Marvel Heroes game makers announce Iron Man weekend as film breaks UK box office records

Marking the launch of Marvel’s Iron Man 3 movie, which opened in the UK last week in advance of the US release and has broken box office records (taking £11.4 million in its opening weekend), game maker Gazillion Entertainment will be kicking off a Marvel Heroes “Iron Man 3” Open Beta Weekend beginning on Saturday 4th May at 3.00 am BST / through Monday 6th May at 18.00 am BST. 

As part of the Weekend, new players who participate will be able to select an Avenger as their starting hero - including Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Captain America and Black Widow.*

There are over 14 Iron Man armours that will be available in Marvel Heroes spanning the Golden Avenger’s illustrious career in comics and movies (Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, The Avengers).

Gazillion Entertainment’s Marvel Heroes is an action MMORPG for PC created by David Brevik, the visionary behind  Diablo and Diablo 2. Set in the Marvel Universe,  Marvel Heroes combines the core game-play style of action RPGs and MMOs with an extensive original story crafted by Marvel super-scribe Brian Michael Bendis.

In  Marvel Heroes, players suit up and collect their favourite Marvel superheroes including Iron Man, Thor, Wolverine, Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America and many more as they team up with friends to try to stop Doctor Doom from devastating the world with the power of the Cosmic Cube. 

Marvel Heroes features a deep leveling system unique to each character, diverse locations set across the expansive Marvel universe, a robust crafting system and much more. Marvel Heroes will be making its debut on PC as a free-to-play game on 4th June 2013.

• In order access the Marvel Heroes “Iron Man 3” Open Beta Weekend, players should register now at www.MarvelHeroes.com. As the weekend approaches, an email will be sent with download instructions.

* Access to The Avengers characters as starting heroes in Marvel Heroes including Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Captain America and Black Widow, will be available during the Open Beta weekend



 

Bryan Hitch signing Ultimate Comics Studio

Top British comic artist Bryan Hitch will be signing his Ultimate Comic Studio at the Forbidden Planet Megastore London, on Saturday 23rd October 1 - 2.00pm.

Bryan explores his inspirations, approaches and techniques through a stunning collection of his finest pieces from Marvel, as well as brand new pieces commissioned especially for this book. Packed with information, practical tips on panel composition, storytelling, tools and materials, inspiration and references, how to break into the industry and much more, this is the long awaited guide and a must-have for Bryan Hitch fans all over the world.

Including a foreword by writer, director and producer of TV"s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joss Whedon, this is a veritable visual feast of dynamic, impactful art for comic fans all over the world.

Listing the all comics credits to Bryan Hitch’s name would be impossible: from his early work at Marvel UK, his career spans titles for both Marvel and DC, working with some of the genre’s foremost writers – including Mark Millar (for The Ultimates, The Ultimates 2 and Fantastic Four) and Warren Ellis (for Stormwatch and launching The Authority). The BBC also hired Bryan as the concept artist for the 2005 relaunch of Doctor Who and he has had particular input into the redesign of the TARDIS.

• Bryan Hitch will be signing his Ultimate Comic Studio at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8JR on Saturday 23rd October 1 - 2pm. For the latest info visit Forbidden Planet: Latest Events

Grandville, Manga Shakespeare shortlisted for Children's Book Awards

Much to the author's surprize, Bryan Talbot's cracking steampunk-inspired graphic novel Grandville has been shortlisted for a Sheffield Children's Book Award in the awards new graphic novel category, one of five titles topping a list of favourite comics based on the votes of hundreds of school children across the city.

UK Publisher SelfMadeHero has also made the shortlist, for its Manga Shakespeare: Twelfth Night title by Nana Li, Richard Appignanesi, and, of course, William Shakespeare.

The final shortlist of five books was decided upon using a wide range of factors and each participating secondary school in Sheffield was sent a full set to distribute to the students/judges and to gather in their reviews and ratings.

