ABC’s Opener of MARVEL’S AGENTS of S.H.I.E.L.D. is TV’s #1 Drama Debut in 4 Years!

In the 8pm hour, ABC‘s series debut of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. opened a strong #1 in the time period with Adults 18-49, defeating NBC’s Tuesday premiere of The Voice by 15% and CBS’ season premiere of NCIS by 35%, to qualify as TV’s highest rated drama debut in nearly 4 years – since 11/3/09. It was Tuesday’s #1 TV show in Adults 18-49 (tie) and across all key Men demographics (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54). Despite the strong competition, the self-starting ABC drama gained young adults from its first half-hour to it second half-hour.

Please Note: On top of its big Live + Same Day numbers, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is expected to get a big lift from TV playback, considering its young-skewing audience. Well ahead of its debut this past weekend, the new show surpassed 1 million Facebook fans.

The season’s #1 new comedy in Adults 18-49, the series premiere of The Goldbergs at 9pm beat Fox’s New Girl by 52% and topped last fall’s premiere of Happy Endings in the half-hour hour by 78%. It was TV’s top-rated comedy debut in over 1 year and ABC’s highest-rated in 2 years – since 9/11/12 and 10/11/11, respectively.

At 9:30pm among Adults 18-49, the debut of ABC’s Trophy Wife defeated Fox’s The Mindy Project by 53% and outdelivered the year-ago fall premiere of Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt 23 by 35%.

…more to come

---

Quick Take for Tuesday, September 24, 2013
(Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

• Up 45% Year to Year, ABC Delivers its Best Season Opening Tuesday in 3 Years
• Ranking No. 1 on the Night, ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Qualifies as TV’s Top-Rated Drama Premiere in Nearly 4 Years
• ABC’s The Goldbergs is TV’s Highest-Rated Comedy Debut in Over 1 Year
• Trophy Wife Dominates its Comedy Competition on Fox and Boosts its Time Slot
• Lucky 7 Grows over ABC’s Most-Recent Drama Premiere in the Time Period

Tuesday Night (8:00-11:00 pm)
With its Tuesday debuts, ABC was up by 45% in Adults 18-49 over the year-ago night (2.9/8 vs. 2.0/6) to deliver its strongest performance on the opening Tuesday of a season in 3 years – since 9/21/10.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (8:00-9:00 pm)
In the 8:00 p.m. hour, ABC’s series debut of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. opened a strong No. 1 in the time period with Adults 18-49 (4.6/14), defeating NBC’s Tuesday premiere of The Voice by 15% (4.0/12) and CBS’ season premiere of NCIS by 35% (3.4/10), to qualify as TV’s highest rated drama debut in nearly 4 years – since 11/3/09. It was also Tuesday’s No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49 (tie) and across all key Men demographics (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54). And despite the strong competition, the self-starting ABC drama gained young adults from its first half-hour to its second half-hour.

Please Note: On top of its big Live + Same Day numbers, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is expected to get a big lift from TV playback, considering its young-skewing audience. Well ahead of its debut this past weekend, the new show surpassed 1 million Facebook fans.

The Goldbergs (9:00-9:30 pm)
The season’s No. 1 new comedy in Adults 18-49 and the top-rated comedy of the night, ABC’s series premiere of The Goldbergs (3.2/9) at 9:00 p.m. beat Fox’s New Girl by 52% (2.1/6) and topped last fall’s premiere of Happy Endings in the half-hour hour by 78% (1.8/5 on 10/23/12). It ranked as TV’s top-rated comedy debut in over 1 year and ABC’s highest-rated in 2 years – since 9/11/12 and 10/11/11, respectively. In addition, The Goldbergs posted ABC’s highest rating in the half-hour with entertainment programming since Fall 2011 – since 11/22/11.

Trophy Wife (9:30-10:00 pm)
At 9:30 p.m. among Adults 18-49, the debut of ABC’s Trophy Wife (2.3/6) defeated Fox’s The Mindy Project by 53% (1.5/5) and outdelivered the year-ago fall premiere of Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt 23 by 35% (1.7/4 on 10/23/12).

Lucky 7 (10:00-11:00 pm)
During the 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s debut of Lucky 7 was up over the Net’s most-recent drama premiere in the time period by 8% in Adults 18-49 (1.3/4 vs. 1.2/3 for Body of Proof on 2/19/13).

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 48% currently, from 45% at the same point in 2012. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings), 09/24/13.

via ABC Press Release

Win a Pass to Nerd HQ from the Verizon “Super Hero Summer” Sweepstakes!

