BOOM! Studios sells out!

What a bunch of sellouts… seriously!

Only ten days after having released NORTH WIND #1, the company announced that they sold every single copy in the original print run. This is a pretty special event when you consider anyone can read it legitimately for free online.

“This promotion with MySpace Comic Books has helped us sell through all of our copies of NORTH WIND #1 and has brought new customers into comic stores across the nation. I couldn’t have been happier when Diamond called to tell us that we sold out.” - Chip Mosher, Director of Marketing and Sales

BOOM! Studios is working closely with Diamond Comics Distributor and evaluating the demand for a second printing.

“We are looking at the unfilled re-orders carefully at the moment. But a second printing looks like it may just happen,” said Mosher.

Perhaps the free distribution model will work as well in the comic book industry as it appears to be working in the music industry. It was only a few short months ago that Radiohead experienced international attention and success with a “pay whatever the bloody hell you want for these MP3s” campaign on their critically acclaimed and highly downloaded record, In Rainbows.

Boom Studios - NORTH WIND Comic Trailer is a MySpace Hit

I am a collector of comics. There, I said it! How liberating…

Seriously though, I’m not ashamed of my hobby. In fact, I quite enjoy advertising the fact that I’m a geek with a love for superheroes. Not everything I read is superhero based like Spider-Man and the X-Men. I really enjoy Y: The Last Man as well (a story about the sole surviving male human after the spontaneous, simultaneous death of every male mammal on Earth).

I’m always looking at new titles and recently discovered some Warhammer books put out by BOOM! Studios, while researching material for my Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning fansite, The Greenskin. Upon reading my brief shout out, their sales and marketing department contacted me and placed me on the press list. How cool is that? I’m a bloody INSIDER!

Another book produced by Boom! Studios, but unrelated to Warhammer is NORTH WIND. Here’s a brief synopsis from their website:

The future: mankind has suffered a disaster. Where there was once a lush, thriving planet, there is now only glaciers and snow. The cities that still stand are buried under the surface in caves of ice. Skinrunners trade valuable pelts for rations, warmth and survival. Into this violent, damaged world, a hero will rise… in the vein of Mad Max and The Road Warrior and for fans of Antony Johnston’s Wasteland.

This comic is right up my alley. Niche dystopic scenarios are a great place to explore various aspects of human social behaviour and comment on our flaws. They’re also great at juxtaposing it with our greatest traits. Reducing humans to their baser selves is usually a recipe for explosive action and conflict.

BOOM! released a video trailer for this title, and you can view it here. They also released a completely free issue of North Wind #1 at MySpace Comics, and you can check that out here. According to a recent press release, they’ve had over 5000 views in 48 hours. Not too shabby if you ask me!  Here’s the full release:

NORTH WIND TRAILER FEATURED ON MYSPACETV WITH OVER 5,000 VIEWS IN 48 HOURS
Trailer supports simultaneous release of NORTH WIND in stores and online at MySpace Comic Books

LOS ANGELES- January 8th, 2008 - Five thousand views in fourty-eight hours. That was the final result when the trailer for NORTH WIND, BOOM! Studios’ latest mini-series, was featured on MySpaceTV over the weekend.

Supporting the historic simultaneous release of NORTH WIND in stores and online at MySpace Comic Books (http://myspace.com/comicbooks), the NORTH WIND trailer serves as another way to get people excited about BOOM! Studios’ latest comic book offering.“MySpace Comic Books directly targets their 145,000 friends, but we knew we wanted to reach beyond that targeted group. Getting the NORTH WIND trailer featured on MySpaceTv in conjunction with our current promotion with MySpace Comic Books allowed us to interest a wider group on MySpace. And, you know, doing a trailer is just a cool way to promote any comic!” Chip Mosher, Marketing and Sales Director for BOOM! Studios said.

The trailer for NORTH WIND can be seen here: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=25270023To produce the trailer, BOOM! Studios turned to Craig Kennedy of CK Creative, winner of last years’ LEFT ON MISSION trailer contest.

