MARVEL, IMAGE CATCH WRESTLING FEVER

Chaos Comics may have the Undertaker, but soon he won't be the only wrestling superstar gracing comic shops ...

MC2 WINS SOME, LOSES SOME

It's been a rocky road for Tom DeFalco's MC2 line of Marvel Comics books. Nay-sayers have predicted the death of the near future books featuring the descendants of Spider-Man, the Avengers and Juggernaut even before they hit the stands.

Now, it looks like they're right. Sort of ...

'FATHOM' DIVES BACK INTO ALTERNATE INTERIORS VARIANTS

It was a stunt that almost eclipsed the comic itself. In fact, it was a stunt that almost eclipsed the launch of two comics. And one of them is about to do it again ...

WAGNER RETURNS TO 'GRENDEL,' FINISHES OFF 'MAGE II' RUN

Fans of Matt Wagner's myth-making work are always thrilled when he produces more work for his signature "Mage" and "Grendel" characters, but what that really translates into is a desire for more, more, more.

Wagner intends to give it to them ...

LEE MODER RETURNS TO MONTHLY COMICS WITH LUCKY STARS

Lee Moder is no stranger to teen heroes, having drawn more than his fair share of them in DC Comics' Legion of Super-Heroes. Thus, he's well-prepared to take on DC's newest teen hero, the Star Spangled Kid, when "Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E." makes its debut in June ...

SUPERMAN'S NEVER ENDING BATTLE … ENDS

The weekly nature of DC Comics' Superman family of books is officially ending ...

ANGEL, XENA IN MONTHLY COMICS

They're two of TV's hottest genre characters, and neither is a stranger to comics, and now they'll be getting to strut their stuff in four colors every month, when Buffy's Angel the vampire and Xena, Warrior Princess, get their own ongoing Dark Horse Comics ...

MARVEL KNIGHTS TO SHIP IN APRIL

Great books. So where are they?

Fans wondering where Devin Grayson's "Black Widow" miniseries as well as the far more tardy next issue of Kevin Smith's "Daredevil" can rest easily ...

PLASTIC MAN TY-ED IN KNOTS

While he doesn't often stretch those muscles doing his monthly "Batman: The Gotham Adventures" book with DC Comics, Ty Templeton was once best known as a funny, funny guy. This summer, a new generation of fans will see what "Ty the Guy" is like when he cuts loose with a Plastic Man special ...

DARK HORSE'S MAVERICKS GET THEIR OWN IMPRINT

When Dark Horse Comics first went into business, they were engaged in the business of what television and movie studios call "counter-programming": In a field where creators had little power and little ability to get their creations to a mass market, Dark Horse made a business of doing just that.

A lot has changed since then: DC Comics has embraced the creator ownership concept and Image Comics was founded to provide its high-profile creators even greater freedom than Dark Horse provided. And even Dark Horse has changed, with much of its business devoted to lucrative film and television licenses.

Dark Horse hasn't forgotten its creators, though, and this July, they'll be gathering many of them together under a new imprint, Maverick ...

RETURN TO ZOMBIE WORLD WITH 'TREE OF DEATH'

Nothing says summer like the dead rising from their graves to prey upon the living. At least, that's what summer means to Pat Mills, the writer of "Tree of Life," the next in Dark Horse's series of "Zombie World" miniseries ...

WITH GREAT POWER COMES STRONG TEETH AND BONES

Let it never be said that Spider-Man isn't the role model Dennis Rodman is.

Now Marvel Comics super-heroes are getting the chance to stand toe-to-toe with the likes of Christie Yamaguchi, Tyra Banks and Spike Lee ...

'GEN13' RETURNS TO ROOTS UNDER LOBDELL, BENES

Later this year, "Gen13" fans will be getting the third major shift in direction the DC/Wildstorm book has undergone in its three-plus years, when writer Scott Lobdell and artist Ed Benes take over from John Arcudi and Gary Frank this fall ...

DARK HORSE TO PACK LUNCH FOR HELLBOY, BETTIE PAGE

You've got patches, pins, lighters and, of course, T-shirts. You may even have some comics and graphic novels. But what's left for the discriminating Hellboy fan to spend their money on? How about lunch boxes? OK, then how about a watch? ...

DON'T FIGHT 'THE AUTHORITY,' THE AUTHORITY ALWAYS WINS

Fans of the hit DC/Wildstorm "The Authority" by Warren Ellis will be glad to know it's the holder of an informal record at Wildstorm ...

------------------
Beau Yarbrough,
editor of the COMIC WIRE,
published Mondays and Thursdays
http://www.comicbookresources.com/

[This message has been edited by Beau Yarbrough (edited 04-15-99).]