---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden Present: THE COMIC BOOK NET ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE ISSUE NUMBER 360 3/22/2002 Edited by: David LeBlanc - ComicBkNet@aol.com !!!!!! Winner of the 2000 EAGLE AWARD as FAVORITE COMICS E-ZINE !!!!!! 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] Interview:Jim Valentino ............... Tim O'Shea [6] EAGLE AWARDS for work in 2000 ......... Mike Conroy [7] Stream of Babbling .................... Tim O'Shea [8] Comics Culture Shrapnel ............... Kris Naudus [9] O'Shea's Offhand Opinions ............. Tim O'Shea [10] M.O.E. Reviews ........................ Paul Dale Roberts [11] My View:CROSSGEN - FEBRUARY ISSUES, THE EXEC, GENERIC COMIC, THE OCHLOCRAT .... David LeBlanc [12] New Comic Book Releases List .......... Charles LePage [13] HYPE! Section ......................... Various ______________________________________________________________________ World Wide Web Home Page-->> http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet Mailed by Yahoo!: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ComicBookNetworkEmag AOL text copies in Sci-Fi Library II - Keyword aol://4400:3990 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@yahoogroups.com To UNSUBSCRIBE send a message FROM the account to be dropped to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.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 2002 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 Emag, simply Email it to the editor at: ComicBkNet@aol.com You must include your REAL name and a valid Email address in order to be published in this Emag. Sorry, we do not accept anonymous columns. 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 any comic book 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 also includes 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 any comic books 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 of our 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. AOL search/keyword: aol://4400:3990 ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] On the Net David LeBlanc ComicBkNet@aol.com I had a plan, really I did! Last Friday I was getting out of work at noon (company policy since the seventies) and I was going to get an oil change and tires changed and I would have the rest of the afternoon to myself. I had made plans with my brother to go see THE TIME MACHINE that evening and we would meet around 6:00 PM. That meant, for a change, I would get the Emag out before 6PM on Friday. That was the plan. And it was my birthday, so what could go wrong? Now, #2 son is a freshman in college but is on Spring break. He was visiting his girl in New Hampshire and had a ride back in time to get to work at Papa Gino's. Then I get a call at about 11:00Am from my son and his ride fell through so could I pick him up. Well naturally I would, so I decided to try the car stuff but the wait was too long. I got them to save my place for later and went to do the 2 hour round trip. Maybe I could salvage something of the afternoon. When we got back I went back for the car service and that took longer than expected. I got home at 5 and barely had time to download the end of the week news before leaving to meet my brother. We had a nice meal and the movie was most enjoyable. I got home and had time to begin work wrapping up the mag and then had to pick up my son at work. More work on the mag and by the time I sent it the time was well after midnight. So I hit the sack and forgot about it. The next morning I checked Email and the mag had not been delivered to my AOL address. I checked the Hotmail address I use as a double check and it too was empty. That indicated it never was sent out. I checked my mail program and found the entire issue, 5 parts, had bounced back without getting through to YahooGroups. After surfing a bit I finally got to a message that said they had posted a notice on their web page (does that mean I am supposed to continually check their web page for notices of interruption of service?) that the groups would be down from Friday at 9:00 PM until Sunday morning. So, the Emag was never delivered to the groups and I resent on Sunday when the groups came up again. Now problem #2 is that AOL does not like a bunch of messages from the same source all at once. The resend got through to most everyone else but not the AOL addresses. AOL no doubt got lots of messages, not just mine, to members who belong to various mailing lists sent by Yahoo Groups and AOL figured that so many messages must be SPAM and stopped them. Sigh. . . At least these comics should have made it to the local comic shop . . . ABSTRACT STUDIOS Strangers In Paradise Vol III #47, 2.95 CROSSGEN COMICS Crux #12, 2.95 Scion #22, 2.95 DC COMICS Establishment #7, 2.50 Haven The Broken City #4 (Of 9), 2.50 JSA #34, 2.50 Monarchy #12, 2.50 Supergirl #68, 2.25 DIGITAL WEBBING Digital Webbing Presents #2, $2.95,<-----------Pick of the Week! MARVEL COMICS New X-Men #124, 2.25 Ultimate Spider-Man HC, 34.95 Ultimate X-Men #16, 2.25 NBM Boneyard #1-4 Set, $11.80 TYNDALE HOUSE PUBLISHERS Left Behind Vol 5 GN, $5.99 The worse part of the whole fiasco was the news I got on Saturday morning in an Email from Mike Conroy. I learned the Emag won the Eagle Award for 2000 as FAVOURITE COMICS E-Zine. I sent a "Special Edition" message to the mailing list, before the resend and alas our AOL subscribers did not get that either. If only I was able to follow the original plan the Emag would have been sent prior to the shutdown of Yahoogroups though the news of our win would have still been held back by the AOL block. This does not damper my spirits about finally becoming an award- winning publication. Though it is for the year 2000, and announced very late, it still recognizes my work and that of our many contributors in that year. Votes came in from over 30 countries which shows how far reaching the internet, and the love of comics really is. The official announcement is in this issue and by now everyone should have last week's issue. Hopefully, this week's plan worked. 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, including those sent to the columnists, 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:Quicken Forbidden by my son Jason. Date:3/17/02 1:33:41 AM Eastern Standard Time From:Silhouet98@cs.com To:ComicBknet Here is a letter my stepson Jason wrote to the Editor of Quicken Forbidden. The letter came back. I know the editor reads CBEM, so I am contributing his letter for the next issue of CBEM. Thanks Dave. mnemonic@juno.com Dear Jax Epoch: My stepdad finished reading Quicken Forbidden #2 and then handed it over to me to read. He said I just might like this story. Well, I must say he was right! First off, I must say I love the artwork. Even though the artwork is in black and white, the details and clarity was good enough for me to sit back and enjoy the artwork alone. John Green is truly an artistic talent. As I write this letter, my stepdad will correct my grammar, but I think I write well enough, that I should be able to get my message across clearly. Quicken Forbidden is intriguing fantasy and adventure. With this story, you never know what you might find. Dave Roman places me in a reality where I encounter a beautiful dragon flying through a modern day city, then a helicopter v. the dragon and finally some talking worms. Dave is brilliant! Yes, I do love this comic book and I will be back for more. I might have to wrestle my dad for your comic book! Sincerely yours, Jason Randall Porter, CEO (aka 8-Ball) Elk Grove Extreme Hardcore Federation WWW.EGExtremeHardcoreFederation.freewebspace.com 5606 Moonlight Way Elk Grove, CA 95758 Silhouet98@cs.com +++++ Subj:Congrats! From:afurlan6056@rogers.com To:ComicBkNet@aol.com Dear David Last week, I read your comments about the lack of emails sent to CBEM. I thought I'd try to rectify the situation, but couldn't think of a topic. Until a few moments ago, that is: *On Saturday Morning I received word from Mike Conroy at COMICS *INTERNATIONAL that CBEM had won the 2000 EAGLE AWARD for FAVOURITE *COMICS E-ZINE Congratulations! I've relied on CBEM as my primary source for up to date news on the comic industry for many years now, so I'm glad to see you've gotten some major league recognition for your efforts. Keep up the good work! (I'm pretty sure my message will not be the only one you receive) ;) [I won't run every letter of congratulations but some are from long time friends we have not heard from in a while. Angelo, where is my old favorite Sinnamon? - D.L.] +++++ Subj:RE: [ComicBooknet E-Mag] CBEM SPECIAL EDITION Date:3/17/02 6:41:41 PM Eastern Standard Time From:JennyConstantine@ono.com Just received your message, David. What can I say, except yell CONGRATULATIONS !! for this long due recognition to a quiet, steady and passionate work on behalf of comics. The EMAG is a truly unvaluable documentation resource and I treasure *every* issue and intend to do so in the future. Who knows, maybe one day I'll even ask you ( humbly ) for a chance to drop a collaboration... Almost feeling like getting "well and happy drunk" just like Jack Knight did when he knew Dian Belmont had won the Nobel... :-D My warmest regards from Valencia, Spain Adela Salguero +++++ Subj:FREE TRADING CARD Date:3/16/02 10:58:49 PM Eastern Standard Time From:AcntStdios@aol.com FREE TRADING CARD Ancient Studios has just received the first in what will hopefully be a long line of trading cards. The first in the League of Super Groovy Crimefighters card set is Black Belt, the badest jive talkin', spin kickin' brother out there! The front of the card features Black Belt in full jump kick and the back displays some vital and perhaps unknown details about everybody's favorite ethnic stereotype. Check it out at ancientstudios.com! Black Belt cards are FREE with any order at ancientstudios.com or just by e-mailing your name and address to ancientstudios@aol.com RIGHT-ON, Jan-Ives Campbell Ancient Studios +++++ Subj:Hey David From:phil.hall1@ntlworld.com To:ComicBkNet@aol.com David, how are you? Well, I hope? I was just wondering if the CBEM wouldn't mind sending out a plea for us at Borderline? We're still on the look out for a load of contributors: Reviewers for "The Verdict" - we've got a good rotating cast of jurors, but we're always looking for people who fancy reviewing the things that everyone else avoids like the plague. If any of your readers is interested they can contact andywinter1@yahoo.com Feature writers - you can never have too many people writing features in an industry as disparate as ours. We have a number of things we'd like to see covered, we just haven't got the base to draw from that we'd like. So, if you know of anyone that just fancies doing something, send them to Martin Shipp baboonatic@hotmail.com (a temp email address until he sorts his server out). If you can't get through to him, try editorial@borderline.mediahall.co.uk Interviewers - we have a stack of interviews lined up - we just haven't got enough people with enough expertise to do them! For example, we're planning an interview with Gianluca Piredda. Now, you and most of your readers probably haven't heard of him, but he's an Italian writer, who has just signed up to write a new Warrior Nun series for Antarctic Press. You might know people or have readers who are Antarctic junkies! ;) We also have interviews with Steve Rude, Scott Lobdell, Mike Deodato Jr and others in the pipeline. So if you know or have anyone reading that feels like doing something like this, tell them to contact me at phil.hall@borderline.mediahall.co.uk . And of course we have our popular Drawing Board and Young Guns features, which is an open advertisement for artists in our industry. The criteria is simple. If you're an artist with a little or no published work then you're a Young Gun (regardless of your age!). If you're an established comic artist then you're a Drawing Board! Any artists reading this who fancy a bit of self publicity - contact editorial@borderline.mediahall.co.uk - We ask for Young Guns to send a sample or two of their work! And that's about it! We have some exciting news waiting in the wings to be announced and hopefully I'll be able to let you know about that by next week! Hope things are well with you! Phil Hall Editor Borderline - The Comics Magazine http://borderline.mediahall.co.uk E-Mail: phil.hall@borderline.mediahall.co.uk Editorial address: 45 Fullingdale Road The Headlands Northampton NN3 2PZ England Tel: 01604 513867 Everything you ever wanted in a comics magazine but were afraid to ask! Delphi Forum: http://forums.delphi.com/BorderlineTCM/start Yahoogroup Discussion: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/borderline_magazine Borderline's Announcement Only list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Borderline-announce [BORDELINE is a PDF format Magazine rich with illustrations and readable on all platforms. - D.L.] +++++ Subj:Letter to the CBEM Editor: How lazy are comic fans? Date:3/20/02 11:13:41 PM Eastern Standard Time From:tim_jen@mindspring.com Dear David: First off, congrats on the Eagle Award for CBEM! Secondly, I read with interest your call of a few weeks back for folks to give CBEM some feedback and some letters. Even in asking, you essentially conceded that you did not expect a great deal of response. And I agree, typically you always hear from folks when they want to complain. It's in our nature I guess. So in a way it's good that there's not a lot of letters, as on some level, that means folks have nothing to complain about with CBEM. That being said, I was still shocked that there were not more letters in last week's edition. Are we as fans too lazy or too busy? I think it's a mixture of both. But letters need to be written with more thought than a typical post and carry more power to their words than may be conveyed in some message boards (which are quite popular these days). Look at the average tone and pace of a typical comic message board. I do not mean to single any out, but even the best has moments where the poster has clearly not thought before they posted their message. The eloquence of "You suck!" just does not convey the true feelings of the average person on a certain comic book subject. But too often in posts between two (or more) people, if the discussion gets heated or passionate, the level of debate too often deteriorates. By writing a letter you're forced to think your thoughts through a tad more than you might on a message board.Well-thought out letters will hopefully foster well thought out replies. If we use the letters to the editor effectively we can in fact add another level of value to the feature (this is not to diminish the previous letter writers who have contributed to CBEM in the past, you're constant contributions to the letters page are greatly appreciated and informative to folks already). Nonetheless we have the potential to take the CBEM letters to the editor portion to a higher level. For online examples of great letter to the editor discourse, check out the following examples: http://www.salon.com/directory/topics/letters_to_the_editor/index.html http://www.poynter.org/medianews/letters.htm Granted the two example are sites with higher circulations than CBEM, but hey, with an Eagle Award to the mag's credit, I'm willing to bet we can always aim high and at least partially succeed. Or at least try. If nothing else, write a letter to tell us how busy you are, too busy to write letters and have to go to the quick satisfaction of message boards. Let me stress however, while praising letters, this is not a condemnation of message boards. I use them heavily. I just think the discussion of comics could be even further improved by BOTH message board participation AND letters. The best of both worlds. Thanks, Tim O'Shea www.orcafresh.net ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [3] [TRIVIA CONTEST] **THE FIRST PLACE TO FIND THE EMAG EACH WEEK IS ON OUR HOME PAGE!