Published Wednesday July 14th, 2010 Sandy Cohen, The Associated Press LOS ANGELES, Calif. - "Tron," ''Harry Potter," ''The Green Hornet," and Brangelina? In this film publicity image released by Columbia Pictures, Angelina Jolie stars as "Evelyn Salt" in a scene from "Salt." (AP Photo/Columbia Pictures - Sony, Andrew Schwartz This year's Comic-Con has something for everyone, and might even be graced by Hollywood's first couple. No longer strictly the domain of nerds and fanboys, San Diego's four-day pop-culture festival promises film and TV fodder for fans of all kinds, plus video games, toys, collectibles and costumes galore when it kicks off next week. "I can't wait," says filmmaker Kevin Smith, an annual regular considered royalty at the convention. "Comic-Con for me is — Muslims like to go to kneel, what is it, three times a day toward Mecca and whatnot. I do the same thing for San Diego and that massive building... It's a real good source of kind of State of the Union for [...]

Windsor, Wisconsin – Out of the Box Publishing announces the 2010 release of 10 Days in the Americas, the fifth in the award winning 10 Days series, which also includes 10 Days in Africa, 10 Days in Asia, 10 Days in the USA and 10 Days in Europe. In 10 Days in the Americas, players use destination and transportation tiles to chart a course through North, Central, and South America as well as the Caribbean islands— touring by airplane, cruise ship, or on foot. With a little luck and clever planning, you just might outmaneuver your fellow travelers and be the first to complete a ten day journey! Out of the Box is offering free rules variations for the 10 Days games on its website, including 20 Days around the World, a variation that combines four of the titles. 10 Days in the Americas was released on June 28th and is available in specialty toy stores and on Amazon.com. 10 Days in the Americas is [...]

Monographs keep on rolling in: this week we feature an exploration of Call of Cthulhu roleplaying during the Great Depression (a timely book, these days), and a look at the age of the Vikings and their myths and beliefs. CHILDREN OF THE STORM Experts predict that the want and suffering of the Great Depression will create "a generation of cannibals." Panicked people flee their homes to escape a devastating invasion and poison gas attack. Life comes to a standstill as people watch a strange dust descend from the sky. The spread of the Great Depression and the first rumblings of a new World War cause a sense of angst and doubt to grow; fueled by rumors, media, and personal expectations that things will get even worse. Dust storms sweep across the continent, and newsreels show the collapse of Europe and Asia. Adults worry that the next generation will grow up to become criminals and barbarians. No bad news sounds implausible, no crisis seems unbelievable. CHILDREN [...]

It's budding time in the shoggoth den here at Chaosium, and a few of our folks made use of their extra fingers, toes, and other appendages to get a gibbering mound of work done. NEW MONOGRAPHS The holdings of the British Empire included present day Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, and parts of Iran and Afghanistan. It was an area comparable in size to the continental United States, or Europe west of the Ukraine. MYSTERIES OF THE RAJ is designed to provide enough information to set Call of Cthulhu adventures and campaigns during Gaslight India (approximately 1890 a.d.). This book is also available in a PDF edition. DUST TO DUST is a supplement to Ashes to Ashes, a Basic Roleplaying setting that casts the players as mavericks in a fantasy world that is losing a war it doesn't know it's fighting. Hidden demons and their mortal minions manipulate events from the shadows, experimenting with social mechanisms to steer their human cattle to a dark future. [...]

Published Wednesday June 23rd, 2010 The Associated Press PHILADELPHIA - The Man of Steel will walk across America to reconnect with everyday people in a story that will feature actual cities, towns and neighbourhoods submitted by readers. Shown is a copy of the 700th issue of the Superman comic displayed at Fat Jack's Comicrypt in Philadelphia, Wednesday, June 23, 2010. Dan DiDio, DC's co-publisher told The Associated Press on Wednesday The Man of Steel will hoof it across America in future issues as he tries to reconnect with everyday people in a story that will feature actual towns and locations submitted by readers. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke Superman, one of DC Comics' flagship fictional heroes, begins his journey next month in Philadelphia, where he'll embark on a 12-issue, cross-country walk — no flying, thank you — through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington. Not on the travel itinerary is a swing through the Deep South. Dan DiDio, DC's co-publisher, told The Associated [...]

