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A GIRL AND HER CAT!

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(Promotional art – not actual cover)

New Pulp Author Win Scott Eckert announced on his blog that he is writing a new novel for Moonstone Books, Honey West and T.H.E Cat: A GIRL AND HER CAT!

It’s Honey West and T.H.E Cat, in the first new Honey West novel in over 40 years, A Girl and Her Cat!

Following on the heels of the first ever Honey West & T.H.E Cat crossover comic, Moonstone’s “Death in the Desert,” comes the Honey West & T.H.E Cat novel, A Girl and Her Cat…..

When an exotic green-eyed Asian doctor hires Honey to recover a stolen sample of a new influenza vaccine from a rival scientist, the blonde bombshell private eye—suspicious but bored—takes the case. But after she’s attacked not once, but twice, on her way from Long Beach to San Francisco to track down her quarry, she knows there’s more—much more—to her femme fatale client than meets the eye.

Along the way, Honey’s one-time paramour Johnny Doom—ex-bounty hunter and current Company agent—reenters the picture, and the gorgeous doctor’s insidious—and deadly—grandfather deals himself in. But when Honey questions whether Johnny’s playing her game, or just playing her for a patsy, she joins forces—as only Honey can—with the one man in Frisco who can help her recover the stolen vaccine-cum-bioweapon and prevent a worldwide epidemic—former cat burglar-turned-bodyguard Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat: T.H.E Cat!

Join writers Win Scott Eckert and Matthew Baugh, and cover artist Douglas Klauba, for A Girl and Her Cat, a groovy, racy 1960s romp coming in 2013 from Moonstone!

Mike Gold: The Nerddom Intelligentsia

gold-art-130213-9046221There’s a new sun rising up angry in the sky

And there’s a new voice saying we’re not afraid to die

Let the old world make believe it’s blind and deaf and dumb

But nothing can change the shape of things to come

We all know how our mass media portrays nerds: people who are brainy, obsessive, with a penchant for wearing merchandising-related merchandise. We come in two sizes: gangly or Christie-clone. We couldn’t get laid at an orgy on the dark side of the moon. We have a life-long lust for our popular culture and cannot distinguish between low-brow and high-brow.

Actually, I’m rather proud of that last bit. Cultural elitism really pisses me off. But this is America, where the bottom line justifies everything. The day nerds became bankable was the day we became legitimate.

We helped. Picking up a lesson from my fellow hippie freaks of 1967, we have redefined the term “nerd” simply by accepting it as a reference to ourselves. My fellow ComicMix columnist Emily S. Whitten embraces this wonderfully, in nearly everything she writes for this site.

The Simpsons helped quite a bit. Comic Book Guy exposed a previously hidden reality: a goodly percentage of those who hang our at the comic book shop are members of Mensa, and more would be if we had even the most rudimentary social skills. Mind you, I’d only been to a handful of Mensa meetings and I found them pathetically tedious, but they were at the University of Chicago so I was probably asking to be bored.

The fact is, comic book reading among those older than nine used to be associated with stupidity, arrested development, and the complete lack of a social life. Now many understand that it’s the upper end of the brain rack that finds this stuff appealing.

Nerds might not be cool, but then again, why is it that nerds invent all the cool stuff? We might have very short attention spans and we’re easily attracted to that which is bright and shiny, but we’ve taken over the popular culture and we’ve taken over technological innovation and, quite literally, our toys have become the tools of revolution all across the world.

Remember Doctor Doom’s little flying teevee cameras that would allow him to view his mayhem all over the world? He borrowed them from Ming the Merciless… but that’s not my point. Today, for good or for bad or for both, we’ve got our flying cameras. They’re called drones. Some of them are capable of bombing people back to the Flintstones. We’ve got GPS in our pockets, transponders in our cars, cameras at most of the traffic lights and highways and stores and office buildings and not only do “we” know where you are, but we know where you have been.

Hey, I didn’t say nerddom was a force for good. It’s a human force. And it’s mainstream.

And we’ve got these massively overpopulated conventions all over the world. We can organize.

We can take over.

Maybe… we already have.

