---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden Present: THE COMIC BOOK NET ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE ISSUE NUMBER 261 1999 EAGLE AWARD NOMINEE 4/21/2000 Edited by: David LeBlanc - ComicBkNet@aol.com FREE VIA EMAIL SINCE FEBRUARY 1995 ______________________________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] On the Net ............................ David LeBlanc [2] Letters to the Editor ................. Your Page! [3] TRIVIA CONTEST ........................ Win *real* prizes! [4] Network Buzz .......................... News, gossip & rumors [5] Ramblings 2000 ........................ Rich Johnston [6] Interview: Philip B. Gittelman ........ Paul Dale Roberts [7] Yiddishkeit in Comic books ............ Link Yaco [8] Some Pages, A Cover, and A Few Staples. Marlan Harris [9] M.O.E. Reviews ........................ Paul Dale Roberts [10] My View:Get BenT! ..................... David LeBlanc [11] New Comic Book Releases List .......... Charles LePage [12] HYPE! Section ......................... Various [A] Submission, Back Issues, Copyrights ______________________________________________________________________ World Wide Web Home Page-->> http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet Mailed by ONElist: http://www.onelist.com/community/ComicBookNetworkEmag 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, FREE, please send a message FROM that account TO: ComicBookNetworkEmag-subscribe@onelist.com To UNSUBSCRIBE send a message FROM the account to be dropped to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-unsubscribe@onelist.com 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 2000 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 Well, the folks in the UK are about commence the festivities at Comics 2000. We await the results of the newly restarted EAGLE AWARDS and take this opportunity to thank any who may have voted for this publication in the Favorite Comic Ezine category. Good luck to all the nominees. I just happened to watch CNN news on Tuesday morning and to my surprise the entertainment segment was about the X-MEN movie. It was all about the hype, the speculation on whether it could prove the critics wrong as the BATMAN movie did, and how the Internet has changed how people promote and pan product that isn't even out yet. There was a brief comment by the director on the wide range of rumors spread by those web pages - some right and some way off. They even talked to Stan Lee who has high hopes for the movie. I was just glad to see this on a mainstream newscast and look forward to even more comic related news being given national TV exposure this year. Meanwhile, back at the comic store, these new books on the racks: ACCLAIM COMICS Quantum & Woody #21, 2.50 CORSAIR PUBLISHING Dork Tower #8, 2.95 DARK HORSE COMICS Sin City Hell And Back #9 (Of 9), 4.95 <---Pick of the Week! DC COMICS JSA #11, 2.50 Orion #1, 2.50 Also this weekend it seems there are celebrations for people of different beliefs. Our Jewish friends just celebrated Passover, and those who are strongly into the environmental issues will be doing the annual Earth Day thing this weekend. And the most widely celebrated event this weekend is of course Easter. And so, as is my custom, I send out this message to all our Christian friends: Rejoice! He will come again! David LeBlanc - ComicBkNet@aol.com Editor, The Comic Book Net Electronic Magazine ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [2] Letters to the Editor If you want to comment on this or any previous issue, want to offer something for us to publish, or just want to shamelessly suck up to the editor to try and get your name in print send Email to: ComicBkNet@aol.com Note: Letters of comment may be used in future issues of CBEM unless you specifically request us NOT to use them. Your Email address and/or name will be withheld upon request. From: john@kovalic.com (John Kovalic) Hey, all, I'm really having a hard time from keeping myself tied to the drawing table right now. Three VERY major thing happened today. First off: Dork Storm Press now has an official Director of Sales. She's phenomenal, and this will take QUITE a bit of work off of my shoulders, allowing me to spend more time at the drawing table. She's the person I wanted for the job, and I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am she's working with Aaron and me. Secondly: Dragon Magazine has committed to run DORK TOWER monthly, beginning August, 2000! Yes, that's right -- Dork Tower! The Shop Keep title goes (I've *never* been happy with it, and always considered it an artificial distinction), even though Bill and Pegasaurus Games will still be the focus of the Dork Tower Dragon cartoons! Thanks for ALL the e-mails and support on this! THIRDLY (and what REALLY sent me over the top): The cover of Dork Tower #11 features...CEREBUS THE AARDVARK and IGOR! Yes, cartoon legend Dave Sim has contributed some amazing artwork and a great, GREAT gag for the cover, and I'll be adding the Dork Tower characters to it tonight, VERY nervously. It looks phenomenal, and had me laughing out loud when I saw it! Dork Tower #11 is slated for release the first week of August! I'm just stunned and over the moon right now. DANG, I love this job... John +++++ Subj: just imagine stan lee From: senft@worldnet.att.net (Donna Ellis & Mitchell Senft) On one hand this Stan Lee/DC will make a, well, unimaginable chunk of change for DC. In the short run, of course. Would I buy a single DC book I don't buy now as a result of the series? Of course not. Still, every old fart fan from the Silver Age/Marvel Age will be snapping them up, huh? Still, it's Tangent all over again with, recollecting Stan's track record without Kirby, a lot less wit and story-telling oomph, but comparable (but different) art. (Remember: Stan cannot plot for his life. He realized on his penciller's plotting abilities and/or recycling cliches. Don't believe me kids; just look at his non-Kirby stuff. Note, though, I always thought TSan was a most excellent scripter and editor (except for what he did to John Buscema after Silver Surfer #4.) On the other hand, as I looked at Adam Hughes' drawing of Stan's Supes and reading the description, such as it was, of Stan's take, I kept thinking: "Ravage 2099." Just imagine -- 12 "Ravage 2099" at prestige format prices! Gee, maybe sales WON'T hold up.... Mitchell +++++ Subj: [Ultimate Art] Alberto Ponticelli website updated - 4/16/00 From: ultimateart@planet.it (Enrico Salvini, the Muffin Man) Dear Collector, just a quick line to inform you that I've updated Alberto Ponticelli website today at http://members.xoom.com/a_ponticelli/ I had to move the website to Xoom.com because Xoom.it didn't give any sign of life for a few days now. What's new on the website? - about a dozen new Commission works; - artwork from "Dead or Alive" #2 (Dark Horsse) for sale; - artwork from "Heavy Metal" July 1999 for ssale; - a slightly redesigned and easier to browsee website; - a lot more payment options: now I can alsoo accept cashier and personal checks, money orders and US domestic postal money orders. http://members.xoom.com/a_ponticelli/ What will be up next? - sneak-peeks from "Sam and Twitch"; - artwork from "Dead or Alive" #3 and #4 (Daark Horse) for sale; Happy browsing, provided that Xoom will not be down as it has often been the case as of late. Enrico +++++ Subj: Bob Foundation Data Base Update From: ray_tomczak@copper.net (Ray Tomczak) Hi. I've been tinkering around on the web and I've completely revamped my home page. Check it out at: http://homepages.go.com/srdstudios Also, for those of you I didn't see this weekend at SPACE, I want to let you know that my all-new full size comic--"The Adventures of Dr. Bob & Irving" is now available for only $2 from: SRD Studios c/o Ray Tomczak 4050 N. High St.; Apt. #33 Columbus, OH 43214 A preview is on-line at the Catalog section of my site. In the next few days, I'll be posting some reviews of some of the stuff I picked up this weekend. That's all the "big new" for now. I'll be in touch soon. Ray T. +++++ Subj: comic news at Toonscape From: rickbradford@earthlink.net (Rick Bradford) Friends of Poopsheet, Just a friendly note to let you know that I'm now providing Toonscape.com with a regular news column that covers the world of alternative/indy comics. The plan is to update the information every 2-3 weeks (although if you'd like to see it updated more often, let them know). I tell you this so you know that -- while I'm working on a new Poopsheet -- I may be running your comic-related news at Toonscape, too. The first column is up at http://www.toonscape.com/comicbooks/index.html. Just click on the 'go' button by "Independent Comic News" near the bottom of the page. best, --Ricko Rick Bradford / PO Box 1591 / El Cajon, CA / 92022 USA My comic and zine reviews can be seen at www.indymagazine.com, www.thecomicstore.com and in the sporadic e-version of Poopsheet that appears at http://www.marsimport.com/poopsheet.html. E-mail: rickbradford@earthlink.net. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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: During the famous story arc in the Superman titles, REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN, one cover asked the question we pose as our question this week, WHO WATCHES THE SUPERMEN? Old time winner Jeremy Finestone did it again, as he knew the WHO watching the Supermen was the the real steel deal, Superman, Kal-El himself. He wins "Batman: Black & White" Trade Paperback from our sponsor. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION: James Robinson's title character for the Ultraverse line was very different from the others title characters. How was he different? 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 Ninja Turtles Licensing Reverts Back to Creator's Studio NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 2000--As of April 1, 2000, Mirage Licensing, Inc. assumed responsibility for all licensing rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, one of the most successful children's properties in history. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, conceived by Mirage founders Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in 1983, debuted in comic book form in 1984 and reached the heights of entertainment, toy and merchandising success over the next 15 years under the masterful guidance of licensing expert Mark Freedman, president of Surge Licensing, Inc. To date, the Turtles property has generated over $4 billion in merchandise and entertainment revenues through the efforts of over 600 worldwide licensees. Commenting on the announcement to take the licensing function in-house, Gary Richardson, CEO of Mirage Licensing, Inc., said, "After 15 years of working with one of the best agents in the licensing business, and some wonderful entertainment associates, we felt it was time to bring the property back in-house to continue to market and license the Ninja Turtles, while we nurture the property and evaluate creative options. There is not a child in the world who doesn't know the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and they should stay tuned to see what exciting new adventures await Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo and Raphael." In addition to continuing in the licensing industry with Surge Licensing, Freedman will concentrate on his new children's product manufacturing and marketing business, Kidz Kraze International. "The Turtles have been my primary focus for many years now, and I will continue to be involved with Mirage and Playmates Toys as they evaluate the future of the property. In the meantime, I am applying the experience I gained as a licensor of children's properties to the children's product business. The Kidz Kraze International showcase at Toy Fair 2000 went extremely well, and I am very excited about the new and future prospects of the company," Freedman said. For further information on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles licensing opportunities contact: Gary Richardson, CEO, Mirage Licensing, Inc., 16 Market Street, Northampton, MA, 01060. Telephone: 413-586-7066; E-Mail ceo@ninjaturtles.com. +++++ CROSSGEN EXPANDS PAGE COUNT IN FIRST ISSUES, KEEPS PRICE THE SAME At Least Five Additional Pages Added To The First Issues Of All Four Of The Monthly Titles Contact: Ian M. Feller 813/891-1702 Ian.Feller@CrossGen.com TAMPA, FL., April 17, 2000 - In keeping with its guarantee to put quality first, CrossGen Comics has expanded all four of the first issues of its monthly titles while keeping the same $2.95 cover price. Mystic #1, Scion #1, and Meridian #1 will now include five new pages, bringing their page counts to 27 pages of story and art. Sigil #1 will now include 11 additional pages, bringing its page count to 33 pages of story and art. CrossGen has found that being so far ahead on production has many benefits. With all four of the first issues complete, CrossGen was able to send pre-release copies to specific in-the-know people for unbiased outsider opinions. The responses, while all positive, made CrossGen aware of specific areas in which some supplemental material could enhance the reading experience. Because there was ample time before the release dates, these additions could be seamlessly added, allowing CrossGen to provide the best possible product to its readers. Said Publisher Mark Alessi of these additions: "When you have been working on a product for as long as we have, the tendency is to get too close and assume that everyone has had the same product exposure you have. Having the time to release these books early for review allowed us to pinpoint areas requiring additional clarification and improve storyline transitions. Like I've always said, I want to earn our readers money. Before these additions, our products were really good, now they are even better." The first five additional pages will include prologue information found in the AnotherUniverse.com exclusive comic CrossGenesis, released in January 2000. The information will be specific for each title, and will help further bring to light the many layers of the CrossGen Universe. "There is no fun or reward in hiding the eggs and gifts at an Easter egg hunt if no one knows there is a hunt in progress," joked Alessi. CrossGen also felt it unfair to punish readers who did not have the hard-to-find CrossGenesis issue and would miss out on important background story elements. The additional six pages for Sigil #1 are being added throughout the existing story to make the fairly complex first issue even more clear. Because CrossGen is developing an entirely new universe, these additions were necessary to ensure that all readers got a glimpse at the full structure of the universe. Look for the expanded first issue of Mystic #1 on sale June 7, Sigil #1 on sale June 14, Scion #1 on sale June 21, and Meridian #1 on sale June 28. CrossGeneration Comics is based just outside of Tampa, Florida. Their unique and innovative approach to comic book publishing is sure to make them a company to watch out for well into the new millennium. Look for the beginning of the CrossGen Universe in May 2000. +++++ JASON LITTLE, AUTHOR OF THE XERIC-WINNING _JACK'S LUCK RUNS OUT_, OFFERS NEW STRIP TO WEEKLY PAPERS. _Bee_ is an exciting new cartoon strip for alternative weekly newspapers. A serialized narrative, _Bee_ utilizes a "bubble gum noir" approach that will bring readers back week after week to watch the action unfold. The first adventure ("Shutterbug Follies") introduces the exploits of plucky girl BEE. She works as a photo-finishing technician at Mulberry Photo, where all manner of creeps, criminals, and cranks bring her their film for processing. Bee's habit of duplicating titillating photos for her own collection takes a grim turn when corpses start popping up in the pictures. Her curiosity gets the better of her and she finds herself shadowing a mysterious foreign photographer into a diabolical trap. Little is offering the strip in four-, three-, two-color, and black and white versions in order to meet the design needs of the various weekly papers. Readers are invited to visit Little's web site at http://www.beecomix.com , where a substantial _Bee_ sampler is on view. Previous works are also available for perusal at that location. littlejason@mindspring.com http//www.beecomix.com ph/fax: (718)398-2882 Jason Little Beekeeper Cartoon Amusements 453 Washington Avenue Apt 5a Brooklyn NY 11238-1835 USA. +++++ CONTACT: Larry Shell sheltone@ix.netcom.com IRVINGTON, NJ, April 17, 1999 – Michael H. Price's Aw-Shucks Suspense Stories, the second entry in the Southern-Fried Homicide series of anthologies, will be published in July of 2000 AD by Cremo Studios and distributed by New Jersey-based Shel-Tone Publications. This eighty-page collection rounds up eleven yarns spanning series editor-author-artist Michael H. Price's more than thirty years as a storyteller in the Southern Gothic tradition, running the gamut from hair-raising folk tales and true-crime and war yarns, to parody and satire to the random uneasy mingling of horror and humor. The graphic narrative form – a highfalutin' term for comics – showcases such featured writers as Jim Marrs (author of Crossfire: The Plot That Killed JFK and Alien Agenda) and Mark David Dietz, who also contributes striking artwork. The Marrs story, "It Takes A Child To Raze A Village,’ boasts the debut of the writer's daughter, illustrator Cat Marrs. Other talents represented include Hanna-Barbera artist Bill Alger, whose rambunctious cartooning on a centerpiece story, "The Great Wazoo Gets His Mojo Workin," also yields the cover artwork; New York gallery painter and former art museum curator Adrian Martinez, in a haunting encore from the original Southern-Fried Homicide; the late George E. Turner, in a continuation of his "Mummy's Family Album" collection of bizarre vignettes; pioneering Texas political cartoonist Jack Patton; and modern-day newspaper designer-illustrators Dale Taylor and Todd Camp. The stories include both hitherto unseen pieces, developed expressly for the Southern-Fried Homicide series, and strategic resurrections from books long out of print. Among the latter are Price and Camp's `Twin Freaks," a delightfully demented homage to the old Kurtzman-edited MAD Comics, which originally graced the premiere issue of the Twin Peaks tribute magazine, Wrapped In Plastic before its decisive revision for Mark Martin's Hyena magazine and Cremo Studios hard-to-find anthology, Stitches; and Price's posthumous collaboration with Jack Patton on the impolite, "A True Life Story," which fist saw publication in Heavy Metal magazine. Seeing print for the first time are Mark Dietz's `Memories and Lies," an embittered reflection on war from a ground-zero vantage; Adrian Martinez' harrowing "Sunk Rats,’ as adapted by Price from the artist's memoirs; and the Alger-Price collaboration, "The Great Wazoo Gets His Mojo Workin," drawn from Deep Southern folklore. The customary gratuitous inclusion of a story featuring Price's redneck-lawman character, Constable Moe Lester, receives a definite interpretation from Dale Taylor, an artist who was scarcely more than an infant back when the earliest Moe Lester comic strips began appearing around 1970-71. Rounding out the collection is a folio of "lost" out-takes from Price's "Bloody Visions' true-crime trading card series of the early 1990s. Trade Paperback format (6-1/4 x 9) collection. 80 black & white pages with a full color cover by Bill Alger. Aw-Shucks Suspense Stories is distributed by Diamond Comic Distributors, FM International and other fine comic and book distributors all though-out the universe. Requests for interviews and review copies of Aw-Shucks Suspense Stories (Cremo / Shel-Tone Publ.; ISBN # 0-9663766-2-5 $9.95) may be directed to publisher Larry Shell. +++++ Marvel Enterprises Extends International Licensing Activities Through 4Kids Entertainment Agreement NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 2000--In a move to bolster its existing international licensing activities for its superhero brands, Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:MVL) has entered into a multi-year international licensing agreement with leading worldwide licensing agent, Leisure Concepts, Inc., a subsidiary of 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:KIDE). Through the agreement, Marvel has granted Leisure Concepts extensive international licensing rights to develop new licensing opportunities for several of Marvel's prestigious superhero franchises, including X-Men classic, Spider-Man classic, The Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, The Incredible Hulk, Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man and Daredevil. The agreement reinforces Marvel's commitment to establishing a strong worldwide network to enhance the licensing efforts for its universally appealing brands in territories in which they have been underrepresented for many years. Leisure Concepts will serve as a licensing agent for Marvel in several European and Middle East territories, including: Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Israel, the Middle East, Greece and Turkey. Marvel will continue to augment these efforts with its own employees located in the United States and overseas. "In recent years, Marvel has been dormant in its licensing efforts outside of North America. Since our franchises and characters have strong worldwide popularity, we need to be more aggressive in tapping the potential of international markets," said Peter Cuneo, CEO, Marvel Enterprises. "4Kids' Leisure Concepts is one of the world's premiere licensing agents, as evidenced by their success with Pokemon and the WCW. Furthermore, 4Kids understands our business and has already proven to be a great partner to our toy company, Toy Biz, who is currently a Pokemon licensee creating a line of collectible marbles and accessories, and the master toy licensee for WCW products. Leisure Concepts has the manpower and resources to help us immediately build a powerful international presence for our superhero brands." Al Kahn, CEO and Chairman of 4Kids Entertainment, added, "Marvel is the owner and marketing machine for some of the most renowned superheroes in the world. Their characters, comic books, and entertainment and licensed products are loved by millions and millions of fans globally, and will benefit tremendously from an impressive slate of five feature films over the next three years. We are proud to be representing such a fine company." Marvel Enterprises, Inc. is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies with operations in five divisions: licensing, toys - via its Toy Biz division, comic book and trade publishing, entertainment and the Internet. Through the ownership of over 4,700 proprietary characters, Marvel licenses its characters in a wide range of consumer products, services and media such as feature films, television, the Internet, apparel, video games, collectibles, snack foods and promotions. Marvel's characters and plot lines are created and developed through the comic book publishing division, which maintains a leadership position in the U.S. and abroad. Headquartered in New York City, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc., (NASDAQ:KIDE) is a vertically-integrated entertainment company whose wholly owned subsidiaries include: Leisure Concepts, Inc., a leader in domestic and international merchandise licensing and product development; 4Kids Productions, a television, film, music and home video production company, and Summit Media, a domestic and international television distribution, media buying and planning company. +++++ From Comics2Film at http://www.comics2film.com THE ELTINGVILLE CLUB -------------------- Evan Dorkin recently announced that he and Sarah Dyer have negotiated a deal to develop a TV pilot based on his Eltingville Comic Book, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Role-Playing Club strip. Speaking to fans from the House of Fun website, Dorkin revealed that he is at work writing a pilot script for The Cartoon Network. " Sarah and I completed an extensive series bible which was accepted by the Network, and I am now currently agonizing over the script for the pilot episode," Dorkin said. Dorkin and Dyer will both be highly involved with the development of the show. " My official capacity (or whatever you call it) on the pilot is that of a 'creator/producer/writer'-type (or whatever it's called)," Dorkin explained. "Meaning that I will be completely involved in the character designs, scripting, voice casting, music and other aspects of the pilot's production. I think I also have to sweep and mop the offices, I'll have to look into that. I do know that Sarah is the story editor on the pilot, and the great Stephen DeStefano will be the storyboard artist on the project." Dorkin and Dyer have been negotiating the deal since last February. They quietly signed in December of 1999. The pair have a "solid relationship" with The Cartoon Network. They put in seven years on the Space Ghost Coast To Coast series. Realizing that many development deals never materialize into actual shows, Dorkin offered some disclaimers. "Nothing is definite in TV or film, or even comics for that matter. There's tons of optioned properties out there in Hollywood and its vines, and most of them don't live past the development stage. I've seen far too many comic book creators crowing about 'major' big film or TV deal that in the end amounts to not much more than an option check and a press release or two," Dorkin said. "And I don't want to look like an idiot bragging about an Eltingville show when there's a terrific chance of it never happening." As a footnote to the announcement, Dorkin added "And if anyone's wondering, Milk & Cheese are still not for sale." In the same House of Fun newsletter, Dorkin also commented on the Skeleton Key animated show: "There's been some interesting developments with the Skeleton Key animated series that Sarah and I re-developed for Sunbow, based on Andi Watson's swell comic. As I mentioned before, you can't count on anything when it comes to the entertainment industry, but there seems to be some real interest brewing, and it would be great to see the show move forward." http://www.houseoffun.com/ LADY DEATH ---------- FROM TRAILER PARK: Rob Allstetter spoke to Chaos! Comics publisher Brian Pulido about the upcoming Lady Death animated movie in his Trailer Park column. "We're still targeted to come out March 2001," Pulido told Allstetter. "We've handed in the story and we're 90 per cent through the character designs. We go into full pre-production in about a month. It's about two months off track, but other than that, we're proceeding along swimmingly." Pulido revealed that the movie will likely see a theatrical release in Japan, but will probably be direct-to-video in the U.S. However, he also speculated that a cable airing is possible too. http://www.anotheruniverse.com/columns/park/index.html X-MEN ----- Sean Wise (a.k.a. The Wiseguy) took to heart recent urgings to write to the Oakley company about acquiring a pair of Cyclops shades from the X-Men movie. The Wiseguy heard back from Oakley and received this interesting response: "Dear Sean, Thank you for your e-mail. The style of glasses in the X-Men movie are called Juliet's. They are currently not available with Ruby Quartz lenses, however, they are available in 4 other different color combinations. Fortunately, we are currently testing the possibilities of having the Juliet's available to the public with Ruby Quartz lenses. So stay tuned and check back with our website for future information regarding the X-Men movie." The Wiseguy is a life-long superhero fan who is sponsoring a contest to any talented artist who can transform him into a comic book character. Go to http://mercury.spaceports.com/~3drc/ for details. FROM SIR IAN McKELLAN: Meanwhile, Sir Ian McKellan continues to keep X-Men fans informed on his website. He posted the answers to many fan questions earlier this month. On bit of information regards the planned sequels. "Like other actors in X-Men I have agreed, under certain conditions, to return if a sequel is made," the actor said. Thanks to BloodFang for the tip. http://www.mckellen.com/ MEN IN BLACK 2 -------------- FROM THE MOTHERSHIP: A report from the Mothership indicates that Will Smith (Wild Wild West) has signed on for the sequel to Men In Black. According to the report, while talking to Pat O'Brien on Access Hollywood, Smith said, "Men In Black 2? We just signed up for that one. The script is brilliant. Essentially, there's an intergalactic war, so this one takes place beyond the boundaries of Earth." http://www.mothership.com/ WONDER WOMAN ------------ FROM BIGSTAR.COM During a recent chat on bigstar.com sci-fi babe Julie Strain (Heavy Metal 2000) expressed her desire to play Wonder Woman on the big screen, in spite of the fact that Sandra Bullock (28 Days) has been often-rumored for the role. At the prompting of Comics 2 Film reader Scott Hargaves Strain answered, "I auditioned for that Wonder Woman movie, and I know I'm the best Wonder Woman, but I found out that Sandra Bullock is playing that part. Its ridiculous -- you want to see someone with long legs in that part. Its year 2000; loosen up and hire someone that'll show their t*ts." The feisty Strain (who told fans last year that she could kick Lara Croft's ass) went on to say, "But I'm the Wonder Woman year 2000; I know it and everyone else knows it. I'll wear stars and stripes and a G-string to the movie premiere, and I'll show everyone who the real Wonder