Wizard World Issue 1.1

8/4/2019 Wizard World Issue 1.1

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LAUNCH PAD Our mission statement...straight from the top!

YouFashion-Bustersare socatty!

FIRST SHOT

Egon Spenger12-inch Ghostbuster Movie Masters, MatteSavage Force Fera Woverine Marve Heroes, Toy Biz

imagineeverY molecule in

Your BodY explodingat the speed oF lightthatshow Bad Your

outFit is.

Welcome to the new Wizard World Digital!Discovery is the one word that best describes Wizard World

Digital.For 20 years, we've exposed fans to fresh and upcoming

artists, writers, creators, comic books, graphic novels, toys andcharactersmany that have reached superstar status. Thistrend is continuing big-time with Wizard World Digital. We cannow reach millions of fans worldwide in a more direct way, morefrequently and in the manner in which they want to receive it.This is truly pioneering!

On the cover of this inaugural issue, we set the tone and tenorofWizard World Digital by featuring Who is Jake Ellis?, writtenby Nathan Edmondson. Why would we do that? you might bethinking. Well, because the book deserves itcheck out why wethink Hollywood is gonna come knocking on his door.

Come back each week and youll nd out lots more to discover.

See ya!

Gareb Shamus, Chief Executive Ofcer

page 1of 36

MASTHEADGAREB SHAMUSChief Executive Ofcer

STEPHEN SHAMUSChief Marketing Ofcer

EDITORIAl

Justin Acin&

Mike CottonCo-Chiefs of Pop Cuture

Caros MejiaSenior Associate Producer

ART

James WakerCreative Director

Cover Design: [email protected]

CONTRIBUTORS

Ethan Sacks, T.J. Dietsch,Jon Gutierrez, Rob Bricken,

Dan Reiy, Casey Seijas,Brent Sprecher, John Gonzaez

EXHIBITORS, SPONSORSHIPS,PROMOTIONS & BUSINESS

OPPORTUNITIES

Peter KatzVP Business Affairs &

Deveopment(646) 801-5572

[email protected]@pwizardword.com

$
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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To build the best collection...

...GRADE EM ...PROTECT EM ...SHOWCASE EM ...TRACK EM

CGCs proessional certifcation gives you all the

tools you need to build a complete, world-class

collection. Our distinctive holder and label are

the symbol o precise and accurate grading and

state-o-the-art protection.

Unique online resources allow you to interact

with collectors throughout the hobby. You can

showcase your sets in the CGC Comics Registry

and compete or Registry awards. And you can

track the rarity o all CGC-certifed comics in theCGC Census Report, the most important comic

book population database there is.

To learn more, visitwww.CGCcomics.com/build
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3 IN OUR BOXDigital publications get letters, too!

Some o them are written in pen. It's

kind o weird.

5 MEANWHILE...Breaking news rom the worlds o

comics, toys, TV and more.

12 ART ATTACK

Send us your sketches and an art,we'll make you amous!

Wizard World Issue 1.1 March 2, 2011

UP FRONT

WHO IS THE MAN

BEHIND JAKE ELLIS?We talk to NathanEdmondson about

his surprise hit Image

comic, get hints to the

big mysteries and pick

our choices or a Jake

Ellis movie.

ON THE COVER

13 WHO IS THE MAN BEHIND JAKE ELLISSee box (let)

17 THE NY TOY FAIR TOP 10What are the coolest toys you'll be

buying this year? We give our top 10

picks rom the biggest toy show in th

country

25 BRINGING OUT THE DEADWe talk to series creator Robert

Kirkman and toy maestro Todd

McFarlane about their latest joint

project: Walking Dead action gures

29 THE SECRET OF SUCCESSRead an excerpt rom legendary

Hollywood producer Peter Guber's

new book about using the power o

story to change your lie.

FEATURES

33 TWISTED TOY THEATERIt's a Star Trek Civil War!

35 COSPLAYGROUNDThe best cosplay pics o the week!

36 AS SEEN AT TOY FAIRIt's not just toys at NY Toy Fair. It's

also Wizard World stafers, acting

like jackasses.

AT THE BACK

HOWTOREAD

iPadusers:Clic

konapage

tobringupthe

topmenu

clickonthesto

rylist

icontoskipto

aspecifc

story.

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IN OUR BOX You write letters and we answerthem. It's not rocket surgery.Its a new day! A brand spanking new publication,new content and, nally, new interesting (and mostlybizarre) letters from our readers. Hey, ve letters forour rst issue sounds pretty impressive to us. You toocan send us your questions, comments and spam mailto [email protected]

WE'RE NUMBER TWO

Do you have any advice on how to read Wizard World safely now?Magazines have held a very special place on the back of mytoilet. Each morning, I look forward to enjoying an article whiledoing my business and running my bath. Ideally, I would liketo avoid interrupting my daily ritual, because I am terrible withchange. Do you know of a high-quality, water-proof extensioncord? What about a small table to set my netbook on while I'm inthe bathroom? Should I start running the bathwater later now?

Any suggestion would be much appreciated. Nick Vanovervia email

Wow. Our rst letter is about poop. So it's going to be like THAT.Considering that it took us weeks to gure out how to get insidethe iPad, we have no idea how you can read this while NOTelectrifying yourself. But hey, at least we know were with youevery morningwhether we want to be there or not.

(A LOT) of Marvel 3 3/4-inchUniverse gures and after oneand a half malt liquor/energydrink cylinders each, we foundourselves looping Captain America's hand through mycousin's stretched earlobe.To wrap it up, we thought youmight enjoy Cap clinging to thelobe of a half-Japanese girl.Don't ask us why we assumedsuch a thing. Enjoy!

Katelyn Harnischvia email

You know who would lovethis? Rivers Cuomo. We, onthe other hand, have no half- Japanese girl fetish. The Capshield on the wall, on the otherhand, makes us feel all tingly.And now you know everything you need to know about thestaff of Wizard World Digital...

and probably quite a bit more,than you wanted to know.

BEING COLONIZEDSo Im sure you heard it bynow, but Superman has(FINALLY) been cast and its aBritish dude. Henry Cavill asSuperman can possibly be thebest the Man of Steel sinceChristopher Reeve (I REFUSE toacknowledge that 2006 lm),but I cant help but notice howmany foreigners are playing ourAmerican-made superheroes.What gives? Its not like anyonewould ever allow an Americanto play James Bond! What canwe do to stop these affronts toour great land?

Roland M.St Louis, MI

Youre right. There does seemto be an inux of actors whoare not from the U.S., playingour iconic American heroes.

Christian Bale, who is fromWales, is our current Batman

LEND US YOUR EARSI'm writing because I'm sittingin my aunt's basement (doesany reader not write to youfrom a basement?) drinking"Four Loko" with my boyfriendand my cousin. We have a lot

Cap wasn't sureif her skull was red, buthe was willing to crack

her open and nd out.

"Lets see... can Ibuy toilet paper on

Amazon.com?"

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on the big screen. AndrewGareld, raised in Surrey,Eng-land will play Spider-Mannext year, and Canadian Ryan

Reynolds is our current GreenLantern. But look at the brightside: Captain America is playedby American Chris Evans. Andwe hear he eats an apple pielled with steak in the movie.Now thats Americana!

LADIES' NIGHTAll right, it's only a matter oftime before you guys get oneof these kind of requests, soI might as well be the rst.

Who would win in a ghtbetween Lady Gaga and LadyDeathstrike?

Andrew Schreinervia email

Ordinarily we'd nd it triteto say "the fans," but inthis case, when Death striketears through Gaga's p-p-p- p-poker face with her Adam-antium claws, "the fans" isthe only answer that seemsappropriate.

That's all we have this week.See you in seven, and don'tforget to email us!

Here is one smokin custom from Mike Tan whocrafted this gure based on DCs cult classic

Hitman. By cobbling together some G.I. Joe: Sigma 6parts and then clothing him in hand-sewn duds Tansays, The shades were cut out of sheet plastic and

the cigarette is a bit of painted wire. Were impressed!Both are removable and Tommy's eyes are indeedblack under the shades. The only thing missing here isa bottle of booze and a dead cat. Should of checkedwith our ofces rst. Thanks, Mike!

So do you think you can do better than, Mike? Send us yourcustom action gures (of ANYONE!) to IM BETTER! c/o WizardWorld 1350 Avenue of the Americas, Second Floor, New York,NY 10019 or email us at [email protected]. Make surethe pics are high-res: at least 300 dpi!

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CAN YOU DO BETTER?People send us images of custom toys all the time.If you think you can achieve a higher standard ofcustomized excellence, then give it a shot!

Hey! Did you hear? Werealready on Twitter! Thatsright, the social mediasite that hosts the sameTwitter icons such asAshton Kutcher, Soulja Boyand other losers will nowhost us! So what are youwaiting for?! Send us yourrants, praise, critiques,or even some naughtypics to twitter.com/

wizardbullpen

TWEETTHE DEETSFollow us on Twitter. Ordont. Whatever.

THIS MONTH:Tommy MonaghanBY: Mike Tan,Richmond Hill,Ontario, Canada

IN OUR BOX

Wizard World 1350 Avenue of the Americas,Second Floor, New York, NY [email protected].

not sofast, timothy

olyphant.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.twitter.com/wizardbullpenhttp://www.twitter.com/wizardbullpenhttp://www.twitter.com/wizardbullpenmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.twitter.com/wizardbullpenmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Wizard World

ComiCCon

TourThe largesT PoP CulTureFesTival To CelebraTe The

besT in ComiCs, ColleCTibles,

movies, CelebriTies, Toys,

video games, Tv, horror,

WresTling, musiC, anime, mma,manga, gaming & more!

Badges

Banners

Convention Party

email Blasts

Floor signage

giveaways

lanyards

meterBoards online

Promotions

Pr CamPaign

Program guide

Programming

samPling

sCreenings

staFF t-shirts

steP-and-rePeats

tv monitors viP PaCkages

FOR MORE

INFORMATION ON THE

WIzARd WORLd

COMIC CON TOUR VISIT:

WizardWorld.Com

sponsorships exhibitors

aBC

amazon

CBs

Comedy Cen-

tral

dC ComiCs

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ea sPorts

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geekChiCdaily.Com

gillette

hasBro

heritage

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intel

lionsgate

marvel

mattel

miCrosoFt

nBC

niCkelodeon

nintendo

Paramount

sony

sPike tv

syFy

universal

warner Bros

Past Exhibitors and Sponsors include:

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Too busy playing AngryBirds? Well, here are thenews stories of the week!MEANWHILE...

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Digital distribution is already boring.Calm down: Were not saying that read-ing comics on the iPad isnt revolution-ary. But we are saying that it still hasplenty of room for improvement andthere's a long way to go before print-philes need worry. How so, you as?

SAME DAY DELIVERYArguably the most glaring offense is thelack of same-day releases. In case yourenot aware, and with very few exceptions(DCs Batman Beyond, Images The Walk-ing Deadand severalArchie titles), mostof the larger publishers dont offer same-day digital release as their print counter-parts. Hell, most of them dont even offerrecent releases. Come on, guys! Theresa lot of us nerds who stepped into the

digital decade. Now were waiting on

MAKING

THEUPGRADEFIVE wAYS DIGITAL coMIcS

cANAND SHoULDIMPRoVE

WIZARD

WORLDNEW

S

SPECIAL

REPORT


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you to catch up. If anything,the digital comics should bereleased before print!

SPEcIALFEATURESRemember back in the daywhen the buzz was initially

building around digital com-ics, and folks couldnt shut upabout their unlimited poten-tial? Well, short of the fantas-tic comiXologys Guided Viewtechnology, there hasnt beenmuch in the way of innova-tion. We'd be willing to paydouble the cover if we knowwell get cool extras!

SAVE THEBAcKMARKETA few years ago, a shall-remain-nameless publisheroated the idea of goingsame-day print and digital,and then doing away withsecond printings altogether,thus completely revitalizingthe back issue market bymaking each new issue acommodity. Ya know, like howit used to be. Just sayin'.

MAKESHoPPING LESScoNFUSINGWhy is there a DC Comics iPadapp, a Marvel app, a DarkHorse app, and so on? Can wejust get one iTunes-like storeup and running where we canget all of our comics quickand easy? And furthermore,why havent subscriptionsbeen made available yet?

IT'S ELEcTRIc!Trust us, we get itprintingcosts are through the roof.We know! So why not offerdigital-only comics from newcreators? Weve discoveredgreat reads via the free down-load section of comiXology(American Terrorist, MidnightSun, Guerillas) that we other-wise would have never pur-chased in a comic shop. Thenext Bendis and Brubaker is

out there! Casey Seijas

MEANWHILE...

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HOT OFF THE E-READER!Thans to digital comics, we can't get enough ofthese up-and-coming series (clocwise) Guerillas,American Terror and Midnight Sun!

This gun?iT shooTspoo. human

poo.


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MEANWHILE...

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THE BIG NUMBER

The Spider-Man

Musical. It'll hauntyour dreams!

cURRENT PRIcE FoR AVENGERS VoL. 1 #4, THE FIRSTAPPEARANcE oF MoDERN AGE cAPTAIN AMERIcADig through your long boxesan almost $100,000 issue might be hiding there. With theCaptain America movie hitting this summer, collectors are looking for high-grade copies of

the Star Spangled Heros rst Silver Age appearance inAvengers #4. MC

SAcASA SwINGS INMarvel riter tapped t rerite Spider-Man Musial

Its not the Avengers, the X-Men or theFantastic Four coming in to save Spider-Man at the last minute this time.

