Friday, April 06, 2012

CHAD LINDBERG JOINS TRAVEL CHANNEL’S
 “GHOST ADVENTURES” IN NEW EPISODE ENTITLED
 “RETURN TO LINDA VISTA HOSPITAL”
AIRING FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2012
Lindberg is Best-known as Fan-favorite “Ash” from the CW’s Supernatural
and “Jesse” from The Fast and the Furious
Los Angeles, CA (April 5, 2012) Chad Lindberg joins Zak, Nick & Aaron in an episode of Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures” entitled “Return to Linda Vista Hospital.” The episode will begin airing Friday, April 6, 2012. Check local listings for additional air dates.  Lindberg is no stranger to supernatural occurrences on-screen and off, and has been a fan of “Ghost Adventures” since it began.   Lindberg played the popular character “Ash” on the long-running hit CW show “Supernatural.”
Travel Channel's "Ghost Adventures" cast (LtoR) Zak Bagans, Nick Groff and Arron Goodwin with guest Chad Lindberg. Photo by:  Zak Bagans
Lindberg had the time of his life with the “Ghost Adventures” gang and excitedly said, “I had my name called out of a spirit box when Zak asked it who was standing next to him. We had a spirit say "Linda Vista" hospital through the spirit box after Aaron asked what happens after you die.  I also got scratched by a dark entity believed to be a Demon. Demon Hunter Ash on ‘Supernatural’ gets scratched by a Demon on ‘Ghost Adventures’....you can’t ask for anything more!”
According to Travel Channel’s website,  “Linda Vista Hospital in East LA, which was in operation from 1904 to 1991, was a place where many died from things such as gun-shot wounds, stabbings, and car wrecks.”  The network episode description says, “Zak, Nick & Aaron revisit the horrifying Linda Vista Hospital to contact a spirit of a woman that Nick saw reach out to him in 2009. The guys experiment by building an electrified ghost chamber hoping to manifest the apparition.”

Chad Lindberg with Aaron Goodwin of Travel Channel's "Ghost Adventures."  Photo by Aaron Goodwin
Lindberg, who has over 25 film and 20 TV credits to his name, is best known to audiences from his roles of “Ash” on The CW’s Supernatural and “Jesse” from the hit film The Fast and the Furious.  In addition to recurring roles on Supernatural and CSI: NY, Lindberg has guest-starred on numerous hit TV shows, creating a devoted fan-following whose Twitter campaign helped resurrect the character of “Ash” who had been killed off.  He keeps in touch with his fans and friends through Twitter @ChadLindberg.
APE ENTERTAINMENT DRAWS SESAME STREET
Ape Entertainment and Sesame Workshop to Create Entertaining Educational Comics for Young Readers

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - April 06, 2012 - Ape Entertainment announced today that they have entered into a licensing agreement with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization, to produce a series of print and digital comic books featuring the cast of the beloved children’s show Sesame Street. The new and original comic book series will emphasize educational and entertaining content for younger readers.Cover
From television to the comic panel, Ape Entertainment will portray the characters that millions of parents and children have come to know and love in a comic series that will be produced in full color and available in stores this fall in standard comic sized printed editions for $3.99 and digest sized hardcover comic book editions for $7.99. They will also be available as a digital comic book that will be available through Apple’s App Store for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.
"We are excited about our new relationship with Sesame Workshop to bring the Sesame Street characters to comics, which is a dream come true for all of us here at Ape,” said Ape Entertainment COO Brent E. Erwin. “Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Grover, and the whole Sesame Street gang have always been a part of our lives, now we feel like a part of their family, and that’s a great feeling."
We look forward to collaborating with Ape Entertainment to create a series of Sesame Street comic books, for all ages” said Jennifer A. Perry, Vice President, Worldwide Publishing, Sesame Workshop. “The Sesame Street Muppets and comic books go together like Cookie Monster and snickerdoodles, so we can’t wait for Sesame Street fans to have the chance to learn and laugh in the unique way comics draw readers in and keep them turning the page.”
Ape Entertainment’s mission to grow the comics industry by increasing awareness about comics among a new generation of readers; Ape takes a step forward with the announcement of its new relationship with Sesame Street. Ape Entertainment hopes young readers and their parents will discover the exciting world of comics and start visiting a local comic book shop. Parents can find a local comic shop in their area by visiting the Comics Shop Locator service at http://www.comicshoplocator.com.
For more information, please visit www.apecomics.com or www.sesameworkshop.org.
About Sesame WorkshopSesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that revolutionized children’s television programming with the landmark Sesame Street. The Workshop produces local Sesame Street programs, seen in over 150 countries, and other acclaimed shows including The Electric Company, to help bridge the literacy gap. Beyond television, the Workshop produces content for multiple media platforms on a wide range of issues including literacy, health and military deployment. Initiatives meet specific needs to help young children and families develop critical skills, acquire healthy habits and build emotional strength to prepare them for lifelong learning. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org.
ABOUT APE ENTERTAINMENT:Founded in 2003, Ape Entertainment is the brainchild of lifelong comic book devotees David Hedgecock, and Brent E. Erwin.  Ape Entertainment is the comic book home to innovative new titles as LITTLE GREEN MEN, SCOUTS, and HEROIC.  Ape is also the North American publisher for licensed properties POCKET GOD, THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR, KUNG FU PANDA, RICHIE RICH, CASPER, STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE, and CUT THE ROPE.
Visit Ape Entertainment online at http://www.ApeComics.com .

