Category — Comics

This one is for Disney fans who spent countless hours watching Disney Afternoon cartoons like Duck Takes instead of doing homework or having a social life. It’s the latest from CollegeHumor.com

When the SLG comics published Disney branded fizzled out after six issues I figured that was it for a while for Disney in the comics publishing biz. But really, Disney was just switching gears and publishers. Boom! Studios is getting reading to release three new comics with a Disney (or in this case Pixar or Muppets) theme.

Cars (two covers)

Cars fans, start your engines! Before the big Dinoco 400 race, rookie sensation Lightning McQueen is interviewed by Darrel Cartrip. Full of braggadocio, McQueen reveals his scrappy origins as “Bulldozer” McQueen–a local short track racer who dreams of the big time…and recklessly plows his way through the competition to get there! Writer(s): Alan J. Porter, Artist(s): Albert Carreres

Incredibles (collect all four covers)

America’s favorite family of superheroes finally returns, courtesy of legendary scribe Mark Waid (Kingdom Come, The Flash)! The Incredibles face terrifying new villains…and friendly new neighbors, all while Mr. Incredible hides a troubling secret from his costumed clan. Four connecting cover variants by acclaimed artist Michael Avon Oeming!

The Muppet Show (two covers)

The incomparable Roger Langridge (Fred The Clown) brings his absurdist humor to The Muppet Show stage! Longing for the swamp, Kermit forlornly plucks his banjo, while Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo and the entire gang tries to jolly him out of his funk. Packed full of madcap skits and gags, The Muppet Show is sure to please old and new fans alike.

Look for more titles coming in the future, but you can pre-order these first issues now through a store such as Mailordercomics.com and save a bit off the newsstand price.

It must be San Diego Comic-Con because suddenly there’s plenty of news about Disney, Pixar, and Comics. Today BOOM! Studios and Disney Publishing Worldwide announced a partnership to move many of Pixar’s titles into the comic book format.

Following on the heels of THE INCREDIBLES comic book release, BOOM! will be publishing all new stories featuring favorite Pixar characters from TOY STORY, CARS, FINDING NEMO and MONSTERS INC. New stories featuring this summer’s blockbuster hit WALL-E will follow shortly thereafter.

“It’s nothing short of an honor to work with Disney Publishing Worldwide and Pixar for this project,” said BOOM! Studios co-founder Ross Richie. “We found kindred spirits in the creative counterparts we have at both companies, and have just really had a fantastic time finding the right writer and artist combinations to do the source material justice. I think young and old alike are going to love these books!”

I can’t wait. The SLG Comics that came out over the last few years have been great! Meanwhile pick up the preview book if you’re at SDCC or eBay, if you’re not.

Thelma Keane, who was in the inspiration for the mother in the “Family Circus” comics, has passed away.  Her husband, Bil, created the comic and Thelma managed the business, in addition to providing inspiration and a whole bunch of children.  One of their sons, Jeff, now works with Bil to keep the series going.  In addition to Neal, Gayle, and Christopher, the family also includes prolific Disney animator Glen Keane.

The series was one of the first that caught my eye as a kid, and I remember at least one animated holiday television special.  To this day, whenver I open a newspaper, I look for it.

Ryan Nakashima, Associate Press business writer, checks in with a look at the Hollywood studio and theme park companies’ efforts in Dubai.

But even as the ink dries on the billion-dollar deals in the United Arab Emirates, movie studios are grappling with ways to make their signature characters and amusement parks fly in the conservative Muslim region.

Politically sensitive characters such as Captain America could be left at home. Prayer rooms will join the list of accommodations, and menus will likely feature falafel and humus alongside pizza and hot dogs.

There’s even a move afoot to offer Bollywood dance shows to lure Indian visitors.

Theme park design companies based in the United States have already spend many years adapting their products to various foreign markets, where culture differences can mean significant changes to how things are designed and operated.

Investors, studios and park operators are all aiming to cash in on what some observers call the Middle East’s decades-long fascination with American culture. Hollywood movies are popular in the region, and Western fashions are hot commodities among residents who travel abroad.

It’s a new market that companies could be very foolish to ignore.

