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NEWS ARCHIVE FOR 2006 (January 1-December 31):
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
I'm ducking on on the morning of Christmas Eve to update the list of books shipping next week, so this one'll be brief so I can get back to the fun (and sometimes punishment!) of the Christmas season in ol' Gormuu's household! First things first: The regular edition of Golden Age All-Winners Masterworks Vol. 2 is on TOW's shipping list for next week, but the variant edition has slipped to the following week. This comes as a surprise to me, so I'll get more info on this and pass it on to you, especially as a variant buyer who was really looking forward to inspecting this book and the new sewn bindings as soon as I could get it!
Another thing to note: Savage Dragon Archives Vol. 1 TPB ships this week, but in case you haven't already heard about this book, it is called an Archives, but it's not a color hardcover! No, it's an Essentials/Showcase style black and white phone-book edition that reprints the first SD mini and SD #1-21.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• 100 Bullets Vol. 10: Decayed TPB
Golden Age luminary and Starman artist Jack Burnley passed away last week at the age of 95. For more information about Jack's life and legacy, please visit Mark Evanier's NEWS FROM ME site for a nice obituary (scroll down to bottom), and also the DC FORUM for thoughts and reminiscences from fans.
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
There are fewer high-dollar collections shipping on the last Wednesday before Christmas, but there are still some interesting books to look over! Wildstorm tops the list with Albion TPB, a 144-page collection plotted by Alan Moore and written by his daughter Leah Moore and son-in-law John Reppion. Albion is a revival of the IPC Comics character's Captain Hurricane, Robot Archie, the Spider, and others. Also from DC is the OYL title Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis - The Once and Future King, which reprints Aquaman #40-45 by Kurt Busiek and Butch Guice.
DC slips a classic trade into the schedule in the form of The Justice League Hereby Elects...TPB, which reprints some of the greatest "membership changes" stories in JLA history! (Hey, Marvel! Let's see something like this for Avengers!)
Marvel fans can now put Daredevil: Father HC on the shelf next to their Spider-Man/Black Cat HC...it's here! The sixth issue has been completed and released and now we're getting an oversized hardcover of the complete mini-series by Marvel EIC Joe Quesada!
Also from Marvel, a TPB that's only been available in oversize HC, and an oversize HC that's only been available in TPB: Thor: Blood Oath TPB, reprinting the six-issue mini-series by Michael Oeming and Scott Kolins that was very well-received by classic Thor fans, is out this week, as is Avengers Disassembled HC, which reprints Avengers #500-503 and Avengers Finale.
Finally, the third in the series of Marvel Premiere Edition Classic HCs, available in regular edition and numbered variant (Vol. 3 in the library): Wolverine by Claremont and Miller. This reprints Wolverine #1-4, one of the most classic mini-series in Marvel history (and it also sneaks in a couple tie-in issues of Uncanny X-Men drawn by Paul Smith- #172-173 - but who's complaining about that?)
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Albion TPB
ALPHA FLIGHT CLASSIC/DAREDEVIL OMNIBUS COMPANIONS & MORE!
Marvel's Senior Editor of Special Projects, Jeff Youngquist, gave an interview over at the MARVEL BLOGS where he made reference to a bunch of forthcoming projects that certainly qualify as "special"! Included among the items he ticks off on his list:
• Invaders Classic TPBs
A lot of these projects are ones that have been bandied about for awhile by Marvel reps at our message board forums, but once Jeff Y. starts talking about them, that's when we can move them from the rumor mill to the front burner! Read the whole interview, as it will also give you a chance to familiarize yourself with what Jeff does in the Marvel offices and what the rest of the CE staff at Marvel - those names who are in all the collected editions you buy - do to make the books!
Check back down the road for more on these books as they get closer to solicit time!
MarvelMasterworks.com has been provided with a heaping helping of preview images for the upcoming ATLAS ERA HEROES MASTERWORKS VOL. 1, with fourteen pages worth of art featuring Marvel Boy, Sub-Mariner, Namora, Captain America and Bucky, Human Torch and even Stan Lee himself, drawn by Bill Everett, Carl Burgos, Wayne Boring and some of the earliest work by John Romita, Sr.! If you're curious about what this book is going to look like, head on over to the Preview Page linked above and check these images out!
Q+A FOR MARVEL EDITORS: GET YOUR QUESTIONS IN!!!
Masterworks editor Cory Sedlmeier and Marvel's VP of Sales and Collections Guru David Gabriel are going to be fielding questions for fans of this website and message board over the weekend, so if you want to throw a few questions their way, visit THIS THREAD at the Marvel Forums and ask away!
PLEASE NOTE: As always, be succinct and courteous when asking your question, and understand that all questions may not be answered. ALSO, please read through the thread in its entirety to make sure your question hasn't already been asked by somone else!
I'll round up the questions and ship them over to Cory and David so they can answer them over the weekend, and then I'll post their answers sometime early next week!
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping today from Tales of Wonder, on Wednesday, December 13.
Avengers Masterworks Vol. 6 ships tomorrow, reprinting Avengers #51-58, Annual #2, and the crossover issue of X-Men #45. This Masterworks edition, featuring the art of John Buscema, reprints issues including the first appearance of the Vision and the addition of the Black Panther to group membership! On the opposite end of the spectrum of Avengers reprints is the TPB edition of Heroes Reborn: Avengers, a 328-page collection that reprints all 12 issues of the series by Rob Liefeld, Jeph Loeb, Joe Bennett, Walt Simonson and others.
On the oversize hardcover front, Marvel delivers Punisher MAX: From First to Last HC, and the long-awaited Supreme Power Vol. 2 HC, which reprints the last six issues of JMS/Gary Frank's highly-regarded MAX series plus the six-issue Hyperion mini-series.
DC delivers a couple nice editions of classic comics: Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told Vol. 2 TPB rounds up a wide variety of great Superman stories (hey, that's the title of the book!) from all eras. And New Teen Titans: Terra Incognito TPB reprints more Wolfman/Perez NTT, with issues #28-34 and Annual #2.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Essential Official Handbook - '89 Update
The coupon will expire on December 31, 2006. For more details, visit the CONTESTS/COUPONS page!
MARVEL MARCH SOLICITS
Here are the March solicits for Marvel:
• MARVEL
Highlights include Thor: The Eternals Saga Vol. 2 TPB, a comprehensive collection of Sean McKeever's Mary Jane in HC, and the previously announced Masterworks.
Something I missed in the original solicit material sent to me was the list price of the recently announced Golden Age USA Masterworks Vol. 1, which is priced at $59.99, five dollars more than the recent price increase. My guess is that this will be the price we'll see for Golden Age volumes going forward, but I'll pass on more detailed information as it comes to me.
DC MARCH SOLICITS: FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC!
Here are the March solicits for DC, although virtually all the books listed are advance-solicited for April:
• DC
Highlights include the Action Heroes Archives Vol. 2, discussed in previous Current News updates, and the first Showcase Presents volume dedicated to the Legion of Super-Heroes. But the biggest entry in DC's April offerings has to be the following solicit:
JACK KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC
Written by Jack Kirby, art and cover by Kirby and Vince Colletta.
After co-creating a number of legendary comic book heroes -- including The Fantastic Four and The Hulk -- legendary writer/artist Jack Kirby came to DC Comics in 1970 to create his magnum opus: four interlocked adventure series that were known collectively as "The Fourth World."
Now, for the first time, DC collects Kirby's four series -- The New Gods, The Forever People, Mister Miracle and Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen -- in chronological order as they originally appeared. These comics spanned galaxies, from the streets of Metropolis to the far-flung worlds of New Genesis and Apokolips, as cosmic-powered heroes and villains struggled for supremacy.
The Fourth World Vol. 1 features the debuts of Orion of the New Gods, the evil Darkseid, super-escape artist Mister Miracle and many others, and features numerous appearances by Superman, from the pages of Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #133-139, Forever People #1-3, New Gods #1-3 And Mister Miracle #1-3!
396 pages, $49.99, in stores on May 30.
To discuss this title and other DC solicits, visit THIS LINK to the DC Forums!
Click THIS LINK to see the preview page for March's Golden Age Masterworks selection, USA Comics Vol. 1, featuring the Whizzer, the Defender, Captain Terror and more heroes from the primordial days of Timely Comics!
RIP: MARTIN NODELL
For more on Martin Nodell and his legacy as an artist, turn to Mark Evanier's NEWS FROM ME blog. He has a very nice post up in tribute to Nodell, and he also has A LINK to video shot at the 2000 San Diego Comic-Con that features interview footage with the artist.
Click THIS LINK to see the preview page for March's Marvel Age Masterworks selection, Doctor Strange Vol. 3! There are also four pages of preview art to go with it, with some luscious examples of Gene Colan and Tom Palmer art!
Look for an announcement for March's Golden Age offering in tomorrow's Current News update!
For anyone who persisted in having technical troubles with the survey and were not able to complete it, please email me or check in at THIS THREAD at the Marvel Forums and let me know!
I'll be crunching the numbers over the next few weeks and putting it together for the website in time for your Christmas holiday reading, so be sure to check back later in the month for the Masterworks survey results!
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping today from Tales of Wonder, on Wednesday, December 6.
Marvel has a hardcover and some classic trades to release this week: Runaways Vol. 2 HC reprints Runaways (Vol. 2) #1-12 and the Runaways/X-Men Free Comic Book Day 2006 one-shot (which is included thanks to lobbying from forum member Jeph York. Thanks, Jeph!) Switching to trade paperbacks, this weeks' releases includes Star Brand Classic Vol. 1 TPB, which reprints the first seven issues of the Jim Shooter/John Romita, Jr. New Universe title (didja ever think that would be reprinted?!?!); What If? Classic Vol. 3, which reprints What If? #14-15 and #17-20 (Marvel had to skip issues 13 and 16 due to licensing issues concerning usage of Conan the Barbarian and Fu Manchu); and Marvel Comics Presents Vol. 4 TPB, which reprints '90s era Wolverine from Marvel Comics Presents #62-71.
Also, Essentials fans will want to note Essential Defenders Vol. 2, reprinting Defenders #15-30, Giant-Size Defenders #1-5, Marvel Two-In-One #6-7 and Marvel Treasury Edition #12. (Please note: Marvel has altered the contents from the intial solicit, which reprinted only the Giant-Size issues and Defenders #15-39.)
DC issues the next installment in Will Eisner's Spirit Library, with Spirit Archives Vol. 20, which reprints the first six months worth of strips from 1950. Another Showcase line debuts with Showcase Presents Shazam Vol. 1, which reprints the first 35 issues of the '70s series. And another interesting DC reprint is Sachs and Violens, a trade paperback which collects the entire mini-series by Peter David and George Perez.
Also worth a look - and it will be a big look! - is the Witchblade Compendium TPB, a massive 1248-page volume that reprints the first 50 issues of Witchblade.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Dark Horse Book of Monsters HC
From Image Comics, the following information about the upcoming hardcover reprint of Robert Kirkman's Invincible, in the style of DC's Absolute Editions:
"Image Comics regrets to inform retailers that due to a binding error, Image Comics is re-printing the entire run of THE COMPLETE INVINCIBLE LIBRARY Volume 1. The corrected printing will ship on Jan 17, 2007, with all current orders being adjustable with a cutoff date of Dec 20, 2006."
For more detail on the situation, follow THIS LINK to Newsarama, where they have actual pictures of the damage that afflicted the print run!
Over at Blake Bell's DITKO LOOKED UP website, he's posted the contents of the upcoming Action Heroes Archives Vol. 2, DC's reprinting of Steve Ditko's Charlton tenure drawing Charlton super-heroes. It will include the remainder of Ditko's Captain Atom stories (the rest of the post-Marvel issues), and a complete accounting of Ditko's work on Blue Beetle and the Question!
A few Marvel collected editions will be running late:
• Moon Knight Vol. 1: The Bottom MPE moves from 12/6 to 12/27.
(Hat tip to Phonics Monkey for the information!)
Site sponsor Tales of Wonder has recently added ORDER INFORMATION for the fifth in the series of EC Archives - and the first Vol. 2: Weird Science Vol. 2! It will reprint Weird Science #7-12 and is set to be released on February 14. (It's Valentine's Day and EC loves you!)
Here's the cover image:
This will bring the composition of the EC Archives Library to include:
Weird Science Vol. 1-2 SPIRIT ARCHIVES VOL. 20 MOVED UP TWO WEEKS!
Look for Spirit Archives Vol. 20 to reach stores on 12/6 instead of 12/20, as DC has it shipping two weeks early!
Highland Ray posted a link to a youtube video (click THIS LINK) that plays the Mighty Marvel Marching Society fan club record from the '60s, featuring the voices of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Flo Steinberg, Sol Brodsky, Artie Simek and many other bullpenners of the era (including a "blink and you miss it" non-appearance by Sturdy Steve Ditko!) It's got some neat visuals sequenced to the track. Give it a look!
RIP: DAVE COCKRUM
Another significant contributor to comics has passed away. Dave Cockrum passed away in his sleep last night at age 63, according to this REPORT from Newsarama. Anyone who was a fan of Legion of Super-Heroes and the All-New, All-Different X-Men during the '70s and '80s treasures his definitive artistic contributions to the huge universe of characters both those team books were cast with, and the comic-book fun they embodied. RIP: JERRY BAILS
If you haven't yet heard the news, all-star comic fan Jerry Bails has died at the age of 73. He was a comic fan before there was even such a thing as comic fandom, and certainly helped culture the notion that comic books weren't just disposable forms of entertainment, meant to be read, discarded and then quickly forgotten. Rather, comics were a vital medium that was worth poring over, studying, supporting and being enthusiastic about. Without the efforts of Jerry Bails and his co-hort Roy Thomas, it's likely that the concepts of fanzines, comic book conventions, discussion groups and websites like this one would be very different than they look today.
