digital comic self-publishers

New comic creators wishing to get their wares out to the world have reason to be cheerful today, with the news that ComiXology - the leading digital comics platform - is launching a portal to allow self-publishing on its site.

Today, the digital comics revolution got just a little bit more interesting with the announcement that ComiXology – the digital comics engine behind apps and storefronts for major publishers including both DC and Marvel Comics – has created a free submissions portal called ComiXology Submit that will enable unsigned creators to self-publish their work digitally and make it available alongside titles like Batman, Avengers and The Walking Dead.

“When we started ComiXology it was with a handful of comics from deals done directly with creators and very small publishers,” said co-founder and CEO of the company, David Steinberger. “We are happy today, with the announcement of ComiXology Submit, that we now have a turnkey system to service this incredibly vital part of the marketplace. ComiXology Submit, helps keep the promise to our customers of having the best and most diverse comic books and graphic novels available worldwide.”

The Submit engine will allow new and established creators to upload their work for review by a team within ComiXology – Something that is being done, Steinberger has said, not to ensure a specific format or subject matter, but instead that the submissions are of a high enough quality to be featured alongside professional work – with the work then being made available, post-approval, at a price of the creator’s choosing, as long as it is above 99 cents. ComiXology will take 50 percent of the gross profit, once costs have been factored in (For example, anything bought on ComiXology via an Apple app automatically loses 30 percent of the price to Apple, meaning that the creator and ComiXology each get a 35 percent share).

Company co-founder John D. Roberts said in the press release announcing Submit that “Having the most diverse material possible serves comiXology’s mission.” He went on, “Publishers have long known that comiXology is the most valuable platform for digital comics in the world and having a way to let self-publishers participate in that is good for our customers, for comiXology and for comics… It’s great that we can now open our platform to self-publishers and deliver a whole new wave of creative works to our customers.”

Currently, ComiXology Submit is in a closed beta mode, only accessible via private invitation, although the company hopes to be able to launch it publicly early in the new year. An invited team of creators have already submitted material through the portal, and ComiXology is predicting that that material will be available in eight weeks or so. In the meantime, creators interested in getting themselves involved with the service can visit the ComiXology Submit website and sign up for emailed updates… and then start thinking about how to spend those potential future digital dollars come the public launch in 2013.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Why aren’t there more movies based on apps?

We've seen movies based on toys, comics, television shows and even other movies. So where are the movies based on new digital media? Perhaps Hollywood isn't ready, claims a new New York Times report.

While old media has traditionally proven itself to be very happy at the idea of recycling itself into irrelevance – See the latest reboot of a television series/movie franchise/etc. to hit a movie theater near you soon – it has equally turned out to be something that is surprisingly slow at taking advantage of media that is outside of its immediate comfort zone. While we are now used to superheroes dominating the summer blockbuster circuit, it’s worth remembering that Tim Burton’s Batman movie came out almost twenty five years ago, and the original Superman: The Movie more than a decade before that. Even comic books, apparently, needed some time to be assimilated into the movie and television mainstream. All of which is a long way of saying, for everyone who may be expecting Hollywood to turn around any minute now and realize that there is a lot of Intellectual Property just waiting to be bought up, adapted and exploited for enterprising entertainment executives out there…? You may have quite a wait ahead of you.

If you’re looking for some evidence of that, then you need look no further than this weekend’s New York Times, in which the trials awaiting app developers hoping for a multimedia payday were enumerated in painful detail. Whereas Iron Man, Optimus Prime and even John Carter have specific audiences – and nostalgic appeal – the problem with apps (and even video games) is that, well, they appeal to too many people: “Should Talking Tom be a cartoon for children on Nickelodeon?” the piece asked, referring to the creation of Outfit7, an app developer looking to bring their brand outside of the tech field. “Or is it something more grown-up, perhaps for Spike or Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim? The wrong move could narrow the following. A Nickelodeon show, for instance, could make Talking Tom uncool for men in their 20s.”

Additionally, there is the problem that today’s app makers are more merchandise-savvy than many more traditional creators. “App makers want to keep potentially lucrative toy rights for themselves. But studio executives say it is hard for them to justify pouring tens of millions of dollars into the creation of a movie or television show unless there is an added revenue stream as an incentive,” explained the Times’ Brooks Barnes.

There is, of course, an even more obvious reason why moviemakers might want to stick with what they know for now: No-one in Hollywood has worked out a way to translate first-person interactive narratives – videogames, for the most part, or even analog like Battleship – into a successful movie just yet. Until they can work out how to create a pleasing story for all viewers out of something that so much of its potential audience has made up in its head, it’ll be awhile until we’ll see a massive influx of material that’s based even more on interactivity and less on pre-set conditions.

Well, Angry Birds aside, obviously.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

DC Comics releases new mobile apps to expand ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ universe

Better late than never, DC Comics has released two new apps for Nokia Windows Phones that explain what happen prior to the opening of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.

