'Nuff Said: American Graphic Media

Those media insiders over at Digital Spy have published major spoilers from the 20 minute extended preview of Iron Man 3!  I'm not saying I called it based on the TV spots, but I was pretty close. I think we can see how the Extremis storyline will factor into IM 3 .  Iron Man 3 sounds better and better with every snippet.

ICv2 - 'AVX' Marketing Biggest Ever Is Avengers vs. X-Men "the" summer event for Marvel? Is this the response to the New 52 everyone is expecting? In truth, I don't think Marvel needs to respond to the New 52. They benefit through the pop cultural associative ether. Moreover, DC's efforts have not had the broad sales impact they hoped. While lapse fans have returned, long term growth comes from new (hopefully young) fans. Recent reports suggest the New 52 is not attracting fresh eyes. So, what exactly would Marvel be doing if it rushed to react? There is not a clear answer, so the question become what to do, if anything in response. To me, the answer is to do exactly what the are doing. Marvel is continuing down the path to develop stories and characters across multiple platforms and bring them to audiences utilizing Disney 's distribution channels. This was the pattern they had before the New 52 and it has not changed. We wonder if digital...

Blank Panther?: Jack Kirby, Blackness and the American Dream The recent decision against the Kirby estate was not unexpected. The rules governing copyright are in some minds, regressive and suppress creativity. Fairness aside, should we allow a corporation to own the fruits of creative labor forever? It is a question worth asking. If the creator can never get their creation back, should they create? It is an argument that this decision is not going to do anything to solve. Regardless, the significant of Kirby's work remains despite the owner. Back in February, when I was reflecting on Black Panther and Kirby for Black History Month, it was impossible to escape the significant of Kirby's vision and the continuing power his work has shaping modern comics. Dynamite Entertainment's recent publication of Kirby: Genesis means that Kirby family will benefit from Jack Kirby genius in very real way in the coming months and years. The bitter feelings from this decision cannot...

The 2.99 price point is almost like a moral stance for DC according to Dan Didio. He insist they will hold the line through the end of this year. One reason is that they believe the 2.99 price point keeps their product affordable for their customers. To me, especially in this atmosphere, this assertions is loaded with subtext, especially in Orlando. Marvel, which is part of Disney, is building an entangling product structure that promise to capture young boys, like they capture young girls.

Ok, I saw Tron Legacy. It is not a bad movie, nor especially great movie, so it is similar to a lot of mass entertainment. Still, thinking about its release for a few weeks and seeing the pop culture landscape react to it, I gotta take a stab of contextualizing it. Tron Legacy is the perfect example of major corporate entity (Disney) trying to exploit a legacy property they know (or have been told) is cool, but they don't quite understand why it is cool. The original 1982 TRON was a financial disaster for Disney, but the movie became a cult classic because it foreshadowed our modern cyber culture. The idea of world inside the computer (the GIRD), the struggle to bring "freedom" to the digital world and the fate of the "user" all resonate with an emerging computer culture shifting from industrial computing to desktop/personal computing affecting everyone. TRON spoke to the implication of living in a world shaped by the computer--good and bad. For kid...

Jon Favreau will not direct Iron Man 3 and I can't say I blame him. While rumors that conflict with Marvel drove him out, the reality is it doesn't matter. After doing more to build the Marvel Cinematic Universe than any director alive, he has earned some time off. With the 3rd film facing the inevitable problem of trying to integrate multiple Marvel movie narratives, it smart to walk away and let new eyes look at IM3. His relationship with Disney is only going to get stronger and he can provide a lot of creative vision, something the Disney/Marvel fusion needs if it is going to be successful. Favreau is moving on to another major Disney movie and he will likely have a hand in shaping the coming Marvel movies as a executive producer. The future for Disney is the effective use of legacy properties and integrating acquisitions like Marvel in way that expand the entertainment experience on multiple platforms. That future requires creative collaborator who understand the pr...

The four billion dollar acquisition of Marvel Entertainment Group by Disney naturally has me thinking about comics in a new light. I can see a Marvel Team-Up with Steamboat Willie and Spider-Man looming in my future....not. Seriously, for academics and comic fans alike, there is something to be said about the mighty merger of brands. Disney got a lot out of this deal. If you have kids, sign your house over to Disney now, soon they will have your little boy just like they have your little girl (cue evil villain laugh:) That may be extreme, but the merger of corporate culture will be key to the success of this deal and that will create unique opportunities for both companies. I doubt many people remember Disney's decision to license characters for the Playstation 2 game Kingdom Hearts . Produced by Square Enix , the creator of the Final Fantasy franchise, the game was a crazy blend of Final Fantasy game play and Disney characters and worlds. The result was surprisingly playabl...

"Nuff Said is gearing up for the Spring by changing its colors. Regardless, we are still focused on comic books and comics culture in all forms. This week's update, and I hope to keep the update coming on a weekly basis, is about Ages of Heroes, Eras of Men . As I mentioned, the 2009 Florida Conference of Historians conference was the first ever face to face with contributors to the volume. So, for those of you who made it, great to meet you:) For those you who did not, here are some of the people you missed. A ges of Heroes, Eras of Men --FCH Contributor Interview: Claire Jenkins Education: PhD Film Studies, Warwick University, UK MA Film Studies, 2005, Reading University, UK BA (hons) Media Arts, 2003, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK