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After successfully storming the big screen three times (with a fourth in the works), the Amazing Spider-Man is swinging onto Broadway in Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark, and he’s bringing some big names with him. The music and lyrics for the show are being written by none other than U2’s Bono and The Edge. This isn’t new news, but the opening date and title were just announced this week. The curtain won’t rise for another year (Feb. 18, 2010), but group tickets are already available. You can read all the official details here, on the official Marvel web site. How do you feel about a comic-book inspired Broadway musical? If Spidey succeeds on stage, I wonder which comic hero will be next to claim the spotlight—maybe the brooding Batman?

As we get ready to eat King Cake and crown the King and Queen of the Office later this afternoon, I decided to share some fun cartoons with you reminiscent of this big day. 

I found reference to one of my favorites–The Addams Family: The Mardi Gras Story (The Addams Family enjoy all the fun and gaiety of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but it’s difficult to recognize them in their funny masks. Tensions mount when a couple of crooks masquerade as Fester and Gomez!)–but couldn’t find any video of this episode! Darn it! 

But don’t despair–here’s a couple episodes from the Mr. T cartoon: Mr. T’s Magical Mardi Gras Mystery Part 1 and Mr. T’s Magical Mardi Gras Mystery Part 2 to add some magic to your Mardi Gras.

Enjoy!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO3n67BQvh0

After just two weeks in the theater, Coraline has raked in $18.9M at the box office and has a very fresh 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I recently decided to check it out for myself and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I’d never seen a 3-D movie before, so I was pretty excited about the goofy glasses I received along with my ticket (though, sadly, they’ve made them a little “cooler” and normal looking than the old blue and red cardboard variety). And I wasn’t disappointed by the amazing 3-D effects during the movie. Some of the more intense scenes were quite dizzying, and the glasses gave incredible depth to the stop-motion animation throughout the movie.

I won’t give away the plot, but Neil Gaiman spins a mesmerizing and extremely creepy tale. It was intended as a children’s story, and the theater was full of kids, but it definitely would have freaked me out as a child. Let’s say it’s not for the faint of heart.

Unfortunately, you’ll have to shell out a little extra $$ to see Coraline in 3-D, but it’s totally worth it. Grab your own goofy glasses and go see Coraline!

Click here to check out the official trailer.

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Maybe I’m late to the party, but I just stumbled upon digital comics in the iTunes store. In my defense, don’t have an iPhone or an iPod touch (still rocking the 2nd gen nano, but some day *sigh*) so I don’t spend a lot of time looking at the apps. (I don’t wear envy well.)

Have you checked these out yet? You can find them by searching the iTunes Store for “iVerse” or “comics,” the results will come up under the applications section. You can get quite a few for free at the moment, so it’s worth checking out just to see what they are like. You can learn more about the iVerse digital comic reader app at the iVerse website, www.iversecomics.com.

And since we’re already in the iTunes store, there’s always the Comics Culture section (just search for Comics Culture) to hook you up with video and audio podcasts about comics. (I swear I’m not getting a kickback from Apple for this blog.)

Hell Beasts, Jim Pavelec’s first IMPACT instruction book, just received another glowing review, this time from HorrorNews.net. Click here to read the full review.

Check out Hell Beasts and Wreaking Havoc (co-authored by Jim Pavelec, Chris Seaman, Chuck Lukacs and Thomas Manning) for yourself:

Click here to buy Hell Beasts.

Click here to buy Wreaking Havoc.

Read on for more fun facts about Jim Pavelec.

Name: Jim Pavelec
Nickname: None
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Current residence: Berwyn, Illinois
Kids and/or pets? None
Favorite food: various kinds of dead animal flesh
Favorite candy bar: I doubt anyone really cares
Favorite TV show: Lost, Battlestar Gallactica and Death Note
Favorite movie: Conan the Barbarian
Favorite website(s): www.jimpavelec.com
Favorite blog(s): What’s a blog
Do you collect anything (stamps, comics)? toys, comics, anime
First job ever: working in an electrical contractor’s warehouse
Best job ever: writing and illustrating Hell Beasts
When did you know you wanted to be an artist/illustrator? At age 5
Give us a taste of your latest project? I am currently working on various pieces for D&D’s 4th edition.
Talk about a time you felt star struck in your line of work. Brom came over to my table at GenCon and told me one of my pieces was cool.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received? Go to conventions to meet art directors face to face.

Counterculture rebel and 2008 presidential campaign scapegoat Bill Ayers is set to star in a graphic novel of his very own. But don’t get excited for any federal building blasts or showdowns betwixt long-hairs and suits. This here’s a scholarly affair.

Teachers College Press, an erudite liberal New York publisher, has signed on to adapt Ayers’ beloved memoir To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher (TCP, 1993) to pictures pages in spring 2010. TCP will also simultaneously release a revised third edition of the original publication, which details Ayers’ experiences as an educator.

Bill and his Boondocks tee.