---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden Present: THE COMIC BOOK NET ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE ISSUE NUMBER 263 1999 EAGLE AWARD NOMINEE 5/5/2000 Edited by: David LeBlanc - ComicBkNet@aol.com FREE VIA EMAIL SINCE FEBRUARY 1995 ______________________________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] On the Net ............................ David LeBlanc [2] Letters to the Editor ................. Your Page! [3] TRIVIA CONTEST ........................ Win *real* prizes! [4] Network Buzz .......................... News, gossip & rumors [5] Ramblings 2000 ........................ Rich Johnston [6] HARVEY AWARD WINNERS .................. HarveyAwards.org [7] Interview:Karl Altstaetter ............ Paul Dale Roberts [8] Pond Life ............................. Paul Hayward [9] Sound & Fury .......................... Craig Lemon [10] M.O.E. Reviews ........................ Paul Dale Roberts [11] My View:CLARK'S WAY ................... 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 One of the things I have done in the past 6 months or so is to take a real hard look at the amount I was spending on comics and whether or not I was getting my money's worth. As a result, I cut out many (maybe 2/3) of the titles on my pick list purely on the criteria, "can I do without the next issue - will I miss it?" I found, with very few exceptions, that I could do just that. There is a difference between reading (and buying) everything you can get your hands on, and just keeping up the momentum of past habits. I have been a proponent of not buying out of habit and still am. It is not a good use of your resources to support products merely because you have a complete run and don't want to break it. Now, I understand the collector mentality and there are those who really need to behave this way - it is their way of life. But those of us who have the ability to choose base on logic and new information can help in our own small way to bring about change by supporting those products that we really would rather have, because they are most appealing to us and not merely the next chapter in something we should have given up long ago. As I said, I do this from time to time and when I find myself spending lots of money each week I re-examine what it is I am buying. Sometimes there are just a lot of good comics I want, other times I have gotten lazy in cutting back on my list. So now here are some things I think might be worth your time this week: DC COMICS Millennium Edition Spirit #1, 2.95 Preacher #63, 2.50 <------------Pick of the week! Silver Age #1, 3.95 IMAGE COMICS Rising Stars #7, 2.50 Savage Dragon #73, 2.95 INSIGHT STUDIOS GROUP Liberty Meadows #10, 2.95 THREE FINGER PUBLICATIONS Geeksville Vol 1 Superpack, 8.25 Three Geeks End Of Road Pack, 6.50 If I don't put out an Ezine next week it is because I hit the BIG MONEY LOTTERY for $230 Million and am on my way to some tropical paradise. Otherwise, see you in seven. 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: Bagge on Suck.com From: reynolds@fantagraphics.com (Eric Reynolds) Hello folks - Today's suck.com features a report by Peter Bagge on the quixotic Presidential campaign of Alan Keyes. Thought you might like to know! http://www.suck.com/daily/2000/05/05/index.html Best wishes, Eric +++++ Subj: FYI From: senft@worldnet.att.net (Donna Ellis € Mitchell Senft) To: ComicBkNet@aol.com David (and readers): An article in Salon about Robert Crumb: http://www.salon.com/people/bc/2000/05/02/crumb/index.html?CP=USE&DN=310 Mitchell +++++ Subj: CBEM - Letters to the Editor I From: CraigLemon Re: Correction to Sound and Fury Last issue I said that DC/Vertigo's new hope, Outlaw Nation, would be drawn by Gordon Sudzuka - mea culpa for not checking my notes more thoroughly, this should, of course, be Goran Sudzuka. Apologies to Goran for getting this wrong, and look out for the review of issue one later on in CBEM! Cheers, Craig. +++++ Subj: CBEM - Letters to the Editor II From: CraigLemon The World's Greatest Comics...Ever! Now that the UK Annual Comics Festival, Comics 2000 Bristol, has concluded, culminating in the presentation of the Eagle Awards for 2000, attention is already turning to the follow up in 2001. Provisionally assigned to Bristol again, Comics 2001 will see the return of the UK National Comics Awards with a slightly different focus to the Eagles. Rather than award prizes in various categories that have meaning only to existing comics readers, the intention is to generate interest outside of the industry by presenting awards to the World's Greatest Comics...Ever! The definition of Comics here is to be as wide as possible, from entire series, to individual storylines, to specific issues, to graphic novels, to newspaper strips, to online comics, to foreign strips, to absolutely anything published anywhere in the world that could possibly be considered "Comics". From any time period, ever. The organiser of Comics 2001, Kev F Sutherland, has authorised myself to collect the votes, with the following guidelines: - Selecting just one favourite out of the huundreds and thousands available is difficult, so you can nominate up to 5 favourites; - For each nomination, please specify why yoou've voted for that particular comic. Not looking for extensive essays, just a few lines would be great. All votes and nominations will be crunched together, hopefully to eventually form a Top 100 Greatest Comics which may spur non-readers into trying out some of the comics listed. I can't promise the final results will appear anytime soon, coming up with a top 5 will obviously take much thought, but I can say that all (printable) comments will be printed in the final list, plus all contributors will receive acknowledge of their contribution plus a copy of the final list for their perusal. The email address to send your votes and notes to is: UKNCA2001@AOL.COM Finally, although this is going to numerous mailing lists and the like, I appreciate that I've only reached the smallest part of the potential audience...please feel free to forward this email onto whichever lists or addresses you feel appropriate. I'm looking forward to receiving and collating your votes. Cheers, Craig R. Lemon. +++++ Subj: [Ultimate Art] Alberto Ponticelli website updated - 4/30/00 From: ultimateart@planet.it (Enrico Salvini, the Muffin Man) Dear Collector, just a quick line to inform you that I've updated Alberto Ponticelli website today at http://members.xoom.com/a_ponticelli/ What's new on the website? - "Sam and Twitch" artwork sneak-peek gallerry; - new "Starlight Cops" artwork sneak-peeks; - artwork from "Dead or Alive" #3 (Dark Horsse) for sale; - various artwork for sale (quite a bit of iit); - a nice reinterpretation in the commission works section. http://members.xoom.com/a_ponticelli/ What will be up next? - color works samples; - artwork from "Dead or Alive" #4 (Dark Horsse) for sale; Happy browsing, Enrico +++++ Subj: [MUSKRAT-L] Spring Break for Dork Tower... Date: 5/2/00 8:06:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time From: john@kovalic.com (John Kovalic) Due to some glitches between my publisher and the world's largest distributor, I recently discovered that Dork Tower #9 and #10 were never solicited. Yes, that's right. Gaaah. I discovered this while I was soliciting Dork Tower #11, the first Dork Storm Press Dork Tower and an August release, for June's PREVIEWS. So anyway, to make a long story short, Dork Tower #11 has been renumbered Dork Tower #9, and will ship August 1st. It will still be a Dork Storm release. In fact, the August launch of Dork Storm Press will also see Nodwick #4 ship two weeks later, on the 15th, and a SECOND Dork Tower (#10) shipping two weeks after THAT, on the 29th. Then both comics alternate, with one or the other released every month. The official Press Release will follow. Just wanted to give folks a heads-up, considering Dork Tower #9 *should* have been out in a couple of weeks... John PS. I *think* I'll be able to have Dork Tower #9 on hand for Origins and San Diego. Dork Tower #10 *may* be around for Chicago WizardWorld and GenCon... That August Release Schedule again... August 1 - Dork Tower #9 August 15 - Nodwick #4 August 29 - Dork Tower # 10 -- +++++ Subj: Hi Newest issue of Sequential Tart is up and running! From: Jencomx3@aol.com HI Gang, The newest issue of Sequential Tart is up and running at www.sequentialtart.com. The issue features TONS of interviews with some of the new comic book companies including CrossGen, Gorilla, and Infinity. We also have other cool interviews with pros like Ramona Fradon, JD Smith, and Terry LaBan. There are a bunch of cool articles by the Tarts just waiting for you to read. WE also are inviting people to CONTRIBUTE their most memorable con experiences! We are working on an article for June and would love to include your story, too! Check us out! Sincerely, Jennifer M. Contino Sales Manager for Sequential Tart jennifer@sequentialtart.com visit us today at www.sequentialtart.com +++++ Subj: Article (Revised) From: PRoberts@CSD.CA.GOV (Roberts, Paul) Superheroes and Supervillains in our Real World by Paul Dale Roberts Just recently I was discussing with a comic book aficionado on why we don't have superheroes or supervillains in our real world. I told him that in the course of our history, there have been many colorful characters that could be considered as superheroes or supervillains, due to their weaponry, bravado and costumes. For heroic groups we have the elite US Army's Special Forces aka the Green Beret, US Army's Airborne Rangers, Navy Seals, Delta Force, Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders with their long tailed coats, various police swat teams that are known to wear Ninja garb, US Air Force Blue Angels. Let's take one of these groups and discuss them somewhat in length. Let's talk about the Special Forces aka the Green Beret. The Special Forces are known to wear their camouflage uniforms, camouflage their faces with green/brown paint, use an assortment of various weapons, highly trained in many forms of hand to hand combat and martial arts. Special Forces troops are trained for airborne maneuvers such as parachuting, they have knowledge of rappelling off cliffs and side of buildings and we all know Batman is good at rappelling, they are trained for deep sea diving, sometimes these guys would make Aquaman jealous at their abilities and of course to survive off the land in jungle, forest or desert conditions. Only a few from a thousand troops make the prestigious elite Green Beret and those few can call themselves superheroes. As for supervillain type of groups we have the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) who are known to hide their faces with sunglasses and scarves, their weapons of choice are bombs, sniper rifles, grenades, land mines. Paris' Sewer Rat Gang, who were known to steal paintings, money, jewels and hid in the sewer tunnels of Paris. SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army)....look at the garb Patricia Hearst wore! KKK (Ku Klux Klan) with there mask hoods and long white robes - now that's a scary lot! A lot of various terrorist groups fit the super villain group category quite nicely. Even now the KKK has branched out to militia type of groups that go through similar training as the Special Forces, Navy Seals go through. Most of the militia white supremacist groups all wear bulletproof vests and if one didn't know better and fired a shot at them, they would think they were bullet proof. Do they fit in the super villain group category? I would think so; these are groups I wouldn't want to meet up with in a dark alley that's for sure. For superheroes we had colorful characters from Alexander the Great, King Henry VIII, Joan of Arc, Charlemagne whose choice of weapons were broad sword and shield. Looking at the armor that King Henry VIII wore would have you believe he was some sort of Ironman. The foot combat armor of 1520 that King Henry VIII wore would have you in awe. The headpiece is sturdy enough to stop an attack of a high-speed arrow to the head. The body armor would hardly receive a dent from a strong swipe of a broadsword. Sure it was hard for King Henry VIII to move around in, but he was swift on his horse and seeing him come out of fog embankment towards you, would have you or anyone else shaking in their boots. So, if someone were to ask me if King Henry VIII was a superhero, I would simply say 'yes'. Super villain types would be the notorious San Francisco Zodiac who was known to wear a mask and cape. This scandal actually wore a outfit with some kind of Zodiac sign on his chest, a cape of some sort and a strange black mask, that looked like an executioner's mask. His weapons were rope to tie the victim up and a knife for torturous purposes and a gun for a swift death. Was the Zodiac a supervillain? I would say a definitely 'yes'. Unobomber who wore his sweat top hood with sunglasses and would mail out bomb packages to people he didn't agree with. His purpose was to end mankind's technology. The Unobomber was a very nasty super villain. Australian bandit Ned Kelley (who wore armor and a facial helmet - he sort of looked like Marvel's Dr. Doom). Perhaps, we could even put the notorious Jack the Ripper into the super villain category. In the entertainment industry we have colorful wrestlers like Sting, Hulk Hogan, Vampiro, Gangrel, The Undertaker, Cain. In the music industry we have colorful musicians like Slipknot who all wear masks, KISS, Misfits, ICP (Insane Clown Posse). Other entertainment types like Evil Knievel and the Masked Magician come to mind. So if one says that we do not have superheroic or supervilliany in our own real world, he or she needs to take a closer look. +++++ Subj: Godzilla Fan Art Needed! From: Silhouet9@aol.com Peoples' Comic Book Newsletter will do a Godzilla Special Issue! We will need Godzilla Fan Art! Think big, real big! Soon the Peoples' Comic Book Newsletter will have a Godzilla Special Issue, done by staff member William Carlisle. This issue will be sent to G-Fan! So if you know how to draw the big green lizard, send your artwork to: William Carlisle, VP Peoples' Comic Book Newsletter 18 Arthur Street Methuen, MASS 01844 Also, writers can write their very own story about the big lizard. Again, send your storyline, scripts to William Carlisle! As for that fan art.... We prefer black and white inked artwork. Make sure your name is written on your artwork, so that way you are properly credited. Copies okay. Artwork will not be returned. You will get a complimentary issue of the PCBN, with your artwork published inside our 'zine. +++++ Subj: RIBguy here From: andrew@mvip.net (AMF) This is just a quick note letting you know that the RIB web site has been updated. The navigation is better and there are a few new items and links. Take care. www.rib-online.com Andrew Michael Ford creator of RIB ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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: Which of the COMIC'S GREATEST WORLD main characters made his/her initial comic debut in a non CGW comic? Michael Clark was the first to let us know that "X" made his debut in DARK HORSE COMICS #8. MECHA would also be a correct answer. He wins Superman: Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite from our sponsor. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION: Who was the first super hero to team up with Batman in BRAVE AND THE BOLD? 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 Gareb.com Receives $4 Million in Venture Capital Funding New Web Venture To Leverage Wizard Entertainment's Dominance in Pop Culture Media New York, NY — May 1, 2000. Gareb.com announced today that it has closed a first round of $4 million in financing from Portage Venture Fund and Lazard Technology Partners. Gareb.com is being incubated by New Net Companies. Gareb.com will be a Web spin-off of its parent company Wizard Entertainment Group (www.wizardworld.com). Wizard Entertainment publishes Wizard, ToyFare and InQuest Gamer, the #1 selling magazines covering comic books, action figures and collectible card games with a monthly readership of over 2 million. Wizard Entertainment also produces Wizard World Chicago, an annual 3-day multi-media convention that attracts more than 35,000 fans of comic books, toys, Star Wars, Star Trek, Pokémon, X-Men, wrestling and video games. "Today's announcement is a testament to the venture capitalists' confidence in Wizard Entertainment's leadership position. We will play a key role in the online world catering to consumers passionate about comic books and pop culture collectibles," says Gareb Shamus, president and CEO of Gareb.com. Gareb.com will use the funds secured for Web site development, personnel and marketing. "Gareb.com represents a logical expansion of Wizard's strong brand and pre-eminent position in comic books and popular collectibles," says Judy Meyer, managing director for lead investor Portage Venture Funds. "We are highly optimistic about the innumerable opportunities Gareb.com's Internet strategy will bring to what has been a very fragmented business." Portage Venture Fund specializes in early stage investing across technology, life science, and consumer products sectors. With over $125 million of capital under management in its venture funds, Portage has invested in 27 companies since its inception in 1997. Lazard Technology Partners LLC (www.lazardtp.com), the venture capital arm of Lazard Frères & Co. LLC, invests in technology companies, which are leaders in data communication Internet/intranet services, software development, telephony. The company's portfolio includes Bluestreak.com, Channelwave, Cyveillance and Essential. New Net Companies, Inc. (www.newnetco.com) is an Internet business incubator that provides mentoring and implementation services that guide start-ups through the business, technology, marketing, hiring and funding processes required to rapidly bring an Internet company to market. +++++ The official site for acclaimed comics artist P. Craig Russell (ELRIC, FAIRY TALES OF OSCAR WILDE, SANDMAN, DR. STRANGE) is now "live" at the following URL: http://www.lurid.com/sites/pcr/index.html Up now is an exclusive sneak peak at art from THE VALKYRIE, the second mini-series in PCR's adaptation of THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG, which is published by Dark Horse Comics. Fans can also talk to Craig directly at the PCR Forum. Lurid.com also features official websites for Jill Thompson (SCARY GODMOTHER, SANDMAN) and Jay Geldhof (THE LOST GRENDEL). http://lurid.com Wayne Alan Harold Lurid Entertainment | Dead Eye Design http://www.lurid.com +++++ Stan Lee Media Sues Firefighter Over Web Site, Name Los Angeles, May 5 (Bloomberg)-- Stan Lee Media Inc., an Internet and multimedia entertainment company founded by legendary ``Spider-Man'' co-creator Stan Lee, has sued San Francisco firefighter Stanley Lee in a domain name and trademark battle. Stan Lee Media, which has domain names www.stanleemedia.com and www.stanlee.net, is using the Web to present its interactive comic book and action-hero entertainment products, according to the suit. Filed May 1 in federal court in Los Angeles, the suit contends that Stanley Lee, owner of animation company Stan Lee Productions, states on a Web site, www.stan-lee.com, that the location is the ``future site of some of the best animators on the West Coast.'' The Web site and domain name infringe the Spider-Man creator's trademarked name and are likely to confuse the public, the suit says. ``Stan Lee has acquired extraordinary name recognition and celebrity status, and (the) ``Stan Lee'' trademark is famous and has acquired very strong secondary meaning in the comic book, entertainment, animation, and action-hero industries,'' the suit says. It seeks damages and asks a judge to force the firefighting Lee to surrender his domain name and e-mail address. Stanley Lee's conduct ``has caused great and irreparable injury,'' the lawsuit continues. He couldn't be immediately reached for comment. His Web site on May 5 says that he is not ``Stan Lee of Marvel Comics'' and directs viewers to www.stanlee.net -- the site of the Spider-Man creator's entertainment company. Stanley Lee's Web site also contains a photograph of two men dressed in firefighter attire and says he is the editor of the San Francisco firefighters' union newsletter. Shares of Encino, California-based Stan Lee rose 1 1/8 to 14 1/4. +++++ GMAI Live & Internet Comic Book/Comic Art Auction Realized Record $1,244,000 Over 50% of Lots Receive Internet Bids Through Amazon.com's LiveBid(TM) WEST CALDWELL, N.J., May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. (Nasdaq: GMAI) announced that its April 29, 2000, comic auction achieved record in-house sales of comic books/art at $1.244 million and set a number of world records for vintage comic books. The live floor auction was simulcast in real-time over the Internet using the Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) technology, LiveBid(TM), and successfully merged traditional and Internet bidding which yielded increased bidding activity and higher sales prices. More than 50% of all lots received Internet bids from collectors located around the world, significantly increasing bids and resulting in Internet bidders winning dozens of lots. In addition to the aggregate sales record, 93% of all lots were sold by value. The average sale exceeded pre-auction estimates by more than 40% with many lots selling for two to five times their pre sale estimates, setting numerous world records. Greg Manning, Chairman and CEO, said, "The results of our Spring 2000 Comic Book/Comic Art auction ranks us as one of the leading auction houses in that sector of the marketplace. We attribute our success to our ability to integrate Internet and traditional auction selling methods and merging our full-service model with cutting edge technology. The real-time Internet bidding in combination with our MaxBid facility was utilized by comic collectors from around the world who are able to participate in the auction, bidding competitively against in-person, absentee, and phone bidders. "The results of this auction further demonstrate that the Internet is expanding traditional collectibles markets globally in terms of new collectors and greater volume at higher prices. Those who understand eCommerce, possess the technology, brands, and internal business systems to succeed in the eWorld, will dominate the rapidly evolving global collectibles markets. We believe that we possess those assets, and that the extremely positive results achieved in this auction reflect our abilities." Auction highlights include: -- Highest winning overall bid: $28,750 for "All American Comics #16 (DC Comics, 1940)," featuring the origin and first appearance of the Green Lantern. This particular specimen was rated Fine Minus 5.5 condition by CGC. -- Highest winning Internet bid: over $4,8800, setting what GMAI believes to be a world record for "Circus #1 -- The Comic Riot 1938," rated Very Fine Plus condition by CGC. -- Highest percentages over the published esstimated value: $2,300, or more than 657% over the $350 valuation published The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (30th edition) ("Overstreet") for "The Brave and the Bold #34 (DC Comics, 1961)," rated Near Mint 9.4 condition by CGC. -- A notable sale: $9,200, or more than 495%% higher than the $1,850 valuation published by The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (30th Edition) ("Overstreet") for "The Brave and the Bold #34 (DC Comics, 1961)," rated Near Mint 9.4 condition by CGC." Record prices were achieved due to the high quality and rarity of the comics offered. In addition, this was the first major auction in which the majority of the individual comic books offered were third party graded and encapsulated by the Comics Guarantee, LLC ("CGC"). GMAI and its affiliates have been strong supporters of the independent certification and grading of coins, sports cards, comic books and diamonds to protect consumers and to promote uniformity of grade descriptions. With the recent opening of CGC, GMAI took the lead in certifying the majority of its auction lots. The certification service attracted serious new clients who appreciated the independent assessment of genuineness and quality made by CGC. Several coin dealers who are familiar with third party grading but new to the comic book world entered the comic book market and made their presence known in part because of the introduction of third party grading. The auction's major buyer was Jay Parrino, the president of "The Mint" of Kansas City, MO, who has built a national reputation as a premier professional in high-end United States coins and proper money. Mr. Parrino, who acquired many of the highest quality CGC-graded comics sold at the auction, commented, "I have watched with interest the growth of the comic book market over the past several years. Now that independent grading is available I expect this market to grow substantially in terms of price/value and the number of participants, as has happened previously in both coins and sports cards. I therefore saw a unique opportunity at the GMAI auction to acquire quality, high-grade comics at the beginning of what I consider may be another Golden Age for the hobby." For complete auction results or a full-color catalog of GMAI's Spring 2000 Comic Book/Comic Art Auction, please visit www.gregmanning.com . +++++ Sony Pictures Consumer Products and Marvel Enterprises Announce New Joint Venture - Spider-Man Merchandising L.P. CULVER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2000-- Long-Awaited Spider-Man Movie Franchise Casts its Web Around Potential Licensees at Today's Invitation-Only Summit at UCLA Sony Pictures Consumer Products (SPCP) and Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:MVL) have joined forces to create a new partnership - Spider-Man Merchandising L.P. - to oversee the expansive licensing and merchandising campaign surrounding the highly anticipated Spider-Man; The Movie slated for Fall 2001 and based on the Marvel Comics popular superhero. Under the agreement, SPCP and Marvel will equally share sales responsibilities, divided by category. The new collaboration is being announced today by Peter Dang, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Consumer Products for SPCP and Peter Cuneo, President and CEO of Marvel Enterprises, during an exclusive Spider-Man; The Movie kick-off presentation on the UCLA Campus. "The formation of this new company is necessary to maximize the potential of the built-in awareness of Spider-Man," said Dang. "By joining forces with Marvel, we can maximize on major licensing opportunities to support the movie, while leveraging the enormous worldwide popularity that has already been built. In essence, we are matching our strengths with Marvel's to ensure that the Spider-Man motion picture franchise generates the attention and excitement it deserves." Cuneo added, "This strategic and exclusive partnership allows us to explore a full range of categories for one of the world's most recognized characters. SPCP is a company that understands the unlimited potential in Spider-Man, and we are looking forward to maximizing the licensing, merchandising and branding opportunities afforded by the feature-film and this partnership." Led by hosts Dang and Cuneo, the Spider-Man; The Movie event will include more than 400 potential licensees, agents, promotional partners and retailers. Dang and Cuneo will provide detailed information on the current and projected scope of activities that will take place under the Spider-Man Merchandising L.P. banner. Marvel and SPCP will share revenues from the joint venture and have divided responsibility for pursuing each licensing category. Marvel will manage master toys, apparel, accessories, collectibles, gift and novelty, and publishing (shared). SPCP will handle back-to-school, food and beverage, health and beauty, home furnishings, domestics, housewares, party goods, stationery, sporting goods, publishing (shared), ancillary toys and video games. Spider-Man; The Movie, a Columbia Pictures film, is based on the adventures of Peter Parker, a smart yet reserved high school student who becomes The Amazing Spider-Man when bitten by a radioactive spider. Spider-Man; The Movie will be directed by Sam Raimi (A Simple Plan, The Gift, For Love of the Game). Sony Pictures Consumer Products (NYSE:SNE), based in Los Angeles, handles the merchandising and branding efforts for some of the most recognized properties in film and television. SPCP is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), whose global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home video acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities, development of new entertainment technologies and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Marvel Enterprises, Inc. is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies with operations in five divisions: licensing, toys -- via its Toy Biz division, comic book and trade publishing, entertainment and the Internet. Through the ownership of over 4,700 proprietary characters, Marvel licenses its characters in a wide range of consumer products, services and media such as feature films, television, the Internet, apparel, video games, collectibles, snack foods and promotions. Marvel's characters and plot lines are created and developed through the comic book publishing division, which maintains a leadership position in the U.S. and abroad. For additional company information visit Marvel's corporate Web site at http://www.marvel.com. Founded on the expertise of two companies, Sony Pictures Consumer Products and Marvel Enterprises, Spider-Man Merchandising L.P. was created to maximize the full potential