comic

Low Latency No. 31: Tweets straight from the judge's table

It seems die-hard Olympics fans hate the Internet now that results are posted instantaneously. The drama that prime-time coverage can usually deliver is somewhat dampened by the fact that a list of winners is readily available quicker than the time it takes to turn on a TV.

Even if you casually browse a site like Twitter, you're bound to accidentally uncover some breaking news from the Summer Games. Come to think of it, it's probably harder to shield yourself from the news than it is to find it out. … Read more

Crave giveaway: LG Nitro HD signed by star comics editor Bob Schreck

Congrats to Junryo W. of Clarement, Calif., for winning last week's giveaway, a bag of Comic-Con swag straight from the show floor.

For the second and final part of our Comic-Con giveaway, we have a legendary prize. No, literally. We're giving away an AT&T LG Nitro HD smartphone signed by Bob Schreck, editor in chief of Legendary Comics, the book-publishing arm of Legendary Entertainment (Christopher Nolan's "Batman" movies, "Wrath of the Titans," "Sucker Punch," "The Town"). Please note that you'll be responsible for securing your own voice and data plan. … Read more

Low Latency No. 30: The Dark Knight uploads

YouTube is now encouraging video uploaders to use their real names. Is this the first sign of what's to come? Will our anonymity on YouTube become a thing of the past?

For now, users still have the option to opt out of disclosing their true identity, but a world in which YouTube videos are no longer anonymously uploaded appears much closer to reality than ever before. Of course we've seen things like this before. Most of us seem to have no problem giving away our personal information to Facebook, right? … Read more

Crave giveaway: Geektastic Comic-Con gift pack

First off, congrats to last week's giveaway winner, Kristen M. of Atlanta, for winning an Age of Empires helmet signed by the Age of Empires Online development team.

Now, didn't make it to Comic-Con this year? Comic-Con's coming to you -- in a big way. Seth Rosenblatt, one of our CNETers reporting from the show floor, scoured the place for stuff he thought Crave readers would like. And holy swag, Batman, did he hit a geek gold mine! … Read more

Batman, DC Comics drop in on iBooks

Digital comic books continue to proliferate beyond comics-specific apps like Comixology as Apple's iBooks gets its first DC Comics book: the recently published, original graphic novel Batman: Earth One.

Batman: Earth One, which retells the Batman origin with some startling differences -- ready for faithful butler Alfred to wield a gun, anybody? -- continues DC Entertainment's strategy of selling graphic novels through marketplaces that focus on traditional books and magazines, while the single-issue monthlies are available through the company's branded iOS and Android apps. Its digital release comes on the heels of the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con, … Read more

Crazy, sexy, cool cosplay at San Diego Comic-Con

Among all the sights to see at Comic-Con in San Diego this year (David Hasselhoff, "Iron Man 3," Lucy Liu), the best attraction is always the creative cosplay.

Each year, hundreds of geeks spend months preparing for the show, showing off their DIY ethic using everything from electronics to cardboard to Mom's own ironing board.

Click through the slideshow below for The 404's favorite costumes from Comic-Con 2012, and check out our wrap-up episode for more coverage.

The 404 1,091: Where we're back with a vengeance (podcast)

We're back from San Diego Comic-Con 2012 with a wrap-up show of everything we saw at the show. This being our first year, it quickly became obvious that we missed the first rule of Comic-Con: leave your civilian clothes at home!… Read more

Marty McFly and Mattel lend a hoverboard to The 404

The hoverboard floated onto the big screen in "Back to the Future II" and broke the hearts of geeks worldwide when director Robert Zemeckis announced that the technology would not be available until the year 2015. Decades later, we're all still waiting for power laces, hydrator machines, power laces, and a real hoverboard, but Mattel was on-hand at Comic-Con 2012 to show off the next best thing: a 1:1 scale replica of the original hover board ridden by Marty McFly.

While it's still unacceptable that the thing doesn't actually glide through the air (don't even think about water), the prop retains the exact look and feel of the real thing, replete with a scooter handle hole, Velcro ankle strap, motion sensors, and "whooshing" sound effects pulled directly from the movies.… Read more

The 404 and The Walking Dead Escape

Without a doubt the highlight of our trip to Comic-Con was The Walking Dead Escape takeover of Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres.

Spanning across multiple levels of the stadium, the 45-minute obstacle course led us through a zombie-filled apocalyptic simulation where "survivors" must outrun the living dead or become infected themselves.

This event was no joke. We were told to stretch out before, wear gym clothes, and be sure to not leave anyone behind. Armed with our head- and chest-mounted GoPros, we documented the entire experience. Of course, not everyone could survive. So who made … Read more

Comixology dominates digital at Comic-Con

SAN DIEGO -- After several years of percolating, digital comics are about to go ka-boom with marketplace and reader app Comixology at the center of the explosion.

If you wanted to be glib about it, you could describe Comixology's strategy as "divide and conquer." The company has made a series of digital comics "gets" by creating book-specific apps to accompany a number of exclusive agreements to add books to its regular, unbranded Comixology app, that further cement it as the largest digital comics marketplace around.

"Comics stores are like vinyl [record] stores. It's … Read more