Illinois’ Dick Tracy Museum to close
In sad news for fans of gumshoe Dick Tracy, created by Oklahoma’s Chester Gould, the Dick Tracy Museum of Woodstock, Ill., is slated to close.
The Chicago Tribune reports the Gould estate could no longer fund the museum, which opened in 1991, and it will close in June. Family members plan to make an internet site highlighting some of Gould’s letters and strips as a more accessible replacement.
– Matt Price
Red Hulk sells out, second print coming
The first full appearance of the “Red Hulk” in “Hulk” No. 2 from Marvel Comics has sold out at Diamond Comic Distributors, the primary distributor for comic-book stores. A second printing is planned for March 26.
The series is written by Jeph Loeb (“Heroes,” “Batman: The Long Halloween”) with art by Ed McGuinness (“Superman/Batman”).
“Hulk #2 was a blast!” said Senior Editor Mark Paniccia in a release. “Red Hulk Vs. Iron Man! The destruction of the red and gold Hellicarrier! The New Abomination revealed! It’s a superhero sugar rush! … Wait ‘till the fans see the next round of knuckle busting. In Hulk #3, New Abomination and Red Hulk go into the ring against each other!”
“Hulk” No. 3 is set for an April 23 release.
Thor #7 preview
The Oklahoma-based Norse hero “Thor” continues to be one of Marvel’s top titles. Writer J. Michael Straczynski with guest artist Mark Djurdjevic bring back Thor’s father, Odin! Thor No. 7 goes on sale March 19.
From Marvel:
Acclaimed cover artist Mark Djurdjevic joins the thunderous hit series Thor as special guest artist for a two-issue arc that promises to turn the God of Thunder’s world on its head! Writer JMS (The Twelve) has brought Asgard to Earth, transformed Loki into a woman and pitted Thor against Iron Man…so what could JMS have planned for Thor’s father, Odin? Has he been found? And more importantly…should he be found?
As a special bonus, Djurdjevic and regular series artist Olivier Coipel have teamed-up to create a special variant cover for this issue—and you need to see the results of this superstar jam to believe it! This stunning image is also available as the Thor By Coipel & Djurdjevic Poster!
Thor’s world has been rocked by the machinations of others, but will the return of his father set him on a path of no return? And what of Loki’s machinations with the deadly Dr. Doom? If you haven’t checked out one of 2007’s most critically-acclaimed new series, then don’t miss Thor #7, kicking off a series of events that promise to shatter the status quo!
Blargh!
Been out sick the last couple of days – sorry for the relative lack of updates! It seems as if the entire state has been blanketed with a virus, or something. Help me, Jamie Lee Curtis!
There’s definitely some interesting things brewing in comics, and I’ll try to come up with something cogent to say about them over the next few days!
PS – Did you know “Virus” was based on the Dark Horse comic book? Well, now you do.
– Matt Price
Comics shipping 2/27/08
- Action Comics #862
- All Star Batman And Robin The Boy Wonder #9
- Angel After The Fall #4
- Army @ Love #12 (mr)
- Authority Prime #5 (of 6)
- Barks Rosa Coll Tp Vol 02 Donalds Atom Bomb
- Bart Simpson Comics #40
- Batman #674
- Batman Unauthorized Vigilantes Jokers & Heroes Sc (c: 1-1-2)
- Battlestar Galactica Cylon Apocalypse Tp (c: 0-0-2)
- Battlestar Galactica Tp Vol 03 Photo Cvr (c: 0-0-2)
- Betty #172
- Birds Of Prey Dead Of Winter Tp
- Black Panther Annual #1
- Blue Beetle #24
- Blue Beetle Tp Vol 03 Reach For The Stars
- Captain America #35
- Cartoon Network Block Party #42
- Circle #4
- Clockwork Girl #3 (of 4)
- Comics Journal #288
- Countdown To Final Crisis 9
- Crime Bible The Five Lessons Of Blood #5 (of 5)
- Criminal 2 #1 (mr)
- Crossing Midnight #16 (mr)
- Dan Dare #4 (of 7) Fabry Cvr (c: 0-1-0)
- Dan Dare #4 (of 7) Leach Cvr (c: 0-1-0)
- Daredevil #105
- Dark Tower Long Road Home Folded Promo Poster (net)
- Dark Xena Tp (c: 0-0-2)
- Dc Heroclix Crisis Booster Pack (net) (c: 1-1-2)
- Deadrider #2 (of 4)
- Deathblow #9
- Doctor Who #1
- Dragonlance Chronicles Vol 3 Gopez Cvr A #8 (of 12)
- Elephantmen War Toys #2 (of 3)
