Saturday, May 15, 2005
DC COMICS FOR AUGUST
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DC Comics is releasing its solicitations for August on Monday at 5 p.m. (ET).
Check back then for a complete rundown, with cover images.
AL GOUGH TALKS SMALLVILLE SEASON FINALE
Al Gough, executive producer of The WB's Smallville, told The Continuum that this Wednesday's fourth-season finale is "our biggest season finale to date."
"It is just huge, not only on a production scale -- I believe there are over 100 visual effects shots and it took 16 days to shoot, a lot for a TV show -- but also on an emotional scale," Gough said. "We really spin all the characters into Season 5.
"Also, there is a very big piece of Superman mythology coming into play, which fans will understand when they see the last shot of the episode!"
"Commencement" will be a 90-minute episode and will also feature a segment devoted to previewing Batman Begins.
Here's how the network describes the episode:
"Clark (Tom Welling) begins to piece together the reason he was sent to Earth after he has a nightmare that something horrible is going to happen to Smallville and heads to the cave to seek answers from Jor-El. His biological father tells him he must reunite the three crystals immediately or a disaster of epic proportions will befall the planet and even Clark won't be able to stop it. Meanwhile, Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) helps Lana (Kristin Kreuk) escape Smallville after the death of Genevieve Teague the takes shocking action to get one of the crystals away from Lionel (John Glover). Realizing they are connected to Clark, Chloe (Allison Mack) tries to stop Lex from discovering the truth about the crystals. Jason (Jensen Ackles) takes Jonathan (John Schneider) and Martha (Annette O'Toole) hostage and threatens to kill Martha unless Jonathan tells him where Clark hid the crystals."
Greg Beeman directed the episode, which was written by Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer.
ETHAN VAN SCIVER TALKS GREEN LANTERN
Ethan Van Sciver, artist of Green Lantern: Rebirth, told The Continuum he will be drawing stories for the monthly Green Lantern book as well, sharing duties with Carlos Pacheco.
Van Sciver said he's been pleased with the success of the Rebirth mini-series.
"Some people said that we were making a mistake bringing back Hal Jordan and that people weren't interested in Hal Jordan," he said. "But this shows everybody loves Hal Jordan. And if they don't yet, they will."
In the first issue featuring Van Sciver's art, Green Lantern #4, Kilowog is a guest-star. The stories involves a strange alien autopsy, a dark conspiracy and Hector Hammond.
"I love Hector Hammond," Van Sciver said. "He's so ugly! I like characters where I don't have to glamorize them. I like drawing scary things, adding little horror elements into super-hero comics."
BATMAN BEGINS UPDATE
Mark Martin of the Roush Racing on Friday unveiled his Batman Begins paint scheme for the car he will drive in the Batman Begins 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race on June 19 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.
Martin and MIS president Brett Shelton posed for the above photograph in Richmond, Va., where the NASCAR circuit is racing this weekend.
Martin's fellow Roush Racing driver, Ricky Craven, will also be sporting a Batman Begins scheme during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event on June 18.
In related news, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, on behalf of DC Comics and MIS, announced Friday that one fan will win the chance to drop the green flag to start the race by entering the "Begin the Batman Begins 400 at MIS" promotion. The promotion will run from May 23-June 6.
Fans can enter the program online at www.begintherace.com.
"The entire Batman Begins 400 race weekend is going to be a very exciting event, and we are pleased to be able to give this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start the race back to NASCAR fans with this promotion," said Dan Romanelli, President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products.
Click on the image above for a larger and fuller image.
In other Batman Begins news:
* Below is a look at the Batman Begins soundtrack. Click on the thumbnails for larger images.
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THE BATMAN NEW EPISODE
The "Fire & Ice" episode of The Batman will have its network premiere on Kids' WB! on Saturday, May 28.
The episode teams Mr. Freeze (voiced by Clancy Brown) with Firefly (voice by Jason Marsden).
"Fire & Ice" was written by Joseph Kuhr and directed by Sam Liu.
Click on the thumbnails below for larger images and for the complete Kids' WB! schedule for the week, CLICK HERE.
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DARK HORSE COMICS FIRST LOOKS
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For covers and four- to six-page previews of Dark Horse Comics arriving in stores on Wednesday, CLICK HERE.
Titles include Star Wars: Obsession #5, Goon #12 and Conan #16.
BRIEFLY
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* Above is a first look at the upcoming posters from Blue Water Productions. Click on the thumbnails for larger images.
* Alias Comics announced a release date of June 29 for the first issue of Devil's Keeper, which will have a cover price of 75 cents. Series creator Mike S. Miller has released a preview of the first issuešs cover.
Here's how the book is described:
"Devil's Keeper" is the story of an order of Chinese Monks who follow the 'Shang Ti Do' == a special form of kung fu that grants its practitioners incredible strength and power as they hunt down rogue demons who terrorize the countryside in the remote regions of historic China. Unfortunately, the order of monks is destroyed by a powerful demon named Chi Tao, and those who survive are forced to hide and pass their teachings down secretly from generation to generation.
"In the present day, Lee Chang, the last surviving master of Shang Ti Do, loses his son in a battle with Chi Tao and is forced to locate a new heir to the art. Of the students he takes on, he selects three pupils -- Tyrone, Asher, and Paul -- to learn the secrets of Shang Ti Do. But Chi Tao is working behind the scenes to ensure that these students cause Lee Chang nothing but problems, and he plans to use the three of them to eradicate Shang Ti Do forever."
* Coming Monday: DC news -- and much more!!!
COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES
In case you missed The Continuum's recent coverage, here are some links:
* For Monday, May 9, including DC Comics' new logo, CLICK HERE.
* For Thursday, May 5, including Red Sonja news, CLICK HERE.
* For Wednesday, May 4, including Smallville news, CLICK HERE.
* For Tuesday, May 3, including Batman news, CLICK HERE.
* For Monday, May 2, including The Crow: Wicked Prayer news, CLICK HERE.
* For Saturday, April 30, including an interview with Man-Thing screenwriter Hans Rodionoff, CLICK HERE.
* For Friday, April 29, including Fantastic Four movie news, CLICK HERE.
* For Thursday, April 28, including Aspen news, CLICK HERE.
* For Wednesday, April 27, including Batman Begins news, CLICK HERE.
* For Tuesday, April 26, including The Batman DVD news, CLICK HERE.
* For Monday, April 25, including Batman Begins news, CLICK HERE.
* For Saturday, April 23, including Painkiller Jane television news, CLICK HERE.
* For Friday, April 22, including Superman Returns movie news, CLICK HERE.
* For Thursday, April 21, including Smallville news, CLICK HERE.
* For Wednesday, April 20, including Batman Begins news, CLICK HERE.
* For Tuesday, April 19, including Batman Begins news, CLICK HERE.
* For Monday, April 18, including Marvel and Image solicitations for July, CLICK HERE.
* For Friday, April 15, including Devil's Due solicitations for July, CLICK HERE.
* For Thursday, April 14, including Fantastic Four movie news, CLICK HERE.
* For Wednesday, April 15, including Cindy Margolis promoting the Tenth Muse, CLICK HERE.
* For Tuesday, April 12, including Batman Begins and Fantastic Four movie updates, CLICK HERE.
* For Monday, April 11, including DC Comics' solicitations for July, CLICK HERE.
Copyright © 2005, The Comics Continuum