I'd like to offer my condolences to the friends and family of Jerry Bails.
Check out this link at PUBLISHERS WEEKLY for an article about DC's Absolute Edition series. It's an incisive look at the series, with lots of clues about what to expect in regard to new editions, including comments from DC Publisher Paul Levitz that states that we'll see four more Absolute Editions in 2007 and implies that that will be the standard amount we'll see going forward. (Hat tip to Fin Fang Foom for the link!)
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping this week from Tales of Wonder, on Wednesday, November 22.
The New X-Men Omnibus HC finally hits store shelves, bringing fans the complete Grant Morrison run on the title, from New X-Men #114-154 and Annual 2001. Also from Marvel comes a trio of Captain America titles: Captain America: Red Menace Vol. 2 TPB which reprints Brubaker/Epting's Captain America #18-21, Essential Captain America Vol. 3 which reprints Captain America #127-156, and Heroes Reborn: Captain America TPB which reprints the complete run of Captain America (Vol. 2) #1-12, the infamous series kickstarted by Rob Liefeld.
For its next Archives release, DC has found a way to get us Dark Knight Archives Vol. 5 a week quicker, as it has moved up the schedule seven days! This volume reprints more Batman stories, this time from Batman #17-20 (and I believe this is the last volume that will reprint only four issues of continuity, as Vol. 6 would likely kick off a long period of volumes that reprint five issues of continuity).
Also from DC come a couple more collections that reprint classic material: Showcase Presents The Unknown Soldier Vol. 1, which reprints featured stories from Star-Spangled War Stories #151-190, and Swamp Thing Vol. 9: Infernal Triangles TPB, which collects Swamp Thing #77-81 and Annual #3.
Finally, from Checker, a limited edition to 1000, oversized hardcover that collects all of Windsor McCay's Saturday strips in Dream of the Rarebit Fiend Saturdays HC.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Batman: Dark Knight Archives Vol. 5
MADMAN GARGANTUA HC
It's all Madman, all Allred, all in hardcover, and all it's gonna cost you is $125. That's all?!?! Allred goes "Omnibus" crazy with Madman in the Madman Gargantua! HC, an 852-page, limited to 2500 copies hardcover that will collect every single Madman story that's out there. For more details, check out THIS LINK from Newsarama.
It looks like this book will hit stores in February or March; the exact release date is unclear, as is any ordering information. But I'll have that info to you on this page as soon as I get it!
Oh, and that'll be 2499 copies left for you after I get me one!!!
DC/MARVEL SOLICITS FOR FEBRUARY
Here are the February solicits for Marvel and DC:
DC: ACTION HEROES VOL. 2 IN 2007!
Stand up and salute, Action Hero fans! The Charlton flag flies high! According to Blake Bell's
DITKO LOOKED UP website, we'll see
the second volume of Action Hero Archives in May 2007! The first volume reprinted the majority
of the early Captain Atom stories from Space Adventures and his self-titled comic, clocking in at
224 pages. According to Bell's announcement, this second volume will be over 380 pages in total!
Here's more from Bell's website:
"This massive tome will be 388 pages, featuring the remainder of the CAPTAIN ATOM stories not present in volume one, but also the first reprinting of the BLUE BEETLE stories from the late 1960s! Throw in all of THE QUESTION stories (even the Charlton Spotlight #5 story by Alex Toth!) and you have a special volume. The tentative release date is May 2007 and I will once again be involved in helping along the production. Look forward to an introduction by former Charlton editor Dick Giordano and what more could you ask for!"
This is great news for Ditko fans, Charlton fans, Blue Beetle/Captain Atom/Question fans, and Archives fans
who might have thought fewer volumes in 2007 meant fewer great stories to read! Perhaps this is not the case!
(Hat tip to mkoshel, who posted the news at this THREAD at the DC Forum!)
SHIPPING NEXT WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
The highlight on this week's list of books is the second installment of EC's Archives series, Shock SuspenStories Vol. 1 HC, which reprints the first six issues of that title, with a foreword by Steven Spielberg (if ya don't believe me, take a look at that cover!)
Also on the hardcover front, Marvel publishes Marvel Westerns HC, which reprints all of this year's Marvel Westerns one-shots: The Two-Gun Kid, Western Legends, Kid Colt and the Arizona Girl, Strange Westerns Starring the Black Rider, and the Outlaw Files handbook. JMS and Gary Frank's Squadron Supreme Vol. 1: The Prewar Years is also out in Marvel Premiere Edition HC. (This is the first five issues of the non-MAX relaunch of the Supreme Power series.)
Finally, a couple classic trades round out the week: From Marvel, the third and final collection that reprints all of Jack Kirby's '70s era Cap/Falcon comics, Captain America & the Falcon: The Swine TPB, which reprints Cap #206-214 and Annual #3-4. This is a big, 240-page collection! Also, from DC, we see the fifth volume in their reprint of the John Byrne years of Superman, in Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 5 TPB, which reprints Adventures of Superman #432-435, Action Comics #592-593 and Superman #9-10.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Avengers and Power Pack Assemble Digest
Site sponsor Tales of Wonder is sponsoring one heck of a contest, where you can win your very own George Perez! It's true! You can read
TOW's press release at THIS THREAD at the Crisis Forums to get more information on how you can enter and win. TOW is a great company and the nuttiness of this contest is
one good reason why! And, as always, thanks for purchasing from TOW through the links on this site; it helps keep this show on the road!
In addition, I'd like to up the ante on this contest! Visit the thread linked above and share with your fellow message boarders what you would have George Perez do if you were to win him for a day! Draw a page of art? Talk about comics all day? Or do like I'd do and have him help me bag and board all my comics? (Because that's exactly what I'd do if I won my own George Perez!) The contest will run until the end of the month and then I'll pick a winner. The prize? Your choice of New Teen Titans Archives, Avengers Assemble HCs, or Wonder Woman TPBs...you get to pick! Visit the thread for more details!
FEBRUARY MASTERWORKS ANNOUNCED!
February's Masterworks can now be revealed! Check it out at THIS LINK, and make sure to click the links to see a few preview images of some black and white restoration art!
I'm very happy to extend to fans of MarvelMasterworks.com a coupon that will entitle you to an additional 20% off the Tales of Wonder sale price for the five volumes of Collected Jack Kirby Collector, published by TwoMorrows Publishing! The coupon will be active until the end of the month, at which time I'll be posting another coupon! Please visit the CONTEST & COUPONS page for more details...and when you place your order, let 'em know Jack sentcha!
MARVEL COLLECTED EDITIONS ON THE WAY
Message boarder Jeph York has done a great job rounding up some recently added Amazon listings for Marvel collected editions. You can check out the list at the Marvel Forum through THIS LINK. As usual, there are many things about these lists that need to be viewed with skepticism: issue contents, page counts, date of release, format, or even if these books will see print at all - these are all preliminary until the book is officially solicited and scheduled.
I have gotten some information, though, about some of the books that I'd like to pass on to you. Thanks to Marvel for confirming some of the details of these upcoming collections:
• The new editions of Marvel 1602 HC will be oversized.
• Eternals by Neil Gaiman HC will also be oversized.
• The preliminary contents of Annihilation Book 1 HC are accurate, and this, too, will be oversized. (Drax #1-4, Annihilation Prologue, and Annihilation: Nova #1-4
• The contents of Spider-Man: Birth of Venom TPB are also accurate (Secret Wars #8, Amazing Spider-Man #252-259, 298-300 and 315-317, Fantastic Four #274 and Web of Spider-Man #1.) With the exception of only a couple issues being edited so as to include only epilogue material, all the issues will be complete. This will be one big book!
No release dates are available at this time. More information as it becomes available!
This is from DC:
"Four key titles in Vertigo's TRANSMETROPOLITAN collected edition series will be reconfigured in spring 2007, putting more classic, cutting-edge stories by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson in each of two newly created volumes.
TRANSMETROPOLITAN VOL. 1: BACK ON THE STREETS and TRANSMETROPOLITAN VOL. 2: LUST FOR LIFE will be combined into a single, new TRANSMETROPOLITAN VOL. 1: BACK ON THE STREETS TP, featuring issues #1-12 of the series. In its new configuration, the series will be comprised of a total of nine volumes.
At the same time, TRANSMETROPOLITAN VOL. 10: ONE MORE TIME and TRANSMETROPOLITAN VOL. 0: TALES OF HUMAN WASTE will be combined into the single, new TRANSMETROPOLITAN VOL. 9: ONE MORE TIME TP, featuring TRANSMETROPOLITAN #55-60 and the Specials TRANSMETROPOLITAN: I HATE IT HERE and TRANSMETROPOLITAN: FILTH OF THE CITY. This title also will include the two TRANSMETROPOLITAN stories from the VERTIGO: WINTER'S EDGE Specials, which were previously available in TRANSMETROPOLITAN VOL. 3: YEAR OF THE BASTARD and TRANSMETROPOLITAN VOL. 4: THE NEW SCUM.
The covers of the new titles will be redesigned to prominently feature the creators' names. DC will renumber the intermediate volumes of TRANSMETROPOLITAN TPs as they go out of stock and are sent back to press."
This in from DC:
"Due to an error, only retailers serviced by Diamond's Memphis warehouse will receive ABSOLUTE DC: THE NEW FRONTIER on its scheduled instore date of November 8. All other retailers will receive it on next Wednesday, November 15."
SHIPPING NEXT WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
It's been a long time that fans of Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier series have rallied for this Eisner Award-winning mini-series to get Absolute Edition treatment, and on Nov. 8th, we will finally see the results of our fervor! Absolute New Frontier tells a mythic story against the backdrop of the dawning of DC's Silver Age, and has all kinds of extras in store for people who read (and loved) it the first time. This book gets my highest recommendation!
An interesting collection to note: Adventures of Red Sonja Vol. 1 TPB, published by Dynamite Entertainment - the current possessor of the Red Sonja license - is back in print featuring "remastered interior color art." It reprints Marvel Feature #1-7 by Roy Thomas, Bruce Jones, and Frank Thorne, and is a new attempt at offering this material with more presentable restoration than last time. Also from Dynamite is Sam and Ivan Raimi's Army of Darkness Movie Adaptation TPB, featuring art by John Bolton (it also features an interview between Bruce Campbell conducted by Kurt Busiek as bonus material.)
I'd like to make special note of a book I wasn't aware was in the offing, but it's a must-buy for me, and I'm sure that this kind of item will hit some of you right in the happy zone: R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz and Country a hardcover book with accompanying CD. I'll let the solicit do the talking on this one:
"Anyone who knows R. Crumb's work as an illustrator knows of his passion for music. And all those who collect his work prize the Heroes of the Blues, Early Jazz Greats, and Pioneers of Country Music trading card sets he created in the early to- mid-1980s. Now they are packaged together for the first time in book form, along with an exclusive 21-track CD of music selected and compiled by Crumb himself, featuring original recordings by Charley Patton, 'Dock' Boggs, 'Jelly Roll' Morton, and others. Illustrated by R. Crumb, with Stephen Calt, David Jasen & Richard Nevins."
That sucker goes on the Christmas list for at least two people that I know, and I'm gonna get one for myself while I'm at it!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Absolute New Frontier HC
1,000 ITEMS ON SALE AT TOW
Site sponsor Tales of Wonder has an enormous sale on, wherein they're discounting 1,000 items at 40% off or more. There's really so much that's been cut in price to list here, so if you're interested, check out these links to browse through the sale inventory:
• MARVEL DO ESSENTIALS VIOLATE ARTISTIC INTEGRITY?
How's that for a question to ponder over your morning coffee? Anybody who is familiar with the thread of that same name that has been ROILING on the Marvel Forum for the last several weeks probably has an opinion by now. If you've got the stamina, read through the thread and see where you stand on the matter. Beyond the sometimes typical message board hoo-hah, the thread is notable for the deus ex machina in the form of artist Erik Larsen swooping in on page 10 to weigh in on the question and give some valuable context coming from a working comic artist. The dialogue with Erik continues for four pages and is also notable for being the basis of a new column by Erik at his ONE FAN'S OPINION soapbox at Comic Book Resources, where Erik holds court every week with his thoughts about the art and the industry.
Speaking of the art, as previously reported here, Erik will have his own "Essentials"-style collection of Savage Dragon material coming in December. SAVAGE DRAGON ARCHIVES VOL. 1 reprints the first Savage Dragon mini-series (#1-3) and the first 21 issues of the regular series that is still going strong and into its 130th issue. (Therefore, I think you can guess where Erik comes down on the question!)
Thanks to site user nerdylawyer for being brave enough to ask the question (and "stay the course" in continuing to ask them!) And to Erik for helping illuminate the discussion!
DC COMICS REVEALS NEW COLLECTED EDITIONS FOR MARCH AND APRIL
For an advance look at DC's collected editions slate for March and April 2007, check out THIS THREAD at the DC Forums. Good news for Showcase fans (two more in April!) and bad news for Archives fans (only Spirit Archives Vol. 21 scheduled), plus confirmation of Absolute Long Halloween!
