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NEWS ARCHIVE FOR 2005 (January 1-December 31):
NEW BOOKS SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
It's a light week for new comic collected editions, befitting the slow pace of a new year winding up (after we crawl out from the old one we're stuck under!) Still, there are a couple notable books: Dark Horse releases their ninth TPB of the 1970s Marvel era Conan stories in Chronicles of Conan Vol. 9: River Dragons & Other Stories, which reprints Conan #60-63, 65, and 69-71. The only book from the DC Universe is the Superman: Sacrifice TPB, while Marvel answers with a nice batch of books for varying tastes. Essential OHOTMU Vol. 1 leads the pack (who thought we'd ever see something like that?) but there is also Greg Pak and Greg Tocchini's Marvel 1602: The New World TPB, which is the sequel to Neil Gaiman's Marvel 1602 project of 2004. (Hardcover fans won't want to miss the final HC of 2005, Ultimate X-Men Vol. 5.)
Finally, I'd like to note an interesting looking book coming out titled Universal Monsters Cavalcade of Horror, featuring a few of my favorite artists (and possibly yours, too!) Tony Harris, Terry Austin, Art Adams and Eric Powell, among others, bring these figments of our worst fears and nightmares to life on the comics page.
Here's the solicit text: "The Mummy, Frankenstein, Dracula, the Creature from the Black Lagoon! Featuring long out-of-print artwork by the white-hot Tony Harris (Ex Machina, Starman) and artist Art Adams (Monkeyman & O'Brien), as well as a brand-new introduction and painted cover by multiple Eisner Award Winner Eric Powell (The Goon), this collection tells the original stories of the Universal Monsters—Frankenstein, the Mummy, Dracula, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Universal Studios changed horror cinema forever with its legendary run of monster movies. Since then, these timeless tales of terror and tragedy have enthralled generations of audiences and inspired countless creators of the macabre. Now, read the stories of the Universal Monsters as envisioned by some of comics’ finest talents."
I haven't read it, but I sure do love those Universal monsters, so I'm going to give this one a blind purchase!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Chronicles of Conan Vol. 9: River Dragons TPB
PURE IMAGINATION NEWS UPDATE
Pure Imagination's Major Domo, Greg Theakston has let loose on the
exciting projects he has planned for 2006! Keep in mind that Greg prepares
his reprint projects all by himself, that the release dates are tentative
and that his various projects are delayed when he takes on paid freelancer-work
restoring stuff for other companies such as this week's All-Winners
Masterwork and next month's Tales To Astonish Masterwork, so
expect 'em when they show up!
THE ALEX TOTH READER V.2 is "on press this week for release
in January". Greg plans to follow that with STEVE DITKO'S THE THING
later in January. Mr. Theakston says, "It's all of his pre-Code stories from
that title, plus a number of other choice stories, foreword by Blake Bell".
Later in the year expect a volume of Harvey Kurtzman's THE BEST OF HELP!
from issues #1-10 that will include an interview with Gloria Steinem,
Kurtzman's assistant on the title. After that Greg plans to republish THE
STEVE DITKO READERS Vol. 1 & 2 on CD-Rom, and THE COMIC STRIP KIRBY,
reprinting "over 200 pre-comics examples (everything known to exist....
at least by me!)".
In my opinion, the current All-Winners Masterwork looks awesome and I'm really
jazzed about the first Tales To Astonish Masterwork in January! Greg
always does quality work and when his projects DO come out, they're great!
NEW BOOKS 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 this week. Please note that due to the Christmas holiday, instead of the normal Wednesday release, books will ship on Thursday, December 28.
Marvel puts their classic comics library on display with Golden Age All-Winners Masterworks Vol. 1, reprinting the first four issues of the WWII-era anthology that features the exploits of Captain America, Sub-Mariner, Human Torch, as well as the first appearances in Masterworks of Destroyer and Whizzer stories! Fans of Captain America will also want to check out Captain America & The Falcon: Secret Empire TPB, which reprints eight straight issues of Cap/Falcon written by Steve Engleheart and drawn by Sal Buscema.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Captain America & The Falcon: Secret Empire TPB
Spirit Archives Vol. 1 is going back to press for a second printing.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I hope everybody is having a Merry Christmas, and if you're sitting by a warm
fire with a yule log burning and a mug of eggnog in your hand, so much the
better! Me? I'm in shorts and a T-shirt down in Florida. Don't be jealous, I love a
White Christmas just like the next Florida boy, but such things aren't to be
expected down here. Last night, for the entertainment of my niece and nephew, I got to hop alongside my father dressed up
as Santa and my cousin Kerri dressed up as Santa's elf, while I was The Christmas
Bear (These are the things you're expected to do when
you own a bona fide bear suit!)