“It was great coming back and doing another trailer for BOOM! Studios especially as NORTH WIND is such a great epic concept. It gave me a chance to make a different style of trailer from the one I did for LEFT ON MISSION. Something eerie, desolate, cold and epic…well, that’s what I hope people get from it anyway,” said Craig Kennedy.Written by David DiGilio, best known for writing the film EIGHT BELOW and creating the ABC TV show TRAVELER, NORTH WIND is a five issue mini-series set in a future Los Angeles after a new ice age has covered the earth. NORTH WIND chronicles the rise of a new hero in a dystopian world where people burn books for fuel, and Skinrunners trade valuable pelts for rations and warmth. The first issue features a cover by Andrew Huerta with interior artwork by newcomer and soon to be fan-favorite, Alex Cal.

MySpace, the world’s most popular social network, and BOOM! Studios, a leader in comic book and graphic novel publishing, announced a partnership January 3rd to provide the MySpace Comic Book community with free digital downloads of BOOM! Studios’ highly anticipated new comic book series, NORTH WIND. Throughout the five-issue mini-series, MySpace users will be able to download all the issue of NORTH WIND for free exclusively on the MySpace Comic Books profile (http://myspace.com/comicbooks) the day each issue hits store shelves.About BOOM! Studios

Winner of Wizard Magazine’s “Best New Publisher,” BOOM! Studios (http://www.boom-studios.com) is a unique new publishing house specializing in high-profile projects from some of the industry’s biggest talents. Founded by the creator of the TV show EUREKA, Andrew Cosby, and his partner Ross Richie, BOOM! Studios continues to be on the leading edge of comic and graphic novel publishing.

BOOM! Studios co-founder Andrew Cosby’s television series, EUREKA, recently finished its second season at the Sci-Fi Channel, having launched to impressive ratings this past summer and consistently winning several key demographics on basic cable. EUREKA is the highest-rated series in the Sci-Fi Channel’s history.

Team Fortress 2 Rocks!

I had a bit of spare time over the extended weekend and a friend convinced me to install Team Fortress 2. After racking up about 8 hours of playtime, I can safely say that I’m not disappointed with my decision!

It was a bit intimidating to start up without having read any instructions or even game reviews prior to my install, however, it didn’t take long to work out the rust from my old school FPS fingers. I used to be a big fan of Unreal Tournament 1 & 2 and even Quake 3 to a point. Since those games, I’ve been playing MMORPGs like DAOC and WoW, so the twitchiness sort of left me for a while.

My first few hours in TF2 were spent as enemy fodder. In fact, it probably took me about 30 minutes to even get my first kill. I slowly started to adapt and figure out key strategies for the various classes and by my 8th hour, spent late last night, I even managed to rack up 7 straight kills as a Demoman before finally getting sniped.

My top 3 favorite classes are probably the Demoman, Medic, and Soldier. I’ve yet to try out the Engineer, and I think honing my skills as a Spy would be a lot of fun in the long run. I don’t know how long the novelty will last, but for now it’s pretty fun, even though it can also be just as frustrating if you get on a bad team or face really skilled opponents.

Thumbs up for now anyway!

That’s one angry donut!

I just found this in my sister’s facebook album.

That’s one angry donut!

The Greenskin has Launched - Webcomicy goodness

Howdy folks,

I finally ironed out the bugs and officially launched my Warhammer Online blog, called The Greenskin last week. If you click on this comic, it will take you to my contest page, explaining how you could win an MMO Calendar and WAR beta key.

Cheers!

My New Warhammer Online Blog

I recently created a new blog (almost live… pesky technical glitches) dedicated to EA Mythic’s upcoming MMORPG Warhammer Online: The Age of Reckoning! Please take a moment to stop by and have a look around!

Find the latest Warhammer Online news, advice, opinions, and webcomics at The Greenskin!

I have the stories penned for at least 12 weeks worth of The Greenskin webcomic, but I’m a terrible drawer, so it may take a week or so before I start getting them up for everyone to enjoy!

WoW Shadow Priest // Ultimate PvP gear at level 70! (Version 2)

UPDATE 1: APPARENTLY I FORGOT SEASON 3 GEAR. I’M ADDING IT NOW. PLEASE STAY TUNED!