** IF YOU ARE DESPERATE TO WIN THE TRIVIA, GO THERE FIRST ON FRIDAY NIGHT http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet 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: Who (by name) gave Ayden's bow to Arwyn? Jason Mah got it first, the mysterious Neven was the one in this great tale in the ongoing SOJOURN by CrossGen. Jason wins the Astro City: Family Album TP from our sponsor. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION: What three comic book titles were the first to have Full Holographic covers? IMPORTANT RULES NOTICE Email your guess to ComicBkNet@aol.com or just REPLY to the message if you read the Emag in your mail. DO NOT quote the entire message! You MUST allow mail from ComicBkNet@aol.com to be notified if you win. 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. Winners will forfeit their prize if the Email notification is not accepted from ComicBkNet@aol.com LIMIT: ONLY ONE PRIZE every 4 weeks PER PERSON! ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [4] Network Buzz News, gossip and rumors from around the industry Marvel swings to profit in fourth quarter NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters) - Marvel Enterprises Inc. , an entertainment company based around its comic book lines, said on Friday it swung to a fourth-quarter profit from a loss last year, largely due to a one-time gain from the repurchase of bonds at a discount. The company also said it expects improved operating results for the full years 2002 and 2003, reaching profitability in those years, excluding one-time charges. Marvel said net income for the quarter was $22.5 million, or 53 cents per share, compared with a loss of $57.3 million, or $1.70 per share, in the year-earlier period. The company said the net income included a $19.1 million one-time gain from the repurchase of senior notes at an average price of about 52 percent of face value. The New York-based company said net sales for the quarter decreased 22 percent to $49.6 million from $64.0 million last year. However, cost of sales decreased more than 56 percent to $18.8 million from $43.2 million. +++++ CROSSGEN SCHEDULES COMICS ON THE WEB VERSION 2.0 Enhancements Will Include Low Bandwidth And High Bandwidth Versions, Black & White Art Options, Multiple Language Selections TAMPA, FL., March 22, 2002 - Even though Comics on the Web is not even one month old, CrossGeneration Comics has announced its plans for version 2.0 of its popular Web comics subscription service, with an even more robust set of features and options aimed at giving users the best possible comics reading experience on the Internet. Currently, version 1.0 is live on a number of Web sites and portals, and works with any PC or MacIntosh computer that uses the Flash 5 plug- in. Currently scheduled for release in August of this year, version 2.0 will expand the basic capabilities of Comics on the Web version 1.0, while it also branches off higher resolution options for users with greater bandwidth. Functional improvements for release 3.0 are currently in discussion and will be released later this year. The features being implemented for this version include, but are not limited to: Low bandwidth/High bandwidth versions – This will provide a higher resolution product for users with high-speed connections (at no extra cost!), while still maintaining a version that's easy to use for 56K users, ensuring the widest possible audience for Comics on the Web. Black and White Ink versions – This will show readers what the art looked like before CrossGen's colorists got a hold of it. It will provide an interesting perspective for those who currently enjoy comics as well as new readers, while at the same time emphasizing the amount of craftsmanship a colorist brings to CrossGen's comics. Balloon on/off – Sometimes, you just want to look at the art (both black and white and color option support), without any captions or balloons to get in the way. It's also a great tableau that demonstrates the storytelling abilities of CrossGen's artists. Multiple language selection – As most CrossGen fans know, CrossGen's entire line is licensed for publishing in France, Belgium, Italy, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and now the former Soviet Union countries of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmen, Litva, Latvia, and Estonia. Soon, CrossGen will have language translations for the CrossGen Comics published in those countries and by year's end, will begin implementing those translations in the early chapters of Comics on the Web. Eventually, readers from around the world will be able to read CrossGen's stories in their own language. Accessibility-friendly balloon control from keyboard – "Mousing over" the word balloons is a great standard functionality, but for folks who need to use the keyboard more than the mouse in order to reduce the impact of repetitive stress injuries or other physical limitations, keyboard control is another option CrossGen feels is necessary to provide to users. Chronological Order Display (COD) – CrossGen Comics on the Web is all about choices, so in version 2.0, readers will have the choice of reading their issues in individual titles as they are laid out now (Scion #1, Scion #2, Scion #3, etc.), or they can start the CrossGen epic at the very beginning and read each issue from across all the titles in exactly the order they were released. In Version 2.0, readers will be able to start at the very beginning of the CrossGen universe, with CrossGen Chronicles #1, and then move into the numbers ones of our first four titles, reading them in the exact order that they were released chronologically. One of the features of reading CrossGen's stories in this manner is the discovery of the little continuity "Easter eggs" that our creators have left in many of the earlier issues of our line, and continue to leave periodically as the CrossGen epic evolves. By reading the stories as they were released, certain pieces of that puzzle become more apparent.Even if you've read every issue, reading it in this order will help the over-arching backstory of the CrossGen Universe unfold in an entirely new way. Lite player option for older systems – While all of us would LIKE to have speedy computers and fast connections, many of us do not. So, CrossGen Comics on the Web will be implementing a streamlined version of the interface that reduces the memory intensity of the comics for those who have baseline computers or for those users who like to multi-task and run many programs at once. "When we introduced Comics on the Web version 1.0, we were looking for the widest possible audience," said Tony Panaccio, CrossGen's Vice President of Product Development. "We didn't want anyone to be limited in their ability to enjoy Comics on the Web because they didn't have $5,000 for an optimum computer and $100 per month for a high speed connection. Comics on the Web was created to be affordable to the masses, so we struck a baseline resolution for the images and created a technology solution that was aimed at the primary standard modem speed 56K and RAM baseline of 16 megabytes. As a result, people with high- speed connections who are spoiled by high-bandwidth eye-candy currently get the same baseline resolution as a 56K user. We know that the high- end folks want high-end resolution, and we always intended to provide that in version 2.0, but we didn't want to launch with it outright to the exclusion of everyone else." About CrossGen's Comics on the Web CrossGen's Comics on the Web is the first inexpensive subscription- based distributed library of Internet-based comic books usable on PC and Mac platforms with a potential audience well into the millions. For the subscription price on only $1 per month to start, users are presented with Web comics in an easy to read format accessible in seconds from even the slowest dial-up connection. They read just like a printed comic, but with a rich set of features developed in Flash by one of the medium's most renowned programmers, Gabo Mendoza of Gabocorp Studios. Initially launched with more than 50 CrossGen issues available, accounting for more than 1,100 pages, the library will grow to more than 160 issues and 4,400 pages by the end of 2002, rising at a steady pace to nearly 20,000 pages in more than 800 issues by 2005. The number of issues available, when calculated against the $1 per month base, brings the cost per comic down to about 3 cents at launch time, and reduces it to about half a penny by the end of 2002. BRANDON PETERSON IS BACK Former MYSTIC Artist Picks Up Pencil And Brand New Artistic Style For Upcoming Mini-Series TAMPA, FL., March 18, 2002 - Since leaving his artistic responsibilities on Mystic, the series he helped launch, to work in a management capacity, Brandon Peterson has not put down his pencil for good. In fact, he's picked up a few more tools as well. Coming in late 2002, Peterson will begin using a cutting-edge artistic style as he re- teams with writer Ron Marz to co-plot a new four-issue monthly-shipping mini-series titled Chimera. Chimera is set in a corner of the CrossGen Universe yet to be explored, an area ruled by a vast intergalactic empire spanning dozens of worlds. The empire's ruling family is obsessed with unlocking the secrets of human genetics, of achieving perfection and power through manipulating human physiology. But the missing link in the genetic code has always eluded them. Until now. One woman on a remote ice world may hold the key to genetic perfection. And the cost may be her life. Chimera is a different type of science fiction than that seen in any existing CrossGen comic. "This is a tale of 'hard' science fiction," said Marz. "It's more Dune than Star Wars, with a beautiful heroine, powerful villains, vast space armadas and the awakening of a dead alien civilization, all set against a backdrop of exotic worlds." Chimera marks a new artistic direction for Peterson. Peterson, known throughout his career for his work as a writer, penciler, inker, and colorist, will use all of those skills on this new mini-series. Artistically, he will be rendering the entire mini-series using a technique called digital painting. Digital painting is a combination of pencils, inks, and colors all integrated into one seamless package. This new style is a radical departure from his past work. "This book is the culmination of my dozen years learning what I could about comics," said Peterson. "With it, I'm taking what I've learned about penciling, inking, and coloring and seamlessly blending them together to create something incredibly unique and different than anything ever seen in my past." This mini-series also marks the first time Peterson and Marz have worked together since Marz turned over the writing responsibilities of Mystic to Tony Bedard. "I think Brando and I both feel like we took Mystic as far as we could, then bowed out," commented Marz. "Chimera is going to be that much better for us having worked together previously, because we've had the chance to learn each other's strengths and weaknesses, and figure out how to get the best out of each other. This project's going to give me a chance to play with some different kinds of storytelling, and Brando's going to be doing some truly innovative things with his approach to his art. The stuff he's producing now is spectacular, and he's just getting warmed up. Chimera is definitely going to be worth the wait." SHIFT IN DIAMOND PICK-UP DATES FORCES SCHEDULE ADJUSTMENTS FOR CROSSGEN PRODUCT LINE CrossGen Adjusts Delivery Schedule To Account For Quebecor Policy TAMPA, FL., March 15, 2002 - With the announcement by Diamond Comic Distributors that their pick-up dates for comics will move from Fridays to Wednesdays starting in April - per a policy shift by Quebecor, the printing company that prints CrossGeneration Comics monthly titles - CrossGen announced today it will be adjusting its delivery schedule to account for the unexpected change in policy. According to Diamond Comic Distributors, Quebecor has decided to shift pick-up dates for comics from the traditional Fridays to Wednesdays. In the last week of February, Diamond Comic Distributors released the following statement to comics publishers: "Dear Vendor, As you might have noticed, Diamond recently revised the Previews publishing schedule. This change was to accommodate Quebecor's new release dates. Starting in April, Quebecor's release date will be Wednesdays instead of Fridays. That will mean, for example, that Diamond will pick up new books and reorders that are available on April 3rd instead of the previously planned April 5th. Please take this new timeframe into account when setting your production schedule. Retailers will still continue to receive their shipments on the Wednesday following that week's pick up from the printer. If you have any questions please contact your Brand Manager. Bill Schanes Diamond Vice President of Purchasing" In a letter to readers that will appear in CrossGen's comics, CrossGen Publisher and CEO Mark Alessi addressed the issue to fans. "For publishers who ship between 10 and 20 percent of their comics late anyway, we're certain this letter was barely a blip on the radar screen," Alessi wrote in the letter. "At CrossGen, this news was not well-received, because it essentially means that the books that we deliver on time to our printer will not be delivered to retailers on the dates originally promised in Diamond's solicitations. In fact, this change effectively will shift CrossGen's entire schedule back by one week starting May 1, 2002." The two-day shift backward actually accounts for a seven-day shift in actual production time, as CrossGen's regularly scheduled printing and binding times for its books have traditionally been the early part of the week. Losing two days effectively pushes CrossGen's schedule back a full week because those printing schedule slots cannot be changed to different days. The only other option for CrossGen would be to back up its entire creative process and production operation by a full week. After careful consideration on the impact on creators and production staff of moving the production schedule back a full seven days, CrossGen