COLLECTIVE THOUGHTS: FOR DECEMBER ’13 BOOKS

Jedi Master KC Carlson

Jedi Master KC Carlson


by KC Carlson

THIS MONTH IN CLASSIC COMIC BOOK COLLECTIONS

Batman '66: The TV Stories

Batman ’66: The TV Stories


Batman ‘66: The TV Stories (DC Comics): This is actually pretty cool. DC is collecting several Batman stories that helped to inspire or were adapted for the 1966 camp-fest Batman television show under a new cover by Amanda Conner. This includes stories featuring The Joker, The Penguin, The Riddler, Mr. Freeze (actually Mr. Zero), and the first appearance of Batgirl. The stories first appeared between 1948 and 1966. Some are classics that have been frequently reprinted, but this is the first time they’ve all been collected together. Includes stories from Batman #53, 73, 121, 140, 169, and 171, and Detective Comics #230, 346, and 359. Original creators include Bill Finger, Gardner Fox, John Broome, Bob Kane/Sheldon Moldoff, Dick Sprang, Carmine Infantino, and others. 160-page color softcover. Available in January.

The Chronicles of King Conan Volume 7

The Chronicles of King Conan Volume 7


The Chronicles of King Conan Volume 7 (Dark Horse): Featuring “Day of Wrath” and other stories, which Dark Horse neglects to mention in their solicitation, or where the stories were first published. Features work by Don Kraar, Mike Docherty, Judith Hunt, Geof Isherwood, Vince Colletta, and others, including a cover by Michael Kaluta. 208-page color softcover. Available in February.

Creepy Archives Volume 18

Creepy Archives Volume 18


Creepy Archives Volume 18 (Dark Horse): Collecting issues #84 through #88 of Warren Publishing’s infamous horror anthology! This era of Creepy finds the original magazines organized around themes such as doomed sports scenarios, classic monsters, Christmas time atrocities, and the entrancing planet Mars! Also features amazing work by Al Williamson, Carmine Infantino, Dick Giordano, Bernie Wrightson, Richard Corben, John Severin, Ernie Chan, Bruce Jones, Steve Englehart, and others — as well as all original fan pages and letter columns. 288-page color hardcover. Available in February.

The Demon: From the Darkness

The Demon: From the Darkness


The Demon: From the Darkness (DC Comics): Fans will be happy that DC is finally reprinting Matt Wagner’s The Demon miniseries, plus an additional issue by Wagner (#22) of the regular series. This 1986 revamp from the creator of Mage and Grendel wasn’t really followed up on in the DCU, so it’s now a supernatural curiosity. 128-page color softcover. Available in January.

Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Volume 7

Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Volume 7


Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Volume 7 (Marvel): In this volume, Cap enters one of his great periods as Steve Englehart begins writing the series and immediately reveals the secrets behind the 1950s versions of Cap and Bucky. (Didn’t they “die” in WWII?) Beyond that, this volume is all-action as Cap and the Falcon take on Batroc the Leaper, The Stranger, The Scorpion, and Mr. Hyde — but that’s just the prelude to a classic face-off with S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Nick Fury! Featuring peak Sal Buscema artwork on this classic Cap run. Additional contributions from Gerry Conway, Steve Gerber, and John Romita (Sr.). Collects Captain America (1968) #149-159. 248-page color hardcover. Available in March.

Sucker Bait and Other Stories

Sucker Bait and Other Stories


Sucker Bait and Other Stories (Fantagraphics): Collecting 25 classic “Ghastly” Graham Ingels EC Comics stories. You can tell by his nickname that Ingels specialized in the bread and butter (and blood and organs) horror stories that were the staple of classic EC Comics from the early 1950s. Here’s some of the very best from the pages of Tales From the Crypt, Shock Suspen-Stories, Vault of Horror, and examples of Ingels’ signature “Old Witch” character from Haunt of Fear. Plus the usual historical and biographical material. 208-page B&W hardcover. Recommended by psychiatrists who manipulate their data and Senators seeking reelection while trying to save the youth of America. Available in February.


Superman: The Man of Steel Volume 8 (DC Comics): DC hasn’t done one of these in a while, collecting all the Superman books from the John Byrne era. Includes Action Comics #598-600, Superman #16-18, and Adventures of Superman #439-440. Guest stars include Wonder Woman, Man-Bat, and the introduction of Checkmate. Other creators include Roger Stern, Jerry Ordway, George Pérez, Mike Mignola, Ty Templeton, and Paul Kupperberg. 240-page color softcover. Available in January.

The First Kingdom Volume 3

The First Kingdom Volume 3


The First Kingdom Volume 3 (Titan): Third in the series (of six) reprinting the groundbreaking independent epic series by Jack Katz. Lots of nekkid people in very detailed fantasy settings. Mature Themes. 208-page black-and-white hardcover.

