________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- " C O M I C B O O K E - M A G " Issue 16 - July 3, 1995 "Brought to you by the fine folks at the COMIC BOOK Network!" Editors: Ed Dukeshire Network Administration: Mike Imboden Mike Imboden Ed Dukeshire David Leblanc Bobb Waller Special Thanks: Ryan Brewster Anthony Palacio Walter Tietjen Chris Oarr David Leblanc William Hughes Nathan Bredfeldt Jeff Watts John Keady Jim Murdoch ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S ------------------------------------------------------------------------- -1- The Bullpen ........................... Ed Dukeshire -2- The 25th Hour ......................... Mike Imboden -3- Adventures of Bill .................... William Hughes -4- Suspended Animation ................... Michael Vance -5- Recent Reads/Small Press Special ...... William Hughes -6- CSNsider .............................. W. Batty & C. Biggers -7- Komic Komments ........................ John Keady -8- Recent Reads/Random Thoughts .......... William Hughes -9- Feedback .............................. Mail -10- BBSes Linked into CBN ................. Net Admin Team ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-1-/ The Bullpen by Ed Dukeshire Hi gang! Woo, big issue this time 'round. We hope you enjoy it as much as we have putting it together. A couple notes -- you may have noticed a slight format change. Now the issues should be much easier to print out (if you were doing so). We've also eliminated the high ascii characters seen on some of the articles in the past. Seems they didn't display or print correctly on non-MS-DOS machines. Anyway, I won't hold you up, on with the e-mag! Enjoy it and feel free to drop us your views towards it. Happy 4th of July!! -- ed ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-2-/ The 25th Hour by Mike Imboden You're probably going to hear a lot about this in this issue of the E-rag, but here's my two-cents worth anyway... The second annual Small Press Expo was held in Bethesda, Maryland on Friday the 23rd of June and by my eyes was a rousing success. Other folks, (hiya Bill and Chris) were able to participate in a nifty, cozy little round-table type of pow-wow the night before. Me? I was home working on CBN literature to pass out the next day. Next time remind me to delegate some duties.... Anyway, I arrived at the Ramada about an hour and a half prior to the start and helped move some tables around and generally schmoozed around and did some odd jobs, (like watching the duffel bag of one of the sponsors. Hey, someone had to do it, right?) The show started pretty much on time at 4pm although a few scheduled guests coming in from New York were running late. A few cancelations had some people buzzing and a bit upset, most notably Collen Doran, who was sick, and David "Hairbat" Zapanta, who I never heard a reason for. The total head count for the show clocked in somewhere around the 300 person mark - not too shabby. After expenses and such, the total take for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was in the neighborhood of 4 grand. (speaking of which, I hear the CBLDF's bank kitty is down to like $40,000 - a scary, low figure. Send a donation in today. I'll post the address at the end of the column). Fellow 4CN founder Bill Hughes and I were in official CBN capacity handing out dozens of CBN fliers and press kits. We made some pretty good contacts and might possibly wind up with some nifty exposure on a couple comic book tv shows as well as something on one of the big four networks, which would make us as proud as a, well, you know the rest. On a personal level I couldn't have had a better time - from "crashing" the hospitality suite to meeting some very nice and wonderful creators to discovering more than few interesting looking titles, (which I'll review later). The end of the night saw Bill, myself and CBN Small Press Host Chris Oarr mingling in the hospitality suite with creators like Dave Lapham, Marc Hempel, Martin Wagner and later small press "grandfather" himself Dave Sim and background artist extraordinaire Gerhard, (just to name a few). Everyone had a blast downing "bootlegged" Budweiser and Pizza Hut pizza, (the hotel staff said it was against policy to allow outside food or beverage into the rooms so the beer and pizza had to be "bootlegged" up a back flight of stairs. The Impossible Missions force had nothing on our "bootlegger" Jon!) The next night saw a fair sized crowd enjoying a scrumpdilicious barbeque at Chris Oarr's house. Most of the creators had left that morning but "Hepcats" Martin Wagner stuck around for the festivities. The highlight of the party being a large, round pinata made from various Marvel, DC and Image comic covers which was dubbed the "World Of Comics". Ironically (??) Martin Wagner's swings barely "made a dent in 'The World of Comics'" (sorry, Martin ) while it was a retailer who finally smashed the ball down, spilling it's goodies across the lawn. Of course, said retailer is on the verge of something fairly big which I'm not at liberty to discuss but will do so here as soon as I can - let's hope for his sake the metaphor is more than just and is a harbinger of things to come. All in all the weekend was a smashing success, (I even came away from it with a page of Jeff Nicholson artwork from ULTRAKLUTZ - thanks Chris Staros!!). No gushing fanboys, no flamboyant shows or booths by megahuge corporations - just comics they way they should be; Honest and from the heart with no fuggin' strings attached. -M!ke Imboden (who, next week, will review a couple of the splendid books he discovered at the Expo.) Comments, questions and flames should be directed to my attention at comicbknet@aol.com or directly to mike.imboden@f748.n109.z1.fidonet.org or netmailed to 1:109/748 on Fidonet or 23:403/0 on CBN itself. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-3-/ The Adventures of Bill by William Hughes THE ADVENTURES OF BILL: Personal Experiences Of The `95 Small Press Expo ----------------------------------------------------------------------- After all the preparation, after all the hype, the Small Press Expo has come and gone in a blink of an eye. It's certainly true that time flies when you're having fun! If you were there, it's probable that you had a great time, met some interesting people, including creators and fans alike, and walked away with some great comics in the process. If you were unfortunate enough to miss it, don't worry, the folks at CBN E-Mag will be sure to fill you in on all the details! CBN had three roving reporters on the scene for the Expo, including myself, Chris Oarr and Mike Imboden. Since I probably know less about the Small Press scene that my two cohorts, I thought I'd take a more personal perspective of the event, to give you a "Bill's Eye View" of the Expo. EXPO DAY ONE: Thursday My adventure into the Small Press arena began the night before the actual Expo. Readers of CEREBUS will know that Dave Sim invited his fans to join him in the bar for drinks on this particular evening. Although I've only read the first CEREBUS trade paperback, I was encouraged by CHRIS OARR to attend. MIKE IMBODEN and CHRIS STAROS of the STAROS REPORT were also slated to attend. I arrived at CHATTERS in Bethesda, MD at the pre-arranged time of 6PM only to discover... noone was there. After waiting about an hour, I decided to call home for messages, where I discovered a message had been left for me from Chris Oarr, changing the time to somewhere between 7-8 PM. I decided to have a few drinks while waiting, and became engaged in a conversation with a lovely young woman who was at the hotel for a PENN STATE board meeting of some sort. She seemed very interested in striking up a conversation with me, in fact she seemed quite flirtatious. She was quite interested in the usual small talk, what I did for a living, etc. I was feeling quite smug with myself by all of this unsolicited attention, when she asked what I was doing at the hotel on this particular evening. I explained that I was attending a Small Press Expo the following day, and some friends were meeting the night before to relax before the big event. I explained further that the "Small Press" actually revolved around comic books, and how I was a part of an Electronic Magazine/fanzine devoted to comic books. Well, to say her interest waned would be putting it mildly. She finished her drink and politely excused herself, never to return, leaving me to wonder what drove her away, the "comic book nerd" stigmatism, or the "computer nerd" one. In any event, it soured my mood to say the least. I decided to drown my sorrows in my beer, as I noticed that the man of the hour, Dave Sim had arrived at the bar. Still feeling the sting of being silently labeled a "comic book nerd" combined with the fact that I wasn't familiar with a third of the man's work, I decided not to play the drooling fanboy and run over to him. Instead, I ordered a sandwich and continued to await the arrival of Chris Oarr. Then, one by one, other "comic nerds" showed up at the bar. I watched one particular gentleman scan the room, obviously looking for Sim. He came to an area near the bar and asked the bartender, "Do you know where Dave Sim is?" only to be met by a completely blank stare. Amazed that I could recongnize the guy having seen only one taped speech he gave some years ago, and yet this loyal fan could not, I decided to let him try to explain to the bartender what he meant. My sadistic streak didn't last long however, as I decided to help the guy out and point him in the right direction. For the next half hour, I became the "Dave Sim tour Director" as fans poured in one at a time searching the room for their hero. "Over there," I would offer, recognizing that look in their eye before they said a word. Shortly, Oarr showed up, bringing with him CHRIS STAROS, the author of THE STAROS REPORT (a highly recommended reference guide to what's _really_ hot in comics.) After I finished the sandwich I had ordered while waiting, we decided it was time to greet the visiting guest to our neck of the woods. Since my two compatriots are far more familiar with Sim's work and Small Press in particular, they naturally led the way while I hung out in the background. It felt a little weird being a relative "newbie" to this avenue of the comics scene, and yet being five feet away from the small press arena's biggest star. Five minutes into the soiree, I started thinking, "what the heck am I doing here?" when Dave Sim introduced a member of his drinking party, a guy who goes by the name of DAVID LAPHAM. Regular readers of CBN will know how impressed I've been with the relatively new series, STRAY BULLETS. The evening immediately picked up for me when I discovered that Lapham would be a part of the Expo, a fact I had not been aware of before coming to the bar that night. At this point I decided what the heck, let's play fanboy. I said hello to both Sim and Lapham, telling the latter how impressed I've been with his series thus far (sounding like a blithering idiot, I'm sure) and to the former admitting I wasn't very familiar with his work, although I had enjoyed what I'd seen. About this time I was also introduced to MARTIN WAGNER, of HEPCATS fame, yet another book/creator I'm ashamed to admit I'm not familiar. One of the highlights of the evening was speaking to David Lapham's wife, Maria. She's a very intelligent woman, who takes care of the business end of El Capitan so that David can concentrate on the creative aspects. She had some interesting views on the comic book industry, music, relationships, and life in general. That David is one lucky guy, and with a partner like Maria, coupled with his astounding talent, he's sure to be a force in this business for some time. In my discussions with the Lapham's, I told them about CBN and the E-Mag, and David explained to me that while they have a computer, and he likes the concept of using them, he still has an underlying fear of them. This gets me thinking of ways to get him and others like him online... but that's a story for another day. (Watch this space for future news!) Around last call, I decided to call it a night and head home for some rest before the big event... EXPO DAY TWO: Friday I awoke late in the morning and decided to print out a few copies of the E-Mag to show at the Expo. ACK! While this may work fine on a computer screen, it certainly needs some work in the print medium. Again, ideas begin to flow... but again, that's something we'll talk about at a later date. I completed