Tuesday, July 29, 2003
PUNISHER MOVIE UPDATE
With production of The Punisher scheduled to start on Saturday, Artisan Entertainment is staging a press conference on Wednesday in Tampa, Fla., where the film is being shot.
Appearing will be star Thomas Jane, writer/director Jonathan Hensleigh, producers Gale Anne Hurd and Avi Arad, Artisan executive vice-president Andrew Golov and line producer John Starke.
Look for coverage of the press conference Wednesday here in The Continuum.
SPIDER-MAN ANIMATED UPDATE
This Friday's new episode of MTV's Spider-Man animated series is "When Sparks Fly."
Here's how the episode is described:
"Two teenage boys goof off in an abandoned power plant and stumble into a weakened Electro / formerly Max Dillon (Ethan Embry) from 'The Party' episode. Electro has been hiding in the plant plotting his electrifying comeback and only Spider-Man's (Neil Patrick Harris) timely arrival saves the two teens from becoming toast.
"Over at Empire State University in Professor Williams' Chemistry class Sally is unnerved when her computer sends her a message completely on its own. Later, while she is studying in her room an eerie vision of Electro / Max appears on her TV screen. Sally was at the fraternity party the night that Max was turned into Electro. It seems that Electro has come back to claim Sally because he loves her and wants them to be together. Electro plans to zap Sally into an electrical being like himself so that they can become a couple.
"Spider-Man must come to find a way to save Sally from the fate that Electro has in store for her and must rely on a little help from Harry Osborn (Ian Ziering) and Mary Jane Watson (Lisa Loeb) to stop an unnatural coupling."
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NEW CVO COMIC, VIDEO-GAME DEAL
IDW Publishing on Tuesday announced the return of CVO with CVO: Artifact, a three-issue mini-series debuting in October.
Following on the trail of blood left with the debut one-shot of CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations, the United States' first team of vampire spies sink their teeth into their most dangerous mission yet. They are faced with two problems, a powerful ancient artifact and a missing colleague that could cause mayhem on a global level.
IDW Publishing also announced that Konami, the publisher of Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, and Castlevania, will be partners with IDW on the CVO property. In addition to producing video games based on CVO, Konami will be a minority owner of the property and a critical partner in CVO's development.
"We made a short list of companies that we wanted to work with on a CVO video game and we didn't even make it to the second name on our list. Konami was our first choice and they immediately understood the potential for a game based on CVO. This was one of the quickest deals I've ever put together and Konami's enthusiasm is refreshing, I am incredibly excited to be working with them," said Ted Adams, publisher at IDW Publishing.
IDW Publishing has successfully shopped two properties in the entertainment arena. The first, 30 Days of Night, scored a movie sale, with Sam Raimi attached as producer
For the new mini-series, Jeff Mariotte steps in as writer, with art by Gabriel Hernandez, to make this a unique cross between James Bond and Dracula. Series creator Alex Garner, of Danger Girl and Gen1m will be handling the cover art on the first issue.
"The first CVO one-shot was received warmly by readers and is building a very solid following for people who like their adventure with a bite to it," Garner said. "I'm an avid player of video games, and it's a thrill to think the brilliant creators at Konami will be creating a game based on something I dreamed up. Between that and a new mini-series, I'm confident that CVO will have a long, prosperous life."
NEW SUPERMAN TITLE WRITERS
DC Comics has confirmed that Chuck Austen and Greg Rucka will be the new writers of Action Comics and Adventure Comics, respectively.
The writers will join the books in March, the same month that writer Brian Azzarello and penciler Jim Lee become the new creative team on Superman.
On Friday, August 8, DC Comics will expand on this information at the WizardWorld Chicago. The Superman panel, which is scheduled from 2-3 p.m., will include DC's VP - Editorial Dan DiDio, Group Editor Eddie Berganza, Azzarello, Lee and more.
"We still have a lot of tricks up our sleeve, and you'll hear about them in Chicago," DiDio said.
Rucka recently signed a three-year exclusive deal with DC Comics.
"Looking at my work, the lion's share has been with DC characters," Rucka said. "They're the ones that speak to me most clearly and that engage my passion. The luxury of an exclusive is that the commitment runs both ways -- I can give my best effort to books like Wonder Woman and Gotham Central, and DC knows I'm in it for the long term. It's the best decision I can make...and I'm very excited at the opportunities that will come from it."
EL CAZADOR PREVIEW
CrossGen Comics on Tuesday released a preview of El Cazador, its newest series that premieres in September.
The book is by writer Chuck Dixon, artist Steve Epting and colorist Frank D'Armata.
Here's how CrossGen describes the concept:
"El Cazador unleashes a wild epic of swashbuckling danger set in the Golden Age of pirates! When the life of a fiery Spanish donessa is
shattered by a villainous armada, she sets sail with vengeance in her
heart--reborn as Captain Sin! The sexy she-devil is CrossGen's next major
hero--and you can meet her in a savage tale of the days when cannons roared, cutlasses clashed, and the seas were stained blood red! Best of all, this standalone story is set on Earth and features not a single sigil--which
means it's the perfect entry point for anyone who's ever wanted to try a
CrossGen title!"
El Cazador #1 hits stores on Sept. 3. Click on the thumbnails for larger images.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL
In case you missed some of The Continuum's recent coverage from Comic-Con International in San Diego, here are some links.
* For stories from Preview Night, including an interview with Mike Mignola about the Hellboy movie, CLICK HERE.
* For the CrossGen Comics panel, CLICK HERE.
* For the WildStorm Productions panel, CLICK HERE.
* For a look at the Hellboy movie trading cards, CLICK HERE.
* For a look at the Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman movie, CLICK HERE.
* For DC Comics' Batman panel, CLICK HERE.
* For DC Comics' Vertigo panel, CLICK HERE.
* For the Spider-Man sequel panel, including a first look at Doc Ock, CLICK HERE.
* For comments from Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry about appearing in a third X-Men movie, CLICK HERE.
* For the Smallville panel, CLICK HERE.
* For an interview with Spider-Man 2 producer Avi Arad, CLICK HERE.
* For DC Comics' super teams panel, CLICK HERE.
* For Phil LaMarr talking about the Static Shock/Green Lantern team-up, CLICK HERE.
* For the Hellboy movie panel, CLICK HERE.
BRIEFLY
Copyright © 2003, The Comics Continuum