From [g--l--n] at [falcon.bgsu.edu] Mon Nov 28 14:41:44 1994 Received: from [129.1.31.8] (M31-8.bgsu.edu [129.1.31.8]) by falcon.bgsu.edu (8.6.8.1/8.6.6) with SMTP id NAA24830; Mon, 28 Nov 1994 13:36:01 -0500 Message-Id: <[199411281836 NAA 24830] at [falcon.bgsu.edu]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Mon, 28 Nov 1994 13:37:51 -0500 To: John Sinnott <[j--h--s] at [cais.cais.com]>, [m--nc--s] at [infinet.com], [ghec h t] at [watson.Princeton.EDU], [C--n--e] at [aol.com], [yu 121249] at [YorkU.Ca], [b--ll--m] at [cap.gwu.edu], [R--O--E] at [email.afip.osd.mil], [Athomas 1] at [worldbank.org], [j b h] at [garnet.msen.com], [d--ma--r] at [aol.com], [74033 167] at [CompuServe.com], [D--w--l] at [aol.com], [j--k] at [nm.picker.com], [01 b 072] at [aisserver1.llnl.gov] (Ken Nelson), [r j johnston] at [ncl.ac.uk], [m c grund] at [scs.unr.edu] (Michael Grund), [g--l--n] at [falcon.bgsu.edu], [F--eF--m] at [aol.com], [s--ck--t] at [id.wing.net], [s--ar--s] at [csn.org], [s--a--n] at [concannon.llnl.gov], bill.field%[t w place] at [wb3ffv.ampr.org], [d--vi--t] at [dt.pdial.interpath.net], [r--rt--l] at [flute.aix.calpoly.edu], [c r patton] at [chipster.b15.ingr.com] (Chip), [r--rn--d] at [chuma.cas.usf.edu], [R--E--N] at [mtroyal.ab.ca], [herink cd] at [mercer.peachnet.edu], [s--o--e] at [portia.murdoch.edu.au], Jeff Billman<[j--l--a] at [bgsuvax.bgsu.edu]>, [m c whorter d] at [alb000.dnet.ge.com], [opramorx 0600] at [snyoneva.cc.oneonta.edu], [j--hn--a] at [lachman.com], [a--dl--n] at [stmarytx.edu], pjl02%[albnydh 2 BITNET] at [cunyvm.cuny.edu], [Quinlan n] at [csvax1.ucc.ie], [p--en--h] at [acs.ucalgary.ca], [t r bender] at [vnet.ibm.com], [c--ni--n] at [argus.lowell.edu], [brian vickers] at [isd.jpl.nasa.gov], [b--y--n] at [igpp.ucla.edu], [p--rr--t] at [clark.net], [s t roup] at [univrs.decnet.lockheed.com], [g--be--n] at [Kodak.COM], [C--SS--N] at [DAVIDSON.EDU], [a--b--d] at [freenet.scri.fsu.edu], [c m ccreath] at [vnet.ibm.com], [J--E] at [id.ucsb.edu], [r--ae--a] at [ing.puc.cl], [b--y--n] at [igpp.ucla.edu], [REDACTED] at [math.wvu.edu], [jac 15] at [po.cwru.edu], [w--t--l] at [asgard.lpl.arizona.edu], [e 91 ju] at [efd.lth.se], [w--f] at [xs4all.nl], [n s tn 1173] at [fox.nstn.ca], [matthew pus t z] at [uiowa.edu], [a--rt--n] at [oswego.Oswego.EDU], jerry, [k d hobb 01] at [msuacad.morehead-st.edu], [kennyh 9056] at [aol.com], [w--tn--w] at [mace.cc.purdue.edu], Hassan Alamdari <[72240 3660] at [compuserve.com]>, [gmy 1] at [cornell.edu] From: [g--l--n] at [falcon.bgsu.edu] (Metroplex) Subject: FTP 513 Status: RO ==== FIT TO PRINT by cathrine yronwode for the week of November 28, 1994 THIS IS FIT TO PRINT NUMBER 513: The first frost, the first rain. THE STRANGEST BATMAN STORY EVER TOLD: Oh boy. This week has been fun. I thought the ouster of Tom DeFalco at Marvel, Terry Stewart's rearrangement of the company into five semi-autonomous lines, Marvel's buyout of Malibu, and rumours about Stan Lee's new Excelsior line (mostly centering on whether or not Jim Shooter may be in or out of it) would be enough to keep industry gossips happy for a month, but, no, all the attention has shifted to DC for the time being, and for the weirdest reason... The phone rings. You pick it up. It's Famous Pro #239, asking if you have seen it. "Seen what?" "Hang on, i'll fax it to you!" Lo and behold, he does, and next thing you know, you are looking at it and he's asking, "So, whaddaya think?" and darned if you do know what to think, but the longer you look at it, the more incredible it is, until finally you have to ask, "They...they commissioned this, right?" And the answer if exactly what you knew it would be:"Yep." "They...I mean, they...they aren't going to print it, are they?" "Nope." Then the reading aloud commences, and the giggling, and the "No, MY favourite line is" recitations. Oh, how i wish i could show it to you. But i can't. I probably shouldn't have seen a copy. None of us probably should have. What is it? Oh, man. It's Batman by Moebius, an eight-page story titled "Batman Against Depressman." And unlike the slick production-values-to-die-for Moebius stuff you've seen lately, this one was not run through a translator. It is in Moebius' own English, which is a far sight better than my French, but still rather quaint. "The story start in 1942" is the first caption. Batman is casually applying a monkey wrench to what may be part of a boat. A sound effect from the wrench reads "Bip Bip." A balloon announces "The Signal!" In panel two, Batman is opening a bed-room door in a ramshackle house. Through the door we see the unmistakable rearview of a Beagle Boy (yes, a Beagle Boy, as in Carl Barks, as in Unca $crooge) rummaging through a woman's vanity. The Beagle Boy is #227. Batman, who does not see the Beagle Boy, is emitting two balloons: "I must win!" and "This time!" (You know, this reads suspiciously like Harlan Ellison's description of Jingle Jangle Comics by George Carlson!) #227 holds aloft the famed pearl neck-lace (that's right, as in "Give me that neck-lace, Lady!") while Batman stands behind him, saying "Hmm." In the next panel, Batman sits at a desk and demands that #227 talk to him. Instead, the Beagle Boy rips open his shirt, ala Clark Kent, exposing a cryptic symbol that resembles a fasces, a roll of paper towels, and a can of early spring peas bearing an old-fashioned label. "I will take you down," cries the villain. (This may be a reference to "Strawberry Fields Forever" by John Lennon or it may not.) A crowd of tiny onlookers appears behind the bad guy, exclaiming, "Oooh" and "Look!" As the criminal asks for "time, in order to put on my special battle outfit," Batman urges him to hurry. "I am pretty busy," says the Dark Knight. Claiming he is "not just a vulgar burglar," the crook fumbles through a trunk, scattering clothes everywhere. Batman sits at a kitchen table, waiting. "Waf waf!" reads the villain's thought balloon, "He is like all super heroes: too confident!" Batman ponders ("Damn! What is he doing? Why this woman's dress? Huh! Is he some kind of pervert? Or is it one of his shoddy tricks..." until the fiend turns around ("Woooppp") and says something unsuitable for reprint in a family paper. "Ooh no! Mom!" is the Caped Crusader's only response. An Art Speigleman-esque rat runs by (or is it Snowy the dog, from Herge's Tin Tin?), dressed in a striped concentration camp prisoners' uniform. Will Batman break the spell that binds him to the evil motherimpersonator? This is only page 4! See you next week. Same Bat-time. Same Bat-station. ==== 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. Backissues are available. FTP to cerebus.acusd.edu and look in the Comics/About Comics/Comics News/Fit to Print directory. Responses are welcome and should be directed to [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu.] Fit to Print is Copyright 1994 Cathrine Yronwode. All rights reserved.