of the Spider-Man; The Movie franchise. +++++ Can comic book hero save day for Japan politics? By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese politician Ryusuke Kaji is young, handsome and talented, an idealist working to improve the lives of his countrymen without relying on party factions or pork barrel politics to advance his cause. If he sounds too good to be true, especially in a nation where back-room politics is king, he is: He exists only in the pages of a popular comic. But a group of young Japanese lawmakers want to launch a television drama about Kaji, hoping to reverse the low opinion most Japanese have of politicians and bring disillusioned citizens out to vote in droves. Ultimately, they want to change Japanese politics itself. ``Our goal is to have a better image of those involved in politics and then to have more able and talented people enter the field,'' said Keiichiro Asao, a lawmaker from the opposition Democratic Party and one of the group's leaders. ``If you have a bad image you will have bad candidates.'' The image of politicians could hardly be worse in a year when a general election is almost certain to be held in June. While support for the government of new Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori hovers around 40 percent, disgust is widespread at the back-room machinations by which he was chosen to succeed predecessor Keizo Obuchi, felled by a stroke. Nearly half the people polled by daily Asahi Shimbun after Mori took office called the way he was picked ``inappropriate.'' There is also a general perception that politicians, many of whom inherited the job from fathers who represented the same constituency, are mainly in it for what they can get. ``It doesn't matter who leads the country,'' one middle-aged housewife said. ``They're all greedy.'' Japanese high school students recently polled about their future careers gave politics a resounding thumbs down. Some 21.4 percent of boys and 26.7 percent of girls picked it as their least desired career choice, easily beating high-rise construction work or the armed forces. ``The image of politicians is awful. It is a boring job. Their work doesn't matter,'' the survey quoted teenagers as saying. Ichita Yamamoto, another group leader and lawmaker from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which dominates the coalition government, said the group hopes to reach such people. ``There are so many who are unconcerned with politics. If we can get even one more person interested, we'll be happy.'' ENTER THE HERO In the comic, which ran in a magazine for seven years and is being issued now as a book series, Kaji, a businessman, is thrust into politics by his lawmaker father's sudden death. At first violently opposed, he is converted when he reads in his father's journal: ``Politicians must work for happiness -- a happiness not confined just to one person, one constituency or even the nation of Japan but the entire world.'' Taking this as his mantra, Kaji nobly perseveres over scores of obstacles, such as being pelted with tomatoes by constituents fearing he will sell them out. He becomes the popular leader of an opposition party and ultimately prime minister -- all without recourse to party factions or pork barrel promises. Ostentatiously handsome in a clean-cut way, with a determined thrust to his jaw, Kaji is also outspoken, unafraid to take on even the most controversial issues if it is to the nation's benefit, no matter what it might do to his career. In short, he is everything Japanese politicians are not. ``Yes, it's idealistic, but politicians are viewed so badly here that we must have a hero to counter that,'' said Asao, from the lawmakers' group. ``If it's too idealistic, that's fine.'' Kaji is not perfect: He has a small problem with women, who tend to throw themselves at his feet. ``So Kaji has his own possible scandal,'' said Asao. ``Just like Clinton.'' AN UPHILL FIGHT? Actually getting Kaji on television could be a struggle. A reputable production company has bought the rights and stations have expressed interest, but they are concerned the drama might be taken as propaganda, repelling sponsors. There is also concern that Kaji's views on touchy issues, including relations with North Korea and defense, could cause trouble if contrary opinions are not presented too. These points can be changed if needed, said Kenshi Hirokane, who drew the original comic strip. ``What we really want to show is a steadfast young politician working hard.'' The group kicked off an Internet signature drive April 20 seeking to collect 440,000 names, equivalent to viewer ratings of 10 percent, in favor of the drama and then present this to broadcasters to convince them the show would be watched. If all goes well, Kaji could be on air by April 2001. What happens after that is anybody's guess. The group hopes the drama would at least help reverse sagging voter turnout, which hit a record low of 44 percent in a 1995 Upper House poll. Turnout jumped to 59 percent in 1998 -- and brought down the government of then-premier Ryutaro Hashimoto. Asao said higher voter rates could also damage the LDP in future contests but he said this was not on the group's agenda. Kaji's appeal in fact crosses party lines. Of the seven members of the group, three each are from the LDP and Democrats and one from the New Conservative Party, a splinter group that is a member of the tripartite coalition. They are united in their hopes for a better political world where they can state their views boldly and appeal directly to voters. ``The goal of our group is to have politicians speak out more to the public rather than among ourselves,'' Asao said. ``If society welcomes politicians with their own views and visions who also really speak to the people, that is better for everyone.'' +++++ Toysrus.com Announces Exclusive Partnership With 20th Century Fox, Marvel and Toy Biz for Summer Blockbuster "X-Men" WOODCLIFF LAKE, NJ--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2000-- New Toysrus.com Channel www.toysrus.com/xmen To Offer X-Men Collectible Products, Free Downloads, Movie Previews and More Toysrus.com (www.toysrus.com), a leading retailer of children's products on the Internet, today announced an online retail partnership with the movie studio 20th Century Fox, the character-based entertainment company Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: MVL), and Marvel's toy division, Toy Biz. Toysrus.com will launch an official "X-Men" online channel called, "Marvel's X-Men Official Online Store" on May 1st that will become the premiere online retail destination for fans, kids, and collectors for the summer movie blockbuster and classic Marvel characters. As part of the agreement, Toysrus.com will carry a range of hot X-Men licensed products including collectible action figures from Toy Biz. In addition, the channel will offer X-Men fans movie trailers, links to partner sites, exclusive content including character biographies and cyber comics, free downloads of comic artwork, and a national consumer sweepstakes. "X-Men is a classic property that has an enthusiastic, worldwide base of fans," said Greg Ahearn, vice president, marketing of Toysrus.com. "This will be one of the hottest movies of the year and our goal is to create a great online experience that captures the essence of the characters. The X-Men channel will be a very powerful draw for traffic to our site." Now in its 36th year, X-Men has become the most successful comic book property of all time, with worldwide comic sales of over $400 million. Based on the popular comic book franchise, the 20th Century Fox film, "X-Men" opens on July 14th with an all-star cast including Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Ray Park, Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos. An event level marketing campaign and extensive television and outdoor advertising will support the movie. An all-new animated television series, produced by Marvel Studios will debut on the Kids WB Network this fall. "X-Men is a global phenomenon," said Peter Cuneo, CEO, Marvel Enterprises. Toysrus.com is one of the top retailers on the Internet with a brand name known around the world. The X-Men experience will translate perfectly to their channel online and will offer fans a wealth of entertainment and exciting products." "20th Century Fox has combined a great cast and story line for the first X-Men live action film", said Jeffrey Godsick, executive vice president, publicity & promotions, 20th Century Fox. "In conjunction with the launch of the movie, partnering with Toysrus.com will allow us to bring the details of one of this summer's hottest movies and product lines to all moviegoers." +++++ From the SPLASH PAGE of Comicon.com at: http://www.comicon.com/splash/ LEVITZ PULPS LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN #5! PREVIEW COPIES OF PULPED LOEG #5 SHIPPED TO SOME DEALERS! April 28: Mike Doran is reporting on Newsarama that not all copies of the LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN #5 have been destroyed, and that some have reached retailer's hands this week via DC's First Look program. The SPLASH has confirmed that at least one copy has survived in this manner. DC Publisher Paul Levitz ordered the complete print run of LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN #5 destroyed yesterday. The move was prompted by a reproduction of an actual Victorian age advertisement (see right) by the 'MARVEL CO.' for a douche syringe. The ad copy includes the word 'vaginal'. The SPLASH has received conflicting reports whether Levitz' action was prompted by the 'MARVEL' reference, use of the word 'vaginal', 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 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 he thought might be the only surviving copy of the original first printing of LOEG #5. But if reports of copies turning up in dealers hands prove accurate, he can expect some competition on e-bay, similar to the ELSEWORLDS 80 PAGE GIANT phenomena. The first copy of LOEG #5 "with censored ad intact" appeared on ebay this evening, offered by a seller in Baltimore, MD. Bidding was halted an hour later with no explanation. +++++ From Beau Yarbrough's Comic Wire at: http://www.comicbookresources.com/ GEOFF JOHNS GOES THE DISTANCE, NAMED NEW PERMANENT 'FLASH' WRITER DC Comics giveth, DC Comics taketh away. Geoff Johns, whose "Stars and STRIPES" series will be coming to a close soon, is now on the flip side of that formula: Originally named the writer for six months after Mark Waid leaves "The Flash," Johns has just been made the series' new permanent writer. "And I couldn't be happier," Johns told the Comic Wire on Sunday. "The six parter is going very well and I'll be sticking with 'The Flash' well after. There will definitely be some threads (and characters) from this story line that carry over into the monthly. I've already begun to lay out the first year and beyond with lots of intrigue, some new supporting cast, new and old villains, a NEW look and persona for Keystone City and dozens of plot twists and turns. My goal is to make 'The Flash' as strong, fast and involving as 'JSA,' [co-written by Johns]. I love the character, love the book and plan on sticking around for a good long while." +++++ From Comics2Film at http://www.comics2film.com PLATINUM STUDIOS ---------------- When it comes to comic based movies, one of the most prolific production houses is Platinum Studios. Platinum is headed up by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, the driving force behind the Men In Black movie and former publisher at Malibu Comics. Comics 2 Film spoke with Rosenberg and Platinum VP Gregory Noveck about the wide variety of projects they have in production. Fans have long been anticipating a big-screen version of Prime, the Malibu/Ultraverse muscle man who's literally just a kid at heart. "It's currently being written," Rosenberg told us. I'm executive producing that with Chuck Gordon (Rocketeer, October Sky) producing for Universal." Doug Chamberlain and Chris Webb, who scripted the planned Casper theatrical sequel, are working on the screenplay. "Not that Casper's the tone of this, by the way. We don't do that," Rosenberg assured us. "It's staying very true to the character in the comic book. So, that's looking good." Also looking sturdy is Million Dollar Heroes, based on a concept created by Rosenberg. Noveck described the story for us. "It's essentially two comic book creators who are best friends growing up but always very competitive. There's a falling out. They bet each other a million dollars to become the heroes that they've created for the next 30 days. Whoever solves the most crimes, busts the most criminals, over the 30 days wins the million bucks and gets to kill the other guy's character in the pages of the comic book. "What they don't realize and what they come to realize very quickly is that, what looks really cool and awesome and amazing in the pages of the comic book may be woefully impractical in real life. "So, there'll be scenes of one character whose like sort of a big tech guy with all this gear and armor and all that stuff. His name's Gear Head. He puts it all on and he just tips over." The screenplay for this project is in the early draft stages and currently being written by fan-favorite Paul Dini (Batman Beyond). Michael De Luca at New Line is firmly behind the project as well. "What's nice about it is De Luca and Brian Witten, both over at New Line, are working with us on it," Rosenberg explained. "We actually set it up kind of in a strange manner. We didn't pitch it. We were just in the middle of a casual get-together with Mike and we were just talking about some of the things we were working on. He fell in love with it. He essentially said, 'I'm buying it, you're not talking to anyone.'" Mining the world of European comics led the pair to Nathan Never, a futuristic cop concept. The movie is being written by Walter Beck and Peter Nelson, who collaborated on the upcoming film Buying the Cow. "Nathan Never's at Dreamworks. The Tone of the movie is 48 Hours in the future," Rosenberg told Comics2Film. Noveck expanded on the concept; "It's definitely a buddy action movie with Nathan being a late 21st century maverick cop. He's a throwback to the 20th century. The future is high-tech. It's not the dystopia of Blade Runner. It's a little more like today just extrapolated. He thinks that all this technology sort of dehumanizes people. He'd rather wear a 45 than a blaster." Prime, Million Dollar Heroes and Nathan Never are just three of many concepts in the works at Platinum. Tune in next week for more interesting revelations from Rosenberg and Noveck. MAI: THE PSYCHIC GIRL --------------------- Comics 2 Film checked in with No Prisoners, Todd Moyer's production company, about the long in-development Mai: The Psychic Girl. We asked if the project is still in active development. "More than that," we were told by a representative of No Prisoners. "Sony Family Entertainment will be making that picture." According to our source SFE is trying to fast-track the movie, which currently has a script by Larry Wilson (Ash). The studio is actively seeking a director for the project with an eye towards a 2000 production start. Todd Moyer was a producer on several comic-based movies in the early and mid-90's, including The Mask, Time Cop and Barb Wire. He's been working for several years to bring Mai to the big screen. No other names are currently attached to the project. STATIC SHOCK! AND X-MEN: EVOLUTION ---------------------------------- FROM 4-COLOR REVIEW: Steve Gerding at the 4-Color Review website sent a special gift over for Comics 2 Film readers. 