Woman is." Thanks for the tip Scott. http://www.bigstar.com/features/index.cfm?fa=chat&id=1022517 NEXUS ----- FROM THE COMICS CONTINUUM: Rob Allstetter of the Comics Continuum got some disappointing news when he spoke with Nexus co-creator Steve Rude about then animated series recently. "Regarding the series, it is dead at this point," Rude told The Continuum. "I withdrew after many endless delays from both sides, Fox and Sony." However, Rude did say that Dark Horse was picking up the option on the property. http://comicscontinuum.com/ +++++ From The Daily Buzz at http://www.mania.com/newsarama/index.html EW Wraps X-Men Movie Cover Entertainment Weekly's latest issue features a wrap-around cover featuring the characters from the upcoming X-Men: The Movie. Ellis Agrees to New Image Comics Line Warren Ellis has announced he has reached agreement with Image Comics to publish a slate of three-issue serials, original graphic novels and trade paperbacks with Image Comics. "These will be commercial full-colour comics series, with the sort of first-class wide screen production values associated with books like PLANETARY and THE AUTHORITY. If not better,” said Ellis in his online digest From The Desk Of. "Each serial I do will be its own complete story; no ongoing series, no continuing stories in the form of strings of miniseries. I'm talking about a minimum of four completely new serialised books a year. "The intent here is not simply to please and entertain the already existing specialty comics store audience. That would not be good enough. There is a point to doing things this way. It has become clear that to do this properly, I need control, I need to be able to do things at my own speed, and I need to do them my own way. Image Comics provides this to me. Image Comics has from its inception been about freedom and choosing your battle. This is mine. Money isn't important. Changing comics is.” According to Ellis, all of these books will be accompanied by plans, built in consultation with Image publisher Jim Valentino, marketing director Anthony Bozzi and a "circle of retail advisors", to draw in new readers from outside the comics culture. "The intent is to drive new readers into the specialty comics stores for this work, in much the same way that TRANSMETROPOLITAN has made new comics readers and PLANETARY has gotten top-rank reviews in places like ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY – but bigger.” "Michael Heisler, previously Editor-In-Chief of Wildstorm, is standing with me as consultant and wizard. `Wizard' is a useful catch-all term for `knows everything I don't.’ I expect to be able to call upon several other friends who are prominent in the high end of the comics business, including the best artists I know – who, not coincidentally, are also the best artists YOU know.” Ellis did not announce any details regarding specific details however, saying no project is yet "signed or sealed" and ready to be announced. In their own statement, Image announced that beginning in 2001, Ellis will write and create a new series of projects as part of a long term publishing plan under the Image "i". Valentino said, "We consider this a major leap forward in Image's progression toward more reader friendly comics from top seat creators. We are honored that a writer of Warren's stature has chosen to bring his vision to Image". According to Image, regardless of format, each story will be completely self-contained with no crossover of characters or concepts. "The material will be written solely by Warren Ellis, while the artists of each project will be handpicked and matched with a story that best displays their unique talents. All of the stories will be squarely aimed at readers outside of the traditional comic book buying audience. “ Image reports readers can get a glimpse of the intended direction for the line in May with the release of Ellis' CITY OF SILENCE. The three issue mini-series details a future so technologically advanced that any new ideas result in a major upheaval of the status quo, and focuses on the efforts of three special investigators, known as Silencers, who keep the more dangerously imaginative members of society quiet. CITY OF SILENCE is penciled by Gary Erskine with coloring by D'Israeli and Laura Depuy. Image Comics Director Of Marketing, Anthony Bozzi, added, "It's been proven repeatedly over the last two years that fans of sequential storytelling want fresh, new works outside of the traditional superhero genre. They just want it to be colorfully alive, dynamic, and of the highest quality. Warren will soon provide all of this and more on his biggest canvas to date." CrossGen Ships Display Copies to Retailers Following on the announcements that CrossGen will offer a money back guarantee on its products and will be expanding the page counts of their monthly titles without a raise in cover price, CrossGen Comics has announced that it will ship, absolutely free to all comic book retailers, two complete display copies of all five of their titles one full week before the books are meant for sale. As part of the plan, all comic book retailers will receive two copies of CrossGen Chronicles #1, Mystic #1, Sigil #1, Scion #1, and Meridian #1 from their distributor on the Wednesday before the actual scheduled Wednesday release date. This full week will allow retailers to preview the issues as well as display the copies on their counters for their customers to see. CrossGen has already planned a 25 percent overprint on all of these issues so that immediate reorders can be fulfilled. The dates for the program are as follows: CrossGen Chronicles #1 display copies to retailers on May 17, with May 24 the actual on-sale date. Mystic #1 display copies to retailers on May 31, with June 7 the on-sale date. Sigil #1 display copies to retailers on June 7, with June 14 the actual on-sale date. Scion #1 display copies to retailers on June 14, with June 21 the actual on-sale date. Meridian #1 display copies to retailers on June 21, with June 28 the actual on-sale date. The covers of the display copies will be clearly marked as such and are meant to only be used for display purposes and not to be sold. These copies are being sent free of charge from CrossGen for the express purpose of allowing retailers and their customers a sneak peak at these books so both can make an informed decision on whether additional copies are needed to fulfill demand. Said CrossGen Publisher Mark Alessi, "All along we have looked for ways to provide additional value to all retailers. First we sent CrossGen Sampler so they could review our products before ordering. Next we offered a money back guarantee to cover their customers with no responsibility to them for an annoying return process. Then we added additional pages to our titles at no additional cost to either them or their customers. Now, by sending each retailer these display copies, we have found a way to ensure that each retailer gets their share of early reorders so their customers won't have to go to another store to pick up our products." +++++ From Newsarama; http://www.AnotherUniverse.com/newsarama WINNER OF THE 1997 & 1998 INTERNET "SQUIDDY" FOR BEST WEB SITE First Look at Miller's Orion #3 Matt Brady, Newsarama With what looks to be a passel of mainline comics work coming over the course of the next few months, including contributions to DC's World's Funniest, the cover to the Green Lantern/Superman special written by Neil Gaiman a few years back, as well as a little ditty called Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Frank Miller gets his feet with the DCU's mythology in June's Orion #3. In the issue, Miller illustrates "Nativity," a six-page back-up that tells the grim story of Orion's birth, and the beginnings of the treachery that has followed him since being born. The story is written by Orion's regular writer, Walt Simonson, with letters by John Workman, and colors by Sherri Van Valkenburgh. Quesada on Ash's Future Matt Brady, Newsarama With the ongoing success of the Marvel Knights line of books, fans of Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti's Ash have been left wondering just what's happened to the fireman-turned pyrotechnic hero. It's all scheduling, scheduling, scheduling. Originally, as part of the publishing agreement with Quesada and Palmiotti, Marvel would be involved in the publishing and distribution of future issues of Ash, and for a short time at the beginning of the Marvel Knights run, there was talk of a forthcoming Ash series. Then came Kevin Smith's Daredevil, and Inhumans, and Black Widow, and more and more, along with the pressures to keep the line on time and consistent in terms of quality. Along with that, there are some more practical items as well. As of right now, we're planning on doing more Ash but the whole Marvel Knights thing is really time consuming," Quesada told Newsarama. "There's also the logistics of making money as opposed to losing it. A full color book like Ash without an umbrella publisher like Image is a very risky venture. We're still in the process of trying to figure out how to release the next issues." David, Mahn to Create SpyBoy Strip at Pittsburgh Con Matt Brady, Newsarama During their stints as guests of honor at the Dark Horse booth at the upcoming Pittsburgh Comicon (April 28-30), SpyBoy creators Peter David and Pop Mahn will have a unique challenge: while they meet and chat with fans, the pair will be creating a short SpyBoy strip as part of a special SpyBoy celebration. "Since we first launched SpyBoy last year we've tried to find ways to keep the readers very involved with what goes on in the book, and this seemed like a good way to let fans witness first-hand part of the creative process. It'll also keep Peter and Pop busy in the booth at Pittsburgh, so they'll have less time to poke fun at my hairy back," said editor Phil Amara. This strip created at the convention will be posted the following week, on Friday, May 5, on the official SpyBoy website (www.spyboy.net). +++++ From Wizard World Emailer; to subscribe send Email to WizEmailer@aol.com with the subject: ADD ME WIZARD By Chris Lawrence Jimmy Palmiotti's giving up his office at Marvel. Earlier this week, the writer/inker announced he'd be stepping down from his position as editor of Marvel Knights, the ultra-successful imprint he co-founded with Joe Quesada. "I needed some extra time," Palmiotti said. "My mom's been sick for a while...I spend a couple of hours with her every day." "The editing part of Marvel Knights takes a lot of time," he added. "It's just the right time to leave." Palmiotti actually tendered his resignation March 2, 2000, an act he and Quesada originally planned on keeping under wraps until a future date. "We didn't really want to make a big to-do out of it," said Quesada, who'll stay onboard as Marvel Knights editor. "We were going to put something out further down the road, but some Internet people had already contacted him about it, so we figured we'd put something out now, before they made a mess of it, and turned it something terrible, which it isn't." In addition to ending his involvement with the day-to-day editing process with the Knights, Palmiotti will give up inking Daredevil, the imprint's flagship title. "Both he and I decided that it would be best and simpler for me to find someone to take over the inking duties on Daredevil," Quesada said. Though Palmiotti's ended his MK run, he's not leaving comics--not by any means. He's branching out into the writing end of the industry, penning a three-issue Deadpool story, illustrated by Paul Chadwick (Concrete), that hits later this summer, and he'll continue to collaborate with Mark Waid on the writing chores for Black Bull's Gatecrasher. As for Marvel Knights, Palmiotti said the imprint's in excellent hands. "Joe's still there, and Nanci (Dakesian) is doing a great job," he said. "She can take over without missing a beat. "There are some great things coming, and months from now, I'll still be seeing stuff from Joe that started when I was up there." Overall, Palmiotti said his Marvel Knights tenure was filled with worthwhile experiences. "It was a great time," he said. And though he admitted he's particularly proud of his work on Punisher and Daredevil, Palmiotti said the greatest benefit of the Marvel Knights job was the opportunity to work with top-notch creative talent like Paul Jenkins, Jae Lee and J.G. Jones. "That's what Marvel Knights is all about--friendship and relationships," he said. "I'm proud of everyone who came out and did their best work for us." +++++ 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. OLIVIER COIPEL SIGNS EXCLUSIVE CONTRACT DC is happy to announce that artist Olivier Coipel has signed an exclusive one-year contract. Best known for his work on LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES and the subsequent LEGION LOST maxiseries, Coipel's harsh-yet-elegant visual take on the beloved LEGION characters has fast made him an up-and-coming fan- favorite. According to Wayne Wise at Phantom of the Attic in Pittsburgh, PA: "Coipel's style is a jarring change from what has gone before... dark, jagged and somehow alien... perfect for the story line. The initial discomfort of the unknown is what the Legion now faces. Coipel's art creates the same feeling for the reader, drawing them more fully into the mood of the story." Having drawn reactions from fans since the then-upcoming "Legion of the Damned" preview slide at last year's Comic-Con International: San Diego, Olivier's work seemed perfect for the new turn the LEGION books would be taking. According to LEGION LOST editor Mike McAvennie: "I noticed Olivier's pencils when his samples were brought back from the 1998 San Diego convention. They blew me away, and I thought he would be perfect on Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's four-part "Legion of the Damned" storyline. DC really wanted to shake the Legion up, and I thought between Dan and Andy's story and Olivier's art, we could do just that." The sold-out LEGION LOST #1 was featured as "Book of the Month" in Wizard #103 following the critically-acclaimed "Legion of the Damned" and has earned equally glowing reviews from readers. According to McAvennie: "The Legion universe has been a very comfortable one for quite awhile now, and I think what Olivier, Dan and Andy have done is given both new and longtime fans something that really makes them pay attention; the characters and concept are intact, but we've been changing the rules from within. New fans are taking notice of it because Olivier's art is so accomplished, and they're finding that the story holds up well with what's been drawn. It's been a team effort in changing the Legion's image while remaining true to its core." Coipel's exclusive term spans through August 31, 2000. His work can currently be seen in