500 MB Nyheder Direkte fra Internet 11

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ 500 MB Nyheder Direkte fra Internet 11 / 500 MB nyheder direkte fra internet CD 11.iso / start / progs / text / cbem-49.txt < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1996-03-08 | 71KB | 1,656 lines

------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE COMIC BOOK NET ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE - ISSUE NUMBER 49 ________________________________________________________________________ Our Web Page is now at http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet ------------------------------------------------------------------------ o \o/ _ o _| \ / |_ o_ \o/ o /|\ | /\ _\o \o | o/ O/_ /\ | /|\ / \ / \ |\ /) | ( \ /o\ / ) | (\ / | / \ / \ This publication is brought to you by the members of the premiere BBS network for the discussion of comics books and the people who create them, The ComicBook Network!!! Edited by: David LeBlanc [ComicBkNet@aol.com] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The ComicBook Network was founded by Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ________________________________________________________________________ T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1] On the Net ............................ David LeBlanc [2] Letters to the Editor ................. Your Page! [3] CBN Insider ........................... News, gossip, & rumors. [4] ASTRO CITY to launch new imprint!...... Kurt Busiek [5] SOME STUFF ............................ Nathan Bredfeldt [6] New Comics Shipping 3/12/96 ........... Bobb Waller [7] AMALGAMATIONS ......................... Jim Murdoch [8] RICH'S REVELATIONS..................... Richard Johnston [9] How to join ComicBook Network.......... BBS 101 [10] BBSes Linked into CBN.................. CBN node list [11] E-Mag Info: Submissions, Subscriptions, Back Issues, Copyrights ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1] On the Net by David LeBlanc Has everyone else in the Northeast had enough of the "winter from Hell?" The only good thing that came of this, no I am not into skiing, is that it forced me to replace my 25 year old snow blower and now I am the envy of the neighborhood with my new one. But I digress . . . Did you ever have one of those weeks where everything just fell together somehow? First in the mail the send-away X-Files #1/2 showed up. I like these deals from Wizard because they are reasonably priced and a pleasant surprise when they finally arrive. Next I found out I had overlooked something in Previews. Last month they asked for people to send in testimonies for their favorite comic store and the best reasons would win some cool stuff. Well I sent one in because my local guy is a real hero and guess who finished just outside the 3 prize winners, out of hundreds of entries? Heh, heh! Next, this week's loot from the comic store was exceptional with not only DC vs Marvel #4 wherein Peter David defeats the evil Ron Marz rather soundly, but Sin City TYB #2, FROM HELL #9 (Alan Moore is God), Starman, and a BIG surprise: Anne Rice's The Witching Hour #5 after what, a year or more? Also got a promo for Batman Black & White which is a MUST GET- trust me, I don't even buy any regular Batman titles, just ROBIN, but this project will be MINT! 20 stories in 4 issues all in Black and White by the top artists! So while I'm there the daytime clerk comes over and puts down RAI #2, #3, and #4 all in mylar in near mint condition. I had told him last week that those three issues were the only holes in my pre-Unity Valiant collection. He *asks* me what I want to pay, so I play heroic and say whatever you think is fair figuring I can always say no. He looks in the guide and says $12 for the lot. {SOLD!} I mean, "that's more than fair, thanks." Maybe that was *my* prize for the free plug in Previews? Now I am wanting one more item for this week's issue and what shows up but Rich's Revelations! It just was one of those weeks. If someone would just send me a check to pay for that snowblower! And I finally got the Web page organized the way I want it. We have added a couple more links from CBN member Kevin Nunn - Razor (London Night) and Sinnamon while (Catfish is under construction). I also added links to Jeff (INDY) Mason's lists of Pro Email addresses and Industry mailing addresses. If you haven't dropped by in the last week check it out. We have a *MONSTER* issue this time. Not only did Rich come through but Jim (Master of Comics) Murdoch gives a pretty good run down of who is who in the Amalgam Universe. Nathan Bredfeldt takes on Dark Horse in his SOME STUFF column. Kurt Busiek explains the new home of Astro City at a creator owned imprint being set up by Jim Lee. The CBN Insider has lots of bits o' news like the Marvel loss for the year, the UKCAC awards, another exclusive for Diamond, and more and as usual Bobb Waller details this week's comics you might find on your next visit to the local shop. Oh yeah, and we have a trivia winner and a *new* question in our letters page. BTW, we need your input so take a minute to drop a line to: David LeBlanc [ComicBkNet@aol.com] Editor The Comic Book Net E-Mag ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2] Letters to the Editor If you want to comment on this or any previous issue, want to offer something for us to publish, or just want to shamelessly suck up to the editor to try and get your name in print send Email to: ComicBkNet@aol.com Note: letters of comment may be used in future issues of the CBN E-Mag unless you specifically request us NOT to use them. +++++ My Valiant trivia question did not last as long as I thought it would, but it was a lot of fun, at least for me. Here is the gist of the guessing, and the correct answer: >What was the next series Valiant released after Magnus and Solar? From: 3dfw@qlink.queensu.ca (Wong Daniel F) To: ComicBkNet@aol.com Dear David, Thank you for informing us about the tragic death of Seaborn. I've seen his name kicking around some Valiant stuff I have and I'm saddened by his loss. Just reading the tributes to him made me realize how short and precious life is, and how it can be taken away from us at a moment's notice. The comic industry will undoubtedly feel the void left by him. I response to your Valiant question, I believe the answer is HARBINGER. Hope it's right and that I'm the first one........ Thanks for the email and I look forward to corresponding with you in the future. ----- From: 3dfw@qlink.queensu.ca (Wong Daniel F) To: ComicBknet@aol.com > Dan, > > You are the first, but that is not the right answer. Why do you think > > it is called trivia? > This will be the most frequent guess but it is incorrect. Care to try > again? Don't I get something for being the first??!??!??!? Initiative should count for something........ =) Okay okay - here's my second attempt: X-O Manowar. It was released in Feb 1992, five months after Solar was released. BUT....I re-read your trivia question, and if you want the next SERIES that was released in terms of a title and storyline and not necessarily as a separate comic on its own, it would be RAI. Rai's flip-book SERIES first came out in Magnus # 5 which came out in OCTOBER 1991, one month after the release of Solar # 1. I hope I can get away with (kinda) two answers - it depends on what you mean by 'released series'. Please don't think I'm trying to split my chances of winning by offering two answers - again, it depends on your definition of "released SERIES" Thanks for replying and giving me a second chance...... ----- From: 3dfw@qlink.queensu.ca (Wong Daniel F) To: ComicBknet@aol.com David, SORRY ABOUT THIS, but I just checked a price guide and I want to confirm that RAI is my answer. X-O Manowar came out one month after Harbinger so that makes that answer moot. I'm sticking with my assumption that RAI is teh title you're looking for. Sorry about all this hassle....hope I'm right and hope you're not peeved at me! Looking forward to hearing from you..... Dan Wong ----- From: geoffrie@teleport.com (Jeff Jelmeland) To: ComicBknet@aol.com At 01:21 AM 3/3/96 -0500, ComicBknet@aol.com wrote: >In a message dated 96-03-02 