In what may appear to be a somewhat later than ideal release, DC Comics today announced two new mobile apps that tie in with Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises movie, offering fans a chance to learn just a little bit more about their favorite characters from the final act of the cinematic trilogy.

While one of the two apps repurposes existing material – The Batman Origins app, which DC describes as “featur[ing] the original comic origins for all of the stars from the Dark Knight trilogy and links to the most up-to-date sources about THE DARK KNIGHT RISES film”; instead of the “original” comic origins, what is actually available from the app are origin stories that have been created in the last few years for print in the 52 and Countdown miniseries from the publisher, as well as online use – what may be of more interested to both fans of the movie and more hardcore Batfans in general is the second app, which goes by the functional name ofThe Dark Knight Rises: Prologue.

DC describes that app as offering “an exclusive motion-comic from writer Joshua Williamson and artist Jorge Jimenez that serves as a prologue to THE DARK KNIGHT RISES film,” as well as the pre-requisite “social media share options and links to other apps tied to the film.” This marks not only the first time that DC has created original comic material that ties in with any of the Christopher Nolan series – Comic book versions of the various Tim Burton-era movies exist, and there was a series of print prologues to tie in with last year’s Green Lantern release, but oddly the Dark Knight series has remained unaffiliated with the comic format outside of as source material – but the first time that DC has released individual apps to tie in with multimedia releases.

DC has found success outside of its core comic store audience with digital releases in recent months; its digital comic series Smallville Season 11, which follows the continuity of the decade-long run of the CW series starring Tom Welling, has proven to be a surprisingly strong seller through the publisher’s DC Comics app as well as the multi-publisher ComiXology storefront and app, and titles in its regular DC Universe line have continued to build a fanbase through digital sales without print sales seemingly being affected.

Both the Batman Origins and The Dark Knight Rises: Prologue app are sponsored by Nokia and only available through Nokia Windows Phones; the publisher has not given any information about whether any future releases for other platforms are planned, or if the Joshua Williamson and Jorge Jimenez prologue material will be made available in print at any point.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Fox is not trading its film rights back to Marvel Studios

Twentieth Century Fox and Marvel Studios are currently negotiating a deal that could drastically alter the future of comic book movies.

When Marvel Comics opened a film wing (appropriately dubbed “Marvel Studios”) in an effort to grab a slice of the huge profits being made in the then-nascent comic book movie genre it was faced with a few issues. Sure the company has a massive catalogue of characters and stories to draw from to make its films, but the film rights to a number of its most popular heroes had already been sold to other production companies, long before superheroes proved to be box office gold. Twentieth Century Fox in particular had bought up a number of Marvel properties, including the X-Men, Daredevil, the Fantastic Four and a large number of secondary characters important to each franchise.

Now that Marvel Studios has established itself as a major Hollywood player, ready and willing to create huge blockbusters — need we again mention that The Avengers has pulled down almost $1.5 billion at the box office? — it wants those film rights back, if only to have the freedom to use the characters created by Marvel Comics as it sees fit.

This morning word broke that Fox had agreed to give Marvel the rights to Fantastic Four villain Galactus — you’ll remember him as the inexplicable giant purple cloud in Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer, or as an apocalyptic villain who eats planets in every other incarnation — as well as the Silver Surfer (pictured above), as part of a deal that would grant Fox the film rights to the Daredevil character for the foreseeable future. Fox has seemingly been planning to reboot its Daredevil film franchise in the wake of the disappointing (yet excellent in its “Director’s Cut” incarnation) 2003 Ben Affleck-starring Daredevil, but those plans have been put on the back burner ever since director David Slade stepped away from the hypothetical project. Joe Carnahan has since expressed interest in creating a Daredevil reboot at Fox, but Deadline believes that Fox’s confidence in Daredevil isn’t as high as it used to be, and that though the studio might agree to co-finance a Daredevil movie with Marvel Studios, it’s unlikely that Fox would mount the production by itself.

More crucially though, Deadline claims that its sources have strongly denied that Marvel and Fox are even having this discussion. Yes Fox is staring down a short timeline in which it must push a Daredevil film into production or forfeit the rights to the character back to Marvel, but as of yet, Deadline states, the two firms have yet to seriously discuss the possibility of swapping any of their respective film rights.

Unfortunately, the real losers in this situation are the fans. One of the cornerstones of Marvel’s popularity has always been that its characters live in a single, unified reality and that any one of them might bump into any other at any given moment. The Avengers was a great flick, but imagine how cool it would have been to see Spider-Man throwing punches alongside Captain America during the climactic fight. While we can’t really fault Marvel for selling off the film rights to its characters — these deals were all made back in the 1990s when Marvel was in very dire financial straits — it’s sad that the newly-minted Marvel Studios is unable to create a movie universe to truly rival its comic book universe simply because the publishing wing of the company needed cash during the Clinton administration.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com