Ladies...Gentlemen...and transgender species....I Have Seen The Light!!

Granted the light is coming from my TV screen...but great googa-mooga!!

First of all, let me say that I have always loved the Sci-Fi channel, but over the past few months this station has become number one on my list of channels to watch. It started with the announcement of "Stargate: Atlantis", a show which in it's title alone promised to combine two of my faorite mythos. But now, while actually watching the show (which I taped earlier this night) I am treated to all of these new promos for shows and mini-series that are making me wish I had Tivo.

Earthsea, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, Battlestar Galatica.....wow.

The Battlestar Galatic miniseries was a great tribute to the original in my opinion, and now the franchise is being revived with a new ongoing series. Earthsea I'll admit I don't know much about, but medieval-esque stories and shows and movies are always a good time killer, and one made by Sci-Fi channel can't be all bad.

But onto the show that really got my juices flowing. Farscape, The Peacekeeper Wars. When Farscape first went off the air, like many others was left feeling unresolved, incomplete, and just downright angry. But now it's coming back, and based off the mini-trailer promo they've shown for it, it's coming back with a vengence. Surely I'm not the only one who's excited about one or more of these shows.

Anyone else wanna comment?

Posted 16/07/2004
Source Newsarama

Marvel has provided Newsarama with the first 14 pages of Ultimate Nightmare #1 by Warren Ellis and Trevor Hairsine.

Marvel’s solicitation for the 5 issue miniseries reads:
Part 1 (of 5)

Superstar Warren Ellis teams with hot newcomer Trevor Hairsine (ULTIMATE SIX) to tell a story of international intrigue that shakes every Ultimate book to its core! As world communications systems break down, the source of the anomaly is revealed as Tanguska, Russia. Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. leads a force comprised of Captain America, Black Widow and Sam Wilson to investigate, while, simultaneously, Charles Xavier of the X-Men dispatches his own team consisting of Jean Grey, Wolverine & Colossus. And what they discover there — and what happens next — defies belief!

In his Bad Signal mailing list, Ellis wrote of the miniseries:

I'm writing a five-issue mini for Marvel's Ultimate line entitled ULTIMATE NIGHTMARE.

Once again, I'm picking up the slack on something Millar was originally slated for but didn't have time to do. It's based on a story idea from Joe Quesada and illustrated by Trevor Hairsine. First issue's in August, I think.

The basic idea is that a Weird Unknown Event disrupts all world communications systems, and that the epicenter of the disruption appears to be in the remote Tunguska region of Siberia.

Exactly one hundred years ago (in the Ultimate Universe timeline -- I'm monkeying with actual history just a little) an object exploded over the Tungus River Valley. The Tunguska Event, as it's known, may have been an exploding meteorite, a comet strike, an anti-matter event -- nobody knows.

But this disruptive signal is emanating from Tunguska Event Ground Zero, exactly one hundred years later.

The Ultimates, the US superhuman defense initiative, send in a team to investigate and solve with extreme prejudice. Since they're without their Psi-Division of tame telepathic mutants,
they're unaware that the signal also extends into neuro-readable frequencies. The X-Men, believing that these are the telepathic wails of a traumatised mutant, send in a team, with no knowledge that the Ultimates are also en route.

And none of them know what's really at Tunguska Ground Zero.

People who like PLANETARY might get a kick out of this one.

Click here for the preview.

Posted 16/07/04
Source Newsarama

According to today’s Variety, Marvel has filed suit against Disney and the ABC Family channel, claiming that the company is owed at least $16 million for the cartoons which it licensed to the channel when it was Fox Family. Disney acquired the channel in 2001 for $5.2 billion.

Variety: According to Marvel's suit, filed Thursday in L.A. Superior Court, Disney has harmed Marvel in two ways -- by failing to account properly for profits from animated television series "The Incredible Hulk," "X-Men" and "Spider-Man" and failing to promote them. According to the complaint, Disney claims the cartoons are a money-losing proposition but refuses to provide a proper accounting.

Marvel also alleges that Disney overpaid when it acquired the channel which left it no money to develop the Marvel properties – allowing the Marvel properties to languish while Disney and ABC Family promoted their own programming.

Fox held the rights to the Marvel cartoons thanks to a 1996 deal between Fox and Saban, which produced the various series. Disney acquired the distribution rights when it bought the channel, and Marvel alleges, has since failed to live up to the agreement of the original deal.

Variety: Among its claims, Marvel says Disney has refused to allow Marvel to audit recent records in order to conceal handsome profits made when it repackaged and re-released "Spider-Man" videos to coincide with Sony's "Spider-Man" feature film release in 2002.

