I will admit that I had decided not to read this book for two reasons: (1) I tend to ignore books by “celebrity authors” (with name in large type on book jacket) and a “co-author” (with name in much smaller type); and (2) there isn’t much point in reading a history book which is promoted on the jacket by two authors of fiction, albeit writers I really enjoy for works of fiction.

There are, for instance, no citations, even for direct quotes, so I’m not sure that Nelson DeMille’s depiction on the jacket of Bill O’Reilly as a “historian” is really accurate. There are so many statements that make me wonder at the source: (Lincoln) “furls his brow” (Page 3); “his guts churn” (Page 11). Really? The source for this information? My favorite example is on Page 91. Booth “stands alone in a pistol range” to practice his aim. Alone, and yet every detail of his stance is described in full. Also, “the smell of gunpowder mixes with the fragrant pomade of his mustache.” Since he was completely alone at the time, did Booth himself describe somewhere the details of his stance and the fragrance of his mustache?

Perhaps the strangest claim for historical accuracy is the story on Page 5. It is the day (March 4, 1865) of Lincoln’s second inauguration. While there is no doubt that John Wilkes Booth was present (a famous long-range photograph shows the actor on a balcony overlooking the inaugural platform), I cannot find a single corroboration that at this event “Booth lunged at Lincoln.” He was caught and held back by a D.C. police officer, but he was not detained. “Arresting a celebrity like Booth might have caused the policeman problems.” Perhaps in historical writing there is something akin to “poetic license,” and that this “revelation” is an excellent example. It makes a good story, but I don’t think that it is true.

However, if the reader can overlook such questionable statements, this is a popular book. It has been on the Publishers Weekly best-sellers’ list for 19 weeks. Lincoln’s birthday is today.

It is officially classified as nonfiction, but perhaps we need a category between fiction and nonfiction. I recommend “historical fiction which is more-or-less accurate.” The book does tell the story of Lincoln’s assassination, and the subtitle is accurate: “The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever.” Historians to this day debate the effects Lincoln’s steady hand might have had on the unfortunate and divisive period of Reconstruction. Alas, we will never know.

I found the afterword and the replication of Harper’s Weekly very interesting and good additions to the text. The notes section gives the reader who wants to dig more deeply into the subject a fine list of optional reading material. Most of the books mentioned here are considered to be first-rate history books by the national “Lincoln community.” In fact, I wonder if it entered O’Reilly’s mind to run the completed manuscript by one of these currently available experts. I believe that by listing these books, the co-authors give “Killing Lincoln” at least a semblance of historical accuracy.

This is an important book because its position on best-seller lists means that people are reading of one of the most significant events in the history of the United States, and I firmly believe that we should know this story. I wish that it were more historically accurate, but that is only because I am firmly entrenched, for better or for worse, in the category of “history geek.” As I mentioned earlier, I believe that the book deserves a special category between fiction and nonfiction: “historical fiction which is more-or-less accurate.”

Sara Vaughn Gabbard is executive director of the Friends of the Lincoln Collection in Indiana, as well as the editor of “Lincoln Lore.” She was the vice president of the Lincoln Museum before it closed and is editor of several books on Lincoln. She wrote this for The Journal Gazette.

Originally posted here:
Not quite fact, not quite fiction

Oakley, CA (PRWEB) February 10, 2012

Zoo Crew Construction has recently expanded its framing company into a full-service general contracting company. Serving the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, Zoo Crew Construction provides a wide range of services, including home additions, custom homes and framing. In February, Zoo Crew Construction will also participate in this year's Home and Garden Show at the Pleasanton fair grounds. The Home and Garden Show will be held from Feb. 17 to 19.

"We are excited to be participating in the Home and Garden Show and to spread the word that we are now bidding for projects as a full general contractor and not just framers," said Jay Dynes, president of Zoo Crew Construction Inc. "Just give us a call for free estimate."

Zoo Crew Construction has been offering remodel framing since 1999. As a licensed and insured contractor and now, a full-service company, clients no longer have to worry about hiring carpenters, labors or dealing with workmen compensations, employee taxes, payrolls or liability insurance. By using a specialist in house remodeling and finishing, framing construction, and general contracting, homeowners will save time, money and trouble.

