Archive for the 'Dark Horse' Category

Coming Soon: Bryan Talbot’s GRANDVILLE

05/14/09

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As reported in Dark Horse’s solicitations for August, Bryan Talbot has a new book, GRANDVILLE, coming out, and it looks to be as unique as his previous works, if not quite the in-your-face mind bender of ALICE IN SUNDERLAND. It’s best described as a steampunk alternate history mystery with anthropomorphic characters, in the Euro tradition. As the solicitation puts it:

Two hundred years ago, Britain lost the Napoleonic War and fell under the thumb of French domination. Gaining independence after decades of civil disobedience and anarchist bombings, the Socialist Republic of Britain is now a small, unimportant backwater connected by a railway bridge, steam-powered dirigible, and mutual suspicion to France. When a British diplomat’s murder is made to look like suicide, ferocious Detective-Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard stalks a ruthless murder squad through the heart of a Belle Epoque Paris, the center of the greatest empire in a world of steam-driven hansom cabs, automatons, and flying machines. LeBrock’s relentless quest can lead only to death, truth . . . or war.


There’s a trailer up now. The cover is above and a random page is below. Many more previews at the GRANDVILLE page, linked to above.


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Dark Horse goes iPhone

05/5/09

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Dark Horse has joined the stampede of publishers who are trying various ways to get their comics distributed onto iPhones and other mobile devices. To do it, they’re launching an app for TERMINATOR: DEATH VALLEY from 1998. You can read the full PR below the fold, but CBR has an interview with DH’s Mike Richardson on the initiative:

The publisher gave no hints as to what Dark Horse comics would follow “Terminator: Death Valley” onto the iPhone, but upcoming titles will be selected by Richardson in coordination with designers, editors, and series artists to determine suitability for the format. “We’re going to be very ambitious,” Richardson said. “We’ve always tried to be the best at everything we do, and this will be no different. It’s one of the reasons we’ve held back up to this point, because we’ve wanted to make sure we can do a great job in presenting the material, and we also wanted to make sure the delivery systems were able to deliver the material in the way that we wanted it ourselves.”


More below.

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SIN CITY 2 is on the loose

04/23/09

Well now, despite some hearty protestations when the story first surfaced, it seems that Dimension/the Weinsteins have indeed lost the rights to make a SIN CITY sequel.

The sequel rights to “Sin City,” Frank Miller’s popular noir comic, are being shopped around Hollywood, in what appears to be a sign that Dimension Films has lost rights to the property.

The Weinstein Co./Dimension continue to maintain that they hold the rights to any sequel for the Robert Rodriguez film, which grossed $159 million worldwide when it came out in 2005.

But producers say they have been shopped the rights by reps for Miller’s estate, who they say are seeking a new place to set up a potential follow-up.


Whoa…what do you mean “Miller estate”? FRANK MILLER IS ALIVE, ALIVE, I TELL YOU! Aside from that creepy typo, it would seem that the Weinsteins just sat around on the rights for too long and they lapsed. According to the article in THR, it is unknown if Robert Rodriguez would be involved, or anyone else, really. Although the whole SIN CITY look has become a bit of a cliche since the movie burst upon people’s eyeballs, we’d still hit that for old times’ sake, anyway.

DYLAN DOG movie is actually in production

04/23/09

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It seems that we have never officially given this its own item, but a movie based on DYLAN DOG, the long running supernatural Italian comic, is being made, and it has a Production Blog and everything. The movie is being directed by Kevin Munroe down in New Orleans and it stars Brandon Routh as Dylan Dog, and co-stars Taye Diggs, Anita Briem, and Sam Huntington. And it’s called DEAD OF NIGHT.

The original comic is by writer Tiziano Sclavi, and artist Claudio Villa; since debuting in 1990, it’s been published in many other countries, including, in the US, by Dark Horse.

Actor shocker: Writing comics is HARD!