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
At the top of the list is DC's Adam Strange Archives Vol. 2, reprinting Mystery In Space #66-80 (check previous news update about this book shipping weeks earlier than expected!) Another highlight this week is IDW's Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy Vol. 1 HC which reprints almost 500 of the earliest Dick Tracy comic strips, from October 1931 through May of 1933. The format of this book is the same as Fantagraphic's winning Complete Peanuts collections, and the goal is to reprint all of the Gould strips in their entirety.
Marvel brings Essential Spider-Man Vol. 5 back to print in a new edition, and they also complete the four volume set of the '90s era Age of Apocalypse crossover in the 368-page collection X-Men: Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic Book Four TPB.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Adam Strange Archives Vol. 2
BIG SALE AT TOW!
Tales of Wonder is running a great sale with a wide selection of trade paperbacks at 40% off, plus a small handful of oversized hardcovers at 50% off. (May I recommend Fantastic Four Vol. 1 HC by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo?) Here's the complete list:
HARDCOVERS 50% OFF
• Fantastic Four Vol. 1 (Waid/Wieringo)
TRADE PAPERBACKS 40% OFF
• Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 10: New Avengers TPB (Straczynski/Deodato, Jr.)
DC has announced the contents of a couple collected editions which were either incomplete or totally lacking them in recent solicits:
• Showcase Presents Aquaman Vol. 1 will reprint Aquaman stories from Adventure #260-280, 282, and 284, Detective #293-300, Showcase #32-33 and World's Finest #125-139.
• Batman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told Vol. 2 TPB will reprint Batman stories from Batman #1 and #222, Detective Comics #168, 235, 355, 429, 475-476, Brave and the Bold #78, Adventure Comics #462, Secret Origins #6, Bizarro World and Solo #3.
TALES OF WONDER INTERVIEW WITH EC'S RUSS COCHRAN
Site sponsor Tales of Wonder has an interview that is now live on their site with RUSS COCHRAN, impressario of the new EC Archives releases. The interview is conducted by Jim Pattison, and it's going to get you caught up with some of the plans that Russ and his crew have in store for the EC Archives library!
This year's DC Archives Survey results are now complete and ready for perusal! Head over to D.Stepp's comicsarchives website and check them out!
FOUNTAIN SC ORDER TO BE ALLOCATED
According to DC, the 10/25 delivery of Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain will be allocated:
"Please note that due to an error, orders on THE FOUNTAIN SC (AUG060290) will be allocated at approximately 45% when the title arrives in stores on October 25. The balance of copies will arrive in stores on November 1."
So don't be surprised if you go to pick up your copy and it's not there waiting for you. The good news is that you will only have to wait a week to get your copy should you be in the unlucky 55%.
Adam Strange Archives Vol. 2 will be shipping a week early, moving from 11/8 to 11/1! Strap on those rocket packs, denizens of Rann - that Zeta-Beam is coming sooner than expected!
Other schedule changes include:
• Green Lantern Archives Vol. 6 will be pushed back from 1/3 to 1/31. SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
It's that time of year...Christmas is near! The floodgates are starting to open and publishers large and small are starting to fill the market with collected editions. It ain't the time of year to be shy! Let's see what's on the table that will be shipping next week. First and foremost is the first installment of Gemstone's EC Archives series, Weird Science Vol. 1. It reprints the first six issues of the series in hardcover and glorious color! If you've never sampled the singular creative madness that EC pumped out in the early '50s, now is your chance! Marvel offers some late '60s Atlas Era monster/sci-fi madness of their own, with Tales of Suspense Masterworks Vol. 1, a sister volume to the Tales to Astonish Masterworks Vol. 1 that shipped in January.
Marvel offers up another couple hardcovers, with a Marvel Premiere Edition of Young Avengers Vol. 2: Family Matters, reprinting YA #7-12 and Special #1, and the oversized Marvel Adventures Spider-Man Vol. 1 HC, reprinting the first eight issues of the features Spider-Man stories told during his earliest days as a hero! Also from Marvel is Daredevil: The Devil Inside and Out Vol. 1 TPB, featuring the first six issues of Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark's acclaimed run on DD!
DC's Phantom Stranger gets his own massive reprint with Showcase Presents Phantom Stranger Vol. 1, which reprints Showcase #80 and Phantom Stranger #1-21 in black and white. Plus, Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 3: Supergirl reprints Legion/Supergirl & Legion #14-19 by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson.
From the indie scene, check out IDW's 24 Vol. 1 TPB, an adaptation of the hit TV show, Robert Kirkman's irreverent Battle Pope Vol. 2, and a collection of all of Frank Cho's Liberty Meadows covers in one volume, Liberty Meadows: Cover Girl HC. Also, the first six issues (and #0 prequel issue) of Dynamite's 2006 take on Red Sonja is available in Red Sonja Vol. 1 TPB, by Mel Rubl, Mike Carey, and the always awesome Michael Avon Oeming. Finally, don't miss a reprint of Timothy Truman's 1987 cult-classic Scout Vol. 1 TPB, reprinting the first seven issues!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• 24 Vol. 1 TPB
TPB SALE AT TOW
I missed this little sale TOW is running for a select group of trades - most of them are 50% off! Of special note is Blade: Black and White, reprinting several '70s-era Blade stories, and a personal favorite, Thunderbolts: Justice Like Lightning, which reprints the seminal issues of Thunderbolts plus all the cameos and guest appearances in other books from the early years.
• Alpha Flight Vol. 1: You Gotta Be Kidding Me TPB
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
DC offers up an assortment of trades this week, including a collection of Steve Nile's mini-series in Batman: Gotham County Line TPB, but what's really big this week is New Teen Titans Archives Vol. 3, an Archive offering reprinting more of the classic Wolfman/Perez revival of the Titans from the early '80s. It reprints New Teen Titans #17-20 and Tales of the New Teen Titans #1-4. This week, we'll also see the release of Showcase Presents Challengers of the Unknown Vol. 1.
Marvel counters with Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 1, so titled because it saves them the trouble - and retailers the grief - of stocking funny books with "Son of Satan" on the spine! (Heh heh...) The book reprints the goings on of the Hellstrom kin, Daimon and Satana, from their stories across a smattering of mid-'70s Marvel comics and black and white magazines. Speaking of monsters, the Marvel zombies make their last stand in the Ultimate Universe in Ultimate Fantastic Four Vol. 6: Frightful by Mark Millar and Greg Land. And two MPE HCs hit stands, with Sensational Spider-Man: Feral HC, featuring some outstanding art by Clayton Crain, and Wolverine Origins: Born In Blood HC, by Daniel Way and Steve Dillon.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Batman: Gotham County Line TPB
DC/MARVEL SOLICITS FOR JANUARY
Here are the December solicits for Marvel and DC:
GEORGE KHOURY INTERVIEW: ROGER STERN
Just added to the site is an exclusive interview between George Khoury - who, if you don't know him by his great work for TwoMorrows Publications, you certainly know him from his activity at the Board Forums - and comic legend Roger Stern. This extensive interview covers Rog's career from its very beginning to his most recent work, and is a pure pleasure to read for any comics fan who grew up reading Roger's comics. (I know I did!)
So set aside some "while away" time and kick back and enjoy the interview. There's a link from the Home Page and also right here:
THE ROGER STERN INTERVIEW:
If you want to discuss the interview, pay a visit to THIS THREAD at the Crisis Comics Forum!
ABSOLUTE LONG HALLOWEEN ON THE WAY!
At his message board, comic artist and Jeph Loeb compadre Tim Sale has announced that an Absolute Edition - that magnificent format we all love (well, most of us!) - of Batman: Long Halloween is on the way! Read it from the man himself at the TIM SALE FORUM at comicworldnews.com!
About the project, he says:
"Well folks, it's official, there is going to be an official LONG HALLOWEEN, Absolute Edition.
It seems an incredibly long time ago that Jeph and I started work on that book, and it was many, many years before I thought to do preliminary sketches, save scraps of paper with LH scribbles on them, and certainly about a decade before there was any digital archiving of anything that we now consider "extras" when it comes to DVD or ABSOLUTE editions.
We have SOME stuff. Some FUN stuff. Don't worry about that. But I am writing this to ask if anyone out there has Long Halloween era artwork that we might be able to use. I have much more of the Dark Victory stuff, it's really the Long Halloween material that's needed.
Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?"
So, Bueller, if you're out there and have any of this stuff, shoot on over to Tim's board and let him know. We'll thank you after we're done reading Long Halloween in Absolute Edition! (And just last year I finally tracked down the rare hardcover edition!) Hat tip to Bill Nolan for the link!
Due to some sudden matters that popped up close to home this week, I wasn't able to update the shipping list for this week yet, so the list for books that started shipping a couple days ago is going to come out on top of the list for books shipping next week! Sorry about that! Without any further ado, the items that we can see in our rear-view mirror!
This was one heckuva week to miss out on! First up is the very long-delayed Magnus, Robot Fighter Archives Vol. 3 that finally shipped from Dark Horse this week! This will be the third volume in the series - and stands to be the final volume, since it will round out the Russ Manning run on the title. As of now, Dark Horse does not plan to continue mining the last batch of Magnus comics.
The biggest book of the week, though - literally - is Neil Gaiman's Absolute Sandman Vol. 1, a typically brilliant Absolute extravaganza from DC. This is the first of a planned four volumes that will reprint the entirety of Neil's Sandman run - with remastered artwork and coloring! This first volume reprints the first eighteen issues of the title.
Also from DC comes a couple of late books that fans will be happy to see: Desolation Jones TPB, collecting the first six issues of the Ellis/Williams series, and Infinite Crisis Companion TPB, which is essential for Infinite Crisis readers among you. Finally, from DC's ABC imprint comes the final Tom Strong book, Tom Strong Book Six HC.
Marvel publishes three hardcovers this week, including the overdue Amazing Spider-Man Masterworks Vol. 8, which reprints Amazing Spider-Man #68-77 and Marvel Super-Heroes #14, reprinting the rare Spidey story that features the first artwork of Ross Andru depicting the wall-crawler's adventures!
In oversized hardcover, we see Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 7, which reprints USM #72-85, and Wolverine: Enemy of the State - Complete Edition HC, which is the very first comic run that was initially published in Marvel Premiere Edition HCs to make it into oversized hardcover! The whole Millar/Romita, Jr. epic is intact in this edition, reprinting Wolverine #20-32.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Absolute Sandman HC
JANUARY MASTERWORKS, PART TWO!
I told ya there would be another Masterworks announcement for January, and for those of you who didn't believe me, you should be ashamed of yourself! For punishment, head straight to this preview page for MASTERWORKS VOL. 73 and see who makes strange bedfellows for Warlock Vol. 1 in only three short months!
It's only a couple short weeks from the 2006 Masterworks Survey, and with two big Masterworks just announced, it feels like a good time to talk to Masterworks editor Cory Sedlmeier about our favorite subject...and that's just what we did! Check out the results of the Q+A through THIS LINK! And check in at the Marvel Forums to take part in live discussion about the Masterworks announcements and the interview!
GUESS THE BACK FOUR CONTEST: ADAM STRANGE VOL. 2
Visit this link at the DC FORUMS and take part in our contest to guess which four covers that Archives editors will choose to adorn the back cover of Adam Strange Archives Vol. 2, which reprints all the Adam Strange stories from Mystery In Space #66-80! If you're the winner of the contest, you'll get a free Masterworks or Archives of your choice delivered right to your door from site sponsor Tales of Wonder!
JANUARY MASTERWORKS ANNOUNCEMENT, PART ONE
January 2007 will see not one but two Masterworks published for the pantin' public! And just to up the ante on the excitement surrounding their announcements, it's fun to note that both of these releases will be newly-achieved milestones for the
Masterworks program when they come out! More on that later, but first up is the announcement for Vol. 72 of the Masterworks, and to
find out, you must link to the preview page through the cover image below and reflect on the answer to the famous question first asked almost forty years ago (the mystery of the year, no less!)
Vol. 73 will be announced either tomorrow or Wednesday, time permitting, and will also include an interview with Masterworks editor Cory Sedlmeier!
MASTERWORKS TO GET SEWN BINDINGS/$5 PRICE HIKE
This information is just in direct from Marvel's David Gabriel, and it should make those who were pining for sewn binding happy, but may make those who don't want to see a $5 price hike unhappy. Here's the upshot: starting with December's Golden Age All-Winners Vol. 2, all Masterworks will switch from glued binding to sewn binding. This has been probably the single most requested aesthetic upgrade in Masterworks, especially since the paper stock got upgraded earlier this year to a thicker paper stock that didn't lay as flat. Marvel is raising the price of regular edition by five dollars, but they are no raising the prices of the variant editions. Thus, both editions of Masterworks will all be priced at $54.99.
To discuss this new development, visit THIS THREAD at the Marvel Forum.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that start shipping next week from Tales of Wonder, on Wednesday, October 4.
It's a light slate of books this week, but there's a few diamonds in the rough, including Infinite Crisis HC from DC, the event sequel to last year's Identity Crisis, and from Marvel, a classic trade reprinting Tomb of Dracula #44, Dr. Strange #14, and #58-62, featuring stories by Marv Wolfman, Steve Englehart, Roger Stern, Gene Colan and others.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Dr. Strange vs. Dracula: The Montesi Formula TPB
RAWHIDE KID MASTERWORKS VOL. 1
I've updated the MASTERWORKS LIBRARY page with a link to a new feature page for RAWHIDE KID VOL. 1! If you're curious about what's inside this volume, take a stroll through the preview page and the network of individual issue listings. Each issue has its contents laid out, with creator credits noted and entries for story synopsis and character listings. There are also cover images and panel images to give you an idea of the artwork and reproduction inside each issue.
