The Mix : What are people talking about today?

THE PANEL THAT JUST WON’T STOP!!!

  • News
  • March 4, 2011

We originally said ‘Here’s a Panel Topic everyone should sound off on’ and we were right….people keep sending responses, so we thought it’d be good to repost just in case you weren’t caught up…Got a response of your own? Send it in!

 We all know that DC announced this week that its FIRST WAVE line, the one that combined Batman, Doc Savage, the Spirit, and other Golden Age pulp and comic characters into one sort of ‘timeless’ universe where dirigibles and cell phones coexisted, is being cancelled. This extremely controversial line of comics, made so by the fact that many pulp fans saw the portrayals of their favorite characters as mishandled at best, blasphemous at worse, has definitely stirred up a lot of talk. Here’s the panel topic-Was DC’s First Wave as bad as all that? If so, why? What does the cancelling of this line mean for the future of pulp centered comics, if anything? Email your panel responses to allpulp@yahoo.com and they’ll be posted here!

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From Teel James Glenn, writer in the pulp tradition….

Why did the First Wave fail? the art wasn’t bad and even some of the ideas were interesting, but the basic premise seemed to be that even though pulp chracters have endured in their original form for 70 years the writers at DC knew how to ‘fix’ them. Why fix what isn’t broken? I doubt any of the writers actually read any of the books they were ‘improving’ by changing basic premises and characters. It is the same problem most movie adaptations have; everyone thinks they can violate the very core of the creations they SAY they are ‘reimagining. Bullflock!

Uncreative people feed off other people’s creations and bring the level down. You have to honor the work of those who came before and then you can prehaps–prehaps- move forward with new creations that can interact with them. Always look at the ‘character/series’ bible and honor it as if it was gospel–because it is.
If DC wanted to do pulps right they should have hired pulp writers not guys who said in interviews “I never read the books”–arrogance like that deserves to be discarded…

From Barry Reese, Member of the Spectacled Seven….

Where do I start? DC mismanaged the entire line, starting with a series of interviews from creators that alienated the hardcore fans and made newer fans wonder why they should try a bunch of characters that even the main writer talked about with disdain. Then go on to the launch miniseries, which still hasn’t finished… Here’s a clue: don’t launch a new line of books with a book that’s supposed to set up the whole thing but doesn’t come out on time. Makes the entire affair look half-assed and poorly planned. Then you have a book (Doc Savage) that after a mediocre beginning slides into outright crapitude with shifting writers and artists. And don’t get me started on The Avenger stuff, which was such an insult to the original characters that I wish DC had just renamed it.

They shouldn’t have solicited the kickoff mini until it was completed. They should have hired people who not only understood the characters but who genuinely loved them — you can update the characters and still maintain their core… but you have to *want* to do that. And why include Batman in this universe if his only appearances would be in a one-shot special and the mini? They should have had a Bat-Man series set in this universe that the other books could have orbited around — the Bat guy sells, you know.

Mishandled and poor creative decisions. I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did.

*********

From Tommy Hancock, another of the Spectacled Seven

Mine will be short.   It will be short because I didn’t read anything but the first issue of the FIRST WAVE mini series and the first three issues of DOC SAVAGE.  Well, I say the first three issues, I actually only read the full first issue because I couldn’t stomach anymore of what they jokingly referred to as THE AVENGER.

I am not a purist.  I am also not a ‘we have to make changes to everything’ sort either.  I like what I like and I like companies and writers to produce things I like.  It helps when they are producing stuff I like based on other stuff I already like.  What didn’t work in this regard is DC not only didn’t produce stuff that I liked based on characters I adore, but they ignored me.  I didn’t want DC to ask me my opinion, well, maybe I wanted them to, but didn’t expect it.  But I, being a pretty big pulp fan, was simply left out of the equation when DC got their hands on these great characters.  My opinion, my interests, my desire to see these characters live again…didn’t matter at all.  The bad part for DC was that these new readers I guess they were trying to appeal to…didn’t have any buy in at all to these concepts and saw them for what they were…poorly handled editorially misdirected imitations at best, toilet paper with pictures on it at worst.  And me, my buy in…it went to Moonstone, Doc Savage reprints, and new pulp…

