---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden Present: THE COMIC BOOK NET ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE ISSUE NUMBER 275 1999 EAGLE AWARD NOMINEE 7/28/2000 Edited by: David LeBlanc - ComicBkNet@aol.com FREE VIA EMAIL SINCE FEBRUARY 1995 ______________________________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [A] Submissions, mailing address, web page [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] 1999 EISNER Award Winners ............. Jonah Weiland [6] Martian Vision ........................ John Jones [7] Great Googaly Moogaly ................. Chad Trout [8] M.O.E. Reviews ........................ Paul Dale Roberts [9] My View:GUIDE TO THE DC UNIVERSE WRITHE AND SHINE .............. David LeBlanc [10] New Comic Book Releases List .......... Charles LePage [11] HYPE! Section ......................... Various ______________________________________________________________________ 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 strips: Steve Conley's ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS AND DR. CYBORG by Alan Gross & Mike Oeming ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Editor, the Network Administration Team or the members and users of The ComicBook Network. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [A] E-Mag Info: Submissions, Back Issues, Web Page SUBMISSIONS ----------- To submit an article, review, column, etc. to our e-mag, simply E-mail it to the editor at: ComicBkNet@aol.com Reviews of mainstream books are welcome and we encourage reviews of indies and self published material as we feel that material deserves more exposure to the general public. If you write intelligent, coherent, and timely reviews of anything it will almost always be printed so give us a shot. Commentary on the state of the industry, and personal observations and reflections related to comics are *most* likely to be included in our publication. PLEASE, no material on Gaming, role playing, collectible card games or other hobbies or collectibles other than comic books. That does not include plugs for web pages UNLESS they are concerned with print comic books. We do not promote web comics as we do not consider them to be comic books. SEND US YOUR WORK ----------------- We also accept product for review purposes. Advanced copies of comic books will not be returned but anything sent to us *will* be reviewed in the ComicBook Net Emag. Send all material to: David L. LeBlanc 84 Heather Circle Jefferson, MA 01522-1419 Material is generally reviewed in the order received and be advised that we work a few weeks in advance so your review may not be in the magazine immediately. Advanced copies are therefore encouraged so the review will occur prior to your product hitting the stores. THE Comic Book Net WEB PAGE http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet ---------------- If you have access to the World Wide Web, please stop by and visit our web page! On our web page, you can find the latest issue of our E-Mag, as well as all back issues and an annotated index. You'll also find important information and other neat features like links to the HTML version of the current issue of this magazine at DIGITAL WEBBING, [http://www.digitalwebbing.com/cbem], some of the comic companies and creators' web pages and many other Comic Book related links! You can also find some back issues at America Online, by going to Keyword: COMICS, then choose the menu item _Comic Book Forum_ and then going to the _Comics Library_ from there. These are non-zipped text files. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] On the Net David LeBlanc Welcome to the latest "anniversary" issue - divisible by 25 don't ya know! Use to be that meant publishers could add something on the cover, crank up the price and make a few extra bucks on the willing fans. There was almost never anything "special" about them - well not in the post silver age anyway, with very few exceptions. So here is our landmark 275th issue. Yada, yada, yada . . . ****** It looks like I struck a nerve with last week's editorial. It certainly spawned a lot of mail. And, just to make it clear to any who might not have understood my point, I was not speaking out against people who only use screen names, as some letter writers express as their view. I was pointing out the inane lengths some folks will go to to try and get their way after they have already lost the battle. If you go into a forum where aliases (aka screen names, handles, etc.) are allowed then you should respect that concession and not whine about others who have no problem playing incognito for a while. As long as nothing illegal, immoral, unethical or fattening is the result it is a valid venue - just another role playing game which many who read comics also like to dabble in. BUT, if you want to continue that charade elsewhere, where the rules are different, you must also respect those rules and that venue. Just like the whiner who complains too loud, the "what have you got to hide" thought policeman in a place where screen names only is the norm, crying because you can't use one after being told you can't is just plain annoying. You want a forum to say what you want? The tools are available to anyone to start their own mailing list, set up a web page and even get an email account all for next to nothing (if you don't mind the advertising that goes with it). So just knock yourself out - we welcome anyone who wants to join the Emag/Ezine club. "nuff said" Here is some new stuff this week: COMIC BOOK LEGAL DEFENSE FUND Expo 2000 Anthology, 6.95 <---------Pick of the week! CROSSGEN COMICS Meridian #2, 2.95 DC COMICS Authority #17, 2.50 JLA #45, 2.25 League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen #6, 2.95 Planetary #11 (resolicited), 2.50 Supergirl #48, 2.25 DIAMOND PUBLICATIONS Previews Vol X #8, AR DORK STORM PRESS Dork Tower #9, 2.95 JACK KIRBY COMICS Captain Victory And The Galactic Rangers #1 (Of 3), 2.95 MARVEL COMICS Universe X #0, 3.99 TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING Streetwise TPB, 19.95 WIZARD ENTERTAINMENT Gatecrasher The Series #2, 2.50 The pick of the week is a great mixture of some of the brightest talent the industry has to offer. It also benefits the Comic Book Legal Defense fund so give it a shot. We have a special trivia contest for our anniversary issue and invite you to join the fun at That's Entertainment in Worcester, MA next Saturday when Frank Cho will be signing and discussing his works. 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: Re: [ComicBooknet E-Mag] CBEM 274.3 From: GPerez6643@aol.com Hello: I just wanted to make a correction to an item listed in your DC News section. Despite a common misconception, Phil Jimenez was never my protege. This implies that he actually worked with me in some sort of apprentice capacity. This is simply not the case. I don't work with assistants. Phil was obviously influenced by my work, but we never even met each other until a 1997 San Diego convention and have since become friends. I even jokingly called him "hijo" (Spanish for "son") due to all the rumors already spreading about our alleged association. Just setting the record straight. Thanks and take care, GPz (George Perez) [Thanks for keeping us informed about this George and best of luck in all you work. - D.L.] +++++ Subj: Re: [ComicBooknet E-Mag] CBEM 274.1 From: rmann@kakuta.com (Roland Mann) David,Nice mag--as usual. I'm writing to applaud your decision to stick by your guns and NOT run Garbage by Garbonzo. As one of the writer/editor types on your mailing list, I appreciate the NEED for the right to be able to publish whatever the heck it is that folks want to publish. As the publisher/fan type, I appreciate the right NOT to publish something with with I do not like (I have my own set of standards/rules at Silverline that are also the unwritten sort). Yes, Garbonzo has the right to maintain his secret, but I FULLY support your right to reject his submission. If Garbonzo was REALLY a pro, he'd understand just what a "rejection slip" is--next time, send him/her a FORM rejection! ha -Roland (MY REAL NAME) Mann http://www.kakuta.com/roland Silverline http://www.kakuta.com/silverline [Thanks for taking the time Roland, and for using your real name. *8^) D.L.] +++++ Subj: Garbonzo From: tonyisa@ohio.net (Anthony Isabella) Hey, David... I'm SO completely in your corner on this one that we could be joined at the hip. I have never liked online anonymity in the comics forums and such. Keep fighting the good fight! Tony Isabella ********************************* ********************************* Tony's Online Tips: http://www.wfcomics.com/tony This month in PREVIEWS(page 142): "True Tales From the Comic Shop" by Tony Isabella in GEEKSVILLE #3 +++++ Subj: Well Said From: jfree@dircon.co.uk (John Freeman) David Congratulations on your editorial stance regarding the great Garbonzo. I have no idea who this person is, either, but if they ever expected to be published in a professional magazine in this country (the UK) they would have had to have supplied a real name and address, even if it was never published. I can't believe the same doesn't apply in the US. Cheers John Freeman +++++ Subj: LOC: The Great Garbonzo From: jsmith@onlocationmm.com (Jerry Smith) David, My hat is off to you for your correspondence with the GREAT GARBONZO! You definitely did the right thing (not that you considered doing otherwise). It is my personal policy to sign all of my correspondence, be it a personal letter or a line of chat, with my real name. I stand behind what I say and believe, even if others feel more comfortable hiding behind a pseudonym. I remember as a prolific '80s letterhack getting a letter published in JON SABLE, FREELANCE. The letter was perceived by some as anti-gay (it wasn't). For months, I received pro-gay literature for gay novels and other merchandise. All of it was unsigned from an anonymous source. If I sign my name to a controversial opinion, why can't people who disagree do the same? Do they not have conviction in their beliefs? And how can one engage in intelligent debate if the person who disagrees stays anonymous? It is important to follow the rules of the magazine one desires to be published in, if one desires to be published. You probably did not make it through to the GREAT GARBONZO! But perhaps he/she learned something from the experience. Bravo. Jerry Smith (My real name. Really.) +++++ Subj: Hyperwerks' Kosmic Kat webisode From: katty@hyperwerks.com (Katty Douraghy) Please log on to http://www.hyperwerks.com/news.html to see the first ever Kosmic Kat webisode. Kosmic Kat which is created by Hyperwerks' Karl Altstaetter and Robert Napton can also be found within the pages of The Kosmic Kat Activity Book and the Deity mini-series from Image Comics. We hope you enjoy watching Kosmic Kat bounce all over your computer screen! Enjoy, Katty Douraghy http://www.hyperwerks.com Comics.Design.Entertainment +++++ Subj: Article by J. Jones From: alex_stres@email.com (Alex Stresino) This is a response to John Jones article CONTINUITY ON BIZARRO-EARTH. I thought your opinion has very strong truths but of course in the end it is an opinion. That's not a bad thing. Yet your opinion has some flaws. Why? Well though you may think that your system in devising what are the best stories is a system that is best, perhaps mainly for your own particular preferences, but everyone has there own personal needs and expectations in what they read. Despite that fact there are other titles that meet those particular guidelines that you devised such as Starman by James Robinson and Hitman from Garth Ennis and other independent books like Akiko by Mark Crilley and Bone by Jeff Smith. These are books that are very layered and can be enjoyed by a diverse audience of kids and adults alike. To me continuity has been an important factor in any universe. It may limit stories in some sense but those limitations force writers to be more creative. Unbelievable to many I was never a comic book reader until the Death of Superman, which peaked my interest, and the Valiant Universe, which got me stuck. There are many people who got started when they were young. I got started in college and I have been able to enjoy certain books that have maintained my interest to this very day. A lot of people bellow that there aren't any good books any more. Every month I have at least twenty books on my list that are strong in art and in writing. Besides the four mentioned above there are the ABC titles, Steampunk and the Cliffhanger titles when they come out, Marvel Boy, and a lot of other independent books that come out periodically that are darned good (Kabuki, Madman, Astro City, Xenozoic Tales). There have been very good titles between the years of '61-'98 that have come and gone that you have overlooked. Other books include Grant Morrison's run on JLA 1-41, Incredible Hulk 367-467 by Peter David, Marvel and Kingdom Come by Ross. These were complex books with interesting themes. They also meet your requirements. I personally enjoyed Howard the Duck (I found a banged up run in a comic shop one day), especially the controversial issue #16, but I was absent during that period. Comics were completely uninteresting to me during my childhood. I think comics have grown up from those periods where writers are tested and have to expand more. People like Byrne and Claremont have to retire to make way for a new vision built by those like Moore, Gaiman, Ellis and Morrison. Byrne especially has completely exhausted his potential. He thinks he can out do the past by redefining it. I don't know anyone who bought Spiderman Chapter One. No one cared. I much rather look at Lee and Ditko's run. Sometimes the past does matter. Continuity is functional but writers have found ways around it. It almost hardly exists in my mind. What I like about continuity is that its makes the history more consistent. There are weak points to it but to most readers its' history makes everything else have sense. I suppose those who grew up without continuity feel the blow of its existence but the best thing is to pretend it doesn't exist. You can actually enjoy comic books again. Thanks for listening, Alex +++++ Subj: N.Y. Times article Date: 7/26/00 4:28:29 AM Eastern Daylight Time From: senft@worldnet.att.net (Donna Ellis € Mitchell Senft) Well, one of the Times' new critics, who wrote a bizarre review of X-Men that focussed (unless I missed something) way more on a general discussion of the movie as opposed to, well, actually reviewing the movie, had an article the other day on comics into films. The URL is: http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/072500comics-xmen.html and for anyone who asks, I'll send an image-free version of the article. Mitchell ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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 grade school classmate did Scott McCloud credit with turning him on to comic books? Many knew, but only one can win. The winner was Paul Mounts who was first with the correct answer - Kurt Busiek. Paul wins X-MEN 2099 #1 signed by Ron Lim and Andy Kubert AND $10 off any order of $50 or more from our sponsor, Discount Comic Book Service. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION: Is sponsored by THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT of Worcester Massachusetts. They are donating a copy of UNIVERSITY(2) signed by Frank Cho who will be present at the store on Saturday, August 5th from 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. They invite all within driving distance of 255 Park Avenue, Worcester, MA to come and visit with the creator of LIBERTY MEADOWS. WHO is Brandy, of LIBERTY MEADOWS, modeled after? (Correct answer must be complete - more than one person is involved) 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 THE COMIC BOOK LEGAL DEFENSE FUND - http://www.cbldf.org GAIMAN'S JACKET, TUCCI'S MOTORCYCLE ONLINE AT EBAY The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund AUCTION EXTRAVAGANZA is still going strong on EBAY (http://www.ebay.com), the world's online marketplace. Currently up on the virtual auction block are NEIL GAIMAN's LEATHER JACKET, BILLY TUCCI's "SHI" MOTORCYCLE, original artwork by FRANK MILLER, and much more. Visit the CBLDF website at http://www.cbldf.org for all the details, or check out the full item listing at http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/cbldf.org. This special event is made possible by CHAOS! COMICS, EBAY, and WIZARD. ROUND ONE of the Auction Extravaganza has already drawn to a close. The CBLDF auctioned off a deluxe cabin for two aboard MAKING WAVES 2001: The CBLDF Comics Cruise, original art by ADRIAN TOMINE, JUDD WINICK, and JOHN BUSCEMA, and lots of signed comics, action figures, and other cool comics collectibles. The auction was a huge success, and raised more than $5,000 to help protect free speech in the comics community. The CBLDF would like to thank everyone who participated in the bidding, as well the many generous donors who contributed items for the event. ROUND TWO is currently underway and will conclude on SUNDAY, JULY 30. This batch of items includes artwork by FRANK MILLER, TIMOTHY TRUMAN, CHRIS BACHALO, EVAN DORKIN, and original "Stardust" pages by CHARLES VESS. There's also a whole range of more modestly priced items including toys, first and foreign edition books, trading cards - more than 50 items in all. ROUND THREE just went online, and lasts until SATURDAY, AUGUST 5. New to the virtual auction block for this final eBay installment are NEIL GAIMAN's LEATHER JACKET and BILLY TUCCI's "Shi: Year of the Dragon" BIMOTA MOTORCYCLE. The jacket is the one Gaiman wore all during the years he wrote "Sandman" - a beautiful black leather creation with customized detail work and a special message inside from Gaiman to the winner. The Shi Bimota Motorcycle is one of the most exotic bikes in the world - a customized, hand-built Italian racing cycle that's one of Tucci's most prized possessions. For those of you who like to see before you bid, both of these items will be on display at WIZARD WORLD in Chicago (August 4-6): the jacket at the EBAY booth, and the motorcycle at the CRUSADE COMICS booth. And with eBay computers on the con floor, registered eBay users will be able to place their bids for these fantastic items on the spot! Joining these two items in the auction is the COMPLETE ARTWORK from Tucci's "SHI: YEAR OF THE DRAGON #1. There's lots more original art, including the MAKING WAVES JAM, created aboard the first CBLDF Cruise and featuring art by FRANK MILLER, WILL EISNER, NEAL ADAMS, JEFF SMITH, and many more members of the ship's creator crew. This auction also offers V.I.P. TICKETS for Gaiman's upcoming GUARDIAN ANGEL TOUR, and more than 50 other comics items of all shapes and sizes. But the CBLDF Auction Extravaganza doesn't end there. There's still the LIVE AUCTION at Wizard World in Chicago on AUGUST 5. The Live Auction will round out an evening of festivities, including a CBLDF MEMBERS' RECEPTION sponsored by Chaos! Comics, and, of course, the infamous CHAOS! PARTY itself. At the stroke of midnight, BRIAN PULIDO will take the stage for some inspired auctioneering. He'll be taking bids on original art by FRANK MILLER and JOSEPH MICHAEL LINSNER, leather wrestling gear worn by CHYNA of the WWF, original album art from the INSANE CLOWN POSSE, and, yes, much more. All items in the Auction Extravaganza have been donated and all proceeds from these events benefit the COMIC BOOK LEGAL DEFENSE FUND. The CBLDF is a non-profit organization protecting the First Amendment rights of comic creators and retailers. Donations and inquiries should be directed to the CBLDF at P.O. Box 693, Northampton, MA 01061. For more CBLDF news and information, pick up a copy of "Busted!," the Fund's free quarterly newsletter, or visit the CBLDF web-site at http://www.cbldf.org. For additional information please contact Chris Bleistein at (413) 586-6967 or cbleistein@cbldf.org +++++ NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--July 24, 2000-- Affinity-Branded ISP to Provide Nationwide Dial-up Access, Character-Based Marvel E-mail Addresses, and Custom Portal Coming on the heels of the record-breaking opening of "X-Men: The Movie", Marvel Enterprises (NYSE: MVL) announced today that it has entered into a licensing deal with iConnect.com, Inc., a leading developer of branded Internet services, to create an affinity Internet access service, "MarvelOnline(TM)." MarvelOnline (http://www.marvelonline.net) will offer to subscribers nationwide dial-up Internet access, e-mail addresses branded with their favorite Marvel character (e.g. yourname@x-men.com or yourname@wolverine.com), access to a members-only homepage, valuable collectibles, discounted subscriptions and e-commerce, and other incentives. The service is scheduled to debut this fall. "iConnect.com's branded ISP solution is an excellent value-added service for Marvel fans and a great chance to extend our brand even further on the Internet," commented Bill Jemas, Marvel Enterprises president of publishing and new media. "MarvelOnline is an important enhancement to our web strategy." "Working with Marvel Enterprises is a great opportunity for iConnect.com," said Michael Salaman, CEO of iConnect.com. "Marvel is clearly evolving beyond comic books and toys into a multimedia entertainment powerhouse. The growth of Marvel's characters in film, on TV and on the web will expose MarvelOnline to millions of potential Internet access subscribers." MarvelOnline will be an extension of Marvel.com, the company's popular web site that provides a host of content and community tools based around Marvel comic book characters. However, subscribers to MarvelOnline will have access to exclusive content and features not available on Marvel.com, including online comics, special e-commerce offers, and behind-the-scenes peeks at Marvel's famed "Bullpen." Although the complete terms of the license have not been disclosed, the agreement includes strategic benefits for both companies. In exchange for granting licensing and co-marketing rights, Marvel has been granted an option of equity participation in iConnect.com, as well as a revenue share in MarvelOnline. Marvel and iConnect.com have agreed to aggressively co-market the service through various direct-to-consumer methods, including comic book bundles, retail distribution, and online marketing to Marvel's fan base. +++++ Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. Announces World Record Comic Book Sales And California Auction Results Batman #1 Sells for $150,000; Detective Comics #29 Sells for $100,000; WEST CALDWELL, N.J., July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. (Nasdaq: GMAI) announced the world record setting private treaty sale of Batman #1 (CGC Certified Very Fine Plus) for $150,000, and Detective Comics #29 (CGC Certified Near Mint Plus) for $100,000. The Company also announced that two auctions, KISS the Auction and the World Stamp Expo Auction, together resulted in aggregate sales in excess of $4 million. Printed in 1940, Batman #1 (VF+) introduces two of Batman's most enduring villains: the Joker and the Catwoman. Batman #1 was once owned by Robert M. Overstreet, author of the Overstreet Price Guide for Comic Books, and is perhaps the finest, completely un-restored copy in existence. Detective Comics #29 (NM+), printed and released in 1939, is significant because it features the third-ever appearance of Batman, the first-ever appearance of Batman's first named villain, Dr. Death, and is the second-ever cover appearance of Batman. Both comic books were professionally graded, sealed and encased by the Comics Guaranty LLC, a third-party grading company. +++++ Gene Simmons Sizes Up 'Sable' By Dana Harris HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Rocker Gene Simmons, who recently produced ``Detroit Rock City,'' is developing a feature based on the comic book series ``Jon Sable, Freelance.'' The KISS bass player and co-founder has teamed on the project with Pacifica Entertainment, the production subsidiary of foreign sales and financing company Intermedia. Created by Mike Grell, the ``Freelance'' comic was an action-adventure serial about Jon Sable, a former Olympian, war veteran and African game hunter who lives in Manhattan and splits his time between mercenary assignments and writing children's books. It ran for 56 issues between 1983-1990, and was adapted into a short-lived 1987 television series, ``Sable,'' which starred Louis Van Bergen and featured Rene Russo as Sable's girlfriend, Eden. +++++ Master the Mutant Arts with X-Men: Mutant Academy Official Strategy Guide From BradyGAMES INDIANAPOLIS--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--July 24, 2000--Can you survive the rigors of Professor X's Mutant Academy and defeat the evil Magneto. To assist gamers with this ultimate challenge, BradyGAMES has published X-Men: Mutant Academy Official Strategy Guide, the exclusive guide to Activision's X-Men: Mutant Academy. BradyGAMES' book is packed with 128 full-color pages of intense fighting moves and valuable fighting strategies. "BradyGAMES is thrilled to be publishing this exclusive strategy guide, starring some of the world's most popular comic book heroes and super-villains," said Janet Eshenour, BradyGAMES Marketing Manager. "Written in tandem with Activision, Inc. our official book will supply gamers with all the special inside information and fighting tips they have come to expect from Brady." Based on Marvel's successful comic book property, X-Men: Mutant Academy takes gamers -- playing as such superhero favorites as Wolverine, Cyclops and Storm -- to the secret school of X-Men leader, Professor Charles Xavier. Players perfect their mutant maneuvers and abilities in the game's Academy mode, and then go on to do battle in Arcade mode, Survival mode and Versus (classic two-player fighting mode) mode. Using BradyGAMES' X-Men: Mutant Academy Official Strategy Guide, they will learn how to best use the X-Men's super powers to defeat their arch nemesis, Magneto, and other vicious adversaries. Loaded with tips to unlock the character's mutated powers, BradyGAMES X-Men: Mutant Academy Official Strategy Guide will help players of all skill levels achieve more. This comprehensive guide lists the unique combinations and special moves of every character, so that players can decide how to use their powerful mutant powers to overcome their enemies. For more information on the X-Men: Mutant Academy game, visit http://www.activision.com/games/xmen. AVAILABILITY AND PRICING X-Men: Mutant Academy Official Strategy Guide (ISBN 1-56686-880-7) is available now with an MSRP of $12.99 US, $18.95 CDN and (pound)11.50 Net UK. To purchase this strategy guide, visit your local electronics, book or software retailer, OR order via the web at http://www.bradygames.com. +++++ ''X-Men'' comic scribes ink USA feature deal By Michael Fleming NEW YORK (Variety) - The box office success of Fox's ``X-Men'' has invigorated the comic market, and who better to take advantage than two of the writer/artists who toiled for years on the ``X-Men'' comic book? Scott Lobdell and Adam Polina have made a deal with USA Films for ``Generation Last,'' which marries the teen film frenzy with an ``Omega Man'' type apocalyptic tale. Originally conceived as a comic book idea, it was instead sold directly to features, with Mark Steven Johnson, Gary Foster and John Baldecchi producing. ``We've seen romantic comedies, coming of age films, and horror for the teen market,'' said Johnson, who's writing his own comic adaptation of the Marvel franchise ``Daredevil'' for Fox. ``'Generation Last' is the first knock down, drag out teen action film in the 'Die Hard' template.'' ``Generation Last'' is about a group of teens who return to Manhattan from a long sailboat voyage and find the city is deserted, save for the night-dwelling violent mutations that are the result of a biological warfare mishap. With exit from the city blocked by government troops trying to quarantine the disaster, the teens have no choice but to battle for survival. After writing comics for years, Lobdell and Polina have been gravitating toward films. Each has set up several projects, and together, they have a Dimension deal for their comic book creation ``Hellhole,'' which Lobdell is scripting and Polina producing. Visuals are an important ally; their ``Generation Last'' pitch was enhanced by a batch of drawings by Polina and posted on a custom website so buyers could see what the mutants would look like. The whole comic-to-screen market was shaken up by ``X-Men,'' they feel. ``Everyone involved in comics was holding their breath over 'X-Men,' but (director) Bryan Singer managed to pack 38 years of comic continuity into a more than respectable hour and a half,'' said Lobdell, who's now shopping his own comic creation, ``Ball and Chain,'' about a divorcing couple who discover their superpowers only work when they're together. ``We are at the point where we can either provide artwork and a story directly to studios, or publish the comic. If we hadn't sold 'Generation Last' in the first go-around with studios, we would have done it as a comic book and come back.'' USA exec Matt Wall will oversee the film and USA's Howard Meyers made the deal. The writers are managed by Peter Donaldson of Envoy Ent. +++++ From the SPLASH PAGE of Comicon.com at: http://www.comicon.com/splash/ STEVE MILO LEAVES FANDOM.COM! MILO OUT AT FANDOM! July 24: The SPLASH has confirmed that Steve Milo has left his position as Executive Vice president at Fandom.com. Milo was head of the e-commerce division at Fandom, having made the transition when Steve Geppi sold AnotherUniverse.com to them earlier this year. The SPLASH was unable to confirm the reasons behind Milo's early departure. Steve Milo is an on-line retailing pioneer who founded AnotherUniverse.com in 1995 to sell comics and collectibles. While the site was recognized as generating reasonably