DC Comics to Publish Modernized Scooby-Doo Comic Book - "Scooby Apocalypse"

DC Entertainment to Publish Comics Based on Popular Hanna-Barbera Characters

“Scooby Apocalypse” Featuring Character Designs by Jim Lee Headlines New Lineup of Teen+ Comics

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pajamas and a big bowl of sugary cereal is how many of us remember watching our favorite Saturday morning cartoons as kids. Beginning in May, DC Entertainment plans to give old fans and new the chance to relive (and extend) their childhoods with a new, modern lineup of comics based on some of Hanna-Barbera’s most popular cartoon characters, but reimagined in a fresh and contemporary fashion.

    “With this initial lineup of titles and talent, we’re excited for fans to experience the reimagining of these Saturday morning classics with a more modern and contemporary look and feel.”

The initial lineup includes:

SCOOBY APOCALYPSE – Featuring character designs by veteran artist Jim Lee and an origin story by Jim Lee and Keith Giffen (JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001), artist Howard Porter (SUPERMAN) will provide his own unique take on Freddie, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo. “Those meddling kids” and their Mystery Machine are at the center of a well-meaning experiment gone wrong and they’ll need to bring all of their mystery solving skills to bear (along with plenty of Scooby Snacks), to find a cure for a world full of mutated creatures infected by a nanite virus that enhances their fears, terrors and baser instincts. This time, the horrors are real in this apocalyptic near-future badland!

FUTURE QUEST – Writer Jeff Parker (AQUAMAN, JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED, BATMAN ’66) and artist Evan “Doc” Shaner (JUSTICE LEAGUE DARKSEID WAR: GREEN LANTERN) join forces to bring fans new tales of adventure’s most iconic teenager, Jonny Quest, along with his sidekick Hadji. This series combines Team QUEST (Hadji, Race Bannon, Dr. Benton Quest and Jezebel Jade) with some of the most well-known action and adventure heroes ever created by Hanna-Barbera, including SPACE GHOST, THE HERCULOIDS, BIRDMAN, MIGHTOR and FRANKENSTEIN Jr., among others.

WACKY RACELAND – Take The Ant Hill Mob, Penelope Pitstop and Dick Dastardly, mix in a healthy dose of “Mad Max” and you get this dark and gritty take on Hanna-Barbera’s “Wacky Races,” courtesy of writer Ken Pontac (REBOOT, HAPPY TREE FRIENDS) and artist Leonardo Manco (HELLBLAZER), with vehicle designs by Mark Sexton (MAD MAX: FURY ROAD). A time of hope and innocence with Utopia at the finish line has given way to planetary Armageddon and a desert wasteland full of radioactive lakes, nanotech dust storms, and cannibalistic mutants. Against this backdrop, the Wacky Racers and their sentient vehicles continue their contest, but now the competition is for survival, and there can only be one winner when the checkered flag falls.

THE FLINTSTONES – Based on character designs by Amanda Conner (HARLEY QUINN, STARFIRE), writer Mark Russell (PREZ, GOD IS DISAPPOINTED IN YOU) provides his own unique perspective on everyone’s “modern stone age family.” Russell will use Bedrock’s most popular family to shine a light on humanity’s ancient customs and institutions in a funny origin story of human civilization. Fred is still the simple man, striving to be the king of his castle, Wilma is still the tolerant but not-indulging wife and Barney (with his wife Betty and infant son Bamm-Bamm) is still the original wingman, whose loyalty to Fred often outweighs his common sense.

“I can’t think of anyone that doesn’t look back at these characters with anything but fond memories,” said Dan DiDio, DC Entertainment Co-Publisher. “With this initial lineup of titles and talent, we’re excited for fans to experience the reimagining of these Saturday morning classics with a more modern and contemporary look and feel.”

For more information about Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics, visit the website at DCComics.com.


About DC Entertainment:
DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating its content across Warner Bros. Entertainment and Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment and interactive games. Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is one of the largest English-language publishers of comics in the world.

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VIZ Media Offers a Duo of Pokemon DVD Sets

VIZ MEDIA PREVIEWS A PAIR OF NEW POKÉMON HOME MEDIA RELEASES TO START 2016

POKÉMON THE SERIES: XY Set 2 DVD Available Now And POKÉMON: THE MOVIES STEELBOOK BLU-RAY COLLECTION Debuts Next Month

San Francisco, CA – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, expands its POKÉMON catalog for anime fans as it announces a pair of new home media releases.

