San Diego, California.  Dark Horse Comics announced the acquisition of the license to publish a one-shot comic book adaptation of the Disney/Pixar computer animated film Monsters, Inc. here today. Monsters, Inc., which features the voices of Billy Crystal and John Goodman, will debut this November as will the Dark Horse comic adaptation.  Because of the enormous success of merchandise associated with previous Disney/Pixar projects, Toy Story I and Toy Story II, competition for Monsters, Inc. licenses has been strong, even though licensed merchandise has been in something of a slump since the overheated release of Star Wars Episode I.  Toy giant Hasbro, which took losses on its expensive licensing deal with Lucasfilm for Episode I and subsequently cut back drastically on movie licensing, nevertheless has made Monsters Inc. its major licensed toy line of the year.  Hasbro's Monsters, Inc. toys were the hit of this year's Toy Fair, and the Topps Company is mounting a major push for its line of Monsters Inc. trading cards (see 'Topps Gets Monsters Inc.'). 

 

The Dark Horse edition of Monsters, Inc. will be a 48-page, perfect bound one-shot in full color, adapted from the comic version created by Disney's Italian subsidiary.  Disney Italy produces a large percentage of the Disney comics that are sold in many different languages and markets throughout Europe.