Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment (by way of SuperHeroHype)
Tuesday, June 22, 2004

SHH! got an early sneak peek at the newly remastered 1967 Spider-Man animated series on DVD. And Chris "Excelsior" Mason got an "Exclusive" interview with the voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man himself - Paul Soles...

REVIEW: SPIDER-MAN: The '67 Collection (DVD)
by Excelsior!

My first experience with Spider-Man came from these very cartoons. Yes I’m old enough to claim I saw them when they first aired Saturday mornings in 1967. And you know after all this time they still hold up, and were as much fun to watch today as they were all those years ago. Sure the animation is dated and limited, but that’s part of the charm. More over the stories are pretty faithful to the comic book counter-parts, granted there are no long drawn out origins, villains appear for the first time with little or no back-story… but hey, these were designed for kids in the 60’s. I was however a bit scared when I received the DVDs, I had heard rumors that during the remastering of the series the original music and effects had been “tweaked” and in some places redone. Well never fear, fans of that funky-cool music and Spidey’s web-shooter “spri-oing” sound effect can calm down, these are as pure as the day they first were broadcast. The colors are sharp and bright and jitter free. There are no extras, produced in the day when DVD extras just were not part of the filmmaking vocabulary. The disc set includes all 52 episodes (1967-1970) on 6 discs and comes with a booklet with an introduction by Stan Lee. If you are a true Spider-Man fan then you need this for your collection!

INTERVIEW: Paul Soles by Excelsior!

Paul Soles, the original voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man for the 1967-70 Spider-Man animated series, was nice enough to answer some exclusive questions about his time as everyone’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Superhero Hype: How did you get the 'gig' to be Peter Parker/Spider-Man's voice?
Paul Soles: More good luck than good management. New York producers to put together a cast for cartoon sessions tapped Bernard Cowan, longtime Canadian broadcaster. It all began two years earlier with the production of "Rudolf, the Red Nosed Reindeer". Toronto, thanks to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s radio drama department, had a huge pool of experienced voice actors. I was very fortunate to be included with them.

SHH: How long did it take to record an episode?
PS: We found we could record a full episode, from first cold reading to tape, in about two hours, thus four episodes a day.

SHH: Did you work alone, or did you work with the other voice talent?
PS: Almost always together. Very rarely was there just “slugging” as is the case today.

SHH: Spider-Man ran for three seasons (1967-1970), any episodes stick out in your mind?
PS: Episode 3: The Menace of Mysterio; Episode 7: The Kilowatt Kaper; Episode 11: Here Comes Trubble; Episode 12: The Fantastic Fakir; These stand out because the antics in the studio by one or another mischievous actor, broke us up continually. There were frequent giggle breaks required.
1). I did enjoy Episode 8 Horn Of the Rhino. a full half hour story in which Peter falls ill and Aunt Mae keeps a raving JJJ at bay. Memorable for the opportunity to impersonate JJJ's raspy voice.
2) Episode 19 Double Identity, Charles Cameo perpetrates several thefts while in disguise including Spidey himself. Good fun because I got the chance to play against myself. Reminded me of Star Trek 6 where Kirk has to fight himself.

SHH: Many Spidey fans look to the cartoon series as their first introduction to the character, what is it that makes Spider-Man so special?
PS: We can all relate to a character who, like most of us isn’t perfect, often is marginalized by our peers, has suffered a setback that requires us to be respectful of debts unpaid and ultimately, can make a difference in the community. Credit Stan “The Man” Lee (and Steve Ditko) for creating a unique and enduring character who connected so strongly, widely and for so long.

SHH: Did you have anything to do with the restoration for the new DVD release?
PS: No.

SHH: There was a creative change from season one to seasons two and three. What was the reason for the switch?
PS: I don't think I ever found out. But my experience over the years is that animators and producers are a highly individual bunch with their own creative ideas. Bakshi (seasons 2-3) took us into a more sixties, psychedelic realm that was right for the times. Ralph was out there!

SHH: Was there any difference working with Grantray-Lawrence or Krantz Films / Ralph Bakshi?
PS: I don’t recall that there was; the director, Bunny Cowan was my boss. Remember, we were working without, music, effects or pictures; our performances had to conform to the numbers of frames or seconds allotted in the storyboards. Since we couldn’t see the visuals, our work was to capture the characters and further the stories. There’s not much difference between Electro and an alien from space!

