|
|
Wed 25 Jul 2007 |
Advanced Sale of Spider-Man Figures Offers Comic-Con Attendees Sneak Peek Before Main Launch in August
Only 100 Hand-Numbered Spider-Man Figures Will Be Available at Comic-Con Beginning Wednesday, July 25
 CARLSBAD, CA – July 24, 2007 – Bringing an entirely different look to comic icons people have known and loved for over five decades, Upper Deck — in association with TWEEQiM Design Studio — announces the release of the new SubCasts designer figures. With the main launch in August, Upper Deck will give Comic-Con attendees an opportunity, this weekend only, to be one of the first to own a limited-edition Spider-Man(tm) SubCast figure. Only 100 (out of 2000) of the hand-numbered figurines will be made available at the show.
SubCast Spider-Man figures will be sold at the Upper Deck Entertainment booth (#2829) beginning Wednesday, July 25 at the San Diego Convention Center. Only one figurine per customer per day will be sold while supplies last.
 "Being fans of the designer toy movement, Upper Deck wanted to take our existing Marvel figure license and push the boundaries of each character’s design to bring a new look and attitude to each figure," said Dave Sanders, Upper Deck Action Figure Product Manager. "TWEEQiM has done a remarkable job in designing a look that appeals to both comic fans looking for a new take on favorite characters, as well as collectors of designer figurines."
While the designer toy movement — a trend for action figures that are produced more as works of art for collectors than toys for kids — features an array of various plastics usually referred to as vinyl, Upper Deck and TWEEQiM have turned to polyresin to bring the designs to life in 3-D form. The hard stone-like material creates a unique contrast versus non-traditional styling formed out of the most classic of materials.
With an enlarged head pouting over slouching and drastically curved shoulders, the design for the Spider-Man figure is far from the web-slinging Spider-Man toy and figurine designs that have been produced numerous times over the years.
"We designed some of the characters with their strengths heightened, and other characters with more of their human attributes coming through," said miQ Willmott, TWEEQiM designer. "We wanted these figures to provide attitude without the action, and posturing without the posing."
Following Spider-Man’s main launch in August, Upper Deck’s SubCasts line will feature Marvel’s Iron Man* in October and Ghost Rider* in December. Additional characters, including Captain America*, Wolverine* and Hulk*, will be released throughout 2008.
For each launch, figurines will be available at www.upperdeckstore.com in addition to various hobby and comic-based stores throughout North America. Additional information on SubCasts can be found at www.SubCasts.com, a complete site dedicated to providing collectors with a behind-the-scenes look at the figures.
(more…)
|
|
Tue 24 Jul 2007 |
One again, our man Mike "SD Comics" Walker is on the scene in his home town of San Diego to bring you the best all over look at the wonderful madness that is SDCC! Mike has been going to the big con since the late 1970s, so you be hard pressed to find a better guide short of Mark Evanier. Speaking of Mark, he linked to the the best "What to expect if I go to SDCC?" guide online by Tom Spurgeon so we’re linking to it too.
And now here’s Mike with his awesome look at today’s setup activities!
SDCC 2007 Preliminary Report
I went down to the convention center today to pick up my exhibitor’s badge. Because I’m basically a nosey bastich, I took a stroll around the exhibit hall and watched while companies were setting up their booths. Here’s a few thoughts on what I saw today (And bear in mind that SDCC is in the REAL early stage of the set-up process. They don’t even have the carpet laid down yet in some parts of the exhibit hall).
1) When strolling around the San Diego convention center on the day before the day before SDCC, you have to be careful not to get run over and smushed by a forklift. Seriously. Look both ways before you cross the aisles, fanboy. And listen carefully for the tell-tale "beep-beep". It may save your life. The guys who put these exhibits together do not dicker. And they don’t let anything slow’em down.
2) My Kingdom for some air-conditioning. Yes, it’ll be on tomorrow. But that doesn’t do the poor bastich’s who are busting their humps in there right now any good.