4CR recently ran a preview of the new animated shows on the Kids WB! schedule. Among the images are two that are likely to be of interest to C2F readers. The first image is from the upcoming Static Shock! show. The other is from the X-Men: Evolution animated program. In both cases, character designs have been altered from the comic book source material...but they still look pretty cool. Check out 4CR for the complete WB preview. http://4colorreview.com/ X-MEN ----- FROM THE OFFICIAL SITE: Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine in the X-Men movie, talked to fans via an online chat at the Official X-Men Website last Wednesday. The transcript from the chat is now available at that site. Here are some interesting excerpts from the chat. Regarding the pressure of playing a character so revered by so many fans: " I always thought of an actor that to play someone alive and famous was the greatest challenge. But now I know otherwise. Yes, it was daunting. And at the same time, quite an honor." Regarding what interested him in the part: " I didn't know X-Men growing up in Australia, even though there are a lot of fans there. However, I didn't really know Wolverine at all. But reading the script, regardless of the comic strip...was too good to turn down. Also, Bryan singer as a director and the fantastic cast...made it so there wasn't even a choice." Regarding working with Ian McKellan (Magneto) and Patrick Stewart (Professor X): "They're two of the greatest actors alive today. And I knew of their work as Shakespearean actors from years ago. To actually work with them, I had to kind of forget that I was a little bit in awe and remember that as Wolverine, I couldn't give a stuff who they were. There was one scene with Patrick where he was showing my character around the school...and it finished with a long monologue about why the school existed. And, the director let him do the scene 6 times. It took about a minute and a half long, and after the 6th tape.. I thought each one was so brilliant and different...'Why would he have him do it again?' Then, Brian said I want one more.... Not because he needed one more...it was just because they were all so brilliant, I wanted to make sure it wasn't a fluke! He was amazing." Regarding the special effects behind Wolverine's Claws: "When the claws are retracted, or coming out, they're an element of CGI. For shots when they START out and FINISH out, they're real. Hard metal. And I have the scars to prove it: one on my forehead, one on my knee, one on the Mystique double's arm...On the trailer, the extreme close-up of my eye and the claws coming out is all real. It's a constructed arm with claws extending." Regarding Jackman's own combat abilities and how it effected his character: "I do have a stunt double for some things, when you see the movie you'll see the double back flip...landing on his face. "But I did as much as my body could handle. I've done a lot of fights before on stage, and in movies...so I've had quite a lot of training. I even have a Stage Combat certificate somewhere. But we did a lot of training in the specific style in which Wolverine would fight. We wanted him to have his own style, and the closest I can liken it to is a street fighters. Not pretty, but effective. Much like how Mike Tyson exploded in the boxing circuit...that's the spirit of wolverine." Regarding dance-partner Tyler Mane: "Tyler Mane, who played Sabretooth, was amazing. He actually had done 11 years of professional wrestling. What was incredible was how he'd punch and kick...he'd JUST hit me each time. It was uncanny. He was quite the pro." Regarding the comics as source materials: "I read a lot of the comics when I first got cast. Which admittedly was quite late. They'd even already started shooting by then. I drew a lot of inspiration from the artwork itself, which I just found to be so expressive and economical and smart. And finding Wolverine's physicality was easier after reading them. Things like the tilt of a head, or positions during fighting...arm positions. I found it fantastic. A lot of his history in the comics filled out the reasons why he is like he is. Which does get explored in the movie. "I also rejected the nude scenes in the snow. It looked great in the drawings but at -46 degrees, no thanks. I can't really remember rejecting anything else. I even brought in the occasional 'bub', but hopefully they'll be more than 1 X-Men movie, so we can explore quite a lot." Regarding Wolverine's healing factor: "Put it this way, Full Face healing happens...and then later, from the major fight....with Sabretooth...my healing factors really come into play. Heavily." Regarding director Bryan Singer: " Bryan was just fantastic. He's something of a genius. Very exact about what he wants. Very smart and intellectual, and never compromised the integrity of the script and series. The film is never 2 dimensional. It's never stereotypical. The characters are well thought out ,and he insisted on 150 % commitment and development. It HAD to be that way. And he pushed everyone of us. "He was wonderful to work with. The beauty of working with Bryan is that his films always are smart and they make sense, regardless of special effects. So when I saw cut footage of certain scenes with green screen and some F/X not even there, it was still interesting and fantastic, brilliant to watch. So I can only imagine what it will be like with the special effects at the end." At the end of the chat Jackman promised to do another one when the movie comes out. The moderator of the chat also told fans that Ray Park, who plays Toad, and the Production Designers for the movie will be chatting at the website some time in May. http://www.x-men-the-movie.com/ More X-MEN ---------- FROM COMING SOON!: The Coming Soon! website has scored a piece of production artwork from the X-Men movie. That website has unveiled a 4 second animatic video which provides an animated story board for the movie. The segment shown is a brief cut of the Statue of Liberty battle scene between Wolverine and Sabretooth. At the time of this writing, the Coming Soon! site was working on their server and we couldn't see the clip. However, the X-Fan website is also displaying the animatic (which is where we saw it in the first place). http://www.comingsoon.net/ http://www.fandom.com/x-men/ FROM HAPPY PUPPY: Finally, we have more merchandising news from X-Fan. Their recent report on Marvel themed video games indicates that the upcoming X-Men game will have loose ties to the movie. X-Fan cites the Happy Puppy game site as their source. Marvel Interactive V.P. of consumer products, Nancyanne Volpe made these comments about the game, "The first game will be X- Men: Mutant Academy. That`s coming out in June. It has elements from the movie, but it`s not completely movie. It really is training to become a member of the X-Men. You train in the Xavier School`s Danger Room. It will be available on all platforms including PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy." The training provided in the Academy will server gamers well. Volpe told Happy Puppy that a follow-up game called X-Men: Mutant War will debut in November. "That will be an action-adventure game where you can use the characters you developed from Mutant Academy. That will be tied in with the home video release of the movie." http://www.happypuppy.com/features/interviews/marvel-in-1.html Still More X-MEN ---------------- FROM CINESCAPE: Cinescape ran a report on recent comments made by Tom Rothman of 20th Century Fox regarding the X-Men movie. Citing a Hollywood Reporter article by Martin Grove, Cinescape reports that Rothman said of the movie's chances for success, "The reason that X-Men has been the largest-selling comic book in the world for almost two decades is the themes within it. It's for that reason that we believe -- and I've seen the picture - that X-Men moves the bar forward in terms of what the sci-fi experience has been. It's not a traditional comic book movie in that way. It's very thematic, very resonant. It's character driven, at the same time being very exciting. For that reason, we look at it as a broadly playable science fiction action adventure experience. And it's a PG-13 movie. So it should have playability across a broad, broad age and sex range." Rothman goes on to talk about the concepts appeal, "The reason it always appeals to people is it deals with very real themes because every person from eight to 80 has felt at some time alone and separate. So it has a very strong character base." http://www.cinescape.com/ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ FROM CINEMENIUM: Fans eager to see the theater lobby banners that are set to adorn showings of the upcoming X-Men movie need look no further than the Cinemenium website. That site is displaying nine of the reported ten banners that have been shipped to film houses throughout the country. http://www.cinemenium.com/x-men/ FROM WIZARD WORLD: Need more X-Men eye candy? The Wizard website has a few new stills including a dramatic shot of Wolverine, claws extended, as well as a close-up of Rogue sporting you-know-what. http://www.wizardworld.com/ FROM IGN: Meanwhile, our old pal Stax kicked off his new IGN column The Stax Report with an exclusive review of the X-Men final shooting script. http://filmforce.ign.com/stax FANTASTIC FOUR -------------- FROM DAILY VARIETY: A little over a week an internet buzz began indicating that the Fantastic Four movie may be showing signs of moving forward. Additional reports this week seem to support the notion that a Fantastic Four flick may be in our near-future. On Friday, Daily Variety reported on a major television development deal for FF producer Chris Columbus. The article states that several Columbus films are to be released by 20th Century Fox over the next year. The projects named are Monkeybone, The Interpreter and Fantastic Four. http://www.variety.com/ FROM CINESCAPE: Meanwhile, syndicated columnist Cindy Pearlman interviewed director Raja Gosnell for her new Cin City at the Cinescape website. Gosnell has long been attached as the director of Fantastic Four. "It's in the future," Gosnell told Pearlma about the movie. "It's such a big project that we're really taking the time to get it right." Comments from Chris Columbus about the movie will be found in the May/June issue of Cinescape magazine. http://www.cinescape.com/ ALLEY CAT --------- FROM WIZARD: Patrick Sauriol's Trailers column in the recent 105th issue of Wizard magazine reveals new details about the movie version of Alley Baggett's comic heroine Alley Cat. According to the report, the movie is in production with Mindfire Productions and is set to film in New Orleans this August. Matt Hawkins, who writes the comic, is penning the script. The movie will be directed by Greg Aronowitz whose done special effects work for The Lost World: Jurassic Park among others. http://www.wizardworld.com/ +++++ From The Daily Buzz at http://www.mania.com/newsarama/index.html Witchblade TV Film Moved Up TNT announced today that they are rescheduling the Witchblade two hour television film to August 27th at 8 PM. Originally planned for a mid-October release, according to Top Cow, "TNT has moved it up based on favorable reaction by all parties to an early cut of the film. Advertising and marketing will begin in early summer with plans for an aggressive campaign encompassing TV, print and outdoor.” Top Cow will be releasing a special photo cover of Witchblade #1 featuring Yancy Butler as Witchblade that will be available via quick solicit through Diamond Dateline in the next few weeks. Photo posters and other related merchandise will be produced by TNT¹s licensed affiliates and Top Cow to coordinate with the launch of the film. +++++ From Newsarama; http://www.AnotherUniverse.com/newsarama WINNER OF THE 1997 & 1998 INTERNET "SQUIDDY" FOR BEST WEB SITE MEET EW's COMIC BOOK MAN Over the last few months comics fans have become encouraged by a series of comic book reviews in Entertainment Weekly's Books section, including most recently a review of Devin Grayson and Yvel Guichet's DC limited series Relative Heroes. For comics readers concerned with the current slumping state of the industry/direct market, the EW reviews represent not only what's rather rare regular attention for the industry in the mainstream press, but ideally a small step in the right direction for acceptance of comics in mainstream American culture as a legitimate form of art and entertainment for adults as well as children and teens. Newsarama decided to catch up with the writer responsible for the recent rash of reviews, Entertainment Weekly staff writer, Jeff Jensen, to get the story behind the story. Jensen, who's been with EW since late 1998 works on the magazine's film staff, primarily writing about the film industry, including production stories, celebrity profiles (Natalie Portman most recently) and marketing. Jensen does not hold the title of critic at EW, and his first review, of Brian Michael Bendis' Fortune and Glory #1 came about because the series was about the film industry, making it of interest to the EW staff and to their readers. "As for all the comic reviews that have followed, I merely asked if I could review them, and our Books editor Tina Jordan said yes,” explained Jensen. "In truth, EW is staffed by a number of passionate comic book fans, and from what I understand, our magazine has always been interested in writing more reviews. In fact, I wouldn't be too surprised if you see other writers here take a crack at reviews in the future, depending on their time and interest.” Jensen's own love of comics goes back to his early youth. In fact, he cites comics as the source for his interest in all popular culture. "You can say it was my gateway drug,” he said. “I learned to read with Justice League of America. The seminal entertainments of my youth were Star Wars and the Dark Phoenix saga. In the 1980s, American Flagg! and Swamp Thing showed me comics could be more than superhero junk. Yet with that said, Frank Miller's Daredevil run and Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons' Watchmen rank among the best comics I've