New products dominated the Top 10 Cool lists this month, as strong new releases timed for the holidays pushed aside older ones.

The venerable Simpsons top two categories in our Top 10 Cool lists for October, compiled from reports submitted by retailers across the country.

The biggest surprises at the top of the lists in August are the #1 toys product -- Clive Barker's Tortured Souls from Mcfarlane -- and the #1 anime -- the El Hazard OVA DVD box set.

Wizards of the Coast, the world's leading manufacturer of collectible card games, has announced plans for the release of its Harry Potter trading card game, which will debut in August.

The retailer sales numbers that ICv2 has collected for June continue to display the trends that we have seen over the past six months.

Tucked inside the massive monthly listings of products from comic distributors like Diamond and FM are the modest offerings of SQP, typically a group of trade paperbacks which retail for under ten dollars each.

Trends that we have seen during the first quarter, such as the increasing dominance of the DVD format, the overall sales importance of high ticket items, and the continuing reign of CCGs are even more apparent in the April numbers.

In an open letter addressed to 'Friends of Magic' and posted on the Wizards of the Coast website, Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering , announced that he is stepping down to concentrate on personal interests.

Pojo's Pokemon magazine will soon cease monthly publication. Although sources had earlier told ICv2 that the April issue would be the last, the May issue is currently on newsstands, and the June issue, which will be on the stands in early May, will be the last regular monthly issue.

Wizards of the Coast announced an ambitious slate of products for 2001 at the Gama show held in Las Vegas this week.