20:23:33 EST, you write: > >What was the next series Valiant released after Magnus and Solar? This is starting to get frustrating.....How about H.A.R.D Corps? You really have me going here, and I must admit that I am starting to just toss names out. The last one came from a friend that owns her own comic store, so I am really starting to get stymied. Hope this one works. ----- From: geoffrie@teleport.com (Jeff Jelmeland) To: ComicBknet@aol.com At 08:41 AM 3/3/96 -0500, ComicBknet@aol.com wrote: >In a message dated 96-03-03 01:54:37 EST, you write: > >What was the next series Valiant released after Magnus and Solar? Harbinger, from 1/92? Thanks for the hint. Out came the Overstreet annual, but I can't remember all the Valiant titles that were out in the early days so looking them up is bit more difficult. This one predates Archer & Armstrong though, which is the only other one I remember sitting on the shelves other than H.A.R.D.Corps from back then. From: 3dfw@qlink.queensu.ca (Wong Daniel F) To: ComicBknet@aol.com > Those Nintendo comics preceded the "Valiant Universe" titles. > Sorry guess again. Argh - you're making me pick my brian too much!!!! I'm not used to this much cerebral-work!!! Thank you for being patient and responding to my emails. BTW, out of curiousity, are there a lot of other ppl emailing you answers? Let see.....RAI came out 10/91, but I'm assuming you're not counting it as a series (although I could argue a case for it), X-O Manowar came out 02/92, Harbinger came out 01/92...the only other title I can possibly think of is the VINTAGE MAGNUS that came out in 01/92, the same publishing date as Harbinger, but maybe it technically came out earlier than Harbinger......VINTAGE MAGNUS.....that's my next guess. (pulling out my hair as I type) Dan ----- From: 3dfw@qlink.queensu.ca (Wong Daniel F) To: ComicBknet@aol.com > > BINGO! and the reasoning is exactly right. Though they both have the > same cover date, VINTAGE MAGNUS hit the stands first. > YESSSSSSS!!! Finally!!! many thanks for your patience and your quick replies!! You really had me picking at my brain and I think I lost sleep over this contest!!! A very tough question and a good one at that!! BTW, what did I win? Or is it a surprise? At any rate, just knowing that I FINALLY got the correct answer is rewarding...BUT I STILL WANT MY PRIZE!! Thanks also for your hard work for the CBN emailings - they really keep me up to date on the comic industry! Thanks again Dan _____ Dan will be getting a couple of "vintage" comics and a couple of surprises as well. I like this so much, here is another challenge: Give me the *exact title* of the very first comic published by Valiant. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [3] CBN Insider - News, gossip and rumors from around the industry 3/1/96 - From Matt High of Antarctic Press I confirmed earlier today that two more publishers have gone exclusive with Diamond Distributors beginning with books shipping in June 1996. These two companies are Archie Comics and Brainstorm Comics. That means that these comics will only be available to comic stores through Diamond Distribution (for the direct market) and no other source. So, here's the scorecard so far: Diamond Distributors: DC Comics Image Comics Dark Horse Comics Chaos Comics Wizard Press Acclaim Comics Maximum Press Crusade Entertainment Sirius Entertainment Broadway Comics London Night Studios Gemstone Publishing (Overstreet, Russ Cochran) Angel Entertainment Goblin Studios Archie Comics Brainstorm Comics Capital City Distributors: Kitchen Sink Press Viz Communications Coppervale Press TSR Steve Jackson Games Heartbreaker Paper Tiger It should be pointed out that 80-90% of Archie's comics are sold outside the direct market (i.e. in supermarkets, 7-11's, etc), so going exclusive is not a major move for the company as a whole. There have also been rumors flying around as to who's talking to who - and which company will be the first to break their exclusive deal. My money's on Crusade. Any other predictions? +++++ 3/3 Who is BATMAN's latest foe? According to this week's PARADE Sunday newspaper magazine it is Akrasid Amatayakul, the charge d'affaires at the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, DC. Well, not Batman really, but Andrew Vachss the author of _BATMAN: THE ULTIMATE EVIL_ a novel about the practice of child kidnapping for sex slavery in a fictional kingdom. Vachss has called for a boycott of Thai goods in retaliation for what he says is Thailand's tolerance of kiddie sex trade. Claims by Amatayakul that such a boycott would harm the poor who are the victims of this unjust boycott and that maybe the Thais would again read BATMAN, "once all of [Vachss'] misconceptions about Thailand have been dispelled." Sounds like he's threatening a boycott of his own. +++++ 3/6 I heard today that Dark Horse is finally issuing an ENEMY trade paperback in May, to go along with the TV show that is being shot as a pilot and will air on Fox this summer. And speaking of that, Check out the TV Guide for March 9-15, wherein the pilot is mentioned as one of many new projects in the works on page 41. +++++ Rich Johnston reports in his March "REVELATIONS" that Todd McFarlane has bought the remaining rights to the characters previously owned by Eclipse. The fact that those properties were sold is true, the announcement was made in the fan press to get bidders as part of the liquidation process. The auction was held on the 29th and one of the participants has the real scoop: From: ldeneault@aol.com (LDeneault) Date: 8 Mar 1996 To bring everyone (who cares) up to speed about what happened to Miracleman -- last Thursday, the 29th, Eclipse went up on the auction block. In addition to whatever inventory was left, the rights -- if *any* -- to Black Terror, Air Boy, and Miracleman were also being auctioned off. Also included in the sale was whatever production film was remaining. Involved in the auction on the East Coast were Marlowe, Broadway Comics, and a number of individuals. There were also a number of unannounced phone-in bidders from the West Coast and Arizona. (I stressed *any* rights because it was made very clear that Eclipse may not have had any remaining rights to the three titles -- the bidder would, in effect, be buying the right to pursue whether Eclipse had any rights.) To cut to the chase: everyone was outbid by Terry Fitzgerald. I hope this clears up some questions. Lawrence Deneault Editor, Graphic Novels Marlowe & Company **** [Terry Fitzgerald is on Todd's Director of Creative Development - D.L.] BTW it was reported in Comic Book E-Mag in Issue #39 that the *reprint* rights had been negotiated by Gaiman and Buckingham with Marlowe & Company. +++++ Partial list of winners of the annual awards at the UKCAC convention: Best Writer: Garth Ennis Best Artist: Steve Dillon Best Series: Preacher Best Writer-Artist: Frank Miller Best Publisher: DC Best Graphic Novel: Stuck Rubber Baby Best Reprint Graphic Novel: Tale of One Bad Rat Lifetime Achievement Award: Alan Moore +++++ From CSNsider # 455 (no, we can't reprint it) ...Wieringo will be taking over the art for Sensational Spider-man when Jurgens goes as well as the art on Avengers 400 by Mark Waid . . .Gary Frank will be joining Peter David on the new SUPERGIRL series for DC . . . Nexus fans will get a 6 issue mini "Executioner's Song" following the NEXUS/MADMAN crossover. . Some changes are in store for Professor X in the upcoming ONSLAUGHT arc from Marvel (I just read elsewhere that the mutants will be blamed for the disappearance of the "unfinished business" heroes to the Lee/Liefeld books from the regular Universe continuity and that will be the major emphasis of the MU without FF, Iron Man, etc.) ...DC's mini, Death the Time of Your Life, is only going to be 3 not 4 issues. +++++ Marvel has posted its earnings for the year, that is its losses: After accounting for the reserve, Marvel reported a loss for the year of $48.4 million or $0.46 per share, compared to net income of $61.8 million and $0.60 per share in 1994. Revenues for 1995, which for the first time included SkyBox, Toy Biz and a full year of Panini, were $829 million compared to $515 million in 1994. That is a swing of $110 million dollars in the negative direction in income while the revenue was up over $300 million! +++++ Marvel has lowered their prices beginning in May. All the Marvel Edge books and some Marvel Heroes have dropped to $1.50. Those books that stay $1.95 will now sport 40 pages. This does not 40 pages of story though, we get two more ads, some pin-ups and the Marvel bulletin. Most limited series will be priced $1.95 (Further Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix). Anniversary issues (Avengers #400 and Thor #500) will no longer have triple-gatefold-holofoil-three- dimensional-and-then-some covers, they will have normal covers, they are double-sized, and only cost $2.50. The average price for a marvel comic is now $1.81, while the average price for the whole industry is $2.41. All this info comes from the Mega-Marvel Catalogue for retailers. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [4] ASTRO CITY Returns in new Creator Owned Imprint! Date 3/2/96 Subj NEWS: Astro City Returns From Kurt Busiek I promised I'd be telling everyone the details of ASTRO CITY's return from hiatus just as soon as the details were concrete and announceable. Well, they're concrete now, so here I am. And here's the text of a press release that'll be going on Monday: Astro City Returns at the Forefront of a New Imprint San Diego, 3/2/96-- Jim Lee announced today a new imprint of creator-owned comics, to be published as Homage Comics, launching in August with the hotly-anticipated return of Kurt Busiek's Astro City. The new Homage Comics line will not be part of Image Comics, and will be solicited separately from the other titles published by Lee's WildStorm Productions. Homage Comics will be exclusively distributed by Diamond Comics. August marks twelve months from the release of Kurt Busiek's Astro City #1, in 1995, and six months since the release of the final issue in the popular title's first run. The new Homage Comics series will be numbered Volume 2, #1. Writer Kurt Busiek, artist Brent Anderson and letterer/designer Richard Starkings and Comicraft will continue on the series, joined by inker Will Blyberg, who has worked with Anderson on Anima, and who is Busiek and Anderson's first choice for the job. Interior colors on the relaunched series will be handled by WildStorm Effects. While Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol. 2, #1 doesn't ship until August, the launch actually begins in July with the publication of ASTRO CITY: LIFE IN THE BIG CITY, a trade paperback compilation of the title's first six issues. Also in July, WildStorm Emporium will solicit a poster of one of Alex Ross's cover paintings from the first six issues. "Homage Comics is something I've wanted to do for a long time," Jim Lee said. "I want to publish the best of the creator-owned projects out there. It was basically a matter of finding the right property to kick it off with, and we've done that with Astro City. Kurt's a great writer doing his best work ever on this series, and it's one of the real standouts of 1995. I'm thrilled to be bringing it back, and I'm sure it'll be every bit as good as it was -- or better!" Of his book's new home, Busiek said, "I'm delighted with this deal, and I'm very pleased to be working with WildStorm. We originally put Astro City on hiatus for schedule reasons. Working directly with Image Comics has been a ball, and I'd like to stress that in terms of creative freedom, control and support, it has easily been the best publishing relationship I've ever been in. But it's also been an enormous amount of work, as I found myself acting as writer, editor, packager, promotions and sales person, and so on. It's work I enjoyed doing, but along with the rest of my workload, it was extremely draining. So the thought of another publisher, who could take some of that work off my shoulders without taking creative freedom along with it was a welcome thought, and right from the start, talking with Jim Lee about bringing Astro City to WildStorm was relaxing and encouraging. Jim's a very smart guy, and he's been full of suggestions on how to promote the book better. At the same time, though, he didn't want me to sign over any rights I didn't want to give up, or add spin-offs or ancillary products that I just wouldn't want to do. Jim knows how important being in control of WildC.A.T.s has been to him, so he knows how I feel about staying in charge of Astro City. "So far, I've been talking with WildStorm managing editor Mike Heisler about the content of the book, since he'll be the one who'll be watching over us to make sure we get our stuff done on time and to encourage us to realize our own creative vision as best we can, and with Jeff Mariotte about the relaunch and promotion of the series, and I've got to say I'm delighted. I'm very confident in their dedication and their abilities, and I'm glad that I'll be able to concentrate on the creative end of things, secure that the business side is in good hands. "I'm also very flattered to be chosen as the series that'll launch an imprint. I'm glad Jim has this kind of faith in us, and I hope we'll be able to make Homage a terrific home for creator-owned work." Busiek went on to describe the direction Astro City will take at Homage Comics. "Astro City will relaunch with a single-issue story that details one eventful night in the life of Astro City, and examines the question, 'Why would people choose to live in Astro City, anyway?' We'll see the city under siege by a major, powerful, cosmic and evil force, with the heroes of the city rallied against it, a threat equivalent to the coming of Galactus or some other such cosmic danger. By following the events, news reports, public reaction and such, we'll get a portrait of the city that'll serve to introduce new readers to the concept of the series, showcasing various of the Astro City heroes from the cosmic to the street-level crimefighters, along with various established Astro City neighborhoods and bits of Astro City history. "Following that, we'll do our first two-part story, taking a look at the Astro City heroes on whom we've received the most requests for more information: The First Family. We'll learn about who they are, what their background is and how they fit into the Astro City world, all as seen through the eyes of Astra, the youngest member of the team. She's a third-generation superhero, and has grown up in the public spotlight all her life. What life is like for her and how she deals with the expectations that swirl around her will be at the heart of this two-parter. "With #4, we'll at long last get to the story that was originally planned to follow-up the first six issues -- a six-part "epic" about a young teenager who comes to Astro City with dreams of becoming a teen sidekick. How he tries to accomplish this, and what he discovers about himself and his dreams along the way, will be the heart of a story that sprawls through all the facets of Astro City that we've seen so far -- there'll be crime-fighting, aliens, social upheaval, political turmoil, mysticism, character origins, religion and more, and we're champing at the bit to get to it. "After that, the sky's the limit. We've got plans for stories about super-villains, talking gorillas, Astro City history, the personal lives of Honor Guard, Astro City's future ... I've literally got years worth of material planned for this book, and I'm confident we'll be able to keep it exciting, surprising and involving for a long time to come." Other titles in the Homage Comics line of creator-owned books will be announced soon. # # # That's the news. Thanks for your patience, all, and I hope you're as happy about this as I am. kurt ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [5] SOME STUFF by Nathan Bredfeldt The Dark Horse Dichotomy A cheer shot through my very soul when I read in this very E-Magazine that Walt Simonson's Star Slammers would be returning to print this summer! S.S started with a Graphic Novel at Marvel, then saw 4/5ths of a mini series with Malibu's ill fated Bravura line; not it is off to Dark Horse, to finish the mini off! That means all good Bravura books have found a new