June 2007
THE RUMOR MILL
According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, Frank Miller has found time, amid all his Hollywood work, to complete over half of a new graphic novel that features Batman battling terrorists. Not sure if DC will ever publish this, and as of this writing it is not scheduled, but we'll keep you posted!
WHA??
Following up yet another link, we find Canadian bookseller Chapters listing some Showcase volumes that have not yet been solicited as of yet. Listed for October are a Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew volume (Showcase Presents) and Showcase Presents Metal Men. Then, in November is Showcase Presents The Great Disaster Featuring The Atomic Knights, Showcase Presents The Suicide Squad and Showcase Presents The Secret Society of Super-Villains in December and Showcase Presents Jonah Hex (assumedly Vol. 2) for January. No details, like issue numbers and actual contents, are available on the site, and, according to one website, the listings are different from one day to the next. I'd like to know where they get their info!
While we're at it, there is also rumored to be a Daredevil Companion Omnibus (not sure of the exact title), which is in the planning stages at Marvel that would include Daredevil: Love and War (Miller and Sienkiewicz), Daredevil #227-233 (Miller and Mazzuchelli) and Daredevil Man Without Fear #1-5 (Miller and Romita Jr.?). What this would leave un-reprinted is the "What If Elektra had Lived?" issue of What If? and the Miller/John Buscema collaboration that appeared in Daredevil #226.
AC COMICS
Best of the West #62
This time around, Masked Rider by Pete Morisi plus Durango Kid, American Eagle, Lazo Kid, Red Mask and Haunted Horseman by Gardner Fox, Joe Gill, Dick Ayers, Joe Certa, Marvin Stein and others. Granted these early westerns may seem a bit simplistic when compared to those of today, but there is still a lot of good material here, especially the Haunted Horseman: a strip where Dick Ayers always amazes me with his art. Why not ask Mike to order you a copy and take a squint?
CARROLL & GRAF
The Mammoth Book of Best War Comics
Here's an odd item. Carroll & Graf is a publisher best known for reprinting public domain fiction. Here we have a 512 page, B & W book that is set to reprint around 30 stories from various sources. Some name artists (Sam Glanzman, Alex Toth and Joe Kubert), some lesser names (Joe Sacco) and then, the part that really scares me, "great new pieces by as yet little-known hands." (*gulp!*) Since this is a "Mammoth" book, which is an English imprint, we can probably assume that the stories are from English comics and some of them are English reprints of American comics. War comics may be making a comeback, but whether war stories of previous conflicts (WWII, Korea, Vietnam) are of interest to modern readers is another matter. While it might be interesting to see the English side of various conflicts, I just wish they had listed the contents. Might be worth a squint, but I definitely want to see a copy of this one before I plunk my money down, since there is really no way of knowing exactly what the contents will be. SRP $13.95
DARK HORSE
Harvey Comics Classics Vol. 1: Casper the Friendly Ghost
Well, just when you thought you had seen it all, Dark Horse manages to come up with something unexpected. Casper has a sort of cult following, as you either remember the character fondly, or find it sacharin of the worst sort. The cover of the book also mentions the other Harvey characters (Wendy, the Good Witch, Spooky and the Ghostly Trio), so my guess is that they will be included in cross-over stories with Casper. According to the blurb, this volume will run 480 pages and reprint over 100 Harvey Comics Casper stories from 1952 to the mid-60s (the cover of the book lists 1949 as the starting point). What makes the book different from Marvel and DC's output, is that it will include 64 pages of color (?!) restored from original comic book pages. Might be worth a squint to see how they did the color, if you fondly remember the character, or want a book to share with younger family members or friends. A bargain at an SRP of $19.99.
