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The Beat has the analysis of Marvel’s February sales numbers, and I’ve got to join in with writer Paul O’Brien’s massive “huh?” over the way the chart shook out.

“X-Force” No. 1 debuts at No. 1; I don’t know when the last time the X-Force title outsold the main X-Men titles but I’d be willing to guess it was in the Rob Liefeld heyday of 1991.

In addition, the “Ultimates” team of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch take over “Fantastic Four.”  This seemed to O’Brien, and other industry watchers, to be a sure No. 1 book — it instead hits the charts at No. 8, with estimated sales of 92,000.

“Fantastic Four” landed behind “New Avengers,” “Hulk,” “Thor,” “Ultimates” and one of this month’s three issues of “Amazing Spider-Man.”

“Thor” continuing to hold down the No. 4 spot overall (behind X-Force, New Avengers and one of the “Amazing Spider-Man” issues) is good news for the title.   Writer J. Michael Straczynski is exploring some options at DC, but for the moment, the Asgardian hero and his Oklahoma setting appear to be connecting with readers.

Basically, we’re in the calm before the storm when “Secret Invasion” hits — as such, the chart is down a bit, but perhaps more interesting for it. 

Though some internet fans are reacting with fear on what the “Superman” legal ruling will do to the character in comic books and film, for the most part, things continue as per usual.  Kevin Spacey was quoted as saying he’s hoping to return as Lex Luthor in the sequel to “Superman Returns.”

“I believe they are in talks at the moment. I have actually already signed up to do it. So if they decide to go ahead with it and they still want me, then I will definitely be in it,” Spacey told Monsters and Critics.

There’s obviously a lot to still be worked out with the Siegel ruling and how it will impact financial accounting of “Superman” products.  But, for the moment, I would assume both sides want Superman to remain an active, vibrant property.

– Matt Price
 

It looks like I haven’t done much on the blog so far this week, but I’ve got a lot of things in the works, just trying to decide what goes on the blog, what goes in the newspaper, etc.

I’m very interested in the Siegel-Superman case, and I’m still trying to figure what I may be able to bring to that as an article.  In the meantime, there’s an article at Comic Book Resources that gives a rundown of what’s happened and what’s likely to follow.  In short: The Siegels co-own the Superman copyright, and have since 1999.  Time Warner is expected to appeal.

I have a few things coming in the “1980s toys” department, a lot percolating on the Batman front, and a couple of other interviews I need to transcribe.   I’ve also got comic book and graphic novel reviews I’d like to write, if I have the time.   As always, feel free to get in touch with ideas, or with things you’d like to see on the blog.  Thanks for reading!

– Matt Price

According to the New York Times, and elsewhere throughout the internet, the Siegel family has reclaimed a share of the copyright to Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, as presented in “Action Comics” No. 1.

More info at Uncivil Society including a link to the decision in PDF format.

– Matt Price

AOL has some information on the upcoming “X-Files” movie, including a link to a somewhat shaky video of the teaser trailer.   The full title of the film, set for a July 25 release, is yet to be determined.

Creator Chris Carter directs the new movie.  He said the film doesn’t focus on the alien mythology of the show, and it takes place in the present day.

– Matt Price

We at Nerdage are longtime backers of “Plastic Farm” and Rafer Roberts — it’s nice to see other newspapers getting in on the act, as Roberts’ signing and release party for “Plastic Farm: Sowing Seeds on Fertile Soil” gets some ink.

– Matt Price

From Friday’s The Oklahoman: 

By Matthew Price

Assistant Features Editor

THE NEXT LEVEL

Zookeeper wannabes wait for a portable sequel to the popular “Zoo Tycoon” title is over  —  however, gamers will be disappointed. “Zoo Tycoon 2 DS,” for the Nintendo DS, isn’t much of an upgrade.

In the Zoo Tycoon series, gamers can build the park of their dreams. Designers can pick from dozens of animals, even exotic species. Gamers must match the correct vegetation and terrain for each animal for a successful habitat. Available animals hail from several different continents and range from ordinary to exotic to over the top. If a zoo is wealthy enough, it can even afford a prehistoric dinosaur for its collection.

Zoo designers can add educational buildings, as well as practical structures such as restaurants, gift shops and rest rooms to their parks. Keeping the zoo fiscally sound is essential for raising funds to build new exhibits and import new animals. Gamers can adjust admission prices, vendor prices, research funds and more. Gamers are also responsible for hiring staff to care for the animals and the zoo grounds.

New to “Tycoon 2” is the hands-on zookeeper feature, which allows the gamer to personally pet, groom and feed the animals using the stylus on the Nintendo DS. This feature is fun the first few times, but is nonessential to gameplay and loses its novelty very quickly.

In fact, besides the zookeeper mode and a handful of new animals, very little has changed in “Zoo Tycoon.” Graphics are very similar to the first version, released in 2006. Plus, a few new tweaks may actually make the game easier. Gamers can adjust the funds of their zoos at the beginning of the game, virtually eliminating the business management task from the game. Gamers can also start with a themed zoo, which softens the challenge of finding the perfect terrain for groups of like animals.