home, except for Edge. At that moment of discovery, I would have hugged any Dark Horse employee I could get my hands on. Fortunately, none were around. Dark Horse was once again my knight in shining armor, saving a good comic from disappearing forever! Then reality conked me on the noggin. I began to wonder if Dark Horse really did deserve my undying praise. It was amongst the pioneers of the mainstream independents, and for that I had always respected them. But, over a decade has passed since Dark Horse's pioneering days, and they are a far different company than they were back then. Let's take a look: Dark Horse has access to many great licenses. Sadly, many don't show up any more. It's been too long since we've seen a good solid story featuring Aliens, Predators or James Bond. They are doing a good job with properties like Godzilla and Indiana Jones, too many others have just been tossed by the wayside. Speaking of wasted opportunities, is it me or does Legend have rather minimal output? Considering the imprint includes 7 big name creators, I'd expect something regularly from someone other than Miller and Allred. (Byrne and Addams, this means YOU!) Another lackluster section of the Dark Horse universe is the Comics Greatest World department. X was satisfying me just fine, but when the last issue was solicited, and when Mask: World Tour came out, I started noticing what a great little world Dark Horse had managed to build, and how little of it they were using. They can do better than 2 titles a month! Dark Horse went exclusive; a mark against them. I'm upset at each and every company that went exclusive. Of course, the man at the helm did promise that exclusivity would keep prices down. It hasn't happened. Most DH titles are up to $3 each (especially starting may). That's more than most big companies charge for 23-25 page comics. And these comics have no special covers, coloring, paper, or anything. They're just standard $2.25-2.50 comics with $2.95 price tags. They did manage a $1.95 price for the GI Joe comic (with a page count similar to $2.95 ones) but I doubt we'll see that any time soon. Dark Horse's reprint TPB's are also overpriced, often to the extent that back issues would be cheaper than the book. One final good and bad, and it's time to conclude! Good: No gimmicky covers, crossovers, or promotions. We fans don't need any more of those, with prices being what they are. Also, no bad girls. That's always a big plus. Bad: Star Wars. It went too quickly from a never-produce-a-stinker line of comics, to Rouge Squad, a bunch of novel to comic translations, and an endless supply of Jabba the Hutt one-shots...yawn. So, Dark Horse has some good things going on, and some shortcomings. I think they even out, and end up making Dark Horse an average company; worse than their above average rating of years past, but better than the multitudes of of below average companies out there. Next Week: The bad girl comic that went too far... (Nathan Bredfeldt can be mailed questions, comments and/or disagreements at ComicBkNet@aol.com) ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [6] New Comics Shipping 3/12/96, by Bobb Waller Well it's a job that calls for someone really stupid.. and I'm just the guy to do it! Here is the highly inaccurate always incomplete and probably just dead wrong, list of what is scheduled to ship 3/12/95! Abstract Studios: Alaffinity Comics: Strangers in Paradise #10 Greymatter #10 Acclaim Comics: Bad Eggs #2 Eternal Warrior:Fist & Steel #2 Killer Instinct #1 Turok Dinosur Hunter #46 Archie Comics: Archies Spring Break Special #1 Betty & Veronica #100 Betty & Veronica Digest #81 Flintstones #10 Little Archie Digest #16 World of Archie #19 Big Entertainment: Primortals #15 Wheel of Worlds #1 Black Eye Productions: Broadway Comics: Land of Nod #1 Shadow State #3 Claypool Comics: Comic Shop News: Soulsearchers & Company #16 CSN #456 CSN Spring 1996 Preview Coppervale: Cosmic Comics: Starchild:Crossroads #3 Rock N Roll High School #2 Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Insider #4 Dark Horse Presents #107 Dominion Conflict 1-No More Zoise #1 Ghost #12 DC Comics: Adventures of Superman #534 Batman & Robin Adventures #6 Batman:LODK #8? Batman:SOTB #50 Books of Magic #24 Fate #18 Impulse #13 Invisibles #20 Justice League Task Force #34 Legionnaires #36 Life the Universe, and Everything #1 Mad Super Special #112 Mister Miracle #2 Preacher: Gone to Texas TP Ray #23 Shade:TCM #70-Final Issue Static #35 Steel #26 Vertigo Verite: The System #1 Drawn & Quarterly: Full Bleed comics: Peepshow #9 Pitt TP Fantagraphics: Gemstone Publishing-R. Cochran: At Work & Play w/Bitchy Bitc Crime Suspenstories #15 Lout Rampage Frontline Combat #4 Zero Zero March April 1996 Haunt of Fear #15 Gladstone/Hamilton Comics: High Impact STudios: Donald Duck Adventures #38 Raptus #2 Image Comics: Backlash #18 Bone #23 Crush #4 Cybernary #5 Deathblow #25 Gen 13 #9 Lethal #1 Maggie the Cat #2 Newmen TP Savage Dragon #26 Spawn #44 Strikeback #3 Union #9 Wildcats #27 Marvel Comics: Ghost Rider 2099 #25 X-Nation 2099 #3 Cosmic Powers Unlimited #5 Fantastic Four Press Poster #221 Thor #498 Ghost Rider #73 Adventures of Spider-Man #2 Amazing Spider-Man #411 Untold Tales of Spider-Man #9 Generation X #15 Magneto Press Poster #223 Prof. Xavier & The X-Men #7 X-Factor #122 X-Men:Askani'son #4 Barbie #65 Doctor Who Spring Special Foxfire #2 Street Fighter Value Pack Maximum Comics Press: Mushroom Entertainment Group: Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck #3 Araknis #4 Sleeping Giant Comics: Slave Labor Graphics: Death By Chocolate Ghost Ship #1 Starlog Group: Topps Comics: Baywatch Magazine #2 Goldeneye #3 Mars Attacks #6 Viz Communications: Bio Booster Armor Guyver: Pt Four #5 Fist of the North Star: Part Two #5 Maison Ikkoku:Part Five #5 Manga Vizion V2#3 One-Pound Gospel #1 Riot #6 Rumiko Takahashi's Rumic Theatre Street Fighter II Animated Movie Comic Other STuff: There's Treasure Everywhere: Calvin & Hobbes HB & TP Doctor Who Series 3 Foil Box (Cards) Will Eisner Sketchbook Star Trek:The Return I said I was stupid, now I prove it... I'm installing Windows '95! Why I paid $70.00 for a virus when I could of bought more comics I'll never know! See ya on the spinners! ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [7] AMALGAMATIONS by Jim Murdoch Here is a list of Amalgamations for each of the DC/Marvel titles this week. All I'll be doing is telling you what parts came from what universe. Spoilers may be included. ----- Amazon #1 by John Byrne and Terry Austin. The basic premise is the X-Men's Storm, Ororo Monroe, as Wonder Woman. The fear of drowning is similar to Ororo's fear of enclosed spaces, from when she was buried alive as a child. The saving of drowning children is something the amazons did in Perez's WW, notable Julia Kapatelis. The Amazons: the Contest referred to in the letters page follows the Artemis storyline from last year in WW. Other references to current Wonder Woman continuity have been skipped, since I don't read it. ----- Assassins #1 by Dan Chichester, Scott McDaniel and Derek Fisher. Catsai is Elektra crossed with Catwoman, Elektra Kyle. Dare is Daredevil crossed with Deathstroke and a sex change, Slade Murdock. The experiment that "toughened her body but took her sight" is a combination of the two origins. Deadeye is Bullseye crossed with Deadshot, two killers who "never miss," but usually do. Catsai's skewering of him is a nifty turn on Elektra getting killed by Bullseye. Arkham Tower -- Arkham Asylum plus Fisk Tower. Enigma Fisk- The Big Question- Kingpin plus Riddler. New Gotham is New York plus Gotham City. Lethal is KRaven the Hunter mixed with Cheetah. Jimmy Urich is Jimmy olsen plus Ben Urich. Dr. Strangefate is Dr. Strange plus Fate, duh! Nathan Chase, Wired, is Chase Lawler, the new manhunter, plus Cable. Elektra Kyle grew up on the streets of Cairo? That's part of Storm's origin. J. Jonah White of the Gotham Bugle is J.J. Jameson plus Perry White, and the Bugle is one of New York's top papers. The letters page has fake letters written by amalgams of some of the more prolific letter hacks of today. Other letter page amalgams: Frank O'Neil and J.M. Wolfman. The references to real world comics creators is left as an exercise. Smilin' Stan Schwartz? Mr. Lee and Julie would have thought Amalgam was a great idea. Winterstick: Deathstroke's Wintergreen plus Daredevil's Stick. Dare's daughter Jericha, Mutant Titans, and the "Mutant Hunt" storyline refer to events in the New Titans, where Deathstroke killed his son Jericho in the Titans Hunt story. Terra-X is another Titans reference. Age of Doomsday? 