This is page 8 of the comics news archives.

Name Neil Gaiman's Cruise Ship (2005-03-13): Bestselling author Neil Gaiman is auctioning off for charity the chance to name a cruise ship in his next book, Anansi Boys (William Morrow), which is due out in September, 2005.

Plans for Catacombs Movie Announced (2005-03-13): Twisted Pictures and Lions Gate Films announced that Catacombs will be the first picture in their new nine-picture financing and distribution deal together.

Midway and Cartoon Network Sign Games Deal (2005-03-02): Midway Games Inc.

Batmania Hits Toy Fair (2005-03-02): Warner Bros.

Hot Stuff Comic Goes Mobile (2005-03-01): FunMail and Classic Media are heating up wireless phones' screens nationwide with a launch of Hot Stuff, a comic magazine character.

Garfield Helps Kids at SparkTop.org (2005-03-01): Today Schwab Learning, a nonprofit program of the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation dedicated to helping families of children with learning and attention problems, has announced a partnership with cartoonist Jim Davis, creator of comic icon Garfield.

ShoPro and Viz to Merge (2005-02-26): ShoPro Entertainment Inc.

Ringo Starr Becomes Super Hero (2005-02-23): Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment has forged a joint venture partnership with Ringo Starr to create and launch an original entertainment franchise.

Marvel Signs Mass Market Book Deals (2005-02-11): Marvel Enterprises, Inc.

Will Eisner Dead at 87 (2005-01-05): Comics legend Will Eisner has died, after complications from quadruple bypass surgery.

Nick Cassavetes to Direct Iron Man (2004-12-03): New Line Cinema and Marvel Studios, a division of Marvel Enterprises, have signed Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook, John Q) to direct the big screen adaptation of Iron Man, based on the Marvel Super Hero.

Illegal Garfield Books in China (2004-08-28): The BBC reported that Paws Incorporated, which licenses Garfield in the United States and bills itself as the worldwide headquarters of the wisecracking comic strip cat, is going after three China firms for publishing illegal Garfield books.

POW!, iBooks and Komikwerks Launch Online Comics Service (2004-08-27): POW! Entertainment, Inc.

Marvel Comics to Publish Superhero Novels (2004-06-11): Marvel Comics, a comic book publisher and a division of Marvel Enterprises, Inc.

The Manga Boom (2004-05-12): Sales of manga comics are exploding in the United States and surprisingly the largest demographic reading the Japanese comics are teen and tween girls.

RIOT Media Targets Tween Market (2004-04-16): RIOT Media, a new company that will develop, produce and market multi-platform entertainment programming and media products for tween boys, has launched with RIOT, its flagship branded property.

More Films From Comic Books (2004-03-15): Lions Gate Entertainment plans film releases based upon two more popular Marvel properties -- Iron Fist and Black Widow.

New Comic Books Based on Online Game (2004-02-24): NCsoft Corporation, a developer of online computer games, and Blue King Studios have announced plans to publish a monthly comic book based on NCsoft's online computer game, City of Heroes.

AOL and DC Comics Launch Online Batman Comic Strip (2003-10-10): The Dark Knight Detective, the citizens of Gotham City and AOL members will soon have a new nemesis -- Sin Tzu -- who will make his cyberspace debut this Fall in the a new original online Batman comic strip created for America Online by DC Comics.

Gemstone to Publish Comic Price Review (2003-03-21): Gemstone Publishing has announced plans to publish Overstreet's Comic Price Review, a specialty publication that will provide pricing information regarding sales of high-grade comic books and collectibles graded in the 9.