ever read. Since high school, I've become a very picky reader, and I definitely am not the kind of fan that will read just anything. Nothing is better than a great comic, but few things are worse than a comic that wastes your time, and most of them, I find, waste your time. “ Ironically, Jensen tell us he himself has contributed to wasting the time of America's youth, having co-written what he calls several "flawed issues" of the now defunct Team Titans series from DC during the early 1990s with his good friend Phil (Wonder Woman) Jimenez. "I'm just grateful that they didn't do lasting damage to his now red-hot career,” said Jensen. "Maybe someday, I'll get another chance to write comics, but I'm also willing to accept that being a comics scribe is just not my calling.” Citing From Hell, Planetary and Eightball as the best comics he's read over the last several years, the writer recognizes the attention his reviews have gotten from comics fans and the encouragement they have received from them and why, But while he said EW takes this seriously, Jensen explained the reviews do not come from an intention to be an advocate and cheerleader for the comic book industry. “I know that's how the reviews are being perceived, but the truth is, we come from a place where the legitimacy of comics as art is assumed, and go from there. Then again, this is just my take on things.” And while he does think exposure in mainstream pop culture magazines helps the comic book industry, with that said he also adds that "magazines try to give their readership what they want", so it might be that EW, Rolling Stone and Spin, etc., are merely preaching to the converted. “I think the two recent pieces in Time might have a great impact - the review of Eightball, and Joel Stein's piece on Joe Sacco's Safe Area Gorazde from Fantagraphics - because it just reaches a wider, non-comics reading audience. I don't know. I think it's generational, and I think today's teens, 20somethings and 30somethings and teens have a greater appreciation for comics than their elders and will take that genre passion deeper into years than their elders.” As for the future of EW and comics, Jensen reports that he'd like to review more comics and will try to do so a couple times a month, "depending on the time available and worthiness of the project". "I'd love to be able to review Eightball, the From Hell collection, Alan Moore's ABC line and Chris Claremont's return to the X-Men in the coming weeks and months, though the final call on which reviews we run will depend on our editors.” WORD ON THE STREET - Former Dark Horse Star Wars and Tarzan ediitor Peet Janes has joined the editorial staff of humor magazine Cracked as its Managing Editor, as part of an entirely new editorial staff for the publication. - Marvel readers looking forward to the retuurn of Steve Englehart with this July's Hellcat limited series from Marvel will be glad to learn he's already got more projects for Marvel in the works. The veteran writer reports he's working on a project entitled Big Town, which will debut this coming November, though details are being kept under wraps. Englehart also reports he has a new Batman project "in the works", though its current status is currently up in the air. Englehart explained: “I was asked, over a year ago, to write a prestige format Batman project. In my unspoken agenda to do all the major Batman villains, I created a new Mad Hatter. This one is a more 21st century guy - he finds physical freaks and drives a neural transmitter (looks like a nail) deep into their brains. This is like the most powerful drug in the world - they are completely addicted - because it makes them believe they are handsome and whole and having great adventures. When in fact they're helping him in his crimes. Each of these nails is topped by, for the guys, a little cowboy hat, and for the girls, a little nurse's cap. And while the recent editorial and creative changes in the Bat-office over the last year and 1/2 might have resulted in some miscommunication between DC and Englehart, DC explained they never ceased developing or publishing Prestige projects. "We select the best format for each individual project. Since the format isn't final until the time of solicitation, it's subject to discussion. Admittedly, this one seems to have involved more discussion than usual..." NEWSARAMA-LUTION It's been almost a full three years since Newsarama joined the AnotherUniverse.com family, and we've been plugging away ever since as a featured Mania co-star every Friday and on weekdays in the Daily Buzz. And now, we're pleased to announce that in the grand tradition of The Jeffersons, Rhoda, Frasier and AfterM*A*S*H (well, three outta four ain't bad), Newsarama will be spinning-off into our own website beginning next month (we'll be announcing the date in the coming weeks) - a brand new comics magazine called Comics Newsarama, as part of Fandom's (http://www.fandom.com) network of comic book, animation, fantasy, science fiction and horror domains. Comics Newsarama will be a co-venture between my partner-in-crime over the last 3 years, journalist Matt Brady and me, Newsarama creator Michael Doran. In addition to our regular assignment as contributors to Comics Buyer's Guide, between the two of us we've written for just about every major comics publication in the industry, including - Wizard: The Comics Magazine, Comics Retailer, the former Marvel Vision and Marvel Magazines, Previews, Comics International_and we've even contributed a thing or two to a few Marvel and DC Comics here and there, if you know where to look. We hope to bring that experience and enthusiasm for the industry and the artform to the new website and Comics Newsarama's new expanded focus. We'll be announcing details of the new site in the coming weeks, and while our bread & butter will of course still be up-to-the-minute industry news, we also plan on being much more than that – a unique and innovative comprehensive comics magazine. We'll be joined by some names and faces we'll reveal soon that we hope pique your interest, maybe by an old friend or two, and we hope to create some new and original ways to bring readers the best the internet comics community has to offer. But don't go changing your hot lists just yet, Newsarama will still be found right here at Mania for a while to make the transition a smooth one. So stay tuned for further details in the next few weeks as we let ya know when we launch, and what to expect when we do_ Satana Returns Sans Ellis by Michael Doran, Newsarama In what he calls his "first and last comment on the matter", writer Warren Ellis has responded to a story in the new issue of Wizard suggesting Marvel is looking to "resurrect" his scuttled Satana ongoing series for their short-lived Strange Tales line from 1997-’98, as a new, non-code project, as part of the publisher's recent experiment with non-code titles that began with The Punisher. In a story on his website (www.warrenellis.com) entitled "Exhuming", Ellis recounts the history of the series and why he cancelled it before issue #1 ever hit the stands. Initially meant to be a non-code/Mature Readers book (the entire Strange Tales line, including Man-Thing and Werewolf By Night, was intended to be published non-code) that would allow Ellis "serious creative freedom", the writer pulled the plug on the series when a new Marvel management regime - that took over in midst of their financial reorganization of that period and after work on Satana and Strange Tales began - decided all Marvel books had to be code-approved, ignoring promises made to Ellis. "Just for a laugh, Ralph [editor Ralph Macchio] submitted Satana #1, which was completed and ready to go to print, to the Comics Code,” remembers Ellis. "We all expected the photocopied edition to come back covered in notes, as it always did to Marie Javins when I did Hellstorm and Druid. This time, there were no scribbles, just a letter with it. It read, and I paraphrase: `we cannot suggest any changes that would make this work suitable for humans, other than that it be completely rewritten and redrawn'. I'm kind of proud of that.” Reiterating statements he's made in the past, the writer goes on to say Marvel editorial "behaved excellently" regarding the matter, and instead of publishing the series in "censored and compromised form", he decided it wouldn't be published at all, and that Bob Harras stood up for his decision. As a few years passed, the matter still bugged him, and feeling the ideas he came up with for the series were really interesting and wanting to get them out of his system, he transplanted the basic ideas of the story, surgically removing the specific Marvel characters and references, and it became his 1999 Avatar Press series, Strange Kiss. Now Marvel, under a different management from the one that killed the non-code line, wants to further test the Mature Readers waters and will start with material they have including Ellis' Satana series, which already had one issue and nearly a second completed. Macchio asked Ellis to come back and finish the story, but having already told Marvel that he would never finish the project, Ellis declined. And though Macchio and Harras learned of the Strange Kiss connection, the decision to finish the project as a mini-series and publish it had been made. According to Ellis, not having a full synopsis of that first Satana arc, Marvel has hired John Ostrander to complete the initial story with his own ending, "with no notion of what I intended to do" "I'm looking forward to seeing what he does, actually. Weird situation, but John is a very inventive writer whom I don't think has been terribly well-served by the venues for his writing of late.” Readers can check out the full Ellis account at www.warrenellis.com Johns & Unzueta Named Regular Flash Team Michael Doran, Newsarama DC Comics has confirmed that the creative team of writer Geoff (JSA) Johns and Angel (Sins Of Youth: Kid Flash & Impulse) Unzueta have been named the new regular creative team of The Flash. The team's first issue (#164), which was originally to begin a 6-issue interim stint before they were named the new regular team, is slated for a July release. Nodell Going After Green Lantern Rights Matt Brady, Newsarama Spencer Nodell, son of Green Lantern creator Marty Nodell confirmed for Newsarama that his father is in talks with copyright attorney Arthur Levine (who also represents the Siegels in their attempts to regain half of the copyrights to Superman from DC Comics) in regards to terminating the transfer of copyright Nodell made for the character to National Periodical Publications decades ago. "There's really not much to say,” the younger Nodell told Newsarama. "Mr. Levin has our paperwork and is handling the matter for us. There are some differences between it and the Superman case and some similarities, but we're all hoping for the best.” Mignola Talks Hellboy Matt Brady, Newsarama Mike Mignola reported that his upcoming Hellboy miniseries, The Conqueror Worm, which was originally due out late this year, probably won't see print until sometime next year. Mignola said that the reason was mainly due to a move from Portland back to New York City that won't allow him to devote sufficient time to the project. Schultz on Xenozoic's Future Matt Brady, Newsarama While fans have been left wondering if Mark (Superman: The Man of Steel) Schultz will ever get back to his creator-owned Xenozoic Tales, Schultz did tell fans at the Pittsburgh Comicon that he's looking at returning to his world of Cadillacs and dinosaurs, albeit in a different form. "I'm starting to work on a Xenozoic Tales novel,” Schultz told Newsarama. "Right now, let's face it, the comic book market won't support the comic book version of Xenozoic Tales, so I'm experimenting with turning it into a series of adventure fiction novels. We'll see if there's interest from publishers when I have things rolling, so who knows? We may see a return of Xenozoic Tales sooner than later.” Chris Sprouse On Tom Strong Matt Brady, Newsarama Chris Sprouse told Newsarama at the Pittsburgh Comicon that Tom Strong's new, bimonthly schedule is already working wonders for his schedule on the book. "With the decision to go bi-monthly, I was suddenly a full month ahead,” Sprouse said. "Thanks to that, we've got two full issues in the can right now, and knock on wood, we should stay on schedule for the foreseeable future.” Sprouse also added that the July-solicited Tom Strong hardcover will feature at least 15 pages of new material, mostly character sketches and designs for Tom, Tesla, King Solomon and the rest of the cast. The cover of the hardcover was painted by Jose Villarrubia, while Sprouse provided an all-new illustration featuring the entire Tom Strong cast for the volume's back cover. And of special note to hardcore Alan Moore fans, the volume's dust jacket also features an all-new photo of Moore, one that was taken in the daylight and in color. Yes, his hair is still as long as it ever has been. Cartoon Books to Produce Own Figures Matt Brady Newsarama Jeff Smith took to opportunity of a panel discussion at the Pittsburgh Comicon to announce that Cartoon Books has ceased its action figure production deal with ReSaurus, and will begin to produce its own action figures, with debut targeted for the end of this year. The line of figures, which will tie in closely with the movie, is slated to include Phoney Bone, Gran'ma Ben and the Hooded One. Other figures are already in the planning stages for the second release, including King Dok and the Red Dragon. The new figures will be the same scale as the original Bone figures produced by ReSaurus, and some accessories will be able to be used by different figures within the two lines. Cartoon Books will have prototypes of all three new figures at San Diego Comicon International. +++++ From the DCOnline newsletter; http://www.dccomics.com/newsletter.html To subscribe, or for questions or comments about the DC newsletter, please email DCWebSite@aol.com. THE SANDMAN: THE DREAM HUNTERS NOMINATED FOR 1999 HUGO AWARD DC is proud to announce that THE SANDMAN: THE DREAM HUNTERS was nominated for a 1999 Hugo Award in the category of "Best Related Books". THE SANDMAN: THE DREAM HUNTERS, a lush hardcover collaboration between Gaiman and artist Yoshitaka Amano, was released last year to mainstream and critical acclaim. This is the second mainstream science fiction/fantasy award honor that Neil Gaiman's THE SANDMAN has received, the first being the World Fantasy Award for 1990's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" from THE SANDMAN #19. "It's a tremendous honor to be nominated and to be read," said Neil Gaiman, writer of THE SANDMAN: THE DREAM HUNTERS. Illustrator Yoshitaka Amano added, "To be considered for such an esteemed award is an incredible privilege." The most prestigious award given in the world of science fiction/fantasy letters, the Hugo Awards