---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden Present: THE COMIC BOOK NET ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE ISSUE NUMBER 223 7/23/99 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] Some Pages, A Cover, and A Few Staples. Marlan Harris [8] Stranger In A Strange Land ............ Jennifer M. Contino [9] Venting My Spleen ..................... David Groenewegen [10] M.O.E. Reviews ........................ Paul Dale Roberts [11] 6th Annual Wizard Fan Awards .......... WizardWorld [12] TOP 100 COMICS July ................... Diamond Comics [13] New Comic Book Releases List .......... Charles LePage [14] 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 a week's worth of the ONLINE strip: Steve Conley's ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 hazy, crazy, lazy days of summer are upon us, except of course for our readers in the SoutherNHemispherer who are in the middle of Winter. Convention season is in full swing with the news this week being spilled from the Chicago Wizard World Convention mostly. We are also happy to see Tony Isabella back on his daily column, another installment of which appears in this issue. But that is not what I want to talk about. The latest issue of Comic Buyer's Guide, #1341 - July 20th, has some interesting features. First, the cover features the upcoming GEEKSVILLE which of course is the new collaboration of Rich Koslowski of THREE GEEKS and Gary Sassaman's INNOCENT BYSTANDER. Reserve this comic NOW! Also in this issue is CBG's COMICS OF THE CENTURY ballot. It cannot be duplicated and you have to buy a copy to get the ballot. This is known as the CBG READER SURVEY. If, however you attended the Chicago convention or are going to the San Diego con you can grab the FAN survey ballot, which is a separate tally. Someone with a CBG subscription or copy can photocopy the READER SURVEY ballot and mark it FAN BALLOT so any FAN can submit a ballot to the FAN survey without buying a copy of CBG. Perhaps YOUR retailer will make photocopies available from his shop copy? You can even get that ballot by mail at: CBG Ballot Request, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990. There is also a third survey called the PRO SURVEY which is being sent to those on CBG's pro mailing list. So there will be 3 distinct surveys - CBG readers, all fans, and all pros - but you can only vote in one of the surveys. The categories are for FAVORITE comic creators (broken down by various disciplines) and FAVORITE comic works of the Century. The emphasis is purposely on FAVORITE. They want YOUR best of best - not some ditto-head parroting of the "elite" or conventional picks. ARCHIE for you might be WOLVERINE for another or MAUS for someone else. These won't be a list from some editorial board declaring what is "worthy" or from a subset of fandom lead around by the nose as to what is "hot" based on violence and sex appeal. It is a mix of those opinions and all other possible points of view. Some will think hard - for some of us that gets real difficult - to ALL the comics in their lives to honestly pick those that moved them the most. Others only have the experience of the last few years or so, and their opinion gets the same weight. How much will "favorite" be slanted to the comics of the last decade - especially in the creator categories? I am very intrigued to see the results - especially from the pros who generally have a better sense of history than most fans. I will make only one prediction - Alex Ross is bound to get at least one for painting or cover art. I, myself will be voting for Joe Jusko and Brian Bolland in those categories. They are my favorites - which is the point - not BETTER, just FAVORITE! Now here are some of my favorite comics that I recommend from those on sale this week: ABSTRACT STUDIOS Strangers In Paradise Vol III #25, 2.75 AVATAR PRESS Dreamwalker Summer Rain #1, 3.00 DARK HORSE COMICS Dark Horse Presents #145, 2.95 DC COMICS Batman & Superman Worlds Finest #6 (Of 10), 1.99 JSA #2, 2.50 LAW (Living Assault Weapons) #1 (Of 6), 2.50 Titans #7, 2.50 LONE STAR PRESS Pantheon #5 (Of 12), 2.95 <---------Pick of the Week! MARVEL COMICS Black Panther #8, 2.50 Captain America #21, 1.99 Thunderbolts #30, 1.99 TERRA MAJOR Roland Days Of Wrath #1 (Of 4), 2.95 Finally, God rest the souls of the departed . . . but if I hear the word "closure" one more time I'm going to puke! 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. +++++ From: schung1968@juno.com Subject: Re: CBEM 222.3 David, In regards to Jen's column about what makes a hero, it's my opinion as with a villain, a hero wants to make a difference in the world. Spidey's origin was tinged with tragedy from his uncle's death. What If? #19 (first series) had him capture the burglar for less than altruistic reasons. If Bruce Wayne had not become Batman, Dick would probably be dead or be a vigilante, Jason Todd would be on the streets stealing hubcaps, Barbara might not have become Batgirl, but hone her research skills as Oracle, minus being crippled by a bullet. The New Star-Spangled Kid created out of boredom.... BWAH-HA-HAHAH! Very funny. She also nailed Jack as a reluctant hero, since it makes sense that certain kids don't want to follow in their father's footsteps and rather do their own thing. Kyle Rayner being in the right place at the right time is debatable since he lost Alex, and has learned from that moment of tragedy. What separates a hero from a villain? Not much. Take the case of Sandman, a character who supposed reformed, but is now cast as a villain related to another Spidey villain by default of having a funky-hairstyle. Can J. Jonah Jameson be behind? To me, Captain America is a hero doing his duty, Spidey's a hero, The F.F. are a family first, explorers second, and heroes; Ben's my favorite in the group since he copes with being different with humor and don't "clobber" Johnny, who pulls practical jokes on his teammate for the worst reasons imaginable. Steve Chung +++++ From: "Steven Grant" Subject: Re: CBEM 222.2 Thanks for the mention of SILENCER, but, unfortunately, the news is past dated. Mike and I are still doing a new series for DC, but, since we learned of Steve Rude's The Silencer, that won't be the name. We haven't settled on a new name yet. [Well, keep us informed Steven and we will pass it along. D.L.] +++++ [Not sure if this is legit but, what the heck . . .DL] Subj: I got a copie of Elseworld... From: elias@generation.net (Kolchak/ Louis) Hi, My name is Louis and I live in Montreal Canada,today I visited this comic shop and I found a copie of the rare Elseworld 80-page giant!! This thing is nowhere to be found in other Montreal comic shops,to you guy's have any idea how this even got here,I read it only made it in England and Ireland.And the cool thing about it I only payed 4 bucks on this.I saved 4+ bucks on this thing and it's worth!! how many of these things do you think still excist? later Write back... Louis. +++++ Subj: your reviews in the CBEM From: DevilGrl12 To: Silhouet9, ComicBknet Mr. Dale Roberts, i've been reading your "reviews" in the CBEM and your letters of comment in various comic letter columns and i'm wondering if there's ever been a comic you don't like. There's nothing wrong with being excited about comics but i have trouble believing that every comic you give your "solid 10 out of 10" "review" to deserves it. i've looked at some of the comics you've "reviewed", positively, of course, and i know that not every single issue you "review" and say BLEW YOU AWAY deserves what you say. Sure, some of the comics might be good, and maybe even many of them, but not EVERY SINGLE ONE. i put the word "review" in quotations because what you call "reviews" are little more than summarizing the plot and saying at the end how the art and story BLEW YOU AWAY, or any other cliche you can come up with at the moment. Of course, if all you want is to see your name in print and for someone to use something you said as a review's blurb, then great. Keep kissing ass and sucking up to anyone who will send you a free preview copy. You might even get more that way. But stop calling what it is you do "reviews" because it's giving people that put the time and energy into a honest, critical reviews a bad name. The CBEM is a great read because of the columnists. Your columns should go into the newly created HYPE! Section, well away from the real reviews. And what the hell is a Multiverse Omniverse Explorer (or whatever the hell it's called)? Doesn't the CBEM already have a detailed list of what's out and what's coming out? And are your "interviews" ever going to ask anything other than the same 8 questions? I'm on my way to check out your web site. i sure hope there's something there worth my while but I'm not getting my hopes up. Good day. sincerely, annette moore [We certainly appreciate your input and as editor I feel compelled to comment. The columns I run are all done as voluntary submissions and as long as they stay on the subject of comic books and are at least coherent, I run them. That has been our policy since I took over the Emag and I feel it has brought a wide variety of comment and opinion. As a result, some of the columns rub people the wrong way and nearly every column will have someone who disagrees with the author. Such is human nature. Paul is the most consistent, and prolific contributor we have. This is not to say he is perfect and I am sure he welcomes constructive criticism. On the other hand, if you dislike his writing so much, don't read it. Why torture yourself by going to his web page? Some folks may welcome less technical "reviews", preferring recaps of plots to see if they sound interesting. I think you take this way too seriously accusing Paul of being on an ego trip and of giving "others" a bad name. - D.L.] +++++ Subj: Why I Collect Deity From: peter-t@dds.nl (Peter Teffer) Why I Collect Deity by Peter Teffer (peter-t@dds.nl) 1. The characters are interesting and the story is original, but with certain cliche parts, which I like, because it's predictable, but yet it's not. 2. The art is great; it's a certain mangalike style, but still the artists own. 3. It's printed on quality paper, which smells great! 4. The colors are done great by someone with a brother who's going to make another great Hyperwerks series. 5. Every month there are like a million variant covers, and I always seem to pick the regular one. 6. Karl is cool. +++++ Subj: 'Nuff Said! radio show info & web site From: nuffsaid@escape.com (Nuff Said) 'Nuff Said!, the comic book interview/talk show, is on the air for a full hour every Tuesday at 10 PM on WBAI-FM, 99.5 in the New York City metropolitan area. We're also on the internet at www.wbaifree.org and, hopefully, at www.2600.com as well. There's a link to each of those on our own web site: www.nuffsaid.net Tuesday, July 27, 1999 - Postponed from last month while he was in South America: Lou Small, Jr. did Dark Dominion for Defiant, Ninjack for Valiant and Vampirella for Harris. An excellent and meticulous penciller. Your phone calls, too. Tuesday, August 3, 1999 - No guest. A short monologue from me then phone calls from the listeners. (212) 209-2900 Tuesday, August 10, 1999 - Pre-empted for WBAI's mini fund drive. WBAI-FM, 99.5, is a 50,000 watt station broadcast from the Empire State Building. Our signal usually gets out to New Haven, CT; Westhampton, L.I.; the Poconos of Pennsylvania, Orange County, NY and Trenton & Princeton, NJ. But via the internet for an even greater distance. The show covers the entire world of comics: golden age, silver age, contemporary, mainstream, independent, underground, foreign, strips and fandom. Hosted by Ken Gale (interviewer) and Ed Menje (Engineer). WBAI is a Pacifica Network station (if your local station carries any Pacifica programming (such as "Democracy Now" and Gary Null), they might be able to get 'Nuff Said! as well). WBAI-FM, 120 Wall St., 10th flr, New York, NY 10005. --Ken Gale, interviewer and co-host ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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: >In what title was the first work credited to Bjorn Heyn? Pedro Bouca of Rio de Janiero beat the crowd and knew it was FANTASTIC FOUR #232 in which John Byrne used this fake name to credit his own inks. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION: Some of the best trivia is in the indicia of new comics. Which comic on sale right now has this in the fine print: "People with heart conditions or extremely weak constitutions are advised not to read this comic. You also should never go into the woods alone." 