Just sayin’…
***********

From Derrick Ferguson, yet another of the Spectacled Seven

I read the first three issues of DOC SAVAGE (hey, there was no way I wasn’t going read it) and was unimpressed.  I have to admit that the idea of all these classic pulp characters and certain DC characters like The Blackhawks and The Spirit, who in my mind are pulp characters, appealed to me.  But the execution was, in a word, lousy.
Here’s what I can’t wrap my head around: why in the world would you hire writers who plainly have no love or liking for the characters they’re writing about?  Wouldn’t it have made more sense to hire writers who actually know, love and have a true desire to write the best possible Doc Savage or Avenger stories they possibly could?  Stories that would not only thrill and delight old time fans but make newer readers sit up and understand why these characters are cool and remain so after so many years?
And yeah, I agree with Barry: it didn’t help to have interviews with writers who I felt were giving me the digitus impudicus for loving pulp and had really snotty attitudes toward not only the work they were producing but who they were producing it for.

************
From Adam Garcia, Scribe of the Green Lama

I never read first Wave, but I think it’s fair to say it failed on execution rather than concept. While I advocate change, I don’t necessarily think you need to change everything, to make things effective. I’m more a believer that to keep things one specific way is a mistake and to open to adaptation. I’m 100% certain that First Wave would have been considered amazing if the story had been effective. Take the new Star Trek film as an example, a bottom to top reinvention that was overwhelmingly loved, or Batman: the Brave and the Bold or even the massive massive changes made to the Joker in Dark Knight. That’s what I’ve been arguing. Reinvention isn’t bad, it’s frankly the nature of pop culture, but refusing to accept it is.
You may not like the adaptation, that’s a fact of personal preference, but with licensed character adaptation is the only way the stay alive. So First Wave might have failed creatively, but I applaud the effort.
 ***************
Elizabeth Tadehara: Fan of The Shadow

I was shocked and angry when I learned through All Pulp that DC had finally decided to end First Wave. Then I wonder why? Why was I angry? Why was I shocked?

The art was not some of the Best work, I know DC is able and capable of turning out. Take First Wave’s One Shot with Doc and Batman. The art work seriously rubbed me all the wrong ways. Yet, it greatly improved with the actually series came out. While the good Doc’s was beautiful and captivating from the get go. Nor was the story… I’ll emit to not picking up any of Doc Savage’s First Waves after the first story arch, and the ones I did, I immediately put down cause they went off on some ungodly random tangent that the first four issues had not prepared me for. While First Wave, itself, let much to desired because I still have absolutely no idea what in blue blazes is going on. It’s like the writers for the series decided over coffee one day. “Hey! Who needs a decent story when you can just throw some well known character together and sees what happens?” Sheesh.

Now to why I was angry at the announcement of cancellation of First Wave. I had it on good authority that when DC approached the current owners of Doc Savage’s rights for First Wave, that this great Comic publisher agreed to also buy the rights to The Shadow. As an obsessed (yes, I am emitting to IT!) of The Shadow. I was hopefully and optimistic, since there has not been a decent comic form since DC’s: The Shadow Strikes.

The shock of the said cancellation wore off a few hours later, after I had some serious time to think about it. Even though, I am an obsessed fan, I am not by a purist either… cause sometimes the obsession out ways the purist. So I’m somewhat thankful, after reading all the other options, that they never got their hands on The Shadow. We do not need a repeat… Not after DC’s attempted update in the 1980s or (shutters) The Archie disaster.

As to the future of pulp comics. You need look no further than Moonstone. Enough said.

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ALL PULP’S A BOOK A DAY TIMES THREE!

  • News
  • March 3, 2011

http://www.bearmanormedia.com/

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Written by one who knew them
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Meet and become friends with many of the actors from the Dead End Kids, Little Tough Guys, East Side Kids and the Bowery Boys!