Thursday, April 05, 2012

DARK HORSE COMICS EISNER NOMINEES ANNOUNCED!

April 5, MILWAUKIE, OR–Comic-Con International has announced the nominations for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards 2012! 
 Dark Horse Comics has 11 nominations, including two each for the anthology Dark Horse Presents, Jeff Jensen’s Green River Killer, and Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo.
 The nominees, chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges, reflect the wide range of material being published in comics and graphic novel form today, from nursery rhymes and World War II battles to high school angst and pulp fiction.
 Named for acclaimed comics creator Will Eisner, the awards are in their twenty-fourth year of highlighting the best publications and creators in comics and graphic novels.

EISNER AWARD NOMINEES 2012
 Best Short Story
“The Speaker,” by Brandon Graham, in Dark Horse Presents #7

Best Continuing Series
Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai

Best Anthology
Dark Horse Presents, edited by Mike Richardson

Best Humor Publication
The Art of Doug Sneyd: A Collection of Playboy Cartoons
Chimichanga, by Eric Powell
Milk & Cheese: Dairy Products Gone Bad, by Evan Dorkin

Best Reality-Based Work 
Green River Killer: A True Detective Story, by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
The Manara Library, vol. 1: Indian Summer and Other Stories, by Milo Manara with Hugo Pratt

Best Writer
Jeff Jensen, Green River Killer: A True Detective Story

Best Lettering
Tom Orzechowski, Manara Library, with L. Lois Buhalis
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo
  
Ballots with this year’s nominees will be going out in mid-April to comics creators, editors, publishers, and retailers. A downloadable PDF of the ballot is available online, and a special website has been set up for online voting: www.eisnervote.com. The results in all categories will be announced in a gala awards ceremony on the evening of Friday, July 13, at Comic-Con International.
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, Will Eisner, and best-selling prose author Janet Evanovich, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as the Mask, Timecop, and the Occultist. Additionally, its highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan the BarbarianMass Effect, Serenity, and Domo. Today, Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the United States and is recognized as both an innovator in the cause of creator rights and the comics industry’s leading publisher of licensed material.
Two Worlds 2 offers free DLC with a new Mulitplayer mode and 5 maps for Easter weekend!

+++ Defense Mode arrives after demands from the community+++

Karlsruhe, Germany, 5th April 2012 – TopWare Interactive is presenting a special gift for all the loyal fans and players of Two Worlds 2. A new mutliplayer game mode, including five brand new maps, is now available on http://www.twoworlds2.com.

In this new Defense Mode, the old-school gameplay of classic castle-defense games is given new life. Since 1992 this gameplay mechanic has never degraded of its addictiveness and interest to gamers worldwide. Now, in Two Worlds 2, the game-design has been pushed forward once more. The player must team-up and defend Gandohar - the main villain of the Two Worlds 2 campaign - against constant waves of AI enemies. Tactical moves and solid teamwork, while using all the necessary skills, is paramount to survive these thrilling battles.

Alexandra Constandache CEO TopWare Interactive Inc. : “TopWare Interactive wants to push the idea of real-time, online, role play gaming a step further and has implemented this in the new Defense-Mode. We’ve had a ton of feedback from our community, asking for a gameplay mode that combines the classic style known from our Castle Defense game, but with all the features of a 3D action role playing game. We want to thank the fans for their immense feedback and let them know that they’re the reason why we’re releasing the DLC for free. We’re always eager for any and all feedback that can help us to make our games even better.”

