DVD and music new releases for Jan. 20, 2009

Here's what looks interesting this week. Click title links to order discounted items from Amazon. Proceeds help support this site!

DVDs:


Repo! The Genetic Opera


Emergency!: Season Five


The Rockford Files: Season Six


My Three Sons - Season One, Vol. 2

Music


The Crying Light by Antony and the Johnsons


The Mountain by Steve Earle and The Del McCoury Band


The Crawling Distance by Robert Pollard


Drop by Soft Machine


Whipped Cream & Other Delights (Picture Disc) by Herb Alpert (vinyl)


The Impulse! Albums, Vol. 3 by John Coltrane

See more recent new releases

Bionic Woman Ryan the next Doctor Who companion?

Word is that British actress Michelle Ryan--who, very briefly, starred as the new "Bionic Woman" on U.S. television--is the new companion on "Doctor Who."

Michelle, 24, will star with previously little-known actor Matt Smith, 26, who was announced as the 11th and youngest Time Lord earlier this month.

A source on the show said: "Michelle's been in secret talks with BBC bosses.

DC Comics April 2009 solicitations: Warlord returns, Showcase Presents Super Friends, Golden Age Starman Archives, more

DC Comics has released its offerings for next April. Here's what looks interesting to me (click the title links to pre-order discounted items from Amazon):


THE WARLORD #1
Written by Mike Grell
Art by Joe Prado & Walden Wong
Cover by Mike Grell
At the Roof of the World in Tibet, a team of paleontologists and adventurers has made the find of the century: perfectly preserved dinosaur specimens that appear to have died mere days before! Their expedition takes a deadly turn when they uncover an impossible portal to another world – an unbelievable country at the hollow center of the Earth, the mythical land of Skartaris! But they’re not the first surface-worlders to find themselves stranded in Skartaris, and their arrival in his peaceful home triggers an unforgettable new adventure for the hero who has taken the land as his own: Travis Morgan, the Warlord! This new ongoing series marks the return of creator Mike Grell to the fantasy saga that made him famous! Reunite with Tara, Shakira, Tinder and the rest of the cast in a story that continues the adventures of the Warlord but opens up a new era where any reader can jump aboard.
Along with Grell’s scripts – and lushly painted covers – comes the art of rising star Joe Prado (ACTION COMICS, SINESTRO CORPS SECRET FILES)! DC’s finest fantasy franchise is reborn!
On sale April 8 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US


BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM #5
Written by Mike Kunkel
Art and cover by Mike Kunkel
Strange things are happening, and Captain Marvel is pretty sure it has something to do with a certain crazy doctor! With the help of two sentient cockroaches, Dr. Sivana has recently escaped from Fawcett City Penitentiary and set out to take over the world. Using the one skill he has – being a mad scientist – Sivana creates a robotic mayhem on the city of Fawcett. But he needs more power, and it would appear that his archenemies Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel might be just what the doctor ordered.
On sale April 29 • 32 pg, FC, $2.50


SHOWCASE PRESENTS: MARTIAN MANHUNTER VOL. 2 TP
Written by Jack Miller and others
Art and cover by Joe Certa
The 1960s adventures of J’onn J’onzz are collected in this new volume featuring stories from DETECTIVE COMICS #305-326 and HOUSE OF MYSTERY #143-173!
Advance-solicited; on sale May 13 • 592 pg, B&W, $16.99 US


SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SUPER FRIENDS VOL. 1 TP
Written by E. Nelson Bridwell and Dennis O’Neil
Art by Ric Estrada, Vince Colletta, Ramona Fradon, Bob Smith and Kurt Schaffenberger
Cover by Alex Toth
The superstars of the 1970s animated adventures star in this new, bargain-priced volume collecting SUPER FRIENDS #1-24!
Advance-solicited; on sale May 27 • 448 pg, B&W, $9.99 US


GOLDEN AGE STARMAN ARCHIVES VOL. 2 HC
Written by Gardner Fox, Alfred Bester, Don Cameron, Joe Samachson and others
Art by Jack Burnley, Mort Meskin, George Roussos, Emil Gershwin, Sam Citron and others
Cover by Jack Burnley
From the Golden Age of Comics comes this second hardcover collecting tales of the original Starman from the pages of ADVENTURE COMCIS #77-102.
Advance-solicited; on sale June 24 • 272 pg, FC, $49.99 US

Inauguration Day music

Goodbye and good riddance Bush/Cheney.

Monsters Vs. Aliens movie pictures

Here are some images from Dreamworks upcoming "Monsters Vs. Aliens." looks fun.

Pop links: So long Dial B for Blog, Frankenstein fumetti

One of my favorite comics blogs, Dial B for Blog, is closing up shop. It was a great ride and, I believe, every "back issue" of the blog will still be available for viewing, which is a good thing, cuz there are some gems.

