Bleeding Fool |
- Wizard World is Jumping on the NFT Bandwagon
- Manga Sales Dominate Market; Continue to Dwarf Western Comics
- Spider-Man: The Animated Series Producer Debunks Spider-Verse 2 Rumor
- Greek Culture: The History and Its Importance for Today
- DCEU Films Ranked: #4 ‘Shazam!’ (2019)
- Tom Cruise Movie Rescheduling Bumps Another Tom Cruise Film
- ‘She-Hulk’ Disney+ Series Adds Renée Elise Goldsberry to Cast
- Warner Demonstrates Stunning Hypocrisy in ‘Space Jam 2’ Promo
- In Pre-Cult Culture, Christianity Was a Cultural Normal
- Warner Media Revives their Classic ‘Hanna-Barbera’ Brand
| Wizard World is Jumping on the NFT Bandwagon Posted: 12 Apr 2021 08:00 AM PDT Wizard World is developing its NFT strategy by transforming some of its most coveted physical memorabilia into NFTs. In order to give its fans more of what they want from Wizard – access to one-of-a-kind real and virtual collectibles from their favorite films and stars – Wizard World is launching a beta test with fans who want to weigh in on the future rollout of the company's NFT strategy, which is aimed at incorporating NFTs into the Wizard World memorabilia marketplace.
Register for the beta test here.
Wizard World plans to selectively explore its extensive Wizard World Vault
"After listening closely to our fans' desires, we are starting to develop our NFT strategy", stated Wizard Brands CEO and Chairman Scott Kaufman. "After hearing from our avid consumer base, 70% of whom expressed a desire for physical memorabilia objects linked with digital renderings, Wizard World has begun the transition of reality to virtual leading toward the creation of our NFTs. By inviting fans to take part in beta testing, we're hoping to give the fans more of what they want from the Wizard World memorabilia marketplace."
The launch of NFTs is an exciting element of Wizard World's progression into a technology company that connects our fans' past to their future through NFTs, builds online interactive communities through live streaming events, and sells memorabilia across a wide spectrum of shared interest groups. The post Wizard World is Jumping on the NFT Bandwagon appeared first on Bleeding Fool.  |
| Manga Sales Dominate Market; Continue to Dwarf Western Comics Posted: 12 Apr 2021 06:15 AM PDT
The Asahi Shimbun’s given more confirmation as to the whopping sales of manga in Japan, both print and digital:
Combined sales of print and digital manga surged beyond 600 billion yen ($5.5 billion) in 2020 for the first time since records began in 1978, Shuppan Kagaku Kenkyujo (Research institute of publication science) said. The 23-percent year-on-year increase to 612.6 billion yen surpassed the previous sales peak of 586.4 billion yen set in 1995, when Weekly Shonen Jump and other manga anthologies were at the pinnacle of their popularity, it said. The institute attributed the growth to stay-at-home lifestyles during the COVID-19 pandemic and the huge success of "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba," which also ran in Shonen Jump. The digital comic market grew by 31.9 percent to 342 billion yen, up 82.7 billion yen from the previous year, and topped the 270.6 billion yen in combined sales of print comics and manga magazines. Still, the print comic market turned upward for the first time in 19 years. This is telling far more than you could expect from most US press sources covering sales of domestic product, both print and digital. The estimates equal far more than mainstream superhero comics are making, and that’s mainly because, compared to mainstream, again, Japanese mangakas are turning out various items far more worth reading, since they’re less focused on ideological indoctrination.
While we’re on the topic, here’s also a history article on Nippon about a veteran mangaka named Yaguchi Takao who recently passed on, his involvement with the Masuda Manga Museum, and it tells something interesting about the contrast to how a late veteran like Osamu Tezuka’s work is valued in contrast to more modern art drafts from illustrators who aren’t as well known:
In recent years, manga has come to occupy an increasingly prestigious position as one of the leading exemplars of the "Cool Japan" phenomenon. One sign of this growing prestige are the high prices paid for original artwork for on the international market.
In May 2018, original artwork for Tezuka Osamu's Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atomu in Japanese) sold for €270,000 at an auction in Paris. Representatives of the artist's production company in Tokyo said they weren't aware of how the artwork, originally created in the mid-1950s, had found its way onto the market. At the time, the original drawings for manga were regarded as just one preliminary stage in the printing process, of little value once the manga had been printed. Tezuka himself apparently gave little thought to keeping track of his artwork once it was printed.
