Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 01:36:04 -0400 From: [g--l--n] at [falcon.bgsu.edu] (Metroplex) Subject: ftp 502 ==== FIT TO PRINT by cathrine yronwode for the week of September 12, 1994 THIS IS FIT TO PRINT NUMBER 502: Notes from all over... NETWORLD, NETWEIRD: I was surf-ing the internet a few days ago in search of weird fannish usenet groups. As will sur-prise no one, they were out there, all right. Now, let's get one thing straight: when i say "weird," i'm not talking alt.fan.dune, alt.fan.disney.afternoon, alt.fan.tolkein, rec. arts.startrek.fandom, or even (heaven help us all) alt.drooling.animation.fandom. No, i'm talking groups like: alt.fan.clarence thomas alt.fan oj-simpson alt.fan.ceiling and (my favourite to date) alt.fan.kali.astarte.inanna The latter really deserves an explan-ation. According to the group's statement of purpose, promulgated and posted by a fellow known as tyagi mordred nagasiva (i don't make this stuff up, folks!), discussion and chat are discouraged. The group only exists as a site in which to post hymns of praise to the three above-named goddesses or to goddesses from other cultures-such as Durga, Ishtar, and Hecate-who share related symbolism. What can i add to that? Only that alt.fan.kali.astarte.inanna is not a "phantom" newsgroup; messages really do appear there! Other odd alt.groups-albeit without "fan" in the title-include alt.atheism.satire: 98 messages so far on "atheism-related humor and satire;" alt.cooking.chien: 2 messages so far, neither of them about dog meat; alt.algebra.help: zero messages, the implication being that there is no help to be had for those who suffer from algebra; alt.usenet.kooks: 3,500 messages (and counting!) detailing the abuse of network access by assorted crazy people; and, in the spirit of true fraternity; alt.baldspot: 150 messages, possibly (but not necessarily) about male hair loss. If any of you come up with similarly offbeat alt.fan or alt.anything groups, let me know and i'll pass them along here. MODESTY ON THE NET: Speaking of the net, interested fans should check out The Modesty Blaise Mailing List. This con-sists of 40 folks, who post about 2 messages per month, a modest volume. To contact the administrator about subs, address email to [modesty blaise request] at [math.uio.no.] PAPER STILL RULES: in a flashback to the old days when i used to be TBG's sole news reporter, a couple of folks just sent me a preview of an upcoming project. I have never promised to preview stuff unless i personally like it, so don't flood my mailbox, please...but this one rang my bells and i feel like passing the news along. Ron Fernandez and Pat Block are the writer-artist team on a 26-page story slated to run in Donald Duck Adventures sometime before the Winter Solstice. The story, "Too Late for Christmas" is firmly in "the style" (hey, if you have to ask "what style?" you can skip to the next page) and it will warm fannish hearts because it brings back an obscure Carl Barks, creation, Witch Hazel. Frankly, i have no vivid memory of Hazel, which is not surprising, because according to Ron, she made her "one-and-only appearance way back in Donald Duck #26 (Sept.-Oct. 1952)." I didn't buy that comic new, being only five years old, but i did pick it up sometime before 1960 at Castro's Books in Berkeley, for a nickel. One funny thing about Witch Hazel is that she looks almost exactly like the Will Eisner character of the same name who appeared in The Spirit during the 1940s and 1950s. The Spirit was not syndicated on the West Coast, so it is unlikely that Barks saw Eisner's work at the time. Probably the punning name started both men thinking along the same lines and they independently came up with similar, visually funny, non-threatening, big-nosed old witches in floppy hats. Ron and Pat's story is another fine entry in Gladstone's long list of tributes-and-continuations to the Barks canon, and i recommend that parents pre-warn their retailers now that they want to reserve a copy. It's a keeper. ==== 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. Greg Pallenik -- [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu] l "I don't think Hitler had cable." AKA: Metroplex - Don't MAKE me transform l - Bobcat Goldthwaite on l TV "violence" Cat Yronwode's Fit to Print colum by e-mail? Just ask me...