04/22/09

2002 AbeAmong its many interviews with nerdlebrities enamored of the wonderful world of comics, MTV’s Splash Page caught up with James Marsters, formerly of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, who had his run-in with comics writing TEN years ago. But the experience was so traumatizing that his resentment has simmered to this day, eclipsing such things as Smallville, Torchwood, and DRAGONBALL: EVOLUTION…

“I thought that if I wrote a comic, I’d have ultimate power over everything,” said Marsters. “It was a rude awakening to find out how little power writers have.”

The real bone of contention was with Dark Horse’s choice of artist Ryan Sook, who drew everything in a dark, gothic style that, while he liked the art, Marsters insists just wasn’t right for his story.


The actor goes on at some length to vent about Sook’s unseemliness..,so long, in fact that Dark Horse felt compelled to respond: explaining that it was Buffy omnilord Joss Whedon himself who approved Sook!

“The artist James was referring to was Ryan Sook, and he was someone Joss really liked,” explained Dark Horse Senior Managing Editor Scott Allie. (The artist was misidentified as inker Keith Barnett in the original post.) “When James expressed his concerns about Ryan, Joss talked to James for me, and told him this was how he wanted the book handled. I talked to Juliet about this recently, and she had no problem with any of it — she’d seen the book and thought it was fine.”

“Looking back, I wish I’d been more sensitive to James’ feelings at the time, but the main problem was a difference of opinion about the tone of the book,” added Allie. “To Joss and me, it was a horror story, focused on two of the best villains from the show — this was before Spike’s redemption. We wanted it to feel like a horror comic.”


Reading of Marsters’s “rude awakening,” one can’t help but recall the words of Alfred Hitchcock: “I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors should be treated like cattle.”

PS: If you go over to Sook’s website you’ll see tons and tons of art, and after a few clicks, you get the feeling he may know more about making comics than your nerdlebrity on the street. (Above, a painting of HELLBOY’s Abe Sapien.)

Dark Horse and Image join Final Order Cut-Off program

04/14/09

As planned for over a year, Dark Horse and Image are joining the ranks of “FOC” publishers at Diamond. Already used by Marvel and DC, “Final Order Cut-Off” allows retailer to raise or lower orders right up until print time in accordance with changing factors, such as increased publicity, or negative reaction to previous issues. Diamond’s PR below:

Dark Horse Comics and Image Comics — including Image Central and Top Cow Productions — have announced that they will implement new Final Order Cut-Off (FOC) programs, effective with products carrying an FOC Date of Thursday, April 23.

“We’re very pleased that two more of our Premier Suppliers have joined the FOC system” said Diamond VP-Marketing & Sales Roger Fletcher. “The change is a welcome one for retailers who rely on FOC to adjust their orders and manage their purchasing and buying decisions in a timely manner.”

The new system allows retailers greater flexibility to increase, decrease and even cancel orders up to the FOC date, which will be Thursdays at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. (The same date/time as other participating publishers.) Product will generally reflect FOC Dates with a 20-day adjustment window, meaning that an item carrying the April 23 FOC Date is scheduled to be on sale Wednesday, May 13.

“We are pleased to announce this move to the FOC,” said Dark Horse Comics President Mike Richardson. “As every comics retailer knows, times are tough. It is important that Dark Horse not only support them with great product, but with our best efforts to make their ordering decisions as easy as possible. This system will help every retailer who orders Dark Horse product and should lead to better business for all of us.”

“We’ve been enthusiastic about implementing FOC for quite some time now,” Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson said. “FOC allows retailers to test the waters with our all of our new projects, whether they’re by seasoned veterans or comics’ newest names with limited risk while still getting all the benefits of supporting a series from the floorboards up.”


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Kitties and puppies

04/9/09

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Let’s relax a little today with another page from BEASTS OF BURDEN, the Evan Dorkin/Jill Thompson miniseries coming later this year.
62 Lockjaw And The Pet Aven
And the cover to issue #2 of LOCKJAW AND THE PET AVENGERS by Karl Kerschl.

Don’t you feel better?