“We would like to thank the Zoo Crew and Jay Dynes for helping us achieve our goal of adding a second-floor addition to our home. They exceeded our expectations in every regard. Their entire crew was so helpful and professional during the entire process. During a large project such as this, challenges were bound to arise; but the measure of success is in how these challenges are addressed. They helped us overcome every obstacle and were proactive enough to prevent other problems from occurring in the first place. The end result was exactly what we had hoped for,” Jeff and Kristie Myers said.

Zoo Crew Construction also offers help in the area of supervising jobs with other sub-contractors through rough frame inspections.

For more information about any of Zoo Crew Construction’s products or services, call 925-584-0192 or view the general contracting company on the web at http://www.zoocrewconstruction.com.

About Zoo Crew Construction Inc.

Zoo Crew Construction focuses on providing framing construction and general contracting needs. This includes work with framing, additions, custom homes, finishing, siding, remodels and more. Zoo Crew Construction has served the East Bay area since 1999 and features extensive experience every client can trust.

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Zoo Crew Construction Announces Expansion, Participation in the Home and Garden Show this February

Sirius XM Radio Inc. reported its results for the fourth quarter. SIRIUS XM Radio broadcasts its music, sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic and weather channels in the United States for a subscription fee through its proprietary satellite radio systems: the SIRIUS system and the XM system.

Investing Insights: Will the iPad 3 Be the Next Catalyst for Apple’s Stock?

Sirius XM Radio Earnings Cheat Sheet for the Fourth Quarter

Results: Reported a profit of $71.3 million (one cent per diluted share) in the quarter. Sirius XM Radio Inc. had a net loss of $81.4 million or a loss 2 cents per share in the year earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 6.5% to $783.7 million from the year earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: Sirius XM Radio Inc. fell in line with the mean analyst estimate of one cent per share. Analysts were expecting revenue of $785.5 million.

Quoting Management: “We are proud to announce that SiriusXM delivered another record-setting year in 2011, meeting or exceeding all of our guidance. Our strong content and subscriber focus helped set a post-merger record of 1.7 million net subscriber additions, and we achieved record levels of revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. We expanded our adjusted EBITDA margins to 24% by tightly controlling costs and growing our revenue. Our improved profitability, coupled with lower capital expenditures, contributed to a substantial increase in our free cash flow,” noted Mel Karmazin, Chief Executive Officer, SiriusXM.

Key Stats:

Revenue has risen the past four quarters. Revenue increased 6.3% to $762.5 million in the third quarter. The figure rose 6.4% in the second quarter from the year earlier and climbed 9% in the first quarter from the year-ago quarter.

The company fell in line with estimates last quarter after topping expectations in the previous two quarters. In the third quarter, it topped the mark by one cent, and in the second quarter, it was ahead by 2 cents.

Looking Forward: Expectations for the company’s next quarter performance are higher than they were ninety days ago. Over the past three months, the average estimate for the first quarter of the next fiscal year has risen to 2 cents per share from one cent. The average estimate hasn’t changed from 6 cents per share for the fiscal year.

(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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To contact the reporter on this story: Derek Hoffman at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com

See the original post here:
Sirius XM Radio Inc. Earnings: A Turnaround to a Profit

February 12, 2012, 7:13 PM EST

By Crayton Harrison

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- America Movil SAB, the biggest mobile-phone carrier in the Americas, reported fourth-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates as costs rose to recruit new subscribers and service debt.

Profit excluding interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose 3.9 percent to 64.5 billion pesos ($5.1 billion), missing the 65.2 billion average estimate of six analysts polled by Bloomberg. The Mexico City-based carrier’s Mexican and Brazilian units had lower profit margins as more customers signed up for long-term contracts that often come with discounted phones.

America Movil, controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, is shifting its prepaid phone users to contract plans to increase customers’ loyalty and encourage them to add more services, such as Internet access. Contract subscribers rose 20.5 percent in 2011, compared to 7.4 percent growth for all wireless users.

“Contract clients are more expensive, but they’re much more stable and productive,” said Martin Lara, an analyst at Corp. Actinver SAB in Mexico City. “There are many incentives to add postpaid clients.” He recommends buying the shares.

Fourth-quarter net income slid to 16.3 billion pesos ($1.3 billion) from 25.5 billion pesos a year earlier, America Movil said yesterday in a statement. A weaker peso and higher interest expenses boosted financing costs fourfold to 11.1 billion pesos, hurting profit. Sales rose 12 percent to 182 billion pesos, beating the 173 billion-peso average of analyst estimates.