2099's After Doom arc? ----- Bruce Wayne, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 Chuck Dixon, Cary Nord, Mark Pennington Lord Green Skull, leader of Hydra? Part Red Skull, part Lex Luthor. Bruce Wayne, agent of Shield. No, I'm not gonna type out all the periods. The man who was Batman now leads Nick Fury's old outfit. Selina Luthor is Catwoman crossed with the Viper. Yes, that's two Catwomen. There are several characters that are re-used in Amalgam. There's Nick Fury, he's much older here. Parents assassinated by the Skull's agents: Batman's parents, and Spider-man's. Sgt. Joe Rock? But his name's Frank, unless they're referring to the combat happy joes of Easy company. Tony Stark's in a support chair, but not yet Iron Man. The Bat-Girl is Barbara Gordon, the Huntress. The other guy is Dick Grayson, Moonwing. Moon Knight plus Nightwing. Baron Zero is Baron Zemo plus Mr. Freeze. Deathlok in his Cyborg suit. When George perez created Cyborg for the New Teen Titans, he based his look on Deathlok, who was created by Rich Buckler. George was Rich's assistant at the time the original Deathlok series came out. Nuke using Venom is the supersoldier from Daredevil's Born Again plus Bane. Deathlok was Jason Todd, who filled in for Dick as Moonwing, and was killed by the Jackal. A Death in the Family, anyone? Would anyone else like to have seen references to Sgt. Rock and his Howling Commandoes or Sgt. Fury of Easy Company? ----- Bullets and Bracelets #1 Amalgamation Report John Ostrander, Gary Frank, Cam Smith, creators. Trevor Castle is Steve TRevor, with the Punisher's background. Diana Prince, Freelance, is a nod to Mike Grell's Jon Sable, Freelance. I have no idea why she carries a bow. Vs. the Hand, Marvel's ninja group. Wakanda is the source for Vibranium in the MArvel Universe. Jim Rhodes, Monarch, is War Machine with the bad DC character thrown in. Boom Tube is standard Apokolips Kirbytech. Granny Harkness: DC's Granny Goodness runs the Apokolips orphanage, and Marvel's Agatha Harkness was Franklin Richards' nanny. Big Titania: Big Barda plus Titania from the Secret War. Secret Crisis: a combination of the first two Really Big Crossover Series. Thanoseid: Darkseid crossed with his pale imitation. Just how many times has Jim Starlin ripped off Kirby for this design, anyway? Infinity Links: Infinity Gems/Gauntlet + Anti-Life Equation. The back in time/killed by your own parents is stolen from the Legion's Great Darkness Saga/Darkseid's Curse. All Highfather Odin of New Asgard is Thor's dad plus Izaya of New Genesis. Most of the Apokolips stuff is directly equivalent to Jack Kirby's New Gods saga. ----- Subject: Amalgam! dr. strangefate Lots of Amalgamations, so this will take some extra space. Ron Marz (ick), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, and Kevin Nowlan. Abominite: Abomiation + Hellgrammite. Dr. Strange + Dr. Fate + the new Fate for the good Doctor. There's one more character here, but that's for later. Myx is Mr. Mxyzptlk plus Wong. Bruce Banner, Skulk is Hulk and Solomon Grundy. Jade Nova is Green Lantern plus Nova, Frankie Raye and Kyle Rayner. Wanda Zatara, White Witch is (deep breath) the Scarlet Witch, plus Zatanna, the name is from LSH's White Witch, and her personality is from her sister Dream Girl. Mephisatanus = Mephisto + Lord Satanus,Superman villain. Baron Wotan = Baron Mordo + Wotan, DC sorcerer. Dr. SF's Towers is a cross between the Sanctum Sanctorum - with funky window- and the Salem Tower of Fate, with Egyptian stuff. Nabu the Ancient One is an amalgam of the two mentors of the originals. Ooh, Charles Xavier walks. No wonder he wants to keep this universe. :) Letter page: Clea Stevens, indeed! ----- Subject: Amalgam! jlx AAAH! Way too many characters. Lots of spoiler Space. Mark Waid, Gerry Jones, Howard Porter, John Dell. JLA- Judgment League Avengers Hawkangel: Hawkman and Archangel Captain Marvel: Billy Batson and Mar-Vell Dark Claw and Super-soldier have their own books. I'll do them there. Canary: Black Canary and Mockingbird Hawkeye is Clint Barton in Green Arrow's costume. Goliath is Ollie Queen in Clint Barton's costume. JLX - no idea what it means, but it's the X-Men and JL Task Force. Firebird: Fire and Phoenix Nightcreeper: Nightcrawler and Creeper Apollo: Ray and Cyclops Wraith: Obsidian and Gambit Runaway: Gypsy and Rogue Mercury: Impulse and Quicksilver Mariner: Aquaman and Namor Mr. X: seems to be part Professor X. More later. Professor Kang: Prof. Zoom + Kang Marco Xavier is Mr. X, and that was one of the aliases of the Martian Manhunter. Will Magnus created the Metal Men in the DCU, and the Sentinels here. Jocasta was an Avenger, and has Platinum's personality here. Martian Manhunter is now Martian and Skrull, with Bishop's tattoo. Letter page: Lots. Sunstorm: Sunspot and Firestorm Metamimic: Mimic, Metamorpho. Extreme Works= Extreme Justice and Force Works. Brotherhood of Injustice: Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Injustice Society/Gang. Ms. Tique is Mystique, but I can't get the DC part. Dark Claw foe Warlord Gh'ul: Ra's al Ghul plus ??Marvel part. Mariner created by Evertt Williams (Bill Everett). References to "King" Kurtzberg and Thunder Man. Don't ask what Lord Nimrod and X-tremists are supposed to mix. Most likely just Marvel stuff. On the Amalgamnation page, M.M Carwald is Mike Carlin and Mark Gruenwald. ----- Subject: Amalgam! dark claw It's Batman and Wolverine. Larry Hama, Jim Balent, and Ray McCarthy Hyena is Joker and Sabretooth. Sparrow is Jubilee and Robin, with a Harbinger logo. Carol Danvers as the Huntress? There was already a Huntress in BWAOS. I'll have a separate post with all the errors in it. Professor Carter Nichols, old Batman friend ran the Weapon X project? Hines and Cornelius are from the BWS Weapon X story. Secret Security agent Sanderson is Peter Sanderson, who makes my knowledge of trivia seem minuscule in comparison. Letter page: John Jones, Vampire Hunter? Prince Namor, the Aqua-Man? No communication here. Ah, here's Sgt. Fury of Easy Company. I think there's a few more, but none I could see. My god, there's a lot of these. ----- Magneto and the Magnetic Men #1 Gerard Jones, Jeff Matsuda, and Art Thibert Kokoro is Psylocke and Katana. Mephisto's Apokolips? I thought Thanoseid ran the place. LAtkovia is Latveria and Markovia. Doom and the outsiders. the magnetic men are the metal men and the original brotherhood of evil mutants. cobalt is either lead or gold and mastermind nickel is mercury and quicksilver iron is iron and blob bismuth is tin and frog antimony is platinum and scarlet witch Sinistron is: Mr. Sinister (check the forehead), Ultron, and Hawk (cape) Erik magnus is Magneto and created the Magnetic (Metal) Men Will Magnus created the Sentinels (JLX) I have no idea who the five mutants that were brainwiped are. Letter page: Age of Apokolips. Mutantfall. If you can't figure out what these story lines are, you haven't been reading comics for the last 5 years. M'Kryptaan crystals- nice touch. JLA #51 is mentioned as the first Nightcreeper story, that issue of the DC JLA featured the Creeper. Star International is STAR Labs and Stark/Stane International. ----- some nice touches here. Speed Demon #1 Mackie/Felder, Sal Larroca, Al Milgrom (who does a good job for once) Hal Jordan of the Starbrand Corps. Hal was/is Green Lantern. The Starbrand came from the New Universe and was a GL rip to start with. Uatu of the guardians. The Watcher as one of the Guardians of the Universe. PArallels abound to the Emerald Twilight/Zero hour stories. Speed Demon is Johnny Blaze, Barry Allen, Jason Blood, Flash, Ghost Rider, and Etrigan all smooshed into one. Bad rhyming by the writers. Etrigan is much smoother