Kevin Melrose
ComiXology pulls 56 digital comics from iOS app [Updated]
ComiXology has removed 56 titles from its iOS app this week — they range from Angry Youth Comix to Sex to The Boys: Herogasm — to adhere to Apple App Store policies. They’re still available for purchase from comiXology.com.
“In order to comply with the Apple App Store guidelines regarding adult or inappropriate content, some new releases were rejected for our iOS app this week,” a statement on the comiXology blog reads. “In addition, certain previously released titles that fall outside of these guidelines were also rejected and will be removed from sale.”
The announcement comes a little more than a month after the digital-comics distribution platform rejected Saga #12 in an effort to adhere to Apple policies, an action originally attributed to the computer giant. In the aftermath, Image asked that Black Kiss II, XXXombies and Sex #1 be revisited, resulting in all three being approved for the comiXology and Image Comics iOS apps. Now, however, all three have been removed.
The list of removed titles also includes Jess Fink’s Chester 5000, Reed Waller and Kate Worley’s classic Omaha the Cat Dancer, Johnny Ryan’s Prison Pit and the gay-comics anthology No Straight Lines, which features the work of Alison Bechdel, Howard Cruse and Eric Shanower, among others.
Update (11:50 a.m.): ComiXology contacted ROBOT 6 to clarify that it was notified by Apple that those titles didn’t meet the App Store content guidelines, and therefore were pulled from the iOS app.
This 4-year-old likely knows more than you do about Marvel
Most Marvel comics fans pride themselves in their encyclopedic knowledge of comic-book continuity, amassed over a lifetime of reading. The Summers family tree, the gross national product of Latveria, whatever the deal is with Wanda Maximoff’s kids — that sort of thing. And now this 4-year-old girl is about to put them to shame.
In a video posted over the weekend, Mia Grace Montross of Schenectady, New York, correctly answers 23 Marvel trivia questions (with occasional prompting), ranging from what Captain America’s shield is made of and the stones of the Infinity Gauntlet to the names of the prince of Wakanda and the Devourer of Worlds.
Her father Skip Montross, who runs Daddydadblog, told Mail Online that Mia’s love her superhero comics began after she watched an old episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.
Man finds copy of ‘Action Comics’ #1 in wall of old house
When David and Deanna Gonzalez bought a fixer-upper in Elbow Lake, Minnesota, for $10,100, they never dreamed they’d find a treasure worth 10 times that amount hidden in an abandoned house.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that while demolishing a wall, David Gonzalez struck gold amid newspapers from the 1930s that had been used for insulation: a copy of 1938′s Action Comics #1, featuring the debut of Superman.
He says he knew immediately the comic was valuable, but he had no idea how much it was actually worth. He’ll know for sure in another 20 days, when an online auction ends for the CGC-graded 1.5 copy. The top bid is a $113,111; Gonzalez will receive about half of the final sale price.
Unfortunately for the father of four, that figure would be significantly higher if not for the actions of one of his in-laws. It seems his wife’s over-eager aunt snatched the comic, and when Gonzalez went to grab it, the back cover was ripped, resulting in what ComicConnect’s Stephen Fishler calls “a $75,000 tear.” Without the rip, the comic would have been graded 3.0.
Andrew Garfield shoots hoops with kids while dressed as Spidey
When he’s not facing Electro or the Rhino, there are few things your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man enjoys more than playing basketball with a couple of local kids.
Taking a break from filming The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in New York City’s Chinatown, star Andrew Garfield headed to a nearby basketball court — in full costume, no less — to take on two pint-sized opponents. And, as the video below shows, they may have gotten the better of him. (As the person who shot the video notes, Garfield’s co-star and girlfriend Emma Stone, aka Gwen Stacy, can also be seen in the video, with the dog.)
Kickstarter launches for Jack Kirby book, by his grandson
Less than 24 hours after its launch, a Kickstarter campaign by Jeremy Kirby to fund a coffee table book devoted to his legendary grandfather Jack Kirby has already exceeded its $7,500 goal.
Titled The Life and Times of Jack Kirby, the hardcover will feature hundreds of personal photographs and artwork, and a never-before-seen play written by Jack Kirby called Frog Prince.
“Years ago (1997 to be exact) I wrote a screenplay and shared it with my grandmother,” Jeremy writes. “She did what every grandmother would do after reading her grandson’s story and told me how wonderful it was. But then she stopped for a moment as if pausing to think. She had me wait where I was and I saw her go into her closet. She reached into a box that was on a shelf and pulled out a dusty old folder. She handed it to me and said ‘your grandfather would have wanted you to have this.’ It was a play that he had written. I have since showed the play to friends of the family and not one had ever heard of its existence.”
Australian court rules gym can’t trademark ‘Superman Workout’
Part of the “superman workout,” apparently
An Australian federal court has ruled a Melbourne fitness service cannot register the trademark “Superman Workout,” finding the company made the application in bad faith.
DC Comics had appealed a July decision by the registrar of trademarks that Cheqout Pty’s use of “Superman Workout” was unlikely to deceive or confuse consumers, or lead a significant number of people to presume there’s a connection between the fitness classes and the publisher.
Amazon and Warner Bros. go into fan-fiction business
A week that began with Yahoo’s $1.1 billion deal for Tumblr got even stranger this morning with Amazon Publishing’s announcement of Kindle Worlds, billed as the first commercial publishing platform for fan fiction. In short, fanfic writers can now earn royalties for certain corporate-sanctioned stories.
