________________________________________________________________________ Visit Our Web Page! http://www.cris.com/~Xenozoid/ComicBkNet.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ / THE \ \C O M I C/ Issue #34 This publication is brought to you \B O O K/ by the active participants of \N E T/ Sunday the international center for \ / November 6th, comic book discussion, the Comic *E-Mag* 1995 Book Net. !!! - Editor: Ryan Brewster [Xenozoid@cris.com] - CBN Network Administration Team: - Ed Dukeshire - - Mike Imboden - - William Hughes - - Ryan Brewster - - Jacob Greenberg - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Comic Book Net Founding Fathers: Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ________________________________________________________________________ T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1] The Bullpen ........................... Ryan Brewster [2] CSNsider #439.......................... W. Batty & C. Biggers [3] Comicunications ....................... Ryan Brewster [4] 25th Hour ............................. Mike Imboden [5] Parting Shot .......................... Jacob Greenberg [6] Generation X: The Movie ............... David LeBlanc [7] November's Top Companies .............. David LeBlanc [8] New Comics 11/7/95 .................... Bobb Waller [9] Splash Page ........................... Various [10] FICTION: The Ring #1 .................. Ryan Brewster [11] Join in the Fun! [12] BBSes Linked into CBN [13] E-Mag Info ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1] The Bullpen by Ryan Brewster No, there's nothing wrong with your email account or anything... this issue is about 3 days late.. :( Things have sort of settled down on the net, some old threads are dying out and new ones are starting up now, so now's a good time to hop into the net. I decided to include the Collaborative Fanfic title The Ring in this issue. The Ring #1 is written by me... #2 will be written by Mike Imboden, #3 by someone else, etc. etc. The idea is that the writer writes one, self-contained story in which his hero (or villain) finds the ring, uses it, and at the end, loses it. The next issue will pick up with THAT writer's hero (or villain) finding it, and so on and so forth. I am including it in the e-mag because: frankly, we could use some _stuff_, and it will give the writers more incentive to get their issues out. It took me a good 3 weeks to write my issue! :S The CBN APA is going back to its regularly-planned quarterly schedule, to make it easier on us writer/drawer guys. :) If you wanna join in the CBN APA, send an e-mail to e.dukeshire@genie.com asking him about it. The Comic Book Net is coming closer and closer to the Internet! Remember, my deadline for bringing the net to the 'web is January 6th!!! Best, --Ry Editor The Comic Book Net E-Mag Xenozoid@cris.com ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2] CSNsider #439, by W. Batty & C. Biggers This is the CSNsider #439, which will be in shops on 11/16/95. It is reproduced in its entirety wwith the expressed permission of COMIC SHOP NEWS! WildStorm Studios has postponed the release of their WildStorm Collectible Card Game until early '96... And speaking of Image-related card delays, Caliber's Youngblood Collectible Card Game Series designed in conjunction with the PowerCardz system has also been delayed, most likely until early '96... Crusade, publisher of Shi, has announced that Diamond will be their exclusive distributor beginning in January of 1996... George Clooney has tentatively agreed to play the role of the Green Hornet in an upcoming film... Colleen Doran suffered a recent eye injury that forced a delay in the release of her acclaimed fantasy series A Distant Soil; she suffered corneal burns when she inadvertantly put isopropyl alcohol into her eyes instead of her eye drops. Everything's fine now, she assures her fans, and she is busily working to return ADS to a regular schedule... Extreme Studios' next major multi-title crossover story arc, Extreme Destroyer, begins in late January and continues through February; as a part of this story arc, NewMen will be replaced with a four-issue miniseries, New Force (but NewMen will return with its regular numbering at the end of the miniseries run)... Newsweek ran a very flattering full-page story about Mike Richardson and Dark Horse Comics in its October 30th issue... Armada expands its collectible-card-game-inspired comic book offerings in January with the debut of Mutant Chronicles: Golgotha, a series based on the role-playing game Mutant Chronicles, which was the inspiration for the card game DoomTrooper; each of the first four issues will contain special DoomTrooper game cards that will not only be useful to players, but will also directly relate to the upcoming Mutant Chronicles movie from Ed Pressman Films... Big Entertainment, parent