Mezco‘s One:12 Collective has finally added a long-awaited pair of characters to the toy line: Dick Tracy and Flattop. Coming straight out of the newspaper comic, the square-jawed detective and the gangster with a landing strip for a head are bundled together in a pricy but awesome-looking box set. Each 6″ tall character comes with multiple head portraits, soft goods clothing, and loads of accessories, including guns, knives, Tracy’s two-way wristwatch, effects pieces, and several pairs of interchangeable hands. Not a bad deal for $195; however, don’t expect this to ship any time soon. Dick Tracy and Flattop won’t arrive until the latter part of 2023.
Taylor Swift walked away with three awards at the 48th People’s Choice Awards in the music category. The Marvel Studios feature film ‘Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness’ also walked away with three awards in the film category.
Held on December 6, 2022, and streamed on NBC and the E! Network, the People’s Icon Award was given to ‘Deadpool’ star Ryan Reynolds with singer Shania Twain winning the Music Icon Award.
Film distributors GKids and Shout Factory are releasing the Japanese historical fiction film ‘Giovanni’s Island’ for home video release and digital streaming platforms. The 2014 animated movie was a huge hit at the box office in Japan and would go on to win Best Animation Film at the 2014 69th Mainichi Film Awards.
“From Production I.G, the studio behind Ghost in the Shell and The Deer King, and director Mizuho Nishikubo comes the award-winning historical drama Giovanni’s Island,” GKids said on their website.
They added, “The beautiful, hand-drawn film will bow on Blu-ray™ and all major digital platforms on February 21, 2023 from GKIDS, with distribution by Shout! Factory. The 2014 feature garnered fourteen recognitions worldwide, including the Jury distinction at the 2014 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, both Children’s and Adult Jury Prizes at the 31st Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, and the Satoshi Kon Award for best animated feature at the Fantasia Film Festival.”
The Blu-Ray boxset will include several bonus features including a music video from the film’s “Troika” song and an art gallery from the movie. It will also include an interview with voice actress Polina Ilyushenko who performs the role of Tanya.
You can take a look at the DVD box art below:
From Production I.G, the studio behind Ghost in the Shell, and director Mizuho Nishikubo comes the award-winning historical drama GIOVANNI'S ISLAND, available on Blu-ray & Digital February 21, 2023.
“Brothers Junpei and Kanta live in Shikotan, a tiny fishing island that has been spared from the devastations of World War II. The two children are named after Giovanni and Campanella from their late mother’s favorite book, Night on the Galactic Railroad, which becomes a source of solace in the aftermath of Japan’s defeat. When Soviet forces arrive with their families to settle in the island, Junpei meets Tanya, the daughter of the commander. Despite their language barrier and growing tension, the children soon form an unlikely friendship.”
The film’s story was conceived by Shigemichi Sugita who co-wrote the screenplay with Yoshiki Sakurai.
The Game Awards are a show that brings together the celebration, discussion, and ire of gamers every year, for better and worse. For some, it’s a throwaway event that feels more like a multi-hour promotion for AAA games and publishers looking to get attention, while others see it as a display of the games industry finally maturing. Regardless of where you or anyone might stand on it, the Game Awards are a show that is something the industry needs to take place. Yet at the same time, all of us in front of and behind the camera of The Game Awards need to take better care at how we view it and approach putting it together. Nothing in any industry is perfect, but everything can strive to get a bit closer to that for the benefit of everyone.
The industry needs a night like The Game Awards to not only put on a display for the general public but to also attract more people to gaming as a whole. While unfortunate to admit, there are still parts of the world that look down upon gaming as a childish hobby, not being given the same reverence as things like movies or music in pop culture. Having a mainstream award show that attracts massive attention around the world in the same vein as the Oscars or Golden Globes shows the world that video games is as viable of an entertainment medium as anything else, and not just because of the massive amounts of money it brings in. The show when handled at its best can give those who have been involved in gaming a chance to celebrate the art form and spectacle that video games have become and continue to evolve into over the years, with a rich history and level of respect that every other entertainment medium has garnered over time.
