---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden Present: THE COMIC BOOK NET ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE ISSUE NUMBER 227 8/20/99 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] 1999 Eisner Award Winners ............. Comic Book Resources [7] And Let Me Tell You Why ............... David Coulter [8] Stranger in a Strange Land ............ Jennifer M. Contino [9] Venting My Spleen ..................... David Groenewegen [10] M.O.E. Reviews ........................ Paul Dale Roberts [11] My View: .......................... David LeBlanc [12] New Comic Book Releases List .......... Charles LePage [13] 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 Carrying forward with the discussion of Anonymous letters in the last two issues, You will find another take on the subject in out Co-Pick of the Week Comic, GEEKSVILLE #1. It turns out the 3 geeks are involved with the subject and have very strong feelings about letter hacks who appear in lots of comics, with fake names. I do not want to spoil the story, except to say it is also a take-off on the famous episode of SIENFELD which had every scene in reverse order - the firs twas the present and the last was prior to Jerry actually moving in to the apartment. Also in this issue is the latest installment of the best comic book IMHO, now joining the 3 Geeks in this anthology, INNOCENT BYSTANDER. Gary Sassaman takes a life experience look at smoking with a keen understanding we can all appreciate. And, I would be remiss in not mentioning our other co-Pick, SINNAMON SAGA #1. The sexiest super heroine holds a special place with us as my review of her first series debut, SINNAMON #1, appeared in the very first issue of this magazine way back in February 1995. Angelo Furlan has always entertained with his unique writing, breathing new life into the super hero genre, and some damn good artists have supported his work. The next chapter begins this week so check it out. And check out all of these efforts too: CRUCIAL COMICS Rat Bastard #6 (resolicited), 1.95 DC COMICS Flash & Green Lantern The Brave & The Bold #1 (Of 6), 2.50 Gen 13 #44, 2.50 JSA #3, 2.50 LAW (Living Assault Weapons) #2 (Of 6), 2.50 Promethea #3, 2.95 Titans #8, 2.50 IMAGE COMICS Savage Dragon #65, 2.50 MARVEL COMICS Black Panther #10, 2.50 Captain America #22, 1.99 Thunderbolts #31, 1.99 OLLIE OLLIE OXEN FREE PRESS Collected Innocent Bystander Vol 1 (AA), 9.95 TERRA MAJOR Roland Days Of Wrath #2 (Of 4), 2.95 THREE FINGER PUBLICATIONS---| Geeksville #1, 2.75 | <--------PICKS OF THE WEEK! HUZZAH!! CATFISH COMICS | Sinnamon Saga #1, 2.75-| This week we have lots of stories from the goings on in San Diego, including this year's EISNER winners. Summer's almost gone for lots of people who are back in school in just one week. I guess that makes next week's issue our Back-To-School special, Hmm.... 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. +++++ Subj: Just Another Day At The Office? From: lira@trinidad.net (lira) Dear David, I have always wondered what persons would do if placed in extra-ordinary "what if" situations. For example, what would you do if you had found yourself transported onto the Planet of the Apes and the characters were behaving as if you were the Main star? Here is the catch, the only solution that you could come up with to escape the situation is to resolve the calamity that Charleton Heston had to deal with. However, you are not sure that it would bring you back to your own reality. I think it is of interest to explore the psychology and personality of the person. It is interesting to see how different people would react. Comic books or to put it on a grander scale, the authors of science fiction & fantasy genres create enticing situations that could make us wonder "what would I do?". The end results would be that we find out plus or minus points about ourselves that cause us to 1. refuse to acknowledge about ourselves 2 discover reserves of inner strengths and thus gain confidence and 3 simply re-affirm information about ourselves that we always knew to name a few. Then again, there may be some of us who "escaping the ordinary" may have no impact at all. All in all, it is a rare opportunity to embark on a journey that would be considered the greatest adventure of them all. The exploration of self. What do you think? Are there situations depicted in comics, fantasy novels etc that may have caused you to wonder "what would I do?" Thanks Julian +++++ Subj: I'm right with you on the faux-millennium thing... From: Jim_Adcock@Dell.com I've been playing that tune for months. But it does no good. Millennium fever is a misnomer. its not the coming of a new millennium that makes people crazy, its seeing all those zeroes. That, and remember we're talking about *PEOPLE*, not to mention *AMERICANS*. Sigh. Almost given up on the species... Jim Adcock, MCSE Senior Technician Dell MACSD Technical Support ["Standing at the crossroads of what is, will be, and was The obvious eludes us. Not because the zeroes line up, we should change our way of thought. More if we do not, the way ahead is dangerously fraught." Graeme Edge - "Nothing Changes" - 1999 ] -D.L. +++++ From: Silhouet9@aol.com Subject: Proposal for a The Comic Book Time Capsule Proposal for The Comic Book Time Capsule I recently saw that Times Square is celebrating the Millennium with a Year 2000AD Time Capsule. I propose that the Comic Industry start their own time capsule, in which we can gather various independent and mainstream comic books, comic book magazines, comic book newsletters and place them in our own Comic Book Time Capsule to be buried in a undetermined location. We can set the date for burial in August 2000AD, giving us a full year to prepare the contents of the Comic Book Time Capsule. We can have special letters from creators of various comic books. Creators will be able to make their comments, their predictions for the future of the comic book industry and the comic book, as a literary art form. Example: Will comic books stop being printed on paper? Will they all be placed on the Internet or done in some kind of virtual method? Special interviews of various creators can also be placed as contents of the Comic Book Time Capsule. For anyone who wishes to contribute to the Comic Book Time Capsule, will be asked to pay an entry fee for his or her material. Contributors will be able to contribute their own sketches, scripts, and storylines for future comic book stories. When the Comic Book Time Capsule is dug up, 50 or 100 years from now, all of the contents can be placed into a book, in which all proceeds will go to the Comic Book Industry in whole. Sincerely yours, By Paul Dale Roberts, Publisher Jazma Universe Online! http://www.jazmaonline.com/ 5606 Moonlight Way Elk Grove, CA 95758 PRoberts@jazmaonline.com Silhouet9@aol.com +++++ From: Bill P Knapp Dear Jennifer, " and it just made me waiting-on baited breath ( heh what the heck does that expression mean any ways?)" I may not be the first person to ring in with this correction as I read CBEM over the course of the week (this section on Tuesday). However, just as an explanation, the correct phrase is "waiting with bated breath", meaning with the breath held in fear or excitement. The idea of someone standing around with bait breath sounds quite unpleasant. I'd wager that person will be waiting for some time. Bill Knapp Carbon-Based Books [I know I am waiting with bated breath for more comics from Carbon-Based Books Bill. - D.L.] +++++ Subj: cultural survey From: Frank.Furbush@kctcs.net Prior to the school year, the faculty at the local community colleges got together to exchange information with colleagues. At this meeting, a speaker shared with us information from a cultural survey he is doing around the South with incoming freshmen. As you might expect, it showed that there are a lot of people who don't know who the President is or how many states are in the Union. Curious about my own students, I decided to do my own survey. Being a long time comic reader, I was also curious as to how many people would recognize comic book people. I had 84 people, all female, answer my survey. The good news was that they all knew who the President was. Things weren't so good when it came to comics. While 56 people could identify Clark Kent as Superman, only 9 could identify Peter Parker as Spider-Man, 1 got Pogo right, and nobody could tell me who Stan Lee or Jack Kirby were. By the way, more people identified Louis Armstrong as the first man to walk on the moon than as a musician. Frank Furbush ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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: >What month and year saw the first two Marvel crossovers? >Bonus prize if you can name them both! This one must have caught the old Marvel Fans napping, but not Tony Baltulus who was quick to inform us that in March of 1963 Marvel had its first two crossovers: Fantastic Four #12 (w. the Hulk) and Amazing Spider-Man #1 (w. the FF). +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION: Who was on the cover of the comic that also had the first appearance of CONCRETE? 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 Acclaim Entertainment May Do `Shadowman' Movie: Forum Glen Cove, New York, Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Acclaim Entertainment Inc., a video-game software publisher, is considering turning its widely anticipated ``Shadowman'' title into a movie, Chief Executive Greg Fischbach said. ``Shadowman,'' based on a comic book published by Acclaim, is scheduled for release by year end. It features an ``undead'' hero who uses voodoo and other tactics to battle villains in venues ranging from London subways to Louisiana swamps. The game cost more than $6 million to develop, Fischbach said, compared to $1 million to $2 million for most premium titles. ``It is being considered for a motion picture as we speak,'' Fischbach told the Bloomberg Forum. ``It has a great story line and it is a very intriguing and inviting product.'' Several video games, such as ``Street Fighter'' and ``Wing Commander,'' have been turned into movies, with limited box office success. Eidos Plc, the U.K.'s No. 1 video game publisher, is working with Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures on a live action movie featuring its Lara Croft character from ``Tomb Raider.'' Fischbach also predicted strong sales for Acclaim during the holiday-shopping season, the busiest period of the year for video game companies. Acclaim will release as many as 12 more titles this year, he said. ``Our company has the strongest release schedule that we have ever put together,'' he said. Acclaim expects to boost its market share for game software for Nintendo Co.'s N64 system to 14 percent from 12 percent a year ago. Its market share for Sony Corp.'s PlayStation system will rise as high as 9 percent from 5 percent, Fischbach said. Acclaim also plans to focus on making more games for the PlayStation, doubling the number of titles within a year. New Products Both Sony and Nintendo, the No. 1 and No. 2 game console makers, plan to introduce new systems by next year's holiday shopping season, while No. 3 Sega Enterprises Ltd. will introduce its Dreamcast system in the U.S. in September. Acclaim almost collapsed during the last transition to new console technology. Its sales fell to $162 million in 1996 from $567 million a year earlier as consumers waited to buy the updated products. ``We're really a different company,'' Fischbach said. ``The major distinction is that we own our own brands, which we didn't own as we transitioned the platforms last time.'' Acclaim shares fell 1/4 to 6 9/16. They've fallen 46 percent this year, one of the worst performances among U.S. video-game publishers. +++++ Stan Lee Spins His Comicbook Magic Into a Web-Based Universe; First to Combine the World of Superhero Comics With the Internet For more information on this report or to preview the video go to: http://207.78.88.62/consumer/2845v.ram ENCINO, Calif., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Stan Lee Media (OTC Bulletin Board: SLEE) has announced public trading under its new symbol SLEE. The mission of the company is to develop unique and licensable characters and character-driven content for use on the Internet and in other distribution channels. The company's chairman and chief creative officer is Stan Lee, who earlier founded Marvel Comics and created Spider Man, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, X-Men, and many other famous Super Heroes. Stan Lee Media was founded in January 1999 and became public through a merger with a public firm. After the merger, Stan Lee Media's shareholders owned more than 80% of the shares of the new company and the publicly traded entity's name was changed from Boulder Capital Opportunity Inc. (BCOI). The Los Angeles-based company's stock trades over the counter -- under the symbol SLEE. Stan Lee Media announced its trading status in its own unparalleled style today, when it emailed the financial community and the leaders of the G-8 nations a video alert with news of an imminent alien invasion through the Internet. Stan Lee Media, Inc. (http://www.stanleemedia.com/) is a newly established Internet-based, multimedia content production, marketing and licensing company founded by comic book/pop culture icon Stan Lee, to extend his globally recognized brand name, signature style of content and character creation to all niche markets of the global popular culture. Using the Internet to launch new branded Super Hero, science fiction and fantasy related content while building the largest global online youth community, the company will pioneer the full integration of all ancillary entertainment and marketing media with the World Wide Web. NEW YORK, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The man who made comic books into an international billion dollar entertainment genre is once again at the forefront of a super-revolution. Stan "The Man" Lee, who created legendary superheroes including Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, X-Men and the Incredible Hulk, is pioneering a whole new medium of entertainment on the internet. The man who is credited with elevating the comic book genre from kid stuff to an art form appealing to all ages has just announced the launch of a new venture with his company, Stan Lee Media Inc. In front of an admiring crowd at The Planet Hollywood in San Diego, he unveiled his plans: creating the next generation of comics... on-line. building the largest community of fans in the world on the internet. The internet debut is in alliance with Warner Bros and their ACMEcity web site. Warner Bros is giving away 20 megabytes of home page space to anyone who visits the new Stan Lee sites. In typical Stan Lee fashion, the announcement was heralded in an e-mail alert today to the world financial and political leaders, warning them of the impending threat to our universe from his new web creation... a tyrannical alien from another dimension bent on conquering earth through the portal of the internet. Global Publishing Icon Stan Lee Sends Out Alert to G-8 World Leaders About Ersatz Alien Invasion ENCINO, Calif., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- With the same flare of the Super Hero characters he created -- Spider-Man, X-Men, the Incredible Hulk, among them -- pop culture icon Stan Lee has established a new Internet-based, multimedia content production, marketing and licensing company, Stan Lee Media (OTC Bulletin Board: SLEE). (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990816/LAM045 ) Of course, there's a cyberspace story Lee is suggesting in announcing his company's merger into Boulder Capital Opportunities, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BCOI). It needs to be taken with a grain -- if not a pound -- of salt, but to hear Lee tell it, he has issued an email video alert to the world financial leaders of an imminent alien invasion to capture earth's financial databases. See http://www.stanleemedia.com. The humorous warning can be seen at (http://207.78.88.62/consumer/2845v.ram). Confidentially, Lee messaged Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin, the U.N. Secretary General, other world G-8 leaders, the World Trade Organization and you, too, "Our SCUZZLE division -- that means Searching Cyberspace for Zoological Zygomorphic Living Entities -- has discovered a parallel dimension ruled by a tyrannical alien who is bent on conquering Earth through the Internet!" Keeping tongue firmly in cheek, Lee continued, "We captured an alien scout and learned of the diabolical invasion scheme while working to launch our own, Super Hero, science fiction and fantasy portal on the Internet." Aside from foiling multidimensional alien invasion plots, Stan Lee Media plans to build the largest global online youth community and launch new branded content on the Internet for exploitation in all media. Giant Global Give-Away of Web Space 'Real-Estate' From Stan Lee Media and Warner Bros. Online Alliance to Create Vast Global Community of Super Hero and Sci-Fi Fans ENCINO, Calif., Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Stan Lee Media and Warner Bros. Online launched StanLee.AcmeCity (http://www.stanlee.acmecity.com/) at San Diego's Comic-Con with the largest ever free home page give-away. Through this endeavor, Stan Lee Media will reach out to a global audience with the goal of creating the broadest online community of Super Hero, sci-fi and fantasy fans ever assembled on the Internet. This epic project will be made possible by combining the power of Warner Bros. Online's highly successful AcmeCity community initiative with comic book icon Stan Lee's renowned skills in Super Hero-fan community building. "Our objective is simple, we're using the Internet to create the largest global community of fans ever assembled in the history of fandom," said Stan Lee, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Stan Lee Media. "A project of this scope requires a partner of Super Heroic proportions -- enter Warner Bros. Online and their incredibly successful AcmeCity community." Stan Lee Media is kicking off the community with an Internet "land rush" -- offering free Web pages of unprecedented size, 20 megabytes, to every fan in the world who is linked to the Internet. These giant Web pages will come complete with all associated free services such as email, chat and message boards. Warner Bros. Online is the fastest growing studio site on the Internet (MediaMetrix) and its entertainment-oriented community site AcmeCity currently boasts over 400,000 members. "Other communities are giving away the equivalent of condos on the Internet...at 20 megabytes, we're giving away mansions," added Lee. Stan Lee Media will reach out to all comic book retailers around the world to include their involvement in this super-community site with targeted incentive retail programs, online promotions and collectibles uniquely made available through participating retailers. In addition, Stan Lee Media and Warner Bros. Online will work closely together to encourage independent community sites throughout the Internet to join StanLee.AcmeCity. Warner Bros. Online, a division of Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P. (TWX), is consistently in the top three of the most-trafficked studio sites on the Internet, according to MediaMetrix. Producers of the successful official sites for "Looney Tunes," "Friends," "Babylon5" "Seinfeld" and many other original Web destinations, the company focuses on producing entertainment programming for the Internet and commercial online services, with sites accessible through the World Wide Web at http://www.warnerbros.com. +++++ From the SPLASH PAGE of Comicon.com at: http://www.comicon.com/splash/ BIG SHAKE-UP AT IMAGE? August 20: The SPLASH has confirmed that major management changes at the top levels of IMAGE Comics may take place as soon as Monday. Details are scarce, but sources close to the situation indicate that Larry Marder will leave his post as Executive Director of Image for a position at Todd McFarlane Productions. It appears that Jim Valentino, one of the original Image partners, will step in to helm Image central as a permanent replacement for Marder. Developing. +++++ From Beau Yarbrough's Comic Wire at: http://www.comicbookresources.com/ RICHARD CORBEN TO PENCIL 'HELLBLAZER' It was announced at the Wizard World comic convention in Chicago last month that fan favorite Ellis would be leaving the long-running DC/Vertigo title due to creative differences and shortly thereafter that "100 Bullets" writer Brian Azzarello would be taking over for him. This weekend at Comic-Con International in San Diego, DC announced that veteran horror comic artist Richard Corben would be putting the pictures to Azzarello's plots and scripts, after a two issue fill-in after Ellis' final issues. Corben - who is also working on the graphic novel "House on the Borderlands" for DC/Vertigo - is contracted through issue 150. The new run will feature triptych covers by Tim Bradstreet and continue the toned-down approach to magic first introduced during Ellis' run. YEAR 2000 THE YEAR OF THE HAWK FOR DC At long last, Hawkman is returning to the DC universe, both in flashbacks and in ongoing continuity, next year. The work begins early next year with "Legend of the Hawkman," a three issue Prestige Format miniseries by Ben Raab and Michael Lark which reveals why alien police officers Hawkman and Hawkwoman stayed on the planet Earth. The story was originally planned as an arc in the "Legends of the DC Universe" monthly comic, but was promoted to a stand alone miniseries when DC editors decided the year 2000 was the right time to return the franchise to comic racks. The miniseries will be followed by the first ever Hawkman Archives, collecting the first adventures of the Silver Age Hawkman in the popular Archives Editions hardback format. (The Golden Age "Starman" and Will Eisner's "The Spirit" will also be published in Archive Editions next year, DC announced this weekend.) Both Hawkman and Hawkgirl will appear as DC Direct action figures in the year 2000. And, finally, Hawkman will return to present day comics in the pages of "JSA," in a story written by David ("Starman") Goyer and Geoff ("Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.") Johns. His return begins in issue 15, in a four-part story that teams the Justice League of America and the resurgent Justice Society of America. JLA/AVENGERS UNLIKELY "At the moment," "Avengers" editor Tom Brevoort said at the Marvel Comics panel on Thursday, "With relations between DC and Marvel being what they are, it ain't gonna happen any time soon." "As you can see," quipped Marvel writer Joe Casey, "Tom eats hope for breakfast." While DC put a more positive spin on things, the message was the same: "I'm still waiting for a phone call from Tom Brevoort," "JLA" editor Dan Raspler said at the JLA/JSA panel later that day. 