------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE COMIC BOOK NET ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE - ISSUE NUMBER 66 ________________________________________________________________________ World Wide Web Page------>> 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you wish to receive each issue automatically through your Email account, please address a message to ComicBkNet@aol.com to be placed on the subscription list. ________________________________________________________________________ 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! TRIVIA CONTEST......................... Guesses & Answers [3] CBN Insider ........................... News, gossip, & rumors [4] Marvel signs with America OnLine....... PRNewswire [5] Chicago Convention Report ............. Angelo Furlan [6] Keady's Comic Komments ................ John Keady [7] Review:TABOUX #1 ...................... David LeBlanc [8] Bonus Review:COPY BOOK TALES #1 ....... David LeBlanc [9] New Comics Shipping 7/8/96 ........... Bobb Waller [A] How to join ComicBook Network.......... BBS 101 [B] BBSes Linked into CBN.................. CBN node list [C] E-Mag Info: Submissions, Subscriptions, Back Issues, Copyrights ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1] On the Net by David LeBlanc Well this is an interesting week for most of us, for one reason or another. Independence Day, the holiday celebrated on July 4th, falls on a Thursday so lots of U.S. workers have a long weekend. Traditionally, many companies that shut down in the summer for a week, or two, do it during this week. Some of us, take advantage of the 4 day weekend and supplement it with vacation days to start the summer off right, that is what I did. It is usually the last week of the summer blockbuster premieres, and sure enough "Independence Day" which opened this week looks to be a winner. My personal recommendation on this one folks. It is a real fun movie. Finally, this year, the San Diego Comic Convention began, having been pushed back by the Republican National Convention later this year. Many pros and fans of the comic industry left their homes and workplaces mid-week to be where the action is. I stayed home, with time off, to play Home Improvement all week and entertain my brothers and their families to an old fashioned July 4th barbecue. My heart was thinking thoughts of the convention. Some day I'll get to one. Instead, early Sunday morning I will be heading for the local Flea Market (swap meet, whatever you call them) to set up a table and sell a bunch of no longer needed items, gifts we couldn't use, toys the kids outgrew, and lots of comics. It is a tradition to skim the collection once a year and decide which comics i just can't bear to part with and which I am willing to pass on. It is not done out of greed, but out of the realization that they take up lots of room, and I rarely get to read them again once they are boxed. Better to keep the ones I will always want to own and sell the rest to those who are looking for something to read. Most years I net about $80-$100 on selling comics. A few select at 1/2 book price, most at $.25 each and a box or two at $.10 each. Something for everyone. Real cheap stuff, very readable at only a quarter, and some decent sought after books at prices they won't find in the stores. It is a days event, rising before the sun to get a prime table. The dealers themselves make the rounds before they set up their own tables and before the general public shows up. By about 2:00 PM the crowd is thin and the leftovers are packed and we (#2 son and I) head home. Perhaps, if it is interesting enough, I will give a report on how it went. Hopefully, next time we will have some of the latest news from the convention as well. This week we have reviews of two products I got free samples of in the mail. One is familiar to some of you as a minicomic, the other is something different and worth checking out. John Keady drops by to give his top picks of the month so far and Angelo Furlan, creator of Sinnamon and the Bruiser, gives us a report on his trip to the Chicago Convention. All you Marvel fanboys, and girls, dig out those America Online disks you are using for coasters. They are finally coming online in a big way and AOL will have them around July 18th. While you are waiting, upgrade to AOL 3.0, it really is a BIG improvement. Fire up the Web Browser and drop by our page where we have added a number of new links to our favorite comic shops, Gemstone Publishing, Howard the Duck, Olyoptics, and even a cartoon of the day page. There is more to come but we'll save that for another time. 