SHH: The difference between Peter Parker & Spider-Man's voices, when Parker would put on the mask his voice would deepen... was it hard keeping the characters straight in your head on any given recoding session?
PS: Not at all. Our training called for us to work quickly and accurately the first time through. After a very few episodes, Peter and Spidey were well fixed in the throat. The more mature, confident web snapper was a little harder because who among us fancies ourselves as a superhero? Lee himself wrote the distinction in voices into the comic books: The function of the costume mask helps Peter maintain his anonymity by preventing people from recognizing his real voice.

SHH: What other characters did you do for the series?
PS: Ox of the Enforcers; Vulture from second appearance on; The Fantastic Fakir; and a host of thugs, tradesmen, cops and bystanders.

SHH: What can you tell us about the music score? We know that Paul Francis Webster & Bob Harris wrote the classic theme song, but the rest of the score was so cool and funky - for a "kids" show. Not much is known about who did the score?
PS: Ray Ellis, a super friendly and talented arranger/composer was entirely responsible for the first season - all jazzy; beyond that we know very little. I’m a big, big band jazz fan. I do know that the music is so popular; Ellis regularly gets requests to rerecord the score clean of voice and effects. People DO love those charts.

SHH: What are you up to these days? Still acting and doing voice over work?
PS: Fate has been very kind. Most of my work in the last few years has been on stage and a few feature films and TV drama specials. From time to time some cartoon work turns up too, "Heidi" and JOJO's Circus are a couple done recently.

SHH: What are your feelings about the NEW Spidey films?
PS: I thought Sam Raimi honored faithfully and with great flair, the whole legend and lore of the character. He was faithful to the code and the effects were blindingly thrilling. I’m looking forward to number two.

SHH: We at SHH would love to see you make a cameo in Spider-Man 3.
PS: From your mouth to....! So would I.. Till then, you can find me on the web at Wallopinwebsnappers.com
(*)editor's note: Mr. Soles' website is currently under construction*

For more on Paul Soles check out his website at the link above and to see screen shots from the soon to be released Spider-Man DVD click here.

Posted 22/06/2004
Source Newsarama

by Ryan McLelland

It’s been five years since Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti and Kevin Smith teamed together to bring us the first Marvel Knight book, Daredevil (though, on a technicality, the cover date of issue #1 was November, 1998, and the issue shipped in September of that year…but “Fifth Anniversary” is sexier than “Sixth”…or…something..1999 was the first full year of Marvel Knights, perhaps).

Now with the uh, five-year anniversary of Marvel Knights, fan-favorite writer Robert Kirkman will spearhead five new one-shots celebrating not only the anniversary but the return of Marvel’s 2099 imprint. The 2099 books originally debuted in the fall of 1992 and featured all new imaginings of classic characters in a not-so-distant future. From Spider-Man to the X-Men, many titles were launched to support the imprint only for the books to be cancelled by 1996. Eight years later, Kirkman will launch Marvel Knights 2099 featuring the characters most associated with the Marvel Knights imprint: Daredevil, Black Panther, Inhumans, Punisher, and Mutant. While the title does say 2099 it might not be what fans of the older imprint are expecting.

“Tom Brevoort, Marvel editor extraordinaire, asked me if I had any ideas for a 2099 type future book around the time I started working on my four-issue Captain America run,” said Kirkman. “He liked what I was doing on Invincible and how I had my own little universe set up with all kinds of side characters and yet I kept the focus clearly on the title character. He wanted a book like that, with its own universe to explore and loads of side characters but with an interesting lead character that carried the book. He wanted it in the future, and he wanted me to use the ‘2099’ name, though it didn't have to relate to the old universe. What I came up with was a book called Mutant 2099. At the same time, Marvel realized that the 100th anniversary of Marvel Knights was the year 2099. One heck of a coincidence. So they wanted to do a fifth week event that took the four original Marvel Knights titles, Daredevil, Inhumans, Punisher, and Black Panther to the year 2099.”

Kirkman’s pitch for the Mutant 2099 one-shot was approved and the writer soon found himself with the chance to write all five books. While Kirkman liked the older Spider-Man 2099 and Ghost Rider 2099, he took his chance to begin his own new mythology. “This stuff is completely unrelated, this is something new,” noted Kirkman. “I believe the old 2099 universe was wrapped up in a one shot [2099: Manifest Destiny written by Ghost Rider 2099’s Len Kaminski], so we're going in another direction. This is yet another possible future.”

