Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Comic News: The Torch #1 Ignites this September!



As seen on G4, the original Marvel super hero is back in The Torch #1!


Acclaimed writer Mike Carey (X-Men Legacy) & legendary creator Alex Ross (Marvels) join rising star artist Patrick Berkenkotter for a red-hot limited series event, with packaging by Dynamite Entertainment! The Mad Thinker is obsessed with learning the secrets of Jim Hammond, AKA the Human Torch, but how far will he go? How does this all new limited series affect the Marvel heroes of today? And just what secrets from the Torch’s past will be revealed? And don’t miss a sketch variant from the legend himself, Alex Ross!

"[The Human Torch is] one of the first generation of super heroes, the ones who defined the new genre and gave it a distinctive shape," Carey told Marvel.Com. "Everything that followed flowed on naturally from that; from the Torch, Namor, Cap, and those early stories of super heroes as the world's peacekeepers. The paradigm has changed many times since, but all the later elaborations used that as their starting point. The Torch is one of the tiny number of iconic figures who was in there on the ground floor."

With an all star creative team behind it, Marvel urges retailers to check their orders on The Torch!

THE TORCH #1 (of 8) (JUL090468)
THE TORCH #1 (of 8) SKETCH VARIANT (JUN098483)
Written by MIKE CAREY & ALEX ROSS
Penciled by PATRICK BERKENKOTTER
Cover by ALEX ROSS
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC—8/13/09, On-Sale—9/2/09




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TV News: Metalocalypse’s Dethklok and Mastodon Join Forces to Embark on a 34-City North American Tour



Kicking Off October 2nd, High On Fire and Converge Will Tour With Stars of Adult Swim’s Metalocalypse
and Grammy® Award Winner, Mastodon During Seven-Week Tour

EA’s “Brütal Legend” to Sponsor Metal Tour



This fall, two of the most popular bands in metal will co-headline a 34-city North American tour as the Grammy® Award-winning Mastodon hits the road with Dethklok, the world’s most brutal animated death metal band from Adult Swim’s Metalocalypse. In one of the most highly-anticipated tours of the year, the Adult Swim Presents Dethklok and Mastodon tour will kick off on October 2 in Portland, Ore. and bring mayhem and destruction to local venues throughout the nation. Adding even more layers to this fall’s top metal tour, Oakland’s High On Fire and Converge will open each show. There will be a ticket pre-sale that begins on Tuesday, August 4 at 10:00 AM EST, while the full allotment of tickets will go on sale to the general public starting Friday, August 7. For more information about the tour including the pre-sale ticket password, price ranges and how to order, please visit www.adultswimpresents.com.

As sponsor for the entire tour, Adult Swim will feature ”Brütal Legend” gaming stations for fans to experience the videogame first-hand, while a two-minute animated content piece, created by Titmouse, will air during each show. Print ads, AdultSwim.com and on-site materials will also feature the videogame as the tour’s key sponsor. “Brütal Legend” is an epic action game from visionary developer Tim Schafer. Jack Black stars as Eddie Riggs, a legendary roadie summoned to a world of Heavy Metal where mountains are made of amplifiers, killer spiders spin guitar strings and Rock Legends roam the landscape. As Eddie, crush skulls with a battle axe, ravage the road in a super-charged Hot Rod and unleash the power of Rock to reign down fire from the sky – all to save humanity and become a Brütal Legend.

Nathan Explosion, William Murderface, Skwisgaar Swigelf, Toki Wartooth and Pickles – better known as Dethklok – will take to the road in support of the band’s latest CD release from Williams Street Records, Dethklok: The Dethalbum II, which will be released as both a standard and deluxe edition on September 29 from Williams Street Records. A limited-edition vinyl of the album will also be released at local record shops starting November 24. Bringing the animated band to life on stage each night will be series co-creator and composer Brendon Small along with an all-star band including the legendary Gene Hoglan, Bryan Beller and Mike Keneally. These real life-musicians will perform live while dark-lit and playing underneath a giant projection screen featuring all-new animation and music videos from Dethklok to create a truly unique concert experience.

