8/31/09 - Releases for September
IN THE NEWS
We mentioned last month that Dark Horse was planning on a new line of Gold Key character comics and a few more details have surfaced. Seems that Jim Shooter will be the head writer for the new titles, which are scheduled to feature Doctor Solar, Turok, Mighty Samson and Magnus, Robot Fighter. Creative folk, other than Shooter, have not yet been named and Dark Horse has hinted that there may be other characters added to the new line at a later date. Further details will be forthcoming...
SHIPPING UPDATES
Far as I can tell (and I'm sure this will change as soon as I post this) everything seems to be on schedule, at least as far as the current rubberized schedule goes. It's kind of interesting that the two biggest seasons for comics, summer and Christmas, have now become kind of quiet in terms of comics and that everything shifts around the time of the San Diego Comics Convention (as witnessed by the changes listed last month.). As always, more details as they become available...
AC COMICS
Men of Mystery #80
In what I'm afraid will spell the end of one of the best reprint titles on the market, AC changes the format of Men of Mystery this month and the title will now be squarebound and run around 200 pages. What's not to like about that? Well, the price goes up to $29.95 (no, I"m not kidding)! While I'm sure this change is born out of the necessity to meet Diamond's new trade terms, I don't forsee any new readers coming on board just to give the title a tryout, nor will many readers except the most die-hard stay with the title with a $20 increase in price (I had trouble paying out the $9.95). All that being said, this new format issue will feature over 100 pages of Bulletman indexes and the rest will be comics featuring Bulletman, Black Terror, Airboy, Crimebuster and others. SRP $29.95
BOOM STUDIOS
As everyone has probably heard by now, Boom Studios is the new home of Disney Comics in the US. The first offerings from the new publisher will be Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #699 and Mickey Mouse and Friends #296. Both of these first issues will feature work by Italian Disney artists and will have an SRP of $2.99. Comics and Stories will feature all the superheroes of the Disney comics universe in an epic clash against all the villains and Mickey will feature a fantasy adventure featuring "Wizards of Mickey." Hopefully, later stories will be a bit more in keeping with standard duck and mouse fare and Boom! has also made mention that their license includes the rights to reprint classic material...something that is in the planning stages even as you read and I write!
DARK HORSE
Joe Kubert lends his pencilling talents to a stand-alone story in Conan The Cimmerian #14 this month. Might be worth a squint. SRP $2.99
Little Lulu: The Bawlplayers and Other Stories
It's been awhile since Dark Horse had Little Lulu on their schedule and this latest entry is welcome indeed. I've long been a fan of the marvelous work that John Stanley and Irving Tripp did on this strip: creating a world of children that appeals to adults of both sexes. This time around, the book will be reprinting Marge's Little Lulu #94-99 and, as added inducement, the series will now be in COLOR. Worth a squint at the bargain SRP of $14.95
Tarzan Archives: the Jesse Marsh Years Vol. 3
Another helping of the Ape-Man with art by the vastly under-rated Jesse Marsh. This time around, Tarzan #11-16 will be reprinted, although informed sources suggest that any non-Marsh material won't be included. Worth a squint. SRP $49.95
Will Eisner's The Spirit: The New Adventures Archives
This volume from Dark Horse, although they won't tell you in either Previews or on their website, will reprint all 8 issues (if my information is correct) of The Spirit: The New Adventures title that Kitchen Sink produced in the late 90s before they folded. The series was quite a mixed bag, featuring many well-known creators (like Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, Neil Gaiman and Paul Chadwick) and, as with any series that re-works an established character, there are good and bad stories here (I do have quibbles with the art in some cases), although the majority are fairly dead-on in their portrayal of Eisner's Spirit (not to be confused with DC's Spirit or [*gag*] Frank Miller's). The editor of the original series was Denis Kitchen and, under his guidance, these Spirit stories are indeed "new", but don't lose the essence of what made the Eisner version of the character work. If you are a collector of the DC Archives of The Spirit, this edition has been designed to tie-in with the DC series and is even numbered #27. What is not known is if any of the material that was prepared for issue #9 will be included. At least 2 stories had been completed before Kitchen went belly up and, since Denis Kitchen is the editor of this book, one would hope that these stories might surface. Worth a squint and possible inclusion to your sagging bookshelf. SRP $49.95
