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DRAGON'S BREATH The Official Newsletter of Heroes and Dragons http://www.heroesanddragons.com ________________________________________________________________ From: [email protected] v7.25: May 15, 2002 - GIANT-SIZE 25th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE! ________________________________________________________________ WELCOME TO OUR GIANT-SIZE 25th "ANNIVERSARY" ISSUE! We've got loads of great content, sure to entertain and inform -- so grab a cup of coffee and settle down in your favorite computer chair. Here we go! ________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS: >> Gimme Dat, Gimme Dat STA-A-AR WARS >> Get SPIDER-MAN Stuff Delivered to Your Door >> Original Art Auctions End Soon! >> 1,200 New Magazines Posted in "Comic Books For Sale" >> Obituary: Bob Kanigher >> Chabon, Spiegelman, Claremont, Fleener on "Talk of the Nation" >> Virus Hoax Warning - Don't Delete Your Files! >> The Votes Are In ... ... and PREVIEWS UPDATE Stays! >> PREVIEWS Update - Orders Due May 16 ... That's Tomorrow, So Get Cracking! >> Sites to See ... Remember Our "Site of the Week" Feature? It's Back! ________________________________________________________________ >> GIMME DAT, GIMME DAT "STA-A-AR WARS" ________________________________________________________________ STAR WARS mania has hit the Dragon hard today. My head is spinning with bits of STAR WARS information to pass along to all of you. So here it is, in no particular order: The Dragon gang will be at Dutch Square AMC 14 Theaters for the midnight showing of STAR WARS EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES tonight. Look for us! If you're trying to find tickets in the Columbia area for tonight's show, call the Dutch Square AMC at (803) 750-3576. Reliable sources tell me they received two new reels of ATTACK OF THE CLONES yesterday afternoon and now have *new* tickets available for tonight's midnight showing. But you'd better get your tickets NOW! THE STATE newspaper recently featured articles about the premiere of EPISODE II in the Sunday "Living" section. Among the articles was an extensive profile of the 501st Legion, a STAR-WARS-themed costuming club founded right here in the Carolinas that has grown into an international sensation. To read the entire article online (including quotes by Legion founder and all-around super guy ALBIN JOHNSON), go to http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/3239839.htm. For more on the Fighting 501st, visit their web page at http://www.501st.com. (You'll also find Al's comments on the movie at http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/3239843.htm. He doesn't spoil anything for you, I promise.) Speaking of THE STATE, staff writer MICHELLE FANNIN is still looking for interested fans to talk about their STAR WARS experiences. If you'd like to give Michelle some perspective and possibly be included in the upcoming "Weekend" section of THE STATE, please contact here at [email protected] or click here: mailto:[email protected]?subject=StarWars . Get jazzed! Watch *all* the ATTACK OF THE CLONES trailers and TV commercials before going to the theater! You'll find them online at http://www.501stNC.com/multimedia.htm, courtesy of SEAN DUDLEY, webmaster extraordinaire for the 501st Legion's Southern Garrison. And if you'd like to check out a couple of STAR WARS spoofs before heading out, visit http://www.StarWars.AtomFilms.com and http://www.IFilm.com/StarWars. Whew. Happy STAR WARS day, everybody! >> GET "SPIDER-MAN" STUFF DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR ________________________________________________________________ O.K., so you're still infatuated with SPIDER-MAN and don't have time for all this STAR WARS nonsense. No problem. I've got something for you, too. Check out http://UnobtainiumLTD.com/SpiderMan.html for some truly amazing full-size replicas of props from the SPIDER-MAN movie. You'll find glowing pumpkin bombs, mock-ups of THE DAILY BUGLE's front page, and even a "coming soon" ad for a full-size Goblin Glider! (Holy cow!) Still not impressed? Gotta have the originals? O.K., wiseguy, you can buy those online, too! Just point your browser to http://members.eBay.com/AboutMe/SonyPictures and participate in Sony's official "Spider-Man Auction"! Shell out the right amount of cash and you could own the outfit Peter Parker wore to fight "Bonesaw" McGraw -- or Mary Jane's dress from Unity Day. You can even own an authentic pumpkin bomb tossed around by Willem Dafoe! Sony's "Spider-Man Auction" ends Friday, May 17 at 3:00pm EDT. Let us know if you win anything! >> ORIGINAL ART AUCTIONS END SOON! ________________________________________________________________ Speaking of auctions, we have dozens of pages of great original art up for sale on eBay right now. However, these auctions will end in just a couple of hours, so take a moment to look at them before you head out for your STAR-WARS-filled evening. You'll find them all at http://www.heroesanddragons.com/Auctions. Check back weekly for new auctions, usually posted on Wednesday nights. Our current auctions end at 10:30pm EDT on May 15. >> 1,200 NEW MAGAZINES POSTED IN "COMIC BOOKS FOR SALE" ________________________________________________________________ I know the front page of http://www.heroesanddragons.com is looking a little static -- but a lot's been going on behind the scenes! Just last weekend we added an enormous stock of over 1,200 magazines to the online inventory at http://www.heroesanddragons.com/ComicBooksForSale! Just look for the header "Brand-New Sections" and click the link for "Magazines." (Or you can go directly to a list of the magazines for sale: http://www.heroesanddragons.com/ComicBooksForSale/Queries/Query_Magazine.asp.) >> OBITUARY: BOB KANIGHER ________________________________________________________________ COMICOLOGY's Brian Saner-Lamken reported the following story on http://www.Newsarama.com: Longtime DC writer and editor Robert Kanigher died Monday, May 6th. He was 87 years old. Kanigher was most closely associated with DC’s war titles, WONDER MAN, and THE METAL MEN. He created the latter with penciler Ross Andru, a frequent collaborator; among his many other creations or co-creations were Sgt. Rock, the western Johnny Thunder, Black Canary, Sea Devils, Ragman, and the original Wonder Girl -- who was Wonder Woman as a teenager. And while he didn't consider the Silver Age Flash a unique creation, based as he was on an existing character, he did write Barry Allen's first appearance and origin for 1956's SHOWCASE #4. Kanigher spent almost exactly twenty years writing WONDER WOMAN, collaborating first with her original artist Harry G. Peter in 1947 and then most famously with Andru, who penciled a decade of Kanigher's WONDER WOMAN scripts from 1957 through 1967. Kanigher's other best-known partner was artist Joe Kubert, who drew the debut of Sgt. Rock as a continuing character -- there had been prototypes in earlier one-shot stories -- for 1959's OUR ARMY AT WAR #83. Kanigher contributed to nearly every issue of OUR ARMY AT WAR's run, from its bow in 1952 through its transformation into SGT. ROCK following #301 in 1977 on through SGT. ROCK's eventual cancellation in 1988. Kanigher also wrote “Bob Kanigher’s Gallery of War” in DC’s war books from 1972 through 1982, a series of stories illustrated by the likes of Ric Estrada [...] Doug Wildey, Alex Toth, Dan Spiegle, Lee Elias, Frank Thorne, Rick Veitch and others. Kanigher also spent decades on G.I. COMBAT, OUR FIGHTING FORCES, and STAR-SPANGLED WAR STORIES and was well known for runs on, or stories in TOMAHAWK, ENEMY ACE, SUPERMAN'S GIRL FRIEND LOIS LANE, and dozens of other DC titles. His first published work for DC was the Green Lantern story in 1947's ALL-AMERICAN COMICS #89, which introduced Green Lantern's foe and romantic foil The Harlequin. He spent over 40 years [...] both writing and editing for DC. -- Brian Saner-Lamken, for Newsarama Chad and I had just started reading the recently-released SGT. ROCK ARCHIVES, so this news couldn't have come at a worse time. >> CHABON, SPIEGELMAN, CLAREMONT, FLEENER ON "TALK OF THE NATION" ________________________________________________________________ Waaayy back on January 