at this. Miss Miracle is Crystal and Mr. Miracle. PUck is Oberon and Puck. Blob is Blob and Chunk. Blaze Allen is the Speed Demon. So where's John Barry? The rhyme for changing is almost the same. instead of the Kirby pentagram, he changes in the Ghost Rider insignia. DYN Rintrah in the background? Father Hellstrom is the Son of Satan. Night Spectre is Spectre and Nightmare. In the tubes: Mr. Sinister (again!), SuperSkrull, Jor-El?, the Leader Unknown, L to r, top right Iris, bottom right ?? Green Goblin is also part Two-Face. Scarecrow is both Marvel and DC's versions. Siliconman is Sandman and Plastic Man. Arrowcaster is Speedy and ??? Hawkeye? What other archers does Marvel have? Jay Garrick is the original Flash, but where did this come from? Two pages later is my answer. Jay Garrick is Jason Blood in the Amalgamverse. The New Speed Demon is Wally West crossed with Danny Ketch. ----- Subject: Amalgam! spider-boy Flags: Read This one is insane, and probably the best book. KARl Kesel, Mike Wieringo, and Gary Martin. Spider-boy is Spider-man and Superboy. Bizarnage is Bizarro and Carnage Tom Harper is the Guardian Angel. Jim Harper was the Guardian. Anyone know the real name of Marvel's GA Angel? Challengers of the Fantastic is the Challs and the FF. Red-Johnny Storm Rocky-ben Grimm Prof-Reed Richards Ace-Sue Storm, Agent of SHIELD King Lizard is Lizard and King Shark. Dr. Palmer is the Atom Dr Connors is the Lizard Dr Pym is Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Goliath/Yellowjacket/Dr. Pym DR Octavious is Dr Octopus Fantasti-Wagon is the Fantasticar and the Whiz Wagon. Uncle Gen - General Thunderbolt Ross is Ben Parker as well as Gen. Ross. Operation RE-birth was the original experiment that created Captain America. Ka-Zar's Skartaris is the Savage Land and the Warlord's realm mixed. "Computo" indeed! Professor Yatz and his matter transformer are part of the Creeper's origin. Spider-boy's song is sung to the tune of the original TV cartoon. NYSCU Team: Captain Makoa, Superboy's police contact. Flash Thompson, Spider-Man's friend. Roxy Leech, from Superboy. Brooklyn Barnes is Bucky Barnes and Terrible Dan Turpin. The Young Commandoes are the Young Allies and the Boy Commandoes. King Lizard's look is based on Fin Fang Foom. Phantom-Negative Zone Projector, Invisible Force-Field Belt, and Mother Cube are mixings of tech. Phantom Zone projector and Negative Zone Portal Sue's invisible force field and Brainiac 5's belt Mother Box and Cosmic Cube Mary Jane Watson as Insect Queen! Her line is a direct swipe from MJ's first full appearance. All the Cadmus stuff is from Jack Kirby's Jimmy Olsen stories. ----- Subject: Amalgam! super-soldier Mark Waid. Dave Gibbons. Captain America. Superman. WAY cool. The Space Rocket landed in 1938, as did the first issue of Action. Super-soldier serum plus solar radiation = powers sources. Jimmy Olsen? Wasn't he mixed with Ben Urich? Ultra-Metallo is DC's Ultra-Humanite and Metallo, with Marvel's Sleepers. Green Skull is Lex Luthor, also seen in Bruce Wayne, Agent of SHIELD. Sharon Carter is Lois Lane! The spineless worm crack is a direct quote from an early Byrne issue. It seems Jimmy olsen is also Bucky. And a signal watch! Letters: Simon Shuster and Kirby Siegel should be easy to figure out. Otto Sternbyrne is Otto Binder, Roger Stern, and John Byrne. All-Star Winners Society: All-Star Squadron, All-Winners Squad, Justice Society. ----- Subject: Amalgam! x-patrol Last one! X-Patrol is also the most convoluted, so bear with me. Barb and Karl Kesel, Roger Cruz, Jon Holdredge X-Patrol is X-Force and Doom Patrol, with lots of Teen titans thrown in. Elasti-Girl is Elastic Girl, Domino, and the Wasp Shatterstarfire is Shatterstar and Starfire. Her "'Zal" is a mix of "Za's Vid" and "X'Hal" Beastling is Beast and Changeling (originally Beast Boy) Ferro-Man is Robotman and Colossus, with the origin of Ferro Lad from the Legion. Dial H.U.S.K. is Gen X's Husk plus Dial H for HERO. Tamojoran is Tamaran and Mojoworld The Spider-boy flashback remind me of the Sword of the Atom miniseries. Hank Logan's origin is the same as Changeling's. Wonder Girl is Wonder Man with Troia's starfield costume. Niles Cable is Cable and niles Caulder, the Chief of the Doom Patrol. Brother Blood is a Titans bad Guy. Mr. Immortus is Mr. Sinister for the third time plus General immortus. Doctor Doomsday is Victor von Doom, who crossed alien DNA with his own. Polaris is from X-Factor, but the costume is Dr. Polaris's old one. Mary Marvel Girl is Mary Marvel and Marvel Girl. ----- Subject: Amalgamistakes There are plenty of mistakes here. The most obvious one are where multiple Amalgamations of a single character appear. Jimmy Olsen in Super-Soldier Jimmy Urich in Assassins Scarlet Witch in Strangefate Quicksilver in JLX According to Magneto and the Magnetic Men, they're both dead. Mr. Sinister in Speed Demon, X-Patrol, and Magneto. Two Huntresses, in Dark Claw and Bruce Wayne. Cable in Assassins and X-Patrol. Did every title take place in New Gotham City? Some did, others were in Gotham City, some were in New York. And bad, bad rhyming in Speed Demon. This is a great sin. ----- Subject: Amalgam!! good points It had to have some, so let's name them: Tributes, nods, and riffs on some of the great stories and situations of past comics. Lots of Legion references. Some good stories, and some good art. Not necessarily on the same book. A quick rundown of the books, with recommendations. Amazon: Average story, poor art for Byrne. For Wonder Woman/Storm fans only. Assassins: Average story, decent art. Grim and Gritty Nasty Girls don't do it for me. Bruce Wayne, Agent of SHIELD: Average story, decent art. bonus for having Sgt. Rock. Bullets & Bracelets: Story was good the first time I read it, bad scripting, great art. Worth it for the art alone. Dr. Strangefate: Crappy story, great art. Just look at the pretty pictures. JLX: Average story, decent art. Neutral, but it's got Impulse, and it swipes the cover of X-Factor #1. Legends of the Dark Claw: Fair story, good art. Wolverine fans only. Magneto and the Magnetic Men: good story with a bad ending, art is good for that style. Mutant fans will love it. Speed Demon: Bad story, good art. Reads like an average Ghost Rider story. Flash fans should pass. Spider-Boy: Great story, great art. Not just cool, it's GOOFYCOOL! A Must buy. Super Soldier: Very good story, great art. Could have been better. X-Patrol: Average story, better-than-Leifeld art. X-Force fans only. Happy? Next week is DC vs. Marvel #4, where things go back to normal. Jim, Master of Comics smiv@primenet.com ... Well I'll be superamalgamated! * Origin: The Diamond Bar BBS, San Dimas CA, 909-599-2088 ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [8] Rich's Revelations.... All the news that's print to fit... These are Rich's Revelations after a great weekend at the UKCAC! Attendance was down but fun was up! I met people I haven't seen for ages, put faces to email addresses, was on a panel on comics and the internet, and ended up in bed with a rather nice blonde. Not a bad convention actually. Anyway, news/rumour time. As always, its always alleged. Believe what you want, disbelieve what you want. Take as much salt as you fancy. Right, here we go. Swamp Thing is being cancelled, as Mark winds up the book, playing heavily on past continuity, as the place of Swamp Thing in the world is settled, Arcane returns, and we get the origin of John Constantine. The book will be replaced with a series of mini series by different writers and artists. Both Alan Moore's Swamp Things and Sandman are going to be reprinted by DC/Vertigo in individual issues, each priced at 99c. [DC's Bob Wayne saw this and quickly responded: Rich - That's incorrect. The "Essential Vertigo" reprints of SANDMAN are priced at $1.95 each, including the 48-page first issue. We haven't made a final pricing decision on SWAMP THING. - D.L.] Grant Morrison is ill, suffering from a collapsed lung. Steve Pugh will be drawing Garth Ennis' Saint of Killers. Mark Millar is writing/has written a book about Superman originally landing in the USSR. Naturally he's called Stalin (The Man of Steel), and he is used to