Superman RIP Again

He was one of the most popular heroes of the past century - the star of film, television, radio, novels and most of all, comic books. Writer Harlan Ellison once suggested that he was one of five fictitious characters known to every man, woman and child on the planet (along with Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan and Mickey Mouse). But when Superman died last year, hardly anyone seemed to care.The Superman who died saving the universe was the same Superman who debuted in the first issue of Actio...

Dundee Tourist Information

As you approach the Tay Road Bridge whether by car or by train through the Tay Rail Bridge you begin to understand why they call the river ?Silvery Tay?. The city is situated on the east coast of Scotland on the north bank of the firth of Tay.Dundee is Scotland?s fourth largest city and one of the most beautiful! Driving across the bridge you can clearly see the Law Hill. The city is built around this extinct volcano. You can drive right up to the top of the hill and from this vantage point you ...

David McHank - A Visual Artist

This week I caught a few words with David McHank an artist in San Diego, California. I found his work on MySpace.com and thought it was a lot of fun, and modern. If you like comic books, cartoons, and bears, you'll enjoy his work too!What inspires you?David: I get it from all sides. Animation, children's books, comic books, old cereal boxes, heavy metal and punk records, Old National Geographic magazines, Jim Henson, Maurice Sendak, and Rick Fork. Music is a huge influence. A lot of times I'll ...

Kevin Smith Plus Smallville Equals

Finally, the much-awaited release of the complete sixth season DVD of Smallville is just around the corner! It?s been a chockfull of adventure since the premier of season 6 and now the fans of Smallville will soon get the chance to relive the roller coaster escapades of the young Clark Kent.There are no definite release dates yet but one thing?s for sure, Smallville supporters can get a hold of their very own set before the year ends. Aside from the satisfaction of reliving the Smallville experi...

Tearing Down The House - A Love Affair With 'Not The Nine O'Clock News'

Using the title as a running gag opposing the statutory mid evening news on BBC1, ?Not The Nine o?clock News,? favoured as funnier, topical viewing at the same time on BBC2. Chancing their livelihoods on the 17th of October 1979, the first show was broadcast, but not in the politically incorrect style that it was supposed to have first hit our screens. Sworn in by the legendary Basil Fawlty at the end of the final ?Fawlty Towers,? the cast of ?Not The Nine..? appeared young, arrogant and opini...

The Year of the Superhero

Super-heroes have not been so cool since the so-called "Golden Age" of comic books in the 1940s. Not long ago, they could be dismissed as "kids' stuff", but 2006 was a vintage year for super-heroes. Perhaps, just like in World War II, the problems of the world have reached the stage where it would seem to require people with superhuman abilities to save the day. Let's look at some of the super-hero milestones of 2006:SPIDER-MAN UNMASKEDFor 45 years, almost nobody - apart from comic-book readers...

The Secret Ingredient of a Great Job

A cartoonist, a magician, and a dolphin trainer walk into a bar?Certain job titles seem to ooze fun. But I have a hard time imagining very many jobs that can?t be made fun with just a little bit of effort.My wife Kim and I were in California for a series of speaking engagements. We were able to spend a few days out and about in the San Francisco area before hunkering down and getting some work done in our hotel room. We saw many examples of people who had fairly ordinary (and even mundane) jobs,...

Understanding The Fascinating World Of Batman Comics

For people there are many different forms of reading material. These reading materials can be thought of as non-fictional and fictional forms of reading matter. In the fictional form comic books like Batman comics are a firm staple for people of different ages.Batman was first introduced to the populace by Detective Comic in their book number 27. The character of Batman was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. As the latest crime fighter Batman was a huge success. For this reason D...

5 Black History Comics Comment Constructively Using Laughter

Contemporaries Dave Chapelle, Chris Rock, Whoppi Goldberg, and Eddie Murphy have entertained millions with their antics, laughter, and fun.Their unique styles draw inspiration from the great comedians that came before them.When vocal African American funnymen and women observe the world, black history stories become anything but depressing.Let?s take a look back, and recall 5 ?old school? greats. These are the legendary crafty commanders of wit. Each fused social commentary together with enter...

The Way to Find a Terrorific Halloween Costume This Season

Ever wonder why there are very few Halloween stores when looking for a costume? When you do find a store, they are usually full of people with a small picked over selection of products for sale. Avoid the frustration this year; be smart, take the following suggestion and shop early. The best way to select a unique costume for Halloween is to visit an online Halloween Shop. What better way to find a wide range and huge selection of high quality unearthly costumes, makeup, jewelry, accessories, ...

