Date: Mon, 4 Dec 1995 15:18:02 -0400 From: [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu] (Metroplex) Subject: FTP 548 ==== FIT TO PRINT by catherine yronwode for the week of December 4, 1995 THIS IS FIT TO PRINT NUMBER 548: The days are turning cooler now, and i've been harvesting pumpkins. The view from my office window is mingled green and grey, with one bright pink rose still hard at work across the courtyard. I just got the word that Multi-Book, long a good Canadian distributor for the various independent publishers for whom i have worked and still work, will not be carrying the comic book lines they used to. They're moving into games and toys, and reducing their comics line to graphic albums and products that have steady re-orders. I've got to hand it to them, though - they will be honouring the pre-orders they have already placed, and they aren't short-changing any publishers owed money. I'm not happy with this turn of events, of course, but, like winter, it is on its way and the best we can do is accept it. If you are reading this in Canada, take a moment to ask your retailer, "Where do your independent comics come from?" If the answer is "Multi-Book," you may want to talk to him or her about securing a new distribution source for the comics that will otherwise be missing in months to come. Uh... it occurs to me right now that the heck with Multi-Book, i don't even know if CANADA will be around in months to come. By the time you read this, we'll have heard the outcome of the voting on Quebec separatism, but as i write the referendum has not yet been held and the polls are too close to call. Considering the number of American publishers who print at Ronald's (Quebecor), i should be concerned about the outcome of the vote. At this point the company is as convenient to deal with as an American printer would be (two of my employers, Claypool Comics and Astro Comics, get their work done there), but who is to say that this would remain the case if Quebec became a separate nation? President Clinton has hinted that he would not automatically give a separate Quebec the same favourable trade terms shared by the United States and Canada, and that may well have an impact upon the printing of comics. Hmmm. Time will tell....No use borrowing trouble from the future. We have enough of it on hand for today in this industry. So...how 'bout those pumpkins, anyway? This has been a pretty good year for them - and a better year for spaghetti squash, of all things. I have two little baby pumpkins on top of my computer, framing the statuette of the goddess Computa who keeps things running smoothly. The rest are in the kitchen, awaiting distribution to my visiting friends. My hens are in their yearly moult (they do it late in the year in California, compared to other parts of the country) and pretty soon we shall be turning the clocks back and wondering where the hours have gone. And you know what that means, don't you? That means it's almost-but-not-yet-quite-time to think of the winter gift giving season, a season that, for many of us, betokens subtle hints about graphic albums and original art, the stuff that costs too much for everyday consumption. Over the next few weeks i shall be reviewing as much "good stuff" as i can, in the hope that you or yours will see something of interest that you may have otherwise overlooked. I advise you to bend back the CBG to the page upon which the review of what you want appears and leave it out to be glanced at by your loved one. If that fails, you might consider sitting around the living room pretending to read the review. When everything is still, burst out with a seemingly uncontrollable, "Oh wow!" or "Oh my gosh!" When your loved one asks what's up say, "Oh, this is so cool - they've just come out with a graphic album collection of [insert title here] and it only costs [insert price here]. Gosh, i bet it's available at [insert local store name here] over on [insert address here]. Boy oh boy oh boy, wouldn't i love waking up on [insert name of holiday here] and finding that among my presents!" Well, you get the idea. I'll write the reviews, but you've gotta do the hinting yourself. ==== 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. Back issues are available. FTP to nspace.cts.com and look in the Comics/About Comics/Comics News/Fit to Print directory. FtP is also available on the World Wide Web at http://www.scar.utoronto.ca/~91mithra AND http://www2.csn.net/~searls. Responses are welcome and should be directed to [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu.] Fit to Print is Copyright Cathrine Yronwode. All rights reserved.