The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 35

rfa ffuicte to wWs happening vKSS. "-mm mm wtp IDJ LA I WW I Hug-holds Have you got the hang of hugging? Southern-style huggers are like muggers, but Midwesterners are more demure, writer says. Page D3. JNUW The Beacon Journal Thursday, January 9, 1992 ETQ ELVIS IS KEEPING HIS EYES PEELED A giant shadow of doubt suddenly has been cast on the report in a London tabloid, Hie Sun, that its own psychic had contacted Robert "Cap's Bob" Maxwell in the Afterlife and found him to be a very crabby dead guy. not the pleasantest guy to get in touch with, let me tell you," said psychic Nella Jones.) Now The Sport, a rival tabloid, has a story headlined "MAXWELL IS ALIVE" and reveals that the "fatty millionaire" had a secret look-alike, whom he killed and dumped in the Atlantic to fake his own death.

The Sport offered a reward for information about Maxwell's whereabouts. "We've had a few calls, nothing enliri cave 1 1 tT- Prince Is among the rock stars featured In Piranha Music books. Black characters are comic stars Marvel and DC comics are the dominant mainstream publishers, and the two companies control about 70 percent of the comic book market. The rest of the market is divided among several independent companies. Here is a brief list of African-American heroes: Marvel Comics Storm, born in New York City and raised in Africa, is the current leader of a group of heroes called the X-Men.

She can be found in current issues of The X-Men and The Uncanny X-Men. Luke Cage is a professional adventurer from New York City. He was published in a book titled Power Man and Iron Fist until his partner was killed. He is See BLACKS, Page D2 'PJ ''it ir'ew comic-book hero, Brotherman, fights st Inner-city crime without superpowers. 1 AH, IT AIN'T BATMAN.

AN IT'S BROTHERMAN It may be a gimmick, but Marvel Comics' superhero The Punlsher, a street vigilante, appears to have turned black In one of his latest Issues. BY PERCY I. ALLEN Beacon Journal tiafl 'writer Maxwell Thompson, the paper's news editor. "One person saw Maxwell working at a factory in the British Midlands." To bolster its claim, The Sport has hired its own psychic to contact Elvis Presley and ask him if he's seen anyone suspicious hanging out by the flame pits. "If our medium can confirm that Maxwell hasn't been seen on the Other Side, then we know he's still alive, and our story is right," said Thompson.

The Wall Street Journal tried to verify either claim but said Maxwell "couldn't be reached for comment." Suspicion confirmed Lawyer: "Now, doctor, will you take a look at these X-rays and tell us something about the injury?" Medical expert: "Let's see which side am I testifying for?" Trial excerpt, courtesy of the Portland Oregonian The mud studs For what will the '90s be remembered? The fall of the Soviet Union? The destruction of the ozone? The plague of AIDS? Or men in mud packs? Warren Beatty wore a mud pack in Bugsy. Jeff Bridges had mud in his eye in The Usher King. "The films are reflecting the reality that people these days are more concerned with skin preservation," said Manhattan skin-care guru Anne Thompson. "We've found that men especially have become more skin-care conscious." Except for Manuel Noriega he's been too busy with his trial. This day in music 1963 No.

1 Billboard pop hit: Go Away Little Girl, Steve Lawrence. The Domino theory How best to measure American eating and tipping habits? Domino's Pizza surveyed its delivery people, Newsweek reports. Some findings: Women tip better than men. Women with rollers in their hair tip better than those without. The longer the driveway, the lower the tip.

Among TV stations, ABC affiliates are the most generous with tips. NBC stations are the cheapest. Highest-tipping state: New York. Lowest California. Highest-tipping city: Washington.

Lowest: Boston. Least health-conscious state: California (favorite topping is all meat). Healthiest state: Washington (vegetable toppings prevail). Most people answer the door shoeless. During TV newscasts, most pizza is ordered during the weather report.

TV shows most often being watched during pizza delivery: Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, 60 Minutes. That's par for Geraldo One of the sad stories of the year in golf involved TV talk-show host Geraldo Rivera, who, according to the Boston Globe, bought a home in Marion, expecting to play his golf at the Kittansett Club. He wasn't invited, so he put the house up for sale. The final word "I've got golf balls older than him." Bob Hope on working with actor Macaalay Calkin Edited by Mickey Porter torn Beacon Journal wire services. A CHILD, Guy Sims read everything from William Shakespeare to Richard Wright.

