------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE COMIC BOOK NET ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE - ISSUE NUMBER 56 ________________________________________________________________________ World Wide Web Page------>> http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet ------------------------------------------------------------------------- o \o/ _ o _| \ / |_ o_ \o/ o /|\ | /\ _\o \o | o/ O/_ /\ | /|\ / \ / \ |\ /) | ( \ /o\ / ) | (\ / | / \ / \ This publication is brought to you by the members of the premiere BBS network for the discussion of comics books and the people who create them, The ComicBook Network!!! Edited by: David LeBlanc [ComicBkNet@aol.com] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The ComicBook Network was founded by Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden ------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you wish to receive these issues automatically through your internet account, please address a message to ComicBkNet@aol.com to be placed on the subscription list. ________________________________________________________________________ T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] On the Net ............................ David LeBlanc [2] Letters to the Editor ................. Your Page! TRIVIA CONTEST......................... Guesses & Answers [3] CBN Insider ........................... News, gossip, & rumors [4] Suspended Animation ................... Michael Vance [5] INTERVIEW: Mel White .................. Keith O'Brien [6] Wanted: Artists & Writers ............. Various [7] REVIEW: Hilly Rose .................... David LeBlanc [8] Keady's Komic Komments ................ John Keady [9] New Comics Shipping 4/29/96 ........... Bobb Waller [A] How to join ComicBook Network.......... BBS 101 [B] BBSes Linked into CBN.................. CBN node list [C] E-Mag Info: Submissions, Subscriptions, Back Issues, Copyrights ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] On the Net by David LeBlanc So, anyone find out if there were any of John John's old comic books on the block at the Jackie O' auction? I mean if his high chair sold for that much, just because he sat in it, can you imagine what his FF #1 would sell for??? Hmm, was there a comic version of P.T. 109? The more I do, the behinder I get. I keep getting cool stuff in the mail from you guys. This week I review Hilly Rose (many thanks to B.C. Boyer for sending issues 1-5, now I have yet another title on my pull list!) from Astro Comics, next week it will be Innocent Bystander which everyone should reserve right now before #2 comes out. I got a huge package which turned out to be the CBN APA which claims I am now a member so I gotta submit something for the next issue. (thanks a lot Duke!) APA stand for Amateur Press Alliance, and is a self published magazine circulated among the members of the alliance. Each member submits a minimum number of double sided pages that have text or art about the theme of the APA - could be X-Men, could be Fantasy, could be anything the members agree to. The CBN APA is just comics and the members need to have Email or belong to a comic related network or conference like Comic Book Net or Fido Comics Conference. Each member sends in enough copies of his section to circulate to the rest to one person who is the central mailer (along with postage cost usually sent up front) and the central mailer collates everything and mails it to the members. The last thing I got was a disk with a bunch of reviews from an acquaintance on the aforementioned Fido Comics Echo, Keith O'Brien. I think everyone will enjoy his rather lengthy review this issue with Mel White of Laughing Coyote Press which publishes COYOTE, & TALES OF JERRY. The last Suspended Animation, for a while, is in this issue. I am running 2 "want" ads, one forwarded to the Emag, and one I found in Usenet. I always see people talking about how to break into the business so why not try these opportunities? John Keady and Bobb Waller round out the issue with their usual welcomed columns. Now, excuse me, I know this issue is not out as promptly as the last ones have been but things are just too hectic around here. On top of that I gotta figure out how to put the squeeze on Nate for that Sandman column he promised. Thanks for all the letters this time folks, which is where we begin each issue . . . David LeBlanc [ComicBkNet@aol.com] Editor The Comic Book Net E-Mag ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [2] Letters to the Editor If you want to comment on this or any previous issue, want to offer something for us to publish, or just want to shamelessly suck up to the editor to try and get your name in print send Email to: ComicBkNet@aol.com Note: letters of comment may be used in future issues of the CBN E-Mag unless you specifically request us NOT to use them. +++++ Subj UK Comicbook net site Date 96-04-20 08:50:34 EDT From SLWinetrobe@cqm.co.uk (Steven L Winetrobe) Hello there . is there any UK sites for CBN ? I run a BBS with my friend .. but we cannot afford to call the USA each day for the mail and stuff..... Do you know any way round this ? thanks [Hopefully, in the near future, mail packets for BBS systems will be available from the web page. Web BBSs already exist and the transfer of QWK compatible mail packets will become more common soon. The other way is for a US BBS to send packets to you via Internet Email, as if you were poling him for mail. You in return send him a normal mail packet upload the same way (both are UUENCODED or some such coding) I will post this to CBN to see if any of our SysOps are willing to do this and if so I will have them contact you. If we get the Web capability set up we will announce it all over.] +++++ Subj Link?!?!? Date 96-04-20 16:45:04 EDT From hamlinck@magellan.cloudnet.com Can I put a link up to Comic Book Net on my upcoming Small Press Comics page? I really enjoy looking through everything you have to offer, including all the stories on independents. Thanks, Andy Hamerlinck hamlinck@cloudnet.com [Thanks Andy, glad you want to turn on others to our efforts.] +++++ Date: Sat, 20 Apr 1996 09:02:29 -0700 (MST) From: gerbil@aztec.asu.edu (KEITH OBRIEN) Subject: Re: CBEM #55 Hello after too long. I forgot to snag your address after the last e-mag, but now that I have it I can mail off the disk with several interviews on it. Please leave the Phil Foglio interview for last as I am putting it in the next issue of Kluttered Visions. I'll send you a copy of the current one with the disk. [I got the disk and a NEW feature for our magazine. You folks will have to wait for that Foglio Interview a bit though] A comment on the National Cartoonists Society: You are welcome to join as long as you make at least half your money from cartooning. Does this mean that as soon as you are popular enough to make more money of licensing your characters that you can't belong? [I saw that on their page and thought the same thing. Like Shulz doesn't make more from merchandising "Peanuts"?] I am appalled that John Byrne is still planning to savage the Doom Patrol. No, I did NOT mean to type "salvage"... In the newest issue of COMICS RETAILER is a mention of a web site for small publishers. Contact Andrew Vaughan at Nightscapes, P.O. Box 889, Allen, TX 75013 (214) 727-4796 or at the web address, http://www.nightscapes.com/INDex [CHECK THIS ONE OUT!! - It is a great idea and full of many indy links. I have added it to our own page of Links] The Keith gerbil@aztec.asu.edu [All you indy, self publishers, and anyone else in similar situations involving, comics, trading cards, tarot cards, anything related to "visual fringe pop culture" should check out the advertising rates for Keith's zine noted above "Kluttered Visions" His ad rates are reasonable and circulation will get to the kind of audience willing to give your products a chance. Why not send him Email to learn more? Meanwhile, check out Keith's reviews in the next few issues of CBEM] Subj Just a few questions. Date 04/22/96 From bscott@rogidi.com > Its George Scott again but before I get to the questions I just want >to thank you for printing my email in an ish of you emag a couple weeks ago. >It was a bit of a shock to see it there and in it's entirety (it took up a >fair bit of room)! Well anyway, I just got ish number 55 and