The shortlist is as follows:

• Captain America: The Man With No Face by Luke Ross, Steve Epting, and Ed Brubaker
Published by Marvel

• Grandville by Bryan Talbot
Published by Jonathan Cape

• Manga Shakespeare: Twelfth Night by Nana Li, Richard Appignanesi, and William Shakespeare
Published by SelfMadeHero

• Vampire Knight: Volume 5 by Matsuri Hino
Published by Viz Media

• X-Men: Magneto Testament by Carmine Di Giandomenico and Greg Pak
Published by Marvel

The new graphic novel award is to be named after Spider-Man creator Stan Lee.

"I'm obviously very please to be nominated," Bryan Talbot told downthetubes on learning of the nomination. "I always thought of Grandville as an adult book though. Perhaps it encroaches into the "Young Adult" range.

"They must be keen on steampunk badgers with guns in Sheffield!"

Run by the Sheffield School Library Service, the Sheffield Children’s Book Award began in 1988 and was first started to encourage children and young people to read and also to highlight the very best children’s books published each year. In the first year just six local schools took part, but this number has grown every year to a total of 152 schools in 2007.

Each school chooses a book category for the class and they are given a start up pack of ideas along with a collection of books to read and review. Each child is asked to vote for their favourite book and these votes are then collated over the summer.

Results are kept a closely guarded secret until the Award Ceremony.

Children involved in the project are invited to the Award Ceremony along with all Shortlisted Authors, Illustrators and representatives from the Publishing Houses.

The last two weeks of the summer term will see all the individual votes going to the award organisers and the final winner will be announced at the ceremony at Sheffield City Hall in November - and if Grandville wins, that would tie in nicely with the launch of its sequel, Grandville Mon Amour, due for release on 4th November.

• More about the Sheffield Children's Book Awards at: www.sheffieldchildrensbookawards.co.uk

UK Comics Undercover In The USA

In the week that the USA sent back ten Russian agents who had been living undercover in the USA, two British comics that operate under the cover of American publishers have arrived on our shores.

First is Paul Grist's The Weird World of Jack Staff and this third issue of the third generation of Grist's tribute to old British anthology comics and their characters even comes with three staples. Tom Tom The Robot Man, who is really a little girl called Trisha, appears to save builder John Smith, who has forgotten that he is Jack Staff, from the Skull whilst Professor Fate looks on before he goes to visit Morlan The Mystic. Grist's Jack Staff can take a little getting used to, between the stylised art and the anthology style storyline, but it definitely rewards those who stick with it.

Also available is the first of Marvel's use of the old L Miller and Sons character of Marvelman. The first part of a six issue limited series entitled Marvelman Family's Finest, the 44 page comic reprints four individual stories, one from each of the Marvelman characters and a combined one, plus the start of a serial featuring just Marvelman. All the stories are in their original black and white and, other than the glossy cover, the comic is printed on newsprint paper. With all the stories credited to Mick Anglo, the artists are Trigan Empire's Don Lawrence as well as Norman Light, George Parlett and Mick Anglo himself. Art-wise Lawrence's two strips are nice but the best must be Norman Light's 1957 Marvelman And The Acid Vapour despite its ridiculous plotline - and perhaps that is the main problem with these old Marvelmans.

Much had been said on the subject of Marvel reprinting Marvelman. The vast majority of fans want the Warrior/ Miracleman version of the character and are going to have little interest in childish storylines and variable artwork from the mid 1950s which is what is available here. It will be interesting to watch the sale figures for this six issue limited series as I suspect that while the first will be purchased out of curiosity, there will be little here to draw many readers back for the next five issues.

• The Weird World Of Jack Staff is published by Image with a cover price of $3.50.

