With the clock ticking on the film’s release, Warner Bros. has decided to eschew the traditional console videogame tie-in and is producing a pair of downloadable games based on “Watchmen.”
The studio’s Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment unit plans to publish at least two “Watchmen” game episodes, with the first coming upon the theatrical release next March and the second around the DVD launch.
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via: http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/

The big annual comic conference, Comic-Con, is underway in San Diego. Host Kai Ryssdal talks Joe Field, president of the comic retailer’s trade group ComicsPro, about the summer blockbuster movies’ impacts on comic book sales.

KAI RYSSDAL: It’s a Friday in the middle of the summertime. So let’s take a detour for a minute into something a little less weighty than energy prices and
home foreclosures, shall we? How about comic books. If you’ve ever watched the Simpsons on TV, you know the neighborhood comic book store there is a dingy, low-rent place run by a pasty-looking guy who sounds like this.

SIMPSONS CHARACTER: I’ve spent my entire life doing nothing but collecting comic books. . . . Life well spent!

Easy talk coming from a cartoon character, I know. But there’s an element of revenge of the nerds here. Because comic book stores are hot. Unlike a lot of book retailers, comic stores have actually managed to increase their business the past couple of years. One of the ways they’ve done it is to become more than just stores. Meltdown Comics here in Los Angeles has a gallery space for art. It hosts special events to draw customers in, too. Like an open mic night this past Wednesday with stand-up comics talking about comics.

COMIC: Batman, he doesn’t really find much funny. And I don’t blame him. He’s been through a lot. I think the one thing that Batman would find funny, though, would be Superman jokes. . . .

I think a lot of the reason that people like performing here is, “Oh my god, I never thought I was going to be able to do this joke, and I can.”

MATT TODD: My name’s Matt Todd. I was looking for “War Heroes #1″ by Mark Millar and Tony Harris. I dropped $40. Yeah, this is the second trip of the day.

LINDA PINE: My name’s Linda Pine and I actually . . . I started buying comic books at places like head shops. And those are creepy places, if you’re a little girl. This place is like Nirvana if you’re a little girl.

CHRIS ROSA: Chris Rosa. The stores back, maybe 15-20 years ago, had more of a secret clubhouse quality to them which now is more of an open feel. You don’t need to know every member of the Avengers to be able to walk into a store.

PINE: Meltdown’s main customer base has disposable income now. The people who come to a store like this would rather have these things than a Lexus.
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Part 1:

Part 2:

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Best Short Story: “Mr. Wonderful,” by Dan Clowes, serialized in New York Times Sunday Magazine

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot): Justice League of America #11: “Walls,” by Brad Meltzer and Gene Ha (DC)

Best Continuing Series: Y: The Last Man, by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, and Jose Marzan, Jr. (Vertigo/DC)

Best Limited Series:The Umbrella Academy, by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá (Dark Horse)

Best New Series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, by Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, Georges Jeanty, and Andy Owens (Dark Horse)

Best Publication for Kids: Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 and Mouse Guard: Winter 1152, by David Petersen (Archaia)

Best Publication for Teens: Laika, by Nick Abadzis (First Second)

Best Humor Publication: Perry Bible Fellowship: The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories, by Nicholas Gurewitch (Dark Horse)

Best Anthology: 5, by Gabriel Bá, Becky Cloonan, Fabio Moon, Vasilis Lolos, and Rafael Grampa (self-published)

Best Digital Comic: Sugarshock!, by Joss Whedon and Fabio Moon,

Best Reality-Based Work: Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso (Center for Cartoon Studies/Hyperion)

Best Graphic Album—New: Exit Wounds, by Rutu Modan (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint: Mouse Guard: Fall 1152, by David Petersen (Archaia)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Strips: Complete Terry and the Pirates, vol. 1, by Milton Caniff (IDW)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books: I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! by Fletcher Hanks (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material: I Killed Adolf Hitler, by Jason (Fantagraphics)

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According to a report from PC World, your newest way to read comic books may just be that Wii sitting in your living room.
Kadokawa, Kodansha, Shueisha and Shogakukan – the four largest manga publishers of Japan have formed a joint venture which will bring digital versions of comics to the console. The new venture, called “Librica” will deliver comics through the Wii Ware software channel to Wii users, according to PC World, and expansion to Ninentdo DS is planned.

The launch timing and pricing of Librica was not announced.

Clearly, the distribution, which has the ability to literally put comics in living rooms will play a role in the future of manga, both in its native Japan, and in the Unites States.

The timing of the announcement, although not officially heard around the floor at San Diego Comic-Con or currently seen to be noted at any panels of the weekend comes as digital distribution of comics is seen as both one of the challenges and promises of the future of comics.
In terms of American publishers, Marvel Comics currently has thousands of its comics available online via its Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited subscription program, and DC Comics’ material has recently been made available via Warner Premiere Motion Comics. Other publishers, such as Boom Studios offer comics online via their websites and other channels.

Large-scale distribution wise, Marvel’s Digital Comics are available through its website, and Warner Bros. has a distribution deal in place with Microsoft’s Xbox, with Batman: Mad Love having debuted on the service this week, while the first chapter of Watchmen is currently available as a free download on iTunes. Warners also has distribution deal in place with Verizon’s V Cast service.

No American publishers were named in the initial report, but if “Librica” works and succeeds in reaching a larger manga audience, it certainly seems that it would be an open door for Marvel, DC, or other publishers looking to reach a larger audience, as the Wii has just been named the top console system, worldwide, with 11 million consoles sold –something which would be clearly seen in publishers eyes as 11 million households with possibly more than one potential reader inside.

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