Thursday, December 27, 2001

X-MEN: EVOLUTION'S CAPTAIN AMERICA

Captain America will appear in a traditional - and yet, tweaked for television - look when he appears in the X-Men: Evolution animated series.

Captain America, along with Nick Fury and Wolverine, are featured in the "Operation: Rebirth" episode of X-Men: Evolution next month on Kids' WB!. The air date for the episode is expected to be announced next week.

Steve Gordon, a director and the character designer on X-Men: Evolution, described how he designed Captain America for the show.

"Captain America was one of my favorite characters when I read comics as a kid, so I was definitely intrigued with the idea of getting a crack at him," Gordon told The Continuum. "My initial thought was to go a little off-center with him. Do the unexpected. I thought it would be interesting to go 'retro' and not make him so super hero-like. Make his costume seem more like something the military might have put together. I tried losing the 'A' on his head, giving him more of a helmet -- like the original Cap -- and adding a thick, leather, military gun belt.

"Boyd (Kirkland, X-Men: Evolution producer) and I sat with this idea for awhile and eventually went with what you see now. I eliminated the 'jockey shorts' and changed his sleeves to be more compatible with some of the other characters in the show. I also played with his body type and face. His upper torso is huge -- even compared to Wolvy's -- and his face is very strong and expressionless. He reminds me more of Frazetta's Conan design than the typical Marvel Captain America."

Gordon also confirmed that Captain America will have his shield in the episode.

"Operation: Rebirth," is written by Bob Forward from a story by Greg Johnson and Kirkland. It is directed By Gary Graham.

MAGE MOVIE UPDATE

The Mage live-action movie will go through at least one more script revision before going in front of the cameras.

"Currently, there's a new writer, Adam Simon, working up a polish for the director in preparation for taking the movie into production," Mage producer Andrew Crosby told The Continuum. "Hopefully, we'll see the new draft shortly after the New Year."

Simon co-wrote the recent Snoop Doggy Dogg movie Bones. He also wrote and directed The American Nightmare.

Simon is working from a draft written by John Rogers.

F. Gary Gray will direct Mage, which is based on Matt Wagner's comic book and is being produced by Spyglass Entertainment.

JUSTICE LEAGUE'S JUSTICE GUILD

The Continuum has obtained the names of the Justice Guild of America members who will be appearing in Cartoon Network's Justice League animated series.

The members of the JGA will include Tom Turbine, Black Siren, Catman, Green Guardsman and Streak. They will appear in a two-part episode called "Legends" later in the first season.

The producers of Justice League originally hoped to use the JSA, but ran into issues with DC Comics over the use of those characters. They instead created the Justice Guild.

"The new characters are more archetypes and actually a lot of fun," producer Rich Fogel told The Continuum.

In other Justice League news:

* Dwayne McDuffie told The Continuum that he has written part of the "Fury" episode spotlighting Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman. McDuffie has also written both parts of "The Brave and the Bold" and one part of "Metamorpho."

* Look for more on Justice League Friday here in The Continuum.

BUSIEK, SADOWSKI ON AVENGERS MINI?

Kurt Busiek, who is leaving the Avengers monthly, might still be writing plenty of Avengers in the next year.

In addition to the JLA/Avengers mini-series with George Perez, it appears Busiek might be doing an Avengers mini-series with outgoing JSA artist Steve Sadowski.

In an interview on the DC message board, Sadowski said he would be working on a Paradise X special and then teaming with Busiek on an Avengers mini-series.

However, the project could not be confirmed.

"Nothing I can talk about, not at present," Busiek said. "As far as I know, there's no official project at present."

Asked for comment on the project, Avengers editor Tom Brevoort said, "There's no such project either scheduled or approved at this point."

PLANETARY/THE AUTHORITY BACK TO PRESS

DC Comics announced on Wednesday that it is producing a new printing of Planetary/The Authority: Ruling the World.

The one-shot, by Warren Ellis, Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning, was originally published in the summer of 2000. The story pits the two teams against "invasions from beyond space and deranged gentleman-horror-writers in blockbuster movie-style action."

"This reprinting was brought about because of the suggestion of Jim Hanley (of Jim Hanley's Universe in New York City) that we bring some Prestige Format publications back into print," said Bob Wayne, DC's vice-president - sales and marketing. "We then conducted a survey of our retailer focus group for potential titles, and this project was at the top of the list."

"I'm really glad to see this happening," said Scott Dunbier, WildStorm's group editor. "It's too good a book to remain out of print."

Here's how DC Comics originally described the book:

"Two teams from opposite poles the WildStorm world come together in a story of colliding universes, invasions from beyond space, massive destruction, megadeath, deranged gentleman horror writers with really big guns and eggs. Ruling the World finds the more-than-to-secret Planetary team covertly investigating the Authority, the pantheon-like team that considers the world its personal protectorate. But while Planetary investigates the Authority, the Authority is looking into something that leads directly to one of Planetary's most critical cases. Someone from the Authority's past is powering up the strange computer hidden deep in the Adirondacks that generates the weird map of the multiverse called the Snowflake .. and something is coming from that map to threaten our world. Planetary wants to protect its agenda, its secrecy -- and the world. The Authority wants to protect the primacy, its security -- and the world. And the planetary authority coming through the Snowflake? It wants only to rule the world."

Planetary/The Authority: Ruling the World is scheduled to reach stores on April 17. The 48-page Prestige Format special will be solicited in February.

FIRST LOOK: DEFENDERS #12

Defenders #12 will arrive in stores on Friday from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Kurt Busiek, Jo Duffy and Erik Larsen, with art by Larsen and Ivan Reis and a cover by Larsen.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"It's a double-sized 'Nuff Said issue that ushers in a new direction for Earth's Most Reluctant Heroes. The lead story, written, penciled and inked by Erik Larsen brings his run to a finish, as the Defenders are brought by the curse to a realm in which there is no sound. They can't get along when they can communicate -- so how will they cope in a world where they can't? In the second story, written by Kurt Busiek and Jo Duffy, and drawn by Ivan Reis, the Defenders have had enough of the curse, and travel into the bowels of the Earth to petition Gaea to release them -- and her response sends the team and the series in a radically new direction."

Defenders #12 will be 48 pages and will cost $3.50.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: PROMETHEA #18

Promethea #18 will arrive in stores on Friday from America's Best Comics and DC Comics. The issue is written by Alan Moore, with art by J.H. Williams III and Mick Gray and a cover by Williams and Jose Villarrubia.

Here's how DC describes the issue:

"It's a doubly demonic issue as both Prometheas find themselves in a similar hellish fix. Stacia/Promethea clashes with the howling hordes of New York's loopy mayor. Meanwhile, on their cabala quest, Sophie/Promethea and Barbara have fallen through a trap door into a kind of Hell, an antimatter side of the tree of life, while exploring the fifth, red, war-like sphere of the realm."

Promethea #18 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.95.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

BRIEFLY