has chosen to stick with its current production schedule, which will result in comics printed at Quebecor on regular schedule not being picked up by Diamond on Friday when they are normally ready, but rather, the following Wednesday, causing the existing on sale dates to be pushed back by one week. The first delivery date affected by the change in Quebecor's policy will be May 1. "I do not think anyone can argue the fact that we are the most schedule-conscious publisher in comics," Alessi said. "We've built a very complex product line in Compendia, trade paperbacks, single issue comics and Comics on the Web. Every milestone date in our production schedule is linked to a trigger date for the availability of other pieces of our product line. Overhauling that schedule because of a policy shift from a third party that we have no control over would cause a massive disruption of all those trigger dates, our production staffs lives and, above all, our creators' schedules. While our books are steeped in fantasy and science fiction, that does not give us the power to bend the laws of time and space. We cannot create seven days out of thin air, so we have chosen to stay on our original production schedule." The one-week shift will not last for long, however, because some months have five Wednesdays in them as on-sale dates for new comics. The schedule will essentially even itself out by September of this year. New on sale dates for all of CrossGen's monthly titles can be found at here. "We apologize for the inconvenience of not having comics delivered to comics shops the week of May 1, but this was a policy controlled by third parties and it was completely not of our making," Alessi said. "For days, our teams fought hard to produce scenarios that would beat this dilemma, but the wear and tear on the people here, who already work 60-70 hour work weeks to stay on schedule and produce the best quality possible, would have been too great, and the quality of the product might have been legitimately compromised. While they would have actually taken on the extra load to avoid this, we would not have felt comfortable asking them to do so. They are the best team in comics, and making them work even harder to solve a problem that they didn't even cause is simply not an option we were willing to consider." YOUTOPIA.COM JOINS COMICS ON THE WEB PROGRAM Teen Portal Brings Comics On The Web To Its 1.2 Million Members TAMPA, FL., March 14, 2002 - YOUtopia.com, one of the Internet's most popular portals for teen-agers with more than 1.2 million members, has entered into a strategic partnership with CrossGeneration Comics on the Web. The site, which features content from pop music stars such as Britney Spears, O-Town and others, now features a content button on its main page for CrossGen Comics on the Web. The partnership with YOUtopia will also spawn a variety of contests and promotions that will see YOUtopia cross-pollinate some of its existing content with CrossGen. "When we were introduced to CrossGen's comics and their Web offering, we were very impressed ," said Jerry Kavoun, senior vice president of YOUtopia's parent company, 800 America. "It is extremely well-produced, and Comics on the Web was such an easy download and such a fun read, we knew that this would be a huge winner for us. Our promotional team is overflowing with ideas on co-promotion, and is looking forward to some more very exciting projects with CrossGen." While the site is currently live with Comics on the Web, a launch contest is in the works for April. "We went from our first phone call to deal to going live within the course of five business days," said Tony Panaccio, Vice President of Product Development for CrossGen. "Sites like YOUtopia are why we created Comics on the Web. The site has more than a million young members in the 15-24 age group, which is stronger than simply talking about unique visitors per month. They are loyal users of this site, and chances are the vast majority of them have not ever cracked a comic book in their lives. YOUtopia's management believes, as we believe, that once they sample Comics on the Web, we'll be well on our way to bringing thousands and thousands of new young readers into the comics hobby." With the launch of CrossGen Comics on the Web in February, CrossGeneration Comics, Inc. has embarked on an ambitious campaign to associate top media partners to help promote and support the new program. The addition of YOUtopia helps push the potential unique visitors for Comics on the Web well into the multiple millions. The aim of CrossGen Comics on the Web, with its $1 per month subscription price tag, is to create a low-cost point of entry for new readers in places already populated by those potential new readers. After an initial two-month free trial period, which ends April 22, 2002, a subscription fee of $1 per month will be charged. This subscription price allows for unlimited access to the entire library of CrossGen Comics on the Web. After the initial wave of 50 comics is available, CrossGen will release new issues weekly, all included for the same subscription price. CrossGen Comics on the Web will contain links to a list of CrossGen's Premier Retailers, including store names, zip codes and even road maps, allowing curious new readers a fast and effective way of finding a comic store in their area that is assured to carry CrossGen product. CrossGen Comics on the Web were designed to be read simply and easily by even the most novice of Web surfers or comic readers. The Flash- enhancements allow for quick download times even on the slowest of connections. The only waiting occurs as the first page image loads. Following pages load in the background, allowing readers to begin reading within seconds of opening Comics on the Web. Once a reader begins, they can simply roll their mouse pointer over the word balloons and the size of the word balloons increases to make viewing easier. Throughout their experience other features make CrossGen Comics on the Web simple to use and enjoy. "Story So Far" information is available during every issue. Character biographies and current issue descriptions are also available. And a handy Help function shows how to make every function work properly. To see and sample CrossGen Comics on the Web, go to: www.comicsontheweb.com About YOUtopia YOUtopia.com is the first on-line loyalty site for teens across North America. YOUtopia.com harnesses the power of the Internet to empower teens with their own on-line currency called YOUdollars. YOUtopia.com rewards users with YOUdollars for participating in sponsored proprietary product knowledge and interactive games. YOUtopians redeem YOUdollars for coveted teen merchandise including movie passes, CDs, DVDs, clothes and electronic gadgets. For youth marketers, YOUtopia is the ultimate one stop research and branding tool and a channel to collect and interpret valuable consumer feedback on product knowledge and preferences, lifestyle trends and spending patterns of this untapped demographic. YOUtopia provides valuable insights into the lucrative teen market, while creating unique branding opportunities online and offline. YOUtopia.com, founded in 1999 is a privately held company currently with offices in Tennessee and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. COMICS ON THE WEB DRIVES 30 PERCENT INCREASE IN REORDERS Free Comics On The Web Version Of The Path Prequel Drives Reorders Up By 54 Percent, Overall Line Up By 30 Percent TAMPA, FL., March 12, 2002 - Less than 30 days after the launch of CrossGen's Comics on the Web, retail sales of CrossGen's comics and trade paperbacks are taking an upward turn, with much of it taking place the week after the launch of Comics on the Web, according to recent sales statistics. According to figures from Diamond Comic Distributors, first week advance reorders for The Path taken the week after the entire issue was posted for free on CrossGen's Comics on the Web increased by 54 percent over the level taken for CrossGen's Sojourn Prequel, which was not posted online prior to its release. In addition, the second week reorders, which typically drop by 50 percent after the comic's release, actually increased by 23 percent for The Path Prequel. Also, advance reorders for The Path #1, still two weeks from being released, rose by 45 percent in the first week after The Path Prequel's release, and then another 45 percent on top of that the following week, further bucking the trends for low advance reorders before a book is released. Finally, initial orders for The Path #1 rose by 9.5 percent above the initial orders for The Path Prequel. In relation, the increase in initial orders between Sojourn Prequel and Sojourn #1 was only 2.3 percent. In addition, particular runs of CrossGen's backlist that were represented in the initial free launch of Comics on the Web on February 22, 2002, all jumped in reorders, with some doubling up over the previous week. Sales of CrossGen's volume one trade paperbacks increased by 26 percent, reorders for the Sojourn Collected Edition more than doubled. Robert Scott, owner of Comickaze Comics and forum leader for the Comic Book Industry Alliance forum on Delphi, said that the release of Comics on the Web sparked a run on CrossGen Comics in his store. "We've seen customers abandon comics in droves over the last decade and yet most publishers are content to practice business as usual, looking for ways to steal bigger chunks of a shrinking pie from their competitors," Scott said. "This again is important to me because if customer A moves his $20 a week from Publisher A to Publisher B, there is no growth for the Direct Market. What we need is a Publisher who is capable of creating an awareness and demand for their product and that is precisely what CrossGen has done since Day One. CrossGen has earned a great deal of respect from Comickaze and our customers due to their innovative business practices, quality product line and their willingness to work with retailers and outside of industry norms. Now with their Comics on the Web and announcements of their new Compendia Series, I am seeing something even more amazing. New customers, even customers who are not ordinarily comic readers, are coming to Comickaze and asking for CrossGen books and because of our participation in the CrossGen Premier Retailer Program and our agreement to maintain at least five copies of all in print titles, these customers are leaving with entire runs of CrossGen titles. In addition, Scott even offered up some statistics from his own store's performance with CrossGen's line over the last few months. In January, CrossGen comic sales had a modest increase to 6.2% of Comickaze's overall sales but after the announcement of the Compendia Series, Comics on the Web and the interest Hollywood has in their line-up, the February CrossGen sales rose to 8.5% and in March they currently account for 16.8% of all store sales. In fact, their CrossGen March dollar sales already exceed Comickaze's 2001 monthly average and year- to-date CrossGen is their number 3 publisher, exceeding the next two publisher's sales combined. "After hearing their plans to continue driving new customers into our shops, I see no reason that this trend will not continue," Scott said. CrossGen's marketing team initially shared concern over the impact of Web comics on print comics sold at the retail level, but decided to move forward in order to expose comics to as many new readers as possible. "Since Day One of the launch of CrossGen's Comics on the Web, there has been a concern that the very existence of Comics on the Web was going to hurt back issue and frontlist sales," said Tony Panaccio, CrossGen's VP of Product Development. "Having said that, and those were not easy words, we've been gratified by the fact that sales almost instantly increased after the launch of Comics on the Web. We would be lying if we said that we were absolutely certain that Comics on the Web was going to move more comics at the retail level, but we also were faced with voluminous research and interviews with dozens and dozens of retailers who all felt strongly that the Web would do more to increase the comics audience base and enhance sales than hurt them. When faced with the fact that the mass consumer population can rent DVDs for $3, yet continue to buy them for $20 by the millions, we knew that Comics on the Web with it's $1 per month point of entry could definitely work in the same manner. When faced with an imploding retailer base, we felt it was worth the initial risk to test those waters. Now we know, and we will continue to fine-tune our presentation of Comics on the Web to spark even more sales as we move forward." +++++ Dr Pepper Racing to Run 'Spider-Man' Themed Car in Texas O'Reilly 300 NASCAR Busch Series Race 26 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Takes on the Image of Popular Superhero to 'Web' The Checkered Flag at Texas Motor Speedway PLANO, Texas, March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- In preparation for the April 6 O'Reilly 300 Busch Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, Dr Pepper and Carroll Racing announced today that the #26 Chevrolet Monte Carlo will take on the arachnid-like image of Spider-Man to help the Dr Pepper team "web" the checkered flag. The Spider-Man design marks the first time Dr Pepper has applied a special paint scheme on its race car since it began sponsoring a team in 1998. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020318/DAM017 ) Set to debut in the Busch Series competition at Texas Motor Speedway, the colorful Spider-Man graphics of the #26 Dr Pepper Monte Carlo will help to further publicize and promote the upcoming nationwide Dr Pepper/Spider-Man feature film tie-in and on-pack consumer promotion. Scheduled to be in market by mid-April, and run through July, the promotion will link Dr Pepper with the web-spinning superhero who has more than 35 years of brand awareness, proven popularity and success among Dr Pepper's 12- to 34-year-old target audience. "Spider-Man is one of the most recognized fictional characters in America, garnering an 85 percent household awareness in the minds of 18- to 24-year- olds," said Cindi Clark, Dr Pepper's senior vice president of marketing. "What better way to maximize the exposure for one of Dr Pepper's on-pack promotions, the Dr Pepper and Carroll Racing team, than by leveraging the image of one of the most popular comic- book heroes who constantly overcomes adversity by using his spider-like powers." "Throughout the racing season, we are constantly looking for that extra added edge that will help create excitement for the fans while providing new imagery to differentiate our car from the rest of the field," said Dave Carroll. "By incorporating the Spider-Man character within the paint scheme of the #26 Dr Pepper race car, we are confident that it will help us create excitement in the series, as well as with racing fans," continued Carroll. Texas Motor Speedway is one of the Busch Series venues where cars run on an extremely fast and smooth 1.5-mile track. Last year, the Dr Pepper/Carroll Racing team competed aggressively in the race, and this year the team anticipates completing a fast run with the expectation of bringing home a top 10 finish. On May 3, Columbia Pictures, a Sony Pictures Entertainment company, debuts the Spider-Man action and adventure movie in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the web-slinger's first appearance in a comic book. Directed by Sam Raimi, the movie centers on the story of teen- ager Peter Parker's (Tobey Maguire) transformation into Spider-Man and his fight against evil. The film also stars Willem Dafoe as Spider- Man's nemesis the Green Goblin, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris and J.K. Simmons. Written by David Koepp, and based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the film is produced by Laura Ziskin and Ian Bryce. Avi Arad and Stan Lee are executive producers. Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc., based in Plano, Texas, is the leading non- cola soft drink enterprise in North America and the largest subsidiary of London- based Cadbury Schweppes plc (NYSE: CSG). Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.'s soft drink brands represent about 16 percent of the U.S. carbonated soft drink market. The company's major soft drink brands include Dr Pepper, 7 UP, A&W Root Beer, Sunkist, Canada Dry, Hawaiian Punch, Schweppes and Squirt, as well as RC Cola and Slush Puppie Brands. For more information about Dr Pepper/Seven Up and its brands visit www.dpsu.com . +++++ Spider-Man' Spins World Wide Web With Exclusive Internet Debut - Latest Theatrical Trailer to Debut on thhe Internet - CULVER CITY, Calif., March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest theatrical trailer for "Spider-Man" will be shown exclusively on the World Wide Web before being presented in theaters nationwide, it was announced today by Geoffrey Ammer, President of Marketing for Columbia TriStar Marketing Group. The trailer which includes new footage from the highly-anticipated action adventure film will be premiered at www.sony.com/Spider-Man beginning Wednesday, March 27 at 9 AM (PT). The trailer will be available in three sizes, including full-screen, exclusively through Apple's QuickTime technology. "By placing this trailer exclusively online, we are giving fans everywhere an opportunity to get caught in Spider-Man's world wide web," Ammer said. "This Internet exclusive is also our way of saying 'thank you' to the online community that has so enthusiastically followed and supported the development and production of 'Spider-Man' over the past several years." The teaser trailer will offer fans a final glimpse of the film prior to its debut on May 3. The trailer gives audiences a chance to view the film's state-of-the-art visual effects and shows Spider-Man patrolling the city below by using his webshooters to swing from rooftop to rooftop, performing aerial acrobats and crawling on buildings with the stickiness of an arachnid -- all in a day's work for one of the most popular comic book heroes of all time. Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment's official "Spider-Man" site surpasses traditional movie sites by providing a truly immersive and experiential encounter that will entertain, engage and inform fans. The site includes video press conference highlights, downloads, discussion boards, sweepstakes and extensive behind-the-scenes information. Using a uniquely viral approach, the site has already become a permanent fan favorite. "Spider-Man" stars Tobey Maguire as the web-slinging superhero and is directed by Sam Raimi. The film also stars Willem Dafoe as the villainous Green Goblin, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson, James Franco as Harry Osborn, Cliff Robertson as Uncle Ben, Rosemary Harris as Aunt May and J.K. Simmons as Jonah Jameson. Based upon the world famous superhero that first appeared in a comic book in March 1963, "Spider-Man" centers on student Peter Parker (Maguire) who, after being bitten by a mutant spider, gains superhuman strength and the spider-like ability to cling to any surface. He vows to dedicate his life to fighting crime. "Spider-Man" is produced by Laura Ziskin ("As Good As it Gets," "To Die For," "Pretty Woman") and Oscar(R) nominee Ian Bryce ("Almost Famous," "Saving Private Ryan," "Twister"). Avi Arad ("X-Men," "Blade") and Spider-Man co- creator Stan Lee serve as executive producers. The screenplay for "Spider-Man" was written by David Koepp ("Stir of Echoes," "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," "Jurassic Park"). The creative team includes Oscar(R)-nominated director of photography Don Burgess ("Cast Away," "What Lies Beneath," "Forrest Gump"), production designer Neil Spisak ("The Gift," "For Love of the Game," "Heat") and costume designer James Acheson, who has won Academy Awards(R) for "Restoration," "Dangerous Liaisons" and "The Last Emperor." For more information on "Spider-Man," please visit www.sony.com/Spider- Man . +++++ Hi Comix Decoders-- TUESDAY MARCH 26, 7:00PM School of Visual Arts @ 209 E23rd St btwn 2nd and 3rd Ave in the SVA Amphitheater in New York City FEATURING READINGS AND DISCUSSION BY COMIC ARTISTS: FAREL DALRYMPLE (Pop Gun War) JESSICA ABEL (Artbabe, La Perdida) HOWARD CRUSE (Stuck Rubber Baby) and last minute addition: DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI (Rubber Blanket, City of Glass) hosted by MATT MADDEN and CALVIN REID Come by early, 5:30PM - 7:00, to check out the first-ever SVA Student Comic Expo in the lobby of the same building (see below for more info). ADMISSION IS FREE! We are presenting a School of the Visual Arts-themed Comix Decode event in association with the Illustration and Cartooning Department of SVA. (This is why Jessica is reading again so soon--she is faculty at that school). We hope you will be able to come to the event and check out the students' work at the comic expo as well (see below). Both events are free and open to the public. Attached below is the press release from SVA with all the info (the Amphitheater is just upstairs in the same building, by the way). We are hoping to do another event in April or May, as well. Information to follow. Pass it on! Best, Calvin Reid, Matt Madden, and Jessica Abel for more information about COMIX DECODE, go to http://www.artbabe.com/comixdecode +++++ Subj:Free Comic Book Day - UPDATE #3 Hello! ***** THE MATRIX JOINS FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! Yes, THAT Matrix! David Lapham, of Stray Bullets fame, is offering a special Free Comic Book Day flip book, which contains a Stray Bullets story, and also Lapham's Matrix comic from the Matrix website! This marks the first time EVER that a Matrix comic has been available in print! ***** CLOSE TO 2 MILLION COMICS! That is NOT a typo! So far, the number of comics slated for availability through comics shops on May 4 is nudging the 2 million mark! There will be plenty to go around, so... ***** 50 STATES! 29 COUNTRIES! Yeah, more numbers...but they're good numbers! Close to 2,000 stores are participating in Free Comic Book Day, encompassing all 50 states in the U.S. and a total of 29 countries around the world! To our international readers: A list of exactly which countries are participating will be up soon! ***** TELL YOUR FRIENDS! OK, so you're psyched about Free Comic Book Day, but you want to do more than just score a free comic or two. You want to contribute. You want to live up to the spirit of the day by bringing a friend (or two, or three, or twenty...) along with you. But...your friends don't know anything about comics. Not a problem. Point them to www.FreeComicBookDay.com, where we've teamed up with our friends at The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide and Collect.com to offer a primer on comics history and milestones. Clicking on the links to 'NEW TO COMICS?' or 'COMICS HISTORY & STATS' will open up a wealth of information to your non-comics-reading friends. And you'll probably find some interesting stuff there, too! ***** SUPPORTERS! We've added a bunch of folks to the Supports page, including our new Fans & Friends section. Check it out! ***** FAQ! We're still getting some questions that are answered on our FAQ: Stuff like, Is Free Comic Book Day happening outside of North America? How many free comics do I get? How do I get them? Check out the Frequently Asked Questions for answers! TIP: Grab a few non-comics-reading friends on May 3, and see the Spider-Man movie with them. Then tell 'em that there's more great stories where that came from...and take them to your local comic book store the next day for free comics! Or see a matinee on May 4 and swing by the comics store with your buddies right after! Don't forget: May 4 is the magic day. Mark it on your calendar, tell your friends, and we'll see you in our next update! +++++ REVIEW of BLADE II Snipes back in bloody "Blade" sequel Blade II (Martial-arts vampire thriller, color, R, 1:56) By Joe Leydon AUSTIN, Texas (Variety) - Genre fans likely will respond in sanguine fashion to the literal and figurative overkill in "Blade II," an aggressively over-the-top followup to the hit 1998 comic book adaptation toplining Wesley Snipes as an eponymous anti-hero who's half-human, half-vampire and all business when it comes to battling bloodsuckers. Director Guillermo del Toro evokes the lurid pulpiness of his "Mimic," rather than the understated spookiness of his "The Devil's Backbone," as he injects fresh blood into the franchise. But pic may be too grisly to extend its appeal beyond its fan base, and it could fade faster than Dracula at daybreak after posting solid opening-week numbers. But it likely will stake out immortality as a cult-fave home video. Snipes once again provides the proper amount of ultracool gravitas as he slices, dices, shoots and scores in the title role. For the benefit of those who tuned in late, scripter David S. Goyer (also returning from the original) provides a brisk precis of character's backstory. Years ago, Blade's pregnant mother was bitten by a vampire shortly before giving birth to him. The mix of human and vampire blood resulted in a hybrid offspring -- or, to use vampire parlance, a "daywalker" -- who has all of the powers, and none of the weaknesses, associated with the undead. Blade has devoted his life to ridding the world of suck-heads (his epithet of choice) like the monster that claimed his mama. Trouble is, sooner or later, he may develop a resistance to the serum that stifles his sanguinary cravings. Del Toro fashions "Blade II" as a neo-noir adventure that combines the bold visual style of comicbook storytelling with the frenetically acrobatic mayhem of a Hong Kong action film. Blade himself is a Batmanly figure in cool shades and black-on-black bulletproof attire, armed with devices more lethal than anything in the Caped Crusader's utility belt: In addition to silver spikes and silver-tipped bullets, his arsenal includes a booby-trapped samurai sword, hypodermics filled with liquid garlic -- and, most prominently, knife-edged boomerangs. But wait, there's more: Del Toro ups the action quotient by employing Hong Kong fight master Donnie Yen ("Iron Monkey") as co-star and fight choreographer, and occasionally increases the film speed to give some scenes the look and feel of Japanese anime. Probably the smartest move is resuscitating Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), Blade's grizzled mentor and weapons designer, who appeared to be seriously dead at the end of the first "Blade." Kristofferson's drawling sass provides a nicely sarcastic counterpoint to the fast-and-furious action. In "Blade II," Blade is pitted against undead overlord Damaskinos (Thomas Kretschmann). But Damaskinos proposes a temporary alliance with Blade to defeat a common enemy: a super-race of vampires, known as Reapers, who feast on suck-heads and humans. The forces of darkness are led by Nomak (Luke Goss), a ghastly nightcrawler who resembles the title bogeyman of F. W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" and whose lower jaw easily expands into insectlike mandibles. (All the better to bite you with, my dear.) To nip the Reapers in the bud, Blade reluctantly joins forces with a Blood Pack, soldier-vampires originally trained to hunt and destroy him. Reinhardt (Ron Perlman), leader of the pack, obviously shouldn't be trusted. There's only slightly more doubt about the sincerity of Nyssa (Leonor Varela), another of Blade's temporary allies, who just happens to be Damaskinos' daughter. Filmed on appropriately spooky and/or decrepit locations in and around Prague in the Czech Republic, "Blade II" proceeds at the pace of a silver bullet, sometimes at the expense of narrative clarity. The borderline-chaotic fight scenes, set to a deafeningly loud rap- rock/heavy metal score, are directed and edited for maximum kinetic impact. A few extend way past the point of comfort, but the overall effect is more exhilarating than exhausting. Special effects -- including, of course, the depiction of disintegrating vampires -- are uninspired but effective. Snipes acquits himself with unforced authority and a smidgen of self- mockery as he reprises his guns-and-poses performance of "Blade." Supporting players of note include Kristofferson, Perlman, Varela and Norman Reedus as a grungy weapons designer. Funniest exchange occurs when Blade asks if one of Damaskinos' minions is human: "Barely," the underling replies. "I'm a lawyer." Blade ............. Wesley Snipes Whistler .......... Kris Kristofferson Reinhardt ......... Ron Perlman Nyssa ............. Leonor Varela Scud .............. Norman Reedus Damaskinos ........ Thomas Kretschmann Nomak ............. Luke Goss Chupa ............. Matthew Schulze Asad .............. Danny John Jules Snowman ........... Donnie Yen Kounen ............ Karel Roden Verlaine .......... Marit Velle Kile Priest ............ Tony Curran Lighthammer ....... Daz Crawford Rush .............. Santiago Segura Jigsaw ............ Xuyen Tu Valdivia Golem ............. Marek Vasut A New Line Cinema release of an Amen Ra production in association with Imaginary Forces. Produced by Peter Frankfurt, Wesley Snipes, Patrick Palmer. Executive producers, Lynn Harris, Michael De Luca, David S. Goyer, Toby Emmerich, Stan Lee, Avi Arad. Co-producers, Andrew J. Horne, Jon Divens. Directed by Guillermo del Toro. Screenplay, David S. Goyer, based on the Marvel Comics character created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan. Camera (Deluxe color), Gabriel Beristain; editor, Peter Amundson; music, Marco Beltrami, Danny Saber; music supervisor, Happy Walters; production designer, Carol Spier; costume designer, Wendy Partridge; visual effects supervisor, Nicholas Brooks; stunt coordinator, Jeff Ward; sound (Dolby), Mark Holding; assistant director, Julian Wall; second unit director, Greg Palmer; casting, Nancy Foy, Jeremy Zimmermann. Reviewed at AMC Studio 30, Houston, March 18, 2002. (In South by Southwest Film Festival.) +++++ From the Comics Continuum at http://www.comicscontinuum.com/: DAVE ELLIOTT REVIVES ATOMEKA Dave Elliott, publisher for Atomeka, announced that the company he started in 1985 with Garry Leach will return to active service. "Over the years, I have worked for a number of companies, but on recent reflection, I have never been able to get the sense of satisfaction and achievement that I felt producing A1 with Garry," Elliott said. "Atomeka was always about putting fun and experimenting first, which we will continue to do. Current plans include everything from comics based on true stories to parodies, from science fiction to westerns." Elliott said there are plans to release a trade paperback of the best of the first series of A1 with the possibility of a new series of specials starting next year. "It all depends on everyone's schedules and willingness to participate," he said. "It's not something I want to do just for the sake of it." Definitely planned is a trade collection of monster and horror stories under the title of Monster Massacre. Monster Massacre will also be a mini-series premiering sometime next year. The first series will focus on the title Alien Arena, which is also the subject of a color 48-page special in August. "Alien Arena is the WWF meets Star Trek," Elliott said. "A mixture of whopem, smash'em fights with a look at the political mechanizations of the galaxy at large. Imagine our first contact with the rest of the universe and it turns out they are all wrestling freaks." Atomeka's first title will be a special called Maximum Force. It ships in July and is a no ads collection of two stories illustrated by Simon Bisley featuring an odd group of super-hero characters. It will serve as a precursor to a new Maximum Force series next year. "Maximum Force has always been about how a lonely eclectic group of super-powered beings manage to survive as a family unit without killing each other," Elliott said. "They are fully prepared to save the world, but are more likely to get involved with drunks, misfits and sorting out each others problems." +++++ From Newsarama at http://www.comicon.com/Newsarama/ TRANSFORMERS: MORE THAN MEETS EXPECTATIONS Coming off the surprisingly strong debut of Image Comics/Devil's Due G.I. Joe revival, industry expectations for this April's Transformers revival by Pat Lee's Dreamwave Productions were high, but probably even Dreamwave wasn't counting on making Diamond Comics Distributors' history. According to Dreamwave figures (confirmed with Diamond by Newsarama), issue #1, which will retail for $2.95 and features two alternate covers that will be distributed in an equal 50/50 ratio to retailers, had orders of approximately 136,000 copies combined. In addition, a holofoil cover edition, which retails for $5.95, was ordered to the tune of another 25,000 copies. And in addition to that, Dreamwave will also ship another 4,500 copies of a special retailer incentive edition, bringing the total to 165,000. What these numbers mean is that Transformers: G1 #1 will sit atop Diamond's April pre-orders sales chart when released next week. And the surprising figures don't end there. Dreamwave also reports an additional 5% overprint has sold out on the retail level, and a week an a half before issue #1 goes on sale to the public, the publisher has announced the entire first printing is a sellout at the retail level and a second printing is already being prepared. Though no date has yet been set for it's release, the second printing will sport a new front and back cover (the front cover will be a new image featuring Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, while the back cover will be the Metroplex image show here), as well as feature a new mini- poster (Predaking). According to Dreamwave Adam Fortier, a new, second printing is necessary because the issue's first print run has already been completed, and is not a move made to encourage consumer 'speculation'. "We're thrilled with the performance of Dreamwave Transformers," said Diamond Vice President of Purchasing Bill Schanes. "This marks the first time in five years that a non-Premier title has landed on the Top 10 list...and the first time ever that such a title has claimed the #1 position. Dreamwave has shown that with hard work, the right talent, and the right property, anyone can hit a grand slam in this industry." For readers interested, the last title by a non-'Premier' publisher (Marvel, DC, Image and Dark Horse) that did make it into Diamond's Top Ten was February 1997's X-Files #27. But knowledgeable readers may immediately recognize why an asterisk must be placed next to that statistic. In 1997, Marvel was not a Diamond account, and their comics were distributed through their own Heroes World distribution house. According to our friends at Krause's Comic Buyer's Guide and Comics & Games Retailer magazines, put the two sales charts together and X-Files #27 would rank somewhere around #30 for that month overall, making the relative unprecedented performance of Transformers: G1 #1 even more impressive. "Comic books have always been about overcoming odds and heroic achievement, and the sales on Transformers embody those principles," continued Diamond's Shanes. "The year 2002 looks to be a very bright year for new comic book sales, as our growth within this product category is 20.22% in the first 2 months of this year compared to 2001. We wish Dreamwave the best of luck and all possible future success." The stars may also be aligning for Dreamwave for continued success with the license. In July, Hasbro's new Transformers: Armada toy line will debut (and will be available in comic shops) and to coincide, Dreamwave will launch an Armada ongoing series. And as previously reported, also included in the toy packaging will be mini-comics created by Dreamwave by the same creative team doing the comic book series, and the last two pages will feature promotion for the Dreamwave line and the 1-800 Comic Shop Locator number. A new animated Armada television series is also in the works. ULTIMATE SPIDEY SWINGS FOR 18 * UPDATED - It appears the 'More than monthly' publishing initiative discussed by Marvel's Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada in separate interviews last week is more than just talk for the press. Writer Brian Bendis has confirmed that beginning with this fall's issue #26 of his series Ultimate Spider-Man, he and artists Mark Bagley and Art Thibert will step up production on the series by six-issues a year, for a total of 18 in the next calendar year, resulting in the title shipping approximately once every three weeks. And the current plan calls for Bagley, who has maintained a month in- month out schedule on Ultimate Spider-Man while also doing regular side projects, to pencil all issues of the series, even with the increased shipping frequency. Just earlier this week, speaking generally of Quesada and Jemas' idea, Bendis told Newsarama, "…I have never been asked by Marvel to do anything I wasn't comfortable with creatively. And I, too, am of the thinking that just because comics have been done a certain way forever doesn't mean that's the way it has to be done. Why are periodical comics monthly? Who said?" Marvel Knights/Max editor Stuart Moore Saturday confirmed that Bendis has no plans to leave Daredevil or Alias in light of this new development, saying, "He's pretty far ahead on both and has some very interesting plans..." Ultimate Spider-Man will actually be the second confirmed title going increasing its production slate later this year. As previously reported and announced before the Jemas/Quesada plan came to light, The Thunderbolts will go bi-weekly beginning this summer to the end of the year, with the title effectively splitting into two different titles featuring distinct storylines, though writer Fabian Nicieza will continue to write all issues and the title will maintain its regular numbering sequence. LEAVE IT TO CHANCE: The New Adventures In addition to the upcoming series of oversized hardcover volumes collecting the previously-published 12 issues of the creator-owned series, originally published from Wildstorm's Homage imprint, the new adventures of Chance Falconer will continue in July 2002's Leave It To Chance #13, an all-new, 48-page special picking up where issue #12 left off. "Robinson and Smith's exciting, supernaturally tinged tales of young Chance Falconer were renowned for their ability to entertain all ages, garnering both Eisner and Harvey awards during its original 12-issue run," reads an announcement from Image about the series that originally launched in 1996. "When WildStorm was acquired by DC in 1998, however, Leave It To Chance fell into limbo, leaving the four-part story that began in issue #12 unfinished." Image has also released new information regarding the planned series of oversized hardcover reprints, in the tradition of classic European comics like Tin Tin. The first volume of the new series (collecting LITC #1-4) will be featured in the April issue of Diamond's Previews and will go on sale in June. Volume Two (LITC #5-8) is scheduled for October, followed by Volume Three (LITC #9-11) in February 2003 and then Volume Four (LITC #12-15) in June 2003. In-between the reprinted volumes, however, issues #13-15 will be published as individual comics, beginning with the 48-page #13 in July. The remaining two issues will follow in November (#14) and March 2003 (#15). Leave It To Chance will then continue on as a series of hardcover books featuring all-new material to be released on an annual basis. "We'll finish up the cliffhanger we were left with so many months ago," Smith told Newsarama a few months ago. "Finishing the current story line will take 3-4 issues, James and I still haven't figured it out. I thought it was four (#'s 13-16) and thumbnailed it as such, James says three (#'s 13-15) which will take a lot of trimming." "It is, I think, our best work to date and includes the return of Lightfoot, Cap'n Hitch and, as an added bonus, more zombies than you can shake a stick at. LOBDELL GETS HEAD START ON BUFFY Earlier this month, Newsarama reported that former X-Men writer Scott Lobdell would be moving to fill the writer's slot of Dark Horse's ongoing Buffy series with issue #51. Turns out he's not, actually - he's coming earlier, starting with July's issue #47. STRAY BULLETS/THE MATRIX JOIN FCBD Diamond Distributors has announced a new addition to the line-up of comic books available on Free Comic Book Day. Eisner Award-winning creator David Lapham of Stray Bullets fame will be offering a special 48-page flipbook. Featuring a special double cover, half of the book will be a reprint of the Stray Bullets story `Victimology' courtesy of El Capitαn Books, and the other half being a reprint of Lapham's The Matrix comic `There Are No Flowers in the Real World', from the http://WhatIsTheMatrix.com website. According to Diamond, this special Free Comic Book Day edition will be the first time ever a Matrix comic based on the Wachowski Brothers film will be published other than online at the website. The Matrix sequel, The Matrix: Reloaded is scheduled to arrive in movie theaters in summer of 2003. +++++ From Comics2Film at http://www.comics2film.com BULLETPROOF MONK ---------------- Our source tells us that Karel Roden has been cast as the character Struker, a Nazi who has been hunting down the Monk for many years in order to defeat him and to gain ultimate power. Roden is a veteran Czech actor with over 30 films to his credit. Victoria Smurfit is also on board in the role of Nina, Struker's right hand woman who is as sexy as she is dangerous. Finally, our source confirms that Mako appears in the movie as a theater owner who befriends young Kar (Seann William Scott). In other Bulletproof Monk news, former-Robin Burt Ward has launched a successful visual effects company and landed the contract to provide effects for the film, according to a recent write-up in The Hollywood Reporter. MY NAME IS MODESTY ------------------ After years of dormancy the Modesty Blaise movie appears to be heating up fast. Today's Hollywood Reporter reports that Miramax is laying the groundwork for a new film called My Name is Modesty. The film is based on Peter O'Donnell's comic strip, which began its run in 1963. Janet Scott Batchler and Lee Batchler have been hired to pen the script for the film. The pair have previously worked on Batman Forever and the upcoming Smoke and Mirrors. Michael Berrow and Marcelo Anciano are producing the film, with Paul Berrow co-executive producing. The article reports that casting is already under way with announcements expected in a few weeks. Although Quentin Tarantino has long been attached to the project he will not be directing. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com SPIDER-MAN ANIMATED SHOW ------------------------ Brian Michael Bendis posted a Spider-Man animated show update on his Message Boards revealing the lead actors who have been cast in the show. Bendis confirmed Neil Patrick Harris is the voice of Peter Parker (a.k.a. Spider-Man) while Lisa Loeb is voicing Mary Jane Watson. Later Bendis scooped The Comics Continuum about additional casting on the Spider-Man animated TV series. The writer and executive producer revealed that Ian Ziering (Beverly Hills 90210) has the role of Harry Osborn in the show. Fans can also look for Ethan Embry (Can't Hardly Wait) to step up as what Bendis calls, "the very first special Spidey villain." http://www.comicscontinuum.com +++++ From Zentertainment; HTTP://WWW.ZENTERTAINMENT.COM To sign a friend up or begin receiving ZEN yourself, e-mail: subscribe@ZENtertainment.com DAREDEVIL & HULK Castings - David Keith (Behind Enemy Lines) has signed on to play Matt Murdock's father in the DAREDEVIL feature film, while Brooke Langton (Melrose Place) will play the mother of a young Bruce Banner in Ang Lee's INCREDIBLE HULK. http://www.marvel.com - March 22nd - BLADE 2: BLOODHUNT [New Line - R] Starring Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Norman Reedus, Leonor Varela, Ron Perlman, Luke Goss. Directed by Guillermo del Toro. WHAT: Blade must team up with a group of vampires to defeat a new kind of super-vampire. http://www.blade2.com +++++ From Comic Book Resources at: http://www.comicbookresources.com/ Winner of the 2000 Squiddy - BEST GENERAL COMIC WEBSITE 'SIDEKICKS' RETURNS FROM ONI IN ONE-SHOT AND TPB Oni Press is pleased to announce the return of Terry Highland and the rest of the superpowered gang from Shuster Academy in a new trade paperback and one-shot available this summer! June sees the release of the book collecting the first three SIDEKICKS comics by writer J. Torres (COPYBOOK TALES, ALISON DARE) and artist Takeshi Miyazawa. Plus, the duo reunite in July for SIDEKICKS: THE SUBSTITUTE, an all-new one- shot! In an effort to prime fans and retailers for the pair of new projects, Oni Press will be making the first 24 pages of SIDEKICKS material available as part of their FreeComic online initiative. "When we found out that SIDEKICKS was looking for a home, we jumped at the chance to make it part of the ever-expanding Oni line,” commented Oni Press editor in chief Jamie