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DC Shines Spotlight on DC Showcase at WonderCon

DC Shines Spotlight on DC Showcase at WonderCon

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) will host a panel spotlighting its upcoming release, DC Showcase – Constantine: The House of Mystery, at WonderCon in Anaheim on Friday, April 1 from 6:30-7:30pm in North 200A.

The panel will focus on the yet-to-be-seen Constantine: The House of Mystery extended short , supervising producer over all four of the animated shorts; Ernie Albacker, who wrote the script for Constantine: The House of Mystery; Jennifer Keene, writer of Blue Beetle; Jeremy Adams, who conceived the story of Blue Beetle; Tim Sheridan , screenwriter for The Losers: and Paul Giacoppo, writer of Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth!

The panel will also include Dave B. Mitchell, who gives voice to both Gunner and Sarge in The Losers, as well as some special surprise guests.

In addition, fans will be treated to a few never-before-seen clips from Constantine: The House of Mystery, as well as some lookbacks on the other three animated shorts.

Launched in 2010, DC Showcase was originally comprised of four animated shorts: The Spectre (2/23/2010), Jonah Hex (7/27/2010), Green Arrow (9/28/2010) and Superman/Shazam: The Return of Black Adam (11/9/2010). An additional short, Catwoman (10/18/2011), was attached the following year to the release of Batman: Year One. For 2019-2020, DC Showcase returned with five shorts: Sgt. Rock (8/6/2019) Death (10/22/2019), The Phantom Stranger (3/17/2020), Adam Strange (5/19/2020), and the interactive Batman: Death in the Family (10/13/2020).

DC Showcase: Constantine – The House of Mystery will be available from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Blu-ray (USA $24.99 SRP; Canada $29.99 SRP) and in 4K on Digital starting May 3, 2022.

Chris Pine’s Hell or High Water Arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, Digital SteelBook May 17

Chris Pine’s Hell or High Water Arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, Digital SteelBook May 17

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Western crime-adventure Hell or High Water arrives on 4K Ultra HD™ + Blu-ray™ + Digital SteelBook® May 17 from Lionsgate. The film stars Oscar® winner Jeff Bridges (2009 , Best Actor, Crazy Heart), Chris Pine (Wonder Woman franchise, Star Trek franchise), and Ben Foster (Galveston, 3:10 to Yuma). Hell or High Water 4K Ultra HD™ + Blu-ray™ + Digital SteelBook® will be available for the suggested retail price of $27.99.
 
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS
Oscar® winner Jeff Bridges , Chris Pine, and Ben Foster lead this acclaimed action-drama from the writer of Sicario. When a desperate father learns the bank is going to take his family’s land, he and his ex-con brother decide to rob the bank, putting themselves in the crosshairs of an aging Texas Ranger in a riveting story of crime , punishment, and brotherly love.
 
SPECIAL FEATURES

  • Enemies Forever: The Characters of Hell or High Water
  • Visualizing the Heart of America
  • Damaged Heroes: The Performances of Hell or High Water
  • Red Carpet Premiere
  • Filmmaker Q&A

CAST
Jeff Bridges                 Bad Times at the El Royale, Crazy Heart
Chris Pine                   Wonder Woman franchise, Star Trek franchise
Ben Foster                  Galveston, 3:10 to Yuma

PROGRAM INFORMATION
Year of Production: 2016
Title Copyright:Hell or High Water © Coman Movie, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Artwork & Supplementary Materials ®, ™ & © 2022 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Type:  Catalog Re-Release
Rating: R for Some Strong Violence, Language Throughout and Brief Sexuality
Genre: Western Crime
Closed-Captioned: N/A
Subtitles: English, Spanish, English SDH
Feature Run Time: 102 Minutes
4K Format: 2160p Ultra High Definition 16×9 (2.40:1) Presentation 
4K Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio™, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Audio, English 2.0 Dolby Audio Optimized for Late-Night Listening, English Descriptive Audio 
Blu-ray Format: 1080p High Definition 16×9 (2.40:1) Presentation
Blu-ray Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio™, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Audio, English 2.0 Dolby Audio Optimized for Late-Night Listening, English Descriptive Audio 

Hulk & Thor Battle Once More in Banner of War

Hulk & Thor Battle Once More in Banner of War

New York, NY— March 25, 2022 — Donny Cates is currently taking two of Marvel’s most iconic characters on transformative journeys in the pages of HULK and THOR. And next month, the acclaimed writer will smash both sagas together in an all-new epic: HULK VS. THOR: BANNER OF WAR! Hitting just in time for the two heroes’ 60th anniversaries, this five-part crossover will kick off in HULK VS. THOR: BANNER OF WAR ALPHA #1 before exploding in the pages of both Hulk and Thor’s hit solo titles throughout May and June. Tackling ongoing mysteries from both series and featuring artwork by rising star Martin Coccolo and covers by legendary artist Gary Frank, the story promises to deliver Thor and Hulk’s most glorious battle yet and the showdown will have a shocking impact on both characters’ futures.

In the aftermath of the opening arc of HULK which saw the debut of TITAN and the “God of Hammers” arc that ended with the death of Odin, both Bruce Banner and Thor Odinson have both undergone massive changes, but one thing remains constant — their heated rivalry! When mysterious circumstances bring them into conflict once more, will the God of Thunder be able to triumph against a Bruce Banner who can now control his rage? Get your first look at the fight that will go down in Marvel Comics history in the HULK VS. THOR: BANNER OF WAR trailer, featuring never-before-seen artwork!

“Well, I was a little surprised that Marvel approached me to write this, if I’m being honest. I’m mostly known for writing very small, very quiet, intimate comics, so I had to—ha!! Sorry. Couldn’t keep that up. Yeah, this is gonna be bonkers as hell, guys,” Cates said. “We’re going to break EVERYTHING! Happy birthday, Hulk and Thor! Hope you enjoy MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF VIOLENCE!” 

Moonfall Arrives as 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, On Demand April 26

Moonfall Arrives as 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, On Demand April 26

SANTA MONICA, CA (March 21, 2022) – Legendary action-adventure director Roland Emmerich returns when Moonfall arrives on Digital April 1 and on 4K Ultra HDCombo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital), Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, and On Demand April 26 from Lionsgate. From director Roland Emmerich (Midway, Independence Day franchise) and writers Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser & Spenser Cohen, the film stars Academy Award® winner Halle Berry (Monsters Ball, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum) , Patrick Wilson (Midway, The Conjuring franchise) , John Bradley (Game of Thrones, Marry Me), Michael Peña (Narcos, Fantasy Island),  Charlie Plummer (Lean on Pete, Spontaneous), Kelly Yu (Lost Promise), Eme Ikwuakor (On My Block, Inhumans), Carolina Bartczak (Painkiller), and Donald Sutherland (The Hunger Games franchise, The Undoing).

In Moonfall, a mysterious force knocks the Moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. With mere weeks before impact and the world on the brink of annihilation, NASA executive and former astronaut Jo Fowler (Academy Award® winner Halle Berry) is convinced she has the key to saving us all – but only one astronaut from her past , Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson, Aquaman) and a conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley, Game of Thrones) believes her. These unlikely heroes will mount an impossible last-ditch mission into space, leaving behind everyone they love, only to find out that our Moon is not what we think it is.

Moonfall  4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $42.99, $39.99, and $29.96, respectively. 

4K ULTRA HD / BLU-RAY / DVD / DIGITAL SPECIAL FEATURES 

  • Audio Commentary by writer/producer/director Roland Emmerich and writer/producer/composer Harald Kloser Listen to audio commentary by writer/producer/director Roland Emmerich and writer/producer/composer Harald Kloser. 
  • Against Impossible Odds: Making Moonfall Filmmakers and actors offer an insider’s view of the genesis of the film, a look at the epic action scenes, and a deep dive into the most groundbreaking moments of the film. 
  • Exploring the Moon: Past , Present, and Future What have we learned about the Moon through the ages and where is human exploration of our nearest celestial neighbor going next?  Scientists, historians and astronauts reveal all!
  • KC Houseman Speaks the Truth!  Unearth recent viral videos from Megastructurist KC Houseman. 
  • Sounds of the Moon Discover how the filmmakers utilized a palette of unique sound effects to bring the world inside of the Moon to life.

