Friday, June 29, 2001

PALMIOTTI, DIDIO WRITE SUPERBOY

Jimmy Palmiotti is embarking on his first writing gig for DC Comics, taking over Superboy as of #94.

Palmiotti will be joined on the writing duties by Dan DiDio, a senior vice-president of creative affairs at Mainframe Entertainment, who has also worked with Palmiotti on developing a Gatecrasher animated series.

"Jimmy is a longtime friend," DiDio said.

Palmiotti said he could not reveal whom the artists for Superboy will be.

"I cannot say at this time, but it is someone who will raise an eyebrow when he is announced," Palmiotti said. "He comes with his own inker as well. They are a great team."

Palmiotti described his plans as "a brand-new chapter in the life of Superboy."

"Dan and my plans are to take the amazing job Joe Kelly has done with the book and take it a little more down to earth and simplify the basics of the character," Palmiotti said. "Really go in and make #94 a great time to pick up the series if you never read it, and an even better time if you have.

"We already have laid out what's going to happen in the book till issue #100, so I hope people will check out what we are up to and have a great time reading it. There are a lot of cool events and changes coming in Superboy's world."

What does Palmiotti like about Superboy?

"What I like most about him is that the editors asked us to write it," Palmiotti said. "The second-best thing about him is that he has a somewhat newer history in the DC Universe, so everything we do can be easily researched. That and the fact that he is a young guy with super powers that are still being discovered, and who wants to go out, party all night long and flirt like a demon. You gotta love that!"

WITCHBLADE TV UPDATE

TNT will air a six-hour marathon of the Witchblade television series on Sunday, July 8.

The marathon will include the pilot movie and the series' first four episodes. It will follow a live NASCAR race on the network, so the start might be delayed.

Times for the marathon include 4-10 p.m. in Eastern time, 3-9 p.m. Central time, 2-8 p.m. Mountain time and 3-9 p.m. Pacific time.

TNT has also announced that the "Maelstrom" episode will premiere on Tuesday, July 17. Here's how the network describes the episode:

"Conchobar (played by Kim De Lury) is abducted by Irish militants, and Sara will do anything to save him, even if it means compromising the powers of the Witchblade."

Also guest-starring are Bill MacDonald as Jerry Orlinsky and Eleanor Yeoman as Conchobar's mother.

TOP COW'S NEW VARIANT COVER POLICY

Top Cow on Thursday announced a new policy on its use of variant covers, including a reduction in deals with outside companies.

Top Cow president Matt Hawkins issued the following statement about Top Cow's variant cover policy:

"We've been evaluating our variant cover programs and securing feedback from fans and retailers for quite some time now and we are going to virtually eliminate the exclusive cover deals done with outside companies. Over 90 percent of the variants, foil editions, etc. that we put out in the last 18 months were exclusives for Fandom, Dynamic Forces, Comic Cavalcade, Monster Mart, Eruptor or various other entities. We will continue to work with each of these fine companies in more creative capacities to create new original product, including a new catalog program with Dynamic Forces.

"Our mass-market retail programs with Tower Records and other video game retail outlets will continue, however, but these deals are structured to attract a new readership to our medium and not simply sell books to the existing fan base.

"Top Cow has always produced product clearly intended to be collectible in nature and will continue to do so as in our Top Cow Select program, but we are going to endeavor to be more creative than simply slabbing a foil stamp on the cover and dubbing it a limited edition.

"Also, the majority of new variant cover programs that we do will be offered to the retailer through the direct market with individual item codes. An example of this would be our aggressive program designed for the launch of Inferno this November which has seven individual covers all illustrated by high end artists. These covers will not be printed in equal increments, they will be printed based on the sales received. The other advantage to transacting directly with the retailer through Diamond is that the wholesale cost will be much lower and this cost savings will assumedly be passed on to the consumer who does want to buy it. In the past, books we sold at wholesale to vendors for $1.06 were resold for $30-plus and we will no longer tolerate price gouging of this kind. Realistically, it will be quarter one of 2002 before this reduction will truly have an impact as we wind down current deals in place."

WARREN ELLIS' BLACK HORSES

Warren Ellis has provided The Continuum a description of Black Horses, the three-issue mini-series due late this year from Image Comics.