A History Of The Audio Book

A History Of The Audio BookSubmitted By: Alan Moore  An audio book is a relatively new format and one that arouses skepticism in many people, especially if they have been brought up to appreciate the written word. This is unfortunate, because an audio book is very easy to use and, with the right hardware and s...

Comic Book Publishing Made Easy

Comic Book Publishing Made EasySubmitted By: Gideon Olade   Comic book publishing has never been easier. Thanks to new software technology and the Internet, it is now possible for almost any individual to self-publish a comic book. When it comes to publishing comics you have several options. It is essential for...

Hollywood's Fascination with the Comic Book Superhero

The public fascination with comic book superhero characters have been exploited by movie production companies for years. Hollywood has been creating feature length comic book movies, movie serials and TV shows to continue to whet our appitites. But as special effect technology and costume designs became better and better, Hollywood kicked it up a notch with feature-length high budget productions. Superman, the Movie and the 3 sequels started in the 1970s and the '90s and beyond brought us Batman...

I, Fanboy. Are You?

You may be a fanboy and not know it. I'm here to clarify that. There are many ways in which fans of geek culture are coming out of the closet proud of who they are, striking dramatic poses while brandishing homemade superhero costumesright guys? Are you with me here? Anyone?Fanboy n. (fan-boy) A person, male or female, who is a passionate fan of various elements of geek culture (e.g. sci-fi, comics, Star Wars, video games, anime, hobbits, Dungeons and Dragons, etc.), but who lets his passion o...

Baseball Cap Turns Fifty

Golfers wear them and so do Brownies. Every Hollywood director since Steven Spielberg did Jaws considers it part of their work wardrobe. Its a US import which has become an integral part of British society. And this year it has a special birthday. The baseball cap is fifty.Up until 1954, it was up to individual baseball players to choose a hat to keep the sun out their eyes. Some went for straw boaters, others preferred jockey caps. There was no consistency amongst players, let alone teams. So, ...

The Movie Industry and the Comic Book Superhero

The public fascination with comic book superhero charactershave been exploited by movie production companies foryears. Hollywood has been creating feature length comicbook movies, movie serials and TV shows to continue to whetour appitites. But as special effect technology and costumedesigns became better and better, Hollywood kicked it up anotch with feature-length high budget productions.Superman, the Movie and the 3 sequels started in the 1970sand the '90s and beyond brought us Batman, The Hu...

Batman Begins VS the Fantastic Four. What Next?

Well, it looks like Hollywood keeps it continual pot of revenue filled with, guess what, comic book heroes. Batman Begins and The Fantastic Four are about to duke it out on Hollywood and Vine. An age-old comic book company rivalry is yet renewing the heat this year. I guess all of us comic book aficionados always wonder who would win the battle between such and such superheroes. Well at least in the next few months one way to keep score is to watch the revenues generated between the recently rel...

Sin City; Antagonist Fatalism or the Ultimate Good vs. Evil?

The Sin City DVD blew my mind, or maybe I should say, warped my mind. I haven't been a great fan of Graphic Novels, but this movie encouraged me to purchase a few of the Sin City books. Frank Miller's now famous, series creations have taken us into the world of a bizarre surreal environment of death, destruction and gallows underbelly lifestyles. Is the story telling and artistry supposed to show a world we hope would never exist in our white bread world? Or is it an ultimate achievement of good...

The Matrix Online: Revolutions

Released to lukewarm reviews in March of 2005, 'The Matrix Online' was overshadowed on release by it's Goblin bashing rival 'World of Warcraft'. Most of those who joined the game through the 'friends and family' program complained of massive server instability, game crippling bugs and latency shooting through the roof. Soon all that were left were those sold a dream and a promise, waiting and praying that someone or something would come along and fulfil the games true potential. And now it looks...

Captain Marvel: time traveler extraordinaire

Harry Potter isn't the first youthful hero with super powers who has captured the hearts and minds of children. Back in the 1940s, Billy Batson, a, homeless boy who eked out a living by selling newspapers, could turn into Captain Marvel, an adult superhero, simply by saying the word, "Shazam!" Captain Marvel first appeared in a comic book published by Fawcett Comics in 1939. In the original episode, Billy Batson is selling papers one rainy night when a stranger in dark clothes suddenly appears a...