company of Tekno Comix, has announced an agremeent to offer novls based on some of its comic book series, including Leonard Nimoy's Primortals and Gene Roddenberry's Xander... SkyBox's January-release Batman Master Series Cards offers more than just a lot of stunning artwork; the painted-card series also features an original Batman story on the back of the cards, written by Batman veteran Doug Moench... The long-rumored debut of licensed Stephen King-inspired comics is very close to reality; look for an announcement in the very near future... And speaking of Stephen King, Bernie Wrightson is reportedly involved in the adaptation of King's The Mist to film... Michelle Pfeiffer reports that the Catwoman film is still in the works, although no date has been set for production to begin... Look for the Spider-Man/Ben Reilly storyline to reach its ultimate resolution next spring... This may sound like dull business news, but it could have an impact on the comics field: the Justice Department has reported that it will launch an anti-trust investigation into the newsprint industry to determine the reasons behind the incredible increases in paper prices in the past year and a half (and those increases were the primary reason behind recent price increases from most comic book publishers)... CSN #439 features Green Lantern/Silver Surfer from DC and Marvel Comics on the cover as well as more news, reviews and the CSN Charts. The CSNsider is now available via e-mail! In order to subscribe to CSNsider, send a message to majordomo@redweb.com, with a single line message saying: SUBSCRIBE csnsider Visit our WWW site! http://www.actwin.com/csn We post the new CSNsider there each Monday and it will go out via e-mail each Wednesday or Thursday. The WWW site is still the first place it will appear each week, but we wanted to offer it via e-mail as well. The only way to get Comic Shop News is to visit a shop that carries CSN. The publication costs the shops just a dime each and is generally free to customers. If your shop doesn't carry CSN, nag 'em until they do. After all, isn't your business and satisfaction worth a dime a week? Ward Batty wardo@netdepot.com Cliff Biggers cliffbig@netdepot.com (c)1995 CSN, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Transmitted by . . . úúúúÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍ*David LeBlanc> ComicBkNet@AOL.COM david.leblanc@mailtrain.com RIME->15 FIDO 1:322/743.1 ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [3] Comicunications, by Ryan Brewster [From: Imajyn's ComICunications] [To: The Comic Book Net] LATE BREAKING COMICS NEWS! [Re: Sip Your Comics ] [Date: 10/30/95 ] --- World Comics, publisher of "Coffee World" and "Toe Jam", is producing a line of coffee blends based on coffee-themed comic books. The Too Much Coffe Man Blend is based on the comic by Shannon Wheeler, and boasts a strong dose of caffiene. The Javatown Blend is based on the comic by Scott Saavedra (published by Slave Labor), and boasts a mix of different blends to reflect the title's taste in coffees... The Strangers in Paradise Blend is based on the comic by Terry Moore, and will be represented by a good everyday coffee blend. The Coffee World Blend from World Comics will also be an everyday coffee blend, and other comic publishers are lining up to have their blend produced. The comic-based coffees will be blended by Portland-based Bridgetown Coffee Roasters, and will be available in 1/2 and 1-pound bags for $4.95 and $9.95 respectively in comic specialty stores and select coffee shops this December. [Re: Fantagraphics Personnel Changes ] [Date: 10/31/95 ] --- Seattle, Washington-based Fantagraphics Books has expanded its promotions and marketing department after Tammy Watson, the former Director of Promotions & Marketing, resigned. Watson's assistant, Chris Jacobs, and former Comics Journal News Editor Eric Reynolds will head the department. Reynolds will act as the Director of Promotions & Marketing for Direct Sales while Jacobs will perform the same duties fo the Mass Market/Book Trade. Additionally, Art Director Jim Blanchard has left Fantagraphics to devote more time to freelance work and his own company, Beef Eye. He will continue as the inker on Peter Bagge's Hate comic book. Former Dark Horse production staffer Mark Vick will assume many of Blanchard's responsibilities. [Re: Hate Gets Generous ] [Date: 10/31/95 ] --- Peter Bagge's popular comic book, Hate, will add four extra pages of comic material with no cost increase beginning with #20. The paper stock will remain the same as well. Hate recently jumped to full-color in #16. [Re: Have your Meat Cake and Eat it, too ] [Date: 10/31/95 ] --- Dame Darcy, cult favorite cartoonist (whome Courntey Love recently cited as "a f#@king genious"), is coming out with another issue of Dame Darcy's Meat Cake #5 in January. In April of 