November, 2007
AND HERE'S THE NEWS....
The month of November has been dubbed "Classic Comic Strip Month" by both Previews and a number of reprint publishers. In order to promote the classic strips of the past, many of the publishers have gotten together and will offer the following item:
Comic Strip Masterpieces Special
A large, tabloid format (11 x 17) comic section, that book will feature selections from the best classic comic strips, including Gasoline Alley, Dick Tracy, Krazy Kat, Little Nemo in Slumberland, Steve Canyon, Terry and the Pirates, Dennis the Menace, Flash Gordon, Yellow Kid and Popeye with many Sunday pages in full color! This is a great way to get acquainted with the style and pacing of comic strips, which have a language all their own. Mike will have plenty of copies of the sampler on hand and, courtesy of Pulp Fiction, they are FREE!
PLUS...
Pulp Fiction will be celebrating Classic Comic Strip Month in a big way! Besides the aforementioned FREE Masterpieces Special, I've penned a new article, The Comic Strips, which gives a short history of the comic strip and an overview of the strips being reprinted in the Special.
AND:On Wednesday, November 7, I will be making an in-store appearance to discuss comic strips with one and all and pass out copies of the Masterpieces Special. I'll be at the store between 3 and 7. Hope to see you there!
AC COMICS
Nothing new this month. Hope they get caught up soon...
CLASSIC COMICS PRESS INC.
Yet another new publisher makes an appearance, this time offering the first 3, of a proposed 6, books that will reprint the complete Mary Perkins On Stage by Leonard Starr. Volumes 1-3 cover February, 1957- June 1960 and each book has an introduction by a noted comic professional. Starr's art in his newspaper work always had a slick and commercial look to it that is very pleasing and you can also find some of his work in DC comics from the 50s. Can't say much about Mary Perkins, because I never read it. SRP $19.95 (Vol. 1) and $21.95 (Vol. 2 and 3)
The other offering from this publisher is Dondi Vol. 1 written by Gus Edson and drawn by Irwin Hasen. This volume will feature the first 19 months of the strip's continuity. Hasen was, of course, one of the mainstays of DC during the Golden Age and into the 50s, when he quite comics for his newspaper work. I vaguely recall Dondi, but have no opinion about the strip one way or the other. SRP $21.95
If these are of interest, be sure and ask Mike about availability.
DARK HORSE
Doctor Solar, Man of Atom Vol. 4
Slated to reprint issues #23-31 of Doctor Solar, with a guest appearance in The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor #14 thrown in for good measure. This will, most likely, be the last volume of this series, since Solar only went up to #31 (and, just to confuse things, issues #23-27 came out in 1968-69 and #28-31 came out in 1981!). Dark Horse's credits are a bit sparse on this one and, besides, Paul S. Newman and Frank Bolle, art and story are also by Roger McKenzie, Dan Spiegle, Dick Wood, Jose Delbo and Al McWillliams. It's been awhile since the previous volumes were released, but they are all worth a squint, although Bolle's art has never been my cup of tea. Of course, what killed the series (aside from Gold Key's problems) was that around 1968, when the original run ended, society had discovered that atomic energy was not our friend.SRP $49.95
DC
Batman Archives Vol. 7
Reprints the Batman stories from Detective Comics #136-154 written by Bill Finger with art by Bob Kane, Dick Sprang and others. Fun, latter day Batman stories, but, dating as these stories do from the late 1940s, the Dynamic Duo is starting to show a bit...I dunno, possibly age, or tiredness, although Finger's writing (if he did all the stories in the volume) was usually head and shoulders above other writers. The completeist in me says to go for this, especially since it features the first appearance of The Riddler, but my wallet says to take a look at it before I commit. SRP $49.99
Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 3
Reprints The New Gods #7-10, The Forever People #8-10, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #146-148 and Mister Miracle #7-10 by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer. The stories in this volume are some of the best of the Fourth World series and well worth reading. Of particular interest are the stories from New Gods, where Jack came up with some of the best concepts of the entire series. Should be up on your sagging bookshelf along with the other 2 volumes! SRP $49.99
The Mad Archives Vol. 2