News notes

04/8/09

Unlovable• Eric Reynolds reports that Esther Pearl Watson’s UNLOVABLE has been picked up by young women’s apparel chain Urban Outfitters and will be tested in ten stores nationwide. With its chunky pink appearance and accessibly hiliarious tales of self-conscious agony — Watson adapts the diary of a teenage girl she found in a gas station restroom — this book definitely fits in with UO’s college dorm esthetic, so we’ll see how it rolls out.

Michel Rabagliati, Gabrielle Bell, and Graham Annable have joined the lineup at TCAF, which we won’t be attending, much to our sorrow.

Dark Horse’s ECCC announcements, in one handy article.

• Speaking of ECCC, although it’s not precisely news, Matt Maxwell continues his jeremiad across the cons of America with a report at Robot 6:

See, I’m good enough at this convention thing now that I have to tack on extra difficulty just to keep myself from being bored. Which is why I traveled with my two kids by plane up to Seattle instead of doing the sensible thing and flying up on my own. At least I have enough sense to drop them with the grandparents while I try to sell books. Having an easily bored pair of five and eight-year-old kids is just not conducive to doing anything other than clinging to my last shreds of sanity and composure, and add to that selling books and spreading the Strangeways gospel? Not gonna happen.

200904081249• The planned UMBRELLA ACADEMY movie, based on the comics by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá is moving along, with screenwriter Mark Bomback now attached. Bomback wrote the recent Witch Mountain reboot, as well as CONSTANTINE.

• Marvel is running a contest for people to dress up their pets to publicize the release of the LOCKJAW AND THE PET AVENGERS mini.

Marvel is proud to announce that now your pets can join Lockjaw’s new super team that has everyone talking—The Pet Avengers! That’s right, in honor of the upcoming LOCKJAW AND THE PET AVENGERS #1, click on URL right now and submit photos of your pets dressed as Marvel heroes to the Powers That Be at Marvel.Com. If you’re lucky, your pet may be featured as Lockjaw’s newest ally online! (Or be really adventurous and dress your pet as a Marvel villain).


We’ll keep a close eye on THAT Flickr stream!

Business news briefs

04/6/09

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• ECCC news: The initial launch of the BOOM!/Fox Atomic partnership will be an ongoing 28 DAYS LATER comic:

Initial launch story will be firmly based in 28 DAYS LATER continuity with the first arc focusing on Selena. Bridging the gap between 28 DAYS LATER and 28 WEEKS LATER, a few key questions will be answered along the way: what happened to Selena after 28 DAYS LATER? How did Selena happen upon the machete she wields in 28 DAYS LATER?


The creative team wasn’t mentioned, but the Tim Bradstreet (Above) and Sean Phillips(Below) cover art that came with the PR is a good start.

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• ECCC News: Writer/Artist Rick Remender has signed an exclusive with Marvel, where he’s writing PUNISHER. The article doesn’t mention any exceptions for his creators-owned books like FEAR AGENT and THE END LEAGUE, so one assumes those are on hold for now.

Todd Allen continues his look at a post-direct market world with a survey of monetizing webcomics:

The first thing we need to do is acknowledge that the online readership of many print comics is larger than the paid physical readership. .CBRs are popular, as are torrents. No two ways about it. You have to accept you have a problem before you can deal with it.

The second thing we need to do is understand what revenue models work for webcomics and why. If the print publishers need to get into digital distribution, reinventing the wheel is folly, and potentially dangerous.

• Heed Japan: Masahiro Itabashi’s romantic comedy series Boys Be has come back as a comic for cell phones.

The new manga is called Boys Be 2009 1 and as far as I can tell is an updated version of the original 1991 manga, revolving around students dealing with both platonic and romantic relationships in their daily lives, particularly average-guy Kyouichi Kanzaki and his childhood friend Chihara Nitta.

