---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden Present: THE COMIC BOOK NETWORK ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE Issue Number 454 1/09/2004 Edited by: David LeBlanc - ComicBkNet@aol.com Winner of the 2001 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] My Life With Comic Books .................. Paul Howley [6] Suspended Animation ....................... Michael Vance [7] Silva Shado Reviews ....................... Sarah Haslett [8] Lines on Paper ............................ Bruce Canwell [9] Thoughts From the Land of Frost ........... Alex Ness [10] ComiX-FAN Reviews.......................... Eric J. Moreels [11] Rich's Reviews ............................ Richard Vasseur [12] M.O.E. Reviews ............................ Paul Dale Roberts [13] TOP 100 COMICS FOR DECEMBER 2003 .......... Diamond Comics [14] New Comic Book Releases List .............. Charles LePage [15] HYPE! & LINKS Section ..................... Various ______________________________________________________________________ World Wide Web Home Page-->> http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet Mailed by Yahoo!: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ComicBookNetworkEmag WEEKLY HTML WEB EDITION at -->> http://www.digitalwebbing.com/cbem ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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) and is used with permission. Except where elsewhere noted, The Comic Book Net Electronic Magazine is Copyright 2004 by David L. LeBlanc. 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. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [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. The weekly deadline is 7:00 PM Eastern Time on Thursday - NO EXCEPTIONS! Late submissions are held over for the following week. 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 per se, only the printed media. 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 in the column MY VIEW. Send material to be reviewed 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 For some reason, today I remembered having dinner with an old friend earlier this year in Philadelphia. We have known each other for 25 years and have only recently got to see each other after a 3 year break. He had been recovering from some medical problems and one thing he told me made an impression. He was at home and felt some of the symptoms of what might be a heart attack, but not severe. So he drove himself to the hospital and after a checkup was admitted at later told he had a mild attack and needed immediate angioplasty to stave off a major problem. He was lucky it was only a warning and is doing fine now. But that is not what made an impression on me. It was what his doctor told him. After the crisis had past the doctor made Bob promise to do something. You see, Bob made a BIG mistake the day of his crisis - he drove himself to the hospital. He did not take the warning sign seriously enough. If he had been stopped by a traffic light or perhaps a minor accident he would have likely died - it was that close. So the doctor made him promise to tell everyone he knows to not make the same mistake. And, when he told me he also wanted me to pass on this wisdom. When you are faced with a decision involving your health that has the potential to be life threatening - call the emergency medical service in your area. They can make the difference between life and death when it literally comes down to seconds. Do not fool yourself into thinking you can get to help faster than they can get to you. This applies to other people you are with too. Once you have taken care of immediate danger - call 911 and do what they tell you and don't hang up. Just before Christmas a local college Freshman died after going home for the break. He had been sick for days before but waited until break and then it was too late. Maybe he would still be here if he had not toughed it out. My eye doctor told me this week that his grown daughter was in intensive care with the flu. Luckily people are finally understanding that fear of inconvenience is not as bad as death itself. One decided to tough it out and guessed wrong, one went for help and is getting the care needed to avert disaster. So, my friends, keep this little lesson in mind and do not be afraid or embarrassed to call for help. It's a matter of life and death. Not so critical, but still very important, are this week's new comics! CROSSGEN ENTERTAINMENT Negation #26, $2.95 <-------------------------------Pick of the week! DC COMICS Authority Vol 2 #9, $2.95 Elfquest The Grand Quest Vol 1 TPB, $9.95 JSA #56, $2.50 Superman Birthright #6 (Of 12), $2.95 MARVEL COMICS Exiles #40, $2.99 New X-Men #151, $2.25 Sentinel #11, $2.99 Supreme Power #6, $2.99 Ultimate Spider-Man #52, $2.25 Last word, to Paul and his family, you will never forget but the pain will lessen with time. The world is a better place because he was in it. 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: The Comic Zone On-Line Radio Show today at 3pm Date: 1/5/2004 1:00:32 PM Eastern Standard Time From: Metropolis Collectibles Dear Comic Collectors, Happy New Year! A special thanks to all of The Comic Zone listeners who have supported the show. In just four weeks The Comic Zone has climber up the ladder at www.worldtalkradio.com, we are now ranked in the top ten most listened to shows on the site! Thanks for joining me for last week1s show with inker Terry Austin and Batman Dead End director Sandy Collora! If you didn1t catch the show yet check it out in the archives. Join me today at 3pm/ET on The Comic Zone as I will have three extremely talented guests. My first guest is Seinfeld writer/producer, director and original art collector Dave Mandel. Artist/writer/creator Larry Hama, my second guest, is best known for creating the GI JOE pantheon of characters in the 1980s! Last but not least by any stretch of the imagination is comic writer extraordinaire Peter David. If you have any questions for Dave, Larry or Peter please call toll free in the USA or Canada at: 888-514-2100. For listeners outside North America you can call: 011-858-268-3068. If you want to listen to the show live go to: http://www.worldtalkradio.com and click on The Comic Zone. If you miss the live broadcast you can listen to the archived shows at: http://www.worldtalkradio.com/archives.asp?sid=68 Happy New Years, Vincent Zurzolo COO Metropolis Collectibles, Inc. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [3] [TRIVIA CONTEST] Due to costs, customs regulations, and logistical difficulties: THIS CONTEST IS OPEN TO RESIDENTS OF THE CONTIGUOUS 48 U.S. STATES! IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A U.S. ADDRESS DO NOT ATTEMPT TO WIN THE PRIZE. **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: In 1981 which graphic novel series pushed its way out of the comic book marketplace into bookstores, considered an industry first. The successful series that became a graphic novel series success was WaRP Graphic's ELFQUEST. Jason Sacks got it first and wins the Nightwing/Huntress TP from Discount Comic Book Service. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION: Where were the DC offices before they moved to 666 Fifth Avenue? IMPORTANT RULES NOTICE Due to costs, customs regulations,and logistical difficulties: THIS CONTEST IS OPEN TO RESIDENTS OF THE CONTIGUOUS 48 U.S. STATES! IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A U.S. ADDRESS DO NOT ATTEMPT TO WIN THE PRIZE. 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 'American Splendor' Earns Top Film Honors By DAVID GERMAIN LOS ANGELES (AP) - ``American Splendor,'' a film biography starring Paul Giamatti as grouchy comic-book writer Harvey Pekar, was picked as the best picture of 2003 by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. The runner-up in the critics' honors announced Wednesday night was Sofia Coppola's ``Lost in Translation,'' a quirky tale of friendship between two Americans visiting Tokyo. ``Lost in Translation'' star Bill Murray won the critics' best-actor prize. Co-star Scarlett Johansson, who also starred in the 17th century period drama ``Girl With a Pearl Earring,'' was cited for the group's ``new-generation'' honor. Naomi Watts was named best actress for the somber drama ``21 Grams,'' in which she plays a grieving wife and mother bent on revenge for the loss of her family. The runners-up for acting honors were Sean Penn, who plays a heart- transplant recipient in ``21 Grams'' and a vengeful father in ``Mystic River,'' and Charlize Theron for ``Monster,'' in which she plays a highway prostitute executed for a string of slayings. Peter Jackson took the directing award for ``The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,'' the final chapter of his trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy epic. The runner-up was Clint Eastwood for ``Mystic River.'' Bill Nighy was chosen as best supporting actor for four films, ``AKA,'' ``I Capture the Castle,'' ``Lawless Heart'' and ``Love Actually.'' Benicio Del Toro was the runner-up for ``21 Grams.'' The supporting-actress honor went to Shohreh Aghdashloo for ``House of Sand and Fog,'' and Melissa Leo was runner-up for ``21 Grams.'' The critics group will hold its 29th annual film awards ceremony Jan. 26. The group initially canceled its awards to protest a ban on special video copies of films that studios traditionally send to Academy Awards voters and other groups that bestow honors, including critics. Studios implemented the ban last fall over worries that bootleggers might use those awards videos to make counterfeit copies. The Los Angeles critics rescheduled their awards after a judge lifted the ban in a lawsuit brought by independent producers, who said the awards videos helped their lower-budgeted movies compete against big studio films. Other picks: Foreign-language film: ``The Man on the Train.'' Documentary/non-fiction film: ``The Fog of War.'' Production design: Grant Major, ``The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.'' Animation: ``The Triplets of Belleville.'' Music-score: Benoit Charest and Mathieu Chedid, ``The Triplets of Belleville.'' Cinematography: Eduardo Serra, ``Girl With a Pearl Earring.'' On the Net: http://www.lafca.org/ +++++ MUSEUM OF COMIC AND CARTOON ART NAMES LATEST ADDITIONS TO BOARDS OF TRUSTEES AND ADVISORS Gural, Mignola, McDonnell, Staton, Kurtzman and Barrucci Among Business and Artistic Leaders Dedicated to Supporting Museum and Its Mission NEW YORK, December 31, 2003 - The Board of Trustees of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art is proud to announce the election of new trustees, new advisors and a new officer at its 2003 Annual Meeting, to serve the museum in its goal of collecting, preserving, studying and displaying the world's most popular art form. The new members of MoCCA's Board of Trustees, which oversees all the affairs of the museum, are comic book writer and editor Jim Salicrup and longtime Harvey Awards organizer (and now Committee Chairwoman) Nellie Kurtzman. "I'm thrilled to have been invited to be an integral part of the team that is making MoCCA happen in New York," Kurtzman said. "This museum has been a long time coming and I'm excited to work to work on making it a success." New members of the Board of Advisors, which advises the Trustees on relevant matters, are real estate advisor Ellen S. Abramowitz, Dynamic Forces owner Nick Barrucci, New York Times Op-Ed Art Director Steven Guarnaccia, Newmark Real Estate Chairman Jeffrey Gural, Mutts syndicated comic strip creator Patrick McDonnell, Hellboy creator Michael Mignola, legendary comics penciller Joe Staton, and Codename: Kids Next Door animator Mo Willems. "The state of a culture's visual humor is a pretty good indicator of that culture's health," commented Guarnaccia. "It's the form a culture uses to critique itself. Can the culture take a joke? An institution like MoCCA plays a role in maintaining our national ability to laugh, along with everybody else, at ourselves. Six-time Emmy winner Willems quipped, "I'm excited to be a part of the MoCCA family, which is an organization that treats frivolous doodles with the seriousness they deserve." Ken Wong, a volunteer with the museum since 2002, was named Chief Operating Officer. As COO, Wong will be responsible for developing and administering operational policies for proper management of museum facilities, staff and resources. The newcomers join a leadership team that already includes such Trustees as nationally syndicated political cartoonist Ted Rall; award winning comic book artist, author, and educator Klaus Janson; and Roger Reed, co-owner of Illustration House, one of America's foremost galleries for illustration and cartoon art. Advisors returning for the coming year include Marvel Comics guiding light Stan Lee; Oscar- nominated animator Bill Plympton; comic art collector and Forbes Inc. Vice Chairman Christopher Forbes; and the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Maus, Art Spiegelman. New MoCCA Trustees Nellie Kurtzman has worked in the media arts for the past 10 years. She is currently a marketing manager at Simon & Schuster children's publishing. Additionally she is working on several independent film projects both as a director and as a producer. Ms. Kurtzman will be joining MoCCA both as a Trustee and as Chairwoman of the Harvey Awards Committee, one of the comic book industry's highest honors for the past twenty years. The Harvey Awards, named after Ms. Kurtzman's late father, the hugely influential cartoonist and Mad Magazine creator Harvey Kurtzman, were incorporated into the museum earlier in the year, and are to be presented annually at the MoCCA Art Festival, beginning in 2004. Jim Salicrup is a longtime writer and editor in the comic book field. Mr. Salicrup began a twenty year relationship with Marvel Comics when he was only 15 years old. At Marvel he edited the best-selling issue of Spider-Man ever, as well as highly regarded runs of The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, and many others. Mr. Salicrup also is proud of the work he did on the educational comic book, Spidey Super Stories, co- produced with the Children's Television Workshop, and the special Spider-Man comic, co-produced with the National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse. Mr. Salicrup also launched a line of comics for The Topps Company and was Senior Writer/Editor for Stan Lee Media. New MoCCA Advisors Ellen S. Abramowitz joined Newmark & Company Real Estate, Inc. in 2001 at the firm's Manhattan headquarters and offers her diverse prior experience in providing representation services to both tenants and owners throughout the New York metropolitan area. She was previously affiliated with GVA Williams, where she was named associate of the year, continues to actively represent ownership and recently served as a leasing agent for almost 500,000 square feet of office space, primarily in the midtown South area of Manhattan. Ms. Abramowitz is active in a number of civic and charitable organizations including Women's American ORT, Hadassah, The Real Estate Board of New York and NYCREW (New York Commercial Real Estate of Women). She is the past president of the Parents Association at The City & Country School, and a member of the board of trustees for the Dunewood Property Owners Association in Fire Island, a member of the UJA-Federation of New York and a member of PWP - Professional Women Photographers. Nick Barrucci is president of Dynamic Forces, the comic book industry's largest producer of limited edition pop culture collectibles. Born in Philadelphia, he became a fixture on the comic book comic book industry at 13, and founded Dynamic Forces at 21. Jeffrey Gural is Chairman of Newmark & Company Real Estate, Inc. Newmark & Company was founded in 1928 and is a full service commercial and industrial real estate management firm. Newmark currently owns and manages approximately one hundred fifty buildings in the Metropolitan area. Mr. Gural is a member of the Board of Directors of The Real Estate Board of New York; President of the New York Chapter of The Starlight Foundation; a member of the Board of U.S.O.; Chairman of "I Have A Dream -NY" and Co-Sponsor of the Chelsea-Elliott "I Have A Dream" Project; Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Times Square Business Improvement District, member Board of Directors of Cooper Union, member of the Board of Directors of the 14th Street-Union Square District Management Association; member of the Board of Directors for Art New York, member of Board of Directors for Starworks, Vice President of The Broadway Association, member of the Board of Directors of the Eldridge Street Synagogue; member of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Center of the Upper Westside, member of the Board of the Settlement Housing Fund. Mr. Gural is a member of the Board of Directors of the UJA-Federation, where both he and his father, Aaron Gural, were honored at the organization's 1995 Annual Luncheon. Steven Guarnaccia art directs the Op Ed page of the New York Times. His illustrations have appeared in books and magazines, on greeting cards for the Museum of Modern Art, on watches for Swatch and as murals for the Disney Cruise Lines. His children's books include Goldilocks and the Three Bears: a Tale Moderne, which won a prize at the Bologna Book Fair, and Skeleton Closet and Busy Busy City Street, both of which were selected by the AIGA as among the 50 Books of the Year. He has had one person shows in New York, Milan and Toronto, and his drawings accompanying the exhibition Achille Castiglioni: Design! at the Museum of Modern Art were published as a book by Corraini Editore. He has received numerous honors from the New York Art Directors Club, the Society of Publication Designers, and the AIGA among other professional organizations, and he was a Hallmark Fellow to the Aspen Design Conference. He is on the faculty of the MFA Design Program at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Patrick McDonnell is the creator of Mutts, a daily newspaper comic strip which appears in over 500 papers worldwide and has been collected in 10 book volumes. Mutts is centered on a cat and a dog, viewing the world from their perspective. Mutts has won many awards for comic excellence in its short history, including the National Cartoonist Society's "Comic Strip of the Year", the Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year (a lifetime achievement award) and the Harvey Award for best comic strip for four of the past five years. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. will be publishing Mutts: The Comic Art of Patrick McDonnell later this month, coinciding with a one man show at the Society of Illustrators from December 3, 2003 - January 3,2004. Mr. McDonnell has also created illustrations for Forbes, Time, Parade, Sports Illustrated, NY Times Sunday Magazine (Russell Baker's "Observer" for over 10 years), Reader's Digest's "Laughter is the Best Medicine", Parents Magazine's monthly "Bad Baby", and many others. Michael Mignola first joined the ranks of the comics profession in 1982, and has since worked as an artist for almost every major publisher in the industry. He entered the world of creator-owned comics with his creation, Hellboy, and has never looked back. Today, Hellboy is published in over a half dozen languages throughout the world and has earned numerous industry awards. Mr. Mignola has also worked in film and television. He worked with Francis Ford Coppola on Bram Stoker's Dracula and was a production designer on Disney's Atlantis: the Lost Empire. He was also Visual Consultant to Guillermo Del Toro on Blade 2 and the Hellboy feature film. Joe Staton is a legendary comics penciller who first gained widespread acclaim for his series E-Man with Nick Cuti in the early 70's. He enjoyed memorable runs on Justice Society of America and Green Lantern and co-created DC mainstay heroine The Huntress with Paul Levitz. He served as art director for First Comics in the 1980's. He has been a regular artist on DC/Cartoon Network's Scooby Doo comics series for the last five years. Mo Willems has won six Emmy Awards for his writing on Sesame Street. He is the creator of Nickelodeon's The Off-Beats, Cartoon Network's Sheep in the Big City and the Head Writer for CN's Codename: Kids Next Door. Mr. Willems' numerous animated films have screened in festivals around the world and his drawings have been exhibited at the Museum of Radio and Television and the U.S. Library of Congress. He writes for DC Comics and occasionally exhibits his wire sculptures. Mr. Willems' children's books include Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (a Child Magazine and Nick Jr. Magazine `Best Book of the Year') and Time to Pee! (one of NY Public Library 100 Books to Read and Share, a Nick Jr. Magazine `Best Book of the Year', and National Parenting Publications Gold Medalist). Mr. Willems lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York. New MoCCA Officer Ken Wong (Chief Operating Officer), an award-winning marketing communications professional as well as a dedicated comics creator and enthusiast, brings to MoCCA his considerable experience and expertise in marketing, public relations, business writing, interview/presentation training, event support/planning, and organizational management. Mr. Wong's extensive volunteer service also includes pro bono fundraising, communications, and special events work for the Friends of Brown Fencing sports booster organization. About MoCCA The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (www.moccany.