'COMICOLOGY' RIDES AGAIN Brian Saner Lamken networked the convention like few others: His aborted magazine "Comicology," which was only published one time before drawing the wrath of industry giant DC Comics, has found a new home. Lamken told the Comic Wire this weekend that "Comicology" will return as a regular-sized magazine - as opposed to the trade paperback book-sized "Comicology 'Kingdom Come' Companion" issue that drew DC's wrath earlier this year - in early 2000. "Comic Book Artist" and "Alter Ego" publisher Two Morrows will publish the magazine, which Lamken says will cover the territory between "Wizard" and "The Comics Journal." The first issue of "Comicology" was entirely devoted to DC's hit miniseries "Kingdom Come," and contained extensive exclusive sketches from series artist Alex Ross, along with interviews with Ross and series writer Mark Waid, along with notes on the series and more. While DC has never officially commented on their cease-and-desist letter to Lamken, which effectively halted the production of the magazine, it's believed that the company believed Lamken had exceeded the legal principle of "fair use" that allows commentary and review of a copyrighted work, and was instead producing a supplemental work more appropriate for them to publish instead. 'JINX: TORSO' GETS MOVIE DEAL Brian Michael Bendis, in addition to picking up an Eisner Award as this year's Talent Deserving of Wider Attention, also landed a movie deal through Todd McFarlane Productions and Dimension Films, Bendis told the Comic Wire late last week. Bendis will write the first screenplay, and Todd McFarlane Productions will produce the film, "so you know it's gonna get made," company representative Beau Smith said this weekend. +++++ From The Daily Buzz at http://www.mania.com/newsarama/index.html Harley Quinn Gets Seconds DC Comics has ordered a second printing of the Batman: Harley Quinn one-shot. "The debut of the popular Harley Quinn character in DC continuity has proven to be extremely popular with fans, with retailers selling out of the stand-alone title almost as soon as they put it on the shelves," said DC VP-Direct Sales Bob Wayne. Copies will arrive in stores Sept. 1. +++++ From Newsarama; http://www.AnotherUniverse.com/newsarama WINNER OF THE 1997 & 1998 INTERNET "SQUIDDY" FOR BEST WEB SITE Wildstorm/DC have confirmed the new creative team for The Authority writer Mark Millar (Adventures of Superman) and penciler Frank Quitely (Offspring, the upcoming JLA: Earth II special) Spawn co-writer and Aria creator Brian Holguin has announced that Avalon Studios and Todd McFarlane Productions have come to terms for a crossover between two of the more popular female characters in comics, Avalon's Aria and TMP's Angela. Writer Fabian Nicieza is getting set for a January, 2000 debut of his first DC project since he helped relaunch the current version of the JLA in JLA: A Midsummer's Nightmare. A 6-issue limited series penciled by Dougie (Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, Green Arrow) Braithwaite, Supermen of America stars the group of characters created by Stuart Immomen for a recent Superman storyline...a group whose name has its roots in the original Superman Fan Club of the 1950's and who embody the best aspects of Superman. "The characters - Outburst, White Lotus, Brahma, Loser, and Pyrogen - are all teenagers, all in the group for different reasons and all committed to the goals of the Supermen of America organization (even though they don't realize their boss isn't!). The team is joined in the series by a rougher 'street cleaner' named Courage, whose style is abrasive to the entire group - and even more frustrating since he is so good at getting things done." Power Girl will be appearing in BIRDS OF PREY in #12 and 13. +++++ From Zentertainment; HTTP://WWW.ZENTERTAINMENT.COM To sign a friend up or begin receiving ZEN yourself, e-mail: subscribe@ZENtertainment.com The FOX KIDS Network will premiere the bulk of its new shows, including SPIDER-MAN: UNLIMITED, AVENGERS, BEAST MACHINES, XYBER 9, and BIG GUY AND RUSTY THE BOY ROBOT, on September 18th. All looked great in the short reel shown at San Diego, and having seen the 2nd episode of BIG GUY I'd say it's the best, but then I haven't seen the others, and they too look promising. FKN will wait until November to premiere NASCAR RACERS, debuting it with a special movie before the animated series itself rolls out in February, 2000. http://www.foxkids.com During a panel promoting the FOX KIDS Network's fall line-up at the COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL SAN DIEGO, FOX KIDS revealed they're in talks to do a KISS animated series which would be based on the PSYCHO CIRCUS comic storyline. The series is expected to go into development shortly. http://www.comic-con.org Famke Janssen (GoldenEye, The Faculty) has signed on to play the mutant Jean Grey in FOX's X-MEN feature film. Dan Jurgens (Superman) will write TOP COW's upcoming TOMB RAIDER ongoing comic. Andy Park and Jon Sibal are the series' artists. http://www.topcow.com CORRECTION: Mike Allred's MADMAN spin-off ATOMICS will be an ongoing monthly series self-published under the AAA POP Comics banner starting this January. MADMAN will continue to be published monthly by DARK HORSE. http://www.dhorse.com BKN will release a first wave of toys based on Frank Miller and Geoff Darrow's DARK HORSE Comics series and future FOX KIDS Network animated series BIG GUY AND RUSTY THE BOY ROBOT exclusively at TOYS 'R' US during the first week of December. The toys will be released to other outlets in February. http://www.foxkids.com http://www.dhorse.com +++++ From COMICS 2 FILM at http://www.comics2film.com X-Men ----- An announcement on Marvel.com indicates Fox, Marvel and UGO Networks will offer fans of the X-Men a chance to visit the set of the upcoming movie and meet the stars. Fans can go to the X-Men Movie Sweepstakes page and enter now. One Grand Prize winner will be awarded a two-day, one-night trip to Toronto for two people to visit the set of X-Men The Movie. Twenty 1st Prize winners will receive an X-Men Movie merchandise package from Twentieth Century Fox. Ten 2nd Prize Winners will receive a UGO Merchandise package including from Ugo Networks. Official rules can be found on the sweepstakes website. http://www.marvel.com/movie/sweeps.html Scary Godmother --------------- FROM CINESCAPE: Jill Thompson, creator of the Scary Godmother comic, and Mainframe Entertainment are in search of a studio to make an animated movie or TV show a reality. Cinescape reports that Thompson told Fans in San Diego, "We need now a studio that wants to do a movie or a series with [Mainframe] as the animators." Thompson was impressed by a demo reel that Mainframe had shown her, "They showed that [they] can make these books come to life and it will look exactly like that." According to the article the project is being shopped around. http://www.cinescape.com Spider-Man ---------- FROM CORONA COMING ATTRACTIONS: Corona Coming Attractions reports that screenwriter David Koepp (Stir of Echoes) spoke to Creative Screenwriting magazine and gave up a small mention of his work on the Spider-Man screenplay. Now this quote won't be appearing in the interview, but CCA managed to get their mitts on it anyway. When asked if it was too early for Koepp to talk about story details for the movie, the screenwriter replied "It's not too early, but I'd be shot, unfortunately." If nothing else it sounds like there's been progress. http://www.corona.bc.ca Wolff & Byrd (Supernatural Law) ------------------------------- FROM THE DETROIT NEW COMIC BOOK CONTINUUM: Rob Allstetter of Detroit News Comic Book Continuum reports that the option on the Wolff & Byrd movie has been renewed with Universal Pictures. Batton Lash, creator of the comic, told Allstetter, "That means they are serious if they are willing to pay for another option. They told my attorney that they are still very much interested and want to continue development. It was very heartening to hear." The movie is to be called Supernatural Law. The comic will also assume that title as of issue #24. http://detnews.com/comicbooks/ +++++ From the DCOnline newsletter; http://www.dccomics.com/newsletter.html To subscribe, or for questions or comments about the DC newsletter, please email DCWebSite@aol.com. DC WINS 14 EISNER AWARDS AT SAN DIEGO The 11th annual Eisner Awards were presented at the Comic-Con International '99 -- San Diego on Friday, August 13, and out of 27 categories, 14 of the coveted awards were presented to DC projects, creators, or staff. DC's total of 14 -- out of an amazing 39 nominations -- made it the most honored publisher of the evening, followed by Dark Horse Comics with 9 awards. ANIMATION EPISODE SCHEDULE THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES airs weekdays and Saturdays on the WB Network, and BATMAN BEYOND airs Saturdays. Times given are Eastern and Pacific. This schedule is subject to change. 