By contrast, many manga artists today struggle to cope with the work involved in storing and taking care of their substantial collections of manuscripts and original artwork. With nowhere to store their collections, some artists have resorted to selling off their drawings to fans for next to nothing. Others simply throw their drawings away. If no relatives are alive to inherit the manuscripts, these papers sometimes simply disappear without trace after the death of the original artist. The artwork can sometimes be assessed for inheritance taxes: the position of the tax bureau and the Ministry of Finance is that a decision is made on a case-by-case basis, depending on previous sales of the artist's creations and the opinions of experts in the field.
As the artistic valuation of manga increases, it becomes increasingly likely that artwork will be assessed for inheritance tax in the same way as paintings and other types of art. In the case of manga, where the original artwork can easily run into many thousands of manuscript pages, these payments can become astronomical. Donating the artwork to a museum means that it is removed from an artist's estate and is no longer eligible for inheritance tax.
In 2015, Yaguchi donated around 42,000 of his own original papers and manuscripts to the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum. With support from the Agency for Cultural Affairs, work on preserving and looking after the collection of manuscripts began in earnest.
I think, if there’s anything in modern manga worth archiving, the Japanese history society should help some mangakas to store their art drafts better than they currently can, and maybe it’d be a good idea to translate some of it to digital format and store it on the internet as well. But maybe most important of all, is to distinguish what are the best stories and art from an artistic perspective. That’s how you judge what’s best for regard internationally. For now, we’ve certainly got an example of how Japan’s archivists are proving pretty good at preserving a lot of past material.
Originally published here. The post Manga Sales Dominate Market; Continue to Dwarf Western Comics appeared first on Bleeding Fool.  |
| Spider-Man: The Animated Series Producer Debunks Spider-Verse 2 Rumor Posted: 12 Apr 2021 04:45 AM PDT
The weekend brought up a not-so-surprising rumor that voice actor Christopher Daniel Barnes, having lent his voice to the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the popular ’90s animated series, would have a part in the upcoming Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse 2. Considering the many different versions of Spider-Man that will seemingly be present in the movie, it didn’t seem that far fetched for Barnes to be appearing but the report at the time noted that it wouldn’t be a huge role in the final film.
Sadly, it seems like that news was too good to be true, with Spider-Man: The Animated Series executive producer John Semper debunking it.
“An article was posted here yesterday supposedly having the inside story that Chris Barnes is reprising his role in the sequel to ‘SPIDER-MAN – INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE,'” Semper wrote on the official Facebook page for the hit ’90s toon. “I heard today from Chris's wife that this is absolutely FALSE. Chris has not been approached by Sony/Marvel to reprise his role as nineties Spider-Man, which means that the Spider-Man from my series will NOT be in this upcoming movie. So spread the word. The rumor is FALSE.”
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 is scheduled to hit theaters on October 7, 2022.
via ComicBook The post Spider-Man: The Animated Series Producer Debunks Spider-Verse 2 Rumor appeared first on Bleeding Fool.  |
| Greek Culture: The History and Its Importance for Today Posted: 11 Apr 2021 10:00 PM PDT
For centuries, people have been inspired by Greek culture. This culture’s abundant heritage is a compelling mix of customs, legends, beliefs, food, art, poetry, and dialect that binds a people and fascinates the rest of the world. The Greek culture is diverse and alive. The Greeks are incredibly proud of their heritage and talk about it with enthusiasm.
When you think of Greece, you probably have many visuals in mind, but how about its citizens, history, and cultures? Greece is one of the first places in the world to legalize gambling. Greek law does not bar online casinos like casinokokemus from applying for permits to operate on Greek soil. Continue reading to find out more about this amazing country’s history.
Gambling in Ancient GreeceFrom Egypt to China, modern ways of gambling can be tracked down to several ancient cultures. However, the fact is that ancient Greece was more influential than most other countries in the growth of modern ways of gambling Gambling was particularly common in this culture, and there were unique spots where gamblers can go to place their bets.
The Greek Way of CelebratingThe Greek Orthodox faith is at the heart of several of their beliefs. Since approximately 98 percent of Greeks are Orthodox Christians, celebrations bring friends and families together. Most of those festive occasions, such as Pascha, have religious as well as social significance. Families gather for church events, which are then followed by food, dancing, and singing.
However, not all practices are based on the Orthodox Christian faith. Some differences exist based on where in Greece you are. Cultural Greek dance and folk songs, for instance, are considered to be regionally distinct.
Etiquette in Greek CultureA large portion of social life occurs within a small group of friends and family. These get-togethers are often aimed at achieving Kefi, a feeling of happiness and comfort when someone is pleasantly moved by the moment and the business. Though drinking can help you achieve Kefi, getting drunk is called disgraceful.
