[2J[0m[23C   Massive: The Second Coming

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[19C--- ------ `'*S -- - *8$ --`'*S*'-

[8CWelcome to the second issue of Massive, an emag completely devoted to  
the ascii scene. After releasing the first issue of Massive I received a lot of
feedback, which is good, and several people offered to help me out with the 
second release and future releases, which is also good. More importantly  
activity in the ascii scene has really picked up in the last few months making 
running Massive an enjoyable job.
[8CTwo questions came up since the last issue and I have spent a long time
thinking about each of them. The first one was whether I was actually going to
keep Massive going for awhile or was it just a one month stand of sorts. My 
response to that is: I will keep Massive going until I retire from the ascii 
scene. I enjoy putting Massive together and the only way I see myself killing itis if the ascii scene becomes incredibly boring, and therefore I wouldn't want  to have any part in it and would retire. The second question was if I wanted to have this issue (and all future issues) coded. After thinking about it for 
awhile and asking several of the people who have helped me put Massive together
from the start I have decided to permanently keep Massive in this text format.
[8CThat's all I have to say this time around. I hope you all enjoy the mag
and remember to eat your wheaties!

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[25C   :: Table of Contents ::

[23C01) The Ascii News by Pariah           
[23C02) I am Tum, hear me rOAR! by Tum
[23C03) All about Mimic by Black Jack
[23C04) The death of Grill [excerpt]
[23C05) The Haji Interview             
[23C06) Karma #03 Pack Review
[23C07) Mimic #01 Pack Review
[23C08) Noname #12 Pack Review
                       09) Prelude #01 Pack Review
[23C10) Remorse #24 Pack Review
[23C11) The Picks of the Month
[23C12) Massive #2: The Outro

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------                THE ASCII NEWS WITH YOUR HOST: BARBARA WALTERS!                 
        Instead of having a bland recount of the latest happenings in the scene
that everyone probably knows about I'm going to go over some of them and just 
say what I think about them.
[8CKarma released their first really competitive pack. Along with the usualsuspects Haji and Konami made some big contributions, (literally in Konami's  
case: a 400+ liner). As Haji said in our interview Mankind already had a high
quality clique when Karma was just three people and I think it's great that he
decided to start a group with the intentions of competing during a time when a
lot of people would shy away from the idea.
[8CGrill died (you'll hear more about that later). For some reason Grill  
never really got the recognition it deserved. There were some great artists in 
the group and Martz was an experienced group leader but it just didn't work out
A group dying is never a good thing, but hopefully all the artists in the group
will find another place to release.
[8CPrelude released their first pack. Some might think it's a little too 
early for someone like Tripulogic to start a group, but personally I think when
you really support a group (which happens the most when you run it) you develop
your style the most and want to make everything perfect, so I think it's good
for him as an artist and for the ascii scene.
[8CAnd to the big news of the month, Mimic released. For those of you that
didn't hear before the release Mimic is a group run by Black Jack, Konami, and  Serial Toon. It's always good when a new group comes along and hopefully Mimic 
will spark some competition between groups.
[8CIf you ask me all these new groups are a result of the fallout from 
Odelay's death, which happens whenever a long standing group dies. In the next 
few months we'll see which groups can keep it up and which groups give into the
pressure of merging or killing the group. Starting a group and keeping it alive
is probably one of the hardest things to do in the scene. 
[8CIn addition to all of this a bunch of people joined and left groups, butyou can read that in infofiles. The only important artist specific news of the
month is that Mass Murderer is going to start drawing again and Nahal is going 
to be starting up Awe's ascii department once again, the one ascii department  
that really did ascii justice in my opinion.
[41C                                       --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Title - I am Tum, hear me rOAR!                                     Author - Tum

<skatter> bg: damn you.. ok i'm starting, let me know if your hd makes any
noise
<bg> skatter: NOOOOOOOOO!!
<bg> skatter: NOOOOOOOOO!!




<nosanity> the bushwackers rule! they licked my head eh
<aneurizm> nosane- you sure it was your head?



So Pariah asked me to pen a few words. How come you can say "pen a few words"
when you're not even using a pen.
What the hell am I Seinfeld? No, I'm not even Jewish.


<skatter> click here for barely legal teens.. aww yeah!

