RKYV ONLINE # 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS RKYV # 1 {MAY 27 - JUNE 01 2007} VIRTUAL COVER # 1 - design and layout Randy Pare Editorial Columns “Pass The Stuffing...” - Randy Pare {May 27 (2), 28 - 31} Short Non-Fiction “A Cloud of Memories” - Leanne Stiers {May 28,29} Gallery Art “Milk”; “Cheesecake And Debauchery”; & “King’s Crossing” - Kristian Adam 3 untitled pieces {demon, baby, lady} - Shab T. Poetry “Anna’s Poems” - Anna Gehmacher {May 30} “Pare’s Poetic Perspectives” - Randy Pare {May 27, 31 (appears as a pic)} Long Fiction “Those Who Stood... Those Who Fell...” - Randy Pare {May 27 - 29} Pop Culture Column “Coffee And Cigarettes” - David Marshall

Pass The Stuffing ...

Letters from the Editor {May 27} Well, here goes another attempt at keeping the flames of creativity from dying down to nothing. Shit I am reasonably certain that, at times over the last several years, they have been nought but flickering embers of futility and failed dreams. Still one does what one can. One of the wonderful things about this format is it saves a lot on printing costs..lol..:) Now, for those who don't know me.. I am Randy Pare... and off and on for over 20 years my friends and I have fiddled about with small press publications with various degrees of success.

The time it takes to do this on the side while raising a family and earning a living led to us to leaving such pursuits behind.

Well thanks to the internet and Facebook... we can have some fun doing this again... and who knows maybe we have grown up enough by now to do some really interesting and thought provoking work while we are at it.

The Boards are where you go to post stories/columns/poems... even if it’s just a chapter at a time.. just continue by commenting on your own post beneath it in thread. I have instructed people joining this group to keep comments on stories or columns or art etc. etc. to be posted on the Wall.. that way the threads can be read as individual pieces of work.

Just like this column.. I will add to this thread at least once a week.. maybe more depending on how much I have to say about this Group.

Have some fun, everybody is welcome... BUT remember, please to keep Wall posts from being vicious critiques of other members and their work...we are all here to enjoy ourselves and provide an outlet for that frustrated artist/writer/creator deep inside us lamenting ala Marlon Brando from "On the Waterfront"....... "I coulda been somebody...."

I guess I should at some point explain the Title of this here -zine. RKYV is a sort of phonetic way of saying ARCHIVE. An archive is defined as " a repository for stored memories or information"... This archive is a repository for stored up imaginings and fantasies... as well as information on subjects our {future} columnists wish to share with you... coloured of course by the filter of their unique perspectives.

The logo is borrowed from the last coffee house editions we produced several years back.

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The design is by an old friend and artist back in Windsor named Roy G James, who founded a Comic Book club many of us geeky teenagers joined to hang out with others who dug our little hobby. This Club was how we began small press publication... and it was very rewarding in its limited fashion. I'll tell ya about a convention we hosted at the Cleary auditorium next time... and the larger than life Guy Davis..:) {May 28} So, where was I, oh yeah... We were hosting a Comic Book convention at the Cleary auditorium. It was a lot of fun.. we had the opportunity to get writers and artists in the biz to look at our stories and art... they were very supportive and us kids were just having a blast!..:) Now Guy Davis was one of the guest artists... he is a British chap who {at the time} was quite the loud, larger than life, punker. Here he was with a large Mohawk hair cut and torn army fatigue jacket and multiple piercings...lol..he was a sight.:) Now see all of the guests and a couple of us from the Comic Club that hosted the event were all going out to dinner reservations at this swanky place on Riverside Dr. { as I recall the place was up-town it didn't even have a name just the address 51 Riverside west .. or something }.. anyhow... We have all spent the day at a Comic convention... so we're dressed in torn jeans and Batman t-shirts..lol:) We show up at the restaurant and the Maitre D' gets all huffy...lol "I'm sorry but I will have to ask you to leave.. this establishment has a .. proper {emphasis on proper} dress code!..:( Now we are a little embarrassed... and unsure what to do... the convention has already paid for us to be served in their banquet/dining room... hmm.

