If it doesn’t have a tail it’s not a monkey—even if it has a monkey kind of shape—if it doesn’t have a tail it’s not a monkey! If it doesn’t have a tail it’s not a monkey… it’s an ape.

Have you ever wondered how to tell the difference between the two? Larry the Cucumber comes to our rescue once again in this Silly Song from The Wonderful Wizard of Ha’s:

The kids love listening to WJTL’s Kids’ Cookie Break every Saturday morning, and this song has gotten frequent airplay. Joshua’s been walking around saying “monkey” over and over again. Especially pointing to Jakey, our stuffed gorilla (which is an ape).

Oh, and I guess since this is St. Patrick’s Day (BTW, today I’m wearing red—the anti-green!) I ought to send you off to watch Big Idea’s St. Patrick flannel-graph biography.

If I’ve seemed absent lately, it’s because I’m working on a bit more “comic booky” stuff than I usually tackle in a given month. I even took some work home this past week (which is something I typically try to avoid). It’s fun and all, but I just can’t get into the blogging groove with Damocles’ dagger dangling overhead…

Anyway, I’m almost done and I’ll be back soon. Besides, the next version of WordPress (2.5) is going to be released soon, and I have some template cleanup work to do if I’m gonna be ready to upgrade in time!

(Pictured: Me at home. Late at night. Drinking coffee, looking over [H 95040] “The Mysterious Mustachio. Thinking of witty things to say…)

Free Weegie has been freed! There were some shipping snafus, but Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #686 is now in stores—and we’re shipping two issues a month until we catch up (in April)!

Here’s the breakdown on the new on-sale dates:

January 9, 2008: DuckTales #3: Scrooge’s Quest
January 16, 2008: US #371, WDC #686
January 30, 2008: US #372, WDC #687, Treasures #2
February 12, 2008: US #373, WDC #688, Barks/Rosa #2
February 27, 2008: US #374, WDC #689
March 5, 2008: US #375, WDC #690
March 19, 2008: US #376, WDC #691, Spring Fever #2

This month I’m excited, though, because Araknid Kid, by Josh Alves (a buddy of mine and part of the Christian comics scene) is in the running! Where most of the other offerings are moody or offensive, Araknid Kid is full of a fun kind of energy that works great without alienating young readers.

Go check out Zuda… set up an account and see all the comics in the running this month. Right now Araknid Kid is in 8th place (out of 10). Josh needs your vote! …and 30-50 of your friends’ votes, too, if he’s going to break into the top 3 at this point. So get your free Zuda account and vote for Araknid Kid!

I’d like to just come right out and say it: I’ve never watched a single episode of Speed Racer, so I don’t know how faithful this adaptation is. That said, something tells me the Wachowski Bros. are going a little overboard here. This looks like it’s going to be another Batman and Robin, or maybe two hours’ worth of the virtual reality sequences in Spy Kids 3.

Don’t get me wrong—it looks like it’ll be fun. I just think films like this (that try to make the real world look cartoony) and films like Beowulf (that try and make cartoons look ultra-realistic) ultimately aren’t able to hold the viewer’s suspension of disbelief. At least, not long enough to deliver an engaging story. If it’s just about being a popcorn flick, then fine… but these days it’s getting harder and harder to justify paying movie theater prices. As of right now, Speed Racer is on my “rent on DVD” list. We’ll see how things progress as the film develops. (A pun! Get it?)

But hey, don’t take my word for it! You can see the teaser trailer for yourself at Yahoo! Movies.

On a mostly unrelated note, LOST fans will he happy to know that even this trailer has a “Jackface” contribution (Matthew Fox is playing Racer X):

• Prince Caspian reaches out to the White Witch?
• Susan has to break the enchantment?
• Waitaminit… Susan’s not back at the bridge with Aslan?
• Um… eagles? Are the kids coming to rescue Gandalf from the top of Orthanc? (Oh, sorry—wrong Inkling.)

Katie and I just finished reading Prince Caspian a few weeks ago, so the book’s still fresh in my mind. I hope they don’t screw around with it too much… but it irks me that, while “book Caspian” was definitely repulsed by the idea of working with Jadis:

“So that is you plan, Nikabrik! Black sorcery and the calling up of an accursed ghost. And I see who your companions are—a Hag and a Wer-Wolf!”

…in the film it seems Caspian X’s nursemaid and Doctor Cornelius gave him a more tolerant education on Old Narnia. Why do filmmakers insist on taking successful books and messing with them, to the point of changing main characters’ motivations?

