comic

Scenes from New York Comic Con 2009

Few places, outside of perhaps CES and E3, illustrate the overlapping Venn diagram of technology, video games, and popular culture better than the New York Comic Con (or the much larger, but unrelated San Diego Comic-Con). Not just for comic book geeks any more, the show is a catch-all of video games (new and vintage), comics, toys and collectibles, movies, and, of course, incessant marketing toward the mostly male, mostly young adult audience.

It's interesting to note that much of the floor space was given over to hosting video game demos and showcases from companies such as EA, Atari, and Activision. While not quite recession-proof, game companies are perhaps the last holdout that can afford massive amounts of expensive convention center floor space. Also big--the comic/video game/movie pop-culture full-court press called Watchmen.

We braved the nerdy waters of this annual show--held at NYC's Jacob Javitz convention center--to bring you this photo gallery, as well as a few video highlights, shot with a Creative Vado HDcamera. Click on to see it all.

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Turn your sofa into a comic book shrine

Does your abode adequately reflect your geek sensibilities? Tossing a comic book cushion or two on the couch could help your living room match your lifestyle.

We spotted these funky cotton cushion covers on Etsy, one of our favorite sites for handmade crafts. They measure about 14 inches by 14 inches, cost $15 (not including shipping), and would clash gloriously with the pixel couch.

Might we also suggest a Captain Kirk command chair and a pair of Monty Python slippers?

Batman motion comic impresses, but is it worth your 99 cents?

I first mentioned the Batman: Black and White Motion Comic a couple weeks back and went on bit about how much I'm in love with ol' Bats and how we're getting married and planning our lives together. Hmmm, actually I may not have mentioned the whole marriage and lives together thing...until now.

Anyway, I finally got a chance to check out the first five episodes on iTunes and my initial reaction after watching all five is bring on more. Now.

Black and White is a motion comic developed by Warner Premiere, and is a direct translation of … Read more

The Real Deal 140: Web comics

Scott Johnson from ExtraLife drops by to chat about Web comics.

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New life for old Batman comic

Ever since I picked up an old, 1970s Batman comic when I was 12 years old, Batman has been my favorite comic book character.

While my first love was Wolverine, it was harder to relate to someone who could heal from any wound, and had an unbreakable skeleton and foot-long claws that could cut through anything. Even though Bruce Wayne was a rich boy, he had a childhood wrought with tragedy, and there is just something immediately endearing about a superhero with no powers who simply trained himself to be the best.

Since then I've been a fan of all things Batman. That is, when it's done well, i.e. The Dark Knight, and not offensively, i.e. Batman and Robin. Batman: Black and White was Batman done well. Originally published in 1996, it was a four-issue miniseries collection of short, black-and-white Batman stories written and drawn by some of comics greats like Paul Dini, Alex Ross, and Dave Gibbons.

On Tuesday, Warner Premiere announced the debut of its latest motion comic, Batman: Black and White. Warner Premiere is the same company responsible for the Watchmen motion comic that I've covered here and here. Motion comics basically take the original comic and add sound effects, music, and voice, as well as animation to a certain extent. So far, the results with Watchmen have been impressive.… Read more

Audio: 'Watchmen' artist Dave Gibbons talks movies, Martha Washington

Readers of Crave and fans of all things geek may have read my impressions of the Watchmen Motion Comics over the last few months. If not, well first off, shame on you, but through the magical powers I wield--and the Internets--you can check them out here and here.

Produced by Warner Premiere, the Watchmen Motion Comic is basically the original Watchmen comic, now animated with voice, music, and sound effects. If you're a comic book fan or you're just intrigued by Watchmen thanks to the upcoming movie's hype, it's worth checking out. If you don't … Read more

So many comic book films, so much potential revenue

Den of Geek posted a story Monday detailing 75 comic-book-based movies that are currently in some form of production.

Look, I love a great comic book movie as much as the next guy, but for every Dark Knight or Iron Man, there are a few Ghost Riders, Constantines, and Incredible Hulks (although I personally liked the film).

If I had to pick one from the list to be most excited about, Akira would get that distinction. If you've ever read Katsushiro Otomo's orginal comic book with the same name, however, you'll know that no one film can … Read more

'Watchmen' motion comic causes editor to shed tear

Note: if you'd like to remain spoiler-free for the Watchmen movie, stop reading and click the back button or another one of our fantabulous links.

Warner Bros. finally released chapters two and three of the Watchmen Motion Comic a couple of weeks ago. I took a look at chapter one back in August and was impressed with the job Cruel and Unusual Productions was able to pull off, and chapters two and three continue this trend.

The new chapters focus mostly on the characters of Edward "The Comedian" Blake and Jon "Dr. Manhattan" Ostermann. We also get a few more clues as to why the world of Watchmen in 1985 is different from our own in the same year. For example, Nixon is still president only because of Dr. Manhattan's intervention in the Vietnam War, which because we won, he was popular enough to get reelected.

Unfortunately we still have just one voice actor, Tom Stechschulte, voicing every character, male and female. Females still sound weird and kind of disturbing in some cases. Fortunately, this guy hits it out of the park a few times over these two episodes. In particular Edward Blake's emotional breakdown and Rorschach's monologue in episode three and the reading of "The Black Freighter" in episode three. … Read more

The 404 206: Where we only like you as a friend

It's true that we only think of you as a close friend, but that doesn't mean we don't appreciate your support! On today's show, we attempt to sell off Jeff's old busted G4 Powerbook, make fun of Don Cheadle's awful British accent, fan out over the new Avengers movie, and do our impression of some of the most popular video game quotes. If nothing else, listen to this show for Jeff's spot on Mario!

So after yesterday's Apple announcement, Jeff and I have finally agreed to shed our ancient G4 Powerbooks for one of the new Macbooks. The question that I'm sure other people are asking right now is which one should we get? We both want to spend less than $2,ooo, so it's a toss-up between the $1,600 Macbook and the $1,999 Macbook Pro. Is the slightly larger screen and dual-video cards worth the $4,000 price difference? We've both gotten so comfortable using a 15 inch screen that it seems difficult to adjust to a 13 incher. And what about that giant one-piece track pad? There are so many questions to answer about the design, but we'll be getting both models into the office tomorrow, so that's when the deliberation will begin. Is anyone else in this boat with us, trying to decide between the two? For me, it's less a question about performance and more a deliberation about screen size. I don't travel much and don't do image or video editing (I don't even have Photoshop!), so maybe all those extra features aren't worth it for my purposes. Help!!

EPISODE 206 Download today's podcast … Read more