For anyone who isn’t familiar with Two Worlds 2, the demo version of the Chapter Edition is ready for download here: www.twoworlds2.com Take a peek into the vast world of Antaloor!
TopWare Enters the Space Race with Planets at War

+++Thrilling Strategy Game Launches Players into Intergalactic Conflict+++

Karlsruhe, Germany, April 5th. 2012 – TopWare Interactive announced today plans to publish longstanding partner Targem Games’ new project "Planets at War" for the PC, MAC, Xbox 360™, and Playstation®3. "Planets at War" is a strategic interplanetary conflict simulator in which players control one of four available races, managing and deploying their forces to conquer enemy regimes.  Foreign galaxies, multiple planetary bodies and diverse enemies all add to the challenge, providing a long-lasting and engaging experience.  The graphical environment blends a unique art style with vital statistics to provide both functionality and space-age splendor.

Employing a number of diverse victory scenarios, each new level of Planets at War builds upon the previous to incorporate additional depth to gameplay.  Starting with basic planet capture scenarios and building towards mighty boss encounters, players must manage their forces expertly as they seek interstellar dominance over their opponents.  A sound strategy and cool head are paramount to success in choosing when to train new forces, solidify defenses, or launch a massive attack campaign to deliver the final blow.
“The challenging gameplay paired with the exquisite presentation of the game’s complex mechanics are sure to find players loosing themselves in the folds of time and space”, states TopWare’s CEO Alexandra Constandache.

Additional announcements and details on Planets at War are coming soon.

For more information visit www.topware.com

Best regards
TopWare Press Department


About TopWare Interactive
TopWare Interactive, headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, is an international interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1991, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software on most current gen gaming platforms including PC, MAC, Xbox 360®, PlayStation® 3, and Wii™. A privately held company, TopWare is the first German based company appointed as a licensed worldwide publisher for both Microsoft and Sony for their respective platforms, and has additional offices in Las Vegas, Nevada and Petaluma, California.

For additional information, please visit TopWare's website: www.topware.com or contact pr@topware.com

Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft.
PlayStation® and PS3™ are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
 
VIZ MEDIA RECEIVES MULTIPLE NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2012 EISNER AWARDS

NAOKI URASAWA’S 20TH CENTURY BOYS and
SATURN APARTMENTS Are Nominated For Annual Comics Industry Publishing Award

San Francisco, CA, April 4, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, has announced that two of its critically acclaimed manga (graphic novel) series have been nominated for the 2012 Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards, as announced by Comic-Con International on April 4, 2012.

The nominations include NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS, by Naoki Urasawa, for Best Continuing Series, and SATURN APARTMENTS, Vols. 3-4, by Hisae Iwaoka, for Best U.S. Edition of International Material. Both titles are published by VIZ Media’s VIZ Signature imprint.

Named for pioneering writer and comic artist Will Eisner, the awards recognize exemplary comics, graphic novels and other pop writings, and are given each year as part of the annual Comic-Con International convention, at which VIZ Media will be a major exhibitor and participant in the programs offered. Winners will be announced at a gala ceremony on the evening of Friday, July 13th during Comic-Con. In 2011, NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS won an Eisner Award in the category of Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Asia.

“It’s a tremendous honor to have NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS nominated again, and we’re equally excited to see Hisae Iwaoka’s SATURN APARTMENTS recognized with a nomination,” says Leyla Aker, Vice President of Publishing at VIZ Media. “Both of these series showcase the dynamic character development and strong storylines that manga is capable of delivering. We are thrilled to be considered again this year among such a diverse group of nominees.”

NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS (rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens) is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world. Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren't for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns.

Naoki Urasawa's career as a manga artist spans more than twenty years and has firmly established him as one of the true manga masters of Japan. Born in Tokyo in 1960, Urasawa debuted with BETA! in 1983 and hasn't stopped his impressive output since. Well-versed in a variety of genres, Urasawa's oeuvre encompasses a multitude of different subjects, such as a romantic comedy (Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl), a suspenseful human drama about a former mercenary (Pineapple ARMY; story by Kazuya Kudo), a captivating psychological suspense story (Monster), a sci-fi adventure manga (20th Century Boys), and a modern reinterpretation of the work of the God of Manga, Osamu Tezuka (Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka; co-authored with Takashi Nagasaki, supervised by Macoto Tezka, and with the cooperation of Tezuka Productions). Many of his books have spawned popular animated and live-action TV programs and films, and 2008 saw the theatrical release of the first of three live-action Japanese films based on 20th Century Boys.

