IDW

Those gruesome/adorable Mars Attacks! cards from the '60s just got another resurrection: Topps and IDW will team for a comics series next year, just in time for the iconic card set's 50th anniversary. And the door looks wide open for more branded entertainment. A perfect distillation of the '50s obsession with little green men mixed with EC's gleeful gore, the cards were the work of artist Norman Saunders and inspired the 1996 Tim Burton film.

This December, MEMORIAL by Chris Roberson and Rich Ellis comes out from IDW. The six issue mini-series is the story of Em, a young woman who arrives at a hospital in Portland, Oregon, with no memory of her past. A year later, her newly-rebuilt life is thrown into turmoil after she inherits a magical shop, the kind that appears in an alley one instant and disappears the next. Em is drawn into a supernatural conflict between beings that not only represent, but are, fundamental elements of the universe itself. All of existence is at stake, so there’s only a little pressure on Em, the magical shop, and a talking cat.

Another cartoon luminary of the past has joined IDW's Library of American Comics with the announcement of Cartoon Monarch: Otto Soglow and The Little King, a survey of Otto Soglow, the New Yorker minimalist who created The Little King, a much-admired character that influenced such design-heavy cartoonists as Ivan Brunetti and Chris Ware.

Yoe Books/IDW is having comics fans choose which cover they're going to use for the about-to-be-printed book, "Bob Powell's Terror", which reprints the cult favorite's 1950s most terrifying horror comics!

Friday at San Diego Comic-Con has brought a boatload of indie comics news. Here's a quick run down of the highlights: At the Image panel, it was revealed that Ted McKeever will be doing a new comic called Mondo for Image Comics. Landry Walker and Eric Jones, creators of Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade, will create Danger Club, a new non-family friendly comic, for Image.

Crack open the spinach cans, because he's back! Popeye the Sailor is getting his own comic coming out from IDW Publishing. The Popeye ongoing series will be an all-ages book suitable for children, featuring all the classic Popeye characters and go on sale in 2012.

It's Preview Night and the ICv2 Conference at San Diego Comic-Con, and while the big announcements are still being held back for the convention proper, news has begun to come out of San Diego in a trickle that will soon become a torrent.

Given the huge crowds at Comic-Con International, it's not surprising that an artist or publisher will promote The Latest and Greatest at the show. With all the buzz, the media, the fans... it's an excellent opportunity for a publisher to debut something amazing, something they hope will generate a lot of interest and lead to sales through the holiday season. So regular con-goers shouldn't be surprised that Craig Yoe, Eisner-Award winning author and designer, will have a new book to showcase. Not only are his history books beautifully designed and researched, but they are also fun to read. He even finds little gems, like Elvis reading a copy of "Betty and Veronica", to spice up his books.

Former Marvel editor John Barber has been named to the Senior Editor position at IDW, taking over their Hasbro licenses. Barber worked at Marvel as an editor for six years, and has a background in webcomics, which should fit in well with IDW's strong digital presence. In addition, IDW named Tom Waltz as senior staff writer and Alonso Simon was named assistant editor.

Artiest Renae De Liz (THE LAST UNICORN) is putting her energy where her mouth is and compiling WOMANTHOLOGY, an anthology of female creators, with a lineup that includes:

This October Steve Niles and Sam Kieth will be teaming on an ongoing 30 DAYS OF NIGHT comic. The story adds new characters to the vampire saga that spawned the popular film. Now you may be asking yourself, wasn't there already an ongoing? N0 -- there were lots of mini series but not an actual ongoing comic book. More via PR:

So much good stuff! Bestselling author Christopher Moore writes a graphic novel! Ray Bradbury, Grandmaster, has two classics adapted! Grant Morrison writes about superheroes and religion! Disney and Hitler, together again! Girlie comics from Marvel! "Good Girl" comics from Jim Silke, Doug Sneyd, and Dean Yeagle! Great Women comics from Gail Simone, Colleen Coover, Megan Kelso, Jill Thompson, and Corinne Mucha! (Can't find female creators on the newsstands? Check the bookshelves!) And lots of masterful work from Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Jim Starlin, and Floyd Gottfredson!