---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden Present: THE COMIC BOOK NET ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE ISSUE NUMBER 234 10/08/99 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] Tony Isabella's Journal ............... Tony Isabella [6] Stranger in a Strange Land ............ Jennifer M. Contino [7] A Voice from the Doorway .............. Christopher Myers [8] And Let Me Tell You Why ............... David Coulter [9] Comic Abstracts ....................... John Barker [10] M.O.E. Reviews ........................ Paul Dale Roberts [11] My View:PEWFELL PORFINGLES ............ David LeBlanc [12] New Comic Book Releases List .......... Charles LePage [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 It never rains, but it pours. First I proclaim freedom from the sinister AOL filter last week when, as my AOL subscribers well know, it struck again, stopping parts 2 & 3 Friday night once again. We are back to several resends til they get through and protest via email to the AOL Postmaster, Steven Case and Bill Gates for good measure! And, yes AOL 5.0 is now available for download at Keyword UPGRADE. Then, purely by coincidence, the first newsletter from Stan Lee's new service was sent out to those who had signed up for it, including yours truly, only to be promptly hacked and rerouted so that it behaved like a mailing list rather than a send-only mailer. That means a few people sent REPLIES back which got sent to everyone on the list prompting more messages, which annoyed many people who sent messages asking to be removed, which everyone got, until the whole thing grew at a geometric rate and finally flooded our mailboxes and crashed Stan's server. Now it seems there was some kind of glitch in the Internet, or some new filters in place as I got random email from lots of people in Europe, and elsewhere claiming they did not get the emag (in each case they were still on our mailing list) and a few from Hotmail and Earthlink said the same thing. That is odd because the usual bounce back of undeliverable mail did not occur. There has been news of fiber optic line breaks lately so maybe major data lines have gotten messed up(?) And I have seen several lines in one bounce back indicating that WEBTV may be blocking Netcom mail as well. So if you suddenly do not get an issue, but are still getting other Email on Saturday, you can email back to request a resend (except you AOL folks - we KNOW the problem there) or just grab it off the web to see if the problem is only temporary. DO NOT send angry or rude mail suggesting I dropped you from the list for no reason. I don't do that. The only drops I make are either by request or when I get a message from an ISP indicating mail is not deliverable. Now for more pleasant stuff - this week's comics: ABSTRACT STUDIOS Strangers In Paradise Vol III #27, 2.75 CRYPTIC PRESS/CS COMICS Quicken Forbidden #8, 2.95 DARK HORSE COMICS Terminator The Dark Years #2 (Of 4), 2.95 DC COMICS Dv8 #32, 2.50 Flashpoint #1 (Of 3), 2.95 Martian Manhunter #13, 1.99 Planetary #6, 2.50 <-------- Pick of the Week! Preacher #56, 2.50 Starman #60, 2.50 The Invisibles Volume 3 #6, 2.95 IMAGE COMICS Age Of Bronze #5, 2.95 INSIGHT STUDIOS GROUP Liberty Meadows #3, 2.95 LONE STAR PRESS Pantheon #6 (Of 12), 2.95 MARVEL COMICS Black Panther #12 (resolicited), 2.50 And finally, this comic related story in the news: BOSTON (Reuters) - It is not quite Spiderman to the rescue, but a web the comic-book hero might fire from his wrist to wrap-up a weapon-wielding villain was among high-tech, crime-fighting gadgets on show at a police expo Tuesday. Webshot, made by Foster-Miller Inc. of Waltham, Mass., can disable a suspect by tangling them in a 10-foot octagonal Kevlar net from up to 30 feet away, according to the maker. Numerous police departments are testing it, and one has already adopted it, the company said.... *** Oh yeah, sincere apologies to Jennifer Contino. Last week I inadvertently left her last name off the index. Sorry Jen. 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: There was no CBEM for me! From: plavoie@total.net (Pascal Lavoie) Dear David I did not receive the last edition of CBEM (#233). I am assuming that the problem is on my side because I think that my mailbox was too full to keep your big e-mails. I'm saying "I think" because it never happened to me before and it wasn't my fault. I was caught in that StanLee.net newsletter debacle last weekend. Maybe you know about it. If not, here are the quick facts: on Thursday I believe, StanLee.net sent their first newsletter to the people who signed on its website. But their mistake was to set up their newsletter as a mailing list, not as a real newsletter like CBEM or the DC newsletter. So people (a lot of people) started sending messages to unsubscribe which everyone received, then others wrote to say "What is this?", "Stop it!" and it was of course as useful as dancing in quicksand. So Sunday, when I opened my computer and hoped for CBEM, I got 38 unrelated e-mails!!! A first. To make matters worst, I tried to unsubscribe on the StanLee.net website, but their homepage is so heavy with animation and sounds that my browser freeze every time and I can't follow any links. It is very frustrating because that almost never happen, and my computer and Internet connections are still quite efficient. Anyway, all that to say that I picked up CBEM 233 on your website, so no need to send it back. But please, do not throw me out of the mailing list. I love your e-mag and it will (hopefully) never happen again. ;) Pascal Lavoie Longueuil, Quebec, Canada plavoie@total.net +++++ From: Donna Barr Subject: Full Contact: (fwd) STINZ IN FULL COLOR: "SLAVERY AND FREEDOM" A special treat for all my readers: The 23 full-color pages of "Slavery and Freedom" will probably never be published in book form. But they've been posted in their entirety on A Fine Line Press's website, where you can read them for free. They're at http://www.stinz.com/home/slavery/index.html Enjoy them with my compliments! Donna Barr Shipping in September, l999: "Playthings." The next book in the Stinz series. details at: www.stinz.com +++++ Subj: Horror Guild nominee NIGHT CITY again available From: Mortcastle@aol.com Horror Guild nominee NIGHT CITY again available Artists Mark Nelson, Don Kramer, and I, Mort Castle, writer, were deeply honored by NIGHT CITY's being nominated for the 1998 International Horror Guild Award. And we are certainly pleased that, though THORBY has moved away from print publishing, the comic is being again offered, along with IN MEMORIAM, a chapbook with two of my stories paying homage to Hemingway, George Romero's The Living Dead, Robert "Psycho" Bloch, and H.P. Lovecraft. The chapbook has a stunning cover by Mark (Hellraiser) Evans. You can find out what Jim Shooter, Joe R. Lansdale, Robert Weinberg, and others have to say about these publications as well as getting ordering info at: www.darktales.com. Mort Castle For More Information: mortwrites@aol.com mortcastle@aol.com butch@adarktales.com dave.nordhaus@pcg.com +++++ Subj: Humourous Single Panel Cartoon "Strange Breed" From: SLang46188@aol.com Hi, I have a hilarious, off beat, single panel cartoon called, "Strange Breed". It is at: http://www2.hi.net/s4/strangebreed.htm Please take a moment and stop on by. I would love to hear what you think. You could drop me an email or sign in my guestbook. I answer all messages. Also please stop by and vote for my cartoon "Strange Breed" at "Web Comics". It is at: http://www.webcomics.com Don't forget to check out both my new and old archives, I promise my cartoons will make you laugh :) Also bookmark my site, there is a new "Strange Breed" cartoon twice a week, every Wed. and Sun. Thanks! Steve Langille, cartoonist +++++ Subj: Michael Silberkleit From: bill.kropfhauser@gte.net (Bill C Kropfhauser) An open letter to Michael Silberkleit, So the fact that Melissa Joan Hart is a) an adult woman b) living in a free country and c) chooses to show a little of her own flesh has you bent. So bent that you have chosen to ascend the podium of moral indignation and chastize Melissa for her heinous sins; so bent that you have called for her dismissal from the "Sabrina" show (thus violating her contract) while in the same breath accusing her of violating her contract and casting Sabrina the Teenage Witch in a negative light. Excuse me, Mr. Silberkleit, but when in the last thirty odd years have you cared one wit about Sabrina's image? You weren't even publishing the character until Viacom optioned it. Since then, you've watched a show that resembles the character created by "ahem" Frank Doyle and Dan DeCarlo in name and name alone become a ratings hit and you didn't seem to care what alterations to the character were made so long as you kept raking in that licensing dough. You've subsequently licensed an animated cartoon that bears even less resemblance to the character you're so vehement to protect, and even gone out of your way to order your creative staff to alter "your sacred character" to look like the television versions. And now you're bent? Fess up. This has nothing to do with the "image of Sabrina", which you've repeatedly shown that you don't care a wit about. This is all about protecting a revenue flow. You can dress it up in all the moral indignation you like, but I suspect your objections would disappear like the morning dew if you were getting a cut of Ms. Hart's Maxim spread. So just go back to running the company your father helped start into the ground. quite sincerely, Bill Kropfhauser +++++ Subj: 'Nuff Said! radio/web show guest info From: nuffsaid@escape.com (Nuff Said) 'Nuff Said!, the comic book interview/talk show, is on the air for a full hour every Tuesday at 10 PM on WBAI-FM, 99.5 in the New York City metropolitan area. We're also on the internet at www.wbaifree.org and www.2600.com as well. There's a link to each of those on our own web site: www.nuffsaid.net. I'm hearing the limited number of connections gets filled up early, so dial in early. Tuesday, Oct. 12, 1999 - Pre-empted for the Membership drive and... Tuesday, Oct. 19, 1999 - A two-hour special, 10 PM to midnight. We'll be playing an interview with Mike Kaluta taped at a recent Big Apple Convention here in New York City. Mike's fine, detailed line work has made him one of the most admired and respected of all comic artists. His Shadow series from DC in the '70s is considered by many to be the best rendition of that character. "Starstruck" the continuing series he does with Elaine Lee is always eagerly anticipated. He's done posters, the Tolkein calender, and so much more. He talks about the history of the legendary "Studio" and gives advice to young artists. A helluva nice guy, too! A wait'll you see the PILE of excellent comics you can get for becoming a member of WBAI-FM! Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1999 - Jim Toomey, the creator/writer/artist of the excellent offbeat charmingly demented comic strip "Sherman's Lagoon," now syndicated by King Features. Comic strip expert Jeff Lindenblatt will be joining me on this. Your phone calls, too. Tuesday, Nov. 2, 1999 - To Be Announced Tuesday, Nov. 9, 1999 - Chris Companik has a new on-line educational comic on the internet at www.righttrack.org. We'll be talking with him and hopefully with his writing partner on that project, Derek Mace. They use humor and characterization to educate about health issues and AIDS, taking into account a number of attitudes and lifestyles. WBAI-FM, 99.5, is a 50,000 watt station broadcast from the Empire State Building. Our signal usually gets out to New Haven, CT; Westhampton, L.I.; the Poconos of Pennsylvania, Orange County, NY and Trenton & Princeton, NJ. But via the internet for an even greater distance, natch. The show covers the entire world of comics: golden age, silver age, contemporary, mainstream, independent, underground, foreign, strips and fandom. Hosted by Ken Gale (interviewer) and Ed Menje (Engineer). WBAI is a Pacifica Network station (if your local station carries any Pacifica programming (such as "Democracy Now" and Gary Null), they might be able to get 'Nuff Said! as well). WBAI-FM, 120 Wall St., 10th flr, New York, NY 10005. --Ken Gale, interviewer and co-host ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [3] [TRIVIA CONTEST] **THE FIRST PLACE TO FIND THE EMAG EACH WEEK IS ON OUR HOME PAGE!