Interest Expense

America Movil is paying more interest after borrowing to acquire fixed-line companies Telmex Internacional SAB and Telefonos de Mexico SAB in the past two years. Net debt rose 55 percent to 321 billion pesos from a year earlier. Cash flow should pay down that figure over time, Lara said.

The company changed its accounting for prepaid wireless subscribers to eliminate those who hadn’t added minutes to their account during “a determined period,” according to the filing. That eliminated 4.85 million clients from the company’s rolls.

Even with that elimination, America Movil had a net gain of 304,000 mobile subscribers, suggesting that excluding the purged clients, it added about 5.2 million during the quarter. That compared with the 5.83 million estimate of James Rivett, an analyst at Citigroup Inc. in New York and with Lara’s 6.25 million estimate. America Movil ended the quarter with 242 million mobile-phone customers.

Profit margins in Mexico, before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, fell to 48 percent from 51.3 percent a year earlier. Profit was hurt by a ruling last year by Mexico’s Federal Telecommunications Commission to cut the fees that America Movil could charge competitors to connect calls.

In Brazil, America Movil’s second-largest market behind Mexico, the operating margin fell to 22.8 percent from 24.7 percent. Brazil had the biggest net gain in the quarter among the 18 countries where America Movil operates, adding 2.9 million new subscribers.

The company’s shares rose 0.1 percent to 15.56 pesos yesterday in Mexico City before the results were announced. They have dropped 1.6 percent this year.

(America Movil plans to hold a conference call at 10 a.m. New York time. To listen, call +1-866-243-8959 from the U.S. or +1-703-639-1166 outside the U.S. and use the passcode 1566498.)

--Editors: John Lear, Stephen West

To contact the reporter on this story: Crayton Harrison in Mexico City at tharrison5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ville Heiskanen at vheiskanen@bloomberg.net

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America Movil Falls as Costs Squeeze Profit: Mexico City Mover

In between two pristinely kept homes in Ingram, Stanley Biolowas Jr. lived in a decaying two-story house filled with trash.

The windows in the rickety, grayish-brown facade were stuffed shut with orangish foam. Inside, debris crammed the home floor to ceiling and a pair of surveillance cameras stood sentry against thieves he feared would steal his possessions.

It was inside this home that the 90-year-old led a life of stubborn independence with no heat. And it was there in a room on the second floor that firefighters, wearing breathing masks to withstand the stench, found his body Feb. 1 after searching for four hours. He perished of heart disease, the medical examiner's office said, and had been dead for some time.

Neighbors said they sought help for the man, calling the Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging at least once. One neighbor reported someone on the street had called the county health department, though the department has no record of a report being made.

"There's been multiple attempts by multiple neighbors to get him some help," said Lori Kownacki, a former veterinary technician who now stays home to care for her two sons. She said she called the county Area Agency on Aging to report his situation, but the call-taker told her there was nothing to be done. "If something had been done awhile ago, it wouldn't have ended this way."

The case, in some ways, illustrates the difficulties in intervening when an elderly person suffers from self-neglect, a problem that in Mr. Bialowas' case was compounded by pathological hoarding, said Don Grant, a case manager with the Agency on Aging. Records show that if someone called to report he needed help, there was no report taken. The agency's only contact with him was last month at a West End senior center.

"It upsets me. It could have been something that we could have looked at," he said. "Perhaps it was preventable, perhaps not."

Mr. Grant said some studies estimate that as many as one in 190 seniors are suffering from abuse, neglect or self-neglect. His agency alone investigates some 1,500 cases a year.

Geraldine Chenot, a licensed psychologist and registered nurse who contracts with the county, is one of those on the front lines of those investigations. Accompanied by a social worker, she determines if an elderly person has his or her "capacities."

Ms. Chenot said of the 30 to 50 cases she investigates a year, she sees about five to seven cases that involve hoarding, in which people collect stuff -- often valueless -- beyond reason, to the point that their homes become unlivable to most. For the worst cases, she has a term, "tunnelling," in which the only passageways around the homes are narrow spaces between mounds of stuff.

Though hoarding is not a diagnosis recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, it's often classified as a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It's also one of the proposed additions to the next version of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

"It doesn't make sense to see it as anything but a psychological disorder," she said. "Nobody would choose to live this way."

