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Bob’s Thoughts

January, 2007

AC

With this month, AC raises the price on Men of Mystery to $9.95 and increases the page count to 64.

Men of Mystery #64

This issue is scheduled to feature Dollman by Al Bryant, Manhunter, Ibis, Charles Quinlan's Miss Victory, Fighting Yank by Meskin & Robinson and a special appearance by Major Midnite: a character so obscure that I can't find any information on who he was! This is your typical "grab bag" issue, but does have some interesting material. The work of Meskin & Robinson is always good, as is that of Al Bryant and Charles Quinlan. Not a bad lineup, but the new cover price is a bit hard to swallow, even with the increase in page count. I've followed this title since it began and hope it survivesSRP $9.95

CHECKER PUBLISHING GROUP

Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon Vol. 7

Maybe I'm just grumpy today, but I wish somebody would do some proofreading of these solicitations. It says here that this volume will reprint the Flash Gordon Sundays that ran from October 1936 through February 1945. Now, if that is true, this is an awful big book?! My guess is that this is October 1944 through Feb. 1945, but who knows. The reproduction in the volumes I've seen is very clean. SRP $19.95

DARK HORSE

Just a quick note to mention that Usagi Yojimbo #100 will be released this month from Dark Horse. This ongoing project by creator/writer/artist Stan Sakai has seen numerous publishers during the 22 years that Stan has produced the stirp, but has never lost its quality or its attention to historical details. This #100 issue will be 32 pages by a whole stable of artists and have an SRP of $3.99. Congratulations to Stan and all involved!

DC

Green Lantern Archives Vol. 6

Reprints Green Lantern #39-47 by Fox, Broome, Kane and Greene. More of the original Hal Jordan stories with strong stories and strong art. Gil Kane's work on Green Lantern is an acquired taste, since it doesn't quite look like the Gil Kane one might expect, due to the smoothing effect given the art by Sid Greene. Once you get past this small hump, however, you will find that the Green Lantern stories are great science fiction mixed with super heroics. I've always enjoyed Green Lantern from this period and these stories are the real deal. SRP $49.99

JSA: Ghost Stories

Reprints the story arc written by Paul Levitz that appeared in JSA #82-87. By all accounts this was a fairly good tale, although some say it was a bit forced (I have no idea, since I missed the first issue and am waiting for this collection to come out so I can read the story!). SRP $14.99

Showcase Presents: The Brave and the Bold-The Batman Team-Ups Vol. 1

Another book in the running for longest title of the month, this one will reprint The Brave and the Bold #59, 64, 67, 69-71 and 74-87 with story by Haney and Sekowsky and art by (among others) Infantino, Andru and Adams. Not quite sure about this one. When it first appeared, The Brave and the Bold was a sort of anthology title that featured various swashbuckling heroes, like The Viking Prince. With #25, the title became a tryout book and featured Suicide Squad, the Justice League of America, Cave Carson and Hawkman. This format was discarded with #50 and the book began to feature team-ups of characters who didn't have their own books, except for the Metamorpho tryout in #57 and 58. Beginning with issue #59, The Brave and the Bold shifted into Batman mode and, except for a few fits and starts (see the list of issues included) the book became a monthly dose of "Batman and...". That's why I'm a bit reserved about this volume. Although some of the later stories drawn by Neal Adams are excellent, many of the Batman team-ups were a bit forced kind of like serving Chinese and Mexican food at the same meal: some things (characters) belong together and some don't. So, I wish they had started at the beginning with this one, but will probably pick it up to get the Adams stories and those issues that I've never read. SRP $16.99

Showcase Presents: Justice League of America Vol. 2

Reprints Justice League of America #17-36 by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Bernard Sachs. I have always been divided on the early JLA stories in that I find them enjoyable, but have major problems with the art of Mike Sekowsky. If you have never read the early adventures of the JLA, you need to be aware that they are nothing like the JLA of today. The characters do not interact like in current comics, there are no major arguments or disagreements and, for the most part, none of the heroes knew each others secret identities. There is some solid storytelling in these issues, however, and, in true Gardner Fox fashion, each menace is dispatched through the teamwork of the members. This is another bargain collection, however, that belongs up on your bookshelf, as these are classic stories that deserve to be read. SRP $16.99

GEMSTONE

Yikes! Seems like this is the month of price hikes. Gemstone has raised the price of their Disney comics to $3.50 for the regular titles and $7.50 for the thicker books. Don't know if this is a permanent increase, but I bet it is.

