This is last minute, but I’ll be attending VidCon this Saturday. you’ll find me at the IAWTV booth, #403, on Saturday from 9am-1pm telling people how brilliant the IAWTV is. I should be wandering the hall for the remainder of the event, so if you’re around and you see me feel free to stop me and say Hi.
Blog
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Abe Lincoln Can Fight Vampires, But He’s Not Slaying the Box Office
American President and noted stovepipe hat enthusiast Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter made $16.6 million over the weekend, placing third in the American box office behind Pixar’s latest offering, Brave, which made little over four times that amount. While some are decrying this as the death of the “vampire trend”, I see instead the death of another subgenre – the historical/horror mash-up.
If Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter had been released two years ago it would have been much more successful. Indeed, it was two years ago that the book this film is based upon
was released and became a New York Times best-seller, and the year before that was when Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, also by the same author, sold phenomenally well.
But the problem with this genre is it’s distinctly one-note, and the failure of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to make any headway in the box office is, to me, a sign that attempting to glue the historical and the supernatural in a tongue-in-cheek manner is no longer an immediate recipe for success.
In many ways, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is the subgenre’s Snakes on a Plane moment. You may recall the buzz surrounding Snakes on a Plane during production, a buzz that actually caused the filmmakers to go back and reshoot scenes to cater to the online “fanbase” the film had amassed before even so much as a trailer had been released. Once the film itself was released, however, nobody went to see it. Like ALVH, Snakes on a Plane made significantly less money in its opening weekend than analysts predicted, and suffered a more than 50% drop-off in profits the following week.
Like Snakes on a Plane, ALVH is a simple idea – Abe Lincoln, hunting vampires. Once you tell someone the core premise (something the title of the film does rather well), they don’t need to see it. They know what snakes on a plane look like, they can imagine how Samuel L. Jackson would react, they laugh, then they get back to whatever it was they were doing before. Similarly they can imagine what Abe Lincoln taking down vampires would look like. Why, then, would they need to go see the movie? Knowing that the concept exists is more than enough.
So where does that leave writers eager to ride the historical/supernatural mash-up wave? Well, for a start, I would suggest taking off the wetsuit and staying at home – I’m more or less convinced that the genre is DOA in film. I think if there’s one lesson to be learned from Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter‘s opening weekend, it’s that making another film that fits in this mold is probably not going to be the success you expect it to be.
There is, of course, still life in this concept in print. Sense & Sensibility & Seamonsters was well-reviewed, and other such books such as Night of the Living Trekkies and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After (which is exactly what you think it is) have all sold incredibly well and continue to do so. Quirk Books are continuing their “Quirk Classics” range with new titles including The Meowmorphosis, a fresh take on Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” with the principal character transforming not into an insect but instead into, ahahaha, a kitten.
Quirk can, and probably will, continue to knock out these mash-ups, but I think it’ll be a long time before we see another one make the jump to the silver screen.
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RedBubble’s AdeGee Stole My Art
Back in 2006, I crapped out this piece of Red Dwarf fan-art for an “Instruction Manual Shenanigans” competition on the Penny Arcade Forums.
Red Dwarf – Rimmer salute by ~squirminator2k on deviantARTSix years later, AdeGee on RedBubble posted it as his own tee-shirt design, and has apparently sold one. Which is nice for him, I suppose, but less so for me considering he’s ripped off my design.
I’ve left two comments on RedBubble – one on his news post, and one on the tee-shirt page itself. I’ve also tweeted @RedBubble asking them politely to pull the design as it isn’t AdeGee’s design to sell.
I’d be very appreciative if some of you could contact RedBubble as well to let them know this design is stolen, as I’m sure they’re unaware of the theft.
Thanks.
Update: The shirt design appears to have been pulled. Result!
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Deadlong Update
I updated the Deadlong page with a little background info on the comic and a single-panel preview. If you’ve read the recent Deadlong post over on the Jump Leads website then there’s not really anything new there. I just wanted to flesh the page out a little.
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Jump Leads: Coming to an End
In July 2007, Jump Leads began its very first issue. In May 2012, it will be wrapping up its last.
This decision doesn’t come easily, or lightly, or any other words ending in ly, but it feels like the time has come.
We had a phenomenal first couple of years. We went from nearly no readers to tens of thousands. We published our first book. We attended three comic conventions worldwide including San Diego Comic-Con. However the last two or three years have been difficult, and it’s been tough to maintain that growth and momentum for a variety of reasons both personal and professional.
The Voyage Home was always going to be the end of an era for the comic; the end of the status quo and the beginning of a new arc. A new season, if you like. With the end of this comic specifically designed to serve as an act ending, it feels only right that we part ways here. We’ve made some changes to the script so that the story feels less like an abrupt ending and more like the true end of a chapter.
But what about now? Well, there are still a few pages left of The Voyage Home, and we’re going to try and deliver them to you at a rate of roughly one a week, if we’re able. I still want to record a couple of those Jump Leads audioplays, too. Beyond that I have no idea, but I hope you enjoy the rest of the ride with us.
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Ending Soon
I am going out for a walk and may be some time. Won’t you join me?
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Red Dwarf: Songs in the Key of Files
I realised today that the Red Dwarf fan-comic that Kris Carter and I produced, “Songs in the Key of Files”, never really had a place to call home. I’ve alternated between linking to the DeviantArt gallery for the comic and the thread over on Ganymede & Titan where it was showcased, but I’ve decided it’s probably a good idea to have a local copy of the comic. I’ve also added it to my Resume, because I’m exceptionally proud of it.
You can read “Songs in the Key of Files” here.