Imagining chipmunk terrorists Chip and Dale as bold adventurers, with the addition of rodent heroes Monterey Jack, Gadget, and Zipper the Housefly, the Rescue Rangers were another staple of the Disney Afternoon and a favorite of furry fans everywhere. Ian Brill is back as writer, with Leonel Castellani as artist.

It’s the return of your favorite furry flatfoots in an all new original ongoing series! Coming on the heels of BOOM!’s bestselling and multiple sell out DARKWING DUCK series, BOOM! brings you another piece of the Disney Afternoon revolution with CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS in their own ongoing series debuting this December.

Join DARKWING DUCK writer Ian Brill and MARVEL SUPERHERO SQUAD artist Leonel Castellani as they take the diminutive detectives on all new original adventure!

Whether you’re a CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS fan from the hit TV show or want to discover these beloved characters for the first time, this new ongoing series delivers all the mystery, intrigue and hijinks that made CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS the number one Disney Afternoon TV show ever!

This is the only comic book series coming out that will have you singing that song you can never forget: “Sometimes some crimes go slipping through the cracks. But these two Gumshoes are picking up the slack. There’s no case too big, no case too small, when you need help just call —Ch-ch-ch-Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers!”

“After the overwhelming success we’ve had bringing DARKWING DUCK back, BOOM! knew it was time to continue the excitement and imagination of the Disney Afternoon revolution in comic book form ,” said DARKWING DUCK writer Ian Brill. “It’s an honor to continue the adventures of CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS for both the generation of fans that enjoyed the show the first time and for a whole new generation of comic book fans!”

Debuting in 1989, the top rated CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS brought action and suspense to the Disney Afternoon animation block, becoming the most popular Disney Afternoon show on the air. Televised around the world, CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS is still a favorite of pop culture fans everywhere.

Coming out this December, CHIP ‘N DALE RESCUE RANGERS #1 is written by DARKWING DUCK’s Ian Brill with interior art by MARVEL SUPERHERO SQUAD’s Leonel Castellani . The debut issues features two covers in a 50/50 split by Leonel Castellani and Magic Eye Studios respectively and a 1-in-10 incentive cover by Jake Myler.

While folks like Mark Millar, Mike Mignola, and Robert Kirkman have been deservedly marked by the success of their creations in Hollywood, one hard-working studio of writers has a pretty significant run of hits behind them — without getting too much in the way of recognition.

We’re talking about the Man of Action Studios — Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau, and Steven T. Seagle. Not only did they create the biggest boy-oriented action franchise of the last ten years in Ben 10, but they turned right around and duplicated that success with Generator Rex, which since its debut has been ranked as #1 in its time slot with kids ages 2-11. Meanwhile, these four gentlemen have also managed to build up an impressive library of intriguing, thought-provoking comics from Kafka to I Kill Giants to Officer Downe to Metal Men to…dozens of other things. They all have solid bibliographies anyone would be proud of.

And they are all nice guys, to boot.

So when we got an announcement of Man of Action’s participation as Supervising Producers on the first season of the new Spider-Man series, set for a 2012 debut on Disney XD, we were happy. Happy because Spidey has been given over to some people who know what they are doing, so Disney is poised to get a new boy-oriented hit at long, long last. And happy because some good folks who do good work are continuing to get more work.

While we’ve been looking at the whole Hollywood-Comics connection critically over the last few days, Man of Action is doing it the right way — not making a lot of unnecessary noise or being assholes. Just turning out the best comics and TV shows they can. .

COWBOYS & ALIENS, which is certainly an A-list project with Jon Favreau, Daniel Craig, and Harrison Ford aboard is set to be the first comic of its genre to ever actually get turned into a big movie. But this is the first time it has ever happened and it took 10 years. And despite this, there are still no other Platinum, Tokyopop, Radical, or Liquid movies. No one can go to Netflix and order the MAYHEM movie or OCD movie or GAMEKEEPER movie.