Since he began collecting Movie Memorabilia on the Dead End Kids in 1964, author Richard Roat has had the great fortune to develop personal relationships with David Gorcey, Stanley Clements, Gabe Dell, Bernard Punsly, Huntz Hall, Billy Benedict, Frankie Thomas, Eddie Le Roy,  Brandy Gorcey  (daughter of Leo Gorcey), Gary Hall (son of Huntz Hall), and Leo Gorcey Jr. (son of Leo Gorcey). This book draws upon those acquaintances and his talking with Billy Halop, Bennie Bartlett, Johnny Duncan, Ward Wood, Dick Chandlee, Eugene Francis, Harris Berger, Charles Peck, Ronald Sinclair, and more!

Lavished with many photos from the films from the author’s personal collection, this is one book you’ll need to have in your collection, tough guy!

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Discovering the Hudson:
New York’s Landmark Theatre
From Broadway’s Beginnings to Live Television,
Jack Paar and Elvis
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The Hudson Theatre, which opened in 1903, is much more than a beautiful facade, much more than a landmark Broadway playhouse with Tiffany glass mosaics and Roman friezes — complete with verde-antique in Greco-Roman marble — all of which recently and painstakingly restored by Millennium Hotels. With as much drama going on off-stage as beneath its historic proscenium arch, The Hudson has been the theater home for such titanic 20th century actors as George M. Cohan, Ethyl Barrymore, Laurence Olivier, Alfred Lunt, and Jason Robards Jr. As if that weren’t enough of a resume, the storied Broadway palace has also played the big time as the studio where Jack Paar and Steve Allen did their nationally broadcasted TV shows. Elvis, Bob Hope, Sammy Davis Jr. and many others not instantly associated with Broadway have been celebrated Hudson guests too. Ward Morehouse III, whose family has been identified with theater for generations, uses the Hudson as a launching pad to write about the golden age of Broadway, live TV and beyond into the new, international age of corporate-theatre synergy.

“Ward Morehouse III, like his well-known father before him, is a natural storyteller, with countless stories to tell. His good-natured affection for New York–its characters, its cultures, its history-makers and its history–shines through his prose. He knows this city well, and likes to share what he knows. For a couple of decades I’ve enjoyed his newspaper writings. And a new book from him is always welcome!”
–Chip Deffaa, author of “Blue Rhythms” and “Voices of the Jazz Age”

“No one is more qualified to write a history of Broadway’s landmark Hudson Theatre than Ward Morehouse III, a member of a family identified with the New York theater for generations and a theater columnist and historian in his own right. The story of how the Hudson has survived for more than a century of ups and downs as home to great plays and players, to big bands and radio dramas, rock and cabaret stars, is fascinatingly told and a very good read indeed. It burnishes Morehouse’s reputation as a researcher and witty, anecdotal writer earned by several books on New York’s grand hotels.”
— Frederick M. Winship, United Press International cultural critic-at-large

LUGOSI’S FRANKENSTEIN

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With the success of Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, Universal Pictures was quick to capitalize on creating a new Lon Chaney in Bela Lugosi. Chaney had been the original choice to portray a duel role as both Dracula and Professor van Helsing, Dracula’s adversary. Before production could begin Chaney died suddenly leaving Carl Laemmle Jr. without a star.
Laemmle Jr. had seen Dracula on the stage in New York City, although he could not recall if he had seen Lugosi or Raymond Huntley in the role of Count Dracula. However Lugosi was performing in the touring company which happened to be in Los Angeles at that time. Was he the new Lon Chaney?
Lugosi was not Carl Jr’s first choice for the role. However he eventually won the part and now they needed more ideas for him. “Murders in the Rue Morgue”, “Cagliostro”, “The Invisible Man” and “Frankenstein” were top on the list.

One day in March 1931 Robert Florey, recently returned to Hollywood from Europe, was having lunch at the Musso and Frank Restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard. He was approached by an old acquaintance, Richard Schayer, head of Universal’s story department. Schayer told him that his studio was looking for ideas for a new horror film to star Bela Lugosi and he knew Florey was involved with The Théâtre du Grand-Guignol de Paris, (a small theater, in an obscure alley in Paris which specialized in sadistic, shocking, explicit, violent melodramas and became known as the “Theater of Horrors”. It opened in 1897 and closed in 1962.)
They both agreed on “Frankenstein” being the best choice. Schayer suggested that Florey would stand a better chance at being asigned writer and director if he were to present the idea to Carl Laemmle Jr.

  We present now the script for “Frankenstein” as it would have been had Bela Lugosi starred; and Rober Florey directed.

ALL PULP NEWSSTAND BULLDOG EDITION 2/3/11

  • News
  • March 3, 2011
ALL PULP NEWSSTAND
BULLDOG EDITION
2/3/11
PRO SE WANTS WRITERS FOR ‘THE SHAMUS DIRECTIVE’!
From Pro Se Productions-

A handful of months back, Pro Se announed a line of anthologies it intended to do over the next year.  Those anthologies, four in number, are still in play, but a new concept has been added to the pack, one that is an unique take on a couple of genres and will prove to be a fun, exciting playground for writers to work in.

THE SHAMUS DIRECTIVE is a project developed in concept by Tommy Hancock, but is actually founded in historical context.  Just prior to and all during World War Two, The United States government via the FBI as well as members of the Armed Forces, developed dossiers on all licensed Private Investigators in the country.  A list was then comprised of the ones deemed appropriate and ‘good’ and they were then considered to be ‘cleared’ to be used in espionage missions, mostly on the homefront, or missions that regular forces just could not deal with for various reasons.   Several investigators were called on to work on cases due to this list and it even became a popular hook in fiction, especially radio and early television, to have a PI in a show do government work because they were on this list.
THE SHAMUS DIRECTIVE poses the theory that not only was this list compiled, but the people on it were truly the world’s greatest detectives and they were formed into sort of a team to handle major issues in conjunction, even maybe saving major parcels of land and people in the process. 
Pro Se’s plan is this-We are doing an open call of writers to submit a minimum of a page proposal for a detective character to be included in THE SHAMUS DIRECTIVE.  This must be an homage/pastiche character, the writer’s version of an existing type of character (Nero Wolfe, Phillip Marlowe, Sherlock Holmes, etc) and the stories will be set in the 1930s-40s.  If a writer’s proposal is accepted, there will be a two story commitment.  The first story will be a case of that writer’s character prior to being put on the Directive list, their greatest case within that time frame.  Those will be collected in a sort of SHAMUS DIRECTIVE prologue anthology.  Then, immediately following will be THE SHAMUS DIRECTIVE VOLUME ONE which will be a series of interconnected stories, almost chapters, involving all the characters in a team up to save the day.  If sales and interest warrant it, we will definitely expand into more volumes.
It must also be noted that six slots are open in this concept.  If you are accepted as one of the six, however, and cannot meet deadlines that will be set, then you will be removed from the concept and the remaining writers involved will continue on.  This project will have reasonable, but firm deadlines.
Anyone interested in submitting or needing more details, please email Tommy Hancock at proseproductions@earthlink.net   
PULPY GOODNESS FROM KPSB!
From Kevin Paul Shawn Broden
“Blood of a Ghost” Chapter 2 of REVENGE OF THE MASKED GHOST

A masked stranger has invaded the Randolph home and died.
What great secret does he hold?
A new chapter of ROTMG will be posted soon.
Page 22 of 24 of Issue 13 of FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY
Love is in the air as the Sweetheart’s Dance is here! Where are all our couples?
Find out in this week’s page of “Looking for a Love Song”
has been posted at: http://www.flying-glory.com/

Twitter Updates for 2011-03-03

  • News
  • March 3, 2011
  • RT @HarveyAwards: Who was the BEST COVER ARTIST for 2011? ComicPros Don’t miss a chance to vote @ http://ow.ly/1s6nA9 balloting is OPEN! #
  • RT @billamend: Pretty sure Apple could make a small fortune selling live streams of their events via AppleTV. #
  • RT @Perazza: The irony that people vehemently argue on the internet against making entertainment available digitally is…baffling. #comics #

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Review: ‘Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Vol. One’

  • News
  • March 2, 2011

scooby-doo-mystery-inc-v1-e1298842097616-5724225Could the eleventh time be the charm? I stopped watching Saturday morning cartoons right around the time Scooby-Doo solved his first mystery. To my mind, it was also a show from my younger brother’s era. At the time, I thought it looked and sounded pretty stupid, an opinion I maintained ever since.

