Pop Artifact! Mego Fantastic Four figures

New CD releases of note

June 28

The Adverts Anthology and Cast of Thousands (two CDs each) and Crossing the Red Sea
Electric Light Orchestra All Over the World: The Very Best of
Fountains of Wayne Out-of-State Plates
The Posies Every Kind of Light
Teenage Fanclub Catholic Education and Deep Fried Fanclub
Television Personalities And Don't the Kids Just Love It, Closer to God, Mummy You're Not Watching Me, Priviledge, The Painted Word and They Could Have Been Bigger Than the Beatles
DVD Jimi Hendrix Deluxe Edition

July 5

OST Dark Water (score by Angelo Badalamenti)
OST Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: The Album
SACD Jeff Wayne Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds
VA Hal Lifson Presents Music for Lonely Housewives

Out now: Japanese Batman figures

The latest batch of DC Direct/Yamato Toy Batman figures are out this week. You can get 'em via comics shops or CMDstore.

Conan 'toon planned

An animated film based on Robert E. Howard's "Red Nails" is in the works, according to the official Conan site:

Sherman Oaks, California-based Swordplay Entertainment Inc., has begun principal production on the animated feature film, CONAN: RED NAILS, based on the classic story by the best-selling fantasy author Robert E. Howard, a new 2D/3D animated feature film, targeting a 2006 release on video/DVD. New Line Home Entertainment has acquired all North American distribution rights to the animated feature film.

Cinema Management Group (CMG), an international sales company based in West Hollywood, headed by sales veteran Edward Noeltner, will be taking CONAN: RED NAILS to the Cannes Film Festival where it will be looking to set-up international pre-sales on the feature.

CONAN has previously been adapted into feature films, and television, but this is the first full-length animated feature film based on Conan the Cimmerian, a character Howard created in 1932.

The feature film is being directed by animation veteran Victor Dal Chele, (SPIDER-MAN, GHOSTBUSTERS, THE REAL ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY QUEST, BUTT-UGLY MARTIANS and ROBOCOP: ALPHA COMMANDO). Comics, animation and superheroes expert Steve Gold is onboard as the film’s writer/producer while Larry Houston (THE X-MEN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, HBO'S SPAWN and DISNEY'S GARGOYLES) is animation director.

CONAN: RED NAILS, one of Howard’s most famous stories, is both a sprawling epic and an equally engaging love story. When Conan and the female warrior Valeria, are betrayed in battle, they flee across harsh desert and trackless jungle only to confront the mystery and horror of a fabulous lost city. Conan becomes embroiled in a feud between the city’s factions, and must triumph over dragons, demons and a host of human and magical foes to end the war and win Valeria’s love.

“Steve Gold is an incredible cinematic storyteller, and renown Conan expert,” said producer Jonathan Bogner. “We’re all thrilled at this opportunity to bring his vision of Conan to life and work with some of the best artists in the world.”

Gold and Dal Chele have assembled an impressive team of award-winning visual artists and tapped legendary illustrator Michael Kaluta as the key concept designer for the film.

“Michael has been associated with CONAN and the works of Robert E. Howard for more than 30 years. He brings an amazing scope and pedigree to the film,” said Dal Chele.

Mark Schultz (CADILLACS & DINOSAURS) who recently illustrated THE COMING OF CONAN THE CIMMERIAN: VOLUME 1 for publishing house Ballentine and Del Ray, will add additional concept designs, as will leading fantasy painter and book cover artist, Donato Giancola. Greg Horn, a longtime Conan fan, and a hot young artist for comics and videogames will also be contributing artwork for the project.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the creative and business teams we’ve assembled for this film. We all feel a tremendous respect and responsibility to the Conan franchise and Conan’s legions of fans around the world,” said Gold. “This is going to be an incredible ride!” he added.

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Woohoo! Here comes "The Aventures of Superman" to DVD

The complete first season of the 1950s TV series, plus bonuses, will be out Oct. 18, reports TV Shows on DVD.

According to the site, extras on the five-disk set include:

  • Superman and the Mole Men theatrical movie (Reeves and Coates' first team-up)
  • Featurette: "From Inkwell to Backlot" retrospective
  • Vintage George Reeves short
  • Original Kellogg's Cereal TV spots
  • Commentary Tracks by Super-Experts (details to be announced)

And here's the official spiel from Warner Home Video:

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman! The legendary Man of Steel, last survivor of the doomed planet Krypton lives on earth, assuming the secret identity of Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for the Metropolis Daily Planet. But with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, he battles for truth and justice as Superman. This is the first Superman TV series! Originally aired in the 1950's, it featured George Reeves as Superman and enjoyed tremendous success during its broadcast. The TV series premise was established a year before its broadcast via the theatrical release of "Superman and The Mole Men" in 1951.

Disc 1

"Superman on Earth"
"The Haunted Lighthouse"
"The Case of the Talkative Dummy"
"The Mystery of the Broken Statues"
"The Monkey Mystery"
"A Night of Terror"

Disc 2
"The Birthday Letter"
"The Mind Machine"
"Rescue"
"The Secret of Superman"
"No Holds Barred"
"The Deserted Village"

Disc 3
"The Stolen Costume"
"Treasure of the Incas"
"Double Trouble"
"Mystery in Wax"
"The Runaway Robot"
"Drums of Death"

Disc 4
"The Evil Three"
"Riddle of the Chinese Jade"
"The Human Bomb"
"Czar of the Underworld"
"The Ghost Wolf"
"Crime Wave"

Disc 5
"Unknown People, Part 1"
"Unknown People, Part 2"

This makes me very, very happy.

