Maybe it's because the specialty market is counter-cyclical, or maybe it's because it is product driven and there are lots of good products in the offing, but according to retailers ICv2 heard from, the pulse of the industry is strong right now, at least judging from the talk at the DC RRP.

The Top 10 Cool lists for February, 2001 have just gone up on ICv2, and our comments are below. These lists are compiled from actual sales submitted by retailers.

Sometimes the pop culture products industry gets pretty wild and woolly, and last week was such a time, with three stories in different venues providing some diversion from our regularly scheduled programming.

Decipher Inc. announced this week at GAMA that they have acquired the license to create roleplaying games based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

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

Koch Records will release Pokemon 3: The Ultimate Soundtrack on March 27, 2001. This enhanced CD will include music from the third Pokemon film as well as from the Johto Journey TV shows.

Las Vegas, Nevada. The GAMA (Game Manufacturer's Association) Trade Show opened big at the Orleans Hotel here on Monday, March 19 with as many badges distributed the day before the exhibits opened as were distributed during the entire show run last year.

It certainly appears that the newly formed AOL/Time Warner is determined to achieve corporate synergy among its many disparate elements.

A first look at the ICv2 Top Ten Cool lists for January shows a return to more traditional buying patterns after the holiday season. This trend has been reinforced by a change in the Top Ten Cool format here at ICV2.

Warner Brothers has registered the domain name 'Akiramovie.com.'