Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 2

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I forgot to comment that the statement that -

The internet was around in the 1993/94 period but was still in its early stages, so documentation of what happened is sparse at best.

- is an understatement! 1994 was the year I logged onto the Internet for the first time and it was a vastly different place than it is today. Even the ways to log on/interact were vastly different. Many outlets were purely text based, like the Usenet newsgroups - though people also gathered on services like AOL or Prodigy or Compuserve - but all of those services have gone the way of the dinosaurs, leaving little to nothing of themselves behind. So, even if the situation with Innovation had been thoroughly discussed at the time, it's not likely that any of it could be tracked down today.

To put the differences between 1994 and now in an even greater perspective, the computer language that the forum's system is written in (and which thousands of today's most popular Web sites are also written in) didn't even exist in 1994...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Here are the second and third pages:

(Click here for a 2656X1996 version)

Note the skipped panel and dialogue on Page 3. Not to mention all the lit candles, which make for a very atmospheric layout. Jose Pimentel finally gets it...

It's also the first time there's been a white rim at the top and bottom - all the other title spreads have been full page...

Also, for some reason Page 3 scanned with a lot of red tint to it. I don't know if my scanner freaked because there's so much red in the page, though there's an upcoming page where the same thing happened and there isn't all that much red in the page. It could also be something about the way the pages were printed. But regardless, I was able to correct it during post-scanning processing and Page 3 appears as it does in the issue...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Here's what SG #65 from July of 1993 had to say about the comics in general:

It's very interesting that there was indeed a segment on QVC for the comics.

Though what's even more interesting is that either an unknown amount of the gold foil, embossed copies of Book 2, Issue 1 were left unsold on QVC or Innovation held copies of them separate from the 4000 offered on QVC so that they could entice people, via the form I shared in reply #168, to subscribe to the comics for a chance to get one as part of their subscriptions. However, given that only 1 out of every 100 subscribers would receive the gold foil, embossed version, who knows how many subscribers Innovation was hoping to attract with the offer?

[Uncle Roger]

Those foil covers were a big gimmick around that. To me, it just seemed to an excuse to get people to buy more than one issue to get the special cover. I bought one of the Vampirella ones but that was about it.
Until you posted it, MB, I don't think that I was aware that QVC had a comic book show. Maybe some shrewd filmmaker will adapt that as a sequel to the Jennifer Lawrence vehicle Joy. 
Did anyone get a copy of the gold embossed DS book?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Until you posted it, MB, I don't think that I was aware that QVC had a comic book show. ...
Did anyone get a copy of the gold embossed DS book?

I wasn't aware of it either. Obviously back in the day I'd read about it in SG but apparently it made no lasting impression. Though even if I had known about it and was aware of the day in June when they would have been offering the gold foil, embossed version of Book 2, Issue 1, unless the segment had been on at night, I wouldn't have been able to take advantage because I would have been at work during the day, as would have been the case with all of my friends. Though there might have been one possibility because I have a friend who back then was a principal at a local grammar school, so she might have been off if the segment had aired in mid-to-late June. However she would have had to have had knowledge the segment was coming or was on, and that seems very unlikely because she knows what a DS fan I am and she would have told me. And chances are she wouldn't have even stumbled upon it by chance because, even though she shopped QVC, the only time of year that she would shop there was during their Christmas in July promotion. If only the segment had been on in July - but alas... Although, all that being said, I highly doubt I would have paid $25 for a copy even if I had known.

All of this got me to wondering whether or not the gold foil, embossed version of Book 2, Issue 1 had ever been sold somewhere online. I mean one would think so. But the only things that came up for me in a Goggle search were these two offers:

DARK SHADOWS 1991 SERIES COMIC BOOK SET #'S 1 - 9 (OF 9) + BONUS ~ INNOVATION CO

Dark Shadows Book 2 1-B

With the first its part of the full bundle of DS Innovation comics that were offered. With the second it's on its own. However, it's too bad that neither seems to indicate when they were offered or if they sold.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

As you know, normally I don't post the letters column pages until after any graphics on them have already been shared on the pages of the comic. However, the graphic on the first page of letters in Book 2, Issue 3, has a copy of a graphic that won't show up until Page 21, and I don't want to wait that long to start to share the column. Plus,the first page also shares more writing from Maggie Thompson and she offers some interesting comments. So here's the first page of the letters column (the twenty-fifth page):

(Click here for a 1328X1996 version)

Also, if we can judge by the graphic, it looks like there may be some future romance in Issue 3 after all. But only time will tell...