Lovecraft envisioned a world in which humanity is ignorant of cosmic realities. When the bleak truth is revealed it terrifies us, for it offers no hope of our salvation. Cultists are the gatekeepers to this knowledge. Their aim is to keep secret the existence of their gods by any means possible, and to free their gods from their slumbering prisons—thus bringing about humanity’s final downfall. CTHULHU'S DARK CULTS provides keyhole-glimpses into these secret orders, all irredeemable and hell-bent for humanity’s demise. This all-new anthology makes a great addition to our CALL OF CTHULHU FICTION line. RECENT RELEASES • RISE OF THE DEAD: THE RAID is the second in a series of b-movie style post-apocalyptic scenarios for Call of Cthulhu set in the very near future • MURDER IN THE FOOTLIGHTS is a short pulp Basic Roleplaying adventure suitable for two to four adventurers of normal to heroic experience. • DRAGON LINES is a game of high flying action, written for the Basic Roleplaying system. Thanks, [...]

Published Tuesday May 11th, 2010 Michael Oliveira, The Canadian Press TORONTO - Actor Anthony Daniels, who played the golden worry-wart robot C-3PO in all six "Star Wars" movies, says even he is constantly surprised by the longevity of the classic franchise. Actor Anthony Daniels, who played the golden worry-wart robot C-3PO in all six “Star Wars” movies, says even he is constantly surprised by the longevity of the classic franchise. Thirty-three years after the first "Star Wars" film was released the show still goes on, now with a multimedia stage production called "Star Wars: In Concert," which comes to Canada for 13 shows in June and July. "I'm surprised 'Star Wars' has gone on being, in a way, a growing phenomenon," said Daniels, who is also currently working on a "Star Wars" ride for Disney amusement parks, a cartoon series, and recently did voice work for a GPS device and a slot machine. "My career as C-3PO sort of flourishes and it's a constant surprise [...]

Published Saturday May 1st, 2010 By DAVID GERMAIN The Associated Press Hollywood heroes are expanding their age demographic this summer. With a new karate kid, a middle-aged iron man, the return of the school girl-teen wolf-vampire love triangle, and a 1,500-year-old sorcerer, studios seem to have something for everyone from 9 to 999. The busy season starts May 7 with Robert Downey Jr. in heavy-metal mode again in Iron Man 2, as the billionaire inventor turned superhero fights public pressure to share his technology and faces a new enemy (Mickey Rourke) with his own arsenal of gadgets. Things never get easier, for an action hero or an actor hoping his sequel can outdo his blockbuster original. "I just thought it was going to be easier and more fun, but I thought, you know what? Maybe you've got to really roll up our sleeves," Downey said. "We had to really, really, really redouble our efforts to kind of make it something that seemed it would stand [...]

Many retailers try to turn consumers on to popular habit with Free Comic Book Day Published Friday April 30th, 2010 By Bernard C. Cormier Times & Transcript Staff May 1 will be the 9th Annual Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) at comic book specialty stores around the world that have accounts with Diamond Comic Distributors. It happens during the first Saturday, each May. As one would expect, the event results in physical movement patterns among comic fans that are similar to that of a university freshman year pub-crawl in which participants get plastered for free. You get the picture. Whether you "get" it or not, you'll be able to get free comics, especially printed for the event, at most comic book stores on that day, providing that the establishment you visit is participating. FCBD is the result of North America's comic book industry attempt to profitably rebuild itself in the late-1990s and attract new clients while keeping the ones it already had. Much to their [...]

Published Wednesday April 28th, 2010 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WELLINGTON, New Zealand - "Lord of the Rings" filmmaker Peter Jackson has been made a knight - a real one - accepting the honour Wednesday in his native New Zealand on behalf of the thousands of people who helped make his movies. "I feel incredibly humbled," Jackson said at an investiture ceremony in the capital, Wellington, where New Zealand's head of state, Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand, did the honours in lieu of Queen Elizabeth II. His knighthood was for services to the arts in New Zealand. "The truth is, making movies is not a solo effort - it involves hundreds of people, thousands of people - so I feel as though I'm accepting it on behalf of the industry," he said. Jackson has risen from a maker of small-budget schlock-horror films to the heights of Hollywood. His crowning achievement remains the three-movie adaptation of "Lord of the Rings," which transformed the rugged landscape of New Zealand [...]