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, complete with the sender's Email address, may be used in future issues of the CBN E-Mag unless you specifically request us NOT to use them. Email address will be withheld upon request. +++++ Hmm, everyone is gone to San Diego or on vacation. Only the die hards who had to guess the trivia bothered to write. That's ok, I had lots to do around the house this week. [TRIVIA CONTEST] Last week's question: What continuity problem arose when Wonder Girl joined the Teen Titans in The Brave & The Bold #60? From: jsacks@juno.com (Jason Sacks) Wonder Girl only lived in imaginary stories, but including her in the Titans embedded her in DC continuity. This was an unresolved issue until the great "Who Is Donna Troy" issue of New Teen Titans. +++++ From: sjdy@mail.idt.net (Stephen J. De Young) Not entirely sure which of the many Donna continuity problems you are referring to, but let me take a stab, post-Crisis, Donna in the Titans means that Wonder Girl existed in the DCU before Wonder Woman by a margin of a few years. +++++ From: kjobe@socomm.net (Ken Jobe) The answer to this week's trivia contest is: Wonder Girl as a person separate from Diana Prince didn't exist at the time. Her adventures were like Superboy's at the time, the adventures of Wonder Woman as a girl. A few years into the run of Teen Titans, they finally established that this is Donna Troy and came up with an origin for her. [that was it, but the first one to get it is the winner] From: perler@tix.timeplex.com (Michael Perler) >What continuity problem arose when Wonder Girl joined the Teen Titans in >The Brave & The Bold #60? At the time, Wonder Girl was suppose to be a younger version of Wonder Woman, not a separate character. [Congratulations Michael] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THIS WEEK'S TRIVIA QUESTION: Name the original Frightful Four. IMPORTANT RULES NOTICE: The first correct answer to reach the editor wins the CHEEZY PRIZE(tm). The editor will be the sole judge as to which guess arrived first! Please be sporting and send only one guess at a time. LIMIT: ONE PRIZE PER MONTH PER PERSON! Submit your own trivia and win the CHEEZY PRIZE(tm) if you stump the subscribers! You MUST submit the correct answer with the question. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [3] CBN Insider - News, gossip and rumors from around the industry From: ncoll22357@aol.com (NColl22357) 4 July 1996 Over the past weekend, Vertigo editor Lou Stathis (INDUSTRIAL GOTHIC,HELLBLAZER), suffered a seizure and was rushed to a Manhattan hospital, where he was diagnosed as having a possible brain lesion/tumor. He is to undergo exploratory surgery within the next day or so. If you would like to show your support for Lou, you can contact DC via email at DCOVEMAIL@aol.com or send the more traditional (and tangible) get-well card to him c/o DC: 1700 Broadway/NYC.10019. They'll see to it they're forwarded to him (he's being transferred to another hospital--I'm not sure which). I'm sure your thoughts and well-wishes will be greatly appreciated during this trying time. +++++ A copy of Action Comics #1, the comic book in which Superman made his 1938 debut sold for $61,900 at a Sotheby's auction. The buyer was Steve Geppi, owner of Diamond Comics Distribution and a part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles. No one knows how many of the comic books still exist, but a Sotheby's spokeswoman said experts estimate there are about 50. An Action Comics No. 1 that was in pristine condition sold for $82,500 in 1992, a record for comic books. Saturday's book sold for less, Sotheby's said, because it had been partially restored. +++++ NEW YORK, July 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Toy Biz, Inc. (NYSE: TBZ) has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission covering the sale of 7,500,000 shares of Class A Common Stock consisting of 1,000,000 shares to be sold by Toy Biz; 2,500,000 shares to be sold by Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. (NYSE: MRV); and 4,000,000 shares to be sold by certain other selling shareholders who will grant the underwriters an option to purchase an additional 1,125,000 shares to cover over-allotments. Marvel and Toy Biz intend to use the proceeds of the sale of their shares to fund, from time to time, a new company, Marvel Studios. Marvel Studios' role is to facilitate the development of live action and animated motion pictures and television programming based on the Marvel Characters. After the offering, Toy Biz will have approximately 28 million shares of common stock outstanding with Marvel owning approximately 7.4 million Class B shares with a 26% economic interest and a 78% voting interest and the public owning approximately 10.25 million Class A shares. Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, Smith Barney Inc. and Jefferies & Company, Inc. will co-manage the underwriting group. When available, a copy of the preliminary prospectus relating to the securities may be obtained from the offices of Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, 1585 Broadway, New York, N.Y., 10036-8293, Smith Barney Inc., 388 Greenwich Street, New York, N.Y., 10013, or Jefferies & Company, Inc., 11100 Santa Monica Boulevard, 10th Floor, Los Angeles, Calif., 90025. +++++ Two new web sites for you netsurfers out there: OLYOPTICS is at http://www.olyoptics.com by the award winning color separation house found by Steve Oliff. It features an exclusive first look at Steve's new comic book, Armature! Get coloring tips from the Olyoptics crew. See a gallery of top-of-the-line comic book covers. Diamond Digital Web Publishing services is pleased to announce a new web page for Gemstone Publishing called: www.gemstonepub.com. These pages will highlight many of their offerings, especially Overstreet's FAN. As the Gemstone site develops, it will contain sections on EC Comics, Comic Book Marketplace and soon to come, the Overstreet Price Guide Annuals. +++++ From this week's CSNsider in the Comic Shop News #472, lots of stuff we already told you about, plus . . . How's this for a team up coming in September - "Grifter & The Mask!" A two issue limited by Steven Seagle, Luciano Lima, and Jose Pimentel. . . and later in the year, or early '97 will be a Wetworks/Predator limited series. . . Mike Deodato will be joining Peter David on the Incredible Hulk this fall. . . London Night Studios has sold 50% of it's company to Ministry of Film in a deal to give each rights to develop the other's properties to their respective media. . .Harvey Abrams is working on a second coffee table book called Marvel Universe along with Marvel Archivist Peter Sanderson. . . Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment plan to produce a live action version of Dr Seuss' classic "Cat in the Hat". . . a Gen12 miniseries is being developed to fill in between Team 7 and Gen13. . . Daredevil and Shi cross paths in 1997. . . Mr. Mxyzptlk and The Impossible Man will be plaguing Superman and the Silver Surfer in a crossover by George Perez, Ron Lim and Terry Austin. . . new Amalgam comics are being planned, word is that among them is a Green Lantern/Iron Man mix called Iron Lantern . . . other team ups in the works include Spider-Man/Gen13 and Batman/Daredevil the latter by Scott McDaniel & Dan Chichester. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [4] Marvel/America OnLine in joint venture! PRNewswire DULLES, Va., July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- America Online, the world's largest commercial online service, and Marvel Entertainment Group, the number one comic book company in the world, today announced an innovative joint venture which will create a new universe of comic book characters, original exclusive-to-online comics, and a community for comic book fans. The venture includes a wide range of new initiatives, the first of which is a state-of-the-art area dedicated to bringing Marvel's popular comics to the fingertips of fans everywhere. With the launch of Marvel Online, Spider-Man, Marvel's premier comic book hero, will spin his web onto AOL this summer. Unlike traditional comic books that change content on a monthly basis, this highly interactive area will provide comic book aficionados and soon-to-be fans, new content weekly as well as allow them to actually participate in the strip by driving the content. The next comic to be introduced will be Wolverine followed by a fan selected comic, as well as a comic strip created exclusively for the online services leader. The AOL/Marvel Joint Venture will also include the development of new properties some of which include CD-ROM, comic books, and merchandising materials. Both companies will also be launching an aggressive advertising campaign later this summer to support the initiative. "AOL is committed to partnering with industry leaders to create original, innovative content exclusive to the online medium, " said Ted Leonsis, President of America Online Services Company. "By working with Marvel, the recognized leader in the comic book industry, we have combined our sense of entertainment-oriented programming to take the comic book universe to the next plane." "We are constantly looking at ways to make the online medium more compelling," said Barry Schuler, President of AOL Productions. "The new Marvel Online area is just one example of how AOL continues to embrace new technologies to achieve our goal in creating a richer member- experience." "The launch of Marvel Online represents a critical step for Marvel Entertainment in building our brand and exhibiting our products on the emerging digital frontier. We are extremely excited about working with AOL and expect Marvel Online to be one of the hottest area in cyberspace," said Scott Marden, Chief Executive Officer, Marvel Interactive. Marvel's universe of talent and creative artists have joined with America Online's talent pool to create an area that appeals to comic book aficionados and novices alike. The area will include the following features: * Spider-Man stars in Marvel's inaugural digital comic book. In the cyber-comic, featuring all-new original content, the traditional comic book "page" takes on fresh meaning. AOL members navigating the weekly eight-page tales will be awash in color-packed sights and smashing sounds. Also, by clicking on specifically marked images, members can pull up histories of featured characters in a truly interactive comic adventure. * Member driven content including "The Threaded Web," ongoing member/fan created fiction, and "I Wanna Be in Comics," a challenging opportunity for members/fans to complete art and submit for inclusion in future comics. * A community of online comic fans. Members have a direct link to chat with other fans throughout the comic--by clicking on areas throughout the strip readers are linked "real time" to other members who are reading the same page at the same time. * NTN presents a new trivia game designed specifically for Marvel Online. Fans can answer questions about their favorite characters for prizes. * A historical archive of Marvel characters available for the first time exclusively to AOL members. * Live events with marvel editors, writers, and artists. Marvel legend, Stan Lee, assisted by The Amazing Spider-Man, will hold a live event on AOL at 5:00 PM, EST, Thursday, July 4, during the 1996 San Diego Comic Book Convention. AOL members can attend the event by using Keyword: AOL Live. The Marvel Online area will be unveiled to the show attendees at this time. Kids of all ages are invited to stop by the Marvel Booth to meet Marvel Characters: Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, She-Hulk and The Silver Surfer. Marvel Online will be at Keyword: MARVEL in about 2 weeks. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [5] Chicago Convention Report by Angelo Furlan FEAR AND LOATHING IN THE WINDY CITY Your exalted editor of the CBEM asked me to provide a report on this year's Chicago Convention. Being the publicity-starved type that I am, I readily agreed. At this point, I should mention that I'm the writer/publisher of SINNAMON (Catfish Comics), and I went to the Con in the company of members of Mythic Comics. We shared a booth. So now you know where I'm coming from. Unlike those of you on the other side of the newsstand, the prospect of being in close proximity to so many well-known creators no longer fills me with awe. I did the fan-boy thing at both New York and Detroit in '94 (wanna see the copies of BRUISER #1 I had signed by John Romita Jr, Walt Simonson, or Jim Shooter?), but I'm much more jaded now. Rubbing shoulders with ANY creator no longer does anything for me. Unless those shoulders belong to someone like Susie Owens or J.J. North, that is. Here's the one most important thing I learned from this year's Chicago Con: the industry has changed dramatically. I was at the Chicago Con in '94. Tekno Comics was handing out shopping bags full of stuff - posters, Frisbees, Styrofoam mugs, while impressive video displays trumpeted the advent of this new company (without a single page of comic book art in sight). Marvel had a huge booth and handed out loads of posters to all who came by. Image had the YoungBlood Spaceship on the floor to amaze us (I didn't go inside, but I was impressed), along with the Spawnmobile. Best of all, Valiant had a TWO STORY building set up to show off their wares (which actually didn't seem to be much more than a few trading cards). Oh, and DC had a large display as well, with a number of video monitors constantly running snippets from the Batman cartoon. And at Chicago '96? As you might have guessed, no Tekno and no Acclaim booths. Marvel had a very normal looking booth up against a wall, which was very easy to miss (the only giveaway was Onslaught stickers, which were slapped on anyone walking by). The Rob was there, but I saw no space ships. Todd had a small booth to promote his toy line (but no Todd, though Al Simmons was seen wandering about). Oh ... but DC had a display much like they did in '94. Draw your own conclusions, folks. Keeping in mind that I spent much of the Con manning my booth, here are my highlights: Rob L. actually offered himself up as human sacrifice for the Comic Legal Defense Fund Dunk Tank. For $20, you could throw balls at a target in the hopes of soaking Rob, much as some people accuse him of doing to readers. To be honest, Rob took it all in VERY good humor. Of course, if I had someone like Glory encouraging me, I'd gladly have gallons of water poured over my head, too. The Ultimate Warrior made a promised appearance at the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots booth, taking on all comers. As a wrestling fan myself, it was a bit disappointing to see the Warrior wearing an over-sized T-shirt and long shorts. If it weren't for the veins sticking out of his calves, it could have