------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE COMIC BOOK NET ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE - ISSUE NUMBER 90 Edited by: David LeBlanc [ComicBkNet@aol.com] ________________________________________________________________________ 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!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The ComicBook Network was founded by Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden ------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you wish to receive each issue automatically through your Email account, please address a message to: ComicBkNet@aol.com to be placed on the FREE subscription list. ________________________________________________________________________ T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] On the Net ............................ David LeBlanc [A] E-Mag Info: Submissions, Subscriptions, Back Issues, Copyrights [B] How to join ComicBook Network.......... BBS 101 [C] Bulletin Boards Linked into CBN........ CBN node list [2] Letters to the Editor ................. Your Page! TRIVIA CONTEST......................... Guesses & Answers [3] Network Buzz........................... News, gossip & rumors [4] CSN Insider............................ Comic Shop News [5] New Comic Book Releases List .......... Charles LePage [6] Top 50/10 Black & White Comics......... Comic Shop News [7] The Pen Is Mightier.................... Brian Matus [8] My View: Eternal Warriors ............. David LeBlanc [9] THE NIGHT THE ANIMALS TALKED........... David LeBlanc ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] On the Net by David LeBlanc This issue will be slightly altered for a couple of reasons. I am putting the "boiler plate" at the beginning to bring attention to the fact that we do operate as a publication and welcome contributions to our meager effort if you feel you have something to say. I feel this information is often overlooked, along with the information on how get back issues, and how to connect with the Comic Book Net and the list of our BBS members. I am also moving up the New Comic Release List to the spot right after the news because I want to end this issue in a particular manner. Any thoughts on keeping the NCRL before the reviews and other columns are welcome, otherwise it will return to its regular spot as the last item each week. On the racks this week, in case you missed them, I recommend: BRUISER #3 SINNAMON #8 CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #1 FRIENDS OF MAXX #2 SHADOWMAN #2 SIN CITY: LUST, LONELY, & LETHAL This is my first Christmas issue and aside from the usual stuff I have a couple of special items as gifts to our readers. The first comes from my nephew and others on the Internet sent it to him. I hope you enjoy it. Next issue will be the last of 1996. A Joyous and Politically Incorrect Christmas 'Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck... How to live in a world that's politically correct? His workers no longer would answer to "Elves". "Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves. And labor conditions at the north pole Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul. Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety, Released to the wilds by the Humane Society. And equal employment had made it quite clear That Santa had better not use just reindeer. So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid, Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid! The runners had been removed from his sleigh; The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A. And people had started to call for the cops When they heard sled noises on their roof-tops. Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened. His fur trimmed red suit was called "Unenlightened." And to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows, Rudolf was suing over unauthorized use of his nose And had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation, Demanding millions in over-due compensation. So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife, Who suddenly said she'd enough of this life, Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz, Demanding from now on her title was Ms. And as for the gifts, why, he'd ne'er had a notion That making a choice could cause so much commotion. Nothing of leather, nothing of fur, Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her. Nothing that might be construed to pollute. Nothing to aim. Nothing to shoot. Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise. Nothing for just girls. Or just for the boys. Nothing that claimed to be gender specific. Nothing that's warlike or non-pacific. No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth. Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth. And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden, Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden. For they raised the hackles of those psychological Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological. No baseball, no football...someone could get hurt; Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt. Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe; And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away. So Santa just stood there, disheveled, perplexed; He just could not figure out what to do next. He tried to be merry, tried to be gay, But you've got to be careful with that word today. His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground; Nothing fully acceptable was to be found. Something special was needed, a gift that he might Give to all without angering the left or the right. A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision, Each group of people, every religion; Every ethnicity, every hue, Everyone, everywhere...even you. So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth... "May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth." -- "The meek shall inherit the earth, the rest of us will go to the stars." David LeBlanc [ComicBkNet@aol.com] Editor The Comic Book Net Electronic Magazine ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [A] E-Mag Info: Submissions, Subscriptions, Back Issues, Copyrights SUBMISSIONS ----------- To submit an article, review, column, etc to our e-mag, simply E-mail it to the editor at: ComicBkNet@aol.com If you have access to the ComicBook Net, submit your articles for consideration in any ComicBook Net conference and leave me a message in the CBN: E-Mag conference giving me permission to use the article. Reviews of mainstream books are welcome and will get included when submitted from sources outside of CBN, they are not excluded off hand. We give more consideration to reviews of indies and self published material as we feel that material deserves more exposure to the general public. If You write intelligent, coherent, and timely reviews of anything it will almost always be printed so give us a shot. 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. Send all material to: David L. LeBlanc 84 Heather Circle Jefferson, MA 01522-1419 SUBSCRIPTIONS ------------- If you wish to receive each issue automatically through your Email account, please address a message to ComicBkNet@aol.com to be placed on the FREE subscription list. THE CBN WEB PAGE http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet ---------------- 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 ComicBook Net, and other neat features like newly released comic book graphics, links to Jeff Mason's lists of Comic Book Company addresses and Comic Professionals Email addresses, plus other Comic Book related Web pages! LOCATING EMAG ISSUES -------------------- The latest issue is always available from all the systems linked into The ComicBook Network. You can also find the back issues at America Online, by going to Keyword: COMICS, then choose the menu item _Comic Book Forum_ and then going to the _Comics Library_ from there. Most issues should also be available on Compuserve, Genie, as well as some non CBN affiliated Bulletin Board Systems. All back issues are also available on our World Wide Web page. COPYRIGHTS ---------- The Comic Book Net E-Mag is published by the many participants of The ComicBook 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 ComicBook Network. Except where elsewhere noted, The Comic Book Net Electronic Magazine (CBEM) is Copyright 1996 by The ComicBook 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 ComicBook Network. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [B] How to join the COMIC BOOK NETWORK (CBN) 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 ComicBook 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! ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [C] BBSes Linked into CBN Here's the most up-to-date node listing for the COMIC BOOK NETWORK CBN Node Board Name Sysop Phone ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23:102/0 Warner Robins Net Host Jeff Floyd 1-912-929-3762 23:102/1 The Congressional BBS Jeff Floyd 1-912-929-3762 23:103/0 Russellville Net Host Robert Wood 1-501-968-3910 23:103/1 Karate & Comics &... Robert Wood 1-501-968-3910 23:103/2 The Factory Rick Brewer 1-901-885-9647 23:103/3 The Mystic Curtis Tesch 1-501-284-5503 23:103/4 Conway PC Users Group BBS Tim Stone 1-501-329-7227 23:104/0 Raleigh Net Host Walter Tietjen 1-919-833-3412 23:104/1 TI-Raleigh Maximus Walter Tietjen 1-919-833-3412 23:104/3 Psychotronic Richard Lee 1-919-286-7738 23:104/4 Electronic Hangover Richard Lee 1-919-286-4542 23:104/6 The Federal Post Frank Koza 1-910-436-2055 23:108/0 Melbourne Net Wayne Bell 1-407-253-8754 23:108/2 Never Never Land Wayne Bell 1-407-253-8754 23:109/0 Jacksonville Net Eric Cohen 1-904-363-6347 23:109/1 Extreme Online Eric Cohen 1-904-363-6347 23:110/0 Destin Net Keith Schultz 1-904-654-1631 23:110/1 Steel Dog Cafe' Keith Schultz 1-904-654-1631 23:110/2 Ghost's Realm Kie Dorton 1-904-689-6664 23:111/0 Lake County Net Thomas McNeill 1-904-357-0355 23:111/1 Programmers Citadel Thomas McNeill 1-904-357-0355 23:111/2 Ded Dudez Mike Burgess 1-904-343-7272 23:112/0 Area Code 305 Mitchel Waas 1-305-792-9622 23:112/1 Information Interchange Mitchel Waas 1-305-792-9622 23:202/0 Houston Net Jeff Watts 1-713-568-0825 23:202/1 The RASTER Line Jeff Watts 1-713-568-0825 23:202/2 Dream Sequence Biju Mathai 1-713-835-0965 23:203/0 Nearly Dallas Wayne LeMonds 1-214-494-3702 23:203/2 Star Streams Michael Rudolf 1-214-938-7115 23:203/5 Way Out There Justin Pasher 1-214-680-2755 23:206/0 Collinsville Net Jeff Bennett 1-918-371-0980 23:206/1 Snart's Dreamland Jeff Bennett 1-918-371-0980 23:206/2 CompuMate Danny Pelletier 1-918-663-3454 23:206/4 The Round Table Garett Merrill 1-918-274-0775 23:207/0 Killeen TX Net T.J. Gohl 1-817-699-2254 23:207/1 Young Blood T.J. Gohl 1-817-699-2254 23:208/0 OKC MetroNet Lonnie Johnson 1-405-787-2540 23:208/1 Beggar's Forum IV Lonnie Johnson 1-405-787-2540 23:208/2 Beggar's Forum IV Lonnie Johnson 1-405-787-2557 23:400/0 Saugerties Net Host John Dragun 1-914-247-9601 23:400/1 Starbase : RED DWARF John Dragun 1-914-247-9601 23:401/0 Mass Net John Harris 1-508-753-3767 23:401/3 Archives BBS John Viera 1-508-995-0085 23:401/7 Keystone BBS John Harris 1-508-753-3767 23:401/8 Call Again Soon Joe Johnson 1-508-791-8456 23:401/9 Muskrat & Heatwave Dennis Racine 1-508-984-4632 23:401/10 HellFire BBS Brock Cordeiro 1-508-979-8930 23:403/0 DC MetroNet Spencer Greenwald 1-703-415-1130 23:403/4 Crystal Aerie Spencer Greenwald 1-703-415-0134 23:403/6 Bifrost Kevin Carlin 1-301-779-9381 23:403/7 Vampyre Bar Darryl Pierce 1-301-698-5194 23:403/8 Womens World East BBS Net Wendy Dumser 1-301-445-1612 23:403/9 DataStorm Tarek Gordan 1-301-390-5243 23:404/0 NH Net Don Foster 1-603-332-0419 23:404/3 Brickyard BBS Don Foster 1-603-332-0419 23:405/0 LI Net Host Tom Pemberton 1-516-422-4225 23:405/1 Asgard.TW BBS Tom Pemberton 1-516-422-4225 23:406/0 Philadelphia Net William Horton 1-215-365-5225 23:406/1 Comic Book Board William Horton 1-215-365-5225 23:406/2 Dark Lands Chris Ford 1-215-487-7315 23:407/0 RoachTel Net Eric Sears 1-716-647-9068 23:407/1 Generation X Eric Sears 1-716-647-9068 23:409/0 St Mary's County Net Linda Peek 1-301-884-9732 23:409/1 Shearata's Realm Linda Peek 1-301-884-9732 23:410/0 Bergen County Net Jacob Greenberg 1-201-722-1495 23:410/1 Bergen BBS Jacob Greenberg 1-201-722-1495 23:410/2 Cyberspace Arcade Rick Smorawski 1-201-440-0563 23:410/3 Unnamed BBS Edward Di Geronimo J 1-201-368-1866 23:410/4 Quantum Zone Wayne Robinson 1-201-307-9225 23:410/5 Virtual Connection Dmitry Korsun 1-201-796-7202 23:411/0 AreaCode 908 Tal Meta 1-908-830-8265 23:411/1 Phoenix Modernz Systems Tal Meta 1-908-830-8265 23:501/0 KY Net Todd Millhouse 1-502-867-0992 23:501/1 Lex Corp Todd Millhouse 1-502-867-0992 23:503/0 Windsor Net Gary Ranchuk 1-519-974-2976 23:503/1 The Trading Post ][ Gary Ranchuk 1-519-974-2976 23:503/2 The Snake Pit BBS Mark Godard 1-519-979-4251 23:506/0 Gananoque Net Mike Serson 1-613-382-1788 23:506/1 Gananoque System Mike Serson 1-613-382-1788 23:507/0 Iowa Net Andy St.Pierre 1-319-359-4449 23:507/2 The Final Destination BBS Andy St.Pierre 1-319-359-4449 23:508/0 KC Area Net Brian J. Stewart 1-816-767-1488 23:508/1 The Oan Citadel Brian J. Stewart 1-816-767-1488 23:509/0 Ontario Net Michael Cross 1-519-850-9929 23:509/1 Dark Knight Michael Cross 1-519-850-9929 23:509/3 Mach 1 Tomasz Heiber 1-519-457-6771 23:509/5 Stargate: Above & Beyond Paul Nicolas 1-519-472-4938 23:510/0 Chi & Burbs Alex Gen 1-708-776-2395 23:510/1 Warp Speed Alex Gen 1-708-776-2395 23:512/0 Area Code 219 Rob Swanson 1-219-325-3655 23:512/1 Rob's BBS Arcade 1 Rob Swanson 1-219-325-3655 23:512/2 Rob's BBS Arcade 2 Rob Swanson 1-219-324-4713 23:600/0 Longview Net Host Jeanne Lejon 1-360-577-7358 23:600/1 Longview On-Line! Node1 Jeanne Lejon 1-360-577-7358 23:600/2 Longview On-Line! Node2 Jeanne Lejon 1-360-577-0276 23:601/0 Tacoma Net Host Robert Richards 1-206-272-8083 23:601/1 Alpha's Attic Robert Richards 1-206-272-8083 23:601/2 Area 51 Paul Powloski 1-206-538-9435 23:700/0 Mexico DF Net Emilio Karam 52-5-264-2994 23:700/1 The Gate Emilio Karam 52-5-264-2994 ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [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, complete with the sender's Email address, may be used in future issues of the CBN E-Mag unless you specifically request us NOT to use them. Email address will be withheld upon request. +++++ [Lonnie Johnson responds to some comments:] From: Lonnie Johnson I noticed I got more than one response to my letter, and I am unsure how to get my response to those people. We just got our orders back, and they were dismal to say the least. Not even close to being enough to go to press at this time. We are working hard to come up with alternative ways of getting out book out, but for now _Canus_ is delayed. I thought I might mention also, that 4 other independent companies that I know personally, have gone out of business completely because of dismal sales. "Most" retailers are not buying anything that doesn't have a known name attached to it. There were even a few color books that have been around awhile that got less than us, so I'm not complaining to much. We'll find a way to get our book out there, it is a good story, and we'll find a way to print it. Anyway, this is a rather long response to some of the replies I have seen to my first article, if you choose to print any of this, please cut out any parts you deem inflammatory, I do not wish to demean anyone or start a fight with anyone, I just felt some things I stated before I did not stated clearly enough, or some people have gotten the wrong idea of what I was trying to point out. I quoted some of the stuff I was replying to, so you'd know what I was talking about:) First, a big thank you to Robert Luedke, I haven't met him yet, but I have heard some nice things about him and his work, and we appreciate the compliment on our book. >A few responses to Lonnie Johnson's column in CBEM # 88. >First off, there's a major flaw in your assumption that "60% of our >cover price belongs to (Diamond), we get to keep 40%." You're ignoring >the retailer, who, in your equation, doesn't get a penny of a comic >book's cover price. Diamond acts as a wholesaler, selling items to >comic book shops at a discount of the manufacturer's recommended retail >price. The manufacturer, in this case the comic book company, then gets >a smaller portion of the price that the distributor charged from the >retailer. I did not ignore the retailer in my message, since I do not know what deals Diamond offers and to which retailers they offer them to, I chose to not state percentages of who gets what. If Diamond keeps 20% and the retailer gets 40% my statement is still valid, when we get paid from Diamond, we would receive 40% of our cover price, and they retain 60%, how Diamond splits it with the retailers I honestly do not know. >If you are basing your projected income on a percentage of the cover >price without figuring in the lower income from the discounted >wholesale price, your company will go under in a matter of months, >Lonnie, no matter how well you do everything else. We based our expected income on the 40% of cover price that we get from Diamond. We purposefully did not include external sales ( i.e. conventions local signings, sales to friends etc.) I do not see how this is unreasonable. We also based this on a 5,000 print run, because of the 7 different printers we have bargained with, this is a minimum print they will do on a full-color book. >Secondly, you say that the money you get back from Diamond has to pay >for coloring, computer equipment, promotion, conventions, etc. (not >even mentioning pay for the creators involved). Now, you complained >that retailers are a problem with the comic book industry, but comic >book publishers are just as much to "blame," if just because they are >expecting too much. What I said was that most if not all of the money invested in the equipment, advertisement, conventions, and promotion, would not be paid for by the book. A 5,000 print-run on a full-color book, will barely pay for just the printing and pre-press cost. That is all we expected, to sell enough books to pay for printing it. We're doing this because we enjoy it, we do not expect huge profits on an unknown book, but we also can not afford to print our book for free, after spending so much already. Is it expecting to much just to recover print-cost? >Take a look at a magazine on the newsstand, then look at a comic book. >What's missing? Advertising. You see, Newsweek doesn't exist to tell >the news, it exists to sell advertising space. No publication survives >based on circulation. Newspapers and magazines make back all of their >costs by selling ad space in their publications; their circulation is >used as an incentive to get people to advertise in their publication. >Television works the same way. Now, a small comic book publisher can't >be expected to get an ad from a huge corporation with just a 5,000 copy >print-run, but you might be able to get small local companies to >advertise, or comic book catalogs, or other publishers, or any number >of other types of companies. If you can bring in a page or two of ads >(and they could be several small ads per page, not just full page ads), >you could easily bring in $1000 or more, enough to pay half of your >printing bill. With that cost covered, you could lower your cover >price, or put the extra money into promotion, both of which could serve >to increase your circulation, and then make you more attractive to >other advertisers with deeper pockets. Here, I will have to agree to disagree, even if it were possible to get $1000 in advertising (which so far we have been unable to get from either large or small companies) it would not pay for half of the print cost. Our pre-press cost ( taking our images from disk to film) is over $2,400 that is before you even start to pay for the actual printing. The other problem with that theory, is most advertisers are not willing to advertise in a new, unproven book, with such a low distribution. I am not writing this response in order to cry about not making money, I just want to open the eyes of some of the people who don't realize what it takes to get a comic published. We have a great story, our artwork is completely different from anything you have ever seen, and our color is original and unusual. We, like a lot of small press people, believe in what we produce, my only complaint is how many good comics, good people, and good companies, will never be seen, because retailers and advertisers aren't willing to even look at them. If only 1/2 of the retailers out there, bought only 1 copy of our book, it would pay our print cost, on a minimum print run of 5000 books, but the fact is, "most" retailers won't even look at a book unless it has an already famous name attached to it. > Comic book publishers have to get away from this "cover price covers >all costs" mentality. Selling ads is work, but it will pay off for the >industry in the long run. As I tried to state earlier, we do not expect the cover price to pay for all our time and equipment, only the actual print cost. Advertising works real well when you can get it, but the simple fact is, "most" small-press comics can not get any advertising other than swapping ads with other small-press companies. This is the whole point of my first message and this response, give the small-press a chance, take some risk on the new guy/gal, if retailers won't take a chance on small-press, the public will not have access to some really good books. * Origin: Beggar's Forum IV (405) 787-2540 (23:208/0) +++++ Subj: looking for net comics Date: 96-12-14 05:36:41 EST From: kstuart@aloha.net (Kingbob) As being relitively new to the net (2 months) I have discovered USENET and several fan fiction sites. Being a hopefuly aspiring writer I cant seem to find anyplace that has post-apocalypic fiction (Mad Max). If you know could you email me with any sites that deal with this or any other futuric subjects. Thanks Much Kingbob the initiated [perhaps a reader can Email direct to Kingbob with some info?] P.S. EMAG kicks ass [Thanks] +++++ From: cslepage@fair.net (Charles S. LePage) On Fri, 13 Dec 1996 20:07:40 -0800, "David L. LeBlanc" wrote: >[Well, this may be a first for us. Only one guess! And it was correct. >This may be an indication why Milestone is wrapping up their comics in >March, not enough people gave them a chance.] An interesting point.. I, for one, gave ICON a chance, on the recommendation of my retailer. ICON was an intriguing title: a story of an alien disguised as a black human being, living from slavery in the 19th century to several different lives in the 20th century, right to the present; a story of a superhero who discovers he's isolated himself from people who look like him. It caught my interest because, beyond being a superhero comic, it appearred to be a comic that would explore race relations and America in general, without falling into a liberal pothole. Sadly, despite the great artwork and excellent writing, an erratic publishing schedule soured my opinion of ICON. Stan and Jack put out several title, on a regular monthly schedule: why can't artists and writers do that today? [The schedule only became erratic at the end. In fact, for the first 2 or 3 years Milestone had the dubious distinction of being the only publisher that was on time with every single book every single time. In a market that regularly waits 2 or 3 months between issues for the quality independent comics, saying the few problems Milestone had killed them is not a fair assessment as to why they failed. I still say it has more to do with people's perception of what they were about, without bothering to check them out. All those X-Men zombies would have been better entertained by Blood Syndicate, IMHO.] +++++ From: IanBroadhurst@msn.com (Ian Broadhurst) Dear David, I would like to congratulate you on a thoroughly entertaining read. CBEM has become my first port of call for news and comment. The inclusion of the full version of CSN Insider is most welcome as I wouldn't otherwise see a copy. With regard to the request for Cerebus appearances the obvious omissions would be the appearances in Epic Magazine (Marvel) issues 28, 30 and 32 (I think). Thank you very much. +++++ [And now for something completely different] Subj: Rat News Flash! Date: 96-12-17 18:25:00 EST From: ratboy@interlog.com (Tony Walsh) ***Newsflash!*** ============================================== FROM THE SECRET LAIR OF TONY RATBOY WALSH ============================================== Just in time for the holidays, I've whipped up the all-new Rat Boy web pages! The new home page for the bug-eyed comic book anti-hero can be found at http://www.shmooze.net/ratboy and features faster loading information for your reading pleasure! Stay tuned to the site for regular updates on all things Rat. Have a great holiday season, and look out for He Is Just A Rat issue #5 in April 1997! PEACE! Tony Ratboy Walsh. ratboy@shmooze.net http://www.shmooze.net/ratboy --Toronto band Project Nine have released thhe song Ratboy for which there is a wicked video with animation by Tony Walsh! Ask to see it on MuchMusic, Canada's music video station. E-mail your requests in to R.S.V.P. at rsvp@muchmusic.com or The Wedge at wedge@muchmusic.com . --Check out He Is Just A Rat, the Rat Boy coomic book published by Exclaim! Brand Comics, available in cooler stores worldwide. --Rat Boy's CD-ROM debut can be found on popp band treblecharger's first major label release, self=title. +++++ Subj: Eclipse/Miracleman Tease! Date: 96-12-17 08:39:43 EST From: stephens@usembhost.usemb.kiev.ua (Stephen Szyszka) I read with great anticipation about half a year ago that Todd McFarlane had purchased the flotsam of Eclipse. Your note several weeks ago about both Eclipse and Miracleman's impending rebirth sent me into spasms of ecstasy. If you recall, the last released Miracleman comic book (Book 2 of "The Silver Age", I believe) had a startling revelation of Kid Miracleman being gay (or was it Young M.?, I always get them mixed up. I think the evil Billy Bates was YM, and this storyline was about KM). In any event, your followup report that this report was