Tony's Online Tips will be going on at least a two-week hiatus after today's edition. It's crunch time on the book I have been working on this summer. It's the start of my daughter Kelly's junior year of high school. It's the start of my son Eddie's last few weeks at home before he heads back to The Ohio State University for his sophomore year. I'll likely be writing about all the above in the fullness of time.
Even with TOT running reprints from various sources these past few weeks, the column still occupies an hour or two of my time each and every day. I need those hours right now. I'd like to finish my book without ending up in the hospital or the asylum. I'd like to think my readers are okay with that.
Before I dim the TOT lights for a couple weeks, here are some notes on this and that.
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DC CHALLENGE
Three times in as many months, I have set myself a personal DC Challenge wherein I have attempted to read and review an entire month's worth of DC comic books, trade paperbacks, hardcover collections, and manga. Sadly, it appears I'm going down for the third time, though the month is not yet over.
I have read all of the actual comic books included in the last monthly shipment I received, as well as a smattering of hardcovers and the third Showcase/Green Lantern volume. Still remaining are about two dozen trades and manga books. I might be able to read them all by the time the next DC shipment arrives, but I won't be able to review them. Moreover, I don't want to.
I read some fine DC comic books this month. I also read too many that weren't fine and even downright awful. I'm not going to put myself through reviewing every one of them, or put you through reading my reviews of them. What I will do - when TOT returns from hiatus - is write overviews of the various "families" of DC comics. I'll cover the kids comics one day, Batman the next, then Vertigo, WildStorm, DCU, Superman, manga, and so on. I haven't yet figured out what books go in each "family" or the order in which I'll write my overviews, but this seems like a good way to show something for the hours I've spent reading these books.
In the meantime, though I'm not adverse to accepting similar challenges from other comics publishers, I intend to approach these in a more sane and timely manner. Interested publishers can e-mail me at...
...but they should also realize that I won't be accepting any such challenges until I finish my book.
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DRAGONS TWO CONTEST
This is a reminder.
If you read TOT for August 14, you know of the "Dragons Two," characters I created during my time as a Marvel Comics editor who never actually made it into a comic book. I decided to have some fun with these young heroes in the form of a "Dragons Two" contest. Artists were are invited to send me their own interpretation of the characters as described in that column...with the further direction that they didn't have to keep the siblings in their original 1970s setting. In fact, modern takes on the kids have the best chance of winning this contest.
Because TOT is going on hiatus, I'm extending the deadline for this contest.
Send me a .jpg of your drawing by Monday, September 15, along with an e-mail granting me permission to run your drawings here in Tony's Online Tips. I'll run your drawings during the month of September and pick the winner once all of the drawings have been published.
Since "contest" and "winner" do imply some sort of reward for excellence even beyond the immeasurable honor of appearing in TOT and being lauded for your talent and imagination, the artist whose work I deem the best will receive over $100 worth of comic books and other books from the cool stuff that rises high in every corner of my office. Heck, if I'm a good mood, there will also be prizes for the runners-up.
You can e-mail your drawings to:
I can't wait to see what you come up with.
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GET MORE TONY
Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 2 [$16.99] is due to ship in October. The 616-page trade paperback will include the Living Mummy stories I wrote back when dinosaurs walked the Earth, as well as other stories by other writers starring Brother Voodoo, Gabriel the Devil Hunter, the Golem, Modred the Mystic, and the Scarecrow. Obviously I can't speak for every writer and artists whose work is reprinted by Marvel, but, when my work has been reprinted, I have received a copy of the reprints and, down the road a bit, a royalty check for the reprints.
Star Trek comics were published under a licensing agreement with Paramount Pictures under a wide variety of top publishers - Western (Gold Label), Marvel, DC, Malibu and Wildstorm. Revisit and relive your favorite Star Trek comic books. Our collection includes all issues from 1967 to 2002, every annual, all articles and every single advertisement. That's over 500 issues, all in a friendly readable PDF format and all printable. This is the first time you are able to purchase all publishers on one disk for your viewing enjoyment.
Presumably, this will include the handful of Star Trek comic books I wrote for DC and Wildstorm. I don't know if it will also include the one "Star Trek: The Next Generation" comics story that I wrote with Bob Ingersoll.
While my contracts for the stories did call for me to receive royalty payments from reprintings of my stories, those contracts were with DC and Wildstorm. But, since neither of those publishers are producing this item, I don't know if those contracted payments will be forthcoming. It'd be nice to, at least, receive a copy of the DVD-ROM. I'll let you know if I receive either a complimentary copy of the item or a check for my stories therein.
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MESSAGE BOARD
If there's Tony news to report between now and the return of TOT, I'll post it on my message board...
...where you'll also find Bob Ingersoll's Movie Quiz, William Ashley Vaughan's insightful comments on the movies airing on Turner Classic Movies, and some of the liveliest conversation on the Internets.
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ON THE ROAD
Your friendly neighborhood Tipster will be a guest at only two comics conventions this year: Mid-Ohio-Con (October 4-5 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio) and the Screaming Tiki Comics and Pop Culture Convention (October 17-19 at the Eastwood Expo Center in Niles, Ohio). You can learn all about these shows by going to their websites:
I had been talking to a few other convention promoters about attending their shows, but, between my book and some other projects I want to start, I thought it prudent to pass on any other events. Work permitting, I'll try my best to attend a few non-Ohio shows in the coming year.
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TONY POLLS
Most every Tuesday, I post new Tony Polls questions for your voting entertainment. This week's questions are on sports and sports comics and will remain active until Tuesday, September 9, at which time they will be taken down and replaced with new questions. You can cast your votes here:
TIP THE TIPSTER! It's your turn to "Tip the Tipster" and Webmaster who bring you these columns! Just click the "Tip the Tipster" button. Thanks for your support!
Some random opening remarks. Then I review Drawing Heroes in the Backyard: Tim Sale: Black and White, Witchblade Volume 1-3, Strip for Murder, Justice League Unlimited: The Ties That Bind, and Leader's High!.
ZERO: Burn your money before buying any comic receiving this rating. It doesn't *necessarily* mean there's absolutely nothing of value here - though it *could* - but whatever value it might possess shrinks into insignificance before its overall awfulness.
ONE: Buy something else. Maybe I found something which wasn't completely dreadful in the item, but not enough for me to recommend it when there are better comics available. I only want what's best for you, my children.
TWO: Basic judgment call. I found some value, but not enough to recommend it. My review should give you enough info to decide if you want to take a chance on it. Are you feeling lucky today, punk? Well, are you?
THREE: This denotes something I find perfectly respectable. There are better books out there, but I wouldn't regret buying this item. Based on my review, you should be able to determine if it's of interest to you. Let the Force guide you.
FOUR: I recommend anything earning this rating. Unless you don't like the genre, subject matter, or past work of the creators, I believe you'll enjoy this item. Isn't it uncanny how I can look right into your soul that way?
FIVE: Anything getting this rating is among the best comicdom has to offer. You should buy/read this, even if the genre/subject matter doesn't appeal to you. It's for your own good. Me, I live for comics and books this good...but not in a pathetic "Comic-Book Guy" sort of way.
Please send material you would like me to review to:
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