Written by Matt Zitron, illustrated by Anthony Hope-Smith.

Lots of people believe “Disney on Ice” is more than an ice-skating spectacular, falling for the rumor that Mickey Mouse’s creator was cryonically frozen after death.

Not true.

In the mind-bending “Walt Disney” short comic, Matt Zitron and Anthony Hope-Smith touch on that urban legend before delving into one of the darker possibilities awaiting a man who opted to become a human popsicle with hopes of immortality.

A big thanks to Matt and Anthony (check his art blog) for letting us run the comic in its entirety (after the jump.)

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In today’s A.D.D. world, it’s not easy to sit through long-form content on the Internet. But one huge exception is Rod Serling’s “The Twilight Zone.”

Episodes from the first three seasons of the greatest series to ever grace television are now available for your streaming pleasure at CBS.com.

Everyone has their favorites — and I would have to think long and hard to pick my top 10 — but here are a few on my to-watch (again) list over the next few days:

• Time Enough At Last (Too bad he didn’t have audio stories)
• I Shot An Arrow Into The Air
• Shadow Play
• The Howling Man

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Written and spoken by Andrew Culver, music by Josh Charney.

A world-weary barkeep has a warning for the drifter in the second chapter of this spoken word/music collaboration. Chapter 2 of 5.

New chapters will be released each Wednesday.

 

 Standard Podcast [5:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1587)

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Film has the Oscar, music has the Grammy and speculative fiction podcasting has The Parsec Award.

And it just so happens that Parsec nominations are now open.

So, um, if you like us — if you really like us — it wouldn’t hurt to click on over to their site and nominate Well Told Tales for the Best Speculative Fiction Magazine or Anthology Podcast award and/or the Best Speculative Fiction Story (Short Form) (mention your particular favorite story in the comments.)

It’s not like we’re clearing space in front of our big picture window for a major award or anything. It would be an honor just to be nominated.

Enjoy this profanity-laced promo from podcast novel big-shots Scott Sigler and J.C. Hutchins:
Play promo (warning: explicit)

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The folks over at LostZombies.com are on a mission to alert the world to the imminent zombie apocalypse, and they want your video proof — or re-enactments — for their site and a feature-length documentary.

Damn! And I just recorded my dog chasing a flashlight beam over the tape of my neighbor-lady Mrs. Nonnemacher gnawing on the postman.

Find more videos like this on Lost Zombies

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If you’re going for a roadtrip — heck, a plane, train or automobile trip — this Memorial Day (U.S.) weekend, you should probably fill your MP3 player or burn some audio CDs with pulpy fiction.

You’ve no-doubt got all the Well Told Tales audio stories stockpiled already (right?  right?)  And there are some other swell short story podcasts like the Drabblecast, Variant Frequencies, Escape Pod and Pseudopod.

But if you’ve got an extra long drive/flight/train ride to the beach/grandma’s house/wherever, you may want something longer — a full-fledged audiobook.

Fortunately, Seth over at the Free Listens blog has some suggestions for you, including selections for fans of blockbuster action, light comedy, variety and for travelers with kids.

If none of them suit your fancy, head over to Podiobooks.com and choose something else.

Happy motoring!

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Get your Tivo’s ready — horror anthology returns to network television on June 5 with NBC’s “Fear Itself.”

The series will feature 13 — of course — episodes or “mini-movies” as the Peacock prefers to call them. And they’ve lined up some solid creative types, like directors John Landis (”An American Werewolf in London”) and Brad Anderson (“The Machinist” — an excellent flick, btw), writer Steve Niles (”30 Days of Night”) and actor Brandon Routh (”Superman Returns.”)

“Fear Itself” is executive produced by Keith Addis and Andrew Deane — those are the guys who brought you Showtime’s “Master’s of Horror” series, so they should be able to deliver the goods.

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Written and spoken by Andrew Culver, music by Josh Charney.

In this spoken word/music collaboration, a train-jumping drifter gets dumped in an ominous desert town. Chapter 1 of 5.

New chapters will be released each Wednesday.

 

 Standard Podcast [4:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1852)

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No, this post is not about Rog, Dwayne and Rerun. It’s about the creepy new trailers proliferating around the Web for M. Night Shyamalan’s new movie “The Happening.”

I think Shyamalan is a helluva filmmaker. Yes, his last few flicks have been subpar, but after raising our expectations so high with “The Sixth Sense,” it was easy for fans and critics to be disappointed.

The “red band” (ie: under 17 not admitted) trailer gives me hope that Shyamalan is back at the top of his game. Enjoy:

If you’re an honest youngster, fear not, IGN.com and Apple (among others) have the PG-rated trailer as well.

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The reviews of the 2008 Hugo Award short-fiction nominees on the SFSignal site provide a nice overview of the competing novellas, novelettes and short stories. And there are lots of links so you can read ‘em for yourself.

(As you probably know, the Hugo Awards honor the best science fiction or fantasy works of the year.)

Or if you prefer listening to reading, head on over to Escape Pod for audio podcast editions of four of the five nominated short stories.

Escape Pod has traditionally podcast the Hugo short story nominees, so you can also dig through their archives for past honorees. Nice!

Happy reading/listening.

Link >

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