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Gears Of War 15One of my DC pals, Jim Chadwick, is a Wildstorm editor making the switch to DC's Digital Comics division in 2011. One of his print books, Gears Of War #15, goes on sale this week. Written by NY Times' best-selling author Karen Traviss (she also writes the GoW novels) and illustrated by Colin Wilson, Chadwick posted on Facebook "I'm very proud of this one and you should buy it!"

Author Karen Traviss wrote about the stand-alone issue on her blog, and lays out the schedule of her upcoming work on the series. I like her enthusiasm: "It's not the first comic I've written (I'd turned in two DLS scripts before we had to change the schedule, and those really were my first) but it's my debut on the shelves, so that matters to me. Some of my writer friends find it odd that I set such store by comics given my career, but I just do." She also has mad props for artist Wilson.

For more info on Traviss, here's a solid interview with her from Edge.

As a stand-alone issue in the Gears Of War pantheon, I'm checking this one out.

[Artwork: Cover to Gears of War #15]


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Halo UprisingMicrosoft, a company you might’ve heard of, is looking for someone to wear their Halo proudly.

They want a Consumer Products Associate to join their “Halo Franchise Strategy & Business Development Team.”

The Halo franchise “has exceeded $2 billion dollars in revenue, spanning multimedia and merchandise such as collectibles, fiction, comic books, apparel and accessories.”

As a Consumer Products Associate, you’ll “help define Halo Franchise’s positioning both internally and externally by assisting in the development and execution of innovative marketing, long-term growth strategy, partner selection and business development.” Whew. Busy day!

You get to manage the art, marketing and game code assets while working with game studios to retrieve and deliver them to licensees.

That’s the all-important responsibility. The rest is just standard administrative and hand-holding.

Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Microsoft - Halo


Trucks&Skulls2.1As everyone knows, Trucks are good and Skulls are evil. And when they get together…it's smashing. I'd read a comic book called Trucks & Skulls; I'd watch a movie called Trucks & Skulls; and I'd give my kids a bunch of toys called Trucks & Skulls.

What Trucks & Skulls is right now, though, is a game app for the iPhone and the iPad.

It hasn't been out for much longer than a month and already it's racking up the awards, the great reviews and the downloads.

The reason I pimp for this (again!) is that the game comes from Appy Entertainment and its Secret World Headquarters north of San Diego.

Click to continue reading Appy Entertainment: Trucks & Skulls Wins Again

Read More | Appy Entertainment

Trucks & SkullsDo you like Monster Trucks and Laughing Skulls? And stuff that blows up real good?

Then you’ll want to play iPad’s Game of the Week: Trucks & Skulls!

It was created by the gang at Appy Entertainment, which is run by a couple of friends of mine (Chris Ulm and Paul O’Connor) who are both comic book industry veterans. Ulm is the guy who came up with the idea for the Ultraverse, and O’Connor wrote several dozen comics back in the go-go 1980s.

Click to continue reading Trucks & Skulls For Your iPad!


Depression Era Job SeekerI love checking out Craigslist. It’s like channel-surfing with classified ads. You can always find interesting things, and before you know it, several hours of your day have vanished. Let’s see what comic book jobs are out there:

In New York, A.P.N.G. Enterprises has a “bold comic book series” called New-Gen, which they’re rolling out “for multiple platforms including movies, TV, video games and of course more comics, distributed by Marvel.”

And they need a couple of interns for three-months, rewarded with college credit. Specifically, they want “people who know and have a passion for comic books and science fiction to help us get the word out about the world of New-Gen.”

If you’re up on the social media apps, and aren’t afraid to go old-school by handing out fliers or working their booth at the New York Comic Con in October, poke your resume over there.

Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Checking Out Craigslist


APPY3
Chris Ulm was the guy who came up with the idea of the Ultraverse. I should know - I watched him do it. When Bob Jacob merged his Acme Interactive with Malibu Comics and became co-president with Scott Rosenberg, he wanted some ideas about what Malibu could do in its post-Image Comics years. “And bring me steak, not sizzle!” he demanded like a little kid who wanted the biggest piece of birthday cake.

Ulm pitched a couple of ideas. One was “Hire Jim Shooter” (which the company almost did, 2 1/2 times over the years). The second was the idea that became the Ultraverse (though its working title was the Megaverse, until we discovered that it was already a trademarked universe). Ulm served as Editor-In-Chief of the Ultraverse and co-created Rune with Barry Windsor-Smith.

After Marvel bought Malibu Comics, Ulm and took a look at his employment agreement and realized he could do something else. He went north and jumped into video games at Oddworld Inhabitants (check out Abe’s Exoddus and Munch’s Oddysee!). After Oddworld, he went to work farther south and joined the game company Sammy which later spun off into his own High Moon Studios (where he worked on the Bourne franchise and created the Darkwatch vampire western video game). Last year, he stepped away from Sammy and with some of his Sammy pals, including one-time comic book writer Paul O’Connor, launched Appy Entertainment – a game company that makes applications, apps, for the iPhone.

 

Click to continue reading CHRIS ULM: The Ultraverse and Appy Entertainment


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