- Fables #70 (mr)
- Fall Of Cthulhu Cvr A #10
- Fallen Angel Idw #24 (mr)
- Franklin Richards Tp Collected Chaos Digest
- Freddy Vs Jason Vs Ash #5 (of 6) (mr)
- Godland #21
- Gravel #1 (mr)
- Gravel #1 Wrap Cvr (mr)
- Grimm Fairy Tales #22 (mr) (c: 0-0-2)
- Hellblazer #241 (mr)
- Hellblazer Joy Ride Tp (mr)
- Highlander Way O/t Sword #3
- House Of M Avengers #5 (of 5)
- India Authentic #10 Parashuram (c: 0-1-0)
- Infinite Crisis Tp
- Jack Of Fables #20 (mr)
- Jla Classified #53
- John Woos Seven Brothers Tp Vol 02 (mr) (c: 0-1-0)
- Jsa Classified #35
- Just Cant Get Enough Toys Games From 80s Sc (c: 0-1-2)
- Justice Society Of America #13
- Justice Society Of America #13 Var Ed
- Kade Shivas Sun #2 (of 4)
- Kick A– #1 (mr)
- Krash Bastards Gn
- Lazarus #3 (of 3)
- Legion Of Super Heroes #39
- Many Adventures Of Miranda Mercury #295 (of 300)
- Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #33
- Marvel Adventures Iron Man #10
- Marvel First Look Program
- Marvel Illustrated Picture Dorian Gray #3 (of 6)
- Marvel Zombies 2 #5 (of 5)
- Megas #1 (of 4) (mr) (c: 0-1-0)
- Mmw Atlas Era Heroes Hc Vol 02
- Mouse Guard Winter 1152 #3 (of 6)
- Narcopolis #2 (mr)
- Narcopolis #2 (of 4) Wrap Cvr (mr)
- Nearly Infamous Zango #1
- Neozoic #3
- New Exiles #0 (pp #802)
- New Exiles #1 2nd Ptg Var (pp #802)
- New Warriors #9
- Nexus #100 Space Opera Act 2 Of 4 (res)
- Off Hb Marvel Univ A To Z Prem Hc Vol 01
- Onslaught Reborn Hc
- Orson Scott Cards Wyrms Tp
- Pirates O/t Cursed Seas Treasure Chest (net) (c: 1-1-2)
- Previews Vol XVIII #3 (net)
- Project Superpowers #1 Of(6)
- Proof #5 (mr)
- Ps238 #29
- Psychology Of Superheroes Sc (c: 1-1-2)
- Punisher Max Hc Vol 04 (mr)
- Rasl #1
- Rex Libris #10
- Rogue Angel Teller Of Tales #1
- Sadhu The Silent Ones #5 (res) (mr)
- Savage Sword Of Conan Tp Vol 02 (c: 0-1-4)
- Secret History Book Five (mr)
- Shanna Survival Of The Fittest Tp
- Shark-man #2
- She-hulk 2 #26
- Showcase Presents Superman Family Tp Vol 02
- Silent Hill Sinners Reward #1
- Sonic X #30
- Speed Racer Tp Vol 01
- Spider-Man With Great Power #2 (of 5)
- Star Trek Aliens Spotlight Romulans
- Star Wars Legacy #20 (c: 1-0-0)
- Stranded #2
- Superman Hc Vol 02 Camelot Falls
- Tales Of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #43
- Tales Of TMNT Coll Books TP Vol 05
- Teen Titans #56
- Teen Titans Go #52
- Thor #6
- Thunderbolts International Incident
- Tomarts Action Figure Digest #163 (c: 0-1-2)
- Transformers Devastation #6
- Twelve #1 (of 12) 2nd Ptg Var (pp #802)
- Ultimate Fantastic Four #51
- Ultimate Spider-Man #119
- Uncle Sam And The Freedom Fighters #6 (of
- Uncle Scrooge #373
- Urban Monsters #1
- Walt Disneys Comics & Stories #688
- Witchblade Tp Vol 02
- Wizard Magazine #198 Jolie Wanted Photo Cvr (c: 0-1-2)
- Wizard Magazine #198 Red Hulk Cvr (c: 0-1-2)
- World War Hulk Aftersmash Damage Control #2 (of 3)
- Wormwood Calamari Rising #2
- X-Men First Class Vol 2 #9
- X-Men Legacy #208 Dws
- X-Men TP Supernovas
- Young Avengers Presents #2 (of 6)
- Zombie Simon Garth #4 (of 4) (mr)
More “Wolverine” cast members
Over at Marvel.com, more cast members are announced for the upcoming “Wolverine” film.
Dominic Monaghan (“Lost”) and Daniel Henney have joined the cast of “Wolverine: Origins” as the characters Beak and Agent Zero, respectively. Beak was created by Grant Morrison in “New X-Men,” though it looks like the character may be changed up some for the film. Agent Zero is the character formerly known in the comics as Maverick, who has ties to Wolverine’s past.
— Matt Price
Phantom still going strong in comic books, strips
From Friday’s The Oklahoman:
By Matthew Price
Acting Assistant Features Editor
WORD BALLOONS
He predates Batman and Superman, and he’s never missed a day on the job. Lee Falk’s “Phantom” debuted on Feb. 17, 1936, and has been running daily in newspapers since. Seventy-two years later, the character is still going strong.
Falk’s Phantom, sometimes called “The Ghost Who Walks,” is a costumed crimefighter in the African jungles. Falk died in 1999 at age 88, after handling the adventures of the Phantom into his 80s.