PS ARTBOOKS

Harvey Thrillers: Race for the Moon and Man in Black

Harvey Thrillers: Race for the Moon and Man in Black


Harvey Thrillers: Race for the Moon and Man in Black: Collects Race for the Moon #1-3 from 1958 and Man in Black #1-4 from 1957. I believe much of this material is now in public domain. The Jack Kirby material from Race for the Moon was recently restored and reprinted (just last year) in The Simon & Kirby Library: Science Fiction. Additional art was by Al Williamson. Man in Black was primarily by Bob Powell; the series contained generally thriller stories with a narrator (the title character). 288-page color hardcover.

Pre-Code Classics: The Thing Volume 1

Pre-Code Classics: The Thing Volume 1


Pre-Code Classics: The Thing Volume 1: Collects The Thing #1-9 from 1952. This Thing was a horror host, not a big rocky guy or a hand in a box. Features art by Dick Giordano and pre-Spider-Man Steve Ditko. 356-page color hardcover.

Roy Thomas Presents: Classic Phantom Lady Volume 3

Roy Thomas Presents: Classic Phantom Lady Volume 3


Roy Thomas Presents: Classic Phantom Lady Volume 3: Collects stories from All Top Comics #8-17, Phantom Lady (Farrell Publications) #1-4, and Wonder Boy #17 and 18. Featuring art by Matt Baker and Carmine Infantino and new text pieces by Roy Thomas. 288-page color hardcover.

NOTE: Many new Deluxe versions and TPB versions of previous PS Artbook collections are also available on the website this month.

THIS MONTH IN CLASSIC COMIC STRIP COLLECTIONS

Captain Easy Volume 4

Captain Easy Volume 4


Captain Easy Volume 4 (Fantagraphics): The fourth (and final) volume in Fantagraphics’ popular reprints of Roy Crane’s full color Captain Easy Sunday pages. Crane abandoned the Sunday strip when the syndicate imposed restrictive formatting rules in 1937, leaving the Sundays to his assistant, Leslie Turner. That allowed Crane to focus on the daily strip until 1943, when he left the strip entirely and created Buzz Sawyer. Before leaving the Sunday strip, Crane concocted a “lost city” storyline, allowing him to draw some of his favorite things — jungles, tigers, desert islands, and beautiful women — and putting Captain Easy and Wash Tubbs through some amazing adventures, all collected here. 144-page oversize (10.5 x 14.75) color hardcover.

Jacky’s Diary

Jacky’s Diary


Jacky’s Diary (IDW): Another quirky/cult project from IDW. Creator Jack Mendelsohn has diverse TV writing credits that include Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, The Carol Burnett Show, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as co-writing the animated Yellow Submarine film and the long-lost Beatles Saturday morning cartoons. Prior to that, he contributed gag cartoons to The Saturday Evening Post and other magazines. He also contributed to EC Comics’ Panic and, later, MAD. Much of his work was for Saturday morning cartoons, most notably for Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, and Jay Ward. In the late 1950s, he created the Sunday-only comic strip Jacky’s Diary, which ran from 1959 to 1961. It was designed to look like the hand-illustrated drawings and scrawlings of a small child, going on and on about fishing expeditions and trips to the circus and other childish things. Readers were dumbfounded by it — they either didn’t “get it” and thought that the strip was by an actual child, despite the fact that it was bylined “by Jacky Mendelsohn, age 32 1/2”, while those who knew it was the work of an adult thought his abilities hadn’t progressed since childhood. Some parents thought it was a feature that published drawing by kids, and the syndicate was bombarded with refrigerator scrawlings. The strip ultimately ended because Sunday-only strips are very expensive to produce.

Four Color #1091

Four Color #1091


It was reprinted as a Dell Comics one-shot (Four Color #1091) in 1960. Now IDW is reprinting the entire run of the strip, along with Mendelson’s comments on its creation, and including introductions by Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey) and Mel Lazarus (Mama). 192-page oversize (11 x 8.5) color hardcover. This looks cool.

Johnny Hazard: The Newspaper Dailies Volume 3: 1947-1949

Johnny Hazard: The Newspaper Dailies Volume 3: 1947-1949


Johnny Hazard: The Newspaper Dailies Volume 3: 1947-1949 (Hermes Press): If you only know Frank Robbins’ work from his 1970s Marvel and DC projects (The Invaders, Batman), you owe it to yourself to check out Robbins’ masterpiece work. The Johnny Hazard newspaper strip was one of the all-time greatest action/adventure, WWII/Cold War newspaper strips of all time. Reproduced entirely from original King Features press proofs. 288-page B&W (w/color) hardcover.