No stranger to accolades and awards, Urasawa received the 2011 Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia, and is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award, a two-time recipient of the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize, and also received the Kodansha Manga Award. Urasawa has also become involved in the world of academia, and in 2008 accepted a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University, where he teaches courses in, of course, manga.

SATURN APARTMENTS (rated ‘T’ for Teens) is set far in the future, when humankind has evacuated the earth in order to preserve it. Humans now reside in a gigantic structure that forms a ring around the earth, thirty-five kilometers up in the sky. The society of the Ring is highly stratified: the higher the floor, the greater the status. Mitsu, the lowly son of a window washer, has just graduated junior high. When his father disappears and is assumed dead, Mitsu must take on his father's occupation. As he struggles with the transition to working life, Mitsu's job treats him to an outsider's view into the living-room dioramas of the Saturn Apartments.

Hisae Iwaoka is the creator of several one-shot manga, including Hana Boro (Flower Cookies) and Shiroi Kumo (White Clouds), both of which were serialized in IKKI magazine. A noted artist and illustrator, her installations have been displayed internationally in the group show "Tokyo Girls Bravo," curated by artist Takashi Murakami. SATURN APARTMENTS is her most recent manga series

For more information on NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS, SATURN APARTMENTS and other VIZ Media manga titles, please visit www.viz.com/manga.


About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), is one of the most comprehensive and innovative companies in the field of manga (graphic novel) publishing, animation and entertainment licensing of Japanese content. Owned by three of Japan’s largest creators and licensors of manga and animation, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media is a leader in the publishing and distribution of Japanese manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa and is a global ex-Asia licensor of Japanese manga and animation. The company offers an integrated product line including the popular monthly manga anthology SHONEN JUMP magazine, graphic novels, and DVDs, and develops, markets, licenses, and distributes animated entertainment for audiences and consumers of all ages. Contact VIZ Media at 295 Bay Street, San Francisco, CA 94133; Phone (415) 546-7073; Fax (415) 546-7086; and website at www.VIZ.com.

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

CREEPY & EERIE GET GHOULISH ON
DARK HORSE DIGITAL!

APRIL 4, MILWAUKIE, OR–Just when you thought your day couldn’t get any more menacing, Dark Horse Comics announces the frightening addition of its Creepy comics relaunch to the annals of Dark Horse Digital!
 Creepy #8 is available today on Digital.DarkHorse.com, as well as in print, for $4.99. Uncle Creepy has unearthed another malicious mag’s worth of terror. Waiting in these pages are brand-new stories from Jeff Parker (ThunderboltsHulk), Colleen Coover (X-Men: First Class), Rick Geary (A Treasury of Victorian Murder), Doug Moench (Batman), and Kelley Jones (Criminal Macabre), all wrapped up in a cover from horror master Richard Corben (Hellboy, classic Creepy and Eerie).
 Creepy #1-#7 have also debuted on Dark Horse Digital and are priced at $2.99 each. A bundle containing #1-#4 is available for $9.99. Creepy #8 will drop to $2.99 after a month in the Dark Horse Digital store.
 Additionally, Creepy Archives and Eerie Archives will make their debut on the Dark Horse Digital store beginning May 23! Starting with Creepy Archives Volume 1, the award-winning archival editions will alternate monthly, releasing the next volume every other month.
 Creepy Archives Volume 1 reprints the first five terrifying issues of the magazine’s original run. Brilliant, classic Creepy stories from 1964 to 1966 have been raised from the dead, featuring work by such comics luminaries as Joe Orlando, Al Williamson, Alex Toth, and Frank Frazetta. This groundbreaking material turned the world of graphic storytelling on its head in the early 1960s, as phenomenal young artists like Bernie Wrightson and Neal Adams reached new artistic heights with their fascinating explorations of classic and modern horror stories.

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, Will Eisner, and best-selling prose author Janet Evanovich, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as the Mask, Timecop, and the Occultist. Additionally, its highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan the BarbarianMass Effect, Serenity, and Domo. Today, Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the United States and is recognized as both an innovator in the cause of creator rights and the comics industry’s leading publisher of licensed material.
EMMY® AWARD-WINNING COMEDIAN LOUIS C.K. 
BRINGS HOME THE LAUGHS IN FX’S ORIGINAL SERIES
 
SEASON 2
 
Debuts on Blu-ray and DVD June 19th
 
Street Date:  June 19, 2012
Launch Highlights:
 
·      The critically acclaimed FX comedy “LOUIE” Season 2 arrives on Blu-ray and DVD with even more uncomfortable moments and hilarious antics on June 19th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.  
 
·      Loosely based upon the life of Emmy® Award winning comedian Louis C.K., LOUIE” is about a 41-year-old divorced stand-up comedian trying to meet people, raise kids, and score with women.  
 
·      “LOUIE” Season 2 Blu-ray and DVD comes with exclusive bonus materials and features unforgettable episodes and hilarious performances from guest stars including Ricky Jervais (“The Office”) and Joan Rivers (“Fashion Police”).
 
About Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) is a recognized global industry leader and a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company. Representing 75 years of innovative and award-winning filmmaking from Twentieth Century Fox, TCFHE is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming, acquisitions and original productions on DVD, Blu-ray Disc Digital Copy, Video On Demand and Digital Download. The company also releases all products globally for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce throughout the world.
 
# # #
 Follow Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment on Twitter @FoxHomeEnt
COMICS BY COMIXOLOGY 3.0 COMES TO ANDROID
Comics by comiXology 3.0 for Android
Upgrade sports an improved interface & other great features
April 4th, 2012 - New York, New York — ComiXology, the world’s largest digital comics platform available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire and the Web with over 60 million comic and graphic novel downloads to date, today brings their multiple award-winning, critically acclaimed 3.0 version of their app to Android users everywhere. This significant release includes a major set of feature upgrades — sleek new design, bolstered discoverability, and the dramatically increased speeds —  that comiXology Android fans have been clamoring for since the company updated their iOS app to 3.0 last fall.
"With the release of Comics by comiXology 3.0 on Android, we now have a consistent user experience across Android and iOS platforms — enhancing our buy once, read anywhere strategy," said comiXology co-founder and CEO David Steinberger. "By coding from the ground up, Android fans can expect a new level of usability with the app — from the reading experience to the discovery experience to the buying experience to the downloading experience — that the previous version just can't compare with. Android users must get this update.”
Comics by comiXology 3.0 for Android sports a sleek new design and interface that enhances overall stability and usability. This new UI enables the app to launch nearly instantaneously which dramatically reduces the app's load times and allows comic and graphic novel fans to easily find new content and start reading faster than ever before.
Hand-in-hand with the overall re-designed look and feel, the app now has new discoverability paths like extensive genre listings, improved feature spotlights, expanded categories for new content, series and storyline listings, and the body of work of over 5,000 creators that can be searched by author or artist.
To help better organize downloaded comics and graphic novels, “Purchases” now has its own tab so users can always find their comics for quick and easy download without cluttering their “My Comics” area.
Fans will be happy to know that while vast improvements have been made, the Comics by comiXology 3.0 for Android still includes many of the features that have rocketed the app to the top of download charts, like comiXology‘s patent-pending Guided View™ Technology; that includes a wide variety of viewing options and preferences, enabling users to set transition speeds, page orientations and much more.
Most recently, comiXology was in the news with the debut of the new CMX-HD digital comics format designed to meet the challenge of the new iPad screen. CMX-HD upgraded files — currently only available to new iPad users — are a free upgrade to those who have previously purchased content and at no additional cost for new content purchases.
A full listing of features and benefits of Comics by comiXology 3.0 for Android include:
  • Completely redesigned application
  • Discover comics at much faster speeds
  • Near instant launching
  • Background downloading
  • Improved “Instant Search”
  • Separate “Purchases” area that displays all owned comics
  • New series groupings in store and “My Comics”
  • Buy or continue reading the next issue at the end of a comic
About comiXology
Founded in 2007 with the mission of bringing comics to people everywhere, comiXology — in just five short years — has revolutionized the comic book and graphic novel world.  From creating the industry leading platform for digital comics to tools and services for brick and mortar retailers, comiXology has lead the charge in exposing new audiences to the rich history and culture of comic books. With the development of the Comics by comiXology digital comics platform — available across iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire and the Web — comiXology provides the easiest way worldwide for people to enjoy comics at just the click of a button! Regularly ranking as the top grossing iPad app in the entire iTunes App Store, Comics by comiXology was recently selected as a preloaded app on Amazon’s Kindle Fire. Providing digital comics across multiple platforms, comiXology will not stop until everyone on the face of the earth has been turned into a comic book fan.
WREKIN HILL AND NECA TO PREMIERE DIRECTOR MORGAN SPURLOCK'S COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A FAN'S HOPE THEATRICALLY
IN SIX MAJOR MARKETS AND ON VIDEO ON DEMAND

