EdwardKnoxII

http://newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23816 RETURNING TO THE AGE OF APOCALYPSE by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean In 1995, shockwaves were felt throughout X-fandom when Marvel cancelled their existing X-Men titles, only to replace them with all-new, all-different X-titles for four consecutive months. In place of Uncanny X-Men, the adjectiveless X-Men, X-Factor, Wolverine, Generation X, X-Force, Excalibur and Cable, x-fans were introduced to a group of radical mutants in a world gone chaotic in titles such as Astonishing X-Men, Amazing X-Men, Factor X, Weapon X, Generation Next, Gambit and the X-Ternals, X-Calibre and X-Man. Professor Charles Xavier was no longer the leader of the X-Men. His son, Legion, had traveled back in time to kill the X-Men’s sworn nemesis and Xavier’s friend Erik Magnus Lensherr before he even became a villain we know him today as Magneto. However, things went horribly wrong… Xavier sacrificed himself to save his friend’s life just as the former’s future son was about to deal the killing blow. And the X-Men was never formed by Xavier in the new continuity. With Rogue by his side, Magneto became the leader of a new group of X-Men, one that involved Sabretooth, Wild Child, Blink and Morph where the various teams battled the oppressor that was Apocalypse. This was the Age of Apocalypse. And Marvel is celebrating the ten-year anniversary of the Age of Apocalypse with another event in March 2005. On board for the anniversary event are some of the creators involved in the original Age of Apocalypse event. Scott Lobdell, Larry Hama and the Kubert brothers, Adam and Andy, are joined by Akira Yoshida, Tony Bedard, Tony Daniel, Mark Brooks, Paco Medina, Talent Caldwell, Roger Cruz and Kia Asamiya in X-Men: Age of Apocalypse One-Shot, a 48-page, $3.99 comic with a wraparound cover by Bryan Hitch. Stories told in the one-shot include the origin of Generation Next, the first meeting of Sabretooth and Wild Child, Weapon X’s first run-in with Mariko Yashida in Japan, as well as the revelation of how the AoA world survived the nuclear holocaust that threatened it at the end of X-Men: Omega. The anniversary celebration continues in the X-Men: Age of Apocalypse mini-series by writer Akira Yoshida and artist Chris Bachalo (the original Generation Next artist). The first five of six issues are expected to be out in March, followed by the concluding chapter in April. According to Marvel, this isn’t a restart, and doesn’t ignore what has come before. The solicitation for the miniseries reads: Apocalypse has been destroyed; the end of the world has been averted. Or has it? Sinister has just unleashed a massive force unseen, unrivaled, and unbeatable. Magneto and the X-Men’s only hope lies in tracking down a retired Weapon X!” Also available in March is the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Age of Apocalypse 2005, written by Mike Raicht and includes in-depth bios on more than 40 characters from the Age of Apocalypse with an all-new cover by Mark Brooks that is digitally painted by Justin Ponsor. And - for those who missed it the first time around, March also sees the release of X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic Book One TPB, collecting X-Men Chronicles #1 and #2, Tales from the Age of Apocalypse: By the Light, X-Man #-1, X-Man ’96 Annual, Tales from the Age of Apocalypse: Sinister Bloodlines and Blink #1-#4 in a massive 360-page collection with a $29.99 cover price. March also sees Blink and Sabretooth, both characters from the Age of Apocalypse timeline, returning to the AoA world together with their Exiles team members in the two-part “Son of Apocalypse” arc in Exiles #60 and #61. “In Exiles #59, the team arrives on a world they've visited before, but Heather Hudson, aka Sasquatch, mysteriously does not arrive with them,” writer Tony Bedard told Newsarama. “The world they're on is one where they left behind the AoA Sabretooth to raise a powerful young mutant to adulthood, making sure he doesn't turn into the tyrant he's destined to be [last seen in issue #13]. This is a world that Blink had been sent back to during her previous absence from the team. We end up learning what happened to her during that absence -- a shocking revelation that alters her relationship with Sabretooth and with her boyfriend, Mimic. By the end of the issue, Sabretooth has joined the Exiles team to replace Sasquatch, and the team has a confrontation with the Timebroker which gets them sent to the AoA reality, not as a reward, but as a punishment. “The two-parter has the Exiles arriving in the AoA reality at the same time the AoA event is happening. The Exiles arrive in the AoA reality at some point after the new AoA Event has already begun, which is a year after X-Men: Omega. By this time, AoA Sabretooth has joined the Exiles team, so both he and Blink consider this place home. Unfortunately, the Timebroker has commanded them to attack and kill Magneto and his X-Men. He's also put none other than Holocaust on the Exiles team to make sure they carry out this mission. “Of course, things don't exactly unfold as you'd expect. What's more, this story pretty much stands apart from the Big Event. It really does more to move the Exiles' current struggles against the Timebroker forward and it sets up an epic four-parter in which the Exiles finally discover the hidden truth behind the Timebroker and the whole operation that sends them on their reality-hopping missions to begin with. So if you like AoA, you'll really enjoy this story which features three of the AoA heavy-hitters, along with an appearance by Magneto and his X-Men. But you don't have to read this in order to enjoy the AoA Event itself.” Once again, the universe as we know it ends March 2005… So – running it down again, an AoA checklist: AoA Checklist March X-Men: Age of Apocalypse One Shot X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Part One of Six X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Part Two of Six X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Part Three of Six X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Part Four of Six X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Part Five of Six Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Age of Apocalypse 2005 Exiles #60 Exiles #61 April X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Part Six of Six

