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Anaheim Convention Center, March 16th-18th 2012 is the Place. WonderCon is the deal. Started in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1987, Wondercon is part of the yearly staple of the “comic-con” world. Moving through several places in its existence, WonderCon has been significant for its early showings of movies like Spider-Man 2, Batman Begins, Fantastic Four, and Watchmen.
Looked at the biggest part of the ‘con by many was the “Amazing Spider-Man” panel with director Marc Webb, and actress Emma Stone. Director Webb went on to talk about the importance of the actors feeling “real”, and speaking on how his experience with the “big-budget” movie world: ”Doing a movie like this, it’s like a sonnet. There’s a form that you have to adhere to, to a certain degree, but there’s enormous flexibility within those barriers and within those restrictions.” He goes on to talk about the importance of Spider-Man’s costume in his reboot : ”He is, I think, one of the only superheroes whose whole body is covered, you know? You don’t see skin color, and that is — in one of the marketing meetings very early on, they said, ‘Spider-Man transcends all these different countries because everybody can see themselves in him.’”
On top of the Spider-Man discussion, the were other comic and entertainment greats like:
Mike Mignola (Hellboy, B.P.R,D,)
Joe Hill (Locke & Key)
Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: TNG, Stand By Me, Toy Soldiers, The Guild, Big Bang Theory)
J. Michael Straczynski (Superman: Earth One, Thor)
Jim Lee (Co-Publisher: DC Comics, Artist: Justice League, Batman: Hush)
Always a good time, the pop-culture convention circuit has the staying power and dedication on NASCAR, with a yearly visitor total that is on par with NASCAR’s per race totals. Check more out about the Comic-Cons here.
The time has come for Bioware to give gamers the demo they’ve been waiting for, Mass Effect 3. An action & role-playing game made by Bioware, the makers of Dragon Age, and published by the powerhouse Electronic Arts (think about the Madden series), the Mass Effect series prides itself on having over more than 1,000 possible combinations of actions and choices in the series that will affect the outcome as the trilogy of games progress closer to the end.
ME 3 opens with your customizable character Commander Shepard on trial for what happened in the last downloadable content pack (DLC) for Mass Effect 2 called “Arrival”. During these opening events in ME 3, a race called the “Reavers” which are feared throughout the Mass Effect universe attack Planet Earth, and you character and your team escape Earth knowing that they can’t fight the Reavers without help, so you’re on a quest to form an alliance with other races to help combat the Reaver threat and stop them once and for all, while those that want you on trial or dead nipping at your heels.
With that said, you will be given the option to import your saves from Mass Effect 1 & 2, which is where the possibilities come into play. Not having any prior save files will not be an issue if Mass Effect 3 is your first installment, or you’ve done something foolish, like delete your saves, or NOT transfer to your new hard drive like a good boy. Mass Effect 3 will have 4 game modes, 3 of them are single player and consist of:
- RPG where you choose your dialogue responses, with normal game difficulty, and detailed leveling up characters, weapons, and abilities.
- Action, which has automated dialogue replies and normal game difficulty
- Story with dialogue responses you choose, and easy game difficulty.
The multiplayer co-op will let you play with up to 3 other players in separate, original missions where you and your friend’s actions can affect all of your single player campaigns.
The Mass Effect 3 demo is available now on Xbox Live Marketplace and Playstation Network, and the game launches in the U.S. on March 6th, 2012 for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Windows.
Comicbookjockey is a guy with too many opinions, and too little time. He’s crass and articulate, always has on headphones, talks about nerdy stuff, and cleaning up after himself. Too see and hear more:
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Digital comics have been as lucrative as the paper issue business model the last few years, with the convenience of staying home, and taking 60 seconds out of your day to buy, and download the books that you love straight to your computer, Android phone, iPad, or iPhone. Saving space for those that have a 200 square foot Manhattan apartment, or a “green” conscious personality, digital comic downloads, just like digital novels or newspapers have been a smack in the face to print media as a whole. Comics however, are going strong on both ends. Diamond Distribution, the “go to” company for national distribution to comic stores, showed numbers last year that people were buying paper books from the brick-and-mortar stores will continue to do so, with some in the mix that will buy both.
Part of the focus of the DC’s “New 52”, also known as re-launch for their continuity, had a large focus on same day digital with their new series, with great success. Marvel’s “Ultimate” line, which is set apart from the Marvel universe continuity is a more contemporary universe, featuring real places, and people, and more of a connection to today’s reader, have been same day digital since early 2011, and their first experiment with the same day digital was with Invincible Iron Man Annual #1 in June of 2010.
Archie Comics was the initial leader in the digital comics market, going same day digital for their entire line in January of 2011, making a real mark by offering them for a dollar less than their print counterparts. If Marvel wants to really take a step forward, that’s the first thing they need to do once their full line goes to the web.
Keep a watch out toward mid-March to start seeing download options for your favorite Marvel characters, or series.
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