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November 7, 2005

COMICS 101 is in Session

Jason writes: Wow you brought back memories for me with those last two columns on the Satelitte-era JLA. The very first JLA issue I ever bought was the conclusion to the Mr. Terrific murder mystery and I was hooked but you really reminded of my youth with that retrospective. I loved those JLA/JSA team-ups and the Perez run on the series as well and that is the JLA I always consider the primo lineup of the group. I can only say "WOW" again and dig in the crates to read some of those back issues this weekend. Even though we've talked about the Detroit JLA and you've made your feelings on that incarnation of the League clear I can't wait to read what you put down on it.

Now on to Mr. Bendis. I recently ripped the whole Powers run off the 'net and while the art and the concept are intriguing is it just me that thinks Bendis gets off on killing and lampooning super-heroes especially the DC line. I'm not as much as a stuffed shirt as I used to be about the absurdity of super-heroes in general but Bendis is too far out there for me but I guess like our discussion of the Watchmen heroes vs. the Charlton heroes the characters in Powers are his creation but to see him winkingly tear down caricatures of DC's A-list stars was a little off-putting. You've made your displeasure known with his story arcs in the Avengers so you know what I'm getting at because he just seems to kill off characters to kill off characters. Maybe, I'm looking a little too deep into the situation but it would be interesting to see Bendis take another tack because hero homicide is getting old. Just my two.

Tipton: I think that's why I like POWERS more than his other stuff. If you create your own characters and invest them with some meaning, then kill them, it means more. If you just kill off old characters to make some headlines, it comes across as crass and shallow.

Although you should still be buying those comics instead of ripping them off the net…

Adam H. writes: I just wanted to say that I enjoy your column, and look forward to it every Wednesday. I also wanted to thank you for mentioning the JLA-JSA crossover from JLA 195-197. JLA 195 was the first comic I ever read all the way through. My older brother had a toybox filled with his old comics. Most of his comics were either Battlestar Galactica comics (which I now realize were illustrated by a young Walt Simonson) or crappy Buck Rogers comics. However, he had this one issue of Justice League that was missing its cover.

At 5 years old, I must have read that issue dozens of times. I was fascinated by its double-page spread of the JLA & JSA. I remember trying to match up the different "fathers" and their "children." I thouhgt Snapper and Johnny Thunder were brothers. Whenever my friends and I would play super-heroes and Superman got picked first I would insist on being "the old Superman (Earth 2's)."

Thank you for triggering that memory. I haven't thought about that comic in years. I'm gonna have to go see if my local shop has it.

Tom S. writes: Sort of a twofer here. I used to get a big kick out of X-Factor, though that was years ago, and I haven't even read back issues for a looong time, so I could well just be dumb for having liked it. I was wondering if you were ever planning on doing an article on all the various bastard X-children (y'know, X-Factor, X-Force, Excalibur, whathaveyou)?

Also, do you ever read Hellblazer? And regardless, what did you think of the recent Constantine movie?

Tipton: Not planning on it currently, but you never know. I liked the early X-FACTOR stuff.

Haven't read a whole lot of HELLBLAZER. I'll probably catch the movie on cable.

David W. writes: As always, a great column. You are doing a bang-up job with the JLA, and I look forward to next weeks foray into the Detroit League, and then my favorite variation, the Giffen / DeMattis JL/JLI/JLE era. I have a question for you concerning these issues that I don’t know whether you will tackle or not. It concerns the Silver Sorceress, Blue Jay and Wandjina, the heroes who were trying to rid the Earth of the nuclear weapons that destroyed their home world. I have heard that they (and their arch enemies the Extremists) were homage’s to some of Marvel’s hero’s, in this case the Avengers. But I also remember reading somewhere that they had previously appeared in an early issue of the Classic Justice League of America book (in the 80’s somewhere?). So I was wondering how much the Giffen versions of these characters was the same as the earlier versions, if at all, or what the differences were. If you could help me out here, oh comic sage, that would be great.

