Archive Page 2151

December 17, 2022

Elseworlds DC movie projects are coming – Bounding into Comics

Indy comics publishers facing financial trouble as year ends – Publishers Weekly

With the financial year ending for most businesses, this is where the "obvious" about the status of payments in and payments out, and therefore the health of a business, comes into sharper focus as tax-preparation starts in earnest on January 1 and the numbers are getting cast into stone.

The end of the year finds at least four independent comics publishers facing some financial issues. First reported by the Beat, Aftershock Comics, an indie house based in Sherman Oaks, Calif., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy citing $10 million to $50 millions in liabilities; celebrated sci-fi and comics publisher Heavy Metal has initiated an in-house restructuring and temporarily suspended payments to vendors; Dead Reckoning, the graphic novel imprint at the Navel Institute Press, has laid off its founding editor, blaming pandemic-related problems; and the publishing program at Valiant Comics has been plagued by rumors of layoffs and the downsizing of its publishing list.

On-going supply chain issues, including spikes in paper and shipping prices, were cited by several publishers as one of the main reasons for their current problems.

David Aja artwork for Marvel Studios to promo Hawkeye TV Show, but the art was not used

Article and artwork at comicbookmovie

Can you copyright an AI-generated comic book? The answer might be "nope" – AI Business via Fark.com

The Copyright Office (USPTO) granted protection to Kris Kashtanova for the comic book titled Zarya of the Dawn in September. The comic was created using the text-to-image engine Midjourney and marked the first time the agency approved an application for an AI work. However, the USPTO has now informed Kashtanova that it has initiated a proceeding to revoke the protection, saying copyrightable works require human authorship.

Comics pros complaining of late payments from publishers – Bounding into Comics

Claim that these are the best comic books of 2022 – Games Radar

Black Adam II position in the new DC plans and whether Black Adam I is a flop – Yahoo News

The actor was seemingly responding to reports that the DC film would make a loss of $100m (£82m), which would have seen it branded a "flop", when he shared a post praising the superhero movie’s success. Johnson wrote on Twitter: "Waited to confirm with financiers before I shared this excellent #BlackAdam news – our film will PROFIT between $52M-$72M. Fact." He continued: "At almost $400M worldwide we are building our new franchise step by step (first Captain America did $370M) for the DC future."

Praising the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie with artist Freddie Williams

Link at Fark

Aftershock Comics, Heavy Metal magazine and the dilemma of comic book finances – Comicsbeat

Henry Cavill gets a new manager and its Dwayne Johnson's manager and ex-wife? – The Direct

Cavill had the same manager and agency (Dany Garcia, William Morris Entertainment [WME]) as Black Adam star Dwayne Johnson. Garcia is also Johnson’s ex-wife, and they’ve been producing partners for several years. Johnson was reportedly so adamant about putting Cavill’s Superman in Black Adam that he went around former President of DC Films Walter Hamada’s back to make it happen. The Rock went to new heads Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy to make sure he and his fellow WME client were in Black Adam’s mid-credits scene together after Hamada said no.

2022 Comic Fan gift tips from CBR – CBR MSN

Blistering attack on what is - or isn't - true about the current American comic book financial picture

At right-wingish website Ace of Spades

Netflix Archies adaptation set in 1960s India has wrapped – MSN Variety

Growth in toy industry is from adults buying toys for themselves – CNBC MSN

Writer Mike Baron complains comic industry "gone woke" – Mediate MSN

...in a Monday interview with Baron that the comic book author was kicked off of Twitter after accusations of racism surrounding his border vigilante comic book. A Daily Kos post on the work called it “racist propaganda.” The campaign was eventually suspended by Kickstarter for allegedly violating the platform’s terms of service in regards to hate speech and promoting violence.

Baron defended his book and argued that Marvel’s vigilante Punisher character would be realistically fighting human traffickers and other criminals on the southern border today.

Tintin Illo expected to auction at $2.1 million – UK Guardian [English]

An original drawing by Hergé for the 1942 edition of Tintin in America, still used as the cover of the book, is expected to fetch at least €2m (£1.7m) when it is auctioned next year. The illustration was done in Indian ink, graphite and corrective gouache, and was used for the cover of the 1942 “full-page” edition of Tintin in America. It was used again for the cover of the 1946 colour edition, the version still used on the book today.

Way O' Water looking at a $400+ million weekend start for global box office – Deadline Hollywood

Way O' Water tracking below expectations – Hollywood Reporter

Posthumous Kevin Conroy as a killer-Batman. – Gamerant

...Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League revealed that Conroy will be returning as the Arkhamverse’s Batman one final time. This was likely a reveal that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was originally hoping to conceal until the game’s release, considering how much effort its previous trailers put into obscuring him from its continuity. Of course, this was a touching tribute and highly appropriate for Rocksteady to honor the actor in this way. This Batman will be much different than Arkhamverse fans remember, though, giving Conroy a posthumous chance to portray him as a villain.

Danny Glover making his own Spider-Man movie – Rolling Stone

Behind the "Fall of the Henry Cavill Superman" – Hollywood Reporter

Article pins a lot of the present Cavill-situation onto Black Adam not making better box office.

In the end, he was a pawn in Dwayne’s failed attempt to control a piece of DC,' one insider observers.

Avatar The Way O' Water starts off Friday as Number #1 and with $53 million in boxoffice – Hollywood Reporter

Heading into the weekend, tracking suggested The Way of Water’s launch would be $150 million to $175 million domestically and $450 million to $550 million globally. Overseas, the movie is receiving a coveted day-and-date release in China, although a major COVID-19 outbreak is having a major impact on the box office in that country.

A lot of the entertainment industry is looking to James Cameron to pile up significant box office for a number of reasons, one being that Avatar the Way of Water is something other than a Marvel or a Batman movie, (or a Tom Cruise film) and if Avatar the Way of Water can make Big Money then other expensive movies could be green lit. That Avatar the Way of Water is another franchise movie (from many years ago!) doesn't help but its better than nothing, Hollywood wants some income flow, and to make that happen is to get investors to believe there's an audience willing to spend money on big-ticket productions.

Look at this remark about the big start for ATWOW at Deadline Hollywood:

That can't be right; top people have told me that the theatrical experience is dead, and the best way to release a movie now is in 2-minute chunks on TikTok.

Original page December 14, 2022