Marvel Exec Blames Diversity for Declining Sales, Quickly Backtracks
Contrary to how popular their movies are, Marvel comic sales are way down. This is the type of thing you think would worry all of their employees, but especially their VP of Sales. That VP of Sales, a guy named David Gabriel, was recently asked about the shift, which he cited as occurring last October. Gabriel blamed a number of factors, including the economy, and an oversaturation of the market, but his answer when it came to more diverse heroes is the one that generated the bad pub this past weekend because that's how the world works.
Said Gabriel about the increase in representation, and the potential correlation with lower sales:
I don't know if that's a question for me. I think that's a better question for retailers who are seeing all publishers. What we heard was that people didn't want any more diversity. They didn't want female characters out there. That's what we heard, whether we believe that or not. I don't know that that's really true, but that's what we saw in sales.
We saw the sales of any character that was diverse, any character that was new, our female characters, anything that was not a core Marvel character, people were turning their nose up against. That was difficult for us because we had a lot of fresh, new, exciting ideas that we were trying to get out and
After that answer didn't go over well, at all, really, Gabriel provided clarification where he said Ms. Marvel, Moon Girl, and Spider-Gwen (among others) were popular characters who wouldn't be going away anytime soon:
Discussed candidly by some of the retailers at the summit, we heard that some were not happy with the false abandonment of the core Marvel heroes and, contrary to what some said about characters “not working,” the sticking factor and popularity for a majority of these new titles and characters like Squirrel Girl, Ms. Marvel, The Mighty Thor, Spider-Gwen, Miles Morales, and Moon Girl, continue to prove that our fans and retailers ARE excited about these new heroes. And let me be clear, our new heroes are not going anywhere! We are proud and excited to keep introducing unique characters that reflect new voices and new experiences into the Marvel Universe and pair them with our iconic heroes.
We have also been hearing from stores that welcome and champion our new characters and titles and want more! They've invigorated their own customer base and helped them grow their stores because of it. So we're getting both sides of the story and the only upcoming change we're making is to ensure we don't lose focus of our core heroes."
As far as I can tell it remains unclear what has caused a decrease in sales (constant reboots, more competitors, etc.). But, if you can figure it out, Marvel probably has a job for you.
#RHoA: Who Is Sherian Almufti? Apollo Nida's Girlfriend Made Her First 'Real Housewives Of Atlanta' Appearance
Phaedra Parks' divorce may not have been worthy of a party for the Real Housewives of Atlanta star, but it's certainly been the subject of several episodes so far. And things keep getting more complicated when Apollo's new girlfriend Sherian Almufti appeared at Kandi Burruss' Old Lady Gang restaurant "opening" party. I'm not sure how much any of the participants were aware of Almufti's surprise appearance at the party, but she certainly walked in with lots of confidence, and Todd was talking to Apollo in multiple scenes prior to the party, and said that Apollo mentioned she might drop by, but he claimed that he wasn't expecting her. And, of course, Phaedra Parks wasn't even at the party, so any impact from Almufti's appearance was a little muted. The party was going well, considering. The OLG themselves were having a fun, happy time, everyone was getting along with Todd, and no one even seemed thrown by Kandi's a cappella performance of "Fly Above," which has been around since Chateau ShereƩ first broke ground.
TMZ first broke the news that Apollo was engaged behind bars, where they also alleged that Almufti and Nida were in a relationship before he went to prison. When asked directly when she and Apollo got together, Almufti echoed the same sentiment, though she didn't outright confirm that they were in a relationship while he was still married. But she did say, "wifey wasn't around, so I was probably around more often that she is."
And complicating things slightly, in early April 2017, on the eve of her RHOA debut Almufti told US Weekly Magazine that she wasn't in a relationship before his marriage was over. "As a friend first, before anything else, I told him I was gonna be there for him. Because I watched how a lot of people kind of just turned their backs on him," she tells US. She also explains that because she's been cheated on in the past, "it started out as a business situation," not a romantic one. Now, Almufti is sporting what looks like an engagement ring — so the couple are clearly still feeling the romance.