The final part dates back to Marvel's previous tussle with Disney in early 2002, when it sued Disney's Buena Vista home entertainment unit, claiming that it was using artwork without permission to promote BV's repackaging and sale of DVD editions of episodes of the animated Spider-Man series.

At the time, Reuters reproted: "Marvel said Buena Vista had sought its permission to release the cartoon series but had not been given authorization to use the company's Spider-Man artwork for use in its advertising and promotion materials. It said advertisements appeared in such newspapers as The Daily News and Newsday in New York City and in Toys 'R Us and Wal-Mart stores in different parts of the United States.

"Buena Vista is advertising and promoting its exploitation of the series through the use of artwork that is directly copied from the Marvel 'Spider-Man' artwork," Marvel said in its suit. "Marvel has not consented to or approved of such usage."

Posted 16/07/2004
Source Comics Continuum

The Avengers will be featured in Marvel's first made-for-video animated movie with Lions Gate Family Home Entertainment, with a target date of early 2006. According to the Hollywood Report, the 66-minute film will be based on The Ultimates and will feature Captain America, The Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man and Wasp. Neither Lions Gate nor Marvel commented on creative personnel for the film, although The Continuum has learned it's possible some talent from the X-Men: Evolution series might be involved.

Ok, when I first heard rumblings of a possible Green Lantern movie, I was a little ehh..unsure.

Now it seems they are making the Duck Dodgers version of Green Lantern.
:?
Read here
http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=17971

Was is it Spiderman or the Green Goblin? Was she dead by the time the webline reached her, or did the whiplash from the webline kill her?

I always go for the latter, as I think that it adds a much more tragic angle to Spiderman and his actions. What do you think?

Ok so the next/current big event in the Avengers world is Bendis' much vaunted Disassembled storyline which is crossing over into all the main characters individual books and even some non avengers titles.

Given that it looks like there is going to be a fairly big shakeup in the line up, what would be your choice for a brand new line up. It could be a team of ALL-STAR Avengers from various incarnations, or a mix of experienced Avengers and some characters who haven't really had a shot as one of Marvel's premier team, or even a completely new totally untried line up. Try and come up with a good mix of powers AND characters who you think would give us some interesting storylines.

I would say a team of anywhere between 5 and 9 could give enough variation.

So fire away...

Posted 14/07/2004
Source Newsarama

Dreamt of by fans as the heir apparent to the writer’s chair of JLA for years thanks to his stint on Marvel’s Avengers, DC’s solicitations for October made dreams come true – Kurt Busiek would be writing an eight part arc on the book, featuring the return of the Crime Syndicate of Amerika. But would that be all? Patience, grasshopper.

First off, as solicits revealed, Busiek’s storyline would be spun from threads from JLA/Avengers, specifically, the Space Egg that showed up at the end of the miniseries. Was this some devious plan all long, planned by Busiek to guarantee him work at a later date? Or, more simply, what came first, the gig or the space egg?

“The offer to write the book came first,” Busiek told Newsarama. “The plan to springboard off of some of the developments in JLA/Avengers was a natural, but it came after I started working stuff out. In fact, there are two big developments happening at once -- the whole question of Krona and the Cosmic Egg, and the CSA [Crime Syndicate of Amerika] storyline. The Krona part was something I came up with early on, but the CSA epic was pitched later, as a separate mini-series, and it got folded back into the main book along the way.”

While Busiek readily cops to leaving elements behind in JLA/Avengers that could be readily exploited, he had no idea that he’d be the one to do the follow-up, and be doing it so relatively shortly after the original story ended. “I like it when things can unfold -- when you can see what happens next, as a result of whatever major events the characters have been through,” Busiek said. “So I wrote it with the idea that there could be follow-ups, but no idea whether I'd be doing those follow-ups or not. Had I been doing a regular Marvel book, there are things that could be done on that side, too, but I guess that'll be up to them at this point.”

Inter-company crossovers, fairly rare creatures now, used to be much more plentiful, but nearly without exception, they occurred “somewhere else,” in a dimension where both the Teen Titans and X-Men operate, for example, following up on plot threads from JLA/Avengers in JLA is a rarity – an event in itself in that it continues in one of DC’s flagship titles.

Given that the ongoing JLA series won’t be changing it’s name to JLA/Avengers, some careful storytelling will be necessary for Busiek. “You won't be seeing any flashback panel with the Avengers in 'em, that's for sure,” the writer began. “Beyond that, you'll get to see how it works in October. Or, well, September, actually, since Ron and I have a CSA story in the JLA Secret Files that serves as a prologue to this story, and to a number of other things.”

