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+++++ From ICV2.com Suburban LA County Pulls Manga Text from Libraries 'Obscene Comics' April 14, 2006 Bill Postmus, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of suburban San Bernadino County, California, has ordered the county's libraries to remove the scholarly text Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics from circulation. He proudly announced the move, calling the book "obscene comics," on the county's Website, saying, "That book is absolutely inappropriate for a public library and as soon as I was made aware of it yesterday, I ordered it to be removed immediately." The flap started in Victorville, after a 16-year-old checked the book out of the adult section of the library. The teen's mother "was horrified," according to a story in the local Desert Dispatch, and wrote a letter to the library asking that the book be removed. County Library Collection Development Coordinator Nannette Bricker-Barrett, in a proud moment for free speech, was quoted by the newspaper as noting that it was the parent's responsibility to determine what a minor checked out of the adult section. "It is the parents' responsibility since the library does not act as a parent. It is the library's responsibility to offer a broad spectrum of materials, not to exclude materials....Library policy affirms the American Library Association's Library Bill of rights, Freedom to Read, and Freedom to View statements." The county-wide system had 13 copies of the book in its collection. The 2004 trade paperback, written by Paul Gravett and published by Harper Design, is a history of Japanese comics, and includes, in several chapters, discussion of adult comics that depict sex and violence. The violence was apparently not an issue, nor was the fact that the reproductions of panels that feature sexual situations were, as far as we could tell, all R-rated and treated in a serious, scholarly way. Postmus' statement and the local newspaper coverage made much of the fact that the book contains "sex with animals," but we couldn't find it; we must not have looked as hard. The vast San Bernadino County, east of Los Angeles, includes such suburban communities as Ontario, Chino, and Fontana, as well as the more remote Barstow and Twenty-Nine Palms. Postmus has also called for the library system "to draft a plan to protect children from inappropriate books and other materials that may currently exist in the county library system." Miniseries, 'Spider-Girl' #100 Major MC2 Events Ending MC2? April 14, 2006 Marvel's press conference on Thursday brought writer Tom DeFalco, his editors, and sales veep David Gabriel together to discuss the Last Planet Standing mini-series and Spider-Girl #100, which may or may not mark the end of the MC2 universe and the Spider-Girl title. Last Planet Standing is a sequel of sorts to last year's Last Hero Standing, which Defalco also penned. "Last year the crew and I were asked to pitch in and do a five issue limited series," Defalco said. "We had a grand old time doing it, and to our surprise and delight, the readers seemed to have a lot of fun with it." In some ways, the miniseries was a spin-off from the Spider-Girl series, but sold twice what Spider-Girl had been selling, so another miniseries was planned for this year. In thinking about the second miniseries, Defalco said the idea of a cosmic story, which hadn't been done by Marvel for years, came up, and the team decided to try to "do something that really blows everybody's socks off." The new storyline will feature Galactus, and his evolution. "Everything wants to grow, and that includes Galactus," DeFalco said. "He'll have to make some sacrifices, which in his case is most of the rest of the universe, but that's a price he's willing to pay." Although it could mean the end of the MC2 universe, the final decision hasn't been made; DeFalco said that the last five pages of issue five have yet to be written. But he also indicated that he's been having a lot of fun in that universe, and that he's "betting on a happy ending," because he likes having it around. Spider-Girl #100 is expected to be the end of the series, which has been slated for a final issue numerous times before. DeFalco recounted how after the initial run, which was planned to be a limited series, the team was asked to do another six issues, and then another six, and so on until the august #100 is now scheduled, a milestone that many series planned as continuing never reach. David Gabriel noted that Spider-Girl will continue in other formats. The character will continue to be featured in the digests. And an A-Next Digest will be released in August, and a Fantastic Five Digest late this year or early in 2007, so the MC2 universe will carry on for some time in that format. Spider-Girl hardcovers for libraries, each featuring single issues, will also continue for the next several years. Asked whether