---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden Present: THE COMIC BOOK NET ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE ISSUE NUMBER 137 11/14/97 Edited by: David LeBlanc - ComicBkNet@aol.com ______________________________________________________________________ FREE VIA EMAIL SINCE FEBRUARY 1995 World Wide Web Page------>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. See section [A] for the address to mail material to be reviewed. ______________________________________________________________________ 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] CSNsider............................... Comic Shop News [4] Network Buzz........................... News, gossip & rumors [5] Tony Isabella's Journal ............... Tony Isabella [6] Interview: Michael Triggs ............. Paul Dale Roberts [7] Had Your Phil? ........................ Phil White [8] The Emperor's New Comics .............. Jim Murdoch [9] And Let Me Tell You Why ............... David Coulter [10] Some Pages, A Cover, And A Few Staples. Marlan Harris [11] Soundwaves............................. Andy Chalk [12] Tips of the Trade On . . . ............ Larry Underwood [13] Top Comics for November................ Matt High [14] New Comic Book Releases List .......... Charles LePage [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 ______________________________________________________________________ All text contained within is copyrighted to the originating author(s). Except where elsewhere noted, The Comic Book Net Electronic Magazine is Copyright 1997 by The ComicBook Network. You may freely distribute or retransmit this file intact without alteration for noncommercial purposes only. Except for personal archiving, permission must be obtained from the individual authors to reproduce, retransmit, or publish any part of this magazine. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] On the Net by David LeBlanc Interesting issue this week with a new feature that is sure to catch your eye. We are very pleased to welcome America's most beloved comic book writer and columnist, Tony Isabella! Tony has offered to let us run his "Journal" column from his official web page from time to time and of course we accepted. It won't be here every week, but that doesn't mean you can't follow it on the web yourself, on a daily basis! Tony Isabella's Journal can be found at http://www.wfcomics.com/tony or just use the nifty button we have set up from our LINKS page. He also is looking for talent for a new project so pay attention to the first item in this week's Network Buzz. The LINK page has had more modifications this week adding The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, M & M Comics, Almagest Press, and the home page of our very own Ed Dukeshire called DIGITAL WEBBING. Ed has a talent for design, having done our own logo and numerous web page projects. Digital Webbing is also called the Comic Sites Webpage and Ed keeps us up to date on changes to all the top Comic Web Sites, a real handy thing to bookmark! Sorry I didn't get to do a review this week. The past two weeks on the road and a visiting big shot from corporate the past two days, combined with the first storm of the season just took up too much time. I do have a pile of things to tell you about so next time I will have to do double duty. Well, the Email did not seem to go smoothly last week either. Several AOL subscribers got late delivery (my copy I mail to myself got delivered Sunday morning?!!) or missed parts or had parts incomplete. The text version I uploaded to the web page stopped in the middle of Tips of the Trade, it is corrected now. Several European subscribers did not get their copy, about 6 or 7 just bounced after multiple attempts. Our long time friends in The Netherlands must be used to it by now. So it goes. What is it with Beanie Babies?? Have they invaded your local comic store yet? The first store I saw this in, was in Lowell, Mass. I just thought it was unique, the guy was trying to bring in other customers and while I was there several ladies poured over the selection, asked questions about when new ones come in, if he could get certain hard to find ones, etc. As I walked out I overheard these ladies discussing the possibility that this was some kind of counterfeit or illegal operation. Like there might be some official Beanie Baby cops to rat out this store. How could he sell them so cheap (and compared to where else I wondered) they wondered as they faded away around the corner. I chuckled and was on my way. Two weeks later I pop in a store in Seabrook, New Hampshire (Chris' Comics on Route 1 - just up the street from the entrance to the nuclear power plant) and as I walk in there is a throng of parents, grandparents and little kids swarming around a double row of 12 foot tables loaded with . . .you guessed it, Beanie Babies! Apparently they all have names, some are rare, the behind the register display had certain expensive ones ranging up to $90 each. EXCUSE ME? $90 for a 6 inch ball of fluff stitched up to resemble and animal? I tell you watch out - this could be the next MAGIC THE GATHERING phenomenon, draining even more of the sales away from comics. Just kidding, I think it is great if it gets them in the store, in fact some of those kids with their parents were more interested in Spider-Man, and of course Spawn than the Beanies, which made me smile. I am not one to collect toys. I had that fun with my kids as they grew. I have a Burger King Superman on my computer and a plastic Bone figure on my desk, oh and right now a bunch of Valiant Voyeurs which are cool and will be prizes in next week's trivia contest. Other than that I just would rather spend money on comics. I can't understand how anyone can spend $100 or more on a statue of a comic book character and yet every year I get my wife a Hummel for Christmas so I guess I can sorta understand it. Not that I wouldn't like to have the Dark Night Anniversary Statue, or Catwoman, or Kevin Matchstick when it comes out; I just look at all that money, and the comics it can buy and well, I just look at them at the stores and admire the workmanship on display. I am making one exception though. I have December 17th circled on my calendar. That is the day I am supposed to be able to pick up my Legion of Super Heroes flight ring with the comics for the week. It looked so cool, is 14K gold plated, and how could I resist a ring with my initial on it? *8^) Brush aside those Beanie Babies and check out these comics on the racks this week: Quantum & Woody 10 <----Pick of the Week for the bathroom scene alone! Alien Resurrection 2 (of 2) Dark Horse Presents 126 Essential Vertigo: Swamp Thing Green Arrow 128 Impulse 33 JLA Year One 1 Legionnaires 56 Kurt Busiek's Astro City #11 Stormwatch #2 David LeBlanc [ComicBkNet@aol.com] Editor The Comic Book Net Electronic Magazine ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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. Your Email address will be withheld upon request. +++++ From: Psychosap@aol.com Subject: Re: CBEM #136.1 Letter to the editor, CBEM: Robert Luedke Publisher Head Press Psychosap@aol.com Once again, my heartfelt thanks goes out to Mr. LeBlanc for his very impressive coverage of our CBLDF fund raising project, NO JUSTICE, NO PIECE!---in CBEM #136. So, far the book has gotten some very good notices on the net and with retailers in my area, (Dallas). And from what I hear around the country, the sell through has been pretty steady,---so bring on 'dem reorders! This has been a true team effort and to be honest I'm more than a little surprised and very thankful, that it all came together. When you are dealing with people giving up their talents pro-bono, (especially in a market when the opportunities are getting more limited for paying work), I am truly grateful for all those talented creators that made the effort and assisted in making this project as good as it turned out to be. Originally it started out as a independent/newcomers anthology, but as I worked the summer convention tour last year, I was extremely impressed by the larger names who were willing to help out, (especially, since most were not familiar with HEAD PRESS to begin with). The one aspect that I am sorry to report is, that due to the terrific response from the creative community, there were some pieces that I literally didn't have room for and still keep my printing costs down. The issue had already been increased from 32 to 48 pages, (with no increase in price), and going any larger would have resulted in my having to raise the cover price, (which I didn't want to do). But the good news is, that even though the book generated orders not quite up to what I would have really wanted to see, (surprise, surprise in the current market!), they still were at a level that the sales covered production costs and made at least $1000 for the COMIC BOOK LEGAL DEFENSE FUND. And that, as they say, is what it was all about! Seeing our success with the first issue, I feel we will most likely do a follow up sometime in the spring of '98, and once again donate a portion of the proceeds to the CBLDF. Already on-board for a second issue are: SHON BURY, TREVOR SCOTT, MIKE LAGOCKI, MYSELF, MIKE LEONARD and TONY FURTADO. The official announcement will come sometime before the end of the year,---and at that time I will post at various sites and pages the details and deadlines for prospective contributors. So start getting your stories together! Thanks once again for all the support of CBEM!!!! [Glad we can add our support and keep us informed as to the next effort] +++++ From: Kike Benlloch Subject: Re: CBEM #131.1 <> Leave From Hell aside for a minute. Alan Moore isn't working as hard as he used to and his work is of inferior quality compared to his earlier works. That's all the pattern I see. Maybe if so many people weren't willing to pay for his grocery list, he'd get the message. This isn't about "entertaining", for Heaven's sake. It's about quality, period. There's nothing as entertaining as WatchMen. I never thought I'd say seeing Alan Moore on any comic's credits isn't enough quality guarantee, but here I am stating so. And it makes me so, so sad. Kike Benlloch benlloch@simil.com The David Mack's KABUKI Web Site www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/6561 +++++ From: nuffsaid@escape.com (Nuff Said) 'Nuff Said! is New York City's only comic book interview and talk show on the radio. Nearly every week, Ed Menje and Ken Gale interview someone from the world of comics on WBAI-FM, 99.5 for an hour from Sunday at midnight to Monday at 1 AM. We've had guests from the '30s, from alternative and independent comics, from x-rated comics, mainstream comics, foreign comics, the entire spectrum. At 50,000 watts from the Empire State Building, we get as far as New Haven, CT; West Hampton, L.I.; Trenton, NJ; some of the Poconos of PA and Duchess County, NY Nov 16 - Mark Bode, son of Cheech Wizard creator Vaughn Bode, will be performing some of his and his father's cartoons and talking about his and his father's career. He does voices, sound effects, the whole act. He'll even be talking with the listeners. A change-of-pace show. Nov 23 - A discussion of uncredited Batman creator Bill Finger. He died poor and was in bad health and is almost forgotten, despite being considered by most to be the best comic book writer of the Golden Age of comics and main creator of one of the best-known characters of American fiction. Rich Morrissey and I will go into detail about the man and his career. Listener phone calls, too. Nov 30 - No guest this time. Most of the show will be listener phone calls about a variety of subjects. The listeners will program the show. We'll talk current comics or comics history, classic comics from the past or the state of the industry. 'Nuff Said! Sundays at midnight to 1 AM Monday mornings. WBAI-FM, 99.5 in New York City Thanks, Ken Gale, co-host +++++ Subj: Review Date: 11/12/97 1:10:06 PM EST From: peter-t@dds.nl (Peter Teffer) Well, here I am again. Marlan e-maild me to say older reviews are fine, and I took the advice. I won't start with saying how bad Uncanny X-Men Minus One was, but with an issue that literally made me shiver: Uncanny X-Men 287 (In Holland: "X-mannen 127). In this issue, the then-very-new-and-now-probably-leaving-the-X-Men Bishop has a flashback in which first he and two other X.S.E.