Well Guy takes things in hand and steps to the front of crowd.

"Listen here ya wanker!!!"... "You know the fuckin' reservation ya have in your dining room ... for the party of 30..:)" {he sneers} " Well that's US!... So piss off and ged out of my way..."

I swear the stuffed shirt looked like he was going to faint, he was so pale....LMAO. Long story... short. We got served... and really enjoyed needling the staff throughout dinner....lol Now .. the weird thing is, about getting older... I'm the Maitre D' now {if ya get my meaning}. I certainly wouldn't want a bunch of scruffy looking punks in jeans and t-shirts coming into my fancy restaurant {if I had one} and upsetting my regular customers...lol.

Now onto the business of running this page...:) People are starting to respond back to invites.. and submissions are coming in. I would also like to find people to do regular Blogs / Columns as well...on subjects like: 1. Movies 2. TV 3. Comics 4. Books 5. Video Games 6. Health and Fitness Or any other topic if ya have a soap box ya feel like ranting on fairly regular like. So come one, come all... peut t'etre vous allez un temp joyeux..:) {I try to keep the inner frog from getting too rusty} 2

{May 29} Alrighty then... Dave got back to me { as you all can see on Group page }. His witty observations should prove entertaining. Years ago, that was pretty much how we launched our small press stuff... sitting around... lots of coffee and dreaming up stuff to put out there and share....:) As more members join feel free to message me if you have anything of a regular nature {comic, column} that you wish to put in here. If your gonna be a regular columnist I'll even put your name up there as an officer {with whatever silly description ya like} The same goes for artists. If you wish to make yer self available for members to turn to when they need some illustrations {beyond the stuff you do yourself} let me know and I'll list you up there as "art Director" .. or some such important sounding title....LMAO Glad to see everybody's interest so far.. and lets all get to posting some goodies.... I look forward to seeing other peoples stuff!..:) {May 30} Hi, everybody... what I thought would be a weekly column is rapidly becoming a daily blog...lol:) Truth is during these early days for RKYV's re-birth in a digital format, I want to babysit as much as possible. 15 members!! As of today...:) This is great, we are attracting some very interesting writer's and I think it will be exciting when we get them hooked up with artists in order to provide image to imagination!

Still waiting to hear back from some potential columnists.... But let's look at our line-up after only our 3rd day in existence..:) {May 31} So, what do you guys and dolls think of Dave's updated LOGO for RKYV ONLINE? He took Roy's original design and tweaked it up another notch further than me...lol. { of course his artistic talent being much more significant than mine...."Dammit Dave, I'm a writer ... Not a Graphic Designer!" .. hope Deforrest Kelley forgives me the rip-off of his trade mark dialogue...lmao } Well some new artists have joined us.... Kristian Adam & Shab T. Let them know what you think... and who knows maybe some of you writers might find the visual collaborators you've been searching for...:) Now, before anyone gets the idea that this is solely an e-zine for Art & Lit... I want to remind any of you interested in doing specific opinion columns { from sports to politics... pick any subject and pursue it under your own byline..} that we are aiming for a broad audience and hope this group can continue to grow towards that end!

RKYV will be whatever we make it to be. And ya know what? That's pretty cool ....IMO:) 3

Short Story Non - Fiction A Cloud of Memories - by Leanne Stiers {May 28} A quiet night, the muffled sounds of music, no one knows it’s coming.

A heat so intense, and no one is aware of its impending rage. The warmth it provides to many, is destructive if you let it loose. Eating away at the priceless things that make your soul leap for joy every time you hold them in your hand. It will choke you if you don't run, and when you have finally escaped its clutches, you turn around in hope that something survived the hell...just to see your memories waffle into the midnight sky, riding on a cloud of smoke and ash... {May 29} The rain was driving harder now. The smoke finally dwindled under the downpour.

It was around 2 am, she was still standing in the exact same spot, many neighbours have come and gone, she doesn't remember which ones said what to her. The only thing she could think, how did this happen? How could everything we worked so hard for simply disappear?

"Ma'am, ...ma'am, can we speak to you now?" A young constable placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to be comforting, while trying to get her obviously ill attention. "yes, of course", it was like she was starting to awaken from a long solid sleep."how can I help you, officer..?"

"Deschaine. Marcus Deschaine. Where are your children?"

"The kids! Oh dear God, where are they? "Terror raced through her mind.

"It's okay, they've gone to your parents remember, your Dad came and got them after the fire department got here." That was the neighbour, Danny, his arm had been around her for the past hour and she didn't even know it.

"We need to ask them some questions, the sooner we can do that the quicker we can start the investigation into the arson." Constable Deschaine's voice was quivering, like he felt guilty saying those horrible words.

"Arson, what are you talking about?" she said, snapping out of her three hour daze.

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Gallery Art

Milk by Kristian Adam

Cheesecake And Debauchery by Kristian Adam 5

King’s Crossing by Kristian Adam

By Shab T.

By Shab T.

By Shab T.

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Poetry Anna’s Poems - by Anna Gehmacher {May 30} This poem belongs to a series of poems I have been writing over the years. I wrote it when I realised I was feeling the wrong things for the wrong person.

I hate you 'cause you're there but you're not mine I see you every day You see me every day But still, it stays the same It will always stay this way You and me will never be anything more than what we are I hate you 'cause you're there but you're not mine Having to be in the same room with you every day Just makes it worse If only there were one day I was free of you One day I wouldn't have to put up with seeing you, thinking about you, hating you I hate you 'cause you're there but you're not mine And the simple thought of you with her Or you looking at the girl in the front row Makes me hate you even more 'Cause I don't know what you see in her And I really don't know what I see in you And I hate you 'cause you're there but you're not mine

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Pare’s Poetic Perspectives - by R. J. Pare {May 27} Recently .. my family endured the heartache of loss. The loss of a small child. Our 5 year old niece Hope passed away due to a lengthy illness. As a tribute to her I wrote this small verse for the services announcement.

Hope Your laughing cherub smile A life to quickly passed A heart that touched us all So strong a soul as yours Yet small and fragile on this earth That with a final kiss Left us, to follow heaven's light And now awaiting, the day we re-unite Taking comfort in, loving memories of Our Hope {May 31} This is purely me be a goofy ass to a friend of mine who is a huge Captain America fan and is having trouble dealing with Cap's death in Marvel Comics...LOL. When Dead Captain America Throws his mighty shield... (people run in terror from the zombie) All those who oppose his shield must yield... (or have their brains eaten... I’ve seen the movies) And when it comes to a fight and the duel is due... (run and run quickly the condition is contagious... haven’t you seen any George Romero films??)

Then the Red and the White and the Blue will come through... (mostly red... bloody sick, guts a spillin’, brains be eatin’ red... shudder) When Dead Captain America throw his mighty shield........:) 8

Long Fiction Those who stood... Those who fell... - by R. J. Pare {May 27} All of us, in the gutter...

Prologue : The cold does very little to assuage the smog. You’d think it would help; ya know the whole clean crisp wintry holiday air.... Ya right, and every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings. Get yer head out of that Capra induced make believe cause this is how things are now. Now... Now..

It wasn’t always like this, but I’ll get back to that later.

Now is the December of our lives. Now is the cold that gnaws at you day and night. It is the filthy chill that creeps its way into our hearts and minds. I gave up smoking for this? The glare of the patrol lights pass over us freezing our idiot doe-like faces. No one thinks to cower or run. In fact, we barely cringe as the stark beams rake our eyes with accusation. More of you arrive as the lights fade and we are left huddled pathetically around a flickering burning barrel ill-equipped to spread warmth or light. Which suits most of you fine.

“Most of you did not come here tonight seeking hope,” I say in as strong a voice as this old body can muster. “Most of you, long ago, gave up the notion while you were still in diapers.”