She's encountered people who become agitated when she moves a pile of papers to free a space to write while she interviews them and people who save decades-old newspapers and phone books, saying there's an article or phone number they may need later. The problem bleeds into essential living spaces, "to the extent the bathroom can't be used as a bathroom."

"To us, it makes no sense. To them, it's all their possessions," she said.

In Mr. Biolowas' case, neighbors saw his situation go from bad to worse. Ms. Kownacki said she saw him sit in his car during winter months in an apparent effort to stay warm. But last year, his license was revoked after he twice struck parked cars, including one that belonged to a relative of Ms. Kownacki's. Unable to get gas, he could no longer use his car to warm himself.

She said he haphazardly bathed himself at a local Giant Eagle and a local Eat 'n Park.

She attempted to help him, offering to let him shower in her home and bringing him meals on occasion. When she did bring him food, she knew to knock and leave it on the front porch. He waited until she crossed the street to go outside and retrieve it.

Bill Gordon, who lives next door, said he was told by a real estate agent that Mr. Biolowas was fixing up his home, but over the years, it fell into worse disrepair. He did not see that Mr. Biolowas had trash pickup. Refuse appeared to stay in his home and pile up.

But Mr. Gordon said his neighbor seemed self-sufficient. He was in "OK" physical shape and he appeared to be mentally competent.

"It wasn't like he was out of sorts, per se," Mr. Gordon said.

In some cases, the Agency on Aging can compel intervention, forcing a person into a nursing home or mental hospital, by getting a court order. The agency can obtain an involuntary commitment order if the person is found to be mentally ill and hold the person while he receives psychological evaluation. In extreme cases, where the agency can show the person is at risk of dying within the next 24 hours, it can petition for emergency guardianship and force the person into a hospital.

Mr. Grant said that the standard for when the agency can intervene is set high. An elderly person can live without heat or water and in a home with deplorable conditions if he or she chooses as long as the person is demonstrated to be mentally competent.

But hoarding, in and of itself, is not a strong enough basis to compel someone to move from a home, said Ms. Chenot, a fact that is often frustrating to family trying to help elderly relatives.

Compulsive hoarders often admit they want help, Ms. Chenot said, but parting with their possessions is difficult. The county can offer house cleaners, home caretakers, meal delivery and grants to help older people get back their utilities if they've fallen behind on bills.

Sadly, Ms. Chenot said, "the vast majority will refuse those services."

"Do they understand that this is standing between them and a more comfortable life? They do intellectually, but emotionally they will not separate from that stuff," she said. I always feel really sad when I leave these homes ... you think, 'Oh God, if only they would let us help them.' "

Moriah Balingit: mbalingit@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2533.

First published on February 12, 2012 at 12:00 am

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Death in trash-filled home shows difficulty of aiding solitary seniors

18-01-2012 11:47 The second part of Rockstar Games' "design and technology" series deals in depth with Max's weapons, the target mechanics and tactical maneuvers and explain how these systems together to create a truly seamless and believable experience. Further developments of technologies in the fields of physics and animation succeeds Rockstar studios, the precise target mechanism to implement a first-person shooter, while maintaining the intense identification with the protagonist and narrative elements that are characteristic of a third-person game. In addition, this technology just gives Max 'actions and reactions of a higher sense of realism by allowing the character itself naturally to the position of the crosshairs on the screen to adjust, even when he lies on the floor. Thanks to this innovative gameplay, players will receive at all times full control over Max's movements and actions, coupled with a fluid and precise target mechanism. Max Payne 3 is available om 18th May for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and at 1st June for the PC. ABOUT THIS GAME ************************ Max Payne 3, the sequel sequel developed by Rockstar Vancouver and expected to launch for PS3 and Xbox 360 on May 15, 2012 in North America and May 18, 2012 internationally - the PC version will be available on May 29, 2012 in North America and June 1, 2012 internationally. Max Payne 3 tells the story of Max Payne, a hard-boiled New York City detective with a penchant for violence, out to avenge the death of his ...

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Max Payne 3 - "Design and Technology"-Series (2) - Targeting and Weapons - Video

1. Castle in the Sky on TV

Anime movie Laputa: Castle in the Sky was televised in Japan on Dec. 9, 2011. The movie was made in 1989 by famed director Hayou Miyazaki, who also directed Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.

