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Thursday, August 16, 2001
X-MEN: EVOLUTION'S BERZERKER
Berzerker, who has appeared in just one comic book, is the most obscure new student in the upcoming second season of Kids' WB!'s X-Men: Evolution.
Berzerker's only comics appearance was as a member of the Morlocks in X-Factor #11. He joins Magma, Jubilee, Boom Boom, Iceman, Multiple, Wolfsbane, Sunspot and Cannonball as new students at the Xavier Institute this season.
Why was Berzerker chosen for the show?
"We were provided a list by Craig (Kyle) at Marvel of people in the X-Men pantheon and sort of went through it and tried looking for a good mix of powers and abilities and things that would be fun to see," X-Men: Evolution producer Boyd Kirkland told The Comics Continuum. "And where it wasn't too much duplication of what their powers were going to be. Because if you look through this stuff, a lot of these characters do the same thing.
"Berzerker has a different power that will look different from than most of the other kids. I think that played into the decision and then you're looking into a balance of ages and boys and girls. A lot of factors go into it."
Berzerker is Ray Crisp, who can generate pulsing bolts of electrical energy. Here's how the character is described:
"Berzerker's power is fierce and so is he. Much like Roberto (Sunspot), he is quick to take offense. He refuses to admit when he's wrong, and will never be first to back down. He's got a wild streak that can be fun, but has a real dangerous edge to it. He's really not a good fit with the X-Men, and would probably feel more at home with the Brotherhood."
"He's a hothead," X-Men: Evolution story editor Greg Johnson told The Comics Continuum. "He's more fun than anything else."
Look for more of The Continuum's continuing preview of the second season of X-Men: Evolution.
JUST IMAGINE STAN LEE CREATING UPDATE
Stan Lee said that he is taking more chances with the second set of books in his Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating series for DC Comics.
"You will find as you go through the series that characters become more and more different from the original ones, as the series goes on," Lee said. "When I started, I was a little bit inhibited. With Superman, I had him come from another planet because I was thinking, 'I shouldn't make him that different.'
"I'm sorry now that I did it that way. Now, I wish I had made it totally different. It still is very different, but I'm sorry I had him come from another planet."
Lee said he's interested to see reaction to his takes on the characters.
"I made them more and more different because I thought that's what the fans would want," he said. "Wait until you see Aquaman, that's so different!"
Art from John Byrne and Terry Austin for Robin was expected to be completed soon. Other artists include Chris Bachalo on Catwoman, Gary Frank on Shazam, Walter Simonson on Sandman and John Cassaday on Crisis. An artist for Aquaman has not been named yet.
"Catwoman, to me, is really very evocative of Spider-Man," said Michael Uslan, who coordinated the project and is working with DC editor Mike Carlin. "Sandman is very evocative of Doctor Strange. Wonder Woman, to me, has a lot of the mystique of Thor, although now Stan has gotten into Incan mythology rather than Norse mythology. So, really depending on what Stan Lee book was your favorite, you're going to find something in this series that's going to resonate well for you."
"The Shazam book feels like the Stan and Jack (Kirby) monster stories, which is awesome, just great," Carlin said. "Shazam is the monster's name."
Carlin and Uslan are taking the characters from the previous stories to help Lee on Crisis, the finale.
"They're tying all 11 books together, and they're going to give me what they think the last one should be," Lee said. "And because I hate to use anybody else's ideas, I'll probably do it differently, but at least they'll give me a starting point."
Lee said all the stories - with the exception of most of Wonder Woman - take place in Los Angeles.
"And there is sort of a common villain, and we'll learn more about him in the last issue, Crisis," Lee said. "It is, really, its own self-contained universe. And these characters could in future issues, if there are future issues, they could co-star and guest-star with other characters. It depends on what the powers that be want to do with them."
Carlin said the Lee characters could come back after the series is done.
"If this is what people are enjoying, we're happy to do plenty of it," Carlin. "Frankly, if Stan is involved, it could be really a great new thing."
In related news:
"It looks really cool," Carlin said.
Here's how DC describes the book:
"Just Imagine ... Flash introduces Mary Maxwell, a beautiful 20-year-old college senior who escapes the dreariness of her home life - where she's raised by her widower scientist father - by immersing herself in the world of comic books. Little does she know that the tedium at home is just a front, and that her father's top-secret research on ways to change human DNA to endure the stresses of time travel has made the Maxwell family targets of the would-be world conquerors known as S.T.E.A.L.T.H.!
"While fleeing the S.T.E.A.L.T.H. agents, Mary is exposed to a mysterious green mist - one with connections to other Just Imagine one-shots - leaving her strangely drained of energy. Her father devotes himself to researching a cure for her listlessness, grafting the DNA of one of nature's speediest creatures - the hummingbird - onto Mary's own. But the process has unexpected consequences, giving Mary incredible speed and the ability to exceed the velocity of light itself! But how will she use her powers to stop S.T.E.A.L.T.H., especially since they've used her father's research and are now capable of traveling through time?"
MARVEL TALENT WINNER WORKING FOR TIDALWAVE
Deon Nuckols, the first Marvel Comics talent search contest winner, will be doing professional comics work before his one issue of Thor next year.
TidalWave Studios production manager Steve Montal told The Continuum that Nuckols is working on a project called Orion the Hunter.
"He sent us the same Thor talent search material along with other beautiful pieces," Montal said. "We drooled over them and Darren (Davis, TidalWave president) immediately hired him."
Orion the Hunter will be a backup story, written by Scott Davis, in 10th Muse #10-13.