UPDATE 2: ALL THE NEW SEASON 3 GEAR IS IN!

Back by popular demand, here’s version 2 of the Ultimate PvP Gear Guide for Shadow Priests (World of Warcraft). As with version 1, this guide showcases only the best armour, weapons, and accessories that can be gained solely through PvP (ie. purchased with honour and battleground/arena marks). PvE drops need not apply!

This set aims to provide:

• The highest possible + spell damage
• The highest possible stamina and intelligence
• Good resilience

Now, on to the good stuff!

***VIEW THE SPREADSHEET***

Buying this full set will cost you:

• Arena (13,525)
• Honour (158,312)
• Alterac Valley (60)
• Arathi Basin (60)
• Eye of the Storm (50)
• Warsong Gulch (20)

Stat/Effect Summary (before enchantments)

• Stamina - 674
• Intellect - 334

• + Spell Damage - 812
• + Healing - 804
• + Resilience - 416
• Other - 32 spell critical, +3% spell crit damage, 17 hit, 14 penetration, 6 mp5, -3 seconds Psychic Scream cooldown, -2 seconds Weakened Soul effect
  

• Trinket 1 - Medallion (use): dispel Fear/Stun/Poly/MC
• Trinket 2 - Battlemaster (use): instant HP buff 1750 (15 seconds)
  

Gear Links:

Weapon - Vengeful Gladiator’s Gavel (3,150 arena)
Offhand - Vengeful Gladiator’s Endgame (1,125 arena)
Wand - Vengeful Gladiator’s Touch of Defeat (1,000 arena)

Boots - Vindicator’s Dreadweave Stalkers (17,850 honour, 40 eye of the storm)
Chest - Vengeful Gladiator’s Satin Robe (1,875 arena)
Gloves - Vengeful Gladiator’s Satin Gloves (1,125 arena)
Head - Vengeful Gladiator’s Satin Hood (1,875 arena)
Legs - Vengeful Gladiator’s Satin Leggings (1,875 arena)
Shoulders - Vengeful Gladiator’s Satin Mantle (1,500 arena)

Back - Sergeant’s Heavy Cape (9,435 honour, 20 arathi basin)
Belt - Vindicator’s Dreadweave Belt (17,850 honour, 40 arathi basin)
Bracer - Vindicator’s Dreadweave Cuffs (11,794 honour, 20 warsong gulch)
Neck - Vindicator’s Pendant of Dominance (15,300 honour, 10 eye of the storm)
Ring - Vindicator’s Band of Dominance (15,300 honour, 10 alterac valley)
Ring - Vindicator’s Band of Salvation (15,300 honour, 10 alterac valley)
Trinket - Medallion of the Horde/Alliance (16,983 honour)
Trinket - Battlemaster’s Audacity (30,000 honour, 40 alterac valley)

Gem Links:

Meta (x1) - Chaotic Skyfire Diamond (crafted)
Red (x3) - Glowing Shadowsong Amethyst (crafted)
Orange (x1) - Potent Ornate Topaz (8,500 honour)
Orange (x3) - Potent Pyrestone (crafted)

There you have it! Please leave your questions or feedback in a comment below!

/////////////////////////////////////////////////

Here’s a list of all my other Shadow Priest articles:

• Shadow Priest - Best damage gear for PvP or PvE…
• Top spell damage gear for Shadow Priests
• Shadow Priest 5-Man Viability in TBC
• WoW Shadow Priest // Ultimate PvP gear (70)!
• WoW Shadow Priest // Ultimate PvP gear (60)!

Confessions of a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Newbie: Day 6

Smaller class today… time for some Q&A!

Last night’s class only had about 8 students, so it was a great opportunity for us to ask Matt to demonstrate some cool techniques (e.g. flying ankle-lock). He also answered questions like: How can I escape a triangle choke?, What are some other ways for me to get out of someone’s full guard?, and Now that I have him in my full guard, what should I try going for?

These may all seem like basic questions but there are plenty of options and counters to each, so it’s nice to know several different escapes, subs, or submission preventions in case your favorite method isn’t working.

