---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden Present: THE COMIC BOOK NET ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE ISSUE NUMBER 262 1999 EAGLE AWARD NOMINEE 4/28/2000 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] EAGLE AWARDS .......................... Comics International [6] Nitpicker's Guide to Overstreet ....... Ray Bottorff Jr. [7] WANDER: O'Neil's Eclectic Masterpiece . Link Yaco [8] Sound and Fury ........................ Craig Lemon [9] Some Pages, A Cover, and a Few Staples. Marlan Harris [10] M.O.E. Reviews ........................ Paul Dale Roberts [11] My View: NICKELODEON:COMIC BOOK........ David LeBlanc [12] New Comic Book Releases List .......... Charles LePage [13] 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 The EAGLE has landed . . . but not here. Congratulations to Steve Conley for his win in the Favorite Ezine/online strip category with ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS. You can follow AST every week at our online web edition - it is a column feature in that edition. Just click on htpp://www.digitalwebbing.com/cbem and look for it! Also our congrats to Comic Book Resources, from which we gain a lot of the news in our Network Buzz each week. They won for favorite web site (pro). The complete list of Eagle winners is in this issue so read on. Just one thought after the fact. If the category is for Favorite EZINE, then it should only include Ezines. Online strips should have their own category. That is only fair to fans of both types of products. At the very least give it some truth in labelling if it is not just an award for Ezines. Now, look at these new products out this week; ABSTRACT STUDIOS Terry Moores Paradise Too, 2.75 DC COMICS A Contract With God And Other Tenement Stories SC, 12.95 Invisibles Volume 3 #1, 2.95 <-----Pick of the Week! JLA #42, 1.99 Supergirl #45, 1.99 Top Ten #8, 2.95 DIAMOND PUBLICATIONS Previews Vol X #5, 2.95 ONI PRESS INC. Adventures Of Barry Ween 2.0 #3 (Of 3), 2.95 WIZARD ENTERTAINMENT Gatecrasher #4 (Of 4), 2.50 Did anyone notice the reference by one contestant on that game show this week to his "Spidey" sense tingling? David LeBlanc - ComicBkNet@aol.com Editor The Comic Book Net Electronic Magazine ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [2] Letters to the Editor If you want to comment on this or any previous issue, want to offer something for us to publish, or just want to shamelessly suck up to the editor to try and get your name in print send Email to: ComicBkNet@aol.com Note: Letters of comment may be used in future issues of CBEM unless you specifically request us NOT to use them. Your Email address and/or name will be withheld upon request. +++++ Subj: Pittsburgh Comicon From: rasmus@timespell.com Hey, all! Yeah, I know...to some of you this comes too late, but to others who are attending the Pittsburgh Comicon this weekend in Monroeville, PA...STOP BY AND SAY HI! Yep, I'll be there pimping TIMESPELL like a $2 whore. Plenty of copies for everyone! Say hi to Timespell #4 cover artist and all around good guy, BRIAN ROOD! And if you get time, check out http://www.spore.net/ That's the official website for Brian's book, SPORE. An amazing Sci Fi book featuring detailed paintings by Brian. And be sure to look for his upcoming X-Men Unlimited story, written by Paul (Inhumans) Jenkins! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at the show! Best, Rich Henn (Club 408 Graphics) http://www.timespell.com ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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: James Robinson's title character for the Ultraverse line was very different from the others title characters. How was he different? FIREARM, though he never really went by that name, had no "Ultra" powers like Prime, Hardcase, or the others. Old friend of CBEM, Bobb Waller was the first to get it right and wins The Amazing Spider- Man Masterworks Softcover Volume 1 from our sponsor. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION: Which of the COMIC'S GREATEST WORLD main characters made his/her initial comic debut in a non CGW comic? 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 From: WSchelly@aol.com Roy Thomas, former editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, and Bill Schelly, acclaimed for his Eisner-nominated books on fandom history, have teamed up to produce HEROES VS. HITLER which is offered in Diamond Previews for May 2000. HEROES VS. HITLER is a one-shot 48-page comic book featuring a 32-page done-in-one strip by Thomas and Schelly, with inks by Dick Giordano and Bill Black. "Everyone who knows Roy's work in comics knows he's fascinated with super hero teams set during World War II such as the Justice Society," Schelly explained. "It was so much fun to work on this story with him, which unites the greatest heroes from the classic fanzines of the 1960s in combat against Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich." The strip entitled "The Apocalypse Stone!" sends The Eye, Lady Scorpion, The Eclipse and three more heroes back in time to battle "der Fuhrer" in a spooky castle in the Transylvanian mountains. From the co-plot by Thomas and Schelly, Bill penciled and dialogued the strip. Roy added a special editorial to the mix, which also includes a Who's Who for each hero. "Although I didn't create any super heroes in the fanzines myself, probably because I got a job with Marvel in 1965, I loved the Human Cat, Doctor Weird and all the others who figured into HEROES VS. HITLER," Thomas explained. "This comic is sort of a combination of the best aspects of Golden Age comics and the early fanzine strip in mags like ALTER EGO, FANTASY ILLUSTRATED and STAR-STUDDED COMICS. " Roy Thomas launched the return of his own fanzine ALTER EGO in 1999. Schelly continued, "It was a kick to work with Roy, and also Dick Giordano, who provided the inks on the cover, and for a full-color mini-poster that is bound in the centerfold of HEROES VS. HITLER." The comic book sells for $3.50, and is set to ship in July 2000. Bill Schelly is best known as the unofficial historian of comics fandom, after writing and edited several books on the subject. In 1996 his book THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMIC FANDOM was nominated for an Eisner Comics Industry Award. +++++ TV's Top Animation Producers Meugniot, Houston & McLaughlin Join Stan Lee Media LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 2000--Having brought their talents to such television toons as "Batman," "The X-Men" and "The Real Ghostbusters," as well as such comicbook classics as "Spider-Man," "Conan" and "Tarzan," three of animation's most coveted producer/artists have joined Stan Lee Media, Inc. (OTC BB: SLEE). Will Meugniot, Larry Houston and Thomas McLaughlin, who have overseen programming for such major studios as Fox, Warner Bros., Sony and Saban, will be leading efforts for SLM projects in development as well as the record-setting "7th Portal" web animation franchise, which overwhelmed Shockwave.com's servers when it launched on February 29. All three will operate from the company's in-house, 30,000 sq. ft. animation studio. "Capturing the quinella of award-winning TV animation producers is a coup of unprecedented dimensions for the Internet as an entertainment medium," stated SLM co-founder Peter F. Paul. "With the appointments of Will, Larry and Tom to key company posts, this further demonstrates that Stan Lee Media is the leader in converging traditional media leaders with the Internet." Meugniot, as executive vice president of creative production for SLM, will serve in a capacity similar to editor-in-chief, supervising script development, the production of "webisodes" and other macro issues. A double Emmy nominee and winner of Genesis and International Monitor Awards, the 20-year veteran has produced such animated series as "The X-Men," "Exosquad," "Conan," "The Real Ghostbusters," "Secret Files of the SpyDogs," "Captain Planet" and "Spider-Man Unlimited." Among his design and storyboard credits are "G.I. Joe," "The Lone Ranger," "Flash Gordon," "Spider-Man" and "The Incredible Hulk." As a comic book artist, Meugniot is best known for his work as co-creator of the long-running "DNAgents" franchise. His other notable comic book assignments include "Howard The Duck," "Spider-Man," "Tigra," "Solomon Kane," "The Herculoids," "Conan," "Korak" and "Tarzan." Meugniot began working for SLM as a director of "The Backstreet Boys" web animation with Stan Lee in the jointly owned BackstreetProject.com. "Stan, Larry and I launched `The X-Men' animated series together after I worked with Stan on several other projects," stated Meugniot. "The opportunity to work full-time with my childhood idol, as well as the chance to help develop a new medium, is an unbeatable combination." Houston, as a creative producer/director, will run day-to-day operations on current projects, which include "The 7th Portal" along with four additional new franchises set to launch in the coming months. An award-winning leader in Saturday morning animation, Houston has served as director/producer/storyboard artist on dozens of animated series, including "The Fantastic Four," "Spider-Man," "The Incredible Hulk," "The X-Men," "Batman," Disney's "TailSpin," HBO's "Spawn," "Buzz Lightyear," "Robocop," "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest," "Mr. T," "Salty's Lighthouse," "Fat Dog Mendoza" and "Captain Planet," for which he was nominated for an Emmy in 1991. He has also worked on traditional comicbooks, drawing such titles as "All-Star Squadron" and "Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew" for DC Comics, "DNAgents" for Eclipse and his own creation, "The Vanguards." Before his career in animation, which includes nine years at Marvel, Houston was a systems analyst and computer technician for several major computer companies, the last being McDonnell Douglas. "Considering my distant past in computers and my more recent work in animation, going over to Stan Lee Media seemed like the perfect example of professional convergence!" offered Houston. "I've known Stan for twenty years and was also very excited to continue my animation work on the Internet, a medium that's growing as other traditional areas of animation are flattening out." McLaughlin, as a creative producer/director/designer, will oversee new company projects still to be announced. His extensive background in animation, developed over 20 years, has leaned especially toward superheroes. As an animator, director and/or designer, he has brought his talents to such animated series as "The X-Men," "Spider-Man," "The Fantastic Four," "Batman," "Batman Beyond," "Superman," "Iron Man," "Jumanji," "Gargoyles," "Silver Surfer" and "Duckman," in addition to the live action/animated "Pee-Wee's Playhouse." He has worked with such studios as Warner Bros., Sony, Saban, Marvel Entertainment, Disney Television and New World Entertainment, and has also been responsible for dozens of award-winning commercials for clients including McDonalds, Pop Secret and MTV. He recently worked in a freelance capacity for SLM's "Backstreet Boys" project. "While there are numerous obstacles to getting long-form animation on film and TV, short-form web programming offers limitless possibilities," stated McLaughlin. "I'm excited to be able to leverage my television experience in order to help define a new medium of entertainment on the Internet." +++++ Greg Manning Auctions Upcoming $1 Million-plus Comic Book and Comic Art Auction to Feature Live, In-person, and Real Time Internet Bidding WEST CALDWELL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 25, 2000--Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. (Nasdaq: GMAI) announced today that its April 29, 2000 $1 million-plus auction of rare comic books and original comic book art will introduce to comic book collectors a technology that enables bidders from all over the world who are not physically present at the live floor auction to participate in the action. A real time video and audio Internet connection will be established using a cutting edge technology owned by Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), LiveBid(TM), which will permit Internet and in-person collectors to bid on the extraordinary items offered in this special event auction. The huge comic auction, to be held on Saturday, April 29th at 10:30 am EST at GMAI's auction gallery in West Caldwell, NJ, consists of hundreds of lots of comic books and original comic book art. Auction highlights include a large collection of Silver Age comic art known as the "Tony Christopher" collection featuring original pieces by artist Jack Kirby from The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, The Avengers, Captain America, Thor and The X-Men #1 (Sep '63). Other highlights are 300 special lots from the famous "Bethlehem Pedigree Collection" comprising some of the finest known examples of particular issues. For nearly ten years, GMAI's Teletrade.com subsidiary has conducted auctions of certified coins, sports cards and certified diamonds over the Internet. During the past six months, all of GMAI's auctions have featured an Internet bidding component, and all of its auction catalogs have been available for viewing on the Internet. Previously, however, Internet bidders participating in GMAI's live floor auctions of collectibles, including Rock `n Roll and music memorabilia, Hollywood memorabilia and movie posters, sports trading cards and sports memorabilia, comics and comic art, coins, stamps, diamonds, and affordable fine art, were limited to advance bidding using an absentee bidding system called Max Bid. Greg Manning, Chairman and CEO of Greg Manning Auctions, Inc., said, "The Internet has created the opportunity to exponentially grow our auction and retail gallery businesses by enabling collectors from around the world to buy the fine offerings available at www.gregmanning.com. We've already achieved great success in auctioning mid-priced items in pure electronic Internet auctions, and are now focusing on combining that Internet strength with our high-end items historically sold in live, in-person floor auctions. TV simulcast auctions that have occurred in the past were both costly and limited to a tiny fraction of the world's elite collecting market, but by harnessing the power of the Internet and new technologies, we can open all of our live floor auctions to the global collecting community. The result: more buyers, livelier bidding, and higher sale prices. The success of this strategy was made evident in our last comic auction. A collector in Japan, new to Greg Manning Auctions, saw our on-line catalog on our www.gregmanning.com website, placed an Internet Max Bid through our site, and won, for $14,000, one of the finest The Incredible Hulk #1's in the world. This Saturday's auction, which will utilize the LiveBid technology, should prove to be an even greater success since it will permit real-time bidding in addition to absentee Max Bid bidding." Those interested can still join the auction by logging on to www.gregmanning.com. About Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: GMAI) is a global eCommerce company and Internet merchant. The Company is leveraging on a worldwide basis its core competencies in superior customer service and auctions in the Internet marketplace, including business-to-consumer, business-to-business, and consumer-to-consumer auctions. GMAI achieves competitive advantages through multiple eCommerce platforms operated on three continents (Asia, Europe and North America), proprietary technologies, and global product sourcing. In Asia, the Company's affiliate GMAI-Asia.com, Inc. owns and operates what the Company believes to be China's leading eCommerce platform and cybermall. GMAI-Asia.com, Inc.'s website, www.iAtoZ.com, currently offers cybershoppers over 100,000 diverse offerings including automobiles, electronics, real estate and collectibles - everything from A to Z - provided by over 5,000 merchant partners including all of Beijing's major department stores. Pursuing a "clicks and mortar" strategy while the Internet infrastructure develops in China, GMAI-Asia.com is building over 650 Internet shopping and service centers through a joint venture with China Everbright Group (SEHK: 256). The centers, strategically located in heavily trafficked urban neighborhoods, include computer terminals available to the public for browsing the www.iAtoZ.com site and address the three major hurdles to eCommerce in China: access to the Internet, payment and delivery. In Europe, the Company's affiliate GMAI-Europe.com, Inc. is headquartered in Madrid, Spain, and along with its joint venture partner, Afinsa Bienes Tangibles S.A., operates the just launched European auction portal www.gmai-europe.com. In North America, GMAI stands as an industry leading Internet auction and collectibles company. GMAI was the first eCommerce auction company to offer simultaneous Internet and touch-tone telephone bidding, a technology that it developed internally and owns. GMAI's North American websites are www.gregmanning.com, www.teletrade.com and www.gregmanning.amazon.com. Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: AMZN) is a minority owner of GMAI. GMAI's North American offices are in West Caldwell, NJ (global headquarters), Santa Ana, CA, and Kingston, NY. This release and prior releases are available on the KCSA Public Relations Worldwide website at www.kcsa.com. CONTACT: Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. Greg Manning, Chief Executive Officer James Smith, Chief Financial Officer 973/882-0004 or Jeff Corbin/Joseph A. Mansi 212/682-6300, ext 214/205 +++++ Alchemedia's Clever Content Helps Toonscape Comic Artists Protect and Maximize The Value of Their Online Images SAN FRANCISCO, April 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Alchemedia(TM), the leading provider of image protection and content to commerce solutions for digital images on the Web, today announced that Toonscape, the primary destination for comic artists, animators, illustrators, and their fans, will use Alchemedia's Clever Content(TM) technology. Toonscape acts as an artist service provider, offering management, on-line syndication, electronic publishing and e-commerce opportunities to amateur and professional artists. Alchemedia's Clever Content technology prevents the copying, printing or screen capturing of digital images and helps promote image-based ecommerce. Artists on the Toonscape site who want to maintain control of their material can choose to have Clever Content protection for their images. Until now, artists using the Internet to promote themselves have been struggling with image protection issues. "I've always wanted to post more of my work on the Web, but to do that usually means giving it away," said Doug Miers, Toonscape artist and creator of Comics Conspiracy, an online comic book. "Toonscape's use of Clever Content actually serves to preserve the artist's value." "While the Internet helps break barriers to entry for artists, protection and commercialization of their intellectual property remains a prime need. Alchemedia's Clever Content image-protection technology is a perfect match for the needs of illustrators and comic book artists," said Sheldon Owen, vice president of business development at Toonscape. "We see the Toonscape site serving this community just as digital music served the music industry -- helping independents break into the industry, perhaps even discovering the next Pokemon." "We are excited to welcome Toonscape and its fast growing community of artists to the group of users enjoying the benefits of Alchemedia's Clever Content technology," said Daniel Schreiber, CEO and co-founder of Alchemedia. "We are committed to helping the artists of today and tomorrow protect their digital work, and profitably participate in the recognition and ecommerce growth offered by the Internet." Clever Content Platform Clever Content Server -- an application for companies with dedicated servers that allows content owners to protect and control the use of their digital images. The software consists of three elements: -- Clever Content Server -- image protectionn software for NT and Solaris platforms, installed on the site's host server -- Clever Content Manager -- a Java-based, pplatform independent, remote management tool used to select which images are to be protected -- Clever Content Viewer -- a free browser pplug-in supporting both Windows and Macintosh browsers, implemented as an ActiveX Control for Microsoft Internet Explorer and a SmartUpdate for Netscape Navigator. clevercontent.com -- a free Web service that allows individuals to create an online portfolio containing 10 images and protect those images from being copied, printed or screen captured. About Toonscape Toonscape ( http://www.toonscape.com ), an Artist Service Provider based in San Diego, California, was started by three comic-book crazed entrepreneurs who wanted to do more for working artists on the Web. The company provides comic artists, illustrators and animators with a virtual gallery, online syndication services and an array of ecommerce tools to help them promote, sell and distribute their work. The Toonscape Gallery features artists from a wide variety of disciplines and styles. Artwork is displayed in the custom-designed Toonscape gallery and sorted by a variety of categories and genres for easy searching. There is no cost to the public or to the artist for placing their work in the gallery. About Alchemedia Alchemedia is the leading provider of solutions and tools for the safe and profitable sharing of digital images on the Web. The company's flagship technologies, Clever Content Server and clevercontent.com, protect digital images on the Web, making it possible to post proprietary material without fear of theft or unauthorized usage and promote image-based ecommerce. By transforming images into valuable e-commerce assets, Alchemedia enables Content Commercialization(SM). Founded in 1998, Alchemedia is a privately held, VC-backed company. For more information, visit Alchemedia's Web site at www.alchemedia.com and www.clevercontent.com. NOTE: Alchemedia, Clever Content, clevercontent.com and all logos are trademarks of Alchemedia. Content Commercialization is a service mark of Alchemedia. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. +++++ Toonscape Merges With MyComix.com to Form Largest Virtual Gallery and Business Center for Comic Book Artists, Cartoonists, Illustrators and Animators SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 2000-- Merged Company Seeks to Empower Artists With Online Syndication Services, Artist Management, Digital Publishing and E-commerce Tools Toonscape, a virtual gallery and "Artist Service Provider" today announced that it will merge with MyComix.com, one of the largest comic strip warehouses on the Web. MyComix.com co-founder Heath Silverman called the merger, "the next logical step in the evolution of the comic strip industry." According to Silverman, "Being an online showcase of comic strips and great talent is not enough. Artists need to be able to sell and distribute and syndicate their work. Toonscape gives artists high visibility and all the business services they need to grow their fan base and make some money." The Toonscape Web site (http://www.toonscape.com) allows amateur and professional comic book artists, cartoonists, illustrators, and animators to post their portfolio on the site free of charge. Toonscape artists can then utilize a variety of business and marketing support services to promote themselves and sell their work. Toonscape also will enable enthusiasts and consumers to conveniently find artists, review their portfolios, and purchase digital or hard copies of their work. "What downloadable digital music did for new and independent musicians, Toonscape is doing for comic book artists, cartoonists, illustrators and animators," said Ken Morgan, president and chief executive officer of Toonscape. "With advanced digital publishing technologies, e-commerce tools and marketing support services, Toonscape is creating an artist's revolution." According to Morgan, "Toonscape will serve as a marketing and e-commerce partner to independent artists who may not have the resources or marketing expertise to promote and distribute their own work. A lot of artists and small studios have their own sites where they display samples of their work, but seldom do they actively promote themselves or electronically facilitate retail transactions. We want talented artists to get noticed, be able to sell their work, and get to the next level." R.K. Post, Toonscape-featured artist and fantasy illustrator calls the Toonscape concept long overdue. "Good artists will have a fighting chance with Toonscape. Many of us would like to have the backing of a big studio or publisher, but these are hard to get into. Toonscape helps artists get their foot in the door," said Post. "Toonscape is all about helping the artist build a name for themselves." Doug Miers, another Toonscape-featured artist and the creator of Comics Conspiracy, an online comic book, compared the Toonscape model to the revolution in digital music. "It used to be you needed a big label next to your name to get your work out there and get noticed, but that's not the case anymore," said Miers. "Toonscape is like having your very own gallery and personal agent -- only it doesn't cost anything." The Toonscape Gallery features artists from a wide variety of disciplines and styles. Artwork is displayed in the custom-designed Toonscape Gallery and sorted by a variety of categories and genres for easy searching. There is no cost to the public or to the artist for placing their work in the Gallery. Additional services available to artists will include online syndication services, e-mail accounts, production resources, industry news, and networking opportunities. Digital comic book publishing and conference registration are scheduled to be available later this year. About Toonscape's Founders: Toonscape's founders -- all comic book and cartoon hobbyists and experienced entrepreneurs -- recognized the opportunity to advance the revival of the comic strip and cartoon industry using the Internet and new digital publishing technologies. Company president Ken Morgan founded and operated three highly successful companies before Toonscape including Netopolis Inc., an Internet technology solutions and marketing company; Digibook Technologies, an electronic book publishing company; and Peanut Butter and Jelly Furniture, an award-winning line of children's furniture. Chief Financial Officer Andrew Kaiser most recently was instrumental in the finance and operations of IPivot Inc., an Internet infrastructure equipment developer that was acquired by Intel in October 1999. Kaiser has 15 years experience in finance management in the high tech, aerospace and gaming industries. Vice President Sheldon Owen a 10-year executive in the high tech and Internet industries, was most recently with Stellcom Inc., the largest San Diego based e-commerce Internet consulting firm. As Regional Business Development Manager, Owen managed strategic alliances and partnerships, e-commerce solutions, territory development, sales strategies and technology consulting. Owen has spoken at several industry events for such companies as Microsoft, Cisco and Wyle. +++++ Zen and Nira X Get Animated and Shygirl Springs to Life as Zen Comics Hit the Web with LOADtv Studio City, CA, April 25, 2000- Zen Intergalactic Ninja, Nira X and Shygirl are the first comic-book characters to make the leap onto the World Wide Web exclusively through LOADtv--the Internet's largest broadcaster of TV-quality video. With LOADtv, Zen and Nira X jump from the comic pages in an animated segment produced by Nira X creator Bill Maus, in association with Sandpail Productions, a Studio City, CA-based multimedia firm. Shygirl appears in a live-action segment produced by Gone West Productions, which has the character in development for the big screen. A Zen Comics preview trailer is available now on the Zen site, www.zenintergalacticninja.com and on the LOADtv website, www.loadtv.com. Starting in June, new Zen Comic shows will be released on a monthly basis. "This is a significant development in the marketing of comics and a huge brand extension opportunity for us," said Zen co-creator Steve Stern. "LOADtv is at the cutting edge of Internet technology, providing a much higher quality viewing experience than you typically get with streamed content, which often drags with Internet congestion." Zen co-creator Dan Cote said, "Through LOADtv's subscription feature, anyone who orders a Zen Comics show once will automatically be subscribed to receive new shows as they become available--and it's all for free." LOADtv President Matt McFee explained, "Comic book fans can go about their online business, be it work or play, while we deliver these stories to them. All they have to do is stay connected to the Internet and LOADtv automatically delivers the next release as it's available. Plus, the shows can also be sent to friends with just a click." Zen Intergalactic Ninja was created by Stern and Cote in 1987, and has since spawned action figures, video games and other licensed items. Zen is slated to star in a live-action film directed by Brian Yuzna ("Re-animator" and "The Dentist"). LOADtv's agreement with Zen Comics follows notable partnerships with Nissan, CollegeClub.com, Death Row Records, Comedy Central, comedian Andy Dick, and Detour and GEAR Magazines. LOADtv has also inked deals with studios including Warner Bros., Disney, DreamWorks, Trimark Pictures, Paramount, Universal, Fox, Miramax, New Line, and Lions Gate to produce packages showcasing celebrity interviews and footage of upcoming feature films and home video releases. For more information on LOADtv's shows and subscriptions, go to www.loadtv.com. +++++ From the SPLASH PAGE of Comicon.com at: http://www.comicon.com/splash/ LEVITZ PULPS LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN #5! MOORE: 'LOEG #5 WORLD'S COSTLIEST PENNY DREADFUL!' April 28: The SPLASH has confirmed that DC Publisher Paul Levitz has ordered the complete print run of LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN #5 destroyed. The move was prompted by a reproduction of an actual Victorian age advertisement for the 'MARVEL DOUCHE COMPANY' that included the word 'vagina'. The SPLASH has received conflicting reports whether Levitz' action was prompted by the 'MARVEL' reference, use of the word 'vagina', or both. Writer Alan Moore, who has retained his sense of