I'll be updating the Library page slowly over the next several weeks, but until then, please enjoy the pages set up for the Rawhide Kid!
I've updated virtually all the cornershop listings so they're up to date regarding books solicited through the end of the year. I've also added a page for Showcase Presents and given Marvel Premiere Edition HCs their own listing page. The main list of item pages can be found by clicking the "Buy 'Em Cheap" link at the navigation bar at the top of each page on this website. I hope you find the list far more comprehensive and easy to scan for the books you want to fill out your library.
Here are individual listing pages:
• MASTERWORKS
COLLECTED ALPHA FLIGHT ON THE WAY?
From this week's NEW JOE FRIDAYS column at Newsarama, Joe Quesada is asked about the possibiliy of upcoming Essential Alpha Flight volumes. His reply was, "Look for an announcement very soon. I predict that fans of the classic Alpha flight team will be very happy." Now, Joe isn't the top authority on collected editions at Marvel, but this is pretty definitive talk from Marvel's EIC, so it appears that something is on the way. I'll put an inquiry in with Marvel to see if I can get anything more concrete!
As noted in a post yesterday, the Batman Year One Deluxe Edition HC is now out-of-print, and I can now confirm that DC has informed me that there are no plans to bring it back into print. Go grab a copy while they're still on store shelves or had cheaply on the back market!
There's a wide variety of releases in the offing next week - looks like something for everyone! First on the list is Enemy Ace Archives Vol. 2, the second and final Enemy Ace Archives volume reprinting classic stories from Star-Spangled War Stories by Robert Kanigher, Joe Kubert, Russ Heath and others. Also coming from DC is Justice Vol. 1 HC, reprinting the first four issues of the hugely popular series by Earth X compatriots Jim Krueger, Alex Ross, and Doug Braithwaite. This will be the first of a planned three-volume set of hardcovers.
Other items from DC include JSA Vol. 11: Mixed Signals, reprinting JSA #76-81, and Superman: Up, Up and Away TPB, reprinting Superman #650-653 and Action #837-840.
Hardcover volumes from Marvel include Daredevil Vol. 6 HC, which reaches back to the very first storyline delivered by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, from Daredevil #16-19 which wasn't collected in the initial HCs (primarily, I would guess, because the stories focused mainly on Ben Urich.) This volume also collects #76-81, which puts us current with the beginning of the Brubaker/Lark run which begain in issue #82. Richard Corben's three-issue MAX series is collected in Haunt of Horror: Edgar Allan Poe HC in the Marvel Premiere Edition format. This series adapts some of Poe's greatest stories and poems in ways you could never expect!
There are two Essentials and a classic trade shipping this week, too! Essential Tales of the Zombie finally crawls out of its crypt - this sucker has been delayed for a while, but it will be worth it once we see a lot of that great black and white art restored! It reprints Tales of the Zombie #1-10 and Dracula Lives #1-2, and much of this art was donated through the courtesy of our board forum moderator, Living Monolith! Thanks LM!!! Also, we'll see Essential Thor Vol. 3, reprinting Thor #137-166. Speaking of Thor, we'll also see a beefy classic trade entitled Thor: Eternals Saga Vol. 1 TPB, a 208-page collection reprinting Thor #283-291 and Annual #7, featuring an extended guest appearance by the cast of the Eternals.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Daredevil Vol. 6 HC
DC/MARVEL SOLICITS FOR DECEMBER
Here are the December solicits for Marvel and DC:
As usual, most of DC's solicit information that they have released this month is actually advance-solicits for books that will start shipping not in December, but in January (and also Feburary), while Marvel's solicits are for books that will actually ship in December.
This new hardcover edition of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, released back in May 2005, has just gone out-of-print from DC and is now sold out at TOW. If you're still wanting to track down a copy, I recommend snagging a copy from marketplace sellers at Amazon, which you can reach through THIS LINK. I wouldn't think this book's price on the back market would go through the roof, but you never know. I'll check with DC to see if they do plan on reissuing this hardcover. (DC generally keeps their trade paperback collections in print, but hardcovers are a different story.)
LAST DAY FOR NEW X-MEN OMNIBUS COUPON AT TOW
Today is the last day to take advantage of the coupon for the NEW X-MEN OMNIBUS HC on sale at TOW. The coupon, which is extended to users of this site, offers a 10% off the sale price of the massive hardcover volume that is scheduled for release in November. To use the coupon, just add the item to your cart and when you are ready to check out, input the code COUPON into the coupon field and the 10% deduction will be placed on your final total!
I just wanted to alert folks to this particular book, which is getting RAVE REVIEWS from many quarters. PRIDE OF BAGHDAD is an original hardcover graphic novel from DC/Vertigo by Brian K. Vaughan which somehow got left out of Tales of Wonder's data until last week, when it shipped and is now available for purchase. The graphic novel tells the story (based on a true event) of a group of lions that escaped from a Baghdad zoo during the war in Iraq. For more details, check out this interview on NPR with series creator Vaughan.
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Another big block of early Marvel Age super-hero comics are locked up in Masterworks with the release of Human Torch Masterworks Vol. 1, which reprints Human Torch stories from Strange Tales #101-117. These were concurrent with the earliest stories published in Fantastic Four, and despite the fact that they don't quite come near the standards of excellence of the Lee/Kirby FF, they're still a lot of zany fun! And speaking of FF, Marvel gives us yet another collection of Byrne Visionaries, with Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 6 TPB, which reprints FF #276-284, Thing #23, and Secret Wars II #2 (dig the Beyonder running around in his orange jumpsuit!)
Another Marvel book of note is Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: Best of the Best MPE HC, which in my opinion is one of Marvel's most outstanding new books. I've always been a Carol Danvers fan since the days of Avengers Annual #10 and her palling around with the X-Men as Binary, and this new series combines that sense of personal struggle Carol has always carried around inside her with a sense of fun and classic comic storytelling. The Premiere Edition HC reprints the Ms. Marvel #1-5 and the lead story in Giant-Size Ms. Marvel #1.
And look at DC, finally getting Batman Chronicles Vol. 2 TPB to store shelves! This trade picks up where the last one left off, compiling all the Batman stories from Detective, Batman and World's Finest in chronological order, reprinting Detective Comics #39-45, Batman #2-3 and New York World's Fair Comics #2 !
Not to be overlooked from Image Comics is Joe Casey and Tom Scioli's Godland Vol. 2: Another Sunny Delight TPB, which reprints Godland #7-12 and the short story from the 2005 Image Holiday Special. And finally, there are a series of historical retrospectives by a company called Rosen Publishing that cover the "Creation Of" such Marvel franchises as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men and Fantastic Four. I have no idea what these books entail, but they're written by longtime comic writers and historians Danny Fingeroth and Paul Kupperburg, so that's a plus! I'll try and get more info to you about these books in the short future.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Batgirl: Destruction's Daughter TPB
One more week to wait for Essential Tales of the Zombie and Essential Thor Vol. 3. In talking to Marvel, the decision was made to hold the book a little longer so they could make the books look as good as possible. The Tales of the Zombie volume, in particular, is loaded down with tons of original art, but Marvel had a devil of a time (pun not intended!) matching much of the art material with captions and lettering from the original comics, and it took a lot longer than expected to prep this material. So instead of an onsale date of 9/20, look for both these books on 9/27.
SHIPPING SCHEDULE CHANGES
Some DC books of note that are shifting on the schedule:
• Justice Vol. 1 HC moves from 9/13 to 9/27
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping yesterday from Tales of Wonder, on Wednesday, September 13.
This week's big book is Shazam Family Archives Vol. 1, which is a departure from DC's regular Shazam Archives line. It reprints stories featuring Captain Marvel, Jr. and Mary Marvel, including Master Comics #23-32, Captain Marvel, Jr. 1 and Captain Marvel Adventures #18 !
A small handful of books cursed by lateness finally arrive in stores, including the new printing of Mike Mignola's Elseworlds classic Batman: Gotham By Gaslight, issues #42-50 of Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol in Doom Patrol Vol. 4: Musclebound TPB, and the new Jimmy Palmiotti/Justin Gray take on Jonah Hex in Jonah Hex: Face Full of Violence TPB. (It should be noted that Face Full of Violence was solicited at $14.99 but will be shipping with a retail list price of $12.99, so make sure your retailer adjusts accordingly!)
Marvel counters with Essential Hulk Vol. 4, which reprints Incredible Hulk #143-170, a run that is smack dab in the early years of the Herb Trimpe era; a Marvel Premiere Edition of New Avengers Vol. 4: The Collective HC, which reprints the last five issues before Civil War; and Ultimate Marvel Team-Up: The Ultimate Collection TPB, a trade paperback edition that reprints all sixteen issues of Ultimate Team-Up as well as the Ultimate Spider-Man Super Special.
Also, if you're interested in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Vol. 1: Derailed TPB, and are wondering why it starts with FNSM #5, that's because the first four issues were reprinted in the Spider-Man: The Other TPB, since they were part of that crossover event.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Batman: Gotham By Gaslight TPB *new printing*
December solicits will include a volume called Savage Dragon Archives Vol. 1, but before you get all excited that this will be a color, hardcover reprint collection, despite the "Archives" tag it will be a 600+ page black-and-white collection in the vein of Showcase Presents and Marvel Essentials. It will collect the expanded version of the first Savage Dragon mini-series plus issues #1-21.
MARVEL COLLECTED EDITIONS ANNOUNCED AT BALTIMORE
At the Baltimore Comic Con, Marvel announced several collected edition projects that will be coming your way in 2007. Here's a list of a few that were announced:
• Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Vol. 1 HC: Reprinting the entirety of the Steve Ditko years, including Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spider-Man #1-38 and Annuals #1-2, and Spider-Man stories from Strange Tales #2, Fantastic Four Annual #1 and a whole bunch of reprint covers from Marvel Tales!
• Runaways Vol. 2 HC: A followup to the first collection of the cult hit comic by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona, who will be leaving the book they created with issue #24. It will be released in March '07, and the following month sees the first issue from new creative team Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan.
• Daredevil By Frank Miller Vol. 1 HC: As mentioned in an earlier news update, this book was confirmed at the Baltimore Con, but exact contents are still TBA.
One area where Image can use your help is in tracking down original art or even black and white photocopies of original art for this material. If you have any of the page art from these books, or know anybody with the art, please let me know and I will put you in contact with Image Comics. This project is being done with the full cooperation of the Kirby family.
These collections are scheduled for sometime in 2007. More news as it develops!
Wow! I was feeling all happy to break the news about the Captain Victory and Silver Star collections, and DC goes and announces at the Baltimore Con...the New Gods Omnibus!!! It's currently planned to be a four-volume, color hardcover set that will reprint Jack's early seventies cosmic opus. Newsarama has ALL THE DETAILS, including the following from book editor George Brewer:
“We’re still trying to determine the final contents, but essentially, it’s going to be a hardcover collection of the full New Gods saga,” Brewer said. “Right now, and this is subject to change, my bias would be to collect the stories across titles, as they were released chronologically, so it gives you a sense of how the concepts evolved, so that way you’re not stuck with a full Mr. Miracle collection or a full Forever People, but rather, build the larger story as the issues and pieces were released chronologically.”
The Omnibus will include the full run of New Gods and The Hunger Dogs, but will also include, as Brewer said, assorted other issues which contain pieces of the larger whole, such as the debut of the characters in Kirby’s issues of Jimmy Olsen and others. “Those are some of the details we’re still working out, but it’s looking like it will be four collections of 200-plus pages each,” Brewer said. “They’ll be color hard covers – a nice, definitive collection. I think that’s something that the core Kirby fans have wanted to see for a long time.”
This has been a long time coming, and I'm extremely pleased to see that DC is going to anthologize this all as one discrete project!
It wasn't just the New Gods Omnibus that DC dished about to retailers at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Here's a couple more books you'll want to keep an eye out for on the solicit schedule in 2007 (and for more details, be sure to check out the source at NEWSARAMA:
• Showcase Presents Who's Who: Two-volume set of black-and-white Showcase Presents reprinting all the issues of the '80s era Who's Who comic, similar to Marvel's Official Handbooks of the Marvel Universe!
• Absolute WILDCats HC: An absolute edition for Jim Lee's Wildstorm title.
• League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier HC: It was announced that this book has been taken off the release schedule indefinitely, and will be resolicited at a later date. According to the Newsarama article, this will be the last ABC project to be released by DC before Alan Moore takes his creative properties to Top Shelf.
BATMAN STRIKES...STRIKES OUT!
Don't know if this was previously mentioned or not, but I've confirmed with DC that the two Batman Strikes digests - Vol. 3: Duty Calls (reprinting Batman Strikes #11-14) and Vol. 4: Behind the Shadows (reprinting Batman Strikes #17-21) - have both been cancelled, and as of now it doesn't look like they'll be resolicted any time soon.
If you're collecting Alan Moore and J.H. Williams' Promethea series in hardcover, please note that PROMETHEA BOOK THREE HC has just sold out at Diamond. Since these ABC hardcovers have no precedent for going back to press after the first print sells out, I would recommend prioritizing a purchase now while copies are still available on store shelves. Tales of Wonder still has them in stock, though I'm sure not for long.