8/23/99 (4:00 pm) -- "The Ultimate Thrill" (Batman) 8/23/99 (4:30 pm) -- "Prototype " (Superman) 8/24/98 (4:00 pm) -- "Ghost in the Machine " (Superman) 8/24/99 (4:30 pm) -- "Over the Edge" (Batman) 8/25/99 (4:00 pm) -- "Harley & Ivy" (Batman) 8/25/99 (4:30 pm) -- "Mxyzpixilated" (Superman) 8/26/99 (4:00 pm) -- "The Promethean" (Superman) 8/26/99 (4:30 pm) -- "You Scratch My Back" (Batman) 8/27/99 (4:00 pm) -- "Animal Act " (Batman) 8/27/99 (4:30 pm) -- "World's Finest Part 1" (Superman) 8/28/99 (8:00 am) -- "World's Finest Part 2" (Superman) 8/28/99 (8:30 am) -- "World's Finest Part 3" (Superman) 8/28/99 (9:30 am) -- "The Winning Edge" (Batman Beyond) ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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 August 1999 Mark Of Authority? Ramblings '99, the first to bring you news about The Authority now brings you news about Warren Ellis' replacement on the book. The man with Ellis' (and Ramblings') blessing is Mark Millar. Mark Millar is one of my favourite comics writers, his run on Swamp Thing being equal to Alan Moore's. Now, his appointment isn't set in stone, what with Wildstorm making the final decision, but we implore to anyone with influence reading to hire this man! That includes you, Scott. Mark Millar is the underrated peer to Ellis, Ennis, Milligan, Delano, Gaiman and Morrison and he has a love for superheroes that celebrates and destroys them simultaneously. We cannot think of a better successor for this particular book. And that includes Alan Moore. Diego Days A few assorted pieces coming through from the convention... Ramblings reader Jeremy Holstein posts to Usenet a whole host of lovely San Diego tit bits. There's a few pieces of special interest to this column: Neil Gaiman - "Did note that one of the catalogues at the con stated that DC is now scheduling some specials containing his old "spec-scripts" or "things I wrote to prove that I could actually write." Some Gaiman superhero material written ten years ago, apparently. Should be interesting." Travis Charest - "Wildcats. According to Travis he's off the book if he can't meet his deadlines. He said he's partway into issue six but it's not done yet. He had the cover on the table, and it did look very cool. He was also selling some of his cover paintings for two grand and such. Weird character, but never judge from a convention. He also noted that many people have told him that J.G. Jones would be his replacement if he screws up again. Just a rumor, but interesting." Whilce Portacio -"Artis was showing a new book by Whilce Portacio called "Ulysses". Can't really say much about it by the preview, but the artwork looks nice. Asked about Aria. Was told that Jay's artwork takes forever, but that the next issue should be in stores by the third week in September." Geoff Darrow - "says he'll be involved in with the Matrix 2 and 3, and while I was there a DC Editor asked him to do a Superman project which he said he'd LOVE to do. We'll see." Kevin Smith - "ANOTHER Kevin Smith series called Loki and Bartleby. Dogma, anyone? They said that the mythical fourth issue of Jay and Silent Bob WILL be out soon come hell or high-water. Kevin has finally delivered the script and they're pumping caffine directly into the veins of the artist in order to finish it ASAP. They had layouts and rough pencils there and it looks good." Independent Press - "One particular standout there was a book called "Sweet" which is romance oriented. Well written, but the artwork is Chester Brown-like. Not going to appeal to a mainstream audience. But it's come out regularly (every two months), which to me is a plus. His circulation? "Less than 1000." Sigh...." Jim Krueger - "A VERY professional and promising book was "Flyboys" by Jim Kruger and Phil Hester. Printed in normal comic proportions, but stapled on the short side each page was a panorama. Very nice, and very stricking. BBW Publications. Bigbadwld@aol.com" Some Awe, Anyway. Another rumour monger reports "Supposedly, Our Pal, Rob Liefeld, was selling Ian Churchill's Coven art from the Awesome booth. The problem? Ian didn't know anything about it until he saw it up for sale. No word on what happened after that or if it really happened at all. And isn't that the point?" You scandalous muck spreader you! With no news that Churchill has left Awesome in a storm of fury, we expect that it was probably just a misunderstanding and everything got sorted out, even if it ever happened at all, which personally I doubt. Unlikely rumour. Tut tut, you loose tongued morons, will you never learn? Dear me, I don't know. I'm sure Ramblings reader Rob Liefeld will set us straight, right Rob? Give Her Liberty. After a spate of high profile hirings at DC, the high profile resignations. We've had Stuart Moore, joining a multi-media start up, now it's Martha Thomases turn to leave the company she's very much associated to strike out for new, exciting challenges! She leaves on the 25th of August, we hear without a touch of malice of feud. Good luck Martha! Open Forum We also hear that John Miller, of CBG and Comics Retailer was telling folk at SDCC that he still can't believe that I haven't been sued, or at least severely beaten. Well, people have made legal moves to us, usually dealt with utter cowardice on our part, withdrawing the offending article and issuing grovelling, self-deprecating apologies. We've always offered a right to reply and consistently state the validity of these stories as rumours, and only a possible truth. As to threats of physical violence, only Grant Morrison has made that directly, Robin Riggs indirectly and Mark Waid half heartedly. None of them have ever acted on such a threat, even when given the opportunity. It's also highly likely that certain people actually get what we're doing, printing rumours so that they can be exposed, confirmed or denied, instead of just being passed from person to person in a game of Chinese Whispers. And to be honest, many professionals love this column and some are even flattered by rumours printed. The fools. Maybe we should open the floor? Anyone got any opinions about Ramblings that they'd like to get off their chest? All in the open, obviously, but I'll withdraw you're name if you're shy. E-mail ramblings99@hotmail.com with your pithy prattle. But do it soon, because I'm off on Monday. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [6] The 1999 Eisner Awards http://www.comicbookresources.com On August 13th,1999 in the ballroom at the Hyatt Regency, the 1999 Eisner Awards Ceremony was held during the Comic-Con International weekend in San Diego, California. These are generally considered to be the "Academy Awards" of the comic book industry since they are voted on by those in the business, not the fans. Comic Book Resources was the first with the results from the convention. 1999 EISNER AWARD WINNERS Best Short Story * "Devil's Advocate" by Matt Wagner and Tim Sale, Grendel: Black, White, and Red #1 (Dark Horse) Best Single Issue * Hitman #34: "Of Thee I Sing" by Garth Ennis, John McCrea, and Garry Leach (DC) Best Serialized Story * Usagi Yojimbo #13-22: "Grasscutter" by Stan Sakai (Dark Horse) Best Continuing Series * Preacher, by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon (Vertigo/DC) Best Limited Series * 300, by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley (Dark Horse) Best New Series * Inhumans, by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee (Marvel) Best Title for a Younger Audience * Batman: The Gotham Adventures, by Ty Templeton, Rick Burchett, and Terry Beatty (DC) Best Humor Publication * Sergio Aragones' Groo, by Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier (Dark Horse) Best Anthology * Grendel: Black, White, and Red, by Matt Wagner, ed. by Diana Schutz (Dark Horse) Best Graphic Album - New * Superman: Peace on Earth, by Paul Dini and Alex Ross (DC) Best Graphic Album - Reprint * Batman: The Long Halloween, by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale (DC) Best Archival Collection / Project * Plastic Man Archives, vol. 1, by Jack Cole (DC) Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material * Star Wars: A New Hope-Manga, by Hisao Tamaki (Dark Horse) Best Writer * Kurt Busiek, Kurt Busiek's Astro City (Homage/WildStorm/Image), Avengers (Marvel) Best Writer/Artist * Frank Miller, 300 (Dark Horse) Best Writer/Artist - Humor * Kyle Baker, You Are Here (Vertigo/DC) Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team * Tim Sale, Superman for All Seasons (DC) Best Painter (interior art) * Alex Ross, Superman: Peace on Earth (DC) Best Coloring * Lynn Varley, 300 (Dark Horse) Best Lettering * Todd Klein, Castle Waiting (Olio), House of Secrets, The Invisibles, The Dreaming, etc. (Vertigo/DC) Best Cover Artist * Brian Bolland, The Invisibles (Vertigo/DC) Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition * Brian Michael Bendis, writer/artist (Jinx, Goldfish, Torso) Best Comics-Related Periodical * The Comics Journal (Fantagraphics) Best Comics-Related Book * Batman: Animated, by Paul Dini and Chip Kidd (HarperCollins) Best Comics-Related Product/Item * Sandman Pocketwatch, designed by Kris Ruotolo (Vertigo/DC) Best Comics-Related Sculpted Figures * Hellboy statue, sculpted by Randy Bowen, produced by Bowen Designs Best Publication Design * Batman Animated, designed by Chip Kidd (HarperCollins) Hall of Fame The following judges' choices will automatically be inducted into the Hall of Fame: * Jack Cole * L. B. Cole * Bill Finger * Gardner Fox * Mac Raboy * Alex Schomburg Voters chose four additional members: * Murphy Anderson * Joe Simon * art spiegelman * Dick Sprang ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [7]And let me tell you why .... David Coulter DneColt@aol.com [David - who declared himself "America's Weirdly Cool Columnist" in a misguided tribute to The Firesign Theatre -- lives with his family in Kansas City and pays the bills as Marketing Director for a computer consulting group. He's heard the old saying that the best comics ever published were the ones that came out when you were ten ... and he's not buying it. He knows there are good comics out there, he can hear them breathing.] If they ever create a Mount Rushmore for comics, I think Will Eisner should be one of the four faces on the mountain (the other three? Siegel and Shuster would be one (a blatant cheat, I know), Stan Lee and Jack Kirby). See, I was all set to go with this week's column -- another savage, totally unwarranted attack on a much-loved comics figure -- when I read last week's issue of CBEM, and an item in the Network Buzz section caught my eye: That DC Comics was getting the Spirit. Specifically, that Will Eisner was taking what amounted to his entire body of work over to DC Comics after the implosion earlier this year of Kitchen Sink comics, including his just-finished graphic novel (I can't wait!). The article went on to note that part of the package is a DC Archive Edition featuring Eisner's quintessential comic-strip hero, The Spirit. Sharp-eyed readers will realize I can't just let a momentous event like this pass without comment (need a hint, check the email address). Now, in one way, this is a sad event. Will Eisner has been at the forefront of the independent comics industry since the birth of the industry itself. Rather than creating characters and selling them to established comic publishers, he struck out on his own, packaging the work his studio produced into a weekly, color newspaper supplement. Eisner's studio was a hothouse for talent -- future great like Jules Feiffer and Wallly Wood cut their teeth under his tutelage. After moving out of the comics business in the 50's, he re-entered the field (sort of) in the 60's and early 70's via Jim Warren's reprints of the old Spirit strips from the 40's. It was through the Spirit Magazine that I discovered Eisner's work (I recently told Jim Warren that I had no idea the books were filled with reprints: either a testament to my own stupidity, or Eisner's timelessness -- though I suspect it was the latter). When the Spirit Magazine fell by the wayside, Kitchen Sink eventually stepped in to publish a Spirit monthly comic that reprinted the color strips in order. This association eventually led to the publication (and re-publication) of a host of brilliant graphic