1996, Fantagraphics will publish Meat Cake #0, a reprint of the out-of-print Iconographix issue published in '93. A sixth issue should see print sometime next summer. [Re: Biologic Show Ressurected in Jan ] [Date: 10/31/95 ] --- Al Columbia, author of The Biologic Show (which lasted 2 issues, #0 and #1), is reviving the comic for a third issue. When he had finished the initial miniseries, a short 8-pg 2-color story was printed in the August issue of the Fantagraphics anthology Zero Zero. It was so well recieved that it inspired Al to churn out another issue's worth of Biologic Show material. The 32 page, two-color Biologic Show #2 will be released in January 1996, with a cover price of $3.95. Columbia is also currently working on a novel-length story based on The Biologic Show's characters. [Re: Image Introduces 99› Titles ] [Date: 10/30/95 ] --- Image Comics will join the latest fad in comics to introduce reprints of Cyblade #1 and Cyberforce #1 for _99›_. The reprints will ship in February. Image says they will be reprinting other sold-out Top Cow comics as a response to the growing movement among fans and retailers for lower prices. [Re: Strikeback! is Back ] [Date: 10/31/95 ] --- Image Comics will soon be reprinting the so-far-published run of Pederson and Maguire's Strikeback!, formerly published by Malibu's Bravura. A Strikeback! special will then be released by Image, concluding the story. [Re: Moondog's opens Boutiques ] [Date: 10/30/95 ] --- The new FYE (For Your Entertainment) music and video store in Trumbull, Connectecut added a comics "boutique" in September. The comics department is the result of an alliance between Classics International Entertainment (parent of the Moondog's chain of comic shops) and Trans World Emtertainment (parent of the FYE, Record Town, Tape World, Coconuts and Saturday Matinee chains). Two more boutiques, in Albany and Rochester, NY, are set to open before Christmas, with up to 100 of the little buggers to be integrated by the end of 1996. [Re: Wendy Pini Returns to Elfquest] [Date: 10/30/95 ] --- Wendy Pini will pencil the final three issues of Elfquest: Shards, beginning with issue #14. This is the first time she has pencilled any interior art since she collaborated with John Byrne for Elfquest: Hidden Years #9 1/2 in November '93. [Re: Exiles Includes UltraForce ] [Date: 11/6/95 ] --- Malibu Comics has announced that the entire story of Ultraforce #1 will be reprinted in the All New Exiles #1. According to Malibu President Scott Rosenberg, Malibu "felt that the reproduction of some of the pages was not up to [their] standards". The UltraForce insert will bring the total page count of The All New Exiles #1 to 64 pages, but the price for the issue will remain $1.50 as solicited. Terry Kavanagh wrote and Ken Lashly drew The All New Exiles #1, while Warren Ellis wrote and Steven Butler drew Ultraforce #1. Document Copyright (c) 1995, by Ryan Brewster ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [4] 25th Hour, by Mike Imboden Ok, we've all been bantering about Hulk/Superman and Captain America/Batman... But there's more than those two fights. Here now are my predictions for the upcoming battles. Flash vs Quicksilver Having the Speed Source gives Wally the big edge. Even with out it, though, I tend to think Wally was faster than Pietro. Winner: Flash Score: DC - 1, Marvel - 0 Thor vs Shazam Thor _IS_ a god... Shazam just has the powers of some. The Thunder God gets the nod here. Score: Tied, 1 -1 Robin vs Jubilee I can't figure out the rationale behind this one. Robin is obviously the better fighter, but Jubes could whack Tim with one of her flash burts. If Robin comes prepared, he'll win. Score: DC - 2, Marvel - 1 Sub-Mariner vs Aquaman No contest. Namor has the edge over Arthur in every department. Score: Tied, 2 - 2 Green Lantern vs Silver Surfer Kyle is no Hal. And even Hal was no Norrin. I tend to think the entire GL Corps would be needed to beat a man with the Power Cosmic. Score: Marvel - 3, DC - 2 Elektra vs Catwoman This one puts me in a quandry. By all rights, Elektra is dead. But putting politics and promises made to Frank Miller aside, I'll pretend this is the same Elektra from way back. And if that's the case, all the acrobatic, cat burgling skills in the world aren't going to help Selina in this one. Score: Marvel - 4, DC - 2 Batman vs Captain America It all boils down to who's willing to kill the other man. Neither one will give up and cry "Uncle" that much can be for sure. Both men have been called the best hand to hand fighter in the world and so we'll have to consider this one a draw until the point where one or the other has a decision to make; Kill or be killed. Or, more aptly, cripple or be crippled. I don't think Cap has the kahunas to step over the line. Batman does. Expect a Rocky II like ending here, with Cap starring as Apollo