Need proof that major comic book publishers fear that print comics are a dying commodity? News from DC’s camp may just be that. Word has recently come in that the megapublisher will be changing all current comics that are priced at $3.99 to be slashed down to $2.99 starting in January of 2011.

From a DC press release:

“As Co-Publishers, we listened to our fans and to our partners in the retail community who told us that a $3.99 price point for 32 pages was too expensive. Fans were becoming increasingly reluctant to sample new titles and long term fans were beginning to abandon titles and characters that they’d collected for years.” said Dan DiDio, DC Comics Co-Publisher.

“We needed a progressive pricing strategy that supports our existing business model and, more importantly, allows this creative industry to thrive for years to come. With the exceptions of oversized comic books, like annuals and specials, we are committed to a $2.99 price point.”

When taking into account mini-series, annuals and specials, more than 80% of DC’s comic books will be priced at $2.99.

This effects many of the major titles and ongoing stories such as American Vampire, Batman: The Dark Knight, Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors, and JSA All-Stars as well as many licensed titles like Gears of War, God of War, Kane & Lynch, and Ratchet & Clank. All of those titles will now be slashed down to $2.99.

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Just when you thought Hollywood would be turning to more real-life based stories like The Social Network, news is now coming in that the video game franchise Just Cause is getting optioned into a major motion picture. Variety has the lowdown.

Have you ever watched a snuff film? Hopefully not. But you have also more than likely never played through one either. And while Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days isn’t exactly a snuff film, it has the potential to have been one. Taking two gun toting criminal psychopaths with foul mouths and a fetish for explosions and combining them with a YouTube feeling camera and grainy film effects in this game gets you about as close to being a part of a murderous duo as anyone should ever legally be a part of.

Gameplay:

Kane & Lynch 2 plays a lot like a standard third person shooter. Progress through a guided path. Shoot any and everything that gets in your way. Along the way, pick up more ammo and better guns. Repeat until completion. Just as it sounds, the basic mechanics of Dog Days are fairly cookie-cutter.

There are a few instances where the game derives from the usual formula however. One such noticable feature is not automatically picking up ammunition your character comes across. Instead you need to search it out and manually pick it up. This winds up making players a lot more conscious of their surroundings and prevents total run and gun play.

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When most comic properties dry up, the obvious next medium for Hollywood to take advantage of would be video games, we’ve seen where it can go well (at least financially) with Disney’s Prince of Persia, and where it can go awry with something like Silent Hill.

We’re holding out for the recently announced Kane & Lynch adaptation, based on the game by Eidos. It was originally announced that stunt coordinator Simon Crane was taking on directorial duties for the film, but that seems to have changed, as the studio is looking to director F. Gary Gray to take over. From Variety:

F. Gary Gray (“Law Abiding Citizen”) is in early talks to direct Lionsgate and Nu Image/Millennium Films’ bigscreen adaptation of the Eidos videogame “Kane and Lynch: Dead Men.”

Bruce Willis has long been attached to play the mercenary Kane in the actioner, and Jamie Foxx came on to play the rage-prone killer Lynch earlier this year. Foxx worked with Gray in “Law Abiding Citizen.”

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It shouldn’t come as a surprise we like to play some games around here. When we have some downtime at the plush offices of The Flickcast, the team often assembles in the rec room in front of the 60 inch plasma TV and plays some XBox 360. Sure, we can choose from any number of brand new, cutting edge games but we also like to have some fun with XBox Live Marketplace games as well.

Fortunately, to help out with this and so we know what to get when, Microsoft’s own Major Nelson has graciously provided a schedule of upcoming game releases available in the XBox Live Marketplace in the next few months.

Here’s the scoop according to the Major:

Xbox LIVE Deal of the Week:

April 26: The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, 400 points
May 3: Zombie Apocalypse, 400 points

Xbox LIVE Games on Demand:

April 27: Shrek the Third (All regions except Japan)
April 27: Far Cry (North America)
April 27: Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (North America)

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This week On the Radar George Lucas seeks to capture the minds of even younger viewers, Image Comics takes a shot at Marvel, and one of the most famous music videos of all time may go 3D.  All that and whole bunch of other fun stuff!

Crispin Glover talks Back to the Future controversy

Personally, I didn’t realize Back to the Future was mired in any kind of controversy, but it is.  Speaking at a promotion for Hot Tub Time Machine, Crispin Glover, who played Marty McFly’s (Michael J. Fox) Dad spoke about the raw deal he was dealt after the first film came out:

“On the DVD to the Back to the Future trilogy, Bob Gale has said something that’s totally fabricated,” Glover told a group of reporters at this weekend’s press junket forHot Tub Time Machine. “He said I asked for twice the amount of money that Michael J. Fox asked for in the first film. In the negotiation for the second film, they offered me less than half of what any of the actors that were being asked to come back in the film—Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Tom Wilson. They had all done studio films, and they’d made a lot more money. I was being penalized.”

Interesting stuff.  Mind you, considering the somewhat lackluster opinions of the second and third film maybe Glover got off easy by not being in them.

Jamie Foxx to star in Kane & Lynch video game adaption?

There hasn’t been a lot of talk about the film adaption of video game Kane & Lynch other than it could star Bruce Willis as Kane.  Now, another big name is being tossed around to play opposite Willis, Jamie Foxx.  Developed by IO Interactive Nu Image/Millennium is set to finance with Lionsgate distributing.  While I’m confident in the actors involved, video games are not well known for the best of translations to the big screen.

George Lucas bringing Galactic Heroes to TV

Ask any “real” Star Wars fan and they will probably tell you that The Clone Wars cartoon is pretty childish.  Well, prepared to consider that more mature entertainment.  Looking to draw in even younger viewers to the Star Wars universe, George Lucas is working on a cartoon adaption of the Star Wars: Galactic Heroes toy line.  You know, those chunky figures with a whopping two points of articulation (usually the arms).  Worse yet, this problem means more screen time with the one Star Wars character that can relate best to 3 year olds-Jar Jar Binks.

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