Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 2

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Here's the nineth page:

(Click here for a 1328X1996 version (without any of the artifacts that the forum's system created when downsizing the image))

And again a page where all its dialogue has been used in the slideshow. But then, there are only two panels with dialogue...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Here's the fifth (last) page of the letters column (the twenty-nineth page):

(Click here for a 1328X1996 version)

The top panel on this one is from upcoming Page 15 - and the bottom panel is from upcoming Page 16. And though the panels may not convey it, those are two rather pivotal pages in the story.

And once again not all the text scans the same color even though it's all blue in the issue. Who knows? And it comes out the same way no matter how I orient the page in the scanner.

Needless to say, I don't side with Mr. Olson's belief that people shouldn't point out "flaws." Sure, complaining about the amount of candles in a candelabra could come off as "ridiculous" (though we only have David Campiti's word for that complaint because no such letter was ever published), but complaining about things that fly in the face of story established as canon on the '91 Series when they continually insist they are completely staying within the series' canon does not.

And sadly, we never got to see Book 4 (issues 13 through 16). We'll never know how very different/very similar it would have been to Angelique's Descent. Though if Book 4 had been published, there probably never would have been an Angelique's Descent...

Also, nothing at all about the "Pinky" Perrotta screw up. Maybe they were hoping no one would notice...

[Uncle Roger]

I vaguely remember David Hofstede from a column that ran for a few issues in The World of Dark Shadows where he reviewed videos that featured DS alumni.
One thing that I noticed about the letter column is that I recognized very few of the names from all my years in fandom. I never wrote in to the DS comic, or any other comic, to be honest. Maybe the majority of the letters published came from people whose only involvement with DS was the comic book?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Aside from names I recognize from ShadowGram, fanzines or the Fests, I don't recognize half of the names either. But then, that doesn't necessarily mean that back in the early '90s they weren't active in fandom, only that normally they might have kept to themselves. Also, back then the '91 Series had often been greatly (and sometimes unfairly) criticized in the fanzines, so if you came to DS via that show, you wouldn't necessarily want to write into a fanzine and have people jump all over you - the comics were safer...

Thankfully the appreciation for the '91 Series has increased through the years. Though in some corners it's still the ugly stepchild...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And here's the tenth page:

(Click here for a 1328X1996 version (without any of the artifacts that the forum's system created when downsizing the image))

And this is one of the rarer instances where probably around half of the dialogue wasn't used in the slideshow...

I wish I knew why the snakes are so attracted to the sisters, but when I tried to research it online, I came up with nothing. Yet snakes and Gorgons seem very closely tied and it's not just the snakes for hair. I mean, you even see the close connection in things like The Weekend/Daft Punk video for I Feel It Coming.

[Uncle Roger]

I thought that the Gorgon family dynamic was handled better in Neil Gaiman's Sandman epic The Kindly Ones.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Unfortunately I've never read The Kindly Ones. Though considering that its primary focus was probably on the Gorgons and its story most likely went on for several issues whereas the Gorgons are simply a subplot in this 4 issue comic, it's no surprise that this comic probably suffers by comparison.

[Uncle Roger]

The concept of a female trinity occurred throughout the Sandman series. They were never the main characters but would show up periodically to impart some pivotal information to a character at a crossroads. Sometimes they were DC horror hostesses, Mordred, Mildred and Cynthia. Sometimes as the Hecateae. Sometimes as the Gorgons or the Furies. Sometimes simply as Maiden, Mother and Crone. And at least once as Diana, Mary and Florence.
The Sandman series is a comic book for people who don't normally read comic books. A multi layered, well written story that improves with every reading.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Continuing with more of the ads for the '91 Series tapes from the MPI's 1993 catalogue, here's the ad for July -

(Click here for a 792X1600 version (without any of the artifacts that the forum's system created when downsizing the image))

- and it just so happens that tape was released 26 years ago today.

And it's interesting to keep in mind that when it comes to the scene between Barnabas and Angelique at the end of Ep #7's 2nd Act that scene played somewhat differently on NBC than it does on the MPI VHS and the Sony DVD. There's more deep breathing in the NBC version. And, well, more of something else on the VHS/DVD.    Check out each version:

NBC:

VHS:

Who knows why neither MPI or Sony have ever acknowledged the differences?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I just realized (after I checked the forum with my phone) that not all browsers are showing the above videos (especially phone browsers). So, I'm going to have to do some experimenting to see how I can remedy that...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Apparently some browsers are very picky. First I was able to create videos with picture in all browsers but no sound in some, then sound in all but no picture in some - but I think I've finally hit on the right format for picture and sound in most if not all - even on my phone.

Now the next step is figuring out how to display the videos. I'd like to display them in a post, and SMF has a Mod for that, but it's an old Mod, so it may not be compatible with the forum's current system. We'll see. But if worse comes to worse, because I've already experimented with it, I know I can display them in a new page and all I need do to do that is provide the link to the page...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The Mod works. Now I just have to make some cosmetic changes to the posting page...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The two new button on the posting page are displaying and working. But, while the videos play fine and the resizing feature works fine, the autoplay feature and the loop feature don't. So, in other words, right now the videos start on their own and continue to play unless you specifically pause them, and even that would be aggravating every time you come to the page on the form that they appear on. So, I'm going to try to see what the Mod writer might have done wrong...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

OK, reply #218 has been edited to use the Mod for the video files. And they will not autoplay and they will not loop.

Happy viewing...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Here's the eleventh page:

(Click here for a 1328X1996 version (without any of the artifacts that the forum's system created when downsizing the image))

Note the dialogue and panels that were not included in the slideshow...

Apparently Willie's childhood was not the best. But I suspect that doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who watched the '91 Series...