Creed. Score: Marvel - 4, DC - 3 Hulk vs Superman A lot of people are giving the edge to Hulk. Maybe they aren't following the current story, though. Hulk gets mad, Hulk turns into "puny Banner". Hulk is also much less powerful than he was when he could let his rage fuel his strength. Sure he's still one of the toughest hombres in the galaxy, but he's not in Superman's league anymore. Savage Hulk, yes. Current Hulk, no. Superman wins when Hulk turns into Banner after getting ticked off. Score: Tied, 4 - 4. Superboy vs Spider-Man A somewhat odd pairing. I take it as a big clue. Superboy is a clone, correct? Thus, the only thing in common is that they are clones. But wait, you say. It was revealed Spidey was the REAL deal. Yeah, so? They lied. This battle of clones could go either way. Spider-Man by virtue of experience. Score: Marvel - 5, DC - 4 Wolverine vs Lobo Two of the meanest bastiches in the galaxy. Logan's healing powers are still on the fritz, aren't they? That could factor in. Lobo has already been killed and neither Heaven nor Hell want him, so he can't die. Naturally, popularity dictates Logan wins in a blowout. Logic might say different. Score: Marvel - 6, DC - 4 Wonder Woman vs Storm Diana can whup Ororo hand to hand, but Storm has her weather commanding powers to deal with. An intersting match up, I have to side with Double-you-squared. Score: Marvel - 6, DC - 5 Overall winner, Marvel 6 wins to 5. And you all thought I hated Marvel. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [5] Parting Shot, by Jacob Greenberg Hi All. Sorry you haven't seen my column in a couple of weeks, but I haven't gotten any new comics in a while. My topic for today is bargain buying. Because of the increase of the prices of comics, even the minor collector will want to acquire new habits for finding their issues. A couple of weeks ago I was going to get my Halloween costume at The Great American Party store in my hometown, Hillsdale, N.J. I noticed that they started a comic section (seems some high-level exec- utive thought that comic books made good party bag fillers. I walked over there just to check out what they had, not expecting anything more than a couple Archie and Disney comics. Actually they did have alot of them but that's not the point. It was made up mostly of DC Year 1 annuals. I checked out a couple, found the Robin one very educational. On the rack next to Robin, I honest to god found 4 Gen13 #1 variable covers. And under that I saw 3 X-Files #1. It was an understatement that I grabbed 'em as quick as I could, bought 'em for cover price, and drove away. Boy, did I get a strange look from the cashier for buying 4 of the same comic. This tale is proof that in weird places you can find scarce comics for cheap prices. Other good places to look are Drug Stores, Toy Stores and large bargain stores like Kmart and Walgreens. Just the other day I was filling a prescription when I found 2 great comics that were on my FIND list for cheap price. This is how they compare to the cover prices. 1 Double Flip Issue: Fantastic 4 Unplugged #1 $1.95 Cover Price Untold Tales of Spider-Man #1 $0.75 I got it for Generation X # 5 $1.95 Cover Price $1.25 I got it for "The bargains are out there..." Jacob ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [6] Generation X: The Movie, from David LeBlanc This is 2 weeks old and I am supervised no one else has commented on it yet: HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - New World TV and Marvel Films will begin production later this month on ``Generation X,'' their first live-action Marvel Comics title for Fox Broadcasting. The project, written by Eric Blakeney (``21 Jump Street''), is derived from the popular ``X-Men'' spinoff comic about youngsters with mutant super-powers, and could pave the way for an ongoing movie franchise or possibly a drama series. Matt Frewer will star as the villain. Fox also is developing a live-action feature version of ``X-Men,'' one of the most popular animated series on the Fox Children's Network. The telefilm is scheduled to air in January, and New World already is developing two Marvel titles as possible followups, in addition to ``Generation X'' sequels. David Goyer is writing a movie based on the ``Nick Fury'' comics; Mel Friedman and Christopher Cosby are scripting ``Black Widow.'' The project, which begins shooting in Vancouver later this month, represents the first live-action Marvel TV production since series versions of ``The Amazing Spider-Man'' and ``The Incredible Hulk'' premiered in 1978. ``Spider-Man'' lasted just one season and ``Hulk'' ran until 1982. Reuters/Variety Reut 10:52 10-12-95 PLEASE note, the live action X-MEN is *in development* it is the Gen-X project that will be out in January. Matt Frewer is the former MAX HEADROOM and the lead in Doctor Doctor. úúúúÄÄÄÄÍÍÍÍ*David LeBlanc> ComicBkNet@AOL.COM