Hey there's skatter picking up on his pre-pubescent fantasy chicks jpg's. Thats
a real quote by the way, not just made up. What a fucky guy. Just like most of
the art scene.
        Very stream of consciousness. Was getting bored of the other articles.
        the complaining, the boasting, all basically the exact same as
        every articles published in mags and zines weeks or months before.

it's not new. our ideas are recycled. our ascii is boring.
        i was thinking the other day about people. i can summarize everyone's
        life in four words:
                                birth, work, play, death
        isn't that pessimistic. i suppose its the "play" factor that keeps
        atheists going, while the religious nutballs have invisible words
        that come after death. heaven, nirvana, reincarnation, bad karma,
        good karma. lots of shit. or maybe it's real i don't know.
people are, on a basic level, good. but on a complex level they're all evil.

and i'm so convinced of this: the good artists, the artists that master the
art of ascii. they get bored and they stop. that's why there's not much
competition for me. that's why ascii will eventually die. it needs a
continuing and never ending stream of new artists to feed it. and it's not
happening.
microsoft windows 98.. funny that their dos prompt is COMPLETELY fucked. it
destroys ascii art. the dollar signs $$ are all wrong. that's a death blow.
                      s%     <--with the new prompt those will all be same
                                 height. stupid stupid.
                the "S" will be taller and fuller than the $
they're ruining a good decade of art with this. vga is booming. there's money
in that field. "graphics designer" is actually a job. but not "ascii artist".
at most when artists get bored they turn it into a hobby and dont draw
some of you doubt. i mean.. mankind, me, drax, nahal, konami, pariah, and
other great artists still draw on a somewhat regular basis. but 12 months
ago i could have listed half a page of names while now it's maybe 2, 3 lines.
and i know. as a senior i have a clearer perspective. remorse's applicant
pool is severely diminished. as i'm sure is the case with everyone else.
no one cares enough about the scene to takeover the damn channel. +l 1981
no longer inspires a great comradery as it once did. it's just a hobby
not a serious sport or conflict. ascii is hardly needed by others now.
that's why no matter how much we try, eventually the majority of us will get
bored and have to escape the real world through something else.
hacking, quake, videogames, porn, writing, netscape. damn netscape, what a
curse and blessing.
                   it unifies us. information is virtually universal in
                   all economically advanced countries. but we can't shake
                   hands. i'll never hug someone through e-mail. no one in
                   #ascii knows about my lopsided grin that all my friends
                   know of as my trademark. they'll never know about how
                   my conversations are often like comedy stand up routines.
                   it's diluted in type.
i wont know about you either. i wont know about your minor imperfections and
the unique things of yours that make those around you feel that you are
someone to remember.
              yet i am so happy that i've gotten to know certain people:
              [drax, mrk, nmancer, radman, compuman, bj, ack, and others]
              that i'd never know otherwise. so many personalities and so
              limited.
      that's why it's good but bad. but i think that eventually
      when technology advances far enough, the internet will be a world. the
      outside world will scare us. all its real problems and dangers and
      miseries will be replaced by the problems of the internet. murderers
      and thievery will be replaced by viruses and exploitative hacking.
      and even normal hacking is a violation of right to privacy. hackers seem
      to feel quite different when their own privacy is threatened. case in
      point: eagle1 .. sheesh. poor guy. i knew him. or rather, i saw him.
anyways, the eventual point here is that i'm tired. i'm bored of ascii. the
scene is so fucking dead. i'm not whining, i'm stating fact. no amount of
group mergers or revived artists will change it. eventually (if not already)
it'll get to the point where maybe a dozen active artists will be doodling
and they'll continue to maintain the scene in a sort of coma. that's the same
as dead. look at the packs this month. in my years of drawing (if years, i'm
never sure) I have NEVER seen a month THIS LOW in production. NOTHING. look
at the rivalry. it's nothing. i could guest in any pack. i could be a member
in every fucking group out there and no one would do a thing because that's
how the competition is.
                        horrible. horrible. horrible.
i'll never shake mikael's hand. i'm sad about that. i'll never see mark's grin.
that bums me out. i'll never have a comedy war with mrk (who i can tell is
a funny guy in real life, and who i'd have fun trying to out-joke). so all
i can do now is turn to the real world. because it's too hard to meet all
these people who maybe i'll be able to talk with occasionally (RARELY) in my
life, and that's it. too much. is not enough. yes it is.

