The Birmingham International Comics Show returns to Millennium Point in Britain’s second city for second year running in October and has a distinct Watchmen flavour to proceedings with the inclusion of co-creator Dave Gibbons to the growing guest list and a range of panels and other events, including a special ROK Comics tie-in.
One of the most anticipated movie adaptations of all time will be the 2009 release of Watchmen, the best selling graphic novel which made the Sunday Times bestseller list and was named as one of Time magazine's top 100 most influential books since 1923. Along the way, the book has gathered a whole plethora of awards for both its creators, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons and despite it being 22 years since the series finished, DC Comics have printed one million copies of the collected edition in 2008. Such is the demand before the Watchmen movie is even released, the trailer for the movie is already one of the most downloaded and viewed on the internet ever.
Dave will be appearing at the show this year to discuss the book and answer questions.
Also on the guest list are Paul Cornell, writer top Marvel Comics title Captain Britain, who will be signing at the show for both days; V For Vendetta co creator David Lloyd; comics legend Michael Golden and fan favourite John Cassaday, who will be flying over from the USA for an exclusive weekend appearance at the show.
“BICS – as the show has become known among regular visitors – is much more than just a giant comic mart”, explains co-organiser and independent publisher Shane Chebsey. “The show acts as a gateway for both seasoned fans and those just developing an interest in the medium of comics, and enables fans to find out more about the creators behind all the big characters like Batman, Spiderman and Hellboy.
"Visitors can find bargains amongst the collectors items and discover the next big thing amongst the varied selection of publishers and artists exhibiting.”
As well as an exciting event schedule running all weekend long at the show, there will be competitions, portfolio reviews with top editors, signings, and exclusive book launches from some of the UK’s most respected publishers.
The winner of the ROK Comics-BICS co-organised competition, ROK And a Hard Place, will also be announced at the event with a Nokia 9500 mobile phone worth almost £500 up for grabs.
So whether you love Manga, web comics, superheroes, or you just want to find out more about the unique and powerful storytelling medium that is comics, the Birmingham International Comics Show 2008 is one event not to miss!
The show offers great value, with special weekend family tickets, which allow up to 2 adults and 3 children costing only £35 including all events and signings, and under 5’s go free. There are also the options of a single weekend ticket or a one-day ticket for only £16 and £10 respectively.
• Visit the official web site: www.thecomicsshow.co.uk
Show Times are: 10.30am – 5.30pm both days.
• For exhibiting enquiries email: shaneATthecomicsshow.co.uk or telephone: 01952 770013
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
ROK's Fun Little Movies and Monkey With A Shotgun Team-up for Worldwide Mobile Content Distribution
Fun Little Movies, a subsidiary of ROK Entertainment Group Inc. which owns ROK Comics, has announced that it has teamed up with award-winning comedy collective Monkey With A Shotgun to create an original comedy series for its global mobile distribution network.The new series, titled The Learnin’ Place, will launch later this month with short video clips available to download and watch for free on iPhones and from Sprint and Verizon Wireless ‘Rhythm Video’ services across the US.
The Learnin’ Place is a satirical look at the proliferation of adult education classes, taken to the extreme and will be advertising-funded.
“We are thrilled to be working with creative talent like Monkey With A Shotgun,” said FLM's President and Chief Creative Officer Frank Chindamo. “Our global audience expects great content from FLM and this deal is part of our ongoing strategy to reach out and work in co-operation with the best creators in the business to deliver instantly engaging mobile content.”
FLM, based in California, specializes in the development, production and distribution of original video content for global distribution to mobile network operators. It has distribution deals with Sprint, Verizon and ATT as well as several handset makers and overseas partners, from China and Japan to Europe, Africa and South America.
Monkey With A Shotgun is a collective of writer/directors (Padraic Culham, Cher Lytle, Rod Ramsey, Debra Stolberg and Kip Stolberg) who teamed up in 2007 to prove that online comedy content could be hilarious and still maintain high quality production values. Their vision has paid off with millions of views of their comedy shorts since the collective began. Monkey With A Shotgun shorts, including the mega-hit Spanish for Your Nanny and the cult favorite Tales from the Laundry series, have been awarded featured status on the front pages of Yahoo, MySpace, Revver, SuperDeluxe and College Humor.
• More information can be found at www.monkeywithashotgun.com
Saturday, 16 August 2008
ROK Entertainment Group Inc. Reports First Quarter Results for Fiscal Year 2009
ROK Entertainment Group Inc., the global mobile entertainment group and owner of ROK Comics, has announced its financial results for the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2008.