All the best, Robby and good luck with your future projects!

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Golden Age Comic Book Stories presents a 1939 photo-comic ("fumetti" as the Italians call 'em) adaptation of "Son of Frankenstein."

Spidey/Obama update

so, did anyone out there actually get a copy of Amazing Spider-Man #583? I went to my neighborhood comics shop and it turns out--due to ordering logistics/conditions far beyond my mere consumer understanding--they didn't even get a single of the Obama cover. I was told a second-printing of the ish would be in next week. I checked a couple other stores and no Obama funnybook there, either.

Now I read that Marvel is actually doing a third printing of the issue.

At any rate, I'm sure I'll eventually see the story. I've actually been following Amazing over the past few months and want to see the ish just to keep up on Spidey's happenings, not just his interactions with the president-elect. It's been a good comic of late, for reasons which I hope to write about in detail soon.

Pop links: George Herriman site, DC snubs Darwyn Cooke Wonder Woman comic, Sherlock's violin, fighting for Asterix

Via The Comics Reporter: Here's a really nice new site focusing on the work of the brilliant George Herriman, creator of Krazy Kat.

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Via Occasional Superheroine and Journalista: For crying out loud, did DC Comics really turn down an all-ages Wonder Woman proposed by Darwyn Cooke and J. Bone?

I really enjoy the kid-oriented book DC does put out. My 5-year-old daughter loves DC Super Friends and the new Supergirl comic. And I get the brilliant Billy Batson/Shazam book for my 11-year-old son (and me). But, man, I would have loved to see a Wonder Woman comic by Cooke and Bone. It'd be great. And where's the kid-oriented Superman book?

Most likely the reason for the Wonder Woman rejection is that DC is waiting for a TV show, movie, toy line to tie a new title to. But why wait? There are comics to sell now. And if they produced a good one, people would buy it. I think it's encouraging that DC didn't wait on other product to publish Supergirl and Shazam comics, so why wait for Wonder Woman?

My personal experience as a parent is that kids today LOOOOVE comics. In addition to the titles already mentioned above, both my kids love Donald Duck comics. And my son reads Asterix, Tintin, my old Mad magazines, DC Showcase books and Archives, what have you.

Getting kids to read comics is a simple matter of publishing comics for kids and putting them where parents (non-geek parents who don't realize you need to go to comic shops, or live near a comic shop, to find most of 'em) and kids will see them.

And turning down the likes of Cooke and Bone smacks of outright insanity.



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An ailing tree that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used to sit beneath as a child has been cut down and used to create a violin in tribute to Conan Doyle's fiddling creation Sherlock Holmes.

The house in Liberton, on Edinburgh's South Side, in which Conan Doyle was brought up, is now a special school and the teachers and pupils, upset at the need for the tree to be felled, have decided to use £1,200 raised by volunteers for an instrument to be created by Steve Burnett, a self-taught craftsman living in the City. He plans to fashion a violin based on a design which the great violin-maker, Giuseppe Guarneri, provided for Nicolo Paganini in about 1740.

Although the finished instrument will be priceless, Dunedin School has no intention of allowing it to gather dust in a glass box. Instead, it may be used by pupils in music lessons. The school, which now occupies Liberton Bank House, also hopes to transform the remaining tree stump into a sculpture, designed by the pupils and honouring Holmes.

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The daughter of Asterix co-creator/artist Alberto Underzo says her dad is wrong to sell off the rights to produce Asterix comics to others, the BBC reports.

Sylvie Uderzo accused "a handful of shadowy advisers" of persuading her father, 81, to sell his 60% stake in Asterix publisher Editions Albert Rene.

..."It's as if the gates of the Gaulish village had been thrown open to the Roman Empire," she wrote.

"I am entering resistance against perhaps the worst enemies of Asterix, the men of finance and industry."

Prisoner actor McGoohan dies

Sad news: The BBC reports that actor Patrick McGoohan, 80, has died in Los Angeles.

The actor, who was born in New York and raised in England and Ireland, came to screen prominence in TV series Danger Man, in which he played a secret service agent. The programme later aired as Secret Agent in the US.

He was later considered for the role of James Bond for the movie Dr No.

But McGoohan was chiefly associated with cult ITV drama The Prisoner, writing some of the episodes himself under a different name.

His character spent the entire time attempting to escape from The Village and finding out the identity of his captor, the elusive Number One.

Pop links: Milt Caniff mini-doc, musical Peanuts punchlines, classic Marvel Comics calendars

Sancum Santorum Comix takes a look at vintage Marvel Comics calendars here, plus more recent Marvel calendars here. (I had that 1975 calendar.)



And, if you like this sort of thing, head over to the Mighty Marvelmania Museum.

