Monday, April 30, 2001

SPIDER-MAN MOVIE UPDATE

Production of the Spider-Man movie wrapped up over the weekend in New York City. The film's crew returns to Los Angeles this week with final blue- and green-screen shooting.

Among the scenes shot last week were Peter Parker shooting his webbing on top of a building on 44th Street in Queens and Spider-Man rescuing a baby from a fire on the east side of Manhattan.

"The movie is coming along great," said Marvel's Avi Arad, an executive producer of Spider-Man. "I think it's the greatest origin story."

The film's release date - May 3, 2002 - is more than a year away, and it is expected that Spider-Man will be completed and delivered well before that.

In other Spider-Man movie news:

* The first trailer for the movie will likely be shown in July and might include a bit of a big fight between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin. There will likely also be a presentation at the Comic-Con International in San Diego.

* Look for on-the-set features from Spider-Man appearing in Ultimate Marvel Magazine.

* Stan Lee has filmed his cameo for the movie. His scene was shot in Los Angeles.

* Saturday was Kirsten Dunst's 19th birthday. The cast and crew signed a huge birthday card with a drawing of Mary Jane on it to celebrate.

* Dunst is scheduled to appear on CBS' Late Show with David Letterman on Monday.

J.G. JONES TALKS WONDER WOMAN

Artist J.G. Jones is teaming with writer Greg Rucka on Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia, a new graphic novel targeted for early next year from DC Comics.

"Actually I heard about the project through the grapevine," Jones told The Continuum during the recent WonderCon. "I love Greg Rucka's writing. When I heard that it involved a lot of Greek mythology and Wonder Woman and the Batman, I went into the office and begged to be put on the book.

"I said, 'Do you have an artist for this? You do now!' That worked out really well."

Jones said he's about 20 pages into the book. "We're still tweaking the script a little bit," he said.

The book's painted cover/promotional art, with Wonder Woman's boot on Batman's head, has caused a stir.

"I could have sold 200 posters yesterday, no problem," Jones said during the convention. "The women like it for obvious reasons, and guys like it for slightly less obvious reasons.

"Greg asked me last summer when we first talked about the project if I could draw one thing in the whole book what would it be. And I said, 'Wonder

Woman's foot on Batman's head.' So when we needed an image for the cover, that seemed natural."

Jones described the story.

"There is a young woman who has committed a pretty heinous crime - justly or injustly - and Batman is trying to bring her to justice," he said. "But she has performed the right of Hiketeia before Diana, which imbues her with

Wonder Woman's protection. So Batman and Wonder Woman are at loggerheads."

Jones said working on a graphic novel - this one is expected to be 92 pages - differs from his previous mini-series experience.

"It's definitely different from drawing Marvel Boy," he said. "I didn't have all the scripts in. I didn't know what the entire story or plot was going to be. It was month to month. It was as big of a surprise to me as anybody else. This way, I actually get to read the story first and work with Greg on tweaking it here and there."

The graphic novel is the only thing Jones is working on.

"At the moment, I have backed off of everything else, the covers and everything, so I can try to bring this in in the fall without a problem," Jones said. "Going into the summer season and all the conventions, I didn't want to overload."

CROSSGEN COMICS FOR AUGUST

CrossGen Comics has released its solicitation information for August.

For a complete rundown, CLICK HERE.

BLADE 2 UPDATE

David Goyer, writer/executive producer of Blade 2, said that recent Internet reports about Wesley Snipes being burned on the set in Prague were inaccurate.

"Wesley is fine. He wasn't involved," said Goyer, who returned to Prague late last week. "The whole incident has been widely exaggerated anyway."

Goyer said that Blade 2 features mostly vampires - and very few human beings. "Because the vampires are the ones being hunted - and not just by Blade," Goyer said.

Marvel's Avi Arad, an executive producer of Blade 2, said he would be visiting the Prague set after the recent completion of principal photography on Spider-Man.

NEW BUFFY EPISODE

A new episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Spiarl," is scheduled to air on WB on Tuesday, May 8.

Here's how WB describes the episode:

"Buffy explodes into action and takes the gang on the road once Glory discovers that Dawn is the Key, with Glory on their tail, blazing a path of destruction."

Clare Kramer guest-stars as Glory.

X-MEN: EVOLUTION'S SEASON FINALES

Kids' WB! will air the final two episodes of X-Men: Evolution, "The Cauldron, Pt. 1" and "The Cauldron, Pt. 2" on this Saturday and Saturday, May 12, respectively.

Simon Furman wrote part one. Here's the logline, as provided by story editor Greg Johnson:

"As fights break out between good mutants and bad, Scott learns that his brother is still alive after 10 years, and must get to him before Magneto includes him in his dangerous plans."

Johnson wrote the second part. Here's the logline:

"Magneto's ambitious plan for Mutantkind takes shape upon his fortress, Asteroid M."

Other Kids' WB! episodes on May 5 include "Taffy Time" on The Zeta Project and "Bent Out of Shape" on Static Shock. Other episodes on May 12 include "Westbound" on The Zeta Project and "Tantrum" on Static Shock.

HUMANOIDS OVERSHIPS THE INCAL #1

The Incal #1 will be overshipped by Humanoids Publishing, the company has announced.

Extra copies will be provided to participating distributors Diamond Comics, FM International and Cold Cut Distribution.

Incal #1, with a cover price of $2.95, and should arrive in stores on May 16.

This overship program will provide additional copies to retailers who ordered the comic from Diamond, as well as delivering sample copies to

retailers participating in Diamond's overship program. Extra copies provided by the publisher will make it easier for retailers to fill reader demand for the comic series.

"The Incal #1 set a record for our highest initial orders," said marketing manager Ian Sattler. "Considering how much anticipation there has been for this series, we thought it would be best to help insure that demands for

reorders could be efficiently solved." Sattler went on to say, "As a retailer for six years, I know how helpful it was when a publisher overshipped an important book in their line".

Director of U.S. Publishing Dave Olbrich said, "Humanoids has benefited from many supportive retailers who closely monitor the sell-through on our comics and place orders for more copies with the confidence that they will sell. But a percentage of sales can often be lost while retailers wait for the delivery of re-orders. This overship of The Incal #1 will help retailers maximize their sales."

This Humanoids Publishing presentation will be the first time that The Incal has been released according to the actual chronology of the story.

FIRST LOOK: UNCANNY X-MEN #394

Uncanny X-Men #394 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Joe Casey, with art by Ian Churchill and Mark Morales and a cover by Churchill.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"A wild, new evil mutant comes of age, celebrating his 18th birthday with all-out mutant mayhem. Who is Warp Savant, and what famous event in X-Men history is he trying to recreate? Plus, the event that X-fans have wondered about for 25 years... a stolen moment of passion that will change the personal lives of the X-Men forever. New creators, new uniforms, a new logo, new surprises, a new direction."

Uncanny X-Men #394 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP #3

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up will arrive in stores on Wednesday from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Brian Michael Bendis, with art and cover by Phil Hester.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"Originally, this story was supposed to be only one issue - but there's just too much action to contain. The all-new Web-Spinner attempts to lure the most powerful creature alive away from the heart of New York City -without getting smashed. And as the U.S. Army closes in, will Spider-Man learn that he and the jade giant are somehow connected?"

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #3 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: FANTASTIC FOUR #43

Fantastic Four #43 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Carlos Pacheco, Rafael Marin and Jeph Loeb, with art by Joe Bennett and Jesus Merino and a cover by Pacheco and Merino.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"With Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman and The Thing marooned in the Negative Zone, Johnny Storm forms a new FF. His goal: to take the battle to the Gideon Board in an effort to rescue his family. His problem: the Gideon Board has most of Reed Richards' technology... and will use it to stop intruders. So who joins the Torch's team? It's all revealed here."

Fantastic Four #43 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #9

Ultimate Spider-Man #9 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Brian Michael Bendis, with art by Mark Bagley and Art Thibert, cover by Bagley.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"Spider-Man wants a piece of the Kingpin, but to get to him he'll have to go through his hired hitmen, the Enforcers. Introducing Montana, Fancy Dan and the Ox -- three guys you definitely don't want to meet in a dark alley... or anywhere. It's time Peter Parker got an out-of-school civics lesson by

learning just how powerful and connected the Kingpin really is."

32 pages, $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

BRIEFLY