strong sales, it wasn't able to turn a profit and in 1998 Milo was forced to sell the site and his string of brick and mortar comic book stores to Diamond Comic Distributor's owner, Steve Geppi. It was rumored at the time that Milo's debt to Diamond played a major role in Geppi's purchase. Geppi publicly stated that he was actively trying to sell AnotherUniverse and in the early part of this year cut a deal with Fandom for 'certain assets' of the on-line part of the business for cash and an equity stake in Fandom. Milo was part of that deal. Fandom.com is headed up by CEO Mark Young and COB Chip Meyer, who successfully closed a $16 million round of venture capital financing earlier this year to fund their concept of an aggragate portal of fan-related sites. Developing. NEXTPLANETOVER.COM DROPS RICH JOHNSTON'S GOSSIP COLUMN! WHY IS RICH RAMBLING OUT NPO DOOR? July 26: Rich Johnston, king of Internet comics gossips, has been dropped from his new high profile berth at NextPlanetOver.com. Johnston's 'GUTTERS PRESS' was launched with great fanfare in the 'PULSE' section of the NPO site just a few weeks ago and only saw two columns printed before NPO pulled the plug. Johnston, who has been regularly entertaining and enraging the professional comics community for years with his freewheeling approach to industry rumors on 'RICH's RAMBLINGS', confirmed the dismissal yesterday, but refused to comment on the reasons for it. He told the SPLASH he is currently negotiating with another Internet site about carrying his column and that if it didn't work out would relaunch it at its old address at twistandshoutcomics.com. Rumors, of course, were running rampant among Rich's readers and victims as to what brought the GUTTERS PRESS down. One version, out of San Diego, had the column dropped because of low page views, although it hardly makes sense that a commercial site would give a new feature only two weeks to prove its audience. Some blamed the possible financial difficulties that NextPlanetOver and its parent company eHobbies are currently facing, and indeed, the SPLASH has confirmed the rumors of recent layoffs at eHobbies (see story below). The juiciest rumor zoomed in on the always provocative content of Rich's GUTTERS PRESS which continued his proven track record of bar-b-queing DC Comics and Publisher Paul Levitz. Johnston's final NPO column broke the story of the pre-publication cancellation of the OBERGEIST series. According to the GUTTERS PRESS, four issues of the title had already having been pencilled and inked before Levitz and Jenette Kahn axed it because of references to the Holocaust. The upcoming and now unpublished third column had previously been promoted by Johnston as containing the piece 'Bad Mood Rising', a detailed look at recent examples of office policy at DC Comics and their effect in the workplace. Johnston refused to speculate on these rumours, saying he had signed a non disclosure agreement with NPO. He said "If I've learnt anything as a rumour monger, it's that the only way to make sure nothing gets out, is not to tell anyone." Requests for comment from NPO were not answered. Links to Johnston's old columns were removed from the site yesterday, but were still available this morning by clicking here and here. +++++ From Beau Yarbrough's Comic Wire at: http://www.comicbookresources.com/ THE NAMES OF 'MAGIQUE:' NEW WILDSTORM BOOK LOSES ITS TITLE Wasn't this an episode of "Bewitched?" Now that the linked series of fall annuals introducing DC/Wildstorm's teen sorceress Magique have been announced and hyped, the character's name is being dumped in favor of … well, no one's sure just yet. The problem stems from the fact that someone pointed out that Marvel Comics has a teen sorceress - who apparently will be returning to the Marvel Universe this fall - named "Magick," according to Wildstorm editor John Layman, who spoke to fans at a Wildstorm panel Sunday in San Diego at Comic-Con International. The hero formerly known as Magique's secret identity is Harper, who Ben Raab - who will be writing the ongoing series spinning out of the annuals this fall - described as a "shallow prom queen-type" who inherits her powers from an "older sister she never knew she had." In other Wildstorm news, the previously announced "Apollo/Midnighter" special has been bumped backwards from December due to scheduling issues and a very busy "Authority" writer Mark Millar may not end up writing the special, Layman said. Layman and 2000 Eisner-winning "Planetary" colorist Laura Depuy said that one of the book's central mysteries will be cleared up in "Planetary" #11, which reveals the identity of the Fourth Man and ends with a "major cliffhanger" leading into the next issue. Finally, "Wildcats" writer Joe Casey announced a new 48 page "Spartan" special with art by John Lucas and John Cassaday will be coming out in 2001. There's also a two issue fill-in on the regular series by an artist that Layman would not allow him to name, although that didn't stop Casey from dropping fairly obvious hints: The fill-in will be "by one of the most amazing artists," he said. "It may end up being a very punishing story that will not preach to you." DC ANNOUNCES NEW JLA, JSA PROJECTS & PRODUCTS Fans who can't get enough of DC Comics' two biggest name superhero teams got a lot of good news at the "JLA" and "JSA" panels Sunday at Comic-Con International in San Diego. "JLA" writer Mark Waid said that while Batman and Superman are getting most of the spotlight in the current "Tower of Babel" story arc and Wonder Woman will be the featured player in the next, "Queen of Fables," after that, it's Plastic Man's turn. Fans of the character should look for some development of him and an exploration of his role on the team. And while they won't necessarily be joining the team on a permanent basis, other DCU heroes, including Atom, Oracle and Steel, will be showing up "as needed," Waid said. "Martian Manhunter" writer John Ostrander - who will be explaining and apparently doing away with J'onn J'onnz's Oreo JLI-era addiction in an upcoming issue of "Martian Manhunter" - announced that he is writing an eight issue miniseries spanning the history of the Justice League, called "JLA: Incarnations." The series, with art by Val Semeiks and Prentis Rollins, will cover the original line-up over the course of three issues, the "Detroit" JLA, the JLI era and the modern "big guns" incarnation of the team. New "Green Lantern" writer Judd Winick told JLA fans to look for the team to crop up in issues #135 and 136 "against a brand-new big bad villain I can't tell you anything about." Winick and Joe Kelly are also apparently two of the writers slated for a forthcoming hush-hush JLA "fifth week" event. Phil Jimenez, who takes over "Wonder Woman" this fall, said he plans to include Batman, Superman, and "lots of JLA women" (including Zatanna) in his year-long run on the book. He also hopes to feature the return of the Injustice Gang in the pages of "Wonder Woman," he said. Dan Brereton was on hand at the JLA panel to help promote his Lovecraftian adventure "JLA: Seven Caskets," but also said that a third "Thrillkiller" Elseworlds project isn't impossible: Apparently, writer Howard Chaykin had a third installment, featuring the return of Harley Quinn, plotted with page breakdowns as soon as the most recent project was finished. "If you do see another one, it probably won't have the same name," Brereton said, exhorting "Thrillkiller" fans to "bug [Elseworlds editor] Andy Helfer" if they wanted to see it. Fans of the Justice Society of America can look forward to a sequel to last year's "Liberty Files" Elseworlds project and a second trade paperback collecting the current "JSA" series. More JSA action figures are on the way, including classic versions of Hourman and Dr. Midnight. A modern JSA set is also planned. ADAM WARREN ON 'GEN13' RUN Adam Warren, whose "Gen13 Bootleg" story, "Grunge's Movie," is arguably the most popular "Gen13" story, spoke about taking over the writing chores of the regular DC/Wildstorm title Sunday in San Diego. Warren, who will write "Gen13" starting with issue #60 this winter, may draw his inaugural issue, "which I don't want to do, but it's a nightmarishly complicated script," he told fans at a Wildstorm panel Sunday morning at Comic-Con International. The issue is a parody of VH1's "Behind the Music" series, examining and tweaking Gen13's origin and looking at bleak alternate futures for them. The team will also discover that their San Diego-area home in La Jolla, CA, which was blown to smithereens several years ago is mysteriously just fine. Don't look for any more breaking of the "fourth wall" with characters or narration talking directly to comic readers "because I'm pretty sick of that," Warren, who has used the technique himself, said. Ed Benes will be continuing on as series artist, Warren said, which is just fine with him, as he said he prefers writing to drawing: "It's a lot easier and you get paid a lot more." Warren has also submitted a proposal for a "Gen13/Dirty Pair" intercompany crossover with Dark Horse Comics. +++++ From Comics2Film at http://www.comics2film.com ELFQUEST -------- Elfquest creators Wendy and Richard Pini were joined by Elfquest movie producers Marv Wolfman and Craig Miller of Wolfmill Entertainment to conduct a panel in front of a room packed with fans Friday at Comic-Con International. The quartet filled fans in on the status of the movie and also previewed several clips of test footage. The test footage was created by various animation houses to explore the different styles of traditional and computer generated animation. While much of the footage looked impressive, the panel consistently reminded attendees that these were only tests and the team had not necessarily decided to go with any one of them. The movie is currently in the storyboarding phases. Miller, who co-wrote the screenplay for the movie along with Wolfman and Wendy, told fans that the storyline from the movie is taken from the first four volumes of the comic series. This involved boiling 600 hundred pages of comic-book story into what would be 90 minutes of animated footage. "What we tried to do is to figure out what the heart of the story is, what the story's really about and stay as true as possible to the flavor of it," Miller told fans. "One of Wendy's main tasks was, any time Marv and I might want to venture in some direction, to beat us about the head and shoulders and make sure we didn't take out anything." "Well also I had to watch what they tried to put in," Wendy explained, "because, with Marv, it was vultures. Marv has a thing about vultures." However, Wolfman assured audiences that the movie, and the toys, were in good hands. "One of the things that I believe is important about this particular film, which rarely happens on outside films, is that everybody connected to it really loves the property. It's not like anyone's coming in late on this," Wolfman explained. "We really wanted to preserve what the heart and soul of what Elfquest is about." Wendy adds "The wonderful thing about this particular writing partnership is, in addition to the knowledge that Craig and Marv have about Elfquest, they took the time to carefully read the books they were going to be adapting." "Read them again," Miller clarified. Richard Pini also praised the partnership and was philosophical about the twenty-plus years it's taken to forward the Elfquest movie. "Things happen when they're supposed to happen. Had we, for example, gone with Nelvana in the early 1980's or CBS in the mid-1980's or whatever, who knows what we would have ended up with," Richard mused. "Had things not happened exactly the way they had happened we would not be working with Marv and Craig's company. We would not be in partnership with these people who have a love of Elfquest, who have a love of comics, who have a love of animation and a knowledge of it." The panel opened the floor to the audience for casting suggestions. Miller expects that well-known actors will fill the lead roles. Wendy told fans that Mark Hamill, who has much animation experience including his role as the voice of The Joker in the Batman animated series, has expressed interest in voicing the character of Picknose. The panel told fans that they expect the movie to get a PG or PG- 13 rating. BONE ---- Comics2Film spoke with Jeff Smith, Sunday morning at Comic-Con. Smith had spoken with studio execs regarding the fate of his animated Bone feature film. The option on the movie was set to expire next month. Smith told us the meeting was very positive and Nickelodeon and Paramount are committed to going forward with the film. The next step is a polish on the movie's script, which is written by Smith, frequent collaborator Dan Rude and screenwriter Jim Cooper. SPIDER-MAN ---------- Comics2Film heard an interesting bit of Spider-Man news at the Comic-Con International this weekend. According to animation pros speaking at one of the convention panels, Mark Andrews will be handling storyboarding chores on the movie. Andrews provided much of the storyboards for the fan-fave animated feature The Iron Giant. This information has not yet been confirmed outside of the aforementioned panel. At the same time, Marvel was displaying a video promoting the movie. The video featured the web-spinning title sequence that was shown last year at film industry trade shows. Following that was a segment where director Sam Raimi talks about his vision for the film. Raimi confirmed that Spidey would be doing his web-slinging from organic wrist shooters, instead of the home-made ones he's used in the comics for years. "Now Spider-Man's webs come right out of his wrists. I think it's more interesting because it is one more thing he's got to be embarrassed of." Villains are confirmed to be Doctor Octopus, whose on-screen arms will be computer-generated, and the Green Goblin, who will have his glider along with an array of weapons. Various design illustrations accompanied the presentation, but no word was given as to whether these represented current or rejected designs. You can see some of the design images by visiting the website at http://www.comics2film.com. In a related story, a brief mention in today's Daily Variety, Tobey Maguire (The Cider House Rules) is on the short list of actors in line to play Spider-Man. The article also mentions that the role will have to be cast soon as production is set to begin in November. http://www.variety.com/ STATIC SHOCK ------------ Warner Bros. Animation previewed a number of upcoming projects today at Comic-Con international including the Batman Beyond spin-off The Zeta Project, a seriously bizarre prime-time show called the The Oblongs, a live-action/2-D-animated/3-D CGI- animated feature called Osmosis Jones and the Kids' WB! series Static Shock! Denys Cowan, who co-created the Milestone comic Static and serves as director for the new show, was on had to answer questions about the show. Cowan was joined by producer Scott Jeralds, actor Phil LaMarr (who provides the voice of Static) and actor Jason Marsden (who voices Static's pal Richie Foley). The show was pitched to WB execs as "Chris rock at 14 with super powers." Fans were shown character designs, which include a revamped look for Static. According to the panelists, the look was changed to be more like something Static could throw together with things from his closet. The characters origin has been retooled only slightly. Our hero Virgil Hawkins is getting harassed by a gang-banger named F-Stop. A rival gang member convinces Virgil that he needs to come down to the docks with his gang for a rumble a with F-Stop's gang. Haz-mat canisters are also stocked near the dock, which explode during the gang war, causing the "Big Bang" which was central to the Milestone universe. The Big Bang transforms Virgil into Static, F-Stop into Hot Streak. The show's creators also hope to include other Milestone characters in the show. If the response to the show is favorable, Hardware could show up as well as Rocket from the Icon comic. When fans asked about the Blood Syndicate, Cowan replied that he didn't thing that a super-powered gang with that name would fly on Saturday morning TV, at which point LaMarr chimed in that the name could be changed to "Bruise Syndicate." A new Static comic is due out from Milestone/DC with co-creator Dwayne McDuffie writing and original Static artist John Paul Leon illustrating. Reprints of the original comic are also planned. RISING STARS ------------ At an entertaining panel discussion held yesterday by J. Michael Straczynski, the TV and comic creator announced that he has sold the feature film option on his hit comic book Rising Stars. Few details were divulged other than the fact that Straczynski himself would write the screenplay. GYPSY ----- Comics2Film caught up with Dave Elliot of Brigade Productions (formerly known as Takoma Entertainment) on the floor of the Comic-Con International today. Elliot told us that Brigade has picked up the film option on the European graphic album called Gypsy. The comic is published overseas by Darguard and is imported to the U.S. by Heavy Metal. Elliot described the the concept as "Mad Max meets Big Trouble in Little China." BIG BANG/KNIGHTS OF JUSTICE --------------------------- Comics2Film caught up with Philip Cable, producer of the Knights of Justice video movie, and Charles Dichiera, executive producer of the show. Both men were on hand with some of the stars of the movie signing autographs and promoting the video, which is based on Big Bang Comics published by Image. Cable told us that he's received much interest in the video at Comic-Con and future installments are very likely. Cable is considering centering the next video around either the Whiz Kids (the Big Bang team of super-sidekicks) or else an all woman Knights of Justice who would have to rescue the captured male members of the group. Cable also likes the characters Humming Bird and Beacon for future installments and even talked about adapting the Criss-Cross Crisis (which is reminiscent of the first JLA/JSA crossover). However, the producer is really interested in hearing from fans of the Big Bang comics. Cable asked fans to write in their opinion about what characters or concepts should be featured in future Big Bang productions. Send suggestions to prcable@junoweb.com. The producers are confident that they'll be able to make 2-3 additional films in the next year. LUNATIK, SUB-MARINER -------------------- An attendee at the Comic-Con alerted Comics2Film to a recent article in USA Today. The article talks about new Marvel movie projects that are being pursued in the wake of the success of X- Men. According to the article, Avi Arad has me with with several studios, including Sony, Paramount and MGM, about setting up Lunatik, the short-lived series created by Keith Giffen. The article mentions that Adam Rifkin (Detroit Rock City) is attached to write and direct. Sub-Mariner is also mentioned as something Arad is trying to set up. Apparently, Arad is recruiting creative talent for this one before taking it to the studios. http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/movies/movie625.htm THE TICK -------- A scooper for Dark Horizons attended the Comic-Con panel discussion for the Tick TV show this weekend. Ben Edlund, Randolph Heard and Chris McCullough, the writers for the show, were on hand to run a clip and answer question. Edlund told fans that only characters that were originally part of the comic have a chance of appearing on the show. Characters created for the cartoon will not appear. Edlund also told fans that he will not work with Fox on an animated movie. Thanks to FreedomFighter for the lead. http://www.darkhorizons.com/ X-MEN: EVOLUTION ---------------- Rob Allstetter of The Comics Continuum has obtained images of Sabretooth for the upcoming X-Men: Evolution animated program. The show is set to air this fall on Kids' WB! The Continuum reports that except for Storm and Wolverine most of the characters will be depicted as teenagers. The rivalry between Wolverine and Sabretooth will remain intact for the series. http://www.comicscontinuum.com/ +++++ From The Daily Buzz at http://www.mania.com/newsarama/index.html Joe Quesada Leaving Iron Man Russell Lissau It was fun while it lasted. Joe Quesada is stepping down as co-writer of Marvel Comics' Iron Man. The acclaimed penciler and Marvel Knights head honcho, who took over scripting duties on the title to stretch his talents as a comics creator, says the job simply stopped being fun. "It was a blast writing the comic, but it was (taking up) all of my recreational time,” says Quesada, who had replaced writer Kurt Busiek on the book starting with issue #26. “I was going to end up phoning in a story somewhere down the road, and I wasn't prepared to do that. So I think it's better to call it a day and end it.” The current three-part "Sons of Yinsen" story, which Quesada is writing with Frank Tieri, will conclude in August's Iron Man 2000, a 48-page annual. Quesada's final Iron Man arc will run from issue #33-35 and will tie into Marvel's "Maximum Security" October crossover event. Quesada says his decision to leave Iron Man has nothing to do with the scheduling delays of Daredevil, the flagship book of his Marvel Knights line. "Contrary to what fans believe, it's not Iron Man that was (delaying) Daredevil,” he says. "In the past few months, I've felt like I've been directing more and more energy towards Daredevil and getting myself a little removed from some of the other stuff that's happening at Marvel. I don't feel like my energies have been decreased on Daredevil at all. If that was the case, I think somebody at Marvel would have stopped this a long time ago.” A replacement writer has not been named. +++++ From Newsarama; http://www.Fandom.com/comics/ WINNER OF THE 1997 & 1998 INTERNET "SQUIDDY" FOR BEST WEB SITE LIEFELD ANNOUNCES RETURN TO YOUNGBLOOD Awesome's Rob Liefeld has announced he will "reunite" with his original Image Comics creation, Youngblood, giving the concept a "new look and direction" in preparation for its re-launch in late 2000. Awesome Vice President Jimmy Jay confirmed that Liefeld will handle both the story and art for the new mini-series. "Rob has been stockpiling pages for the last year and feels now is the best time to publish his new work," said Jay. "The fans are sure to flip out when they see what direction the characters have been taken in." "I've been itching to get back to work on these characters for the last year or so, but my other commitments have presented an obstacle in spending the time necessary to pull this off," said Liefeld. "Now I have cleared my schedule and can finish what I set out to accomplish nearly a decade ago. I'm anxious to share this work with the fans as it is a significant departure for me from my previous outings with these characters. It's a little darker and a little lighter at the same time. "In the new series, the concept of Youngblood has changed, they're still an elite task force but they function as more of an extension of the police now. Crime got tougher so they called on Youngblood. Their celebrity status is still intact, in fact they have never been more popular, as their exploits make them the top rated show on television." Liefeld said he'll be drawing on his own experience with the issue of fame and celebrity for the new series. "Whereas before I was depicting the celebrity lifestyle as a spectator, I have now experienced much of the Hollywood scene in person and intend to draw on the last eight years of agents, managers, lawyers and movie stars that I've worked with for some very rich material. "There'll be familiar faces and fresh new ones for fans to discover. Shaft is the team leader and still struggles with issues about his weight, stemming from the fact that he was a fat kid in his youth. Badrock has discovered his sexual drive and it's consuming his young mind, as chicks are all he thinks about. Vogue and Die Hard are in a seriously kinky relationship that's upsetting everyone around them. While there will be plenty of action, it's the characters who are driving the book, not the stunts. I can already tell you that in the first issue alone, there are some outrageous scenes you have never seen in a comic book. "My competitive nature has returned and is driving my desire to bring Youngblood back in style," concluded Liefeld. "Previews of the new Youngblood series will be on display at Wizard World 2000." +++++ MICHAEL TURNER IN HOSPITAL Top Cow announced today that Fathom creator/artist Michael Turner has been admitted to the hospital for emergency reconstructive hip surgery. The artist will be out of commission for several weeks and will then begin an extensive rehabilitation process, according to the publisher. "Our prayers go out to Michael and his family in this difficult time," said Top Cow President Matt Hawkins. "Unfortunately, the physical therapy and recovery period is going to delay the release of the next few issues of Fathom and push back the scheduled Fathom tour. We are working with Diamond and retailers to ensure everything continues smoothly." The family has asked that the hospital Michael has been admitted to remain undisclosed, but that those who wish to send cards or flowers Top Cow has asked to please send them to their following corporate address and they will be forwarded to his hospital room: Top Cow 10390 Santa Monica Blvd #110 Los Angeles, CA 90025 ONI ON THE MARQUIS DELAYS Expanding upon their announcement in San Diego last week, Oni Press has given more details regarding the shipping delays plaguing Guy Davis' The Marquis: Danse Macabre limited series, and Oni is being pretty upfront about the situation. According to Oni, "Following a delayed release of the first issue, Davis has increasingly fallen behind on the book, prompting Oni Press to have to make some rather drastic decisions for the remainder of the series." As announced last week, beginning with #2, the series is going to be put on a bimonthly schedule. The second issue, featuring a cover by Mike Mignola, will be on-sale 8/16. Issue #3, with a cover by Charles Vess, will ship in October. Oni and Diamond will allow retailers to adjust their orders on both these issues. Issue #4 is going to have its original September solicitation cancelled, and it will be resolicited in December. It has a painted cover by Teddy Kristiansen. "Finally, depending on Davis' output, issue #5 will either be solicited for January or February," explained Oni. "For story purposes, Davis would prefer to have the last two issues come out monthly, but neither he nor Oni plan to solicit the book until it is confirmed that they can actually deliver it on that date. The fifth and final issue is scheduled to have a cover by Kelley Jones." "Between getting back into the swing of doing his own thing and finishing up his commitments on The Blair Witch Chronicles and The Nevermen, Guy has lost quite a bit of ground," commented Oni's EIC Jamie S. Rich. "While he could have whipped the book out and just sent it to the printer in any old shape, any fan of Guy's work will know that he is a perfectionist and just wouldn't rest until he delivered a product that was up to his high standards. While this is great for readers, it wreaks havoc on an already troubled schedule. Rather than ignore the problem and just throw the books out blindly when they were ready, Oni decided to take aggressive measures to reschedule the books so that retailers and fans alike could have a solid idea of when to expect the remainder of this miniseries." "I know how frustrating and confusing this is for everyone," Davis said. "I committed to a schedule I honestly thought I could stick to. I hope that it won't hurt people's opinions of the book, as The Marquis is really something I care about. I have every intention of making this new plan a reality and give my audience the book they have been waiting for." `MOORE` ABC NEWS A November ship date has been set for the upcoming Amercian's Best Comics "80-page Giant"-esque anthology one-shot special. Scheduled to be included in the special are... - a Tom Strong story written by Steve Moore and penciled by Humberto Ramos. - a Promethea story by Steve Moore and Eric Shanower. - A Greyshirt story written and drawn by Ricch Veitch. The rest of the stories are all written by Alan Moore and illustrated by the following artists... Top Ten - Zander Cannon Splash Brannigan - Kyle Baker First American - Sergio Aragones Jack B. Quick - Kevin Knowlan Cobweb - Dame (Meatcake) Darcy In more ABC news, Tomorrow Stories with be getting a new feature - possibly around issue #13 - entitled "Pearl of the Deep", illustrated by John Totleben. Finally, the debut issue of that other new ABC series (in addition to the new showcase series ABC Cascade, announced in San Diego), Tom Strong's Terrific Tales will feature a bonus 4th story - in addition to the what will be the usual three - a Tesla tale illustrated by Jamie Hernandez. LOEB & SALE FLYING BLIND With the completion of their DC maxi-series Dark Victory in site, writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale were often asked at last week's San Diego Comicon what their next collaboration would be. Would it be Dark Victory 2? A return to Superman in a follow-up to Superman For All Seasons? Turns out those were just `blind' guesses, in more ways than one_ In the new issue of Wizard Magazine, the creative partners reveal their next project will be for DC's downtown rivals Marvel Comics – more specifically Joe Quesada's Marvel Knights – In Daredevil: Yellow, a six-issue limited series due to begin this January. And no, the series won't be about the Man Without Fear becoming cowardly_ it's a `Year One' type treatment, set in DD's early years when he wore a yellow and red costume. "[DD: Yellow] is about the making of a hero," Loeb told Wizard. "If our Batman stories have been about mysteries and mood, and our Superman story was about bright skies and hope, Daredevil – at this point – is