3) No Star Wars Pavillion. YES!! HAR!! Over the last few years, I’ve gotten sick of Star Wars and all the precious space that Lucas takes up in the exhibit hall. The Jar-Jar Binks Brigade will have to go get their fix somewhere else. MAWHAHA! May the frackin’ force stick it in your ear!
Okay, booth by booth …
MATTEL
As promised, they’ve done a total redesign of their booth. It’s huge. There’s lots of love for DC. They don’t have any figures displayed yet, but I saw two posters that you may find interesting. One said "The DC Universe Coming in 2008". The DC logo was used. It was basically a starscape background with the silhouettes of a lot of different characters in the foreground. I’ll take a picture tomorrow. Also, there was a double-sided poster that said "DC Universe Battle Figures". One one side of the poster it said "Round one: Batman Vs The Joker". On the other side it said "Round two: Superman Vs Luthor". I have no idea what that’s about, but I guess we’ll find out tomorrow. They have lots and lots of display cases so I think we’ll see plenty of DC stuff.
DC DIRECT
I saw Matt Kellor, Syndee Barwick and Shawn Knapp. They look to have the same amount of display space that they had last year. Nothing on display yet. Shawn says that Jim Fletcher won’t be here this year. He’s currently in China and won’t be back in the States until Sunday. Georg Brewer will be in town tomorrow.
MARVEL TOYS
Hang on to your arse, but Marvel actually has a booth this year. Yes, I was shocked, too. I think this is the first time they’ve had a booth at SDCC since the pre-bankruptcy days. There were some glass display cases there, so it looks like Jesse finally has a home at San Diego. And yes, the rumors are true about the Iron Man movie armor. The Stan Winston designed Mark One armor was proudly on display. I can’t wait until you guys see pictures of that. It’s so damn cool. The more I see of the Iron Man movie, the more I can’t wait to see it.
HASBRO
Nothing on display yet in the way of figures. However, they’re going to give Indiana Jones a lot of love. They have some life-size movie props on display, including the Well of Souls and the Ark of the Covenant. Pics tomorrow.
DISNEY
The Disney booth looks like it’ll be the talk of the show. They have a 40 foot long replica of the Black Pearl from the Pirates of the Caribbean. Fans can actually walk around inside. Again, pics will be forthcoming.
– Mike
(Preview night report will be posted tomorrow!)
|
|
Tue 24 Jul 2007 |
A long, long time ago in Los Angeles, CA., AFI attended the biggest tribute to "Han shooting first" this side of the Antaries Nebula. And now that that crazy nerd-speak is out of the way, may I point you in the direction of our finest coverage of said event, all laid out nice and pretty in our brand spanking new gallery system?
That’s right kids, it’s the old fashioned picture galleries that you used to know, all fancy and such using the latest in technological advances! And even better, it’s a harbinger of what is to come starting in a day or so as AFI heads down to sunny San Diego to snap some shots, ogle the costumed babes, and make sweet, sweet love to a big ass Starro Deluxe Heroclix. So get on over and check out the new gallery, ’cause that’s where all the action will be come Thursday!
|
|
Tue 24 Jul 2007 |
 July 24, 2007 (SEATTLE) — WizKids Inc. reports successful results from its Star Wars™ PocketModel™ trading card game (TCG) sampling program. The promotion, which began on June 8 and runs through July 30, is featured on www.starwars.com, www.cartoonnetwork.com and www.wizkidsgames.com. Consumers who click the “Free Star Wars PocketModel” ads are directed to a retail locator where they can print out a coupon and a list of retailers supporting the sample program in their area. Each Sample Pack contains three PocketModels (one X-wing and two TIE fighters) and two playing cards.
