On February 29, 2000, comic book artist Marc Silvestri, creator of

WITCHBLADE, CYBER FORCE and DARKNESS, will be teaching fans and aspiring

artists how it's done through the first semester of on-line classes offered

at Eruptor.com. Silvestri will present a live, three-part series on

Eruptor's Web-based university, Eruptor College, to help students learn how

to produce layouts, refine characters and develop stories for comic books

of their own. The real-time class will allow Silvestri to answer questions

On February 1, 2000, Cartoon Network announced a broad expansion of

CartoonNetwork.com, the network's entertainment destination on the Web.

Kicking off the expansion is a heavy increase in original, interactive

entertainment. Over the next year, CartoonNetwork.com will more than double

production of its Web Premiere Toons. In addition, CartoonNetwork.com will

triple the number of games on the site; add functionality including

shopping and advanced search functions; and create a safe community aspect.

Tim Burton, creator of NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, has inked a deal to

bring a series of animated shorts featuring his Stainboy character to

shockwave.com. Viewers will be able to download the charcoal-drawn

superhero's first five-minute short sometime in Spring 2000. Under the

terms of the deal, Burton will keep full artistic control over the

characters and properties. The William Morris Agency brokered the deal

which allows for the cross over to TV if the shorts become a hit on the

Hitting the U.S. market April 2000, Humongous Entertainment will bring

families their new CD-ROM, PAJAMA SAM 3: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT FROM YOUR

HEAD TO YOUR FEET. Pajama Sam is back to uncover the mysterious

disappearance of four Peace Delegates who have not arrived at the Food

Pyramid for a Peace Conference. The suggested retail price will be $24.99.

On January 3, 2000, Activision, Inc. and id Software released QUAKE III

ARENA for Macintosh. The on-line multiplayer game features 26 deathmatch

and four capture-the-flag levels. The title is available at a suggested

retail price of $49.99. id Software offers such titles as Wolfenstein 3D,

DOOM, DOOM II, QUAKE and QUAKE II.

On December 27, 1999, Activision, Inc. shipped VIGILANTE 8: SECOND OFFENSE

for the Sega Dreamcast. In this new adventure, players must stop the Coyote

terrorist gang that has traveled back through time in an attempt to change

the course of events that will allow evil to dominate the world. Developed

by Luxoflux Corp., the game features multiple modes of play -- single

player quest, arcade and survival mode, two-player versus, cooperative and

On January 5, 2000, Acclaim Entertainment started shipping their SOUTH PARK

RALLY for PlayStation with Nintendo 64, PC and Sega Dreamcast to follow

shortly. Developed by Tantalus Interactive, the kart-style racing adventure

features mission-based game modes and 27 characters from the Comedy Central

series. All versions of South Park Rally will include multiplayer modes

that feature races and cooperative game modes, including the multiplayer

Disney/Pixar's TOY STORY 2 is coming to Sega Dreamcast. In March 2000,

Activision, Inc., in collaboration with Disney Interactive, will release

Disney/Pixar's TOY STORY 2: BUZZ LIGHTYEAR TO THE RESCUE for Sega

Dreamcast. The new release will be a third-person free-roaming adventure

game that uses 3D animation to deliver a unique mix of gameplay elements.

As Buzz Lightyear, players take on five big bosses in a quest to save Woody

from a toy collector over 15 levels.

Film.com has teamed-up with Troma, the production company responsible for

THE TOXIC ADVENGER, to bring the stop-motion clay characters of CRAPSTON

VILLAS to the Net. Set in Slumington, a fictional London neighborhood, this

ebony comedy is a wild soap opera spoof. The British down-to-Earth

blue-collar domestic drama features the voices of Jane Horrocks (Bubble in

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS and Little Voice in LITTLE VOICE) and Alison Steadman

(LIFE IS SWEET). The show originally aired on Britain's Channel 4 and won

Entertaindom, the Time Warner on-line broadcasting channel, has exercised

its option with Brilliant Digital Entertainment, Inc. to add 15 additional

new 5-8 minute "Webisodes" for the 3D animated MULTIPATH ADVENTURES OF

SUPERMAN. This extends the first season of SUPERMAN to a full 30 Webisode

commitment. Entertaindom has also agreed to give distribution to Brilliant

Digital's new 3D animated series based on the character XENA: WARRIOR

PRINCESS, plus eight Webisodes of a new series entitled KISS IMMORTALS

Viz Communications, a leading U.S. publisher of Japanese animation and

comics (anime and manga), including titles such as POKEMON, DRAGON BALL

Z, and Hayao Miyazaki's NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF WIND, announced new

Internet partnerships and the relaunch of their chief Web sites.

www.viz.com will provide the latest news and information on anime and

manga series. www.j-pop.com will feature reviews on the latest in

Japanese pop culture including anime, manga, games, music and film.