<mrk> I'm going to make a song called "Fuck all Teeny Boppers" the video will
show me beating the shit out of some little 13 year old girl holding a Hanson
album :)
<mrk> As you may have noticed, I'll be going for shock value.


and now i go to college. independence. learning what it's like to have to
impose self control, rather than have my parents there. I hope i can do it.
i hope i fit in. hope i'm not annoying. hope i'm outgoing enough. hope i dont
drop out because of bad grades. hope everything is alright.
and friends change. and impressions are inaccurate. maybe i'd really hate
drax in real life even though he's a close friend on irc. maybe me and konami
would be tight in real life even though we're stand-offish on irc. (my fault,
i acted like a total fucking asshole when i talked to him and a couple others
on a conference.. thought i was being smartass, i was just being an ass)
we need cults. we need groups. that's why gangs exist. that's why racism and
patriotism and families and clubs and nazi regimes and school rivalries exist
        and pariah probably expected something a tad more conventional. a
        simple article angrily asking why the scene is so dead. or maybe
        something about windows 98's decision to constrict the DOS
        prompt. i don't know. but think about some of this. and get back to
        me.
                        oh the thoughts i have when it's late at night and
                        i tire of my computer. yet it's like shitty cocaine.
                        even though it doesn't help me too much i still go
                        back to it because i have to. not that i've ever even
                        SEEN coke goddamnit.
   i guess this is my way of saying i'm severely bored and pessimistic and
   very involved with my novel and barely involved with the scene.
   not a hiatus. maybe not even occasional ascii. it's not even something to
   do when i'm bored. the fascination of before has withered.

quote from a long time ago:
<revolve> what groups are you in?
<tum> remorse and odelay
<revolve> join my group =)
<revolve> we need an ansi senior

                                                               -The Upright Man
                                                                 [Remorse 1981]
[78C  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Title - All about Mimic                                      Author - Black Jack
Mimic?
Hrm.. Mimic is a group started by Serial Toon & I.  We created Mimic
because we were getting tired of the same ol' slacking with us in Remorse.
Don't get me wrong, Remorse is a great group, but.. we just needed
something more.  So anyhow, here we are.. I haven't done too much
explaining yet, and our members took a fairly big risk joining us.. I
mean, two ex-Remorse members, with an attitude for hate, creating a group?
Seems kinda odd to me.  But, again, here we are.  Since pack #1, we have
asked people to join, and others have asked us to join.  We accept
applications, which can be emailed to jeffyc@ican.net or just sent to me,
blk_jack on irc.  All you really need to do is zip up some art & send it
over.
That's about it for now.  Look out for us, we actually release montly, so
we'll have packs released constantly.  If you want to guest, just ask &
we'll be happy to take submissions.  Oh, on a side note, I almost forgot
about konami.  Konami is our other founder.  Him & I thought up the
name Mimic, and he's offered me a lot of support... So, Robin, if you're
reading this, thanks a bunch man.  :)
Plain and simple.. we want to release high quality art, without bullshit.
Join us if you like, we'll be here for awhile.
Black Jack, Mimic founder.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Title - Awards Ninety Eight                                      Author - Pariah
Author - Pariah                                               Title - Awards '9

[8CThose of you that check Acheron (the premier source for information  
on pack releases and recent happenings in my opinion) know that after a one  
year absence the idea of organized scene awards is returning.                  
[8CAwards '96 was a lukewarm success; it received the attention of the 
scene but was criticized because some artists were not nominated and certain 
people said it was unorganized. Awards '98 is set to appeal more to everyone in
the scene. First off, nominations will not be done by just one person but  
instead by a panel of two or three for each medium and category. Secondly,  
Awards '98 will be more professional than its predecessor and will last two to
three days with several contests and other fun things such as scene jeopardy 
going on when the awards are not being presented. Lastly, the voting for Awards
'98 will take place through Acheron (www.acheron.org) a scene resource that is
open to many more people compared to those who were able to vote for Awards '96
        What does this have to do with the ascii scene, you ask? Well, as in   
Awards '96 but moreso the ascii scene will be involved in Awards '98. So far 
there are two categories: Best Newschool Artists and Best Oldschool Artists. 
As I previously stated nominations will be coordinated by a panel of three   
established ascii artists as to prevent some people who really don't deserve to
be nominated from being embarassed by receiving no votes. We are currently 
searching for two established newschool ascii artists who are interested in the
whole scene awards concept and can spend an hour or two a week helping out 
before and during the awards to form the panel of three. The same applies for 
the Best Oldschool Artists category. If you are interested please contact me at
pariah@alienz.org AND Dangermouse at submissions@acheron.org.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  THE DEATH OF GRILL, A CBS SPECIAL WITH YOUR FRIEND AND MINE BARBARA WALTERS!


                 bye-bye



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   Psychoholic Slag is drafting to the army, and I don't feel like running an
   ascii group by myself, I've been crossed by some of my friends, and the
   status of grill was unknown, therefor I decided to kill grill, and see how
   things go before I join any ascii group, so please don't bug me about it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------     LIVE FROM A LITTLE SHACK IN OHIO CBS PRESENTS: AN INTERVIEW WITH HAJI!