“We’ve already exceeded our expectations, and we still have one more week before the end of the program,” said Joe Hauck, WizKids® senior vice president of Sales, Marketing and Product Development. “Our latest data show that over 50,000 visitors have printed out Sample Pack coupons. Even with a modest conversion rate from printing the coupon to redemption, this is a significant number of consumers being sent to local game stores to try out our new Star Wars PocketModel game.”
More than 1,600 retailers from all 50 states are participating in this national program. Retailers received between 25 and 100 Sample Packs, depending on how much product they preordered and handed them out to new consumers who downloaded the coupon.
Doug Mclure, manager of Dream Wizards in Rockville, Maryland, completely sold out of Star Wars PocketModel TCG Game Packs and Imperial Power-Up Packs, and had to reorder. The promotion was such a success that he had people asking if WizKids was going to do another promotion around its next Star Wars release.
Steve Ellis of Rainy Day Games in Aloha, Oregon thought the promotion was a great idea for driving customers into local stores. Rainy Day Games had coupons turned in by new customers who have already returned to purchase more Game Packs. He also saw customers come back to his store who were absent for awhile and most of them have purchased after getting the promotion.
“Our goal at WizKids is to drive innovation across all of our business practices, and our unprecedented connectivity to the core hobby store through our partnership with Diamond Comic Distributors and Alliance Game Distributors is allowing us to do that,” said Lax Chandra, WizKids president. “Retailers across the country have seen new customers in their stores and a high repeat purchase pattern.”
The Star Wars PocketModel TCG revolutionized the TCG genre by bringing card games into the third dimension. By merging the enjoyment of building custom decks from card collections with the fun of building miniature models of Star Wars vehicles, the Star Wars PocketModel TCG lets fans of all ages enjoy a complete Star Wars experience.
A wholly owned subsidiary of the Topps Company (TOPP), WizKids is a Seattle-based game developer and publisher dedicated to creating tabletop games driven by imagination. Its HeroClix® and Pirates brands are among the most successful games on the market today, with over 100 million miniature game figures sold worldwide. For additional information, visit www.wizkidsgames.com.
|
|
Tue 24 Jul 2007 |
 Vader and our friends over at AFHub.com have put together a great feature article on Noli Coronado, one of the main sculptors for Digger’s new group Dig Deep Entertainment. He is fully credited for sculpting the Civil War busts including Captain America, Thing and Nitro. He also assisted in creating the Spider-man and Wolverine busts, also for Dig Deep Entertainment.
It’s a great read and with checking out. Thanks to vader for the heads up!
You can read it all here: http://www.afhub.com/noli-coronado-an-exclusive-interview/
|
|
Mon 23 Jul 2007 |
WORLD HEROCLIX EVENT!
 July 13, 2007 (SEATTLE) — As part of its continuing celebration of the fifth anniversary of the HeroClix® collectable miniatures game (CMG), WizKids Inc. announces the “STARRO Attacks” world event. Beginning in September and spanning five weeks, the “STARRO Attacks” event is one of the largest events ever offered for the DC HeroClix line. STARRO the Star Conqueror itself is the top prize for the ultimate winners of these events.
In an effort to conquer Earth, STARRO the Star Conqueror released psychic clones that attach themselves to their victims’ faces. For this event, STARRO takes control of four JUSTICE LEAGUE members, which have been created specially for this promotion as participation prizes for players. The event will take place at select retail locations worldwide.
During weeks one though four, each weekly tournament is held as a Sealed event using game pieces from the DC HeroClix: Justice League set, which releases at the end of September. Participants will receive an all-new, exclusive Slave of STARRO figure. Players will not want to miss a week because they can swap out figures pulled from a Sealed Booster with Slave of STARRO figures they have won in previous weeks. In week five, HeroClix players will compete to win the colossal DC HeroClix STARRO figure, using WizKids’ official tournament rules.