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 Marvel Enterprises, Inc. Appoints Peter Cuneo as President and Chief Executive Officer NEW YORK, July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: MVL) announced today the appointment of Peter Cuneo as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Cuneo replaces Eric Ellenbogen, who resigned from the Company to head a media investment concern. In making the announcement, Morton Handel, the Company's Chairman of the Board, commented, "Peter's twenty-five years of management and administrative experience in a broad range of consumer businesses with strong brand identities makes him uniquely suited to build on the Company's existing creative talent and to ensure continued growth. I look forward to his leadership." Mr. Cuneo said, "This is an exciting opportunity to further develop Marvel's creative capital. I expect to continue the recent growth of Marvel's publishing and licensing businesses. At the same time, I look forward to expanding the opportunities available to Marvel from the entertainment projects currently in progress, such as the X-Men and Spider-Man." Mr. Cuneo has been Chief Executive Officer of Remington Products Company, L.L.C., a manufacturer and marketer of personal care appliances; President of the Security Hardware Group of Black and Decker Corporation; and, as President of Clairol's Personal Care Division, a senior executive at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. He was also a director of FactoryMall.com, an internet marketer of durable consumer products that was sold to Theglobe.com, Inc. in February, 1999. Mr. Cuneo holds an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. He received his undergraduate degree from Alfred University, where he is currently a member of the Board of Trustees. Commenting on Mr. Ellenbogen's departure, Mr. Handel said, "Eric joined Marvel at a critical time, just as the Company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He assembled an outstanding management team, successfully completed a $250 million long-term financing and arranged a three-year $60 million working capital facility. He also helped launch the Spider-Man filmed entertainment franchise with Sony Pictures Entertainment, resolving years of litigation over the Company's best-known property. We thank him for his considerable contributions to Marvel." Marvel Enterprises, Inc. is one of the world's leading entertainment companies with operations in the licensing, comic book publishing and toy businesses. The company was formed on October 1, 1998 upon the emergence of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. from bankruptcy and its merger with Toy Biz, Inc. Through its ownership of over 3,500 proprietary characters, the company has published comic books for over 60 years in over 70 countries. Marvel licenses the right to use its characters in a wide range of consumer products such as video games, interactive software and apparel, as well as for television series and feature films. For additional company information, visit the company's corporate web site at www.marvel.com. SOURCE Marvel Enterprises, Inc. 07/20/99 09:04 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com +++++ From the SPLASH PAGE of Comicon.com at: http://www.comicon.com/splash/ PERLMUTTER AND ARAD FORCE MARVEL CEO OUT! ELLENBOGEN FIRST CASUALTY IN MARVEL BUYOUT STRUGGLE! July 21: The NEW YORK POST is reporting on a fierce power struggle among Marvel investors centered on buyout talks currently underway with HASBRO and MATTEL. The POST quotes a source close to Marvel as saying CEO Eric Ellenbogen was fired after less than nine months on the job while Marvel investment bankers MORGAN STANLEY, who own an 11% stake in the company, were holding buyout talks with toy giants Hasbro and Mattel. The POST said that, "Marvel was hoping to get as much as $600 million. But the asking price was too high, and a power struggle leading to Ellenbogen's ouster emerged. On one side were investors Perlmutter and Avi Arad, who exercised their 40 percent ownership to force Ellenbogen out. On the other side was a group of investors - including Chase Manhattan, Morgan Stanley, and Dickstein Partners - who bought Marvel bonds at a deep discount when the company emerged from bankruptcy." The POST said that "Arad, Marvel's creative chief, yesterday denied there was a power struggle, and declined to comment on hiring investment bankers and talking with the toy companies. He referred questions to Marvel's general counsel." Marvel immediately replaced Ellenbogen with Peter Cuneo, a one-time employee of Perlmutter, who was described by the POST as "a buyout artist" who was installed to make the company "more attractive to investors." The POST report was in conflict with MARVEL's own announcement about the replacement, which said Ellenbogen "resigned from the Company to head a media investment concern." Cuneo denied Ellenbogen was ousted because Marvel didn't find a suitor and insisted he didn't take the job toscope out a deal. "I am not here to find a buyer for the company," he told The Post. "I'm here to build the value for shareholders." But Cuneo acknowledged that should Marvel become attractive to potential buyers over time, "then it happens." The POST said that Marvel, "once worth some $3 billion, has a market capitalization of $250 million today, based on its stock price and basic, common shares outstanding," and that the company "has a history of bloody infighting, notably the long battle for control between Carl Icahn and Ron Perelman. Icahn eventually won. But vulture investors shoved him aside after Marvel entered bankruptcy court in 1996. The shakeup comes as Marvel is still recovering from its painful tour of Chapter 11 bankruptcy court, from which it emerged in October when it combined with Toy Biz Inc. Ellenbogen, backed by Marvel's creditors, took the helm the following month and lined up $250 million in long-term financing, as well as a $60 million working-capital facility." FULL STORY: THE NEW YORK POST STUART MOORE RESIGNS AS SENIOR DC/VERTIGO EDITOR! CITES 'DISAGREEMENTS WITH MANAGEMENT'! July 21: The SPLASH has confirmed that long-time DC/VERTIGO Senior Editor Stuart Moore has resigned his position, effective yesterday. Moore told the SPLASH that the move was primarily motivated by "a new business opportunity I'm working on" and "increasing disagreements with Karen (Berger, Executive Editor of Vertigo) and management about the direction of VERTIGO." Moore said, "My departure is completely cordial all around, and I'm scheduled to do some freelance work with DC already. News stories can make everyone sound pissed off and at odds, and while there have definitely been some differences all around, there's really not much in the way of hard feelings here. Karen will confirm that (or she would, if she weren't just going on vacation for the next week and a half)." Moore was a highly respected editor at the company for nine years, editing such books as TRANSMETROPOLITAN, THE BOOKS OF MAGIC and the HELIX line. He was slated to helm the upcoming BOOKS OF FAERIE by Linda Medley. Moore said his future plans involved a comics/internet venture of which he is a partner in. WARREN ELLIS LEAVES 'HELLBLAZER'! MORE TURMOIL AT DC! 'SHOOT' STORY SHOT DOWN! July 19: Warren Ellis has announced his resignation as writer of DC Vertigo's HELLBLAZER title, effective with #143. In a statement released from his Southend, England home this morning, Ellis said his action followed an incident regarding HELLBLAZER #141, which was to contain a story entitled "Shoot" which concerned the recent spate of child-on-child schoolyard slayings in American schools. Ellis said of the "Shoot" story, "Its creation and treatment predated the Columbine massacre. At the last moment, DC's executive level felt that the story could not go out in its original form. All media, particularly the narrative arts, are particularly sensitive to the politics of post-Columbine blame-placement at this time, and their concern was entirely justified given their position and special responsibilities. But the changes required created a story that I could not stand behind as a writer." Ellis requested that DC Vertigo either make those changes themselves and remove his name from the work, or not publish the work at all. Ellis preferred the later scenario, rather having the story go unseen than be released in a compromised form. Ellis went on to say, "To their credit, DC Vertigo have chosen to not release "Shoot" at all." Ellis said his decision to resign was also based on other conflicts that had arisen during his tenure on the cutting edge mainstream horror title. "Given this, and other situations where I have been required to make or submit to alterations to make my HELLBLAZER work more palatable to the company, I have chosen this juncture to resign from the book. HELLBLAZER is a work owned by DC Comics, and so there is not the latitude for elements of horror than is given in creator-owned works such as my own TRANSMETROPOLITAN, or PREACHER. My work on HELLBLAZER simply makes life too difficult for everybody. So I'm moving on. It's the mature thing to do, I think." Ellis praised the effort taken by DC brass to work out a solution: "Everyone involved -- Axel Alonso, Karen Berger, Paul Levitz and Jenette Kahn -- tried their best in this strange political climate to save this story. It should be noted that Paul Levitz could just as easily have shot the book down. The effort was made. Everyone involved behaved impeccably, I believe, and this situation leaves no hostility in me to the company or to individuals. Special mention should be made of Axel Alonso, who worked like a dog to resolve this situation and stood by me all the time, and Karen Berger, who believed passionately in and fought passionately for the work from the start." Ellis' statement ends with his tangible regret at leaving the title: "Obviously, I would've liked to stay with HELLBLAZER longer. What might have been a four-year run will now total only ten issues, a six-part novel and four short stories. This will, in any case, free up time to develop new projects both within and without comics. This decision was not taken without regret. But it's the best thing to do." The resignation comes after DC pulped an already printed issue of the 'ELSEWORLDS 80 Page Giant' because of images of 'imitable violence' in the Kyle Baker story, "Superman's Babysitter" (see story below). Industry watchers are wondering if new cautionary policies concerning content are being instituted by the executive team of America's second largest comic book publisher. +++++ NEIL GAIMAN'S NEW "GODS & TULIPS" TO BENEFIT CBLDF Northampton, MA -- Acclaimed comics and fantasy author Neil Gaiman continues his commitment to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund with a new collection of speeches and essays, "Gods & Tulips." Published by Westhampton House as a benefit for the Fund, "Gods & Tulips" offers a unique and enlightening perspective on the business of comics. Presented in comic-book format, this collection also features a macabre cover painting by living legend Michael Wm. Kaluta. "Gods & Tulips" collects for the first time three of Gaiman's most important speeches and essays about the comics industry. The book opens with the infamous "Tulip Speech," delivered at Diamond's 1993 Retailers Seminar. Gaiman draws a provocative parallel between modern comics speculation and the "tulip mania" which destroyed the Dutch economy in the 17th century. This speech has only gained in notoriety as its chilling predictions for the comics industry came true. The next piece, "On Signings," is a witty and incisive essay (never before published) on the ingredients for a truly horrible store signing, and a great one as well. A veteran of innumerable in-store appearances, Gaiman gives some practical tips for creating a signing that will be remembered fondly by the fans, the store, and the signer alike. "Gods & Tulips" concludes with a speech given at Procon one year after Gaiman's final issue of "Sandman." Having since written for television and published a best-selling novel, Gaiman offers an insightful look back at comics as an industry and as a medium for storytelling. Along the way, Gaiman catalogs all the things he wishes he'd known about comics when he started his career. "I gave the copyright in the 'Tulip Speech' to the CBLDF some years ago," said Gaiman, "and was only too pleased to give them the other two pieces. I think most of the things I had to say remain valid [or at least interesting] and I'm delighted that they will be out there helping the CBLDF protect the free speech of everyone in comics." "No one combines practical advice and erudition the way Neil Gaiman does," said Westhampton House publisher Robert Boyd. "It's a privilege to be publishing someone who is worldly enough to make the analogy between comics speculator frenzy and Holland's tulipmania. And I must mention Michael Kaluta's cover--I mean, wow! It's really great to work with Michael again and with Neil for the first time, especially on a book that benefits one of my favorite causes--freedom of the press." "Gods & Tulips" is the second "prose comic" produced to benefit the CBLDF. Like Oni Press's "Free Speeches," "Gods & Tulips" is presented in standard comic format. In addition to Kaluta's cover art, Chester Brown illustrates the speeches with humorous and provocative images. "The projects undertaken by other publishers on our behalf are wonderful," said CBLDF executive director Chris Oarr. "And everyone involved in 'Gods & Tulips' is a real friend of the Fund. These are all essays that serious comics fans and industry observers will want to read. 'Gods & Tulips' is a good read for a good cause!" Kaluta's cover art for "Gods & Tulips" will also grace the official tour shirt for Gaiman's upcoming Guardian Angel Tour. A reading series designed to benefit the Fund, Gaiman's Guardian Angel events have raised more than $45,000. This year's tour stops in the Washington, D.C. area on September 21 at the Bethesda Theatre Cafe, and in the Boston area on September 23 at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge. The Guardian Angel Tour Shirt features Kaluta's artwork in full-color on a black tee, with the tour dates on the back. Like the tour itself, all proceeds benefit the CBLDF. For more info on the 1999 Guardian Angel Tour, visit www.cbldf.org. "Gods & Tulips" is a 32-page comic retailing for $3, with 100% of the proceeds supporting the CBLDF's efforts to protect free speech in comics. "Gods & Tulips" and the Guardian Angel Tour Shirt both debut in September and will be available from Diamond Comic Distributors, FM International, and other distributors of fine sequential art. They will also be available directly from the CBLDF by calling 1-800-99-CBLDF or visiting our web-site at www.cbldf.org. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization preserving the First Amendment rights of the comics community. Donations and inquiries can always be sent directly to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund at P.O. Box 693, Northampton, MA 01061. Be sure to check out "Busted!" the CBLDF newsletter or www.cbldf.org for more Fund news. For additional information and graphics contact Chris Bleistein at (413) 586-6967 or cbldf@compuserve.com +++++ Todd McFarlane's Spawn' HBO Series Nominated for Second Emmy TEMPE, Ariz., July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- "Todd McFarlane's Spawn," the HBO animated series that debuted its third season in May, today received its second EMMY nomination. The series is nominated for a 1998-1999 Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Animated Program Category (for programming more than one hour). Earlier this year, McFarlane was nominated for a GRAMMY as the director of Pearl Jam's animated video "Do the Evolution." Terry Fitzgerald, president of Todd McFarlane Entertainment was also nominated as producer. The visually striking HBO show is based on the smash-hit comic book of the same name created by McFarlane, who is the executive producer. In 1998, the series won one of two Emmys offered in the field of Animation. Under McFarlane's control, "Todd McFarlane's Spawn" began its legacy in May 1997 with six half-hour episodes. Another six original episodes aired in May 1998, with the third season airing this year. Released on video in August 1997, "Todd McFarlane's Spawn," Season 1, became the best selling HBO Home Video Original Production in history. On August 24, "Spawn 3: The Ultimate Battle" will be released on video. The DVD and a special DVD collector's set will be available October 5. "Spawn 3: The Ultimate Battle" follows the success of HBO Home Video's release of "Spawn" and "Spawn 2" -- both certified platinum by the ITA, and were voted the 1997 and 1998 Video of the Year by the comic book industry. HBO Home Video has sold more than one million Spawn units and counting. The 1999 Emmy Awards Presentation telecast will be September 12. On August 28, 50 awards for "categories" (a single award) and "areas" (possibility of one or more award) will be handed out. Nominees under this category: -- "Todd McFarlane's Spawn" - HBO -- Todd MMcFarlane Entertainment/HBO Original Programming -- Todd McFarlane, Executive Producer; John Leekley, Co-Executive Producer/Writer; Randall J. White, Producer; Brad Rader, Jennifer Yuh, Tom Nelson, Chuck Patton, Mike Vosburg, Directors; Rebekah Bradford, Writer -- "Our Friend Martin" - STZ - DIC Entertaiinment -- Andy Heyward, Robby London, Mike Maliani, Phillip Jones, Executive Producers; Janice Sonski, Coordinating Producer; Vincenzo Tripetti, Rob Smiley, Directors; Dawn Comer, Chris Simmons, Writers. +++++ It's Superman vs. Cashman in Canadian court TORONTO, July 23 (Reuters) - Truth, Justice and the American Way could be up for grabs in a Canadian court this summer if DC Comics follows through on its lawsuit against a spandex-clad, cape-wearing Canadian jeweler. DC Comics, a division of U.S. media giant Time Warner Entertainment Co. TWX.N> , recently filed a C$300,000 civil lawsuit against Russell Oliver and his Toronto jewelry business for copyright and trademark violations of the Superman comicstrip character. The suit alleges a series of television ads, in which "Cashman" Oliver emerges from a phone booth sporting a cape, red and blue leotards and a large dollar sign on his chest, confuses the public and depreciates the value of the Superman character. Superman was one of the world's earliest and most popular comic heroes. The U.S.-based company said it wrote a letter last summer asking Oliver to stop using the character that has become a cult-like, late-night staple on Toronto area television. But it noticed shortly afterward that the ad ran twice during a Canadian television show. Oliver, who was in costume early on Friday, said it was ridiculous to mistake him -- a paunchy Canadian jeweler -- for the Krypton-born superhero who lept tall buildings, courted the lovely Lois Lane and saved the world from evil. "It's comical and we're making fun of it. I have never met Lois Lane, I can't fly and Kryptonite has no effect on me," Oliver told Reuters in a phone interview. Oliver is expected to file a defence faster than a speeding bullet, or failing that, sometime next week. +++++ COMICS 2 FILM http://www.comics2film.com FROM CORONA COMING ATTRACTIONS: The latest rumors from Corona Coming Attractions indicate that the villainous character Toad is back in the X-Men movie. According to their sources, the character will be in the movie an Ray Park (Darth Maul of Episode 1) is being courted to play him. Park is also said to be serving as the fight coordinator on the film. CCA couldn't confirm all of the above. However, they did say for certain that Toad is in and Park has been in talks for some role on the film. The above rumors (which came from three independent sources) seemed to tie in neatly with the information they already had in hand. http://www.corona.bc.ca FROM VARIOUS ADDITIONAL SOURCES: Rumors that Ray Park, who played Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace, is somehow involved with the X-Men movie gained some corroboration at the Wizard World convention in Chicago this weekend. Many sources, including Zentertainment, quote Park as saying, "I can't talk about that yet," when asked about his involvement with the movie. Park has been rumored to be the fighting coordinator for the picture as well as possibly playing the part of Toad in the movie. Zentertaiment also reports that Park confirmed the rumor that Maria Bello had been cast as Jean Grey. Scoops from Corona Coming Attractions indicate that the actor may have made additional comments on a UK television show called The Big Breakfast. On that show he was asked if he would play Toad in the movie and he is quoted as responding with, "Probably, probably." Park also allegedly told this scooper that Jim Caviezel was definitely cast as Cyclops. Meanwhile, Ain't it Cool News reports that the role of Senator Kelly has been cast. The part is said to have gone to Bruce Davison who teamed with X-Men director Bryan Singer in the movie Apt Pupil. Now, keep in mind that all the above is unconfirmed. The actual casting announcements are said to be just around the corner and may yet surprise us. http://www.zentertainment.com http://www.corona.bc.ca http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/ Archie ------ Comics 2 Film spoke to producer Ben Myron in an effort to get a handle on the recent spate of Archie casting rumors. Myron is very enthusiastic about the status of this movie. "I'm really excited about Archie," Myron told us, "All of young Hollywood is suddenly interested in this movie." However, contrary to recent rumors, no one has been cast in any of the roles. Although Myron didn't wish to publicize any of the current candidates, he did rule some out. Giovanni Ribisi (The Mod Squad) is not under consideration for the role of Archie. Myron had a good laugh also when I told him that Rose McGowan was rumored for Veronica. "Not a chance!" Myron told us. He did promise that the casting was moving along quickly and he would be able to give us some firm news in a few weeks. In the mean time he told us that Douglas Carter Beane (Too Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar) had done a polish on director Tommy O'Haver's (Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss) screenplay. Monster Island -------------- Graham Nolan's Monster Island may be coming to a theater near you in future. Producers Michael Shuken and Evan Charnov (Alien Legion) told Comics 2 Film that they've optioned Nolan's comic of Godzilla-esque proportions for development as a movie. The comic tells the adventure of two naval aviators downed on a mysterious island. "Duke" Mitchell and "Mac" MacGruder crash land on an island that doesn't show up on their radar. They quickly discover that the island is a repository for a host Daikaiju (japanese for giant monsters), held captive by alien zookeepers. Nolan makes the following remarks about the all-ages comic on his website, "I wanted to do a comic that I could give to my friends to read, but also to my children so that both adults and kids could enjoy it on different levels." http://www.compasscomics.com/ Ash (and Fearless Fosdick) -------------------------- Concerned by recent reports that seemed to indicate the animated Ash feature was in trouble, Comics 2 Film followed up with comic writer and animation mogul Marv Wolfman. Wolfman assured us that the Ash movie was still as strong as its ever been. He told us that his recent quote that "Ash isn't going to happen," which appeared on Beau Yarbrough's column at Comic Book Resources wasn't to be construed as an indication that the movie itself was in trouble. He was merely saying that his (and co-writer Len Wein's) involvement as screenwriters is unlikely at this point. The pair was brought onto the Dreamworks production to provide story material and idea work. However, priorities are constantly changing on the movie and at this point Wolfman and Wein have completed the work they were asked to do. With the movie still in the very early stages, it's uncertain if the pair will have any future involvement with the picture. Screenwriter Ed Khmara (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story) has also taken a pass at the screenplay for Ash. Katsushiro Otomo (Akira) has long been linked to the project as director. Dreamworks has made no recent announcements about where the movie falls in its production slate. Wolfman's top priority is the animated feature version of Elfquest. Wolfman's production company Wolfmill Entertainment has been busy with this project for quite some time. In his interview with Yarbrough he said, "'Elfquest' is being worked on. Wolfmill Entertainment is the Exec. Producer of the picture as well as the writers, along with [Elfquest co-creator Wendy Pini]. Elfquest will be very close to the comic - assuming our current draft is the way we go - with changes made only to give a strong spine to a 90 minute movie as opposed to a 24 issue comic. All the characters are very much in character although some events have been truncated or altered somewhat here and there to keep the story on target. I think some may be astonished how close it is to the comic where others will be astonished by the changes. Yet, Wendy has said it's the best adaptation she's ever seen of Elfquest, including a screenplay she herself wrote. So we're happy because Wendy (and [co-creator Richard Pini]) are the ones we wanted to please the most. Again, assuming the final screenplay is based on this first draft we believe the film will indeed be Elfquest." Wolfmill is also looking to develop Al Capp's Fearless Fosdick. Wolfman's website calls the character "Al Capp's great detective without a brain. Fosdick is every crook's nightmare. Also, every Cop's nightmare. And every citizen's nightmare, as well." Wolfman told C2F that the project is difficult to place, but they'll be able to focus their efforts better once Elfquest is underway. Wolfmill is also responsible for the highly successful animated series Pocket Dragon Adventures. http://www.primenet.com/~marvw/ http://www.comicbookresources.com Avengers and Big Guy Animated Shows ----------------------------------- FROM THE DETROIT NEWS COMIC BOOK CONTINUUM: Rob Allstetter of the Detroit News Comic Book Continuum reports that the animated Avengers show is set to air on September 18, while the other-worldly Spider-Man Unlimited has a tentative debut date of October 2. Both shows air on Fox Kids. http://detnews.com/comicbooks/ Witchblade ---------- FROM THE DETROIT NEWS COMIC BOOK CONTINUUM: The long anticipated Witchblade TV series may be gaining steam again. Top Cow head Marc Silvestri told Rob Allstetter of the Detroit News Comic Book Continuum that "The show is alive and well, stronger than ever." The series was initially targeted to be on the air early this year. However, the development process was much slower than anticipated. According to the article, screenwriter J.D. Zeik (Ronin) is on board and has completed a script for the pilot movie. The script is serious in tone and Silvestri likens it more to NYPD Blue than Xena. Silvestri is enthusiastic about the latest teleplay. "This new guy amazingly enough realizes that the book transfers (from print to television) very well, almost directly," Silvestri told Allstetter. "This guy got it. The concepts and the characters are all intact. Sara's great. You've got Jake in there and he's great. Irons and Nottingham, the characters are right there. "It's all pretty true to the original book. The two-hour pilot follows the eight-issue arc that started it." Silvestri and the producers were unwilling to go forward without a script that did the concept justice. With that now in place, casting can finally begin. Silvestri told Allstetter that he was confident having Oliver Stone's name attached to the project would bring in top-notch acting talent. http://detnews.com/comicbooks/ +++++ From the ComicWire at www.comicbookresources.com 'LEAVE IT TO CHANCE' ENDS, RETURNS AS ONE SHOTS Fans who've had a hard time finding "Leave it to Chance" on store shelves got a bit of bad news, good news at the Wizard World convention in Chicago this weekend. Series writer James Robinson revealed that the next three issues will be the last the book gets as an ongoing series from Wildstorm, and tie up all the remaining subplots. That won't be the last of "Leave it to Chance," though. "I want to do a 'Tin-Tin' annual from here on out," he said Saturday. Belgian comic "Tin-Tin," much like European comics "Lucky Luke" and "Asterix" are initially published a few pages at a time and then collected at year's end in a single over-sized volume. More bad news for Robinson fans: Despite long-running Internet rumors and speculation to the contrary, he will not be following up his popular "Golden Age" Elseworlds DC Comics miniseries with a "Silver Age" series, as most of his ideas for the book appeared in last year's "Justice League: Year One" series written by Mark Waid. MARVEL ANNOUNCES FUTURE OF MARVEL KNIGHTS Marvel Comics isn't letting go of a good thing: Look for more Marvel Knights, featuring some of DC/Vertigo's biggest guns, next year, the company announced in Chicago. Marvel Knights, which actually farms out second-, third-, and fourth-tier Marvel heroes to the tender mercies of Event Comics, produced several of Marvel Comics' recent big hits, has brought in Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison, along with screenwriter Bob Gale, for the next wave of titles produced under their management. Marvel announced the books in a press release Friday, and many of the creators filled fans in at a Wizard World convention panel on Saturday. Ennis and Dillon, whose creator-owned "Preacher" is a dark, violent hit for DC Comics, will presumably bring more of the same to Marvel's "Punisher," in a 12 issue limited series. Tim Bradstreet will provide covers. Morrison, best-known to DC fans as the man who sent the Justice League of America on wildly imaginative adventures, will be creating a new incarnation of outer planets hero Marvel Boy, with art by "Black Widow" artist J. G. Jones. Morrison described Marvel Boy as "the most f***ed up, crazy superhero you've ever seen" on Saturday. The six-issue limited series will most likely begin this January. There'll also be a new "Black Widow" miniseries in 2000, co-written this time by Devin Grayson and Greg Rucca. Gale, best known for writing the film "Back to the Future," will take over "Daredevil" after David "Kabuki" Mack's six-issue run. He'll be succeeded later in the year by fellow film maker, and the man who kicked off this new "Daredevil" series, Kevin Smith. Gale is also writing the "Ant-Man's Big Christmas" special for Marvel Knights this December, with art by Phil Winslade. And Marvel Knights will be losing two comics: the Christopher Priest-written "Black Panther" is moving under the umbrella of Marvel Comics proper, while the Jae Lee and Paul Jenkins "Inhumans" limited series finally runs its course. Lee and Jenkins are working on a new book, although they're keeping details a secret at present. LIEFELD: MOORE AWESOME COMICS COMING Memo to comic book publishers: Don't push your luck with Alan Moore. Rob Liefeld told comic fans Sunday at the Wizard World comic convention in Chicago that two years ago, he almost drove the famously unhappy-with-DC-Comics Moore away from Awesome Entertainment, after Liefeld brought the wrong job offer to him. A DC editor that Liefeld didn't name pitched an idea for a Superman and Supreme team-up story, with the stipulation that Moore write it. Moore, who hasn't worked for the company since the 1980s because of contractual disputes, reportedly told Liefeld that if he was ever asked about any such project again, he would quit and never speak to him again. Needless to say, the subject was dropped. The story, of course, has a happy ending: After this conversation, Moore went on to write "Supreme," "Youngblood" and "Warchild" for Awesome. So where is the back catalog of Alan Moore-written Awesome comics? For starters, what was to be the first issue of "Awesome Adventures" has been delayed because the computer disk it was on was misplaced during Awesome's recent headquarters move. "It was the only disk that Alan didn't have two of," Liefeld said. The rest of the script for "Awesome Adventures" #1 has been found, though, and the book will be out shortly. Meanwhile, Moore writing the third year of "Supreme" will depend on him working it around his not insignificant schedule writing America's Best Comics, published by Wildstorm. Even in a worst-case scenario, that doesn't mean there won't be "Supreme" coming in 2000. Liefeld announced that Alex Ross and Jim Kreuger - who are currently working together on Marvel Comics' "Earth X" - will be doing a three issue Supreme miniseries, for which Ross has created 100 or more new characters, and is a book Ross says rivals the "Kingdom Come" miniseries he did for DC Comics. "It's a story unlike any other comic ever done before," Liefeld enthused. AND FINALLY … Two points from yesterday's Comic Wire require clarification, as evinced both by concerns voiced by some of the creators involved, as well as by Comic Wire readers who apparently prefer to skim, rather than read, the full text of online news. First, the JLA/Avengers crossover discussed last weekend in Chicago is still a proposal, and is not yet reality-or even close to it. Sources close to the project have said that both companies are not yet equally enthusiastic about the idea. In any case, the proposals are still in an early stage, and fans shouldn't confuse creator enthusiasm for a publishing schedule. The same goes for some of the plans announced for Marvel Comics' "New Warriors": Jay Faerber is working on bringing back Night Thrasher as a guest star, not as a regular, ditto the Jack of Hearts. And, perhaps more importantly, the decisions about the Warriors' new costumes are most definitely not in his hands. If fans write in complaining, he told the Comic Wire Monday, they'll increase the chances that something will happen. However, he emphasized, there are currently no plans to change any of the new outfits the team will receive in issue 1. +++++ From The Daily Buzz at http://www.mania.com/newsarama/index.html Wolverine Getting Adamantium Back Wolverine, the feral mutant with razor sharp claws, will get his adamantium back in Wolverine #145, according to talk at last weekend's WizardWorld convention in Chicago. This confirms what writer Erik Larsen suggested might be the case as a way to mark the 25th anniversary of the Canadian mutant with a mad-on. Jim Lee, Alan Moore Team Up? Jim Lee may soon collaborate with Alan Moore on a graphic novel once Lee finishes his run of Divine Right: The Adventures of Max Faraday. "Alan Moore and I are talking about doing a graphic novel, and that will probably be my next project," Lee said. "As far as when that will come out, I don't want to say," Lee told The Detroit News Comic Book Continuum. A new character in Moore's America's Best Comics universe. Meanwhile, Wildstorm plans an America's Best Comics 80-Page Giant next year. "It will be written by Alan Moore and have entirely different artists than the regular books," WildStorm editor-in-chief Scott Dunbier told The Continuum. "It's pretty easy to get artists to work with Alan." Blair Witch Coming Back At Ya The super-hot Blair Witch comic book will get a second printing from Oni Press. "We are blown away by the response to this comic book," said Oni publisher Joe Nozemack. "We had faith that this project would take off, so we printed 200% over our initial orders. Even that wasn't enough to fill the large demand of reorders for very long." The comic fills in the gaps in the legend of the Blair Witch which three young filmmakers hike into the Maryland woods to investigate in the hit film. Scary Godmother On TV Mainframe Entertainment (Reboot, Beast Wars) optioned Jill Thompson's Scary Godmother comic books and original novels for adaptation into a computer-generated TV series. --Cinescape +++++ News Bits Released at the Chicago Comicon by Matt Brady Along with the other changes hitting the Superman books this October, editor Eddie Berganza revealed that the Daily Planet will be back in full swing beginning with October's issue of Superman, the first by writer Jeph Loeb. Berganza also hinted that the new Metropolis that debuts in January of 2000 will be the source of many mysteries, most importantly - how it came to be and who was behind the appearance of this city of the future. Additionally, Berganza also revealed that Luthor will be getting two new, female bodyguards, Mercy and Hope. "We're keeping their identities under wraps for now," Berganza says. "But they may have pretty strong ties to another region of the DCU or they may not." Also, the Lois/Clark marriage will prove to be like few other marriages in comics - unshakable. However - Berganza suggested that the relationship may have a trial in its immediate future. "A rather embarrassing misstep with the wedding ring and Wonder Woman happens in Superman #151 that may lead to a story that could very well be called, 'Who is Mrs. Superman?'" Over in the Batbooks, Chuck Dixon commented on the artistic team changes of his titles, stating that he would be changing the tones of the books to match the particular artists' strengths. Of particular note, Dixon said, will be Dick Grayson's return to the Bludhaven Police Academy after a six-week unexplained absence during which he was helping Batman in Gotham. "Luckily," Dixon says, "this is Dick Grayson we're talking about, so he can literally make up just about everything he's missed in about three days and still graduate in the middle of his class, which is right where he wanted to be." Greg Rucka revealed that talks are ongoing in the Batoffices to increase Detective Comics to 30 or 40 pages a month, which would include a serial adventure in the last eight pages, much like what was done with the book in the late '80s. Rucka also outlined his plans for Detective, saying, ""I really like writing cops, so that's what we're going to emphasize in Detective - Batman's interaction with the GCPD as well as his interaction and relationship with Commissioner Gordon. In my first issues, as Gotham is reopened to the world following No Man's Land, it will also be reopened to the criminal elements as well, so I'll be dealing with the organized crime elements of the city as they reappear. Gordon, Batman and the GCPD won't be getting any sleep for a while as everyone tries to grab a big chunk of Gotham as their own." The ultimate shakedown from the re-infestation of organized crime in Gotham, Rucka explained, would be a foundation for crime in Gotham that readers will be able to understand. One final storyline that Rucka said he's eager to explore is that of Poison Ivy. "We've seen in the "Fruit of the Earth" arc that Ivy is now in the park," Rucka says. "Throughout the rest of No Man's Land, Ivy will be in Robinson Park, and it will be hers - anyone who goes in there without her express permission is never seen again. After No Man's Land, Ivy is still in the park. Once the city government gets set up, someone is going to say, 'Hey, that's our park. Let's get her out and get it back.'" "I just have this image in my head of the poor city resources guy who draws the short straw and has to go in with the Agent Orange strapped on his back. I don't know if it will work out that way, but I do want to deal with her shortly after I start on Detective." Devin Grayson, writer of the new Batman: Gotham Knights series, said that her fascination with Batman has evolved to the point where she wants to explore the fact that Batman is characteristically a loner, but has surrounded himself with a growing cast of support. "It's really like a new Batman Family," Grayson says, referring to the '70s DC title of the same name. "I told Denny [O'Neil] that I wanted to explore that angle of Batman, and he was very enthusiastic and wanted me to go for it." Finally, Chuck Dixon revealed that Robin will have a little bit of a rough road in front of him in his own series. "We're going to see a point where Tim will have to make some very tough decisions," Dixon said. "When he's pressed by his father, Tim is going to seriously have to consider dropping the cape forever - he'd never betray Bruce's secret, but his family situation may just force him to make a very big decision." In the pages of JLA, writer Grant Morrison cagily evaded questions regarding who would die during his final story arc that focuses on the entity known as Mageddon in the five part "World War Three" arc. During the DCU presentation, Morrison had the crowd laughing as he pretended to furiously scribble notes every time an editor divulged details regarding plans for JLA members' books, such as Martian Manhunter, Aquaman and Orion. "Orion's still alive?" Morrison asked presenter Patricia Jeres, leading to even more laughs from the crowd. Before he goes, Morrison promises that the Injustice Gang, this time featuring Prometheus, will return, as well as the Shaggy Man and Queen Bee as well as a few of the Giffen-era JLAers who may just be described as cannon fodder. Once Mark Waid takes over the reins on JLA, expect to see a run-in with international bad guy Ra's al Ghul, which will serve as current art team Howard Porter and Dell's final JLA mission. In a little bit of inter-imprint poaching, the current JLA artists will be replaced by The Authority's Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary. Over in JSA, look for a major battle with the Dark Lord as the heroes continue to search for the new Dr. Fate. Following the conclusion to the Dark Lord/Fate storyline, look for appearances by the new Spectre, Dr. Mid-Nite and the new Mr. Terrific as seen in the JSA Secret Files as the team battles an all-new Injustice Society and former hero Obsidian, as well as exacts revenge against Extant, the villain who murdered several JSAer's during Zero Hour. Plus, Hawkgirl's relationship to Hawkman is made clear in an upcoming story that will reintroduce Hawkman into current DCU continuity. In Wonder Woman, Dr. Poison, the Amazing Amazon's first Golden Age nemesis returns following the God War storyline, returns to unleash the Pandora Virus on an unsuspecting world. Following Dr. Poison's storyline, Young Justice's Wonder Girl gets her own spotlight issue. The classic Golden Age hero the Shining Knight returns to DCU continuity in the pages of Stars and STRIPE as DC's spunkiest hero continues to make a place for herself in the Blue Valley and the world beyond. Over in Hourman, things will get even stranger as Tom Peyer and Rags Morales bring the 853rd century Hourman in conflict with Rex Tyler's son, Rick and comes to terms with his legacy. Also, Hourman receives a summons to return to the 853rd century from Justice Legion A, tries to establish a civilian identity and gets caught in a war between centuries. +++++ From Newsarama; http://www.AnotherUniverse.com/newsarama WINNER OF THE 1997 & 1998 INTERNET "SQUIDDY" FOR BEST WEB SITE Newsarama caught up with Bat Associate Editor Joe Illidge, and found out there are more changes afoot than meets the eye. "Batman will get a new costume, one that will serve as his definitive costume for some time. We're also going to amp up his technology, and readers will be seeing a new Batcave, a new Wayne Manor, a new Batcave and a new Batmobile." Also getting facelift will be Gotham City. Come next year, New Gotham will be divided into 3 main districts, each having its own distinct look and feel that will compliment one of the 3 core Bat-titles, and make each series easily distinguishable from one another not only content, but visually as well. Greg Rucka's and Shawn Martinbrough's Detective Comics will take on a "film noir" slant, so the New Gotham district it will be set in will have architecture in the vein of Anton Furst's visual designs from the Batman films, "but pushed a little bit further" said Illidge. Larry Hama's, Scott McDaniel's and Karl Story's Batman, the "mainstream superhero" title of the three, will be set in a district comprised of fresh, gleaming towers of glass and steel. "Much like a modern metropolitan corporate Mecca,” said the editor. “ And Devin Grayon's and Dale Eaglesham's Batman: Gotham Knights will take place in a down to earth, urban setting, with a slight element of the gothic.” +++++ From Wizard World Emailer; to subscribe send Email to WizEmailer@aol.com with the subject: ADD ME WIZARD News from the WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO `99 convention Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti are looking to outdo an amazing first year of MARVEL KNIGHTS titles, with an impressive slate which includes the following titles: THE PUNISHER: 12-issues of a non-angelic Punisher, written by Garth Ennis, illustrated by Steve Dillon, and inked by Palmiotti. MARVEL BOY: Grant Morrison and artist J.G. Jones take on an all-new character in this 6-issue miniseries. BLACK WIDOW II - MENAGE-A-TROIS: Devin Grayson returns with a story starring both Widows. ANT MAN: A one-shot due out at the end of the year by Bob Gale (Back to the Future) and Phil Winslade. DAREDEVIL: Quesada, Palmiotti, and stories by David Mack, Bob Gale, and our guest of honor, Kevin Smith. ?????: An as-yet-unannounced new title by the INHUMANS creative team of Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee. SHADOW OF THE BAT will be replaced by a new series entitled BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS. The new creative teams on the series are as follows: BATMAN: Larry Hama (writer), Scott McDaniel (penciler), Shawn Matinbrough (inker) DETECTIVE COMICS: Greg Rucka (w), Shawn Martinbrough (artist) BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS: Devin Grayson (w), Dale Eaglesham & John Floyd (a) BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT: Rotating Creative Teams. NIGHTWING: Chuck Dixon (w), Greg Land (p), Drew Geraci (i) BIRDS OF PREY: Chuck Dixon (w), Jackson Guice (a) ROBIN: Chuck Dixon (w), Pete Woods (p), Jesse Delperdang (i) CATWOMAN: Bronwyn Carlton (w), Staz Johnson (p), Wayne Faucher (i) U-N-I-T-Y Jim Shooter returns to ACCLAIM this November with UNITY 2000, a six-issue miniseries bringing together the current ACCLAIM universe with the original VALIANT universe, in an epic tale that will carry ACCLAIM Comics into the future. Jim Starlin pencils each issue and its cover, with Joe Rubinstein inking the books, and Janet Jackson coloring the covers. Look for a prelude to UNITY 2000, as well as the death of Shadow Man, this fall in SHADOW MAN #3 and #4. In the JLA's post-Grant Morrison days, new writer Mark Waid joins artists Howard Porter and John Dell for a battle against Ra's al Ghul. Following that story arc, THE AUTHORITY art team of Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary. Hitch and Neary also illustrate WILDSTORM's 5th issue of WILDCATS. Writer/artist Barry-Windsor Smith tells an epic 20-year history of two American families in a story exploring the horrific and tragic ramifications of Nazi genetic engineering and domestic violence in VERTIGO's upcoming graphic novel THE MONSTER. Matt Hawkins' LADY PENDRAGON celebrates its 1st anniversary this November with a double-sized issue fully-painted by Dorian C.. It's only part of an epic month for the character which will continue with the release of a special ORIGIN OF MERLIN one-shot, and a MERLIN action figure. Writer-artist Walt Simonson's new DC series starring Jack Kirby's FOURTH WORLD character will be previewed in the July and August issues of IMPULSE. IMAGE's next big book is BLUE, a sci-fi pinochio-like tale of a hormonally-challenged teen with the power of the universe, who just happens to be an android. Greg Aronowitz, Edwin Rosell, and Jason Johnson are the creative team behind the series, which will feature covers by STAR WARS poster artist Drew Struzan. Ben Raab will be all over the place in the coming months, with work including a 4-issue BEAST BOY miniseries for DC he's co-writing with Geoff Johns, a HELLFIRE CLUB mini for MARVEL with art by Charles Adlard (X-Files, Nobody), and a HAWKMAN 2-part story illustrated by Michael Lark (Scene of the Crime) which may appear in LEGENDS OF THE DC UNIVERSE, if it doesn't land its own prestige format mini. Raab will also be writing a couple issues of Sweden's THE PHANTOM series, which will be imported into Australia as well. Former REAL WORLD'er Judd Winick's ADVENTURES OF BARRY WEEN, BOY GENIUS makes its move to ONI later this year, with a collection of IMAGE's original 3-issue limited series in November. Even better, the first in a series of new miniseries will launch in February 2000. As Grant Morrison's VERTIGO series THE INVISIBLES winds down to a cataclysmic issue #1, look for scenes illustrated by former INVISIBLES artists Phil Jimenez, Chris Weston, Jill Thompson, and Phillip Bond. Morrison's FLEX MENTALLO artist Frank Quitely illustrates the series' final issue. Kevin Smith and artist Scott Morse are teaming up for an apocalyptic LOKI AND BARTLEBY one-shot tying into Smith's upcoming film DOGMA, reaching store shelves by the end of the year. JINX's Brian Michael Bendis takes on Hollywood with his three-issue FORTUNE AND GLORY: A TRUE HOLLYWOOD COMIC BOOK miniseries starting in December. A SEQUEL TO SCOTT McCLOUD'S UNDERSTANDING COMICS? LOOK FOR PARADOX PRESS TO RELEASE McCLOUD'S REINVENTING COMICS NEXT YEAR... Tefe Holland takes center stage in an all-new SWAMP THING series on the horizon, written by newcomer Brian Vaughan, illustrated by DARK HORSE regular Roger Petersen, and featuring covers by FLINCH #1 cover artist Phil Hale. Dan Jurgens will write CAPTAIN AMERICA #25, guest starring The Falcon. Is that a well known character lying on an autopsy table on the cover of the double-sized UNCANNY X-MEN #375? Its story continues on into X-MEN #95, and then into the double-sized WOLVERINE #145. I won't say what happens in that issue, but its METALLIC foil-stamped cover should give you a clue... ALIENS will cross-over with GREEN LANTERN in an upcoming one-shot from DC and DARK HORSE. Masamune Shirow's GHOST IN THE SHELL 2 film will be released simultaneously with a comic adaptation from DARK HORSE next spring. While Frank Miller's new SIN CITY tale, HELL AND BACK, states on its cover that its a 9 issue story, don't be surprised to see it continue on into 11 issues or so. Miller is currently working with Lynn Varley on the full-color 6th issue. The ATOMICS, those mean beatniks from Mike Allred's MADMAN, receive their own 4-issue miniseries at DARK HORSE next May. In related news, by freak chance, this reporter bumped into director Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, The Faculty) at the LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT on Thursday, where we chatted about the MADMAN feature film he'll tackle after working on his current film. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Ramblings 99 Rich Johnston twisting@hotmail.com [Renamed for the new year, Ramblings 99 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: 18 July 1999 Pretty Windy City News reaches us from the Chicago Comic Convention: As we previously rambled, Garth Ennis is writing Punisher, and then no more ongoing comics series. He wants to do film but is not saying goodbye to the comic medium. As we previously rambled, Grant Morrison is also writing a Marvel Knight book... an old name but a new character. 6 issue, J. G. Jones on art. He's also off ongoing series Terry Moore is also off comics... after SIP ends, he wants to move to newspaper strips. DC Stories Elseworlds Eighty Page Giant What has been happening at DC? The heavily editorial hand has come down on high over a number of titles. Not so long ago, Warren Ellis was boasting that his Hellblazer storyline wasn't being changed after the recent US white school shootings, but recently... Firstly Elseworlds 80 Page Giant got pulled and pulped thanks to an intervention by Paul Levitz... see Comicon's Splash Page (www.comicon.com/splash) for more details. I bought a copy from my shop two weeks ago... apparently the UK doesn't merit the concern DC has over the US and Canada. And it was the story I bought the book for that seems to have caused all the trouble, Superman's Babysitter by Kyle Baker. There's at least one copy of the story on the net, at least for now. Look at all those run over, electrocuted and microwaved babies in the UK and Eire over the last fortnight! Amazing what damage a comic can do... I've got some spare copies, people, and am selling them at outrageously high prices. E-mail me on twisting@hotmail.com if you're interested. And that includes the DC staff who've already mailed me asking for a copy... Finals Finals has also had the heavy hand of judgment passed over it. Compared to a preview copy, the initial scene of a sniper shooting was gutted (although referred to later). Scavenger on rec.arts.comics.dc.vertigo summarized the changes: Page 1 Panel 4: The PE major activating the drug was just a turban wearing student walking by. Page 2 Panel 1: Todd says "urk" as his head explodes. Page 2 Panel 2: Students run and get shot from someone on top of a building. Page 2 Panel 3: Nerdish sniper on roof says (mini tape player is on the ledge recording notes) "...Alpha male, despite physical prowess, proves ineffective in dealing with unseen technological threat....companion female exhibits terror, apparent sense of loss upon death of male. Page 3, Panel 2 in the published version is across the entire top, showing an extra guard with gun. Guard on ground has a gun and is firing. Dialogue from prof says "Some abnormal psych major has a panic mentality theory HE wants to test forgetting...." Page 3 Middle Panel "But even dead (instead of so), Mr. Maurere, he's worked more on...." These scenes explain the crying and wounded students on page 7. Page 8 Panel 1: Guard selling rifle says : "But HE only fired four...." We hope to be able to visually show the differences in an upcoming column. Planetary/Authority And Warren Ellis has been having trouble with the DC guys too. When questions were asked about the lateness of Wildstorm books, and why DC hadn't had a positive impact in that regard, Nat Gertler responded " Some of the thing that makes some Wildstorm book late, DC has no control over." Warren Ellis replied further "And some of the things that make some Wildstorm books late, DC is directly responsible for." Curiosity pressed, Ellis was pushed into continuing "Bullsh** brainless legal questions over PLANETARY #5 led someone at DC to freeze production and printing of PLANETARY #4 (because the unnecessarily-questioned character at the heart of #5 appears for one panel in #4). And so #5 was frozen too, and then everything had to be pushed back because #4 was on hold for 2 weeks etc etc... and the only people who look bad to the audience in this are myself, John, Laura and John Layman, who've been doing nothing but breaking our backs to get the work out on time. Bryan and I have wrapped AUTHORITY #9. We're further ahead on that book than any Wildstorm creative team on any book in WS' history. But AUTH #5 has just been bumped back on the schedule. And what will be said? Marvel Tales. Inhumans And what about at Marvel? One user had a question about the recent portrayal of Namor and Sub-Mariner in the Inhumans, posting "And while I'm nitpicking, does everyone remember when Triton appeared fairly regularly in a previous Sub-Mariner run? Namor and Triton were pretty good buds, a fact you'd never guess from reading the last issue of Inhumans. Sure, Namor can be a cold fish at times :), but I thought his attitude toward Triton was completely unrealistic and flew in the face of the long-standing friendship they've maintained." Paul Jenkins replied "You don't know how right you are." Yet more company trouble? Who knows... However, Paul was able to announce "I'll also be working on a new series for MacFarlane soon called the Beyonders." We've also heard some murmurings about Paul Jenkins' big new project for Marvel Knights II but we can't talk yet. More when we can... Cable And what about Rob Liefeld? His new Cable issue, 71 just shipped. Well, Dave Haddy posted to rec.arts.comics.marvel.xbooks the latest latest Rob Liefeld plans for Cable. According to Dave, a Diamond rep said he was hearing a lot of questions about Cable and its cancellations/resolicitations with different artists. The schedule is now: CABLE #71 (drawn by Rob Liefeld) CABLE #72 (drawn by Chap Yaep) CABLE #73 (drawn by Rob Liefeld) CABLE #74 (drawn by Bernard Chang, new series penciler) Short run from Liefeld there, if it's true. And his studio mate even had to fill in an issue there... Doctor Doom Your Man At Marvel recently posted that a new Doctor Doom TPB will have a Jack Kirby pencilled and Klaus Janson inked cover? With all the fuss about Marvel not returning Kirby artwork for a long period, how were they able to hold onto this? Turns out the visual is from Klaus Janson's personal collection. So who will the art be returned to? Klaus? Kirby's estate? We'll wait and see... Sandman Recently, you'll be pleased to hear, Sandman (Marvel Universe) has become a "baddie" again. Which, for 80's Spidey fans is very strange indeed, especially when he says that he was faking his reformation. Funny, when Sandman was trying to move from convicted con to a good, working man, his thought balloons showing his sincerity, especially when he battled against the lack of trust of people like Spider-Man. This was a positive, optimistic move, showing that people can reform, that the example of superheroes can do good, and was a shift from the simple bash-them-up-and-throw-them-in-prison-until-they-escape-again formula. E-mail Marvel at the usual address if you share my views here. Meanwhile, I'm going to try a little something of my own... I Feel Like A Right Gibbon. Yes of course Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons have worked together since Watchmen... the world and his wife reminded me of The Spirit Adventures issue 1 (a great book) and a relevant 1963 issue. Large hand smacks forehead! ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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 #751 I don't have a thermometer in my office and I'm glad I don't. Because it's well over 90 degrees in the hallway outside my office, the hallway with the exhaust fan which supposedly keeps it cool. Which means that, if I were stupid enough to think about it, I'd have to conclude it must be over a hundred in my office. And if I did that, I would spontaneously combust. This is probably *not* the best day for me to be reading and reviewing STORMWATCH and THE AUTHORITY. Warren Ellis' stories for the former often made me angry and the latter is a continuation of the former. But, this being "It Boys Week" at TOT, I knew I'd have to review them sooner or later. As I am possibly already in Hell, this is as good or as bad a time as any. Explanatory paragraph. If you haven't been reading TOT on a daily basis, you may not know ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY included Ellis and Alan Moore on the mag's 1999 "It List" of the 100 most creative people in the entertainment biz. In honor of this recognition, I'm devoting this week's reviews to comics written by Ellis and Moore. Thus, we have..."It Boys Week." ****** WHY STORMWATCH PISSES ME OFF I'm going to try to compartmentalize my anger over aspects of STORMWATCH and, to a thankfully lesser extent, THE AUTHORITY, into this section so that I won't have to go on and on about it in the actual reviews of these comics. I'll start by directing my anger towards the to-my-mind skewered world view which is the basis for many of the stories Ellis has written for STORMWATCH. In the world according to STORMWATCH, the government of the United States of America routinely commits atrocities against its citizens and the citizens of other countries, atrocities that would make Nazi torturers blanch. It is an evil nation and the majority of its people who aren't actively involved in these crimes against humanity are stupid beyond belief because these crimes are going on right under their noses. With scarce exception, we Americans are either demons or imbeciles. The United Nations, on the other hand, is this shining beacon of international cooperation that, unlike the United States, can be trusted with biotechnology and