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Bob’s Thoughts

8/03/09 - Releases for August

A REMINDER

If you see any title in Bob's Thoughts and can't find it on the shelves of Pulp Fiction, ask Mike to get you a copy. Most any book listed here can be ordered and shipped to the store within 1-2 weeks.

SHIPPING UPDATES

• Dick Tracy Vol. 7 shipped last month.
• Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Young Allies Vol. 1, due out last month will be coming out this month.
• Marvel Masterworks: Sub-Mariner Vol. 3, due out last month will be coming out this month.
• And, because of all this re-scheduling, most all the big books at Marvel that were pre-ordered for August have been pushed back into September.
• Also, we just discovered that Best of the West #71, due sometime in March, was the final issue of the series from AC Comics.

ABRAMS COMICARTS

The Toon Treasury of Classic Children's Comics

Edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, this volume contains a wide selection of self-contained comic book stories from the 40s to the early 60s that were originally targeted towards children (and also, the child within us). Within the 352 pages, you will find Carl Barks, John Stanley, Sheldon Mayer, Walt Kelley and many others and the stories range in length from single pages to 22 pages long. This one looks to be a winner and definitely deserves a good, long squint and even inclusion on your sagging bookshelf, since the pedigrees of the editors and contributors are top notch. SRP $ 40.00

AC COMICS

Nothing of interest this month.

DARK HORSE

One tidbit to come out of SDCC is that Dark Horse has announced they will begin to produce original comics featuring the Gold Key characters. Format and creative teams have yet to be talked about, but it will be interesting to see what DH can do with Magnus and Turok.

Creepy Archives Vol. 4

Reprints Creepy #16-20. I've wondered what Dark Horse was going to do with this series once they got past the initial issues, and it looks like they plan to plow right on ahead. Warren's fortunes had changed during this time and due to finances, the EC crew had pretty well departed by this time and Frazetta only has two covers in this volume. In their place, you have covers by any number of hands and interior work by some familiar names and some not well know (and some quite forgettable). The worst part of all this, however, is that Warren began to run reprints in Creepy during this time from various sources, including earlier issues of Eerie and even Creepy itself! This kind of makes the majority of this volume a redundancy, so I will leave it up to you to decide whether it deserves a squint. Do note that this title may have shipped in July. SRP $49.95

DC

Don't forget the Wednesday Comics #5-8 are due out this month (if this series turns out to be a turkey, will my face be red!)!

Absolute V For Vendetta

This one will reprint, for the third time, the Alan Moore/David Lloyd series that was made into a movie that didn't do well at the box office. Don't quite know what to say here. I read the series when it first came out from DC and later in the trade paperback reprint and can honestly say I don't remember much of anything about it and, unlike other books that I have read that I don't recall very well, I don't even have a feel for the story. Did I like it? Did I dislike it? Who knows and I'll leave this one up to you, especially since I'm writing these words in January and you'll be reading them in August. SRP $99

Adventure Comics returns to the stands this month and features Superboy...but not the adventures of the Boy of Steel, but someone named Connor Kent (?). I admit I'm not up on current DC continuity, but I would venture a guess this is a way to work around the copyright judgment that went in favor of the Siegel family...SRP $3.99

DC Comics Classics Library: the Justice League of America by George Perez Vol. 1

Reprints Justice League of America #184-186 and 192-194 by Conway, Perez, McLaughlin and Beatty. I've mentioned before that DC would probably have trouble making the Classics Library series work and here is another case in point. Rather than concentrate on story, DC has chosen with this volume to attempt to document the artwork that George Perez did on the JLA (with a second volume featuring the rest of the material). Problem is that Perez did layouts for the first set of stories here, with pencils and finishes by Frank McLaughlin and they didn't mesh very well. The second sequence features John Beatty on the finishes and, since Perez appears to be doing tighter layouts, the results are better. Whither continuity? Well, these story arcs appear to be self-contained, so that's no problem, but why 6 issues of Perez when there are actual continuities by others that could be published in one book? While I applaud DC in their efforts to find new markets for reprints, I just have to wonder if they are thinking all this out in advance. SRP $39.99

DC's new incarnation of The Spirit comes to and end this month, proving that if you do a great character badly, people won't buy the book. The final issue may be a bit of light at the end of an incredibly dark tunnel, as Mike Ploog is both writing and drawing the issue-the second part of a story he started in #31. SRP $ 2.99

