ciaraldi@rochester.UUCP (Mike Ciaraldi) (04/30/84)
From: Mike Ciaraldi <ciaraldi> I attended Ithacon 9 this weekend in Ithaca NY. As usual, a well-run and enjoyable show. Some quick things (full report when I get back from vacation): Jim Shooter has read some of the usenet stuff about minorities. Someone sent him a copy. He thinks things will get better as more characters appear with differnet ethnic backgrounds, so they are not such exceptions. Jan Duursema is leaving Arion, will do a double-length Star Wars episode, and is working on a new sowrd-and-sorcery series with Laurie Sutton, which may wind up as an epic comic. You heard it here first (it was decided Friday)-- Claremont, Byrne, and Austin are going to do a one-shot X-Men/Alpha Flight teamup. The Maddy Pryor in Avengers Annual #10 is not the same one who married Scott Summers. According to Roger Stern, Chris used the name as a tribute to the Steeleye Span singer, then forgot and used it again. Someone pointed it out just before it was printed, but too late to change. Avenger Annual #13 is written by Roger Stern, art by Ditko and Byrne!!!!!! Roger brought along Xerox copies of the finished art, and of Dotko's pencils. Byrne only changed them a little in inking, mostly adding weight. The art didn't look very ditko-ish to me (personal opinion). Murohy Anderson was well-received, but I didn't find out what he is up to. Sorry. Elfquest #19 goes to the printers May 10, should arrive in stores with two weeks of that. #20 will debut at Worldcon in Anaheim Labor Day weekend. Book #4 will be out in October. Novels on the back burner for now. Marvel will start reprinting the whole series as a standard newsstand comic (under the Code!, but without changes!), next spring. At that time no more reprinting of the B&W issues. Current print run is about 80,000, incidentally. Talked with Tom Mandrake for a while. He says the most fun New Mutant to draw is Cannonball, the easiest is Sunspot. Also met Joe Orsak, who draws Captain 'Cuse for the Syracuse New Times. Sort of like Captain Kentucky, but more serious (with villains like Lake Effect, the Dome, amd The Thing From Onondaga Lake!). Nelvana has disbanded its animation studio, after the failure of Rock & Rule, their first feature film. The Pinis are talking with two other studios, one still anonymous, the other Don Bluth (NIMH). When a decision is reached, it will take about 2 and a half years. (to make the film, not the decison). Marvel has a lot of moie and TV options, but nothing new definite yet. No news on the Batman movie. As I said, a good time was had by all. Many thanks to the Comic Book Clubb of Ithaca. Mike Ciaraldi ciaraldi@rochester seismo!rochester!ciaraldi P.S. I was a winner at the Match Game, trying to match the celebrity panel on questions like: "Mr Fantastic and the Elongated Man had a stretching contest, but they overdid it. The Eleongated Man puled a muscle i his nose, and Mr. F pulled one in his <BLANK>." My answer was "brain", which matched 4 out of 6. My prize, a copy of Murphy Anderson's drawing for the cover of the Ithaca Journal's leisure section, showing flash Gordon flying past the Clinton House, a local landmark. I got it autographed by him and the panelists. The origianl went for $50 at the auction the day before.