*** Inviting hAji\\ to channel #haji
.x%> hAji\\ (mmoney@*ts-1.chi.idt.net) has joined channel #haji
(hAji\\) fucking f11 key.
.x%> Mode change "+o hAji\\" on channel #haji by: pariahFAT.
(pariahFAT) word.
.x%> topic change on #haji by pariahFAT : INTERVIEWING MR. HAJI
(pariahFAT) ready?
(hAji\\) yeah.
(pariahFAT) okay..
(pariahFAT) first off, for those that have been living in a closet the past two
            years, briefly describe who you are: past aliases, affils, real  
            name, other hobbies, etc..
(hAji\\) i'm pat.  formerly of a lot of stuff (most of them with you): eclipse
         (fun stuff), fire ascii, noname, kwest (long live), odelay...remorse  
         twice and recently karma.  got invited.
(hAji\\) other hobbies?  i'm a musician, a skateboarder, a bit of a humorist
         ...i like to write.
(hAji\\) i don't know what else.
(pariahFAT) you're also a pretty good ansi artist :)
(hAji\\) oh!  yeah, i almost forgot!  i'm also in function, an ansi group.
(hAji\\) i got invited.
(pariahFAT) cool..
(hAji\\) yeah.  ansi is fucking HARD for me, though...not like ascii.
(pariahFAT) isn't it easier shaping-wise though?
(pariahFAT) to me going from newschool to ansi would be pretty easy because
            newschool teaches you a lot about smooth shaping.
(hAji\\) shaping, yeah, i guess so.  but it's like the difference between...
         i don't know.  you've got boundaries, limitations to deal with.  i find         myself far more easily frustrated with ansi.
(pariahFAT) when you draw ansis do you base them off of ascii outlines or is  
            it 100% ansi?
(hAji\\) it's 100% ansi.  you can see the influence, though - my style 
         carries over.
(pariahFAT) okay..
(pariahFAT) seeing as you released some of the best newschool ascii this past 
            releasing month it seems fitting to ask you what you think of the  
            current set of competitors in the ascii scene: Karma, Noname, and  
[12CRemorse.
(hAji\\) hmm.  i don't know if i'm going to draw fire and hatred and criticizm
         with this, or what, but here goes -
(hAji\\) 1) Karma.  personally, they're the victors apparent in the current
            competition.  mankind and konami are geniuses...it could shape up to            be the next odelay, in my eyes.
(hAji\\) 2) Remorse.  full of talent, but ever the monolith of the scene -  
            very stationary.  doesn't ever seem to change its postion in the   
            scene just remains its biggest (albeit not neccesarily most        
[12Cinfluential force). 
(hAji\\) 3) Noname.  nathan knows how to run a group, and he's doing a damned
            good job of it - he cares about it, and so do his members.  he's got            a knack for finding talent in the obscurest of artists, and it look
            like he just may do it again.  noname stands a chance to give karma
            a run for their money.
(hAji\\) that's what i think.
(pariahFAT) I basically agree with you.
(hAji\\) good deal, then.
(pariahFAT) the effort Konami and Mankind put into that first release was                     tremendous.
(hAji\\) the new karma was just a really good all-around pack.  mankind, s88,
         and speed freak did well enough alone - when they started branching out         they've shaped up to look unstoppable.
(pariahFAT) what's your opinion on Grill?
(hAji\\) this is funny, because: I HAVE NEVER SEEN AGRILL RELEASE.  EVER.
(hAji\\) who IS it?  i don't know.
(hAji\\) what're they like?  not a clue!
(hAji\\) i don't think i'm on irc enough to catch these things.
(pariahFAT) it's Martz's group. Gravedancer's in it too. here's the last pack. 
(hAji\\) ah.  well, martz is a cool guy and a good artist, as is gravedancer
         sounds good..oh, thanks!
(hAji\\) now i'll have to look at this.
(hAji\\) i think this interview would most benefit from you asking me what  
         the future holds for me.
(pariahFAT) well, then. what do you envision yourself doing in the future, Mr.
            Haji?
-> "haji\\!@*" I'm not exactly Barbara Walters in case you couldn't tell :)
(hAji\\) oh, this is just great.  well, first off, i'm doing a solo pack 
         sargon, you're gonna love this): The Haji Remix Project.
(hAji\\) i'm taking released logoes and fucking withg them.
(hAji\\) it's come out really well so far, and i'm just getting started.
(pariahFAT)ahh, yes. we were talking about that one day. good idea.
(hAji\\) it's an excellent springboard for inspiration.  lots of new ideas  
         come from seeing, really technically, what other people have done.
(pariahFAT) is there a speculative release date?
(hAji\\) shit, i don't know.  i've only done like four remixes so far, and i
         i'm gonna want like around 20 before i release.  and before you DO said         remixes you have to FIND them, which is a bitch.  so, i don't know -  
         end of summer at the very latest.
(pariahFAT) cool..
(pariahFAT) any other plans?
(hAji\\) hmm, i don't know.  i think i'm gonna just stick with karma for awhile
         see how it turns out...i really want to do something with neil, but   
         he's not much into the art scene nowadays.  i'm also doing an e-zine  
         called "consume" full of real-life stuff.  my best friend and 
         girlfriend both contributed. i'm gonna enlist the help of others, too.
(hAji\\) and i'm gonna draw a lot.  and keep experimenting.
(pariahFAT) sounds good. as long as you keep drawing I'm happy :)