I guess I should just be glad Aslan wasn’t changed into a 2007 Camaro.

For those of you who don’t know what this is about, you were apparently doing your homework or something equally unimportant when the rest of us were watching “Perchance to Dream.” That, of course, is the now-infamous episode of Batman: The Animated Series where the Caped Crusader gets stuck in a Mad Hatter-induced dream world. Ol’ Brucey didn’t realize he was dreaming, however, until a crucial point where he attempted to read a newspaper (9:35 in this clip)—and the text was jumbled beyond all recognition. In the climax of the episode, Bruce gives us this encapsulated science lesson:

“That’s because reading is the function of the right-side of the brain, while dreams come from the left-side. It’s impossible to read something in a dream.”

One of the things that sets Batman apart from a bunch of other superheroes is that he’s supposed to be a detective (one of his “official” nicknames is “World’s Greatest Detective”), so when Mr. Wayne dishes out a nugget like this, his fans assume they’re being taught something that’s… well… true. The show left us young viewers under the impression that you really couldn’t read text when you were dreaming. Which meant that when I later had dreams where I could read, I took it to mean that I was special or had some sort of above-average right/left brain connection.

And now, finally, after years of bewilderment and self-doubt, my gullibility has been immortalized in a webcomic.

Uncle Scrooge #375

by Carl Barks, Cesar Ferioli & Terry Laban

Scrooge blasts off for Carl Barks’ “Twenty-Four Carat Moon.” Next, he seeks “The Laurels of Julius Pecunius,” an ancient crown with the power to hypnotize its wearer. Then the Beagle Boys swindle Scrooge with Cesar Ferioli’s “Oracle Turtle” — and Terry Laban (Edge City) pits Scrooge and Magica against each other in “Curses!”

What you won’t find in this listing is that this book is #4 of 12 in our “Scrooge’s 60th Anniversary” series, which features pinups by Don Rosa on each back cover. Here’s a peek at what you’ll find when you flip over this bad boy:

Now like I said, it’s #4. That means if you want the entire set, you’ll want to grab these other issues, too:

• Uncle Scrooge #372
  In honor of Uncle Scrooge’s 60th anniversary, celebrate in high style with several extra-classic McDuck adventures! Carl Barks’ “Christmas on Bear Mountain” marks Scrooge’s 1947 debut…
• Uncle Scrooge #373
  Why did the Scottish tycoon join the French Foreign Legion? Find out what “Special Agent Scrooge” hopes to gain in a feature-length adventure by fan favorites Romano Scarpa and Giorgio Cavazzano…
• Uncle Scrooge #374
  When Scrooge finds “A Gal for Gladstone” on Valentine’s Day, he doesn’t realize he’s fixed his impossibly lucky nephew up with evil sorceress Magica De Spell…

If you want to see all the pinups we’ll be featuring throughout the year, just head on over to the INDUCKS summary. You can use it like those baseball card checklists we used to get in every other pack. Wasn’t that always a bummer, when you’d get ripped off by having a whole card wasted on a card checklist? It was almost worse than getting that 7th “Ricky Baggs” card when you were only 3 shy of a complete set. Nowadays we just put that stuff on the web!

Right now I’m merging Todd’s lettering for “Burning Hearts,” the lead story in our January issue of Walt Disney’s Comic and Stories (#689). It was originally slated for Donald Duck & Friends #348—but that series was canceled, so we had to shelve this Valentine’s Day story… until now!

…but is it the kind of difference you should make? Dean Rankine’s latest mini-comic, Sticky Bunny 2, is now up at Webcomics Nation.

In a nutshell, Mickey Mouse has to deal with a Lara Croft -ish character named Katarina (pictured). She’s after a particular jade cat… but is she the only one?

This thing was fun to work on! Egmont’s take on Katarina’s outfits seemed a bit on the “garish” side, though, so I decided to spruce ‘em up a bit.

This could be a good thing. Let’s just leave Cobra-La out of it, though, okay?

(Okay, so this is a bit of a Technorati hack. I just realized I hadn’t tagged the other post, and they won’t index the tags I add to it now. Bear with me please.)

This year, FCBD is on May 5th (yup, that’s this weekend) and if you go to ComicSpace you’ll find a five-page preview of this year’s book from Gemstone (six if you count the cover). A new page is being revealed every day from now until Friday.

