Subject: For Immediate Release :On Exhibit
Date: Fri, 05 Mar 1999 12:30:15 +0100
From: Kevin Russell
Organization: Right Angle,Inc
To: probts@hal-pc.org
March 5, 1999
Contact: Fiona Russell
Tel (413) 586-8545
On Exhibit: The Art of Michael Whelan
Words & Pictures Museum
Thursday, March 18, 1999 - Sunday, May 16, 1999
As part of the Museum's ongoing Lecture Series and educational
programming Mr. Whelan will appear at the Museum on Friday March 26 and
Saturday, March 27, 1999.
Lecture Series
Friday, March 26, 7:00 pm , General Admission, $3.00
Artist Michael Whelan lectures about his fantasy work.
Saturday March 27
Book & Print Signing: Michael Whelan
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Gallery Tour led by Mr. Whelan 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Artists Reception 7 pm
General Public $5.00, Museum Members FREE
Haunting, surrealistic, and stunningly original, the art of Michael
Whelan opens the doors to future worlds and imaginative universes that
stretch the mind's ability to see new vistas. We are delighted to bring
the work of this visionary to our third floor galleries. The winner of
countless awards, including twelve Hugo Awards for best professional
Artist, Whelan has illustrated the work of almost every major author in
the genre, including Arthur C. Clark, Stephen King, Anne McCaffrey,
Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.
This exhibit includes a wide range of commissioned and personal works
that have one thing in common: they evoke a sense of wonder that,
combined with his sense of color, scale and luminous resonance, sets
Whelan apart in his field.
"An artist of science fiction and fantasy must, almost by definition,
give us more of his vision than would an artist of almost any other
school of art, since so many of our normal landmarks are nowhere to be
found in his world. Michael Whelan is the rare talent who can both
imagine the previously unseen and communicate it to the rest of the
world, so that the experience of all who share it will be enriched."
-- Jackson Koffman
The Art of Michael Whelan
Michael Whelan's original paintings have been displayed and sold at
galleries and museums around the world. Today, he is one of the most
in-demand professionals working in the genre. Words & Pictures Museum is
honored to bring his work to Northampton.
Call (413) 586-8545 for further details
Replicators Poster Art Contest
Subject: PRESS RELEASE
Date: Thu, 04 Mar 1999 13:51:14 -0800
From: King Kelly Comics
Reply-To: kkc@thereplicators.com
Organization: King Kelly Comics
To: probts@hal-pc.org
Escondido, CA--6 March, 1999--King Kelly Comics (KKC), publisher of the
new comic book series, The Replicators: The Civil War of Æonos,
is sponsoring a Special Series Poster Art Contest.
The Special Series of The Replicators Comic Book is an online, ongoing
series drawn entirely by its readers. Surfers of the site read the
script and submit images for inclusion in the magazine. As each Special
Series issue is completed, the best submissions from each episode will
be published as filler pages in the Regular Published Series of The
Replicators.
"How can you have a comic book and not have posters to go along with
it?", said Kelly Mordaunt, creator of The Replicators and owner of King
Kelly Comics. "I've been wanting to do this poster for awhile now, but
didn't want to use a pro artist, since this will be a Special Series
poster. And in keeping with that 'drawn by the readers' theme of the
Special Series, this poster must likewise be 'drawn by the readers'."
The Poster Art Contest has a prize of $100.00 U.S. dollars and a copy of
the printed poster. The winning poster will printed and sold online at
The Replicators Web Site. All submitted artwork for the contest will be
displayed online at the site. The subject matter of the poster will be
Issue #1 of The Replicators: The Civil War of Æonos.
"Besides the $100 cash prize, an artist will want to do this to get
him/herself published. This poster will be printed up and sold. That's
unusual for an amateur artist to get something actually sold or printed
up. It's hard to do. This contest may do it for them.", said
Mordaunt. "The competition will be stiff. We've already had some
unbelievable talent submit images for the Special Issues Series. These
guys undoubtably will submit poster images, too. It'll be something to
see who wins this."
King Kelly Comics will not be responsible for choosing the winner. Said
Mordaunt, "Hey, this poster is going to be sold! It's not what you
like, or what I like, but what the majority likes. So, we've decided to
let the site visitors cast their vote for the best poster! Whichever
one they pick will be the one we publish, even if I hate it!"
Visitors will be able to cast their vote during the week after the
contest ends. The dates to cast are from April 10 through April 16.
Once the tally is made, the winner will be announced online on April
17. Artists are encouraged to use the time now alloted prior to the
commencement of the contest to read the script and decide how they are
going to approach this.