But all of this can only be fully realized when we all change our overall perception of the show and how we push to put it together. The business of putting on a show like The Game Awards is a harsh reality that many refuse to see or understand, constantly viewing it as a shill event for cheap promotion and self-gratification among outlets and publishers, often taking jabs at Geoff Keighley for attempting to make it all work. The truth is that no event or spectacle comes cheap and you can’t make things like this happen without the economics of it all.
Ads are always going to be part of any awards show, exclusives are always going to attract more attention to the show, and the larger industry players are always going to have a presence there in one way or another. It’s the same things you can say about any other awards show in any form of entertainment. The sooner we all get over this and stop using it as a reason to poke fun at or discredit the show, the easier it will be for all of us to move toward improving it in ways we want to see it thrive. You can’t ruminate on what’s wrong with something without eventually getting over it to see what can be done better. Let alone see the boogeyman in every ad or choice of nominees and winners we just don’t like or agree with.
And yet, one of the biggest points of contention for The Game Awards is how relevant the winners and nominees from the show are. This always stems from who gets nominated and how they are nominated, with the result always being a debate on who or what deserves it more. The nominees and winners of The Game Awards are decided by committee, with representatives from large outlets deciding on every category. Often these people don’t get to play all of the games within the nominations or play enough games to accurately decide which games go into which group of nominees. This can be a major problem and the source of constant tension for gamers watching the show, making everyone look bad in the process.
While we will never find a way to get everyone to agree on the same thing, no awards show ever does, the show can make a better effort at having the categories of the show more accurately reflect the games that stood out that year. A pure action game that has fighting within it SHOULD NOT be nominated in the fighting game category, just because it has fighting in some form. A person should not be nominated for best content creator of the year when they don’t make original content, and so on and so forth. Better and more concrete criteria for the nomination categories should be defined for everyone. This way throwaway nominations can be avoided. Letting instances like that slide can hurt the overall impression of the award show and make it seem amateur in comparison to others like the Oscars or Grammys, or any other entertainment awards show that The Game Awards is always compared to. One can say anything about other awards shows, but they get their nomination categories right more often than not.
At the same time, those who cast a vote on the show need to be heavily encouraged to play more games or have a wider palate of titles they have played throughout the year. The show has always had a problem with reps from different outlets not playing certain games that were front runners of the year or popular among the masses within different genres, leading to weird or repeated nomination choices for certain games over others. With things like this time is always the enemy, but it doesn’t have to be. Outlets on the voting committee need to have their representatives play more games throughout the year if they’re making choices about this.
While some games will eventually be nominated for multiple categories for various reasons, the same 4 or 5 games can’t be the only ones most have played in every category. It looks awkward for the show and gives the impression that those voting on the winners don’t have enough of a perspective on the year as a whole. Time might not always be in abundance, but voters need to make the time to play the games that are most relevant for being nominated.
There’s so much more about The Game Awards that can be improved upon, despite a lot of the good the show has established over the years. The live performances, the honoring of industry veterans and icons, as well as showcasing of some of the best aspects of video games to the general public. It’s an ongoing evolution of something that displays a reverence for our favorite medium, even though it’s not perfect. Whether many want to admit it or not, The Game Awards is something we need to be great. Because without it going on every year, we won’t mature together as an industry in the way we’ve always wanted to see in the years to come.
What are your overall thoughts on the Game Awards? Do you like watching the show or following the results every year? Post a comment down below and tell us where you stand on it!
Amazon Studios has announced additional cast members for their upcoming season two of ‘The Rings of Power.’ The entertainment company previously announced a batch of new actors for the adaption of author J.R.R. Tolkien’s works, including recasting the character of Ardur for their Prime Video exclusive.