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Via Mark Evanier, here's a mini-documentary Ohio State University created to celebrate Ohio native Milt Caniff:



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For those who read music, there are hidden punchlines in Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" strip featuring kid musician Schroeder, The New York Times reports.

In a strip from 1953 Schroeder embarks on an intensive workout. He does push-ups, jumps rope, lifts weights, touches his toes, does sit-ups (“Puff, Puff”), boxes, runs (“Pant, Pant”) and finally eats (“Chomp! Chomp!”). In the last two panels he walks to his piano with determination and begins playing furiously, sweat springing from his brow.

The eighth notes above Schroeder’s head are from the opening bars of Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata (Op. 106), a piece so long, artistically complex and technically difficult that it is referred to as the “Giant” Sonata. When Beethoven delivered it to the publisher in 1819, he is believed to have said, “Now you will have a sonata that will keep the pianists busy when it is played 50 years from now.”

Batman: Brave and the Bold features Deadman, Gentleman Ghost, Green Arrow and Kamandi!

The Cartoon Network has released details and pics from this Friday's episode of "Batman: Brave and the Bold," which features loads of DC Universe guest stars.

Deadman and Batman team up as spirits to stop Gentleman Ghost from raising an army of undead criminals. Green Arrow and Speedy join in the battle to save London. In this week’s teaser, Batman and Kamandi outrace a horde of monsters from the future.

New comics Jan. 14, 2009: Spidey and Obama, Wonderful Wiz, more Bone, early Ditko

Here's what looks interesting to me this week. Click on links to order discounted books from Amazon.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #583 This is the one with the Obama cover.

WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ #2 I'm waiting for the trade on this adaptation by Eric Shanower and Scottie Young, but I've snuck a peek and the individual issues and they looks fabulous.

BONE VOL 09 CROWN OF HORNS The color reprints of Jeff Smith's great series continue.

STEVE DITKO EDGE OF GENIUS Black-and-white reprints of early Ditko comics work. Published by Greg Theakston's Pure Imagination.

See other recent comics new releases.

Pop links: Stan Lee profiled, Billie Holliday sings

Stan Lee talks to the Financial Times.

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Billie Holliday sings "Strange Fruit."

43 years and STILL not on DVD: The Batman TV series

It's come to my attention (via Fred Hembeck) that this week marks the 43rd anniversary of the Adam West "Batman" TV series. Fred wasn't crazy about the show. Me? I was CRAAAAAAZZZZZZY about it. The cool Batparaphernalia, the wacky sound effects, the insane cliffhangers and all those crazy, bright colors.

I'm 43 myself, and watched the show obsessively when it was in reruns when I was 5 or 6. Goofy as it was, it turned me into a lifelong Batfan and, along with the Beatles and other obsessions, is likely why I'm doing this silly blog at all.

And I continue to think it's ridiculous Warner Bros. and Universal can't get it together, strike a deal and get it out on legit DVDs. But maybe they just want the bootleggers to continue making money off it.

Any way, it's been a while since I've run any photos from the show, so here's a fresh batch:















More Batman TV Series posts and pics

DVD, CD new releases Jan. 13, 2009:

Here are DVDs and CD new releases of interest this week. Click links to order disounted items from Amazon (proceeds help support this site).

DVDs


Patti Smith Dream Of Life


John Lennon - In Performance


Paul McCartney - In Performance


Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business Of America

CDs


Doctor Who: Series 4


Love Live: Whisky a Go-Go 1978 Love


Arthur Lee Arthur Lee

Other recent New Releases

Pop links: Marianne Faithfull 60s videos, comic sales up

Bedazzled presents a whole slew of 1960s Marianne Faithfull performances on video: Here, here, here and here.

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It just seems like the entire economy's gone to hell: USA Today reports that sales of comics and graphic novels rose 5 percent in 2008.

Upcoming book: Marvel Comics in the 1960s

Here's additional info an cover art for a great-sounding new book due in August from Twomorrows Publishing:

Marvel Comics In The 1960s: An Issue-By-Issue Field Guide To A Pop Culture Phenomenon
By Pierre Comtois

After being relegated to the realm of children's literature for the first 25 years of its history, the comic book industry experienced an unexpected flowering in the early 1960s. A celebration of that emergence, Marvel Comics in the 1960s: An Issue-by-Issue Field Guide to a Pop Culture Phenomenon presents a step-by-step look at how a company that had the reputation of being one of the least creative in a generally moribund industry, emerged as one of the most dynamic, slightly irreverent, and downright original contributions to an era when pop-culture, from Tom Wolfe to Andy Warhol, emerged as the dominant force in the artistic life of America. In scores of handy, easy-to-reference entries, Marvel Comics in the 1960s takes the reader from the legendary company's first fumbling beginnings as helmed by savvy editor/writer Stan Lee (aided by such artists as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko), to the full maturity of its wild, colorful, offbeat grandiosity. With the history of Marvel Comics in the 1960s divided into four distinct phases, author Pierre Comtois explains just how Lee, Kirby, Ditko, et. al. created a line of comic books that, while grounded in the traditional elements of panel-to-panel storytelling, broke through the juvenile mindset of a low brow industry and provided a tapestry of full-blown, pop-culture icons.

