fan page!

It is very important that I establish a relationship with the Allegheny Man readership. I need to know the concerns of the people in your area, be they New York, West Virginia or anywhere in between. Readers of Allegheny Man are in a unique position to actually participate in the creation of the strip, and you will find me very receptive to what you have to say! Allegheny Man is a GREEN HERO! YOUR green hero!

Well, I've recieved the first fan letter to Allegheny Man - from none other than New York State Senator Catharine M. Young! Below is the exact text of that letter:

Thank you so much for your concern regarding the state of the environment and your effort to help make people aware of the situation. I'm proud to be your representative in the State Senate.

Well, I've got to admit, it was a real kick to get a letter from a Senator! I wrote back immediately and sent her an original autographed drawing of Allegheny Man.

I still need to hear from others out there! Are there environmental issues going on in your neighborhood that you'd like to see Allegheny Man address? Email me at: timcorrigannewvoicemedia@hotmail.com

What an impressive strip Allegheny Man is! It's appropriate to today's enviromental concerns, and being a lifelong fan of comics I enjoyed the references I recognized. And having grown up in New York State I, too, learned all about the local Native American history of the area - the various tribes of the Iroquois nation.

Jason Hunter is a great name! And immediately there's a deer involved, there's a lot of deer hunting in New York, and the culture and mythology built around that is an immediate draw to this story.

Then we have a reference to genetic engineering, a controversy broiling in food production these days and then: "Mad Cow!" Clever! The disease is deadly and a frightening specter on the food supply, and this mutated creature at once reminds me of the Minotaur from mythology, and his behavior somehow brings to mind the old Spiderman foe The Rhino! He's an animal/man run amok! Bot, the action is set up right away in those early episodes.

In episode #8 seeing Mad Cow flinging all those Milk Cartons in the supermarket was hilarious! Pure genius! This is Allegheny Man's first battle and it takes place in a very public setting. At once it is fantastic and plausible.

When I saw Mad Cow escape and run off to the mountains at the beginning of Episode #11 I knew he'd be showing up again. But in the meantime we have a scene of Jason explaining his new found persona to his girlfriend Janet and friend Tom. His connection to the animal world reminded me a bit of the l960's Animal Man comic, but more so addresses Native American beliefs, which is the crux of the whole strip; especially in episode #14 when he demonstrates flight and says, "I ask the wind to help me!"

Then you have Lumber John with his Treeslayer Xl0! I imagine kids reading this today would enjoy this, but to a comics fan of my generation I immediately recognized the inspiration from a classic Uncle Scrooge story! The only way Allegheny Man can stop this juggernaut is to ask his insect friends to borrow into the bowels of the machine and disable it! Ahh, the H.G. Wells War of the Worlds reference! The lowly bacteria defeat the alien invader, and this Treeslayer, defeated by bugs, is in itself an alien invader of the forest.

And then appropriately, there's a quiet moment, a humorous interlude of racoons chucking beer cans at the creeps! I always knew racoons were tenacious little beasts!

It's then nice to see how Jason's private life as a schoolteacher is abutted by this newfound magical persona. And then we have a little tale about the troubled student Pat Burden and the drug Dealer. It was poignant and entertaining. Somehow I was reminded of Antman's relationship to insects here, to get the wasp to sting the bad guy! Allegheny Man asks for help - he doesn't ask ther bug to sting the guy! The bug knows what to do. It's like a prayer that one makes in a difficult situation. a real connectedness to one's surroundings and power's beyond one's self, to the web of life. And it may be that this one little scene sums up all that's been developing over the course of 30 episodes.

And of course Mad Cow returns with plans for more dominance of his own kind, and then the story with the teenager Mary Richards. This time Allegheny Man utilizes his ability to communicate with animals to have them bear witness to what they have seen. "A little birds told me." Well, a crow shows up to relate what he has seen. Although I have witnessed what I believe is crows conversing with each other, there is no speech involved here. There is telepathy, another level of connection to the greater web of life.

Should Allegheny Man get involved in domestic disputes, is he an officer of the law? Can he get the Chief of Police's dog to "Sit up, roll over, and fetch?" He's deputized but the chief is still suspicious of his great power.

This tale is of epic length! I can see how it could be chopped up into individual stories, longer episodes suitable for comic books; it works really well as a long episodic serial, much like a very good soap opera. I enjoyed all the references to comics I am familiar with but it was all presentewd in a new engaging fashion! There are classic superhero elements, blended with environmental/Native American beliefs, all in a neat engaging package!

Allegheny Man deserves a larger audience! Being from New York I have a certain bias, but I think it has broad appeal. This strip is off to a great start in the 39 episodesI have seen and with such a strong foundation I'm sure it will have a healthy long life. I see inspiration and enthusiasm in both the story and art. There's real passion involved and that's what makes a good work of art.