Writer Mike Bullock handles the comic-book adventures of the Phantom, which are published by Moonstone Books. (The ongoing newspaper strip features Paul Ryan on art with scripts by Tony DePaul.)
Bullock began his run on “The Phantom” with issue No. 12 of the current run.
Bullock says issue No. 21, released this month, is a good jumping-on point.
“It’s the first issue of a new arc, has a quick primer on page one and dives straight into the action leading up to the double sized No. 25,” Bullock said.
Bullock took to writing early, with his earliest creative writing taking place at age 6. He wrote “Lions, Tigers and Bears” for Image Comics, followed by “The Gimoles.”
“Since taking the reins of ‘The Phantom,’ I’ve also worked on Sonic X for Archie Comics, written a Zorro prose story for Moonstone Books as well as a Phantom prose story, and most recently I’ve begun the ground work to launch new comics featuring Lee Falk’s other newspaper legend Mandrake the Magician,” Bullock said.
Bullock is joined on “The Phantom” by artist Silvestre Szilagyi.
“His work style is reminiscent of the legendary (‘Phantom’ artist) Sy Barry, while carrying a flavor of its own,” Bullock said. “His work is clean, realistic and lively, while still producing some of the over-the-top visuals required for heroic fiction.” Bullock also praised Bob Pedroza’s “dramatic” color art.
The Phantom’s villains aren’t limited to superpowered foes. Bullock tackled the real-world problem of child slavery in the “Invisible Children” arc of the “Phantom” in issues 17-19. (Variant covers of these issues of “The Phantom” raised money for the Invisible Children charity organization.)
Bullock said the Phantom’s enduring appeal is based on the character’s valor.
“The Phantom is one of the last true heroes,” Bullock said. “His tales reside somewhere in between the land of super hero stories and pulp fiction. Each story is full of action, adventure, drama and just enough characterization to help the reader get to know the players.”
Hasbro, EA team for video game versions of classics
From Friday’s The Oklahoman:
By Matthew Price
Acting Assistant Features Editor
THE NEXT LEVEL
EA and Hasbro have announced a deal to bring some of Hasbro’s best-selling board games to video game consoles, mobile phones and the Internet. What this will mean to a popular game on a social-networking site is yet unclear.
At this week’s Toy Fair in New York, EA unveiled Littlest Pet Shop on the Wii and DS, NERF “N-Strike” and EA Mobile’s Scrabble, Yahtzee Adventures and Monopoly Here & Now.
“Scrabble” and “Yahtzee Deluxe” are already available on mobile phones; EA Mobile will expand in 2008 to also include “Monopoly Here & Now,” “Trivial Pursuit,” “RISK” and “Yahtzee Adventures.”
Pogo.com will provide online play for Monopoly and Yahtzee, with Trivial Pursuit to come in the fall.
“EA and Hasbro want to give families new ways to enjoy games; we want give them a new way to come together, connect, spend time and have fun around the TV or online,” said Chip Lange, Vice President and General Manager of EA’s Hasbro Studio, in a news release.
What will Hasbro’s plans mean to the popular “Scrabulous” game, played by more than half a million people daily on the social networking site Facebook.com?
As reported by Fortune, Hasbro sent a cease and desist letter to Facebook. Facebook didn’t actually create Scrabulous, although the site hosts games and applications created by users. The creators of Scrabulous — brothers Jayant and Ragat Agarwalla — told Fortune they created Scrabulous when they couldn’t find a free online version.
There are authorized versions of Scrabble online, but Hasbro has stamped out online competitors before. According to the Web site Slashdot, Hasbro shut down e-Scrabble.com in 2005, despite its more than 100,000 users. www.e-scrabble.com now redirects to Hasbro. Given the popularity and the high profile of Scrabulous, users posting on the “Scrabulous” page on Facebook are hoping for an amicable solution.
Comics podcast: Zorro, Hulk, Locke & Key, Youngblood
Kyle Roberts and I run down “Zorro” No. 1, ”Hulk” No. 2, ”Locke & Key” #1 and “Youngblood” #2 at this week’s comics podcast at newsok. An excerpt about “Zorro” No. 1:
Kyle: The part I liked about it was the whole flashbacks to Zorro when he was a kid. It’s almost like the origins of Zorro, which I don’t know if they’ve ever done in a movie. Like Batman, the prequel Batman movie kind of does the origin of Batman, and this is the origin of Zorro.
Matt: They’ve put together a solid creative team, Zorro’s a character with some ground to explore, and they’re also maybe opening up some new things that you haven’t seen just in the movies.
– Matt Price
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Oscars podcast at newsok
Entertainment Editor Gene Triplett, Assistant Entertainment Editor George Lang and Entertainment Writer Brandy McDonnell share their predictions for the Oscars, with yours truly serving as moderator, on a podcast at newsok.com. Check out Staticblog and BAM’s Blog the night of the Oscars for live-blogging from George and Brandy.
– Matt Price
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
