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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2006

COMING THURSDAY

First Looks -- and much more!!!

FANTASTIC FOUR PREMIERE RATINGS

According to numbers released by Cartoon Network on Wednesday, the new Fantastic Four animated series opened to strong ratings on Saturday.

The series helped the network score double-digit delivery and ratings gains among targeted kids 6-11 for the night, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research.

The performance helped the network chart mostly double-digit prime time and total day weekly delivery and ratings growth vs. the same time period last year among all key demos, including Kids 6-11, Kids 2-11 and Tweens 9-14.

Against the same time period last year, Fantastic Four boosted Kids 6-11 delivery (596,000) by 18 percent and ratings (2.5) by 19 percent. In Kids 2-11, delivery (790,000) expanded by 10 percent and ratings (2.0) by 11 percent.



MIKE MIGNOLA TALKS HELLBOY SEQUEL

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola confirmed that Agent John Myers will not return for Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.

Myers, played by Rupert Evans, was a character created by writer/director Guillermo del Toro for the first film.

"He said in a such freak-show circus we needed a regular guy so that the audience had somebody they can relate to and somebody who could discover this world, the stand-in for us as the audience," Mignola said. "So that was the device. Now that we've gotten into that world, we don't need him.

"He just didn't fit into the story. We worked on getting him in there. But it would have been the case where he was the young naive guy, can we come back to that guy five years later where he's turned into a bit more of a street-wise agent? For whatever reason, it didn't quite fit.

"And we did want to bring in other characters from the comic. You can only deal with so many other characters."

The film, from Universal Pictures, will begin principal photography in April in Budapest and London, with pre- and post-production based in London. It is scheduled for a summer 2008 release.

Ron Perlman returns as Hellboy for The Golden Army. Mignola noted that Perlman possessed a unique physical gift that made her perfect for the role.

"Guillermo originally switched the stone hand to the left hand because you're dealing with, usually, a right-handed actor," Mignola said. "And if you put that hand -- which he can't use -- on his right hand, then he's going to look awkward doing other stuff left-handed.

"And then he really wanted to do it as the right hand. And then we discovered that Ron is left-handed, so that's great.

"But now, the right stone hand is going to look awkward if he punches because he's punching with his bad hand. Except that Ron is left-handed but his father taught him to do all sports right-handed. Ron was mutantly created to be Hellboy."

Look for more on the Hellboy sequel -- and the animated films -- soon here in The Continuum.

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BLADE: THE SERIES UPDATE

Blade faces a tall order in "Monsters," Wednesday's new episode of Blade: The Series on Spike TV.

Consulting producer Geoff Johns told The Continuum the episode will feature a fight between Blade and Thorne, Charlotte's body guard.

Thorne is played by John DeSantis, who stands 6-9. DeSantis' credits include The 13th Warrior and as Lurch in the short-live The New Addams Family television series.

In other Blade news:

* According to a post on his myspace page by Neil Jackson, who playes Marcus Van Sciver, last week's episode improved 30 percent in the ratings. Blade has yet to be picked up for a second season and the ratings of the last three episodes could be important for renewal chances.

* Executive producer David Goyer, who wrote all three Blade films, said the television series is like the "Ultimate Blade" version of the character.

"It's a semi-more realistic take on Blade than the movies were," he said. "It gets pretty intense."

* Jill Wagner said she's enjoyed playing Krista Starr. "I get to carry around guns and chop off heads and drink blood ... it's just fun," she said. "As a woman, I don't think you can get any better than my job."

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HEROES' "ONE GIANT LEAP"

NBC has released three images from "One Giant Leap," the third episode of its upcoming Heroes series.

The images feature Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder Suresh and Nora Zehetner as Eden McCain.

In the series, Suresh is a genetics professor at the University of Madras in India whose father's disappearance leads him to uncover a secret theory -- there are people with extraordinary abilities living among us.

Among the directors on the series is Greg Beeman, whose credits include Smallville. Another former Smallvile staffer, comics writer Jeph Loeb, is a co-executive producer.

Heroes premieres on Monday, Sept. 25 at 9 p.m. (ET).

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IMAGE COMICS FIRST LOOKS

For covers and five-page previews of Image Comics titles arriving in stores on Sept. 13, CLICK HERE.

Titles include Casanova #4, Girls #17, Phonogram #2 and Truth, Justin and The American Way #4.

Look for more First Looks on Thursday here in The Continuum.



DC COMICS FIRST LOOKS

For covers and three-page previews of DC Comics titles arriving in stores on Sept. 13, CLICK HERE.

Titles include Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #210, Fables #53, Firestorm, The Nuclear Man #29, JLA Classifed #27, A Man Called Kev #3 and Martian Manhunter #2.

Look for more First Looks on Thursday here in The Continuum.

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MARVEL COMICS FIRST LOOKS

For covers and three-page to eight-page previews of Marvel Comics titles arriving in stores on Sept. 13, CLICK HERE.

Titles include Claws #2, Annihilation #2, Thunderbolts #106 and Ultimate X-Men #74.

Look for more First Looks on Thursday here in The Continuum.

Get Transformers at Entertainment Earth


BRIEFLY

* According to Marvel Comics, the new creative team on Runaways will be announced at the Baltimore Retailers Summit.