And yet companies STILL pursue the comics-to-movie model. And stories like this one in Deadline Hollywood Daily are why. Disney has paid “mid-six figures in option money” for OBLIVION, a graphic novel by Arvid Nelson and Andree Wallin based on an idea by TRON: LEGACY director Joseph Kosinski.

The story is set on a future Earth, where civilization lives above the clouds and alien scavengers stalk the irradiated surface below. When a surface drone repairman finds a woman inside a crashed spacepod planetside, it leads him on a journey filled with romance and adventure.

As regular BEAT readers know, studios optioning comics are a weekly occurrence, and yet this one not only gets a coveted Nikki Finke TOLJA! (signifying an important story) but ~$500K just for some typical comics-to-movie pitch after FOUR STUDIOS were in the running to get it? What gives?

The answer lies in the identity of the celebrity brainstormer. Although TRON:LEGACY is still months away from release, Disney has set its eyes on TRON as its franchise of the future, and they are very, very — as in VERY — high on Kosinski, even though he’s a virtual unknown: TRON: LEGACY is his first film and prior to that he was best known for that GEARS OF WAR TV spot with the song from Donnie Darko in it. (Granted, that was a DOPE spot.)

Kosinski’s age isn’t even listed on his IMDB page, but he looks youthful and full of pep. Disney obviously thinks they have the next David Fincher, or at least Neill Blomkamp on their hands and they want to make him happy and feel loved, and optioning his graphic novel is part of that process. Or, as the story put it, in the most significant sentence:

His reps decided that turning it into a graphic novel would set the table for a movie deal once Kosinski was finished with the film.

As for Radical, they either got lucky or really canny — out of all the underperforming actors (hello, Wesley Snipes), comics-loving rockers or amorphous Hollywood types they could have teamed with, they smartly made a deal with a real up-and-comer. There’s no telling how much of that “mid-six figures” that Radical main men Barry Levine and Jesse Berger got, (Levine will produce, Berger exec produce) but it’s doubtless enough to keep them in the comics game.

And to be fair, this month Radical has, uh…radically upped their actual comics content, releasing several long awaited books, including TIME BOMB by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Paul Gulacy; HOTWIRE by Warren Ellis and Steve Pugh; and THE RISING by E. Max Frye and J.P. Targete. We’ve never actually heard of anyone buying and enthusing over a Radical comic*, but several of these sound good enough to flip through, anyway.

As remote from the practice of making Great Comics as the whole comics-to-movie industry is, it’s here and it’s here to stay because of deals like the OBLIVION one. The positive side is that these comics often pay actual page rates and many people we know make a living working on them — it’s certainly a viable alternative to working on company-owned characters for other publishers if you’re going to do work-for-hire, and the page rate is good.

As for the OBLIVION movie…well, don’t hold your breath. The odds are STILL against it getting made — Kosinski is going to have a lot of offers to sift through if TRON does as well as everyone hopes, and directing his own unknown property might get lower on his list. Like it or not, Hollywood is still a big shell game of properties and options and deals, and this time Radical spotted the pea.

Howabout it, peanut gallery? Have you read and enjoyed a Radical comic book?

Via the Village Voice.

Marvel is proud to announce TRON: The Betrayal, a new two-issue limited series serializing the highly anticipated graphic novel from Disney Publishing Worldwide, tying into Walt Disney Pictures’ high-tech adventure TRON: Legacy, which hits U.S. theaters in Disney Digital 3D™  and IMAX 3D® on December 17, 2010.  The limited two-issue series arrives in October and serves as a prequel to TRON: Legacy.  Each extra-sized issue of TRON: The Betrayal features a new cover by superstar artist Salvador Larroca (Invincible Iron Man).  Featuring art and stories by some of the top names in comics today, this all-new story extends upon the mythology of the world of TRON. 

