Friday, December 21, 2001

BLADE 2 UPDATE

David Goyer, writer of the upcoming Blade 2, told The Continuum he didn't want the sequel to be a rehash of the first film.

"If you consider T2 and Aliens two of the best sequels, what they both did in some ways kind of turned the first movie on its head," Goyer told The Continuum. "They didn't just do, 'OK, it's an alien again.' We tried to do something similar. OK, what would be the last thing you would expect Blade to do? Which is to have him to team up with the vampires.

"With this movie, we went in just a completely different direction. Also in this film, we've already dealt with his back story. He's made peace with who he is and we went sort of deeper in vampire mythology. In the first movie, we learned that there's this whole subculture.

"In this movie, we delve even deeper into that, the way the vampires get their money and their language. There's barely any humans in the second movie. Because the vampires are the ones being hunted - and not just by Blade. The Reapers are hunting the vampires in the second film."

New Line has released a trailer for the movie, but hasn't firmed up a release date beyond "spring." It is expected Blade 2 will be in theaters in late March.

X-MEN: EVOLUTION UPDATE

The third series of X-Men: Evolution action figures are reaching stores this week.

The third series includes Magneto, Battle Ravaged Wolverine, Nightcrawler 2 and Juggernaut.

The X-Men: Evolution toys are among several from Toy Biz that have become available just in time for Christmas. The first Spider-Man movie toys are also reaching stores, and the Spider-Man 2099 figure is available exclusively through KB Toys.

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In other X-Men: Evolution news:

* The Jan. 5 episode will now be "Power Surge." It was originally scheduled to be "Strategy X."

* For Saturday, Dec. 15 ratings released by Kids' WB!, X-Men: Evolution, at 10:30 a.m. (ET), finished the morning as one of the top-six programs among all competition in Kids 2-11 (4.8 rating/18 share), Kids 6-11 (5.4/19), Boys 2-11 (5.7/21), Boys 6-11 (6.2/21), Girls 2-11 (3.8/14) and Girls 6-11 (4.6/16). X-Men posted a new series high in Kids 2-11 and season high in Kids 6-11.

ELLIOTT, NOLTE CAST IN HULK

Sam Elliott and Nick Nolte have joined the cast of Universal Pictures' The Hulk live-action movie.

Elliott will play General Thunderbolt Ross, the commander of a top-secret military research facility. Nolte will play Bruce Banner's father, who was also a scientist.

Elliott and Nolte join Eric Bana, who plays Bruce Banner, and Jennifer Connelly, who plays Betty Ross, in the cast.

Production of The Hulk is set to begin March 18 at Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The film is scheduled for a June 20, 2003 release.

WARREN ELLIS' NIGHT RADIO

Night Radio is a limited-series anthology edited by Warren Ellis. It will be four, 48-page issues, without ads, in black and white, to be published by Avatar Press in the late summer.

The anthology will have four four-part serials: by Ellis; by Matt Fraction, a webdesigner and filmmaker; by Antony Johnston, an author and graphic designer; and by Micaela Petersen, an artist and musician.

"New voices seem to be emerging much more slowly, in the last couple of years," Ellis said. "Too many of the new writers on my end of the business seem to sound like the old writers, and seem interested only in talking about old things. That's not why I got into comics writing, and those aren't the sort of comics I want to read. But, as we're all aware, the majority of publishers won't look at new writers until they're published somewhere else first; the long-standing Catch-22 for the new writer. It takes a publisher with the guts and madness of Avatar to say, okay, fine, we're going to take these new writers and we're going to treat them like professionals and give them creator-owned deals and do the job right."

Ellis explained the title.

"I associate night radio with newness," Ellis said. "Back in my youth, when dinosaurs ruled the earth, late-night radio was the time when new bands were broken, new musical forms were allowed out, and novelty was the point and not the exception. Night Radio is me trying to broadcast future music."

VIOLENT MESSIAHS: GENESIS EXPANDS

Image Comics has announced that when Violent Messiahs: Genesis arrives in stores next week, it will be at an expanded page count of 64 pages.

Serving as a document of the early days of this genre-bending series, Violent Messiahs: Genesis showcases penciler Tone Rodriguez, the early works of up and coming writer Joshua Dysart and the graphic-noir style of Citizen Pain designer William O'Neill. Included are early sketches, the original black-and-white story first published in 1997 by Hurricane Entertainment and the series prologue from the recent Wizard 1/2 story featuring Rodriguez's uninked pencils.

"We just realized we had more material than pages," O'Neill said. "When we showed Image how much exciting material we had for the fans, they gave us their blessing to expand the book to a full 64 pages and bind Genesis in prestige format."

Violent Messiahs: Genesis also features a recreation of the cover of the original Violent Messiahs series penciled by Dave Johnson in 1997 and newly recolored by colorist Travis Smith. A second, all-new cover by Rodriguez was offered as a retailer incentive.

FIRST LOOK: BATMAN #598

Batman #598 will arrive in stores on Dec. 28 from DC Comics. The issue is written by Ed Brubaker, with art by Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens and a cover by McDaniel.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"A DC Full Coverage! entry-point issue! It's Christmas in Gotham Cityâ¤|and that means the return of Santa Klaus. And he's got presents for all the naughty boys and girls of Gotham. Pointy presents. Exploding presents. You'd better be good, for goodness sake."

Batman #598 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

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FIRST LOOK: CATWOMAN #2

Catwoman #2 will arrive in stores on Dec. 28 from DC Comics. The issue is written by Ed Brubaker, with art by Darwyn Cooke and Mike Allred and a cover by Cooke.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"Catwoman investigates a string of serial murders down in the slums, leading her into the heart of the Gotham Police Department and an encounter with a face from her past (which should be quite familiar to longtime Catwoman fans). Catwoman may have overcome her recent struggles, but is she really ready for what's waiting for her in the dank streets of Gotham."

Catwoman #2 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

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FIRST LOOK: OUT THERE #7

Out There #7 will arrive in stores on Dec. 28 from WildStorm Productions and DC Comics. The issue is written by Brian Augustyn, with art and cover by Humberto Ramos and Sandra Hope.

Here's how DC describes the issue, which is part one of the six-part "The Road to El Dorado" arc:

"The battle with Draedelus has left Mark, Casey, Jess, and Zach with more mysteries to unravel - like where their missing friends and family have gone. The answer may be found in the dusty, desolate, and potentially deadly town of Purgatory, Nevada."

Out There #7 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

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FIRST LOOK: THE SANDMAN PRESENTS: THE CORINTHIAN #3

The Sandman Presents: The Corinthian will arrive in stores on Dec. 28 from DC Comics. The issue is written by Darko Macan, with art by Danijel Zezelj and a painted cover by Dave McKean.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"Post-war horror and decadence collide as the Venice Carnivale opens to a raging crowd -- and closes with a trail of dead bodies. The identity of the killer can only be linked to exactly who - and what - the Corinthian has become, as the Sandman's Dark Mirror passes the final test of his manhood, leaving empty souls (and eye sockets) in his wake."

The Sandman Presents: The Corinthian #3 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

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BRIEFLY