Afterburn

Tobey Maguire of Spider-man fame will have a shot at producing (through Maguire Entertainment) the movie adaptation of Red 5 Comics' 'Afterburn' title. Niel Moritz from Original Films will also be teaming up with Tobey for this one.

Here's the kicker:

This title's first book hit the shops in January this year! But if any comic book were to sound like a wicked movie, this would be it! Treasure Hunters in a post-apocalyptic earth setting, scouring the eastern hemisphere (which is nice and crispy because of a massive solar flare) for relics like the crown jewels, etc., all the while competing against rival treasure hunters, pirates, radiated mutants, and other obstacles.


Honestly, how cool is that? The answer, by the way, is pretty-freakin'-cool.

Red 5 Comics is actually brought to us by ComingSoon.net, and SuperheroHype.com, both of which I frequent. The company was created by Paul Ens (former director of Lucasfilm's StarWars.com, and of Lucas Online) and Scott Chitwood (co-founder of TheForce.net and contributor to ComingSoon.net and SuperheroHype.com.)

The company itself is based in good old Alberta, Canada, in the fine city of Calgary.

You also might recognize the label for another little comic called Atomic Robo - also very popular!

This book is officially on my to-read list!

The US Credit Crunch may claim another victim...

It's been hard to miss in the news. Nearly every newspaper, blog, newscast, and magazine has covered it at one point or another: the US credit crunch.

While economists are still unsure if the market is in full recession mode or not, anyone living in North America (if not many parts of the world) have dealt with the repercussions of the credit problems the US has been facing.

In order to grow the business (or stay afloat) many companies use borrowed funds (or leverage) to meet their financial needs. Borders is no exception. The company has been on the forefront of the manga movement in book stores, offering one of the most diverse selections of graphic novels in store in relation to it's peers.

Borders (NYSE:BGP) realized a nearly 29% loss in share price today upon announcing that it would be suspending it's dividend and would be looking for alternative financing options. Borders CEO George Jones noted that "the current credit environment has made many of these alternatives prohibitively expensive or entirely unavailable."

Investors can expect an announcement within the next two weeks if Borders can find successful financing.

There is a Canadian twist: rumor has it that Canadian retailer Indigo Books (TSE:IDG) may be interested in purchasing the floundering company. While this is only speculation at the moment, it could be a great opportunity for the Canadian bookseller to expand into the US markets.