Having made waves and conquered new worlds with their wildly-successful new-storyline comic book series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, IDW now turn their eyes on a more obvious task: Adapting the TV series to comic books. Witness My Little Pony: The Magic Begins, coming in full color this September. Using a combination of screen-grabs and original artwork, this 112-page trade paperback tells the story of our hero-fillies from Ponyville, just as they came to us in the first-season episodes (as created by Lauren Faust, of course!). Amazon is already taking pre-orders.
IDW Publishing
Turtles, Behind the Scenes
This June, IDW Publishing is releasing a new edition of a popular, devilishly hard-to-find companion for fans of the Ninja Turtles: It’s called the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Artobiography, and it was originally published by Heavy Metal over a decade ago. “TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman guides you through a dazzlingly, in-depth look at the creation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. From the modest beginnings to the merchandising, pop culture juggernaut, this collection of concept art, comics pages, and insider-behind-the-scenes notes-has been ‘sold out’ and hard to find for years. But now it’s back in print for a new generation of fans to enjoy.” And in hardcover no less. Check it out at the Previews web site.
Battle Beasts Attack Again!
Here’s a phrase we haven’t heard for a while: Battle Beasts. A would-be toy tie-in / collectibles phenomenon / comic book series from the 1980’s, it never took off in the way that similar ideas did about that time. But now IDW have announced plans to bring forth a special 4-issue full-color Battle Beasts mini-series — with a wait-and-see attitude as to if it goes beyond that. “It’s just another average day for Bliss, an ignored linguist at the Department of Defense. However, when Bliss unlocks the secret translation of an ancient scroll, terror rains from the sky… in the form of the BATTLE BEASTS! Unstoppable creatures armed to the teeth, the Battle Beasts are determined to make Earth their own personal war zone. Nothing can stop their merciless carnage. Nothing except perhaps a gentle word from the one woman who can understand them—Bliss!” The new series is written by Bobby Curnow, with art by Valerio Schiti and Dan Brereton. The new series of comics and toys first hit during the recent C2E2 con in Chicago. Check out Comic Book Resources to find out more.
The Turtles are Back!
IDW Publishing have recently announced that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles make their return to regular comic books this coming August, with one of the original Turtles creators on board. According to their announcement, Kevin Eastman is creating the new ongoing full-color series, along with writer Tom Waltz and artist Dan Duncan. All four of the original turtles are back — Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael, and Michaelangelo — along with their human friends April and Casey, and their mentor — the rat known as Splinter. They pit their ninja skills against a new villain, a mutant alley cat known as Old Hob. The first issue of the new series — which is set to premier this August — will feature one of four available covers, each with a different turtle, created by Sam Keith (The Maxx). There will also be a limited edition variant cover by Kevin Eastman available, as well as a super-rare “Kevin Eastman hand-sketched variant cover”. Then in September, IDW adds to the line by bringing us Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection, Volume 1. This new hardcover book collects the original Mirage Studios black & white TMNT comics issues #1 – #7, as well as the Raphael one-shot, created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.
Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths
Ya gotta love Kaiju fans sometimes. The come up with things like: Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths. (“Kaiju”, if you didn’t know, is Japanese for “giant monster”.) This new five-issue full-color comic book miniseries comes to us this June from IDW. It’s written by John Layman (Chew) and illustrated by Alberto Ponticelli (Unknown Soldier). Here’s the story: Tokyo detective Makoto Sato is on a never-ending quest to bring down the Takahashi crime syndicate. Soon, his efforts win him a one-way ticket to a tropical paradise… known as Monster Island! Before long Sato is battling for his life against behemoths and bad guys… and to survive, he must enlist the aid of some “bizarre friends”. We’ll find out what that means this summer.