The niece, who is 8, loved it. The nephew, who is 5, cried and ran away. That's
probably what we get for mixing Santa with dangerous wildlife.
So to all who have been nice, not naughty, I hope you're having your own crazy
Christmas of yuletide joy. Or a Happy Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or whatever way
you spend time at this special time of year. And while I'm at it, how about a
Happy New Year, too? 2006 is right upon us...see you there!
IMAGE SOLICITS INVINCIBLE: ULTIMATE COLLECTION VOL. 2 HC
Written by ROBERT KIRKMAN
Art & cover by RYAN OTTLEY & BILL CRABTREE
Forward by LOST co-creator DAMON LINDELOF
In the aftermath of Mark's revelation concerning his father he's forced to pick up the pieces of his life and carry on. The ULTIMATE COLLECTION, VOL. 2 collects Invincible's struggle to become his own man, to stand on his own and live his own life. This is a can't miss for any INVINCIBLE fan and a perfect addition to any bookshelf.
Collects INVINCIBLE #14-24, 0 and the FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2004 story along with LOADS of extras.
Due March 1, retail $34.99.
After Hurricane Katrina hit, Tales of Wonder chief Joe Hovorka and I figured it would be a good thing to put our resources together and try to raise funds to donate for the cause of helping people who's lives were profoundly disturbed
by the storm. We realized that there was great cause for people to leave affected areas and, in many cases, travel across the country to find a new way of life- one that was either temporary or permanent!
This meant that there was help needed not just in the areas that were ravaged
by the physical effects of the storm, but also in the places that people would escape to for shelter, safety and temporary comforts. We looked in our own backyard and saw that Atlanta, GA and surrounding areas were receiving many citizens who were leaving Louisiana and Mississippi, and we saw an opportunity to target that need directly.
About two weeks ago, Joe and I visited with Kathy Swahn, Development Director of the not-for-profit North Fulton Community Charities organization in Roswell, GA. This money was raised completely from a percentage of sales generated through links from my website, straight cash donations from site users, and matching donations from both myself and Tales of Wonder. Altogether, we raised the amount of $1200 for their organization!
Presenting the check: Joe Hovorka of TOW, Kathy Swahn, and John Rhett Thomas of MarvelMasterworks.com, in the NFCC food pantry
I'd like to thank everyone who focused their buying power on this mission, and as well to the people who made straight cash donations. We raised a nice sum of money that will be used to help ease transitions for people coming to the Atlanta area, specifically in Roswell, providing them with temporary housing, medicine, medical treatment, school supplies, food and other supplies. When I called Kathy back in September to let her know we were raising funds for their organization, they were in the process of transitioning 98 families into the area. By the time Joe and I handed her that check, that number had ballooned to almost 400.
Coming through like you guys did in this cause really means a lot. In the scheme of things, $1200 is not a lot of money, but it will make a difference in a place that it is needed. Again, thank you so much for helping!
NEW BOOKS 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, December 21.
First off, the 40 Years of X-Men on DVD-ROM hits store shelves on Wednesday. This is a sure-fire holiday hit, as it reprints decades worth of Uncanny X-Men stories, from issue #1 up through this year's books!
Image Comics has a couple interesting selections this week, as The Spawn Collection Vol. 1 TPB is released, reprinting the first ten issues of Todd MacFarlane's early 90s series that launched Image Comics. Also, Robert Kirkman steals the Marvel Omnibus concept for his critically-acclaimed Walking Dead series. The first volume of this series reprints the first 24 issues of the series, and tips in at 560 pages!
Avengers Masterworks Vol. 5 ships on time next week bringing the first 50 issues of Earth's Mightiest Heroes into Masterworks print! This is the first Masterworks that will reprint John Buscema's art, so fans of "Big John" won't want to miss it.
Also, check out that set of Superman & Batman Bookends I've got pictured. Those are pretty stunning piece of work, I think! (I'm guessing Bizarro and Man-Bat would agree, at least with the "stunning" part!)
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• 40 Years of X-Men on DVD-ROM
Another Dark Horse Archives that selection missed its ship date a few months ago has finally been released. Nexus Archives Vol. 1, featuring the first stories of Steve Rude's magnificent entry into the comics world back in the early 80s. It reprints the three-issue Capital Comics series, and the first four issues of the First Comics series. No word yet on reproduction, but as far as content, it's a winner!