the pages of LEGION LOST. LEGION LOST #2 (FEB00 0153) and #3 (MAR00 0185) are currently available for reorder from Diamond. THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES/BATMAN BEYOND EPISODE SCHEDULE Warner Bros. Animation has supplied DC with the following air schedule for the animated The New Batman/Superman Adventures and Batman Beyond on the WB Network, airing Saturday mornings and on weekday afternoons. All times are Eastern and Pacific: 4/22/00 (8:00 am) — "In Brightest Day" (Superman) 4/22/00 (10:30 am) — "The Last Resort" (Batman Beyond) 4/24/00 (3:30 pm) — "Little Girl Lost-Part 1" (Superman) 4/24/00 (4:30 pm) — "Little Girl Lost-Part 2" (Superman) 4/25/00 (3:30 pm) — "The Main Man-Part 1" (Superman) 4/25/00 (4:30 pm) — "The Main Man-Part 2" (Superman) 4/26/00 (3:30 pm) — "Blasts from the Past-Part 1" (Superman) 4/26/00 (4:30 pm) — "Blasts from the Past-Part 2" (Superman) 4/27/00 (3:30 pm) — "Legacy-Part 1" (Superman) 4/27/00 (4:30 pm) — "Legacy-Part 2" (Superman) 4/28/00 (3:30 pm) — "Last Son of Krypton-Part 1" (Superman) 4/28/00 (4:30 pm) — "Last Son of Krypton-Part 2" (Superman) 4/29/00 (8:00 am) — "Last Son of Krypton-Part 3" (Superman) 4/29/00 (10:30 am) — "Sneak Peek" (Batman Beyond) ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Ramblings 2000 Rich Johnston twisting@hotmail.com [Renamed for the new year, Ramblings 2000 continues to spread confirmed and unconfirmed news and rumours. It welcomes comment, especially comment that clarifies, refutes and corrects information already disseminated. Rich Johnston is an advertising copywriter, co-self publisher of Twist And Shout Comics, BBC comedy writer and comics columnist. He currently lives in South London, England. His column can be found online at: http://www.twistandshoutcomics.com All Ramblings e-mail received will be considered public domain and may be quoted.] This column is RUMOUR. Do not take anything here seriously. These RUMOURS are presented here as GOSSIP for their ENTERTAINMENT value. Dateline: 14 Apr 2000 The Author, The Comics, Their New Writers And Joel Meadows. Alan Moore recently gave a talk to Mania, outlining many of his plans... but he gave a lot more to Tripwire magazine! And given an advance shufty through Joel Meadows' notes, I've pulled out a few pertinent news notes. Here we go... I'll let the man. "I asked Eddie (Campbell) if he fancied trying his hand at writing a Tom Strong story and he reacted by enquiring whether the rumours were true. He had heard rumours that I was using ghost writers which obviously isn't true. Having said that, I am going to have to get other writers in but hopefully I'll be able to work closely enough with them to keep the stamp of what makes an ABC comic consistent." Hey, I never heard that rumour! What's up? So how's the success of ABC affecting Alan... "At the moment I am completely at the end of my rope in terms of deadlines. I'm under such tremendous pressure so the fact that I'm talking about additional work sounds suspiciously mad to me, so the readers should bear in mind that I might very well be incarcerated and sedated by the time this stuff comes around." Mania have confirmed and given details about some stuff Ramblings has been talking about, the new Tom Strong book, the end of Top Ten Season One and the new Top Ten one offs, the Comic Ranger graphic novel, America's Best Comics Crusade and more... so what was left out? "As of Tomorrow Stories #12, as it stands at the moment, Rick Veitch will be leaving Greyshirt. I understand that Rick still has some unresolved problems with DC and he feels that when he's done his twelve issue stint, he's honoured his commitment. So, rather than get someone else in to draw it, we have a space in Tomorrow Stories, which will be filled by two alternating series. John Totleben called me recently, he's now got two kids and he pointed out that we haven't worked together in ages. He likes the ABC stuff and he's been hinting about an underwater character, probably a woman because he loves drawing women. I happen to agree with him that the underwater landscape in comics has never been exploited to its fullest potential. So we came up with a character idea and a name, Pearl Of The Deep, which for me, is a great name. It's a great name because it sounds familiar and new at the same time." "On the other strip for Tomorrow Stories, I would be working with John Coulthard and this would feature a female occult investigator or adventuress from around 1910 and the name of this figure, as this is very much the symbolist, decadent period of art, is The Soul. This is what they used to call the young women who were the models and the inspiration for the symbolist artists. John'll be illustrating it digitally, which is something that seems to be a little bit in vogue at ABC at the minute, because we've got digital artist Jose Villarubia illustrating a section of Promethea as well as John drawing his strip that way. It strikes me that, if it's used properly, you can something wonderful with the technology. If the ABC line is about anything, then it's this synthesis between past and future." And outside ABC? "The next spoken word album that I release will be called Snakes And Ladders, which I performed at Red Lion Square last year. Ironically, it'll be appearing as a comic, drawn by Eddie Campbell, like The Birth Caul, before the CD comes out. It's more overtly magical than The Birth Caul. It's about Arthur Machen and about Holborn, where we did the reading. We talk about the history of the earth, the universe, mankind, Oliver Cromwell, the Pre Raphaelites and a lot of different threads that end up making a sort of sense." Okay, spoiler alert... Mike, what can we do here... another webpage, specifically for these things? Why not?? Okay, click *here* for major spoilers about the concluding episodes of The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, courtesy of Alan Moore and Tripwire. Okay, spoilers over, back to publicity tease... now for future League stuff. "Then we'll be following it with Book Two, which may or may not appear in this century. Whenever it appears, it'll be dealing with Mars. We intend to combine HG Wells' Mars with Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars and CS Lewis's version of the Red Planet. We reckon that we could come up with a geo-political situation that encompasses all of these scenarios. After that, we might do the story where the League visit America, meet Randolph Carter and get involved in some Lovecraftian shenanigans. The possibilities are endless." Remember Tripwire has the Moore interview in full with more revelations, insight into the man himself and a discussion about the reality of magic. Go to http://www.kryptonkomics.com and then bug your retailer to order Britain's premier feature comics magazine! Mumbles In The Night Misheard mumblings at the recent Colchester Gorilla gig. Everyone put your rumour hard hats on, because this is where the alcohol starts flowing... Joe Kelly may be moving M-Rex on-line... he may be doing a Batman one-shot later in the year with Idelson as editor... possibly an Elseworlds too.... bad vibes about Chris Claremont... Ferry's friend Sal Larocca isn't happy working from Claremont's full script... and the word is that Claremont's influence was partly behind Kelly leaving the Xbooks... Ferry is filling in art for Kelly's Superman title... and has done a 12-page story for Superman: Secret Files... Kitson loves it... Kelly and Ferry may also have something new in the works... The rest of the night is but a blur... so this is also probably a good place to mention that Newsarama printed the news about a Patsy Walker revival at Marvel in a recent issue... which makes our previous Marvel Masterworks rumour far more likely! Wonder Stuff Excited rumourmonger from the WonderCon exclaimed his excited excitement by trying to get me excited about the exciting news that, according to John Romita Jr, Peter Parker's next girlfriend, now that his wife Mary Jane has been conveniently dead for what is in Marvel time about two weeks, is Gloria Grant! Ho hum, oh very exciting I'm sure... but what's that? Apparently Gloria Grant isn't white! Oh shock horror, surely such a union could resort in a mixture of genetics against God's plan and furthering the world union and Revelation days, in a Babel style world apocolypse? Not to mention that the kid will be able to spin webs out of his arse. And Romita's statement that'll he'll be working on hippies-choice Doctor Strange with hippies-choice Harlan Ellison has been disparaged by Marvel Editor hippies-choice Tom Breevort, who said "Not to be a wet blanket or anything, but my understanding is that this is another project that hasn't really even been submitted yet, much less approved. So while it's still possible for it to happen, it's nowhere near definite, other than that JRJR and Harlan seem to want to do it. In other words, for the time being put it in line right behind that Grant Morrison FF project." Priest In Progress Priest, fan-favourite (but retailer curse) has been talking about upcoming work on rec.arts.comics.misc. "At the moment, I'm completing Wonder Woman: The 18th Letter for DC. After that, I'm planning on a nice, long rest, continuing Quantum & Woody and Panther while developing a couple things that it's waaaay too early to talk about, but possibly a long delayed (by me, not them) Marvel Knights LS (which may appear under MK or under regular Marvel)." "As I stated earlier, I regret the timing of the Deadpool announcement, because we haven't got all our ducks in a row yet. It's really not good to announce things until there's a deal in place (*coughs into fist* Panther Annual *coughs*), and I've frankly been the one dropping the ball-- too busy to deal with it." BTW chaps, Black Panther is still too close to the bottom of the charts and it is still the most intelligently written Marvel book. Don't be a dunce, pick it up! Breaking The Bank? The much publicised Comic Book Legal Defence Fund's Breaking The Waves cruise/convention event has barely broken even... however the spin doctors tell us that this should be considered a success because most groups' events fail miserably in the first year and then make money the next. So, unless there's a disaster of Titanic proportions, they'll be back next year, this time with more mainstream pro attendees. Sadly Dan Clowes will be missing the boat... he's involved with the filming of his Eightball serialised story Ghost World. Top comic... hope it's a top movie too! However, lucky attendees may discover far fewer fans attempting to collar their favourite pro's attention, and may well be able to have them all to themselves. I have this horrible vision of pros wandering the ship asking if anyone wants a sketch? Gods, it'll be like the last UKCAC, held in Manchester all over again... Talking Of Which I'm definitely going to the Comics 2000 gig in Bristol over Easter. Nominated for two Eagles and on a number of panels, I should be easy to find. Just look for the hippi-haired spectacled guy holding a paunch and a ridiculous goatie muttering in the corner. Is Anybody Out There? We hear that the Harvey Awards, now taking place at the Pittsburgh con may hear the phrase "can't be here tonight, so instead to collect it on their behalf, is"... the Harvey's generally have less of a mainstream bias than the Eisners but the indie crowd don't figure that large at the Pittsburgh con. Thank goodness Evan Dorkin is the MC. Talk about saving the day! And, you know, Jeff Smith is only a couple of hours away... Dateline: 20 Apr 2000 Mark Millar Ramblings Special. Well, response to Authority 13 has been massive, and writer Mark Millar is getting phone calls from everyone, we hear. Here are a couple of specific rumours from various publishers trying to snag the comic industry's new golden boy. For Marvel Knights, industry insiders say Mark Millar may be writing a S.H.I.E.L.D book. We're talking Nick Fury and a world politics focus to the book ­ all going to plan, this will be officially announced at San Diego. The other big insider scoop is that Millar recently turned down the offer to write Spawn, when TMP called. We hear that TMP were willing to move their creative teams around to accommodate the former Swamp Thing scribe. Is this true? Mark Millar responded, saying "It's weird suddenly finding myself in the position of being offered the big stuff and even weirder hearing rumours circulating which are entirely without foundation. All I'm going to say is YES, my good friend Joe Quesada called me up in the wake of The Authority and we're talking about the possibility of a Nick Fury story... and no, I'm not writing Spawn. Christ knows where that rumour started!" What About DC? "Wildstorm guru Scott Dunbier asked me if I fancied doing anything else for him besides The Authority and I mentioned an idea I'd had floating around for a while. A concept which takes superhero books beyond even what Frank and I are doing at the moment on The Authority. Scott whispered the name of a possible artist and I practically shat my pants. I'm saying nothing until I've signed a contract, but this guy is genuinely is one of the biggest and most acclaimed artists in the business. If this all pans out (and there's no reason why it shouldn't), I'll be a very happy man." Millar was also able to tell us that Superman: Red Son will come out this year... the artwork is almost finished. More Marvellous Morrison Murmurings Mark does give us a lovely bit of gossip concerning Grant Morrison though... and it concerns the famed Skrull Kill Krew, a series by Morrison and Millar for Marvel a few years ago. Millar says "Grant said he'd quite like to use them at some point in the near future now he's working at Marvel. He had a great, great idea for Moonstomp, the team's lovable, racist skinhead which, if he gets away with it, should win him every Eagle, Eisner and Harvey known to man, if there's any justice in the world." Back Issue Bins And naturally, all this fuss means that the hunt for Millar back issues is on. Highlights include Savior, Shadowmen, Swamp Thing, Skrull Kill Krew, Flash, JLA, Aztek, Crisis and a pile of Eighty Page Giants and other anthologies. Indeed, the acclaimed River Run run on Swamp Thing is being desperately snapped up... one of the issues features the first post-Crisis Crime Syndicate as recently featured in the Morrison/ Quitely JLA hardcover. Naming Names And just for you completists, have a look at certain Authority 13 panels before they were altered to remove all specific mention of which country and dictator they were meant to be taking down... [the link reveals the country was JAKARTA - D.L.] Please Sir, Can I Have Some Moore? A few more Alan Moore titbits come down the wire... the ABC hardcover collections will be pencilled by the main artist on the title and then given a photo