Last year, I was forced to re-examine those feelings when I was invited to write a few Scooby-Doo stories for DC Comics’ print incarnation. I talked with longtime fans and other writers in addition to reading a ton of stories. The formula had its charm and the characters diverse enough to hang stories on but I couldn’t imagine things like their family lives or the unlikely coincidence of all four being only children.

I apparently was not the only one with those questions, and Warner Bros. Animation has offered up a new series, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated which debuted in July. In late January, the first four episodes from the fourteen episode first season were released on DVD by Warner Home Video.

The formula remains the same. People get spooked by something, the kids investigate, wackiness ensues, and the monster is revealed to be someone in disguise who would have gotten away with the scheme du jour “if it wasn’t for those darn kids”. What’s different this time, though, is the introduction of a Big Bad, someone calling himself Mr. E (Mystery, get it? They owe Bob Rozakis a royalty), who is teasing Mystery, Inc. with clues to a some big mystery surrounding Crystal Cove. The mystery relates to the town’s history and involves a quartet of teen sleuths and their pet, and is being slowly unfolded so you don’t get a resolution to this in disc one (or disc two, due in March).  Heck, you only get two clues this time around.

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ALL PULP NEWSSTAND BULLDOG EDITION 2/2/11

  • News
  • March 2, 2011
ALL PULP NEWSSTAND
BULLDOG EDITION
2/3/11
ALL PULP WELCOMES THIRD STAFFER
ALL PULP is pleased to announce its third open position for staff reporter/reviewer/interviewer has been filled.   Jonathan Jones joins the ranks of ALL PULP and will be a major part of bringing Pulp fans and the world at large All the news that is Pulp from ALL PULP!  Be on the lookout for our three new staffers to debut on ALL PULP in the next week or two!
PULP ARK NEEDS ART AND STUFF!!!
Tommy Hancock, Coordinator of Pulp Ark, the new Convention/Creators’ Conference being held May 13-15, 2011 in Batesville, AR, stated today that although things are coming together quite nicely, there are still a couple of areas the Pulp Community, particularly creators and publishers, could help out with.
“Pulp Ark,” Hancock said, “is growing every day and will be a great show and a fantastic first effort.  We do have a couple of things, though, that we’re still trying to pull together.  We announced a while back that the local art gallery wanted to host a Pulp Art Show during Pulp Ark and they still desperately want to do that.  I am meeting with them today as a matter of fact.  My problem is, except for pieces from Pro Se’s work (Hancock is Editor in Chief of Pro Se Productions), we don’t have any artists who have committed to have works in the gallery!  This is a great opportunity and definitely something Batesville has never seen.  And we are planning to have an auction on Saturday night wherein if an artist wants to sell a piece in the gallery, they can and 80% of what is made goes directly back to them, in their pockets.  Of course, if an artist just wants to display his/her work and not sell it, that’s fine, too.  The focus is the gallery showing, not the auction.”
“Also,” Hancock continued, “Pulp Ark put the call out a few weeks ago for goodies, stuff that creators and publishers might have that they would consider donating for fan bags to be given to the first however many fans come through the door.  Although we’ve had a couple say they would contribute, we could use several more.  This could be postcards, pens, pins, whatever, just something to give to the fans that they will for sure enjoy and leave with.”
Any artists interested in participating in the Gallery showing and/or any publishers or creators interested in contributing to the Pulp Ark Fan Bags, can email Hancock at proseproductions@earthlink.net for further details.

Twitter Updates for 2011-03-02

  • News
  • March 2, 2011
  • Where's The Tardis? BBC Doctor Who Tardis Building Contest http://ow.ly/45dgk #
  • Todd Klein Chooses Comics' Greatest Logos! http://ow.ly/45gLN #
  • Download New York’s Official Apocalypse Manual! http://ow.ly/45h74 Sadly, no mention of Morlocks, CHUDs, or Snake Plissken. #
  • Real-Life Superwomen Solve Crimes and Save Lives – Newsweek http://ow.ly/45gWt #
  • SF Writers Advise Homeland Security: http://ow.ly/45kR3 Puts that illegal alien probelm in a whole new light… #
  • Congressman From New Jersey to Save Human Race http://ow.ly/45PFH And if you think this gets him any respect in the House… #