MARVEL'S MARCH SOLICITS: GA MASTERWORKS, ALIAS OMNIBUS
I've got Marvel's March solicits listed at the following link:
March will be an expensive month for hardcover collectors,
as it will see the release of Ant-Man/Giant-Man Masterworks, Alias Omnibus is finally on the books with a release date, an we'll also see the second volume of
Golden Age Marvel Comics Vol. 2!
Speaking of that tome, I've got a preview page set up with variant and regular edition
trade dress covers, as well as other information. You can check it out here:
GA MARVEL COMICS VOL. 2 PREVIEW
SUPERMAN ARCHIVES VOL. 7 AMONG MARCH DC SOLICITS
Some highlights from DC's March 2006 is an advance-solicit for April's Superman Archives Vol. 7, reprinting Superman #25-29! Also in the mix for March solicits is Showcase Presents Teen Titans. Check out the full list of collected editions here:
Included are all hardcovers and trades, from DC, Wildstorm and Vertigo.
It appears that there may be a printing error with the new Golden Age Hawkman Archives
Vol. 1. Many fans have reported that a couple of pages are out of order, and as of yet,
we have no reports that anyone has a copy with the pages in the correct order! For more explicit details on the malady, visit THIS THREAD at the DC Forums. Check your copy and report back to us in the thread!
The Marvel Visionaries: Roy Thomas Vol. 1 HC will be delayed a week, moving from 1/18 to 1/25.
"I SAW THE TALES TO ASTONISH PREVIEW PAGES!"
Masterworks editor Cory Sedlmeier has forwarded MarvelMasterworks.com a whole boatload
of pages from the upcoming TALES TO ASTONISH VOL. 1 Masterworks! I've got the preview page for TTA Vol. 1 all rejiggered now to include this material, highlighting the restoration of Jack Kirby, Don Heck, and Jack Davis. There's
also the first page of the text story "The Heat's On!" (What? Did you think we were
gonna give you the whole story?!?!?)
But the best part of the preview is the full five-page story by Steve Ditko titled "No Way Out" from TTA #9. (What? Did you think we were gonna cheat you out of the full story?!?!?)
For the full preview, visit the TTA VOL. 1 PREVIEW!
Folks, this particular Masterworks looks like it's gonna be a Droom-tastic, Titano-sized, Thing-From-Easter-Island, Ninth Wonder of the World kinda Masterworks! Don't spend eternity in the deep freeze or get captured by martians! You gotta reserve your copy now! You just gotta!
Once again, Marvel's Director of Sales David Gabriel held court at the Marvel Forums
for a Q+A session. He answered questions from many different board members about Marvel's collected editions and comics scene, and I've whipped 'em all together into a transcript
for your easy reading (since the threads these came from got really big and unwieldy!!!)
Here's the thread you can link to for referencing information:
DAVID GABRIEL CHAT TRANSCRIPT NOV-DEC 2005
I'd like to thank David for being so gracious with his time, as well as everybody
who stopped by to ask questions in the impromptu setting.
HALF A MILLION HITS!
Since I started recording hits on the home page back in 2001, this website has really
taken off. Half-a-million hits is a lot of hits, especially since we got 100,000 of them
in the last four months! Thanks to everybody who comes to my website for information
about Masterworks, Essentials, Archives, and other collected editions news. I know
it says "Marvel Masterworks" in the URL, but just like your interests, mine
go beyond the Masterworks and into all other kinds of comics materials. Thanks for joining along with me on the ride. I promise to continue delivering news content and feature
content directly related to Marvel, DC and other top publishing companies and the books
they release. In fact, look for the website to go through a little bit of an innovative
period shortly, as we expand our capabilities and the types of content we can offer you.
Hmmmm....did I say "a little bit" in that last sentence? :)
Stick around, folks...if you've liked the site up until now, you're gonna love it more
later! In fact, check in a little later today, as I'll be posting an inside look
at Tales to Astonish Masterworks Vol. 1 that'll make your eyes bug out as if you're in
front of some giant, shambling Jack Kirby monstrosity!!!
NEW BOOKS 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, December 14.
From Marvel comes one of my most eagerly awaited books ever! Next Wednesday will see
publication of Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 5. Why is that
such a big deal around the offices of MarvelMasterworks.com? Why, it reprints the
first appearance of Gormuu! FF #271 features a tale that flashes back to Reed Richards' epic battle with perhaps the most fierce giant monster of all time...the green, scaly one! FF Visionaries finally catches up to one of my favorite comics of all time. You can bet
I'll be in line for this one!
And oddities of oddities, Marvel is publishing the complete late-70s Steve Gerber
classic (can I say 'classic?') Omega the Unknown. What an interesting addition
this one will be to the bookshelf! Fans of 70s Marvel comics better not pass it up.