Unlike the Regular Series of The Replicators, which is scheduled for
publication during the summer of 1999, the Special Series Poster will be
immediately printed. "On April 17th we'll announce the winner and I'll
make the phone call to the printer. They are anxiously waiting for the
file we'll be sending them. This poster should be available for
purchase about one week after the contest ends. In a very real sense,
this poster will be the "poster boy" of the series, Regular and
Special. It's the first tangible exposure that The Replicators will
get. I'm very excited!"
Artists from all over the world are encouraged to submit. Altavista's
translator has been included on just about every page of the site,
allowing a foreign language visitor to have the content of each page
translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. "Hey,
why should we cut off the rest of the world? There's artistic talent
everywhere, and we want it all!", said Mordaunt.
King Kelly Comics is a new comic book publisher but a few months old
whose flagship magazine is The Replicators: The Civil War of Æonos.
For additional information and contest rules, please visit The
Replicators Web Site. Enclosed with this press release is sample art
from the Special Series, submitted by Michael Blaine Myers Jr.
King Kelly Comics
1212 South Escondido Boulevard #5203
Escondido, California 92025
Subject: AWAKENING COMICS 1999 Press release
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 10:41:39 EST
From: AwakenCmx@aol.com
To: probts@hal-pc.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AWAKENING COMICS 1999 #1
TIES PAST AND FUTURE
TO THE PRESENT
The upcoming AWAKENING COMICS 1999 begins with a quote that artist Paul
Gaugin once inscribed on one of his paintings: "Where do we come from? What
are we? Where are we going?"
With the turn of the century just around the bend, Steve Peters is planning
to make some dramatic changes to his comics work in the new millenium. To
herald those changes, he has put together AWAKENING COMICS 1999.
The Xeric grant-winning book Awakening Comics #1 used an anthology format
of multiple stories with continuing characters. That format continues in
Awakening Comics #2, but in The Everwinds Awakening War, all the characters
from Awakening Comics and Steve's Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics series
Everwinds combined into one storyline. From then on Steve has told a single
story in each issue he's published.
AWAKENING COMICS 1999 is Steve's one last look back at the anthology
format. The theme of the stories presented is one of astral travellers who explore
the realm of inner space (the fantastic dream realities of the mind), some of
whom are never able to make it back.
The stories are hosted and presented by the Ringmaster of the Circus of
Heaven (one of the principal characters of Awakening Comics) in a manner
reminiscent of the old "Cryptkeeper" comics. In fact, the cover of
AWAKENING COMICS 1999 is a tip of the hat to E.C. comics of days gone by, and some of
the stories are done in a style similar to that of the old E.C.'s.
AWAKENING COMICS 1999 is not all nostalgia, however; it ends looking to the
future and gives a hint of what's to come in Steve's comics. Since all the
stories are self-contained, it is a great "jumping-on" point for readers who
are new to his work.
Steve Peters is a 1996 Xeric Award winner. He self-published Awakening
COmics and created the series Everwinds for Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics.
His work has appeared in Cerebus, Rare Bit Fiends, and Kiss And Tell.
AWAKENING COMICS 1999 #1 by Steve Peters
Pub month: May 1999; $3.50 US/$5.50 CAN;
Black and White, 48 pages.
Praise for Steve Peters and Awakening Comics
"You obviously put a lot of thought and effort into [your comics]...my
feeling about them is that they don't give up their secrets easily. I think
that's great."
---Jim Woodring
Tantalizing Stories, The Book of Jim, Frank
"Steve mines the realm of myth and the metaphysical playfully, yet with a
serious intent, to produce stories and characters both cosmic and down to
earth. His work is entertaining, as well as enlightening. The artwork,
too, is a joy to look at."
---Mack White
Villa of the Mysteries, Mutant Book of the Dead, Zero Zero
"I love the constant pushing and pulling between Steve's past and present,
physical reality and imagination. This is what my own comics are about!"
---James Kochalka
Magic Boy & Girlfriend, Tiny Bubbles, Quit Your Job, Triple Dare, etc.
"If I tried to describe what you do in your comics, it's that you are not
content with the boundaries of the comic book medium and are constantly
gunning to break, bend, or bust those boundaries in your artwork. Steve
Peters doesn't care what you think of his comics. Instead, Steve Peters
wants to challenge how your mind works."
---Joe Chiappetta
Silly Daddy
"Delving into his innermost parts, Steve retrieves little gems of wisdom
that manifest in the form of childhood memories, fantastic alternate-reality
cartoons, and a pantheon of creatures and deities borrowed from a variety of
ancient traditions."
