Friday, October 7, 2016

Amazon Announces Unscripted Horror Anthology, "Lore"

Amazon Prime Video Greenlights Anthology Horror Series Lore

Based on the award-winning, critically acclaimed podcast

From executive producers Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead), Ben Silverman (The Office) and Howard T. Owens (The Biggest Loser)

In addition to streaming or downloading thousands of titles on Prime Video, Amazon Prime members enjoy fast, free shipping, unlimited access to more than a million songs with Prime Music, unlimited secure photo storage with Prime Photos, and more—customers can enjoy a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime today

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon announced it has greenlit the Amazon Original Series, Lore. Based on the popular podcast of the same name, which has over 3.2 million monthly listens, the unscripted horror anthology series will present tales dealing with frightening, psychologically disturbing, and often paranormal true events that have spawned modern-day nightmares. The 10-episode season will premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in the US, UK, Germany, Austria and Japan in 2017, and be available via the Amazon Video app for TVs, connected devices including Fire TV, mobile devices and online at Amazon.com/originals. For a list of all Amazon Video compatible devices, visit www.amazon.com/howtostream.

    “15 podcasts you need to hear in 2016

Lore combines narration, historical mixed media, and dramatic scenes to bring to life terrifying but true stories. Celebrating the origins of the horror genre, Lore explores the real-life stories behind pop culture’s most legendary horror characters and myths, such as vampires, zombies, werewolves, ghosts, serial killers and witches. Launched in March 2015 by Aaron Mahnke, Lore has over 3.2 million monthly listens and was named "Best of 2015" by iTunes and one of the “15 podcasts you need to hear in 2016” by Entertainment Weekly.

“Lore is a thrilling podcast with a rabid following, and we jumped at the opportunity to work with Gale Anne Hurd, Ben Silverman and Howard Owens to develop it into a series for Amazon Prime members,” said Conrad Riggs, Head of Unscripted, Amazon Originals. “The series will be a truly unnerving and exciting experience that Prime members will not forget.”

“Being a horror aficionado, Aaron Mahnke’s Lore podcast captivated me from the very beginning as it explores the terrifying truth behind the world’s most frightening legends,” said Hurd. “And just as Mahnke revolutionized the serial podcast, Amazon is reinventing the unscripted series—and I couldn’t be more excited about the mashup.”

“We are thrilled to be working with Gale Anne Hurd and Amazon to bring Aaron Mahnke's incredible horror franchise to television,” said Owens and Silverman. “Lore has inspired nightmares for millions of fans while capturing our own imaginations, and we couldn’t be more excited to materialize these real-life horror stories in a way never seen before.”

Lore is slated to be produced by Propagate Content and Valhalla Entertainment, with Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead), Ben Silverman (The Office), Howard T. Owens (The Biggest Loser), Brett-Patrick Jenkins (Face Off) and Aaron Mahnke lined up as Executive Producers. Glen Morgan (X-Files) is attached as showrunner. Phillip Kobylanski is supervising the project on behalf of Valhalla.


About Amazon Video
Amazon Video is a premium on-demand entertainment service that offers customers the greatest choice in what to watch, and how to watch it. Amazon Video is the only service that provides all of the following:

  •     Prime Video: Thousands of movies and TV episodes, including popular licensed content plus critically-acclaimed and award-winning Amazon Original Series and Movies from Amazon Studios like Transparent, The Man in the High Castle, Chi-Raq and kids series Tumble Leaf, available for unlimited streaming as part of an Amazon Prime membership
  •     Add-on Subscriptions: Dozens of subscriptions to networks like SHOWTIME, STARZ and more, available to Amazon Prime members as add-ons to their membership
  •     Rent or Own: Hundreds of thousands of titles, including new-release movies and current TV shows available for on-demand rental or purchase for all Amazon customers
  •     Instant Access: Instantly watch anytime, anywhere through the Amazon Video app on TVs, mobile devices, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, and Fire tablets, or online. For a list of all compatible devices, visit www.amazon.com/howtostream
  •     Premium Features: Top features like 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and mobile downloads for offline viewing of certain content

In addition to Prime Video, the Prime membership includes unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items across all categories, more than one million songs and thousands of playlists and stations with Prime Music, early access to select Lightning Deals all year long, free secure, unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive with Prime Photos, one free pre-released book a month with Kindle First, and more. To sign up for Prime or to find out more, visit: www.amazon.com/prime.