I'm sure Almufti's presence at the OLG party will come up again in future episodes, especially if Kandi and Phaedra start fighting in the reunion, but for now, it seemed much more like Kandi out of everyone was the most uncomfortable with having Sherian at the party. She even took pains to specify that she and Todd had supported Apollo, not Sherian. Kandi seems very aware that that this situation could quickly become fodder for a major Real Housewives of Atlanta scandal, which seems to have been exactly the goal of Sherian Almufti's surprise appearance on the show.
#EMPIRE: Lee Daniels Gets Candid About His Childhood: How a Dark Past Made Him Even More "Determined to Make It" in Hollywood
He's one of Hollywood's most celebrated writers and directors. But before Lee Daniels was able to work with dozens of famous faces, he was a young dreamer hoping to live a better life.
Recently, Lee traveled to Loyola Marymount University where he took part in an ongoing interview series titled "The Hollywood Masters."
While his work in Precious, Empire and other projects were celebrated, it's his road to success that is inspiring many fans.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lee got candid when talking about his family and life growing up.
"I thought I was going to end up like most of my friends, in jail. That was the way the world was for me," he explained. "I didn't think I was going to die, but I imagined myself in jail. And when you have to steal to eat, yeah, I thought I was definitely going to—I mean, that was just the norm."
While many stars credit their mom and dad for their success, Lee had a difficult relationship with his father who was violent with him. Fortunately, Lee's grandmother helped inspire him and keep him on the right track.
"I come from a family of five, of brothers and sisters. And my grandmother could pass for a white. And she migrated from North Carolina with her sister. And she was a very powerful woman," Lee recalled. "She married the blackest man possible. She was the first black woman to go to Duke University. She passed as white going in."
During the summer, Lee would spend his days with his grandmother while his parents worked. The writer slowly realized he wanted something more in his life.
With little money in his pockets, Lee traveled to Los Angeles where he lived in the back of a church near Baldwin Hills, Calif. He developed a passion for a theatre that was located on the property. At the same time, he received a job as a receptionist at a nursing agency.
No matter what hurdles came his way, Lee was "determined to make it."
"I knew that I could make it on my own," he shared. "My grandmother told me that I could, and so why couldn't I?"
Lee eventually opened his own nursing agency before AIDS surfaced in and around Los Angeles.
"It hit the community hard. It was terrifying, because we never knew whether you could drink from glasses or what it was. It was the most terrifying thing ever. And I didn't understand why it was that I wasn't [dead], because there were far better souls than me that were going," he explained. "I thought that I needed to go. And so I descended into drugs and into sexual bath houses to die. That I don't have AIDS is a miracle from God. I don't understand it. I really don't understand it. Because I should have had HIV. Everybody else did."
While Lee is filled with gratitude for his success today, his biggest obstacle wasn't his environment or living situation. Instead, Lee believes it was himself.
"Learning to love myself, learning to believe in myself. You know, I only did it as a vendetta to my dad, to show him that I was going to be something. I mean, it was about survival, showing him, but knowing deep down that I wasn't worthy of it. So yeah, I think that myself would be, I am my worst enemy," he explained. "But, I'm learning, that's why I'm in therapy now. And I want to do something about that, because, you know, black people don't believe in therapy. I was like, all of a sudden I'm 57 and I'm going to therapy.
That's some heavy stuff, you know?"
#NEWMUSIC from Musiq Soulchild Aims To “Start Over” On His Latest Single
Philadelphia’s own Musiq Soulchild starts the countdown for his forthcoming 8th solo album with a groovy new single dubbed “Start Over.” While he awaits the birth of his child with wifey Tiyumba Wright, Musiq fills the void with a sound familiar to his long list of admirers.
Musiq recently released “Simple Things,” the first track from his forthcoming project, earlier this year. He reminded us not to take the small in things in life for granted on the song, if you don’t recall. Soulchild’s next album serves as the follow-up to his Life on Earth LP—which was released back in 2016.