You can pre-order the set now from Amazon.


For more on the original TV Superman, George Reeves, see Dial B for Blog's excellent post today.



"King Kong" teaser trailer posted

Check it out here.

Starbucks to release Dylan bootleg

First it sucked the bohemia out of coffee shops. Now in its quest for complete ubiquity, Starbucks is hi-jacking the coolness of music bootlegs.

According to Newsday:

Starbucks Coffee Co. has reached a deal to produce and exclusively release a CD of 10 Dylan recordings from New York's Gaslight Cafe in 1962, when he was just finding himself as a songwriter. The Gaslight, in Greenwich Village, was a focal point of the folk revival in the early '60s.

"Bob Dylan: Live at the Gaslight 1962" will be available at Starbucks stores in the United States and Canada on Aug. 30. It includes the earliest known recordings of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," as well as folk standards "Barbara Allen" and "The Cuckoo."

Today's DVD new releases

June 28


The Daily Show: Indecision 2004


The Doris Day Show Complete First Season


Homicide Life on the Street Complete Seventh Season


The Twilight Zone Complete Third Season


La Femme Nikita Complete Third Season


Ultimate Billy Jack Collection

Marvel Visionaries book celebrates Romita

From The Comics Continuum, here's the cover art for Marvel Visionaries: John Romita Sr.

The book is out Aug. 10 and features classic Romita-illustrated tales. Here's Marvel's description:

From the fabulous fifties to the future of the Femizons! The coming of the communist-hunting Captain America! Peter Parker's parents in perilous predicaments! The first of the final face-offs between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin! The debut of the Devil's Daughter! Also featuring the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Nick Fury, Wolverine, the Kingpin, and more! Includes rarely seen horror tales from the pre-Marvel era! Collects Strange Tales #4; Menace #11; Young Men #24, 26; Tales to Astonish #77; Tales of Suspense #77; Daredevil #16 and 17; Amazing Spider-Man #39, #40, #42, #50, #108, #109 and #365; Fantastic Four #105 and 106; Vampire Tales #2; and Untold Tales of Spider-Man Minus 1.

You can pre-order it now from Amazon.

Podcasting Duck comics

A note from Bill Jourdain, man behind the excellent and entertaining Golden Age of Comics Podcast:

Golden Age of Comics Podcast #4 uploaded June 27, 2005! In this
installment we talk about the great Carl Barks and his wonderful work
on Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge. We are also thrilled to have an
interview with Don Rosa, who has captivated all “duck fans” with his
storytelling and with his series, “The Life and Times of Scrooge
McDuck.” We have a short market report where we discuss some very
high dollar sales, and we talk about the happenings last weekend at
the Heroes Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.


Check it out here.

Pop Artifact! Fantastic Four disk gun

Lennon's stamp collection

How do you reconcile the fact that one of the coolest guys ever used to collect stamps?

Beats me. But it turns out John Lennon was a boy philatelist.

According to The Associated Press:

The Smithsonian's National Postal Museum announced Friday it has acquired Lennon's stamp album and plans to display it in October.

The museum purchased the album from a British stamp dealer but declined to disclose the purchase price.

The museum said the album contains more than 550 stamps from around the world, including many from former British colonies such as India and New Zealand.

Keith of the "Caribbean"

No scenes have been shot yet, but it looks like Keith Richards will definitely be appearing as Johnny Depp's dad in the two followups to "Pirates of the Caribbean," Sci Fi Wire reports.

"It looks like it's going to happen," Depp told reporters at a news conference in Nassau, Bahamas, where the films are shooting. "But I don't know when. It's all going to depend on where we are and where he is, because he's got a little thing called the Rolling Stones tour to do."

Voice actor Paul Winchell passes

Voice of "Winnie the Pooh's" Tigger, Gargamel of "The Smurfs," Dick Dastardly of "Wacky Races" and Fleegle on "The Banana Splits Adventure Hour" died Friday at age 82. More here.

UPDATE: John Fiedler, the voice of Piglet, died Saturday at age 80. His credits also include "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "The Twilight Zone," "Bewitched," "Star Trek," "The Bob Newhart Show," "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" and "One Life to Live." More here.

Pop Artifact! Marve Comics toilet paper

Fantastic Four graces TV Guide

The FF will be on five different cover of TV Guide next week (dig the "Kirby Krackle" backgrounds!):



15 minutes of Stones added to Cavett "Rock Icons" DVD

Mick Jagger has given last-minute approval of 15 minutes of Rolling Stones performance and interview footage for inclusion in a DVD compiling TV host Dick Cavett's interviews with various rock superstars.

Out Aug. 16, the three-disk "Dick Cavett-Rock Icons" set also includes interviews and performances by George Harrison, David Bowie, Janis Joplin and others.

According to Reuters:

Jagger has allowed archival label Shout! Factory to include performances of "Brown Sugar" and "Street Fighting Man" -- albeit trimmed to two minutes each -- filmed during a July 25, 1972 performance at Madison Square Garden in New York, and two backstage interviews he did with Cavett. The segment aired on Aug. 4 of that year.