WEEK DATES PARTICIPATION PRIZE
Week 1 Sept. 20–23 AQUAMAN
Week 2 Sept. 27–30 THE FLASH
Week 3 Oct. 4–7 GREEN ARROW
Week 4 Oct. 11–14 GREEN LANTERN
WINNER RECEIVES
Week 5 Oct. 20 STARRO Colossal Figure
WizKids® maintains an informational website regarding its promotions and Organized Play activities, as well as active discussion forums, at www.wizkidsgames.com. Retailers interested in hosting a “STARRO Attacks” event should contact a Diamond Comic Distributors (800.452.6642) or Alliance Game Distributors (800.669.4263 x1005) sales representative.
A wholly owned subsidiary of the Topps Company (TOPP), WizKids is a Seattle-based game developer and publisher dedicated to creating tabletop games driven by imagination. Its HeroClix and Pirates brands are among the most successful games on the market today, with over 100 million miniature game pieces sold worldwide. For additional information, visit www.wizkidsgames.com.
|
|
Mon 23 Jul 2007 |
Covenant Plasma Rifle and Plasma Pistol will feature Laser Pursuit play.
 SAN DIEGO, CA—(July 26, 2007)— Jasman Toys, a growing toy designer and manufacturer, plans to offer a sneak peek of its highly anticipated Halo 3™ replica weapons with Laser Pursuit technology at Booth #1116, hosted by Tor Books, during Comic-Con International 2007 in San Diego. The first Halo replica weapons of their kind, these weapons are precise recreations of the Covenant Plasma Rifle and Plasma Pistol seen in the extremely popular franchise of Halo video games.
Made from metal and plastic materials, the weapons are heavy, full-size replicas that will also function like their console-based counterparts. Vibrations, sounds, lights and recoil offer the most realistic experience possible. Even more intricate features are included; for example, when the Plasma Rifle “overheats,” the heat exchange flanges pop open from the side.
More than just a collectible, these weapons also contain Laser Pursuit technology, allowing users to recreate their favorite version of multiplayer play with friends. An infrared beam and included target register hits on an LCD counter.
Initially, the Covenant Plasma Rifle and Plasma Pistol will be available in October, shortly after the release of the Halo 3 video game. A Covenant Energy Sword is planned to be released in 2008. Halo 3 Replica Weapons with Laser Pursuit Technology will be available at Hot Topic stores across the country and other fine retailers.
Halo 3™ Covenant Weapons with Laser Pursuit Technology
For every Halo™ fan that has fantasized about being part of the action, Jasman Toys introduces its line of Halo 3 Covenant Weapons with Laser Pursuit technology! Bring all the action of the popular video game to life with these full-size replica weapons that perform just like the ones in the game: vibration, sounds, lights and recoil, all packaged into heavy metal and plastic bodies. These realistic weapons even offer the most intricate features; when the Plasma Rifle “overheats,” the heat exchange flanges pop
open! An infrared beam and target register hits on an LCD counter, allowing you to recreate the game with friends; capture the flag, team battle, free-for-all… the possibilities are endless! Find out who has what it takes to be Master Chief.
Halo 3™ Covenant Plasma Rifle – SRP: $119.99
Halo 3™ Covenant Plasma Pistol – SRP: $79.99
Halo 3™ Covenant Energy Sword (Coming 2008)
(more…)
|
|
Mon 23 Jul 2007 |
Hasbro and Lucasfilm Ltd donate $100,000 to Benefit Make-A-Wish Foundation®
 PAWTUCKET, R.I.–(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hasbro, Inc. and Lucasfilm Ltd. announce the creation of a limited-edition Star Wars action figure to honor Katie Johnson, a very special Star Wars fan who tragically passed away from brain cancer in 2005 at the age of seven. In conjunction with this figure, Hasbro and Lucasfilm will help make more wishes come true for children like Katie by donating $100,000 in her memory to the Make-A-Wish Foundations of South Carolina and San Diego. Hasbro’s R2-KT droid figure will be available at San Diego Comic-Con International July 25-29 at the booths of Hasbro and StarWarsShop with a small inventory also being offered for sale online through HasbroToyShop.com and StarWarsShop.com following the event.
