7:00 PM, Thursday, May 17th, 2012 - Posted by Chuck Moore
The latest update for the DC Comics iOS app, available now, supports Retina Display! Now you can read your favorite new comics every week with stunning, high definition graphics. Readers using the new iPad device will find the app's higher resolution graphics particularly compelling. So what are you waiting for? Download the DC Comics app update today and start reading.
7:00 AM, Tuesday, May 8th, 2012 - Posted by John Wilson
Sydney's Fuel VFX delivered 150 visual effects shots for THE AVENGERS, the latest blockbuster from Marvel Studios in which Nick Fury from the international agency S.H.I.E.L.D. assembles a team of super-heroes to defend the Earth against Loki, Thor's brother, who wants to destroy it.
Led by VFX Supervisor Simon Maddison, Fuel looked after three sequences that occur in and around Tony Stark's New York penthouse, perched atop Stark Tower. In a scene near the film's opening, Tony and Pepper are celebrating the tower coming online when they are interrupted by Agent Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D. Fuel designed and created the various holograms featured in this scene which give an insight into some of the other members of the Avengers team, as well as the mysterious tesseract artefact.
The penthouse set required sweeping views of New York to be added behind Stark's floor-to-ceiling glass windows, for both night and day looks in two different scenes, as well as extension to parts of the interior set.
Fuel's work can also be seen in the Loki-Thor fight sequence that takes place on the floating balcony outside of Stark's apartment during the battle to protect New York. For this important and complex sequence, Fuel created a CG exterior of Stark Tower that could both replace the small set piece where required and also join up to it where some of the live action elements needed to be preserved. With Stark Tower having a large glass facade and glass panels along the balcony, there were many complex reflection and lighting issues that needed to be solved.
The New York cityscape of course needed to be added here, along with FX animation from Loki's sceptre, and background CG chariots of the attacking aliens. With so much action taking place in this sequence, and the Loki-Thor fight intercutting with the action of the other characters, continuity was crucial and Fuel worked closely with VFX Supervisor Janek Sirrs and the film's other vendors to ensure that the look of Stark Tower and the New York background remained consistent.
';The Avengers' released in Australian cinemas on April 25, 2012 and in the US on May 4, breaking box office records in both territories. In the US, the film posted the biggest opening weekend of all time taking $200.3 million.
2:00 PM, Monday, May 7th, 2012 - Posted by John Wilson
Increasingly upset over the promotion of "showrooming" by online giant Amazon, Target announced that it will cease carrying Amazon's Kindle e-readers. When Target began carrying Kindles in 2010 it was a coup for Amazon, which lacked brick-and-mortar outlets where consumers could check out the new e-readers in person. But, according to The New York Times, in January Target sent vendors a letter stating flatly: "what we aren't willing to do is let online retailers use our brick-and-mortar stores as a showroom for their products and undercut our prices."
This letter may well have been in response to a Christmas season promotion that Amazon ran for its Price Check app that gave consumers an extra 5% off of any item that they scanned in a store. The increasingly prevalent practice of showrooming, consumers checking out merchandise at stores and then scanning the item's barcode and purchasing it at a discount online, has been blamed for a slow down in sales at big box stores such as Best Buy as well as Target.
Kindles are now also sold by Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Staples so the loss of Target doesn't look like a threat to the Kindle's e-reader dominance, unless the other chains followed Target's lead. Target will be setting up Apple boutiques in its stores and selling iPads as well as Barnes & Noble's NOOK and other e-readers (everything except Kindles).
4:00 PM, Saturday, May 5th, 2012 - Posted by John Wilson
Avengers fans assemble...at Marvel's new graphic novel page on Google Play! That's right, there's now another online platform to purchase Marvel digital graphic novels that feature some of your favorite l heroes like Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and more!
Marvel's Digital Graphic Novels on Google Play offers a wide variety of Marvel's content, from Avengers to X-Men. Want to read one of the comic book inspirations for the new Avengers movie? Purchase ULTIMATES VOL. 1: SUPER-HUMAN! Interested in learning more about Captain America and Bucky Barnes? Buy CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER to plunge into international intrigue and Cap's ongoing battle with the Red Skull! If you're in the mood for some Hulk action, pick up HULK VOL. 1: RED HULK and vent some of that pent up anger with Bruce Banner and company.