Eerie Archives Vol. 2
Reprints Eerie #6-10 by Goodwin, Colan, Ditko, Morrow, Adams, the usual EC gang and covers by Frazetta. More horror offerings from Warren and some interesting stories in this volume, particularly the Ditko and Colan art jobs. Ditko had just left Marvel at this time and his work for Warren is totally top drawer and he uses a fine dynamic style that utilizes a wash technique that makes the black and white art shine. In a similar vein, Colan's work for Warren was also quite different from his DC, and later Marvel work. Here, Colan uses wash in the same way as Ditko, but also uses an impressionistic art style that he would use later in his Tomb of Dracula work. The end result is fantastic and proves that Colan was a superior artist who should have been given the opportunity to do something beyond romance or super-heroes. All in all, a good package that deserves a long squint. SRP $49.95
Turok, Son of Stone Archives Vol. 3
Reprints Turok, Son of Stone #13-18 by Matthew H. Murphy and Alberto Giolitti. More adventures in a land that time forgot (the real land that time forgot was tied up and in use by another company) as Turok and Andar save cavemen, travel beneath the sea and constantly dodge honkers by the ton. SRP $49.95
DC
DC Comics Classics Library: Batman-A Death in the Family
Proving that no sequence is too mundane to appear in hardcover, DC is resurrecting this mess for a new audience and will feature the stories from Batman #426-429, 440-442 and The New Titans #60-61. Written by Starlin and Wolfman with art by Perez, Aparo, Grummett, DeCarlo and McLeod, you will find the rather boring tale of the death of Jason Todd just as it originally appeared. Back in the 80s, DC decided to tap into the fan base in a new way and set up a storyline in which the new Robin, Jason Todd, would either live or die depending on the votes received via telephone on a special DC hotline. According to DC, the fans voted for Jason to take a dirt nap and that's how the story played out, but other sources have suggested that DC had planned for Jason's demise all along and just wanted to rake in the publicity around their stunt. Whichever version you want to believe is up to you, but the tale is really forced. It wasn't good then and is no better now, so save your money and find something else to read. SRP $39.99
After the J. Michael Straczynski reboot of last month, two of the Red Circle characters get ongoing series when The Shield and The Web both return to comic racks this month. Don't have much faith in revivals of this type, so I'll leave it to you to decide on whether to even give these a squint. SRP $3.99
The Flash Chronicles Vol. 1
Reprints the Flash stories from Showcase #4, 8, 13 and 14, and The Flash #105 and 106 by Kanigher, Broome, Infantino, Kubert and others. Apparently this chronological reprinting format has caught on and this series will present the Silver Age Flash stories in chronological order, just like the Superman, Batman and Green Lantern volumes. Worth a squint, mainly because it's in color. SRP $14.99
Showcase Presents: Warlord Vol. 1
Reprints 1st Issue Special #8 and Warlord #1-28 by Mike Grell, Joe Rubinstein and Vince Colletta. Mike Grell came out of (seemingly) nowhere and created a really well done series that combined a civilization at the center of the Earth, barbaric types, sorcery, science and dinosaurs. Some great stuff in these early issues and the only drawback is that some idiot at DC assigned Colletta to savage (er, ink) Grell's pencils starting with the sixteenth issues of the series. Worth a good, long squint and inclusion on your sagging bookshelf. SRP $17.99
DRAWN & QUARTERLY
Masterpiece Comics
In what I consider to be one of the strangest releases of the year, Masterpiece Comics will arrive this month as an 80 page hardcover, all of it planned, adapted and drawn by R. Sikoryak. Although a complete list of contents seems to be non-existent, this collection is a series of parodies, of varying length, that retell classic pieces of literature using familiar comic characters. Hence, you will find Candide starring Ziggy in Candiggy, Dostoyevsky Comics starring a familiar bat character in Crime and Punishment and, my favorite, a sort of what if EC had done an adaption of Wuthering Heights in a comic that could only be called The Crypt of Bronte. Needless to say, some of the parodies are a bit obscure, but Sikoryak has the art styles down cold for the various characters. This won't be everyone's cup of tea, but as a sort of graduate version of What If, Masterpiece Comics deserves a good squint. SRP $19.95
