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4/30/09 - Releases for May

THE MONTHLY RANT

SHIPPING NEWS AND STUFFS

After the tumultuous shipping gaffes of the last couple of months, things seem to have settled down a bit. Currently out there are the following (I've linked to my reviews of each item from when they originally appeared):

• Blazing Combat (scheduled for last November) is rumored to have made it out of the Fantagraphics warehouse at last (but ain't shown up here abouts).
• Tarzan Archives Vol. 1 did indeed make it out with the second volume due soon (haven't found the first volume as of yet, but my source tells me it is a bit over colored, yet well worth a squint).
• The Best of Simon & Kirby from Titan has shipped-way earlier than was anticipated.
• X-Men Omnibus, which reprints the first 30 some odd issues of the first series (lots of Kirby!) should be out as you read this. I talked about it way back when.

And, on a sort of related note, a news item I stumbled across says that no comic sold more than 100,000 copies in the month of March. Makes one wonder just how long the industry can hold on...

AC COMICS

No releases for this month.

DARK HORSE

Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Archives Vol. 1

Well, this one will reprint...your guess is as good as mine. Dark Horse is giving no details on this volume, except to say that the series ran for nearly 20 years and featured a whole slew of well known creators. The problem? The well known creators did not work on every issue of the title, some were at the beginning of their careers when they worked there and still others knocked the work out because they were at the end of their careers. An additional problem for creators was that Gold Key paid lower page rates than DC or Marvel and they had way more editorial control and rules than either of the Big Two (and the Big Two were fairly restrictive at the time). This, of course, made the stories quite generic in their construction So, with no idea of the contents (is this a best of?) and no other information, gotta tell you to give this one a very careful squint and, most likely, spend your money elsewhere. SRP $49.95

Tarzan: The Jesse Marsh Years Vol. 2

Here is another volume in Dark Horse's series of "we don't gotta tell you no stinking information" releases, this time devoted to an unknown number of Tarzan comics from the 40s. I will stand by my previous comments about Marsh and his excellence, but can't whole heartedly recommend the volume without knowing what's in it. (NOTE: The Dark Horse webiste suggests this title won't be out until June.) So, give it a squint and decide whether it belongs up on your sagging bookshelf. SRP $49.95

DC

Too often, the graphic novel format has become bogged down with super-heroes, or the dark, brooding "the world is sh*t" type of stories where every one uses the "F" word with amazing regularity and frequency. As proved by Maus, however, the graphic novel can be about something of worth and note, which is why I'm calling your attention to Incognegro: a graphic novel by Mat Johnson and Warren Pierce. DC is re-releasing this volume in softcover and it is one of the rare instances where we have a story told in illustrations that has some consequences and says something about our world. Without giving too much away, I'll simply say it concerns an African-American reporter, whose skin is light enough to pass for white, who travels to the south in the early part of the 20th century to investigate the arrest of his brother, who may soon be lynched for a crime he may, or may not have, committed. SRP $14.99

DC Comics Classics Library: Roots Of The Swamp Thing

Reprints House of Secrets #92 and Swamp Thing #1-13 by Len Wein, Bernie Wrightson and Nestor Redondo. DC decided that they would do the entire output of co-creator Len Wein for this edition, so you get Wein with Wrightson on the tryout story from House of Secrets, Wein with Wrightson on #1-10 and then Wein and Redondo for #11-13. The Wrightson issues are tremendous, with one of the best interpretations of Batman I have ever seen (in #8) and excellent stories in the others. Swamp Thing under Wein fought more traditional monsters and it is this type of horror you get in these 70s stories, unlike the more psychological approach that are found in the later Alan Moore stories. Redondo's art is good in the later issues and, although not Wrightson, I still remember the worms the appeared in #11. Well worth a squint and, if you don't have the material in another form, a place on your sagging bookshelf. SRP $39.99

Showcase Presents: Martian Manhunter Vol. 2

More adventures of the Martian detective J'onn J'onzz who's secret identity is John Jones (now, there's a coincidence) from Detective Comics #305-326 and House Of Mystery #143-173. Never a fan of the series and still can't get interested. I mean, his vulnerability is to fire...can you picture martian housewives fainting each time they turn on the stove? Take a squint and move on. SRP $16.99

FANTAGRAPHICS

Nothing of interest this month.

GEMSTONE PUBLISHING

As mentioned last month, Gemstone has gone on hiatus for the foreseeable future, with no further word about the future of the company since Steve Geppi's posting on the Gemstone website at the beginning of April. Below is what I originally wrote about the releases for this month...

Gemstone still has some Disney titles up for this month, the most interesting being Uncle Scrooge #390, which will have material from both Marco Rota and Romano Scarpa. Other then that, nothing else listed and no sign of new EC Archives or the lamented Complete Don Rosa

IDW

A couple of items from IDW this month:

Star Trek Omnibus Vol. 2: The Early Voyages will reprint the entire 17 issue series done by Marvel around 20 years ago. The interesting thing about this series was that it featured the adventures of the Enterprise crew under Christopher Pike before Captain Kirk and company showed up. Worth a squint. SRP $24.99.

