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Today something strange emerges from Disney and Marvel as a gripping new comic based on concepts of the past. Disney’s theme park history is filled with rich ideas that were never built – but also never forgotten. Now a few of Disney’s Imagineers and a team of Marvel artists and writers have opened some old drawers to breathe new life into one of the most odd of them all.
“Seekers of the Weird” #1 hits store shelves today, the first in a line of “Disney Kingdoms” comics that will explore new stories based on both familiar and unfamiliar pieces of Disney’s parks. This first installment thrusts readers into absurdities inspired by the clever, quirky, and often creepy creations of legendary Imagineer Rolly Crump.
Decades ago, Walt Disney had his Imagineers cooking up ideas for what ultimately became The Haunted Mansion and in the process Crump crafted a series of bizarre “artifact” drawings that were so unlike anything else that they were to become an attraction of their own, dubbed the Museum of the Weird. Though The Haunted Mansion was built, that Museum was not, leaving these drawings to linger as intriguing artifacts of their own. “Seekers of the Weird” takes over from there, making more out of these individual drawings by wrapping a story around them.
The first issue is definitely an introduction to the new family of characters that will drive this adventure across a 5-part series. Centered around a family-run business called “Keep It Weird,” buying and selling oddities of this world, things definitely get “weird” fast as the two children, Melody and Maxwell Keep, quickly realize there is more to their parents’ store than they ever imagined. Add in estranged but engaging Uncle Roland and a host of wild creatures and “Seekers of the Weird” demands attention with action-filled sequences that are sure to make fans of Disney’s darker side smile.
Beyond the obvious name connection between Rolly Crump and Uncle Roland, keen-eyed readers familiar with old Museum of the Weird concepts will easily spot the inclusion of some of Crump’s most famous sketches as the group begins the exploration that will surely be a wild ride.
Walt Disney Imagineers Jim Clark, Brian Crosby, Tom Morris and Josh Shipley along with Marvel writer Brandon Seifert and editor Bill Rosemann have created a visually pleasing comic that will pique the curiosity of anyone who reads it, dying to know what happens next. Naturally, the first issue all winds up in a cliffhanger with the tease that “it gets weirder” in the second installment, a welcome invitation to return for more when the next is released on February 19, 2014.
To grab comic and Disney collectors’ attention, there are four different covers available for this first issue, the main cover plus three variants, including one featuring Rolly Crump’s own artwork. Future issues will also feature variant covers by Imagineer Brian Crosby.
More information and a digital version can be found at Marvel.com.