been ANYONE. Oh, in keeping with his regular ring performance, the Warrior's "appearance" lasted an entire 16 minutes (yeah, I timed him). J.J. North was at the London Night booth. What, do I have to elaborate on why this would be a highlight? Spider-Man was there (in the classic costume). Note to Marvel: most of us regular folks expect heroes to have chests bigger than their bellies (even the MALE heroes), so tell Spidey to watch those calories, OK? Looking for freebies? The Fan gave away free copies of their latest issue, along with copies of classic EC comics (I'll assume these were reprints. Or maybe The Fan is doing really well). Diamond gave away a free calendar, which I never got around to picking up. DC had loads of buttons, but since they've been giving these away since '94, no big thrill. No Frisbees this year. J.J. North was at the London Night booth. Oh, have I mentioned this before? Sorry, but buxom blondes in revealing outfits tend to make lasting impressions on me. Two teens looked at the cover of SINNAMON #4 (featuring SINNAMON and INFAMA) and asked me, "Do they kill anyone?" Sorry kids. My biggest thrill? Having guys ask me where SINNAMON was, and ad libbing the answers ("At home watching our kids" got me some envious looks). Just for the record, there is no live model, okay? Maybe I should have asked J.J. to put on a wig and come by the booth for a while. (Note: this wasn't REALLY my biggest thrill, but there are some things a gentleman doesn't talk about. And neither do I.) Well, that's about it for my report on the 1996 Chicago Con. It might be a good idea for our esteemed editor to get future reports from someone a little less jaded than yours truly. On the other hand, I think I showed great restraint with the shameless self-promotion. Angelo Furlan Writer/Creator of SINNAMON, BRUISER, and STUF. email me at: afurlan@pathcom.com Check out the Catfish Comics Web Page at: http//www.thenerve2.com/catfish ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [6] Keady's Comic Komments by John Keady Here is the top 10 for August releases! 10. Legionnaires #39 - Trying to catch up on the back issues but this one is growing on me rather quickly! 9. Azrael #20 - Been kinda slow on this title lately but it has always been well written so slow on this book is still good! 8. Legion of Superheroes #83 - Some pretty powerful stuff!! 7. Detective Comics #700 - Not been too thrilled with the Bat books lately but this issue was rather well done! 6. Spectre #44 - Very good issue dealing with women's oppression and how the Spectre deals with it! 5. Aztek #1 - Good start to the series.....a hero with dignity and compassion is a rare thing these days! 4. Hitman #4 - Not letting up one bit! Read this book! It will not disappoint! 3. JLA #113 - Final issue of this series was best of the past couple years It's a good lead into the upcoming changes! 2. Impulse #16 - I've been teetering on dropping this one just because I can't afford to get EVERY DC title, this issue is making my decision much more difficult! 1. Kingdom Come #2 - A classic in the making.....READ IT! ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [7] REVIEW by David LeBlanc TABOUX #1 - Antarctic Press - (fumetti) $3.95 ($5.49 CAN) - 40 pages MATURE AUDIENCES Produced and copyright by American Cinema-Graphics 1-800-840-0630 Email ranchman@earthlink.com STORY: Vivian Lushliner PHOTOGRAPHY: Rueben Njaa Story Adaptation, Computer Graphics & Design: Greg & Carrie Webmeyer "What ultimate evil glows inside the crystal discovered by Darcey Bennet? Celina, the most evil of the five Original Vampire, will stop at nothing to get it and spare no one who stands in her way. Irresistibly beautiful, she is a voracious seductress who takes on new energy with each kill. Can no one stand in her way?" "Maximilliano Dante, another of the five Original vampires, knows the stage is being set for a showdown the world does not want." In the words of the author, you are plunged into another interpretation of the vampire legacy. But this one is most likely unlike any you have seen before. The book is done in "fumetti" style. The term describes basically using photography, rather than artwork for the images, along with text to tell the story. Unlike other fumetti styles, there are no word balloons the text is more narrative and dialogue is within the text mostly rather than crowding the images. But even that is not accurate because the pictures are overlaid by the text for portions of each page with some of the dialogue breaking out for emphasis. In all, the style is very unique and worth checking out. They manage to flow the action from clip to clip as well as a graphic artist would show action in sequential art. Shot 1: a man in the corner seat at a bar, shot 2 a car at the curb, shot 3: a female leg stepping out, shot 4: a close up of the man, bottle in hand, shot 5: the woman scanning