MICHAEL GRAY DEAD AT 75

 

You can read the full story here.

He played Billy Batson on Filmation’s live-action Shazam!

NEW COMIC BOOK DAY 10/21/26

Wednesday is New Comic Book Day! Available: Gargoyles #3, Power Rangers: Green #3, Space Ghost vs. The Herculoids #2, & TMNT: The Booyakasha Books vol. 2.

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MICHAEL FOREST DEAD AT 97

 

You can read the full story here.

He voiced Olympus in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue.

NEW COMIC BOOK DAY 10/14/26

Wednesday is New Comic Book Day! Available: Might Morphin Power Rangers: Darkest Hour TPB, Miraculous Ladybug Chibi vol. 7, Power Rangers Unlimited #4, & X-Men '97 Season 2 #5.

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EDSON SILVA DEAD AT 88

 

You can read the announcement here.

He provided the Brazilian Portuguese dubs for Hawkman in Aquaman (1967); Klaw and additional voices in Fantastic Four (1967); Curly Joe, Stan Laruel, Geese Ausbie, a Ghost Pirate, Ben Bing/ Viking in The New Scooby-Doo Movies; and Solomon Grundy in Challenge of the Super Friends. 

NEW COMIC BOOK DAY 10/7/26

Wednesday is New Comic Book Day! Available: Ben 10 Creator Files #1 & Jem and the Holograms Book 1 TPB.

Visit comicshoplocator.com to find a shop near you.

MARTIN MYSTERY

 

MARTIN MYSTERY
(YTV, Discovery Kids October 1, 2003-March 27, 2006)
 
Marathon Animation, Rai Fiction, Image Entertainment Corporation, Merchandising Media GmbH (season 1-2)

  

            Martin Mystère is an Italian comic book created by Alfredo Castelli and Giancarlo Alessandrini, first published by Segio Bonelli Editore in 1982. The titular Martin is an art historian, archaeologist, anthropologist, adventurer, writer, television producer and collector of unusual objects living in New York City; although most of his education and adventures take place in Italy. Following the death of his parents in a plane crash, Martin devoted himself to studying the most enigmatic places and events in human history. Accompanying him on his adventures is Java, a mute Neanderthal man he discovered in a hidden city of Neanderthals. His long-time fiancée and eventual wife is Diana Lombard, a social worker that often gets annoyed with his taking off on his adventures on a whim and being surrounded by beautiful women. Although Martin often comes up against unscrupulous men and secret agencies, he occasionally found himself facing more fantastical beings such as Morgan le Fay, Loki, and Merlin.

Java, Martin, Billy and Diana, on the case.

            The comic was very loosely adapted into a French/Canadian animated series: Martin Mystery. Created by Vincent Chalvon-Demersay and David Michel and developed by them with Séverine Villaume, the show reimagined Martin (Sam Vincent & Alexis Tomassian) and Diana (Kelly Sheridan & Dorothée Pousséo) as 16-year-old Canadian stepsiblings attending Torrington Academy; a boarding school located in Sherbrooke, Quebec. They worked for a secret organization known as “The Center” that covertly protected Earth from extraterrestrial and supernatural threats. Martin’s vast knowledge of the supernatural and his overall intuition made him a valuable member of The Center; however, his hyperactive nature, huge ego and clumsiness tended to get in the way. Working alongside them was Martin’s best friend, Billy (also Vincent & Yann le Madic), a small, green-skinned alien, and Java (Dale Wilson & Sylvain Lemarié), a super-strong and simple-speaking caveman from 200,000 years ago that worked as a janitor at Torrington as a cover. Serving as their supervisor was M.O.M. (Teryl Rothery & Laurence Dourlens); a super-serious former agent that was an expert in hand-to-hand combat. A planned 4^th season would have revealed that M.O.M. was Diana’s mother who had her memories of her family removed and stored so that she could run The Center without distractions.

Martin suffering a slight case of vampirism.