THURSDAY: Dennis O’Neil

 

Scholastic Unveils New Cover for Harry Potter’s 15th Anniversary

Harry Potter 15thHard to believe that it’s been 15 years since J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard first came to America. To celebrate, Scholastic announced this morning that a new covers will grace anniversary editions of the seven-book mega-best-selling series. In an interesting move, Kazu Kibuishi, the creator behind the over-hyped Amulet series, will be providing the new covers, replacing Mary GrandPré’s now classic images. Here’s the first cover for your viewing and personally, I think it’s an improvement. It’d be nice, as part of the celebration, they used the original title, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, but that’s not going to happen.

Here’s the formal release with all the anniversary details.

New York, NY (February 13, 2013) – Harry Potter fans and young readers just starting their journey through the world of Harry Potter will have something new and exciting to add to their bookshelves this September.  Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children’s publishing, education and media company, today unveiled an all new cover for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – the first of seven new covers to appear on U.S. trade paperback editions coming in September 2013 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the U.S. publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the original book in J.K. Rowling’s best-selling Harry Potter series.

The stunning art for the new editions is by critically acclaimed artist Kazu Kibuishi, best known for his #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novel series, Amulet.  Kibuishi is a longtime Harry Potter fan who called this opportunity, “more than a little surreal.”  Each of the seven new covers will depict a distinctive and memorable moment from the respective book.  The collection, which will also be released in September as a boxed set, will offer new readers just reaching the age to begin the series a glimpse of J.K. Rowling’s magical world and the epic story they are about to enter.

“The Harry Potter covers by Mary GrandPré are so fantastic and iconic,” said Kibuishi.  “When I was asked to submit samples, I initially hesitated because I didn’t want to see them reinterpreted!  However, I felt that if I were to handle the project, I could bring something to it that many other designers and illustrators probably couldn’t, and that was that I was also a writer of my own series of middle grade fiction. As an author myself, I tried to answer the question, ‘If I were the author of the books – and they were like my own children – how would I want them to be seen years from now?’ When illustrating the covers, I tried to think of classic perennial paperback editions of famous novels and how those illustrations tend to feel.  In a way, the project became a tribute to both Harry Potter and the literary classics.”

The inspired original art for the series, created by the talented Mary GrandPré will continue to be featured on the U.S. hardcover and digest paperback editions.

According to Ellie Berger, President, Scholastic Trade Publishing, “The brilliant artist Kazu Kibuishi offers his unique vision of the world of Harry Potter, making each cover an incredible adventure that will transport new readers just discovering Harry Potter for the first time directly into the rich world of J.K. Rowling’s imagination.”

Scholastic also announced that in November 2013, the company will release the first boxed set of the complete Hogwarts Library in the U.S., including Quidditch Through the Ages, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard.  Sales of the Hogwarts Library will support two charities selected by the author, J.K. Rowling:  Lumos, a charity founded by J.K. Rowling which works to end the institutionalization of children, and Comic Relief, a UK-based charity that strives to create a just world free from poverty.

Fifteen years after the first U.S. publication of J.K. Rowling’s first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in September 1998, there are more than 150 million Harry Potter books in print in the United States alone and the series still hits bestseller lists regularly. The seven Harry Potter books are published in over 200 territories in 73 languages and have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide.

THE SHADOW FAN– CALLING BURBANK!

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With their 18th episode, The Shadow Fan Podcast debuts a brand-new feature: Calling Burbank! New Pulp publisher and writer Tommy Hancock reviews “Crime, Insured” from the perspective of a relative newcomer to The Shadow mythos! We also have commentary from Shadow expert Anthony Tollin, plus reviews of “The Thunder King,” Masks # 3 and The Shadow: The History of the Radio Program.

Join us in celebrating the greatest pulp hero of all time at http://theshadowfan.libsyn.com/calling-burbank

RETURN TO MONSTER EARTH

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Mechanoid Press unveiled a new MONSTER EARTH bonus story by New Pulp author Ian Watson, a follow-up to his Monster Earth tale The Monsters of World War II, or, Happy Birthday, Bobby Fetch.

