Wednesday, May 9, 2001

FRANK TIERI'S WOLVERINE PLANS

A double-sized issue, a death and a return to Madripoor are on tap for upcoming issues of Wolverine, writer Frank Tieri told The Continuum.

In a telephone interview on Tuesday with The Continuum, Tieri said "The Hunted" arc will continue through Wolverine #166, which will be a double-sized issue.

"In Wolverine #164, he has been captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and he's in Marvel's newest, state-of-the-art prison facility called The Cage," Tieri said. "It's pretty gritty in there. It's pretty rough in there. It has a real prison feel to it. It's not a place you want to visit, let's put in that way.

"In #165-166, we finish off the arc and find out exactly what the deal is, who's the secret organization that has been killing these people and whether or not Wolverine is an actually a murderer, whether or not he committed the crimes he's accused of.

"Even he doesn't know for sure. He's been having these dreams of him killing people. He had a dream about killing the senator, and then the senator turns up dead, and now he's wondering himself: 'Did I do it? Did I not do it?' He thinks it's some post-program from Apocalypse and we'll find out in #165 and 166 if he's right."

The issue will feature a segment drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith, as well as a death.

"A person very familiar to the Wolverine mythos will be killed," Tieri said. "I'm not saying if it's a hero or a villain or a supporting character. Somebody the fans have known for years will be killed in that issue."

After that, Wolverine heads to Madripoor for a three-issue arc.

"We'll certainly be addressing the situation with Viper during that arc," Tieri said. "It's first time I'm actually going back to Madripoor. With all of his friends dead there and Viper basically controlling the underworld down there, it's not necessarily a safe place for him to go. The name of the arc is called 'Bloodsport.' As the name implies, Wolverine will be involved in a Bloodsport."

Dan Fraga will fill in for Sean Chen as artist of Wolverine #167-168.

"He's really doing a great job on it," Tieri said. "He's very excited to be working with Wolverine and it's really showing in his pages. He's really got a good enthusiasm for the book."

Following the "Bloodsport" arc, the next Wolverine story will feature Alpha Flight, Tieri said.

SPIDER-MAN MOVIE UPDATE

Tobey Maguire, who is starring in the Spider-Man movie, said the film should be faithful to its comic-book origins.

"We're trying to honor the comic as much as possible, but we're trying to make our own movie," said Maguire, who plays Peter Parker and Spider-Man. "I think it's going to be a really good movie. We have all the ingredients for it."

Marvel's Avi Arad, who is executive producing, agreed with Maguire.

"I think it's the greatest origin story," Arad said. "I think the fans are going to see a very loyal depiction of Spider-Man and getting to know Peter Parker and Mary Jane and Aunt May and Uncle Ben. It's very true to this huge character."

Director Sam Raimi took note of the first Ultimate Spider-Man story and compared it to the film. "There are so many similar scenes," he said.

Look for more on Spider-Man soon here in The Continuum.

RALPH HEMECKER TALKS WITCHBLADE TV SERIES

Ralph Hemecker, executive producer of TNT Witchblade television series, said it is "a very strange, very cool show."

TNT will rebroadcast the Witchblade 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" and then on Tuesday, June 26 with an episode called "Diplopia."

For a complete interview with Hemecker and new photos from the show, CLICK HERE.

DEADPOOL RENUMBERING FOR WEAPON X ARC

Deadpool editor Mike Marts told The Continuum that the Marvel book will have renumbering and a subtitle starting in August.

"Deadpool is renumbering for four issues only, from August to November," Marts said. "In place of Deadpool #57-60 will be Deadpool: Agent of Weapon X #1-4. But numbers 57 to 60 will appear in smaller type on the cover so that longtime Deadpool readers won't lose count with the full series."

"It will go back to it's regular numbering. It's not a relaunch," said Frank Tieri, who is writing the arc. "It's like a mini-series within the series. They felt that the story was so important it demanded something a little special. It's a pretty significant story in Deadpool's life."

Tieri said he can't reveal too much about the Agent of Weapon X story.

"Does this happen now or does this happen in the past? Because he was involved with the Weapon X program," Tieri said. "People will just have to tune in to find out.

"The one main thing I want to get back to Deadpool is to bring some of the humor element back to the book."

TOP COW RETURNS TO SHIP WEEKS

Top Cow Productions, the company that started the guaranteed shipping concept, returns to ship weeks in September. All regular format comic books will have a designated ship week starting with that month.

"Overall, we have improved our shipping record over the last 18 months dramatically," said Top Cow president and chief operating office Matt Hawkins.

"We have had problems with specific projects and specific artists that we have found creative solutions for. Although some of our ongoing projects may not ship monthly, they will ship in the month and week they are solicited. We have also put in a toll free line, 888-topcow1, for retailers to call with questions about shipping or reorders. We want the feedback and we've made the call free."

Top Cow's September line-up includes The Agency #3, Fathom #15, Tomb Raider 1/2, Universe #2, Witchblade #51, Delicate Creatures Hardcover, Rising Stars #17 and Obergeist #5.

FIRST LOOK: 10TH MUSE #4

10th Muse #4 will arrive in stores on May 23 from TidalWave Productions and Image Comics. The issue is written by Marv Wolfman, with art by Ken Lashley.

Here's how Image describes the issue:

"This is the big one. In order to learn about her past, Emma Sonnet and her friends return to Greece, the place where her life was suddenly turned upside down. The trouble is, there are those who need for her past to remain hidden, even at the cost of her life. Also introducing the menace called Medusa."

10th Muse #4 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.95.

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