-dudes (Randall and Malcolm) are pursuing Fitzroy. Then, they find the War room of the X-Men... There is a message from Jean Grey, saying the X-Men have been betrayed by someone from within... Why did this comic had such impression on me? Well, I started collecting the X-Men from UX 304 (In Holland it was "X-mannen 144"), and since then I bought back-issues and all, but I had lots of comics, AFTER UX 287. And I always read the letter pages. Some issues after UX 287 contained letters with people thinking they knew who the traitor was. Psylocke, Gambit, Rogue, etc. But: They described the transmission of Jean Grey very accurately. So I knew what the text would be even before I had the comic. And when I finally got it I was so thrilled of recognition and all, this comic is still my favorite of all. The final solution to the traitor-problem, revealed in Onslaught: X-Men, I believe (In Holland: X-mannen Special 21), professor Charles Xavier a.k.a. Onslaught was very cool, actually. So, treat yourself UX 287 and enjoy! Peter Teffer react!: peter-t@dds.nl +++++ Subj: CBLDF & censorship Date: 11/13/97 6:52:39 AM EST From: jdpsft@hypercon.com (Duane Parton) To: ComicBkNet@aol.com David, Realizing that I am venturing into dangerous waters, I feel compelled to express my feelings. Let me begin by saying that I oppose censorship by authorities. I applaud Tony Isabella for his fight against the Christian Coalition in defense of the Medina County School Board & it's library policies. I am opposed to censorship of adults' use of the internet, and believe that the best way to protect children is for their parents to take an active role in guiding and monitoring their activities, reading, television viewing and on-line access. What was done to the owners of Planet Comics was a travesty of justice. Their unjust treatment was wrong. On the other hand, I am a very spiritual (NOT religious) person, and I believe that everything we say, create and do contributes to making the world a better or worse place. Works by creators like Mike Diana and S. Clay Wilson and magazines like Verotik, which glorify violence against women, make the world a far worse place. How can I, in good faith, support the defense of something that I truly believe makes the world a worse place? Would I support the right of Nazis and Ku Klux Klan to demonstrate? I know it's not the politically correct answer, but no, I don't think I would. As a subscriber to The Comics Journal, I have closely followed the case of Mike Diana and Planet Comics. Although I have not read an actual copy of Boiled Angel, I have seen substantial excerpts in The Journal. I have also read The Journal's interview with Mike Diana in which he describes videotaping himself while masturbating and anally stimulating himself with a cross. This man doesn't need censorship; he needs therapy. Quite frankly, he doesn't have any business being alone with children. While I am opposed to the treatment of Kennedy and his partner, the story described in the involved Verotik issue was abhorrent. I wish no one felt that it was necessary to produce such hateful work. I have mixed feelings about the CBLDF. I support a wide variety of causes -- the Unitarian Universalist church, Pacifica Public Radio, Disabled American Veterans, Children's Mission Fund. Supporting causes that I believe in is important to me. If CBLDF were only defending people like Paul Mavrides or the Planet Comics owners, I would feel obliged to donate regularly. On the other hand, I can't in good conscience support people like Diana. My compromise is to buy their publications (which tend to be excellent; Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman was amazing!) and leave it at that. I know that you say this isn't enough, but it's the most I can justify given my convictions. Enough of that...I would like to close by expressing my gratitude for this wonderful publication that you offer us, for free, no less. I subscribe to many comics publications, but this is the best source for up-to-the-minute news and commentary that I have found. Although our opinions may not exactly coincide, I greatly value the opportunity you offer for the exchange of views. Thank you. Best Wishes, Duane Parton jdpsft@hypercon.com [Thanks for the kind words. You point out one basic truth about freedom, it comes with a price. Freedom for all means everyone, including those we wish would go hide somewhere or at least be more prudent as to where they express their artistic freedom. By denying those we do not care to patronize or support the ability to have an adequate defense we risk the loss of the right for everyone. The CBLDF by its nature does not judge the value of the work of those they defend, only their right to express their beliefs. I do not have a problem with anyone not wanting to support CBLDF on the principal that it helps support the proliferation of certain things they would not support directly. It is after all a voluntary contribution and there are many people who think the defense of the freedom is worth the price. There is no right or wrong here - we all have to deal with this issue in our own conscience. Thanks for your input.] +++++ Subj: Friends of Lulu Los Angeles Coloring Book Deadline From: Ostem Hello everyone! This is just a friendly reminder to everyone who had expressed interest or have said that they would contribute to the FoL LA Coloring book that the deadline for artwork is November 30th. We are looking for nice clean black and white artwork in 8 1/2" x 11" format that can easily be reproduced and is easy to color. This book will be used by children in the 2-10 age group and we ask that you keep all artwork in good taste. The theme of the book is Kids in Comics and we ask for original artwork, and encourage creators to submit work with their characters. All submitting artists and publishers will be credited on a special thank you page with contact info and will receive copies of the book as well. The address to send artwork to is: FoL LA Coloring Book P.O. Box 3685 Huntington Beach, CA 92605-3685 or email the file in IBM or MAC TIFF 300DPI format to Ostem@aol.com I also am very happy to announce that the Small Publishers Co-Op will be providing printing for the FoL LA Outreach Program Coloring Book at no cost to us! I'd like to invite you to stop into their website at http://www.netline.net/~spcoop/ and take a look at their low prices, or email Scott MacIntire at spcoop@netline.net for a quote. Thanx for your time and support! Sean Glumace FoL LA Webmaster +++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ [TRIVIA CONTEST] **THE FIRST PLACE TO FIND THE EMAG EACH WEEK IS ON THE WEB PAGE!** IF YOU ARE DESPERATE TO WIN THE TRIVIA, GO THERE FIRST ON FRIDAY NIGHT LAST ISSUE'S TRIVIA QUESTION: >From a suggestion by: nexus1 >What do the Atomic Knights, The Green Lantern Corp, and the Minutemen >(from Watchmen) have in common? From: gerbil@aztec.asu.edu (KEITH OBRIEN) Trivia answer: They've all come from DC Comics... [Heh, heh, only Keith would dare to think it would be that easy!] +++++ From: Henry Well, each was a superhero organization, and none of them exist now. In each one, one of their own turned into a complete villain (Dr. Doom for the Atomic Knights, Hal Jordan for the Green Lantern Crop, and Adrian Veidt of Watchmen). [But who would be responsible for all three situations? I would also contest the adjective *complete* in all cases.] +++++ From: calduch@iats.csic.es (Josep Calduch Giner) Their logo? Kind of a lamp, or a lantern, or... +++++ From: BLhobbes The similarity is that all of the members of each team has a team ring +++++ These folks got it right: Mark Annabel Jim Lawless Michael Slark Simon DelMonte Mark Cannon Federico Kereki [And once again, the Master of Comics, is the winningest contestant as he shows his stuff and gets it first...] From: Jim Murdoch >What do the Atomic Knights, The Green Lantern Corp, and the Minutemen >(from Watchmen) have in common? Men named Gardner Atomic Knights: GARDNER Grayle Green Lantern Corps: Guy GARDNER Minutemen: Captain Metropolis, aka Nelson GARDNER They're all named after long-time DC writer Gardner Fox. Jim [BTW, I was born and raised in GARDNER, MA - another bit of useless trivia - D.L.] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION: To escape from imprisonment on Htrae, what did Superman show Bizarro #1 that was NOT imperfect? 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! Messages with more than one guess will be disqualified. 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] CSNsider by W. Batty and C. Biggers This is the electronic version of the CSNsider from CSN #544, which will be in shops on 11/19/97. It is reproduced in its entirety as transmitted by COMIC SHOP NEWS with their expressed permission. SORRY, it was not posted this week. +++++ COMIC SHOP NEWS 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: ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [4] Network Buzz News, gossip and rumors from around the industry Tony Isabella and Bob Ingersoll are looking for an artist! Here is a recent column with details: 10/27/97 ****** Also at Mid-Ohio-Con, Bob Ingersoll and I will be reviewing portfolios as we search high and low--and across the Internet--for an artist to draw another new heroic creation. Here's the specs on this venture: 1) We have in hand a 32-page story introducing our new super- hero. It's done full script, so we need an artist who can work from a full script and who would rather tell a story than go for a garish money shot. This doesn't mean the artist won't have input into the future adventures of the character, but said character is already fully realized on everything other than the visual level. 2) We would love to attract a solid professional to this new project, but we won't rule out a talented newcomer either. You'll be called upon to draw super-hero action in a real world setting. If you don't know what a gun or a car or the inside of a nightclub looks like, you probably aren't right for us. You'll also need to be able to draw more than two distinct faces. 3) The artist we select for this assignment, assuming he or she fulfills the requirements, will get a third ownership of this property. Creative control will remain in our hands, but you will always get a third of any creator monies that come to us from this character. 4) We will make our final decision on an artist by the middle of December and work out the details of the agreement by the end of the year. The artist will then need to draw the 32-page story by the first of March. It's our intention to publish an ashcan of the story's first chapter in time for the spring comics conventions. The artist will get a third of the profits from the ashcan. What's the downside? Well, this is one of those wonderful back-end deals. We don't have a publisher for the character yet, although we'll be showing the book around to several before and after the ashcan debuts. We don't know if we'll be publishing the book ourselves. In any case, there won't be any up front money. The artist, like us, will have to hope that particular situation changes quickly. If you're not coming to Mid-Ohio-Con, you can send us samples of your current work and, if you have it, a resume of your previous work. We'd like to see a few pages of super-hero action (down-to- earth and moody, not cosmic) and a few pages of real-life scenes. Send them to: Tony Isabella P.O. Box 1502 Medina, OH 44258 +++++ From NEWSARAMA, exclusively on www.mania.com: Paul Ryan will be replaced as penciller on THE FLASH around issue #139 but may be retained as inker. Paul says he was told the new artist draws in the manga style and the switch is due to declining sales. According to a DC spokesman the new artist is Pop Mhan. A new trade paperback is being collected called DEADPOOL UN-ESSENTIALS. It will consist of appearances in other comics and basically stuff you don't need to further your understanding of the character. It is scheduled for October 1998, Marvel's Deadpool month. Silver Griffin is publishing a 4 issue B & W mini-series called CENTAUR CITY. Premiering in February it is written by Bill Marden and illustrated by John Kyc. Valiant has a quarterly Valiant Heroes Anthology in the works and one will include the hard to find X-O MANOWAR FAN Edition story distributed by the now defunct FAN Magazine. It features the debut of the VH-2 Hard Corps, Armorines, and Citadel. Joe Quesada has been asked to redesign the VH1 NINJAK costume for Colin King to be featured at some point in that series. The BABYLON 5: In VALENS NAME mini-series debuts in January from DC. Part 1 is written by J. Michael Strazynski, creator and head writer of the show, while parts 2 & 3 are written by Peter David. Bart Sears is up for a new CONAN mini for Marvel, doing both story & art. This will come after the Roy Thomas/Stefano Raffaele mini in January. The former Great Lakes Avengers have been regrouped, renamed as LIGHTNING RODS and re-affiliated to the THUNDERBOLTS in DeadPool #10. See them appear in Thunderbolts #15. Other Marvel projects in development but not scheduled are DEATHLOK and Spider-Girl. Harris and EVENT Comics are planning a Vampirella/Pain Killer Jane one-shot for early 1998. EVENT will temporarily suspend operations for 6 months in order to re-organize its internal operations and expand its current monthly schedule. This takes effect after publication of ASH: CINDER & SMOKE #6 and PAINKILLER JANE #5 both shipping this month. Joe Kelly is definitely leaving the writing chores for DAREDEVIL after issue #375. Tom DeFalco does one issue of Wolverine after Warren Ellis leaves. Jim Lee has decided to give up the role of Editor in Chief of WILDSTORM Productions after several months. A new EIC will be promoted from within and Michael Heisler will remain Executive Editor. Joe Casey takes over CABLE from James Robinson with #51. Joseph Michael Linser illustrates the cover to Vampirella #4 variant, the start of the Holy War arc. The variant is 1:20. Kaboom continues as a regular series starting with issue #4 in Feb. Marvel is negotiating the rights to the entire cast of the MICRONAUTS which it hopes to relaunch as an ongoing series. Mego holds most of those rights, except for the four Marvel characters Ran, Mari, Bug, and Huntar. Marvel won't do a series without the rest. They plan the team of Shon Bury, Cary Nord and Scott Koblish with new Senior Art Director Michael Golden as consultant. Ralph Macchio and Claudio Castellini are working on a Thor graphic novel for 1998 release. It will deal with the coming of GALACTUS to Asgard. Jackson Guice will pencil the 3 issue IRON FIST mini to begin shipping in May 1998 and written by Dan Jurgens. Jack Kirby's 4th World #20 retells the meeting of Superman and the New Gods, putting it in a modern context. Harris intends to launch a Pantha series by Mark Texeria using a new illustrative technique. +++++ From the Daily Buzz, also on www.mania.com: Brian Michael Bendis is said to be tightening up his first draft for AKA GOLDFISH, the live-action movie based on his comic book with MIRAMAX. The director of Kiss the Girls, Gary Felder, is in negotiations to direct Goldfish. Bendis will also do a second movie, JINX, based on his current comic from Image. Bryan Singer is still attached to the X-Men movie using the near to finish script by Ed (Men in Black) Solomon. J.M. DeMatteis is writing a script for a live-action Daredevil movie for 20th Century Fox. The Black Pearl, the recent Dark Horse Comics mini-series created and owned by Mark Hamill