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Meta Will Block Access to News If Canadian Legislation Passes

Mike Phalin
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Meta Will Block Access to News If Canadian Legislation Passes

Meta has threatened to cut off access to news services and stories if Canada’s Online News Act becomes law. The move would see any users in the Great White North banned from sharing information from various news corporations.

According to Reuters, the House of Commons bill C-18, also known as the Online News Act, was drafted in April of 2022. This piece of legislation would see companies like Google and Meta paying fees for user-shared copywritten works from news businesses:

“This enactment regulates digital news intermediaries to enhance fairness in the Canadian digital news marketplace and contribute to its sustainability. It establishes a framework through which digital news intermediary operators and news businesses may enter into agreements respecting news content that is made available by digital news intermediaries. The framework takes into account principles of freedom of expression and journalistic independence.”

This regulatory bill would see that news corporations were paid for revenue allegedly lost due to social media. It has long been assumed that old media was in a losing battle against the digital age, and the previous regime would try everything to stay relevant. But, unfortunately, this looks like the last act of desperate companies.

If a business is losing money due to competition, should it not improve its product or delivery method to appeal to the fleeing customer base? Thankfully, regardless of Meta’s other mistakes, the company is not taking this lying down.

A spokesperson for the bruised tech giant said this in response to the bill, “A legislative framework that compels us to pay for links or content that we do not post, and which are not the reason the vast majority of people use our platforms, is neither sustainable nor workable.”

Even if bill C-18 were to become law, users would find a way around the block by either posting archived links or copying/pasting headlines into their feeds. However, considering several people rarely read past the headline, this won’t do much to solve the bigger disinformation problem out there.

[Source: Reuters] [Source: Parliament of Canada]

Sideshow Reveals New Star Wars Yoda Mythos Statue

Mike Phalin
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0
Sideshow Reveals New Star Wars Yoda Mythos Statue

The Star Wars Mythos series is welcoming a little green friend into the fold. Yoda, the diminutive yet powerful Jedi master, joins the line of speculative high-end statues thanks to Sideshow Collectibles.

The Mythos series gives us a peek into what could have been in the Star Wars universe. At least, until Disney turned every established character into a pathetic springboard for its newest batch of cardboard cutout merchandise pushers.

Obi-Wan Kenobi had appeared in the Mythos line, teasing the exiled Jedi’s life on Tattooine. But, again, this was before Disney’s laughable series launched last year on its streaming service. Ugh.

Sideshow states that the Yoda Mythos statue will be available “very soon.” The company means available for pre-order. There’s a chance Yoda may not ship out until later this year or sometime in 2024. Click here to RSVP.

Star Wars Yoda Mythos Statue
Photo Credit: Sideshow Collectibles

The last Mythos statue we covered was the Darth Vader one from about a year ago. It was badass, showing off the Dark Lord of the Sith battle damaged, and his lightsaber blade was on fire.

I’d love to combine Vader’s with Yoda’s statues to create an incredible battle scene. What do you think? Let us know what type of never before seen iconic battles you’d like to make! Leave your comments below!

Out of all the legacy characters, Yoda appears to be the one that Disney has been avoiding the most. The sequel trilogy killed off most of the core characters, only to prop up their corpses via dodgy deep fakes, and more are rumored to appear in future Disney+ shows.

Yet, we’ve not seen Yoda get his own spinoff show taking place in the Old Republic yet. So maybe the Mouse is trying to milk Baby Yoda (Grogu) for all he’s worth before they put another tiny green Force user in front of the audience? Maybe Grogu is the test case to see if audiences will keep turning in one season after the next to see what the Muppet does next?

[Source: Sideshow]

Voice Casts Announced For Bedrock Series As It Moves One Step Closer To Becoming A Television Series

Sarah Leone
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Voice Casts Announced For Bedrock Series As It Moves One Step Closer To Becoming A Television Series

New voice casts have been announced for The Flintstones spinoff series Bedrock, with the previously announced executive producer Elizabeth Banks (who recently directed Cocaine Bear) playing the leading role of Pebbles. The newly released voice casts are Stephen Root as Fred, Amy Sedaris as Wilma, Nicole Byer as Betty, Joe Lo Truglio as Barney, and Manny Jacinto as Bamm-Bamm.

