October comics solicitations - more good stuff

We'ved looked at DC and Marvel's upcoming releases for October. Here are some other items of interest.

Bob Powell's Terror: The Chilling Archives of Horror Comics Volume 2
Bob Powell's Terror: The Chilling Archives of Horror Comics Volume 2
Craig Yoe, Bob Powell (w) * Bob Powell (a & c) 
Cult-favorite Bob Powell was a master 1950s horror cartoonist delineating some of the most imaginative and incredibly drawn comics in the genre. His terrifying ghouls were as gruesome as his tantalizing girls were gorgeous! The introduction is by Eisner winner Craig Yoe and details Powell's comics career with extensive and revealing quotes from a recently discovered manuscript about his work penned by Powell himself. The front matter is profusely illustrated with rare ephemera and flawless reproductions of Powell's original art. Bob Powell's Terror prints a generous amount of horror comic stories carefully scanned and reproduced from vintage horror-era comics, many of them quite rare and expensive -- if you could even find them! This beautifully designed 148-page library-quality full-color hardback book is volume two in The Chilling Archives of Horror Comics series.

DOCTOR WHO DAVE GIBBONS COLLECTION
Pat Mills, Steve Moore, Steve Parkhouse, John Wagner (w) * Dave Gibbons (a & c) 
Industry legend Dave Gibbons illustrated a classic run of Doctor Who comics, and this oversized, hardcover book collects them all for the first time! And in full color! Gibbons-drawn strips began appearing in the very first issue of Doctor Who Magazine (then titled Doctor Who Weekly), starring the Fourth Doctor as portrayed by Tom Baker, and Gibbons continued as the primary artist until issue #69, a Fifth Doctor tale. 


WALLY WOOD EC STORIES ARTIST EDITION
Wally Wood (a & c) 
The third IDWArtist's Edition (Following Dave Steven's Rocketeer and Walter Simonson's Thor) focuses on one of the all time greatest comic book artists, and at the absolute peak of his creative powers: Wally Wood. EC Comics was quite likely the finest comics line ever produced, and Wally Wood was one of their mainstays who set an incredibly high artistic standard. This volume will contain a wonderful selection of stories in original art form by Wood, including: MY WORLD, CAME THE DAWN, MARS IS HEAVEN, HE WALKED AMONG US, and more. Additionally, there will be a fantastic cover gallery section by Wood. If you've never seen Wood original art, you've never seen Wally Wood! NOTE: Artist's Editions are printed the same size as the original art. The art from this book was drawn in the 1950s, at a time when original art was produced "TWICE UP" (meaning twice printed size), as opposed to today's one and a half up (50% larger than printed size). So this Artist's Edition will measure an INSANE 15" x 22!"

SKY MASTERS VOL. 1
(W/A) Jack Kirby (A) Wally Wood, Dick Ayers
Kirby's classic newspaper strip, inked by Wally Wood and Dick Ayers, was produced shortly before he invented the Marvel Universe and its breathtaking artwork shows the shape of things to come. Over two hundred daily strips are collected again for the first time in over a decade. A must-have for Kirby and Wood collectors. Introduction by comics historian Greg Theakston.

WALLY WOOD STRANGE WORLDS OF SCIENCE FICTION
(W/A) Wallace Wood 
Tales from the Crypt and Weird Science publisher Bill Gaines called Daredevil, THUNDER Agents, and Mars Attacks co-creator, Wally Wood "the greatest Science Fiction artist of all time." Strange Worlds collects rare 1950s Wood sci-fi comics Strange Worlds, Space Detective, Capt. Science, covers, and more.

The Someday Funnies
SOMEDAY FUNNIES
(E) Michel Choquette 
The Someday Funnies is the long-awaited collection of comic strips created in the early 1970s by world-famous artists and writers such as C. C. Beck, Rene Goscinny, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby, Moebius, Art Spiegelman, and Gahan Wilson. What started out as a special insert for Rolling Stone took on a life of its own as writer/editor Michel Choquette traveled the world, commissioning this visual chronicle of the 1960s, only to find himself without a publishing partner or the financial support to continue. Forty years later, readers finally get to experience this legendary anthology as Choquette celebrates the birth, death, and resurrection of The Someday Funnies -- 129 previously unpublished strips by 169 writers and artists.


Will Eisner: Conversations (Conversations With Comic Artists)
WILL EISNER CONVERSATIONS
(E) M. Thomas Inge 
Will Eisner's innovations in the comics, especially the comic book and the graphic novel, as well as his devotion to comics analysis, make him one of comics' first true auteurs and the cartoonist so revered and influential that cartooning's highest honor is named after him. Will Eisner: Conversations collects the best interviews with Eisner from 1965 to 2004. Taken together, the interviews cover the breadth of Eisner's career with in-depth information about his creation of The Spirit and other well-known comic book characters, his devotion to the educational uses of the comics medium, and his contributions to the development of the graphic novel.

Vintage late 1960s Supremes publicity photo


Vintage Batman in Batmobile photo


Titan Books plans definitive Flash Gordon collections

Titan has done a great job with the Simon-Kirby Library and my Flash Gordon collection is pretty incomplete, so I'm looking forward to this.

From the press release:

Titan Books has announced the publication of The Complete Flash Gordon Library. Compiling every strip and every story, this series of restored full-color hardcover volumes will showcase the action and artistry that thrilled audiences for decades.

Everyone knows Flash Gordon–the most iconic science fiction swashbuckler ever to burst forth from the newspaper pages. His adventures wielded so much energy that they inspired everyone who followed, no matter what the medium. Filmmaker George Lucas famously revealed, “Growing up in California, I was enchanted by two things…race cars and Flash Gordon. The first love I put to use in American Graffiti, the second eventually turned into Star Wars.”

Flash Gordon first hit superstardom in 1934 with his comic strip adventures, which continued unabated for seven decades. His influence spread like wildfire into every medium–films, television, novels, comic books, radio plays, and more. Every generation has had its incarnation of the character, and yet another major motion picture is reported to be in the works.

The mission of The Complete Flash Gordon Library will be to collect every strip and every story, offering them in affordable, full-color hardcover volumes, carefully restored and revealing the action and the artistry that thrilled audiences for decades. Through the painstaking efforts of renowned comic strip historian Pete Maresca, readers will experience the heroics of Flash Gordon, the beauty of Dale Arden, the evil of Ming the Merciless, and the exotic setting of the distant planet Mongo. Each installment will be meticulously reworked so that the intricate artwork, the vivid colors, and the unparalleled action will explode off of the page.

Beginning with the renowned stories written and illustrations by Alex Raymond–the genius behind the hero–The Complete Flash Gordon Library will continue with the other brilliant illustrators who took the helm and ran with his creation: Austin Briggs, Mac Raboy, Dan Barry, and many more. Each page will be 11″ x 10″ — specifically designed to spotlight the action-packed artistry of the creators, and each volume will feature 176 or more pages of full-color action.

Volume One, “On the Planet Mongo,” will feature a foreword by renowned illustrator Alex Ross, and future installments will offer other special features revealing the secrets behind the strip and its creators.




Upcoming DC Comics collections

A few items spotted on Amazon. Some great stuff. I'm excited to see Kirby's Spirit World -- a reprinting of his one-issue black-and-white mag for DC and the Aparo Batman collection:

The New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 2
The New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 2

Showcase Presents: All-Star Squadron Vol. 1
Showcase Presents: All-Star Squadron Vol. 1

Superman: The Secrets of the Fortress of Solitude
Superman: The Secrets of the Fortress of Solitude

Spirit World
Jack Kirby's Spirit World



Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Vol. 1
Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo Vol. 1

Review: Genius, Isolated - The Life and Art of Alex Toth

Alex Toth started his career during the Golden Age of Comics, illustrating the adventures of the Green Lantern and others, did innovative and influential work on romance and suspense title during1950s stints at Standard and Dell Comics and wound up in Hollywood as an animation designer in the 1960s.

He was one of the greats -- ask any comic book artist and they'll sing his praises, talking about his masterful page design, storytelling, lettering and linework. If you're a product of 1960s and 70s pop culture like me, you grew up seeing his animation character designs on Johnny Quest, Space Ghost, the Super Friends and more.

Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell's "Genius, Isolated" is nearly as masterful as Toth himself. It's a gorgeous, enormous book. And if you're even remotely fond of Toth's work, you deserve to pick it up (warning:  with an an Amazon shipping weight of 5.3 pounds, it's a tad heavy. The dimensions are 13.2 x 9.6 inches, so it'll also cover a big chunk of your coffee table).

I was a bit surprised, when I first saw it, how BIG this book is. What's even more stunning is that it's the first of three volumes the authors' have created to examine Toth's work. The second book will complete their look at Toth's life and career while the third focuses on his contributions to American animation.

Mullaney and Canwell interviewed Toth's children, one of his ex-wives, numerous colleagues and fans who became friends to tell the story of his life: His childhood as the movie-, newspaper adventure strip-loving child of struggling Hungarian immigrants in New York, his early work at DC/National Comics, his stint in the military and his work for Standard and Dell. The volume ends its narrative just as Toth is beginning his animation career in Hollywood.

There are pictures and illustrations galore all along the way -- photos from Toth's life, sketches, reproductions of original comics art pages and several complete comics stories, not to mention the entire run of the Caniff/Sickles-inspired John Fury adventure strip that Toth created for his base newspaper while in the Army.

Along with the biographical details, the authors do a nice job detailing Toth's philosophy of art -- he was obsessed with boiling down every image down to its essence, focused on achieving absolute simplicity and only putting down those lines on paper which are absolutely necessary, which, it turns out, is very, very hard to do. And they deal, objectively and honestly, with Toth's famed temper. He was a moody cuss, possibly dealing with untreated depression through most of his life. That made him a challenging friend, father and husband. But he also could be hugely generous and sweet.

That compelling personality, and his undeniable genius and the brilliance of the work on display make this book an absolute gem for anyone who loves comic art and a must for anyone interested in the history of American comics.

Vintage Adam West and Burt Ward picture


New comics and other merchandise Aug. 10, 2011

Click links to order discounted items from Amazon.

Things I'll buy:

ALL NEW BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #10

DETECTIVE COMICS #881

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #667

Showcase Presents: Trial of the Flash
Showcase Presents: Trial of the Flash

Things I may try:

DC RETROACTIVE GREEN LANTERN THE 80S #1

DC RETROACTIVE JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA THE 80S #1

DC RETROACTIVE SUPERMAN THE 80S #1

Items of interest:

Flash Gordon Comic Book Archives Volume 4
Flash Gordon Comic Book Archives Volume 4

Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Archives Volume 6
Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Archives Volume 6

Space Family Robinson Archives Vol 1
Space Family Robinson Archives Vol 1

Batman: Imposters (Batman (DC Comics Paperback))
Batman: Imposters (Batman (DC Comics Paperback))

Archie's Mad House
Archie's Mad House

Amazing Spider-Man
Amazing Spider-Man Todd McFarlane Omnibus

Spider-Man: The Fantastic Spider-Man
Spider-Man: The Fantastic Spider-Man

DC Mimobot 4 GB USB Flash Drive - Batman
DC Mimobot 4 GB USB Flash Drive - Batman

Mimobot X DC Comics Vintage Batman USB Drive Capacity: 8 GB
Mimobot X DC Comics Vintage Batman USB Drive Capacity: 8 GB

DC Mimobot 4 GB USB Flash Drive - The Joker
DC Mimobot 4 GB USB Flash Drive - The Joker

DC Mimobot 4 GB USB Flash Drive - Catwoman
DC Mimobot 4 GB USB Flash Drive - Catwoman

The Tardis (BBC TV Series Doctor Who) Life-Size Standup Poster , 46x72 , 46x72 , 46x72
The Tardis (BBC TV Series Doctor Who) Life-Size Standup Poster , 46x72 , 46x72 , 46x72

Doctor Who Life-Size Standup Poster
Doctor Who Life-Size Standup Poster

Doctor Who Life-Size Standup Poster
Doctor Who Life-Size Standup Poster

Doctor Who (BBC TV Series Doctor Who) Life-Size Standup Poster , 26x73
Doctor Who (BBC TV Series Doctor Who) Life-Size Standup Poster , 26x73

Doctor Who- The Dotor Life-Size Stand Up Poster
Doctor Who- The Dotor Life-Size Stand Up Poster

Advanced Graphics 951 Dr. Who Life-Size Cardboard Stand-Up
Advanced Graphics 951 Dr. Who Life-Size Cardboard Stand-Up

Doctor Who Tv Show - 2 Silurians Life-Size Stand Up Poster
Doctor Who Tv Show - 2 Silurians Life-Size Stand Up Poster

Doctor Who (BBC TV Series Doctor Who) Life-Size Standup Poster
Doctor Who (BBC TV Series Doctor Who) Life-Size Standup Poster

Dalek Sec (BBC TV Series Doctor Who) Life-Size Standup Poster
Dalek Sec (BBC TV Series Doctor Who) Life-Size Standup Poster