Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2001

SPIDER-MAN MOVIE UPDATE

It's likely the Spider-Man movie will have a fast-food franchise tie-in, sources have told The Continuum.

Although a restaurant hasn't been announced yet, talks are taking place. It's doubtful that McDonald's, which has a deal with Disney, will be involved.

The X-Men movie had no fast-food promotion, although the X-Men: Evolution animated television series has had a promotion with Taco Bell.

In other Spider-Man movie news:

* Director Sam Raimi recently explained why he's involved in this film.

"The reason I want to make the movie Spider-Man is because I was so enamored with the character when I was younger, in my teenage years," Raimi said. "The comics book are very real stories; they're character driven. Peter Parker is the character who is not just plagued with super-villains. He has real, human problems. And that's what really made it a desirable project."

* Marvel and Sony are in talks about the movie's Internet presentation. The Internet address www.spider-man-movie.com currently will take you to Sony Pictures' site.

MUTANT X TV UPDATE

Tribune Entertainment has released a logo and a show description for Mutant X, the new television series from Marvel Entertainment.

Here's how Tribune describes the show:

"Mutant X represents the next generation of Marvel Entertainment's highly popular franchise of mutant characters. The series details the exploits of Mutant X, a group of humans bound together by a powerful bond of genetically engineered powers of an extraordinary nature. Realizing that genetics projects have spun out of control, the government forms the Office Of Mutant Research, whose sole mission is to capture all mutants in order to 'repair' them. Mutant X are on a mission to seek out fellow mutants to protect them from the government's crusade and recruit them to further a guiding principle of peace and harmony between the mutants and the rest of humanity."

The show, created by Marvel's Rick Ungar and Avi Arad, is not based on the comic of the same name. Mutant X will launch in the fall.

DIXON TALKS DC EVENT

Chuck Dixon has provided more details about the event he and Scott Beatty are writing for DC Comics this October.

Here's what Dixon said:

"The Big Secret Thing that Scott Beatty and I have been cooking up is a six-part stunt (with its own Secret Files!) that will play out all through October and impact the entire DCU that month and continue to impact my three monthlies well into next year. This has been in the works for more than a year at this point. And we're staring to see art and character designs and all that exciting stuff.

"We had a meeting with Matt Idelson and Michael Wright up at DC late last month and it was a neat experience. Matt and Michael laid out the whole stunt on a chart and many of the other DC editors came in to discuss the part their books would play in the stunt. This stunt has been a complicated one to do because it involves tons of characters and all of them have to be checked out and cleared and straightened up continuity wise. I can't tell you how many re-writes we've had to do replacing one character with another to keep everything in line.

"We're getting to write stuff we've only dreamed about before. And, in addition to all that, Scott B. and I will be co-writing an issue of DC's top-selling book that month."

Dixon also announced that he's writing Batgirl #16-18

JURGENS TALKS MARVEL'S SILENT MONTH

Dan Jurgens, writer of Thor and Captain America, told The Continuum that he thinks Marvel's Silent Month event is "fabulous."

All of Marvel's ongoing titles in December will be without words, Marvel's Bill Jemas announced last week.

"As a creator, I can't wait," Jurgens said. "I'll be writing and drawing that issue of Cap and I'm looking forward to the challenge. If we all dig in and do our jobs and properly exercise our creative juices, it should be a real treat for the readers.

"I'm sure some are concerned about it being too repetitive, and that's what we'll have to do our best to avoid."

CARTOON NETWORK'S VILLAIN-TINE'S DAY

Cartoon Network will turn its schedule over to the bad guys during the 12-hour "Villain-tine's Day" marathon from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (ET/PT) on Wednesday, Feb. 14.

Here's a rundown of the episodes for that day:

10 a.m.: The Powerpuff Girls: "Twisted Sister" and "Cover Up."

10:30 a.m.: The Powerpuff Girls: "Fallen Arches" and "The Mane Event."

11 a.m.: Courage the Cowardly Dog: "The Hunchback of Nowhere" and "The Gods Must Be Goosey."

11:30 a.m.: Courage the Cowardly Dog: "Heads of Beef" and "Klub Katz."

Noon: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?: "Scooby-Doo and a Mummy Too."

12:30 p.m.: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?: "Don't Fool with a Phantom."

1 p.m.: The Powerpuff Girls: "Imaginary Fiend" and "Cootie Gras."

1:30 p.m.: The Powerpuff Girls: "Uh Oh... Dynamo."

2 p.m.: Courage the Cowardly Dog: "The Demon in the Mattress" and "Freaky Fred."

2:30 p.m.: Courage the Cowardly Dog: "King Ramses' Curse" and "The Clutching Foot."

3 p.m.: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?: "Jeepers, It's a Creeper."

3:30 p.m.: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?: "A Clue for Scooby-Doo."

4 p.m. Superman: "Brave New Metropolis."

4:30 p.m. Sailor Moon: "The Sweetest Dream."

5 p.m.: Dragonball Z: "Save the World."

5:30 p.m.: Tenchi Universe: "We Need Tenchi."

6 p.m.: Batman: "Feat of Clay (Part Two)."

6:30 p.m.: Outlaw Star: "Galactic Leyline."

7 p.m.: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?: "Hassle in the Castle."

7:30 p.m.: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?: "Scooby's Night with a Frozen Fright"

8 p.m.: The Powerpuff Girls: "Something's a Ms." and "Slumbering with the Enemy."

8:30 p.m. The Powerpuff Girls: "Criss-Cross Crisis."

9 p.m.: Courage the Cowardly Dog: "Night of the Weremole" and "Mother's Day."

9:30 p.m.: Courage the Cowardly Dog: "A Night at the Katz Motel" and "Cajun Granny Stew."

FIRST LOOK: JLA: BLACK BAPTISM #1

JLA: Black Baptism #1 will arrive in stores on March 14 from DC Comics. The issue is written by Sean Smith and Ruben Diaz, with art by Jesus Saiz and Fernando Blanco and a cover by Tim Bradstreet.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"The JLA must stop the rampage of a mob of demons to protect the Sentinels of Magic, but they're going to need some help from the outcast street-mage called Faust! Unfortunately, Faust just happens to be the son of one of the JLA's greatest enemies."

JLA: Black Baptism #1 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: ENEMYACE: WAR IN HEAVEN #1

Enemy Ace: War in Heaven #1 will arrive in stores on March 28 from DC Comics. The issue is written by Garth Ennis, with art by Chris Weston and Christian Alamy.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"Hans Von Hammer, the greatest fighter pilot of World War I known as the Enemy Ace, finds himself in the midst of the Second World War -- and he cannot ignore the call to battle."

Enemy Ace: War in Heaven #1 will be 48 pages and will cost $5.95.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

BRIEFLY