Archive Page 2212
November 2024
Ill Fated Warner Bros Musical, Joker II Folie-a-deaux
Inside the ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Debacle: Todd Phillips ‘Wanted Nothing to Do’ With DC on the $200 Million Misfire – Variety
Now that the dust has settled on the sequel’s disastrous opening weekend, plenty of soul-searching is taking place on the Burbank lot. The overarching question being asked is: Why spend $200 million to make — and nearly $100 million to market — a tentpole that ignores the DC fanbase? And "ignores" may be putting it mildly. As a Rolling Stone review of the film succinctly put it: "‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Has a Message for Fans: Go F-ck Yourselves."
Superman artist Al Plastino gets plaque in Long Island – Newsday
Bio of Plastino here at Newsfromme
Mark Millar’s limited series Wanted, loosely adapted in 2008 into an atrocious movie, imagined a dystopian world where all the superheroes are dead and the supervillains have won. That’s kind of how the multiplex feels right now. Comic-book cinema, which towered over the competition a mere five years ago (it reached its popular peak in 2019, the year of Avengers: Endgame and Joker), has entered a state of ongoing commercial decline. Capes and cowls are no longer a sure thing at the box office; increasingly, it feels like we’ve stepped into a post-superhero age. And in the absence of the virtuously costumed, it’s supervillains — and antiheroes — who have fought for dominance over the screens of 2024...."
That headline is back: superhero fatigue – Movieguide
Many have pointed out that this superhero fatigue is in large part due to a flooded market. Marvel in particular has pumped out dozens of movies and series, leaving even the most dedicated fans scrambling to keep up...."
The article addresses the obvious: quality is wanting in the recent slate of superhero movies, and the audience that would show up for so many past films and give them $100 million dollar opening weekends has thinned out considerably (for example Venom III opened to half that this past weekend, i.e., $51 million domestic).
The article goes on to say that if the James Gunn Superman Legacy that is being put together right now cannot break the $100 million opening wall, WarnerBros "will have to do some serious reconsideration," but that seems to be the wave of feeling that going across the entire cinematic superhero factory, considering how many streaming and theatre releases cannot get traction with a mass audience.
Comic sales dropped in 2023 – will they come back? – Forbes
Retailers noted the slowdown throughout 2023, with anecdotal reports indicating slippage from the previous highs experienced during the pandemic, when fewer entertainment activities were competing for consumers’ discretionary dollars. Many at-home entertainment options, including streaming media and videogames, saw even more dramatic downturns, and the relatively moderate decline in the 2023 comics market was seen as beating even more negative expectations...."
Article goes on to quote various comic book store owners and publishers on the topic of business health, and the main takeaway seems to be that "...customers are still not in a financially comfortable place," underlining a linkage that the comic book economy and the general economy is transparently the same, and there is not a unique falling-away of business with comic books due to quality or the energy of the industry itself.
Jude Law regrets how he played the Yon Rogg character in the Captain Marvel movie – Superherohype
Comicsbeat website has 20th anniversary – Comicsbeat
Disney adding more live Spider-Man stuff to Disneyland park in California – Orange County Register
Joker: Folie à Deux goes to streaming already - "Didn't exactly conquer the box office" – IGN
New Venom film hits lowest opening weekend take of series: $51 million – Yahoo
The-Numbers shows worlwide take of $178,127,404
Internet says production budget of $120 million for Venom The Last Dance
Is Deadpool and Wolverine actually a Halloween movie? – MSN Cinemablend
Looks like Blade movie is axed – MSN Western Journal
Not officially terminated, but recent announcements sure sounds like it.
How DC's Absolute Comics line changes Wonder Woman and Batman origins
Story at IGN
Rare Vermont comic book collection heading to auction
Story at NHPR
...estimates Farrell’s entire collection could be worth up to $7 million. He expects this weekend’s auction could bring in $4 million, with Superman’s 1938 debut likely to fetch the highest price. Poor quality copies of that can still go for a quarter million dollars, Allen said, and Farrell’s is in good shape. The collection contains other rarities too, like one called Double Action Comics. Only seven copies are believed to exist, according to Heritage. “It's so steeped in mystery, nobody really understands what it is or where it came from,” Allen said. “So it's something that's just impossible to value.”
The Christine Farrell comic book collection at Heritage Auctions
Rare Tintin comics signed by Herge himself going to auction – RFI France
Graphic novels and Manga still selling higher than before Covid, but sales have otherwise dropped – Publishers Weekly
Remembering DC's shuttered Vertigo imprint – IGN
How Frank Miller still influences Marvel Comics – Fandomwire
Red Hulk promo featured in new Marvel murals at New York Comicon – JoBlo MSN
".... The motion capture process was a new experience for Harrison Ford, who has described the process as "being an idiot for money."