The day when celebrating the saint for whom an individual is named is a significant event when people extend their doors to a wide variety of tourists. In those days, somebody bearing the name of that saint should be invoked. Typically, visitors carry candy or alcoholic beverages.
How Do Greeks Greet Each Other?In Greece, the most popular greeting is a handshake. Ladies, men, and kids all share it. A kiss or a warm embrace can be exchanged between close friends. Others may lightly pat or slap each other’s back or arm.
When meeting anyone for the first time, establish eye contact. If the individual is older than you, use their titles and last name unless they specifically request to be addressed by their first name. When it comes to teenagers or peers, formality isn’t as important.
Greek Cuisine and WineGreek cuisine is known for its incredibly nutritious ingredients and the incredible flavor of its wines and foods. Some recipes are popular throughout Greece, while hundreds more are regional specialties. Depending on the place, the same recipes may be prepared in various ways or with the same ingredients. The importance of food in Greek culture cannot be overstated.
The majority of recipes have been passed down from generation to generation. Wine is an important aspect of the cuisine as well. Greece’s weather is perfect for growing grapes, so white and red wines are common throughout the country.
Nightlife in Greece is Very TraditionalGreece’s nights are magical. A typical summer night out begins with dinner at one of the many restaurants and cafes on Greek islands, followed by a soda in a hotel bar or a wild night in a club until dawn. Dinner in a typical restaurant during the holidays is a part of Greek culture.
Interacting with OthersFor Greeks, youth, and the elderly, heading out for coffee is a routine. The new generation chooses the more modern cafés for coffee and baked goods. In contrast, the previous generation chooses the kafenio — old-fashioned cafés that have remained for decades and continue to be the gathering place for older men. Kafenios can be found all over Greece, across every town and village, and while anyone is accepted and treated with the utmost respect, it is primarily a men’s establishment.
Final ThoughtsLearning about Greek culture is fascinating because it puts you in touch with the past. People’s lives are heavily influenced by culture. It affects their beliefs, morals, sense of humor, dreams, loyalties, and fears and worries. It helps to have some insight and knowledge of people’s cultures when you’re engaging with them and establishing relationships with them. The post Greek Culture: The History and Its Importance for Today appeared first on Bleeding Fool.  |
| DCEU Films Ranked: #4 ‘Shazam!’ (2019) Posted: 11 Apr 2021 05:15 PM PDT #4 in my ranking of the DCEU franchise.
I actually watched the DCEU movies a bit out of order. Immediately preceding my viewing of David F. Sandberg's Shazam! I watched Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey. Starting up this I was relieved to see the simply building blocks of story presented in an order that made narrative sense, and I almost cheered. Sandberg's adventure into newfound superhero abilities has some issues along the way that drag it down a bit, but it's nice to see that Warner Brothers can still hire a director who understands storytelling at the most basic of levels.
So, magic. The DCEU embraces straight up magic for the first time. I can dig it. So, Billy Batson is a foster kid moving from home to home as he puts on a one-man search for his mother whom he lost when he was about four. At fourteen, he's run through dozens of names and still can't find her. At the same time, an ancient wizard loses control of the Seven Deadly Sins to Doctor Sivana. Desperate, the wizard magically delivers Billy to his temple and gifts Billy his powers in order to fight in his stead, turning Billy into Shazam, a superhero who looks like an adult, and this is the source of a lot of the movie's light humor.
Shazam is a kid at heart, so seeing him act like a kid, all buffed up and with superpowers, is amusing. It's also a complete retread, so it's nice to see the movie give a direct reference to Penny Marshall's Big. And I think it ends up being how the movie flags in its second act. There's no real direction to Billy after he gets his powers. He's happy to show them off, discover what they are, and take out some petty revenge here and there, but he doesn't seem to have any drive. It's weird because he has a central goal, which is to find his mother, but once he has these powers he not only doesn't use them to help him accomplish his central goal, he completely forgets about the goal. There's a certain understanding since he's a fourteen year old who gained superpowers, but he has them for days and doesn't even think about his mother until someone else hands him an address.
There's a thematic connection between Billy's search and the rest of the movie, that of family and finding it where you can. Billy finds his mother who, it turns out, just abandoned him. Instead, he has the group home of foster kids to fall back on. Contrasted to that is Doctor Sivana who rejected his own family and any sense of community with anyone else including the ancient wizard, spending his years searching out for that hidden temple and the seven deadly sins, which he eventually finds and takes for his own. He won't be at full power until he beats the wizard's champion, Billy. Hence, the conflict. I wish there was something connecting Sivana to Billy's mom directly. Something like Sivana kidnapping Billy's mom thinking that there's a special connection, but Billy is reticent about doing anything because he found out she rejected him. However, he uses the power of family from his group home siblings to help her or something. Instead Sivana does kidnap his adopted family, which is in the same wheelhouse but too easy in the other direction.
That aimless act drags the film down, but once it's over, the movie gains some focus again. While it doesn't take advantage enough of the family angle, it does focus in on it, giving Billy an avenue to accepting his new group home as the new family he needs without clinging to the past and a woman who doesn't want him.
The other major problem I have with the film is Doctor Sivana and his Seven Deadly Sins. Sivana is thin and uninteresting. As played by Mark Strong you might expect more, but he's just a generic bad guy with daddy issues. And the Seven Deadly Sins all run together. If you really focus on them, you can tell the differences in design, though they're all colored the same which seems like a missed opportunity. However, it takes a surprising amount of attention to delineate one from another, and they all just kind of run together, ending up feeling rather generic as well. Another miss.
In the end, though, the movie's an unchallenging little superhero movie that aims primarily towards children. It's amusing and cleanly told. For some that will be a more than welcome change to the franchise that they've considered to be off the rails from the beginning. For me, it's nice, but I look back at the cinematic ambition of the first two DCEU films and sigh, happy to have something better than okay but much less than the aims of where the franchise started.
Rating: 2.5/4
Originally published here. The post DCEU Films Ranked: #4 'Shazam!' (2019) appeared first on Bleeding Fool.  |
| Tom Cruise Movie Rescheduling Bumps Another Tom Cruise Film Posted: 11 Apr 2021 03:00 PM PDT More movies are moving for this upcoming summer slate. According to Deadline Top Gun: Maverick is moving to November 19th, which means Tom Cruise is bumping Tom Cruise as another of the actor's films, Mission: Impossible 7 moves from that date to May 27th, 2022 and Mission: Impossible 8 bumps back to July 7, 2023. This isn’t the first time Top Gun has been pushed back.
In response, Universal moved their film The Forever Purge into the vacated July 2nd slot making it the only Independence Day weekend release. Another film that had been slated that weekend, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, moved up two weeks to June 18th. It is possible that the move of Top Gun: Maverick was made necessary by Disney dropping Marvel's Black Widow on July 9th, possibly cutting the Cruise starring film's chances for big box office draw considerably as the first MCU film to hit theaters in two years is expected to get a lot of attention.
Maybe this will give the studio the time they need to correct the apparent Chinese influence which persuaded the studio to remove the Japanese and Taiwanese patches from Maverick’s jacket as seen in the first trailer? What’s going on Paramount?
 The post Tom Cruise Movie Rescheduling Bumps Another Tom Cruise Film appeared first on Bleeding Fool.  |
| ‘She-Hulk’ Disney+ Series Adds Renée Elise Goldsberry to Cast Posted: 11 Apr 2021 12:30 PM PDT Renée Elise Goldsberry is in talks to star in the She-Hulk series at Disney+, Variety confirmed. She joins previously announced series lead Tatiana Maslany and Ginger Gonzaga.
The series centers on lawyer Jennifer Walters (Maslany), cousin of Bruce Banner, who inherits his Hulk powers after she receives a blood transfusion from him. Unlike Bruce, however, when she hulks out Jennifer is able to retain most of her personality, intelligence, and emotional control. Details on the character Goldsberry would play are being kept under wraps. Reps for Goldsberry and Marvel did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Goldsberry won a Tony Award in 2016 for her role as Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton. Her other Broadway credits include The Color Purple, The Lion King, and Dreamgirls. Onscreen, she has appeared in series such as Altered Carbon at Netflix, The Good Wife at CBS, and One Life to Live at ABC. In film, she appeared in the Disney+ recording of Hamilton that was released last year, and has starred in other projects like Waves and The House with a Clock in Its Walls. The post ‘She-Hulk’ Disney+ Series Adds Renée Elise Goldsberry to Cast appeared first on Bleeding Fool.  |
| Warner Demonstrates Stunning Hypocrisy in ‘Space Jam 2’ Promo Posted: 11 Apr 2021 10:30 AM PDT
It would seem the studio that went out of its way to appease a social justice agenda – Lola Bunny’s hot original sport outfit replaced and sexuality toned down, and Pepe Le Pew banished altogether – has just demonstrated the utmost hypocrisy on all these alleged concerns about sexual assault in the Space Jam sequel’s advertising trailer, if anywhere, as Decider’s notified:
My my, this is certainly telling indeed. Curious enough so far that NY Times columnist Charles Blow, who complained about Pepe, hasn’t said anything about it. Because no matter how you view this, what WB did is put elements from a movie unsuitable for children into a movie that is aimed at children. Specifically, a gang of savage rapists, and it doesn’t take a genius to point out that spotlighting villains is a most disturbing problem, having seen it occur with franchises like Batman’s rogues gallery.
