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----------------------------------------------------------------- [6] Interviews Paul Dale Roberts Silhouet98@cs.com Interview with: Ernst Dabel, President of Dabel Brothers Productions!. Interviewed by Paul Dale Roberts, Publisher - Jazma Online! http://www.jazmaonline.com/ Question: Tell us something personal about yourself. Maybe where you were born, something about your family/work background, schools you attended, etc. Ernst: First of all, I want to take the time to thank you Paul my friend, for setting up this interview. I am extremely grateful and will try my best to answer these questions as best as I can. I was born in Montreal, Canada, the cold country. I have a really big family. My parents (Myrtha and Ernst Sr. Dabel) have been married for thirty-one wonderful years, and I have four brothers (Les, Pascal, David, and Jonathan), and one terrific sister (Myrna). I attended Weymouth High School, which I enjoyed very much. Question: What was the first comic book you ever read? Ernst: When I was a kid, the first comic I ever picked up to look at the pictures (back then I wasn't into reading) was a Tarzan comic book. Question: What were your favorite comic books growing up? Ernst: Believe it or not, growing up I never really read comics. I picked it up later on in my life. I read some X-men, but the comic that had the most impact in my life was Warlands. I would have to say my favorite comic book was Crimson, I really liked the artist who drew it, Ramos was his name if I'm not mistaken. Question: How did you come across Monte Cook, game designer? Ernst: Monte's wife Sue wrote us. I used to post some pictures of The Hedge Knight, and Dragonlance on Monte's website. I think that's how they first learned about us. Question: How did you and your brother get Monte Cook to write the new graphic comic book called Ptolus: City by the Spire. Ernst: Who else but Monte should write the Ptolus: City by the Spire <winks> We knew from the very beginning that there would be no other but him as a writer for this project <grins> Question: I'm not a gamer, so can you brief me and anyone else on what this game is about and what your comic book will be about. Ernst: Ptolus is a d20 fantasy setting--a quasi-Medieval swords and sorcery city full of magic and adventure. The comic relates a story involving many of the important characters of the game setting. Players who use the setting will be familiar with the characters, while comic readers will find the setting a familiar place. Question: Who are the main players of Ptolus? Ernst: The main players in the comic book are: Sheva Callister, a hardened and experienced adventurer Parnell, a ghost who was a wizard in life, and who remains Sheva's best friend Daersidian Ringsire, an elven battle mage and his partner Brusselt Airmol, a halfling thief Lilith, a demonic leader in a world of mortals Kevris Killraven, a powerful inhuman crime lord Aliaster, Godfred, and Gattara Vladaam, members of a decadent and twisted noble family The Iron Mage, the world's most skilled, powerful, and enigmatic wizard Question: Who is the artist for Ptolus? Ernst: The artist for Ptolus: City by the Spire is Caanan White and he is doing a fantastic job on the project. Question: Is Ptolus a one shot comic book? Ernst: Ptolus: City by the Spire will run six issues, and will continue into the future. Question: How did you get involved in the comic book industry? Ernst: I enjoyed reading and writing and my brother Les enjoyed drawing so one thing led to another and we decided one day to do a comic book, and the next thing we knew we became a comic book company, and then God blessed us with the authors that we work with. I look back now and am humbled at how God put all of the pieces together to get my brothers and I involved in the comic book industry. Question: How do you like working with your brother? Ernst: I love working with my brothers, Les, Pascal and David. They are a wonderful bunch and we get along perfectly. Although my third brother Pascal is away in Medical School (he graduates this May, so I have to start practicing calling him Dr. Dabel, <grins>) but we have phone meetings with him to keep him up-to-date as to what is taking place in the company. As this is a family business, our parents, sister and youngest brother also helps out as well. Question: What is your URL website address? Ernst: www.dabelbrothers.com Question: How can someone contact you? Ernst: If anyone has a question, comments, or even a suggestion, they can contact me at edabel@dabelbrothers.com Question: If you can have 6 dinner guests, 3 fictional and 3 real, who would they be and why? Ernst: Wow, that's a very interesting