novels such as "A Contract With God," "The Building," Into The Heart Of The Storm," and "The Dreamer" to name a paltry few, as well as the recent "New Adventures of the Spirit," which featured modern comic stalwarts like Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, Eddie Campbell and Paul Chadwick taking on Eisner's classic character. (I'm sure I'm missing enormous chunks of history here, but I leave the history to those better equipped to grapple with it -- i.e. those who don't make things up as they type). But anyway. The very fact that Will Eisner is now going to shelter himself under the Time Warner umbrella speaks volumes about the sad state of independent publishing today. Not that I'm criticizing Will Eisner for this choice -- absolutely not. Over the last half century, Eisner has proved himself to be a talented a creator, a canny businessman, and an all-around nice guy. The mere fact that he stayed at Kitchen Sink as long as he did -- through all their ups and downs -- indicates he's a man of tremendous loyalty and integrity. Now, I say all this having never met they guy, and having no idea what he's really like. Maybe he's a real hostile misanthrope who hates kids and kicks dogs -- but I doubt. Compare Eisner's career arc (as briefly described above) with that of another independent publisher who recently moved to DC. Jim Lee drew, what, 15 issues of the Punisher and 5 issues of X-men? He then rode a wave of popularity out of Marvel Comics to do His Own Thing -- of which he was "extremely proud and protective" -- only to go running back to Marvel when the wave of popularity slacked off a little bit. Then, when the triumphant return to Marvel didn't exactly pan out, he sold His Own Things off to DC Comics without appearing to have a second thought. Again, I say all this about Jim Lee having never met they guy, and having no idea what he's really like. I have no doubt he's an extremely nice guy who calls his mom once a week. But the difference is plain to see: Eisner is clearly an industry pioneer to whom the phrase "paying dues" absolutely does not apply. Eisner helped shape the industry, make it what it once was (I won't say what it IS, because that's not exactly a compliment), and if anyone deserves to cash in on his history, it's him. In fact, the fact that he hasn't before is amazing. The fact that Eisner still owns a character that is as iconic as Superman or Batman -- while maybe not as popular -- is amazing. Which brings me to what's weird about this: how much sense it makes. At first glance, it's going to seem odd to look up on my bookshelf and see a DC Archive Edition devoted to an independently owned and published character like the Spirit sitting side-by-side with volumes devoted to company-owned and published characters like Batman and Superman. But while it might seem odd to me, it's a move that probably seems perfectly sensible to Eisner. After all, didn't DC just publish an Archive devoted to Jack Cole's Plastic Man, a character who didn't belong to DC until the mid-60s, and Captain Marvel, a character who likewise belonged to someone else until 1970? To Eisner -- a contemporary of Cole, Kirby, Siegel, Schuster, and Kane -- there's probably nothing weird about this at all. And, upon reflection, it really doesn't seem that weird: The Spirit fits very well into the overall architecture of the DC Universe. Hell, DC even has it's own Spirit knock-off (Midnight, I think) who turned up from time to time. Imagine the Spirit trying to fit into Marvel's Universe (not an unlikely occurrence, given the fact that Stan Lee -- before he turned the reins over to Roy Thomas -- offered his old job to Eisner). Just doesn't work, does it? DC has that whole quirky-supporting-character-and-goofball-sidekick dynamic that Marvel just never had (there was Cap and Bucky, that's it). I can easily imagine that Wildwood Cemetery, sitting as it does on the outskirts of Central City, isn't all that far from the entrance to the Bat-Cave, sitting as IT does on the outskirts of Gotham City. In business today, you hear a lot of talk about "synergy," and most of it is crap. But here's a case where I think it really works. Besides, as Eisner himself noted, this is a good opportunity to get his work in front of a larger audience, and keep his backlist in print, and -- hopefully -- make buckets of money. Few creators today deserve to do that quite as much as Will Eisner. Comments? Criticisms? Flames? E-mail them to DneColt@aol.com ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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!] The Villains you HATE to Love! Ever cheer for the villain? Ever find yourself rooting for the bad to win? I do a lot of the time. I root for the 'mischievous' ones. I loved it in the old days when Catwoman would 'get away' with a crazy caper. Sure she was bound to get caught sooner or later, but it was always fun watching her befuddle the Bat! She was one of the villains I always enjoyed reading about. I confess that I have not read a lot of her comics in the post crisis world or even a lot of her own series. I have a good deal of the issues that Devin Grayson wrote and a few at the beginning of the series but not a lot in between. Cat without Bat just doesn't thrill me. Plus their relationship PRE CRISIS was just getting totally interesting *sigh* and this post crisis one IS so far from the greatness that came before. I still like her and all of her 'mischief' but she is far from the character I loved--wonder if that is a good or bad thing? Another villain that I hated to love was Deathstroke the Terminator. A villain who took no gruff from anyone and gave as good as he got. This man took on the Titans several times and almost always came out on top. It's wrong to root for the bad guy, but something about Slade made me like him. AGAIN this is another character who has lost some of his appeal to me in the post crisis world. I bought some of the Titans crossovers of his title but found him lacking since he 'somewhat' reformed. Still, though, the Judas Contract and the debt he felt he owed his eldest son are still factors that make him one of my fav's who I hate to love. Mr. Bones was a hoot too in Infinity Inc. He and Helix were almost as entertaining as the Infinitors themselves and his RHYME SPEAK made me smile. I liked his story and his confusion about "good" and "evil." Mr. Bones was a cool villain and someone that I couldn't wait to see develop and grow. His first few appearances were some of the zaniest encounters I can remember. Again post crisis I am finding it hard to believe that in this short amount of time--figure like two comic book years--he went from hunted fugitive to head of the DEO. How did this come about? From killer to department head (* and yah I know he did not murder Syl on purpose!*) It's funny the three villains that I hated to love all eventually became heroes in their own right. Maybe that is part of the reason that I liked them..because I knew eventually they would redeem themselves? Probably not. I think I am mischievous like them and just feel we have a lot in common. :D ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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. ] I generally don't write negative reviews in this column. This isn't because I'm a nice guy or anything, but because I try to avoid buying stuff that I don't like. And seeing as how I only review stuff I buy myself (with a rare exception when someone sends me something. But that's very rare. Not that I mind if you do have something you want me to review. Feel free.) I tend to write good things. I want people to try the books that I like, because I think they're good. In fact, I'm amazed at some review pages I read on the net, where people give lousy reviews to the same books, month in, month out. Why keep buying a book you hate? Life's too short. I've barely got time to read the stuff I do like. Even when I read something bad, because I'm trying out a new title, or a book I like has changed direction and is going down hill, I try to say something nice about it. Just bagging a comic unmercifully can be fun, but it isn't really very helpful to anyone. This week I bought YEAH! #1. The colouring was pretty good. There, I said something nice, and now I'm gonna tell you want I didn't like about it. Peter Bagge and Gilbert Hernandez come to this comic with pretty fearsome reps behind them. They're two of the most highly regarded creators of the last twenty years. They've worked on numerous prestige projects, won plenty of awards, had books in the TCJ Top 100. YEAH! marks their first work with a DC bullet on the cover. And it sucks. Boy, was I disappointed with this book. Let me tell you why. It was boring. The story, about an all-girl pop group who are huge stars all over the universe, but unknown on Earth, was stupid, when it wasn't dull. It is supposedly influenced by "Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space", which was a hugely annoying cartoon show twenty years ago, and one which I don't need to be reminded of. Despite being a "kids' book" it's filled with adult concepts like sexual harassment and some sort of weird domination thing. Now I don't think that kids' reading should be dumbed down, or that good children's books should be boring for adults. Quite the opposite in fact. I've just been reading a series of books about Harold and his Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson (remembered by some comics fans as the artist/writer of BARNABY) to my kid, and I love them (he's too young to understand, but he likes to chew them). HAROLD'S ABC uses the word "Edifice" to illustrate the letter "E". No dumbing down there. But Bagge's work here seems so smug and self-satisfied. It's like he's not writing for kids, he's writing for people who half remember "Josie and the Pussycats", and think it might have been pretty cool (it wasn't). The plot twist at the end (if you can call it that) would be unbelievable and insulting on "Sabrina the Teenage Witch". Its not funny enough to be a parody of some old comics (particularly those from the ARCHIE stable), and its not interesting enough to make anyone under the age of 15 or over the age of 25 want to read it. Quite frankly, if it wasn't the work of Bagge and Hernandez, I don't think it would have been published. As it is, it'll be lucky to last a year. This is the best thing about the monthly comic book format, in my opinion. You can find out how much you hate something for a reasonable amount of money, and then you can stop buying it. Which I will. 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.] Name: Psychoanalysis #1 Publisher: EC Comics Price: $2.50 Comments: Psychoanalysis #1 was quite entertaining. 