Newbury Comics is a small chain of retail outlets in the northeast. While most notable for its music sales and selection, it also sells, comics, toys, clothing, and various other items relating to pop culture. Over the past decade, their core business, music sales, has over gone a dramatic shift. Mike Dreese, co-founder, occasionally sends out updates in the Newbury Comics email newsletter with a general status of the company, current strategy, and general musings of being in the business over the years. I find the updates fascinating in both a business perspective and a personal perspective. As someone, who is familiar with many aspects of business and the need to adapt to your environment, I love to hear what goes on behind the scenes. I also feel a certain attachment to the chain, in that its small and local. I’m a native to the New England area and with that comes a certain pride in local businesses. I want to see them succeed and strive for excellence.

I have posted one of these updates before here.

You can read the update after the jump.
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It’s me, the Gargoyle, with yet another Gargoyles comic review!

Watch this video in HD

If you kids miss basking in my awesomeness please follow me on Twitter. I saw on the news that it was a big deal.

December 2009. One-Shot. Dark Horse. Zack Whedon. Joelle Jones.

If you aren’t sure what this is, you need to watch this. (Hosted by Hulu. Sorry Canandians). Buy here!

Diamond Select Toys has announced the 33rd wave in the Marvel Minimates line of figures. This wave is set to include the following:

Modern Thor & Modern (and female) Loki
Menace & Anti-Venom (both from New Ways to Die storyline)
Marvel Girl (Rachel Summers) & Sentinel
VARIANT: “Hound” Rachel Summers & Sentinel

Also in the announcement was this tidbit:

In addition to the standard removable and interchangeable pieces, the Sentinel army builder featured in this wave will also include a special “Sentinel Army” design feature – allowing you to partially customize your own Sentinel Squad in either modern or retro styles.

In what appears to be a clear and obvious direct response to the Disney acquisition of Marvel, DC has announced today that it is restructuring. After a 40 year courtship, DC and Warner are going ahead with their merger!

Warner Bros., parent company of DC, has created DC Entertainment to better leverage the greater potential of DC Comcs properties across all media outlets. This new company will be headed by Diane Nelson.

From the release:

DC Entertainment, a separate division of WBEI, will be charged with strategically integrating the DC Comics business, brand and characters deeply into Warner Bros. Entertainment and all its content and distribution businesses. DC Entertainment, which will work with each of the Warner Bros. divisions, will also tap into the tremendous expertise the Studio has in building and sustaining franchises and prioritize DC properties as key titles and growth drivers across all of the Studio, including feature films, television, interactive entertainment, direct-to-consumer platforms and consumer products. The DC Comics publishing business will remain the cornerstone of DC Entertainment, releasing approximately 90 comic books through its various imprints and 30 graphic novels a month and continuing to build on its creative leadership in the comic book industry.

Current President and Publisher of DC Comics, Paul Levitz, was effectively demoted back to editorial and writing roles. He has already been slated to work on Adventure Comics.

So what does this mean? Sounds like Warner and DC are actually merging for the first time since DC became a subsidiary of Warner in 1969. Warner has largely stayed out of DC Comics’ editorial decisions as near as I can tell with the expection of the DC Implosion. That being said, I didn’t do much research. Frankly, Marvel was managing to do more on their own, than what DC was able to do under Warner’s wing. We’ll see how this plays out with a non-editorial person in the top seat.

Obscenely long official press release can be seen after the jump

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Disney acquires Marvel, and a photoshopper’s wet dream ensues. Thomas “John Conner” Dekker tells a n00b to STFU. On YouTube. Shirtless. We chat about the dethroning of Kings, aDam almost spoils “K”, and Powet picks up the torch for Reading Rainbow!

Audio Netcast Details
Subscribe to the Powetcast on iTunes
Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 18: Marvel Mouse

(What do you think the future holds for Marvel and Disney?? Leave a comment below!)

Show notes after the jump!

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Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

The year is 1987. J.M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen had just been given the reigns of DC Comics ultimate team of heroes, The Justice Leage. They’re paired with a hot new artist, Kevin Maguire, and set out to bring Justice League to a scope its never reached before, joining the UN and becoming an truly global force. But epic tales of the world’s finest aren’t why this book is so well known and loved, its revered for being funny.
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Take this news with a grain of salt since I haven’t seen it up anywhere else, but according to this article over at marketwatch.com, it looks like Disney is going to acquire Marvel Entertainment and all its characters including Spider-Man, The Hulk, The Avengers, and the X-Men. As a result it looks like Marvel’s stock price has shot up 25%, while Disney’s is actually down 1.5 %.

[UPDATE] Press release from Marvel is here.

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