david.leblanc@mailtrain.com RIME->15 FIDO 1:322/743.1 ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [7] November's Top Companies, by Matt High From AP's Matt High INFO: Sales Statistics for November 1995 Date: 28 Oct 1995 01:49:18 GMT Organization: Antarctic Press Here are sales figures for comics from the latest Diamond Dialogue. ------------------------------- MARKET REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 1995 (Diamond) The following is a list of the top 20 comic companies and the top 150 comics for the month of November 1995. This inform- ation is from the November edition of Diamond Dialogue, published monthly by Diamond Comic Distributors. (Diamond supplies the direct market with all products except those produced by Marvel and related companies). Rank Publisher Sept. 1995 Oct. 1995 Nov. 1995 1 DC *32.93% *34.05% *32.79% 2 Image 25.21% 21.90% 20.85% 3 Dark Horse 6.33% 8.72% *10.76% 4 Topps 2.99% 3.27% 3.18% 5 Acclaim 3.19% 2.86% 2.60% 6 Wizard 2.63% 2.17% 2.53% 7 Harris .94% 2.37% 1.75% 8 London Night Studios .66% .59% 1.29% 9 Tekno Comix 1.35% 1.28% 1.28% 10 Viz Communications 1.41% 1.15% 1.28% 11 Maximum Press 2.34% 1.49% 1.25% 12 Sirius 1.23% 1.18% 13 Verotik .86% 1.14% 14 Chaos! 2.03% 1.76% 1.00% 15 Antarctic Press .91% .84% .93% 16 Dynamic Forces .83% 17 Comico .82% 18 General Media .88% .76% 19 Father Tree Press .56% .70% .66% 20 Kitchen Sink Press .46% .52% .56% Everyone Else 12.69% 12.31% 12.56% Publisher Top 100 200 300 Top-seller (and rank) DC 49 77 82 Batman #526 3 Image 33 36 36 Spawn #39 1 Dark Horse 8 21 24 Star Wars Heir #2 12 Archie 18 Archie #444 224 Acclaim 15 15 X-O Manowar #59 116 Viz 3 10 Ranma 1/2 IV #11 173 Antarctic 1 10 Shotgun Mary #2 112 London Night 5 8 Razor Uncut #17 148 Tekno Comix 7 7 Primortals Origin #1 110 Fantagraphics 1 6 Eightball #16 191 Topps 2 4 5 X-Files #12 4 Father Tree 4 5 Elfquest Kahvi #2 183 Comico 3 5 Elementals #4 181 Verotik 4 4 Igrat #1 106 Brainstorm 1 4 Vamperotica #9 200 El Capitan 4 Stray Bullets #2 260 Academy Comics 4 Robotech Sent Swims #1 269 Harris 2 3 3 Vampirella Mystery #0 45 Caliber 1 3 Kabuki Circle Blood #6 159 Gladstone 1 3 Uncle Scrooge #296 179 Kitchen Sink 1 3 Cherry #18 198 Entity 3 Nira X III #1 203 Gemstone 3 Vault of Horror #14 218 Maximum Press 2 2 2 Avengelyne Power #2 19 Sirius 1 2 2 Dawn #3 14 Chaos! 1 2 2 Evil Ernie Hell #2 42 Millennium 2 Wicked Leather #0 212 Diamond 2 Batman vs Pred II #1 234 Cosmic Comics 2 Caged Heat 3000 #1 240 Slave Labor 2 Scarlet Thunder #1 270 Broadway 1 1 1 Powers That Be #1 85 Bongo 1 1 1 Simpson's Comics #14 96 High Impact 1 1 Double Impact #5 102 Blackout 1 1 Hari Kari #1 122 Aardvark-Vanaheim 1 1 Cerebus #200 156 Absolute Studio 1 1 Strangers in Para #8 189 Lightning 1 Hellina Wicket Ways #1 204 Redline Comics 1 Tainted Blood #1 229 Eddie Campbell 1 Bacchus #7 237 Art and Soul 1 Tug and Buster #1 243 Heritage Coll. 1 Shiloh The Devils #9 248 Bishop Press 1 Sade #1 250 Castle Graphics 1 Danger Girls #1 252 Abeogenesis 1 Tales From the Bog #1 261 I Box 1 Thieves and Kings #8 262 Jitterbug Press 1 Coven of Angels #6 264 Wizard 1 Wizard Promo #52 271 Taliesen 1 Starchild #14 288 AD Vision 1 Dragon Pink vol. 2 #1 290 King Hell 1 Rarebit Fiends #15 295 Chrysalis 1 Rare Breed #1 300 ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [8] New Comics 11/6/95, by Bobb Waller Man this week was small. On the bright side, I got the Gaiman CD today. Anyway onto the list: ############################################################################ Acclaim Comics: Eternal Warrior #49 Magic the Gathering: Wayfarer #4 Secret Weapons: Playing with Fire #1 Turok the Hunted #1 Archie Comics: Arche Andrews WAY Digest #104 Betty #33 Hanna-Barbera Presents #2 Pals-N-Gals Double Digest #16 Sonic the Hedgehog Presents Knuckles TMNT Year of the Turtle #1 Art & Soul Comics: Tug & Buster #1 Blackout Comics: Bad Girls of Blackout #1 Annual (Limited Edition) Broadway Comics: Powers That Be #1 Claypool Comics: Soulsearchers & Company #14 Cosmic Comics: Caged Heat 3000 #1 Crusade Comics: Shi Senryaku #2 Dark Horse Comics: CUD Comics #1 Oh My Goddess Part 3 #1 X #20 DC Comics: Action #717 Aquaman #16 Azrael #12 Batman: Dark Knight Gallery #1 Batman: The Last Arkham TP Book of Magic #20 Catwoman #28 Damage #20 (Final Issue) Darkstars #38 (Final Issue) Deathstroke #55 Egypt #5 Green Arrow #104 Guy Gardner Warrior #38 Hardware #35 Invisibles #16 Joker - Devils Advocate HC GN Judge Dredd #18 (Final Issue) Lobo #23 Millenium Fever #4 Pinky & The Brain Xmas Special Robin #24 Sandman #73 Star Trek: TNG Annual #6 Star Trek:TNG Ill Wind #2 Superman/Toyman #1 Underworld Unleashed #3 Vertigo Voices: The Eaters #1 Gemstone Publications-R. Cochran: Two-Fisted Tales #14 Vault of Horror #14 Weird Fantasy #14 Hamilton Comics: Uncle Scrooge Adventures #36 Walt Disney Giant #3 Harris Comics: Vampirella