This past week digital comic book powerhouse ComiXology announced its new “Submit” platform. This opens up the popular ComiXology store (a mobile app) to independent comics creators.
Think of it as the equivalent of Amazon’s Kindle Direct publishing program. Instead of seeking out a publisher to support his or her work, a suitably inspired comic creator can market the work to ComiXology’s users. ComiXology promises a 50/50 split on the profits: net on mobile sales, and gross (less credit card transactions) from their website. (more…)
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, known to fans as TheLBD, reframes Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride & Prejudice as an interconnected series of vlogs and social media accounts. The central YouTube account is LizzieBennet, and it was here less than a year ago that Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet (Ashley Clements) began her video diary with the immortal first line:
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
Today TheLBD announced that the final episode would be episode 100, set to post on March 28th. The reaction on Tumblr was swift, as if a thousand thousand voices cried out at once at warp factor 9.
This coming Monday members of the show’s writing staff will be the guests of honor at the monthly Transmedia Los Angeles meeting, moderated by yours truly. Read more about the series and the event here.
Portions of this post are cross-posted from TransmediaLA.org.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., stanning Nichelle Nichols, was instrumental in ensuring that the actress continued to play Lt. Uhura on Star Trek just as she was considering leaving television for Broadway.
This courtesy of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Star Talk podcast, which re-published its archived conversation with Nichols this week in honor of Dr. King’s birthday. In the episode, Tyson talks to Nichols about her groundbreaking role, and her talents in dancing, writing, and singing (which she apparently did on Star Trek’s first season) that left her longing to return to back to the stage around 1966. That’s when she met Dr. King at a Beverly Hills fundraiser for the NAACP. (more…)
Kinect has a new competitor in the gestural sensing technology market — Leap Motion. AirHarp is the result of a weekend hacking session with a Leap Motion dev board. As a musician, the main thing I was looking for watching the demo video is latency (response time). Lo and behold, AirHarp seems legit in that area. But until I see someone actually play a song, it won’t get more than cool points. -Brandon McFarland (more…)
Now that recent events have put Star Wars on my mind I’m going to tell you about what I WOULD be doing with this weekend if I wasn’t already knee deep in two other books.
I’d be reading the latest Star Wars novel from writer Timothy Zahn, the Han Solo focused Scoundrels.
I mean, come on, look at that cover.
Listen: when people ask me what my religion is I often respond with “lapsed Jedi”. I grew up obsessed with Star Wars like a lot of the kids in my generation did. Even during the first dark times, after Return of the Jedi came out I held onto hope that there would “be another.” Before the prequels could turn that desire into something twisted and evil one man came and paid my hope off and then some.
That man was Timothy Zahn, and he lit the fire that became Star Wars‘ “expanded universe”.
Last night in Las Vegas the International Academy of Web Television held their second annual Awards show. There were almost as many categories as there are kinds of web shows: in other words a lot of awards were given out.
While you can check out the complete list here, I wanted to poke around a bit and pick out a few highlights from my point of view. Which is code for talking about shows whose creators I’ve had a chance to interview.
What? Have you ever counted the number of web series there are? Go ahead. I’ll be waiting right here. See you in 2113.
Back at StoryWorld I interest interest the pleasure of meeting Apollo Robbins, the self-styled “Gentleman Thief”. Robbins is a professional pickpocket– that is, he entertains by picking people’s pockets and teaching his audiences a thing or two about how our brains work when it comes to attention.
Robbins was there, like the rest of us, to better understand the shape that the entertainment industry is going to take. Opportunities are arising for unconventional talents like his. My interest was piqued and I hoped to rope him into an interview. To my chagrin he let me know that the New Yorker had beat me to the punch by a country mile.
Well if you have to lose, lose big.
The profile piece on Robbins by the New Yorker’s Adam Green is published in the January 7th issue and can be read online now. It’s brilliantly written. One of the most engaging profile pieces I’ve had the pleasure of sitting down with in a long while. It’s a story with everything: magic, crime, neuroscience, debilitating childhood diseases, Vegas. (See, I told you, everything.)
The e-book market is getting more interesting with every passing day. Your everyday, vanilla digital books that can be accessed on e-ink readers are going strong, but the ascendency of the iPad– and the race in the tablet space to catch up– is opening up a new market of enhanced e-books.
Just in time too, because the traditional the e-ink reader market is starting to implode.
Bonus videos, commentary tracks, pages that disappear and all kinds of other tricks have been brought into the mix in books aimed at adults. The real action in the e-book space, however, might just be in kid’s section; and the humble “Choose Your Own Adventure” style format could have the most to offer the realm of digital books.
Ryan Modjeski is a game designer and former magician who has turned his attention to the kid’s e-book market.
“The picture based adventure game story is what I was building before,” Modjeski told me. “The last four or five years. When I saw the iPad, something sparked in me.” (more…)
If you’re one of those lucky enough to have time off for the holidays after about three days of catching up with friends and family you’re likely to go a little bonkers. You’re going to want just find a nice dark room and watch some movies.
Unfortunately your Netflix queue is so long you don’t even know where to begin. Seriously, it’s been stressing you out. Which is why you’ve only been using it to catch up on 30 Rock and sneak episodes of LA Ink when everyone thinks you’re just surfing Facebook.
What? No. I’m talking about YOU.
In any case, here’s a handy-dandy guide for what belongs on the top of your Instant Watch queue– including those that are at the top of mine– over the break.
Now streaming: the archive of our Google Hangout On-Air with Jesse Vigil of Psychic Bunny, one of the designers of the new audio adventure game FREEQ (iOS/Android).
I first encountered Sifteo Cubes back at IndieCade last October, and spent some time playing around with the little blocks which I first mistook for iPod Nanos.