Tipton: From the good folks at the DC Cosmic Teams Web site:

The planet Angor was once much like Earth. A group of metahuman heroes called the Justifiers protected the planet and managed to trounce their villainous counterparts time after time. Their organization grew to include:

Bluejay, who can grow organic wings and shrink to the size of a bird.
Bowman, master archer
Captain Speed and Johnny Quick II, brothers with super-speed. (Captain Speed appeared to be a hermaphrodite.)
The Silver Sorceress, a powerful magician
Tin-Man, a man inside a massive suit of armor
Wandjina, the strongman

Notes: In the pre-Crisis version of this story (Justice League of America #87), member "Jack B. Quick" also accompanied them to Earth. The original story did not name the team. Later, in Justice League Europe #19, they were called the "Assemblers" and Jack was renamed Johnny Quick. Their name changed to "Justifiers" in Justice League Quarterly #3. The characters are widely regarded as Marvel Comics knock-offs. They parallel the Avengers: Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Iron Man and Thor. Tin-Man, Captain Speed and Bowman first appeared in flashbacks in the modern stories. Other unnamed members resembled Wolverine, Cyclops, Wasp, Goliath, Spider-Man, Hulk, Punisher and Klaw.

Then one day, an ambitious group of terrorists attempted to steal an experimental megabomb. When the bomb detonated accidentally, these men did not die. They were mutated into the most powerful beings the planet had ever known: the Extremists (Dreamslayer, Dr. Diehard, Gorgon II, Lord Havoc, Tracer). (JLQ #3) Note: Like the Justifiers, these villains were Marvel knock-offs of Dormammu, Magneto, Dr. Octopus, Doctor Doom & Sabretooth respectively.

The Extremists ultimately seized control of the planet's nuclear arsenal. Their governments did not believe their threats to use the bombs. The Extremists' threat was serious enough for three of the Justifiers to seek help on Earth. This journey was unproductive; Wandjina, Bluejay and the Silver Sorceress clashed with the Justice League and returned home. They found their world had since been completely decimated. The Justifier Johnny Quick was the last survivor but he too soon died of the radiation. (JLE #16)

The surviviors believed that the Extremists died, too. They were partly correct; Dreamslayer survived. The nuclear explosion sent him into another dimension. He remained there for five years before accruing the power necessary to return to Angor. And there was one more unknown survivor. Angor's legendary theme park creator, Mitch Wacky survived inside a suspended animation chamber. Before retiring to the chamber, he programmed his theme park, Wackyworld, to monitor events and continue on in his absence. He did his job too well, though. Indeed, his robots servants continued to rebuild Angor after the nuclear holocaust. In their zeal, they also rebuilt the Justifiers and Extremists, whome they programmed to think independently. Soon, these androids shared the same fate as their human predecessors. They destroyed each other, and the android Extremists again ruled the planet. (J.L.E. #19)

At this time, the real Dreamslayer returned to Angor and dispatched his duplicate. The Silver Sorceress, Bluejay, and Wandjina (the sole survivors) returned to Earth and attempted to dismantle the world's nuclear stockpiles. They allied with Bialya's evil dictator Colonel Rumaan Harjavti and were duped into attacking a Russian installation. This of course, attracted the Justice League. Wandjina was mortally wounded when he stopped a nuclear meltdown and Justifiers were taken into Russian custody. (Justice League #2-3)

Wandjina came under the control of Bialya's Queen Bee. He had become a monstor, and disappeared in an explosion. (Justice League #17) Bluejay and Silver Sorceress remained captive in a Soviet metahuman research facility. They escaped and Silver Sorceress decided to return to Angor. Bluejay sought help from the Justice League's Moscow embassy. (J.L.E. #11-12) The Silver Sorceress' arrival on Angor drew Dreamslayer's attention. From her mind, he extracted the path to Earth. Back on Earth, Bluejay sought help from the Justice League's Moscow embassy. Metamorpho responded to Bluejay's entreaty just as the Extremists attacked. They sent a battered Metamorpho back to Paris as a calling card, and the JLE was mobilized. Bluejay also managed to escape, but not before the Extremists killed one of the embassy's Rubiskova twins. The surviving twin sent Bluejay back to Paris to warn the JLE. (J.L.E. #15-16)

Dreamslayer then sent the Leaguers away to Angor. On Angor, the JLE found the Silver Sorceress and Wackyworld. They fought their way through the robots, which caused a stir that awakened Mitch Wacky from his suspended animation. They all returned to Earth just as the U.N. had surrendered to the Extremists. Dr. Light cured Wacky of his influenza, and the old man saved the day by deactivating the Extremist androids. It was then that they discovered that Dreamslayer was the real deal. The Silver Sorceress cast a spell which destroyed his body. (J.L.E. #17-19)

After this battle, the Sorceress and Bluejay joined the European branch of the League. (J.L.E. #20) Mitch Wacky tagged along and soon met fellow tinkerer, Kilowog. He realized that with Kilowog's technology, he might finally be able to build a time machine. The pair succeeded, and they travelled ten years into the past, intent on changing Angor's fate. To his horror, Wacky discovered that it was he who accidentally detonated the bomb that created the original Extremists. (J.L.Q. #3)

After the destruction of his body, Dreamslayer's essence returned to the dimension that was the source of his power. In time, he was able to regain his power and take over the island nation KooeyKooeyKooey. The Sorceress was critically injured in the ensuing confrontation. With her dying breath, she was able to draw Dreamslayer into her mind and banished him once again to his "land of terrors." She was buried there, on Kooey. Wacky was killed by Dreamslayer after reviving Lord Havoc. Bluejay departed soon thereafter. His current whereabouts are unknown. (JLA #57-59, JLE #32-35)

After the Silver Sorceress' death, Dreamslayer was released from her mind and drifted in the astral plane.

We aim to please. Thanks for reading.

Eric S. writes: This week’s column covered some of my all-time favorite JLAs. As I type this, I'm visting my parents in West Virginia (I live in Las Vegas) and, as I always do when I come to visit, I've been digging through my old comics. I always pore over my old JLAs and tend to linger over the issues you mentioned this week. I love 'em! It always struck me as odd that the book got this good and then, suddenly, dropped off so sharply.

Incidentally, I thought I'd take the liberty of adding some other favorites of mine from that era: The Royal Flush Gang/Hector Hammond issues, the Rex Maximus arc (with Chuck Patton) and the stand alone story where Batman was de-evolved aboard the JLA Satellite. Honorable mention goes to another done-in- one; the Shaggy Man issue immediately following the New Gods arc.

(Is it just me, or is Rich Buckler the only artist ever to depict Red Tornado's "whirlwind-lower-torso" effect, well...correctly?)

I particularly appreciated your kind (and dead-on accurate) comments about Dick Dillin. I grew up on his work on JLA as well as World's Finest and thought he never received his due.

Great column. I await next week's comments about JLDetroit with eagerness and interest.

Allan M. writes: I'm a big fan of your articles, especially the epic multi-part ones that delve into the major and the minor glories of comic book ephemera, but I have resisted sending you a "good job!" email because writing them tend to make me feel lame. Your latest article, however, compells me to risk exposing the gooey geeky center inside of my cool facade, because in it you rhapsodize about a specific comic book image that had a powerful effect on me as well.

Ever since you started your treatise on the history of the JLA I've been patiently waiting for you to get to the issue where the Ultra-Humanite attempts to send the JLA into that nameless void known as limbo. I didn't know it was a three parter, because I only had the third and final part when I was a kid (I was six when it came out). Like all kids that age I was just a dabbler in comics, so much of the multi-earth complexity of the story was lost on me, but I remember delighting in the abundance of intriguing characters the issue presented me with. I must admit I was more interested in the villains than the heroes. The big genius ape, the tree man, the ice queen and especially the evil rag doll all seemed to me to be as cool and dangerous as Darth Vader, The Wicked Witch of the West and all of the other boogeymen of my childhood mythology. Plus all those heroes were cool to. It's the first comic I can really remember, and I think the fact that I found so much of it to be enigmatic was what led me to become more of a fan of the DC universe's concepts and backstories than the actual comics themselves. Growing up my favorite comic was Who's Who, because I found the ideas of the characters to be more interesting than the actual adventures that they had. Even now I can remember how cool certain characters seemed on their bio page, only to become disappointed by how they lame they were in the stories they appeared in. Still, I don't think I would have ever gotten to know these characters at all if it were not for JLA #197.

Tipton: It's funny. I've talked to a lot of comics fans our age, and we all seemed to have only the last part of that JLA/JSA 3-parter.

That's hilarious that you were waiting for me to discuss the story and I pick it as the best ever.

If you like Ragdoll, you should read James Robinson's STARMAN #9, which uses him to chilling effect.

Rod M. writes: I was reading part eight of your JLA series when I noticed the cool shout you gave to Mike Sekowsky about the classic character borders he did on the old JLA team up covers.And how George Perez did the same thing with his classic covers for the JLA/JSA teamups when he took over cover art duties. Do you remember the old DC series Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew. They did the same thing for three issues when they teamed the Captain up with JLA (Justa Lotta Animals) and the JSA(CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT STOOD FOR). As the old saying goes, everything old is new again as soon as we think nobody remembers it and we can get credit for bringing back in vogue!

Tipton: That's right -- I forgot Captain Carrot used that device too.

Mike C. writes: First off, I love your column. As a lapsed comic fan, it has really gotten me back into my local comic store.

A few questions.

1. Have you ever read Alan Moore's "Twilight of the Superheroes" series proposal? It can be found at http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/6612/twilight.htm and I thought it was a very interesting little story and could have been very good as an Elsewords story.

2. I can tell from your columns that you aren't a huge fan of the recently completed Identity Crisis series. I thought it was one of the best mini-series I've read in a long time (although I've only recently began collecting DC books) and I was wondering what in particular bothered you about it.

3. Do you have any plans to do more columns centered on creators over characters? I liked the Eisner feature and would love to see more on the people behind the comics.

Tipton: Indeed I have read Moore's TWILIGHT. I think it would've been absolutely amazing, but you're right -- probably better suited to an ELSEWORLDS, as some of the more twisted, adult aspects like Captain Marvel marrying Mary Marvel and Billy Batson being into S&M don't really sit well with the DC Universe.

I wasn't crazy about IDENTITY CRISIS at first (although I always admitted it was well done), as you can see here:

http://moviepoopshoot.com/comics101/78.html

...but later had a change of opinion, as evidenced here:

http://moviepoopshoot.com/comics101/97.html

I'd like to do more creator stuff, if time permits.

Keith R. writes: Just wanted to give you a big British thumbs for for your recent articles - even though I'm not a fan of the JLA, your well written columns on DC's numero uno super team has been a great read. If either Marvel or DC had any sense, they would sign you up to write some kind of history book on their behalf.

Enough of the butt kissing...

I was also glad to hear that you are a fan of the New Universe D.P.7 - any chance that you'll be doing an article on the title in the near future? D.P.7 has always been one of my faves and it's soap operatic feel reminds me of good old classic Marvel material from the 60's - top stuff. I still thing Black Powers are one of the coolest 'teams' ever committed to print.

Also, I mentioned earlier that I'm not much of a JLA fan, but I kind of recall reading a JLA story in my youth which featured an army of animal people who fought in a large gladiator arena - the main character was some kind of lion man. Is this all in my mind, or did this story actually take place? And if so, was it any good?

Finally, I would love to see a column on non-American characters who feature in both the DC and Marvel universes. Captain Britain stands out, as A) I'm British, and B) there have been some great writers and artists who have brought CB to life in the past, crafting some real classic tales.

Thanks for your time - we appreciate the work your doing on fandom's behalf.

Tipton: I don't know if I’ve got another DP 7 column in me, but I did enjoy the book.

I'm sure the JLA story you mention took place, but it's not ringing any bells at the moment.

A good idea about Captain Britain and company -- I'll see what I can find.

Evan T. writes: So I just started reading Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers megaseries and I realized something: with the exception of Zatanna I don't know who the hell any of these people are. I understand I don't really need to since Morrison is playing in his own little universe and ignoring continuity for the most part, but it would still be nice to know the history behind all these characters. Do you think you could do a column on them?

Also, what was the first black superhero? Black Panther is the earliest I can think of, but I just know there was probably some super-obscure character who had two issues published by a company I never heard of in the 50s or something.

Tipton: I haven't read a lot of it yet myself, and since much of what Morrison's doing is, as you said, all new, I think I'll wait a few months for Morrison's take before tackling any column.

Black Panther is pretty much considered the first, although there were more than a few horribly demeaning racist sidekicks in the '40s and '50s. Panther is the first true superhero by my reckoning.

Ben S. writes: Anyway... I was wondering a few things... if you could help me out. 1) Would you ever consider touching on Chaos Comics characters (Evil Ernie, Lady Death) or Valiant (X-O Manowar, or Magnus Robot Fighter) those to plublishers seems to have a strong line up of comics... better than Image, and more eclectic than what Marvel and DC had...if not a column... what ever happened to them?

2) A friend of mine and I had a fight over the Character Supreme, was he a Rob Liefield rip off, of Superman with more violent tendencies. Or a totally orginal character, which was better than any vertigo comic and the Authority? A little history would be much appreciated.

3) With the final Star War Movie coming out soon... would you ever consider doing a column on the Marvel line of comics? Not the Dark Horse line but original 70's line... I heard that they were the first line of comics based on a movie or tv series, and did really well at first then went to holy hell? plus if you did like the Marvel Star Wars, what's your take on some if not all of the Dark Horse Line? any info will be much appreciated....

On a side note of the star wars question, look for Tag and Bink Are Dead, from the Dark Horse Star Wars line.... it was a little two issue run about some characters in between episode 4 and 5... it's really funny stuff.... good for a chuckle or too...

Tipton: Not much on Chaos or Valiant but I'll see what I can dig up...

Supreme was originally just a lame Liefeld Superman knockoff, than later a fond and brilliantly executed Superman homage under the pen of writer Alan Moore.

Covered the Marvel STAR WARS, at least to some degree, here.

Michael M. writes: Now, I haven't read Comics in awhile ( I quit when I realized I had blown through about a hundred dollars in about a month, I had a problem...) but I remember when Joe Quesada (SP?) was becoming head honcho (Called such because I'm not sure if it was President or CEO) he would talk about how Marvel wouldn't make the mistakes of the past, A thousand X-Titles, Silly Crossovers, and that it would try to appeal to a younger/ new audience. Now I recently walked through my neighborhood comic store and... well I can't see that he's fulfilled either of those promises. I was literally Shocked by how many X-men and Spider Man titles there were, I was so overwhelmed that I didn't even buy anything because I couldn't figure out what it was that I used to read.

So did I just make up those comments by J.Q. or did he really just do a terrible job? BTW, can some one tell Marvel that dressing people up like they're in the matrix doesn't make anyone think that the characters are cool. If anything, comics should embrace goofy costumes... besides Comic creators have no right to say whats cool.

P.S. What ever happened to that company Crossgen?

Tipton: Man, if I could get away with only a hundred dollars a month, I'd be thrilled.

I'm sure Quesada meant it when he said it, but it's just the nature of the beast to try to wring every last possible dollar out of a successful book.

Crossgen went under due to poor sales and financial mismanagement.

TV RECOMMENDATIONS

Peter L. writes: Another Arrested Development email for you. I'm in Australia, and although cable has picked up series 1, I've been keeping up to date with the show by downloading it. I was really on the ball with series 3 too, watching the first 3 episoides within a day or 2 of it airing. Now for the question, what's going on with series 3 ? Have they aired a fourth episode in the US yet ? If not has there been any explanation or news of when it will be back ?

Also, has Fox acknowledged all the support you've given the show ? I remember you visited the set when they were filming series 1, but c'mon !!! But I guess for all the good things you say about AD, you say something bad about Family Guy, so maybe they cancel eachother out.

And on the issue of Family Guy, the new episodes haven't aired here yet, but cable plays the old ones all the time. Although I dont dislike it as much as you, I find it hard to watch an entire episode. I think it would be a much better show if it stuck to 10 or 11 minute episodes like Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Family Guy can usually make me laught within a minute or 2, but I hardly ever watch an entire episode, it just becomes too much.

Ryall: ARRESTED is new all through November (a "sweeps" month, where they measure ratings to set ad rates, so that's a good sign for the show).

And no, Fox hasn't officially acknowledged the site's support of AD or anything like that. It's a thankless job, but one we carry on with regardless. We're not in it for the glory...

And I'm with you on making FG shorter. This would help in two ways--one, they might focus more on finding jokes that work and not just throwing everything in and hoping a few of them work. And two, the show would be shorter. That's not a bad thing.

Mark W. writes: Been a while since I emailed you, but I like to have a question or a good reason to harass you before commiting fingers to keyboard.

Firstly, I'm enjoying your Clive Barker articles, I met the man once in Leicester (England) about 10 years ago, (not socially, but at a book signing) and he came over as very gracious and 'normal', glad he hasn't changed.

Ryall: He hasn't--I actually went to a signing he did here locally last week and he's just affable and engaging with everyone.

My question is I've been keeping upto date with Lost via the wonders of the internet and watched 2.05 last night. During the closing credits it was stated that Lost would return in three weeks. WTF!

Why would they stop showing season 2 only five episodes in? Is this some odd tradition on US TV. I'm sure ABC have a good reason for doing this with their top-rated show, but damned if I can think of it.

It occured to me that you would be the man to ask.

BTW, I thought series 1 dragged in the middle, they started spending too long on the flashbacks, and not enough time on the island, but the last 4 or so episodes were excellent. I thought the 1st episode of series 2 was the best yet and the next four have maintained that high standard. But now it's on hiatus, I'll have to wait for a month to see if they can keep it up.

Regards to all at the shoot.

Ryall: Well, they try to drag out the 22 new episodes per nine-month season as long as they can, so they usually focus new episodes during the advertising "sweeps" months, November, February and May. There's always a fair share of repeats in October (no one wants to have their show skipped while people watch an interesting baseball World Series match-up. Luckily, that wasn't a concern this year.) and again in December and January due to the holidays.

Greg S. writes: When's Scrubs coming back? Why doesn't NBC just put Earl..., The Office, and Scrubs on from 8 to 9:30? It's not like they have a jam packed lineup. Its not like NBC can only run comedies two at a time, back in the day they had a lot of success with Seinfeld, Friends, Will & Grace, and random comedy soon to be canceled, on Thursdays. Also there has been various talk about the David Cross deleted scene on AD season 2 DVD. While I think Cross does have a point about FOX doing a horrible job marketing the show at the same time I think we all have to realize that the masses out there aren't smart enough to enjoy a show like this. There is a reason why reality garbage and by the numbers crime dramas rule television, they aim at the intelegence level of general public. This is even more obvious when I look at what I consider to be the 4 best comedies on TV, Earl, Scrubs, The Office, and AD. While I like Earl it would be the one of the four I would be least upset to see go, yet it seems to be the most popular. Thanks, and keep up the good work.

Ryall: SCRUBS should be back in time for February sweeps. I just hope that doesn't mean THE OFFICE's season is shortened. That show has become one of the very best comedies on TV right now.

And I agree, all of these shows (and EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS) all use some sort of voiceover to great effect. Unlike, say, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, where they just really need to drop that Mary-Alice VO and move on. I especially love what Ron Howard does with the AD voiceover--he's only gotten funnier each season.

Greg replies: I have to agree with how amazing The Office has been this season. Though as long as they bring it back next year I wouldn't be opposed to it only being on for half as many episodes, keeping it fresher. Carrell does an amazing job, you cringe when certain situations come up on the show cause you know how akward and insensitive his responses will be. I think the key to the show's success (maybe not in the ratings but quality wise) as well as AD, Scrubs, and Earl, is the narration that they all feature. It really helps you to understand the characters more and also provides great set ups for the gags.

Idiot in Disguise

Anthony B. writes: Just wanted to drop you a line and say congrats on the Transformers preview (just got my mailorder comics today). Looks great and I think all the Dreamwave fans should be happy with how this turns out. Oh, and attaway to live out every kids dream by having them turn you into a Transformer for your backpage spread. Lucky bastard.

Ryall: I figure, the chances I'll have to really use the more fun, schlocky things I picked up from reading Marvel Comics as a kid are few and far between, so if I have a chance to fully emulate a goofy Stan Lee-esque gimmick of making "myself" into a character, I'm taking it. For those who don't know what this is regarding, see our (IDW's) recent release of THE TRANSFORMERS #0. On the editorial page, I, uh, became "ChrisCharger," courtesy of artist Nick Roche:

*For accuracy's sake, I should also point out that the design of this character wasn't arbitrary, that there actually IS a Transformer based on my current car. When I saw that, I knew it wasn't long before I actually forced myself into the suit for the comic...

Free Plug of the Week

Justin C. writes: My name is Justin Channell and I'm the writer/director of an independent horror-comedy called RAISING THE STAKES, which has managed to achieve quite a lot for little low-budget film from West Virginia. The film is currently on DVD from a small company called Freak Productions and sales have been pretty slow, unfortunately. So right now, we're trying to get as much publicity out as possible for our project, so we can keep the movie available and raise funds for another project.

Please take a look at our press release and if you feel the need to do so, post this information on your website. We would appreciate it very much…

Also, if it'd help our case at all, we've been compared to Clerks and Kevin Smith in at least two reviews.

IWC FILMS - PRESS RELEASE
RAISING THE STAKES – NOW ON DVD!

Raising The Stakes, the award-winning film from West Virginia's IWC Films, is now availible on DVD-R from Ohio based independent film distributor Freak Productions, who released the infamous horror anthology Faces of Schlock earlier this year. The DVD retails for $10 at the Freak Productions website, www.freakproductions.net and more information on the film is available at www.raisingthestakes.co.nr.

After producing around twenty short films and learning the craft and with the oncoming graduation of his high school friends, who made up the rest of IWC Films's regular cast and crew, writer/director Justin Channell decided that it was time to attempt to make a feature. He claims the main reason was to make a film that was somewhat substantial and would cause people to take notice and actually remember them.

What resulted was Raising The Stakes, a vampire comedy that provides a satirical indictment on high school discrimination and obsessive role-playing lifestyles. The film stars Josh Lively and Zane Crosby, who founded IWC Films with Channell in 2002, as well as Ryan Stocking, who was a new science teacher at their high school who was interested in their work. As Crosby quipped at the premiere of the film, "The title 'Raising The Stakes'… it had nothing to do with vampires, it was about Ryan Stocking's career."

Channell also managed to get cameo appearances from Lloyd Kaufman, Troma Studios co-founder and creator of the Toxic Avenger. Channell had been a fan of Kaufman's work and frequently cites him as an inspiration and has even done volunteer work for Troma's official fan-run website. Also in the film is Count Gore De Vol, the horror host alter-ego of Emmy winning television personality, who has been featured in cult classic b-movies, such as Cremains and Nightbeast. He also was able to attain music from Asian Man Records founder Mike Park and his former band, The Chinkees, not to mention music from independent musicians from West Virginia and other areas, such as Sixty Dollars, Cryptorchid Chipmunk, XAbsolute PowerX, Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, and more.

Since the film's completion, Raising The Stakes has gained acclaim from critics and support from people like Tom Root, the head writer of Cartoon Network's Robot Chicken, the animated program on the channel's Adult Swim lineup, which was co-created by film star Seth Green. Also giving support is Trent Haaga, writer of Troma's Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger Pt. IV, Full Moon's Hell Asylum, Shock-O-Rama Cinema's Feeding The Masses, and the MTV show Damage Control. Haaga also recently ran a blurb about the DVD release on his official website.

The film also won first place at the West Virginia International Film Festival's Student Competition and as the writer and director, Channell just recently received an Outstanding Art Achievement award from the Fairmont Arts and Humanities Commission.

The DVD release is packed with extra features and authored by Henrique Couto, Freak Productions's head honcho. His other work includes the independent releases of the films of Low Budget Pictures, 4th Floor Pictures, Dudez Productions, and Apparition Films. The extras on the disc include:

•Audio commentary from writer/director Justin Channell, stars Josh Lively, Zane Crosby, and MANY other special guests!
•Forty minutes of hilarious outtakes
•Deleted scenes, including two rarely-seen alternate endings
•Footage from various screenings
•Featurette: Dubbing The Stakes
•Bonus Short Film: Killing Gregory, with commentary from Channell and outtakes
•Live Music from Cryptorchid Chipmunk and Jon Bolden
•Trailers

IWC Films is currently in development on their second feature film, which is tentatively titled DIE & LET LIVE and is set to begin production in June 2006.

Ryall: You're welcome.

Photos of the Week

Tipton: This should answer the question of who Thomas Haden Church is playing in SPIDEY 3. From the official Sony SPIDER-MAN Web site:

Ryall: Coming in December:

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