S. Rich. "This was one of our favorite miniseries of 2000 and we're pleased as punch to be bringing it out from under the general comics radar.” “J. and Takeshi are a perfect creative team,” added collection editor James Lucas Jones. "Their teenagers talk, move, and dress like real kids. Sure, these students have special gifts and powers but they have more in common with the kids of GILMORE GIRLS than the costumed characters that dominate comics.” Terry Highland isn't like other kids. Or is she? Sure, Terry is the daughter of an ex-superhero sidekick and, yeah, she has powers of her own, too, but when you're a new student at a school like Shuster Academy that's hardly out of the ordinary. Terry's classmates include a pyromaniac firestarter in homeroom, a werewolf in Geometry, killer robots in gym-- and isn't just before lunch! Sounds like a superteen's dream come true, doesn't it? There's just one catch. In order to make the grade at this school, you can't use your powers. So when three new vigilantes burst on to the scene calling themselves "Biff,” "Bam,” and "Pow,” it has the whole student body buzzing and the administration on the lookout for the kids who would dare to break the Academy's number one rule. Can Terry and her friends solve the mystery without getting caught in the middle? “I couldn't be more excited about the return of SIDEKICKS,” commented writer J. Torres. "To have all the original issues available again in a snazzy new book for snazzy new readers_ It feels like my birthday! And to have an all-new one-shot out just a month later? doesn't just icing on the cake.” SIDEKICKS: THE SUBSTITUTE picks up where THE TRANSFER STUDENT leaves off and sees Terry and the gang dealing with a new kind of fill-in teacher! Who is more qualified to run a classroom filled with rambunctious "gifted" youngsters? Why a reformed supervillain, of course! But how will the kids, administration, and PTA deal with a teacher who's more accustomed to crafting diabolical schemes than she is to creating interesting lesson plans? "School may be out for summer,” concluded Jones, "But I'm jazzed to finally have classes back in session at Shuster Academy!” SIDEKICKS: THE TRANSFER STUDENT TP will ship to comic book stores on June 26, 2002. It has 96 pages of full color story and art in a 6”x9” book and is priced at $8.95. The first chapter of the story will be available for downloading at http://www.onipress.com/freecomic March 25, 2002. SIDEKICKS: THE SUBSTITUTE is scheduled to ship on July 24, 2002. It is a standard comic book with 32 pages of black-and-white story and art, and retails for 2.95. +++++ From the DC Comics Online Newsletter at http://www.dccomics.com THE LEGION NAMED APRIL'S "BOOK OF THE MONTH" BY WIZARD With issue #7 of THE LEGION hitting stores on April 24 and recently nominated for a 2002 Harvey Award for "Best New Series," DC is pleased to announce that the series has been selected "Book of the Month" in the June issue of Wizard, which goes on sale the same day. To help retailers take advantage of this honor, the cover of THE LEGION #7 will feature a blurb reading "A Wizard Book of the Month." "THE LEGION is a book that really has something for everyone: heavy sci-fi elements, high- octane super-hero action, plus loads of teen angst, twists and surprises that get the blood pumping," says Wizard Associate Editor Andy Serwin. "Co-writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are not only making this book accessible, they're making it one kick-ass read as well! That's why it's our 'Book of the Month'." In the fast-paced issue #7, written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning with art and cover by Olivier Coipel and Lanning, the Legion learns of the evolutionary "terrorforming" process intended for Earth by President McCauley, a.k.a. Ra's Al Ghul. But it may be too late, since the process already has begun! Whoever said improving the species is a good thing never saw these guys! Readers also learn the fate of Legion World — and there may be another surprise or two by issue's end. "Sales on THE LEGION have been solid so far," says Vince Letterio, Manager — Direct Sales. "Between the series' growing reputation among fans and the attention it's getting from Wizard and other reviewers, we're looking for the sales momentum to escalate." Retailers are encouraged to review their orders on THE LEGION #7 (FEB020611) before the order cut off date of Wednesday, March 27. NEW IN-STORE DATE FOR BATMAN MINI-BUST ALLOWS FOR ORDER ADJUSTMENTS Please note that the CLASSIC BATMAN MINI-BUST, originally scheduled to be in stores on March 20, has a new in store date of April 24. Because of this schedule change, retailers can place additional orders through the new order cut off date of March 29. To adjust your order, please contact your Diamond Service Representative. DC CONVENTION BOOTH, PRODUCTS FEATURED ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE The sketch "Kevin and Richie's Comic Book Zone," which appeared on the March 16 episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live, prominently featured a number of DC items, including a Green Lantern logo T-shirt, a DEATH SOFT TOY, the SILVER AGE WONDER WOMAN DELUXE ACTION FIGURE SET, and a Michael Keaton Batman standee. In addition, the sketch opened with shots taken at Comic-Con International: San Diego in which the DC booth was clearly visible. GOOD MORNING AMERICA SALUTES MAD'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY On today's episode of ABC's Good Morning America, Joel Siegel looked at the 50th anniversary of MAD Magazine, presenting the new rereleases of The MAD Reader and MAD Strikes Back!, both reissued by ibooks. Siegel also showed copies of The MAD Reader and early issues of MAD from his own collection, saying the issues "in their own insidious way changed the world." LANDS' END CATALOG LANDS ALFRED E. NEUMAN Alfred E. Neuman, MAD Magazine's gap-toothed idiot, appears on the cover of the March Lands' End catalog. The first two pages of the catalog, featuring the Super Polo shirt and a cartoon by Sergio Aragonιs, are MAD-themed, from the heading "Absolutely Fabric Dept." to the shirt's price, listed as "$18 (Cheap!)." The pages also feature a blurb about MAD's 50th anniversary. BATMAN BEYOND NOMINATED FOR DAYTIME EMMY The animated series Batman Beyond has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the category "Special Class Animated Program." The awards will be presented on May 17 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. DC OFFICES CLOSED FRIDAY, MARCH 29; FOLLOWING WEEK'S SHIPMENT IN STORE THURSDAY, APRIL 4 The offices of DC Comics and WildStorm Productions will be closed Friday, March 29. The Easter holiday also pushes back the following week's in-store date to Thursday, April 4. BACK TO PRESS! As part of DC's commitment to retailers and readers alike, selected items go back to press when quantities become low. The following title has been reprinted and is available for order: TRANSMETROPOLITAN: THE NEW SCUM TP (STAR11553) (2nd printing) NEWS FROM THE MAINSTREAM PRESS The March 28 issue of Rolling Stone features Tom Welling and Kristin Kruek of Smallville. Inside, the cast is profiled in the story "Tall Tales from Smallville," which mentions the upcoming DC DIRECT action figures, as well as a sidebar about actors who have played the Man of Steel in the past. The March 18 edition of USA Today includes the article "For 50 Years, MAD Gladly Snubs Authority," in which Bob Minzesheimer looks at the 50th anniversary of MAD, including quotes from co-editor Nick Meglin. The article also mentions ibooks' new reissues of The MAD Reader and MAD Strikes Back. The "Between the Lines" column of the March 15 edition of Entertainment Weekly includes an item on novelist Brad Meltzer's taking over as writer of GREEN ARROW, including a quote from editor Bob Schreck. The March 25 issue of BusinessWeek includes the article "Mad Ave. Goes Absolutely MAD," in which Gerry Khermouch looks at the recent surge of media interest in Alfred E. Neuman. In the March issue of Locus, the "People & Publishing" column notes the upcoming original graphic novels by Kevin J. Anderson based on his The Saga of the Seven Suns series, to be published under the WildStorm imprint. The March issue of Avenue includes the article "Hero Worship," in which Victor Wishna looks at the need for super-heroes post September 11, with mentions of Justice League, Smallville and Wonder Woman. The February 7 edition of the Kent, WA, South County Journal includes the article "First Lady of Comics Retires," about Jenette Kahn's decision to leave her position as DC's President & Editor-in-Chief. The February 23 edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer includes the article "Harlem Hero Disses Superman's Help," in which Michael Sangiacomo looks at SUPERMAN #179, writing, "The plot subtleties and clever twists make it an early contender for the best storyline of the year." The February 18 edition of the Peoria Journal Star includes the article "Superman and Tarzan Meet at Last," about the Dark Horse miniseries Superman/Tarzan: Sons of the Jungle. The February 24 edition of the Memphis Commercial Appeal includes the article "Steel Yourself, Clark Kent…Lex Luthor Knows," about the turn of events in SUPERMAN #178, with Andrew Smith writing, "_that means bad news for Big Blue. Which is good news for us. It means a lot of good Superman stories in our future." NEWS FROM THE TRADE PRESS The March 22 issue of Comics Buyer's Guide (#1479) includes articles on Brian Azzarello's signing an exclusive agreement with DC Comics and Fletcher Chu-Fong's return to DC's Direct Sales Department as Manager — Events & Retailer Services. This issue's "Reading Room" includes a review of THE SANDMAN PRESENTS: THE THESSALIAD #1, which John Petty calls "definite must-reading." Also reviewed is THE HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE TP, which Brett Weiss calls "an interesting volume_a beautifully illustrated book of art." The cover of Comic Shop News #769 features art from the BATMAN: NINE LIVES HC, along with the article "Bat Noir," which includes quotes from writer Dean Motter. Comic Shop News #768 includes an article on DC comics for May, including the DC FIRSTS specials, new chapters in the "Bruce Wayne: Fugitive" storyline, GREEN ARROW #15, GREEN LANTERN #150, JUST IMAGINE STAN LEE WITH CHRIS BACHALO CREATING CATWOMAN, and WONDER WOMAN ARCHIVES Volume 3. "Upcoming Comics: VERTIGO in May" includes FABLES #1, THE HUMAN TARGET: FINAL CUT HC, THE NAMES OF MAGIC TP, and other projects scheduled for coming months including THE FILTH, 100% and Y – THE LAST MAN. The issue also notes THE ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY HC, as well as DC DIRECT products including the BATMAN: DARK VICTORY SIGNATURE PRINT, the BATMOBILE REPLICA: 1950s EDITION, THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN PVC SET, the GREEN LANTERN GUARDIAN: GANTHET STATUE, THE GOLDEN AGE DR. FATE and GOLDEN AGE SPECTRE BY ALEX ROSS POSTERS, the CLASSIC JOKER MINI-BUST, the JUSTICE LEAGUE ANIMATED: GREEN LANTERN JOHN STEWART MAQUETTE, the DC POCKET SUPER HEROES, the PROMETHEA AND SOPHIE DELUXE ACTION FIGURE SET, the SPECTRE STATUE, and the STREAKY THE SUPER-CAT SOFT TOY. The "Incoming" section in the May issue of Toyfare includes the SMALLVILLE ACTION FIGURES and the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA FIRST APPEARANCE COLLECTOR'S SET. This issue also includes an interview with Smallville star Michael Rosenbaum. SMALLVILLE, JUSTICE LEAGUE, STATIC SHOCK AND THE ZETA PROJECT EPISODE SCHEDULES DC has been supplied with the following episode schedule for Smallville, Static Shock and The Zeta Project on the WB and the animated Justice League on the Cartoon Network. All times are Eastern and Pacific: 3/23 (8:30 am) "Bad Stretch" (Static Shock – New) 3/23 (9:30 am) "Absolute Zero" (The Zeta Project – New) 3/23 (12:30 pm) "The Brave and the Bold, Pt. 2" (Justice League) 3/23 (10:00 pm) "The Brave and the Bold, Pt. 2" (Justice League – Widescreen) 3/24 (7:00 pm) "Paradise Lost, Pt. 1" (Justice League) 3/26 (9:00 pm) "Metamorphosis" (Smallville) 3/30 (8:30 am) "Power Play" (Static Shock) 3/30 (9:30 am) "Wired, Pt. 1" (The Zeta Project – New) 3/30 (12:30 pm) "Paradise Lost, Pt. 1" (Justice League) 3/30 (10:00 pm) "Paradise Lost, Pt. 1" (Justice League – Widescreen) 3/31 (7:00 pm) "Paradise Lost, Pt. 2" (Justice League) Be advised that this schedule is subject to change. +++++ From Rich Johnston, THE 2000 SQUIDDY JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR, in his ALL THE RAGE Gossip Column at: http://www.SilverBulletComicBooks.com RUMOUR BARRIER "I accept that the following material is rumour and gossip, intended to entertain only. "I won't repeat the information inside as fact. I understand if I want the truth, I will go to Silver Bulletins. "I enter freely with my mind open and my blinkers off." Now, onto the rumours. Sigils, Supergirls And Signings All-CrossGen Special It must be hard being Paul Levitz. Not only are you President of the USA's biggest comic publisher but you've also got to contend with some snide little internet column from the arse end of nowhere taking cynical, bitter and quite pathetic pot shots every Sunday. It's just not on. Which is why, this week, Paul Levitz gets a well deserved rest. Of late, some at CrossGen have complained that they don't get the same treatment as other companies. Let All the Rage put a stop to that now and declare an All-CrossGen Special as we focus our attention on the company and holy leader, Mark Alessi. First, know this. The following stories come from a variety of sources, but all originally seem to have some beef with CrossGen or other. Consider, when reading, the motivations of those who felt the need to email me details of these stories, and how much you'd rely on their word in such a situation. However this was also filtered through CrossGen sources who pointed out a couple of absolute duds along the way. Read the Rumour Barrier again, then come back. Always This month's CrossGen titles all have a fake Coke ad in the back, featuring the characters from Sojourn and Coca-Cola products. I understand that CrossGen have produced this as a favour for Wizard, who are still trying to court Coca-Cola, and that it was well received both inside Wizard and Coke. And CrossGen liked to so much, they decided to publish it inside their own mags too. The printed ads carry a line stating that it is not a paid advertisement. Coke, the logo, and its distinctive likeness are all registered trademarks of Coca-Cola International. Thing is, Coca-Cola is one of the more litigious companies out there and might not welcome such exposure of their product, even if it's in a free ad. From the Coca-Cola website: "All images remain the property of The Coca-Cola Company. Under no circumstances can these images be used for any personal or commercial purpose." However I understand that CrossGen are playing such a risky game on purpose - they're gambling the chance of getting a Cease And Desist from Coke, to getting some attention