BitterNews for Thursday, March 18th, 2010

• Legendary singer/songwriter Alex Chilton died last night after complaining of feeling poorly. He was taken to the hospital and died shortly thereafter, apparently of a heart attack. Chilton, who fronted the chart-topping Box-Tops in his teens will probably be best remembered for his time in the seminal Big Star, a cult band that sold few records in their day. Their legend grew throughout the 70’s and 80’s until a full scale reassessment of their work was undertaken in the wake of a handful of reissues on Rykodisc, including an expanded version of their masterpiece “Third” and a collection of founder Chris Bell’s previously unreleased recordings. Chilton’s solo career was viewed with confusion by most critics and fans, but revealed an interest in obscure r&b and soul that was Chilton’s true passion. In 2006 Big Star released a new studio album (their first in 30 years) and played a few dates around the release, but did not undertake a full-scale tour. Big Star was due to play SXSW this weekend. It is not known if the other members of the band will perform a tribute show instead or if the gig is cancelled.
• 3A toys are releasing yet another variant exclusive – this time it’s a Tommy Mission Blood Nails exclusive from BBICN.com.
• IDW is now a Diamond Premier Publisher. This is the first time since Diamond launched the program that a Publisher has been added to the core group of Marvel, DC, Dark Horse & Image. The program allows IDW access to covers of Diamond Previews, front of catalog placement in same and other behind-the-scenes perks that are too boring to discuss here. IDW is currently Diamond’s #4 publisher, ahead of Image but behind Dark Horse. With their varied product line and their new status at Diamond, we expect IDW to surpass Dark Horse quickly.
• The character Rick Grimes from Walking Dead has been added to the lineup of Guardians of the Globe, Image’s new team book. I see a motorcycle getting ready to jump a shark tank and Robert Kirkman is driving it.
• NBC is filming a new reality show about comic book geeks – starting in London, ending at San Diego.
• Genius comedian / provocateur Chris Morris’ new movie trailer, Four Lions is now online. It’s a comedy that tells the story of four Islamic terrorists. The guy has balls the size of Mars.
• There’s going to be a Batman Beyond comic book mini-series.
• The Hobbit starts filming in June, per Gandalf.
• Amazon is ramping up their Kindle push in the face of the forthcoming iTampon. Just this week they offered a free Kindle software download and now they have released Kindle for Mac software. Not only does this appear desperate, it is like fighting a forest fire with a squirtgun. Apple will clearly get all the press and publicity for their products – it will be up to consumers to decide which product they prefer, and they will vote with their dollars. The Kindle campaign is telling about the faith Amazon has in its product vs the perception of the iPad.
• Sandra Bullock: Don’t marry a guy named Jesse James from a show called Monster Garage who has just broken up with a psycho porn star it might go bad. He might end up banging some tattooed dick pincushion who describes herself as an “Evil Cunt” with drawings all over her – just saying.
• It’s not looking good for “FlashForward” as the foreign markets where it is performing well are not coming to rescue the struggling show, and the showrunner just left. The fate of the show probably depends on ratings of the first few post-hiatus episodes.
• MGM final bids are due on Friday – I have some change in my pocket!
• And of course, today is San Diego hotel hell day. Good luck to all.