The project has successfully been approved to have a pilot presentation. A pilot presentation is when a network likes the idea, but doesn’t want to spend the money on shooting a pilot, as they are very expensive to create. So they just want a taste of what to expect, which can be a presentation as short as 5 minutes.

According to Fox, the primetime animated adult comedy series continues the story of everyone’s favorite modern Stone Age family, the Flintstones. Bedrock catches up with the Flintstone family two decades after the original, with Fred on the brink of retirement and 20-something Pebbles embarking on her own career. As the Stone Age gives way to a shiny and enlightened new Bronze Age, the residents of Bedrock will find this evolution harder than a swing from Bamm-Bamm’s club.

The last time we heard anything about Flintstones being developed as an animated series for the adult audience was in late April 2021. Now two years later, we have seen how Hollywood handles other beloved characters in the form of “modern sensibilities for adults”. The latest being that of Velma from Scooby-Doo. Assuming Bedrock does come out as a full fledged animated television series, will it also be a mature cynical type of comedy as we saw in Velma? Because apparently, that’s what it takes to become a likable tv series for adults, at least according to many in Hollywood.

And since this is supposed to be a ‘continuation’ of the original series, how does this line up with the animated movies where we see the engagement and marriage of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm? As well as, in the sequel movie, having kids together? Is Bedrock an alternate universe or is this before they become engaged?

Maybe we will find out someday. In the meantime, here is Kneon and Geeky Sparkles initial reaction to the news in 2021:

Source: Deadline

The Silicon Valley Bank collapse could mean ‘Game Over’ for a lot of gaming and comics journalists.

Thom 'Kneon' Pratt
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0
The Silicon Valley Bank collapse could mean ‘Game Over’ for a lot of gaming and comics journalists.

Not be a Debbie Downer, but the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank could hasten the demise of video game and pop culture journalism as a viable career for many.

And if you’re a video game, comic book or some other kind of pop culture journalist… you might want to start building a life raft if you haven’t already.

Like, now.

Many startups and media companies such as Vox depended on SVB. And now many of those companies are struggling to find a way to even pay their employees this week.

I believe this will cause a ripple effect and a massive reevaluation of who gets VC going forward. Sites like Vice, Vox, BuzzFeed and so many others are now struggling to either stay afloat or find a buyer. Many of these companies have floated from one round of venture capital to another, never actually becoming profitable. In fact, their biggest investors often wound up getting burnt.

Disney lost $400 million on Vice during much better financial times. BuzzFeed tried — and failed — to go public. Vox is hanging on by its fingertips thanks to a cash injection from Penske Media.

And those are the big players. Niche sites about video games and pop culture have been decimated due in part to a slowdown in advertising. Frankly, they’re just not that important to the bottom line of their corporate owners. Lately, video game journos have been making just as many headlines for getting laid off than they have for screaming about Hogwarts Legacy.

According to The Information, the era of free money is officially over. If you’re going to survive as a media creator going forward, you will need to find an audience that’s willing to pay you for your hot takes and opinions.

Now, the key is to be so indispensable to readers (as opposed to just advertisers) that they’re willing to invest in your success through subscriptions.

And frankly, 95% of the journos in this space don’t have what it takes.

But for the rest of you? There’s hope. Get good. Stay out of unnecessary Twitter drama. And be approachable. Your livelihood might just depend on readers actually liking you.

Celebrate 27 Years Of Scream With This 1:4 Ghost Face Statue

Mike Phalin
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0
Celebrate 27 Years Of Scream With This 1:4 Ghost Face Statue

Scream 6 just hit theatres, and a brand new Ghost Face Killer collectible is ready to stab your wallet! Sideshow Collectibles and Premium Collectibles Studio have announced a 1:4 scale deluxe edition Ghost Face statue with multiple display options.

If you’re not a fan of the original white ghost mask, swap one of four different alternatives: the Bloody Mask, the silver Anniversary Mask, the Zombie Mask, and the Devil Mask. Each of the unused mask faces sits on the statue’s base. Functionality in collectibles is something we really need to see more of! I’m tired of losing all the add-ons!

