Dark Horse expands digital offering with new titles on Google Play

Dark Horse continues to further its digital initiative with the announcement of titles now available on Google Play.

Hot on the heels of a successful partnership with Amazon Kindle, and following up on the incredible success of Kobo and Nook, the Portland-based company has announced a partnership with Google Play.

Dark Horse digital graphic novels are now available for purchase in the Google Play store, including over four hundred of the company’s top titles, like Mass Effect, Hellboy, Star Wars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity, Sin City, and more.

“We are very excited to be working with Google to bring Dark Horse graphic novels to the Play store,” said Dark Horse’s director of digital publishing, Mark Bernardi. “It is an important addition to the growing list of platforms where our digital books can be enjoyed.”

Readers can download their favourite Dark Horse graphic novels on Google Play and more titles will be added every month.

Stan Lee's Kids Universe set to launch this weekend

1821 Comics (www.1821comics.com), comic legend Stan Lee and his company POW! Entertainment will team up tomorrow for Stan Lee's Kids Universe Day in Los Angeles.

The event celebrates the first properties from 1821 Comics, Stan Lee and POW!’s new family-friendly publishing imprint Stan Lee's Kids Universe which include Digital E-Books, books and games for multiple platforms.

The children participating in Stan Lee's Kids Universe Day will get an exclusive sneak preview of the new line of family friendly properties and will engage in a variety of fun activities.

The event will take place at Giggles N’ Hugs (www.gigglesnhugs.com) in Century City, and will include invited children and their parents, who will have the chance to enjoy a book reading session for the kids with Stan Lee, where he will be giving out signed copies of books from the new imprint; lunch and games with characters from the Stan Lee’s Kids Universe; playtime with rescued animals; and arts and craft sessions for the kids.

Stan Lee's Kids Universe is a children's multimedia company specializing in graphic novels, picture books, digital books, and games.

Stan Lee's Kids Universe is the brainchild of Paris Kasidokostas Latsis and Terry Dougas, founders of the graphic novel and comic book company 1821 Comics, Comic legend Stan Lee, Founder, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of POW! Entertainment and his producing partner, President and CEO of POW! Entertainment Gill Champion. Stan Lee's Kids Universe Day marks the official unveiling of the properties, which will be available for purchase immediately following the event.

1821 Comics co-founder Paris Kasidokostas Latsis commented, “It’s an exciting time for 1821 Comics, after the successful launch of our first book with Stan Lee Romeo & Juliet The War, which was an instant New York Times Best-Seller, we get to officially unveil our new label. The brand at its core is a fun, creative and family friendly imprint that we are hoping will change the game. We are looking forward to the day."

“The day has come to officially unveil Stan Lee's Kids Universe and we are excited to share the properties with kids and their parents during this special celebration,” added 1821 Comics co-founder and CEO Terry Dougas.  “It’s truly an honour to continue working with POW! Entertainment and the legend himself Stan Lee - we can’t wait to share these new projects with the world in the coming weeks.”

“Stan Lee's Kids Universe was created to provide children with big imaginations an entirely new universe to explore, with the aim of telling stories that they haven’t read before yet provide educational value as well,” said Stan Lee.  “It’s a thrill to be able to bring this new franchise and its colorful characters to life.  I am excited to meet a new generation of brigadiers.” 

1821 Comics is a comic book/graphic novel company based out of Los Angeles, California founded by entrepreneurs Paris Kasidokostas Latsis and Terry Dougas. The company is devoted to bringing exciting eye popping new titles to the world of comics. Along with its own titles 1821 is teaming up with some of the top publishers on new cutting edge books. 1821 Comics will remain a diverse publisher with projects for men, women, and children spawning all age groups. The company is highly devoted to story, content, and artwork that will move readers from beginning to end.

POW! Entertainment, Inc., a multi-media entertainment company, was founded by noted comic book writer Stan Lee, together with award-winning producer Gill Champion and the late intellectual property specialist Arthur Lieberman. POW!’s principals have extensive backgrounds in the creation and production of original intellectual properties, including some of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time. POW! is utilizing Stan Lee’s historical background by perpetuating his legacy while creating and developing all new live-action films, television, digital games, merchandising, licensing and related ancillary markets, all of which contribute to global expansion. POW! partners with third parties and strategic alliances, including studios and networks, in the production and distribution of new POW! character franchises.

• Get the latest news from Stan Lee's Kids Universe via Facebook at facebook.com/StanLeesKidsUniverse or follow SLKU on Twitter at twitter.com/stanleeskidsu

• For further information about 1821 Comics visit www.1821comics.com

• For further information about POW! visit www.powentertainment.com

Malaria: Now this is what I call a motion comic!

I find a lot of 'motion comics' pretty dreadful, an unhappy blend of animation and comics without being either, but Malaria, which tells the story of Fabiano, a young Mercenary who is hired to kill Death is a different take - and superb. This short film combines origami, kirigami, time lapse, nankin illustration, comic books and western cinema.

Creator Edson Oda says his first intention was to submit this project to the Django Unchained Emerging Artist contest. However due to time and crew limitations he submitted the short film "The Writer" to that competition.

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Edson lives in Los Angeles, and is currently doing a MFA in Film and TV Production at USC. A writer, film director and copywriter, he worked at DDB Brazil with projects at DDB Madrid and Wieden+Kennedy London.

The film has earned Edson a 'staff pick' on comics site Bleeding Cool (though sadly that site has chosen not to mention its creator in its story)