DRAGON'S BREATH

The Official Newsletter of Heroes and Dragons

http://www.heroesanddragons.com

Issue # 8.3 — June 8, 2003

Previews Orders Due June 14

It's that time of the month again!

We mean the good time of the month, when you have to decide what comics, toys, and goodies you're going to order for the month of August.  Orders from the current issue of Previews are due this Saturday, June 14, so get your list to us soon.

Subscribers, click here to place your Previews order online.

John Riddle Is One Tough Customer

Long-time customer John Riddle was named 2nd place winner in Sideshow Toys' "American Fighting Man Contest" this week.

No, he didn't fight 130 men in a sweaty junior-high-school gym to win this title — he put together an award-winning diorama of 12" historical military action figures.  John's been a model hobbyist and G.I. Joe enthusiast for as long as we can remember, and we're very proud that his attention to detail has earned him a potful of goodies from Sideshow.

As 2nd place winner, John will get some cool goodies from Sideshow Toys.  Sideshow will also send a 12" Motivational Marine Drill Instructor (based on Full Metal Jacket's R. Lee Ermey) to a soldier stationed overseas on behalf of John's winning entry.

Click here to view John's winning entry.  The complete list of winners can be found here.

Order Now If You Want 'Em on Your Top Shelf

Bookstores are showing a lot of interest in the hot summer releases from Top Shelf Comix.  So much, in fact, that re-orders may be difficult on Alan Moore's Voice of the Fire (a prose novel) and Craig Thompson's Blankets (the new graphic novel from the creator of Good-Bye Chunky Rice).

If you're interested in either of these graphic novels, pre-order them today.  We may not be able to get them for a while after their initial shipment.

Subscribers, go here to special-order these books online.

In the News

Once again, a big news week!  Here we go:

Trouble Press Conference:

Rascally Marvel Comics COO Bill Jemas held a press conference about Trouble, the five-issue Epic mini-series that's rumored to portray a young Aunt May and Uncle Ben in a less-than-wholesome light.

Jemas confirmed that the characters are named Ben, May, Richard, and Mary, but "no one will ever know whether it’s this Ben and May.  You either really want it to be or you really don’t want it to be.  It’s perfectly consistent with that scenario and was conceived with that scenario in mind.  But it’s not connected with Spider-Man overtly.

"Right now, we don’t know if this is the origin of Spider-Man. We think the final answer ought to come from the comic-book community."

But, Jemas added, "I hope that Marvel readers will be proud to call Trouble the origin of Spider-Man."

The mini-series is written by Mark Millar with art by Terry and Rachel Dodson.  more

Wizard magazine is giving itself a relaunch with the upcoming "Wizard ZerO."  Presumably there will be a new #1 after that, but who knows for certain?  more

Newsarama posted some late-breaking news from Wizard World East about the X-Men titles and Marvel's Epic submission guidelines.  If you're still waiting for revelations about the third Summers brother, quit holding your breath.  more

Comicon.com's The Pulse posted some art from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's upcoming Hulk: Gray mini-series and several other Marvel projects slated for fall.  more

Some of Tom Raney's art for The Outsiders is up at Newsarama.  more

DC has also released artwork by Mike McKone and promo material for the new Teen Titans series.  more

Former JLA artist Howard Porter returns to the spotlight in a six-part arc on Fantastic Four with Mark Waid.  more

Chris Batista is the new artist on The Legion.  more

The Eltingville cartoon didn't launch a series, but Dork creator Evan Dorkin is working on a brand-new pilot for the network.  more

Musicians Johnny and Edgar Winter lost their appeal before the California Supreme Court.  The Winter brothers were suing DC Comics, Tim Truman, and Joe Lansdale for their spoof ("the Autumn Brothers") in Jonah Hex: Riders of the Worm and Such.  more

Dreamwave's Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover is at least partially set during World War II.  We're not sure whether these stories will fit into either series' current continuity.  more

Fantagraphics' sales are picking up in the wake of their public cry for help.  With any luck, the publisher will soon be able to pay debts and continue producing ground-breaking graphic novels.  (We still encourage you to support Fantagraphics with a graphic novel order, if you haven't already done so!)  more

Could Rick Veitch be planning a new Vertigo version of The Question for next year?  Could be, according to rumor king Rich Johnston of "Lying in the Gutters."  more