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the collection, preservation, study and display of the world's most popular art form. The Museum's mission is to promote greater understanding and appreciation of the artistic, cultural and historical significance of comic and cartoon art. +++++ CG SNEAK PEEK: NEGATION #26! Love Leads To War As The Ultimate Power Couple Unites! Is that the drums of war beating...or the thumping of hearts? When picking a mate, most follow the laws of love...while others choose whoever will supply a thick bankroll. Evinlea, the scheming member of all-mighty First, has never hidden her hunger for power -- and that's why she's chosen Charon as her man! Yes, the queen of mean and the god- emperor of destruction are going on a date...and you're invited along! How will their union lead towards the NEGATION WAR? Find out on January 7th when writer Tony Bedard, penciler Paul Pelletier, inker Dave Meikis and colorist Laura Martin bring you NEGATION #26, the latest chapter of the book HeroRealm.com calls "a perfect rollercoaster ride -- the best book on the stands right now." There's a reason why you're seeing NEGATION spotlighted on many "Best Of 2003" lists...and now it's your time to find out why! CG SNEAK PEEK: BRATH #11! More Widescreen Battle Scenes From The Barbarian's Book! From Braveheart to Gladiator to Master & Commander, historical action movies supply epic battle scenes of widescreen horror. So if you're a fan of those ferocious flicks, grab a tub of popcorn and bask in the gory glory that is BRATH! On January 7th, guest artist Alcatena and guest colorist Jason Keith join writer Chuck Dixon for BRATH #11, a story that shows what happens when mighty empires underestimate smaller foes! CG SNEAK PEEK: WAY OF THE RAT #21! Be Careful What You Wish For! Sometimes, you really don't want what you think you do. Take Boon Sai Hong, for example. Last month, the bumbling thief made a wish, asking to know where his friends Jao and Yan had disappeared to...and thanks to a mischievous magical doll, Boon and his monkey mentor Po Po were teleported to a vast cave. The good news is, that's where Jao and Yan were...even better, the cave was filled with treasure! But, you guessed it, it also had a very angry -- and big -- guardian! Can the Jade Rat evade the claws of this mammoth monster? Or will Po Po finally be rid of his disappointing student? Find out on January 14th, when writer Chuck Dixon, penciler Luke Ross, inker Tom Ryder and colorist Chris Garcia present WAY OF THE RAT #21! Your Connection @ CG, Bill Rosemann +++++ MOONSTONE to publish comics based on the legendary radio thriller "I LOVE A MYSTERY"! WARNING!! Do Not Fail to listen to the exciting program "I LOVE A MYSTERY" Carlton E. Morse's hair-raising, teeth-chattering thrillers that have all America on the edge of its chair!!! (radio ad from 1940) "The old-time radio series, "I Love A Mystery," written, produced and directed by Carlton E. Morse, is considered by many as the greatest radio adventure series ever!" It ran from 1939-1953, and there were four movies (three in the late 1940's and one in 1966) to boot! Who could not love a show with such luridly shudder-pulpy titles as "Temple of Vampires", "The Pirate Loot of the Island of Skulls", "Bury Your Dead Arizona", & The Thing that Cries in the Night ? "I Love a Mystery" featured three memorable rough and tumble seekers of fun, mayhem and adventure; Jack, Doc and Reggie. A combination of the Three Musketeers and Robin Hood all rolled into one, the three considered themselves Soldiers of Fortune with a difference, ones with a conscience and a morality to adhere to. The three had originally met while fighting for the losing side during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria , but they united again stateside after surviving that conflict against seemingly impossible odds. In the carefree early days the stories were basically rough and tumble pulp action stories as the trio literally stumbled into adventure just for the fun of it. As Jack put it, "we simply weren't cut out for regular working hours, we like to move around too much." Later, the emphasis was more on mystery, adventure, and the supernatural as the trio took on clients and opened the A-1 Detective Agency in Hollywood; Doc hires Jerry Booker, as the A-1's super-scrumptious spunky secretary/co-adventurer. I Love A Mystery even inspired the writers of the original Hanna- Barbara cartoon, "Scooby Doo--Where Are You"! That's right, Moonstone has entered into an arrangement with the rights holder to this old time radio property! But you don't need to know anything about the radio show to enjoy these hell-raising adventure tales! Moonstone will first publish a remastered collection (in TPB form) of the seldom seen newspaper strip! Moonstone is working with the strip's original creator Don Sherwood to make sure that it all goes smoothly. Look for it late Summer'04! +++++ SMASH! COMICS SET TO MAKE IT'S MARK! Tiverton, Ontario, Canada, January 6th, 2004 - SMASH! Comics would like to proclaim 2004 the year of SMASH! When SMASH! was launched in 2002 the indie comic label was poised to make a name for itself as the next prominent indie comic publisher. Unfortunately December of that year saw the financial corporation, Bizsmart, go into bankruptcy. Bizsmart had been SMASH! Comics owner Mike Gagnon's financial backer in the new venture, and with the loss of capital SMASH! was left with poor funding and large debts. When the company re-located from Toronto, Ontario to Tiverton, Ontario the overhead costs fell dramatically and the company has enjoyed the benefits of that. Although the burden of the debt left by Bizsmart's absence still exists SMASH! profits and popularity have been steadily increasing since August of '03. Thanks to this resurgence Gagnon has put a lot of hard work into creating, securing, and initiating solid projects for SMASH! to produce in the coming year. SMASH! is going to remind the public and retailers why this company generated so much buzz when it was first launched. The humor hit mini-series Powerwus will draw to a close in April of 2004, June will see the release of the much anticipated one-shot; Monkey's and Midgets, and another mini-series sure to please fans of dark humor, The Life of Death, will begin in August. Other exciting projects which Gagnon has got the ball rolling on are: a 2 part benefit comic in support of a comic industry charity group with a possible summer '04 release, a documentary about the company and its publisher to be aired on a Canadian radio station, The licensing of a popular 1970's comic book icon, and the possible re- release of fan hit Mason: Sweet Sacrilege as a special "Director's Cut" version, simultaneously released with a French version in the European market! Most of the details are still confidential but we can tell you that most of the deals are expected to be finalized and reported in January, while the documentary will not be finalized until late February or early March. +++++ Humanoids receives two Prix d'Angoulˆme Awards Nominations Los Angeles - January 7, 2004 - The graphic album series Bouncer and St‚phane Cl‚ment (Daniel Ceppi) were nominated for the 2004 Prix d'Angoulˆme Awards Nominations. Bouncer features art by Fran‡ois Boucq and story by Alexandro Jodorowsky. St‚phane Cl‚ment features art and story by Daniel Ceppi. Both books were nominated in a new category, Best Series. The winners will be announced on January 22, 2004 by the organizers of the Festival International de la Bande Dessin‚e in Angoulˆme, France. Humanoids Publishing congratulates Fran‡ois Boucq, Alexandro Jodorowsky, and Daniel Ceppi on their superb work on their respective books. Bouncer is an epic adventure of the American West turned on its ear and filled with strange characters and situations that could only have originated from the mind of El Topo Director, and Metabarons author, Alexandro Jodorowsky. The artist, Fran‡ois Boucq, has previously been awarded the Grand Prize of the City of Angoulˆme, which is awarded to a living author, cartoonist or scriptwriter (French or foreign), based on his lifetime's work or his contribution to the development of cartoons. The full-color, 56-page hardcover graphic album for Mature Readers retails for $15.95. Originally released in English in September 2002, the album is available at quality direct market comic book retailers and continues to be available by re-order from Humanoids Publishing. St‚phane Cl‚ment are the chronicles of a contemporary traveler who finds adventure, intrigue, and danger dealing with drug traffickers, terrorists, and smugglers of ancient artifacts around the world. The full-color, series currently consists of eleven 56-page hardcover volumes. It has not yet been released in English. For more information or a complete product list: E-mail: cs@humanoids-publishing.com +++++ WRITERS LINE UP FOR THE DARKNESS April heralds the beginning of a special 10 issue run of Top Cow's ongoing title the Darkness as Ron Marz, Frank Tieri and Steve Niles all pen arcs of the hitman cum bearer of the Darkness Jackie Estacado. Ron (Sojourn, Green Lantern) Marz leads the group with a 4 issue arc starting in April. Frank (Wolverine) Tieri writes Darkness 14 through 16 with Steve (30 Days of Nights) Niles rounding it up with issues 17 through 19. Magdalena/Vampirella artist Martin Montiel will be the regular artist for all ten issues with Dale Keown providing covers for each. "I'm looking forward to jumping on to The Darkness for an arc because it's a chance for me to tell a completely different kind of story," says Marz. "What I'm going to do has a dollop of The Sopranos, a big dose of John Woo-Hong Kong action flick, and a heaping helping of the supernatural. Getting to work with an up-and-coming artist like Martin Montiel is just the icing on the cake." "We were thrilled at the chance to provide different perspectives regarding our characters, especially the Darkness," says Jim Mclauchlin, Top Cow Editor-in-Chief. "We hope this will lead to other partnerships involving our library of characters." Marz concurs: "Top Cow was one of the first places to get in touch when I was no longer under exclusive contract. This is the first work to come out of those discussions, so hopefully this is the beginning of a real fruitful relationship for both of us." Frank Tieri adds, "We had a lot of fun doing the Darkness: Wanted Dead one shot, so when Top Cow approached me to do a follow up in the regular book, it wasn't a hard decision to make at all -- especially when you consider that, while yes, Wanted Dead can be enjoyed as a self contained tale, it was really intended to be a prelude to a much bigger storyline. And that's where "The Streets Run Red" comes in. Tieri reveals some of his ideas for his story arc: "Streets is a three- issue story arc that finds Jackie having to deal with some unforeseen consequences due to his actions from Wanted Dead. So although he may have thought shooting 'The Quiet Don' in the head would make his problems go away, he'll soon discover he's only made them far worse than he could ever have imagined. In fact, this new threat is nothing like Jackie's ever had to face before-- and it may very well prove to be something that's more than even he can handle." +++++ From the Salem Statesman Journal, Portland, January 3, 2003 Graphic novelists drawn to Portland RICK BOWMER / Associated Press Graphic novelist Craig Thompson, author of "Blankets," got off to a difficult start in his career when he moved to Portland six years ago. The city finds itself with a growing scene of artists in the growing genre. SARAH LINN The Associated Press January 3, 2004 PORTLAND - Budding comics author Craig Thompson got off to a difficult start when he moved to Portland six years ago. His budget was so small, he said, that he would wait outside fast-food restaurants until people finished, then eat food off their trays. "The first six months were harsh," said Thompson, author of the critically acclaimed, mostly autobiographical "Blankets," part of the growing library of graphic novels - extended, single-subject comics in book form. To survive, the Marathon, Wis., native painted houses for a scam artist who left him with $6,000 worth of bad checks. His bike was stolen. He and another man were assaulted by four men in a grocery store parking lot. Nonetheless, he stayed, and found a job as a designer with Dark Horse Comics, the nation's fourth largest publisher in a growing industry. Now, Thompson is part of a thriving Portland comics scene that includes journalist Joe Sacco and superhero comics writer Greg Rucka. Portland and its suburbs are home to comics publishers Dark Horse, Oni Press and Top Shelf Publications. Artists and publishers say that Portland is a quieter scene than other comics hotspots, such as Seattle and New York. ... CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=73195 This link has a longer version of the same article: http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2004/01/03/news/the_west/satwst02. txt Rosetta volume 2 from Alternative Comics has been increased to 268 pages, with the same low price of $19.95. See: http://www.indyworld.com/rosetta Rosetta volume 2 Edited by Ng Suat Tong $19.95; Spring 2004; For Mature Readers; 268 pages in B&W and Full Color; 7" x 10"; ISBN: 1-891867-62-8; Diamond Code: DEC03 2046 February 2004 sees the return of the 2003 Harvey and Eisner nominated anthology for yet another offering of comics from various parts of the globe. Rosetta volume 1 was picked as one of the ten best comics of 2003 by TIME.com and volume 2 promises to be even better. It includes new and previously untranslated works by Edmond Baudoin, Martin tom Dieck, Miriam Katin, Lat, Max, Jason Lutes, Paul Pope, R. Sikoryak, Ted Stearn, Craig Thompson and others. Also in this volume, an overview of Chinese cartoonists Feng Zikai and Liao BinXiong who represented the leading edge of cartooning in China during the early 20th century Underneath covers provided by Peter Kuper and Megan Kelso, Michael Kupperman provides an extended remembrance of the Thirties, Jason Lutes delves deep into experimentation and existentialism; R. Sikoryak finds his life transformed into a comics strip, the Spanish cartoonist, Max, takes a break from his comics sabbatical to present a new direction in his comics art; Craig Thompson discusses the genesis of humanity; Paul Pope contributes a "poem-story" as well as hitherto unseen pages from his manga project at Kodansha; and Miriam Katin charts the life and death of Caspar David Friedrich through a series of paintings. The second volume also presents, for the first time in English, Martin tom Dieck's seminal story, "Fragments Fugitif" as well as a 26-page short story by Edmond Baudoin The creators contributing to the second volume include: Filipe Abranches (Le cheval sans tˆte, Comix 2000) Edmond Baudoin (Le Portrait, Le Chemin de Saint-Jean) Andrea Bruno (Le cheval sans tˆte, Black) Santiago Cohen (Drawn & Quarterly, The Fifth Name) Martin Tom Dieck (hundert Ansichten der Speichrstadt, Salut Deleuze!) Stefan J. H. van Dinther (Eiland) Anke Feuchtenberger (Happy End, Die Hure H, Somnambule) Jason (Hey, Wait., The Iron Wagon) Miriam Katin (Drawn & Quarterly, Monkeysuit) Megan Kelso (Non, Artichoke Tales) Peter Kuper (Speechless, World War 3 Illustrated) Michael Kupperman (Snake 'N' Bacon) Lat (Kampung Boy, Town Boy) Jason Lutes (Jar of Fools, Berlin) Matt Madden (Odds Off, Exercises in Style, Black Candy, A Fine Mess) Max (The Extended Dream of Mr. D, Drawn & Quarterly) Pedro Nora (Mr. Burroughs, Quadrado, Lisboa 24 H) Paul Pope (THB, Heavy Liquid) Tobias Tycho Schalken (Eiland, Comix 2000) R. Sikoryak (Drawn and Quarterly, Raw, Little Lit) Vincent Stall (King Mini International) Craig Thompson (Goodbye, Chunky Rice, Blankets) Fabio Zimbres (Animal, Le Dernier,Comix 2000) Makor Marathon Uptown/Downtown New York, January 5, 2004: On Sunday, December 11, Members of the Makor Artists Networks and some of downtown's most exciting artists and performers mix it up all day long on themes derived from The Book of Jonah. Featuring Deep Dish Cabaret, Manhattan's premier underground neo-vaudeville show and party; Belladonna poetry salon curated by Rachel Levitsky; members of the Bowery Poetry Club's Urbana National Poetry Slam Champs; "Carousel," the hilarious cartoon slide show hosted by cartoonist R. Sikoryak (with a revolving cast of cartoonists, book illustrators, performers and musicians); Brooklyn's daring short film collective Rooftop Films; Writer and performer Lisa Kron, performing an excerpt from her newest meditation on family, Well, which premieres at The Public Theater in March; South of Delancey Street by theater artists-in-residence from the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. Composer and turntablist Raz Mesinai (aka Badawi) spins in the Cafe. Video art by Raul Vincent. Art curated by Anat Litwin. Produced by Robin Schatell, Urban Arts Productions. High-noon DJ bagel brunch included. "I had some wonderful students produce some extraordinary work," said Cartoonist Lauren Weinstein (Inside Vineyland) in reference to the Comic Book to Graphic Novel class she taught last semester, "which will be on display at the Makor Marathon!" i Admission at the door is $20. http://www.92y.org/shop/event_detail.asp?catalog=92y%5Fcatalog&producti d=T%2DMM5NT05 Comic Book to Graphic Novel / West Side Makor Modern cartooning combines drawing, graphic art and writing on themes ranging from social satires to memoirs and adventure stories. Make your own graphic novel and study the works of the greats from Robert Crumb to Craig Thomson. Learn how to develop, pencil, and ink your own stories, from short strips to longer works. Students with ambitious longer projects receive technical assistance and guidance. No previous experience required. First Session: Thu, Jan 29, 2004, 7:00pm-9:00pm Sessions: 12 Instructor: Lauren Weinstein Location: Steinhardt Building Directions Code: MM3NA11-01 Price: $260.00 http://www.92y.org/shop/class_detail.asp?catalog=92y%5Fcatalog&producti d=MM3NA11 "This semester the course will be even better," said Instructor Lauren Weinstein, "We'll be starting with creating gag panels and ending with multi-page narratives. Students from last semester will be working on longer independent projects." Register at www.makor.org or at 212.601.1000. For more information on programs write makorartists@92y.org or call 212.413.8842. Makor is a place where New Yorkers of all backgrounds can feel comfortable expressing themselves, and where they can find meaning and inspiration. Makor is a place where you can rediscover Jewish life without losing your identity, where you can hone your talents while appreciating those of others, where you can cultivate the avant-garde while finding out about your roots. Makor reaches out to New Yorkers in their 20s and 30s with opportunities to connect and learn through imaginative programming in the arts and entertainment, education and service to others. Lauren Weinstein's newest graphic novel is Inside Vineyland (Alternative Comics; ISBN: 1-891867-44-X; Diamond Code: STAR 18926; http://www.vineyland.com). Her illustrations are featured in many publications. Lauren Weinstein may be contacted by e-mailing: vineshtein@mindspring.com David Lasky has been chosen to be the first artist profiled and interviewed on the website of an organization called Interstitial Arts: http://www.artistswithoutborders.org/what/featured_lasky.html Rare and never before seen artwork is included with the interview. From their Mission Statement: What is Interstitial Art? It is art made in the interstices between genres and categories. It is art that flourishes in the borderlands between different disciplines, mediums, and cultures. It is art that crosses borders, made by artists who refuse to be constrained by category labels. The Orlando Sentinel for January 5, 2004 reviews the recent Hickee and further Grickle books from Alternative Comics http://www.orlandocitybeat.com/citybeat/custom/popculture/ocb- popculture-furthergrickle010503,0,1144237.story?coll=ocb-home- headlines GRAPHIC NOVELS Funny ha-ha or funny strange? Take your pick By Tod Caviness | Orlando CityBeat Writer Posted January 5, 2004 Here's a problem: When I tell people I read comics, they'll ask me what kind of stuff I read. It's an honest sounding question. But invariably, I'll answer with the names of my favorite comics creators (Alan Moore, David Lapham), when what they're looking to hear is which characters I follow (Batman, X-Men, Archie). Sigh. Do fiction readers have this problem? When you read novels, you tell people you like Stephen King or Tom Clancy, not Roland or Jack Ryan? Now why the hell is this? No, don't tell me - I already know, and it's a whole other conversation. But, hey - I'm all about lighting candles through the darkness here. Enter Alternative Comics' Hickee. It's an anthology, a format that works so well with comics that you wonder why we don't see more around. The good stories stand out, and you're able to pick out your favorite creators on the merit of their work, not the characters they were handed. Then, maybe you look up their solo stuff. All of a sudden, you're thinking things like maybe the subject matter of comics doesn't matter as much as the style. Anyway, Hickee -- it's good stuff. The one theme here is humor, but other than that the contributors run wild. The stories range from eight-panel movie spoofs recast with talking hams to good old reliable dick jokes. You'll find yourself laughing out loud more than once, but a healthy sense of irony and tolerance for deftly used profanity will help. If the comics in Hickee have anything else in common, it's the simplicity of the art. Most of the offerings here are at the Dilbert level of complexity and usually that works out just fine. Vamberto Maduro's strips in particular are all the better for his mix of wry laughs and cartoony line drawings. Joe White, too, goes a long way with his bloated, haphazard caricatures. Another big standout here is Graham Annable. I'd skimmed over his work before in the minimalist Grickle, and shrugged. After seeing his shorter stuff in Hickee, though, I was immediately moved to pick up his latest, Further Grickle. See how that works? There are fewer laughs in Annable's solo stuff, but definitely more meat. Further Grickle's short tales depict a stable of look-alike characters whose mundane problems and ridiculous solutions show the selfishness of our everyday concerns. In one recurring story, a stray cat listens patiently to the personal dramas of strangers before moving in and eating their leftover food. The pacing, slow and heavy on expression, shows Annable's background as an animator. You can easily see his characters on screen, and sometimes you wonder why they aren't - some of the longer stories might be beetter served in that format. On the whole, though, Further Grickle leaves you hungry for more like Annable -- a guy who could fill Gary Larson's shoes if only the Sunday comics could handle him. For that reason