LISTEN HERE
The singer just wrapped up his two month Nu Soul Revival Tour which featured Lyfe Jennings, Kindered The Family Soul and Avery Sunshine.
#NEWHIPHOP Video: Kendrick Lamar – ‘HUMBLE.’
All hail the King. A week after unleashing “The Heart Part 4,” Kendrick Lamar unveils the epic video for “HUMBLE.,” the presumed first single off his third major label studio album.
Co-directed by Dave Meyers (Missy Elliott, Outkast) and The Little Homies, the head-turning visual finds K. Dot in a myriad of scenes, from a beauty salon to the Los Angeles River. In Meyers fashion, he’s even seen under a fisheye lens, riding a bicycle through the city.
The visual has a biblical tone at times, recreating Leonardo da Vinci’s classic painting of “The Last Supper,” with King Kendrick seated at a table with the likes of Jay Rock, engineer Mixed By Ali, painter Blue the Great, producer Sounwave, and TDE manager retOne
After lighting his head on fire, Kendrick takes on beauty conventions too with a message about authenticity. “I’m so fuckin’ sick and tired of the Photoshop,” he raps, as he and a woman are shown with edits and without.
The cinematic and artistic visual is soundtracked by the slapping single, which was produced by Mike WiLL Made-It. The duo also worked together on Mike’s Rae Sremmurd and Gucci Mane-assisted “Perfect Pint” off Ransom 2.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tvTRZJ-4EyI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Kendrick’s new album, the follow-up to 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly, is expected to arrive April.
Prince Jackson Honors Father Michael Jackson with Angelic New Tattoo
Michael Jackson‘s eldest son Prince Jackson will always have his father’s with him — especially now that he’s gotten a new tribute tattoo of the King of Pop on his leg.
The 20-year-old showed off his new ink on Instagram, explaining that he sat 9 hours for the “incredibly and beautiful tattoo” on his right calf.
The image shows an illustration of Michael in one of his most iconic moves (his legs crossed and arms raised to the sky) and one of his most recognizable outfits (a black suit with a red shirt, black suspenders, black shoes, white socks, arm band, matching fedora — and single, white sequin glove).
Prince’s tattoo also adds angel wings to the image of the late singer, and covers his feet in what looks to be pixie dust (Michael was a lifelong Peter Pan fan). Most touching is his face — covered in a shadow.
Michael died of cardiac arrest in June 2009 at his Los Angeles home. He was 50.
Prince previously said that it took a while for him and his siblings to fully realize their father’s fame.
“Even to this day, I don’t think it holds the same weight to us that it does to other people, because he was our father, our dad,” he told Robin Roberts during an appearance on Good Morning America last month.
Instead of following in his father’s footsteps, Prince developed his talents behind the scenes — founding his own company called King’s Son Productions (a name referencing his father’s King of Pop moniker).
“King’s Son Productions has this mantra where ‘a title is earned, but a name is given.’ So, I was born as Prince and that was the name my dad had given to me,” Prince said. “But my dad had earned the epithet King of Pop and that’s through hard work and years of training and everything he worked so hard to get.”
He added: “So, it’s a form of motivation because my name is Prince, but for all intents and purposes I am the king’s son and working to get my own epithet.”
CNN Hires April Ryan as Political Contributor
She has been one of the most visible White House correspondents since President Trump took over.
April Ryan, of American Urban Radio Networks, has become one of the most visible White House correspondents since President Donald Trump took over, and she's now been hired as a political contributor for CNN.
CNN wouldn't say Monday when it began negotiating with Ryan, who was scolded by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer to stop shaking her head in response to one of his answers at a press briefing last week. The incident drew widespread attention online. Her CNN hiring was announced on Monday.
Trump, in a February news conference, asked Ryan to help arrange a meeting between him and the Congressional Black Caucus. Such a task is beyond the responsibilities of reporters.
A CNN spokeswoman said Ryan will be available for political commentary on all of its shows.
Ciara’s Baby Shower Turnup! Who Was There … And Who Wasn’t?