ROK has continued to develop its revenue-generating mobile product portfolio, comprising over 40 applications, from high-quality mobile TV streamed live and on-demand over mass-market mobile networks and the internet, to the storage of copy-protected video content for play on mobile devices, through mobile Voice over Internet Protocol (mVoIP) technologies, mobile social networks, data compression services, mobile conference-calling services and an advertising funded e-mail service for mobile users. It currently has corporate operations in the United Kingdom, the Peoples Republic of China, the United States and South Africa which are all active, as well as joint ventures in Russia, Brazil and Pakistan.
Since inception, ROK has concentrated on developing a broad portfolio of mobile technologies, services and applications and, as an expected result, has had limited revenue from the sale of products and services. Revenues for Q1 2009 are $1.0m (2007: $0.6m), representing an increase of 73%. Its net losses for the quarters ended June 30, 2008 and 2007 are $20.9m, of which $14.6m was a charge made during the quarter for stock-based compensation in accordance with US GAAP, and $4.5m, respectively, and its accumulated deficits as of June 30, 2008 and 2007 are $98.9m and $78.0m, respectively. ROK expects to increase its spending significantly as it continues to expand its infrastructure and its sales and marketing efforts, and continue research and development. As a consequence of this, ROK expects to raise additional financing to achieve its operating goals.
The Group experienced strong operational performance this quarter, alongside the focus on the current funding round. Notable developments include the acquisition of IPTV company Jalipo, which offers live streaming of TV content over the internet; the addition of its mobile TV service, ROK TV, and its mobile conference-calling service, ROK Talk, to Telenor’s ‘Playground’; offering the works of Spike Milligan to mobile users via www.spike-milligan.com and the Group’s subsidiary, ROK Comics, adding Roy of the Rovers to its comics for mobile download; and partnering with South African Airways, Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation, Vodacom and Motorola in the search for a Global Soccer Star in Tanzania, which by July 29 had conducted trials with 10,000 aspiring football players in Tanzania with thousands more lined up.
During the quarter, the Group’s subsidiary, ROK Diamonds Limited, entered into a letter of agreement with Australian-listed Mineral Commodities Ltd for the purchase of Kariba Kono diamondiferous gravel dump in Sierra Leone, which would represent the first stage in the divestment of ROK Diamonds from ROK. The Group also disposed of its interest in Rock Group plc, a manufacturer of laptop PCs and TV/PC screens.
A key agreement entered into this year and implemented this quarter is for the provision of white-label mobile TV services, including content, for America Movil, which has mobile carrier operations in 16 territories across the Americas including Mexico. This should start commercial operations in Q4.
There have been several significant developments post period-end, including the deployment of ROK’s News-on-Demand mobile video service through Ufone in Pakistan, and the launch of ROK’s Push-In-Box mobile email service via its distribution partner YuuZoo, with the service being co-branded YuuROK. Delivering regular news updates via MMS, Ufone’s Video News Service is already seeing substantial subscriber uptake whilst in just six weeks to the end of July, YuuROK had achieved almost 100,000 sign-ups. Advertising revenues are expected to grow considerably in Q3.
As a result of these acquisitions, agreements and extensions to its product and intellectual property portfolio, management believes that ROK is well-positioned for expansion over the rest of this year and beyond. The Group’s achievements were recognized when its California-based subsidiary, Fun Little Movies, won the Content Award at the prestigious Mobile Entertainment Forum in Cannes, against competition including BBH, MTV Networks International, Orange Israel and Donna Productions.
Laurence Alexander, Group CEO, commented: “This quarter has witnessed continued momentum in operational performance and we have built upon the foundations laid last year. We have again increased our revenues like-for-like, established and furthered relationships with key global players in the telecommunications sector, enhanced our product and service offerings, which was helped by our strategic acquisitions, and strengthened our intellectual property portfolio. Our achievement is reflected in the Group receiving industry recognition in winning prestigious awards, launching new services and substantially growing our subscriber base organically. As a result, ROK is well-positioned for long-term growth with strengthened foundations from which we expect to continue to rapidly expand our user base worldwide. We look forward to the future with confidence.”