Sharing the bill with Dethklok on this seven-week tour is Grammy® Award-winning hard icons Mastodon, who are currently touring Europe and the UK with Metallica. The band’s groundbreaking new album Crack The Skye was released on March 24, debuting on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart at #11 to overwhelming international critical praise. Rolling Stone Magazine applauded Mastodon by declaring them as: “The greatest metal band of their generation – no one comes close.” Need more proof? Go to: www.mastodonrocks.com or www.cracktheskye.com

Universally recognized as one of the most potent acts in music today, High On Fire creates “bad-ass” modern metal that merges primal fury and aggression, skyscraping riff explosions and hesher bombast with a monolithic heaviness. Described as “a supersonic exercise in conquest by volume and sheer heaviness,” High On Fire has burned the hard rock rulebook since its formation in 1998, forging a style and sound that is both unique and absolutely crushing. The group features vocalist and cult guitar hero Matt Pike, a founding member of the famed underground band SLEEP and one of heavy music’s most charismatic figures. Pike was named by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of its “New Guitar Gods.”
Considered one of the most intense, important, and influential metal/hardcore bands ever, Converge will release their anticipated new album Axe To Fall on Epitaph on October 20th. The release is the follow up to their highly-acclaimed No Heroes album, released on Epitaph in 2006. Though Converge has remained tight lipped about all aspects of Axe To Fall, the buzz surrounding the upcoming release already has the rumblings of potential aggressive album of the year.


The tour schedule for Adult Swim Presents Metalocalypse’sDethklok and Mastodon with High On Fire and Converge is as follows:


Date Venue City, State
10/2/09 Roseland Theater Portland, OR
10/3/09 WaMu Theater Seattle, WA
10/4/09 Orpheum Theatre Vancouver, BC
10/6/09 Big Four Building Calgary, AB
10/7/09 Shaw Conference Centre Edmonton, AB
10/9/09 Great Saltair Salt Lake City, UT
10/10/09 Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO
10/12/09 Uptown Theater Kansas City, MO
10/13/09 The Pageant St. Louis, MO
10/14/09 Val Air Ballroom Des Moines, IA
10/16/09 Myth St. Paul, MN
10/17/09 Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL
10/18/09 Eagle’s Auditorium Milwaukee, WI
10/20/09 LC Pavilion Columbus, OH
10/21/09 The Fillmore Detroit Detroit, MI
10/23/09 Sound Academy Toronto
10/24/09 The Fairgrounds Buffalo, NY
10/25/09 Armory Albany, NY
10/27/09 House of Blues Boston, MA
10/30/09 Hammerstein Ballroom New York, NY
10/31/09 Patriot Center Washington, DC
11/1/09 Electric Factory Philadelphia, PA
11/5/09 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
11/6/09 House of Blues Myrtle Beach, SC
11/7/09 Hard Rock Live Orlando, FL
11/8/09 Pompano Beach Amphitheater Pompano Beach, FL
11/11/09 House of Blues Dallas, TX
11/12/09 Verizon Wireless Theater Houston, TX
11/13/09 Austin City Music Hall Austin, TX
11/14/09 Brady Theater Tulsa, OK
11/16/09 Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM
11/17/09 Mesa Amphitheater Mesa, AZ
11/18/09 House of Blues Las Vegas, NV
11/19/09 Palladium Los Angeles, CA

*Schedule is subject to change.

"Seeing this lineup makes me jealous for the audience,” said Metalocalypse’s Small. “Both myself and my band that doesn't exist are incredibly excited and honored to be a part of it. Furthermore, I see this tour jump-starting the economy and completely reversing the recession. I've said this a thousand times: There is no recession for metal."

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DVD News: New Lionsgate DVDs Arriving September 8th



One month left! Check out these new releases from Lionsgate arriving on DVD
September 8th - Crank 2 High Voltage, Mad Monster Party: Special Edition and Requiemfor a Dream Blu-ray Disc.


Crank 2 High Voltage
You can't keep a good man down. Chev Chelios (Jason Statham, The Italian Job) is back this time to retrieve his stolen heart in the high-octane, truly electrifying Crank 2 High Voltage. Debuting on Blu-ray Disc, Special Edition DVD and standard DVD this September, the film picks up right where the original left off, with Chev surviving certain death only to face a new challenging day. This action-packed thriller is a feast for the eyes and the technology of Blu-ray only enhances the experience, delivering the exhilarating content through the unparalleled 1080P High Definition Widescreen presentation and 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio. The Blu-ray Disc and the 2-disc Special Edition DVD both contain a standard definition digital copy of the film as well as exhilarating bonus features that include audio commentary with the writers/directors, a "making of" documentary and a bloopers featurette. The Blu-ray Disc also features a gag reel, wrap party footage, bookmarks, Lionsgate Live™ and MoLog™, the first BD Live application that allows users to insert and animate shapes, text, audio and other graphics right into the film. Users are also able to post "blogs" about the film to share with other registered MoLog™ users. The Blu-ray Disc also contains the feature exclusive of the Crank'd Out Commentary with cast and crew available in Bonus View picture in picture mode. The standard one-disc DVD of Crank 2 High Voltage will include a Widescreen and Full Screen version of the film and the theatrical trailer.

Chev Chelios wakes up to discover his nearly indestructible heart has been surgically removed and replaced with a battery-operated ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity in order to work. After a dangerous escape from his captors, Chev is on the run again, this time from the charismatic Mexican gang boss El Huron (Clifton Collins, Jr., Star Trek) and the Chinese Triads, headed by the dangerous 100 year-old Poon Dong (David Carradine, Kill Bill: Vol. 2). Once again turning to Doc Miles (Dwight Yoakam, Four Christmases) for medical advice, receiving help from his friend Kaylo's twin brother Venus (Efren Ramirez, Napoleon Dynamite) and re-connecting with his girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart, TV's "Scrubs"), who is no longer in the dark about what he does for a living, Chev is determined to get his real heart back and wreak vengeance on whoever stole it.
Pricing: DVD $29.95
Pricing: Special Edition DVD $34.98 (2-Disc Set)
Pricing: Blu-ray Disc $39.99 (2-Disc Set)


Mad Monster Party: Special Edition
Mad Monster Party, the beloved animated Halloween classic, comes to Special Edition DVD this September from Lionsgate. Featuring the voices of horror film legend Boris Karloff (Frankenstein) as Baron Boris von Frankenstein and Golden Globe® nominee Phyllis Diller (TV's "The Pruitts of Southampton," Best TV Star-Female, 1966) as the Monster's Mate, Mad Monster Party: Special Edition is a hilariously spooky classic! This treasured stop-motion movie comes from the studios of Rankin-Bass - the team who created "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman" and other beloved holiday specials and has been called an inspiration for Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. The Mad Monster Party: Special Edition includes a brand-new retrospective featurette and two fun sing-a-longs, and is encased in frighteningly fun neon O-card DVD packaging - making it the perfect treat for Halloween this year!

Baron Von Frankenstein has decided to retire as the head of the Worldwide Organization of Monsters. But first, he must inform the other monsters about his plans. How to deliver the news? How else - through a Mad Monster Party! Von Frankenstein's guests include a who's who of Halloween favorites, including The Werewolf, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Mummy, The Invisible Man and more. But who among them is fit to be the new head of the monsters? Find out in this frighteningly fun holiday classic from Rankin Bass ("Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer") that will leave kids of all ages howling with delight!
Pricing: DVD $14.98


Requiem for a Dream
Requiem for a Dream, which stars Academy Award® winners Ellen Burstyn (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Best Actress in a Leading Role, 1974) and Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind, Best Supporting Actress, 2001), as well as Jared Leto (Lord of War) and Marlon Wayans, comes to Blu-ray disc this September from Lionsgate. The disc features a newly remastered 1080P High Definition Widescreen presentation of the film plus 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio. Blu-ray special features include audio commentaries with the director and the director of photography, a "making of" documentary, deleted scenes and interviews. A stunningly dramatic film about four people whose intertwined lives are filled with eternally hopeful despair, Requiem for a Dream received rave reviews from critics and audiences across the country. Rolling Stone magazine proclaimed "no one interested in the power and magic of movies should miss it," the Detroit Free Press exclaimed the film "conveys, visually, sonically and dramatically, the siren call of addiction like no other movie has" and The New York Times praised the "astonishing performances."

Harry Goldfarb (Leto) and Marion Silver (Connelly) are lovers in Brooklyn with their version of the American dream, setting up a small business and spending the rest of their lives in love. The two are also desperate heroin addicts, a compulsion that darkens their lives. Harry's mother, Sara Goldfarb (Burstyn), is addicted to television. One day she receives a call from her favorite show and learns that she has been selected to appear on an upcoming broadcast. When she can't fit into her best red dress, her doctor prescribes diet pills, to which she swiftly and painfully becomes addicted. With its unflinching dissection of addiction, the film is a psychologically disturbing, visually captivating depiction of lost hope.
Pricing: Blu-ray Disc $19.99
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Comic News: MARVEL CELEBRATES MAJOR MILESTONE-- Marvel Comics 70th Anniversary Parties Nationwide