Site sponsor TOW is cleaning out their warehouse of extra inventory, including some books that are of the "scratch and dent" variety. In the words of TOW head honcho Andy Eaton, "All of them have minor shelf-wear, mostly to the dust jackets (they won't be eligible for return to us as damages, sorry)." But if you're not a stickler for condition, you might want to check out these HCs and their low prices:
• $11.99: COMPLETE FRANK MILLER SPIDER-MAN HC
Also included is a long out-of-print X-Men trade:
• $19.99: FALL OF THE MUTANTS TPB
It's that time again. About once every quarter we see another huge batch of Marvel collections pop up on Amazon. As usual, there are some caveats that are important to remember: just because these books pop up on Amazon does not mean they'll ever see print, and if they do, it's possible that any combination of the title, final contents, page count, release date, format and any other variable may be changed by the time the book sees publication. With that in mind, here are some of the items that are noted as forthcoming from Marvel (in early 2007):
ESSENTIALS
• ESSENTIAL GHOST RIDER VOL. 2
TRADES AND DIGESTS
• FRANKLIN RICHARDS: LAB RAT DIGEST
OVERSIZED HARDCOVERS
• STAN LEE MEETS HC
MARVEL PREMIERE EDITION CLASSIC HARDCOVERS
• SPIDER-MAN: DEATH OF THE STACYS HC
For more nuanced discussion about the possibility of these books and their actual contents, visit THIS THREAD at the Marvel Forum.
Also coming from Marvel is an Omnibus with the title DAREDEVIL BY FRANK MILLER OMNIBUS VOL. 1, a hardcover collection that promises to be a complete accounting of Frank Miller's tenure on Marvel's Man Without Fear. What that exactly means changes when you ask different people, so wade on through THIS THREAD at the Marvel Forum to get word on what this volume might include.
For Marvel's part, look for official confirmation of this title during the Baltimore Comic-Con, and at that point we might get a glimpse into what Marvel's plans are for this and future volumes.
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping today from Tales of Wonder on Thursday, September 7. (Books will be shipping late due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday.)
It's a very light week this week, as you can see!
• Batman: Face the Face TPB
SCHEDULE CHANGES
Here is updated schedule information for Marvel and DC collected editions and selected items, which includes some more delays for DC products that have been consistently late, as well as the Stan Lee Meets series, which seems to be also cursed by across-the-board delays:
• Batman: Gotham By Gaslight TPB (new printing) moves from 9/6 to 9/13
Schedule changes have been reflected in the release schedule column on the left sidebar.
I'm doing some housecleaning at the Marvel Forum, so I am "unstickying" (to use the message board parlance) a couple threads you might be interested in reading up on in case you haven't yet.
The first thread is QUESTIONS ON REPRINTS FOR OUT-OF-STOCK MASTERWORKS, which is a group discussion about what Marvel is doing about OOP Masterworks, when they're going to do it, and what everyone thinks about it. There's a bunch of different opinions there, so go take a look and read up on it and feel free to give your own.
Also being unstickied is a TROUBLESHOOTING THREAD, where you can check up on what to do to get your account restored since our last board misfortune a couple months ago. If you are still having no luck accessing the boards and your old account information, please read up on the thread and contact me if you still have trouble.
Make sure to visit the message boards and take part in the first installment of our MARVEL MASTERWORKS MARATHON! Each week, we're going to be reading a batch of Marvel comics in chronological order, starting with FF #1 and moving forward. By the time the Human Torch Masterworks Vol. 1 is released later this month, all of Marvel's Super-Hero comics from November 1961 through February 1964 will be in print in Masterworks, and that's our target era. As reading circle leader Alex Lear requests, the thread will be the place for "your thoughts, comments, questions, and tasteful complaints" about the books in question.
So join us at the thread when you get a chance! The first comics we're reading are Fantastic Four #1-3 and Ant-Man from Tales to Astonish #27!
Thanks to Tales of Wonder, MarvelMasterworks.com is able to extend to site users the opportunity to get an extra 10% off the purchase price of NEW X-MEN OMNIBUS HC, which is already discounted at 30% off - so your discount will be on top of that! This volume is shipping in November and reprints the entire run of Grant Morrison's New X-Men, which ran from issues #114 through #154 and Annual 2001. In my mind, it's one of the best runs of X-Men ever, and with this Omnibus you can get it all complete and in one volume.
Just add the book to your cart and when you're ready to check out, type in the code OMNIBUS in the coupon code slot. The discount will be applied to your order. The coupon code will be active through September 16.
SCHEDULE CHANGES
Here is updated schedule information for Marvel and DC collected editions and selected items:
• Batman: Gotham By Gaslight TPB (new printing) moves from 8/30 to 9/6
Schedule changes have been reflected in the release schedule column on the left sidebar.
Some corrections to previous posts:
Green Lantern: Greatest Stories Ever Told TPB does NOT reprint any '40s material! Contrary to what the solicit says, it does not reprint any of the Alan Scott GA stories. For more details, check THIS THREAD at the DC Forum.
Heroes Reborn: Avengers TPB has not been solicited yet, and when it ships in December it will be the last of the four Heroes Reborn trades to be released.
The preview page for this volume is now LIVE! Check it
out when you get the chance!
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Marvel reissues Daredevil Vol. 1 HC with the fill-in issue (#12) that was left
out of the previous volume intact in the contents, plus the Wizard #1/2 special issue. There's also a new printing of Essential Punisher Vol. 1.
Dark Horse publishes an interesting hardcover, The Gremlins, a Walt Disney project never before reprinted that was conceived by Roald Dahl and illustrated by artists at the Walt Disney Studios in 1943.
DC Comics offers Green Lantern: Greatest Stories Ever Told TPB, which reprints a wide variety of selections from the '40s through today, including last year's Secret Files issue. They also will send out the first volume of Batman in Showcase with Showcase Presents Batman Vol. 1, reprinting Detective Comics #327-342 and Batman #164-174.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Book of Lost Souls TPB
Wanna know what the December Marvel Age Masterworks will be? It's the Masterworks' 70th volume, and it's a most welcome addition to the Masterworks library! Head on over to the
CONTEST THREAD at the Marvel Forum and see the new volume and take a stab at guessing the cover to win a free Masterworks/Archives of your choice from Tales of Wonder!
Visit the CONTEST PAGE for more details on what you need to do to bring home that free book!
NOVEMBER SOLICITS FOR MARVEL/DC
Here are the November solicits for Marvel and DC:
As usual, most of DC's solicit information that they have released this month is actually advance-solicits for books that will start shipping in December, while Marvel's solicits are for books that will actually ship in November.
An interesting thing to note in Marvel's November catalogue is the amount of TPB title lines that are coming to a close. Here's a list:
• Captain America and the Falcon: The Swine TPB: The third of three color trades that reprint the entirety of Jack Kirby's '70s run on Cap/Falcon.
• X-Men: Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic Book Four TPB: The fourth of four volumes that reprints the 1996 X-Men crossover extravaganza. All these books weighed in at close to 400 pages each, so that makes for quite the library.
• Heroes Reborn: Captain America and Heroes Reborn: Iron Man: These two books join their sister titles Heroes Reborn: Avengers and Heroes Reborn: Fantastic Four, bringing the whole Heroes Reborn library into print in individual volumes that reprint each entire 12-issue series.
• Avengers: Galactic Storm Vol. 2 TPB: This was only a 2-volume set, but the first was published in January of this year. This was a pretty huge crossover in its own right, and each of these books tip in at close to 300 pages each.
• New X-Men Omnibus: I suppose it wouldn't hurt to throw this on the list, in that it brings back to print all the Grant Morrison material from New X-Men HC Vol. 1-3, two of which are now out-of-print and garnering big bucks on the back market. If you dig the Omnibus format, this will give you everything in one book.
I don't recall so many different title lines coming to a close in a single month. Here's hoping we see more cool title lines started up in their place!
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
There's a lot on this week's list, including one of DC's most definitive comic book series of all time getting Absolute Edition status. Absolute Dark Knight starts shipping today, and it pairs Frank Miller's 1986 masterpiece four-issue limited series The Dark Knight Returns with his 2001 sequel, The Dark Knight Strikes Back, which many regard to be less than a masterpiece. Regardless, you'll get all of Frank Miller's Dark Knight material in a giant, fabulous, 512-page Absolute Edition.
Another Batman collection from DC is Batman and the Monster Men TPB, which reprints the six-issue miniseries of the same name by Matt Wagner. And Alan Moore's Promethea series draws to a close with the Promethea Book Five HC from ABC, which reprints issues #26-32, including a special poster that will recreate the glorious pull-out that accompanied issue #32.
From Marvel, we see another Masterworks this week, as Iron Man Masterworks Vol. 3 matches last month's Captain America volume! This one reprints Tales of Suspense #66-83 and throws in the Sub-Mariner crossover from Tales to Astonish #82 for good measure, keeping fans of the Armored Avenger happy as more progress is being made in reprinting his stories....one more Masterworks and we're into the main title! Another item of note concerning this volume is it will feature the first artwork on Iron Man by Gene "The Dean" Colan!
Finally, this week marks the release of the first Marvel Premiere Edition Classic hardcover, a new line of standard-sized hardcovers which - unlike the regular Premiere Edition hardcover that reprint new material - dips back into the past and reprints classic storylines. The first one up to bat is Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt, which reprints one of the great Spider-Man stories of the '80s by JM DeMatteis and Mike Zeck. This MPE Classic HC is available in a regular edition and a variant which will chronicle the Classic library as a sequential whole.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Absolute Dark Knight
According to DC, all previous orders for Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere TPB have been cancelled, and will be resolicited for February release.
DC comics has shuffled the contents of the upcoming Showcase Presents The Unknown Soldier volume. It will now clock in at 552 pages and reprint Star Spangled War Stories #151-188.
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping yesterday from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, August 17.
Plastic Man Archives Vol. 8 bows this week, reprinting more Jack Cole Plas from Police Comics #72-77 and Plastic Man #9-10. The book also features an introduction from no less than Harvey Pekar! DC also publishes Justice Society TPB which reprints All-Star Comics #58-67, the 70s revival of the JSA that has been clamored for by fans ever since the All-Star Archives line drew to a close. And for those that didn't get the hardcover, Identity Crisis TPB is now out, featuring a reprint of the Brad Meltzer series that kicked off all the dramatic changes going on in the DC Universe right now!
Marvel counters with Essential Luke Cage, Power Man Vol. 2, which catches readers up to the point when Power Man teamed up with Iron Fist and started to share billing on a single title. Ultimate X-Men Vol. 6 HC finishes off Brian K. Vaughan's run on the title.
Another title of note is Walt & Skeezix Vol. 2 HC, finally available and shipping from TOW!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Cable/Deadpool Vol. 5: Living Legends TPB
It appears that Golden Age All-Winners Masterworks Vol. 2, which was due to ship in September, is now delayed until December. There should be an official announcement coming from Marvel explaining the delay shortly, but until then, Marvel is restructuring the variant library numbering to reflect the schedule change. Please visit the MASTERWORKS LIBRARY to familiarize yourself with the new numbering.
NOVEMBER MASTERWORKS ANNOUNCEMENT!
The November Masterworks has been announced, and you can find out what it is by visiting this link at the MARVEL FORUM. There's also the added
benefit of winning a contest for a free Masterworks or DC Archives volume from Tales of Wonder if you can guess which cover Masterworks editor Cory Sedlmeier has chosen for the volume in question! (Ya gotta hurry, though...the contest ends tomorrow afternoon at 4pm!)
Get over there, buddy! I'm bein' vague about the identity of this glorious artifact of Marvel history on purpose! Awwww sheesh...here's THE LINK again! Now I don't wanna hear nothin' about how warm hearted I ain't!
This thread at the DC FORUM helped clear up a mystery surrounding the disappearance of Seven Soldiers Vol. 4 TPB from the release schedule. It had been solicited for last month and went AWOL on us. I haven't been closely following the monthly comings and goings of Grant Morrison's cross-title extravaganza, but I have been following it in trade. Thanks to site user drumore for tipping us off that the big finale issue is delayed until October, so that would push back the last Seven Soldier trade into December or January. I'll try and get exact details, but until then, if you're hoping to enjoy the fourth and final volume of Seven Soldiers, the wait is going to be a little longer than you would expect.
TOW has a coupon sale going on for the ART OF MARVEL COMICS VOL. 1 HC. Just add the book to your cart, input the coupon code ART4ME, and you'll be able to purchase the book for $11.99. If you would like to take an in-depth look at what this book is like inside, visit the FEATURE PAGE for the book at this website's Marvel Hardcover Library page!
SHIPPING NEXT WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, August 9.
Dark Horse keeps Steve Rude's Nexus coming in archival hardcover with Nexus Archives Vol. 4 HC, and they also publish Little Lulu Vol. 11: April Fools TPB, continuing Stanley and Tripp's comic masterpiece in affordable trade paperback reprints.
DC's Spirit Archives series closes out the decade of the 1940s with Will Eisner's Spirit Archives Vol. 19, which reprints the Spirit sections from July through December of 1949. (Not too much longer for this Archives series to go!) And Marvel's big book this week is an oversized hardcover for Marvel Zombies, the cult hit of the year written by Robert Kirkman, drawn by Sean Phillips, and featuring an array of classic cover homages from Marvel's past by Arthur Suydam.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Authority/Lobo: Holiday Hell TPB
SHIPPING NEXT WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, August 2.
Last week, TOW was shortchanged their copies of the regular edition of Captain America Masterworks Vol. 3, but they'll start shipping
on August 2, a week late. Also coming from Marvel is Spider-Man Visionaries: Kurt Busiek Vol. 1 TPB which reprints the first eight
issues of Untold Tales of Spider-Man, a series from the 90s long requested by fans for collection. Also check out X-Factor: The Longest Night MPE HC by Peter David, probably the best thing to come out of Marvel's Decimation event along with Deadly Genesis.