• Marvelman Family's Finest is published by Marvel with a cover price of $3.99

• Read Lew Stringer's review of Marvelman's Family's Finest on Blimey! It's Another Blog about Comics

Madame Tussauds Marvel Superheroes 4D Winners

The winners of our Marvel Superheroes 4D competition, run in partnership with SciFiPulse.net, were Yvonne Clark from Bridgend and Andrew Dommett from Tividale, who each won a pair of tickets to the new exhibition at Madame Tussauds in London.

Congratulations to them both who correctly told us Tony Stark was the name of the billionaire who is also the Marvel superhero, Iron Man.

Two of the world's leading entertainment brands - Madame Tussauds and Marvel Entertainment - have joined forces to create a unique new visitor experience at the leading London attraction - MARVEL SUPERHEROES 4D. As we previously reported, the stunning Marvel Super Heroes 4D features a mix of 4D animation, interactive themed areas and startlingly realistic Madame Tussauds wax figures over three floors of the attraction, featuring characters such as the Hulk, Iron Man, Nick Fury, Spider-Man and many others. There's even a specially-shot film that forms part of the exhibition.

• For more information about Marvel Super Heroes 4D go to: www.madame-tussauds.co.uk/4d

Tube Surfing: Dan McDaid, Madame Tussauds and Zine Fayre News

Right, let's see what's out there...

Over at the Forbidden Planet International blog, downthetubes contributor Matt Badham (that's me) talks to cartoonist Dan McDaid about his work on the comic strip in Doctor Who Magazine and Image Comics' Jersey Gods. In the interview, Dan reveals what finally made him pursue his dream of working as a comics writer and artist.

"I lost my job," he says, "and there was pretty much nowhere else to go. I’d been itching to write or draw something Who-shaped for a long, long time. Since I was a boy, in fact. And losing my job with... Scots publisher DC Thomson gave me the kick up the arse necessary to send out some samples." (Above: A page from Dan McDaid's Hotel Historia strip from Doctor Who Magazine)

Matt has also recently interviewed comics writer Jason Cobley, over at top blog (Conflict of interest alert!) Citizen Badham. In the interview, Jason talks about creating small press icon Winston Bulldog and gives his thoughts on the current state of the British comics industry:

"I’m optimistic about comics as a medium – I think graphic novels do well in bookshops now and kids really do like reading them – but I don’t know whether there is an ‘industry’ anymore."

One part of the industry that is thriving is the self-publishing scene, which will no doubt receive some representation at the forthcoming Bradford Zine Fayre. The Forbidden Planet International blog has details:

"The event is scheduled for Sunday the 20th of June at the Impressions Gallery on Centenary Square, with evening shenanigans to follow at the 1 in 12 Club on Bradford’s Albion Street afterwards; check the sites or contact them at bradfordzines (at) hotmail dot co dot uk for more details or to take part."

Meanwhile, those comics fans whose tastes are for super hero slugfests and in particular the four-colour antics of Marvel heroes such as Captain America, Spider Man and the Hulk, could do worse than check out the new Madame Tussauds’ Marvel Superheroes 4D Exhibition, which we've already mentioned here and is, according to a review at Rich Johnston's Bleeding Cool, worth a look:

"...overall: its fun," writes Hannah Brown for Bleeding Cool. "Hands up who doesn’t want their picture taken hanging off the ceiling with Spiderman, who hasn’t idly wondered what it would be like to have those claws or join in an epic superhero battle. Anyone? Didn’t think so. Well worth a visit." (Look out for a competition to win tickets here later in the week)

And finally, cartoonist Marc Ellerby has posted (a few weeks ago, but I've only just spotted it) a comprehensive account of his visit to Toronto, Canada to attend TCAF (the Toronto Comics Art Festival). In his report, Ellerby bemoans the state of British cons, which he finds sadly lacking in comparison to their Canadian counterpart:

"The thing with British shows is that there's very few that I actually want to attend nowadays. Previous trips to Bristol and Birmingham have been expensive and without much reward as they're catering for a mainstream, diehard comic audience who are very happy to pay £12 a day just to get into the venue."