any special consumer marketing behind the MC2 events was planned, Gabriel noted that Marvel's press conferences were usually reserved for event books, so the fact that one was being devoted to the miniseries and Spider-Girl #100 was an unusual level of support for a "smaller" book in and of itself. Gabriel also mentioned that Spider-Man Family had done surprisingly well as a one-shot last year, and that another issue was slated for this August. "There's a 25th anniversary in the Spider-Man universe coming up, and that will be the featured story," he said. Marvel is also planning a couple of other Spider-Man Family issues in 2006. Last Planet Standing will kick off May 10th, with four more issues following monthly; Spider-Girl #100 will ship in July. Shazam!--A Director! Peter Segal April 14, 2006 Peter Segal (50 First Dates, Anger Management) has been signed to direct Shazam!, based on the DC property, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The project, which has been in development for some time, also has new writers: William Goldman (Dreamcatcher, Maverick) and Bryan Goluboff (Basketball Diaries) +++++ [ALL THE RAGE and LYING IN THE GUTTERS are originally posted online on Sunday and Monday respectively so the information here is almost a week old. Other items above are more current.- D.L.] From Blair Marnell in his ALL THE RAGE Gossip Column at: http://www.SilverBulletComicBooks.com Write to him at: blairm@silverbulletcomicbooks.com RUMOUR BARRIER "I accept that the following material is rumour and gossip, intended to entertain only. I won't repeat the information inside as fact. I understand if I want the truth, I will go to Silver Bulletins. I enter freely with my mind open and my blinkers off." Now, on to the rumours . . . [NOTE: this column may be slightly edited for language. - D.L.] Fearful Symmetry By Blair Marnell Welcome back to another edition of ATR. I'm having some minor technical difficulties this week, so bear with me... Sundowner Earlier this week, Marvel released a statement regarding Chris Claremont's pending time off due to his recent health problems. Already some speculation has shown up online regarding the severity of his condition, but even so, most observers have expressed their desire to see Claremont make "a full and speedy recovery." We at SBC also send Claremont our best wishes. As for Claremont's upcoming books for Marvel, they will be waiting for him when he makes his return. In the interim, the early word is that Tony Bedard will stay on Exiles for at least a few issues beyond his planned exit, though I haven't heard what will happen with New Excalibur yet... UPDATE Newsarama just posted an update from Diamond's retailer website. Apparently, Frank Tieri will script over Claremont's plots for New Excaliber #7 & 8, while Bedard will script Uncanny X-Men 472, 474 and Annual # 1, again from Claremont's plots. However, they didn't confirm the rumor of Bedard staying on Exiles... This Has A "First Flight" Factor of Eight Out of Ten By Your Command Among the good news to come out this week, one of my favorite creators, Rick Remender is slated to write the Classic Battlestar Galactica series for Dynamite. I'm trying to find out who the artist attached is, but nobody is talking just yet. But I did hear that Dave Dorman is onboard for the covers... This Has A "Many Yarons Ago" Factor of Eight Out of Ten People Are Strange There's been some interesting crossover between music and comics as of late. A few weeks back, there was a rumor about Neil Young working on a project for Vertigo. Now there's a rumor that Marilyn Manson is going to make a guest appearance in Emily The Strange #3. Not a parody or a thinly veiled caricature, but the actual man himself will be teaming up with Emily in one of the stories, similar to the feature with The Damned from the first issue. An in-character interview is also expected... In other Dark Horse news heard this week, Hiroaki Samura (Blade of the Immortal) is working on two new stories for an Ohikkoshi collection, which is coming out in October. This Has A "Posse Cat" Factor of Seven Out of Ten Blade of Destiny Some pages from the recently released Witchblade manga have shown up online over at Heisei Democracy. http://heiseidemocracy.net/2006/04/09/manga-review-witchblade- takeru-chapter-1/ The manga is entitled: Witchblade: Takeru, with the creative team of Kobayashi Yasuko and Sumita Kazasa. According to the reviewer, it has little or nothing to do with the Witchblade anime currently airing in Japan. Takeru is your average Japanese high school girl being raised in a Buddhist convent by a couple of nuns and a big scary claw locked in a box that she's supposed to avoid like that plague. It haunts her dreams in a big mess of foreshadowing that you can bet will be wrapped up in the course of this introductory chapter's 38 pages, which lo and behold, it is - but I'm getting ahead of myself. The review is