• John Jakala catches that Tokyopop has raised the price of their GNs from $9.99 to $10.99:

I’m assuming the price increase won’t be accompanied by any additions to the manga volumes, like better paper stock or color inserts. It would be interesting if Tokyopop followed a page from DC’s recent playbook and offset the price increase with backup features. Like DC, Tokyopop could use the price increase as an opportunity to publish fan favorites that don’t sell well enough to justify individual publication. It’d be especially interesting if Tokyopop used such backups to complete the many OEL series stuck in publishing limbo. Of course, you’d run the risk of fans complaining about charging more for series they don’t want to read, but if the prices were going to go up anyway, I assume most fans would rather get something additional rather than nothing at all.

Some trimming at Dark Horse

04/3/09
The Beat has learned that editor Rob Simpson was recently laid off at Dark Horse. Simpson, an industry vet who formerly worked at DC, was the Senior Editor in charge of Dark Horse’s prose books line, which includes original novels, nonfiction, a series of Playboy Interview collections and various fantasy novels — including the recently launched Neil Gaiman Presents series. Although Dark Horse would not comment directly, they did release this statement from owner Mike Richardson:

In recent years, Dark Horse has dedicated a great deal of time and resources to move outside of the traditional comics medium with ventures into publishing prose novels. Due to the well known facts of the current state of the book market, and cutbacks at the chains for these types of books, we are placing these efforts on hold for the time being. This is in no way indicative of the health and vitality of any other division of our business, or the company overall.

Although any layoffs are looked at as part of the Great Recession during this time, comics are still getting off fairly lightly, at least on the creative side, with only a smattering of layoffs. It’s painful for anyone, but far less than the massive cuts other aspects of the entertainment industry have been experiencing. We hope this trend continues.

As for Simpson, he’s a real professional; we’re sure he’ll land on his feet even in this harsh time.

The Goon vs. Dethklok

03/18/09

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MTV’s Splash Page blog has a fantastic cover for perhaps the most unexpected — but delightful — crossover of all: Eric Powell’s THE GOON vs. DETHKLOK, the world’s greatest metal band.

Fincher teases THE GOON

03/16/09

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AICN previews the CGI GOON movie which David Fincher is producing. Created by Eric Powell, The Goon has starred in a well-received series of graphic novels, and would fit nicely into the “Dark Horse Movie” niche pioneered by The Mask and Hellboy. More in the link.

BEASTS OF BURDEN preview

03/2/09

Somehow, last week we did not link to Jill Thompson’s gorgeous artwork for BEASTS OF BURDEN, a four-issue miniseries wirtten by Evan Dorkin

with painted art by Thompson about some animals who fight the supernatural. The character have already appeared in Dark Horses’ various anthologies “The Dark Horse Book of…” Hauntings, Witches, The Dead and Monsters, but the new series will be out later this year. Can you wait???

NYCC: Dark Horse - #823

02/4/09

Eric Powell, Rick Remender, David Lloyd, Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson and many more will highlight this Dark Horse gangs events:


Friday Feb. 6th :

2:00 - 3:00 PIGEONS FROM HELL – Nathan Fox
3:00 - 4:00 FEAR AGENT, END LEAGUE – Rick Remender
4:00 – 5:00 KICKBACK – David Lloyd
4:00 – 5:00 UNBOUND SAGA – Game Demo with Mike Kennedy
5:00 – 6:00 KULL – Arvid Nelson, Will Conrad, Jose Villarrubia
5:00 – 6:00 THE CLEANERS – Mark Wheaton, Rahsan Ekedal
6:00 – 7:00 THE GOON – Eric Powell



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Celebrity comics watch: Art Brut

12/2/08

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News that this or that “famous person” reads comics isn’t exactly a headline-maker (unless you’re running for president, of course). With all the success of comics-based media in the last few years, it’s more newsworthy when some actress or sports figure proclaims they DON’T like comics. However, there are still a few nerdlebrities whose involvement with graphic literature goes above and beyond a few trips to the comics shop.