** IF YOU ARE DESPERATE TO WIN THE TRIVIA, GO THERE FIRST ON FRIDAY NIGHT http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet/emag.htm QUESTION OF THE WEEK Prizes donated by Discount Comic Book Service at www.dcbservice.com where you can order most DC, Marvel, Image, and Dark Horse comics, statues and retail products for 35% off. +Submit your own trivia and win the CHEEZY PRIZE(tm) if you can stump+ +the readers! You MUST submit the correct answer with your question.+ LAST ISSUE'S QUESTION OF THE WEEK: "In which Marvel comics (title and issue) was the name of the writer the same as an alter ego of the hero?" Long time participant, and frequent winner, Bob (LAW IS ASS) Ingersoll came up with the right answer, or at least one. Most folks know that Moon Knight was Marc Spector but he also had other alter egoes, one which was Steven Grant. Writer Steven Grant wrote some stories of Marvel's hero and Bob named MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE # 52 as one time. Bob gets Transmetropolitan: Back on the Streets Trade Paperback from our sponsor. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION: The Joker and Catwoman are often mentioned as being in BATMAN #1. What other notable Bat-foe appeared in the issue? IMPORTANT RULES NOTICE The first correct answer to reach the editor wins the CHEEZY PRIZE(tm). The editor will be the sole judge as to which guess arrived first! Messages with more than one guess will be disqualified. LIMIT: ONE PRIZE PER MONTH PER PERSON! ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [4] Network Buzz News, gossip and rumors from around the industry Marvel Enterprises Announces Sale of Panini SpA Subsidiary NEW YORK, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: MVL) announced today that it has completed the sale of its Italian subsidiary Panini SpA to ID4 Holding SpA, a newly created company owned jointly by Fineldo SpA, an Italian conglomerate engaged in various consumer product and financing businesses and controlled by Vittorio Merloni, and the Senior Management of Panini. In connection with ID4's purchase of the Panini equity, for which Marvel received a nominal price, ID4 also purchased all of Panini's outstanding U.S. bank debt and Marvel was released from its guarantee of $27 million of that bank debt. Marvel made a cash payment of $11.2 million to Panini's bank lenders to obtain its release from the $27 million guarantee. Marvel also announced that Panini would continue as Marvel's international publishing licensee under a five-year license entered into as part of the sale. Panini is engaged in the children's activity sticker business under the Panini brand name, the comic and kid's publishing businesses and the adhesive paper business through its Adespan Division. Panini was a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. when that company was acquired by Marvel, then called Toy Biz, Inc., in October, 1998. Since that time, Panini has been held by Marvel for disposition and the guarantee of Panini's bank debt has been carried on Marvel's balance sheet as a $27 million long-term liability. Peter Cuneo, Marvel's President and CEO, commented that: "The terms of this sale are very positive for Marvel. We were able to dispose of this subsidiary and at the same time enhance stockholder value by eliminating our $27 million guarantee liability for only $11.2 million. We look forward to the royalties that we will receive from our long-term license with Panini, under which Marvel's market-leading comics will continue to be distributed throughout Europe, South America and Asia. Marvel's characters represent cultural icons to kids and young adults both here in North America and also throughout the 40 plus countries where our comics and other licensed products are available." Vittorio Merloni, President of Fineldo SpA, and Aldo Sallustro, Chief Executive Officer of Panini, were pleased to announce the return of Panini to Italian ownership (one of the key companies in Modena, Panini's headquarters) and have confirmed that there are key programs in development to expand Panini's activities. Marvel Enterprises, Inc. is one of the world's most prominent entertainment-based companies, with operations in the licensing, comic book publishing and toy businesses. Through its ownership of over 3,500 proprietary characters, the Company has published comic books for over 60 years in the United States and numerous foreign countries. The Company licenses the right to use its characters in a wide range of products such as apparel, snack foods, video games and collectibles as well as for television series and feature films. For additional company information, visit Marvel's web site at http://www.marvel.com. For additional information concerning Panini visit Panini's web site at http://www.paninigroup.com. +++++ THE LONG BOX EXPANDS ITS COMIC BOOK FEATURES DURHAM, NC - October 8, 1999 - The Long Box unveiled the fourth search feature for its on-line relational comic book database. The Long Box, previously in early Beta development, is now moving it the final stages of the Beta in anticipation of its previously unannounced launch date of January 1, 2000. The Long Box (http://www.longbox.com) has added a new comic search feature which allows visitors to search its database of comic book related teams and organizations. This function allows users to browse The Long Box's teams pages which contains brief histories about the team and/or organization as well as the its founding and other members as detailed by the database. This new search functions expands on the previous methods of searching the database which included searches by comic character name, series titles, and comic book creator's name. In addition to the additional search features The Long Box has plans for online comic book collection management software which integrates with its database and a comic book story arc listing. The Long also plans to include foreign comic shops in its Comic Shop Locator and allow for visitors to submit feedback for the individual comic shops to assist others in locating quality comic shops. About The Long Box The Long Box is the largest fully relational database of its kind supporting features which allow web visitors to input missing data, contribute written reviews, and browse through the largest comic book character database available. The Long Box was developed by Ravelution Inc (http://www.ravelution.net). Headquartered in Durham, NC, Ravelution is a Internet consulting group consisting of web, e-commerce, ASP, and relational database developers as well as graphic designers. The company has assisted in developing ASP, database, and e-commerce solutions in the comic book, magazine, and computer wholesale industries. +++++ Activision Expands Alliance with Marvel Enterprises, Inc. And Signs Three-Year Pact for Worldwide Rights To Renowned X-MEN and Blade Franchises Agreement Marks Marvel's First Umbrella Deal With Independent Software Publisher SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today that it has expanded its relationship with Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: MVL) and signed a three-year licensing agreement that allows Activision to develop and publish an unlimited number of games based on Marvel's X-MEN and Blade franchises. Under the terms of the agreement, Activision has obtained the worldwide publishing rights for all platforms. The deal also provides Activision with exclusive worldwide rights to develop products based on new X-MEN and Blade television series or motion pictures. Activision currently is in production on its first X-MEN game, which it intends to release in 2000. The announcement represents the first time that Marvel Enterprises has entered into an umbrella deal with an independent entertainment software publisher. The agreement reinforces Activision's strategy to continue expanding its market share by developing and publishing products based on powerful recognizable brands. "For more than 35 years, Marvel's popular Super Hero franchises, X-MEN and Blade, have captivated the imagination of audiences worldwide," states Ron Doornink, president of Activision, Inc. "With this agreement, we can extend the rich universes inherent in both of these brands and bring many new and exciting products to the marketplace. We are thrilled to expand our alliance with Marvel on these extraordinary properties." Doornink adds, "This announcement further demonstrates Activision's commitment to strengthening the portfolio of franchise properties around which we build our product lines. Activision's creative organization combined with Marvel's renowned franchises will allow us to bring first-class products with broad consumer appeal to the leading interactive formats." "X-MEN and Blade are both crown jewels in the Marvel library of over 3,5000 characters and are soon to be major film releases. Our agreement with Activision enables us to extend these highly successful franchises and we're very pleased to be expanding our relationship with a company that has demonstrated their commitment and vision to our characters," comments Peter Cuneo, President and CEO, Marvel Enterprises, Inc. The power of Marvel Comics' world-renowned mutant franchise, X-MEN, continues to captivate consumers worldwide. Since their introduction 36 years ago, the X-MEN have become the most successful comic book property of all time, selling approximately 12 million comic books each year, according to Marvel. For six straight seasons -- from October 1992 to January 1998 -- the X-MEN dominated the Saturday morning airwaves on the Fox Kids Network. Additionally, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation is currently in development with a motion picture based on the X-MEN which is slated for release in June 2000. The feature film will star Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry and Ian McKellan. Based on the long-running comic book series, the first Blade feature film starred Wesley Snipes and grossed $130 million in worldwide box office revenues. The sequel, also starring Snipes, is slated for Spring 2000. Activision maintains operations in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and Australia, The Netherlands and Belgium. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is located at http://www.activision.com. +++++ Raymond, Robbins and Williamson join The Missing Years in early 2000. The fans have spoken and beginning with Issue #33, which will be coming out sometime in January 2000, The Missing Years Magazine will add three new features to its magazine. Rip Kirby by Alex Raymond; Johnny Hazard by Frank Robbins and Secret Agent Corrigan written by the late great Archie Goodwin and drawn by Al Williamson. The Missing Years, printed by JAL Publications / SPEC Productions -has for the past six years (and thirty-two issues) presented "for the first time comic strip adventures that have never been reprinted before in magazine form". We have presented the adventures of Dick Tracy (1964 - 1970) by Chester Gould, Terry and the Pirates by George Wunder (from 1946), Captain Easy by Leslie Turner (from 1943). Jim Hardy by Dick Moores, Secret Agent X-9 by Flanders Alfonsky and Briggs. The Missing Years was the first to present the complete "Phantom Magician" story (The first costume hero in comics) by Mel Graff. Since the Dick Tracy Magazine finished reprinting the 1945 Dick Tracy period, (The Missing Years has been presenting the adventures of Tracy from where Blackthorne Comics left of), Tracy will move exclusively from the Missing Years to the Dick Tracy Magazine. TDTM will be running the adventures of Tracy from the 1970's. This left the Missing Years with a big hole. So we put together a list of candidates and these were the results. Rip Kirby by Alex Raymond won the spot to appear in every issue. Over the years Raymond works on Flash Gordon, Jungle Jim and Secret Agent X-9 have been completely reprinted by different companies. Rip Kirby is the only character from Raymond that has not been completed yet many adventures from 1950-l955 have not been reprinted in this country since their original run in newspapers. So we will be presenting these adventures for the first time. Johnny Hazard by Frank Robbins: We will be picking up where the Pacific Comic Club And Ken Pierce Books left off in 1953. In the mid 8O's they publish ten volumes that reprinted the first nine years of the strip. To comic fans Robbins is remember for his work on Batman, the Shadow, and The Invaders. Secret Agent Corrigan by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson: One of the last great adventure comic strips to come out. The team worked on this strip from 1967-1980. As with Rip Kirby many adventures have been reprinted before but not the complete run. We will start with adventures that ran in 1970 picking up where Dragon Lady Press left off. Johnny Hazard and Secret Agent will be switching off. Johnny Hazard will appear in issues #33 and #34. Secret Agent Corrigan will appear in issue #35 and #36. Then Johnny Hazard will return with issue #37. These characters will join with the current lineup, which includes Terry and the Pirates, Captain Easy, and Jim Hardy. The Missing Years is only available through mail order subscription. Each issue has at least 80 pages of great comic strip material. A subscription averages six issues for $60. You can send checks or credit card orders to SPEC Productions at P.O. Box 32, Manitou Springs, CO 80829. Also ask for our free catalog, which lists all back issues of The Missing Years and many other great comic strip magazines +++++ Xceed and Marvel Team Up; Xceed to Redesign Marvel.com for Marvel Enterprises, Inc NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 1999--Xceed Inc., (Nasdaq: XCED), interactive architect and solutions builder, and Marvel Enterprises, Inc., (NYSE: MVL), one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, announced today that Marvel has hired Xceed to take on the project of redesigning Marvel.com. Marvel Enterprises publishes some of the most popular comic books on the market today. The Marvel website is an important part of Marvel Enterprises strategy and is a popular source of news and information for fans of the Marvel characters. Xceed is responsible for every aspect of the new Marvel.com site and will be deploying a cross-functional team of Internet specialists to realize Marvel's vision. The work that Xceed is undertaking for Marvel Enterprises includes site design, content organization and information architecture, as well as production of the interactive on-line environment. Because of the unique nature of Marvel's products and the enthusiasm with which fans relate to the characters, the site must be carefully designed in order to capture the essence of the comic book experience. In order to accomplish this, Xceed will be conducting top level consultations with a team from Marvel to develop creative ways to enhance the user's experience on the new site. Xceed's objective is to create a website that will appeal to both hardcore Marvel fans as well as newcomers to Marvel's world. The new site will be upbeat, powerful, exciting and fun to visit and explore. In order to ease site navigation, Xceed will make the site's architecture intuitive and user friendly. "We are very excited about working with Marvel Enterprises on redesigning their popular website," said Scott Mednick, Chairman and Chief Strategic Officer of Xceed Inc. "The visitors to this site will be people who are quite web savvy and thus will be able to really appreciate the quality website our team will create. Due to the multifaceted nature of this project, we feel it fits our talents and experience extremely well and look forward to producing an outstanding website for Marvel." "Xceed really understands what we want to accomplish with our redesigned website and we are very pleased that they will be working with us on this important project," said Peter Cuneo, President and CEO, Marvel Enterprises, Inc. "Our audience are primarily young people who enjoy going online to learn and interact. To us, this means that we must have a really great website filled with interesting content for our fans to visit frequently and hopefully encourage their friends to check out. We are all looking forward to collaborating with Xceed and seeing the new Marvel.com." +++++ From the SPLASH PAGE of Comicon.com at: http://www.comicon.com/splash/ APE SWINGING TO SAN FRANCISCO! CAN'T GET A DATE IN SAN JOSE! October 6: The Alternative Press Expo has announced it will stage it's February 5, 2000 show in San Francisco.APE is one of the largest gatherings of Alternative Press publishers and fans and for the last several years was considered a San Jose institution. APE was forced to find new facilities when dates in San Jose could not be secured for the year 2000 show. "It's certainly a change, but a change we're excited about," says David Glanzer spokesperson for the event, "the new facilities are at Ft. Mason in San Francisco and the location is both beautiful and easy to get to." Ft. Mason has hosted hundreds of Fine Arts and cultural events on the grounds which sit on the water and overlook both Alcatraz and the majestic Golden Gate Bridge. The facility features a multitude of meeting rooms and two massive warehouses, which have been converted into spacious exhibition halls. In a press release, Glanzer said that, "APE's focus will continue to be alternative, small press, and self-published work, ranging from minicomics to books, `zines to nonsuperhero comic book titles produced by larger companies. In addition to the fans who attend, many companies and individual publishers of the alternative press are also represented." The show is open to the public. Memberships for APE are $5.00 and are available at the door. As in past years, qualified comic book retailers will be admitted free, as will persons who have a 1999 Comic-Con International membership badge. For general information call 619-544-9555. To obtain an exhibitor application, call 619-685-6985. Or visit the Comic-Con International website. ANOTHER UNIVERSE TO SELL RETAIL STORES! ANOTHER UNIVERSE ON THE BLOCK! October 5: The SPLASH has learned that all six stores that comprise the East Coast comic book retail chain ANOTHER UNIVERSE will soon be sold. The buyer is said to be a well known retailer with multiple outlets on the West Coast who is intent on creating a bi-coastal retail chain for comics, mail order and collectibles. The deal apparently involves only the bricks-and-mortar storefronts and does not include the popular AnotherUniverse.com web-site. Sources close to the situation tell the SPLASH that the deal has not been signed and that sticking points between the parties remain, but that it is "close" and may be finalized within the next few days. ANOTHER UNIVERSE is one of the largest comics chains in the country and was purchased by Steve Geppi from original owner Steve Milo in September 1998 in a deal that reportedly involved Milo's large debt to Geppi's Diamond Comics Distributors. Diamond, through a series of exclusive distribution agreements with Marvel, DC Comics, Image and Dark Horse, controls 95% of the comic book market in the United States and Canada and is currently under investigation by the Department Of Justice. Developing. STAN'S NEWSLETTER HACKED! STAN LEE MEDIA'S 'SCUZZLE' CAUSES HAVOC WITH TRUE BELIEVERS! October 5: SCUZZLE, the e-mail newsletter from StanLee.net, was the subject of a malicious hack over the weekend that rerouted thousands of e-mails to unsuspecting subscribers and eventually brought down the server of Stan Lee Media. The problem started on Saturday, when the mass mailing newsletter was broadcast from Stan Lee Media to people who had signed up to receive updates on Stan's site. What happened next was pure pandemonium, as Carlton Donahue posted on the Comicon.com message boards: "Well, last night I got the very first "SCUZZLE" newsletter, the official newsletter for Stan Lee's new club. It was followed soon after by several "test" letters. A little while after that, several "Remove me from your mailing list" e-mails arrived in my box. From this morning to this afternoon, I've gotten nearly 30 e-mails from people thinking they're writing to Stan Lee Media, asking to be removed from the list. Some are annoyed, some are getting downright snippy. I realize it's not personal: These people don't know that their mail is being re-routed." Another poster said, "I'm another one of the "lucky" email recipients of the Stan Lee newsletter fiasco last night. I've probably received 50 or more emails from people trying to unsubscribe. When people try to reply to Stan the Man's newsletter, their email is actually being sent to a bunch of other fellow subscribers. It's been close to disastrous for some folks who have been bombarded with hundreds of emails. Some have reportedly even clogged up their ISPs." Apparently the hack is a simple one known as "Spiking The Guns" (which will not be explained in detail for obvious reasons) that causes every attempt to reply to the original e-mail to be broadcast to everyone else on the list. As people's mailboxes fill up with messages they franticly try to 'unsubscribe' and their e-mails are also broadcast to the subscriber list until the server is overwhelmed and the whole system shuts down. Sources tell the SPLASH that an auditing program is being installed to insure it doesn't happen again. Stan will reportedly issue a statement today explaining all. +++++ From The Daily Buzz at http://www.mania.com/newsarama/index.html Comic Crime Does Not Pay A Chicago man must reimburse an acquaintance $267,000 for stealing 34 rare comic books, including a 1939 Batman worth an estimated $80,000. A DuPage County judge also sentenced 24-year-old Jeremiah Boyd to four-years probation, according to the Chicago Sun Times. Boyd reportedly sold 29 of the stolen comic books to a dealer in New York City, including the first Wonder Woman and Green Lantern issues. Police were able to recover as many as 18 of the stolen comics. --ABC Newswire, NCRL Press Pass +++++ From Newsarama; http://www.AnotherUniverse.com/newsarama WINNER OF THE 1997 & 1998 INTERNET "SQUIDDY" FOR BEST WEB SITE Marvel's MC2 Line To Be Trimmed? Readers of Marvel's "no-too-distant-future" line MC2 might have to deal with a holiday disappointment this year. Though not yet confirmed by the publisher or MC2 guru Tom DeFalco, it appears as if two-thirds of the three-title line - Fantastic Five and Wild Thing - will come to an end this December with their 5th issues. F5 penciler Paul Ryan was bearer of bad tidings for his title. Thanking readers for their support of the title in the MC2 folder of AOL's Marvel Message forums, Ryan posted, "Unfortunately, all the great stories we have to tell are fated to remain untold. Bob Harras pulled the plug on F5 last Thursday. A saddened Tom DeFalco called to tell me that, even though I have penciled through issue #6, Marvel is suspending the title with issue #5. This seems a bit precipitous to me but I am not the man in power. I could hope that, with enough letters demanding the continued existence of the F5, you, the fans, could change this decision." Wild Thing's cancellation was brought to light in a much more unusual manner. Series colorist Tom Smith placed a signed color guide for the cover of Wild Thing #6 up for bid at online auction house Ebay on Saturday, a cover he claims will never see publication as the series is being canceled with issue #5. "Attention!! Ron Lim/Wild Thing fans," said his ad. "You have loved the comics, now you can own the cover color guide. Since I was told today that Wild Thing is being cancelled as of issue #5 this is a rare chance to own the last cover of the series, the unpublished cover!! This is the 1 of a kind Wild Thing cover color guide from the upcoming Marvel Comics comic Wild Thing #6." There is no word on how or if original MC2 title Spider-Girl - which will publish its 17th issue in December - is affected. Update: Self-described Marvel MC-2 "head cheerleader" Tom DeFalco has confirmed Newsarama's report of the cancellation of two-thirds of the three title line this December. "I'm sorry to report that both Wild Thing and Fantastic Five will end with issue #5," said DeFalco. "Spider-Girl is okay for now, however." "As for the MC-2 line in general, Marvel and I are still discussing its future. Our goal is to design a new format that will allow us to reach a new and wider audience in the mass market. Stay tuned for further developments!" DeMatteis Joins the Superman Family DC Comics has confirmed a new addition (and subtraction) to the regular roster of Superman creators. On Tuesday a spokesperson for the publisher told Newsarama that writer J.M. DeMatteis will join the monthly Adventures of Superman as its regular scribe some time after the upcoming exit of long-time penciler and plotter/co-writer Stuart Immonen, who announced his departure to the online comics magazine Psycomic on Monday. Immonen's co-writer Mark Millar will depart with him. DeMatteis, who also has a new Spectre ongoing series debuting early next year, tells us he starts with issue #478, as "Clark and Lois try to get away from it all - by going to another planet." At his regular scheduled AOL chat Monday night, Generation X writer Jay Faerber informed attendees that he was leaving GenX as of issue #62 (Feb.) "It wasn't my decision, and I don't know anything else about the future of GenX, or any of the other X-books," Faerber told chatters. Ellis Talks Future Calling it his 21C plan, Warren Ellis gave his fans a sneak peak at this overall plans for the 21st century * Indie Pop Comics - Black and while 3-issue pieces with an Indie feel (described by Ellis as disgusting horror work, psychological or conceptual sci-fi, fun stuff - not wildly commercial). The include the previously announced Strange Kiss from Avatar which begins this November, and Station from Silverline, which he hoped to release this year but has still not found an artist for. * Major Label Pop Comics - What the writer describes as "full-colour, widescreen, commercial non-superhero-genre stuff. The equivalent of the TV drama, the popular novel, the feature film. Big-budget science fiction, adrenalized action movies on paper, supernatural violence, weird thrillers. At the very least." Promising the first of these by July 2000, he couldn't say more as to "where" these projects will take form. * Original & Serialized Graphic Novels - all of the non-superhero variety. The first of these, Dark Blue, will be serialized in 6-parts Avatar's anthology title Threshold next year and then eventually collected into one volume. * The "Exceptions" - Referring to his well-publicized intention to eventually move beyond superhero work, Ellis told readers he's "on promises" to do gigs for the X-Office and for DC editor Joey Cavalieri. "I'm no longer writing 'ongoing' works, so whatever I do for these people will be short and finite," he posted. "And, yes, I've also been talking to Joe Quesada, and I may briefly join my friends Garth (Ennis) and Grant (Morrison) at Marvel Knights for a very short project. It would not, however, be a superhero comic. As Joe puts it, we're looking for something for me to 'get my teeth into.'" Finally, commenting in the future of Transmetropolitan and Planetary, Ellis told readers there's "2 years left to go" on the former series, and that it looks like Year 2 of the latter (issues #12-24) will finish out that series; but he also said that he doesn't want to rush the ending for the sake of the neatness of a 24-part run. Burning The Eternals Flame Writer Michael Higgins hopes that his and co-writer Karl Bollers' (X-51) December one-shot The New Eternals: Apocalypse Now will do for Jack Kirby's creation the Eternals what Giant Size X-Men #1 did for the then floundering mutant team - That is, advance the concept and at the same time bring it to a whole new generation of readers. With that I mind, in addition to facing them off against mainstay X-Men villain Apocalypse, the writing team- along with artist Joe Bennett - will be "totally updating" the concept of the Eternals. Said Higgins, "It's going to be a brand new twist on what it even means to BE an Eternal - with different factions having different attitudes about their position in the modern world. And while we will be using just about all of the old favorites, we are also introducing a pretty good number of never-before-seen characters." Fantagraphics has announced the Barry Windsor-Smith's coffee table art book Opus Vol. 1, which arrived in stores less than two weeks ago, has already sold out its first print run (the fastest sellout in Fantagraphics' 24-year history) and that the publisher will immediately go back to press for a 2nd edition. The 2nd printing will be available by the end of the month and Fantagraphics reports the current shortage will not affect Windsor-Smith's upcoming East Coast promotional tour. The Eisner Award-winning creator Brian Michael Bendis has a secret. The writer/artist of Image's crime series Jinx and the upcoming Oni Press series Fortune and Glory told fans at his Jinxworld website (www.jinxworld.com) that he's been offered a chance to write and illustrate a Batman story for DC, his first work for the publisher. According to Bendis, his story would appear in a Batman Chronicles Elseworlds special due sometime next year. "It's an Elseworlds so I don't know where I'm going to end up setting the story," posted Bendis. "I guess I'll surprise you." +++++ From Zentertainment; HTTP://WWW.ZENTERTAINMENT.COM To sign a friend up or begin receiving ZEN yourself, e-mail: subscribe@ZENtertainment.com ONI Press' JAY & SILENT BOB miniseries will be reprinted in full-color in a special hardcover due out from GRAPHITTI Designs this December. The 120-page tale by Kevin Smith and artist Duncan Fegredo chronicles the events between CHASING AMY and DOGMA, as the duo set out for Illinois. The collection is limited to 5000 copies, and includes an individually-numbered plaque signed by Smith, Fegredo, and the truly unique Jason Mewes. http://www.graphittidesigns.com http://www.onipress.com +++++ COMICS 2 FILM at http://www.comics2film.com X-Men ----- Marvel Enterprises, Inc. announced today that it has retained Carole Postal of COP, Corp., as a consultant to work on the planning and development of a multi-tiered retail strategy for the film X-Men and any other subsequent entertainment projects. The much-anticipated film is currently in production from Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox and is scheduled for a July 2000 release date. Postal will work directly with Marvel's Licensing Division to create and execute an all-encompassing retail plan for X-Men film, which is based on Marvel's highly successful, long running comic series. Postal and Marvel will aim to create a strong presence for the X-Men brand in the specialty market, as well as offer a strategic product mix for the mass market by working with key partners. Prior to establishing her own company, Carol served as Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Licensing for the Americas for the Children's Television Workshop. Before joining CTW, Carol served as Vice President, Domestic Licensing, Retail Merchandising for Turner Home Entertainment. While with both companies, she was instrumental in the development and negotiation of key retail merchandising programs with retailers such as Macy's Kmart, Blockbuster, Caldor and Musicland. "Carole's experience in the licensing and retail business positions X- Men as the premiere entertainment property for 2000 and as we build our multi-tiered merchandising program" commented Ken Abrams, VP, Licensing, Marvel Enterprises. "We are looking forward to working with her on what is a major project for our company that crosses over to every element of our business including Toy Biz' action figure line to Marvel Comics' publishing program." Thanks to Joe Hendren for the tip! FROM WIZARD: A recent issue of Wizard magazine included a special comic book movie insert called Flix! The mini-mag contained a number of interesting tidbits. First up was a feature article based on an interview with Marvel Films president Avi Arad on the subject of the X-Men movie. Regarding costumes Arad told Wizard, "The costumes will have similarities [to their comic book counterparts], but it's also going to be sort of a new design. It's more an issue of the styling for the tone of the movie. The thing that will be most significant for each one of our heroes will be captured in their new costumes." Arad also told Wizard that fans need not be concerned about the special effects budget. "Let's put it this way," the pres said. "The effects budget for this movie is quite healthy, as superhero movies demand. Each of the cast of characters has a special effect...anything it takes to bring the movie to life. For Mystique, we're looking at morphing. For Wolverine's claws, obviously that would be both modeling and some CGI. Toad will definitely be CGI. Cyclops, CGI." The article also talks about the Spider-Man movie. According to Wizard, screenwriter David Koepp is sticking to James Cameron's treatment for the movie. Villains are said to be updated versions of Electro and Sandman. As with Cameron's treatment, Spidey will not wear web-spinners, but will actually have organic spinners as part of his spider mutation. In the Batman arena, Jeff Walker, a publicist for Warner Bros., told Wizard, "I can safely say that there will be a Batman 5, but you won't see it before 2001." http://www.wizardworld.com/ Lobo ---- Sources at Warner Bros. tell Comics 2 Film that Jerry Brown has turned in the script for the Lobo movie. Word is that it's in good shape. However, Silver Pictures is now seeking a new writer to do a "minor rewrite, almost more of a polish" on Brown's draft. Zits ---- FROM DAILY VARIETY AND THE BABY BLUES WEBSITE: Universal Studios is looking to turn cartoonists Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman's comic strip Zits into a live-action film according to Michael Fleming's Dish column in Daily Variety. According to the article Zits is the fastest-growing strip in newspaper history. After only two years of publication the strip runs in 800 papers. It was also named the 1998's top comic strip by the National Cartoonists Society. The comic tells of the trials and tribulations of an awkward, alienated 15 year old. Fleming reports that the film will be produced by Tom Shadyac (Patch Adams, Liar, Liar), Marc Platt and Rick Karo. Shadyac also has the option to direct the movie. Screenwriter Rob Lieber is in negotiations to pen the story. Fleming's article also reveals that Scott's other strip, Baby Blues, is in development as a prime-time animated series for the WB network. A look at the Baby Blues website reveals that the show is set to air first as a Christmas special in December of this year. The regular series, which has an initial order of 13 episodes, will begin "mid- fall" with a debut expected to occur in January. The cast includes the recently unemployed Mike O'Malley as Darryl, former SNL-er Julia Sweeny as Wanda. Mad TV regular Nicole Sullivan will play a teenage baby sitter character who was created for the show. Other voices include Joel Murray (Dharma & Greg), Arabella Fields (Godzilla), Deidrich Bader (The Drew Carey Show), Kath Soucie (Rugrats), E.G. Daly (Rugrats) plays the voice of Zoe. Providing guest voices for the show will be Steven Weber (Wings, The Shining), Dan Cortese (Veronica's Closet), and Bob Costas. Thanks to Michael Rhode of the Comics Research Bibliography. http://www.variety.com http://www.babyblues.com http://www.rpi.edu/~bulloj/comxbib.html Superman: The Menace of Metallo ------------------------------- Warner Bros. Online and Brilliant Digital Entertainment are poised to launch the internet's first 3-D Animation channels and Superman is set to be the network's leading man. A recent WB press release revealed that Superman: The Menace of Metallo will be among the first titles to air on the channel called The Multipath Movie Channel. The channel will be part of WB's new Entertaindom website. Superman will be one of six Multipath movies produced by Brilliant for the new venture. Other titles will feature Warner characters as well, which could include Looney Tunes characters and Batman among others. Jim Moloshok, President of Warner Bros. Online, commented, "Brilliant's 3-D animated programming is one of the leading technologies that will allow Warner Bros. Online to bring the new age of entertainment to the Internet audience. It delivers the excitement, interactivity, ease of use and speed of downloads necessary to satisfy the ever growing mainstream online user." http://www.entertaindom.com http://www.warnerbros.com Mr. Monster ----------- FROM COMIC BOOK RESOURCES: C2F's all-time favorite comic book character, Mr. Monster, may be headed to a Saturday morning TV near you some day! Our buddy Beau Yarbrough interviewed Mr. Monster creator Michael T. Gilbert in his outstanding Comic Wire column on Comic Book Resources. Although the write-up extensively covers Gilbert's plans for the character, there was one item that was of particular interest to readers here. Gilbert told Yarbrough, "Mr. Monster has also been optioned by Nelvana studios as a possible animated cartoon series. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed." Yee-hah! http://www.comicbookresources.com/ Monkey Bone ----------- Comics 2 Film took a peek around the internet to see if any interesting domain names had been purchased recently. We noticed 20th Century Fox now owns the domain name www.monkey-bone.com. Presumably this will be the future home of the Monkey Bone movie which is based on Mad Monkey Press' graphic novel Dark Town. The movie stars Brendan Fraser, Whoopi Goldberg, Bridgette Fonda, Chris Kattan, Rose McGowan, Dave Foley and Harry Knowles. While at the Fox website we also noticed that the movie is leased with a year 2000 release date. +++++ 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. THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN BUMPER COMPENDIUM EDITION #2 In response to the extraordinary reader and retailer demand for THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, DC announces that it is releasing a second collection, reprinting issues #3 and #4 of the popular AMERICA'S BEST COMICS miniseries written by Alan Moore with art by Kevin O'Neill. THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN BUMPER COMPENDIUM EDITION #2 will arrive in stores on November 6 with a cover price of $5.95 U.S., featuring brand-new cover art by O'Neill. At 48 pages, saddle- stitched (stapled as opposed to perfect-bound), the collection will contain only the story pages of THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN #3-4, with none of the text pages or the reprinted 19th-century ads that bookended the story pages in the issues. With the first THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN BUMPER COMPENDIUM EDITION reprinting the sold-out issues #1 and #2 still available (and now in its third printing)and issue #5 due in stores on December 22, this affordable reprint ensures that every issue of LEAGUE to date is available for new readers just hearing about the miniseries, which showcases fast-paced action and a singular cast of the greatest Victorian adventurers ever known! YOSHITAKA AMANO, THE ARTIST BEHIND THE SANDMAN: THE DREAM HUNTERS, HAS GALLERY OPENING IN NYC Artist Yoshitaka Amano, the man behind G-Force and Vampire Hunter D., opened his Hero Exhibition in New York City on October 7th at the Angel Orensanz Foundation (172 Norfolk Street, New York, NY). Included in this exhibit is a video display of Amano's original painted artwork from THE SANDMAN: THE DREAM HUNTERS. The occasion was marked by a full-text reading of THE DREAM HUNTERS by its author, Neil Gaiman. ANIMATION EPISODE SCHEDULE THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES and BATMAN BEYOND air Weekdays and Saturdays on the WB Network. Times given are Eastern and Pacific. This schedule is subject to change. 10/11/99 (4:00 pm) - "The Promethean" (Superman) 10/11/99 (4:30 pm) - "Meltdown" (Batman Beyond) 10/12/99 (4:00 pm) - "Chemistry" (Batman) 10/12/99 (4:30 pm) - "Where There's Smoke" (Superman) 10/13/99 (4:00 pm) - "The Late Mr. Kent" (Superman) 10/13/99 (4:30 pm) - "Second Chance" (Batman) 10/14/99 (4:00 pm) - "Mean Seasons" (Batman) 10/14/99 (4:30 pm) - "Warrior Queen" (Superman) 10/15/99 (4:30 pm) - "Feeding Time" (Superman) 10/15/99 (4:30 pm) - "The Winning Edge" (Batman Beyond) 10/16/99 (8:00 am) - "Mad Love" (Batman) 10/16/99 (9:00 am) - "Hidden Agenda" (Batman Beyond - new) ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Tony's Isabella's Journal Tony Isabella tonyisa@ohio.net Tony Isabella is a featured weekly columnist in the nation's largest comic book collector's newspaper, Comics Buyer's Guide. His satiric "Tony's Tips!" is a favorite among fans and industry professionals alike. A life long comic book fan, Tony began his career in 1972 as a comics professional as assistant to Stan Lee! He has worked in nearly every aspect of the business, from retailing, to distribution to writing. Among his credits is the creation of DC's first starring black super-hero, Black Lightning. Tony's latest project, the daily "Tony's Isabella's Journal" made its debut in June of 1997 on the world wide web exclusively through World Famous Comics, at http://www.wfcomics.com/tony The following is one of those daily columns . . . Tony Isabella's Journal #827 for October 4, 1999 Face front, faithful ones, as we welcome you to TOT's second semi-annual SPIDER-MAN WEEK. It's been several months since I last checked up on Peter Parker and his posse. So...settle back as we kick off our six days of the Spider, starting with the last half of SPIDER-MAN CHAPTER ONE. There are those misguided souls--some fans, some writers, and the odd editor--who truly believe SPIDER-MAN CHAPTER ONE represents the official Spider-Man origin. Fortunately, these flawed and ill- conceived rehashes of the genuinely classic stories by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko can and most certainly will be ignored as new artists, editors, and writers assume the great power and responsibility of creating new Spidey tales for their readers. If I had to address the greatest flaw in this 13-issue series it would be precisely that...those classic stories were not in need of being rewritten. Dated references and alleged "inconsistencies" aside, they hold up amazingly well some 35 years after their first publication. The nit-picking of minor details, the obsession with removing chance and coincidence from the life of Peter Parker, the omission of perfectly fine stories, and the additions of elements which would, if considered and extended logically, profoundly alter character relationships of long standing, all of these detract from the original classics and the 35 years of stories that came after them. What an unfortunate and wasted effort! Were I to compile a list of the best writers and artists who have contributed to the Marvel Age of Comics, John Byrne would rank high on both lists. His collaborations with Chris Claremont on THE UNCANNY X-MEN and other titles, his short-lived CAPTAIN AMERICA run with Roger Stern, and his FANTASTIC FOUR issues; there were great comic books then and they remain so today. But, of late, he has taken his self-anointed "fixer" status to extremes. Not every comic-book hero or series *needs* to be fixed; most of them need nothing more than better stories and artwork to regain their former glory...and Spider-Man is most assuredly in the latter group. In short, I'd have rather seen Byrne write and draw thirteen original comics with his own original ideas than watch him slice away at/twist Lee and Ditko's ideas to conform to his current creative sensibilities. While I'm not going to do blow-by-blow reviews, here are some of my thoughts on individual issues of SPIDER-MAN CHAPTER ONE. As always, your mileage may vary. CHAPTER ONE #0 cover-promised the revelations of the "secret origins of Spidey's deadliest foes": the Lizard, the Sandman, and the Vulture. The Lizard story is the best of the three; it pretty much sticks to the original, adding some additional bits that don't really change much. I was a little thrown by Doctor Curt Connors' commenting that his work "sometimes...seems more like witchcraft that real science," but I'll give that one to Byrne. Perhaps he's hinting that the proximity of the Connors lab to the "Nexus of All Realities" shown in various Man-Thing tales had some effect on the unfortunate results of the doctor's experiments. When it comes to the Sandman vignette, however, I'm completely unforgiving of what Byrne has done to years of wonderful character development and continuity with Bill "Flint Marko" Baker. Forget all those thought balloons which established the veracity of the Sandman's reformation. Forget his first meeting with Spider-Man. Forget the first issue of MARVEL TEAM-UP. Believe the Sandman had and a non-related twin...and that he and Norman Osborn are related because Ditko drew them with similar hair. And don't even get me started on Byrne's overuse of Osborn in his retconning of Spidey's early adventures. I'll give him that it was a French nuclear test which gave the Sandman his powers--France continued above ground testing longer than the USA did--but none of the rest of it holds up for a second. For the most part, the Vulture origin seems to merely compile events we've seen scattered through other stories. However, Byrne did add what I thought was an unnecessary element. The Vulture flies through use of some form of magnetic power, which I assumed he somehow drew from the Earth's natural magnetism. It was one of the most minor and unimportant details that needn't have been explained. Amazingly, Byrne felt he had to explain it. According to him, the Vulture hired the Terrible Tinkerer to place "magnetic repulsion units all across Manhattan...surreptitiously at that." I find that more unbelievable than my "natural magnetism" theory and almost as unbelievable as the Tinkerer's willingness to (apparently) forego getting paid until after the Vulture embarks on his "new career as a jewel thief." Oh, yeah, I'd extend credit to a new super-villain. If you can't trust your fellow criminal, who can you trust? By the way...in the Spider-verse according to Byrne, neither AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #4 (our guy's first meeting with the Sandman) or issue #7 (his second battle with the Vulture) happened. Byrne also tossed issues #11 and #12, which featured the return of Doctor Octopus and the death of Betty Brant's brother. The latter was one of the most pivotal moments in the Peter-Betty relationship...and led to the hero ultimately *not* getting the girl. CHAPTER ONE #7 has the second half of Spidey's first battle with Electro. I've commented previously that Byrne's redesign of Max Dillon's costume was one of the dumber retcons he's given the readers. As originally created, Dillon was an egomaniac who took inordinate pride in his abilities as a lineman. That pride carried over to his new career as a super-villain and was reflected in the flashy costume Ditko designed for him. Byrne took away the costume and added Norman Osborn. Not a good trade. Oh, yeah, he also shoe-horned the Human Torch into the story to round up the escaping convicts that Spidey was able to handle on his own in the "real" version of this story. As Ditko staged the scene originally, I never had any problem believing that Spidey was able to deal with both Electro and the cons. I did get a good laugh from the editorial reference--it was in the letters column--to Byrne's "subtle reworking of these classic tales." It put me in mind of the equally subtle way in which Japan declared war on the USA at Pearl Harbor. CHAPTER ONE #8, like too many issues of this title, starts "in medias res" for no good story reason that I can see. As I've noted before, it's going to play heck on the pacing if the series is ever collected in a trade edition. Then again, I suppose anything that prevents these sorry "do-overs" from being reprinted would be a good thing. It's now "Osborn Studios" that sends Spidey to the desert to battle the Green Goblin and, unexpectedly, the Hulk. The seeming mania to make Osborn a nigh-omnipotent presence in Spidey-history again rears its ugly head and screws up two more long relationships in the continuity. Osborn offers Spider-Man a half million dollars to appear in a movie, but our hero never sees a dime of it thanks to the small print in his contract. Okay, so now Spidey knows Norman Osborn is not to be trusted. Gee, don't you think that might make Peter a little cautious when he later meets Harry Osborn and, later still, meets Norman for the--unknown to Norman--second time? The domino effect of Byrne's--Why soft pedal it?