While readers won’t be seeing Spider-Man 2099’s Miguel O'Hara, readers can expect some other familiar faces. Reed Richard’s brain (yes, his brain) will be spotted over in Mutant 2099 and the biggest masked baddie of them all, Doctor Doom, will be a major pain for Black Panther. And while the Punisher has his own book also, don’t expect Kirkman and penciller Pop Mhan to show us the old Punisher 2099. “This Punisher is the daughter of Frank Castle and well, oh hell, I might as well say it …Elektra,” said Kirkman. “Garth Ennis had one of his issues end with Frank asking Elektra out on a date. It was a brilliantly funny bit and it got me thinking about those two, so I figured I'd play off that bit for this book. Now Cassandra Castle is old, she's not up for this stuff any more, so she's passing the torch to her son, who up to this point had no idea who his mother really was.”

Daredevil 2099, featuring pencils by Steve Epting, brings a familiar last name to The Man Without Fear: Fisk. Kirkman’s story features one Samuel Fisk becoming the vigilante who struggles to continue his life while continuing the work of the Daredevils who have come before him. Said Kirkman, “For whatever reason, Wilson Fisk's grandson is now Daredevil. He's using guns because he has no radar sense and that billy club takes a while to get the hang off.” Kirkman is tight-lipped about what the actual story is about, “For more than that, you're just going to have to read the book. I don't want to show my hand too early.”

Inhumans 2099, penciled by Cliff Rathburn, has the legendary characters arriving at a destination after traveling fifty years through space. Thanks to Earth’s mutant registration act, the group felt they were no longer safe on Earth, but are they safe at their new home? “All the old favorites are there,” Kirkman said. “Exactly how they've lasted this long will be revealed in the actual book. This one's going to be a lot of fun.”

Continuing the line, Kirkman teams with Kyle Hotz for Black Panther 2099. While T’Challa is long gone, his country Wakanda has survived. But for how much longer is the question as Doctor Doom and Latveria have launched an attack on the country, with no Black Panter in sight. “Big battles are in store for this book,” said Kirkman. “Latveria is invading Wakanda. T'Challa and his bloodline have long since died off and our new Black Panther comes out of this conflict with Doom. It's going to be an action packed origin tale featuring one of the coolest villains in comics.”

Which brings us to Kirkman’s completely new book Mutant 2099. Teaming with artist Khary Randolph, Mutant will tell the story of Chad Channing, a mild-mannered high school student with a big secret. “In the year 2099 the mutant registration act has been reinstated,” says Kirkman. “All mutants are given a pill each day to suppress their mutant abilities to prevent them from ever manifesting. Chad is one of these mutants, his serial number is 002099, he is ‘Mutant 2099’ and this story just happens to take place in that year also. Something happened about fifty years ago that pretty much did away with all the superheroes - you'll learn more about that in the book - which is why these are Marvel Knights heroes. There are no Avengers, there are no Fantastic Four, and all of these superheroes are very much behind the scenes. Somewhere along the lines the Baxter Building became the Baxter Center, a huge complex in the heart of Manhattan that houses a mall, business offices, high-end apartments, and a high school. Chad Channing attends this high school. Reed Richard's living brain is in stasis in a sub basement far below the building that nobody seems to know about. Circumstances of sheer chance bring these two together and the result is a rip-roaring super-hero romp that spans the entire Marvel Universe... of the year 2099. For anyone that enjoys Invincible, this is the closest thing I'm doing to that style of comic. It's really a lot of fun.”

Teamed with the aforementioned artists and renowned artist Pat Lee providing the covers for each book, Kirkman is excited to have the 2099 books launch, “I think this is a good project. This isn't something thrown together at the last minute that's just there to suck up comic buyers dollars. I'm behind this and Marvel is behind this. I care about this project and I can’t wait to see it on the racks. I've got a corner of the Marvel Universe all to myself and I couldn’t be happier.” While each of the five books are planned only as one-shots, readers can ultimately determine if these new characters will come back for further adventures. “If all goes according to plan this will spin off into Mutant 2099, which is a book I really want to see happen,” said Kirkman. “All these books stem from my original pitch for that book and they all point back towards that book so I'm hoping this isn't a complete failure so I'll get to actually do the series. Beyond that, I know that Marvel is not opposed to doing more 2099 and we could very well see more spin off from this event than just a Mutant 2099 series.”

Marvel Knights 2099 Punisher, Inhumans, Black Panther, Daredevil, and Mutant all travel to the future this September.

