I owned this: Vintage toys I once played with

See an excerpt of Fantagraphics' upcoming Mickey Mouse Sunday comics collection

I'm loving all this Disney stuff from Fantagraphics. This upcoming collection of Floyd Gottfredson's Sunday strips looks like yet another item on my Amazon shopping list:

We’re jumping from black and white to classic color — as Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse series makes its 1932-35 Sunday strip debut! Bright hues highlight our hero as he enjoys four years' worth of wild weekend epics... taking him from Uncle Mortimer’s Wild West ranch to the icy peak of frigid Mount Fishflake! And in this volume, Mickey is joined by a famous co-star: Donald Duck!

Floyd Gottfredson, artist of the Sunday Mickey Mouse from 1932-38, created the most famous Mickey tales ever told in print. These Sunday specials — many never before reprinted — also feature the work of later Donald Duck master Al Taliaferro. Collectively, they form a collection that fans have been seeking for a lifetime! Highlights include "Mickey’s Nephews," introducing Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse, and "Dr. Oofgay’s Secret Serum," which turns Horace Horsecollar into a brainwashed wild mustang! Classic gag stories round out the book, offering manic Mouse mischief at a fever pitch.

Restored from Disney’s art sources and enhanced with a meticulous recreation of the strips' original color, Call of the Wild also brings you more than 30 pages of chromatic supplementary features! You’ll enjoy rare behind-the-scenes art, vintage publicity material, and fascinating commentary by a prismatic pack of Disney scholars, including an appreciation of Gottfredson by celebrated alternative cartoonist Kevin Huizenga.

Check out a 21-page excerpt here.

Pictures from Doctor Who "Cold War"

Some images from "Cold War," the April 13 episode of "Doctor Who."

Deal alert: Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD sets 1-6 for $64.99

Classic Warner Bros. cartoons on 24 DVDs, plus lots of great bonus features.

New comics April 10, 2013: EC Library by Jack Davis and Al Williamson; Rocket Racoon; Fantastic Four; Batman; Steve Canyon; Essential Iron Man, more!

Click the links to order discounted items from Amazon.


Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 2: Scare Tactics


The Flash Chronicles Vol. 4


Tiny Titans Vol. 8: Aw Yeah Titans!


Worlds' Finest, Vol. 1: The Lost Daughters of Earth 2


Bringing Up Father Volume 2: Of Cabbages And Kings


Steve Canyon Volume 3: 1951-1952


Essential Iron Man - Volume 5


Fantastic Four, Vol. 1: New Departure, New Arrivals


Rocket Raccoon & Groot Ultimate Collection: The Complete Collection


"'Taint The Meat...It's The Humanity!" and Other Stories by Jack Davis (The EC Comics Library)


"50 Girls 50" and Other Stories by Al Williamson (The EC Comics Library)

Complete list of this week's releases

So long, Annette Funicello

Annette Funicello, an original Mousketeer and star of many a beach blanket movie in the 1960s, has passed away, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Funicello, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1987 and became a spokeswoman for treatment of the disease, died Monday at Mercy Southwest Hospital in Bakersfield, Calif., the Walt Disney Co. announced. She has been absent from the public eye for many years.

Although single names were not in vogue at the time, her popularity was so wide and her personality so familiar that she was “Annette.” No last name needed.

The quintessence of innocence, mixed with dark good looks and beguiling charm, she was a male ideal and a female role model. Wholesome in the best sense, Funicello was drive-ins, sock hops, beach parties and malted milks -- the personification of a seemingly innocent era.

Here's a great clip of Annette with the Beach Boys: