Tuesday, January 29, 2002

MAINFRAME'S SCARY GODMOTHER

Mainframe Entertainment continues to develop Jill Thompson's Scary Godmother as an animated series, with plans for a one-hour special to launch the property.

For a look at where Scary Godmother stands, in a report from Mainframe's offices in Vancouver, CLICK HERE.

SAM JONES III TALKS SMALLVILLE

Sam Jones III, who plays Pete Ross in The WB's Smallville, told The Continuum he recently discovered the real-life athletic ability of the show's star, Tom Welling.

In the upcoming episode "Leech," there's a basketball scene, where, during the filming of it, Jones saw that Welling, the 6-foot-3 actor who plays Clark, has game.

"Tom can dunk," Jones told The Continuum, laughing. "Tom and I, we like to talk trash to each when we're in the dressing room playing PlayStation or whatever, so we talked a little trash about who can do what on the basketball court.

"So later, he was playing basketball and I came up to him and he said, 'Yeah, I just dunked.' I'm like, 'You didn't dunk. Get out of here.' He then ran up to the basketball hoop and dunked it -- with two hands! I was like, 'What the heck? How did you do that?'"

The "Leech" episode guest-stars Shawn Ashmore, who played Bobby Drake in the X-Men movie, as Eric. When Clark rescues classmate Eric from harm during an electrical storm, they are both struck by lightening, resulting in all of Clark's superpowers transferring to Eric.

"Clark loses his powers and the other guy, the nerdier kid in the school, gets his power," Jones said. "It shows what kind of person Clark Kent is because if I lost my powers, I would be mad. I would want my powers back, ASAP.

"But Clark Kent, he is kind of enjoying it at first. He's like, 'Hey, I'm normal. Hey, I can get hurt. Oh, I tripped, I fell. I'm playing basketball here and I didn't win. This is cool.' But then he has to take responsibility because the other kid is going a little wild with it."

Jones said he enjoyed the basketball scenes and is looking forward to seeing the final cut.

"When we play basketball, we break into a montage of music playing and basketball," Jones said. "If it was just a regular show, I'd be thinking, 'OK, we'll see basketball and there's just a little music in the background.' But I think we're in for a little surprise.

"In 'Hothead,' did you see that opening scene where Whitney was playing football? The rain was coming down and the coach was out there, and, man, that looked quality. If we can do half as good as that for my basketball scene, I'll be a happy man."

"Leech" is scheduled to air on Feb. 12.

In tonight's episode of Smallville, "Shimmer," Pete Ross appears early, Jones said.

"There's a shirtless scene with Tom and I," Jones said. "We went to gym class and we went in the shower and we came out of the shower, and basically something happens in the first scene that freaks Tom and I out. Tom has to investigate it and see what's going on.

"That episode is pretty much Lex's episode. Something is happening in his house, and it happened to us at school and Tom basically figures out why it's happening and gets who's in charge of everything."

Look for more on Smallville soon here in the Continuum and you can read a complete feature on Jones in Comics Continuum #1, the new print magazine from Blue Line Pro that debuts on May 1.

LADY DEATH MOVIE UPDATE

ADV Films has selected the production team that will be responsible for bringing the animated adaptation of Chaos! Comics' popular character Lady Death to life.

Co-producers Carl Macek and Andy Orjuela will soon travel to Asia to work with artists at SunMin Image Pictures Co., Ltd. under the supervision of director Young H. Sang.

For the complete story, with images and photos, CLICK HERE.

ONI PREVIEWS SHOT CALLERZ

Oni Press has released pages from Shot Callerz, a new comic written by veteran crime novelist Gary Phillips and drawn by Brett Weldele that begins in May.

Set in a world filled with gangstas, pimps, and other undesirables, Shot Callerz tails Nea Garvin on her ride through the dark underbelly of Los Angeles as she tries to track down the man who did her wrong and the duckets he lifted from her.

"I don't think comic readers are prepared for Gary Phillips," said Oni Press publisher Joe Nozemack. "He's honed this type of dark humor and gritty crime fiction in novels and really it hasn't even been attempted in this medium until now. We're thrilled to be bringing a talent of Gary's caliber over from the prose world. We know his work is going to be yet another new delectable flavor from the Oni spice rack."

"And Brett Weldele is the perfect co-conspirator for Gary's brutal storytelling," said series editor James Lucas Jones. "I've been a fan of Brett's for a while and I loved his work on Couscous Express, but nothing prepared me for the work Brett would turn in for this book. We all knew that we couldn't keep this to ourselves. We had to let the public get a taste of this book."

Shot Callerz follows Nea as she hunts down Phil Tangiers, the man who betrayed her. But the road to riches and revenge is rarely without roadblocks. Standing in her way is Herman "Big Freight" Nox, the check-cashing mogul they ripped off, his army of goons, and some of LA's biggest and baddest eight ballers and shot callers.

"Gary and Brett are both poised to make a huge splash in this industry," Nozemack said, "and Shot Callerz is the perfect diving board."