[Uncle Roger]

I don't recall seeing the gold embossed cover in the dealer's room at any of the festivals. But, since I didn't know that such a thing even existed, I may have just bypassed it. Compared to the specialty covers that other companies were doing at the time, this is pretty lackluster.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Here's what SG #65 had to say about the MPI VHS tapes for the '91 Series and a few other things:

Note the boo-boo at the start of what SG says about the first release from MPI - MPI actually released the first 2 hours in October of 1992, not the first 4.

And here's the ad for the Ben Cross Barnabas T-shirt as it appeared in MPI's 1993 catalogue:

There was nothing about the 25th Anniversary poster in the catalogue. And, given how JF reacted to having footage of his one man show included in the 25th Anniversary VHS tape without his permission, I can just imagine how "thrilled" he must have been once he discover his image was being used for that poster...

I bought all the '91 Series MPI tapes at Suncoast and I have a copy of their DS mini-catalogue, but I don't believe there's really anything in it regarding the '91 Series. Though I will check once I can track it down...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And continuing with more of the ads for the '91 Series tapes from the MPI's 1993 catalogue, here's the ad for May:

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

(Even though they went further than the '91 Series when it came to Barnabas' attack on Nathan in the Innovation comic, why do I suspect we won't be seeing anything like that shot of Barnabas and Carolyn should Barnabas attack Nathan again?  )

And here's the ad for June from the MPI's 1993 catalogue:

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

And I was correct. The only thing the Suncoast mini-catalogue says about the '91 Series tapes is that they're available.

[Uncle Roger]

I think that I might take those glowing remarks about MPI a bit more seriously if they were coming from a source other than an MPI press release.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Here's the fourth page:

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

Note the missing dialogue and the panel that the slideshow skipped...

And why all the sudden mention of Daphne? Well, it's reminding plus setting the foundation for future story in the comic...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Oops - even though I uploaded today's correct quote, I forgot to upload its corresponding scan.    And normally I would have caught that hours ago before I went to bed, but the last time I checked the forum before I went to bed I was in flashed-back time, so yesterday's scan was still showing up.

But anyway, if you're not seeing this pairing on the BoardIndex page -

Book Two/Issue Three/Page 5 - Willie: '--SHE WAS FROM
COLLINWOOD, AN' BARNABAS... HE--*' Willie: 'WELL, HE
DID LIKE HE DOES.'

- you need to clear your browser's cache. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Here's the second page of the letters column (the twenty-sixth page):

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

This one contains a graphic of Barnabas from Page 2, which we've already seen - but it also contains a graphic of Nathan from Page 6, which we haven't seen yet. And for the most part people continue to discuss Book 1, Issue 4. Not having looked beyond what I'm posting, it will be interesting to see if we ever start to get feedback on Book 2...

[Uncle Roger]

A monthly book?  Seriously, most of the time they couldn't manage bimonthly.

There seems to be a mistaken impression that retailers were reluctant to stock the book because of content. Not so. I remember seeing some pretty poor quality books in my local comic book store back then. Dealers were reluctant to carry a lot of the "independent" comics because of too many publishing delays. And, unless the store had a large display, stores were more likely to use that space for product that actually sold. Some comics were returnable if they were left unsold. Some were not. If a store ordered 20 copies and sold two, they were stuck with the inventory and out the money that they paid upfront.
Some stores would special order stuff. Some would not. The distributor sometimes placed a minimum of copies that could be ordered. No problem with Batman or Spiderman but quite another matter of a title like DS.
And, Innovation was not paying its bills, that's a very good reason for people not to want to do business with them.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

A monthly book?  Seriously, most of the time they couldn't manage bimonthly.

Exactly! But Kay Kelly must have written that back when Issue 1 and Issue 2 of Book 2 actually mailed on April 14th and May 17th, respectively - and after Campiti claimed they were going to be on a monthly release schedule from then on. Foolish Kay for believing him! Little did she know Issue 3 wouldn't mail until August 16th!