and his cousin Eric Johnson, has been optioned for film and television by Bob Rehme and his Rehme Productions. Hamill hopes to direct if the project gets the go ahead. Locus reports Rachel Pollack, former writer of DC Comics' Doom Patrol was announced as the World Fantasy Award winner for her novel Godmother Night. Moebius (Jean Giraud) garnered the World Fantasy artist's award. Warner Brothers has optioned the comic series HOUSE OF SECRETS and hired co-creator Steven Seagle to write the script. The live action movie will follow the comic with some visual effects but still a TV's latest Lois Lane, Teri Hatcher, gave birth to a baby girl on Monday in Los Angeles. She is married to actor Jon Tenney of the CBS series Brooklyn South. The girl is named Emerson Rose and she and mom are doing well. +++++ Italy Marvel has bought the translating rights from Awesome and McFarlane Productions. Sounds weird but translating comics to other languages is big business. +++++ Small Press Expo to be held September 25-27, 1998 Event returns to Bethesda for fifth year The 1998 Small Press Expo (SPX) will be held the weekend of September 25-27 at the Holiday Inn Select in downtown Bethesda, MD, just one mile outside the nation's capital, Washington DC. In its fifth year SPX now serves as the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comic books and the discovery of new creative talent. Small Press Expo '98 will bring together over 200 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers, distributors, and each other. SPX '98 will be even larger than last year's SPX -- with over 150 exhibits and with the huge exhibit hall being held open twice as long as last year, fan attendance is expected to surpass 1,000. Small Press Expo '98 will mark the second annual presentation of The Ignatz Awards for outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning. The Ignatz, named after George Herriman's brick-wielding mouse, recognizes outstanding work that challenges popular notions of what comics can achieve, both as an artform and as a means of personal expression. The Ignatz is a festival prize, the first such of the United States comic book industry. Winners will be determined by ballot during SPX and presented at the gala Ignatz Awards ceremony Saturday night (September 26). As with every year, all profits from Small Press Expo '98 will go to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), protecting the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals. "It is absolutely fantastic that Small Press Expo supports such a worthy cause," said indy Magazine editor Jeff Mason, "I expect that with the increase of the size of the show that SPX will raise at least twice what they raised last year for CBLDF." Again this year, Small Press Expo will be held in conjunction with the International Comics and Animation Festival (ICAF), which is sponsored by Georgetown University and the embassies of France and Belgium. With 1998 being ICAF's fourth year, it is one of the few academic convocations in this country devoted to comics, bringing together artists, scholars, and critics from around the world. ICAF will begin the Thursday (September 24) prior to the Expo, and on Friday September 25, ICAF and SPX come together. For more information about Small Press Expo contact: Chris Oarr, PO Box 5874, Takoma Park, MD 20913. Phone: 301-565-8340, Fax: 301-565-9140, E-Mail: coarr@erols.com. The official Small Press Expo website is: http://www.indyworld.com/spx +++++ From Zentertainment: LIGHTNING Entertainment, Inc., the parent company for comic book publisher LIGHTNING COMICS (Hellina, Sinthia etc.) and hobby market action figure manufacturer SKYBOLT TOYZ, is starting a new monthly e-mailer. The new e-mailer, "LIGHTNING STORM," will include monthly features such as: New Comics & Toys, Interviews With Creators, Press Releases, Special Offers On Toys & Comics and much, much more! Each e-mailer will usually include a really cool, downloadable .jpg or .bmp! To join this free list, contact SteveLtng@aol.com via e-mail and enter the word "subscribe". The first e-mailer will go out in about one month. +++++ From: tugbuster@aol.com (Tugbuster) The Latest News From Art & Soul Comics: "We's IMAGE guys, Tug!" Shipping in January from Image Comics is The 4-fisted Misadventures of Tug & Buster, a 176-page trade paperback collecting the first six issues of Marc Hempel's acclaimed humor title. This thick volume will include some new material (including scenes cut from the original comics for space reasons) as well as a new, full color cover. The retail price will be $17.95. For more information, check out the recently upgraded and updated Official Tug & Buster Home Page (please note the new address)... http://members.aol.com/tugbuster/ +++++ MARVEL GOSSIP -> (that means we cannot reveal our *inside* source) There may be some editorial changes brewing at Marvel, ala Marvelution. There is a line of super-deluxe hardcover reprints in the works, but no word on new Marvel Masterworks. +++++ Elayne Wechsler-Chaput reports on rec.arts.comics.dc.lsh that KC Carlson announced his replacement on this week's AOL Legion Chat as Mike McAvennie. KC said he needed time off for health (not serious) reasons. +++++ MCFARLANE TOYS TO PREMIER NEW ACTION FIGURE AT MID-OHIO-CON. On Thanksgiving weekend, November 29 & 30, the 18th annual Mid-Ohio-Con will be the site for a special "world premiere" of a brand new action figure toy from McFarlane Toys. McFarlane Toys, makers of the SPAWN and KISS action figures, will have a special display at this year's Mid-Ohio-Con, featuring a limited-edition BLACK version of the "Violator" character. As seen in the summer hit, "Spawn: The Movie" and the popular HBO series, "Todd McFarlane's Spawn", this evil-doer is filled with pure malice. For the first time, this bendable figure will be painted as black as his heart! The special Black Violator figure will be limited to one per convention attendee, selling for $10 each, while supplies last. This action figure, never sold through any stores, will ONLY be available at Mid-Ohio-Con. The McFarlane Toys display will also have some special surprises, including a sneak peek at some of the great new toys coming out in 1998! Mid-Ohio-Con, "Ohio's Best Comic Book Show" is Saturday and Sunday, November 29 & 30 at the new Adam's Mark Hotel. Located at 50 North Third Street, in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The Adam's Mark is centrally located near major downtown attractions and offers many convenient parking options for attendees. Show hours are 10am to 6pm on Saturday and 10am to 5pm on Sunday. Admission is $10 per day, or $15 for both days. Children age 6 and under are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult. The box office will open at 9am both days. . Additional information can be obtained from R.A.P. Productions via e-mail at: MidOhioCon@aol.com. Visit Mid-Ohio-Con's Official Website at: www.wfcomics.com/midohiocon. +++++ From the Comic Book Continuum of the Detroit News: Captain America will be the next Marvel character to get an animated series on Fox, following X-Men, Spider-Man and Silver Surfer. The Captain America series will be produced by Saban Entertainment and could begin airing on Fox as early as the fall of 1998. The show will be produced by Will Meugniot, whose credits include many episodes of X-Men, as well as the syndicated ExoSquad. Captain America will be set during World War II. Captain America recently appeared on both X-Men and Spider-Man series, and will again appear on Spider-Man during the upcoming "Secret Wars" story. Sources told the Continuum The Avengers will be the next series on Fox following Captain America. Meanwhile, a script for a Captain America live-action movie should be completed soon. The film will be the first produced by Marvel Studios. +++++ LOS ANGELES, Nov. 12, 1997 -- The hit HBO adult animated series TODD MCFARLANE'S SPAWN will return next spring with six new half-hour episodes, it was announced today by Chris Albrecht, president, HBO Original Programming. Based on McFarlane's smash hit comic book, the HBO Animation series debuted its first six shows last May and June. ``I'm proud of the success of TODD MCFARLANE'S SPAWN,'' said Albrecht. ``With its bold visuals and offbeat characters, it has brought another dimension to HBO's already diverse slate of programming, becoming a signature for our young animation division.'' ``HBO is the perfect home for Spawn and all of his unearthly friends,'' said McFarlane, the series' creator and executive producer. ``Just like the comic book I created, the TV series is meant to press some buttons, and HBO has really given us the room to do so. The character is a superhero for today; he's a lot more intense than traditional superheroes.'' Keith David, whose credits include HBO Pictures' upcoming ``Don King: Only in America'' and the animated series ``Gargoyles,'' will return as the voice of Spawn. Richard Dysart of ``LA Law'' fame will also return as the voice of Cogliostro, the elderly man with a secret identity who mentors the confused Spawn. TV Guide has called TODD MCFARLANE'S SPAWN ``stylish'' and a ``hell of a hero,'' while Rolling Stone hailed it as ``excellent.'' The St. Petersburg Times said the ``gritty'' series is like a ``modern-day urban horror movie,'' and the Denver Post called the series a ``masterfully illustrated trip,'' observing that the ``strange world of Spawn keeps HBO on the cutting edge.'' The first six episodes of the series, currently available only on HBO Home Video, are the best-selling HBO original production in the company's history, having already been certified platinum by the ITA. The video has remained in the Top 10 since entering the Billboard chart at no. 2 on its release in August. The original six shows will receive an encore presentation on HBO in December, with the first three presented Friday, Dec. 19 (11:30 p.m.-1:00 a.m. ET), followed by the second three on Friday, Dec. 26 (11:30 p.m.-1:00 a.m. ET). TODD MCFARLANE'S SPAWN was the inaugural project for HBO Animation, which was founded in September 1996 and is overseen by Carmi Zlotnik, vice president of Original Programming Production and Creative Affairs. HBO Animation is supervised by Catherine Winder (producer of ``Aeon Flux''), vice president of HBO Animation, who oversees the day-to-day creative and operational facets of the division, and David Bartis, vice president, Comedy Series and Animation for HBO Original Programming, who developed TODD MCFARLANE'S SPAWN and works closely with HBO Animation to develop projects for HBO. Currently developing new projects for HBO and other broadcast and cable networks, HBO Animation will offer family-oriented, as well as adult, fare. +++++ Foundation Comics P.O. Box 1143 Grapevine, Tx 76051 Second Rate Heroes on Hiatus... Return to Publishing in the Summer of 1998 Will Bring with it a New Format Friday, November 14, 1997 Contact: Christopher Gronlund: gronlund@metronet.com Grapevine, Tx--Foundation Comics, publisher of Second Rate Heroes, has ceased the publication of individual comic books effective immediately. The company plans to return to publishing in the summer of 1998, with a 192 page Trade paperback collecting the first six issues of Second Rate Heroes. Second Rate Heroes co-creator Christopher Gronlund said, "We have always wished we could publish entire story arcs, instead of individual issues, and now it looks like we have that chance. We want to prove to readers we are committed to Second Rate Heroes and we can't think of any better way to prove our dedication than by giving them the whole story, all at once!" Cynthia Griffith, co-creator and artist said, "The Trade Paperback format offers a sense of credibility. We are serious about what we do and take pride in our work. The majority of our direct orders come from people who normally don't read comics and would rather have a completed story, instead of individual issues. The Trade Paperback format allows us to give these readers what they want, and gives a sense of commitment to comics fans, by providing a completed storyline." One of the company's greatest fears are new readers unable to get the whole story. "We just sold out of #2--although Cold Cut Distribution still has copies--" said Christopher, "and if we had continued publishing individual issues, we would have been more concerned with getting the next issue out, than reprinting an older issue. Each issue is vital to the storyline and we feared new readers would be turned away because they would be missing parts of the story and unable to follow." "You hear so many people talking about ways to bring credibility to the marketplace and bring in new readers," said Cynthia. "There are some doors we've opened with the individual issues that will be opened much wider with the change in format. We are confident this new format will play an integral part in keeping the readers we already have, and bringing many new readers into comics." For more information, visit the Foundation Comics Webpage, located at: http://www.metronet.com/~gronlund/foundation.html +++++ From: BCEMYLAR@INTERNETMCI.COM (BILL COLE ENTERPRISES, INC.) November 14, 1997 Please accept our apologies if you have already received this message. We have had numerous problems of both sending and receiving messages and orders from both our E-Mail and Web site. Our Webmaster has informed us that those problems have been corrected and you can now log on at www.neponset.com/bcemylar Thank you for taking the time out and looking at our site. WE ALSO NEED A COPY WRITER! Bill Cole Enterprises is seeking an individual with a knowledge of the comic book industry to assist us in producing copy for our catalogs/direct mail/ newsletters/ web site and press releases for the major collecting magazines. Requires strong organizational, writing and editorial skills. Be able to propose, launch and support our new retailer comic supply program. Must have experience in the comic book