within the company and kick- starting some future co-operation. And the word is, they just might have found it. This Has A Rumour Value Of 8 Out Of 10 Vote Early, Vote Often And as to the Wizard Awards ads interrupting the story, as CrossGen vowed they'd never do, Tony Panaccio, VP of Product Development says, "The Wizard ballot was necessary, because we needed to mobilize our fans to help us overcome the unfair advantages that other publishers have over us because of the way they do business in this industry." However, recently CrossGen have done business in this industry by encouraging those who enter the Wizard Awards to break the rules by voting multiple times, indeed stating that Wizard would accept them when Wizard themselves say they wouldn't. I understand that much of this was an attempt to force Wizard into counting the write-in votes, when in the past they've all but been ignored by the counters. However by breaking Wizard's own rules, they may have gone that little too far. This Has A Rumour Value Of 9 Out Of 10 Run, Rabbit, Run! This is the memo that Chris Oarr sent to all creatives at CrossGen concerning the Harvey Awards that caused such a fuss across the internet. Not quite as bad as been portrayed as some, and hardly organised ballot stuffing... To: All Creative Staff From: Chris Oarr Date: March 11, 2002 Re: 2002 Harvey Awards Ballot Along with the Eisners, the Harvey Awards is the longest-running and most prestigious award in American comics. Unlike the Eisners, however, the Harveys ballot and final winners are determined solely by the people who actually make the comics - writers, pencillers, inkers, and colorists. No retailers, fans, or non-creative staffers have a vote, and there is no "blue- ribbon panel" deciding on the nominees. That's what makes the Harvey's special: It is an opportunity for the creative community to honor their own. The Harvey Awards are a two-step process, beginning with the nominating ballot I've attached. You may name up to five nominees per category (or none at all). These are not weighted in any way, so it doesn't matter who you list first or last. The Harvey Awards administrator will tally all nominees and place the top five on the final ballot. You will also have an opportunity to vote on that ballot. Over the years, the Harvey Awards have developed a reputation for honoring "artsier" or "avant garde" material. It is true that Chris Ware has gotten a lot more nominations than Alex Ross. As a former member of the Harvey Awards committee, however, I can assure you that that is a simple function of who responds. There is no bias, because there is no central committee calling the shots. It's simply a matter of who bothers to turn in their nominating ballots in time. And, believe me, every vote counts in the nominating phase, which has a lot lower rate of response than the final multiple-choice ballot. While no one controls the Harveys nominating process, other publishers can and do mobilize their freelancers to vote. That has tipped the scale on more than one occasion, and that's why I'm making sure that you get this ballot. I don't care to dictate whom you vote for. I just want to make sure that CrossGen's creative staff has a voice in the process. You guys are doing some very special work down here, but that doesn't mean that the rest of the creative community is necessarily aware of it. As you know, a lot of comics professionals don't even read comics! Don't be shy about nominating your colleagues here at CrossGen or even yourself if you think the work deserves consideration. It would be a great honor for a young publisher such as CrossGen to earn a Harvey nomination or two. You all are doing some very special work. Let's make sure that work is given its due recognition. If you take the time to fill them out, I will make sure that the ballots get to the Harveys administrator in time. I'll be collecting ballots at the end of the week (Friday, Feb. 15). I understand that 35 ballots were sent in by CrossGen staff. Hardly a huge amount - but when the short deadline of the Harvey's only caught 170 ballots in before the cutoff, suddenly it's a whole different story. This Has A Rumour Value Of 8 Out Of 10 Colour Me Curious Brian Rebur, the colourist on Radix, used to work at a major aerospace company. He posted frequently on the CrossGen boards, before the Middleton meltdown that got CrossGen all riled and Josh all fired. He got drawn into a controversial debate or two. Alessi didn't like it, and contacted his employer (as some of the postings were made while he was at work) and asked if this was an appropriate way for their employee to be spending his time. He was fired. Now he's a comic book colourist. Funny how these things work out. When contacted about this rumour, Rebur told me, "I'm not at liberty to comment at this time." This Has A Rumour Value Of 6 Out Of 10 Contesting The Law Hero Realm have taken their absolute hatred of Bill Jemas and expressed it as an absolute love for Mark Alessi. As well as some of the most positive coverage on the net for Alessi and CrossGen, Hero Realm had a "contest" featuring a lunch with Alessi as a prize. Aside from a lack of warning not to drink the Kool-Aid in such a situation, this contest can only be entered if you purchase a membership to Comics On The Web, CrossGen's new online comics portal. Each person who buys a subscription ensures a kickback is given to the site who put them there, including SBC itself! Of course, this makes it a lottery, illegal in a number of countries and states. And a federal crime. When this was pointed out to them, Hero Realm did a quick double take, got some advice from CrossGen and changed the contest to have a 'No Purchase Necessary' clause. Later, Hero Realm explained the change by indicating that they'd put up the wrong text by mistake and had replaced it with the intended text. This is not the case. But it looks like the FBI agents won't be circling the CrossGen compound after all. This Has A Rumour Value Of 7 Out Of 10 Cover Story I understand that the display of Wizard's Top 100 Comic Covers at Megacon didn't go down to well with Mark Alessi when not one CrossGen cover was featured. Alessi "jokingly" kneed Wizard's Jim McLaughlin in the bollocks. So much of a joke, that Jim doubled up in pain. Still, beats being dry-humped by Ron Garney, eh readers? This Has A Rumour Value Of 5 Out Of 10 Everybody's Talking 'Bout It Every CrossGen employee has a non-disclosure aspect of their contract (as well as that pesky non-competition clause) that lasts a lifetime and covers everything that goes on within the company? Forever? Which puts them up with the likes of Avatar except, of course, this contract covers the creatives as well as the execs. Naturally this ensures that a number of CrossGen projects such as Comics On The Web or the Compendias remain a secret until the planned unveiling and to stop competitors from stealing a lead. But the lifetime aspect of the contract is an unusual one and may cause some ructions in the future. This Has A Rumour Value Of 8 Out Of 10 I Fought The Law Talking of which, almost every single ex-CrossGen employee is involved in some kind of litigation with CrossGen or Mark Alessi. Aside from a few receptionists, a support member of staff or two, and Kevin Sharpe, it's good to be a lawyer. This Has A Rumour Value Of 7 Out Of 10 Freedom Of Impeach Alessi is considering having CrossGen IT people trained by the FBI to track down hackers - and using them to chase people who post what Alessi considers to be "actionable" items on the internet? Whether that's statements from fans or pirated versions of Comics On The Web. Not only that, but the an FBI employee and CrossGen fan suggested it. Hang on, I thought the FBI were meant to camp outside the CrossGen compound, not collaborate with them. What's going on? This Has A Rumour Value Of 8 Out Of 10 Waiding In Deep As to Mark Waid's refusal to accept the Harvey nomination for Ruse, CrossGen's response that it was because he didn't want sole credit, and Waid's denial of that, I hear it's a very personal thing indeed. Even letting go of Waid's distaste of anything even once associated with Fantagraphics (not including himself), it seems that this was a middle- finger aimed at Mark Alessi, who Waid seriously fell out with when working at the CrossGen compound. CrossGen's then attempt to spin the story into something positive, albeit incorrect, can only have made matters worse. This Has A Rumour Value Of 6 Out Of 10 Future Of CrossGen So why is everyone paying attention to this small company, without so much as 5% of Diamond's marketshare (important that - since after it gets over 5%, Diamond's Terms of Sale change with CrossGen and Diamond start to have to treat them differently - say is that why Diamond have been so bad with fulfilling CrossGen backstock?) They'sve got the money and drive to succeed, pushing comics outside the usual and expected areas. With major web portals being signed up to push content, with movie and multimedia deals coming out of all their sigils, this week CrossGen hit Los Angeles with plenty meetings scheduled all over the place. With Comics On The Web, the new trades and increased distribution, it looks like there's one or two more shoes to drop from the CrossGen caterpillar in the upcoming months... including TV/movie announcement lined up for next week. It's with a producer of some note, and involves more than just a television or film relationship_. This Has A Rumour Value Of 8 Out Of 10 A Supergirl's Intuition Right, enough about CrossGen, what else is going on? What was the relevance of the timing of Peter David' recent Open Letter about the pricing of Captain Marvel and offering to write the book for free? Could it have anything to do with a meeting about the future of Supergirl at DC? Maybe a practical demonstration that he still has what it takes to make a big media event? If so, it may have worked. Despite prominent industry rumours that Supergirl was to follow Superboy for the chop, I hear that's not the case anymore. Not after Friday, anyway. Supergirl is staying around. A controversial storyline has been approved that may result in an old character being made new again. Seeds are sown as of #73, and the full reveal is in #75. He's a canny lad, that Peter David. If he really is the dinosaur some make him out to be, then he's learning to flap. On that note, Peter David's suggestion that he write Captain Marvel for free(ish) until sales recover, that the price not go up and a bit of promotion be carried out for the title in return is a terribly New Marvel idea. Paul Levitz would never countenance such a thought_ so Joe Quesada should. Damn, I wasn't going to mention Paul anymore. It's all ruined. Ah well. And as of yesterday afternoon, my local comic shop had not only sold out of the new Captain Marvel issue, but all their back issues. And the trade. This Has A Rumour Value Of 9 Out Of 10 Colour Of Money Further to last week's rumour that Mark Millar and Paul Grists' The Insiders is to be reprinted by Avatar, I heard an amusing story about the_ unusual colouring on that project. Mark Millar had a welder friend who suddenly needed money fast. Mark, who was just starting to make a small name for himself in the UK comics industry asked him if he could do comics. The welder couldn't draw or write. Mark tried him out lettering. The welder couldn't letter. All there was left was colouring. So Millar told Grist that he's found this incredibly experienced and artistic colourist for The Insiders. The welder coloured the story. Grist thought it was... interesting, colour was everywhere, green faces and never within the lines. It was published, the welder got thousands, and he decided to retire from comics. Maybe Avatar will need to spent a little on the production here_ This Has A Rumour Value Of 6 Out Of 10 Trial Notes From Todd McFarlane's response to Neil Gaiman's suit, printed at Newsarama, a few notes... The statement includes the following: "From the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, Todd McFarlane worked as the graphic artist and/or writer on a variety of comic books, including The Incredible Hulk published by Marvel Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a Marvel Comics and Batman published by DC Comics. Eventually, he became the sole writer and graphic artist on Marvel Comics' Amazing Spider-Man." Todd McFarlane drew Detective Comics, only contributing a cover to Batman. He wrote and drew Spider-Man, only drew Amazing Spider-Man. Even then, there were issues of Spider-Man where his peers helped out on inking duties. As to: "Mr. McFarlane was the sole creator, writer and graphic artist of Issue I of Spawn, which debuted in May of 1992." Maybe Neil Gaiman's team should call Spawn issue 1 co-writer Lance Gueck to the stand. And again: "In 1996, TMP reprinted Spawn Issue 9, along with Issues 6, 7, 8 and 10 in Volume 2 of the Spawn trade paperback series." Not issue 10. Dave Sim, the writer, asked/told Todd not to. Although not material to the suit, these factual errors could cause problems for Todd's case if they're shown up. Also if that issue 10 story could be withdrawn by Dave Sim, does he have creative control? How about the Moore and Miller issues? Are we to believe that they all got a different creative deal from Gaiman? As for Moore, the character he later created for Todd, Celestine, was referred to as copyright Alan Moore. I understand that DC will comply with the wishes of the prosecution or defence if employees are called to the stand. Specifically, it looks like DC Comics will take the stand to defend Gaiman's statement about what his deal with DC was, the deal that caused Todd to say Gaiman was defrauding him and seems to have started this whole kerfuffle. If that point disappears, what's left for Todd? Maybe it's this Neil's statement, "It's your playground I'm just in for an afternoon on the swings." That could be interpreted as an admission of work-for-hire. Either way, Todd must have got something else here. Let's wait and see_ but if Moore, Miller and Sim are called to testify, we might have the best comics trial since Wertham. Popcorn anyone? This Has A Rumour Value Of 8 Out Of 10 Bribery And Corruption I've been told that Chris Claremont will be in the UK next Saturday, doing a signing down at Chaos City Comics in St Albans from 2 to 4pm. The shop offered me a bribe to announce this and I've gladly accepted, suggesting a Preacher trade or two. I'm still open to all offers, folks. This Has A Get-Your-Sovereign-Sevens-Here-Folks Value Of 8 Out Of 10 On That Note Howard Stangroom of 30th Century Comics passed me a freebie copy of the new Comic Creators' Guild Magazine - and a fun read it is to. Highly recommended and well worth a butchers. With more original Donna Barr stories, a good stack of Obituaries (guys, did you really have to do this by putting Death on the cover?) Duck stuff, X-stuff and Paul Gravett, maybe you should contact the CCG at comicsforum@hotmail.com to try and get your copy. This Has A How-Low-Will-He-Go Value Of 6 Out Of 10. I can go far