You can read it now at http://www.mechanoidpress.com/2013/02/12/chuck-ronson-reporting-a-monster-earth-bonus-story-by-i-a-watson/

THE WHITE ROCKET PODCAST REVIEWS THE TEN BEST MOVIES EVER!

John Ringer and Van Plexico count down (and debate) their TEN FAVORITE MOVIES OF ALL TIME on this week’s episode.  What’s included?  Is Van right?  Is John nuts?  YOU DECIDE!!

Find White Rocket Podcast: TEN BEST MOVIES EVER on iTunes or at http://whiterocket.podbean.com and http://www.whiterocketbooks.com

Part of the ESO Network of shows!

Michael Davis: It Was Twenty Years Ago Today

davis-art-130212-9618032Actually it was twenty years ago, but it wasn’t today. Look, any time I get to use a Beatles lyric in anything I write I’m using it. Nothing says witty and clever like a Beatles lyric or a Tupac and Biggie reference.

Case in point. One time too freakin’ many an ex-girlfriend asked me in an email if I thought she was getting fat. I was so sick of answering the same freakin’ question over and over again. She would ask when she and I would be on a date, in a car, on the phone, texting and one time I could have sworn she screamed it out during sex. I can’t be sure of that I couldn’t hear her clearly as I was, at the same time, screaming out my name. Yes, I scream my own name out during sex. Someone has to.

I was just sick to death of this shit so in my response I found a way to use a slightly altered Beatles lyric, which was, yes, you are the Walrus.

Twenty years ago, Denys Cowan, Dwayne McDuffie, Derek Dingle, Christopher Priest and I founded Milestone Media.

Hard to believe I was just five when I helped start the company, eh Jean?

Twenty years later, Milestone is still considered the greatest publishing achievement in African American comic book history. The Milestone deal was ground breaking and the universe is still alive and relevant. Milestone has achieved in comics the same kind of reverence the Tucker achieved in the automobile industry or Guns ‘n’ Roses achieved in Rock and Roll, all three burst on the scene, changed the game and for whatever reason lived a short life but has never been forgotten.

What many people don’t realize is Milestone still exists and is still alive in media if not in a monthly series of comic books. Static Shock is still seen on television, Milestone characters are often featured on other DC comics animated shows and Milestone comic book projects still are being created.

Milestone’s 20th anniversary will be celebrated and in the coming months happenings will be reveled. I just can’t tell you now; if I did Denys Cowan would see to it that I join Tupac and Biggie. Yes, I’ve used that line before and I will continue to use it until LAPD does it job and finds their killers…or someone comments how clever and witty that line is. I’m good with whatever comes first.

What I can say is ComicMix readers who are Milestone fans have a guy on the inside. As we all know with great power comes first hand knowledge premiering here at ComicMix before anywhere else.

That is, if I remember to write it after it’s finalized but before the press release goes industry wide.

I’ll try and remember but once I was told over the phone I just had a huge project green lit and could now talk about it. The very next call I was on not three minutes later was with an entertainment magazine doing a profile on me and like a dick I forgot to mention the venture when asked about what projects I was working on.

That omission was like forgetting to mention I own a dog when being interviewed for a cover story in Dog Magazine.

Last thing, for all you fan boys who are still a bit “girl challenged” if your girlfriend…wait, what am I saying? Girlfriend? Fan boys? Ok, if the girl you are smitten with or any girl asks you if she looks like she was getting fat or the classic, do I look fat in this dress?

The answer is always no.

If the heifer weights 300 pounds and is always sucking on a saltlick, the answer is always no.

Trust me, don’t say anything remotely like what I said, I’m lucky to be alive and ten years after the break up I’m still looking over my shoulder.

WEDNESDAY: Mike Gold and The Nerddom Intelligentsia

THURDSDAY: Dennis O’Neil

 

Happy Pancake Day!

Or if you prefer, happy Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, or good old fashioned Mardi Gras!

As you may know, today is also known as Pancake Tuesday, held on the day preceding Ash Wednesday because pancakes were a way to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent.

And so, we reprint the most famous pancake story in comics, featuring Mike Mignola’s Hellboy!

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