9, 2002, National Public Radio's TALK OF THE NATION did an hour-long segment on comic books. The segment featured extensive commentaries from Michael Chabon (Pulitzer Prize winner for THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVLIER AND KLAY) and Chris Claremont (X-MEN). The episode also had less-extensive talks with Art Spiegelman (MAUS, THE NEW YORKER) and Mary Fleener (STRIPBURGER). Tug Baker sent me a link the next day. I listened to the show last week. (Yes, I'm that far behind on my e-mail at home!) It's a great way to spend 45 minutes in front of your computer, and I highly recommend listening. The program is hosted by Neal Conan -- and yes, one caller *does* ask about Conan's friendship with Claremont and his comic-book claim to fame of having covered the X-Men's death (in UNCANNY X-MEN #225). You'll need the new RealOne Player to listen to the segment. If you don't alread have RealOne, you can get it directly from this URL: http://www.real.com/R/RC.020327r1choice_c1.fbar.txt..R/forms.real.com/real/realone/realone.html?dc=5 16515514&type=dl&src=realplayer,020327r1choice_c1 (Or look for the "Free RealOne Player" link at http://www.Real.com/RealOne.) To listen to the segment, enter this URL into the RealOne Player: http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/totn/20020109.totn.02.ram Or go to http://www.NPR.org and use the search box to look for "TALK OF THE NATION COMIC BOOKS." For those who won't get to listen, here are a couple of delights that can't be missed: ************** "I learned to read because I wanted to figure out whether Batman was a good guy or a bad guy, and the only way to do it was to decode the little squiggles that were in the balloons above their heads." (Spiegelman) "It's a question that people still have not really resolved." (Chabon) ************** "Japan is like Mars to me. I don't understand it. There they read more comics, watch more television, read more regular books, sleep less I guess, than anywhere else on the planet. There are comics for everyone from sushi chefs to 12-year-old girls reading stories about European boys in boarding schools having sex with each other." (Spiegelman on manga) ************** >> VIRUS HOAX WARNING - DON'T DELETE YOUR FILES! ________________________________________________________________ Remember last fall's SULFNBK.EXE "virus" e-mails? The e-mails claimed there was a virus on your computer and instructed you to find and delete a file named "SULFNBK.EXE" before it could do any harm. All along, the sinister SULFNBK.EXE was just a harmless system file that enables Windows to read and recognize file names longer than 8 characters. It was *supposed* to be in your "System" folder, where the e-mails told you to look for it! Well, the fake virus e-mails are back -- but telling you to look for a different file this time. I got the first wave of e-mails Thursday about the JDBGMGR.EXE hoax. Like the SULFNBK.EXE hoax, these e-mails instruct you to search for "JDBG*" and delete the file JDBGMGR.EXE (which has a "little bear" icon). JDBGMGR.EXE is an Internet Explorer component that manages and executes JavaScripts when you're surfing the web. According to www.Microsoft.com, removing the file won't cause any major problems for you -- but it may interfere with your browsing experience on sites that use JavaScripts (like www.heroesanddragons.com!). Fortunately, the problem is easily fixed even if you *have* already deleted JDBGMGR.EXE: Just go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp and re-download Internet Explorer. If your existing version of IE gives you trouble, pop open Netscape or Opera and surf on over there to that site to get the IE download. Besides, Internet Explorer is on Version 6.0 now, and if your machine can handle the computing requirements of an upgrade, you'll find a lot of new functions installed in IE 6.0. (You can also get the upgrade at www.heroesanddragons.com by clicking the "Get Microsoft Internet Explorer" button in the left-hand menu!) For more information on the JDBGMGR.EXE hoax, check out these articles at www.AntiVirus.com and www.VMyths.com: http://antivirus.about.com/library/weekly/aa050702a.htm http://www.vmyths.com/hoax.cfm?id=275&page=3 And remember: NEVER DELETE A FILE FROM YOUR SYSTEM BASED ON SOMEONE'S RECOMMENDATION! (Unless, of course, that someone is an actual expert on the file whom you trust implicitly. Otherwise, do your research before deleting files. And even if the person *is* an expert, it's never a bad idea to save a back-up of the file to a disk. If you ever need it again, at least you'll have a copy!) >> THE VOTES ARE IN ... ... AND "PREVIEWS" UPDATE STAYS! ________________________________________________________________ Thanks to everyone who dropped me an e-mail this week, we will be keeping PREVIEWS Update as a regular feature of DRAGON'S BREATH for the forseeable future. >> "PREVIEWS" UPDATE - ORDERS DUE MAY 16 ... THAT'S TOMORROW, SO GET CRACKING! ________________________________________________________________ WELCOME TO PREVIEWS UPDATE! Sometimes, a publisher or a manufacturer notifies the staff of PREVIEWSabout a product too late to get it into the latest issue. The followingitems are being offered for the first time unless marked O/A (Offered Again). If you're interested in purchasing one of these items, please give Heroes and Dragons the listed item code by MAY 16. (Subscribers: Add these items online using the page http://www.heroesanddragons.com/SubscriptionProgram!) To see this PREVIEWS UPDATE online, including graphics, go to http://www.diamondcomics.com/update/update.htm. ********** THE OSBOURNES T-SHIRTS He has always been a legendary icon; now, Ozzy Ozbourne and his family are the stars of MTV's newest reality show, The Osbournes! Millions of viewers are captivated by the family's crazy antics and foul language every week. These shirts are a must for any Ozzy fan. Choose from the *&@# Family T-shirt, the Family Finger T-shirt, and -- if you like your Ozzy rockin' -- the Ozzy Jewelry T-shirt. All shirts are black and 100% cotton. Scheduled to ship 05/29/02. (7297) (CAUT: 4) *&@# FAMILY (9TOB105) --------------------------- ITEM CODE: MAR025099 LG--Shirt $17.95 ITEM CODE: MAR025100 XL--Shirt $17.95 FAMILY FINGER (9TOB107) --------------------------- ITEM CODE: MAR025101 LG--Shirt $17.95 ITEM CODE: MAR025102 XL--Shirt $17.95 OZZY JEWELRY (90SB177) --------------------------- ITEM CODE: MAR025103 LG--Shirt $18.95 ITEM CODE: MAR025104 XL--Shirt $18.95 SPIDER-MAN VS. THE GREEN GOBLIN GAME One of comics' most enduring super-heroes comes to the big screen in 2002, and you can continue his battle against the Green Goblin in Pressman's new game! Move your Spider-Man along the path as you try to collect the five different powers. When you land on an attack square, take the top card. Then, Green Goblin attacks! If you have the power to thwart him, all is well. Otherwise, you lose a power. Collect all five powers, then race to the final battle scene: a plastic building where both Spider-Man and Green Goblin meet face to face. Spin the knob, press down, and if Spider-Man emerges, you win! Scheduled to ship 06/05/02. (32/4700-06) (CAUT: 4) NOTE: Not available outside North America. ITEM CODE: MAR025105 Game PI SPIDER-MAN MOVIE SOUNDTRACK CD Take the tunes from the new movie and play them in your home or car! Scheduled to ship 05/29/02. (8137/CK86402) (CAUT: 3 & 4) NOTE: Not available outside North America. This item maybe available through other retail outlets before shipping to comic specialty shops. ITEM CODE: MAR025106 CD SRP: $18.98 SPIRITED AWAY VOLUME 1 TP by Hayao Miyazaki Spirited Away is the story of Chihiro, a 10-year-old girl who, in the midst of moving to the suburbs, wanders into a mysterious town and finds an "other world" of gods and monsters, where a witch rules, and humans are changed into animals, then disappear. Will she find a way back to her own world, or will she fall victim to what is causing the disappearances? In this volume: Mom, Dad, and Chihiro are driving to their new home when Dad takes a wrong turn, and the family becomes lost in a forest leading to a strange, abandoned amusement park. Chihiro wanders off and returns, only to find out Mom and Dad have turned into pigs, and that she's in a world