On August 11, 2009, Over 500 Comic Shop Retailers and Select Barnes & Noble Stores Across the Country Are Set to Celebrate




To celebrate its 70th anniversary, Marvel Comics will commemorate the milestone event on Tuesday, August 11th with special anniversary parties taking place around the world! Over 500 comic shop retailers will be hosting parties to celebrate the comic book giant’s 70 year history from 1939 to today. These events will be offering: early on sale release of The Marvels Project #1, an all new series detailing the origins of super heroes in the Marvel Universe by the creative team behind the worldwide sensation The Death Of Captain America; exclusive limited edition variants, a remastered version of the very first comic Marvel published, Marvel Comics #1, special sales, and more. To download a full list of retailers participating in Marvel 70th Anniversary parties, visit www.marvel.com/70thparty! All retailer parties begin at 9pm local time.

In addition, at 7:00 PM local time, Barnes & Noble will be hosting five in-store events in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Portland and Seattle, with appearances by some of the biggest names in the comic book world, hosting Q&A sessions and a chance to get your favorite comics autographed. Also appearing at these events are some of the most beloved characters from the Marvel Universe.

Barnes & Noble locations include:

NYC SPECIAL GUESTS IRON MAN AND SPIDER-MAN
150 E 86TH Street
New York, NY
Creators:
Joe Quesada Marvel Editor in Chief
Chris Claremont
Greg Pak
Klaus Janson
Fred Van Lente

ATLANTA SPECIAL GUEST WOLVERINE
2900 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30305
Creators:
Daniel Way
Paul Jenkins
Mark Bagley

LOS ANGELES SPECIAL GUEST HULK
The Grove at Farmer's Market
189 Grove Drive Suite K 30
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Creators:
Jeph Loeb
Craig Kyle
Chris Yost
Mark Waid

PORTLAND SPECIAL GUEST ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
Clackamas Towne Center Mall
2000 SE 82nd Avenue
Portland, OR 97266
Creators:
Brian Michael Bendis
Jeff Parker
Rick Remender

SEATTLE SPECIAL GUEST CAPTAIN AMERICA
2675 NE University Village Street.
Seattle, WA 98105
Creators:
Ed Brubaker
Clayton Crain

And after you’re done at participating Barnes & Noble stores, follow your favorite heroes to participating local comic shops around the country for parties beginning at 9pm!

NYC SPECIAL GUESTS IRON MAN AND SPIDER-MAN
Midtown Comics Times Square
200 W 40th Street (Corner of 7th Avenue)
New York, NY 10018

ATLANTA SPECIAL GUEST WOLVERINE
Great Escape Comics & Games
1050 East Piedmont Road
Suite D
Marietta, GA 30062

LOS ANGELES SPECIAL GUEST HULK
Golden Apple
7018 Melrose Ave
LA, CA 90038

PORTLAND SPECIAL GUEST ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
Cosmic Monkey Comics
5335 NE Sandy Blvd.
Portland, OR 97213

SEATTLE SPECIAL GUEST CAPTAIN AMERICA
Comic Book Ink
1625 East 72nd and Portland ave.
Suite 800
Tacoma, WA 98404

For more information on Marvel’s 70th Anniversary, head over to
www.marvel.com/70 .

All comic shop events start at 9:00 PM local time and will run from one to two hours. To learn more about parties in your area, please visit
www.marvel.com/70thparty And remember—Make Mine ’39!
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Toy News: Hot Toys - X-Men Origins: Wolverine - 1/6th scale Wolverine Limited Edition collectible figurine



Hot Toys is proud to announce the fan-favorite mutant – Wolverine collectible figure from the “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” movie.


This 1/6th scale human mutant features:

* Newly developed Hot Toys hirsute muscular figure body
* Over 30 points of articulation
* Stands approximately 30 cm tall
* His movie accurate costume of brown jacket, undershirt, shirt, jeans and boots
* Real-like Wolverine origins adamantium claws
* Accessories: dog tags and a leather-like belt with detailed buckle
* Two pairs of interchangeable hands
* Life-like head sculpt with authentic likeness of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine
* Figure base with Wolverine nameplate and the movie logo

** special feature: new material used on the figure head, better head skin texture is presented with this new material.

Release date: Q4, 2009

Artist info:
Head Sculpt by Kojun
Head Paint by JC.Hong





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