Setting up the story a little – if you’re one of the seven regular readers of JLA who passed on JLA/Avengers, Busiek offered a quick rundown of how things ended up the way they are at the beginning of “Crime Syndicate of Amerika”:

“A short JLA/Avengers finale synopsis: Krona wound up with enormous power over both the Marvel and DC universes, and tried to collapse them both, which would have resulted in a new Big Bang and Krona's chance to witness the mysteries of universal birth. He's got an itch to know how that happens. The heroes managed to stop his machinations, though, and in the end, Krona ended up trapped in a collapsing whirlpool of n-space and energy, resulting in a Cosmic Egg, one which will eventually hatch into a new universe. It's infused with the essence of Krona, making him a part of the process. So he'll get to know his answers from inside. Trouble is, nobody knows when the Egg will hatch, or what sort of universe will be born from it.”

Since the climax of the miniseries, the Egg has been under the microscope, and what it’s revealing is…troubling to say the least. “All of reality may be ... different from what it used to be,” Busiek said. “Beyond that, you'll have to wait and see.”

Although, Busiek did hint that there is a connection between the Egg and the invasion of the Crime Syndicate from another earth.

Which earth?

“These are the CSA from the Earth 2 graphic album [by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely], and from the opening on JLA/Avengers. Grant Morrison very generously sent me lots of notes and background on his vision for the characters, their backgrounds, the world -- and we'll be seeing a whole lot of what he had in mind, but there's a lot more, too.”

Said Syndicate, for those new-ish to the JLA, first appeared in Justice League of America #29 in 1964 (written by Gardner Fox), and were originally portrayed as simply the opposites of the heroes of the JLA. They (and the “hero” of their earth Alexander Luthor) would appear now and again pre-Crisis, and eventually bought it in Crisis on Infinite Earths when their earth (Earth-3) was destroyed.

The CSA’s post-Crisis glory moment came with the aforementioned Earth-2 graphic novel in 2000. As Morrison described it, he built on the foundation Fox had laid, creating a believable world where Benedict Arnold was the first US President, George Washington was a traitor, and England fought to resist American colonization.

As Morrison explained it, crime was the founding principle of the CSA’s society – a society upon whose neck the CSA had its boot.

As for why the CSA – made up of Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, Johnny Quick and Power Ring target the DCU’s earth, well… “Let me put it this way,” Busiek said. “Those opening scenes of JLA/Avengers - in which the CSA's entire universe was destroyed - are pretty important.”

And – it’s not just going to be a story where the “good Superman” fights the “bad Superman” and so on down the line. “We have a much bigger story in mind -- ways to explore the CSA beyond characters with similar powers hitting each other in the face -- and we'll see some unsettling role reversals as we go,” Busiek said. “Plus, the CSA aren't the only problem. They might not even be the major problem.

“There are dangerous things unleashed, and they're all headed our way...”

As announced in DC’s solicitations for October, the “Crime Syndicate of Amerika” storyline (with art by Ron Garney and Dan Green) runs eight issues, but that’s not quite it for Busiek and Garney.

“The different-creators/different-arcs era for JLA is ending -- sort of -- and Ron and I will be the new ongoing team,” Busiek announced. “After the CSA arc, there's one more, by the Dan-namic Duo of Dan Slott and Dan Jurgens, and then Ron and I are back for the foreseeable future. The CSA arc is only the beginning -- and there'll be plenty of stuff established there that'll be trouble for the JLA - and others - for some time to come.”

According to JLA editor Mike Carlin, the rotating arc worked for its allotted time. “The changing creative teams was never meant to be a forever deal in the regular JLA book... just a change of pitch for a year or so,” Carlin said. “By the time Kurt's run starts we will have had five arcs and a one shot from when Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke stopped their run... hell, that's almost two years-- even with double-ships! And with the creation of an all new JLA title as a companion series, we haven't abandoned the idea at all - more on that title later.

“The pros of the rotating creative teams are mostly based on the fact that we're using almost all ‘borrowed’ characters,” Carlin continued. “There's very little room for real plot/character development... since most of the real players have their own titles where that happens - and rightly so – and, as I’ve said before, I think every writer or artist has one great JLA story in 'em! So why not let everyone have a shot? The cons to the approach? Only that not every team will be everyone's favorite. Otherwise-- especially as far as scheduling goes... there are no cons.”

So – back to Busiek. While current readers of Busiek’s work probably know of his Stan Lee-like knowledge of the Marvel universe in minute detail, the writer’s DC fandom is also a matter of the historical record. “I've been reading Marvel since 1974 -- and DC since 1976,” Busiek said. “So at this point, that's not all that much of a head start for Marvel. I probably know the Marvel Universe better, but I'm reasonably well-versed in the DCU, too, and I've got backup when I need help. So I wouldn't be worried on that score.”