were named in honor of Hugo Gernsback, "The Father of Magazine Science Fiction," as he was described in a special award given to him in 1960. The Hugo Award is sponsored by World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) and administered by the committee of the World Science Fiction Convention. Executive Editor -- Vertigo Karen Berger (who edited THE DREAM HUNTERS) noted, "It's wonderful to be nominated for the pre-eminent science fiction and fantasy literary award. It's the first time since WATCHMEN that a graphic novel has been recognized, and for that we are truly thrilled." ********** DC COMICS WINS 4 HARVEY AWARDS FOR 1999 The 1999 Harvey Awards were presented at Pittsburgh Comicon on Friday, April 28th, and DC-affiliated talent collected four of the coveted trophies named for the late, great cartoonist, comics writer, editor and creator of MAD, Harvey Kurtzman. And the winners are: Best Writer: Alan Moore (THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN) Best Anthology: TOMORROW STORIES Best Domestic Reprint Product: DC Archive Series Best Graphic Album of Original Work: BATMAN: WAR ON CRIME In addition, Sergio Aragones was the recipient of the Special Award for Humor in Comics. Congratulations to everyone involved in these fine projects. THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN BUMPER COMPENDIUM #1 (STAR 09243) and #2 (STAR 10274) are available for reorder from Diamond and the much-anticipated issue #5 (FEB00 0188) arrives in comic-book stores next week. BATMAN: WAR ON CRIME (STAR 10280) and TOMORROW STORIES #1 (JUN99 0180) #2 (JUL99 0164), #3 (AUG00 0234), #4 (SEP99 0194), #5 (OCT99 0229), #6 (NOV99 0159), and #7 (JAN00 0259) are all still available for reorder. The extensive library of DC ARCHIVE SERIES are all currently available through Diamond's STAR system. Make sure your store has copies of all of DC's finest work on display! GIL KANE MEMORIAL SERVICE The memorial service for Gil Kane will take place this Friday, May 5th, at 4:30 pm in the 8th floor auditorium of the Time-Life Building (located at 1271 Avenue of the Americas, between 50th & 51st Streets). THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN ADDED TO TV LAND'S REGULAR LINEUP Following a successful 2-day TV Land marathon earlier this month, the 1950s television series THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN starring George Reeves will be added the TV LAND's regular schedule. These classic adventures will air on Saturdays and Sundays at 4:00am ET beginning on May 6th. CLASSIC GREEN ARROW APPEARANCE TOPS MILLENNIUM VOTING; NEXT ROUND BEGINS ON-LINE In the latest round of on-line voting for DC Comics Millennium Editions, THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #85 -- the historic issue by writer Bob Haney and artists Neal Adams that introduced the new, bearded look for Green Arrow Oliver Queen -- eked out a narrow victory over BATMAN #251, and will solicited as a MILLENNIUM EDITION in Previews Volume X, No. 7 for publication in September. Voting has already begun for the next MILLENNIUM EDITION set to be selected by visitors to the DC Comics website. Retailers and their customers are encouraged to visit www.dccomics.com to select from the following choices: ALL-AMERICAN COMICS #16 Written by Bill Finger, Jon Elby, Robert L. Ripley, Bud Fisher, Gene Byrnes, Sheldon Mayer, Edwin Alger, Jerry Siegel, and Art Helfant; art by Martin Nodell, Shelly Moldoff, Elby, Fisher, Byrnes, Ripley, Alger, Mayer, Carl H. Claudy, Don Shelby, Jon L. Blummer, Harry Lampert, Helfant, and Stanley Aschmeier; cover by Moldoff Alan Scott, comics' first Green Lantern, made his unforgettable debut in this 1940 title that also featured stories showcasing Red, White and Blue, Hop Harrigan and Sheldon Mayer's classic boy hero Scribbly, plus Mutt & Jeff, Ripley's Believe It Or Not and more. ADVENTURE COMICS #61 Written by Gardner Fox, Jerry Siegel, Howard Purcell, Ray McGill, Henry Boltinoff, Jack Lehti, T.C. O'Neil, and Ken Firch; art by Jack Burnley, Purcell, Boltinoff, Lehti, McGill, Boltinoff, Bernard Baily, Ed Moore, Chad Grothkopf, and Creig Flessel; cover by Burnley JSA member Ted Knight -- aka the original Starman -- made his first appearance in this 1941 issue that also included tales of the Sandman, Hour- Man, Paul Kirk -- Manhunter, the Minute Men of America, adventurer Mark Lansing of Mikishawm, Jerry Siegel's "Federal Men," and others. BAT LASH #1 Written by Sergio Aragones and Denny O'Neil; art by Nick Cardy The devil-may-care Western hero known as Bat Lash took center stage in his own title for the first time in this 1968 issue. FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL #8 Written by Mike Grell; art and cover by Grell Readers encountered Travis Morgan, the Warlord, and the mysterious land of Skartaris for the first time in this 1975 issue showcasing the talents of writer/artist Mike Grell. SHOWCASE #37 Written by Robert Kanigher; art and cover by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito The malleable characters known as the Metal Men were introduced in this 1962 issue, as was their inventor, the brilliant Doc Magnus. Voting ends on May 30. The winning candidate will be reprinted in a MILLENNIUM EDITION in October and will be offered in Previews Vol. X, No. 8. THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN ADVENTURES/BATMAN BEYOND EPISODE SCHEDULE Warner Bros. Animation has supplied DC with the following air schedule for the animated The New Batman/Superman Adventures and Batman Beyond on the WB Network, airing Saturday mornings and on weekday afternoons. All times are Eastern and Pacific: 5/6/00 (8:00 am) --"New Kids in Town" (Superman) 5/6/00 (10:30 am) -- "The Winning Edge" (Batman Beyond) 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) Be advised that this schedule is subject to change. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Ramblings 2000 Rich Johnston twisting@hotmail.com [Renamed for the new year, Ramblings 2000 continues to spread confirmed and unconfirmed news and rumours. It welcomes comment, especially comment that clarifies, refutes and corrects information already disseminated. Rich Johnston is an advertising copywriter, co-self publisher of Twist And Shout Comics, BBC comedy writer and comics columnist. He currently lives in South London, England. His column can be found online at: http://www.twistandshoutcomics.com All Ramblings e-mail received will be considered public domain and may be quoted.] This column is RUMOUR. Do not take anything here seriously. These RUMOURS are presented here as GOSSIP for their ENTERTAINMENT value. Dateline: 28 Apr 2000 Those Creative Juices... Still working on a Bristol report, though I'd send you all a little titbit first. You probably all now know that League Of Extraordinary Gentleman issue 5 has been disposed of by the man they're calling Mad Pulper Paul Levitz. Some sites are reporting that Alan Moore (now apparently changing his name to Alan Marvel-Vagina according to www.comicon.com/splash) received the only copy of the first print. It's not true. Good friend of Ramblings, Joel Meadows has also received a copy, in the post this morning. Hardline fans can e-mail him at joeltrip@aol.com... though I reckon you're going to be looking at $500-$1000 if you ask me... remember, the Elseworld 80 page giant reached $300 and there were thousands of them and hey, why not check out http://www.kryptonkomics.com for news on his Tripwire magazine. Joel very kindly scanned in the offending visual in question. Here it is in all it's vaginal glory... ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [6] 2000 Harvey Award Winners harveyawards@hotmail.com HARVEY AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED Pittsburgh, PA, April 29, 2000 — JEFF SMITH, CHRIS WARE, MIKE MIGNOLA, and ALAN MOORE were the big winners at the thirteenth annual HARVEY AWARDS ceremony April 28th, held at the PITTSBURGH COMICON. One of the comic book industry's longest-running and most prestigious awards, the Harveys recognize outstanding achievements in comics and sequential art. The Harveys are the only industry awards in which both the nominees and the winners are selected by the full body of comics creators. This year was the first in which the Harvey Awards ceremony was held at the Pittsburgh Comicon, which experienced record attendance over its three days. The ceremony featured several innovations, including a special recognition of the many important cartoonists and comics writers who passed away since the last ceremony. Harvey Awards chairman DENIS KITCHEN and Fantagraphics co-publisher KIM THOMPSON eulogized 20 artists, including GIL KANE, EDWARD GOREY, and CHARLES SCHULZ, against a backdrop of images from their life and work. The awards are named in honor of HARVEY KURTZMAN. Kurtzman was an industry innovator best known for creating "MAD" magazine in 1952; he is also known for his groundbreaking war comics and the long-running Playboy strip "Little Annie Fanny." Kurtzman is remembered as a brilliant editor who discovered and nurtured a wide array of talent, including ROBERT CRUMB, GILBERT SHELTON, TERRY GILLIAM, and GLORIA STEINEM. Late in life he modestly referred to himself as the "father-in-law of underground comix" in recognition of the reverence in which he was held by generations of cartoonists. Kurtzman's pervasive and lasting influence was the subject of the keynote address, delivered by Jeff Smith. EVAN DORKIN, the acerbic wit behind "Milk & Cheese," "Dork," and the Cartoon Network's "Space Ghost: Coast to Coast," made his debut as the evening's Master of Ceremonies. The awards themselves were presented by fellow cartoonists, comic writers, and previous Harvey Award winners, including DAVID CAMPITI, SARAH DYER, STEVE LIEBER, SHELDON MULDOFF, MARTIN NODELL, GEORGE PEREZ, MARK SCHULTZ, and AL WILLIAMSON. The Harvey Awards were made possible by the generous support of the PITTSBURGH COMICON, DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTORS, and DARK HORSE COMICS. Special thanks go to MICHAEL and RENEE GEORGE and the entire staff of the Pittsburgh Comicon for all of their hard work and assistance. Next year's Harvey Awards will return to the Pittsburgh Comicon on APRIL 27, 2001. The full list of nominees for the 20 Harvey Award categories can be found on-line at http://www.HarveyAwards.org. Here are the winners: BEST WRITER Alan Moore for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (ABC) BEST ARTIST Mike Mignola for Hellboy: Box Full of Evil (Dark Horse Maverick) BEST CARTOONIST Jeff Smith for Bone (Cartoon Books) SPECIAL AWARD FOR HUMOR IN COMICS Sergio Aragones (Groo, etc.) SPECIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRESENTATION Acme Novelty Library #13 by Chris Ware (Fantagraphics) BEST NEW SERIES Weasel by Dave Cooper, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics) BEST CONTINUING OR LIMITED SERIES Acme Novelty Library by Chris Ware, edited by Kim Thompson (Fantagraphics) BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY Acme Novelty Library # 13 by Chris Ware (Fantagraphics) BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM OF ORIGINAL WORK Batman: War on Crime by Paul Dini and Alex Ross, edited by Charles Kochman and Joey Cavalieri (DC Comics) BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM OF PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORK From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell (Eddie Campbell Comics) BEST ANTHOLOGY Tomorrow Stories edited by Scott Dunbier (ABC) BEST INKER Jaime Hernandez for Penny Century (Fantagraphics) BEST LETTERER Chris Ware for Acme Novelty Library (Fantagraphics) BEST COLORIST Chris Ware for Acme Novelty Library (Fantagraphics) BEST SYNDICATED STRIP OR PANEL Peanuts by Charles Schulz BEST BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL OR JOURNALISTIC PRESENTATION The Comics Journal (Fantagraphics) BEST AMERICAN EDITION OF FOREIGN MATERIAL Star Wars: The Manga by Toshiki Kudo and Shin-Ichi Hiromoto based on stories by George Lucas, edited by David Land (Dark Horse) BEST DOMESTIC REPRINT PROJECT DC Archive Series, edited by Dale Crain (DC Comics) BEST NEW TALENT Craig Thompson (Good-bye, Chunky Rice, etc.) BEST COVER ARTIST Chris Ware for Acme Novelty Library (Fantagraphics) ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [7] Interview Paul Dale Roberts Silhouet9@aol.com Interview with Karl Altstaetter, Creator of Deity Question: Before we get this interview started, can you tell us something personal about yourself? Your family life, where you were born and raised, what schools you attended? I was born in Los Angeles. My mom and dad were divorced so I lived on and off with both of them. I also lived with foster parents in South Central Los Angeles for a while. It was during this time that I started reading comics and novels as well as doing drawings. I used to read anything I got my hands on. That's what really fueled my imagination. I learned how to draw so I could illustrate the ideas I would make up. Later I moved in with my grandmother and spent most of my teens with her. I never thought I would draw for a living. I really wanted to become a teacher. But I had such a love for comics that I really went after that. I did some freelance graphic design work for a while as well, I worked on projects for Disney and Viacom. I also worked on a Beavis and Butthead video game as well as various design projects. Question: What was the first comic book you ever read? It was a Spiderman comic and then Tomb of Dracula...and later Green Lantern. Question: For people unfamiliar with Deity or Saint Angel, can you please tell us something about it? I started Deity with Robert Napton about three years ago and launched my company, Hyperwerks, with that title. It is ultimately a story about good and evil, and coming to terms with who you are and accepting responsibility. It is the story of a young 16 year old girl, who finds out she is the heir to a vast and great power and destined to become the next Deity--except that the forces of evil are trying to kill her before she fulfills this destiny. The story has a very strong techno feel to it. Music is very important to me and that influence can be felt throughout the Deity comic. Saint Angel is our latest effort. It¹s the story of a young war correspondent, Jonn, who sets out to tell the chronicle the legend of a mythic warrior named Saint Angel. He is forced to join Saint Angel's band of freedom fighters to battle a despotic warlord determined to conquer everything in his path. The story has strong fantasy elements to it and most of it is told through flashbacks and through Jonn¹s correspondents. Question: Who are the Hyperwerks staff ? My staff has been with me from the beginning pretty much. Deity, Catseye and Saint Angel have been co-created and co-written by myself and my friend Robert Napton. Victor Olazaba has inked all of our comic books with the exception of the first