The storytelling picks up in the aftermath of Walt Disney Pictures’ first film in its franchise TRON.  Kevin Flynn is now in charge of Encom, the world’s largest video game company.  Kevin, a break-through game developer, has built the Grid, a digital world filled with living programs.  This new virtual world is about to develop a life of its own and, in order to control it, Flynn’s going to need to help of an old friend…named Tron.

“Marvel Publishing is excited to bring Disney Book Group’s first TRON graphic novel to comic book fans in this limited series,” said Ruwan Jayatilleke, Marvel Senior Vice President, Development & Planning, Print, Animation and Digital Media. “So whether you’re new to TRON or a longtime fan, TRON: The Betrayal is an action-packed thrill-ride that will not disappoint!”

Probably the biggest “classic comics” announcement at SD10 was a new series of reprints of Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse comic strip. Disney is partnering with Fantagraphics for the reprints, which will begin in 2011.

Gottfredson’s Mickey was far from the benign company spokesman we all know and love. Rather he was a bold, dynamic adventurer, fighting real bad guys like the Phantom Blot and Peg-Leg Pete. According to this piece by Douglas Wolk, the deal was cemented at Comic-Con. Jacob Covey will design the series. Like much entertainment of the era, the strip has some racial overtones that are very unfortunate, which have never been reprinted, but according to Gary Groth , this will be unexpurgated:

I think I’ve persuaded them to allow us to reprint it in its original form. There’s some sensitive material–material that would be considered racist today, and should have been but wasn’t considered racist then. My plan and my hope is to reprint it exactly as it was, with some explanatory text for a modern audience. I want to keep it intact.

David Gerstein has a fuller account of the strip’s history and importance here.

At the Saturday Cup o’ Joe panel, Marvel teased fans with the hint that they would be doing something to do with Crossgen in 2011. After Crossgen entered bankruptcy, Disney bought up its creative properties. Now that Disney owns and operates Marvel Comics, it is seems natural for them to take advantage of the fact. A number of the most respected names in comics worked or created for Crossgen, including Mark Waid, Chuck Dixon, and Greg Land.

Eisner-winning comics writer Brian Michael Bendis has just announced that he will be a writer and producer on the new Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon.

Meanwhile, over at the Disney end of the business, it has been announced that Disney’s new videogame Epic Mickey will have comic and minicomic accompaniments, including a 60 page graphic novelization of the game’s plot, written by Peter David.

DC

DC has announced that they will be debuting a new computer-animated Green Lantern animated series on Cartoon Network next year.

Kate Fitzsimons writes for Publishers Weekly, Publishers Weekly Comics Week, and her personal comics and geek culture blog geekiferous.com.

During the 1950s, at the height of the post-World War II expansion of U.S. suburban modernization, a number of stimulant and sedative drugs were widely used and were promoted in the mainstream press. At the time, many were available over the counter without a prescription. The inclusion of clear, positive drug references in mainstream children’s literature and film seems both archaic and surprising given the taboos around psychoactive drugs in place in the 21st century. We hope you’ll enjoy this glimpse into the history of Disney’s characters that Disney itself is unlikely to acknowledge in the modern anti-drug cultural climate.

[Via Roger Ebert]

The move comes after a series of legal maneuverings that left little doubt that this is where the matter was headed. In September, the Kirbys formally filed for copyright termination on 45 Marvel characters. In December, Marvel filed its own lawsuit, asking a judge to set aside the copyright termination on the grounds that the characters were created as work-for-hire.

If successful, the Kirbys would control half the copyrights to many of Marvel’s best known characters — including, as the above list shows, many who have lucrative films based on them — or planned films, such as Ant-Man and the Avengers.

At the heart of the matter is whether the great work of Kirby was created as work-for-hire or not. The Kirby family claims that this was not the case until 1972, when Kirby signed an agreement with Magazine Management Co., assigning copyright going forward. They claim that before this, he worked as a freelancer, with no work for hire agreement in place.

