boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) (05/06/84)
Gee, I haven't gotten any net stuff the last couple of days. I hope I haven't
missed anything.
Muppet News Flashes!
[from THE COMIC BUYER'S GUIDE, 11 May 1984]
DC has cancelled THRILLER; WONDER WOMAN goes bi-monthly and full-length;
The Huntress may get a mini-series or her own book; First Comics is permenantly
switching to a Mando < x < Baxter paper, thicker-stock covers, etc. for $1.25;
Stan Lee is writing AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #18 (Jameson gets married) and
WHAT IF? #50 ("What if Dr. Doom Kept the Silver Surfer's Power?"); Alan Moore
will (contrary to recent rumors) continue to write for WARRIOR.
Flying Buttress has an ad for their TERRY & THE PIRATES reprints. First
volume will appear in July, and the succeeding ones every 3 months thereafter.
Each volume will reprint about a year's worth of strips (at least 200+ pages @
2 strips/page). Print runs will be in the 1000-1500 range. Regular price will
be $30/volume; order the first one before June and it'll be $25, or you can sub-
scribe to the first 4 volumes for $80; individual copy orders, add $2 for p&h.
Address is: NBM, P.O. Box 281, Peck Slip Station, New York, NY 10272. My check's
in the mail...
[from AMAZING HEROES #47, 15 May 1984]
Add Jerry Robinson [the best of the Golden Age Batman artists] to the
of pin-up artists for SUPERMAN #400; Alan Moore will write a 2-part VIGILANTE,
and episodes of Green Arrow and Tales of the GL Corps; Steve (NEXUS) Rude will
draw an issue of TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS [breaking George Perez's streak ---
oh, waitaminnit, Swan did an issue way back when, didn't he?]; John Byrne is
back scripting THE THING with #18.
******
NEW TALENT SHOWCASE is now 40 pages for $1.25; just think of all that extra mon-
ey you'll be saving by not buying it. I really hate to dump on this book, since
it serves a worthwhile purpose, but do I have to like it? Aside from the "Class
of 2064" stories in the early issues, there really hasn't been anything even up
to the level of mediocre.
JUST IMAGINE COMICS AND STORIES #9 has "The Bunny of Death" by Bill Messner-
Loebs, and that's the reason I bought it. One can get very disappointed with
this story, considering what Loebs is capable of, but if one doesn't expect
another JOURNEY, the occassional good parts in this story may be enough to sat-
isfy. "Titmouse" by Stan Timmons, Mary Stultz, and Lenin Delsol has a nice
conceit to it that one might enjoy; enough so that I may stick around for the
next issue to read the conclusion. Not a great comic, but one oculd do worse,
like VORTEX #8, which has nothing to recommend itself.
POWER PLAYS [Extrava-Gandt Enterprises] is definitely worth your while. This is
the amateur comic book find of the year. It's supposedly been out for a while
(it's dated "Fall 1983"), but I've only just seen a copy for sale. It's a 32-
page, b&w comic for $1.50, on heavy white paper, with nice, slick-stock covers.
The story isn't particularly original --- thousands of people all over the
world suddenly start developing super-powers and a couple of individuals are
trying to collect these people together, one group bad, one good. The art won't
shake any foundations, though I found it competent, pleasant and not too unlike
very early Joe Staton in many spots. The writing is far from terse, but Mike
Kelly [writer/artist/publisher] has a nice, witty, easy-going style that makes
for a very readble comic. Whether there are any more issues depends on how well
this one does (don't worry, the story doesn't end with a cliff-hanger). For
this reason alone, I urge you to pick up a copy of POWER PLAYS.
INFINITY, INC. #5 yields some good news and some bad news. The good news is that
if one of your secret fantasies is to see Wonder Woman in her birthday suit (of
course, certain parts are discretely covered by shadows or whatever, but less
than one might think), then this is the comic for you. The bad news is that
she's on an autopsy table...
<No! Wait! Put away that gun! This isn't really a spoiler; more like a teaser!
I can explain! Just don't shoot!>
More reviews (maybe) next time. Oh, by the way, the first issue of TEENAGE MUT-
ANT NINJA TURTLES is supposed to premiere this weekend at a small comic con in
Portsmouth, NH (Vas yoo dere, Betsy?).
--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC Maynard, MA)
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or: boyajian%akov68.DEC@{DECWRL|Purdue-Merlin}.ARPAmoriarty@uw-june (Jeff Meyer) (05/13/84)
I must say that I'll miss THRILLER; while it had its ups & downs, issues Organization: U. Washington, Computer Sci Lines: 33 like "All Shook Up" were some of the most interesting things to come out of DC during there "explosion" (I admit, no nuclear blast, but not a M-80, either). With the two original people gone, I imagine someone at DC got weak knees, and decided to cut it. Don't expect much reaction over this cancellation... lot of people apparently really did not like it. I'm sorry to read Lee will be scripting Jameson's wedding; someone like Stern or Michelline could have brought so much humor out of a situation like that (all those super-villians J. Jonah created popping up at the reception, etc.; besides, I've always liked the old coot). For a really great WHAT IF issue, why doesn't Stan do one called "WHAT IF STAN LEE LEFT CALIFORNIA AND STOPPED DOING VOICE-OVERS FOR KIDDIE TV SHOWS?" John Byrne could do the art, and they could make it look like he came back from the dead (Byrne and Claremont really like to do that). Jim Shooter stammering, "But, but... we saw you die!!"... ah, imagination.... And about POWER PLAYS.... I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!! (Approximately 2 months ago, Vegan time....) Let's just all hope this plays in Peoria and gets a second issue (maybe if I wrote him a letter asking about subscriptions). I'll let people know... Hmm, it's really interesting to see Roy Thomas pandering to special interest groups in the latest INFINITY, INC. Necrophiliacs have so few places to turn to... Until next time... "DANGER is my BUSINESS"| Currently residing in | UUCP: MORIARTY | {ihnp4,decvax,tektronix}!uw-beaver!uw-june!moriarty | ARPANET: AKA -jwm- | moriarty@washington