I noticed the >link for the batman page (www.dccomics.com) and I was wondering if you could >reply to this email, or print in an upcoming issue, a list of official comic >company home pages, and official character pages (produced by the companies) >that are on the web. [This is a large task, one >I< am not ready to undertake. Just trying to find them all, verifying they are official, making sure they don't change the URL and so on. The Emag is about comic BOOKS and devoted to that aspect. Spending most of my time making sure it is as good as it can be leaves little time left for cataloging web sites. As I suggested in my other mail, go to our links page, the RACM list is huge and you will find many more at ONLINE COMICS, and the above mentioned nightscape INDex. Happy hunting.] >So far I have only found the official Spawn and >Wildstorm pages, and you gave the address of the Dark Horse page in a >previous issue. Is that all? Don't D.C., Marvel, or other Image creators >have pages? DC's official page is the one that has the Batman series. Marvel is not official anywhere but there are lots of unofficial pages, again check our links page. Also try Jonah Weilands page which I am adding today. > I know D.C. is on AOL, but I'm not on that. Oh, also are there >any on Compuserve? Some of the creators have their own home page on Compuserve. They are like this one for Steven Grant: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/SDGrant/ Change SDGrant to SGerber and you have another. Maybe there is a list on CIS, I have not explored it. > Any help you can give would be much appreciated. Oh, >can you also tell me the WWW addresses for some other comic info mags? Not >that yours isn't great, its just that I want all I can get, you mentioned >Hero Online in the new ish but no url. The link is on our page, as is one for iNDY Magazine, and Wizard. I prefer not to start giving out URL's in the letter's page because it will just spawn more requests for others I may or may not know. >I noticed something about a Star Trek/X-Men comic? Is this for real!?! If >it is, am I right in suspecting that it is some kind of crossover with the >Star Trek crew and those famous mutants who have a few hundred comic >titles, a hit cartoon show, and a bunch of (in my opinion) crapy toys(I only >hate the toys)? This seems a little far fetched. Is this some kind of >continuation of your great April Fools edition? Please clear this up for me. I do not think it is a joke. I did not make it up, it came from inside sources. Lately Rich Johnston in his April Revelations says the creative team changed for the project. If it goes forward there will be more news in a month or so. >Anyway, thats all for now. Keep up the good work. Thanks +++++ Subj get next issue Date 96-04-23 16:01:45 EDT From ZEJM43A@prodigy.com (GUSTAVO R PONCE) As stated in your page, I am asking that the next and future issues of your e-mag be mailed to me. I enjoy it immensely and am glad that it's been coming out on a regular basis. +++++ From: William Hughes Subject:RE: CBEM #55 Date: Tue, 23 Apr 1996 Hey Dave, just wanted to drop a line and say, great issue! I especially enjoyed seeing all the reviews. They were well written, well thought out, and actually inspired me to check out some new material! Are these from newbies on the network, or an internet source? Bill Hughes!!! BHughes@riskguard.com [Reviews come from a variety of sources. Last time we had another Recommended Reading column from indy creator Joe Torres. Sometimes Marc Sparks will throw in a review or two, and I have been concentrating on the material we get from people who want feedback on their products. More reviews are welcome, so anyone who has something to say about some comics can submit a column for consideration anytime. I'm pretty easy on accepting things for printing. BTW, when are you going to send some Random Thoughts again? *8^) +++++ Subj Subscription request Date 96-04-26 12:27:51 EDT From laser10@ix.netcom.com (Phyllis Polansky) Could you please put me on your list of subscribers. I am just getting on-line and as an avid comic book reader I am browsing around trying to find sites that help me out. Yours seems like a nice little read. My E-mail address is as follows laser10@ix.netcom.com My 6 year old son who is also a fan made me have that user name. Doesn"t it just go well with a 30 year old woman? Take care and thank you. Phyllis Polansky [Well Phyllis, I have seen lots of handles, and strange addresses. I sometimes go by "Froghead" Does that sound like a father of two teenagers?] [TRIVIA CONTEST] A little bit better response this week, but the first one got it right out of the box. In reverse order: Date Sat, 20 Apr 1996 09:58:17 -0700 (PDT) From Sacks Family Subject Re: CBEM #55 Hey there! I love your mag! It's a ton og fun. Lady Shiva first appeared in an issue of Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter in the '70s, can't remember which ish. Say, #3? Thanks, Jason Sacks +++++ Date: Sat, 20 Apr 1996 10:14:35 -0500 (CDT) From: John K Parkin To: "David L. LeBlanc" Subject: Re: CBEM #55 Lady Shica first appeared in Green Arrow... +++++ Subj: Lady Shiva Trivia Date: 96-04-20 15:00:01 EDT From: EmilioTorr To: ComicBknet Hi Dave! This is my first letter to your e-mag. In response to your trivia question, Lady Shiva's first appearance was in RICHARD DRAGON, KUNG FU FIGHTER #5. Check this out, her real name is Sandra Woosan. Best Wishes and Success. Emilio +++++ Anyway, you get the idea and the first one to get it was last week's question poser, so turnabout is fair play! Subj: No Subject Date: 96-04-20 07:00:26 EDT From: cscherer@mgl.ca (Carl Scherer) More reseach has given Me an exact date of shiva first apperance it was in RICHARD DRAGON, KUNG FU FIGHTER #5 (January, 1976) Martin [Right you are Martin, and I hope you enjoyed the Cheezy Prize (tm)] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION: What month and year saw the first two Marvel Universe crossovers? Bonus prize if you also name which characters crossed into which books! IMPORTANT RULES NOTICE: The first correct answer to reach the editor wins the CHEEZY PRIZE(tm). The editor will be the sole judge as to which guess arrived first! Please be sporting and send only one guess at a time. LIMIT: ONE PRIZE PER MONTH PER PERSON! Submit your own trivia and win the CHEEZY PRIZE(tm) if you stump the subscribers! You MUST submit the correct answer with the question. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [3] CBN Insider - News, gossip and rumors from around the industry Where was Lois Lane? Actress Margot Kidder the actress from the "Superman" movies was missing for three days but showed up Wednesday 4/24 dazed and confused in a suburban L.A. back yard. She was moved to an undisclosed location after being treated ar the Olive View Medical Center. Police said she is undergoing psychiatric evaluation and her family has left L.A. to be with her. Kidder, 47, is said to be plagued with health and financial problems. Sgt. Rick Young of the Glendale Police told reporters she was dirty and frightened and paranoid claiming she had been attacked and was being followed. Police said they found no evidence of her being a crime victim. Friends and past co-workers, including Christopher "Superman" Reeve, and Richard Pryor vowed to support her any way they can. Of course the superstitious are circulating the "Curse of Superman" stories once again as they did after Reeve was paralyzed in a horseback riding accident. +++++ The rumor circulating that Darick Robertson will be taking over X-O for Valiant has been confirmed to me by a source I cannot disclose. That is, he said the deal had been discussed and was told so by Robertson, but at the time the deal had not been signed so it is still just considered a rumor. If Mark Waid does the writing, my source was told he would use ideas he had planned for Captain America. +++++ Jim Lee's HOMAGE COMICS may soon become the home of sanity in this crazy business! San Diego, 4/23/96 -- Homage Comics, the line of creator-owned comics published by Jim Lee, will be distributed on a non-exclusive basis, rather than exclusively through Diamond Comics, as was previously announced. Homage Comics launches in July with Astro City: Life in the Big City, a trade paperback that was solicited exclusively through Diamond. In August, Kurt