SPIDER-MAN ANIMATED UPDATE

MTV's Spider-Man animated series will debut on Friday with an episode called "The Party" that features Electro as the villain.

Here's how the episode is described:

"Peter Parker (Neil Patrick Harris) struggles to balance his freshman year at Empire State University with his secret life as Spider-Man. Peter's geeky high school friend, Max Dillon (Ethan Embry), is trying to fit into college life by joining a fraternity and becoming one of the "in-crowd." Unfortunately, the fraternity is only allowing Max to participate in their "rush process" as a big joke. When Max is hazed at a party the prank takes a turn for the worse and ultimately leads to the creation of Electro, a high voltage villain that threatens the campus. Max / Electro has a score to settle with his previous tormentors and he's relentless. Only Spider-Man can stop him from destroying innocent and not so innocent students."

"Max is a friend of Peter's from high school who is desperate for a fresh start," executive producer Audu Paden told The Continuum. "He was a human piņata in high school. He's like, 'I'm in college, nobody knows me. I can be cool now. I don't have to get beaten up any more.' And he's trying to belong to the wrong groups, the fraternity boys. The very people that were treating him terribly before are the people he's craving to be a part of.

"And they lure him in and they humiliate him and they destroy him, and then he's out for revenge."

Electro's look is tweaked from the comics, as well. "The traditional suit is this big goofball costume with a big star face," Paden said. "It didn't fit with the context of our story."

Friday's second episode is "Sword of Shikata."

Here's how the episode is described:

"Richard Damien (John C. McGinley), a wealthy businessman / avid collector hires Shikata, master martial artist / swordswoman, (Gina Gershon) to capture Spider-Man for his collection of rare animals. Shikata and Spider-Man soon have their first head-to-head fight and Shikata decides that he is too noble a foe to simply capture - they must fight to the death. Shikata informs Richard Damien that they no longer have a deal and that instead she plans to lure Spider-Man into the fight of his life. Richard is not a fan of this alternative strategy and sends his thugs to kill Shikata. Unfortunately, it is the goons who find themselves victims of Shikata instead. Afterwards, Shikata hunts down Spider-Man and informs him that they must fight until one of them is dead. Soon the pair is engaged in an all-out brawl on the streets. Things begin to look grim for Spider-Man until Mary Jane Watson (Lisa Loeb) arrives on the scene with a bit of information that may help Spider-Man vanquish Shikata without compromising his integrity."

For images from "Sword of Shikata," CLICK HERE.

MYSTERY OF THE BATWOMAN BOOK

Louise Simonson has written a novelization of Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, the upcoming straight-to-video animated movie from Warner Bros. Animation.

The 176-page book is being published by Random House and will be released in October.

Here's how Random House describes the book:

"Exhibiting serious disregard for human life, a mysterious Batwoman swoops from the sky and destroys a truck transporting a shipment of illegal, high-tech weapons. But before Batman and Robin can catch her, she escapes into the night.

"Who is the Batwoman? Three suspects emerge-all of whom have their own reasons for wanting to don the outfit. Batman must solve the mystery and convince Batwoman that they are on the same team. Before she hurts someone-or herself."

SILVER SURFER #1 PREVIEW

Marvel Comics on Monday night released a six-page preview of Silver Surfer #1, the new ongoing series by writers Stacy Weiss and Dan Chariton and artist MILX that premieres on July 30.

"In ancient times, the appearance of a shining silver humanoid in the skies would have precipitated the founding of a new religion," co-writer Weiss said. "And in a way that's the key to our conception of the Silver Surfer. He's unlike other superheroes ... he's not of this Earth, and wasn't raised here. He's an alien - and, to Dan and me, he's a god.

"And like any god worth his salt, the Silver Surfer's actions defy human understanding. His manifestation in the real world inspires awe, which can be awful or awesome, depending on your point of view. Most of our characters are terrified. Our first arc is largely told from the perspective of a mother whose daughter is kidnapped by the Silver Surfer in what may at first appear to be a classic alien abduction scenario, but will unfold into something far more complex and intriguing as the story progresses."

Silver Surfer #1 features a cover by Joe Jusko.

GIVE'EM A CLICK

TEEN TITANS #1 SELLS OUT

Nine days before its on-sale date of July 16, Teen Titans #1 has sold out at DC Comics. This makes four sold-out debut issues for DC in under three weeks.

"I couldn't be happier that the excitement for Teen Titans has grown so much, so fast," said writer Geoff Johns. "Mike McKone, Marlo Alquiza, Jeromy Cox, Eddie Berganza and everyone else involved have been pouring their passion into this book for months now and I can't wait for readers to see the results."

"The momentum that began with Teen Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day continues to build with this very early sell-out," says Bob Wayne, DC's VP - Sales & Marketing. "It's a strong indicator of reader enthusiasm for the series, so retailers should increase their orders on both Teen Titans and the Teen Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day Compendium."

DC has no plans to go back to press on Teen Titans #1 at this time.

FIRST LOOK: WAY OF THE RAT #15

Way of the Rat #15 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from CrossGen Entertainment. The issue is written by Chuck Dixon, penciled by Jeff Johnson, inked by Tom Ryder and colored by Chris Garcia.

Here's how CrossGen describes the issue:

"An assassin attacks! Spirits haunt Zhumar, but when the city's population attempts to flee, they face the many guns of Hyun Joon! Who is this killer, and why has he targeted Boon Sai Hong?"

Way of the Rat #15 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.95.

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FIRST LOOK: DEATHMASK #4

Deathmask #4 will arrive in stores on Wednesday from Future Comics. The issue is written by David Michelinie, co-plotted by Bob Layton, pencilled by Dick Giordano and inked by Jose Marzan and Los Jefe's, with a cover by Ron Lim and Layton.

Here's how Future describes the issue:

"The mystic marauder's mask comes to the attention of an obsessed collector, a man who will go to any extreme to possess it. Plus, the secret behind Jacob Nakai's first encounter with the Deathmask."

Deathmask #4 will be 22 pages and will cost $2.99.

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BRIEFLY

Coming Wednesday: Animation news -- and much more!!!

E-mail the Continuum at RobAlls@aol.com

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