teleportation technology and, but, of course, to make the world a better place. Never mind that, in the real world, it's pretty much ineffectual except when backed up by the United States. The United States of America...bad, bad. The United Nations...good, good. Warren Ellis...biting the hands that feed him. After all, DC Comics and Wildstorm are both American publishing companies. How can he bear to take their money? Okay, that last bit may not have been fair, but I've just read two years worth of STORMWATCH that, if its characterization of the American government and people were even remotely accurate, would have had me and my family fleeing to Canada. If the stories were just a bit snottier, Ellis could be French. (Oh, lighten up, it's a freaking joke!) The world of STORMWATCH is also a world where expedience is, apparently, considered heroism. Believe it or not, I do believe in the concept of self-defense, up to and including killing if that's the only way to preserve innocent lives. (Though I think one has to take into account the power levels of the heroes. Is killing always an acceptable defense when perhaps one's powers could handle a situation in other ways?) Yet, time and time again, we see the heroes of this book violate the rights of individuals and nations for their own benefit or for the benefit of what they perceive to be good for the world. Ellis says both STORMWATCH and THE AUTHORITY are about making the world a better place. I don't doubt his heroes believe that. But I do doubt their means to said end are as justifiable as they seem to believe they are. Those are my big problems with STORMWATCH and THE AUTHORITY. Now let's take a look at some other aspects of the books. ****** STORMWATCH I read STORMWATCH #42-50 (first series) and STORMWATCH #1-11 (second series) for this review. I'm not going to give you a blow- by-blow of these issues, but, instead, comment on those characters, events, and issues that caught my attention. While reading the first series of STORMWATCH, I always felt as if I were the slow kid in the class. Unlike in his HELLBLAZER tale [TOT #750; July 5], Ellis didn't do a very good job working "what has gone before" information into individual issues and the editor sticking a couple lines on the letters page at the back of the book didn't help much. They went to the other extreme in the second run of the book, putting so much info on the inside front cover that it could easily put off a new reader. I never quite warmed up to Tom Raney's artwork on the series. All too often it seemed to me he was sacrificing clarity of story for big showy action or design. It wasn't bad art by any stretch of the criticism, but it never impressed me. In a letter column, Ellis wrote about the "energy" Raney brought to their creative collaboration, but, if so, it was unfocused energy. Something positive? Some of the characters Ellis brought into or developed for STORMWATCH are wonderful. If I had to choose my favorite character, I would have a hard time deciding between Jenny Sparks and Jack Hawksmoor. If pushed, I'd probably pick Hawksmoor because his origin and powers are so interesting. I'd be hard-pressed, however, to find a more offensive story than the one in STORMWATCH #43. President Kennedy had a bastard son by Marilyn Monroe. The son is an insane killer and the Secret Service has been covering up his crimes and protecting him from the consequences of his murders. Even I were to subscribe to the anti- America nature of this series, I wouldn't believe such nonsense for a minute. "They" would have just killed the kid. On the other hand, STORMWATCH #44, which revealed much of the Jenny Sparks story, was a hoot and a half. Ellis and Raney took us through her past and, much to my delight, Raney imitated artistic styles for each era. Big fun. Most of the first series STORMWATCH issues I read lacked the zing of later Ellis material. STORMWATCH #45 was a Battalion solo story. It was an exciting tale, but the scenery-chewing villains had me rolling my eyes every time they spoke. Dullest issue of the run? That would be STORMWATCH #47 with its 22 pages of full-page pin-up shots by Jim Lee with a story hung on them. It had "emergency fill-in" written all over it. In another letter column, Ellis wrote that his entire initial run on the book leading up to "Change or Die" in STORMWATCH #48-50. In retrospect, that explains a lot. We learned, as if we didn't already know, that Weatherman Henry Bendix was evil and insane (and probably could have been elected president in the faux USA of this series). We watched some characters get bumped off. And we knew it was but a lead-in to another STORMWATCH series. The whole thing was so darned obvious. Informational note. The recently-released STORMWATCH: CHANGE OR DIE trade paperback ($14.95) collects stories from STORMWATCH #48-50, STORMWATCH PREVIEW #1, and STORMWATCH (second series) #1-3. Not a bad price, but I suspect you can find most of these issues in the bargain box at your local comics store. I will give Ellis credit for a good twist ending on the eight- page tale that appeared in STORMWATCH PREVIEW #1, but not for the "ends justify means" tenor of the story. But then, it also annoyed me when the Superman of the 1960s played cruel tricks on Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen "for their own good." New artist Oscar Jimenez didn't excite me either. Counting this preview tale, he had four different inkers in as many outings. The STORMWATCH artwork was just kind of there until the arrival of Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary in issue #4. Quick quiz. Can you imagine how thrilled I was at those evil Americans being the villains of STORMWATCH #1-3? I thought so. If it wasn't for Fiji's second issue revelation--and Ellis' clever explanation of same--that he has an orgasm every five minutes, the first story arc would have been a total loss. STORMWATCH #4-6 were a great improvement. Ellis introduced Apollo and The Midnighter--rough analogues of Superman and Batman-- into the book and even granted them some nobility and respect. The Hitch/Neary artistic team was the best the series ever had. And we even got to see new Weatherman Jackson King experience some pangs of regret over certain of his actions. STORMWATCH #7-9 was also pretty good stuff as we got a look at a parallel world where Jack Hawksmoor was the Weatherman and in the process of having his super-powers removed. I wasn't thrilled by the ending of the story--which did our Weatherman no credit--but I understood the why and wherefore of it. Ellis was already setting the stage for THE AUTHORITY. STORMWATCH #10 was a disappointment, not anything more than a prologue for the WILDCATS/ALIENS special. I never saw the special, but, were I a paying customer, I think I'd resent major STORMWATCH developments going down in said special. Especially given that at least half of STORMWATCH #11 was then devoted to recapping what had happened in that special...sans the licensed aliens. Not that there weren't some good moments in the final issue of STORMWATCH. I took a certain satisfaction in seeing Jenny Sparks finally take out Henry Bendix and a certain sadness in the United Nations kissing off Stormwatch. Of course, the UN did blame this decision on the US not paying its dues, but I'm going to let Ellis have that one. The Republicans should be ashamed for playing hack politics with our financial responsibilities to the organization. Bad Republicans, bad, bad. Seventeen hundred words and I haven't gotten to THE AUTHORITY yet. But, what with the tips of my fingers beginning to melt and drip all over the keyboard, I think we'll pick this up again on the morrow. See you then. Tony Isabella June 29, 1999 ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [7] SOME PAGES, A COVER, AND A FEW STAPLES Marlan Harris mar93@aol.com [Marlan Harris lives and works in Burbank, CA.] My THE 10 BEST ARTISTS IN COMICS column will have to wait until next week. I'd usually prefer to use my time here in the CBEM to stick just to reviews and opinions and such but this week I'll tie up some loose ends, mostly from my last column, and come at you with some short stuff. First is a reply I made to a fellow CBEM reader who wrote to discuss my review of PROPHECY OF THE SOUL SORCERER from last time. I don't feel that I need to defend my opinions or anything I say in this column, but it did initiate an interesting debate and brought up a number of topics I've been meaning to discuss but couldn't find a angle to them. What follows are the reader's original comments and my response(s) immediately following. I have not abbreviated or altered the reader's comments, though I have switched around the order for my own purposes. Hopefully my taking what he said slightly out of context does not defile his original argument(s). If I do, I sincerely apologize. And my many thanks to the reader for his time to send me his comments and thoughts. READER: I usually don't comment on reviews but I thought your review of Prophecy of the Soul Sorcerer was down right mean. I bought the book at a convention and thought it was cool. MAR: To each his/her own. READER: I also saw book 2 and the art is much better. MAR: It couldn't possibly be any worse. READER: The guys working on it changed artist because they knew the first book's art needed improvement but said they were a small company and needed the first book to get a better artist. MAR: The first step in the right direction. The second would be to stop attempting to produce a comic entirely. READER: Issue one seemed pretty convoluted to me too, honestly... the artist, wasn't able to make sense of the storytelling.....his pages were just not very readable.. I think THAT is what you picked up on... MAR: It's a hard thing to avoid. Not telling a legible story is the #1 sin in attempting to draw comics. If you can't tell a story with your pictures, you have no right to be seeing your work in print. Not that any person whose art is bad now can't get any better in the future. But the artist would have to want to get better, like taking art classes and drawing from real life, but that's usually too far to reach for the young turks these days that would much rather copy what someone else has drawn, and unfortunately in the case of this comic, that artist chose to copy from an artist who copies from other artists. I touched upon this in my review. READER: But let you tell it, shame on them for not having Mike Turner do the book. MAR: Sure, if they had Turner doing the art then I REALLY could have torn into them. READER: I think it's horrible when people rip up other stuff beyond the call of duty. MAR: I do, too. The comic in question deserved many more pages of criticism but I decided to cut my review short. READER: Who cares that LL Cool J liked the book. MAR: Exactly. Why that was even included in the text section is beyond me. Yes, I will concede that that text is not a part of the story itself, but the writer/publisher seemed intent on trying to add some extra credibility to the material with what he wrote on the inside covers. READER: That's not a review of the story. You didn't even say what the story was about. MAR: What parts I could decipher of the story weren't enough to even mention. It went from bland formula to nonsense, usually on the same page. Again, the art might have helped explain the story if the art was doing its job at all. READER: If LL liked it, that was his opinion. Why are you attacking him? He didn't work on the book. He had an opinion just like you did. MAR: And I didn't like it, so that's my opinion. READER: I would hope in the future you'd keep your reviews to the facts and not a personal attack on another human beings. MAR: I wasn't attacking the creator personally but rather the work. However, those text pages were indeed part of the comic so I wasn't about to discount them from my overall review. And as it so happens, since the text pages were on such a personal level from the creator/publisher, any comments I made about his comments would be construed as a personal attack on him. READER: What you wrote was vicious. I'm glad I don't create comics. MAR: When you create something and release it to the public, you face the critics. It goes along with the job. But would you have wanted to discuss my review if I had written that it was the greatest comic that has ever existed? I know some critics, in the CBEM itself, who went crazy over the book and said in print that they thought it was great. Which is fine, I won't dispute that, as long as their opinion is informed and honest, and they're not just trying to get their name in a free review blurb as part of the comic's promotion. I'm not going to candy-coat my criticism(s) and I won't pull punches. And I certainly won't say something nice so the publishers will like me. I'm coming up on two years reviewing comics in the CBEM and in general and I've stuck to my rules all along. I won't stop now. READER: I also read the author's inside notes and met him. He's the most positive person I've come across in some time and what he wrote was motivational for anyone wanting to create something. MAR: Sounds like a good salesman. You certainly fell for it. The guy should work for the government. READER: He wasn't claiming to have the answer to comic books just trying to do one people could enjoy. It's easy to sit and pick, but hard to make. MAR: He's trying to get into the comics business any way he can, it seems to me. And hey, if he can get an animated show and action figure deal, then maybe he can make a living on it. There are way too many people who are making bad independent comics these days -- people who decide that comics must be an easy gig, and if someone like Todd McFarlane is making millions, hey, surely a person with half his talent can make half his money -- which is still a lot. These so-called creators don't have a story their soul is burning to tell and it's already obvious they don't have the will or discipline to even attempt to hone their skill(s) before presenting them to the public. And it's so common these days, that someone wants to get into comics without doing any of the work, that we're flooded with really bad comics that bring even fewer people into comics, if not pushing already existing comics fans away from the comics. I read every review of every comic that is in the CBEM, in addition to WIZARD and many other comics-reviewing magazines. I'd like nothing better than to read some good comics, whether they're published independently or not. I go to the conventions and I meet the creators and I hear their pitches about how great their comics are and I usually even give