Pop Culture and the Book World ComeTogether
June 2, 2001
A quick trip around the exhibition floor at Book Expo America demonstrates two very important facts.
Hasbro Rides on Disney Film's Coattails
May 26, 2001
Pearl Harbor opened this weekend, and Hasbro's new line of Pearl Harbor G.I. Joe figures just happened to hit the marketplace the same week
Three-tiered In-house Rating System Planned
May 15, 2001
In a conference call with the comic press today, Marvel President Bill Jemas announced that Marvel would be pulling out of the CMAA, and would no longer be submitting its books for Comics Code approval.
Pokemon Bigger than Star Wars
May 8, 2001
In its first quarter report issued late last month, Hasbro reported a quarterly loss of $25 million, far worse than Wall Street estimates, and attributed the shortfall to rapidly falling sales of the Pokemon CCG.
Switch Will Take Effect in July
April 25, 2001
Just as Marvel has moved its bookstore distribution from LPC to Diamond, ICv2 has learned that Dark Horse is moving from Penguin to LPC for its exclusive bookstore distribution. Though no press release has been issued as of yet, we've been told that the switch will take effect on July 27, 2001. With its extensive backlist of comic trade paperback titles (only DC's is bigger) Dark Horse is a comic industry leader in bookstore sales.
Burton Film on Cover of Summer Movie Issue
April 22, 2001
Entertainment Weekly's influential 'Summer Movie Preview' issue which hit the stands Monday, April 23 features a spectacular fold-out Planet of the Apes cover. The coveted EW cover spot goes to the summer film with the most 'buzz' and Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes fits the bill for this highly competitive summer season.
Graded Cards Coming to Non-sports?
April 10, 2001
The Topps Company has signed a three-year deal with PSA, a Division of Collectors Universe. Under terms of the agreement PSA will provide Topps with graded cards, which will be sealed in clear plastic, tamper-evident cases and included in product sent to retail.
Toy Close-Outs Online
April 4, 2001
Retailers looking for bargains on toy close-outs can now check out KB Toys' online wholesale toy operation. The wholesale online service shares fulfillment and customer service with KB's regular online consumer site.
Decipher/WotC Rivalry Expands
March 27, 2001
Decipher Inc., the Virginia-based CCG powerhouse, announced that it has hired the former staff of Last Unicorn Games.
Harry Potter, Star Wars, Sports and More
March 25, 2001
Wizards of the Coast announced an ambitious slate of products for 2001 at the Gama show held in Las Vegas this week.
