Bob's Thoughts
by Bob Gay
2/01/11 - Releases for February
AND, WHILE I'M THINKING OF IT...
This installment is the last Bob's Thoughts column for the foreseeable future. The reasons for this are many. I've been writing recommendation columns for a couple of outlets for over 10 years now (5 of those at Pulp Fiction) and, to be frank, I'm tired. Many of the titles coming out now are in their 4th or 5th round of reprintings and there's only so much one can say about a tile before boredom sets in. It's also taking longer to do this column each month since, for reasons that astound me, most all the publishers have made it more difficult to find cover art for their books that can be downloaded and stuck onto a webpage. I also find that I'm spending waaay too much time trying to find out what happened to "fill in the title here" and then trying to determine when the blasted book is going to come out, since many publishers have not only abandoned deadlines, but have made it more difficult to find out about shipping changes.
As to the future, I'll be doing some more writing about comics (after a short hiatus). I still love comics, but I don't want to be tied in my writing any longer to what's coming out when. First plan is to work up more about the comic strips that I wrote (*gasp!*) around 3 years ago and there are a lot more strips out there now than there were then.
More comments at the end and here's the news...
AC COMICS
Men of Mystery #85
A "Women of Mystery" special that includes the Phantom Lady, Pat Patriot, Miss America, Madame Strange and others. SRP $29.95
DARK HORSE
Tarzan: The Jesse Marsh Years Vol. 8
Reprints Tarzan #39-#43 by Gaylord DuBois and Jesse Marsh. This time around: the Stork Men, New Cathne, the lost Roman legion, a man-eating tree and much, much more! The Dell version of Tarzan continues on and, while not Burroughs, has a wonderful continuity of its own and this series deserves a spot up on your sagging bookshelf! SRP $49.99
Little Lulu Vol. 26: The Feud and Other Stories
Reprinting Little Lulu #130-135 by John Stanley and Irving Tripp in full color. If I have to tell you about John Stanley, you haven't been paying attention to my previous columns. Thou shouldst give this tome a squinteth! SRP $14.99
DC
Showcase Presents: The Justice League of America Vol. 5
Reprints Justice League of America #84-106 by Kanigher, Friedrich, O'Neil, Fox, Wein, Dillin, Giella and Sekowsky. These are some latter day stories, most with art by Kick Dillin and feature a really mixed bag of stories. The usual team-ups with the Justice Society are here and there is even the re-introduction of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, but, by and large, the majority of these tales are rather mundane, especially those that strive to be "hip" or topical in the strained manner that DC was rarely able to pull off. I'd give this one a squint, but that's as far as it goes. SRP $19.99
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
The Green Hornet: Golden Age Re-Mastered #8
The final issue of the Green Hornet reprints by Fran Striker and Bert Whitman Associates. I'll keep my mouth shut and just say it has an SRP of $3.99
HERMES PRESS
Steve Canyon: The Complete Comic Book Series
Here's something original. The volume will reprint all 7 of the Dell Four Color Steve Canyon comics written by Milton Caniff with art by William Overgard and Ray Bailey. Although I've never warmed to Canyon, the chance to see the comic book stories is a welcome change of pace (the newspaper strip has been reprinted to death). These stories, to the best of my knowledge, have never been reprinted before and it is also a treat to see the work of William Overgard, another vastly underrated artist. Worth a squint, although the SRP of $49.99 seems a bit high.