DC
The Amazing Transformations of Jimmy Olsen
Here's another collection of material that originally appeared I don't know where and was written and drawn by persons unknown, since all DC will tell me about this volume is that is "adventures from the late 1950s and 1960s" and that is features Jimmy's transformations. Is that enough for you? Then by all means, buy it, but personally, I'll just wait for the next Showcase volume which will probably cover some of this material. What I can tell you, is that Jimmy Olsen was the comedy relief of the Silver Age and many of his stories were just downright weird. His most famous transformation was into Elastic Lad, who was a sort of a teen-age Plastic Man. Others were a human porcupine, a super-fat individual, an alien, a bizarro and so on and so on. The stories have their own charm, and I've often called the Jimmy Olsen comic the wackiest comic ever created.SRP $14.99
Showcase Presents: The Atom Vol. 1
Reprints Showcase #34-36 and The Atom #1-17 with stories by Gardner Fox and Art by Gil Kane, Murphy Anderson and Sid Greene. Beginning in the late 50s into the 60s, DC set about to revive many of their Golden Age heroes for a new audience. For those characters (Superman, Batman) who were still being published, a small change here and there was all that was done. For the characters who had not been seen in a number of years, something a bit more drastic was done. While the names remained the same, there were new secret identities, new powers and new origins for the revived heroes (and, coincidentally, the origin of the Multiple Earths concept). What I've always found interesting about this revival, however, is that while many Golden Age heroes gained their powers through nature or magic (see the Flash or Green Lantern), the powers of the revived Silver Age characters were all the results of science: either planned or accidental; showing the change in thought from the 40s to the 50s. One of the revivals was The Atom. I never quite warmed to The Atom. He was a scientist, had a nifty costume and, unlike his Golden Age namesake had powers that allowed him to grow and shrink at will (the original Atom was a very strong short guy). Like the other Silver Age revivals, his stories revolved around science and even his powers came from the "size and weight" controls he had created. The art is really great, with the combination of Kane and Anderson never looking better, but my memory of the stories is that they are a bit boring with a bit too much science and too little adventure. SRP $16.99
Golden Age Dr. Fate Archives Vol. 1
Reprints the Dr. Fate stories from More Fun Comics #55-98 with stories by Gardner Fox and art by Hal Sherman and others. Dr. Fate, like his book partner, The Spectre, had some wonderful supernatural adventures, but Fate battled other sorcerers, demons and such with a different style and powers than The Spectre (after all, Dr. Fate was not empowered by God, after all.). There is also the primitive-ish artwork of Hal Sherman on many of the stories. Sherman was one of the early mainstays at DC and used lots of line work in his drawings. He defined the look of the character for many years and it was during his tenure on the strip that the tower with no doors and windows came into being (it looked a lot like a brick version of the Washington Monument). If that isn't enough, the book is also a COMPLETE SET of the Golden-Age Dr. Fate stories contained in one handy volume, which is all the incentive I need. Buy it and stick it up on your sagging bookshelf. Do note, however, the higher than normal SRP of $75.
Showcase Presents: Batman Vol. 2
Reprints Batman #175-188 and the Batman stories from Detective Comics #343-358 with story by Gardner Fox, Bob Kanigher and John Broome and art by Sheldon Moldoff, Carmine Infantino and Chic Stone (?). Biff! Pow! Bam! More of the TV era Batman that was the first exposure many readers had to the character. Although many of the major villains made their return during this time, they lacked the menace they had during the Golden Age and were more campy in the style of the TV show. Things were a bit over the top during this time and, if you like the Dark Knight version of Batman, these won't be your cup of tea. If DC's credits are correct on this one, I hadn't realized the Chic Stone worked on the Batman, so there may be some surprises in this volume. Good fun and includes the issue where Batman spends time watching his TV show instead of fighting crime (#183)! Note that #176, 182, 185, and 187 were 80 pagers, so I'm assuming that they will not be included here. SRP $16.99
GEMSTONE
Uncle Scrooge #367
Reprints a story by Carl Barks and a story by Freddy Milton with a Don Rosa pin-up thrown in for good measure. SRP $7.99
Uncle Scrooge Adventures: Land of the Pygmy Indians & The War of Wendigo
This is the first in a new series of trade paperbacks featuring a Carl Barks story and the Don Rosa sequel to the Barks original. Both stories are excellent, but I'm afraid this is as close as we will ever get to a Rosa collection in the US, more's the pity. SRP $8.50
EC Archives: Tales From The Crypt Vol. 2
Reprints Tales from the Crypt #7-12 from 1951 and 1952, with the addition of a foreward by Joe Dante, and art and story by Wood, Kamen, Craig, Feldstein, Orlando, Ingels, Davis and Gaines in an oversized format. You've probably read these before, but if you haven't, these are great horror gems. Rarely have art and story melded as well as they did at EC. Gaines paid a higher than normal page rate to his staffers and it shows, simply because they didn't have to churn out a huge amount of material to make a living. In addition, unlike the horror comics of today, the stories were drawn by artists and not budding surrealists. Well worth the reading, even if you find the stories in a cheaper edition. SRP $49.95
MARVEL
Marvel Illustrated: Treasure Island #1 (of 6)
Continuing Marvel's new series of adaptions of classic novels, we have the Robert Louis Stevenson tale done by Roy Thomas and Mario Gully. The art on this one looks better than Last of the Mohicans and there is no mention of any "untold tales" of Jim Hawkins, so we can all breath a sigh of relief. I never read the original novel until I was an adult and can say that it is entertaining and exciting. SRP 2.99 ea.
Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 7
Reprints Fantastic Four #285-286 and Annual #19, Avengers #263 and Annual #14, and X-Factor #1 by John Byrne, Roger Stern, Bob Layton, John Buscema and Jackson Guice. In keeping with the Marvel chronological reprinting plan, this book is a bit short on stories from Fantastic Four and, in their place, reprints the various crossovers that tied into Byrne's tenure on the book. During this era at Marvel, crossovers were pretty much the death of the company, since it seemed that every comic crossed over into every other title. For example, FF #286 sets up the return of Jean Grey, which leads into the first issue of X-Factor. These are good stories, although one could hope for a bit more Byrne in a book with his name on the title. SRP $24.99
Essential Marvel Two-In One Vol. 2
Reprints Marvel Two-In-One #26-52 and Annual #2-3 written by a whole bunch of people, pencilled by a lot of artists and inked by...well, Marvel seems to ignore inkers (what are they, chopped liver?). Marvel Team-Up and Marvel Two-In One were Marvel's answers to DC's Brave and the Bold and DC Comics Presents: team-up books whose main purpose were to boost the sales of second tier heroes and, more importantly, to provide a home for little used characters, so they could make appearances to keep their trademarks in force. Of all the team-up books, I always like Two-In-One the best, as it seemed to have its own, quirky continuity. Stories seemed to take their own time and the guest stars seemed to be a bit better planned than in Team-Up. Part of all this may have been that Ben Grimm had fewer ties to parts of the Marvel Universe did Peter Parker and so, his starring role in the book didn't come with as much extra baggage. In any event, this volume is better than the first and features The Thing with most everyone...including the 50th issue that featured the (then) modern day Thing fighting his "just after the Fantastic Four were formed" self. Fun stories and worth reading. SRP $16.99
Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner Vol. 2
Reprints Tales to Astonish #88-101, Iron Man & Sub-Mariner #1 and Sub-Mariner #1 by Lee, Thomas, Goodwin, Marais, Everett, Adkins Colan, Buscema and others. The Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch were the first major heroes to appear at Marvel back in the Golden Age. Some of the best stories of that period concerned the duo battling it out with each other, along with the solo stories that were lovingly written and drawn by Bill Everett. I've always felt that the revival of the Sub-Mariner was an afterthought for Marvel. The stories were never as strong as those of Captain America, or even the Johnny Storm/Human Torch stories in Strange Tales. Possibly the key is that under his creator, Bill Everett, the character of Namor was portrayed as an adolescent, while Lee (and others) tried to make him into an adult and that just made him kind of...well, dull. If you are collecting all the Masterworks, this is for you, otherwise, I'd wait for an Essentials volume. SRP $54.99
Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 2
Reprints the entirety of Fantastic Four #31-60 and Annual #2-4 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Vince Colletta and Joe Sinnott (Hey look! I listed some inkers!). Here's another huge dose of what I'm becoming convinced was Marvel's best comic to come out of the Silver Age. And I'm not exaggerating when I say the best. Kirby and Lee produced their best work on the FF and set a style of storytelling, in terms of sub-plots and continued stories, that has never been equaled. Many of the characters that populate the Marvel Universe today, were first created some 30 years ago in the FF. There are way too many concepts and characters to list in their entirety, but suffice to say that you'll encounter The Frightful Four, the Inhumans, Galactus and the Silver Surfer in here with great Kirby art supporting the entire operation. If you don't have these stories in another format, this should be on your sagging bookshelf, since the pages are printed a tad larger than the original printed comic and the reproduction is excellent. SRP $99.99
Essential Silver Surfer Vol. 2
Reprints Silver Surfer (1982) #1, Silver Surfer (1987) #1-18, Annual #1 and Marvel Fanfare #51 with stories by Lee, Byrne and Englehart, and art by Byrne, Rogers, Staton and Lim and a bunch of inkers that Marvel refuses to credit! Here is yet another NON essential volume, assembled to tie into a movie when there are other, and better, stories that could be collected. Byrne was considered the heir of Kirby at Marvel, but his one-shot Surfer special in 1982 was just okay and not on a par with his Fantastic Four work. The regular 1987 series got off to a horrible start, when Marshall Rogers insisted on drawing the Surfer as a tiny figure. To those of us who were used to John Buscema's heroic portrayal, it was laughable and started a long running series of jokes about the "Silver Smurfer." I don't remember much of the series after that and don't even have the Fanfare issue in may collection...which must mean it was pretty bad. All in all, save your money, or buy a Masterworks, or Omnibus, or Archives, or anything else... SRP $16.99
SANCTUM PRODUCTIONS
Doc Savage Double Novel Vol. 8
Reprints "The Sea Magician," wherein the ghost of King John terrorizes the English countryside courtesy of Lester Dent, then Doc and company must battle a threat that transforms men into living torches in "The Living-Fire Menace," written by Harold A. Davis. Also includes original covers, interior illustrations and new articles by Will Murray SRP $12.95
I'm pretty sure that there must be a new Shadow double novel for this month as well, but it isn't listed this time around.
TWOMORROWS
Alter Ego #69
Spotlight and interviews with Ramona Fradon and Paul Norris, focusing on the varied careers of both artists and their work on Aquaman. Also, the usual features from the Fawcett Collectors of America. SRP $6.95
John Romita and All That Jazz
An overview of the life and career of John Romita, Sr. told through his own words and art. Features will include a long interview with Romita, a memoir by Roy Thomas, an overview of Romita's art by Jim Amash and lots of art: both published and never before seen. The hardcover edition will include a 16 page color gallery and other enhancements not found in the soft cover. Moving, as he did, from artist to art director of Marvel, Romita's influence cannot be easily discounted. Although many of his decisions as art director were questionable, he probably had more to do with what we currently accept as Spider-Man than any other artist...including Ditko. SRP $24.95 (soft) and $44.95 (hard)
Modern Master Vol. 12: Michael Golden
An overview of the career of Michael Golden, including biographical material never before seen and lots and lots of art. SRP $14.95
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