alone, pick up these books. First you'll have put down that Tom Clancy novel though - and that's a whole other conversation. Alternative Comics has increased the number of pages of Hi-Horse Omnibus volume 1 (ISBN: 1-891867-67-9; Spring 2004) to 112 pages, same low price of $11.95. ALTERNATIVE COMICS DEC03 2043 HI HORSE OMNIBUS VOL 1 TP (MR) $11.95 Hi-Horse Omnibus Volume 1 Hi-Horse leaps in a bold new direction with this gorgeous new special, introducing a new generation of comics innovators, 18 in all, to the world. Included are Gabrielle Bell's uninhibited but clear-headed chronicle of an artist's model, and Dan Zettwoch's "The Crucial Point," a zen-like anecdote about a cliff-diving hobo. Andrice Arp provides the "Cover of the Year!" The Comics Journal calls Hi-Horse "intelligent, imaginative ... a striking book that stands out from the other anthologies." Get your Hi-Horse and discover the future of comics! Edited by Howard John Arey, Andrice Arp, Joan Reilly, and Bishakh Som; Designed by Andrice Arp; By Howard John Arey, Andrice Arp, Gabrielle Bell, Martin Cendreda, Damien Jay, Cole Johnson, J Bradley Johnson, Ellen Lindner, Lark Pien, Joan Reilly, Jesse Reklaw, Olivia Schanzer, Karen Sneider, Bishakh Som, Zack Soto, Hsiao-chen Tsai, and Dan Zettwoch Hi-Horse Omnibus Volume 1; For Mature Readers; deluxe trade paperback; 112 pages; 7" x 10"; $11.95; ISBN: 1-891867-67-9; DCD: DEC03 2043 Cartoonist Sara Varon's all-ages Sweaterweather graphic novel (Alternative Comics, ISBN: 1-891867-49-0), among others, will be plugged in The New York Times this Sunday, January 11, in the City section. In that issue, The New York Times is running a roundup of New York City graphic novels A small, web-optimized image of the cover artwork for Sweaterweather is available on-line at: http://www.indyworld.com/pics/sweaterweathermed.jpg For more information or requests please contact Alternative Comics publisher Jeff Mason at 503 NW 37th Ave., Gainesville, FL 32609-2204. Phone: (352) 373-6336. E-mail Jeff Mason at jmason@indyworld.com. Sara Varon is available for interview. E-mail her at: sara@chickenopolis.com or phone her at: 347-564-7127. For more information about Sara Varon, visit her website at http://www.chickenopolis.com For more information about Alternative Comics, visit the website at: http://www.indyworld.com/altcomics About Sweaterweather: Sweaterweather, the stunning graphic novel debut from Sara Varon, is quite simply an absolutely essential tome for every graphic novel reader. This book will dazzle your senses with its Seuss-ian cast of characters and lush cartoon-y brushwork. Sweaterweather is about a turtle, a rabbit, and other sweet creatures on a snowy journey. Beautiful, funny, stirring, and for all ages. Sweaterweather contains short comics and lots of other delightful things, such as paper dolls, postcards, and stamps. By Sara Varon, Deluxe graphic novel, All Ages, partial color, 96 pages, 7" x 9-1/4", $11.95 US. ISBN: 1-891867-49-0. Jeff Mason - Publisher Alternative Comics Web: http://www.indyworld.com/altcomics Forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/altcomics +++++ Superman Exhibit to open in Little Rock Arkansas "I have always found that the character was more important than the actor who played him, because it's an icon, a piece of American mythology." - Christopher Reeve at Kent State University SUPERMAN COLLECTION TO BE EXHIBITED AT THE MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY Little Rock, AR - For over 65 years the Man of Steel has thrilled children and adults alike, in the pages of comic books, movies, radio and on television. Now a collection showcasing artifacts from Superman's history will be exhibited at the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock opening January 19th. Superman Exhibit Collection The items in the Superman Case Exhibit are from the personal collection of Mike and Carole Curtis of Greenbrier. Mike has been collecting memorabilia about the Man of Steel for 30 years; Carole "learned in self-defense!" Currently the collection boasts 16,000 items, hundreds of which will be on display at the Museum. The selected items from the collection have been shown at schools, libraries, and museums around the country, but this will be its first showing in Little Rock. For several years, it traveled to Metropolis, Illinois as the memorabilia museum exhibit for their annual Superman Festival. Superman merchandising began in 1939 with a small button premium. One of these buttons, along with hundreds of other rare and unusual items, will be displayed at the museum during the exhibition. The collection ranges from the unusual to the commonplace; from action figures and toys to prototype and promotional items. Autographed pictures from many of the actors and actresses in the various adaptations are showcased. Many children will see items no longer available to them, such as picture discs, a record player and 8 track tapes, while adults will see gum tattoos and cards they first saw in the 1950's and 60's. The comic book side of Superman will not be neglected. There are rare volumes dating back to 1940 as well as foreign editions of the hero's adventures in the cases as well. The rarest item in the collection is a 1957 cape symbol worn by George Reeves. It was seen on THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN television show as well as worn during his guest appearance on I LOVE LUCY. Flanking it will be a life mask of Reeves and a reproduction of the brown and gray costume used for black and white television. Superman History Superman was the creation of two teenagers from Cleveland, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The duo were science fiction fans, who quickly began producing fanzines. They hoped to find work producing comic strips for newspapers. Soon the new invention of comic books brought an opportunity their way. Siegel and Shuster began working for National Periodical Publications, while keeping their favorite creation in reserve for possible newspaper syndication. After turndowns from every syndicate in America, they took it to their editor at National.+ A new cover was commissioned and the cut-and- pasted comic strips became the lead story in ACTION COMICS #1 in 1938. Comic book sales led to Superman becoming a daily comic strip and then making the leap to radio. In 1941, movie screens showed the cartoon adventures of the Man of Steel. In 1948, Kirk Alyn became the first live Superman on film in two serials. Most people are familiar with the 1950's TV series starring George Reeves. But Superman also starred in a Broadway musical as well as several TV cartoon series before Christopher Reeve made the first of his four feature films as the Caped Kryptonian. In more recent years, Dean Cain wore the tights as he starred in the TV series, Lois and Clark. Currently, Tom Welling does the same, sans costume, in Smallville on WB. In addition, Little Rock native George Newbern is the current voice of Superman on Cartoon Network's animated series JUSTICE LEAGUE. SUPERMAN is a copyrighted character of DC Comics. Information on Mike and Carole Curtis Mike Curtis has been a writer for comic books since the 1980's, doing work on RICHIE RICH and CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST and others for Harvey Comics. Today, as owner, he writes three comics for SHANDA FANTASY ARTS as well as articles for COMICS JOURNAL and COMIC BUYER'S GUIDE. He has also written and published an illustrated short story about George Reeves, which is currently available. Carole Curtis is the editor-in-chief of SHANDA FANTASY ARTS, the comic book company she and Mike own and operate. In addition, she writes her own adventure comic KATMANDU for the label. She holds a Masters in Educational Media and Library Science. The Museum of Discovery was established in 1927 as the Museum of Natural History and Antiquities. In the past 76 years, the museum has been through four locations and five name changes, including the Arkansas Science and History Museum located in the Arsenal building in McArthur Park. Renamed the Museum of Discovery, it was relocated in the Museum Center on President Clinton Avenue next to Little Rock's River Market in 1998. In 2003, the Museum of Discovery merged with the Children's Museum of Arkansas to provide educational services to all children and families. This 44,000 square foot educational institution provides unique learning opportunities through its artifact and participatory exhibits, programs and events. +++++ From THE PULSE by Heidi MacDonald and Jennifer Contino at: http://www.comicon.com/pulse/ BATMAN, SHAZAM, & SUPERMAN @ TV LAND Batman, Shazam!, and The Adventures of Superman are a part of the TV LAND KITSCHEN. Check their schedule for episode descriptions and times. http://www.tvland.com/kitschen/kitschen.jhtml According to the schedule, the first two episodes of Batman are on at midnight and twelve-thirty a.m. tonight. After that is the first episode of The New Adventures of Superman. Batting clean up is Shazam!; the site doesn't list any episode information for Shazam!. The TV Land Kitschen usually features a different set of series each month. It airs from 12 a.m. - 2 a.m. EST Saturday and Sunday mornings. This is the second time TV Land has featured Shazam! as part of its boxed set. NEWS: EISNER JUDGES NAMED PRESS RELEASE Entries are now being accepted for the 16th annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, to be given to the finest publications and creators of 2003. Judging this year's event are retailer Greg Bennett of Big Planet Comics, Marc Bernadin, Senior Editor, Entertainment Weekly, consultant Melony Crawford Chadwick, Andrew Farago, curator, Cartoon Art Museum, and Filip Sablik of Diamond. Publishers can submit any comic, graphic novel, or comics-related periodical or book that was shipped to retailers between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003. The deadline for submissions is March 12. The submitted items will be considered by a blue-ribbon panel of judges, who will select the final items to appear on the Eisner Awards ballot. This year's judges, who have been chosen by Awards Administrator Jackie Estrada, are: Greg Bennett, comics retailer. Greg has been in comics retailing for nearly 20 years. He is the co-owner of the Big Planet Comics shops in the Washington, DC area. He was also one of the main organizers of SPX, one of the nation's premier small press comics conventions, from 1996 to 2003. Marc Bernardin, magazine journalist. Marc has had a somewhat scattershot career that has included tours of duty as a private investigator, an award-winning screenwriter, a managing editor of Starlog magazine, and a consulting editor for Fangoria magazine, He is now a senior editor for Entertainment Weekly, where he coordinates both the comics coverage and movie reviews. Meloney Crawford Chadwick, consultant. Meloney's early interest in comics lead her to contribute to fanzines, including Comics Feature and the seminal Omniverse. She began her professional involvement working at Eclipse Enterprises in the early 1980s. After completing law school and spending several years pursuing a legal career, she returned to comics in 1991 as editorial director of Harris Comics, where she relaunched the cult favorite Vampirella. She has also been director of editorial administration at Dark Horse Comics, has consulted with a number of small publishers, and has written trading cards for Inkworks based on pop culture favorites such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer. She currently works for the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program. Andrew Farago, museum curator. Andrew has been gallery manager for San Francisco's Cartoon Art Museum since 2001. His responsibilities include installing exhibitions, handling public relations, teaching cartooning classes for children, and serving as the museum's volunteer coordinator. Along with his fiancee, Shaenon K. Garrity, Farago is the co-editor of Modern Tales Longplay, on www.moderntales.com, which publishes complete short-form comics online. Filip Sablik, comics distributor. Filip graduated from the Maryland Institute, College of Art in 2000 with a BFA in Illustration (cum laude). While at MICA, Filip helped found the first Graphic Novel Club at the school and co-edited the first two annual comic anthologies, Admit One. In June 2000, Filip joined Diamond Comic Distributors as a customer service representative. Since 2001 he has been a purchasing brand manager, acting as the primary liaison between Diamond and a variety of large, mid-sized, and small publishers. "These individuals were chosen for their love and knowledge of comics, their wide-ranging backgrounds, and their reputation for integrity," says Estrada. "I look forward to working with them in the judging process and really appreciate their volunteering all the time necessary to this important task." Publishers wanting to submit entries for the judges to consider should send one copy each of the comics or books to be considered and include a cover letter indicating what is being submitted and in what categories. The tentative categories include best single issue, best short story, best serialized story, best continuing comic book series (at least two issues must have been published in 2003), best limited comic book series (at least half of the series must have been published in 2003), best new series, best title aimed at a younger audience, best anthology, best graphic album-new material, best graphic album-reprint, best archival collection, best humor publication, best U.S. edition of foreign material, best writer, best writer/artist, best penciler/inker (individual or team), best painter (interior art), best lettering, best coloring, best comics-related book, best comics-related periodical, and best publication design. Publishers may submit a maximum of five items for any one category, and the same item or person can be submitted for more than one category. Each imprint, line, or subsidiary of a publisher may submit its own set of entries. There are no entry fees. Creators can submit materials for consideration if: (a) their publisher is no longer in business; (b) their publisher is unlikely to have participated in the nomination process; or (c) they have severed connections with the publisher or have similar reasons for believing that their publisher is unlikely to consider nominating them or their work. All submissions should be sent to Jackie Estrada, Eisner Awards Administrator, 4657 Cajon Way, San Diego, CA 92115, before the deadline of March 12. The nominees will be announced in April, and ballots will go out in May to some 5,000 creators, editors, publishers, distributors, and retailers. The results will be announced by celebrity presenters at the gala awards ceremony on the evening of July 22 at Comic-Con International in San Diego. The Eisner Awards are administered under the auspices of the San Diego Comic Convention, Inc., a nonprofit educational corporation. Anyone with questions about submitting entries for the awards can e-mail Ms. Estrada at jackiee@mindspring.com or call her at (619) 286-1591. Additional information on the Eisners and the complete Call for Entries can be found at www.comic-con.org DIAMOND DISTRIBUTOR FOR MV CREATIONS Diamond Named Booktrade Distributor for MV Creations Diamond Book Distributors (DBD) and MV Creations have announced a distribution agreement that makes DBD the exclusive U.S. distributor of the publisher's English-language graphic novels to the bookstore, library, warehouse, mass merchandise and direct markets. Launched in 1996 as a creative outlet for friends Val Staples and Matt Tyree, MV Creations has since grown into a thriving comic book publisher. In 2001, the company acquired the license to create comic books based on the popular 1980s toy/cartoon property Masters of the Universe, currently enjoying a massive resurgence in interest, along with a new cartoon series on Cartoon Network. Since gaining the Masters of the Universe license, MVCreations has expanded its line to include other licensed properties - Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, Rob Zombie's Spookshow International - as well as the critically acclaimed original title Tales of the Realm. "Val and Matt have established a company that is flexible, dynamic, and popular," said Diamond Vice President of Purchasing Bill Schanes. "MV Creations blends today's talent and production values with timeless concepts that attract a wide range of interest." "We're very excited to be working alongside Diamond," said MVCreations' Val Staples. "With their extensive resources and ever-increasing presence in the booktrade market, we know our products will reach the best and largest possible consumer audience." Diamond's Sales Team will begin working with bookstores, book wholesalers, warehouse clubs, mass merchandisers, and libraries to place MV Creations' titles across the country. "Whether it's a new spin on nostalgic favorites or pushing ahead to new territory, MV Creations is there," Schanes added, "and ready for the challenge." NEWS: AVENGERS/THUNDERBOLTS ART CHANGE Due to his DC exclusive beginning sooner than anticipated, Barry Kitson will only be drawing the first two issues of Avengers/Thunderbolts and all the covers, instead of the entire series. Artist Tom Grummett will be finishing the pencils on the series. Editor Tom Brevoort said, "DC offered Barry a fat contract, but it was contingent on him signing up with them right away. And while Barry tried to ask them to hold off a few months because he'd made the commitment to AVENGERS/THUNDERBOLTS and Marvel, they were adamant that they wanted him to sign immediately, regardless of what other work he had already taken on and committed to. In the end, Barry came to me, explained the situation, and I agreed to let him walk away from AVENGERS/THUNDERBOLTS." When contacted, artist Barry Kitson told THE PULSE, "The scheduling for the projects I was committed to do between DC and Marvel began to clash horribly due to a lot of unforeseen reasons - to the extent that something just had to give - so it is true I've only worked on the interiors of the first two issues of Avengers/Thunderbolts though I have penciled and inked all six of the covers. It's not in my nature to leave a project half way through, but the decision had to be made and I'm very happy with the way things have turned out and the projects I have in the pipeline for DC." The first issue of Avengers/Thunderbolts is due in stores March 10. +++++ From the Comics Continuum at http://www.comicscontinuum.com/: DC COMICS MINIMATES Warner Bros. Consumer Products has announced it has awarded the rights to its DC Comics Batman and Justice League (JLA) franchises to Play Along in order to create a world of construction toys that will be designed and developed by Brooklyn based, Art Asylum. The new line, titled C3, will be based around the block figures known as Minimates. "We feel these powerful properties -- Justice League and Batman -- will make for dynamic construction sets that will appeal to fans of all ages," said Kelly Gilmore, Vice President, Toys and Theme Park Licensing for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. "Art Asylum will develop innovative and creative toy lines to compliment these exciting brands." The line will debut at the mass market Toy Fair in New York and will be launched at retail in fall 2004. Art Asylum will launch the Batman line based on art from its core comic book collections and will follow with lines from the upcoming movies and the forthcoming new animated series. With Justice League, Art Asylum will create products based on the hit TV series currently airing on Cartoon Network. Products will retail from $9.99 - $39.99 and will be available at mass market and specialty retailers in North America. +++++ From Newsarama at http://www.Newsarama.com/ DORAN OUT @ MARVEL Newsarama has learned that Michael Doran, Marvel's Marketing Communications Manager has been let go by Marvel. No other details were immediately available. Doran held the position since November of 2002 after leaving Newsarama.com PV COMICS LAUNCHES Twelve cartoonists join forces to create comics from the void. They didn't invent the concept of comic books on the internet and they're not the first subscription based site online, but twelve popular cartoonists are betting that readers will be willing to pay $1 a year to enjoy their work. They have combined their efforts to put their money where their mouths are. Beginning in January 2004, PV Comics is planning to serve up six complete stories every month, totaling on average 48 pages of new comics for their readers. With twelve diverse and experienced talents making up their roster, these won't be any cookie-cutter comic books. PV Comics is a reinvention of Protean Void Comics, the brand name of Logan DeAngelis, creator of fan favorite, KU-2. Following his initial webcomic launch in March of 2001, Logan was joined by friends Efrem Alston and Jay Mcleod under the Protean Void banner. Together they built a small but successful webcomics hub which updated three days a week for years. When other online cartoonists started talking to the Void creators, a common ground was discovered. "Out of a sizeable group of creators I met during the first couple of years making KU-2, very few of them made a living as full-time cartoonists," said DeAngelis, who has worked in advertising for years while pursuing his passion for creating comics. "Almost all of them were like me: punching a time clock Monday through Friday to pay the bills, so they could burn the midnight oil and tell their stories at night. It's challenging to keep up your momentum like that for very long." Charging visitors for reading their webcomics seemed the obvious solution for creators hoping to make a living at their craft, but what was the best way to achieve that goal? "When a few of us put our heads together we decided that offering complete stories every week for the smallest price possible was the way to go," explains DeAngelis. "We started with a base price: $1 for the year for each cartoonist involved, and went from there. With 12 contributors and no middlemen, we're excited that our yearly subscription rate of $15 is a very affordable price. That $15 shakes out to almost 600 pages of new comics over the course