Donald Duck Adventures Vol. 22

Has a Michael T. Gilbert story, "Master of Disaster," that features Donald and the underground kingdom of Terry Fermy. SRP $8.50

Uncle Scrooge #362

Reprints the Don Rosa story "Return to Plain Awful," a sequel to the Barks story, "Lost in the Andes." and this story alone makes this one worth a squint. Also has a story by Romano Scarpa. SRP $7.50

EC Archives: Two-Fisted Tales Vol. 1

Reprints Two-Fisted Tales #1-6 in their entirety by the usual EC gang. Unlike the other volumes in this series, here are stories that have not been reprinted to death and is one of my favorite titles.Two-Fisted was the brainchild of Harvey Kurtzman. Kurtzman wanted to present something different than had ever been done before and created a comic that featured adventure stories from all eras and types of conflict with 4 stories per issue and no continuing characters. By the third issue, Kurtzman had taken over the book and researched and wrote all of the stories. He also laid out the stories for the artists, who had to follow his layout with very little variation. The end result was an editorial vision that has never been topped and what I consider to be a truly adult series about men involved in life-threatening conflicts. Although Two-Fisted may have been slightly eclipsed by the quality of Frontline Combat, these are comics that show what comics could be and the quality of this series has never been equaled. Originally published in 1950-51, the stories here are adventure tales that span all eras, including some extremely well told stories about the Korean conflict. Of the volumes release so far, this is the one I would recommend to you without reservation and something that definitely belongs on your sagging bookshelf. SRP $49.95

LITTLE BROWN AND COMPANY

The Adventures of Tintin 3-In-1 Vol. 1

Back is November, I mentioned the reprintings of Tintin volumes that were coming from Last Gasp. This time around, we have a different series that is in a bit of smaller size, but feature 3 complete adventures in each volume and, unlike the series from Last Gasp, these are the later versions of Hergé's stories that were redone in (I think?) the 40s. Tintin was originally created in 1929 and the various graphic novels in the series relate the adventures of a young reporter who travels the world accompanied by his dog, Snowy. The stories are always meticulously researched and the art, although simple, has a charm all its own. This first volume has Tintin in America, Cigars of the Pharaoh and The Blue Lotus all reproduced very cleanly and all in color. SRP $18.99

MARVEL

Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Heroes Vol. 1

Reprints Marvel Boy #1-2, Astonishing #3-6 and Young Men #24-28 by Stan Lee, Bill Everett, John Romita, Carl Burgos and Russ Heath. Quite an interesting mixture of material this time, from a period that has never been fully documented. By the end of WWII, super-hero sales went into a slump and Timely was affected more than DC, since their heroes (think Captain America) were more associated with the war effort than Superman or Batman. As a result, Marvel cancelled their books (Captain America ended in 1950) and attempted to create new heroes, while simultaneously publishing books that followed new trends, such as romance and horror. Marvel Boy was the first (?) of Marvel's post-war heroes and was involved in a series of science fictional adventures in Marvel Boy #1 and 2. The book was renamed Astonishing with #3, and Marvel Boy continued there through #6, when the book shifted to a horror format. Young Men was a book about...well, young men doing various things like building cars, boxing and going to war until 1953, when publisher Goodman decided that it was time to revive the classic heroes with an anti-communist slant. Captain America, the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner all returned to the Marvel stable with Young Men #24, continued through #28, and their popularity even brought about brief revivals of their individual titles in 1954. What makes this volume a real kick is that all the Marvel Boy material (except for #1, which is done by Russ Heath) is written and drawn by Bill Everett! In addition, all the Sub-Mariner material is by Everett as well, with the Captain America material by John Romita and The Human Torch by his creator, Carl Burgos. If that isn't enough, most of the the stories presented here have NEVER (least as far as I can tell) been reprinted. An impressive collection (due to its rarity) to add to your sagging bookshelf, although do make note of the new Masterworks SRP of $54.99.