The whole report is definitely worth reading, even if you don't entirely agree with what this promising cartoonist is saying...

Marvel Super Heroes storm London's Madame Tussauds

Two of the world's leading entertainment brands - Madame Tussauds, part of the Merlin Entertainments Group, and Marvel Entertainment - have joined forces to create a unique new visitor experience at the leading London attraction, scheduled to open in early summer 2010.

Marvel Super Heroes 4D, due to open next month, will feature a mix of 4D animation, interactive themed areas and startlingly realistic Madame Tussauds wax figures over three floors of the attraction.

From the moment you enter a lovingly-created S.H.I.E.L.D (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division) HQ, you'll be immersed in the Marvel superhero world. Hulk’s gigantic legs can be seen standing astride a massive plinth, his torso disappearing through a gaping hole in the ceiling, the green-skinned behemoth free from his Gamma Chamber, triggering warning lights and emergency alarms.

Early design work for the Hulk
as he appears in Marvel Super
Heroes 4D

Next stop is The Hall of Heroes, for some close up and interactive Super Hero action: a very angry Hulk bursts up through the floor with muscles rippling across his huge chest, face contorted in rage. There, you'll be able to measure up to his outsized vital statistics, stand inside his huge outstretched hand and even “turn Hulk” yourself courtesy of a special interactive that will make you appear very, very big and very, very green. Nearby, showing off his amazing arachnid powers, is Spider-Man and a cleverly inverted office scene means you can literally “hang out” with him on the ceiling.

The figure of Wolverine (as portrayed by Hugh Jackman) shows off his awesome foot long Adamantium claws to full effect and you can try them out for size with some special replica versions. No stranger to danger, The Invisible Woman can melt away into the ether and an ingenious graphic effect will allow fans to become semi transparent as you stand alongside her figure (as portrayed by Jessica Alba). You can also find out much more about the featured Super Heroes via graphic light boxes and interactive displays.

Early design work for Doctor Doom
as he appears in Marvel Super Heroes 4D

Linking the Hall of Heroes to the final level is the Heroes Gallery – a futuristic gallery space with Super Hero artwork and a mutant mirror wall that will show some very alternative images.

Also on display is the Super Hero Test Area, full of high tech equipment, where you'll find Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D boss, Nick Fury (as portrayed by Samuel L Jackson), keeping a watchful eye on proceedings as you prepare to enter the final phase of their Super Hero adventure – the Marvel Super Hero 4D auditorium.

The climax of the experience is a new 360º nine minute animated 4D cinema attraction, complete with high impact special effects. Screened in Madame Tussauds famous domed auditorium, the story unites a crack team of Super Heroes including Hulk, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Iron Man in a battle against one of Marvel’s most villainous baddies in an all new adventure set in the UK.

The Super Heroes arrive in London to receive special bravery awards from the Queen only to find The Capital under threat from evil genius, Doctor Doom. The deadly Doctor is intent on destroying the Super Heroes and their secret command centre and has created an army of lethal robotic accomplices to help him.

Utilising the entire 70 metre circumference of the dome, Marvels Super Heroes 4D unites amazingly realistic 3D animation with state of the art digi-star projection and then adds in an extra-sensory fourth dimension. The action will spill out of the screen over the audience and thrill-enhancing special effects - from water and smoke to tremors beneath the feet - will touch every sense, drawing you right into the heart of the adventure. As the story unfolds the London skyline is vividly brought to life and you will literally feel the impact of the villain’s invasion and the force of the Super Heroes’ strength as they do battle.

The film has been created by one of the world leaders in CGI feature films and 4D attractions, Threshold Animation Studios, working in close collaboration with Marvel. The figures and themed experience have been brought to life by Madame Tussauds’ creative team and unrivalled sculptors.

• Tickets for Marvel Super Heroes 4D go on sale very soon. Sign up here to receive the latest news and exclusive special offers from Madame Tussauds. Official web site: www.madame-tussauds.co.uk/4d