of the year; that's only pennies a page!" The eleven other creators couldn't agree more. In addition to Jay Mcleod, whose Migrayn comic has been with Protean Void since 2002, PV Comics is now home to some well known names in the webcomics world, such as Nate Piekos, creator of the popular Blambot Comic Fonts, and DJ Coffman, veteran of numerous print and webcomic features. Flash comic creators Matt Johnson and Steven James Taylor are balanced by the traditional print styles of Dan Larson, Brian Meredith and Tom Stackpole. Upcoming content ranges from the critically acclaimed cartoons of New Zealander Bob Corona, to adaptations of Shakesperean works by Brandon J. Carr and the short stories of Amy Kim Ganter. Since cutting edge websites don't build themselves, PV Comics' unsung hero and thirteenth member, Canadian web guru Stuart Robertson, has written custom code to power the back end of the site and make it sing. Additional subscriber incentives are planned, such as discounts on the upcoming print volumes that PV Comics already has in the works for 2004. These print issues will contain all new stories by the twelve collaborators and feature painted covers by Alfredo Lopez, Jr. If you're a comics reader, a price tag of $1 for a 48 page comic is something you won't see on the news stands again. But Logan DeAngelis and the rest of the PVC collaborators think it's the best value in webcomics. PV Comics launched on Monday, January 5, 2004. http://www.pvcomics.com +++++ From ComiX-Fan at http://www.comixfan.com/xfan COMIX-FAN NEWS BRIEFS - JANUARY 3, 2004 NEWSFLASH! The New York Daily News recently featured a new photo from the Canadian set of Warner Bros. Catwoman featuring lead star Halle Berry in costume. NEWSFLASH! The latest issue of Wizard: The Comics Magazine (#148) features an interview with Blade: Trinity star Jessica Biel wherein the actress mentioned the possibility of a Nightstalkers spin-off movie starring herself and fellow actor Ryan Reynolds, who plays Hannibal King. "I'd definitely do a Nightstalkers movie. I think that's the plan in fact, if this movie does well, that Ryan and I will do a Nightstalkers movie. It'll be a Hannibal King and Abigail movie." NEWSFLASH! Wizard also interviewed The Punisher actress Rebecca Romijn-Stamos who revealed that she may have other Marvel Comics movie adaptations in her future apart from X-Men 3. "There is something that Avi {Arad, Marvel Studios President} and I have been talking about for awhile now. It's a little preliminary so I don't want to jinx it. But it's something that I've wanted to play for a long time and he's into it also, so I think we're going to try and develop that at some point." NEWSFLASH! Also from the current issue of Wizard, and Marvel Studios VP Kevin Feige told the magazine that a director for the upcoming new Fantastic Four movie, scheduled for a July 1, 2005 release, should be attached "early in the year." Feige also talked about the Silver Surfer movie, saying, "You're going to start hearing a lot about Silver Surfer. It'll be our next big project with Fox after Fantastic Four. We're excited about jumping into it for the same reasons every college kid in the '60s and '70s was reading it. It's a hard-core science fiction, philosophical, adventure movie. Silver Surfer's going to kick some ass in the next two or three years." NEWSFLASH! Wrestler Triple H recently spoke with WWE.com about his role in the aforementioned third Blade film. "I don't think at this point I want to do what {The} Rock's doing and just make movie after movie. When you look at it now, Rock's been gone almost a year. That's a long time. I was out for a year once (with a torn quadriceps). I didn't like it much." As for the film, "I was supposed to be there right now, but they're trying to get Wesley Snipes' part of the film shot and finished by Christmas, so they're rescheduling some of the stuff," he said. "So I have to go back in January, probably for a couple of weeks. We finish up at the end of January or the beginning of February. I don't think I'll miss hardly any {episodes of RAW} now. Maybe an occasional show here or there. Once the holidays are over, my schedule will pretty much be: wrestle, go straight to Vancouver to work on the movie, go straight from Vancouver back to wrestling, etc." NEWSFLASH! Now for another round of comic book updates from Diamond Comic Distributors, beginning with a change of covers for the debut issue of Spider-Man Unlimited, due out this month. The cover image solicited for #1 by Capcom's Shinkiro will now be the cover to March's issue #2, whilst that issue's cover by artist Andy Kubert becomes the new cover for #1. A pair of price increases for MV Creations' titles, with Tales of The Realm #4 going from $2.95 to $3.95 and the Masters of The Universe Season One Encyclopedia #4 going up from $2.95 to $3.50. February's Marvel Previews #6, for products on sale in April 2004, will contain an 11-page preview of Thor: Son of Asgard #1 and a 10-page preview of Spectacular Spider-Man #11. The issue will also contain an interview with Joe Quesada and Axel Alonso detailing a special April 2004 Marvel event. Also in February, the Punisher Vol. 6: Confederacy of Dunces TP has changed from being a $14.99 144-page book to a $13.99 120-page collection, the Thor: Vikings TP will now run 120 pages instead of 128 with no change in price, whilst the Trouble TP has been cancelled. NEWSFLASH! According to a recent article by USA Today, Columbia TriStar is prepping a special Spider-Man Deluxe Edition DVD for release prior to Spider-Man 2's arrival in theatres on July 2. NEWSFLASH! The Punisher may find itself up against some tough competition for its cinematic debut with news from ComingSoon.net that Miramax may be moving Quentin Tarantino's sequel Kill Bill: Vol. 2 from February 20 to April 16, pitting it against the Lions Gate/Artisan Marvel Comics movie. Kill Bill star Uma Thurman also mentioned the same date during her recent appearance on The View. NEWSFLASH! Meanwhile, Italian film composer Carlo Siliotto confirmed with the Superhero Hype! Web site that he will be scoring the music for Lions Gate/Artisan's The Punisher. NEWSFLASH! New Line Cinema has hired the Santa Clause 2 the writing team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio to adapt the comic book Planet Terry for the big screen, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The project, which New Line acquired from veteran comic book creator Rob Liefeld in July last year, is based on what was to be an online comic series for Liefeld. The buddy sci-fi action comedy concerns a middle-aged family man in extraordinary circumstances. NEWSFLASH! Toonzone recently reported that Batman Beyond will be putting in an appearance on the new season opener of Static Shock, "Future Shock," which airs Saturday, January 17th at 11:30 am EST. +++++ From the DC Comics Online Newsletter at http://www.dccomics.com DC SIGNS ARTIST BARRY KITSON TO 3-YEAR EXCLUSIVE CONTRACT January 6th, 2004 - Fan-favorite artist Barry Kitson (EMPIRE, JLA: YEAR ONE) has signed a 3-year exclusive agreement with DC Comics. "I'm exceptionally happy to be part of DC's plans for the next three years and flattered that they should display such confidence in me," says Kitson. "DC has always been a great company to work for, but I don't think I can remember a time when there was such an air of enthusiasm and anticipation about the future, so I am particularly honored and excited to be part of what's happening. I'd also like to say thank you to DC for their support for EMPIRE. Without their faith in the project I don't think Mark [Waid] and I could ever have completed the first arc. For the immediate future I'm concentrating on a major JSA miniseries written by Kevin Anderson which will give me the opportunity to draw all the original JSAers for the first time and allow me to work again with Senior Editor Peter Tomasi." "Barry Kitson is a longtime member of the DC family and we are extremely happy that he will working with us exclusively for the next three years," says Dan DiDio, DC's VP - Editorial. "Barry's style is synonymous with quality and there is no better place for him to be applying his craft than here." Some of Kitson's previous DC work may be found in these collected editions: * BATMAN: CONTAGION * BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL - KNIGHTSEND * THE FLASH AND GREEN LANTERN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD * JLA: YEAR ONE * THE KINGDOM * SUPERMAN: THE WEDDING AND BEYOND NEWTYPE USA HONORS DC PROJECTS AND TALENT! January 6th, 2004 - The January issue of Newtype USA includes the "Bagged & Boarded Year- End Awards," which places DC projects, talent and staff among the best of 2003. As selected by Corey Henson, Jen Contino and Troy Brownfield, the picks include: * Top 5 Ongoing Series: 100 BULLETS, BATMAN, CATWOMAN, FABLES, JSA, LEGION, NIGHTWING and Y: THE LAST MAN * Best Original Graphic Novel: BARNUM!, THE SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS * Top 3 Writers: Brian Azzarello, Ed Brubaker, Peter David, Geoff Johns, Jeph Loeb and Brian K. Vaughan * Top 3 Artists: Mike McKone, George P‚rez and Eduardo Risso * Best Hero: Edward Hyde, Nightwing * Top 3 New Titles: FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE JUSTICE LEAGUE, HUMAN TARGET, THE OUTSIDERS, and TEEN TITANS * Best Inker: Kevin Nowlan and Ande Parks * Best Miniseries: FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE JUSTICE LEAGUE and GLOBAL FREQUENCY * Best Comic-Related Merchandise: POCKET SUPER HEROES and SUPERMAN ACTION FIGURE * Best Editor: Bob Schreck SMALLVILLE, STATIC SHOCK, JUSTICE LEAGUE AND TEEN TITANS EPISODE SCHEDULES DC has been supplied with the following episode schedule for Smallville and Static Shock on the WB and Justice League and Teen Titans on the Cartoon Network. All times are Eastern and Pacific: 1/10 (9:00 am) "Deep Six" (Teen Titans on the WB) 1/10 (9:30 am) "Masks" (Teen Titans on the WB) 1/10 (12:00 pm) "Nevermore" (Teen Titans) 1/10 (9:00 pm) "How Long is Forever" (Teen Titans - New) 1/10 (10:00 pm) "Hearts and Minds, Pt. 1" (Justice League) 1/10 (10:30 pm) "Hearts and Minds, Pt. 2" (Justice League) 1/11 (1:00 am) "Hearts and Minds, Pt. 1" (Justice League in Widescreen) 1/11 (1:30 am) "Hearts and Minds, Pt. 2" (Justice League in Widescreen) 1/11 (7:00 pm) "Zero" (Smallville) 1/11 (10:00 pm) "How Long is Forever" (Teen Titans) 1/12 (3:30 pm) "The Big Leagues" (Static Shock) 1/12 (10:00 pm) "War World, Pt. 1" (Justice League) 1/12 (10:30 pm) "War World, Pt. 2" (Justice League) 1/13 (3:30 pm) "Romeo in the Mix" (Static Shock) 1/13 (10:00 pm) "Brave and the Bold, Pt. 1" (Justice League) 1/13 (10:30 pm) " Brave and the Bold, Pt. 2" (Justice League) 1/14 (3:30 pm) "Hard as Nails" (Static Shock) 1/14 (8:00 pm) "Asylum" (Smallville - New) 1/14 (10:00 pm) "Fury, Pt. 1" (Justice League) 1/14 (10:30 pm) "Fury, Pt. 2" (Justice League) 1/15 (3:30 pm) "A League of Their Own, Pt. 1" (Static Shock) 1/15 (10:00 pm) "Legends, Pt. 1" (Justice League) 1/15 (10:30 pm) "Legends, Pt. 2" (Justice League) 1/16 (3:30 pm) "A League of Their Own, Pt. 2" (Static Shock) 1/17 (9:00 am) "Nevermore" (Teen Titans on the WB) 1/17 (11:30 pm) "Future Shock" (Static Shock - New) 1/17 (12:00 pm) "How Long is Forever" (Teen Titans) 1/17 (9:00 pm) "Every Dog Has His Day" (Teen Titans - New) 1/17 (10:00 pm) "A Better World, Pt. 1" (Justice League) 1/17 (10:30 pm) "A Better World, Pt. 2" (Justice League) 1/18 (1:00 am) "A Better World, Pt. 1" (Justice League in Widescreen) 1/18 (1:30 am) "A Better World, Pt. 2" (Justice League in Widescreen) 1/18 (7:00 pm) "Nicodemus" (Smallville) 1/18 (10:00 pm) "Every Dog Has His Day"(Teen Titans) 1/19 (3:30 pm) "TBA" (Static Shock) 1/19 (10:00 pm) "A Knight of Shadows, Pt. 1" (Justice League) 1/19 (10:30 pm) "A Knight of Shadows, Pt. 2" (Justice League) 1/20 (3:30 pm) "TBA" (Static Shock) +++++ From ICV2.com Boyd Ankles CrossGen for ADV In New Manga Division January 07, 2004 Long-time graphic novel marketer Robert Boyd has left his position as Director of Sales at CrossGen and joined ADV as Marketing Manager for ADV Manga. Boyd told us he left CrossGen voluntarily because due to its financial difficulties, it had not been releasing any of its book format products for months. "This is not to say that CrossGen will never publish trade books again--I think they will, and there's a good chance that the book-publishing side of CrossGen will be leaner but stronger in the future," Boyd said. "But for me personally, after a couple of months with nothing much to sell (I pitched in on the comics and education stuff quite a bit), I decided to move on. I felt like I was wasting my time and CrossGen's resources." Prior to working for CrossGen, Boyd spent some time at book distributors Client Distribution Services and LPC, working on graphic novel sales to bookstores in both cases. Boyd said he is "...excited to be working with manga," citing ADV's Newtype and the successful launch of its new manga line with Azumanga Daioh and Full Metal Panic! as things that attracted him to the company. Boyd's interest in manga is not newfound (he was selling Tokyopop titles in his positions at LPC and CDS). "About two and a half years ago, I wrote an article for the Comics Journal that predicted that manga would continue to grow and become a major force in U.S. comics," he said. "This has certainly come to pass (and I will pat myself on the back for being one of the first people outside the executive suites of Tokyopop and Viz [and here at ICv2, see "Home To Roost," ed.] to realize it), and I feel lucky to be involved with manga here at ADV." TMNT Burger King Toy Promotion Ties in With President's Council on Physical Fitness January 07, 2004 Burger King kids' meals, nationwide throughout the rest of January, will contain one of five different Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sports- themed toys. Mirage Licensing, Inc., 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. and Burger King Corporation have also worked together to create additional materials for this promotion, including tray liners, kids' meal bags and birthday party mailers. The thrust of the promotion is the importance of daily physical activity for children, which is promoted through awards offered by the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports for regular participation in sporting activities. Turtles animated episodes are currently running on the FoxBox and scheduled to hit the Cartoon Network this spring (see "TMNT on Cartoon Network"). The Burger King promotion adds even more visibility to this rejuvenated property. Warners Sets Release Dates for Catwoman and Constantine July 30 & September 17 January 09, 2004 Warner Brothers has announced release dates for two high profile films based on DC Comics characters, Catwoman and Constantine. Catwoman, which stars Halle Berry, will open on July 30, 2004. The end of the 2004 summer season should witness some interesting competition among comic-based films. Marvel's Blade 3 opens just a week or two after Catwoman, and Man-Thing, another Marvel-based film, debuts on August 26. The new film based on Gerry Anderson's stop motion TV series, Thunderbirds, is currently scheduled to open on August 6. Constantine, which is based on the DC Vertigo title Hellblazer, opens just after the end of the summer movie season on September 17. Keanu Reeves stars in this occult thriller, which targets an older audience than the summer comic-based film fare. While the Catwoman and Constantine films represent an opening salvo from Warner Brothers and DC, we will have to wait until 2005 for DC's big guns (Batman & Superman) to open up. ADV Has Licensed 1,000 Volumes of Manga (and Manwha) January 09, 2004 ADV President and CEO John Ledford told ICv2 that ADV has now licensed more than 1,000 volumes of manga and Korean manwha. "Don't worry, we're not publishing them all in 2004," Ledford joked, but he did note that ADV is interested in coordinating the release of manga and anime titles based on the same property. While this is not always possible, it can be effective as in the case of ADV's successful launch of both the anime and manga of Full Metal Panic. Ledford told ICv2 that ADV has been working on the launch of its manga line for some time, and the company has also spent considerable time preparing a line of anime/manga-based toys and merchandise, which it will debut at Toy Fair in February. ADV, which launched its manga line late in 2003, has scored some notable successes. Its first release, Full Metal Panic, reached number 7 on the BookScan chart of graphic novels sold in bookstores, and another ADV release, Azumanga Daioh, has also performed extremely well. +++++ From The SCOOP! at http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/ Emerald City ComiCon Hits Seattle Next Month Industry News, Scoop, Friday, January 09, 2004 Next month, February 29 is noteworthy for more than its leap year- marking. It's also the first day of the second annual Emerald City ComiCon in beautiful downtown Seattle, Washington. Last year, ECCC established itself as the largest show of its kind in the Pacific Northwest and will once again be held at the 60,000 square foot West Field Plaza at the Seattle Seahawks Stadium. When asked about their Second Annual show, Jim Demonakos, Organizer of the ECCC, said, "We were overwhelmed with support for our first show - a one-day show with an attendance of over 2,500? A total success for everyone and we're not changing the formula now! Again the Emerald City ComiCon will feature top-notch guests, retailers and publishers all at a great facility, ensuring that everyone will come away satisfied with their experience." The show will feature some of best talents currently working in the comic industry including: * Stan Sakai, who will be celebrating the 20th Anniversary of his creation Usagi Yojimbo * Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-Man, Daredevil, Powers) * Darick Roberston (Wolverine, Transmetropolitan) * Greg Rucka (Wolverine, Wonder Woman) * Howard Chaykin (American Flagg!, Bite Club) * Jeff Johnson (Way of the Rat, Weapon X) * Matt Wagner (Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity, Grendel, Mage) * Kurt Busiek (JLA/Avengers, Conan, Astro City) * Todd Nauck (WildGuard, Young Justice) * Dave Johnson (Superman: Red Son, 100 Bullets) * JG Jones (Wanted, Black Widow) * Phil Noto (Danger Girl: Viva Las Danger) * Ford Gilmore (Thundercats, Illuminati Entertainment) * and many more! The ECCC will also be host to several publishers, large and small, including Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Top Shelf Productions, Fantagraphics Books, Penny Arcade, Studio Foglio, Gagne International Press, Castle Rain Entertainment, Rorschach Entertainment and many more! To learn more about Emerald City ComiCon and to view a complete guest list, please visit http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com. +++++ From Markisan Naso in his ALL THE RAGE Gossip Column at: http://www.SilverBulletComicBooks.com Write to him at: markisan@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. [NOTE: this column may be slightly edited for language. - D.L.] Superunknown By Markisan Naso Viva El Salvador Former X-Treme X-Men penciler Salvador Larocca has confirmed his involvement with Marvel's big X "RELOAD" this spring. On the ComixFan message boards he wrote, "Don't get worried about what book I'll be drawing, Marvel will be doing a big announcement soon, and I think you'll be happy, not just with my book, also with the rest of X-books. I only can say that I'm the worst of the artists of the reload stuff!" Larocca also offered his perspective on all the X-speculation. "Rumors are just rumors, and as for that I know, aren't accurate. Sorry, but I can't speak more about it." The man has a point. It was once rumored that Larocca would assume permanent art duties on UNCANNY after Marvel assigned him the upcoming, 5-issue arc, "She Lies with Angels." But the recent Marvel confirmation that X-vets Chris Claremont and Alan Davis will takeover Uncanny killed that possibility. Soon after the announcement, the collective fanboy mind shuffled Larocca over to New X-Men, a book whose clandestine creative team is now the most speculated comics secret on the web. However, as reported in last week's ATR, a variety of sources point to Planetary artist John Cassaday as the new X-guy. After Rage was released, even gossip master Rich Johnston claimed Cassaday took the job for a "big bag of money". At Millarworld he added, "And Wildstorm are crying. They've been through the exact same thing with Quitely..." Since last week I've received additional confirmation that Cassaday is on the New X-Men. And I have to say, I don't consider this a rumor any more, boys and girls. What I don't know for sure is where Larocca fits into the X-picture. There have been new rumors that Salvador will return to X-Treme X-Men, but I'm told Marvel isn't entirely sure what the hell they want to do with the book and may simply end up canceling it. If this is true it may mean an additional X-book is being created for Claremont who claims to be writing three X-titles this year. Two of his books are known -- the aforementioned Uncanny X-Men and X-Men: The End which will be illustrated by Sean Chen (Elektra, Wolverine). I'm also hearing that Weapon X will be a part of "RELOAD" and will undergo changes. Marvel is keeping a lot of the details close to its mighty breast. Even creators are being kept in the dark. And if the recent fanboy frenzy over New X-Men is any indication, the Joe Q ninja action is working. Everyone has a hard-on for the official word. This Has An "Xavier's Mental Anguish Award" Factor of Ten Out of Ten The Chosen One Last Sunday ATR also asserted that Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon will be taking over the writing chores on New X-Men. For those still speculating, I have to tell you, I'm convinced this is happening. I'm also convinced the deal was signed some time ago and the whole "don't say anything or it won't go through" may have been a clever way to keep people in the know from talking out of turn. However, I should also mention that frequent ATR collaborator Blair Marnell actually asked Whedon if he was writing New X-Men two weeks ago at the monthly Los Angeles Comic Book and Sci Fi Con. Whedon