Thursday, April 3, 2003
MARVEL COMICS FIRST LOOKS
For covers and four-page previews of Marvel Comics titles arriving in stores on Wednesday, CLICK HERE.
Titles include Uncanny X-Men #421, Human Torch #1, Thor #62, Exiles #25, Marvel Universe: The End #3, Captain America #12, The Punisher #24, Incredible Hulk #52 and Wolverine: X-Isle #2.
IMAGE COMICS FIRST LOOKS
For covers and four-page previews of Image Comics titles arriving in stores on Wednesday, CLICK HERE.
Titles include Heirs of Eternity #1, Jack Staff #2, Powers #30, Venture #3 and Lovebunny and Mr. Hell: Savage Love.
DC COMICS FIRST LOOKS
For covers and four-page previews of DC Comics titles arriving in stores on Wednesday, CLICK HERE.
Titles include Aquaman #5, Astro City: Local Heroes #2, Blood and Water #2, Fables #12, Gotham Central #6, Green Arrow #23 and StormWatch: Team Achilles #10.
X-MEN SEQUEL UPDATE
Tom DeSanto, executive producer of X-Men and its upcoming sequel X2, told The Continuum that the character of Rogue has a definite growth arc that was planned in the first film.
"It gets back to the roots of the character with Rogue," DeSanto told The Continuum. "So much of where that character is right now is because of where she started. The Rogue of the current comics is after the transformation.
"We're sort of going back to the roots of the character before her comfortableness with her sexuality and her sassiness. When Rogue was first brought into the X-Men, she was very timid. She couldn't touch anyone. What not only a physical curse, but an emotional and psychological curse. Eventually, through time and her feeling of family and kinship, she was able to relax and let those self-imposed walls down that she had built up."
DeSanto said the filmmakers were "really blessed" to get Anna Paquin to play Rogue.
"She's amazing," he said. "And, as a fan, to have an Oscar-winning actress not only associated with X-Men but playing Rogue, who is one of my favorite characters … she just does an amazing job."
In other X-Men news:
* X2 and Daredevil are among the films in a deal between 20th Century Fox and CinemaNow, a leader in Internet video-on-demand distribution and technology, to offer Fox films for download via the CinemaNow Website, www.cinemanow.com.
CinemaNow will offer Fox's new release titles the same day they become available via traditional pay-per-view outlets, while also making available previously released films from the extensive Fox library.
New release titles will be priced at $3.99 for 24 hours of unlimited viewing, and library films will be priced at $2.99 for 24 hours of unlimited viewing. All Fox titles will be made available in Microsoft's Windows Media 9 Series format.
* Look for more X2 news on Friday here in The Continuum.
NAMOR PREVIEW
Marvel Comics on Wednesday released four images from its upcoming Namor series, written by Bill Jemas and Andi Watson, with art by Salvador Larroca.
Namor #1 goes on sale on April 30 and costs 25 cents.
"Namor #1 has surpassed everyone's expectations on every level," said editor C.B. Cebulski. "Salva has crafted an undersea world that is mesmerizing to look at. Mixed with Danny Miki's fine inks and J.D. Smith's amazing color palette, Prince Namor's Atlantis kingdom truly comes alive. The characters and action flow off the pages into the hands of the reader.
"Bill and Andi have also granted us a wonderful peak into the life of young Namor. Readers see him start as a mischievous young boy and follow him into manhood, giving us a candid look into Namor's youth that rings true with the Sub-Mariner of today that fans know and love. We're drawn into his life in Atlantis and the personal relationships that shaped him into the fiery hero he is today."
Namor #2 goes on sale on May 21.
|
|
|
TECH JACKET SELLS OUT, TRADE COMING
|
|
|
Image Comics has announced that Diamond has completely sold out of Tech Jacket #1-3 by Robert Kirkman and E.J. Su.
Technically part of Image's new superhero line launched in January, Tech Jacket actually preceded the rest of the titles by two months, as #1 arrived in stores on Nov. 20. Tech Jacket #2 hit the stands on Dec. 18 and issue #3 went on sale Jan. 29. All three books were over-shipped to retailers participating in Diamond's over-ship program.
With Tech Jacket #5 due out in two weeks, Image has also announced that a trade paperback collection has been scheduled for July. Tech Jacket: Lost & Found will compile the series' initial story arc as a 5" x 7" black-and-white paperback.
"E.J. always wanted this to be a black-and-white book," Kirkman saod. "He grew up reading Manga, and to him comics just are black and white. The American in me wanted this series to be color and I had just come off doing an indie book, so I was looking forward to having a good ol' color book. E.J. eventually caved in, as long as I promised that if we did a trade paperback we did it his way. The first two issues of the book were previewed in black-and-white format by retailers, and I've heard a few people say they prefer E.J.'s work that way.
"I've seen some of the pages as they are going to see print in the book and I think it's going to look just swell. And who knows, maybe if sales pick up and the book becomes a huge hit, we can do a full-color, oversized hardcover containing the first 12 issues. Those seem to be popular these days."
Tech Jacket follows the story of Zack Thompson, a teenage boy who comes into possession of an alien vest (the Tech Jacket) considered to be one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. The vest's creators, the Geldarians, are a race of incredibly intelligent, yet physically fragile beings. They developed the Tech Jacket to compensate for their frailty, and every Geldarian is equipped with one at birth. Each jacket grows and matures with its host in a symbiotic relationship that allows it to specialize in tasks that the host will find most useful. Zack's relationship with his own Tech Jacket forms the basis of the series, as he comes to grips with the immense responsibility of possessing such a powerful weapon, but it's the choices he makes and how they affect his family and friends that ultimately gives the series its heart.
"E.J. and I are very pleased with Tech Jacket's success," Kirkman said. "When the book was initially announced, people seemed to develop a lot of preconceived notions about what it was going to be about. I think we've done a good job of avoiding all that and delivering an original, exciting and lighthearted adventure tale, appropriate for young readers, yet complex enough to entertain readers of all ages."
Tech Jacket: Lost & Found will go on sale July 2. Tech Jacket #5 will be in
stores April 16. Above are the covers to the trade paperback, Tech Jacket #5 and Tech Jacket #7.
BRIEFLY
Mero returns to the ring on Thursday on UPN's Smackdown.
Click on the thumbnails for larger images.
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2003, The Comics Continuum