And that's just the tip of the super hero iceberg. In the coming weeks and months, we'll be adding more digital graphic novels to Google Play. What that means is more Iron Man, more Avengers, more X-Men, more Spider-Man and more of Marvel's greatest heroes protecting the innocent and saving the world! So whether you've just seen "Marvel's The Avengers", or are a comic book collector about to take the digital comic plunge, Marvel's Digital Graphic Novels on Google Play has something for everyone to purchase, read, and enjoy.
7:00 AM, Friday, May 4th, 2012 - Posted by John Wilson
Tapping into the on-the-go habits of today's digital generation and complementing the latest trailer for the July 3 release of The Amazing Spider-Man feature film reboot, Sony Pictures Entertainment has launched The Amazing Spider-Man AR, a free augmented reality, 3D app experience based on the movie.
The app, which is currently available for iPhone, iPod touch on the App Store and for Android devices on Google Play, allows fans to interact with the famous webslinger in online and real world environments through scanning features that unlock exclusive 3D animations shot by the movie's stunt team.
Users can find special images to scan through social channels, on the official movie website, and through the retail, online and editorial channels of Sony Stores, Activision, and Entertainment Weekly.
The app, which uses Qualcomm's Vuforia platform, also features a picture mode that lets users take their own unique photos of Spider-Man that can be shared with friends and family, and a single frame within the new trailer when scanned will also unlock a new animation.
1:00 PM, Tuesday, May 1st, 2012 - Posted by John Wilson
DC Entertainment announced today that it has released a new family-friendly DC Nation app offering instant access to the best in all-ages content from DC Comics. Based on the popular Saturday morning programming block from Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment, the free app features thousands of pages of kid-safe content including free, first issues of three of the all-time greatest kids' comics BATMAN ADVENTURES #1, SUPERMAN ADVENTURES, #1 and the multiple Eisner Award-winning TINY TITANS #1.
The app will also offer several Super Hero Origin mini-comics and the first six installments of the ever-expanding DC Nation Secret Files, an encyclopedia of the coolest characters from DC Comics. A monthly DC Nation "mini-mag" will highlight the latest happenings with the Cartoon Network TV programming block. In addition to the wide-range of free comics in the app, more than 100 all-ages DC Comics titles will be available for purchase at $.99 each, with more titles added every week.
On the heels of the app launch, DC Entertainment will also release a new DC Nation Super Spectacular magazine in May. The 64-page magazine will be on newsstands and in comic book shops for $4.99 throughout the summer, offering kids a collection of new comics based on popular DC Nation shows including Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series. The magazine will also include exclusive versions of content that extends from the DC Nation app programming, including special versions of DC Nation Secret Files and a DC Nation Sneak Peek. The magazine is sponsored by LEGO® Batman™ 2: DC Super Heroes, an upcoming game from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment,.and will include an exclusive game code for its readers.
"DC Nation has already proven to be an extremely popular kids' franchise," stated Hank Kanalz, senior vice president of digital, DC Entertainment. "The new app and magazine will extend DC Nation's reach while also delivering fresh content to core fans of the TV programming block."
Other comic book titles available in the DC Nation app include: GREEN LATERN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, YOUNG JUSTICE, THE BATMAN STRIKES, KRYPTO THE SUPERDOG, TEEN TITANS, BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM!, SUPERGIRL: COSMIC ADVENTURES IN THE 8TH GRADE and YOUNG JUSTICE: CLASSIC SERIES, among others.
11:30 AM, Tuesday, May 1st, 2012 - Posted by Brant Fowler
We've been hearing talk about this for a while now, and at the past couple of conventions, Mark Waid really spelled it out. Especially at C2E2, he revealed details of the venture.
Well, today is the day. May 1st, 2012, Thrillbent.com is now LIVE! Check it out, see what you think, and let us know. Will this change the industry? Is it more of the same? Will this hurt independent webcomic creators? Over the next few months and year I'm sure we'll have a lot more insight into all of these questions. For now, just enjoy some free online comics!