About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.

About Valhalla Entertainment
Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Entertainment has an overall deal with Universal Cable Productions to develop new television and digital programs. Their current slate includes the upcoming 7th season of AMC’s The Walking Dead, which reigns as the most watched drama series in the coveted 18-49 demographic, as well as its companion series, Fear the Walking Dead, which received a two season order prior to its debut in 2015 and set a new ratings record for a cable premiere with 13.3 million viewers. In addition, Hurd serves as Consulting Producer on Talking Dead, which is the second highest rated basic cable show on Sunday nights, behind only The Walking Dead. Valhalla’s newest drama series, Falling Water, will premiere with a 10 episode order on USA Network this October. With 85 hours of television airing in 2016, Valhalla Entertainment remains a constant staple in the industry.

About Propagate
Since launching in 2015, Propagate has grown into a formidable business with several series in production and a number of high-profile projects in development with deals across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. Beyond developing, producing and distributing scripted and unscripted content, Propagate’s plans call for the creation and global distribution of formats. The company aims to roll out ambitious new content distribution models while building a global production platform that focuses on new markets. Propagate’s unscripted development slate includes “Lore,” based on the hit podcast and co-produced with Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Entertainment; “Planet of the Apps” co-produced with Apple; “Unprotected” for Oxygen; “Evil Genius” for HISTORY; “My So-Called Simple Life” (working title) for FYI; a docu-series for Vivica A. Fox; and “Animal ER” for National Geographic Wild.

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Thursday, October 6, 2016

Image Comics Announces Sell-Out for "Green Valley #1"

GREEN VALLEY IS A LUSH SUCCESS

Issue #1 immediately sent back to print

Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment are pleased to announce GREEN VALLEY #1—created and written by Max Landis, drawn by Giuseppe Camuncoli, inked by Cliff Rathburn, colored by Jean-Francois Beauliu, and lettered by Pat Brosseau—is being fast-tracked to a second printing in order to keep up with customer demand.

In GREEN VALLEY, nothing is as it seems. The knights of Kelodia are the finest in the land, but they’ve never faced a power like the one that resides in the Green Valley...

GREEN VALLEY #1 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.

GREEN VALLEY #1, 2nd printing (Diamond code: AUG169185) will be available on Wednesday, November 9th, 2016. The final order cutoff deadline for retailers is Monday, October 17th, 2016.

GREEN VALLEY #2 (Diamond code: SEP160728) also hits comic book stores on Wednesday, November 9th, 2016. The final order cutoff deadline for retailers is Monday, October 17th, 2016.


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.

ABOUT SKYBOUND
Founded in 2010, Skybound Entertainment is a multiplatform entertainment company specializing in television, comics, film, digital content, interactive, gaming, and merchandise. The company is led by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and his longtime producing and business partner David Alpert.

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Archie Comics to Rock New York Comic Con 2016

Archie Comics rocks New York Comic Con 2016 with ARCHIE MEETS RAMONES and JOSIE & THE PUSSYCATS comic book launches

Just a few months before the launch of The CW’s RIVERDALE TV series, the hottest publisher in comics continues its New Riverdale rebirth and unveils an impressive array of exclusives, creator signings and much more

New York, NY - Archie Comics, the acclaimed and bestselling comic book publisher that is home to some of the best-known pop culture creations in the world, including Archie, Jughead, Betty & Veronica, Josie & The Pussycats, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the hit AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE series, unveiled plans for New York City’s premiere pop culture event —New York Comic Con 2016 —coinciding with the launch of ARCHIE MEETS RAMONES, the oversized one-shot comic celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Archie Comics and the 40th Anniversary of the legendary punk group the Ramones.

Archie Comics continues its year-long 75th anniversary celebration with the upcoming premiere of a new, hour-long live-action drama series, ‘Riverdale’ on The CW in early 2017 from executive producers Greg Berlanti, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Sarah Schechter, and Jon Goldwater; and the continued overwhelming success of the company’s “New Riverdale” line of titles, which include revitalized takes on the core Archie characters by the top talents in the industry.