Here's a website that explains the whole Hypertime mess. http://users.ezwv.com/~cata79/hypertime/index2.html

And don't forget when Benoit first showed up on RAW the reason he gave was that the wanted to face the best and the best was HHH.

Yeah no kidding I think the worse ep was when Pete became a street racer. Besides the fact the show was like a cheap Fast and the Furious Pete acted so out of character. And then they talk about how their friendship has changed because of what happened at the end of it. Not that it mattered because at the time they were barely together on screen for more the 5 minutes and the afterwards it was barely touched on again. And the they have Pete admitted that he's in love with Chole and they never talk about it again. It was for the best that he was written out of the show.

Yeah what got me about Benoit jumping to RAW is that Heyman says he can't get another shot at the title and IT STICKS. Now do you think if it was HHH/UT/Austin/Rock in place of Benoit do you really think they would be booked to runaway with the tail between their legs, never get a shot at the belt again and look bad? NO! But, in the end (for awhile) it did work out great for Benoit.

Well I think his son does wrestle in high school cause I remember reading about in a one of the PWI mags years ago. So, take it for what it's worth.

Weren't they going to bring in ALEXIS~! under the same sort of thing? Note: Alexis shouldn't have gotten her hair dyed... it was much better as a pure brown rather than the streaks... If they wanted to bring in a female to play Lita's sister for a family feud/incest angle they should bring in that one redhead from TE 3. I can't think of her name but she looked ALOT like Lita.

I think it has more to do then DDP being a "WCW" guy. He was Eric Bischoff's best friend and lived next door to the man for years. And, depending on who you ask, it's because of his friendship with Bischoff is why he got some many chances in WCW and got the world belt. So, it's kind of more of a destory Bischoff's pet project thing. But, that's just me.

Yeah she has. That's the main reason way Victoria changed her look. You know having her hair all curled up to wearing more make up and, of course, becoming an annoying babyface that dances to hip hop on the way to the ring. The thing I hate the most about the divas doing Playboy is that you just KNOW WWE is going to have a big feud between all the divas about who is the better Playboy playmate. And you know that means the return of both Sable AND Chyna.

