Wednesday, April 17, 2002

THE SIMPSONS UPDATE

Stan Lee guest-stars as himself on the April 27 episode of The Simpsons on Fox.

The episode is called "I Am Furious Yellow," and the accompanying image shows Homer raging, a la The Incredible Hulk.

In the episode, Bart makes an Internet animated series based on his own life, and creates a character named "Angry Dad," who is based directly on Homer.

"I Am Furious Yellow" is the 17th episode of the season.

JAY FAERBER WRITES X-MEN: EVOLUTION

Jay Faerber told The Continuum that he has written an upcoming issue of the X-Men: Evolution comic book.

"I wrote an inventory story for X-Men Evolution awhile back, and they're running it as #9 of the series," Faerber told The Continuum. "It's drawn by JJ Kirby, a guy whose work I've really enjoyed ever since I saw it in WildStorm's DV8, back in the day.

"In the issue, Professor X is forced to leave the teenage X-Men home alone when he, Storm, and Wolverine are all called away on business. The X-Men promise to be on their best behavior, of course, but when the Bayville High kids find out that Xavier's gone for the weekend, they decide that his mansion is the perfect place to have one kick-ass party. And if that wasn't bad enough, the Brotherhood show up, hoping to uncover Xavier's Cerebro technology."

Faerber said he's a "big fan" of the Kids' WB! animated series.

"It's one of my favorite takes on the X-Men, and it was a blast to be able to play around in that continuity," he said.

BATMAN: BRUCE WAYNE - MURDERER? TRADE

DC Comics is collecting Batman: Bruce Wayne - Murderer? into a 264-page trade paperback on June 12.

"Many parts of this story are sold out, which is a clear indication of reader interest," said Bob Wayne, DC's vice-president, sales and marketing. "Now, fans who picked up Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure but weren't able to find all the subsequent chapters will be able catch up on what they missed."

Topping the volume is the cover by Dave Johnson that originally appeared on the record-breaking Batman: The 10-Cent Adventure. A reprint of that issue starts off the volume, with the entirety of these chapters of the storyline also included: Detective Comics #766-767, Batgirl #24, Batman: Gotham Knights #25-26, and Batman #599-600. Plus, relevant portions of Nightwing #65-66, Birds of Prey #39-40 and Robin #98-99 are included.

"With the finale to the Bruce Wayne: Fugitive follow-up on the way in July's Batman #605, fans who missed the start of this story will be able to catch up on it from the beginning," Wayne said.

SPIDER-MAN MOVIE UPDATE

Kirsten Dunst, who plays Mary Jane in the Spider-Man movie, said she didn't simply want her character to be a "damsel in distress."

"Definitely, Spider-Man needs to save her a bunch," Dunst told E! News Live. "But I just don't want her to be the girly-girl who gets saved all the time. That's right, I don't need Spider-Man. I'll kick ass on my own."

Dunst said shooting a scene where she's clinging to a balcony after an attack from the Green Goblin proved to be a long day.

"I'm like stuck to this balcony for like three hours," Dunst said. "This shot and this shot, look over, 'Ahhhh, he's coming back! Spider-Man, help!' And after the end of the day, you're sick of screaming for Spider-Man."

Look for a feature on Dunst soon here in The Continuum.

KEVIN SMITH TO PROMOTE BLACK CAT ON TONIGHT SHOW

Kevin Smith will appear on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on June 24 to promote his upcoming Marvel mini-series, Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do.

"I'm as proud of my work in comics as I am of anything I've done on film, so I thought 'Why not call up the folks at The Tonight Show and see if I could talk about Spider-Man/Black Cat on the show as a guest?,'" Smith said. "Thankfully, Jay and Co. were really up for it and found me a slot on the show two days before the book hits the stands. What better way to call more attention to comics than by waving one around on late night's most-watched talk show?

"It's going to be a real kick to run a clip of Terry and Rachel Dodson's awesome artwork for the approximately 6 million folks who watch Leno each night. And the fact that it's a historical first as well makes it kind of fun."

"This is just one more step in our attempt to take the world of comics to the masses, and Kevin is the perfect ambassador," said Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada. "Kevin has been a regular on The Tonight Show these last few months, with his 'Roadside Attraction' bits and the 'Clerks' short, 'The Flying Car,' and Jay is a big Spidey fan. So when Kevin called me and said that he wanted to book himself on the show just to promote Spider-Man/Black Cat, my head nearly exploded! This is a giant step for our industry and I hope retailers take note and plan accordingly for the traffic that this event will drive to their stores!"

NEW MUTANT X EPISODE

A new episode of Mutant X, "Presumed Guilty," airs in syndication this week.

For a complete synopsis, with spoilers and photos, CLICK HERE.

NEW JEREMIAH EPISODE

A new episode of Jeremiah will air at a special time, 10:30 p.m., this Friday on Showtime.

The episode, "Firewall," is written by J. Michael Straczynski and directed by Peter Deluise. It will air after Traffic on Showtime, 15 minutes earlier than usual.

Here's how the episode is described:

"Investigating a group known as the orange men, Jeremiah and Kurdy capture Quantrell, and everything changes for Thunder Mountain - Quantrell is an adult survivor who knows a great deal about both Marcus and Valhalla Sector."

Michael Rooker, whose credits include Tombstone, Cliffhanger and The Bone Collector, guest-stars as Quantrell.

The episode will have an encore presentation on Showtime Beyond on Sunday at 10:45 p.m.

Click on the thumbnails for larger images from "Firewall."

FIRST LOOK: CODENAME: KNOCKOUT #12

Codename: Knockout #12 will arrive in stores on April 24 from DC Comics. The issue is written by Robert Rodi, with art by Yanick Paquette, Phil Jimenez and Mark Lipka and a cover by Tomas Giorello

Here's how DC describes the issue, which is part three of the three-part "Undressed to Kill" story arc:

"Angela takes on the hulking Russian crime boss Evgenia Orlova in hand-to-hand combat, for control of a Siberian sex slave camp. Plus, the astonishing story of what (and who) Go-Go's been up to."

Codename: Knockout #12 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.50.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

BRIEFLY