This is the first sweepstakes to win a trip to NerdHQ! It is sponsored by Verizon and you can enter once every day until July 8th! Good luck! Let us know if you win!

---

You could win a trip to San Diego! Enter the Super Hero Summer Sweeps for a chance to win access to all events at Nerd HQ during the biggest comic book weekend of the year. From July 18-21, you and a friend can:

• See the real MK 42 armor from Marvel’s Iron Man 3
• Mingle with celebs at a private party at Petco Park on July 20th
  
• Get $1,000 in spending money (gift cards for winner & guest?)
  
• A Nerd Machine prize pack (consisting of various items)
• A food and beverage credit of $50 per day to be used at Nerd HQ events
• A photo opportunity with Zac Levi
• Attend one Nerd HQ panel every day
• Access the VIP lounge during the private party

The approximate retail value of the Grand Prize is $11,400.00

Fill out the form at the link provided below to enter! You can submit once every day through July 8th, 2013!

---

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.

Sweepstakes begins at 12:00 p.m. ET on 6/10/13 and ends at 6:00 p.m. ET on 7/8/13. Open only to legal residents of the forty-eight contiguous United States and D.C. who are age 21 or older at the time of entry. Void where prohibited. For full rules and eligibility requirements click here. Sponsored by Verizon Services Corp.

In order to enter the Sweepstakes, visit www.verizonsweeps6.com or www.verizon.com/im3 during the Entry Period, enter your name, address and telephone number, email and date of birth and follow the on-screen instructions. Normal time rates, if any, charged by the entrant’s Internet service provider will apply. There is a limit of one (1) entry per person and per e-mail address per day, regardless of which Website at which the entrant enters.

On or about July 9, 2013, one (1) potential winner will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received.

For the names of the winners, available after July 9, 2013, or a copy of these Official Rules, send a selfaddressed, stamped envelope to: Verizon “Super Hero Summer” Sweepstakes, c/o Erwin Penland, 125 E. Broad St., Greenville, SC 29601. Please indicate “Rules Request” and/or “Winners List Request.”

Verizon Services Corp., One Verizon Way, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920.

THOR: THE DARK WORLD Poster

Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself.  In the aftermath of Marvel’s Thor and Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Disney is RUMORED to Buy Hasbro…

Last week, Disney and George Lucas shocked everyone by announcing that Lucas had sold LucasFilm, the rights to the Star Wars films and its characters to Disney for approximately $4 billion. This week, rumors are flying that Disney may possibly buy Hasbro! Disney would then become somewhat of a monopoly of gigantic proportions to entertainment (theme parks and movies) and its merchandising of products (toys and games)!

The Lucasfilm acquisition has been reported as taking only 6 months to complete, so these discussions with Hasbro are probably pretty serious. This can definitely impact the entertainment industry in a big way. Disney would get the rights to the Transformers, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, Dungeons and Dragons and several other tv/movie/game/toy franchises. It would definitely broaden their audience and also bring back some franchises back to Disney to be under one roof.

It seemed for a time that Disney was losing its grip on their audience until it acquired Pixar. There seemed to be too many “princess” movies and not enough movies that boys would like. Marvel and Star Wars have definitely changed that picture. Will prices for Disney-owned merchandise go up significantly as well? Hopefully not, but only time will tell.

If all this does come to pass, what happens to The Hub (and other shows) and the comics with IDW and Dark Horse? Do they all go away? Or will Disney incorporated everything? There are still a lot of questions to be answered here. Hopefully, most entities will stay in place in some way. Overall, it’s good for Disney, hopefully it will be good for fans as well.

Marvel Celebrates New York Comic Con 2012 with Exclusive Items!

Limited-edition items created exclusively for New York Comic Con will be on sale at Booth #1838!

Marvel is bringing the biggest creators and announcements to this year’s New York Comic Con (Oct. 11-14), but there’s a surprise: this year, all-new, exclusive Marvel items will be for sale only at the Marvel booth (#1838)!

Marvel and New York City have always shared a special relationship. And, in celebration of New York Comic Con, Marvel has designed a small number of exclusive products specifically for this show. These items have been produced in limited quantities and will only be available for purchase* at the Marvel booth (#1838) while supplies last. This is your only chance to own these once-in-a-lifetime souvenirs straight from the House of Ideas!

Marvel Exclusive NYCC 2012 ‘Battle of New York’ T-Shirt
(Price: $20.00 each, Sizes S-XXL)

We know you saw and loved Marvel’s The Avengers blockbuster film, but now you can show the world you survived the big screen super hero battle that still has your jaws on the floor! Available in sizes S-XXL (while supplies last), this limited-edition t-shirt featuring art by Matt Ferguson lets your friends know that you were there when the Avengers assembled for the first time and that you did Survive The Battle Of New York. You can purchase this t-shirt exclusively at the Marvel booth (#1838), but sizes will go quickly!