replied, "No." He said there were discussions with Marvel EIC Joe Quesada about writing a title, but his schedule (which currently includes the television series Angel and a possible Firefly movie for Universal) keeps him too busy to commit to anything else. However, Whedon would not be the first creator to deny he's working on a Marvel series before the official announcement. According to my intelligence, this is one of those times. This Has A "Hush" Factor of Ten Out of Ten Ambitionless A few days ago popular writer J. Michael Straczynski surprisingly agreed with fan criticism that his Amazing Spider-Man issues have been less ambitious of late. On Usenet the popular scribe wrote: I always try to break up criticism into fair and unfair, productive and counter-productive, and I think that's a fair criticism. When I came onto the book, it had been angst ridden and kind of a downer for so long that one of the things I wanted to do was make it a fun book, the kind of book you feel good about reading. Of course, the trouble with this is that it necessitates less ambitious stories because you only get the big stories by putting your character up a tree and throwing really big rocks at him. Having said that, though, I think I'm nearing the limit of what I can handle on primarily fun stories...I think it's about time to start throwing rocks at him again. We all come up snake-eyes sooner or later, y'know.... Gotta say I'm looking forward to seeing something weightier in the book. At this point JMS needs to throw rocks at Spidey fans just to wake us the hell up. I mean, when the highlight of an issue is Aunt May bumping into some Cingular Wireless asshole in the Pick & Save checkout line, there's a problem. JMS is capable of much better stuff. This Has A "Rock 'n Roll" Factor of Six Out of Ten Authoritative Actions The Grafiksismik Studio team of Dub (Thundercats), Pierre-Andre Dery (New Mutants) and Niko Henrichon (Sandman) did test pages for the next Authority storyline, written by Ed Brubaker (Sleeper, Catwoman). Unfortunately the group didn't score the gig. I hear they were instead given a higher profile DC assignment based on their samples. Here's a peek at what could have been.. I'm told DC still does not have anyone lined up for the series. Apparently Brubaker and DC have had difficulty agreeing on an artist. This Has An "Angie to Hawksmoor. Trouble in Engineering" Factor of Nine Out of Ten League of Their Own This is a sketchy one, but I've been told to be on the lookout for a new JLA book written by Jim Krueger (The Clockmaker) and illustrated by Alex Ross (Mythology). Supposedly this title will be in continuity but not present day continuity. If this is true I'd expect it to be a limited series. This Has A "New Cup of Justice" Factor of Three Out of Ten Coming to America I got a tip that Garth Ennis (Preacher, Punisher) will soon be making the move to the United States from Belfast, Ireland. This sort of seemed like news, so I asked Garth's friend Jimmy Palmiotti (Monolith, Hawkman) if the relocation will have any impact on the comic book industry. "Officially, after Garth Ennis moves here to NY, I would like to announce that America is now full. Sorry everyone else, but that's it. We are done," Jimmy said. "We got enough problems that we don't want yours anymore. Next boat load of Russians I see pulling up to Brighton Beach, well... unless they are my monthly order of strippers, you are going down. "Seriously, I think having Garth here will increase the amount of booze I consume. He is one of my best friends and I can't wait to have him around. That's about it." This Has A "You Will Drink With Me, Olga" Factor of Eight Out of Ten In the Dark According to sources, Dark Horse Comics has absolutely nothing special planned for the release of the film "Alien Versus Predator." Not an adaption. Not a mini-series. F&%$ing nothing. If true this is the second time DHC has dropped the ball. I took a look at Quadrology, that nine-disc, "Aliens Up Your Ass" boxed set and it does not include any digital DH comics. Kind of ridiculous if you ask me. This Has A "Can't Lead A Horse to Water" Factor of Eight Out of Ten Silver and Gold A few weeks ago Publisher's Weekly reported that DC Comics and Marvel were upset about the large amount of unapproved material appearing in Arlen Schumer's coffee-table book, The Silver Age of Comic Book Art. Over the last few days new details surrounding the publishers' beef have surfaced on the COMICART-L Yahoo Group, a message board dedicated to the discussion of original comic book art. Joel Adams, son of Legendary comic book creator Neal Adams, has been posting his father's notes on the affair. Under the name lefay2000, Adams reported that Marvel and DC are threatening to sue Schumer. Adams, a friend of Schumer's, is upset that DC and Marvel have contemplated legal action. He feels the move is an affront to the principles of "Fair Use". Neal's first post appeared on Christmas day: You know that terrific book by Arlen Schumer, The Silver Age of Comic Book Art?" The book draws artwork from a number of artists who exemplify the 70's in comics. Writing dramatically, Arlen utilizes artwork printed in DC Comics and Marvel Comics equally. He uses the artwork under the principle of 'Fair use'. That is, it would be wrong, if he used a big picture of Batman on the cover, or he printed full stories in such a way that the buyer might be confused that it's a DC Comic or might purchase it to actually read the comic book story. Rather "Fair use" would demand the work be used as an example to make the point the author is writing about. Most books on comics do this. Just as Arlen's does. The principle of 'Fair use' has made it possible for us to buy and read books and magazines on comics from dozens of publishers. Well DC and Marvel have quietly hired another law firm, not their own, to threaten and possibly sue Arlen. Why are they doing this.Let me guess: A) To challenge the law? B) They have a lot of money and they are just bullies? C) They hold a grudge against Arlen because he called his studio with his lovely wife, "Dynamic Duo"? It bitched DC out, and now they've dragged Marvel into their vendetta against Arlen. D) All of the above E) None of the above Question is, how do people feel about this attack on 'fair use' whether you like Arlen or not? It is dangerous. Who and what is behind it? Arlen has been attacked and he's been so beat up by these people that he's at his wits end. Are these people using Arlen??? to get at other publishers and fanzines and attack the 'Fair use' principle in law? In a follow-up message dated December 25, 2003 at 3:00 PM, Adams revealed more information about Schumer's struggle. Nobody's an angel, yes? Apparently this has been going on for months. Letters. No legal action yet. I, Neal, only heard rumors and kept my nose out `til two days ago, then called Arlen. He's deep in the shit. Now I'm telling you guys, right or wrong, I've run into this kind of thing where the attacked individual almost goes into hiding and doesn't reach out. I berated Arlen for his silence and asked him if I can talk this up. Nor am I a pro at talking this up. I'm simply worried and sharing. I have more details. Arlen has only been talking to a lawyer, his agent, and the publisher, all of which defend his position.but (1) point out he doesn't have the money to fight it, and (2) want this possible series of books to go on. Sssso. DC and Marvel seem to want the series to go on, "it seems", as well. They want royalties and they want Arlen to surrender "Fair use". Now here's the twist in Arlen's tail. 3 or 4 years ago, DC messed with Arlen on "Dynamic Duo". In my view inappropriately because they (1) never registered "Dynamic Duo" in any way and, (2) were rapidly moving away from this phrase, (3) Arlen and his wife never proposed they were Batman and Robin, merely that they did comic art for advertising and there were two of them, (4) the law was on Arlen's side. Instead of taking it to court as Arlen might have done, Arlen folded and signed a paper. Did he let me or anyone else review the paper? No!! Within it he agreed not to take advantage of 'fair usage' Arlen didn't know those words were there and on advise he would have struck them, but he didn't. It's an example of the fear and imbalance threatened legal action throws civilians into. In fact, he didn't realize he'd signed away this right until the shit hit the fan. When his current lawyer finally saw it he had a hemorrhage. A lawyer explained this to me, that (Okay, I can see the fur fly) one can't easily sign away a right that is guaranteed by law, nor is it correct for someone to require you to, (like signing up to be a slave) especially if you were not properly represented. Though I condemn DC for slipping it into the paper, Arlen signing it is, well, (fill in your own words) As I see it this has gone pretty far down the road and though Arlen didn't expect to be the poster boy for "fair usage", he, in fact, is. If I were DC and Marvel, I couldn't ask for a better patsy. Fact is, I'm only one guy. I guess you know my vote is for Arlen because I see a big gaping hole for everyone else. This Has A "Duocracy, Chum" Factor of Seven Out of Ten Time Can Do So Much I'm told DC's new Superman revamp will be based on an event that alters the past and creates three separate timelines, giving the creators on each book complete freedom to write the stories they want without worrying about continuity. My source says the Brian Azzarello and Jim Lee Superman will operate in a world without Lois Lane. She'll be dead, allowing for more violent and dark yarns. In the Chuck Austen and Ivan Reis Action Comics it will pretty much be the status quo. Lois is alive and she's married to Superman/Clark Kent. In Adventures of Superman written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Matthew Clark, Lois and Clark aren't married and she doesn't know about his secret identity. This book will apparently revive the love triangle concept. All three Supermen will live in Metropolis simultaneously, but will have no knowledge of the alternate timelines. I hear this split will set up a big crossover at the end of 2004 pitting the three Supermen against each other. This Has A "Seeing Triple" Factor of Five Out of Ten Hope the holidays treated you well, Markisan PS If anyone has any rumors, stories or news to share email me at markisan@silverbulletcomicbooks.com or IM me via AOL Instant Messenger. My screen name is Automatic San. Thanks to everyone who has been sending stuff in. It's greatly appreciated. +++++ Items found in Rich Johnston's "Lying in the Gutters" column at http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/ which are all rumors or gossip so take any of it with a BIG bucket of salt! Rich was chosen Best Comics Journalist in the 2002 Usenet Squiddy Awards, his third consecutive win. Write to Rich at: rich@comicbookresources.com Rich heard rumors . . .. Joss Whedon is the new "New X-Men" writer. Or at least one of them. The delay signing up Joss Whedon has had an impact on the scheduling of the line. I understand there will be a 12 month gap between Grant Morrison leaving the book and John Cassaday and Joss Whedon coming on board. The artist for that interim period will be Salvador LaRocca and I'm told Neil Gaiman for six months and Pete Milligan for another six. Neil Gaiman denies he's agreed to anything like this. Warren Ellis let it be known that this year was to be his last year thoroughly active in the American comics field. Which means screenplays, games, European and Japanese comics, and a novel. Elongated Man may be meeting a sticky end. But it's one DC sources deny. If it happens, expect it to happen in DC's upcoming "Identity Crisis" event. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [5] My Life With Comic Books Paul Howley pmca@together.net [ My name is Paul Howley, owner of the Eisner Award winning pop culture collector's store known as "That's Entertainment" in Worcester, Massachusetts. Some people have called me the "luckiest man in the comic book business". My store has been around for over twenty three years and it's been a long and interesting combination of events and people that has brought my store to its current place. It is not my intent to boast or brag about my store or my life . . . I just want to tell you my story. See more about the store online at http://www.thatse.com ] MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP - Part 60 I was stuck with the sloppy tenants in the apartment building I had purchased. These people were quickly destroying my property. The building wasn't very nice when I first bought it, but now it was becoming a slum! I couldn't legally force them out because they always paid the rent on time. Occasionally, I'd bring my two kids, Adam and Cassandra, with me to expose them to this situation as a learning experience. Both of them were shocked at how filthy these tenants were and we'd discuss that just because people are poor, there was certainly no need to be dirty. We discussed that the tenants were actually nice people but they were unnecessarily gross. My kids proclaimed that they'd never be messy like that. It was around this time (the late 1980's) that the real estate market in Worcester, Massachusetts, collapsed. As it turned out, I had purchased this property at the absolute peak of the market and the value was dropping fast. Fortunately, all of the tenants of the apartment building were paying their rent so this property wasn't losing too much for me each month. The separate commercial building was another story. We had rented the commercial part of this property for seven hundred dollars per month to a young woman who wanted to open a Jamaican restaurant. For the first two years she paid her rent although it was almost always a struggle for me to get it from her. I'd stop in after I closed my store and she'd say, "I'll give it to you tomorrow." But it usually wasn't available the next day either. Some days she'd give me fifty dollars towards her rent and sometimes a bit more. But usually there was some excuse why she didn't have the money. Since my store was located right next to her restaurant, I could see that she had lots of customers every day. There was a steady stream of people coming in and out of her building. I later heard a rumor that she had been selling drugs out of her restaurant. I asked a lawyer what I should do about this and he explained another stupid law in Massachusetts. Apparently, I could have my property taken away from me because somehow, as the owner of the property, I'm responsible for any illegal activity that takes place there. The problem was that until this lady was arrested and convicted of a crime, I had no right to evict her for "suspected" illegal activity! Eventually she got caught and was arrested and served a year in jail. A relative ran her restaurant while she was in jail and he paid the rent as best as he could. When she got out of jail she began to fall behind on the rent again. At one point she owed me nearly seventeen thousand dollars in back rent! I had tried to find a new renter but the economy in Worcester, Massachusetts was in a horrible recession and I could find no other interested parties. In 1988 my wife, Mal, and my friend, Kevin Simpson, drove into Boston and waited in line for a few hours to get an autograph for me of Davy Jones (from The Monkees). This may seem unrelated to anything now but later in this story it becomes relevant. My son, Adam, was really enjoying his time at The Imago School. He seemed to enjoy learning and he had an easy time making friends. His report card grades were always very good but it was always noted that he was disorganized. His desk was always the messiest in his class but somehow he could dig through the mess and find the work he needed. His teachers tried to get him to get more organized but Adam just didn't seem to be bothered by the mess. The Imago School was offering what they called a "classical" education. They were taught history, English, literature, Latin, math, science, and much more. There were no "after school" activities to divert attention and resources away from the students' education. They did offer a few special activities though. One of the founders of the school would write an entire play each year based on The Reformation. These were historically based plays that included every student in the school. The plays weren't very exciting but the students thoroughly enjoyed performing. The youngest students only had small "walk-on" parts but they understood that as they got older the parts for them would get larger. The system worked pretty well so that there wasn't much envy or jealousy. It was understood that eventually, each student would get speaking parts. The Imago School Reformation Plays played a major part in developing my children's interest in pursuing a career in acting and performing. These plays were two or three hours in length but all of the parents enjoyed them, or at least pretended to enjoy them. Even the parents who didn't enjoy the play recognized the enormous amount of effort that was put into these Reformation plays. The Imago School also had an annual "Fine Arts Revue" that showcased the talents of the students. Many students played classical violin and piano. The performers wore dress-shirts and ties or "school dresses". It was a nice night of serious talent until Adam decided to perform. He decided to perform a funny song entitled "Under My Bed" dressed in his pajamas. Our friend, Allan Traylor played background guitar. The song was about all of the "scary" things that could be found under Adam's bed. It was pretty funny and the audience liked it. Adam would go on to perform a funny song for each of his remaining years at The Imago School. Our daughter, Cassandra, took over that tradition when she later attended Imago. In 1988 Cassandra began her gymnastics and dance lessons. She was the smallest kid in the classes and she was adorable! Next chapter: A story about a few companies with lousy customer service (Topps Card Company, Upper Deck Card Company, and the company who manufactured Trivial Pursuit!) ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [6] Suspended Animation Michael Vance MiklVance2@worldnet.att.net [Michael Vance was first published in The Professor's Story Hour chapbook at the age of eleven and became a professional freelance writer in 1977. Vance has been published in dozens of regional magazines and as a syndicated columnist and cartoonist in over 500 newspapers. Among his credits are: "Forbidden Adventure: The History of the American Comics Group," articles for "Starlog," "Jack & Jill" & "Star Trek: The Next Generation". He briefly wrote the comic strip, "Alley Oop" and his own strip for five years called "Holiday Out," that was reprinted as a comic book. Vance also wrote comic book titles including "Straw Men," "Angel of Death," "The Adventures of Captain Nemo," and "Bloodtide". His work has appeared in several comic book anthologies, and he is listed in the "Who's Who of American Comic Books" and "Comic Book Superstars". With novelists Mel Odom and R.A. Jones, he co-wrote "Global Star". He worked in newspapers for twenty- two years as an editor, writer and advertising manager, creating three successful newspaper magazines. Michael Vance is currently communications director of a nonprofit agency, the Tulsa Boys' Home, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is a Christian] Suspended Animation began on January 8, 1989. This column marks the beginning of its fifteenth year of continuous weekly publication. Then as now, its purpose is to find and review comic books and strips that will appeal to adult readers, and to publish those reviews in comics and non-comics related publications. I created Suspended Animation, and comics reviewer and writer R. A. Jones was my first co-author, writing alternate columns. When he left, he was replaced by Dr. Jon Suter, and then by current co-author Mark Allen. So what has happened to Vance, Jones, Suter and Allen in fifteen years? I wrote several comic books including The Adventures of Captain Nemo, Bloodtide, Straw Men, and The Angel of Death. Several of these were written with Jones. For the past seven years, I have been writing short stories set in my fictional town of Light's End, Maine. Many of these have found homes in different magazines. Jones continues to write comic books. His latest work includes Bullet-proof Monk that was released as a motion picture. He has also created and written Scimidar, The Fist of God, The Protectors, and many other titles. Dr. Suter moved from Oklahoma to Houston, Texas to become the head librarian of a university. He often teaches courses on comics and pulp magazines. Mark Allen was 'promoted' from his position as a Youth Minister at one church to the Pastor of another Oklahoma church. And what has happened to comics in the past 15 years? Sadly, sales continued to decrease even in the wake of blockbuster movies like Spiderman and The X-Men. The cover price of comics has increased dramatically, and many 'superstar' artists and writers have come and gone. Graphic novels have proliferated although their sales are still modest compared to the heyday of the medium. And comic strips are still read by millions each day in newspapers. And what will happen to comics in the next fifteen years. Stay tuned. Michael Vance ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [7] Silva Shado Reviews Sarah Haslett silva_shado@yahoo.com [Known as Silva Shado on many boards, Sarah is most frequently found at HeroRealm.com where she is a reviewer, moderator and frequent poster. She has read comics off and on her whole life, but really got into comics in 2000. In Sept. of 2003, she started reviewing after realizing that there were good comics out there that no one was paying much attention to.] Series Review: Blue Monday Writer/Artist: Chynna Clugston-Major Publisher: Oni Press http://www.onipress.com/titles/titles.php?id=BM3 Synopsis: Blue Monday is a teenage comedy/romance by Chynna Clugston- Major. It centers on Bleu, a girl who is trying to make the most of her teenage life. She's in love with rock and TV stars. Pretty normal until you look at who she likes: British rock stars and Buster Keaton. She's only got eyes for them and sees the boys around her as losers. Not fitting