Bluewater Prods. has expanded the RAY HARRYHAUSEN PRESENTS comic line with nine new titles for 2008.

In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of some of the Harryhausen classic films, Sony DVD is releasing IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA and EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS. Bluewater will release comics inspired by these classics as well. The Sony DVDs will include previews of the comics as part of the special features.

Titan Books has acquired worldwide rights to a deluxe making-of book for the Lionsgate and Odd Lot Ent. production of Will Eisner's THE SPIRIT. Featuring interviews with the cast and crew, color photos, storyboards and production art, plus the full screenplay, the book is slated for publication Dec. 2008, ahead of the movie's release on Jan 16, 2009.

A new coffee-table book chronicling the animated hstory of Nickolodeon's Nicktoons will hit the shelves of major retailers this month. NOT JUST CARTOONS: NICKTOONS (Melcher Media, $40.00), edited by Jerry Beck, is the first book to cover the entire Nicktoons story that began on Sunday, Aug. 11, 1991, when Nickelodeon first unleashed REN & STIMPY, DOUG and RUGRATS on an unsuspecting nation.

IDW Publishing is set to re-release the definitive visual adaptation of Richard Matheson's classic vampire novel I AM LEGEND. When IDW Publishing first released its graphic adaptation of I AM LEGEND, the trade paperback became an immediate best-seller and quickly sold out. Now IDW will resurrect the out-of-print book with a new deluxe edition that showcases the original novel's vision in advance of the December film adaptation, starring Will Smith, from Warner Bros. Pictures.

This coming Wednesday, October 10, the first issue of DC Comics' three-issue mini-series, CAPTAIN CARROT AND THE FINAL ARK, co-created by Scott Shaw! and Roy Thomas, hits stands. CAPTAIN CARROT AND THE FINAL ARK has been written by Bill Morrison, drawn by Scott Shaw!, inked by Al Gordon, colored by Tom Luth, lettered by Ken Lopez and edited by Joey Cavalieri.

TOKYOPOP and The Jim Henson Co. have announced LEGENDS OF THE DARK CRYSTAL: THE GARTHIM WARS, the all-new manga prequel to THE DARK CRYSTAL. The graphic novel was written by Barbara Randall Kesel, with illustrations by Heidi Arnhold & Max Kim and a special cover painted by Jae-Hwan Kim (WARCRAFT, WAR ANGELS, KING OF HELL).

Electronic Arts Inc. and BL Publishing, a division of Games Workshop, announced that BL Publishing will release an original novel based on the highly anticipated MMORPG, WARHAMMER ONLINE: AGE OF RECKONING. The first book in the new series of novels set in the Age of Reckoning, EMPIRE IN CHAOS, will be available in all major bookstores and on the BL Publishing website in early 2008.

Aviator and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson announced that Virgin Comics will be bringing legendary superhero Dan Dare out of retirement with an all-new comic book series. The monthly series, to be written by legendary comic author Garth Ennis (PREACHER, THE BOYS, HITMAN, JOHN WOO'S SEVEN BROTHERS), will premiere in November 2007.

Scholastic, DK and Penguin have inked deals with Lucas Licensing to bring the adventures of Indiana Jones to children's books in connection with the May 22, 2008, release of the fourth installment in the INDIANA JONES film series.

Disney Press will publish a new edition of CINDERELLA featuring artwork by long-time Disney designer Mary Blair, PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY reports. The book, with new text by Cynthia Rylant and illustrations based on Blair's design work from the 1940s, is due out this month. Disney Press ordered a first print run of 50,000.

Dark Horse has acquired the enormously popular seinen manga series, GANTZ. Hiroya Oku, creator of GANTZ, has put together a cast of characters that are both sympathetic and strong in a hardboiled universe of ultra-stylish violence, pathos and sexiness. The wildly renowned anime, also entitled GANTZ from ADV, primarily follows the same story and has been translated in several different languages.

The typical progression in the movie industry these days has been comicbook or graphic novel to film and TV, but Exodus Film Group has secured a comicbook deal for its upcoming CG-animated feature, IGOR, with IDW Publishing. The publishing program includes a series of full color prequel titles leading up to another series of books taking fans through the film and beyond, to then be followed by a full-color paperback, collecting each miniseries.

In response to the success of the first six-book EDGAR & ELLEN series, Star Farm Prods. has signed a deal with Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing for an entirely new six-book series, two graphic novels, a pop-up and a how-to book. The how-to book, entitled THE MISCHIEF MANUAL, is written in the voice of the mischief-makers themselves and is in stores this month.

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division has struck a major publishing agreement for Exodus Film Group's upcoming CG-animated feature film, IGOR. The Simon Scribbles and Simon Spotlight imprints will publish seven books in a wide variety of formats.

The Japanese government will bring BAREFOOT GEN, based on the semiautobiographical manga by atomic bomb survivor Keiji Nakazawa, at the Preparatory Committee For 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in Vienna, Austria. Japan will present English-translated copies to attendees of the event, which runs from April 30 to May 11, 2007.

Peachpit Press has published by the new book, TITLE DESIGN ESSENTIALS FOR FILM AND VIDEO, for $31.99. In TITLE DESIGN ESSENTIALS FOR FILM AND VIDEO, industry expert and bestselling author Mary Plummer shares her savvy and speaks to a diverse audience, including seasoned video editors, indie filmmakers and even dedicated amateurs. Plummer takes almost two decades of personal film and video editing experience and teaches her audience how to create professional titles for projects, no matter what the genre, subject matter or software tool.

BlueWater Prods. is moving from production studio to publisher beginning in May 2007, in conjunction with legendary filmmaker, Ray Harryhausen.

"The reason Marvel and DC is on top is because their books are of high production value and on schedule," said BlueWater Prods. president/managing editor, Darren G. Davis. "We have been working towards self publishing for a while and we are way ahead on our books. I want people to feel confident that our titles will be released when they were solicited."

Eight years after the sold out first edition and follow-up special Japanese version, CG101: A COMPUTER GRAPHICS INDUSTRY REFERENCE has been completely revised and updated for 2007 by author Terrence Masson for release in February. An indispensable companion for producers, students and CG veterans alike, the 2nd edition of CG101 includes:

* New color photos
* Up to date company histories
* Hundreds of updated product entries and web links
* New “insider” details and behind-the-scenes info

Veteran animator Will Vinton dives into the two dimensional comic world with JACK HIGHTOWER, a new action/adventure/comedy graphic novel about a very unique secret agent.

From the University of Minnesota Press for $19.95, MECHADEMIA, a new annual edited by Frenchy Lunning, begins a conversation among scholars, critics and fans about the complexity of art forms like Superflat, manga and anime. The premier issue features the interactive worlds that anime and manga have created, including the origins of cosplay, depictions of werewolves, forgotten images from a founding manga artist, videogame interactivity, the nature of anime fandom in America and the globalization of manga.