FANTAGRAPHICS
Strange Suspense: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 1
This is the first of a (we hope!) series edited by Blake Bell that will attempt to cover all of Ditko's work that isn't currently tied up in copyright somewhere else. If the solicitation is correct, every story from the first two years of Ditko's career (1953-54) will be reprinted in full color and, if everything works out correctly, will include material done for the pre-code titles The Thing and This Magazine is Haunted...material long sought after by collectors. Hope it comes together and I'd recommend that you give this one a good long squint and make a space for it on your sagging bookshelf. SRP $39.99
HERMES PRESS
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Newspaper Sundays Vol. 1 (1930-1935)
If early science fiction is your bag, then you need look no farther. Hermes is reprinting the first 5 years of the Buck Rogers strip in full color in this first volume and the stories are not only fun, they have a completely different continuity from the dailies, so you will get complete stories for your buck(s). Art is quite quirky during this period and Rick Yager and Russell Keaton both gave the strip a cartoony flavor that complimented the stories by Philip Nowlan. Worth a squint as Rogers was more action oriented than Flash Gordon, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea. SRP $60.00
The Phantom: The Complete Dailies Vol. 1 1936-1938
While the Phantom has worldwide popularity, he only has a very small following in the US and there has never been a decent reprinting of the strip that has run for over 70 years. Needless to say, many, myself included would consider this to be a holy grail of sorts, as it will give you 2 years worth of the adventures of The Ghost Who Walks and the series is slated to continue through the last adventures from 1994 (Phantom comic book adventures are still newly produced in Europe and Asia with a very small number of adventures being produced in the US by Moonstone). For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, the Phantom is one of the prototypical characters of Western fiction. He is the 21st of his line, following in the footsteps of his ancestors, who have maintained the persona of The Phantom as a force for good since the 1500s. The adventures span the world, although most take place in the fictional area of the world known as Bengalla, which over the years was assumed to be vaguely located in Asia or India (in the 60s The Phantom was moved to Africa). Having no super powers, The Phantom is assisted in his fight for good by his pet wolf, Devil, his horse, Hero and a band of loyal natives who protect his home, family and the secret that The Phantom is just a man and not immortal. Although the stories here have seen print before (although the more I research it, it seems that the first story has never been reprinted except in Australia), there has never been a complete reprinting of the series done in book form and for fans of the adventure strip this is indeed a cause for rejoicing. Give this one a good long squint and prepare to enter a world of jungle intrigue filled with poachers, pirates and lost civilizations...all done with a twist that makes the work of Lee Falk a classic. Well worth a good, long squint and it really deserves a spot on your sagging bookshelf. SRP $39.99
IDW
Rip Kirby Vol. 1
Another entry into IDW's Library of American Comics, this first volume in the Rip Kirby series will reprint the daily strips from the very first (March 4, 1946) through sometime in 1947 (details are a bit vague). Subsequent volumes will reprint all the Raymond material up through 1956, when he died in an auto accident (which may have been suicide). Rip Kirby was created by Raymond on his return from military service during WWII and features a detective who uses his wits, fists and scientific methods to solve crimes. The art is an interesting combination of the lush style he used on Flash Gordon combined with a more active style the he used on Secret Agent X-9. Well worth a squint and possible addition to your sagging bookshelf. SRP $49.99
In an interesting turn of events, IDW has struck a deal with Archie Comics to publish a series of hardback and trade paperbacks of significant stories from the last 70 years of Riverdale hijinks. As a part of the deal, IDW will also reprint Archie newspaper strip sequences in chronological order for the first time. So far, no mention has been made of the super-hero material produced for MLJ, the earlier incarnation of Archie, or of the 50s and 60 material done under the Archie banner. Details as they come along...