actually quite good for making sense of the posted pages. Though some of the art is very... suggestive. Where exactly is she pulling that sword from? This Has A "No Pez" Factor of Eight Out of Ten Eight Days A Week Regular readers of Heidi MacDonald's The Beat should recognize this "mystery Adam Hughes image" that was posted earlier this week. http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2006/04/mystery_adam_hughes_image. html I've been told that this will be the cover to an Image anthology book called 24/Seven that will be coming out in July. It's going to be in full color with contributions from several well-known comic creators, including Alex Maleev, Mike Oeming, Esad Ribic, Eduardo Risso and Ben Templesmith. And I hear that's just the tip of the iceberg... This Has A "My Life As A Robot" Factor of Nine Out of Ten The Gods Are Dead In less pleasant Image related news, I hear that the second issue of the Small Gods miniseries has been canceled due to low sales. And the Small Gods forum on the Image boards (http://www.imagecomics.com/messageboard/) appears to have been removed... This Has A "Dead Man's Hand" Factor of Six Out of Ten Dead Clay Pool However there is some good news for another company that was seemingly imperiled by Diamond's new order policies. Claypool editor and Deadbeats writer/artist, Richard Howell checked in this week with a brief update: The situation as of today is that Diamond is continuing to carry Soulsearchers and Company, at least, and we'll know more about Deadbeats fairly soon. Our recent efforts at promoting the two series--with point-of-purchase cards, order reminder cards, posters publicizing our annual "Jump-In" event, etc, seem to have done some good. Anything could change at any moment, but Diamond recently sent us a purchase order for the issue of Soulsearchers that's one issue past the original cut-off point, so that would seem to be a signal. We intend to expand the makeup and content of our website (http://www.claypoolcomics.com/) substantially in the near future, and that definitely includes the option that Deadbeats (and perhaps Soulsearchers, too) could begin to feature web-only content in the near future, but that decision's up in the air also. (Basically, we've had a sword hanging over our heads for about four months now, and it makes long-term planning a bit dicey.) Howell also wanted to share this anecdote: I wandered into one of my local outlets--Midtown Comics on 40th Street in Manhattan--and was pleased to see two of Claypool's three series available on the main comics racks. (After I asked about the third-- Soulsearchers --they informed me that it had already sold out.) That indicates to me that some of our promotional efforts have worked--now we just have to keep up, both on the promotional and creative fronts, to get our comics into the hands of those readers who Love to Read Comics. This Has A "Clamor & Clarion" Factor of Seven Out of Ten Bendin' Like Benes Hey... why didn't someone tell me Ed Benes had a blog? http://edbenes.zip.net/ I love this guy's art... This Has A "Powerhouse" Factor of Ten Out of Ten A New Curse One of our overseas ATR Agents has sent word of a new British company called Praxis Comics, which will be launching at San Diego this year. He also passed along art from one of their first titles: Scarlett's Curse by Trevor Lee Landolt and Jeanine Henning. More information might be forthcoming at this year's Bristol Comic Expo. Speaking of Bristol, I'm not going to be able to make it this year, but I understand that SBC will be well represented there. Stay tuned for further details... This Has A "Rising Savior" Factor of Seven Out of Ten And that's it for this week. See you in seven. Later, Blair PS If anyone has any rumors, stories or news to share, please email me at blairm@silverbulletcomicbooks.com. Thanks to everyone who has been sending stuff in. It's greatly appreciated. +++++ Items found in Rich Johnston's "Lying in the Gutters" column at http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/ which are all rumors or gossip so take any of it with a BIG bucket of salt! Write to Rich at: richjohnston@gmail.com Rich heard rumors . . . "Battler Britton" is a five issue series for WildStorm. For July. Written by Garth Ennis drawn by Colin Wilson with painted covers by Garry Leach. "Event Horizon" Vol. 3 is in trouble. Too few preorders are giving Mam Tor cash flow problems, and the book may not be published. "Event Horizon" is the Liam Sharp ("Event Horizon") graphic anthology in the style of "Heavy Metal," but with far more of a British flavour. It boasts contributors including Sharp himself, Ashley Wood, Steve Niles, Glenn Fabry, Simon Bisley and, well, me. Ronnee G Bourgeois sent round the following to a bunch of comics commentators this morning. "Back in December, I first told you about an alleged sexual assault that occurred at a comic convention and expressed my own personal feelings