The 22.5″ tall Ghost Face is priced at $695, and the expected ship date for this piece of Wes Craven history is sometime between November 2023 and January 2024. The statue stands

Ghost Face Killer
Image Source: PCS
Ghost Face Killer
Image Source: PCS
Ghost Face Killer
Image Source: PCS
Ghost Face Killer
Image Source: PCS
Ghost Face Killer
Image Source: PCS
Ghost Face Killer
Image Source: PCS
Ghost Face Killer
Image Source: PCS

“The Ghost Face (Deluxe Version) Statue is a mixed media collectible featuring real fabric elements tailored to bring this horror icon to life. The character’s signature black reaper robe has a jagged hemline and distinct shimmer recreating the look and feel of a Halloween costume. Wire inside the black arm tassels and the hem of the hood allows collectors to pose the garment with added menace and dramatic flair. The remainder of Ghost Face’s costume and body — including gloves, included masks, shoes, and pants — are fully sculpted with realistic detail to enhance the figure’s killer look.”

This statue is a bit of an improvement over PCS’s last offering, the $1,350 29.5″ tall statue. Well, it’s a price improvement, anyway. Regardless, both figures offer something unique depending on your budget. Since I stopped watching the Scream franchise after the first film, it doesn’t hold a special place in my heart.

Odd, considering I’ve been a horror genre journalist for many years. I guess the concept was fresh the first time, but you can only do the twist reveal so many times before it becomes stale.

What are your opinions about Scream and its multiple sequels? Let us know in the comments section below.

[Source: Sideshow Collectibles]

Super7’s Next Wave Of Godzilla ReAction Figures Include Ghidorah and Hedorah!

Mike Phalin
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0
Super7’s Next Wave Of Godzilla ReAction Figures Include Ghidorah and Hedorah!

Super7 has just announced the second wave of the Godzilla ReAction figures! More classic kaijus are coming, including a half-disguised Mechagodzilla, Godzilla ’62, Godzilla ’84, and Gigan. In addition, wave 2 includes two larger-than-normal figures: King Ghidorah and the slimy Hedorah.

King Ghidorah has articulated wings, with all three heads, legs, and tails being moveable. Although it doesn’t look like it, Hedorah does have articulated hands, legs, and tails. Hopefully, the final product Super7 ships out is really glossy. I want that toxic kaiju to look just as gross as it did in the 1971 film.

Hedorah and King Ghidorah are $25 each, and the other Godzillas and foes are $20. The 3.75″ tall figures are shipping now.

Godzilla ReAction Figures Wave 2
Photo Credit: Super7
Godzilla ReAction Figures Wave 2
Photo Credit: Super7

“Super7’s latest wave of Toho ReAction Figures brings new earth-shaking monsters into your home: a half-transformed Mechagodzilla, Gigan, Hedorah, King Ghidorah, Godzilla ’62, and (because one Godzilla is never enough) Godzilla ’84. At 3.75″ scale, these Toho ReAction Figures can be easily added to any Kaiju collection without risking the well-being of the surrounding populace!”

If you’re looking for the larger Ultimates figures, a few months ago, Super7 announced Godzilla VS Destoroyah. These past couple of years have seen a massive surge in collectibles being announced based on classic Godzilla monsters. Mezco started a new collectibles line featuring the original Gojira with a seamless body. The scores for Godzilla’s battles versus King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla also got re-released on vinyl via Mondo. Hiya Toys announced a new King Ghidorah figure based on the dragon’s appearance in King of the Monsters. Mezco has a boxset containing Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, and King Caesar figures.

What caused this massive influx of collectibles? The recent American films? What do you think? What characters would you like to see join the high-end collectibles? What about the human characters from the Toho films? Should they get a line of action figures? Let us know your thoughts below.

[Source: Super7]

New Trailer For The Lord Of The Rings ‘Gollum’ Game Is Here

Mike Phalin
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0
New Trailer For The Lord Of The Rings ‘Gollum’ Game Is Here

We saw the first gameplay footage from Daedalic Entertainment’s Gollum video game nearly a year ago. Then things went silent. After months of waiting, a new story trailer appeared on Nacon’s YouTube Channel.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum trailer gives us a preview of Gollum’s voice and what appears to be a slightly retooled appearance for the tortured Ring-bearer. Surprisingly, we’re introduced to a much younger version of Gandalf the Gray, his beard yet dyed by advanced age.

The character design is a massive departure from what we’ve become accustomed to in Peter Jackson’s films. As a result, some of the characters look almost alien, like something out of a Warhammer 40K title. Getting used to this aesthetic change may take some time, but it is welcome.

We also get a very brief look at what could be Shelob and a Nazgûl, who may be the Witch King. Gollum himself is also much younger looking, still sporting dark hair and some semblance of his Stoorish hobbit origins. He also has a friend or a friendly acquaintance, at the least, who appears to be some form of an elf.

Very little gameplay is shown, but it appears to have much in common with other stealth games, like early Assassin’s Creed titles—lots of running around in the dark, climbing structures, and evading pursuing enemies.

A release date has not been pinned down yet, but it is expected to release this year and can be wish listed on Steam.

“The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is a story-driven action adventure. Take on a perilous journey as Gollum, chasing the only thing that is precious to him. Gollum is skillful and cunning, but also torn by his split personality. One mind, two egos – you decide!”

Gollum will also crawl his way onto other platforms such as PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and the Nintendo Switch.

[Source: Nacon’s YouTube Channel] [Source: Steam]

Don’t Do Anything Weird With This ‘Mouth Of Sauron’ Head

Mike Phalin
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0
Don’t Do Anything Weird With This ‘Mouth Of Sauron’ Head

The Mouth of Sauron should have chosen his words more wisely, at least in Peter Jackson’s version of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, “Is there any in this rout with authority to treat with me?” If you want to recreate Aragon’s hasty negotiations with Sauron’s slave, PureArts has just the thing for you.

The $749 1:1 replica of the Dark Lord’s emissary sits atop an LED-lit base resembling one of Mordor’s gate towers. The Exclusive Edition has a replica of the Mouth of Sauron’s necklace and is limited to 150 pieces. The standard edition will see 1,500 copies made.

The replica is only available to customers in the US, Europe, the UK, the Middle East, and Africa. Quarter one of 2024 is the expected release window.

The Lord of the Rings
Photo Credit: PureArts
The Lord of the Rings
Photo Credit: PureArts
The Lord of the Rings
Photo Credit: PureArts
The Lord of the Rings
Photo Credit: PureArts
The Lord of the Rings
Photo Credit: PureArts
The Lord of the Rings
Photo Credit: PureArts
The Lord of the Rings
Photo Credit: PureArts

“He was one of the few servants of Mordor who communicated directly with Sauron, and now he is our third The Lord of the Rings collectible! Our The Lord of the Rings Mouth of Sauron 1:1 Scale Art Mask Exclusive Edition is a highly impressive and imposing collectible. He grins ominously atop an LED-lit Mordor Gate Tower base, the location where he greets Aragorn and his army.”

  • Licensed by Warner Bros.
  • Material: Polyresin
  • Scale: 1:1
  • Exclusive Edition Size: 150
  • Standard Edition Size: 1500
  • Availability: North America, Europe, UK, Middle East, and Africa
  • Estimated Delivery: Q1 2024
  • Requires 3 AA batteries (not included)

The Mouth of Sauron only had a small amount of screen time in the theatrical release of The Return of the King. Luckily the extended cut gave us more of the banter that occurred at the Towers of the Teeth:

The last time we saw a replica from PureArts was when the company announced Sauron’s helmet. So what weapons, armor, or objects from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films would you like to see PureArts tackle next? Let us know in the comments section below.

[Source: Sideshow Collectibles]

I’m going back to blogging because Twitter still kinda sucks.

Thom 'Kneon' Pratt
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0
I’m going back to blogging because Twitter still kinda sucks.

So I think I’m going back to blogging and giving Twitter a rest for a while.

It just makes me angry and wastes time.

When it was announced that Elon Musk was buying Twitter, I hoped the site could be turned around and the insanity would slowly end. Essentially, I wanted Twitter to roll it back to 2009. That is cat pics, food pics, artwork, geek news, and very little political discussion.

But the opposite happened. Twitter became more unruly. More contentious. It’s a different caliber of garbage now, but it’s still mostly garbage.

This could be because Musk is a “wrong thinker,” according to the Tumblr refugees who’ve parked it on the app, or that the mainstream media has lost control of the platform and people are lashing out. It didn’t help that Musk unbanned some folks that the Tumblr crowd really didn’t like.