The Sandman by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

Reprints the Sandman stories from World's Finest Comics #6-7, Adventure Comics #72-97 and Sandman #1 (1974) by the team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. When Simon and Kirby left Marvel in the early 40s, they moved over to DC, where they had quite a lucrative contract. At DC, they created The Newsboy Legion and The Boy Commandoes (twists on the Young Allies), Manhunter and they also took over the character of The Sandman, who got quite a facelift under the skills of S & K. Longtime comic readers will remember the original Sandman who dressed in a green suit, wore a gas mask as a disguise and carried a gas gun. Under Simon and Kirby, The Sandman got a skin-tight suit, a kid sidekick (Sandy) and had adventures that took place both in, and out, of the world of dreams. This volume is what we hope will be the first to reprint the Simon and Kirby stories from the Golden Age and best of all, this one is complete (except for the Sandman stories from All Star) and priced right. The material is adventure filled and the DC material S & K did is even better than their Marvel collaborations, since they had refined their pace and art styles by this time. The only oddity of the book is the reprinting of Sandman #1, which paired the duo many years after they had worked together and the results are not very memorable. Definitely deserves a good, long squint and if you don't pick up any other book this summer, this is the one to put up on your sagging bookshelf. SRP $39.99

After being reprinted to death since its original publication, DC has decided to issue Batman: Hush by Loeb, Lee and Williams in a single trade paperback that will include the original storyline (Batman #608-619) along with the 6 page story from Wizard #0 and a 2 page origin story that was only available on the DC Comics website. SRP $24.99

Showcase Presents: Eclipso

Reprints the Eclipso stories from House of Secrets #61-80 by Bob Haney, Lee Elias, Alex Toth, Jack Sparling and Bernard Bailey. These are light and fun stories that are worth a read and feature some interesting art styles along the way. Eclipso was an interesting twist on the Jekyll and Hyde theme, in that a single character embodied both a hero and a villain. Seems that Bruce Gordon found a black diamond and this brought out an evil persona known as Eclipso whenever there was an eclipse of the sun (seems there was always an eclipse going on in the series). Anyway, what you ended up with was a man constantly at war with himself, as he tried to to figure out way to thwart the nastiness his evil side was planning (gee, I just love these descriptions). Worth a squint and note the lower price along with a lower page count. SRP $9.99

Four new one-shot issues hit the stands this month and all feature the Red Circle/Archie heroes as updated by J. Michael Straczynski. The Shield sounds like the least transformed of the bunch (originally he was a rip of Captain America) and the rest sound like the normal bleak and icky über-folk that are the mainstay of current comics. Might be worth a squint just to see what they come up with this time... SRP $2.99

Showcase Presents: The Flash Vol. 3

Reprints The Flash #141-161 by Broome, Fox, Infantino and a host of others. Another helping of the Scarlet Speedster, which, if it is your cup of tea belongs on your sagging bookshelf. Not my cup of tea, especially since I enjoy coffee. SRP $16.99

FANTAGRAPHICS

Captain Easy, Soldier of Fortune: The Complete Sunday Newspaper Strips Vol. 1

This is the first in a series that will present the Roy Crane Sundays in full color. Unfortunately, Fantagraphics won't say what sequence this volume will cover—only that there will be 160 pages, which would probably work out to 2 or 3 years worth of material. Crane's approach to the newspaper strip made him one of the outstanding craftsmen of the early years and is very easily compared to Milton Caniff. Crane told adventure stories in Captain Easy, in a vein similar to the early Terry and the Pirates, but his art was a bit more cartoonish than Caniff's. Where Caniff used high drama, Crane tends to read more like an illustrated version of a good adventure movie. Crane's strongest suit, however, was that he told stories that rank right up there with the best, while using an open and lightly detailed style that simply works (you really have to look at the work to understand). Simply said, this is another book worthy of a good long squint and it deserves a place on your sagging bookshelf right up there with your other collections of newspaper strips. SRP $35.00

FLESK PUBLICATIONS

Al Williamson's Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic

We mentioned this one a couple of months back when it was just a glimmer in Amazon's upcoming releases. Basically, this one will reprint all of Al Williamson's Flash Gordon work, starting with the stories done for King Comics, then the motion picture adaption and finishing with the Marvel mini-series from 1994. Also included will be sketches, portfolio pieces, art assists on the newspaper strip and unpublished works from Williamson's files. Definitely worth a squint, since Williamson is the artist most associated with Flash Gordon outside of Alex Raymond and he was able to put his own stamp on Gordon which was both an enhancement, and homage, to Raymond. Two edition: Softcover SRP $29.95 Hardcover SRP $44.95

GEMSTONE

R.I.P.

