[Press] ComicBase and Atomic Avenue are Back Up!

We’re back!

For the past hundred hours or so, things have been mighty rocky in ComicBase and Atomic Avenue land. The good news (and it’s very good news!) is that we’re fully back in business now, and should be pushing this week’s update to ComicBase shortly.

The trouble began when our main web server suffered a terrible and agonizing death shortly before noon on Thursday (just as Pete, on his big family vacation, was in Florida getting ready to board Space Mountain in Disney World). It was like Supermani> #75 all over again, including the part where a number of clones (backups) and heroes stepped forward to try to fill the big guy’s shoes.

After a 43-part “Crisis on Infinite Servers” story arc with twists and turns too numerous and convoluted to mention (but in which no chief characters died, and where even the special Platinum Edition of the final issue seems doomed to barely fetch cover price) we finally got things back to normal this morning.

Thanks very much for bearing with us during this time, and if you need any additional help with weird events that occurred during the unfortunate, “Crisis” storyline, please call or email support at 408/266-6883 or support@comicbase.com.

Excelsior!
-The ComicBase and Atomic Avenue teams.

All the best!

-Pete

Saving the house where Superman was born – Ordinary People Change the World

Saving the house where Superman was born – Ordinary People Change the World

Saving the house where Superman was born
By Brad Meltzer

For the past two years, while researching Jerry Siegel’s life for my new novel, I asked my friend Mike San Giacomo to take me to the actual house in Cleveland where Superman was created. I wanted to see the exact spot where young Jerry Siegel sat in his bed on that rainy summer night…where a seventeen(!) year old kid stared at his bedroom ceiling and gave birth to the idea of Superman.

And so we went. (You can read that whole adventure here and watch the video here).

But the one thing I quickly realized was that this house was in…well…it was in bad shape.

The house where Google was created is saved. The farm where Hewlett Packard was founded is preserved. And Richard Nixon’s house is a museum. But the house where Superman — one of the world’s most recognized heroes — was created? It’s a wreck. It’s actually a great old house — painted bright red and blue (really) — and owned by one of the kindest elderly couples in the world. But as the neighborhood sank, so did the house. When you walk inside, you feel like your foot might go through the floor. The roof is flawed. The paint is a mess. When you look up at the ceiling, you see the exposed rafters overhead. It’s a mess. Worst of all, the city of Cleveland let it happen. As the owner told me, “They won’t even give us a plaque. Not even a plaque to say, ‘This is where Superman was created.’”

Exactly.

Just heartbreaking.

And that’s why Mike and I started calling our friends. He called the city of Glenville. I called my fellow comic book writers and artists. Then I called Jerry Siegel’s wife and daughter, Joanne and Laura, who came on as our honorary chairpeople. One thing became clear: if we don’t save this place soon, the house will soon go the way of Superman artist Joe Shuster’s, which was torn down.

Soon after, thanks to the hard work of many, The Siegel & Shuster Society was born.

With a name like that, peole keep asking me, “Is that the secret superhero clubhouse?” You better believe it’s the secret superhero clubhouse.

And this charitable 501(c)(3) is dedicated to making sure the Siegel House will be saved, and restored, and there so you can take your kids one day.

Will we succeed? That depends on you. Really. You. If we want to repair the exterior, and fix the roof, and clear out the rotted wood, we have to raise the cash. Cleveland won’t pay. The big corporations won’t pay. They’re the ones who ignored it. But like the site says, I believe ordinary people change the world. I believe that we — the true fans — can do what Cleveland and everyone else couldn’t

* Bid on auction items
* Buy a shirt
* Donate now!

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NEWSARAMA – HELP HERO WIN UP TO $50K VIA YAHOO CONTEST

HELP HERO WIN UP TO $50K VIA YAHOO CONTEST

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Press Release

Until December 19th, The Hero Initiative is sharing a story of a good deed related to our nonprofit for a chance to be featured on Yahoo! and receive up to $50,000 in matching funds. It is up to YOU to vote for us as one of five most inspiring stories.

During the week of December 25, the five finalists will be featured on Yahoo! to inspire others to give to a good cause too. YOU, our supporters, will be invited to donate to Hero, if we are one of the finalists. The featured nonprofit that gets the greatest number of
unique donations that week on Yahoo! will get a matching donation of up to $50,000 from Yahoo!. Please vote for Hero and help us fight the good fight for comic book veterans in need.

Here’s how to vote:

1. GO TO THE CONTEST PAGE
http://bix.yahoo.com/contest/31907

2. PAIRS OF STORIES WILL COME UP
Vote for the best of the pair even if our story isn’t in it

3. WHEN THE HERO INITIATIVE STORY COMES UP
Vote for us! (IF you think it is the best)

So you have to vote for some of the others and vote several times, but
go do it now! Thanks!

The Lone Ranger Rides for Comic Collector Live

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Comic Collector Live – Welcome

The Lone Ranger Rides for Comic Collector Live

October 17, 2007

John Cassaday, Eisner Award-Winning artist, has been commissioned by
Comic Collector Live for a special variant cover of the Lone Ranger (#10) series
from Dynamite Entertainment.

The Lone Ranger’s second exciting story arc featuring The Lone Ranger and Tonto
concludes here in part 4 of this 4 part adventure!

Comic Collector Live creator Joe Butler, in announcing the special variant, was
quick to pay homage to Cassaday and Dynamite. “Any time you can work
with a great artist like John, it’s an honor!” said Butler. “We are
especially excited about the Lone Ranger series because it’s an American original.
And we are thankful for the folks at Dynamite for allowing us to be part of this
Eisner Nominated Best New Series!”

Comic Collector Live is offering these special variant issues exclusively
on its website and expects to offer a select number of issues at comic book conventions
such as Wizard World Texas in Arlington, November 16-18th.

Comic Collector Live members can pre-purchase these exclusive variants by clicking on the
cover links. The issues will be shipping in Mid-November.

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I couldn’t agree more…

Mark nailed it didn’t he?

news from me – ARCHIVES

Time Off

Any day now, George W. Bush will set the record for having taken more days of vacation than any other Oval Office Occupant in history.

Back in the Reagan era when that guy was setting the old record, I
wrote an article I can no longer find for a local magazine. It said
basically that Presidential Vacations were just plain a bad idea from
all standpoints. I mean, if you think you have a great guy in office,
you oughta be ticked off that he isn’t working harder. Fewer days off
might mean he could pass a couple more items on your agenda. He’s going
to end his term without doing a number of things you hoped he would
accomplish. Maybe less vacation would have made one or two more come
about.

On the other hand, if you think the current prez is inept, maybe
working harder would make him a bit more ept. Or if you think he’s
dishonest, putting in more hours might mean fewer instances where he
hides behind the claim that he didn’t know what his aides were doing,
hadn’t addressed some vital problem yet, etc. Bad presidents tend to
cower a lot behind the excuse that they’re busy tending to more
important matters…and then they go fishing.

This isn’t a slam at Bush so much as it is a bewilderment that
anyone in any career of choice needs that many days off. I always liked
Jay Leno’s old line about how if you keep needing vacations from your
job, you picked the wrong job.

Posted at 9:38 AM · LINK

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The Secret of the Wednesday’s Haul » Blog Archive » Open for Business– The Comic Podcast Update log

ACCKK I wish I thought of this!!

Great idea Scott!

The Secret of the Wednesday’s Haul » Blog Archive » Open for Business– The Comic Podcast Update log

Open for Business– The Comic Podcast Update log

by Scott Cederlund @ 6:56 pm. Filed under comics, podcasts– Other

Borrowing a page from Chris Mosby’s Tales from the Longbox and the Comics Weblog Update, I’ve build a similar service for comic book podcasts. You can now click on over to www.wednesdayshaul.com/comicpodcasts and find all the latest and greatest podcasts about comics.

To see a list of who I’ve currently go listed, click here.
If you have a podcast that I haven’t listed, please email me at scott @
wednesdayshaul.com (no spaces) and let me know the RSS feed of your
podcast.

And just to make things even more fun, this page has its own feed at http://feeds.feedburner.com/comicpodcastweblog that you can use to keep up on podcasts in your favorite RSS reader.

Bookmark to:

Related Posts:Now open for business– the Wednesday’s Haul Amazon bookstore / Wednesday’s Haul 7/27/07– Annihilated / Comics Podcasts Updates / Wednesday’s Haul 9/19/07– The Death of Superman redux / Comic Book Movies We’d Like to See– Comics Podcast Crossover #14 /

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Comic Related gets new look and invites writers

Have you visited Comic Related (www.comicrelated.com) lately? We’re writing to invite you to take a moment and check out the strikingly new look of our site! Come in, feel free to take a look around and make yourself at home. You’re among friends.

— Our new look:

In addition to our visual face lift, we’ve completely reorganized the way we share content making it easier for you to find the comic coverage you want. We’ve ramped up the amount of information we’re pushing out allowing news, commentary and related info to flow 365 days a year, multiple times a day. Try us for a few days. You’ll want to come back.

— Do you like to write?

We invite bloggers, reviewers and writers to consider joining the Comic Related family. We’re a start-up (three years on the web), but we’re growing fast and we think this might appeal to someone who wants to see their work read by a larger audience. If you are willing to contribute commentary, convention coverage or reviews (you choose the topic, you choose the title, you choose the show), we’ll build a feature commentary around your work. We don’t mind highlighting your personal web site or blog with each feature and we will work to build an image for you and your work through our site. If you provide content, we’ll work hard to get you the exposure you deserve!

— Are you in need of a forum?

We’re looking for a few talented individuals currently creating comics (amateur or pro) who’ve always wanted a forum dedicated to their work but didn’t want the hassle of setting it up or paying for it. We’re launching a new section of our forums (along with a visual overhaul for that area) next week and we’ll be featuring these individuals.

So far, Ron Fortier, a professional writer and comic creator for over twenty-five years, and Jonnie Allen, creator of The Miscellaneous Adventures of Stykman, are on board. Would you like to be next?

We would love to feature your creation and your talent on our site. When someone joins the Comic Related family, you get more than just a simple forum. You get our full support for your title. We’ll cover your title extensively through the site, feature your artwork in a number of ways and cover updates as new issues or news is released. You’re helping Comic Related by honoring us with your presence and we’ll honor your work five fold in return.

— What we have to offer:

As one of the fastest growing comic sites on the web, we offer…

* industry news
* comic reviews
* a growing set regular of commentaries and features
* podcast tracking
* convention coverage
* comic film, television and animation coverage hubs
* cover galleries
* Creator’s Corner updates (for those building an indy title or two)
* one of the best comic links pages on the web
* much, much more

Cheers,
Chuck

Comic Collector Live – Live Market Opens 6/25 – Version 8 of the Software Released

Live Market Opens 6/25 – Version 8 of the Software Released – Announcements – CCL Messageboard

We’ve been waiting a long time for this moment… and it is finally here.

Live Market is now open for business. For information about the fees for selling on CCL, please see the website at:
http://www.comiccollectorlive.com/AccountInfo.aspx

To sell on CCL, first log into the website: www.ComicCollectorLive.

On
the left menu go down to the My Store section and click Register to be
a Seller link. You’ll need a valid credit card number and a verified
PayPal ID. We will use the credit card to bill you, the PayPal account
will be where buyer pay you for items they purchase.

Once you
are set up, you’ll be taken to a page to create your shipping and
handling rates. Sellers can provide a base rate and an discount
additional rate. This will encourage people to buy multiple items from
your store. You can also indicate if taxes may apply as well as any
additional other instructions. If you requre a surcharge for shipping
international or collect a VAT fee, etc, indicate that here. When the
buyer checks out there is a place for them to add any additional fees
as needed.

Now you are all set up on CCL. Click the My Store
link to see the public facing view of your store. Any items you have
for sale will be listed here.

Once you are all set up, fire up your CCL. It will update to the latest version.

Once
in CCL, select a cover title which has issues you want to sell. Then
click the Live Market Manager button. From here you can edit items (if
you need to add condition, sale info, scans, etc.) When they are ready,
check them off and hit Queue Selected. Take a moment to review your
submission on the Review and Send tab. Also, if you want to send these
up as a Lot of items, check the box for Lot. When ready click the Send
to Live Market button.

You’ll receive a message as soon as your items are posted.

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Tommy Allsup
CCL Project Manager
Support: helpdesk@comiccollectorlive.com

www.ComicCollectorLive.com

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