So, as a company DC has spent the last 3 years promoting the Blue Beetle title, fighting off naysayers, hyping the surprisingly consistently good reviews of the title, and this week they announce it’s cancellation.

BLUE BEETLE #36
Written by Matthew Sturges
Art by Carlo Barberi
Cover by Rafael Albuquerque
Say goodbye to the bravest Teen Titan of them all as Blue Beetle takes on a whole space army all on his lonesome in a tale so epic it could only be called the “Valentine’s Day Dance Massacre�!
FINAL ISSUE • On sale February 25 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Now, as always, it’s perfectly within DC’s rights to cancel a title, for any reason at all. And when one has been a borderline seller as BB has been for the last 2 years or so, it makes even more sense. Or at least it would if the character wasn’t part of a Huge Freaking Multi-Media Promotion right now.

From the looks of things, Cartoon Network has plans for the character, potentially beyond just the “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” premiere episode. He’s been in virtually all of the show’s promotional pieces, from print to TV to web. Heck, he’s practically half the website for B:BatB, with a nice big bio-page, appearances on the downloadable wallpapers and a playable part in the online game. Hell, the character gets his own skill set and special instructional page!

A lot of this would be moot if CN had changed the character significantly from his comic book roots, like Red Tornado or Green Arrow, but he’s pretty much the same as in the comic. The costume is nearly exactly like the book, the character’s a teenage boy starstruck with Batman and not exactly sure of what’s going on around him.

I’m not a huge fan of the new Blue Beetle, but I don’t dislike Jamie Reyes either. He’s actually a pretty decent “Spider-Man meets Power Rangers” kind of character that I can easily see kids getting into. The fact that DC spent so long massaging the title’s life despite diminishing sales shows that they kind of get that as well, which makes the just announced canning of the book that much more puzzling. It just boggles the mind that, a few days after the character becomes a nationally known entity, seen by upwards of a million new pairs of eyes around the world, this is the time that DC sees fit to pull the plug on the book. How does that make any sense at all? Maybe TV exposure doesn’t automatically lead to increased monthly comic sales, but you’d think that anyone with any kind of skill at selling things could use the character’s newfound notoriety to somehow move more issues or the collected editions or something.

With DC’s sales dropping pretty much across the board, resulting in them becoming a distant second to Marvel’s #1 sales position (due partially to Marvel’s ability to parlay Iron Man’s new popularity directly into comic book sales this past summer), it’s pretty incomprehensible that nobody at the company seems to think that they can piggyback on Beetle’s media blitz. But then, if the last few years of DC’s publishing moves have taught us anything, it’s that they rarely do anything that makes sense anymore.

Spread the word!

I’m very, very conflicted in my response to this. Via Cynopsis, a pair of new cartoon series in development, aimed squarely at kids:

The Adventures of Brush Lee and Jackie Chain an animated series about an evil toilet chain and a heroic brush in a kung-fu battle comedy. From the UK-based production company Naughty Tortoise.

Vegetable Wrestling Federation this animated series about a group of vegetables that gather at the back of a grocery store for undergrounds wrestling matches. Also from the folks at Naughty Tortoise.

I suppose people had the same response to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when it was first announced, but damn, do both of those sound like really bad ideas on the surface. There’s always the possibility one or both will become quirky animated classics, but my gut reaction is that they’re facing a serious uphill battle on a slippery slope.

Spread the word!

If this doesn’t make your life a little better, I can’t help you.

Spread the word!

This morning was the first I’d heard of Fanboy and Chum Chum, but apparently the just-greenlit Nickelodeon series has been very publicly in development for quite some time. Taking a quick look through these postings detailing the show’s developmental process on the Fredrator blog, I’m immediately looking forward to it. Looks like good, clean, superhero-y fun!

Nickelodeon has ordered 26 episodes of Fanboy and Chum Chum, a new CG animated comedy series spinning off from the upcoming Nicktoons Network anthology series Random! Cartoons, it was announced today by Brown Johnson, President, Animation for Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids & Family Group. Combining classic squash and stretch animation with CG technology, Fanboy and Chum Chum centers on a fearless, comic book-loving 10-year old named Fanboy and his best friend and trusty sidekick, Chum Chum, whose wide-eyed acceptance of the bizarre is the perfect complement to his friend’s hyper imagination. For Fanboy, there is nothing more normal than living life in tights and a cape, and the concept of an ordinary day is one where anything and everything can happen.

Spread the word!

This animated short, found via the incredibly good Drawn.ca, is an amazing bit of student animation. Legitimately great, I’d go as far as to say this piece is up to Pixar levels. Goddamn, the future’s great.

EDIT: Aw, man – it’s down. Here’s a very cool “Making Of” video, though. The level of detail they put into this piece is pretty amazing.

Re-EDIT: Here’s a YouTube version to watch while it lasts. And I’m out!

Spread the word!

I’ll be downright shocked, if not completely disappointed, if folks don’t notices cosplayer after cosplayer sporting unnaturally large pupils as they giggle and skip down crowded aisles. For $30 or so, there’s really no excuse for these exaggerated – and borderline creepy – contact lenses not to be all over the place inside of a year.

1)the lenses are coloured + they have the effect of making pupils larger

2) the colour is made using a sandwiched technology thus the colour will not run on your eyes.
sandwich technology will mean that the colour is sandwiched in between the lenses, thus the thing touching your eyeballs will not be the colour but the outer layer of the lenses. This will means that the colour will not affect your eyes as we have heard reports of coloured lenses running colours on ones’ eyes.

3) Degree from 0 up till 1000. Only takin orders for Myopia, not for astigmatism.

4) it is 100% safe for use and many celebrities are using this brand :)

5) one pair of lenses can last you for one year with proper care. This means SAVE TONS OF MONEY!!

Water content of lenses- 35% to 42%
Diameter- 14.0mm
Curve of Lenses-8.5

Certification: FDA, CE, ISO, KGMP, MHLW

Usage is 1 year ( provided with thorough cleansing which is very important!!)

Authenticity guaranteed, imported directly from Korea.

For more information pls view this website www.gngcontact.com

Spread the word!