Max Brooks Pens Next Generation of G.I. JOE Comics
New York Times bestselling author and IDW release new comic series in May



San Diego, CA (March 4, 2010) – The critically-acclaimed and bestselling author of World War Z, the Zombie Survival Guide and The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks brings his unique and acclaimed style to G.I. JOE comics with a five-issue miniseries: G.I. JOE: Hearts & Minds, coming in May under license from Hasbro. The award-winning Max Brooks crafts a G.I. JOE series for an America at war, starkly contrasting intensely brutal portrayals of the dark side of the human condition with the light of hope in the most unlikely places.

“I tried to write a series as harsh and complicated as the times we’re living in,” said Brooks.

Exploring the effects of real-world war on the individual, every issue of G.I. JOE: Hearts & Minds features two chapters, each spotlighting a different G.I. JOE or COBRA character. Brooks pulls no punches from the very beginning, starting the series with chapters on MAJOR BLUDD and SPIRIT.

“This is the G.I. JOE book that isn't about action figures. It's about people like you and me,” said IDW G.I. JOE editor Andy Schmidt. “And that makes it even more chilling than any zombie novel could be, because this one isn't about a plague--this one is about us.”

Brooks’s dark stories are masterfully brought to life by artists Howard Chaykin and Antonio Fuso, who will each also provide covers. In addition to the regular edition, IDW will be offering a limited number of signed editions.

An award-winning writer, Brooks has brought his own unique style to both TV and print, including as part of the writing team for “Saturday Night Live” for forty episodes from 2001 to 2003, which won an Emmy in 2002. Brooks’s The Zombie Survival Guide was released in 2003 and has sold well over one million copies worldwide. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War followed in 2006, became an instant bestseller and is currently in development to be a major motion picture. Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, Brooks’s most recent book, debuted at number one on the New York Times graphic novel bestseller list.


G.I. JOE: Hearts & Minds #1 (of 5, $3.99, 32 pages, full color) will be available in stores in May. Diamond order code: MAR10 0998.

G.I. JOE: Hearts & Minds #1 Signed Edition ($9.99, 32 pages, full color) will be available in stores in May. Diamond order code: MAR10 0999.


Visit IDWPublishing.com to learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

About IDW Publishing

IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro's The Transformers and G.I. JOE, Paramount's Star Trek; Fox's Angel; the BBC's Doctor Who; and television's #1 prime time series CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints; Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studios; and is the print publisher for ComicMix.

IDW's original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release. More information about the company can be found at IDWPublishing.com.


About Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children’s and family leisure time products and services with a rich portfolio of brands and entertainment properties that provides some of the highest quality and most recognizable play and recreational experiences in the world. As a brand-driven, consumer-focused global company, Hasbro brings to market a range of toys, games and licensed products, from traditional to high-tech and digital, under such powerful brand names as TRANSFORMERS, PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, CRANIUM and WIZARDS OF THE COAST. Come see how we inspire play through our brands at http://www.hasbro.com. © 2010 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

U.S. TROOPS OVERSEAS SET TO RECEIVE

MASS EFFECT: REDEMPTION



DARK HORSE COMICS TO DONATE 5,000 COPIES OF ISSUE #1 TO U.S. ARMED FORCES TROOPS ABROAD



MARCH 3RD , MILWAUKIE, OR – In conjunction with the release of the third explosive issue of Mass Effect: Redemption, Dark Horse Comics announced today that they will be donating 5,000 copies of the first issue of this popular series, which has sold out across the country, to U.S. Armed Forces troops around the world.

Dark Horse will work with Paper Money Guaranty (PMG) to ensure that these issues of Mass Effect: Redemption make it into the hands of the men and women serving in the U.S. military throughout the world. Every year publishers’ donations of Free Comic Book Day issues are sent to troops via PMG, this time the annual payload will be stocked with thousands of issues of Mass Effect: Redemption #1 for America’s fighting men and women. Copies will make their way to military personnel stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as at bases in Europe and the Far East.

