Ada Lovelace Bio Optioned for Movie Adaptation

Geek girls celebrate! The grandmother of computing could be making her big screen debut!

11th October is Ada Lovelace Day – a day to celebrate and remember one of the pioneering women of computing. If you’re a fan of awesome AMC series Halt and Catch Fire, you’ll remember that coding genius Cameron  Howe (Mackenzie Davis) named her first program after her. While today, Ada Lovelace Day is a great time to promote the value of women and girls working in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths), back in the eighteenth century, Lovelace was being overlooked because of her gender. Ada was the eighteenth century Willow from Buffy… without, you know, the lesbianism and dark magic.

James Essinger’s biography of Ada Lovelace “Ada’s Algorithm” has recently been acquired by Monumental Films. They’re aiming to make a biopic in the same vein as awards darling The Imitation Game, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch. The film aims to tell the story of the woman who joined forces with Charles Babbage – the man generally credited with inventing the computer. Although little is known about her life, the biography (and film) covers her early fame as the daughter of Lord Byron, her education (which was unusual for women at the time), her flair for mathematics and her eventual legacy of the first computer programmer.

If this gets through development hell, it’ll be great to see how Lovelace’s profile will look after getting the treatment Turing got a couple of years ago. And the lucky actress who gets the leading role could find that she needs to invest in some awards ceremony gowns. It’s the perfect story for Oscar season! 

Ada’s Algorithm: How Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron’s Daughter, Launched the Digital Age Through the Poetry of Numbers by James Essinger has just been released in paperback and is available from Amazon

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Gotham S3 E4 ‘New Day Rising’

After the villainous Mad Hatter Jervis Tetch made his appearance and was scared off by his sister we find her talking to Bullock. Tetch is going to find her and she knows it, he really is far worse then anyone knows. We next see Tetch hypnotizing a man surrounded by carnival props.

It’s election day with the former mayor and the crime lord Penguin running even. Riddler is so happy to be free from Arkham and helping Penguin. Penguin has even had their release certificates framed.

They are taking Alice Tetch’s  blood to test it. She tells Lee all about Tetch and how if he gets into your mind you are done. Clearly he is affecting Gordon as he causes him to walk out into the street in front of a barreling truck.

One of Bruce’s cars was totaled of course because 5 can’t drive. 5 and Selina are still together and he doesn’t understand what she is doing when she says she is robbing a place. She is quickly caught in the act, I do hope she gets away.

Penguin is actually quite the charismatic figure when he is led by the Riddler. Butch is paying of members of the election board. Gordon is off to see Babs to find out where Tetch is. I do love how mad Babs is, she is so perfect for Gordon. Tetch is looking for muscle and easily wins over two bruisers.

Selina is trapped, when 5 busts in and takes out the guys in a flash. Gordon goes to speak with Alice about his suicidal thoughts. Barnes and Gordon surprisingly have a heart to heart and he allows him to talk to her.

Selina realizes 5 is not Bruce. Riddler is annoyed Butch is paying people off when Penguin is winning people over with his charisma.Alice knows Tetch is still in Gordon’s head and helps him figure out that ticking will set him off. Suddenly the bruisers come into the GCPD ready to take Alice. Not a good day for anyone at the police station today. When Tetch comes before Gordon and hypnotizes him Barnes saves the day maybe Barnes isn’t so terrible.

5 and Selina are talking as she stitches his wound up. 5 has never had anyone to call a friend and clearly hopes Selina will be a friend or more as he kisses her which is a shock. Gordon wakes up in the office with Lee, they need to talk. Gordon has no words for her, and she is rightfully upset. Gordon is under a 48 hour suicide watch, will he find a way to free himself to beat Tetch?

Butch promises his men if Penguin wins they will run the city, his two men have lost Nygma. When Bullock interrogates the last of the bruisers he tells him where Tetch is. Meanwhile Tetch has dressed Alice, as well Alice from Alice in Wonderland and is ready to punish her for leaving him. He injects her with something terrible I presume.

Gordon is off to the hospital when Bullock gives his guards a break and he is set free to get Tetch. Bruce finds 5 angry with him, or really angry with himself for not spending time with Selina. 5 is going to leave Gotham and jumps off the roof running to safety. This clone certainly is superhuman.

Tetch is planning to inject Alice’s blood into the drinking water to create a few monsters. Gordon comes into face Tetch who sets off a ticking metronome. Gordon overcomes it and breaks his spell. Soon after Alice falls from the pier and is stabbed by a spike causing Tetch to scream.

Penguin feels betrayed by Riddler taking back the money Butch bribed the officials with, but is overcome with joy when he wins nonetheless. In the aftermath Butch is demoted and Riddler and Penguin go to celebrate.