Such a figure is Eddie Argos, (above, far right) lead singer of Art Brut, an energetic British “Art Wave” band much beloved by The Beat’s music-listening pals. Argos is a sometime-painter and a huge DC Comics fan. Even further, buried in the news that Pixies legend Frank Black will produce their new album, is the title of one of their songs: “D.C. Comics and Chocolate Milkshake.” Could this be a new anthem? A chocolate milkshake goes well with anything, including comics!

Now, we know what you are thinking: What does Argos think of UMBRELLA ACADEMY, penned by fellow music/comics crossover star Gerard Way? Well, it turns out that Argos pens an occasional column for the St Louis Playback, and in one, he gives us the skinny:

I’m not really a fan of My Chemical Romance, and Grant Morrison’s pretentious ramblings in the introduction to the book claiming that the band is spearheading some sort of “necrodelic” counter-culture revolution makes me dislike them even more. Personally, I’m more into Fall-Out Boy. Also, as a singer in a band myself who also maintains fantasies of one day writing a comic of my own, there was probably a little bit of jealousy sneaking into my psyche as I started to read this book. I am, after all, a Scorpio with a rampant ego who sees himself in competition with absolutely everybody, so consequently, I was pre-disposed to dislike this book from the start. The cover to the collected Umbrella Academy by Gabriel Ba. I was wrong though. The Umbrella Academy is a pretty decent book. Most new books take a while to set the scene, and this book being no exception is a bit of a muddle at the beginning. Actually, thinking about it now, I started reading it the morning after my birthday, so it’s possible that it was my mind that was a bit of a muddle and the book is actually pretty straight-forward. Anyway, whoever was at fault - me or the book — I was really into it by the second chapter.


Call it a forced — but powerful — endorsement.

We’re sure all of this is old news to Brian Heater, and indeed, he recently interviewed Argos, who proves that his comics reading is not just a flash in the pan:

This time next year, I hope to be working on the soundtrack to major motion picture adaptation of which comic:

All three Essex County books by Jeff Lemire. They are a trilogy of books about the same small Canadian town. It’s a real place, but they’re fictional stories. Really, totally amazing. I can’t recommend these books enough. There on an independent called Top Shelf. I might write the songs anyway and release some sort of concept album so when it does inevitably turn into a film, I have a head start on everybody else.

Every Dark Horse comic avaliable at Portland State University

10/23/08

CORRECTION: The PSU collection is NOT, as the headline for this post originally claimed, “The Country’s First University Comic Book Archive,” but one of many great academic comic book libraries, as PSU Librarian Helen Spalding explained in our interview with her. In a rush out of the office, The Beat’s humble intern neglected to change the headline, which has resulted in many varieties of confusion. Apologies all around.

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In an partnership formally unveiled last week, Dark Horse Comics entire catalogue is now being shelved at Portland State University. Available for check-out from the PSU library’s general circulating collection will be one copy of everything Dark Horse has ever published: comic book, graphic novel, manga, hardcover and foreign edition, you name it. A second copy of each will be stored in the library’s special collection.

While it’s become increasingly common for libraries to stock graphic novels, the PSU arrangement goes far beyond that in a number of ways. They’re not just shelving books with a spine, but also the floppy “pamphlet” comic books, which have long been archived only in fans’ long-boxes and retailers’ back issue bins. At Portland State, each issue will be given an acid-proof cover and a call number, as well as an extensive catalog listing that will include credits for everyone involved, including letterer and colorist.

The library’s Dark Horse collection will include everything they’ve produced, from books in 24 different languages to Aliens stickers and Hellboy lunch-boxes. The Beat spoke with Portland State University Librarian Helen Spalding, who explained that even a Buffy marquee statue can be useful to academics. “The key rings, action figures, mugs and tee-shirts are all rich research material for examining marketing, gender roles, and many other topics,” she said.

The idea for the collection was sparked a few years back when Spalding saw DHC Publisher and PSU alumnus Mike Richardson speak at a university luncheon. “They’re an important Portland institution, and the University is really engaged with the community and the alumni,” Spalding said, “so it just made a lot of sense that we work together on this important collection to our mutual benefit.

