HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: pmm34393@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Dr. Claw )
Subject: Re: The Care and Feeding of Comics
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 14:54:34 GMT

In article <77858@ut-emx.uucp> cwagner@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Christian Wagner) writes:
>In article <13990@gazette.bcm.tmc.edu> albert@chain.ssctr.bcm.tmc.edu (Rick Jones) writes:
>>	Well, I'm glad to see that you've got a comics collection that
>>you could easily liquidate.  However, most people's collection consists
>>of 100 issues of filler for each New Mutants #87.  Yes, if you're strapped,
>>you could sell that one issue for a boatload, but the rest of the 
>>collection is not going to anything.  I don't think for a minute that
>>my complete run of Blue Devil is ever going to be valuable.  Heck, I'd
>>be _lucky_ to see a quarter for each of them.
>
>This brings up an interesting net.question:
>
>Who else has a complete run (or just a load of issues) of a particular title
>that will never be worth a damn thing (at least from a monetary standpoint),
>but that you've kept anyway?

I am a complete set of Transformers that aren't worth a damn thing, but
it's got sentimental value, as I was a big fan of the TV show, movie, etc.
I also have a complete set of GII Joe. A friend of mine, about 3 years ago,
urged me to sell the first issues because they were worth a substantial 
amount. I refuse to sell, and the issues are now worth about 1/4 of 
what they were at their peak. Ah, well, I have no regrets...

-pmm

-- 
"Is it madness, my dear Enchantress, which drives a man of my genius to strive
 for an impossible prize..or is it the striving for that which is ever just
 out of reach which prevents madness from overtaking me?"  
					Dr. Doom, Secret Wars
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
From: rogerk@queernet.org (Roger B.A. Klorese)
Subject: Re: The Care and Feeding of Comics
Organization: QueerNet
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 92 04:28:45 GMT

In article <77983@ut-emx.uucp> cwagner@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Christian Wagner) writes:
>Do you think we could convince Dark Horse to pick up ZOT! too? :> :> :> 

ZOT! is not coming out because Scott has other things to do at the moment.
I've seen some of it -- the first eighty-or-so pages of his book-in-comics
analyzing comics as a medium and a language -- and it's brilliant.

He says ZOT! *will* be back... but not for a while.
-- 
ROGER B.A. KLORESE                                              +1 415 ALL-ARFF
rogerk@unpc.QueerNet.ORG                 {ames,decwrl,pyramid}!mips!unpc!rogerk
"Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from."
                                                                   -- J. Foster
From: rji@nyquist.cs.nott.ac.uk (Rob Ingram)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Gaiman Signings
Date: 14 Aug 92 13:16:41 GMT
Organization: Communications Research Group

In Sandman 40 (I think) there is a list of places in the US where
Neil Gaiman will be signing the new graphic BUT, I want to know
if he will be signing in the UK too, and if so where?
Anybody know?

			Rob.


-- 
_______________________________________________________________________________
|                       | Rob Ingram                                          |
|  "Hang loose kid!"    | University of Nottingham                            |
|                       | Department of Computer Science                      |
|                       | Nottingham, UK.                                     |
|_______________________|_____________________________________________________|
|                       |      "Women: Can't live with 'em, can't get them    |
|  rji@cs.nott.ac.uk    |       to dress in skimpy leather Nazi outfits"      |
|_______________________|_____________________________________________________|
From: hcheng@Auspex.COM (Howard Cheng)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Re: Ambush Bug/TICK/Etc.
Keywords: Interesting, more info
Date: 14 Aug 92 21:49:34 GMT
Organization: Auspex Systems, Santa Clara

In article <1992Aug13.225733.20615@cco.caltech.edu> jwf@kastor.ccsf.caltech.edu (Jon Flower) writes:
>
>Also, can anyone recommend other good books in a similar (funny) vein?
>
>					Wendell (whicken@parasoft.com)
>					[guest on jwf's account]

My heartiest recommendation goes out to DOOM FORCE #1, replete with characters
such as The Crying Boy (tm) and Shasta, the Living Mountain (tm). Written
by Grant Morrison and drawn by a whole bunch of people.

h.
From: hcheng@Auspex.COM (Howard Cheng)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Re: The Care and Feeding of Comics
Date: 18 Aug 92 00:20:17 GMT
Organization: Auspex Systems, Santa Clara

In article <77858@ut-emx.uucp> cwagner@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Christian Wagner) writes:
>
>Who else has a complete run (or just a load of issues) of a particular title
>that will never be worth a damn thing (at least from a monetary standpoint),
>but that you've kept anyway?
>

Well, I've got a complete run of "Tailgunner Jo" and "The Wanderers," both
of which I bought at 6 for $1 at San Diego. Then I've also got #1-10 of
"Omega Men" and "Alien Legion," none of which are worth beans, but I keep
them because I've got nothing else to do with them!

h.

Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
From: saab@ais.org (Micheal Marks)
Subject: Image does a boo-boo
Organization: UMCC
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 06:23:23 GMT

           OR                               
           --
 
"Gee, I didn't think about that"
 
My comment this time is about Shadowhawk #1.  Or, more precisely, the
first Image Comics #0 coupon in it.  As we all remember, there will
be seven coupons you can collect to send in for a free copy of
Image Comics #0 (which really isn't free, but that's another story).
 
The redemption rules make it a point to mention that only the
original coupon can be sent in.  Well...
 
From 2 days of sales, I have had no less than 4 different people 
point out/brag about the fact that the actual coupon is (supposedly)
easy to make a quality counterfeit and that they, of course, would try
it.  I am no expert in printing but to me it doesn't look very hard
to get the right stock blue paper and the proper machine.  
 
Maybe I'm just blessed with living in an area full of shysters, but
I have a feeling that Image may have a minor fiasco on their hands.
Some marketing oversight may be showing here.  But hey, if a company
like Topps can do it, Malibu sure can...
  
What do you think?
 
MDM

-- 
"To be the man, you have to BEAT the man" Ric Flair, EX-REAL World's "The Man"
"We make money the old-fashioned way.  We play with dolls!"  LOD
"The only battle that counts is the last one"  Leader Desslok
Micheal Marks  On IRC:Drstyle  saab@ais.org  mmarks@nyx.cs.du.edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
From: jhildeb1@cc.swarthmore.edu (Jeff Hildebrand)
Subject: Re: DC's plans
Reply-To: jhildeb1@cc.swarthmore.edu (Jeff Hildebrand)
Organization: Don's Merry Horde of Topologists
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 04:43:25 GMT

dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig) writes:
> My interpretation is that DC is hoping to avoid the otherwise inevitable
> implosion by pumping a large number of titles out, but only keeping those
> that show early promise.  After all, a steady stream of new titles and
> mini-series is at least as effective as a smaller stable of old faithfuls
> in taking up shelf space.  It also offers more scope for trying new ideas
> and new people -- with the catch that a title has to take off or sink
> almost immediately.

	Someone should point out to these people that if they had been
following this policy 3+ years ago Sandman would have been canceled around
issue 8. Sure it had a small devoted following at the beginning, but for the
most part it was doing fairly poorly in terms of sales. Then slowly it
started to catch on as more people started trying it (it really took off
towards the end of Doll's House I think) and now it's the highest selling of
DC's non super-hero comics. (Heck it may be the the highest selling non
super-hero comic period.) **

	Arrgh, the stupidities of the near term profit oriented company.
Anything that is sufficiently different from the standard fare is not going
to be an immediate best seller because all the fanboys are looking for more
of the same. But if they keeping cranking out the same old stuff, when the
implosion does happen they're hosed. In a remarkable twist of logic they
seem to have recognized the second part, but don't have the guts to take
some gambles and stick with offbeat titles that may not do well initially.

	How does this fit in with the new "mature readers" line that DC is
planning? If the same policy applies to that as well they're really
confused. And did anyone get a straight answer as to how much
creator-control people will actually have there? (I can just hear Dave Sim
firing up his next round of attacks now...)

** Hopefully this won't spark an argument as to what comics fit into the
super-hero category. I think we got enough of that during the split debate.

-Jeff
-- 
Jeff Hildebrand                                  jhildeb1@cc.swarthmore.edu
"Fly Heisenberg Airlines! We may not know where we are, but we're making
real good time." - _Synners_ by Pat Cadigan
From: ralf@cs.uq.oz.au (Ralf Muhlberger)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Re: Ambush Bug/TICK/Etc.
Keywords: Interesting, more info
Date: 16 Aug 92 12:11:01 GMT
Reply-To: ralf@cs.uq.oz.au

In <1992Aug13.225733.20615@cco.caltech.edu> jwf@kastor.ccsf.caltech.edu (Jon Flower) writes:

>Hi!  I've recently become a big Tick and Ambush Bug fan (related only
>in the sense that both are VERY funny).  Could anyone help me out on
>the history of these characters?

>What I know:

>	Ambush Bug appearances:
>		Ambush Bug 4 issue mini-series
>		Son of Ambush Bug 6 issue mini-series
>		Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer
>		Ambush Bug Nothing Special

What I know :-)

I've a Secret Origins of Ambush Bug story, which is also quite funny. I
don't know the number right now, but I can get it for you.


>					Wendell (whicken@parasoft.com)
>					[guest on jwf's account]

Ralf

-----Ralf Muhlberger-----(ralf@cs.uq.oz.au)-----University of Queensland------
I wonder if other people can hear voices in their head. I certainly can. I can
hear one now. It's saying: "I wonder if other people can hear voices in ... "
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
From: scs@lokkur.dexter.mi.us (Steve Simmons)
Subject: Re: Popularity in Comics (was Liefield Throws Tantrum)
Organization: Inland Sea
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 92 21:20:12 GMT

>ian@airs.com (Ian Lance Taylor):

>It's kind of depressing that comic book companies succeed by aiming
>their books at a younger audience, one which in general has less
>disposable income than (I expect) most of the people reading this
>post.  It emphasizes what a minority adult comic readers are in the U.S.

dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig) writes:

>I don't see it as depressing.  We simply need to accept that there are
>two comics markets.  There is a large market, consisting primarily of boys
>in the thirteen-year-old range.  And there's a much smaller market,
>consisting primarily of older readers, with larger disposable incomes,
>who have been reading long enough to have more complex tastes.

Last night there were two comics laying face-down on the table next to
my chair.  I knew which which two I'd put there and was able to tell
which was which by the ads.  Both were from the Big Two, one for each
of the two markets that Dani mentions.  So I went thru the two books
and looked at the ads.  If you throw out the comics house ads and the
ads for comics resellers, here's what was found:

	Comic A

	Inside fron cover:	Pen Sematary Two
	Back cover:		Def Leppard album and tour

	Comic B

	Inside cover:		Nintendo Wresting Game
	Interior (3 page)	TMNT Nintendo
	Interior (1/2 page)	Boys Town help line
	Inside back cover:	Nintendo Battletoads
	Back cover:		Kool-Aid

So what readers are the advertisers expecting to find in these two books?  
For the first I'd guess the late teens to early 20s, the second 8-15.
But neither are "older readers" except by comparison to each other.

A quick browse thru the shelves confirms this -- two target audiences
for the ads, but nothing really aimed at folks 30 and up.  Kind of
depressing, really.  Being a part of the "and up" generation I've noticed
a significant lack of comics readers, but it really brings home the fact
that the businessmen perceive their market as 22 and under.

What were the two books?  It doesn't matter, and a sample size of two
really doesn't prove anything.  Try the test yourself -- it's surprising
how often you can get it right.
-- 
 "Voodoun is a very interesting religion for the whole family, even those
  members of it who are dead."
		-- "Good Omens", by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
From: sherman@oak.math.ucla.edu (William Sherman)
Subject: Re: CEREBUS: Melmoth (was re: M&D 10)
Organization: UCLA Mathematics Department
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 92 22:54:09 GMT

In article <1992Aug21.165138.26866@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> conty@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (Conty-kun) writes:
>In article <1992Aug21.023155.3531@math.ucla.edu>, sherman@oak.math.ucla.edu (The Ahkond of Swat) writes:
>> In article <1992Aug20.224214.24610@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> conty@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (Conty-kun) writes:
>> >- What's the point of MELMOTH?
>
>You know, this would be a good question for Dave.  Would you please write it
>down, Mr. Ottaviani (sp)?
>
>>  My guess is that Sim just became fascinated with Oscar Wilde, and couldn't
>> keep him out of "Cerebus."  There isn't any "point;" it's just something
>> Sim wanted to do.  I don't mind, though; it's Sim's book, and I enjoyed 
>> "Melmoth."  *shrug*
>
>Oh, it was good, but it didn't link plot-wise with the rest of the story.
>Ah well.

I refer you to the latest of JimO's Sim/Usenet interview files, where
Sim is asked about dropping the invasion plot in the amnesia interlude
(20 to 21).  He doesn't feel obligated to make things work out in a
nice tight plot.  I kinda like it that way; it feels more lifelike.