Marvel Exclusive NYCC 2012 ‘Avengers Album’ T-Shirt
(Price: $20.00 each, Sizes S-XXL)

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have assembled to save the world…and record a hit single? That’s the case in this all-new, limited-edition t-shirt featuring art by Joey Spiotto and available in sizes S-XXL (while supplies last). If you’ve ever wanted to bust a move to an Avengers’ hit single or dance like the Hulk, this is the shirt for you, available only at the Marvel booth (#1838)!

Marvel Exclusive Avengers VS. X-Men #12 – NYCC 2012 Avengers Variant
(Price: $10.00 each)

The conclusion to this year’s biggest comic book event is here and features a special variant cover by superstar FANTASTIC FOUR artist Ryan Stegman. There’s no better way to show your allegiance for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes than to purchase the limited-edition AVENGERS VS X-MEN #12 – NYCC 2012 Avengers Variant at the Marvel booth (#1838).

Marvel Exclusive Avengers VS. X-Men #12 – NYCC 2012 X-Men Variant
(Price: $10.00 each)

Also, the Marvel booth will feature a special variant cover by superstar ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES artist Billy Tan. Tired of being hated and feared by a world you’re sworn to protect? Then you better show your support for the X-Men by purchasing the limited-edition AVENGERS VS X-MEN #12 – NYCC 2012 X-Men Variant at the Marvel booth (#1838).

Marvel Exclusive NYCC 2012 Rocket Raccoon Mug by Joe Quesada
(Price: $12.00 each)

Everyone wants a good cup o’ joe, but some mornings you just need a drink that’s out of this world! Get ready to protect the Marvel Universe with this limited-edition coffee mug featuring Guardians of the Galaxy favorite Rocket Raccoon, as depicted by Marvel Chief Creative Officer & superstar artist, Joe Quesada, in an all-new piece of art!

Marvel Exclusive NYCC 2012 Spider-Man Lithograph
(Price: $10.00 each)
Celebrate the World’s Greatest Super Hero with this limited-edition lithograph featuring a top secret piece of art by one of Marvel’s superstar artists. There’s never been a bigger year for the Spider-Man and this is your chance to own an exclusive piece of commemorative memorabilia! This litho will have a very limited production, so swing on over to the Marvel booth (#1838) and get one now, before they are completely sold out!

Can’t make it to the convention? Follow along with the Marvel Events App and at events.marvel.com, the best way to get exclusive videos, real-time announcements from the convention floor and up-to-the-minute panel, in-booth, and signing schedules of all your favorite Marvel creators!

*Please Note that only Credit Cards will be accepted for purchase and taxes will be charged for applicable items

via Marvel

The Avengers: 1/6th-Scale Hulk Limited Edition Collectible Figurine by Hot Toys!

Hot Toys is proud to present the highly expected 1/6th-Scale Hulk Limited Edition Collectible Figurine from the smash hit The Avengers. The movie-accurate collectible is specially crafted based on the image of the giant green-skinned angered monster Hulk in the movie.

The 1/6th-Scale Hulk Limited Edition Collectible Figurine features:

• Authentic and detailed fully realized likeness of Hulk in The Avengers movie
• Approximately 42 cm / 16.5 inches tall
• One (1) newly developed head sculpt with separate rolling eyeballs
• Movie-accurate facial expression featuring his angered gesture with detailed wrinkles and skin texture
• Detailed hair sculpture
• Giant green-skinned muscular body featuring detailed skin texture and tendons, with over 20 points of articulations with built-in joints in neck and arms which allow flexible movement
• Two (2) pairs of interchangeable palms including:
• One (1) pair of relaxed palms
• One (1) pair of forceful fists
• Each piece of head sculpt is specially hand-painted

Costume:

• One (1) pair of ragged grey shorts

Artists:

• Head Sculpted by Kim Hyun
• Head Painted by JC Hong
• Head Art Directed by Kojun
• Body Sculpted & Painted by Joseph Tsang

**Prototype shown is not final, pending licensor approval

Release date: Q1, 2013

TM & © 2012 Marvel & Subs.
© 2012 Hot Toys Limited. All Rights Reserved.
via Hot Toys Press Release

Baltimore Comic-Con Welcomes Kids Love Comics Pavilion for 2012!

Baltimore Comic-Con offers interactive Kids Love Comics Pavilion with artists, how-to’s, capes, and a diner booth!