For the launch, Amazon Publishing has secured licenses from Alloy Entertainment, the book-packaging division of Warner Bros. Television, for Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl, Sara Shepard’s Pretty Little Liars and L.J. Smith’s The Vampire Diaries — all bestselling young-adult series that have spawned hit television shows. More licenses are expected to be announced soon.
Doug Mahnke joins Geoff Johns on ‘Justice League of America’
Doug Mahnke’s interlocking “Trinity War” covers
More than three months after teasing that he and his Green Lantern collaborator would reteam on “a new project later this year,” this morning Geoff Johns made it official: Artist Doug Mahnke will join him on Justice League of America.
The announcement arrives in a farewell message from the writer in today’s Green Lantern #20, which marks the end of a nine-year run that began with 2004′s Green Lantern: Rebirth. After praising artists Ethan Van Sciver, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado, Johns continues, “And Doug Mahnke … he’s the current superstar I work with every month on Green Lantern and have for years now. Doug, you’re one of the most amazing and unique artists in the business. Your power, grit and sense of wonder can be seen at its very best in Green Lantern #20. I’m fortunate to continue working with Doug as we head over to Justice League of America.”
‘It was exactly the right storyline to go out on with him’
Green Lantern #20
“The run started with Hal and Sinestro and kind of continued that relationship, which only got stronger when Sinestro became a Green Lantern again and he and Hal were forced to team up. As I was building towards this next confrontation involving the land of the dead, Hal returning from the dead again and Sinestro and him having another change in their relationship, it just felt like the right time to go. Once I got through this next phase of Hal and Sinestro’s relationship and how it went all the way back to ‘Rebirth’ and then to this point, to me, that was the right time to move on. The story decided it. I think the last issue has a lot of stuff in it that puts an exclamation point on everything we did on the run. [...] [Hal has] sacrificed his life, and now he has to find his way back again. It started with a ‘Rebirth,’ it ends with a rebirth. It just felt right. Hal is a character who lives for the day and he’s so full of life, death can’t stop him. It was exactly the right storyline to go out on with him.”
– Geoff Johns, talking with Comic Book Resources about his nine-year run onGreen Lantern, which comes to an end Wednesday
Preschool bans kids from playing superheroes
Man of Steel
Once more, it appears, Fredric Wertham may have been right.
For the latest evidence, look no further than a Philadelphia preschool, which has purportedly banned “wrestling, Super Hero play, and Monster games,” because they’re resulting in injury.
Reddit user Oremar posted a May 17 letter (below) brought home by his son that states, “Recently it has come to our attention that the imaginations of our preschool children are becoming dangerously overactive causing injuries within our pre-k community. Although we encourage creative thinking and imaginary play, we do not promote out [sic] children hurting one another. Wrestling, Super Hero play, and Monster games will not be permitted here at [name redacted]. In addition, please monitor the different media that your children may view. The re-enactment of televisions [sic] shows/movies are being done during active paly [sic] times in school.”
Warner Bros. & ‘Smallville’ creators settle multimillion-dollar fight
Warner Bros. Television and the co-creators of Smallville have settled a multimillion-dollar dispute concerning profits from the long-running television series. The agreement was announced Monday during a status hearing, but Hollywood Esq. reports no paperwork has been signed.
Series creators and executive producers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough and series producers Tollin/Robbins Productions sued WBTV in 2010, accusing the company of licensing Smallville to its co-owned WB and CW networks “for unreasonably low” fees, thereby cutting the plaintiffs out of tens of millions of dollars.
Watch the fan-made trailer for ‘Kingdom Come’
The odds of a Justice League movie ever making it to theaters are probably about even at the moment and, if rumors are to be believed, largely dependent on the box-office performance of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. Thankfully, however, we won’t have to wait until 2015 or beyond to see Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and Green Lantern together in live-action form.
Director/producer Andrew List has released a low-budget fan trailer for Kingdom Come, based on the acclaimed 1996 miniseries by Alex Ross and Mark Waid. (How low-budget? The project’s indiegogo campaign generated $5,617.) Sure, some of the acting and green-screen work — to say nothing of Superman’s Southern accent — are a bit suspect, but there are a few moments that look as if they were taken right out of the comic. Considering the budget, it’s kind of impressive.
DC Entertainment declares June 12 Man of Steel Day
In anticipation of the June 14 release of the new Superman movie, DC Entertainment has declared Wednesday, June 12, Man of Steel Day.
Sponsored by Sears, the event will see comic shops and bookstores give away copies of All-Star Superman Special Edition #1 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Not so coincidentally, June 12 also marks the debut of Superman Unchained, the new DC Comics series by Scott Snyder and Jim Lee launched to coincide with director Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. That first issue you’ll have to pay $4.99 for (it comes with a two-sided poster).
Activision debuts cover for ‘Deadpool’ video game
Activision has at last revealed the cover for Deadpool, the upcoming video game developed by High Moon Studios and written by Daniel Way.
Arriving June 25 for or PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, Deadpool is a third-person shooter in which the character — like his comic-book counterpart — breaks the fourth wall to interact with players, in between combat focusing on guns, twin swords and an expanded arsenal that includes lasers and giant hammers.
Paolo Rivera, David Petersen win Spectrum Fantastic Art Awards
Paolo Rivera and David Petersen received gold and silver honors, respectively, in the comics category of the 20th Spectrum Fantastic Art Awards, presented Saturday during Spectrum Live in Kansas City. The awards recognize the best in fantasy, science fiction and horror art.
Rivera won for this cover for Daredevil #10, while Petersen won for Mouse Guard: The Black Axe #4, Page 19.
Tor.com has the complete list of winners, which includes a number of names familiar to comics readers: Dan Dos Santos, Charles Vess, Sam Weber and Brom.