humor in the face of the pulping (see story below) told the SPLASH that, "My parents raised me as a gentleman and everyone at Marvel should rest assured that I would never make reference to any person there as a 'douchebag'." Moore estimated the replacement second printing of LOEG #5 would cost in the neighborhood of $30,000, making it, "the world's costliest Penny Dreadful." The book, already legendary for late shipping, will again have its ship schedule pushed back, although Moore has asked DC to announce that this particular delay was not the fault of the creators. A DC spokesperson told Michael Doran at Newsarama that the new release date for LOEG #5 is May 10th, adding in respect to Moore, "The delay is through no fault of the creative team." DC had no further comment on the situation. The pulping of LOEG #5 comes after a string of similar incidents at DC, some of which made sensational headlines. In 1999 Levitz refused to publish an already printed ELSEWORLD's 80 PAGE GIANT that contained the double Eisner nominee story 'SUPERMAN'S BABYSITTER' by Kyle Baker because of a scene where SUPERBABY climbs in a micro-wave oven. When a few thousand copies escaped the destruction order and were distributed in the UK, collector prices hit over $300 a copy on e-bay. Moore told the SPLASH he is "somewhat consoled" since he possesses what might end up being the only surviving copy of the original first printing of LOEG #5. Another example of an existing advertisement by THE MARVEL DOUCHE COMPANY can be found at the website for THE MUSEUM OF MENSTRUATION AND WOMEN'S HEALTH. Thanks to Jose de Leon ALAN MOORE PLANS TO CHANGE NAME! WILL HENCEFORTH SIGN WORK 'ALAN MARVEL-VAGINA'! BY GREG McELHATTON April 28: Alan Moore, considered by many to be the best and most bankable comics writer in the English language, told the SPLASH today that he is changing his name. "Please inform everyone reading the SPLASH that I am taking the necessary legal steps to transform my last name to 'Marvel-Vagina'. Henceforth I will sign my work as 'Alan Marvel-Vagina'." Moore, writer of the the popular ABC line for DC/WILDSTORM, did not say when he expected the change to go into effect. Moore also told the SPLASH that he had just received a message from artist Kevin O'Neill bemoaning the fact that "the advert for the 'DC WANK ENGINE', planned for LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN #6, might not be acceptable now." +++++ From Beau Yarbrough's Comic Wire at: http://www.comicbookresources.com/ 'GOGIRL!' GOES BACK TO THE STANDS What a difference three little weeks make. Trina Robbins' girl-friendly "GoGirl!" was canceled earlier this month due to low orders on the Image Comics book. That news was apparently a wake-up call for fans and retailers: "GoGirl!" is back on the publication schedule. "Yes, it's all true," Robbins told the Comic Wire on Saturday, "And we do have the screaming fans to thank for it! (And I say, bless the screaming fans!) Not only will 'GoGirl!' come out from Image in crisp black and white, this August, but August will also see a four page full color 'GoGirl!' comic in issue #3 of The Comic Book Reader, put out by David Gallaher." Always a crusader for women's comics and women in comics, Robbins will also have an article in the first issue of The Comic Reader in June discussing the history of the Friends of Lulu. "GoGirl!" is written by Robbins, with art by Anne Timmons, lettering by Sean Glumace and colored by another veteran of girl-friendly Image Comics, Christopher Butcher, formerly of "The Adventures of Evil and Malice." +++++ From Comics2Film at http://www.comics2film.com FAUST ----- Director Brian Yuzna recently updated Comics 2 Film regarding the progress of the Faust movie. The movie, based on David Quinn and Tim Vigil's comic, is currently making it's way through post- production. "As expected, Faust is not screenable for Cannes," Yuzna told C2F. "We are still finishing F/X on Faust and haven't mixed the sound yet. I am pretty excited about how the film is turning out and I hope it hits the right balance between the comic and an R rated movie to satisfy the comic fans and attract a sizeable movie audience." With the Cannes opportunity passing, Yuzna filled us in on current plans to screen the film. "It will probably premiere at the Sitges Film Festival in October, since that is a good way to launch the release in Spain. For the buyers, the first look will most likely be the London Screenings and MIFED." The production team is currently negotiating with Roadrunner Records for the Faust soundtrack CD. Yuzna also alerted us to actor Andrew Divoff's website. Divoff plays the villainous M in the movie. A section of his website is dedicated to Faust. Attractions there are a number of photos of Divoff in character, as well as a video introduction to Mark Frost, the actor playing the title role in the film. As for his current project Yuzna tells us, "We are beginning to shoot Arachnid, with Jack Sholder directing, in the Mexican rainforest and in Barcelona." Sholder has been the director of many scream-fests, including one of our favorites, The Hidden, which was recently re-released on DVD. http://www.andrewdivoff.com/ GHOST WORLD ------------ FROM FANTAGRAPHICS: Teri Garr is the latest addition to the cast of the Ghost World movie according to a recent e-mailer from Fantagraphics. Garr is a regular on the Oxygen network's I've Got A Secret and has an extensive filmography which includes Dick, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Young Frankenstein and many others. Garr has been cast as Maxine, the stepmother of Enid who is played by Thora Birch (American Beauty). Also added to the cast is Bruce Glover (Warlock II, Chinatown). According to the announcement Glover "has signed on for the role of the trivia-loving, Little Rascal-riding Feldman." Glover is the father of indie-fave Crispin Glover who wrote the introduction to Clowes's Pussey. The Sundance Channel will be providing a preview of the film for it's In Production program, which will air on May 12. Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and Seventeen Magazine all have Ghost World stories in the works as well. The ET report is set to air in the the next two weeks. Check out the Fantagraphics website for exclusive, soon-to-be uploaded snapshots of most of the cast, taken on location. http://www.fantagraphics.com/ DR. GOYLE --------- FROM POPIMAGE: The PopImage website interviewed comic artist Mike Norton (The Waiting Place, Dr. Goyle) in the April edition of the online magazine. At one point during the extensive interview, Norton talks about the prospect of creating an animated version Dr. Goyle, which he created with Mark Stegbauer. Interviewer Jonathan Ellis describes the concept as "the story of a medieval monster-fighting wizard who accidentally transforms himself into a stone gargoyle" When asked what fans can expect from the comic, Norton replied, "Pure silliness. Those who know me will agree that I can be a very goofy person... and Mark DEFINITELY has a goofball streak (maybe that's why we ended up on Badger?) So this is just pure fun. It's like a cartoon... In fact, that's where we'd both like to see Goyle end up.. As an animated property." However Norton also told PopImage that in terms of selling the property as a cartoon, he and Stegbauer, "haven't reached that stage quite yet. Mostly it has to do with finding the right people to pitch to. Right now, we're getting a lot of 'Hey that [would] make a great cartoon' and we're like, 'Yeah, we know'" Norton encourages interested parties to purchase Dr. Goyle from publisher Arrow Comics. http://www.popimage.com/ http://ihatemike.com/ http://www.arrowcomics.com/ +++++ From Newsarama; http://www.AnotherUniverse.com/newsarama WINNER OF THE 1997 & 1998 INTERNET "SQUIDDY" FOR BEST WEB SITE Marvel Markets X-Movie Adaptations In the Mainstream Michael Doran, Newsarama While rumors and reports of Marvel Comics' newly concentrated efforts to market their products to mass market audiences continue to roll in, the publisher has announced it is taking advantage of the high-profile release of this summer's X-Men feature film to try to draw new audiences into specialty comics stores. For the first time in years, Marvel is placing print advertisements in multiple mass market print publications promoting the X-Men movie comic book adaptation and comic book movie prequels. Featuring the tagline "Change Is Coming, Choose A Side, Join The Fight", the full-page ad features headshot photographs of movie co-stars Sir Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman as Magneto, Cyclops, Storm and Wolverine, respectively. The full-color ad also lists the comic book tie-ins - X-Men The Movie: Magneto, X-Men The Movie: Rogue, X-Men The Movie: Wolverine and X-Men The Movie - their on sale dates, and the toll-free 1-888-COMIC BOOK retailer locator phone number. The ads are scheduled to appear in the following publications: STAR WARS INSIDER - on sale May 15th WICKED - on sale May 16th WOW (WORLD OF WRESTLING)- June 1st TOY FARE - June 14th CINESCAPE - June 27th Bill Rosemann, Marvel's Associate Manager of Retail Sales, commented "Marvel is excited to have the opportunity to talk to new audiences through these great magazines. We hope to reach a broad selection of consumers fans of pro wrestling, action figures, horror and sci-fi who buy what intrigues them and who are ready to enter the world of comic books!" Lyle, Golden Join Mutant X Michael Doran, Newsarama Mutant X editor Jason Liebig has confirmed that artist Tom (Spider-Man) Lyle has been named the title's regular penciler as of July's issue #23. He'll be joined by artist Michael Golden, who come on as series cover artist with the same issue. +++++ WORD ON THE STREET - Todd McFarlane Productions has lined up a few guest artists to create alternate covers for Spawn's upcoming milestone 100th issue. Currently confirmed and working on covers as we speak are series artist Greg Capullo, Ashley (Hellspawn) Wood, Mike (Hellboy) Mignola, and a couple of young upstarts named Frank (`in the news again') Miller and Alex Ross. And oh yeah, some guy name Todd McFarlane is also providing a cover as well_ And according to TMP's Beau Smith, they're doing something a little different as far as alternate covers go this time around... "Each cover with have their own retail code so they retailer will be able to order as many or as little of each cover as they want,” explained Smith. "This way the consumer will also be able to tell the retailer which covers they want. I wanted to make this very retail/consumer friendly. Too many variant covers have been forced down the necks of retailers and I was real tired of that.” - Marvel is remaining fairly mum on what proomises to be a fairly wide-scale, line-wide upcoming event called Maximum Security. Though not going into details, editor Tom Brevoort has confirmed he will be editing the project, and that will include a mini-series as well as a storyline that will run through a number of their monthly titles. "It's a line-wide thing, though it won't carry through literally every book we publish,” said Brevoort. Kurt Busiek is the main creative force behind the project, thought Brevoort said there will be other creators involved as well. As for fans seeking some kind of hint as to what the storyline will be about? "We've been planting the seeds and setting the foundation for this storyline all over the place in the last year or so,” concluded Brevoort. "In books you wouldn't necessarily expect as well as in the obvious places. And hopefully, we'll be able to avoid all of the recurring pitfalls that plague these sorts of big crossovers and just have a rollicking good time.” - Writer Brian (Swamp Thing) Vaughan, creatiive quarterback of DC's August “5th Week" event Green Lantern: Ring of Fire, dropped by to give us the full creative line-up for the two bookend and five middle chapter one-shots (each of which pairs an existing DC hero with an all-new, never-before-seen Green Lantern) that make up the event. According Vaughan, the line-up is as follows… - Green Lantern: Ring of Fire #1 (54 pages) by Vaughan (w), Norm Breyfogle (p) and Jesse Delperdang (i) - Ring of Fire: Green Lantern/Kyle Rayner byy Judd Winick (w), Randy (Witchblade) Green (p) and Wayne Faucher (i) - Ring of Fire: Green Lantern/The Atom by Vaaughan (w) with art by newcomers Trevor McCarthy (p) and Tyson McAdoo (i) - Ring of Fire : Green Lantern/Firestorm by Jay (Titans) Faerber (w), Ron Randall (p) and Dan Davis (i) - Ring of Fire: Green Lantern/Power Girl by Scott Beatty (co-writer of the upcoming Robin: Year One) (p), with art by Walter (Deadpool) McDaniel (p) and Rich Perotta (i) - Ring of Fire : Green Lantern/Adam Strange by Vaughan (w), Cary (Mutant X) Nord (p) and Mark Lipka (i) - Green Lantern: Ring of Fire #2 (38-pages) by Vaughan (w), Robert (Star Wars) Teranishi (p) and Claude St. Aubin (i) - With the tightness of today's market, a neew writer getting a shot at the likes of the JLA is pretty rare. Rarer still is a newcomer being teamed with an industry veteran such as P. Craig Russell, but both have happened Adi Tantimedh, DC's newest find, and writer of JLA: The Age of Wonder, a new upcoming two issue, prestige format Elseworlds miniseries, illustrated by Russell and Galen Showman. Tantimedh also has two projects in the hopper with Vertigo, as well as the Anna Passenger stories at Steven Grant's @venture.com. - Despite a media blackout by DC Comics, Fraank Miller spoke with former San Diego Comic-Con Convention Programming Director (and editor/publisher of the great, but now defunct Feature magazine) Charles Brownstein regarding Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, his upcoming sequel to the groundbreaking miniseries Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, that's reportedly tentatively set for the first half of next year. Brownstein, who spoke with Miller on the recent CBLDF Charity Cruise filed the interview with Comic Book Resources on Friday - here's the good stuff_ Miller was quick to correct those who claimed he said more Dark Knight would never happen. "Fifteen years passed. I came up with some ideas and got the itch to play with DC's toys," Miller told Brownstein. "I wanted to play with the big old superhero characters. I've been away long enough that I'm not weary of them anymore. And seeing where things have gone in the past few years, I think some refurbishing and housecleaning is in order. Think of me as the weathered sheriff coming back into Dodge 'cause the youngsters are shooting up the church and scaring the horses and not doing right by the women." The creator also confirmed that he would be working with Bob Schreck, who's responsible for bringing many "never again" creators back to DC's fold. As far as content and storyline, Miller emphasized that the sequel won't be a rehash of old storylines, promising that Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again will be more about building Batman up than tearing him down. With a demeanor that's bound to cause a little harrumphing among current creators who have rebuilt heroes into bright and shiny versions, away from the grim and gritty versions that the original Dark Knight inspired, Miller claimed that comic fans have lost their favorite heroes and the magic that went along with them. "Things have