New comics shipping March 18, 2009: Sheena! Batman! Tor! More!

Here's what looks good/interesting this week. Click the title links to order discounted books from Amazon.

TUROK SON OF STONE ARCHIVES Vol. 1


BATMAN CHRONICLES Vol. 7


TOR A PREHISTORIC ODYSSEY


WOMEN OF THE DC UNIVERSE MARY MARVEL BUST

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #588


GOLDEN AGE SHEENA QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE Vol. 2

Pop links: Download Geronimo Jackson! New Dylan details! Ono art! More!

Best wishes to Jon over at Random Acts of Geekery, who is one of many newspaper professionals being laid off these days. Hang in there, buddy.

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Hey Lost fans, you can now download a free Geronimo Jackson song from iTunes.



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A new press release offers new details on Bob Dylan's upcoming album:

Bob Dylan’s new studio album, "Together Through Life" is set for release on April 28.

The "Together" songs "have more of a romantic edge" than the music on "Modern Times," Dylan's 2007 album that debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 1. "The songs on "Modern Times" brought my repertoire up to date, and the light was directed in a certain way. You have to have somebody in mind as an audience otherwise there’s no point," Dylan says.

"There didn’t seem to be any general consensus among my listeners. Some people preferred my first period songs. Some, the second. Some, the Christian period. Some, the post Colombian. Some, the Pre-Raphaelite. Some people prefer my songs from the nineties. I see that my audience now doesn’t particular care what period the songs are from. They feel style and substance in a more visceral way and let it go at that. Images don’t hang anybody up. Like if there’s an astrologer with a criminal record in one of my songs it’s not going to make anybody wonder if the human race is doomed. Images are taken at face value and it kind of freed me up."




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Screenwriter Millard Kaufman, creator of Mr. Magoo, has passed away.

Kaufman wrote for television and film earning Oscar nominations for Bad Day at Black Rock and Take the High Ground.

He created weak-eyed elderly Magoo for the 1949 animated short Ragtime Bear, which was voiced by actor Jim Backus.


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Yoko Ono has created a mural at the United Nations headquarters in New York in honor of World Autism Awareness Day.

The mural by the 76-year-old widow of slain former Beatle John Lennon, who also is an avant-garde artist, is to be auctioned off in support of the advocacy group Autism Speaks.

Upcoming DC Comics collections: Original Monster Society of Evil! More!

First off the HUGE news: DC is finally, finally publishing a collection of the original Monster Society of Evil storyline from the 1940s Captain Marvel series. Let's hope they do it up right, with great art restoration on decent paper. I know the DC Library of Classics has an "old newsprint" aesthetic, but I really hope this one looks good. This is a classic run of comics and deserves top treatment.

Here's a full look at everything the publisher has in the pipeline for later this year. Release dates are per Amazon and may differ from reality:


DC Classics Library: Shazam! Monster Society of Evil
by by Otto Binder, C.C. Beck and others.
272 pages, hardcover, out Dec. 8.


Batman: The Cat and the Bat
by Fabian Niecieza, Kevin MaGuire and others.
128 pages, softcover, out Dec. 8.

DC Universe Illustrated by Neal Adams Vol. 2
192 pages, hardcover, out Dec. 8.


Green Lantern Chronicles Vol. 2
by John Broome, Gil Kane and others.
160 pages, softcover, out Dec. 8.


Showcase Presents: Wonder Woman Vol. 3
by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and others.
496 pages, softcover, out Dec. 8.

Vintage comic book house ad

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Tropicalia Week: Gal Costa!




CD new releases March 17, 2009: Nick Lowe! Bonnie Prince Billie! Marianne Faithfull! Little Walter! More!

Here are releases of possible interest this week. Click the title links to order CDs from Amazon.


Quiet Please: The New Best of Nick Lowe (Limited Edition, Deluxe CD+DVD) by Nick Lowe


Beware by Bonnie Prince Billy


The Complete Chess Masters (1950-1967) by Little Walter


Easy Come, Easy Go by Marianne Faithfull


Coolest Songs in the World, Vol. 8 by Various Artists

DVD new releases March 17, 2009: Twilight! Spider-Man! Punisher!

Click the title links to order DVDs from Amazon.


Twilight (Two-Disc Special Edition)


Punisher: War Zone


The Spectacular Spider-Man, Vol. 2


The Spectacular Spider-Man, Vol. 3

Zombies "Odessey and Oracle" concert coming to DVD

From the press release:

The Zombies have confirmed the April 20th UK and European DVD release of “Odessey and Oracle Revisited: The 40TH Anniversary Concert”. Mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound, and boasting an exclusive 2008 filmed interview, the DVD was originally filmed during March 2008 when the band performed three sold out nights at the London Shepherd’s Bush Empire. The gigs were attended by Paul Weller, Robert Plant, Robyn Hitchcock, Snow Patrol and Garbage.

The release of the live DVD coincides with The Zombies’ last-ever UK concert performances of the “Odessey and Oracle” album. The band will perform the milestone 1968 album at the Glasgow ABC (April 21), Bristol Colston Hall (April 23), Manchester Bridgewater Hall (April 24) and London Hammersmith Apollo (April 25).

Pop links: Evil dolls! Stupid Syfy! Super Sell-Out! Sinatra and Farrow! Free Super Strips!

What's creepier than evil dolls and killer puppets? Not much! The Horrors of it All will be spooking you with comic book stories about such things all week long.

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Today in dumb: The Sci-Fi Channel is changing it's name to "Syfy." Sounds like a prescription drug for depression or incontinence or erectile dysfunction or something. Wonder how much the marketing guys made on this deal?

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A copy of Action Comics #1--y'know, the one featuring the first appearance of Superman, has sold for $317,200.

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From Classic TV Showbiz: Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow on "What's My Line," 1966.

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DC Comics has evidently put the complete run of the 1940s Superman comic strip online.

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Vintage comic book house ad

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Tropicalia Week: Documentary! Os Mutantes!

Tropicalia, or Tropicalismo, was a late 1960s cultural movement in Brazil, when a talented group of musicians and songwriters, led by the likes of Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, rebelled against the country's conservative military leadership, joining traditional samba and bossa nova sound with the Beatles, psychedelia and social consciousness.

This week, we'll spotlight some of the era's top artists via video.

Here's a three-part documentary on the music, followed by a performance by the "Brazilian Beatles," Os Mutantes!









Doc Savage covers pt. 2


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