The biggest book to ship next week, not only in size but also arguably in importance, is Absolute Kingdom Come, a 340 page slipcased hardcover that reprints the classic Mark Waid/Alex Ross story from ten years ago!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Absolute Kingdom Come HC
Updated with all current scheduling information and active links:
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping
yesterday from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, July 26.
A day late for this posting and several dollars short after San Diego! The EC Picto-Fiction set is now out, as is the 64th Marvel Masterworks volume! Those are the highlights of this week's releases.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• 30 Days of Night TPB
EC ARCHIVES PREVIEW/NEWS
Tales of Wonder has preview images up for the upcoming EC Archives being produced by Russ Cochran and Gemstone. In fact,
TOW is now taking pre-orders for the first EC Archives volume due in October:
Pre-order WEIRD SCIENCE ARCHIVES VOL. 1 HC.
You can check out the preview pdf by clicking on THIS LINK. Here is some of the copy that accompanies
EC's pitch for their new library of color hardcovers:
"EC Crypt and Gemstone Publishing are proud to present the first volume in The EC Archives. Weird Science Volume One kicks off the series
with a 212-page hardcover volume collecting the first six issues of the legendary sci-fi comics series! Included are stories by Al Feldstein,
William Gaines and more, with art by legendary illustrators Wally Wood, Harvey Kurtzman, Joe Orlando, Jack Kamen, Al Feldstein and others.
Each volume will also include all of the original EC advertisements, editorial pieces and even letters pages, to give readers a true idea what
made EC one of the most influential comic book lines ever created. The EC Archives editions will present these stories with all-new colors
based on the originals, but utilizing new methods of shading and texture to enhance and improve each story's impact. The reproduction of these
volumes will be the best ever presented, as each of The EC Archives will be shot directly from the original EC art!"
Here is some more background information based on conversations I had with Gemstone at the SDCC. As you can see by the mockup cover image, the Weird Science Archives have been branded with the "EC Archives" library title across the main title of the book, with the identity of the foreword author- in this case George Lucas- splayed across the bottom of the of the front cover. According to Gemstone, this is indeed pretty near a final draft of the EC Archives trade dress. The EC Archives brand will be displayed in such a manner on future books, and you can expect the foreword author to get prime placement on the front cover. As it was explained to me, "George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg will help sell the books."
The EC Archives will be modeled after DC's Archives and Marvel Masterworks in format size, and though they will not ship with slipcases like their album-sized, black-and-white counterparts, Gemstone may perhaps manufacture limited edition slipcases to house the books after the particular run of a title is complete. There is no certain plan to do this, but when I brought the suggestion up, Gemstone's John Clark seemed to think it would be an idea worth investigating.
Short answer? Yes. Long answer? Be patient.
In my further discussions with Gemstone, I asked if there were any plans to release a comprehensive hardcover archive of Carl Barks' Duck material. Currently, foreign markets in Norway, Sweden, Germany and Denmark are getting lovely hardcover reprints of all the Barks Duck material in chronological order, and while those fans are just ducky right now, their release in Europe is getting in the way of a domestic US release. Within a couple years, however, that will change. Once the non-interference arrangement with European licensees elapses, the decks will be clear for US release, and that will likely be in 2008.
And just to repeat: we'd be getting chronological Barks Duck releases, in color, in hardcover. If this news doesn't make you quack with joy, check out the next news update:
Are you a Floyd Gottfredson mouse fanatic? Gemstone will have you covered, too! They're in the planning stages of a similar initiative to cover Floyd Gottfredson's seminal work on Mickey Mouse strips, which began back in 1930! This is about all there is to say about this project right now, but as soon as there is more info to pass on, I'll let you know!
My adventures at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con have drawn to a close, and as I type up these news and notes it's also time for reflection. I had an absolutely wonderful time walking the convention floor, hitting a bunch of panels and meeting friends both old and new. If you've never been to the San Diego Comic-Con, take it from someone who has just now finished my first time visit: you've got to schedule a trip one day! If you're a comics fan, it'll blow your mind! The area of San Diego that the Convention Center is placed in is gorgeous and full of things to do both during the Con and after it closes down each night. The convention itself is packed with people in all kinds of outrageous outfits (some of them better fitting than others), and you constantly bump into comics creators you've known and loved for years through their comic books, and now you get the chance to shake their hand and share with them your common love of the medium. It's a total blast and the biggest and best organized comics convention out there for a reason!
Now, enough for reflection, there's a few notes to get to from my discussions with industry folks who are putting together the collected editions we're going to want to buy!
Nat Gertler of About Comics announced at the Kirby Tribute panel his upcoming trade paperback release of
Steve Gerber and Jack Kirby's late 70s/early 80s Destroyer Duck series. The five issues that Gerber and Kirby collaborated on were a
political commentary about their respective problems with the "powers that be" who controlled the major publishers at the time. This collection
will include only those five issues (none of the following issues by different creators) and will be in an affordable, black and white
softcover edition. I asked about a hardcover edition, and Nat expressed his concerns that those are a tough sell for this type of niche
material. Steve Gerber is going to be writing a foreword for the reprint volume. It will not be in the digest format that other about reprints
like DNAgents have come in, and will be in a standard comic size format.
I had the chance to catch up with Erik Larsen about his line of Savage Dragon hardcovers that has been published intermittently over the years. He had planned a complete library that would reprint all of his Savage Dragon comics, but has had trouble with sales on some of the volumes, as well as concerns from some fans that out-of-print volumes are not accessible. He seemed a little sheepish about the realities of continuing this line that had already started, and is just as frustrated as his fans that he can't continue it on these terms.
Though plans are still vague, however, Erik is considering doing a more deluxe, and in his words, "Absolutey" version of Savage Dragon,
perhaps starting a new set of volumes that would reprint a ton more material in a hardcover, Omnibus-style format. One of the issues he is
facing right now is restoring some of the old material from not-so-good film which needs a lot of work. That's the kind of obstacle that may
keep this kind of project on the back burner for Erik. All this means, though, is that eager fans should shoot him an email and give him the
encouragement to start up such a project sooner rather than later.
In the vein of their collection of Charles Schulz' baseball strips, It's Only A Game, Nat Gertler's About Comics comes through with another collection of Schulz material titled Charles Schulz' Youth. Announced at this year's convention, here is some of the copy About has released concerning the book:
"During the mid-1950s through the mid-1960s, while the quality of Peanuts was spurring it to new heights of popularity and spreading it from the comics page into books and onto TV, Charles M. Schulz also crafted hundreds of single-panel cartoons for the publications of Warner Press. Focused primarily on teenage life in all its gangly awkwardness and heartfelt joys, these cartoons allowed Schulz a creative outlet outside of the kids-only Peanuts realm.
Now for the first time these cartoons are collected into a single volume. It's a treasure trove of great drawing and insightful gags from the world's most popular cartoonist."
Charles Schulz' Youth is tentatively scheduled for a May 2007 release. Format and price have yet to be determined.
In talking with Dark Horse's Jeremy Barlow, it appears that Dark Horse's plans concerning Conan are still in flux. Being restricted to only four Conan collected editions a year makes the job for Barlow a little tricky when faced with Conan fans who want to turn the spigot on full blast! He reconfirmed that the general plan right now is to continue the series of color trades of Conan the Barbarian comic reprints through issue #100, though it appeared that he was open to continuing them through the end of the Roy Thomas era (approximately issue #114). Certainly, further interaction with the Conan fan community might help determine how far they go before they rest the series.
Foremost on his mind is collecting Marvel's King Conan, and also another project concerning Savage Sword of Conan black and white magazines. The format for the latter project is, at this point, conceptualized around the idea of black and white softcovers.
I encouraged Jeremy to consider hardcover alternatives for all the material, not just the unpublished King Conan or Savage Sword, but the previously published mainline Marvel comic. He seems very open to the prospect of doing "Omnibus" style deluxe hardcovers of the same material to satisfy us fussy collectors, so please make sure to encourage him through emails or message board interaction if you'd like to see hardcovers for some of the best material Marvel has produced!
As loyal readers of this site and its message boards have known for a while, Marvel is releasing a New X-Men Omnibus that will reprint all of Grant Morrison's New X-Men comics run (#114-154.) It has now been officially announced at the San Diego Comic-Con, so feel free to pencil this one in!
SAN DIEGO CON NEWS ROUNDUP
Got a few news items to post from my experiences at the San Diego Con. They're many and varied, so
read on!
I talked to the guys at the Gemstone booth for a quick conversation. Got a good look at the Picto-Fiction hardcover, which is as beautiful as you guys would expect it to be.
I also got word on the release schedule for the EC Archives. The plan right now is to deliver the first four that have already been announced, then there will be a semi-regular schedule over the rest of the 2007 calendar year to deliver six more books, so there is no current plan to have a monthly schedule.
The general feeling is they don't want to overburden fans and their pocketbooks, but at the same time they seem very enthusiastic about the material (as they should be.)
They won't have any preview material of the EC Archives at San Diego, sadly, but they said they'll have preview material at future Conventions.
Absolute Watchmen won the 2006 Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection/Project, beating out Buddha Vol. 5-8, The Contract With God Trilogy, DC Comics Rarities Vol. 1, and Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 1.
The Complete Calvin & Hobbes won the 2006 Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection/Project- Comic Strips, beating out Complete Peanuts 1955-1956 & 1957-1958, Krazy and Ignatz: The Komplete Komics, Little Nemo In Slumberland: So Many Splendid Sundays and Walt and Skeezix.
Other major Eisner Awards included:
Best Penciller/Inker: John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men/Planetary)
Inducted into the Eisner Hall of Fame were underground artist Vaughn Bode, Ramona Fradon (Aquaman/Metamorpho), Jim Steranko (SHIELD/Captain America) and Russ Manning (Doctor Solar/Magnus, Robot Fighter.)
The Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comics Writing went to Alvin Schwartz and Harvey Kurtzman.
At the Cup 'O Joe panel, David Gabriel passed on the news that Marvel is officially working on a back-to-press initiative that would involve restoration of the initial volumes. Publisher Dan Buckley chimed in that a lot of the original volumes didn't get the love and attention in the past twenty years that new books coming out in the Cory Sedlmeier era have been getting, and they're going to get a second look. No definitive word on when that will occur, but next year is when we can expect to see some movement in this direction.
In exciting news that can now be revealed, Marvel and the Kirby Estate have been working together to assemble the definitive version of
the "lost issue" of FF #102, the comic that Jack had drawn that was scrapped at the last minute during his final days with Marvel in 1970.
As you may know, they started over and did a completely different #102 that was the first part of a three part series, the last two issues of
which were drawn by John Romita after Jack left Marvel (all these issues are reprinted in FF Masterworks Vol. 10.) Many of Jack's panels of
artwork from this comic were used in FF #108, but they haven't been assembled as Jack had originally intended until now. Look for this project
to come out next April.
Word on what the cover will look like is undetermined at this time (Jack did not complete a cover for the planned #102.) The title of the story at the time was "The Menace of the Mega-Men." The initial NEWSARAMA REPORT announced that "all the penciled pages have been found." Well, that is mostly true. Almost all the penciled pages have been found. Editor Tom Brevoort has been working in concert with the Kirby Estate to track it all down, or at least most of it, and this will be a project that Silver Age Marvel fans of all stripes will want to keep an eye on. Stan Lee will be providing new dialogue for the issue. Additional creative talents lending their hand at inking and coloring have yet to be announced.
I talked to Steve "The Dude" Rude at his table for a few moments on Wednesday and complimented him about his Nexus Archives run. He seems very pleased with their quality as well, aside from a few quibbles about reproduction.
I asked him about the publishing schedule for the Archives and he said that he's done covers through the fifth volume,
so we'll see at least that many. He gave a humorous aside that he was "getting royalty checks" for them, so that meant to him
that they seemed to be selling well. He was optimistic that these books would plow on further and further down the line past the fifth
volume.
TwoMorrows Publishing is working on a Blue Beetle Companion that will trace the history of the character from the earliest days, when he premiered up against Superman, Batman and the Timely Marvel heroes, through the 50s/60s Charlton era, and both DC revamps. Artist Cully Hamner is doing the cover for the book and it should see print sometime in March.
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping
yesterday from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, July 19.
Here's a special report from San Diego, where ol' Gormuu is attending the San Diego Comic-Con. Sorry this release schedule is up late, but I had
my hands full not only getting ready to head to San Diego, but also handling our message board meltdown (more on that later.) There are LOTS of cool
books this week to go over, but I have little time to actually go over them. Click on the links below and check 'em out in more detail. One thing I'd highly recommend
is Robert Kirkman's Walking Dead. If you missed out on the first deluxe hardcover collection- which quickly went out of print- this hardcover collecting the first twelve
issues is a good substitute!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Essential Marvel Team-Up Vol. 1 *new printing*
The message board forums are back up, with only a few issues still to clear up: posts from the last month weren't backed up by ezboard, it appears, so
they have disappeared, and local users seems to have been deleted wholesale. While ezboard looks into this and sees if they can fix it,
go ahead and post unregistered. I've reset the posting configurations for the time being so you can post without having to be logged
in until this gets sorted out. Once again, thank you for your patience!
MESSAGE BOARDS BACK UP
A pup-tent version of the message board forums are now up, so feel free to hang out there by clicking through the navigation link at the top of this page. We'll have our normal service restored sometime
through the end of Monday, if not sooner. Thanks again for your patience!
