Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 01:36:23 -0400
From: [g--l--n] at [falcon.bgsu.edu] (Metroplex)
Subject: ftp 503

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FIT TO PRINT
by cathrine yronwode
for the week of September 19, 1994

THIS IS FIT TO PRINT NUMBER 503: They came in the mail...

INDY: Although there are no obvious indicators on the cover or in the
masthead, internal evidence seems to suggest that what i have been sent for
review is a copy of Indy #5. Subtitled The Magazine covering Independent
Comic Books, this issue fulfills that mission in a slightly skewed way, being
primarily an album collection of pin-ups featuring female characters (mostly
young; mostly narrow-waisted, mostly wide-hipped, and mostly large-busted)
from various independent comics.

The heroines portrayed in these pages range from Leetah to Alita (as in from
Elfquest to Battle Angel Alita) and include some adults-only material, such
as Cherry and Omaha (from the titles bearing their names, of course). Short
text profiles fill the reader in on who's who. Not since Steven R. Johnson's
long-gone Heroine's' Showcase have i seen so many female comic book
characters depicted in such a professionally produced zine. On top of this,
there are good, short, quick reviews of a wide assortment of indies-stuff you
will not find in you local store, and may need to order by mail-and a couple
of semi-pro comics features round out the package.

Each issue of Indy deals with a different genre of comics; #6 will cover
science fiction, #7 humour (including an interview with Jeff Smith), and #8
will be devoted to horror. The typesetting and printing (on white paper) are
excellent, and if Sina Khelil, Dan DeBono, Jon Spratlin, Melissa DeBono, Jeff
Mason, and the other folks at Blackmore Publishing can keep up the pace and
put together such nice packages on the monthly basis they promise, they are
doing their jobs very well.

My only advice to the folks behind this zine: put the issue number on the
cover and in the indicia, capitalize the word "Covering" in the subtitle,
include your address in the indicia and on all cover letters, and watch your
bleeds. Subscriptions cost $18.00 for 9 issues (one year) and the relevant
contact points are Blackmore Publishing, 6281 South Dolphin Drive, Floral
City, FL 34436; [i--y--g] at [aol.com] (email); (904) 726-9328 (voice); and (904)
726-7297 (fax).

PICKING BARBIE'S NITS: Barbie #46 features an absolutely beautiful art job by
Mary Wilshire and Win Mortimer, and the idea behind the script is great but,
as they say, the devil's in the details. Here we have the blonde doll and her
pals imagining themselves back in pioneer times, spinning wool, washing
their clothes in a creek, and grinding corn. It's kinda like Barbie Does The
Little House but between the script and the art, something went awry in that
thar corn grinding scene. The editor of record is Hildy Mesnik, who should
not have let this pass.

On page 9, Barbie says, "Grinding corn takes a lot of elbow grease," and she
is really throwing herself into her task-but she is NOT grinding corn. Nope,
she is grating it, rubbing fresh boiled sweet corn over a hump-backed steel
vegetable grater preparatory to making a side dish like creamed corn. The
loose kernels of grated corn are shown in a bowl by her grater.
For the record, grinding corn means milling it between two hard surfaces
(rough stones or steel mill-wheels) in order to make corn meal or flour,
which can be cooked like porridge or mixed with wheat flour and used for
baking such items as corn bread and corn muffins. If Barbie were Italian,
which she most definitely is not, she might make polenta from her ground
corn. If she were Mexican (not a chance!) she would probably turn it into
tortillas.

Why am i making a deal about this? Well, because comics for kids should be
educational as well as entertaining. Young readers learn a lot about the
world from fiction, and this story has set thousands of kids on the wrong
track about how food is made. Sure, they'll get the proper information in
school and wipe out this error-laden data-bit, or will they? Considering
today's school system, i wonder.

Meanwhile, my corn is about 5 feet tall and tasselling. How's yours?