as the USSR's main weapon of destruction. Todd McFarlane has bought Eclipse Comics for $40,000, primarily for the rights to publish Miracleman. But has he got what he wants? Dez Skinn says that he has an original contract with Eclipse that throws this in doubt. With many clamouring for the rights, including Mick Anglo's niece, Todd McFarlane had better have a big cheque book. Oh, wait a minute... he has, hasn't he? I wouldn't be surprised if Todd gives Eclipse to Larry Marder as a birthday present, or something. Judge Dredd: Lawman of the Future is dead. Missing your copies of JLX in Britain? Because of a "production error" from DC, the Amalgam books had to be reprinted, and while DC and Diamond worked fast and close together, all the British copies of JLX ended up in Seattle. They'll be here this week though, and as the only Amalgam available this week, they'll sell fast! Neil Gaiman has signed a book deal for a new novel and a reprint of short stories for a cool million pounds. Fabian Nicieza is all set to take over Bob Layton's position at Acclaim. Why isn't Phil Hall allowed to talk about X-Men/ClanDestine? Alan Davis is still going on about Bryan Hitch. Sigh. Onslaught seems to be Dark Professor X, and the fight between X-Men and Onslaught is due to reduce the X-Men to their essentials in the battle, before the Marvel world is split asunder and Marvel heroes are sent tumbling to a new universe where men have large breasts. However, the first mention of Onslaught was when Juggernaut fell from the sky with "Onslaught" on his lips... but wouldn't Cain Marko recognise his own brother as "Charles" or "Xavier" or "that bald bastard"? When Onslaught was created... the creators didn't know who he'd be... Anyway, the X-Men will be blamed for the disappearance of FF, Cap A, etc, and so there will be more mutant angst, etc. John Byrne takes on New Gods from issue 12. More Diamond drops? Tripwire, a UK fanzine has dropped from 660 copies to 76 copies from one issue to the next. Ouch! Forbidden Planet financial reorganisation? Gillian Anderson was in London... and in the same hotel that many guests and fans were staying at. Could she have chosen a worse time and place to visit London, guaranteeing contact with hundreds of drooling fanboys? Judge Dredd movie bits. Did you know that casting demanded actors that were under 5'6"? And that Sly wore 5 inch heels? Things to look for... Sly's wobbling temples in the locker scene, the set reflected in Dredd's helmet at one point, showing Mega-City one to be some scaffolding 1 and 1/2 stories high, and radio mikes visible on people's necks. More stories behind the Lee/Liefeld shennanigans? From Marvel's side. Jerry Caliabrese joined Marvel from the print industry but without a comics background, and from day one he didn't have time to ask questions, just to make decisions. Noting the high points of Marvel, Spider-man 1, X-Men 1, X-Force 1, he instigated the deal with Lee and Liefeld, and Liefeld on the verge of bankruptcy, took it. May be he should have asked "which sells better, Avengers? Or Team Youngblood", and the fact that the many popular Wildstorm comics sell perfectly well without Jim Lee, may have something to do with it. Marvel's short termism sees the first few issues of the books selling very highly indeed, instead of planning for years in advance. Lee and Liefeld may be happy with their $100,000 advance each, but the root of their acceptance goes deeper. Back in the Marvel days, they battled over who was better, faster etc. Amicably, but a battle nonetheless. Jim Lee is quite happy to do his books because he believes he'll show he can outsell Liefeld on a one to one basis. And he'll win the bet of $1. And Marvel's short termism? DC discussions during the crossover showed that while DC discussed work in 1997 and 1998, the Marvel plans weren't than well laid, more about 2 or 3 weeks. The fact is that job security is so low there, that planning is pointless. Mind you, the Lee/Liefeld scenario is seen as just the first step in licensing characters, whether editorial duties of the characters themselves. Heroes World is being seen as a failure by most. It may end up with Marvel just shipping comics UPS, without Heroes World. Top comics that if you haven't bought, you should be buying. Sleaze Castle, from Gratuitous Bunny Comix, soon to be solicited through Capital. The funniest sci-fi comic you'll ever read. Six Degrees, in your handy copy of Previews. A reworking of the Jamie Bulger case, fascinating, absorbing, and reminiscient of Hellblazer. Memory Man, a related title to Six Degrees, because the creators are friends and give each other comics. A very good superhero comic, set firmly in reality and unreality. The fight scenese are like bar brawls and the characters as weird as in Savage Dragon, with a overwhelming feeling of mundanity. Too gorgeous. And, I s'pose, I should plug Dirtbag 6, now solicited, too. Picked up loads of pieces for it at the UKCAC, there really are some damn fine creators out there. Grap a Previews or Advance Comics and look up Twist and Shout Comics. Warren Ellis continues to expand. We had a chat at the bar, in which he managed to buy me a drink without paying for it. I proposed the possibility of a pregnant Rahne, Phil Hall said that I was a pathetic fanboy, and Warren said that if he ever did such a thing, she'd carry it to term, and the child would have blue fur. Heh. Preacher wiped the floor at the UKCAC awards, winning Best New Title, Best Writer, Best Artist and more. Fleetway did nicely, and Stuck Rubber Baby won best graphic novel. Dez Skinn is Ian Hislop. Piles of pages of Judge Dredd/Batman by Glenn Fabry were available. Away man, it looks absolutely gorgeous, but it's been a time coming, eh? And the blonde? That would be telling... That was the Revelations that was! This column may be reproduced anywhere, with this piece added: Richard Johnston (twist@mail.ctscgroup.co.uk) writes, draws and publishes Dirtbag and X-Flies, available to order from your local comic shop. I thankyew. Richard Johnston Copywriter back in work! Creator and Publisher of Dirtbag and X-Flies as Twist and Shout Comics. Reviewer and Networks contributor for Comics International, and reviewer for Indy. Dirtbag 6 is available now in Previews and Advance Comics 0 (1144) 1865 775236 ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [9] How to join the COMIC BOOK NETWORK You too can enjoy the intelligent conversations and informative threads that occupy the conferences of the Comic Book Net every day! However, many people who read this e-mag aren't familiar with the Local BBS echo-mail system.... Bulletin Board Systems are scattered everywhere across the continent and the world, many of them are free! Chances are, if you have a modem you have the accompanying communications software. Using the Terminal Emulation software that came with your modem, you can dial up one of the many systems linked into CBN (see the listings down a few paragraphs). Most of the boards offer all the message echoes in the Comic Book Network... There are message bases devoted to all the bigger comics publishers, as well as big Small Press and Independent message bases, not to mention sections for general (doesn't even have to be about comics!) conversation. If you are worried about long distance charges, worry no longer! Most if not all the BBS's offer a mail service from which you can download a .QWK packet of recent e-mail to read offline with a program called an offline mail reader. You can read & write messages at your leisure, and then upload your own messages & replies the next time you call your local BBS. There are many .QWK packet readers out there, for every type of computer system. They all give you a better explanation in their documentation than I can. These programs are available all over the Internet and are free to download from most BBS's. I recommend SLMR or OLX-TD for DOS to get started. These "mail runs" (dialing up, downloading the mail packet and uploading replies) generally take less than 5 minutes to accomplish, and at the average after-5pm/weekends/holidays long distance phone rates, that is LESS THAN $.75! See? Even less expensive than many of the commercial information services available! :) So what else can you find on free BBS systems? There are plenty of files for specific types of computers. Some systems also offer other types of message networks ranging from general topics to specific themes like sci-fi, role playing, games, music, etc. And, let's not forget online games. Join into the many different multiplayer games, each system sports different challenges. There's nothing like becoming the most powerful being in a online adventure! And when you _do_ log on, leave a message in The Bullpen conference to ALL, and introduce yourself to us! You're guaranteed to get plenty of replies and all the help you need to join in the fun! ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [10] BBSes Linked into CBN Here's the most up-to-date node listing for the COMIC BOOK NETWORK F=FIDO Q=QWK B=Both *=Major HUB -- ARKANSAS ------------------------------------------------------------ F* Karate & Comics & ... Russelville AR 501-968-3910 Robert Wood Conway PC Users AR 501-329-7227 Tim Stone -- CALIFORNIA ---------------------------------------------------------- Q Freedom Flight Victorville CA 619-955-6445 Ronald Siodla Electronic RPO Newbury Park CA 805-498-8061 Kelly Cruise -- FLORIDA ------------------------------------------------------------- F Never Never Land Melbourne FL 407-253-8754 Wayne Bell Steel Dog Cafe Destin FL 904-654-1631 Keith Schultz Ghost's Realm Crestview FL 904-689-6664 Kie Dorton -- ILLINOIS ------------------------------------------------------------ F The Chess Board Grand Prairie TX 214-641-1136 Ken Givens -- INDIANA ------------------------------------------------------------- F The CyberSpace BBS Indianapolis IN 317-856-9020 Charlie Smith -- KENTUCKY ------------------------------------------------------------ Lex Corp Georgetown KY 502-867-0992 -- MARYLAND ------------------------------------------------------------ B* CBN SuperHub Frederick MD 301-874-6020 Mike Imboden F The Vampyre Bar! Frederick MD 301-698-5194 Darryl Pierce F DataStorm Kettering MD 301-390-5243 Tarek Gordan F Bifrost Mount Rainier MD 301-779-9381 Kevin Carlin F Womens World East BBS Silver Spring MD 301-431-0647 Wendy Dumser F Sherata's Realm MechanicsvilleMD 301-884-2796 Linda Peek -- MASSACHUSETTS ------------------------------------------------------- F Archives BBS Acushnet MA 508-995-0085 John Viera F Muskrat & Heatwave New Bedford MA 508-984-5321 Dennis Racine B* Keystone BBS Shrewsbury MA 508-753-3767 John Harris F HellFire BBS S. Dartmouth MA 508-979-8930 Brock Cordeiro B Call Again Soon Worcester MA 508-791-1281 Joe Johnson -- MICHIGAN ------------------------------------------------------------ F Intl. Comic Network Dearborn Hgts MI 313-565-8464 Anthony Palacio -- MISSOURI ------------------------------------------------------------ F The Oan Citadel Grandview MO 816-767-1488 Brian J. Stewart -- NEW HAMPSHIRE ------------------------------------------------------- Venom's World Rollinsford, NH 603-749-5599 -- NEW JERSEY ---------------------------------------------------------- -- NEW YORK ------------------------------------------------------------ Asgard TW BBS West Islip NY 516-422-4225 Tom Pemberton Interzone BBS Long Is. City NY 718-786-5557 Jim Garvin F Starbase : Red Dwarf Saugerties NY 914-247-9601 John Dragun -- NORTH CAROLINA ------------------------------------------------------ F Electronic Hangover Durham NC 919-286-4542 Richard Lee F Psychotronic Durham NC 919-286-7738 Richard Lee F* TI-Raliegh Maximus Raliegh NC 919-833-3412 Walter Tietjen F Crystal Winds Raliegh NC 919-790-3599 Mike Gurkin F Federal Post Spring Lake NC 910-436-2055 Frank Koza -- OKLAHOMA ------------------------------------------------------------ Compumate Tulsa OK 918-628-0887 Danny Pelletier F Snart's Dreamland Collinsville OK 918-371-0980 Jeff Bennett F The Dreaming World Broken Arrow OK 918-451-3056 Greg Adkins -- PENNSYLVANIA -------------------------------------------------------- F Comic Book Board Philadelphia PA 215-365-5225 William Horton -- TENNESSEE ----------------------------------------------------------- -- TEXAS --------------------------------------------------------------- Razor's Domain ][ Edinburg TX 210-631-5159 Kevin Nunn Q Way Out There Dallas TX 214-680-2755 Justin Pasher F The Chess Board Grand Prairie TX 214-641-1136 Ken Givens B* FIAWOL/MSConnections Irving TX 214-790-6472 Bobb Waller F Star Streams Waxahachie TX 214-938-7115 Michael Rudolf -- VIRGINIA ------------------------------------------------------------ B Crystal Aerie Arlington VA 703-415-1130 Spencer Greenwald -- WASHINGTON ---------------------------------------------------------- -- ONTARIO, CANADA ----------------------------------------------------- F Dark Knight BBS London ONT 519-850-9929 Michael Cross F MACH 1 BBS London ONT 519-457-6771 Tomasz Heiber Stargate:Above & BeyondLondon ONT 519-472-4938 Paul Nicholas -- MEXICO -------------------------------------------------------------- B* The Gate BBS Mexico City 52-5-264-2994 Emilio Karam - From USA, dial international-access 011 then 52-5-264-2994# ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [11] E-Mag Info The Comic Book Net E-Mag is published by the many participants of The Comic Book Network. This is a compilation of articles and columns which were originally posted in the network's conferences or written specifically for this electronic magazine. Some articles are independent of any connection with CBN and are used with permission. All text contained within is copyrighted to the originating author(s). You may freely distribute or duplicate intact without alteration for noncommercial purposes only. Please do not distribute except as the complete file as originally transmitted by The Comic Book Net E-Mag THE CBN WEB PAGE ---------------- 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 an annotated index and all back issues. You'll also find important information on how to join the conversation in the Comic Book Net, and other neat features like newly release comic book graphics, links to lists of Comic Book Company addresses, Comic Professionals Email addresses, and other Comic Book Web pages! The URL address is: http://members.aol.com/ComicBkNet LOCATING THE ISSUES ------------------- The latest issue is always available from all the systems linked into The Comic Book Network. You can also find the back issues at America Online, by going to Keyword: Science Fiction, scrolling to the menu item _ Comic Book Forum_ and then going to the Comics Library from there. Most issues should also be available on Compuserve, Genie, Channel1 BBS and Software Creations BBS as well as other non CBN affiliated Bulletin Board Systems. All back issues should be available at the above sites, as well as our World Wide Web page. SUBMISSIONS ----------- To submit an article, review, column, etc to our e-mag, simply post it in any Comic Book Net conference and leave me a message in the CBN: E-Mag conference giving me permission to use the article. If you cannot access the Comic Book Net, submit your articles for consideration to the editor at: ComicBkNet@aol.com Reviews of mainstream books are least likely to get included when submitted from sources outside of CBEM. We give more consideration to reviews of indies and self published material as we feel that material deserves more exposure to the general public. Commentary on the state of the industry, and personal observations and reflections related to comics are *most* likely to be included in our publication. We also accept product for review purposes. Advanced copies of comic books will not be returned but anything sent to us will be reviewed in the ComicBook Net Emag. Send all material to: David L. LeBlanc 84 Heather Circle Jefferson, MA 01522 SUBSCRIPTIONS ------------- If you wish to receive these issues automatically through your internet account, please address a message to ComicBkNet@aol.com to be placed on the subscription list. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - End of another Issue .. see ya in the funny papers!! NEXT: GALA 50th Anniversary Issue! Why doesn't my 1-900 psychic know my name & Visa number?