The theme park market is open — with no major facilities currently operating in the Middle East.

The projects are no-brainers for the entertainment companies that have jumped at what amounts to free brand expansions with no capital at risk. Few details have been provided about the deals, which entertainment companies simply describe as licensing arrangements for intellectual property and help on designing the parks and attractions, with no mention of possible royalty payments.

Their investment partners have money and land to build the parks but lack the star-powered attractions to draw the millions of visitors needed to make them profitable.

This sounds similar to when Disney went to Japan.

In recent months, eight major licensing deals have been struck between oil-rich investors and entertainment giants such as Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment Inc. for theme parks and other attractions.

The first, a $2.2 billion Universal Studios park based on franchises such as King Kong and Jurassic Park, is set to open in an area dubbed Dubailand on the city’s desert outskirts in 2010.

Would this be enough to get you on a plane to the Middle East?

Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. will include beer-tasting zones in its four-park complex anchored by SeaWorld, set to open in Dubai in 2012. The discreet zones will receive little advertising, in accordance with UAE government guidelines.

It’s okay to have it – just don’t flaunt it.

The Walt Disney Co., the world’s largest theme park operator by far, is notably absent from the rush to the region. Disney parks and resorts chairman Jay Rasulo said Disney is studying the market.

Of course Disney is studying the market.  The company would be crazy not to explore the possibilities.  But I hope if Disney does do something there, we see something more like DisneySea rather than yet another Magic Kingdom (unless it is very different) or a park on the level of Walt Disney Studios Paris when it opened.  “Pirates of the Persian Gulf”, anyone?

The article talks about infrastructure concerns.  Worth a click-through if you are interested.

Money bin model
Originally uploaded by Mat Skull.

Don Rosa, the current genius behind the Donald Duck comic books, and Dan Shane were working on a story called "The Beagle Boys Vs. The Money Bin" back in 2001. Well the blueprints they sketched of Scrooge McDuck’s Money Bin somehow found their way into the talented hands of 15-year-old Norwegian fan, Mats Gullikstad, who proceed to flesh out those blueprints into a detailed model.

Now pictures of the model, including close ups on the details, and a story featuring the original blue prints and Mats’ model, has made it onto Flickr for all Disney fans to enjoy. This picture is just of the outside. There are 10 floors of detailed offices full of in-jokes from the comic book series, the vault featuring hand-cut gold coins, and lots of great notes.

Disney fans truly are the best!

I spent the day at Comic-Con in beautiful downtown San Diego.  It was an overwhelming experience.  I walked by the likes of Lou Feragno and Stan Lee, and just missed Neil Gaiman, Kevin Smith and the cast of Heroes.  In the geek world it doesn’t get any better.

The one thing that I did take catch was a panel of PIxar filmmakers, Ralph Eggelston (For the Birds), Andrew Jimenez (One Man Band), and Katherine Sarafian (Lifted) discussing the studio’s short films.

The big news was that they announced a new Pixar DVD to be released on November 6th.  The Pixar Shorts: A Short History, will include 13 of their acclaimed shorts plus an exclusive documentary.

They screened the documentary for us, which covered the lifespan of Pixar, from it’s days at LucasFilm, through the hiring of John Lassetter and the selling of imaging software, to the studio we know and love today, stopping with the creation of a little movie called Toy Story.

It was entertaining and insightful.

The Disney presence was felt on the convention floor as well, with a large Pirates exhibit, ABC Family previews and, well, stuff.  Lots of stuff.

On Saturday there will be previews and panels for The Chronicles of Narnia- Prince Caspian, and Pixar’s next film, WALL*E.

If you don’t have a ticket, sorry it’s sold out.  Don’t worry, I’ll be missing it with you.

In what is a great honor for him, and for his fellow members of Disney’s illustrious team of original animators, Ollie Johnston is being awarded the 2005 National Medal of Arts. Johnston is the first animator to receive the award since its founding in 1985. In addition to his accomplishments as an animator, Johnston co-authored The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation, the definitive bible for animators.

It’s nice to see animation, an art form Walt Disney helped pioneer, getting some national recognition.

(via CartoonBrew)