DHep 193 - Bad Kids Go to NYC Comic Con 2011

On this episode we are joined by Ian Levenstein of Comic Timing to have an intellectual discussion on New York Comic Con 2011, the show, the panels, the booth girls and more. Plus a review of Bad Kids go to Hell, the latest in Fall TV and the truth about parenting a growing geek gal. Enjoy.

Unemployed Marvels

Marvel has declined to comment on reports circulating that as many as 15 employees in editorial and production roles are being laid off. At least one editor, Alejandro Arbona, has obliquely confirmed his layoff on Twitter. The layoffs follow the departure of Chief Operating Officer Jim Sokolowski, who was laid off a couple of weeks ago in a costcutting move. The rumors coming out of Marvel at New York Comic Con were bleak, and included a reduced number of exclusive contracts for creators in the future - Andy Diggle has since revealed that he’s no longer under exclusive with Marvel - declining freelancer rates, projects that had been planned but were now being eliminated, and a general belt-tightening.
Cutting back on the poorest-selling titles is certainly one way of reducing costs and improving profitability, but as the sales charts reveal, Marvel also has a problem with its top releases, which are selling significantly below where they did a year ago. This September, for example Marvel’s best seller, Fear Itself #6, sold around 93,000 copies. A year ago, in September 2010, Marvel’s top seller, Wolverine #1, sold around 104,000, already not a stellar performance for a new #1 featuring the most popular member of the X-Men. Marvel’s been drifting for a couple of years, and it’s probably going to have to look at fundamental issues affecting creativity, as DC has, to turn things around.

Fox Gets Punished

Fox has placed a put pilot order for a series based on Marvel’s The Punisher from Disney subsidiary ABC Studios, according to Deadline. Such an order includes substantial penalties if the pilot isn’t aired. The hour-long show will be produced by Ed Bernero, the former Criminal Minds showrunner. This new take on The Punisher will be a procedural with Frank Castle as a rising star detective in the NYPD who becomes The Punisher to handle cases the system has failed.

Dhep 192 - The Road to NYCC 2011

NYCC is just a minute away and on this episode we discuss what we are looking forward to, the panels, the guests and the over all show. Also a discussion on the future of Apple and some new fall TV programing. Enjoy.

Superior Movie

Matthew Vaughn is looking at one of two Mark Millar comics for which he owns the movie rights as his next film, according to Hollywood Reporter. One is The Secret Service, a new project co-created by Vaughn, written by Millar with art by Dave Gibbons. If that’s his choice, he’ll probably write with collaborator Jane Goldman. Another is Superior, written by Millar with art by Leinil Francis Yu, which tells the story of a superhero and a boy with multiple sclerosis who has the chance, with a heavy cost, to become a superhero named Superior. If Vaughn tackles that project, he will supervise the writing, according to the report. Vaughn, who directed Millar’s Kick-Ass and the highly successful X-Men First Class, will not be the director if a sequel is made.

Singer's Battlestar

Bryan Singer’s long gestating Battlestar Galactica feature is on the move again, with writer John Orloff hired to write the screenplay. Singer was first attached to a BSG film in 2001. The new film will have no relationship to the Syfy TV series or its spinoffs.