Sony will release a special 2-disc DVD edition of the $400 million Spider-Man blockbuster on Friday, November 1.

Initial critical reaction to Sam Mendes' film of the Max Allan Collins graphic novel, The Road to Perdition , has been ecstatic.

Variety reported today that Warner Bros. Pictures has tapped Wolfgang Petersen ( Das Boot , Air Force One ) to direct Batman vs. Superman , which Warners envisions as the studio's tentpole picture for the summer of 2004.

Right smack dab in the middle of what has become a remarkable year for comic books, Wizardworld Chicago was short on major announcements and long on behind-the-scenes maneuvering and positioning.

Comic and graphic novel orders (dollars) were up 5% in July vs. 2001, continuing the trend that began in the second half of last year. July orders were up 1% over June, with almost all the gains coming from comics,

Initial piece orders from comic stores on the top comic titles in July were buoyed by the addition of two first issues that both sold well over 100,000 copies, Transformers Armada #1 and Battle of the Planets #1, at the number one and number three positions respectively.

Diamond Comic Distributors announced today the formation of a new division, Diamond Book Distributors, the goal of which will be to make a wide selection of graphic novels, anime, gaming, collectible toys, and other pop-culture merchandise available to the mainstream retail book market.

Estimated quantities for initial orders on comics shipping in July 2002 from pop culture stores ordering from Diamond US.

There is a definite 'blast from the past' aspect to the top 10 list of comic books these days, and that trend is also seen in movies, DVDs, and toys.

Kevin Smith's appearance on the Tonight Show , originally scheduled for June 24, has been moved up one day to Tuesday, June 25.