The best superheroes are at Buycostumes.com


COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES

In case you missed The Continuum's recent coverage, here are some links. Click on the date to get the day's full report.

* Friday, September 1: Jim Lee at Canadian Fan Expo, The Batman, Legion of Super Heroes, Superman serials on DVD and First Looks.

* Thursday, August 31: Blade: The Series, Diamond Select/Marvel products for November, Smallville Season 5 DVD, Robert Kirkman press conference and Marvel First Looks.

* Wednesday, August 30: Fantastic Four animated, DC First Looks, Marvel First Looks, Image First Looks, Blue Water First Looks and Archie First Looks.

* Tuesday, August 29: The Punisher DVD, The Batman season opener, Fantastic Four press conference, Smallville and Marvel First Looks.

* Monday, August 28: Virgin Comics for November, Viper Comics for November, The Batman and First Looks.

* Sunday, August 27: Spawn Series 30 action figures, Fantastic Four animated and First Looks.

* Saturday, August 26: Image Comics First Looks, Family Guy and Oni Press for November.

* Friday, August 25: Blade: The Series, Arcana Studio for November, Ghost Rider's Nicolas Cage and First Looks.

* Thursday, August 24: Devil's Due Publishing for November, IDW Publishing for November, Ultimate Spider-Man's Brian Michael Bendis, The Tick DVD and First Looks.

* Wednesday, August 23: Fantastic Four voice cast, DC First Looks, Marvel First Looks and Blade: The Series.

* Tuesday, August 22: Marvel Comics for November, Image Comics for November, Who Wants to be a Superhero?, Gen13, Civil War new printings and First Looks.

* Monday, August 21: DC Comics for November, Boom! Studios for November, Archie Comics for November, Spider-Man 3's Topher Grace and Wolverine: Origins' new arc.

* Sunday, August 20: The Simpsons and Smallville win Emmy Awards, The Spirit's Frank Miller and First Looks.

* Saturday, August 19: White Stripes on The Simpsons, Cyberforce/X-Men, Krypto the Superdog and First Looks.

* Friday, August 18: Smallville Season 6, Teen Titans for September, Fantastic Four for September, James McAvoy attached to Wanted movie, First Looks, Civil War checklist and Highlander.

* Thursday, August 17: Legion of Super Heroes' Shawn Harrison, Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo on Cartoon Network, Superman DVDs, Aspen Seasons, IDW's Angel: Masks, Moonstone Books for December, Top Cow First Looks and Archie First Looks.

* Wednesday, August 16: Smallville: Season 6, Dwayne McDuffie at BET, DC First Looks, Image First Looks and Marvel First Looks.

* Tuesday, August 15: X-Men: The Last Stand DVD, The Batman Season 2 DVD, Blade: The Series, Marvel First Looks and Civil War books delayed.

* Monday, August 14: Dark Horse Comics for November, Teen Titans DVD, The Fountain and First Looks.

* Sunday, August 13: Hellboy animated, Spider-Man action figures and Triumph Comics First Looks.

* Saturday, August 12: Legion of Super Heroes, Spider-Man 3's Topher Grace, Family Guy, Smallville and Chuck Dixon writes for TightLip Entertainment.

* Friday, August 11: The Simpsons, HBO/Cinemax in October, Image First Looks, Devil's Due First Looks, The Tick on DVD and July sales.

* Thursday, August 10: Hellboy on Cartoon Network, Avengers movie, Image Comics First Looks, Dark Horse Comics First Looks, new Adult Swim series and Ultimate Fantastic Four press conference.

* Wednesday, August 9: DC First Looks, Marvel First Looks, Archie First Looks, Teen Titans and Battlestar Galactica.

* Tuesday, August 8: Legion of Super Heroes' Kari Wahlgren, DC First Looks, Marvel First Looks, Soulfire: Chaos Reign, Darkness/Wolverine, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and SLG Publishing's Agnes Quill.

* Monday, August 7: Marvel Studios, Legion of Super Heroes and The Runaways' Mike Norton.

* Sunday, August 6: Wizard World Chicago -- Lynda Carter statue and WildStorm and Vertigo panels.

* Saturday, August 5: Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, and from Wizard World Chicago: DC Universe, Civil War and Ultimate panels.

* Friday, August 4: Top Cow, DC Nation and Mondo Marvel panels at Wizard World Chicago, X-Men: The Last Stand DVDs, Hellboy sequel and Archie Comics First Looks.

* Thursday, August 3: Spider-Man 3's Thomas Haden Church, Virgin Comics for October, Arcana Studio's OutlawScorn 3030 A.D. and Blade: The Series.

* Wednesday, August 2: DC Comics First Looks, Image Comics First Looks and Marvel Comics First Looks.

* Tuesday, August 1: Doctor Strange animated movie, Spider-Man 3, Blade: The Series, Ultimate Spider-Man and Phoenix Warsong variants, Boom! Studios for October and Bongo Comics for October.

* Monday, July 31: Warner Bros. announces The Dark Knight movie, Iron Man director Jon Favreau, Iron Man animated movie, Claypool Comics ceases print operations, The Batman, Icon's Criminal and Top Cow's Madame Mirage.

* Sunday, July 30: David Lloyd's Kickback, Superman Returns and First Looks.




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