| The Fastrack Annual Report |
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Too late. Fastrack is here anyway.
Cartoonist Bill Holbrook applies his satiric pen to the exploits of a tiny
company of socially inept computer programmers.
This is good. Rolling on the floor is the only exercise most techno-geeks
get. Well, that, and sticking "Byte Me" notes on the backs of
fellow geeks.
Well-drawn and perfect for its specialized audience, file Fastrack under
"for the computer literate".
The Fastrack Annual Report is 160 pages long and is priced at $12.95.
It’s from Plan Nine Publishing and is sold in bookstores and at www.plan9.ca. Review by Michael Vance
Wooo Wooo!! Such is the premise of Toy Trunk, a comic strip about
the fictional characters of fictional characters!
Grumpy old Casey, the engineer, and idiot Jeb, his fireman, chug
down their tracks oblivious to their quirky situation. That adds a nuance
unique to this subtle but delightful on-line strip. You see, they are the
lucky, lucky little folks. And they lack a clue because their brains are
also 1/48th scale.
The cast includes Caddington Frink's bust, (Cad founded the line),
Mrs. Withers, the current owner, and a string of wild guest 'stars'. A
favorite is a Marxist bee that replaces Jeb as fireman while Jeb
vacations. Mrs. Withers likes his caboose.
Drawn with a simple, bold line, this strip is as fun to look at as
it is to read. Its only disappointment is that there is only one volume to
buy.
Off the Rails is highly recommended.
Off The Rails has 156 pages and is priced at $12.95. It comes from Plan
Nine Publishing and is written by Erik Sansom. It is available in
bookstores and at www.plan9.ca.
Review by Michael Vance |
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 Light's
End Audio Series
Michael Vance has teamed with William Windom to present an incredible collection of SF and fantasy stories. Set in the eerie town of Light’s End, Maine, these stories have been called “[a] meshing of myth and reality, [of] stack details of place, an...unromantic vision of horror...” Light’s End is a gathering place for the worst in human nature. Mr. Windom's impressive experience has prepared him well for the telling of these scary tales. He is well known for his TV roles on Murder, She Wrote, Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, All In The Family, and Barney Miller. He also won an Emmy for his TV series My World…and Welcome to It. His movie roles in To Kill a Mockingbird and True Crime won him additional acclaim. His stage performances as James Thurber and Ernie Pyle have entertained thousands. He's performed in eighteen Broadway plays, countless radio shows, and several books-on-tape. Michael Vance's work is published in numerous magazines. He has appeared as a syndicated columnist and cartoonist in over 500 newspapers. His history book, Forbidden Adventure has been called a "benchmark in comics history”. Vance, best known for his Suspended Animation columns, briefly wrote the comic strip Alley Oop and his own strip for five years, Holiday Out. He also wrote comic books including Straw Men, Angel of Death, The Adventures of Captain Nemo, and Bloodtide. His work has appeared in comics anthologies, and he is listed in the Who's Who of American Comic Books. With novelists Mel Odom and R.A. Jones, he co-wrote Global Star, a world where babies born with bowling balls in their stomachs are common, and the New York Times is “trash journalism”. Special Offer! Suspended Animation readers will be able to order a copy of Lights End Volume 1 personally autographed by both William Windom and Michael Vance. Volume 1 contains the stories "A Change of Heart" and "Cross Purposed." What are you waiting for? It's just $19.95 signed or $11.95 not, plus shipping. |
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