Taking the reins as the regular writer of the JLA places Busiek in somewhat rarified air, among a small fraternity of creators who’ve handled both the Avengers for Marvel and the JLA for DC.

Busiek ran down some of the more familiar faces who’ve handled both universes premier teams: “Roy Thomas only wrote the JLA for an issue or two here and there. Gerry Conway’s a longtimer on JLA but a short-timer on Avengers, Steve Englehart was on Avengers for years and JLA for only about a year ... there's a number of guys who've done both, but I can't think of anyone who had long runs on both series.

“I plan to change that, though.”

As for the obligatory compare and contrast?

“As to the differences between the two teams, that's a question I answered a lot when I was in the Avengers chair, and it'll be fun to explore it from the other side,” Busiek said. “Short answer -- the Avengers are a tightly-knit team, they train together, live together, identify as the team. The League, on the other hand, is a league -- they're all primarily solo heroes who come together when necessary, working as a unit when needed. But when Superman goes up against a bad guy, his first thought isn't, ‘Call in the League.’ When Hawkeye or the Wasp does, though... it's a different approach, a different mindset.

”The JLA are like the Olympics - the best of the best, all come together in fellowship. The Avengers are like the team that wins the World Series - they're a unit, a squad. A team, to the JLA's alliance.

”I hear that's changing for the Avengers, and I'm sure it'll be huge, at least for a while, considering the talent involved. But I've always thought that the best thing to do for each book is to figure out what it's best at and then do that, better than any other book can. Whenever a book tries to imitate whatever works best for some other book, whether it's the Avengers trying to be more like the X-Men in the ‘jackets’ era or the Detroit League trying to recapture the success of the Titans, I think you're losing your way. But maybe they'll find a different road -- and if we wind up with two teams built around the JLA concept, I think the original has the edge.”

Coming on under the rotating arc umbrella, Busiek and Garney are inheriting the JLA that’s fairly basic (and un-accidentally reminiscent of the Justice League animated series): Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern (Jon Stewart), and the Martian Manhunter, with others added here and there as story demands dictated. As for once he’s going as regular writer…add a few more chairs to the table.

“I've made no secret of the fact that I want a larger League,” Busiek said. “I think that's the nature of a league -- you want a larger pool of heroes to draw from, even if they don't all turn up every mission. That way, you get an interesting mix, different combinations, and unexpected moments. I do think the core characters are pretty essential, but there's no reason to see only seven. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Atom ... I'm already up to ten, and have I really named anyone who shouldn't be a Leaguer?

”As for how we're going to bring it all about, well, we've got an eight-issue adventure to tell first, so let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. It's all coming...”

Asked if he’s found any particular character to be his voice more than others, Busiek gave a hint of the upcoming CSA story. “At this point, the JLA aren't even in my second issue, and only have a small-but-significant role in the third, so give me a little time. Right now, I've written more of the CSA than the JLA by a fair margin, but I am finding Wally West a natural for me, and I'm having fun with J'onn. Big plans afoot for John Stewart, and plans to take a different look at the others...”

Finally, while not fully ruling out a return of Starro, The Key, and other classic villains, Busiek said he’s not necessarily looking towards the past for challenges to the team. “Mostly, I'm planning around new threats -- though there'll be several classic DC villains along the way. And I'll leave it at that, for now.”

Images:
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(Originally posted by Beyonder in another thread)

In a conference call held today with members of the comics press, Marvel revealed some secrets of its Epic launch title, the 6-issue mini-series Trouble, and the rest of the Epic line. In attendance were Marvel Comics President & COO Bill Jemas, Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, Trouble writer Mark Millar, series editor Axel Alonso, and Marketing Communications Manager Mike Doran.

Trouble will introduce four teenagers - May and Mary, and Richard and Ben - who, having enjoyed an idyllic summer of love and romance, must now face the consequences of their actions. The story will tastefully address sex, teen pregnancy, and other real-life issues that one wouldn't expect to find in a "romance comic". However, providing readers with the unexpected is an Epic tradition, and series writer Mark Millar has stated that the aim of Trouble is to "produce a story that's going to have people talking for the next 10 years."

Jemas began by explaining the origins of Trouble, saying that as the series was being developed as a story it went under the original title of Parents and focused on the baby and the origin of Spider-Man. But now, May and Mary are the heroes, not Spider-Man.




As was the case with Origin and the story of Wolverine, Marvel wanted to tell this part of the Spider-Man story before the movies did. Jemas said that he hopes readers will consider Trouble to be the origin of Spider-Man.

