Elfsar Comics & Toys Blog

Here is the link to the Brodcast of CBC The National.

The promo clip is between 00:40 – 00:50 seconds  and then the segment is 23:06 – 25:34

Big ups to Elfsar customers Matheus Olmedo and Chris Stewart for making the cut.

Also a big thanks to Thomas Tan (who I know hates being in front of the Camera).

Interview with Disney CEO Robert A. Iger about the 4 Billion dollar purchase.

Disney and Marvel announced this morning that the Walt Disney Company will acquire Marvel Entertainment in a stock and cash deal valued at $4 billion. The agreement calls for Disney to pay Marvel shareholders $30 per share in cash plus Disney shares worth roughly another $20 per share.

Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter will continue to oversee the Marvel properties for Disney.

Disney CEO Robert Iger said of the transaction, “Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney. We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation.”

Perlmutter said: “Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses. This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney’s tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world.”

Disney CFO Tom Skaggs told analysts that Marvel’s third party deals with studios such as Sony and Fox will stay in place, according to MarketWatch. He also said that the deal will help Disney produce films that have better DVD potential in a generally down environment for DVD sales.

Will we be seeing Marvel Zombies featured now in theme parks?  Not likely.  But this obviously could present a major issue for Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure, as the entire “Marvel Super Hero Island” is based off of Marvel characters, as well as other character use around the entire Universal resort. Personally, I don’t see Disney allowing Universal to continue using the characters in their “direct competition” theme parks, unless perhaps Universal would be willing to pay a good sum in royalties/usage rights.   So this is a slam dunk for Disney in the theme park department.  If I were Universal, I would be very concerned right now.

Now for comic book stores, I imagine things will stay relatively the same and we will continue to bring you new and exciting stories each week as I don’t see Disney taking over the editorial department.  Fans will be concerned that the Marvel Max line (aimed at adult readers) will disappear.  No, I don’t see Hanna Montana becoming Spider-Man’s girlfriend.

As for Toys and other merchandise, we will continue to see product coming from Hasbro and Mattel.  Much like DC comics and their properties found in the WB stores , one can  imagine we will start seeing Marvel product in Disney stores dotted around the country.

The exciting news to me is about Pixar.  Pixar’s John Lasseter has already met with some of the key Marvel creative executives fairly recently and the group got very excited pretty fast. We might be seeing a few animated pictures with Marvel characters in the future. 

Face it Marvel Shareholders.  You just hit the Jackpot!

Note: Stay tuned to CBC’s report at 6pm tonight on TV.  Elfsar Comics will be offering their take about this rather big news for our industry.

Hey all,

Wow summer sure has flown by with September being right
around the corner.  Here is the latest News from
ELFSAR COMICS & TOYS.

Please remember, you can always check what is really
“New this Week” on our website as you probably know that both
DC and Marvel are not always 100% correct with there shipping dates.
Check out what’s new this week at: www.elfsar.com. 

Okay, on with the news... 

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YOUR MONTHLY IMPORTANT ODERING REMINDER! AUGUST
ORDERS ARE DUE THIS WEDNESDAY the 26st!

Augusts orders are already due, so if you have not already done so
please send your wants and unwants to us ASAP. If you are having
trouble deciding or want to know what we think on the October solicits
than make sure not to forget to check:
http://www.elfsar.com/Elfbytes%20Articles/Elfbytes.htm

Note: All Comic Saver File Customers should really find the time to read this as we
sometimes offer product not yet listed in Previews and some product may not be
automatically ordered for you on your file.

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FCBD COMES EARLY THIS YEAR (Exclusively at ELFSAR!!!)

Elfsar was so impressed with the turnout from Free Comic Book Day
back in May that we are doing it again! So if you missed out last time
here is your second chance. OCTOBER 31st will not only be Halloween
but also another FCBD style event. There will be Creator Signings,
Costumes, Prizes, Fundraisers and a big SALE!  The first
announcement for the creator signing is up on the blog:
http://www.elfsar.betweenthestaples.com/2009/08/21/lulu-award-
winning-cartoonist-signing-at-elfsar/

More news is to come…
Keep Checking: http://www.elfsar.com/FCBD/Halloween/Event.htm

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LISTEN TO THE PODCAST:

Do you like Superheroes? Do you like things that are geek?
Do you like sex toys? Do you want to know what the Mosses method
is for picking up girls?
Let me introduce you to the 321 Podcast updated with a new episode
every Sunday. These 3 guys put on a smart and interesting show that
will either gross you out or make you laugh a lot.
Well worth the listen.  Find them at http://www.the321podcast.com/

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That’s all for now,

-The Big Elf

From Green Candy Press, Lulu Award-winning cartoonist Abby Denson is a regular script-writer for both Marvel and DC Comics, and the creator of the queer comic Tough Love:  High School Confidential will be joining us on Halloween for a comic book signing of her new book Dolltopia.   Abby is touring across Canada and she will be bringing, the punked-up Barbies and stripped-down Kens from her new book Dolltopia to join us on Halloween. This is a special stop on her  tour to celebrate it’s release.

More information on Abby, and on Dolltopia itself, can be found on her
website: http://abbycomix.com
or:  http://www.greencandypress.com

Dolltopia is the story of Kitty, a ballerina doll
forced into a not-so-happily-ever-after living arrangement with a male jock toy. Filled with discontent, Kitty takes it upon herself to escape her human-imposed domesticity and create a new life and a new image for herself away from the persecution of the human world. On this mission, she finds not only a host of like-minded individuals, but a veritable heaven for the alternative doll: Dolltopia.

Abby Denson will be conducting a reading from her new book Dolltopia at Elfsar Comics & Toys during the day on October 31st and this will not be the only thing happening this Halloween,

More news to come…

I was just interviewed this morning to provide insights to the marriage proposal in Archie Comics #600 (which came out today) by CBC Radio during the “Early Edition”with Rick Cluff.  I gave my thoughts on the issue and talked a little bit about the comic industry and the unique form of what comics are as entertainment.  It actually turned out to be a pretty good segment with a lot of humor.  It also provided a nice plug for our store and we have been getting a fair bit of extra orders for the issue to my surprise.

CBC should have the archive up soon.  The segment was at 6:50am on August 19th, 2009.

What do G.I. Joe and Cobra do during there spare time?

I found it odd that Elfsar did not get any advance screening passes for the upcoming G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra movie.  We normally do promotions with local theatres for summer releases and I being a nostalgic G.I. Joe fan wanted to do something with this film.  Upon further research I discovered that Paramount is refusing to even screen this film for most critics in advance of release, which probably doesn’t mean that they think reviews will be good. However, Rotten Tomatoes has G.I. Joe at 91% positive, but it’s based on a very limited 11 reviews (10 positive) from a carefully selected set of reviewers that were allowed to see the picture. Other reviewers will have to wait to see the film until opening day.

One wonders why Paramount execs think that bad reviews would matter. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, also tied to a Hasbro toy line, is rated 20% positive by Rotten Tomatoes (that’s 20% of reviews are positive) and as of yesterday was at $389 million domestic, $811 million worldwide total box office receipts. It seems Paramount wants everyone else to take a Snakeyes-like vow of silence.  (that change still bugs me) Do they think that G.I. Joe will end up with less than 20% positive reviews, and that will turn the tide against it? 

G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra opens this Friday, August 7th with a wide range of merchandise associated with it, including comics and toys, and a heavy marketing campaign supporting it.  Sadly, that marketing campaign does not include Joe Cola.