During one point in televised broadcast in 2011, viewers joined forces, sending tweets at the same time to symbolically help the movie's characters cast a spell.

[More from Mashable: Brand or Celeb? Social Media Shows Who Super Bowl Ads Helped Most]

Data compiled by Brian Anthony Hernandez; gallery created by Chelsea Stark.

Image courtesy of che_fox, Flickr.

[More from Mashable: 20 Best (or Most Annoying) Animated Super Bowl GIFs]

Click here to view this gallery.

Twitter records continue to fall left and right as more and more people -- 100 million active users at last count -- continue to flock onto the microblogging service every month. Half of those users log in every day to get their 140-characters-or-less dose of tweets.

The records they tend to break most frequently are the top tweets-per-second moments, many of which involve sports, entertainment or Japan.

The number one simultaneously tweeted event, by far, is the televised showing of 25-year-old anime movie Castle in the Sky (watch the trailer below) when it broadcast in Japan on Dec. 9, 2011. During one point in the TV broadcast, viewers joined forces, sending tweets at the same time to symbolically help the movie's characters cast a spell. They sent 25,088 tweets in one second.

Castle in the Sky dethroned Beyonce's MTV Video Music Awards pregnancy revelation. On Aug. 28, 2011, Beyonce sang “I want you to feel the love that’s growing inside me,” confirming she and husband, Jay-Z, would be having a baby. At the end of the song, she dropped her mic, unbuttoned her top and rubbed her baby bump. Blue Ivy was born Jan. 7 and immediately made a vocal cameo in Jay-Z's song “Glory.”

SEE ALSO: 25 Tips and Tricks for Savvy Twitter Users | 10 Best Spoof Twitter Accounts

The MTV moment is now number five on the tweets-per-second list, having fallen behind three sports-related incidents. Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow's 80-yard touchdown pass in overtime on Jan. 8, 2012, pushed Beyonce down the list first.

Then, on Feb. 5, 2012, two Super Bowl moments slipped into the number two and three slots: Twitter reaction reached 12,233 tweets per second at the end of the Giants vs. Patriots game and 10,245 TPS during Madonna’s halftime performance. Last year's most-tweeted moment at the Super Bowl hit 4,064 TPS.

The recent additions bumped off newsworthy events from 2011, including an earthquake on the U.S.'s East Coast in August, the raid on Osama bin Laden in May, the MLB Home Run Derby in July, the Super Bowl in February and the UK Royal wedding in April.

Which moments are you surprised to see in our top 15 ranking? Sound off in the comments.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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Top 15 Tweets-Per-Second Moments Ever on Twitter

Look out, world. The next generation of business leadership is smart, savvy and innovative — at least as seen through the prism of the Business Plan Challenge.

James Sawyer, Michelle Black and Julia Geiger of Ransom Everglades took home first place in the 2011 High School Track for their plan for Kit Korp. Kit Korp would offer family-friendly hurricane kits with creative additions like a hurricane cookbook and games, and it could be expanded to offer other types of preparedness kits, the team said. While the three students developed the business plan as part of an economics class, they said participating in the Challenge exposed them to the idea of entrepreneurship and are intrigued by the possibilities. They are now seniors.

Sawyer spent the summer as creative director for the ERGO Project and work is ongoing. Let’s let him explain: “We are constructing devices that allow students to measure cosmic ray activity and link their data to a global network, creating in some sense, the world’s largest telescope. Our goal is to introduce students to scientific research and get them interested in the sciences. We have already placed units across the country and in over 10 countries so we are off to a great start.”

Sawyer plays with robots: His team won second place in the national BattleBots competition. And he is helping to plan a TEDx in Coconut Grove this year. (TEDx is an independently organized event patterned after Technology Entertainment Design gatherings about ideas worth spreading.)

Sawyer has applied to top colleges and is waiting to hear. “I am considering anything from biology to political sciences to economics to engineering, so who knows what I’ll decide.”

Black is also waiting to hear from colleges. She wants to pursue theatre and possibly English or something in the sciences as well as take business classes.

Black stage-managed her first musical, Into the Woods, at Ransom Everglades Middle School: “It was a really big show and very successful in addition to being a lot of fun.”

She and Geiger are National Merit semifinalists, AP Scholars with Distinction and Silver Knight nominees. Black says entrepreneurship is something that interests her and has thought about opening a bakery later in life.