“It’s so important to Mike Richardson that people get to read this stuff just like any other literature that we’re allowed to check out, so he’s provided a copy for us to check out, which is great.”

The library has already shelved 3,000 of an expected 6,000 volumes in their Dark Horse collection, which will continue to grow as the publisher releases new material. This positions PSU as a leading academic archive of comics in North America, and Spalding hopes it will attract other collections as well. Although they likely won’t be seeking the complete corpus of any other publisher, she said that the confluence of independent publishers in Portland make them a good place to start.

Related: The Oregonian interviews Richardson; Portland Monthly looks at the collection; PSU’s alumni mag says “Pow! Zowie! Comics in the Library”.

Posted by Aaron Humphrey

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS director to add comic book movie to portfolio

10/21/08

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In today’s Option News, David Gordon Green is set to direct FREAKS OF THE HEARTLAND, a film based on the Dark Horse graphic novel by Steve Niles and Greg Ruth.

Illustrated by Greg Ruth, Niles’ six-part 2004 series about the horrible secret of a rural Middle American town involves Trevor Owen’s attempts to protect his “monster” of a 6-year-old younger brother and Gristlewood Valley’s other “freaks” from their parents’ worst instincts.

The wit and wisdom of Mike Richardson

10/16/08

200810161211ICV2 sits down with Dark Horse big wampum Mike Richardson for the annual gabfest. The always voluble Richardson is without question the very first publisher we ever heard volunteer to call periodicals “pamphlets” … and maybe this is why:

As for other types of graphic novels, those seem to be experiencing stronger sales, and maybe it’s the bookstores that have realized that this is a growing area of sales for them as a category. We’ve heard a lot of encouraging news, for instance the discussion of the addition of children’s graphic novel sections, and certain titles that the bookstores are very eager to receive. A lot of it is media based. They like familiar titles. They like titles where they feel there is less risk; certainly Star Wars and Buffy have been big successes for us.

As far as pamphlets–especially with what I see happening with the economy– as much as we all love them, the traditional comic book is going to be going to harder and harder to sell, and harder and harder to make work. And as I’ve said many times, that particular format is a product of a time that doesn’t exist anymore. They started out as cheap reprints of newspaper strips and now they’ve become relatively expensive packages for the marketplace.

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More Snyder: 300 sequel to be based on Miller GN

10/2/08

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In all the WATCHMEN hubbub, questions about that supposed “300 prequel/sequel” were also raised, and Zack Snyder answered:

So when does the second 300 film take place?

In short, Snyder says he’s spoken with Frank Miller who will be writing and drawing the graphic novel that the second film will be based on. Upon Miller’s completion of the book, then, and only then, will they delve into writing a script for the movie.

Snyder continued and said he would not have any input into the novel and wants it to be a creation of Miller’s 100%.

Snyder also said it will take place between the Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Plataea, the battle that narrator Dilios is at while re-telling the story of King Leonidas and the mighty Spartans to a new group of warriors at the end of 300.

As Dilios says, there’s a whole year between Thermopylae and where he currently stands, in his final monologue he states…


Waiting for Miller to finish a GN, eh? That may be a looooong wait.

Diamond Retailer Summit news roundup

09/10/08

[Regular Beat commenter Torsten Adair attended the just-concluded Diamond Retail Summit in Las Vegas, sat through every presentation, and typed up his notes for us. A first installment ran yesterday in PW Comics Week with updates on the POS system, the Comic Shop Locator system and more. Here’s a summary of the rest of the announcements. Parsing through it, the biggest news, from a business standpoint, appears to be both Image and Dark Horse adopting the “Final Order Cut-Off” system through Diamond, meaning retailers can raise or lower orders for specific titles much closer to print dates, allowing more accurate ordering. The system has done well for Marvel and DC to increase periodical sales (retailers can order with more confidence) and could do the same for Dark Horse and Image.]

by Torsten Adair
Diamond’s new warehouse:
At Monday’s breakfast, Cindy Fournier, Diamond Vice President of Operations, presented the new distribution warehouse moving from Memphis, Tennessee, to nearby Olive Branch, Mississippi. Six years ago, Diamond moved from Sparta, Illinois, to its present location in Memphis, renting a 225,000 sq. ft. facility. Today, they occupy three buildings with 350,000 sq. ft.

The new facility, built to Diamond’s specifications, will occupy 600,000 sq. ft. It will utilize modern technology, using Radio Frequency Identification and voice recognition software to assist with efficient distribution of product. Computer cartonization will calculate the volume of the product on each shipment and then select the optimal carton size, thereby reducing waste.

An implementation date for the new warehouse has not yet been publicized. Diamond plans to finish the move before the holiday season, preferably by late October. 6,000 skids, or 300 tractor trailers, of product has already been transferred. Diamond offers over 20,000 SKUs and 20,000,000 items, so reordering will be suspended for one week as non-comic book product is transferred, then later, comic books and graphic novels will be unavailable for six to ten days. New product will ship directly to the new warehouse, and won’t be affected.

Since the move is less than ten miles from Diamond’s current warehouses in the Memphis area, all of the warehouse management staff, and 98% of the warehouse employees will transfer to the new location. UPS shipping will continue from the current hub.
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G. Butt baffled by 300 prequel, too

09/5/08

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While out doing the rounds of PR for RocknRolla, the new Guy Ritchie-directed film, Leonidas, aka Gerard Butler, sounded off on rumors of a 300 sequel or prequel of some kind:

Unfortunately, Butler hasn’t heard anything more then we have, and he seemed rather dubious of the film’s franchise potential. “I’ve heard some backroom chatter, but nothing more, so I don’t know if it would be a sequel or a prequel. I don’t want say anymore than that, because I really don’t know. I haven’t read anything. I can’t see it myself–sequel for me absolutely not, but I just mean the idea generally, I’m really not sure which way they would go with that.”

MY NAME IS BRUCE update

09/5/08

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Whatever happened to that movie in which Bruce Campbell has to rescue a town beset by demons, and the townspeople believe he can really fight them? Well, screenwriter Mark Verheiden has the release news:

Dates for the theatrical release of “My Name Is Bruce” have finally been announced. Bruce Campbell himself, aka “the man”, will be making personal appearances in multiple cities to launch the greatest film directed by and starring Bruce Campbell released this year! Here’s the official press release, straight from B.C. himself:

My Name is Bruce is hitting theaters October 26th. I’ll be appearing in each of the following cities to introduce the film and answer questions afterward:

10/26 Austin, TX Alamo Drafthouse - Black Curtain screening/premiere with Harry Knowles
10/31-11/2 NYC
11/5 Philadelphia, PA
11/7 Boston, MA
11/9 Hartford, CT
11/12 New Haven, CT
11/14 Baltimore, MD
11/15 Washington D.C.
11/19 Columbus, OH
11/20 Toledo, OH
11/21-23 Detroit, MI
11/28-30 Chicago, IL
12/3 Madison, WI
12/5-7 Minneapolis, MN
12/12 Seattle, WA
12/13-14 Portland, OR
12/15 – Medford, Or
12/17 San Francisco, CA
12/18 Berkeley, CA
12/19-21 Los Angeles, CA


Over at the Splash Page blog, Laura Hudson has more on the Dark Horse comic book tie-in, including a three-page preview and an interview with scripter Milton Freewater.

Freewater says that when he got the call from Dark Horse to write the “My Name Is Bruce” comic, “it was tied to a Bruce Campbell movie, so I couldn’t pass it up… I love Bruce’s work. I’ve followed him since ‘Evil Dead.’ I think he’s been in every movie made since about 1987,” he jokes. “And he was the only good thing about the train-wreck that was ‘Spider-Man 3.’”

BEANWORLD is back!

09/4/08

It’s the first new BEANWORLD story in over a decade! And it’s up on DARK HORSE PRESENTS at MySpace.

You can even friend up the Beanworld here.