Marvel Masterworks: Warlock Vol. 1

Reprints Marvel Premiere #1-2, Warlock #1-18 and Incredible Hulk #175-178 written by Thomas, Friedrich and others and drawn by Kane, J. Buscema, Trimpe and others. I wonder, at times about the choices made by Marvel for the Masterworks volumes, since it sometimes seems that rather than "classic" material, they try for volumes about characters that have name recognition (remember the Captain Marvel volume?). This volume is on of the latter and features weak material about a character originally created by Kirby (and Lee) in Fantastic Four. At that time, Warlock was known as Him: a creature developed by science who emerged from a cocoon as an adult, but without any emotional maturity. He battled the FF and then moved over to Thor where he had a tussle with the Thunder God and then flew off into space. Roy Thomas brought him back as Warlock and he then went through the issues listed here, before going back into comic book limbo until Jim Starlin revived him in the late 70s and created the stories that gave the character any name recognition. Except for the short sequence where Warlock goes through an allegory of Christianity (those being the Hulk issues) these are forgettable stories that would have been better left in the Marvel vaults. Save your money until the Starlin material comes around and save space on your bookshelf for something else! SRP $54.99

Champions Classic Vol. 2

Reprints Champions #12-17, Iron Man Annual #4, Avengers #163, Super-Villain Team-Up #14 and Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #17-18 with story by Mantlo, Byrne and Shooter and art by Byrne, Hall and Tuska. When the first volume of this series came out, I wondered why it just wasn't done as an Essentials volume and this second volume does nothing to change my mind. The Byrne material is worth a look, but The Champions were always a group of also-rans (even behind The Defenders) and why this pile of stuff is getting the color trade paperback material is beyond me. The Champions were kind of a group of leftover heroes, who didn't belong to any other group. As Tony Isabella has related his concept for the series (which was never used) Angel and Iceman would kind of travel the country ala the old televsion series Route 66 and have adventures with the other heroes kind of coming and going as needed. Too bad it didn't come out that way. For the curious or completist only! SRP $19.99

Iron Man: Armor Wars

Reprints Iron Man #225-232 by Michelinie, Layton, Bright and Windsor-Smith. Michelinie and Layton were responsible for some of the best Iron Man stories to ever be done (the "Demon in a Bottle" sequence along with the stories both before and after: start with #115, just before Michelinie, through his departure around #156) and these later stories by the duo are good, but not worth the outrageous SRP of $24.99, especially since this sequence has already been reprinted in a cheaper edition! Better to wait awhile and see when Marvel will get around to these stories in an Essentials volume!

PURE IMAGINATION

Miss Fury

A 160 page volume that reprints the Tarpé Mills character. Miss Fury was a Sunday newspaper strip from 1941-1952 and one of the few characters created by a woman (her creator's full name was June Tarpé Mills). As a woman working in comics, Mills was part of a very small club. Her art style seems to be somewhat crude, yet there is a great deal of energy in the panels and Miss Fury's costume (a panther skin that covered her from head to toe) does allow for some nice cheesecake drawings.T hese stories will, most likely, be from the comic book reprinting that Timely did in the 40s. Introduction by Trina Robbins.

TWOMORROWS

Alter Ego #64

A Don Newton cover painting of Captain Marvel Jr. and Captain Nazi, Roy Thomas' analysis of "The Monster society of Evil" and a double-sized Fawcett Collectors of America section with interviews and, as always, lot and lots of art. SRP $6.95

Back Issue #20

Articles on unusual secret identities, Englehart and S. Buscema talk about their work on Captain America, an interview with Jerry Ordway that covers his career and lots of art, including a Shazam cover by Ordway. SRP $6.95

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