Friday, August 1, 2003
TOY BIZ'S NEW MARVEL ACTION FIGURES
Toy Biz has provided The Continuum with information on its upcoming products, including Marvel Legends, Classic Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk, X-Men, Marvel Studios and MTV Spider-Man lines.
For a complete rundown, with 30 new images of figures, CLICK HERE.
JOE QUESADA'S MARVEL CONTRACT EXTENDED
Marvel Comics has announce the extension of editor-in-chief Joe Quesada's contract, in addition to two promotions within its editorial staff, and the creation of a new office dedicated to freelance talent relations.
"I'd like to thank everyone at Marvel for the vote of confidence and I also want to thank all of our creators and fans, because without them I could never have achieved what I have," Quesada said.
"I've had nothing but a blast my first three years here at Marvel but what really gets me juiced is the fact that we've only just begun this long amazing journey. There is no greater job in the world and I promise that the next few years are going to be historic! What you've seen the first three years is just kid's stuff compared to what I've got up my sleeve. It only gets better from here."
Quesada will be supported by one of his first hires as editor-in-chief - senior editor Axel Alonso - who has been promoted to the position as Marvel executive editor.
Alonso will be adding more key titles to his office later this year, including a major relaunch of The Punisher and a new creative direction for Captain America.
"I'm glad to continue my relationship with Marvel," Alonso said. "Editing Spider-Man and Hulk has been tremendous fun, and I look forward to the challenges posed by Cap and The Punisher. It's no secret how much I've wanted to edit either of these titles, and now I've got my chance."
In addition, Mike Marts has been promoted to the position of senior editor, where he'll continue to oversee the X-Men franchise.
Also integral to the future of Marvel editorial is the establishment of a
Talent Relations Office. Under the guidance of managing editor David Bogart and headed by editor CB Cebulski, the new office will seek to recruit new talent from all creative disciplines, manage talent to assure complimentary creative teams are matched with projects best suited for their skills, and to address freelancer concerns and issues that arise during the creative process.
DC COMICS FIRST LOOKS
For covers and four-page previews of DC Comics titles arriving in stores on Wednesday, CLICK HERE.
Titles include Action Comics #806, The Authority #4, Bad Girls #1, Formerly Known as the Justice League #2, Hawkman #18, JSA: All-Stars #4, Superman: Birthright #1, Vertigo Pop!: Bangkok #4.
MARK ALESSI EXPLAINS CROSSGEN SHIPPING
CrossGen Entertainment on Thursday sent a statement from CEO Mark Alessi about the late shipping of recent titles.
Here is Alessi's statement:
"While the titles were completed by their creative teams and ready to be printed, CrossGen's July 30th and August 6th titles will be delayed until August 13th. Please understand that it was my decision alone for internal CrossGen reasons -- outside of last week's corrupted files -- that impacted the ability of these books to be delivered on time. I hope our readers and retailing partners will accept my apology for this delay.
"The good news is that I can guarantee that the following titles will go on sale August 13th: Brath #6; DemonWars: Eye for an Eye #4; Dragon's Lair #1; The First #34; John Carpenter's Snake Plissken Chronicles #2; Mark of Charon #5; Meridian #38; Mystic #39; The Path #17; Ruse #22; Sojourn #25; Way of the Rat #16.
"An updated release schedule for our graphic novels will be forthcoming.
"Again, please accept my apology. As always, your continued support is greatly appreciated."
QUEEN & COUNTRY COLLECTION
Greg Rucka and Oni Press have announced the fourth collection of the popular Queen & Country series in both regular edition softcover and limited edition hardcover formats.
Continuing the tradition of rotating artists on each story arc, Jason Alexander (joins Rucka on this trudge through Europe's seedy side, as secret agent Tara Chase is forced to walk the narrow line between corporate espionage and service to her nation.
Here's how Oni describes the story:
"British Intelligence operative Tara Chace is accustomed to working in the shadows cast by world governments, but when Colin Beck, one of the Queen's most affluent subjects, is blackmailed by a French conglomerate trying to nab an important business contract with an explicit videotape starring Beck's daughter, Tara's espionage turns to the corporate variety. Little do the blackmailers know, the sex and lies they captured on videotape involved one of Tara's school-time friends, giving the agent extra incentive to foil the company and protect the interests of the Crown.
"To add to the stress of Tara's job, her relationship with fellow Minder Ed Kittering seems to be deteriorating. She knows in her heart that the relationship can't interfere with her job, and she also knows that if it goes on any longer, it will start to. What does a girl to do when she realizes she is using a man she doesn't love, but who truly loves her back?"
"This was the story arc that let us see Tara outside of the environment she was trained to be in," said series editor James Lucas Jones. "This is Tara without the danger and guns. This is Tara in London helping a friend who is being blackmailed by the French government and also dealing with a relationship that she knows needs to end. But will she end it, or will she and Ed stay in a relationship that compromises their job?"
"This arc was what I was building up to." Rucka said. "In previous arcs, Tara and her colleagues were put through the wringer. Here, it's the calm after the storm. The climax of Tara and Ed's relationship, the seediness that goes on behind the scenes of our governments without the high-octane action of the earlier arcs, and the Minders trying to live normal lives outside of their work and the field that they are thrown into when a new mission arises for them are all found within these pages."
To go along with the format of the previous collections, Blackwall will have simultaneous trade paperback and hardcover editions. The contents will be identical to one another, but the hardback will have a faux leather cover, no dustjacket, with embossed lettering. It will be strictly limited to initial orders, with the same design as other volumes to match each other.
The Queen & Country: Blackwall collections contain 88 pages of black-and-white story and art. Both will ship on Oct. 22. The hardcover edition will retail for $20, while the regular trade paperback retails for $8.95.
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
"Given the generous overprintings we did on all these books, we're particularly proud of these sell-outs," said Bob Wayne, DC's VP- sales and marketing. "It's clear that reader enthusiasm for them is very strong. We urge retailers to increase their orders on upcoming issues of these and other recently sold-out titles."
DC will evaluate each of these sold-out issues on a case-by-case basis, and has no plans to go back to press at this time.
Copyright © 2003, The Comics Continuum