Documentary Will Also Use Web Platform Tugg for Release


Los Angeles, CA (April 4, 2012) -- Chris Ball, President and CEO of LA-based film production and distribution company Wrekin Hill Entertainment, and Joel Weinshanker, President and CEO of the National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA), a movie merchandising powerhouse that has become an essential tastemaker for the all-important Fanboy culture, announced today that COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A FAN'S HOPE will begin traditional theatrical runs in Los Angeles on April 5th, in San Francisco and Portland on April 6th, and in New York, Boston and Washington, DC on April 13th. The film will also become available to more than 100 million viewers on Video On Demand on April 6th.

Wrekin Hill and NECA will also be using Tugg, Inc. ("Tugg") for the upcoming release of Spurlock's film. Starting today, audiences from around the country can use Tugg to bring COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A FAN'S HOPE to their local theater.

The distributors will be hosting a series of one-night only special screenings with Morgan Spurlock in seven cities. These special events have been set with a threshold for attendance in anticipation of a post-screening Q&A session with the director.

Notes Ball: "We wanted to make these first events extra special for the most passionate Comic-Con fans, and give them the opportunity to speak with Morgan about the making of this film. Comic-Con Episode IV is the kind of movie that can't just be watched, but needs to really be experienced."

Morgan Spurlock's Q&A event dates and cities are as follows, along with links to reserve tickets for each event:

April 9th, Orlando, FL - http://tugg.com/events/409 


April 13th, Baltimore, MD - http://www.tugg.com/events/408#.T3UXws3Agc9 

April 15th, New Haven, CT - http://tugg.com/events/401

April 16th, Las Vegas, NV - http://tugg.com/events/407
April 19th, Long Island, NY - http://tugg.com/events/411

To request a screening of COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A FAN'S HOPE and to see how Tugg works visit:

About Wrekin Hill Entertainment
WREKIN HILL ENTERTAINMENT is a Los Angeles-based production and distribution company, founded by the former Newmarket Films team of Chris Ball and Rene Cogan. Ball and Cogan built a reputation at Newmarket for producing and distributing such indie classics as MEMENTO, DONNIE DARKO, WHALE RIDER, MONSTER, and THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. Wrekin Hill has a multi-year US home entertainment distribution deal with Lionsgate, and a three-year multi-platform output deal with Canadian distributor eOne. The company aims to distribute four to five quality theatrical releases each year, in addition to its ancillary driven output, with a focus on the same kind of director-driven specialty films on which the team has built its reputation. During 2011, Wrekin Hill has theatrically released such films as Peter Weir's THE WAY BACK, and Spencer Susser's HESHER starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and Natalie Portman.  In early 2012, the company released award-winning Chinese director Zhang Yimou's (HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, HERO) and producer Zhang Weiping's THE FLOWERS OF WAR starring Academy Award® winning actor Christian Bale in major markets. Upcoming releases for the company include COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A FAN'S HOPE, THE INBETWEENERS, and DARK TIDE.

About National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA)
NECA INC. operates as a media and entertainment company in the US and internationally, with divisions dedicated to Consumer Products, Filmed Entertainment, and Online Retailing / Digital Distribution.  The Consumer Products division is a leading manufacturer and distributor of entertainment related products, dominating the specialty market.  The Filmed Entertainment division is investing in the production and distribution of content that will benefit from NECA's unique and proprietary distribution and marketing model.  The online division leverages NECA's properties to provide an immersive, platform-agnostic entertainment experience through subscription and transactional models.

About Tugg
Tugg, Inc. ("Tugg") is a collective action web-platform that enables individuals to choose the films that play in their local theaters.  Through Tugg, individuals are empowered to select a film, screening time, and nearby theater, and then spread the word to their immediate and online community. Once a necessary amount of people commit to attending, the event will be confirmed, and Tugg will reserve the theater, manage ticketing and ensure delivery of the film; allowing the audience to sit back and enjoy the show.  Tugg is currently working with exhibitors Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, AMC Theatres, Bow Tie Cinemas, Cinemark Theatres, Goodrich Quality Cinemas, Rave Cinemas and Regal Cinemas, and will be expanding it's exhibitor offerings in the coming weeks. These exhibitors will provide theatrical venues for individually curated events showcasing Tugg's growing library of hundreds of studio and independent films.