them the benefit of the doubt and buy the comics. And often they really, really stink. Now, I don't want to say that every or even most independent comic stink -- that's not what I'm implying at all. But I've been burned so many times by a nice cover or a slick sales pitch or a clever concept (that isn't executed well) or a fellow reviewer saying every damned comic that comes down the pike is great that I'm tired of even hearing reviews any more. Sure, the stuff Marvel and DC and Image and Dark Horse do may not always revolutionize the world, much less the comics world, but they have certain standards and I can expect a certain degree of quality and a return in entertainment value for the price I pay. There are no such standards with independent, self-published comics, so you're gambling your money away every time you decide that you might want to support these comic by an unknown creator and a new, unknown publishing company. I can't even bring myself to wish this publisher good luck. Sure, any comic that is successful is good for the comics market and the comics world and, in an indirect way, all comics readers. But we can't bring new comics readers -- our only salvation in a dying comics market -- and expect them to stay with bad comics like this. Yes, this may seem like a specific character attack, and perhaps it's not fair that I use this comic and its creator as an example, but I'm not going to hide my anger at seeing comics this bad with the potential of a possible, new comics reader picking it up and saying, "This is what comics are like these days? THIS SUCKS!" and staying away from all comics forever more. Someone has to stand up to this and there just aren't enough people in all of the comics world -- readers, retailers, publishers, and critics alike -- with enough backbone to say that this game has got to stop and demand better, or at least decent comics. And saying that you cast your vote with your dollar is ridiculous. By the time you find out how bad the comic is, you've already cast your vote: you paid for it. And when you don't buy any more comics, whether it's the next issue in that series or another comic from that publisher or any comic at all, everyone says it's a depressed market. READER: What an evil review. MAR: I would have said honest and to-the-point, but, again, to each his/her own. Thanks for e-mail. I welcome the discussion. I usually don't care to comment upon specific comics news or comics that aren't out yet, but I did see this in the always brilliant Newsarama: {Also in October's Shadowman #4, in part 2, or "Omega", of the special "flipbook" VH-1 story The Valiant Deaths Of Jack Boniface by Paul Creddick and Jim Starlin} I seem to recall reading in an article that "Paul Creddick" was the name that Jim Shooter used as an alias when he drew some of the first-year Valiant comics. I'm not trying to make this an issue, just wondering if it was or is indeed Jim Shooter who wrote this issue. And maybe even why. A CORRECTION_ Last time I wrote that MAGE #14 had me more excited than "since 1979 when I auditioned for Skatetown U.S.A. & Rollerboogie during my disco days!" The issue I meant was, in fact, MAGE #13, and I will add that the issue blew me away ­ literally ­ and that I give it a solid 10 out of 10! As a general rule I don't like reviewing friends' comics, but if I did, I would recommend checking out J. Torres' MONSTER FIGHTERS, INC. (Image) and LOVE IN TIGHTS (Slave Labor), and also Hurricane Comics' CHASSIS (Image) and, any day now, VIOLENT MESSIAHS. I also left out some information in my paragraph or two about local comics stores. Meltdown Comic's phone number is 323-851-7223 and their web site is located at www.meltcomics.com. Absolutely worth checking out. I'd also like to use this space as my semi-regular thanks to Rick Cortes, roommate, artist, co-creator (with J. Torres and Logan Lubera) of MONSTER FIGHTERS, INC. (again, check it out!), who supplies me with many of the comics I review in this column. And also a round of applause to David LeBlanc, the CBEM's editor, who brings together this e-mag week after week. He does an exceptional job, making it my distinct pleasure and honor to be a part of the CBEM. mar93@aol.com Http://members.aol.com/mar93/BoneMachine.html ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [8] Stranger in a Strange Land Jennifer M. Contino Jencomx3@aol.com [Jennifer M. Contino is 27 and a life-long lover of comics books and super heroes! While most girls were playing with Barbies and watching cute little shows, she was playing with Mego's and watching the Superfriends and any other super hero show she could find on the television! NOW almost 19 years later she owns over 26000 comics, has written some interviews for SEQUENTIAL TART--the online e-zine, is a frequently published letter of comment writer and is the official HOST of the DC COMICS chats on AOL! She is pursuing work in the comics field at DC and is trying to start her own independent comics company!] "YOu're MY EVerything!" I almost quit reading comics altogether about three times in my life! Once was in the mid 1980's when I was around 13 and my family was begging me to begin to act like a TEENAGER and leave the childish comic books behind. But then again if I ever listened to my family I'd probably be a lawyer or something now and be making tons of money....(*heh*) The second time was when I graduated high school in 1990 and began college. My father lost his job and money was tight. I just couldn't justify spending 20 bucks a week on comics. (*Heh..a part time job and some tutoring soon afforded me the opportunity to continue collecting comics!*) THE third time is more recent. ABOUT six months ago I took a serious look at the comics I was getting and at how much I enjoyed each title. I tried to list reasons that I was still buying X-Men, Wonder Woman, Impulse, Battlestar Galactica, LSH, and many others. I found it hard to think about what I did or didn't like about those titles and how much of it was just old habit! THINK about it folks...how many of us are buying every single bat book or super man book because it is habit...we like the characters, but we might not be liking what has gone on lately or what is going on in the current storylines. We're just kinda buying the titles out of habit. We've always bought all these comics so we are going to keep buying them...but do we really like them?? I LOVE Wonder Woman..that is one of the reasons I got into comic books was the TV series and her appearances on the SUPERFRIENDS. I wanted to be WONDER WOMAN--well till I was introduced to Wonder Girl then I decided that she was more suited to my tastes. Any ways...I have not really liked the WONDER WOMAN comics since the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTH'S (*ok all together now pre crisis fans...***DAMN CRISIS!**) I HAVE almost every single issue of the current series, but THERE are only about twenty issues total that I like---yet I continue to keep getting each new issue and appearance. WHY is that?? Because I am afraid to miss something--no matter how bad it is?? OR just because I am like an ADDICT and I can't give up any of my addiction! (*heh*) DID you ever think about it? Comics as an addiction I mean. OF course they are not as dangerous as BOOZE or CIGARETTES but just as powerful! I can remember not being able to go a week without the new books! I had to have my new books the day they came out or else I was upset. NOT just upset...like sad or something..but really totally BOTHERED if I did not get my books when they came out. AND before the comic book store opened I was POSITIVELY sick to my stomach if I missed an issue because THERE were no back issue bins here and IF I missed an issue..I was screwed! OH the pain..Oh the agony...HOW CAN I LIVE without this issue? I remember there was a TItans/OUTSIDERs crossover all those years ago and the newsstand did not get the BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS comic so I missed the conclusion---DROVE me crazy! I NEEDED the conclusion! HOW COULD this happen??? HOW could the comic book industry do this to me?? HOW COULD DC DO This to me?!! *sigh* BUT YOU get the idea! I used to cry if my parents would not take me to the newsstand. I WOULD get very upset if someone would touch one of my comics. YOU BENT THE CORNER! YOU ruined my mint condition comic book! HOW could you do this? Hah..I can laugh now when I see one of my little cousins turning the cover clear to the back of one of my issues or accidentally ripping something, BUT Years ago I WOULD have gone all ballistic on them. I"m just wondering how many of us can remember that stage..or if some of us are still in that stage...COMICS ARE MY LIFE.....wake up mister or missy....THEY are not your LIFE there is a lot more out there..a LOT of better things out there! THink about it ok? ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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. ] One of the things that always bugged me about being a comics fan when I was a kid was that it was really hard to find stuff ABOUT comics. There seemed to be so few books about them, and the ones that did exist were often either very specific or real puff pieces produced by a particular company's publicity department. There was nothing that told you how it all fit together, and gave you an idea of what was good and what was bad. The web has, of course, made finding this information a hell of a lot easier - it's hard to remember just how little I knew about different comics companies or comics history a few years ago, because I've just absorbed so much off the web. But sometimes the web just isn't enough - it's too quick, too flighty, too NOW. Don't get me wrong, I love that sort of stuff, but sometimes you need to read something that has a view of the bigger picture. That's not just about this month's releases, or this summer's "event". Which is why I read THE COMICS JOURNAL. That noise you've just heard is the sound of a thousand redirected browsers. "The JOURNAL? That magazine for old farts who only like miserable autobiographical comics, and who hate all superheroes? Why would you waste your money on that?". TCJ has a funny rep in the comics world doesn't it? Lots of people are so appalled by its image and reputation that they won't go near it. Other people who should be friends of TCJ have been alienated because of a feud or a perceived slight. Some people say it's not as good as it used to be. Others say it was never any good, and only serves as an advertisement for the comics published by its parent company Fantagraphics. I don't know about such things. But I'll tell you why I like it. TCJ does the only really good, comprehensive interviews with the cream of comics creators. Once you've read a good TCJ interview you pretty much know the subject's career inside out. And the interviews are usually interesting even if you don't like or even know the work of the subject. Often I'll hunt down some of the work mentioned. A couple that spring to mind are STARMAN and ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY. And that I got into those two titles gives you a good idea of the sort of range TCJ has. They have really good news stories that pull together a lot of the web stuff you've read in dribs and drabs. They have long and copiously illustrated articles. They're not afraid to say they think something is shit, but they're not shy about what they like. There's lots of different voices writing for them, and as the recent individual top 100 lists proved, they don't agree on too much at all. But they still have a feel of being cohesive and tight. And I've got to say that TCJ's message board adds to the fun as well. Many of the contributors post there, and they take the opportunity to air their bad blood, as well as illustrate their opinions. Kim Thompson and Gary Groth, legendary co-publishers also flex their muscles over there. I crossed Kim once, and, boy is he good when he wants to shred people with words. Anyone who hangs out at comicon.com knows what brilliantly acerbic pair these two are, and their personalities seem to permeate the magazine, even when they write nothing for it. Of course its not all peaches and cream. The JOURNAL does have a haughty attitude at times. They do show contempt for most mainstream books, and perhaps a little too much respect for stuff that's "worthy" rather than entertaining. But they take comics seriously, and a serious mindset requires a serious attitude at times. But my main problem is that I sometimes feel out of place reading it. I've never been much of a theoretician, so theory articles bore me. There seem to be so few reviews of comics I've even heard of, let alone read, and that can be discouraging. There's an implied sense of failure if you don't really TRY to discover all the hip stuff they're talking about. There's a certain clubiness that makes it hard to feel like you're a part of what's going on. Still, most of the time I'd rather be challenged that pandered to. Although a little pandering can be nice. David Groenewegen davidhar@lib.monash.edu.au ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [10] Multiverse Observer and Explorer Reviews Paul Dale Roberts silhouet9@aol.com [Paul promotes amateur and professional comic book artwork, scripts, storylines, and unpublished comic books with a newsletter called the Peoples' Comic Book Newsletter. Its website is at Jazma Comic Book Newsletter Productions at http://www.jazmaonline.com/ He is also a prominent letter hack, as anyone who reads comic letter pages would know. He is in production of his own self-published comic book called The Legendary Dark Silhouette and has copyrighted over 600 characters for his Jazma Universe.] MOE Sidenote: Right now at A1 Comics, you will find on their racks the following: Tekken2 #1 by Knightstone, How to Draw Japanimation, Journeyman Preview by Image, Box Office Poison #1 by Antarctic Press, Peter Bagge's Buddy's Got Three Moms, Seeker 1 of 1 by Caliber Core, Trekker #1 by Image and a whole lot more! For more information contact Brian Peets, owner of A1 Comics at: A1Comics@quiknet.com Name: Stray Bullets #20 Publisher: El Capitan Written and Drawn by: David Lapham Price: $2.95 Comments: Stray Bullets #20, started off like a Psycho movie, with that mysterious motel, that reminded me of the Bates Motel. I was expecting Norman Bates to walk out, but instead we get Frank who is profusely sweating from the heat. This story was written in the equality to "A Streetcar Named Desire". Perfection in its finest. I felt nervous for Mr. Smith....oops!....or should I say Philip, as he sets off on his rendezvous with