After months of injuries, delayedopenings and numerous bad reviews,

Spider-Man: Turn off the Darkthemuch maligned Spidey musicalhiredBroadway vet and comic book scribeRoberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Loki, SecretInvasion: Fantastic Four) to revamp thestory (originally written by show director

Julie Taymor and Glen Berger). Accordingto Deadline.com, Aguirre-Sacasa will tryto make the story more in line with thecomic books it was born from, while alsostreamlining the entire show so that the

currentand confusing endingis moreunderstandable to theatergoers.The news of the new writer broke just

as the musical delayed its opening fora fourth time. Its currently due to openMarch 15th. Mie Cotton

Want your comics with somegreat characterization and a

heaping size of the supernat-ural? Then check out CullenBunn's The Sixth Gun (below).The Oni Press Western followsa group of characters boundto a set of cursed pistols withterrible powers. Bunn hasimpressed us further with hisrecent DC debut in Superman/Batman. It has more of whatweve come to expect fromthe writer: magic, demonsand a unique setting for the

Worlds Greatest team.Justin Aclin

CREATORTO WATCH:CULLEN BUNN

Don't mess withthe man with the

bowler hat.

umm... spidey?is harness has awo-person limiT.


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MEANWHILE...

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IN MEMORIAM

GRAPHIcFIcTIoNcartnist Jess Fink gets reaky

ith chester 5Some things are just better when youcan hold them in your hand. Hold it,freak. Were just talking about porn.

Top Shelf and Jess Fink have donewhat we thought was impossible: makeus actually get off our laptops and lookat porn the way our father did. (Gross!)Thats right, on the printed page.

Finks erotic, artistic and touchingwebcomic, Chester 5000, hits in Mayin a print edition from Top Shelf. The

story of a scientist who builds a robotto fullll his wifes bedroom needs, thengets jealous when she falls in love withit may lack words, but makes up for it inits graphic (one page is just a detaileddiagram of robot wang) content. No won-der the great Alan Moore calls Chester,Liquid and elegantly stylized. MC

Now the robots willsurely enslave all ofhumanity.

One of the most distinctive voices in superhero comics and cartoons has died.Dwayne McDufe, the man behind comic hits such as Damage Control and the Mile-stone Universe as well as one of the leading voices in the DC animated universe,passed away on February 21. McDufes name may sound familiar, but if you haventchecked out any of his work recently, nows the time to do it.

Here are some to start with:

DwAYNE MDUFFIEGet aquainted ith the greatest rks the inuential riter

McDufe's All-StarSuperman animated lm

is on sale now.

DAMAGE CONTROL The humor series,centered on the company that xes allthe buildings heroes and villains dam-age, is still one of the standouts of thelate '80s

DEATHLOk VOL. 2 This new Deathlokstill stands as one of the best reinterpre-tations of a classic character ever in theMarvel Universe.

STATIC He said Static was a group effort,but theres no denying McDufes unique

voice in the rst four issues.

ALL STAR SUPERMAN McDufe helpsturn the 12-issue story into an unforget-table animated adventure for the Man ofSteel.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON TWOEARTHS McDufe makes the standardJLA vs. their evil counterparts count forsomething in this animated lm.

JUSTICE LEAGUE Its hard to narrowthem down McDufe's best JLU work,but make sure to check out the series

nale with the JLA vs. Darkseid.


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MEANWHILE...

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THE LIST:This wee: Threecomics that shouldbe video games

2 3

1

1LoBSTER JoHNSoNMike Mignolas pulp hero (Hellboysfavorite comic character) was supposedto be a playable character (voiced byBruce Campbell no less!) in the Hell-boy video game as downloadablecontent, but the expansion never madeit out.

We say give Johnson his own damngame! Make it a pulpy, side-scrolling old-school beat-em-up (available as a down-loadable title) so we can punch, shootand claw-burn our way through Nazis

and other scum. Plus, halfway throughthe game you can shift time periods andplay as Lobsters ghost in the present!

2INcoGNIToEd Brubaker and Sean PhillipsIcon series also has its roots in pulp,although transposed into the modernday. It tells the story of super-criminalZack Overkill and his journey from Wit-ness Protection shlub to morally dubiousdouble-agent hero. Since some of usenjoy being the hero and some of us pre-fer moral dubiousness, wed love to seeplayers control Zack in an open-worldsandbox game, where they can decidefor themselves if they want to run mis-sions for the good guys in SOS or worktheir way back into the Black Deathsgraces.

3SKULL KIcKERSThis Image comic from Jim Zub andEdwin Huang gave sword-and-sorceryfantasy a kick in the pants, and its

custom-made for video games! Play aseither of the two nameless mercenaries(gun-toting big guy or magical-footed,skull-kicking dwarf) and take down evilnecromancers and giant monsters, all inthe name of earning a payday. As longas it looks as great as the comic and issteeped in its trademark humor, weretotally on board. JA

Got a comic you'd like to see as a videogame? You could end up in an issue!E-mail us [email protected],

and put The List in the subject.

ThaT's whaTThe gunis

for.

sorry, |'mfeeling a biTcrabby.


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MEANWHILE...

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WIZARDWORLDFIRSTLOOkIMAGES!

NECA is nally giving fans nearly every single Pred-ator whos been on celluloid in action gure form.This year they're nishing it out with Holy Grail ofthe trophy hunters: the nine "Lost" Predators from

the end ofPredator 2. The nine, who were on lmfor less than two minutes, are nally getting theiraction gure due in 2011, and heres your rst lookat two: Shaman Predator (below) and Boar Preda-tor (left)names attributed to them over the yearsby fans, since they were never named. For thesedetailed gures, NECA scanned every frame of lmthe Predators were in...including an online videoshot on set of the Predators break-dancing. NECAwill release all nine before the year is through. Nowthe only thing missing is a 6-inch Dutch and MikeHarrigan 2-pack to tear house! Carlos Mejia

IF IT

BLEEDS, wEcAN KILL ITAn elusive frst lk at NEcAs all-nePredatr atin fgures

| goTpromoTed fromsenior predaTorTo predaTor-in-

chief!

Kissyface!


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MEANWHILE...

page 11 of 36

BOOTLEGBOOTY:COMBATFORCE

MADE INChin

KNocKING oFFg.I. J

(rsumbly)

From what the vaguebox art tells usthisnameless 'Call of Duty'wannabe is ready forwar! Armed with a non-descript assault rie,gigantic walie-talieand a red-eyed beastthats either a mutatedrat or a rabid dogthissolider can adapt toany environment. His(borderline racist) blacface-paint says hesready for a night mis-sion, while his greencamo says hes readyfor a daytime junglemission. But the yellowmoney sull with dis-turbing lipstic on hisbelt bucle sayshes amoney hunter? All wenow is it says, Im thebootleg of the month. CM

ToY oF THE MoNTHTHE BEST DAMN AcTIoN FIGURE INTHE woRLDFoR THE NExT 30 DAYS!