Busiek's Astro City, Vol. 2, #1 and Strangers in Paradise, Vol. 3, #1 will both appear, and both will be sold on a non-exclusive basis, as will Leave it to Chance #1, which debuts in September. "Diamond has done a great job for WildStorm Productions and Image Comics," Homage founder Jim Lee said. "We're happy with that arrangement. But Homage Comics is a different entity, with a different sensibility and a different approach to distribution." Also news that Daniel Presedo, creator of Dream Wolves has signed on to produce a superhero genre book with the Dream Wolves mythos through Homage Comics in early 1997 +++++ From the Comics Journal - DC suffered a financial loss when it had to reprint more than 2 million copies of their 6 AMALGAM imprint comics because of an error on DC's part on the initial print. The books had contained DC house ads which directly violates the language of the contracts with Marvel. The error was not caught until proofs from the printers made it to DC offices in New York. The titles; Legends of the Dark Claw, Supersoldier, Amazon, JLX, Assassins and Dr. Strangefate; were only hours from shipping when Publisher Paul Levitz halted distribution and ordered the reprinting. Extreme measures were taken over the weekend to reprint the entire run and the reorder backup to make them ship on time. +++++ Hero Online reports: Bat-Women come together for Birds of Prey Birds of Prey, the Oracle/Black Canary one-shot released early this year, did so well plans are to make it a quarterly series written by Chuck Dixon. The series will be preceded by Birds of Prey four-issue miniseries written by Chuck Dixon and drawn by Matt Haley and will will feature Catwoman and the Huntress. The miniseries has not been scheduled for release yet, though work is already being completed. Rumors persist that the Spoiler, part of Robin's supporting cast, will become Batgirl in the near future. "We can understand why people would think that, with the movie coming up, but there are no plans for the book." explained Chuck Dixon. "As long as Denny O'Niell is the editor of the Batman titles, Spoiler will not be Batgirl." +++++ From this week's CSNsider in Comic Shop News #462, lots of things we already told you about, plus . . . The long awaited X-Men/WildCATs crossover is planned as a 4 part mini-series, but not until mid 1997 . . . Look for the Barry Windsor Smith new books from Dark Horse in July . . . The Gen 13 comic will spin off another series - The Deviants this summer . . . Did you know the FOX series KINDRED is based on the White Wolf game Vampire:the Masquerade? Says so in the credits! . . . The CROW:CITY OF ANGELS movie debuts August 9th, the comic from Kitchen Sink shows up a month earlier . . . STAR BLAZERS is about to become a live action film from TAE Productions and Voyager Entertainment . . . Frederick Schodt author of MANGA, MANGA has penned a second volume DREAMLAND JAPAN which will be out this summer with reviews and synopses of the latest manga . . . FLASH ARCHIVES is due out from DC in June with the first 8 appearances of Barry Allen and the last golden age flash story from FLASH #104 . . . while Marvel plans to bring back the Masterworks series, at the rate of 2 a year . . . SADE and ROSE & GUNN have moved to London Night . . . Dave Cockrum joins Peter David on Soulsearchers & Co. with issue #17 . . . Jack Nicholson is still negotiating with Tim Burton to appear in MARS ATTACKS! so stay tuned. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [4] SUSPENDED ANIMATION by Michael Vance "Do you see yon narrow road full of briars? That is the road to heaven, Thomas, though after it few inquire." It's gatekeeper is comics artist Charles Vess who encourages all to enter. Vess keeps a road map to almost forgotten folklore and myth in THE BOOK OF BALLADS AND SAGAS, an adaption of two ballads and one myth. 'Twas ancient ballads an' stories what influenced The Bros Grimm, Walt Disney, J.R.R. Tolkein, an' Bob Dylan an' Donovan during th' folk music revival o' th' late '50s an' early '60s. 'Tis a strong but small cult following what keeps 'em alive t'day. 'Tis obscure language an'''''''s what keeps 'em unjustly obscure. For example: "Her skirt was o' the grass-green silk/Her mantle o' the velvet fyne/At ilka [every] tett [lock] of her horse's man/Hung fifty siller [silver] bells and nine." That stumbling block is sidestepped by not literally adapting the three stories in this issue from the ballads or stories represented. The originals are published in whole at the end or beginning of each adaption with their obscure language footnoted for clarity. These visual songs are beautiful drawn in both realistic and more abstract, design-driven styles. But these divergent styles, changing from panel to panel and used to visually clue a reader that a location has changed, can sometimes be unsettling. When two or more styles divide a page, the effect isn't pleasantly jarring. For those lacking a taste for folklore and hidden wisdom, develop one....BALLADS AND SAGAS must not be overlooked. THE BOOK OF BALLADS AND SAGAS #1/$2.95, 30 pgs. from Green Man Press/Text by Sharyn McCrumb, Robert Walton and Neil Gaiman/ art by Charles Vess/ available in comics shops and by mail. MINIVIEW: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARTHA WASHINGTON [Dark Horse Comics]. Bleak short stories with a flicker of human dignity about the Second American Civil War, circa. 2012. Excellent art and story. (Mr. Vance is a professional writer having written for numerous magazines like CBG, Starlog and Comics Interview. His work has appeared in over 500 newspapers and he's had work published by Comico, Renegade, Innovation and Rip Off Press. SUSPENDED ANIMATION appears in 14 publications reaching 214,000 readers in the U.S., Ireland and Portugal.) ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] INTERVIEW: Mel White Keith O'Brien {Keith O'Brien (The Keith) is the publisher of a FREE Zine called Kluttered Visions. It explores the world of visual fringe pop culture thus dealing with visual medium like comics, cards, films (but not just audio, like music recordings) in the fringe i.e. not mainstream, and pop which means this stuff is available in quantities for people to own.(Videos, laser disks, comics, cards, etc). It is digest sized and packed with reviews, interviews, and information about all this stuff and is supported by paid advertising. He can be reached at: gerbil@aztec.asu.edu} Keith: I'm talking with Mel. White, the person in charge of Laughing Coyote Press which, of course, publishes COYOTE, TALES OF JERRY, and whatever else she can fit in. How did you get started in comics. Mel.: Well, you know, some people have totems, and I think that my personal totem, Coyote, got me into it sideways. I never intended to get into comics. Of course I never intended to get into cartooning either, but that was another story. I got into comics, basically, by being drafted. I had been in charge of a convention. Another position that I was drafted into and had no intention of being involved in but still ended up as convention chairman. Bob Asprin was invited to the convention. We had asked him for a bio piece and he had been very late in getting it to us. Finally, I had a lot of time on my hands then, I got a silly idea and I sent him a postcard I'd done, a picture I'd done, of a knight and a dragon playing cards and I said "If you don't send us that bio, we'll tell him that a full house doesn't beat a royal flush." Bob loved it. And when he saw me at the convention he said "What're you going to do with those characters?" Well, I'd drawn them and, gosh, I'll sell the print. He's saying, "Well you could do so much more with them!" And now he's spinning story ideas. While he was doing this, a Donning editor was sitting at the next table with her ears perked listening to Bob talking about the new property. Well now, she's interested in any new property of his and before I knew, the two of them were shaking hands over my body going "Yes, a comic book sounds great!" K: Thus was born DUNCAN & MALLORY. M: At that point I had a chance to back out, but it's my philosophy that if you say no, you may never get another opportunity. Saying yes doesn't hurt, and at the very worst, it's a learning experience. And that's how I got into comics. I had enjoyed doing DUNCAN & MALLORY, but after it