So what are you waiting for? Check out the free preview, then head out to your local shop on Saturday to pick up the free book!

At least then you can say you know what I do for a living.

Mr. Hart inspired me in my childhood years, providing an example of what could be done by an artist who loved Jesus; showing us how to serve “in the world” while remaining a faithful witness. I hope that those who follow will live up to his legacy, and continue in it for future generations.

Dean Rankine is one of my Aussie buddies and a productive member of the “Christian comics” underground. He just released a nice li’l comic story: Tough Love. (It’s two pages—click on the first image to read the second.)

(HT: Infuze Magazine)

DC COMICS DIRECT CHANNEL SPECIAL, February 16, 2007

WONDER WOMAN #5 GETS NEW CONTENTS

WONDER WOMAN #5 (JAN070319), which was previously slated to feature the final chapter of the 5-part story “Who Is Wonder Woman,” will feature a new story when it arrives in stores on March 14.

This new story is by Will Pfeifer (CATWOMAN, AMAZONS ATTACK), with art by Jean Diaz, Geraldo Borges and Wellington Diaz and a cover by Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson. In it, Wonder Woman learns that a new women’s movement has begun, inspired by her killing of Max Lord – and leaving Diana torn between the good intentions of the movement and the validation it gives her violent act. Worse yet, she’s ordered to investigate a possible connection between Wonder Woman and this movement by Sarge Steel and the department of Metahuman Affairs!

Chapter five of “Who Is Wonder Woman” will be rescheduled at a future date.

Retailers may adjust orders on WONDER WOMAN #5 (JAN070319) now through its final order cutoff date of Thursday, February 22.

Also, orders for the WONDER WOMAN: WHO IS WONDER WOMAN? HC (FEB070299) have been cancelled. This title will be resolicited at a future date.

So what happened? Did the creative team take too long? Or is the story more… nefarious?

You know, this might just be the excuse I need to kill time on a lame webcomic. (Creating one, that is.) You know, something to force me to regularly draw—just like how blogging forces me to write regularly.

Be sure to check out my profile at ComicSpace. If you have an account, let me know here before you “friend” me. I’m picky about who I connect with on networks like these… I don’t want to claim I’m “friends” with 5,000 people I don’t know from Adam (or Eve, as I’m sure I could distinguish between most women and Adam).

I just saw this a few minutes ago at ICv2:

The singing and dancing Itsy Bitsy Spider-Man plush launches Hasbro’s new Spider-Man and Friends product line that targets the toddler crowd.

Now… the “Rescue Heroes” knock-offs (Firefighter Spidey, anyone?) I could [just barely] stomach. But a “singing and dancing” Spidey? There’s just something wrong with Spider-Man, Elmo and Dora the Explorer being seen as equals.

And who’s gonna do the voice? Tobey Maguire? Christopher Daniel Barnes? I dunno…

I’m not the sort of guy who people hear and think, “he’s got a voice for radio!” I may have a face for radio, but that’s another matter entirely.

Anyway, it was with much trepidation that I pitched in on this week’s episode of The Freak Accident. I still haven’t listened to my own bits! Nicole says I did okay… alright, what she said was that it wasn’t terrible. I choose to interpret that as a compliment.

So give it a listen, especially ‘cuz Jeremy does a good job of cleaning up the mess at the end! (Dunkin’ Donuts dubbing Pluto “The Munchkin Planet” is a stroke of genius — like “Mad Scientist” genius.)

Or is it?

Jamie Cosley’s just completed work on his newest Christian comic book, More Than Sparrows and gave us some details on how his faith inspired this project.

Cosley said the goal was to write a “Job like” story that could also be an “exercise in forgiveness.” He said, “More Than Sparrows is a love story. It’s about the importance of one man’s vows. It’s about never giving up, even when you want to.”

If your local shop doesn’t have Jamie Cosley’s More Than Sparrows on their shelves, knock ‘em upside the head and tell ‘em to order it! Like NOW!

Here, I’ll even give you the Diamond ordering info for the book: MAY062970 MORE THAN SPARROWS GN $4.95 (SRP). So now you have absolutely no excuse whatsoever keeping you from getting this thing in your hands.

What are you waiting for? Go, go, GO! Get the book! It’s all over The PULSE! What, do you need a comic shop to call? Just plug your ZIP into the CSLS search box over on the right and get cracking!

David recently had an interview with Jen Contino at Comicon.com, whick includes a bunch of cool preview art for our Walt Disney Treasures book! I stumbled on this tidbit, too:

Newspaper strip source materials often tend to be in worse shape than stories originally created for comic books. In the case of Walt Disney Treasures‘ Brer Rabbit story, which came from newspaper strips, the line art looked beautiful, but there were dozens of specks on almost every panel. Our fearless art director, Travis Seitler, did a magnificent job of cleaning it up: so perfect that you wouldn’t guess it had been repaired, which is as good as repair work gets!

Source: Comicon PULSE: Gerstein & Walt Disney Treasures

Oh, David — you shouldn’t have!

Meanwhile, commentor Bring Back Zot wants hardcover editions of our books. How about you? Would you like a hardcover edition of Treasures, The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck or our DuckTales books?

32 pages
$2.95

Contents:

• Farragut The Falcon by Carl Barks
• Monkey Sea, Monkey Do, by Stefan Petrucha and David
• The Careless Genie, by Michael T. Gilbert and Rodriques

Description:

Uncle Eider sends Donald Farragut the Falcon, and it’s not long before the feathers fly in Carl Barks’ famed 1944 falconry epic! Then fan-favorites Michael T. Gilbert (Mr. Monster) and Paco Rodriguez spin an all-new tale of Duck magic and mayhem when Donald becomes a powerful but Careless Genie. Finally, Goofy joins the ranks of Sea-Monkey owners in Stefan Petrucha’s Monkey See, Monkey Do.

Buy It:

Amazon doesn’t carry this book, so visit the Comic Shop Locator Service to find your nearest retailer, or look for it on Froogle!

(From Disney Comics: This Month at Squidoo.)

32 pages
$2.95

Contents:

• The Photonic Muffler by Luca Boschi and Romano Scarpa
• A Shot In The Dark, by Andreas Pihl and Mårdøn Smet
• Power Goofy, by Sarah Kinney and Mar�al

Description:

Gemstone proudly presents The Photonic Muffler, a hitherto lost Mouse epic by fan-favorite Romano Scarpa! Pegleg Pete wants to sell super-powered army tanks to the highest evil bidder, and he’s making captive techie Blint Brandon build them for him. Mickey settles Pete’s hash — but good! Great Danish artist Mårdøn Smet wraps the book with Donald Duck’s A Shot in the Dark.

Buy It:

Amazon doesn’t carry this book, so visit the Comic Shop Locator Service to find your nearest retailer, or look for it on Froogle!

(From Disney Comics: This Month at Squidoo.)

Augie de Blieck at Comic Book Resources just gave a glowing review of Carl Barks’ Greatest DuckTales Stories, vol. 1:

“This is an important book and one which should be an easy sell to more than just Duck readers. For those who got the bug from Rosa’s LIFE AND TIMES last year, this is the next logical step. These are great self-contained stories in the classic mold that are easily accessible.”

“The print quality of this book is exceptional. It’s amazing what you can get for $11 these days. Gemstone didn’t skimp on anything to get the book down to this price point. It’s a full-sized full color book, with a solid spine and everything. It sold out at my shop — get it while it lasts at yours today. Special order it if you must.”

Augie also had some kind words to say about Kneon Transitt’s exceptional coloring in Uncle Scrooge #354‘s Passport to Lisbon:

“The coloring for the story is credited to ‘Egmont and Kneon Transitt.’ It’s different from any other Duck story I’ve ever seen. The Duck stories use mostly flat colors. You might get a slight gradient in the background when there’s no detail in there, but that’s about it. This story, though, looks like it was colored by a Marvel or DC colorist.”

So go check out the whole column… and then buy the books!

Last night I got a copy of an ad for the new Walt Disney Treasures trade paperback Gemstone Publishing is producing — so I wanted to let y’all know about it ASAP!

Below the quoted text you’ll find links to the images I was sent: be sure to spread the word, because this thing is gonna be great! (Kneon Transitt’s already posted a sneak peek of Foray to Mount Fishflake, a classic by Eisner Hall of Fame Inductee Floyd Gottfredson!)

Are You A Donaldist?

don � ald � ism \ dän’-ld-iz’-em \ n : the research of Disney comics, and/or the fan culture that is found among Disney comics aficionados (Jon Gisle, 1973)

Go on, admit it. You like reading about comics history… but you love reading historically important comics themselves. You want a real Disney comics archival book�a thick trade paperback full of those extra-esoteric Duck and Mouse tales that just wouldn�t fit in anywhere else.