• Read the full press release on the ROKCorp web site
ROK has continued to develop its revenue-generating mobile product portfolio, comprising over 40 applications, from high-quality mobile TV streamed live and on-demand over mass-market mobile networks and the internet, to the storage of copy-protected video content for play on mobile devices, through mobile Voice over Internet Protocol (mVoIP) technologies, mobile social networks, data compression services, mobile conference-calling services and an advertising funded e-mail service for mobile users. It currently has corporate operations in the United Kingdom, the Peoples Republic of China, the United States and South Africa which are all active, as well as joint ventures in Russia, Brazil and Pakistan.
Since inception, ROK has concentrated on developing a broad portfolio of mobile technologies, services and applications and, as an expected result, has had limited revenue from the sale of products and services. Revenues for Q1 2009 are $1.0m (2007: $0.6m), representing an increase of 73%. Its net losses for the quarters ended June 30, 2008 and 2007 are $20.9m, of which $14.6m was a charge made during the quarter for stock-based compensation in accordance with US GAAP, and $4.5m, respectively, and its accumulated deficits as of June 30, 2008 and 2007 are $98.9m and $78.0m, respectively. ROK expects to increase its spending significantly as it continues to expand its infrastructure and its sales and marketing efforts, and continue research and development. As a consequence of this, ROK expects to raise additional financing to achieve its operating goals.
The Group experienced strong operational performance this quarter, alongside the focus on the current funding round. Notable developments include the acquisition of IPTV company Jalipo, which offers live streaming of TV content over the internet; the addition of its mobile TV service, ROK TV, and its mobile conference-calling service, ROK Talk, to Telenor’s ‘Playground’; offering the works of Spike Milligan to mobile users via www.spike-milligan.com and the Group’s subsidiary, ROK Comics, adding Roy of the Rovers to its comics for mobile download; and partnering with South African Airways, Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation, Vodacom and Motorola in the search for a Global Soccer Star in Tanzania, which by July 29 had conducted trials with 10,000 aspiring football players in Tanzania with thousands more lined up.
During the quarter, the Group’s subsidiary, ROK Diamonds Limited, entered into a letter of agreement with Australian-listed Mineral Commodities Ltd for the purchase of Kariba Kono diamondiferous gravel dump in Sierra Leone, which would represent the first stage in the divestment of ROK Diamonds from ROK. The Group also disposed of its interest in Rock Group plc, a manufacturer of laptop PCs and TV/PC screens.
A key agreement entered into this year and implemented this quarter is for the provision of white-label mobile TV services, including content, for America Movil, which has mobile carrier operations in 16 territories across the Americas including Mexico. This should start commercial operations in Q4.
There have been several significant developments post period-end, including the deployment of ROK’s News-on-Demand mobile video service through Ufone in Pakistan, and the launch of ROK’s Push-In-Box mobile email service via its distribution partner YuuZoo, with the service being co-branded YuuROK. Delivering regular news updates via MMS, Ufone’s Video News Service is already seeing substantial subscriber uptake whilst in just six weeks to the end of July, YuuROK had achieved almost 100,000 sign-ups. Advertising revenues are expected to grow considerably in Q3.
As a result of these acquisitions, agreements and extensions to its product and intellectual property portfolio, management believes that ROK is well-positioned for expansion over the rest of this year and beyond. The Group’s achievements were recognized when its California-based subsidiary, Fun Little Movies, won the Content Award at the prestigious Mobile Entertainment Forum in Cannes, against competition including BBH, MTV Networks International, Orange Israel and Donna Productions.
Laurence Alexander, Group CEO, commented: “This quarter has witnessed continued momentum in operational performance and we have built upon the foundations laid last year. We have again increased our revenues like-for-like, established and furthered relationships with key global players in the telecommunications sector, enhanced our product and service offerings, which was helped by our strategic acquisitions, and strengthened our intellectual property portfolio. Our achievement is reflected in the Group receiving industry recognition in winning prestigious awards, launching new services and substantially growing our subscriber base organically. As a result, ROK is well-positioned for long-term growth with strengthened foundations from which we expect to continue to rapidly expand our user base worldwide. We look forward to the future with confidence.”
• Read the full press release on the ROKCorp web site
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Charlotte Corday: The Hampstead Horror Part 3
Keith page's fab adventure strip set in 1950s London continues. The delay is completely my fault -- we've been having a big promotional push for ROK Comics recently and that's cut into my new strip work. Apologies...
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
Glorious Twelfth?
Joe Gordon warns that Scottish grouse could get nasty over the next four months over on the FPI blog...
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