It starts playing if your cursor comes into contact with Deon's HBK sig. And it's the awful Sherri verison to boot.

http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=23737 LOOKING DEEPER INTO TMP'S CHAPTER 11 FILING With the frenzy that began with the news of Todd McFarlane Productions filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, reactions from the comics community have been coming thick and fast. We thought it best to look closer at the larger picture, and address some persistent points that may not be entirely accurate. First, despite other, misleading reports, Todd McFarlane has not personally filed for Chapter 11, but rather Todd McFarlane Productions Inc., the company responsible for publishing the Spawn comic book issue #140 recently shipped, making it the longest running title published by Image Comics), as well as other comics and magazines that come out from the McFarlane empire. According to company information, its assets include the rights to more than 250 intellectual properties and characters. The distinction is an important one, as McFarlane is the head of a large entertainment empire, of which, TMP is only one facet. McFarlane himself is not bankrupt, and his other companies (though some are rumored to be struggling) are in no way affected by the filing. As such, the filing of Chapter 11 in no way affects either McFarlane Toys or Todd McFarlane Entertainment. While McFarlane’s toy company is well known among comic and toy fans, Todd McFarlane Entertainment is the California-based company under which McFarlane produces animation for films and music videos (such as for Korn and Pearl Jam), as well as feature films, and videogame projects. There are four other companies that make up the full picture of McFarlane’s empire. Again, as regular Newsarama readers know when it comes to Chapter 11 filing, the process is initiated to allow a company to reorganize in order to once again become profitable, and/or address claims by its creditors. When it comes to comic book publishers in 2004, TMP unfortunately isn’t unique in filing Chapter 11. Tampa-based CrossGen Entertainment filed the same on June 17th, citing debts larger than their income allowed them to pay. In the case of TMP, the debt cited for the filing is the $15 million awarded by a jury to Tony Twist, a former St. Louis Blues hockey player whose name McFarlane appropriated for the name of a particularly violent mobster who appeared in both the Spawn comic book and HBO animated series. Twist – the hockey player, was known to be an “enforcer,” that is, someone sent in to beat on another player, to deliver a message, to “enforce.” The character in the comic, was a mobster known for his sadistic ways. While the character was introduced in 1993, Twist didn’t file suit until 1997, claiming that having the character named after him damaged his ability to obtain lucrative endorsement deals, that is, he suffered financial damages from what he saw as McFarlane’s unauthorized use of this name. Image Comics, which publishes Spawn, as well as Wizard Magazine, which published a Spawn Special were among other defendants named in the case, but they were all dropped, with the end result of Twist suing TMP alone. The matter went to court, and, despite McFarlane’s claim that he was protected under the First Amendment, a St. Louis jury sided with Twist, awarding the (now ex) hockey player $24.5 million. That verdict was overturned in 2002 by the Appellate Court; and then that verdict was overturned in 2003 by the Missouri Supreme Court, which sent it back down the lower courts for a decision. In 2004, a jury again sided with Twist, this time awarding the former hockey player $15 million in damages, despite numerous authors and literary groups siding with McFarlane, and expressing grave concerns over what a victory for Twist would mean for creators, who could now, apparently, be held liable for “damages” suffered by individuals who share the same name as characters in works. Interestingly, the award made by the jury - $15 million for reported “damages” consisting mostly of lost endorsement deals for Twist, which would have occurred in the timeframe between 1993 and roughly the late ‘90s, after which the character named Twist no longer appeared in the comic, would have placed him, a mid-to-lower tier NHL player in the higher echelons of sports figures receiving endorsement deals at the time. This, despite the fact that NHL players lag far behind NBA, NFL and MLB players in terms of endorsement contracts - outside of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, barely a handful have had contracts since the early '90s. In short, that’s the $15 million that is owed by TMP to Twist. The case is still being appealed, but until that time when an appeal comes down in favor of McFarlane, TMP has a $15 million Sword of Damocles over its head. While the company has apparently been able to continue publishing since the Twist decision earlier this year, it’s easy to see that TMP’s ability to gain credit, as well as attract new properties could be adversely affected by what potential investors would see as...well, a $15 million debt. Additionally, TMP isn’t the first company to file for Chapter 11 protection after having a judgment made against it. With the case in the appeals process, filing