Kids 10 and under get in free with a ticketed adult at the 2012 Baltimore Comic-Con on September 8-9 at the Baltimore Convention Center– and there will be a ton of kid-friendly comics, as well as the artists and writers who make them! Creators from such companies as Pixar, Archie, Scholastic, Disney, Simon & Schuster, Marvel, and DC will be on hand to sketch, help teach young ones about the magic of comics through mini-how to’s through the weekend, and to just say “hi,” right at the Kids Love Comics Pavilion!

Activities in this super cool section of the show include:

• Interactive Comics Talks from some of All-Ages Comics top creators, such as Jimmy Gownley (Amelia Rules!), Franco (Tiny Titans), and Dan Parent (Archie)
• Design your own super hero cape
• Kids Comics Reading and Drawing Booth
• Creator sketches and autographs

“The Baltimore Comic-Con has always been a welcoming, family-friendly show,” said John Gallagher, creator of the Buzzboy graphic novel series and organizer of the kids section, “so great that I bring my own family here every year.”

Here’s a rundown of the Kids Love Comics Pavilion creators:

• Marty Baumann (Pixar)
• Harold Buchholz (Archie Comics)
• Frank Cammuso (Knights of the Lunch Table, Otto’s Orange Day)
• Steve Conley (Bloop)
• Rich Faber (Roboy Red)
• Franco Aureliani (Tiny Titans, Superman Family Adventures)
• John Gallagher (Buzzboy, Roboy Red)
• SL Gallant (GI Joe)
• Jimmy Gownley (Amelia Rules!)
• Jason Horn (Ninjasaur)
• Mark Mariano (Happyloo)
• Mark McKenna (Star Wars, Banana Tail)
• Jamar Nicholas (Leon: Protector of the Playground)
• Dan Parent (Archie, Veronica, Kevin Keller)

This year’s confirmed guests for the show including:

Guest of Honor, Stan “The Man” Lee (Saturday only!) Ken Bald (Golden Age Timely/Marvel artist) Marty Baumann (Pixar artist) Brian Bolland (Dial H, Cover Story: The DC Comics Art of Brian Bolland) Mark Buckingham (Fables, Doctor Who); Greg Capullo (Batman, Spawn) Tommy Castillo (Grimm Fairy Tales) Cliff Chiang (Wonder Woman) Frank Cho (Avengers vs. X-Men, Liberty Meadows) Steve Conley (Bloop webcomic www.bloopstree.com) Amanda Conner (Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre) Lar deSouza (Looking For Group, Least I Could Do) Dan Didio (O.M.A.C.) Garth Ennis (The Shadow, Hellblazer, Preacher, The Boys) Rich Faber (Roboy Red) David Finch (Batman:  The Dark Knight) John Gallagher (Buzzboy) Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman) Keith Giffen (Superman, O.M.A.C., Green Arrow) Gene Ha (Justice League) Larry Hama (G.I. Joe, Wolverine, The ‘Nam) Cully Hamner (Action Comics) Dean Haspiel (Billy Dogma, ACT-I-VATE, Trip City) Jamal Igle (KISS, Supergirl, The Ray) J.G. Jones (Wanted, Doc Savage) Barry Kitson (Captain America, Iron Man, Fantastic Four)

Joe Kubert (Before Watchmen: Nightowl) Scott Kurtz (PvPonline.com) David Mack (Kabuki) Ron Marz (Artifacts, Voodoo) Bob McLeod (DC Comics Presents: Wonder Woman) Mark Morales (Avengers vs. X-Men) Jimmy Palmiotti (All-Star Western) David Petersen (Mouse Guard) Brian Pulido (Lady Death); Frank Quitely (All Star Superman, Batman & Robin) John Romita, Jr. (Avengers Vs. X-Men) Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge) Stuart Sayger (Infestation 2: 30 Days of Night One-Shot) Walter Simonson (Thor, Legion of Super-Heroes, Avengers) Ryan Sohmer (Looking For Group, Least I Could Do) Scott Snyder (Batman, Severed, Swamp Thing) Brian Stelfreeze (ICE) Karl Story (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9) Peter Tomasi (Batman and Robin) Billy Tucci (A Child Is Born, Shi) Matt Wagner (Tower Chronicles, Mage, Grendel) Mark Waid (Daredevil, Incorruptible, Irredeemable) Bernie Wrightson (Frankenstein) Thom Zahler (Love and Capes).