REDLAw EcHo MoRPHFrom Glyos System by Onell Designs

wHo Were a little fuzzy on exactly who thisguy is supposed to be. But you can check out awe-some 8-bit style animation and games featuring theGlyos characters at onelldesign.com.

wHAT The Glyos System is our favorite range oftotally interchangeable, independently designedand manufactured toys, and this purple dude (right)is one of the newest and coolest offerings.

wHY Indy and designer toys normally are allabout being artisticand not at all about gettingplayed with. Not these guys! The 3-inch Glyos g-ures are fully poseable and pop apartand everypart is completely interchangeable with every oth-er. Want to build a giant badass robot? No sculptingskills are required, just a ton of Glyos gures andcreativity. The Glyos world got even bigger recently,when the Four Horsemen used the system for theirOuter Spacemen, adding all-new parts. If youre atoy fan who values originality, you owe it to yourselfto check the Glyos System out! JA

These "Soul of theTraveler" gures fromOnell can mix theirparts with any other

Glyos System gure!

croTchsKulls were

all The rage

aT fashionweeK.

leTs JusTagree ThaT purpleTranslucenT bodiesare an abominaTionof The creaTor and

call iT a day.

orangearmsruLE,blacK arms

are sTupID!

noT again,Jeff. |'m noT

geTTing pulledinToanoTHErrace war wiTh

you.


15/46
http://www.sxsw.com/http://www.sxswscreenburn.com/http://www.sxsw.com/filmhttp://www.sxsw.com/musichttp://www.sxsw.com/interactive/talkshttp://www.sxsw.com/attend


16/46

"Theres nothing better thangetting one of comics toptalents drawing one of the

characters theyre famous for, saysWizard World Executive Producer MikeCotton. "Ethan Van Sciver (Green Lantern:Rebirth) did this in blue pencil for me at aconvention in 2005. Luckily, inker MooseBauman was there right by his side toink it as well! Always request somethingspecic, especially if youre paying forthe drawing. It helps the artist know what

youre into, and gets you something youreally wantnot just something the artistcan bang out quickly.

ARTATTACKInside never-before-seenoriginal art commissioned fromtodays top artists

ETHAN VAN SCIVER

Haveapieceo

foriginalart,

conventionsk

etchorfull-on

commissionfro

moneofyour

favoriteartists

?Sendittous

eat

bullpen@wizar

dworld.coman

d

seeitfeatured

here,along

withaninterview

with

you!

SENDITIN!

page 12of 36
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


17/46page 13of 36


18/46page 14of 36

magine being one of the most wanted criminalsin the world...only you don't know exactly what itis you've done. And the only person on your sideis a shadowy, cryptic man named Jake Ellis who

seems to know everything, and who you're pretty sure doesn'texist. Thats the situation facing Jon Moore in the Image Comicssensation Who Is Jake Ellis?, written by Nathan Edmondson withart by Tonci Zonjic. But thanks to the mystery surrounding thetitle character, Hollywood has arrived at Edmondson's doorstep.Here, in his own words, Edmondson opens up on the origins of

Jake Ellis, the possibilities of a sequel and where he would beworking if he wasnt writing comics.

The aTTenTion 'Jake ellis' has been receiving...[It was] overwhelming. I knew we had something special. I had a number

o editors rom the big two contact me and say, Congratulations, this

looks antastic. I had a ew creators and artists reach out to me and say,

I really like this book and I would like to do my next one with you, or

something along those lines. The reaction to the concept o the bookorced us to release the book to Hollywood when only ve pages were

completed. That was when I realized that this is a pretty good idea, and

then I became very worried about the writing. I gured people like the

idea and I couldnt let them down on the writing. The ideas rom here

have to be as good as this one because thats what theyre responding

to.

hollywood vs. comic booksThe reaction or Who Is Jake Ellis? in Hollywood was slightly

dierent than the world o comics. Hollywood, I believe the time

was right in the market or something like Ellis to hit. I knowpeople are looking or properties in that space [o comic books].

In the spy world, it was something that elt resh but had enough

elements to make it eel amiliar and it elt ranchise-able. In

comics, its always dangerous to rely on pre-release buzz thats

based on concept and not the writing. And that part caused a lot

o nervousness or me. The reaction o the concept o the book

relies on the art, and it has been astounding.

The marriage of wriTing and arTO course Im biased, but [artist] Tonci Zonjic really went above

and beyond anything hes ever done beore with Ellis. A lot o

books Ive seenI either like the concept, and Im not eeling itwith the artwork, or I really like the art and the story doesnt seem

to match the art. Beore nding Tonci I actually got to the point

o rustration. I thought I would never nd the right artist or this

book. I didnt know why it was so dicult this time around. And

then I was at a BBQ in Charlotte and Jason Latour gave me a nice

bit o advice and said, Stop looking or the right person

in your eyes and nd somebody who is

as passionate as you are


19/46

in telling the story. Then I saw a Superman short that Tonic had illustrated and while

it was in a dierent style rom what I was looking or, I saw a number o things in his

art that I really liked. I went on his blog and I saw a ew panels and things that were

more serious in tone that I liked. It was clear to me that he could have this book and

handle it well. Once he heard the story, he was onboard.

The iniTial inspiraTion for Jake ellisA street sign I saw in my hometown o Augusta, GA. It was Jake Ellis Lane. Themore I rolled Jake Ellis over my tongue, the more I thought this name should

become a larger-than-lie character.

The real life Jake ellisI never had an imaginary riend, but I had certainly played in an imaginary world.

Growing up and till today I have a very active imagination, but I never had a

case where I could not distinguish between what is real and what is imagined.

I have had the type o relationship that Jake and Jon have a number o times.

Ive had relationships where you take riends or granted and use them in a

utilitarian way and I worked that into the story subconsciously.

who is Jake ellis? parT ii...It would not be a orced sequel by any means. Woven into the rst story

are the threads or the second story. I think readers would be content with

the rst ve issues i thats all we choose to do, or i Tonci has time to do

it, or i thats what all o the sales dictate. I have another story in mind, but

my attitude and Toncis attitude is: One step at a time. We want to put

our ull heart and soul into this story beore moving to another.

naThan edmondson, The novelisTI always had some inclination that I would be writing novels. I alwayswanted to be a storyteller. My background is in more classic literature

rom my amily and my education. I dont have much o a background

in comics. I nished one novel and Im working on another right now.

I still have an interest to be writing novels, but I dont see that it

conficts with writing comics. At some point in the uture, will I

turn my attention to novels or a while? Thats possible, but I dont

have it planned out. Right now, writing comics is successul, and

I love it.

by The end of issue #5I will tell you that all o the answers will be given. You will ndout: whos chasing Jon and why; why Jon has chosen the lie he

has; youre going to nd out who Jake Ellis is; why he is; why

only Jon can see him; and you will see more exotic locations,

which should be un. Theyre all locations that I have been

toexcept or the nal location. The nal location is the heart

o the greatest mystery. Its un to go to a place in the book

where I have never been. So Im exploring it as the characters

are in the end. I dont know how thatll translate to the story

in the end, but its un to do.

Jake ellis The movie?! Take a look!page 15of 36


20/46

Writer Ntn Edmondson won't give usis csting coices, since it's possiblett te flm m get mde (Te Jke Ellisflm Crock Pot is simmering, but we're notllowed peek under te lid just et, esid). So we rn our coices pst im!

Who IdrIs Elba as JakE EllIsWhy While Jake's ethnicity is in doubt (he is grey)we know he has a unique voice thanks to his grey

word balloons, and Elba has perected every accent

in projects like The Wire, Lutherand The Losers. He's

a perect match in our eyes.

N.E. SayS "I think this is an intriguing idea, and I cansee how Elba would bring lie to the character and

story."

Who JamEs Franco as Jon moorEWhy Franco has shown his acting diversity bystarring in comedies (Pineapple Express), in drama

(127 Hours) and more importantly in action (Spider-

Man). Plus, hes always looking or work!

NE SayS I've been lately more and more impressedwith Franco and I could see him bringing Jon to lie

on screen.

Who rIan Johnson as thE dIrEctorWhy Hes captivated us with Brick, a neo-noir,hardboiled detective story that Johnson directed

and wrote! He can capture the unique eel o Ellis.

NE SayS I wasn't the biggest an o The Brothers

Bloom, but Brick I thought was brilliant. In both oflms, however, I can see qualities that would make

or a good Jake Ellis flm.

Who do you think should star in Jake Ellis The Movie?

Send your rants to [email protected]

page 16of 36


21/46

DIRECT ENERGY CENTRE100 PRINCES' BOULEVARD

TORONTO, ON M6K 3C3, CANADA

MARCH 18-19-20 2011FRI-SAT-SUN

ALSO...

Buffy, An gel, Dexter &

no o rDinAry fAmily!

JULIE BENZ

Billy Dee WilliAmS

miKe grel l

Phil Jimenez

rAy PArK

FOR MORE INFO, GO TO WIzARDWORlD.COM

THE BEST IN COMICS, TOYS,

SCI-FI, FANTASY, GAMING, ANIME,

COllECTIBlES AND MORE!
http://www.wizardworld.com/home-toronto.htmlhttp://www.wizardworld.com/home-toronto.htmlhttp://www.wizardworld.com/home-toronto.htmlhttp://www.wizardworld.com/home-toronto.html


22/46

Whats the most common thing you see while walkingthrough the annual American International Toy Fair,held each February in New York City? Your moneyying out of your wallet for the next 12 months. Butyou cant buy everything, so were counting down the10 coolest things we saw at the 2011 show.

page 17 of 36


23/46page 18 of 36

DC UN IV ERSE C L ASSIC S

MAttEL Samurai might not seemlike a DC classic to comic fans,but for toy fans he's the Holy Grail.Mattel nally nishes importing theclassic Super Powers line-up into DCUniverse Classics with Samurai, andBlack Vulcan, El Dorado and Collect-And-Connect gure Apache Chief

(as well as Toy Man) add someSuper Friends blood. Suicide

Squad's Captain Boomerangand Bronze Tiger round out

Wave 18. (Summer)

EL DORADO BLACK VULCAN SAMURAI

tOY MANBRONZEtIGER

CAPtAIN BOOMERANGInst: H lks just lik Sth grn! APACHE CHIEF

| wantedto be calledSUPERVOLT!

what aLamEsuperhero name...

do they callbatman 'caucasian

millionaire'?


24/46page 19 of 36

I want youInsIde me.

RESEARCHER CADAVER DISPOSAL COMMANDO

ZOMBIE KIt CONStRUCtIONWORKER

SDCC COBRA COMMANDER wih StARSCREAM

G.I. J OEHASBRO The San Diego exclusiveversion of the new Skystriker comeswith a Starscream paint deco anda Cobra Commander wieldinga Megatron gun. More Joe/TF mash-ups! (July)

WAR OF tHE DEADEMCE tOYS Get ready to haveyour mind blown/eaten. EMCE Toys,whove worked with companies likeMattel on retro 8-inch gures, areredening the style with their highlydetailed 1/9-scale gures depict-ing zombies and soldiers. Best ofall, EMCE will release a MakeYour Own Zombie kit forcustomizers! (Winter)

ssssweet!

thisis how

bamacaRElooks toSaRahPaLin!


25/46page 20 of 36

CIVILIAN MOtHERSHIP tRIPOD INVADER

IMAGINEXt MEGA tREXFISHER-PRICE Surprised to seeFisher-Price in our list of the best ac-tion gures at the show? Were sur-prised to be including them! But afterliterally years of us hoping toy compa-nies would bring back classic 80s lineDino-Riders, Imaginext is doing it inall but name. Just check out this amaz-ing T-Rex with techno-weapons! There

will be additional dinos with bothgood and evil human riders. To

which we say, About friggintime! (June)

ALIEN CONQU EStLEGO Lego's giant new Pirates of the Caribbean ship looks amazing, and weexpected that, but this one took us completely by surprise. Alien spaceshipswith kitschy 50s-esqe designs + alien brain slugs that t over Lego dudesheads + set with a ying saucer that can abduct a terried lookingfarmer Minigure = us in love. (July)

GOOD DINO MEGA tREX

verticalstripesmake melook soFaT!

it'shORRibLE!

bEhOLD!lil' leX luthor's

Greatestinvention YET!

LUThOR?oh,man. this wholetime | thouGht

you were charliebrown. my bad.


26/46page 21 of 36

CAP, DUGAN ANDHYDRA GUYS

GIZMO

GREML IN SNECA Gremlins was one of the rst movie linesthat NECA ever did, and now it's back and betterthan ever! It's not just for the big ashy things

like the amazing Spider Gremlin, but the littletouches, like the fact that every Mogwai

has eyeballs you can control. (Mog-waisSpring; GremlinsSummer)

MINIMAtESDIAMOND SELECt tOYS What you see here are the MiniMatesbased on the awesome-looking "Captain America lm, which lookpretty awesome themselves. But frankly, the only reason were show-ing these guys is because we werent able to photograph our favoriteMiniMates at the show: Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. The amazing ghtinggame is the perfect license for the line, bringing us not only newMarvel character Dormammu, but a slew of awesome new Capcomghters, including Zero from Mega Man, Viewtiful Joe, Arthurfrom Ghosts and Goblins, Dante from Devil May Cry and

even the lupine Amaterasu from Okami ! (Summer)

...|' g g .

CAP, BUCKY, ROGERSAND RED SKULL

PEGGY, HOWARD StARKAND HYDRA SOLDIER

MOHAWK DAFFY

SPIDER GREMLIN|'m Gonnafeed you Guys

youraSSESaftermidniGht!


27/46page 22 of 36

RED LANtERN GUY BLUE/GREEN HAL StEL

BLACK LANtERNBLUE BEEtLE

MUNK

SORANIK WARtH

GREEN LANtERN

DC DIRECt The GL movie fgures look great,but were super-jazzed about DC Directs comic-based fgures. Starting in October theres GL Se-ries 4, with Red Lantern Guy Gardner (yesssss!),Chummuk, Stel and Power Glow Hal Jordan. InNovember we get a Blackest Night box set witha Blue/Green Lantern Hal, Black Lantern Blue

Beetle, Star Sapphire Fatality and IndigoMunk, and in December its Wave 5, with

GL Gardner, GL Sinestro, Soranik Natuand Blue Lantern Warth. (Fall)

as a soulessGinGer, | suppose

it was only amaTTER OF TimE

before |went evil.


28/46page 23 of 36

BUMBLEBEE

OPtIMUSBAttLE StAtION

KRE-O

HASBRO Look, Hasbros done this whole Transformersmade out of Lego-compatible blocks thing before, but Kre-O looks awesome! The styles look very '80s era, and therobot and vehicle modes look fantastic. But our favoritething is the adorable Transformers mini-gures thatcome with most sets. There are also human drivermini-gures, but that barely matters. The littleT'Formers are the cutest things ever! (Fall)

OPtIMUS

OPtIMUS

MINItRANSFORMERS

StARSCREAM

myFOREaRmSkeep GettinGstuck to my

innER ThighS...


29/46page 24 of 36

tHUNDERCAtS

BANDAI Please allow us one celebra-tory Hooooo! After nearly 25 yearsgone from toy shelves, ThunderCatsare back with a vengeance! Bandaiwill be producing three awesomescales4-inch gures based on thenew cartoon (with magnet-driven ac-tion gures and compatible vehicles

and playsets); highly articulated6-inch gures based on the new car-toon (including a really badass look-ing Mumm-Ra); and 8-inch collectorsgures based on the classic looks ofthe characters, kicking off with Lion-Oand Tygra! Dont even get us started

on the role-play Sword of Omensthat extends and has lights and

sounds. Well only start rantingabout how we were cheated

as kids. Cheated! (Fall)

6INCH MUMMRA8INCH tYGRA

6INCH LIONO

8INCH LIONO

tHUNDER tANK

| left it in mygLOVEaGain,

didn't |?

hasanyone seen mysword of om--

| !


30/46
http://www.wizardworld.com/


31/46

RobeRt KiRKman and todd mcFaRlaneFRiends, paRtneRs, supeRstaRson teaming

up FoR 'WalKing dead' action FiguRes

byTJ DieTsch

page 25of 36


32/46

They say ThaT when hell is f ull,The DeaD shall walk The earTh.Sure, that doesnt sound great, but the bright side

is that the hottest zombies in the world are walking

right into your toy collection! Walking Dead actiongures, based on the Image Comic and its mega-

hot TV adaptation, are shambling your way rom

McFarlane Toys! The articulated gures are just

the latest collaboration between superstar comics

creators Todd McFarlane and Robert Kirkman,

who are both partners in Image, and tag-teamed

on the comic Haunt. Kicking o in September, the

line, based on the zombie-lled adventures o Rick

Grimes, his riends, amily and ellow survivors,

will start rolling out in our-gure waves, split right

down the middle between humans and zombies.

The rst wave will include Rick, Michonne and a pair

o zombies, and the second wave will be based onthe TV show and include Rick, Daryl and two more

zombies. We spoke to Kirkman and McFarlane,

together in the McFarlane ofces in Arizona, to nd

out how one births a zombie toy. (Hint: not by killing

a normal toy.)

With Robert and I being partners, I'm acutely

aware o his number one selling Image comic book,

says McFarlane. I get jealous o every time it comes

out, and we've had conversations about 'when are

we making [toys based on it]?' Then all o a sudden

Robert said he made a deal with Hollywood that

went into production airly quickly. It wasn't one

o those development hell deals I've been involved

with in the past. All o a sudden I said 'Wow, he's got

this big book and the brand just got upped, which

means we can sell the s--t out o this stu.

According to Kirkman, the close working

relationship the two already enjoy will lead to better

toys. We've been working together or a number o

years now, we know each other really well and one

o us just happens to have a toy company, Kirkman

says. So there's denitely the luxury o a comort

zone there where I can just call Todd up and say,

'Let's do this with the toys and let's do that.'

The gures themselves will have more incommon with McFarlanes recent Halo toys than

the statuesque gures he did based on Image

comics last decade. The Walking Dead gures will

stand around 5-inches tall and come packed with

accessories, multiple points o articulation and

action eatures.

The toys in the aisles are trending a little bit

smaller, McFarlane says. So, i we were going to

have a chance at the mass level, that scale works.

Plus, i you keep them a little bit smaller you save a

little bit more money, so then I can actually go and

put it into articulation and some un stu, and we

can still keep it under the price point.I don't know i comic ans are actually going to

just liKe in thecomic (above), it's

RoameR (leFt) andRicK gRimes.

page 26of 36


33/46

sit around and play with these toys, although they

should, says Kirkman, but I think it's awesome to

have toys that are articulated to the point where

you could pose them however you want on a shel

and you could play with them. I'm really excited to

be bringing that to the Walking Dead gure line.

The gures will also come packed with accessories

appropriate to the character. Rick comes in his

sheri's gear, cowboy hat, hatchet and the duel

bag o guns he borrowed rom the police stationearly in the series, while Michonne comes with her

trademark sword, poncho and a series o tools

she used on the Governor ater he tortured her.

McFarlane had the luxury o asking the characters

creator what hed like to see.

That's the cool thing about doing this with Todd,

because he can just call me up and say 'The Rick

gurewhat should he have?' Kirkman says. And

I'll just tell him, 'Make sure he's got his hat and a gun

and it'd be cool i there was a shotgun, and do the

hatchet.' I don't know i I'd be able to be that hands-

on i I was doing this with anybody else.

The two creators used a similar process to naildown exactly which versions o the characters to

adapt rom a series that has racked up more than

80 issues since its launch in 2003.

We're trying to start chronologically with the

toys, Kirkman says. The thing about The Walking

Deadis that Volume 1 and Volume 2 are still selling,

so everyone's still very amiliar with what the early

versions o the characters look like. So we're not

really planning on doing two gures and riding

o into the sunset. The idea is that, i the line is

successul, we'll get into wild-and-wooly bearded

Rick and [SPOILER IF YOURE NEW TO THE

COMICS] missing the hand and all the various other

KiRKman and

mcFaRlane (top leFt),unpainted michonne(top Right) and the

luRKeR zombie.

page 27of 36


34/46

gures. So we might as well do the early versions o

them rst and then move on rom there.

But, o course, it would hardly be a Walking Dead

toy line without zombies. Kirman says that, or

the most part, they will be taken directly rom the

comic and the TV series, though it might take somehunting to identiy them. McFarlane also noted that

some hunting might be necessary to dig up all the

extra eatures these creatures will sport.

From my end, I was looking or un actor rom

the zombies, McFarlane says. I had no doubt

we could do some cool zombie stu. In the comic

books and some o the events that mirror that in the

TV show, all o these guys don't necessarily remain

intact through all their battles.

McFarlane explained that the Roamer Zombie

doesn't just eature a wedge to insert an axe, but will

actually split across hal the ace, revealing a good

amount o gore underneath. The goal is to create amostly unseen seam that will encourage collectors

to really explore the gures once the package is

opened. Other zombies will split in hal like some o

the rougher walkers in the comics.

What I'm hoping or is that, in the package, it

may look a little mundane or lack o a better word,

and you'll go Oh, a zombie, McFarlane says. But

once you get it out o the package and start playing

with it, then you can actually see what this thing

can really do. There should be a conversion so that,

when you have it in your room, you can quickly put

it together so it looks like the version mom bought

at the store, which seems kind o reasonable. Butas soon as she leaves you can take it all apart and

it'll look kind o gross, which to me is part o the

un actor o it. I wanted to, without stepping on

anybody's copyright words, transorm, i you will,

rom a mom-approved zombie to the reason why

we as collectors at 25 might be buying it. It might

not be evident at the purchase level, but when you

get it home and out o the package, the un can spill

out.

Kirkman was content to let McFarlane, who made

his name on horric monster toys, go to town on

his zombies. McFarlane Toys has always been

about innovation and doing a lot o new things

and breaking new ground with the way gures are

constructed and the way they look, Kirkman says.

I couldn't be more thrilled with the things they've

been able to put together with these zombies.

Some o the dierent play eatures and the things

the dierent zombies are going to be doing, I think

McFarlane Toys is denitely breaking new ground

with the way they look and what you're going to be

able to do with them. It's all very much in line with

what you'd expect rom a zombie action gure, but

there's going to be some really cool stu that will

really blow people away.

theRe aRe lateR chaRacteRsliKe abRaham i can't Wait to see,

the goveRnoR is anotheR one i'mlooKing FoRWaRd to.All of them. I love them All.

RobeRt KiRKman

page 28of 36


35/46

ANAHEIM CONVENTION CENTER800 west katella avenue

anaheim, ca., 92802

ApRIl 29-30-MAy 1, 2011FRI-SAT-SUN

ALSO...

TV's BATMAN AND ROBIN

ADAM WEST& BURT WARD

MICHAEL McMILLIAN

KATE V ERNON

BILL sIENKIEwICz

CLAUDIA CHRIsTIAN

FOR MORE INFO, GO TO WIzARdWORld.COM

THE BEST IN COMICS, TOyS,

SCI-FI, FANTASy, GAMING, ANIME,

COllECTIBlES ANd MORE!
http://www.wizardworld.com/home-anaheim.htmlhttp://www.wizardworld.com/home-anaheim.htmlhttp://www.wizardworld.com/home-anaheim.htmlhttp://www.wizardworld.com/home-anaheim.htmlhttp://www.wizardworld.com/home-anaheim.htmlhttp://www.wizardworld.com/home-anaheim.htmlhttp://www.wizardworld.com/home-anaheim.htmlhttp://www.wizardworld.com/home-anaheim.html


36/46

First as an independent producer,

then as Studio Chie o Sony Pictures,

and currently as the Chairman and

CEO o Mandalay Entertainment, the

movies that Guber has produced

have generated in excess o $3 billion

in global sales and earned more than

50 Academy Award nominations.How has Guber accomplished so

much? What's the secret sauce in his

recipe or success? In his new book,

Tell to Win, Guber reveals the secrets

to fnding success in Hollywoodor

in any businessis the ability to tell

a story. We're all wired the same

way, says Guber to Wizard World.

We're all emotional creatures, we're

not inormational creatures. We don't

even remember inormation that well

unless it's bonded with emotion.

Guber whos produced blockbusterflms as Batman and Batman Returns

continues, We're wired that way

because or about 100,000 years

when we had only language as the

technologythe way we remembered

the rules, belies and values o the tribe,

the mythology, i you will, o the tribe,

oral stories, which had embedded in

them those belies, values and rules,war strategies and tactics. So it's

part o our DNA. We're designed that

way, as tellers and listeners o stories.

And, in doing that, what happens is

the story becomes a Trojan horse, i

you will, or the acts and inormation

and data[which] would never be

memorable or actionable unless they

were embedded in a story. What

makes [storytelling] so resonant and

so powerul is that it's no git rom

me to anybody at all; everybody has

it inside them. I'm just shining a lighton it.

here are few people working in Hollywood todaywho can claim as much success as Peter Guber.

TAKE A LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK!

page 29of 36
http://www.peterguber.com/telltowin/index.php?ref=pg_com


37/46

I

N 2009, GAREB SHAMUS, founder of Wizard En-

tertainment, came with his partner Peter Levin

to talk me into investing in their online venture

Geek Chic Daily, a daily online newsletter for

pop culture fans that highlighted the latest incool yet geeky comics, toys, games, movies,

technology, and gear. Little did I know that I would be on

the receiving end of a story tailored with masterful care to

appeal to my personal interests.

Shamuss publications include Wizard magazine, considered

the most inuential in the comic book, toy, and character-

based genre, as well as ToyFare and FunFare magazines.

He also owns and operates the Big Apple, Chicago, Phila-

delphia, Toronto, and Anaheim Comic-Con festivals, whichare like Woodstocks for comic fans. Gareb, in other words,

is a guru of geeks.

Since Peter Levin had rst introduced me to him a few

months earlier, Gareb had observed that I, too, was making

products that were very youth-centric. Hed also noticed

that I was a few decades past my twenties and had no

direct voice in the conversation of my youthful audience.

Sensing that these vulnerabilities concerned me, Gareb

used them with great precision to interest me in his digital

newsletter and website for popular culture enthusiasts.

At the outset of our meeting he literally laid my concerns

on the table by presenting physical evidence that I was out

of touch with a vast new realm of business opportunity.

He showed me some of the comics and graphic novels that

Excerpted from Tell To Win: Connect, Persuade, andTriumph with the Hidden Powerof Story Copyright @2011 by Peter Guber. Reprinted by Permission of CrownBusiness, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a

division of Random House, Inc., New York.

page 30of 36


38/46

he published through his Black Bull publishing imprint. He

gave me a copy of Wizard, which he had started fresh out

of college and which spawned a magazine and entertain-

ment empire that has since branched out into toys, role-

playing games, and Internet media. He presented me with

a program from his most recent Comic-Con, describing it

as the largest comic book and popular arts convention in

the world! As Gareb had predicted, I did not recognize a

single one of the items he showed me. And this served as

proof positive that I was not capitalizing on this valuableand intriguing market. Why did I need to tap this market?

Because this same audience would buy many of my enter-

tainment products. The more Gareb showed me, the more

I wanted in.

Once hed hooked my interest and shown me what was

potentially in this deal for me, Gareb proved his authen-

ticity by telling me his own backstory. Hed traded sports

cards as a kid in the 1980s, then gotten into comics when

his parents started selling them at their card store. But healways wanted more information. I didnt know what art-

ists and writers were working on what books, he told me.

There was really nothing that told me what was coming

out, what was new, and what was exciting. I felt like I was

totally out of the loop. Thats when I came up with the idea

for Wizard magazine.

Savvy guy. Even as he was talking, I could tell he knew how

totally out of the loop I was feeling at that very moment.

But what he did next was story telling genius and sealed

the deal.

Remember the movie Big? he asked. Of course I did. The

1988 Penny Marshall lm featured Tom Hanks playing a

little boy trapped in a grown mans body. Well, Gareb

Tell To Win: Connect, Persuade,

and Triumph with the Hidden Power

page 31of 36


39/46

said, when I was a young boy, I saw that movie and rec-

ognized that all older people had kids inside them. Then

he reminded me of the scene in which Hanks and his much

older bossthe owner of a toy companyplay a Chop-

sticks duet on a walking piano. This experience put the

older man back in touch with his youth and with the audi-

ence he was trying to reach. It also created an emotional

bond between him and Hanks, as the spirit of youth. Gareb

understood that I was like that older guy who needed this

relationship to tap into his young audience, and Gareb wasHankss counterpart. Geek Chic Daily, his story implied, was

the piano that we could both play to bring our worlds to-

gether. If I became his partner, I would gain the currency I

badly needed to tap into the demographic that was Garebs

tribe. Once I had that currency I could sell my products as

a tribal insider, regardless of my age.

Because hed done his homework on me before he walked

in the door, Gareb told his story in a way that resonated

with my head, heart, and wallet. In other words, he ap-pealed to what interested me, what I wanted, and what

I needed. I joined Gareb and Peter as a third partner, and

Geek Chic Daily launched in October of 2009.

Tell To Win: Connect, Persuade,

and Triumph with the Hidden Power

Want to read more of Gubers adviceand tales from telling stories to sell youideas? Check out www.peterguber.com to

read more about the book or order yourown copy.

page 32of 36
http://www.peterguber.com/telltowin/index.php?ref=pg_comhttp://www.geekchicdaily.com/http://www.peterguber.com/telltowin/index.php?ref=pg_comhttp://www.peterguber.com/telltowin/index.php?ref=pg_com


40/46
http://www.geekchicdaily.com/


41/46

TWISTEDTOY THEATER

the

of

CONFEDERACY

WRATH

presents

BY:

ACLIN

AND

GUtIeRReZ

WITH:

BRICKeN

DIetSChAND

MeJIA

PHOTOS:

ReILLY

THEYRE TOYS,

AnD THEYRE TWISTED...

page 33of 36

Planet aPPalachior 9,

in the Billhilly system

now | justhave toplant

my flagand wellBe on our wayto ourmedalceremony. scan for

the neareshot alien

farmersdaughter

sPock.

soon, aBoard thestarshiP enterPrise

well,admiral,we finally

whats all thecommotionBehind you? are

you having amedal ceremony

without mychestthere?

AfrAid not,KirKthis is Adecommission-

ing ceremony!

With our

missioncomplete,starfleetsbudget

is being slashed and

Were going to have

tolay offalmosteveryone!

even your

chest! andyour creW.

|llskipthestandard

scanning forintelligent lifejoke, caPtain.

and yourecertainthat

no man has

gone hereBefore, sir?

| reckonhe aint.

this isitthen, sPock--thelastPlace inthe universe thatno man has gone

Before!

well, caPtain,congratulations--it only took 45years, But you

finallycomPletedour five-year

mission.

indeed!

thats not aflagthose

are yourpantson a

stick.

oh, notthese--

Plant myflag is a

euphemism.
http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/http://www.wizardworld.com/


42/46

TWISTED TOYS

page 34of 36

later |cantget fired!

my only skill issendingred-

shirted mentoget slaughtered, andPizza hut isnt hiring

any managers!

|m outof ideas,space

lincoln.

well,whenever |

get stressedout, | justkick uP a

civil War.

good forexciting themissus

too!

thatsit!

sPacelincoln,youre agenius!

|dconsider

getting ahat,too. a Bigtall one!

shortly, Back on the Bridge

since wedeclared, youget to go first

in choosinguniformcolors.

sPock,youlllove

this--itsperfectly

logical!

now theycantshut

down starfleetBecause theyllneed to use it

to fightme!

uhspock?

FWOOOOOSH!

caPtain, sensorsindicate the smallcraft that just

launched containedmr. sPock, lt. uhura

and mr. sulu, headedtoward federation

sPace.

well, thisconfederacys atotal sausage

festnow.

admiral, |dlike to announce

that the enterPriseand her crew are

officiallysecedingfrom the federation

and declaringcivil War!

TO BECONTINUED

NEXTWEEK!


43/46

NEW ORLEANS

What's our favorite part of ourWizard World conventions(Now held pretty much monthly

throughout the year and throughoutNorth America)? Denitely getting tointeract with the fans who make their ownamazing costumes and cosplay as theirfavorite characters. Want your costumeshared with the world? See below...

COSPLAYGROUNDYou dress up like your favorite character, we send the pictures out into the world.We promise well be gentle.

page 35of 36

|'m going

to kick the assof everyone whodidn'tgo see

'drive angry 3d'on openingweekend.

| .

suck it,joker! ladieslovecool

hatter!

Sendyourhom

emadecostum

es

tobullpen@wiz

ardworld.com

to

befeaturedin

CosPlaygroun

d.You

couldwinprize

swhileshowin

g

offyourskills.

Whoknows,

youmightbeth

enextgreat

costumedesigner

ona

bigmovie!

SENDITIN!

wow.we're gonna

be busy.

da t'ievesguild stole myother pants,

chere!


44/46
http://www.toywiz.com/


45/46

TOY SOLDIERING

T

hink you have what it takes to survivethe annual American International

Toy Fair in New York City? So did ourstaffers Justin Aclin and Carlos Mejia, butafter two straight days of non-stop actiongures, their minds broke. The results arewhat you see here...

BACKDOORThis week's randomness: Toytomfoolery as our staff hits theNew York Toy Fair

page 36of 36

but if caroll

spinney's overthere, whose handis that up the back

of my shirt?

well, | foundluigi, but my

princessis inanother claw

machine.

can |interest you in

someheavypetting?

| canhaz carlos

burger?

back to thedoUche-er.

Left: Carlos models DiamondSelect's Back to the Future II hat.

Above: Justin shares a momentwith Oscar the Grouch at Hasbro's

Sesame Street display.

Above: Carlos meetsa feline friend, and(right) tries to win her

something nice.


46/46

C O M I N G N E X T W E E K I N

HOMELAND

DIRECTIVE

THE

The man who brought youThe Surrogates unleasheshis next hit graphic novel,The Homeland Directive. Hearabout this tale of terror andgovernment conspiracies rst,next Wednesday!

Introducing the Wizard WorldGirls! They're taking youbehind the scenes of thenewest video games!

GIRLS!

WHo'sWHoInT

He

Documents

Wizard World Issue 1.1