05/01/10 - Releases for May
IN THE NEWS
In the continuing saga of "Big City Battle over Hulking Comic-Con," we have San Diego's latest proposal. In their bid to keep Comic-Con in San Diego, the city has offered a total of $500,000 in hotel tax revenue to be paid to the con over the period of 5 years (or $100,000 a year for the math challenged). San Diego does have a contingency built into their offer, however. The current contract that Comic-Con has with San Diego expires in 2012 and the offer from the city would require Comic-Con to extend their stay with the city an additional 3 years, into 2015, in order to collect any of the promised monies (by which time, I guess, San Diego hopes that other cities interest will have diminished and Comic-Con will be happy to remain). The final decision will be made by the Comic-Con board in the next couple of weeks. We'll keep you posted as we learn more...
ABRAMS
The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga
Often called the "Walt Disney of Japan," Osamu Tezuka is revered as the founder of Manga in his native country. This is the first authorized biography of Tezuka and covers the entirety of his career: from Astro Boy and Kimba to his work in other Manga titles and his part in the development of Japanese animation. Might be worth a squint. SRP $40
AC COMICS
Men of Mystery #82
This month, it should be "Women of Mystery," as the title focuses on "Fighting Females of the 40s." Phantom Lady, Nyoka, Firehair, Torchy Lady Luck and a bunch of less well-known heroines, such as Ghost Woman and Commandette are featured in a 200 page collection with an SRP of $29.95
DARK HORSE
The Barry Windsor-Smith Conan Archives Vol. 2
Reprints the second half of the Roy Thomas/Barry Windsor-Smith work on Marvel's Conan, along with "The Frost Giant's Daughter" (not sure if this will be the version from Savage Tales or the edited version that appeared in the comic) and the beautifully rendered adaption of "Red Nails." Windsor-Smith produced some wonderful images for this series and it also featured some of Roy Thomas' best work on the character. The only problem may arise in the coloring, which is being newly done and may be over-rendered. If you don't have these stories in another form, they deserve a good long squint and, if the coloring meets your approval, addition to your sagging bookshelf. SRP $49.99
Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars: The Jesse Marsh Years
Although Jesse Marsh is most associated with Tarzan, he also produced a 3 issue series, scripted by Paul S. Newman, that featured Burroughs' "other" character, John Carter of Mars. These stories combined Marsh's stylings with a science-fictional setting that was one of the first attempts to bring John Carter to comics (later attempts have not quite captured the mood of Burroughs' writing, although the early issues of the DC series were close). Although the art is a bit stiff in spots, this is an excellent collection that brings together all three issues of the Dell Four Color Comics series from the 50s and is deserving of a place up on your sagging bookshelf. SRP $29.99
Giant Size Little Lulu Vol. 1
This is an Essentials/Showcase Presents style volume that collects 14 comic books worth of Little Lulu into a huge, 664 page volume. I've spoken before of my admiration for the John Stanley/Irving Tripp run on Little Lulu and this would be an excellent place for you to start reading the wonderful kid's strip. Well worth a squint! SRP $24.99 (NOTE: According to the Dark Horse website, this book shipped at the end of April)
Little Lulu Vol. 2: The Bogey Snowman and Other Stories
The second volume of the color reprints of Little Lulu, this time reprinting Marge's Little Lulu #112-117 by John Stanley and Irving Tripp. More childhood hi-jinks that are well worth the squint, particularly due to the low SRP of $14.99.
Eerie Archives Vol. 3
Another dose of black and white horror, but exactly what the contents will be are a sort of mystery, as Dark Horse doesn't want to tell me what issues will be reprinted. Do exercise some caution here, because this series, like the Creepy Archives, is entering the period where Warren was having financial trouble and was using reprints, along with sub-par art, to fill out their pages. SRP $49.95
DC
Wednesday Comics
This will be an oversized (11 x 17.5) hardcover that will collect the entire run of Wednesday Comics, assumedly in the separate issue format as the originals appeared. There will also be some extra, unpublished pages, a sketchbook section and an intro by editor Mark Chiarello. The size will be close to the original printed size and the stories I read of the first couple of issues was enjoyable, so I'd give this one a squint and, if you find it to your liking, addition to your sagging bookshelf. SRP $49.99
Atomic Knights
Reprints all of the Atomic Knights stories from Strange Adventures #117, 120, 123, 126, 129, 132, 135, 136, 141, 144, 147, 150, 153, 156 and 160 by John Broome and Murphy Anderson. One of the memories of my childhood is the threat of atomic war. I came in at the tail end of the "boomers," but we still had to do "duck and cover" drills in school and for the first 3 years of my education, we were bombarded with the government pamphlets we were given that described how to survive a nuclear attack. We were taught to look for the Fallout Shelter signs and on the last Friday of each month, the air raid sirens were tested (leading many of us to decide that if you wanted to attack the US, the best time would be on the last Friday of the month...LOL). Obviously, all the nuclear paranoia left its scars on me and I've always had a rather morbid interest in post-nuclear war material, whether it be in comics, books or movies. So, it should not be any surprise that, once I discovered them, that I should be drawn to the Atomic Knights. The adventures of the Atomic Knights took place a few years after World War III (which the series set in 1986!) after a former member of the military discovers that some suits of armor in a local museum are impervious to the energy weapons used by a local dictator who is hoarding the remaining food supplies. The dictator is overthrown and the 4 members of the knights then spend the rest of the series attempting to rebuild civilization, using their armor for both protection and as a symbol of their intentions to right wrongs...much in the same style as the knights of Arthurian legend. The stories read quite well today, although the actual premise of "surviving" a nuclear war does seem a bit far-fetched and they only have a loose continuity in one tale to another, since they were originally written back in the day when stand-alone stories were the norm. Mutants appear here and there (the knights ride giant dogs) and there is also some outlandish adventures into mole-people and Atlanteans, but overall the stories hang together. One of the major draws of the series is the art by Murphy Anderson, which is drop dead gorgeous and excellently rendered. This is a book that deserves a good long squint and inclusion up on your sagging bookshelf, since the stories will not only appeal to fans of science fiction, but also to those who relish good post-Apocalypse tales! SRP $39.99
DC's Greatest Imaginary Stories Vol. 2: Batman and Robin
Reprints Batman #122, 133, 145, 154, 159, 163, 300, Lois Lane #89, and World's Finest #153 by Finger, Moldoff and others. One of the "fun" parts of reading comics in the 60s and 70s were the Imaginary Stories produced by DC. Preceding the Elseworlds concept, these stories played fast and loose with the continuity and, in many cases, produced stories that were superior to those that were considered non-imaginary. Here's another helping of those tales that appeared outside the regular DC continuity. Robin as Batman, Bruce Wayne Jr. marriages, deaths...all the stories that aren't canonical, but were just a hoot to read then and now. Worth a squint. SRP $19.99
Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze
Well, here's a first! Back when they had the license, Marvel produced a Doc Savage comic book and black and white magazine. These stories are now being reprinted by DC (?) and this volume will reprint Marvel's Doc Savage #1-8 by Thomas, Englehart, Andru, Palmer and others (working out the royalties on this one must have been a headache). Now, before you get your hopes up, let me say that the Marvel Doc Savage wasn't all that good, although, from looking at what DC is doing with the character, these may be terrific in comparison. Take a squint, but look with caution! SRP $17.99
DRAWN & QUARTERLY
The John Stanley Library: Nancy Vol. 2
Another undetermined number of issues of Stanley's work on the Nancy comic book stories will be reprinted in this second volume. Nancy, unlike Little Lulu, was more of a real kid and, with the assistance of her pals Sluggo, Oona Goosepimple, Spike and the ever-beleagured Mr. McOnion, had adventures that were more realistic than those of other kid stars. Worth a squint. SRP $29.95
FANTAGRAPHICS
Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s
Wish I could tell you more about his title, but actual information is a bit sparse. What we have been able to discover is that it is a collection edited by Greg Sadowski (who did the Supermen! book of some months back) and John Benson, will feature non-EC comic stories by the likes of Cole, Ditko, Frazetta, Toth, Williamson, Wolverton, Wood and others, along with some 32 covers. What these will be, we have no idea, but it should be worth a squint, since the focus of this material seems to be on stories that have not been reprinted to death. Give it a squint and add it to your bookshelf, if you like what you see. SRP $29.99
IDW
Archie: The Best of Dan DeCarlo Vol. 1
Reproduced from the original art, this is an overview of DeCarlo's work on the Archie characters from the mid-50s to the 70s. Not much more is known, but it will probably be worth a squint. SRP $24.99
Little Orphan Annie Vol. 5