Torpedo Vol. 1
IDW is also adding a series of hardcover reprints featuring the hard-boiled detective created by Enrique Sánchez Abulí and Alex Toth in 1981. Torpedo is a gangster saga set in the US of the 1930s. Toth found himself at odds with Abuli after the first few stories and the art for the remainder of the series was done by Spanish artist Jordi Bernet, who added a really great mood to the stories and the series continued into the 90s. As a gangster saga, Torpedo has many of the noir elements that are the basis of good crime comics and the star of the book is a hit man. For some, however, the very bleak tone Abuli's writing will not be of interest and, it's this negative view of life that led Toth to leave the series way back when. In any event, lots of mood, excellent art and worth a squint. SRP $24.99
KNOCKABOUT COMICS
Hot on the heels of the Freak Brothers Omnibus comes another Gilbert Shelton collection entitled, Fat Freddy's Cat Omnibus. For those who remember the Freak Brothers (or can't due to the 60s being a blur) Fat Freddy's Cat was a parody, of sorts, of Garfield and spent his time battling intelligent cockroaches, tormenting Fat Freddy, waiting to be fed and also traveling the world in a very surreal set of adventures. Lots of fun stories that include drug and counter culture references and every one of them is in this 368 page softcover. Well worth a squint. SRP $29.99
ANDREWS MCMEEL PUBLISHING
Lio's Astonishing Tales: From the Haunted Crypt of Unknown Horrors
With the dearth of comic strips that just focus on stories and not politics, I've long found Mark Tatuli's Lio to be a wonderful breath of fresh air on my local comic page. Lio is the story of a kid with a very macabre imagination (even farther afield than Calvin) who exists in his own fantasy world where his adventures cover equal parts science fiction and horror. Each strip is quite humorous and that Lio's long-suffering father is often on the receiving end of Lio's excess simply adds to the fun. What makes the strip truly remarkable, however, is that the stories are told entirely in pantomime. This collection is a compendium of the first two books, but I felt the title made it a "Must Squint" item. SRP $16.99
MANUSCRIPT PRESS
Comics Revue Presents October 2009
Although I'm not sure about the title, Comics Revue is apparently another victim of Diamond's new trade terms (AC, listed above is another) and, after skipping an issue last month is back with a new format. Starting with this issue, Comics Revue will feature twice as many pages as before, better paper stock , and will also include 8 pages of full-color comic strips per issue. Besides a nifty Mark Schultz cover, this issue will also include the first mandrake the Magician story, which has never before been reprinted in English. Worth a squint, but all this wonderment has also resulted in a higher SRP of $16.00.
MARVEL
On the Masterworks reprint front, this month will see Marvel Masterworks: the Fantastic Four Vol. 2 which will contain The Fantastic Four #11-20 and Annual #1 by Lee and Kirby (with assorted inkers) and this is definitely one that belongs up on your sagging bookshelf, since it has the Sub-Mariner, Dr. Doom, the Molecule Man, Impossible Man and a little tiny battle between the Thing and the Hulk. Great fun for the bargain of SRP of $24.99
Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 2
Reprints The Avengers #11-20 by Lee, Heck, Kirby and Ayers. The concept of a super-hero team started back in the early days at DC with the Justice Society. From there other teams formed and disbanded until the JLA made there first appearance during the Silver Age. Not wanting to be outdone, Marvel added their own super-team: The Avengers. The Avengers were a wonderful twist on the super-team concept when they appeared in the early 60s, as they were a scrappy, argumentative gathering of heroes, while the JLA was a staid collective who had regular meetings and sat obediently around a table while their chairperson spoke (personally, I've always found the Marvel characters to be on the anarchic side). Here we have another chunk of the early days and find the Avengers battling Kang, the Mole Man, the Mandarin and others while they squabble among themselves. It's great fun and worth reading-especially at the new lower price for the trade paperbacks. I read a couple of these stories the other day and they still hold up. Worth a squint and inclusion on your sagging bookshelf, if you don't have the stories in some other form. SRP $24.99
70th Anniversary titles for this month include Daring Mystery Comics #1 70th Anniversary Special (featuring the Phantom Reporter by David Liss and Jason Armstong alongside a classic reprint) and the Marvel Mystery Handbook: 70th anniversary Special which is written by a whole bunch of people and will try to give you an overview of the early characters who populated the early Timely (Marvel) universe. Hope they don't update the characters while they're at it...
Haunt of Horror
The long-shot of the month is this trade paperback collection of two different series done by Richard Corben. Haunt of Horror: Edgar Allan Poe #1-3 and Haunt of Horror: Lovecraft #1-3 are both reprinted here and feature adaptions by Corben on both the stories and art. The art is okay Corben, although not up to his best, but what I found strange about the series is that the stories selected for adaption were not the familiar stories one associates with either Lovecraft or Poe. As a result, the series was not at the top of my list when it came out and I'll kind of leave it to you as to whether Corben's art outweighs the odd choice of source material. At least worth a squint. SRP $29.99
Essential Sub-Mariner Vol. 1
Reprints Daredevil #7, Tales to Astonish #70-101, Tales of Suspense #80, Iron Man & Sub Mariner #1 and Sub-Mariner #1 by a whole bunch of people. What you have here is all the early Sub-Mariner appearances in chronological order after his revival in the pages of Fantastic Four. I've long been of the opinion that no one really understood how to make the Sub-Mariner work outside of his creator, Bill Everett (although Jack Kirby came in a real close second). As a result, I've never enjoyed Namor's adventures, since Namor, in the hands of this diverse set of creators, has no real purpose. He hates the surface world, he mopes, he longs for his lost love, but never really accomplishes anything for all his hatred, moping and longings. The art presented here is very good, especially the work of Colan, Wood and Buscema, but under the wonderful drawings there is no involving story. I liked the impetuous Namor of the Golden Age and miss, in these stories, the type of wild character who kidnapped Sue Storm intent on making her his queen. Marvel apparently felt that Namor had to grow up and, in changing his basic motivations, lost the essence of what made the character work. Give it a squint, enjoy the art and then move on. SRP $19.99
Also in September, you will find an item that might get overlooked, that being Hercules: Prince of Power. Years ago, Hercules became a popular character in both Thor and The Avengers, and Bob Layton took the fun up a notch when he wrote, pencilled and inked two 4-issue mini-series, Hercules: Prince of Power (1982) and Hercules: Prince of Power (1984). Both these series are collected here in a handy to store single volume featuring both fun and adventure. Definitely worth a squint, since Layton injected lots of humor into both minis. SRP $29.99
Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Black Knight/Yellow Claw Vol. 1
Once again, Marvel delves into the vaults to present another collection from the 1950s. This one will reprint The Black Knight 1-5 and Yellow Claw #1-4 (all the issues for each title) and the art and writing credits are quite interesting. Some research shows that Al Feldstein wrote the entire first issue of Yellow Claw and that Jack Kirby is credited with the writing on issues 2-4. Although it has been assumed for years that Stan Lee wrote all the Black Knight stories, today the writer is considered to be unknown. The big draw for the volume, however (the Kirby art non withstanding), is the fine comic art of Joe Maneely. Maneely, although little remembered today, was one of the mainstays, along with Everett, of Atlas (Marvel) in the 50s. He was a fast artist who was equally adept at all genres: from westerns to period pieces to science fiction. He also had a great, dynamic drawing style that (again, along with Everett) set the look of Marvel Comics in the 50s-artwork that drew on many different sources, including some of the stylings found at EC. The Black Knight stories are some of his best work and combine action with a sense of period that has rarely been equaled (other hands on the series are Fred Kida, Syd Shores and John Romita). The Kirby stories in Yellow Claw also deserve a mention, as they are from the 50s period when Jack was not only writing his own material, but was pencilling and inking the stories as well, with an assist from his wife, Roz. They are all well done and well worth the perusal.
All in all, this is a great collection that deserves a spot up on your sagging bookshelf. The stories are not only enjoyable, but this is also a great chance to sample Joe Maneely's art from near the end of his too short career. (Maneely died in 1958 when he fell from a moving train). Many are of the opinion (myself included) that Maneely would have been a major part of the Marvel re-tooling in the 60s and would have been one of the top artists of the Silver Age had he not died in 1958 when he fell from a moving train. Definitely worth a squint and a spot up on your sagging bookshelf! SRP $59.99
Golden Age Marvel Comics Omnibus Vol. 1
Reprints Marvel Comics #1 and Marvel Mystery Comics #2-12 by Compton, Gill, Burgos, Everett, Gustavson and others. Here is a big, thick book that will give you a heaping dose of early Marvel material in an oversized format (that is, if Marvel follows through with the larger format for the Omnibus editions...). You get the origins, and early adventures of The Human Torch and Namor here, along with their ongoing battles with art by Burgos and Everett. Not only that, you also get lots of other heroes like Ka-Zar, the Angel, Electro in pure Golden Age action (and, this is all pre-War material as well). I can't think of any book to come out in the last year or so that has attracted my attention this much, since this is very early material and, if the page Marvel reproduced in the catalog, the art restoration and coloring is top notch. Well worth a good long squint and inclusion on your sagging bookshelf, even with the high SRP of $125.00!
TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING
Back Issue #36
Monsters are the theme of this issue and Frankenstein, via Berni Wrightson and Marvel's Monster of Frankenstein are explored along with a Frankenstein in comics timeline. There's also a history of Vampirella, an overview of Morbius the Living Vampire and bunches of other monster type characters articles. SRP $6.95
W. W. NORTON
The Book of Genesis: Illustrated by Robert Crumb
I think the title says it all on this one. Crumb has adapted the entire first book of The Bible in a quasi-realistic style that takes no theological or scholarly interpretation, but attempts to tell the story found in Genesis from the text alone. This is the first collected edition of the entire epic, which was originally serialized in The New Yorker. At least worth a squint, as Crumb is a tremendous artist, who has grown way beyond his early years working in Undergrounds (and he wasn't a slouch back then, either!). SRP $ 24.95
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