Because the future of the story depends so much on how well it's received, there can be trouble caused for business partners and retailers. It isn't necessarily an Ultimate Spider-Man or an Origin. So Marvel will change its overprint policy when it comes to Trouble. Not only that, but an alternate cover will be readied to see mass print should the story be especially successful and require more printing.

An old fortune-teller, Mrs. Grey, is the only reference to classic continuity; the story plans to stand on its own, as opposed to the Ultimate books which touch on classic milestones. Aside from names, don't count on in-jokes.

Trouble will hopefully be a good read as much for 9-year olds as for adults. When asked about the adult themes, Millar responded that he had fond memories of Stan Lee's drug issues, setting a precedent for serious content.

To get the word out about Trouble, a house ad will appear in all July books. Reviews will start appearing next week at a lot of online resources. On June 25, Wizard will cover Trouble, and some writers who normally cover Marvel books in the mainstream will be talking about it as well.

As much as Marvel seems to be moving in the same direction as the TokyoPop Japanese books, it is not a reaction to the Japanese market; the stories would deserve to be told whether or not Japan existed.

The graphic novel collection will be heavily pushed in bookstores, but as of now the single issues are essentially reserved for comic book stores.

Trouble targets female readers to a degree, and that will continue as a trend in a fashion. Sentinel and Runaways have female appeal, as will 15 Love, described as a meeting of Anna Kournikova and Millie the Model.

When asked about timeline vagueries and how the book would fit in with what's come before, Millar responded that Aunt May is perceived to have grown up in the twenties, but Peter Parker has only been Spider-Man for about ten years. As the books continue, the times grow less developed, and so the only time issue to remember is that this story ends nine months before Peter Parker is born.

The book's surprises have not yet been ruined, so don't think you know the whole story yet. May finds herself in trouble, and this takes place about nine months pre-Peter. But there's still a lot unknown. "The book still has a beginning, middle, and end that we haven't talked about," said Doran.

The aforementioned alternate cover will possibly sold under the reprint title Trouble #1: The Second Chances Edition, will be the work of artist Frank Cho. It will be released based on allowing every reader to pick up the book who missed it the first time.

Millar talked about his own experience with female readership, saying that this is the first of his books his wife was able to read from the first page to the last. Books that are exclusively romantic might not appeal to all regular comic fans, but do have their market.

As with other projects such as Origin and Ultimate Spider-Man, this began as a "nutshell idea" with Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada, and was brought around to writers after being developed somewhat between them.

Asked about the Epic imprint as a home for Trouble, Millar explained that it didn't quite fit in with normal Marvel books, and as it is may not become the actual origin of Spider-Man. But there isn't any adult content, and so the Max mature line doesn't fit either - the experimental Epic imprint seemed about right.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apparently this is a debate that is still waging on some web sites I looked at. Now from what I have read Marvel has been so loose and vague on if this book is or is not within continuity. So I hope that article may help some.
TheBeyonder
-Eternally Seeking

Posted 12/07/2004
Source Newsarama

While remaining extremely tight-lipped on the details, Marvel has confirmed for Newsarama that a new Thunderbolts series is in the works for later this year or early next.

While the publisher declined to name the creative team or characters that will call the title home, it’s a fairly safe assumption that the team will be made up of many of the original Thunderbolts, given the performance of the current Avengers/Thunderbolts miniseries by Fabian Nicieza, Kurt Busiek and Tom Grummett.

The new series would be the second for the team, following their first series, which debuted in 1997 as a result of the major heroes of the Marvel Universe disappearing as part of the Onslaught crossover. The last page of Thunderbolts #1 is still remembered as “the” shock ending of the ‘90s, as the team of new, unknown heroes unmasked in their headquarters following their public debut, revealing themselves to be the Masters of Evil.

The original run of the series was written by Busiek and then Nicieza, before the focus of the book was shifted radically with issue #76 when John Arcudi and Francisco Ruiz Velasco took over, jettisoning the original team in exchange for a story reminiscent of Fight Club…with super-powered characters. The series lasted six issues after the Arcudi/Velasco direction change, and ended with issue #81.

This year's Avengers/Thunderbolts was percieved by many as Marvel testing the waters to see if the audience was still there for a new Thunderbolts series, something that editor Tom Brevoort suggested on more than one occasion.

While colorist Chris Sotomayor has already confirmed that he will be coloring the new series, while other sources point to the current A/Tbolts team as helming the new series. Speculation is running strong that the new series, like the first one, will somehow be connected to the Avenegrs-related event of the day, this time, called Avengers: Disassemble.

Marvel promised more news about the new Thunderbolts at San Diego.