Marvel’s prior lawsuit claims that Kirby worked only under editorial direction so the works were indeed WFH.

The Kirbys are represented in the matter by Marc Toberoff, a well-known lawyer who specializes in copyright matters. Toberoff also represents the Siegel family in their ongoing battle to regain control of their half of the Superman rights. This suit has successfully tied up Warners in legal battles for the better part of a decade. It’s likely the Kirby matter could similarly entangle Marvel and Disney, especially with so much IP, all created under varying circumstances, at stake.

More later.

’90s nostalgia is rampant at BOOM! Studios, as Ian Brill and James Silvani are teaming for a four-issue miniseries featuring Darkwing Duck, Disney’s superheroic anatid from 1991. A spin-off of the popular Duck Tales cartoon, Darkwing, his daughter Goslyn, and sidekick Launchpad faced such villains as Megavolt, Negaduck and Quackerjack for, perhaps, Disney’s best realized cartoon superhero property. PR in the jump.

He is the terror that flaps in the night. He is the super-hero that is about to make his return. He is…DARKWING DUCK! This June, Disney and BOOM! Studios herald the triumphant comeback of the beloved Disney Afternoon star with DARKWING DUCK: THE DUCK KNIGHT RETURNS. Lanchpad McQuack, Gosalyn Mallard, and the fiercest of Darkwing’s rogue gallery all join the daring duck of mystery in an all-new, completely original four-issue mini-series: DARKWING DUCK: THE DUCK KNIGHT RETURNS!

Whether you’re a Darkwing fan from the hit TV show or want to discover this cherished character for the first time, this new mini-series delivers all the madcap adventurous spirit that made a fan out of millions!

Written by Ian Brill (ZOMBIE TALES) and James Silvani (MUPPET KING ARTHUR), the mini-series sees Darkwing’s city of St. Canard under the control of a mysterious corporation. Darkwing’s been out of commission for a while but when his friends and family are under attack…you better watch out you bad boys! Darkwing fights new villains as well as old, for Megavolt, Quackerjack, Liquidator and Bushroot are on the loose!

“It’s such a dream to bring back Darkwing, a favorite of mine and millions of other’s,” says series writer Brill. “Everyone involved in this book are working tirelessly to make sure this comic has the same feel of anarchic fun of the TV series, while still presenting a whole new adventure in the life of Darkwing.”

Debuting in 1991 as a spin-off of the hugely popular DUCK TALES, DARKWING DUCK brought super-hero action and excitement to the Disney Afternoon animation block, captivating viewers for years. Shown around the world, DARKWING DUCK is still a fan-favorite of pop culture fans everywhere.

DARKWING DUCK: THE DUCK KNIGHT RETURNS #1 is written by Ian Brill with interior art by James Silvani. The debut issues features two covers in a 50/50 split by Magic Eye Studios and Silvani respectively and a 1-in-10 incentive cover by Silvani and Jake Myler.

We seem to remember hearing a different(?) rumor that whatever is Tom Sawyer’s Island now was going to be turned into Lost Island, which makes a bit more sense, but who knows. We’ve never trod this “Pirates themed” attraction (the changes to the original PotC ride were so traumatic we’re afraid to go back to Disneyland) but the Swiss Family Robinson “tree-house” thingamajigger was super lame, involving a non-perilous clamber over a rope bridge and so on. Replacing it with, say a giant black tentacle that sounds like a taxi printer and shakes you around — or a giant lighthouse mirror, maybe…is a swell idea.

ALSO: if, like us, when you heard about the tsunami alarms on Hawaii this weekend, your second thought (after “Oh God, please no!”) was “Oh God please, don’t let the Lost sets be destroyed before season 6 ends!” then take some comfort in the fact that the penultimate episode is shooting right now. WE’RE ALMOST THERE.

But back to Disney-lost. What would be YOUR favorite part of a Lost attraction?