IDW

IDW has a couple of books this month that, while well intentioned, are not really worth the time and money. First is Starstruck, which was an Epic (Marvel) series done many years ago by Elaine Lee and Michael Wm. Kaluta. While beautifully drawn, it does not tell a very coherent story. SRP $3.99 The second, Detectives Inc., was a graphic novel and mini-series written by Don McGregor and drawn by Marshall Rogers (GN) and Gene Colan (MS). Neither series worked real well and although Rogers' work is interesting, Colan's style didn't work for the type of story McGregor was doing. SRP $24.99 Maybe squint at both and then move on.

MARVEL

On the 70th Anniversary front, Marvel has 3 titles this month. All Winners Comics #1 70th anniversary Special will feature the All-Winners Squad in a post World War II tale that features undead soldiers (read Zombies) in Times Square and a back-up story all written by Karl Kessel, so it might be worth a look. Mystic Comics #1 70th Anniversary Special will have a lead story written and pencilled by Dave Lapham that features The Vision and other contents not mentioned. Last is the potential turkey of the bunch, Marvel Comics #1 70th Anniversary Special, which will reprint Marvel Mystery Comics #1 in its entirety, but it will all be re-colored by "the field's most innovative color artists." These re workings rarely fly and I'd give this one a wide berth. SRP $3.99

A blast from the past will come from the Marvel Max imprint when Howard Chaykin will revive his Dominic Fortune character (last seen over 20 years ago) in a four issue mini titled, aptly enough, Dominic Fortune. This time around, Fortune's adventures are still set in the latter days of the Depression and, while working as a bodyguard, he becomes involved with murder, mayhem, gorgeous dames and a group of Confederates who fled the War of Yankee Agression (the Southern term for the Civil War) for South America. Should be fun. SRP $3.99

Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 11

Reprints Amazing Spider-Man #100-109 by Lee, Thomas, Kane, Romita and undisclosed inkers. Kraven, the Savage Land, the Lizard, a six-armed Spider-Man and even Vietnam...all are contained in this one. Lots of good stories and Romita did some of his best work during this period. Worth a squint. SRP $54.99

Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk Vol. 1 will be out this month as part of the trade paperback reprints of the original Masterworks hardcovers and most definitely belongs up on your sagging bookshelf. It reprints The Incredible Hulk #1-6 by Lee, Kirby and Ditko and are one of the best collected reads you will run across. The origin of the Hulk (in wondrous shades of grey) is here along with his early adventures that had a different slant than the later stories The Hulk and Bruce Banner are presented here as a Dr. Jekyll/Mister Hyde combination-a concept that was most likely Kirby's. Additionally, unlike the two film versions of the Jolly Green Giant, Bruce Banner is a heroic figure who is cursed with being the Hulk and not a victim of circumstance. Give it a squint! SRP $24.99

Also, I've discovered that Marvel is including the Avengers Masterworks as part of their trade paperback reprinting program. Saw mention of a Vol. 2, which means there must be a Vol. 1 lurking about somewhere...although I'm never sure anymore...

Essential Marvel Team-Up Vol. 3

Reprints Marvel Team-Up #52-73, 75 and Annual #1 by a whole bunch of folks! This single collection could be considered a "Best Of" collection since the issues reprinted here were some of the best of the entire series. Dave Hunt kept the inks in line for most issues and many of the stories were drawn by John Byrne with scripts by Chris Claremont. Even the lesser issues were good during this period and the only thing lacking is #74, which featured Spidey and Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Players and was left out, I guess, due to copyright problems. Definitely worth a good squint and inclusion on the sagging bookshelf. SRP $19.99

PURE IMAGINATION

Al Williamson: Forbidden Worlds

This one is set to feature 160 pages of Williamson's work, including 5 collaborations with Frank Frazetta. Some of the work has never been reprinted before. Worth a squint. SRP $25.00

TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING

Alter Ego #88

Features the first ever in-depth look at the founder of DC Comics, Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, and also info on early editors Whitney Ellsworth, Vin (it says Win in the solicitation, but I would swear it is Vin) Sullivan, and Mort Weisinger. Lots of art, as usual, and the usual features round out the magazine. SRP $6.95

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