Pop links: Vintage Disney Christmas cards, Carl Barks Christmas tale, Arrested Development DVD deal

The Hollywood Animation Archive presents some Disney Studio in-house Christmas cards from the 1940s and 50s.



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More holiday Disney: The Fortress of Fortitude presents a lost Carl Barks Christmas tale.



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Madness will reissue its catalog in both CD and digital formats next year.

2009 will also see the band releasing their first studio album in nine years through their label, Lucky Seven.

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Deal alert: Amazon is offering all three seasons of the fabulously funny "Arrested Development" for $28.99 today only. The regular price is $109.94.

New DVD, music releases Dec. 16, 2009: Dr. Horrible, Will Eisner documentary, Kinks box set and more!

Here's what looks good this week. Click the title links to order DVDs or CDs from Amazon. Proceeds help support this site.

DVDs


Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog


The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Widescreen)


Bottle Rocket (Blu-ray) - Criterion Collection


The Third Man [Blu-ray]


The Man Who Fell to Earth [Blu-ray]


Will Eisner: Profession - Cartoonist

Music


Picture Book by The Kinks


Complete Studio Recordings by Led Zeppelin


The Delfonics / Tell Me This Is A Dream by The Delfonics


Radio Radio: Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour box set


Dream Goes On: From the Black Sword to Distant Horizons by Hawkwind


The Hoople by Mott the Hoople

DC Comics March 2009 solicitations

DC has announced its releases for next March. Here's what looks good to me. Click the links to pre-order discounted titles from Amazon.


BATMAN: MAD LOVE AND OTHER STORIES HC
Written by Paul Dini, Bruce Timm & Glen Murakami
Art and cover by Bruce Timm, Mike Parobeck, Matt Wagner, Dan DeCarlo, Klaus Janson and Glen Murakami
Cover by Bruce Timm
Tales by two of the creators behind the acclaimed Batman Animated TV series are collected for the first time in hardcover!
The centerpiece of this fantastic collection is the Eisner Award-winning BATMAN: MAD LOVE, the surprisingly dark origin of Harley Quinn, co-starring The Joker and Poison Ivy as well as Batman. Also included are tales by Dini, Timm and others that feature the Scarecrow, Ra’s al Ghul, Mr. Freeze, Batgirl and more, from BATMAN ADVENUTURES ANNUAL #1-2 and stories from the BATMAN ADVENTURES HOLIDAY SPECIAL, ADVENTURES IN THE DC UNIVERSE #3 and BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE #1!
Advance-solicited; on sale May 20 • 208 pg, FC, $19.99 $13.59 US


DC COMICS CLASSICS LIBRARY: ROOTS OF THE SWAMP THING HC
Written by Len Wein
Art by Bernie Wrightston and Nestor Redondo
Cover by Bernie Wrightston
The tales that made Swamp Thing a fan-favorite are collected in hardcover for the first time! Featuring the first appearance from HOUSE OF SECRETS #92 along with SWAMP THING #1-13 and featuring moody art by legendary artist Bernie Wrightson!
Advance-solicited; on sale May 27 • 320 pg, FC, $39.99 $26.39 US


GREEN LANTERN CHRONICLES VOL. 1 TP
Written by John Broome
Art by Gil Kane, Joe Giella & Murphy Anderson
Cover by Gil Kane & Joe Giella
DC adds a new title to the CHRONICLES series: GREEN LANTERN CHRONICLES, collecting the adventures of Hal Jordan in the exact order of their original publication. In this first volume featuring SHOWCASE #22-24 and GREEN LANTERN #1-3, Hal meets the dying Abin Sur and gains his power ring before facing the menace of the Weaponers of Qward.
Advance-solicited; on sale April 29 • 160 pg, FC, $14.99 $10.19 US


SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE DOOM PATROL VOL. 1 TP
Written by Arnold Drake and Bob Haney
Art by Bruno Premiani and Bob Brown
Cover by Bruno Premiani
The most unusual heroes of all star in this new SHOWCASE PRESENTS volume, collecting MY GREATEST ADVENTURE #80-85, DOOM PATROL #88-101 and CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #48.
Advance-solicited; on sale April 8 • 520 pg, B&W, $16.99 $11.55 US


SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES VOL. 3 TP
Written by Jim Shooter, E. Nelson Bridwell and Otto Binder
Art by Curt Swan, George Klein, Jim Mooney and Pete Costanza
Cover by Curt Swan & George Klein
The Legion battles the Fatal Five and is forced to expel Superboy and Supergirl in this new volume collecting stories from ADVENTURE COMICS #349-368 and SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #116.
Advance-solicited; on sale April 22 • 496 pg, B&W, $16.99 $11.55 US

New Lost season 5 teaser video

New music I like: The Sweet Vandals

More info

New Watchmen movie pictures

Pop links: Frazetta "Tarzan" art, Phantom movie

Via Golden Age Comic Book Stories: Frank Frazetta illustrates "Tarzan at the Earth's Core" and "Tarzan and the Castaways." I think GACBS presented these pics before but, whatever, it's good stuff.



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Another "Phantom" movie is in the works.

he latest adaptation, which is expected to cost $87 million, will focus on "the Father/Son relationship, and what it means to be The Phantom," scriptwriter Tim Boyle said in a statement. "The film will be set in the present day and will deal with the concept of destiny."

Producer Bruce Sherlock, who also served as executive producer of the first Phantom movie, said the new film will be a marked improvement over its predecessor, which received mixed reviews.

"It has the makings of a blockbuster," Sherlock told The Associated Press. "There's some surprises that will thrill the Phantom fans worldwide." Sherlock's Sydney-based Sherlock Symington Productions won the rights to the film.

The movie will likely be shot entirely in Australia, with production set to begin within six to nine months, Sherlock said. Producers are in talks with several "top talent" Australian and American actors, Sherlock said. He declined to provide names.

Pop links: Vintage Christmas TV

Classic TV Showbiz is presenting classic Christmas episodes of old shows such as "Dennis the Menace," "Mr. Ed" and "Dragnet."

Iconic pin-up Bettie Page passes away

Bettie Page died at age 85 last night. The Los Angeles Times has a feature and pics.

A cult figure, Page was most famous for the estimated 20,000 4-by-5-inch black-and-white glossy photographs taken by amateur shutterbugs from 1949 to 1957. The photos showed her in high heels and bikinis or negligees, bondage apparel -- or nothing at all.

Decades later, those images inspired biographies, comic books, fan clubs, websites, commercial products -- Bettie Page playing cards, dress-up magnet sets, action figures, Zippo lighters, shot glasses -- and, in 2005, a film about her life and times, "The Notorious Bettie Page."

1950s Supermanga!

Check out these cool images from an eBay auction I spotted. Could this be a topic for Chip Kidd's next book?