The comics world offers up its own March madness

ShareThis

Marvel Comics' first trip to Stephen King's Dark Tower was such a success, they're visiting a second time this month -- at midnight!"Dark Tower: The Long Road Home" No. 1 (of 5), which goes on sale March 5, follows Marvel's wildly successful "Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born." That series revealed the origin of Roland Deschain, champion of King's "Dark Tower" series of novels, and was one of 2007's biggest sellers, as both a seven-issue miniseries and a 240-page hardback collection.To promote the new series, participating comic shops will open at midnight Tuesday, March 4 (effectively 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, March 5). At press time, more than 90 shops in 31 states had signed up (a full list of participating retailers can be found at http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.2663).As to the book itself, it's by the same creative team as "Gunslinger": "Dark Tower" expert Robin Furth, "New York Times" best-selling author Peter David, Eisner Award-winning artist Jae Lee and fan-favorite illustrator Richard Isanove, all under the direction of King himself. "Road" picks up directly after the events of "Gunslinger," as Roland and his companions try to make it home after the death of a major character.The PR quotes Dan Buckley, president and publisher of Marvel's print arm, as saying "The 'Dark Tower' series has become an industry-defining event." That may have a touch of hyperbole, but given the new readers "Gunslinger" brought into comic shops, it's not far from the truth. For more, go to marvel.com/darktower.Other events in March:-- Retro fun: "Jughead's Double Digest" No. 138 reprints 1949's "Archie's Pal Jughead" No. 1 in its entirety, along with a new tale of today's Juggie meeting his earlier incarnation. Plus: The first appearance of Big Moose!-- Does Whatever a Spider Can: The "Spectacular Spider-Man" anime series debuts on The Kids WB! March 8, with two episodes back-to-back. Coincidentally, this series, set in Peter Parker's junior year of high school, premieres the same day the final episode of "The Batman" airs.-- Does Whatever a Jungle Girl Can: The original fur-bikini-clad avenger returns in "Golden Age Sheena: Best of the Queen of the Jungle" from Devil's Due Publishing. This 144-page trade paperback reprints the jungle girl's best adventures from the 1930s, '40s and '50s.-- Expanding Frontier: If you missed the straight-to-DVD "Justice League: New Frontier" animated movie released Feb. 26, you can console yourself with the "Justice League: New Frontier" one-shot from DC Comics. Darwyn Cooke, who wrote and drew the best-selling 2003 "New Frontier" miniseries, presents an anthology of stories about his version of the League, which came together in the 1950s.-- More Frontiers: "New Frontier" is a subset of "Star Trek" novels about Captain Mackenzie Calhoun of the Starship Excalibur, which may be unfamiliar to most fans, as it has only appeared in print. IDW Publishing, which currently has the "Star Trek" franchise, will expand the canon with "Star Trek: New Frontier" No. 1 (of 5), a miniseries written by Peter David (who has written virtually all of the "NF" novels) and illustrated by Stephen Thompson. In the series, Calhoun & Co. must find an experimental starship -- which appears to have been stolen by Starfleet Admiral Edward Jellico -- before it destroys the time/space continuum.-- No Joke: "Superhero Movie," which parodies "Spider-Man," "X-Men," "Fantastic Four" and other comics-to-film adaptations, premieres March 28. From the trailer and descriptions, I think you'd be better off watching "Airplane!" again. Even if Pam Anderson does wear a revealing Invisible Woman outfit.-- Hired Gun: What if you could pay one of your favorite artists to draw your very own comic-book story? That's what fan Tom Osborne did, by hiring veteran writer-artist John Byrne ("X-Men," "Fantastic Four") to depict the adventures of Tom Talbot, who has the power to turn his daydreams into reality. "FX" No. 1 (of 6) ships this month from IDW Publishing.-- Gracias, Amigo: On the heels of "Fantastic Four: Isla de la Muerte," Marvel is publishing more Spanish-language comics this month. The "Ultimate Spider-Man Spanish Collection Vol. 1" and the "Ultimate X-Men Spanish Collection Vol. 1" present the first years of "Ultimate Spider-Man" and "Ultimate X-Men," respectively, en Espanol.-- I See Dead People: Ever thought of actress Jennifer Love Hewitt as a comic-book character? Well, she really is now, as the CBS show "Ghost Whisperer" debuts as a series at IDW Publishing.(Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics(at)aol.com or visit www.captaincomics.us.)