“The Rings of Power, which has been viewed by over 100 million people worldwide and has been an unprecedented global success as the top Original series for Prime Video in every region in its first season, has announced an additional eight new recurring cast members for the forthcoming second season, currently in production in the UK,” they said in a statement.
The new cast members are announced as:
Oliver Alvin-Wilson (Murder in Provence, The Bay, Wonder Woman 1984, Lovesick)
Stuart Bowman (Bodyguard, Alex Rider, Man and Witch, The Cursed, Sunset Song)
Gavi Singh Chera (The Undeclared War, The Lazarus Project, Doctors)
William Chubb (Vampire Academy, The Sandman, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, House of Cards)
Kevin Eldon (Shadow and Bone, Trigger Point, Game of Thrones, Doctor Who)
Will Keen (Borderland, His Dark Materials, The Gold, The Pursuit of Love)
Selina Lo (Boss Level, Hellraiser)
Calam Lynch (Bridgerton, Dunkirk, Black Beauty)
Amazon Studios previously announced several other new cast members including Gabriel Akuwudike (Hanna, War of the Worlds, Ridley Road), Yasen ‘Zates’ Atour (The Witcher, Robin Hood, Dark Heart), Ben Daniels (Jupiter’s Legacy, Law & Order: UK, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Amelia Kenworthy (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Messenger, IRL), Nia Towle (Late, The Ocean at the End of the Lane), and Nicholas Woodeson (The Hustle, Paddington 2, The Danish Girl, Skyfall).
The Urik and Orc leader Adar was previously played by Joseph Mawle (Ripper Street, Waking The Dead, Game of Thrones) who departed the role for other endeavors. He is being replaced by Sam Hazeldine (The Last Duel, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Mechanic: Resurrection).
She-Hulk is officially getting a 12″ tall Hot Toys figure. Unfortunately, it’s the version we saw in the Disney+ MCU show. It’s disappointing we’re not getting a comic-accurate Jennifer Walter, butt the high-end action figure does look pretty good.
Hot Toys designed a new seamless body for the giant attorney. The only noticeable joints are at the wrists, which is unavoidable, considering the figure comes with multiple pairs of interchangeable hands. Another thankful addition is the eyeball rolling feature, so she’s not stuck looking in one direction. Sadly, we only get one head sculpt with an unsettlingly empty smile. Unfortunately, there’s also a severe lack of accessories for She-Hulk. Aside from the stand and hands, her one prop is a cell phone.
She-Hulk has not shown up on Sideshow Collectibles yet, so we’re unsure how much this underwhelming action figure will cost. However, considering she’s light on accessories, Jennifer Walter’s alter-ego will probably be priced in the mid $200s. Expect the high-end collectible to ship out sometime during the first half of 2024.
Source: Hot Toys
Source: Hot Toys
Source: Hot Toys
Source: Hot Toys
Source: Hot Toys
Source: Hot Toys
Source: Hot Toys
Source: Hot Toys
Source: Hot Toys
Source: Hot Toys
“Making her premier appearance in Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk: Attorney At Law series, the superhero is now smashing into your collection as the green-skinned She-Hulk 1/6th scale collectible figure sporting in the eye-pleasing comic-inspired look.”
She-Hulk will come with the following accessories:
One (1) pair of fists
One (1) pair of relax hands
Three (3) pairs of gesture hands
Each piece of head sculpt is specially hand-painted
One (1) purple, white and black colored jumpsuit
One (1) pair of trainers
One (1) phone
Themed figure base with character name
It’s not surprising that She-Hulk would get a Hot Toys figure. We’ve seen the company reissue the same Iron Man figure several times with new paint jobs. Unfortunately, Hot Toys, Marvel, or Disney chose to commission a figure in only one outfit. The jumpsuit is basic, and most of the series showed She-Hulk in various business attire. So why not create an alternate costume for the figure? Oh, I know, because they’ll make another version of the gamma-fueled attorney down the line to double dip on collectors.
Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts is still several months from release, but Hasbro has announced that pre-orders are open for the film’s first two action figures. Unsurprisingly, one of the Studio Series figures is a Deluxe 100 Bumblebee. The other is a Voyager 99 Battletrap.
Bumblebee is 4.5″ tall and will run you $24.99. It’s a bit of a steep price for something pretty light on detail. Thankfully the pictures shown on Hasbro Pulse are of the physical toy and not renders of the model. Still, the lack of paint and overall mechanical detail is a bummer. The vehicle mode does have a lot of charm, though. What worries me is the visible parts under the front axle.
Photo Credit: Hasbro Pulse
Photo Credit: Hasbro Pulse
“Convert the action figure from robot to Chevrolet Camaro mode in 23 steps and pose the Bumblebee toy in the included Volcano Showdown removable backdrop scene.”
Battletrap, on the other hand, is $34.99 and 6.5″ tall. This Terrorcon is the more interesting of the two. Battletrap’s GMC towtruck mode is slightly clunky, but the robot mode looks great. However, the pictures of Battletrap are only renders, so this whole thing could be a bust when it sees the light of day in April 2023. Hopefully, we will see what this Transformer looks like before then since he’ll arrive only two months before Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts hits theatres.
Photo Credit: Hasbro Pulse
Photo Credit: Hasbro Pulse
“Battletrap fires a barrage of blasts at Noah and Elena to secure the Transwarp Key. Transformers Studio Series toys are collectible action figures for 8 year old boys and girls that feature movie-inspired details and accessories. Convert the action figure from robot to licensed GMC tow truck mode in 30 steps and pose the Battletrap toy in the included Attack at the Museum removable backdrop scene.”
Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts will premiere in theatres on June 9th, 2023. Creed II director Steven Caple Jr. will helm the project written by five different people. Really? Did it really take five people to write a crossover film between Transformers, Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons? Oh, well. At least Peter Cullen returns to voice Optimus Prime and Ron Perlman is joining the series to play Optimus Primal. Check out the trailer below:
Established Titles, a company that sponsors several YouTubers, recently has come under scrutiny due to claims that what it offers is a “scam.” Established Titles (ET) allows customers to dedicate a plot of land to someone for a fee. In return, a PDF is generated with the dedicatee’s name on it proclaiming that the person in question is supposedly a ‘lord’ or ‘lady’ based on a tradition in Scotland. Each plot that is sponsored also means ET will have a tree planted.
In 2020 I sponsored a plot via Established Titles. There was no legal speech regarding whether I could legally call myself a lord during the transaction. The site did say I could put that title on documents, but it was up to my local authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) if I could officially do that. That’s not the biggest concern. Landownership is. In a strange marketing choice by ET, the company was running Facebook ads stating that you can “buy a 1 square foot plot of Scotland...” See the screenshot from Scott Shafer below:
Photo Credit: Scott Shafer
Various media outlets, YouTubers, and ET’s customers are expressing concerns that they were sold on the idea due to some not-so-truthful marketing. The issues people have with ET concern the validity of the lord/ladyship, who truly owns the plot of land, and if trees are indeed being planted. Lousy marketing may be to blame for some of this, but the issue has quickly grown legs and is running at breakneck speed through the internet. According to YouTuber Scott Shafer, these concerns have elevated to the point where the company may now be under investigation by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ACA).
To mitigate the damage from these claims, the company posted a lengthy response to the allegations, including a video interview with the company’s founder, Kat Yip. Something that works in favor of ET is that the conservation efforts may be in earnest, as ET provided a screenshot from Trees For The Future showing that over 2 million trees have been planted thanks to the company.
According to NBC News, the fallout of the accusations of Established Titles being a scam has led to YouTube creators dropping the company. These creators include names like Philip DeFranco, Heavy Spoilers, and Browntable. One of those creators who dropped out was The Quartering. In a video he made before ditching Established titles, his sponsored segment contained some misleading info, “They [ET] allow people to buy as little as one square foot of dedicated land so they [the purchaser] can call themselves a ‘lord’ or ‘lady’ officially.”
No, you’re not buying land. Not at all. Not even close. You’re dedicating $50+ for Established Titles to get a souvenir plot. In ET’s own words:
The plots of land themselves are recognised and referred to as ‘souvenir plots’ in Scotland. Though souvenir plots are typically too small to be registered with the Scottish Land Registry directly, we maintain our own private records and take our arrangements with our Lords and Ladies very seriously.
Established Titles would, I assume, need to approve or deny the spiel the sponsored party would use in their video. While I cannot verify if the company was reviewing every sponsored ad script, I can say that we’ve seen YouTubers inaccurately describe the product and service on offer. However, ET’s response was to post a snapshot of the brief they allegedly sent to YouTubers:
Established Titles
A can of worms bursts open when you look at who Katerina Yip works for. The founder of ET is also the co-founder and president of Fail Ventures. The company boasts 70+ failed ventures and a few successful ones. Two of those successful ventures include Established Titles and Kamikoto. Kamikoto and the knives the business offers are an entirely different can of worms to get into. To save time, I suggest you check Shadiversity’s video on expensive blades and their quality. The other co-founder of Fail Ventures, as told by MSN, is the man behind the gambling-based auction house known as DealDash.
So, who is ultimately to blame? Everyone has some share. Established Titles should have reigned in the people being sponsored who inaccurately described what the company was doing. Established Titles should have been more transparent when it came to ads run on social media websites, or if this was the doing of an advertising agency, the ads should have been approved beforehand. YouTubers should have better understood what the sponsor offered. Finally, customers should have read through everything if they thought the title was real or that they were, indeed, purchasing a plot of land in Scotland.
Peter Parker clone Ben Reilly allies with Jean Grey clone Madelyne Pryor will work together to bring about the Inferno in ‘Dark Web,’ a Marvel Comics miniseries. Spider-Man and the X-Men are forced to deal with their former allies with Venom waiting in the wings. This series and others will be available in the new pull list.
“The two most famous clones ever are back to take what’s theirs in this week’s Marvel comics,” they said on their website. “Ben Reilly and Madelyne Pryor have had enough. In DARK WEB (2022) #1 by Zeb Wells and Adam Kubert, they will reignite the INFERNO, and Spider-Man and the X-Men are not ready for what comes next. Plus, what role does Venom have in all of this? The sun is setting, dusk is approaching, and it’s going to be a long night. Limbo’s takeover of New York City begins in DARK WEB (2022) #1…”
The Avengers, Moon Girl, Miles Morales, and the X-Treme X-Men are also getting highlights with the new releases.
Marvel revealed the pull list below:
New Comics
AVENGERS (2018) #63
CAPTAIN AMERICA: SENTINEL OF LIBERTY (2022) #7
CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019) #44
DAMAGE CONTROL (2022) #5
DAREDEVIL (2022) #6
DARK WEB (2022) #1
DOCTOR STRANGE: FALL SUNRISE (2022) #2
FANTASTIC FOUR (2022) #2
GHOST RIDER (2022) #9
IMMORTAL X-MEN (2022) #9
MARAUDERS (2022) #9
MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN (2022) #1
MOON GIRL (2022) #1
NEW MUTANTS (2019) #32
PREDATOR (2022) #5
PUNISHER (2022) #8
SECRET INVASION (2022) #2
SPIDER-MAN (2022) #3
STAR WARS: HIDDEN EMPIRE (2022) #2
THE VARIANTS (2022) #5
THOR (2020) #29
TIGER DIVISION (2022) #2
X-FORCE (2019) #35
X-MEN RED (2022) #9
X-TREME X-MEN (2022) #1
New Collections
ARANA: NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
BLACK PANTHER BY CHRISTOPHER PRIEST OMNIBUS VOL. 1
IMMORTAL HULK VOL. 5
IMMORTAL X-MEN BY KIERON GILLEN VOL. 1
INFERNO
KING IN BLACK OMNIBUS HC STEGMAN FALL COVER
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL. 15 HC
PUNISHER VOL. 1: THE KING OF KILLERS BOOK ONE TPB
Marvel Unlimited
AMAZING FANTASY #1000
ANT-MAN #2
DEADPOOL: BAD BLOOD #4
FORTNITE X MARVEL: ZERO WAR #4
GAMBIT #2
IRON FIST #5
KNIGHTS OF X #5
MECH STRIKE: MONSTER HUNTERS #3
MOON KNIGHT: BLACK, WHITE & BLOOD #4
STAR WARS: OBI-WAN #4
THE VARIANTS #3
THUNDERBOLTS #1
WILD CARDS: THE DRAWING OF CARDS #2
X-FORCE #31 [AXE]
X-MEN #14 [AXE]
These titles will be available in digital and print editions on December 7, 2022.