greatly exaggerated has greatly depressed me in this time of holiday cheer. This was one of the few titles that I really, really looked forward to each month, a category which only Bone, Astro City, Grendel titles, Sin City, Concrete, and Leave it to Chance do these days. Please, someone out there, PLEASE do whatever it takes to get this far-too-long-awaited title back in circulation as soon as possible. (And those who can and choose to, please influence the owners/creators of the character to expedite this process.) It was my understanding that at least the next issue was already in the can, so it shouldn't be THAT hard to get going. (At least lets get the storyline published on the net, like Alan Moore's "Twilight of the Super-Heroes" was.) Steve from Kiev. +++++ Subj: something funny Date: 96-12-18 11:01:05 EST From: franhugh@pop.erols.com (Fran Hughson) I saw this on the marvel newsgroup the other day. I thought it was quite funny and thought you and your readers might enjoy it. [QUOTE BEGINS] From: firehead@panix.com (Elayne Wechsler-Chaput) Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.marvel.universe Subject: TICKLE ME MARVEL?! Date: 17 Dec 1996 11:01:20 -0500 Organization: Pen-Elayne Enterprises Sent to me by a friend who asks to remain anonymous (please note, I didn't write this, but I wish I had): -------------------------------------- NEW YORK -- Toy Biz today unveiled its first 1997 assortment of Marvel action figures. Borrowing a trick from the 1996 holiday season's hottest toy, the six 'Tickle Me' Marvel action figures include: TICKLE ME WOLVERINE: After being tickled once, the figure sneers, "Cut it out, bub." Twice, it snarls, "I mean it, kid!" After the third tickle, the figure pops its claws and attacks the tickler in a berserker rage. TICKLE ME DARK PHOENIX: After the second tickle, the figure destroys a solar system and five billion innocent lives. Upon a third tickle, it commits suicide. (Kree Death Ray sold separately.) TICKLE ME DOCTOR DOOM: First tickle: "Who dares tickle Doom?" Second: "You will pay dearly for this, impudent whelp!" Upon the third tickle the figure explodes to reveal it wasn't the real Doom, but a robot duplicate. TICKLE ME BUCKY: After first tickle, grumbles "Hey, kid, I can't laugh -- I'm DEAD! Every other freakin' Marvel chharacter died and came back -- TWICE -- and I'm STILL dead! And don't EEVEN get me started on 'Heroes Reborn' ..." TICKLE ME ONSLAUGHT: After tickled, seeks out any Toy Biz Avengers or Fantastic Four figures the tickler has and 'kills' them, sending them into another reality to be Reborn as ultra-rare Mego dolls, then reverts to lame-o I'm Sorry I Went Nuts Professor X figure, leaving thousands of disgruntled collectors (just like the comics ...) A Tickle Me 'Heroes Reborn' Captain America had been planned as the sixth figure in the assortment, but was shelved after Toy Biz executives learned the grossly malproportioned, pointy-kneed grimacing hunk of plastic actually frightened small children. Replacing Cap is what may be a first for comics related action figures, a figure based on a comic creator ... ... TICKLE ME ROB LIEFELD, which threatens to sue the tickler for the sum of a million dollars (Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson figures sold separately). The Marvel Tickle Me series also comes with one share of Marvel stock instead of a trading card. Toy Biz executives said the shares were cheaper to give away than a small piece of cardboard and about just as valuable. -------------------------------------- Seasons greetings, and all that. - Elayne [TRIVIA CONTEST] Last week's question: >He's had two heroic identities, two children, and two wives both >with double identities. Who is he? From: "Gene Kannenberg" A shot at a Cheezy Prize: Alan Scott. And CBEM is very good, btw--I read more "alternative" than "mainstream" comics (tho I confess I'm not always sure what those terms really mean anymore), but I still enjoy seeing "what's up" with comics in general, and CBEM is a great place to do that. If I can't read everything, I can still read *about* a lot more. Keep up the good work! +++++ From: vforss@icenet.fi (Ville Forss) I'm guessin here. Aquaman? +++++ From: mike.kirkpatrick@the-spa.com Could it be Alan Scott/Golden Age Green Lantern/Currently Sentinal? Mike Kirkpatrick +++++ From: Applefrien The answer has to be DC's own ... Alan Scott! (The first GL and today known as Sentinel; father of Jade and Obsidian; and former husband of Alyx Thorin/Rose Canton (The Thorn)/husband of Molly Mayne Scott (The Harlequin). Paul Friend applefrien@aol.com +++++ From: perler@tix.timeplex.com (Michael Perler) Alan Scott (Green Lantern and Sentinel). +++++ From: SSymco@aol.com If this isn't the answer, then perhaps this is a trick question: The answer is Scott Summers. He's had two heroic identities: Cyclops and "Slymm" (from the Cyclops and Phoenix series) He's had 2 children: Rachel and Nate He's had 2 wives with double identities: 1. Madeleine Pryor (Madeleine and the Goblin Queen, plus Mastermind once had her pose as Phoenix!) 2. Jean Grey (Marvel Girl, Phoenix, Black Queen and Dark Phoenix) So did I get it right? [Did you miss the clue that it was a DC hero?] +++++ From: smiv@primenet.com (Jim, Master of Comics) I didn't seem to get this week's issue, so I'm answering the trivia question off the web page. The answer is pathetically simple to us Earth-2 fans: Alan Scott. Green Lantern/Sentinel, Jade & Obsidian, and Rose & Thorn (Alyx Florin) and Molly Mayne (Harlequin) fill in the other info. -- Jim, Master of Comics Comic Madness smiv@primenet.com From: cct107@psu.edu (chad c. trout) To: ComicBknet@aol.com I reliaze this is a bit late but only one person submitted last time. I believe the answer is Alan Scott. He is on his second super hereo identity as Sentinel and he has two kids. I know his one wife is Molly who had a double idenity. I am short one wife but I figure Alan is the right choice. +++++ Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 22:58:00 -0800 From: mslark@perf.bc.ca (Michael Slark) I know it's late (I never get around to reading this mag on time), but, the answer has to be: The ORIGINAL Green Lantern (although now he's young again, and is calling himself Sentinel, in a plotline that I never cared for). His wives were Rose (and Thorn), and the original Harlequin, and his two children are Jade and Obsidian. I just HAD to answer, since I've been a fan of the JSA (and it STILL burns me that DC killed most of 'em off!) for years. +++++ [Well, someone has to be first, and our winner gets a free, not-yet- available-to-the-public copy of INNOCENT BYSTANDER #3!] From: ComixBear@aol.com And now for my guess at your trivia question. He's had two heroic identities, two children, and two wives both with double identities. Who is he? I would have to guess Alan Scott, who was the original Green Lantern and is now Sentinel. He has two children (Jade and Obsidian) and two wives (the original Thorn and the original Harliquen). Did i make it in time? Mark +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION: Who was the Eternal Geomancer? 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 can stump the readers! You MUST submit the correct answer with your question. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [3] Network Buzz News, gossip and rumors from around the industry Espers has just been optioned by Columbia-Tristar for television. Director Tim Hunter, best known for "The River's Edge" and "The Saint of Fort Washington" has been signed to direct the pilot. "We're very excited." says writer/creator James D. Hudnall. "I've been wanting to see Espers make the jump to other media for some time and now we are putting a team together that should make that dream a reality." Espers debuted in 1986 from Eclipse comics, with art by David Lloyd. A sequel, Interface, was published by Marvel/Epic in the late 80s with art by Paul Johnson, Dan Brereton and Bill Koeb. Currently the series is published by Halloween Comics with black and white art by Greg Horn. All three series have received much acclaim from critics, pros and fans alike. Starting in April Espers will be published by Image. More info at: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JDHudnall +++++ A little birdie told me that there will soon be an announcement concerning Agony Acres - in about two weeks or so. It seems the critically acclaimed small press title will find a new home at one of the bigger guys. Stay tuned... oops! Looks like Comic Cafe already spilled the beans! They say that AA is going to EVENT Comics. Makes sense to me. +++++ WildStorm Productions has announced that the first issue of the new comic book series Siege will be posted on WildStorm's Web Site at http://www.wildstorm.com