Checker Book Publishing Group of Dayton, Ohio has appointed Midpoint Trade Books as its distributor to the U.S. book trade effective immediately.

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.

Chris Pollichemi of Altered States Game and Hobby in Syracuse, New York has a different slant on the Yu-Gi-Oh shortage in hobby stores. He feels Upper Deck is making the right moves, but doesn't think much of the game, or some of its purchasers.

Stan Tychinski of Collectible Dreams in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania took an extra sarcasm pill before composing this missive. He's upset about the Yu-Gi-Oh shortage for the hobby, among other things.

Diamond has added three more small publishers to its book division: IDW, Guardians of Order, and Alternative Comics.

We recently covered the introduction of the online version of Magic: The Gathering . Jerry Ringi feels it's an attack on his livelihood.

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.

WizKids, the folks who invented the Collectible Miniatures Game (CMG), have collaborated with Idea & Design Works (IDW) to create a five-issue comic mini-series based on the Mage Knight universe.

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

Kuo-Yu Liang is leaving his position as an Associate Publisher for Ballantine Books at the end of this month to join Diamond Comic Distributors, where he will spearhead Diamond's drive into the book trade.