Here's how Ellis describes the mini-series, which features are by John Paul Leon:

"KOSOVO, 1999: Staff Sergeant Frank Angel is sentenced by a hastily convened US Army court to life without parole after confessing to the disgusting homicide of an ethnic Albanian. On the stand, Angel claims to have spoken to The Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse, abroad in the former Yugoslavia, and that he was doing nothing more than taking part in the world that is to come.

"Sudden shelling takes out the building the court is convened in. Frank Angel is never found.

"AMERICA, 2001: In an unnamed American city, detective Josh Drexler is returning to work after a nervous breakdown. He's in at the deep end: an apparent murder/necrophilia case. Josh can cope with that, but he shakes at what he sees daubed on the walls in blood and faeces, a caveman-crude silhouette image of four black horses.

"What no-one knows what Josh won't tell anyone is that his breakdown came at the moment when he saw four horsemen in a city alleyway. And one of them spoke to him.

"Frank Angel got out of Kosovo and back home and hid in the guts of this city and, quite insane, is still trying to fit in with the world that is to come. The world that four horsemen told him of."

The mini-series will be bi-monthly.

FRIGHTENING CURVES COMPLETED

Cyberosia Publishing is releasing Frightening Curves, the illustrated novel by Antony Johnston and Aman Chaudhary's illustrated novel Frightening Curves.

Completing the story originally serialized on OPi8.com, Frightening Curves is a 128-page novel with over 40 pages of new, full-color paintings by Chaudhary created especially for the print edition.

Frightening Curves will be on sale for a limited time at this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego, and is available in the July Previews catalogue

"Frightening Curves follows the tradition of the old pulp stories that used to appear in Weird Tales and Adventure," said publisher Scott O. Brown. "Aman's beautifully rendered illustrations lavishly embellish Antony's hard-hitting prose. We've raised the standard and brought the pulp novel into the 21st century."

"Frightening Curves is a street-hard story in the best British style of Get Carter and Snatch: gun-fighting action, scummy London streets, East End gangsters, and as a twist we've thrown in a healthy dose of surrealist magic," said Johnston, a London-based writer. "But there's a softer, more personal side, too. Phil, our hero, is racked with doubt, and his personal issues are very much at the fore.

"The story is a puzzle, reflecting Phil's confusion over what is real and what isn't. As Phil pieces the clues together toward a greater understanding of his reality, so does the reader. Reality is the heart of the book -- the idea that 'Reality Is What We Make It.' We each live a world apart from everyone else, and when those worlds collide. Well, that's when interesting things happen."

Said Chaudhary: "It's the return of the pulp novel! Remember how much fun it was reading storybooks with pictures in them as a kid. And when you graduated to adult books, part of you always wished the books and novels you read still had pictures in them besides the cover. Well here you go.

"I took a non-literal approach to the illustrations by letting the text 'inspire' them rather than simply depicting what happens in the story. This resulted in a synergy between the writing and the art as each began to influence the other the longer we worked on the project."

FIRST LOOK: YOUNG JUSTICE #35

Young Justice #35 will arrive in stores on July 5 from DC Comics. The issue is written by Peter David, with art and cover by Todd Nauck and Andy Lanning.

Here's how DC describes the issue, which is an "Our Worlds at War" tie-in:

"With War broken out, the young heroes confront their own nightmares about what's happened, as they must find a place for themselves in the coming battles. Wonder Girl seeks to get the former Arrowette back in costume. But all of the team soon is drafted to do something none of them wanted."

Young Justice #35 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: THE SPECTRE #7

The Spectre #7 will arrive in stores on Thursday from DC Comics. The issue is written by J.M. DeMatteis, with art by Manuel Garcia and Mark Propst and a cover by Ryan Sook.

Here's how DC describes the issue, which is part two of the three-part "The Redeemer" story arc.

"Propelled by forces beyond his control, the Spectre is isolated in the far future of the Earth - a time when the world has been blasted to a cinder. But all is not as it seems, for when the spirit of Hal Jordan returns to the present, he learns to his horror that his niece, Helen, is responsible for the destruction. How is this possible - and how does it involve the bizarre cosmic stranger known only as Monsieur Stigmonus?"

The Spectre #7 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

BRIEFLY