3 patients of the Psychiatrist made one very interesting comic book. Freddy Carter, Ellen Lyman and Mark Stone are quite troubled and the Psychiatrist found the root of their hidden troubles. Then he brought the troubles to light and allowed his patients to fight their hidden demons. First case example of Freddy Carter who is the prime example of being molded by his parents. Freddy's dad is an upstanding citizen, a Yale graduate and the question arises, why is Freddy a thief? Freddy rejected the idea of being an engineer like his father. His father was into sports, again more rejection and Freddy found himself uninterested in sports. The father blames his wife Marion for making Freddy into a sissy, because of her love for music, art and literature. The father basically suffocated the poor boy and imposed his way of life to Freddy. Freddy sought out his revenge by rejecting everything his father held dear. Freddy compared his life to his buddy Billy's life and wanted cool parents like Billy had and the hatred for his own parents became overwhelming that it effected his adulthood life tremendously. Freddy blames his parents for his misery and needs to look deep within his soul to find the answers. Luckily for Freddy, he has the Psychiatrist to find those answers. 2nd case, Ellen Lyman. Her problem of having excessive migraine headaches and a recurring nightmare. The nightmare in which consists of her taking an examination in school of trying to enter a garden and when she does enter the garden, she finds it desolate. The headaches and nightmares are all because of her childhood. Her sister got the good toys and she got her sister's hand-me-down toys. Plenty of bottled up resentment and hatred is the cause of her problems. 3rd case: Mark Stone with his pounding chest pains. Very deep problems that lead to a vision of him changing his life completely. Big problems with his heritage of being a Jew and being called a 'dirty Jew', when he was younger and somehow the troubles are lead back to his father, in which he felt guilty of rejecting his father's ideals. Because of this, it caused his anxieties. Powerful dramatic stories, that really dug deep into the human psyche! Name: Top 10 #2 Publisher: America's Best Comics Written by: Alan Moore Illustrations by: Gene Ha & Zander Cannon Price: $2.95 Comments: October 6, 1999, not too distant of a future and the whole world seems to have turned topsy turvy as the virus S.T.O.R.M.S. seems to have exceeded the A.I.D.S. epidemic. STORMS seems to have effected most of the world, as this is a disease that mutates humans and so many characters in Top Ten #2 seem to be mutated in some way or another. Neopolis is a turbulent city that seems to be on the brink of some sort of disaster. Perhaps, a disaster where citizen will turn against fellow citizen. I was hooked on the story right from the beginning as Girl One and Irma was carrying on their conversations. As Girl One explained that she has bio-engineered skin and how she is actually naked, but it looks like she has a skintight suit on, because of the moving patterns on her skin. This was a big surprise to Irma as she learns that she has been riding around with a naked woman. Irma looks a little mannish and with that entire heavy-duty armor on, it doesn't help her feminine side much. I can't wait to see more of Peregrine, her outfit was exceptionally cool and those wings should give her swift flight, just like a Peregrine falcon. It was interesting to observe the interactions of Peregrine as the Gromolko's drug operation was mentioned. As in the TV show Hill Street Blues, the Top Ten get they're briefing and it seems like they have nothing but very unusual cases. Even the confrontation of the Fabulous Five street gang seems bizarre. Ernesto seemed to be the most powerful member of the group, but Smax made short order of this lizardry gangbanger. I think Immune Girl will have a strong point as this series continues. Because, whatever keeps her immunity active is the ingredient needed for a cure of STORMS and AIDS for that matter, since she can't get either disease. I had to chuckle a bit as I saw the Replacement God billboard in one segment of the story. As many of these citizens mutate, I wonder how Sarge became a partially mutated Doberman? Is Dust Devil a normal human or is he some way mutated too? Shocking scene as Dust Devil happens upon the crime scene and discovers a headless corpse. The Libra Killer may be a copycat killer of the San Francisco Zodiac....hmmm, then again I could be wrong since the Zodiac never beheaded anyone. Bob "Blindshot" Booker would pass as a normal citizen, if he didn't wear that blindfold, but since he does, people question him on why he is wearing it and then he goes into his spill about having Zen powers, was he also effected by STORMS? It was very intriguing, as Blindshot was able to lead the investigators through Zen to where they needed to be and their discovery of Marta Wesson! My hearty congratulation to Alan Moore for a well developed story that is filled with surprises! It's a good thing to have Gene Ha & Zander Cannon on the team with Alan, as they are doing an exceptional job with the artwork. I will stay on for the full duration of this series, and let's hope this series stays with us until the next Millennium....3000AD! Name: Awesome Adventures Publisher: Awesome Entertainment Written by: Alan Moore Drawn by: Steve Skroce/pencils Lary Stucker/inks Price: $2.50 Comments: After reading Awesome Adventures!, I was left with my mouth gaping wide open! Right from the beginning, as the interactions between Shaft and Twilight were taking place and listening to the run down of being in suspended animation and missing the eighties and nineties and how there were many superhero groups that got started. Then later seeing the very cool and unique Jackettes as they use their cane cannons for offensive moves and later using Gentlemen's Talcum for a defensive escape, for an updated mob group from the sixties, they were still lethal. Enjoyed the flashback and seeing Jack-a-Dandy, Darius Dax, Doctor Clock, Humandroid, Killer Crab, Arctura, The Marlin! It will be interesting to see what Youngblood will turn up, since Doctor Clock has transferred stolen money into the past. Will they be successful in retrieving it? I was craving action and found plenty of action in this comic book, especially when Youngblood faced off with the Jackettes! As issues are pondered on how Dax's fabled Omegapolis hideout has never been found and with Suprema finding Arctura's space sanctum, I was left wondering what will happen next. Then as an unexpected surprise, Youngblood gets sealed off in the particle chamber and are now being sent off into the past. Great cliffhanger, incredible artwork and a story that kept me right on the edge of my seat! Big handclap to Alan Moore, Steve Skroce & Lary Stucker for making this the outstanding story that it was! Looking forward to more! BTW, did I mention the cover was AWESOME? Fantastic! M.O.E. Sidenote: Today went down to Doubleday Books and amazingly there are plenty of science fiction and fantasy novels that could be easily converted into comic books. These stories have quite an assortment of unique characters with fanciful costumes. Some of the books I discovered that would make good comic book material would be: Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman's Dragons of Summer Flame, Christopher Stasheff's A Wizard in Absentia, Melanie Rawn's The Star Scroll, Sean Russell's Sea Without a Shore and Joan Slonczewski's The Children Star. The Multiverse is a big universe and I can easily see some of the characters from these books intermingling with some of our well known superheroes! Don't believe me, check these books out at any fine Doubleday Book franchise near you! Multiverse Observer and Explorer signing off, until next time....... ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [11] My View David LeBlanc ComicBkNet@aol.com [David LeBlanc is the Editor of the Comic Book Net Electronic Magazine. He is a long time fan of comics and the electronic media - having been the moderator of the comics forums on WME, FIDONET and the Comic Book Network. He and his wife are attempting to raise two teenage sons in a suburb of Worcester, Massachusetts. David supports his comic book habit by working as the Manager of Marketing and Sales for a privately owned manufacturer of electro-mechanical components.] XENO'S ARROW (1-4) 24 pages, Black & White, Color Covers, $2.50/$3.95 CAN Cup O' Tea Studios P O Box 63, Station p Toronto, Ontario M5S 2S6 Canada http://www.finearts.yorku.ca/7stories/cupotea gbeettam@interlog.com Story by Greg Beettam & Stephen Geigen-Miller Art by Greg Beettam Once upon a time, in the Known Galaxy, a young alien boy lived all alone in an Intergalactic Zoo run by Lizards . . . So begins each issue of XENO'S ARROW. Sometimes it is hard to convey the visual aspects of a comic in a few words, as the above does not do it. The "alien" boy is no more alien than anyone else in the story - they are all non-human species. And the "lizards" don't really look all that lizardlike, except maybe the tails. The zoo is actually a space station, ala the two wheeled variety like in 2001: A Space Odyssey, except on a MUCH larger scale. The young boy, Xeno, was found in a wrecked starship, a casualty of war, probably the last of his species. The lizards represent the dominant species of the Known Galaxy and are altruistically setting out to save the uncouth types by altering their lifestyles, language, even their methods of communication and mobility. Sort of the Prime Directive in reverse. The reward when a species "conforms" is full citizenship. The zoo is a collection of many examples of varied species, each in their own habitat zone. Xeno studies hard to learn the cardinal principles of Civilization: Duty, Progress and Etiquette. He is soon visited by Clemens, a female Rachaat, a rather large rodent looking animal with a rabbit like head. She convinces him to explore other areas - strictly against the rules and Xeno meets his neighbor the neurotic Z'nyd'n. The three visit and become friends and hide from the zoo keepers and the bumbling helpers they employ. All along Clemens has been plotting with another in the Zoo - the only character we have not yet seen, except maybe on the cover of #1 - to leave the zoo for space. Xeno and his neighbor will be key to their plan and another member of the troupe is waiting in another habitat and sure to figure into the plot. I liked the pacing of the series so far, of course reading it in one sitting helps. The characters are well developed and the themes are intriguing. There is no real evil involved here, except that of the misguided mechanizations of the lizards. There is a potential for violence if things go awry and some suspense as the young skulkers sneak around and the ringleaders of the escape plan their next moves. The characters are all likable with some fresh ideas about galactic species - the receptionist who speaks by changing colors is a good example. There are some quotes of praise used in the filler pages and covers that compare this to BONE and AKIKO, WANDERING STAR and GALAXION. While I can see the reasoning I would reserve high praise for a while yet. It is a slow and deliberate story being told, maybe too slow for some but very entertaining. There are some very funny parts and others make you think. A very pleasant combination. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [12] New Comic Book Releases List [NCRL] by Charles LePage ncrl@mediaone.net +++WINNER OF THE 1996 REC.ARTS.COMICS.* "SQUIDDY" FOR BEST WEB SITE+++ http://www.jacksonville.net/~ncrl New Comic Book Releases List for Wednesday, 8/25/1999, compiled by Charles LePage with information from Suncoast Comics. This is the *preliminary* list and is not complete. The completed list is posted weekly, usually Monday evening, at rec.arts.comics.info, http://www.jacksonville.net/~ncrl, and Compuserve's Comics Publishers Forum. "TPB" = "trade paperback". "GN" = "graphic novel". "AA" = "available again". "SC" = "softcover". "HC" = "hardcover". "S/N" = "signed/numbered". "AR" = "ask retailer about price". PUBLISHER TITLE, ISSUE NUMBER, PRICE IN U.S. DOLLARS ACCLAIM COMICS Quantum & Woody Vol 4 TPB Magnum Force, 7.95 Shadowman Vol 3 #2, 2.50 ARCHIE COMICS PUBLICATIONS Betty & Veronica Spectacular #38, 1.79 Betty & Veronica Digest #107, 1.99 Jughead #122, 1.79 CHAOS! COMICS Insane Clown Posse Amazing Jeckel Brothers, 2.95 CPM MANGA Call Me Princess #4, 2.95 Lodoss War Grey Witch #10, 2.95 Martian Successor Nadesico #1, 2.95 DARK HORSE Blade Of The Immortal Heart Of Darkness (2 Of 8) #36, 2.95 Sock Monkey Vol 2 #2 (Of 2), 2.95 DC COMICS Authority #6, 2.50 Batman & Superman Worlds Finest #7 (Of 10), 1.99 Batman Chronicles #18, 2.95 Body Doubles #1 (Of 4) (resolicited), 2.50 Catwoman #73, 1.99 Crimson Special Scarlet X Blood On The Moon, 3.95 Detective Comics #737, 1.99 Dexters Laboratory #2, 1.99 Dv8 #31, 2.50 Flash #153, 1.99 Flinch #5, 2.50 Hellblazer #141, 2.50 Hitman #42, 2.50 JLA #34, 1.99 Legion Of Super Heroes #120, 2.50 Martian Manhunter Annual #2, 2.95 Mr Majestic #2, 2.50 Nightwing Secret Files #1, 4.95 Preacher Salvation TPB, 14.95 Robin #69, 1.99 Supergirl #37, 1.99 Superman #149, 1.99 Wonder Woman #149, 1.99 FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS Love & Rockets Vol 3 Las Mujeres Perdidas New Prtg, 19.95 IMAGE COMICS Adventures Of Evil & Malice #2, 3.50 Age Of Heroes Special #2, 6.95 Alley Cat #2, 2.50 Deadlands One Shot, 6.95 Forever Amber #2 (Of 4), 2.95 Intrigue #1, 2.50 Kabuki Agents Scarab #1, 2.95 Kosmic Kat Activity Book, 2.95 Mage Hero Discovered Coll Bk 8, 7.50 Mega Dragon & Tiger Heroes #5, 2.95 Solar Lord #6, 2.50 Spawn The Undead #3, 1.95 Witchblade #34, 2.50 MARVEL COMICS Astonishing X-Men #2 (Of 3), 2.50 Avengers #21, 1.99 Conan Death Covered In Gold #2 (Of 3), 2.99 Daredevil #8, 2.50 Earth X #7 (Of 12), 2.99 Inhumans #10 (Of 12) (resolicited), 2.99 Nova #6, 1.99 Silver Surfer Loftier Than Mortals #2 (Of 2), 2.50 Slingers #11, 1.99 Warlock Cvr A #2, 1.99 Warlock Cvr B #2, 1.99 Webspinners Tales Of Spider-Man #10, 2.50 Wolverine #143, 1.99 X-51 #3, 1.99 X-Force #95, 1.99 Q COMICS INC Varick Chronicles Of The Dark Prince #2, 1.95 THINKTANK COMICS Hysteria #3, 2.95 TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS Hey Mister Behind The Green Door, 2.95 VIZ COMMUNICATIONS X 1999 Vol 3 Serenade GN, 15.95 Pokemon Electric Pikachu Boogaloo #2 , 2.95 Animerica Volume 7 #8, 4.95 Ranma 1/2 Part 8 #5 (Of 13), 2.95 magazines Comic Shop News #636, AR Toon Magazine #19, 5.95 NCRL for the foreseeable future... TITLE OLD RELEASE DATE NEW DATE DC COMICS Battle Chasers T-Shirt LG 03/03 TBA Battle Chasers T-Shirt XL 03/03 TBA Danger Girl Door Poster 03/10 TBA Darkchylde: The Legacy #4 08/04 TBA Divine Intervention: Gen13 08/25 09/29 Divine Intervention: Wildcats 08/04 09/15 Divine Right #11 07/14 09/01 Divine Right #12 09/29 10/06 Dreams Of The Darkchylde #0 06/16 TBA Elseworlds 80-Page Giant #1 06/30 TBA Golden Age Flash Archives Vol. 1 08/25 09/15 Hellblazer #142 08/25 09/29 Planetary #5 06/23 07/28 Planetary #6 07/28 09/22 Pulp Fiction Library: Mystery In Space TPB 08/04 09/01 Speed Racer #2 09/08 09/22 Stormwatch: A Finer World TPB 09/01 09/08 The League Of Ext. Gentlemen #4 07/28 09/01 Tom Strong #5 08/25 09/22 *Please Note: These dates are tentative. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [13] HYPE! Section Various SCARY BOOK brings chuckles for Halloween Silverline announced today that THE SCARY BOOK, the graphic novel shipping in October, will have an introduction by famed Horror Novelist C. Dean Andersson. The book will ship in early October and will be a perfect choice for the Halloween season. It is available through both FM International and Diamond Distribution, be sure you've ordered your copy. "We met Mr. Andersson several years back at one of those famous Texas conventions," said Roland Mann, Silverline editor. "We got to talking about comics and American Indians and history and just had a really great time. He knows Sidney and knows his work, so it was without hesitation that we contacted him for the intro." THE SCARY BOOK is written by horror novelist Sidney Williams, author of such works as AZARIUS, NIGHT BROTHERS and BLOOD HUNTER, and such comic works as MANTUS FILES, SIRENS and THE MARAUDER. "I had just agreed with a fellow writer that comedy and terror don't mix when I got a call from Roland. When he asked if I could come up with a comedy horror, I said sure," said Williams. The art is done by Steve Willhite and Dan Schaefer. The Scary Book is a wild and zany blend of horror, humor and pop culture. It is about a "book of evil incantations that gets lost on earth, and the Devil has to get it back before Hell freezes over." Bookstore clerk, Marty Applegate is the one recruited to get it back. His associates are a demonic beauty named Crimson and a senile private eye who calls himself Phillip Chandler. When all of the Devil's minions are released from the bottomless pit, the bad place, you know … HELL ITSELF! For more information on Silverline and THE SCARY BOOK, visit the web site at: http://www.kakuta.com/silverline or email silverline@kakuta.com. +++++ CHAOS! COMICS TO PUBLISH TIE-IN COMIC BASED ON ACTIVISIONíS HIT VIDEO GAME, VIGILANTE 8 Scottsdale, AZ - August 16, 1999 - The American West and Southwest will never be the same when a cast of oddball characters takes to the road in an all out battle to the finish. Welcome to Vigilante 8 #1 from Chaos! Comics, a one-shot comic based on the hit video game franchise, Vigilante 8 from Activision Inc. Vigilante 8 Second Offense #1, The Official Comic, unties and further expands on the plots of Vigilante 8 and Vigilante 8: Second Offense, the ground breaking sequel to Activision's smash hit Vigilante 8, to create a comic that brings the far flung future and the not so distant '70s together in another epic battle between rival road gangs, the Coyotes and Vigilantes. Back in 1975, thanks to the bravery of the Vigilantes, the Coyotes were defeated and the multinational oil conglomerate that backed them was forced to retreat. Fast forward to four decades later, Slick Clyde - Vigilante turned Coyote leader - wants too take a trip back in time to rewrite some history. With the help of a stolen time machine, Slick Clyde and two of his sidekicks launch themselves back to the '70s for a heaping helping of revenge. The Vigilantes defeated the Coyotes once, but can they stop Slick Clyde again? Penned by Ted Adams and Kris Oprisko, authors of such best selling video game comic books as Resident Evil, FutureCop and Mortal Kombat 4, Vigilante 8 Second Offense #1 promises to expand on the backstory of the king-of-auto-combat games. Completing the creative team on Vigilante 8 will be penciler Ryan (Savant Garde) Odagawa. "Vigilante 8 is a wild car crash of a game, literally and figuratively," says Brian Pulido, President and Publisher of Chaos! Comics. "It's got an edgy and irreverent feel to it which is just perfect for Chaos! We're all fans of the game and to be able to bring it to comics is a great opportunity." According to Adams, Vigilante 8 Second Offense #1 is going to be chock full of fun. "Along with the awesome '70s cars and wacky characters, we're going to follow the hero of the game, Convoy, and find out how he got together with the rest of the Vigilantes," Adams says. "Kris and I worked really hard to capture the feel of the game and I think we nailed it. The comic has a really fun feel and is loaded with '70s style action and characters." Both Chaos! and Activision will be supporting the launch of Vigilante 8 Second Offense #1 with a multi-tiered marketing campaign which includes a 6 million impression print ad, house ads, trade ads, and online website presence. The one-shot full color comic book, Vigilante 8 Second Offense #1, from Chaos! will be released in November of 1999 and will coincide with the release of Vigilante 8: Second Offense on the PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and Sega Dreamcast game consoles. Vigilante 8 is currently available for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 platforms. The comic will carry a suggested retail price of $2.95. http://www.chaoscomics.com agoldfine@chaoscomics.com 7655 E. Gelding Rd. Suite B1 Scottsdale, AZ 85260 ph: 602.991.9080 ext. 546 fax: 602.991.6005 +++++ FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS DECEMBER RELEASES BLACK HOLE #7 By Charles Burns 32-page black-and-white comics on glossy paper with cardstock covers $4.50; $6.75 in Canada MATURE READERS Ronalds The seventh (and ìniceî) issue of Charles Burnsí dark and forbidding tale of adolescence and physical mutations marks the midway point of BLACK HOLE. Two new chapters flow ominously from Burnsí heavy pen: In ìUnder Open Skiesî Chris and her boyfriend Rob skip school and drive out to the ocean for a romantic day together during which they profess their love for each other. The tiny mouth on Robís chest starts spouting cryptic messages; turning the whole day dark. ìThe Woodsî shows Chris flashing back to the events that happened AFTER the ìUnder Open Skiesî chapter. Chris runs away from home and begins to live with Rob and his disfigured friends in the woods. She has an encounter with the same creepy guy weíve seen in previous issues and freaks out. Burns continues to prove he is a dominant force of graphic mastery and horror story-telling in the world today. COMICS JOURNAL #218 120-page black-and-white magazine about comics ï $5.95; $8.95 in Canada ïMATURE READERS ï Shipping from Port This holiday issue is just chock-full of interviews: The Trilogy: Stardust and Book of Ballads and Sagas creator Charles Vess discusses his career and self-publishing; Castle Waiting writer/artist Linda Medley on her new Vertigo book, and Bone impresario Jeff Smith on the animating of those ìstupid, stupid rat creatures.