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Monday, March 26, 2001

NEW X-MEN: EVOLUTION, BATMAN BEYOND EPISODES

New episodes of X-Men: Evolution and Batman Beyond highlight Kids' WB!'s programming from April 2-April 14.

Following this Saturday's new episode of X-Men: Evolution, "Shadowed Past," Kids' WB! will show a rerun of "Middleverse" on Saturday, April 7 and a new episode, "Grim Reminder" on Saturday, April 14.

"Grim Reminder" is written by Len Uhley from a Greg Johnson story and is the most Wolverine-centric story this season. It involves Wolverine's Weapon X origins and Sabretooth.

The episode also features Nightcrawler and Shadowcat.

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The "Shadowed Past" episode is part of Kids' WB!'s "Super Secrets Revealed" stunt. Look for complete previews of "Shadowed Past" and "Grim Reminder" soon here in The Continuum.

Turning to Batman Beyond, the Saturday, April 7 episode, "Countdown," will be the final Saturday 11:30 a.m. (ET) episode. After that, Batman Beyond is moving exclusively to Monday-Thursday from 3-4 p.m.

Upcoming episodes of Batman Beyond include "Disappearing Inque" and "April Moon" on Monday, April 2; "Meltdown" and "Hooked Up" on Tuesday, April 3; "Sentries of the Last Cosmos" and "Mind Games" on Wednesday, April 4; "Payback" and "Eyewitness" on Thursday, April 5; "Where's Terry?" and "King's Ransom" on Monday, April 9; "Spellbound" and "Gotham Golem" on Tuesday, April 10; "Speak No Evil" and "Inqueling" on Wednesday, April 11; and "The Curse of the Kobra - Pt. 1" and "The Curse of the Kobra - Pt. 2" on Thursday, April 12.

After the "Countdown" episode, "Unmasked" remains the only unaired episode among the 52 produced.

Upcoming episodes of The Zeta Project include "Shadows" on April 7 and "Remote Control" on April 14. Upcoming episodes of Static Shock include "They're Playing My Song" on April 7 and "Child's Play" on April 14.

STEVE ENGLEHART TALKS CELESTIAL QUEST

Steve Englehart, writer of the upcoming Celestial Quest mini-series from Marvel Comics, told The Continuum that it has a new launch date and an artist.

"First, the book has been moved back to a September launch date," Englehart told The Continuum. "It's got something to do with Marvel's internal scheduling - nothing to do with the artist or me, who are well along at this point.

"Second, the artist is Jorge Santamaría, a Spaniard who did Wolverine 2000. As it happens, I speak Spanish, so even though I write the plots in English, we end up discussing everything in Spanish eventually -- Jorge speaks English to a degree, but I speak Spanish better. Tom (Brevoort, editor) also speaks Spanish to some degree - I don't actually know how well - but one way or another we're all on the same page. Who says the Internet doesn't make the world smaller?

"The series, amazingly enough, is Mantis vs. Thanos - which is to say, we watch each side of the conflict as it builds toward its 8th-issue climax. It's not all about Mantis with an occasional foray by the villain; each half of this equation has a story to be told. I'm naturally trying to fix all the things that have gone wrong for Mantis since the Celestial Madonna saga, and finding that I really like her as a character - and really regretting that it's taken this long to get back to her with a free hand. On the other hand, I'm determined to do a Thanos worthy of the name - doing something he hasn't done before.

"Of course, Mantis and Thanos aren't alone in this thing. She's got a small group of Avengers on her side: Thor, Vision, Wanda, and Silverclaw. They're joined by Haywire of the Squadron Supreme and the Silver Surfer. Thanos has his relationship with Death going on, and makes use of my old pal Cap'n Reptyl, leader of the Saurian space pirates. Haywire is hoping he can get Death to give him back his dead girlfriend, but he's got several surprises coming. Then there's Mantis's son - born just six years ago, Marvel time - when the Madonna series took place, of course - but already grown to adolescence, being half-plant. His name's Quoi, short for Sequoia, our noblest tree.

"And yes, Mantis and Vision get it on."

RICK LEONARDI TO DRAW AVENGERS

Avengers writer Kurt Busiek told The Continuum that Rick Leonardi will be drawing three issues of the Marvel Comics title after the six-issue run of Alan Davis.

"Rick's doing the next three issues after Alan, after which we'll bring on the new regular guy," Busiek said. "Rick's been on my 'wanna work with this guy!' list for years, so I'm glad to finally have the chance."

Davis is moving on to complete his Killraven mini-series.

"I'm delighted to have worked with him on the book -- and if you've liked his first two issues, you ain't seen nothin' yet! -- and we're talking to him about coming back for a special issue down the line," Busiek said. "But we knew that he'd want to get back and wrap up Killraven eventually, so while we didn't know how long he'd be around, we did know this day would come.

"Ultimately, even if he never does another page, he's drawn Avengers longer than Neal Adams, and I hope he'll be remembered just as well. And, of course, I hope we'll be able to snake him back aboard in the future, but we'll see..."

Busiek said the change of artists won't impact his future on Avengers.

"Not unless there's something somebody isn't telling me!" he said. "We're still rolling forward on a major Avengers epic that'll take us past #50 -- indeed, Alan's last issue has no less than three cliffhangers, so I think readers'll be eager to see what happens in Rick's first issue and beyond..."

FOX KIDS UPDATE

A Fox Kids representative told The Continuum that both Spider-Man Unlimited and Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot will continue to air on the network through the summer.

In addition to airing Mondays through Thursdays, Big Guy and Rusty will also be moving to the 10:30 a.m. (ET) slot on Saturday mornings. This move follows strong weekday ratings for the show.

Upcoming episodes include "The Bicameral Man" on Monday; "World of Pain" on Tuesday; "Blob, Thy Name Is Envy" on Wednesday; "Donovan's Brianiac" on Thursday; and "Patriot Games" on Saturday.

Spider-Man Unlimited will air weekdays at 4 p.m. (ET) this week only, leading up to the season finale "Destiny Unleashed," this Saturday at 8:30 a.m.

Twenty-six episodes of Big Guy and Rusty and 13 episodes of Spider-Man Unlimited were produced. No new episodes have been ordered, however.

Fox Kids will announce its new shows on Wednesday, with its fall schedule to be announced in July.

BATMAN ONSTAR COMMERCIAL

The fourth Batman/OnStar commercial premiered Sunday night during ABC's telecast of the Academy Awards.

The 30-second spot, which aired approximately at 10:30 p.m. (ET), is ercial is called "Hot Date" and highlights OnStar's new service, Personal Calling.

In the spot, Batman is on the road in Gotham City when the Penguin suddenly swoops down in a helicopter and attacks the Batmobile by throwing incindiaries.

While Batman tries to drive through the explosions, he places a hands-free call to longtime girlfriend Vicki Vale to warn her that he may be late for their dinner date.

She asks, "How late?" After an explosion, a determined Batman says, "Very late."

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CARTOOON BOOKS FOR JULY

Following are Cartoon Books' solicitations for July, with information coming from the company.

BONE #44

By Jeff Smith.

The Bone cousins, along with Thorn and Gran'ma, are whisked away to a strange rooftop eatery (where Smiley doesn't like the weird cuisine very much!). There they have their first encounter with a shadowy underground movement working for the return of the Queen...Part Two of the final trilogy begins.

24 pages, $2.95.

TENTH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION BONE #1

By Jeff Smith.

To celebrate the milestone, Cartoon Books is putting together a fun-filled 10th anniversary extravaganza issue. Besides creating a new cover and writing a new afterword, cartoonist Jeff Smith has completely overhauled Bone #1, digitally remastering the story from the original artwork and presenting them in never-before-seen full color. Bonus features include: 2 1/2" Fone Bone PVC; Phoney Bone Gazillion Dollar Bill; Bone pages digitally remastered from original artwork, presented in never-before-seen full color; new cover and afterword by Smith; new lettering; updated gutters and bleeds; eight-page illustrated commentary by comics historian R.C. Harvey.

32 pages, $5.95.

BONE VOLUME SEVEN: GHOST CIRCLES

By Jeff Smith.

A long dormant volcano explodes, freeing the ancient evil known only as the Locust, and filling the land with soot and ash. Alone and frightened, the Bone cousins, Thorn and feisty old Gran'ma Ben must fight the elements and the rat creatures as they struggle to reach the glorious city of Atheia. A pivotal and surprising new novel in the adventures of the Bone boys, caught between their desire to get home and a sense of duty for their newfound friends.

160 pages, $24.95.

FIRST LOOK: X-MEN: FOREVER #5

X-Men: Forever #5 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Fabian Nicieza, with art and cover by Kevin Maguire.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"In a bizarre alternate future, Manhattan has been transformed into a prison for mutants. So where does the sentient machine known as Prosh send

his group of X-Men?"

X-Men: Forever #5 will be 32 pages and will cost $3.50.

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FIRST LOOK: INCREDIBLE HULK #26

Incredible Hulk #26 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Sean McKeever, with art by Kyle Hotz and Eric Powell and a cover by Hotz.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"It's a journey into the psyche of the child-like savage Hulk. What makes the big green guy tick? Find out in this offbeat, introspective issue. And when a super-villain sets out to make one last score, how will an encounter with the jade giant alter his plans?"

Incredible Hulk #26 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

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FIRST LOOK: GENERATION X #74

Generation X #74 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Brian Wood, with art by Steve Pugh and a cover by Art Adams.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue, which the final part of the four-part "Four Days" story arc:

"The spotlight swings right on Husk -- too bad she's trapped in the dark. While the rest of Generation X are out of town, Paige Guthrie is cooped up in the Academy, geeking out over the new security system. But when that system goes on alert, Husk finds herself trapped and at the mercy of the program itself."

Generation X #74 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

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FIRST LOOK: DAREDEVIL: NINJA #3

Daredevil: Ninja #3 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Brian Michael Bendis, with art and cover by Rob Haynes.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"The frenetic finale to this kung fu movie of a comic. Daredevil and the disciples of The Seven charge screaming at the reunited Hand in a fight to the finish."

Daredevil: Ninja #3 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.99.

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FIRST LOOK: MERIDIAN #10

Meridian #10 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from CrossGen Comics. The issue is written by Barbara Kesel, penciled by Steve McNiven, inked by Jordi Ensign and colored by Morry Hollowell.

Here's how CrossGen describes the issue:

"The people of Meridian build ships made from the buoyant wood of the surface forests, but Sephie's never seen the forest for those trees... The cowboy loggers who wrestle the wild wood have never seen anything like Sephie, either. She's out to build an army to take on Ilahn, and she may have just won over her first recruits..."

Meridian #10 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.95.

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BRIEFLY

  • Mike Mignola on Hellboy: The Conqueror Worm, the four-issue mini-series that starts in May: "This one, more than any other Hellboy collection, taps into the 12-year-old boy that I was. It's got lots of army men, Frankensteins and rocket ships - and a big space monster. I'd be curious to hear what a psychiatrist would make of this."

  • Coming Tuesday: Crossover news - and much more!!!
    E-Mail the Continuum at roballs@aol.com



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