Classics #5 I Box Publishing: Thieves & Kings #1 2nd Printing Thieves & Kings #8 Image Comics: Alliance #3 Angela TP Backlash #13 Bloodstrike Assassins #0 Glory #6 Groo #12 Maxx #20 Ripclaw #1 Spartan Warrior Spirit #4 Stormwatch #29 Supreme #0 Supreme #31 Vogue #1 Wildcats #24 Wildstar #2 Krause Publications: Sports Card #January 1996 Maximum Press: Avengelyne Power #1 Battlestar Galactica #4 Redline Comics: Tainted Blood #1 Slave Labor Comics: Johnny The homicidal Maniac #2 Skeleton Key #5 Tavicat Comics: Reality Check #1 Tekno Comix: Teknophage #8 Topps Comics: Jason vs. Leatherface #1 Mars Attacks #3 X-Files #10 Viz Cummunications: Maison Ikkoku Part Five #1 Manga Vizion Vol. 1 #9 Ranma 1/2 Part Five #1 Riot #2 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Hmmm... Looks like Underworld Unleashed is going out with a whimper... See ya on the spinners! bbwaller@iadfw.net is Bobb Waller Sysop of FIAWOL-BBS Dedicated to both Fandom and empowering the disABLED ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [9] The Splash Page! Call Dark Knight BBS! (519) 850-9929 - KnightNet, CLIBNet, Comic Book Net, FIDONet, DoorNet, Trans-Canada Net, and networks from England like GLASSNet and U.K. FIDO - message areas connected to the U.K. - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - 1.2 GIG of HD of files and messages - files direct from Seth "Able" Robinson's (writer of LORD) BBS in Oregon - files direct from LucasArts Entertainment BBS in California - files direct from England - beta test site for SymSoft software - some 60 online games and programs to choose from - more than can ever be written here! Call today! ----- ------ |- -||- -| | | | | | ---- | | ---- | I K E E B A | | | |------| -| |- | ------ | |----| | | |-| O M I C S | | | | --- | -----| | Advance Order Comic Service |---------| * Competitive discounts on all new comics as well as related merchandise like posters, videos, t-shirts and so forth. * No hidden costs or fees. * Weekly, bi-weekly and monthly shipping available. * Everyone gets something nifty FREE each month. * Conveniant text (ASCII) order form. * Free PREVIEWS and MEGA MARVEL. Log on to The Daily Planet BBS (301-831-8057) for more information Here's the Top 25 comics shipping this month based on orders to Hikeeba Comics. 1 POWERS THAT BE #1 2 SOVEREIGN SEVEN #7 3 AZRAEL #12 4 BATMAN & ROBIN ADVENTURES #3 5 CEREBUS #200 6 FATHER & SON #3 (of 4) 7 GREEN LANTERN #70 8 GREEN LANTERN SILVER SURFER 9 IMPULSE #10 10 STRANGERS IN PARADISE #8 11 SUPERBOY #23 12 STAR WARS HEIR TO THE EMPIRE #2 (of 6) 13 STARMAN #15 14 COVEN OF ANGELS #1 15 DAWN #3 (of 5) 16 FLASH #109 17 GREEN ARROW #104 18 HARDWARE #35 19 ICON #33 20 KURT BUSIEKS ASTRO CITY #4 21 PREACHER #10 22 ROBIN #24 23 SANDMAN #74 24 STATIC #31 25 TUG & BUSTER #1 ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [10] FICTION: The Ring #1, by Ryan Brewster FIRST, a little bit of explaination: The Ring is a CBN Collaborative Fanfic title. As such, anybody who is on CBN, in the Fanfic conference, may participate. The general idea is that different writers write the different chapters in this ongoing saga chronicling the voyages of the small device which is impossible to keep hold of, yet impossible to lose. A chapter begins with a character finding the ring. How that character discovers the ring is up to the author of the chapter to come up with. The chapter must end with the character losing the ring. Thus, each chapter is a story within itself. The ring's powers wear off over the course of a few hours after it is removed. The shock of removal often imbues the character with an in- credible surge of power before the powers die down. Sometimes, this surge destroys them. Chapters may be written by anybody in the CBN: Fanfic conference. There is no limit to the length of a chapter, just keep it within reason, and there is no length requirement. This collaborative fanfic is intended to get mind juices flowing and assist in the creative process. The Introductory story to The Ring was published in the CBN E-Mag in issue #30 in the Splash Page section. And Now: /-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/ \=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\= The Ring =\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\=\ /-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/ Issue #1: By Ryan Brewster "Dr. Brown?" David Hilberg was wringing his hat anxiously as he called into the tent. "Dr. Brown?" The front flap of the tent unzipped just enough for Dr. Brown to peek his unshaven, uncombed head out. He struggled to open his eyes, and smacked his lips. These damn interns were always so energetic, getting up at the crack of dawn to work on the dig. Dr. Brown managed a feeble "Yes?". "We've found some very odd, uh, _things_ on the Dilophosaur..." Dr. Brown rubbed his eyes and squinted up at the young, upcoming