(These are the same people who swore they’d rage quit the platform if Musk bought it, of course.)

Whatever the reason, it’s clear to me that Twitter will never go back to what I want it to be, and I’m just wasting a lot of my time engaging in bad-faith arguments with legit mentally ill people.

And while it does seem like there’s kinda sorta a plan to eventually turn Twitter into a useful “everything app,” it’s just not there yet. And, frankly, I don’t have the patience to wait for it to get there. As a content creator, there isn’t even a financial incentive to put up with the bullshit at this point.

(You’d be surprised what people are willing to put up with if there’s money involved. Well, actually, no you probably wouldn’t be.)

So the plan is to spend more time building up our own sites, and party like it’s still 2007.

I’ll be posting more op-eds, news, art tips and hot takes over here, and Geeky likely will as well.

We’re also planning on growing out The Reef throughout the year and will have more details about upcoming comic book projects, tabletop games and our planned podcast network.

All in all, I’m hoping that cutting back on social media will let me get back on track and actually make stuff again.

I’ll still keep my Twitter account, of course, but will use it mostly to post links to articles over here.

And who knows? Maybe someday Twitter will actually be worth the time sink.

 

Super7’s 10th Wave Of TMNT Ultimates Is The Best In Years!

Mike Phalin
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0
Super7’s 10th Wave Of TMNT Ultimates Is The Best In Years!

We’ve been wondering if it was time for Super7’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimates series to come to an end. The past few releases suffer from the same issue that plagued the Playmates line in the 1990s: too many wacky variants. However, Wave 10 has possibly the best selection of characters we’ve seen hit the line in quite some time!

The latest TMNT Ultimates lineup is a mixed match of characters from the cartoon, Mirage comics, and Playmates series. We’ve got comic book Casey Jones, cartoon Rat King, and two inspired by the Playmates toys: Classic Rocker Leo and Ninja April.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimates Wave 10 is expected to arrive this Winter.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimates Wave 10
Photo Credit: Super7
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimates Wave 10
Photo Credit: Super7

Leo’s accessories include:

  • 2x Interchangeable heads
    • 1x Singing head
    • 1x Guitar playing head
  • 7x Interchangeable hands
    • 2x Fist hands
    • 2x Gripping hands
    • 2x Guitar playing hands
    • 1x Left pointing hand
  • 1x Double neck guitar with removable swords
  • 1x Guitar strap
  • 1x Microphone stand
  • 1x Superstar sunglasses
  • 1x Blue oyster pizza

April comes with the following:

  • 3x Interchangeable heads
    • 1x Bandana head
    • 1x Masked head
    • 1x Headwrap head
  • 10x Interchangeable hands
    • 2x Fist hands
    • 2x Gripping hands(vertical)
    • 2x Gripping hands (horizontal)
    • 2x Open hands
    • 2x Chop hands
  • 1x Microchuks
  • 1x Nunchuks
  • 1x Katana
  • 1x Bo staff
  • 1x Sai
  • 1x Camera
  • 2x Throwing stars

Casey Jones is packing exactly what you’d expect:

  • 2x Interchangeable heads
    • 1x Regular head
    • 1x Battle-damaged head
  • 6x Interchangeable hands
    • 2x Fists
    • 2x Gripping hands
    • 2x Open hands
  • 3x Baseball bats
  • 3x Hockey pucks
  • 1x Putter
  • 1x Hockey stick
  • 1x Sports bag

The Rat King has three heads but only three rats? Weird.

  • 3 Interchangeable heads
    • 1x Angry head
    • 1x Rat control head
    • 1x Smiling head
  • 8x Interchangeable hands
    • 2x Fists
    • 2x Gripping hands
    • 2x Flute playing hands
    • 2x Open hands
  • 1x Flute
  • 1x Pizza rat
  • 2x Rats

Did anyone notice that the Rat King seems a little too handsome while Ninja April is wearing more than her retro toy counterpart? Odd choice. Regardless, I’m glad that Super7’s TMNT Ultimates included the Mirage Casey Jones. Hopefully, he’s an improvement over the NECA version.

What do you think of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures? Let us know below.

[Source: Super7]
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