"New York Comic Con is always a special event for Archie. It's our hometown show," said Archie Comics Publisher/Co-CEO Jon Goldwater. "This year has been all about not only celebrating Archie's amazing history, but looking forward to the even-brighter future, one that includes a 'Riverdale' TV series, even more acclaimed New Riverdale books and the surprises and game-changing moves Archie Comics has become known for."

Two key launches will take center stage for the publisher at NYCC this year, starting with the punk rock reunion fans never saw coming: ARCHIE MEETS RAMONES #1. Hitting comic shops and digital retailers on the eve of the show, Wednesday, October 5th, 2016 and featuring the work of the all-star creative team of co-writers Alex Segura (ARCHIE MEETS KISS), Matthew Rosenberg (4 Kids Walk into a Bank) and artist Gisele Lagace (“Occupy Riverdale”), the special one-shot transports Archie and friends back to New York City in 1976 – and face to face with Joey, Tommy, Johnny, and Dee Dee of the Ramones.

The star-studded festival line-up of musical powerhouses also includes a relaunched JOSIE & THE PUSSYCATS series from co-writers Marguerite Bennett and Cameron DeOrdio, featuring the stellar art of rising star Audrey Mok. The first issue of the must-read series kicks off with Josie getting the band together to help achieve her dreams of musical stardom – and learning about friendship and trust along the way.

The two amped-up debuts are the opening acts for what will surely be an amazing weekend of signings, exclusives and announcements at New York Comic Con 2016 —including exclusive-to-the-show variant cover editions of ARCHIE MEETS RAMONES #1 by Gisele Lagace, BETTY & VERONICA #1 by Adam Hughes, and JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS #1 by Cameron Stewart, merchandise and more.

These convention exclusive covers will be available for $10 at the Archie Comics Booth #1936 while supplies last.

Archie Comics Panels at New York Comic Con 2016

Saturday, October 8th, 2016

3pm – 4pm, Room 1A05
Archie Comics Forever: 75 Years of Storytelling
Just in time for the new JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS series and ARCHIE MEETS RAMONES one-shot, this Panel has it all! Get exclusive news on upcoming titles and a look at The CW’s ‘Riverdale TV’ show! Featuring Jon Goldwater (co-CEO/publisher), Mike Pellerito (president), Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Archie Comics chief creative office, showrunner, The CW’s ‘Riverdale,’ writer AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE and CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA), Rachel Antonoff (B&V Fashion Designer), Dan Parent (writer/artist LIFE WITH KEVIN), Adam Hughes (writer/artist BETTY AND VERONICA), Ryan North (writer JUGHEAD), Marguerite Bennett and Cameron DeOrdio (co-writers JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS), and moderator Alex Segura (SVP-publicity & marketing, co-writer ARCHIE MEETS RAMONES) and more!
Creator Signing Schedule & Exclusives
(Booth #1936)
*ALL TIMES/SIGNINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE*

Thursday, October 6, 2016
SHOW HOURS: 10:00am-7:00pm

10am-11am BETTY & VERONICA: Adam Hughes
11am-12pm ARCHIE MEETS RAMONES: Alex Segura, Matthew Rosenberg, Gisele Lagace, Dan Parent
3pm-4pm NEW RIVERDALE: Derek Charm, Joe Eisma, Chrissie Zullo, Cameron DeOrdio

Friday, October 7, 2016
SHOW HOURS: 10:00am-7:00pm

10am-11am BETTY & VERONICA: Adam Hughes
11am-12pm ARCHIE MEETS RAMONES: Alex Segura, Matthew Rosenberg, Gisele Lagace, Dan Parent
12pm-1pm ARCHIE HORROR: Alex de Campi, Robert Hack
3pm-4pm ARCHIE ACTION: Jennifer Hernandez, Tracy Yardley, Ryan Jampole, Jamal Peppers, Matt Herms
4pm-5pm NEW RIVERDALE: Derek Charm, Joe Eisma, Ramón K Pérez, Cameron DeOrdio

Saturday, October 8, 2016
SHOW HOURS: 10:00am-7:00pm

10am-11am BETTY & VERONICA: Adam Hughes, José Villarrubia
11am-12pm ARCHIE MEETS RAMONES: Alex Segura, Gisele Lagace, Dan Parent
12pm-1pm ARCHIE ACTION: Jennifer Hernandez, Tracy Yardley, Ryan Jampole, Jamal Peppers
4pm-5pm NEW RIVERDALE: Ryan North, Derek Charm, Cameron DeOrdio, Andre Szymanowicz, Joe Eisma
5pm-6pm ARCHIE HORROR: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Robert Hack

Sunday, October 9, 2016
SHOW HOURS: 10:00am-5:00pm

10am-11am BETTY & VERONICA: Adam Hughes
11am-12pm ARCHIE HORROR: Robert Hack
1pm-2pm ARCHIE ACTION: Jennifer Hernandez, Tracy Yardley, Ryan Jampole, Jamal Peppers
2pm-3pm ARCHIE MEETS RAMONES: Alex Segura, Matthew Rosenberg, Gisele Lagace, Dan Parent

For more information and to keep up to date on all things Archie Comics and SDCC, follow @ArchieComics on Twitter and Instagram for live updates from the show floor!


ABOUT ARCHIE COMICS:
Archie Comics is the leading mass market comic book publisher in the world and the home to a wide array of the most popular humor, action-adventure and superhero characters in entertainment, including Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica, Reggie, Kevin Keller, Josie and the Pussycats, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Afterlife With Archie, the Dark Circle Comics superhero characters (The Black Hood, The Fox, The Shield and more), Li’l Jinx and many more. Archie Comics have sold over 2 billion comics worldwide and are published around the world in a number of languages. In addition to comics, Archie characters have been featured prominently in animation, television, film and music. Follow Archie Comics on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the Archie Comics Store.

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Putting "Alien" in "Alien Day" Comics


DARK HORSE AND FOX PUT THE “ALIEN” IN ALIEN DAY

Dark Horse and Fox to release new “Alien: Dead Orbit” series and “Aliens: The Original Comics Series” Volume 2 on April 26, 2017

MILWAUKIE, Ore. — In collaboration with 20th Century Fox and in honor of Aliens Day 2017, Dark Horse is excited to announce its next developments in the beloved Aliens franchise: Aliens: Dead Orbit and Aliens: The Original Comics Series Volume 2.

Aliens: Dead Orbit finds Wascylewsk, an engineering officer, trapped in a space station after a horrific accident. Wascylewsk is forced to use all available tools—a timer, a utility kit, and his wits—to survive an attack from the deadliest creature known to man. James Stokoe (Wonton Soup, Orc Stain) writes and illustrates the series. Geof Darrow (The Shaolin Cowboy, The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot) will provide a variant cover for the first issue.

Following the highly successful release of Aliens: The Original Comic Series earlier this year, volume 2 finds Earth overrun by xenomorphs, with no hope of saving it for humanity. This doesn’t mean humans are ready to give up their home without a fight. Ripley hatches a plan to capture a “Queen Mother”—a super queen that rules multiple nests—and bring it back to Earth. Ripley believes the Queen Mother will command the xenomorphs to gather together where she can detonate a nuclear bomb to destroy them. Mark Verheiden (The Mask, Timecop) composed the stories while Den Beauvais (Aliens, Aliens: Countdown) and Sam Kieth (The Sandman, The Maxx) illustrated the interiors. Aliens: The Original Comics Series Volume 2 collects Aliens: Nightmare Asylum #1–#4 and Aliens: Female War #1–#4, and includes cover art for all issues in a special oversized hardcover edition.

Aliens: Dead Orbit’s first issue (of four) goes on sale on April 26, 2017. Aliens: The Original Comics Series Volume 2 also goes on sale April 12, 2017.


About Dark Horse

For thirty years, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. Founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, the company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent, such as Eric Powell, Mike Mignola, Geof Darrow, Brian Wood, Gail Simone, Stan Sakai, and Guillermo del Toro, and comics legends, such as Will Eisner, Milo Manara, Kazuo Koike, Neil Gaiman, and Frank Miller, Dark Horse has developed its own successful properties, such as The Mask, Ghost, X, and Barb Wire. Its successful line of comics, manga, and products based on popular properties includes Dragon Age, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Tomb Raider, Halo, The Witcher, Serenity, Game of Thrones, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading entertainment publishers.

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Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Sin Ctiy's Frank Miller to Appear at 2016 New York Comic Con

DARK HORSE AND FRANK MILLER INVITE YOU TO SIN CITY

Frank Miller to sign in Dark Horse booth at NYCC

MILWAUKIE, Ore. — To celebrate the release of Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye Curator’s Collection, Dark Horse is excited to offer fans the opportunity to meet comics legend Frank Miller at New York Comic Con! On Saturday, October 8, 2016, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Dark Horse will welcome Miller for a special two-hour signing at booth #1636 at the Javits Convention Center.

The Frank Miller signing is an exclusive wristband-only event and will be his only signing at New York Comic Con. Wristbands will be distributed by a random drawing in the Dark Horse Comics booth on Friday and Saturday mornings during the first hour of the show.

Dark Horse will be selling limited quantities of both the standard and special editions of Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye Curator’s Collection in the booth for fans to purchase prior to the signing.

Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye Curator’s Collection Special Edition
NYCC attendees who purchase a copy of the special edition at the Dark Horse booth are guaranteed a wristband to the signing, a priority spot at the front of the line to have Frank specially personalize their book, and a limited 11 x 17–inch Sin City print, which Frank will sign as well.

Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye Curator’s Collection Standard Edition
NYCC attendees who purchase a copy of the standard edition at the Dark Horse booth will receive a wristband, a priority spot in line, Frank’s signature in the book, and a limited 11 x 17–inch Sin City print, which Frank will sign.

Dark Horse Booth Wristband Lottery
NYCC attendees who win a wristband to the signing via the in-booth lottery will be awarded a limited 11 x 17–inch Sin City print, which Frank will sign. No additional material will be signed.

Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye Curator’s Collection is an impressive book to own—a deluxe hardcover with a HUGE trim size of 15 x 21.5 inches, 224 pages, and smyth-sewn binding under a cloth spine. Produced and assembled under the Kitchen Sink Books/Dark Horse Books imprint, Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye Curator’s Collection showcases the entire Eisner Award–winning graphic novel, now scanned from the original artwork in Frank Miller’s personal archives and reproduced at full size. This edition features an introduction from Sin City codirector Robert Rodriguez, an epilogue by publisher Mike Richardson, and a new interview with Frank Miller about his artistic technique to accompany the interior artwork. Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye Curator’s Collection retails for $175.

Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Hard Goodbye Curator’s Collection Special Edition features the same material and page count as the regular edition but has an alternative cover and is signed by Frank Miller in pencil on a special tipped-in image not included in the regular edition. The special edition is limited to 50 copies and retails for $275.


About Frank Miller
Frank Miller began his career in comics in the late 1970s, first drawing then writing Daredevil for Marvel Comics, creating what was essentially a crime comic disguised as a superhero book. It was on Daredevil that Miller gained notoriety, honed his storytelling abilities, and took his first steps toward becoming a giant in the comics medium. Next came Ronin, a science-fiction samurai drama that seamlessly melded Japanese and French comics traditions into the American mainstream; and then the groundbreaking and acclaimed Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One, both of which not only redefined the classic character, but also revitalized the industry itself. Finally able to fulfill his dream of doing an all-out, straight-ahead crime series, Miller introduced Sin City in 1991. Readers responded enthusiastically to Miller’s tough-as-leather noir drama, creating an instant sales success. His multi-award-winning 300 series from Dark Horse, a telling of history’s most glorious and underreported battle, was brought to full-blooded life in 1998. In 2001, Miller returned to the superhero genre with the best-selling Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again. Frank Miller continues to push the medium into new territories, exploring subject matter previously untouched in comics, and his work consistently receives the highest praise from his industry peers and readers everywhere. In 2005, with the hugely successful Sin City movie release, co-directed with Robert Rodriguez, Miller added a director’s credit to his already impressive resumé and introduced his characters to an entirely new legion of fans worldwide.

About Dark Horse

For thirty years, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. Founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, the company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent, such as Eric Powell, Mike Mignola, Geof Darrow, Brian Wood, Gail Simone, Stan Sakai, and Guillermo del Toro, and comics legends, such as Will Eisner, Milo Manara, Kazuo Koike, Neil Gaiman, and Frank Miller, Dark Horse has developed its own successful properties, such as The Mask, Ghost, X, and Barb Wire. Its successful line of comics, manga, and products based on popular properties includes Dragon Age, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Tomb Raider, Halo, The Witcher, Serenity, Game of Thrones, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading entertainment publishers.

