2/27/09- March Releases
UNDER THE RADAR
Found a listing the other day on Amazon that, apparently, wasn't ordered through Previews. From Flesk Publications, we find Al Williamson's Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic, a 256 page collection that is set to reprint (assumedly in color) all the Flash Gordon stories Williamson did for King Comics in the 60s, the adaption of the Flash Gordon movie and the Marvel mini-series done in 1994, along with illustrations done for various publications and also some unpublished work. Release date for the book was January 15th (and we all know about shipping dates, now don't we?) and, according to Amazon, it has yet to see the light of day. Might be worth a squint if you can scare up a copy, since Williamson had a certain flair for Flash that was based on Raymond, but had a charm all its own. Edited by Mark Schultz with and introduction by Sergio Aragones. SRP $24.95.
SHIPPING UPDATES
After the confusion of the last couple of months (and their attendant rantings) things seem to have kind of settled down and shipments are now on a regular schedule: most all book collections are shipping between a couple of weeks to a couple of months beyond their scheduled release date and, if we're real lucky, the publishers will even inform you of the delay.
The only announced change in release that I'm aware of is:
- The Captain Britain by Alan Moore and Alan Davis Omnibus that was sneered at a couple of months back has been delayed from March to May.
Books I know are delayed because my copies haven't showed up:
- Blazing Combat (Due in November)
- Thor Masterworks Vol. 8
- The Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy Vol. 6 (Due in December)
- Humbug is reportedly in the Fantagraphics warehouse, but when it will hit the stores is anybody's guess (due out in February).
AC COMICS
Playing catch up this month.
DARK HORSE
Eerie Archives Vol. 1
Reprints Eerie #1-5 by Archie Goodwin and a whole slew of artists, including Frank Frazetta on the covers (take a bow, Frank). The art by Steve Ditko and Gene Colan is worth the price of admission, since both turned in some of the best work of their careers for Warren. Also, you get Crandall, Craig, Torres, Wood, Toth...the list goes on and on. Also keep in mind that the same caveats apply here as they did with Creepy: the stories are the weak, but the art is great. I'm also interested to see what Dark Horse does for issue #1, since that was a mock-up that Warren produced to secure a distribution deal and had nothing to do with the regular series! Worth a squint and possible addition to your sagging bookshelf. SRP $49.95
DC
The Flash Archives Vol. 5
Reprints The Flash #133-141 by Broome, Fox Infantino , Giella and Anderson. Captain Cold, Abra-Kadabra, Mirror Master, The Reverse Flash and others all attempt to do evil in Central City. Will the Fastest Man Alive defeat them? For an SRP of $49.99, you can find out!
The Batman Chronicles Vol. 7
Chronologically reprints the Batman stories from Batman #12-13, Detective Comics #66-70, and World's Finest Comics #7 by Cameron, Finger, Kane, Robinson and lots of other folks. I'm always torn between the Archives editions and these nifty trade editions, since it's kind of fun to read the stories in the order they originally appeared. In any event, you can't beat the early Batman stories for their combination of action AND fun, the price is right and, as a bonus in this collection, you also get the first appearance of Two-Face. SRP $14.99
The Losers By Jack Kirby
Reprints Our Fighting Forces #151-162 by Kirby, D. Bruce Berry and Mike Royer. Rather then the mock heroics that filled the pages of so many war comics, Kirby's Losers are quasi-realistic stories that feature men at war: warts and all. Kirby's contract with DC in the 70s required him to produce a certain number of pages and covers per month. With the cancellation of both New Gods and Forever People, he was left with a hole in his schedule that needed to be filled. The Demon (available as a collected edition and highly recommended) and Kamandi (also recommended) were two of the more successful books Jack created during this period. What has been practically overlooked, however was his 12 issue stint on The Losers series in Our Fighting Forces. The Losers were a group of WWII heroes who, at one time or another, had all had their own series of stories at DC and had been lumped together into a commando unit that fought in both Europe and the Pacific. Although it isn't real clear how Jack ended up doing the book, the stories are considered to be the closest that Kirby ever got to setting down his experiences as a soldier serving in Europe.