The most notable release from DC this week is likely the Villains United TPB, as it is the most important of the four Infinite Crisis tie-in books that DC is publishing. DC also mines some of their very recent comics for TPB releases dedicated to recent run of Wonder Woman and Superman.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon Vol. 4 HC
SCHEDULE UPDATE
Just one update this time. It's one we've seen before, but for now, this is the latest we've heard:
• Powers Vol. 1 HC is now scheduled for early next year, 1/18.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, December 7.
Dueling black-and-white phone book reprints will entertain and excite the masses as Essential Spider-Woman Vol. 1 and Showcase Presents Justice League Vol. 1 vie for victory at high noon. Hey, let's call it a draw- take 'em both home! But don't forget the What If? Classic Vol. 2 TPB as Marvel's generous output of classic trades continues!
Perhaps the biggest release on the collected editions schedule this week is Golden Age Hawkman Archives Vol. 1, featuring the very first stories of Hawkman by Sheldon Moldoff. OK, so Image Comics fans have been waiting a few years for their anniversary HC? This little birdie has been in its nest for over 60 years, and its finally taking flight!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Adventures of Red Sonja Vol. 1 TPB
ABSOLUTE CRISIS AVERTED?
Tales of Wonder now has ABSOLUTE CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS available for order and delivery. It seems that whatever "crisis" concerning the availability of these books that DC had warned about has not materialized, and you can now purchase these books at will. It appears that there is enough stock to fill all orders, and purchasers of this book need not wait for a staggered shipment in late January to get it!
LATE BOOKS: PUBLIC MENACE?
I'd like to give the floor over for a moment to longtime message board member Darth Genius, who has composed a guest editorial on the issues of chronic lateness from two particular publishers: Dynamic Forces/Dynamite Publishing and Dark Horse. Here's the first part
of his editorial:
"Late books. Every publisher has had to contend with this issue to some degree.
It's inevitable in an industry dependent on the need to send production out of the country (overseas in some cases) in order to keep costs within acceptable levels. Ship dates can be missed for a variety of reasons that are completely outside the publisher's control. For instance, the printer could bump the run for a more lucrative project, delays due to weather conditions in transit, production errors that must be corrected, delays in customs...the list goes on.
Some folks are dismissive of critics of chronic lateness as making the proverbial mountain out of a molehill. I won't go into all the reasons why they are wrong here. There's no need. Brian Hibbs has already done a fantastic job ELSEWHERE, and any attempt by me to paraphrase or extend his argument would pale by comparison to the real thing. But I will say that anyone who thinks late books don't hurt the industry in general, and the retailer and publisher in particular are (at least in the long run) flat-out wrong....."
To read the rest of the editorial, please click this link:
Now that you've read the rest of the editorial (you have, haven't you?!?!), I'd like to say as the owner of this website, I have to give the disclaimer that "all the opinions expressed by Darth Genius are his and may not reflect..." yadda, yadda, yadda...
However, I will say that as a comics fan, I am eager to relive some of my favorite comics like Dreadstar, Six From Sirius and Red Sonja in the deluxe reprint packages promised by these publishers. Further, I'd like to say that as a consumer who puts cash down on the barrelhead like most everyone else for their books, I don't enjoy feeling like a donkey chasing a carrot at the end of a stick!
For more discussion on this matter, please visit THIS THREAD at the Message Board Forums to give your thoughts on the subject. It would also be wonderful if representatives from Dark Horse or Dynamic Forces could step up to the plate and address concerns of the fans who want to give them their money.
SHOWCASE PRESENTS...TEEN TITANS!
Another day, another Showcase Presents announcement. Thanks to jhalbright who TIPPED US OFF to a little blurb he read about in CSN this week about an upcoming Showcase Presents volume dedicated to Teen Titans, those crazy kids from the Go-Go Checks DC era!
This is now confirmed with DC brass, and it will reprint the Showcase and Brave & the Bold tryout issues plus the first 18 issues of Teen Titans! Look for it in the next couple month's solicits, probably to ship in March or April. More news as it comes!
Here's a couple notes to pass along to you concerning upcoming Brian Michael Bendis books being published by Marvel. First is word of an updated release date for the first oversized hardcover volume of POWERS. This book has been delayed on a couple different occasions, but Bendis' team of designers has set a new target release date of 1/18 next year. That's a little more than a month and a half from today.
Also, Marvel's Director of Sales confirmed in this thread at the MARVEL FORUM that an ALIAS OMNIBUS, comprising all 28 issues of Bendis' groundbreaking MAX title starring Jessica Jones, is a go. Book it, friends, for March release!
SHOWCASE PRESENTS...SUPERMAN FAMILY!
Ace collected editions snooper Teisto posted at the DC FORUMS about the existence of a new Showcase Presents dedicated to Superman Family! Cub reporter Osgood Peabody took the ball and ran with it, getting confirmation from DC about contents. Says Osgood, the first volume will include "Jimmy Olsen #1-22, and Showcase #9 (the first Lois Lane solo). Future volumes will indeed collect all Jimmy, Lois, and Supergirl stories in chronological order."
Showcase Presents is rolling along nicely, with equal measures of super-popular runs of comics (Superman, Green Lantern) with the kinds of titles not likely to receive Archive treatment any time soon (Jonah Hex, House of Mystery.) Finally, we'll be able to read the stories from Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane that we've not had easy access. Though I still hope that one day, we'll see them in Archives as well!
TALKIN' TURKEY WITH DAVID GABRIEL
Marvel's Director of Sales and all-around nice guy David Gabriel took some time out
of his Thanksgiving holiday weekend to field questions from fans at the MARVEL FORUM. Here's a few nuggets culled from the chat:
• When asked about the future of the Atlas Era Masterworks, David said "As long as the sales are there, and we have the resources to do them, we plan to continue...we have lots to cover. It won't come all at once, but little by little."
• No current plans for working out the Master of Kung-Fu licenses.
• Marvel has plans to finish out Byrne's run on Fantastic Four in Visionaries volumes, but there are "no plans that I know of for the last Galactus story to appear in any collection", says David.
• Future printings of JLA/Avengers are under DC Comics' purview.
• "Ultimate X-Men 1/2 will be in the Vol. 6 HC," says David. "I think (the) page count got too high on volume 5...and look for a special book in March that will put the 1/2 issue into correct continuity."
That's just a hint of the wide range of questions he fielded during his gracious chats. You can check them out by following the link above. Thanks, David!
SCHEDULE CHANGES
More shipping changes for select collected editions to alert you to. One can't help but wonder if these things are more common as we get to the holiday time of year?
• Superman: In the Name of Gog is delayed a week to 12/7.
Keep in mind that the Powers HC production is under the supervision of Bendis, even though Marvel is publishing the book. Also, fans of Infinite Crisis will want to know that issues #3 and 4 are both going to be delayed two weeks from their initial ship time.
2005 MASTERWORKS SURVEY IS LIVE!!!
The 2005 Masterworks Survey is now live, and you can access it by clicking through THIS LINK. It's been a lot of hard work from the survey crew putting it together, so I hope you enjoy it!
There are tons of surprises to be found about Masterworks and other collected editions. Take your time and read through it. Discussion about the survey can be found at the Marvel Forums. There's a link directly from the survey, so we'll see you there!
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, November 30.
On the Marvel side, fans will want to make sure to check out Fantastic Four Masterworks Vol. 9, as it will be the first volume to go to press with the new paper stock. Gone is the super-glossy sheen of the Masterworks books of old. Here today is a white stock that is nearly gloss free. It is slightly whiter in tone than DC Archives, and less porous. To my eyes, it looks great, so be sure to take note of it when you are able to peruse a copy for yourself. Also shipping are two new printings of Essential X-Men Vol. 2 and Essential Silver Surfer Vol. 1, and the Punisher: River of Blood TPB, a classic trade with rare art in a Marvel Comic by none other than Joe Kubert! (More on that in tomorrow's update.)
And don't forget Giant-Size Invaders #2! For news on that, scroll down to the 11/9 News Update!!!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Absolute Crisis on Infinite Earths HC
THANKSGIVING CONTESTS!
There are currently three contests going on at the Message Boards! Try your luck
at any of them and you might win free books! Here's the rundown:
• The prize for this THANKSGIVING CONTEST is two brand new Marvel TPBs or Digests. All you have to do to win is tell us what you're thankful for! That shouldn't be too hard, unless you're a sourpuss like Ebenezer Scrooge (or Scrooge McDuck) !
• Also at the Marvel Forums is a contest where you can win a free copy of JACK KIRBY VISIONARIES VOL. 2 HC, courtesy of MarvelMasterworks.com!
• Enter the contest at the DC Forums to win a FREE MASTERWORKS OR ARCHIVES from site sponsor Tales of Wonder. All you have to do is "Guess the Back Four" of Golden Age Hawkman Vol. 1 Archives!
Contest rules and deadlines are posted in each thread. Have fun, and enjoy that which you have to be thankful for! Good luck with the contests!