About Kitchen Sink Books
Founded in 2013 by pioneering alternative publisher Denis Kitchen (of Kitchen Sink Press) and award-winning designer/editor John Lind, Kitchen Sink Books is an exclusive imprint of Dark Horse Comics focusing on archival collections, art books, and large format editions. Their debut title The Best of Comix Book: When Marvel Went Underground won the 2014 Harvey Awards for Best Domestic Reprint and Excellence in Presentation. Also in 2014, Harvey Kurtzman’s Jungle Book became the first release in Kitchen Sink Books’ ambitious Harvey Award–nominated Essential Kurtzman series, which aims to collect the most acclaimed work of this master cartoonist and satirist. Frank Miller's Sin City: The Hard Goodbye Curator's Collection is the first project in Kitchen Sink’s Curator’s Collection series featuring original art reproduced at size, alongside preliminary work, essays, and creator interviews.

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Amazon Announces a New "American Girl"

Amazon Debuts Original Live-Action Special An American Girl Story—Melody 1963: Love Has to Win on October 21 on Prime Video in the US and UK

First Amazon Original Special for Prime Video stars Marsai Martin, Frances Fisher, Frankie Faison and Idara Victor and is Executive Produced by Alison McDonald and Common

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon today announced its first Amazon Original Special, An American Girl Story—Melody 1963: Love Has to Win, is scheduled to premiere on Friday, October 21, 2016 on Prime Video in the US and UK. The first of four original American Girl specials for Prime Video stars Marsai Martin (Black-ish) as the title character Melody, Frances Fisher (Titanic) as Miss Abbot, Frankie Faison (The Wire) as Melody’s grandfather Frank Ellison, and Idara Victor (TURN: Washington’s Spies) as Melody’s mother Frances Ellison. Executive produced by Alison McDonald (Roots), Oscar winner Common’s Freedom Road Productions, and Christopher Keenan and Melinda McCrocklin for American Girl, the special is directed and produced by Tina Mabry (Mississippi Damned, Queen Sugar).

    “The American Girl Melody special is an empowering and inspiring story that will quickly become a favorite for young girls, while bringing families together to help start a healthy dialogue”

Based in 1963 Detroit during the civil rights movement, An American Girl Story—Melody 1963: Love Has to Win centers around 10-year-old Melody whose eyes are opened to the racial inequality surrounding her, including the 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing. As a result, her belief in the “indivisible” promise of our country’s Pledge of Allegiance comes into question as she challenges her teacher on the validity of this given the horrific tragedy. After an emotional journey of self-reflection, her mother gives her the courage she needs by instilling in her that love brings out the best in everyone; reminding Melody that it’s important to “stand up for what’s right, even when it’s hard or scary.”

“The American Girl Melody special is an empowering and inspiring story that will quickly become a favorite for young girls, while bringing families together to help start a healthy dialogue,” said Tara Sorensen, Head of Kids Programming at Amazon Studios. “Although our special is historical, the themes presented are sadly very timely and relevant for the world in which kids today are exposed.”

The Amazon Original Special is based on American Girl’s Melody character and inspirational stories. In addition to the special debuting exclusively on Prime Video, Amazon and American Girl have collaborated to create a destination for fans of Melody’s stories to find a wide selection of American Girl Melody products. Go to www.amazon.com/americangirl to shop an 18-inch Melody doll, historically accurate 1960s doll outfits, a Motown-inspired recording studio that plays and records music, and more. “We are always looking for new ways to bring our great content to life both on and off the screen,” said Eva Lorenz, Category Leader for Toys. “From toys to books to crafts, Melody’s biggest fans can now discover and shop a wide selection of items available with free Two Day Shipping for Prime members.”

An American Girl Story—Melody 1963: Love Has to Win will be available for Prime members using the Amazon Video app for TVs, connected devices including Fire TV and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/originals—Prime members will also be able to download the series on mobile devices for offline viewing. For a list of all Amazon Video compatible devices visit http://www.amazon.com/howtostream.