paleontologist. "Like?" he prompted. "Well, it's wearing a, um, _ring_, and it has some odd jewels in its eye sockets". Dr. Brown sighed. He had seen things like this before. Often, among the college crowd, there will be a few clowns on the site who would pull stunts like this. At last year's dig in Germany, it was a "fossilized Twinkie" within the rib-cage of an Archaeopteryx. Ah, well. He had to get up sometime. "I'll be there in a minute", he mumbled as his head tucked back into the tent. ----- A few million years ago... ------ The Dilophosaur chittered furiously as its prey made its frantic escape up a tree. Standing at under 5 feet, he was short as Dilophosaurs went. Food had been scarce for him and he was looking unhealthy. Not to mention _feeling_ unhealthy. He glared at the tiny dinosaur as though he could kill it if he stared hard enough. Hell, it was worth a shot. He'd die soon if he didn't get some food. He was starting to feel desparate. A meteor streaked in the background. The Dilophosaur ignored it... Meteors had been a common sight most of his life. He gave the small dino- saur one last glare and turned to leave. Almost immediately, he was thrown to the ground by a tremendous impact. He spun around and beheld, where the tree had once been, a large crater with what appeared to be an egg in its center. ----- Back to the present... ------ Dr. Brown stumbled down the hill towards the dig. Rubbing his eyes to try to wake up, he succeeded only in getting dust into them. He swore loudly. His day was not off to a good start. "Okay, Hilberg", he said as he arrived at the dig. "Where are your mysterious jewels?" Hilberg pointed nervously at the bright red gems encased within the eye sockets of the Dilophosaur. Dr. Brown glanced at the gems. "Vanadinite?" he speculated. Hilberg shook his head. "Way too hard. They don't leave a streak, either." Dr. Brown stooped down to peer at them more closely. The gems were a deep red, and had an incredibly smooth surface, as though they had been polished. They looked amazingly similar to eyeballs. "All right, who went down to the museum of natural history to buy these fakes?" Dr. Brown demanded. Peter Kroenig pleaded innocent. "I swear this isn't a joke, Dr. B. Look a little closer." Dr. Brown eyed the red gems skeptically. He had to admit, if the students had set this up, it was a remarkably realistic hoax. He sighed and began to walk away. "Let me know when you have them all the way out. I'll examine them more closely after I've had my coffee." "Wait," said Hal Johnson, "What about the ring?" Dr. Brown sighed again. "Ah, yes. The ring. Let's see the ring." He was beginning to tire of these college pranksters. Each year the hoaxes became more and more elaborate. Only on rare occasion did findings like this one turn into anything. He followed the students' stares to a small gleam in what appeared to be the Dilophosaur's toe. He stooped down to examine the shining ring. "See how close the ring fits to the bone?" David commented. "Either this Dilophosaur didn't have any skin there, or -" "- Or the ring was fitted there long after the creature had died," Dr. Brown interrupted. "Not necessarily," Hal Johnson said. "The ring could have gotten onto the dinosaur's toe before it had reached its full size." Dr. Brown shook his head. "The toe would've just fallen right off eventually. I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I can't believe for a second that an aeons-old creature would have a ring that, a,", he began to count off on his fingers, "still shines bright as the day it was bought at Tiffany's, and, b, is so damn _tight_. How the hell would it get the thing _on_???" ----------- The Dilophosaur trotted over to the egg eagerly, and poked at it with its snout. He roared and drew back in pain. The egg was incredibly hot! When he looked back at the egg, he noticed that a bit had fallen off of it when he had poked it with his snout. Aha. The Dilophosaur spun around and with his mouth, he grabbed the first object he came across, a small rock. He inched hesitantly towards the egg. He stood above the egg and opened his mouth. As soon as the rock began to drop, he darted back. When he turned around, he saw the rock sitting in a small pile of debris. He walked toward the debris, somewhat disappointed. He had hoped to make a meal of the egg, but it didn't look or smell like anything edible. The Dilophosaur stomped on the dirt to make sure nothing had escaped his notice. He felt something cool in the warm dirt. As he brought his foot out, he realized that a hard object had come caught on one of his toes. He shook his toe to knock it off, but the exercise proved futile, working the shiny object only farther back. After a few minutes of frenzied leg-shaking, the Dilophosaur stopped. He watched as slowly, the object became smaller and smaller, sinking into