Reprints the dailies and Sundays from July 10, 1933 - February 10, 1935 with the Sundays in color. The blurb says that one portion of the book focuses on Annie embarking on an adventure that lasts nearly a year (a long time for a newspaper strip), when she ends up in the custody of the leaders of Ghost Gang, who claim to be her "real" parents. Leapin' Lizards! SRP $49.99
Family Circus Library Vol. 2
Reprints 800 dailies and 100 Sundays from 1962-1963 that, among other things, features the introduction of PJ. SRP $39.99
MARVEL
Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Captain America Vol. 4
Reprints Captain America Comics #13-16 by Binder, Avison, Rico and others. Continuing with the post-Simon & Kirby Cap adventures, this one will reprint the complete issues. If war themed comics from the Golden Age are your interest, look no further. The art and story are a bit of a mixed bag, since there were very few who could equal Simon & Kirby, but the few examples I've seen are not bad. Far as I can tell, these stories have never been reprinted before, so their rarity should (at least) convince you to give this one a squint. SRP $59.99
Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 10
Reprinting The Avengers #89-100 by Thomas, Adams, the Buscemas, Barry Windsor-Smith and a host of inkers. As Marvel expanded in the 60s and 70s, many of the their early titles had a sort of "hit and miss" quality to them. Post-Kirby Fantastic Four went through a long period of sub-par stories, as did the Spider-Man - losing quality first with Ditko and then again when Romita left. No one could seem to figure out what to do with the X-Men and the less said about much of the mid-period Iron Man and Captain America, the better (and don't even get me started on Dr. Strange...). The one exception to this quality drop seems to be The Avengers. Through the title's first 200 issues, art and story were always consistent, with even the worst stories or fill-ins being better than some of the Marvel main-stays. There were also more stories that had repercussions on the Marvel Universe as a whole featured in the book than in any of the other titles, such as the material featured here. I've waited a long time for this one to make it to the presses. What you get is two outstanding story arcs that, quite possibly, are the best to ever be featured in The Avengers. It starts with a number of Thomas/Sal Buscema stories that set the stage for the Thomas/Adams masterwork, "The Kree/Skrull War" (aided and abetted by Tom Palmer and John Buscema). For those of you out of the loop, "The Kree/Skrull War" was the first out and out "cosmic" story that Marvel produced. Not only did the story expand across the Earth to the stars, it also included some bits of plot from Marvel's earliest days and also included hints about the origin of the Vision. Epic seems a bit overblown to describe the story, but, as far a comics are concerned, epic may be the only term. Thomas and Adams produced one of the best sequences ever done for Marvel either past or present. If that isn't enough, what follows is the hardly reprinted 3 issue sequence that was done by Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith. This sequence features beautifully rendered art that uses all the techniques Windsor-Smith had picked up by this time and is an entertaining tale pitting the Avengers against Ares and the Enchantress. Issue #100 wraps things up and features every character who had ever been a member of the Avengers with Windsor-Smith providing the inks along with the pencils! A great volume and one deserving a place on your sagging bookshelf without a second thought just for the Kree/Skrull War...the Windsor-Smith material is an additional bonus. SRP $54.99
Captain Marvel: The Death of Captain Marvel
Reprints Captain Marvel #34, Marvel Spotlight #1-2 and Marvel Graphic Novel #1: The Death of Captain Marvel by Jim Starlin, Steve Englehart, Doug Moench and Pat Broderick (with inkers to be named at a later date). Comic fans in the 80s were quite taken aback when Marvel announced that they were allowing Jim Starlin to kill off Captain Marvel. Starlin, aided and abetted by Steve Englehart, had earlier taken the character from near stupidity, added a tremendous supporting cast (including the Darkseid clone, Thanos) and along the way had made the former Kree warrior "cosmic." But then, disaster struck as Starlin left the book over some sort of dispute with Marvel and Captain Marvel was left to wander through a series of increasingly ridiculous adventures until the stories that are featured in this volume. It starts with Starlin's final issue of Captain Marvel, where Mar-vell is exposed to a deadly nerve gas. The Marvel Spotlight issues feature some ancillary tales by Moench and Broderick that were a continuation of the story they were producing when the regular Captain Marvel comic was cancelled. Lastly, is the main event, the Marvel Graphic Novel that sent our hero to his great reward. I honestly don't remember much about the story (it has been quite some time since I last read it), but I recall that it was moving and gave a sort of fitting end to the character. What I'm concerned about is how well the pages will scale down to fit the page size of the reprint, since the Marvel graphic novels were all done at a larger size. I'll leave this one to you...at least give it a squint. SRP $24.99
PURE IMAGINATION
Parade of Pleasure
Have to admit, editor Greg Theakston has chosen a book so obscure that I've never heard of it. From the blurb, it appears that this is a book about comics by Geoffrey Wagner that originally appeared in the 50s and, I'm guessing here, focused on the more lurid side of comics. Not sure what you'll find within the covers, but I would at least give this one a squint. SRP $25
TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING
Alter Ego #93
The big news seems to be that each issue of Alter Ego will now have a 16 page color section, but exactly what will be featured in the color section is a bit of a mystery. Other than that, this current issue will focus on Earth-Two and all the multiple characters that populated the days before Crisis. There is also the first part of an interview with former DC editor George Kashdan, the usual features from the FCA and, as usual, lots of art. SRP $7.95
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