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Year of Production: 2021

Title Copyright: Moonfall © 2022 UK Moonfall LLP. Artwork & Supplementary Materials ® , ™ & © 2022 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Type: Theatrical Release

Rating: PG-13 for violence, disaster action, strong language, and some drug use

Genre: Sci-Fi

Feature Run Time: 124 Minutes

Closed-Captioned: N/A

Subtitles: Spanish, French, English SDH

4K Ultra HD™ Format: 2160p Ultra High Definition, 16×9 (2.39:1) Presentation 

Blu-ray Format: 1080p High Definition, 16×9 (2.39:1) Presentation 

DVD Format: 16×9 (2.39:1) Presentation 

4K Audio Status: English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

Blu-ray Audio:  English Dolby Atmos, English Descriptive Audio, , French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

DVD Audio:  English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Descriptive Audio, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital,

HBO Max’s Aquaman: King of Atlantis Swims for Disc Debut April 26

HBO Max’s Aquaman: King of Atlantis Swims for Disc Debut April 26

BURBANK, CA (March 24, 2022) – Monstrous creatures, devious foes and incredible underwater adventures populate Aquaman: King of Atlantis, an action-packed mini-series now coming to Digital and DVD (USA $14.99 SRP; Canada $19.99 SRP) as a feature-length animated film on April 26, 2022 courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, the mini-series premiered on HBO Max on October 14 to rave reviews from both critics and fans alike. James Wan (Aquaman) served as executive producer through his Atomic Monster production company on this playful reimagining of the iconic DC Super Hero and tells an original tale about Aquaman’s first adventures as King of Atlantis.

Aquaman: King of Atlantis begins with Aquaman starting his first day on the job as king of Atlantis – and he’s got a lot of catching up to do. Luckily , he has his two royal advisors to back him up: the scholar Vulko, and Mera, the water controlling warrior princess. Between dealing with unscrupulous surface dwellers, elder evils from beyond time and his own half-brother who wants to overthrow him, Aquaman must rise to the challenge and prove to his subjects – and to himself – that he’s the true heir to the throne, and holder of the trident!

Cooper Andrews (The Walking Dead , Shazam!) leads the cast of Aquaman: King of Atlantis as the title character, and he’s joined by Gillian Jacobs (Community, Invincible, Injustice) as Mera, Thomas Lennon (Supergirl, Reno 911!) as Vulko, Dana Snyder (Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Justice League Action) as Ocean Master, Andrew Morgado (Supergirl, Archer) as Mortikov, Kevin Michael Richardson (The Simpsons, American Dad!) as the Royal Announcer, Flula Borg (The Suicide Squad, Pitch Perfect 2) as Mantis, and Kimberly Brooks (DC Super Hero Girls, Batwheels) as Hammer. Also providing voices is Chris Jai Alex, Trevor Devall, Armen Taylor, Kaitlyn Robrock, Regi Davis, Ludi Lin, Robbie Daymond, Erica Lindbeck, Laila Berzins and Erica Ash.

Victor Courtright (ThunderCats Roar!) and Marly Halpern-Graser (Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) served as showrunners and co-executive producers. Courtright and Marly Halpern-Graser conceived the story for the mini-series/film, and Halpern-Graser, Bryan Condon (Right Now Kapow) and Laura Sreebny (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) co-wrote the teleplay. The mini-series was executive produced by James Wan (Aquaman), Atomic Monster’s Michael Clear (Annabelle Comes Home), Rob Hackett (Swamp Thing), and Sam Register (Teen Titans Go!). Keith Pakiz (ThunderCats Roar) served as director on all three episodes of the mini-series.

Fowl Language: Welcome to Parenting by Brian Gordon

Fowl Language: Welcome to Parenting by Brian Gordon

Sometimes there are things that you know you like, but you realize you’ve never really dug into.

Brian Gordon’s comics strip Fowl Language is like that for me: I realized I’ve been seeing it randomly probably since it started (2013, I think), but never actually tried to read it. So I did.

I grabbed this book , Fowl Language: Welcome to Parenting , since it seemed to be the earliest of the three published so far. (Further exploration shows that to be true.) It collects about a hundred of those strips, which break down almost evenly into single panels (many of which would make great posters or response memes; Gordon is good at the crisp specific saying) and four-panel strips.

Gordon, as I understand it, sometimes cartoons about other things, but most of Fowl Language is about his kids. In the strips collected here – from the 2013-2016 time period – there were two of them, first a boy and then a girl, and they were very young, first babies and then toddlers and maybe up to preschoolers. You know: the loud, demanding, incoherent , psychopathic years.