much more action and adventure. " Like the Loeb and Sale version of Batman in The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, this earlier incarnation of DD differs a great deal from this current day counterpart. The Daredevil in this story is not the DD of Frank Miller, Stick and Elektra_this is from a period where Matt Murdock is fresh out of law school, full of hope and energy, and DD is a more freewheeling_even happier character. The lightness in tone of the series will also be reflected in Sale's artwork, which will be a brighter style than the much darker Dark Victory Wizard also announced the upcoming publication of a new Marvel Knights Hulk mini-series by Hitman partners Garth Ennis and John McCrea, called Hulk Smash. This two-issue mini with painted covers by Kevin Knowlan is again a "Year One"-type story set not too long after the gamma accident. With the Hulk then little more than a rampaging beast, Ennis said it's a "fairly simple story with the Hulk generally causing mass chaos." DILLON GUESTS ON `CATS And speaking of Garth Ennis... another of the writer's regular art partners will be stopping by the Wildstorm universe for a brief visit. After some less the subtle clues at a Wildstorm panel this past Sunday in San Diego by writer Joe Casey, imprint EIC Scott Dunbier confirmed for Newsarama that Preacher/Punisher artist Steve Dillon will be providing guest pencils for two issues of Casey's Wildcats - #’s 20-21 - immediately following the completion of thhe `Serial Boxes' storyline. Regular artist Sean Phillips will return to the title with issue #22. +++++ From Zentertainment; HTTP://WWW.ZENTERTAINMENT.COM To sign a friend up or begin receiving ZEN yourself, e-mail: subscribe@ZENtertainment.com 'X-MEN' IN NOVEMBER FOX Home Video are expected to release the X-MEN movie on VHS & DVD on November 21st. HOLM REPLACES HAWTHORNE IN 'FROM HELL' According to The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, Ian Holm (LORD OF THE RINGS' Bilbo, The Fifth Element) has replaced the ill Nigel Hawthorne in the Hughes' brothers' FROM HELL. Holm will play a Scotland Yard detective partnered with Johnny Depp, in this adaptation of a graphic novel about Jack the Ripper from Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell. Heather Graham, Robbie Coltrane, and Ian Richardson also star. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com http://www.foxmovies.com ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Eisner Awards for 1999 Jonah Weiland http://www.comicbookresources.com [The Eisner Awards are considered by many as the Academy Awards of the Comic Book industry. The nominations were made by a select panel of judges for works published in 1999 and the votes were cast by the members of all the various disciplines in the industry. As was the case last year, Jonah Weiland, of the Comic Book Resources web site, was the first to report the results - live from the San Diego Comic Con International 2000. Congratulations to the winners and all the nominees! - D.L.] EISNERS: Hall Of Fame Judges' Choices for 2000 Induction: * Bill Everett * Sheldon Mayer 2000 inductees by vote: * George Herriman * Carmine Infantino * Al Williamson * Basil Wolverton Best Short Story * "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Baby Sitter" by Kyle Baker, Elseworlds 80-Page Giant (DC) Best Single Issue * Tom Strong #1: "How Tom Strong Got Started" by Alan Moore, Chris Sprouse, and Al Gordon (ABC) Best Graphic Album - Reprint * 300 by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley (Dark Horse) Best Graphic Album - New * The Acme Novelty Library #13 by Chris Ware (Fantagraphics) Best Serialized Story * Tom Strong #4-7 (Saveen/Ingrid Weiss time travel arc) by Alan Moore, Chris Sprouse, Al Gordon, and guest artists (ABC) Best Publication Design * 300, designed by Mark Cox (Dark Horse) Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art) * Alex Ross, Batman: War on Crime (DC) Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team * Kevin Nowlan, "Jack B. Quick," Tomorrow Stories (ABC) Best Limited Series * Whiteout: Melt by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber (Oni) Best Continuing Series * The Acme Novelty Library by Chris Ware (Fantagraphics) Best New Series * Top Ten by Alan Moore, Gene Ha, and Zander Cannon (ABC) Best Archival Collection/Project * Peanuts: A Golden Celebration (HarperCollins) Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition * Tony Millionaire (Sock Monkey) Best Title for a Younger Audience * Simpsons Comics by various (Bongo) Best Writer/Artist - Humor * Kyle Baker, I Die at Midnight (Vertigo/DC); "Letitia Lerner, Superbaby's Babysitter" in Elseworlds 80-Page Giant (DC) Best Writer/Artist * Dan Clowes, Eightball (Fantagraphics) Best Writer * Alan Moore, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Promethea, Tom Strong, Tomorrow Stories, Top Ten (ABC) Best Cover Artist * Alex Ross, Batman: No Man's Land, Batman: Harley Quinn, Batman: War on Crime (DC); Kurt Busiek's Astro City (Homage/Wildstorm/DC); ABC alternate #1 covers Best Lettering * Todd Klein, Promethea, Tom Strong, Tomorrow Stories, Top Ten (ABC);The Dreaming, Gifts of the Night, The Invisibles, Sandman Presents: Lucifer (Vertigo/DC) Best Coloring * Laura Dupuy, The Authority; Planetary (Wildstorm/DC) - WINNER Best Comics-Related Product/Item * Lunch boxes: Milk & Cheese, Sin City, Bettie Page, Hellboy, Groo (Dark Horse) Best Comics-Related Book * The Sandman: The Dream Hunters by Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano (Vertigo/DC) Best Comics-Related Periodical/Publication * Comic Book Artist (TwoMorrows) Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material * Blade of the Immortal, by Hiroaki Samura (Dark Horse) Best Anthology * Tomorrow Stories, by Alan Moore, Rick Veitch, Kevin Nowlan, Melinda Gebbie, and Jim Baikie (ABC) Best Humor Publication * Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror by Jill Thompson/Oscar Gonzalez Loyo/Steve Steere Jr., Scott Shaw!/Sergio Aragonιs, and Doug TenNapel (Bongo) ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [6] MARTIAN VISION John Jones martianmanhunter2@juno.com [JOHN JONES, the Manhunter from Marathon, IL, no longer dwells in Marathon, IL. He is not related to Indiana Jones, Rick Jones, Halo Jones, Cleopatra Jones, or even Gerard Jones, as far as he knows. He is currently owned and operated by a woman named Reggie and her six feline housemates, lives in a nice modern metropolis in the heart of the American Southland, and when he is not chained to the word processor, giving neck rubs, making omelettes, or acting as cat slave, he occasionally finds the time to work 40 hours a week or more at the local City Clerks office, typing up transcripts of City Council meetings, which is every bit as exciting as it sounds.] METAPHYSICS FOR METAHUMANS Chapter 1. With Great Power... By John Jones, the Manhunter from Marathon, IL There are so many questions for the thinking, analytical comics fan, and I'm not even talking about the obvious ones, like who would win a honey-glazed ham eating contest between Chris Claremont, Peter David, and Kurt Busiek, or, exactly what sort of stick should Todd McFarlane be smacked in the head with, how often, and how hard? No, I'm talking about questions raised pertaining to the internal physics, and/or lack thereof, in most superhero universes. How do they SHRINK? The Atom, Doll Man & Doll Girl, two different Ant-Men, and, for good... er... measure >ahem (like Hank Pym) grow to giant size? How do they RUN SO DAMN FAST? Three Flashes, Quicksilver, Johnny Quick, and an insane surfeit of other four color superspeedsters... how the hell do they manage to beat their little feet two or three million times a second as they speed like supersonic blurs across entire continents in the blink of an eye? How do they grab cars with one hand and pick them up over their heads? How do they transform themselves into various bizarre shapes and forms? How do they fly? How do they fire fargin particle beams out of their frickin EYES, for the love of Pete? How do they just romp along, ignoring every known law of physics with the blithe abandon of a Samuel L. Jackson character in a Renny Harlin movie? There have been fanboys before me, and there will be fanboys after me, I do not doubt, who have tried, and will continue to try, to explain all these things. Many of them have woven byzantine webs of convoluted and arcane particle theorems and quantum obfuscations, speaking loftily of unified fields and distorted gravity wells and channelled space-time slopes and I don't know what the hell all else. They have inscribed equations, worked through formulas, explicated cogent and witty descriptions of the various atomic weights of imaginary radioactive materials and the actual energy signature of Jarella's sub-atomic world, and I do not hesitate to confess that I barely understood one word in ten of any of these brilliant dissertations. I will now try to posit an overall scheme, if you will, of reality distortion that I can not only more or less understand, but which will, as an added bonus, doubtless be completely ignorant of all known laws of physics. First, I'll annoy many people I know by using, as an underlying foundation, my belief that virtually all superhuman powers derive from one of two basic explanations: psionics, and/or subconscious matter/energy transformations (which, I suppose, could arguably also be psionic) or both. A lot of the basic stuff can be fairly easily explained away as psionics. John Byrne has already relentlessly applied this explanation to Superman, after first having Reed Richards explain it in some detail as it applied to Gladiator, a pretty straightforward Superman-clone who appeared in quite a few Marvel comics drawn and/or written by Byrne. All Superman's powers, and apparently, all the Cosmic Uberman type powers manifested by Kryptonians and Daxamites and probably a few others I don't know about, are psionic in nature. Superman flies via autokinesis. He doesn't really have superstrength, what he has is extremely powerful psychokinesis which is limited to only affecting things he can touch, and only then when he thinks he is actually physically affecting them with his muscles. He doesn't have heat vision, he has pyrokinesis; he doesn't have X ray vision, or telescopic vision, or microscopic vision, or super hearing, or any of that stuff; instead, he has very broad based and powerful clairvoyance powers. He's not invulnerable, he has a personal psychokinetic forcefield. While these explanations are strangely not much fun at all, they all make sense, and in fact, they go a great distance towards explaining various things that otherwise contradict the known laws of physics, such as how Superman (or other superstrong characters) can easily hoist over his head something much more massive than he is, like a car, or, say, the Chrysler Building, and then throw it at the Stilt Man. Under normal physical laws, it really doesn't matter how strong Superman, the Martian Manhunter, Spider-man, Thor, or Prince Namor are. They may have the sheer raw power to pick up a Ford Fairlane and lob it a couple of city blocks, but in actual reality, if they reached out casually and grabbed hold of such a vehicle, the most that would happen is a chunk o'Fairlane would come off in their hands. Assuming they grabbed it someplace that it wouldn't easily tear apart, the thing STILL weighs far more than they do. If they have the strength to pick it up, they still will not do so (unless, like Spider-Man, they can anchor the soles of their feet to the ground with an effort of will). What they will do is yank themselves off their feet and end up doing a full arm and body extension thrusting out from the point on the vehicle they just sank their superstrong fingers into. In other words, the three ton automobile will not move; the 200 lb mesomorph will. This is simple physics, and Jack Kirby, John Buscema, Dick Dillin, and Curt Swan ignored it on an average of 12.7 billion times per month back in the Silver Age, so we're left with two choices: we either assume that a huge walloping majority of Silver Age comics were drawn wrong, and in fact, when the Sub Mariner picked up a roadster and heaved it at Captain Marvel in one panel, he actually spent about five minutes gingerly settling his hands under the car, finding the axle, picking the back or front of the car up by the axle, carefully walking his hands down the frame of the car as he supported its weight until he got to the midpoint of the vehicle, clean and jerking it up over his head, and THEN doing a double straightarm of the darn thing at the twit with the fin on his head... or we assume that the Submariner is not really, physically, any stronger than anyone else with his build should be, and it's all psychokinetic. If it's psychokinetic, then he could reach out, grab the car (or anything else), and toss it, for the good and simple reason that that is what he WANTS to do, so that is what's going to happen. He has to touch it because he thinks he has to touch it, because he thinks he's using his muscles to do it. Byrne explained all this in more spectacular and immediately visual terms when he drew Gladiator picking up an entire building by one corner, but it's the same principle at work. Psychokinetics also explains one of the most common and otherwise nearly incomprehensible super powers, namely, flight. I've never heard any other even remotely coherent explanation for this very common super-ability. The flier projects energy away from themselves in such a way as to propel themselves through the air? Er, okay, but they'd better glow and have some pretty impressive energy blast powers, too, and many don't. They somehow 'manipulate gravity'... oh please. I don't even want to think about that, although the tiniest bit of cogitation leads me to believe that any character who flies through 'gravity manipulation' should have an awfully hard time decelerating for a soft landing, much less, hovering, as many super-fliers apparently can do. Psychokinesis even conveniently explains characters like The Angel, who somehow flies around like a birdie using wings that are far too small to ever actually support an adult male human being in an Earthly gravity field and atmosphere. (This last one we could also explain with the 'artist drew it wrong' theory... kind of... if we posit that Warren Worthington III actually has a 60' wingspan and Kirby just didn't want to pencil it that way. However, we then are forced to the realization that with his wings folded on his back, Warren needs the strength of Spider-man just to stand up straight, and he can't walk through anything remotely approaching a normal sized door, or fit into any room smaller than an auditorium.) This is also the only feasible explanation for, say, how Storm flies. The concept that she simply whips up, out of a clear sky and often in an enclosed space, a concentrated gale force wind capable of picking up and carrying an adult human body, simply