Saturday, August 24, 2002

MUTANT X UPDATE

The powers of the Mutant X team members will continue to evolve in the second season of the syndicated show.

At the recent Comic-Con International in San Diego, members of the cast explained some of the changes.

"All of our powers have changed considerably," said Victoria Pratt, who plays Shalimar. "Shalimar has animal DNA and they're kind of adding what kind of DNA is convenient for the storyline. I smell stuff sometimes now.

"We're having fun this year. All of powers have stepped up. My physical powers have stepped up."

"The last episode of Season 1, all of our powers were evolving. And Emma got a psionic blast," said Lauren Lee Smith, who plays Emma. "Emma's kicking a little more butt and that's given her a little more confidence. And she's still got her telepathy, so she's still receiving these emotions, but now she's got this extra kick which is a lot of fun."

Forbes March, who plays Jesse, joked about the changes of his character's density-altering powers.

"Last season Jesse got hard," March said. "This season, Jesse's got the powers to make others hard, and he's having a lot o fun doing that."

In other Mutant X news:

Tribune Entertainment has released episode titles and dates through the end of October.

Repeats include "Ex Marks the Spot" the week of Sept. 2; "Nothing to Fear" the week of Sept. 9; "Deadly Desire" the week of Sept. 16; and "A Breed Apart" the week of Sept. 23.

New episodes include "Past as Prologue" the week of Sept. 30; "Power Play" the week of Oct. 7; "Time Squared" the week of Oct. 14; "Whose Woods Are These…" the week of Oct. 21; and "The Future Revealed" the week of Oct. 28.

GUN FU IN OCTOBER

Howard M. Shum's newest comic, Gun Fu, arrives in stores in October from AXIOM.

The one-shot is written and inked by Shum, whose credits include Star Wars: Tag & Blink Are Dead, Gadzillion, Intrigue and Aquaman. It is drawn and colored by newcomer Joey Mason.

Here's how Shum described the book for The Continuum:

"Welcome to the world of Gun Fu. The year is 1936. Cheng Bo Sen is a gun-shooting, kung fu-using Hong Kong cop. Cheng also speaks hip-hop which no one seems to notice. His life becomes even more dangerous when he is recruited by England to help fight the Nazis."

The 32-page, full-color book will cost $3.50.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

CROSSGEN COMICS FIRST LOOKS

For covers and four-page previews of CrossGen Comics titles arriving in stores on Wednesday, CLICK HERE.

Titles include Crux #17, Route 666 #3 and Scion #27.

Y - THE LAST MAN SELLS OUT

DC Comics has announced that the first issue of Y - The Last Man is sold out at the publisher. A limited quantity of copies of issue #2 are still available.

"Co-creator Pia Guerra and I are absolutely thrilled -- and a little overwhelmed -- by the positive response to Y - The Last Man #1," said writer Brian K. Vaughan.

"The most exciting part has been hearing from readers who enjoyed the book so much that they shared it with their normally non-comics-reading loved ones. We expect the Y buzz to spread faster than a man-killing plague! Er, in a good way..."

DC also announced that the second issue of the Vertigo series - the cover is presented here -- is available for reorder from retailers. The third issue arrives in stores on Sept. 18.

CLAYPOOL COMICS FOR DECEMBER

Following are Claypool Comics' solicitations for December, with information coming from the company.

ELVIRA #116

By Frank Strom, Tod Smith, Ricardo Villagran, Janet Hetherington, Chuck Frazier and Louis Lachance.

When Elvira and Spooky Suzie face off against each other in the Supremes Court (you can't hurry the law--no, you just have to wait), they find out that trials of horror hosts, like those of Norse gods, involve being transported to a distant, hostile magical land and seeing who makes it back alive. This particular journey into misbehavior is titled "Trial and Terror!" Also, Elvira's a contestant on a wacky cable game show in "Stein Full of Dough!"

32 pages, black and white, $2.50.

DEADBEATS #57

By Richard Howell and Ricardo Villagran, cover by Howell and Steve Leialoha.

The vampire Southie's got a secret -- and he's keeping it bound and terrified in a cave by the beach. Meanwhile, government forces move into Mystic Grove to take charge of the initiative against the undead, while the holidays bring several town residents surprising news about their missing loved ones. It's all in "Upheavals!"

32 pages, black and white, $2.50.

BRIEFLY

Below is a first look at the covers to Savage Dragon #103, Savage Dragon/Hellboy trade paperback, Supergirl #75 and One Plus One #1.

GIVE'EM A CLICK