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Monday, May 22, 2000
O'BARR TALKS CROW MOVIE, COMICS
James O'Barr, creator of The Crow, updated The Comics Continuum with news of the new movie, The Crow: Salvation, and a re-release of the original Crow comics story.
The new film has been completed for some time, but is still waiting for an official release date from Miramax's Dimension Films.
"Last I heard, they're hoping to release it in September," O'Barr said. "It's been ready to go. They just need a time spot. They're releasing it in Europe on the 28th."
O'Barr said he saw a rough cut of The Crow: Salvation - starring Eric Mabius and Kirsten Dunst - around Christmas.
"It was pretty good, a lot better than the second one," O'Barr said. "It had the potential to be really good. It was different; it wasn't a repetition of the first one."
O'Barr said that he will be reissuing the original Crow story through his own Blue Monkey Comics. The story will be eight issues.
"There will be two to six new pages of art per book," he said. "And I'm fixing all the art that I wasn't happy with the first time."
O'Barr said readjusting the story was a tricky proposition. "It gets to be a difficult situation," he said. "I could end up re-doing the whole thing again if I didn't show restraint."
The series will contain new covers done this year - and a letters page, too. "There will be photos from the first film," O'Barr said. "I have a lot of photos of Brandon (Lee) on the set. They've been sitting in my basement long enough."
Following that, O'Barr said he plans a new Crow book.
"This time, it has a woman," O'Barr said. "It will be five to seven issues; I'm not sure yet. It depends on how quickly the story tells itself. I like to have some leeway."
X-MEN MOVIE TRIANGLE
The Wolverine/Jean Grey/Cyclops love triangle will be touched upon in the upcoming X-Men movie, said Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine.
"It's explored. Who wouldn't want her?" Jackman said. "She's kinda hot. It definitely explores Wolverine's flirtier side. Sometimes it's hard to tell, whether he's genuinely really attracted, or whether he enjoys flirting or whether he just enjoys pissing Cyclops off.
"It's probably a mixture of all three. The relationship with Jean Grey, it is sexual and he is sexually attracted, but he also really likes her - I mean, in a friendly sort of way. It all hovers in there."
Famke Janssen, who plays Jean Grey, said things don't get too hot and heavy between her and Cyclops, played by James Marsden, in the film.
"I don't get to kiss anybody in the movie, but we had long discussions about that," Janssen said. "Fans know, but people new to the movie don't know about the history of Cyclops and Jean Grey. I am in bed with him at one point, but we don't kiss."
Another twist on the relationship is that Janssen, 36, plays an older character than Marsden, 26.
"I think it depends on which comic book you're reading, which year," Marsden said. "It's all relative. In my opinion, I'd like to see the younger guys with the older women!"
Jackman said the triangle is an example of the depth of the X-Men characters.
"It's so great to have super-heroes with flaws," he said. "They've all got their own little things, and they're all explored in this movie. It's a daunting task to write a script in a modern movie with eight, nine, 10 characters.
"They're all explored here, and it's a huge story-telling task, to introduce all those characters, and then get a story in there. I think they do a great job of it in the script."
In other X-Men news:
ORDWAY ON MAXIMUM SECURITY
Jerry Ordway told The Comics Continuum he is the artist on Maximum Security, the upcoming Marvel Comics mini-series.
"At present, I am working on pencils for a Kurt Busiek Marvel mini, out in September called Maximum Security," Ordway said. "I'm real thrilled to be working with Kurt, whose work I've enjoyed for some time now. If I spill any more than that, though, Tom Brevoort, the editor, will revoke my membership in the Merry Marvel Marching Society!"
Ordway said that his JLA book in the Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating ... series from DC Comics will be the fifth book scripted by Lee.
Ordway said that coloring for The Messenger, his one-shot from Image Comics is nearly complete. "I am running a contest at my web site, jerryordway.com, to promote the release by giving away an original sketch as well as signed comics to the runners-up. People can get details at the site," he said.
DEFALCO BRANCHES OUT
After a run of some 20 years, including a stint as editor-in-chief, Tom DeFalco told The Comics Continuum that he is ending his exclusivity with Marvel Comics.
"I've talked to some people," DeFalco said. "Fans of my work better start looking for stuff from other companies."
DeFalco said one of new projects will likely be a creator-owned project with artist Ron Lim.
Despite the end to his exclusivity, DeFalco intends on continuing his work with Marvel's MC2 imprint. "I will continue to do Spider-Girl until they fire me," he said.
Also on the way is a three-issue Darkdevil mini-series by DeFalco and artist Ron Frenz, spinning out of Spider-Girl and starting in September.
"By the time it's done, we'll reveal everything you need to know about Darkdevil, including his origin," DeFalco said. "In every issue, you think you've known the story, but you don't.
"Darkdevil's origin is really complicated. And in the middle of everything, is the man called Kaine, the Secret Society of Scryers, the Kingpin, a mayoral election and all the hoo-hah action in the DeFalco/Frenz manner."
DeFalco noted that readers who haven't read Spider-Girl can still pick up the issue and understand the story.
Following the Darkdevil mini-series, DeFalco and Frenz have plans for an American Dream mini-series early next year. "We haven't even started work on that yet, so I have no idea what it's about," DeFalco said.
LOBDELL TALKS BLINK
"The most unexpected love story in the history of Marvel Comics." That's how writer Scott Lobdell describes the upcoming Blink mini-series from Marvel.
"I can say that in all sincerity," Lobdell said of four-issue mini-series, without offering more details about the source of Blink's affection.
Lobdell prefers to call Blink "a pilot series."
"It's written in such a way, with the last three pages, that we can conceivably bring her back to the Marvel Universe," Lobdell said.
Fans have clamored for the return of Blink since the Age of Apocaplypse story. What made Lobdell decide to be involved?
"I've seen enough creators savage the remains of other creators' characters - I might have been responsible for one or two of those," Lobdell said. "My feeling, is I knew eventually she was going to come back, so I might as well be the guy to bring her back.
Dustin Nguyen is the artist for Blink. "He's going to be the first big superstar of the new millennium," Lobdell said.
In other X-Men/Lobdell news, he said that he and artist Rurik Tyler will be teaming on a Spat and Grovel mini-series. The project is not on Marvel's schedule yet.
BRIEFLY
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