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Alex Toth Zorro comic book covers

Alex Toth: Johnny Quest character designs

Cover of Brian Wilson's In the Key of Disney

The album is due out Oct. 25, USA Today reports.

I enjoyed Brian's Gershwin album quite a bit. Disney tunes seem like an even better pairing and I'm looking forward to hearing the arrangements. At the same time, I hope he'll follow this up with an album of original tunes. That Lucky Old Sun, his last collection of originals, was very strong.

"The Beach Boys sound and the Disney people make a fantastic collaboration," says Wilson, 69. "I tried to do justice to all their songs."

The tracks include songs from Disney's early animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs all the way to last year's Toy Story 3. Working with co-arranger Paul Von Mertens, Wilson imbues the songs with complex falsettos and an innocence associated with the Beach Boys sound.

Dumbo lullaby Baby Mine features harmonies that might have fit on Wilson's In My Room. An instrumental medley of Snow White's Heigh-Ho and Whistle While You Work also incorporates a line from Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me), the theme song of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean attractions.

Alex Toth Space Angel character sketches

Dynamite Entertainment to publish Shadow comics

From the press release:

Dynamite Entertainment has signed a comprehensive licensing agreement with Conde Nast for comic books based on one of the most popular cultural icons in comics - The Shadow! Arguably the most famous pulp hero of the 20th century, The Shadow has been featured in comic books, comic strips, television, video games, and at least five motion pictures!

"We are pleased and excited to entrust The Shadow to the capable, creative hands of Dynamite Entertainment," said Jerry Birenz, licensing attorney for Conde Nast. "We look forward to a continuation of the long tradition of The Shadow in comic books, and the enjoying of the new adventures and experiences Dynamite Entertainment will bring us."

Introduced as a mysterious radio narrator by David Chrisman, William Sweets, and Harry Engman Charlot for Street and Smith Publications, The Shadow was fully developed and transformed into a pop culture icon by pulp writer Walter B. Gibson.

The Shadow debuted on July 31, 1930, as the mysterious narrator of the Street and Smith radio program Detective Story Hour. After gaining popularity among the show's listeners, the narrator became the star of The Shadow Magazine on April 1, 1931, a pulp series created and primarily written by the prolific Gibson.

"Pursuing The Shadow has been a life time quest," says Dynamite Entertainment President and Publisher Nick Barrucci. "Dynamite is working to launch the Shadow with some of the comic industries leading talent including John Cassaday, Alex Ross, Ryan Sook and Jae Lee, with more to be announced - creators who will bring justice to The Shadow. We will be releasing more exciting news about The Shadow series soon!"

Pop Focus: Alex Toth

A pioneer in comic book art and animation, Alex Toth emerged during the Golden Age, illustrating the adventures of Green Lantern, Justice Society of America and more for National/DC Comics. Once the first superhero craze faded, Toth did groundbreaking work on suspense and romance titles for Standard Comics. Later, at Dell, he did seminal work on Zorro, along with other TV and movie adaptations.

Toth was known for his innovative visual storytelling, his page design and figure drawing. His goal was to strip every image to it's absolute essence, never to put down an unneeded line.

Later, he moved into animation work, focusing on character design. He created designs for Space Ghost, the Herculoids, Super Friends and more. He didn't leave comics entirely, though, and came back to illustrate a few notable assignments for DC (Hot Wheels, an Atom-Flash team-up) and work for Warren's black-and-white horror/suspense mags, such as Eerie and Creepy.

Alex Toth books