in January. Siege is a joint development project of WildStorm and GTE Entertainment, and is designed to work as a comic book and as a CD-ROM game. While the comic and the game can be read and played independently, a fuller experience can be had by doing both, as each complements the other and each advances the storyline. A true collaboration, Siege was developed over a year of close interaction between GTE and WildStorm Productions. Jim Lee designed the characters. The series is written by Jonathan Peterson, Homage Comics Editor-in-Chief and writer of the Strikeback! miniseries, with penciler Robert Teranishi and inker Al Vey handling the art. WildStorm's President John Nee was instrumental in both setting up the close partnership between the two companies and in providing creative input. The finished comic book pages will begin to appear online on January 2, and a new page will be added every weekday in January, finishing on January 31. The first issue of the comic will be on sale January 29. Pages will only remain online for 3 days each, so fans are encouraged to check the web site often to get the whole story. Subsequent issues will ship monthly, leading up to the game's release in early summer. WildStorm's VP of Marketing Jeff Mariotte said, "To me, putting the first issue of Siege up on the Internet makes perfect sense. The Internet is going to be a crucial part of this game -- players will be able to download new characters, for instance, after they're introduced in the comic, and add them to their game play. So the game and the comic complement each other to a greater degree than any comic/game product I've ever heard of before, and one major vehicle for that interrelationship is the Internet. If you don't have a computer, you can still read Siege and enjoy the fun story and Robert Teranishi's great art, but the depth of your experience will be so much greater if you do have one. That makes Siege the perfect property to be our first online comic book." +++++ It has been reported in a message by one Usenet poster that Cary Nord told him that Karl Kesel has resigned from writing Daredevil. He also said the editor, James Felder, had been removed and the new writer would be Joe Kelly. The exact last issue was not recalled, and nothing is official news so until you see it elsewhere it is just one guy's word. +++++ 12/17 Toy Biz Inc. rose 1 to 18 5/8. The Andrews Group, owner of the Marvel Entertainment Group, the comic book publisher, raised its offer to buy the New York-based toy maker to $22.50 from $19. Toy Biz produces toys based on Marvel Comics characters. +++++ S.C.A.N.S. Update Angelo Furlan's ongoing Story, "The Quest" will be illustrated by Barry Blair and Colin Chan. After reading a preview copy of part one of this 5 part story, Colin and Barry eagerly accepted the assignment to illustrate it. Watch for "The Quest" which will appear in the first 5 issues of S.C.A.N.S. (S.C.A.N.S. is SyCo's catalogue/magazine, and the first issue appears in April '97.) +++++ Bill Neuhaus from Diamond has reported that their Seattle Distribution center is closing January 15 and that all employees have been offered jobs within the company. And Heroes world closed the Toronto operation recently, shipping locals to that area by UPS. +++++ For Immediate Release - December 19, 1996 THE IMAGE LINE-UP JUST KEEPS GROWING! Image Comics continues its transformation of the contemporary marketplace! * * * FULLERTON, CA - Image Comics is, again, proud to announce the addition of four new titles to its ever-expanding line-up of non-superhero genre, black-and-white comics. Beginning with products shipping in April, Image will publish four new projects spearheaded by Image co-founder and Vice President Jim Valentino. Aaron Strips by Aaron Warner. The irreverent, outrageous Adventures of Aaron newspaper strip collected in the comics format for the first time. Aaron doesn't merely defy-he destroys the typical comic strip layout formula as he chronicles the madcap adventures of the hormonally challenged! Very funny stuff! Amanda & Gunn by Jimmie Robinson. Amanda Shane, running from her past life as a bounty hunter, has retired to small town life in a remote area of Wyoming. She must combine her past with the rural life she now lives as she discovers the truth behind a series of abductions happening around her. Amanda & Gunn is a 4-issue series. Dusty Star by Joe Pruett & Andrew Robinson. It's a different time and a strange place. It's burlesque shows and all-night poker games. It's robots and flying ships. It's tattooed horses and new-wave cowboys. And it's cowgirls with attitudes. Dusty Star starts with a #0 issue. Espers by James Hudnall & Greg Horn. This series has received acclaim from such writers as Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Roger Zelazney and a host of comics professionals. Now in its 11th year, the ongoing series, Espers, joins Image in April with issue #7. "It is with no small amount of pride that we add these excellent titles to our growing line," said Valentino. "Along with the second issue of the incredible Soulwind (also on sale in April) they will help to expand our market by redefining the perception of what comics can be." ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [4] CSNsider by W. Batty and C. Biggers This is the CSNsider from CSN #497, which will be in shops on 12/27/96. It is reproduced in its entirety with the expressed permission of COMIC SHOP NEWS! The Hollywood Reporter says that Nicolas Cage is abut to sign to play Tony Stark in a proposed Iron Man film from 20th Century Fox. Early indication are that the story will be based on the original Iron Man, not the revamped version... E! Entertainment Television reports that Richard Dean Anderson has been signed to play the Kurt Russell role in the Stargate syndicated TV series... More activity over at Image, where Jim Valentino continues to add titles to the growing Image black and white line. James A. Owen's Starchild joins the Image line beginning this summer, beginning its Metropolis story arc (the Awakenings story arc will be reprinted as well); Zander Cannon's Replacement God will also move to Image, although there is some talk about renaming the series Land of Num (that's not definite, however); and Joe Pruett and Andrew Robinson are taking Dusty Star to Image after its appearances in a couple of issues of the Pruett-edited Negative Burn. In addition, both Heartbreakers and The Badger will move from Dark Horse to Image in '97... Five Rings, developers of a Dune collectible card game based on the classic Frank Herbert novel, report that a new Dune television miniseries is under discussion... New Line Cinema is tentatively scheduled to begin filming on Blade in January; the film, written by David Goyer and directed by Steve Norrington, is based on the vampire-hunter character from Tomb of Dracula. New Line has also talked about Venom project also written by Goyer... And if that isn't enough Marvel film news, then howsabout this? Mike France, writer of GoldenEye, has reportedly finished a first draft of the Fantastic Four film script that supposedly looks like a winner... Disney is interested in producing a live-action Gen13 film... Milton Caniff's Terry & The Pirates is coming to television next year in a syndicated one-hour series... Don't be surprised if you see a few familiar comic book faces and publications in the upcoming Kevin Smith film Chasing Amy; since the story involves a pair of comic book creators, Smith is trying to make the film as true to the comic book world as possible... Insiders report that Mike Deodato may be staying with The Incredible Hulk indefinitely; originally he was to illustrate the book for a brief period until Adam Kubert came on board, but word has it that Deodato enjoys the book and would like to stay on... Antarctic Press has a Ninja High School/ Project A-KO crossover in the works for April... George Beahm reports that Stephen King has finished with the fourth Dark Tower novel, Wizard and Glass; it's an enormous book, approximately 400,000 words, and it may either be split into two books or published as a two-volume set. Either way, don't look for the first edition from Donald Grant, Publisher, until Christmas '97. And it's likely that Stephen King himself will be the reader for the unabridged audiobook version of this tome, just as he has been the reader for the audiobooks of the first three Dark Tower volumes... Derek Kirk will follow up the Cell miniseries from Antarctic, with Haana, a march release; the six-issue humorous yet thought-provoking comic series is set on an arctic fantasy world... Elin Winkler has announced the formation of Radio Comics, a new publisher that is set to release its first books in April. These aren't