came to an end I began to realize that there' a difference between being seen as a serious professional and one of those one shot wonders. There are a lot of one trick ponies who published one short story, one novel, one poem. One thing that's acclaimed and then they never do anything else again. And, even though I work at it only part time, something in my self pride said "I'm for real. I'm not just a one trick pony. This was not a fluke." And so I went on to create COYOTE, sell him, and then the other things too. K: You've obviously been drawing longer than you've been cartooning. What kind of training, background do you have? M: None. K: None whatsoever? M: I had some art classes during the summer when I was a kid. I had some art history courses when I was in college. And one life figure drawing course, and that was it. The rest of it I developed myself. I actually turned to cartooning because we had this art club in college lo, those many years ago. One of the things you did as part of your initiation was to go in a room without any mirrors and draw yourself. And, of course, everyone would laugh at the results. You know, at that time, I had very low self esteem and not much self confidence. The thought that they would laugh at me... I had been laughed at by a lot of people because I was very shy and awkward. I was also very homely. I didn't want to be laughed at again. At least not to be made fun of. If they were going to laugh at me it was going to be because I wanted them to. So in the week before that was due I sat in front of the mirror and practiced caricaturing my face. When it came my turn, I did a funny cartoon. And that's how I learned to cartoon. I looked at DOONESBURY a lot, and Don Martin, and Kelly Freas. Those were my three early influences. K: Have you been doing any other artwork besides cartooning? M: Oh boy! K: I take that as a yes? M: I think I'm one of those people that will try anything once to see if it doesn't kill me. And if it hasn't killed me I'll try anything twice just to see if the experience was really interesting. So I've been doing things like electronic art. I did a little bit of animation. I've worked in clay. I worked in POGs. I did a mask out of POGs. A very ferocious looking mask. They were all Clint Eastwood POGs with the caption on them: "Go ahead punk, make my day." I've done miniatures. I've done pipecleaner sculpture, I've done playing cards, I've done rubber stamps, and I'm sure I've done some other things. But you get the picture, I'll try anything once. And I'm currently involved in some artists groups that are not fannish or cartoon, but the standard "bluebonnets and windmills" school. So I'm learning to do that sort of public art. They also have the occasional "found sticks and rocks sculpture" so I throw together some of those things for some of their shows just as a challenge, to learn to grow. K: Back to comics, since you're a publisher you have a number of titles. What are you publishing these days? M: Currently I'm publishing, on a yearly basis I would say... K: Better than some companies. M: Well, I would like to think that I'm doing a quarterly. But what has happened is that I've had to take a second job and now my kids are both teenagers. So I'm doing things like teaching them to drive. And they're at a very busy point in their life. I've got some online duties as well as being system administrator on Internet in some of the game areas. So my publication schedule has dropped. I'm saying that I'm publishing on a yearly BASIS THE TALES OF JERRY. Which is actually retitled JANE J. OLIVER'S TALES OF JERRY, THE VAMPIRE. Continuing her characters as she wished. I'm doing COYOTE. I'm doing, as a once a year one shot, just some of my weird stuff that's been hanging around with oddball things that I do: SUMMER DREAMS. And I'm going to make that a yearly. I do the occasional SHADOW PATH and the occasional SHAKEDOWN CRUISE. I'm putting together, actually on a quarterly basis from material other people are sending me, FOLKTALES. That's all I can remember right now. There's one or two hiding. K: That's okay. Let's look at a couple of the titles. Like FOLKTALES. That seems to indicate that you're telling folktales. M: Oh that's a title I'm having a lot of fun with because I'm taking other people's material and I can be flexible. I'm a great lover of folktales. Matter of fact, I have a big collection of them at home from all over the globe. I love reading the old stories. There are neat spins you can take on a lot of classical tales. One of the career paths that I have for myself is I'm an oral storyteller 'cause I have a great wealth of material. I know that I like reading it, people like hearing it, and other people like folky tales. We have a venue now where people can put these folk stories into a publishable format. One of the sources for it, as a matter of fact, is on an Internet game area called BRAZILIAN DREAMS, where we tell short short stories each week. And a number of short short stories have appeared in FOLKTALES. Some very charming stories. There's an energy in some of the short forms, as well as the long forms, that is very charming, very engaging. It's a very unusual form. In the short pieces you also have to stretch yourself sometimes, artistically, in illustrating them or in drawing them as well as verbally because you're telling a more complex thing in such a short time frame. Everything must be tucked. And it's an interesting challenge to tell a folktale. It's not a novel, but something told in fifteen minutes. It's an interesting challenge to put in the drama, and the elements, and connect them in a short space of time. Since this is a venue for it and I'm enjoying publishing it a lot, I've got some nice material for it. K: That seems to tie in a little bit with Coyote who is a southwestern Indian type of folktale. Then you've also got the outerspace stories. M: Those I had a lot of fun with. There's another two in outerspace and another one that's about Internet as well, which is not quite outerspace, but electronic space. COLONEL BOGIE. I wanted to tell some stories about military life and I wanted to tell it from the way a professional military man would see it. My family is all professional military. I'm the only civilian in my side of the family. My mother was navy, my dad was army... K: They get along? M: Yes, they get along. It goes all the way back to one of my ancestors, General Grant. It wasn't until I was out of college for many years and tripped across an article on the difference that army brats had to deal with in coming from the army world into the civilian world that I realized that we actually had a very different mind set. Growing up with this, I had a very different mindset than most people. And when I see a lot of the quote, military comics, my reaction is the same as my family's. That a military commander wouldn't do this. He would never call down a strike. This doesn't make any sense, and military people don't behave like this. Or they do at the enlisted men level. The people who drop in for two years and then drop out. But this is not the look of the army from the professional. And so I wanted to tell about a colonel, and particularly address some of the women's issues. A woman coming in. And instead of having the commander's wife who's in charge of the officers' wives' clubs, now we suddenly have the commander's husband with all the officers' wives who are looking at him a little bit clueless. He's got to deal with the social side because this is what a commander's wife does. There are a lot of interesting elements that must fit. You as a commander, if you are a woman, have to establish your credibility. If you're coming into a base as Colonel Bogie is, where there was a commander who was very weak and played favorites, you're coming into a social structure, a command structure, that's been knocked on its ears and a unit that's actually in disarray and is not functioning well. Now my brother, who has been a base commander, has seen some of these elements at some of the bases where he was. My father has seen it. So I'm telling things that I have seen and known about. It's a different army than you see at the enlisted man's level. And it's worth telling about because it's also, in a ways, something you see in the bureaucratic structuring and government in any