(hAji\\) well, fair enough.
(pariahFAT) the e-zine sounds cool too. I liked Neil's e-zine. (but I forgot the            name of it).
(hAji\\) illbient.
(pariahFAT) yeah, that was it.
(hAji\\) but this is a pretty different concept.
(hAji\\) although i'm sure i'll get a lot of comparison.
(hAji\\) i think there's a rave going on in my house somewhere, there's all 
         these synth hi-hat sounds coming from my basement.
(hAji\\) and i doubt my drum machine is the culprit.
(pariahFAT) heh..
(pariahFAT) will your zine be aimed more towards the ascii scene or everyone?
(hAji\\) no, my sister was down there workin' it.  oh, the zine'll be an       
         everyone thing - i'm gonna make sure people from school and scene     
         people alike ahold of it.
(hAji\\) i think i'm gonna do like, the "scene verson" with my ascii art,  
         and a cheap, ms word print version to give to people.
(pariahFAT) cool..
(pariahFAT) well, Odelay's death has long since past, but since you were                    one of the longest standing members in the group and an SS what did
            you think of its death and the repercussions it had on the scene?
(hAji\\) oh, god.  odelay were just fucking awesome, no doubt.  the influence
         odelay had on the scene is still so very obvious in the alternative us
         use of characters and shit like that...people like m7m, tripulogic and
         hO were completely changed by the group, i think.  but i also think   
         some of the shit like all the stuff over the use of alternative chars 
         and stuff was bs. it's expression - you need to be free.              
(hAji\\) but odelay were definitely a suprise hit.
(hAji\\) i remember initially i released there under a psuedonym because i  
         was already in so fucking many groups.  then i went down to being haji
         JUST in odelay (a senior, no less) - a very odd transition.
(pariahFAT) yeah.. Andy Aardvark if I remember correctly :)
(hAji\\) damn straight.  i actually had some people fooled - they thought he
         was a different guy.  i'd go on irc as both at one time, and i even got         some andy aardvark-specific requests.  all very cool.
(pariahFAT) haha :)
(pariahFAT) after Odelay died you were invited to join Remorse and subsequently
            left Noname. do you have any regrets looking back?
(hAji\\) i don't know.  i feel bad, because i know nathan didn't want me to
         leave, but i was also excited for change.  i live for change.  all in 
         all i think it was a good idea, although i'm yet again probably gonna 
         the group leaving thing.  i hae that part of it, because someone ALWAY
         lays down a guilt trip.
(hAji\\) the ascii scene doesn't hit that close to home for me, though - i've
         always thought group and scene politics to be bullshit.  it's just not
         something that weighs that heavily upon me, as long as i'm doing well 
         for myself and making a name.  i'm just in it to release my art where
         it'll be best appreciated.
(hAji\\) i've made friends along the way, and i'm sure i've made enemies, too,
         but i don't think it should be all about alliances.
(hAji\\) like, i doubt nathan will stop being cool with me because i quit noname         and i doubt mark'd hate me for leaving remorse.  it shouldn't be a 100
         emotional thing...it's just a computer.
(pariahFAT) that's how I see it too. in the end the scene is more about person
            glory. people get in it for the fame, and joining big groups is part            of that. a group has never made an artist.
(hAji\\) yeah, totally.
(hAji\\) i like the attention, and i like knowing that others appreciate my 
         art.
(hAji\\) you're in a group to GET RELEASED, not to pal around.  it's not summer
         camp.
(pariahFAT) exactly..
(pariahFAT) changing when you think it's best for you as an artist is what get
[12Crecognition for you.
(hAji\\) wow, i never thought of that.
(pariahFAT) back to Remorse for a minute though, a lot of people have          
            hypothesized it would die and it still has yet to happen but the                group is in a little slump, what do you think will happen?[7C 
(hAji\\) i'm not sure.  i think that a lot of the people who ran the group  
         just don't care any more - about the group, about its members.        
[9Cremorse's support for its artists has always been kinda lax but i think         its gotten worse lately.
(hAji\\) we're going to have to cut this short.
(pariahFAT) okay..
(hAji\\) any final questions?
(pariahFAT) well, last question before greets: where do you think the ascii   
            scene is headed? upwards or in a slump?
(hAji\\) i think that it WAS in a slump, and that it's now going back uphill
         again.  at least until the floods, fires and droughts hit, leading us 
         into an eventual year 2000 apocalypse.
(hAji\\) i don't really believe that stuff.
(hAji\\) greets.  hmm...
(hAji\\) here's a good one:
(hAji\\) I GREET EVERYONE WITH WHOM I AM ON FIRST-NAME BASIS.
(hAji\\) that's it.
(pariahFAT) okay, it's been a pleasure interviewing you.                       
(hAji\\) oh, and justin?
(pariahFAT) yes? 
(hAji\\) you're a lot cuter than barbara walters could ever hope to be.
(pariahFAT) teehee..
(hAji\\) i'm out.
.x%> Signoff : hAji\\ (irc.N for mIRC) channel #haji 
(pariahFAT) well, that's it.
IRC log ended Tue Jul  7 11:19