new titles, though; Radio Comics will become the new home to Furlough and Genus, previously published by Antarctic. Radio Comics also plans to release The Art of Usagi Yojimbo, a selection of never-before-published illustrations, production sketches, and new material by Stan Sakai. In July, they'll release the fourth Hit the Beach annual... In case you haven't heard, Marvel business woes have been alleviated somewhat by a $15 million loan that will allow Marvel time to straighten out its complicated financial affairs; fans should see no problems with the regular release of Marvel titles, since the problem originates with stock and bond matters, not with their day-to-day comics business... Gryphon Entertainment has produced a new CD-ROM, The Adventures of Batman & Robin Activity Center, just in time for Christmas release; it features eleven different interactive games, mazes, and puzzles, along with animation and voice-over work done by the animated series' vocal talent, including Kevin Conroy, Loren Lester, Mark Hamill, and Richard Moll... Fearing that Betty & Veronica are contemplating marriage to someone else, Archie decides he must propose to one or the other in Betty & Veronica #112, a March release-but who will it be?... Hari Kari goes from hero to villain in March with the debut of Hari Kari: Possessed by Evil #1-and she's not the only one. Other characters who are transformed into evil characters include Violet, Lady Vampre, High Voltage, and Outbreed 999. The black and white series will feature art by the Lady Vampre art team of Dave Gutierrez and M.A. Moussa... Bone #28, a March release, marks the book's return to the Cartoon Books imprint-and it introduces a major new character in the Bone epic, Rockjaw. The storyline, written and drawn by Jeff Smith (as always), takes Fone Bone and Smiley Bone into the mountains to help the rat creature cub return home- but they must make the journey without any of their friends... +++++ CSN is available exclusively at over 1,000 finer comic shops nation-wide. A list, sorted by zip code, of shops that carry CSN is available at our website. CSN only costs your shop a dime each, so if they don't carry it, nag them until they do. Isn't your patronage and satisfaction worth a dime a week? We post some art to go along with this news at our website: http://www.dreamsville.com/CSN/CSNsider.html Ward Batty wardo@netdepot.com Cliff Biggers cliffbig@netdepot.com (c)Copyright 1996 CSN, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] New Comic Book Releases List by Charles LePage ncrl@fair.net NOTE: DUE TO THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY, STORES MAY NOT BE SELLING NEW BOOKS UNTIL FRIDAY 12/27. CHECK WITH YOUR STORE TO BE SURE NCRL: New Comic Book Releases List for Thursday,December 26, 1996, compiled by Charles LePage. This is the *preliminary* list and is not complete. The completed list is posted weekly, usually Monday evening, at rec.arts. comics.info, http://www.america.net/~cslepage/ncrl.html, and Compuserve's Comics Publishers Forum. PUBLISHER, TITLE, ISSUE NUMBER, PRICE IN U.S. DOLLARS ACADEMY Robotech Civil War Stories #1, 2.95 Robotech II: The Sentinels Book IV #13, 2.95 Robotech II: The Sentinels Book IV #13 (signed), 5.95 ACCLAIM Grackle #4 (of 4), 2.95 X-O Manowar #3, 2.50 ARCHIE Archie #457, 1.50 Pals 'N Gals Double Digest #24, 2.75 Scooby Doo #18, 1.50 Veronica #61, 1.50 BONGO Simpsons Comics #27, 2.25 CLAYPOOL Elvira #44, 2.50 COMIC SHOP NEWS Comic Shop News #497, free DARK HORSE Adventures Of The Mask #12, 2.50 Blade Of The Immortal Fanatic #1, 2.95 Body Bags #4 (of 4), 2.95 Heretic #1 (of 4), 2.95 Oh My Goddess: Robot Wars #1 (of 8), 2.95 Species: Human Race #2 (of 4), 2.95 S.W. Tales Of The Jedi: Golden Age Of Sith #3 (of 4), 2.95 Usagi Yojimbo #8, 2.95 DC Action Comics #730 (resolicited), 1.95 Batman: Legends Of The Dark Knight #91, 1.95 DC/Marvel: All Access #4 (of 4), 2.95 Essential Vertigo: Swamp Thing #4, 1.95 Flash #122, 1.75 Flash/Green Lantern: Faster Friends #2 (of 2), 4.95 Hellblazer #110, 2.25 Hitman #11, 2.25 Invisibles Vol. II #1, 2.50 Justice Riders (One Shot), 5.95 Legion Of Super Heroes #89, 2.25 Lobo/Mask #1 (of 2), 5.95 Question Returns #1, 3.50 Robin #38, 1.95 Scare Tactics #3, 2.25 Spectre #50, 2.50 Static #44, 2.50 Superboy #36, 1.95 Superman Plus #1, 2.95 Teen Titans #5, 1.95 Vermillion #5, 2.50 Wonder Woman #118, 1.95 FULL BLEED Pitt #12, 1.95 GLADSTONE Donald Duck #301, 1.50 Uncle Scrooge Adventures #44, 1.50 Walt Disney's Comics #609, 6.95 IMAGE Astro City Vol. II #4, 2.50 Backlash #27, 2.50 Curse Of The Spawn #4, 1.95 Gen 13 Zine #1, 1.95 Gen13 Bootleg #2, 2.50 Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles #5, 2.50 Wetworks #24, 2.50 Wildstorm Universe `97 #1, 2.50 LIGHTNING Weezul: Upside Down #1 (platinum)(signed), 14.95 MARVEL Due to the lack of timely information from Heroes World, the new releases information for Marvel will be, now and in the near future, highly inaccurate. 2099: World Of Tomorrow #6, 2.50 Avengers #4 (Heroes Reborn), 1.95 Deadpool #2, 1.95 Disney Comic Hits #17, 1.50 Doctor Who #247, 5.90 Elektra #4, 1.95 Imperial Guard #2 (of 3), 1.95 Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect TPB (AA), 12.95 Incredible Hulk: Ghosts Of The Past TPB, 12.95 Ka-Zar Of The Savage Land, 2.50 Magneto #4 (of 4), 1.95 Marvel Fanfare #6, 0.99 Silver Surfer #125, 2.95 Spectacular Spider-Man #243, 1.50 Spider-Man Unlimited #15, 2.95 Ultraverse: Future Shock #1 (of 1), 2.50 Venom: Tooth & Claw #3 (of 3), 1.95 Wolverine #110, 1.95 Wolverine Encyclopedia #2, 5.95 Xavier Alumni Yearbook, 5.95 X-Force #63, 1.95 MAXIMUM Asylum #11, 2.99 SIRIUS Animal Mystic Water Wars #2 (of 6), 2.95 SLAVE LABOR Breakneck Blvd. #6, 2.95 Skeleton Key #18, 1.75 TOP COW Ballistic/Wolverine #4 (of 8), 2.95 TOPPS Hercules: The Legendary Journeys #5, 2.95 Lady Rawhide #2, 2.95 Mars Attacks The Savage Dragon #1 (of 4), 2.95 X-Files #23, 2.95 X-Files #24, 2.95 ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [6] Top 50 Comics/Top 10 Black & White NOV/DEC Comic Shop News CSN's Top Seller charts are based on orders reported by Diamond Distribution and sales reported by a cross section of comic specialty shops. The former are orders placed by retailers for stock while the later are actual sales to the consumers. [Numbers are the Diamond index; 100 = 100,000 copies ordered] 1 UNCANNY X-MEN 340 2 X-MEN 60 3 SPAWN 163 4 DC/MARVEL: ALL ACCESS 2 122 5 DC/MARVEL: ALL ACCESS 3 119 6 FANTASTIC FOUR 3 7 GEN 13 13C 8 JLA 1 104 9 GEN 13 BOOTLEG 1 108 10 IRON MAN 3 11 WOLVERINE 109 12 GEN 13 14 122 13 CAPTAIN AMERICA 3 14 DEADPOOL 1 15 X-FORCE 62 16 AVENGERS 3 17 X-FACTOR 130 18 X-MAN '96 19 X-MAN 23 20 DARKNESS 1 84 21 WITCHBLADE 11 81 22 BATMAN 538 68 23 SUPERGIRL 5 62 24 DV8 2 73 25 SUPERMAN 119 64 26 WITCHBLADE 10 93 27 DETECTIVE COMICS 705 62 28 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN 542 61 29 ACTION COMICS 729 60 30 BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN 2 57 31 INCREDIBLE HULK 449 32 DOMINO 1 33 SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL 64 60 34 CABLE 39 35 MAVERICK 1 36 X-FILES COMIC DIGEST 3 37 EXCALIBUR 105 38 STAR WARS: GOLDEN AGE OF THE SITH 2 56 39 NIGHTWING 4 54 40 THRILLKILLER 1 51 41 MYSTIQUE & SABERTOOTH 2 42 GREEN LANTERN 82 51 43 BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT 51 44 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 419 45 TEAM X/TEAM 7 1 46 BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT 90 51 47 FLASH 121 48 48 ROBIN 37 48 49 BATMAN: BLACKGATE 50 50 ROBIN PLUS 1 49 TOP 10 BLACK & WHITE 1 DAILY BUGLE 2 33 2 BONE 26 34 3 STRAY BULLETS 11 18 4 ELFQUEST 6 14 5 RANMA 1/2 PART FIVE 12 13 6 POISON ELVES 17 16 7 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 4 8 CEREBUS 212 12 9 ESSENTIAL VERTIGO: SWAMP THING 3 10 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL: GENIUS 2 ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [7] The Pen Is Mightier... By Brian Matus Regarding Rob Johnson's letter, I made the move from the X-books after the "Mutant Massacre" storyline (circa X-men#212). This is when I came upon the realization that crossovers can serve just as well as jumping off points as jumping on points. Some books that may help in the transition from straight superhero comics include SPAWN, The SPECTRE, STARMAN, SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE, and LEGENDS of the DARK KNIGHT. If you'd like to try a different type of team book, try Grant (DOOM PATROL) Morrison's INVISIBLES. The new #1 should be in stores shortly. I feel that while most of these books deal with "costumed heroes", they deal with more mature themes than most other books in the genre. Now on with the controversy... John Platt made a good point about using advertising to defray the costs of small/self-publishing. Maybe small/self-publishers should try to solicit ads from the people involved in the production of their books. Some examples include printers (like Brenner), coloring companies (like Comicolor), lettering companies (like Comicraft), etc. Maybe they won't actually offer money, but they may credit the publisher's account, which in my mind works out just the same. Small/self-publishers might also try to solicit ads from any of the many stores/companies that sell (usually collectible or exclusive) comics via mail-order. They might even be able to offer these businesses exclusive books that will make it into their ads in other comics. Another avenue to pursue might be trying to pursue some kind of promotion with a high-profile creator that likes the book (the SHI/LETHARGIC LAD crossover, the MAXX's appearance in GAY COMICS, and Todd Mcfarlane's DAEMONSTORM cover and ad/endorsement of LABMAN come immediately to mind). Regarding Diamond's "keeping 60% of the cover price," I know that comic speciality shops get 40-50% off the retail price of their orders, determined by volume, not including special promotions. This means that Diamond is keeping 10-20% of the retail price for their troubles. (Gee, maybe I've been too hard on Diamond lately...HA!). About Marvel's recent problems, I wish Warner Brothers (DC's parent company) would just buy Marvel and get it over with. Think of the possibilities if DC were to own all of Marvel's properties. Meetings with implications beyond a one-shot/mini-series, and maybe even some decent books/movies featuring some of comics greatest characters. (Imagine if the Red Skull teamed-up with Lex Luthor. Even I'd have to buy that.) What about the VERTIGO potential of DR STRANGE, HELLSTORM, and BLADE THE VAMPIRE HUNTER (Don't laugh. Look at what Grant Morrison did with ANIMAL MAN, and Warren Ellis' HELLSTORM read like a VERTIGO book anyway.) I don't see how WB, or anyone else, could lose on this one. (P.S.: Warner Books could be distributing DC's books if they were so inclined.) And should Marvel go out of business with their 30% of the industry, well they used to have close to 60% of the industry, and if 30% could relocate, why not the rest? I know that the number of titles as well as the number of issues per title has dropped off since then, but that was mostly speculation. Most of what's left now are readers, and if they want to read comics, they will continue to do so, and it will be up to the retailers to provide the alternatives that their customers want, whether superhero books or not. I can't believe that ARMED & DANGEROUS has been canceled for lack of sales! I can only attribute this to too many negative comparisons to SIN CITY. While they may have looked similar, A&D was lighter and had more humor than SIN CITY. Not that I would want Mr. Miller to change the dark noir-ish feel of SIN CITY. A&D was just different, not better - ditto STRAY BULLETS. RED ALERT! You must buy SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE #50! This book is at the top of my pile every month, featuring a healthy dose of sex, violence, and mystery in convenient 4-issue story arcs. My understanding is that this issue will stand alone and feature a team-up of the Golden-Age Sandman, Jack Kirby's Sandman, and Neil Gaiman's (Morpheus) Sandman (actually they're all DC's, but don't get me started.) It should be worth picking up just to see Matt (GRENDEL) Wagner and Steven (HOUSE OF SECRETS) Seagle pull this one off. For a preview, check out the SANDMAN MIDNIGHT THEATRE one-shot written by Matt Wagner and Neil Gaiman featuring the first team-up of the Golden-Age Sandman and Morpheus. Continuing with the crime-comic theme, I'm glad to hear about the upcoming movie featuring MICKEY SPILLAINE'S MIKE DANGER. Grab any copies of this comic you can find! This series is consistently well-written by Max Allen Collins, acclaimed author of the Nate Heller series of mystery novels, as well as the DICK TRACY newspaper strip, JOHNNY DYNAMITE from Dark Horse, and MS. TREE from various publishers, most recently at DC. (Hey! MS. TREE would make a good VERTIGO book too! Is anyone in authority listening to me!) My recommendation for the week is STARMAN#27. This is quite possibly the single most moving comic story I've read in a long time. If you don't already read STARMAN, try this stand-alone Christmas issue. I can almost guarantee you will add this book to your pull list every month, as well as go on a search for all of the back issues. Before I go, let me ask you not to buy any products of Thailand this holiday season, due to what I'll politely refer to as "unwholesome child labor practices." Please see Andrew Vachss's explanation at http://www.dhorse.com/vachss/dhere/dbt.html for a more thorough explanation. Happy Holidays, Brian bmatus@suffolk.lib.ny.us ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [8] My View David LeBlanc ETERNAL WARRIORS #1 (preview) ACCLAIM/VALIANT HEROES Quarterly - shipping in February Writer - Art Holcomb Pencils - Doug Tropea-Wheatley Inks - John Floyd Letters - David Lanphear of Comicraft Color in released version - Atomic Paintbrush The brothers are back. The sons of Mog are together in a 48 page quarterly title and they are not quite the same as before. Aram remains the giant and pretty much the stable anchor. I thought Ivar would be a bit more, refined I guess. His appearance in the PREVIEWS chapter made him look a bit less of a swashbuckling time traveller than before but the first meeting with his brothers in this book shows him able to get down and dirty when need be. Gilad is most changed in that he sports a goatee and haircut I am not that fond of. The character is even harder and intense than before. The big change from the old Valiant Universe is the new Archer. He is a gen x-er with criminal tendencies and I anticipate a loud howl from some who want to relive Archer and Armstrong just the way it was. The kid is a pickpocket and breaks into Gilad's apartment only to be taken down quickly by Aram's pupil, the very intense and HOT Shalla Redburn. Seems he was expected anyway and we are just beginning to see what the world of these immortals is like in the nineties. There is an organization of the "eternal family" with the 3 brothers as the primary leaders. Someone is killing off the members by beheadings and other methods to ensure there exceptional healing power won't work. In fact these are the first eight to die in over a century. One of the more senior members, Ethan Secarius, suggests that the missing Ivar is involved, but we know from the opening sequence of the book he once left Ivar to die in Rome during the invasion of the Goths. As the family prepares for the worst, the sons of Mog reunite in the shadow of Mt. Pelee in Martinique. It looks like the second half of this story is really gonna rock. Furthermore, editor Jeff Gomez promises that the events here will have lasting impact on the rest of the Valiant Universe. The art is nothing short of spectacular. The unfamiliar character changes aside, you can't help but enjoy the richness of the realism and detail in this work, even without the color. The intensity in the faces, the dynamics in the action, it's all there. The only thing I can't tell is if anyone has one green eye and one brown which used to be a dead giveaway that a certain favorite enemy was lurking around. I was hoping for a killer book, since the best thing about the early Valiant Universe was these characters. Half way through the first chapter I'd say it is definitely worth putting on your reserve list. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [9] THE NIGHT THE ANIMALS TALKED by David LeBlanc [I wrote this story for my family and friends before the Christmas of 1995. The idea was something I had though about for a number of years and I finally put it down on paper. It is my Christmas present to all our loyal readers, Christian or not. The members of the Comic Book Network already saw it last year. Feel free to copy it and pass it on as you like. I only ask you keep it intact with the copyright notice.] +++++ THE NIGHT THE ANIMALS TALKED As the shuttle descended from orbit about the shining planet, Roivas wondered once again what he would find. What number was this one? 223 if he remembered correctly. Long ago he stopped putting significance to how many planets he had logged, how many he had judged, how many he had earmarked for destruction. There was once a time when the importance of his duties staggered him and the seriousness of the consequences of his decision made him more resolute. Lately he started to question whether his race, among the vast number surely existing in the universe, was right in trying to impose their moral judgment on yet evolving worlds. He knew such thoughts were a consequence of lonely years of space travel. He had been warned that he would doubt his faith in the Council's authority. He recognized that if he did not carry out his task, another would surely follow in his place. He had weighed the arguments over and over and always came to the same conclusion. In order for each galaxy to reach it's full potential, certain undesirable elements were better off nipped in the bud thus stopping years of interplanetary war and billions of deaths. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. He decided on a dark side landing just after dusk in an area that was more rural with some sparse forests for cover. The survey from orbit revealed a couple areas on the globe that had evidence of advancing civilizations, buildings clustered into cities, roads spanning the locality, but quickly falling to nothing between the larger populated areas. A whole hemisphere of vast resources showed only minimal advancement beyond prehistoric civilization, and was evidently undiscovered by the rest of this primitive world. Indeed it would be a long time before these creatures would reach out to the stars. The more advanced cultures where much easier to judge. Once they learned the secret of the atom, space travel soon followed. How they handled the responsibility of nuclear power gave a clear indication of how they would interact with off world contacts. This world was far from that. He would have to look for other signs. As he scanned for life forms he found the usual indications. More often than not, on this type of planet, the dominant life form was humanoid in makeup. The infrastructure had already indicated that. He also expected to find an agriculture based society with crops and animals the main source of food. As much as he was repulsed by the thought of eating flesh or something taken from the ground he knew it was a necessary step in the evolution of a planet. What came later in that evolution, the mechanization of the lifestyle and pollution of the environment as a result, repulsed him even more. But he was not here to alter the course of a planet's natural evolution based on his own thoughts about how odd it was that the cycle always repeated. He was looking for a sign that something about the life here was worth saving. that these creatures could add to the advancement of life in the universe and not take away from it. It was an awesome responsibility. As he emerged from his craft he turned on the stealth suit to hide his presence as he ventured about. He needed to observe for a while without intruding. He noticed a canine type animal's lair. The bones of past kills scattered about and fresh tracks leading out of the tree line to a pasture nearby. It was in the direction of the small city he had decided to observe so he followed the tracks out into the clearing. As he emerged he noticed the abundance of stars in the night sky, and how one, the brightest this night, was directly overhead - seemingly lighting up the entire area. He knew this must be an illusion for a star could not possibly give that much light to a planet so distant. He logged in the phenomenon, thinking it might be due to some quirk in this planet's atmosphere. It should be worth looking into using the full scanners on the mother ship in orbit. As he walked over the crest of the hill he saw a flock of animals grazing in the normal fashion. They had thick wool for a coat and seemed to be rather benign creatures, bleating an occasional "baa". The fact that they were chewing the ground vegetation at their leisure, not caring what was going on around them puzzled him greatly. For there in their midst was not one, but several of the canine creatures. Every species of this type he had ever observed had always exhibited the same behavior. The carnivores, when not threatened by a more dominant life form, would attack the herbivores given the opportunity, to sustain themselves on the meat of the kill. It was the unchanging law of survival of the fittest, kill or be killed. How different was this from his own place in the realm of existence. He himself could be viewed as nothing more than a predator. One who decides the fate of the next prey and either ends its existence, or spares it for a time. But this was something new. The predator and prey, clearly natural enemies by any other standard he had observed, were not concerned with natures dictates. Curiosity brought him closer to the flock and every last one of them turned their eyes directly at where he was standing. Likewise the canine animals seemed to be looking straight at him. But this was not possible! The laws of physics and the physiology of these rudimentary creatures said that he was invisible. The shield even kept in the slightest microbe so that a scent could not be detected and yet 30 or so pairs of eyes watched as he stopped in his tracks. One of each of the creatures approached him and started to speak. No, it was not speech, it was somehow in his mind's ear that he heard them. Telepathic speech was not unheard of, but very rare and never before attributed to a lower life form. "What is it you look for stranger?" said the canine. "Can we help you in any way?" chimed in the horned leader of the flock. "I seek to know how it is that your two species are mingling in such harmony when you are clearly mortal enemies" responded Roivas. The ram took a step forward and then replied, "Tonight is a very special night. In the city below a miracle of birth is taking place. This one individual will change the course of history and effect the fate of the dominant life form for centuries to come. His coming was foretold long ago and generation after generation have waited patiently for this night. Many will not even know this event has happened this night, and countless others will deny his significance but history will show otherwise." Then the wolf began to speak in his head as well, "We do not harbor any ill will toward our brother animals. We realize that our behavior is more instinct than anything else. But on this night, we put aside the overwhelming drive of nature and mingle in peace among one another, for the importance of this one event, and the power behind it, have shown us our place in the scheme of things. We may not be able to affect the course of future events, but we acknowledge this most important juncture in the history of the planet." "But you are not that advanced a life form, no offense intended. You should not be able to communicate at all, except for a few basic sounds!" he spoke aloud. "No offense taken," replied the ram. "We have been granted a gift this night so that we, and all the creatures that walk, crawl, swim or fly; can share in the joy of celebration of one life that will mean so much to so many." "And what will this one newborn do that will so change the course of history?" "He will teach his fellow creatures how to love one another." And with that, the animals turned and slowly headed to a building at the bottom of the hill. Roivas pondered whether to follow, but decided he had seen enough. Once back on the mother ship he would file a report indicating that this planet showed highly evolved forms of life. He would further state that even though they are in a relatively primitive state at this time every indication shows that the future advancement would eventually pose no threat to there neighboring star systems, and in fact this planet could very well foster the dominant species for peace and order in the quadrant. His decision is to place a quarantine on any interference for at least 2000 cycles of the planet around its sun at which time another expedition should evaluate the progress of the dominant species. He never could nail down what was causing the bright starshine. From orbit he checked and rechecked the directional readings he had taken from below but the ships scanners showed nothing in that location in the stars of space. He decided to not mention the phenomena in his report. Surely he would be questioned at length, even stripped of his rank if he told the tale of telepathic sheep and wolves. Better just to file a routine "bypass" report on this planet and go on to the next one. No sense in calling attention to it and after all 2000 revolutions is not that long to see if what these animals told him would come to pass. He wondered what he would find on the next world on his list. It would be number 224, if he remembered correctly. "They say that on the night the babe was born, all the animals could talk" - Anonymous folk lore. (Copyright 1995 David L. LeBlanc) ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - End of another Issue .. see ya in the funnny papers!! Remember, Jesus is the reason for the season. Merry Christmas!