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Tuesday, June 25, 2002
X-MEN SEQUEL UPDATE
Brian Cox will play Stryker, the lead villain, in the X-Men sequel, which has begun production in the Vancouver area.
Cox, 56, is a veteran of more than 40 films and is currently featured in The Bourne Identity. He also starred as Hannibal Lecter in the 1986 film Manhunter, below.
Fox describes Stryker as "a former Army commander who holds the key to Wolverine's past - as well as the future of the X-Men."
The studio also described Kelly Hu's role as "Stryker's assistant, Yuriko Oyama, who has her own surprises for the heroic team." The character's name would be consistent with Hu's recent description of the character as Lady Deathstrike.
Fox also noted that Shawn Ashmore is returning as Bobby Drake (Iceman) and Aaron Stanford's Pyro will be John Allerdyce. The studio said the young mutants will be called "the X-Kids."
Although writing credits are not final, the studio lists the screenplay being written by David Hayter and Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, based on a story by returning director Bryan Singer and Hayter.
Returning actors listed by Fox include Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Bruce Davison, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Anna Paquin. Alan Cumming is the newest addition, playing Nightcrawler.
The studio is also listing Tom DeSanto as a returning executive producer.
In other X2 news:
* Stanford was featured in this week's Entertainment Weekly "It" issue.
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE COMIC BOOK
Image Comics has announced that MV Creations has obtained the exclusive license to develop comics based on the Masters of the Universe property from Mattel Image will begin publishing the new adventures of He-Man and his counterparts beginning in November.
"We couldn't be more pleased to add Masters of the Universe to the Image roster," Image publisher/vice-president Jim Valentino said. "We hit one out of the park and sparked the '80s nostalgia boom last year with the return of G.I. Joe, followed that up with Micronauts and Battle of the Planets, and this makes it a grand slam!"
"It's a dream come true for all of us here," said Val Staples, President of MV Creations. "We've been working closely with Mattel via our Website www.he-man.org for almost two years to relay important brand news to the fans. Then, early this spring we completed a special promotional comic and other exciting promotional items to be released later this year with the toy line. Producing the new comic series was more than we ever could have hoped for."
Masters of the Universe will make its debut at Image Comics as a four-issue limited series that is centered around the animated cartoon feature by Mike Young Productions airing in August during the Toonami block on Cartoon Network. According to Image, the new comic book series will approach the stories "from a more mature angle, with intense action and emotional depth."
After the conclusion of the initial Cartoon Network special depicting the never-before-told story of how Prince Adam become He-Man, a regular series will launch, focusing on the saga of the Masters of the Universe, exploring the individuality of characters.
"The direction of the story and the quality of the art is very important to Mattel," Staples said. "They are mindful of the fans, and they do not want to limit the creative possibilities of the comic. This makes producing the series even more enjoyable for the entire creative team.
"While the comic must revolve around the saga of the new toy line and cartoon, the story within won't be treated as just a rehash of the past. We will explore areas fans have wondered about for years, and the comic will lead up to things no one ever expected."
Masters of the Universe will be written by Staples with surprise guest writers also contributing over the course of the series. Penciling the series is Italian artist Emiliano Santalucia, who will be joined by inker Marco Failla, also from Italy Colors are by Jason Keith and lettering will be handled by the inimitable Dreamer Design.
Master of the Universe #1 will feature three covers: one by Santalucia, one by J. Scott Campbell, and a wraparound cover by painter Earl Norem. Norem painted the posters/covers for the old Masters of the Universe magazine, and he's coming out of retirement specifically to be part of the series' relaunch.
"We are very excited to have Image Comics and MV Creations on board for the relaunch of Masters of the Universe," said Mattel's Marketing Director, Geoff Walker. "This is one of the largest action figure launches in Mattel's history. The role of comic books in extending the storyline to our fans is very important. Image and MV Creations have shown the passion for He-man that we believed necessary to create an incredible comic. Additionally, fans of J. Scott Campbell and Earl Norem are in for a special treat with their interpretations of He-Man."
CROSSGEN COMICS IN CHINA
CrossGeneration Comics has struck a deal with the Chinese publisher Dian Shi Tang, one of China's largest publishers, to begin publishing CrossGen's entire line of titles in August.
Dian Shi Tang is one of the five largest publishers in China, and the only one of those five that is not government-owned, publishing more than 300 titles in 2001.
The company has experience with publications from the U.S., having handled such titles as, Chicken Soup for the Soul and Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. The company currently possesses distribution deals in more than 100 cities around China.
The deal with Dian Shi Tang grants CrossGen exclusivity, making CrossGen the only U.S. comics publisher whose titles will be published by Dian Shi Tangs in China.
"This is a big one," said CrossGen CEO and publisher Mark Alessi. "We've been blazing a trail around the world, with our titles licensed in 31 countries and in 11 languages, but breaking through in China is a barrier we never thought we'd overcome this early in our business."
The deal was brokered by executives with Enorbus Technologies, one of China's largest wireless entertainment companies. Enorbus currently has a licensing agreement with CrossGen to produce wireless games and icons for the worldwide mobile phone marketplace.
"We believe that with the right promotion, we can make CrossGen the next big thing from America," said Sun Yi Xue, president of Dian Shi Tang. "These are some of the most beautiful comics we have seen from just about any country from around the world, and the stories are so universal, we believe that CrossGen will be a big hit in China."
DICKS 2 AT AVATAR
Avatar Press has announced that he characters that Garth Ennis and John McCrea are returning their irreverent pair of private eyes, Dougie and Ivor, for Dicks 2.
An all new, self-contained series written by Ennis and drawn by McCrea, Dicks 2 #1 is scheduled for release in September from Avatar.
"I never forgot Dougie and Ivor, not once, not even with all the Preachers and Hitmans and Punishers and all the other stuff I've been doing down the years," Ennis said. "They remain my all-time favorites of the characters I've written or created-- my pride and joy, the ongoing saga of two idiots from Belfast, by two idiots from Belfast."
"If the early reaction to this new material is any indication, Dicks is destined to take its place alongside Preacher as one of Garth's most notorious works," said Avatar editor-in-chief William Christensen.
"A preview of the cover art of issue #1 alone created a minor scandal at the Bristol convention earlier this year, not to mention the promotional custom-printed Dicks condoms that McCrea gleefully handed out at the convention-- those will be available with a retailer incentive offer, incidentally.
"But on a more serious note, I'm just pleased that Avatar is playing a part in getting the continuing adventures of Garth and John's favorite creator- owned characters out to their fans with this brand new, stand- alone epic."
Dicks protagonists Dougie and Ivor first appeared and began to take shape in Troubled Souls, a story first serialized in seminal British anthology Crisis in early 1989, putting it among the earliest professional works of both creators.
Dougie and Ivor's antics took center stage in the 1990 sequel titled For a Few Troubles More. The first actual Dicks series appeared in 1996 and was brought back into print with new material by Avatar as Bigger Dicks early this year.
Dicks 2 will be a four-issue series.
BRIEFLY
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