retail and collecting industry. We do not require you to change locations. If interested we would need to see samples of your work based upon your reworking our ads that normally appear in the Comic Buyers Guide, The comic Retailer and in our own Nameless Newsletter. We will discuss remuneration after seeing your samples. You may call, write, Fax or E-Mail us at Bill Cole Enterprises, Inc. PO Box 60, Randolph, MA 02368-0060. Phone 1-781-986-2653 Fax 1-781-986-2656. E-Mail us at BCEMYLAR@INTERNETMCI.COM +++++ PolyGram Television Pacts With Edward R. Pressman Film Corp. and Alliance Communications To Produce and Distribute New One Hour Weekly Program LOS ANGELES, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- PolyGram Television has acquired the rights to produce the television series "THE CROW -- STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN" from Edward R. Pressman Film Corp. and has entered into production arrangement with Alliance Communications Corporation for the series, it was announced today by Bob Sanitsky, President of PolyGram Television. The one hour action packed series will be available in first run syndication fall 1998. "THE CROW -- STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN" is based on the highly acclaimed feature film franchise "The Crow" and "The Crow -- City of Angels" produced by Edward R. Pressman. This is Pressman's first foray into television production and he will serve as executive producer. The 22 original action packed episodes will pick up on the feature storyline from "The Crow" as Eric Draven a brilliant young musician, and Shelly, the woman of his dreams, have their lives brutally taken from them. She ascends to heaven, but he remains on earth -- a lost soul searching for a way to be reunited with Shelly. Shelly is now Draven's guardian angel, each week guiding him to his next challenge. He seeks salvation by helping others, fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves. Through each act of justice, he is taken one step closer to his dream. Fueled by a modern rock soundtrack, "THE CROW -- STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN" will take viewers on the dramatic journey of one man's quest for redemption joining his soul with his one true love in heaven. "PolyGram Television is aggressively looking to identify program opportunities that will have a freshness and take viewers to a new place," said Sanitsky. "`THE CROW -- STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN' fits this mandate perfectly. It is an exciting new property that already has a strong built-in awareness and brand identity. The television series presents a distinctive point of view -- it's the action hour with heart. The unique storyline and the rock and roll soundtrack separates our show from the pack." "The Crow" and "The Crow -- City of Angels" both opened to number one at the box office, and garnered over $150 million worldwide from their theatrical release. The movies' loyal following has now grown into a nationwide fan base. Based on the success and popularity of the first two feature film installments, Edward R. Pressman Film Corp. is currently in development on "The Crow, 2037," the third feature film in the franchise which will be directed by Rob Zombie of the rock band, White Zombie. "We've always known that the myth of `The Crow' was so intriguing and well written that a number of different stories could be told. This is a property that we have believed in since Jeff Most first brought us the comic book by James O'Barr, who created an unforgettable character in the `avenging angel' Eric Draven. We are thrilled to have been able to team up with PolyGram and Alliance to turn the story into a weekly series," said Edward R. Pressman. "Our positive experience with PolyGram on `Due South' and the up coming `Total Recall -- The Series' have lead us to this, our third collaboration. I am particularly pleased that we are making `THE CROW -- STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN' as there is nothing like it available on television today," said Robert Lantos, Chairman and CEO of Alliance Communications Corporation. Matt Cooperstein, Senior Vice President Distribution at PolyGram Television added: "There's a new generation that's about to be `rocked' by an angel. With America's fascination with the spiritual, the paranormal, and the new millennium, the time is right to launch this series. We are ready to capitalize on these elements as well as dedicating the production resources to make this series a truly exciting television show to watch." With more than 40 diverse motion pictures to his credit, producer Edward R. Pressman has forged a career of individualism with distinction throughout the industry and the world. Some of Pressman's many credits include the Academy Award-winning "Reversal of Fortune," "Wall Street," "Talk Radio," "Conan the Barbarian," "Plenty," "Blue Steel," "Street Fighter," "To Sleep With Anger," "Badlands" and "Das Boot." ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Tony's Isabella's Journal Tony Isabella tonyisa@ohio.net "America's Most Beloved Comic-Book Writer & Columnist" Tony Isabella is a featured weekly columnist in the nation's largest comic book collector's publication, Comics Buyer's Guide. His satiric "Tony's Tips!" is a favorite among fans and industry professionals alike. A life long comic book fan, Tony began his career in 1972 as a comics professional as assistant to Stan Lee! He has worked in nearly every aspect of the business, from retailing, to distribution to writing. Among his credits is the creation of DC's first black super-hero, Black Lightning. Tony's latest project, the daily "Tony's Isabella's Journal" made its debut in June of 1997 on the world wide web exclusively through World Famous Comics, at http://www.wfcomics.com/tony The following is one of those daily columns . . . Tony Isabella's Journal #147 I closed the Dilton Doiley "love drug" case last night. The alleged cartel chemist had put his "love potion" into the water at a local Hooters establishment. But, like all criminals, he made a mistake. A big one. This was one of those Hooters where, due to the intervention of a wise government policy, men and women worked side-by-side as sexily-clad waitpersons. Big men. Big women. The first waitperson to take a drink of Doiley's brew was a 6'10" native American whose tribal name translates, roughly, to "Picks His Teeth With Your Broken Ribs." The effects were swift and painful. He saw Doiley, he hugged Doiley. On the downside, once he's out of traction, Doiley still faces felony drug charges and, likely, a long stay behind bars. On the upside, when he gets out, "Picks His Teeth With Your Broken Ribs" will be waiting for him. Ain't love grand? ****** Last night, while waiting for Doiley to get out of surgery, I read The Batman and Robin Adventures #15-25, and also The Batman and Robin Adventures Annual #2. I've said before that this is my favorite of the Bat-titles, the one whose Batman meshes most closely with my own view of the legendary characters. That's not to say I don't enjoy other Bat-titles, but this is the one that really gets me going. Ty Templeton wrote all but two of the above and delivered good to great, complete-in-one-issue stories each time. The artwork by Brandom Kruse, Rich Burchett, Joe Staton, Terry Beatty, Bo Hampton, and Stan Woch was excellent throughout. By the numbers... TBARA #15 ("Second Chances") introduces Boston Brand, a.k.a. Deadman, into this title's unique universe, as Dick "Robin" Grayson rejoins the circus where his family were once headliners. The almost sibling rivalry between Brand and Grayson is a nice turn, with Brand getting the best line of the issue, hereafter abbreviated as the "BLI". BRAND (to Dick): Ya can't trust no one and life stinks, kid. You'd know that if you weren't such a puppy. TBARA #16 ("It Takes a Cat") has Catwoman hunted by Bats and the cops for a series of copycat crimes she didn't commit. Robin scores the BLI. CATMAN: And I have claws! ROBIN: No kidding. It's terrible what you've done to the drapes. TBARA #17 ("But a Dream") has Templeton dialoguing a story by Paul Dini. The Mad Hatter is the villain, Robin gets the best lines, and the ending, although predictable, is still a satisfying one. Tough call for the BLI, but I'll go with... DICK: I've heard of crying at weddings before...but that girl is a lawn sprinkler. TBARA #18 ("Joker's Last Laugh") has Harley Quinn trying to cheer up an unusually morose Joker. Lots of laughs throughout and a terrific ending. The BLI is shared by Robin and Batman because, sometimes, you need a straight man. ROBIN: A barracuda down the pants is kinda funny. BATMAN: No, it's not. ROBIN: Right. TBARA #19 ("Duty of the Huntress") is the animated origin of the Huntress. No BLI this time around, but some very moving scenes with Helena Bertinelli coming to terms with the realities of her slain father's life. TBARA #20 ("Through the Long Night") has Batman and Robin tracking down illegal weapons while Gotham's finest bet on how many perps the duo will "arrest" in one night. Harvey Bullock gets the BLI this time. HARVEY: What kind of self-respecting street gang hangs out in an abandoned botanical garden? TBARA #21 ("Why Is a Raven Like a Writing Desk?") was, for me, the weakest story of the regular run. That's partially because I've never liked the Riddler and partially because I don't think Templeton doesn't get Batgirl quite right. However, he does a very good Commissioner Gordon, whose not-going-to-give-it-away deduction is the high point of the issue. TBARA #22 ("Fifty Fifty") is a terrific Two-Face story with a lot of wonderful twists. This issue doesn't have any one BLI, but Harvey Dent steals the show throughout. TBARA #23 ("Crocodile Tears") puts the spot on Killer Croc and television reporter Summer Gleeson. I can't say much about this without spoiling a fine climax, but it's one of the best issues of the run. TBARA #24 ("Touch of Death") is written by Kelley Puckett and features a relatively sympathetic Poison Ivy. The coincidences in this story are a little hard to take, but, overall, it's still an entertaining issue. TBARA #25 ("Demon in the Sky") is the double-sized finale to this title, which will be replaced with, first, a mini-series that bridges the three-year gap between these adventures and the current cartoons and, then, a monthly Gotham Knights book starring Bats, Robin, Batgirl, and Nightwing. Ra's Al Ghul is the villain and, despite a little too much X-Files in the plot, it's a fast-moving thriller. The determination shown by Batman throughout the issue is unforgettable. That brings us to the only mutt in the pack, "Token of Faith" in The Batman and Robin Adventures Annual #2. Written by Hilary J. Bader, this story drags its way across 53 pages and never captured by interest. This despite the presence of Zatanna, who is not merely one of my favorite DCU characters, but also one of my top personal fantasies. (Tony Isabella groupies, please note this vital information.) It's ironic that a title which consistently packed so much story into single issues comes up short when it had more than twice the room to fly. See you tomorrow. Tony Isabella ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [6] INTERVIEW: Michael Triggs Paul Dale Roberts [Arch-Type Studios] silhouet@ix.netcom.com Question: Michael, tell me something about yourself. How did you get into comic books and what was the first comic book you ever read? -*- Well, let's see : I grew up in Worcester, MA. I started playing role-playing games when I was in my early teens, including Marvel Superheroes [although, it was kind of hard to find people to play..] After reading through a lot of the Marvel Superheroes source books [which featured detailed histories on practically every Marvel character that ever appeared], I decided to try my hand at reading an actual Marvel comic. I picked up Uncanny X-Men #275, and got hooked almost instantly.. -*- Question: What comic books do you read now? -*- I still pick up some of the X-Titles, with the current incarnation of X-Force being one of my favorites at the moment. I also regularly read Stormwatch, Gen 13 Bootleg, Witchblade, Supergirl, Thunderbolts, Alpha Flight, The Tenth and a few independent titles when I can find them.. -*- Question: How did you get into the comic book industry. What is the comic book your producing? -*- I got into comic book industry starting in college, I guess. I continued reading comic books through college, and was sort of getting disappointed with a lot of the stuff out there. So, I figured - "I bet I can do better!" So, I started writing these elaborate comic book scripts. They were pretty convoluted at first, but they gradually got better as I got the hang of scripting. One of my better ideas was entitled the Half-Life [later be known as the Half-Life Chronicles].. I sent in a one-shot proposal to Dark horse, who rejected it. After they rejected it, I basically wrote and rewrote the concept, until it gradually began to take its current shape. I hooked up with a few pencillers, including Matthew Downer and Travis Hanson, who helped my ideas take shape. I met up with a fellow named Mordechai Luchins, who had started up a talent pool called Archetype Studios [later known as Arch-Type Studios].. He had assembled a large collective of comic creators, and asked me if I wanted in - so I figured, "what the heck", and became a part of Arch-Type Studios.. After Arch-Type planned to do a fantasy anthology by the name of Periphery, my Half-Life Chronicles story got into the first issue. And I also ended up co-editing the project. -*= Question: Please give our readers, some details about your company, your staff members and the comic books that you will be producing. Please explain: -*- Arch-Type Studios is essentially a large talent pool. We help match up writers with artists and letterers, and give them a hand getting their ideas off the ground. It would