the bar patrons, shot 6: she stands before him and asks, "Are you detective Ric Garcia?" The inside front cover credits the various actors that play the characters in this drama. Reuben Njaa is listed as Creative director as well as the photographer and Kathy Thalman is the producer while Chase Thalman is listed as one of the *victims*. Heh, heh! I found the story acceptable and a decent take on the vampire myth. Darcy holds the crystal that is the key to the Original vampires gaining dominance over mankind. As long as she possesses it she is safe from Celina, the villainess of the Original 5. Not so those around her as she finds in the opening chapter of the 5 part arc. This is the story of her struggle to learn the secret of the crystal and learn why everyone she loves is becoming victims to this ancient evil. She has an ally in Maximilliano who although he is a vampire has reasons to fight Celina. I found the story easy to follow and interesting enough to wonder what happens next. You may find it pricey at $3.95, but it is 40 pages so I don't think it is overpriced. Perhaps shorter chapters at a lower price point would bring in more readers? Anyway, I think it is worth checking out since both the story and composition of the photography is top notch. It is up to you whether this type up *comic book* will become a regular thing. ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [8] Bonus Review by David LeBlanc THE COPYBOOK TALES #1 -July 1996- B&W, color covers SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS Written by J. Torres, Illustrated by Tim Levins $2.95/$3.95 CAN Wait a minute? Didn't Dave review this title already, way back in the Comic Book Electronic Magazine #52? And isn't this J. Torres the same guy who does that bi-weekly column called "Recommended Reading" for the same Emag? Right on both counts, very astute readers! Except this time around, I guess that makes it volume 2, The Copybook Tales is a full sized comic from Slave Labor Graphics, not a self-published mini-comic. I was waiting patiently to go to the greatest comic store in the world a day later than normal to pick up this new #1, since new comic day conflicted with a family pre-Independence Day picnic, when the ash can showed up in the mail at the beginning of the week. (Thanks Joe) Now I can keep that mint copy with the color cover sealed up tight to go up in value astronomically overnight while I read the ashcan over and over. Or should I do the opposite and horde the ashcan instead? Oh well, on with the review. When I first was introduced to this series I did not know what a "copybook" was. Turns out it is just a spiral bound notebook, like for taking notes in class. The "tales" are that of Jamie as a high school student along with his friends Mike, Mike and Mike and little brother Alex. His journal is typical of a youth that is "into" comic books as well as various other things like TV and the movies. We saw parts of these interests intertwined in stories both present and flashback to the high school days in the mini-comics, and the tales are familiar and interesting. This chapter is called "Portrait of the Artist as a Fanboy." Mixed in with the real life problems of a struggling young adult, we are treated to some snatches of experiences in the past that nicely relate to the present. This one deals mostly with the fanaticism of comic collecting; the *must have* first appearance of Alpha Flight, the blowup when a friend carelessly creases an expensive back issue, the reality of having to sell that collection you thought would become family heirlooms (I can relate to that one), and much more. This is a comic lovers comic book. While it pokes fun at a lot of our little quirks, it does so with the love of a true fan. It relates stories of adults looking back fondly on their youth and artists struggling to get a break in the business. As Jamie's adult friend Thatcher puts it when presented with the idea of a comic book about a journal from the high school days of his friend, "No super heroes? No costumes? No heaving breasts? No big guns? Just a bunch of teenagers running around . . .? You do realize it probably won't sell. But I like it!" You will too, if quality art and a good story matter more to you than all that other stuff. This one should be read by every comic book fan out there. It is "our" story. Rating: I don't *do* ratings. Buy this book! ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [9] New Comics Shipping 7/8/96 by Bobb Waller Well Marvel Stiffed us on the shipping next week list, and I already threw away last weeks which listed some for tis week. So no Marvel, But here are the lists from Diamond & Capital City of what is scheduled to ship the week of 7/8/96: ======================================================================== Acclaim Comics: MTG:Urza Mishra Wars Sliders:Darkest Hour #2 Archie Comics: Betty & Veronica #104 Betty & Veronica Dbl. Digest #60 Flintstones #14 Astro Comics: Hilly Rose: Space Reporter V.1 Big Entertainment: Primortals #3 Phage:Shadow Death #4 Black Eye Productions: Land of Nod #2 Claypool Comics: Elvira #38 Comic Shop News Inc.: CSN #473 Crusade Comics: Atomix Angels #2 Thunderg-d #1 Dark Horse Comics: Dark Horse Presents #111 Dominion Conflict 1-No More Noise #5 Ghost #16 Heartbreakers #4 Insider #8 Mask:Southern Discomfort #4 DC Comics: Adventures of Superman #538 Animaniacs #17 Azrael #17 Batman #534 Batman: B&W #4 Batman GCPD #2 Books of Magic #28 Essential Vertigo:Sandman #2 Fate #22 (Final Issue) Green Arrow #112 Hardware #42 Impulse #17 Kingdom Come #3 New Gods #11 Static #39 Superboy Annual #3 Supergirl #1 Drawn & Quarterly: Palooka Ville #9 Eros Comics: Mara Paperdoll Book Event Comics: Ash:Fire Within #1 Kid Death & Fluffy Spring Break Special Fantagraphics Books: Acme Novelty Library #7 Eightball #2 5th Printing Fire Man Press: Scud:The Disposable Assassin #13 High Impact Studios: Jazz #3 High Top Comics: Brinke of Destruction #3 Image Comics: 21 #The Saga Begins TP Maxx TP-2nd printing Stormwatch #37 Wetworks #18 Indo City Productions: Wil Seed #2 Jet Black Grafix: Cyberzone #8 Lightining : Hellina Nude (A) Hellina:Genesis Platinum Nude Lightining Comics: Moxi #1A&B Mushroom Comics: Araknis #2 Topps Comics: X-Files #19 Viz Communications: Game On! USA Vol.1 #3 Maison Ikkoku:Part 5 #9 Manga Vizion V2 #7 Ranma 1/2 Volume 6 TPB Return of Lum:Part 3 #2 Magazines: Scrye #16 Toys: Spawn 13 Inch Action Figure 60101 Origin: FIAWOL/MSConnections * PP288MT II V.34 * 214-790-6472 * (23:203/4) ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [A] How to join the COMIC BOOK NETWORK (CBN) You too can enjoy the intelligent conversations and informative threads that occur in 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 conversation, collecting, gaming and other forms of entertainment. 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! ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [B] 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 Conway 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 F Steel Dog Cafe Destin FL 904-654-1631 Keith Schultz Ghost's Realm Crestview FL 904-689-6664 Kie Dorton Q Oak Street BBS Ft.Wayne BeachFL 904-244-7434 Michael Fischer -- ILLINOIS ------------------------------------------------------------ -- INDIANA ------------------------------------------------------------- F The CyberSpace BBS Indianapolis IN 317-856-9020 Charlie Smith -- KENTUCKY ------------------------------------------------------------ Lex Corp Georgetown KY 502-867-0992 -- MARYLAND ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 Mechanicsville MD 301-884-9732 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 603-743-4188 Ira Locke -- NEW JERSEY ---------------------------------------------------------- Phoenix Modernz Systems Seaside Hts. NJ 908-830-8265 Tal Meta -- NEW YORK ------------------------------------------------------------ B 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 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 ----------------------------------------------------------- F The Factory BBS Union City TN 901-885-9647 -- TEXAS --------------------------------------------------------------- B* FIAWOL/MSConnections Irving TX 214-790-6472 Bobb Waller F Star Streams Waxahachie TX 214-938-7115 Michael Rudolf F Orion BBS Odessa TX 915-530-2712 Dennis Brown -- VIRGINIA ------------------------------------------------------------ B Crystal Aerie Arlington VA 703-415-0134 Spencer Greenwald -- WASHINGTON ---------------------------------------------------------- F Longview On-Line! Longview WA 360-577-7358 Jeanne Lejon -- 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# ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [C] 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). Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Editor, the Network Administration Team or the members and users of The Comic Book Network. Except where elsewhere noted, The Comic Book Network Electronic Magazine is Copyright 1996 by the Comic Book Network. You may freely distribute or duplicate this file intact without alteration for noncommercial purposes only. Please do not distribute except as the complete file as originally transmitted by The Comic Book Network. 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 released comic book graphics, links to lists of Comic Book Company addresses, Comic Professionals Email addresses, and other Comic Book related 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 CBN. 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 01522-1419 SUBSCRIPTIONS ------------- If you wish to receive each issue automatically through your Email 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!! Imaginary story? I thought they were all Imaginary!