large corporation. You see different management styles and what it does to the little person. You see people in the wrong jobs. You see morale problems. As a base commander, as with any leader, you have to deal with this. So it's also a story about being a leader in a very organized structure. And then you throw in things like an alien race. When you have an outpost living in a foreign country, you, as commander, have to deal with the people as real people. But you're unfortunately dealing with your men, your units, your troops, who deal with these people as subhuman. And if, as in Germany, they lost the war... I remember the troops had names for the German people, but I never related to them like that. I remember being appalled coming in and seeing G.I.JOE comics where the German people saw them. And they saw themselves portrayed as the ugly Nazis. And a lot of them weren't. They weren't Nazis. They weren't horrible people. For a lot of the ones who had been Nazis, their family had to live. You had to be safe. It was not necessarily something you agreed with. So, here are all of these issues that are interesting and are very complex. And complex issues that also touch on things that we deal with in our lives. Like foreigners coming into our neighborhood. Coming in contact with different cultures. And I like to pass along some of the things my family saw and dealt with because I think they're interesting and I think they're worth retelling. K: How many issues of this do you have out? M: None yet... I'm doing it first in Antarctic Press' FURRLOUGH. I did the first instalment last year and everyone has nagged me ever since then. So as soon as I get finished with the Dallas Fantasy Fair and Confurence East, my next two big conventions, I'm settling in to do A COLONEL BOGIE installment for Antarctic Press. And I've also got some COYOTE stories. Those two will be starting up in FURRLOUGH and in ZU. Or at least that's where I'm sending them to. I have reason to believe that they'll take them. They've both been nagging me for them. And then I will re-collect them and republish them later. K: And then in a completely different area, you're doing TALES OF JERRY, or JANE J. OLIVER'S TALES OF JERRY: THE VAMPIRE. M: I had trouble starting him out because I was taking over from a friend that I loved very much, a character that I enjoyed. When I started doing him, it just wasn't her Jerry that I was doing. When I tried to do him it was sort of him but it wasn't him. Then the drawing was never up to the standards I wanted. Everything I did about him I'd be happy with for a day and then I couldn't stand it and I didn't want to publish it. But one night, and this sounds really odd, I was sitting there. I had thrown away the fifteenth that I had tried to draw, and I seemed to hear a voice saying, "Hey kid, he's yours now Babes. Go for it!" Then Jerry started telling stories to me. And this is the way it happens. A character will come in, and if he's viable, then he'll start telling you stories. Then he started to tell me stories. He started to grow the picture of a world and flesh it out. Now it's a little different from Jane's conception and I don't claim to have a pipeline to Jane or what she was doing or what she had planned. I only know one of the stories that she had intended to tell. But I am becoming more relaxed with him. I recently realized that I could not do him as I wanted to as a full fledged comic. It had been too long since he had been published. I had too little contact with the vampire market, too little presence there. To come out with him again as a comic book with an investment of a three thousand copy print run would probably mean a very vast failure. And as a small press publisher you can't afford to drop fifteen hundred dollars on something that sells fifty to one hundred copies for three years in a row before you get your momentum. Therefore I'm switching him back to the digest size format. As we become more comfortable with one another, Jerry and I, I can develop some storylines I want to. Put him out as a digest size. Which is more affordable. Which is easier for me to do. Which is quicker to do. And resolve some of the layout problems that I still feel I have in doing a full size comic, get that resolved. And then after I send the kids off to college, then I can start putting him back as a full comic. I will have several years doing him, several more years of tension. I feel I can do him more justice as a comic if I take him first to small press and work out some of the problems that I see in my own style and layout. Then put him out as a comic. As something I think that Jane would have enjoyed. K: Half of your focus seems to be serious and half is humorous. Again, a very diverse company you have. What do you think makes a good humorous comic? M: Well, actually, you need the seriousness because, technically speaking, if you're doing a funny piece you want contrast. You want the serious to balance the funny. That makes the funny unexpected and it can make an added complexity to your product that makes it more than just a good grin and a read. I like a good grin as much as anyone, but if the good grin has got a point it makes it even better. For instance, Terry Pratchet is one of my favorite writers, in addition to Bob Asprin. Terry Pratchet did some very complex books. I can laugh and cry at the same book. His SMALL GODS recently, in the midst of a lot of laughter are some interesting points to think about. And I like literature like this. Literature that makes me laugh but makes me go hmmm. Brings a new concept, brings a new angle. Life in the universe as a very small tortoise when you are a god and you can't remember your life as a god before then. You only remember being a tortoise. And when your greatest enemy is the eagle, a mortal thing. Death, personified, being declared inefficient for his job and facing his own death. It's funny. It's tragic. The highs and lows make the book a trip you want to come back to again and again. And what I'm striving for is, not to be bland and funny, not to be incredibly serious, but to bring that smooth transition. The lows and the highs. To bring a grin at the end. Because I believe life is good and I believe that all people are basically good. And I believe that life's a lot of fun, and can be. But to recognize that there is a lot of sadness, there's a lot of unhappiness, there's a lot of tragedy. But I think what makes it worth living is the way that we survive it. The spirit and courage that we have. And that's the thing that you present as both sad and funny. I like books like that, so that's why I write and that's why my styles are so diverse. K: We know you like Robert Asprin and Terry Pratchet as far as book writers go, who do you like in comics? M: Who do I like in comics? Jeff Smith. I will buy BONE. Drew Hayes. I am addicted to POISON ELVES. WANDERING STAR. Donna Barr. I pick up anything by Donna Barr. I like Jim Groat's stuff too. I like a lot of the small press. I don't read that much mainstream. I used to read SHE-HULK. I loved SPIDER-MAN. Grew up on DOC STRANGE. I was secretly madly in love with Doc Strange. But a lot of the comics lately, for me, have missed the point. I don't want to see a lot of pages of gore presented in pages of complexity. I've seen a lot of comics lately that had been beautifully rendered, but in terms of plot have very little inside them. Unlike STARCHILD. That's rather meaningful. THIEVES & KINGS. That's been a fun one to read too. So I've found the more interesting things not in the mainstream, but in the small press. Away from the mainstream and Marvel. I have just really enjoyed a lot of the offerings there because they've been telling tales not necessarily constrained by the "in order to sell we have to have eighteen pages of people beating up other people and fifteen pages of gratuitous nudity." They can afford to do other things They can afford to step back and tell a story. What some of my favorites have honestly been the mix of text and graphics. K: Like THIEVES & KINGS. M: Yes, because I read very quickly and your average comic book is a three to five minute read for me. I read very quickly. After I've looked at the pretty art and done the three to five minute read I really kind of want something else to entertain me. So the mix of text and graphics, I