in with the popular crowd, Bleu has made her own circle of friends. Clover is Bleu's best friend and bodyguard. She often beats up guys and has quite a colorful vocabulary with her Irish slang. Bleu's other close friend is Erin, a girl who's not afraid of much. In fact, she's quite experimental and often likes the boys' peeping tom antics. As for the two boys Alan and Victor, they try everything they can to spy on the girls. They often pull pranks which keeps the girls hopping, mad usually. There's a definite love/hate relationship between the girls and the boys. With her friends, and foes, Bleu has some wild and crazy adventures. Writing/Art: As one of the ads in the back of volume one says: Blue Monday is "Archie on crack. with cursing and smoking." Quite an apt description, both in art style and storytelling. Chynna's art style is quite expressive in body language and facial expressions. She mixes in a manga technique where she sometimes draws the characters super deformed to emphasize the hilarity of the moment. Chynna's writing takes a look at all the trials and tribulations of high school. It mixes over-the-top hijinks with some really touching and sentimental moments. In the end, after all the bad things that have happened, everything seems to work out all right. Trades/Series: The first trade, The Kids Are Alright, collects the first Blue Monday mini-series and all of the short stories that preceded it. The mini-series follows Blue as she tries everything she can to win tickets to the Adam Ant concert. The problem is that she's thwarted at every turn. But Blue doesn't give up! She will see the idol of her dreams no matter what it takes. The second trade, Absolute Beginners, collects the second min-series. A costume party has gone horribly wrong and the boys videotape Blue in the bath. Blue and Clover do everything they can to get it back, but are thwarted by their friend Erin who wants it to stay screwed-up. The third trade, Inbetween Days, collects all of the holiday-themed one-shots as well as some new material and sketches. For more information, check out http://www.onipress.com/titles/titles.php?id=BM3 Other work: If you like Chynna's style, check out some of the other work she's done including Dark Horse's Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Oni's Hopeless Savages. She's currently working on Scooter Girl, a black comedy about cool guy Ashton and how his world comes tumbling down around him because of the one girl he can't woo - the lovely Margaret. There have been four issues so far. For more information, check out http://www.onipress.com/titles/titles.php?id=SCG ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [8] LINES ON PAPER Bruce Canwell bruce.canwell@verizon.net [Freelance writer Bruce Canwell is a New England native who has worked for both DC and Marvel Comics. His essays have appeared in TOMORROW SF, THE CORTLAND REVIEW, COMIC BOOK WEEK, the PORTSMOUTH (NH) PRESS, and AMAZING HEROES. In the summer he is often found at Fenway Park; in the winter, he enjoys playing high-stakes poker against really dumb opponents.] LINES ON PAPER by Bruce Canwell bruce.canwell@verizon.net Installment 16: The Prototype Superheroes DEET-Duh-DEET-DEET-DEET. . .Duh-DEET-Duh-DEET-DEET. . .We interrupt this Installment with the results of the First LINES ON PAPER Giveaway. I was surprised to receive only 3 responses. The winners (those two persons who were fastest with correct replies) were: DAVID GALASSIE and MAT KRAMER. They knew: 1) The NAME of the hero who had the original Fortress of Solitude is: DOC SAVAGE. 2) The NAME of the villain who first breaks into the original Fortress of Solitude is: JOHN SUNLIGHT. David receives a copy of the Doc Savage novel THE SECRET IN THE SKY; Mat gets THE SUBMARINE MYSTERY. Keep watching for future LINES ON PAPER Giveaways! DEET-Duh-DEET-DEET-DEET. . .Now back to our regularly-scheduled Installment. . . Duh-DEET-Duh-DEET-DEET. . . This week we salute the pop culture's two original superheroes. Pulp magazine stars, yin to the other's yang, they form the source waters from which DC and Marvel's core characters would deeply drink. They are DOC SAVAGE and THE SHADOW. The Shadow appeared first, prototyped in "The Shadow of Wall Street," a story about a hooded avenger that ran in the 1929 pulp FAME AND FORTUNE. Despite positive reaction to this new character, the stock market crash later that year wiped out FAME & FORTUNE. It would take another April, 1931, prompted by the success of their Thursday night radio mystery show (hosted by a mysterious voice identified only as The Shadow), before Street & Smith Publications launched THE SHADOW MAGAZINE. Copies of that first issue and its successors flew off newsstands nationwide; soon Street & Smith was publishing THE SHADOW twice a month. Bolstered by THE SHADOW's success, Street & Smith launched DOC SAVAGE MAGAZINE in March of 1933, introducing the title character in his inaugural adventure, "The Man of Bronze." Sixteen years later, both magazines ended with their Summer 1949 issues. Doc emerged triumphant after 181 exploits, while The Shadow's 325-issue run would set a record of continuous publication for a continuing character, one that lasted more than a quarter-century following the appearance of his final adventure, "Whispering Eyes." The Shadow was a vigilante who operated primarily out of New York, battling sinister criminals in secrecy, dealing death with a bone- chilling laugh and twin .45 automatics. Regular readers were treated to rematches between The Shadow and such worthy adversaries as The Wasp (twice) and Shiwan Khan and the Prince of Evil (four times each). By contrast, Doc Savage worked openly, traveling the world to battle evil using a variety of super-scientific devices, operating under a personal code that prevented him from killing. John Sunlight is counted as Doc's arch-enemy by dint of being the only villain to appear in two novels, first in "Fortress of Solitude," then returning two months later in "The Devil Genghis." SUPERMAN's creators clearly lifted the Fortress of Solitude directly out of the Doc Savage mythos, but Batman also borrowed or grew from the roots established by Doc and The Shadow. Batman's concealing cowl and ribbed cape are the next evolutionary step from The Shadow's slouch hat and swirling cloak (and both grim manhunters maintain everyday identities as bored playboys, Bruce Wayne and Lamont Cranston). And does this list of gadgets -- smoke and gas bombs, miniature grenades, a flashlight, a grapnel and rope, and underwater breathing apparatus -- come from Batman's utility belt or its precursor, Doc Savage's multi-pocketed vest? The answer, of course, is: first from Doc, then from Batman. In addition to borrowing bits of modus operandi from their pulp predecessors, early SUPERMAN and BATMAN stories often parallel Shadow or Doc Savage adventures. In the first ACTION COMICS stories, Superman investigates sinister goings-on at coal mines and lumber camps, pursues criminals who steal a scientist's newly-developed poison gas and sell it to foment civil war in Europe, and crushes the plots of greedy businessmen and amoral gangsters who are poisoning the lives of innocents. . . not far removed from the springboards that drive any number of Doc Savage novels. Meanwhile, in his first DETECTIVE stories, Hugo Strange pitted "huge, terrifying man-monsters" against Batman, while Doc Savage had faced similar men-turned-giants in 1936's "The Monsters." DETECTIVE # 39 -- the first official story featuring "Batman With Robin, The Boy Wonder" -- takes place in Chinatown, the setting for many of The Shadow's most memorable battles. Nor was DC alone in filching from The Shadow and Doc: Kirby, Lee, and Ditko all borrowed heavily from the fountainhead. Even if we dismiss as coincidence that "The Red Skull" is the title of the lead story in the August, 1933 DOC SAVAGE MAGAZINE, the Fantastic Four carry numerous parallels to the bronze man. Doc, the most brilliant man of the 1930s, leads one group of adventurers; Reed Richards, the most brilliant man of the 1960s, leads another. The FF operates in public view from the Baxter Building; Doc did the same from the 86th floor of "Manhattan's most impressive skyscraper." The squabbling and roughhousing of The Thing and the Human Torch are preceded by the antics of Doc Savage's long-time associates, "Monk" Mayfair and "Ham" Brooks. Then consider Spider-Man. Under Ditko's guidance, Spidey occupied a world of harborside warehouses and rooftop watertanks, battling gangsters such as Lucky Lobo, The Big Man, the Enforcers, and the Crime-Master -- all cut from the same cloth as The Hydra, The Fifth Napoleon, and dozens of The Shadow's other opponents (including another Crime Master, this one from August '34). Two decades before Peter Parker's agita over his special powers and responsibilities, Doc Savage went through soul searching, fearing the price he paid for his own extraordinary abilities -- being reared from infancy by scientists whose sole purpose was to create a superman -- was higher than any man should have to pay. Is the purpose of this to point a shaking, accusatory finger at the Golden Age and Silver Age creative forces behind DC and Marvel? Certainly not. Any such finger would have to be pointed not just at comics creators, but also at novelists (Ian Fleming surely read his share of Doc Savage adventures before writing the JAMES BOND series) and film-makers (Spielberg/Lucas's Indiana Jones is also influenced by Doc Savage; Eastwood's Dirty Harry shares The Shadow's merciless outlook on criminals). Nor should we allow our glasses to become overly rose-colored when we examine these pulp magazine mainstays. Both were very much of their times, which explains (but perhaps does not excuse) the racial stereotyping that creeps into select stories. For all the purity and enduring power of their concepts, the writing in THE SHADOW and DOC SAVAGE is often wretched: these stories were conceived in the heart of the pulp fiction crucible, where being fast and melodramatic and hitting the word-count were more highly prized than style, depth of characterization, or anything but the most rudimentary literary grace. (See for yourself: thanks to copyright law and the Internet, the entire run of SHADOW adventures is available for downloading at www.spaceports.com/~deshadow/, while several DOC SAVAGE novels are also available at www.blackmask.com/page.php.) And naturally, almost nothing is TOTALLY original -- aspects of THE SHADOW can be traced at least as far back as THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, with Doc Savage prefigured by the works of Philip Wylie, most especially in his novel THE SAVAGE GENTLEMAN. Still, with 2003 marking the 70th anniversary of DOC SAVAGE's inaugural issue and 2004 the 75th year since the publication of "The Shadow of Wall Street," this is an opportune moment to pause and acknowledge the enormous debt so many modern pop culture icons owe to The Shadow and to Doc Savage. . .the ORIGINAL Dark and White Knights of popular heroic fiction! ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [9] Thoughts From the Land of Frost Alex Ness Alexander@popthought.com [Alex has taught college level history and is a full time father. His interests include cats, comics and militaria. His writings have been featured on SlushFactory.com, UGO.com, and are currently on the Popthought.com web site. ] Land of Frost reflections and thoughts By Alex Ness This year was incredible for me, I experienced the thrill of victory (various interviews with talent such as Grant Morrison, Tim Truman, Mike Carey, Joe Quesada and many more) and the agony of defeat (before going to SDCC I was invited to publisher lunches, and one major party, by creative talents at each publisher, and when I went the publishers wanted nothing to do with me, no lunch, no exclusive party. It was a brutal lesson in needing to get things in writing). But mostly it has been the first full year of me being employed in an industry I deeply love. I am, therefore, brilliantly lucky and blessed. To meet those I did this last year fulfilled most of my wishes, there are a few quests and wishes left unfulfilled so I hope 2004 is looking as good as 2003. Thanks for being my readers throughout the year. ARCHITECTS & STORY TELLERS I am writing this in response to a great conversation I had. A minister and mentor to me, spoke of his great conviction that God must have a great room of sketches and blue prints of his designs for the earthly world and its inhabitants. To him the "architect of the universe" must have also then been an actual architect. I think this is a view that diminishes the awesome-ness of a God who can create from a single word or thought. But I also believe God could do whatever God wishes to do. So who knows? I am not bringing this up to disagree with this great man. I bring it up because I think it illuminates the differences within a creative medium. Jean "Moebius" Giraud has a wholly organic approach to the comics medium. His work and especially how he wrote his stories that he was to illustrate have themes and such, but he is more concerned with how the architecture affects mood and how his line work imparts emotions. His work is beautiful but is only the slightest bit centered upon a realistic, logical world. Another great example of a creative talent was Jack "the King" Kirby who alone or with some great writers created worlds out of whole cloth, with but a thought. His cars looked funky but they could drive in his world. His jets looked funky but they could fly in his world. Nothing had true architectural or internal logic, but it didn't matter, there was a power within his work that carried the day. Rather than a simple work his was complex in its own manner, something like an organic masterpiece. He was a creative genius and his style still influences comics today. Walter Simonson is a great talent, and his runs on books like ORION or THOR (among others) showed that while he also could create massive, vibe filled works, he was also an architect. His figures look real, the buildings would work in this world. His life forms looked natural, people and machines moved without defying your mind's eye's logic. Less organic than Kirby and more architectural he still had the power of the linework that has made him a great talent in comics. George Perez is and was a great architectural talent. His buildings perfect, human figures also perfect. His cars were specific to brand and model, his homes defined and livable. While he illustrates perfectly and there are almost no flaws within, it is occasionally true that there is less vibe, or power behind the page. While Perez has a massive creative talent, some fans find the characters in his work to "always look the same" ... whatever that might mean. You might interpret this to mean that I like one or another of these gentleman's work over the other, but I do not. I am specifically trying to say I think it is good to know the work you love and why you love it. In writing this I remembered that Larry Hama told an artist who later wrote of it that art has two faces MOJO and FIST. Mojo is the vibe created by the energy of the work. Fist is the sense of perfect style or linework. This can tell you what you enjoy most in a work and it is valuable to know. Do not assume one style or face of art is more important than the other, but you can certainly enjoy something for what it is. This applies to writers as well. Take these three authors: Robert E Howard: REH utilized exotic locales but was rarely consistent in writing about them, but was a brilliant story teller, and his Conan stories while short and brutal, are thrilling and organic in approach. CS Lewis: CSL wrote using borrowed fantasy realms (a story about this exists in the letters of JRR Tolkien and Tolkien was not a happy man as a result of Lewis's borrowings) but his work was not about the characters or world it was the utilization of the themes of the bible and life and sacrifice of Christ that underpinned the stories. His was a mixed union of an organic setting and character writing, placed upon a tapestry of allegorical tales. JRR Tolkien: JRRT utlilized language and human history to compile an enormously dense world for his story denizens to dwell. His characters were iconic and the story while epic was not even a little bit emotional. It is brilliant, wonderful even a fulfilling work, but for what it is it is more an architects work than a story tellers. (The Hobbit is more story telling than architectural). And now for some reviews CVO: Covert Vampire Operations One shot (color $5.99) By Alex Garner and Mindy Lee Vampires, the true creatures of the night work for the Government on ultra covert missions requiring stealth and extreme prejudice. In this story a covert team is sent into a Latin American powder keg where a mad dictator has acquired nukes. But how could a two bit tin horn dictator acquire such powerful weapons? Only the devil knows. This book comes from a great concept and I applaud that. It is not a book that I was really happy with though. The art was OK and the story, well it didn't really make much sense, as the internal logic of vampires as being dutiful to a mostly human populated government didn't wash. I think if you can find this for a discount it is worth a read, but over all, it was just OK. Grade C+ CVO: Covert Vampire Operations Artifact #1,2 (Color $3.99) by Jeff Mariotte and Gabriel Hernandez Following up upon the premise set forth in the CVO one shot, this follows a vampire covert operation through Italy, Iraq and Russia chasing a long lost and misunderstood ancient relic of considerable arcane power. Wow. Add highly professional writing and moody yet clear art and you start to achieve a great concepts full potential. Grade B+ DARK DAYS #5, 6 (color $3.99) By Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith Human vampire hunters and deals with the undead lead to a final confrontation with the vampires responsible for the murders of innocents in Barrow. AND a horrible confrontation for the lead character, Stella, make this a powerful story and conclusion. For now. I can live with the momentary nature of the end of this as I trust Niles and Templesmith to make this a trilogy worth watching. The work itself was not a typical middle edition of a trilogy as they usually make you sit for the character development while the action is tuned down, (unless of course you prefer the Alien series wherein there were so many casualties each movie had to internally develop the characters whilst killing them.) This is a story wherein character and action develop simultaneously Grade A+ GENE POOL By Len Wein, Marv Wolfman and Steven Cummings Kids, altered DNA, a scientist who ,manipulated the laws of science in order to achieve an end, powers, angst and young love, no costumes, ... secret police, evil doers and opportunities to fail... Can the team face the challenges and discover the means to find victory? Wolfman and Wein have written and created some fantastic comics. This is a good enough one but I cannot say it measured up to the past works. That is fine in and of itself as it is important to consider each work for what it is. No I am sorry, this is X-Men, Gen13 and Doom Patrol combined into a central story. It was fun, but absolutely nothing new. :( Grade C+ GRUMPY OLD MONSTERS By Kevin Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, and Guillermo Mendoza, Paco Cavero Castle Frankenstein is threatened and the retired monsters (ala the title) resting in the monster rest home must escape and rescue the old castle from destruction. I bet you thought that IDW only did horror and guns and action stories. Well they do them really well, but from the VANISHERS and INVASION 55 to horror as reviewed above to Grumpy Old Monsters I can say that IDW treats every single subject with the respect it deserves. This is not a book meant for me, but it worked perfectly for my nearly five year old son. I recommend it to fans of children's comics and to parents of children in order to read it to them, repeatedly Grade A ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [10] ComiX-Fan Reviews Eric J. Moreels X-Fan Editor-in-Chief x-fan@bigpond.net.au From ComiX-Fan: http://www.comixfan.com/xfan X-STATIX #17 Reviewer: Al Harahap, alharahap@xfan.cjb.net Quick Rating: Good Story Title: Back from the Dead, Part Five When the public finds out about the X-Statix's dirty moneymaking schemes, the gang must win back their popularity the best way they know how - through a live telecast of beating down supervillains! Writer: Peter Milligan Penciller: Mike Allred Inker: J. Bone Colourist: Han Allred Letterer: Virtual Calligraphy's Cory Petit Assisstant Editors: Jennifer Lee Editor: Axel Alonso Editor in Chief: Joe Quesada Publisher: Dan Buckley Back from the Dead, or what little there is left of it, continues with this untitled penultimate issue. After the first half of the storyarc, that was radically changed due to the Diana controversy, we are now getting original material. So with the hoopla all behind us, this must mean that the book is back to its full-on outrageous glory, right? Well. yes and no. Some readers may have been over the whole Diana replacement a long time ago; others yet may still be shaking their fists profusely in disappointment. Myself, I've just gotten over it with this issue. So yes, I have now accepted, and have even started to like the character of Euro pop princess Henrietta Hunter as a parody of "the People's Princess" Diana Spencer. However (you knew it was coming), I'm also left wondering why the storyarc has drastically shied away from her and her story. Now, I don't know whether this was planned of the storyarc originally, or whether it's scribe Peter Milligan's attempt to cover up the ill-received main plot. But regardless, there's a sudden shift that doesn't feel natural. And I just can't help wonder if Milligan is exploiting his knack for shock tactics to distract readers away from the failed Henrietta Hunter story: Shock tactic #1: The random sniper and bomber killings going on throughout the country. Ok, so Milligan's making a valid, and effective, commentary on the media's manipulation of the public into a state of panic and fear. It mirrors exactly what's going on in the U.S.A., and it's admirable that Milligan isn't afraid to make