Shot Callerz #1 reaches stores on May 8.

CHAOS! COMICS FOR MAY

Chaos! Comics has released its solicitation information for May.

For a complete rundown, CLICK HERE.

JOE QUESADA APOLOGIZES TO ALAN MOORE

Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada issued a public apology to Alan Moore and Alan Davis on Monday.

At issue was the Captain Britain trade paperback, which left off a trademark promised to Moore.

Following is Quesada's statement:

"Why is it that all the crazy stuff happens when I'm away from home and unable to handle the problem properly?

"First, let me assure everyone that the mistake on the Captain Britain trade paperback was not an act of callousness, but rather simple human error. It really is disheartening to me when people believe that there is some little evil gremlin at Marvel who is looking to screw people over at every turn. What happened with the Captain Britain copyright notice was a mistake and nothing more, and there's very little I can say except, 'I screwed up!'

"I can go and try to pass blame on other departments or other people, but the truth of the matter is that the buck stops with me and I'm ultimately responsible. This is me not passing the famous Bill Jemas IQ test. That's why I'm the one who has to publicly apologize to Alan Moore and Alan Davis for this incredible oversight.

"When I visited Alan I made him several promises, all of which were kept but, unfortunately, the copyright notice fell through the cracks. Let me just make it clear that I didn't travel across the Atlantic to screw Alan over or to make promises that I didn't intend to keep -- it's just one of those things that gets chalked up to human error.

"Our TPB department has been trying its best to get out a significant number of titles in a short period of time. I know that with the construction of this particular book they've taken great care in keeping the two Alans in the mix, but ultimately we failed and dropped the ball.

"I spoke to Alan on Friday and I told him we would do two things (not contingent on whether he would ever work for Marvel again, but because making it was the right thing to do). First, a public apology from myself, and all of us at Marvel. Second, subsequent printings of Captain Britain would have the correct indicia stripped in.

"We here at Marvel have been trying very hard to make amends for the errors of our past, but sometimes in the efforts to try to make everyone comfortable with the new environment we stumble slightly. To those people out there who would like to attribute this to malevolent actions on our part, I have to say that simply isn't the case.

"So once again, to Alan and Alan I would like to offer my sincerest apologies, and the promise to be more diligent in the future."

FIRST LOOK: NIGHTCRAWLER #3

Nightcrawler #3 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Chris Kipiniak, with art by Matt Smith and Mark Morales and a painted cover by Massimiliano Frezzato.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"Continuing Nightcrawler's own X-Men Icons series. He's a mutant - accustomed to being the outcast, dedicated to fighting for the very people who fear him. But now, Kurt Wagner has been confronted with evils that mutant powers cannot overcome. Having traced a New York-area slave trade to its source, the fuzzy elf discovers that the trail does not end in a villain whom he can physically defeat. And the lives of those he is trying to save intersect in ways he could not imagine."

Nightcrawler #3 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: THE BROTHERHOOD #8

The Brotherhood #8 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by X, with art Sean Phillips and Kent Williams an a cover by Phillips.

Marvel did not release information about the issue. The series concludes with The Brotherhood #9.

The Brotherhood #8 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.25.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: THE FIRST #16

The First #16 will arrive in stores on Feb. 6 from CrossGen Comics. The issue is written by Barbara Kesel, penciled by Andrea Di Vito, inked by Rob Hunter and colored by Rob Schwager.

Here's how CrossGen describes the issue:

"Pyrem's been stolen, so his loyal friends Trenin and Yala put aside their differences to figure out a way to get him back. Persha has been searching for Altwaal, and now she's found a way to track him down. Ingra tries to decide how she should treat her 'guest,' and Gannish can't resist a return trip to 'that world.'"

The First #16 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.95.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: MYSTIC #21

Mystic #21 will arrive in stores on Feb. 6 from CrossGen Comics. The issue is written by Tony Bedard, penciled by Fabrizio Fiorentino, inked by Matt Ryan and colored by Andrew Crossley,

Here's how CrossGen describes the issue:

"With the war against Animora finished, Giselle returns to her old party-girl ways. But while she was gone, her friends got involved with dark forces on the wrong side of the law⤆and way out of their league. Now Giselle will discover the hard way why some call it the criminal 'underworld.'"

Mystic #21 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.95.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

FIRST LOOK: TASKMASTER #1

Taskmaster #1 will arrive in stores on Feb. 13 from Marvel Comics. The issue is written by Ken Siu-Chong, with art by Udon and a cover by Arnold Tsang.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"He can imitate anything you can do... but better. He runs a string of international acadamies... that produce trained killers!.Now the man behind the skull gets some new duds... then gets his hands dirty on a solo mission worth millions of dollars. The butt-kicker that Wizard voted one of the Top 10 Coolest Villains Of All Time leaps into his own adventure filled with crazy Hong Kong action, art by X-Men Evolution's Udon (with Alvin Lee, Arnold Tsang, Omar Dogan, and Shane Law)... and guest-stars like Iron Man."

Taskmaster #1 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.99.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

BRIEFLY