question. Well, let me start with the 3 fictional dinner guests first. I would have Drizzt Do'Urden, the main character of R.A. Salvatore's The Dark Elf Trilogy, because despite all of the evils of his society, family, he chose of his own free will to do good. I would also invite Bransen from R.A. Salvatore's The Highwayman. Branson has undoubtedly taken Drizzt place in my heart as my favorite character. Branson's trials and the hardships that he overcomes are very real to me, because he reminds me of my deceased cousin who meant a lot to me when he was alive. The last fictional character that I would invite would be Forrest Gump, just so I can hear him say "Mama used to say life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you gonna get." For the 3 real dinner guests, I would invite Tarris who was my best friend in Jr. High and part of my High School years. The second would be John, another good friend of Tarris and I. The third would be Jesus who has taken care of me for 30 years, and has never let me down. Question: What is the most unusual thing that has ever happened to you? Ernst: Nothing unusual has ever happened to me before. Question: Your thoughts on the comic industry? Ernst: I think the comic book industry has a lot to offer society. Comic Books, I believe, are very helpful tools in helping kids with their reading skills and also cultivating within them a love for books. Question: What cons are you going to? Ernst: I'm still not sure what conventions I'm going to attend for this year. But once I know for sure, you can find the list posted on our website. Question: What movies, cartoons and TV shows are your favorites? Ernst: I love The O.C., LOST, American Idol, Dragon Ball Z, Braveheart, Gladiator, Life is Beautiful, It's a Wonderful Life, Lord of the Rings, Matrix I, Big, and many others. Question: What books do you read? Ernst: I mostly read fantasy/sci-fi, horror, mystery, adventure, anything that is exciting and action-packed <grins> Question: What are your hobbies and recreational activities? Ernst: I love to read and write. I love to play basketball and run. When I'm not playing basketball I run on the treadmill anywhere between 3-8 miles in a day. I love to watch movies also. Question: What comic books do you read now? Ernst: Right now, I'm so busy reading books that we are about to adapt that I don't have time to read as much comics as I would like. Question: What other titles are coming out of Dabel Brothers Productions? Ernst: Well, currently we have Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker Series, starting with Red Prophet. We are also adapting OSC's Wyrms, which is a New York Times Best Book of the Year. Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Series starting with Magician Apprentice, which I read back in the seventh grade. Also we have Bill Tortolini's creator-owned Marshal, which is a great scifi-western I encourage comic book readers to check out. We are adapting an original screenplay, Origins of the Species, witten by Michael Lent author of Breakfast with Sharks, which you can check out on Amazon. We have one other project, which we will be announcing very soon and the name of it is...oh, I almost ruined the surprise, you'll find out very soon <grins> We have a lot of excellent authors with exciting other titles that will be coming out of Dabel Brothers Productions in the near future, and the waiting list is getting bigger everyday, but I can't mention all of them at this moment. Question: That ends the interview, any last words of wisdom? Ernst: Thank you for the interview Paul my friend, I really appreciate it. The last words of wisdom that I would like to share with those of you who are working hard to achieve a goal in your lives is this, "Trust in God in all things and He will take care of you." _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- COMICS OBSCURA Mike Curtis shandafa@cyberback.com [COMICS OBSCURA are facts Mike Curtis has dug out during his 30 years of collecting Superman and writing about comics. His website for his comic imprint is www.shandafantasyarts.net ] JUST ONE OF THOSE DEFECTS THEY NEVER TALK ABOUT Magazines like COMIC BUYER'S GUIDE have a guide to grading comics, listing defects like spine roll, tape, and such. One never mentioned is due to a product that came along in the 1950's. SILLY PUTTY made its debut then, and one of its features was that you could "pick up" comic images with it and stretch them. What wasn't told was that the oily substance would also adhere to pages if left on too long, not to mention lightening the ink. Many a 1950's comic book suffered "Silly" damages. _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- [7] Graphic Novel Reviews Amy Harlib