N E W S
Return to the Continuum home page

Clicking on images frequently provides larger ones.
Thursday, Dec. 7, 2000

ULTIMATE X-MEN: PREVIEW

EDITOR'S NOTE: Marvel Comics has asked The Continuum to reduce its Ultimate X-Men preview from 12 pages to four pages. This request came after the pages were published with permission from Bender/Helper, Marvel's public relations outfit.

"Bender/Helper was unfortunately misinformed," said Marvel's Bill Rosemann. "Marvel has not given anyone permission to post all 12 pages on any web site. The pages were for review purposes only."

The Continuum regrets any inconvenience this might have caused our readers.

Marvel Comics has provided The Continuum with a 12-page preview of Ultimate X-Men #1, the launch of the second Ultimate title which will ship on Dec. 20.

"We are extremely excited by the reaction to the Ultimate Marvel lineup," said Bill Jemas, Marvel's president, publishing and new media. "Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men have received tremendous support among fans and retailers alike. The younger generation has always been fans of Spider-Man and the X-Men, however, they have found it very difficult to follow them through comics. With Ultimate Marvel, they can now relate to the heroes and grow up with them the way I did."

Ultimate X-Men #1 is written by Mark Millar, with art by Adam Kubert and Art Thibert.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"The place is a world very much like ours. The time is now. The phenomenon is genetic mutation. It is a time of change. Humanity now faces mutants, a mysterious sub-species that is gifted with strange and frightening powers. Hidden among the population, they are feared and hated by their human cousins. As rumors and urban myths about their existence spread across the world, the U.S. Government creates its own initiative to deal with this threat: the Sentinel Project. Meanwhile, two men wage a secret war for the hearts and minds of young mutants everywhere. Charles Xavier has recruited a cadre of students including Cyclops, Jean Grey and Beast that call themselves the 'X-Men.' But there are others out there, living in fear, struggling to deal with what they are: Ororo Munroe, Bobby Drake... and another, more dangerous mutant named Logan. Simultaneously, the terrorist known only as Magneto has assembled 'The Brotherhood,' a militant group dedicated to the overthrow of human authority. A war is on the horizon-and these amazing young men and women will decide the future of all humanity."

Ultimate X-Men #1 will be 48 pages and will cost $2.99. Subsequent issues will cost $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

BATMAN BEYOND TO RETURN; X-MEN EXCELS

Donna Friedman, senior vice-president Kids' WB! programming, told The Continuum that Batman Beyond is not being cancelled.

"Batman Beyond will definitely be on the schedule for next season," Friedman said.

With production of Batman Beyond having ended, though, will there be new episodes next season?

"You'll have to stayed to tuned to the Upfronts," Friedman said, referring to an as-yet-established day early next year when the network unveils its complete plans for the 2001-2002 season.

It's possible that even if additional episodes of Batman Beyond aren't made, the network could save new shows for next season.

In related news, Friedman said that a premiere date for The Zeta Project, the Batman Beyond spin-off, has not been set yet, but should be announced soon, possibly in January.

Friedman said that she is "absolutely thrilled" with the performance of X-Men: Evolution in its first month. The recent sweep stunts by the network, with back-to-back episodes of X-Men: Evolution on Nov. 25, drew strong ratings.

"We're excited in doing a show with Marvel that brings X-Men to a whole new generation of kids," Friedman said.

As for renewals for either X-Men: Evolution or Static Shock, Friedman again said, "Stay tuned."

Men in Black, which was pulled from Saturday to make room for X-Men: Evolution, continues to be a dependable performer on weekdays. Friedman said the show will return to Saturdays this spring.

And, of course, Kids' WB!'s bread and butter remains Pokemon. "A lot of the skeptics predicted that the show wouldn't come back with the same strength," Friedman said. "Obviously, the show has lived up to our expectations. It's still the No. 1 show for kids this fall."

ROBERTSON TO PLAY UNCLE BEN?

Cliff Robertson will play Uncle Ben in the Spider-Man live-action, Daily Variety's Army Archerd reported on Wednesday.

Neither Columbia Pictures nor Marvel Studios could confirm Robertson's casting on Wednesday night.

In his column, Archerd said that Robertson was at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., for meetings. Robertson then returned to New York for post-production on The Curse of the 13th Child, a film based on a true Indian legend exacted upon the British Redcoats in the 1700s in the New Jersey Pinebaron Forest.

Robertson, 75, has appeared in more than 70 movies and television series since 1943. He won an Academy Award in 1968 for Charly.

Robertson also played the villain Shame for four episodes of the 1960s live-action Batman television series.

THE COVEN GOES TO AVATAR PRESS

Avatar Press has announced that it will publish a series of full-color mini-series and specials featuring The Coven, the Ian Churchill creation that launched at Awesome Entertainment.

Avatar's first Coven project will be The Coven: Spellcaster, a March release which will feature interior artwork by Al Rio and covers by , left to right, Rio, David Finch, Matt Martin and Tim Vigil (not shown).

GIVE'EM A CLICK

"Ian Churchill and Jeph Loeb kept readers spellbound with their work on this series, making it one of the hottest title launches in recent years," said Avatar Press editor-in-chief William Christensen, who will also write The Coven: Spellcaster with Mark "As we have begun work on it over the past few months, it's easy to see why. This is a great mix of characters and concepts. And with Al Rio on interior art and guys like David Finch on covers, I think we're capturing that dark magic that makes The Coven great.

Coven #1/2

"We are going to deliver what the fans have been demanding with Al Rio's art on this book. As we have put out titles such as Avengelyne and Exposure in recent months, readers have been asking to see more high-profile, full color projects from their favorite creators. So I was very pleased to be able to get artists like Rio and David Finch involved with this. Finch of course is doing scorching work on best-selling Aphrodite IX at the Cow right now. And Al Rio's art on this project is the best work of his career. That's definitely saying something considering his work on titles like Gen 13. Al's fans know that he can draw it all, from monsters and mayhem to beautiful babes, and he gets ample opportunity to show off his range of talents in The Coven: Spellcaster."

Begun at Awesome in 1997, The Coven is an enigmatic group whose members possess supernatural powers, brought together to maintain the balance between good and evil. Spellcaster, a member of The Coven, is a beautiful young white witch named Sasha Cullen. Still coming into her true power, Sasha is the focus of The Coven: Spellcaster.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

The Coven: Spellcaster is a one-shot with a special 1/2 prelude story in March.

MARVEL STOLEN ART RETRIEVED

Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada issued a release on Wednesday regarding the recovery of art stolen from the company.

Here's what Quesada said:

"I'm happy to announce that yesterday Marvel caught the person responsible for the art theft which occurred in the Marvel offices on the night of November 20th. As of this morning we have the majority of the art back and anticipate getting the remainder of it by weeks end. Sometime next week we will issue another release if there are any outstanding pieces still missing, so please continue a vigilant watch in case anything on the originally released list happens to show up.

"I want to thank everyone on the Internet, in the press and the in the art dealing community who assisted us by getting the word out and also the folks at Marvel, especially Rob Grosser and Wilson Ramos, who were so diligent in catching the person who committed this crime. It saddens me that things like this happen, but I do take some solace knowing that this person will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

"Here at Marvel we take tremendous pride in the work created by our artist and will not stand for this sort of thing happening. We may not be able to prevent it fully but as this case shows, we will do our best to hunt down the people responsible and try to set things right.

"For those who are curious as to how the case was solved. We found the culprit in the morning tide to a lamppost with web fluid."

FIRST LOOK: BATMAN #586

Batman #586 will arrive in stores next Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by Ed Brubaker with art by Scott McDaniel and Karl Story and a cover by McDaniel.

Here's how DC describes the issue, which falls under the "This Issue: Batman Dies!" umbrella:

"It's a duel to the death between Batman and Oswald Cobblepot, the avian gangster known as the Penguin...and you'll never guess the outcome."

Batman #586 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: NIGHTWING #52

Nightwing #52 will arrive in stores next Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by Chuck Dixon, with art and cover by Greg Land and Drew Geraci.

Here's how DC describes the issue, which falls under the "This Issue: Batman Dies!" umbrella:

"Nightwing faces the feisty feline of femme fatales, Catwoman. Though Selina salivates over the priceless Klopmann Diamond, there's no way Nightwing's going to let her steal it from the King of Diamonds, Casino. But when a group of gun-toting burglars enters the scene, will the duo forge an unlikely alliance?"

Nightwing #52 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: HARLEY QUINN #3

Harley Quinn #3 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by Karl Kesel, with art and cover by Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"Get ready for pajama-party-rama-madness, guest-starring Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Hope, Mercy, the Body Doubles and more. After bombing out with Two-Face, Harley decides to gather the bad girls of the DC Universe for a sleepover. (How else to show off her wild new digs?) But she ends up with more guests than she's got miniature pigs-in-blankets -- and if that weren't horrific enough, there's a conspiracy afoot."

Harley Quinn #3 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #587

Adventures of Superman #587 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from DC Comics. The issue is written by J.M. DeMatteis and Joe Casey, with art by Mike S. Miller and José Marzan, Jr. and a cover by Miller.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"It's the showdown between Superman and Satanus for the soul of Metropolis. But it might cost Kal-El something dear. Meanwhile, break out the cigars. Lois Lane's sister Lucy finally gives birth."

Adventures of Superman #587 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK



BRIEFLY

  • The Tuesday, Dec. 19 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on WB is "Into the Woods." Spike disrupts Buffy's one moment of peace after her mom's successful operation to expose Riley's late nights spent in the arms of a vampire, sending an upset and bewildered Buffy into a tailspin and putting their relationship in turmoil.

  • Upcoming villains in Ultimate Spider-Man will include Doctor Octopus, Kraven, the Enforcers and Electro.

  • Dark Horse will release a trade paperback in April reprinting the Joker/Mask mini-series by Henry Gilroy and Ramon Bachs.

  • George Perez has announced that Crimson Plague #3 from Gorilla Comics has been delayed until April.

  • Entertainment Tonight will carry a report on the Tomb Raider movie on Thursday. The film's trailer debuts online on Friday at 11 a.m. (ET).

  • Coming Friday: X-Men TV news - and much more!!!
    E-Mail the Continuum at roballs@aol.com



    Return to the Continuum home page


    Copyright © 2000, The Comics Continuum