IDW
Popeye: The Great Comic Book Tales of Bud Sagendorf
Bud Sagendorf began his comic career when only a teenager, when he worked as an assistant to Popeye's creator, E. C. Segar. When Segar died in 1938, Sagendorf was brought into the King Features bullpen, where he worked in obscurity until he was given the task of writing and drawing the all-new Popeye comic book in 1946 (and, he later came full circle when he got to take over the Popeye newspaper strip in 1958). This book, like the other Yoe books released by IDW, is short on details and will reprint something, but beyond the promise of the stories being "the best of the best" that's all I know. Give it a squint and make your own decision. SRP $29.99
X-9: Secret Agent Corrigan, Vol. 2
Reprints over 800 strips from 9/1/69-4/8-72 by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson. Don't know much about what is in here, since I've never seen the strips presented here, but if the first volume is any indication, you'll see more action and adventure, particularly as this was some of Williamson's best strip work. Worth a squint. Vol.$49.99
MANUSCRIPT PRESS
Comics Revue Presents February 2011
Continuing this month are The Phantom in "Return of the Sky Band," Flash Gordon in "Journey Across Mongo", Mandrake the Magician in "The World of Z and a new Tarzan story, "Tarzan and the Roman Legion." Also, Little Orphan Annie, Steve Canyon, Modesty Blaise, other assorted strips and 8 pages of color! SRP $19.95
MARVEL
Acts of Vengeance Omnibus
In the 90s, and with the sales figures of both Secret Wars series as an incentive, Marvel tried another sweeping crossover that involved multiple heroes, multiple villains and, most importantly, multiple titles. Here we have the result, which is pretty poor and, with a whole ton of quality A-list material in their vaults (like a second Uncanny X-Men Omnibus), it often puzzles me when Marvel comes up with a clunker like this. In fact, the only interesting thing I can think to say about this is that unlike today, there was never an Acts of Vengeance comic title to go along with the crossover. Save your money for something good! SRP $99.99
NOTE: The following shipped at the end of January...The Mighty Thor Vol. 1 Omnibus
Reprints Journey Into Mystery #83-120 and Annual #1 by Lee, Leiber, Bernstein, Kirby, Sinnott, Heck and Hartley. Remember what I said about saving your money for something good in the previous item...? Well, here it is! The Kirby/Lee Thor series is one of the highlights of the early days of Marvel. The key to it all was the blending of mythology and science fiction that Kirby was able to pull off without it seeming forced: Asgard is nearly infinite in size, yet the word "galaxy" crops up in referring to parts of the realm; machines exist alongside horses and armor, etc. Add to this Thor's love of the mortal woman Jane Foster, the themes of rebellion between father and son, and the oddity of a god walking the streets of New York (yet being an approachable figure at the same time) and you have the winning combination that made the Thor series so popular. Yes, some of the early villains are rather lame (I mean, The Cobra, for corn's sake?), but overall, this is a great series with multiple themes and ideas jumping out at the drop of a hat. According to Marvel, the "Tales of Asgard" backup stories will also be included, so you'll see Kirby and Lee play fast and loose with Norse mythology. I'd jump in line to get his one if I didn't already have all these stories in Masterworks and, if that ain't enough of a recommendation, I don't know what else to say. Definitely belongs up on your sagging bookshelf if you don't have these stories in another form. SRP $99.99
Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Mystic Comics Vol. 1
Reprints Mystic Comics #1-4 by a whole bunch of people. Emboldened by the success of Marvel Mystery Comics, Martin Goodman immediately launched 2 additional titles: Daring Comics and Mystic Comics. The characters in Mystic were, if it's possible, even more obscure than those found in Daring or Marvel Mystery. The first issue features the same type of mix found in the other two titles -- detectives, westerns, jungle action, magic, science fiction and, of course, super-heroes. Later issues would produce a couple of heroes who made it into modern times, but I'm venturing a guess that none of the stories from Mystic have seen the light of day since they were printed (at least in authorized reprints). Some familiar creator names appear here and there, like Jack Binder, but most of the artwork and story is done by unknown hands. Klaus Nordling appears in #4 with a super-hero story and Alex Schomburg does all the covers. Might be worth a squint if early Golden Age is to your liking, but it is probably best read in small doses (I recently tried to read the entire Marvel Mystery Omnibus over the course of a couple of weeks and really found it slow going at the end...LOL). Worth a squint. SRP $59.99
Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner Vol. 4
