Though we've yet to meet a person who enjoyed it, Spider-Man: Bring Out Your Dead Turn Off The Dark turns out to be a moneymaking (if not yet profitable) hit for its producers and Disney corporate overlords. So clearly it's time for them to start digging into their Marvel pockets for another property to make into a Broadway smash. To that end, our first thought was that a Fantastic Four musical could be a campy kick...but then we saw this amazingly edited X-Men: The Animated Musical video, and well, see for yourself:
Video: The Best Argument We've Seen For An X-Men Musical
Thanks To Donald Glover, The New Ultimate Spider-Man Is A Man Of Color
Community's Donald Glover didn't get the part of Peter Parker in the new Spider-Man movie, but that's okay. His public campaign for the part last summer apparently led the way for Marvel to introduce the world to the first African-American to don Spidey's mask. Come Wednesday's release of Ultimate Fallout #4 the world will get to meet the alliterative Miles Morales, the world's first half-black, half-Hispanic wallcrawler.
FDNY And Spidey Unveil New Comic (Will Public Demand Musical Stage Show?)
This morning Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano showed off the new fire safety comic book alongside Captain America, Spider-Man, and some of the Bravest, who all took time from their busy life-saving schedules to be on hand. This isn't some second-rate comic, either, the FDNY teamed up with Marvel to make it happen! Fingers crossed they'll team up with Bono for a musical version.
Free Comics, Economist, at Starbucks Starting Next Month
You want a free comic with your coffee? Starbucks is there for you. Yesterday the coffee giant—which appears to have gotten its groove back after a few years of stumbles and over-expansion—announced some new partners in its five-month-old digital network program. Now, to go along with existing partners like the Times, Good Magazine and Yahoo!, those using the java joint's free wi-fi will soon be able to access the latest issues of The Economist (awesome, considering that mags cover price) as well as "unlimited, free access to its full library of Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited." Because when we think coffee, we think Thor? Anyway, the new additions should be available in the end of April.
Old Megastore to Become Temporary Movie Screen
Ready for a three-story outdoor theater in Union Square? Well, the former Virgin megastore is transforming itself into just that on October 28th, when Marvel Comics takes over the outdoor wall to premiere its "Astonishing X-Men" motion comic on the building.
Spider-Man and Barack Obama Meet, Fist Bump
Comic book nerds and fans of Barack Obama: get psyched. USA Today reports that on January 14th, "Marvel Comics is releasing a special issue of Amazing Spider-Man #583 with Obama depicted on the cover. Inside are five pages of the two teaming up and even a fist-bump between Spidey and the new president." It's been speculated that Obama has an inner comic book geek underneath his presidential suits, and he even mentioned the webbed one during his campaigning. Presidents have appeared in comics before, and Marvel says, "This is not so much a pro-Obama statement but a tip of the hat to having a Spider-Man fan in the White House." Related: Stephen Colbert left Spider-Man #573 on his shelf for President-elect Obama to come and get.
New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest Controversy
Cartoonist Harry Bliss has been drawn into a bit of controversy over at the New Yorker because his illustration for last week’s cartoon caption contest (right) is the spitting image of a Marvel comic book cover from 1962 (left). Bliss’s editors were seemingly unaware of the resemblance, and no credit was given to the original, inked by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. And yes, life is now imitating Seinfeld episode #169, in which The New Yorker publishes a Ziggy cartoon inadvertently plagiarized by “some charlatan” (Elaine).