gotten so dreary. The heroes have gotten so ugly that even their muscles have muscles," Miller said. "The elegance of Gil Kane is gone. You don't see the sheer joy of Green Lantern's power ring. The magic of somebody like the Flash-somebody who's able to move so fast that you can't see him move-is gone. There's no sense of the basic wish that any of these characters have. I think anyone who's working on a superhero comic should be obliged to write down in one sentence what the central wish is of the character. Every story has to play to that theme. "Adolescent power fantasies" isn't just a tired cliché; it's too broad, too crude. There's more than that to these characters, the good ones, anyway. As it is, I don't know who these characters are anymore_the fun's gone out of it. I want to try my hand at bringing it back. Perhaps there is a touch of nostalgia in this, and if so, I'm not ashamed about it. That isn't the course of my career. We all can have our little sin now and again; our occasional indulgence in the toys of our childhood." Miller told Brownstein that he's look at new ways to show superheroes and what they can do rather than drawing another slugfest where the bigger guy wins. "_superheroes should be heroes," Miller said. "Now we have ugly people fighting uglier people and the guy with the most guns wins. The fundament of a superhero is the guy in tights saving innocent people from bad things. It's amazing how infrequently that seems to happen in superhero comics these days. "Allow me a disclaimer: I'm talking about the overall direction I see superhero comics going, not damning each and every title out there. I'm sure there's some good stuff going on that I just haven't seen. But the trend is depressing, and dumb." Promising that the sequel will still hold political overtones as the original did, Miller added that he'll be using Steve Ditko's version of The Question as a player, and the establishment-strapped Superman will return as well. "When this story begins, three years have passed and he will look younger than he did in the first series," Miller said. "He will be strangely happy and at peace. He will be a much more powerful figure and he will be tested. Every hero has to be tested, that's how they're defined. "It all comes down to 'what is a hero?' For all the flash and glamour of superheroes and their funky costumes and their powers, they hardly have to be heroic. I'm really sick of the hero being the guy who wins and gets the medal at the end. It always makes me a little ill because it gets to the heart of the corrupt premise "Crime does not pay." That's not the reason not to commit crimes. Of course they pay! "Crime is wrong," should be the message. "…I really mainly want people to get a really good yarn. I will throw all my best efforts into it, my thoughts and political observations, but ultimately I want to create a narrative that keeps you turning the pages and leaves you with a sense that this thing has a reason for being there. As any heroic story is, this is an affirmation." The full interview is available at www.comicbookresources.com/features/miller/ THE GRAPELINE (a.k.a. the Rumor Mill) Reports suggests that Marvel has been formulating plans for a new line of comics specifically geared toward the mass market audience since late last year...plans that may reach fruition sometime this fall. Rumored to be under the working title of Ground Zero, the new line of books would do a sort of Heroes-Reborn-ish take on Marvel's flagship properties like the X-Men and Spider-Man - meaning the characters and concepts would be based on and somewhat familiar to their mainstream Marvel Universe counterparts, but rethought with new origins, sensibilities and some changes. The idea is to allow new, "mainstream" readers to jump on board and start - as the name suggests - at `ground zero', without being bogged down by 35 plus years of ongoing continuity. Unlike Heroes Reborn however, these new books would not replace the current ongoing, "in-continuity" titles, but launch as a separate line in addition to them. In addition to designing the line editorially (including visually) for maximum appeal to the mass market, the rumors also suggest Marvel is considering various options in terms of mass market distribution, but whether that involves rethought mass newsstand distribution, bookstore distribution, free corporate giveaways, and/or others options remains to be seen. Reached for comment regarding the rumors, a spokesperson for Marvel said "While I have no comment to make regarding this rumored project, I will say that Marvel—through movies (like the upcoming X-Men, Blade: Bloodstorm and Spider-Man films), cartoons (such as the upcoming WB! X-Men: Evolution show), licensed products and, of course, comic books - continues to seek out innovative ways to bring our characters to new audiences." Though Marvel is not currently commenting, in an interview with Patrick Daniel O'Neil in the current issue (May, #98) of Comics Retailer, Marvel's new President of Publishing and New Media Bill Jemas suggested a "mass market" plan is indeed in the works. Asked by O'Neil if the industry can move back into the mass market, Jemas replied, "That's what I came here to help us do. To move us back into the forefront of teen media - and I think it's perfectly achievable and I would be disappointed in myself and the company if we couldn't get that done. It's absolutely the most important thing the company can do in publishing. It's the top priority. We hope to be publishing this new line of comics - with strong sell-through in the mass market - by October.” Marvel's Epic to Return Later This Year Michael Doran, Newsarama In an interview with Steve Fritz, of the video game website www.happypuppy.com, Marvel Comics new president of publishing and new media, Bill Jemas, revealed details of his 3-part plan he'll be implementing over the remainder of this year with the goal of repositioning the company as the market's top comics and teen magazines publisher. Jemas' overall plan calls for dividing solutions into two groups, the first being the "the part that isn't broke". "We're not going to try to 'fix' our current pool of writers, artists, editors and distribution system that sells a fairly complex entertainment product to an audience that is looking for just that,” Jemas tells Fritz. "If you are a person that has read Marvel comics for a number of years, then you think that we certainly are a high-end, quality product. A lot of these people have been reading us anywhere from ten to 40 years. That part is certainly not broke. If you ask me if we're strong enough within the hard-core comic book world, I would tell you that yes, we're strong enough. “ The first part of Jemas' specific three-plan is to continue licensing agreements for Marvel-based TV, movie, and video games. The third part, though no specific details were given, is Ground Zero, a new line of comics set to launch this fall, as detailed in the current edition of Mania's Newsarama The 2nd part of the plan, according to Fritz, is the long-rumored return of Marvel's former creator-owned Epic imprint later this fall or winter. Jemas reports that Epic, which will be headed by Marvel.com's Greg Sanderson, will be relaunched as both an online and offline entity. "Virtually everything we do for Epic will start online and then migrate to print publishing,” said Jemas. "The best way to explain this is by example.” "Let's say over the next five years, we will be doing over 1,000 different Epic titles, but only online. From that, the 100 most successful we'll try out as printed one-off specials or miniseries. Then the ten most successful of those will end up becoming their own series. Hopefully, out of those ten we wind up with another X-Men. "The fact is you can produce more good, experimental content online than you can any other way.” "Bill's initiatives have not kicked in yet," Sanderson told Fritz. "They will in the next few months. How that is going to play out, I don't know. I don't know if a story in a comic is going to also play out online or not. I don't know what kind of independent projects we will be doing. I know I'm saying 'I don't know' a lot because we haven't figured it all out yet. "It strikes me as very daring. Marvel can stand to be a little more daring. Its role should always be to push it a little bit. That's always been when Marvel's been its most successful. Also, the online community is a nice, fertile ground for edgy, daring material. That's just the way the web works. So we'll see what comes of that." +++++ From the DCOnline newsletter; http://www.dccomics.com/newsletter.html To subscribe, or for questions or comments about the DC newsletter, please email DCWebSite@aol.com. DC COMICS WINS 12 EAGLE AWARDS AT COMICS 2000! The Eagle Awards -- the UK's official comic art awards -- were presented at the Comics 2000 Festival in Bristol on Saturday, April 22nd 2000, and DC (and DC-related projects) did exceptionally well, winning 12 awards, which are listed below: Favourite Comic-book: PREACHER Favourite Writer: Alan Moore Favourite Comic Character: Batman Favourite New Comic: TOP TEN Favourite Comics-Based Film/TV: Batman Beyond Favourite Editor: Dennis O'Neil Favourite Graphic Novel: JLA: EARTH 2 Favourite Cover: BATMAN: HARLEY QUINN by Alex Ross Favourite Villain: Herr Starr from PREACHER Favourite Artist (Paints): Alex Ross Favourite Artist (Colouring): Laura DePuy Favourite Supporting Character: Oracle/Barbara Gordon In addition, the late Gil Kane was given the "Roll Of Honour Award." PULP FICTION LIBRARY: MYSTERY IN SPACE HONORED DC is pleased to announce that the PULP FICTION LIBRARY: MYSTERY IN SPACE TPB has won a Merit award in the 79th Annual Art Directors Club in the Cartoon/Comic Book Category. The book will appear in the ADC 79th Annual shipping in Nov/Dec 2000. ANIMATION EPISODE SCHEDULE THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES and BATMAN BEYOND air Weekdays and Saturdays on the WB Network. Times given are Eastern and Pacific. This schedule is subject to change. April 29th 2000 4/29/00 (8:00 am) -- "Last Son of Krypton-Part 3" (Superman) 4/29/00 (10:30 am) -- "Sneak Peek" (Batman Beyond) May 1st to May 6th 2000 5/1/00 (3:30 pm) -- "Catwalk" (Batman) 5/1/00 (4:30 pm) -- "A Touch of Curare" (Batman Beyond) 5/2/00 (3:30 pm) -- "Action Figures" (Superman) 5/2/00 (4:30 pm) -- "Joker's Millions" (Batman) 5/3/00 (3:30 pm) -- "Double Talk" (Batman) 5/3/00 (4:30 pm) -- "Stolen Memories" (Superman) 5/4/00 (3:30 pm) -- "The Hand of Fate" (Superman) 5/4/00 (4:30 pm) -- "Judgement Day" (Batman) 5/5/00 (3:30 pm) -- "The Terrible Trio" (Batman) 5/5/00 (4:30 pm) -- "Mind Games" (Batman Beyond) 5/6/00 (8:00 am) --"New Kids in Town" (Superman) 5/6/00 (10:30 am) -- "The Winning Edge" (Batman Beyond) May 8th to May 13th 2000 5/8/00 (3:30 pm) -- "Feeding Time" (Superman) 5/8/00 (4:30 pm) -- "Joyride" (Batman Beyond) 5/9/00 (3:30 pm) -- "Cold Comfort" (Batman) 5/9/00 (4:30 pm) -- "Tools of the Trade" (Superman) 5/10/00 (3:30 pm) -- "My Girl" (Superman) 5/10/00 (4:30 pm) -- "Mean Seasons" (Batman) 5/11/00 (3:30 pm) -- "Apokolips Now-Part 1" (Superman) 5/11/00 (4:30 pm) -- "Apokolips Now-Part 2" (Superman) 5/12/00 (3:30 pm) -- "Riddler's Reform" (Batman) 5/12/00 (4:30 pm) -- "Final Cut" (Batman Beyond) 5/13/00 (8:00 am) -- "Chemistry" (Batman) 5/13/00 (10:30 am) -- "Sentries of the Last Cosmos" (Batman Beyond-new) ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] THE EAGLE AWARDS 2000 Comics International Magazine The Eagle Awards - the UK's official comic art awards - were presented at the Comics 2000 Festival in Bristol on Saturday April 22nd 2000. Run by Comics International Magazine, trophies sponsored by Forbidden Planet Scotland, ceremony presented by Simon Pegg and produced by Kev F Sutherland for the Comics 2000 Festival. The winners were as follows: Favourite Comicbook - PREACHER by Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon (category sponsored by Quality Comics) Favourite Writer - ALAN MOORE Favourite Artist - GEORGE PEREZ Favourite British Comic - 2000AD (category sponsored by Comic Book Postal Auctions) Roll Of Honour Award - GIL KANE Favourite Comic Character - BATMAN created by Bob Kane (category sponsored by David's Comics) Favourite New Comic - TOP TEN by Alan Moore and Gene Ha (category sponsored by Dynamic Forces) Favourite Newspaper Strip - PEANUTS by Charles Schulz (category sponsored by Gosh Comics) Favourite Comics Based Film/TV - BATMAN BEYOND (cartoon) (category sponsored by SFX Magazine) Favourite UK Non-newsstand Title - KANE by Paul Grist (category sponsored by Red Route) Favourite Strip in UK Comic - JUDGE DREDD Favourite Editor - DENNIS O'NEILL Favourite Graphic Novel - JLA EARTH 2 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (category sponsored by Diamond Comic Distributors) Favourite Cover - BATMAN: HARLEY QUINN by Alex Ross Favourite Story - DAREDEVIL 1-8 by Kevin Smith & Joe Quesada (category sponsored by Quality Comics) Favourite Villain - HERR STARR from Preacher (category sponsored by B-Hive Comics) Character Most Worthy of Their Own Comic - LUTHER ARKWRIGHT by Bryan Talbot Favourite US Black & White/Indy - SIN CITY by Frank Miller Favourite Comic (Non US or UK) - BACCHUS by Eddie Campbell (category sponsored by Knockabout Comics) Favourite Artist (Paints) - ALEX ROSS Favourite Artist (Inks) - JIMMY PALMIOTTI Favourite Artist (Colouring) - LAURA DePUY Favourite Trade Publication - WIZARD (category sponsored by East End Offset) Favourite Trade Paperback - FROM HELL by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell Favourite Supporting Character - ORACLE/BARBARA GORDON Favourite Website (Fan organised) - SEQUENTIAL TART (category sponsored by eBay online auctions) Favourite Website (Pro) - COMIC BOOK RESOURCES Favourite E-Zine/Online Strip - ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS by Steve Conley ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [6] A Nitpicker's Guide to the 30th Edition of Ray Bottorff Jr the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide CArchivist@AOL.COM The Nitpicker's Guide to the 30th Edition of the Overstreet Price Guide Written and copyrighted 2000 by Ray Bottorff Jr I am a fan of the Nitpicker's Guide to the various Star Trek series. They are fun little books that point out the obvious errors that may show up during the series run. I decided that the "bible" of comic books, The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, deserves such a fate as well. I am going to go over from the start and will point out those things that just isn't right. This is all subjective from my viewpoint by the way. So here we go; Page 9--"Comics from 1842-Present included..." Where? "The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck" is shown in picture only on page 226. The oldest comic listed in the Price Guide itself is on page 235, "Bull Calf and Other Tales" from 1892. If we are to include just pictures for the price guide, then it should be, "Comics from 1646-Present..." due to the cartoon on page 228, "The Burning of Mr. John Rogers." Page 10--so who is the real publisher of this book? Gemstone or HarperCollins. The spine says Gemstone. This page says First HarperCollins Printing: March 2000. I guess that answers that. Page 12--I think Overstreet's real current love is the one fan