Posted 18/06/2004
Source The Pulse

BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO

Since his exclusive was announced, rumors were flying that artist Brandon Peterson was the one working on the upcoming J. Michael Straczynski Dr. Strange series. Now the artist has told THE PULSE he's not only working on the September debuting series, it was one of the reasons he wanted to be exclusive with Marvel Comics.

"I think fans will be bowled over by this story," enthused the artist. "The story requires me to do things I haven't had to artistically before and it's a huge impact on the character. I look forward to the challenge. Dr. Strange was definitely one of the reasons I wanted to be exclusive with Marvel."

"He's a character who has an incredible arc, from spoiled surgeon to Sorcerer Supreme," continued Peterson. "Some of my favorite creators have worked on the character and he has an awesome pedigree. Our story is a year one build up of the character, an updating and retooling of the characters origin and his place in the cosmos. JMS [Straczynski] really wants to shake things up, and I am just trying to keep up with him."

Although Dr. Strange was one of the reasons the artist wanted to be exclusive, that doesn't mean he's been working on the series since he became exclusive. "I didn't start working on it until recently," Peterson admitted. "The Ultimate X-Men story arc has been everything I've worked on for Marvel since the announcement of my exclusivity was made. Doctor Strange was the project we knew I'd be doing eventually if things worked out, which they have."

The artist is very early in the creative process of this series. So far the only final art that exists is the cover art, so he didn't have a lot of comments about working with Straczynski. "It's early in the process, so we've only talked a couple times over the phone about covers and costumes," said Peterson. "I appreciate his decisiveness and assuredness in what he wants this book to be and how he wants to get there. He isn't wishy-washy about what he wants and where he sees this book going."

"The art I did for Ultimate X-Men is very classic superhero comics- lots of rendering, dynamics, and action," continued Peterson. "This book is going to be more subtle and emphasize more realism, and not so much straight up superheroics. I love that work I did on UXM, though. It's great that you can have so many varied approaches to artwork at Marvel, and I love being able to try different ones out."

PRESS RELEASE
Marvel is pleased to announce that THOR: SON OF ASGARD - previously solicited as a six-issue miniseries - is now an ongoing, monthly series!
Details on the upcoming story arc are available in Marvel Previews #10, on sale now.

Thanks to popular demand, the adventures of young Thor, Balder & Sif will continue with the same creators, writer Akira Yoshida and artist Greg
Tocchini, with covers by Runaways cover artist, Jo Chen! Writer Akira Yoshida offered, "Thanks to Marvel for believing in the book and standing behind it. I work with a great team and look forward to giving the fans a great saga!" Series artist Greg Tocchini said, "To continue this series is awesome. I'm enjoying this so much, I can't put it in words -- but I promise to try to show my joy with my drawings!" Series Editor MacKenzie Cadenhead said, "The first six issues of Son of Asgard were wonderful to work on both because of the compelling story we were telling and thanks to the amazing collaboration of the creative team. To continue working with Greg, Akira and Guru eFX is reason enough, but knowing what they have in store for the next arc has got me really excited. Also, having worked with Jo Chen on Runaways, I am thrilled to have her on board-she'll be a terrific addition."

Marvel Editor in Chief, Joe Quesada, added, "This is a testament to Marvel's commitment to taking chances on new talent. Here was a series featuring a classic Marvel hero in a new light, done by a cast of relatively unknown creators. We believed in the book, supported it, and are now enjoying a nice bit of success."


THOR: SON OF ASGARD #7 IS ON-SALE 8/11/04

In these days of hardship for both creators and fans of the Crossgen Universe, I thought it might be an idea to find out what, if any, are your favourite Books or characters from the CG universe.

Posted 20/06/2004

THE PULSE has learned that CrossGeneration Comics filed for Chapter 11 and laid off the remaining creators on staff. Those on staff hadn't been paid for at least two months. Sources close to CrossGen have told us that CrossGen President and Publisher, Mark Alessi had turned down several opportunities to sell the company outright and instead hopes to keep it alive with a skeleton crew under bankruptcy protection. His hope is to find enough investors and working capital to relaunch the company. Sources close to the imprint estimate Alessi has spent close to 30 million dollars on CrossGen and all its related properties since the company's inception.

According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

A bankrupt company, the "debtor," might use Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code to "reorganize" its business and try to become profitable again. Management continues to run the day-to-day business operations but all significant business decisions must be approved by a bankruptcy court.

Most publicly-held companies will file under Chapter 11 rather than Chapter 7 because they can still run their business and control the bankruptcy process. Chapter 11 provides a process for rehabilitating the company's faltering business. Sometimes the company successfully works out a plan to return to profitability; sometimes, in the end, it liquidates.