lower_ All The Rage Live As part of Comics 2002, the British comic convention at Bristol, scheduled for Jubilee weekend 31st May-2nd June, All The Rage will be holding a panel. All the stuff I've stopped myself from talking about, promised that I wouldn't print. Scheduled smack opposite the big Marvel panel, it should be a small affair but just to be sure, there will be limited seating with free tickets available from the convention. There will be no comic book professionals allowed in the room, unless they're willing to come to the panel and blab their heart out. More details to come. Be seeing you_ This Has A Rumour Value Of 9 Out Of 10 ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Interview Tim O'Shea tim_jen@mindspring.com Originally run at www.orcafresh.net This interview appears here with permission. Where Image Is and How Did It Get There: An ORCA Q&A with Publisher Jim Valentino Image has changed a lot since it's beginning, and in recent years, a great deal of that change is in part due to publisher Jim Valentino. With that in mind, I thought it good to touch base with Valentino, to get his opinion on matters regarding Image and the industry overall. My thanks to Jim and I hope you enjoy the discussion as much as I did. Tim O'Shea, ORCA contributor ORCA: In February 2002, at the Image web site, there was an article "Understanding Image: The Image Deal" http://www.imagecomics.com/cgi- bin/INSIDER/INSIDER.cgi?subject_pull_down=March_2002 where it's pointed out that creators who publish through Image "get paid on what their book makes after the cost of printing and Image's modest office fee, which covers solicitations, traffic, and some promotion of the book" With this in mind, are you going to monitor the results of CrossGen's effort to sell webcomics (thereby eliminating printing costs for the most part). Or do you think the Internet as a media form is still too new to consider a beneficial source of revenue for the comics industry? Valentino: There are several questions there I'll try to be as succinct as I can. I should note, with all due respect, that Cross-Gen's on-line subscription plan is not new, independent creators have been doing this for years now. But, that said, will I be watching the Cross-Gen experiment? Yes, I will. Do I see it as relating to Image? Well, there are some inherent problems with that. First, Image's line is so diverse that an across the board subscription wouldn't work for us. There is not a lot of audience cross-over between, say, G.I. Joe and Age of Bronze. Second, since Image owns none of it's titles, it would have to be up to the individual creator as to whether or not they would want to participate. Third, perhaps I'm thick, but I cannot see how offering a subscription to on-line content can get customer's into stores. And I do not believe that I would want to abandon the direct sales market retailers who have supported both us and our industry. As to whether or not the Internet is too new to consider this a potential revenue stream--I guess my answer would have to be, at this point, yes. While I believe it has proven itself to be a viable and important promotional vehicle, I have seen no evidence that suggests that customers would want to pay for content. I have not seen or been made aware of a "micro-payment" plan that actually works. Consumers are used to getting content for free over the net--and we have seen Marvel, DC, Image and other companies using it thus. So, all things considered, yes, I believe it bears watching as any potential revenue stream would. I hope to be proven wrong, but I see no evidence that can actually generate sufficient income to be self- supporting let alone profitable at this juncture. ORCA: I was wondering, how did Frank Cho end up at Image? Did he seek Image out, or was it the other way around? Valentino: He was wandering around the streets in a daze, we felt sorry for him and invited him in. No, he and Erik Larsen were having a friendly conversation and they just sort of came around to it. He had a lot of questions about how things work, Erik turned him over to me and the rest will soon be history. ORCA: In the Cho/Image announcement you said: "Liberty Meadows is a perfect fit for us here at Image, filling in an enormous gap in our line-humour." What other gaps do you think Image has at present? On the other hand, what are the strongest genres at Image? Valentino: Believe it or not--straight panties-and-capes super-heroes. Think about it, there are NONE in our current line-up. Even those books like the Savage Dragon, Noble Causes and Powers which skirt the line are not quite real honest-to-gosh-wow super-hero books. As to what genre is the strongest--none. We do not specialize in any genre, but make every attempt to have a wide variety. Right now we are doing an advertising campaign "What's your Image?" There is an ad for periodicals and one for graphic novels, in both we show nine different books of different genre classifications (science-fiction, humor, crime-drama, etc.). I have worked diligently to remove the stigma of the so-called "Image-style" from this company. ORCA: A look at Image Comics studio links reveals that at present at least 26 studios are currently working with Image. Logistically how much of a challenge (if at all) is it to work with all these different creators and entities? Valentino: Are there THAT many? Hmmm. Every book and every creator is an individual and all are approached as thus. We make every attempt to give all the attention they deserve as part of our family. Is it difficult? I guess, it just comes with the territory. ORCA: Not to play favorites, but can you point to any of the current products or studios (feel free to mention more than one) at Image that you think deserve more attention, both from critics and fans? Valentino: I think Age of Bronze and A Distant Soil, to name two off the top of my head, are not getting the fan recognition they deserve. I know retailers who promote these titles and have great success at reaching a wider demographic with them. Radix, Tellos and Noble Causes all fall into that category as well. Radix has simply stunning art, Tellos is a wonderful book that appeals to both women and children, again, widening that demographic reach and Noble Causes is a smart, fresh look at the super-hero genre. For my money, the Savage Dragon is both the single most overlooked and misunderstood book in the biz. It's funny, it's funny, it's smart, it's exciting, it's completely unpredictable. I think it may well be the best super-hero title ever done. Also, I hear retailers and fans complaining about modern creators' commitment to a project; Erik is ten years and over 100 issues into his run--I think he DESERVES more support than he's getting from critics, from retailers and, especially, from fans. ORCA: What's been the biggest challenge as Image's publisher since the recent economic downturn? Valentino: Historically, comics have always proven to be recession proof. The current economic downturn is a little too recent to make an accurate assessment of, but the trend that I'm seeing is that seems to be holding true. Actually, we are noting a positive sales slope on more books right now. Again, it's probably a little too early to tell, but, so far, so good and that seems to be across the board at every company. ORCA: DC Comics recently announced that it is no longer accepting submissions. Have you noted an increase in submissions to Image since DC's policy change? Valentino: No, I haven't. Different animals. We do not accept freelancer submissions, that is, art or story samples. We only accept proposals for new series. So, no, I haven't seen a lot of submissions from folks who want to draw or write Bat Man or whatever. ORCA: Image Comics is publishing two books sure to appeal to the nostalgic comic fan, GI JOE and THE MICRONAUTS? When making the business decision to publish these series, was the final call made in hopes of regaining former comic book readers who may have stopped reading comics, or to attract new readers to the characters, or is it a little of both (or neither) cases? Valentino: Well, I could answer this one in one word: BOTH, of course. There is a strong nostalgia associated with these concepts and there is a strong curiosity about them. The fact that they are well done and the fact that Joshua Blaylock has proven himself to be a thorough professional in delivering his books on-time or early was a significant factor as well. Let's see--a book that people want and it's delivered on time...seems like a no-brainer to me. Wish I could clone that boy. ORCA: In the Cho announcement, it was mentioned that Image is in the midst of a "creative resurgence." Was there a business plan per se behind this resurgence, or was it merely a fortunate series of events? Valentino: There was a plan. The plan was to disassociate ourselves from the sleaze and the semi-professionals that Image had become associated with and to attract more prominent creators. They, in turn, would attract more prominent creators and so on. Sort of like that shampoo commercial. A rising tide raises all ships and in the case of Image over the last couple of years I believe that's been proven to be true. ORCA: On a related note, as part of this resurgence, LEAVE IT TO CHANCE was mentioned among other Image series. Given its mention, I was curious, is there a schedule when a new LEAVE IT TO CHANCE story may be published? Valentino: We will be making an announcement about that soon. ORCA: For Free Comic Book Day, you've selected Tomb Raider 1/2 to be Image's offering for the event. While obviously this is an idea with multiple platform/mainstream appeal (given the video game and movie respective popularity), but I was wondering were other books considered (if so, I'm not asking for names) before choosing TOMB RAIDER? Valentino: Yes, every single title we publish was considered. I had certain criteria that I wanted to be met. First, the book should be recognizable to the widest audience possible. Remember, we are NOT trying to reach comics fans here--we are trying to reach citizens, those who do not make a weekly or a monthly pilgrimage to the local comics shop. The best way to invite them in is to give them something familiar, not frightening. Next, I wanted a self-contained story. I've read posts on the inter-net where people wonder why we didn't chose the Red Star or Age of Bronze--simple, really, these are very complex stories that require a commitment from the reader. They would tend to scare most people away. I tend to think it's better to ask someone to hold hands prior to asking them to marry you. The book I chose had few pages (16) it was self-contained and it gave the origin of a character familiar to a broad demographic. We kept coming back to Tomb Raider, it was the only title that fit all of the criteria. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [6] 2000 EAGLE AWARDS Mike Conroy mike@conroy.win-uk.net [Mike Conroy sent us the winners of last year's balloting as a courtesy, prior to the official press release and publishing the results in COMICS INTERNATIONAL. With his permission we publish the winners, and our thanks to those who voted us as their Favorite Comic E-Zine for 2000 - D.L.] ESTABLISHED in 1976, the Eagle Award is one of the comics industry's earliest established and most coveted international prizes. Such diverse titles as X-Men, Swamp Thing, Preacher, 2000 AD and MAD have all proudly featured the Eagle Award emblem on their covers over the past 25 years. Based on votes from over 30 countries, the winners of the awards for comics published in 2000 are: FAVOURITE COLOUR COMICBOOK: JSA FAVOURITE BLACK & WHITE COMICBOOK: Liberty Meadows FAVOURITE NEW COMICBOOK OF 2000: Ultimate Spider-Man FAVOURITE COMICS WRITER: Alan Moore FAVOURITE COMICS WRITER/ARTIST: Frank Miller FAVOURITE COMICS ARTIST (PENCILS): Frank Quitely FAVOURITE COMICS ARTIST (INKS): Mark Farmer FAVOURITE COMICS ARTIST (fully painted artwork): Alex Ross FAVOURITE COLOURIST: Laura DePuy FAVOURITE COMICS EDITOR: Andy Diggle (Mighty Tharg: 2000 AD) FAVOURITE MANGA COMIC: Lone Wolf and Cub FAVOURITE EUROPEAN COMIC: Metabarons (France) FAVOURITE COMICS CHARACTER: Batman FAVOURITE COMICS STORY WHICH APPEARED, BEGAN OR ENDED DURING 2000: The Authority - The Nativity CHARACTER MOST WORTHY OF OWN ONGOING TITLE: Elijah Snow (Planetary) FAVOURITE SUPPORTING CHARACTER IN COMICS: Commissioner James Gordon (Batman) FAVOURITE COMICS COVER PUBLISHED DURING 2000: Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (Joe Quesada) FAVOURITE COMICS VILLAIN: Lex Luthor (Superman) FAVOURITE GRAPHIC NOVEL: Safe Area Gorazade (Joe Sacco) FAVOURITE REPRINT COMPILATION: The Authority - Under New Management FAVOURITE NEWSPAPER STRIP: Liberty Meadows FAVOURITE MAGAZINE ABOUT COMICS: Wizard FAVOURITE COMICS-RELATED BOOK: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (Michael Chabon) FAVOURITE BRITISH COMIC: 2000 AD FAVOURITE COMIC STRIP TO APPEAR IN A UK COMIC OR MAGAZINE: Nikolai Dante FAVOURITE BRITISH SMALL PRESS TITLE: Jack Staff FAVOURITE COMICS RELATED WEBSITE: www.comicbookresources.com FAVOURITE COMICS E-ZINE: Comic Book Electronic Magazine FAVOURITE WEB-BASED COMIC: Sluggy Freelance ROLL OF HONOUR: Joe Quesada See Comics International #144, on sale in UK Monday 3/18, for official published list. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [7] Stream of Babbling Tim O'Shea tim_jen@mindspring.com [Tim O'Shea is a contributor to Organized Readers of Comics Associated (ORCA [www.orcafresh.net]) His column appears here with permission.] A Demanding Crowd It's been a busy week (and weekend) so I won't be babbling long this week. Let me get to the point. Comic book fans are a demanding lot. There's no way around this fact. I daresay, thanks to the Internet we've become more demanding. At the drop of a mouse or a click to a message board, hundreds of fans can tell a creator (or a publisher) just how you feel they're doing things the wrong way. If there's a misstep, the creator best step back for the cacophony of complaints that will be directed their way. When things are going right (as is the nature of the world in many ways) nary a peep is heard. This situation (of which I contribute quite heavily to myself) mystifies me on so many levels. Fans are quick to lambaste various parties and entities for proven or perceived actions or decisions. How many times have I read that a company is intentionally mishandling a book in homes of it being cancelled? It's like calling up Ford in the 1970s and saying: "You built the Pinto because you knew it was going to explode, you did that on purpose." And yet, when a company tries to do right, many still complain. Case in point, the Power Company preview the new DC work from Kurt Busiek and Tom Grummett, which was offered in JLA 61. This preview was followed by a month-long series of one-shots focusing on each member of the Power Company team, ranging in various moments in DC history and various creators (by far my favorite being Dan Jurgens' Simonson-like effort on the MANHUNTER one-shot). Whenever asked on message