Inspired by the latest generation of Pokémon X and Pokémon Y video games, Pokémon THE SERIES: XY Set 2 is available now on DVD. POKÉMON: THE MOVIES 1-3 STEELBOOK BLU-RAY COLLECTION contains a trio of full-length POKÉMON feature films and will be available February 9th, 2016. Both are rated ‘TV-Y7’ for viewers ages 7 and older.

POKÉMON THE SERIES: XY DVD SET 2 · MSRP: $26.95 U.S. / $31.98 CAN · Available Now

In the latest home media set inspired by the new generation of Pokémon X and Pokémon Y video games, Ash Ketchum and his friends venture ever deeper into the Kalos region! Ash takes to the skies in a wing suit in his first aerial battle, and the group explores exciting new areas like the majestic Kalos Canyon, the mysterious Cave of Mirrors, and Professor Sycamore’s Pokémon summer camp. Meanwhile, Miette and Serena’s rivalry over Ash heats up, and Team Rocket flummoxes everyone with clever disguises and Pokémon-nabbing schemes! And of course, everyone’s after the secrets of Mega Evolution—but will anyone get a handle on its consequences? The new set contains 3 discs featuring 24 episodes (25-48), presented with dubbed English dialogue.

POKÉMON: The MOVIEs 1-3 Steelbook BLU-RAY COLLECTION · MSRP: $39.99 U.S. / $46.99 CAN · Available February 9th    

A special 3-disc Steelbook set featuring three complete POKÉMON feature films— POKÉMON: THE FIRST MOVIE, POKÉMON THE MOVIE 2000, and POKÉMON 3: THE MOVIE. Films are each presented with dubbed English dialogue.

In POKÉMON: THE FIRST MOVIE, the adventure explodes into action with the debut of Mewtwo, a bio-engineered Pokémon created from the DNA of Mew, the rarest of all Pokémon. After escaping from the lab where it was created, Mewtwo is determined to prove its own superiority. It lures a number of talented Trainers into a Pokémon battle like never before—and of course, Ash and his friends are happy to accept the challenge!

In POKÉMON THE MOVIE 2000, just one person can make a difference… In the Orange Islands far south of Kanto, a Trainer named Lawrence is on a sinister quest: catching the Legendary Pokémon Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres in an attempt to awaken Lugia, guardian of the sea! When Ash and friends arrive, the islanders ask him to gather three elemental orbs from different islands. As the weather across the world goes out of control, it becomes clear that the capture of the legendary trio has thrown the environment out of balance! With Lugia’s help, can Ash find the orbs, restore the balance, and be the “chosen one” that everyone turns to?

In POKÉMON 3: THE MOVIE, a crystal catastrophe is unleashed upon Greenfield, and Ash, Pikachu, and friends must figure out how to undo the damage to the once-beautiful town. But the unthinkable happens when Ash’s mother is kidnapped by the powerful Entei, a Pokémon thought to have existed only in legend. Now Ash must go to her rescue, uncertain of what he’ll uncover when he unlocks the real secret power behind the unbelievable turn of events: a young girl whose dream world is being turned into a nightmarish reality by the mysterious and unstoppable Unown!

POKÉMON is one of the most successful international entertainment franchises of all time. More than 275 million POKÉMON video game titles and over 21.5 billion Pokémon Trading Cards have been sold in more than 74 countries in addition to substantial publishing and merchandise sales. VIZ Media is the official North American distributor for a wide variety of POKÉMON home media releases including animated series and films and also publishes a variety of POKÉMON manga graphic novel series including POKÉMON ADVENTURES X•Y, POKÉMON ADVENTURES, POKÉMON ADVENTURES: DIAMOND AND PEARL, POKÉMON ADVENTURES: HEART/GOLD & SOUL/SILVER, POKÉMON ADVENTURES: BLACK & WHITE.

For more information on other Pokémon manga and anime titles from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.


About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and ONE PIECE, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family- friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.