An approach to sell comics

Creators can sell comics as the usual 24 pages book or as a graphic novel 60 to 200 plus pages. When one wants to sell comics as the 24 page book, the comic book would have to come as a series of separate issues. In this way it may be cheaper to produce. You can have a series with 5 issues that come out in different periods of the year. The revenue made from issue #1 can be used to cover the expenses for issue #2. In my opinion this is probably the best way for inexperienced comic book creators ...

An Approach To Sell Comics

Creators can sell comics as the usual 24 pages book or as a graphic novel 60 to 200 plus pages. When one wants to sell comics as the 24 page book, the comic book would have to come as a series of separate issues. In this way it may be cheaper to produce. You can have a series with 5 issues that come out in different periods of the year. The revenue made from issue #1 can be used to cover the expenses for issue #2. In my opinion this is probably the best way for inexperienced comic book crea...

Comic Books - Antman (who?)

In this article we're going to briefly discuss one of the more obscure comic book characters ever to hit the medium, Antman. Unless you were a total comic book fanatic and bought everything that hit the comic stands, and also unless you're pretty old too, you probably never heard of Antman. He was as obscure as he was weird. Nevertheless, he did exist. Antman first saw life in Marvel Comic's "Tales To Astonish" in 1961. He was created by the same person who gave us such classic characters as S...

Comic Books - Fantastic Four Flashback

In this article we're going to discuss another Marvel comics creation that became a very big hit, The Fantastic Four. The Fantastic Four have to be the strangest bunch of characters in comic books history and have certainly been involved in some of the most amazing adventures and found themselves in the most impossible situations. The Fantastic Four first hit the comic book scene in 1961. Its appeal was probably rooted in the fact that this was a family facing the kind of problems that no fami...

Spiderman 3 - Your Friendly Neighborhood Blockbuster

In 1962 a young cartoonist, Stan Lee, came up with an idea for a new comic superhero. During an era in which most of our superheroes were muscle-bound adults, young Peter Parker struck an unlikely figure. An adolescent -- a pimply, gangly short-sighted teen you would expect to be the last kid picked for sports -- Peter Parker was no typical hero. However, his shortcomings struck a chord with a comic-book audience living through those same difficult times; victims of bullies who dreamed of wakin...

Amazing Copywriting Secret Of Famous Comic Book Writer Explodes Sales And Makes Writing Copy Easier

If you want to know an almost laughably easy way to increase the sales of all your copywriting...without any extra effort and without having to learn anything new...then this article will show you how. Let me explain: When I was a kid I loved collecting comic books. I enjoyed them so much, I even wanted to be a comic book writer or artist, and spent a lot of time reading interviews with people who actually did create comic books. And although I didn't realize it at the time, reading these interv...

Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider Are you a fan of the Ghost Rider? If you aren't, you probably should be! What a great comic, what a great film! Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional, supernatural anti-heroes in the Marvel Comics universe. The first supernatural Ghost Rider is stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze, (played by Nicolas Cage in the new movie) who, in order to save the life of his mentor, agreed to give his soul to Satan (later revealed to be Mephisto). Instead his soul was bonded with the entity calle...

Comics Books: Our Own Worst Enemy?

Like most comic publishers I spend quite a bit of time thinking about the state of the industry and how to make it better ? well, truthfully, how to make my little corner of it better. After spending a lot of time thinking it over and discussing what everyone perceives to be the main elements leading to the downfall of comics (the distributor monopoly, for example), I realized what the biggest problem and killer really is: the industry.I believe most of the problems that we encounter ?in the ind...

Incredible Hulk Birthday Party Fun Facts

The Incredible Hulk can be seen as the ultimate superhero to a lot of kids, and lots of adults too. The Hulk, A.K.A. Dr. Robert Bruce Banner is a fictional character who first got his start in Marvel Comics Universe. He has his very own comic book and is one of marvel comics most well recognized characters. Who wouldn?t recognize the Hulk, with his giant muscled torso and green skin? In the Hulk series Dr. Banner became the hulk after he was caught in the explosion of a gamma device of his o...

Success Key: You Are What You Eat

"...inevitably, people will reveal in their thoughts and speeches, in their outlook on life and in their lives themselves, the quality of the images filling their minds"--The Art of Thinking by Abbe Ernest DimnetEarl Nightingale said it another way, "You become what you think about."The Abbe Dimnet wrote his book in the 1930's. Earl Nightingale wrote his in the 1980's. They, and many others who have studied the mechanics of success agree. One important part of attempting to achieve success in...

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