aharlib@earthlink.net [Amy is a lifelong lover of SF & F, comics and graphic novels who reviews regularly on-line at diversebooks.com, zone-sf.com, simegen.com, linearreflections.com and rambles.net] The Little Endless Storybook. Written and illustrated by Jill Thompson. Vertigo/DC Comics, NY, Mar. 2005, $9.95, hardcover, ISBN #: 1- 401-20428-7. www.dccomics.com Jill Thompson, acclaimed illustrator and creator of the beloved 'Scary Godmother' series of books and comics, also contributed her artistic talents, along with the best in the business, to the seminal and classic Sandman comic book series conceived and written by Neil Gaiman over the course of 76 epochal issues (later collected into 10 trade paperbacks), published by DC's Vertigo imprint from 1988-1996. The Sandman stories, intended for mature readers, concerns Gaiman's dark visions of the Dreaming, its residents and its influence on the waking world and encompasses a wide variety of elements from myth, folklore and legends mingled with modern milieus. The principal characters of the original series, The Endless, consist of 7 immortal siblings "that aren't gods but who existed before humanity dreamed of gods and will exist after the last god is dead". They embody and personify the cosmic concepts of (in order of age): Destiny, Death, Dream (AKA The Sandman), Destruction, Desire, Despair and Delirium. In "The Sandman: Brief Lives" sequence gathered in the 7th volume of the series, Jill Thompson's visuals, combined with tales developing all The Endless characters to a degree not seen before, made these ageless entities equal in popularity to the titular Sandman, if not more so. Furthermore, in a volume 6 prelude to "Brief Lives", Thompson whimsically conceived the "Li'l Endless", depicting, in a vignette, these beings in the form of ultra-cute, manga-style (as in Japanese comics) toddlers. This 1991 singular appearance proved so popular that fans have been begging for their return ever since. At long last, in 2001, Jill Thompson, in an unprecedented opportunity, brought The Endless back to prominence once again in a prestige format, glossy trade paperback "The Little Endless Storybook" where the 7 subjects got presented in their diminutive, most charming form. This volume, "recommended for mature readers of all ages", presenting its material very much in the mode of a children's picture book, cannot be considered a comic book in the orthodox sense, but since its source and inspiration is so grounded in one of the most famous comics series ever - it is a must have and a total delight. And a reasonably priced, recently reprinted (Mar. 2005) hardcover edition is now available just about everywhere. Printed with brief text on the left-hand page and a full page painting facing it, the light and deceptively simple story concerns "princess" Delirium's fluffy, perky-eared, wavy-tailed, medium-sized, motley-colored dog Barnabus who loses her but she thinks just the opposite. Barnabus, his mystical doghood notwithstanding, though charged with constantly keeping a watchful vigil over Delirium, for a moment needs to use the facilities as it were. While Barnabus goes off to use a nearby tree, he requests that Delirium stay put until he returns shortly. Due to Delirium's nature - quixotic, flighty, easily distracted - no sooner has Barnabus left her sight than she determines HE is lost and that she must go looking for him. Returning from his arboreal bathroom, Barnabus finds Delirium gone and then embarks on a search for her, a journey that takes him through the realms of all the other Endless until he becomes so delirious himself that he then possesses the capability to find his "fizzy princess". Thompson's writing here - witty, clever, sprightly and briskly flowing, perfectly complements her exquisite artwork. In addition to the title page, the book contains 24 full page paintings brilliantly rendered in her skillful, vibrantly-colored watercolor (with mixed media) style. Her remarkable control of her medium produces richly detailed images brimming with glowing light, exciting compositions and whimsical energy. Each illustration, crafted with such affection and care for the subject, rewards repeated viewing of her charming, diminutive, expressive versions of The Endless and of her blendings of intricate realistic objects with surreal and fantastical backgrounds or vice versa. With such ingenious creativity on every page, "The Little Endless Storybook" should delight fans of "The Sandman" who understand the complex contexts from which this project sprang. The uninitiated will enjoy it equally, simply for Jill Thompson's amazing talent alone. This book represents a dream come true for anyone who appreciates superb artwork and