realistic treatment by the guy who worked on Promethea 7, giving all the books an unified look. Also, catch Art Adams will be doing illustrations and covers for the Terrific Tales series, as well as drawing the Jonni Future backup. Paul Rivoche has been named as the lead artist on this Tom Strong spinoff. On Top Of The Financial Wave. Eric Reynolds from Fantagraphics has something to say about the Breaking The Waves story we recently ran. "Just read the latest Ramblings, and thought I'd let you in on something about the Cruise, which I was on... I think it is true that prior to embarkation, the cruise had barely broken even, but the fact is that the auction at the end of the cruise, which included a few jam pieces by all of the artists on board, raised enough money to put the event in the black." "More importantly, it's absolutely true that first-year cruise fundraisers rarely earn their money back; in that sense, by even breaking even the CBLDF was way ahead of the game. By comparison, the company organizing the CBLDF cruise also organizes annual cruises for the National Review, now in their third year. The first year, the magazine attracted 36 paying guests, which in and of itself is a disaster. By its third year, held in 1999, they had over 400 paying customers, which is a raging success." "The CBLDF had somewhere around 70 paying customers this year, which was right at break-even. By all accounts the fans seemed to love every minute of it (I'm sure you'll be hearing more in the coming weeks), and word of mouth should easily put next year's cruise on a similar growth curve as the National Review events. If the CBLDF could attract even 150 or 200 people next year, which is perfectly reasonable, expect them to raise over six figures next year alone, making it the single most successful fundraising event in the history of the organization by a country mile. So, all's well." Good to hear, Eric! The Duck Knight Returns? A rumour comes our way... "About a month ago, you printed a rumor that Steve Gerber left the new Stan Lee company. A friend who should know tells me that the rumor is true. He says they hired some xxxxx television writer to run the writing department and Steve Gerber hated how he was changing the scripts and turning them into Saturday morning cartoons. The friction between them got so bad that Gerber worked at home instead of in the office for a couple of months before he left. But here's the real news. The TV writer just got the heave-ho and now Steve Gerber might be writing some stuff for Stan again! Wrestling In Jilly We hear that the next WWF book by Chaos Comics features the female wrestler Chyna - a one shot in August written by Steven Grant is to be drawn by none other than... Jill Thompson? Dear me, I might even buy that... let's hope it has more of a Love And Rockets feel than the usual. Wizard Deny Rumour Rumour Hard Hats on! The following rumour was handed to us by an industry source but has been denied by a member of Wizard staff. It goes thus: "Wizard has just recently come down with a ruling that editors and staffers can no longer do outside freelance work, which has many of the peons(associate eds, research assts, etc) there in a tizzy and ready to explode since their base salary ain't enough really to live on, even in Congers, NY." "This has been a change as some now west coast Wizardites used to write for Topps, while Scott Beatty moonlit for DC Comics, writing Secret Files and Origins while he was Toy Fare editor - a job which subsidized Beatty's fledgling comic writing career until he was able to jump into it full time and now co-writes specials and such with Dixon and will be doing some 80-Page giant work this summer." "Others have had jobs here and there as well, helping to earn a living. Some even took jobs at Wizard with the idea that they'd be able to follow in the shoes of Beatty and the others. Now it seems that if you want to write comics at Wizard, you gotta be high enough up so you can get a Black Bull/vanity job." "Word is from inside the Wizard offices is that there have been happier days. Mass walkouts aren't out of the question in protest to the new rules." However Online Assistant Editor of Wizardworld, Rus Wooton, e-mailed us to say "Not true. You need more reliable sources." Anyone else with further clarification on this rumour, and where it came from, please e-mail twisting@hotmail.com Highly Conventional I'm at the Comics 2000 festival in Bristol this weekend. We're nominated for two Eagles awards (although to be frank, I reckon we'll be beat... X-Flies is up against stuff by Neil Gaiman and Paul Chadwick, while Ramblings has both Sequential Tart and Mania to fight off) and while I'll probably be dragged onto 2 or 3 panels, I'll definitely be on the Comics And The Web thingy... don't be shy, make yourself known! If anyone wants to find me, I'm staying at the Jury's Hotel and you can call me on 0780 1350982. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [6] Interview by Paul Dale Roberts Silhouet9@aol.com Interview with: Phillip B. Gittelman, CEO, Personal Manager of Tyler Mane - Actor who will portray Sabertooth in the upcoming X-Men the Movie. Interviewed by Paul Dale Roberts, Publisher, Jazma Universe Online! http://www.jazmaonline.com/ (Interview information provided by William Carlisle - Vice President of Jazma Universe Online! (c) Copyright 2000 Question: Before we get this interview started, can you tell us something personal about yourself? Your family life, where you were born and raised, what schools you attended? PHILLIP B. GITTELMAN THE ELDEST SON OF A TITLED FAMILY WHOSE ROOTS EXTENDED WEST OF FAIRFAX AVENUE, WHERE HE ATTENDED CRESCENT HEIGHTS GRAMMAR SCHOOL, LOUIS PASTEUR JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL AND FAIRFAX HIGH SCHOOL, WHERE HE WAS VERY INVOLVED IN "SCHOOL POLITICSΉ THEN GOING ON TO LOS ANGELES CITY COLLEGE WHERE HE MAJORED IN POLITICAL SCIENCE. THIRTY SIX YEARS AGO WHILE WORKING NIGHTS AS A MANAGER OF A RESTAURANT CHAIN, PHILLIP WENT TO WORK AS A TALENT AGENT AND CONTINUED WITH BOTH JOBS FOR ONE YEAR. AFTER WHICH GAVE UP THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS AND HEADED FULL STEAM INTO THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY. DURING THESE FIRST FIVE YEARS PHILLIP WORKED FOR SEVERAL TALENT AGENCIES LEARNING THE ROPES. HE NOW FACED THE CHOICE OF EITHER GOING INTO THE "ROPE"Ή BUSINESS FULL TIME, OR CONTINUING IN THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS. PHILLIP ALSO WORKED FOR A PERSONAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY WHERE HE REALIZED THERE IS A QUALIFIED "DIFFERENCE"Ή BETWEEN TALENT AGENCIES AND PERSONAL MANAGEMENT. ONE DAY PHILLIP CAME INTO A DAZZLING INHERITANCE OF SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS, WHICH ALLOWED HIM TO FIGHT HIS EVICTION TO STAY IN HIS FURNISHED ROOM, FOR ANOTHER SIX WEEKS, WHILE HE FOUND HIS OWN MULTI-NATIONAL PERSONAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY. PHILLIP HAS BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE IN THE CAREERS OF SUCH ACTORS, DIRECTORS AND PRODUCERS, AS TONY DOW, DON JOHNSON, SAL MINEO, CRAIG T. NELSON AND KRISTOFFER TABORI. HE PRESENTLY REPRESENTS A BOUTIQUE LIST OF ACTORS, DIRECTORS, PRODUCERS AND WRITERS. PHILLIP HAS LIVED FOR THE PAST THIRTY FIVE YEARS IN WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA AND NOW OPERATES HIS PERSONAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY OUT OF HAWAII Question: What is your role with X-Men the Movie? SABRETOOTH Question: Do you feel X-Men the Movie will be a blockbuster hit? ONE OF THE BIGGEST FOR 2000 Question: If you feel that this movie is successful, do you think Hollywood will make other comic book movies? THAT'S THE FORMULA Question: Why do you think that the general public enjoys movies like Mysterymen, Batman and other comic book movies, but don't have the desire to go to their local comic book store and buy themselves a comic book? IT'S BETTER TO BE SEATED IN A MOVIE THEATRE AND WATCHING A MOVING VISUAL, THAN PERHAPS TAKING THE SAME TIME WITH A COMIC Question: Please name off the actors and actresses that are featured in X-Men the Movie? PATRICK STEWART, IAN MCKELLAN, RAY PAHALLE BARRY, FRAMKE ASSENRK, JANSSEN, HUGH JACKSON, ANNA PACQUIM PACQUIN, AND REBECCA STAMOS..... Question: Do you think that Professor X will be portrayed correctly? YES, BUT THIS IS A MOTION PICTURE NOW AND THE VISION OF A BRILLANT YOUNG DIRECTOR BRYAN SINGER Question: Can you tell me about Sabertooth and his part in the movie? Who is playing Sabertooth? FORTUNALLY, IT IS MY CLIENT TYLER MANE AND LET ME JUST SAY HE IS A MUTANT Question: Will you be involved with the upcoming Spiderman movie? IF THE PRODUCERS ARE LOOKING FOR AN INTERESTING, EXCITING NEW HEAVY, THEN PERHAPS. Question: Will there be a sequel? IF IT MAKES MONEY NO PROBLEM Question: How much was the budget for X-Men the Movie? PROBABLY $100 million plus Question: How are the special effects? STATE OF THE ART Question: What are some of the most exciting scenes - without giving too much away? NO COMMENT Question: What other Marvel movies or TV shows that may go into production? THERE ARE A COUPLE OF MORE OUT THERE, THEIR NAMES I DON'T HAVE Question: Does Stan Lee have a role in X-Men the Movie? If he does what is his role? NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE Question: Do you have a website? If you do what is the URL address? YES http://home.earthlink.net/~phildinner Question: How can somebody contact you? e-mail phildinner@earthlink.net Question: If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things would you bring with you and why? My computer, cell phone and TV Question: Your thoughts on the comic industry? Thanks for all the energy, that all the people involved in your industry put in. As unique as the motion picture business is, your right there with new ideas! Question: Your 3 favorite fictional heroes and why? The Phantom, The Invisible Man and Superman each are very special and work for the good of people Question: Your 3 real life heroes and why? My Dad, my brother, my nephew, just can't say enough about family Question: What movies, cartoons and TV shows are your favorites? American President, The Bad and The Beautiful, House on 92nd Street Question: What books do you read? Strangely enough am not a book person Question: What are your hobbies and recreational activities? Camping, cooking and dining and various restaurants Question: Do you read comic books and if you do, what are the titles? No Question: Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years? Right here doing what I am doing Question: What are some of your other projects? I also represent TONY DOW who has been a client over 30 years and I am busy with his directing and producing career. Question: Well, I guess that winds up the interview. Thank you. Is there anything else you would like to say before closing? Thank's for this opportunity. Tell your friends and their friends about X-MEN and come and see the experience. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [7] Yiddishkeit in Comic books Link Yaco linkyaco@aol.com [Link Yaco has written comic books for several publishers. His collected "SPACE CHICKS AND BUSINESSMENS," illustrated by his partner John Heebink, is due from Fantagraphics in June, 2000. The collection has been praised by Mark Evanier, Steve Skeates, Greg Theakston, Kieron Dwyer, and Gray Morrow. He is currently working on a comics- related paperback for a major publisher. Check out his web page at http://members.aol.com/lexicon70s/index.html ] It's relatively common knowledge among comic book aficionados that the American comic industry was created and dominated by Jews. To this day, Jews have a disproportionate presence in the industry. Some people say that this seems to be typical of any intellectual or media-oriented business in America. Draw from it what conclusions you will (I would argue against any) but the concrete result for me as a child was that my favorite comics were filled with Yiddish-isms, or Yiddishkeit as the linguistic and cultural thinkers would call it. Yiddishkeit (which is the common spelling, but the correct standard Yiddish transliteration is "Yiddishkayt") is defined as Yiddish culture. The first syndicated Jewish comic character strip was "Abie the Agent." The cigar-smoking, large-eyed, chubby Abe Kabibble had a small bulb-nose and little mustache, and he spoke an English accented-by Yiddish spelling, expressions, and inflections. He was created by Harry Hershfield (1885-1974). Hershfield drew the strip as a daily black-and-white and a Sunday color feature from its inception in 1914 to its demise, with various interruptions, in 1940. But that was a comic STRIP, not a comic BOOK. Comic BOOKs really began around 1937, just a few years before the demise of Abe Kabibble. Jewish kids Joe Siegel and Jerry Shuster created the ultimate Jew, Superman. He was a glasses-wearing nerd on the day job, but secretly was an Israeli warrior god. He very much resembled the Golem of legend but with a Moses-like origin (instead of a basket of reeds, he was placed in a tiny rocket) and he came from an alien culture where people dressed in vaguely middle-eastern outfits and spoken a language always written in odd scribbles that resembled Arabic script (this convention was introduced in the `60s by Jewish editor Mort Wesinger). [Sorry, the below noted "illustrations" are not available in this "text" Emag. - D.L.] See the illustration for an example of the cursive (hand-written, or longhand) form of Yiddish script. See if it doesn't resemble Jor-El's patter. The bizarrely-shaped "S" on Superman's chest more resembles formal Yiddish script, which uses Hebrew characters modified to represent vowels as well as consonants. Hebrew has no vowels. See the second illustration, which, for fun, translates as "Superman," and transliterates as "Ibermensch." The Superman-Batman comics line, National, merged with the Jewish M.C. Gaines' Flash-Green Lantern line, All-American, to form "DC Comics." DC was named after National's first, and hugely successful, superhero book, "Detective Comics" which featured Batman, who was created by Bob Kane. The Jewish Kane, whose real name is Kahn, played on the old testament themes of alienation, retribution, and morality. In the `50s, M.C. Gaines' son William took over the remainder of the family line and developed Entertaining Comics (EC) into a marketplace leader. The books he created (Tales from the Crypt, Weird Science, Mad Magazine) continue to have a presence in TV and movies. In the `40s, one of the Jewish owners of Timely comics hired his 17 year-old nephew, Stanley Lieber, who in turn ended up writing and editing artist Jacob Kurtzburg. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, as they became known, worked for Timely as it became Atlas and then Marvel, where, in the `60s, they created a pantheon of introspective sensitive heroes that includes The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, and many many more. Stan Lee also retooled Joe Simon's unpublished `50s creation, the "Silver Spider" into the huge hit, Spiderman. The Jewish Joe Simon was Jack Kirby's partner from the early `40s to the late `50s. Together, they dominated the industry and, along with many other creations, they invented Captain American, in the `40s, and the entire genre of romance comics in the `50s. We should mention Will Eisner, who was the first major force in the comics industry. His shop trained many of the early talents (including Jack Kirby as well as the famed Jules Fieffer) and some of the characters he created survived into the late `60s (Blackhawks) and one is around today (The Spirit). As of this writing, Eisner is alive and has accomplished one of his dreams--to publish a comic in Yiddish! His critically- acclaimed "Contract with God" has been translated to Yiddish in a European edition. Superman's main competition was Fawcet Comics' sales phenomenon of the early `50s, Captain Marvel. The big red cheese, as he was affectionately called, was dominated by the scripting of Otto Binder. The secret of Big Red's powers was the magic word "shalom!" -er- that is, "Shazam," which was also the name of the robed, bearded rabbi, I mean wise man, who gave him his super- er- , marvel-ous abilities. DC ultimately sued Fawcett, which quit publishing comics, as sales were in a post-war slump anyway. Ironically, DC ended up reviving Big Red in the `70s. The first, and longest running horror/fantasy comic was ACG's "Adventures into the Unknown" (1948). It was largely created, edited, and written by "Richard Hughes" who was born Leo Rosenbaum. For over 20 years he edited and wrote this and a number of other comics for the American Comics Group (ACG). He used a variety of pseudonyms as he wrote and they were every ethnicity, including Asian, except Jewish. But with the use of about two dozen pseudonyms, he wrote almost everything for ACG for over two decades. One of the last great Jewish comics creators was the publisher of Eerie, Creepy, and Vampirella. In the mid '60s, these magazine- sized black & white comics created an entire sub-industry with many imitators. The publisher was James Warren, who dropped his Jewish last name of Taubman. Warren re-created the '50s EC horror comics at an even higher level of literacy and draftsmanship. Warren was perhaps the last of monolithic Jewish figures on the comics landscape. So is it any wonder that comics were filled with Yiddish-related terms and phrases, from the creation of the industry until the mid-to-late '60s? At Marvel Comics, Benjamin Grimm, the Fantastic Four's Thing, was fond of cursing people and objects with: FURSHLUGINNER FURSHLUGINNER, also spelled FERSLUGINNER or FORSHLAIGENER, has two meanings in Yiddish: the more civil "beat up" and the rude pejorative which can be translated most politely as "damned." It should be noted that this term made its appearance in the MAD and PANIC comic books first. There was also a running gag of a character named IRVING FORBUSH. FORBUSH is a distinctly Yiddish-sounding name. And as for IRVING, see MELVIN, below. Irving Forbush ultimately became the star of their parody book, NOT BRAND ECH ECH, is an exclamation which means "oh!" or "eh!" in Yiddish. Although many thought this was directly ripped off from MAD magazine, it was in common usage. ECH is more commonly used to express disgust than the similar FEH (see below) which tends to connote more in the way of disinterest. Even at DC, which was the blandest and most culturally- mainstreamed company around, odd phrases would pop up, such as Supergirl saying (in Action Comics #336, 1966, page 4, panel one, "Little does Lois know what gives under my mask!"): WHAT GIVES? This is somewhat speculative, but my perception is that WHAT GIVES is non-standard English, unique to the immigrant's English of New York City, especially the Bronx and Brooklyn. I have been able to find that WHAT GIVES is a grammatical construction that appears commonly in German. Yiddish, of which 90 percent is derived from German (albeit a medieval dialect called "Plat- Deutch"), about 5 percent from Hebrew, and a mish-mosh of Slavic and other loan words for the rest, retains many German grammatical constructions, including that of WHAT GIVES. However, WHAT GIVES is regarded as a peculiarly and somewhat quaintly German construction. There is a body of opinion as to how commonly this construction is actually used within the Yiddish language, but Yiddish speakers, especially from areas where modern German was spoken, are commonly aware of the construction. Linguistically, Eastern Europe changed drastically after WW2. German is no longer a popular language, and few Yiddish speakers remain in the area. The large area of Galicia, once part of Austria-Hungary, then Poland, and presently about half is in Poland and half in the Ukraine, once held one of the largest populations of Yiddish speakers, and German was a common auxiliary language. Neither is now the case. New York has one of the largest populations of Yiddish speakers. Israel also holds a good deal of surviving Yiddish speakers, but Yiddish is seldom used (except in certain traditional communities similar to the American Amish) as Hebrew is the national language. At EC, any time an alien spoke, it was in a Yiddish-flavored gibberish salted with these two phrases (which became an in-joke at EC): SPA FON SQUA TRONT Mine is minority opinion, but these sound like Latin-ized Yiddish to me. SQUA is very similar to the Latin preposition "qua" (as in "sine qua non") and SPA is obvious Roman Latin. FON and TRONT is similar to a number of Yiddish words with the ending "on" or "ont" syllable. Most of these are Latinate. They are loan words from the Latin-derived language of French, and the common French suffix "-ent," is pronounced "ont." To a Yiddish speaker in New York, perhaps nothing sounded as elegant and foreign as Latin or French. EC's Mad Magazine was a gold mine of Yiddish, thanks to writer Harvey Kurtzman and later Al Feldstein, Dr. Frank N. Stein's assistant read a Yiddish newspaper and more yidderish showed up: VEEBLEFETZER Again, this is a bit speculative. In my view, this nonsense word has the distinctive Yiddish diphthong TZ, (as in "plotz" and "putz"). SCHMEK or SMEK or SMEKITTY-SMEK (a sound effect) Schmek contains the familiar German/Yiddish tripthong "SCH" and sounds an awful lot like "schmuck" which is a bastardization of "schmok" which, of course, means penis. MELVIN OF THE APES, LITTLE ORPHAN MELVIN, SMILIN MELVIN... And if they ever needed to give a Melvin a last name, it was often COWSNOFSKI. Much like Irving, Melvin was an old English name that was adopted by Jewish immigrants exactly because it did not sound Jewish. So many Jews did this that we have come to associate these old Anglo- Saxon and Celtic names with Jews. COWSNOFSKI, and variant spellings, are Eastern European names with a Jewish flavor. POTREZEBIE There is no speculation here. Editor Gaines himself said, during a cab ride sometime in the '70s, that this word was Polish for "necessity." Actually, it means "necessitous." Necessity is almost the same: "POTRZEBA." Polish, of course, isn't Yiddish, but the majority of Pre-W.W.II Yiddish speakers were from Poland, and spoke some Polish, and Polish loan words showed up in Yiddish. More purely Yiddish words showed up as well: A dog named SCHLEP SCHLEP, of course, means to carry, or drag a considerable weight. A gangster spoof called GONIFS. GONIF is the Yiddish word for "thief." EH! and FEH! were common expressions in MAD. So much so that when American Comics Group published an imitation of MAD (it has been listed as copyrighted 1950 but it is more likely to have been printed in 1954), it was titled "EH!" FEH, much like ECH, is a variant of EH which is a Yiddish exclamation meaning "oh!" or "eh!" HOO HA! A Yiddish exclamation meaning "wow." HALVAH was sometimes used amusingly. In satirical movie credits choreographer Agnes de Haviland became "Agnes de Halvah". Halvah is a Middle Eastern and Jewish dessert made of sesame seeds and honey. A parody of the Eisenhower slogan, I LIKE IKE--I LIKE LOX. Another Jewish food. At Fawcet comics, Superman's rival spoke a mystic word of yidderish. SHAZAM The Jewish-ness of Captain Marvel was never seriously in question to the Jewish New Yorkers who grew up reading him. Some of the kids who grew up to become major comic artists have said that they always assumed Captain Marvel's magic word was "shalom," the Hebrew word for "hello," "good-bye," and "peace." It was only after following the character for some time that they realized their mistake. But it was an easy mistake to make. Cap dressed in a somewhat Middle Eastern manner, compared to the European circus tights of his competition. Cap had a sash instead of a belt, and his cloak was a gold-trimmed affair, slung over one shoulder, and held in place by gold braid. His metal armbands completed the appearance of a desert warrior. The mystical word "shazam" was an acronym that stood for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury. The significance of the Jewish king in the starting position is telling. Shazam was also the name of the ancient "Egyptian" wizard who gave Cap his powers, so there can be no argument about the intention of a Middle-Eastern (alright, if you want to split hairs, Egypt is North African, not Middle-Eastern, but it's the same region) flavor to the word. At ACG, Leo Rosenbaum, AKA Richard Hughes, wrote fantasy stories ripe with motifs extremely reminiscent of the folktales of the schtetl, especially as classically written by Scholem Aleichem in his Wisemen of Chelm stories. "Adventures into the Unknown" #168 (1966) featured a story with a serpent-headed flower, the undead on strike, a weeping "Lord of the Underworld," and the "Spooky Soda Shoppe." An alligator wearing underpants, a dull fat boy who knows the secrets of the universe-but isn't telling, thinking trees, and ghosts with attitudes, these where the stuff of ACG. In #158, the boss of the afterlife says to the ghostly superhero, Nemesis, "Real schlemiel of a spirit." The schlemiel says, "I was an infant when the 2nd World War broke out and for safety I was sent to live with my uncle in America." Sounds like a Jewish refugee to me, eh? This article focuses on only the first three decades of comics because, arguably, the form declined after that initial period. The popular art form of comics, like all pop forms (e.g. jazz, rock, film) developed in a few decades, had a brief avante garde period, and then crystallized into a static form. Comics came into being in the late `30s (1937 is a date commonly accepted but frequently argued as some try to push the date back further by pointing out one-shot oddities in curious formats) and reached their developmental peak in the late `60s. After the avante garde work of Steranko and Adams (initially with the offbeat Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD and Deadman, respectively, and then more conventionally with Captain America and Batman) in the commercial comics and Robert Crumb and his colleagues in the undergrounds (Zap Comics), the form froze. Note that none of these creators, not even Crumb, are Jewish. That is why this article concentrates on the pre-avante period. Unlike film, where Jewish artists remained important during the medium's avante period (the `60s were a wildly creative time for all the arts), comics became a gentile phenomenon. This coincided with the commercialization and homogenization of the form that, as usual, co-opted the avante impulse. Comic books without Yiddish became bland hokum. Jewish creators, such as Harvey Pekar (American Splendor), tried to take back the avante garde in the late `70s and `80s but it was after the fact. Comic "events" such as Art Speigleman's Maus, created over a period that stretched from the late `70s to the late `80s, were elegant exercises in what was, by then, a static form. It is also relevant to point out that Spiegelman is an artist who not only developed his craft in the `60s but straddled the avante garde ranges of both commercial comics (at Topps, where he worked with Marvel's Roy Thomas, and the legendary Wallace Wood) and undergrounds (Spiegleman did some underground work in the `60s and remains a friend of Crumb to this day). New York Jewish comics creators such as Jacob Kurtzburg (Jack Kirby) and Eli Katz (Gil Kane) have spoken about the grinding poverty of their upbringing and the fearful violence of their gang-ridden neighborhoods. Joe Shuster, illustrator and co- creator of Superman, was so poor he learned to draw on wrapping paper because his family couldn't afford plain white paper. They have also spoken of their parents either speaking English with heavy "Jewish" (meaning Yiddish) accents or even speaking no English at all. These impoverished offspring of immigrants had intense ambition that fueled their imaginations. As so often happens, their more fortunate children, acculturated and satisfied, lack the drive to innovate that their parents had. Perhaps the children of the current wave of immigrants from Asia or South America will have the talent to create a new art form...or retool an old one and one day make comics exciting again! (Among the many who offered advice for this article were Mike Mosher, John Heebink, Ryder Windham, and Mark Evanier. Any linguistic errors are the responsibility of the author and not of any of his generous advisors.) ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [8] SOME PAGES, A COVER, AND A FEW STAPLES Marlan Harris mar93@aol.com [Marlan Harris lives and works in Burbank, CA.] JLA: EARTH 2 This could very well be Grant Morrison's best JLA piece, and thereby perhaps one of the best Justice League stories--ever. Morrison has had a great run on the monthly JLA and this hardcover (for now) graphic novel is the perfect cap to this body of work. I'm at a loss to come up with any stories in the entire history of any comic with name "Justice League of America," or slight variation thereof, that are better than this one. Sure, the JLA stories of the past have always featured some of the best characters that DC Comics has had to offer, but have there really been any truly landmark, classic stories? Everyone surely has their own personal favorites (my own being the first dozen or so issues of the Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire run) but in terms of pure quality and utilizing all the strengths inherent in the characters as a group, I don't think you're going to find a better series of stories than the ones featured in JLA comics. (Though if you wish to debate this, please e-mail me with your choices.) Howard Porter's art on the regular series, however, is a different story. While he's not a horrible artist, his art was just not up to the same quality the stories had. DC had to make up the high cost of having Grant Morrison on a regular book so they had to cut corners somewhere. And there's something distracting about having a fill-in artist every other issue. His work will be much more welcome on the Superman books. Frank Quietly is one of the very best artists doing superheroes these days and EARTH 2 may very well be his best work yet. His one weakness is drawing women, who look more like female bodybuilders which, in the case of Wonder Woman, they should, but they're also particularly unsexy, especially compared to nearly every other artists' interpretations. And his more powerful, muscle-bound characters, most notably Superman, look like the bully that beat the hell out of you in sixth grade, with maybe a touch of Down's Syndrome. This works well for Martian Manhunter and the bad guys but Superman doesn't look as handsome and noble as he should. Though, to his credit, Quitely seems to be developing quickly as he goes along and the women in the book seem to grow more attractive as the story progresses. But it's a small complaint next to Quietly's near-mastery of lay-outs, storytelling, and subtlety. For just a sample of this, look at pages 60 & 61. Now watch how the guy that goes to shoot Wayne starts in the first panel on page 60, crosses the street in the next panels, and goes to shoot Wayne in the last panel on page 61, all while the main story and dialogue between characters is going on. That guy is in every panel (but one) on those two pages, you can see. And I'll bet you didn't catch that when you read it the first time. WIZARD complained that we never got to see the Justice League come head-to-head with the Crime Syndicate, the bad guys, for a big, blow-out battle. Who cares? It's refreshing that Morrison freed himself of this tired comics-storytelling cliche, where there's a fight, good guys vs. bad guys, and either 1) The good guys win (predictable), or 2) The bad guys win, but the good guys come through in the end (predictable). The way Morrison writes this story makes it much more a psychological battle between the two forces and, in light of this being a rarity in superhero comics, a thousand times more interesting. All in all, it's a good book and, being a compact, one issue story not bound directly by continuity and showcasing only the main JLA characters, the big guns of the DC Universe, perhaps the best JLA story yet. This is a story that, when the trade paperback edition comes out, fans will keep around and continue to read and creators learn from. Check out the hardcover in particular, though, for the creator credits on the dust jacket--every bit as genius as the rest of the book. REALWORLDS: BATMAN (DC) The concept of this book could be Elseworlds: superheroes in a really realistic world. Though it's not WATCHMEN and the "superheroes" don't have super-powers and the "real" world can only be so real in a work of fiction, but it's still an interesting experiment. But the premise isn't strong enough to carry a story if the creators can't get a good story out of it. Luckily, this issue, the first in a series, is not the case. Writers Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski have done some incredibly dumb superheroes stories, mostly notably the awful PUNISHER book of Marvel Knights last year, but this book seems to better suit their strengths: a fairly realistic setting, down-to-earth characters, and a conventional situation. And it's good to see classic Batman artist Marshal Rogers doing comics work again, even if he's doing a Richard Corben riff these days (also credit inker John Cebollero for that). It might be interesting to see how the future stories in this series turn out, but I doubt this concept will interest enough big-name creators to try it out. Though DC making this a $5.95, Prestige-format book, which they seem to do with every one-shot story, whether it's good or not, makes this a very risky experiment and one that probably won't go beyond the initial few issues. AZRAEL (DC) 50-something issues ago, this looked like a pretty good comic. Spinning off a popular character from the Batman titles, who actually was Batman for a while, this comic established Azrael as a cool, new hero. Along with writing by comics veteran Denny O'Neil and art by Barry Kitson, the first 12 issues of this comic are good, getting a great head of steam, making any reader slavishly wait for the next chapter. But of course it all went downhill from there. Kitson took off after a few dozen issues or so and O'Neil's writing was exposed for what it really is: weak, relying on the ability of whatever artist he's working with. But O'Neil is also the group editor for all the Batman books and what he says goes. He's a legendary writer, but I've never really understood why: would anyone have remembered his work if it wasn't for Frank Miller and Neal Adams (on DAREDEVIL and GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW, respectively), and for the fact that he is, admittedly, a legendary editor, with a career spanning 25 years for both Marvel and DC? But I won't rail on because I'm honestly not that familiar with his past writing work and I really don't care to be. Again, his work is held up by the artist he's working with. And unfortunately that's Roger Robinson, who took Kitson's place. Robinson showed great promise with his first few issues, even if they were officially fill-in stories. But something, maybe deadlines, maybe laziness, happened after that and the art is hard to follow in some places, just bad in others. And something happened with inker James Pascoe, as well: over Kitson, he was quietly one of the best inkers in the field. And he still was, for a time, but he just can't get a grip on Robinson's work, usually aping another inker instead, usually Klaus Janson, instead of using his once very solid and detailed lines. It gets really bad in the "No Man's Land" issues: the worst-conceived mastermind bad guy to come along in the last 5 years, Nicholas Scratch, is Azrael's arch-enemy, and he chases after him for what feels like 10 pointless issues. Scratch wouldn't even look good, scary, or evil in a Rob Liefeld comic, much less in a DC comic. Even the Joker's only appearance in the first half of "No Man's Land" is wasted in this comic. O'Neil is the guy in charge and what says, goes. Let him do what he wants, I bought 12 issues of this comic too many and I'm not buying anymore. A complete set of these issues will be on webby in a short while. Nothing is interesting if you're not interested. -- Helen Maziness mar93@aol.com Http://members.aol.com/mar93/BoneMachine.html ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [9] 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.] WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COLUMN MAY REVEAL SIGNIFICANT PORTIONS OF PLOTS OR ENTIRE PLOT DEVELOPMENTS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Name: Lex and Rex #15 - The Date Show Mockery Continues! Publisher: Marky Comics Price: $1.00 Written and Drawn by: Mark Cardoso How many pages? 24 pages. Type of artwork? Manga style - black and white. How to order? Contact Mark Cardoso at: Cardoso@netcom.ca or check out his website at: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/2991/index.html Comments: Welcome to the TV show called "Love Me, Love Me Not". This TV show is a cross between The Dating Game and the Jerry Springer show. It's a laugh a minute. In this story Tiff and Cammi go after 3 eligible bachelors by the name of Rex, Vinnie and Lex. Crazy questions are thrown out, here's an example..."Does a phone melt in the microwave at 5 minutes when timed from ten minutes?" Anyway, things get out of control and somewhat chaotic, you never know what will happen next. You want bizarre, you'll get it in this issue! Plenty of zany humor that will have you laughing so much you'll get the hic ups. Hic...hic...up! Check this issue out when you have time. You'll get a kick out of Mark's hilarious comedy! Name: Get Bent #6 / Unshaven Chi #2 Publisher: Ben T. Steckler Price: $2.00 Written and Drawn by: Ben T. Steckler How many pages? 32 pages Type of artwork? Cartoonish - black and white. How to order? $2.00 + 50 cents p&h - send check to Ben T. Steckler, POB 7273, York, PA 17404 - For more information email Ben at: bsteckler@netrax.net Comments: 2 comics in one. On one side is Get Bent #6 and the flip side is Unshaven Chi #2. Some of the stories you get are: Mother Box - the inaugural adventure for Sidney Skalinowicz - Man in Space!, One Sad Day in the Art Studio - a Don Martin Tribute, And Now a Word from our Sponsor (meet Bent's new kitty). With Bent, he is busy partying it up, because he like millions around the world, survived the Y2K bug. Lots of good hearty humor that will have you roaring with laughter! Funny stuff as some girl is pinching his behind during a concert and while she is doing it, has her boyfriend on the other arm. Bent, realizing he can't get any action since she has her boyfriend next to her, gets really 'bent' out of shape! Somewhere in the story, Bent's obsessed with the notion that he should grow back his beard. Bent is just plain craaaaazzy! Funny stuff I say...funny stuff! Sidney Skalinowicz takes you on a Trekkie kind of adventure (lots of Star Trek influence in this story - which made it plenty of fun!) Sid and friends arrive at a Star Trek Convention and run into a hippie in the elevator that they later realize is George Takei. Megos, sort of like legos are used to take Star Trek action figures and making them into superhero figures. Bones becomes Dr. Strange, Mr. Spock becomes Namor (of course) and Capt. Kirk becomes Wolverine (the Canadian connection). One big laugh riot again and this story will even give you a trip of hell! Too lazy to go to a comedy club? Then try 'Get Bent', you'll get all the laughs you want from this comic book! Name: Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #11 Publisher: DC Comics Price: $2.50 Written by: Geoff Johns Drawn by: Scott Kolins/pencils Dan Davis/inks Comments: This was a spectacular issue with The Shining Knight! Got a bit excited and decided to shoot off a letter to DC Comics.....here's what I said: Excellent issue seeing the lost knight of the Round Table (aka the Shining Knight) with Star Spangled Kid! Love the way Courtney Whitmore uses her shooting stars. I think she is one of the most exciting superheroines around, I am really getting a kick out of her adventures! Like the way Justin uses his armor as a weapon to ward off those big bugs. I had to laugh, knowing that Courtney did some manipulating to get a high IQ result and because of this, the 'skeeter' was going to get her brain. I bet Courtney will think twice before doing this again. Justin and Pat Dugan reunite and almost took another trip down memory lane, like was done in the most recent issue of Impulse. Highly enjoyed The Shining Knights origin story as he tells how he was part of King Arthur's Round Table, how he helped Merlin, how Merlin helped him, how he came to our present time and how he teamed up with famous groups like Seven Soldiers of Victory and The All Star Squadron! This was completely fascinating and kept me glued to my seat. The Dragon King is foreboding and mysterious, while Victory the Pegasus is magical and the right kind of steed for The Shining Knight. Amazing on how the Dragon King once had the Holy Grail. If he still had this biblical object, he would be more powerful than he is already. Good thing he lost it. Looking forward to the accomplishment of our heroes mission and that is to end the reign of the Dragon King! Dangerous times ahead for the Star Spangled Kid as she must face down Shiv and now her belt is broken! Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #11 was everything I wanted in a story and more! Standing ovation to Geoff Johns, Scott Kolins (super penciling!) and Dan Davis (marvelous inking!). See ya' next ish! Name: Tomorrow Stories #7 Publisher: America's Best Comics Written by: Alan Moore Artwork: Numerous artists Price: $2.95 Comments: In this one issue you have Splash Brannigan, The First American and U.S. Angel, The Cobweb and Greyshirt. 3 are funny stories, that will have you laughing all day long. Now let's get to my comments: Let's talk about Splash Brannigan first. Got a kick out of all the humor that was thrown into this one story. I caught the Kevorkian Life Insurance sign...outrageous! Funny stuff as Mr. Kaput thinks all of his comics are trash and is out on the ledge, ready to commit suicide. Then here comes Ms. Screensaver who doesn't have a full deck and doesn't realize the crisis and closes the window down on him. I laughed so hard it caused me to have a slight bellyache. The Calorie Gallery with the snobbery robbery fiasco was just plain bizarre. It was bizarre because Splash saves the day by going into a picture plane (something new) as he immerses into some famous artwork. A famous painting like "The Last Supper" isn't safe as the 12 disciples get into a food fight with Splash. The comic pieces on Van Gogh who lost his ear and is holding up a can of band-aids. To cameos of Homer Simpson and Pluto, this was becoming insane! Ms. Screensaver may like Splash's heroics, but she hasn't seen anything yet. Anything can happen and it will with Splash Brannigan! Whew! Now to Cobweb....I mean Grooveweb as everything is happening in the psychedelic 60s! Instead of getting the Man from U.N.C.L.E. or Secret Agent Man, I get the Men from H.A.L.F.-S.I.S.T.E.R. Groovy man! Nice appearance of the Yellow Kid, only flanked by the lovely Cosmic Clarice and the tie-dyed one known as Cobweb - 2 very hot babes! When it got to women in underground comix, I was expecting the Fabulous Freak Brothers or Fritz the Cat or maybe Mr. Natural of Keep on Truckin' to make their appearance. Church of Stan? Insanity ran rampant in this story! I didn't know what to expect! The First American and U.S. Angel was extremely funny too as First American recalls being at a New Year's party with Henry Ford and Jospehine Baker. First American takes credit on many things and to say that Henry Ford stole his idea of building a car....ya, right! World War II was about a war over moustaches? Hitler was jealous of Tojo's moustache and so on and so on? This is satire that has been taken to the next level! First American married John Lennon?....now I know I have to go and move on to the next story, which doesn't have any humor. Nevertheless, it's still a good story. Greyshirt - love this guy, the only dramatic story in this comic book. Heavy laced drama sets in as the taxi driver sees Greyshirt laying on the road and doesn't stop to see what happened. Instead the taxi driver had to swing around after he built up his nerve. When returning, he freaks and doesn't see the body and gets carjacked by Chucky Frisco - mobster. Very intense as Greyshirt is running for his life and when Chucky finally gets captured, I knew that the taxi driver and Greyshirt should both take the credit for his capture. Both men displayed heroism and its all new for the taxi driver. Excellent stories that pack a punch! Tomorrow Stories are like Lay's potato chips, after you had one, you keep coming back for more! ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [10] 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 BBS 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'S favorite motivational phrase is, "BEHOLD THE TURTLE, HE ONLY MAKES PROGRESS WHEN HE STICKS HIS NECK OUT!"] Get BenT! #6 (Spring 2000) 32 pages, digest, black & white, 3rd color covers, $2.00 + $.50 s&h Ben T. Steckler PO Box 7273 York, PA 17404 bsteckler@netrax.net Occasionally I get a mini-comic for review and that is always a welcome break from the norm. The truth is with these self-published efforts you never know what you are going to get in either quality or subject matter. In my case, I almost never have heard of any of these products so the anticipation of what I might find is a mixed pleasure. At first I thought I would be bored with yet another person's parody of Star Trek but this was not to be the case. Ben begins with a history of his own experience as a fan of the original Star Trek series. (I can remember my own anticipation of the first episode and the pre-hype in TV Guide calling it a "Space Wagon Train" series. I am aging myself here - a show of hands for all you farts out there who actually remember Wagon Train! A "Cheezy Prize"(t.m.) to the first one who can name the original lead actor of the series! But I digress . . .) It helps to know that Ben also became a comic dealer and eventually shed his Trekkie habits for more mainstream pursuits - like females! With that as a lead-in we join the story already in progress as we find Sidney Skalinowicz and his companion (Trek types) holding a sort of oversized cosmic cube - supposedly Sid's mom's soul which they hope to connect to their ship and navigate home. They are next put on by Der Red Pumpkin - a villain supposedly out of a SGT. ROOTER comic book. In fact he looks very much like a certain character from the Ultraverse. The mother cube (in fact the story is titled Mother Box) has the power to teleport through space and Pumpkinhead wants to use it to go to New York and take over the entire comic industry. Why we can only ponder. I found the story silly and entertaining - not much of a Trek parody at all - which was good. A few good gags here and there and decent art make it very readable. But wait, there's more! There are tributes to the late Don Martin, Charles Shulz, DeForrest Kelly and Gil Kane. In fact the flip cover is a tribute to Kane. The back half has three little pieces as well. The first is the auto-biographical journey to deciding whether or not to grow a beard again which evolves into a decision to let the readers decide not only that important question but everything in his life. Coffee or tea, TV or MTV, Jew or Christian, Walk or Don't Walk, you get the picture. Kinda funny how he moves from one thought to the next. A one pager follows about not getting writer's block when doing auto-bio comics. My favorite is the last section which is a rant on the willingness of Americans to accept mediocrity. He comments on the fact that 90% of everything is crap and that may be a generous assessment, and that how odd it is that the object in golf is to achieve mediocrity - a par score. And the best conclusion is that our willingness to accept mediocrity is the result of our brainwashing by Meatloaf, the singer not the food. Excellent! While the art is not superior it is certainly well done and better than a lot I have seen in mini comics. The best element of Get BenT is the mind of Ben Steckler. Each part is well thought out, well scripted and humorous without having to be vulgar. Well worth the $2.50 if you are so inclined. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [11] 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, 4/26/2000, 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 ABSTRACT STUDIOS Terry Moores Paradise Too, 2.75 ACCLAIM COMICS Unity 2000 #3 (Of 6), 2.50 AMAZE INK (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS) Lenore #6 (AA), 2.95 ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS Betty & Veronica Spectacular #42, 1.99 Betty & Veronica Digest #112, 2.19 Cheryl Blossom #32, 1.99 Jugheads Double Digest #68, 3.19 CALIBER Pakkins Land Forgotten Dreams #4 (resolicited), 2.95 CUP O TEA STUDIOS Xenos Arrow #8, 2.50 DARK HORSE COMICS Blade Of The Immortal The Gathering (2 Of 15) #44, 2.95 Dirty Pair Run From The Future Ramos Cvr #4 (Of 4), 2.95 Dirty Pair Run From The Future Warren Cvr #4 (Of 4), 2.95 Hellboy The Right Hand Of Doom TPB, 17.95 Super Manga Blast #2, 4.95 Usagi Yojimbo #37, 2.95 Xena Warrior Princess #8, 2.95 DC COMICS A Contract With God And Other Tenement Stories SC, 12.95 Action Comics #766, 1.99 Authority #14, 2.50 Batman #578, 1.99 Batman Beyond #8, 1.99 Catwoman #81, 1.99 Countdown #1 (Of 8), 2.95 Dexters Laboratory #10, 1.99 Disavowed #4 (Of 6), 2.50 Flash #161, 1.99 Hellblazer #149, 2.50 Hitman #50, 2.50 Invisibles Volume 3 #1, 2.95 JLA #42, 1.99 Millennium Edition Detective Comics #395, 2.50 Sandman Presents Petrefax #4 (Of 4), 2.95 Sgt Rocks Prize Battle Tales 80 Page Giant Replica Ed, 5.95 Steampunk #3, 2.50 Supergirl #45, 1.99 Superman Metropolis Secret Files #1, 4.95 The Patriots #6, 2.50 Top Ten #8, 2.95 Wonder Woman #157, 1.99 DIAMOND PUBLICATIONS Previews Vol X #5, 2.95 IMAGE COMICS Aria Angela Heavenly Creatures Blanc And Noir Ed #1, 2.95 Astounding Space Thrills Comic Book #1, 2.95 Astounding Space Thrills Comic Book Virgin Cvr Incentive #1, AR Cow Spring 00 #1, 2.95 Demonslayer Vol 2 #1, 2.95 Echo Holocrome Ed #1, 6.95 Eve Protomecha #3, 2.50 Fear Effect Special #1, 2.95 Kabuki Skin Deep 2nd Prtg TPB, 10.95 Kiss Psycho Circus #29, 2.25 Kiss Psycho Circus Whispered Scream Vol 3 TPB, 9.95 Lady Pendragon #9, 2.95 Neon Cyber #7, 2.50 Rising Stars #7, 2.50 Spawn Vol 10 Vengeance Of The Dead TPB, 9.95 Spirit Of The Tao #15, 4.95 Tenth Speical Ed #1, 2.95 Tin Can Man #3, 2.95 Warlands #6, 2.50 Warlands Poster #1, 5.99 Warlands Poster #2, 5.99 MARVEL COMICS Avengers #29, 2.25 Deadpool #41, 2.25 Gambit #17, 2.25 Marvel The Lost Generation #9 (Of 12), 2.99 Warlock #9, 2.50 Webspinners Tales Of Spider-Man #18, 2.50 Wolverine #151, 2.25 X-Force #103, 2.25 X-Men Universe #7, 4.99 X-Men Unlimited #27, 2.99 ONI PRESS INC. Adventures Of Barry Ween 2.0 #3 (Of 3), 2.95 Blue Monday The Kids Are Alright #2 (Of 3), 2.95 VIZ COMMUNICATIONS Animerica Vol 8 #4, 4.95 Black & White Vol 3 TPB, 15.95 Pokemon Vol 3 Electric Boogaloo Curr Prtg #3 (Of 4) (AA), 2.95 Ranma 1/2 Part 8 #13 (Of 13), 2.95 WIZARD ENTERTAINMENT Gatecrasher #4 (Of 4), 2.50 Wizard Comics Magazine Daredevil Punisher Cover #105, 4.99 Wizard Comics Magazine Greatest Cover #105, 4.99 magazines Comic Shop News #671, AR Jack Kirby Collector #28, 5.95 NCRL for the foreseeable future... TITLE OLD RELEASE DATE NEW DATE DC COMICS Crimson #18 05/17 05/10 Kurt Busiek's Astro City: Tarnished Angel HC 04/19 05/10 Planetary #10 03/08 05/03 Starman Archives Volume 1 HC 04/26 05/03 The Authority: Relentless TP 05/03 05/10 Titans/LSH: Universe Ablaze #4 03/08 05/03 Tomorrow Stories #8 04/19 05/10 Top 10 #9 05/10 06/21 Yeah! #9 04/05 05/03 IMAGE Aria/Angela #1 Museum Ed 04/19 05/10 Aria/Angela #2 05/03 Big Bang #31 04/26 05/03 Blue #2 04/26 05/03 Chassis #4 05/17 City of Silence #1 05/10 Cow #1 Spring 00 04/26 05/03 Crow Magazine #2 04/19 05/03 Curse of the Spawn Vol. 3: Shades of Gray TP 05/10 Dark Angel #1 05/17 Dark Crossings Special: Dark Cloud Rising #1 05/03 DarkMinds Vol. 2 #3 04/19 05/03 DarkMinds Vol. 2 #4 05/17 Fathom #12 04/26 05/17 Fear Effects Special #1 04/26 05/03 Gear Station #2 04/26 05/10 Geeksville # 1 05/03 Go Girl #1 04/12 Cancelled Hawkshaws #1 04/26 05/03 J.U.D.G.E. # 3 05/17 Jinn #2 04/26 05/10 Kabuki Agents #4 04/12 05/10 Kin #4 05/17 Kiss: Psycho Circus Whispered Scream Vol. 3 TP 04/26 05/03 Lady Pendragon #10 04/26 05/17 Lost Ones #1 04/26 05/03 Magdalena #2 04/19 05/03 Mr. Monster's Gal Friday Kelly #3 05/03 M-Rex #3 04/26 05/03 Neon Cyber #7 04/19 05/10 Neon Cyber #8 05/17 Nine Rings of the Wu-Tang #4 04/26 05/03 Parts Unknown: Killing Attractions #1 04/19 05/10 Rising Stars #0 05/03 05/10 Saffire #1 04/19 05/03 Saffire #2 05/17 Sam & Twitch #10 05/10 05/03 Savage Dragon #73 04/26 05/03 Savage Dragon: Gang War TP 05/03 05/17 Shockrockets # 2 05/10 Spawn #95 05/10 Spawn: The Dark Ages #14 04/19 05/03 Spawn: The Dark Ages #15 05/17 Stone Vol. II #4 04/26 05/17 Tellos #7 04/26 05/03 Tomb Raider #5 04/26 05/03 Top Cow Classics: Fathom #1 05/03 Warlands #6 04/19 05/03 Warlands #7 05/17 Wicked #4 04/19 05/03 Witchblade #40 05/03 *Please note that these items are shipping early. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [12] HYPE! Section Various PREVIEW OF PREVIEWS Diamond has updated their web site for the new PREVIEWS out next week. Writer/Ad Coordinator Vince Brusio is the designated editorial writer for Previews' "The Splash Page" which is our source material On The Cover... We've been waiting for the gas to ignite. We've been waiting for the four-alarm fire. And time has finally run out for us. The explosion will rip up the earth, and we'll all be forced to seek cover from the falling chunks of soil and detritus. On the front cover of Previews this month, we salute the 100th issue of Spawn. The red carpet rolls out to make way for this monumental comic book, which is the first comic in Image history to reach the #100 indicia. But the carpet is red not only because of the occasion, but also because it's stained with the blood of an innocent. After all, there's not much happiness in the grim world of the angry Hellspawn. Every silver lining has a dark cloud over it. When the chess game comes to an end, it's because pieces have been eliminated. And the game in Spawn's universe has Heaven playing against Hell. It's the Executive game. And the stakes are higher than you can imagine. Unfortunately, lives are extinguished, as the chessboard becomes a battleground. And this time the life is a female's. It may be Wanda. Or maybe Cyan. It could be the angel, Angela. But then it could also be Tiffany. Or it could be the long absent Granny Blake. Either way, whoever she is, the unlucky daughter will be a sacrifice in this life/death twisted melodrama we call Spawn. And the repercussions from the Reaper's kiss could have our undead Hellspawn tearing apart clouds to knock at Heaven's door. On the flip side, we have a Superman summer event that's going to melt every ice cream cone in sight. DC Comics takes the back cover of Previews to showcase a 4-part storyline dubbed "Superman: Arkham." And there's a lot of word play that comes out of this title. First of all, you'll probably end up in the infamous Gotham insane asylum before the story is over. Nothing makes sense! Down is up, and up is sideways! You cannot fathom the algebra behind the equation. You will laugh crazily behind the bars of your bedroom, and sip your dinner through a straw when we tell you the gravity of the situation. Superman is the most wanted criminal known to man. He is a Kryptonian super-villain, and you will see him run amok throughout all of the monthly Superman titles this month. Night after night he escapes his prison, only to be brought back by Earth's Greatest Hero Bizarro as the sun comes up. And Lois Lane, the richest, most powerful woman in the world, conducts sadistic experiments on him. He is her happy fun ball. And meanwhile … we're confused! We have no idea as to why there are painful screams heard in the distance. It's totally preposterous that we should flee in terror from the Turtle Boy. And why is it a crime for Steel to think logically? Oh, woe unto the fans! We are strapped into a chair of confusion, and they have released the bore worms upon us (No! Not the bore worms!). Where is Big Blue when we need him? Look for Spawn #100 and the "Superman: Arkham" storyline in the Premier Comics section of Previews. Pamela Pulling No Punches We've been saying all along that Perilous Pamela should get a comic book again. It's about time that somebody listened to us! Guess we did need the megaphone. Guys: you love Witchblade, Fathom, Vampirella, Lady Death_why? Because of those killer curves, right? Pamela Anderson Lee definitely fits the bill. And then there are her comrades in arms. The same chicks you'd see in a Victoria's Secret catalog! Based on the top-rated television show, the VIP comic book makes its debut this month as the first of a three-issue series that's guaranteed to fog up our bathroom mirrors. So what's the plan, Stan? Vallery Irons and the VIP team are hired to protect the life of a highly noted scientist and his most recent discovery. There is villainous scum out there who would like to see greedy fat cats profit from his hard work and time. But the VIP ladies aren't about to let that happen. So they strut their stuff to keep the scientist's prize from falling into the wrong hands, and landing us all in some messy global destruction. Some top-of-the-line talent is driving the train on this limited series. So we advise you to check the roll call, and then mark this comic on your "to do" list. Look for TV Comics' VIP #1 in the Comics section of Previews! ++ Drop Dead Legs, With Attitude It's not always doom and gloom over at Chaos! Comics. Sometimes there's a ray of light that comes along to split the darkness like Moses parting the Red Sea. Take Vandala, for instance. Chaos! Comics Director of Marketing, Adam Goldfine, conducted an online poll that asked fans which character they most wanted to see in a stand-alone story. Out of the thousands of responses, Vandala was one of the top three choices. Since her debut in Lady Death: The Crucible, the Norse Goddess has captured the attention (and hearts) of many Chaos! readers. As a result of her popularity, she will get her own private spotlight with Vandala #1 this July. "Vandala is a rare character in the Chaos! Cosmos," said Chaos! Comics President and Publisher Brian Pulido. "She's pure of heart and motivated to do the right thing. This adventure will test her limits and pit her against her greatest challenge — alone. As we showed with last year's Armageddon limited series and Lady Death: Dark Millennium, none of the old rules apply. Look for Vandala #1 and Vandala #1 Premium Edition from Chaos! Comics in the Comics section of Previews. Secrets of the Dark Knight Author Les Daniels has a knack for looking at the bones of a superhero. No, he doesn't do autopsies of those characters that a publisher