By the looks of it, everyone had a great time. Ci Ci’s friends LaLa Anthony, Serena Williams, Kiyah Wright and more were in attendance, but notably absent was one of the singer’s besties, Kelly Rowland.
So, why was Kels a no show? Don’t worry, there’s no bad blood. Kelly has actually been in the land down under for the past few days, judging The Voice Australia. Even though Kelly couldn’t make it, the party still went off without a hitch. Ci, Russ and even baby Future took some snapshots to document the momentous occasion.
Drake To Star In’ Top Boy’ On Netflix In 2018.
Drake returns to acting in new Netflix Top Boy’ .The acclaimed drama, based around the lives of London drug dealers and street gangs, began in 2011 and has run for two series so far – with another ‘coming soon’.
Now Ashley Walters, who plays Dushane, has revealed that producers have given Drake a ‘significant’ role in the show.
“We met up to start talking about the show and we are working out a role for him,” he told The Daily Mirror. “He loves acting, of course he wanted a part. He’s going to be really hands on and is getting stuck into it.”
Halle Berry: The Nude Nipple-Baring Pic That Has Everyone Going Crazy!
Halle Berry set Instagram ablaze on Thursday evening when she shared with her 1.2 million fans a photo of herself in the nude.
In the sexy image, a glowing actress can be seen frolicking in the fields while wearing nothing but a sheer wrap. Through the piece of fabric wrapped around her arms, you see the outline of her robust chest.
The caption, however, is what really got fans all hot and bothered. “Me when someone says ‘I’m coming over and I’ve got snacks,'” she wrote. So basically, Berry just needs snacks for her to strip down?! Yes, please.
Most of her fans shared the same sentiment. One user wrote: “Them snacks would be brought to you every single day lol.” Someone else commented, “Ehm I got a shelf of good snacks!”
Aside from seeing all her goods in the highly acclaimed film, Monster’s Ball, Berry does like to tease us from time to time. The night of the Academy Awards, she posted a video of her stripping down to Bruno Mars’ “Versace on the Floor.”
And in case you aren’t up on your HB news, she has expressed before that she enjoys being in her birthday suit. In fact, she’d prefer to be naked. She revealed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show back in 2010, “I do like being naked.” She added that usually, she likes being in the buff when just “walking around the house.”
Mama June’s ‘Emotional and Physical’ Struggle Following Weight Loss Surgery
weight loss*Mama June Shannon may be looking fit after dropping down to a size 4, but the reality star admits that her dramatic weight loss and cosmetic surgery “took a toll on me — not just physically, but emotionally.”
June showed off the results of her dramatic weight loss on WE tv’s “Mama June: From Not to Hot: on Friday, in which it was also revealed that she needed a tummy tuck and breast lift in order to remove the excess skin that was left over after shedding the fat.
After undergoing the procedure to do so, Mama June was distraught with the results, ET reports. The skin removal surgery left her bandaged and bruised, but overall, she’s pleased with the results.
“It makes me feel really good to show other people this is what I’ve always thought of myself and that my inside hadn’t changed, like my giving and outgoing and loving personality that was there when I was there. It’s just a little bit more out there,” Shannon said.
As The Sun notes, the long recovery time and intense pain led Mama June to cancel her next skin removal surgery, which was meant to correct her “turkey neck” and “bat wing” arms.
“My goal when I first started this weight loss journey was to make Sugar Bear kind of jealous,” Shannon said. “But it’s no longer about revenge,” she said. “Doing all the surgeries really took a toll on me — not just physically, but emotionally.”
You’ll have to wait until the next episode to see if she decides to push forward with more surgeries. Shannon will also share the details of exactly how she went from a size 18 to a size 4 in the next issue of PEOPLE.
The “Mama June: From Not to Hot” finale airs April 7 at 9 p.m. ET on WE tv.
EGGPLANT NATION: Meet Juan
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AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES?
If Wednesday Had A Face…
Even babies know, milk is about the only thing to get nutrition from when you only have your gums to work with.
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