Notable Links 04/07

So, in answer to yesterday's Blogosphere Trivia Challenge, the groovy "Batman" comic in question was actually "Brave & The Bold" #102, featuring the Teen Titans as guest stars. This answer comes courtesy of Mr. Steven Wintle, proprietor of Flat Earth. Mr. Wintle was so inspired by fellow blogger Dave Lartigue's dilemma, he was inspired to write about the comic in question here. I love this because all the panels Steven reproduces show Batman walking around in broad daylight. Now, it's no secret that I am not a big Batman fan, but I guarantee that having Batman walk around city streets in the middle of the day is a perfect way to crush the suspension of belief flatter than a pancake, regardless of who's reading the book. For God's sake, it looks like he's window shopping! Where's Scott Shaw! when you need him? This one has all the makings of an Oddball classic...

In any event, it's a truncated Blog today. I gotta get up real early and take The Wife to a doctor's appointment in New Hampshire. Regular blogging and "Travels With Larry" will resume tomorrow. Do not fret, you're not going to miss anything good. Meanwhile, here's a couple interesting links...

* "TOKYOPOP Inc. and Disney Publishing Worldwide are bringing a number of popular Disney films and television series to life for readers with a new line of Cine-Manga(tm) books. The first new Disney Cine-Manga title, Lilo & Stitch, is set to debut in stores this April, with versions of That's So Raven, Princess Diaries 2, The Incredibles and The Lizzie McGuire Movie set to roll out in 2004. In total, there will be more than 24 Disney Cine-Manga projects slated for release over the next three years." Read more here, courtesy of Newsarama.

* "This June Dreamwave Productions will issue its first two DW Pockets editions collecting the Transformers Energon and Duel Masters comic book series in manga-size (5"x 7.25") full color trade paperbacks, with a suggested retail price of $10.95. The DW Pockets editions mirror the popular manga format right down to the vertical wraparound one color strip on the spine and dynamic manga-like cover illustrations. While some manga trades sell for as little as $7.95, the Dreamwave Pockets are printed in full color, making them a relative bargain at $10.95. The page counts for the DW Pockets -- 112 pages, while shorter than the typical manga release, are still substantial." Read the press release here, courtesy of ICV2.

Man, pretty soon every book in America is going to be sold in Manga format... up next, "The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot" in Manga format.

* "Eagle One Media, a multi-media company is proud to announce it will be distributing Intec Interactive's full line of Marvel and CrossGen Digital Comic Books to retailers and will also offer the complete line to consumers via Eagle One’s website (www.eagleonemedia.com). Each Digital Comic Book (DCB), which is playable on DVD, PC, and videogame consoles, contains a five to eight issue comic story-arc and at half the cost of the printed version, the value speaks for itself. A DCB blends the visual art and storytelling ability of published comic books with professional voice-overs, original music, stunning effects and high-end sound design. Plenty of extra material is packed in as well, like previews, character biographies, original sketches, a documentary about how comics are made, and bonus chapters (including classic first appearances of the main characters). All this provides over 100 minutes of viewable material on each DCB and with a quality on par with a major motion picture release." The Pulse has the press release here. Haven't they done these before, back when interactive CD-ROMs were huge? Didn't they flop?

* Barb Lien-Cooper writes about the whys and wherefors of Internet cartooning here (link courtesy of Sequential Tart).

* Thanks to Broken Frontier, we have more updates on "Broken Shakespeare"s Crossgen hijinks. Over at the Broken Frontier board, she's spilled the supposed beans about Crossgen's new financier - and I'll give you a hint, they're not exactly the Carnegie Foundation.

* Courtesy of Thought Balloons, MSNBC takes a look at "The Complete Peanuts."

* Stuart Moore takes you on a strange, strange journey through some strange, strange comics & sci-fi collectibles here (link courtesy of Newsarama).

* Courtesy of Fanboy Rampage, we have Mark Millar's campaign to save Crossgen's "American Power" series (link courtesy of Millarworld).

* "Who would have thought that Pittsburgh would ever become a hot bed of independent comic book activity? Though the 'burgh isn't as renowned for comic book publishing as New York or Seattle, it has managed to hold its own among independents thanks to veteran independent comics creators like Don Simpson, Wayno and several other artists and writers. With the publication of 'Street Angel' by the Pittsburgh-based artist and writing team of Brian Maruca and Jim Rugg, the region can finally boast an independent comic series that is as evocative and sexy as the Hernandez Brothers' 'Love & Rockets' series of the 1980s and '90s." Um, I think that's maybe laying it on a bit thick... I mean, it was a fun book, but "Love & Rockets"? Read the review here, courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

* David Fiore continues the "Doom Patrol" blogging here, with a look at "Doom Patrol" #25 and a ramp-up to the "Brotherhood of Dada."

* If you liked my review of Ait/Planet Lar's "Demo" series yesterday, check out what Grotesque Anatomy has to say about it here.

* "LONG BEACH AUTHOR Glen David Gold doesn't see comic books as superheroes in Spandex knocking off villains with an assortment of 'POW,' 'ZAP,' 'WHAM' punches. 'When I was a kid, I read a lot of comic books and the story lines meant quite a lot to me,' says the Belmont Heights-based best-selling author, 40, whose favorite comic books include 'Daredevil,' 'The Hulk,' 'Howard the Duck,' 'X-Men' and 'The Fantastic Four.'
'The continuity, the soap opera nature of it, and the fantasy, took me out of my world. They also taught me how to tell stories,' he says. 'Comics have a sentimental meaning above and beyond what you can really defend in an academic sense.' Recently, Gold got to showcase his love for the format. He wrote 'The Lady or the Tiger' story line in the second issue of 'The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist' (Dark Horse Comics, $8.95), available in comic book shops Wednesday." Read more here, courtesy of the U Press-Telegram.

* Courtesy of Sean at the Journal board, we have some rather wacky recontextualizations of "Penny Arcade." I laughed, I cried, I hurled. (Who got that one? I just showed at least part of my age there...)