In the coming weeks, look for more announcements from the Baltimore Comic-Con. We are looking forward to highlighting our guests, the Harvey Awards, industry exclusives, and programming. The latest developments can always be found on our website, Twitter, and Facebook pages.

via Baltimore Comic Con Press Release

tokidoki at Comic-Con 2012!

Co-Creator Simone Legno will be at Comic-Con this year! He will be signing at the tokidoki booth from 11:30am – 1:30pm daily. There will be lots of limited edition items available at the booth as well as their Comic-Con 2012 Exclusive, Cactus Rocker Blue! More info from tokidoki can be found below.

WHO:	tokidoki Co-founder and Creative Director, Simone Legno
WHAT:	Special appearance and autograph session at this summer’s Comic-Con; 11:30AM – 1:30PM daily. Tickets will be distributed to the first 60 customers at the tokidoki booth daily once the show opens at 8:30AM
WHERE:	San Diego Comic-Con, at tokidoki booth #4731
WHY:	tokidoki will be unveiling limited edition products including tees and hats from tokidoki as well as co-branded product with Stoopid Monkey, Capcom, and Marvel. All apparel and hats will be priced between $20 and $30. Available toys will be Silver Truffle and Silver Porcino at $20 each, along with Mud Porcino for $15. The exclusive Cactus Rocker Blue will be in attendance, too, priced at $39.95

One of the Best-Looking Design Ideas for THE AVENGERS DVD/Blu-Ray Box Set EVER!

Marvel’s The Avengers has had a huge success at the box office. All of the movies prior to The Avengers have also had great success: The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man & Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America. So to make the fans happy (or not…), Marvel is going to be releasing a TEN DISC Blu-Ray Box Set! Yes, this is a bit overkill. Most fans have already purchased the movies prior to The Avengers. Anyways, here’s what is included in the limited edition set:

• Marvel’s The Avengers (Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray)
• Captain America: The First Avenger (Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray)
• Thor (Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray)
• Iron Man 2 (Blu-ray)
• The Incredible Hulk (Blu-ray)
• Iron Man (Blu-ray)
• Bonus Disc – “The Phase One Archives” (Blu-ray)
• Collectible packaging with exclusive memorabilia from the Marvel Cinematic Universe

We shall see how well this does. It may do well, just because of the “extras” that are included. What’s hilarious is that there is no mention of Ang Lee’s version of the Hulk. It’s the red-headed step-child of Marvel’s movies. Marvel better have really good packaging for the set though. From the teaser poster, it just looks like it might be a brief case… What it should be is what Dave Delisle over at Dave’s Geeky Ideas has created, which looks to the be the best packaging idea for the Blu-Ray set EVER! What do you think?

This case was designed to hold the entire library of Marvel films starting with The Avengers, to every other movie prior to and future ones! It is based on SHIELD’s Helicarrier and is can hold at least 30 discs. Adding more trays to the main hull can grow that number to 50. Yes, it’s a bit rough on details and not-to-scale but that can always be worked out. He estimates it would be approximately 26″ long x 16″ wide x 12″ tall. Now how would you like that topping your shelf!?

   

   

Dave also would like to add the feature of adding removable “wings” of the helicarrier to be individual cases. It’s an interesting concept. You should also check out his other stuff here.

Marvel and The Avengers Assemble at D23 2011

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige assembles Avengers cast members and Marvel CCO Joe Quesada holds special panel

Disney’s D23 Expo, the company’s epic fan event, will be held from August 19-21 at the Anaheim Convention Center, and this year looks to be simply Marvelous with the House of Ideas featuring prominently during two major Expo events.

On Saturday, August 20, Marvel Studios President, Production, Kevin Feige joins Rich Ross, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios; Sean Bailey, President, production, The Walt Disney Studios; and John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios on stage at the D23 Arena for the Expo’s Walt Disney Studios presentation. Feige, will be on hand along with an awesome assemblage of cast members from “Marvel’s The Avengers.”

But that’s not all, True Believers! On Sunday, August 21, Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada brings you inside the House of Ideas with a very special Marvel presentation and Q&A that provides a behind-the-scenes look at Marvel and its iconic super heroes. Join him for an exclusive and unprecedented experience that will take you through the evolution of Marvel from its first comic book in 1939 to its current position as one of the most important creative forces in the world.

D23 will be an amazing experience and we hope you can attend! But if you can’t, don’t worry–we’ll bring the Marvel events directly to you! Marvel.com Editorial Director Agent M will be there, posting tweets and photos, and hosting liveblogs of both Marvel sessions! Sign up for both liveblogs below or on Marvel’s Facebook page, and follow both @Marvel and @Agent_M on Twitter for all the action!

More on Marvel.com

Via Press Release