 The Star Wars saga has always been near to the heart of the Johnson family–in fact, Katie’s father, Albin Johnson, is the founder of the 501st Legion, a Star Wars costuming fan club that performs charity work around the world. So it’s not too surprising that Katie’s sister Allie wished her sister had an “Artoo” droid to look after her while she underwent her cancer treatment–just like R2-D2 cared for Padmé in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones.
In 2005, the R2-D2 Builders club—a fan group—created for Katie a life-size astromech droid named R2-KT (named “KT” after Katie) modeled after the iconic R2-D2 character in the Star Wars films. Hasbro, the maker of Star Wars action figures, and Lucasfilm both recognized the uniqueness and special story this heartfelt tribute represented and decided to go forward with a special edition 3-3/4” R2-KT figure in Katie’s honor as a way to allow all fans to learn about and participate in Katie’s continuing legacy.
“Katie’s story touched us all, and we are very proud to be involved in a project that will help raise awareness for the Make-A-Wish Foundation so many more wishes may be granted to children like Katie,” said Derryl DePriest, marketing director for Star Wars toys at Hasbro.
“The Make-A-Wish Foundation has long been a favorite charity of the 501st and Lucasfilm, and they granted Katie a fantastic wish before she died,” said Derek Stothard, Lucasfilm’s director of toys. “So we are especially proud to be associated with Hasbro in this great endeavor.”
The R2-KT action figure—which looks like a pink version of R2-D2—will cost $9.99. In addition, Albin and Allie Johnson will be bringing the full-size R2-KT to Comic-Con to show to fans. To find out more about the R2-KT project, please visit www.r2kt.com.
(more…)
|
|
Mon 23 Jul 2007 |
 Master Sculptor Tim Bruckner has opened up an online store today as part of his popular TimBruckner.com website. This store is selling not only out of print statues from his days as a sculptor for DC Direct (he’ll also sign them if the buyer wishes) but also some VERY limited editions of some of Tim’s little seen personal projects.
Also of interest is the "Commission Tim Bruckner" button!
So head over to the Art Farm and check out the first batch of items that he has up for sale and let him know that "Julius sent ya!"
Click here to see the "souvenir shop."
|
|
Mon 23 Jul 2007 |
July 23, 2007 (SEATTLE) — WizKids Inc., creator of runaway hit games like the HeroClix® CMG and the Star Wars™ PocketModel™ TCG, announced today its agreement with Disney to produce the Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModel game. The game will release in October of 2007.
Under the agreement, WizKids will be able to use content from all three Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The PocketModel game platform allows players to construct 3-D pirate ships from pieces punched out of a styrene card. Players are then able to use movie characters and action scenes on cards to help control the strategy of the game.
Since the debut of the Pirates line in 2004, WizKids® has sold over 20 million constructible ships to consumers worldwide. The PocketModel platform was introduced with the Star Wars PocketModel TCG, and is being continued with the Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModel game.
“We are extremely excited to up the ante on the already successful PocketModel platform by adding Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean, one of the world’s most successful entertainment brands,” said Lax Chandra, WizKids president. “For under $4, players will get the full Pirates of the Caribbean experience through building the models like the Black Pearl and playing the characters like Captain Jack Sparrow.”
Each Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean Game Pack (MSRP $3.99) will include everything a player needs to play, including two ships to be assembled by the player, one island/terrain card, a treasure or crew card, a rulebook and a die. The Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModel game will be available at hobby retailers nationwide, as well as Target and Wal-Mart.
A wholly owned subsidiary of the Topps Company (TOPP), WizKids is a Seattle-based game developer and publisher dedicated to creating tabletop games driven by imagination. Its HeroClix and Pirates brands are among the most successful games on the market today, with over 100 million miniature game pieces sold worldwide. For additional information, visit www.wizkidsgames.com.
|
|
« Previous Page — Next Page »
|
|