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[19C ______ __ __ _ _  _  _   _ _  _ _______
[19C\\l_____   _ _  __   _   _  __  ______l//
[19C  .   _____           _____       _____
[19C ____/    /   _____ //    /_______\__ /_
[19C\\  /_  _/___\\    \/______\   ___  /  //
[19C /___/      \______/        \  /    __/
[19C    /________\             //_______\tn

[19C k a r m a   a s c i i   n u m b e r   3

[19C  //______________\\//______________\\

[19C         FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE.

[29CKarma #03 Pack Review


5F-*.*.ASC - (Good) 5F-CLOUD just looks too experimental. The other pic is a   
smooth unique approach to drawing a toon and the Massive diz rules. Overall 
another nice release from an artist fairly new to newschool.
H4-*.*.ASC - (Excellent) This is classic Haji. H4-666 is a perfect example of a
great logo combined with a great layout. The other Karma logos/pic are all nice;great use of inverse.
KO-*.*.ASC - (Excellent) KO-TRFCK is literally massive: 415 liner of Dragon BallZ characters and a pretty nice logo. All the other pics are full of more nicely
drawn animesque characters. The lack of color makes for some lack of definition
in some of the faces and bodies but it doesn't really detract from the asciis.
MK-*.*.ASC - (Excellent) Another great month for Mankind. He continues to  
develop his unique logo style and all of his pics are very high quality. If you
are looking for something unique, check MK-KARMA; the pic is made of shapes.
US-CRYO.ANS - (Excellent) The top logo looks a little too distorted, but the
"cryogenic" at the bottom is an amazing smallscale by Haji. 
US-RMX.ANS - (Excellent) Mankind and Metal Militia mix together well. Metal    
Militia adds his own stylistic touches to this logo and makes it look quite niceas a colored ascii.


OVERALL - This is an excellent release from Karma. Mankind decided to step  
things up and with the way the ascii scene is now it's a perfect time to start 
competitive group. Now to see how the other groups respond.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE PACK - With so many great asciis in this pack it's a tie  
between Konami and Mankind. They're both great pic artists (one toon/anime and 
one more realisitic) and they're both developing unique logo styles. Both 
artists have had two really strong showings in the last two releasing months.
Congratulations guys..