Geiger wants to study public policy or political science and economics at college, “but I am totally open to change my mind once I get there.”

Last year she attended the Student Diversity and Leadership Conference in Philadelphia, calling it “eye opening and meaningful.” She and her debate partner were semi-finalists at a national debate tournament.

Is entrepreneurship in the cards for Geiger? “Business startups seem really interesting so I am definitely open to the idea.”

Sunny Breakfast — Second Place

Ryan Breslow and Jonathan, Jacobo and Leon Lacs cooked up a winning plan called Sunny Breakfast, a delivery service for business districts.

At the time they won second place in the Challenge, they were juniors at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High and had no intention of starting that particular business idea in high school. But that doesn’t mean they have cooled to entrepreneurship — quite the contrary.

After the Challenge, Marc Abrams, president of A Marketing Force, read the story, located Breslow and offered him a summer internship. “He’s one of the smartest kids I ever met, well rounded and well mannered,” said Abrams, who added that Breslow did research, created websites, did search engine optimization work and directly worked with clients and vendors, access that interns normally don’t get.

See the article here:
For Challenge’s teen winners, the world is their oyster

Each month since the relaunch in September, sales executives at DC Comics have met with Newsarama to talk about the latest Diamond sales figures.

This month, the news indicated top tier DC titles were holding steady - and held the Top 10 spots on the chart. DC also held the largest share of the market's units sold, although Marvel had the highest dollar figure.

We spoke to John Rood, the company's executive vice president of sales, and Bob Wayne, the senior vice president of sales, to discuss what the numbers mean. During our discussion, they disclosed:

- Being No. 1 in units indicates to DC that their comics reach more individual people than competitors.

- Any future cancellations and additions to the core "New 52" ongoing titles will most likely be done in groups like the six "second wave" titles coming in May, to maximize the "lift" provided by the additions.

- While there is no current plan to have a third wave, chances are that there will be another batch canceled and replaced before the New 52 is a year old.

- While there's a marketing plan in development for the Before Watchmen comics, DC is also already planning how to market the collected edition to the millions of readers who picked up the original Watchmen as a book, not a comic.

- Before Watchmen is not just a one-time comics event. It's a plan to "set in place something that is lasting."

- DC continues to place importance on this month's ComicsPRO meeting, where it will not only reveal the results of its Nielson survey, but will also get feedback to guide future marketing initiatives.

The pair also had a little fun with the fact that they "won" the top 10 spots in Diamond's sales chart - among other accomplishments - as the following transcript of the conversation shows.

Newsarama: John and Bob, you know even more about what these numbers mean than we do. When you look at January, what do the highs and lows of the month say about the viability of DC right now?

Bob Wayne: It certainly says to me that being No. 1 in units sold in the marketplace for the month means that we're able to reach more consumers than our competitors. So I'm happy about that figure, along with us having the No. 1 title for a number of months in a row.

And we're also happy about having 10 out of the top 10 on the comics' chart, because it's been a long time since anyone has done that particular hat trick.

We're also very happy with the strength of our Batman titles in particular, especially as we're kind of moving into the Dark Knight Rises level of attention for the character from folks who might be more casual.

We're already going back to press on some of the Batman titles. We're seeing a lot of interest in Nightwing because of how it ties to The Court of Owls storyline that's building up. And All-Star Western has been a success in part because it merged the Jonah Hex story with historical Gotham City, allowing that book to plant things that can echo in the present, but being completely acceptable within Jonah Hex's story. We've got Harley Quinn and Joker in the Suicide Squad book. We even have a Resurrection Man issue with Arkham Asylum. So we have a lot of Batman things going on to keep readers excited. And it's the readers and the retailers who are helping to fuel what's going on in The Court of Owls storyline, because Batman has great buzz. Scott and Greg are doing a wonderful job on Batman, and all the other teams are pulling along as well. And we're happy to have that as one of the main engines on our January numbers.

Nrama: But wait a minute, Bob. You're raving about how well comics do that interact with Batman, so are there any plans to add to that line, or is there a danger of it getting too diluted if all these titles are suddenly set in Gotham City?

Wayne: We are adding Batman Inc. as one of the second wave of titles, so clearly, we think there's room for Batman Inc. and Grant [Morrison]'s flavor of storytelling, along with the other flavors.