my work, choosing issues one, three and fourteen to use as sample copies, and headed back to the Ramada to begin the day. Upon my arrival, I immediately noticed a lack of... well everything. Noone was there. Other than the event board (which had been changed since just the night before) I could find no visible signs of the Expo, which was just a few hours away. As I began to wonder how to spend my time awaiting signs of life, I notice MARTIN WAGNER had returned from a day of sight-seeing. Recongnizing a beer buddy from the night before, he said hello, and I wound up tagging along with him and a couple of his friends for lunch back at Chatters again. Clueless as ever, about halfway thru lunch I realize that one of "his friends" is none other than GERHARD, Sim's partner on CEREBUS. ( I don't recall the third gentleman's name, and with my luck it was probably another big-name creator I failed to recognize.) While downing a killer steak sub with fries, we discussed a range of topics, from O.J. and those old boot ads in comics, to THE COMICS JOURNAL. Martin Wagner turns out to be a super-nice guy, with a great sense of humour. I make a mental note to check out this guys work as soon as possible. After lunch, Wagner and Gerhard went to their rooms to prepare for the event, which loomed ever closer, and I noticed that David and Maria Lapham had come down for a beverage before the Expo. I took this opportunity to show them the copies of the E-Mag, and the admittedly short blurb on STRAY BULLETS #3. I was very suprised to hear that Maria had actually seen it before! It seems she cruises the pay services occasionally after a new issue comes out, to guage the fan response. Smacked with the sudden realization that people are actually _reading_ this thing, I silently vowed to work harder in my efforts on the E-Mag. (Don't worry, I'll start next issue. ) By this time it was only about half an hour before the event was scheduled to begin, so I headed downstairs to the two large conference rooms holding the show. While I was occupied, the convention fairie came or something, because the area was bustling with activity. At this point I hooked up with Merry Mike Imboden, who had missed the previous night's event so that he could print out some killer information packs and flyers on CBN. Mike really put in alot of time and effort into these items, and should be commended. Four o'clock, the show begins. I decide to start off the show by doing something I've NEVER done before... get a creator to autograph a book. I've never been a fan of autographed comics, but I figured a little momento of this event wouldn't hurt. I headed to the STRAY BULLETS table and had both David and Maria Lapham autograph the second issue of the series. I asked David whose work he would recommend at the Expo, and he suggested I try RUBBER BLANKET, or anything by DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI so I headed off in that direction. I picked up all three issues of RUBBER BLANKET, and while the autograph frenzy was upon me, I got him to sign the first issue. From there I walked thru the two rooms that the show was taking place in, stopping to check out some of the creators at different tables. There was something at this show to offer everyone. Bad-girl, super-heroes, mini's, science fiction, fantasy, you name it and it was represented at the Expo. My next stop was at MARTIN WAGNER'S table, to pick up SNOWBLIND, the second HEPCATS trade paperback, and my third autograph. At this point I decided it was time to get down to business and begin to hype both the network and the E-Mag, so I chose a spot near the entrance to both rooms and began to hand out flyers. Response was overwhelmingly positive, and if a small handful of the people at the show actually show up on-line, it will have been a HUGE success. Next, I went to each creator's table to give them the rundown on CBN and the Emag, and received a pretty decent response once again. In fact, some creators gave me sample copies of their work for review purposes. (Look for the SMALL PRESS RECENT READS SPECIAL in this issue!) During all of the hyper-active net-pushing, Mike and I made quite a few connections with other comic-news media types, from COMIC BOOK NEWS and FLIGHTS OF FANTASY, which is about to go national. Expect to see plugs for CBN on CBN the televison show, and FoF's JEFF ARCHER writing editorial pieces for the magazine, among other suprises. I don't want to give too much away, but expect to see BIG THINGS as a result of the contacts we made at this Expo. After the Expo, we (Chris, Mike and I) hung out in the hospitality room drinking beer and scarfing down pizza with the creators and other industry types. I met alot of interesting people at this show, and had a great time. Before I knew it, the clock said 1AM and it was time to call it a night. I'd like to take this time to give credit where credit is due. One of the driving forces behind this event is a gentleman by the name of JON COHEN. He helped organize the event, and had his hand in just about every aspect of the Expo. Without him, I'm not sure the show could have been pulled off, much less been the huge success it turned into. Standing ovation for Jon! EXPO DAY THREE: Saturday Yep, you read correctly. Day three. (You can sit down now, by the way.) Because thanks to Chris Oarr, this special event was extended into Saturday. Chris thought it would be a good idea to have an AFTER EXPO PARTY, so being the go-getter that he is, he decided to take the responsibility for organizing one. And when this guy throws a party, man... he just doesn't know when to quit! He had three grills going all night long, as well as hor' dhourves, sodas, and a keg of beer! Not to mention the pinata he found the time to make. In attendance were creator MARTIN WAGNER, author CHRIS STAROS, organizer JON COHEN, and a host of others involved with the Expo, as well as Mike and myself. The funniest thing was watching Martin Wagner take swings at that pinata, failing to put more than a minor dent into the practically armored paper mache that Chris had made and wrapped in comic book covers. Apparently Jon Cohen had quite a bit of pent up frustrations, because he shattered that thing in true samaurai fashion, letting loose the comic related treasures for the crowd. I ended the evening with a SPACE GHOST marathon with a few Ghost diehards before calling it an evening. So there you have it, my adventures at the `95 Small Press Expo. It was an absolute blast, thanks to the work of all involved. MVP honors to Jon Cohen. I definitely plan on attending next year, and hope to see more faces from CBN and cyberspace as well! Drop me a line if you attended, with your highlights from the event. We'd love to hear them! Bill Hughes!! ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-4-/ Suspended Animation by Michael Vance ("Suspended Animation" is writer Michael Vance's weekly review column that can be found in newspapers across the country as well as HERE in the CBN E-Mag. Vance has written for numerous magazines as well as various comics publishers.) SUSPENDED ANIMATION - by Michael Vance Superheroes are really the Old Greek, Roman and Norse gods in new spandex.. All of Captain Marvel's and Wonder Woman's powers were borrowed from them. Flash was Mercury. And Thor was... Thor. The superhero Thor fell in love with a mortal woman back in the 1960's, and was banished from Asgard by his father, Odin. His theme song was "If I Had A Hammer," and he's been nailing criminals and super villains on earth for more than four hundred issues. In his early days here, he spoke with a heavy accent that sounded something like "By Odin's beard, thou likest it not," and would die on the spot for honor and justice, and, under the creative power of artist Jack Kirby, was very distinctive in the pantheon of Marvel's superheroes. Thor has since lost most of the accent... and his distinctiveness. I used to like Thor. It's still an average adventure comic book. But here's what I don't like now; It's one long, boring fight. There are so many characters that none have character and are interchangeable with any other set of characters from about any other title. Everyone talks incessantly while fighting. The art is cluttered and often fails at human anatomy and foreshortening. A plot driven by someone trying to conquer earth is tired and boring, as is switched identities between super heroes and villains. The quality of the comic book rises and falls with each creative team. Thor's writer, Roy Thomas, has done marvelous work in the artform, but this isn't it. And, right now, Thor is just thilly. Recommended for very young readers not jaded by repetition. MINIVIEW: "Dominique: Protect and Serve & White Knuckle Drive".. A former female FBI agent involved in television-reality cop-plots plus heightened violence. It needs it's own style. (feedback or comments may be sent to Michael Vance via Mike Imboden at comicbknet@aol.com or to 1:109/748 on Fido or 23:403/0 on CBN. All replies will be sent to Mr. Vance as soon as they are recieved.) ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-5-/ Recent Reads by William Hughes RECENT READS -------------- Small Press Special! Welcome to a special edition of RECENT READS. All titles listed in this week's column were picked up at the SMALL PRESS EXPO `95 held in Bethesda Maryland. ACOLYTE CHRONICLES #1 by Jim Johnson, Jeff Carns, Rich Seetoo Azure Press $2.95 (b/w) The ACOLYTE CHRONICLES is the first offering from the company AZURE PRESS. The remarkable thing about this company is that the average age of it's staff and creators is twenty-three. In fact, the president of the company is only seventeen years old! It's a rather remarkable accomplishment to self-publish a book in today's market, let alone before you're even old enough to drink. The book itself is in a high quality format, and it's on par with any black and white comic on the market from bigger companies. The artwork by JEFF CARNS reminds me of Larry Stroman's work on X-FACTOR a few years back. The story is about an evil being called Koranth, who has been building his powerbase for about twenty-two centuries. The only force that stands in his way is a being known only as The Acolyte. The Acolyte is even older than Koranth, and the main pitfall that keeps this being from taking the battle to Koranth is the fact that it must operate within a human host, and the host will inevitably die, leaving Acolyte to search out a new host, whom he must train for the battle against this world-hungering evil. This issue opens up with the death of a host, leaving the Acolyte to seek out a replacement. This was a suprisingly professional style and feel to this book. It had a few weak areas, where the sequence of events gets confusing, but only minor points. My only concern about the fledgling AZURE PRESS is that they may be trying too much too soon, with two more series in the works revolving around a "universe." I think they'd be well served to put out a single book of this quality over the continuity/universe school of comics. Overall, this was a good read, with a solid story for this action-based series to kick off. For more information on AZURE PRESS and ACOLYTE CHRONICLES write: Azure Press P.O. Box 527 Manassas, VA 22110 ====================================================================== PARAFRENIC #1 by Gary Cramer Calling All Heroes $2.95 (b/w) The physical body of this comic is somewhere between a mini-comic and a full-sized book. It's on a paperstock that's on par with most mini's, but it is standard comic size. The artwork is okay, but nothing to write home about, and the story is befuddled and lacks any direction. I honestly can't understand how or why this comic carries a cover price of almost three bucks. My suggestion to the author would be to either increase the quality of the title, or bring your cover price down on par with the mini-comics. If the comic is something to do as a hobby, or personal enjoyement, that's great. But if this is to be a marketable product, I suggest implementing some changes. In this issue, the character and world of Parafrenic are introduced and the story revolves around the character fighting his way thru the mean-streets of his neighborhood in an attempt to visit his mother. For more information on PARAFRENIC and CALLING ALL HEROES write: CALLING ALL HEROES 518 Pine Avenue Cumberland, MD 21502 ====================================================================== NEW WORLD ORDER #8 by Daniel A. Reed Blazer $2.95 (b/w) NEW WORLD ORDER is a science