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"Nowhere Men #7" Returns with Second Printing

NOWHERE MEN FLIES OFF THE SHELVES

The return issue to the hit series fast-tracked to a second printing

The bestselling, cult-hit NOWHERE MEN by writer and Publisher at Image Comics, Eric Stephenson, new series artist Dave Taylor, Eisner-award winning colorist Jordie Bellaire, and Fonografiks jump-started the highly anticipated second story arc to early critical-acclaim and fan enthusiasm. NOWHERE MEN #7 is being fast-tracked to a second printing in order to keep up with customer demand.

“I knew, going in, that this would be a unique working experience,” said Taylor. “But even my high hopes have been outdone. Working on Nowhere Men just keeps getting better and better! Hey, and where's all the hate mail??!!”

NOWHERE MEN #7 begins up where NOWHERE MEN, VOL. 1’s cliffhanger ending left off and opens with PLUTONA artist Emi Lenox’s rendering of a sequence plucked from the sketch diary of Emerson Strange’s daughter.

Multiversity Comics describes Lenox’s prologue “wonderful” and “delivered as a sort of online comic diary, she balances Stephenson’s story with some great images and excellent expressions.”

NOWHERE MEN #7 remains available for purchase across all digital platforms, including the Image Comics website (imagecomics.com), the official Image Comics iOS app, ComiXology’s website (comixology.com), iOS, Android, and Google Play.

NOWHERE MEN #7, 2nd printing arrives in stores on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 and can be pre-ordered with Diamond Code DEC158647.

NOWHERE MEN #8 hits stands on Wednesday, February 24th, 2016 and can be ordered with Diamond Code DEC150601.

More praise for NOWHERE MEN #7:

“A welcome return and feels as strong as the issues before it.” —All-Comic

“More compelling than ever.” —Graphic Policy

“Stephenson hasn’t lost his touch either; he still retains the solid characterization that was with the characters before. Seeing these characters on the page again and their interactions reminded me of why I enjoyed the comic. The mix of science-fiction with corporate politics, celebrity status vs. regular people remains ever present and influential in Nowhere Men’s presentation. Those are many of the things that made Nowhere Men so intriguing to begin with so to see their return is welcomed. Really, it’s just great to have Nowhere Men back.” —Bounding into Comics


ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

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Image Comics Announces First Collection of "Tokyo Ghost"

TOKYO GHOST, VOLUME 1: ATOMIC GARDEN SHOOTS UP OUR TECH-ADDICTIONS

The first story arc in the dystopian adventure is collected into trade paperback

“Tokyo Ghost is for fans of hard and fast action, harder and faster dialogue, and heart-stopping moments of insanity.”—Comicosity

Bestselling writer RICK REMENDER (BLACK SCIENCE, DEADLY CLASS) teams up with superstar art team SEAN MURPHY (CHRONONAUTS, Punk Rock Jesus) and MATT HOLLINGSWORTH (WYTCHES, Hawkeye) for a bleak and poignant reflection on the consequences of tech-addiction in TOKYO GHOST, VOLUME 1: ATOMIC GARDEN. This collects issues #1-5 into trade paperback and will be available in March.

TOKYO GHOST, VOLUME 1: ATOMIC GARDEN welcomes readers to the isles of New Los Angeles, 2189. Humanity has become nothing more than a sea of consumers: ravenous and starving wolves, sick from toxic contamination, who have to borrow, beg, and steal for the funds to buy, buy, buy their next digital fix. Getting a thrill, a distraction from reality, is the only thing left to live for. Entertainment is the biggest industry—the drug everyone needs—and gangsters run it all. And who do these gangsters turn to when they need the "law" enforced? Led Dent and Debbie Decay, constables of the law, which is a nice way to say “brutal killing machines." The duo are about to be presented with an assignment that will force them out of the decay of LA and into the mysterious lost nation of Tokyo.

TOKYO GHOST, VOLUME 1: ATOMIC GARDEN (ISBN 978-1-63215-663-1) hits comic book stores on Wednesday, March 9th and bookstores on Tuesday, March 15th, and will be available for $9.99. It can be ordered by retailers from Diamond Book Distributors with Diamond code JAN160652. It can be preordered now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Indiebound.

Praise for TOKYO GHOST:

“Arrives with style and panache, an entertaining ride across a bleak future.”—CBR

“A great read. It’s fast and frenetic, driven by a strong narrative pulse and some amazing art.”—IGN

“Visually stunning with a topical narrative that takes a stance without feeling pretentious, all wrapped in a fun steampunk adventure…”—Comic Bastards


ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

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Happy Birthday, Anna!

