Richie Rich Vol 3

Richie Rich Vol. 3 is available in the current Diamond Comics catalog, for comics going on sale in January. Ask your comics shop and give them the ordering code OCT110789, or use comiXology to add it to your pull list!

RICHIE RICH - Free Comic Book Day Edition

Well, I’m not actually rich. Nor am I the famous star of funnybooks and film Richie Rich. But I am writing for Kizoic’s upcoming Richie Rich comics. Click the thumbnail for the official promo image.

Here’s the press release…

Part James Bond, Jr., and part Indiana Jones with Donald Trump’s bank account, Richie Rich® is an altruistic adventurer who travels the world helping the less fortunate, and now he has a creative team to back him up.

“Ape Entertainment is extremely pleased with the writers and artists who have come forward to bring Richie Rich back to comics,” states founder and co-publisher David Hedgecock. “We have action. We have adventure. We have humor. And best of all, we have everyone’s favorite characters, from Cadbury to Irona to Dollar.”

Today, Ape Entertainment and Classic Media announced the creative teams on the new Richie Rich series that will reimagine the classic cartoon and comic book character. Artists include Tina Francisco, Jack Lawrence, Armando Zanker, James Silvani, Iwan Nazif, and more! Writers include Tom DeFalco, Bill Williams, Buddy Scalera, Brent E. Erwin, Jason M. Burns, Matt Anderson, Rob Worley, and more!

For fans of the original Harvey Comics series, the creative team of Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon revisit the characters they helped to make famous, returning with two, all-new stories!

Richie Rich #1 will arrive in stores in May 2011.

For more information on Ape Comics, visit www.apecomics.com.

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I have to say, this is the first time in a decade plus of writing Comics2Film where I’ve switched my answer from “nah” to “mmmmmaybe.”

Raju, who is covering the Toronto International Film Festival and it’s superhero entries Super and Griff the Invisible,  was pointing to the weak box office generated by Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World as the latest evidence.

Scott Pilgrim Gets Knocked Out

While I wouldn’t call Kick-Ass a failure of any kind, I’d definitely score Scott Pilgrim in the “bitter disappointment” column. And I mean that only in terms of the lack of reception for what is one of the liveliest, most enjoyable films of the year so far.

But as I told Raju, you can expand the window all the way back to the end of 2008 and what we have is now a fairly long string of comic book movie duds. That’s the time frame when Punisher: War Zone became the third failed attempt by Marvel to launch their film-friendly vigilante.  Hot on the heels of that was Frank Miller’s under-appreciated The Spirit, which was too weird for the average moviegoer and too Frank Miller for fans of Will Eisner’s classic comic.

Then came 2009, and with it: Watchmen. Zack Snyder’s equally gallant  and foolish attempt to bring the ground-breaking graphic novel to the big screen fell far short of the massive hype and anticipation that preceded it. 2009′s other comic book movies? Astro Boy, Whiteout, Dragonball Evolution and Surrogates.

It’s a pretty sad year for the comic book movie when the sole winner is the lackluster X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

This year? Throw  Jonah Hex and The Losers on the compost heap along with the aforementioned indie darlings. Marvel wins again with Iron Man 2, a box-office titan, however unworthy of the original.

So is it the end for comic book movies? Mmmmmaybe, but nah. It’s a slump.

The mysterious shunning of Scott Pilgrim aside, Hollywood might do better to look beyond superhero fare to other comics that are out there. It could be that we’re having our fill of heroic action adventure but I think it’s more about quality than any trends.

If Green Lantern and Thor are great movies, then people will embrace them.

Check out the Toronto Star article for commentary from myself along with Cameron Stewart and Mark Askwith.

Check it out!

If you’re interested in the new comic Scratch9, I’d ask you to click onward to Scratch9.com for the most complete and up-to-date info about that comic, including upcoming store appearances and ordering info!

Otherwise, you’ve come to the right place!

If not here’s some interesting stuff you missed:

Now, we don’t know the exact shipping date of issue #1. We’ll have that for you soon. If you haven’t bugged your local comic shop you may want to do that now because they may have overlooked us! If you want to help your retailer order a copy of any of the issues so far, you should give him these ordering codes: Issue 1 – #JUN10 0739, Issue 2 – #JUL10 0753 and Issue 3 – #AUG10 0753

If you really want to help raise awareness about our little indie comic — and win some cool Scratch9 prizes besides enter our “Help your comics shop find Scratch9” contest!

Finally, we’ve got previews of the second and third issues right here!

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Ape and KiZoic will have early editions of Scratch9 #1 available at the show at booth #1703.

Jason Kruse and I will be signing at the booth during scheduled periods Thurs-Sun (see below).

Jason will also be camped out in Artist Alley at table EE-22 throughout the week. Hit him up for a sketch!

SIGNING

Rob And Jason will be signing comics at Booth #1703

• THURSDAY – July 22 – 5pm-7pm
• FRIDAY – July 23 – 12pm – 2pm
• SATURDAY – July 24 – 3pm – 4:15pm
• SUNDAY – July 25 – 1pm – 3pm (Jason only)

PANELS

THURSDAY – July 22 – 1:00PM – Room 9
Ape Entertainment – Rob and Jason will join Ape and KiZoic in unveiling their upcoming line of comics, including Scratch9!

SATURDAY – July 24 – 4:30pm – Room 18
How To with Jason and Rob – In which we discuss the creative process on Scratch9 and other comics for the kids.

OFF SITE

The New Children’s Museum of San Diego is hosting a comic art exhibit during comic con, including original artwork from Scratch9 and other titles from Ape Entertainment and KiZoic. Visit http://www.thinkplaycreate.org/ for details.

Scratch9 has a dynamite hook and solid, kid-friendly storytelling that still plays decently for adults — who will be reading it to their kids over and over again.

Read the complete review!

I’ll be at Comics & More in Madison Heights MI handing out this swell mini-poster from SCRATCH9. If you’re in the area this Saturday come get some! The store is on John R. Road, South of 12 Mile.

Hit the FCBD website to find a comic shop near you and for a complete listing of all the comics that’ll be available.

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Of course, if you’d prefer to read it on luxurious paper, it’ll be in comic shops this week. The book contains my story and eight others by great comic writers, all with art by “Wrasslin’” Matt Jacobs!

Diamond Ordering Code: JAN10 0720
ISBN: 978-1-897548-23-3
Created by Shannon Eric Denton & Keith Giffen. Illustrated by Matt Jacobs(Prototype)

During World War Two, an American squad encounters a superhuman German unit and starts a Eugenics Race that carries into present day. Collecting the War Stories of the Grunts, there are contributions from Kevin Grevioux (New Warriors), Christopher E. Long (Wetworks), Dwight Macpherson (Archibald Saves Christmas), Howard Wong (After The Cape), Marc Bernardin/Adam Freeman (The Authority), Mike Bullock (The Phantom), Jimmie Robinson (Bomb Queen), Rob M. Worley (Scratch9) and many more!