But you have think there is a point where the rubber band gets stretched so far that it either breaks or snaps in some other direction, and people start to go, you know, I love Batman, but I don't want to buy that much Batman.

It's always a fine line we have to walk between these types of things.

But right now, these books are doing gangbusters, and I think it's really driven the sales strongly by the Court of Owls story that's building for its full debut in May. Without doing a lot of promotion on this, there's still a lot of interest in that.

John Rood: What I'd say is two things: No. 1: Dark Knight Rises in theaters July 20th. And then I would say that the intent with DC Comics' the New 52, was not to make us any more top heavy. And so as excited as we are about Batman's performance, we're delighted that readers and retailers are responding to titles like Swamp Thing and Animal Man and Resurrection Man and Suicide Squad.

The health of our whole line - 52 titles deep - is as crucial to us as making sure our franchise characters like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash and Green Lantern, stay at the top of the list.

Nrama: John, what do you think the numbers say about the market overall, beyond DC. You guys are the only ones with books in the top 10. I know they did well, but it also speaks to the lack of competition this month, doesn't it? Taking all 10 spots doesn't bode well for the overall market, does it?

Rood: If I had stood at those Road Shows with the retailers last summer and said that our #5's for the New 52 were going to sweep the Top 10, Bob would have grabbed a large butterfly net and put it over my head and pulled me off-stage.

Wayne: To a round of applause, because they would have thought it was the right thing to do before he could hurt himself.

Rood: We have had so many pleasant surprises associated with DC Comics New 52, but lately, this idea of our #5's sweeping the industry Top 10 - 10 for 10 - is probably the most pleasant of pleasant surprises and the most surprising of pleasant surprises.

Nrama: But my question was, what does it say about the market overall, beyond just DC Comics? What do you think is going on with the comic market not selling anything as well as your 10th lowest title?

Rood: Take it up with the publishers who didn't crack the Top 10.

Nrama: Fair enough. One week after we talked last month, we found out there were six titles being replaced in the 52 line-up. I assume you'll still be continuously tweaking the comic line-up though, won't you?

Rood: I think the tweaks won't be ongoing and ad hoc. I think we will have what we were trying to do with these six titles [coming up in May] - do it at a moment in time and have it as a second wave, and that's what we're calling it. And have the incentives tied to the incentives of the initial New 52, which is what we're doing.

But yeah, I'd like to think of it as 46 out of 52 that are continuing, which is crazy good. And no cancelations or replacements until issue #8, which is crazy good. And the anecdotal feedback on our six replacement titles being so favorable is exactly what we had hoped. Actually, all of the New 52 is lifted by our "Replacement Six."

Nrama: Do you think you'll have another wave before the first year is finished, by September?

Wayne: Well, while we don't have another wave planned, my gut is that we'll be making some additional mid-course corrections as we move forward month-to-month and look at the numbers on the titles, and also looking at the creative direction the titles are going.

But there is nothing that we're planning right now to have another six pop out.

And I think it will be more likely that the next time, we'll look at the comics, and it will be more like, OK, this one may have run its course and what do we have that might either hit that note differently, or hit a completely different note, but add to the overall effect of what we're doing?

So there is not a plan for another major group of them right now.

Rood: Which is not to say that when we see Dan [DiDio] and Jim [Lee] next week in person, that they won't go, "we've got a great idea!" We're always going to respond favorably when someone has a really great idea and convinces us it's a great idea, because their track record on this stuff has been pretty good.

Wayne: Top 10 out of 10.

Nrama: John, we've heard you joke quite a bit about how many different titles Marvel are being released, but the Watchmen titles increases the number of releases beginning this summer. What's the philosophy behind adding to the comics line that drastically? That it's worth it for the sake of a massive event this summer?

Wayne: Well, on the Before Watchmen, it was more a matter of, not so much summer, because it's going to be running for a good chunk of time, it was more a matter of, there are some stories people have wanted to tell and characters people have wanted to do stuff with for a number of years, and it just kind of came together and reached the critical mass.

And when sales and marketing is approached by editorial and told, "We've got this idea for something we just don't want to waste, and when can we do it, and what's the best time to do it," there's a lot of strength in that. And there certainly is a lot of interest in those titles that fall under that umbrella.