Although Jack was Jewish and fought against the Nazis during WWII, there is no prejudice presented in these tales and all the combatants are equally presented as either good or evil, regardless of which side they are fighting for. Even the Japanese are presented in the most memorable story of the run, "Bushido" (#154), where they are depicted as honorable combatants, with none of the stereotyping prevelant during the Golden Age (or later, for that matter). This one definitely belongs up on your sagging bookshelf, not only as a documenting of some of Kirby's finest work, but also as an example of how war comics can be done. SRP $39.99
Showcase Presents: Ambush Bug Vol. 1
There was a time when most any appearance by the Ambush Bug guaranteed a major jump in sales for DC-something that, by all accounts, just ain't happening with the new series. DC is hoping that lightning will strike once again with this volume that is set to reprint DC Comics Presents #52, 59 and 81, Supergirl #16 (1984), stories from Secret Origins #48, Action Comics #560, 563 And 565, Ambush Bug #1-4, Son of Ambush Bug #1-6, Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer #1 and Ambush Bug Nothing Special #1. Don't quite know what to say here. I was a big fan of Ambush Bug back in the day, but I'm not sure how well these stories will hold up, since many were parodies of what was going on in the DC Universe of the time. Features the work of Giffen, Fleming, and a bunch of others. SRP $16.99
Showcase Presents: Justice League of America Vol. 4
Reprints Justice League of America #61-83 by Fox, O'Neill, Sekowsky, Dillin and Greene and others. Don't quite know what to tell you about this one. I've always felt that the original JLA was an acquired taste...I tried them numerous times, but never inhaled (Oops!...obscure reference) but never really enjoyed them. The situation probably wasn't helped by my dislike of Sekowsky's work and that I find Dick Dillin's art to be stiff and pedestrian. Mayhap if I had read them as a child I would feel different, but I leave this one to you. Squint at your pleasure! SRP $16.99
FANTAGRAPHICS
Just a quick overview of Fantagraphics this month. The Complete Peanuts Vol. 11 (1971-1972) is due out this month, with Snoopy becoming Joe Cool, Sally Brown spend some time at center stage and there are even jokes about Bob Dylan added for fun all for an SRP $28.99. Listed as being re-offered is The Compleat Cannon, which collects the Wally Wood created Cold War secret agent strip that first appeared in the self-published comic Heroes Inc. presents Cannon and then was continued in the 70s for U.S. Army's Overseas Weekly. You'll find some diverse hands at work on Cannon (and I still contend that the last strips were done by Continuity Studios) and the stories still read well today, although a bit over the top when it comes to Commie bashing. Worth a squint with an SRP of $19.95.
GEMSTONE PUBLISHING
Nothing of interest this month, which, according to some new items may be all you will be able to expect from Gemstone in the months to come. A couple of different news sites have made mention that Steve Geppi, the owner of Diamond Distributors and Gemstone (along with a number of other pop culture companies) is in financial straits and has been sued by some of his creditors. What all this means is not real clear. Each of Geppi's enterprises are separate one from the other, so the collapse of one won't necessarily bring down the whole house of cards. But things don't look real good down the line and there is that chance that Gemstone will fold, leaving lots of folks with their partially completed runs of the EC Archives, no more Disney comics (until another publisher picks up the rights) and no Complete Don Rosa, dang drat it!
IDW
IDW doesn't have anything of interest coming out this month, but they have just announced plans to do a 5 volume hardcover reprinting of Berke Breathed's Bloom County strip in its entirety and also a collection of Alex Raymond's Rip Kirby strip. Details are vague at this point, but we will bring you details as soon as they are announced.
MARVEL
In what I consider a first, Marvel has advanced solicited themselves out of any listings for this month (at least as far as I'm concerned)! Sure, there are some reprint books offered, but most are reissues of books that have been reprinted to death or collections that are not worth wasting the virtual ink on writing about.
MANUSCRIPT PRESS
Comics Revue #276
Sixty-four pages of comic strip reprints, including anything from Gasoline Alley to Tarzan. Little Orphan Annie is featured on the cover this month. Well worth a squint and a great place to start exploring the world of comic strips. SRP $6.95
MOONSTONE
Moonstone hasn't had anything in sometime that has caught my eye, but this month, they are offering Airboy: 1942 Best Of Enemies by Chuck Dixon, Todd Fox and Lita Fernandez. Airboy was a character created during the 40s and his main gig was to fight those nasty Nazis. With his special fighter plane, Birdy (it had flapping wings), Airboy survived World War II and then became kind of an international troubleshooter until Hillman publishers went out of business in 1953. Jump ahead to the 80s and Airboy came back (actually the son of the original character) in a great series from Eclipse comics that was authored by Chuck Dixon and was one of the best titles to come out of the independent market. The series ran for 50 issues Here's hoping that lightning strikes twice, as this story is scheduled to reunite Airboy with Valkyrie, the Nazi female pilot with the blouse that won't button. Don't really know what to tell you, except that you should give this one a good long squint, since it may be one of the better titles to come out this year if Dixon is on his game. A rather outlandish SRP of $6.50.
PURE IMAGINATION
Alex Toth Goes Hollywood
Reprints a number of stories Toth did for Dell in the 60s that featured characters from film and television, and may include stories about The FBI Story, Range Rider, 77 Sunset Strip, Gale Storm and others. Worth a squint. SRP $25
Wally Wood: Edge of Genius
Reprints 160 pages of early Work done by Wood for a variety of publishers. Featuring romance, westerns, superheroes and more, most of which hasn't been seen since it first appeared back when Wood was just getting started. Intro by Theakston.
TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING
Alter Ego #84
An Aquaman overview, with a previously unseen Jim Aparo cover, the first part of an interview with writer Steve Skeates about his early comics work, lots of art by a whole slew of folks, an interview with Charles Sinclair and the usual features from the FCA. SRP $6.95
Back-Issue #33
A Teen Heroes issue with an overview of the Teen Titans and their creators, an interview with actor Michael Gray (Billy Batson), the second part of the Steve Skeates interview and histories of Firestar, Kitty Pryde, Nova and Power Girl, a gallery of the Legion and lots more with a cover by George Perez. SRP $6.95
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