Pop links: 60s Britpop star Dave Dee passes, Ringo still angry, no Zep, Terry and the Pirates comic,

British pop star Dave Dee has passed away the Guardian reports. He was lead singer of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, which scored eight UK Top 10 hits back in the 1960s.

Formed 1961 by Dee, a former Wiltshire policeman, between 1965 and 1969 the band spent more time in the UK charts than the Beatles.

Here they are in 1965 on British children's TV show "Blue Peter."



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Getting weirder all the time: Ringo Starr is reportedly boycotting his own Website.

The 68-year-old former Beatles star faced a public backlash after controversially announcing on his website he was stopping signing his name for fans last October.

Since the incident - which Ringo insists was misinterpreted - he has canceled his regular video messages and updates in an internet blackout.

A source close to the drummer said: "Ringo used to enjoy telling fans about his plans, but he was pretty shocked by the hostility he faced over the autograph thing."

"As a result he's reluctant to appear on the website again."

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Led Zeppelin is not reuniting with or without Robert Plant, evidently.

Peter Mensch (Jimmy Page's manager) has told MusicRadar.com that: "Led Zeppelin are over! If you didn't see them in 2007 [when they played a one-off reunion at London's O2 Arena], you missed them. It's done. I can't be any clearer than that."

He added: "They tried out a few singers, but no one worked out," said Mensch. "That was it. The whole thing is completely over now. There are absolutely no plans for them to continue. Zero. Frankly, I wish everybody would stop talking about it."

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Pappy shares a "Terry and the Pirates" give-away comic from 1947.



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Celebrating the label's 50th anniversary, the BBC presents the "A-Z of Motown."

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Golden Age Comic Book Stories presents the 1937 Walt Disney Annual from Whitman Books. Lovely art.



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On My Mind presents a Youtube-filled Elvis Presley birthday tribute.

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The Horrors of it All shares a nice Rudy Palais-illustrated tale: "Death Kiss"!

New music I like: Glen Campbell!

Bill Everett bio coming from Fantagraphics

Blake Bell, author of the nicely done "Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko" has turned his sites on another great comic book artist: Sub-Mariner creator Bill Everett.

"Fire and Water: Bill Everett, The Sub-Mariner, and the Birth of Marvel Comics," a 216-page hardcover, will be out in July from Fantagraphics Books.

Details:

In 1939, brand-new Marvel's first ever comic book featured an anti-hero named the Sub-Mariner, created by legendary artist Bill Everett. (The angry half-man, half sea-creature Sub-Mariner property has recently been film-optioned.) From the superhero and horror genre, to romance, crime, and suspense, Bill Everett was a master of the medium. Blake Bell's follow-up to Strange & Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko, Fire and Water: The Sub-Mariner, and the Birth of Marvel Comics, is definitive biography of the man and his career. The main focus, however, will be the stunning display of artwork that few artists can match in breadth and quality- all on display in this coffee table art book that is destined to ensure Everett's place at the table of premier comic book virtuosos.

Spidey meets Obama

Here's info from Marvel Comics on Amazing Spider-Man #583, in which Spidey meets the new Spider-Fan in Chief.

"This all new story written by Zeb Wells and art by Todd Nauck and Frank D’Armata takes place in Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Day and finds one of Spider-Man’s oldest foes attempting to thwart the swearing in ceremony of the 44th President of the United States. The story will be featured as a bonus story in Marvel Comic’s Amazing Spider-Man #583, available in comic book shops nation-wide on January 14th, 2009. A special variant cover by artist Phil Jimenez featuring the President-Elect and Spider-Man will be available for this issue."

“When we heard that President-Elect Obama is a collector of Spider-Man comics, we knew that these two historic figures had to meet in our comics’ Marvel Universe,” Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada said in the release. “Historic moments such as this one can be reflected in our comics because the Marvel Universe is set in the real world. A Spider-Man fan moving into the Oval Office is an event that must be commemorated in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man.”



Note: I'm getting lots of search hits from people seeking to buy or pre-order the Spidey comic.

If you want a copy, your best bet is to visit your local comic book store on Jan. 14 and buy it. Normally, issues of new comics run $2.99. To find a shop near you click here.

People also are starting to offer up the issue on Web auction sites, too, of course. At ridiculous prices (i.e. around $20 at the moment). I'd imagine prices will be lower once the issue actually hits the stands. But you can check this ad below to see:



Again, though, a comic shop is the place to go.