Oni Press Named New Publisher of the Year in Diamond Comics 1998 Gem Awards

Oni Press is proud to announce that it has been chosen as New Publisher of the Year 1997 in the 1998 Diamond Gem Awards. The Diamond Gem Awards are voted on by the more than 3500 retail accounts serviced by Diamond Comic Distributors. Oni Press began publishing in December 1997 with Bad Boy and, since then, has released books on a monthly basis including Oni Double Feature, St. Swithin’s Day, Eno & Plum, and Clerks: The Comic Book.

“This is a great honor and quite a shock” exclaimed Oni publisher, Bob Schreck. “We only put out one book in 1997, Bad Boy by Frank Miller and Simon Bisley in December, and to have this recognition after only 5 months of publishing… wow! Our sincere thanks to Frank, Simon, Angus McKie and my co-editor on the project Diana Schutz, for helping us get everyone’s attention in such a grand style!”

Joe Nozemack, Oni Press publisher, had this to say in response, “We’d liketo thank all the retailers responsible for this incredible show of support. This is a very plesant surprise, and I only hope we can live up to the title in 1998 and beyond.”

INDIE FILMMAKER / ENTREPRENEUR KEVIN SMITH INDULGES HIS PASSION FOR COMIC BOOKS

Kevin Smith doesn’t need to live vicariously through his on-screen characters. At least not when it comes to his passion for comincs. The 27-year-old-writer-director, who made the two lead guys in Chasing Amy comic-book artists and had Marvel Comics impresario Stan Lee play himself in Mallrats, is turhing out his own comincs almost as quickly as his movies. Smith is currently shooting his fourth flick in five years – Dogma, a religious satire starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Chris Rock. Meanwhile, Oni Press recently published Jay and Silent Bob and Clerks (The Comic Book), both of which Smith scripts. And he has inked deals to write six issues of Marvel’s Daredevil and an undetermined number of DC Comics’ Green Arrow, due to start hitting racks in late ’98 and early ’99, respectively.

“I started reading (comics) when I was in grade school,” Smith says. “But in high school (Henry Hudson Regional in Highlands, N.J.), I thought there were more important things…like chaising tail and keggers.” Just before graduation, Smith befriended a metalhead, Walt Flanagan, who-by introducing Smith to titles like The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen-proved that comics weren’t just for kids. “(I thought) if a dude as hardcore as Walt could be into comic books, then certainly I, not being hardcore in the least, could be into them, too.”

Last year, Smith attempted to bring his two loves together in a big way when he was hired to write the screenplay for Superman Lives. And though the script was initially accepted by Warner Bros., Tim Burton-who later signed on to direct-tossed it. “It’s a shame it went down the way it did,” Smith says. “The reaction I got was like 95 percent overwhelmingly positive…. And from what I understand, there’s still a lot of my story in the movie.”

In a related venture, last January, Smith bought a comics store in hishometown/head-quarters, Red Bank, N.J. “It kind of came out of laze,” Smith admits, laughing at his tendency toward convenience-the local shop was closing down, and he didn’t want to commute 15 minutes from his View Askew production offices to the next-closest joint. And where better to peddle his new books than his own place, rechristened Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash? “It’s like a clubhouse,” Smith brags of the shop (which buddy Flanagan now manages) where he spends much of his time. “Business does get done, yes, but it’s really just a place to hang out and jaw.” — Tricia Laine

The Jason Lee bit is called “Feed Your Head: Current Pop-Culture Obsessions, Served Piping Hot”. Jason and a few others each get a blurb about something they dig. Here’s his:

The Kevin bit is from an article called “Oscar’s Redheaded Stepchild” by Paul Zimmerman. These are the two Kevin-related paragraphs (as you can see, nothing new on this topic):

There’s also a picture of Kevin, standing at the podium with his award and looking mighty proud.

Damon Set To Wed Winona

Oscar-winning actor Matt Damon is to marry Hollywood stunner Winona Ryder.

Damon, 27, star of hit film Good Will Hunting, is said to have told a friend: “Winona is a wonderful woman and I’m in love with her.

“If all goes well I hope to make her my bride before the year is out.”

GREEN ARROW FUTURE PLANS – The current GREEN ARROW title winds down this summer. In the final One Million issue, scheduled for September, Chuck Dixon and Frank Teran present a story of a future society and Green Arrow. The next to last issue, #137, features art by the three primary pencillers of Connor Hawke: Dougie Braithwraite (Robin Riggs, inks), Rodolfo Damaggio (Robert Campanella, inks), and Will Rosado (Klaus Jansen, inks). This issue will wrap up the ongoing plotlines (although Connor also appears in the One Million issue) and provide teasers for the upcoming new series and a cool last-page revelation you won’t want to miss. Connor fans, have no fear: this definitely isn’t the last time we’ll see the character. Editor Darren Vincenzo assures us, “As long as I’m editing Green Arrow, Connor Hawke will be a part of the legacy.” After a brief hiatus, GREEN ARROW will return with a new #1 written by film director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy).

Dave Matthews Knows When to Ignore Paltrow and Affleck
When you’re a major recording artist, you never know who’s gonna drop by the studio, and in Dave Matthews’ case, you never know who’s going to disrupt your creative process either. Here’s the story: When Matthews’ girlfriend Ashley popped into the band’s Manhattan recording session a few months ago, she brought along a few friends, including Hollywood couple du jour Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow. That day, Matthews was struggling with the lyrics to “The Dreaming Tree,” a song that would wind up on the band’s new album, Before These Crowded Streets.

“Steve Lillywhite, our producer, was telling me just to write whatever came into my mind,” recalls Matthews. “He was trying to get me to think spontaneously, so I had all this gibberish down, some sappy story that had a sappy ending.” It was his second attempt at lyrics for the song, and even though Matthews remained uncertain about version two, he sang through it in the studio in front of Affleck, Paltrow, and the other guests. “The starlets came up to me after the take and told me how much they loved it, how great it was,” he says. “I knew then and there that I had to change the song, and change it immediately.” The lyrics to the released version of “The Dreaming Tree” are the third, final, and arguably best set of words to the song, thanks in part to Ben and Gwyneth. —Bob Gulla