doesn't bear analytical scrutiny... and even if she does, how in the name of GOD does she manage to LAND safely? Call up a hurricane to blow you into the sky...eh, okay, fine. Xavier's mansion is now careening towards Oz and various shrieking X-Men are now slowly tumbling through the stratosphere fervently wishing you in hell, but, sure, go for it. Now, explain to me how you make the hurricane set you down again gently. Um... Psychokinetics of this sort also helps greatly to explain one of the most appealing of all superpowers, and one of the most annoyingly difficult to define: superspeed, by which I mean, the apparent ability to run at hundreds, if not thousands, of miles per hour. We all love this superpower, and for the most part, we all love the characters who have it. I doubt there's a fanboy in the world who has not, at some point in their life, fantasized about being able to run to school and back at velocities so high as to be practically invisible, to whiz through the halls between people moving so relatively slowly that they seem like statues, picking pockets, performing cruel practical jokes on the bullies we hate the most, undressing the class hotties in a split second, etc, etc. Much of my childhood was spent on three to four hour journeys to visit relatives in distant cities over holiday weekends, and I passed a lot of those trips daydreaming about being able to just run from from my home to my Aunt's house in minutes or seconds, instead of spending most of the day cramped up in a back seat with my two obnoxious little brothers. The problem is, it's a really ridiculous power. I mean, think about it. First, if you're running at, say, 150 m.p.h., the wind resistance is going to feel like you're shoving yourself eyeballs first into a wall of hot sand. Unless you manage to streamline yourself, you're not going anywhere, and even if you do, you'd better not move an arm or a leg outside your airstream, much less hold out a grasping hand, or the offending limb is going to get ripped off your body like an old ragged sleeve by the wind shear. Well, we can deal with this by giving the Flash a convenient 'frictionless aura', and by just ignoring it with Quicksilver, I guess. But now let's consider exactly what you're doing when you run at several hundred miles per hour, which is to say, you are driving the bottoms of your feet into the ground at hundreds of miles per hour hundreds of time per second. Even if we posit, somehow, that our high velocity hero is tough enough to take it (and very few superspeedsters have any sort of enhanced toughness abilities) how the ground holds up under this kind of punishment is a major mystery. Both the Flash and Quicksilver should dig glowing, smoking trenches in the Earth everywhere they run. Not to mention the earthquakes... One ingenious theory that has been suggested is that the Flash is actually a master of time, not speed, and that when he zips along at superspeed, he is actually hugely accelerating his own particular entropic rate. Thus, for Barry Allen, time is moving by much faster than for the world around him, creating the perceptual illusion that he is moving at blinding speed. This brilliant hypothesis even posits that the Flash's 'frictionless aura' is actually a sort of bubble of accelerated or decelerated entropy that the Flash carries around with him, and, this bubble of entropy is what allows him to smack his little footsies into the tarmac a million times a minute without digging a trench, and cut through the atmosphere like a monofilament edge. I don't see how, but I'm not a physicist. There is one major problem with this rather singular and interesting explanation, though. Our fine Flashy fella, if he is actually manipulating his own entropic rate, still perceives his own timeline as flowing by in a normal fashion. We have seen the Flash, for example, run around the Earth's equator six times in one second. I grant you, this happened in extreme circumstances and was long thought to be his upper exertion limit. (However, the Flash often does things at speeds where bullets appear to be standing still, and he just as often has run across continents and oceans in less than the blink of an eye, so this isn't exactly a wild extreme.) Now, if the Flash has to run from Central City, in the middle of North America, to Gorilla City, somewhere in Africa, in the time between heartbeats (as he probably has, most likely more than once, in his career), let's just consider what this means to The Man Inside The Entropic Bubble: Yes, to Great Ape Solivar, old meanie Grodd, and Our Pal Hal Jordan, it appears as if Flash has just vanished here and reappeared there, in a blur of red and yellow. However, to poor old Barry, well, he's just jogged, let's call it for convenience's sake, 10,000 miles in between those eyeblinks... and, as I say, to old Wingfoot himself, inside his entropic bubble, the perceived rate of time passage has been normal. How long does it take to run 10,000 miles, at, say, a steady jogging pace of 8 MPH? Long enough that his toenails are gouging the inside of his socks, his beard is positively shaggy, and that stylish blond crew cut he sports is long grown out into an incipient Kamandi look. Fastest Man Alive? How about, The Man Most Prodigiously Sick And Tired Of Jogging Across The Face Of The Earth, after two months or so of hard slogging across a jagged, rubbery ocean surface and through super dense tropical foliage... and exactly how, entropic bubble or no, did he manage to jog steadily through those thousands of miles of dense African jungle? Now, the time acceleration thing works just fine for short range feats of superspeed, like catching a full clip of just fired machine gun bullets in a glass beaker, or stripping the Mirror Master naked and tossing him in jail before he can so much as point his anti matter mirror (not that the Flash was ever quite that sensible, mind). But when he has to do something that requires him to cover long distances in short periods, we run into severe problems with the scenario. And he often did... so I'm afraid it Just Won't Do. Psychokinesis, combined with some sort of metabolic energy transformation, however, will do. How does the Flash move that fast? Perhaps, like many superhumans, he has the subconscious ability to transform his physical body into a duplicate form of some sort of living energy. Marvel Comics' Wonder Man is a walking, humanoid power pile of 'ionic energy', and recently, he has gained the capacity to transform himself into a seething bipedal mass of barely coherent reddish purple blastie-stuff, wherein he apparently retains his human solidity, enormous strength, and near indestructibility, and because he is now living energy, he can also fly without his formerly ubiquitous belt jets, as well. I myself think many superhumans have a similar ability. (To transform themselves into a bio energy duplicate of themselves, not, you know, fly around and smack Count Nefaria with fists that hit like Thor's hammer.) The Flash was once thought and even more or less explained, during Bill Loeb's run on the book, to be some sort of 'living lightning'. This was a transformation he could apparently undergo at will, and in such an energy form, his potential velocity would be limited only by relativity. Assuming he can turn himself into 'living lightning' and back again in a fraction of a nanosecond, or even do this selectively for certain parts of his body, it makes it much easier for us to accept that he can 'run' at near light speed without burning up the top soil, whipping up a monsoon, or pulverizing his own churning legs into hamburger... because he's not really 'solid' or 'human' when he does it. He transforms his normal human body into some sort of energy (electricity), then psychokinetically moves himself. Because he does this subconsciously, and actually thinks of himself as 'running', he only does this along various surfaces that he can convince himself he could actually run on. However, it's not hard for him to visualize himself running up sheer walls and across bodies of water... so he does. Oddly, this doesn't help us a whole lot with Marvel's rather slower and, at least seemingly, more 'realistic' superspeedster Quicksilver, though. Quicksilver should also dig trenches in the ground, break his legs, and find it virtually impossible to even move against 150 m.p.h. headwinds without at the very least tearing his hair out by the roots and his hand off at the wrist whenever he reaches out and grabs Hawkeye's quiver of arrows or Cap's shield out of those hapless heroes' goggling grasp. I suppose he could transform himself into some sort of energy body too, but in the case of our high velocity (but positively tortoiselike in comparison with DC's Flashes) mutant, that seems rather too much water to carry to the well. Given that at one time in his career, (while drawn by John Buscema) he briefly employed a battle tactic of hurling himself at an enemy at high speed, rolling up into a compact mass, and bouncing around like a superball, and, well, he didn't DIE like a hamster in NASCAR pile up, I'd suggest that Pietro's mutant bone structure, as well as his muscles, are far tougher than those of a normal human. Given that he is a 'mutant' in the Marvel Universe, born with some sort of altered gene structure that apparently optimizes the human body to the service of one particular superhuman ability, this is quite plausible. It's also plausible (if kind of ickie) that when he runs, he sweats a superlubricator that effectively makes his body all but frictionless. This STILL doesn't explain why he doesn't leave a couple of red glowing trenches in the ground behind him when he sprints, though, which brings me back to psychokinesis. Quicksilver actually has the ability to autokinetically move his body at close to the speed of thought, or at least, at the greatly enhanced speed of an electrical impulse moving through a mutant, superhuman nervous system. When he 'runs', he is actually pumping his legs along a fraction of an inch above the ground, propelling himself psychokinetically. He can't do it unless he thinks he can, though, and he doesn't think he can unless he's running. He could still have the superlubricating sweat (ickie though it is) and the biorubber bones and muscles, although when we take things to that extent, I have to start wondering if the whole Marvel mutant deal isn't the product of some deranged supergenius genetics engineer who has been operating in secret in there for generations. The coincidence of crucial metabolic enhancements seems utterly incredible, otherwise. Marvel's other superspeedsters, such as the Golden Age Whizzer, etc, probably function in a somewhat similar fashion, although how Bob Frank managed to get superhumanly flexible connective tissues, India rubber bones, fiberglass muscles and autokinesis out of radioactive mongoose blood is way beyond the scope of this article. Shapeshifting is just another energy transformation, and in fact, that explanation rather handily explains why, for example, Changeling only transforms himself into GREEN animals... because he isn't shifting into real animal forms at all. He's transforming his normal human body into energy, and patterning that energy into a tigerish shape, and because he, himself, is somehow green, he makes the tiger shape green, too. It's all subconscious, of course. Please don't ask me why he's green. I'd ask Marv Wolfman, but I'm terrified he'll say it's something to do with gamma rays. Rather more difficult to explain, on the other hand, is the Legion of Superheroes' Luornu Corggu Taine... various known as Triplicate Girl, Duo Damsel, and doubtless other sobriquets by now, as well. How the hell we make sense out of this one I have NO idea, but let's dive in, holding our two superhuman touchstones - psionics, and bodily energy transformations - firmly in front of us, and see if we arrive anywhere. Luornu, we are told, is from some goofy planet with a triple sun, and because it has a triple sun, everybody there has the ability to somehow split themselves into three separate identical bodies, with apparently three separate yet identical minds (one in each body, now, don't make this MORE confusing). This is bad enough, but to make matters worse, they all also have the ability to meld back together again into ONE body. (One wonders if just one could be reabsorbed, leaving two bodies, and if so, if the reabsorbed one would somehow be 'split' between the two bodies left, or if there is a 'primary' body that does the actual splitting and reabsorbing... but one doesn't wonder too much if one doesn't want a massive migraine.) Now, it's worth noting that virtually EVERYONE in the Legion, at least, the Silver Age Legion, had some sort of origin where everyone on their native planet had some strange ability because of specific and unique conditions found on that planet and that planet only. There were exceptions - Invisible Kid invented a serum that gave him his powers (and for some reason we will never understand, chose to fight crime and eventually be crushed to death by Validus, rather than become fabulously wealthy marketing the thing) and Karate Kid learned a skill that everyone thought was so cool (or they were all so afraid of) that they all tacitly agreed to call it a power - but for the most part, Legionnaires were simply heroic individuals from worlds where all the natives had some sort of racial superhuman ability. Now, no matter WHAT the original Legion writers say, all these cheerfully Caucasian, demonstrably interfertile humanoids did NOT independently evolve on these planets and thus, get these powers as survival traits acquired through selective breeding within those unique environments, as the early Legion issues actually state. It's far more likely that each original pool of colonists was somehow augmented to enhance their survival capacities in these otherwise fatal environments. Presumably, the same technology would be used to do this in each case, so the various different overt racial abilities would have the same underlying explanation or explanations. And, in fact, many of the Legion's powers can be explained psionically (Saturn Girl, like all natives of Titan, is actually telepathic). Thus, it doesn't seem too strange to theorize that those that aren't obviously psionic would have to do with biological energy transformations. So, then, we have these freaks who live under this triple sun, who can all split into three different bodies. Why would they need to split into three different bodies? Well, existing under three different suns, their Earthlike world most likely receives three times the solar radiation an Earth human would be evolved to withstand. Now, we could just whip these guys' DNA around to make them more resistant to radiation, (or, like, give them lead underwear) but where's the fun in that? (Work with me here.) No, better to suffuse them all with a form of transformation energy that allows them to, at will, duplicate their own bodies on a