Bruce and Alfred talk of Selina because Bruce just wants Selina truly. Gordon and Lee talk as well and finally put things to rest. 5 is walking alone when he is taken in by the Court of owls, phase 2 of his story begins now.

Penguin speaks out for the first time as Mayor introducing Gotham to his Chief of Staff Mr.Nygma. At the crime scene a drop of Alice’s blood falls into Barnes’ eye, shit is about to go down.

With Penguin as Mayor the city of Gotham is definitely not going to be so peaceful as the underbelly will definitely come to the surface. Really ready for next week’s episode ‘Anything for you’

Sigourney Weaver Cast as Defenders Villain

Big news from New York Comic Con. First of all, all four of The Defenders (Daredevil – Charlie Cox, Jessica Jones – Krysten Ritter, Luke Cage – Mike Coulter and Iron Fist – Finn Jones) appeared together for the first time. Awesome.

It was then announced that Sigourney Weaver would be playing a ‘significant but unspecified’ role in Marvel’s The Defenders – although it was disclosed that she would be the villain.

Jeph Loeb, head of Marvel Television, said “Marvel is honoured to have an actress of her caliber and status… she is by definition a class act.”

Sigourney Weaver is no stranger to the geek-sphere, having starred in the Alien movies, the Ghostbusters movies, Wall-E, Paul, Avatar, Galaxy Quest, Chappie and (of course) Finding Dory. This will mark her debut in the Marvel Universe.

Marvel’s Iron Fist will land on Netflix 17th March 2017. The Defenders still appears to be on track for a 2017 release (although this is still TBC)

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Lynda Carter to Attend Wonder Woman Day

The United Nations will be declaring 21st October Wonder Woman Day – a whole day dedicated to Wonder Woman! To celebrate the United States Postal Service is releasing a series of stamps dedicated to the heroine and Lynda Carter will be the guest of honour at the ceremony. In a statement, the original Wonder Woman said, “to honor Wonder Woman and women all over the world is just amazing.”

"I want it to move to the next generation of women, and inspire the next generation of women." https://t.co/I0V8JrmB64

— Lynda Carter (@RealLyndaCarter) October 8, 2016

The stamps, which have been released to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the super heroine, features the art of Cliff Chiang, José Luis García-López, Irving Novick and   Jon L Blummer. The images depict Wonder Woman in the Modern Age, the Bronze Age, the Silver Age and the Golden Age.

Lynda Carter, who has recently been spending her time voicing characters on video games, has a new DC role in the works, appearing as President Olivia Marsdin in Supergirl.

Wonder Woman’s popularity is growing too with Gal Gadot‘s solo outing due next year and her own UN day in a couple of weeks. Not bad for an old lady!

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Weekly Bookette #14 New Books of October 2016

It is time again to look at the new books that are doing the rounds this month, so here goes!

A Personal Kickstarter Update From Writer James Schumacher

The writer of Of Devils and Men James D. Schumacher III just released an update of all that has happened during the fist week of the Kickstarter campaign and wanted us to share it.

 

First Week Thank You!

Thank you guys so much for helping us reach $2,252 in the first week! It’s been an incredible week! I cannot thank you enough. Of Devils and Men is deeply personal to me, not just because it’s a story I wrote, but because its foundations are built on the unexpected tragedy of losing my mother.

My mother and I.

As a child and even into my adulthood, she was the person that gave me the strength and drive to continue forward with my career. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her, that I wish I could here her voice or that I wish I could press her contact in my phone and she would pick up on the other line. I wish that more than anything. Her last words to me “Don’t quit no matter how hard it gets.”

I tell her regularly, “I haven’t.” Within the violence, the horror, the apocalyptic setting in Of Devils and Men lies the very real human struggle of learning to cope with loss. My personal struggle. She fought cancer numerous times, crippling diabetes, a broken neck, a mastectomy that made her feel less like a woman and even in her last days she still talked about writing her next book. But in her life as my mother, she gave me an indomitable amount of strength. I promised her I would help people cope, help people move past loss, help people tap into their own strength in the face of insurmountable odds.

So for you all to be the first backers, to believe in this project, warms my heart at the same time it breaks it. It hurts because I know she’ll never be able to hold our book or meet one of you one day to say thank you for helping this become a reality.

I’m comforted because in that next place, she still sees this, and to know that even now in death, she still brings inspiration to people, would bring the biggest of smiles to her. After all that’s what she wanted to do, she wanted to bring people relief, and it’s that message that she instilled in me when I was, that is the driving force behind my work.

It’s something that no perk, no reward, no thank you will ever be able to encapsulate my gratitude for each and every one of you. So I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart, and as my father told me to tell you “Thank you for helping keep my wife’s memory alive.” It means the world to me.