Mass Effect: Redemption tells the exciting back-story that led up to the events of Mass Effect 2, the recently released video game developed by the award-winning creative team at BioWare. The game’s lead writer Mac Walters takes up the pen to give fans exclusive insight into the events that unfolded between the conclusion of the original Mass Effect, and the beginning of Mass Effect 2. Scripted by John Jackson Miller (Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, The Invincible Iron Man) and drawn by Omar Francia (Star Wars Legacy), this four-part series explores the exotic and dangerous future Milky Way of Mass Effect, revealing previously unseen locations, aliens, and enemies of this rich science fiction landscape.

The Mass Effect trilogy is an epic science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players will step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, commanding a crew of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense shooter action, a rich futuristic storyline, stunning space exploration and emotionally engaging characters, the game delivers an unparalleled cinematic experience. Mass Effect 2 was released on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC on January 26, 2010 in North America and January 29, 2010 in Europe and has been rated ‘M’ for Mature by the ESRB and ‘18+’ by PEGI (please visit www.esrb.org and www.pegi.eu for more information on ratings). For more news from the development team, please follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/masseffect2 or visit the game’s official website at http://masseffect.bioware.com/.

For those who have yet to read the explosive comic series, both the first and second issues are currently available for download on iTunes for just 99 cents each.

Mass Effect: Redemption is the fifth title to arrive in Dark Horse’s ever-growing stable of comics available on the iPhone platform. Other titles available now include Gerard Way’s smash hit Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, Terminator: Death Valley, and multiple titles the critically acclaimed line of Star Wars comics.

For more information, please visit http://www.darkhorse.com/Features/Mobile.



About Dark Horse Comics

Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way and comics legend Will Eisner, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as The Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, their highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Emily the Strange, Tim Burton, Trigun, Serenity and Domo. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the U.S. and is recognized as one of the world's leading publisher of licensed comics material.



About BioWare

BioWare develops computer, console, handheld, mobile and online video games focused on rich stories and memorable characters. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world's best-selling titles, including the award-winning Baldur's Gate™ and Neverwinter Nights™ series, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™ and Sonic™ Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (for the Nintendo DS™). Original BioWare-created intellectual properties include Jade Empire™ and the 2007 Game of the Year, Mass Effect™. With studios in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), Montréal (Québec), and Austin (Texas), BioWare is hard at work on the epic fantasy roleplaying game, Dragon Age™: Origins, Mass Effect 2™, the epic sequel to Mass Effect, and the story-driven massively multiplayer game, Star Wars®: The Old Republic™, as well as several unannounced projects. In 2008, BioWare was acquired by the world's leading electronic entertainment publisher, Electronic Arts. For more information on BioWare, visit www.bioware.com

*BioWare, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Jade Empire are trademarks or registered trademarks owned by EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. in the U.S. and/or other countries. EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Xbox and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Nintendo DS is a trademark of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.



About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA SPORTS Freestyle™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.


*BioWare, Mass Effect, Dragon Age and Jade Empire are trademarks or registered trademarks owned by EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. in the U.S. and/or other countries. EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Xbox and Xbox 360 are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. . All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

A NEW ADDITION TO THE IMAGE TEAM
Image Comics expands marketing and sales team!

Berkeley, CA – 4 March 2010 – Image Comics announces the expansion of its marketing and sales team. To help provide the most entertaining and original comic books on the market and further meet the needs of creators, retailers and readers, this reorganization includes new hire Betsy Gomez and a different focus for former PR and Marketing Coordinator Joe Keatinge.

Betsy Gomez will take over the position of PR and Marketing Coordinator. With more than 15 years of convention experience and 10 years of publishing experience, Gomez will assume responsibility for Image’s publicity, marketing and convention planning. Joe Keatinge will take on the new role of Image Comics’ Sales and Licensing Coordinator, focusing more specifically on direct and book market sales as well as Image’s foreign licensing.

“As Image Comics continues to grow, we have reorganized our marketing and sales staff to better facilitate our needs,” Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson said. “Having someone with Betsy’s extensive convention and publishing experience is a bonus. I look forward to working with her to make Image Comics even more successful!”

“I can’t reiterate enough how excited I am to be working for Image Comics!” exclaimed Gomez. “I’m thrilled to be part of the Image team! Image publishes some of my favorite comic books, and the chance to work for this remarkable company is phenomenal!”