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[18C  __. ______ ___ __. ______ ___ _________
[18C./ _l/     //__// _l/     //__//  __    /_.
[18C|   \/    /    |   \/    /    |   /____/  |
[18Cl___l    /l____l___l    /l____l___l    /  |
[18C-- /_____\ ------ /_____\ ------ /_____\ --
[18C|                                         |
[18C|          Mimic, Premier release         |
[18C|                                         |
[18C--[ DZ/A!/MC ]---[ MIMIC ]---[ 98/07/16 ]--

[26C   Mimic #01 Pack Review


ACK-MIM1.ASC - (Good) I like the new stylistic bits Arrogance has added to his 
general logo style to make it look a little crazier. A little more variation in
his month to month releases would still be nice though.
BJASC101.ASC - (Excellent) This is just a nice pic with a unique subject matter
Perhaps the shaping isn't as smooth as it could be, but it doesn't take away 
from the character definition and therefore isn't a big problem.
KO-SALT.ASC - (Excellent) A colored anime pic by Konami is basically a perfect 
ascii (despite the fact that there is no logo). It's aesthetically appealing andstill pushes the standards of newschool ascii.
NL-FFACE.ASC - (Excellent) I don't think I've ever seen any pics from Nahal, andafter viewing this I'm starting to wonder why not. Keeping this pic grey and  
using the background to form the nose and the mouth is a great idea. This is a 
nice profile of a face from Nahal.

OVERALL - This was a very good first release from Mimic. Keeping the formation 
of a group under wraps takes away all the hype and usually benefits the group,
and that's what Black Jack and Serial Toon did. It was a small pack, but size 
really doesn't matter to me as long as the quality is there.
               
HIGHLIGHT OF THE PACK - It would have to be Konami. Although every newschool 
artist in the group released some great stuff Konami's pic was just the biggest
contribution (in lines). 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[34C.,  *, '   .d$`
[33C'Y$$$$b.[6C$l$b
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[34C,\ $b
[28C    .$$$$$$l   noname
[28C   :$$$$$$$$   the
[28C   l$$$$$$$$   monthly
[25C       `$$$`   ejaculation
[28C    l$$$$$'
[28C    $$$$$$
[28C    l$$$$$
[28C .  l$$$$$: l$$$$$$
[28C $  :$$$$$l :$$$$$$
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[28C.d$$$$$$$$$$$b. `$$
[28Cl$$$$$$Y$$$$$$$;  Y HAH!
[28C `**`  `**`

[27CNoname #12 Pack Review


AN-*.*.ASC - (Good) Anarchist has a nice smooth aCk-like style that he adds a  
few of his own touches too.
DS-2TWO.ASC - (Good) This is a great original ascii. The outline inverse 
style on the logo makes it a little illegible, but that might be on purpose.
FIZ-ICE.ASC - (Good) The shaping is a little rough because tX is used to ansi  
shaping, but the logo itself is really smooth for a first attempt.
GN-*.*.ASC - (Mediocre) The coloring style in the first ascii isn't original,  
but the other two asciis are okay. The pic lacks definition though.             KA-*.*.ASC - (Good) Some of Cain's stuff this month isn't as smooth as what he
released last month but the Extended Play Productions ascii is really nice.
KR-*.*.ASC - (Excellent) The Body Count ascii rules. Kresile's finding his own
style ascii-wise and it's showing.
M7M-NONF.ASC - (Good) Metal Militia has a nice original style but takes it a 
little too far sometimes. This logo is too abstract.
PM-LICK1.ASC - (Excellent) Another great pic from Polymorph. The definition on
chin/neck is a little off, but everything else rules.
SCK-*.*.ASC - (Excellent) A strong show by Psylock this month. He's developing 
his own elongated logo style, coloring style, and has two pretty nice pics. My
only advice would be to center the character in the long Drone ascii.
WE-ATHAN.ASC - (Good) A nice bubble style logo. Nothing really new here, Kresil
didn't put much of his influence into this logo.
WE-DEKAY.ASC - (Excellent) Abstract but with style. All ascii artists who are 
trying to draw abstract logos/pics should learn from The Prodigy. 
WE-NIPP.ASC - (Good) If Cain would have shaped all the letters and not just the
N and P this might've received a better rating. The idea behind this ascii is 
perfect but it just needs some refining.         

OVERALL - This was an excellent release by the Noname crew. Rarely do groups 
actually get better with time, but Noname has vastly improved on its first pack
since the revival. Congratulations to the newer, less experienced artists in 
Noname who stepped up this month and carried the group.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE PACK - Guess what? It's Polymorph again. Polymorph has been in
a pic groove for the last few months, and he hasn't dissapointed anyone yet. 
                                              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[20C  |   |  P R E L U D E  # 1
[20C  |   |           ``^' .
[20C  |   :                  `,
[20C  |    ,'``'/,..,
[20C  |   ;    \'^``^'/  '``'
[20C  :   '  \`          `\     :
[20C       '7 ', ,'^`  Y '``
[20C  /\  / :'``'.`.'``':;   /\  /\  /
[20C\/  \/.        ;         ,.. \/  \/
[20C  :   :   ,,' ',, 
[20C  |   |   :         ;
[20C  |   |    /  ,.  \   Arl
[20C  |   |     ',.,`
[20C  |   |
[20C- | - | ---------------------------- >
[20C  :   |  Premier & Last Release #)
[20C      |
[20C      
[27C Prelude #1 Pack Review