BitterNews for Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

• This month’s 3A release “Little Shadow” is now revealed to have 3 (4?) versions – Regular, Shadow, and Cherry. Cherry is in what looks like a schoolgirl uniform and is sold in a two pack with Sanakhte. No word on who or what Sanakhte is yet.
• Mattel Fuck Up Of The Day: Feel free to troll the web for March 15th Mattel Q&A Answers – you’ll find a veritable masterclass in how NOT to handle PR.
• Kick-Ass 2: is subtitled “Balls To The Wall”. Reports on the first film are great, pouring in from SXSW screenings. And yesterday we saw the largest theater standee we have seen in a LONG LONG time at our local – looks like they are gearing up for a hit.
• It appears that there will be a cross-over superteam in the Image universe following Image United. The team will be called Guardians of the Globe – a name that has been used in Invincible since the early issues.
• Dynamite Entertainment just bought the Vampirella character from Harris – expect to see a lot of ugly merch and hideous comics in the very near future – much like you’ve been seeing for the last 15 years.
• iTampon dates are sliding backwards for pre-orders – now into mid-April. We have yet to determine if this delay affects the 3G model as well as the Wi-Fi only version.
• Interesting that this year the SXSW hype is mostly on the movie & interactive side, with music taking 3rd place as the industry slides further into a mudhole.
• Scott Weiland has blamed the wives of his Velvet Revolver bandmates for the breakup of the band. Apparently it had nothing to do with the fact that the albums sucked and Weiland is a smacked-out egomaniac.
• Michael Lohan, Lindsay’s dad, had a heart attack Tuesday. Which he survived, dammit.
• John Edwards' dick pincushion, Rielle Hunter, is claiming she didn’t know GQ was going to use shots of her flashing her panties in the new issue, and that she never approved them. Meanwhile GQ released video of her looking over the shots as they were being taken. Must… stretch….15…minutes….of….fame…
• The Marvel Universe digital giveaway figure contest is over and the winner is the unlikely repaint of Arcangel in his X-Force duds. How many ways can you say “yawn”?
• Conan O’Brien is planning a film of his upcoming comedy revue tour. The tour, which was designed as a way to keep his TV staff busy until the next move, is going to hit 30 cities and has already sold out both Radio City and Madison Square Garden.
• Courtney Love has apologized to Billy Corgan. For the syphilis?
• Roxy Music has announced a gig in the wake of finishing their first (as yet unreleased) album in many decades. It will be in Barcelona on June 19th.
• Jay-Z and Jack White have recorded together. So Jay-Z is done.
• Celebudouche Perez Hilton has revealed that Snoop Dogg is getting paid a fuckload to play the tired old queen’s “party” at SXSW. Good for you, Snoop.
• James Brown’s body is located. It was behind the couch.

BitterNews for Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

• Community, 30 Rock, Smallville & Fringe were all picked up for next season.
• There’s a Gilligan’s Island movie in development. In related news, my script for “Windex: The Movie” has just been picked up.
• Tim Burton and the Russian dude that did both Day- & Night- Watches are developing Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
• CD releases today: BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB-Beat The Devil's Tattoo, BROKEN BELLS-Broken Bells & Deluxe Box version too, BUNDLES (KIMYA DAWSON), CHIEFTAINS/COODER, RY-San Patricio & CD/DVD version too, FRIGHTENED RABBIT-Winter Of Mixed Drinks (gayest band name ever), GORILLAZ-Plastic Beach 3 versions before you get into vinyl, the HJIMI HENDRIX catalog is reissued again, including most albums as CD/DVD sets, and a new collection of previously (legally) unreleased tracks, Valleys Of Neptune, a long-overdue new JOAN JETT double Greatest Hits in time to cash in on the Runaways film, KIDZ IN THE HALL-Land Of Make Believe, LEO, TED-Brutalist Bricks, LUDACRIS-Battle Of The Sexes, PAVEMENT-Quarantine The Past: Best Of, IGGY POP -Anthology 2 CD Box that no one needs, JOSH ROUSE -El Turista, comics freak SERJ TANKIAN -Elect The Dead Symphony (& a CD/DVD version too)
• Betty White IS doing SNL.
• Fantagraphics will be publishing “art manga”. So it’ll still be incomprehensible, but this time won’t have anthromorphic people, aliens, witches, invisible creatures, intentional jokes, sports, or trading card tie-ins. Perhaps some people in their teens/twenties will be sad in it?
• Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine is scoring Iron Man 2. Ironic.
• Bad Religion is recording a live show to release as a free download to it’s fans. All you need to do is join the mailing list.
• Flaming Lips are making a new movie.
• Foo Fighters are making their next album with Producer Butch Vig, who also produced “Nevermind”.
• Of course, in an effort to continue infuriating his fans, Ashley Wood’s new 1:6 figure “Little Shadow” will be released in two version made available at Bambaland on March 18th or 19th depending on where you live on this globe, and a third (at least) version that will be sold randomly at no specific time. So good luck with that.