fiction/ super-hero-esque type comic that seems to pay tribute to the sixties and seventies. Early Marvel influences are definitely present, with a Jack Kirby feel to the overall story pacing. I think the book should run with that feel, and introduce a Kirby panel style as well. I didn't care for the two to four panel maximum per page. The classic style writing should be complimented with a classic style art sequence, in my opinion. On the lettering: Excellent job! I understand that was a minor problem with previous issues. Well, whatever the problem was, it wasn't present in this issue, fabulous job. This is a tale of galactic proportions, and I'm missing seven issues of the tale, but the gist of what the book is about is this: In the 21st century, mankind started living on space stations, and the new habitat caused them to evolve. This new offspring of mankind became known as the Evomen, and used their superiority to declare themselves a seperate sovereign nation. The scientific community on Earth responded by creating super-powered beings called Watchmen. If this power struggle wasn't enough, this crucial point in mankind's history has also awakened the Old Gods and Satan himself. Now all these factions are emerging, with the fate of the world in the balance. For more information on NEW WORLD ORDER and BLAZER write: BLAZER UNLIMITED 101 West 12th Street, #4-G New York, NY 10011-8108 ====================================================================== SHADES OF GRAY: COMICS & STORIES #5,6 & 7 by Jimmy Gownley Lady Luck Ltd. $2.50 (b/w) This is the series that appeals to me the most out of all the ones reviewed in this week's column, because it is unique. SHADES OF GRAY is the story of a small northern town and the people who reside there, both young and old. This is the kind of comic that has wide appeal, beyond the predominately male audience in the medium, and it's suitable for all ages. Books like this deserve our support because they will help the medium grow. I like the artwork alot, although it seems to go up and down quite a bit. Gownley's strengths lie in his character's faces, and detailed backgrounds without seeming too busy. I'd like to see more work on the bodies of the characters, but I'm sure that will come with time. The lettering is great, with one exception. _Too_ many _words_ are underlined! I understand that it's designed for inflection, but when it's done too much it becomes distracting. Another thing I'd like to see is more of the COMICS portion, and less of the text pieces. Slipping into a character's narrative once in a while is fine, but again, when this is used too often it becomes distracting. Besides, as a fan of sequential art, I prefer to see the words and pictures blending together to tell the story. I'd recommend this book to just about anyone. It's innocent, without being simplistic or boring. It's got a 90210 meets ARCHIE sort of quality to it, if that makes any sense? And, best of all, as Jimmy Gownley grows as an artist and a storyteller, your going to want to say you were there from the start! SHADES OF GRAY is available thru DIAMOND DISTRIBUTORS and CAPITAL CITY DISTRIBUTORS, so your local retailer shouldn't have trouble finding you a copy to check out. If you can't locate a copy, write: PLEASANT VALLEY POST OFFICE 219 A Street Giradville, PA 17935 ========================================================================= STRANGE ATTRACTORS #1-9 by Michael Cohen and Mark Sherman RetroGrafix $2.50 (b/w) Retrografix is certainly a perfect name for this company. STRANGE ATTRACTORS has many elements that fit the retro theme, and the series reminds me of the saturday morning movie serials like FLASH GORDON that I used to watch on television. (That's right, tv. How old do you think I am, anyway?) I must admit that I wasn't very impressed with the first issue. It seemed as though too much was going on at once, and too quickly. I felt that characters weren't properly introduced, and that the stage was not properly set for this series. In fact, it wasn't until about issue three that I started really getting interested. Then by the end of number five, I was addicted. Once all the building blocks are in place, this is really a fantastic series. Interesting plots and subplots, great characters, and cool, unique art. It really is a top notch series, sure to please comic fans. The book revolves around an adorable character named Sophie, who is a curator of a museum. Her only companion is her robot assistant, Roshi. Sophie just happens to be one of the universe's biggest comic book fans, her favorites being NURSE NEBULA and PIRATE PEG. After a series of events unleashes a new age of magic to the galaxy, Sophie discovers that one of her comic book heroines is a real-life adventurer, and the comics she grew up reading were merely propaganda and a way Pirate Peg passed coded messages thruout the galaxy. Enlisting the aid of Pirate Peg to rescue a close friend in danger, Sophie uses her knowledge of comic books to help her on her own quest for adventure! I'm not doing this book justice with this synopsis, but I don't want to give all the fun away. Do yourself a favor and check out this book, you won't be disappointed. My only regret is that I didn't space the issues out better. I read all nine in two days, now I have to wait just like everyone else for the next issue! Sigh... STRANGE ATTRACTORS is available thru DIAMOND DISTRIBUTORS and CAPITAL CITY DISTRIBUTORS, so your local comic shop should be able to get you a copy. If you can't find STRANGE ATTRACTORS, write: RETROGRAFIX 67 Emerald Street #623 Keene, NH 03431-3626 Or you can contact them via E-Mail at: marks@henson.cc.wwu.edu ======================================================================= That's it for this Small Press Special Editon of RECENT READS. Look for more RANDOM THOUGHTS/RECENT READS next issue, with two more Small Press offerings that I didn't have time to get to for this issue, SNOWBLIND by Martin Wagner and RUBBER BLANKET by David Mazzucchelli. Bill Hughes!! ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-6-/ CSNsider contributed by David Leblanc This is the CSNsider from CSN #421, which will be in shops on 7/12/95. It is reproduced in its entirety with the expressed permission of COMIC SHOP NEWS. Talk about long publishing gaps: thirty-three years after the release of Amazing Fantasy #15, Marvel is preparing to release Amazing Fantasy #s 16-18 this fall; the three issue series by Kurt Busiek and Paul Lee will fill in the gaps between the events of Amazing Fantasy #15 and Amazing Spider-Man #1... It's a Conspiracy!: Paradox Press's Big Book of Conspiracies, originally scheduled for release this summer, is being pushed back a couple of months -- but the reason is much less mundane than conspiratorial minds might imagine. Actually, a shipment of artwork was lost and is having to be recreated... A bizarre rumor has been popping up on the 'net that acclaimed comic book writer Neil Gaiman died in mid-June; Neil assures fans that he'd be one of the first to know if he had died, and he hasn't heard anything about it yet, so he can only presume that he must be alive and well... Not only has Shuriken been popping up in the Ultraverse recently, but fans can look forward to the martial-arts heroine to appear as a member of the New Exiles in September -- with Juggernaut as one of her teammates! Of course, all this is part of the Black September intercompany crossover storyline ... In case you didn't notice, veteran comics writer Gerry Conway, co-creator of The Punisher, has been busy in the world of teevee; among other things, he's written episodes of Under Suspicion and the comic-book-like The Point Man... Scott Hanna has signed on to finish the inking on the J.M. DeMatteis/Mark Bagley Spider-Man/Batman crossover book slated for fall release; Hanna picks up where original inker Mark Farmer left off. The 48-page one-shot pits the heroes against the Joker and Carnage... Fox's Alien Nation: Body & Soul, the second Alien Nation telefilm, is scheduled for fall airing; the third film, Alien Nation, Millennium, in which Sikes and George expose a dangerous end-of-the-millennium conspiracy, will premiere later in the '95-'96 television season... At long last, Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira is back on Marvel's schedule; Akira #34, a $6.95 64-page comic, is scheduled for August 17th release... Mickey Spillane's Mike Danger has been extended from a six-issue miniseries to an ongoing series due to positive reader response; Max Allan Collins will continue as writer of the series. CSN #421 features a cover feature on The Alliance from Image Comics plus more news and reviews. The only way to get Comic Shop News is to visit a shop that carries CSN. The publication costs the shops just a dime each and is generally free to customers. If your shop doesn't carry CSN, nag 'em until they do. After all, isn't your business and satisfaction worth a dime a week? Visit our WWW site! http://www.actwin.com/csn Ward Batty wardo@netdepot.com Cliff Biggers cliffbig@netdepot.com (c)1995 CSN, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Contribued by: ....----====*David LeBlanc> ComicBkNet@AOL.COM david.leblanc@gaquatic.iii.net RIME->5179 FIDO 1:322/743.1 ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-7-/ Komic Komments by John Keady : Adv of Sup. #526 : DC Comics This is one of the rare times I finished a comic and went WOW! This issue involved racism, sexual harrassment, homicidal maniacs and just plain excitement! The art in this issue was very good and I would venture to say that this issue was one of the best Supermans in almost a year! VERY GOOD! --- : Outsiders #21 : DC Comics A two chapter story with different artists made for a rather enjoyable story! In Part 1, Technocrat battles a similarly armored killer who's identity remains a mystery. In part 2, the team heads to Russia to find out why a town and it's population has disapeared and the answers lead to Apokolypse! Both guest art teams did a prett good job. I had planned on leaving after Pelletier left but may stick around a little while longer! GOOD --- : Steel #18 : DC Comics Steel continues to search for his missing nephew while Chindi goes after the bounty placed on Steel's head. The art on this one was not so hot but at least the story has improved slightly in recent issues. I am still waiting for this title to reach it's full potential but it seems to be headed in the right direction, at least for the moment! AVERAGE --- : Green Lantern #65 : DC Comics Part two of the Siege of Zi Charam would make this particular issue rather forgettable. Rob Lim was the guest artist and I came away rather unimpressed and really looking foreward to Pelletier's three issue run next month! I had originally thought Kyle's joining the Titans a good thing but these continual Titans storylines in GL has soured me on the idea. Maybe when they revamp the title after New Titans #130, they'll provide a better balance between the two books! BELOW AVERAGE --- : Ghost #3 : Dark Horse Comics Elisa Cameron must face the demons within her own mind as she is forced to face the horrors from within. The art on this book is still among the best I read these days! GOOD ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-8-/ Recent Reads/Random Thoughts by William Hughes : GENERATION X #5 : Marvel Comics Still digging the Chris Bachalo art on this book, it's a shame he's leaving already. Of course, it's to do a book that'll probably be more enjoyable than anything going on in a mutant title, so that's okay. My one complaint about him this issue is his rendition of Wolverine. Last ish Gateway is looking like a three foot dwarf, this issue, Wolverine could arm-wrestle the Hulk. --- : AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #404 : Marvel Comics Maximum Clonage? Maximum Crap-age! The direction of this story should be sickening anyone who has ever called themselves a fan of Spider-Man. And I'm not complaining about the Ben-Reilly-is-the-real-one stuff either. I'm talking about the reaction and personality of the guy in the Spider suit. I don't care if he is the clone or not, the guy we've followed for the last twenty years would not act this way!! No matter what he was feeling, he wouldn't run off with the Jackal. I've had a problem with the direction of this character for some time, but I've held on because of this clone story. No more. It's time for me to jump ship on the Spidey titles. --- : X-FACTOR #113 : Marvel Comics Guest artists have taken over Marvel