Cap's Comics - Figment #2

Would you like a copy of Figment #2.  If you do, good luck.  Marvel was sold out to retailers before the issue even hit the stands.  At least Figment #1 did not officially sell out until after its release date. Both issues are currently being reprinted, so you do have hope if you did not snag a copy yet.  I personally noticed that a major online retailer sold out before the release date.  I called my local comic shop which always has plenty of everything in stock, and found out they were done to one copy!  So I made the comic book lover step getting myself a pull list for the first time, and at the top is anything from Disney Kingdoms (Disney please take notice). Last month I had picked up copies for non-comics readers.  This month they were on their own!

Blarion Mercurial and Figment are falling.  Mercurial's attempt to turn mental power into reusable energy has instead ripped a hole in reality, and the two are falling, falling, falling.  The pair begin to explore this land that they reached through the power of imagination.  Meanwhile in London, Chairman Illocrant attempts to bring order to Mercurial's Integrated Mesmonic Converter, but something climbs out of the hole that our heroes fell through.  Meanwhile, back in the strange new land Mercurial and Figment make new friends and perhaps enemies.

Overall, this is an adventure story.  Our heroes explore and discover.  And the best part is that exploration includes Figment's infectious attitude.  He loves learning.  He loves this new place.  He finds it fascinating as everything is completely new in his short three day life.  How exciting it would be if we could capture some of his spirit.  I am not a Figment fanboy but I am digging him.  With Mercurial, I do not feel like he is Dreamfinder yet.  While Figment is curious, Mercurial is a little afraid.  He seems too conservative, perhaps the Chairman's desire for order is impacting him?  And if I could guess I would say a battle between order and chaos (or imagination) is coming.  And I am already picking my side.

There is a really cool element to this story that things that you cannot see have power and create imagination.  It is imagination that created Figment, and he is very alive.  He is more alive than many of us are!  But another peoples in this strange new land can create also with something that you cannot see but with a skill that most of us have.  Sometimes you do not need material to make matter! 

The Between Tween loves this.  The Tween was attracted to Figment and he was the Tween's in character. The Tween identified with Figment not understanding big words and the spirit of optimism. But best of all  I am reading and discussing a comic with one of my kids.  And it was the Tween who was most nervous that we would not get a copy of this issue!

This is getting crazy, this Jim Zub story has to be sold at Epcot!  It only makes sense.  Kids meet Figment on the ride and get to take his origin home with him.  I am not holding out for a Museum of the Weird addition to the Haunted Mansions after Disney Kingdoms Seekers of the Weird, but this comic and its popularity has to lead to some serious consideration to get Dreamfinder added back to the park.  Kids come, ride, read and then want to come back to meet their heroes.  Now this is a plan I could see happen!

I really hope Disney is storyboarding a sequel, because this is a hit.  And one of Disney's toughest collectibles to get hands on is a comic.  You cannot buy it in the parks.  You might be able to find it in your local comic shop.  Okay I am sure that you can find it on Ebay.  But as a comics and Disney fan this is what I have been waiting for, a Disney comic home run!

Cap's Comics - Disney Kingdoms Seekers of the Weird #5

It is the final battle!  The Wardens of the Museum of the Weird face off against Despoina and the Shadow Society hoping to free the Reaper King from the Coffin Clock.  And the Keep kids are stuck in the middle as they hope to free their parents and save the world.  Will Uncle Roland prove to be a hero that the kids can trust?  This questions and more are answered in the final action-packed issue of Brandon Seifert's and Karl Moline's final issue from this new Disney comic line. 

Brian Crosby Imagineer Variant Cover

As an issue, I felt Disney Kingdoms Seekers of the Weird was somewhat typical for a final story arc comic issue, a fast resolve.  That happens in most comic stories as setup often takes much of the artist and writer's time.  I was satisfied with the ending, how characters were handled and felt it was consistent with the entire five issue run.  In my house the continued use of the lacrosse stick is very popular!  Overall, Siefert gave his title a successful and satisfying ending.

I want to see more of this.  I mean this in two ways.  First, I do not like horror but I love comic books.  And I feel like there is not enough all ages comics.  This really is a horror comic that both adults and kids can enjoy.  There are monsters and demons but it is not so scary that neither the Between Tween or I had trouble sleeping.  And it was something we both could read together.  My local comic shop guy thought it was really cool I was sharing a comic with one of my children.  The Tween reads this title because of the Disney angle, superhero titles generally are not enjoyed by this youngster.   Second, I want more of this story.  Yes, we know more Disney Kingdoms are on the way.  And that is great.  But I do feel like another mini-series story could be told about the Keep kids and their family.  An Uncle Roland prequel could also be cool.  I just worry that the sales drops, typical with any comic, could hurt the future of the franchise.  Of course, it is with the collected edition Marvel will make its money.