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ALL PULP NEWSSTAND NIGHTHAWK EDITION 3/1/11

  • News
  • March 1, 2011
ALL PULP NEWSSTAND
NIGHTHAWK EDITION
3/1/11
DILLON HITS THE BLOGOSPHERE!
Derrick Ferguson, noted Pulp Author and contributing writer to various publishers, has finally heeded the call of fans of his work and started a blog.  Ferguson is not telling the world about his pets, his trips to the grocery store, or his latest thoughts on political doings.  No, this is a blog dedicated to a character that Ferguson is known for.  Dillon.  This is a blog about the heroic pulp actioneer that has appeared thus far in DILLON AND THE VOICE OF ODIN and DILLON AND THE GOLDEN BELL as well as a Dillon short story.   A fan favorite, Dillon embodies aspects of various pulp heroes into one finely tuned, well defined expression of adventure, intrigue, and fun.  And now, thanks to his creator, Derrick Ferguson, fans new and old alike will always know what Dillon is up to.  
RADIO WESTERN ADVENTURES SPECIAL EDITION READY FOR PREORDER!
From Pulp 2.0 Press-

RADIO WESTERN ADVENTURES Volume 1 is now available for signed edition pre-order.

You can own one of the first copies hot off the press, signed by Donald F. Glut and delivered to you via post for only $13.99.

Just go here and click on the paypal button to order your copy today.

http://pulp2ohpress.com/pulp/radio-western-adventures/

You can also see all of the bonus features of the book here:

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RWA is a unique blend of nostalgia and hard-hitting western pulp action from the pen of DONALD F. GLUT (THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, BROTHER BLOOD, and TV’s TRANSFORMERS) and pulp celebrity LESTER DENT (DOC SAVAGE, THE AVENGER).

The book features the novella “Who Really Was That Masked Man?” — a tall tale about what happens when all of the classic western stars from those thrilling days of yesteryear encounter one another and embark on a six-shooting, whip-cracking adventure. This is the story that fans of western pulp, serials, comics and old time radio have been waiting for years to read!

In addition, the Legendary Lester Dent contributes a never-before-published story “Snare Savvy” featuring Haw Kain, a slow-talkin’, but quick-witted cowboy from Montana who runs afoul of some greedy land grabbers. There’s also a fast talkin’ gal who catches Haw’s eye, and makes his job of stopping the crooks all the tougher.

This one-of-a-kind western pulp features many exclusive extras:

A comprehensive article on the great radio, comic and serial western adventure heroes (GENE AUTRY, HOPALONG CASSIDY, ROY ROGERS, SUNSET CARSON et al) that influenced the creation of “Who Really Was That Masked Man?” This article is lavishly illustrated with stills of young Don in his childhood cowboy outfits roaming the range of boyish imagination in Chicago.
A tribute to Jim Harmon, the man to whom this book is dedicated. Jim Harmon was a good friend, author and ardent western radio fan, historian and wrote of many books on the subject including the definitive THE GREAT RADIO HEROES.
A gallery of RARE STILLS featuring iconic western stars and autographed to Don Glut.
A behind-the-scenes peek at “Snare savvy” by noted author and pulp historian Will Murray.
and much more!!!

BARRY REESE NOMINATED FOR GEORGIA AUTHOR OF THE YEAR!

Barry Reese, recent winner of the PULP ARK 2011 BEST AUTHOR award and Spectacled Seven member at ALL PULP,  has been  nominated for a Georgia Author of the Year Award. His novel RABBIT HEART (also a nominee for Best Book in the 2011 Pulp Ark Awards) is eligible in the Fiction category. This year’s awards will be handed out on June 11, 2011 at the Kennesaw State University Center.

From the Georgia Writers Association Website:

The Georgia Writers Association recognizes Georgia’s authors of excellence by presenting the Georgia Author of the Year Awards.  The GAYA has the distinction of being the oldest literary awards in the Southeastern United States while reflecting the current publishing world. The GAYA honors both independently published authors and those whose books are published by traditional publishing houses. The Awards have grown in prestige and participation since its inception in 1964 by the Dixie Council of Authors and Journalists. The GAYA changed hands in 1990 to Georgia Writers Association and in 2006 GWA began a strong affiliation with Kennesaw State University’s Department of Humanities.  In 2006 over 100 books were nominated for Georgia Author of the Year.  The GAYA covers the traditional categories of Poetry and Fiction, while accommodating the growing Creative Non-Fiction genre. The guidelines are revised each year to parallel the changing literary marketplace.