“Zoo Tycoon 2 DS” is essentially a redress of a 2-year-old game that was fun, but not revolutionary or challenging. With the advances made on the PC version, DS gamers should expect more. “Zoo Tycoon 2 DS” is rated E for everyone, and retails for $29.99.

From Friday’s The Oklahoman:  

By Matthew Price

Assistant Features Editor

WORD BALLOONS
LAS VEGAS — Comics publishers gathered at the 2008 ComicsPRO annual meeting to share information about upcoming plans with comic-book retailers.DC Comics’ vice president of sales Bob Wayne talked about DC’s upcoming crossover “Final Crisis,” and the prelude to the series, “DC Universe Zero.”“DC Universe Zero” is a 50-cent comic set for May release that is written by Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison, with art by George Perez, Tony Daniel and J.G. Jones.“When you finish reading ‘DC Universe Zero,’ you’re going to say, ‘Wow, I really wish I had ordered more copies of this,’”
Wayne said. “It does set up some of the things that appear in ‘Final Crisis,’”
Wayne said.“Final Crisis” is a seven-issue miniseries, with issue No. 1 set for a May release.
Wayne said “Final Crisis” is “Grant Morrison telling stories the way Grant does.”“It starts with Anthro and goes to Kamandi. From the first boy on earth to the last boy on earth, and everything in between,”
Wayne said.In addition,
Wayne announced a sequel to “Plain Janes,” the best-selling title in their “Minx” line of young adult graphic novels for girls.
“Plain Janes: Janes in Love,” from Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg, is shipping in September.“The comic shop market has surpassed all of our expectations at DC on how many copies you would be able to sell of these titles,”
Wayne said.
Wayne talked about DC’s newest weekly comic book, “Trinity,” following in the footsteps of “52” and “Countdown.” The lead story of the book each week will be written by Kurt Busiek and drawn by Mark Bagley.“Mark Bagley has shown he’s a guy who has consistently been able to produce a high number of pages,”
Wayne said, “and we feel very comfortable that Mark can continue to do this on this particular project.”
The first issue of “Trinity” is 40 pages for $2.99. Back-up stories for “Trinity” will be written by Busiek and Fabian Nicieza, with rotating artists.
ComicsPRO is the largest organization of comic-book retailers in the world, with more than 100 members. Other representatives at the conference included Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Cartoon Books, Top Cow, the Hero Initiative, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and Graphitti Designs.

More notes from the ComicsPRO conference:

* Top Cow outlined plans for their “Witchblade” property, including keeping the creative team of writer Ron Marz and artist Stjepan Sejic on the book for 34 issues.
“This creative team is going to be on the book until issue 150,” Top Cow’s Filip Sablik said. “We’ve heard that you want consistent shipping, you want a creative team you can rely on, you want a book that can turn and make money for you month in and month out. We’re going to do that for you with ‘Witchblade.’”

* The nonprofit organization, the Hero Initiative, which helps comic-book creators in need, will collect the “Stan’s Soapbox” columns from Marvel Comics as a fund-raiser.

* The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is planning a retailer resource guide, to help comic-book retailers to be aware of good retailing and legal practices.

* In May, “Stupid Stupid Rat Tales” and “Rose” will come back into print from Cartoon Books.

Our friends at SoonerCon are holding a writing contest for amateur fiction and poetry writers for this year’s event.  Winning entries will be published in this year’s program book.

All entries must be original works of the science-fiction or fantasy genres or may be general fiction about SoonerCon 2008’s pirate-related theme: “Pieces of ’08.”  Entries are due by April 15.

SoonerCon 2008 will be held at from June 6-8 at The Biltmore Hotel in Oklahoma City.

For more information about how to enter, visit www.soonercon.com.

– Matt Price

Greg Elwell, Kyle Roberts and Matt Price talk about “Wolverine: First Class,” #1 ”Secret History of the Authority - Hawksmoor” #1, “Army of Darkness/Xena: Why Not” #1 and “Transhuman” #1 on this week’s comics podcast at newsok.com.

About “Secret History of the Authority: Hawksmoor” #1:  

Matt Price: I thought this had a decent feel with what you had of the early “Authority.”

Greg Elwell: Well, maybe … There are some good ideas in there. I certainly enjoyed Hawksmoor using the city to fight the robot, but, I dunno. The love story aspect - I wish there was one or the other.  But the nice thing is, a lot of characterization.

—

About “Wolverine: First Class”:

Kyle Roberts:  I liked it. It’s kind of the early 80s X-Men.  I really like all the facial expressions from Shadowcat and Wolverine, and the personality that shows through for both of them. … It’s written very well.

—

About “Army of Darkness/Xena”:

Greg Elwell:  I was not ever a huge Xena the Warrior Princess fan … when I did tune in, I’ll tell you the reason I did tune in: Bruce Campbell. … John Layman has done a really great job here by taking a couple of pretty wacky ideas and going full-tilt with them.

Matt Price: They’re taking it kind of tongue in cheek, and I think that’s the way to do it.

Greg Elwell: It’s an “A” in my book.

—

About “Transhuman” #1:

Matt Price: This is my favorite thing (Hickman) has done so far.  It’s about two companies that are both trying to build the next generation of humans. … I really wanted to read more.