a hyperbole of it in the book. The scenes are sporadic, but detailed. Everyday people are used, and just when you think they're safe, bang, they're dead. It reaches so deep into the minds of readers, that it's hard not to look passed it. Shock tactic #2: The dismemberment of El Guapo and his contribution as a crippled handicap in Henrietta Hunter's fashion show. Ok, so this happened in the two previous issues, but it fits perfectly in the distraction away from Henrietta Hunter's lackluster story. Honestly, the image is too glaring to simply pass off after one look. El Guapo looks like he's a legless war veteran, yet the scene of his participation in something as superficial as a catwalk fashion show, wherein he looks happy to boot, makes it too outrageous to overlook, which is what I don't like about it. Shock tactic #3: Lacuna's sniping and near-death. Lacuna, or the cute "Woodstock" as her family likes to call her, has been a cult favourite of the book's readers ever since her first appearance in X-Force. We always love it when she makes the surprise guest- appearance and maybe even hope that one day she would join the team. One thing's for sure, and that is she's one of the most original and interesting supporting characters of any book out there. To have her fighting for her life now, when other pressing things are happening for Henrietta and the team, it takes a lot of the spotlight away from them. Shock tactic #4: The death of X-Statix benefactor, Spike Freeman. This cross between Bill Gates and Rob Liefeld parody has been a staple of the book's stories since its early X-Force days. He's a character that breaks the mould in that he's neither a hero nor a villain, but someone we love to hate and hate to love. With this turn of events, the status quo of the book is dramatically changed and even up in the air, I suspect until the start of the next storyarc. Milligan had to have known that this death would take so much attention away from Henrietta. It's just a given. Shock tactic #5: The mystery of Mister Code. Talk about original villains! This guy has to be the epitome of the modern comic social villain, even steps ahead of your average (not to mention tired) Lex Luthor or Kingpin. And if his intense introduction into the series weren't enough, Milligan has to throw us for a spin with the mystery of his identity as well. Not to mention that he could be dead as of the last panel of this issue. Who did Guy Smith (a.k.a. The Orphan) see under the mask? Is he the thought-dead Coach? Could he be Solomon O'Sullivan, whose death was not confirmed? Is he the original Spike Freeman, whereas the one we've known was always a clone? Since Guy knew him, could he be Guy's old martial arts mentor (since Guy's levitational abilities being so suddenly upgraded in this issue could be a hint)? Do you even care anymore about Henrietta Hunter? I don't. And that's what I don't like about all the above. Believe me, I'm an avid supporter of Milligan's shock tactics because their poignancy always convey some great social commentaries -- when they have context. But here, I can't shake the feeling that they are merely tools in an attempt to sweep Henrietta Hunter (the original main character of this storyarc, but who can tell anymore) under the rug. I don't have much to say about the art. And I mean that in a good way. Artist Mike Allred and company supply the issue with their usual wonderful art. I can see that inker J. Bones is getting the hang of outlining and shading Allred's pencils. And there's a creative use of black and white tones for Spike Freeman's afterlife scene that's really appropriate and complements the story. One thing that left me wondering was the blackening of blood in certain scenes, especially Lacuna's shooting scene. What happened to the X-Force/X-Statix that wasn't afraid to put in Zeitgeist's bloody guts and entrails in full colour on a splash page? And now mere blood has to be blackened/greyed like the typical PG comic book? I say go all the way and make X-Statix the MAX line X-book that so many X-readers have been clamouring for. It would do the book no less than justice. X-Statix #17 is an issue ripe with elements that are the book's trademark. It's just a shame that their function is as distraction. In and of themselves, they make for some instant classic X-Statix moments. But in the context of the storyarc, I wish they would have just stayed away. Yes, they give a whole slew of new meanings to the words Back from the Dead, which can now be read in many different ways for many other characters in the book. It would be an otherwise excellent issue, but because of the sudden shift from the shafted Henrietta and her story, it's just a little less than great. ART: 4 STORY: 3 OVERALL: 3.5 WEAPON X #16 Reviewer: Brian E. Wilkinson, bewilkinson@comixfan.cjb.net Quick Rating: Great Story Title: Defection, Part 1 Chamber and a new character join up with Weapon X! Written by: Frank Tieri Cover by: Georges Jeanty Pencilled by: Jeff Johnson Inked by: Norm Rapmund Colors by: Melissa Edwards Letters by: Dave Sharpe Assistant Editor: Marc Sumerak, Andy Schmidt Editor: Tom Brevoort Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada Publisher: Dan Buckley Making his comic debut... me! It's kind of funny, but when I read this issue of Weapon X (which I'll say now I'm VERY pleased with) and noticed that one of the many Weapon X goons was named 'Wilkinson' I was just pleased over the coincidence. I thought 'hey, that's kind of funny.' I'm a moron. How can you not love a book and a comic creator who goes the extra mile to include his reviewer (for good or for bad) in the same book! Just too damn cool. And it took me quite a bit of time to realize that. Maybe I'm not as smart as I'd like to think. Case in point comes from Chamber and his involvement in the Weapon X program. Last issue I was quite put off by how quickly and brutally Chamber was essentially tossed out of the X-Men. But by reading posts from both writer Frank Tieri and other astute readers, I'm not sure that was entirely the case. After all, I should give more credit to both Tieri and the characters involved. I've never been disappointed by how Tieri has used characters in the past, so either Chamber is working for the X-Men (as may be the case from the last panel) or else the X-Men are going to come calling in a big way to ask for forgiveness. Either way I'm there hard core. As what happens often in a Frank Tieri book I start reading, catch something and think I'm going to have something to complain about only to have it explained in short order. I hate that, but it does work to capture my interest. I was going to complain about Chamber's chest and neck being present in one of the first few panels, but once I see what the program was able to do for him I must admit that I'm shocked, surprised, and damned curious. Chamber has long since been my favorite character and I've been dying to get to know as much about him as possible. He was used visually in spectacular ways over in the beginning issues of Generation X and in a cool way by Joe Casey in Uncanny X-Men (even if that plot was a bit weak). I'm just glad that someone is using him and doing their best to explore all the potential that he has. In many ways, Chamber is the perfect and logical choice for inclusion in this series. He has a massive defect that seems to have been repaired (and one has to wonder what kind of effect that will have on his allegiance) and a huge chip on his shoulder. He's a hero in a group of heroes gone bad and with the right kind of influence this could be the kind of group the X-Men of the 21st Century always should have been. I'm also curious about Jackson's style of leadership in this series. Right away he seems to be a much better and lighter leader than the previous director and the main cast seems much more relaxed. Sure, we all know that Jackson has a black heart but you can't deny results. Maybe he's just a better guy for the job. I just don't know any more! The dialogue, set-up, and plot points (such as Wolverine showing up) are all working seamlessly to create one of the most memorable storylines in this series' short history. If Tieri can come up with this kind of stuff regularly then I'm definitely coming along for the ride. The only thing I can think of that would be better would be shuffling him off to the majors on a book like Uncanny X-Men. But that's just me. The art this month by Jeff Johnson is fantastic. He manages to capture Tieri's plots so well and his dark and brooding backgrounds work well with the theme and pace of this series. Chamber is done particularly well with the exception of my misunderstanding about him having a neck and chest again. I'm REALLY hoping for an explanation of how they managed to rebuild the guy so well. Does he eat now, or is this mainly for show? Did he know that all of this would be in store for him just for signing up with the program? Answers, dammit... I want answers. And let's just say a big 'thank you' to Frank for FINALLY revealing how it was that Chamber hurt himself again, and for remembering that his girlfriend was present when it happened (and was crippled as a result). THAT is called paying attention to detail. Good job. As for 'Wilkinson', let's hope this role is expanded in upcoming issues. We only got to see the back of his head, but something tells me this is going to be THE character that this series will depend upon. I can see him being this generation's Wolverine. Watch for it. At any rate, 'Defection' is a great story and a great jumping on point for fans. Pick it up today! ART: 5 STORY: 5 OVERALL: 5 X-TREME X-MEN #39 Reviewer: Brian E. Wilkinson, bewilkinson@comixfan.cjb.net Quick Rating: Good Story Title: Gladiator The conclusion of the arena and some big changes for the X-Men are on the horizon! Written by: Chris Claremont Cover by: Salvador Larroca Penciled by: Igor Kordey Inked by: Greg Adams Colors by: Liquid! Letters by: Rus Wooton Assistant Editor: Stephanie Moore Editor: Mike Marts Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada Publisher: Dan Buckley Wow, that went by quickly, didn't it? In a month where we get about five issues of X-Treme X-Men it's not hard to be shocked at how much has happened in such a little time. Storm's arc, 'The Arena' has wrapped up to a decent conclusion paving the way for a new year and a new bevy of stories from Claremont and Kordey. 'The Arena' was, in of itself, not a bad little arc. I wasn't expecting much being an admitted non-fan of the character, but with the appearance of characters like Yukio, Strong Guy and Calisto, things definitely began to pick up. Again, I'm still waiting to hear from Claremont on whether or not he'll let Guido join up with the time full-time. Claremont shows that he's more than able to craft a high-energy arc full of excitement, drama, and the kind of butt-kicking that has been lacking in some ways from these books. We get a ton of characterization and focus in a book that often tries too hard to fit everyone in as best as possible. Without dissolving into a solo book, Claremont does a great job of giving each character moments to shine, but it just goes to show that with the time and resources to produce an arc like this what the man is really capable of. Not having really read all of Storm's canon, I must admit to a few moments of slight confusion. Nothing major enough to derail the story, but enough for me to challenge what I remember as being 'canon' in my mind. I still don't remember Masque being female, yet the hints dropped here would suggest that 'she' is capable of taking any form thereby making gender irrelevant. I'll go along with that as it moves the story along nicely and sets things up for future encounters. I was also uncomfortable with Calisto and Storm's friendship, if only because their past had been so violent. In all of the dealings they've had between the comic and cartoon they seemed to be at most grudging allies at times but here they're downright friendly. It works for me as it's written so well, but it was still hard for me to resolve. I'm also not sure about Storm's plans for the arena. It sounds like she's building a secret underground army so that any external threat the world, and particularly any threat by or from mutants, and she'll raise them up to smack down the enemy. It's a workable theory, but it also sets Storm up as a VERY dangerous person. She always cautioned Xavier against having too much power and now she's amassing an army. But maybe that's the point. Sound be fun to read at any rate. My only real disappointment comes from the use of Tullamore Voge who has not been seen since the days of the 'Revolution' when Claremont was writing the other X-Men titles. Voge is written well, but he makes barely an appearance yet we were led to believe that Storm's whole purpose at the arena was to find Voge back in issue #35. Maybe she just got side tracked? The art in this issue is the weakest of the four with a few panels being downright rushed looking. Kordey finds a moment or two to really shine, as always, but compared to his more recent work in X-Treme X- Men and some of his other pages in this arc, I've seen better. Still, his style and approach works quite well on this title so I'm pleased overall. A great story but a greater awaits with 'Eyes of Fire' and the return of Elias Bogan and the New Mutants. I can't wait to read what's next. ART: 3 STORY: 3.5 OVERALL: 3 NYX #3 Reviewer: Daniel M. McNea d_mcnea@hotmail.com Quick Rating: Excellent Story Title: "Wannabe", pt. 3 "Introducing Wolverette, err, X-23!" Written by: Joe Quesada Penciled by: Josh Middleton Inked by: Josh Middleton Colors by: Josh Middleton and Beaulieu Letters by: Chris Eliopoulos and Randy Gentile Editors: C.B. Cebulski & MacKenzie Cadenhead Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada Publisher: Dan Buckley When I caught the first rumblings of NYX I thought "Great, another brilliant idea of mine snatched from those pesky telepaths at Marvel. CURSES!" Alright, so it was more along the lines of "Dammit, why didn't I think of that?" Whatever. Details, details. Bitterness aside I was actually skeptical about yet another title bearing the lineage of an "X", especially since so many long-established mutants are receiving little-to-no screen time, or languishing undeservedly in limbo land *cough*Dazzler*cough*. Though after one glance at the cover, all that cynicism gave way to "Yeah, so gettin' that." I am glad I did, three issues later and I'm hooked. EIC Joe Quesada has stepped off of his lofty perch to give fans a truly character driven title, not one masquerading as such with incessant prattle that is supposed to give the impression of character development simply because there is more talking than action. I fear the news of his leaving the title after issue six could be quite detrimental, but not as bad as word that his departure may result in the demise of the series altogether. Fingers crossed. NYX #3 introduces us to a mysterious young prostitute who seems to let her actions do all of the talking. As her trick leaves his payment for services rendered we see evidence that someone's definition of four- play creeps a few steps beyond general conventions. A few deadly steps. Shortly after their seedy rendezvous we find that Kiden has formed quite a bond with her teacher Cameron Palmer after Cameron's attempted suicide, even coming out to her as a mutant. While Cameron clearly cares about Kiden, she is logically skeptical about this revelation and even feels toyed with. As Kiden works on convincing Cameron we are brought another dark glimpse into the life of our mystery hooker, (hey, she hasn't technically been named in the issue yet; X-23 notwithstanding) and her pimp that looks disturbingly like he crawled out of the animated cult classic 'Heavy Metal'. Our two young mutant lovelies are brought together when a graphic and disturbing nightmare gives Kiden the other's current location, (another facet to Kiden's already perplexing powers?). Quesada continues to breathe life and depth into his cast without resorting to oft used clich‚s of incessantly whiny or obscenely mature teens and adults that do little more than scold them. Kiden is a girl who isn't pure of heart or troublesome delinquent, but both. Real. She doesn't know which end is up these days and easy answers don't appear to near on the horizon. Granted, he could snuff out that punk Hector at anytime. Please. Josh Middleton takes full advantage of X-23's silent expressions. You feel her sexcapades aren't exactly something she has aspired to, nor is very proud of. Her blank stares convey more to the reader than a detailed soliloquy. I was an immediate fan of his cover work on New Mutants but had trepidations about his ability to tell a sequential story. That concern was all for naught. His delicate faces and natural body movements tell a tale all their own. And may I add a bonus YAY for the colors? The gorgeous watercolor-like wash crowns the tone to this dramatic title. It is so nice to see shading dimension with color as opposed to heavy inks, not that there is anything wrong with that. NYX is a wonderfully rich and moody departure from the generally frenetic X-titles. Here's hoping it retains the creative force (and audience) it deserves to become a staple of the mutant world. ART: 5.5 STORY: 5.5 OVERALL: 5.5 ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [11] Rich's Reviews Richard Vasseur richardv@sympatico.ca [Rich has been collecting comic books for about 25 years. He belongs to two comicbook clubs Jazma and ORCA. He has been writing reviews for Jazma's paper newletter for about 2 years and has his own review page at www.jazmaonline.com] Title: Kade Pursuit # 1 Publisher: Arcana Cover Art: Paco Medina Pencils: Eduardo Garcia Inks: Ricardo Plata Digital Colors: Favian Palacios Abduction: Rames Melendez Editor/Creator: Sean O'Reilly Price: $ 2.95 US, $ 4.50 Can Comments: Kada is hunting Apollyon he is on a quest to find and destroy him. Kada is a true warrior and he feels no pain, which can come in handy in a fight. Chalk white skin and coal black hair make him stand out. We get to see him in several battles against a demon, a Dark Lord and Dire Bereavers. Kade cuts into them with a vengence and the blood flies. Kade is a mysterious character. We get a brief look at what drives him but I know there will be more as the series progresses. The story so far is interesting if you enjoy such characters as Conan, Kull or Solomon Kane you should check it out. Now the art has a different look. It's hard to describe unless you see it for yourself. It has a cartoonish look especially the facial expressions. The art though isn't like a cartoon, the monsters are ferocious. The scenery can be a bit sparce at times but it is well drawn. The one thing that comes through as you read this comic is that the staff enjoy what they are doing. It's not just a job, they had fun making it. And they genuinely want you to have fun with it. Title: The Phantom # 1 Publisher: Moonstone Writer: Ben Raab Artist: Pat Quinn Price: $ 3.50 US Comments: The Phantom strikes from the jungle. He shows no mercy breaking noses and arms with the blood flying. It's not for the squeamish. Men are illegally mining diamonds and using the locals as forced slave labor. Diana the Phantom's wife while speaking at a news conference is shot. You can see and feel the raw emotion as he leaves her with their children to chase the culprits. He looks magnificent on his horse Hero. If you want hard boiled action then come right in. It's two-fisted action in the jungles of Bangalla. This is no ghost, just a man on a mission to protect Bangalla and see that justice is done. Pat Quinn delivers some beautiful action drawings. There is a great two-page spread as he swings down from the jungle foliage into a jeep of evil men. We are left with a traditional cliffhanger ending. The building Diana and the kids are in is blown up. I think the medics took her out before it blew up and the kids to. I think some terrorist group wants all those against them dead. That was there mistake because now they have The Phantom after them and he will never stop. And you will never stop wanting more of The Phantom. Title: Superman # 200 Publisher: DC Writers: Stephan T. Seagle & Scott McDaniel Artists: Jon Bogdanove, Tom Grummett & Nelson, Dan Jurgens & Kevin Nowlan, Gene Ha, Phil Jimenez & Andy Lanning, Talent Caldwell & Jason Gorder Price: $ 3.50 US, $ 5.25 Can Comments: This story is confusing with two Supermen traveling through time. One looks like a future robotic version. It looks like the future Superman came back in time to get our Superman to help him against the Futuresmiths. But surprise everything is being manipulated by Brainiac 12 or 13 he's called both. In this future battle both Batman and Wonder Woman die by Brainiac's hand. Way too many things are not being explained. Why did Brainiac shrink, why is Batman all metal, who is this robot Superman? The ending is a bit of a surprise. We go back to Krypton where Superman's parents don't put him into the escape rocket. How will this change history? When Superman beat Brainiac they were both in the time stream. So time as we know it could be completely different. Cir-el the newest Supergirl sees some action. Brianiac was manipulating so many time periods and people that he created Cir-el too. His mind must be a brilliant computer, though it's filled with evil. Can an unfeeling machine be evil? When it's Brainiac, yes. That is made very clear in this comic. He will do anything to achieve his goal of world domination. Superman left him in a zone of nothingness I know that will not hold him he will be back. I just hope that next time he is used better and his plots explained. Title: JLA # 91 Publisher: DC Writer: Dennis O'Neal Artist: Tan Eng Huat Price: $ 2.25 US, $ 3.50 Can Comments: Plas is back in the JLA. It's good to have him back. He lightens the mood. Overall the art this issue is pretty bad. Not enough detail in a lot of it. Also the faces have to many little lines on them. Atom, Batman and GL's faces look like they are caving in. And what is with Plas's hair! It looks like a lump of blue whip cream. The story? Well, an alien shape-changing monkey just comes along looking for a Silver Masked Monkey a species that is about extinct. Why does he want it? Can the JLA handle a monkey? Does anyone really care? The story needs to pick up. Even seeing the monkey grow about 10 times in size wasn't that interesting. They needed something exciting to happen, something to grab your attention. ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [12] Multiverse Observer and Explorer Reviews Paul Dale Roberts Silhouet98@cs.com [Paul promotes amateur and professional comic book artwork, scripts, storylines, and unpublished comic books with a newsletter called the Peoples' Comic Book Newsletter. Its website is at Jazma Comic Book Newsletter Productions at http://www.jazmaonline.com/ He is also a prominent letter hack, as anyone who reads comic letter pages would know. He is in production of his own self-published comic book called The Legendary Dark Silhouette and has copyrighted over 600 characters for his Jazma Universe.] SPOILER WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COLUMN MAY REVEAL SIGNIFICANT PORTIONS OF THE PLOTS OF SOME COMIC BOOKS, OR THE ENTIRE STORY. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Name: Bomber Girl Publisher: Raijin Graphic Novels Art & Story: Niwano Makoto Price: $9.95 Comments: Meet the soldiers/terrorists of the Megalith! This movie moves faster than Samuel L. Jackson's movie S.W.A.T. Lots of gun action and it takes a superhero like Bomber Girl to deal with these bad guys. Everything takes place in 21st century Tokyo. You'll love Bomber Girl, she has one hot outfit and she uses all sorts of weaponry. She is a bounty huntress and she is known to be a sort of Robin Hood, saving the innocent citizens from terrorists and robbers. Bomber Girl's real name is Rashomon Emi and one of the best scenes is when Bomber Girl uses her machine gun. Exciting graphic book from Raijin! Name: City Hunter Publisher: Raijin Graphic Novels Art & Story: Hojo Tsukasa Price: $9.95 Comments: Saeba Ryo is a pro mercenary and is always looking for a good paying job in Tokyo. It seems like Tokyo has as many superheroes as New York. I would remember when Godzilla was wrecking the heck out of this city, but now there are so many Manga superheroes crawling around this city, it must be an exciting place to live. I have visited Tokyo, Japan once, but the evening that I was there, I didn't see any superhero types...sigh. Anyway, instead of action, this story is more dramatic, as there is a boxer who was in a hit and run accident and this lady doctor treats him and winds up falling in love with the boxer. The boxer makes a spectacular comeback because of the good doctor. Then there is a woman who has cancer and she doesn't want the police to find Inagaki (a man who has tormented this young lady), she wants action taken against him quickly and she wants him dead. If you like drama, then stop here and check out this book! Name: Chronicles of the Cursed Sword Publisher: Tokyopop Story: Yuy Beop-Ryong Art: Park Hui-Jin Price: $9.99 Comments: Hmmm...let's see there are these two mystical swords, then this book should be called Chronicles of the Cursed Swords...oh well. Anyway, one sword feeds off the blood of men, while the other sword feeds off the blood of demons. With the combined power of the swords, it could unleash a great evil upon the Earth. An unfortunate chap by the name of Rey Yan has one of the swords and he is unaware of its power. He gets in plenty of trouble possessing this sword and at one time the sword turns against him, almost costing him his life. Rey's sister is kidnapped by a sorceress who wants his sword and it is up to Rey to travel to the underworld to save his sister and learn about his true destiny. Name: Heroes Anonymous #3 Publisher: Bongo Comics Story and Script: Scott M. Gimple Art by: Andrew Pepoy Price: $2.99 Comments: After reading Heroes Anonymous #3 I was definitely hooked! I love the heroes in this story! I love their costumes! I love their powers! I love their humor! Right from the beginning I was enthralled in the story when Hotwire talks about the love of his life, but how he couldn't live in a bottled city, at the bottom of the sea and in a parrallel universe for the rest of his life. Boy and I thought I had it hard with my dates, this guy was contemplating his very life style to live with this woman! The purple tones in the artwork, really dazzles. The artwork is quite unique and has a style that is eye-candy to the reader! I want to learn more about the happenings in Gothopolis City and with the Super Crime Syndicate in the shadows, our heroes will always be busy! This is a true winner coming out of Bongo Comics! Now only if the Simpsons would show up in this strange reality! MOE Sidenote: Ever once in awhile I will find an obscure comic strip in some obscure magazine at Border's Books. This time Skin & Ink The Tattoo Magazine - Jan 2004 issue caught my eye. Flipping the pages and looking at the tattoos (I do not have any tattoos, but I do enjoy the artwork), I found a great comic strip at the back of the magazine called: "Captain Eddie in the Life and Death of Sailor Wong". It's a monthly comic strip, with some great artwork and a humorous, but somewhat dramatic storyline. Check it out, you might like it. MOE Sidenote: Today I wandered in A1 Comics and found the following comics on their shelves: Capes #3 by Image; Caper #3 by DC Comics; Drake of the 99 Dragons #1 by Idol; Heroes Anonymous #3 by Bongo Comics; PVP Player v. Player by Image; Reign of the Zodiac #5 by DC; The Rift #3 by Martyr; Bangkok #4 by Vertigo; Wanted by Top Cow; The Walking Dead #3 by Image; Wildguard #2 by Image; Gus Finklestein #2; Trouble by Marvel Epic; The Wallace Wood Checklist; Supreme Power Cola #5 by Max; Tales of the Realm #2 by CGE; Something Wicked #2 by Image; Scot Mill's Seamonsters and Superheroes; Gun Theory by Marvel Epic; Global Frequency #10 of 12; Human Defense Corps by DC; Liberty from Hell by Radio Comix; Madame Tarantula's Tijuana Bible #1; Lost Worlds of Fantasy & SF #5; The Losers by Vertigo; Kore #5 by Image; Go Boy 7 by Rocket Comics; Hellhounds #3 by Image; Hammer of the Gods #3 by Image; Hammer of the Gods #3 by Image; Gene Pool by IDW; Gene-Fusion AD 2310 #4 by Beckett; Michael Turner's Aspen #3; The Amazing Screw-on Head by Dark Horse Maverick; The Agents #6 by Image; Beware the Creeper by Vertigo; Mike Mignola's BPRD - Night Train Sept. 2003; Frankenstein Mobster #1 by Image; Pete Stathis' The Fallen: Evenfall; Dark Day by IDW; Bad Girl #5 by DC and Rotogin #3. Let the Multiverse portal sweep you away at A1 Comics. When I entered this Multiverse portal, I found wonderments beyond belief! For more information contact Brian Peets, Owner at: A1Comics@a-1comics.com Multiverse Observer and Explorer signing off until next time.... ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [13] TOP 100 COMICS FOR DECEMBER 2003 Diamond Comics Distributors Diamond's top 300 list each month reports totals for the products that have shipped and billed for the month before. Rankings are based on orders placed by retailers and reflect total units ordered and dollar values of total ordered. This is NOT a list of comics that sold the most copies to the consumers - it is a list of ORDERS by DEALERS that were actually sold, shipped and invoiced to the dealers. Items marked ** are In Stock at Diamond and available for reorder. TOP 100 COMICS Qty Ret Index In Title Price Pub St 1 2 188.73 ** ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #1 $2.25 MAR 2 1 125.70 MARVEL 1602 #5 (Of 8) $3.50 MAR 3 3 120.34 ** NEW X-MEN #150 (Note Price) $3.50 MAR 4 4 119.50 ** ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #50 (Note Price) $2.99 MAR 5 7 113.79 ** ULTIMATES #12 $2.25 MAR 6 8 113.65 ** ULTIMATE X-MEN #40 $2.25 MAR 7 5 111.78 ** SUPERMAN/BATMAN #4 $2.95 DC 8 9 109.13 ** ULTIMATE SIX #5 (Of 7) $2.25 MAR 9 10 105.54 ** ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #51 $2.25 MAR 10 6 104.92 ** SUPERMAN/BATMAN #5 $2.95 DC 11 12 100.00 ** BATMAN #622 $2.25 DC 12 14 98.46 ** AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #502 (#61) $2.25 MAR 13 15 98.28 ** UNCANNY X-MEN #434 $2.25 MAR 14 18 97.68 ** UNCANNY X-MEN #435 $2.25 MAR 15 19 96.96 ** UNCANNY X-MEN #436 $2.25 MAR 16 23 81.24 ** WOLVERINE #9 $2.25 MAR 17 11 76.52 ** SUPREME POWER #5 (MR) $2.99 MAR 18 22 75.36 ** TEEN TITANS #6 $2.50 DC 19 31 68.25 ** SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #8 $2.25 MAR 20 20 66.41 ** X-TREME X-MEN #35 $2.99 MAR 21 32 64.18 ** JLA #91 $2.25 DC 22 13 63.67 X-TREME X-MEN #36 (Note Price) $3.50 MAR 23 16 63.16 ** X-TREME X-MEN #37 (Note Price) $3.50 MAR 24 33 62.91 ** AVENGERS #75 (RES) $2.25 MAR 25 17 62.90 ** X-TREME X-MEN #38 (Note Price) $3.50 MAR 26 34 62.57 ** AVENGERS #76 (RES) $2.25 MAR 27 25 58.39 DAREDEVIL #55 $2.99 MAR 28 26 58.37 ** WANTED #1 (Of 6) (MR)* $2.99 IMA 29 27 57.76 ** TRANSFORMERS GENERATION ONE VOL 3 #0* $2.95 DRE 30 28 57.60 ** GI JOE/TRANSFORMERS #5 (Of 6)* $2.95 IMA 31 29 56.80 ** TRANSFORMERS/GI JOE #4 (Of 6) $2.95 DRE 32 41 56.54 ** INCREDIBLE HULK #64 $2.25 MAR 33 21 56.09 ** HULK GRAY #4 (Of 6) $3.50 MAR 34 45 54.77 ** FANTASTIC FOUR #508 (#79) $2.25 MAR 35 30 53.45 ** GI JOE/TRANSFORMERS #6 (Of 6)* $2.95 IMA 36 24 51.52 ** SUPERMAN #200 (Note Price) $3.50 DC 37 40 51.20 ** OUTSIDERS #7 $2.50 DC 38 35 46.81 ** CAPTAIN AMERICA #21 $2.99 MAR 39 47 46.80 ** JSA #55 $2.50 DC 40 38 43.58 ** NYX #3 $2.99 MAR 41 39 43.48 ** TRANSFORMERS WAR WITHIN VOL 2 #3 $2.95 DRE 42 51 42.09 ** FORMERLY KNOWN A/T JUSTICE LEAGUE #6Of6 $2.50 DC 43 42 41.96 PUNISHER #37 $2.99 MAR 44 43 41.94 ** EXILES #38 $2.99 MAR 45 44 41.69 EXILES #39 $2.99 MAR 46 55 41.23 ** EMMA FROST #6 $2.50 MAR 47 46 41.03 ** THANOS #3 $2.99 MAR 48 58 40.19 ** GREEN ARROW #33 $2.50 DC 49 63 39.71 ** SPAWN #131 $2.50 IMA 50 50 39.67 ** DETECTIVE COMICS #789 $2.75 DC 51 48 39.50 ** GI JOE #25* $2.95 IMA 52 67 39.48 ** SILVER SURFER #4 (RES) $2.25 MAR 53 72 38.01 ** FLASH #205 $2.25 DC 54 49 36.50 ** VENOM #9 $2.99 MAR 55 52 35.66 ** PLANETARY #18 $2.95 DC 56 53 34.77 ** THOR #72 $2.99 MAR 57 54 34.70 ** IRON MAN #75 $2.99 MAR 58 57 34.29 ** PLASTIC MAN #1 $2.95 DC 59 56 33.89 ** SPIDER-MAN & DR OCT. NEGATIVE EXPOSURE #3 $2.99 MAR 60 83 33.82 ** GREEN LANTERN #172 $2.25 DC 61 62 33.69 ** ASTRO CITY LOCAL HEROES #5 (Of 5) $2.95 DC 62 59 33.55 ** SPIDER-MAN/DR OCTOPUS OUT OF REACH #2OF5 $2.99 MAR 63 74 33.22 ** BIRDS O/PREY #62 $2.50 DC 64 84 33.17 ** ROBIN #121 $2.25 DC 65 75 32.91 ** JSA ALL STARS #8 (Of 8) $2.50 DC 66 94 32.11 ** ACTION COMICS #810 þ( $2.25 DC 67 96 31.80 ** WONDER WOMAN #199 $2.25 DC 68 99 31.53 ** NIGHTWING #88 $2.25 DC 69 73 30.97 ** BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS #48 $2.75 DC 70 65 30.54 ** TRANSFORMERS ARMADA #18 $2.95 DRE 71 64 30.32 ** MICHAEL TURNER PRESENTS ASPEN #3 (Of 3)* $2.99 ASP 72 66 30.21 ** BATMAN DEATH & MAIDENS #5 (Of 9) $2.95 DC 73 68 30.04 ** STREET FIGHTER #4* $2.95 IMA 74 69 29.38 ** X-STATIX #17 $2.99 MAR 75 70 29.20 ** STAR WARS INFINITIES RETURN O/T JEDI #1 $2.99 DAR 76 111 29.20 ** ADVS O/SUPERMAN #623 $2.25 DC 77 90 29.14 ** HAWKMAN #22 $2.50 DC 78 71 29.05 ** Y THE LAST MAN #17 (MR) $2.95 DC 79 95 28.82 ** BATGIRL #47 $2.50 DC 80 100 27.90 ** FABLES #20 (MR) $2.50 DC 81 36 27.88 ** AUTHORITY/LOBO CHRISTMAS SP $4.95 DC 82 103 27.25 ** LEGION #28 $2.50 DC 83 106 26.98 ** BATMAN LEGENDS O/T DARK KNIGHT #174 $2.50 DC 84 77 26.79 ** SUPERMAN & BATMAN GENERATIONS III #12 $2.95 DC 85 108 26.77 ** CATWOMAN #26 $2.50 DC 86 78 26.60 ** GI JOE FRONTLINE #18 $2.95 IMA 87 79 26.24 AUTHORITY VOL 2 #8 (MR) $2.95 DC 88 81 25.62 HAWKEYE #3 $2.99 MAR 89 82 25.60 CAPTAIN MARVEL #17 $2.99 MAR 90 85 24.92 ** SOJOURN #30 $2.95 CRO 91 86 24.89 ** THUNDERCATS HAMMERHANDS REVENGE #3 (Of 5) $2.95 DC 92 89 24.72 ** ROSE & THORN #1 (Of 6) $2.95 DC 93 117 24.39 ** AQUAMAN #13 $2.50 DC 94 91 24.34 ** ELEKTRA #30 $2.99 MAR 95 98 23.74 ** KINGPIN #7 (Note Price) $2.99 MAR 96 132 23.59 ** TEEN TITANS GO #2 $2.25 DC 97 101 23.29 ** SPIDER-GIRL #67 $2.99 MAR 98 102 22.96 ** MAGDALENA VOL 2 #4 (Of 4) $2.99 IMA 99 124 22.91 ** EMPIRE #6 (Of 6) (MR) $2.50 DC 100 104 22.68 STAR WARS EMPIRE #13 DARKLIGHTER (4 Of 4) $2.99 DAR TOP 50 GRAPHIC NOVELS Qty Ret Index In Title Price Pub St 1 1 14.08 ** BATMAN HUSH VOL 2 HC $19.95 DC 2 5 6.22 ** CHRONICLES O/CONAN VOL 2 ROGUES I/T HOUSE $15.95 DAR 3 4 5.79 ** DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN TP $19.95 DC 4 14 5.62 ** JLA LIBERTY & JUSTICE OVERSIZED SC $9.95 DC 5 8 5.57 ** POWERS VOL 5 ANARCHY TP $14.95 IMA 6 10 5.35 ** HELLSING VOL 1 TP $13.95 DAR 7 11 4.29 ** BLADE O/T IMMORTAL VOL 12 AUTUMN FROST TP $16.95 DAR 8 41 4.28 ** DONALD DUCK ADVS VOL 3 TP $7.95 GEM 9 9 4.23 ** HELLBOY WEIRD TALES VOL 1 TP $17.95 DAR 10 16 3.62 ** AUTOBIOGRAPHIX TP $14.95 DAR 11 49 3.58 ** RUROUNI KENSHIN VOL 2 GN $7.95 VIZ 12 37 3.54 ** NIGHTWING/HUNTRESS TP $9.95 DC 13 38 3.52 ** BATTLE ROYALE VOL 4 GN $9.99 TKP 14 24 3.35 ** WOLVERINE VOL 1 BROTHERHOOD TP $12.99 MAR 15 33 3.21 ** SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN VOL 1 HUNGER TP $11.99 MAR 16 50 3.17 ** INU YASHA VOL 16 TP $8.95 VIZ 17 30 3.12 ** HEAVENS WAR GN $12.95 IMA 18 15 3.04 ** AMERICAS BEST COMICS TP $17.95 DC 19 23 2.99 ** STARMAN VOL 8 STARS MY DESTINATION TP $14.95 DC 20 7 2.94 ** ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL 3 HC $29.99 MAR 21 27 2.85 ** AVENGERS VOL 2 RED ZONE TP $14.99 MAR 22 31 2.67 ** VIOLENT CASES TP NEW PRTG $14.95 DAR 23 55 2.65 ** 40 OZ COLL TP $9.95 IMA 24 20 2.55 ** GREEN LANTERN WILLWORLD SC $17.95 DC 25 21 2.52 ** SLEEPER OUT I/T COLD TP $17.95 DC 26 35 2.45 ** KYLE BAKER CARTOONIST TP $14.95 KYL 27 43 2.42 ** CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON VOL 5 GN $13.95 HK 28 25 2.41 ** TERMINATOR BURNING EARTH TP $17.95 IBK 29 2 2.39 ** SUPERGIRL ARCHIVES VOL 2 HC $49.95 DC 30 81 2.37 ** YU-GI-OH VOL 3 TP $7.95 VIZ 31 45 2.34 ** SPIDER-MAN LEGENDS V.4 SPIDER & WOLVERINE $13.99 MAR 32 28 2.32 ** HELLBOY VOL 1 SEED O/DESTRUCTION-NEW PRTG $17.95 DAR 33 3 2.32 ** THUNDER AGENTS ARCHIVES VOL 3 HC $49.95 DC 34 19 2.32 ** X-MEN LEGENDS VOL 4 HATED & FEARED TP $19.99 MAR 35 12 2.29 ** CEREBUS VOL 15 LATTER DAYS TP $30.00 AAR 36 73 2.12 ** DOT HACK SIGN VOL 2 GN $9.99 TKP 37 86 2.11 NARUTO VOL 2 TP SHONEN J ED $7.95 VIZ 38 76 2.04 ** ASTRO BOY VOL 22 TP $9.95 DAR 39 77 2.02 ** SHREK TP $9.95 DAR 40 47 2.00 ** LEAVE IT TO CHANCE V.3 MONSTER MADNESS HC $14.95 IMA 41 32 1.93 ** JOHNNY HOMICIDAL MANIAC DIRECTORS CUT SC $19.95 SLG 42 79 1.92 ** THOSE WHO HUNT ELVES MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99 ADV 43 80 1.90 ** KODOCHA VOL 10 SANAS STAGE GN $9.99 TKP 44 42 1.89 ** HELLBOY VOL 2 WAKE DEVIL TP NEW PRTG $17.95 DAR 45 98 1.85 ** DRAGONBALL Z VOL 14 TP SHONEN J ED $7.95 VIZ 46 53 1.84 ** TRIGUN VOL 1 TP $14.95 DAR 47 26 1.73 ** LOEG BOOK TWO HC $24.95 DC 48 39 1.71 ** BATMAN HUSH VOL 1 HC $19.95 DC 49 87 1.68 ** GTO VOL 16 GN (Of 25) $9.99 TKP 50 89 1.67 ** EXCEL SAGA VOL 4 TP $9.95 VIZ December Market Shares Based on Actual Sales of Products Invoiced in December 2003 Comics, Magazines, & Graphic Novels Publisher Dollar Share Unit Share MARVEL COMICS 31.23% 40.11% DC COMICS 27.21% 29.09% DARK HORSE COMICS 7.04% 5.12% IMAGE COMICS 6.17% 6.99% TOKYOPOP 2.93% 0.95% DREAMWAVE 2.86% 3.31% CROSSGEN ENTERTAINMENT 2.27% 2.65% VIZ LLC 2.18% 0.95% WIZARD ENTERTAINMENT 1.84% 1.48% FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS/EROS COMIX 1.08% 0.34% IDW PUBLISHING 0.85% 0.67% GEMSTONE PUBLISHING 0.66% 0.45% SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS 0.63% 0.41% MVCREATIONS 0.52% 0.63% A.D. VISION 0.50% 0.17% ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS 0.50% 0.68% I BOOKS 0.48% 0.09% COMICSONE 0.46% 0.12% AVATAR PRESS 0.45% 0.40% TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING 0.44% 0.17% Other Non-Top 20 9.70% 5.22% ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [14] New Comic Book Releases List [NCRL] by Charles LePage chuck@comiclist.com http://www.comiclist.com New Comic Book Releases List for Wednesday, 1/14/2004, compiled by Charles LePage with information from Suncoast Comics. This is the *preliminary* list and is not complete. The completed list is posted weekly, usually Tuesday evening, at http://www.comiclist.com and other places. You can receive this list each Tuesday via email by following the instructions at the web site, or you can email NCRL-subscribe@egroups.com PLEASE NOTE- Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. Let CHARLES know if any of the names or numbers are wrong. chuck@comiclist.com (Charles LePage) PUBLISHERS: If you know when your comics are going to be available through Diamond, please email chuck@comiclist.com so that he can place your comics on the appropriately dated list. Thanks! "TPB" = "trade paperback". "GN" = "graphic novel". "AA" = "available again". "SC" = "softcover". "HC" = "hardcover". "S/N" = "signed/numbered". "AR" = "ask retailer about price". PUBLISHER TITLE, ISSUE NUMBER, PRICE IN U.S. DOLLARS ARCHIE LAUGH DIGEST #190 $2.39 SABRINA VOL 2 #54 $2.19 STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL III #62 $2.95 CROSSGEN KISS KISS BANG BANG #1 $2.95 WAY OF THE RAT #21 $2.95 DORK STORM DORK TOWER COLL TP VOL 6 1D6 DEGREES OF SEPARATION DARK HORSE COMICS Berserk Vol 2 Guardians Of Desire TPB, $13.95 Lone Wolf 2100 #11, $2.99 Syn #4, $2.99 Tales Of The Vampires #2, $2.99 DC COMICS Action Comics #811, $2.25 Aquaman #14, $2.50 Batman Death And The Maidens #6 (Of 9), $2.95 Batman Legends Of The Dark Knight #175, $2.50 Demon Driven Out #5 (Of 6), $2.50 Fables #21 , $2.50 Fallen Angel #7 , $2.50 Global Frequency Planet Ablaze TPB, $14.95 Gotham Central #15, $2.50 Green Arrow #34, $2.50 Hawkman #23, $2.50 Hero #12, $2.50 JLA Zatannas Search TPB, $12.95 Nightwing #89, $2.25 Outsiders Looking For Trouble TPB, $12.95 Saga Of Seven Suns HC, $24.95 Scooby Doo #80, $2.25 Stormwatch Team Achilles #19 , $2.95 Superman Secret Identity #1 (Of 4), $5.95 Teen Titans #7, $2.50 Thundercats Hammerhands Revenge #4 (Of 5), $2.95 IMAGE COMICS Shangri La GN, $7.95 MARVEL COMICS Captain America #22, $2.99 Captain America Vol 4 Captain America Lives Again TPB, $12.99 Captain Marvel #18, $2.99 Incredible Hulk #65, $2.25 Marvel 1602 #6 (Of 8), $3.50 Spectacular Spider-Man #9, $2.25 Spider-Man And Dr Octopus Negative Exposure #4 (Of 5), $2.99 Spider-Man Unlimited #1, $2.99 The Punisher #1 , $2.99 Thor #73, $2.99 Ultimate Adventures #6, $2.99 Ultimate X-Men #41, $2.25 Ultimate X-Men Vol 7 Blockbuster TPB, $12.99 Uncanny X-Men Vol 2 Dominant Species TPB (Star18563), $11.99 Weapon X #17, $2.99 WIZARD ENTERTAINMENT Toyfare Convention Exclusive Kermit Cvr #79, $4.99 Toyfare Mego Spidey Vs Mego Dr Octopus Cvr #79, $4.99 Yu Gi Oh Ultimate Anime Games Foil Cvr, $5.99 ComicList for the foreseeable future... TITLE OLD NEW DARK HORSE COMICS Star Wars Greedo Mini Bust SEP030058 11/12/03 02/25/04 Star Wars Infinities:Return of the Jedi #2 OCT030027 12/10/03 01/28/04 DC COMICS Arrowsmith #5 SEP030291 11/19/03 01/21/04 Arrowsmith #6 NOV030258 01/21/04 02/18/04 Global Frequency #11 JUN030223 08/27/03 01/28/04 Global Frequency #12 JUL030228 09/24/03 02/25/04 Possessed #6 OCT030280 12/17/03 01/21/04 Sleeper #12 OCT030282 12/17/03 01/21/04 Tom Strong's Terrific Tales #9 OCT030295 12/24/03 01/28/04 Two-Step #3 OCT030290 12/10/03 02/11/04 IMAGE COMICS Casefiles: Sam and Twitch #7 SEP031261 01/28/04 Casefiles: Sam and Twitch #8 OCT031261 02/18/04 Dawn: Three Tiers #3 SEP031265 01/28/04 Savage Dragon #113 SEP031298 12/17/03 01/28/04 MARVEL COMICS Emma Frost #7 NOV031538 01/14/04 01/28/04 Inhumans #9 NOV031541 01/14/04 01/21/04 Iron Man #76 NOV031501 01/14/04 01/21/04 New Mutants #10 NOV031540 01/21/04 01/28/04 New Mutants #9 OCT031581 01/14/04 01/21/04 NYX #4 NOV031516 01/14/04 02/04/04 Ultimate Six #6 NOV031502 01/14/04 01/21/04 Weapon X #18 OCT031568 01/21/04 01/28/04 X-Treme X-Men #40 NOV031518 01/14/04 01/21/04 ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [15] HYPE! & LINKS Section Various THIS WEEK'S LINKS These are the website URLS to things mentioned in this issue: The regular items that are usually there every week or two: World Wide Web Home Page-->> http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet Yahoo Group CBEM http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ComicBookNetworkEmag WEB EDITION at -->> http://www.digitalwebbing.com/cbem Trivia sponsors: Discount Comic Book Service http://www.dcbservice.com Bill Cole Enterprises, Inc. http://www.BCEMylar.com That's Entertainment http://www.thatse.com News: Diamond Comics http://www.diamondcomics.com Marvel http://www.Marvel.com The PULSE http://www.comicon.com/pulse/ Comics Continuum http://www.comicscontinuum.com/: Newsarama http://www.Newsarama.com/ X-Fan http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/ Zentertainment http://WWW.zentertainment.com The Comic Wire http://www.comicbookresources.com/ DC Comics http://www.dccomics.com ICV2 http://www.ICV2.com The SCOOP! http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/ Alternative Comics http://www.indyworld.com/altcomics CrossGen Comics http://www.crossgen.com All The Rage http://www.SilverBulletComicBooks.com Lying in the Gutters http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/ Columns: Tim O'Shea http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com Paul Howley http://www.thatse.com X-Fan Reviews http://www.comixfan.com/xfan Paul Dale Roberts http://www.jazmaonline.com/ Richard Vasseur http://www.jazmaonline.com/ Craig Lemon http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com Rich Watson www.revampscripts.com/board/Rich_Watson.shtml Jonathan A. Gilbert http://www.twmgrafix.com Sarah Haslett http://www.HeroRealm.com Alex Ness http://www.Popthought.com New Comics Releases http://www.comiclist.com and the rest of the links this week: Portland Press http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=73195 TVLAND http://www.tvland.com/kitschen/kitschen.jhtml Inside Vineyland http://www.vineyland.com Humanoids www.humanoids-publishing.com Modern Tales Longplay www.moderntales.com Eisners www.comic-con.org World talk Radio http://www.worldtalkradio.com PV Comics http://www.pvcomics.com SHADOW www.spaceports.com/~deshadow/ DOC SAVAGE www.blackmask.com/page.php Blue Monday http://www.onipress.com/titles/titles.php?id=BM3 Los Angeles Film Critics Association http://www.lafca.org/ ______________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- - End of another Issue .. GIVE A KID A CCOMIC TODAY! What do you call male ballerinas?