his skin. Strangely, it didn't hurt at all. He could feel the ring becoming a part of his finger. As it grew smaller, the skin around it conformed to it, the nerves in his toes split and joined to the ring. Soon, the dinosaur felt nothing at all, as though the ring was just a part of him. The shiny steel band was clearly visible, and he felt a renewed sense of energy, but aside from that, the Dilophosaur felt no different than he had a few minutes ago. He decided to ignore it, and walked back into the jungle to continue his search for food. ---------- "But Dr. Brown, we've TRIED to remove the damn thing. It won't come off," Hal Johnson argued. Dr. Brown was beginning to lose his temper. He snatched the all- purpose cuts-anything tool from Peter's hand and reached down to the ring, being careful not to damage the bone. His face grew red as he squeezed the tool. He shifted his weight for better leverage and tried again. Dr. Brown breathed heavily as he glared at the ring in disbelief. It didn't bear a single mark. "What the hell is it made of??" he demanded. "We don't know, Dr. Brown" David explained patiently. "That's what we've been saying all along. We didn't plant this." Dr. Brown shot David a skeptical look. He brought a handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped his perspiring forehead. Grunting as he stood up, he tossed the tool to Peter who caught it deftly. "Well, get the ring and the gems separated from the rest of the fossil and we'll see what we can find out about them," said Dr. Brown. "I'm going to get that coffee." ---------- The Dilophosaur trotted casually through the forest. Though he was still as hungry as he had been, he was strangely energertic. He continued to trot until, in his peripheral vision, he noticed a quick movement. He spun around and looked at the small lizard. The lizard realized it had been spotted and began to high-tail it to a nearby log. The Dilophosaur knew that he would never make it to the lizard in time, but he persued it anyhow. As the lizard neared the log, the Dilophosaur suddenly flexed a muscle he never knew he had, right behind his eyes. For a fleeting moment, the world around him flashed a bright red. He stumbled to the ground, shaken, and looked up at the lizard. The lizard lay on the ground unmoving, smoke curling up from where its head had once been. ---------- The two red gems sat before Dr. Brown on the table, with the shiny ring beside them. He picked up one of the red gems for the umpteenth time and rolled it around in his hand. The "front" of the gem glistened a deep, bright red, and the "back" had a strange crator-like hollow in it. Dr. Brown rubbed his finger inside the small hollow. He picked up the ring, and looked through it. He slid it onto the index finger on his gloved right hand and rotated his hand to examine the ring. He shrugged. The red gems were no mineral _he_ knew of, nor was the shiny silver ring. The ring and the gems were both incredibly hard - only diamond could leave a mark, and that was with considerable effort - but the gems were somewhat translucent. He just didn't _get_ it. ----------- The Dilophosaur was exhuberant. He raced through the jungle, frying his prey with his newly found abilities. His limited intellect was unaware or had forgotten about his earlier desire to kill with a glance. The dinosaur lived for the _moment_, as did the rest of his species. All the creature was aware of was that he could kill his prey by glaring at them, and that simplified things. As he raced along in the forest, killing and devouring as he went, all memories of his former hardship had faded. The dinosaur was living high. He raced after an extremely quick lizard. As the lizard lept towards a small growth of bushes and ferns, the Dilophosaur glared at the creature's head. The carcass of the creature tore through the ferns. The Dilophosaur bounded exhuberantly through the bushes and found himself immediately weightless and plummetting toward the bottom of an immense gorge. The splash echoed throughout the canyon as he struck the water. ---------- Dr. Brown folded paper around the gems and the ring and placed them in a small cardboard box. He closed the lid of the box and sealed it shut with shipping tape. "Dave!" he called. David came trotting into the tent a few moments later. Dr. Brown handed David the box. "Here," he said. "Mail this off to the lab immediately." ......CONTINUED ________________________________________________________________________ This document is copyrighted (c) 1995 by Ryan Brewster. Other issues of The Ring are copyrights of their respective authors. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [11] Join in the fun! 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 USofA, and 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! 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