LIBRARY PAGES UPDATED
All the Marvel Library pages have been updated to reflect February solicits and information gleaned since the last revisions. If you aren't familiar with these parts of the site,
take a look through and check them out. You might find something you like:
ESSENTIALS
SCHEDULE DELAYS
Here's a rundown on shipping changes for select collected editions:
• Spirit Archives Vol. 17 is delayed a week to 11/30.
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, November 23.
Comic strip fans will have three books this week to enjoy. A new printing of the classic Adventurous Decade: Comic Strips in the Thirties trade is now out, and two hardcover volumes continuing the series of Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon hardcovers.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Adventurous Decade: Comics Strips in the Thirties TPB
FEBRUARY SOLICITS
I've been out of town for a week, so thank you for your patience! I'll be catching up on
website stuff over the next few days, so be sure to check back soon. Here's an update on February
solicits for both Marvel and DC collected editions and other notable reprint projects:
BRAND NEW JOE KUBERT GRAPHIC NOVEL
It seems Joe Kubert has a brand new original hardcover graphic novel, and most of us had no idea it was happening! Shame on us for being behind the times on this one, but it's never too late to catch up! The thread
has a link to a number of preview pages, and this book is already available at Tales Of Wonder.
• Jew Gangster A Fathers Admonition HC
From the solicitation text:
By Joe Kubert.
ALL-STAR ARCHIVES....VOL. ZERO !!!!
Thanks to jedifish for digging this up and posting it at the DC FORUMS. SilverBullet Comics has posted February solicits for DC, and look what's scheduled:
ALL STAR ARCHIVES VOL. 0 HC
Written by Gardner Fox, Jerry Siegel, Bill Finger,
Jon L. Blummer, Ken Fitch, John B. Wentworth, and various
Art by Sheldon Moldoff, Martin Nodell, Bernard Bailey, Creig Flessel, Chad Grothkopf, Jon L. Blummer,
Everett Hibbard, William Smith and Stan Aschmeier From the Golden Age of comics — a special volume collecting the early individual adventures of the members of the Justice Society of America from ALL STAR COMICS #1 and #2 at a special price!
While ALL STAR COMICS #3 was unquestionably one of comics’ greatest milestones, issues #1 and #2 were also impressive in their own right. Virtually every founding member of the (yet-to-debut) original JSA lineup — minus Superman and Batman — was represented in these individual adventures, and most of the stories are written and drawn by their original creators. ALL STAR ARCHIVES Vol. 0 is the perfect preface to the 11-volume complete reprinting of every JSA adventure from the Golden Age.
Now the entire body of these “All Star” exploits is in print and available to all those who were there when they were published the first time around — or wish they had been!
Please note that this is an advance solicit for March 15, and it will clock in at 144 pages and be priced at $39.99.
NEW BOOKS 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, November 16.
DC
Comics also releases the first six issues of Mark Waid and Barry Kitson's stellar Legion run with Vol. 1: Teenage Revolution. And for fans of classic Marvel comics, check out the Spider-Man vs. Black Cat trade, featuring
the first meetings between the slinky villainess and our Friendly Neighborhood Spidey!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Astonishing X-Men Vol. 2: Dangerous TPB
At this INTERVIEW WITH
PAUL LEVITZ at Newsarama, the head honcho of DC Comics drops the news that 2006
will see publication of a trade collecting the first batch of 70s JSA Comics. Here's
the important graf from the interview:
"And of course, there’s one other benefit that the Paul Levitz of 25 years ago never envisioned: the readily available trade paperback collection of the completed story arc. 'Knowing that this will come out in trade is a hoot—I’ve only had one trade paperback done of my writing from the old days, in fact. We’re scheduled to do a second, Justice Society book next year, thanks to all of the recent interest in Power Girl. But seeing this in trade paperback is something I’m looking forward to.' "
Hat tip to Bill Nolan for the link! MARVEL/DC HC SALE AT TOW
Site sponsor Tales of Wonder are running a nice little sale on Marvel and DC hardcovers,
as well as some statues and busts. Some of these collections have been on sale before,
while others are brand new. For complete lists of what's on sale, click these links:
• MARVEL HCs
And here are a few books that are worth noting:
$44.99: Ultimate X-Men Vol. 1-3 HC COMBO
This deluxe coffee-table book by Walter Mosley is out now, and it's getting some...interesting reviews! Hide the kids and get up to speed on this book, with some pictures from
BonanzaGuy and some four-color commentary from the MARVEL FORUM. At this point,
the many grievances and few lonely voices of defense towards this book have given way to one of the defining questions that has faced man since the first monster comics were drawn on cave walls: "What Is Art?"
