Movie Mermaids 6 – Empires of the Deep 3D

Okay... we haven't seen this movie yet because it's not out yet but we're bringing it to your attention so that you can be aware of it. Apparently  Empires of the Deep is a 3D action-advanture fantasy film, and is a US-Chinese co-production.

Angie Han from the Slash Film blog gives us the following commentary on the upcoming epic:  

Remember way back before Avatar came out, when news of its behind-the-scenes woes, budget headaches, and unoriginal plotline had some commentators predicting one of the most expensive flops in cinema history? And then how when it actually came out, audiences were so dazzled by the gorgeous world of Pandora that it actually went on to become the highest-grossing movie of all time? 

Yeah, that probably won’t happen with Empires of the Deep, a troubled and terrible-looking 3D epic that was $130 million and three years in the making. The Chinese-American co-production stars Olga Kurylenko as the the queen of the mermaids, or something, who gets embroiled in an underwater war between various sea creatures and sea monsters, or something. The trailer emphasizes fancy visuals over storytelling and character, but the visuals aren’t even that good to begin with. Watch the video after the jump.

You can read more at "'Empires of the Deep' Trailer: Here's What Three Years, $130 Million, and Olga Kurylenko Gets You".

The film has turned up on Rotten Tomatoes, albeit without a rating simply because it hasn't been released yet. However, 69% of the RT audience have said they want to see it. We don't know whether the motivation will be to indict it or to give it an honest go.

This case sort of reminds us of Waterworld, which was made in 1995 and starred Kevin Costner. It's set on post-apocalyptic Earth where the entire planet is underwater due to the melting of the polar ice caps. There's a wonderful underwater sequence where we see a drowned city. However, it's not a mermaid movie and indeed the closest we get to a mermaid is seeing that the Mariner character has gills. Both Jozef and I actually liked the film. It was certainly not as bad as some of the critics led us to believe. The box office exceeded the budget so it also wasn't the bomb that many said it was.  

In the case of Empires of the Deep, we prefer to find our for ourselves!

Aussie Comic Convention Circuit 2013 [UPDATED 01/10/13]

Here's our regular calendar for Aussie comikers to plan their annual comics convention circuit. We've added a few more international ones, as word-on-the-street is that many Australians are going to be making more of a European push from this year. We'll also be adding to this list as we progress through the year because there are several more regional comics festivals coming up, which we are not allowed to disclose yet.  Stop by regularly if you can for further updates.

Angouleme International Comics Festival (Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Angoulême) (Angoulême, France): 31 January-3 February 2013 (various venues)
Sticky Institute Zine Fair (Melbourne, Victoria): 10 February 2013 (Melbourne Town Hall)
Oz ComicCon (Perth, Western Australia): 9 -10 March 2013 (Perth Exhibition Centre)
Oz ComicCon (Adelaide, South Australia): 16-17 March 2013 (Adelaide Showground)
WonderCon (Anaheim, California USA): 29-31 March 2013 (Anaheim Convention Center)
Supanova (Melbourne, Victoria): 12-14 April 2013 (Melbourne Showground)
Supanova (Gold Coast, Queensland): 19-21 April 2013 (Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre)
Boston ComicCon (Boston, Massachusetts, USA): 20-21 April 2013 (Hynes Convention Center) 
Free Comic Book Day (World and Australia wide): 4 May 2013 (check with your nearest comic book store)
Chromacon Illustration and Comic Arts Festival (Auckland, New Zealand): 12 May 2013 (Aeotea Centre)
Comic Gong (Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia): 18 May 2013 (Corrimal Community Centre) – website still to launch
Phoenix ComicCon (Phoenix, Arizona USA): 23-26 May 2013 (Pheonix Convention Center, Arizona)
MCA Zine Fair (Sydney, New South Wales): 26 May 2013 (Museum of Contemporary Art)
Supanova (Sydney, New South Wales): 21-23 June 2013 (Sydney Showground, Olympic Park)
Supanova (Perth, Western Australia): 28-30 June 2013 (Claremont Showground)
Oz ComicCon (Melbourne, Victoria): 6-7 July 2013 (Royal Exhibition Building)
AVCON (Adelaide, South Australia): 27-29 July 2013 (Adelaide Convention Centre) 
SMASH! (Sydney, New South Wales): 10 August 2013 (Sydney Convention Centre)
San Diego ComicCon (San Diego, California USA): 18-21 July 2013 (San Diego Convention Centre)
Small Press Expo (North Bethesda, Maryland USA): 14-15 September 2013 (Bethesda North Marriot Hotel and Conference Center)
GRAPHIC (Sydney, New South Wales): 4-6 October 2013 (Sydney Opera House)
National Young Writers' Festival / This is Not Art Zine Fair (Newcastle, New South Wales): 6 October 2013 (Blue Write Disco, The Kensington)
New York ComicCon (New York City, New York USA): 10-13 October 2013 (Javits Center)
Armageddon Expo (Melbourne, Victoria): 19-20 October 2013 (Melbourne Exhibition Centre – TBC)
Australian Cartoonists' Association (ACA) Stanley Awards and Conference (Coff Harbour – NSW): 25-26 October 2013 (Venue TBA)
Supanova (Brisbane, Queensland): 8-10 November 2013 (RNA Showground)
Supanova (Adelaide, South Australia): 15-18 November 2013 (Adelaide Showground)

Please contact us on blackmermaid@blackmermaid.com if you want additional events to be added to this list.

Dover Six Mermaids in Art Cards Box Set

Our good friend Nick Nicolaou from Makeup Effects Group keeps us mer-satiated with lots of mermaid images and special deals. Here is one of the latter—Dover Publications has released six famous Pre-Raphaelite art cards for $1.50 plus postage. This is a great deal. Turns our that Dover also has lots of other mermaid goodies, including a whole bunch of mermaid paper dolls. Both Jozef and I LOVED paper dolls when we were kids so this was an exciting discovery for us because mermaid ones weren't available at that time. We suspect you'll rediscover your inner child with these offerings.

Mermaids in Comics 6 – The Mermaid

This mermaid comic is a similar take to the comics story which we covered in Mermaids in Comics 2 – The Little Sea Maid, except that it is coloured and only one page instead of six. This piece comes from the Princess Comic (26/08/67) and is cited as being a being a story from a ballet. The comic comes courtesy of one our readers – Terence – who we thank for bringing it to our attention.

Valentine Black Mermaid Advocates "Languid Love"

Happy 2013, readers! We're getting ready for a big year, and Jozef starts things rolling with his latest interpretation of our Valentine Black Mermaid – "Languid Love". We've just changed our product line up as well. Aprons are out and pyjamas, rugs and yoga mats are in, plus lots of other goodies. Check out our wares at Black Mermaid Boutique.

Merry Xmas Merry Readers!

We're signing off for the year and just wanted to wish you a very Merry Xmas and a safe and happy New Year! Talk to you again in 2013!

An Elf~Fin Message from Jozef to our Readers

Plans and best intentions were that Elf-Fin was to be released by the end of 2012. Though all effort was directed towards this end, there needed to be a balance between the output of the painted Elf~Fin pages (with each page taking many days to complete… all without pay), and unrelated art output for paid jobs. So I'm sincerely sorry to those who had their hearts set on the 48 page first issue comic book to be released by this year's end. The production is still moving forward for a release in early 2013. I'm thankful for your support as we move towards the finish line for this issue.