Reprints The Sub-Mariner #14-25 by Roy Thomas, Marie Severin and others. The Sub-Mariner has always been a problematic character, since he's an anti-hero, yet with all the other uber-types running about Marvel, he couldn't really be the even semi-villainous without being kept in check really rapidly. These stories were some of the weakest of the series and are rather boring. Be sure to check out the Johnny Craig inks on #19-23 and a guest appearance by the Marvel Bullpen in #19 if you give the volume a squint. Personally, I'd pass on this one. SRP $54.99
NOTE: This one has been delayed until March, but I wanted a chance to recommend it....Captain America by Jack Kirby Omnibus
Reprints Captain America #193-214, Captain America Annual #3-4 and Captain America's Bicentennial Battles all written and drawn by Jack Kirby with assorted inkers. When Kirby returned to Marvel in the mid-70s, he only took on one established character: Captain America. It was quite a fitting choice, since Kirby had co-created Cap back in the 40s and revived the him in the 60s. Unfortunately, its not really clear as to whether Marvel really wanted Kirby during the 70s, or whether they just hired him for his name value. Here we have what might be considered the last hurrah of Jack Kirby, since his Captain America work of this period gives us some insight into how Kirby and Marvel were at odds during his last stint doing mainline super-heroes. Most of Jack's work on Captain America (and his other titles) was routinely redrawn at the Marvel offices and there are also many instances of his dialogue and captions being rewritten as well. It is also not known whether Jack was given the option of ditching the Falcon (who had always been a poor fit for the series) and the character remained through all of Jack's run. What is most interesting about this late work, however, is that Jack seemed to be saying farewell to the comic world and we find touches of science fiction, romance, even monsters, much of it reminiscent of the type of comic tales Kirby, with Simon, would have created in the 40s and 50s. The stories here read much better than one would expect after all the bad press that has come out over the years and Cap is unashamedly patriotic as portrayed by Kirby...and as heroic as they come. The artwork is dynamic: only faltering when poor inking or Marvel's attempts to "improve" the work get in the way (this is probably most evident in Captain America's Bicentennial Battles where many inkers get their hands on Kirby's pencils with mixed results). My only question here is how the stories from Bicentennial Battles will reproduce, since they were done in a much larger format than the standard comic stories. All in all, this is a book you should definitely give a good long squint. I think it belongs up on your sagging bookshelf, but the late-Kirby work is not to everyone's tastes. SRP $74.99
Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 2
Reprints Journey Into Mystery #101-110 by Kirby, Lee and (if I remember correctly) Colletta on the inks. Here is another helping of the wonderful mix that Kirby and Lee brought to Thor. Science fiction, meets mythology and its all wrapped up in the Marvel continuity of the time. You'll meet some of the lame villains Thor battled in the early days (The Cobra, Zarrko and Mr. Hyde) and also the Enchantress, the Executioner, Magneto and the Avengers. As an added bonus, the Tales of Asgard backup stories are included, so you can enjoy the twist that Kirby and Lee put on Norse legends. Definitely worth adding to your sagging bookshelf if you don't have the stories in another form. SRP $24.99
PURE IMAGINATION
The Reed Crandall Reader
The first ever collection of Crandall's work from the 40s and the 50s! Horror, romance, and superhero stories from various sources. Theakston's books always feature excellent reproduction, so I'd suggest you give this one a good, long squint!! SRP $25.00
TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING
Modern Masters Vol. 25: Jeff Smith
An overview of the life and work of the creator of Bone. A career spanning interview along with tons of rare and unseen art, including a huge gallery of ucommissioned pieces. As an added treat, 8 pages of full-color work. Worth a squint. SRP $15.95
The Jack Kirby Collector #56
"Unfinished Sagas" is the theme for this issue and covers concepts Jack never got to complete or that never got off the ground. Included is lots of unseen art and texts, including a complete story from Soul Love, a rarely seen 1946 Boy Explorers story and the covers are a Mike Royer inked "Galaxy Green" presentation piece and the unseen cover from Soul Love. Plus, lots of other stuff too numerous to list! SRP $10.95
BEFORE I FORGET...
So, that wraps up another Bob's Thoughts. Glad you could be here for this (for now) final look at what's out there. I'd like to take a moment to thank Mike (Pulp Fiction's Head Honcho) for his giving me a space to blather away in and to also thank all of you for taking the time to read those same blatherings. Hope I've helped you find some selections for your sagging bookshelf and I'll see you at Pulp Fiction!
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