We also spent a bit of time at the beginning of the class working on several shoot-driven takedown techniques (single leg, double, etc.). I found this part pretty difficult because I stand 6′5″ tall and have to squat very low to nab someone’s legs. At my height, it’s very difficult to maintain a good “show ‘em what you got” posture when initiating a lower body grapple. “Show ‘em what you got,”  basically means that you stick your chest and ass out simultaneously while squatting low. I used to think I had pretty good balance for my height (it comes from being a hockey goalie) but these takedowns felt quite awkward…

Part of the problem is that I naturally want to lead with my right foot forward (Southpaw stance), however, my right arm is stronger than my left. I have this issue in hockey as well in that I play “normal” as a forward (stick blade to my right), but I hold the stick that way as a goalie too (catching with my right hand). It’s not very traditional. I suppose this would be more of a problem in boxing than jiu jitsu as there’s not really any striking involved. It definitely took some adjusting.

Here’s what we worked on:

• Single leg takedown -
• Double leg takedown -
• Chin control + choke from sprawl -
• Chin control + choke from grapple -
• Escape full guard 1 -
• Escape full guard 2 -
• Prevent triangle choke -
• Escape triangle choke -

I’ll fill these in when I get some time.

Kanye West - Homecoming (ft. Chris Martin!!??)

OK… so I’m listening through Kanye’s Graduation front to back for the first time, and I come across track 12, Homecoming. It begins with some standard beats overlaid with cheesy, MIDI-esque piano that’s actually quite catchy. Kanye pipes up about Chicago and in comes… who?  Chris Martin of bloody Coldplay!

“I’m comin’ home again… Do you think about me now and then? Do you think about me now and theeeeeeeeen? Cuz I’m comin’ home again. Cooooooomin’ home agaaaain.”

Daaaaaaang yo. That’s come gangsta shit comin’ from one of the UK’s favorite sons. It’s almost surreal to hear the front-man from one of my favorite bands layin’ up-tempo chorus vox for Mr. West.  It gets even weirder near the end when he starts harmonizing “Oooh e oh e oh! Oooh e oh e oh!” It was like a throwback to his roots yo, a la Sting.

Listen at YouTube… if you dare!

Confessions of a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Newbie: Day 5

Trying to stay alive on day five!

Yesterday’s class was exhausting but fun! This was the most packed I’ve seen the gym since I started and that’s because we have a tournament in Winnipeg, Manitoba coming up this weekend. Also, five weeks from now there’s another one down in Superior, Wisconsin (US).

Am I going, you ask? While I might be seeing signs of very minor improvement having spent a mere five weeks in the gym, there’s no way in hell I feel ready for competition. About the only thing I know how to do with any confidence is establish a position but I’m still quite shaky in maintaining it for extended periods of time. Also, my cardio is the craps right now and I’d get wrecked in any match extending beyond five minutes.

Is that a cop-out? Hells ya! But aside from not being ready physically, I’m also attending two concerts this weekend (Elliott Brood and Craig Cardiff) while my wife drive down to Minneapolis to see a So You Think You Can Dance performance. There are other competition events coming up in late 2007 / early 2008 that I may participate in, so long as I can get matched up against someone with roughly the same experience as me.

Here’s what we learned last night:

• Shoot-fake neck takedown - Basically, you’re both standing and you want to get into a tighter clinch for the takedown. Fake the shot by dropping to one knee, then immediately stand back up and lunge in with your left arm, hooking his neck with forearm perpendicular to his collar bone (pressed tightly to maintain grip). Grab his right bicep with your left hand and start pushing and pulling him around with your body and hands. Try make him push towards you and immediately walk backwards to create a small gap between your bodies. Shove his head under your right armpit in a headlock maneuver. If you don’t have any arms in there, you might have a good chance at a guillotine. If you do, it can still be done. If you don’t have the best grip, pull him down to the mat and start working on other subs or positions, making sure you sprawl out nicely
• Anaconda choke - From the previous takedown, you might be able to sink in an anaconda choke. In the previous maneuver, his head should be under your right armpit so reach up with your right hand and place it on his right shoulder, perpendicular to your right arm (sunk under his neck). Grip the bicep of your left arm with your right hand, which should clinch up his neck nicely. Take a quick breath to create a little room to sink it in as tightly as you can. Now, roll your body towards your left shoulder, putting both of you on your backs. Take another quick breath to cinch it even tighter and start walking your body towards his left hip, turning this choke into a death grip.
• Arm-bar from full guard - Start out in full guard with your opponent postured up and his forearms on your belly. Reach under his left arm and over his right arm, gripping his elbow/tricep with your right hand. Bend your body and head so your torso curves towards the right. Reach behind the left side of his neck with your left hand, crossing his face with your forearm. Push his body to his right (your left). At the same time, release your guard. Take your left leg over to the left side of his head, resting your knee around his neck.  At the same time as you’re positioning your left leg, your right leg should be sliding up the left side of his body. By this point, his arm should be between your thighs. Now you want to tighten the grip. Do not cross or lock your ankles as that will weaken the pressure between your knees. Instead, try keeping your feet parallel and squeeze your knees towards each other for the most snug grip. Pop your hips while holding his extended arm and you’ve got your arm-bar.
• Oma Plata - If your grip was loose and he managed to pop out his extended arm, you can take his other trapped arm (in this case, his left) and turn it into an oma plata. I can’t quite remember the exact steps for this right now so I’ll come back and edit it ASAP. Basically you want to have it trapped between your legs and on the outside of one of your hips. You’ll also want him with his belly to the mat. Slowly pivot your way up, twisting his shoulder opposite from the way it naturally rotates and he’ll tap.
• Clock choke (with gi) - You have his back and you’re positioned on his left side. Bring up your right knee to block his left hip from rolling. Reach over his back and under his right armpit with your right arm. Grip his right sleeve with your right hand. Now, try trapping his left arm between your legs. Once the arm is down there, reach through the front side of his left shoulder with your right hand, sink your left forearm under his neck, and grip his collar on the right side. Immediately, swing your legs towards the front of his body so that your right hip is against his left shoulder, preferably against his left cheek. Tighten up your choke grip and start walking in a clockwise spin with your legs. He can try spinning with you to reduce pressure on his neck, so you’ll want to walk faster than him to sink it in deeply enough for him to tap.
• Sweep (from turtled position - gave up your back) - Pretend you’re in the same position as your opponent was in the clock choke description. Remember that if his weight is higher on your body, you can pop up your hips and walk backwards and try to draw guard. If his weight is near your butt, you can posture up and try standing. If his weight is centered and you can do neither, reach out with your left arm and grip the his left pant leg. Pop up your hips and maneuver your sprawl behind his right thigh to block him posting off it for balance. Immediately roll towards your right shoulder, sweeping him over you. Hopefully you’ll land in side control or at the very least, half guard.
• Takedown from body lock (reverse bear hug) - This is the same concept, except that it can be executed from standing. You can do two things to take your opponent down from a reverse bear hug. One is to rotate your hips and bring your right leg behind his legs and post it between them. Then grab both his pant legs and lift, using your right leg as a fulcrum against his body to dump him on his head. Secondly, you could move your right leg in the same way, but fall towards your left, trying to take him down with you. Rotate your body so his back hits the mat before you do.

As you can see, this class spent a fair amount of time on various submissions and some of them are fairly advanced. This is because of the upcoming tournament and wanting to prep people for what they might see in competition. Also, our instructor just got back from a training session hosted by Royce Gracie over the weekend and learned a couple new variations on moves he wanted to show off (anaconda choke and the arm-bar).

I spent the last fifteen minutes of class sparring five-minute rounds with three different opponents of various skill levels, though they were all much higher than myself. It was interesting to try applying what I learned in this class and others. It was light sparring, so I wouldn’t say that I earned many of my position gains through strong determination, but it was still cool to get into the flow. I ended up tapping out of several chokes and armlocks (even an oma plata) for good measure.

Of note, my dang Gi still hasn’t arrived from HCK. I’m getting annoyed at having to used the gym’s stanky gear, even if it is better than nothing.