Warner Bros. may be planning a new Batman animated series, based on Bruce Wayne's early exploits as the Bat.  more

IDW will follow its sleeper hit CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (based on the CBS television show) with a second five-issue mini-series.  Titled Bad Rap, the series deals with murder and forensic sleuthing in the world of gangsta rap.  Returning writer Max Allan Collins will be joined by new artist Gabriel Rodriguez.  more

Lawnmower Man director Brett Leonard is working on a Man-Thing feature film for Fox Studios.  Yep, Man-Thing.  more

Mattel is producing an Elle Woods Barbie, based on Reese Witherspoon's character in Legally Blonde 2.  Witherspoon will donate her share of the profits to the Children's Defense Fund.  more

Speaking of toys, Hulk Hands are the hottest item in the land.  Flaming Lips lead man Wayne Coyne has even taken to wearing them onstage at his band's rock shows.  more 

Marvel Comics will be releasing something called Ultimate Six in September.  more 

The Overstreet Companion is returning in 2004 with a brand-new edition.  For those who don't remember, the book is "an introductory version" of The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.  In addition to prices, the Companion is peppered with articles tailored to new collectors and investors.  Scheduled for January 2004, the Companion should be available for order in November.  more

Both Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst insist that Spider-Man 2 (a.k.a. The Amazing Spider-Man) is shaping up to be "a better film than the first one."  more

Rudolphe Töpffer's 1824 comic book The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck is being reprinted in Italy.  You can't order it from Heroes and Dragons, but here's hoping we'll get a U.S. reprint soon!  more

Joe Sacco's graphic novel Palestine is drawing fire in the U.K., where its pro-Palestinian slant been labelled "anti-semitic tripe" by one web site.  more here and here and a recommendation from cartoonist Tom Tomorrow

Lastly, StarWars.com has changed its web site design.  Our webmaster has often gushed about the simple elegance of StarWars.com and will greatly miss the old design.  However, the new design brings a new level of visitor interaction, and the site will be rolling out a red-carpet pay-per-month version of the site ("Hyperspace") on June 10.  The free version will continue to be an invaluable resource — it just won't look as good as it did in the halcyon days of the Republic.  more

Coming Events

Lord of the Rings CCG League meets Tuesday, June 10 at 4:00pm.

Heroes Con is this weekend, June 13-15.

This coming Friday is Friday the 13th.  Spooky!

300-point DC HeroClix tournament this Saturday, June 14 at 1:00pm.

We're hosting a Warlord CCG tournament event for Sir Tython's Last Stand at 1:00pm on Saturday, June 14.  Winner gets the exclusive Sir Tython deck.

Comics Buyer's Guide will host an open picnic for readers on Saturday, June 21 in Iola, Wisconsin.  If you're interested in attending, please e-mail [email protected] with the word "picnic" in the subject line.

Next month's Comic Club meeting has been moved to Thursday, July 10.  (The first Thursday of the month is just before Independence Day.)  We'll still start at 7:30pm.

Site to See

Here's a handsome (and somewhat creepy) figure of a man — Honda's ASIMO robot.

ASIMO is an acronym for Advanced Step in Innovative MObility.  The robot is the culmination of years of research in mechanical engineering and even more years of studying human muscles, joints, and motion.  ASIMO can walk up stairs, respond to basic commands, and even recognize people by sight.  Honda thinks the robot will be ideal for receptionist duties within the next few years.

Learn more about ASIMO — and watch videos of him in action — at his official website:

http://world.honda.com/ASIMO/

Question of the Week

Thanks to everyone who answered last week's question.  We appreciate your input and will use your responses to continue improving our weekly newsletter.

This week's question concerns a popular feature of our web site, New This Week.  I've heard mixed responses about the new format, especially the lack of cover scans.  This week, we ask two questions about New This Week:

1. Do you want to see cover scans return to the "New This Week" page?

2. Would you like to receive the "New This Week" list by e-mail every week?

To answer this week's questions, click here:

Question of the Week:
"New This Week"

Correction

Last week, we reported that Fantastic Four will be the first Marvel comic to reach # 500.  Comic Whiz Banks Robinson was quick to correct us — Thor (which began as Journey into Mystery) reached its 500th issue a while back, in an issue cover-dated July 1996.

Thanks for keeping us honest, Banks!

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