Can we at least agree that any book that can generate such thoughtful discussion was
worth being printed in the first place? No? You sure? LOL! GIANT-SIZE INVADERS #2 PREVIEW
THE BAND IS BACK TOGETHER FOR GIANT-SIZE INVADERS #2
The team that turned the tide back in World War II are back again in an all-new 16 page tale by legendary writer Roy Thomas in Giant-Size Invaders #2. In an untold tale set during the forties Captain America, the Sub-Mariner, and the Human Torch are the Invaders once again in this special tale. This Giant-Sized issue not only features a new story by the Thomas, but a slew of classic Invader stories. Giant-Size Invaders #2 collects Invaders #1-2 from 1975 where the greatest heroes in the world, the Invaders, came together to battle the Axis powers with the fate of the entire world on the line. For completists, these two issues were originally meant to share the pages of Giant Size Invaders #2 back in 1975, but a last minute Marvel change, turned them into the single sized issues. And there is still more in this jam-packed issue as the three staples of the Invaders get their own stand-alone stories herein. Witness the Sub-Mariner tussle with the Torpedo Boat Terror from All-Winners Comics #1. Catch the Human Torch as he gets caught in the Carnival of Death from All-Winners Comics #2 and see Captain America crack the case of the Malay Idol from that same issue.
Y'see that? 16-pages of new Invaders story, reprints of the first two issues of the
classic 70s series, and backup strips culled from All-Winners Masterworks Vol. 1, so you
can preview before you buy if you are on the fence! This book is scheduled to ship on NOVEMBER 30, clocks in at
96 pages, and is priced at $4.99.
Visit this thread at the MARVEL FORUM for more preview images than the two highlighted
here at the Current News page. There's some gorgeous full page art from artist Jay Anacleto to gander at...see you there!
MASTERWORKS CORNERSHOP
I've updated the page dedicated to providing direct links to Masterworks from site sponsors Tales of Wonder and Amazon. A few more limited editions have sold out from TOW, and
there are a few more books to add to the "danger zone." These are books that are
either sold out or close to selling out at Diamond. I have formally addressed this
"danger zone" status by shading the appropriate volume number in gray. If you are shopping the Masterworks Cornershop and see a volume shaded in gray, and it's one you want, you
might consider moving it ahead of other books you might want.
Tales of Wonder stocks Masterworks in deep quantities, more than any other retailer out there...but even they eventually sell out. I hope you find this information of use, and
you can access it directly at the MASTERWORKS CORNERSHOP listings. Feel free to bookmark it as a status
report on which volumes are sold out, and which are getting close!
ABSOLUTE SANDMAN
The buzz is mounting ever since Neil Gaiman openly mused on the internet a few weeks ago about the possibility of a series of Absolute Sandman. And if you visit this thread at the DC FORUMS, you'll find that Wizard World Texas has helped move the story along even further, with DC editors dropping strong hints about just such a book.
Still no official announcement from DC about contents, scheduling and how far-reaching
an Absolute Sandman series will be, but a little bird tells me that we'll get something
in that vein soon. (Hat tip to dtaylor for the link!) Oh...and I'm ALL over this!!! Sandman is the only comics series I
ever loaned out to my sister. Yes, she loved it; it's weird seeing your sister get into
comics you're collecting. But she also lost the first eight issues! Let's see me loan out my Absolute volume to her...yeah, like that'll happen!
According to Silver Bullet Comics, this Pop Art Production will "focus on Marvel characters that were introduced in the 60s, with character bios written in the classic over-the-top style of the era." Check out this thread at the MARVEL FORUM for more details!
I will have more news on this closer to official solicit date; I'll also try and
get some preview pages so you can check it out first hand!
NEW BOOKS 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, November 9.
And we finally see the frustratingly tardy Golden Age Human Torch Masterworks Vol. 1, which will represent the
fourth Golden Age Masterworks volume to see print. I've be eagerly awaiting this one for awhile, as much as I've enjoyed
the stories of Jim Hammond from the first Golden Age Marvel Masterworks volume. I'll likely be getting this one
on Wednesday, so I hope to put up an immediate report on the book and its quality. Also coming out is the hardcover
dedicated to breaking down the first issue of Fantastic Four into itty bitty pieces of poetic explication by noted
novelist Walter Mosley, Maximum Fantastic Four!
On the DC front, it's a light week, with DC's Manhunter title finally getting to stores in collected edition in the Manhunter Vol. 1: Street Justice TPB. And finally...check out that Spider-Woman Bust!!!! Made ya look! (We like Jessica
Drew around here, y'know!)