And crazy idea here, please sell this in the parks.  Use the Haunted Mansions to get kids interested in comics!

Crazy right?

Next month Figment #1!

Between Books - More Cute Stories Volume 3: Museum of the Weird

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As a Disney fan and a comic book guy, I've been paying a lot of attention lately to the Museum of the Weird.  I have enjoyed the behind the scenes story of this old idea that has been dusted off by Marvel Comics to become Disney Kingdom's Seekers of the Weird.  So when I saw that Rolly Crump had put together one of his oral histories recounting his history with the idea, well I knew I had to hear it since Walt Disney developed the concept after reviewing some Crump designs.

Like the other offerings in this series, More Cute Stories Volume 3: Museum of the Weird is all Rolly all the time.  In this title he provides the story of how the Museum of the Weird was created.  And it all starts with the beloved Haunted Mansion!  He details how Yale Gracey and himself were working on the Mansion attraction and reassigned to work on the World's Fair attractions.  And he discusses how Walt Disney created the Museum of the Weird for concepts that Rolly developed.  But Walt Disney pulled Rolly off the Mansion and assigned him to New Tomorrowland.  By the time this project was completed, Disney had passed away.  And the head of Imagineering Dick Irvine was more interested in the contributions of his own generational peers than the younger Crump.  So Crump was made Disneyland's Art Director and mostly worked with maintenance!  Crump provide listeners with an overview of how the Museum would have been laid out and what his hopes for the Museum's future are now that it has been rediscovered by Marvel.

What really fascinates me in these presentations is Crump's take on people.  Dick Irvine is painted, as in other places, as someone who did not understand this young Imagineer that Disney seemed so interested in.  And Marc Davis, who I have remarked in the past has at times been absent in this series, is seen as someone who also did not understand Crump's work.  Or more importantly, Davis did not understand what Walt Disney saw in Crump's work.  But the person who really stands out in Crump's memory is Walt Disney.  Crump reinforces again and again it is Disney that created the Museum of the Weird, Crump paints himself as only providing concepts.  It is Walt Disney that saw the potential of a full-scale attraction that could be combined with the Haunted Mansion.  As Crump typically does he paints Disney as a hero.  And any Disney fan has to enjoy Crump's discussion of Walt Disney on the set of the Wonderful World of Disney, a showing that Disney handpicked Crump to attend.  

For me one of the best segments was listening to Rolly describe what the Museum of the Weird would look like.  First, it would be a Museum.  The Museum would be designed as a walk through attraction that would designed to meet the guests expectation of what a museum should be.  Second there would be a large rotunda and and a series of hallways.  I will not spoil the whole tour, but one of the first things I did was take out my copy of Disney Kingdom's Seekers of the Weird #1 and compare the Disney Legend's description of the rotunda to what I see in the pages of the comic.  In many ways I fell like they nailed the feel that Disney and Crump were looking to set.  My only real question was the described placement of the gypsy wagon which I felt was improperly placed based on Crump's discussions.  But after looking through several other panels I think they may have hit the proper placement and my imagination may be slightly off kilter. 

This honestly is my favorite of the three volumes.  Since Crump is only discussing one central subject, the discussion flows smoothly and logically.  But best of all, you really feel like Crump is getting on a roll as he talks.  You can imagine this entire disc as one stream of thought.  I found myself getting excited as he told his behind the scenes stories of what could have been. You can really get caught up in his enthusiasm, especially since one can tell he cares for Walt Disney's idea.  Crump is excited and you feel excited!  

I have really enjoyed volume 1 and volume 2 of this oral history series.  But More Cute Stories Volume 3: Museum of the Weird is my favorite to date.  And honestly that enthusiasm is not about the comic.  But really I would enjoy this volume without a comic because Rolly is so enthusiastic about this topic.  The star is Rolly Crump and hearing his voice gain steam as he gets excited about Walt Disney's Museum of the Weird.  As if an attraction can kick-off a movie franchise and Marvel Cinematic Universe movies based on comics are making huge profits for Disney, who knows what the future holds for the Museum of the Weird!      

Copy Provided for Purposes of Review