October, 2007
THIS JUST IN...
DC has cancelled some upcoming Showcase titles. Included in the axing are: Showcase Presents: Captain Carrot Vol. 1 and Showcase Presents: The Great Disaster Featuring The Atomic Knights And Hercules Vol. 1. In addition, some titles that were up for later in the fall have also bitten the big one, including: Showcase Presents: The Suicide Squad Vol. 1, Showcase Presents: Secret Society Of Super Villains Vol. 1 and Showcase Presents: Jonah Hex Vol. 2.
DC says that these titles will be resolicited later on, but, if they're smart, they will let them R.I.P. (with the exception of the Great Disaster and Jonah Hex volumes).
AC COMICS
Men of Mystery Daring Adventurers Special
Another 100 page collection featuring Airboy, Avenger, Manhunter, Bulletman, Ibis, Dollman, T-Man and more that originally appeared in Men of Mystery #57 and 62 by Gardner Fox, Otto Binder, Bob Powell, John Spranger and others. Much as I think this is good material, I really wish AC would concentrate on getting their current titles up to date. The reprints in this collection have been reprinted too recently to be of any use and, with the rest of the line just kind of limping along, it might be time to take a good, hard look at AC's publishing strategy. One idea might be to collect the early issues of Men of Mystery in some sort of trade paperback, in order to get people interested in the current books. SRP $21.95
DARK HORSE
Harvey Comics Classics Vol. 2: Richie Rich
Reprinting over 100 Richie Rich stories, with 64 pages in color, this is another collection edited by Leslie Cabarga that would be good to have around to entertain the younger set, or to introduce them to comics. When I was growing up, the Harvey characters were what we read when we had read all the Disney material, but weren't allowed to read super-heroes. They got old pretty quick, since they were very simplistic in comparison to the Carl Barks duck stories, but were an entertaining way to pass away a summer afternoon. Featuring the richest boy in the world, his friend Gloria, his nemesis Reggie and the always dour butler Cadbury, the Richie Rich stories existed in their own fantasy world, where money was, at times, as much a burden as a it was an asset. I've just seen the Casper book in this series and the reproduction is just incredible, especially the color sections. Panels are clean and the use of white paper instead of newsprint makes the images leap off the page.SRP $19.95
DC
Just in passing, you will note that there is a book called Superman: The Bottle City of Kandor due out this month, but since DC won't tell me the contents, I won't tell you about it neither!
The JSA All Stars Archives Vol. 1
This is, apparently, the start of a brand new series which will collect the Golden Age solo stories of Johnny thunder, Hour-Man, Atom, Dr. Mid-Nite, Mr. Terrific, Wildcat and the Red Tornado from Flash Comics, Adventure Comics, All-America Comics and Sensation Comics by the likes of Gardner Fox, Sheldon Mayer, Bill Finger Bernard Baily, Irwin Hasen, and others. Although it isn't real clear form the solicitation, these stories may have appeared between January 1940 and May 1942, which, it true, would mean that this is going to be a fairly short series. Since I don't know what's going to be in this, I would suggest you look before you buy. Also, there is a higher price attached to this volume (probably because of length), which may mean that DC is planning to follow Marvel's lead and raise the price on Golden Age reprints. SRP $59.99
Shazam: Monster Society of Evil Deluxe Edition HC
Collects the entire 4 issue mini-series by Jeff Smith which, I must tell you, was very well done and totally keeping in the spirit of the original Captain Marvel. This edition seems a bit pricey, since there doesn't isn't anything added to the mix, but the story, and art, are both excellent and this series, in whatever format you choose, should be up on your bookshelf. SRP $29.99
Showcase Presents: World’s Finest Comics Vol. 1
Reprints stories from Superman #76 and World’s Finest Comics #71-111, written by Edmond Hamilton, Alvin Schwartz, Bill Finger, Jerry Coleman and others with art by Curt Swan, Dick Sprang, John Fischetti, Stan Kay, Charles Paris, Ray Burnley, Sheldon Moldoff and others. Back in the good old days, Superman and Batman were best of friends, hung out together and, in World's Finest, teamed up each and every month to fight evil-doers. They also played practical jokes on one another, had the occasional falling out and, at their most ludicrous, impersonated each other (I'm no making this up!) Here's a large helping of those stories which, like any other silver age collection, features both good and bad. I'd take a squint at it and consider adding it to your sagging bookshelf. SRP $16.99
Showcase Presents: The Great Disaster Featuring The Atomic Knights and Hercules Vol. 1
(NOTE: DC has announced that this book is cancelled as mentioned above, but keep it in mind for it it ever resolicits) Besides vying for longest title of the month, this new tome also presents a bit of a mystery. DC ain't saying much here, except that the book collects stories from 9 different comics, but gives no issue numbers and also lists a number of creators, with my favorite being "and others". So, a bit of educated guessing leads me to believe that you will most likely find all of the Atomic Knights stories, which appeared in Strange Adventures in the early 60s, since they Knights are not only featured in the title, but John Broome and Murphy Anderson are listed in the credits. Also, Hercules in mentioned in the title, and DC did a series Hercules Unbound that ran for 12 issues in the mid-70s and placed 'ole Herc in the post-WWIII future, where he had some dealings with the Atomic Knights. And, since Walt Simonson is mentioned in the credits, and he pencilled many of the issues (with inks by Wally Wood), there's a good chance you will get all of these too. After that, I really have no idea. Kamandi is mentioned and Kirby is in the credits, but how many issues is a wild guess and the other books mentioned could contain most anything. So, I'd give this one a guarded recommendation, since the Atomic Knights stories are good fun, but you really oughta take a squint at this one before you buy. SRP $16.99
Showcase Presents: Metal Men Vol. 1
Reprints Showcase #37-40, Brave and the Bold #55 and Metal Men #1-16 by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. I've waited a couple of years for this book to make its way from the DC vaults and here it is! In their original incarnation, the Metal Men were a wonderful book that managed to meld science and adventure together without beating the reader over the head with the science aspect; something many DC books tended to do. The "not insane" Dr. Magnus (never forgave DC for messing with him) and his 6 robots battle evil, right wrongs and usually end up having to be re-molded at the end of each adventure...pretty much every time without exception, but this is one of those books where things just come together and work. This is your father's Metal Men (gee, I feel old) and it's a good thing, because comics don't get much better than this. All enjoyable and something that belongs up on your sagging bookshelf. SRP $16.99
Batman Chronicles Vol. 4
Continues the chronological reprinting of Batman, this time featuring stories from Detective Comics #51-56, Batman #6-7 and World's Finest Comics #2-4 by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson. Let's face it, you can't beat the early Batman with a stick and here's even more proof. If you don't have the Archives, you need this! SRP $14.99
Showcase Presents: Teen Titans Vol. 2
Reprints Teen Titans #19-36, Brave and The Bold #83, 94 and World's Finest Comics #205 written by Bob Haney, Steve Skeates and others with art by Nick Cardy, Neal Adams and others. As a part of the great Showcase Presents re-shuffle, this book is set to ship in October, even though you may have ordered it for December. More of the same, as the Teen Titans battle all sorts of folks and try to be hip. Also appearances by The Hawk and The Dove. Take a squint if this is your cup of tea. SRP $16.99
FANTAGRAPHICS
Popeye Vol. 2: Well Blow Me Down
Reprints the strips from 1930-1932 and features the introduction of Wimpy. The early Popeye strip by Segar is one of the heights of the comic continuity strip. Under Segar, Popeye was an adventurer who existed in an original world of Segar's invention. This is not the tepid character of the later cartoons, but a gutsy sailor who often finds he is his own worst enemy. Well worth reading...talk to Mike about availability. The first volume was an excellent collection with great reproduction and this volume should be more of the same. SRP$29.95
Betsy and Me
After having a successful career in comics, of which Plastic Man was a major part, Jack Cole went into drawing gag cartoons and then, in 1958, created the syndicated newspaper strip Betsy and Me. The strip was funny and an instant success, but, with only 2 and a half months of the strip completed, Cole committed suicide. Seen from today, the strip is not as surrealistic as Plastic Man, but walks a fine line that is comic, yet rooted in reality. Cole was one of the true geniuses of comics and was equally adept at doing humorous work and was then able to adapt his "big foot" humor style to straight adventure and super-hero material (he did some outstanding crime comics). Definitely one that belongs up on your sagging bookshelf, especially since Fantagraphics promises an introduction by R. C. Harvey, which will discuss the end of Cole's life. SRP $12.95
Hank Ketcham's The Complete Dennis The Menace 1957-1958 Vol. 4
Reprints the complete single panel strips for 1957 and 1958. SRP $24.95
GEMSTONE
The Disney titles feature the usual stuff this month with nothing that leaps out. The laughable item of the month is the Walt Disney's Christmas Parade #5 which is not even a facsimile reprint of an original, but just 80 pages of random reprints with an SRP of $9.50!
The EC Archives: Vault of Horror Vol. 1
Reprints the first 6 issues of the #2 EC horror book (Tales from the Crypt will always be #1) with art and story by Feldstein, Craig, Wood, Harrison, Kamen, Kurtzman, Ingels and Davis, an introduction by R. L. Stine and some story introductions by the Vault Keeper! It is hard to explain why Tales from the Crypt seems superior to Vault of Horror. The comics were released in the same month, both were edited by Al Feldstein and had the same basic roster of artists. Maybe it was just the the Crypt Keeper was a bit more fun than the Vault Keeper...I dunno. In looking over listings of the stories, it does seem that Tales had a few more A-List artists at the beginning, while Vault used the B-List, such as the pairing of Harry Harrison (the same Harrison who left comics to write science fiction) and Wally Wood, but I guess in the long run, it's just a judgment call.If you don't have it, buy it!! SRP $49.95
IDW
The Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy, Vol. 3
Reprints over 500 strips from January 1935-June 1936. Here's another heaping dose of my second favorite strip of all time, featuring the outstanding storytelling of Chester Gould. These strips have never appeared in book form before and, far as I can tell, have only been reprinted in a severely edited form in the old Dell Feature Book series. If you haven't started looking into the latest crop of newspaper strip reprints, this is probably the best place to start. Gould told compelling stories that featured crime, interesting criminals (I would put Tracy's foes on a par with the villains Batman battled) and the storylines and subplots interweave in a truly inspired fashion.Your sagging bookshelf needs this one! SRP $29.99
LAST GASP
The Original Art of Basil Wolverton
This one will be a large, 200 page look at the odd work of Basil Wolverton: another unsung genius of comics. No real details, except that much of the work has never been published (my guess is they mean reprinted). Wolverton first came to national attention when he entered a contest sponsored by Al Capp for his Li'l Abner strip. Wolverton's drawing was chosen as the winner, but the interest in his comic work never reached the same height. Basically, it is very stylized with very fine line work, yet looks primitive at the same time, but it is a style that worked really well in his humor material and, with a little more control, made his science fiction and horror material work as well. SRP $35.00
MARVEL
Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Vol. 6
Back in print, this one reprints Fantastic Four #51-60 and Annual #4 by Lee, Kirby and Sinnott, and a finer collection you can't imagine. The Silver Surfer, Klaw, Dr. Doom, the original Human Torch and the intro of the Black Panther all appear in this, the next to last great story period for Fantastic Four. What's that Bob? The next to last great story arc? Thought Kirby and Lee stayed on the strip until 102...what are you talking about? Well, it seems that Jack and Stan were at odds over exactly who was creating all these wonderful Marvel stories and, at one point, Lee took credit for everything. This angered Kirby and you will notice, when reading both the FF and Thor chronologically, that at a certain point, the new ideas stop coming and both books start to repeat themselves.SRP $54.99
Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Strange Tales Vol. 1
Reprints Strange Tales #1-10 from the old days of 1951-1952. I'm of mixed feelings about the direction Marvel is taking of late. To read most comic histories, one would probably think the EC was the only publisher of horror comics, but this couldn't be farther from the truth. Most all the comic publishers jumped on any trend that seemed popular, once sales on super-heroes began to slump. What made the horror books or the late 40s and early 50s so different is that they were way over the top in both subject matter and execution. While EC tended for the shock ending, many publishers went for the gross-out ending with body parts and gore all over the place (EC did this, but not often). Eventually, all this led to the forming of the Comics Code and the near collapse of the comic book industry, so these early stories have a great deal of historical significance. Here we have the first 10 issues of one of the earliest Marvel/Atlas titles (its title was changed to Dr. Strange in 1968) and it features a tremendous mix of artists, including John Romita, Carl Burgos, Russ Heath, Bill Everett, and the vastly underrated Joe Maneely, among others. But, and you knew there was quibble coming up, why does this volume get a Masterworks treatment, while the recent overview of Amazing Fantasy came out as an Omnibus? Considering the price break between the two, I would find an Omnibus version of this title to be far preferable, since old horror material is an iffy thing. Might be worth a squint, but I wish it was an Omnibus. SRP $54.99
Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 7
Reprints The Avengers #59-68 and Marvel Super-Heroes #17 written by Roy Thomas and drawn by John Buscema, Gene Colan, Barry Windsor-Smith, Sal Buscema and Howard Purcell. Here's another batch of the Avengers from one of their best periods. John Buscema did some of his best work on the title during this period and with Hawkeye taking a turn a Goliath, Hank Pym becoming Yellowjacket and Ultron the stories are great as well. I've often said that Roy Thomas did his best work on The Avengers and these stories don't prove me wrong. You also get the chance to see some of Barry Windsor-Smith's early work, which makes one wish he had done more with super-heroes. The selection from Marvel Super-Heroes features a solo Black Knight story, which, far as I know, has never been reprinted. You need to add this one to your sagging bookshelf! SRP $54.99
Essential Moon Knight Vol. 2
Reprints Moon Knight #11-30 written by Doug Moench and others and drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz and lots of others. At its height, which includes many of the stories reprinted here, Moon Knight was Marvel's answer to Batman and, in many ways, outdid the Dark Knight. Sienkiewicz, who came from an advertising background, began to emulate the work of Neal Adams and did some marvelous work on the series (before he became the leading proponent of the "anti-art" movement). The character of Moon Knight himself blossomed under Moench and Sienkiewicz and bacame a sort of schizophrenic hero, who fought crime, but had problems keeping his multiple personas in check. Unfortunately, the final stories here are from the end of the run, when Sienkiewicz had left and Moench had also moved on. Still, worth taking a squint at and might be a nice addition to your sagging bookshelf. SRP $16.99
Essential Werewolf By Night Vol. 2
Reprints Werewolf by Night #21-43, Giant-Size Werewolf #2-5 and Marvel Premiere #28 by Moench, Perlin, Mantlo, Redondo, Montano and Robbins. Bad Book! Run away! Terrible comics! Need I say more...? SRP $16.99
OLYMPIAN PUBLISHING
Chamber of Mystery: Voodoo Vol. 1
Chamber of Mystery: Witchcraft Vol. 1
Here are two books from a new publisher that feature reprints from 1950s (pre-code) horror comics. According to the publisher, the stories in each book have been newly photographed and remastered and, if I'm reading things correctly, will use the original comic book color. Outside of the EC line, I find 50s horror comics to be an acquired taste. Some stories are so ridiculous that there aren't words to describe them. In fact, New England Comics (publishers of The Tick) did a series years ago called Tales Too Terrible To Tell that proves me right. Others are only concerned with torture, bondage and S-E-X. There are some, however, that rival the best horror of today...the type that appeal to a more mature reader and have simply wonderful art (early Don Heck and Steve Ditko come to mind). Because they were published by lesser publishers, these books are rarely reprinted and I wish Olympian had given more information about these books, because they might (and I stress might) be the real deal. Unfortunately, the Olympian website is still under construction at the time I'm writing this and with an SRP of $13.99 for 80 pages, I'd want to look at one before I commit, especially since they don't list anything but story titles in their solicitation.
PURE IMAGINATION PUBLISHING
The Al Williamson Reader Vol. 1
According to publisher Greg Theakston, this will be 160 pages of Williamson's work spanning his career, almost none of which has been reprinted before. I find it hard to believe that there is Williamson work out there that has not been reprinted before (especially since the publisher mentions collaborations with Frazetta, Krenkel and Severin), but this might be worth a squint if Williamson is an artistic favorite of yours. Williamson was one of those artists who lavished each page and panel with way more detail than other artists, but the final result often left me cold. His drawings never seemed to convey motion or movement, but were more like the illustrations one would find in a book or pulpmagazine...fields Williamon might have been very comfortable in had he lived a bit earlier in the 20th century. SRP $25.00
SANCTUM PRODUCTIONS
Doc Savage Double Novel Vol. 11
Doc and his crew battle Vo, a faceless fiend in "Cold Death!", then turn around and attempt to head off "The South Pole Terror!" by Lester Dent and Laurence Donovan under the pen name of Kenneth Robeson. Classic cover by Walter Baumhofer interior illustrations by Paul Orban and articles by Will Murray. SRP $12.95
Shadow Double Novel Vol. 12
Two Walter Gibson tales featuring a battle with Hindu thugees in "Serpents of Siva" and then a visit to a magic convention in "The Magigals Mystery," which features a cameo appearance by Walter Gibson! Cover by George Rozen, interiors by Edd Cartier and Paul Orban and articles by Will Murray and Anthony Tollin. SRP $12.95
TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING
Alter Ego #73
A Halloween issue with Dr. Strange on the cover and an interview with Frank Brunner. Also, interviews with Charles Biro, lots of art, Roy Thomas' synopsis for the origin of Man-Thing from 1971 and the usual features from the Fawcett Collectors of America. SRP$6.95
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