Marvel announced last week that it had arranged for a new senior credit facility with HSBC Bank USA (HongKong & Shanghai Banking Corp.), with two components.

Mongoose Publishing has announced that it will be releasing roleplaying products based on characters and creations from the Judge Dredd comic property, using the d20 rules system.

Mage Knight maker WizKids has opened a retail store with an extensive play area in Redmond, Washington. The store is in a strip mall location formerly occupied by Games and Gizmo.

Marvel has announced that it is going back to press on Heroes , its 9/11 tribute/benefit book, for 'a third and final printing.'

WizKids EVP Martin Stever told us today that orders on Mage Knight Dungeons have come in about 75% higher than expected and that initial orders will have to be allocated.

Tokyopop plans to launch more than 450 new products in 2002 and the company has licensed eight important new properties.

Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada has managed to accomplish what many thought was impossible -- bring former Marvel Editor-In-Chief Jim ( Secret Wars ) Shooter back as the author of a an eight-issue Avengers series which will feature the return of the Shooter-invented arch nemesis Korvac.

The first DVD featuring Batman: The Animated Series will bow in April 2002, and the collection will include the first five episodes of the series.

Art Asylum announced today that it had been awarded the license to create Star Trek toys based on the various Star Trek series and movies.

Inkworks, the North Carolina-based trading card manufacturer, has announced a portion of its 2002 schedule. So far the company has only announced three movie-based projects for 2002. The rest of the Inkworks lineup is based on television properties.

The early word from those who have seen The Fellowship of the Ring, the 3-hour first installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is very positive.

Both Publishers Weekly and the New York Times are reporting that Barnes & Noble, the nation's largest bookselling chain, is working hard behind the scenes to get a better deal from publishers.