There's no pre-set number, like, OK, we've got to add two mini-series in July, so let's spin the wheel of available projects and see which ones we're choosing. There's no whimsy to it. It's really based upon, you guys tell us what you've got, and let's hear it and come up with ideas on what kind of response we'll get from the readers.

Nrama: Talking to retailers about Before Watchmen, there was a sense that they fully expect a similar type of promotional and retailer incentive program for this series that you gave the New 52. What's your plan for Before Watchmen?

Wayne: What we plan is that we're going to be meeting face-to-face with a number of our retailers at the ComicsPRO annual meeting in Dallas next week, and we think that will be a topic. And we want get the feedback from our customers before we finalize our plan.

So we don't have a plan set in stone right now. We're going to talk to our customers.

Nrama: I'm sure, though, that when you came up with the idea to do Before Watchmen, you had to think about how this series would be marketed to those "new" and "lapsed" readers, didn't you?

Rood: Yeah, we're definitely mindful of the fact that Before Watchmen has many interesting facets, including the new creators and the character-specific sell.

So we have a periodical marketing plan and an incentives plan in development, but then we also have a collected editions marketing plan and an incentive plan in development, because that's how most readers are familiar with the original Watchmen.

And so this idea, just like we've said with the New 52, was not to win a month, was not to do a one-off that drove sales temporarily, but rather to set in place something that is lasting.

And same with Before Watchmen, as with the New 52, we're not in this to win dollar share. We're not even in this to win unit share. But we're in there to tell the best stories, and do it in an efficient model, and with integrity.

Wayne: As head of sales, though, I never complain when we manage to win market share or unit share or dollar share, because even if it's not our overall most important metric that gives us, you know, a sign post to point to, as far as what type of job we're doing and what kind of response we're getting from people.

Nrama: You've talked about reaching new readers through the Before Watchmen collected edition, but your expansion of the New 52 to another earth - Earth 2 - has been questioned by some fans who think of that not being new reader friendly. Are Earth 2 and Worlds' Finest the type of comics that you can market to a "new reader" or a mainstream audience? After all, the Earth 2 characters are at their core WW2 era characters. How hard a job is it for you guy to try to sell WW2 era characters in a contemporary market?"

Wayne: We aren't really, at this point, saying all that much about what's going to be in these titles. That will be rolling out soon. But I think people will be intrigued by some of the ways in which these new titles interact with our existing New 52 titles and how they amplify certain things.

Rood: It's an ongoing challenge in our category, is to take the nostalgic and make it timeless. So that shouldn't hold off any creative. But it also is something we have to be mindful of in marketing.

We're not here to hold up the past at the expense of the future.

Nrama: With the introduction of the Earth 2 comic, are there plans for multiverse crossovers as future events? Will there be a Watchmen/New 52 crossover, or comics set on Earth 6 or 7? Or wait - are the Before Watchmen comics on one of the 52 earths?

Wayne: I don't believe that we have made that claim. I think our intention is to leave that an entirely separate mythology, and to not have it intersect with the rest of what we do.

I think you end up, at some point, losing the effectiveness of the earth numbers as your title names. In the same way that you may have a First National Bank or even a Second National Bank, when you get down to the Seventh National Bank, I think people start to wonder why they would put their money there. So I doubt you see an Earth 7 #1 title coming out at some point in the future.

I think there's a specific reason for Earth 2 that will be much more apparent after you have the opportunity to read Earth 2 and a couple of other titles.

Nrama: For the top-tier stuff that we sense will not be canceled anytime soon, like Action Comics and Batman, is the intention with them to continue with the numbering. Will there be a #13 Batman come September?

Wayne: There's no plan to go to having a year's worth of comics be a "Volume 1" and then we have a "Volume 2 #1" as of the #13. There was probably two or three minutes of conversation in one meeting I was in about that, and everyone very quickly say, nah, we want to do it the other way.

Nrama: Unlucky #13 isn't unlucky for next September, huh?

Rood: If it ain't broke - if it's sweeping the top 10 - don't fix it.

Nrama: Is that the new mantra? Or do you care to sum up what you're feeling today with the release of the latest sales numbers?

Rood: We're holding steady. It's really exciting to see this much interest this far into the renumbering, so to speak, and the selling out continues to surprise us. So it's a testament to the staying power of readers and retailers alike.

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DC Execs Tout Jan. Sales; Talk WATCHMEN 2, EARTH 2

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