LIFE ON MARS?
Trade paperback collects D.O.G.S. OF MARS

The Division of Global Surveyors (D.O.G.S.) is on Mars to carry out a terraforming mission, making the red planet habitable for humans. But what the crew of Mars Base Bowie doesn't know is that there was something there before them. In D.O.G.S. OF MARS, a graphic novel coming from Image Comics in May, the intrepid team will discover that there is something on the planet just as deadly as Mars' freezing temperatures and carbon dioxide atmosphere. Something alive.

Written by Johnny Zito, Tony Trov, and Christian Wieser, D.O.G.S OF MARS explore the effects of isolation and fear as the team desperately tries to evade an unrelenting alien life form. Mission captain Zoe must struggle to keep her team together — and alive — as they're pursued by a nocturnal monster that mutilates and transforms its victims, even as forces that aren't alien threaten them from within.

Zito and Trov have collaborated on comics for several years, winning DC Comics' Zuda competition in 2008.  "I think this is the best project we've ever collaborated on," said Trov.
"It's heavily inspired by horror films like Alien, Event Horizon and the actual experiment known as Mars-500."

The unique art style of Paul Maybury, awash in shades of red, helps bring the gruesome story to life. Johnny Zito comments, “Paul's designs are very industrial with Japanese gore splattered about. His vision of the monster is a grotesque, alien twist on the classic werewolf.”

Collecting the four-issue miniseries that was sold digitally on ComiXology, D.O.G.S. OF MARS is a 120-page paperback. It will be available in stores on May 2 and its ISBN is 978-1-60706-550-0. An advance PDF is available for review.

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
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 five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound 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.


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THE GEORGE FOSTER PEABODY AWARDS

THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

 

71st Annual Peabody Awards Winners Announced

ATHENS, Georgia, April 4, 2012 – Thirty-eight recipients of the 71st Annual Peabody Awards were announced today by the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. The winners, chosen by the Peabody board as the best in electronic media for the year 2011, were named in a ceremony in the Peabody Gallery on the University of Georgia Campus.

“The range of the Peabody Awards’ search for excellence has never been wider or deeper than this year,” said Horace Newcomb, Director of the Peabody Awards.  “Local news organizations covered stories with international import as well as those significant within their communities.  Documentaries and news reports on issues missed or overlooked by big organizations were available on websites. Comedians engaged in political actions.  Radio proved again the power of the individual human voice.  Drama took on issues of power and control. Images of disaster appeared alongside images of hope and freedom.”

The latest Peabody recipients reflect variety in content, genre and sources of origination. The winners included Homeland, Showtime’s psychologically intense anti-terrorist drama; the classic game show Jeopardy!; TED.com, a website devoted to making creative thinkers’ ideas available to one and all; remembrances of 9/11 collected by StoryCorps and broadcast on National Public Radio; and Toxic Secrets, a powerful series of reports by Phoenix’s KPHO-TV about American soldiers and South Korean children exposed to Agent Orange three decades ago. My Perestroika, a POV documentary that examined Russia’s difficult transition from communism through the prism of five schoolmates who lived through it, was honored with a Peabody, as was Intersexions, a South African public-service drama aimed at curbing the spread of AIDS.

Other international recipients included A Year in the Clouds, a Taiwanese documentary about life in a remote mountain village; People’s Republic of Cheating and Misjudged Cases, a pair of investigative reports from Hong Kong’s TVB; Fuji Television’s The Untold Stories of the Tsunami in Japan, which emphasized human interest as much as gob smacking flood footage; Somalia: Land of Anarchy, a BBC1 report from deep inside a country decimated by never-ending war; and NHK’s Surviving the Tsunami, a meticulous post-mortem of the tidal wave and nuclear disaster with an eye to lessons for the future.

The anti-tyranny demonstrations in the Middle East, flaring up like wildfire, inspired some of the most impressive news reporting of the year. CNN earned a Peabody with comprehensive “Arab Spring” coverage that included the reports Egypt – Wave of Discontent and Uprising in Libya.  National Public Radio’s Arab Spring from Egypt to Libya, vividly reported by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, was cited for its excellence as was Inside Syria, a trio of enterprising undercover reports by Clarissa Ward for the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley. Al Jazeera English was cited for its wide-ranging coverage of the escalating wave of protests it labeled the “Arab Awakening.”

The Peabody board also noted CNN’s GPS series, citing Fareed Zakaria’s commentary and analysis regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions as well as a special report, Fixing the American Dream, addressing problems with the U.S. educational system.