Rachel. If you have an established and loving relationship with your wife, there is no way in Hell, that you want to ruin it with a fling. Having an affair is plain dangerous, hadn't Philip ever watched "Fatal Attraction"? Of course Rachel wants more and becomes possessive of poor Philip. Philip has false hopes of getting a message to this naive woman, by telling her..."I love my wife". Ya, right Philip, you should have thought about that a long time ago. 20 years of marriage is a "rock of Gibraltar" and now its going to be destroyed in a blink of the eye? Of course, Rachel tries to manipulate the affair with her instant turn-on, the negligee ploy. I was yelling in the background..."Philip, have control!" Nope, no such doing, as Philip gets right into the steamy part of things and dumb Philip allows himself to be blindfolded, while Rachel calls his wife and allows her to hear everything during their lovemaking over the phone. From a dramatic story, this instantly became a horror story for every married man! For Philip's wife Cynthia, to hear that Rachel is better than Cynthia, laid out the groundwork for divorce. Then the scene switch to Cynthia as she ponders why her life went down the toilet with Philip and why couldn't he control himself? Rachel herself is a loser, as she desires a married man. I was completely surprised on the change of events as that big guy named Monster (by the way, he was one scary dude!) and his crew broke into the motel to seek out Professor Philip Wallis, all because they wanted Philip to break a secret math code of some sort. Philip is quite helpless as he is left with his pants down and refusing to cooperate, leads to heavy violence. From the start of this story, I hated Rachel for the way she was, but at the end, she was with her wounded Philip and telling him to hang on and to think of Cynthia. Here is when the story became a sad romance drama. This story was brilliantly put together! Name: Buzzboy Preview Publisher: Peregrine Entertainment Written and Drawn by: John Gallagher Comments: Buzzboy is now published at Peregrine Entertainment, check out their website at: http://www.peregrine-entertain.com and the original Buzzboy mini-series is still available at: http://www.skydogpress.com To get information on Buzzboy, write John Gallagher at: jbgallag@aol.com or snail mail him at: Sky Dog Press, 2911 McComas Avenue, Kensington, MD 20895 Get a 4-pack of Buzzboy for a measly $10.00! This is a story about Buzzboy, a sidekick who never grew up and his battle to save the world! In the preview, the villain called Silencer is trying to put New Paradise to its knees, by censoring all books, radios and television transmissions. Silencer has the powers to jam peoples' minds. This in effect causes people to open a book and find nothing but blank pages. This is sinister and it's up to Buzzboy and his trusty buzzbelt to stop this treacherous villain. Silencer gets a big lecture from Buzzboy to stop sacrificing other peoples' freedom. Hilarious fun romp with the world's most upbeat hero! If I knew this comic book existed during the time President Clinton was having problems with the Monica Lewinsky trial, I would have mailed him a copy of Buzzboy personally, to get him back into high spirits again!! Fun story, cool artwork, you got to try this baby out! Like Austin Powers says..."Yeah, Baby!" Name: Elvira - Mistress of the Dark #75 Publisher: Claypool Comics Written by: Frank Strom & Jo Duffy Drawn by: Ron Sutton & Jim Mooney/pencils Louis Lachance & Bruce Patterson/inks Price: $2.50 Comments: Two great movies are coming out and I would love Elvira to review them and that would be "The Haunting" and "Mystery Men". These movies would be perfect for our voluptuous hostess! Ok, get me out of dreamland and back to Elvira #75! Elvira sets the film festival aside to assist her friend Diane Duall in her time of need. Just like Elvira to put her friends first, before pleasure. No part of the world is hidden for Elvira as she takes off in Air Madagascar and heads to the island of the same name, off the coast of Africa. Diane Duall seems like a straight laced lady, that focuses hard on her work, as she studies the social structure of the Lemur. Elvira sure had a string of bad luck, as she didn't enjoy her flight, then getting a flat tire in the middle of the jungle and being chased away by the Shaman and his tribe. The only good thing that came out of this whole mess, was when Elvira placed the loin cloth around her body. She looked better than the women portrayed in the movie "Dinosaur Island". Tarzan would have left Jane for sure, if he could have seen Elvira on that mutant Komodo dragon! The Secret Empire of W.H.I.S.P.E.R. had a touch of spy genre from Austin Powers to James Bond to In Like Flint to Man from U.N.C.L.E. to Mission Impossible. I had a good laugh as no one knew what WHISPER stood for, since it was a secret. Rah, rah for the return of Silent Q! Silent Q is one of my favorite characters and he could probably spin off in his own comic book! Like the movie "Island of Dr. Moreau", evil experiments were taking place by WHISPER on the tribe and Elvira thought she placed the balance of good and evil in motion and gets the shock of her life as Silent Q is hijacking the return flight that Elvira is on! Yep, looks like Elvira is going to miss that film festival. Anxiously awaiting to see how this will conclude! In "Mean Spirit", I found this story to be only too funny as Elvira compares the book fair signing as a "ghost town". Now this joke busted my buttons, the mentioning of the book by Monica (Lewinsky) - Kneeling in the Presence of Greatness..."Yeah Baby!" Hilarious, absolutely hilarious! Great mystery solved on who was doing the zany revisions of the books and that being no other than the ghost of Jacqueline Peabody! I did notice Soul Searchers and Company, Addam's Family and Alfred E. Newman in the crowd all waiting for Elvira's autograph! Righteously funny and two great stories in one comic book!! Name: Spirit of the Tao #11 Publisher: Image/Top Cow Written by: D-Tron Drawn by: Billy Tan/pencils Team Tron's D-Tron, Andy Kim, Jeff De Los Santos/inks Price: $2.50 Comments: D-Tron really got this story moving as Renae is running from her monstrous Tao husband David, right from the beginning. It's a shame that the Tao virus consumes David's rational thinking process and now he will devour anything, even his wife. Perhaps there was no hope for David and it was the best thing for him, to run into Lord Torpid. What a horrifying way to go, as Lord Torpid consumes David in front of Renae. Renae has been through a lot and now this? As the scene shifts to Jaime, I see more things that were once hidden in the shadows are now coming to light. As Jaime is told that her mother is still alive and well. That was only the icing on the cake as the ending beckons for Jaime to set in motion, that the Tao virus infects every human being, so the world can be restored. Jaime learns that if the Tao is destroyed, so will the children of the Tao, who now live in harmony with nature. The children of the Tao live in a reality of perfection, a reality of paradise and their whole lives could be destroyed if Jaime doesn't take the responsibility of stopping Project Dynamics from destroying the Tao. The Jaikap Lair was forbidding, but beautiful and hides the horrors of the dead hanging upside down within its walls. Billy Tan did a majestic job on this issue! The story ran smoothly with each panel! Spirit of the Tao #11 was another work of brilliance! MOE Sidenote: You will find at Bizarro World in Davis, California the following comic books on their racks: Jim Starlin's Wyrd - The Reluctant Warrior by Slave Labor Graphics, Cadillacs & Dinosaurs 3-D by Kitchen Sink Press, Steve Jackson's Gurps and a whole lot more, for more information they can be reached at (530) 759-9490. Multiverse Observer and Explorer signing off until next time...... Name: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Angel #3 Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Written by: Chris Golden Drawn by: Hector Gomez/pencils Sandu Florea/inks Price: $2.95 Comments: God bless America! God bless Dark Horse Comics for continuing to churn out those Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic books! Buffy the Vampire Slayer #3 was excitement beyond compare! It's nice to have this series continue through the summer, when Buffy on tv are reruns. A perfect fix. Chris Golden got this story moving as the reader sees Angel on the hunt for a demon called The Hollower. Before Angel confronts the Hollower, he confronts a very angry vampiress named Catherine. Angelus aka Angel was much more callous in the days of Vienna 1894, as he didn't seem to care when Catherine was in the grips of the tentacles of the Hollower. Catherine hadn't forgotten Angel's abandonment of her and came on with a strong vengeance, I thought Angel was in trouble for sure. Angel must of had a few lumps in his throat, knowing that he was going to face the Hollower in a do or die match. If it wasn't for Buffy and Giles, I think the Hollower would have gotten the best of Angel. It was quite interesting on how the Hollower was hiding in the waste water treatment plant, to mask his scent. Buffy like a true warrior attacks the Hollower with fierce intensity. Giles who is the behind-the- scenes type of guy, finds the final solution in how to deal lethal punishment against the Hollower and uses Angel as the point man of his plan. I am left with wondering what would have happened if the Hollower would have torn out the demon soul of Angel? Would the human soul remained? I guess I will never know. It was nice to see a happy ending with Angel and Buffy in a romantic scene. This is true love. Great issue once again, now let's talk about different categories of vampires. Here is something I learned recently. There are 4 types of vampires in our real world. 1. Blood vampires. People who desire the taste of blood. 2. Energy vampires (also known as Mental vampires). Example: Like your old history teacher who with his monotone voice would drain the energy from your being, causing you to fall asleep in his class. 3. Sexual vampires. People who feel energized from amorous relationships. 4. Physical vampires. Example: Your drill sergeant who pushes you until you fall out unconscious and gets some kind of deep satisfaction from this accomplishment. Well, there you go, one to grow on! ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [11] 6th Annual Wizard Fan Awards WizardWorld The yearly awards as voted by readers of WIZARD MAGAZINE Originally posted to: http://www.wizardworld.com/nafziw/nnaht6/wiz_fan_awrd6.html ------------------------------------------------------ o Favorite writer Kurt Busiek o Favorite penciler George Perez o Favorite inker Jimmy Palmiotti o Favorite painter Alex Ross o Favorite colorist Liquid Graphics o Favorite letterer Richard Starkings and Comicraft o Favorite editor Bob Harras o Favorite hero Wolverine Marvel Comics o Favorite heroine Witchblade Top Cow Productions o Favorite villain Sabretooth Marvel Comics o Favorite supporting character Commissioner Gordon DC Comics o Favorite ongoing series Uncanny X-Men Marvel Comics o Favorite one-shot or mini-series Superman For All Seasons DC Comics o Favorite publisher Marvel Comics o Favorite comic merchandise Marvel Collector Editions: All-New, All-Different X-Men gift pack Toy Biz o Favorite comic TV or movie project "Blade" movie New Line Cinema o Comics' Greatest Moment:1998 X-Men reunited in new lineup, Uncanny X-Men #360 and X-Men #80 Marvel Comics ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [12] TOP 100 COMICS July Diamond Comics Distributors Rankings are based on orders placed by retailers and reflect total units ordered not dollar values of total ordered. Unit prices are given for reference only. This is NOT a list of comics that sold the most copies to the consumers - it is a list of ORDERS by DEALERS. 1 UNCANNY X-MEN #372 $1.99 MAR 2 X-MEN #92 $1.99 MAR 3 RISING STARS #1 $2.50 IMA 4 SPAWN #88 $1.95 IMA 5 ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 $2.50 MAR 6 AVENGERS #20 $1.99 MAR 7 JLA #33 $1.99 DC 8 WOLVERINE #142 $1.99 MAR 9 EARTH X #6 $2.99 MAR 10 DAREDEVIL #11 $2.50 MAR 11 FATHOM #8 $2.50 IMA 12 SPAWN: THE UNDEAD #2 $1.95 IMA 13 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #9 $1.99 MAR 14 FANTASTIC FOUR #21 $1.99 MAR 15 THOR #15 $1.99 MAR 16 PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #9 $1.99 MAR 17 WOLVERINE/PUNISHER #4 $2.99 MAR 18 CAPTAIN AMERICA #21 $1.99 MAR 19 AVENGERS FOREVER #10 $2.99 MAR 20 CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS II #1 $2.50 MAR 21 WILDCATS VOL. 2 #4 $2.50 DC 22 SPAWN: THE DARK AGES #5 $2.50 IMA 23 IRON MAN #20 $1.99 MAR 24 MUTANT X #12 $2.99 MAR 25 JLA ANNUAL #3 $2.95 DC 26 JSA #2 $2.50 DC 27 TOP TEN #1 $3.50 DC 28 CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS II #2 $2.50 MAR 29 BATMAN #569 $1.99 DC 30 X-MEN: TRUE FRIENDS #1 $2.99 MAR 31 CABLE #71 $1.99 MAR 32 X-MEN UNLIMITED #24 $2.99 MAR 33 DETECTIVE COMICS #736 $1.99 DC 34 CYGOR #1 $2.50 IMA 35 SIN CITY HELL & BACK #1 (MR) $2.95 DAR 36 CRIMSON #13 $2.50 DC 37 GAMBIT #8 $1.99 MAR 38 GENERATION X #55 $1.99 MAR 39 HULK #6 $1.99 MAR 40 X-FORCE #94 $1.99 MAR 41 GALACTUS: THE DEVOURER #1 (RES) $3.50 MAR 42 INHUMANS #11 $2.99 MAR 43 SPIDER-WOMAN #3 $1.99 MAR 44 GREEN LANTERN #116 $1.99 DC 45 NIGHTWING #35 $1.99 DC 46 SPIDER-MAN CHAPTER 1 #11 $2.50 MAR 47 BATMAN LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #121 $1.99 DC 48 THUNDERBOLTS #30 $1.99 MAR 49 BATMAN SHADOW OF THE BAT #89 $1.99 DC 50 DEATHLOK #1 $1.99 MAR 51 FLASH #152 $1.99 DC 52 X-51 #1 $1.99 MAR 53 LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN #4 $2.95 DC 54 TITANS #7 $2.50 DC 55 X-MAN #55 $1.99 MAR 56 TOM STRONG #4 $2.95 DC 57 DIVINE RIGHT #11 $2.50 DC 58 PROMETHEA #2 $2.95 DC 59 SPIDER-GIRL #12 $1.99 MAR 60 PREACHER #53 (MR) $2.50 DC 61 DARKNESS: INFINITY $3.50 IMA 62 POKÉMON VOL. 3: ELECTRIC PIKACHU BOOGALOO #1 $3.50 VIZ 63 BATMAN ANNUAL #23 $2.95 DC 64 SUPERMAN #148 $1.99 DC 65 DEATHLOK #2 (2 Covers) $1.99 MAR 66 ACTION COMICS #757 $1.99 DC 67 X-51 #2 (2 Covers) $1.99 MAR 68 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #570 $1.99 DC 69 BATMAN & SUPERMAN: WORLD'S FINEST #6 $1.99 DC 70 SUPERMAN THE MAN OF STEEL #92 $1.99 DC 71 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #11 (2 Covers) $2.95 DAR 72 GAMBIT 1999 $3.50 MAR 73 KISS: PSYCHO CIRCUS #22 $2.25 IMA 74 ALLEY CAT #1 $2.50 IMA 75 YOUNG JUSTICE #12 $2.50 DC 76 BLACK PANTHER #11 $2.50 MAR 77 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: ANGEL #3 (2 Covers) $2.95 DAR 78 ROBIN #68