Comics. It's not too bad though, Jerry Bingham does a decent job, although I'd like to have a few panels here and there replaced. It's another all-action issue, I hope the book slows down soon and explains what happened to characters like Guido and Rahne. Just one word balloon saying they're gone isn't enough. The high from AoA is starting to wear off. The X-books better get themselves back together in a hurry, or Marvel will be in a WORLD of hurt. It's the last beachhead they've got... --- : BLOOD SYNDICATE #29 : DC Comics Hey, this READERS CHOICE promotion from MILESTONE is two for two! With me, anyway. This is the second book from the R.C. program I've picked up, and the second one I've decided to add to my monthly pull list. I never cared much for the way the characters were represented in the other MILESTONE books I picked up, but in these books, I've changed my mind. Again, good idea having the synopsis in the front of the book. New readers may not know all the characters involved, but they are given enough introduction to know what's up with the main elements of the story. It makes it real easy to jump on to a MILESTONE book at any point, you don't have to be there from the first issue on. MILESTONE is really putting out some high quality comics. I encourage everyone to check them out, especially BLOOD SYNDICATE, ICON, HARDWARE and STATIC. --- : BLACK LIGHTNING #7 : DC Comics This issue features GANGBUSTER, from the Superman family of books. It's nearing the end of Isabella's run, and that saddens me. He's doing a great job with this character, it's a shame noone at DC gave him a chance. When Isabella leaves this book, so do I. --- : SUPERMAN #103 : DC Comics This issue is worth it for the Gil Kane art alone. The story is decent, nothing outstanding or anything. Jimmy Olsen's reaction at the end of the comic was a played out a bit flat, I think. I think I've just lost interest in the characters again, because other than the Kane art, it just felt like the same ol' same ol'. --- : SOVEREIGN SEVEN #2 : DC Comics I still feel like I've jumped onto a moving train or something. When are we going to get an indepth explanation as to what is going on? WHO are these characters? WHY are they together? WHAT is ther purpose? I'll only buy this book on Claremont's legend for so long. Of course, Dwayne Turner's art is pretty good. It's the saving grace of the book in fact. The story in this issue is okay, but it's stuff happening to complete strangers. I don't feel anything for these characters, and that isn't my fault, it's Claremont's for not putting anything of substance into the first two issues. This one has one more before I quit ordering it... --- : NEGATIVE BURN #23 : Independents Negative Burn is the anthology title put out by Caliber Press. It's black and white and sells for $2.95 an issue. This issue features work by Brian Bolland, Paul Pope, Len Strazewski, and (the infamous) many more. I originally ordered this book for LAST OF THE HERO SOCIETY by Len Strazewski, and it was okay, but not the best this issue had to offer. I liked THE CREEP by Phillip Hester quite a bit, it's a funny story about a high school girl who is possessed, until a character called the Creep shows up to help her out. The FIEND by Brian Clopper was a hoot as well. Paul Pope was cool, although his piece was too short. I'd say the comic is worth checking out for THE FIEND and THE CREEP stories alone. --- : BACCHUS #2 : Small Press First off, Eddie Campbell wins points this week for his introduction about THE COMICS JOURNAL and DAVE SIM. What did the hairy arsed Frazetta think? The artwork on this issue seems much crisper, easier on the eye. For that reason I enjoyed this issue a bit more than the first. One thing that's throwing me off on this book is the way the first story is out of sequence with the second half of the book. I know Campbell is reprinting the earlier works in conjunction with the new KING BACCHUS tale, and while this may be fine for followers of Campbell and Bacchus, it just isn't working for this newbie. While I enjoyed this issue, it still not grabbing me the way I expected it to based on all the hype surrounding the book. I'll give it a few more issues to reel me in, but I dunno... --- : DIATOM #1 of 3 : Small Press DIATOM by Dan Couto and Glen Hanson I ordered this book based on the solicitation, because the concept of a photo-comic sounds very interesting and appealing to me. The cover price of $4.95 is a little steep, but I'll try anything once. DIATOM reminds me of BARBARELLA, the old Jane Fonda flick, with a male/female combo in the lead. They come from a planet called Halcyon, where good and evil divided into two distinct worlds. (very similar to New Genesis and Apokalips in the DCU) Somehow, the evil world gets ahold of a mineral that is vital to the survival of the good world, and will only exchange it for the two purest citizens of the good world, and their half of some ancient scroll. This book was pretty interesting reading, more because of the original packaging of a photo comic than any story substance. I'd recommend it to hard core fans of sequential art, so they can see how the artform works with something other than drawn pictures. --- Bill Hughes!! ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- /-9-/ Feedback Subj: ATT: Recent Reads Date: 95-06-27 11:03:20 EDT From: MCEE@isma.mhs.compuserve.com (Mamading Ceesay (2311)) To: COMICBKNET@aol.com Hi Bill, Thank you for your kind response. I'm actually based in the UK, and I hang out on CompuServe in the Comics Forum. If CBN get a London-based UK node, I'd join in the fun. Generation X is the freshest, and most entertaining of the X titles, the rest of the line I can take or leave but Generation X is essential. #6 saw the return of the real White Queen, I thought Emma Frost had gone soft, but this issue shows that's she still as cold as ice and twice as hard! I also really appreciate the return of Artie and Leech. The issue ended on a real cliffhanger. I'm going to miss Bachalo's art while he's on hiatus from this title. The Lobdell/Bachalo team has the potential to rival the Claremont/Byrne team. Sovereign Seven #1 was nothing special, #2 likewise, but that having been said, there are some intriguing elements:- e.g. Maitresse - Cascade's