---CD Regan
Artist for White Wolf Games, creator of Petit Mal and The Confessor
"Each story is illustrated appropriately for its subject matter,
demonstrating Peters' flexibilty as an artist. Taking all the stories as a
whole, it's a seriously fun pop magical realist journey through time and
space."
---Shane Patrick Boyle
Shorts
Related links:
Checker Comics News
Subject: Checker Comics News
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 15:13:06 -0500
From: "Checker Comics Publishing"
To:
Toll-Free Mail Order Now Available From Checker Comics’ On-Line Catalog
DAYTON, Ohio – In a continuing effort to improve ease-of-ordering for
its on-line comicbook customers, the direct-market dissidents at Checker
Comics have set up a toll-free order/order support hotline at
1-877-7-BLACK-7. Fans purchasing Checker titles like Mutator, Templar,
Chemical Warfare and Danger Ranger on-line at http://www.checkercomics.com
can now provide credit card information for their orders by phone, FAX,
e-mail, or regular mail; in addition to secure on-line credit verification.
Checker Publisher Mark Thompson said the toll-free line was a response to
feedback from fans visiting the website who wanted another option when it
came to order processing.
"Many consumers are still not 100 per cent confident in the security of
on-line transactions, so we think it’s important to offer alternatives
like 1-877-7-BLACK-7," Thompson said. "I’m sure the big credit card
issuers will find ways to raise consumer confidence in electronic
processing, but in the meantime we want to give our fans established
mail-order alternatives they are comfortable with."
In addition to placing orders, Checker customers can also use
1-877-7-BLACK-7 as a support hotline for order tracking and customer service
assistance. Long-term plans are to have the line manned by operators 24
hours a day, but initially 1-877-7-BLACK-7 will only be available for 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.
Checker Comics Publishing became the first Internet mail-order-exclusive
comic book publisher in November 1998, when it began offering its line only
via its website at .
The company was founded in 1997 and published its first title in March 1998. Checker
Comics is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio.
-30-
Mojo Mechanics #1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 20th, 1999
Left Hand Men, the comic book arm of Syndicate Publishing, proudly
announces the debut of Mojo Mechanics - the tale of a roving young
intergalactic mechanic and his hippo. Ajax Sterling, ace handyman, and
his tusked partner Bippy travel the wounded galaxies in search of love,
adventure, and a paying job. In a story equal parts Mark Twain, Phil
Foglio, and Franz Kafka, these two brave souls find themselves in a
universe full of creatures alien in appearance and custom, but driven by
very human motives.
In theory, their task is simple - answer distress calls from throughout
the million galaxies in their tool-filled space-tug and fix whatever
needs fixing. In practice, they discover that machines aren't the only
things that can go awry and appearances are always deceiving.
The story, written by Tait Bergstrom, is meant as a kind of testimony
to all those people he has known in his life who possess that almost
magical power to turn bad situations into good without much more than
brainpower and the ability to approach old problems from new angles.
Sometimes being a good mechanic calls for intuiting when the owner, not
the machine, needs some adjusting.
The art, provided by Matt Pasteris, finds a happy medium between
cartoon and realism, blending elements of anime, Chuck Jones, Kelley
Jones, and Berni Wrightson (had he ever decided his true calling to be
humor rather than swamp monsters). The intergalactic backdrop is
definitely more fiction than science, crammed with exotic Buck Rogers
technology and space-age versions of our own workaday stuff translated
into glittering alien terms. It is a universe crawling with giant
cockroaches, bug-eyed flying lizard beasts, and implacable real estate
agents piloting their own deadly battle cruisers. With all of this,
these are still stories with a human touch.
Unlike too many books on the market, the focus of the story is creation
and problem solving rather than destruction and troubleshooting. In
order to get the job done our heroes frequently end up doing double duty
as ambassadors, businessmen, saboteurs or all at once. They have a
fighting spirit but are not warriors or even ninja mutant vampire
assassins. They can be heroic, but are not super, only human or at
least vaguely mammalian. In the course of their adventures, they
explore the idea that nothing's so bad it can't be mended and even most
villains aren't evil, just greedy, ambitious, and possessed of
strobelighted secret dungeon laboratories and untold legions of mind
controlled zombie slaves.
Mojo Mechanics. Buy your copy now and help fix everything everywhere.
Standard size, 32 pages, black and white with color covers.
Bimonthly (with any luck). $2.95 US / $3.95 CAN.
Published by SYNDICATE PUBLISHING.
Check out our cover graphic at:
Mojo Mechanics #1 can be found in the March edition of Previews under
"Syndicate Publishing" , in the small press section, as a Spotlight
item.
Send press releases to:
Collector Times Online
P. O. Box 882
Bellaire, TX 77402-0882