inhabited by ghosts, demons, and strange gods. A mysterious boy named Haku tells her that to survive in this world, she must find work by going down to the boiler room and seeking out an old man named Kamaji... Scheduled to ship 07/24/02. (298/CTSPA01) ITEM CODE: MAR025107 SC, 168pg, FC $9.95 POKEMON CCG: LEGENDARY COLLECTION BOOSTER PACKS & THEME DECKS They're big. They're bad. They're the favorite all-time Pokemon, back in action in the all-new Legendary Collection card set! Charizard, Blastoize, Venusaur, and many more of the most powerful Pokemon ever are on the prowl again. And if that isn't enough, there are special foil versions of each card! 11 cards per Booster Pack. 61 cards per Theme Deck. Booster Packs scheduled to ship 05/29/02. Theme decks scheduled to ship 06/26/02. (910) (CAUT: 3 & 4) NOTE: Not available outside the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.K., and Canada. ITEM CODE: MAR025108 BOOSTER (981870000)--Pack MSRP: $3.29 ITEM CODE: MAR025109 THEME (961980000)--Deck MSRP: $9.99 REMEMBER, to purchase these items, you must give your comic book shop the listed item code(s) by MAY 16! Subscribers: Need a couple of extra days? Submit online (at http://www.heroesanddragons.com/SubscriptionProgram), and you can have until midnight on SUNDAY, MAY 19! >> SITES TO SEE ... REMEMBER OUR "SITE OF THE WEEK" FEATURE? IT'S BACK! ________________________________________________________________ John D. Freyer sold all his worldly possessions on eBay and is now tracking down their current owners to see what's become of his erstwhile life. Check it out: http://www.AllMyLifeForSale.com They Might Be Giants have a new album of children's songs coming out on June 11. Visit the official site and see some super-cool Flash animations, plus listen to four tracks off the album: http://www.GiantKid.com "The fun of karaoke meets the word power of the dictionary" when people with far too much time on their hands put together strings of words from the pronunciation guides of online dictionaries and set them to music: http://www.dictionaraoke.org NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC has a great web page about the social and cultural impact of J.R.R. Tolkien's LORD OF THE RINGS novels: http://www.NationalGeographic.com/NGbeyond Graphic designers and fans of Chris Ware's ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY dare not miss this incredible site made for FlashPlayer: http://www.ndroid.com Have fun, surf safely, and let me know if you find anything cool out there on the web! --- DRAGON'S BREATH ________________________________________________________________ ABOUT THIS MAILING LIST ________________________________________________________________ DRAGON'S BREATH is written and administered by Scott Simmons for Heroes and Dragons. Send inquiries, corrections, suggestions, or comments to [email protected]. To subscribe to this newsletter, send a blank e-mail to [email protected] with the word "SUBSCRIBE" (no quotes) in the subject line. You can also subscribe on the web at http://www.heroesanddragons.com/DragonsBreath. To be removed from this mailing list, send a blank e-mail to [email protected] with the word "REMOVE" (no quotes) in the subject line. For a complete list of commands you can use with your DRAGON'S BREATH subscription, send a blank e-mail to [email protected] with the word "HELP" (no quotes) in the subject line. Long URLs may break into multiple lines in some mail readers. Should this occur, please cut and paste the URL in your browser. ________________________________________________________________ CONTACT INFORMATION ________________________________________________________________ >> TELEPHONE (OFFICE) (803) 772-9198 >> TELEPHONE (STORE) (803) 731-HERO (4376) >> TOLL-FREE (ORDERS & PAYMENTS) 1-877-543-HERO (4376) >> FAX NUMBER (803) 772-5010 >> STORE ADDRESS Heroes and Dragons 1563-B Broad River Road Columbia, SC 29210 USA >> E-MAIL ADDRESS [email protected] >> WEB SITE http://www.heroesanddragons.com ________________________________________________________________ DRAGON'S BREATH copyright © 2002 Heroes and Dragons. All rights reserved.