Disney Publishing Worldwide is working on bringing traditional Disney comic stories to the digital age by making them available in ‘animated’ format (with the panels scrolling by) on mobile devices around the world. I first learned about Disney DigiComics back in July and then they were reported to target a launch by the end of this year. Today I’ve received some new information about this exciting project from the DigiComics team in Italy.

Disney DigiComics has an ambitious rollout schedule. They are still planning to release them this year! In December they will first be made available in Italy and English speaking countries, including the United States. This will be on Apple iPhone, iPod and Sony PSP.

In the new year, DigiComics will enter some countries where Disney comics have a strong history and the paper versions are already read by millions each week: Germany, the Nordic countries and the Netherlands. Later in 2010, DigiComics will become available in France, Spain, Poland and other countries like China and India. More platforms will be added throughout next year as well, including Nokia phones, Nintendo and more.

More »

A new announcement on the Boom! Studios blog talks about an exclusive variant Uncle Scrooge cover limited to 500 copies that will be available at Boom’s booth at Baltimore Comic-Con 09 this weekend. The cover was hand-picked by Don Rosa and celebrates Uncle Srooge’s 62nd anniversary. This is an exclusive cover for Uncle Scrooge #384, the first new issue in the series in almost a year, which will come out on October 14th.

This is a great cover and it’s also nice to read that Don Rosa is involved. I wish I could make it to Baltimore this weekend to pick up this limited edition Scrooge comic. Mr. Rosa is even listed as a guest at the event!

More »

A new magazine titled Disney Fan is launched in Mexico this week. The activity magazine features articles about everything Disney, as well as games and puzzles. The first issue comes in two different collectible covers: one with animation characters and another with the stars of Disney Channel. The new magazine is published by Mina Editores and is available at newsstands across Mexico for 25 pesos (approximately US$ 1.85). Japan has had a similar magazine since the early 1990s, ディズニーファン (Disney Fan), which is very popular there.

More »

Last week, a new album in the De Beste Verhalen van Donald Duck (“The Best Stories of Donald Duck”) series came out in the Netherlands. Album number 134 is the first new album in over a year.

“Beste Verhalen” has reprinted (randomly) each story by Carl Barks since 1975. The albums were published regularly for over two decades until the Dutch publisher ran out of stories last year. Album number 132 basically finished with the last few stories written and drawn by the Duck Man himself.

Since album 133, the series has started to publish stories written by Barks, but completed by other artists. There are not too many of these, but it will keep the series going for a little longer. Most significantly these include the 24 Junior Woodchucks stories that Barks wrote in the early 1970s after being lured out of retirement. More »

The next new Disney comics series to be released by Boom! Kids is Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories. Launched in 1940, WDC&S is one of the longest-lived and greatest comics of all time. Issue number 699 will be released on October 7th.

The series kicks off with the first chapter of a 9-part Italian multi-part series, originally titled Ultraheroes, which features all the superheroes of the Disney comics universe in an epic clash against the super villains to determine the faith of the world. The series was written by Giorgio Salati, Riccardo Secchi and Alessandro Ferrari and features beautiful artwork by Ettore Gula, Roberta Migheli and Stefano Turconi.

Here is a preview of the covers and the first five pages of the story: More »

Tomorrow Boom! Kids launches a new series: Mickey Mouse & Friends. This means that Mickey is back in comics … well, in the United States at least. In the rest of the world he has never really been away. Comic books with Mickey and his friends remain very popular in other countries. In Italy, weekly Topolino (‘Mickey Mouse’) is read by over one million people every week, and in France bi-monthly Mickey Parade Géant is a 308-page comic book with a circulation of 187,000.

Four Color #79 (1945)
 

Mickey Mouse #295 (2006)In the USA, Mickey has had his very own comic book for well over 50 years. Officially, the Mickey Mouse comic that Boom is continuing tomorrow (keeping the numbering intact) was launched in 1952. The first Mickey Mouse comic book, pictured on the right, actually came out in 1945 and was the 79th issue in the popular Four Color series by Dell Comics, which highlighted a different character in each issue (The Riddle of the Red Hat in this issue was Carl Barks’ only Mickey story). A total of 27 of these Four Color ‘one shots’ were released with Mickey’s name on the cover until Mickey Mouse was launched into his own regularly published series in 1952, starting its numbering at 28.