--meddling would affect the entirety of Parker's history with the Osborns. I got another laugh out of the editorial spin control in the letters column when they wrote of "John's tweaking of these classic stories, especially the added touches of realism." For me, many of these additions made the stories less believable. Just more of Byrne's fixing of that which was not broken. With CHAPTER ONE #9, Al Milgrom was added to the creative mix and billed, with Byrne, as one of two "artists." I'm guessing that Milgrom finished Byrne's layouts because the figures are not nearly as fluid as in previous layouts. In addition to the stiffness of the figures, it seemed to me that the characters appeared somewhat stunted. Some pages are better than others, but, overall, the art isn't as good as in the previous issues. Byrne "tweaks" continuity by having Spider-Man and Daredevil battle the Ringmaster and his circus of crime before the Web-Head takes on Kraven the Hunter. I'm not sure why Byrne felt that this was necessary, but, in the case of these two stories, it's not very important which comes first. Which, I suppose, could also be the argument for not making the change. Byrne places Spider-Man's misunderstanding with Giant-Man and the Wasp (from TALES TO ASTONISH #57) between the May Parker heart attack that forced Spidey to run out on his second battle with the Green Goblin and our hero's "first" battle with the Sandman. Oh, yeah, Byrne also threw out the "Sinister Six" story from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1. I could actually make a decent case for his tweaking that epic slugfest, though not its complete omission from the canon. In any case, it was neat to see the 1960s Giant-Man and the Wasp in action again, not so neat to omit the Enforcers and the Human Torch from the story retold in CHAPTER ONE #12. My final thought? SPIDER-MAN CHAPTER ONE was a series crying out not to be done. It came off as an incredibly arrogant attempt to remake the best Spider-Man comics of them all in the images of the current custodians of the legend. Ultimately, it adds nothing of value to that legend. My recommendation? To the readers...don't bother. To Marvel Comics...shame on you. To future Spider-Man editors, writers, and artists...ignore these issues and concentrate on telling your own stories. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko already did these stories...and they did them so much better. ****** TONY'S MAILBOX ANDY FISH is getting to be a regular contributor to this page. Here's his most recent letter: Your comments on all ages comics in regard to those iconic characters so heavily merchandised really struck me. I've always thought there was room for a "mature readers" version of Batman, but your remarks have made me rethink this. Suppose you watch the Flintstones on the Cartoon Network. Then, one day, you find yourself stumbling around a comic book shop for the first time. Noticing a Flintstones comic, you buy it and bring it home to read...only to find Fred is an alcoholic, Wilma is cheating on him with Barney, and Betty is a lesbian. I can hear the comic owner's explanation: "Oh, sorry, sir, you bought the "mature readers" LEGENDS OF THE FLINTSTONES. What you want is FLINTSTONES ADVENTURES." What kind of opinion would this leave you with of comic books in general? This is what non-collectors--potential new readers-- face whenever they walk into the darkly lit clubhouse that doubles as your local comics shop. Makes you think. I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff. Specifically, I'll be make tomorrow with more Spider-reviews. Tony Isabella ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [6] 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!] "Laugh clown, NO don't!" by Jennifer M. Contino Comic Relief, we've all seen the signs of it and even though we don't want to confess to it, we've laughed at some of our stoic once proud heroes who were reduced to becoming the butts of jokes at the expense of others! The Blue Beetle was originally Charleton Comics answer to The Batman. However, in the post crisis world, the character who was once cunning and trim, was now chubby and dim! Well, perhaps not totally dim--after all he still was the owner/inventor, however in most of the JLI issues he seemed best used as comic relief along with Booster Gold. It didn't bother me at first, mainly because this was only my second exposure to the character, the first exposure being the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, so I didn't really know about the history of the character. However, a few months later I managed to acquire some of the Charleton Comics run of Blue Beetle and after reading those issues I feel bad that this hero was made the comic relief. In the Golden Age of comics a lot of characters seemed to be created solely as comic relief. Red Tornado, Fatman,Plastic Man and Johnny Thunder seemed to be created only to bring laughs and humor to us all. Since that time almost every super hero team has had one or more heroes used for the comic relief. In the fifties, we had characters like Bat-Mite and Mxyzptlk fighting over who was the greater hero and bringing laughs to each and every one of their appearances. In the Silver Age of comics, the Uncanny X-Men had their own prankster in Iceman and the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four seemed to be key comic relief in tense situations or in any situation. The Inferior Five was a whole team of comic relief characters. In the Teen Titans from Beast Boy to Changeling, Gar Logan's sole purpose seemed to be cracking wise and telling jokes. (*until later developed in the New Teen Titans series*) Nowadays we have lots of comic relief. Comics like The Tick, Vext, Impulse, and Danger Girls ARE full of funny jokes and inside information. We laugh as our favorites make fun of everyday life! It is entertaining to watch them poke fun at problems we all suffer with. What is not entertaining is to watch GREAT characters be revived solely for the purpose of making a mockery out of their once glorious career. I wish we would stop seeing this happen..and start seeing the returns be what we remember..not something we would almost PAY to forget! ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [7] A Voice from the Doorway Christopher Myers myers@albany.net [By night Chris is a forty something part time writer, reader and comic fan. By day he is a Police Officer in upstate New York where he lives with his wife, along with two dogs and two cats.] When I travel, one of the first things I do once I get settled in is find a phone book and look up comic book stores and used book stores. I was in Savannah GA. two weeks ago training with the Georgia State Patrol, and while there I found a neat comic shop, called Comics & More. It is located on the outskirts of Savannah in a strip mall on East Montgomery Crossing. The shop has a little bit of everything, comics, cards, magazines, Pokemon, Nascar collectibles and a separate closed off adult section. What drew my attention were the numerous boxes of discount comics. There had to be a dozen boxes of fifty cent comics. Did I find any good stuff? You bet. Twenty of the first thirty Catwoman comics. Issues 3,4 and 5 of Steven Grant's Enemy, a 5 issue mini-series, of which I already have numbers 1 and 2. A bunch of Justice League Task Force, I'm a sucker for the Martian Manhunter. Some early Kurt Busiek, James Robinson's Vigilante series, and finaly, Terry Moores' Lady Supreme for Image. Last weekend I went to Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention which was held in Milwaukee Wisconsin. What you may ask is the connection between the mystery genre and comic books? How about Greg Rucka, Max Allen Collins, Terry Beatty and Maggie Thompson. Rucka has of course written Batman and Whiteout, Collins and Beatty are the creators of the Ms. Tree comic. Collins also has written the Dick Tracy comic strip and a number of Batman comics. Terry Beatty is currently the artist on Gotham Adventures. Maggie Thompson is the editor extraordinaire of Comics Buyers Guide. Max Allen Collins was a Guest of Honor at the convention so in addition to his mystery work there was lot of discussion of his comic work also. One of the big draws at any Bouchercon is the book dealers room. In Milwaukee I found a first edition of Jim Steranko's Chandler Red Tide graphic novel and a Crime Time magazine that contained a Frank Miller interview and cover art. Speaking of Comics Buyers Guide, the theme of the last few issues has been the Write Stuff, profiles of popular comic writers. So far they have done Neil Gaiman, Peter David, Mark Waid and Kurt Busiek. The articles focus on the person, their work, past and present and their view of the comic business. A sidebar to each profile is Five Tips for aspiring comic writers. These are worth the price of admission themselves. As a reader and writer I'm happy to see writing and writers getting some of the same attention that has been lavished on artists. I've always been one to value writing over art. If the writing is good I will accept mediocre art, though I'll admit if the art is dreadful even fabulous writing won't keep me around. I hope that the really good writing that is something that stays with us for awhile. I recently received my Comic Book Legal Defense Fund membership card and it reminded me how important the CBLDF is. If you care about the First Amendment and if you care about comic books you need to join the CBLDF. The membership will cost you twenty five dollars, it's tax deductible and you get a card with a neat Sin City design by Frank Miller. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [8] 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.] This week, reviews, overviews, and assessments. Jinx: Torso Last week marked the final issue of this entertaining and deeply disturbing book. I can't say enough good things about this book: Torso wasn't just a great comic, it was one of the finest pieces of crime fiction I've ever read, AND an extremely well-done piece of historical fiction. For the uninitiated, the story dealt with Elliot Ness's career after he left Chicago and his famous Untouchables. He came to Cleveland to help reform a mightily corrupt police force, and wound up dealing with a serial killer. Part of what makes this series great is that writer/artist Brian Michael Bendis hails from Cleveland, and obviously has a deep, personal fascination with the story. The amount of work he put into the book is apparent in the photo-collage style artwork which includes hundred of period shots of Cleveland and its denizens. Normally, I'd tell you to run out and track down the back issues, but I'm not going to do that this time. No, I recommend you wait for the TPB for two reasons. One, this is a story that needs to be read in one sitting, and, two, the artwork really suffers in comic format. Torso is a book that not laid out page by page, it's laid out spread by spread, with the action often reading across both pages, or swirling around the center. I hope someone at Image is reading this (or, better yet, Bendis himself), because I think this book would really benefit from an odd-sized format, say ... 11 by 17, so that each double -page spread could appear on a single page. Just my opinion, I know, but I'm pretty sure I'm right. Hell, I'd even shell out the extra money for a "Special, Limited Edition" reprint (which, usually, I loath with a passion I only reserve for signed editions and nude variant covers) if it was laid out in 11 by 17, and then they could make a traditional 8.5 by 11 edition for the anal retentive among us who can't handle odd-sized books. Anyway. Bendis seems to be getting a lot more work these days, and that's fine with me. He's a top-notch, versatile writer whose work I advise everyone to keep an eye out for (upcoming works include "Fame and Fortune" from Oni Press, "Powers" from Image, a Batman one shot, and the inevitable movie). If you can't any of Bendis's work in your local comic shop (and, given how lame most comics shops are these day, you won't), fire up your browsers and head on over to www.jinxworld.com and check it out. Superman: This month kicks off yet another "new direction" in the Superman books. Normally, I've come to view these "new directions" with dread, but this I'm sort of looking forward to it. I've always liked Superman, but for the last several years his comics have been almost unreadable. Actually, the regular monthly titles, Action, Superman, Adventures, and Man of Steel HAVE been unreadable, only the Superman Adventures has been even vaguely enjoyable. But they've made a clean creative sweep (keeping only Stuart Immomen, whose art -- if not writing -- was the sole bright spot among the recent creative teams. And they gave him a scripter, thank god), and apparently will jettison the tied-together, never-ending-battle format that kept the books shackled in idiocy. They also killed the all-but-useless Man of Tomorrow, which no one will miss. I like the idea of being able to read, say, Action Comics without having to read the other three titles to know what's going on. I think that ditching the continue-story format will also help tone down the "big story" mentality that seems to have gripped the Superman offices over the last year. Superman #151 was a promising start, although I wish they'd leave Mike McKone on the book, as I much prefer him to Ed McGuiness -- but it seems like I'm in the minority on this. Ahh well. Day Of Judgment: DC tried it. And I gave them a chance. And the verdict? Well ... I'll give writer Geoff Johns pretty good marks for making the best of what he had to work with. I enjoyed the story, and my guess is that the big bombshell in the series -- the whole Hal Jordan/Spectre thing -- wasn't his idea to begin with. No, the story itself was pretty good. It was a refreshing change to read a big-ass crossover where they didn't feel compelled to feature every single character in the DC Universe, and even picked a few obscure second stringers (Ragman, Blue Devil, Faust, and Firestorm) to play major roles. One nice surprise was the inspired teaming of Firestorm and the Atom. I'm not sure whatever happened to the Professor Stein part of Firestorm, but the Atom made a nice pinch-hitter. But the big bombshell part of the series, the whole Hal Jordan/Spectre thing, was a total dud. The biggest reason is simply the incongruous nature of it. It reminds me of the old George Carlin bit where he says, "if you nail two things together that no one has ever nailed together before, than some schmuck will buy it." It's as if they think that just the novelty of nailing these two characters together is enough to make it interesting. It's not. And here are 3 OTHER reasons it's dumb: 1. It paints the character of Hal Jordan into a really dumb corner. At the end of Final Night, Hal Jordan plunges into the sun and reignites it, apparently dying in the process. And the key word there is "apparently," because the golden rule in comics is always that the only four people who will stay dead are Ben Parker, Thomas and Martha Wayne, and Bucky. The fact that they found Hal kicking around in the afterlife makes a pretty unequivocal statement about the fact that he was dead. It seems to me it would have been easier and more economical to leave him missing for a while, and then pull him out at some point in the future when they needed a convenient deux ex machina ("I didn't die, I've just been sitting around in the heart of the sun for the last four years thinking about what bad boy I was. And now I'm here to save the day."). There are a couple of logic problems with his being dead too. As I recall, one of the features of Green Lantern's ring was that it protected the wearer from mortal harm. So, technically, he ought not be dead. But I suppose that's just the sort of slavish devotion to trivia that makes fanboys so unpleasant to hang around, so I'll let it go. But in the bigger picture, at some point in the future, after the new Spectre series has been cancelled (by issue 14, is my guess) someone is going to have to go back and figure out how to un-graft the Spectre from Hal Jordan. 2. It's a sad waste of two good characters. Now, I'll grant you, both characters were already good and screwed up, but not irredeemably so. Hal Jordan has actually managed to get more interesting since his death, a pretty nifty trick, if you ask me. The recent JLA Year One and Brave and Bold series have breathed a little life into a once pretty stiff and one-dimensional character. Spectre, on the other hand, was just waiting for someone to do him right. As much as I like John Ostrander, he didn't. All the religious claptrap he shoehorned into the character just muddied up a perfectly simple, and perfectly good concept: An angry, wrathful spirit who, over the last 50 years, has grown into an immensely powerful being who could barely remember what it was like to be human. I've always thought there was a lot of potential there, but maybe I'm the only one. And now, given the fact that the new Spectre series is being written by JM "Mr. New Age" DeMatties virtually guarantees that the Spectre will "transform" from a spirit of wrath into a spirit of redemption (he has to, otherwise he'd turn his alter ego into a slug and salt him down). Used to be I'd go out of my way to pick up a DeMatties-penned book. But it's been a good long while since that was the case. 3. He just looks silly now. I know, I know, they need to let us know that this character is BOTH Hal "Green Lantern" Jordan and the Spectre, but a Spectre with a mask and a flaming circle on his chest? Come on. Not that a guy in green Speedos is exactly the peak of fashion, but still... Ahh well. Comments? Criticisms? Flames? E-mail them to DneColt@aol.com ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [9] Comic Abstracts John Barker jbarker@inch.com ["I live and work in New York City. Comic Abstracts contains some commentary and my thoughts on the comics world. http://www.inch.com/~jbarker/comic has my previous work." -John ] A PARADISE WITH STRANGERS I was pretty excited after reading my first Strangers in Paradise story in 1996. So much so, that I started reading when it relaunched with a #1. Twenty Five issues later I am so bored with that comic I've been teetering on dropping it, but month after every other month I pick it up after some fashion of morbid curiosity. The story has completely denegrated to either Francine crying about Katchoo, or Katchoo being angry at Francine for being indecisive about which way she wants to go. And there's David just sitting around waiting for Katchoo to give up the goods. And when you give a cursory glance to the letters page, it's person after person gushing about SIP, which gets old after a while (so yeah, yeah, yeah, I stopped reading. And there's always people sending in these pictures and say "Look at us, we're Francine and Katchoo". I mean, it was a fun learning about when Katchoo was this "Parker Girl" who lived this dangerous lifestyle, and then the storyline with Miss Parker trying to get into the White House. But after that... it was just all melodrama with these two quasi-lesbians. But with the latest issue, all my issues with the book have been resolved. Katchoo dies in airplane crash. End of story, roll credits. CLAREMONT! As Marvel (and the ever helpful Newsarama) reported, Chris Claremont returns to X-Men. This is all well and fine in my mind. My nostalgia for Claremont's X-Men only extends to the "Fall of The Mutants" crossover from 1987. Only then... I had absolutely no clue what was going on. I still don't, to some degree. Yet somehow I manage to make my day to day. So I'm going to issue this challenge: Collect X-Men Giant Size #1, Uncanny X-Men #94 up through latest issue. Doesn't matter if they're reprints or the B/W TPBs... but attempt to read those issues straight through. So after you've amassed this huge complete collection and sit down to read it... outside Byrne's run- it's really boring, right? It was 1992 when I decided to start my complete X-Men run. 6 years later I finished it off. I tried to read 'em all, but I got completely bored by the time Cockrum returned to the book. I could hardly stand to read #150. Not being a John Romita Jr. fan, I was loath to make it to his run on the book. So I put it in the back of my read pile. Come to think of it, though, how many complete runs do you go back and read straight through? Probably not too many. Some storylines, sure. But a 50+ run on a title is more like 'War and Peace'. Although Nexus 1-80 does make for a nice weekend of reading. Getting back to the subject of Claremont... he didn't screw up the X-Men as some might say he did. He's not the one great auteur of comics, and he's had the luck of working with some great artists. At the Chicago Comicon (back when it was a real Con) in '93, I remember seeing Claremont at a DC table with no one around him for hours! Here I'd meticulously sorted out my best X-Men's and Wolverines for him to sign, and there was no line surrounding him at any point! Ever! Everyone was too busy at the Image booths. And not having to stand in line to get an autograph is a wonderful thing at a Con. Next year, after 'Sov 7' came out he was swamped, but I thought, 'has everyone forgotten about Chris Claremont'? So I guess we'll see how Claremont does with X-Men after he returns. Keep your fingers crossed for minimal Mark Powers or other editorial interruption. And then, Motley Crue didn't exactly fire up the charts after Vince Neil returned. GOOD COMIC READ OF LAST WEEK: Authority by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch GOOD COMIC READ OF THE WEEK BEFORE: X-Men: Children of the Atom by Casey Jones and Steve "The Dude" Rude -john barker http://www.inch.com/~jbarker ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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.] M.O.E. Sidenote: At Broadway Comics & Cards, the following new comic books were on the racks for this week: The Witchfinder #1 by Image, Ted McKeever's Faith by Vertigo, Out for Blood 1 or 4 by Vertigo and others. I don't know if my shop was just having a bad day, but didn't find that much of a selection of new titles. Let's see what happens next week...Multiverse Observer and Explorer signing off until next time..... Name: Lady Pendragon #5 Publisher: Image Writer: Matt Hawkins Drawn by: John Stinsman/pencils Vince Russell - Andy Owens - Livesay - Edwin Rosell/inks Price: $2.50 Comments: Quick Note: Lady Pendragon is the story of three women; King Arthur's wife Guinevere in the past, a history novelist named Jennifer Drake in the present and Priestess Iseult from the future. All three are linked by Messianic blood line. Now the story: The objective goal is to kill Morgana that will lead to the death of the ghouls. Except there is one hitch, Morgana is hard to kill. As Jennifer is brave and full of inner strength, she is prepared to do battle against Morgana. Her soldiers seem reluctant to strike; they need to use her strength for their own strength. I was glad to see the fantastic Merlin engage this battle with Jennifer. It was quite impressive to see Jennifer's small army on the incredible Pegasus winged horses. The Black Knight was quite spectacular as all the characters in this issue of Lady Pendragon #5 were! I was completely caught up with a story that is mixed with Catholicism, the legend of how King Arthur as a child was placed in a basket and found by Merlin as he crossed Merlin's cave (a legend similar to the Moses' legend), the Egyptian connection and Stonehenge! Matt Hawkins builds up the legend of King Arthur and Guinevere by adding on what will occur with the cup of Christ as it is encircled by the great columns of Stonehenge! Biblical connections are strong in the story as it is mentioned that Jennifer has the blood of Christ in her veins. I was somewhat dismayed at knowing that Jennifer is a headstrong warrior, but she was willing to allow Lancelot to behead her. Her feelings for Lancelot are overwhelming and this Lancelot is different from the true Lancelot that she knows. I was much relieved to see Merlin stop Lancelot's blade and try to talk some sense into Jennifer. There are more mysteries in this story, than any Sherlock Holmes novel, as a mysterious box was found at the Sea of Tranquility (the moon) and inside was the journal of Aleister Crowley and the Spear of Destiny. What the heck is the journal of Aleister Crowley doing on the moon and the Spear of Destiny for that matter? How will Matt put this story altogether, when the conclusion of this mind-boggling tale comes to an end? Not to mention Tiamat the Dragon and that inscrutability Egyptian connection! Awesome penciling by John Stinsman. He is a well-known reputable artist in the industry and all of his work is of high quality, it's nice that he is on board with Lady Pendragon! Name: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #13 Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Written by: Andi Watson Drawn by: Cliff Richards/pencils Joe Pementel/inks Price: $2.95 Comments: As Halloween approaches, I am enjoying Buffy the Vampire Slayer even more! Buffy the Vampire Slayer #13 has proven that 13 is not an unlucky number! This was a highly charged story and I got a good laugh hearing about how Willow will be in the Quiz Bowl Finals and that it would be broadcast all throughout the nation. Then the sinker was that it would be on PBS and a few losers here and there watch PBS. Fame fleets swiftly and quickly for Willow. Giles always amazes me, he has a very complex life and has seen and did a lot. Giles has an answer for everything and if he doesn't, he seeks out the answers through his many volumes of books. I wasn't surprised when he pulled out his Ottobeuren, Bavarian brooch that has the powers of granting knowledge and how it was used in the olden days to memorize complex spells by Shaman countrymen. Every individual is different, some choose beauty over power, or some people choose immortality over wealth. The two focal points in this story was beauty and immortal life. The lethal lady in this story, will kill easily for her stunning knock-em-dead looks, while the good doctor who administers her specialized medicine wants immortal life. She remains beautiful via her doctor's efforts, while the poor doctor receives only promises. How come I get the feeling that this doctor is going to get whacked at some point of time? It is interesting that she also mentions that when a slayer dies, another one comes around. Nature has a way to balance out predator and prey populations. Take for example the mongoose and the lethal cobra. The cobra population is balanced through the killings done by a few mongoose. There must always be a slayer who has gained the powers through birthright, to continue the killings of vampires. The balance must always be there. Enjoy the side humor in the story, as it was mentioned that Cordelia has a brain underneath her hairspray and the way the brooch helped Cordelia learn useless facts. The facts kept pouring into her mind, almost sending her to the brink of madness. Name: Lex and Rex #14 Publisher: Marky Comics Written and Drawn by Mark Cardosa Price: $1.00 Comments: Fun story with an adult theme. Language used is not for children. Rex Davidson one of the many superheroes of the Marky Comics Universe has the following credentials: superhero, mutant alien slayer and believe it or not...a date show host! In the theme of the Dating Game we have a date show that has many embarrassing moments for its guests. Cammi, a beautiful young lady in a mini-skirt is completely humiliated and exploited on the show. Lots of sexual talk that puts the spot light on the guests. Howard Stern pales in comparison to Rex Davidson. Funny stuff, that you wouldn't want to happen to you. Think on how you have been to a comedy club and you have the tendency of sitting in the back of the audience. Why? Because, if you sit up front the comedian may poke fun at you. Well, this is the way the contestants feel on this very bizarre dating show! Great entertainment and loads of laughs! For more information email Mark at: MarkyComics@juno.com or check out the his website at: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/2991/index.html or snail mail him at: Mark Cardosa, 47 Mountain St., Grimsby, Ontario, Canada L3M 3K2 M.O.E. Sidenote: This week at Broadway Comics & Cards, you will find the following comic books on their racks: R.I.P.D. 1 of 4 by Dark Horse Comics, Mangaphile #1 by Radio Comix, Geobreeders #7 by CPM Manga, Journeyman #2 by Image, Record of Lodoss War #11 by CPM Manga, Nightfall - The Black Chronicles 1 of 3 by Homage Comics and a whole lot more! At A1 Comics, you will find: Anime Fantastique, Animation Magazine Oct 99 Issue, Frank Cho's Liberty Meadows, Stone #2 by Image, Japan Edge, Paul Grist Thirty Ninth - A Kane Book, Finder, Battlestar Galactica #3, Alter Ego #2, DV8 #32, Peter Bagge's Yeah! #3 and a whole lot more! Make sure to pick up DV8 #32, it's their last issue! Watch those renegade AWOL I.O. agents do some stealth maneuvers at night! Leon looks ready for action and find out why! DV8 has to keep in mind that Ivana is the enemy and not I.O.! Heart throbbing suspense as Rachel phases her way through a labyrinth maze of electric eye trip wires and then get ready for Bliss, because she's going to give them hell! Don't miss out on this very HOT comic book, it's the type you want to fall back on and read again! It's sad, I know, but they will be making appearances! For more information drop them a line at DV8letters@aol.com For any information on any of these comic books, you can contact Wilson Lew, owner of Broadway Comics & Cards at: wilsonlew@sprintmail.com and Brian Peets, owner of A1 Comics at: A1Comics@quiknet.com ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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.] PEWFELL PORFINGLES #6 28 pages, black & white, $3.50 (back issues available for $1 each or a comic or zine in trade include s.a.s.e.) Chuck Whelon chuck@eternalwheel.com 1137 Leavenworth Street San Francisco, CA 94109 http://www.eternalwheel.com/pewfell.html This comic is "A dreamlike drama of demons & deities. Full of far-out flying, fighting and finals, featuring your favorite papal prestidigitator, PEWFELL PORFINGLES, astrologer to the stars." Whew! How can you resist a cover blurb like that. On the inside we meet Pewfell who has been promoted from working in a pharmacy in Spirekassle City to be the astrologer to the newly appointed Pope, his old friend Bishpin Bartholomew Bathenwell. Trouble is he wants to be the court Wizard but that job is taken by his arch rival, and frankly he did not quite make it through his finals - after barfing on the professor, and was thrown out of University after seven years of, well after seven years. Much of this issue is about the Pope and his rise to power told in flashback - a daring quest in the underground to get the Rod of Divine Unity - which gave him powers beyond belief, and some Pewfell would rather not know about. On the quest he fought demons, sewage, slime creatures and even innocent bystanders to reach his goal. Now it seems the power has gone to his head and he is changing the ways of the city, forcing all the bars to close, raising the dead as his new police force, and cloning religious zealots as part of a grand scheme for his new order. Pewfell and his buddies want to rebel and this leads to him experimenting in magic and mushrooms - leading to a surreal journey of discovery. Hmm.... I found this whole issue a bit disjointed. The part of Bishpin's quest was very funny, with a supporting cast that fills in the background with sight gags and such. Like wise the retelling of the failure from University as somehow our hero believes he was cheated and plotted against when he clearly blew it on his own. After a while though there is little substance left as the second half meanders on a simulated drug/magic trip that lost my interest in the outcome if there was going to be one. The premise is interesting and there are some good elements to make an interesting story but it seems to lose direction, ending like a too long night drinking with the buddies. The art is good enough as there is a distinct style that is consistent throughout. The pages are dominated by text crowding the characters in most of the panels but there is enough action in the graphics to compensate. All in all not a bad effort for a self-published product which might prove more interesting after a larger look at several chapters. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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, 10/13/1999, 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 Armorines Vol 2 #1 (Of 4), 3.95 AMAZE INK (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS) Life Of A Fetus #2, 2.95 Little Gloomy #1, 2.95 CHAOS! COMICS Stone Cold Steve Austin #1 (Of 4), 2.95 DC COMICS Adventures Of Superman #573, 1.99 Azrael Agent Of The Bat #59, 2.25 Batman No Mans Land #0, 4.95 Batman No Mans Land Secret Files #1, 4.95 Batman Shadow Of The Bat #92, 1.99 Batman The Long Halloween TPB, 19.95 Books Of Magic #67, 2.50 Congo Bill #3 (Of 4), 2.95 Crimson #13 (resolicited), 2.50 Deathblow Sinners And Saints TPB, 19.95 Finals #4 (Of 4), 2.95 Gon Underground, 7.95 Heavy Liquid #3 (Of 5), 5.95 Hourman #9, 2.50 Impulse #55, 2.25 JLA The Titans The Technis Imperative TPB, 12.95 Legends Of The DC Universe #23, 1.99 Legionnaires #78, 2.50 Nightwing #38, 1.99 Scooby-Doo #29, 1.99 Stars And Stripe #5, 2.50 Superman Adventures #38, 1.99 Tom Strong #5, 2.95 Transmetropolitan #28, 2.50 IMAGE COMICS Ascension #20, 2.50 Fathom #9, 2.50 Fathom Collected Edition #3, 5.95 Kabuki Masks Of Noh TPB New Ptg, 12.95 Sam And Twitch #3, 2.50 Spawn The Dark Ages #8, 2.50 Tales Of The Witchblade Collected Ed #2, 5.95 Tooth And Claw #2, 2.95 Warlands #2, 2.50 IRONCAT Futabakun Change Vol 3 #3, 2.95 Hyper Dolls Vol 3 #1, 2.95 Love Touch #2 (adult), 2.95 New Vampire Miyu Vol 4 #5, 2.95 Ogenki Clinic Vol 4 #6 (adult), 2.95 Panku Ponk #2, 2.95 MARVEL COMICS Amazing Spider-Man #12, 2.99 Avengers United They Stand #2, 1.99 Fantastic Four 1999, 3.50 Generation X #58, 1.99 Iron Man #23, 1.99 Marvel Mystery Comics, 3.95 Mutant X #15, 1.99 New Warriors #3, 2.50 Nova #7, 1.99 Spider-Girl #15, 1.99 Thor #18, 1.99 X-Men The Hidden Years #1, 3.50 NEW BREED COMICS Tohubohu #2, 3.00 VIZ COMMUNICATIONS Dragonball Part 2 #8 (Of 15), 2.95 Inu Yasha A Feudal Fairy Tale Part 3 #7 (Of 7), 3.25 Maison Ikkoku Part 9 #7 (Of 10), 3.50 Silent Mobius Into The Labyrinth #6 (Of 6), 3.25 magazines Alter Ego #2, 5.95 Comic Shop News #643, AR NCRL for the foreseeable future... TITLE OLD RELEASE DATE NEW DATE DC COMICS Battle Chasers: A Gath. Of Heroes HC 10/13 10/20 Crimson Sourcebook #1 09/29 10/27 Crisis On Inf. Earths Medium Statue 10/20 10/27 Danger Girl #6 11/12 11/24 Divine Right #12 10/29 11/10 Dreams Of The Darkchylde #0 06/16 TBA Elseworlds 80-Page Giant #1 06/30 TBA Hellblazer #143 09/29 10/27 Planetary #7 10/13 11/17 Planetary #8 12/10 12/22 Promethea #4 10/22 11/03 Promethea #5 10/27 11/17 Speed Racer #3 10/29 11/10 Tom Strong #6 12/17 12/29 Tomorrow Stories #3 10/08 10/20 Top Ten #4 10/15 10/27 *Please Note: These dates are tentative. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [A] E-Mag Info: Submissions, Subscriptions, Back Issues, Copyrights and the Comic Book Network BBS system. 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