Innovation's '91 DS Comic, Book 4, The Book That Never Was

[Mysterious Benefactor]

SG #72's merchandise report:

First it was the Ben Cross Barnabas model kit would only be available until "early 1995" - then it was "through the fall" - now a specific date of "until June 30." Will it still be available when SG #73 comes out in August of 1995? Probably not because it seems like once AKI announces a specific date, they stick to it. But who knows?

On the other hand, Abbelaire was still continuing their watches deal, which would supposedly only last through the '94 holidays. And still no sign of having to buy both watches in order to get the discount.

Trading cards based in the '91 DS were never released. Imagine only released a set for the original DS. And it's very interesting that back in February SG #71 reported that the supply of that set of cards was "depleted" but suddenly they were available through the Fest. And for $17.95, which is $2 cheaper than their original price. Though at least fans who'd paid the $19.95 for the cards probably weren't too upset they they'd paid $2 more. (Somehow I suspect the same might not be able to be said of the fans who paid $77.95 before the watches were reduced to $35.)

And SG still continued to hawk David Campiti's Glass House Graphics. But then his name is also listed in the Contributors section of SG #72, so...

[Uncle Roger]

Glass House Graphics is still in business today. And David Campiti is indeed quite a part of it. The website links to his blog, which has the intriguing title of Nibbled To Death By Ducks.
I read a bit of him. He seems quite full of himself.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

SG #71 also made mention of this:

I'm presuming it's in reference to the storyline in which Dr. Marlena Evans was possessed.

The following section from SG #72 really has nothing to do with the '91 Series, but I do find it quite interesting how much DS gets associated with that DoOL storyline. Though I suppose it was inevitable.

[Uncle Roger]

A bit of an aside here. I know Richard Howell a bit. He's a comic book artist/writer who usually manages to work a DS reference or two into each story. He also writes an ongoing comic called Deadbeats, which is a vampire saga set in New England. There are characters drawn to resemble Barbara Steele and Joanna Going. And there have been characters named Ginny Vestoff, Kathryn Kringstad, Nicky Blair, Denny Nickerson and Lara Lamar, to name a few. Plus lots of Easter Eggs.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

After SG #71 had just a small mention of upcoming books from PomPress, SG #72 had a major section about things (and considering the '91 Series is represented) I've decided to share it:

And whether I sent PomPress a SASE after the announcement in Sg #71 or the piece in SG #72, I don't honestly recall. But I did send one. So, I'll have more to share about these deals and otherwise after I get the chance to scan it all...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Here's the first page of the letter Pompress sent out in June of 1995:

And here's the second page:

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And as a bonus gift for mailing in a SASE, PomPress threw in this bookmark:

The funny thing is I'd completely forgotten about the bookmark until I dug out the letter and looked inside. My bookmark has stayed in the envelope for more than 25 years...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Here's the first page of the version of the letter that came with your Pompress order (or at least it came with mine):

And here's the second page:

[Mysterious Benefactor]

And as you may have noted, the first version of the letter claimed that everyone who pre-ordered would receive a "FREE, NEVER BEFORE SEEN" color photograph. However, uh, that wasn't quite the case - but then it rarely is, is it? What came was this:

(Click here for a 788X1190 version)

And if one wants to split hairs, yes, the color version may have never been seen, but a B&W version was right on the front page of SG #72. And that issue came out in May, whereas the shipping date for the books was August. So...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Most of the books I ordered through this deal are in pristine condition because I hardly touch therm. But most definitely the same can't be said of my copy of the Program Guide:

When I watched DS all the way through back in the late-'90s, I checked the Program Guide for each ep to correct the numerous errors in it (the errors that were supposedly all fixed but weren't () for the version in the DS Memories book). And extremely often I refer to it while doing things for the forum. The inside isn't bad. But that cover!! 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

On the other hand, something that I received in my package that I've barely ever touched is this:

Not only have I barely ever touched it, I've never even taken one of the cassettes out of the case to listen to it. The only reason I own the Audio book is because it was included in the package I'd purchased. And even if I wanted to listen to it nowadays I wouldn't be able to because I don't own a cassette player anymore. Although, now that I think about it, it could have been fun to hear whichever star it might have been read any errors there might be in the book. It's been so long since I've even looked at the text of the DS Companion that I don't even remember what any errors might be. But there must be at least one somewhere along the way because, quite sadly, there's no such thing as a PomPress book that's completely error free...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

   I remember at least one thing that's not correct in the DS Companion and it's a biggie because it totally destroys the point she was trying to make: In Lara Parker's "Out of Angelique's Shadow" chapter she mistakenly believes that as Angelique she said to Nicholas, "From warlock to lacky... my, how the mighty are fallen!" when in reality she said to Sky Rumson, "From tycoon to lackey... my, how the mighty are fallen!" Considering that fact, it completely invalidates the point she was trying to make about Nicholas and Angelique's relationship. And I honestly have no idea how that misquote got past the editing process - well, unless the editor knew nothing about the big moments in Angelique's various and readily available storylines, in which case they shouldn't have been editing that chapter. And if Lara Parker narrates that chapter on the Audio book, which is most likely the case, and it remained exactly as written, it's completely on Jim Pierson because he produced the Audio book and of all people he should have caught the error. If the error made it to the Audio book, quite unfortunately and not at all anything resembling fun, Lara Parker would have been made to look doubly foolish because, as I've alluded to, unlike the pre-Barn eps and the last year of the show, in 1990 it would have been quite easy to check Leviathans Ep #974 because it and all of Leviathans had been readily available since the mid-'80s. There really is no excuse for the error because it would have been so easy to fact check... (Not to mention the copy editor should have caught the misspelling of lackey in the book.  )

[Mysterious Benefactor]

SG #72's video report:

Would either DS RESURRECTED or DS VAMPIRES & GHOSTS debut at August's '95 NYC 30th Anniversary Fest? Well, we know for sure one wouldn't. As for the other, that would remain to be seen...

I don't know if I was lucky, but I never had any problem finding and buying any of MPI's DS compilation tapes. In addition to a Suncoast video store (whose stock almost always included multiple copies of all the compilations, the '91 Series, at least one copy of all the regular and Collectors tapes, and even copies of the 4 soundtrack CDs), my local Kmart stocked the compilations and often had sales on them. (Nowadays, both those stores are long out of business.  )

And coming up the next time I post in this topic will be something I suspect not many of his fans would expect to see...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The following has nothing to do with the '91 Series - but considering he has many fans among the members of the forum, I figured I'd share it all anyway. Enjoy: