Master Of Kung-Fu #120

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,

Doug Moench did not create Shang-Chi (Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin did), but when he took over the book, he ran with it, creating an epic 100-issue run on Marvel Comics' Master Of Kung-Fu that remains, I think, unsurpassed in its 1970s-1980s greatness.

Shang-Chi is the son of the legendary villain Fu Manchu. And the cast of characters that Moench added to the book include elderly Fu Manchu-hunter Sir Denis Nayland Smith and his muscle, Black Jack Tarr, Clive Reston (who is alleged to be the son of James Bond and a nephew of Sherlock Holmes), Leiko Wu, and a pair of recurring characters based on Groucho Marx and W.C. Fields.

Issue #120, January 1983, “Dweller By The Dark Stream,” is a stand-alone story, not part of some giant conspiracy-laden arc. All of the series’ regular cast is tied up with the exception of Shang-Chi. His planned meditation is interrupted by Rufus Carter, a former CIA agent (and former kickboxing champ) who some call “the ebony Bond.” Carter’s a one-eyed freelance private eye who persuades Shang-Chi to be his back-up man on his first case.

Click to continue reading Master Of Kung-Fu #120

LG Nexus 4 announcement coming October 29th?

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds, Rumors,

It appears that the next Google Nexus smartphone iteration is set to be announced on October 29th, according to French newspaper Le Figaro. The Nexus 4 is being manufactured by LG, a switch from Samsung and HTC, which have built past Nexus devices for Google. A quick run down of the specs: the Nexus 4 sports a whopping 4.7-inch IPS720p  display, 8GB or 16GB of storage space (What? No 32GB or 64GB version?), 2GB RAM, 8-megapixel rear camera, and NFC, all powered by a Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor. Since this a "pure Google experience" device, it will ship with the latest version of Android, Jelly Bean.

Read More | Le Figaro

Lexus CinePrint ad uses iPad to merge print and digital to promote 2013 Lexus ES (video!)

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Misc. Tech, Transportation,

Lexus calls it CinePrint, we call it brilliant. The luxury auto maker has created a very nifty interactive marketing ad, which utilizes a user's iPad to bring a 2013 Lexus ES to life in a magazine. From a marketing standpoint, the illustration is very impressive and gets the reader involved in the process of merging print and video. This is surely lacking when just reading a static page or watching a traditional car commercial on TV, at which point we usually just turn the page or tune out. It's still an ad, but it's pretty freaking cool. Check out the video after the break.

Click to continue reading Lexus CinePrint ad uses iPad to merge print and digital to promote 2013 Lexus ES (video!)

You can now pre-order Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8 PCs

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hot Deals, Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Software,

Microsoft has just announced that, starting today, you can now pre-order Windows 8 Pro. The normal price for the disc is $199.99, but during the upgrade promotion period, the package will cost $69.99, a $120 savings. Upgrade pricing will be in effect through January 31, 2013. It's nice, but it's still a far cry from the $20 OS X Mountain Lion. If you want to get in on the upgrade pricing, head over to Amazon--you'll receive it on October 26th, the same day it is released publicly. If you'd rather to go a brick-and-mortar location, you'll also find similar offers at the Microsoft Store, Best Buy, Office Depot, and more.

In addition, you can now pre-order Windows 8 PCs from companies like Acer, HP, Sony, Samsung, and others.

Read More | Windows 8 Pro

AllThingsD: Apple will announce iPad mini on October 23

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Rumors,

AllThingsD is reporting that it's been informed by "people familiar with Apple plans", by which they might mean Apple PR, that an invite-only event is being held for October 23rd for the much-rumored  and highly-anticipated iPad mini. The report also speculates that the event will be held at a smaller venue like Apple's Town Hall. The timing makes sense since the new revamped user interface iTunes was promised by Apple to be released at an unspecified date in October. Likewise, it is a perfect competitive maneuver against the Microsoft Surface Tablet which is slated to launch on the 26th.

The iPad Mini is rumored to house a 7.85-inch IPS display with the same resolution of the iPad 2 and a new Lightning connector. The starting price is expected be around $199-249. Details of the wireless connectivity are vague, yet some are speculating it will be Wi-Fi-only, forgoing a cellular option. If I were a betting man, the iPad mini will be very thin, light, easy for one-handed use and perfectly sized as a stocking stuffer for the upcoming holiday shopping season. In addition, AllThingsD has a good track record forecasting past Apple events. So, fingers crossed. 

Read More | All Things D

The ever-shrinking SIM card

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Editorial, Features,

What you see in the image above is the evolution of mobile phone SIM card design over the past four years. The largest in the image, known as the mini-SIM, was used for quite a while as the standard in GSM cell phones. However, as smartphones began to rise in popularity, drop is cost, and brought increased functionality, it was determined that the mini-SIM just wasn't mini enough. It took up too much of the precious real estate that mobile phone manufacturers needed for other things. Thing like a GPS radio, Wi-Fi, larger batteries, dock connectors, graphics chips, and more. And so began the start of the shrinking SIM card.

Click to continue reading The ever-shrinking SIM card

Samsung announces Galaxy S III mini with 4-inch Super AMOLED display

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds,

We knew that the Samsung Galaxy S III mini was coming, and now it's official. The 4-inch smartphone was announced earlier today in Frankfurt, Germany, sporting Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, 1GB RAM, and a 1GHz dual-core processor. Other specs include the ability to choose between an 8GB and 16GB model (both are expandable with an extra 32Gb microSD card,) 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 5-magapixel rear camera, VGA front camera, and a bunch of wireless support (802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, FM radio, and NFC. Aside from pricing and availability, which is nowhere to be found just yet, we're wondering--when did 4-inch smartphones became referred to as "mini"?

Apple granted patent that can disable your iPhone 1984-style

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News,

Apple is not shy about submitting patents on its creations, but this one is a little different. This particular filing attempts to patent the essence of 1984, and would give the Cupertino-based company the sole right to disable a user's iPhone camera app in restricted areas, such as at a concert venue or movie theater. However, it appears that the now-granted patent may disable far more than just your ability to take snapshots.

Click to continue reading Apple granted patent that can disable your iPhone 1984-style

Read More | Business Insider

Comic Book Circulation: 1965

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Independent,

Comic Book Plus has loaded up a ton of old stuff, including complete copies of Capa-Alpha, the legendary (and still publishing) apa (amateur press association), of which I was once a member in reasonable good standing. This is from K-a #20 (May 1966), pages 21 and 21 at the link. It’s from a zine by Andy Zerbe called Saraband.

Zerbe collected the circulation reports from the various comics that published them and posted them in a list. These should be referring to the average sales from 1965. And not every title is listed; Zerbe reminded in his introduction that not every publisher and not every title had a circulation report.

There are some Marvel and DC titles included, but you’ll have to go to the link to check them out. I find this kind of thing fascinating as a snapshot of the industry at a specific time.

Naturally, looking at the numbers, any publisher today would kill to have sales like these, but it was a different era, newsstand only and there’s no going back. Here are four of the publishers Zerbe tracked: Charlton, Archie, Dell and Gold Key.

Click to continue reading Comic Book Circulation: 1965

Read More | The Comics Chronicles

Comic Book Jobs: University of Texas

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,

The Unviersity of Texas at Austin isn’t the kind of place you’d ordinarily find a comic book job, but there’s a slight one over there.

The school is looking for an Administrative Associate ($2,430/month) for all of the usual functions, with this one tossed in:

“Assist with the Comic Book, Trailblazer, Math and Science Competitions and executive breakfast events.”

I don’t know about the rest of the stuff - details at the link - but the competition sounds like fun.

Good luck, job seekers!

[Artwork: University of Texas]

Read More | University of Texas