--
   Bill Sherman      S^1 `--> S^(2n+1) -->> CP^n     sherman@math.ucla.edu
      "I couldn't handle childhood."  "You may have been too young."
                          Sam Hurt, _Eyebeam: Teetering on the Blink_
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
From: saab@ais.org (Micheal Marks)
Subject: Re: Image does a boo-boo
Keywords: image, coupons, greed
Organization: UMCC
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 05:37:41 GMT

In article <16guk4INN6gh@stanley.cis.Brown.EDU> MJV@brownvm.brown.edu (Marshall Vale) writes:
>In article <Bsyn31.36p@ais.org>, saab@ais.org (Micheal Marks) said:
>[deleted stuff used to be here]
>>From 2 days of sales, I have had no less than 4 different people
>>point out/brag about the fact that the actual coupon is (supposedly)
>>easy to make a quality counterfeit and that they, of course, would try
>>it.  I am no expert in printing but to me it doesn't look very hard
>>to get the right stock blue paper and the proper machine.
>
>  Having worked awhile with both computer typesetting and copiers, I
>noticed how easy it might be to fake the Image coupon right away.
>However, they did put a couple of hooks in there. There are some very
>small point size text that will definitely show artifacts from being
>copied. The blue paper will also hinder the quality of the copy since
>you'll have to put the copier at a lighter setting so it won't pick up
>the blue (worse yet will be if they use a coupon that is red.) There
>are also a few letters that might fill in when copied. I think the
>'e' and the 'a' in the Image logo are the best candidates.
>   The real way to fake the copouns would be to redo it on a Mac or such
>and then output at somewhere around 1200dpi on an imagesetter. They go
>run off about a few hundred copies at a printers (photocopies wouldn't
>be good enough.) The trouble with this is getting the couple of non standard
>fonts they use. Oh, the greek 'Symbol' font text at the bottom says: "
>Shadowhawk by Jim Valentino"
>   Though maybe the Image people won't take a good look at the coupons
>so it would all be moot. Who knows, who cares?
>
>   Of course I don't give a flying leap about Image #0 so after thinking
>about this idea for all of 2 seconds, I sat down to read the Usagi
>Color Special. Darn good stuff!  (and no, I didn't buy Shadowhawk!)
>
>Cheers,
>Marshall
 
Good for you.  Three Image titles in one week, talk about crazy!
I almost needed a Bang Stick.  
 
It was the fact that anyone, let alone 4 people, would openly boast
about trying to cheat that suprised me.  In today's market, if
something with perceived value can be faked, someone will try it.
I hope Image/Malibu notices before it gets out of hand.
 
A sidebar to this: We got about 10 copies of Shadowhawk #1 damaged
from the distributor.  Instead of the usual and sending them back
for credit, someone noticed them and was willing to pay full price
to have them!  Thanks, sucker, er, I mean valued customer.  P.T.
was right...
 
MDM
-- 
"To be the man, you have to BEAT the man" Ric Flair, EX-REAL World's "The Man"
"We make money the old-fashioned way.  We play with dolls!"  LOD
"The only battle that counts is the last one"  Leader Desslok
Micheal Marks  On IRC:Drstyle  saab@ais.org  mmarks@nyx.cs.du.edu
From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Re: San Diego Comic Con news
Date: 21 Aug 92 20:06:46 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)

tyg@HQ.Ileaf.COM (Tom Galloway):
>In case you were wondering, that purple robed figure in a recent New Titans
>was indeed supposed to be Destiny, but permission wasn't granted by the
>Sandman people to use him, thus the change in name.

So it was just one of your generic omniscient robed beings handcuffed
to a book.  Just as I figured...
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
From: lazlo@triton.unm.edu (Lazlo Nibble)
Subject: Re: Thoughts on the CON
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 92 02:15:33 GMT
Organization: Sporadic and incomplete

rdippold@cancun.qualcomm.com (Ron Dippold) writes:

> Todd McFarlane said that he doesn't need a writer.  He says he knows the
> writing in spawn isn't as good as it could be, but that he didn't want
> the aggravation of working with someone else for a long period of time. 
> Went on and on about how simple his life was, and seemed rather slow. 

Oh man oh man.  There's more than twenty pages of McFarlane's drooling in
the new _Comics Journal_ (#152) -- he's such a complete, willful *idiot*
that it's painful to read at times.