Joe Keatinge added, “Having worked with Image for five years now, I highly anticipate this next step in the company’s growth. While I’m excited for my new role, I am especially ecstatic to have Betsy on board. Her wealth of experience makes her an extremely valued addition to the Image Comics team.”

Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of four major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

# # #

STAN'S BACK!

A COMIC BOOK INDUSTRY EVENT!

POW! ENTERTAINMENT
& BOOM! STUDIOS
ANNOUNCE A NEW SUPERHERO LINE
FROM STAN LEE!





March 2nd, 2010 - Los Angeles, CA - POW! Entertainment and BOOM! Studios announced a deal has been struck that will see the production of a series of three superhero titles presented by Stan Lee. These series will premiere from BOOM! Studios later this year.

BOOM!'s Editor-in-Chief Mark Waid, creator of BOOM!'s runaway hit series IRREDEEMABLE and its smash sister book INCORRUPTIBLE, will be writing one of the series. Two other series will follow, featuring A-list writers as a part of the creative team. Further announcements will clarify the teams and the timing for the roll-out.

This past December, POW! announced that Walt Disney Studios had entered into a first-look deal with POW! and currently has a number of projects in development where it is working closely with the world-renowned Lee.

The revelation of Stan Lee’s presenting a series of three superhero titles at BOOM! follows on the heels of a viral marketing campaign announcing "Stan's Back" that hit the internet early last week. Across major comic book news sites and blogs last week, ads appeared teasing "Stan's Back." The L.A. Times' Hero Complex & L.A. Times' Brand-X also got in on the action, running the "Stan's Back" campaign in print and on their respective website. All the banner ads linked back to www.stansback.com, a site which had only the "Stan's Back" logo and nothing else disclosing additional information.

For one week, the internet was in a frenzy with comic fans everywhere trying to figure out what could the "Stan's Back" teaser campaign mean. Today it has finally been revealed - Stan Lee is back, presenting a comic book series for the Direct Market comic specialty market that Lee was instrumental in fostering.

POW! Entertainment and BOOM! Studios had no further details at this time. More forthcoming.

About POW!
(Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment, Inc. (Pinksheets: POWN) An advanced media and entertainment company, POW! was founded by Stan Lee together with award winning producer Gill Champion and intellectual property attorney Arthur Lieberman, Esq. to create, produce and license original intellectual properties. POW! specializes in franchises for the entertainment industry, including animation and live-action feature films, plus television, DVDs, video games, merchandising and related ancillary markets, all of which contribute to global expansion.

About BOOM! Studios
BOOM! Studios (www.boom-studios.com) is a unique publishing house specializing in high-profile projects across a wide variety of different genres from some of the industry’s biggest talents, including Philip K. Dick’s DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?, The Henson Company’s FARSCAPE, and the original Mark Waid series IRREDEEMABLE. BOOM!'s children publishing imprint BOOM Kids! publishes titles such as Pixar’s THE INCREDIBLES, CARS, and TOY STORY, as well as Disney’s THE MUPPETS, DONALD DUCK, UNCLE SCROOGE and WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES. The "lit comix"-oriented BOOM! Town imprint was launched this year with upcoming trading cards from underground comix artist R. Crumb. In 2010, BOOM! Studios celebrates its fifth anniversary.

Web Comic with One-on-One Creator Interaction Hits the Internet Today
Atomik Mike Interactive Web Comic reaches out to fans in a personal way



Beginning, Monday, March 1, 2010, issues one through four of Atomik Mike will be released in a series of panels, for free, at www.atomikmikethecomic.com. Each week day, the creators of Atomik Mike, Stephan Nilson and Izzy Cruz, will post new panels of the comic, blog about the content and accept questions and comments on the Frozen Beach Studios Facebook Fan Page, located at http://www.facebook.com/frozenbeach?ref=ts

Fans who interact with the creators on the Frozen Beach Studios Fan Page will be entered to win original Atomik Mike artwork and a CGC-graded 9.8 alternative cover for Issue #1 of Atomik Mike.



Frozen Beach Studios: http://www.frozenbeachstudios.com

Atomik Mike Web Comic: http://www.atomicmikethecomic.com

Follow Frozen Beach Studios on Twitter: @FBStudios

Become a Fan of Frozen Beach Studios on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/frozenbeach?ref=ts