IDW is also keeping up with their strip reprints and have The Complete Little Orphan Annie Vol. 3 on the schedule for this month. It will reprint the complete dailies from 1930-31 and the Sundays from mid-1930 on. Tales of the depression seem rather apropos today, don't you think...? SRP $39.99

MANUSCRIPT PRESS

Comics Revue #278

Sixty-four pages of comic strip reprints, including anything from Gasoline Alley to Tarzan. Casey Ruggles 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

MARVEL

Thor: Tales of Asgard by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby

Vying for the honor of the longest title of the month, this is the first of five 48 page issues that will reprint the "Tales of Asgard" series that ran in Journey Into Mystery. In the 60s, many comics ran multiple stories in each issue, which was a hold-over from the earlier postal regulations. Seems the US Postal Service had a silly rule that a magazine had to contain more than a single story about a single character in order to qualify for second class postage. Why? Who knows. But silly regulations like this did give us these stories about Thor and the Asgardians (and also Gyro Gearloose, for that matter...). The stories reprinted here, were an attempt to give some backstory to the Thor series and not only fleshed out some of the concepts for the series, but also to establish the history of Asgard ala Marvel. Great fun as Kirby and Lee play fast and loose with Norse mythology and, since they haven't been done as part of the Thor Masterworks, they will make a nice addition to your sagging bookshelf (personally, I would guess that there is a book collection in the future...). Whether Marvel plans on doing the entire series, which ran from #97-145, is not known (it would take more than 5 issues) and why Marvel is reprinting these stories now is a quandry (but it probably has something to do with the upcoming Tales of Asgard animated feature...). The picture at the right may be the cover to the first issue and there is talk about all the covers of the series forming one, large picture, but Marvel didn't have any covers on their site, so your guess is as good as mine! Definitely worth a squint. SRP $3.99

Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Journey Into Mystery Vol. 2

Reprints Journey Into Mystery #11-20 by Stan Lee and a whole big bunch of folks, including Russ Heath and Bill Everett. A second dose of a Marvel 50s horror book comes up this month and it is a transition volume. The usual tame Marvel horror is present in issues #11-19 and then the title content changes to a more science fictional title with #20, due to the Senate hearings¹ that would eventually lead to the Comics Code. Artwork ranges from excellent to quirky in this collection and not the best horror on the market - if you really want well done horror, you should be reading EC. Worth a quick squint and, due to some of the art, possible inclusion on your sagging bookshelf. SRP $59.99

¹ What were the Senate hearings? Well, along with the hysteria over possible Communist infiltration into all parts of society, the US Senate had the time to investigate the illiterate and subversive material that was available in comic books of the time and the terrible toll these comics were taking on the minds of the nation's youth (this previous sentence brought to you with a large dose of sarcasm)! It was assumed that comics were only read by kids and that horror comics in particular were taking young minds and shaping them into something...well, unAmerican. Needless to say, most of the comic book investigations were a huge waste of time, but the end result was the first great purge of the comic book industry. Titles were cancelled, companies folded (EC was one victim) and comics that might appeal to adults became a thing of the past, to be replaced by the dumbed down super-hero and weird mystery stories.

Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 9

Reprints The Avengers #80-88 and The Incredible Hulk #140 by Roy Thomas, Harlan Ellison, John and Sal Buscema, Herb Trimpe and Frank Giacoia (Harlan Ellison? Yeah, that Harlan Ellison: one of the finest writers of speculative fiction from the last 50 years (at least when he is on his game). Seems Harlan had an interest in comics and wrote a crossover (with Thomas) that pitted the Hulk against the Avengers. Nothing memorable in the story, but an interesting footnote to Ellison's career.). More of the excellent writing by Roy Thomas along with the larger then life drawings of John Buscema. Includes the origin of the Black Panther and another appearance of the Squadron Sinister (the evil version of the JLA). An excellent collection worth the squinting and the placing up on you sagging bookshelf. SRP $54.99

NBM

NBM is a publisher that usually concentrates on European material, but they are also jumping into the comic strip reprint arena with a George McManus' Bringing Up Father volume, which will reprint the first two years of the strip as they first appeared in 1912. Bringing Up Father is mostly concerned with class distinction in the early 20th century and tells the tale of Jiggs, who has suddenly risen from the lower class to the upper and the reaction he has to his sudden wealth. His wife Maggie wants to fully embrace their new social standing, but Jiggs would rather hang out with his friends of old and, when the two disagree, chaos reigns with Jiggs usually ending up on the receiving end of a rolling pin or other heavy object. Done with light continuity and lots of comic relief, Bringing Up Father reads a bit dated today, but is still worth a squint. SRP $24.95

PURE IMAGINATION

Nothing listed for this month.

TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING

Alter Ego #85

An issue devoted to the battles between Captain Marvel and Superman: on the newsstands, in candy stores and in court. Art by lots of folks, and interview with Lily Renee, Golden Age artist for Planet and Jungle Comics, an overview of the Centaur comics line and the usual features from the FCA. SRP $6.95

Back Issue #34

An overview of Warlock is featured in this issue, along with a history of Miracleman, a long interview with Jim Shooter and Dick Giordano on Crisis On Infinite Earths...along with some details of the plans DC had after the series but never implemented. SRP $6.95

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