BitterNews for Monday, January 25th, 2010

• Mattel Named to FORTUNE’s 2010 “100 Best Companies to Work For” List; it must be great to work there – they never fire anyone, no matter how bad they are!
• 3A Toys have been dropping hints about upcoming projects – in addition to already announced collaborations with McFarlane (Spawn), 2000ad (the entire Universe), and Metal Gear Solid, today they hinted that Tank Girl is coming to 3A. I’d love a Hewlett designed 1:6 comic style Tank Girl…
• Cold Space is a new comic book series co-written by Samuel L Jackson and Eric Calderon drawn by Jeremy Rock, published by Boom! Jackson & Calderon worked together on Afro Samurai.
• Gareb Shamus is Vince McMahon-ing the comic con business, since the San Diego crew seem unwilling or unable to take it national. Wizard is launching a new Wizard World comics convention, in New Jersey. (what exit?). It will be October 15th-17th this year at the New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center (NJCEC), in Edison.
• Will Joseph Gordon-Levitt Be The New Spider-Man? It looks likely, esp in the wake of the Director announcement. So, if you weren’t already convinced that Sony fucked up ditching Raimi, this should do it. This guy must have a golden tongue (and I don’t mean fer talking with), because one of the top female execs at Sony has been looking for a franchise for him to take over and look what dropped in his lap. Ugh.
• AT&T may be losing it's iPhone exclusivity as early as Wednesday at Apple's media event. Jobs is calling the tablet “the most important thing he’s ever done.”
• Good Charlotte finished an album and have scrapped it – apparently it didn’t meet their high standards (!).
• Nikki Sixx has broken up with Kat Von D, giving hope to aging irrelevant rockers and aging pickled whores everywhere.
• Aerosmith begins auditioning singers soon.
• Gary Coleman arrested for domestic violence. If reports are true, he’s still a virgin, so I can see why he might beat his wife of many years.
• Sag Awards were essentially a re-run of the Golden Globes.
• Throwing Muses recording new album with “Donations” from fans. Time to hang it up.
• Fox beat out Lion’s Gate and Paramount in bidding war for domestic rights to Robert Rodriguez’ “Machete” – spin-off of Grindhouse trailer. Film is already completed.
• LA Johnson, director who worked closely with Neil Young has died.
• MAKE IT STOP!: Jane’s Addiction recording new material. Just stay broken up, please. Thanks.
• Roman Polanski ordered to return to US for trial. Looking forward to the testimony about how he drugged and ass-raped a minor.
• Avatar #2 film of all time in USA, proving people are stupid.
• Gremlins 3 is in the works; might be 3-D.
• Planet of the Apes re-re-boot happening, now called “Ceaser” and a new take on “Conquest”.
• John Edwards (after finally admitting he is the father of his mistresses child) is getting self-kicked in the crotch again, this time by a sex tape he made with his baby-mama, which was discovered by the former aide who not only tried to cover up the affair because he believed in Edwards, but who now is probably the one leaking it in advance of his own tell-all book, the Politician, which comes out in early Feb. Andrew Young (the author and ex-Aide) will be on 20/20 Friday to promote the book.
• Damages starts season 3 tonight – a major character is supposed to die in the first episode. Remind your mom.
• The cast of Jersey Shore is holding out for more money for season two from MTV. Wow. Can’t they find more semi-literate Ugnaut whores that’ll suck anything? Snooki must have a few sisters, probably some she hasn’t even met yet!
• David Bowie is dumping out another live album tomorrow, in hopes of keeping up with those bond payments. He’s also reissuing his debut album as a 2CD set, but only in the UK.
• Also in stores, the only two albums by the Other Two, the husband/wife team from New Order that didn’t start Revenge or make records with the Pet Shop Boys after New Order broke up the first time. These are less than marginally interesting records, avoid.
• Another Fozzy album comes out, too. Yikes! Did Michael Alago get another A&R job that allows him to hang out with shirtless rock boys?

