---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden Present: THE COMIC BOOK NET ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE ISSUE NUMBER 197 1/15/99 Edited by: David LeBlanc - ComicBkNet@aol.com FREE VIA EMAIL SINCE FEBRUARY 1995 ______________________________________________________________________ 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! [3] TRIVIA CONTEST ........................ Win *real* prizes! [4] Network Buzz .......................... News, gossip & rumors [5] Ramblings `99 ......................... Rich Johnston [6] Tony Isabella's Journal ............... Tony Isabella [7] Too Old for Comics? ................... Johnny Gonzales [8] And Let Me Tell You Why . . ........... David Coulter [9] Venting My Spleen ..................... David Groenewegen [10] Had Your Phil? ........................ Phil White [11] Pipeline Commentary & Review .......... Augie De Blieck Jr. [12] RANDOM THOUGHTS IN A LESS THAN RANDOM WORLD .......... Gary Sassaman [13] Some Pages, A Cover, and A Few Staples. Marlan Harris [14] Odds & Ends ........................... Eddie Mitchell [15] M.O.E. Reviews ........................ Paul Dale Roberts [16] New Comic Book Releases List .......... Charles LePage [17] HYPE! Section ......................... Various [A] Submission, Subscriptions, Back Issues, Copyrights, BBS Info ______________________________________________________________________ World Wide Web Home Page-->> http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet HTML WEB EDITION at -->> http://www.digitalwebbing.com/cbem featuring the exclusive comic strips: HEROES RERUN by Johnny Gonzales and ACTION COP by John E. Thompson ----------------------------------------------------------------------- o \o/ _ o _| \ / |_ o_ \o/ o /|\ | /\ _\o \o | o/ O/_ /\ | /|\ / \ / \ |\ /) | ( \ /o\ / ) | (\ / | / \ / \ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 with the word SUBSCRIBE in the SUBJECT to be placed on the FREE subscription list. To drop it use UNSUBSCRIBE as a SUBJECT. See section [A] for the address to mail material to be reviewed. ______________________________________________________________________ All text contained within is copyrighted to the originating author(s). Except where elsewhere noted, The Comic Book Net Electronic Magazine is Copyright 1999 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 David LeBlanc The longest running annual comic book awards run on the Internet are called the Squiddies - named after the Suicide Squid, which is a whole other story. Each year participants in the Usnet newsgroup hierarchy of rec.art.comics takes a vote for their favorite creators and editors, characters, stories, comic books and strips as well as one category we follow closely - favorite web site about comics. If you want to participate in the most no-holds-barred discussion about comics around (and some find that too intimidating because it is not moderated) then recreation.arts.comics is the place to begin. You will find any and every kind of comic fan represented and lots of pros as well. You can also join in the vote for the best in comics for 1998. Voting for the 1998 SQUIDDIES has begun. You can find the ballot on the rec.arts.comics newsgroups. If you want to access the newsgroups but don't know how an easy way to start is to use your web browser and go to www.dejanews.com where the messages are archive and you can post from there as well. You can even skip the news groups and go right to http://www.innocence.com/~squiddy/squid-ballot.cgi to cast your ballot. We remind you that THE COMIC BOOK NETWORK homepage is eligible for the web site category and the URL to give is: http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet (NOTE: there is NO www in the URL) As always, we appreciate your vote if you think we deserve it. *** Must be the work of VEXT (see reference under Murphy's Law) last week as AOL has gone berserk with the mail. Once again the AOL subscribers got the first part of the EMag but not the other 3 parts. Likewise, when I resent those parts they got part 2 but not the rest. This lead me to believe that AOL, or Netcom, must be filtering the mail in an attempt to stop SPAM. I report the problem and Netcom responded (AOL did not but what do you expect from a company with so many MILLIONS of subscribers? Netcom updated some files somewhere and a resend seems to have work. The proof will be if this issue gets through ok, and it is a big one. So big, I have skipped MY VIEW this week - having run out of time You should run out and get some of these books: CLUB 408 GRAPHICS Timespell Directors Cut #1, 2.95 DARK HORSE Buffy The Vampire Slayer Origin #1 (Of 3), 2.95 DC COMICS Impulse #46, 2.25 JLA Titans #3 (Of 3), 2.95 Legionnaires #69, 2.5 Resurrection Man #22, 2.5 Superman & Batman Generations #3 (Of 4), 4.95 Titans #1, 2.5 <---------------Pick of the Week! MARVEL COMICS Avengers #13, 1.99 Avengers Forever #4 (Of 12), 2.99 Iron Man #14, 1.99 SHARKBAIT PRESS Pete The Pod Postal Worker #7, 2.95 SILVERLINE Silverstorm #2 (Of 4), 2.95 Speaking of Netcom, I forgot to mention last week that you guys on AOL and elsewhere cannot receive the Emag if you block mail from Netcom on purpose. One new subscriber did not know this and had me blocked. Keep your fingers crossed that it will now go through or I may be facing a bigger problem. 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 CBEM unless you specifically request us NOT to use them. Your Email address and/or name will be withheld upon request. +++++ EDITOR'S NOTE: When we make a serious mistake here we correct it immediately and prominently. Our aqpologies to Keith whose letter we ran last week. Unnoticed by yours truly, due to the quirks of AOL's system of file saving and converting from HTML to text, parts of his letter were filtered out, due to the quote characters sprinkled in the text. I have retrieved the original text and found a way to convert it to text in tact. It is run again in its entirety to be fair to Keith. From: Keith (address Withheld) Subject: RESPONSE TO ROBERT SCOTT Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 18:30:06 EST Mr. Scott made a few comments regarding my complaints about over-the-top increases in price when a book heads to the back-issue bin... <> I did not say this, nor did I mean to imply that retailers should do this (sell books at 50% off every day forever). Besides, where do you get "invest twenty-five to fifty cents"? That's not the TOTAL investment, you've added 25% (or 33%) to the original price when the book isn't even in a price guide yet! A 50-cent increase on a book like, just as examples, Oni's Whiteout mini or Muktuk Wolf'sbreath (or whatever that Vertigo book was) or even Superboy or Union Jack --all books that haven't exactly performed well-- is a BIG hike on something w/little demand. There isn't much call for backissues on Morbius or Lobo or Shade the Changing Man, and if someone is considering buying any issues of these books, a 50-cent increase is a bit high. A bag and a price sticker cost very little (a nickel at the most!). The 25-cent increase, AS i SAID, was an acceptable norm for EXACTLY the reasons you cited. Most retailers I have known create a back issue stock of MODERN books by getting STUCK with EXTRAS from their initial order (again, I refer only to MODERN books)... with the exception of X-books or the occasional KISS or BattleChasers (which both had good buzz at the beginning and continue to do well), i rarely see retailers OVER-ordering JUST to create backstock. If you, Mr. Scott, ARE doing that, and raising the prices to such an extreme, maybe you should focus more on ordering only what you can sell, and investing in back-issues that can bring you a fair profit without out-pricing the price- guides. <> Again, you have taken a piece of what I said and altered it for your argumentative purposes. I never said i DO buy books that I feel are over- priced. I don't ask retailers to subsidize my habit (more than a hobby). What I was saying, if you actually read my comments, was that a 50%-off sale, which many stores have a few times a year to clean house a bit, is NOT REALLY 50% off when RECENT back-issues, worth NO MORE THAN COVER (i.e. The Rampaging Hulk, Major Bummer, Chronos), have already been needlessly raised 50-cents in price. <> Or Marvel or DC can suddenly cancel a book (e.g. Chase) or start over at number 1 (e.g. Spidey) or a company can close its doors and go out of business, leaving what interest there may have been in the back issues to dwindle to absolutely nothing. The Valiant line (version 1 & 2), may have been good, but a comics fan is unlikely to shell out $3 and up for a back- issue of something priced in guides at cover, and, more so, where the story will never be finished and the character may never be seen again (I'm excluding the occasional person with idle curiosity who has recently discovered, say, David Michelinie's writing and wants to see what else he's done or what-have-you) <> Yes, and I understand most comics retailers do not want to admit they are unaware of how to increase the profitability of their business, but looking at the bottom line NOW has to be coupled with looking at your own future. However, I agree with the point above. And i would not suggest that the Spidey books, or Batmans, or Fathom or Spawn (or moderately hot books like Supergirl, Moon Knight minis, or Amazing Escapes) and other popular books be put into back-issue bins at cover-price or at a silly 5-cent increase. But, whether it's a giant store or a little retailer, raising the prices on books that generated LITTLE interest in the first place seems a good way of sabotaging your own business. You're trying to ENCOURAGE readers not DIScourage them. You don't HAVE TO sell books at a dime or 50-cents-- I never said that either. But maybe a one-dollar bin or an "always 40%-off" bin wouldn't be a bad idea in order to dump the books you, YOU THE RETAILER, are truly and absolutely STUCK with. Because, as I originally said, and this was the point of my first letter (despite my tangents regarding Dr. Strange and such), it's better to take in SOME money on an item than have it just sitting there taking up space. And, AGAIN, I reiterate, my father created a lucrative business on this philosophy (back when the Chinese yo-yo was all the rage). Thanks for my time. (ahem) Keith +++++ FROM: Robert Scott > Subj: Bargain Bins & Business > From: juricich@jps.net (Chris Juricich) > From: Keith (address withheld) For brevity I'll address both respondents at the same time. Chris stated > "I read with interest the comments by store owner Robert Scott in his > response to the fellow who complained about back issue books prices being > 'jacked up' 25-50¢ after having failed to sell on the rack. I personally > have no objection to retailers making a profit on these books and > increasing the price by the amount stipulated to cover overhead certainly > seems reasonable... Thank you for your understanding, I hope more come to feel the same way. Unfortunately it seems many comic enthusiasts tend to see retailers as someone trying to separate them from their hard earned money rather than as someone who is trying to provide a wide variety of top notch entertainment. Then instead of holding publishers accountable for producing books that deliver an entertainment value commensurate with their cover price, they expect the retailer to assuage them by selling titles at or below cover price. IMHO a mint condition comic should never sell for less than cover price (excepting seasonal sales) and titles that don't sell at cover should be cancelled or put on hiatus until the quality level is raised appropriately. > All of this brings me back to what comics provide for most people: > entertainment. And for most people, including a growing segment of > formerly loyal comic book readers, comics can't deliver the > entertainment value that their electronic bretheren can provide for > less money." I agree to a point. Instead of saying, "comics CAN'T deliver", I would say that most comics DON'T deliver the entertainment value that their electronic brethren can provide. I'll tell you that for a while I have been hard pressed to find a Marvel title I would actually buy, as a fan, at their $1.99 cover price. However as a fan, I would have absolutely no problem shelling out $2.50-$2.95 for any of the 5 Marvel Knights titles and according to sales #'s for these books (4 of which have never sustained healthy sales as solo monthly books) I am not in the minority. Chris also pointed out that: > "As a comics fan for a generation, I can't perceive of not having comics > in my life or on my shelf. By the same token, I can't perceive of > spending $1.99 for most any DC comic currently being put out (there are a > half-dozen exceptions)." I think we are in agreement here. > "As a result, by limiting my DC purchases to those books that might be > found in the bargain bins for 25-50¢ apiece, I've gradually been able to > gather near complete runs of the Superman, Legion, Flash, Green Lantern, > Hawkman, Teen Titans, and other such publications for the past four years > nearly entirely from the bargain boxes!" It's great that you got these runs at an agreeable price. I would wager that most of these books came to their respective bins through purchases of collections at pennies on the dollar more than as over orders. When I purchase 1,000 comics at 10¢ each, I am doing so to offer reader/collectors the opportunity to buy runs at a tremendous discount as you did. What I think Keith fails to realize is that the money I use to acquire these books comes from profits of other back issues. > "Those who might argue that I'm unsupportive of my local comic shop need > to know something else, however: I wouldn't buy the books when they were > first racked at full price in any case as that damned entertainment value > bug would get to me! 'Hmmm. Is Creeper #7 worth $2.50 to me? Naah. Oh, at > 50¢, sure.'" Agreed but as a business man I would say if I have to charge $2.50 to profit on such a book and the consensus is that the book is worth 50¢, I won't carry it (which coincidentally was the case with Creeper starting with issue#3). > "You might wonder what I choose to pay full price for. Fair enough. I > buy Detective and up until recently, Chronos and Green Arrow. I buy > most of the Elseworlds titles, varying trade paperbacks of Preacher and > the occasional Vertigo or Helix mini-series. Other than DC, I'm reading > Luba, PeepShow, Palooka-ville, Box Office Poison, Optic Nerve, Nowhere, > Collier's, Eightball, and sundry others, all of which are, on average, > about $2.95. I have no problem paying these prices for these books, but > for superhero titles...$1.99 has pushed the envelope too far. Yes, it's a > judgment call, but of course, it's my money and my time." I'd be hard pressed to disagree with any of this, which I think proves that comics CAN deliver a high entertainment value but a great many refuse to do so. > "...There will always be comic books. I have no doubt. Whether there will > be a thriving comic book industry with strong retail outlets...this I'm > unclear about." I sure hope so, and as of this moment I am in the process of scripting a mini series that is scheduled to ship in September. I decided that I needed to see how hard it was to actually create a decent comic and whether or not a small press could still find a market for a quality story line. If the crap mongers have not sufficiently driven comic readers away their is no reason that this industry shouldn't thrive again. > "I'm not certain that I'm a typical comic book reader any longer, now > long past the ardently pursued and perused demographic that currently > read and enjoy these damn funny books." I think, for better or worse, you are typical at least compared to my clientele. Publishers MUST look at who they THINK their customers are and who they REALLY are. Marvel, until Marvel Knights, still believed that they X-Men, Spidey and the FF actually appeal equally to all age groups, which is idiocy. Hopefully the approach Quesada and Palmiotti brought to MK (very reminiscent of the Epic Line) will be utilized to a greater degree with the rest of the lineup and allow those of us who might still enjoy Spandex and Mutant books, if only they were written above a 12yr old reading level, to be able to do so. > "Bargain bins very presence is a testament to either poor purchasing > skills or that a growing demographic is interested in better prices for > their comics. Probably a combination of them both." Not necessarily, since as I said, I frequently purchase books at liquidation prices and offer them at 25¢- 5/$1, just like used book stores, but rarely will you see me discounting a title I over ordered unless it was a Huuuuge mistake. I'd rather give them away to kids who can't afford a comic. > "The fact that those who rifle the bins for deals are already a part of > the current regular readership of comics should be a sign for canny > retailers to start thinking more seriously about their future." The good ones will be prepared and the others will flounder and die. But no matter what happens if Publishers don't start producing books of higher quality, none of that will matter. > and Keith (address withheld) added: > > "I did not ...mean to imply that retailers should do this (sell books at > 50% off every day forever). Besides, where do you get "invest twenty-five > to fifty cents"? That's not the TOTAL investment, you've added 25% (or > 33%) to the original price when the book isn't even in a price guide > yet!" Yes that is the total investment. If you were going to have to pay $2-$3 for the book anyway then adding 25¢-50¢ to the cover price means you will have to invest an extra 10-20% over the original cover price. Which also means that if you buy 100 comics a year it is going to set you back a whopping $25-$50 a year (the cost of 1-2 comics a month!). As for the Price Guide, where do you think those prices come from? RETAILERS!! and why do you think that prices in the guide go up or down? Because RETAILERS sell the books for more or less than they are listed at in a guide and then report that price to the guide. Not only that but Price guides are always going to be at least 60-90 days behind in reporting prices because it takes that long to gather Retailer input, print and then distribute this information. > "A 50-cent increase on a book like, just as examples, Oni's Whiteout > mini or Muktuk Wolf'sbreath (or whatever that Vertigo book was) or even > Superboy or Union Jack --all books that haven't exactly performed well-- > is a BIG hike on something w/little demand. There isn't much call for > back issues on Morbius or Lobo or Shade the Changing Man, and if someone > is considering buying any issues of these books, a 50-cent increase is a > bit high." That is your opinion but it is not a fact. You fail to recognize that books like that have very limited print runs so even though they may sell at half the rate of some higher profile titles, they may sell out much quicker. Right now Union Jack #1 is sold out which means that any demand at all is going to be unmet and the price may end up twice as much (or more) than cover price, whether you think it is worth it or not. THAT is how fair market prices are derived, the seller names a price and the prospective buyer decides if the item is WORTH that price. He then pays, declines or counters that price. "A bag and a price sticker cost very little (a nickel at the most!). The 25-cent increase, AS i SAID, was an > "A bag and a price sticker cost very little (a nickel at the most!). The > 25-cent increase, AS i SAID, was an acceptable norm for EXACTLY the > reasons you cited. I sell bags and boards for 15¢ and I don't see it as unreasonable to factor in the time it takes to bag and board the comic, tape it, price it and place it into the bin. This is a cost of business and has to be paid for. I realize as a consumer you want to pay as little as possible but you are blaming the Retailer for making sure he has that book available for you by adding a minute surcharge to cover his costs rather than blaming a publisher for not providing a book whose content was not commensurate with it's cover price to begin with! > Most retailers I have known create a back issue stock of MODERN books by > getting STUCK with EXTRAS from their initial order (again, I refer only > to MODERN books)... And you begrudge them trying to do more than break even on them? If these books were suddenly to be seen as "hot" and were "legitimately" priced at $10, would you go back to the shop that sold it to you at 50% off and offer to make up the difference? Of course not, because that is just as ridiculous as your proposition. > with the exception of X-books or the occasional KISS or > BattleChasers (which both had good buzz at the beginning and continue to > do well), i rarely see retailers OVER-ordering JUST to create backstock. > If you, Mr. Scott, ARE doing that, and raising the prices to such an > extreme, maybe you should focus more on ordering only what you can sell, > and investing in back-issues that can bring you a fair profit without > out-pricing the price-guides. And you Keith Anonymous should know more about a subject before you attempt to teach someone who knows far more than you about it! Especially when considering that price guides exist to report what I am selling a book for and not to tell me what to sell it for! There would be no need for a price guide otherwise because books would sell for cover price ad infinitum. Which would be OK with me except once again publishers don't keep books in print indefinitely and once supplies were exhausted prices would escalate. > to overorder so heinously that it is necessary for them to sell books > at 50-75% off>> > > Or Marvel or DC can suddenly cancel a book (e.g. Chase) or start over at > number 1 (e.g. Spidey) or a company can close its doors and go out of > business, leaving what interest there may have been in the back issues to > dwindle to absolutely nothing. You ar so right, which is exactly why nobody cares anymore about books like MAGE, MR MIRACLE, THE CROW... > The Valiant line (version 1 & 2), may have been good, but a comics fan is > unlikely to shell out $3 and up for a back-issue of something priced in > guides at cover, and, more so, where the story will never be finished and > the character may never be seen again For the most part the Valiant line stunk beyond the first year and a half. Politics and the eventual takeover by Acclaim were nails in the coffin and the relaunch was doomed almost before it started tainted by the failure of Valiant I. So sure a line here or there is not going to sell even at half of cover price but that is the exception and not the rule. --- Thanx, Robert Scott COMICKAZE- SD's #1 source for Comics, Cards & Video - in CA call(619)278-0371, all others(800)869-5275 Our Online Connection- http://www.comickaze.com Comic Readers Forum- http://www.delphi.com/COMICKAZEonline Comic Retailers Forum- http://www.delphi.com/retailforum/ +++++ Subj: Two Items From: B Canwell Hi, Dave -- ITEM 1: This week I've joined the parade of AOLers who (I assume, based on the fact you had to re-send last week) only got the first part of COMIC BOOK NET # 196. Wotta way to start tthe new year, eh? ITEM 2: I _know_ it was just a typo, but that _still_ didn't stop an involuntary "Hee-hee-hee!" from bursting forth as I read in the editorial: "...it will still cost $.53 but instead of .32 + .23 it is .33 + .22." Now we know why you're the _editor_ and not the _accountant_! :) Best wishes for the new year ahead! -- Bruce Canwell [D'oh! Of course the total is 55 not 53 - DL] +++++ From: stmattll@mwci.net (stmattll) For Christmas, my wife bought me the "Celebrate the Century" stamp albums from DC and the U.S. Post Office. For those unaware of this amazing project, DC is releasing 10 comic books that can also be used as stamp albums. Each book details the history of one decade. So far, there are four albums released (1900's-1930's), with the rest to follow throughout 1999 and 2000. What makes these comics so cool? For starters, check out some of artists who have contributed pages to the project: Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Paul Ryan, Norm Breyfogle, Jim Aparo, the late Joe Orlando (probably some of his final work), Ernie Colon and many, many more. Prominent DC heroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Oracle, Black Lightning and Steel are featured in each book. I'm really impressed with the way the creators selected certain heroes to "tell" the story of different historical events or people. For example, who but Superman could talk about the Wright Brothers? Aquaman explains the story of the Panama Canal, and the Flash gives a history lesson on the evolution of the automobile. One of the highlights is a Dan Jurgens spread honoring Superman, and featuring images of Siegel, Shuster, radio's Bud Collyer and even George Reeves! You can buy just the stamp albums for about $15 from your local post office, or you can get the albums and the stamps for over $50. What a wonderful gift for kids, adults, stamp or comic book collectors. Either way, this is a fun and educational project that deserves our support. Kudos to DC Comics and the U.S. Postal Service! Jeff Dyer 1003 W. 5th St. Dubuque, IA 52001 [Recipients of our Cheezy Prize(tm) in the trivia contest often get the Superman stamp on the envelope when I have one to use. - DL] +++++ Subj: The death of Andre leBlanc From: mfraley@noble.cioe.com (Michael Fraley) Hi, I'm one of those faithful, every week, gotta read the update fanboys of the CBEM web page, and I missed something a couple of weeks ago. Maybe it was here, somewhere in the html, but I must have missed it. That something was a mention somewhere of the death of Andre leBlanc. Who? Well, Andre started out in the Eisner studio close to sixty years ago. His forte at the time was humor and kid strips, but he was there, at the scene, just as much as anyone else in those long-ago days. These days, he is probably best known for his Picture Bible for the David C. Cook company. He did that in the 1960's, traveling abroad to get the details right, and he managed to make a comic-book full of Bible stories look like Prince Valiant!!! That was my very first comic as a kid, and I loved it. Loved it. Andre is gone now, and I hope to see a mention of him here soon. Thanks. Now I've got to go back and read the rest of the columns! Michael D. Fraley [Before anyone asks - no relation. DL] +++++ Subj: Your item in Dave LeBlanc's Comicbook Net this week... From: warrenpc@home.com (James Warren) To: GSassaman@aol.com, ComicBkNet@aol.com Dear Gary, As a kid who grew up with the earliest color comicbooks in the late 30's - and then went on to edit & publish a few books of his own - I read with interest your comments on what we're seeing in the way of color today. You are absolutely correct. Much of the comicbook coloring I see today appears to be "color for color's sake" and not for the sake of advancing the story or the art. I remember when we first experimented with color in our (then black & white) CREEPY, EERIE, VAMPIRELLA titles back in the mid-1970's. I wasn't satisfied with it until we got Rich Corban into print because Rich treated the color as an integral part of the overall story - and not just as something to justify a higher cover-price. BWhen I look back at some of the Golden Age books and Sunday strips, and see how the coloring complimented the art - and then compare this with a lot of today's work - it's obvious that some colorists seem to think they have a manifest destiny of their own to fulfill. And it shows. Sincerely, JIM WARREN WARREN PUBLISHING COMPANY 8115 Brookside Road Elkins Park, PA 19027-2401 ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [3] [TRIVIA CONTEST] **THE FIRST PLACE TO FIND THE EMAG EACH WEEK IS ON OUR HOME PAGE!** IF YOU ARE DESPERATE TO WIN THE TRIVIA, GO THERE FIRST ON FRIDAY NIGHT http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet/emag.htm QUESTION OF THE WEEK (Prizes donated by THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT - Worcester, MA) (DC COMICS & DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTORS, INC.) +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.+ LAST ISSUE'S QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Looking back to the pre-crisis days: What reason did Lucy Lane give for not marrying Jimmy Olsen? A few folks knew that Lucy vowed not to marry until her sister Lois married first, but Jeremy Finestone got there first. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION: From Jay Perry: Who was the first Avenger to use the phrase, "Avengers Assemble!" 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! ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [4] Network Buzz News, gossip and rumors from around the industry The big news on the web has been the attack by Marvel's creditors on former suppliers and free lance creators. One former supplier to Heroes World contacted us and claims he is one of about 30 on the hit list. More about this story from the hottest site on the web about comics these days, http://www.comicon.com The SPLASH has confirmed that MARVEL ENTERPRISES has filed a huge new lawsuit against former MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT boss, RONALD O. PERELMAN. While details are still sketchy, the suit was apparently filed "in the Marvel creditor's best interest" during December and is aimed at forcing Perelman to account for alleged mismanagement of the company. Perelman, one of America's richest men, purchased Marvel Comics in 1989, then took it public as MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT. Stocks for the new multimedia conglomerate skyrocketed overnight, but as potential movie deals dried up, especially a highly touted SPIDER-MAN film directed by Jim Cameron, share prices dropped off dramatically. Industry watchers say that over the next few years, Perelman snared the company in an exorbitant debt load and pursued a strategy that sent Marvel into a prolonged bankruptcy with banks and investors eating losses of over half a billion dollars. This strategy, especially Marvel's failed attempt to exclusively self-distribute their line by purchasing Ivan Snyder's HEROES WORLD DISTRIBUTION, is also widely believed responsible for sending the once vibrant Direct Sales Market for comic books into a tailspin from which it has yet to recover. MARVEL ENTERPRISES is the new company that emerged from the bankruptcy proceedings lasy year, when TOY BIZ, one of the businesses purchased by Perelman and folded into his MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT portfolio, convinced the banks and courts to approve and fund their plan to pick up the pieces. While exact amounts in the lawsuit have not been confirmed, it appears the amount Marvel Enterprises is asking the court to force Perelman to pay is over $200 million. So far, this major development in the long running bankruptcy case has gone unreported in the regular press. Developing. Thanks to The Fantom MARVEL BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE SUES HUNDREDS OF FREELANCERS, EX-EMPLOYEES AND VENDORS! COURT DECLARES PAYMENTS MADE DURING 'POST PETITION' PERIOD RETURNED TO PAY CREDITORS! MARVEL CHERRY PICKED TRUSTEE LAWSUIT LIST! In a surprise year end move forced by the statute of limitations in the case, the court appointed trustee overseeing the MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT bankruptcy is dragging hundreds of ex-employees, freelancers, suppliers and customers of the defunct company into court for what it says are illegal vendor payments made during the 'post petition' period of their bankruptcy proceedings. The 'post petition' period began in late December 1996, and the payments in question were made to cover 'pre-petition' charges, payments that bankruptcy law deems illegal. Marvel originally had the court's permission to pay vendors for 'pre-petition' vouchers during the 'post petition' period of their lengthy Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but the court reversed itself in the final settlement and has authorized Marvel's creditors to recoup these monies. The SPLASH has learned that the payments in question range anywhere from $4,000 to over $1,000,000. On the low end are many freelancers and small vendors doing normal business with Marvel, while on the high end are the much larger debtors like NEW WORLD PICTURES. The SPLASH has learned that the category with one of the biggest dollar amounts is called "preferential 90 day payments". These were payments made by Marvel around the time of the Chapter 11 filing that were not pertaining to the ordinary course of business, and that could involve questionable financial practices. According to the complaint, filed in the State of Delaware, and served on hundreds of individuals and businesses, those named have thirty days to answer or the court will rule in the favor of the plaintiff, namely Marvel's creditors. The SPLASH has learned that in addition to the complaints, which are in fact summons to plead before the court, an unknown number of letters, containing demands for repayment that are not backed by the court, were sent out as well. The SPLASH has determined that the list of Marvel creditors who will benefit from this action also has a high end and a low end. Among the largest creditors are Ivan Snyder, who sold his HEROES WORLD DISTRIBUTION to Marvel, and Scott Rosenberg, who sold his MALIBU COMICS to Marvel, both before the bankruptcy. On the other end of the creditor scale are businesses and freelancers, some of whom were due royalties for their work on the MALIBU ULTRAVERSE, which were caught up in the Chapter 11 filing. According to the trustee's lawyer, Jeffrey D. Proll, (see JM LOFFICIER's statement following), MARVEL ENTERPRISES, the current incarnation of the company controlled by TOY BIZ, was allowed to preview the list and remove any persons or businesses who would have a "material impact" on Marvel's operations if dragged into a suit, explaining why some creators currently working for Marvel received the summons and some did not. Marvel Publishing, apparently unaware of the legal maneuvering, quickly moved to set up a hot line for freelancers and ex-employees caught up in the bizarre turn of events (see following story). Developing. Thanks to: The Fantom MARVEL FREELANCERS, EX-EMPLOYEES NOT FACING FRONT! LOFFICIER SPEAKS WITH TRUSTEE'S LAWYER Predictably, freelancers and ex-employees of Marvel Entertainment were shocked and outraged by the summons issued by the Bankruptcy Trustee on behalf of Marvel's creditors demanding restitution for payments made during the 'post-petition' period of the Chapter 11 filing. Confusion about previous attempts by Marvel itself to recoup overpaid royalties (reported on here as 'MARVEL COLLECTION AGENCY CLASSICS' in early December) muddied the already turbulent waters around fast breaking events.Some had received their summons as early as December 31, some, like ERIK LARSEN, got two different letters in the following days, while others, like WARREN ELLIS, heard from friends that their names were on the list but still had not received their certified summons as of Monday, Jan.4. As of Tuesday, Marvel's current crop of top writers, PETER DAVID, MARK WAID, and KURT BUSIEK had not received any of the hundreds of certified letters sent out. The SPLASH has learned that MARVEL Editorial only became aware of the legal action late Wednesday afternoon. In a statement to THE SPLASH, freelancer Paul Neary, who received one of the first summons, said: " I have been summoned to make a response to the document by Delaware District court. This was to be copied to Marvel's solicitors. My response was to request more information. All I have is a flurry of forms, petitions and legal bluster which does not include information as to exactly on what grounds I should hand money to Marvel. Nor, incidentally, does it contain the address of Delaware district Court. For those who need it, it is as follows:- Delaware District Court, Marine Midland Plaza, 824 Market St., Wilmington, DE 19801 Marvel took quite large sums from the last few payments they sent me. I imagine the demand for a lump sum indicates that they have no plans to send any more cheques to me from which they can deduct. Freelancers still working for Marvel may find deductions occurring from future cheques...or maybe not. I don't know." Former Heroes World employee, LARRY SHELL, who now runs SHEL-TONE Publications, says it appears his severance pay is what the Trustee is after. "I cannot conceive why they are asking me, an employee of Heroes World/Marvel, who gave the company 10 years of his life, for money to pay their debts. I was not a vendor or other outside service provider and I received no renumeration that is not legally mine. How can they do this to me? Thanks for nothing, Marvel!" said Shell. Freelancer, MARK BADGER told The Splash:"A lot of us are getting screwed by one big fat corporation. Probably if we get together we have a superior chance of coming out on top. I'm talking to a lawyer as of 1/5/99, and I have a list of people in the four thousand dollar range that I'll be mailing a letter to this week. Anyone that wants in on whatever I find out what we can do as a group contact me at mark@lemoncustard.com." Badger suggests the group approach the Graphic Artist Guild with the situation. "We might have the power to prevent this kind of thing happenning by our collective bargaining power." JM LOFFICIER of STARWATCHER GRAPHICS spoke with the lawyer for the Bankruptcy Trustee, Jeffrey Prol, of Ravin, Sarasohn, Cook, Baumgarten, Fisch & Rosen , and told The SPLASH: "I asked Prol how many summons his firm had sent. He said they sent about 200. But there is another law firm, in New York, that has also been hired by the Trustee and that has also been sending summons. He did not know how many. I then asked Prol the dollar range of his summons. He said $4000 was the low cut-off point. The top is "in excess of $1 million". He would not identify the party (or parties) being sued for that amount. He confirmed that these suits are for the recovery of payments made post-petition for GOODS and SERVICES delivered pre-petition. They're also going after preferential transfer payments made within 90 days of the Bankruptcy filing. In effect, these are payments that should not have been made at all (even though the Court initially approved them at Marvel's request). These moneys have to be reclaimed, put back in the common pot and then reapportioned out according to the pro-rata of the creditors. He would not identify who among the creditors stands to benefit the most from this. I asked if it was the banks, because usually that is the case in bankruptcies. But he replied that, while I would normally be right, my analysis was incorrect in this case, because the banks' lien would have been on the pre-petition assets, not the post-petition assets that this money is a part of. I pressed on and stated that people would likely be more upset if they found out that Marvel (Toy Biz, Perelman or any other guise) would ultimately benefit from this. He would not confirm or deny anything; he said only the Trustee could answer my question and offered to pass my question, name and phone number to the Trustee, who would call me back (or not). I asked if any of the major printers doing business with Marvel today were included in the suit. He said that it wasn't likely, because Toy Biz (note: Toy Biz, NOT Marvel) had reviewed the list and they had the power to ask them to remove the names of any entity that is doing business with Marvel today, and who would have a "material impact" on Marvel's operations if dragged into a suit. I asked about those companies being sued for amounts in excess of $1 million -- wouldn't such companies be doing significant business with Marvel? He replied, obviously these are companies with which Marvel is no longer doing any business. I asked him to verify if, as I suspected, any contract, voucher, bill of goods etc. sold to Marvel would remain valid, even though the money is now being reclaimed. He confirmed that this is indeed so under bankruptcy law. Finally, I asked if they were willing to discuss any offer of settlements for lesser amounts, in exchange for being taken off the suit. He said that they were, and that people should call him (Jeffrey Prol) at (973) 228-9600." The next to last paragraph of Lofficier's statement addresses the question of whether Work For hire contracts signed by those freelancers being forced to return their payments remain in force. Apparently, according to American bankruptcy law, this is the case. Mike Friedrich, whose STAR*REACH agency handles many top artists and writers, released the following statement on Wednesday: "Based on the information posted in the SPLASH, I think it's unconscionable that the Marvel bankruptcy trustee, aided by the new Marvel execs, is attempting to collect refunds of allegedly illegitimate payments based on whether the people or companies can hurt them now. Thus apparently printers, large color separators, and "hot" artists and writers are exempted from even having to respond, while small suppliers and creators are browbeaten with threatened legal action. Mark Badger is correct that if affected artists were members of the Graphic Artists Guild , we could go to the Guild together to get help. I have done what I can for the past few years to protect my clients from the on-going Marvel disaster, with generally positive results. But I'm very glad to have the Guild behind me when I need them." Mike Friedrich and Star*Reach can be reached at: berkeley99@aol.com Developing. Thanks to The Fantom. MARVEL PUBLISHING SETS UP HOT LINE FOR FREELANCERS OTHERS URGE CAUTION, DEALING DIRECT WITH TRUSTEE MAY STILL OFFER BEST SOLUTION As the thirty-day clock ticks on the letters still landing in the mailboxes of freelancers and ex-employees caught up the Marvel bankruptcy, effective strategies for dealing with the mess began to emerge. Some freelancers are discussing pursuing a joint defense (see Mark Badger's statement above) and the SPLASH will report on any developments in that area as we hear of them. While much about this is still in a confused state, after speaking with people familiar with the legal ins and outs of the convoluted case, the SPLASH tentatively recommends the following possible course of action to anyone who received a complaint: Get a lawyer to review what you have received. Apparently some were real summons and others merely letters without the backing of the court. Before replying to the law firm that sent you the complaint, try getting in touch directly with the office of Christopher J. Kearns, the court appointed Trustee of the 'Avoidance Litigation Trust' (which must have been named by Terry Gilliam!). Ask for an extension. Tell them the payments you received were part of your "ordinary course of business" with Marvel. Be prepared to back that up with documentation. If you can prove you were engaged in the "ordinary course of business" there is a possibility, if you are on the low end, you will be dropped from the list. We'll post the Trustee's address as soon as we get it. Anyone who tries this approach, please let us know if you have any success! Late Thursday, the SPLASH received word that Marvel Publishing, moving quickly to respond to events that were out of their control, set up a hot-line to assist freelancers and ex-employees caught in the legal manuevering. Editors are directing creators to Marvel's Freelancer Liason, Holly Reandeau, who in turn will connect them to higher ups in the legal hierarchy. The SPLASH has learned that at least some individuals have been told they are being removed from the list. Others familiar with the situation were urging caution until Marvel provided written confirmation. JM Lofficier told the SPLASH, "At this stage people should not rely on Marvel's word that they're out of the woods. IT IS NOT MARVEL'S DECISION TO TAKE FOLKS OFF THE LIST!!! Only the Trustee if so ordered by Toy Biz has that power. People should still review the merits of the suit and stand ready to act, just in case." Since it appears possible that Toy Biz and Marvel Publishing were operating at odds leading up to the summons, caution might be advisable for freelancers dealing with these issues now. Developing. STAN SPINS A BRAND NEW WEB! Stan Lee Media is set to announce a far reaching and ambitious plan to mount a major internet hub site based around original characters created and owned by Stan Lee. In a phone interview with the SPLASH, Lee confirmed that he was no longer exclusive with Marvel Enterprises, having negotiated a new contract that would put him in the role of 'Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Media' and guarantee him "executive producer' credit on future films made from Marvel properties. He envisions spending ten percent of his time on Marvel and the rest on the soon to be announced Stan Lee Media. The new venture has been organized in the last six weeks by Lee and a group of investors, including co-founder Peter Paul, and while the story had originally been embargoed to news outlets until Monday, January 18th, Paul said the WALL STREET JOURNAL was set to jump the gun on Friday and okayed release of the information by the SPLASH today. In a statement to the SPLASH, Paul described the situation and new venture this way: "Due to a new agreement with Marvel, for the first time in Stan's career, he has been enabled to direct his own destiny and chart his own creative path, while retaining ownership of his new creations, through his new company, Stan Lee Media, and his web "hub", stanlee.net . He wants to do on the internet what he did when he started with comics and built Marvel as the biggest publisher in the world for kids, and that is to rebuild a global base of 10-15 year olds as part of his new nexus on the internet, developing the largest internet community of "family" enthusiasts with new characters and stories introduced directly on the net through innovative online publishing and multiplayer games ... enabling the community to use the attributes of the net to interact with each other and the artists and writers to collectively evolve certain characters and stories. Stan's community at Stanlee.net will give as many tools and activities away freely as possible. He will interact regularly through chats and video streaming from his new "bullpen" and establish a supersecret club which will perpetuate his unique irreverent style and humor in collaboration with various creative leaders around the world. Stan will be unencumbered by the corporate hierarchy that has marked his career with Marvel, and the creative opportunities that will be presented to him will be limitless, only matched by his imagination and energy. Stan will play a new role as generic spokesman for the medium he loves and the younger constituents he enfranchises. While he will remain as chairman emeritus and member of the editorial board for Marvel, spending approximately 10% of his time there, he will be free to spend the balance of his unlimited energy on promoting his personal, non-denominational vision of an ideal comic book universe for all young fans around the globe united by the most powerful medium of all time, the internet." Paul said that Mark Evanier will come on as coordinator in the new venture and that Buzz Dixon is involved creatively as well. Paul described a number of ambitious projects the venture plans to have in place quickly, including multi-player games and a computer animated feature film based on an original Stan Lee character in theaters by the fall of 2000. Paul denied that a line of EXCELSIOR COMICS was being shopped to Marvel's competitors as reported in the SPLASH story and indicated that Marvel would get 'first look' on any comic book tie-ins. He also said the venture was not going to go public with an IPO since it was a 'reverse merger' with an existing publicly held company. When asked for his reaction to the recent lawsuits filed by the Marvel bankruptcy trustee against hundreds of freelancers, ex-employees and vendors, Stan expressed frustration at the situation, saying he felt that it was out of the hands of the new Marvel management."I've met with the new management up there. Eric Ellenbogen, Avi Arrad and others. They are intelligent, creative people and total gentlemen doing the best job they can in a bad time for comics. After seeing who they have in place I feel really optomistic for Marvel for the first time in a long time. I think Marvel is going to zoom up again!" +++++ From The Daily Buzz at http://www.mania.com/newsarama/index.html A Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot animated series, based on the Dark Horse comic by Frank Miller and Geof Darrow, and an Avengers series from Marvel will likely be on Fox's Saturday morning schedule when the network announces its new fall line-up next week. Producer Duane Capizzi said that production has begun on Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot at Columbia Tri-Star. "We're doing 13 episodes, with a second 13 pending. We might do a double order, but that hasn't been confirmed yet," Capizzi said. "We've recorded a couple of episodes and have several scripts in different variations of construction." Also producing the series is Frank Squillace, whose credits include X-Men and Godzilla. The cast includes Jonathan Cook as Big Guy, Pam Siegal (Bobby on King of The Hill) as Rusty and Jim Hanks (Tom Hanks' brother) as Duane Hunter. Also providing voices are Steven Root, Kathryn Kinney, R. Lee Ermey, M. Emmet Walsh, Clancy Brown and Gabrielle Carteris. +++++ From Newsarama; http://www.AnotherUniverse.com/newsarama WINNER OF THE 1997 REC.ARTS.COMICS.* "SQUIDDY" FOR BEST WEB SITE DC's RESURRECTION MAN has succumbed to the cancellation rumors surrounding the title for the last several months, at least according to its co-writer Andy Lanning. Saturday, on a post to AOL's DC Comics Discussion Forum folders, Lanning announced the following..."I thought you guys deserved to be the first to know but last night I was told that, as of issue #28, Resurrection Man is to be canceled. Obviously Dan (co-writer Dan Abnett) and I are upset by this news but understand the immense commercial pressures that lead to TPTB making these hard decisions. It's becoming a bit of a cliché, but in today's market it seems there just isn't enough support to keep a book like RM (and others of the same cloth - Chronos, Chase, Creeper, Major Bummer, etc...) going as a regular monthly book." Frank Pittarese has left Marvel editorial to work for Nickelodeon Magazine. He will be editing RUGRATS COMIC ADVENTURES. Newsarama reports Dark Horse will snag the XENA comic license and it will debut in August from John Wagner and Joyce Chin. Here is the lineup for Dark Horse's STAR WARS comics that adapt and tie in to the new movie: On May 5th, a little more than two weeks before the opening of arguably the most highly anticipated film in movie history, DHC will be releasing the first issue of a four issue comic adaptation, by the creative team of Henry Gilroy (w), Rodolfo Damaggio (p), Al Williamson (I) and Hugh Fleming (c). And in addition to the adaptation, they are also doing four full-color, 22-page one-shot tie-ins, each focusing on an important character from the film. The titles and their creative teams are as follows - ANAKIN (May 19) - Timothy Truman (w), Steve Crespo (p), George Freeman (i) OBI-WAN (May 26) - Henry Gilroy (w), Martin Egeland (p), Howard Shum (i) QUI-GON JINN (June 2) - Jim Woodring(w), Robert Teranishi (p), Chris Chuckry (digital inks and color seps) YOUNG QUEEN (June 9) - Mark Schultz (w), Galen Showman (p), P. Craig Russell (i) All covers for the tie-ins will be illustrated by Tim Bradstreet. +SUPREME: THE RETURN is the title that will pick up where SUPREME #56 left off when Alan Moore once again writes the series for AWESOME. SUPREME: THE RETURN #1 is illustrated by Chris Sprouse and Al Gordon and colored by Awesome Color FX. A report in the next Comic Buyer's Guide gets into more detail onthe Marvel situation referred to before. New information concerning the free lancers who are being sued indicates they may get out of it easily: According to Cheryl Page, a source in the office of Marvel Vice President and General Counsel Tuck Hardie, no freelancer should ever have received the complaint from the trustee. Page told CBG that any freelancer who did get the Kearns letter should call her at Marvel in order to have their names removed from the action - and to receive a letter confirming it. The case involves several hundred defendants who performed work for Marvel before the bankruptcy declaration and received payment while the company was in Chapter 11 - an action initially approved by the bankruptcy court but rescinded by another ruling in October 1998 (basically amounting to an assertion that they should've gotten in line with the rest of the creditors). CBG cautions however that the Kearns matter should NOT be confused with an earlier letter some freelancers received from Marvel's Robert Grosser, seeking repayment for what it said were overpayments in incentives. Thus far, Marvel has not responded to CBG's requests to discuss the subject of that letter. Full details can be found in CBG's Feb. 5th edition (#1316) shipping this weekend and in future weekly issues as more information becomes available. +++++ From the DCOnline newsletter; http://www.dccomics.com/newsletter.html To subscribe, or for questions or comments about the DC newsletter, please email DCWebSite@aol.com. THIS WEEK ON DC ONLINE Check out the new B&W Advances at dccomics.com. We have three pages each of BATMAN & SUPERMAN: WORLD'S FINEST, HOURMAN, and Vertigo's SCENE OF THE CRIME awaiting you! NEWS BYTES BODY DOUBLES MINISERIES POSTPONED The miniseries BODY DOUBLES (the first issue was solicited in Previews Vol. VIII, No. 12 for an in-store date of February 17) has been postponed. DC will resolicit this miniseries at a later date. ANIMATION EPISODE SCHEDULE Warner Bros. Animation has supplied us with the following air schedule, which is subject to change. THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES airs weekdays and Saturdays on the WB Network. Times given are Eastern and Pacific time. 1/18/99 (4:00 pm) -- "Make 'Em Laugh" (Batman) 1/18/99 (4:30 pm) -- "Two's a Crowd" (Superman) 1/19/99 (4:00 pm) -- "Action Figures" (Superman) 1/19/99 (4:30 pm) -- "Batgirl Returns" (Batman) 1/20/99 (4:00 pm) -- "Double Talk" (Batman) 1/20/99 (4:30 pm) -- "Father's Day" (Superman) 1/21/99 (4:00 pm) -- "Knight Time" (Superman) 1/21/99 (4:30 pm) -- "Animal Act" (Batman) 1/22/99 (4:00 pm) -- "Tools of the Trade" (Superman) 1/22/99 (4:30 pm) -- "Legends of the Dark Knight" (Batman) 1/23/99 (8:00 am) -- "Warrior Queen" (Superman) 1/23/99 (8:30 am) -- "Girls' Nite Out" (Batman) 1/23/99 (9:30 am) -- "Rebirth Part 2" (Batman Beyond) +++++ Warner Bros. Studio Stores Celebrate the Premiere of `Batman Beyond' On Kids WB! Special Encore Presentation to be Shown on Studio Store Videowall Saturday, Jan. 16 BURBANK, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Jan. 13, 1999--Warner Bros. Studio Stores nationwide will celebrate the premiere of the all-new futuristic chapter in the legend of the Caped Crusader with "Batman Beyond" Day on Saturday, Jan. 16. Beginning at 2 p.m. in more than 140 Studio Stores across the country, kids and their families will be treated to a special encore presentation of the "Batman Beyond" premiere episode and a sneak peak of the second episode on the giant videowall screens inside each store. All those in attendance will have the chance to win one of the newest "Batman Beyond" action figures from Hasbro, available in stores in March 1999. The in-store celebrations will also include an exclusive limited edition "Batman Beyond" poster for all kids under 14 years old (while supplies last). The exciting new animated series will officially premiere on Kids WB! with a special debut at 9:30-10 a.m. Saturday morning (check local listings). In ten cities, Warner Bros. Studio Stores will partner with The WB's local affiliate for additional festivities. Fans of Kids WB! in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Detroit, Atlanta, Seattle, San Diego, New Orleans and Las Vegas will receive the first issue of the new "Batman Beyond" comic book from DC Comics while supplies last. Michigan J. Frog, The WB spokesphibian, will also make a special appearance at 12 Oaks Mall in Detroit. "Batman Beyond" is produced and animated by Warner Bros. Television Animation, under the creative supervision of Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Glen Murakami and Bruce Timm, for Kids WB!, The WB Television Network's children's programming service. +++++ ZEN INTERGALACTIC NINJA TO BE PUBLISHED BY CHIKARA COMICS FOR MORE INFORMATION: log on to www.zenintergalacticninja.com New York, NY--Studio Chikara, the entity dedicated to its products' integrity, has acquired rights to produce an all-new comic-book series based on the popular science-fiction character, Zen Intergalactic Ninja. The title will be published under the company's Chikara Comics imprint. This fully painted, bimonthly series is written by former Dark Horse Comics editor Robert V. Conte (GODZILLA, THE SHADOW) and illustrated by Christopher Scalf (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA). "Unlike previous incarnations of the character, this is a version of Zen you've never seen before," says Conte. "These stories depict Zen as a space-traveling bounty hunter who offers his martial-arts skills to the highest bidders in the galaxy. Zen will be darker and moodier than he has ever been presented in the past."' Zen Intergalactic Ninja was created by writer Steve Stern and artist Dan Cote. The character first appeared in Zen Intergalactic Ninja #1, published in 1987. "Dan and I are incredibly excited about the new, fully painted Zen series coming from Chikara Comics," says Stern. "Robert and Chris are the ultimate creative team to be bringing Zen's exploits as a galactic bounty hunter to a whole new generation of fans." "As soon as we saw his work on the recent Battlestar Galactica comic, we knew we had to have Chris Scalf painting the new Zen series," says Cote. "His work is phenomenal. In my opinion, Chris is like Alex Ross in that he's taking cinematic realism in comics to an unprecedented new level." Zen Intergalactic Ninja #1 ships in June 1999, preparing a new legion of fans for the long-awaited Zen live-action movie due for release in 2000. Other Studio Chikara products include GODZILLA lithographs and collectors plates, THE KISS YEARS trade paperback and HISTORY OF THE BARBI TWINS photo book. Zen Intergalactic Ninja is licensed exclusively worldwide by Surge Entertainment, marketers of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. +++++ From COMICS 2 FILM Website: http://www.comics2film.com Quantum And Woody ----------------- Comics 2 Film spoke to a source at The Jim Henson Company this week in our efforts to learn the fate of the Quantum And Woody TV show that had been talked about in the past. The Jim Henson Company had purchased the television option in 1997. At that time Q&W writer and creator Christopher Priest was happy with the arrangement and with the amount of involvement he and co-creator Mark Bright were allowed. Unfortunately our source informs us that The Jim Henson Company's option has expired. Given Acclaim Comic's downsizing and the fact that no new Q&W comics have been published recently, it seems doubtful that a TV show will be developed. Our source also told us about some projects of interest to comics fans that the features division of Henson is working on. The compnay is working with Neil Gaiman adapting his novel Neverwhere. The company is also working with Rob Schrab and Dan Harmon of Scud: The Disposable Assassin fame. The duo are writing an original "Giant Robot movie" for Henson. Silver Surfer ------------- FROM THE DETROIT NEWS COMIC BOOK CONTINUUM: The Detroit News Comic Book Continuum reports that Mike Finch (Wing Commander) is hard at work on a new script for the live-action Silver Surfer movies.  The movie is in development at Fox Family Films.   Finch has also recently worked on an Aeon Flux movie. http://detnews.com/comicbooks/ X-Men ----- FROM MANY SOURCES: The rumor mill continued to run full-tilt this week on the much anticipated X-Men movie. Here's a round up of recent stories from the internet: Ain't it Cool News ran a report from a spy that bumped into X-Men director Bryan Singer at a screening of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Singer allegedly told this spy that 20th Century Fox had green-lighted the project just three days prior. Singer also told the fan that shooting should start in May with a targeted release date of Summer 2000. On the other hand, the Detroit News Comic Book Continuum reported that "it's possible the film will be green-lighted for production in 6-8 weeks." Cinescape also went looking for answers and came up with reports from two anonymous sources. One source supported the story that writer Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) had turned in a miserable script back in November, but that the movie is currently on track with major announcements on the horizon. The other source claimed that McQuarrie and Singer are fighting Fox over the script. Apparently the script is serious in nature and the studio is looking for a "bright, Super Friends-type movie." This source also told Cinescape that producer Richard Donner may be stepping up to a greater creative role, serving as the middle-man between Singer and the studio. http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/ http://detnews.com/comicbooks/ http://www.cinescape.com ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Ramblings 98 Rich Johnston twisting@hotmail.com [Renamed for the new year, Ramblings 98 continues to spread confirmed and unconfirmed news and rumours. It welcomes comment, especially comment that clarifies, refutes and corrects information already disseminated. Rich Johnston is an advertising copywriter, co-self publisher of Twist And Shout Comics, BBC comedy writer and comics columnist. He currently lives in South London, England. His column can be found online at: http://www.twistandshoutcomics.com All Ramblings e-mail received will be considered public domain and may be quoted.] This column is RUMOUR. Do not take anything here seriously. These RUMOURS are presented here as GOSSIP for their ENTERTAINMENT value. Dateline: 08 January 1999 Back Right, I'm back again. A busy few weeks, I've been to South Africa to arrange a certain wedding, been doing some work for Cartoon News, a British newstand magazine about the animation industry, started work on a new piece for Nat Gertler's The Factor (go buy issue 2, out now, with 8 (count them) panels of my work! Ahem. Anyway, I'm also (finally) going to make a start on Spawnfeld, hopefully for autumn (fall) release and then in a few weeks time you'll be seeing a weekly cartoon strip about American separatists called Holed Up! Right, now on with the Ramblings. Not much this week... Out Again A sequel to the successful mini-series Whiteout from Oni Press is being planned. Again written by crime-writer Greg Rucka and drawn by Steve Lieber (I still want to write Hawkman artist whenever I mention his name), the new book will see Whiteout star Lilley on an international adventure of an espionage nature. The House Of Demands The latest misadventures of Marvel have been all over the internet. Comicon's Splash Page does a marvellous job of contacting the many Marvel freelancers who have just recently received demands for payments purporting to be overpaid royalties or payments made at a time when payments shouldn't have been authorized - check it out for the full details and quotes from the likes of Paul Neary and Mark Badger. It looks like the requests are being targeted at non-high profile creators, current Marvel favourites are not being targeted. We have received a tip-off that Warren Ellis, past writer on Marvel titles such as Hellstorm, Ghost Rider, Doom 2099, Excalibur and Storm has received a request for payment of ten grand (dollars or pounds, we don't know). Ellis was unable to comment, but posted on his Message Board that he will return to the topic next week. We can't wait. He's already threatened Marvel editor Mark Powers with violence there, if the Sign Of The End Times story on Cable leads to an End Times series for Marvel. E-mail Us. Ramblings '99 is only as good as its sources, and you'll find our sources sitting happily in every major comic company ready to spill various gossip when the press releases don't. However, we're always interested in new sources, particularly freelance creators and those with junior editorial positions. Just e-mail me at twisting@hotmail.com and we'll talk. Confidentiality guaranteed (just ask Robin and Elayne Riggs!) Dateline: 13 January 1999 Shooter Doesn't Say Anything Shock! We have a confirmed comment on the possibility of Jim Shooter returning to Marvel. Or rather we don't... We know that Marvel's new top fella worked with Shooter at Broadway Comics and that they're on friendly terms. Jim Adcock, Manager of Dragon's Lair Comics and Fantasy, Austin TX, at http://www.dlair.net e-mails us to tell us that he e-,mailed Shooter about the matter and Shooter replied... "No comment." Great. No conclusions there then, I only tend to believe things when they've been officially denied. Kitchen Stink Adcock's been a busy boy, profiting from the fall of Kitchen Sink Press as he's been getting good discounts off their back stock (is you retailer doning this yet?) John Lucus, artist on the (now) final issue of Spirit New Adventures (and on Starman 80pg Giant and Starman: Mist) popped into his store (which is, if you haven't got it yet, Dragon's Lair Comics and Fantasy, Austin TX, on-line at http://www.dlair.net) and said he has yet to be paid for his Spirit work, and doesn't expect to. He said he suspected something was up, because he had to work with three or four people to get the issue done, as they each left KSP during the production of that issue. Will Eisner's books published by KSP have been turned over to Eisner and are not being liquidated. Eisner's brother will be marketing Eisner's stuff for the foreseeable future. Bach To The Future As can be seen on www.comicon.com, a lot of creators have a lot to say about the Marvel requests and writs for repayments. Note, these requests aren't for overpayment, but for rightful payments that Marvel's creditors argue should have gone to them instead. It does seem that certain prominent creators that Marvel hope to work with in the future or are already working with have, however, been taken off the request list. But for your jobbing freelance, this could turn into a nightmare. Chris Bachalo avoided the situation by being on an exclusive contract that had to be approved of by everyone in the company, so apparently he's covered. As well as a preview of Witching Hour, he's also working on designs for the Avengers animated series in production and is the latest to be seduced by the evil Dynamic Forces and their exclusive variant covers that sell for 5 times the price and in 3 years time will be worth nothing. Look for overpriced Evil Ernie, Lady Death and WildCATS stuff in the next few months if you've got the stomach for it. 'King Stupid Looks like either the marketing or legal people at DC have been working hard, their Superman Rex mini-series is being changed to the more literal and wordy Superman: King Of The World. Perhaps a certain Marvel comic Magneto Rex could be to blame. Or maybe some people could hear the phrase 'Superman Wrecks' a little too hard. Later... As to hopes that DC would ensure more timeliness for the Wildstorm Cliffhanger books? Crimson 11 has been delayed for a month. Dateline: 14 January 1999 April Shower Some anonymous chap was kind enough to forward DC's Diamond listing in advance for April. Bloody hell, there's a lot of it. How about a glimpse of some bits. Mostly what interest me. Let's start with America's Best Comics. Alan Moore says that ABC "will distill everything that's great about comics into a single energy...four titles that should be just as accessible to the non-comic-reader as they are to seasoned fans." Alex Ross will be doing the covers for the first issues all four books. So let's get some info on the first, Tom Strong. DC describe him as "A physical and mental superhuman, Tom Strong has a complex history -- born on a mysterious South Seas island at the turn of the century, orphaned by his scientist parents at an early age, raised by a scientific wonder (a steam-powered robot butler named Pneuman) to adulthood, turning his home in an extinct volcano into a fortress blending advanced science with natural beauty -- and stunning visuals, courtesy of the Supreme team of Chris Sprouse and Al Gordon. Like all four of the new Moore-scripted ongoings, TOM STRONG has visual and story elements that are simultaneously retro and futuristic, synthesizing past and present ideas into "something that is timeless," says Moore." "The extra-length TOM STRONG #1 tells the story of "How Tom Strong Got Started." Raised to be "a perfected human specimen," Strong has toured the world, developing a strong affinity for America's Millennium City, but able to go almost anywhere -- even to other worlds -- through the technological marvels he has created. In upcoming issues, readers get to know some of the unique array of allies Tom has acquired over almost a century of heroism and exploration -- his beautiful wife Dhalua, daughter of a mighty chieftain; Tom and Dhalua's illustrious daughter, Tesla Strong; the enhanced ape King Solomon -- and an equally distinctive range of enemies, such as the ruthless Moriarty-like villain Paul Saveen, the pre-human monster called The Pangean and Nazi super-woman Ingrid Weiss, who regards Tom not only as an enemy but as an ideal mate. And with the main character's access to realms under the Earth's surface and in other dimensions, TOM STRONG offers a stunning variety of backdrops for his battles and voyages of discovery, a series that is guaranteed to be one of America's Best.Plus, this month WildStorm Emproium offers a stunning 100% cotton TOM STRONG T-SHIRT, featuring artwork by Chris Sprouse on a white, 100% cotton heavyweight t-shirt." Aren't you just bursting to buy one? Seriously we're all juiced about it anyway. And issue 1 of Tom Strong? One out of every four copies of this issue features a variant cover by Chris Sprouse and Al Gordon. No offense, but we think we'd rather have the standard Ross cover. Ross's covers are always fantastic... and they don't have the sanctimonious tripe of Uncle Sam or Superman: Peace On Earth permeating them. Stuart Moore mentioned Flinch on r.a.c.d.v recently... let's see what the promo puff says. "A surprising array of writers and artists tell modern horror stories for the new millennium in FLINCH, a new ongoing VERTIGO anthology series (suggested for mature readers) that is everything you fear...and nothing you expect. And beginning the surprises is WILDSTORM's Jim Lee, who illustrates his first story for DC Comics in the pages of FLINCH #1." "From surveillance technology gone amok to out-of-control cloning experiments, from double-cross murders in the Outback to corporate backstabbings by the water cooler, FLINCH takes a hard look at what scares us today, with culprits who are anything but usual.In FLINCH #1, "The Rocketman," written by Richard Bruning (ADAM STRANGE) and illustrated by Jim Lee (DIVINE RIGHT: THE ADVENTURES OF MAX FARADAY) updates the Icarus myth, as a fledgling inventor with his head in the clouds embarks on the ride of a lifetime; "Wolf Girl Eats" reunites the seminal horror team of Bruce Jones and Richard Corben as a traveling minister with gold in his eye and blood on his hands brings his act to a backwoods town with secrets of its own; and, in "Nice Neighborhood," written by Jen Van Meter (Dark Horse Presents) and illustrated by Frank Quitely (THE KINGDOM: OFFSPRING), a gang of suburban teenage girls comes face-to-face with the outlandish side effects of a certain "performance-enhancing" drug. The whole scary business is wrapped in a disturbing painted cover by renowned horror novel cover artist Phil Hale (Stephen King's Insomnia and The Drawing of the Three).Future issues of FLINCH feature writers and artists such as Garth Ennis, Bill Sienkiewicz, Bernie Wrightson, Paul Gulacy, Phil Jimenez, Joe R. Lansdale, Tim Bradstreet, Kent Williams, Jim Woodring, Ted McKeever, Brian Azzarello, and Eduardo Risso doing their best to scare readers to death. Be afraid to miss a single issue." I must admit, these DC anthology books have been pretty much on the money, and anything with Frank Quitely gets me excited. Let's see how this thing works as an ongoing... Okay, I've been far too nice. Let's find something crap. Green Lantern Month. Ah.... that's the bunny. Oh, I could give you this unmitigated bilge, but I won't bother. Here's a snippet, " He glimpsed his future glory during DC ONE MILLION. He's scouted the stars for new Green Lanterns in GREEN LANTERN: THE NEW CORPS. Now back on Earth, Kyle must face the challenges of the present day" You see what I mean? Let's look for any highlights... a Priest/M.D. Bright story for Green Lantern 80 Page Giant 2 maybe... lots of old stuff, lots of new stuff, trust me on this. Okay, Preacher 50. That's better, we know Lee is doing a pinup... but what else? Well it's extra sized looks like some kind of story turning point, stuff about Jesse's father in Vietnam and pinups by Jim Lee (Gran'ma, Jody and T.C.), Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti (Starr, D'Aronique and the Child), Tim Bradstreet (Jesse and Tulip), Doug Mahnke (Arseface and Hugo Root), John McCrea (The Saint of Killers), and Glenn Fabry (Cassidy). Oh and it's official, Jesse Custer gets a doll (sorry, action figure) with removable eye patch and glowing red eye! Woo hoo! Also Plastic Man (with stretchable arms) and Death with an ankh and umbrella. Useful in case it rains. Right, let's get past some of this DC Diamond bollocks, Mark Millar is writing a story for Books Of Magic Annual 3, Leave It To Chance is back with issue 12, there's a Gen 13 Western-style comic... Something we talked about a while back, Cruel and Unusual by Jamie Delano, Tom Peyer, John McCrea and Andrew Chiu, a 4 issue Limited series from Vertigo. It's about prison and the system that creates it. Delano has done good stuff on this path before, Hellblazer was a great example. Nevada gets a TPB, Top Cow get a Darkness/Batman crossover, there's loads of this stuff. Okay, let's pick one at random. SCENE OF THE CRIME #2 Written by Ed Brubaker; art by Michael Lark and Sean Phillips; cover by Lark In stores April 7. Cynical yet sentimental one-eyed detective Jack Herriman's latest case turns a crucial corner as this stylish miniseries by writer Ed Brubaker and artists Michael Lark and Sean Phillips continues. In Part 2 of "A Little Piece of Goodnight," Jack finds success yanked from his grasp as the missing girl he just located is found murdered the next morning. Searching the San Francisco streets with the help of his junkie ex-girlfriend, his crime-photographer uncle and a self-styled 1930's-type P.I., Jack tries to connect an abandoned New Age facility, a violent assault, and the dead girl's mother, who doesn't seem all that surprised by her daughter's death. Now let's have a look at what Warren Ellis is up to. For a man who refused to sign a DC exclusive... TRANSMETROPOLITAN #22 Written by Warren Ellis; art by Darick Robertson and Rodney Ramos; cover by Geof Darrow In stores April 14. "The New Scum" continues with an issue featuring the first of three covers by original TRANSMETROPOLITAN cover artist Geof Darrow (Hard Boiled). Spider Jerusalem's investigation of Vita Severn's murder heats up as he takes to the street, discovering that a bizarre cult has grown up around her memory. PLANETARY #3 Written by Warren Ellis; art and cover by John Cassaday In stores April 21. For twenty years, Hong Kong residents have told stories of a cop who came back from the dead to bring justice -- and vengeance -- to the streets of his city. Now, after a verified sighting of the spectral policeman with thundering guns, Planetary comes calling, looking to disprove what they feel must be an urban legend. They come looking for a lie, but what they find is something very different. THE AUTHORITY #2 Written by Warren Ellis; art by Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary In stores April 14. The WildStorm Universe's ultimate super-team faces its first test -- an army of super-powered terrorists! Kaizen Gamorra, ancient patriarch of a nation of terrorists, is leaving his mark on the Earth -- a circle with three knots, each knot to bbe a ruined city. Moscow is already decimated. London is the next target. But THE AUTHORITY, risen from the ashes of StormWatch, is waiting. How will this untested team of seven succeed against a hundreds-strong army of ultra-powerful terrorists who are willing to die for their cause? HELLBLAZER #138 Written by Warren Ellis; art by John Higgins; painted cover by Tim Bradstreet In stores April 28. Writer Warren Ellis' run on HELLBLAZER continues with Part 5 of the 6-part "Haunted." In the penultimate episode of Warren Ellis's first story arc, a revitalized John Constantine navigates London's interstices as he sets his trap for Isabelle's killer. Ha! And DC are making Batarangs! But what's this? "Note: Not for children. Not a toy -- intended for display only." Boo hiss! And no League Of Gentlemen this month? Shame. _____________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [6] Tony's Isabella's Journal Tony Isabella tonyisa@ohio.net 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 #558 Merry Christmas to the legions of TOT readers. If the holiday is not appropriate to your own beliefs, please understand that the greeting is extended in the spirit of friendship. Why quibble over the details? After all, at this time of year, we are united in the quest for the answer to that burning question: when will I ever be able to find a parking space at the mall again? I'm writing this column well before Christmas. While you're wondering if anyone even makes clothing that goes with that tie you got from your aunt...or if your S.O. seriously thinks you're going to wear that "outfit" even in the privacy of your own bedroom...I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to do everything I have to do before the holiday. Does it still count if you mail out cards and presents on December 24th? December 26th? January 4th? While I'm wrestling with these philosophical issues, here are a couple of reviews. Since we don't need them today, we're giving the SPOILER WARNINGS a vacation day. ****** PROVERBS AND PARABLES Published by New Creation Publications in association with the Christian Comic Art Society, PROVERBS AND PARABLES ($13.95) is an anthology featuring comics interpretations of Biblical passages by over 50 artists. I think it's an interesting experiment on several levels, but, ultimately, one I would recommend only to readers who feel at least some kinship with the largely fundamentalist attitude expressed herein. It's definitely a "preaching to the choir" kind of comic book. Some pros and cons: PRO. This is a well-made book. Harold Buchholz, the creator of APATHY KAT, "offers publishing services to short-run and all- ages comic book publishers," and he does terrific work. Somewhere around the labyrinth which is my office I have contact information for him, which I promise I'll share with you as soon as I can mount an archaeological expedition. PRO. I applaud this largely well-intentioned attempt to bring comics to a new audience. Comics can do so many things so well and I think expressing one's faith is one of those things. CON. Save for a few exceptions, the only copy that appears in these strips is that of the actual proverbs and parables which the artists are adapting. I think this was a creative mistake, forcing the reader to *guess* what the creators intend. It may make for an intriguing mental challenge, but it does a disservice to the story- telling. I would have preferred to see actual stories based on the lessons to be found in these passages. CON. Some of the interpretations are misogynistic, which isn't surprising given that some fundamentalist Christian groups are, in fact, misogynistic. My own Roman Catholic faith is several centuries behind the times in this area. Not to start an entirely different discussion, but, given that history is usually written by the victors and all, I think a healthy skepticism of the Bible is not at odds with a belief in its core lessons. Me, I start with the most important bits, the ones about loving God and loving one another, and weigh the rest in proportion to how well they match up with those. PRO. There are 50-plus artists in this anthology and many of them are excellent. This column would look like a phone book if I tried to list them all. If you'd like more information about the Christian Comic Art Society, you can write to them at: Christian Comic Art Society P.O. Box 388-789 Chicago, IL 60638-8789 George Macas Jr. is the "marketing consultant" for the group and I thank him for the review copy of their book. ****** THE BRENT CLARK ROGERS GUIDE TO THE DC UNIVERSE If DC Comics has a more devoted fan than Brent Rogers, I don't know who that person would be. Every year or so, Rogers publishes an extremely limited edition of THE BRENT CLARK ROGERS GUIDE TO THE DC UNIVERSE ($32), a massive reference work that is simply stunning to behold. I have a copy of the 3rd edition (1998) and I get tired just flipping through its just-under-500 pages of information. If I were a regular contributor to DCU titles, this book would never leave my desk. For this guide, Rogers has compiled lists of: "The People" (A through Zzlrrrzzzm). He lists their first appearance, their alive/dead status, and their group affiliation, if any. "A" was introduced in Blackhawks #112. "Zzlrrrzzzm" was introduced in Infinity Inc #41. "Teams & Groups" (Academy of Arch-Villains Through Zoo Crew). Angle Man, Fireworks Man, and Mouse Man made up the former; Alley- Kat Abra, Captain Carrot, Fastback, Little Cheese, Pig-Iron, Rubber Duck, and Yankee Poodle--I love that name--the latter. This is the one area where I spotted an omission. There is no entry for "The 100," though there is one for "The 1000," which was a spin-off from the organized crime organization which first bedeviled Metropolis and the Thorn, which expanded for the first Black Lightning series, and which was starting to be rebuilt in the second Black Lightning series before the Great Disaster destroyed that series. "The Planets" (Aarok through Zzix). These were introduced in Legion of Super-Heroes and Green Lantern tales, respectively. I'm not even sure Mark Waid remembers them. "The Extra-Terrestrial Races" (Achernarians through Zzixians). I don't know who they are either. "The Bibliography" (Action Comics through Zero Hour). This is a list of every DCU title ever published. I should stress this book is a guide and not an encyclopedia, for which my back thanks Rogers profusely. I don't think I could lift a Rogers-made encyclopedia. I had to start working out just to carry this guide home. But it was worth it. You can order this book for $32 plus $5 (postage/handling) in U.S. funds and sent to: Brent Clark Rogers 316 N. Pine St. Shelby, Michigan 49455 Given the limited edition, you might want to contact Rogers in advance of sending in your order. You can e-mail him at: bcrog@juno.com Brent, you're a madman, but a great madman! YEAR-END REVIEWS COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1314, which ships January 6, will be the year-end review issue of that worthy publication. If you're not a CBG subscriber, you can rectify that lapse in judgment by clicking on the convenient TOT title page link. Wait until you see *my* column for that issue! ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY's special year-end double issue has some stuff of interest to comic-book fans. BLADE, based on the Marvel Comics character created by Marv Wolfman, was named as one of the worst movies of the year. However, on a chart where audiences and selected reviewers graded 1998's cinematic efforts, the film earned an average "C+" grade. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER was named the best television show of the year by reviewer Ken Tucker. Cartoonist Charles Burns did the accompanying illustration. I didn't realize THE AMAZING "TRUE" STORY OF A TEENAGE SINGLE MOM by Katherine Arnoldi (Hyperion; $16) was a comic book, but that is how EW described in when it named it one of the ten best books of the year. Time to put in a library request. Finally, EW's Ty Burr selected KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE (Buena Vista; G) as the 1998 video of the year. I haven't viewed it yet, but it's definitely on my "must-see" list. PEOPLE'S special double issue doesn't have much to recommend it to comics readers. No comics were mentioned in "best of pages" section. However, Batman co-creator Bob Kane was remembered in its "tributes" section with a quote from Stan Lee: He loved his fans. He would always write his signature. At the drop of a hand he would also draw a quick Batman sketch for anyone who asked. He was that wonderful. Bob was definitely an artist--a painter, a cartoonist and a writer. He's probably up there now, drawing cartoons, amusing the good Lord." That's all for now; see you tomorrow. Tony Isabella December 18, 1998 ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [7] TOO OLD FOR COMIC BOOKS?!? Johnny Gonzales gonzo@intellisys.net [Johnny Gonzales is an active duty Air Force member and aspiring cartoonist. He has been reading and buying comics ever since grade school. Many CBEM readers may recognize him from his weekly cartoon strip, "Heroes Rerun" which runs on the HTML edition of the e-mag. ] I spent the Christmas holidays visiting my brother-in-law in Mississippi. Of course the very first thing I did was look in the Yellow Pages and searched for two things, pizza delivery places and chinese food establishments nearby. I didn't look up comic shops because I knew where they all were having visited him last summer. I was looking through some of the comics in my collection recently and began to wonder, why do so many creators feel a need to try to revisit and try to "update" established character's origins? I'm not talking about something like what Howard Chaykin's treatment of "The Shadow." Sure it was a little hokey about how he stayed so young while all his former associates became older, but in the end, I think he did a nice job WITHOUT having changed the background history of the character, himself. What I'm talking about is Frank Miller's last return to Daredevil on the "Man Without Fear (MWOF)" mini-series. While I had enjoyed much of Mr. Miller's early work on the Daredevil regular series in the past, I felt the things he tried to "add" in this series ruined what had happened before. For example, in going into more detail about the murder of Matt's father, he completely changed the way Jack Murdock was killed. I remember the many times he had drawn the scene in the Daredevil regular series, we'd always see Jack Murdock shot in the back. In MWOF, we see him savagely beaten, then shot through the mouth. This just seemed like a change for change's sake and at least to me it took away from its original presentation. It seemed to me that Mr. Miller was trying too hard too emulate how he had slightly changed the deaths of Bruce Wayne's parents in "The Dark Knight Returns." In that instance, Mr. Miller changed having Mrs. Wayne shot from a distance to having the killer's gun hand get caught in Mrs Wayne's necklace and seeing him put the gun under her chin and shoot her. Of course, this was the way an elderly "Bruce Wayne" was remembering it as well, so one could also write it off as part delusional. Either way, in this series, this change had purpose. Then there was the treatment of Elektra. Sure, Mr Miller created her, but I didn't like the way he changed her from a girl who was forever changed by witnessing the murder of her father, to a cold and calculating woman who would kill a bunch of street punks just for the fun of it. Sure, some characters become more intriguing with this kind of treatment, for example Matt Wagner making the Hunter Rose "Grendel character more evil with each new story, but I feel that Frank doing this with Elektra made her less of a tragic character and more of a desensitized person with no rhyme or reason for her actions. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind "flashback" stories every once in a while (unlike the Marvel minus-one issues), but I don't see why a whole mini-series should be based on this type of story. What is sorely needed, is for many of the "current" series out there to get a shot in the arm and make it popular again to the comic fans around. For example, let's take the Fantastic Four. I would rather see some exciting new stories being told in the regular series, than have some big-name creator come in, do a spin-off called "Fantastic Four - Year One" and have junk like an incestuous relationship between Sue and Johnny Storm, or the fact that Ben Grimm was an up and coming football player until he tested positive for steroids, or maybe even reveal that Reed Richards secretly sabotaged Victor Von Doom's machine thereby creating the villain we know as Dr. Doom." This is not what the fans want. I doubt you'll see a popular show like NYPD Blue try to go back and bring in David Carouso or Jimmy Smits to try to retell older storylines. Instead, they picked up where they left off, full steam ahead. Comics should do the same thing. Then again, if nothing changes, we'll soon be treated to a total rewrite of Batman's origin. One in which we find out that Bruce Wayne's father had secretly hired Joe Chill to rape and kill his wife for insurance money but because Chill was doped up, he shot both by accident. See you all next week. -------------------------- Johnny Gonzales http://www.intellisys.net/gonzo icq: 15234371 ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [8] And let me tell you why .... David Coulter david102@netscape.net [David - who declared himself "Official Columnist Of the New Millennium, " and then thought better of it (deciding instead on "America's Weirdly Cool Columnist") -- lives with his family in Kansas City and pays the bills as Marketing Director for a computer consulting group. He likes Superman better than Batman, baseball better than football, and Mac better than Windows.] You know, when I read this in the NETWORK BUZZ section of last week's CBEM, I thought it was crazy: >MARVEL BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE WANTS YOU! >IF YOU DID BUSINESS WITH MARVEL, THAT IS >In a surprise year end certified mailing, the court appointed trustee >overseeing the MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT bankruptcy has threatened to >drag over five hundred ex-employees, freelancers, suppliers and customers >of the defunct company into court for vendor payments made during the >'post petition' period of their bankruptcy proceedings, which ran from >late December 1996 through February of 1997. According to the >complaint, filed in the State of Delaware, the persons named on the >list have thirty days to answer or the court will rule in the favor of >the plaintiff, namely Marvel's creditors. Apparently, some freelancers >currently working for Marvel have already experienced deductions taken >out of their checks I mean, it certainly SEEMS crazy: I guess what Marvel is saying here is: "Well, we weren't actually supposed to pay you that money, so ... really ... you shouldn't have done the work, so it's really your loss.” By their own logic, every comic book the produced, printed and sold between December 1996 and February of 1997 should not actually have been produced -- It was all a horrible mistake. Well, that certainly explains a few things. Like Flashback month, for one thing. And Spider-Hunt. And Heroes Reborn. They were all horrible, embarrassing mistakes -- and all parties involved should immediately refund all moneys they were paid for said projects because they should never have happened. I started out with the intention of writing a column about how horribly unfair this lawsuit was to Marvel's freelancers. I mean, at first glance, it sure SEEMS like a real slap in the face to a group of creators who did little more than stick by an ailing company through financial uncertainty. To have weathered that storm only to be told to give back all the money you earned seems a little bit unfair. But then I though about it from Marvel's point of view: If it was my company, and I'd suddenly realized that all these crazy editors were out there throwing my money around like drunken sailors on crappy books, then, by god, I'd want to do whatever I could to recover that money. Except ..... The actual COMICS are still out there. Ah yes, as Hamlet said, THERE'S the rub. These unauthorized, misbegotten, red-headed bastard stepchildren of Marvel's making are still out there, sitting in boxes and closets, double-bagged and boarded, indexed and filed. Whoops. At first, this seemed like an embarrassing oversight on Marvel's part -- sort of like closing the barn door after the horses have gotten out an eaten the children. Then I realized WHY Marvel is putting the screws to its freelancers -- it hit me like a bolt out of the blue. They're getting my money back! That's right -- it's the only answer that makes sense! They're saying these books should never have been produced, printed or sold. And now, they're getting the money back from the vendors who produced and printed those books in order to give it to the poor, hapless masses who mistakenly purchased these unauthorized comic books. What a relief! So, Marvel, whenever you're ready, I have every Marvel comic I bought between December 1996 and February of 1997 bagged and boxed and ready to ship back to you ... ... Just as soon as I get my money back. Comments? Criticisms? Flames? E-mail them to david102@netscape.net or DneColt@aol.com. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [9] VENTING MY SPLEEN David Groenewegen david.groenewegen@lib.monash.edu.au [David Groenewegen is 30, a librarian and sadly addicted to comics. He has been reading them since before he could read, and plans to keep on doing so. His first trip out of the house with his infant son was to a comic shop. Can't start 'em too young. ] The Kingdom "event" is DC's latest attempt to fix its continuity, and as they were kind enough to put out Crisis 4.5 the same week as Kingdom 2, I have been on an expedition through my back issues for comparison purposes. In the interest of fairness I have also looked at the last big fix attempt, Zero Hour, which just shows the sort of sacrifices I am willing to make for this column. But let's start with the Mother of all multi-crossover, continuity-fixing, threat-to-the- Universes titles, Crisis on Infinite Earths. For me, Crisis was one of the key titles in restoring my interest in American comics. At the time the only comic I was reading was 2000AD. A friend a school (Hi Garrett!) told me that the Flash had died in the series (which was still going at the time), so I read it, and was hooked. Nearly 15 years later I approached a re-read of this series with trepidation - will it live up to my nostalgia enhanced memory? Is it still be as fresh as it seemed at the time? Crisis 4.5 inspired me to try it again, just to see if it fits into the story. It doesn't (there really is no gap to be filled, and the characters chosen seem out of place), but that doesn't matter. Crisis is still really, really good. Sure, some of the dialogue is a bit dicky or twee. Sure, the overall plot suffers from the political pressure from above (from memory, Wolfman wanted five earths to survive, but the suits decided that was still too complicated. So the inconvenient duplicated characters are killed off or eliminated in issues 11 and 12, e.g. Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Superman). Sure it caused as many continuity errors as it fixed - the Legion never really recovered from thee abolition of Superboy and Supergirl for instance. But it is an exciting story, with real tension and a sense of danger. You literally didn't know who would make it to the end of the series. There are no remarkable returns from the dead, no "just kidding, we didn't really kill him/her" bits. Wolfman handles a huge cast with great style (although there is a little too much of the Teen Titans in retrospect), his ability to make the two Supermans similar, yet different is particularly skillful. I still find the original Superman's final battle quite moving. The art easily matches up to this, especially once Jerry Ordway adds his polish to George Perez's fantastic layouts and pencils. Again the differentiation between the two Supermans is a real indicator of the skill involved. As DC has pointed out, there are colouring errors, and the odd misdirected word balloon, but if you haven't read Crisis go out and get the back issues (personally I think the hard cover is too expensive, but that's just me). Crisis' greatest failing as a continuity fixer was that DC didn't take the chance to draw a line in the sand and say, "Here is where everybody stands now" (although they did sort of try it with the very vague "History of the DC Universe"). So we got several years of relaunches with Man of Steel and Batman: Year One, etc. And they didn't jell very well. So DC tried Zero Hour. I thought Zero Hour was very average when it came out 4 years ago. Now I think it is crap. Unlike Marv Wolfman, Dan Jurgens cannot write exposition to save himself, so you never really know what is going on, while the text ("The silence screams respect") is dire. Too much of the series concerns a character who has been in several boring incarnations (Hawk, Monarch, now Extant), while the whole Hal Jordan as villain business (with the new laxative brand name Parallax) is just stupid. When he "dies" it is a major anticlimax, and Green Arrow's "agonising" over it at the end is embarrassing. While the art looks good it lacks the story telling skill of George Perez. Jerry Ordway does good inks again though, and the colouring is nice. Basically Dan Jurgens seems to be a decent ideas man, but he badly needs a good co-writer to give these ideas flesh. Zero Hour did try to realign the DC Universe again, with the "Zero Month" concept, and it did give the now tortuously complicated Legion a noble death, although you wouldn't know it from Jurgens' feeble reworking of the "End of an Era" storyline. But the single universe concept was still very flawed and confusing, and this is where the Kingdom comes in. But that is for the next column. David Groenewegen Davidhar@lib.monash.edu.au ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [10] HAD YOUR PHIL? PHIL WHITE ogre4@earthlink.net [Phil White has contributed articles and cartoons to Comic Buyer's Guide, Wizard and Cinefantastique. He has written comic books for Americomics (AC) and Mattel Toy Company and has self-published comic books featuring his own characters, including Ogre, Felony, and the acclaimed "I Hunt." He supports his comic book hobby, and his family, as director of marketing and sales with a medium sized software and remote data-entry company in Southern California.] THE ULTIMATE COVER GIMMICK "Why are you drawing Spawn?" I asked feeling a bit frustrated. "Some kid asked me to, as a freebie." Pete reminded me. "That was over three hours ago!" "I started over a few times." "What about page seven of OGRE, have you started it yet?" "Don't worry, man. I'll get to it! Relax and enjoy the show!" Sensing my frustration, Pete decided to change the subject. "Man, we need a cover gimmick to increase our sales!" he urged. "They're called enhanced covers." I corrected. "Sure! Sure! Enhanced! Gimmick! Whatever! We need one of those gimmick covers to sell more copies of OGRE!" Pete, as always, was oblivious to the stark realities of profit and loss. I could barely afford to publish OGRE in color, let alone fund a fancy cover enhancement. Repeated explanations of my financial situation had, obviously, remained in his head about as long as his last beer had lingered in his bladder. We would be sitting at this convention four more hours. Rather than begin another useless lecture, I decided to play along with his delusions. "Okay. You're absolutely right, Pete! What kind of enhancement did you have in mind?" He looked surprised and confused at this response, and for a second I thought he actually remembered that I was nearly broke. Then his expression morphed into a grin of unbridled enthusiasm. "I don't know," he said. "Marvel is gluing those 3-D trading cards on the covers of all the X-Men comics! They're selling real well. They charge more for them, man, as collectibles. You know? We could charge like $3.95 or something and make more money!" I bit my lip, rather than confess that I would be happy to just break even. "Why stop there?" I asked. "Why limit ourselves to some puny trading card when we could do an entire, wrap-around metallic hologram cover! While we're at it, we'll toss in a trading card and a poster and poly-bag the whole shebang!" "Yeah! Sure! Why not? Those X-Men "X-Cutioner's Song" comics sold, like, over 60,000 each!" One of the things I loved about Pete was that he actually saw no difference between our self-published, relatively unknown comic and the top selling series from the world's largest publisher. But, boy, could he draw a foxy Felony. "What do you have in mind for the cover illustration?" I asked. "That's up to you, man. You're the writer." "I suppose a nice action shot of Ogre jumping at the reader would look good in 3-D." "Oh, man! That's been done to death. We need something better than that!" "Like what?" I asked. "I know!" Pete exclaimed. "We'll have Ogre tearing the head off of Doc Blackwell! Doc's bloody spine, still attached at the neck but pulled out of his body, is twisting out toward the reader. We'll add a fifth color of metallic red as blood splatters all over the logo and have it dripping to the bottom of the page. And Doc could be saying, 'DON'T TOUCH ME YOU FILTHY MONSTER!' and Ogre is only, like, laughing at him." "Sounds good," I said calmly. "Except for the fact that Doc Blackwell doesn't die until the final issue. And how can his dismembered head talk? But I like the blood!" "You're the writer," Pete rationalized, "you can figure out a way to change the story inside to match the cover." "The issue has already shipped to the printer, Pete! And we're six pages into the next issue. So let's not change the story at this point." Pete frowned at my pragmatism, so I returned to his world. "The more I think about it, the more I think we need to come up with an original cover enhancement instead of copying Marvel or Valiant." "Yeah, you're probably right." He nodded, still sketching Spawn. "Say, why not an embossed cover?" I offered. Pete's eyes lit up once again. "Coo-el!" "You know, Pete, sex really sells. So we should do an embossed cover featuring Felony wearing one of her tight, latex jump suits." Felony is Ogre's "voluptuous" girlfriend. She has the supple elegance of a feline, the selfish naughtiness of a felon, and a figure only possible in a comic book fantasy. Like I said, Pete draws a foxy Felony. "We'd need a lot more than embossing to show off Felony," he said with that dirty leer that always bothered me. "We'd need double embossing or triple embossing!" "Here's a gimmick cover idea to end all gimmick cover ideas," I announced to Pete. "You know how there is all this controversy going on in CBG (Comic Buyer's Guide) about how women are depicted in comics?" "Yeah. Yeah," he said, shaking his head in disapproval. "It's always some old, homely hag who's complaining that comic book chicks have big boobs. Probably because she's jealous!" "I don't agree, Pete. I think there is a legitimate argument that the genre of a comic should dictate the depiction of the characters. Stories that reflect real-life or close to real-life situations should try for a sense of realism by showing characters with a variety of shapes and sizes. Whereas a fantasy or super hero comic can reflect whatever the artist chooses to draw." Pete's eyes began to gloss over with lost interest, so I skipped the philosophy discussion and proceeded to my cover enhancement idea. "Why don't we give the readers a choice?" I said. "What do you mean?" "A choice as to how modest or outrageous Felony appears!" "I don't follow." Sometimes, with Pete, I had to spell it out. "We'll give them a cover of Felony where they get to choose how big her boobs are!" I said, slowly. His eyes enlarged as the concept sank in. "Wow! Phil, my man! That is totally cool!" Then a light flickered inside his head and he asked, "But, how?" "It's easy," I said. "First, you draw a straight-on pin-up of Felony facing the reader. We print it on cardboard cover stock. Then we die-cut two holes for her breasts. We put thin rubber catheters under each hole that are connected to a slender air tube and glue the cover to a backboard." With each step Pete nodded with growing eagerness. "Each comic book comes with a rubber squeeze pump," I continued, "like the ones used on those squirting rings. Then the reader has the choice of pumping up Felony's bosom to the size they feel is most appropriate." "I love it, man! KA-BLAM!" He actually stopped the Spawn sketch in order to gesticulate balloons blowing up. He clapped his hands and giggled like a kid. "Yes indeed, Pete, we could take credit for creating the very first, interactive, politically correct comic book cover! The enhancement to end all enhancements! The ultimate cover gimmick!" We both laughed at this silly fantasy until some folks came by to have us autograph copies of OGRE. Then I ran off to the snack bar to purchase some soft drinks. Returning to our exhibit I saw Pete drawing feverishly on a fresh page. "I hope that's page seven of the next issue!" I warned with a laugh. "Heck no!" corrected Pete seriously. "This is that Felony cover we just talked about!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ogre and Felony are copyright and trademark 1999, Phil White. To see what they look like, and for a preview of Phil's latest, non- enhanced comic project, check out: http://home.earthlink.net/~ogre4/ ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [11] PIPELINE COMMENTARY AND REVIEW Augie De Blieck Jr. http://www.nic.com/~augie/pipeline YEAR-END REVIEW OK, this is about as close to a 1998 Year-In-Review section as you're going to get from me. I just finished off my database for 1998 and arrived at some interesting numbers. Things changed for me this past year in that I graduated in May and began working full time in June. So you'd think with all that extra money, I'd have bought a ton more comics, right? I didn't. In fact, I bought about a dozen less this year. (This is a statistical blip and means they're just about dead even. And admittedly, this doesn't taken into account books I bought in bulk at conventions for a quarter or two each.) I did spend a little more this year than last, but only because the average price of a comic for me this past year rose, as well. It's now up over $3.06. (Last year was closer to $2.60.) Sickening, isn't it? It's mostly the fault of Gladstone Comics and their lines of $7 and $10 books, but there are also a lot of $2.95 books out there, and more and more $5 prestige format specials, such as the recent SUPERMAN/DOOMSDAY mini-series. I wrote fewer letters this year than I have in the past couple of years, owing mostly to the pressures of the final semester of school. Along with that goes fewer letters published. I was at around two dozen for the year. Maybe next week I'll share with you some harder numbers. But for now let's get back to some reviews, shall we? BIG BUILD-UP; LITTLE PAY-OFF That's about the only way I can describe my reaction to both DANGER GIRL #4 and WILDCATS #1. I've praised both before -- and Scott Lobdell as recently as a week or two ago -- but these issues were a bit bland. DANGER GIRL has nothing happening in it. After the excitement and thrill-a-minute action of the first three issues, the fourth issue tends to fall flat. It's a lot of preening, a lot of backstory, some attempts at character development, and a quick action scene thrown in for balance. But it all happens so quickly and I care so little about the people involved in the first place that it just falls flat. The "fantasy card game inventor" just seems to me to be a cheap way to insert silly asides and inside jokes into a comic book, as well as an excuse to draw in some stuff sitting on the artist's bookshelf. The big highlight of the issue that made me stand up and take notice was the printing of Derek Fridolfs' art in the letters pages in the back. That was nice to see. He's a wonderful artist who does cruise the web. He's also a terribly big BONE fan. WILDCATS may just have had too much to live up to. You're never going to get monthly art on a par with Travis Charest's work on the first installment of the WILDC.A.T.s/X_Men crossover. And you'll never find a better writer than Alan Moore. However, Scott Lobdell is welcome to try, and Charest's art is still very fine stuff. It appears that the opening few issues of this series will concern itself with putting the team back together again, and getting over the petty bickering and hurt feelings still left from the conclusion of the last series. (I gave up on the series before that happened, so I'm assuming most of this based on the content of this issue.) This issue gets Spartan and Grifter back together again but does so in a generally boring way. Just one big fight scene, some stern words, an apparent return, and that's it. Bring on the next piece of the puzzle. Well, we'll have to wait a while for that -- this is a series on a bi-monthly pace. UGH That said, I do find the characters generally to be interesting and the set-up seems to make for some interesting personality conflicts and storylines. It's just that I was hoping for something more right off the bat. This is just too small a story to start the series off with. KINGDOM #2 introduces us to Hyper-Time at long last, and it takes a thorough reading of post-KINGDOM interviews with its author, Mark Waid, to figure out what's going on with it. Maybe. The concept is so cloudy and nebulous, I still don't exactly know what's going on. And Mike Zeck is a terrific artist, but not for straight super-hero work. His art here is painful to look at. BIG BUILD-UP; AND EXCELLENT PAY-OFF Meanwhile, Keith Giffen is back working his magic at DC. Entitled VEXT, his latest book is about a lesser god sent to earth because of some paperwork foul-ups. I can't really do the set-up justice here with some short description. It's well worth a read, though. It's funny, it's interesting, and looks like it could be a lot of fun. It's not just the usual attempts to be funny in a HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY way that many of these comedic comics try to be. There's also an interesting and attractive next-door neighbor/love interest, and terrific artwork from Mike McKone and Mark McKenna, who work well together. Bob Lappan is back as letterer for a Giffen humor title, and Kevin Dooley is still stuck trying to edit Giffen. Good luck, Kevin. For the BABYLON 5 devotee (such as myself), the annotated script to Neil Gaiman's episode, "Day of the Dead" is also now available at a comics retailer near you. It's not only an enjoyable episode, but an interesting script, particularly as regards the notes Neil makes about lines of dialogue which had to be cut or reworked. JMS himself does an introduction. If you're a wannabe-scriptwriter or a Bab5 or Neil Gaiman fan, I can recommend this one. It's $12.95 but well worth it, if only for the picture on the back cover of Neil with two members of the Gaim race. PIPELINE NEWSGROUP For those of you who wish to post to the Pipeline Commentary and Review newsgroup now available from the DejaNews web site: http://www.dejanews.com/~pcr please be advised that you're going to have to log on before you can post. This means setting up some sort of My Dejanews account. It's a simple, quick, and free process. And my spam count hasn't gone up any since I joined. I'm happy to say there have been a lot of visitors to the site in its first week and I hope we get to see some activity there soon. See you there, -Augie -------------------------------------------------- Augie De Blieck Jr. * augie@nic.com <*> Pipeline Commentary and Review: New Every Sunday: http://www.nic.com/~augie/pipeline ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [12] RANDOM THOUGHTS IN A LESS THAN RANDOM WORLD Gary Sassaman GSassaman@AOL.COM [Gary Sassaman is the Writer/Artist/Publisher of INNOCENT BYSTANDER, you know...the "nice little comic you can take home to mom."] Well, the whole vindictive mess that Marvel Comics has become is pretty much the only thing I can think of writing about this week. Stop me if you've heard this one before. And although we've seen Marvel's arrogance many times over the past few years, we've never quite seen it at this level. For those of you who don't know, Marvel is suing freelancers for money they were paid during the bankruptcy period, even though Marvel was given permission by the courts to pay them. They want the money back. Now I'm told that this happens in the business world when a company is in bankruptcy. The problem here is we don't consider Marvel to be the real world. We consider them to be our comics, our heroes, the characters and books we grew up on, and still read. Maybe we don't enjoy them as much as we used to, but we still read them, still buy them, still collect them. I'm not defending Marvel. I think their actions are reprehensible. But I also think that the days of any comics company being just, well, a comics company, are long gone. It's big business, folks. The rights to the characters are worth millions, and they can be divided a hundred different ways: publishing, movies, TV, licensing...the possibilities are endless. (Incredible Hulk Toilet Paper! Sure! What a great idea!) A few months ago CBG ran a story about Marvel layoffs and how maybe your favorite editor may be gone. And I read the story and there wasn't a name I recognized. My response was who are these people? Where did they come from? It's a game I play with myself every time I catch the opening of a new "Saturday Night Live," and the cast members pics and names come up. "Who? Who's that?" I guess it has to do with age. Because, with Marvel, I grew up in the Stan Lee days...the Roy "the boy" days, when editors had a name and there were only a few of them. Hell, for the longest time I thought Stan Lee OWNED Marvel. Now some people will argue that the mark of a good editor is to stay in the background and do his or her job quietly and competently. There aren't very many editors at DC who spring to mind when I think of names, beyond the late Archie Goodwin and of course, Denny O'Neil and Mike Carlin. And I think that's one thing Marvel lacks these days: A cohesive editorial presence that makes us all think of Marvel. It isn't Stan Lee, sadly. During all of this mess, Stan has taken his act on the road. He's no longer exclusive with Marvel and is supposedly talking with other companies about his aborted "Excelsior" line of comics. So Stan may again be a voice in comics, instead of a third of a page column buried in the back half of the X-Men. So Marvel sinks further and further into the quicksand. People cry out for boycotts, for a "Marvel Tea Party" where we dump Marvel comics into the bay. The freelancer list is evidently a selective thing...some people who currently work for Marvel are not being asked to return their pay from the bankruptcy period. And supposedly those that are lie in the $4,000 to $1,000,000 range. Who made $1,000,000 off of Marvel in that period? Just another sad note to a story that never seems to go away. Fans get more disgusted, creators think twice about working for Marvel and before you know it Marvel is just Toy Biz. On a totally unrelated note...I'm sorry, but Superman does NOT go nuts. Not even a little bit. It's absolutely against the grain of the character. Over the past 13 years or so, since his revamping, old Supes has gone nuts a few times. After he killed the Phantom Zone people, he flew off into space on a self-imposed exile because he was so depressed. Later, he became another crime-fighting persona, Gangbuster, for some psychosis-related reason. And now he's no longer Clark Kent because he has these dreams and has to try to save the world. (Sidenote: no 13 year old kid out there reading these books --if there is one--is thinking "Outburst rules!" The character is about as exciting as reading Nova reprints.) So you just know the Eradicator or Braniac or some such mind control villain is behind all of this. (Or knowing DC, it's probably the Cyborg popping up for his quarterly visit.) But beyond all that, Superman is the rock of the DC universe. Decisive, analytical, compassionate. He doesn't get depressed. He doesn't go nuts. Not even a little bit nuts. I'm all for a more human Superman. I think the one major change over the past years that really, really works for DC is that Superman is really Clark Kent. He's not a strange visitor from another planet, he's the ultimate American, raised in Kansas by strong, caring parents. This is what was so wrong with Nicolas Cage and Tim Burton's take on the character. He is NOT the ultimate outsider. He's only an alien by birth. To treat him any other way is just plain, well...NUTS. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [13] SOME PAGES, A COVER, AND A FEW STAPLES Marlan Harris mar93@aol.com [Marlan Harris lives and works in Burbank, CA as a visual effects artist. His past and current projects include SABRINA THE TEENAGED WITCH, CHARMED, POWER RANGERS, and SPAWN.] BATMAN: NO MAN'S LAND (DC) This is just an introduction to the "No Man's Land" story and it's really not crucial for your enjoyment of the rest of the story that comes out over the next few months, but it sure is fun. The idea of the story, that Gotham City is in ruins and martial law has been declared, has been gone over by many of the comics news groups reporting it for the last few months, and also criticized by many, but it's a means to an ends. Gotham is a wreck, no one gets in or out, and it's a very dangerous place. A stage is set for the story, even if it is rather extreme. The book itself is brilliant. You start with an Alex Ross hologram-whatever- you-call-it cover, which was done already, and better, with SUPERMAN FOREVER, but hopefully a few extra people picked it up just for that. The story inside is more an introduction, introducing the major players that will be featured in "No Man's Land", both heroic, evil, and those in-between, and the dire situation of Gotham City. The part I liked most was the map of Gotham in the middle, color-guided to show what territories of Gotham are controlled by what crime-boss or guarded by what hero. This will be a handy score-sheet to see who owns Gotham as the story progresses. It's the little extras, sometimes, that make the difference. I'm very curious to see what "No Man's Land" will ultimately end up being. None of the creators who have been working on the Batman books over the past ten years, mainstays in their own rights, are involved in the books, and people who have never or rarely worked on the books have been brought in. On one hand, these creators barely know the Batman character and his world, but on the other hand, these people could bring some fresh and new ideas and approaches to the series, which, I must say, have been needed for awhile. Each storyline will run for a month, over before it barely began, and a new writer and artist team comes in, so even bad teams and stories will be rotated in and out quickly. MARVEL'S GATEFOLD COVERS I'm not sure how many readers Marvel may have attracted or kept with their "Previously In_ (title name)" recap on the inside front covers of their comics, but it worked for me. You could call it a gimmick, but at least this one wasn't trying to pull a fast one on the readers. The majority of Marvel comics I read I read month to month, instead of many issues one after the another in one sitting, and the recap is handy, useful, and practical. Marvel did something right. And I had absolutely no problem paying an extra four cents, the cost of including the gatefold cover with the recap material. But now, with Marve