Peanuts Happiness is a warm blanket, Charlie Brown

Kaboom! announces new Peanuts graphic novel

  • News
  • March 1, 2011

Peanuts Happiness is a warm blanket, Charlie BrownThis March, join Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy and all your favorite Peanuts characters as Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, the very first Peanuts graphic novel ever published, is released by newly-launched all-ages imprint kaboom! Based on the work by Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz himself, this graphic novel is sure to delight a whole new generation of Peanuts fans!

“We’re honored to publish such a beloved property,” BOOM! Studios Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ross Richie said. “I can think of no better way to kick-off our new all-ages imprint kaboom! than with the first Peanuts graphic novel ever published!”

Adapted from the brand new animated special from Warner Home Video, Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown features Charlie Brown’s kite-flying woes, Linus’ insecurities, Lucy’s unrequited love for Schroeder and everyone’s favorite beagle, Snoopy, in a lively and colorful spin through Charles Schulz’s imagination. The 80 page, 7×10, hardcover graphic novel ships this March at the suggested retail price of $19.99 in conjunction with the all-new Peanuts animated feature of the same name available on DVD from Warner Home Video March 29, 2011.

Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown is written by original creator Charles M. Schulz and adapted by Craig Schulz and Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine) with art by Bob Scott, Vicki Scott and Ron Zorman.

“New original Peanuts comic book content is a tradition that goes pretty far back in comic book publishing,” said BOOM! Studios Editor-in-Chief, Matt Gagnon. “Dell Comics published ‘Tip Top Comics’ which featured new Peanuts comic book content created under the guidance of Charles Schulz. ‘Tip Top’ ran from 1936 until 1961, creating well over 40 original Peanuts stories and countless covers. It’s exciting to be a part of the return of Peanuts to the comic book format.”

The Happiness is a Warm Blanket graphic novel and DVD dovetails into a larger campaign launched in January when Peanuts proclaimed 2011 as “The Year of ‘Happiness Is…”. Throughout the year, the classic Peanuts concept, which cartoonist Charles M. Schulz coined in 1960 with “Happiness is a Warm Puppy,” will be celebrated with special-themed products, cross-branding partnerships, social media campaigns and nationwide activities.

Launched last week, KABOOM! is the brand new name for BOOM! Studios’ three year old all-ages imprint previously known as BOOM Kids!

Review: ‘Tales from Earthsea’

  • Uncategorized
  • March 1, 2011

I first visited Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea series in my Fantasy Literature college course. Her books were short and eloquent, wonderfully transporting me to another place and time. The strength of her work is that is has endured through the years and inspired others. In 2006, Japan’s Studio Ghibli ([[[Princess Mononoke]]]) released their animated adaptation, [[[Tales from Earthsea]]], and it stealthily came to the United States last August via Walt Disney Pictures. Opening so late in the summer season hurt it at the box office, so it is welcome that the DVD release is finally here this week.

The movie doesn’t adapt any one novel but takes elements from the first four books in the series: [[[A Wizard of Earthsea]]],[[[ The Tombs of Atuan]]],[[[ The Farthest Shore]]], and [[[Tehanu]]]. With LeGuin’s blessing, the movie told a relatively new story about Earthsea filled with omens, sorcery, deception, destiny, and a love for the land. To be honest, it’s been so long that I couldn’t recall the source material and was treating the story as something entirely new. Apparently, LeGuin herself was less than thrilled and fans of the books were split.

To be sure, there are dragons, sorcerers, Kings, common folk and Arren, the sword-wielding youth who becomes the focal point of the tale. As he ventures into the countryside, Arren is joined by Sparrowhawk the Archmage, and together they take refuge at the home of Tenar, who is an old friend of the Archmage and caretaker to the young Therru, who has just been rescued by the men.

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