You�re a Donaldist. And we know where you�re coming from.

Dive into the 160-page

DISNEY COMICS: 75 YEARS OF INNOVATION

for

• Great Donald sagas by Carl Barks (a newly-restored �Race to the South Seas�), Don Rosa (�Fortune on the Rocks�), and Al Taliaferro (the seminal �Donald�s Nephews�)
• Never-before-reprinted Mickey tales by Floyd Gottfredson (�Mickey Mouse Music�) and Romano Scarpa (�AKA Cormorant Number Twelve�)
• Ducks by Daan Jippes, Dick Kinney, William Van Horn, and Daniel Branca
• Mice by Byron Erickson, C�sar Ferioli and Paul Murry
• Renato Canini�s Jos� Carioca, Gil Turner�s Big Bad Wolf�and Brer Rabbit too!

WALT DISNEY TREASURES � VOLUME ONE

July 2006

(Any similarity between this book and the Disney DVDs you love to collect is purely intentional!)

The book will be listed on Gemstone’s Disney Comics site soon, and in the meantime it’s available for pre-ordering at Amazon.

Grab the ad and the cover, and share them with the Disney fans in your life!

Kneon Transitt loves Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey. Kneon loves the man’s work so much, in fact, that he’s started a Gottfredson fan club!

This is wonderful news, and ties in well with Gottfredson’s impending Eisner hall-of-fame induction! These are exciting days for mouse fans… maybe we’ll put those ducks back in their proper place!

Be sure to check out the fan club site! It’s a great resource for learning (or learning more) about Floyd Gottfredson’s work. Nice job, Kneon!

For all the details, visit the Free Comic Book Day official web site.

“When we first decided to do this, we set out to make a comic book with the obvious message: help the survivors of the hurricane. As we started, it dawned on me that it will have been almost six months since the storms hit before the book hits the shelves. And suddenly, for me, that became part of the message. Because by February, when Tempest comes out, most celebrities will have stopped [coming] by for photo ops and you won’t see any marathon fund raisers on NBC. But the NEED will not be gone. We can’t stop giving just because it’s not on Fox News or CNN.” (Source: NEWSARAMA)

100% of the proceeds from this book go directly to the Salvation Army to aid their ongoing hurricane relief efforts. If you’d like to help, you can order copies of this book online at Community Comics’ site and at Silver Bullet Comics, or through your local retailer. (To find your nearest comic book retail location, just use my “Find a Comic Shop” sidebar search or call 1-888-COMIC BOOK.)

The nominees for the 2006 Eisner Awards have been announced, and guess who’s been chosen by the judges for entrance in their Hall of Fame? Floyd Gottfredson!

If you don’t know Floyd Gottfredson from Moses (despite the former looking nothing like Charlton Heston), check out a great little Gottfredson biography David Gerstein put together, complete with samples of Floyd’s work from 1930-1975.

In the meantime, be on the lookout for Gottfredson’s classic Mickey Mouse tales in upcoming issues of Walt Disney’s Comics!

On May 6th, 2006, there is something you must do: Go into a comic shop, and get free merchandise.

That’s right; for the fourth year in a row, the American comic book industry is dedicating one day to spreading the love of comic books far and wide with freebies! In most cases, publishers (such as, say, Gemstone) produce special books for this event — though I’ve known some independant publishers to take the opportunity to clear out their backstock, too. Either way, it isn’t very often you can walk out of a bookstore with a pile of free books! (Well, with their permission, at least.)

Not only can you grab a bunch of free swag, though; Free Comic Book Day is also one of the best opportunities (outside of a convention) to meet your favorite creators! That’s how I first met Buzzboy‘s John Gallagher. (My Buzzboy Diner t-shirt is hands-down the most prized possession in my wardrobe, John!)

So now that I’ve hyped the event so much, you’re probably wondering, “what will Gemstone Publishing be offering this year?” I thought you’d never ask! This year’s FCBD issue contains the following selections from an all-star cast of creators:

• Metaphorically Spanking, by Don Rosa
• Queen of the Ant Farm, by Pat and Shelly Block
• Their Loaded Forebear, by William van Horn

It doesn’t get much better than that! So track down your nearest comic shop (you can use the Comic Shop Locator Service box on the sidebar or call 1.800.COMIC.BOOK) and beat a path to their door on Saturday, May 6th!