Reprints Mad #7-12 with words by Harvey Kurtzman and art by the usual EC crew with the addition of Basil Wolverton. It's been quite some time since the first issue of this series hit the stands, but don't let that deter you from picking this one up. Kurtzman understood how to construct a great parody and, to my mind, these early issues of Mad have never been equaled and far outstripped the material that appeared after Kurtzman left or in the other EC humor book, Panic. This is another one that belongs up on your sagging bookshelf (the books are larger than the normal Archives), since the art and story meld together so well (and it's also interesting to compare the "serious" work of the artists who worked on Mad with the comedic work that appears here.) The only caveat I might have for many of today's readers is that some of the references may seem dated if you are not familiar with the source material that Kurtzman was parodying. Since Kurtzman was lampooning the comics and radio shows of the time, there may be a small bit of confusion, but I recall reading most of these before I was aware of their sources and found them humorous just the same. SRP $49.99
Showcase Presents: Sgt. Rock Vol. 1
Reprints stories from G.I. Combat #68 and Our Army At War #81-117, written by Robert Kanigher and Bob Haney with art by Joe Kubert, Jerry Grandenetti, Irv Novick, Russ Heath, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. I've long felt that if the Big Two were to be assigned political affiliations, that Marvel would be Democrat and DC would be Republican...that is, except for their war books. For much of its run, Marvel's Sgt. Fury was a celebration of heroic derring-do, with the focus being on beating the Nazis and very little actual commentary on war, or its cost on the soldiers and innocents alike. DC, on the other hand, had Sgt. Rock with a more gritty, introspective view of what war was all about.Sgt. Rock has never been one of my favorite characters, but DC's version of World War II has recently captured my interest, in that the Sgt. Rock stories had a questioning quality about them. Often asking the "why" of war, or even if war were even necessary, Rock focused on the exploits of the foot soldier, without resorting to the type of heroics that had filled war books of the past (although the first story from G.I. Combat is over the top). Eventually, the series even moved into some decidedly anti-war territory during the height of the cold war and the 60s anti-war movement. Definitely worth of squint, if, for nothing else, to see the politics of DC in a decidedly liberal light. SRP $16.99
Showcase Presents: Supergirl Vol. 1
Reprints stories from Action Comics #252-281, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #40, 44, 46, 51 and 52, Adventure Comics #278, Superboy #80, Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane 314, and Superman #123, 139, 140 and 144, written by Otto Binder, Jerry Siegel, Robert Bernstein and others with art by Al Plastino, Jim Mooney, Curt Swan, Dick Sprang, Kurt Schaffenberger, Wayne Boring and others. I tried to re-read some of these awhile back and found them to be the comic book equivalent of a "chick flick" and no apocryphal stories that Jim Mooney used to pencil Supergirl in the nude (the character, not Mooney) and add clothes in the inking can bring me to pick this one up. Always the darling of the pre-Crisis DC Universe, and a much healthier comic than Wonder Woman, you, on the other hand, might consider giving this one a squint for the younger female readers in and around your home. SRP $16.99
DC was also offering two Showcase volumes this month: Showcase Presents: Suicide Squad Vol. 1 and Showcase Presents: The Secret Society of Super-Villains Vol. 1. Both series are so terrible that 1)I'm surprised that DC considered killing some trees to put these out and 2) I'm not going to waste time listing their contents and 3) DC has mercifully cancelled both these volumes in a recent Showcase reshuffle.
EUREKA PRODUCTIONS
Graphic Classics Vol. 8: Mark Twain
A newly revised printing of this volume, which features an adaptation of "Tom Sawyer Abroad", along with "The Mysterious Stranger", "A Dog's Tale", "The Celebrated Jumping Frog" and others by a variety of artists and writers. Might be worth a squint. SRP $11.95
GEMSTONE
Donald Duck Adventures: The Barks/Rosa Collection Vol. 2
The second collection that pairs a Barks story with a Rosa sequel. This time around, the stories include "Donald Duck's Atom Bomb", "The Duck who Fell to Earth", "Super Snooper" and "Super Snooper Strikes Again!", "Trouble with Dimes" and Money Pit. Well worth seeking out and probably the only way to collect the Rosa stories until Gemstone wises up and produces some trade collections of Rosa's work! SRP $8.99
Uncle Scrooge #372
A Scrooge McDuck 60th Anniversary special that will include the first Uncle Scrooge story, "Christmas on Bear Mountain", Don Rosa's "Treasury of Croesus" and other birthday tributes. SRP $7.99
Walt Disney's Comics & Stories #687
Keep an eye out for this one, as it has a story by Paul Murry and a 1943 Donald story by Jack Hannah that has never been reprinted before! SRP $7.99
Walt Disney Treasures Vol. 2: Uncle Scrooge
Another tie-in with Scrooge's 60th anniversary that will feature stories by Carl Barks, Tony Strobl, Marco Rota, Romano Scarpa, John Lustig, William Van Horn, Don Rosa and Lars Jensen: a who's who of Scrooge writers and artists. If this is anything like the previous volume, it should be a winner and definitely belongs up there on your sagging bookshelf. SRP $16.99, which is only four dollars more than the previous volume, proving, once again, that prices only go up and up in Gemstone land!
There is also another limited leather bound monstrosity due out this month reprinting Tales from the Crypt #1-6, but you should be proud of me that I'm not even going to rag on it this time around...
IDW
The Complete Terry & The Pirates Vol. 2
Reprints another 800 Sunday and daily strips of the greatest adventure strip of all time. I've gotten my copy of the first volume, the reproduction is absolutely drop dead gorgeous and I'm eagerly waiting to read it...and this volume for that matter. Definitely belongs up on the sagging bookshelf. SRP $49.99
IMAGE
Image has put the Captain Victory collection on hold until they can get better copies of some of the pages and has put out a call to collectors to loan them any original pages they may have in their collections. Since I'd already written up this overview, save it until the book comes out.
Captain Victory and The Galactic Rangers
Reprints Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #1-13 and Captain Victory Special #1 by Jack Kirby with inks by Mike Royer and Mike Thibodeaux. In the 80s, Pacific Comics began publishing a line of comics with twist...they were all creator owned. Among the many creators approached to try this new way of doing business, one was Jack Kirby, who was doing his last stint at Marvel at the time. As I understand things, Kirby had a nearly completed graphic novel, which was more of an illustrated storyboard for the screenplay he intended to shop around, and this was divided up and became the first couple of issues of Captain Victory. This is a reprinting of the Pacific Comics series with new coloring (not sure by who) and collected in one hard cover volume. Captain Victory is not up to the greatest work Kirby ever did, but is better then the previous Image release, Silver Star. The story is a bit more coherent, but after the Royer inks in the first two issues, the inking takes a downturn and as Jack's interest in comics continued to wane (and as he found more work in the animation industry), the stories also started to suffer. The most fascinating part of the series is the tie-in to the New Gods that occurs late in the run. Maybe belongs on your bookshelf, but you might consider seeking out the TwoMorrows Graphite Edition first, which reprints the entire graphic novel from the original pencils. SRP $44.99
MARVEL
Marvel is reprinting Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Vol. 7 this month, meaning that it is now possible to get ALL the Lee/Kirby Fantastic Four in the Masterworks editions. Reprinting Fantastic Four #61-71 (which includes the first appearance of Him, who would later become Warlock, along with The Sentry, the Frightful Four and a bunch of other cool stuff) and Annual #5 (which features the Psycho Man, but the solo Silver Surfer story is, apparently, not included). A great investment for your sagging bookshelf, and it now means I have them all (Yipee!). SRP $54.99
Also note that the Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Vol. 1 has been delayed from its September release due to printing problems and may have come out in October (as I'm writing this). All I know is I don't have my copy and I ain't a happy camper!