7R-*.*.ASC - (Good) Tripulogic's asciis are showing a lot of improvement since
his first release in a pack only three months ago. The layouts for these asciis
are great, but the shaping is a little too rough.
ACK-PRE1.ASC - (Good) It's smooth but a bit simplistic.
ARL-BOP.ASC - (Mediocre) Once again, just too abstract. What is it supposed to
be? A pumpkin? 
US-EP.ASC - (Excellent) This is a great pic by Gravedancer. The use of semi-
colons on the hair makes a really nice effect. Tripulogic's logo is pretty nice
too. It all seems to flow nicely.
US-SAE.ASC - (Mediocre) The "S" looked promising but it falls apart after that.
The general idea of a middle inverse character is a good one, but the technical
part of this ascii is lacking.
US-UNFIN.ANS - (Excellent) I really like Enzo's toons and him and Arlequin did 
nice job here. 

OVERALL - This was a fairly good first release by Prelude. Tripulogic and the
other people involved did a good job of keeping this under wraps therefore 
avoiding any pre-release hype, which in the long run will help the group. I'm
looking forward to how things develop in the next few months.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE PACK - All the joints. Most of the time joints bring a pack
down because you've seen them before but that wasn't the case with Prelude. The
Arlequin/Enzo joint and the Gravedancer/Tripulogic joint really add to the pack.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
remorse 24 newschool review by Mankind.

It seems like remorse is releasing on a two-monthly basis now. Nevertheless,
this small, long-awaited pack was far from dissapointing, and it owes it all
to nahal's and tum's efforts. That remorse needs a more severe quality check
is inquestionable though.

ack*.*    6,5 arrogance's fonts still have their own charm, but renewing them
              would be far from inappropriate. 
axb*.*    7   axb's fonts meet color; and what's more: it's working.
              the shaping's a bit rough, but not enough to spoil the ascii.
h4*.*     8   haji proves to be quite unpredictable (h4-rmrs2.asc), although
              this is not a patch on what he generally dishes us up.
              (h4-rmrs3.asc)
nl*.*     9   how can one be so smooth after several months of inactivity ?
              especially the milk one was miraculously cool.
par*.*    8   pariah only needed to submit one ascii, to show us he's still
              got it. the underside was less succesful though.
tum*.*    9,5 obviously, all of tum's asciis in this pack approached
              perfection; god knows why he needs so much confirmation.
              remixes mostly don't score points off the original, but i think
              tum made it happen.
us-anti.* 4   whoever qc'd must have been drunk when putting this ascii
              in the pack.
zh*.*     4   idem.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------[7C     THE PICKS OF THE MONTH, HAND PICKED BY PETER JENNINGS!

[8CAs I said last time attatching the picks of the month A) would take up 
more than 1000 lines and B) would not do the art justice anyway so as I did for the first issue I have included PICK1-PICK8 in this .ZIP for your viewing
pleasure. How do I come up with the picks of the month you ask? It's simple, 
really. I order a 20 piece chicken dinner from KFC and randomly write the names
of ascii artists on each chicken bone after I finish eating. Then I throw these
20 bones into a boiling pot and the bones/names that surface to the top of the  water first are the artists that earn Pick of the Month honors.                         The artists whose chicken bones rose to the top this month are (in  
order): Tum, Nahal, Konami, Mankind, Haji, Konami, Gravedancer and Tripulogic,
and Polymorph. Congratulations..

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------[29CMASSIVE #2: THE OUTRO

[8CI initially had a nice ascii to put at the end of this issue by Speed
Freak but in a freak accident while putting this issue together I lost it and   the asciis I was going to use for the third issue. So the end of this issue willremain barren without the charm of a nice footer. Drax, Psylock, Speed Freak, 
and Mydknight please re-send me those asciis you drew so I can use them in the 
next issue, thanks. Also, to anyone who was writing something for this issue andcould not get it to me on time send it to me asap so I'll make sure to get it inthe next issue. Thanks to everyone who helped out with this issue. Special  
thanks to Mankind who has helped me out since the beginning. I hope you enjoyed
this issue of Massive and the next one will be release on August 25th.
[57C  
send all articles/art/suggestions/etc to pariah@alienz.org or pariah@remorse.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------[0mSAUCE00Massive Issue #2                                                           19980727t  P                             