UPDATE! I have been informed by some users that they get the following message when trying to access the forums:
system message
The administrator of this community has banned you from viewing and posting here. If you feel this is a mistake, please contact the administrator of the community you were trying to access. DO NOT contact ezboard support. This is between you and the community administrator(s).
Thank you.
If you see this message, it does not mean you have been banned! Try and access the site when you are not logged in, and you should be able to read and post as an unregistered user. Again, this should all be taken care of by Monday, so I apologize for the inconvenience, and appreciate your patience!
Over at icv2, there is an article
discussing the initial batch of EC Archives that are to start a monthly publication schedule
in October! First up is Weird Science Vol. 1, featuring an introduction by Star Wars legend George Lucas. Following in successive months are Shock SuspenStories Vol. 1, Tales From the Crypt Vol. 1 and Two-Fisted Tales Vol. 1, all reprinted in Masterworks/Archives style color, hardcover books!
For more details, visit the linked article!
MESSAGE BOARDS STILL DOWN
Thanks for your patience, folks! There still seems to be some sort of server crash or something that has taken the message boards offline. I'll keep you updated on the situtation as we get this sorted out.
Starting with this month's issues, Marvel has added new creative teams to both X-Men and Uncanny X-Men. The X-Men team is writer Mike Carey and artist Chris Bachalo, and the Uncanny team is writer Ed Brubaker and artist Billy Tan. Both series have been received well by fans, and in this article from CBR, it is noted how Marvel plans to approach collecting Uncanny X-Men's "Rise and Fall of the Shi'Ar Empire" twelve-issue storyline, and X-Men's "Supernovas" storyline, which will be two six-issue arcs:
"Marvel has also announced that both the “Supernovas” and “The Rise and Fall of the Shi'Ar Empire” story arcs will not be collected until after their conclusion. Both the Uncanny X-Men and X-Men story arcs will be collected in an oversized hardcover first featuring all twelve issues of each arc."
Remember, too, that this will be Marvel's approach for the twelve-issue Planet Hulk series!
Thanks to Rob Helmerichs of TP List for the tip, and as he said, "Super-Size Hardcovers Live!"
MESSAGE BOARDS GONE KER-PLUNKY!
The message board host, ezboard, appears to have gone whacko on supporting our board forums. I have no idea if this is system wide, server wide, or if we're just special, but I'm working on finding out right now. Will report back as soon as I get word. Thanks for your patience!
SUPREME POWER VOL. 2 HC
The first twelve issues of J. Michael Straczynski's Supreme Power were collected in
an oversized hardcover in 2005, but one of the more popular questions among Marvel collected edition fans has been when will a Vol. 2 hit? Question answered: look for this book to hit store shelves in December!
According to editors at Marvel, the book will reprint the final six issues of the MAX Supreme Power series, issues #13-18, plus the six-issue Hyperion limited series, also by JMS.
For the rest of the MAX Supreme Power comics, you'll have to check out the TPB collections of Nighthawk and Doctor Spectrum. Presumably, those ancillary, non-JMS minis won't make it to hardcover, but it sure would be nice for hardcover collectors!
OCTOBER MASTERWORKS!!!
In case you've missed the hubbub at the Marvel forums the last few weeks, there are a couple Masterworks
coming our way in October and marvelmasterworks.com gets to announce them! Click on the following links to
see which new volumes get the nod for the Masterworks canon!
VOL. 68
World Cup champions Italy dispatched France tonight in the final soccer match of the World Cup! Congratulations to Italia...and can I squeeze in a teensy, weensy bit of props for the US team, the only team that Italy did not beat in World Cup play?
Over at the Quesada boards, Marvel editor Jennifer Grundquist has confirmed a change in the solicit information for the X-Men: Blood of the Apocalypse TPB that is due to hit stores this week. Cable/Deadpool #26-27 will NOT be included in the contents, but an extra issue of X-Men will be in there instead. X-Men #182-187 is the collection's contents, the last issue being an epilogue that features the last Peter Milligan and Salvador Larroca contributions to the book before making way for Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo with #188.
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping
today from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, July 12.
DC Archives fans will see one of the few volume ones to hit store shelves this year with the publication of Metal Men Archives Vol. 1, which reprints Showcase #37-40 and the first five issues of Metal Men. These nutty stories from DC's Silver Age were written by Bob Kanigher and drawn by Spider-Man stalwarts Ross Andru and Mike "Mickey Demeo" Esposito. Also from DC is essential reading for Infinite Crisis fans, Superman: Infinite Crisis TPB, reprinting Superman #226, Action #836, Adventures of Superman #649 and Infinite Crisis Secret Files 2006.
Two high profile books from Marvel include Avengers Assemble Vol. 3 HC, an oversized hardcover which takes us further into the Busiek/Perez era of Avengers. In reprinting Avengers #23-34, it finishes out the George Perez drawn issues of Avengers, but it also includes the crossover issues from Thunderbolts #42-44 and throws in as an added bonus Avengers #1 1/2, one of the most fun comics to come out in the last ten years, written by Roger Stern and drawn by Bruce Timm.
X-Men: Deadly Genesis is now available in Marvel Premiere Edition HC, and it reprints the six-issue mini-series by Ed Brubaker and Trevor Hairsine. In case you're wondering, yes, this collection will include all the backup stories that appeared in the mini.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Avengers Assemble Vol. 3 HC
I will be attending the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con, and it sure would be cool to meet up with folks associated with this website and board forums while I'm there! I'll be attending a bunch of panels and hanging out on the floor, so shoot me an email and maybe we can meet up! I'm organizing a dinner get-together for one of the evenings from Thursday through Saturday, so make sure to get in on the planning. Visit THIS THREAD at the message board forums and check out the discussion!
JULY 4, INDEPENDENCE DAY
To everyone in the US, I'd like to wish you and your friends and family a wonderful July 4th. Today
is a great day for fun, fireworks, and reflection on all the good things about our country. Sure we have
our problems- some would say big problems! But none of them are insurmountable as long as we have
freedom on our side. So go crack open your copies of Captain America Masterworks Vol. 1 and 2, or Essential
Captain America if that's your bag, and have a happy fourth!
I haven't made up formal preview pages for the October Masterworks yet, for I've been terribly busy on other
business, but once I get back home from July 4th festivities, I'll get them live on the site. Until then,
if you haven't been active on the message boards, you might have missed these announcements!
October will see two Masterworks releases! The Marvel Age entry is Amazing Spider-Man Masterworks Vol. 8, which
will reprint Amazing Spider-Man #68-77 and Marvel Super-Heroes #14, the very first Ross Andru-drawn story that
is finally getting canonized in Masterworks. It's a real rarity that will help make for a very fine, and long overdue,
Masterworks book!
The other entry is perfectly befitting its October release date! Tales of Suspense Vol. 1 will be an Atlas
Era release that will provide the perfect companion to the Tales to Astonish volume that was released back in January.
Like the TTA volume, this book will reprint the first ten issues worth of sci-fi, eerie mystery and monster comics from
some of the era's top creators, like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck and more!
This is shaping up to be quite an awesome year for Marvel Masterworks, and in my opinion, the Archives over at DC are
really cranking, too. For fans of archival reprint collections like these, the times have never been better!
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping
today from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, July 5.
This is a very nice week despite a lack of high-profile, expensive collections. Black Panther by Jack Kirby Vol. 2 TPB completes
the collection of Jack's run on late 70s T'Challa, with reprints of issues #8 through 13. Also finishing out its run is
Essential Handbook of the Marvel Universe- Deluxe Edition Vol. 3. If you don't have these books on your shelf, you're missing out on
a fun and handy reference for the golden years of the Marvel Universe.
And if you're a fan of superhero comics and you're not reading Robert Kirkman's Invincible, you really are missing out on a modern but loving
take on the genre we all grew up reading. Hunt down the first Ultimate Collection hardcover, and then you'll be wanting to waste no time to
get Invincible: Ultimate Collection Vol. 2 HC, out this week from Image Comics. It's a deluxe, oversized hardcover designed to look
much like Marvel's OHCs, so Robert probably wouldn't mind if you filed it alongside the other Marvel books,
especially since Invincible recently crossed over into the Marvel Universe for a team-up with Spider-Man! The Ultimate Collection Vol. 2 reprints
issues #12-24, #0, and the Free Comic Book Day one-shot.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Batman: City of Crime TPB SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping
today from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, June 28.
While not as heavy duty a slate of releases as last week (could there be any heavier, actually?), this week
has a few key books to note. For instance, following last week's release of Nexus Vol. 3 in the Dark Horse Archives library, we see Tarzan: The Joe Kubert Years Vol. 3 HC, which reprints several more of the 70's era DC Comic, including Kubert's four-issue adaptation of Burrough's Tarzan and the Lion Man.
Marvel's big book of the week is The Eternals Omnibus, a massive oversized Omnibus hardcover that reprints all nineteen issues and the Annual of Jack Kirby's 70's series. Another Marvel HC to look out for is the Marvel Premiere Edition of Garth Ennis' and Clayton Crain's Ghost Rider: The Road to Damnation. And don't forget to check out the Marvel Milestones: Rawhide Kid/Two Gun Kid, which reprints classic stories from early 60's Marvel westerns!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• B.P.R.D.: The Black Flame TPB SEPTEMBER SOLICITS FOR MARVEL/DC
Lots of great stuff coming our way in September: two Masterworks from Marvel (Human Torch Vol. 1/GA All-Winners Vol. 2) and more cool classic trades, and Absolute New Frontier and the Infinite Crisis HC from DC!
Here are links to both solicit pages:
OCTOBER MASTERWORKS ANNOUNCEMENT!
Here's a surprise for Masterworks fanatics! Marvel is looking to ship a TALES OF SUSPENSE VOL. 1 Masterworks our way in October, just in time to place under the Halloween tree! ('Cuz it's scary and all with all the monsters and aliens and scary stuff....)
That said, Cory's still digging around for a few pieces of the puzzle to put this book together, so if you have any of the original comics (ToS #1-10), or God love you any original art, and you'd like to help out with providing resource material for reconstruction, shoot me an email and I'll put you in touch with him.
I'll also have a "pick the cover" contest up and running for this book, as well as an announcement for the other October Masterworks volume, in the next couple days!
The Atlas Era is rolling on as Tales to Astonish gets a buddy on the old bookshelf!
And be sure to check back in the next couple days, when we will announce the other October Masterworks!!!
Tales of Wonder has a sale that is running through Friday, so you'd better get in gear if you want to get the following books at half off. Some of them are holdovers from a previous sale, but many are showing up as sale items for the first time:
• AVENGERS: THE KREE/SKRULL WAR TPB
SHIPPING NEXT WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
This is the kind of week that will make your wallet weep. Like those $50 hardcover reprint books? Marvel, DC and Dark Horse are all shipping entries in that category. Like those big, fat, black and white phonebook reprints? Marvel's got an Essential coming your way, and DC counters with a Super Showcase of their own! You like classic comics in trade paperback? Marvel and DC can sate your thirst on that front, and if you're a Star Trek fan, you're also getting catered to!
First, from the indie publishers, check out Alan Moore: The Complete Future Shocks TPB which gathers together all his earliest work from 2000AD. There's also the third volume of the aforementioned Star Trek classic trade reprint, from Checker, this one titled Star Trek Classics Vol. 3: The Trial of James T. Kirk TPB, which reprints Series 2 issues #7-12 of the 80s era DC comic.
Dark Horse delivers more Steve "The Dude" Rude in their elegant hardcover series with Nexus Archives Vol. 3, reprinting issues #12-18 of the First Comics series. The reproduction of these volumes has been scintillating, so give it a look if you have a chance!
DC's Archives and Showcase lines see follow-up volumes to two very popular titles, with Batman: The Dynamic Duo Archives Vol. 2 reprinting Detective #334-339 and Batman #168-171 in glorious color, and Showcase Presents Superman Vol. 2 reprinting Action #258-275 and Superman #134-145 in gloriously inexpensive black-and-white! There's also the fourth and final George Perez 80s era Wonder Woman trade to look forward to, with Wonder Woman Vol. 4: Destiny Calling TPB.
And finally, Marvel hits a sweet spot for Masterworks fans! It's the wild west untamed and as you like in Rawhide Kid Masterworks Vol. 1, reprinting the Marvel Age exploits of Johnny Bart! This volume covers Rawhide Kid #17-25, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby. Essential fans will have their hands full with the green-skinned fury of Essential Savage She-Hulk Vol. 1, reprinting Jennifer Walters' entire 70s run, and also keep an eye out for the unexpected collection of Champions Classic Vol. 1 TPB, reprinting the first eleven issue of the super-team that could have only happened in the 1970s: Hercules! Ghost Rider! Black Widow! Angel! Iceman! Did you even have to ask for this book? You're getting it, so go buy it!
Also, don't forget that Giant-Size Hulk #1 gives you a brand new Hulk story by Planet Hulk scribe Greg Pak, and in addition it reprints the incredibly hard to find Hulk: The End!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Alan Moore: The Complete Future Shocks TPB SHIPPING NEXT WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping
today from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, June 14.
It's a somewhat light week for collected editions fans. DC issues a couple cool trades, with Warren Ellis' and Butch Guice's JLA Classified: Maps of Hell TPB, and a "greatest hits" assortment of Superman vs. Lex Luthor collected in trade, reprintings stories from this decade to as far back as Action #23!
Marvel has one classic trade on tap, a reprinting of Infinity Gauntlet, this one being printed on the nice, new classic trade paper. Daredevil Vol. 5 HC reprints Bendis and Maleev's Daredevil #66-75 in oversized hardcover format.