Reading was his passion. He knew he would grow up to be a classical writer. Sims was right, sorta. function from an independent point of view and try not to replicate what's already out there." Recently, a small crop of independent comic books featuring African-American heroes began to bloom in a market dominated by white characters, artists, writers and distributing companies. In December, the Wall Street Journal reported that the comic-book industry made an estimated $400 million in 1990.

This year the profits are expected to increase, but the two publishing giants, Marvel Comics and DC Comics, will have to share a larger piece of the pie with independent companies featuring new-wave heroes like Brotherman. Every child needs a hero, said Rochon Perry, a director of the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. "Comic books have an abundant supply of would-be heroes for children to select from, but, until recently, the selection has been limited to white, macho males with a high level of testosterone," Perry said. Marvel's Black Panther, introduced in the 1960s, was the first mainstream hero who broke all stereotypes. Panther, alias T'challa, is a scientist and king of a fictitious African nation.

His emergence on He grew up to be a writer, but he makes his living writing comics, not the classics. "I've always written stories, plays and poems," Sims, 30, said during a telephone interview. "This is just one story that appears in paperback with pictures." Meet Brotherman, the Dictator of Discipline. He's a big guy with muscles and a serious dislike for criminals and was created by Sims with the help of his brothers, David and Jason. Brotherman is different from many of his heroic peers.

He doesn't have any superpowers, he lives in the inner city and he has a female sidekick (very rare in a hero industry dominated by macho males). Oh, and one more thing: Brotherman is black. "We didn't come into it (the comic-book business) from a comic-book-oriented background," Jason Sims said. "We tne mainstream comic scene grew out of dissent by African-American readers. Most comics featuring African-American heroes have not done well financially, said Pamela Rutt, a spokeswoman for Marvel.

The company, however, may have just introduced a character that might reverse that trend. The Punisher, a street vigilante and one of Marvel's marquee characters, See COMICS, Page D2 R.E.M. leads Grammy pack with 7 nominations Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Seal was nominated for the single, Crazy; Michael for Freedom 90; Cohn for Walking in Memphis; Neville for his album, Warm Your Heart; and Bolton for his single, When a Man Loves a Woman. In the category for best female pop vocal, the nominees included Whitney Houston for her single, All the Man I Need; Grant for Baby Baby; Mariah Carey for her album, Emotions; Raitt for her single, Something to Talk About; and Oleta Adams for Get Here.

Besides Cohn and Seal, best new artist nominees were Boyz Men, CC Music Factory and Color Me Badd. The See AWARD, Page D4 dustry awards in the past. Amy Grant was nominated four times this year and is a past winner of five awards. Cole, nominated four times, already has won three Grammys. Song of the year nominees were Baby Baby, I Do it for You, Losing My Religion, Unforgettable and Walking in Memphis, sung by Marc Cohn.

Album of the year nominees were Grant for Heart in Motion, Raitt for Luck of the Draw, R.E.M. for Out of Time, Paul Simon for The Rhythm of the Saints and Cole for Unforgettable. Adams, Cohn, George Michael, Michael Bolton, Seal and Aaron Neville were nominated for best male pop vocal. Adams was nominated for I Do It for You, the theme song from the movie BY MARY CAMPBELL Associated Press NEW YORK: R.E.M. received seven nominations and Bryan Adams garnered six to lead the pop pack Wednesday as Grammy nominations were announced.

Natalie Cole was nominated for a duet with her father, who died a quarter-century ago. R.E.M., the eclectic foursome from Athens, and Adams, owner of the year's best-selling single, have never won a single Grammy between them. But they were followed by three women who have won a total of 12: Bonnie Raitt, Amy Grant and Cole. Nominees in a record 80 categories were named. Winners will be announced Feb.

25 at the 34th annual awards cere mony of the National Academy of Recording Arts Sciences. Cole's album, Unforgettable, her sentimental tribute to her late father, Nat "King" Cole, won three Grammy award nominations for her and seven nominations for producing, arranging, engineering and songwriting. The album features her versions of songs he recorded before his death in 1965, including the title song, a duet of their voices overdubbed. Along with the Unforgettable single, nominees for record (single) of the year were Grant's Baby Baby, Adams' I Do It For You, R.E.M.'s Losing My Religion and Raitt's Something to Talk About. Raitt was nominated five times this year and has won four of the music in 1 1.