I thought this was a lot of fun and wanted to be sure to share it with you guys.

Ah, and while I’m here, please pick up the latest issue or trade-paperback of Usagi Yojimbo. I’d pick it up for you if I could, it’s that good!

Good grief!

It appears Boom! Studio’s new all-ages kaboom! imprint has landed itself a new license! We don’t know too many details yet, but I’m guessing/hoping good things are on the way…

I’m very sorry to hear of Brian Jacques passing, and I thought David Peterson’s (of Mouse Guard fame) piece here was a poignant tribute.

From Peterson:

Today’s blogpost comes a day early to mark the passing of Brian Jacques, author of the wonderful children’s series of Redwal novels. The series focuses on the medieval goings on of generations of animals who live in and around Redwall Abbey. Mr. Jacques was the lead torch holder in keeping anthropomorphic characters alive and prospering after such other greats as Aesop, Rudyard Kipling, & Kenneth Grahame.

My niece just began reading the Redwall series so his legacy of bringing joy to children and adults alike will certainly live on.

[Image source at David Peterson's blog.]

Peter & Max: A Fables Novel

More on the electronic release from Vertigo:

Based on FABLES, the New York Times bestselling, Hugo Award nominated, Eisner Award winning and one of the longest running comic book series published by Vertigo, PETER & MAX: A FABLES NOVEL tells the dark story of brothers Peter Piper, of Pickled Pepper fame, and Max Piper, the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Willingham deftly weaves an epic tale of good and evil, sibling rivalry, magic, music and a quest for revenge that spans from medieval times to the present day, from the heart of the Black Forest to NYC. Full of vivid detail, imagination and adventure, PETER & MAX illuminates the breadth of Willingham’s knowledge of literature and his true storytelling ability.

So get ready to download PETER & MAX: A FABLES NOVEL to your favorite device and take this magical story with you to lands near and far!

If you’d like to sample the book first, Vertigo has chapters one and two available to read online for free. This was a great novel, whether you are familiar with Fables or not (though all the better if you are) so get to it my friends!

More than being one of the most beloved and critically praised fantasy novels in recent decades, “The Last Unicorn” was also adapted into a wildly popular animated film in 1982 and has since been released in a restored Blu-ray edition. Most recently, the novel was adapted into a comic book miniseries from IDW Publishing. Beagle spoke with CBR about the project, taking a look back and forward at his long and storied career.

The full article can be found here and proved to be a very interesting read. I wholeheartedly recommend that fans of The Last Unicorn, or those simply looking for a great fantasy writer to follow, that they track down Beagle’s other works as well as he’s, ahem, definitely no one trick pony. Come Lady Death, which he cites in the article, is one of my favorite short stories in fact and given how prolific he’s been as a writer I’ve no doubt you’ll discover any number of gems that you’ll be proud to have in your collection. I know I have and that I continue to look forward to more.

Two issues in (at least, after enthusiastically seeking out a review copy) and I’m glad to report that Stan Lee & Chris Roberson’s Starborn isn’t just another comic series on the shelf. It has reminded me once again why Stan Lee’s comics are always a joy to read, and is definitely reinforcing why Chris Roberson is currently one of the best writers in the business (seriously, check out his work on Vertigo’s iZombie with artist Mike Allred, you”re brain will thank me). If the trend continues, Starborn will become one of the handful of comics that I happily collect and is more than worth passing on to you.

To set the book up for a moment, Benjamin Warner is an aspiring writer mindlessly drudging through the work week in an unfortunate office job while he chips away at his first novel in his free time. Warner is immediately a likable character, and as something of an everyman I imagine that most of us will relate to his wanting to better his situation and follow his dreams — though I doubt we’ll have to face an alien horde that seems intent on our destruction the next time we drag ourselves in to work.

It seems that the characters from his books are more real than he could have realized and save for the timely intervention of a childhood friend, in the form of the lovely Tara Takamoto, he would have been doomed to destruction by the claws of his very creations. The book moves at break neck speed and there’s never a dull moment as Khary Randolph masterfully lays out the story in his uniquely dynamic style. The pages prove very fun to look at whether the story has Warner sitting at his desk, or falling from a 50-story skyscraper and I like that with situations like this that the book certainly doesn’t take itself too seriously. I’m also looking forward to seeing some of the world building Roberson appears to have in store for us as we’re introduced to the cosmic side of our “Starborn” hero. This is a fun one so far folks, and there’s always room for a little more of that in comics, at least there certainly is in my collection.

If interested, look for Starborn #2 from BOOM! Studios this Wednesday at your local comic shop. See if you can’t pick up the first issue as well, as both will be well worth the trip.

I don’t drink myself, but I’d happily raise a tall glass of milk for this grandfather of fantasy today!

Tolkien Wisdom: “I do not love the bright sword for it’s sharpness, nor the arrow for it’s swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”

More from Fantagraphic’s Gary Groth in his interview about the initiative with Robot 6:

For those who aren’t familiar with the name, the Barks library has been one of the great missing links in a time that many have dubbed the “golden age of reprints.”  Acclaimed around the globe for his rich storytelling and characterization, as well as excellent craftsmanship, Barks has long been regarded as one of the great cartoonists of the 20th century, equal to luminaries like Charles Schulz, Robert Crumb and Harvey Kurtzman. He’s been one of the few major American cartoonists whose work has, up till now, not been collected in a comprehensive, manner respectful of his talent (at least not in North America), however, so this announcement comes as extremely good news for any who read and love good comics, let alone are familiar with Barks’ work.

Fantagraphics is always looking for ways to help spread the word and I’m happy to help where my little corner of the web is concerned. Please enjoy the full interview at the site for more about the price point, release schedule, format, stories etc.

Check back here for more in the coming weeks, and keep an eye peeled at stores for the first volume this fall!

Walt Disney Treasury: Donald Duck Vol. One features a beaut of a Don Rosa cover!

Pardon my enthusiasm, this just gets better and better for Disney and Duck fans as BOOM! celebrates Disney’s 70th Anniversary of Walt Disney Comics and Stories. These comics, of which I proudly own many, are among the highlights of my collection. So many of them contain superb works of art so by the verifiable legends of the comic field so if you’ve any degree of desire to see why these comics have lasted 70 years, please give one of the following treasuries a try.

Oh yea, about that…

…see BOOM! Studios Press Release:

Join BOOM! as we continue to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories with a plethora of classic collections hitting store shelves the first half of 2011; including WALT DISNEY TREASURY: DONALD DUCK VOLUMES 1 & 2, WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES ARCHIVE VOLUME 1 and DISNEY’S FOUR-COLOR ADVENTURES VOLUME 1. These classic collections feature the most sought-after Disney stories told by legendary creators like Don Rosa, Floyd Gottfredson, Al Taliaferro, and more!

“When we say ‘Classics Are Back at BOOM!’, we mean it!” Said BOOM! Studios Marketing Director Chip Mosher. “BOOM! is bringing tons of classic Disney stories by such beloved creators as Don Rosa, Floyd Gottfredson, Al Taliaferro among others! The fans demanded it and BOOM! delivers!”

Fans will find within the pages of WALT DISNEY TREASURY: DONALD DUCK VOLUME 1 Don Rosa’s first Donald Duck tales back in print! First up, Don Rosa’s “Return to Plain Awful” with Donald in search of square eggs . . . with Uncle Scrooge and Flintheart Glomgold in tow! Next, our dashing duck fights it out with über-lucky Gladstone in “Oolated Luck” and “Give Unto Others.” Experience jerky Neighbor Jones in “Recalled Wreck,” and Donald’s own super-smart nephews in ‘Mythological Menagerie” and “Making the Grade!” All this plus other timeless tales including “Fit to be Pied,” “Rocket Reverie,” “Forget Me Not,” “Star-Struck Duck,” “Metaphorically Spanking,” “The Crocodile Collector” and the rare Christmas classic “Fir-Tree Fracas.” WALT DISNEY TREASURY: DONALD DUCK VOLUME 1 also includes a cover gallery and ducky behind-the-scenes details never before told. WALT DISNEY TREASURY: DONALD DUCK VOLUME 2 then continues to collect Don Rosa’s classic run of Donald Duck stories including Donald’s travels across the globe and time, from Norway for the Winter Olympics to the Middle Ages for an epic battle against none other than King Arthur himself. Are we aiming to win a Junior Woodchuck Merit Badge, or what?

With WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES ARCHIVE VOLUME 1 experience the longest-running comic series in history, reprinted in chronological order! This collection is an essential read for any fan of Disney comics. VOLUME 1 brings readers classic Disney stories from famed creators like Floyd Gottfredson, the legendary artist behind the Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip, and Al Taliaferro, creator of fan-favorite characters Huey, Dewey and Louie.

Last but definitely not least, DISNEY’S FOUR-COLOR ADVENTURES VOLUME 1 cracks open the Disney vault to find some of the rarest Disney comics ever created! This volume features classic Disney comics and gag strips from such creators as Al Taliaferro, Disney Legend Jack Hannah and many more, reprinted for the first time in decades.

WALT DISNEY TREASURY: DONALD DUCK VOLUME 1 ships in March, priced at $14.99 and caries an ISBN-13 of 978608866564. WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES ARCHIVE VOLUME 1 follows soon after shipping in April, with DISNEY’S FOUR-COLOR ADVENTURES shipping in May and WALT DISNEY TREASURY: DONALD DUCK VOLUME 2 shipping in June.

More info. as it becomes available.

Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom cover #5, by Michael Kormarck

I’ve been waiting to pick up the trade paperback compilation of Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom but I’m awful tempted to pick this one up just for the new Michael Kormarck cover. Each of the first 5 covers by Kormarck so far have been great and its a real treat to see him working on the covers for one of my favorite characters (the early Valiant years, not Gold Key…I’m not that quite that old yet)! Here’s hoping these covers are included in the TPB release…

If you’re inclined to pick up the single issue, it’ll be on store shelves later this month.

DOCTOR SOLAR, MAN OF THE ATOM #5
Jim Shooter (W), Roger Robinson (A), Agustin Alessio (A/C), Wes Dzioba (C), and Michael Komarck (Cover)

On sale Dec 29
FC, 40 pages
$3.50
Ongoing

Doctor Solar, the Man of the Atom, is the greatest single power in existence. But Tanek Nuro, a ruthless global power broker, has acquired the key code to the operating system of the universe, and he means to change things. With no limit to Nuro’s monstrous ambition and only Doctor Solar in his way, a war of biblical proportions starts now. Also starting now, the origin saga of the Man of the Atom. How did a middle-aged man of science come to command the fires of creation? Everything you know . . . and everything you didn’t . . . comes to the fore in this double-feature extravaganza not to be missed!