The original comic-book industry rumour and news column, by Rich Johnston. "The Drudge Report of comics..." -- Don Simpson

Elmo Health Warning:  This column is RUMOUR. Do not take anything here seriously. These RUMOURS are presented here as GOSSIP for their ENTERTAINMENT value.

What is Ramblings 99?

Logo by Kirk Kimball, Pop Rocket

Dateline: 28 April 1999

Bulldog Bigger We've been informed that George Perez is also signed into the new creator-owned imprint from Image, whether called Bulldog or not, and the DeZago/Weiringo Tellos was originally meant to go with the line too, but the line wasn't ready when they were. However they may join up as the line launches. Any more rumours or info associated with this new line is appreciated.

Dateline: 27 April 1999

American Bulldog Let the new rumours fly! Mark Waid and Andy Kubert are the creative team behind a new creator owned book from Bulldog, a new line distributed by Image Comics, which will see Mark and Andy leave Captain America to work on the new title. Mark will also leave Flash in the spring of 2000. Fellow Bulldoggers are Kurt Busiek, leaving Avengers and Iron Man, and Carlos Pacheco for a creator owned Bulldog book together. As for more Bulldog boys, well Joe Kelly is said to have taken an interest and Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis and Grant Morrison have been approached. This new Image writer-owned line will be distributed in early 2000. This rumour has been building for months, looks like its now taking shape. And Ramblings was there first! We'll be investigating this story with the creators involved and see if we're getting there with this rumour. Slung Out And Slingers is cancelled with issue 12. The House Of Ideals Talking of creator owned comics at Image, there are now some new guidelines to such books surfacing at Image. After a comics pro tipped us off, an Image founder was able to tell us that Larry Marder is coordinating new books of this sort so that the individual founders won't be swamped with hungry freelancers. The founders can recommend new books to take on and it's likely that these will go through. We're told that some creators had been playing the different Image founders off against each other - they'd get an offer from Image Central and would try to better that with a deal from a founder, so the company competed against itself. Now it's all down to Larry Marder. Bissette By Bids We've been tipped off by an eBay curio... Steve Bissette is selling off From Hell scripts that he acquired when trying to publish them. It's all over at http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=95169500 but for those who would prefer not to sully their browsers with such exploitative commercialism can just read on. There is no existing category on eBay for these rarities, so bear with me a moment. This is a set of Alan Moore's scripts for the first seven chapters of the landmark graphic novel From Hell. As co-creator/co-publisher and editor of the anthology series Taboo in which From Hell was initially serialized, and packager/editor/co-publisher of the first (and only) volume of From Hell: The Compleat Scripts, I stored these scripts away a number of years ago (Note: As of Chapter Eight, Taboo had succumbed and Alan and Eddie were completing the serialized novel with Tundra and Kitchen Sink, ending my involvement). Unlike Alan's scripts for, say, Swamp Thing, for which there were indeed typed originals with Alan's hand-written corrections and notations, most of the From Hell scripts are of negligible value as manuscripts. None of this set are true originals. The first four scripts (for Prologue: The Old Men on the Shore, and Chapters One through Three) are photocopies, just as they were mailed to me by From Hell artist Eddie Campbell. To the best of my knowledge, the originals remained with Eddie in Australia. These four scripts were typed on Alan's typewriter (familiar to me from years of collaboration with Alan on Swamp Thing), peppered with spelling and punctuation corrections made by Alan. At the time, I had the scripts for Chapters Two and Three spiral-bound under clear plastic covers, and those are included in this set. These spiralbound copies are particularly sharp and well-preserved, though all are still white, crisp, and very legible. By the time work had begun work on Chapter Four of From Hell, Alan had abandoned his typewriter and began using a word processor. Thus, there were no "original manuscript" drafts of the From Hell scripts circulating between creative or editorial collaborators -- Alan would send the involved parties either print-outs from his printer, or photocopies. The scripts for Chapters Five and Seven are original printouts from Alan's printer; as you will see, Alan was still unfamiliar with the technology, and miscaliberated the margins for printing, so that pages scroll over the tear divisions between pages. He would therefore send them un-divided, folded as all computer paper was at that time. The pages for these two scripts are undivided, as Alan originally mailed them. They have been well cared for over the years, and remain in excellent condition. Chapters Four and Six were sent to me photocopied from Alan's printouts, and remain sharp, clean, and very legible. The script for Chapter Four will interest scholars of Moore's work for his meticulous attention to page design, with many pages enhanced with tiny "thumbnail" panel-design notations and sketches for Eddie to follow. I have also included a few extra documents, remnants of the work completed for the aborted From Hell: The Compleat Scripts project. These include: a photocopy of Alan's original ms. for the Introduction to the Compleat Scripts : Volume One; photocopies of Eddie Campbell's sketches completed specifically for the Compleat Scripts volumes, including a few which never saw print; my original typed ms. for the dust jacket copy; my introduction to the appendix, stapled to a complete photocopy of Alan's typed ms. for a promotional text written to accompany the debut of From Hell in Taboo 1 back in 1989; various typeset galley proofs for misc. pages of the published first volume; and a few scattered letters and notes related to the project, though none bear signatures of the participants. Sorry, autograph seekers. Though I wish to stress there are no "original" manuscripts per se, this is a very unique collection. There are literally hundreds of pages of script here. They are a wonderful read, and will be of interest to any and all fans of Alan Moore and scholars of the comics artform.Important note: There is no transfer of rights to reprint, copy, photocopy, print, or otherwise reproduce these documents in any form either implicit or explicit through this sale. The copyright to this material remains the exclusive property of the author(s). This collection is of archival interest, but no further transfer of rights or permissions is implied. These are the only copies in my possession. There is no reserve; Buyer pays actual shipping cost (and it's a hefty box!); Money orders, cashiers checks, Visa/Mastercard accepted. Be sure to include all info as it appears on your card, plus mailing address and a daytime phone number at which you can be reached. Thanks! Good luck, one and all. So there you go, Gull Catchers! Last checked, it was at just over $100, which is a complete steal. Pat And Arnie Pat Lee, swiper extraordinaire reports at the Buffalo Comicon that Dark Minds is up for the Schwartzeneggar movie treatment. They deserve each other, I reckon. Corrections And Clarifications Maybe I should make this a regular. Joe Nozemack from Oni writes "Just wanted to clarify. I talked to Garth for maybe two minutes at WonderCon. One of the guys who helps at the booth, but isn't actually an Oni employee hangs out with Matt Hollingsworth and so probably ended up hanging out with Garth also. No major schmoozing going on."   We're also told by another contact "In one of your updates you wrote about Lobster Johnson by Mignola and Smith. And you said that they have patched up their differences. They haven't. The work was done before. More Corrections And Clarifications E-mail from Mark Waid and Kurt Busiek seems to throw doubt on the 'Bulldog' name, but the moment we hear any more, we'll tell.

Dateline: 22 April 1999

I'm Married And Don't Have Time To Write Weak Headlines. First things first. Bob Wayne, DC marketing head honcho and proof that teddy bears exist corrects an earlier article about Superman Vs Predator. The creative team is in fact, David Michelinie and Alex Maleev. And checking my notes, I find he's right it was Superman Vs Terminator that Grant and Pugh are working on. Our report that Warner Brothers may threaten the title of Dark Horse's Maverick line goes further... Madonna's vanity record label is also named "Maverick." Of course, Warner Bros. distributes that label, too. Mike Doran's Newsarama reports that Kevin Smith intends to do Green Arrow for DC with Quesada and Palmiotti. What this means for Marvel Knights is anyone's guess (and we certainly have guessed in the past). Doran goes out of his way to avoid blatantly saying that the Marvel Knights agreement won't be renewed or that Quesada and Palmiotti will work for DC, as if he's presenting a news story which he's not actually allowed to say is true. Well, what can we add but that at Wondercon on Friday, Quesada and Palmiotti spent almost all day at the DC table talking to editors. Talking about schmoozing, Garth Ennis and the Oni guys were pretty inseparable at the con, too. Oh dear me no. Alex Ross is planning a fifth oversized painted book for DC with Paul Dini using Plastic Man. We are all expecting to see Nick Fury back from the dead in the new Deathlok title from Joe Casey. The series could almost be called Nick Fury with Deathlok. Well, since the name Nick Fury never sells, this may be the only way to give him a book! Other characters in the series will be The Ringmaster and the Circus of Crime. Joe Casey is also writing, "X-Men: Children Of The Atom" mini-series, and we can expect to find out that Beast, Cyclops, and Iceman are all from the same high school. Kevin Smith is expecting a baby in two months, the name, Harley Quinn Smith. Let's hope Warners don't put the kibosh on that... We had an interesting message from Rob McCallum, one of the artists on Stan Lee's "officially on hold the last I heard" Excelsior line. He drew the first two and a bit issues of the lead title written by Kurt Busiek as well as designing the characters. His excitement is that the line may actually now happen. Sometime. Rob asks "I heard a rumour that old Stan was shopping Excelsior around other companies and could it be that my hard work might not have been for naught?" Well, Rob, the latest we heard was that NextPlanetOver.Com were doing deals with StanLee.Net so who knows? Give Stan an e-mail. The recent Comics Journal covered the situation pretty well too. As to why he asked me? Well, "all my contacts have been "let go"." Poor, poor Marvel. And the rumour mongers have to pick up the pieces. See you folks, marriage update shortly!

Dateline: 07 April 1999

What happened at Comics 99? Lots, from a number of canal falls, Kev Sutherland's impersonations of Alan Partridge, Dez Skinn's destructive award collection, the Class Of '79 organised vote wiping the boards, Scott Dunbier's greasy hand, the panel with more people in the audience that on stage, Dave Stone not getting burnt by anyone and Grant Morrison's exhibit of his martial fighting skills. Before The Watershed Firstly I managed to sit in the retailer's Diamond Conference part of Comics 99 without being a retailer. So did Phil Winslade, we chatted, swapped notes and talked about the possibility of doing a project together. I must admit, I'd love him to draw Dirtbag or The Piper in a style closer to Goddess. Okay, so what's happening in the industry? Well, the UK scene seems to be surviving better than the US but not too much. Important figures include: Total US Sales 1998 down 3% on 1997. Total UK Sales 1998 down 1.4% on 1997. So we're contracting at half the rate of the US. Mind you, we've got much less to contract. Now, as to comics: Comics US Sales 1998 down 9% on 1997. Comics UK Sales 1998 down 3.5% on 1997. Ouch. Well, again, the UK is doing better than the US percantage wise. Remember, this is all from Diamond's figures, which probably include Capital if they were still around. Distributors such as Cold Cut, FM and Red Route are picking up a lot of reorder business that Diamond seems unwilling to address. Now, amongst the stats were some significant shifts. Toys US Sales 1998 up 74% on 1997. Impressive huh? You'd think... Toys UK Sales 1998 up 800% on 1997. Now, Diamond are budgeting a 3% fall in business in 1999... however, the first three weeks of 1998 have brought figures 3% higher than expected. Could the industry be about the buck the expectations? Here's hoping. Okay, you've had your stats, let's look at the news. Akirakakaka.... Looks like Hamlin might be following up its previous Akira black and white phonebook series. The Best Laid Plans... Strangely, Titan will be issuing the Star Wars Graphic Novel alongside Dark Horse on May 19th... especially since we get the film on July 16th. Hmmm.... Maverick Makeup Maverick... okay Ramblings broke this story originally (thanks for the mention, Mike) but who is actually making up the line? It currently stands as Frank Miller's Sin Citry, Jason Pearson's Body Bags, Sergio Aragones' Groo, Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo, Christain Gassett's The Red Star, Harvey Pekar's American Splendour, Tony Millionaire's Sock Monkey, Mike Mignola's Hellboy, Gary Gianni's Monstermen, Rich Tomnaso's The Honor of Collier County, whatever Mike Allred is up to and probably more that I forgot. But will the name survive? Apparently Warner Brothers have reminded Dark Horse that they own the name to the film... Never mind, I'm sure the logos will still be around, each artist reinterpreting the Dark Horse logo in their own style. Sin City: Hell And Back will have at least 9 issues. But may have more. And we can look forward to Lobster Johnson drawn by Matt Smith in Hellboy. Good to see Mike and Matt have made up. Ryan Benjamin Joins Ghost Oh, and Ryan Benjamin is joining Ghost. Danger Grilled Bob Wayne takes the stand and we get some news on Cliffhanger... expect Battlechasers 6 at the end of April, the next Crimson in 6 weeks and Danger Girl... well, the toys will be nice won't they? Storm Trek Wildstorm are doing Star Trek books, as a series of mini-series and one-offs. But will they be available in the UK market... looks like the grey market with a little help from Red Route should get involved. Pugh More Look forward to Superman vs Predator by Alan Grant and Steve Pugh. Pugh is also working on a New Gods story with Jamie Delano... and it's one without boom tubes. Expect a much more depressing version with this one. JLHey! The Grant Morrison/Frank Quitely JLA graphic novel story that we broke months ago? It involves Earth 2, and is basically Grant doing his favourite Silver Age story, with the Crime Syndicate looming large. End Of The World Vertigo V2K, DC's end of 1999 fifth week event will include pre-millenial mian by Howard Chaykin, William Messner Loebs, Kyle Baker Tom Peyer and more. Baker's I Die At Midnight tells the story about a guy who takes enough pills to kill himself just before his lost girlfriend comes back to him. Batman Beyond On British Telly Britain gets Batman Beyond on the television in August/September time. Davis Of Future Past During the Marvel/Alan Davis (he was the only Marvel employee who turned up) panel that I was on, Davis confirmed a few things. Firstly the Magneto-Genosha story was nothing to do with Alan and he requested the Magneto Rex book so that he wouyldn't havce to do it. Earlier in the day, I'd heard that Scott Dunbier wanted Davis to do Wildstorm work, I asked about the possibility. Davis stated that he had bad feelings about Wildstorm as there was a WildCATS: Year One project by Davis and Robisonson sitting in a Wildstorm drawer for over four years. In a later Wildstorm panel, Scott confirmed this project existed prior to his arrival at Wildstorm and that its publication delay was due to continuity problems. He hoped to clear the air with Davis during the con. He also mentioned that Davis almost did another book for Wildstorm when the X-Men deal was getting "choppy". Scott Stops The Rot Dunbier also entertained the crowd with an account of his day "9.30 wake up calls to Jeff Cambell and Joe Madueria", and wouldn't confirm the Bachalo Cliffhanger book title(or even confirm the Joe Kelly as writer rumour). But we are getting a Stormwatch TPB. Wild Stories Wildstorm will be doing Speed Racer comics, Adam Warren is writing two issues on Gen 13 (33 and 34) as well as working for an 80 page eclectic anthology from Wildstorm. DV8 is cancelled from issue 32 As for the Star Trek books, Dunbier was tight lipped, other than to say that anyone who usually works on Star Trek won't get a look in. So no Peter David then... Edge Of The Ledge Offical Vertigo stuff wasn't hard to come by. Preacher ends at issue 66 but we have a Preacher Special after that involving French people eating horses. Shelly was very excited about Veils coming out in December, a 96 page photo/computer enchanced/painted book as well as the new Swamp Thing book with a teenage Tefe for December/January. We'll also be getting another Lucifer mini-series. Steve Dillon was very excited by the Preacher toys, especially the glowing-eyed, removable-eye patched Jesse Custer as well as the new series of Preacher PVC figures. No Invisibles figures... sigh. Jamie Delano's working on the afore-mentioned New Gods book, as well as a future John Constantine story set in 2020, probably with Chris Weston, called either The Bastard (Delano's preferred choice) or The Last Royal (Vertigo's preferred choice). He's also working on The Great Satan, a monthly book that shows immortal American archetypeal heroes (but not super ones). Joy! And there is a motivation, if not yet, to bring back the letters pages. The BBC Invisibles isn't happening.. apparently the BBC believe that people can't understand what telepathy is. Thankfully Channel 4 don't feel that way... Beneath The Surface. Now for some rumours and speculation based on recent e-mails and half heard mutterings in bars. Scott Dunbier is rounding up a whole host of established talent to work on America's Best Comics, from Glenn Fabry on a cowboy book, Gary Frank on Tom Strong, possibly Dave Gibbons, possibly Dave Lloyd.... look for almost everyone who has worked with Moore returning... could this be what Scott Dunbier wanted Davis for? Also look for Alan Moore's Deathblow book with Jim Baikie to come out in August. I hear Scott will be visiting Alan later this week, so look forward to more news after these two minds meet. Away from all the different DC B+W previews, I managed to get a glimpse of a colour mockup of League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen. And it keeps it up as the guys go to Chinatown. And the greasepaint covered Invisible Man is really horrible. I was also told that the Sergeant Rock book by Ennis was cancelled as Ennis had to give it up, citing that he couldn't write other people's characters these days... although one mischevious insider speculated that this was just an opportunity to delay the project until Carlos Esquerra could come on board. Innocent Bystander is merging with another, yet unnamed self published title in an attempt to reach new sales heights. So why is Aria so late? Some observers might speculate that it is Jay Alcedo (real name Efran) that's holding the book back. However, we hear that he told Portacio and Holguin that he couldn't do a monthly book and might manage a bi-monthly to start with. And he hasn't been getting script as fast as he'd like either. Honey Trap And now, my favourite titbit. The Hive. That's four books, 38 pages each in prestige format filled with short strips, articles, bits and bobs, created by The Hive or Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Tom Peyer and Mark Waid to you and me, or the guys who I reported were up for taking over the Superman books last year. It's from Vertigo, sometime soonish. Okay, that's it for me. I fly out on Wednesday evening for South Africa to get married on Saturday. I may try to do an update from a cybercafe while I'm there but it's unlikely. See you in two weeks.

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You are rumourmonger since 01 Jan 1999. Logo by Kirk Kimball, Pop Rocket

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