Former Crossgen VP of Special Projects Brandon Peterson made this comment. "I've remained quiet in the press about CrossGen for the most part, due to professional and personal courtesy, and I will continue to remain mostly silent. I will say that there I grew tremendously professionally and personally, and will continue to consider it among the most important times in my life. I wish everyone involved with these latest events the best of luck, and I hope they come out all right. They are among some of the nicest, most talented, and dedicated people I have ever worked with. Before making cruel and lame jokes of the situation, I would hope some people would realize those nice, talented people now have real hardship ahead supporting their families and loved ones in a ruthlessly crowded comics market. Comics may be a hobby to most reading this so they can be glib, but for those people I worked with it's how they put food in mouths and a roof over their heads. Anyway, best of luck all. I hope you land on your feet."

Marvel Comics has revamped their website. Instead of the black background and dark colors, the official website is now trimmed with lighter, brighter colors and sequential art backgrounds on some section. Interested parties can check it out at marvel.com. The site features a spotlight on popular characters including Spider-Man, Daredevil, the Hulk, and the X-Men. It also has movie news, dot.comics to read, information and art from comics and graphic novels on sale, press releases, toy information, and lots of other news and details.

With any luck... Our good friend and Comic Widower Mr. Glenn Walker is in the process of procuring Thor and I press passes for Saturday for this lovely event.
So, is anyone else going? Because if so, I think we should all definately meet up and I'll gang up on some writer/artist we all have a beef with.

Trust me, you won't be able to miss us...look for the extremely pregnant lady.

Anyone you are looking forward to getting autographs from?

Ok, this book won't come in until the end of hte month for me because someone forgot to ship it.
So, tell me about it, someone's reading it! I KNOW!

Posted 16/06/2004
Source Newsarama

As of yesterday, Marvel is debt free, a goal the company had set for itself since emerging from bankruptcy in 1998. Marvel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December of 1996, after being driven to the brink of ruin, in the views of many analysts, by former owner, Ron Perelman.

Today’s news comes as Marvel redeemed all of the principal from its outstanding 12% Senior Notes. The deal cost Marvel approximately $169 million, which it paid in cash. As a result of the move, as of close of business yesterday, Marvel had over $150 million in cash, certificates of deposit, and commercial paper. Comparatively, the company was $200 million in debt at the end of 2000, which led many observers within the industry to take a long-term stance that Marvel would declare bankruptcy again, or be quickly bought by a larger company in a sale or hostile takeover.

Marvel also reported that it anticipates having approximately $200 million in cash by December 31st.

Marvel’s press release regarding the state of the company reads:

Marvel Enterprises, Inc., (NYSE:MVL) a global entertainment licensing company, announced that it has redeemed all of the outstanding $150,962,000 in principal amount of the Company's 12% Senior Notes due 2009. The redemption price was $106 for each $100 in principal amount of the Notes, plus six-months of accrued interest totaling approximately $9 million, for a total cash outlay to redeem the Notes of approximately $169 million. Marvel funded the Senior Notes redemption with cash on hand. Following the redemption, at June 15, 2004 Marvel had over $150 million in cash, certificates of deposit and commercial paper and no debt.

As previously announced, Marvel expects to record approximately $16 million in aggregate interest expense in the second quarter of 2004, consisting of $4 million of net interest expense for the three-months ended June 30, 2004, the early redemption premium of roughly $9 million, and $3 million of previously unamortized deferred debt costs related to the Senior Notes. Marvel anticipates cash levels at December 31, 2004 to approximate $200 million, reflecting anticipated Federal income tax payments resulting from the recent exhaustion of Federal net operating loss (NOL) carry-forwards. Marvel commenced payment of cash Federal income taxes in the second quarter, which are expected to amount to $45-$55 million in fiscal 2004.

"Redeeming our Senior Notes at the earliest allowable time has been a goal of Marvel since we emerged from bankruptcy and refocused our business on high-margin consumer and entertainment licensing initiatives," said Allen Lipson, Marvel's President and CEO. "Emerging as a debt-free company with a growing cash position is a testament to our business model and ability to leverage our popular brands to generate strong cash flows."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One would hope we might see Marvel relaxing their policy on cancelling under performing books as quickly now that they are out of the red, perhaps giving new books more of a chance to survive past their first trade paperback (which usually helps boost sales on a title). one would hope.. somehow I think they will carry on as they are however.