MeTV.com, a new Internet video on demand company, has commissioned

Sonalysts Studios to produce original broadband promos, trailers and

interstitial material for the MeTV.com Web site. The original broadband

material will appear as full-motion video on PCs with Internet

connections of 350kps or higher running Microsoft MediaPlayer.

The Jim Henson Company's MuppetWorld Web site will celebrate its first Yuletide with Kermit the Frog lighting an on-line Christmas tree. MuppetWorld offers a compelling interactive environment, allowing fans to play with their favorite Muppet characters. Fans may purchase Muppet merchandise, take cooking lessons from the Swedish Chef who offers weekly culinary masterpieces in the "What's Cooking?" location, and be able to tune into their favorite Muppet clips.

shockwave.com, One Infinity and Madlab Creative have produced Why2k@large which uses Flash 4 animation and MP3 streaming audio technologies to present an animated, multimedia series focusing on the approach of the year 2000. Live interviews were collected on the streets of New York City, New Orleans and San Francisco featuring what the American public thinks about the approaching Millennium.

shockwave.com, a leading Internet entertainment site, announced new holiday additions to its award-winning site. The additions include new creative applications Toonmaker and Puzzlemaker; new festive greeting cards; and an improved Shockmachine experience. These free on-line gifts can be sent to friends and family. Toonmaker enables users to create personal cards and cartoons using well known characters such as the kids from South Park. Puzzlemaker allows users to turn their own photos into puzzles, add messages and then send them to friends.

Brazil's Justice Ministry has banned six video games it considers too

violent for the public. This ruling comes on the heals of last month's

deadly shooting rampage in a movie theater by a medical student. "The games

are considered violent and [are] affecting people who play them,

particularly children," a ministry spokeswoman said. "As for DUKE NUKEM,

the ministry regulation says its virtual world may have motivated Mateus da

Costa Meira to stage the cinema shooting on November 3 in Sao Paulo." All

The Downtown Athletic Club (DAC), presenters of the Heisman Memorial Trophy
for the year's outstanding U.S. college American football player, have
contracted with Lemon Custard Comics, the San Francisco-based computer
animation production house, to produce a Flash-animated comic strip for the
Web to tell the story of the trophy and football in general. The first
installment, "The John W. Heisman Story," will run simultaneously on
HeismanMemorialTrophy.com and LemonCustard.com. DAC plans to use the Web to

Harvey Entertainment Company has inked a deal with San Francisco-based
Spunky Productions, Inc., a digital media company, to produce and
distribute Richie Rich Web cartoons. The new toons will be available on
both SpunkyTown.com and the Harvey site. Spunky will adapt early comic book
adventures of the world's richest kid into 2 - 5 minute episodes to start
airing during the holiday season. Product tie-ins will be developed by both
companies to be sold on both of their Web sites. Dan March, Director of New

"Spike & Mike" fest organizers, Mellow Manor Prods. has teamed up with
Netcaster IFilm to bring its twisted toon vault exclusively to Cyberspace.
The two year deal will allow Net surfers the chances to see animation
shorts only previously showcased at the "Spike & Mike's Classic Festival of
Animation" and "Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation."
BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD-creator Mike Judge, SOUTH PARK's Trey Parker and Matt
Stone, TOY STORY's John Lasseter, and the NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS'

Shockwave.com has announced that they have signed Trey Parker and Matt
Stone, the creators of SOUTH PARK, to concoct 39 new works. The new shows
will first air on shockwave.com beginning in March. Stone and Parker's new
disfunctional toons will range from 2 to 5 minutes and could be one-off
shorts or pieces of an on-going series. In the L.A. Times on December 8,
1999, Stone was quoted as saying that "the real allure of [the deal] is
that we get to create another TV series but on a much smaller scale. We