Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 01:34:20 -0400 From: [g--l--n] at [falcon.bgsu.edu] (Metroplex) Subject: FTP 497 ==== FIT TO PRINT by cathrine yronwode August 19, 1994. THIS IS FIT TO PRINT NUMBER 497: Things that begin with the letter "i." IMAGE: My friends think i'm a rank iconolater because i like Spawn and Savage Dragon so much, but i'm here to tell ya, the latest issues of each title (#21 and #10, respectively) are well worth buying. Both feature ongoing storylines that a new reader can pick up in the middle so what are you waiting for? Dragon #10 spotlights a slugfest with a fan designed character known as Jimbo, Da Mighty Lobster, but Erik Larsen uses this frankly flimsy pretext to provide us with some serious insight into his hero's pained pragmatism. I won't give the plot away, but after seeing Dragon slashed and trashed so often in recent issues, the kicker came as a cute surprise. I really liked it. Meanwhile, over in Spawn-land, Todd McFarlane's architectural rendering is ever-cool (hey, we all know he can draw capes, but how many reviewers point out the nifty way the guy draws buildings?). His "totally Todd-like" decision to skip issues 19-20 due to blowing his solicitation dates did not hurt the plot flow too badly, but i sure hope he makes good on his promise to fold those missing numbers back into the sequence as soon as possible. My "complete" Spawn set looks kinda weird without 'em. INVASION OF THE ISOPODS: Just a thought while turning the ol' compost pile, folks: A lot of heroes and villains have been named after insects and arachnids, and a few have been named after sea dwelling crustaceans (cf. Jimbo Da Mighty Lobster), but i cannot for the life of me recall any comics character who has been named after a member of the sessile-eyed Isopod order. A ten dollar prize is hereby offered to anyone who can come up with a published example of an Isopod hero or villain and this offer will remain in force until such time as a published example exists. P.S. for the taxonomically challenged: the Isopoda comprise a group of creatures popularly known as sowbugs and pillbugs. P.P.S.: Yes, Erik Larsen is allowed to enter this contest! INKS: Fans of the comics medium (as opposed to fans of the superhero genre) should check out a new scholarly journal called _Inks: Cartoon and Comic Art Studies_. Published by the Ohio State University Press (1070 Carmack Road, Columbus, Ohio, 43210), this professionally produced magazine will set you back a steep $35.00 for three 48-page issues per year, but it contains material you are unlikely to encounter in the mass-audience comics press. Issue #2, which recently arrived in my mail box, opens with a cover by Will Eisner, which accompanies his thoughtful essay on "Comics and the New Literacy." Further reading is provided by Kenneth Barker's "A Theological Reflection on Krazy Kat" and Richard Samuel West's examination of vintage editorial cartooning in "Crusading for World Peace: Ding Darling, Woodrow Wilson, and the League of Nations." (Most young fans probably know that Woodrow Wilson was once the president of the United States and that the League of Nations was the failed post World War One forerunner of the United Nations, but Ding Darling? who's he? Well, Jay N. Darling (1876-1962) was, to quote Bob Dylan (who's he?) "famous long ago" for his political cartoons. A conservative Republican at a time when that stance did not preclude progressive thought, he also commanded a fluid inking style that should make many young aspirants to the field green with envy. My, my, how he could lay that line!) If you have academic inclinations or enjoy a wide range of cartoon and comics scholarship, you will enjoy this journal. If you are in college, ask your journalism or art history department to subscribe. Inks ought to be right up their alley. IDENTIKITS: Attention, collectors of off-beat and obscure trading cards: Write at once to Trading Cards Publishing, Ltd., 21/1 Hagra Street, Kfar Saba 44454, Israel (phone: 972-9-958-963), and request information on Identikit Stickers and Cards. They are wild! Beyond description! You will be impressed! I have no idea how much a full set costs, so don't ask me. Go for it! ==== Fit to Print appears in print each week in Comics Buyers Guide and is available via e-mail. Tell your friends! To subscribe to Fit to Print via e-mail send a request with the words "Subscribe FtP" in the subject header and your address in the body of the message to [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu.] You will be added to the list and receive the next available issue. Responses are welcome and should be directed to the address above. Fit to Print is Copyright 1994 Cathrine Yronwode. All rights reserved.