One Peace Books is bringing writer Atsuhiko Itoh and illustrator himesuz’s sci-f light novel series ‘Captain Corinth: The Galactic Navy Officer Becomes an Adventurer’ to the United States. The publisher announced on social media that they would be releasing the books starting with Volume 1 in December 2022.
Writing on Twitter, One Peace Books discussed the release, “Captain Corinth: The Galactic Navy Officer Becomes an Adventurer (released Dec. 13) Originally a Japanese light novel written by Atsuhiko Itoh and illustrated by himesuz, like many of the other best series, it started off as a web novel on Shōsetsuka ni Narō.”
“The first chapter was posted on August 10, 2017, and Ito went on to publish 95 chapters on the platform between August 2017 and February 2020. Four volumes of the light novel were published starting in November 2018,” they said. “In 2019, Ito won the 1st place in the book category of the Ranobe Favorite Bookstore Employee Award for the series. The manga came soon after in June 2019, erupting into hit status in Japan, with its bold, evocative illustrations by Tomomasu Takuma.”
They continued, “Takuma is responsible for the manga for all-time action series like Code Geass and the Record of Lodoss War. His illustrations of the futuristic sci-fi universe and battleships are particularly impressive.”
“In Japan, the manga is currently on volume 5, which was released in June 2022, and volume 6 will be out in January. The first volume is coming out in English in just one week. The translation is by Laura Egan, who worked on Usumaru Furuya’s The Music of Marie,” the publisher added.
“Captain Corinth is beloved for its immersive fusion of sci-fi and fantasy worlds as well as the endearing dynamics between the leads. We can’t wait to share this thrilling collision of worlds with you all, so don’t hesitate to pre-order,” they concluded.
You can take a look at the Tweets below:
FACT SHEET: Captain Corinth: The Galactic Navy Officer Becomes an Adventurer (released Dec. 13) Originally a Japanese light novel written by Atsuhiko Itoh and illustrated by himesuz, like many of the other best series, it started off as a web novel on Shōsetsuka ni Narō. (1/6) pic.twitter.com/n6JgRmCgbF
Light Novel Translations describes the plot synopsis as follows,
“The spaceship which Imperial Galactic Navy Officer Alan Corinth helmed was shot down by a surprise attack during hyper-space navigation. Completely due to freak coincidence, Alan became the only one in the ship to survive.
The severely damaged spaceship lost its navigation capabilities and plummeted onto a nearby planet. Using an escape pod, Alan headed toward the planet alone.
Thus began Alan’s quest for survival on the underdeveloped planet utilizing the symbiotic nanomachines [Nanom] within his body. Surprisingly, the planet was home to a thriving human civilization whose genetic code closely resembled Alan’s own.
Even while remaining at a loss due to being thrown into a world of swords and magic, he tries to live as best he could together with his newfound comrades. What would Alan achieve this strange world? The Sci-fi Fantasy story in a Medieval setting now begins!”
The light novels were first published in print by the Japanese publisher Kadokawa.