Leonard Starr’s Mary Perkins On Stage Volume 12: 1972-1974

Leonard Starr’s Mary Perkins On Stage Volume 12: 1972-1974


Leonard Starr’s Mary Perkins On Stage Volume 12: 1972-1974 (Classic Comic Press): Continuing the complete reprinting of this classic and beautiful strip by Leonard Starr. Volume 14 covers dailies and Sunday strips from June 12, 1972, to January 3, 1974. Features an introduction by Don McGregor. This is one of the nicest looking strip reprint series out there today. 264-page B&W softcover.

LOAC Essentials Volume 4: Alley Oop 1939

LOAC Essentials Volume 4: Alley Oop 1939


LOAC Essentials Volume 4: Alley Oop 1939 (IDW)/LoAC): This unique newspaper-strip-sized format returns for a year’s worth of classic Alley Oop by creator Vincent Trout (V.T.) Hamlin. Hamlin had been writing and drawing the strip for more than five years at this point, but most fans and historians consider 1939 the point where the “classic” Alley Oop begins. It features the last Moo adventure as well as trips to the 20th Century and ancient Greece. It showcases Hamlin’s rollicking style of storytelling and drawing that was simultaneously serious, fantastic, and loaded with slapstick. 336-page horizontal format (11.5 x 4.25) B&W hardcover.

Rusty Riley Volume 1: Dailies 1948-1949

Rusty Riley Volume 1: Dailies 1948-1949


Rusty Riley Volume 1: Dailies 1948-1949 (Classic Comics Press): With gorgeous art by Frank Godwin and scripts by Rod Reed, Rusty Riley tells the adventures of a redheaded orphan boy who flees the orphanage with his faithful fox terrier, Flip. Rusty ends up in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky working for a wealthy racehorse owner, encountering crooks and corruption in the world of horse racing. Rusty’s goals are to become a jockey and to look good in the eyes of his new girlfriend Patty Miles, the boss’ daughter. It’s a beautiful strip, and Godwin visited the Kentucky area to obtain firsthand reference of the area and the horses. The strip ended abruptly in 1959 upon Godwin’s death from a heart attack. Artist Bob Lubbers stepped in to finish the final two weeks of the storyline. This book also features an introduction by Howard Chaykin, an interview with Godwin’s daughter, and rarely seen Godwin artwork. 360-page B&W hardcover.

Superman: Golden Age Sunday Pages 1943-1946

Superman: Golden Age Sunday Pages 1943-1946


Superman: Golden Age Sunday Pages 1943-1946 (DC/LoAC): Beginning the publication of Sunday Superman strips, including 170 pages that have never been reprinted! These classic comics, beginning May 9, 1943, and continuing through August 4, 1946, fill a major gap in the Superman mythos. Featuring work by Wayne Boring, Jack Burnley, Whitney Ellsworth, Jack Schiff, and others. The Sunday Superman strips and the B&W dailies contained distinct storylines and will be released in separate, concurrent series. The first IDW book of the Superman dailies was gorgeous, and the color Sundays should be even more Super! Edited and designed by Dean Mullaney with an introduction by Mark Waid. Highly recommended. 184-page oversize (9.25 x 12) color hardcover. Available in January.

BIG BOOKS

Absolute Superman/Batman Volume 2

Absolute Superman/Batman Volume 2


Absolute Superman/Batman Volume 2 (DC Comics): Collecting the reality-bending epic from issues #14-26 by Jeph and Sam Loeb and lots o’ artists, including Carlos Pacheco, Ed McGuiness, Tim Sale, Jesus Merino, Ian Churchill, and many others. Guest-starring alternate versions of Darkseid, Lex Luthor, Superwoman, Kamandi, Sgt. Rock, and the Haunted Tank. Issue #25 was a star-studded anniversary issue that contained work by Joss Whedon, Brad Meltzer, Jim Lee, John Cassaday, Joe Madureira, and others. And #26 was plotted by Sam Loeb prior to his death from cancer at the age of 17. Twenty-six writers and artists who knew Sam worked to finish this story, donating their fees and royalties for the issue to the Sam Loeb College Scholarship Fund. One would hope there would be lots of special material included in this book, but none is indicated in the solicitation. These Absolute Editions are so much better when DC actually makes the effort to include additional behind-the-scenes material. 336-page oversize (8.25 x 12.5) color hardcover. Available in April 2014.

The Muppets Omnibus

The Muppets Omnibus


The Muppets Omnibus (Marvel): Collecting one of the most beloved recent comic book series (and out just in time for a new Muppets movie!). By all rights, this book should be called Roger Langridge’s Complete Muppets (since it collects every Muppet story written (and mostly drawn) by Langridge. But that will just have to be a fan nickname for the book, as the Muppets are now a corporate entity and better known — and rightly so — as Jim Henson’s Muppets. This massive book contains The Muppet Show #1-4 miniseries from 2009, The Muppet Show Comic Book #0-11, The Muppet Show Comic Book: The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson #1-4, and The Muppets #1-4 from 2012. As usual, it’s the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, muppetational book of all, pretty much guaranteed to be the funniest, silliest, and best-looking book this year (or, technically, next). A tour de force work by Roger Langridge with additional art by Shelli Paroline and Amy Mebberson. Best read while eating a big bowl of Cröonchy Stars! “Bork, bork, bork!” 1,296-page color softcover. Two different covers are offered: one by Langridge, and the other by Phil Noto. Available in March 2014.