enchanting storytelling that can be savored endlessly. _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- COMICS OBSCURA Mike Curtis shandafa@cyberback.com [COMICS OBSCURA are facts Mike Curtis has dug out during his 30 years of collecting Superman and writing about comics. His website for his comic imprint is www.shandafantasyarts.net ] THAT'S WHY SHE LOOKS LIKE THAT One of the more fun things to collect as a comic fan is BOOTLEG or UNAUTHORIZED items. There have been thousands since the comics have been around, and some of them are a lot of fun. One that shows up on rare occasions is a 1960's tab pin of LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE, showing her blank eyes and frizzled haircut. The legend above her image says ORPHAN ANNIE'S PARENTS SMOKED and surely did not refer to tobacco. _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- [8] Suspended Animation Michael Vance & Mark Allen MiklVance2@worldnet.att.net http://www.starland.com/sus [Michael Vance, a professional writer since 1977 and has been published in dozens of magazines including Starlog and Jack and Jill, and as a syndicated columnist and cartoonist in over 500 newspapers. His history book, Forbidden Adventure: The History of the American Comics Group, has been called a "benchmark in comics history". He ghosted an internationally syndicated comic strip, and his wrote own strip, Holiday Out, that was reprinted as a comic book. Vance also wrote the comic books Straw Men, Angel of Death, The Adventures of Captain Nemo, and Bloodtide. He is listed in the Who's Who of American Comic Books and Comic Book Superstars. His short stories have appeared in dozens of magazines and recorded by actor William (Murder She Wrote) Windom. Suspended Animation, has been published for more than sixteen years, and Vance worked in newspapers for 22 years as an editor, writer and advertising manager. Mark Allen lives in Western Oklahoma with his wife and daughter. He has been a Baptist minister for over 15 years, and has also written for the Oklahoma news industry. Having indulged in comics for nearly 30 years, Mark now enjoys using the written word to share with others what he believes is a true, and extremely under-acknowledged, art form.] Comics Buyer's Guide, published by F + W Publications, Inc., always over 200 pages, $5.99. Rather than reviewing a comic this time 'round, this review concerns a magazine about comic books. More to the point, a magazine covering the industry. I'm referring to Comics Buyer's Guide, the world's longest- running magazine about comics! And, what better place to cover it than in America's longest-running, syndicated comics-review column? Besides being the oldest magazine covering the industry, CBG has probably come the farthest in production values. It started 35 years ago and was produced in and distributed from the basement of a teenage fan. But, why review such a publication? Well, let's start with the fact that the magazine produces over 2000 reviews per year of various comics, on the accurate premise that "there's a comic book for everyone". It's a great resource for finding books that are most likely to appeal to readers with specific interests. So, if you've never even read a comic, but like a particular genre of movies, television or books, you can probably get in- formation on that genre in comics upon your first purchase of CBG. Besides that, each issue is filled with various interesting articles on the industry and history of the industry by professionals in the field, as well as professional comics retailers. Additionally, every issue features a price guide for back issues, with mini-reviews and snippets of even more history. If all of that weren't enough, CBG offers subscription rates that are less than half the regular cover price, a deal I'm about to dive into, myself. Most of all, however, this column is about getting new readers interested in the medium of comic books. A publication like CBG can only help achieve such an end, either by expanding a non- comics reader's conception of what publications actually comprise the world of comics, or helping a comics fan relay such information to those non-readers, while enhancing their own experience. Find it at comics shops, bookstores or at www.cbgxtra.com. Mark Allen For information on the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection and Toy and Action Figure Museum go to fourcolorcommentary.blogspot.com/ _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- COMICS OBSCURA Mike Curtis shandafa@cyberback.com [COMICS OBSCURA are facts Mike Curtis has dug out during his 30 years of collecting Superman and writing about comics. His website for his comic imprint is www.shandafantasyarts.net ] SOMETIMES