Weekend viewing: DARK KNIGHT and HELLBOY II

07/21/08

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Well we survived Hell Week and got about 87% of what we had to get done, done, which is a good percentage. We even managed to sneak in the movies we had to see before Nerd Fest and everything got spoiled.

Our enjoyment of THE DARK KNIGHT on Saturday was somewhat hampered by a few elements:

1) We arrived late and had to sit in the 3rd row. Not the most relaxing place to sit.

2) For some unknown reason, the woman sitting next to us decided to bring an entire box full of stinky Chinese food to eat during the film. Stinky Chinese food full of stinky cabbage. And every once in a while, as the movie unfolded, she would open up the box and have a taste, sending new waves of stinky cabbage — now old and cold — into the theater. She also sat with it on her LAP the whole time instead of at least lowering it to the ground where the potential for damage was less.

Now don’t get us wrong, we’ve snuck food into the theater — we especially favor one of the sublime tuna salad sandwiches from Todaro Brothers, and, sure, that doesn’t smell like a bed of jasmine, but we eat the whole thing and it’s soon finished. Ultimately, if the Joker really were to come to Gotham, he could do worse than to demoralize the populace and ruin people’s joy by sneaking stinky Chinese food into theaters across the city.

3) — and this is the one that will get us into trouble — we didn’t think BATMAN BEGINS was the Dostoyevsky-level masterpiece most fellows think it was. It was perfectly fine and well done and well cast, but it was, in the end, a fine action movie.

THE DARK KNIGHT is more, to that we would agree, and, yes, almost surely the greatest superhero movie ever made, but it was too choppily edited to be a truly great film, no matter how strong the story and the performances. Anyway, that’s our story and we’re sticking to it, at least until we see it in IMAX in a week or so. It didn’t complete us, or send us into orbit, or make us want to rate it the #1 film of all time or anything like that. We kind of get why The Dark Knight generation feels that way, but maybe this is just not as much our thing.

That said, we do think this, from New Yorker reviewer David Denby is one of the dumbest things ever written:

In brief, Warner Bros. has continued to drain the poetry, fantasy, and comedy out of Tim Burton’s original conception for “Batman” (1989), completing the job of coarsening the material into hyperviolent summer action spectacle.


This from someone who thought the wretched HANCOCK was the best movie of the summer? What is in Denby’s water? What is in his Chinese food, even?

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HELLBOY II was a lot of fun, and the best demo reel for THE HOBBIT we could imagine. Even down to how [SPOILER]the crown MELTED at the end. It was a visual treat, a feast of imagination, and just a great time at the movies. Not much more to say than that.

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In other news, we’re going to TRY to slog through the last of the booth listings for the big show, and try to finish the laundry.

SD08: Dark Horse

07/20/08

Darkhorse Logo 1Amano! Mignola! Sakai! Way! Nightow! BRUCE CAMPBELL! Dark Horse has an incredible list of signings, raffles to win exclusive Domo figures, a full day of WETA signings, a full day of Star Wars signings and panels galore. Details are all in the jump.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 23 (Preview Night)

Domo raffle! Come to our booth to win one of our San Diego Exclusive Domo Figures!

THURSDAY, JULY 24:
11:00 – 12:00 Rick Geary: The Adventures of Blanche
12:00 - 1:00 Joshua Dysart: B.P.R.D., Conan and the Midnight God
12:00 – 1:00 Bernie Wrightson: Bernie Wrightson’s Frankenstein
1:00 - 2:00 Gabriel Ba & Fabio Moon: Umbrella Academy, Myspace Dark Horse Presents
2:00 – 3:00 Nathan Fox: Pigeons From Hell
2:00 - 3:00 Dean Motter: Mister X
3:00 – 4:00 Greg “Stainboy” Reinel: Vicious Intent
3:00 – 4:00 Gilbert Hernandez: Speak of the Devil
4:00 - 5:00 Jim Hardison: The Helm
5:00 – 6:00 Eric Powell: The Goon


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