Wednesday, March 31, 2004
WONDER WOMAN ON DVD
Warner Home Video will release Wonder Woman: The Complete First Season on DVD on June 29.
The three-disc set will retail for $39.98.
Here's how the DVD is described:
"Meet the United States' secret and most beautiful weapon in the fight against tyranny: Wonder Woman! Season One of Wonder Woman (the Pilot Movie and 13 regular episodes) retains the World War II era of the super heroine's early comic book adventures. Also captured is the exuberant tone of a comic book come to screen life as the warrior princess, empowered by her sense of a woman's worth and by the mysterious substance Feminum that's found only on her remote native isle, battles a succession of Nazi baddies. Former Miss USA Lynda Carter stars as the heroine who hides her identity behind the oversized glasses of a War Department functionary. But when duty and danger call, she transforms. And the wonders never cease."
Episodes include "The New Original Wonder Woman" (with audio commentary). "Wonder Woman Meets Baroness Von Gunther," "Fausta: The Nazi Wonder Woman," "Beauty on Parade," "The Feminum Mystique," parts 1 and 2; "Wonder Woman vs. Gargantua!," "The Pluto File." "Last of the Two Dollar Bills," "Judgement from Outer Space," parts 1 and 2, "Formula 407," "The Bushwackers," and "Wonder Woman in Hollywood."
Special features include audio commentary and the featurette, "Beauty, Brawn and Bulletproof Braclets: A Wonder Woman Restrospective."
THE PUNISHER MOVIE UPDATE
Gale Anne Hurd, producer of The Punisher movie, said that Thomas Jane and John Travolta form the "perferct hero and villain combination" as Frank Castle and Howard Saint.
"With just a look, a glance, two or three words, John Travolta can deliver the power of his character's position," Hurd said.
Travolta described the film as a departure from the comic book norm.
"It offered a very different type of Marvel hero who's not superhuman," Travolta said. "It was very strongly based in reality, rather than fantasy or science fiction, and I found that refreshing."
In other Punisher news:
* James Carpinello plays both of Saint's twin sons.
* Kevin Nash, who plays The Russian, appeared on Fox Sports Net's The Best Damn Sports Show Period on Tuesday night. In addition to being interviewed, Nash showed off the Punisher funny car that will compete in this weekend's NHRA event in Las Vegas.
* Look for more Punisher coverage on Thursday here in The Continuum.
DB PRO'S THE WOOD BOY
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The Wood Boy is a two-part comic-book adaptation coming in May from Dabel Brothers Production and Devil's Due Publishing. The comic adapts a short novel by fantasy author Raymond E. Feist featured in the Legends anthology from Tor Publishing.
Raymond E. Feist is a New York Times and Times of London best-selling author; his works include Magician, Silverthorn, and A Darkness at Sethanon, the three novels comprising The Riftwar Saga. His short story, The Wood Boy, offers a window into the rich world contained in these books.
This tale chronicles the plight of a young boy named Dirk who spends his young life indentured to the lord of a manor that is taken over by an army of alien invaders known as the Tsurani during the Riftwar. One of Dirk's primary tasks is carrying wood, and since he is the youngest slave on the manor, he is simply known as "The Wood Boy."
The short story serves as an introduction to the best selling Riftwar series and sets the stage for the upcoming adaptation of "Magician," the first book in the Riftwar series.
DBPro managing editor Sean J. Jordan is handling the adaptation for DBPro, his fifth book for the studio.
Mat Broome is illustrating the series after taking time away from comics to work in video games.
"The Wood Boy is an amazing coming of age story. It starts off with a young boy who's unsure of himself in the face of an oppressive enemy, and watches him overcome his fears and insecurities to become the best sort of hero - the kind that rushes off after a damsel in distress to confront a much more powerful villain," said Les Dabel, vice president of DBPro.
"Like much of the Riftwar series, this is a story about a boy who becomes a man through battle and bravery. It's a terrific story, and fans of Mr. Feist and new readers alike are going to love it."
ROBIN #124 SELLS OUT
Robin #124, featuring the story "Good Parenting," has sold out at DC Comics. Written by Bill Willingham with art by Francisco Rodriguez de la Fuente and Aaron Sowd and a cover by Jason Pearson, the issue arrived in stores on March 17 and sold out by March 22.
"The good news: It's nice to have one's work in demand, and I hope it inspires higher orders on the following issues, where all of the really neat stuff happens," Willingham said. "The bad news: This storyline never could have occurred if Tim Drake had only thought to put a lock on his back-of-the-closet secret compartment. When will you teenagers learn that you aren't nearly as smart as you think you are and your folks aren't nearly as dumb as you think they are? Haven't we inflicted enough After School Specials on you to get at least that much across?"