Mickey Mouse was published first by Dell Comics, then Gold Key, Whitman, Gladstone and finally Gemstone Publishing from 2003 to 2006. Gemstone, founded by Steve Geppi in June 2003, began with a wide range of titles, but in the second half of 2006 they canceled most of their series, including Mickey Mouse, to focus solely on two prestige titles targeted at collectors: Uncle Scrooge and Walt Disney Comics & Stories. The last Gemstone issue of Mickey Mouse was number 295 of December 2006, and the publisher unfortunately lost the Disney license altogether two years later.

Now, after almost three years, the regular American Mickey Mouse comic book is back thanks to Boom! Kids, which obtained the license to publish comics with classic Disney characters earlier this year.

Mickey Mouse #296, which hits newsstands this Wednesday, is the first of Boom’s new Mouse and Duck comics (Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck will follow later). The publisher was kind enough to send me some preview issues to show them to you right here! There are three different covers: More »

Paperinik New Adventures (or PKNA) was published by The Walt Disney Company Italy from 1996 to 2001. The futuristic series followed the adventures of Paperinik, a superhero alter ego of Donald Duck.

The character of Paperinik was originally created by Guido Martina and Giovan Battista Carpi in 1969, but was revamped for this series and new friends and foes were created to form the basis of a new adventure series. The first issue of PKNA introduced a new enemy in the form of an alien race called the Evronians and two new allies for Paperinik: a very advanced artificial intelligence computer called Uno, and a journalist named Lyla Lay.

The Italian press praised Disney’s capacity to renew and develop this new style while respecting the integrity of its characters. PK was first launched in an experimental phase with three test issues. Following positive results (the second test issue sold 130,000 copies), the series was officially launched in November 1996 and became very successful. PKNA was reprinted in many other countries and fans of the series called themselves PKers.

More »

A while ago I posted pictures of four of the six new statues by Dark Horse of Disney characters based on the art of Carl Barks. The first one of Uncle Scrooge has now come out and the other five will be released in the coming months.

I received my copy of Scrooge a couple of weeks ago and it is indeed beautiful. The Syroco-style small statues come in a special tin with pin and booklet. Each statue is limited to 950 numbered pieces.

The latest two statues in the series will be of Gladstone Gander (release date December 16th) and Beagle Boy 176-761 (February 3rd):

More »

The Walt Disney Company has just announced that it acquires Marvel Entertainment and its portfolio of over 5,000 characters for $4 billion.

“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories,” said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. “Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney.”

“We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation,” Iger said.

“Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses,” said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer. “This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney’s tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world.”

For more: Google News

Boom! Studios is releasing the first issue of Monsters, Inc. tomorrow. It’s the latest comic book based on Pixar’s animated feature films. The first four issues are written by Paul Benjamin and drawn by talented artist Amy Mebberson. Besides drawing for the Monsters comic, she’s also working on the upcoming Muppet Peter Pan comic as well as covers for Finding Nemo and The Muppet Show. I asked Amy some questions about her work.

Disney Comics Worldwide: How did you get started at Boom! Studios?

Amy Mebberson: Much like Alan Porter said in your last interview, I had worked with editor Paul Morrissey at Tokyopop. Through the grapevine I heard that Boom! were building a stable of artists and writers for their Pixar and Muppet comics and basically, they couldn’t NOT hire me. I wouldn’t let them! So I got in touch with Paul, made some phone calls, followed him home a few times, received a restraining orde-… okay, moving on.

All the artists have to be approved by Disney as well, so I had to submit a whole lot of character model sheets for various titles and Monsters Inc. was the first one they approved me for. By a pleasant stroke of luck, I was paired with writer Paul Benjamin, whom I also knew from Tokyopop, so I got to start working with some familiar faces!

More »