(Shoot, I almost forgot to post this!)

In last month’s Diamond Dialogue, Diamond Comic Distributors published their Top 100 Graphic Novels of 2005 (HT: Comic Book Resources), and The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck by Don Rosa made #59 on the list, which was heavily dominated by DC and Marvel books. Ooh, that’s nice.

If you don’t know what The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck is, shame on you! It’s only about the best graphic novel ever published, with over 260 pages of some of the finest comic book storytelling out there. Go get yourself a copy now!

Is it wrong for me to chuckle at what we’ve done?

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #666 was shipped out to retailers on February 15th. Yes, you heard right: issue number 666… and as Bill at Comix Connection pointed out, in this issue, “Mickey Mouse goes to Hell.”

And he’s right! In this issue, we’ve got a 37-page Italian adaptation of Dante’s Inferno, complete with Alighieri-inspired terza rima stanzas! I really have to hand it to Dwight Decker and David Gerstein; they did a smash-up job with the script!

You can see some of the art over at Scoop! The ending is a bit of a surprise, too! ::wink, wink::

I just think this thing’s cool. It’s neat how “the job” spills over into the rest of my life, too: I was asked to read over the script, and decided to take the opportunity to finally read Dante’s original work (translated, though — I don’t know Italian that well!). It struck me that his journey through Hell seemed to be more an allegory for this life than an account of how he pictured the everlasting Gehenna.

I have to admit I didn’t finish reading Inferno before I had to return it to the library, but I was drawn to the beauty and genius of his poetry in a way I never would have been if I’d had to read his work in school. In other words, a comic book led me to appreciate classic literature in a way no teacher ever could.

From Scoop:

Mickey Mouse #286 starts the party with “Coming Up Short,” a feature-length epic by Stefan Petrucha (The X-Files) and Paco Rodriguez. Mickey and Eega Beeva time travel to the island of Torgania in the year 2225, where they’ve heard that futuristic jousters participate in a thrilling tournament, riding atop giant dogs and cats. But wouldn’t you know it? Torgania in 2225 is ruled by despotic king Torga, whose animals are really normal size. The jousters have been shrunken to rat-size with a ray… and Mickey soon meets the same fate! To win back his size and freedom and return to 2006, our highly embarrassed Mouse must become a master jouster, a position he’s in no way physically suited for. Uh-oh!

You know how they say, “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”? Well, that’s doubly-true for Mickey Mouse & Friends. I’ll bet few could have guessed that lurking behind an innocent-looking “Mickey trips while cat chases Pluto” cover lies a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat adventure featuring both time traveling and gladiatorial battles! Yup, we like to under-sell and over-deliver here at Gemstone.

Speaking of selling and delivering, this issue is slated to be on shelves February 22, so if you want a copy, you’d better act fast! Just enter your ZIP Code in the Find a Comic Shop search box on the right (or call 1-888-COMIC BOOK), and you’ll get a list of the comic book shops nearest you. Call one of them up today to reserve your copy! (Special thanks to Diamond Comic Distributors for providing the Comic Shop Locator Service!)

The Sequential Tart, that is.

David Gerstein, our Archival Editor here at Gemstone, talks all things Good Housekeeping in an interview with Tart‘s Jennifer Contino. If you had any questions about Mickey and the Gang, check it out!

From Scoop:

Uncle Scrooge #347 leads off with Escape from Forbidden Valley, a new Don Rosa sequel to a classic Carl Barks epic. In search of Amazonian nutmegs for Scrooge’s favorite tea, our ducks approach Forbidden Valley, a lost world of live dinosaurs whom Donald once stampeded. The local Stickaree Indians, whose village the saurs savaged, get even by abandoning Don in the valley… alone! It’s up to Scrooge and the boys to save him, and wouldn’t you know it: the big rescue is made a little more difficult by a certain profit-making opportunity Scrooge runs across! This feature-length story is graced by a magnificent Don Rosa front cover. (continue…)

I for one would love to hear from anyone who’s read this issue. What’d you think?

Read this book.

If you can afford to, buy it. If you can’t, root through every library in your state until you can get your hands on a copy.

Seriously, folks. If the sequels hold up, this series is like Harry Potter meets The Chronicles of Narnia. Or even just The Chronicles of Narnia set in 16th-century England. I dunno, it’s just good.

You can read all sorts of reviews, so I won’t repeat their efforts. The best I can do (without ruining the best parts) is to highly recommend it!

I just got my (complimentary) advance copy of The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck This collection is, hands down, the best “classic Disney character” stories I’ve ever read!

ITEM CODE: FEB058460
SC, 7×10, 96pgs, FC Price: $9.99

I’ve got issue #1 (sold out!), and #2 (also sold out!) is coming in this week… so far, I really like the story: it’s got a lot of potential, and from the tidbits I’ve picked up, I think the story’s going to flesh out nicely.

For those who "must know," here are the issue summaries for the stories comprising this volume (special thanks goes to Silver Bullet Comics for cataloging PREVIEWS in its entirity each month!):

Lullaby: Wisdom Seeker (Issue 1)

A strange force has been twisting the magical world and making its way toward Wonderland. Alice, who has become the right hand of the Queen of Hearts, sets out to find out what this dark magic is and perhaps find her way home in the process. We’re also introduced to Jim Hawkins, proud, independent, adventurous…and fired! A pirate without a ship, Jim’s never been one for taking orders, and that lands him on his own, but not for long. Pinocchio, once again a little wooden boy, tags along and invites Jim on a whole new adventure.

Lullaby: Wisdom Seeker (Issue 2)

Jim and Pinocchio continue their quest to Oz, when they are sidetracked by a band of religious zealots who kidnap Pinocchio! At the same time, Red and Piper confront Grandma’s kidnapper, who points the finger at Alice! An exciting, action-packed issue not to be missed!

Lullaby: Wisdom Seeker (Issue 3)

All roads lead to Oz, but no one ever said it would be easy getting there. Jim Hawkins fights to rescue his friend Pinocchio from the denizens of the World Tree, but he may not like what he finds. Meanwhile, while searching for Red Riding Hood’s grandmother Alice, Red and the Pied Pier find their way blocked by three hell-bent Billy goats. Granny’s secret is revealed, but will it matter by the time they find what’s left of her?

Lullaby: Wisdom Seeker (Issue 4)

LULLABY comes to a dramatic conclusion as Jim and Pinocchio finally come face to face with Alice, the Piper, Red Riding Hood and Cheshire Cat. A bond is formed quickly, not only because both groups are heading toward Oz, but also because they share a common menace. A menace that threatens everyone� Oz’s own Tin Man. But just as everything else has been twisted and bent in this fairy tale world so has the Tin Man. Can the newly formed fellowship stand against the lumbering, steam powered giant, or will this be the end of the journey for our heroes?

LULLABY: WISDOM SEEKER is © and ® Mike S. Miller & Hector Sevilla, 2005. All Rights Reserved.

Okay, now I’m scratching my head…

One of the links in yesterday’s post goes to a page containing an image from the STAR WARS: Visionaries TP. This is bugging me, especially since the black-hooded wrinkly guy in the Episode III promo poster looks more like Ray Park than it does Ian McDiarmid.

I hope not. I REEEEEALLY hope not.

EDIT: This was originally posted on March 16th, 2005 — but most folks who’ve looked for it instead seem to get sent to the first page of my March ’05 archive, which hasn’t listing this post for a long time. I’ve re-dated it so that it appears to have been posted on the 31st. Hope this helps!

Due to a processing error, Dark Horse’s STAR WARS: VISIONARIES TP (JAN050045V) will be shipped to stores on March 16, despite originally being scheduled for later shipping.

This title falls under Lucasfilm’s embargo date for materials related to Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith. As a result, it may not be sold or displayed until Saturday, April 2. Retailers MUST hold the Visionaries trade until that date, per 20th Century Fox & Lucasfilm’s licensing agreement.

Diamond and Dark Horse regret the inconvenience, but remind retailers that Dark Horse’s STAR WARS: VISIONARIES TP may NOT be sold or displayed until the embargo is lifted on Saturday, April 2. Until then, retailers are asked to keep the books off of the sales floor and made entirely unavailable to consumers.

Diamond and Dark Horse regret any confusion caused by this error. Retailers with further questions about this announcement should contact their Diamond Customer Service Representative.

Guess that means it’s practically inevitable that scans of the book will be up on LimeWire or eMule by sometime next week the end of the week. =)

Thank you David Gerstein!

David dropped off a few back issues of Gladstone’s Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories that include reprinted Mickey Mouse daily strips by Gottfredson. Wow. This is the Mickey I love!