My children are vastly older, which may make reading comics like this more distant but also makes them more entertaining – I can remember all of that, but the scars have mostly healed.

They are all from the point of view of the father, who is not exactly Gordon. His name is “Dickie,” but that comes up almost never. Well, and also he’s a duck, like the rest of the family – you might have noticed that. It’s a cute cartooning thing, and it ties well into the title, which also refers to the fact that Dickie is admittedly not the world’s best parent.

So this is somewhere in the humorous-parenting world alongside Ian Frazier’s “Cursing Mommy ” pieces and Guy Delisle’s “Bad Dad ” books. That’s good company to me, and Gordon can do both the funny and the sentimental. Also, to be clear, his sentiment is modern and inclusive, not the same old vague American glurge , with great comics on GTA games, gay marriage, and how kids can be assholes. (That’s not my language: that’s straight from the comic.)

I expected to like Fowl Language in larger doses, and I did. There are two more books: I might have to find them, and see how the duck-kids have grown up, and if Gordon is cartooning about pre-teen hell these days. I bet he’d be great at that, too.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

Always Never by Jordi Lafebre

Always Never by Jordi Lafebre

Stories don’t have to be told forwards. Sometimes a story can be told best in reverse.

The description of Jodi Lafebre’s graphic novel Always Never  makes it sound like a late-in-life love story: mayor Ana and Zeno, who has been for decades almost equally a doctoral student in physics, a commercial sailor, and a bookstore owner, finally are in the same place at the same time in their sixties, possibly ready to finally give their relationship a chance. And that is where the story starts…in chapter twenty.

The following chapters are also the preceeding chapters, as Lafebre traces the story of their lives backwards, jumping a few days here, a decade there, to wind all the way back to the moment when they met. We get previews of their history as we go: Ana and Zeno, like everyone else, talk about their shared past.

But, also like everyone else, they can’t talk about what hasn’t happened yet. So what we see later in the book will color what we’ve already read that happens later in time, but the narrative will continue moving forward. Which is to say: backward.

It’s not just a way of telling the story, though. Zeno has a theory about time, about the possibility of rewinding time, and his long-delayed doctoral dissertation is about exactly that. And that dissertation may have been accepted as the book opens, which means….he’s right?

That possibility stands behind the entire story, and crystallizes the final moments here. This may be exactly what he theorized – but, if it is, that’s outside of this story. If time rewinds and tells a different story, what happens then?

Ana and Zeno are mostly separate, those long years, trading letters – sometimes actually trading them, sometimes writing and discarding those letters, for themselves rather than for the other one – talking on the phone, thinking about each other , other pieces that recur. One of Ana’s longest projects as mayor was building a bridge for her town, connecting what seem to be the neighborhoods on top of two very steep hills – and that project takes much longer, and goes through more changes, than anyone expected. But, of course, because of the way Lafebre tells the story, we see it completed first – because of the way he tells this story, we see the end of everything first.

That, almost paradoxically, makes Always Never a more positive, happy story. We already know how it will end; we know things will be just fine. What we don’t know, or don’t know enough about, is how it begins.

Lafebre tells this story in a mostly-sunny palette and with character designs that seem to my eye to have a bit of animation influence in them: these are people made to move through space, to interact with their world, to be dynamic in their bodies and faces. And even as Ana and Zeno end up on opposite sides of the world, we’re on their side – on the side of each of them in their struggles, and on the side of wanting Ana-and-Zeno to be together. (Although Lafebre manages that in large part by keeping Ana’s husband Giuseppe mostly in the background; his version of this story would be very different.)

Always Never is assured, confident, lovely, and sweet. It’s also remarkably happy for a love story about two people who spend forty years about as far apart from each other as possible. I see it was the first book Lafebre wrote after drawing a number of bandes dessinées from other people’s scripts; he’s clearly been taking notes along the way.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness by Peter Kuper

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness by Peter Kuper

I’m not crazy about adaptations , by disposition. I’d generally rather see new stuff in Creative Format X, rather than a Format X version of a story that worked well in Format Q.

I seem to be in a pretty small minority in that, though. The world demands movies from their comic books, TV shows from their novels, opera from their stories about historical figures, stage musicals assembled from random songs. And vice versa: look at the deeply incestuous “casting thread,” in which random observers squee over which actors in TV-shows-based-on-books should be their favorite characters in a potential movie-based-on-a-comic-book.

On the other hand, I don’t mind as much with old stuff. A new movie based on a Shakespeare play? Yeah, OK – that’s closer to the point to begin with. A graphic novel based on that hundred-year-old book everyone has heard of? Well, I suspect it’s because the publishers want to get in on that sweet, sweet adopted-by-a-million-school-systems money, but it’s closer to the original format, and might bring in new readers and…OK, why not?

That’s how I came to Peter Kuper’s adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s short novel Heart of Darkness , which has the usual quirkiness in its title common to adapted GNs. (It always reminds me of “Rod Torfulson’s Armada! Featuring Herman Menderchuck!” for a reference none of you will get.)

Kuper has a detailed, inky art style and goes in for fleshy, unpleasant faces a lot of the time, which are all strengths with this material. He also is adapting the story basically straight: it’s not transposed to the modern world and moved to another continent or “reversed” or anything like that. He even maintains the fussy frame-story element, though I’m unclear whether the benefits (believability, collegiality) of that ever outweighed the vast lost of immediacy.

Kuper’s introduction is about one-half process description and one half responding to Chinua Achebe’s mid-70s declaration that Heart is inherently racist and colonialist. Kuper disagrees with “inherently,” and emphasizes Conrad’s anti-colonialist credentials, but responding to that kind of criticism in his frontmatter tends to undermine the book. Remember: if you’re explaining, you’re losing. Kuper starts explaining, and explaining something he didn’t have to bring up in the first place, before the reader gets a chance to see the story itself. Afterwords, says Andy who is not actually the King of the World of Books despite his grandiose visions, is the place for material like that if you absolutely must include it.

Otherwise: this is Heart of Darkness. Marlowe goes upstream on a river the text does not name (but is clearly the Congo , and Kuper shows it as such on a map) in a continent equally unnamed (also put into clearer images by Kuper), first to be captain of a boat on that river but eventually to find the mysterious and central Mr. Kurtz. He tells this story to a group of others, including one who is officially our narrator, lounging on a boat in the estuary of another big river (the Thames) on another continent (Europe) that the text also pointedly does not name.

Kuper does his best to give the (entirely unnamed, mostly background) Black characters more stage business, agency, and importance here than exists in the raw text – this is their world , and the various fat, stupid, and greedy white people are invaders – but they’re not really part of Conrad’s story, so this is not always successful. They’re still scenery, even in Kuper’s version: there to make changes on white men, the ones worth telling stories about.

Achebe’s criticism is still valid: that’s what I’m saying. Kuper does what he can, and the story is not in favor of colonialism, but it’s still a hundred-year-old story by a white guy about another white guy going crazy from the jungle atmosphere.

But that’s Heart of Darkness. That’s the story. Kuper does a good job of retelling it , of moving all those Black people at least closer to the center of the story, but it’s still about one relatively good white man thrown into a milieu of horrible white men and going through a transformative journey to find the one iconic white man who embodies the place.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

Tweety Bird Turns 80!

Tweety Bird Turns 80!

BURBANK , CA – WarnerMedia Global Brands and Experiences (WMGBE) is reminding the world that Tweety is no ordinary canary by launching an 80th anniversary celebration on a global scale. As one of Looney Tunes most beloved characters, Tweety is known for being unflappable and unapologetically authentic. WMGBE has commissioned a diverse group of artists worldwide to design 80 original murals reflecting Tweety’s rich history and dynamic personality. The “80 Years of Tweety” campaign will kick off in Austin at SXSW 2022 on March 11, where the first group of murals will officially debut. The anniversary honors will continue throughout the year across the Studio with new Tweety content from HBOMax, WarnerMedia Kids & Family, along with new themed experiences and collections from Warner Bros. Consumer Products. The celebration will culminate on Tweety’s birthday on November 21, 2022.

Anchoring the “80 Years of Tweety” celebration, the stunning murals designed by a spirited group of artists will celebrate Tweety’s cheerful enthusiasm, cutes and smarts, as well as his endearing personality. Free for everyone to enjoy, these spectacular works of art will appear in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy Mexico, Brazil, United Arab Emirates and more. In the United States, Tweety murals will be seen in more than 30 cities. To track where to find Tweety murals, as well as all things Tweety, please visit, Tweety’s Anniversary website.

“For eighty years, Tweety has marched to the beat of his own drum, inherently representing what it means to be unapologetically yourself. His endearing personality has made him a pop culture favorite and he’s known for making appearances in the most unexpected ways,” said Pam Lifford, President, WarnerMedia Global Brands and Experiences.  “As a key member of the Looney Tunes franchise, we definitely wanted to celebrate Tweety’s 80th in a big way and are excited for the year-long celebration ahead. Keep your eyes out for him to pop up anywhere , from fashion to collectibles and more.”

To complete the murals, WMGBE collaborated with 16 artists, each with a different take on the tiny hero. Tweety’s signature yellow color runs through the designs, but the artists’ different styles will make each one uniquely beautiful. Artists have been selected through the lens of diversity across different countries, artistic mediums and expressions, ethnicities, genders and sexualities.

In addition to the murals, Tweety’s 80th Anniversary celebration features, products, content, experiences and much more:

  • Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) will announce new offerings and partnerships across all categories (fashion, collectibles, beauty, and more) throughout the year. Available now only on WBCP’s Looney Tunes Shop is the all-new Tweety’s 80th Mural Collection. The vibrant collection is set to feature a number of the 80, Tweety-inspired mural designs on a unique selection of merchandise and apparel. The collection encourages fans to honor the unique art designed by the diverse group of global artists, while celebrating the world’s most beloved canary. The ultimate fan destination to celebrate Tweety, the Looney Tunes Shop will unveil product drops throughout the year, including merchandise with Tweety mural designs yet to be revealed, leading up to Tweety’s birthday on November 21, 2022.
  • Loungefly has also joined the celebration with two all-new, Tweety-inspired products for fans of all ages. Tweety’s big, blue eyes are ready to follow you along, while keeping an eye out for Sylvester on the new Tweety 80th Anniversary Plush Backpack. The front features Tweety’s unmistakable adorable shape, featuring wings on the front zipped compartment that move back and forth ($80.00). Since 1947, Tweety has outsmarted his rival, Sylvester the Cat. Capture the zany antics of Tweety and Sylvester with this Loungefly Tweety and Sylvester 80th Anniversary Zip Around Wallet ($40.00). Available now, both products feature Tweety 80th Anniversary motif on the inside lining, along with vegan leather.
  • Ugly Dukling Beauty and Warner Bros. Consumer Products’ newest collaboration encourages fans to celebrate Tweety’s adorable yet mischievous eyes. Available now, the Ugly Dukling x Tweety Bird Collection is a limited-edition, box collection of luxury 3D magnetic eyelashes featuring a special-dose of Tweety. The curated collection features four, classic statement style lashes named “Tweety Pie,” “Tweety Bird,” “Looney Luxury Lashes” and “I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat!” Presented in Tweety-themed keepsake packaging, the collection continues Ugly Dukling Beauty’s tradition of high quality, hand crafted seven-magnet eyelashes. No messy glue required – unless you’re setting a trap for a certain, troublemaking “Puddy Tat.”
  • Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment will be joining in on the festivities for Tweety’s birthday with exclusive murals around the world including at Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, Warner Bros. Movie World in Australia, and Parque Warner Madrid.
  • HBO Max: Tweety continues to star in the hit Looney Tunes Cartoons animated series from Warner Bros. Animation now streaming on HBO Max. New episodes will debut from the Max Original series throughout the year in celebration of the beloved yellow canary.
  • Cartoonito: This summer, Tweety will star alongside fellow Looney Tunes characters in Bugs Bunny Builders, a new preschool animated series coming to Cartoonito on HBO Max and Cartoon Network. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and built on the solid comedic foundation of the iconic Looney Tunes, Bugs Bunny Builders brings the wackiness, humor and slapstick we’ve grown to love to a new preschool audience. At ACME Construction Company, Bugs Bunny and Lola Bunny manage a crew of builders that, quite frankly, should not be anywhere near a construction site. However, by working together as a team, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety and others use their tools and wild vehicles to pull off some of the looniest construction jobs ever.