So onto the updates! The first week went incredible! $2,252! That’s amazing! As you already know, each of you will receive this print for being a backer in the first week!

Early Boarding Perk Print!

 Ken Knudtsen is at New York City Comic Con right now spreading the word of Of Devils and Men and we are getting amazing feedback on the artwork from people there! So awesome! If you’re in New York, visit him at Booth 2010!

Ken Knudtsen and Steven Lisefski at NYCC.

As each train ticket is claimed, as each seat is filled, this train gets closer and closer to leaving the station, we welcome you. Please don’t hesitate to share this campaign with others and on your social media and invite them to claim their passenger tickets and join you on this personal journey of reflection, of love and of loss.

Again thank you, if you have any questions of want to share your story, feel free to comment! See you on the train!

-James

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If you want to support this excellent comic project you can pick your pledge tier here 

Please help get the word out about this Kickstarter by sharing the link anywhere you can think of.

NYCC 2016: Preview Of Action Lab’s Spencer & Locke

Action Lab Entertainment is Showcasing one of it’s newest comics at NYCC Spencer & Locke. If you are fortunate enough to be attending NYCC this is the only place to read issue one before the March 2017 retail release. Here is the trailer for the upcoming crime saga.

 

SPENCER & LOCKE #1
Writer: David Pepose
Artist: Jorge Santiago, Jr.
Colorist: Jasen Smith
Letterer: Colin Bell
Cover Artists: Main Cover by Jorge Santiago, Jr., Variant Cover by Maan House, NYCC Exclusive Variant Cover by Joe Mulvey

What if Calvin & Hobbes grew up in Sin City? Find out in SPENCER & LOCKE, a dark four-issue crime thriller from Action Lab Entertainment’s Danger Zone imprint. Written by David Pepose and illustrated by Jorge Santiago, Jr., SPENCER & LOCKE follows Detective Locke, who returns to the scene of his horrific upbringing when his grade-school sweetheart, Sophie Jenkins, is found dead in a lonesome back alley. But when Locke’s investigation dredges up menacing figures from his traumatic past, there’s only one person he can trust to help him close the case — his childhood imaginary panther, Spencer.

The twisted nostalgia of SPENCER & LOCKE comes to comic shops and digital devices in March 2017, or be one of the first to dive into the story this weekend with an exclusive New York Comic-Con variant of SPENCER & LOCKE #1 by artist Joe Mulvey!

32 pgs./ T+ / FC                   $3.99 (reg.), $10 (NYCC var.)

NYCC Exclusive Variant By Joe Mulvey 

 

Variant Cover By Maan House

 

 

 

 

NYCC 2016: BEYOND THE WESTERN DEEP SIGNINGS

More signings announced by Action Lab Entertainment for NYCC day 2.

In addition to the numerous talented creators from Action Lab Entertainment who will be signing at this year’s New York Comic Con, the creative team of BEYOND THE WESTERN DEEP will be doing separate signings as well. Catch them each at Booth 3044 during the following days/times:

October 7, 2016

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Alex Kain
A freelance writer for games and comics, Alex Kain’s work can be found in critically-acclaimed games such as DUST: AN ELYSIAN TAIL, ARMELLO, and SALT & SANCTUARY. In addition to his comics work on BEYOND THE WESTERN DEEP, Kain wrote and co-created the story “Potential” in the Eisner Award-winning and New York Times-bestselling anthology, MOUSE GUARD: LEGENDS OF THE GUARD VOLUME 1 with artist Sean Rubin.

October 9, 2016

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Rachel Bennet
Rachel Bennett graduated from Brigham Young University in 2009 with a BFA in animation, and has been the chief artistic voice behind the sprawling world of BEYOND THE WESTERN DEEP since its launch online in January, 2012.

BEYOND THE WESTERN DEEP VOL. 2 will be available starting November 2, 2016.

Stay Tuned to Skatronixxx for more NYCC 2016 news

Life size Harley Quinn to be at New York Comic Con

To those people who take the time to make life-sized or giant sculptures with Lego pieces, woooooooow. Talk about the patience, time, and creativity these people have to do these projects. It just blows my mind really.

Well to add to the Lego Land of awesomeness, they are showcasing a life-sized Harley Quinn, and she will be making her debut at the New York Comic Con. Standing at 5’3”, weighing in at 63 lbs (lucky chick), and consists of 12,789 bricks total…. Oh and she only took 120 hours to build… Holy Cow…. She looks awesome! Beautifully detailed with red and blue pigtails, face mask, plus her trusty mallet. This life-sized Quinn is a masterpiece for sure and should be a hit at Comic Con.

