WOLFMAN, MARV 701
series, Witchblade , which debuted on August 27, 2000 on TNT as a pilot fi lm, directed
by Ralph Hemeker and written by Silvestri and John David Zeik, and starring Yancy
Butler in the title role, was less titillating in its representation of women. It ran for two
series: from June 12, 2001 to August 26, 2002. In 2009, talks occurred about the pos-
sibility of a major motion picture, directed by Michael Rymer and produced by Plati-
num Studies, IDG Films, and Relatively Media. In the wake of the unsuccessful fi lms
Elektra (2005) and Catwoman (2005), and the problems in getting Wonder Woman
to the screen, this may be diffi cult, however. As a television show, Witchblade could be
seen as part of a robust female action hero genre on television with the likes of Birds of
Prey (2002–3) and the more well-known Buff y the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), and
X ena Warrior Princess (1995–2001). Th e idea of handing down a mythical power from
warrior woman to warrior women was as rather clumsily inserted into DC Comics’
Catwoman franchise with the roundly panned Catwoman fi lm. Witchblade has had
many crossovers with both other Top Cow characters, and characters from DC Com-
ics , Marvel , and Dark Horse Comics that strain any sense of continuity. Th ese have
included Witchblade/Wolverine (2004) and Witchblade/Th e Magdalena/Vampirella
(2005). Th ese constant crossovers are reminiscent of the crossovers of such fi lm licensed
properties as Robocop , Terminator , and Aliens in the Dark Horse comics of the 1980s
and 1990s. In 2004, Japanese animation Studio GONZO started to produce an anime
version of the character set in the far future, which ran for 24 episodes from April 2006
onwards. A manga incarnation Witchblade: Taker , created by Yasuko Kobayashi started
a serial run in March 2006.
Lorcan McGrane
WOLFMAN, MARV (1946–). Marv Wolfman began working for DC Comics in 1968
as a freelance writer on their mystery titles and Blackhawk , soon contributing to
superhero books like Te e n T i t a n s , Supergirl , and Batman. By the early 1970s, after
a brief period as story editor at Warren Publications , he had moved over to Marvel ,
where he created Skull the Slayer, Nova, Bullseye, and the Black Cat, but he is probably
best known for his monumental 70-issue run on Tomb of Dracula with Gene Colan ,
which included the fi rst appearance of the vampire hunter, Blade. Wolfman also edited
Marvel’s black-and-white magazine line, before he was promoted to editor-in-chief,
but he stepped down after less than a year to devote more time to writing, including
extensive runs on Fantastic Four , Daredevil , and Th e Amazing Spider-Man. In 1980,
toward the end of his run on Dracula , he had a falling out with then editor-in-chief Jim
Shooter over Wolfman’s editing duties on the title, and Wolfman then moved back to
DC Comics as a writer/editor.
Upon his return to DC, Wolfman embarked on the most prolifi c and signifi cant
period in his career. Along with artist George Pérez , he created Th e New Teen Titans ,
which quickly became DC’s bestselling title. Th e New Teen Titans combined original
Titans Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and Beast Boy (renamed as Changeling) with
brand new characters: Raven, Cyborg, and Starfi re. Wolfman and Pérez also transformed