Here's how TidalWave describes the concept:
"Once Olympus's greatest hunter, Orion sits as the centuries turn to millennia. Torn between his resentment of the Pantheon, his crumbling faith and his need to serve them, Orion seeks the ultimate purpose of his immortal life and is thrust in the middle of a conspiracy that could destroy Olympus."
"Orion will become a key character in the TidalWave universe," Darren Davis told The Continuum. "After teaming with the 10th Muse in issue #9 of the 10th Muse, Orion, along with the Muse, Atlas, Isis and a new character, Trident, will combine forces and form The Odyssey. Through the Odyssey, Orion will continue to fight the forces that threaten Olympus and his eroding faith.
"This will be the second of a series of backup stories we are doing. The first is Atlas, which premieres in 10th Muse #7."
BRAD RADER ON CATWOMAN
Brad Rader will follow Darwyn Cooke as artist of DC Comics' new Catwoman series.
Rader told The Continuum that Cooke will draw the first four issues, and he'll pick up with #5. He said he will continue the noir-ish style established by Cooke, who is teaming with Mike Allred, in the first four issues.
"I've seen his work and it's pretty cool stuff," Rader said.
Rader is familiar with Batman, having worked on the early seasons of Fox Kids' Batman: The Animated Series and The Batman Adventures comic book. He also directed an Emmy Award-winning episode of HBO's Spawn and did some storyboard work on an episode spotlighting Jean Grey for the upcoming season of Kids' WB!'s X-Men: Evolution.
The new Catwoman series is written by Ed Brubaker and picks up from the events in the back-up story ending in Detective Comics #762.
DARK HORSE FOR NOVEMBER
Dark Horse Comics has released its solicitations for November.
For a complete rundown, with art, CLICK HERE.
VAMPIRELLA #1 SELLS OUT
After a yearlong publishing hiatus, Harris Comics reports that Vampirella #1 has sold out.
"The return of the classic Vampirella character has met with overwhelming success," Diamond Distributors brand manager Steve Leaf said. "Even with four variant covers, our Diamond inventory has been rapidly depleted."
"We've given the fans what they want," Harris Comics editor-in-chief David Bogart said. "Mark Millar delivered an incredible story, but the retailers we spoke with cite Mike Mayhew's art as the prime reason why the comics are flying off the shelves."
Diamond has worked with Harris to try and obtain any of its remaining print run, Leaf said.
Harris has released several preview images for the second and third issues.
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SILENT MOBIUS MINI-STATUES
D-Boy, in association with Studio Tron and Fanboy, will be releasing a series of highly collectible mini-pewter statues based on the female leads in Silent Mobius.
Silent Mobius is a Japanese comic book created by Kia Asamiya, whose credit in USA includes Dark Angel from Image Comics, Star Wars Episode 1 from Dark Horse, and Batman (published in Japan) for DC comics. Silent Mobius was is also made into two full-length animated features and an Anime TV series, which has been released in videos and DVDs in the USA.
First in a series is Katsumi Liqueur, the main character in the story and a member of the AMP (Attack Mystification Police) Group.
Asamiya has closely supervised every step of the development process. Made with the highest grade of white metal pewter, each statue is individually hand cast and hand painted.
That mini-statue will be limited to 2,000 units worldwide. A special limited edition variant will be available at the Wizard World convention in Chicago this weekend.
Kiddy Phenil will be the next in the line of mini-statues.
BATMAN ARCHIVES WITH INTRODUCTORY PRICING
DC Comics is offering Batman Archives Volume 1 at a lower price of $19.95.
"This was one the first Archives we published," said Bob Wayne, DC's vice-president - sales and marketing. "At the time we didn't know how many we would need, so we took a guess and printed what we eventually realized was far too many. Chuck Rozanski, of Mile High Comics, suggested we offer them at a reduced price. That seemed look a good idea to us.
"After new Archives readers sample this volume, retailers can then sell full-price copies of the other Batman Archives volumes, as well as other Archive series."
Because of the unique inventory situation with this title, the price reduction is limited to copies of Batman Archives Vol. 1. DC has no plans to reduce the cover price of the other Archives volumes, and no plans to reprint Archives volumes in trade paperback.
Batman Archives Vol. 1 features stories written by Bill Finger and illustrated by Batman creator Bob Kane and others. It reprints all the Batman stories from Detective Comics #27-50 (1939-1940), including appearances by the Joker, Prof. Hugo Strange, Clayface, and Robin, the Boy Wonder. The book will be in comics shops on Oct. 3.
DC COMICS TESTS MARKET SATURATION
DC Comics announced on Wednesday it is currently working in conjunction with nearly a dozen volunteer retailers nationwide on a market saturation test.
The program will run for three consecutive months starting this year. The process begins when retailers submit their orders as normal through Diamond. At that time, DC will override those orders to provide extra quantities of many, if not all, DC Comics titles for that month. The saturation test will involve periodicals only, not collected editions or DC Direct Products.
Said Bob Wayne, DC's vice-president - sales and marketing: "Our goal is to find out if there is a certain shortfall of sales that we can quantify. If we discover that the volunteer stores can sell an average of 20 percent more copies of The Flash, for example, then we have a very firm, real number we can use to help retailers see what sales they're missing and what dollars they're leaving on the table."
The test was developed by Wayne working with Brian Hibbs of Comix Experience, and will involve retailers from a variety of geographical locations and operation sizes.
BRIEFLY
Copyright © 2001, The Comics Continuum