BitterNews Roundup for Weekend of January 22-24, 2010

• Conan (the Barbarian, not O’Brien) has been cast. It’s Jason Momoa, some greasy stud from Stargate – which is at least a bit more accurate to the character than a right wing Austrian.
• Lots of hubbub over stupid speculative article about Paul Levitz’ replacement at DC, proving a lot of indie comic nerds are more fruity for the big two than they would admit at Mocca gatherings in Brooklyn.
• Next Friday (Jan 27th) is release date for the new 3A 1:6 World War Robot release from Ashley Wood. Look for Dropcloth to be available in many versions. It’s not clear yet from the 3A news as to how many and in what configs they will be sold, but right now it looks like singles (some packed with a bonus exclusive square) a 4 pack and perhaps an 8!!! Pack. As these are $130 each for singles, hard to guess at what an 8 pack will cost. Also there appear to be Nightwatch & Daywatch versions coming (this is typical for Wood) which may or may not be random or part of a multipack only.
• Today’s picture is Lt Uhura’s nipples. You are welcome.
• Flint is the next 1:6 Joe from Sideshow. Let me guess, it’ll blow and be overpriced?
• Avatar is still not as good as you think it is.
• Touma is doing Alien and Predator super-deformed vinyls. Both look great and much nicer than previous Medicom attempts.
• The new KISS Medicom dolls are as nice as any recent Hot Toys figure. Hopefully this is the sign of a new start for Medicom who were veering into Sideshow territory with their recent releases.
• Everyone has a beard now. Everyone is stupid.
• 21st Century Toys, who helped spearhead a renewed interest in 1:6 Military figures in the US (and also did the Misfits figures) before going bankrupt, are now coming back as Go ???. It is not known if they are doing more 1:6 or if they are abandoning the scale in favor of 1:18, which they successfully sold to Wal-mart, K-mart, TRU and K-Mart before they screwed the pooch the first time. Good luck, guys!
• The trailer for “Diary of A Wimpy Kid” is online.
• The Gorillaz, fake cartoon band co-created by Martin Hewlett of Tank Girl fame are back with a new album, surprisingly on EMI, who have done much to alienate singer Damon Albarn (also of Blur fame). That Blur have reformed and may have a new album in the works (their first in many years, and featuring the return of guitarist Graham Coxon) – is the Gorillaz album a deal-ender to get Albarn free of the poisonous EMI? Blur are huge everywhere around the world except the USA.
• Some of the stuff I am selling on eBay is overpriced.
• Pee-Wee Herman appeared on 2nd to last Conan episode – slightly frightening, yet eerily similar to his 80’s heyday.
• Peter Gabriel is looking for a new label situation in the USA. Catalog and Real World included – no wonder there hasn’t been a deal yet.
• Haitians get 58 Million from Clooney & pals show – more money to be generated by downloads of largely evil performances from show.
• Gerald McCabe, founder of one of THE greatest Los Angeles venues, McCabe’s Guitar Shop, has died.
• Here are your Tuesday new album releases: Animal Collective - Campirefire Songs, Corrine Bailey-Rae – The Sea, Beach House - Teen Dream, Jason Castro - Jason Castro, Citay - Get Together, Evacuate Chicago – Veracity. Joe Firstman - El Porto, FredriK- Trilogi, Four Tet - There Is Love In You, Charlotte Gainsbourg – Irm, Gorevette - Lustfully Yours [EP], Lady Antebellum - Need You Now, Locksley - Be In Love, Jennifer Lopez - Love?, Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring, The Magnetic Fields – Realism,
Never Shout Never - What Is Love?, Patrick & Eugene - Altogether Now (Birds Bees Flowers Trees), The Silent League - ...But You've Always Been The Caretaker, Three 6 Mafia - Laws Of Power. Not sure what is scarier; all the beard rock or the J-Lo album.
• As we move to a lease-based entertainment society, DVD sales are so down that Best Buy and Papa Johns are offering a free pizza with purchase of select titles this week. Is that smell melting cheese or desperation?
• Quincy Jones is going to remake “We Are The World” for Haiti. Not everyone from the original lineup will be participating, like Kim Carnes and Michael Jackson, albeit for different reasons.
• Prince’s new theme song for the Minnesota Vikings Football team is so gay that a greased gerbil in leather on Christopher Street called it gay.
• Wilco is giving away free live shows on it’s website, with the understanding that you’ll donate money to Haiti charities if you partake. I donated the money in the name of never having to hear their boring new stuff any more.
• Latest Apple Tablet rumors – has front facing camera for video chat, still no carrier determined for what is assumed to be a cloud based machine that will always be connected to the internet via the 1 Billion dollar data center Apple is building near Atlanta. We’ll know more Wednesday.
• Speaking of Wednesday, Captain America Reborn #6 is coming out this week, so you can find out why Cap is in all those books you’ve been reading for the last few weeks since this was SO LATE!! Just another reason to kill these multi-book storylines.
• Chris Morris, one of the most interesting (if not consistent) British comedy provocateurs has a new project about a group of terrorists planning an attack. This is a comedy piece and promises to skewer these idiots with the same delicious wit as Morris has used to pop various other douchebags in the past.
• Powers TV series has a script and director. I haven’t heard of either.
• Jay Mohr is filming a new Clint Eastwood / Matt Damon film.
• Based on Adjusted gross (inflation, etc), Gone With The Wind is still no 1 film. Avatar is #36. And a piece of shit.

3A Toys Latest Release TONIGHT! (in USA)

Large Martin will be deployed this evening at 7PM EST. The massive toy will ship in three colorways (painted but un-decaled in the pics), two standard and one "chase" that will be a dirty white. The cost is $250 each shipped and the chase version cannot be ordered individually, it's purely luck if you get one!