The "Hilariously Obscure Batman Villain" put into the Penguin TV Show – MSN Esquire Magazine
Biggest flop of the year? Joker II – CNBC
Covers and titles for January 20025 DC Comics – Games Radar Newsarama
On the racks: Teen Titans Fan Guide on the drug store racks
On the racks at Walmart
"Superstar comic book creators" talk about the big changes in the industry – IGN
At LA Comic-Con, IGN hosted a roundtable with several key comic book creators, including Joëlle Jones (Catwoman), Scott Snyder (Absolute Batman), Marc Silvestri (Witchblade), and Cody Ziglar (Miles Morales: Spider-Man). Together, these creators reflected on the big changes reshaping the industry, the ability of comics to introduce new characters and new ideas, and the question of whether creators are finally starting to earn fair recognition when their work is adapted by Hollywood..."
Heavy Metal magazine returning with a Kickstarter campaign
Story at Comicsbeat
"...Cartoonist, filmmaker, and former content editor Frank Forte is returning to the magazine as its editor-in-chief, while Dave Kelly will serve as executive editor, and Chris Thompson will be its editorial manager. "
The cover mockup for the new first issue for Heavy Metal #1 (2025) is by Greg Hildebrandt.
"Amazon's New Full-Color Kindle Could Be A Game Changer For Comic "– Story at Gamespot
So what went wrong with Joker II? – Nerdist
DC comics now on GlobalComix digital platform – GlobalComix
Dark Horse puts out trailer for Tom Hardy's Comic Book ‘Arcbound' – Variety MSN
Two hero books: Captain Marvel children's book on a Virginia pharmacy rack – click to enlarge - Oct 13, 2024 – plus Statue of Liberty
DC Comics presenting new DC Go! system for mobile devices – MSN Screenrant
Joker II losing $200 million? – MSN Variety
Absolute Batman #1 leads in best selling comics – Bleeding Cool
Sales ranking the top 50 titles of September – icv2
Next Godzilla film to be R-rated? – Bounding into Comics
Dan Buckley talks about how digital comics are doing at Marvel – Hollywood Reporter
The Infinity Comics have been a very significant for Marvel Unlimited, because those launch exclusively on that platform. They also provide slightly different demographic reaches," says Dan Buckley, president, Marvel Comics and Franchise. He notes the mix of readers is closer to fifty-fifty male/female, vs. the print product, which still skews more male. According to the company, Marvel Unlimited has enjoyed strong growth for the past three years after it launched Infinity Comics, with paid subs up 30 percent. Marvel does not disclose how many people pay for the $9.99 a month service...."
Stand out remark in this is that in the age of streaming and subscriptions, nobody wants to reveal real numbers: "Marvel does not disclose how many people pay for the service."
Older story, Dan Buckley named el presidente of Marvel Entertainment - Hollywood Reporter 2017
Another story on the "every issue of DC Comics published " collection going to auction:
"One Woman’s Complete DC Comics Collection, Amassed Over 50 Years, Now Up for Sale Christine Farrell's enviable collection could fetch hundreds of thousands at auction." – Artnet
A review of the Chris Ware "La prospettiva della memoria" at the PAFF! International Museum of Comic Art in Italy
Review at The Comics Journal
Hosted in a museum that is an integral part of a small city, the exhibition was precisely focused on bringing Ware’s work to an average visitor (during my visit I saw both foreign tourists and locals) while at the same time providing thorough research on the artist's work, one that would satisfy those who know his work well and even those who had previously seen his art in person...."
Batman and Robin Omnibus Adventures 904 Pages - Amazon
Review of Absolute Batman #1 – Batman News
Snyder takes an almost glee in subverting reader expectations, including multiple bait-and-switches based on established tropes of Batman comics. Right away in the story’s opening we’re presented with a grizzled man on a motorcycle returning to Gotham, complete with noir-esque narration about how far his city has fallen. It mirrors the famous opening of Batman: Year One in many ways, priming the reader to see Bruce take off the helmet and get to work as this badass special forces operative. But it’s not Bruce, it’s Alfred. Far from the loyal, sophisticated manservant audiences have come to know, this contract mercenary is even initially put in an antagonistic role with Batman...."
" Batman now grows up as a childhood friend of Catwoman, Riddler, Two-Face, Penguin, and Killer Crock" – Comic Book
"...a dramatic reinvention of the Bat-mythos Potentially the biggest release of the year from DC Comics" – Comics Beat
Joker Folie á Deux "A Shattering Disappointment" – Yahoo
Joker II at $117,292,724 worldwide (original hoped-for box office for domestic was $100 million all by itself) – The Numbers – "word of mouth" on this film is pretty poor.
Eight horror comics for Halloween – New York Times
Batman Resurrection book coming – MSN CBR
Tim Burton's iconic 1989 Batman film will soon get a prose sequel by New York Times bestselling author John Jackson Miller. The new story takes place after the events of Burton's film and is part of a duology...."
Recap of "Harvey Kurtzman Week" – The Comics Journal
Get into the Public Domain archives that are online at Graphic Chatter
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Original page November 7, 2024