"This storyline is a very powerful, and we're confident that reader interest will continue to grow as they see what's coming," said Bob Wayne, DC's VP -- Sales & Marketing.
Adding to the momentum in the Batman group are the new sell-outs of Nightwing #91 and Birds of Prey #64-65.
DC has no plan to go back to press on these issues at this time.
ONI'S MY DESTROYER
Following his Kissing chaos series, Arthur Dela Cruz is unveiling an all-new creation. Written with newcomer Neelam Arora, My Destroyer is a new original graphic novel series from the popular artist, and it will be published by Oni Press in July.
"Arthur and I have been wanting to collaborate for some time now," Arora said. "My Destroyergrew out of a desire to have him illustrate something different, something far afield from Kissing Chaos. We started talking about the future and the sort of techno manga and sci-fi we liked, and the story tumbled out of there."
Here's how Oni describes the book:
"My Destroyer is set in a distant future where the government has placed strict regulations on free expression and human interaction. This doesnąt stop people from being born with the artistic impulse, though, and many young people are cursed with a desire to create and no way to do so. Skye is just such a girl. She sees wonderful pictures in her head that she wants to put on paper, but must do so in secret. But secrets are not anything new for her--she is forced to live with cybernetic enhancements that the common populace thinks makes her a freak."
"The story begins to take off when Skye gets caught up in a larger plot," Dela Cruz said. "She ends up in between an underground movement that sees her potential and the army, who wants that potential squashed. And in the midst of the chaos, she really only wants what every young girl wants: to be loved."
"We definitely wanted to retain the romantic element that Arthur is known for," Arora said. "Even in his violent crime stories, Arthur's central concern is the relationships between boys and girls and really, whoever. I am very much the same way. We wanted My Destroyer to have a human heart, since in the end, it's all about the suppression of that heart. Whether it's art or dating or how one wants to dress, when you stop people from being who they are, you're really stopping something that isn't nearly as surface as those elements suggest."
My Destroyer vol. 1 is a 168-page trade paperback, featuring black-and-white story and art, printed at digest size. It ships to comic book stores on July 14 and retails for $14.95.
According to Oni, there will be a new Kissing Chaos one-shot released by the end of the year, rounding out the series of adventures that will comprise volume 3 and point the way to the next full-length series in 2005.
BRIEFLY
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COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES
In case you missed The Continuum's recent coverage, here are some links:
* For Wednesday, March 24, including DC first looks and Hellboy movie news, CLICK HERE.
* For Tuesday, March 23, including an interview with John Singleton, director of the Cage movie, CLICK HERE.
* For Monday, March 22, including coverage of Spider-Man 2 and Punisher panels at Wizard World Los Angeles, CLICK HERE.
* For Sunday, March 21, including Wizard World Los Angeles coverage, CLICK HERE.
* For Saturday, March 20, including Marvel Comics' solicitations for June, CLICK HERE.
* For Friday, March 19, including Image Comics' solicitations for June, CLICK HERE.
* For Thursday, March 18, including Marvel Comics first looks, CLICK HERE.
* For Wednesday, March 17, including DC Comics first looks, CLICK HERE.
* For Tuesday, March 16, including DC solicitations for June, CLICK HERE.
* For Monday, March 15, including DC news, CLICK HERE.
* For Saturday, March 13, including Batman news, CLICK HERE.
* For Thursday, March 11, including Marvel Comics news, CLICK HERE.
* For Wednesday, March 10, including DC Comics news, CLICK HERE.
* For Tuesday, March 9, including Image Comics' The Ride, CLICK HERE.
* For Monday, March 8, including Dark Horse solicitations for June and an interview with wrtier Tony Bedard, CLICK HERE.
* For Sunday, March 7, including CrossGen news from MegaCon, CLICK HERE.
* For Saturday, March 6, including Hellboy and Catwoman movie news, CLICK HERE.
* For Friday, March 5, including Static Shock news, CLICK HERE.
* For Thursday, March 4, including Marvel first looks, CLICK HERE.
* For Wednesday, March 3, including Marvel and DC first looks, CLICK HERE.
* For Tuesday, March 2, including Marvel movie news, CLICK HERE.
* For Monday, March 1, including Teen Titans news, CLICK HERE.
* For Saturday, Feb. 28, including first looks, CLICK HERE.
* For Friday, Feb. 27, including Dreamwave Productions' solicitations for May, CLICK HERE.
* For Thursday, Feb. 26, including Justice League animated news, CLICK HERE.
* For Wednesday, Feb. 25, including Marvel's solicitations for May, CLICK HERE.
* For Tuesday, Feb. 24, including Angel news, CLICK HERE.
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