feel, is a very viable direction. I also feel it's a very marketable direction for people not necessarily into comic books but who enjoy a lot of graphics. In a sense it's kind of like the kids' books for adult readers. I love looking at children's books and the beautiful illustrations. I adore children's books. K: Having worked in a library, I know there are a lot of adults like that. Most of them have children and they have that excuse. K: But you always see the librarians first ooing and ahing over some of the new books before handing them on to the adults who oo and ah and then they hand them on to the kids. M: Well see, I feel that's an under served market. I don't think that as adults we need to really be ashamed of going "oo, ah, here's a great book with beautiful graphics and text in it." I think there needs to be a market for that, too, because we enjoy looking at pictures and we can take a more sophisticated viewpoint. I think some of the graphic novels have attempted it, but I think there's room for expansion there. I think sometimes adults who feel uncomfortable with comics are actually open to them presented in this way. I don't think that they need to think comic books are strictly for kids. I don't think that women need to think comic books are strictly for guys with testosterone problems. And I think this is an area where you can reach a lot more people in mixing text and graphics. For myself, I think my work still needs a bit of growing. I like what they're doing in THIEVES & KINGS very much. I like STARCHILD very much. I look at them as some of my inspiration. POISON ELVES has been inspirational as well. It's odd text and graphics somewhat. And so I'm looking at these and seeing what those creators are doing and enjoying them very much and trying to incorporate it into my own style. It's a learning process. It doesn't come naturally, but it's an interesting journey. K: Thank you for sharing part of it. M: Thank you. NEXT UP: Trina Robbins ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [6] WANTED: Writers & Artists Two appeals for a chance to break into the business this week; first from our friends at Old Town Publications . . . WRITERS WANTED FOR TEXT STORIES IN DR. WONDER (New York, NY, April 24). Breaking into the comics business as a writer is next to impossible. But Old Town is offering aspiring scripters a chance to gain their first comic book credential-in a magazine featuring work by such well-known creators as Dick Ayers, Irwin Hasen, and Tony Isabella. Dr. Wonder is Old Town's attempt to bring back the classic style and lofty standards of the Marvel Comics of the 1960s. And to that end, each issue of Dr. Wonder from #2 on will feature a two-page text story, along the lines of those that Marvel ran up until the mid-1960s. Text stories have seldom appeared in comics in recent years. But Old Town Publisher David Allikas thinks they will prove popular with the readers of Dr. Wonder. "Our audience is certain to be among the most literate in comics," he said. "That means we'll have readers who will enjoy reading text stories-and readers who will be capable of writing them." Some guidelines: 1) Stories should be G or PG rated, as the readership of Dr. Wonder includes many young fans. 2) Around 1500 words is a perfect length for a two-pager; one-page stories under 750 words will be considered as well. 3) No stories featuring copyrighted characters will be accepted. 4) Great literary merit is a plus if you can pull it off, but if you can't, you'll stand just as good a chance by going for the charm and simplicity of those '60s stories. And, boy, are we suckers for a great twist ending! Stories can be submitted in any of the following ways: 1) E-mailed to: oldtownpub@aol.com -or- 102635.2723@compuserve.com 2) Mailed to: Dr. Wonder, c/o Old Town Publishing, P.O. Box 447, Franklin Square, NY 11010. Please send your story saved in text (ASCII) mode on an IBM or Macintosh disk, accompanied by a hard copy. If a disk is not possible, please send a clean printed copy, typed with a dark (not worn-out) ribbon, in a standard typeface (such as Courier or Times). 3) Faxed to: 516-327-2482. Writers whose work we publish will receive a nominal payment, plus copies. While you shouldn't plan on buying your week's groceries with it, it will enable to say that you've made your first professional sale. Published writers are equally welcome to submit. Got anything that's been burning a hole in the bottom of your file cabinet for years now? Here's your chance to share it with your fans! For an example of the type of story what we're looking for, refer to the sample on pages 8 and 26 of Dr. Wonder #1, in stores the first week of May. Or, you can order the issue directly from Old Town Publishing. Send payment of $2.95 (Canada and foreign, $3.50) to Old Town Publishing, P.O. Box 447E, Franklin Square, NY 11010. Check or money order is preferred. All issues are mailed boarded and bagged, guaranteed to arrive in mint condition. ### And a post from an established creator looking for an assistant . . . Subject: Be a Vertigo Artist! From: pgross@skypoint.com (PGross) Date: Fri, 19 Apr 1996 22:51:56 -0600 Message-ID: [I'm looking for a new assistant to replace the beloved Karen Platt who moved away to New York to become a famous painter. On the good chance that you rac.ers are, or know, artists galore I'm posting this to some of the comic newsgroups.] Peter Gross (Books of Magic, The Mask, Doctor Strange, etc.) is looking for an inking assistant/background artist. You have to live in the Minneapolis area or be willing to move there. Ideally, I'd like to find someone who could collaborate on the backgrounds so I can work on some additional projects for Vertigo, or even my own long lost Empire Lanes (anyone remember?). Pay is determined by the level of skill I can find. If your good I'll pay you good. This could be a long term collaboration if I find the right person. SKILLS: I'm looking for a high level of skill in inking. This is an absolute must! Working knowledge of perspective. Ability to sketch from life, a feel for architecture and environment. Ability to draw any given real object at any given time. Ability to work with photoshop and/or painter is a plus. SAMPLES: No Superheroes-- if you send me superheroes I will chuck them into the garbage. You will not get the job. If you send me something that looks like Edward Hopper drew it you are on the right track. I want to see 5-10 pages of samples of inked art(photocopies only). 2-3 pages of pencil work. Sketchbook type drawing is fine. Brief bio and educational info or current resume. For more info contact me at: pgross@skypoint.com Additional points for sending samples of your line art work via e-mail (mac power pc/something I can open in Photoshop). Hoping to hear from the perfect artist, Peter ### Good luck everyone! ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [7] Review: Hilly Rose David LeBlanc HILLY ROSE {Astro Comics} Black & White $2.95 ($4 Canada) Self published by B.C. Boyer There are so many nifty things to tell you about this comic it is hard to find a place to start. I guess the opening line of Issue #1, after the title and credits is as good as any. The first words of text: "WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR: You went to the store, picked out this comic, laid down your money, came home and opened it up." I like this guy already. I vaguely remember "The Masked Man" from B.C.'s days at Eclipse so I was curious about what he was up to these days. He was kind enough to send me issues 1-5 (note the former editor has also reviewed Hilly Rose in the past but I do not base my review on any opinions other than my own) and once I read them I grabbed the last #6 off the rack. It is not the perfect comic, but it has the quality of capturing my attention, engaging me in the story, making me laugh, making me think and care about the characters, and making me want more when I am done. That is enough for me to keep coming back for more. So what is this all about? First you need to know that this is a mixture of characters and genres. You have Hilly Rose, her father, Sidney the "Evil Incarnate" Guy, the Stranger, and Mrs. Tidwieller who are from all appearances regular people. Then there is Blossum who is a cartoony hafling sorta like Pogo who wants to hang around with