12:00 PM, Sunday, April 29th, 2012 - Posted by Brant Fowler
Once a loyal retainer until his lord's death in battle, Miyamoto Usagi is now an unemployed ronin walking the warrior's pilgrimage, in search of harmony. In this tale, Usagi teaches a runaway boy that honor is more important to a samurai than fighting skills, but his swordsmanship ends up on display anyway when the boy accidentally sets a gang of bandits on him!
12:00 PM, Friday, April 27th, 2012 - Posted by Brant Fowler
Asylum Press dives into the digital pool with a brand new digital comics series in Zombie Terrors. So horror fans rejoice... or at least horror fans that love digital media! Check out the full details below:
Frank Forte announces that Asylum Press will release a Zombie Terrors as an ongoing digital series.
Zombie Terrors (ongoing series) is an anthology of the undead. It gathers together artists and writers from all over the world to have their hand at everyone's favorite brain eaters. Issues 1-5 will feature content form the Zombie terrors TPB released in 2010, and issues 6 and on will feature all new content.
Zombie Terrors will also be available on Comixology. Comics+ (Iverse), Graphicly, Diamond Digital as well as stand alone apps and epubs on KindleFire, Nook, Kobo, ibookstore, and Googlebooks.
"We're very excited about the possibility of reaching so many people all over the world," explains publisher Frank Forte, "tablets and smart phone ownership is exploding and we want to provide great comics content. The one obstacle we face is coordinating releases an all platforms and devices. We'll be updating which comics are available on which platforms on our website."
Zombie Terrors #1 is a morbid flesh rotting collection of zombie tales. Featuring an international cast of artistic talent. Frank Forte delivers Beheaded, a tale of a crazed hillbilly who takes trophies off of his zombie victims. "The Feast" tells the tale of a gourmet chef taken hostage by a greedy mob boss, By Royal McGraw and Aduato Silva. In "Hate", by Doug Williams, a recently turned undead still has some semblance of his humanity--and he hates it. Pin-ups by David Hartman. Many flesh-eating tales to shock and horrify!
Led by VFX Supervisor Simon Maddison, Fuel looked after three sequences that occur in and around Tony Stark's New York penthouse, perched atop Stark Tower. In a scene near the film's opening, Tony and Pepper are celebrating the tower coming online when they are interrupted by Agent Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D. Fuel designed and created the various holograms featured in this scene which give an insight into some of the other members of the Avengers team, as well as the mysterious tesseract artefact.
Increasingly upset over the promotion of "showrooming" by online giant Amazon, Target announced that it will cease carrying Amazon's Kindle e-readers. When Target began carrying Kindles in 2010 it was a coup for Amazon, which lacked brick-and-mortar outlets where consumers could check out the new e-readers in person. But, according to The New York Times, in January Target sent vendors a letter stating flatly: "what we aren't willing to do is let online retailers use our brick-and-mortar stores as a showroom for their products and undercut our prices." 
Marvel's Digital Graphic Novels on Google Play offers a wide variety of Marvel's content, from Avengers to X-Men. Want to read one of the comic book inspirations for the new Avengers movie? Purchase ULTIMATES VOL. 1: SUPER-HUMAN! Interested in learning more about Captain America and Bucky Barnes? Buy CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER to plunge into international intrigue and Cap's ongoing battle with the Red Skull! If you're in the mood for some Hulk action, pick up HULK VOL. 1: RED HULK and vent some of that pent up anger with Bruce Banner and company.
Tapping into the on-the-go habits of today's digital generation and complementing the latest trailer for the July 3 release of The Amazing Spider-Man feature film reboot, Sony Pictures Entertainment has launched The Amazing Spider-Man AR, a free augmented reality, 3D app experience based on the movie.
The app will also offer several Super Hero Origin mini-comics and the first six installments of the ever-expanding DC Nation Secret Files, an encyclopedia of the coolest characters from DC Comics. A monthly DC Nation "mini-mag" will highlight the latest happenings with the Cartoon Network TV programming block. In addition to the wide-range of free comics in the app, more than 100 all-ages DC Comics titles will be available for purchase at $.99 each, with more titles added every week.