Spider-Man by Roger Stern Omnibus

Spider-Man by Roger Stern Omnibus


Spider-Man by Roger Stern Omnibus (Marvel): As they say: Because You Demanded It! Roger Stern was the guy behind one of the classic eras of Spider-Lore, with his work on both Spectacular and Amazing Spider-Man during the 1980s. Besides the fan-favorite story “The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man”, Stern and his artists (primarily John Romita Jr. in some of his early work on the character) completely revitalized Spider-Man with definitive battles with the Juggernaut, the Vulture, and the Kingpin that had some of the most clever battle “choreography” in comics. This volume also includes the first appearance of Monica Rambeau (aka Captain Marvel) and introduces the Hobgoblin! Plus, Peter Parker’s life is complicated by femme fatales the Black Cat, Mary Jane Watson, and Amy Powell. This massive volume also features work by Marv Wolfman, Bill Mantlo, Tom DeFalco, Marie Severin, John Byrne, Ed Hannigan, Ron Frenz, Mike Zeck, Rick Leonardi, and many others. Collects Spectacular Spider-Man #43-61 and 85; Amazing Spider-Man 203, 224-252, and Annual 16 and 17; and material from Amazing Spider-Man Annual #15, Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #3, Web of Spider-Man Annual #3, and What If…? #34. 1,248-page color hardcover. Available with a choice of two different covers, both by John Romita Jr. Some of the very best Spider-Man material ever produced! (And it’s had a lot of competition!) Available in March 2014.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past


X-Men: Days of Future Past (Marvel): This book is one of those genius ideas that collects a lot of scattered stories all sharing the same theme — the now-famous dystopian future timeline of the X-Men (and the greater Marvel Universe). The stories are spread out over 30-plus years of sequels and prequels based on the now-legendary original story by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Terry Austin. And now they’re all in the same book, saving hours of digging through boxes of back issues trying to find all the stories. Besides the classic story by the above team, this book also features work from Walter Simonson, Louise Simonson, Alan Davis, Arthur Adams, Jackson Guice, Terry Shoemaker, and others. Includes (Uncanny) X-Men #141-142, X-Men Annual #14, Excalibur #52 and #66-67, and Wolverine: Days of Future Past #1-3; plus material from Fantastic Four Annual #23, New Mutants Annual #6, X-Factor Annual #5, and Hulk: Broken Worlds #2. 392-page color hardcover. Available in March 2014.

DC Comics Villains Month 3-D Motion Complete Set

DC Comics Villains Month 3-D Motion Complete Set


The DC Comics Villains Month 3-D Motion Complete Set is being resolicited for February 2014 release. Previous orders have been canceled. Please reorder if you still want this set of Second Printings of all 52 Villains Month books with 3-D motion covers, plus the Forever Evil #1 3-D Motion Cover Variant.

BOOKS ABOUT COMICS

The Comics Journal Library Volume 8: The EC Artists

The Comics Journal Library Volume 8: The EC Artists


The Comics Journal Library Volume 8: The EC Artists (Fantagraphics): Over the decades, TCJ has captured some of the most amazing interviews with EC Comics and MAD Magazine artists and writers (and publisher!), and they’re being collected in this first of two volumes about EC! Included are career-spanning interviews with legends Will Elder, John Severin, Harvey Kurtzman, and Al Feldstein, as well as short interviews with EC short-timers Frank Frazetta and Joe Kubert. Plus, conversations with Harvey Kurtzman and Gil Kane as well as Al Jaffee talking with contemporary alternative cartoonist Sam Henderson. And EC Publisher William Gaines on his infamous 1950s Senate subcommittee testimony! Profusely illustrated! The EC artists were renowned for their attention to detail, and the reproduction here takes full advantage of the oversized art book format. 240-page oversize (10 x 12) color softcover.

Modern Masters Volume 29: Cliff Chiang

Modern Masters Volume 29: Cliff Chiang


Modern Masters Volume 29: Cliff Chiang (TwoMorrows) is being resolicited for December release. Previous orders have been canceled. If you want this book (and you should), you must reorder it this month.

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KC CARLSON: I heard somewhere that Marvel’s doing an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show. Interesting… how did I miss hearing about that?

WESTFIELD COMICS is not responsible for the stupid things that KC says. Especially that thing that really irritated you.

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