And finally, Twomorrow's releases their next book in the Modern Masters series, with Modern Masterworks Vol. 7: John Byrne. If you're a die hard Byrne fan, this is essential reading.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Daredevil Vol. 5 HC
Tales of Wonder is running a sale on Neil Gaiman's Sandman hardcovers, with discount prices of 50-65% off list price! Here is a breakdown on which books are available and at what price:
• Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes HC, $12.49
SHIPPING TODAY FROM TALES OF WONDER
Following on the heels of FF Masterworks Vol. 10, fans of Marvel's First Family might want to check out Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 5, which ships this week! Marvel also releases another in ther Classic TPB series, with Marvel Comics Presents Wolverine Vol. 3 (and if early 90s Rob Liefield is your taste, you're in heaven with that one!)
And speaking of FF, special note should be made of Fantastic Four/Iron Man: Big In Japan TPB, which hits store shelves today. Putting this book together has been a labor of love by editor Cory Sedlmeier. In tribute to the late Seth Fisher, the wildly imaginative artist behind this collection of stories, Cory has packed it full with extras, including Seth's other work for Marvel, a Spidey story from Spider-Man Unlimited #8. If you like your Marvel Comics with a zany, irreverent and oddball edge, you should give this book a shot.
DC has a classic trade of their own to offer with Power Girl, a character enjoying a recent upswing in populariy in the wake of the DC Universe-shattering Infinite Crisis. This book reprints her 70s era stories from Showcase #97-99, among other stories.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Batman: Under the Hood Vol. 2 TPB
Tales of Wonder is now shipping a CD-ROM that collects the complete run of Ultimate X-Men, all 70 issues, featuring comics by Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, David Finch, Bryan K. Vaughan, Adam Kubrt and many more of today's top creators. For only $9.99 you can get the whole run in digital format. If digital comics are your thing, you can check it out at THIS LINK!
Dynamic Duo Archives Vol. 2, reprinting Batman #168-171 and Detective #334-339, has moved up a
week on the schedule, so it will now ship 6/21 instead of 6/28. There is still time to get
your entry in on the "Back Four" contest to win a free Archive/Masterworks volume. Head to this contest thread at the DC FORUM and offer up your game entry!
A rumor going around that DC Comics had edited out images of the Confederate Flag from the recent volume of Showcase Presents Haunted Tank is unfounded. Why? There was no flag to edit out! The first appearance of the Confederate Flag flying atop the WWII-era haunted tank seems to have come in GI Combat #154, which falls outside the contents of THIS VOLUME, which reprints Haunted Tank stories from GI Combat #87-119, Brave and the Bold #52, and Our Army At War #155.
To confirm this, DC Comics editor Anton Kawasaki- the fella who put together this lovely book of vintage Kubert and Heath war comics- had this to pass on to my website:
"I am quite pleased to see the positive response to SHOWCASE PRESENTS: HAUNTED TANK VOL. 1 so far. And for the record: No art was edited for this collection. The stories remain as they were originally printed.
Anton Kawasaki
Indeed, for a selection of high praise from those who have bought this book, head to this thread at the DC FORUM!
HUMAN TORCH IS NOT ALONE IN SEPTEMBER!
Joining HUMAN TORCH MASTERWORKS VOL. 1 on the September schedule is the following Golden Age title...and let me tell you, brother, it's ANOTHER WINNER!
MARK EVANIER ON ALEX TOTH
Regarding my last post noting the passing of Alex Toth, I received a missive from Chance Fiveash clarifying that Alex Toth was never technically an animator, he was an animation designer. Big difference, and definitely one that should be noted!
There's a lot about Alex Toth and his multi-faceted career that the average comics fan might want to occasion reading about, and rarely is there a better person in the bio department to turn to than writer/comics and animation historian Mark Evanier. Over at his site, news from me, Mark has some very thoughtful things to say about Alex Toth. You can check it out at THIS LINK.
Chance Fiveash isn't just a guy who helps fact check my news posts! No, he's a fine cartoonist in his own right, and he hosts a really cool blog that chats about (and shows off) some of the great artwork from the Golden Age of comics and strips. If that's your bag, head over to his site LAST OF THE SPINNER RACK JUNKIES and twirl around ye olde spinner rack!
RIP ALEX TOTH: 1928-2006
As announced by Alex Toth's son, Eric, at the TOTH FANS Forum, veteran comics artist and animator Alex Toth has passed away, at his drawing table, at the age of 78.
CONTEST: DYNAMIC DUO ARCHIVES VOL. 2 "BACK FOUR"
This website's version of Bob Eubanks, Bob Barker, Chuck Barris and Anne Robinson is the one and only Osgood Peabody, and our
beloved "Back Four" game show host has another contest thread up! Head over to THIS LINK and browse through the scintillating selection of the several covers
that DC has to choose from for the upcoming Batman: The Dynamic Duo Archives Vol. 2! Brush up on the contest rules and then
make your selection from among the choices! You could win your choice of in-stock DC Archives or Marvel Masterworks from site sponsor
and all-around good guys Tales of Wonder!
Holy Back Four Contest, Batman! We could win a free $50 hardcover!!!!
Many collected editions fans are probably wondering how long DC's Elfquest Archives program is going to be running. Currently up their third volume, website cub reporter David Tai contacted Richard Pini and here's what he gathered concerning future volumes from the co-creator of the legendary series:
"...nobody has made a firm decision on how many archives will be compiled. They're proceeding on the assumption that they'll keep going as long as the Elfquest Archives keeps selling for DC."
To discuss Elfquest Archives, visit THIS THREAD at the DC Forums!
Just got back from seeing X-Men 3: The Last Stand tonight in a packed movie theater in Atlanta. The whole audience seemed to love the film, and so did I! I'd encourage everybody to go see it when you get the chance. If you're like me and have been on a "media blackout", avoiding articles, previews, advance reviews and movie trailers, be prepared for surprise after surprise! It's quite exhilirating.
Also, you must stick around to watch a scene that occurs after the end credits roll!! You do NOT want to miss it!
To join in with folks who've seen the movie to discuss, please visit THIS THREAD at the Marvel Forum, but please note: SPOILERS ABOUND! SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping
from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, May 31.
It's a relatively light this week, with the most notable books coming from DC, including Showcase Presents Haunted Tank Vol. 1, which reprints the North African WWII adventures of a tank haunted by the ghost of Confederate Army General JEB Stuart (go figure!), and Superman Cover to Cover HC, a companion volume to last year's Batman Cover to Cover HC that follows the history of Superman and his greatest covers. DC also continues with Grant Morrison's multi-title epic in the Seven Soliders of Victory Vol. 3 TPB.
Marvel delivers Essential Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe- Deluxe Edition Vol. 2, and the final volume of Sean McKeever's Sentinel stories in Sentinel Vol. 3: Past Imperfect Digest.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Essential OHOTMU- Deluxe Ed. Vol. 2
Fantagraphics offers the following information, via their solicit. More news on scheduling and followup volumes as it comes:
POPEYE VOL. 1: I Yam What I Yam
by E.C. Segar
Fantagraphics Popeye will collect the complete run of Segars Thimble Theatre comic strip (dailies and color Sundays) featuring Popeye, re-establishing Segar as one of the first rank of cartoonists who have elevated the comic strip to art. He was the most popular cartoonist of his day, his sense of humor coming straight out of Mark Twain, who also balanced exaggerated tall tales and a perfect ear for everyday speech with dark themes that undercut his laugh-out-loud stories. In this first volume, covering 1928-1930, Popeyes initial courtship of Olive Oyl takes center stage while Olives brother Castor Oyl discovers the mysterious Whiffle Hen. Also, the entire cast meets the Sea Hag for the first time in their pursuit of the Mystery House (Popeyes first extended daily narrative), and Castor Oyl attempts to turn Popeye into a boxing champion in a series of hilarious Sunday strips. These strips are masterpieces of comic invention. Popeyes omnipotence pre-figures the rise of superheroes in the 1930s and 1940s, though Popeye is a much more sympathetic character, and his very name announces his vibrant personality. His mangled English pulsated with the vital spirit of immigrant America, its rhythm poetic in its own vulgar way: I yam what I yam and thas all I yam.
200-page in color (48 pp.) and B&W 11 x 17 Hardcover • $29.95; more in Canada
SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
It's here.
Fantastic Four Masterworks Vol. 10, which reprints Fantastic Four #94-104, resolves the Lee/Kirby legacy in style. Masterworks editor Cory Sedlmeier has promised that this Masterworks is going to be an extravaganza befitting its stature as the final book to feature art from Jack's seminal run on FF, the comic that literally built the Marvel Age of comics from the ground up. Beyond the issues reprinted inside, there will be an embarrassment of riches for the FF junkie: extra content includes materials contributed by such luminaries as Dick Ayers, Joe Sinnott, Greg Theakston, Mark Evanier, and Roy Thomas, along with a meticulously prepared FF Lexicon that charts the first 102 issues worth of character appearances and big FF events! There's also a bonus surprise that will thrill hardcore FF fans to no end: the complete inventory of penciled art that Jack provided that later became the basis for the FF #108 pastiche. This is the kind of momentous occasion that'll bring a tear to the eye, so make sure when you crack it open for the first time you have some hankies with ya!
It seems that Marvel Comics fans have been waiting just as long for Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do. What's it been, five years since the first issue was published? Well, the wait is over for the collected edition, as Marvel ships an MPE hardcover that collects all six issues of the Kevin Smith/Terry Dodson mini-series.
DC Comics fans won't want to miss the second fabulous volume of Mark Waid and Barry Kitson's Legion of Super-Heroes TPB. This one reprints issues #7-13.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her TPB SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
It's a relatively light week for collected editions fans, which might be a relief from the onslaught of wonderful books that have recently been issued. Dark Horse releases Conan Vol. 3: Tower of the Elephant HC, gathering more stories from Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord's incredible new run on Conan the Barbarian. Another volume of Krazy and Ignatz is out, and you'll want to act fast on purchasing it before it's gone, gone, gone!
Marvel's Digest program throws fans a bit of a curveball by reaching back into the
1980s, reprinting the four-issue limited series starring one of Spider-Man's Amazing Friends, Firestar Digest. (The Digest is given the "X-Men" tag, natch.) Also from Marvel is Wolverine Classic Vol. 3 and Captain America: Winter Soldier Vol. 2 HC.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• A Distant Soil Vol. 4: Coda TPB DC COMICS COLLECTED EDITIONS SCHEDULE FOR FALL '06
DC has released its schedule for Fall Collected Editions and it's a doozy! For the full scoop, visit this link at the DC FORUM. Some of the books, like the list of DC Archives, have already been revealed, but some of them are new, and it's always nice to get added confirmation! Here's a quickie list of some of the major collections coming your way:
• INFINITE CRISIS HC (September) SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping yesterday
from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, May 10. Yep...I'm super late with this list! Beg your pardon for the tardiness! Before you know it, though, I'll have next week's shipping list up.
This week's books include the fifth volume of the Complete Peanuts, this one taking us into 1960! If you haven't been getting these wonderful little tomes from Fantagraphics, you really are missing out on the premiere presentation of what is arguably the greatest strip of all time. And speaking of premiere presentations, the second volume of Frank Miller's Sin City Library started shipping this week, as well. This is a four-volume set of super-super-sized hardcovers, housed in a slipcase, and it's heavy and compact enough that it might give your mailman a hernia when they deliver it!
Here's an under the radar book for you Star Trek fans: Star Trek: The Gold Key Collection Vol. 5 TPB is now released. This series has now collected 40 issues of the early 70s comic series.
There are plenty more interesting collected editions where those came from.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Aeon Flux TPB
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Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping today from Tales of Wonder, on Thursday, December 28. PLEASE NOTE: The onsale date for this week's comics is Thursday, not Wednesday, due to the Christmas holiday falling on a Monday.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping today from Tales of Wonder, on Wednesday, December 20.
This month's coupon is for $25 off TOW's sale price of Mike Allred's 
The 5th Annual Masterworks Survey is now closed! Thanks to everyone who participated, and I hope you had a lot of fun taking it! It took a lot of time to put together, as it was crammed full of as much detail as we could put into it, touching on not only Masterworks, but also Omnibus and MPE Classic lines. Cory's been bugging me to collate the data and get it to him so he can mull over the results while finishing off the 2007 schedule and looking forward to 2008, so I hope the data we compiled as a group of loyal and vocal Masterworks fans will help with that.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping this week from Tales of Wonder, on Wednesday, November 15.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping this week from Tales of Wonder, on Wednesday, November 8.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping this week from Tales of Wonder, on Wednesday, November 1.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping today from Tales of Wonder, on Wednesday, October 25.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping today from Tales of Wonder, on Wednesday, October 18.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping this week from Tales of Wonder, on Wednesday, October 11.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that start shipping next week from Tales of Wonder, on Wednesday, September 27.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that start shipping next week from Tales of Wonder, on Wednesday, September 20.
Image Comics has just begun preparations to reprint Jack Kirby's early '80s series from Pacific Comics - Captain Victory and Silver Star! These two series were Jack's last full-bore creative efforts of his career: Captain Victory lasted for thirteen issues and an Annual and Silver Star went for six issues. Both runs will be issued in trade paperback form, but Image is considering doing limited edition hardcover releases as well! (Please!!!)
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping today from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, August 30.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that started shipping today from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, August 23.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping
today from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, June 21.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping
today from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, June 7.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping
from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, May 24.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping
from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, May 17.