Hilly. You have Bach who is a anthropomorphic dog trying to hire Hilly to be a reporter for his Earth Rocket Times, and the similar species Weasel Boys in cahoots with Hilly's dad and the faithful employee called Chemicals who is like Blossum. The whole story is filled with people, robots, cartoons, and animated talking cats, rats, birds and so on. This allows for some pretty funny stuff like the 2 foot Blossum taking on Sidney at about 3 times her size, or Sidney's robot trying out various new microchips with disastrous results. Thus the diversity adds to the possibilities, and Boyer mixes it up well. Now the plot; Bach is trying to recruit Hilly. Her dad, Steeltrap, wants her to stay and work for his paper, the Daily Horn. So he hires the Stranger, Sidney, and the Weasel Boys to create havoc and destruction while he steers Hilly right to the "exclusive" every time, thus boosting her (and the paper's) popularity. Bach suspects something is amiss and Hilly starts to uncover evidence that her Dad is mixed up in these terrorist attacks. Along the way we gradually learn about the loss of Hilly's mom, Sidney's secret birth defect, and the consequences of hiring a Janitor with a brain the size of a walnut; not to mention the Weasel Boy's preoccupation with their own sexuality, not that there's anything wrong with that, or with Bach's fascination with plants. Just when you think he is going real sappy on you, Boyer cuts to some slapstick humor that makes you laugh out loud. The sentimental stuff is a bit overdone at times, like he is trying to hard to get you to feel the emotions, but the transitions take you back to the thick of either action, or comedy or both. This may be a different read taken one issue at a time over several months. The next issue, #7, won't be out until August or September so that will test, for me, how it holds up during the wait. I must also say that the back covers are delightful fake covers of the ROCKET TIMES, done in Norman Rockwell style using the characters from the story. As my lead-in indicates, there is enough here to hold my interest and to make me want to keep reading it. That, in the long run, is the mark of a good comic in my eyes. Try it and see if you agree. Back issues of the latest printings are available for $2.95 each Subscriptions are 6 issues for $18, 12 for $36 (plus $1.50 per book for postage if outside the US) at: Astro Comics 4195 Chino Hills Parkway Suite 329 Chino Hills, CA 91709 Check them out on the World Wide Web at: http://www.insv.com/astro/ ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [8] Keady's Komic Komments By John Keady On to the reviews! Action Comic #722- Twister's a'comin.......and Superman tries to play weathermaker. After the last few excellent issues, this one was a bit of a letdown but still good reading! Superboy #28- Another month of the worst artist nominee!! Some of the panels in this issue made me cringe with how bad it was.....the story itself wasn't too bad but it is way too distracting when you see art work like this.... Guy Gardner Warrior #43- The second to last issue heralds the death of someone I wish didn't have to die.....Another supporting character that could have made a book better eliminated at the hands of the same villan that took a life in another favorite book of mine....I hope Gardner takes him out! Robin Annual #5- Another pleasant suprise for me as I picked this one up on a whim.....The future batman intrigued me as did the Logan's Run feel to the story.....not bad at all.... Detective Comics #698- The mysterious Lockup is revealed as he holds some of Gothams nasties in his own private prison....Not a bad issue though the villain wasn't particularly memorable...... ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [9] New Comics Shipping 4/29/96 by Bobb Waller Here a big list of what's scheduled to ship next week 4/30/96 from Diamond, Capital Cities and UPS/Heroes World. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abstract Studios: Strangers in Paradise #11 Alaffinity Publications: Greymatter #10 Amaze Ink: Scarlet Thunder #3 Swerve #3 Anime Books: Anime Movie Guide Archie Comics: Cheryl Blossom #1 Laugh Digest #128 Sonic's Friendly Nemesis Knuckles #1 Big Entertainment: Lady Justice #1 Black Eye Comics: Berlin #1 Blackout Comics: Jugular #1 Bongo Comics: Simpsons Comics #19 Claypool Comics: Elvira #36 Deadbeats #17 Comic Shop New: CSN #463 Coppervale Press: Starchild:Crossroads #3 Dark Horse Comics: Adventures of the Mask #4 Tarzan/Kojn Carter #2 DC Comics: Batman Black & White #2 Batman:SOTB #52 Big Book of Little Criminals Catwoman Annual #3 Green Lantern #75 Hitman #3 Icon #37 Pinky & The Brain #1 Power of Shazam #16 Preacher #15 Seekers into the Mystery #6 Sergio Aragones Destroys DC #1 Sovereign Seven #12 Starman #20 Steel #28 Superman #113 Terminal City #1 Wonder Woman: The Contest TP Decipher Cards: Star Wars:Unlimited CCG Booster & Starter Sets Diamond Publications: Previews Vol. VI #5 Drawn & Quarterly: Peepshow #9 Drawn & Quarterly V2 #5 Underwater #6 Entity Comics: Fem 5 #4 Nira X:Cyberangel #1 Skunk #1 Vortex:Second Coming #2 Event Comics: Ash (Current) #0 Ash (Future) #0 Fantagraphics Books: Love & Rockets #50 Orgy Bound TP Fire Man Comics: Scud The Disposable Assassin #12 Gladstone/Hamilton Comics: Donald Duck & Mickey Mouse #6 Uncle Scrooge Adventures #39 Walt Disney Giant #6 Image Comics: Black Ops #4 Cyberforce #22 Gen 13 #10 Glory #10 Maximage #4 Maggie the Cat #3 New Man #3 Spawn #47 Team 7 III Dead Reckoning #4 Wetworks #16 Kitchen Sink Press: Crow Collected:Directors Cut Oink:Heavens Butcher #3 Lightning Comics: Creed/TMNT #1A & #1B Marvel/Malibu/Fleer/Skybox: Alterniverse Visions: The X-Men TPB Dr. Strange #90 Fantastic Four #413 New Warriors #72 Spider-Man Team-Up #3 Venom: The Hunted #2 Ultraforce #7 Marvel Vision USA Basketball Maximum Comic Press: Asylum #4 No Mercy Comics: Sisters of Mercy #3 Planet Lucy Press: Ragmop #6 Pocket Change Comics: Riplash #10 Slave Labor Graphics: Action Girl Comics #7 Breakneck Blvd. #4 Destroy All Comics #5 Holy Avenger #1 Magic Boy & The Robot Elf Skelton Girl Comics #2 Skelton Key #10 Topps Comics: Lady Rawhide TPB Lone Ranger & Tonto:Velvet Dragon #1 Mars Attacks #7 Viz Communications: Battle Angel Alita:Part 6 #3 Fist of the North Star:Part 2 #6 Return of Lum:Part 2 #9 Warp Graphics: Elfquest:Metamorphosis #1 Wells & Clark Comics: Arcana #7 Wellzee Comics: Scooterman #1 ======================================================================= Man that was a long list for an industry in a slump!!!! See ya on the Spinners! ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [A] How to join the COMIC BOOK NETWORK (CBN) You too can enjoy the intelligent conversations and informative threads that occur in the conferences of the Comic Book Net every day! However, many people who read this e-mag aren't familiar with the Local BBS echo-mail system.... Bulletin Board Systems are scattered everywhere across the continent and the world, many of them are free! Chances are, if you have a modem you have the accompanying communications software. Using the Terminal Emulation software that came with your modem, you can dial up one of the many systems linked into CBN (see the listings down a few paragraphs). Most of the boards offer all the message echoes in the Comic Book Network... There are message bases devoted to all the bigger comics publishers, as well as big Small Press and Independent message bases, not to mention sections for general conversation, collecting, gaming and other forms of entertainment. If you are worried about long distance charges, worry no longer! Most if not all the BBS's offer a mail service from which you can download a .QWK packet of recent e-mail to read offline with a program called an offline mail reader. You can read & write messages at your leisure, and then upload your own messages & replies the next time you call your local BBS. There are many .QWK packet readers out there, for every type of computer system. They all give you a better explanation in their documentation than I can. These programs are available all over the Internet and are free to download from most BBS's. I recommend SLMR or OLX-TD for DOS to get started. These "mail runs" (dialing up, downloading the mail packet and uploading replies) generally take less than 5 minutes to accomplish, and at the average after-5pm/weekends/holidays long distance phone rates, that is LESS THAN $.75! See? Even less expensive than many of the commercial information services available! :) So what else can you find on free BBS systems? There are plenty of files for specific types of computers. Some systems also offer other types of message networks ranging from general topics to specific themes like sci-fi, role playing, games, music, etc. And, let's not forget online games. Join into the many different multiplayer games, each system sports different challenges. There's nothing like becoming the most powerful being in a online adventure! And when you _do_ log on, leave a message in The Bullpen conference to ALL, and introduce yourself to us! You're guaranteed to get plenty of replies and all the help you need to join in the fun! ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [B] BBSes Linked into CBN Here's the most up-to-date node listing for the COMIC BOOK NETWORK F=FIDO Q=QWK B=Both *=Major HUB -- ARKANSAS ------------------------------------------------------------- F* Karate & Comics & ... Russelville AR 501-968-3910 Robert Wood Conway PC Users Conway AR 501-329-7227 Tim Stone -- CALIFORNIA ----------------------------------------------------------- Q Freedom Flight Victorville CA 619-955-6445 Ronald Siodla Electronic RPO Newbury Park CA 805-498-8061 Kelly Cruise -- FLORIDA -------------------------------------------------------------- F Never Never Land Melbourne FL 407-253-8754 Wayne Bell Steel Dog Cafe Destin FL 904-654-1631 Keith Schultz Ghost's Realm Crestview FL 904-689-6664 Kie Dorton -- ILLINOIS ------------------------------------------------------------- -- INDIANA -------------------------------------------------------------- F The CyberSpace BBS Indianapolis IN 317-856-9020 Charlie Smith -- KENTUCKY ------------------------------------------------------------- Lex Corp Georgetown KY 502-867-0992 -- MARYLAND ------------------------------------------------------------- F The Vampyre Bar! Frederick MD 301-698-5194 Darryl Pierce F DataStorm Kettering MD 301-390-5243 Tarek Gordan F Bifrost Mount Rainier MD 301-779-9381 Kevin Carlin F Womens World East BBS Silver Spring MD 301-431-0647 Wendy Dumser F Sherata's Realm Mechanicsville MD 301-884-9732 Linda Peek -- MASSACHUSETTS -------------------------------------------------------- F Archives BBS Acushnet MA 508-995-0085 John Viera F Muskrat & Heatwave New Bedford MA 508-984-5321 Dennis Racine B* Keystone BBS Shrewsbury MA 508-753-3767 John Harris F HellFire BBS S. Dartmouth MA 508-979-8930 Brock Cordeiro B Call Again Soon Worcester MA 508-791-1281 Joe Johnson -- MICHIGAN ------------------------------------------------------------- F Intl. Comic Network Dearborn Hgts MI 313-565-8464 Anthony Palacio -- MISSOURI ------------------------------------------------------------- F The Oan Citadel Grandview MO 816-767-1488 Brian J. Stewart -- NEW HAMPSHIRE -------------------------------------------------------- Venom's World Rollinsford, NH 603-743-4188 Ira Locke -- NEW JERSEY ----------------------------------------------------------- Phoenix Modernz Systems Seaside Hts. NJ 908-830-8265 -- NEW YORK ------------------------------------------------------------- Asgard TW BBS West Islip NY 516-422-4225 Tom Pemberton Interzone BBS Long Is. City NY 718-786-5557 Jim Garvin F Starbase : Red Dwarf Saugerties NY 914-247-9601 John Dragun -- NORTH CAROLINA ------------------------------------------------------- F Electronic Hangover Durham NC 919-286-4542 Richard Lee F Psychotronic Durham NC 919-286-7738 Richard Lee F* TI-Raliegh Maximus Raliegh NC 919-833-3412 Walter Tietjen F Crystal Winds Raliegh NC 919-790-3599 Mike Gurkin F Federal Post Spring Lake NC 910-436-2055 Frank Koza -- OKLAHOMA ------------------------------------------------------------- Compumate Tulsa OK 918-628-0887 Danny Pelletier F Snart's Dreamland Collinsville OK 918-371-0980 Jeff Bennett F The Dreaming World Broken Arrow OK 918-451-3056 Greg Adkins -- PENNSYLVANIA --------------------------------------------------------- F Comic Book Board Philadelphia PA 215-365-5225 William Horton -- TENNESSEE ------------------------------------------------------------ The Factory BBS Union City TN 901-885-9647 -- TEXAS ---------------------------------------------------------------- F Razor's Domain ][ Edinburg TX 210-631-5159 Kevin Nunn Q Way Out There Dallas TX 214-680-2755 Justin Pasher F The Chess Board Grand Prairie TX 214-641-1136 Ken Givens B* FIAWOL/MSConnections Irving TX 214-790-6472 Bobb Waller F Star Streams Waxahachie TX 214-938-7115 Michael Rudolf F Orion BBS Odessa TX 915-530-2712 Dennis Brown -- VIRGINIA ------------------------------------------------------------- B Crystal Aerie Arlington VA 703-415-0134 Spencer Greenwald -- WASHINGTON ----------------------------------------------------------- -- ONTARIO, CANADA ------------------------------------------------------ F Dark Knight BBS London ONT 519-850-9929 Michael Cross F MACH 1 BBS London ONT 519-457-6771 Tomasz Heiber Stargate:Above & BeyondLondon ONT 519-472-4938 Paul Nicholas -- MEXICO --------------------------------------------------------------- B* The Gate BBS Mexico City 52-5-264-2994 Emilio Karam - From USA, dial international-access 011 then 52-5-264-2994# ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [C] E-Mag Info The Comic Book Net E-Mag is published by the many participants of The Comic Book Network. This is a compilation of articles and columns which were originally posted in the network's conferences or written specifically for this electronic magazine. Some articles are independent of any connection with CBN and are used with permission. All text contained within is copyrighted to the originating author(s). Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Editor, the Network Administration Team or the members and users of The Comic Book Network. Except where elsewhere noted, The Comic Book Network Electronic Magazine is Copyright 1996 by the Comic Book Network. You may freely distribute or duplicate this file intact without alteration for noncommercial purposes only. Please do not distribute except as the complete file as originally transmitted by The Comic Book Network. THE CBN WEB PAGE ---------------- If you have access to the World Wide Web, please stop by and visit our web page! On our web page, you can find the latest issue of our E-Mag, as well as an annotated index and all back issues. You'll also find important information on how to join the conversation in the Comic Book Net, and other neat features like newly released comic book graphics, links to lists of Comic Book Company addresses, Comic Professionals Email addresses, and other Comic Book related Web pages! The URL address is: http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet LOCATING THE ISSUES ------------------- The latest issue is always available from all the systems linked into The Comic Book Network. You can also find the back issues at America Online, by going to Keyword: Science Fiction, scrolling to the menu item _Comic Book Forum_ and then going to the _Comics Library_ from there. Most issues should also be available on Compuserve, Genie, Channel1 BBS and Software Creations BBS as well as other non CBN affiliated Bulletin Board Systems. All back issues should be available at the above sites, as well as our World Wide Web page. SUBMISSIONS ----------- To submit an article, review, column, etc to our e-mag, simply post it in any Comic Book Net conference and leave me a message in the CBN: E-Mag conference giving me permission to use the article. If you cannot access the Comic Book Net, submit your articles for consideration to the editor at: ComicBkNet@aol.com Reviews of mainstream books are least likely to get included when submitted from sources outside of CBN. We give more consideration to reviews of indies and self published material as we feel that material deserves more exposure to the general public. Commentary on the state of the industry, and personal observations and reflections related to comics are *most* likely to be included in our publication. We also accept product for review purposes. Advanced copies of comic books will not be returned but anything sent to us will be reviewed in the ComicBook Net Emag. 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