Chapter 11 could also be seen as TMP buying some waiting time, pulling it off the table, in terms of being forced to liquidate to pay the $15 million. Under Chapter 11, companies are required to create and produce a reorganization plan, which then must be approved by all creditors. While there is much legal maneuvering that can be done in the time between filing and producing a plan for approval by creditors (for example, it was during this time period that CrossGen sold its assets to Disney), a monkey wrench thrown into the TMP filing is that Twist himself is the largest unsecured creditor of TMP (to date, see below), and therefore, would almost certainly be one of the voices that has to approve any proposed reorganization by TMP. As Newsarama reported on Saturday, court documents show that TMP has filed a motion to allow it to continue with the appeals process during the Chapter 11 proceedings, which, admittedly, can stretch on and on. As for the other unsecured debts, unfortunately in today’s industry, $60,000 owed to creators barely raises an eyebrow. Something that does cause an eyebrow to twitch though, is the $683,901.55 owed to McFarlane Toys by TMP, an intercompany loan. While such back-and-forths of money are relatively routine under a collection of businesses under one umbrella, such as the McFarlane companies, under their structure, TMP licensed McFarlane Toys rights to produce Spawn and all related characters that are owned by TMP. As a licensor, TMP would then collect royalties from McFarlane Toys. To see money flowing in the other direction is…at least, interesting. The paperwork filed with the court also shows that on November 19th, 2004, TMP received a loan from Stephen A. McConnell of $500,000 (at 2% interest per month), which would mature on November 18th, 2005. According to the financing statement of the loan, TMP is using all rights to its accounts receivable as collateral, that is, all money coming into TMP, and in a business world moebius loop, the guarantors of the loan are McFarlane and his wife (TMP head) Wanda Kolomyjec. According to the filings, TMP has proposed that the cash will be placed into a segregated account, and be used by TMP to continue operations, while TMP will pay only the interest due on the loan in the interim. Other filings with the court point to a wild card in the debts owed by McFarlane – that is, the judgment against TMP by a court in favor of Neil Gaiman. Though Gaiman is listed as one of the largest unsecured creditors, the amount is not specified. In a later filing, TMP stated that, while a jury has found in favor of Gaiman, a final judgment amount will not be specified until a court-appointed accountant’s validation of “certain intellectual property and profits.” Those properties of course, being, Angela, Medieval Spawn, and Cogliostro, characters created by Gaiman, and used by McFarlane, who did not fairly pay Gaiman. While a dollar amount that will be decided upon is anybody’s guess, it could easily range into the millions, as Medieval Spawn and Angela have been used repeatedly in the Spawn comic book series, Cogliostro appeared in the Spawn feature film, and all three have been translated into toys at least once. Viewed in that light, that is, TMP has a $15 million judgment against it, and another, possible multi-million dollar judgement waiting in the wings, the "protection" aspect of a Chapter 11 filing becomes much clearer. As previously reported, TMP has filed for an expedited hearing to be held, if the court agrees, today, December 20th, 2004. If the Court agrees with TMP’s motions, stays will be granted, the cash loan will be able to be used, and the appeal against the Twist verdict will continue – in other words, business will continue as usual for TMP. Since the news broke, comic fans have wondered and speculated just what TMP’s filing for Chapter 11 would mean for Image Comics, of which McFarlane is President and a founding partner. Posting on the Newsarama messageboards, Image Publisher Erik Larsen has said that the filing by McFarlane will have no financial impact for Image as a whole, and Spawn will continue to be published, adding “This is nowhere near the big deal people here are making it out to be. Todd is NOT broke--Image is NOT filing for bankruptcy and Spawn is NOT ending.” Supporting that statement, Larsen later added: “When I took over as publisher one of the beefs retailers had about Todd was that Spawn was late (about a YEAR late--Todd slipped off the schedule, a week here and there over ten or more years and it added up). Recently, I helped convince Todd to cancel the orders for those books and have it resolicited. THAT is why the books are being resolicited now. It's in better shape now than it has been in years. It's coming out on a regular basis and is no longer shipping returnable.” Given Image’s corporate structure, Larsen’s comment about TMP’s filing not damaging Image is true – TMP’s income does not support any large part of Image, as Image’s income as a company is generated on a per book basis, that is, creators/studios pay Image a fee per issue (and other associated costs), which is not related to the book’s performance in the marketplace. As reported, TMP has asked the court for an expedited hearing today which will allow the company to operate as normal.

http://newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23660 TODD McFARLANE PRODUCTIONS FILES CH. 11 According to the AP, Todd McFarlane has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors on Friday, December 17th. The AP writes: The Tempe, Arizona, company lists a 15 (m) million-dollar claim by former National Hockey League player Tony Twist as its largest creditor. Last July, a St. Louis jury awarded Twist that money after concluding that McFarlane and his company profited by using Twist's name without permission. McFarlane gave a New York mob boss character the name Antonio ``Tony Twist'' Twistelli in his Spawn comic books in the early 1990s. Given McFarlane's major foray into sports, appropriately, ESPN.com has a report up as well, saying that in 2003, the seven businesses that make up McFarlane's business had annual sales exceeding $50 million. As regular Newsarama readers unfortunatley know by now, Chapter 11 means that the company can continue to operate while it reorganizes its business plan, and is protected from creditors. As with Tampa-based CrossGen earlier this year, McFarlane now must file a plan with the US bankruptcy court which outlines how the company will reorganize, and address creditors' claims. From ESPN.com: The filing also lists McFarlane's toy company, a related business, as the second-largest creditor, being owed $683,902. Nine contract artists are owed about $60,000 and a collection agency is owed about $7,700." According to court papers acquired by Newsarama, McFarlane is claiming the total assets of TMP to be between $1 and $10 million, and total debt between $10 and $50 million. Among the largest unsecured creditors listed by TMP in the filing: Angel Medina, artist, $3,960.00 Brian Haberlin, artist, $13,600.00 Brian Holgiun, artist, $8,800.00 Comicraft, letterers, $2,200.00 Danny Miki, artist, $4,070.00 Greg Capullo, artist, $18,250.00 Greg Scott, artist, $1,750.00 Jay Fotos, artist, $5,600.00 McFarlane Toys (intercompany debt), $683,901.55 Neil Gaiman, litigation claim, unknown Tom Orzechowski, artist, $2,200.00 Tony Twist, litigation claim, disputed, $15,000,000.00 The first meeting of creditors is scheduled for January 25th, 2005. Among the filings made by McFarlane's lawyers is a motion to allow McFarlane to continue his appeal process against the $15 million judgement won by Twist. McFarlane has also filed a motion for a December 20th hearing on several motions - mostly stays from claims that will allow TMP to continue normal operations while reorganization is in process. Developing...

Speaking of the Flash some Smallville sites have reported that the WB is interested in making a Flash TV show spinoff based on the Bart Allen verison from Smallville. I liked that ep so I would loved to see a TV show based on him.

Here's a teaser pic for Young Avengers and Reported at Wizard Con: Quesada said The Young Avengers shown are all brand new characters The first two issues will take place in-between the last issue of the old Avengers series and the first issue of New Avengers #1, then everything will catch up so all the titles are on the same timeline. Bendis said that Cassie Lang, daughter of Scott Lang (Ant-Man), is now one of the most interesting characters in the Marvel Universe because her father was killed in Avengers Disassembled. Readers might see her in the pages of New Avengers or Young Avengers in the next couple of years.

http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=31586

Maybe Kane stole it and is having sex with it right now.

