BATMAN'S "THE JOKE"

Batman #613-614, continuing the "Hush" arc by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee and Scott Williams, will be a two-part story called "The Joke."

The story features Harley Quinn and the Joker, Loeb told The Continuum, with Batman #613 focusing on Harley Quinn. (See cover to the right.)

"This issue is very much the quiet before the storm," Loeb said. "After the battle -- Batman vs. Superman -- that took place in Metropolis, Bruce and Selina take in a night at the Opera; Jim draws a spectacular Gotham Opera House.

"The show doesn't exactly go up since Harley Quinn has other plans in mind, largely due to what has happened to Poison Ivy. Her motivations seem... odd to say the least, but she's crazy, so who knows what she's up to... As Batman suspects, if Harley is around, The Joker can't be far behind. One thing we can be certain, if there's an Opera, it's not going to be a happy ending.

"I don't want to reveal too much, but something happens at the end of #613 that's pretty horrible. And for the Joker, that's saying something. The entire issue that follows (#614) takes place in about five minutes after that. Jim and I wanted to explore the hard question of why Batman doesn't kill the Joker. Maybe it's time he should. We'll examine their history and the violence the Joker has brought into Batman's world. Does Batman have any responsibility for it?

"Ultimately, we have an answer -- but I want to stress that it's AN answer. When you're dealing with justice, nothing is ever black and white. Maybe that's why it's so hard for Batman not to snap his neck once and for all. Maybe."

Batman #613 arrives in stores in April. Look for more on Batman soon here in The Continuum.

DC COMICS FIRST LOOKS

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

Titles include Aquaman #2, Fables #9, Gen 13 #5, JSA #44, StormWatch: Team Achilles #7, Superman & Batman: Generations III #1 and War Story: Condors.

MARVEL COMICS FIRST LOOKS

For covers and four-page previews for Marvel Comics titles arriving in stores next week, CLICK HERE.

Titles include Hulk/Wolverine: 6 Hours #1, Killraven #4, Mekanix #4, Black Panther #53, X-Treme X-Men #20 and Incredible Hulk #49.

X-MEN SEQUEL UPDATE

The Mazda RX-8 X-Men Car featured in the upcoming X2 will be featured at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show this week.

Mazda will stage a press conference on Friday afternoon to promote the car and the movie.

The X-Men car is based on the soon-to-be-introduced rotary-powered 2004 Mazda RX-8 sports car.

"With style and a powerful stance, the RX-8 is a sports car like no other, and we think it will create as much excitement as this new film," said Kristen Simmons, vice president of marketing for Mazda North American Operations. "It's an ideal fit for the next X-Men film, a movie filled with characters that have the same dominant presence as this sports car."

The show runs through Jan. 12.

In other X2 news:

* A new standee promoting the film is now in theaters. The standee plays off the silver X logo. Click on the thumbnail above for a larger image.

* The film was featured on Inside Edition on Thursday night, with the show predicting that Kelly Hu, who plays Lady Deathstrike, will become a big star.

FIREBREATHER TO BIG BLAST

Big Blast Entertainment has partnered with creators Phil Hester and Andy Kuhn for all media rights to Firebreather, their comic-book series published by Image Comics.

Big Blast Entertainment is best known as the media rights holding and production company for comic book publisher Oni Press. Firebreather marks the first time Big Blast Entertainment has optioned a book outside the Oni Press stable.

"We had a great working relationship from the time when we set-up Phil's The Coffin at 20th Century Fox with James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment. When Phil showed us Firebreather, we freaked. It's fresh and wild and so right up our alley that it just seemed natural to work together again," said Chip Mosher, producer at Big Blast along with partners Joe Nozemack, publisher of Oni Press, and Bob Chapman of merchandising company Graphitti Designs.

"It's always been Big Blast's goal to create long-term relationships with unique, creative voices, such as Phil and Andy, and to work with them on a variety of projects," Mosher added. "The fact that Firebreather is an Image title and not an Oni Press publication just proves that point."

"BBE is the perfect partner for Firebreather. I can't think of any group I'd rather have holding our hands in the dark, scary wilds of Hollywood," Hester said.

Firebreather #1 hits comic book stores this week and tells the story of the anything-but-ordinary teenager Duncan Rosenblatt. What makes Duncan so different? He just happens to be the son of your typical suburban soccer mom and Belloc, a 300 foot tall, city trampling, battleship-devouring monster. While his mom is concerned that he goes to college and become a productive member of society, his dad is determined to get him to join the family business - which revolves around conquering the earth and ascending to his rightful place as king monster.

"I guess in layman's terms it's like doing a gene splice of Kramer vs. Kramer, Godzilla, and Buffy. Throw in a little DeGrassi Jr. High and you're there," Hester said.

"Our next step is going to be searching for the right partner who is as amped as we are at unleashing this quirky combination of humor, action, and teen drama to the world at large. Whether that's a creative entity such as a writer and/or director, another production partner, or a studio/network, you'll have to wait and see," Nozemack said. "Either way, this is a project with broad appeal and huge potential that is going to be a blast to work on."

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