on the subject as I tend to do. Since then I have learned to be a bit more politically correct and all that crap but I do not apologize for bringing the topic up, for saying what I think or for being a passionate person for women's rights. "However, at the time, the victim was not ready to come public and wanted to handle the situation the right way and through the proper channels, which I applaud her for of course... I then promised not to publicly speak of it again until SHE was ready to tell it herself. "Well. She's ready." http://www.popcultureshock.com/features.php?id=1357 Kostas Seremetis --> http://www.sweatyfrog.com/superhero.html Turning great comics into murals. Watch for those who hate Lichtenstein with a passion to be riled again. The recent New York Comic Convention seems to have been selling the personal information of attendees on to direct market salespeople. How do we know this? Well, for some reason comics writer and letterer John Layman managed to get a convention identity as "John Layman MarvelWildStormOniDynamite". And guess who a magazine subscription offer for the "Now Playing" movie magazine came addressed to? Another one of those paid-for Nike Shmoo-Swoosh logos appears within panels of a Marvel comic. It's on the back of the main character's jacket in the last panel of "Untold Tales Of The New Universe: Nightmask" #1. Which takes place in 1986. _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ] WE KNOW HE'S FOREIGN, JUST NOT THAT FOREIGN ERAN TRACE is an intriguing title for a film, and it stands as one of the most curious existing movies in history. When WARNER OLAND starred in 1931's CHARLIE CHAN CARRIES ON, it began a series of films that long outlasted the actor himself. However, this movie and three other early Oland CHANs are lost films. Yet, it can still be viewed---in a sense. When sound came to Hollywood, one solution producers found for the international market was to film different versions of their product for Spanish and French audiences. ERAN TRACE is the Spanish version of CHARLIE CHAN CARRIES ON, performed with a different cast and it still is still available on the collector's market. _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Interviews Richard Vasseur richardv@sympatico.ca Steve Zinngrabe writer on "Codename: Black Death" from Triumph Comics interviewed by Richard Vasseur www.jazmaonline.com RV: What is the basic story about? SZ: Codename: Black Death is about a highly decorated Marine Corps Sergeant Major (Marshall Ahrens) who steals Military equipment and goes AWOL to avenge the death of his brother. The name of the story relates to the codename the Marine Corps gives Marshall because his quest leads to some pretty extensive bloodshed. RV: Who is the main character? SZ: Marshal Ahrens. He is the commander of a Marine Corps Special Forces squad and an expert in hand-to-hand combat. He's a character I've got a real affinity for because I've been a martial arts instructor for many years, and he is a martial arts expert. He allows me to play out so many things I've practiced and taught over the years. RV: Do you have any important supporting characters? SZ: Several. We've got Decker, who is the arrogant Marine Corps Superhero known as Skate. We've also got Foley, Hayes, Senator McDonald, and a few more. Each person has a really distinct personality that really makes the story come alive. RV: What other comic book character is Black Death similar to? SZ: He's kind of like a cross between the Punisher and Vigilante. He is silent and stealthy much like Vigilante, but when he's discovered, it's no-holds-barred kill time like the Punisher. He's like the best of both world's! RV: What type of person will enjoy this comic? SZ: If you enjoy the superhero genre, this is right up your alley. And, anyone that likes the Special Forces and martial arts will love the tie-in. But, most importantly, anyone who likes a well-written story where the characters really come alive will enjoy it. RV: What makes your comics stand out from the rest? SZ: 3 things: 1) Strong character development - not just with the main characters but with supporting characters as well. Without this, we'd have just another run-of-the-mill book. You're going to love (and hate) the characters, plain and simple! 2) Quality writing and storytelling - writing and story telling is more than just creating characters and stuffing them into a universe. It's about flow, realism, and individualism. You have to feel the characters and the story. Our stories are really designed to give the reader something fun and exciting to read. They've got humor, great transitions, great flow, and an exciting story with unexpected twists. 