Tweety Background

Tweety began his rise in animated stardom when he debuted in the 1942 short, A Tale of Two Kitties, winner of the 1942 Oscar. Tweety grew in popularity and soon became one of the most beloved Looney Tunes characters, second only to Bugs Bunny in terms of universal awareness. He starred in numerous films, including a second Oscar winner, Birds Anonymous (1957). For more than eight decades, Tweety has reminded fans that even a little guy can outsmart the biggest foe and has come to represent what it means to be “unapologetically yourself.” Because of this, Tweety has become a pop culture favorite and holds a unique presence in the fashion and lifestyle space making appearances in the most unexpected ways. His bright yellow color, soaring optimism and unassuming strength make him a favorite of celebrities, influencers, fashion designers, artists and more.

Looney Tunes Background

A universe of infinite possibility and indelible personality , Looney Tunes showcases a cast of screwball scoundrels and plucky performers including Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote, Tweety and many more favorites. Rapid-fire gags, self-referential satire, and explosive energy enliven a cartoon landscape where each contest of will is a comedy of wiles. In Looney Tunes’ world, cuteness is a tactic, swagger is sweet, and pathos commingles with comedy. From its black-and-white beginnings almost 100 years ago, Looney Tunes transcended the silver screen with nimble performers and a vaudevillian heart. The six minutes of animation that would greet audiences before a feature could bring the debut of a dynamic character or the return of a beloved face in a brand-new scenario. Over time, its characters, settings, songs, and stories have woven into a kind of technicolor canon that reflects the human condition and instructs on art, humor, and history. With references and riffs spanning the history of Hollywood itself, Looney Tunes is a showcase of pop culture pastiche and celebrity satire that has expanded through television, feature films and across generations.

Scoop Scuttle and His Pals by Basil Wolverton

Scoop Scuttle and His Pals by Basil Wolverton

So much goes into comedy , especially comedy in comics – there’s funny writing, and funny drawing, and the intersection of the two, plus personal taste and sometimes all of that obscured by the passage of time. Something can be done well, with lots of wordplay, well-thought-out drawings and solidly amusing premises, but still feel outdated or just flat to any particular reader.

That’s where I land with Scoop Scuttle and His Pals: The Crackpot Comics of Basil Wolverton . It collects four series of stories from the 1940s and early ’50s: the reporter Scoop Scuttle, the diminutive Indian fakir Mystic Moot (and his Magic Snoot), indestructible cowboy Bingbang Buster, and goofy SF hero Jumpin’ Jupiter.. There are detailed story notes by editor Greg Sadowski , and the whole package is well-designed and organized, with comics pages about as clear and crisp as you could hope for stuff printed on newsprint seventy years ago.

I didn’t laugh once. I might have had a wry smile a couple of times. Some of it, especially later in the book, was amusing and fun, but nothing got that immediate humor reaction from me. The Scoop Scuttle stories in particular felt too stuffed: too many words with too much supposedly-comic alliteration, too much minor-vaudeville business. So I am not a good person to tell you what’s great about these Basil Wolverton stories.

Now, I’m pretty sure this is minor Wolverton. But I’m no Wolverton expert: I’ve seen some of his stuff here and there, but never dug deeply. This book was titled and published in a way that made it look like it was saying “this is the good stuff!” Looking more carefully after reading it, it seems to actually say “this is some obscure stuff, mostly made as the Golden Age was dying, nicely cleaned up for Wolverton fanatics, and we’re not making any claims about its quality.”

These are all anthology-filler comics stories, from an era where comics were 64 pages long and needed to be filled with various stuff. Part of that Golden-Age-dying was the shrinking of those comics; it looks, from this distance, like Wolverton was squeezed out during that shrinking. What gets squeezed out is not necessarily by quality: popularity is first, and what most closely fits the overall theme and style of the book tends to stay. Wolverton being goofy and sui generis made him an obvious early target for removal: this material would have been the most different stuff in any of the comics it appeared in.

So, if I’m telling you anything you didn’t know about Wolverton, this is not a book for you. This is a book for people who already know a lot more about Wolverton than I do, or maybe people whose comic sensibility is more attuned to mass-market alliterative and nearly-rhyming jokes from mid-century.

One very random example:

“I’m from the Daily Dally! I’m looking for Lester Fester!”

“I’m not Lester Fester! I’m Esther Tester! Now take it on the lam, ham, and scram! I’m strangling my husband, and I don’t want any interruptions!”

If you enjoy wordplay along the lines of “take it on the lam, ham, and scram,” you will find a lot of it here.

Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.