î PLUS a delightful cover from Vess himself! COMIX 2000 By various $75.00; $112.50 in Canada * MATURE READERS * Shipping from Fanta warehouse The ultimate millennial comic! As put together by the highly respected French publisher L'Assocation (co-founded by Lewis Trondheim), Comix 2000 is the first-ever 2,000-page comic book album. Earlier this year, the publishers sent out a request for 1- to 10-page pantomime strips on the subject of the 20th century, and have so far received and accepted over 100 contributions. The total roster of cartoonists will expand between now and publication, and is sure to include a large number of international superstars. A (very) partial listing of countries and cartoonists involved reads like an atlas and a who's who of cartooning: Argentina (Carlos Nine, Pablo Sapia), Belgium, Brazil, Canada (David Collier, Richard Suicide), China, Cuba, Finland (Blab's Matti Hagleberg), France (David B., Edmond Baudoin, Jochen Gerner, Lewis Trondheim) Germany (Anke Feuchtenberger, Martin Tom Dieck), Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand (Hicksville's Dylan Horrocks), Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain (Max), Sweden (Annmari Olsson, Olle Berg), Switzerland, the United Kingdom (Roger Langridge), the former Yugoslavia (Aleksandar Zograf), and the United States (James Kochalka, Chris Ware, Eric Drooker, Ethan Persoff, Krystine Kryttre, Mike Diana, Bob Sikoryak, MATSO, Brad Johnson). 2000 pages! That's the same length as 17 issues of BLAB...or 40 issues of ZERO ZERO... or 100 issues of CEREBUS. It's four times as thick as CAGES, or as the upcoming FROM HELL collection. COMIX 2000 will be available to the American market exclusively through Fantagraphics Books and will ship in December of 1999. EVIL EYE #5 by Richard Sala 24-page black-and-white comic ï $2.95; $4.45 in Canada ï MATURE READERS ï Ronaldís One of the best new series in recent memory, Richard Salas delirious mixture of sinister intrigue, sweetly sexy girls and inhuman killers continues to get stronger every issue. With Salaís recent appearances on the covers of FRIGHT X, THE COMICS JOURNAL, and ìravesî in DETAILS and CBG, EVIL EYE is pushing itself to the top of the Fantagraphics heap of award winning and critically acclaimed titles. This time out, Peculia encounters the fiendish Bat Master, and Judy Drood comes face to face with the diabolical Herr Schpook! Sweet AND creep ñ two tastes that go great together! LUBA #4 by Gilbert Hernandez 32-page comic ï $3.50; $5.25 in Canada ï MATURE READERS ï Ronaldís In addition to editing the brilliant all-ages anthology MEASLES, Gilbert Hernandez returns (finally!) to his celebrated masterpiece LUBA! Following a day in the life of the major heroine of his Love and Rockets stories, Luba discovers that her TV show daughter Doralis is gay, TV producer Pipo becomes flustered that Doralisí news has been leaked before the ìoutingî episode airs and sends Boots to investigate, Lubaís kidís Socorro and Joselito steal a car and meet a strange man, Venus tries to figure out the world of grown-ups (again) on a family outing, and poor Guadalupe tries to explain why her mother (Luba) is such a scary person. There is so much brilliant story-telling, it barely fits in this fat 32 page comic! MEASLES #5 Edited by Gilbert Hernandez 24-page black-and-white comic ï $2.95; $4.45 in Canada ï ALL AGES ï Ronaldís Yes!! From GILBERT HERNANDEZ and friends comes yet another issue of good olí clean ALL-AGES fun! Issue #5 has: a typically goofy cover from Doofus creator RICK ALTERGOTT; another Venus story ñ this time: her hat is stolen by a painting in an art gallery and she has to enter the painting in pursuit ñ surreal hijinks ensue with a kind of Picasso-meets-Sherlock Jr. adventure (!); Olaf Oedwardsí KID FIRECHIEF makes another appearance in part two of the four part munchkin time traveliní story! All this, plus the first chapter of "Hector & Dexter," a hilarious comedy serial by the great RAW cartoonist Joost Swarte! In this installment, Hector becomes so frustrated with the state of journalism that he decides to start his own newspaper... And thatís only the beginning of the stories to be found in the cutest dang comic around! Again we yell out with much excitement: YES!!! PRINCE VALIANT VOL. 38 ìArn Triumphantî by Hal Foster 48-page full color oversized graphic novel ï $16.95; $25.45 in Canada ï ALL AGES ï Shipping from the Fantagraphics Warehouse (printed in Denmark) ï ISBN: 1-56097-370-6 Hal Fosterís PRINCE VALIANT, with its thrilling continuing adventures of a noble knight in the days of King Arthur, ran in the newspapers from 1937 to 1971. Volume 38 (in the 40 volume series) spotlights the young Arn in a dramatic coming-of-age story. It was Foster who introduced realistic depictions and sophisticated compositions to the comics page. Fosterís trip was the greatest adventure epic ever in comics form, and is a must for all fans of classic illustrative styles like Raymond, Frazetta, Hogarth, and others. The perfect gift for older fans and kids alike! READING THE FUNNIES by Donald Phelps 300-page 7î x 9î trade paperback ï $19.95; $29.95 in Canada ï ISBN: 1-56097-368-4 The comic strip has been a staple of American newspapers for nearly a century. It is a creation unique to cultural life and, in addition to entertainment, has commented on the way we see and view ourselves. From its ìhigh cultureî influence on Pop Art to its ìlow cultureî appeal to children of all ages, the comic strip has had a lasting hold on the imaginations of generations. Noted writer Donald Phelps provides essays on popular classics , such as Chester Gouldís Dick Tracy, EC Segarís Thimble Theatre (which produced Popeye), and Frank Kingís Gasoline Alley. His keen eye discerns the sublime qualities of this most American art form with wit and refreshing candor. Reading the Funnies offers an elegant and eloquent look into this fascinating slice of American popular culture. SCHIZOPHRENIA by Vaughn Bode 120-page 6îx9î trade paperback ï b&w and color illustrations ï $14.95; $22.45 in Canada ï ISBN: 1-56097-371-4 The eleventh and final volume in our acclaimed ìBode Library,î produced with the cooperation of the Bode estate and collectors around the world. Focusing on the introspective, personal stories, the book reprints Bodeís long out-of-print early caveman piece, ìThe Man,î and his autobiographical title strip, ìSchizophrenia,î in color for the first time anywhere, all shot from the original art. In addition, thereís a wealth of rare and hard-to-find illustrations and strips. A must have for collectors and graffiti artists everywhere! WEASEL #2 by Dave Cooper 32 page comic(12pgs duotone), cardstock cover ï $4.95; $6.95 in Canada ï ADULTS ONLY ï Ronaldís Better than visions of sugar plums dancing in your head, the second issue of Dave Cooperís quintessential alternative masterwork delivers a surreal cornucopia of oddly designed tales to all you (adult) kiddies. In the second chapter of RIPPLE, a tormented Martin invites Tina back for another modelling session. During the session, Martin reveals a perverse dream to the blindfolded Tina. The two consummate their unbalanced relationship in a clumsy, messy outburst, rendering Martin more vulnerable than ever. Another inexplicable installment of TELEVISION PROGRAM X-32b (co-written by Pip & Norton collaborator Gavin McInnes) features disturbing dream imagery packaged in an accessible, cartoon illustration style. Many of the unusual features present in the first issue of WEASEL, such as ENCYCLOPEDIA NONSENSICA, & A GENTLEMAN'S SECRET PICTURE DIARY will continue throughout the series. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [A] E-Mag Info: Submissions, Subscriptions, Back Issues, Copyrights and the Comic Book Network BBS system. SUBMISSIONS ----------- To submit an article, review, column, etc. to our e-mag, simply E-mail it to the editor at: ComicBkNet@aol.com Reviews of mainstream books are welcome and will get included when submitted, they are not excluded off hand. We encourage reviews of indies and self published material as we feel that material deserves more exposure to the general public. If you write intelligent, coherent, and timely reviews of anything it will almost always be printed so give us a shot. Commentary on the state of the industry, and personal observations and reflections related to comics are *most* likely to be included in our publication. PLEASE, no material on Gaming, role playing, collectible card games or other hobbies or collectibles other than comic books. SEND US YOUR WORK ----------------- We also accept product for review purposes. Advanced copies of comic books will not be returned but anything sent to us *will* be reviewed in the ComicBook Net Emag. Send all material to: David L. LeBlanc 84 Heather Circle Jefferson, MA 01522-1419 Material is generally reviewed in the order received and be advised that we work a few weeks in advance so your review may not be in the magazine immediately. Advanced copies are therefore encouraged so the review will occur prior to your product hitting the stores. SUBSCRIPTIONS ------------- If you wish to receive each issue automatically through your Email account, please address a message to ComicBkNet@aol.com to be placed on the FREE subscription list. Please put the word SUBSCRIBE in the SUBJECT. To temporarily or permanently suspend delivery of the Emag, send a similar message with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the SUBJECT. There is also an easy to use form on the web page for the same purpose. THE Comic Book Net WEB PAGE http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet ---------------- If you have access to the World Wide Web, please stop by and visit our web page! On our web page, you can find the latest issue of our E-Mag, as well as all back issues and an annotated index. You'll also find important information on how to join the conversation in the Comic Book Network, and other neat features like links to the HTML version of the current issue of this magazine at DIGITAL WEBBING, [http://www.digitalwebbing.com/cbem], details of upcoming conventions around the country, some of the comic companies and creators' web pages and many other Comic Book related links! You can also find some back issues at America Online, by going to Keyword: COMICS, then choose the menu item _Comic Book Forum_ and then going to the _Comics Library_ from there. These are non-zipped text files. COPYRIGHTS ---------- The Comic Book Net E-Mag is published by The ComicBook Network. This is a compilation of articles and columns which were originally posted in other forums or web pages or written specifically for this electronic magazine. Most articles are independent of any connection with The ComicBook Network and are used with permission. All text contained within is copyrighted to the originating author(s). Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Editor, the Network Administration Team or the members and users of The ComicBook Network. Except where elsewhere noted, The Comic Book Net Electronic Magazine (CBEM) is Copyright 1999 by The ComicBook Network. You may freely distribute or duplicate this file intact without alteration for noncommercial purposes only. Please do not distribute except as the complete file as originally transmitted by The ComicBook Network. Information about the Comic Book Network of computer bulletin board systems and how to join can be found on our internet homepage at: http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - End of another Issue .. GIVE A KID A COMIIC TODAY! I don't suffer from stress. I'm a carrier.