be tough to list all the group members here. Too many names to even know where to begin. Our current project is a quarterly fantasy anthology entitled Periphery. We plan to cover every facet of the almost infinite fantasy genre. In our first issue alone, we have everything from gun-crazy fowl to "lucky" cadavers to 100 Satan cameo appearances. In future issues, we plan on having everything from swords/sorcery to science fiction to horror to the surreal to the paranormal, and some plain old weird stuff thrown in for good measure. We have two issues almost done - our first issue hopefully should be out by early next year, if everything goes right. The first issue is 40 pages with a beautiful cover by Matthew Childers - it includes stories from myself, Andrew Dabb [Quack], Jennifer Hachigian [Lore], Jack Feerick [Dead Man's Date], and Jason Whitley/Scott EckElaert [The Trashman]. Question: How can someone get information about your comic books? How can they contact your publishing company? For more information on Periphery and Arch-Type, check out our website at http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/4407. It's a little rough around the edges, but it should give you a better idea of what Periphery and Arch-Type are all about. There is also submission and talent pool information on the webpage. Feel free to email me [MTRIGGS886@aol.com] or Mordechai Luchins [TYPO LAD@aol.com] if you have any questions. Also, if you want to check out my Half-Life Chronicles page, it's at http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/3106. It has plenty of sample artwork, and other eye candy from this epic, which I will publish as a regular series as soon as I find a regular artist. << Question: What do you think of the comic book industry (pro and con): >> I think this is a great time to be in the comic book industry, since everything that was taken for granted a few years ago is becoming topsy-turvy. Nowadays, anybody can make a comic book, with a long-reach stapler and a Kinko's or copy shop nearby.. On the other side of the coin, since it's so easy to make comic books, there are a lot more to choose from, and a lot more haystacks to sift through to find needles.. I'm almost afraid that the over saturation of comic books might scare off new readers, who will enter comic shops for the first time, and just get hit hard by the sensory overload of all the different covers. It's going to take a lot more to make a comic book stand out from the crowd. Marketers and publishers are going to have to get sneakily creative, since the same old tricks aren't going to work. -*- Question: Who are your three fictional heroes and why? -*- That's easy : 1) Daredevil - Since my vision has always been terrible, I've always respected a hero who can achieve greatness despite visual limitations. 2) Hindsight Lad - This was a character from the New Warriors. I always thought he was a true hero, since he never had anything "powerful" going for him, like strength, or mutant powers, or x-ray vision.. But despite all this, he was able to help out purely using his intellect. 3) Leif Cassidy/Al Snow - He is a professional wrestler, whom rarely wins, especially in the WWF. He is the epitome of underachievers, and is hence a hero in my eyes, simply because of his persistence.. -*- Question: I have a website called Jazma Comic Book Newsletter Productions located at: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/5073/ that promotes amateur and professional comic book artwork, scripts and storylines (shameless plug)...do you now have a website or do you plan to have a website promoting your comic books? -*- Yes. The Arch-Type website [http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/4407/] has links to many of the individual websites of the creators in our talent pool. -*- Question: Do you feel the future of comic books is in cyberspace? -*- Yes, and no. I think cyberspace will play a critical role in marketing comic books in the future, due to the rising costs of paper. It's a lot cheaper to subscribe to an online service, and plug a comic book by that route, then it is to send out mass-mailings, and other kinds of paper-intense promotion. On the other hand, I think it's going to take a while to get people to purchase online comics, due to their intangibility - once you shut off the computer, the comic disappears. I think putting a comic online is a good way to get a comic book some early exposure, but most people still seem to like the nostalgic feel of holding a comic book in their hands. -*- Question: What are your feelings on the Marvel bankruptcy ordeal? -*- Oy. I wouldn't even know where to begin on that issue. It's unfortunate, but it just shows that even the giants aren't impervious to harm. If Marvel ever went belly-up, it would throw the comic industry into a state of turmoil, which would be bad in the short run, but might actually breathe new life into the industry in the long run. There's no better way to breathe new life into something than to change the environment, and force it to adapt. -*- Question: What are some of your recreational activities? -*- I'm a big pro-wrestling fan. I've kind of lost interest in the whole WWF/WCW corporate battle thing, but I still watch ECW wrestling almost religiously, and have been trying to build up the energy to get to one of their house shows, which are supposedly just incredible. -*- Question: What movies, tv shows, books do you like? -*- I don't watch much television. Sort of lost interest in television during high school.. I watch South Park, RugRats, and The Simpsons, and wrestling, and that's pretty much it.. I read a lot of Stephen King's stuff.. It's very hard for me to read a book from beginning to end, since I have the mother of all short attention spans.. -*- Question: Did your talent for comic books come naturally, or did you go to school for this? -*- I've been writing since I was a little kid. I had the natural talent to be creative.. I think most people do have this as children, but forget how to do it as they grow older.. I think I refined it during college - taught myself how to script, among other things. College really taught me the business end of things, though. I went to a business school, and all that stuff you learn, thinking "I'll never need to do this.." - it actually is pretty useful.. Those accounting courses that I suffered through actually come in handy.. Who knew? I also picked up a good understanding of marketing, after working in college radio for a few years - a lot of the marketing approaches used in college radio also seem to work fairly well in the comic book industry. Same sort of thing - in college radio, promoters send you free music, and then finagle you into playing it on your station. In comic books, you send comic shops sample comics, and then try to get them to order some issues. -*- Question: What comic book creators give you inspiration and why? -*- John Francis Moore is currently my favorite creator right now. I loved his X-Men 2099 run, and his X-Force run is also excellent.. He's very good at developing subplots gradually, and his stories flow very well. He's also very good at using dramatic effect at just the right moment. [The ending of X-Men 2099], and tying up loose ends neatly [again, the ending of X-Men 2099].. I also like Warren Ellis [Excalibur, Stormwatch, Wolverine] and Evan Skolnick [New Warriors] for much the same reason. It takes a good writer to spin a good tale, but it takes an even better writer to end it well. I want to try and capture that sort of quality in my own writing. -*- Question: Can you tell us the good and bad of self publishing? -*- Yes. Very easily. The good : You have more control over your own work. You can worry more about quality, and less about making an economic killing. [Although, breaking even is very nice.] The bad : It's a lot more work. You have to play the role of the writer, the manager, the marketer, and the printer. You get so busy with all the other stuff, that sometimes you forget about doing the writing. -*- Question: How many characters have you created? -*- Hm.. I never really stopped to count. Right now, there are about three or four main characters in The Half-Life Chronicles. Matthew, who is winged zombie whose soul kind of got misplaced in the red tape of a bureaucratic afterlife. [God and Satan are both on vacation, and they left incompetents running the show.] Patricia is a tomboyish tabloid photographer, who inadvertently stumbles upon Matthew, and makes it a point of trying to get his picture. [She's sick of taking pictures of "fake supernatural stuff" for the tabloid she works for, and wants to photograph some real paranormal stuff.] She plays a critical role in the story, especially the first arc. Skank is an irresponsible runt of a grim reaper who misplaced Matthew's soul in the first place - he goes looking for it, in order to prove to his Heavenly employers that he can be responsible when he really wants to. He also plays a critical role in the Half-Life Chronicles. As far as other characters I've created, there are tons of them lying half-drawn and described on scrap papers scattered throughout my "office".. They all might very well see the "publishing light" some day.. -*- Question: What comic book cons have you been to? -*- We were at the Boston Comic Book Spectacular in October, and were considering re-attending that, since the response we got was very well. We were also considering doing the Big Apple Con. Also, Jennifer Hachigian [Lore in issue #1] regularly frequents the Michigan conventions.. One of the advantages of being a talent pool is that we can cover a lot of ground, since we're all scattered out. -*- Question: When can we expect to see your comic books on the racks? -*- If everything goes right, we could have issue #1 out as early as the start of 1998. Feel free to begin pestering your comic shop owners to carry Periphery. =) We don't have the marketing budget of Marvel exactly, so any word of mouth we can get always helps us. -*- Question: Well, that wraps the interview up for now, is there anything else you like to add Michael? Please add it on here: -*- Thanks for giving us a chance to tell your readers about Arch-Type. Best of luck to your online fanzine. -*- Michael Triggs Arch-Type Studios http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/4407/ Periphery : Transversing The Infinite Facets Of Fantasy The Half-Life Chronicles http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/3106/ ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [7] HAD YOUR PHIL? Phil White Ogre4i@aol.com [EDITOR's NOTE: responses to this column MUST be sent to PHIL at the address noted. If you just hit REPLY, or send them to ComicBkNEt@aol.com they will not be counted, they will not be forwarded they WILL be ignored. You will see what I mean, when you've had your Phil - D.L.] Sometimes (most of the time?) you can't trust those so-called fan opinion polls. Look at the annual Wizard survey. They actually give you a list to choose from in each category, presupposing your opinions, thereby slanting the poll to their own ends. My decision to drop the Comic Buyer's Guide was for variety of reasons, but it was one of their yearly "best of" polls that cinched the matter. I spent almost two hours filling out their questionnaire, carefully selecting my choice for the absolute best short story of the year; for the best-serialized story; for the best graphic novel, etc. As hard as it was, I forced myself to choose between James Robinson and Kurt Busiek as my nominee for best writer that year. I managed to boil down my choices for best artist, best inker, best letterer (give me a break!) best colorist and so on. When the day came for CBG to announce the winners, I was knocked for a loop to read that Carl Barks had won all of the top honors. Best writer. Best artist. Best reprint. And more. It never occurred to me to cast my ballot for Carl Barks. It was my understanding that this was supposed to reflect current projects by current creators. Later, I read that there had been an organized movement within the industry and fandom to honor Mr. Barks in this way. My ballot was totally invalidated. It meant nothing. Unlike CBG and Wizard, I care about your opinions. According to David LeBlanc, there are over 800 of you folks receiving CBEM. This is your opportunity to participate in an unbiased survey. Of course, this being an open forum with no advertisers to offend, I'm looking for your negative opinions as well as your positive ones. Before you begin, here is a reading of the rules from CBEM's law firm of Dewey, Cheetum and Howe, L.L.C.: "Please transmit your survey answers via e-mail to Phil White at the above address. Be sure to include the question number and your response. Limit one survey per e-mail return address. Save any pithy comments or clarifications for the end of the survey. Any such comments may appear in future columns. All surveys must be transmitted by November 28, 1997. (That's only two weeks, so get moving.) The results will appear in 'Had Your Phil' as soon as the statistics are compiled, probably in December. Special Incentive: "As a special incentive, all completed survey entries will be entered into a drawing. Ten survey entries will be drawn at random by Mrs. White. Those ten participants will receive a package of OGRE goodies, including: Issues #1-4 of OGRE; one OGRE'S MID-EAST ADVENTURE poster (folded); one OGRE promo postcard; and one FELONY (Ogre's girlfriend) promo postcard. Any of the ten winners who have answered the two bonus questions will also receive a bonus prize. All Winners will be notified by e-mail. BEST AND WORST OF 1997 January 1 - November 14 Name the best and worst comic book(s), series or family of comics from the following "Premier Publishers" this year. (Diamond's description, not mine.) 1. Best from Acclaim? 2. Worst from Acclaim? 3. Best from Dark Horse? 4. Worst from Dark Horse? 5. Best from DC? 6. Worst from DC? 7. Best from Image? 8. Worst from Image? 9. Best from Marvel? 10. Worst from Marvel? Name the best comic book(s), series or family of comics from the following "Other Publishers" this year. (Again, Diamond's description, not mine.) Please name the publisher as well. 11. Best color comic(s)? 12. Best b/w comic(s)? In your opinion, please name... 13. The best damned comic book or series you've read this year? 14. The absolute worst dreck daring to call itself a comic book this year? 15. The most moralistic comic book or series you've read this year? 16. The most immoral comic book or series you've read this year? 17. Overall, the best publisher to publish comics this year? 18. Overall, the worst publisher churning out comics this year? Which creators published this year have been consistently good in their field? 19. Best writer? 20. Best artist? 21. Best inker? 22. Best color artist? Which creators published this year have been inconsistent in their efforts? 23. Writer? 24. Artist? 25. Inker? 26. Color artist? (A) Agree or (D) Disagree (Example: 32. A) 27. Jim Shooter would make a swell editor in chief of Marvel Comics? A / D 28. Women entering the comic book profession have had a positive impact on this, traditionally male, industry. A / D 29. Creator's compensation packages have had just as much an impact on escalating cover prices as the rise in material (paper) costs, inflation, and corporate greed. A / D 30. With 1997 circulation figures hitting all time lows, today's comics will eventually be more valuable ($) than comics from the 70's and 80's. A / D Bonus questions. 31. Name the comic book creator you consider the "Ed Wood" of comics for 1997? 32. To your recollection, who was the first "Prima Donna" of comic book creators? 33. What question would you ask of your fellow readers in the next survey? I've tried to keep it short and interesting. Let me hear from you. Snapshot Reviews: Last week I was on vacation in San Diego and brought along the Halloween issue of CBEM, the latest Wizard, and some limited series and story arcs to read by the pool. The very best limited series was Michael Moorcock's ELRIC STORMBRINGER, written and drawn for comics by P. Craig Russell and published by Topps and Dark Horse. Each page was simply beautiful and Russell did a superior scripting job adapting Moorcock's book. Lovern Kindzierski gets my vote for best color artist of the year for her work on this series. This one deserves to be reprinted in hard back. THE DAMNED limited series by Grant and Zeck, from Image, was excellent. I hope there will be more. The latest (six-issue) story arc in HITMAN, by Ennis and McCrae, from DC, was a hoot, especially when you mix x-ray vision with guest star Catwoman. Finally, HEROES REBORN: THE RETURN, by David and Larocca, from Marvel, was okay, but it didn't require four issues to tell this tale. And, more advertising pages should mean a lower cover price, not higher. Next thing you know, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) will be accepting your used car or vehicle as a donation and offer you a valuable tax write-off in return. (It's the humane way to support free speech.) But, even they don't want your old comics. PW ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [8] THE EMPEROR'S NEW COMICS Jim Murdoch smiv@primenet.com This week: A response to Beau Smith's editorial in the new CBG, and what to do about John Byrne. POT, KETTLE, ETC. In the new Comic Buyer's Guide #1253, November 21, 1997, Beau Smith, Director of Marketing for Todd McFarlane Productions, rails against the tendency for people in comics to lie, for whatever reason. It's a good column, and addresses some serious issues for the industry to consider. There is, however, one extremely hilarious line in the editorial. He tells comic creators: "If you can't get your comic book out on time, be man or woman enough to quit and get that application in at the Burger King Academy of Burger Flipping." That's funny enough in itself, but when you consider that Beau's boss, Todd McFarlane, has consistently shipped Spawn one to two months late for the last two years or more. The same issue of CBG lists Spawn #68 as shipping in November, when #66 come out at the end of October. He also makes swipes at Wildstorm and Top Cow for not printing enough books to cover reorders, and not following through on their "Guaranteed Shipping" promises, so he can't be all bad. Make sure you keep that resume up to date, Beau. BYRNE VICTIMS For years, that was the term John Byrne's fans used to refer to themselves. It was a natural outgrowth of their Marvel Zombiedom; they would buy anything he did, even if it was just a cover. Byrne himself called them the "Faithful 40," because they caused the sales of a book he did to rise by 40,000. That was then, this is now. Today Byrne is lucky if the sales of Wonder Woman and Jack Kirby's Fourth World combined equal 40,000. The past master of comics has slipped badly, and nothing shows it more than his recent petulant whining over the Demon. Byrne's favorite tactic is "back-to-the-basics," where he strips away all the clutter that has accumulated on older characters, and focuses on what originally captured the audience for that comic. It worked with great success on Fantastic Four, where his run is considered second only to Lee & Kirby's, and to a lesser extent with the reboot of Superman. Why wouldn't that work with the Demon? For one thing, the Demon as Jack Kirby created him doesn't really exist any more. Under writers like Matt Wagner, Alan Grant, and especially Garth Ennis, Etrigan has actually developed into as well-rounded a character as a demon can be. Byrne insists that none of that really happened and Etrigan is the same now as when Kirby last wrote him. Supposedly he blew up when he found out that both Hitman and JLA: Paradise Lost were going to feature the more recent, Ennis-derived version of the character. John, act like a man. Your version will be far more boring and less readable for one basic reason: YOU ARE NOT JACK KIRBY! I don't think anyone's ever said that out loud before. John Byrne, you are not Jack Kirby, no matter how often you try to compare yourself to him. As the prime example: how many characters have you created? Outside of Alpha Flight? You've been in comics for about 25 years or so. If you look at Jack Kirby's output just after he moved to DC, after 30 years in comics, you have a list of concepts and characters that put your work to shame. Don't worry, John, you're not alone. A list of today's comic creators who have made their reps off working on Kirby creations includes: you, Walt Simonson, Jerry Ordway, Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, Roger Stern, Kurt Busiek, David Michelinie, Ron Lim, Karl Kesel, Peter David, Jim Steranko, and just about everyone at Image. So get off your high horse, Byrne. You can't take your ball and go home, because Jack said we could all play with it. Responses to this column should be emailed to: smiv@primenet.com, and will be considered for printing in future columns unless specifically requested. THE EMPEROR'S NEW COMICS is copyright 1997 by James S. Murdoch, and may not be reprinted (except for fair use exemptions) without the author's permission. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [9] And let me tell you why ... David Coulter DneColt@aol.com This week's "And let me tell you why ..." will be a special anthology edition, as I clear the decks of a few minor matters and a couple of quick reviews. QUICK REVIEW #1 KELLY JONES'S THE HAMMER -- This is a horror comic for the REST of us. If you are as sick and tired of vampires as I am (and that's pretty damn sick and tired), The Hammer is a nice change. Weird, brain-sucking aliens, demons, and "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" references to H.P. Lovecraft. Kelly Jones is a great artist -- when he's not wasting his time doing Batman. THE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING Last week, I did something I hadn't done in a long, lo-o-o-o-o-o-ng time: I looked at an X-Book -- several X-books, actually. Inspired by the complaint that there was a paucity of X-Material here in the pages of CBEM, I decided to take up the gauntlet and see for myself what I'd been missing. With the exception of the Alan Davis issues of Excalibur (which was really Captain Britain comic in X-Clothing), I haven't been part of the X-universe since Uncanny X-Men #150 (or thereabouts). I missed out on X-Factor, the New Mutants, X-Force, X-Man, and GenX. And given what I saw the other day, I'm pretty X-Cited that I did. How anyone has managed to keep up with the X-Happenings in the Marvel Universe is beyond me -- you could go broke buying only X-Books every week. There was, though, one diamond in this X-Rough, and that was Cable. Of all the titles I flipped through, I had the lowest X-pectations for this one (after all, he was a Rob Liefeld creation). And James Robinson, by any count a superior writer, turned in a pretty perfunctory performance. Pretty standard shoot-em-up action fare, not very impressive. The art (by Jose Ladronn), however, was very impressive: It was derivative, almost plagaristic -- but in a good way. See, there are so many people out there trying to draw like Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld, that's it's a refreshing change when Ladronn rips off Jack Kirby. What he's done on the last two issues of Cable (and the Flashback issue) is amazing. His artwork is like a combination of Geoff Darrow (massively detailed backgrounds) and Jack Kirby (wild, hyperreal, distorted figures). This artwork takes slam-bang action to a whole new level. I'm actually looking forward to this book. NOT-SO-QUICK REVIEW #2 UNCLE SAM -- Populist claptrap, dressed up in pretty pictures. Alex Ross's first blunder. But the idea seems so familiar ... where have I heard it before? Oh yeah, that's right! Alan Moore's unpublished story proposal for DC, "Twilight:" <> You know, between this and "Kingdom Come," I'm starting to get the idea that Alex Ross has a copy of "Twilight" sitting on his desk and is studiously cribbing from it. If his next project involves a leather-queen Blackhawk or a mutated-insect Doll-Man, I'll be really suspicious. Although I suppose that since is about as close as we'll probably get to an Alan Moore/Alex Ross Dream Team book, I should be happy. Yet, I'm not. Go figure. Political "Where's Waldo" special bonus -- name the originators of each line of Samm's spoken dialogue (in case you're wondering, I can't, and I was a history major). Incidentally, if you're an Alan Moore fan, and you haven't read Twilight yet, check it out fast (http://www.hoboes.com/html/Comics/Twilight/), I understand Warner/DC is in the process of putting the kibosh on it. IT ONLY HURTS WHEN I LAUGH Inspired by Astrophil's manic review of Rob Liefeld's Fightin' American (CBEM 135), I picked up issues #1 and 2 at the shop and looked through them last week. They were, in fact, everything that Astrophil said they would be, and more. If nothing ever did before this, those two comics sealed my conviction that Liefeld is a man without shame. Those two issues were so OBVIOUSLY leftover Captain America pages that I found myself brushing at eraser crumbs every time there was a headshot of Captain/Agent:/The Fightin' America(n). They were so awful as to be entertaining. But I couldn't bring myself to buy them. To actually encourage this sort of bad behavior by paying money for it seemed deeply wrong. It was enough to have seen it, to pay for it makes it acceptable, and it isn't. QUICK REVIEWS #3 & 4 SPIDER-MAN MANGA -- The one truly interesting Spider-man book being published since Busiek's "Untold Tales" bit the dust ("Sensational" is mildly interesting, but only for Mike Weiringo's art). This is an American translation of the Japanese-produced Spiderman comic. Very unusual and different -- totally unlike anything Marvel publishes these days! (Although, if any of you out there watch "News Radio" on NBC, I think they should have called this book "Spiderman: Macho Superhero Donkey Wrestler." -- "There is danger near! I feel a tingling in my monkey-strong bowels!") VOODOO -- Alan Moore has at last run out of gas. This issue was completely devoid of even the most rudimentary of the clever tricks that have been sustaining my interest in his run on Supreme. This issue could have been written by Brandon Choi -- and that scares me, a lot. Comments? Criticisms? Flames? DneColt@aol.com ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [10] SOME PAGES, A COVER, AND A FEW STAPLES Marlan Harris MAR93@aol.com INFERNO (DC) Stuart Immomen is a great artist. His linework is strong and confident and with a great inker his stuff looks spectacular. Unfortunately, his ambition outstrips his talent. He's writing, and drawing both this LEGION spin-off mini-series and ACTION COMICS, both of which fall pretty short. Just because Karl Kesel happens to be a good writer in addition to being a good inker doesn't mean everyone is. This INFERNO mini-series is just plain dull, starring a minor character from the LEGION books (is she even an official member of the LEGION?) I'm wondering why this character was even given a mini-series to begin with. Is DC this desperate to conquer Marvel and everyone else in the market share? Are the LEGION books selling so well to accommodate these spin-offs (and the others planned for the near future)? This is great for LEGION fans but I see it as flooding an already starved market with comics that no one besides dedicated Legion fans is going to buy. JLA is DC's current "hot" title and even that has only three spin-offs, currently and coming in the next three months. I'll ask again: are the LEGION books selling THIS WELL? My guess is that LEGIONNAIRES gets canceled with issue #65. I remember the debate about artists being writers a few years ago, around the time Image was starting up. McFarlane and Lee and Liefeld and whoever else wanted to "write" the books they drew so, well, basically, they could draw whatever they wanted and not be dictated by a writer. On the other hand, without a writer, their singular vision could come through unfiltered and their original idea be in its purest form. I went to the panels at the San Diego Con and heard people talk about it but nowadays as the writer/artist has become a more accepted form, and since many people have written off the major Image creators anyway, this debate is not so important. But I think it's still valid. The problem with the Image artists being writers is that they're bad writers. Good artists, bad writers. If they could share their creation with a writer, their original idea might be brought to a higher form, something better than the original. But there's a pride issue with that too, and you probably have to share creation rights. This is also generally speaking, since there have been writers and other creators who have since worked on the Image guys' creations and have done some good work (sometimes far surpassing the creators' original work and vision). The situation would be different if these guys could pull off being writers. John Byrne and Jim Starlin are good examples of creators who have started out doing good art then went on to be good writers, even writing for other artists, and even doing prose work. They happen to be good artists and good writers. I don't think these guys are so much exceptions to the rule that artists shouldn't be writers, since we've had recent examples of the crossover. Again, Karl Kesel is a good writer and artist, along with Ty Templeton on BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES, Matt Wagner on GRENDEL, and Mike Mignola on HELLBOY and other assorted stuff, just to name a random and popular few. I suppose my point on this is to take every creator, whether artist or writer or both, on an individual basis. There are some writers writing comics that are even worse than the Image guys writing. There are some creators that ought to stay only as artists and perhaps a few that are better writers than they are artists. Do what you do best. FANTASTIC FOUR (Marvel) This came as a surprise. I was least looking forward to this series out of all the "Heroes Reborn and Returned and Refried" or whatever, but it turned into a nice, decently solid read. Perhaps Scott Lobdell has found a series he can write decently well. Or maybe the beautiful art of Alan Davis and Mark Farmer made up for it. Or maybe my expectations for the comic and the characters were so low (has anyone done a decent FF story since Byrne's run?). Or maybe it is, in fact, a good comic. It's also a self-contained, double-sized (or so) story which isn't so pretentious as to assume it already has the readers to start a super-sized story arc with the first issue. All in all, worth $3 (or borrowing it from a friend). SHI/ VAMPIRELLA (Crusade) Oh well, at least Warren Ellis wrote it. Marlan Harris E-mail me! But be aware that whatever you say may be grist for a future column. mar93@aol.com Visit my web page! It's an amazing waste of time! Http://members.aol.com/mar93/BoneMachine.html ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [11] Soundwaves Andy Chalk soundwav@oxford.net JLA: Paradise Lost, part 1 of 3 January 1998 Writer: Mark Millar Artist: Ariel Olivetti Okay, so here we have a little three-parter branching off from the main JLA book (the latest one, that is) involving angels, demons, a human chick, and one would imagine, the JLA. I say one would imagine, because aside from the Martian Manhunter and a flashback to Superman, the JLA haven't put in an appearance yet. Not necessarily a bad thing, though. It's build-up. Foreshadowing. Establishing mood. And if nothing else, it succeeds at least as far as giving us the low-down on Zauriel, Asmodel, and the rest of the angelic get-along gang that made their first appearance in the second JLA story arc. It's nice that they cover this ground, because there were certainly a lot of loose ends left hanging when that arc was over. I was kind of surprised that this one was written by Mark Millar, and not Grant Morrison, but Millar seems to have a pretty good grip on the story, and what he's supposed to be doing. He also seems to share Morrison's penchant for warped, complicated, barely-making-sense background and plot, but at least he has the common decency to find a particular storyline and stick to it - So far. (This is in complete contrast to Morrison, who can't seem to decide what story he wants to tell, and thus just mashes them all together like some kind of Wednesday-Night Surprise stew. But that's another rant entirely.) If you're following the JLA book, you'll know the background to it, and if not, it gives you enough information in this issue that you won't feel like you're wandering around completely without a clue. It's not that important anyway; this story is completely stand-alone, and should be a reasonably entertaining read even if you think JLA stands for Just Looking Around, thanks. The art is passable, but not much more than that. Art is, like so many things, very subjective, but this work just doesn't float my boat. It seems unfinished somehow, as though Olivetti ran out of time during the inking process, and decided to just cover up the big lines. It's not particularly hideous, it's just not great; if you buy books for the artwork, this one won't end up on your list. All in all, it's a reasonable start. Nothing especially thrilling, but interesting enough that I'll pick up the next issue, and you probably will too. There's still a lot of room for things to change with this one; it could turn out to be one of the greatest mini-series ever done, or it could go completely to hell. At this early stage, it's worth taking a chance on. Overall Rating: Decent reading while you catch a quick smoke on the toilet. ------ Okay, this isn't a review of a particular issue, but rather a four-parter that's already up to part three. (And maybe later, depending on whether or not it's running late or if my dealer just dropped the ball AGAIN and didn't pick up the fourth part.) The series is called Dicks, from Calibre Comics, and it's done by the inestimable Hitman team, Garth Ennis and John McCrea. (For those curious, yes, I've now realized that I spelled McCrea wrong several times in my last review. Big deal.) According to the first issue, this is a reprint of some stuff the two cranked out some years ago, before they were "big" in the industry. I can believe that; a highly polished, well-produced book, this ain't. In fact, the art is one of the biggest knocks against this book. It's black and white, with almost no use of shading whatsoever. When I first started reading it, I found it rather hard to follow the action, because everything seemed to sort of jumble together; in some cases, I found it difficult to even tell where one frame ended and another began. Now that I'm accustomed to it, I've actually grown to like it, because it fits very well with the book, but be prepared to be patient with it. Smooth flow doesn't appear to be something McCrea cared even slightly about. The writing is very crude, and I don't mean crude as in amateurish, I mean crude as in, well, crude. This is the sort of thing that Vertigo won't let him get away with in Preacher, and that right there should tell you something. I'd cite an example or two, but I can't, because if I did I'd very likely never get to write anything here again. (A hint: one of my favourite is a lovely little ditty involving the village cripple, ten prostitutes, and his crutch. Enough said about that.) I consider myself to be pretty well-versed in the art of crude, obnoxious, and generally inappropriate behaviour and language, but even I was shocked. This is the sort of stuff that makes an Eddie Murphy stand-up routine sound like Mother Goose. But, if you can live with that, if you can lower yourself to appreciate raunchy toilet humour, even if only temporarily, then what you've got on your hands is easily the funniest, most outrageous comic I've ever read. There's really no words that can accurately describe it - It's completely insane, offensive, and hiilarious. I don't know what Ennis was on when he wrote this, but he HAD to have been on something to come up with this stuff, and whatever it was, I want some. Obviously this series isn't for everyone, but if you're the sort who doesn't mind low-brow humour, you owe it to yourself to pick it up. You should be able to find it relatively cheaply (and I should probably keep up with price guides a bit more) since it's not likely to break any sales records, but if you let this one slip by, you're really missing out on something. ------ That's it. More next week, if I think of it... soundwav@oxford.net http://www.oxford.net/~soundwav/ [Editorial Note: I allow most language and descriptions when it is pertinent and necessary. I usually only edit *gratuitous* swearing (not all swearing) and a few words that most people would rather not read in a publication such as this.] ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [12] Tips of the Trade on . . . Larry Underwood Promotion & Conventioneering volcomics@juno.com I finally broke down and picked up a copy of Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics." I found a copy for seven dollars at a local store, and let me tell you, it's well worth full price and then some. This book really gets the reader thinking about the art of comics, what exactly it is and different ways of looking at the medium and approaching it. It's a wonderful reference piece, and one in which anyone who wants to make a career in this business should read. With cold weather coming on it's the perfect time to curl up with some interesting reading material and really dig in; if you haven't read this book then I highly recommend it. Last week I began talking about promoting one's self and comic company. A natural extension of this is the comic book conventions. It's the perfect opportunity to showcase your current masterpiece and pick up some new readers along the way. The first step is to assure you have a place to set your display up. At the smaller shows you can usually just call the person in charge, tell them who you are and what projects you've done or are currently working on, and they will give you a spot to set up and hock your wares. I haven't bought a ticket to a convention in years, and the secret to not having to is simply not to be afraid to ask for space and free entrance to the show, and in some cases if I've had to travel a distance, gas money. For the smaller shows it gives them more guests and makes them look better. One thing that can really increase your appeal as a guest is to offer to do free sketches for the guests. I know it sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but it also is really a blast. Dave Sim says that the thing to do is to offer to do sketches of YOUR character for free. If someone asks for a the Batman, draw your character as Batman. (This way if you're charging for sketches then technically you can't get into any trouble from the big guys). As long as you aren't charging then you can draw whatever they ask for, and it is very gratifying to spend an entire day sketching for people. It also increases public relations with your customers. One important thing to keep in mind is to always be doing something while you're sitting behind the table. If you are sitting there sketching away people will walk up just to see what you're working on, and more often than not you can get these people into a conversation about your books and intrigue them enough that they'll buy a copy. If, on the other hand, you are sitting there staring blankly into space bored out of your mind no one will want to come over to your section no matter how great your work is. Remember, you're starting out here, and are competing directly with Marvel and all the other big guys, so make it interesting. Another sure fire trick is freebies. People love free merchandise. Make up little photo copies, trading cards, mini comics, stickers - ANYTHING that you can hand out for free. If you stick out your hand and say "Howdy, would you like a free sample of (fill in the blank here) then they'll come right on over and will be much more in the frame of mind to look at what you are offering. Remember, you're trying to drum up interest in an unknown merchandise here, so just getting people to your table is an important first step. More on this topic next week! I'm doing a signing this weekend in Nashville - if you're in the area stop by! It's called the Great Nashville Comic Book Convention and it's at the Howard Johnson on Briley Parkway here in Nashville. For directions call Comic City at (615) 262-0908. Show times are from 9am - 4 pm (I think). ************************************************************ Other news - The Volunteer Comics website is once again up and running this week, so I'll be sure to add all the new stuff this week, including the new contest rules. Stop by and visit us this week if you get the chance at http://members.xoom.com/volcomic If any of you need some web design work done, then let me recommend Ed Dukeshire (co-founder of this very e-mag!). He's the guy who does my web setup for me and he's really great at it. For a sample of his work just pop on over to my site. His e-mail is: eduke@iname.com Have a great week! (you can reach Volunteer Comics for questions or comments at volcomics@juno.com) ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [13] TOP COMICS FOR NOVEMBER 1997 Matthew High mhigh@antarctic-press.com Other charts available at: http://www.texas.net/~antarc/salescharts.html Top-selling Comics for November 1997, based on pre-orders through Diamond Distributors estimated # # Title Publisher sold (1000's) 1 Fantastic Four #1 Marvel 205.0 +61.9%* 2 Captain America #1 Marvel 193.3 +93.7%* 3 Uncanny X-Men #351 Marvel 156.1 -7.0% 4 Spawn #68 Image 152.8 -0.2% 5 X-Men #71 Marvel 151.8 -7.1% 6 Wolverine #120 Marvel 122.3 -1.8% 7 JLA #14 DC 108.9 0.0 8 Witchblade #19 (*) Image 104.3 -20.9% 9 Darkness #10 (*) Image 102.2 -1.0% 10 Curse of the Spawn #15 Image 98.8 -1.0% 11 JLA Year One #1 DC 95.8 12 Generation X #34 Marvel 92.3 -3.2% 13 JLA Paradise Lost #1 DC 89.4 14 Cable #50 Marvel 85.1 +5.5% 15 Wolverine 97 Marvel 84.6 16 Wolverine Days of Future #2 Marvel 84.3 -19.0% 17 X-Man #34 Marvel 82.0 -5.0% 18 X-Force #73 Marvel 80.5 -3.0% 19 X-Factor #141 Marvel 80.5 -1.2% 20 Incredible Hulk #460 Marvel 75.2 +0.5% 21 Ascension #3 Image 73.3 +0.7% 22 Divine Right #3 Image 71.0 +2.0% 23 Wildcore #1 (*) Image 69.4 24 Uncle Sam #1 DC 68.7 25 Amazing Spiderman #430 Marvel 67.7 0.0 26 Excalibur #116 Marvel 61.8 -4.6% 27 Kiss Psycho Circus #5 Image 59.8 +4.2% 28 Peter Parker Spiderman #87 Marvel 59.1 -1.5% 29 Superman Man of Steel #75 DC 58.9 +3.2% 30 Spectacular Spiderman #253 Marvel 57.7 -0.3% 31 Alpha Flight #6 Marvel 57.0 -0.5% 32 Superman #131 DC 56.5 -4.6% 33 Batman Coll. Ed. #550 DC 56.4 +2.4% 34 New Mutants #3 Marvel 56.0 -9.1% 35 Action Comics #741 DC 55.8 -2.1% 36 Bishop Xavier Security #1 Marvel 55.6 37 Adventures of Superman #554 DC 54.4 -4.2% 38 Sensational Spiderman #23 Marvel 53.0 -1.1% 39 Deadpool #12 Marvel 51.2 -2.7% 40 Unlimited Access #2 Marvel 49.3 -16.3% 41 Xena #1 (2 covers) Topps 47.6* -5.9% 42 Detective Comics #717 DC 47.2 -3.5% 43 Tenth #3 Image 45.9 +8.5% 44 Astro City #12 Image 45.9 +0.9%** 45 Thunderbolts #10 Marvel 45.3 -2.2% 46 Green Lantern #94 DC 44.7 -1.8% 47 Preacher #33 DC 44.4 +0.2% 48 Batman Predator III Blood #3 DC 44.0 -7.6% 49 Voodoo #1 Image 43.7 50 Kitty Pryde Agent Shield #2 Marvel 43.6 -14.7% 51 Gen 13 Bootleg #13 Image 43.2 -3.8% 52 Nightwing #16 DC 41.8 -0.2% 53 Flash #133 DC 41.6 +1.0% 54 Superman Secret Files #1 DC 41.6 55 Batman Legends Dark Kn #102 DC 41.3 -2.6% 56 Supergirl #17 DC 40.8 -3.8% 57 Star Wars Last Command #1 DHC 40.8 58 Gen 13 Interactive #2 Image 40.1 -9.9% 59 Batman Shadow of the Bat #70 DC 39.2 -3.9% 60 X-Files #36 Topps 39.0* -5.3% 61 Moon Knight #1 Marvel 38.6 62 Vampirella Ascending #1 (*) Harris 38.5 63 Spiderman Venom Agenda Marvel 38.4 64 Wonder Woman #129 DC 37.7 0.0 65 Catwoman #53 DC 37.3 -1.3% 66 Quicksilver #3 Marvel 37.1 -26.1% 67 Ka-Zar #9 Marvel 36.6 -4.9% 68 Maverick #5 Marvel 36.5 -10.1% 69 Gaiman & Vess Stardust #2 DC 36.2 -13.8% 70 Robin #49 DC 36.0 -1.4% 71 Heroes For Hire #7 Marvel 35.5 -2.7% 72 Wildcats #44 Image 34.1 -7.3% 73 Batman Chronicles #11 DC 33.6 -6.1%** 74 Man-Thing #2 (2 covers) Marvel 33.1 -10.1% 75 Elektra #14 Marvel 33.1 -0.6% 76 Satana #1 Marvel 32.5 77 Star Wars Shadow Stalker DHC 32.4 78 Mage Hero Defined #5 Image 31.9 -1.8% 79 Teen Titans #15 DC 31.4 +9.8%* 80 DV8 #13 Image 31.2 -6.0% 81 X-Files Ground Zero #1 Topps 30.8* 82 Starman #38 DC 30.7 -1.9% 83 Silver Surfer #135 Marvel 30.6 -3.2% 84 Teen Titans #16 DC 29.7 -5.4% 85 Marvel Team-Up #5 Marvel 29.6 -7.5% 86 Weapon Zero #15 Image 29.2 -3.3%** 87 Aquaman #40 DC 29.2 -1.4% 88 Legion of Superheroes #100 DC 29.1 +13.7% 89 Star Wars X-Wing Empires #4 DHC 28.9 -4.6% 90 Daredevil #371 Marvel 28.7 -3.4% 91 Venom Finale #3 Marvel 28.6 -2.4% 92 Superboy #47 DC 28.3 +9.7% 93 Azrael #37 DC 28.2 -5.7% 94 Shi #4 Crusade 28.2* -6.9% 95 Coven #4 Awesome 27.3 +14.2% 96 Shi Heaven and Earth #3 Crusade 27.2* -12.5%* 97 Shi East Wind Rain #1 Crusade 27.2* 98 Stormwatch #2 Image 27.1 -36.8% 99 What If? #104 Marvel 26.9 -9.1% 100 Ash #1 (2 covers) Event 26.6* 101 Journey Into Mystery #516 Marvel 26.4 -2.6% 102 Hitman #22 DC 26.3 -2.6% 103 Maxx #34 Image 26.0 -3.7%* 104 Batman Adventures Lost #1 DC 25.7 105 DV8 vs Black Ops #2 Image 25.7 -11.4% 106 Wetworks #35 Image 25.4 -3.1% 107 Conan the Usurper #2 Marvel 25.1 -11.0% 108 Impulse #33 DC 25.1 -4.2% 109 Destiny Chronicle Deaths #3 DC 24.9 -6.4% 110 Hellblazer Books Magic #2 DC 24.8 -11.1% 111 Savage Dragon #43 Image 24.7 -1.2% 112 Legionnaires #56 DC 24.5 -0.4% 113 Dreaming #20 DC 24.4 -3.2% 114 Kents #6 DC 24.2 -9.7% 115 Bone #30 Cartoon 24.2* -0.8%* 116 Books of Magic #44 DC 23.2 -1.7% 117 Legion of Superheroes Sec #1 DC 23.1 118 Resurrection Man #9 DC 21.4 +1.9% 119 Evil Ernie Destroyer #3 Chaos 21.0 -5.0% 120 Creeper #2 DC 20.4 -28.9% 121 Inferno #3 DC 20.3 -9.0%* 122 Predator vs Judge Dredd #2 DHC 20.2 -17.6% 123 Jack Kirbys Fourth World #11 DC 20.1 -4.7% 124 Green Arrow #128 DC 19.7 +2.1% 125 Phantom Guard #2 Image 19.6 -46.4% 126 Kaboom #3 Awesome 19.4 +1.6% 127 Aliens Alchemy #3 DHC 19.3 -5.9% 128 Invisibles #12 DC 19.2 -2.5% 129 Star Trek Unlimited #7 Marvel 19.2 -5.0%* 130 DCU Holiday Bash #2 DC 19.0 -36.0%** 131 Power of Shazam #34 DC 18.7 -4.1% 132 Alien Resurrection #2 DHC 18.7 -10.5% 133 Star Trek Voyager #13 Marvel 18.6 -1.1% 134 Adventures in DC Univ #10 DC 18.3 +2.2% 135 Star Trek Deep Space 9 #14 Marvel 18.3 -2.1% 136 Ghost Rider #92 Marvel 18.3 -2.1% 137 Spectre #61 DC 18.2 -1.6% 138 Cryptic Writings Megadeth #2 Chaos 18.2 -13.3%** 139 Crimson Plague #2 Event 17.9* -24.2%** 140 Star Trek Starfleet Aca #14 Marvel 17.9 -2.2% 141 Star Trek Early Voyages #12 Marvel 17.8 -2.7% 142 Superman Adventures #15 DC 17.6 -3.3% 143 Hellblazer #121 DC 17.6 -5.9% 144 House of Secrets #16 DC 17.5 -3.8% 145 Superboy and Ravers #17 DC 17.1 -2.8% 146 Lobo #47 DC 16.9 -4.5% 147 Supreme #55 Awesome 16.9 -1.2% 148 Spiderman Manga #2 Marvel 16.8 -25.3% 149 Hawk and Dove #3 DC 16.8 -15.2% 150 Spiderman Manga #3 Marvel 16.6 -1.2% 151 Painkiller Jane #6 (2 cov) Event 16.4* +2.4% 152 Sandman Mystery Theatre #58 DC 16.2 -3.6% 153 Sovereign Seven #30 DC 15.6 -4.3% 154 Tick Big Blue Destiny #2 (*) NEC 15.5* -25.8%* 155 Transmetropolitan #5 DC 15.4 -0.6% 156 Young Heroes in Love #8 DC 15.2 -7.9% 157 Grendel Tales Devils App #3 DHC 15.1 -7.4% 158 Starship Troopers #2 DHC 14.5 -11.6% 159 Moorcock's Multiverse #3 DC 14.3 -13.3% 160 Steel #46 DC 14.3 -4.7% 161 Ghost #31 DHC 14.2 -1.4% 162 Terminal City Aerial Gr #3 DC 14.2 -6.0% 163 Gunsmith Cats Goldie #1 DHC 13.7 +5.4%* 164 Major Bummer #6 DC 13.6 -6.2% 165 Batman Standard Ed #550 DC 13.3 166 Wildcats X-Men Modern 3-D #1 Image 13.3 -27.5% 167 Zombieworld Champion Worm #3 DHC 13.2 -9.0% 168 Oh My Goddess Special Meet DHC 12.9 -2.3% 169 2020 Vision #9 DC 12.3 -6.1% 170 Warrior Nun Areala #3 Antarctic 11.6* -20.5%* 171 Blade of Immortal Dream #5 DHC 11.4 +0.9% 172 X-O Manowar #14 Acclaim 11.3 -7.4% 173 Ranma 1/2 VI #12 Viz 11.2* -1.8% 174 Hate #29 FBI 11.0* 0.0** 175 Kelley Jones The Hammer #2 DHC 10.8 -21.7% 176 Solar Hell on Earth #3 Acclaim 10.8 -6.9% 177 Neon Genesis Evangel #3 (*) Viz 10.8* -6.9% 178 Poison Elves #29 Sirius 10.6* -6.2% 179 Scud Disposable Assassin #18 Fireman 10.6* +1.0%** 180 Red Rocket 7 #4 DHC 10.6 -10.2% 181 Dead King Burnt #3 Chaos 10.6 182 Elfquest #18 Warp 10.5* -1.9% 183 Cerebus #224 Aardvark 10.4* -1.0% 184 Sergio Aragones Louder #5 DHC 10.4 -8.0% 185 Challengers of Unknown #12 DC 10.0 -4.8% 186 Pulp #1 Viz 10.0* 187 Quantum and Woody #10 Acclaim 9.9 -2.0% 188 Trinity Angels #9 Acclaim 9.7 -5.8% 189 Ess. Vertigo Sandman #18 DC 9.7 -4.0% 190 Sonic the Hedgehog #55 Archie 9.2 +1.1% 191 Desperadoes #3 Image 9.0 -6.3% 192 Silver Cross #1 Antarctic 8.8* 193 Usagi Yojimbo #16 DHC 8.8 -1.1% 194 ERB Tarzan Tooth and Nail #2 DHC 8.7 -5.4% 195 Magnus Robot Fighter #11 Acclaim 8.6 -8.5% 196 Eternal Warriors Blackworks Acclaim 8.6 197 Shadowman #13 Acclaim 8.5 -6.6% 198 Lost #1 Chaos 8.5 199 Hellina Hellborn #1 Lightning 8.4* 200 Drakuun Revenge Gustav #4 DHC 8.4 -2.3% (*) - represents cumulative sales including variant editions (such as variant covers or Image "Voyager Packs") which may or may not be available through Diamond. Note: The Omen #2 from Chaos would have ranked in the top 200 comics, except orders were cancelled early. ...and the top-selling comics from companies that did not quite make it into the top 200. 213 Dicks #4 Caliber 7.4* 216 Mixxzine #3 Mixx 7.2* 234 Uncle Scrooge #308 Gladstone 6.1* 238 Tzu the Reaper #3 Murim 5.8* 241 Strangers in Para v2 #4 gold Abstract 5.7* 243 Razor Uncut #42 LNS 5.4 244 Plastic Little #4 CPM 5.4* 247 Verotik Rogues Gallery Verotik 5.3* 249 Vault of Horror #22 Gemstone 5.1 256 Cavewoman Missing Link #2 Basement 5.0* 265 Girl Presents Co-Ed Diar #1 Black Lace 4.7* 268 Deity #3 Hyperwerks 4.7* 273 Hari Kari Life or Death #0 Blackout 4.5* 274 Coven 13 #4 No Mercy 4.4* 291 New Vampire Miyu #3 Ironcat 3.9* The "estimated number sold" is an estimate of the total number of copies pre-ordered through Diamond Distribution, in thousands. PLEASE NOTE: This figure does not include advance reorders, reorders, or sales outside of Diamond Distribution. Comics marked with an asterisk (*) by their sales estimate are not exclusive to Diamond, and may be available to the direct market through other sources. The "change" is an estimate of the percentage change over the previous issue. An asterisk (*) indicates the previous issue was published two months ago (September), and a double asterisk (**) indicates the previous issue was published three or more months ago. Note that a change of TWO PERCENT OR LESS is statistically insignificant, and nothing should be inferred from very small increases or decreases in sales. Comic Book Market Share by dollar value, November 1997: Publisher Comic Books All Products Marvel 27.96% 21.01% DC 24.94% 20.67% Image 14.78% 11.64% Dark Horse 4.55% 4.81% Wizard Press 3.70% 2.78% Topps Comics 1.94% Viz 1.52% 1.31% Acclaim 1.22% 0.92% Fantagraphics 1.18% Crusade 0.98% Fleer 2.26% Kenner/Hasbro 1.71% Other 17.21% 29.65% Note: This information was obtained from Diamond Distribution's DIAMOND DIALOGUE, which publishes various sales charts every month, and is available to comics retailers. This listing includes sales of all comic books sold through Diamond, which constitutes 98-99% of all direct market comic book sales. I make no claims as to the accuracy of any of the information on these charts, and only provide estimates based on the available information. Additional information and charts for previous months are available at: http://www.texas.net/~antarc/salescharts.html Special note: The figures in this chart were calculated using an order index of 1 = 133 comics sold (based on preliminary sales figures from October 15th). Traditionally advance reorders add approximately 2% (sometimes more, sometimes less) to a book's total sales within two weeks after this date. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [14] New Comic Book Releases List by Charles LePage ncrl@mediaone.net +++WINNER OF THE 1996 REC.ARTS.COMICS.* "SQUIDDY" FOR BEST WEB SITE+++ NCRL: New Comic Book Releases List for Wednesday, 11/19/97, compiled by Charles LePage with information from Suncoast Comics. 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.jacksonville.net/~ncrl, and Compuserve's Comics Publishers Forum. Last updated Monday, November 10, 1997 6:32:28 PM "TPB" means "trade paperback". "AA" means "available again". "S/N" means "signed/numbered". PUBLISHER, TITLE, ISSUE NUMBER, PRICE IN U.S. DOLLARS ABERRATION Tales From The Bog #7, 2.95 ACCLAIM Dr. Tomorrow #7 (Of 12), 2.5 Magnus Robot Fighter #11, 2.5 Solar Hell On Earth #3 (Of 4), 2.5 ALTERNATIVE Detour #1, 2.95 AMAZE INK Patty Cake & Friends #1, 2.95 ARCHIE Holiday Fun Digest #2, 1.95 Jughead #101, 1.75 Laugh Digest #139, 1.95 Sonic The Hedgehog #55, 1.75 AWESOME Coven #3, 2.5 Supreme #54, 2.99 CHAOS Lost #1 (Of 4), 2.95 CHAMELEON ECLECTIC Earthforce Source Book (resolicited), 18 COMIC SHOP NEWS Comic Shop News #544, free DARK ANGEL Race Against Time #2, 2.5 DARK HORSE Bettie Page Queen Of Hearts TPB (Star1439), 19.95 Grendel Tales The Devils Apprentice #3 (Of 3), 2.95 Hypersonic #1 (Of 4), 2.95 Oh My Goddess Special Meet Me By The Seashore, 3.95 Predator Vs Judge Dredd #2 (Of 3), 2.5 Sergio Aragones Louder Than Words #5 (Of 6), 2.95 DC Adventures In The DC Universe #10, 1.95 Adventures Of Superman #554, 1.95 Aquaman #40, 1.95 Batman Dark Knight Dynasty HC, 24.95 Cartoon Network Presents #6 Cow And Chicken, 1.95 Challengers Of The Unknown #12, 2.25 Destiny A Chronicle Of Deaths Foretold #3 (Of 3), 5.95 Destiny T/S Lg, 15.95 Destiny T/S Xl, 15.95 Detective Comics #717, 1.95 Dreaming #20, 2.5 Hellblazer Books Of Magic #2 (Of 2), 2.5 JLA American Dreams TPB, 7.95 Lobo #47, 2.25 Major Bummer #6, 2.5 Michael Moorcocks Multiverse #3 (Of 12), 2.5 Neil Gaiman & Charles Vess Stardust #2, 5.95 Neil Gaiman & Charles Vess Stardust Poster, 5.95 Pinky And The Brain #19, 1.95 Resurrection Man #9, 2.5 Robin #49, 1.95 Sandman Mystery Theatre #58, 2.5 Supergirl #17, 1.95 Wonder Woman Amazonia, 7.95 Young Heroes In Love #8, 1.95 DRAWN & QUARTERLY Palookaville #11, 3.75 FANTAGRAPHICS Buddy Go Home, 16.95 FAULTLINE Leopold & Brink #2, 2.5 FIREMAN PRESS La Cosa Nostroid #6, 2.95 Scud The Disposable Assassin #18, 2.95 GOBLIN Joe Psycho & Moo Frog #5, 2.5 IMAGE Ascension #3, 2.5 Curse Of Spawn #14, 1.95 Darkness Coll Ed With Slip Case #3, 9.99 Dv8 Vs Black Ops #2 (Of 3), 2.5 Gen 13 #24, 2.5 Gen 13 Bootleg #13, 2.5 Voodoo #1 (Of 4), 2.5 Weapon Zero #15, 3.5 Wildcats #44, 2.5 Wildcore #1, 2.5 Wildcore Voyager Pack, 3.5 IRONCAT Doctor #1 (Of 5), 2.95 Flag Fighters #3, 2.95 New Vampire Miyu #3, 2.95 magazines Scrye Vol 4 #5 (Caut: 4), 3.95 MARVEL Excalibur #116, 1.99 Generation X #34, 1.99 Heroes For Hire #7, 1.99 Incredible Hulk #460, 1.99 Man-Thing #2, 2.99 Man-Thing Variant Cover #2, 2.99 Marvel Team Up #5, 1.99 Mighty Heroes, 2.99 Peter Parker Spider-Man #87, 1.99 Spider-Man Venom Agenda, 2.99 Thunderbolts #10, 1.99 Uncanny X-Men #351, 1.99 Unlimited Access #2 (Of 4), 1.99 X-Factor #141, 1.99 X-Man #34, 1.99 X-Men #71, 1.99 PIONEER Tenchi Muyo #6 (Of 6), 2.95 TOPPS Xena Warrior Princess #1 (Of 3), 2.95 Xena Warrior Princess Dlx #1 (Of 3), 2.95 VIZ Battle Angel Alita Part 8 #6 (Of 9), 2.95 Maison Ikkoku Part 7 #5 (Of 13), 3.25 Viz-In Magazine Vol 9 #11, free ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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. SEND US YOUR WORK ----------------- 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. 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