 And as noted by Bounding Into Comics, the Droogs aren’t the only mature movie baddies seen in the trailer:
I’d wager a guess that the filmmakers put in cameos by villains from A Clockwork Orange as a vague allusion to Donald Trump, since he’s sometimes been called an “orange bad guy”, suggesting they believe their political beliefs take precedence over considerations whether certain material is appropriate for kids. And one can wonder if the cameo by a character from a King novel has anything to do with his being such a far-leftist, who knows?
Well, if this is how the studio’s going to go about managing their movies, then all family audiences can save a lot of money, and just stay home playing cards instead. Something tells me, in sharp contrast to the panning of Pepe, this whole matter regarding what’s in the trailer – and possibly the movie proper – won’t be eliciting many protests by the people supposed concerned in the first place. Apparently, the only material that must matter to them in a kids movie is the adult concepts transferred from different films to the footage in said kids movies. Courtesy of filmmakers who clearly aren’t concerned about consistency in how they prepare everything for filming.
Originally published here. The post Warner Demonstrates Stunning Hypocrisy in ‘Space Jam 2’ Promo appeared first on Bleeding Fool.  |
| In Pre-Cult Culture, Christianity Was a Cultural Normal Posted: 11 Apr 2021 07:45 AM PDT
History shows us that whenever one culture conquers another, the victors take pains to rub out or co-opt their new subjects’ religion. This dynamic has been on full display for years as the twin cults of our rulers have waged an iconoclastic orgy against Christian culture.
One consequence of unfettered Pop Cult iconoclasm that’s seldom addressed is the challenge it creates for the faithful remnant working to rebuild a healthy culture. Dissident artists may do well to study the Catholic Church’s efforts to regain a foothold in Russia. The Soviets afforded the Orthodox some toleration, but they effectively wiped out Catholicism within the USSR.
Western creators who dissent from the Death Cult must similarly start from square one. The Cult’s worldview has permeated pop culture for so long, that many in Gens X and Y may have forgotten what pre-cult culture looked like, and most Millennials and Zoomers have no experience of it.
For a poignant reminder of what has been stolen from us, watch this clip from the 90s X-Men animated series:
That episode aired in 1995, but it already feels like watching a transmission from some parallel reality. Two short years before Cultural Ground Zero, a hit kids’ show on a major network could tell a story with unambiguously Christian themes, and no one batted an eye.
Pay special attention to the Disney watermark.
A mere quarter century later, the same cultural organs are still producing stores with spiritual messages, but instead of preaching the infinite mercy of Christ, they shriek the Death Cult’s insatiable malice.
Take what comfort you can in the fact that the Death Cult cannot build, but only destroy. Its zealots’ frenzy will one day burn itself out, along with the wreckage of Western civilization.
We must draw close to Christ that we may be ready to begin the slow work of rebuilding.
Originally published here The post In Pre-Cult Culture, Christianity Was a Cultural Normal appeared first on Bleeding Fool.  |
| Warner Media Revives their Classic ‘Hanna-Barbera’ Brand Posted: 11 Apr 2021 05:30 AM PDT Yaba-daba-doo and Jinkies! WarnerMedia has revitalized one of the most iconic names in animation history with the establishment of London-based Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe.
The newly renamed facility, which was formerly known as Cartoon Network Studios Europe, operating from Great Marlborough Productions, will be WarnerMedia's flagship television animation studio within Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Sam Register, president of Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) and Cartoon Network Studios (CNS), and Vanessa Brookman, head of kids EMEA, will jointly head the studio. The original studio, Hanna-Barbera Productions, was founded in 1957 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and created several iconic characters including Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear and hundreds more. The studio will build on its pipeline of local productions, including The Amazing World of Gumball, The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe, and Elliott from Earth while also seeking out new production opportunities.
via Variety The post Warner Media Revives their Classic ‘Hanna-Barbera’ Brand appeared first on Bleeding Fool.  |
collection of over 20,000 memorabilia items, along with acquiring new collectibles, to create provably unique digital collectibles linked to the physical assets. From superheroes to supervillains, nostalgic favorites to scream kings and queens, Wizard World will connect our fans' current passions to their future digital collections.
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