cellular level, harnessing the excess energy levels in their new environment as bio-energy that the extra two bodies will be made of. This way, if they 'split' regularly, the build up of excess radiation that would begin to poison a normal human can be bled off into the energy bodies, where it will be metabolized and radiated back to the environment. Once this happens the energy bodies would probably dissolve by themselves, but if the native really wants to, they can reintegrate the energy body before this happens. The apparent duplication of personality would be only apparent, a necessary social skill that these folks would learn for dealing with non native tourists (and if you don't think tourists would flock to a world where you can have a holiday romance with three beautiful identical girls or guys at once, you need to check your pulse, because you might be dead). In point of fact, the primary, biological body houses the central intellect, which is linked to the remote, bio energy bodies (bear in mind, these bio energy duplicate bodies, to all intents, purposes, surface appearances, social interactions, and practical uses, are completely natural and normal) and controls them as easily as it controls the primary body. Thus, Triplicate Girl could have all three of her bodies speak every sentence in unison, or every sentence half a beat off each other giving a weird echo effect, or each mouth could alternate speaking words in sequence... but that would freak people out, and Luornu is much too nice to do that. (Hopefully, she's not much too nice to give her swell fella of a boyfriend and eventual husband Chuck Taine several Penthouse letters worth of fulfilled harem fantasies -- and it serves Superboy RIGHT for never even noticing her, the jerk -- but I won't go into detail on that, however much the slavering fanboys in the audience, or the voices within the darker depths of my own depraved mind, for that matter, want me to.) (Okay, fine, send me your email address and I'll send you back the details, but bear in mind that I didn't write them and you can't prove otherwise, got it?) Now, I know, various Legion adventures have seemed to clearly establish that Duo Damsel's separate bodies have separate but equal personalities when split apart. I suggest that the explanation for this is a sort of healthy schizoid psychosis that all natives of this planet develop, creepy though it would be to anyone not native who knew what was really going on. In effect, they all start 'talking to themselves' while they're split up. It doesn't mean anything; the central mind is still in control for all practical purposes... but it's just something they do. Hey, at least you could always find someone to play Scrabble with. Furthermore, if Triplicate Girl, or even Duo Damsel, is basically one mind in multiple bodies, it helps to explain exactly why the Legion let her in. Let's face it, however sweet and lovely and adorable little Luornu actually is, and however enjoyable the uncensored videotape of her Legion tryout, in which she most likely demonstrated the advantages of having three bodies on a lonely Saturday night without a date, may be... nonetheless, the capacity to split into three separate bodies is not one to make the Fatal Five stagger back in terror whimpering 'no, no, not... HER!' However, if those three bodies are controlled by one mind, then we are left with a rather more effective heroine entirely. For one thing, she has the actually quite mindboggling ability to literally be in more than one place at one time. Given a course of intensive training in various armed and unarmed martial arts, a skilled warrior from Luornu's native planet, gifted with the ability to perceive and attack from three separate locations, with the sort of integrated coordination normally enjoyed only by, say, three fingers on the same hand of an inordinately skilled banjo player... well, I just bet she'd kick Wolverine's scraggly ass, anyway. Naturally, we never saw Duo Damsel demonstrate any such capacities, but hey, we never saw Superboy or Mon-El use their powers to full intelligent potential, either. Of course, my glib and facile explanation leaves some questions unanswered, such as, if splitting into one primary and two energy bodies is a survival mechanism meant to remove excess solar radiation from the primary body, why do they still do it outside their native environment? Heck, if they need the excess solar radiation to build the energy bodies out of, how do they do it outside their native environment at all? Most likely they can do it any time they've built up any sort of solar charge; it's just, in a more normal environment, they don't need to. However, if they do, the bodies are more 'stable', and don't dissolve on their own, making them actually more pragmatically useful outside their native, triple sunned world, than on it. And if that doesn't make sense, fine, YOU explain it. And while you're at it, explain how, after one of Triplicate Girl's bodies got fried by Computo, she lost her ability to split into three bodies, and had to become Duo Damsel instead. I'm not even going to try. Although... say the body Computo killed was actually her primary, biological body, and the two surviving bodies were the bio-energy duplicates. Somehow strengthened and solidified by the energy blast that killed their primary, originating pattern, the two surviving energy bodies found that they had to occasionally merge into one form again in order to remain integrated.... Hmmmm... well, I don't know where it gets me, but it at least explains SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPERHEROES #200, where one Duo-self got teleported away by a villain, and the other one had a mental breakdown, forgot the incident had ever happened, and then slowly, began to die. Moving on: size change, which I started all this nonsense out with well above, obviously also works the same way. The size changer transforms his normal physical body into an exact duplicate composed of some sort of living bio energy, and as living bio energy, if he wants to be much smaller or much larger, well, he (or she, let's not forget the Wasp, or Doll Girl, or Elasti Girl) can be. As to specifics, i.e., the physical problems with size change such as, how do people BREATHE when they're only an inch tall, and how does their blood flow, and how do they eat, and how do their teeny tiny brain cells function... like the old joke says, it's turtles all the way down. If a bio energy body can duplicate the effects of a normal body, it really doesn't matter what SIZE it is when it does it. Bio energy bodies most likely don't need to eat, drink, or breathe anyway, and chances are, the shrunken or grown adventurer doesn't even notice the lack of said needs unless someone points it out. Certainly, they're all grateful they don't have to squirm out of those tights to make bathroom calls. (And, for that matter, so are we.) So, there we have it... superstrength, shapeshifting, flight, size change... all neatly explained, without needing any advanced degrees in nuclear engineering or quantum physics. Sometimes I think I'm a genius. Then I realize that if I were a genius, I'd most likely have understood the quantum physics explanations in the first place... In our next installment of Metaphysics for Metahumans, we will take a general look at Items Of Power, and an in depth look at a few of them. Power rings, uru hammers, cosmic rods, Nth metal, and Pym particles are just a few of the wild and crazy gizmos we'll be looking hard at in Chapter 2 - Things That Make You Go Zoom. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * John Jones, the Manhunter from Marathon, IL, no longer dwells in Marathon, IL. He is also aware that he did not exactly explain anywhere above how Cyclops can fire fargin particle beams out of his fargin eyes (and not blast himself off the surface of the planet when he does it), or how ruby quartz, god save us all, somehow keeps this from happening. However, he is sure it has something to do with psionics or metabolic energy transformations. Either that, or Cyclops is actually the Golden Age Human Torch, rebuilt by Immortus into a modern day mutant hero who fires particle beams out of his eyes, in a third, completely separate, yet strangely looped timeline. Or something like that. And please, don't even think about asking me to explain Iceman. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [7] Great Googaly Moogaly Chad Trout cct107@psu.edu [Chad has been collecting comics for over a decade. He is currently slaving away writing his PhD thesis.] Well I am back!! I had a great vacation and got a lot of reading done. I recently won a bunch of Avenger comic off of ebay, so I took issues 120-200 with me on vacation. I only got to issue 150, which is about the point where it starts to get good. I have always wanted to read these issues because they feature the Beast. I am glad the Mantis was dropped early on, because she really irritated me. I would have made it further, but I am also reading Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. I decided I to read books by him and H. G. Wells, since they are remotely connected to the comic book field. The only thing comic book related that happened to me on vacation was that I got my picture taken with the original cape worn by Christopher Reeves in the Superman Movie. This was at Disney/MGM Studios. I spent 5 days at Disney and saw comic books in one shop. They were old and strung across for decoration. At least that was my impression. I was hoping to find some stuff on Barks, but they just concentrate on movies. Minor Spoilers may be present. The Powerpuff Girls Holy Molar DC Comics 1.99 Writers - Jennifer Moore and Sean Carolan Artist - Phil Moy Letter - Ryan Cline Colors - Dave Tanguay Assistant Editor - Harvey Richards Editor - Joan Hilthy This is not a comic I normally read, but my neighbor was telling me how much her two little boys love the show. I asked if she knew about the comic book. Well of course she didn't, so I decided to review an issue and get some comments from her kids. The oldest, who is 4, was very excited when I asked him about the comic. I have only watched a handful of the cartoons, but I would say the comic is very faithful to the show. I like them, but I still prefer Dexter's Laboratory and Courage the Cowardly Dog. My wife really likes the show a lot. I didn't have high hopes for this book, not being a big fan of the cartoon. I thought it would be rather boring and a chore to write this review. I was so wrong because I really enjoyed the show. The Powerpuff girls are basically three little Supergirls and the shows reminds me of the Superman stories from the 60's, but they don't feel dated at all. Does that make sense? If you are a long time fan it probably does and everybody else is going huh? I can see why the kids really like this cartoon. Its FUN!! The villains are silly and it doesn't take itself too seriously. The story centers on the fact that Bubbles is the first to lose a tooth. I really liked page 6. I remember scenes like that very vividly from my younger days with my sister. Every parent will also appreciate this scene. There are other great pages in this book. The panels seem bigger than normal and there are several poster shots, but they work very well. The use of the caramel apple was great. I laughed a lot more over this book than I thought I would, which is good. Recommendation: Buy this book and enjoy it with your kids. It's a great way to get them interested in reading. There are other Cartoon Networks books available. I hope to review some more of them in the future. Jack Staff Dancing Elephant Press-2.95 By Paul Grist This comic was on the recommendation rack at the store. Paul Grist also did a comic called Kane, which sounds familiar, but I just can not place it. That combined with the name and the cover was enough to make me buy it. First there is the name..and I will leave it at that. Then there was the cover, which just made me laugh and go huh? I am not sure it was intended that way or not. Jack Staff (What a name!!) is Britain's greatest hero...from WW II! The guy runs around with a quarter staff wearing an uniform that is designed from the Union Jack. The story is set in present day, with flash backs to WW II. In the flash backs we get to see Jack, Sergeant States, Tommy Twister. Another member we don't see is Blazing Glory. Together they are known as the Freedom Fighters. I loved the scene with the British talking about States behind his back was priceless! I would love to see some one talk about Captain America that way. Anyway these three dudes stumble upon a bizarre murder, which is the same type of murder taking place in the present day. In the present, a reporter just happens to want to do a piece on missing heroes, such as Jack Staff. We also meet John Smith, who seems to be very athletic for an average Joe. (See page 2) Next we are introduced to the detectives that are investigating the present day murders, including Tom Tom The Robot Man. Another great character! The only thing I was disappointed in was that I saw the ending coming ahead of time, but that didn't really diminish my enjoyment of the book. So let's take a quick recap. We meet about 8 people, most of them are Made interesting to me very quickly. Most creators cannot introduce that many people with out making the book feel cluttered, but Jack Staff doesn't feel that way. Overall I was intrigued about the characters And the book left me wanting more. Not only that, but the book made me laugh, there are not too many books that can do that. I am really not sure what my favorite part is, because they are all good. Recommendation: I recommend you stop playing Diablo II and run to the store to get this book. I highly recommend you check this book out. I could not find a web page, but I do have an address if you cannot get it from your store, email me and I will get you the address. Also check out the company logo in the upper left....it's a Dancing elephant of course!! I still have not made it through all of my comics, which came in during my vacation, but I have some Raving Rapid Hallucinations about some of them. JSA #14 YES YES YES YES!!!!! I really hope some bad DC history is totally rewritten! Preacher #65 Only one more issue of this series to go! Aquaman #71 The Warlord and Aquaman together! I couldn't believe Dan used the same joke that was used in Deathstroke The Hunter awhile back. Of course how many people actually remember that? Still Aquaman and Mera are together and on an adventure and this fanboy couldn't ask for more. Authority #16 I almost dropped this book when Warren Ellis left. So glad I didn't because I have never enjoyed Millar much. I think the book is actually BETTER now. I really can not believe I just wrote that, but its true. I will have to be on the look out for more of his stuff. 100 Bullets This books rocks! I dropped it early on, but kept my eye on it. It just started really slowly, but now all of those early stories are being tied together. There is a method to the madness. Highly recommended! Well that is all for this week. If you've got something to say email cct107@psu.edu ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [8] 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: Cyber Prison #2 Publisher: Kat & Neko Manga Price: $2.00 Story & Art by: Adam Goode To Make Contact: Email - kakabel@hotmail.com Webpage: http://come.to/shadowlander'sdream Comments: The beginning of this story reads in part: "In a world where society is incapable of learning from it's mistakes, a young woman is accused of a crime she did not commit. The Earth-Space government unleashed their legions of soldiers to apprehend this woman, but Arisa Miwahashi is not ready to give up her fight." The art director of this comic book is Kathryn Williams and she has set out a story in black and white artwork done with a smooth Manga style. Lots of talk about Pirate Wars in this space sci-fi story and how the pirates have attacked near the Keldra sector. The pirates use Raider-class attack ships and the ships are drawn with clarity and detail, you won't be disappointed. You will learn that this story is also a mystery with the murder of an executive officer and the threat of nukes in the horizon. Entertaining story that leaves you wanting more! Give this one a try. Name: A Shadowlander's Dream - Chapter Two: Death's Corridor #6 Publisher: Kat & Neko Manga Price: $2.50 Story & Art by: Katheryn Williams To Make Contact: Email - kakabel@hotmail.com Webpage: http://come.to/shadowlander'sdream Comments: Front cover done in bright colors - looks good! The story thus far reads in part: "Jenn discovers that her enemy is her uncle Akime, after finding him standing over the body of her grandmother. Jenn was saved by the timely appearance of Neko and Kurisu. Meanwhile Kima and May are still fighting..." Right from the beginning the clashing of swords occur and the fighting is quite intense. Lots of hostile interactions between the characters that will have you feel that you are standing on the sidelines looking in. Dream control is a major factor in the story with the use of drawing in the dream sphere's energy. If May-Chan destroys the dream - all others could die with the dream. May is considered a threat and contemplation of her death is analyzed here. Does she die? You'll have to pick up this comic and find out. Plenty of action and the suspense is enormous. You'll find a picture of Kathryn Williams at the Anime North Con with Stephen R. Bennit IV, Ben Dunn and Mark Hofmann. Enjoyable issue, definitely check it out! Name: Saint Angel #1 Publisher: Image Written and Drawn by: Karl Altstaetter Price: $3.95 Comments: Let's talk about the fabulous Saint Angel. The world of Kei Nor is truly a strange world and as a M.O.E. (Multiverse Observer and Explorer) I have found myself at home in this world. Stunning horror presents itself right from the beginning of this story, as Haldor, a once peaceful village is completely destroyed by the Markeen. The small mention of the hybrid men took my mind a second away from the drama only to reset it back in focus when the gigantic Markeen attacked. These creatures are huge and when it is said that they plunder the land and kill families, I have no doubt that they can do this with mere ease. It's amazing that Saint Angel's warriors are made up of a store keeper, farmer, magistrate and a priest. They fight with ferocity and are seemingly fearless. Saint Angel is definitely an enigma and there is much to learn of this warrior lady who is a leader of an elite team of warriors. Images stayed with me during this story and I won't forget the pit that was filled with skeletons and set on fire. King Galant knows that the best person to send on a mission is someone of his own blood and that would be his son Prince John Galant. If anyone can investigate the violence in Neamis and give a detailed true report, it would be the son of the king. It will be interesting to see the full character development of Bashar IV - King of Neamis. If there is corruption and scandal in his court, then Bashar IV must be someone who is quite evil and deceiving. I must say that the realm of Neamis was absolutely incredible with ships in the air and the gorgeous landscape. Yes, I have stepped into a new world. If gnomes and vampires inhabit this world, could there be a connection to Earth? Knowing that gnomes & vampires are part of our own mythology. All I could say was...'wow!'....when I saw Dregor! Dregor is large and mean and when he says that he wants Saint Angel killed, everyone knows he means it. How odd, the gnomes are a threat and it seems like vampires are allies to Saint Angel. What is strange is that the vampires and gnomes don't get along, since this was made obvious when the vampires were ready to feed off a gnome. General Tak'Mar seems to have everything under control, a true leader. Prince John Galant is truly a braveheart as he tells the General he is only a villager and joins his army. Enjoy the descriptive words that flow from Karl's mind as he says that when you kill someone up close, that their face will be burned into your mind. I've never killed anyone, but most likely this is a true statement. All I can say to Karl and Katty, this is truly a wonderful story and please let me go through the whole duration of this wild and exciting ride! Mega-Terrific! Besides all this, I get a Deity story to boot! Jamie who is now on a whole other level still thinks of the simple things in life, like what she is going to do this night. Like any normal teenager she gets her info from a happening guy like 13 and passes on the information about the 'rave'. It was funny seeing Kosmic Kat wanting to go and being left behind with a promise of a cheese cake. Yep, I'm ready for his animated adventures! I haven't partied since my single days and I agree with Jamie, it's always fashionable to be an hour late. Both stories were very entertaining and sparked up my whole evening! MOE Sidenote: New at A1 Comics are the following comics: Avataars - Convenant of the Shielf 1 of 3 by Marvel Comics, The Myth of 8-Opus by Thomas Scoli Publications, Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #1 by Kirby Comics, Cynical Girl #1 by Mortco Summer, Junior and Friends #2, Police Comics by DC Comics, Streetwise, Accelerate by Vertigo, Rex Hellwig #1 by Blackcat Comics, Fortune and Glory, Forgotten Realms - The Forbidden Sands of Anauroch, The Messenger by Image, The Metabarons #7 by Humanoids Publication Comics, High Adventure - Federal Agent Special Issue, Expo 2000, Dark Horse Maverick 2000, The Babysitter by SLG and a whole lot more! Brian Peets knows how to stock up on comics! For information on any of the above-mentioned comic books, you can contact Brian Peets, owner of A1 Comics at: A1Comics@a-1comics.com or A1Comics@quiknet.com Multiverse Observer and Explorer signing off until next time..... *** Hiatus from August 1 through August 11. Friends, Family and Business Associates: I will be on hiatus from August 1 through August 11, 2000. I will be on vacation in New Zealand with my family. I will be thinking of each one of you during my vacation on a daily basis (smile). Best, Paul Dale Roberts, Publisher Jazma Universe Online! http://www.jazmaonline.com/ Silhouet9@aol.com ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [9] 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!"] THE BRENT CLARK ROGERS GUIDE TO THE DC UNIVERSE (5th edition - 2000) 582 pages, black & white - text in paperback book format $35 US Created and published by Brent Clark Rogers 316 N. Pine Street Shelby, MI 49455 BCROG@juno.com Available for $35 plus $5 p&h, previous editions $20 plus $5 p&h Cover illustration by Scott Rosema This is the third time I have gotten a copy of the definitive list of all things DC, a labor of love put out annually by Brent Clark Rogers. I greatly appreciate his mention of the Emag in the credits and his continued support of our efforts. I am in awe at his devotion to cataloging all the people, races, planets, teams and actual titles that make up the DC Universe - what he affectionately calls the world's largest literary work. I am somewhat at a loss, as in the past, to actually "review" what is essentially a book of lists. If you stop and think about it, and try to guess just how many names of people, places and planets exist in the DCU you will probably fall way short. Brent has found over 13,000 characters, 849 extra-terrestrial races and hundreds of teams and groups. This edition boasts 1609 new characters not previously listed. Many of the new additions are a result of more research into the War comics, 400 purchased since the last edition. As a result the largest team entry in the book is now the US Army. Brent is very careful to include only the characters from the official DC Universe so you won't find those Elseworld people, or the older "Imaginary" stories or even the "Adventures" titles based on the TV shows. There are 5 sections in all. First are the characters listed from A through ZZLRRRZZZM. Next are teams and groups - including lists of types of characters not necessarily teamed together like lawyers, werewolves, Angels and so on. Third are the planets, and like the people, they are listed with the title and issue they first appeared, and whether it has been destroyed. Next comes the alien races with a list of known members, planet of origin and first appearance title. Last but not least are the titles that have had stories set in the DC Universe, from A. BIZARRO to ZERO HOUR. This exhaustive study gets more complete each time and is a wonderful source for any completist. Brent says every DC editor has a copy, though officially the company does not sanction it and will not publish it themselves ( continuity or lack there of being a constant problem with such a work). Whether these people or places still exist or have been wiped out retroactively in the minds and official canon of the powers that be, you won't find a more complete work on all things DC anywhere. If you have need of such a tome, or just want to support Brent in his quest to make it as complete as possible, send him a message or an order for your own copy today. If you are like me you will refer to it often. WRITHE AND SHINE #1/2 AND #1 (Oct 1999 - May 2000) $2/$1 black & white, digest format Created by Robert Tritthardt 828 Royal St. PMB #247 New Orleans, LA 70116 boysinister@hotmail.com http://www.geocities.com/dj_writhe You can guess from the description this is a self-published mini-comic and the creator hopes to put out a full sized comic this year. In fact the second book is actually the first 8 pages of 24 to be made into that comic book. The story is about Writhe, a young man new to the Goth scene in the Big Easy and looking for a job and a place to live. He finds both at a nightclub, almost by accident. He is curious about the disc jockey and hoping to request a song finds he has to climb a ladder to get to the DJ booth. It just happens he picks the wrong time to do this and the female jockey freaks out, leaving him to do as he will in the booth. He takes control and to his surprise the owner likes him even though no one dances to what he plays. The charm of this first look is the insight into the whole scene, the costumes, attitudes and all. Robert tries hard in the first issue to put together a series of four panel strips but opens up to telling a continued story in the next issue which works better. There are some funny gags and oddball characters enough to carry a full comic if he can get it together. Robert also has a unique art style that fits the subject matter. He appears to be a cartoonist with a lot of potential. I hope he gets that first issue out so we can all see more of his work. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [10] New Comic Book Releases List [NCRL] by Charles LePage chuck@comiclist.com +++WINNER OF THE 1996 REC.ARTS.COMICS.* "SQUIDDY" FOR BEST WEB SITE+++ http://www.comiclist.com New Comic Book Releases List for Wednesday, / /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 Tuesday evening, at http://www.comiclist.com and other places. You can receive this list each Tuesday via email by following the instructions at the web site, or you can email NCRL-subscribe@egroups.com PLEASE NOTE- Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. Let CHARLES know if any of the names or numbers are wrong. chuck@comiclist.com (Charles LePage) PUBLISHERS: If you know when your comics are going to be available through Diamond, please email chuck@comiclist.com so that he can place your comics on the appropriately dated list. Thanks! "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 ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS Archie #500, 1.99 Betty & Veronica Double Digest #91, 3.19 Sabrina Vol 2 #10, 1.99 Sonic The Hedgehog #87, 1.99 Veronica #104, 1.99 DARK HORSE COMICS Nevermen #4 (Of 4), 2.95 Oh My Goddess (Part Ix #2) The Goddess Apprentice, 3.50 Ring Of The Nibelung Valkyrie #1 (Of 3), 2.95 DC COMICS 100 Bullets #15, 2.50 Adventures In The Rifle Brigade #1 (Of 3), 2.50 Batgirl #7, 2.50 Batman Gotham Adventures #29, 1.99 Batman Legends Of The Dark Knight #134, 2.25 Batman Outlaws #2 (Of 3), 4.95 Crimson #20, 2.50 Green Lantern #129, 2.25 JSA Annual #1, 3.50 Legends Of The DC Universe #32, 2.50 Legion Lost #6 (Of 12), 2.50 Looney Tunes #69, 1.99 Lucifer #5, 2.50 Mad Bathroom Companion TPB, 9.95 Martian Manhunter #23, 2.50 Millennium Edition Sensation Comics #1, 3.95 Remarkable Worlds Of Phineas B Fuddle #1 (Of 4), 5.95 Star Trek Deep Space Nine N Vector #3 (Of 4), 2.50 Starman #70, 2.50 Superman Emperor ????, 3.50 Superman Pewter Figure, 24.95 Transmetropolitan The New Scum TPB, 12.95 Two Face Coin Prop, 79.95 Wildcats Vol 2 #14, 2.50 Young Justice #24, 2.50 IMAGE COMICS Aria Coll Ed #1, 13.95 Cow #1, 2.95 Dark Angel Phoenix Resurrection #2, 2.95 Dark Crossings Dark Cloud Overhead #2, 5.95 Demonslayer Vol 2 #3, 2.95 Distant Soil #30, 3.95 Eve Protomecha #5, 2.50 F5 #3, 2.50 Gear Station #4, 2.50 Kiss Psycho Circus #31, 2.50 Parts Unknown Hostile Takeover #2, 2.95 Rising Stars #9, 2.50 Rumble Girls Silky Warrior Tansie #3, 3.50 Saffire #2, 2.95 Sam And Twitch #13, 2.50 Savage Dragon #77, 2.95 Soul Saga #3, 2.50 Tomb Raider #7, 2.50 Witchblade Darkminds Special Pat Lee Cover, 5.95 Witchblade Darkminds Special Silvestri Cover, 5.95 Witchblade Revelations Dlx TPB, 24.95 MARVEL COMICS Conan The Flame And The Fiend #3 (Of 3), 2.99 Daredevil #13 (resolicited), 2.99 Fantastic Four #34, 2.25 Hellcat #2 (Of 3), 2.99 Iron Man 2000, 3.50 Marvel Boy #3 (Of 6), 2.99 Power Pack Peer Pressure #3 (Of 4), 2.99 Spider-Man Death And Destiny #3 (Of 3), 2.99 Spider-Woman #16, 2.25 Thor #28, 2.25 X-Men The Hidden Years #11, 2.50 VIZ COMMUNICATIONS Animerica Vol 8 #7, 4.95 Eagle Vol 6 King Of New York (Of 14), 6.95 No Need For Tenchi Part 9 #5 (Of 6), 2.95 WIZARD ENTERTAINMENT Inquest Gamer Dragonball Z Cover #65, 4.99 Inquest Gamer Dungeons And Dragons Cover #65, 4.99 magazines Alter Ego #5,