3) Great Art - now, what would a comic be without a great artist? We're really happy with the artists we have and how they were able to help us bring these stories to life. RV: How would you describe the art of El Dazo the artist on "Codename: Black Death"? SZ: Before choosing Dazo, Mark and I reviewed at least a hundred artists, and I couldn't have been happier with our choice. Dazo is a phenomenal artist. He's got a wonderful grasp of storytelling and his pinups are beautiful. His creativity, attention to detail, and classic superhero style really bring the world to life. RV: How did you and your brother Mark start Triumph Comics? SZ: Mark and I have talked about starting our own comic books since we were kids. We've had many of these characters since we were playing the Marvel Super Heroes game twenty years ago as kids, and we've always wanted to share our universe with everyone else. This year, we've finally able to do it. RV: What first got you interested in writing? SZ: I've always enjoyed writing. It gives me a venue to unleash an unlimited amount of creativity. It keeps me feeling young - if not in body, at least in mind. RV: If you could have one super power what would it be and why? SZ: Oh, this is an easy one. It'd have to be super strength. And, it sure would have come in handy the other day at the grocery store when somebody in a Mercedes took up two parking spaces right next to the entrance, heh, heh. RV: What future projects are you planning? SZ: Glad you asked. We're introducing two more books this year - Devil's Claw and Talon. Devil's Claw is the story of one man's struggle with losing all that he cares for, and in his moment of weakness it is the Devil that answers his call for help. It is a cool story, and it has a really unique twist on superheroes. It's a four-issue mini- series. Talon is the elite organization of the U.S. Government, but rather than just using soldiers, it employs superheroes known as specialists. You can think of it as GI Joe with superheroes. The first book is a one-shot and it is awesome! RV: What comics do you read now? SZ: I like stories that are well written and really engage the mind. Nothing turns me off more than reading a story where the characters all seem like lifeless stumps. And, I'm a sucker for action, especially when the bad guys get what they deserve. That said, I've been enjoying Vigilante and back issues of Breakdown lately, and I like to read GI Joe and Transformers as well (they help me relive the days of my youth). RV: How can someone contact you? SZ: Please email me at triumphcomics@gmail.com ***** Joe Casey writer on "G.I.Joe: America's Elite" from Devil's Due interviewed by Richard Vasseur www.jazmaonline.com RV: What is the basic story outline of "G.I.Joe: America's Elite"? JC: GI Joe is America's anti-terrorism specialist squad. In this case, "terrorist" generally means COBRA. RV: What characteristics do you try to give to the main characters? JC: Well, they started out as action figures so I guess my main mandate is to try to depict them as human as possible. RV: Do you prefer writing an action story or a more character driven one? JC: I prefer a healthy blend of action and character. RV: Do you try to give some realism to the military protocol? JC: I try to do the best that I can in that regard. RV: What is "Godland" about? JC: It's about the cosmic mythology that resides within each of us. It's also a slam-bang cosmic superhero epic that spans the entirety of both the known and the unknown universes. RV: What is "Man of Action"? JC: It's a company that I am one-quarter of. We provide content in all forms of media. Our most recent property is the animated series, BEN 10, now showing on Cartoon Network. RV: What other fields of entertainment do you work in? JC: All of them. RV: If you could pick any comic to write that you haven't before which one would it be and why? JC: There are way too many of those to list here. RV: Do you think comics are a valid form of literacy and art? JC: Absolutely. RV: What would you like to accomplish in the next few years? JC: More of the same. Bigger and better. RV: What comics do you read now and did you read as a child? JC: Don't read many comicbook at the moment but I absolutely read them as a kid. Lots of Marvel and DC stuff, then independent comics in the 80's. RV: How can someone contact you? JC: Probably through the Man Of Action website: www.manofaction.tv RV: Any last words of wisdom? JC: Don't do drugs. _________________________________________________________________ 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. All contributors are required to use their real name and have a valid Email address for their columns to be published. Send Email comments to: ComicBkNet@aol.com Material for inclusion in the Emag - press releases, solicitations, column submissions, Letters to the Editor, guesses for the trivia contest should be sent to ComicBkNet@aol.com The EDITOR, not the submitter, has final approval and edit rights on ALL material. Printed comic books and advanced copies for review in the Emag should be sent via US Mail or UPS to David L. 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