Soo Lee will adapt The Wizard of Oz. Dark Horse’s Red Book explores UFOs in Russia. J. Michael Straczynski returns to Spider-Man.
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Episode Transcript:
Soo Lee to adapt Wizard of Oz.
Red Book explores UFOs in Russia.
J. Michael Straczynski returns to Spider-Man.
This is Comic Book Club News for June 20, 2025.
Soo Lee To Adapt Wizard of Oz:
Writer and artist Soo Lee is off to see the wizard with The Wizard of Oz: The Official Film Adaptation Graphic Novel from Dynamite. And before you roll your eyes at the umpteenth adaptation of the classic tale, the twist here — beyond Lee’s (no pun intended) dynamite artwork — is that she’ll be adapting directly from the original screenplay, including moments that weren’t seen on screen in 1939.
Said Lee via press release, “I’m not reinventing the wheel, but I’m adding my interpretation to the history of this legendary story. I was allowed more pages to indulge in and take my time on certain scenes, so I took advantage of the comics medium. I wanted to really shine light on Dorothy and her friends’ relationships and emotions.”
If you’re not familiar with Lee’s work on classic properties, go check out Dynamite’s superb Disney Villains: Maleficent, a haunting fable that pits the Disney baddie against an increasingly powerful set of enemies. While no release date was provided by the publisher, they did note that it is “hitting in plenty of time in advance of Wicked 2.” Given Wicked for Good is hitting on November 21, I’m gonna take a stab and say this will hit stores in September. But who knows? Not me! I don’t even have a brain!
Dark Horse’s Red Book Explores UFOs in Russia:
They say in Soviet Union, comic book read you, but James Tynion IV and Michael Avon Oeming are proving they’re better read than dead with Red Book, a new four-issue series from Dark Horse that will explore UFO activity in the Soviet Union and China.
Said Tynion via press release, “Mike and I wanted to do something special with the latest volume of BLUE BOOK and I think you’ll love what we have in store for you. We’re bring our True Weird goodness to the other side of the globe with RED BOOK, where we’re getting to dig into the truth behind UFO encounters from the Soviet Union and Communist China from over the 20th Century!”
Specifically, Red Book will focus on an incident in Russia in 1961 when nine students mysteriously died in what is now known as the Dyatlov Pass Incident.
Red Book #1 will hit stores on October 8, 2025.
J. Michael Straczynski Returns To Spider-Man:
Sure, we’re a little late to this news, but I’m all out of faith, this is how I feel: I’m wide awake, and I can see the perfect Marvel Comic is Amazing Spider-Man: Torn, a new five-issue series written by J. Michael Straczynski.
Also featuring art by Pere Pérez, the limited series brings Straczynski back to the character he gave wrist spurs to, killed, and introduced to a large vampire-style guy named Morlun. He also did some other stuff that folks liked better, for what it’s worth.
The book will take Peter Parker back to his, per PR from Marvel, “college days at Empire State University with Gwen, Harry, MJ and Flash! Spidey takes on classic villains but JMS and Pere introduce a terrifying new villain and side of the Marvel Universe that will reverberate into the present from the past!”
While illusion never changed into something real, Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #1 will hit stores on October 8.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And I’m cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor!
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