AUTHORS TIRE OF THEIR CHARACTERS Ernest Tidyman had a hit when he created his black private eye SHAFT. It became a greater hit when Richard Roundtree played him in three movies, SHAFT, SHAFT'S BIG SCORE and SHAFT IN AFRICA. He also went on to do a TV series as the detective. Meanwhile, author Tidyman wrote several more novels, and then grew tired of the character, having him retire in GOODBYE MR. SHAFT. But when the TV series played in England, a publisher there made Tidyman an offer to do one more novel about the hero. To ensure he would not be asked again, the rare book was entitled THE LAST SHAFT and ended with someone coming out of an alley and shooting the hero. _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- [9] ComiX-Fan Reviews Eric J. Moreels x-fan@bigpond.net.au http://www.comixfan.com/xfan [Editor's note: Some of the following reviews have spoilers to plot details. This is a TEXT ONLY newsletter so those spoilers are not hidden by HTML code as they are on the ComiX-fan site.] MARVEL ZOMBIES #3 Reviewer: Phil Hunn philiphunn@hotmail.com "Whoever makes the kill gets double rations!" Writer: Robert Kirkman Penciler: Sean Phillips Color art: June Chung Letters: VC's Randy Gentile Cover: Arthur Suydam Production: Deborah Weinstein Editor: Ralph Macchio Assistant Editors: Nicole Wiley & John Barber Editor-In-Chief: Joe Quesada Publisher: Dan Buckley Published by: Marvel Comics This comic is suggested for mature readers. Can't stress that enough. And so the grisly, flesh-tearing adventures in the Universe Of Dodgy Puns continue. Robert Kirkman's blood-soaked version of an apocalyptic Marvel Universe consumed by brain-chomping versions of everybody's favourite Marvel heroes has been both gruesome and hilarious by turns, with every bit of humour black as night and twice as creepy. You find yourself giggling at things that you really shouldn't laugh about, and the fact that guys like Wolverine, Captain America and Giant-Man are all so casually bloodthirsty is at once terribly disturbing and brilliant. In fact, these zombies read nothing like the staggering, moaning archetype you'd see in, say, Romero or Fulci's zombie movies (or Kirkman's own excellent zombie book, The Walking Dead) and more like addicts on their way to getting their next fix (the way their "hunger" is described reinforces that description). Anyway, this issue opens with the Silver Surfer arriving to pronounce that Galactus has arrived and will be munching on Planet Zombie before too long. And more pieces fall off our fallen heroes: guts and brains fly everywhere as the undead homeboys struggle to find themselves some more food, and end up bickering violently amongst themselves. Even zombies have disagreements, it seems -- and it's great fun trying to find your own personal favourite hero in the zombie hordes as they do so. Of course, the big names like Spidey and Iron Man get the lion's share of the meat, but your second-stringers like Nova, Ghost Rider and Iron Fist are there in the background too, teeth out and hands clawing hungrily for the next morsel they can cram into their rotting, lipless mouths. And, like last issue, the highlight is the unzombified T'Challa, horrified and repulsed by the cannibalistic antics of his former colleagues and friends. His despair is palpable, as is his disgust at what the Avengers and the rest of the Marvel heroes have become. Although there is, strangely a certain sense of idealism still left in him, even in the face of what Giant-Man did to him, and what the world has descended into. Sean Phillips' art is once again extremely detailed, with every splash of blood and flesh being rendered in excruciating colour. It's not pretty by any means, but it's still a damn fine piece of work. This miniseries has managed to make a hopelessly grim set-up (and a daft pun of a title) into a highly entertaining book. Every issue hasn't disappointed, and this one, in particular, is an excellent read. The cliff-hanger alone is worth the price of admission. ART: 4.0 STORY: 5.0 OVERALL: 4.0 Thanks for subscribing to the Comic Book Network Electronic Magazine (CBEM) --------------------------->Disclaimer<--------------------------- This is an ANNOUNCE only mailing list, only the Editor can send messages to the list. No one else has access to the subscriber list. Replies to these messages will be received by the Editor ONLY, so you must CC: individual contributors if you want them to get your E-Mail. The E-mail to the E-mag MAY be used in future issues at the Editor's discretion UNLESS you specifically request that they not be. It is our policy to withhold names and/or Addresses, by request only, from letters of comment. 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