            Martin Mystery debuted on YTV and Discovery Kids (later Nickelodeon) in English and Vrak in French on October 1, 2003, running for 3 seasons across 66 episodes. In May and June of 2004, the series began airing in the United States on the FoxBox Saturday morning programming block. After 7 episodes it was removed and the series was later picked up and aired by Nickelodeon before eventually moving to Nicktoons Network from 2005-08. Because the series was produced by Marathon Animation (now Zodiak Kids & Family France) and Image Entertainment Corporation, Martin Mystery characters have appeared in their other productions; including a  crossover with Totally Spies! In the years since, Martin Mystery has garnered a cult following, despite Alessandrini disavowing the series in 2011 as “very ugly”. While it has had a very limited home media release, episodes can be found on video hosting sites like YouTube. In 2023, Powerkids Entertainment Ltd. and Boneli Entertainment, the production arm of Sergio Bonneli Editore, announced a new 3D computer-animated series based on the comic that seemed to maintain the youthful versions of the characters. However, as of this writing, it has yet to be released.

DENNIS HASKINS DEAD AT 75

 

You can read the full story here.

Best known as Principal Richard Belding from the Saved by the Bell franchise; which he had reprised in an official and unofficial capacity across various projects over the years.

NEW COMIC BOOK DAY 9/30/26

Wednesday is New Comic Book Day! Available: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #4 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtle Power Pack vol. 4.

Visit comicshoplocator.com to find a shop near you.

NEW COMIC BOOK DAY 9/23/26

Wednesday is New Comic Book Day! Available: Biker Mice From Mars: Scorch #2, Power Rangers Compact Comics TPB vol. 1, Power Rangers: Green #1 2nd print & #2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #41 (final issue), & Toxic Crusaders TPB.

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GERRIT GRAHAM DEAD AT 77

 

You can read the full story here.

He played Cat R. Waul in Fievel’s American Tails; Milo in an episode of The Tick (1994); General Blackout, Sign Man, a trooper and Melvin in Dumb and Dumber: The Animated Series; and Guardian in Gargoyles.

NEW COMIC BOOK DAY 9/16/26

Wednesday is New Comic Book Day! Available: Gargoyles #2, Power Rangers Unlimited #3, Space Ghost vs. The Herculoids #1, Street Sharks: Jawsome Justice TPB, & Thundarr the Barbarian Ashcan Edition #1.

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CROC FILES

 

CROC FILES
(Animal Planet, June 28, 1999-January 6, 2001)
 
Discovery Kids, Australia Zoo Productions Pty. Ltd.

 

       Steve Irwin, known as “The Crocodile Hunter”, was an Australian conservationist, environmentalist, zookeeper and television personality. His parents began what is now known as Australia Zoo, which he took over in 1991 and ran with his wife, Terri, until his death in 2006. She was later joined by their children, Bindi and Robert, when they got older. Seeking to educate people about animals and encourage the preservation of their lives and homelands, the Irwins began making the in 1992 during their honeymoon, with the resulting series, The Crocodile Hunter, airing on Animal Planet from 1996-2004. Rather than preach, Steve chose to share his enthusiasm for nature with the audience with an unconventional presenting style. Along with other documentaries and a feature film, the Irwins produced several spin-offs to The Crocodile Hunter. One of those was Croc Files.

Steve Irwin introducing a snake to the audience.

            Also known as The Crocodile Hunter’s Croc Files, the series was geared more towards children. While similar to The Crocodile Hunter with a lot of on location footage taken both inside and outside of Australia Zoo, Croc Files spent a lot of time with Steve and Terri in a shack full of exploration supplies, scientific models of animals and some animal skulls speaking directly to the audience. The connective tissue of the show lay with the titular “files”. Segments were labeled with animations of the tops of file folders; additional facts were presented over a background of collected news clippings and notes like you would find in a file; and the show’s title itself was placed on the front of an animated filing cabinet. It also featured an animated intro of Steve and Terri leaving the aforementioned shack and encountering animals throughout the Australian wilderness using cutout animation. Sharon Gordon, Leanne Forbes, Ben Hartnett and Jayson Price were credited as animators on the series.

Irwin explaining the construction of a crocodile's skull.

            Croc Files debuted on Animal Planet on June 28, 1999; a co-production of Discovery Kids and Australia Zoo Productions. The theme was composed by Greville Patterson, while additional music was composed by Gary Smith, Scott Lloyd Shelly and “Mr. Jones”. After concluding its run on January 6, 2001, it moved to NBC Saturday mornings the following year as one of the debut programs of the Discovery Kids on NBC programming block. It also aired on ITV in the United Kingdom and Network Ten in Australia. A DVD containing four episodes was released by Family Home Entertainment in 2000.

CARLA JEFFREY DEAD AT 33

 

You can read the full story here.

Best known for starring as Bree in Disney’s Zombies franchise, she also voiced Mania in an episode of Marvel’s Spider-Man.