mother; the mystery of Crossroads which looks to be some interdimensional nexus, the sisters being its keepers hence their influence with Darkseid, their cat probably changes into a very large and fearsome guardian demon. To date, this title ain't worth the hype, but it may well build up into something worthwhile. GL #64, to be honest I didn't see the point of this storyline, Hal was just used to create conflict and re-affirm for the umpteenth time that Kyle is GL, hell we knew that already much to our regret. The only thing that makes Kyle sympathetic is his loss of Alex. the Hal in Wonder-Coast City ending was not to my taste, and does not do justice to Hal or Ganthet whose sacrifice made it possible. Hardware is just one example of what makes Milestone arguably the best superhero line published today. Other imprints/publishers have more titles, more household name characters and all that, but Milestone comics are consistently written and drawn to a high level of quality and thoroughly entertaining to boot. Even when the title characters seem to be generic (ie. Hardware - armoured hero, Icon - Superman clone) the depth of writing and the original approach makes the result far superior to most superhero comics out there. I could drop most of the comics I read tomorrow and not miss them, but I would fight tooth and nail for my monthly dose of Milestone magic. Starman is not as readable as Robinson's Firearm, now that I think about it, but still very enjoyable. This is going to be one of those titles that reads better collected in Trade Paperback format than read from month to month as it comes out. I'm a big Robinson fan, and IMO if you don't already have the complete Firearm run (#1-18), you're missing out. I'm waiting for the Golden Age TPB myself. Regarding Akira, there are about 11 Akira TPBs published by Epic, I've got all of them. Unfortunately, Epic is no longer with us, so the story has been left incomplete. Another company (I don't recall the name at the moment) are reprinting Akira in near-phonebook-sized TPBs from the beginning, an ideal opportunity for you to jump onto this epic storyline. Akira is undoubtedly Otomo's masterwork, the movie version created a massive anime craze in the UK. Solar #48, this is the one issue of Dan Jurgens' run, that I'm missing. Over here, the Jurgens Solars are flying off the racks, for good reason this is great stuff! Regards, Mamading Ceesay (MCEE@ISMA.MHS.COMPUSERVE.COM) --| RESPONSE |------------------------------------------------------ | | | Hey, it's great to hear from you again! We'd love to find boards | | to join overseas. If you have any favorite bulletin boards over | | there that may be interested in picking up the network, give us | | their number, we'll try to get them online for you. | | | | Again, you've written a very thoughtful letter with many | | interesting points. I'm afraid I can't respond to all of them | | here in the E-Mag due to size restraints, but I'll be sending you | | personal E-Mail as well. One comment I'd like to make here | | though: Your assessment on MILESTONE COMICS is dead on. Since | | reading my first issue of HARDWARE, I've also picked up on BLOOD | | SYNDICATE, another outstanding title. This line has everything a | | super-hero fan could want. I encourage everyone to check them out.| | | | - Bill Hughes!! | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- --- Subj: Information Date: 95-06-21 22:03:26 EDT From: phscs@bluefin.net (phs) To: ComicBkNet@aol.com Greetings, My name is Toni W. I'm writing for a Mr. Chapney (since I have I-net E-mail access and he doesn't =) ) about getting some info on various comic book networks/forums and if your org. would be interested in buying/selling/trading with Mr. Chapney. He runs a comic book shop here in Portsmouth, NH. Please write back with any information you have and if you'd be interested to phscs@bluefin.net Thank you for your time. :) --| RESPONSE |------------------------------------------------------ | | | Hi Toni! We had a couple BBSes in New Hampshire, but they both | | shut down this past week. Hopefully someone else will pick it up. | | The ComicBook Net has a conference called "Back Issue Bin" where | | other collectors buy/sell and trade, all the other conferences are | | reserved for conversation about comic books themselves. We're not | | really that big on the marketplace aspect of the industry, more | | like a place where fans and pros just chatter about comics. ;) | | | | - ed | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- --- Subj: Comic Book Network Date: 95-06-29 13:04:17 EDT From: nharding@cix.compulink.co.uk (Neil Harding) To: ComicBkNet@aol.com Hi, I just got a hold of a copy of some of the issues (3-5) of Comic Book E-Mag. Do you run a mailing list for it, if you do can you add me to it. I'd also like permission to upload them to a UK based bbs system called CIX, is that ok? BTW I used to work at Malibu Comics Interactive (I was working on the Game Gear version of Prime) would you like me to write any articles for you. Thanks. Neil Harding --| RESPONSE |------------------------------------------------------ | | | Your request will be forwarded to our network mailer and expect | | future issues to your E-mail address. | | | | EDITOR'S NOTE; Hi Neil! You should see this issue in your mailbox. | | BTW: to others, if you would like to see issues automatically sent | | to you through internet, leave a message to: Xenozoid@cris.com, | | Ryan Brewster is doing the honors, a round of applause to him! ;) | | | | You can upload the E-Mag as is, please do not alter it, shorten or | | add to it. It contains lots of info about the ComicBook Network | | and the contributors deserve full credit. | | | | We welcome, even beg for contributions so send them to our E-mail | | address here at: ComicBkNet@aol.com | | We welcome articles on comics, games, toys, related tv and movies, | | Science Fiction, industry personalities, just anything remotely | | related to comic books. Hope to see something soon! | | | | ---====*David LeBlanc> | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Send feedback to: Internet .......... ComicBkNet@aol.com Fidonet ........... ComicBkNet at 1:324/134.0 ComicBook Net ..... 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