http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=31499 U.S. GOVERNMENT SEIZES PARODY COMICS AT CUSTOMS Press Release On October 27, U.S. Customs sent a letter to Top Shelf Productions notifying them that copies of the anthology Stripburger had been seized, charging that the stories "Richie Bush" by Peter Kuper and "Moj Stub" (translated, "My Pole") by Bojan Redzic constituted "clearly piratical copies" of registered and recorded copyrights. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has retained counsel to challenge these seizures. "Richie Bush," appearing in Stripburger (Vol. 12) #37, is a four-page parody of Richie Rich that also satirizes the Bush Administration by superimposing the personalities of the President's cabinet on the characters from the comic. "My Pole," appearing in Stripburger (Vol. 3) # 4-5, which was published in 1994, is an eight-page ecology parable in Slovenian that makes visual homage to Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and Woodstock in three panels. Customs seized five copies of the issue with the Peanuts reference and fourteen copies of the issue containing "Richie Bush." The stories were both published in the middle of their respective issues and no graphics from either story appeared on the covers. Top Shelf is the American agent for Stripburger, an Eastern European comics publisher that releases anthologies of comics from cartoonists around the globe. The comics that were seized were sent along as an extra in a shipment of The Miniburger Dirty Dozen, a boxed set of mini comics that Top Shelf imported to offer in the Direct Market and at conventions. Top Shelf did not order the seized issues of the anthology. Upon investigating the shipment, Customs released the copies of Miniburger, but held the issues of Stripburger, giving Top Shelf thirty days to either forfeit the shipment, request administrative relief, or initiate court action. At the urging of Stripburger, Top Shelf and CBLDF President Chris Staros brought the case to the attention of the Fund as a potential news story. CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein felt the matter warranted serious legal attention, so it was sent to Burton Joseph, the Fund's legal counsel, whose opinion was that Customs was unlawfully holding First Amendment protected speech. The option of pursuing court action on First Amendment grounds was then taken to the CBLDF Board of Directors, which unanimously voted 8-0 to take up the case; Chris Staros recused himself from the vote. On November 24, the Fund retained counsel in Charleston, SC who hand-delivered a letter to Customs stating that the comics are protected under existing First Amendment case law and should be either immediately released or that court action should be initiated. "In this case, it looks like Customs is overreaching its authority," Staros says. "The comics in question are clearly within the acceptable bounds of parody, and there is absolutely no likelihood that consumers would confuse these works with the subjects that they are parodying." Brownstein stated, "The stories that were seized are short segments within larger anthologies that in no way represented the content as anything other than what it is. The charge that these are piratical copies of existing copyrights is not only wrong-headed, but the seizure amounts to an unlawful prior restraint of protected speech. It is our hope that Customs will recognize that they have acted in error in seizing these stories and release them immediately. If not, we are prepared to go to court to protect the First Amendment rights that are endangered by this misguided action."

http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=31561

On ABC Family right now that have an ep of Step By Step that has TAT guess staring. In fact Jessie guess starred on the show as a cheerleader.

Jennifer Wade

WM14-Was going to be the blow off to the Austin/Hart feud but,...well you know what happened.

Before I clicked on the thread I figured the injury was because of Bob Holly.

Yeah wasn't there a rumor that Vince was gonna call him up and have him be Katie Vick's younger brother who wants revenge on Kane?

And going by JR if Austin gives a stunner to a woman it's ok since that's the way Austin is. But, if anyone else looks at a woman wrong HE'S A BASTARD BY GOD. Of course, Austin was suppose to be fired for hitting someone first but, that never happened. And then there was a time were Austin was kicked out of the building but, was still able to comeback in the crowds cause he had a ticket and then jump in the ring while the guards did nothing to stop him or kick him out. Speaking of Stacy remember when Jericho was feuding with Test and he went to hit Test with a steel chair but, Jericho ducked and Test hit Stacy instead. Well never mind that was an accident JR keep going on about how Jericho was a bastard for what happened to Stacy and he should tell her how sorry he is.

I'd be more likely to feel bad for THEM than bad for him. I'm sure he was well aware that it was all part of the show, and it didn't take a genius to see that he was closer to the end of his life than the beginning. When I was watching it and Steph said that Freddie was going to die soon. I thought she meant they were going to kill him. I was thinking "What? Are they going to kill him by pushing his wheelchair of a cliff or something?"