Daredevil by Frank Miller Omnibus Companion
This rather unwieldy title reprints Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #27-28, Daredevil #219 and #226-233, Daredevil: Man Without Fear #1-5 and Daredevil: Love and War written by Frank Miller, Bill Mantlo, Denny O'Neil with art by Miller, Sienkiewicz, Mazzucchelli, Romita Jr. and John Buscema. Quite a mixed bag in this one and a bit of confusion. The Peter Parker stories are really an afterthought, since Miller didn't write them but pencilled them and was inked, rather badly, by Frank Springer. Love and War was originally published as a 64 page graphic novel with full painted artwork by Sienkeiwicz and is a wonderful portrait of The Kingpin. Man Without Fear was a sort of year one approach and shows a bit a cynicism creeping into Miller's work. And then there is the high point of the book: the 7 issues of Miller and Mazzuchelli along with the single issue done with John Buscema (#219) that was written just after Miller had discovered Jim Thompson. What is interesting is that the original description of this book was twice the size and, most likely, would have included the Elektra mini-series done by Miller and Sienkiewicz (Elektra Assassin?), which would have given the reader a greater sense of completeness. I also question the inclusion of the Peter Parker material, as the stories aren't so much Daredevil as they are Spider-Man and are part of a larger storyline. And, what about the "What If Elektra had Lived?" story that works as a perfect bookend to the stories in the previous Daredevil Omnibus? I dunno, I give this one a big maybe, since it could have been so much better if a bit of thought had been applied to the contents (at least they included the John Buscema story, which was not in the original plan). SRP $49.99
Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 9
Reprints The Amazing Spider-Man #78-87 by Stan Lee John Romita, John Buscema and Jim Mooney. Lots of firsts in this one, including the Prowler, the Black Widow in her Emma Peel duds, and Vanessa Fisk arrives. There's also the usual villains and sub-plots, but, as a Ditko purist, I find that Lee's take on Spider-Man was not what I'm after as a reader. Under Lee, Spider-Man was a long soap opera, where the major crises revolved around Aunt May, Peter's love life (or lack thereof), the all-holy secret identity and whether Peter wanted to continue as Spider-Man. Sales on the book, which were very high, prove that my opinion of the strip doesn't reflect what the readers of the time wanted, but I'm afraid I find the post-Ditko Spidey to be a major bore. There is also the art, which is fine lined when done by John Romita, but John Buscema's Spidey is way too bulky and Jim Mooney's early take on the character is only passable. So, it is another mixed bag, campers (Ah, shucks) and I'll leave it to you if this one deserves a place of honor on your sagging bookshelf. SRP $54.99
MANUSCRIPT PRESS
Flash Gordon: Star Over Atlantis
Reprints 3 complete daily stories from April 1953 to May 1954 by Dan Barry in a large 9 x 12 format. Dan Barry worked the longest of any artist on the Flash Gordon strip; producing dailies from 1951-1990 and Sundays from 1967-1990. Stories abound about Barry...that he would be skiing in Europe when his editors would track him down to remind him of deadlines...how he would produce entire sequences very rapidly in order to increase his leisure time...but, most importantly, how Dan, and his brother Sy (artist on The Phantom), set a new direction for newspaper strips with a slick style that influenced both comic strips, and comic books. Worth a squint and a chance to see lots of Barry's early work. SRP $25.00
PURE IMAGINATION PUBLISHING
The Lou Fine Reader Vol. 2
A second helping of Fine's work, all from Quality comics including The Ray, The Black Condor Doll Man and Uncle Sam. Lou Fine is one of the greatest artists to appear during the Golden Age of comics. Building on Eisner, Fine drew large, heroic characters and also incorporated many techniques, such as forshortening, that made his work move, swoop, punch and react in a way that was instantly recognizable and also highly influential (one artist influenced by Fine...Jack Kirby). The first volume was great and expect the same from this one. Up on the bookshelf, with ye! SRP $25.00
SANCTUM PRODUCTIONS
Doc Savage Double Novel Vol. 12
Lester Dent pens two thrillers, the first finding Doc and company in Kentucky where they must stop a feud orchestrated by "The Squeaking Goblin" and the second where a series of serial killings put them on the trail of "The Evil Gnome". Includes Emery Clarke and Walter Baumhofer covers, interior illustrations by Paul Orban and historical articles by Will Murray. SRP $12.95
The Shadow Double Novel Vol. 13
Two of Walter Gibson's strangest thrillers, as The Shadow must first overcome "Six Men of Evil and then face Monstodamous in "The Devil Monsters". George Rozen covers, Tom Lovell and Paul Orban interiors and commentary by Will Murray fill out the issue, along with an article on the Golden Age Shadow Comics by Anthony Tollin. SRP $12.95
TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING
All-Star Companion Vol. 3
Roy Thomas delves into yet another volume devoted to the JSA and includes more secrets of the JSA, the Seven Soldier of Victory and an illustrated speculation on how other Golden Age teams might have been assembled. Also, a survey of the JLA/JSA team-ups, the 70s JSA revival and information on Young All-Stars and Secret Origins with lots of art and commentary. SRP $26.95
Back Issue #25
A look at the 80s Iron Man by Layton and Michelinie, an interview with Rich Buckler about Deathlok the Demolisher, Grell on Warlord, Byrne on a bunch of titles, Machine Man, Steel, The Indestructible Man and a look at 1979s Legends of the Super-Heroes with lots of art and commentary throughout. SRP $6.95
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