The success of the stop-motion animated film adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM has prompted the release of the comic book version of the film. Scheduled for a February 25, 2009 release through Bluewater Productions out of Portland, Oregon, the stop-motion film-to-comic will be a first for production partners Bluewater Productions and Hand Made Heroes Film & Television, honoring Gothic horror maestro Edgar Allan Poe's 200th anniversary.

Seventy-one years after his first appearance, Superman continues to capture our collective imaginations. Armed with a blue cape and the power to fly, he single-handedly launched the "superhero" genre. So when an unknown copy of the very rare, very first Superman comic book comes to light -- and to auction -- word spreads faster than a speeding bullet.

He's been described as "a strange creature that hatched from an egg." His favorite food is a meat-and-potato stew, but he loathes apples. He communicates sotto voce with a verve that only his friends can understand. When he's nervous or stressed out, watch out -- he is infamous for passing some serious gas. He is featured prominently at major retailers all over the U.S. Hundreds of thousands of people have created fan sites, and millions more have viewed his antics on video sites like Veoh and YouTube. Even THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE featured him in a piece.

In January, IDW Publishing will debut the comicbook prequel to the next TERMINATOR movie, TERMINATOR: SALVATION. The movie is the fourth installment in the big screen contingent of the action series, starring Christian Bale as John Connor and directed by McG. The movie opens in May 2009.

TERMINATOR: SALVATION MOVIE PREQUEL is written by Dara Naraghi (LIFELIKE) with art by Alan Robinson and cover by Nick Runge.

Webcarzz, Inc., the company developing the upcoming virtual world targeted towards boys and their affinity for cars and racing, has entered into a partnership with cartoonist Kyle Baker. Baker will develop a comic book series based on the signature Webcarzz world, an isometric playground populated by original cars that kids are creating. The announcement was made in a press conference Friday as part of the Kids@Play Summit at CES.

Marvel Comics' new issue of SPIDER-MAN will feature soon-to-be inaugurated President-Elect Barack Obama.

Written by Zeb Wells with art by Todd Nauck and Frank D'Armata, the story takes place in Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Day and finds one of Spider-Man's oldest foes attempting to thwart the swearing in ceremony of the 44th President of the United States.

IDW Publishing will release the new graphic novel by Troy Little entitled ANGORA NAPKIN in January 2009. An animated pilot of ANGORA NAPKIN is also in production and set to air on Teletoon in Canada in March 2009.

ANGORA NAPKIN is an adult comedy about a pop music trio of girls who constantly find themselves mired in the horrible and confronted with the macabre. Unable to recognize the dark side of any situation, they always seem to come out on top (with the help of their impromptu peppy songs).

The success of Ray Harryhausen Presents: THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM, a short stop-motion animated film produced by Hand Made Heroes Film & Television has resulted in a comic book deal with Bluewater Productions. The comic will arrive in February, 2009.

When Bluewater President Darren G. Davis and Director Marc Lougee of Hand Made Heroes discovered they were both producing work independently under the Ray Harryhausen Presents banner, Bluewater penned a deal with Lougee to further develop film and comic book cross-over properties.

IDW Publishing has joined with Paramount Pictures, J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions, Kurtzman/Orci Productions and CBS Consumer Products to publish a four-issue limited comic book series tied to next summer's new STAR TREK movie, which will be released in theaters on May 8, 2009.

The seventh book in the d'artiste series from Ballistic Publishing -- MATTE PAINTING 2 -- features master artists Yusei Uesugi (the first digital movie matte painter), Max Dennison and Chris Thunig. With more than 30 Hollywood blockbuster movies to their credit, they show you the approaches and techniques used to create unforgettable movie environments.