Tuesday, May 8, 2001

YANCY BUTLER TALKS WITCHBLADE SERIES

Yancy Butler, star of the upcoming Witchblade television series, said that the show will continue the sensibilities started in the pilot.

"The thing that I think made the pilot such a success and will make the series even more of one is my character's vulnerability and strength," Butler said. "The show is set in a real homicide office of the police department. The situations are in fact very realistic. It's great because it makes it that much more potent when we're really solving a crime every week."

TNT will rebroadcast the pilot movie on Tuesday, June 5. The series will kick off on Tuesday, June 12 with an episode called "Parallax," followed by on Tuesday, June 19 with an episode called "Conundrum."

For a complete interview with Butler, in which she discusses new characters and other aspects of the show, CLICK HERE.

SPIDER-MAN MOVIE UPDATE

Spider-Man producer Ian Bryce said that production of the film is "a little ahead of schedule."

"And we're getting some great stuff," Bryce said. "It's been 16 weeks, an extremely long schedule. We have two units shooting. The second unit has been on and off and they're probably going to shoot about 10 weeks total by the time we get done.

"This one has been challenging. It's been a very tough and technical movie to figure out for all of us."

Spider-Man, scheduled for a May 3 release, is one of at least three Marvel movies poised for next year, joining Blade 2 and X-Men 2.

"I think it's perfect timing," said Marvel's Avi Arad, an executive producer. "In 2002, you start the year with Spider-Man in May and you have X-Men in November. In between, there will be other movies."

KIDS' WB! REVAMPS

Kids' WB! has announced a revamping of its schedules, effective next Monday and including the elimination of one Batman Beyond episode and the addition of special weekday runs of X-Men: Evolution, Static Shock and The Zeta Project.

Here is Kids' WB!'s Monday-Thursday schedule, starting Monday, with all times ET:

7 a.m.: Men in Black: The Series; 7:30 a.m.: Warner Bros.' Histeria!; 3 p.m.: Batman Beyond; 3:30 p.m.: Pokemon; 4 p.m.: Pokemon; 4:30 p.m.: Special Weekday Play.

Batman Beyond had been airing at both 3 and 3:30 p.m.

Here's the network's Friday lineup:

7 a.m.: Pokemon; 7:30 a.m.: Max Steel; 3 p.m.: Detention; 3:30 p.m. Generation O!; 4 p.m.: Pokemon: The Johto Journeys; 4:30 p.m.: Special Weekday Play.

The Special Weekday Play will include Jackie Chan Adventures May 14-May 18, X-Men: Evolution on May 21-25, The Zeta Project on May 28-June 1, Static Shock on June 4-8, Men in Black: The Series on June 11-15, X-Men: Evolution on June 18-22 and Cardcaptors on June 25-29.

X-MEN: EVOLUTION UPDATE

The second part of the season finale of X-Men: Evolution, "The Cauldron," airing this Saturday on Kids' WB!, will continue to show recent influences from the X-Men movie on the series.

"If it was something that added excitement to the series, like Mystique's fighting ability, then it made sense," X-Men: Evolution story editor Greg Johnson told The Continuum of the new touches to series.

"Actually, we didn't have much foreknowledge of the movie before its release, so most of these types of additions came after that. We were made privy only to a couple of things, like Xavier's wheelchair design. The new Cerebro room came about after Juggernaut smashed the old one, so it seemed like a good opportunity to upgrade to what the movie had."

Johnson said that viewers will see "a couple more influences" in the second season of X-Men: Evolution.

Look for more on "The Cauldron, Pt. 2" this week in The Continuum.

AVATAR PRESS FOR AUGUST

Following are Avatar Press' solicitations for August, with information coming form the company.

COVEN: DARK SISTER #2

Written and art by Matt Martin, covers by Al Rio, shown, Sean Shaw, Rick Lyon and Martin.

With one stunningly powerful blast of black magic gone horribly awry, Eden has brought the past back to life, smack in the middle of New York City. As the Coven tried to regroup in order to rescue Fantom, chaos in the streets causes more than a few delays. Like dinosaurs trying to eat Spellcaster. Is Sasha ready for the challenge of facing off against a master of the mystic arts who has a Spellbook just as powerful as hers?

32 pages, $3.50.

DEMONSLAYER: PROPHECY #1

Written and art by Marat Mychaels, cover by Mychaels.

Jaclyn has finally accepted her role in the war between humanity and the demons. Her relationship with Michael is stronger than ever and life finally appears to be going well for the young Demonslayer. However, her importance in the large scale of the war may be completely hidden to her and the extent of her powers unrevealed. A mysterious new player in the game, Ebon, storms into her life, bringing with him carnage and an ominous Prophecy of the future.

32 pages, $3.50 (Leather edition, $25).

DEMONSLAYER: RAVE

Written and art by Marat Mychaels, cover by Mychaels.

The series spins off this special pinup book that features all-new sexy pinups as well as every cover and rare advertising piece by the artist and creator of Demonslayer, Marat Mychaels.

32 pages, $3.50.

THRESHOLD #43

Written by Robert Lugibihl, Mike Wolfer and Angelo Furlan, art by Wolfer, Clint Hilinski and Mike Delaney, Razor cover by Matt Martin, left, Pandora cover by Pat Meadows.

Mike Wolfer brings his twisted opus of Razor gone insane to a head in this issue. Pandora may be the last hope to stop the new Spider-Razor from propagating a whole new race of Arachnapeople. Widow wants nothing more. than to help but she may have her hands full with the newly awakened Poizon. Writer Robert Lugibihl and newcomer Clint Hilinski bring on the old salty dogs of the sea as Pandora has lost her memory and is being used by a group of treasure hungry pirates! Rounding out the lineup is a hilarious new Medora tale drawn by Mike Delaney.

48 pages, black and white, $4.95 (Adults covers, $6).

RAW MEDIA QUARTERLY #10

Written by David Quinn and Pete Ayala, art by Al Rio and Ayala, cover by Mark Beachum.

More deviant fun by David Quinn and Al Rio unleashed on Thrust, This story was lost for years and recently unearthed and continues to shock in this penultimate chapter. Also, Pete Ayala continues his erotic Naked Justice series that has been gaining acclaim and new fans with every issue.

32 pages, black and white, $3.95 (Adult covers, $6).

JLA/HAVEN: ARRIVAL

JLA/Haven: Arrival is a Prestige Format one-shot from DC Comics this fall that will lead into a nine-issue Haven maxi-series.

JLA/Haven: Arrival is written by Ashley-Jayne Nicolaus and Matthew Schuster, with art by Ariel Olivetti.

Here's how DC describes book:

"When an entire alien city crash-lands on Earth, the JLA is there to make sure things are all right. Haven"-- is a prison city inhabited by a diverse race of aliens with extraordinary abilities. JLA/Haven: Arrival, introduces a colorful cast of new alien races and powerful beings, as Haven becomes a permanent location within the DC Universe."

JLA/Haven: Arrival will ship in November.

BRIEFLY