Deity which I inked mostly myself. Brian Buccellato has colored all the books from the beginning as well. We¹ve had two recent additions in the past year, Jose Campos who has been doing more and more of the coloring, and Katty Douraghy who handles all the day-to day Hyperwerks stuff, and manages the website. Can I plug it here? www.hyperwerks.com!!! Question: How did you come up with the idea of Deity and Saint Angel? I came up with Deity after reading the book Snow Crash and seeing a ton of Hong Kong action movies. I really enjoyed the over the top feel of those types of things. I wanted to make a comic that was a post modern comic. I wanted to take all these thoughts and influences and put them into a creative blender and spit out something people felt was familiar but could not place where it was from. Equal parts American comics and Anime. A mish-mash of things. Something for everyone with some heart to it. As for Saint Angel , I had this idea of what would it be like if you were a war corespondent in a fantasy world. Like you were there seeing all these amazing things happen and yet you were trying to report on them. Like the normal man¹s perspective of a fantasy world. The story has many angles to it and lots of twists and turns and some very emotional moments. Question: Can you talk about the characters in Deity and Saint Angel? A common theme that we have established with our Deity characters and will continue with Saint Angel is that they are all real. Each character has a heart, a pulse that the reader can associate with. We have spent so much time developing each character that are fans feel they know Jamie or Lucius personally. They know what these characters will or will not do. That to me is the basis of good storytelling--when the fans feel they have gotten to know your characters. Question: How did you become such an incredible artist?? Every time I look at one of your comic books, I'm blown away! Is this a natural gift?? I'd give my right ear to draw like this! Well thanks. I just try and draw from the heart and do things that please me. I feel like I am still learning all the time and I am always trying to make my art better. Sometimes I feel like I have reached a certain level and then a couple of days later I criticize the work I¹m doing and I want to improve over that. I guess all artists are not satisfied with their work. I like to think I am more of a creative person rather than an artist who just draws. I think my creativity goes through my life. It's a part of all the things I do. Question: What is the future for Deity? Well with Deity we are doing a back up story in Saint Angel #1. It will be a story that takes place out of continuity. It is a stand alone story that I think will be really fun. It takes place in the course of one Saturday night in Los Angeles. Lots of laughs and some down to earth stuff. Then we will get back to the epic stuff and do the Deity Catseye Crossover book later in the Fall. It is the culmination of all the ideas we¹ve set up in all the different mini series we have done. Question: Saint Angel #0 just came out - can you tell the readers some of the cool stuff that they will find in this comic book? Karl, tell them about the BIOS! Well in the BIOS we have tried to paint a picture of a world and the people who rule it. I think you can learn a lot from the people who rule a country. In this case the we are also establishing some characters that will reoccur in later issues. So the readers will just have to wait and see how and when they come back into the picture. Also like I was saying before, the BIOS set up the character development. They are the building blocks on which the different personality layers will be added upon. Question: How do you go about laying out the direction for your stories? I meet with Robert Napton, my writing partner, and we work out the basic plot. He writes it up, I lay it out and than we go over the layouts and he works on the script. I have known Bob since I was 13 so it's fun working with him. Question: Do you have a web site? If you do what is the URL address? We sure do. www.Hyperwerks.com We have worked really hard to categorize and inventory all our original art and all our back issues and make it available on-line. Question: How can somebody contact you? karl@Hyperwerks.com Question: If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things would you bring with you and why? I think I would bring my CD collection. I need my music. hehehe. I would also like my computer so I could have things sent to me and I could e-mail and communicate with the outside world. Question: Your thoughts on the comic industry? Hmmm that would take a long time to discuss. hehehe I think it needs help-- lets just leave it at that. Question: Your 3 favorite fictional heroes and why? Indiana Jones, (because Indy was a man of action and he looked so cool in the hat.) Batman (I love a character that is looking for revenge or redemption. Plus I like the idea that he is smart and strong.) and Humphrey Bogart as Rick from Casablanca.( I liked him because he carried a quiet pain within him but when the chips were down he did what was right. Plus I always wanted to wear a white tux and have my own exotic Cafe/ bar. Question: Your 3 real life heroes and why? lets see...I don't really have any heroes. I¹m not that in touch with reality to have real heroes. hehehe Actually I do look up to my friends and to the people that are around me. I try and surround myself with people I respect and trust and admire. Question: What movies, cartoons and TV shows are your favorites? I love all the standards like x-files and Star Wars and all the Anime and Hong Kong stuff. I guess my all time fav film is Blade Runner and I love Batman the Animated series. Also I really liked the movie Three Kings. Question: What books do you read? I read James Elroy and Neal Stephanson as well as Andrew Vachess. Question: What are your hobbies and recreational activities? I love to play basketball and I love to travel. God did not give me the physical abilities to play basketball but I still love to play anyway. Last December I traveled to Thailand and into Malaysia, It was a great trip. I really want to visit Europe soon. Question: What comic books do you read now? I read 100 Bullets. I read Hell Boy and Sin city and The Clerks comic. One of my big favs is Optic Nerve. I was turned onto that by Steve Buccellato. Also I love the Wretch By Phil Hestor. It blows me away. Also Skeleton Key is one of my all time favs. Question: Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years? In Five Years I want to have Hyperwerks be doing many things beyond comics, like video game and Web related entertainment. In Ten years I think I would like to get more into film. Right Now I am experimenting with Digital video. I really feel that is the format of the future. Question: What are some of your other projects? Hyperwerks is also a design firm, so we are currently designing and creating a manga for an outside firm. Unfortunately I cannot get into the details of it since a third party is involved, but perhaps I¹ll be able to elaborate on that after the book is released in June. But it is not a book that is going to be available for sale or through the direct market. It is a special project that we have been working on for some time. That¹s why Saint Angel is quarterly. We made a commitment to be on time with Saint Angel and to create a quality product and deliver it on time to the fans. Question: When can we expect the Deity movie? Saint Angel movie? Who is going to play the main characters parts? We have met with many people about the Deity movie or a TV show. I am ready to shoot episodes on Digital video and put them on the web. That's my next Idea. Question: Well, I guess that winds up the interview. Thank you. Is there anything else you would like to say before closing? Thank you to you Paul. And thank you to the fans who have been so supportive since the beginning--and to any new fans out there--if you haven¹t yet ready Deity or Saint Angel--please give it a try!!! ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [8] Pond Life Paul Hayward pjhay@clara.net I am mentally unbalanced. As a comic fan that's almost Q.E.D, but this week has given me another example. I bought a comic book called Wahoo Morris from Too Hip Gotta Go Graphics nearly 2 years ago now. For a first issue it was pretty good- for me it had a feeling like a cross between Hepcats and SiP. It lasted for all of 3 issues before disappearing. Then Wahoo! An announcement that it was coming back from Image. The excitement was over pretty soon when I was told that the first 3 issues would reprint the original run. Collector's dilemma- do you not order the first 3 issues & start from #4? But if you do that, sales will be down & it might not even make it as far as #4. You will also have a 3 issue sized hole in your run that not even convincing yourself the first 3 were published under a different imprint will fill. As a collector you (or I) need all the issues. How many times have creators and/or companies preyed on that simple fact? Another factor- the original run cost $2.95 but the reprints retail at $3.50. This was something I must have missed in the Previews solicitation. Not only is it a reprint but it costs more than the original. So now, what's happened? Speaking personally I'm a little angry- mostly at myself. What does that mean?Well, it could mean that next time I think I'll have to cut down on comics this book'll be first in line. If I do cut it from the list is it the creator's "fault" or mine? Nobody made me buy this book (again). I can't & won't accuse anyone of ripping me off because, unlike the old Marvel books from the '70s, I knew from the beginning that it was a reprint. Having looked through it again (it's still a good book) it is worth $3.50. But $6.45? I don't think so. Maybe I should just think of it as a variant cover. Yeah, that's what I should have done. I'll know what to do next time. Next time I won't buy a book like this. Hey, maybe I'm not a little mad after all! ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [9] Sound and Fury Craig Lemon craiglemon@aol.com Comics 2000 provided the opportunity to leaf through numerous upcoming issues from DC and Dark Horse, all in black and white preview form. Unfortunately, not many of these could be taken away (short of stealing them, of course), and a quick leaf through a couple of dozen previews is not conducive to writing a decent review. However, in a big plus over last year, DC had four of these advances in a bulk photocopied form, ready to giveaway to all and sundry. Tom Strong #8, release date May 17th. In what may possibly be a trial run for the upcoming TS anthology title, to gauge reader reaction, this issue features three stories, behind a "Tom Strong in the Wild West" cover by Alan Weiss. All three stories are written by Alan Moore, the Eagle-Award winning Best Writer of 1999. "Riders of the Lost Mesa", illustrated by Weiss, kicks off with Tom Strong and gorilla sidekick Solomon riding towards a mesa in what appears to be 1850. What on earth is Tom Strong doing in 1850? And why does the town on top of the mesa have strange people in it? For example, the folk have three eyes, they herd alien creatures rather than horses, they grow huge green spiky vegetables instead of cabbages. Of course, Tom Strong has it all worked out and tied up nicely by page eight. The art is nice, but as a whole the story feels strangely unsatisfying, almost as if it was one of Moore's old Future Shocks for 2000AD rather than part of the Tom Strong canon. The second story, features art by regulars Chris Sprouse and Al Gordon. There's no text on the preview copy, but the story is well readable none-the-less, featuring that little kid from the ABC Preview and an earlier issue of Tom Strong, who is the world's biggest Tom Strong fan. The action takes place in his school, and is kicked off by a fellow pupil being kidnapped via a secret tunnel in a school desk. Things get even weirder as, that night, some of the pupils investigate further and find a hidden world of huge robotic teachers and kidnapped children working as slaves. Things looks grim until Tom Strong shows up and saves the day. Looks like a fun story. The third story, of which only six pages appear in the preview, features Tom Strong's daughter testing out a gigantic see-through robot. It's one of those like Marvel's Red Ronan, where the human sits in the robot and controls it from the inside. The tests are going well until a trio of human torches turn up and start beating on her. They're winning the fight, doing some serious damage to the robot suit, it starts leaking coolant everywhere when...a saviour turns up...and it's not Tom Strong. This one looks the most intriguing, the one with future possibilities - presumably the "baddies" are there to try and steal the suit, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. In conclusion then, a bit of a mixed bag of stories, although the issue gets stronger as it goes on, and recommended for purchase. Legend of the Hawkman #1 (of 3), release date July 19th. Yet another attempt by DC to relaunch Hawkman, this limited series will resolve the outstanding question of why Hawkman decided to stay on Earth rather than return to Thanagar. I have to admit to hating this on the first read-through, and I was not looking forward to reading it again prior to writing this review, getting ready to slate every part of it. However, the detailed art by Michael Lark impressed me more second time around, and the story by Ben Raab finally started to make a little sense. The plot for this one revolves around an expedition to Tibet encountering the Hawkman symbol on the doors of what looks to be a huge tomb. Hawkman is sent for, who for his own part is having problems with Hawkgirl - she is desperate to return home to Thanagar, he wants to stay on Earth. So, Hawkman and girl arrive in Tibet, and Hawkman deciphers the runes on the door as telling the story of "Thasaro". This is an old Thanagarian legend, about an evil god who did battle with the Gods, causing death and destruction and all the usual jazz, until a hero named Hol defeated Thasaro in battle. After this, Thasaro was sealed in an urn, and buried deep on another world - oops, it's Earth. The legend ends with the usual "the beast will arise again and kill all of Hol's children". So far, so Egyptian. The twist is that Hawkman is a descendant of this warrior Hol, and Hawkgirl is worried that opening the tomb/prison will cause his death. Hawkman seems strangely unconcerned, in fact he opens the tomb for the explorers, a most reckless act. Inside the tomb, what a surprise, is the urn. Luckily, Hawkman brought with him a whole bunch of computers and generators that will enable him to setup some form of forcefield around the urn, so they can open it safely. That was a bit of luck considering he didn't know it would be needed until he actually got there. Maybe Hawkman always carries a huge trunk full of forcefield equipment with him? Well, the urn is opened, and you can guess what happens next. Not a great start for the mini-series, but the art is very nice indeed, and we can hope the story improves for the last two parts. Worth a look. Next week I'll have a look at the other two preview titles, JLA: Heaven's Ladder, and Outlaw Nation, the next Preacher for Vertigo - they hope. Abuse, criticism and even requests for review to the above email address. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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. Name: A Shadowlander's Dream #3 - Chapter 2 - Death's Corridor Publisher: Kat & Neko Manga Written and Drawn by: Kathryn Williams Price: $2.50 How Can You Contact the Publisher? By snail mail: K&N Manga - PO Box 43026, London ON Canada N6C 6A2 or email at: neko_haruka@hotmail.com Comments: Anigelina - sama wanders the desolated halls and finds Onii-chan (her brother). She tells of being visited by dream spheres and how they cried out to her. You almost feel like you stepped into the twilight zone as this story moves along. Doctor Tomichi explains how 2 lost souls are inside the dream realm and as the story continues the reader becomes swept away in this surrealistic world. The outcome is that Dreamworld is nicer than the real world and with this issue you will see why. Grandma Kitano is kept busy as she listens to a heated debate on arranged marriages, if they are proper or not proper. While this is going on, May Chan thinks she is going to rescue Jenn from a red-haired demon who is actually Hitorino Kima! Now, here is the shocking part....Akaime makes his appearance and he confronts Grandma Kitano in this cliffhanger. Wanting to finish something off, that occurred 5 years ago. In the next exciting issue, we will have all our questions answered. Like, why grandma's eyes are bandaged? Who is Akaime? What's with the Kitono Family? As the story moves along, it will have you as the reader holding on by the tip of your fingernails. Many things are happening all at once and the story won't give you a breather! Excitement all the way! You will love the colored front cover and the inside Manga art is done with perfection. You'll also enjoy the cute column at the end of the book called 'Bubbleheader'. Bubbleheader is quite humorous! Quick MOE Sidenote: Check out Swamp Thing #1 by Vertigo Comics if you have the chance! Brian K. Vaughan is the writer and he writes the story with dramatic horrific flair! John Constantine makes a cameo appearance. This is not the Swamp Thing that you remember - a whole different take on the story! Spectacular! Name: Gate Crasher #4 - Ring of Fire Publisher: Black Bull Entertainment Written by: Mark Waid and Jimmy Palmiotti Drawn by: Amanda Conner/pencils Jimmy Palmiotti/inks Price: $2.50 Comments: Just got done reading Gatecrasher - Ring of Fire #4 and I absolutely loved the story! Mark Waid and Jimmy Palmiotti placed all the cards on the table and turned them over slowly to reach the final ace at the end. There was plenty of hard edged drama within the story as Mia's mom is pouring over her heart trying to convince Mia that she will gain a broken heart from Alec. That was an emotional scene. I like the humor in the story, as Hazard pops up from out of nowhere and says she is Walker - Texas Ranger. The lady has style as she is willing to be blindfolded and fight in her underwear with sword in hand. I love beginning of stories where the hero or heroine is unaware of what is in store for him or her. Some stories don't carry the mystery well, but with Alec the mystery slowly unfolds as Alec learns that he may have powers. The reader can see that Alec is getting a bit 'cocky' as he handles the dreaded rat beast with ease, with his newfound powers. It seems that Alec merely needs to concentrate and release his power. It will be interesting to see how his powers are defined. I already know that Alec is a conduit of dimensional energy. Amanda Conner does some superb work with her penciling. I will be curious to see how the full direction of the story will proceed, as talk of future wars is mentioned. What will Alec's role be in these future wars? Alec will be an incredible Gate Crasher and it will be fascinating to see him explore new worlds and dimensions. Name: Wolverine #151 Publisher: Marvel Comics Written and Penciled by: Steve Skroce Inks by: Lary Stucker Price: $2.25 Comments: Seeing Haan showing no mercy to his brother Gom, reminded me of that very intense scene in the movie "Godfather", where the new Godfather Al Pacino learns that one of his brothers has a big mouth, so he decides to have him go out fishing. While he is fishing, he is silenced for good. Then another movie came to mind was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. What made me think of this movie? Easy, when Haan had Wolverine surrounded by an army of goons. All Wolverine can do in a situation like that, is go berserk. Incredible action that completely blew me away! Steve Skroce delivered hard and heavy! Did I mention that I not only loved the story, but absolutely love the artwork in Wolverine #151? If I didn't, I'm telling you now. Wow! The image of seeing this guy with rake marks across his face, that was caused by Wolverine's adamantium claws sticks with me. All he could mutter was....berserk. While this guy was muttering berserk, out from the lips of Wolverine is the name..."Gom". Gom knew Wolverine was coming and was prepared for him. Except Gom wasn't the problem for long, as he is slaughtered by his brother Haan. The 4 best scenes in this story was when Wolverine goes berserk on everyone, when Kia finds Gom dead - dramatic scene, seeing Kia standing up to Wolverine and not being afraid of his claws and seeing Wolverine riddled with bullets! Wolverine was exceptional and took my breath away - I will be back for more! Way to go Steve! MOE Sidenote: Check out your TV Guide. Lately there has been some great science fiction, horror and fantasy movies on television. Here are some of the shows that they have been running: Darkman III - Die Darkman Die; Existenz; Femalien 2 - The Search for Kara; Full Moon High; Fright Night; Future Fear; Halloween H20; Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth; Johnny Mnemonic; John Carpenter's Vampires; The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter; P.U.N.K.S.; Species II; The Shadow Men; Star Kid; Starship Troopers; Teen Witch; Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms; Urban Legend; Warlock III: The End of Innocence; We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story; Wes Craven Presents: Carnival of Souls; Young Frankenstein and Fortress II: Reentry. I hope no one misses ABC's Arabian Nights....I know, I know if you watch Arabian Nights, you'll be missing Simpsons, X-Files and King of the Hill. Life's tough. Name: Blue #2 Publisher: Image Comics Written by: Greg Aronowitz Drawn by: Jason Johnson - Edwin Rosell - Greg Aronowitz Price: $2.95 Comments: Standing ovation to the whole crew in regards to the story and the artwork!! The artwork is masterfully crafted and that cover...wow! Jacob is quite the wise man as he discusses the thread that binds the universe. What he says may be so true as all existence may be connected. The strangest revelation hit Blue as she knows that she did not have a premonition, but was able to make things happen as she saw them. With all this going on, we have a robotic threat in the midst and the alien armada in the horizon. What more can a sci-fi aficionado want? Mystery abounds as Blue is able to hear a high pitch squeal, but what does that mean? I guess I have to wait as this series progresses. Uncle Cyrus is full of secrets and keeps holding out from Blue, in telling her. Blue is persistent and she will never stop seeking the truth. Changes are happening and Blue relates this to her friend Reena. Reena is not listening to Blue and instead takes her to a crazy Rave, that has Santa Claus dancing in the middle of the floor. Reena being a friend should have taken the time to hear Blue out. Now when I thought I had some pieces of this enigmatic puzzle, I learn that perhaps the real Blue is dead? Is Blue a clone?...I doubt it. A sophisticated android? Hmmmm. With all this drama and mystery, I was glad that there was some sideline humor with the squirmy mouse that was eaten by this weird reptilian creature. Then let's not forget to mention Jaelen who has picked Blue for his first Orbit Flight Pattern, just so he can be close to her. Blue with her complicated life needs the space and doesn't hesitate to tell Jay. Good going Blue! Jay may be disappointed, but should try to be a real friend and not a lover. The cliffhanger was the bait that caught this big fish. It was funny because the song "Shock the Monkey" came on MTV and here there is talk of those high tech androids and a definite shock to the system on whatever they may have discovered! This sci-fi is powerful and hard hitting! Tantalizing tidbits of information that will all be woven together.....I can't wait!! MOE Sidenote: Out on the racks you will find: The Jack Kirby Collector #28 by TwoMorrows Publishing; Titan A.E. 1 of 3 by Dark Horse Comics; Oh My Goddess! Pt. VIII /5 - Hail to the Chief by Dark Horse Comics; The Nevermen #1 by Dark Horse Comics; Steampunk #3 by Image; The Lost Ones #1. If you need information on any of the comics mentioned above, you can contact Wilson Lew, owner of Broadway Comics & Cards at: wilsonlew@sprintmail.com MOE Sidenote: New at A1 Comics are: The Accumulator #1 by Buffalo Nickel; Echo #2 by Image; Paul Grist - Kane; The Rhinegold 4 of 4 by Dark Horse Maverick; Savage Dragon #73 by Image; Too Much Coffee Man #9; The Wicked #4 by Image; Yeah! #9 by Homage Comics; Tomoko Taniguchi's Aquarium #1 by CPM Manga; Cardcaptor Sakura; Legacy #3 by Antarctic Press; Aqua Knight by Viz Comics; The MetaBarons #4 by Humanoids Publishing; Black Heart Billy; Countdown #1 by Wildstorm and believe me, a whole lot more! For more information you can contact Brian Peets, owner of A1 Comics at: A1Comics@quiknet.com Multiverse Observer and Explorer signing off, until next time.... ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [11] My View David LeBlanc ComicBkNet@aol.com [David LeBlanc is the Editor of the Comic Book Net Electronic Magazine. He is a long time fan of comics and the electronic media - having been the moderator of BBS comics forums on WME, FIDONET and the Comic Book Network. He and his wife are attempting to raise two teenage sons in a suburb of Worcester, Massachusetts. David'S favorite motivational phrase is, "BEHOLD THE TURTLE, HE ONLY MAKES PROGRESS WHEN HE STICKS HIS NECK OUT!"] CLARK'S WAY #2 (March 2000) 38 pages, black & white, color cover, $4.99 Lannes Company 7803 196th Street SW Edmonds, WA 98026 Created by Joe O. Hawkins joehawkins@mciworld.com As frequent readers know I often get self-published efforts to review. The creators take a chance to get a bit of exposure to our readers by submitting their work. I believe I approach every review with the idea of highlighting the best attributes, being positive about something, and offer frank constructive criticism when I think it is warranted. CLARK'S WAY falls more in the last category. First the art is nothing to interest me or anyone who wants at least a bit of polish to get you interested in what is going on. Bear in mind, comics are a marriage of story and art. In the best they blend and compliment, either can be good enough to carry the other somewhat but either can be bad enough that the other can't save it. This art is barely savable. Sorry Joe, but ther is a long way to go to get commercially viable. That may not be the goal you have in mind but that is the reality. Everything is pretty flat. There is some use of perspective but nothing flows very well from panel to panel. And speaking of panels, there is no variation in form here either, just the same 6 squares per page, over and over. It is not totally without merit. There are unique characters, the shading helps, and the lettering is done well, but those things do not give it enough to make it better than average. If this was a unique storyline, a fantasy or some offbeat theme, the style would not be as distracting. So then there is the story. This is a bit better in value than the art, but not by much. There is indeed a plot involving workers on an offshore drilling platform. They witness an explosion at sea and their helicopter rescues 3 survivors and a chest they guard very closely. The captain among them claims they are Uruguayan merchants and the sole survivors of a ship fire. But as one of the regulars overhears the crewmen speaking about not wanting to take chances with flying to Argentina as it is offered to them he gets suspicious. This is well founded as we soon learn the men are modern day pirates. So the basic story is how everyone finds out, what plans are made for the bad guys to get their way, lots of fighting (which in in super slick color comic with fan fave type art would make this thing work) and about 16 pages too many. There are some subplots but not enough to warrant the length. The whole thing is stretched out to much and the action, which should be at least enhanced by the art, falls flat and boring. It comes off as filler, panel after panel, page after page. There is a lot of effort that goes into a work this long, and a lot of passion and dedication. There are character bios on the back cover which helps to explain some of the people and their actions. This is a good feature and shows some thought into building a series of stories. I really can't recommend anyone spend $4.99 on this, unless you just want to help out Joe while he refines his art. That would be a nice thing to do. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [12] New Comic Book Releases List [NCRL] by Charles LePage ncrl@mediaone.net +++WINNER OF THE 1996 REC.ARTS.COMICS.* "SQUIDDY" FOR BEST WEB SITE+++ http://www.jacksonville.net/~ncrl New Comic Book Releases List for Wednesday, 5/10/2000, compiled by Charles LePage with information from Suncoast Comics. This is the *preliminary* list and is not complete. The completed list is posted weekly, usually Monday evening, at rec.arts.comics.info, http://www.jacksonville.net/~ncrl, and Compuserve's Comics Publishers Forum. "TPB" = "trade paperback". "GN" = "graphic novel". "AA" = "available again". "SC" = "softcover". "HC" = "hardcover". "S/N" = "signed/numbered". "AR" = "ask retailer about price". PUBLISHER TITLE, ISSUE NUMBER, PRICE IN U.S. DOLLARS AMAZE INK (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS) Slave Labor Peepshow Vol 2 #6, AR Waiting Place Vol 2 #4, 2.95 ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS Archies Weird Mysteries #6, 1.99 Betty #87, 1.99 Betty & Veronica Double Digest #89, 3.19 BROADSWORD COMICS Tarot Witch Of The Black