Tuesday, May 30, 2000

ANIMATED PROFESSOR XAVIER

The Continuum has obtained the first image of Professor Xavier from the upcoming X-Men Evolution animated series on Kids' WB!

Bob Forward, story editor of the show, told The Continuum that Xavier will be portrayed in a somewhat different light in the series as he oversees a group of mostly teenage mutants.

"Xavier's a lot more gentle and fatherly than we're used to seeing him -- he's got to be; the kids he's dealing with are younger," Forward said. "He can be firm when necessary, but he's never harsh. It's still his hope, throughout the series, that even antagonistic social misfits like Toad and Avalanche can be eventually brought around."

Forward said Xavier is also "somewhat protective."

"He's aware of Magneto and Mystique and he's worried about the trouble he senses brewing beneath the high-school facade, but for right now it hasn't exploded into all-out war and he's determined to prevent it if he can," Forward said. "So there are a lot of things he hasn't told our heroes -- he's still trying to give them as normal a life as possible under the circumstances."

The design of Xavier's wheelchair borrows from the X-Men movie with the "X" on each wheel.

Look for more on X-Men Evolution soon here in The Continuum.

SPIDER-MAN CGI, MOVIE UPDATE

Marvel's Avi Arad said that there will be a computer-generated Spider-Man animated television series to follow the live-action Spider-Man movie.

"We're going to do that at Sony," Arad said. "We haven't selected a network yet, but that's not going to be a big problem."

Arad said the series would probably start in the spring of 2002. "Because the movie is coming out Thanksgiving 2001, we'll follow the show right after the movie," he said.

Arad said he's reading the latest draft for the Spider-Man movie, which is written David Koepp and will be directed by Sam Raimi. "It's terrific. We're really getting there," he said.

Arad confirmed the movie's villains. "It will be Green Goblin and Doc Ock," he said.

In terms of casting, Arad said he expects it to get underway in the next 60 days.

V.I.P. FROM TV COMICS

TV Comics has resumed publishing with a three-issue mini-series based on the syndicated V.I.P. television series.

The mini-series, which will launch in July, is written by C.J. Henderson. Tom Derenick is penciling the first issue, and Tom Grindberg is penciling the second and third issues.

"When I first saw the show, I said, 'That's a comic book,'" said Richard Maurizio of TV Comics, which previously published a comic book based on The Munsters. "Everybody wanted to do it."

The V.I.P. mini-series will contain one story. "There are a lot plot twists and turns," Maurizio said.

Providing covers for the mini-series are Matt Busch, Joe Jusko and Dave Nessen.

TV Comics will also be producing a mini-series based on the syndicated television series Relic Hunter, which stars Tia Carrere and was recently renewed for a second season.

Ford Lytle Gilmore will write Relic Hunter, which will likely start in December. Maurizio said an artist hasn't been selected yet.

Maurizio said he has plans for future V.I.P. comics, too.

"We'd like to shoot to publish eight times a year," Maurizio said. "If it's not a comic book, it'll be a trade paperback. We're also thinking about doing a who's who, describing the characters."

V.I.P. PAGES, GIVE'EM A CLICK

DC TO AXE IMPULSE

Todd Dezago, writer of Impulse, confirmed for The Continuum that DC Comics plans to cancel the title.

"No word on the very last issue," Dezago said. "I'm working on #70 now -- in stores in January -- so we should run at least 'til then. There are a lot of people working to try to save this, both in the industry and out. Many higher-ups at DC love the book, so who knows?"

Dezago said that sluggish sales precipitated the book's demise.

"In this poor market, DC has to make decisions based on the bottom line and...we're below that," Dezago said. "There is truly a devoted following for our little Speedster, but sadly it's just not enough...Sales on some recent issues -- 60 and 61 -- were very low and I'm told that those were the ones that did it to us."

FIRST LOOK - COMPLETE MADMAN

The Complete Madman Comics Vol. 3 trade paperback will ship on Sept. 27 from Dark Horse Comics.

Here's how Dark Horse describes the book, written and drawn by Mike Allred:

"The Complete Madman Comics Vol. 3, collects Madman #11-15, including the four-part 'The Exit of Dr. Boiffard,' the epic Madman maelstrom that still has comics readers young and old asking, 'How do you pronounce Boiffard?' Plus: 'The Truth About Everything And All The Rest,' a Madman title so long only a state-of-the-art trade paperback can hold it. Plus: a gallery of guest-artist pinups. Colored by Laura Allred."

The 136-page book will cost $17.95.

BRIEFLY