About Amazon Video
Amazon Video is a premium on-demand entertainment service that offers customers the greatest choice in what to watch, and how to watch it. Amazon Video is the only service that provides all of the following:

  •     Prime Video: Thousands of movies and TV episodes, including popular licensed content plus critically-acclaimed and award-winning Amazon Original Series and Movies from Amazon Studios like Transparent, The Man in the High Castle, Chi-Raq and kids series Tumble Leaf, available for unlimited streaming as part of an Amazon Prime membership
  •     Add-on Subscriptions: Dozens of subscriptions to networks like SHOWTIME, STARZ and more, available to Amazon Prime members as add-ons to their membership
  •     Rent or Own: Hundreds of thousands of titles, including new-release movies and current TV shows available for on-demand rental or purchase for all Amazon customers
  •     Instant Access: Instantly watch anytime, anywhere through the Amazon Video app on TVs, mobile devices, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, and Fire tablets, or online. For a list of all compatible devices, visit www.amazon.com/howtostream
  •     Premium Features: Top features like 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and mobile downloads for offline viewing of certain content

In addition to Prime Video, the Prime membership includes unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items across all categories, more than one million songs and thousands of playlists and stations with Prime Music, early access to select Lightning Deals all year long, free secure, unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive with Prime Photos, one free pre-released book a month with Kindle First, and more. To sign up for Prime or to find out more, visit: www.amazon.com/prime.

About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.

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2016 Catalina Film Festival Ends with Award Ceremony

2016 Catalina Film Fest Wraps with Honor for Jaime King, Appearances by Roland Emmerich, Patrick Fischler, Catalina Sandino Moreno

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Catalina Film Festival (CFF) wrapped this weekend with a presentation of the Avalon Award to Jaime King, followed by the West Coast premiere of Custody, starring Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace, American Gothic) in attendance.

    The @CatalinaFilm Fest wrapped with Avalon Award for actress @Jaime_King #CatalinaFilm
   
2016 Catalina Film Festival honorees included:

  •     Avalon Award: Jaime King (Sin City, Pearl Harbor, The Pardon)
  •     Zorro Del Oro “Golden Fox” Award: Anthony DiBlasi (Director, Beneficiary)
  •     Deb Bauer Unsung Hero Award: Pet Fooled accepted by Director/Writer Kohl Harrington and Producer Michael Fossat
  •     Legacy Award: Ann Muscat (Catalina Island Conservancy)

Attendees included famed director, Roland Emmerich (The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day); Patrick Fischler (Beneficiary, Mulholland Drive, Mad Men); Michael Graziadei (Beneficiary, Young and the Restless); Anne Dudek (Beneficiary, Mad Men, House) Patrick Sane (Breaking Bad), Jake Busey (Swing State), and model Matthew Noszka.

Past honorees include Nicolas Cage, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy, Andy Garcia, Mena Suvari, Kate Bosworth, Jon Favreau, Patricia Arquette, F. Gary Gray, Stan Lee, and more.

Filmmaker awards included:

    Best U.S. Narrative Feature: Custody
    Wes Craven Best Horror/Thriller: Burned
    Best U.S. Short: The Operator
    Best Documentary: Between Two Harbors
    Best Animation Short: Hanging
    Best Conservation Film: Joshua Tree: Threatened Wonderland
    Best High School Student Film: Love Unexpected
    Best Advanced Student Film: Front man
    Best International Short: Zaar
    Best International Feature: Interior Night
    Best Screenplay: Stealing Christmas

The competitive fest and film market also featured the Catalina TV and New Media Summit and officially wraps with the annual Catalina Treasure Hunt in L.A., November 5, with $15,000 in prizes including a Simon and Son replica Marilyn Monroe necklace, and Turks & Caicos resort vacation: www.bit.ly/2dnl0yb


About Catalina Film Festival
Catalina Film Festival is an annual celebration of film on the only West Coast resort island. For decades celebrities and filmmakers have flocked to Catalina for inspiration. Clear blue water and coastal breezes provide the perfect backdrop for discovering everything the island has to offer, 26 miles off the coast of Los Angeles. Supported by Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce, CFF benefits the Catalina Island Conservatory. Sponsors include Mercedes Benz, Island Express Helicopters, ALS Limo and Car Service, Catalina Express, Fill R Up Gastro Garage, and The Cafaro Group. www.CatalinaFilm.org Facebook.com/CatalinaFilm.

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