--
Lazlo (lazlo@triton.unm.edu)

"I don't got a long concentration span, you know?  I don't read _Sports
 Illustrated_ because the articles are too long."   -- Todd McFarlane
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
From: cwelsh@morgan.ucs.mun.ca (Craig Welsh  8823239)
Subject: Re: Worthless (?) comics
Organization: Memorial University of Newfoundland
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 13:35:12 GMT

In article <1992Aug17.203015.4639@urbana.mcd.mot.com> asoto@dacapo.urbana.mcd.mot.com (Anthony Soto) writes:
>In article <1992Aug17.154529.8663@eos.arc.nasa.gov>,
>shrum@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Ric
>k Shrum) writes:
>|> Marvels _Godzilla_ is the "only" comic I have the complete run of: 12
>|> whole issues I believe!
>
>Actually, it was 24 whole issues. This and Marvel's Shogun Warriors are the
>only comic I have a complete run of; Showgun Warriors was another 24 issue
>series.
Actually, Shogun Warriors was just 20 issues. 20 good issues, but I
guess that there is only so much that you can do with giant robots. I
mean, could you see that series still going today. Issue #200 about a
series of giant robots that the rest of the world conviently ignores. I
don't think so.

Still, I was always kind of disappointed that we never got that Shogun
Warriors-Godzilla crossover. Or better yet, a Godzilla-Shogun
Warriors-Micronauts crossover. Now that would have been interesting.


*************************************************************************
* Craig Welsh                  *    "I'm a few bricks short of a       *
*                              *     load, but a full load always      *
* cwelsh@morgan.ucs.mun.ca     *     hurt my back."                    *
*                              *     "Crazy" - Barenaked Ladies        *
************************************************************************
* "Homeboy from Hell." Screw that. I'm the Waiter from Hell.           *
*  You figure out which is scarier.                                    *
************************************************************************
From: rdippold@cancun.qualcomm.com (Ron Dippold)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Re: Recent Releases
Date: 19 Aug 92 18:28:12 GMT
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA

cwelsh@morgan.ucs.mun.ca (Craig Welsh  8823239) writes:
>The other gem was the James Bond": Serpent's Tooth. Vintage bond with
>tight story and great art. Makes me miss the movies, something I wsn't
>doing after the awful License Revolked movie. Probably Dark Horse's
>sleeper of the summer. Although nobody seems to be paying much
>attention to Robocop v.s Terminator despite the creative team on it.

Doug Moench is just great at writing this sort of epic/spy/thriller
stuff.  James Bond, Remo Williams, Doc Savage...

-- 
The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away. Fickle, fickle Lord. -- Solomon Short
From: hachiman@milton.u.washington.edu (Matt Downer)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Re: The Care and Feeding of Comics
Date: 14 Aug 92 01:05:08 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Aug14.010508.2870
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

In article <BswHLL.72x@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> hucke@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Matt Hucke) writes:
>In article <1992Aug11.040403.28897@u.washington.edu> phaedrus@milton.u.washington.edu (Phaedrus) writes:
>
>>     This really has me curious; what exactly is it about comic book protection
>>that makes it such a forbidden topic, even among those who do it?
>
>Possibly it's because the primary reason for using a bag is to preserve the
>comic's resale value. 

	Actually it's the flip side of this that makes me bag mine- it costs
so ****ing much to replace them if they get thrashed on!  So I like to keep
the comics I have that I like in good shape, and the ones I don't care about 
get sold or given away, in which case I might as well keep them bagged so they
make a nicer gift.   Or in case I luck out and can get some decent money for 
them.

 _______________________________
|  Matthew B. Downer       	|
|  hachiman@u.washington.edu	|
|  				|
|  Ore no denwa bango wa 911 da.|
|_______________________________|
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig)
Subject: You Call That Trivia?
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 92 02:17:58 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 

What *is* a trivia quiz, other than a collection of silly questions that
depend on the respondent's having read read some obscure comic or other?
Such as, for example...

1. What super power did Supergirl possess that Superboy did not?

2. In what order did the following swamp monsters appear:  Heap, Man Thing,
Sump Thing, Swamp Thing?

3. Name four super-heroines whose origins were retconned to be false or
imposed memories.  (Careful.)

4. What is the source of 'Mazing Man's wealth?

5. Obligatory Legion question:  Name three members of the Legion of
Superheroes who have died two or more times (not counting clones).

6. What was the superhero name of Angel O'Day's stepmother?

7. Who is the oldest Earth-human to ever serve as the herald of 
Galactus.  (Careful.)

8. Who won WWI in Stinz's universe?

9. Why was Deadman originally assassinated?

10. Were women allowed to join the Watchmen?  (Careful.)

No part credit, seeing as I've identified the trick question.
And please don't post answers, at least till I do at the end of the week.

-----
Dani Zweig
dani@netcom.com

"One of my favorite games when I was a kid was 'murder/suicide.'
 Dad would show us a photo and ask us, "Is it a murder or a suicide?"
	  --  Colleen Doran