Here are the pictures of this lovely lady, take a gander my friends and tell me what you think. ^_^

ACTION LAB ENTERTAINMENT NYCC 2016 SIGNING SCHEDULE

Tomorrow NYCC begins, and Action Lab Entertainment has released their creators signing schedule. This is a great chance to get your comics signed and meet the creators of your favourite comics.

OCTOBER 6, 2016

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Brian Hess
Brian Hess is the artist on AWAKE, which he co-created with writer Susan Beneville. He also did the NYCC exclusive cover for ZOMBIE TRAMP HALLOWEEN SPECIAL 2016.

Susan Beneville
Susan Beneville is an indie comic creator whose all-ages series, AWAKE, is currently being published by Action Lab Entertainment.  AWAKE, co-created with artist Brian Hess, is about a young girl and her brother who have the power to wake and talk to planets that are in trouble.

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Anthony Ruttgaizer
Anthony Ruttgaizer is the creator/writer of THE F1RST HERO and was one of the series architects of the ACTIONVERSE crossover.  Anthony recently relaunched his weekly pop culture podcast, THE HANDSOME GENIUS CLUB.  If you want Anthony to like you, bringing him a Lego minifigure is a good start.

Ray-Anthony Height
Ray-Anthony Height is the creator of MIDNIGHT TIGER, a superhero book publisher by Action Lab Entertainment. His artistic skills have also been used in Marvel titles, including MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPERHEROES #23 and FEAR ITSELF: FEARSOME FOUR #4, and has also worked for Viz Media and Image Comics.

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Corey Kalman
Corey Kalman is one of the writers and co-creators alongside Brockton McKinney on the upcoming AMERIKARATE comic book being published by Action Lab Entertainment.AMERIKARATE is the story of Sam, a war hero who wants to lead a normal life, but is thrust into protecting America from an evil ninja invasion.

Brockton McKinney
Brockton McKinney is a cybernetic scotch-lover who writes comic books, screenplays, and other assorted tales from his overground lair well above the Earth’s core. He is known for the Action Lab comic book series’ EHMM THEORY, ZOE DARE, AMERIKARATE, and the GINGERDEAD MAN. He is the Creative Director for the NC Comicon, and spends a good portion of his day doing hardcore karate with his 12-year-old daughter (although neither of them know karate).

OCTOBER 7, 2016

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Jemal McClary
J. McClary (Publicly known as See One) a graffiti writer of 20 years, illustrator and designer, created Miru in 2006 while commuting to work on the trains of New York City. See more of him and his work @seeoneart.

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Rick Laprade
Writer, letter and series co-creator. Rick Laprade lives in RI with his cat. When not writing MIRU, you can find him at Hasbro writing for all sorts of brands. See more of his work @Ricklaprade.

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Ken Marcus
Writer of SUPER HUMAN RESOURCES, SHR is about the HR department of the world’s greatest super hero team. In his day job, Ken is a writer in advertising responsible for such GEICO commercials as Hump Day, The Final Countdown, and Marco Polo (among others).

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Enrica Jang
Enrica Jang is the writer and creator of AZTECA, ANGEL WITH A BULLET, THE HOUSE OF MONTRESOR, and editor of the Harvey-nominated THE 27 CLUB, A COMIC ANTHOLOGY. Her screenplay THE FRESHMAN was made into a short film, FRIENEMIES, winner of a CINE Golden Eagle in 2011. Read more about her at enricajang.com.

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

David Pepose
David Pepose has worked at numerous entertainment companies around the country, including CBS, Netflix, Universal Studios and DC Comics. When not developing properties for comics, TV and film, David has also written and performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Gotham Comedy Club and PUNDERDOME 3000.

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Anthony Ruttgaizer

Ray-Anthony Height

Vito Delsante
Vito Delsante is a comic book writer/graphic novelist and the co-creator of Stray, published by Action Lab Entertainment. He’s written for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Image Comics and Simon & Schuster, including stories for SUPERMAN, BATMAN, X-MEN, AND SCOOBY-DOO, and his stories have been reprinted overseas. Follow him on Twitter at @incogvito.

OCTOBER 8, 2016

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

David Pepose

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

John Reilly
John Reilly is the writer of the ongoing comic series HERALD: LOVECRAFT & TESLA in which history’s greatest icons from the 1920s battle a menagerie of horrors as they unravel a global conspiracy to raise Cthulhu. HERALD was optioned for TV and will soon be converted into a tabletop RPG through Ravendesk Games.

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Corey Kalman

Brockton McKinney

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Rick Laprade

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

John Reilly

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Brian Hess

Susan Beneville

OCTOBER 9, 2016

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Jemal McClary

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Corey Kalman

Brockton McKinney

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Enrica Jang

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Ray-Anthony Height

All signings will take place at the Action Lab Booth #3044