related guide not related to all the others, The Overstreet Indian Arrowheads Identification and Price Guide. Hopefully there are less errors there than here. Page 14--Remember each year Overstreet would say that he was forever indebted to Jerry Bails for his help in putting together the first price guide. Forever ain't what it used to be since he has dropped the acknowledgment a couple years ago. It would be just around the time Jerry became an active participant in the online Grand Comic Book Database. Things that make you go, "Hmmmm," huh? Page 14--Gives a great deal of gratitude to Chris Pedrin for Chris's extensive research on DC war comics. He might think about including Mike Tiefenbacher in that note too, since Mike has claimed that Chris has swiped information directly from indexes done for the apa APA-I without acknowledgment in Chris' book The Big Five. Mike also claims he copied the errors he did word for word. Hey, didn't Overstreet sue people for doing the same thing in their price guides? (paragraph 7) Page 14--I see Doug Wheeler was acknowledged for assistance. Though I wonder for what. According to Doug, there are corrections Doug has been trying to get Overstreet to fix for years that might still not be done. (paragraph 10) Page 14--When will our man from Tennessee finally acknowledge that Mike Nolan and Michelle Nolan are the same person (1st paragraph)? Page 18--Another Price Guide story on EC? Haven't we seen this before? (See Price Guide #9.) Let's not forget a matter of conflict on interest. After all Gemstone publishes EC reprints (see page 23, 30 & 955). Of course this isn't new. Overstreet was accused of this sort of thing with the L.B. Cole feature in Price Guide #11, when Overstreet was L.B. Cole's agent at the time (if I recall correctly). Page 42--Of course it is his own book. I suppose if I published my own price guide, I too can write an article on how I go into comic collecting. I just wonder why it took him so long? Page 56--Of course it is his own book. I suppose if I published my own price guide, I too can reprint an old fanzine story I did over 30+ years ago. I just wonder why it took....OK, you get the drift. Page 57--Why didn't someone email Bill Schelly and find out exactly what year the story was published (just says early 1960s) and the name of the publication it was in originally (just says it was published by Bill Spicer). Oh never mind, let ME tell you since the story was reprinted in Bill Schelly's Fandom's Finest Comics Vol. 2 (buy a copy-it is a great book!--HamstrPres@aol.com): Fantasy Illustrated #3 in 1965. Page 65--Sniping (paragraph 2) is not illegal or even immoral as implied by Overstreet concerning eBay auctions. The auctions last a certain length of time. Anybody can bid on anything at anytime during the entire length of the auction, whether it is the first 5 seconds or the last 5 seconds of an auction. If you get bid on at the last moment and lost as a result, that is frankly tough luck. Then you should have bided higher. Page 65--demand for Charlton? Where? Who? Say what? Yep, they are just flying off the selves where I live too (yeah right). Page 65--Is there NOT a theme that isn't collected mentioned in the last paragraph? Page 66--"Many of the more recent titles have been consolidated into standard price groupings...." Now we know why this years price guide is almost 40 pages smaller than last years (hmm, price didn't go down for this book did it?), see paragraph 2. It is official, it is no longer the Bible of comics information, just the selective word according to Overstreet. Page 71--First of several shows up here. Yes, it is a picture of a title with no listing in the price guide portion, the fanzine Squa Tront #1. Why even list the collectiablity of fanzines and then, Foreign and Canadian Comics without including them in the price guide. Why exactly bother? Page 72--Famous Monsters of Filmland #1, picture shown, not in guide. See comments for page 71 for the same comments here. Page 72--Under the religion category, why is the series Crusaders (also see page 380) by Chick Publications listed? Aside from the fact Overstreet will not list undergrounds (see upcoming comments), why would it list comics that have anti-Catholic sentiments? And if you are going to list these, why not the thousand of other Chick tracts (mini-comics) made over the years? By the way, the Canadian government has already successfully proven in a Canadian court in the 1980s that the claims made against the Catholic church in such issues like #12 Alberto were false (see back issues of MacLeans magazine for details) Page 74--Atlas/Seaboard. This on top of the fact that this month's Comic Book Marketplace does a cover story will do more for demand on these books that had no demand for 25 years. Where did this demand come from? And why do I still see them in the quarter box? Page 77--Who sold these key comics anyway? It is just a list of issues and prices and could have been done by anyone. I could have typed up a list myself and presented it as issues sold. Now if these only represent a small portion of those sold, why bother to list them at all? Page 79--There are only so many NM issues of some of these Golden Age books out there. Usually when such an issue like Action Comics #1 gets sold, it is news in places like Comics Buyer's Guide. I didn't see any of such sales this year. So how did all of them go up in NM price as a result? All through out the book--Metropolis Comics in New York ads. My god, I hope they don't gauge their shoppers too much to pay for the several full page ads throughout the book. There are a lot for sure (11 total). By the way, What are the ad rates for the book anyway? Don't know? Neither do I but if I want to know, I better call Gemstone directly (page 860 is the closest I could find any info on ad rates) Page 142--Doug Sulipa's Comic World. And just when you think all these nicely laid out computer generated ads were all the rage, along comes one that harkens to the days of old when typewriters ruled the land. I remember those old Overstreet ads, ads from RBCC & TBG. Perhaps an old WSA membership logo could be in the ad next time? (According to Ron Frantz's great book Fandom: Confidential [contact Ron at Magilla445@aol.com] Doug's WSA # was 0681. Do you remember your number?) Page 144--ComicBase. Now you would think paying for an ad in Overstreet would get your web site listed on Overstreet's web site page (page 873), but I guess not. Page 179--New Comic Books. "In many cases, new comics are not worth their cover price in the secondary market, and collector's may pay pennies on the dollar for copies of these issues. Nevertheless, since these comics have yet to establish themselves as collectors' items, they are listed at full cover price." Say What? How are we supposed to believe a price guide's opinion on prices of comics when they deliberately manufacture a market price, just because the actual price on the market for that item is less than its original cover price? Makes me wonder about that Atlas/Seaboard & Charlton thing mentioned before. Page 179--Comic Book Values. "Overstreet, with several decades of market experience, has developed a unique and comprehensive system for gathering, documenting, averaging and pricing data on comic books. The end result is a true fair market value for your use." Boy, I would like to see that formula be published someday. Is there really a formula he uses? I guess we will take his word on it. Well, if you don't, he will make sure you know he believes it as he continues... "We have earned the reputation for our cautious, conservative approach to pricing comic books. You, the collector, can be assured that the prices listed in this volume are the most accurate and useful in print." Except for new comics of course. Page 180--What comics are listed. States here the earliest comics date back 1897. Shouldn't that be 1842? No wait, make that 1892. Page 180--New Comic Listings. If you make or made an indy comic in the 1980s & 1990s, forget about you appearing in Overstreet bub (paraphrasing here). So forget about calling them about it (paraphrasing again). Once again, the market determines what we care to list and what we don't (that paraphrasing thing again). And if it is a comic that once appeared in our guide (like New Humans or Ex-Mutants Eternity Comics versions) and even if it included such current "hot" artist like a Lim's first published work, well sorry. It was in black and white and we just don't care (my take). Page 180--OWL card. Put one to good use it says. Is it true from what I heard that the paper color examples shown on the OWL card is wrong and it is still being sold? Page 180-181--Overstreet's Numeric Equivalent. Is it just me or the new decimal grading just the same thing as the previous 100 point scale system was except they moved the decimal point over to the left by one space. Its the new math I say! (New boss, same as the old boss. -The Who) Page 183--Notice the policy of restored comics has changed. Remember when a Good comic was restored to look FINE but was still only priced Good? Well, no longer. We have now FINE (RESTORED) with percentages on how much its value is compared to a unrestored FINE copy. I can't tell is this is a good thing or a bad thing. Page 184--Scarcity of Comics. Now if they are going to say they list comics from 1842 to present, should there be a category for 1842-1896 Comics? Page 185--Collecting Comics. Remember when George Bush ran for reelection 1992 and went to a supermarket and was stunned by a price scanner. Remember how he was lampooned badly for being so out of touch with modern America. Well..."New comic books are available in many different kinds of stores. Grocery stores, drug stores, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, book stores, comic book stores and card and comic specialty shops are a few examples. I do not know about you, but I have seen a comic book sold in my local drug store, grocery store or K-Mart in years (make that decades, like 1970s-And I am NOT talking about the freebie you get on the back of a Fruity Pebbles cereal box). Newsstand sales of comics are pathetic and have been since the rise of the direct market in the 1980s. Now some have reported seeing them in Wal-Mart's. I am not so sure than is necessarily a good thing for comics. Page 187--Buying and selling. Again the Victorian Age (1842-1896) gets shut out as the Platinum Age (1897-1932) gets the starting position. Page 189--Comic Conventions. I am going to sound like a "homer" but I don't care. The Motor City Comic Con has become the third largest convention after San Diego & Chicago (based on people who attend). You think they could have at least mentioned it as an option. I also feel sorry for the Mid-Ohio and Big Apple conventions, which are just as large as some of the others mentioned. Page 190--Comic Book Fandom. I remember this article used to be a little longer, the later rise of fanzines like the Comics Journal, The Buyer's Guide et al were mentioned. I think they need Bill Schelly to rewrite the thing. Page 191--Related Collectibles. This is the Comic Book price guide right? Why did they even waste a page on this that really doesn't tell you anything about any of the items mentioned? See comments on page 71 for here. Page 192--Marvel Reprints. Do all current Marvel 2nd prints really have gold logos any longer? Also, why would you place a mention about Whitman reprints under a title of Marvel Reprints? Page 193--Comic Book Artists. Isn't about time that all of John Buscema, Steve Ditko, Carmine Infantino, Joe Kubert, Gil Kane, & George Perez's work be listed so that that dreaded "*" next to their names go away. I mean, they do list all the works of people like Arthur Adams, Mark Bagley, Chris Bachalo, Geoff Darrow, Jayson Disbrow, Jae Lee, Jim Lee, Rob Liefield (or is Liefeld)?, Mike Magnola, Whilce Portacio, Marshall Rogers, Bart Sears, Marc Silvestri, Mark Texeria & Mike Zeck. They all are just fine as artists, BUT combined they do not have the comic history of even a Carmine Infantino. Who decides this list anyway? Page 195--Promotional Comics. It seems that the only additional attention that will be drawn but separating giveaway & premium will be to increase their prices (like how the Plat era books have gone up once they got their own section. Page 199--Adventures of the Big Boy. You haven't been to a Big Boy restaurant in a while I see. After the big deal about the canceling of the original series, the book was restarted as just Big Boy (The Big Boy Magazine in the indicia) with the same numbering. It is now done on slick paper and produced by Craig Yoe. It seems to be published on its own schedule (no date listed so it is no longer monthly). The most recent issue I have is issue # 487 Page 200--Batman Record Comic. This isn't a giveaway. It isn't a premium either (just because it comes with a record, its now a premium? How is this different from comics that include 3D glasses or some other item?). So if its not a premium and its not a giveaway. Why is it here? And if it does belong here, why not other gimmick comics like 3D, gold foil, multiple cover etc as well? Page 208--Hey, is there anyone who actually has all the issues of the Gulf Gunnies Weekly? Page 216--Hey, weren't there more than just two anti-drug New Teen Titans comics that came out? I remember getting three when I ordered from the govt. in the 80s. Page 217--Power Record Comics. See page 200 for here. Page 219--The Spirit. It wasn't a giveaway (no such thing as a free Sunday comics sections). Its a premium? How? Just because it was in a Sunday comic section? It certainly wasn't promoting anything per se (no more than any other comic). It just doesn't belong here. Page 226--The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck. Comic shown, not listed in the price guide. Question, since it was a supplement to Brother Jonathan, like the Spirit was a supplement to the Sunday Comics Section, doesn't this belong under the Promotion category? Page 235--People on the Platinum chat list I am sure can name scores of comics from the Plat era not listed here. By the way, does the Platinum era end in 1932 or 1938? Why does some books end up listed in the Plat list (like Little Annie Rooney 1935) and others end up in the main list (like The Adventures of Detective Ace King 1933)? Page 242--Yes, where are those other issues of the Standard Oil Comics Weekly?, the question is asked on that page. Why, on page 221 in the Promotional Comics section! There is even prices for them! I wonder when those were found and what formula used to get such prices. Page 245--Shell Globe comic is picture, but not listed in the guide. Page 249--Zap Comix #1, Slow Death #1 & a conveniently cropped Bijou Funnies #8 all are pictured. None are listed in the Price Guide. Page 250--"Near Mint is the highest value listed in this guide. True mint books from the 1970s through the present do exist, so the Near Mint value listed should be interpreted as a Mint Value for those books." Boy that violates everything said on previous pages (pages 181-183) about what grade means what. Except for this little passage, the category remains Near Mint through out the book, not MINT on modern comics. I do not know about you, but Near Mint is what I use to grade things and if it is MINT, then it is worth more no matter when it was made (like it says on pages 181-183). Page 260--You like listing errors? You like books listed that don't exist? Overstreet has a reputation of putting in listings for comics that do not exist in an effort to catch copycats (and has apparently won a lawsuit or two doing this). Fortunately those who value accuracy in a price guide has a friend in Dan Stevenson. For years, through his APA-I index work, Dan has tried to verify the existence of every comic every made. Starting with this page is the first comic Dan believes does not exist or whose entry is incorrect. Alice #11 or 2 by Ziff-Davis. To quote Dan, "I (and Steven Rowe) have issue with #11 on cover and #2 in indicia, thus #11 & #2 are probably the same issue and only two of the title, 10 & 11, exist" To save me some time with this guide I will not repeat them all here. Dan lists easily a total of over 200+ issues that seem to not exist. If you want the full list, your best bet is to contact Dan directly at Dan_Stevenson@sparta.com. Page 292--Barry M. Goldwater comic. Geez, The Life Story of Harry Truman gets moved over to the Promotional section, shouldn't one on Goldwater be moved as well? Lyndon Johnson comic (page 552) gets the same treatment. Page 293--Batman listings. See notes on page 66. Why wasn't the army of Batman books shrunk down as per the policy on page 66? They did it to the various Alien series comics I see (page 261), but not Batman. Boy, they could have saved a couple pages since Batman books are listed all the way up to page 300. Page 331--Captain Britain & Captain Canuck. How come these foreign comics from the 1970s get listed, yet their later versions (which had wider distribution in the U.S.), Captain Britain in the 80s and Captain Canuck in the 90s, are not listed. Go figure. Page 362-363--I do not understand why no one makes an effort to catalog all the Highest Reorder Numbers (HRN) for the Classics Illustrated Junior series. This isn't as much a knock on Overstreet completely, but to those in Classic fandom in general. A lot of effort and energy has been made to list the HRN's for the main series, yet no one cares to try to find them out for the Junior series. What, do they have cooties or something? Page 374--Cracked. Notice on how Overstreet's interest in listing the contents for Cracked Magazine evaporates circa 1990? Page 417--Notice that the only Underground comics that get listed are those the reprinted EC comics (E.C. Classic Reprints)? Coincidence? Don't think so. Page 438--This must be a major typo. The Softcover version of Fireside Books' Bring on The Bad Guys goes for $4.50 in Good, $13.50 in Fine and $452.00 in Near Mint!!! Page 472--Just why is G.I. Combat listed as two separate entries? It is the same book that just had two separate publishers. It didn't even have a delay in publication! Page 499--Hourman. Should it be "See JSA and DC One Million" and not "See JLA and DC One Million"? Page 501--How Boys and Girls Can Help Win the War. Sounds like a Premium to me. Page 501--How to Draw for the Comics. Sounds like a Premium to me. Page 503--I Feel Sick. You and me both. Page 507--Infinity Inc #35. The first modern appearance of the Golden Age Fury. The problem with this entry that there is NO Golden Age appearance of the Golden Age Fury. She was strictly a post-crisis construct to fill in a gap created by the missing W.W.II Wonder Woman (at the time anyway). "First appearance of the Golden Age Fury" would be more accurate. Page 519--JSA #1. You would think the death of Kid Eternity in issue #1 would warrant some mention. Page 563--Marvel Milestone Edition 1991-Present. Last issue came out in 1995. Not very present as far as my math goes. Page 636--I bet you didn't know that Real Fact Comics #9 features the first published letter by Jerry Bails, did you (misspelled as "Jerry Baik" in error). I verified this with the man himself (OK, not a nitpick thing, but I find it interesting). Page 639--Regents Illustrated Classics. I wonder, if you called the number listed, would you still be able to order the books from the publisher? That number has been in the guide a long time now. Page 757--Valeria the She Bat. Shouldn't issue #1 belong in the Promotional Comics section? Page 802--So the rumor I had heard that this is the year. Zap Comix will finally be listed in the price guide. About time I say. Err...well, uh, never mind. Wait 'til next year? Well, there is always the picture on page 249. Page 828--There is something to be said about a man that, even dead, Jack Kirby can still inspire a letter righting campaign on his behalf. Page 856--The Collector's Slave. There is something to be said about a man that, even at only able to afford 1/4 of a page for an ad, can still let it be known to everyone what his fetishes are. Maybe. Page 865--I do not know who Roy Shildt is, but I do not think that even combining your techniques with Charles Atlas' could get me a woman like that. Also talking about questionable mixed messages; "...some nudity-over 18 years to order. 25 cents per sale goes to charity for abused children." Normally you do not see profits of anything with adult content going to abused children. Page 873--Fan Web Site Directory. First of all, if you want a complete list, get the recently released book, "The Incredible Internet Guide to Comic Books & Superheroes" by James R. Flowers, Jr. for just about all of them. Secondly, notice that none of the online comic databases are listed. The Grand Comic Book Database, ComicsDB, Long Box are amongst two of them. Page 873--Fan Web Site Directory. First of all, if you want a complete list, get the recently released book, "The Incredible Internet Guide to Comic Books & Superheroes" by James R. Flowers, Jr. for just about all of them. Secondly, notice that none of the online comic databases are listed. The Grand Comic Book Database, ComicsDB, Long Box are amongst a few of them. Now I submitted the entry for the GCD myself at the beginning of the year. Maybe I was too late for this addition, but I did notice one thing about the web page before and still a problem now; It is "under construction." Now how long could it take to fix this? If it doesn't show up in next years guide, I will assume Overstreet is ignoring these online databases. Page 879--Chronology. Another section that could use a little updating. First thing's first, time to including a mentioning of those Victorian Age area comics (see notes for pages 184 & 187) Page 880--I always wondered what the years 1943, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1959, 1964, 1966 (my birth year by the way), 1968, 1969 and 1971 did to be excluded from the list. Stuff that happened those years cannot be any more uninteresting than what is listed (especially 1945, 1957, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1988 et al). Page 881 thru 883--More comics listed in the list but not in the price guide are; 1967-Zap #1, Adventures of Jesus & God Nose. 1978-A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories. But the most annoying example is; 1987-Maus: A Survivor's Tale. What does these things have to do to get listed, win a Pulitzer or something? Err, I guess not. Page 884--1996. See page #199 over what I said about The Adventures of The Big Boy. Page 885--Historic Firsts. Comic Book-Funnies on Parade nn, 1933. To quote Keith Giffen, "Bwha-ha-ha-ha!". (Don't they read their own Platinum section?) Page 885--Historic Firsts. Comic Book with Original Material-New Fun Comics #1, 2/35. To quote Keith Giffen, "Bwha-ha-ha-ha!". (Don't they read their own Platinum section?) Page 885--Historic Firsts. Comic Book Giveaway Comic-Funnies on Parade nn, 1933. To quote Keith Giffen, "Bwha-ha-ha-ha!". (Don't they read their own Platinum section?) Page 885------Aw to hell with it, I could go through the list forever and a day. What is a matter? Don't they read their own Platinum section???? Page 896--First Prototype. Now is this not a category created just to add value to certain issues only a select few carried about in the first place--or what? Page 897--Glossary. Bondage Cover. I just want to know, do covers showing men in restraints get the designation of bondage cover? If not, why not? If Mister Miracle #1 (1972 version) isn't a bondage cover then what the hell is one? Page 904--Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Comics #1. Shows color variations of issue #1. Not mentioned in price guide. Page 918--Could have done a better job in cropping the cover of New Funnies #67. Page 927--Golden Eagle's Toy World Funnies 1933 Premium. Pictured, not listed in the price guide. Page 932--Railroads Deliver the Goods! Pictured, not listed in the price guide. Well, don't feel sorry, There are other giveaways produced by the Association of American Railroads in the 1950s-60s (Other than Salute to The Boy Scouts) that are not listed either. For example, All Aboard, Mr. Lincoln! 1/59, Clear the Track! 8/56, The Iron Horse Goes to War 5/60, Rails Across America c1950s, Ride the High Iron! 1/55, Special Agent 10/59, The Wheel of Progress 10/57. Railroads Deliver the Goods! was published 9/59 by the way. Page 936--Why is Treasure Chest #1 pictured in the Promotional section but actually listed in the main section? Page 941--Hall of Fame. Zap Comix #1. Why do they insist on torturing and teasing the fans of this book? It is picture and listed twice and a comic of major importance, but STILL not in the price guide! Page 941--Hall of Fame. Maus 1986 Pantheon Books. See previous. Arrgghhh! (Geez, you think they will list Raw [the magazine Maus first appeared in] anytime soon either?). Page 942-943--Price Guide Back Issues. I think it is time they also list the variations of the price guide. Did you know all recent editions have had color variations? For example, the 1988 version (showing Superman) pictures a white cover version. The one I own has a black cover. The most recent issues have different color spines. Do they know their own variations? Page 946-947--Now whoever said that comic fans were nothing but a bunch of geeks never saw these pictures! They are really a group of fugitives as pictured on America's Most Wanted! Geez, just put some height lines behind some of them, and you have the perfect mug shot! Man, you couldn't pay me to put my mug in a book. You think I would wanted some crazed comic fan to know what I look like? Hell no! You noticed that Bob Overstreet's picture is not listed? Smart man! Well, for what's it worth, there is my Nitpicker's Guide to the 30th Edition of the Overstreet Price Guide. You might think I am full of it. You might think I am a prophet of a new movement. You might think I am crazy. You might be crazy. If you are crazy, feel free to send me all your money. In the end though, for all its faults, I will probably buy the next edition next year. Ah, such is life. my best, -Ray Bottorff Jr April 24, 2000 ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [7] WANDER: O'Neil's eclectic masterpiece Link Yaco linkyaco@aol.com With great thanks to Mike Catron for his fact-checking! [Link Yaco has written comic books for several publishers. His comic collection, SPACE CHICKS AND BUSINESSMEN is due to be out June, 2000. Paul Rudolph, lead guitarist for The Pink Fairies (Pigs from Uranus, et al) and many other art rockers e.g. Brian Eno (Here Come the Warm Jets) said, "I'm pleased to see that the comic art and story are way out enough for my warped tastes." Link lives in West Greenwich Village with his wife, Susannah, a senior Vice President at an independent film company. Check out his web page http://members.aol.com/lexicon70s/index.html ] In mid-1967, After writing Dr. Strange and a few other miscellaneous scripts, Denny O'Neil found his assignments dwindling at Marvel and so began working at Charlton, under the name of Sergius O'Shaugnessy. There, he wrote a serial western comic...with a science fiction twist. The comic was "Wander." Wander started in Cheyenne Kid #66 and ended in #87. However, Wander did not appear in issues #79 and 84. There were 20 stories in all. The Wander stories in #66-69 were nine pages long, #70- 72 were seven pages; 73-78 and 80-81 were 8 pages; 82 was 7 pages; while 83 and 85-87 were 6 pages. Denny wrote the Wander stories that appeared in #66-72. Don Arneson wrote the Wander stories in Cheyenne Kid #73-78, 80-81. Joe Gill wrote the Wander stories in Cheyenne Kid #82-83 and 85-87. Jim Aparo drew the Wander stories in Cheyenne Kid #66- 71. Fred Himes drew the Wander stories in Cheyenne Kid #72-78, 81-83, 85-87. Charles Nicholas drew the story in #80. This is the Charlton Charles Nicolas, not to be confused with DC's Charles Nicolas Cuidera. Both of them have been considered for credit being the "Charles Nicolas" who created and had the by-line on the Blue Beetle, long before the Beetle became a Charlton or DC property. Incidentally, at one point, Nicolas Cardy claimed the creation of the Blue Beetle. In later issues, 72 to 87, Fred Himes continued the character The saga of Wander was finally brought to a conclusion in #87 when the Sirian traveling sales representative was finally returned to his home planet. This final episode was the only that I know of that was ever reprinted in a Modern Comics editions in the late `70s. "Cheyenne Kid" was a minor cowpoke flick in 1933, but it bore less than slight resemblance to the eponymous Charlton comic character and even less than that that to Wander. To quote W. C. Fields, "Somewhere between nil and zero." Charlton never claimed any connection to the minor film and just as well for, at least in the case of Pat Boyette's interpretation of the Cheyenne Kid in the later issues, it was far superior to the original film. But Wander was the real gem of the book. Jim Aparo illustrated it and that was one of several parallels between O'Neil's Wander and Steve Skeates' "Thane of Bagarth." Skeates was (and remains, I suppose) in O'Neil's age group. They were in their early twenties, then. Both wrote for Charlton and often used pseudonyms. Skeates' Thane was also a historical series, but with a medieval setting. Thane, which ran as a back-up feature in Hercules from #1 to #13, was, like the O'Neil Wanders, mostly illustrated by Aparo (for nine of the 13 episodes) and, like Wander, just one episode by Charles Nicolas (in his inevitable pairing with Vince Alascia) for one episode (in Hercules # 5). As well, all episodes ran either eight or nine pages in length. And one episode of Thane (in Hercules # 5) even had a science fiction element introduced. O'Neil and Skeates were much alike. In part, this was because they were good friends...until their falling out several decades later. Both were hippie-ish experimentalists but Skeates was more concerned with form. Experiments in style and word games were his primary concerns. O'Neil had other interests, more oriented toward actual content. O'Neil's early work always had four elements that were very apparent. One was an obvious familiarity with the more sophisticated science fiction literature of the era. The other was a social concern. The third was a interest with and a facility for the creation and development of distinct characters. The fourth was a serious literary background. The element of sophisticated science fiction is apparent in the basic premise of the series. Wander was an alien trapped on earth in the Old West. Historically speaking, the "Old West" of the movies and comics was a brief era after the Civil War (1861-1865) and before the invention of the automobile (Karl Benz was first, in 1885, and Henry Ford founded his company in 1903). The SF element of note here, however, is that Wander learned English from studying an Elizabethan text (Elizabeth died in 1603) and that was the English he spoke. The book was the same grammar text that Shakespeare studied from. Consequently, Wander spoke a Shakespearean English. More on that un-named grammar text later. This evokes a sound astronomical fact. The distance between stars is immense and would take a great deal of time to cross. Any journey between stars would take many years, if not centuries. If a starship came to Earth, picked up a book, returned home, and then came back again, that book would be centuries out of date. Wander was from Sirius Five. Sirius is the "dog star," the brightest star is the sky, in the Canis Major constellation. That's so far away that even light takes decades to travel from there to here. This very arty mixture of eras-Elizabethan, Old West, and high-tech commercialism-is the very definition of Post-Modernism. The collision of the cultural sensibilities of three cultures shows O'Neil's social interests at play. He got to, humorously and parodistically, contrast the Old West with the Elizabethan manners Wander had studied, as well as the high-tech sensibility that Wander was raised with. O'Neil's skill at creating distinct and different characters is at visible in high relief in this work. Wander fell in with a traveling patent medicine, or snake oil, show, led by an obvious W. C. Fields type of character, Professor Phineas Bloat. O'Neil is not only capable of producing convincing Shakespearean speech, but his is also able to reproduce the sardonic drawl of Fields. And Wander's very creditable Elizabethan speech gave O'Neil an outlet for his literary side as well. Wander didn't speak ageless sonnets, but his archaic English is far more authentic than just a few "thees" and "thous" tossed in arbitrarily. Shakespeare it ain't. Nor Bacon, Sidney, or Spencer. But it might compare favorably with some of the second tier authors of the Elizabethan literary world such as Grenville. My apologies to any admirers of "The Faerie Queen." Maybe dialog such as, "The knave!...He attacks while his opponents back is turned! By my father's beard, `tis a situation that calls for changing!" doesn't compare with Grenville. Works for me, though, even with the grammatical errors. "opponents" should have an apostrophe and the ellipsis that follows "The knave!.." is incorrect...and should have three periods, not two. As if any cares that editor Sal Gentile's proofreading wasn't up to the standards of E. B. White's "Elements of Style." But, of course, there were no grammar rules in the age of Shakespeare. The bard himself didn't worry about spelling, let alone grammar. He didn't even bother to spell his own name the same way. Sometimes he use "Shakespeare," sometimes "Shakspur," and many variations in between. There were no common spellings, no dictionaries, and certainly no English grammar texts, only Latin texts. Say, wait a minute! Didn't Wander learn his English from just such a hypothetical text? Oh, it's only a comic book! This wonderful mixture of history, humor, social commentary, and science fiction only lasted a few issues as a back-up feature in an minor cowboy comic. Few people saw it at the time and fewer still remember it. Those that do, however, recall it as one of the most obscure and bizarre experiment of `60s comics, and the fact that it was secreted away in a very mundane cowboy comic made it all the more a delightful discovery. There were only seven O'Neil Wander tales. These amounted to 58 pages. There are 13 Arneson and Gill tales, which amounts to another 101 pages. By itself or with the Arneson and Gill material, O'Neil's Wander saga would make a nice volume. As much as I like O'Neil's DC work that followed, no matter how well you do superhero stuff, it's still basically kiddy stuff. Wander was closer to a genuine adult form of comic literature and will always remain my favorite. One final ingredient to the Wander feast was the illustration of Jim Aparo. When Aparo moved to DC with Giordano and the rest of the Charlton bunch, his work became more in tune with mainstream sensibilities. He began to look a lot like Neal Adams, especially when he did Batman. At one point, Aparo and Adams traded chapters in an Aquaman-Deadman semi-team-up and the comparison of their styles was unavoidable. But in his Charlton days, Aparo looked like no one else. His style was entirely his own. One curious feature of that style was that all his characters, Wander more than the rest, lacked complete noses! Aparo tended to skimp on the detail when it cam to the nose. You might catch a glimpse of one nostril and a shadow would define PART of the bridge of the nose, but for the most part, the most distinctive feature of the face was oddly out of focus. It made his work unique and instantly recognizable. It also made his characters look somewhat bizarre, which was utterly appropriate for Wander. As well, Aparo excelled at the psychedelic free-form abstract shapes that were part of the sensibilities of the `60s, and he managed to work these into a number of panels-especially the Thane story in Hercules #5! And dig the moir‚ patterns in the zipatone background in the opening splash in the Wander episode in Cheyenne Kid # 69. And all those Gene Colan-style rhomboid- shaped panels! But Aparo didn't use druggy swirls and zig-zagging panels to avoid doing the grunt work of background detail. Despite Charlton's notoriously low page rate, he never hesitated to load a scene with historical detail. Every piece of furniture and architecture is covered with the ornamental filigree that was the vogue in that era. That sort of over- decoration was the design style that Oscar Wilde lectured against when he came to the American West to champion the cause of the minimalistic Art Noveau that was evolving at the time. Oscar Wilde lecturing Texans on design style is one of those beautiful factual, historical events that seems like an eclectic cultural collision straight out of an O'Neil story. But whether Wilde liked it or not, when Aparo drew it, it looked authentic...and psychedelic at the same time! The good news for O'Neil collectors is that these Wander issues are so underrated that you can pick them up for the price of a new comic-between two and five dollars each. The bad news is that they are so obscure and the original distribution so limited, that it is very difficult to find any dealer that has them! ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [8] Sound and Fury Craig Lemon craiglemon@aol.com So, Comics 2000 concludes and provides enough gumph for a few columns yet. Coming up in the next few weeks - a review of the four black-and-white previews DC were giving away, and reviews of the cheapo and freebies that companies were just giving away (overstock or publicity, you decide). But we kick off with news and rumours picked up from around the event, during panels, and in overheard conversations. All this is no particular order, of course... Image Look out in November for "Double Image", a comic of two halves (much like the Oni Double issues). One story in the issue by Joe Casey and Charlie Adlard, the other by Scott Lobdell and Mark Badger. Marvel Casey and Adlard have a proposal currently with Marvel, about the early days of Doctor Doom, hopefully to uncover what really lies beneath the mask - and it's not the face of Reed Richards! Marvel may well be awaiting the sales figures from the upcoming Doom story before deciding whether to proceed, but a brief overview of the plot, plus some sample art, makes the project look very exciting. Alan Davis' new project? Killraven. Can he provide the magic touch here? Don't tell Marvel, but it's not his desired project either - he really wants to attack John Carter on Mars, but Dark Horse hold the copyright thanks to a Tarzan/Carter crossover a while back. Dark Horse - call Davis now! DC Universe Hitman is ending...and soon. Indications are that issue 60 or thereabouts will be the last. What Ennis is doing afterwards is covered in the Vertigo section, as for McCrea, he has a secret project lined up with the clue word "Green". Only two further pointers could be gleaned from other sources - firstly, McCrea's sketchbook contains a number of extremely recent Hulk sketches. Secondly, another artist was heard commenting that he was passed over for the Kevin Smith Green Arrow series in favour of another British artist sitting not a million miles away - on the same table were Sean Phillips, John McCrea, and Staz Johnson. New villain for Supes in 2001 is Imperiax - only information was in a poster-style Superman-Imperiax fight scene, set in space...Imperiax looks to be some sort of armoured alien...perhaps another invasion of Earth? World's Funnest - Evan Dorkin writes, with cover by Brian Bolland and interior art by a number of people including Alex Ross, Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons, featuring a teamup of Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxylplztk.... Batman: Ego is a Darwin Cook oneshot in the art deco style. Wonder Woman has just a year of Phil Jiminez on story and art to look forward to, then Greg Rucka takes over for a year. Rucka will also be penning some special WW projects in 2001. Paul Dini's and Alex Ross's next oversized book has a name - Shazam! Power of Hope. Green Lantern: 1001 Emerald Nights by Terry LeBan and Rebecca Guay is an Elseworlds tale essentially retelling a few Arabian Nights stories with GL characters. The part that rises this to special status is the absolutely gorgeous art...DC hope to market this outside of the typical comic book market. Green Lantern/Superman: Legends of the Flame is the ten-year old Neil Gaiman story, dusted off, brushed down, and given an extremely cool Frank Miller cover (a huge set of talons punching through GL's and Supe's bodies). Hourman is about to be kicked out of the JSA. JLA/Wonder Woman: League Of One is a Christopher Muller painted oneshot featuring Wonder Woman battling alone against numerous foes to free the JLA. JLA Seven Caskets is an Elseworlds tale by Dan Brereton, teaming up the JLA with Etrigan the Demon against hordes of Lovecraftian beasts. Legend of the Hawkman is a three part mini by Ben Raab and Michael Lark, to be released starting in July, which shows why Hawkman and Hawkgirl chose to remain on earth. I've a review copy of this, and will talk about it next week. JLA: Heaven's Ladder is the first release by the new JLA team of Mark Waid, Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary, after which their joint run on JLA will commence. It's out in September, and is an oversized paperback - I have the cover and first fifteen pages in review form, and will talk about it next time. DC Vertigo There will not be a Nevada II series. Sales were poor on the series, and exceptionally bad on the TPB, so that looks like it for the dancer and her ostrich. User is Devin Grayson's first Vertigo work, about a girl who escapes from her horrible family by immersing herself in a computer world. With "real life" art from Sean Phillips, and "computer life" art by John Bolton, this is already looking very nice...let's hope the writing is up to scratch. After Preacher #66 comes...Preacher: Dead Or Alive. Following in the vein of Sandman Dust Covers, all of Fabry's covers will be collected into one book, with commentary on each by Fabry and Ennis. Whether this book also includes the several unused covers as bonus art remains to be confirmed. Also after Preacher #66 comes...Garth Ennis's new project "Adventures in the Rifle Brigade". With art by Carlos Ezquerra, this looks to be a WWII adventure involving the British Royal Air Force, the Germans, a bunch of women, and some (well, probably lots) guns. Outlaw Nation is Vertigo's hope for the next Preacher. Striking cover by Glenn Fabry on the first issue (and probably those beyond) this is out in Fall of this year, and I've a review copy of issue 1 to be talked about next time. Writer is Jamie Delano, art by Gordon Sudzuka. DC Wildstorm Danger Girl 7 will be out in September or October...maybe. What is sure is that it will be the last issue of the first volume of DG. Future releases will be one-off specials or mini-series (presumably only to be solicited once completed to save DC's credibility). Wildcats - Sean Phillips is contracted for a year, the art for issues 10 and 11 was circulating, and it's looking very, very good indeed. This could be a sleeper thanks to Lobdell virtually killing it, get in early. The Authority will have a fill-in art team for issue 17, the first part of a new four-part adventure, as Frank Quitely is unfortunately a few days behind schedule. Many artists are attributing this to writer Mark Millar asking for scenes of awesome complexity...it doesn't help that DC asked for the art to several scenes in issues 13 and 14 to be changed to look a little less like Marvel characters... ABC Comics Just a couple of notes, a lot of information is already public on the future of ABC comics: The Tom Strong Hardcover coming soon contains the first seven issues, not six as previously intimated elsewhere. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #5 was at the show, and will ship in the first or second week of May - #6 is hopefully set for late summer....the second series of LoEG will not even be solicited until most (if not all) of it is complete. Tom Strong #8 is scheduled for release on May 17 and is a precursor to the new Tom Strong title starting soon - three stories of eight pages each. This will also be reviewed next week. Next week I'll have a look at the preview titles doing the rounds at C2000, all of which are due for release sometime in the next six months. Abuse, criticism and even requests for review to the above email address. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [9] SOME PAGES, A COVER, AND A FEW STAPLES Marlan Harris mar93@aol.com [Marlan Harris lives and works in Burbank, CA.] SKRULL KILL CREW I doubt anyone remembers this 5-issue mini-series that came out in 1995. It was during those years when Marvel was putting out any series -- limited or ongoing -- so the volume of thheir output would push the competition's books off the shelf. But this series is notable as it's written by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, who have since gained recognition with JLA and THE AUTHORITY, respectively (and among other things). And it's a good book. It's a clever, unmistakably-Grant Morrison premise, that a group of teenagers are given superpowers after eating hamburger meat made from the Skrulls that were transformed into cows in that old issue of FANTASTIC FOUR, and the premise mostly carries the series. There's also a Captain America appearance but it's used mostly so the British writers can make fun of Americans. And it's fairly typically Morrison: a gratuitous amount of violence, over-the-top super heroics, dirty British slang that goes past unknowing American editors, and even a straightforward storytelling approach that Morrison had not used much up to that point and didn't use much again until JLA. Artist Steve Yeowell, another Brit, is an excellent storyteller but his work doesn't fit the out-there superhero stories that Morrison usually puts together (though his work was near perfect for the early issues of THE INVISIBLES.) There are a number of subplots set up that could have led into a great ongoing series but the characters, interesting in their own right and uniquely Morrison, got ditched and forgotten about after the series ended. I haven't seen many extra copies in the bargain bins and Marvel has never bothered to do a trade paperback but it's a good superhero story and would interest JLA fans who want to see Morrison and Millar work their twisted magic on the Marvel Universe. BATMAN/THE DEMON: A TRAGEDY (DC) The tragedy in this book is that it was written by Alan Grant, a passable Batman writer whose one strength lies in making Etrigan the Demon's dialogue rhyme. The book is beautifully painted by Jim Murray, who outdid Glenn Fabry in last year's BATMAN/JUDGE DREDD. The problem with painted artwork is that every page has to stand as its own individual work of art and it often lacks the spontaneous energy and panel-to-panel flow of pencil-and-ink art. A fluid story could make up for this and Grant's story does, for the most part, but it's also very dull: Bruce Wayne becomes the Demon at night. Not much beyond that premise. But you're buying it for the gorgeous painted artwork and it's worth $5.95. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, DARK HORSE PRESENTS #150 (Dark Horse) This comic has recently gotten marginally better, though due only to the art. The scripting is still strained and the stories go on for pages without much happening, even worse since the current storyline has droned on for 9 issues and hasn't amounted to much. The atrocious covers by Jeff Matsuda and J. Scott Campbell are damned near unforgivable. New interior artist Cliff Richards draws better likenesses of the characters and his art is fairly strong. It's not a huge improvement but all the Buffy fans will buy it anyway, at least those that know about it. The letters-column, in other comics a place where fans can discuss the comic, in BUFFY is useless, just a forum for mad fans that can't write to anyone else about their obsessions with the BUFFY show and be responded to (though pity editor Scott Allie for having to wade through desperate letters from fans trying to get a hold of Sarah Michelle and the rest of the cast in the comic's early days). Comics that tie into TV shows and movies and whatever else aren't going to bring more people into comics just like lunch boxes and Spaghetti-Os that tie into TV shows and movies and whatever else aren't going to bring more people into buying more lunch boxes and Spaghetti-Os just because they've bought a few in the past. So let's not count on that to save our beloved comics industry. Let's just be happy Dark Horse gets a little more money (though probably balanced out by how much they have to pay to get the Buffy license) so they can put out more Frank Miller and Mike Mignola stuff. The BUFFY comic isn't going to appeal to anyone who doesn't follow the show and doesn't offer anything that the show doesn't provide much better. And for free. However, DARK HORSE PRESENTS #150 boasts the best Buffy comics story to date (though that's not a difficult feat to accomplish), along with a host of other features that make it the best issue DHP has seen in years, even better than the choice DHP (JR.) ANNUAL ‘99. The Buffy story has the same artist as the series (and blame the inker for nearly ruining this one) but the writer is apparently one of the guys from the show, who will also be writing the comic, so maybe there's hope yet. The Concrete story is predictably very good and the L'il Devil Chef is the funniest 8-pages in a comic I've read since HELLBOY JR. As clever is the Fish Police story by the always-clever Steve Moncuse. The only story in the issue that is not self-contained is the Nevermen story (part 3 of 3), which actually is not a continuation of the last two parts from DHP like it says, but rather a sampler of what seem like random pages from the upcoming NEVERMEN series. Not that it's any less worthy than the rest of the features in the issue, since it's very slick and an excellent primer for a series drawn by the constantly reliable Guy Davis. Newcomer Chris Brunner produces what is apparently an autobiographical story, and a very good one, at that. You can't beat DHP for variety. Shame there was no Usagi Yojimbo story or Sergio Aragones work and that the Hellboy story got pushed to issue #151. Anthology comics can be very inconsistent but DARK HORSE PRESENTS has always offered exciting, challenging, and worthwhile material from creators new and old, and it's worth the money not just to get what is usually a good comic, but also to support the breadth of material that DHP offers, month in and month out. CORRECTION: I had my wires crossed two columns ago in my Lobdell Awards nominations. It is Randy Queen who draws DARKCHYLDE and Randy Green who draws WITCHBLADE, among other comics. It was Randy Queen and DARKCHYLDE that I meant to nominate. I apologize for this confusion. Green is a good artist; Queen is a crappy one. "Imagination is the highest kite one can fly." --Lauren Bacall mar93@aol.com Http://members.aol.com/mar93/BoneMachine.html ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [10] Multiverse Observer and Explorer Reviews Paul Dale Roberts silhouet9@aol.com [Paul promotes amateur and professional comic book artwork, scripts, storylines, and unpublished comic books with a newsletter called the Peoples' Comic Book Newsletter. Its website is at Jazma Comic Book Newsletter Productions at http://www.jazmaonline.com/ He is also a prominent letter hack, as anyone who reads comic letter pages would know. He is in production of his own self-published comic book called The Legendary Dark Silhouette and has copyrighted over 600 characters for his Jazma Universe.] WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COLUMN MAY REVEAL SIGNIFICANT PORTIONS OF PLOTS OR ENTIRE PLOT DEVELOPMENTS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. New at A1 Comics are the following comic books: Blood Legacy #1 by Top Cow; Charm School #1 by Slave Labor Graphics; Dork Tower by Corsair Publishing; Powers #1 by Image; Under a Slowly Spinning Sun by Aporia Press; Wahoo Morris #1 by Image; Hyperdolls by Ironcat LLC; Time Traveler Ai; Gun Crisis: Deadly Curve; Rumble Girls: Silky Warrior Tansie; Warren Ellis - Strange Kiss; Alec - The King Canute Crowd and a whole lot more! For information about any of these comic books, you can contact Brian Peets, owner of A1 Comics at: A1Comics@quiknet.com Name: Powers #1 Publisher: Image Created by: Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming Price: $2.95 Comments: Powers #1 was Homicide meets Hill Street Blues meets Astro City. Enjoyed the action right from the beginning as a 7 year old girl is in jeopardy and its up to Detective Christian Walker - Homicide, to get her out of this mess. The hostage negotiations was quite realistic and it was sort of funny seeing Flinch blow a hole out of the roof to escape. I first thought he had 'powers'....but that wasn't quite the case. I like the humor thrown into the story as Flinch is saying...'ouch', 'ouch' as the rocket boosters on his back were burning his buttocks. Walker is a hard edged detective with the rugged jawbone of Clark Kent. I like the way he is depicted. A cordial bow to Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming for this wonderful creation. The rescued girl was quite the character as she was getting on Walker's nerves and asking him too many questions. Deena Pilgrim reminded me of my old drill sergeant, as she is full of stories and only with one week on the SWAT team, rattled off a very impressive tale of adventure. Already there is good character development on all of the characters. I can tell you already about their idiosyncrasies. Example: Walker doesn't have patience with kids. The former hostage girl is somewhat of a pest. Deena is a talker and a bit of a braggart. Flinch is an idiot. Deena & Walker as partners should be quite interesting. If Walker is anything like Dirty Harry, then Deena shouldn't last long. I found Powers to be exciting and intelligent and the story skillfully builds suspense. Yep, I love it! Name: Spyboy #7 Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Written by: Peter David Drawn by: Carlos Meglia Price: $2.95 Comments: The Palindrome, (an evil organization) which is against the advancement of man, is on the same mentality level as the Unobomber. Peter David sets everything in motion with Spyboy and Bombshell in a chaotic situation right in the beginning on that plane. This was the hook that caught the big fish, as Barbie Q was going for her tailspin, I knew I had a wild ride ahead as this story progressed. The character interactions were done in perfection, as if I was watching a movie. When Rose was mean with Butch, it came through with authenticity. Butch has big expectations for his mother as he is invited to spend some time with her in Marispan, (a beautiful resort area) the thoughts of her being a spy overwhelms his mind. Speaking of Marispan, it's gorgeous! Carlos Meglia is a very talented artist! I like the way Peter David uses old spy movies and shows to blend in with his story, as the story is called "The Mom from UNCLE" like The Man from UNCLE. How I miss the adventures of Napolean Solo. Speaking about spy shows, I also miss Secret Agent Man, The Prisoner, I Spy, Get Smart and Mission Impossible. Spyboy #7 brought back some of those fond memories. I wonder if the father/son relationship between Spyboy and his dad Sean will ever smooth off? It's now somewhat edgy. Alex might be a teenage spy, but he is quite capable and his father doesn't realize his full potential. I wonder of Spyboy's father Sean Fleming is related to Ian? Butch's mother didn't fully comprehend Butch's question or is being evasive with the answer to the question....'is she a spy? Heavy duty and hard hitting - I hope the adventure never stops for Spyboy! Superb excellence! Name: Quantum and Woody #21 Publisher: Acclaim Comics Written by: Christopher Priest Drawn by: Oscar Jimenez/pencils Eduardo Alpuente/inks Price: $2.50 Comments: First off, the cover was quite dramatic I hate seeing Quantum all messed up like that. There is so much going on with the story. Christopher Priest knows how to keep me on my toes as the beginning takes place at Luna Watch and the realization that Quantum and Woody are separated is focused in. Umm...I don't like them separated, I want to see some linkage! I can't see Quantum walking away from the power, but he must deal with his own inner issues. This story really had me on the edge again, I really didn't know what to expect next! It was nice seeing the goat, missed the old guy. Got a big laugh at Marble Comics and the King of Comics. Woody is trying to sue the King of Comics of Marble Comics for stealing the idea of Quantum and Woody. Woody is as hilarious as always as he tries to sue for 2 billion and 47 cents. Give Woody the 47 cents and call it even. Quantum has the chance of gaining all the power that he and Woody had. Now Quantum wants to walk away from this power and give it to Warrant. Warrant being the new hero on the block and having all the power? No way - don't want to see this happen! Woody, Ruben and their female counterpart laid out the action, as they try to stop Harada. Harada is the bad guy of course with an evil plan. Woody accidentally blows up the moon....or did he? I guess I will have to wait until the next issue. Oscar Jimenez and Eduardo Alpuente did a wonderful job with the art and inking. Quantum and Woody is great entertainment, come on and jump on board, it might be a rough ride! Name: The Fashion Police #1 & #2 Publisher: Bryce Alan Publishing Written by: Bruce Alan Penn Drawn by: Kirk Manley/pencils Guillermo Zubiaga/inks Price: $2.95 Their website: http://www.fashionpoliceusa.com Their email address: Bapworld1@juno.com Their snail mail address: Bryce Alan Publishing, PO Box 3271, Farmingdale, NY 11735 Comments: Today I received Issue #2 and it was everything I wanted and more! This is a new comic book on the racks and if you have a chance, pick it up and see if the story won't hook you too! The whole creative team is exceptional in storyline and in art! I was left breathless after seeing this preview of issue #2! Dee Zynoir - former fashion designer gone whacko is a major threat to the Fashion Police. With her use of bombs, I would really hate to be one of her critics. Plenty of intrigue moves along with the story as Mika is watching the sock market and all companies are going under, except one. The feel of Big Brother is in the air as everyone is under surveillance. There is plenty of enticing moments in the story that keeps the reader hooked! Very well done! Being an action kind of guy, I absolutely enjoyed seeing Mika doing her kicks and will be looking forward to seeing how savage she can get when wounded. Very intense scene with Mika is found in #2. While Detective Styles doggedly pursues the truth, Detective Powers - FPD corners Dee and the bomb starts ticking. About this time, I was right on the edge of my seat ready to fall off wondering what will happen next! Got a kick seeing 'The Brooks Brothers' who were charged with assault and tattery. I will enjoy seeing more villain line-ups that have been past cases for the Fashion Police! Again, the artwork hit the mark - great artistic talent that is focused with perfection in mind! I love the Fashion Police: Antonia Colon, Cleopatra Styles, Sydney Powers and Mika! What a team! Name: Marvel: The Lost Generation #12 Publisher: Marvel Written by: Roger Stern & John Byrne Drawn by: John Byrne/pencils Al Milgrom/inks Price: $2.99 Comments: When the Watcher says that time has many branches to Dr. Strange, he is so correct and with this story that has gone topsy turvy, Cassandra will have her hands full in trying to get everything back into perspective! Only when there is an extraterrestrial threat would heroes and villains unite. With the Skrulls battle cruisers on the horizon every super powered being has united to fight this cause. This is something that our former president Ronald Reagan predicted. He said that if we were threatened by a outside presence, that the whole world would unite. I see that in this Marvel reality it has already happened. Cassandra has a big mystery to solve as there is a big time confusion going on. The action was non-stop as Yeti protects his Skrull woman, Templar is killed, Black Fox becomes a casualty and Effigy who is a hero in every way, turns out to be a Skrull. Even though these characters are new to me, I enjoyed watching Oxbow, who is as good as Hawkeye. Nocturne is a very cool shadowy character. I wonder if Cassandra will fix the time flow so that the FF will encounter the Skrulls like it was before? Only time will tell! Excellent issue! ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [11] My View David LeBlanc ComicBkNet@aol.com [David LeBlanc is the Editor of the Comic Book Net Electronic Magazine. He is a long time fan of comics and the electronic media - having been the moderator of BBS comics forums on WME, FIDONET and the Comic Bo