Are you a teenager yet...

VIZ Media Goes "Behind the Scenes!!"

VIZ MEDIA LAUNCHES BISCO HATORI’S NEW SHOJO MANGA SERIES BEHIND THE SCENES!!

Comedy Series About A Social Misfit And College Movie Effects Club Is The Latest From The Acclaimed Creator Of OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB And MILLENNIUM SNOW

San Francisco, CA – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, proudly brings creator Bisco Hatori’s dramatic new manga (graphic novel) comedy to English readers with the launch of BEHIND THE SCENES!! on February 2nd, 2016.

The new shojo series by the famed creator of OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB and MILLENNIUM SNOW will be published in print and digital editions under the Shojo Beat imprint. BEHIND THE SCENES!! is rated ‘T’ for Teens, and will carry a print MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN. The series also launches digitally on February 2nd via VIZManga.com and the VIZ Manga App, as well as from the Nook, Kobo, Kindle, iBooks, comiXology, and GooglePlay stores. Subsequent volumes of the continuing series will be published in English twice a year.

In BEHIND THE SCENES!!, Ranmaru Kurisu comes from a family of hardy, rough-and-tumble fisherfolk and he sticks out at home like a delicate, artistic sore thumb. It’s given him a raging inferiority complex and a permanently pessimistic outlook. Now that he’s in college, he’s hoping to find a sense of belonging. But after a whole life of being left out, does he even know how to fit in?!

As Volume 1 opens, it’s two months into Ranmaru’s college career, and if he’s learned one thing, it’s that he’s really uncomfortable around other people. But when he stumbles into a zombie mob attack, he’s totally forced out of his comfort zone! Of course it’s just a movie shoot, but when he wakes up from his ignoble faint, he’s been whisked away behind the scenes with the Art Squad! Could this group of weirdos be what Ranmaru’s been looking for all his life?!

“Creator Bisco Hatori continues to demonstrate her skill at capturing all of the complexities, cliques and daily dramas of student life in BEHIND THE SCENES!!,” says Pancha Diaz, Editor. “Ranmaru Kurisu has been a social misfit all of his life but he may have finally found a place to fit in after a chance encounter introduces him to a very unique, and slightly quirky, group of potential new friends.”

Bisco Hatori made her manga debut with Isshun kan no Romance (A Moment of Romance) in LaLa DX magazine. Her first full-fledged series was MILLENNIUM SNOW (published by VIZ Media) and she gained widespread acclaim for the comedy, OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB (published by VIZ Media), which became her breakout hit.

For additional information on BEHIND THE SCENES!! or other manga titles published by VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.


About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and ONE PIECE, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.

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Houston Film Critics Named "Spotlight" Best Picture of 2015- Complete List of Winners

Houston Film Critics Society is a not-for-profit, unincorporated voluntary organizaton of print, broadcast, and internet film critics based in the Greater Houston metropolitan area that meet its membership criteria.  According its website, the group was founded in 2007 by Nick Nicholson and Danny Minton and helps to organize and coordinate the local area film critics community.

The nominees for the 9th annual Houston Film Critics Society Awards were announced, December 13, 2015.  The winners were announced January 9, 2016.

2015 / 9th Houston Film Critics Society winners:

Best Picture:  Spotlight

Best Director:  Alejandro G. Iñárritu for The Revenant

Best Actor:  Michael Fassbender for Steve Jobs

Best Actress:  Brie Larson for Room

Best Supporting Actor:  Tom Hardy for The Revenant

Best Supporting Actress:  Rooney Mara for Carol

Best Screenplay:  Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer for Spotlight

Best Animated Film:  Inside Out (Pete Doctor, director)

Best  Cinematography:  Emmanuel Lubezki for The Revenant

Best Documentary:  Amy (Asif Kapadia, director)

Best Foreign Film:  Son of Saul (Hungary; László Nemes, director)

Best Score:  Ennio Moriccone for The Hateful Eight

Best Song:  Brian Wilson for "Love and Mercy" from Love & Mercy

Texas Independent Film Award:  Mark Craig for The Last Man on the Moon

Technical:  Guy Norris for Mad Max: Fury Road

Worst Movie:  Pixels                      

Lifetime Achievement:  Dennis Quaid

Humanitarian of the Year:  Matt Damon

Outstanding Cinematic Contribution:  Joe Leydon

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