Other entertainment programs receiving Peabodys for 2011 include HBO’s Game of Thrones, a fantasy-drama that immerses viewers in a richly imagined dark-ages society, and Tremé, a note-perfect evocation of everyday life, love and music in post-Katrina New Orleans. NBC’s Parks and Recreation was cited for its sweet and prickly take on friendship and rivalry within a small town’s parks department, and Portlandia, shown on IFC, was recognized for the freshness and amiability of its send-ups of Oregon’s trendy city.

Austin City Limits, public television’s venerable showcase for roots, rock, country and pop music, was voted an institutional Peabody for its eclectic taste and unflagging commitment to quality. And Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report won its second Peabody for its deadpan anchor’s “Super PAC” segments lampooning the rise of megabucks politics.

Along with TED.com, the Internet winners for 2011 were BBC.com, a news site that draws on reports from the BBC’s 72 overseas news bureaus; the On Location posts on www.globalpost.com, a site devoted to world events neglected by other media outlets; and a pair of online reports created under the banner of Human Rights Watch, Acting Up: Russia’s Civil Society (www.newyorker.com) and Gold’s Costly Dividend: The Porgera Joint Venture (www.hrw.org).

The documentary honorees underlined the robust, kaleidoscopic state of the non-fiction form. They included Triangle Fire, Freedom Riders and Stonewall Uprising, a trio of historical documentaries presented under the banner of American Experience; Showtime’s Rebirth, a poignant film about five different people who experienced and rebounded from the 9/11 attacks; and  Earth Made of Glass, an HBO documentary that examined the painful legacy of Rwanda’s genocide. Bhutto, a comprehensive Independent Lens biography of martyred Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto, was awarded a Peabody, as was Charles and Ray Eames – The Architect and the Painter, an appropriately creative American Masters portrait of the great designing couple.

Other news programs cited by the Peabody board included Operation Deep Freeze, a report by Cleveland’s WEWS-TV about Navy personnel unknowingly exposed to atomic radiation while on duty in Antarctica; Their Crime, Your Dime, a high-impact investigation of food stamp and welfare fraud by Seattle’s KING-TV; and Desert Underwater, a thorough, comprehensible examination of why the housing bubble burst hit Las Vegas so hard by KLAS-TV.

ABC News Brian Ross Investigates was cited for Peace Corps – A Trust Betrayed, a stunning expose of widespread sexual abuse and official cover-ups within the esteemed humanitarian agency. Who Killed Chea Vichea?, from Denver’s KBDI-TV, didn’t let a limited budget or official resistance derail its investigation of the murder of a top labor leader in Cambodia, a major producer of low-cost clothing. A Peabody also went to Native Foster Care: Lost Children, Shattered Families, a three-part NPR investigation that found more than 30 states flaunting federal laws that forbid the separation of Native American children from their families or tribes.

In the realm of public service, a Peabody was awarded to CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute, the program that caps a year-round program created to identify and reward people around the world who affected the lives of others in a significant way.

“As media systems continue to expand and intensify, the Peabody Award will continue its search for excellence and significance,” Newcomb said. “Programs such as those honored this year will always be noted for outstanding achievement and they will always serve as models for the best work yet to come.”

The awards announced today will be formally presented at a luncheon ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City on May 21. Sir Patrick Stewart, star of two Peabody winners, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Macbeth, will be the host. 

The Peabodys, the oldest awards in broadcasting, are considered among the most prestigious and selective prizes in electronic media. The Peabody Awards recognize excellence and meritorious work by radio and television stations, networks, webcasters, producing organizations and individuals. The 16-member Peabody Board is a distinguished panel of television critics, industry practitioners and experts in culture and the arts. Selection is made by the Board following review by special screening committees of UGA faculty, students, and staff.
All entries become a permanent part of the Peabody Archive in the University of Georgia Libraries. The collection is one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most respected moving-image archives. For more information about the Peabody Archive or the Peabody Awards, visit www.peabody.uga.edu.

Established in 1915, the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication offers undergraduate majors in advertising, digital and broadcast journalism, magazines, newspapers, public relations, publication management and mass media arts. The college offers two graduate degrees, and is home to the Knight Chair in Health and Medical Journalism and the Peabody Awards, internationally recognized as one of the most prestigious prizes for excellence in electronic media. For more information, see www.grady.uga.edu or follow @UGAGrady on Twitter.