I let my weathered gaze linger over each of your faces in turn. In truth I do not believe I will find that spark of life behind any of your eyes, but still I pace myself and allow your attention to focus on me if not my meaning. What I believe is irrelevant, anyway, at this point I am operating on faith that by the end of my story you will awake, and with that dawn of vibrant dreaming a world can be changed.... again!

“Once this world was inspired,” I search for the right path. “ We lived and loved and died in pursuit of our own drives and dreams.”

I ask you all, “ What HAPPENED!?! Does any of you know?” A few of your faces look to me as though I might, just might know a few things that you don’t. I am, after all, so very old. I am much older, you realize, than anyone you have ever seen. I step closer to the flame and let my wrinkled flesh speak a truth that none of you guessed at in your chemically subdued numbing daily routines.

“NEVER,” I raise my voice, “NEVER have any of you seen some one beyond the age of forty.”

“Why, because industrialization has lowered the human lifespan?”

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“Why, because of all the wars, disease, famine and violence that are apart of your dreary existence?”

I am getting your attention now, no one is indifferent to their own time running out.

“These are all sad realities, friends, and yes I do believe you will call me friend when this night... when my time is done!”

I pause, gather my strength, and look at you ... each one of you in turn. It is time, at long last, for my tale to begin... {May 28-29} Of actions, illusions and dreams...

Chapter One : Call it Waterloo, or Bunker Hill, it doesn’t really matter which. The sun shone on this grassy slope with indifferent beauty. Indifferent to the contrast of rich pastoral green and the pale stony quarry just the other side. Indifferent to nature flourishing right beside the gravel from which no seeds could bloom. Indifferent as well, to the chaos taking place beneath it.

On this slope, on this day, chaos ensues.

“Viv!!” A masked man shouts toward a red haired beauty engaged in a fight for her life just beyond his reach. This man in an absurd black and white costume, with a motif of piano keys running down his arms and legs, shoves against several combatants in an effort to reach the woman’s side. “Damn you all... get of my way!” The man of mystery known as 88 growls while picking one of the men up and raising him over his head. These dreary grey drab thugs look up as their fellow is thrown into their midst, knocking them aside. For a moment a path opens to his lady. He sees her, as she is finishing off two of the hapless enemies. Despite the numbers they and their fellow Watch members have been ambushed by... they are still winning. Their great enemy may have caught them in, as his buddy - the Rough Rider would say - a tactical disadvantage... but hell if they weren’t up to the fight.

88 smiles at his foolish thoughts that Viv... The Scarlet Phantom was ever in ‘real’ danger. She would be fine... she had to be... he couldn’t very well go on without her. Danny MacMarch shakes his head. How on earth did he ever become a 'man of mystery' as the press loved to call them... them... his brothers in arms, the mysterious vigilantes known as ‘The Watch’?

Time for that later. Now, Danny senses, would be a good time to end this nonsense before any of his friends get hurt. Before Viv gets in one fight too many. 88 turns to face the architect of this battle... the villain that has thwarted them for months... the insane grinning devil in top hat and tails... this bastard known as Vaudeville.

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Pop Culture Coffee and Cigarettes - by David Marshall {June 1} "Where's your column?" pestered Randy the editor.

I love the classics.

What would a Coffee and Cigarettes column from me be without it being late?

So for the uninitiated this column was started by me many a moon ago when RKYV was but a mere paper product and it served as my space to pour my brain, figuratively not literally, onto the page and tried to not gross people out.

The title of this column came from meetings with a group of usual suspect sitting in the Golden Griddle in Windsor through the wee hours watching the sun come up consuming caffeine and nicotine while analyzing and scrutinizing anything and everything that interested us. This of course mostly consisted of pop culture, music, movies and of course the medium of comic books.

Those years are long behind most of us now, I'm 7 years quit from cigarettes, my coffee is decaf and I'm usually in bed by 11:00 these days, but the analysis and scrutiny remain. I just gotta vent sometimes. So now that I've said all that I'll try to keep this column updated on a regular basis but...

I do love the classics.

Cheers Dave

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