Saturday, August 3, 2002

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: DC HEROES/BATMAN PANELS

Bone creator Jeff Smith will be writing and drawing a four-issue, prestige format Shazam series entitled Shazam: Monster Society of Evil.

The mini-series is being targeted for late 2003/early 2004.

Look for more details soon here in The Continuum.

In other news: * DC displayed the first cover from Superman/Batman, the new series by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness due early next year. The first story will involve the two heroes dealing with President Lex Luthor.

* Ed Brubaker, new writer of Detective Comics, said that his first story arc will last six issues. "Someone is picking off Batman's Rogues Gallery," Brubaker said. "I finally get to do a big Batman mystery."

Tim Sale will provide covers for the series.

* Cameron Stewart is the new artist of Catwoman, taking over with #12. "He's been an inker for years and has wanted to get a penciling gig," said Brubaker, who also writes Catwoman. "And I've been pushing for this."

J.G. Jones will provide covers for the series.

* The first two issues of Gotham Central will ship in December and will be co-written by Brubaker and Greg Rucka. They will then alternate writing story arcs. The art is by Michael Lark.

* Writer Michael Uslan and illustrator Peter Snejbjerg bring a look at Bruce Wayne as you've never seen him before in Batman: Detective #27, a hardcover, Elseworlds graphic novel. This sprawling tale finds Bruce Wayne avenging his parents' murder by fighting crime… as the top agent in a secret organization of detectives founded by famed crime-fighter Allan Pinkerton. Among the cast of this astounding epic are President Abraham Lincoln, a young Theodore Roosevelt, Gregor Mendel and Babe Ruth, also known as All Star Number 3.

* Lobo Unbound is a new six-issue, mature readers mini-series by Keith Giffen and Alex Horley.

Horley said the mini-series is guaranteed to offend. "It's like Terminator meets Looney Tunes," He said.