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Complete Jon Sable Freelance Vol. 3 TPB
When Marvel's Director of Sales shows his friendly face around the Marvel Message Boards, people come out of the
woodwork to pepper him with questions. And sometimes, doggone it, he'll answer them! Here's a few nuggets of knowledge he
laid out for you Marvel Maniacs:
• Look for an oversize HC reprinting October's Marvel Monsters Group one-shots!
• Expect to see the following HCs: Punisher MAX Vol. 2, Avengers Assemble Vol. 3, Best of Spider-Man Vol. 5, and
possibly Daredevil Vol. 5 and Alias Omnibus (the latter two being pretty safe bets, looks like- it's only a matter
of when.)
• Don't expect to see a Punisher Vol. 4 HC reprinting the last Marvel Knights material
• A future Marvel Milestones issue will feature a Steve Ditko theme, with the Godzilla-prototype story from
Marvel Spotlight #5, "Dragon Lord", being featured!
• He also clarified Marvel's Marvel Premiere Edition/Oversize HC policy in THIS THREAD. As it stands now, the possibility of certain MPE titles
reaching oversize HC is still in flux.
Thanks, David, for coming to the boards and sharing your information directly with the fans of this website!
MASTERWORKS SURVEY IS CLOSED
Once again, great thanks go out to everyone who took the time to take the survey! RELEASE SCHEDULE UPDATED
Check the sidebar on the left side of this page and you'll see January's HC/TPB release schedule
is all plotted out with links to both Marvel and DC product on sale at TOW. I'll be adding Dark Horse and other
publisher's books (focusing mainly on the classic trades and hardcovers they produce) as time allows.
This summer, Marvel and Graphic Imaging Technology released the first in what is now becoming a series of
comprehensive DVD-ROM collections of long comic book runs. That project centered around the first 500+ issues
of Fantastic Four, timed to coincide with the feature film release.
Next on tap is a collection of Amazing Spider-Man comics. It is to be released on 11/2 and is an upgrade
on last year's CD-ROM collection. It now includes all the Annuals that were missed the first time around, and it will
be on a single DVD-ROM disc.
Quickly following is a DVD-ROM gathering all issues of Uncanny X-Men, from #1 through #66, and then continuing with
Giant-Size X-Men #1, Uncanny X-Men #94 all the way up through #461, including all Annuals and Special Edition books.
And then, in January, Avengers will be released! (No exact details on content yet...). All the DVD-ROMs are available for 20% off at Tales of Wonder. Check them out at the links provided below, or scan the release schedule
on the left side of this page.
Here is the rundown on what's available- or soon will be- on DVD-ROM:
FANTASTIC FOUR: FF #1-519, all Annuals (1961-2004)
Also coming from Graphic Imaging Technologies in March 2006 is a non-Marvel Comics DVD-ROM project: FIFTY YEARS OF MAD MAGAZINE ON DVD-ROM
NEW BOOKS 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, November 2.
Folks, we're starting to see a bunch of great books come out at a rapid rate...such is life for a collected editions fan when Christmas comes a 'calling. The last couple weeks
have been a small taste, and this week, we're really getting revved up. Marvel issues a couple trades of classic comics, including the crazy/kooky choice of Captain Universe: Power Unimaginable, which reprints all the past solo adventures of The Hero Who Could Be You!, and Excalibur Classic Vol. 1, which reprints the first batch of issues from
Chris Claremont and Alan Davis' team of England-based X-Men!
Throw in an oversize HC of Mark Millar and Terry Dodson's Marvel Knights Spider-Man Vol. 1, the first volume of Essential Marvel Two-In-One, and the Marvel Premiere Edition of Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung's Young Avengers Vol. 1: Sidekicks, and it's a busy week from Marvel. Also worth noting is the DK Publishing Avengers: Ultimate Guide hardcover, which promises to be
an A-to-Z guide for Avengers obsessives.
DC doesn't want to be outdone, however, and we see that they're publishing the last two of four Crisis-related trades: Villains United and The OMAC Project. Also slinking its femme-fatale way into comic shops is Catwoman: When In Rome, by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale- in hardcover!
Oh, and don't let me forget to mention that you itinerant cowpokes might want to stick
your head in a comic shop and check out Showcase Presents Jonah Hex Vol. 1, the
newest offering in DC's line of B+W phonebook reprints!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Alchemy of Mirrormask HC NEW BOOKS 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, October 26.
A couple of books that were delayed briefly from Marvel: Thor Masterworks Vol. 4, which represents the first new Kirby Thor stories to reach Masterworks in over four years, and Marvel Visionaries: John Romita, Jr., a nice companion volume to dad's Visionaries book!
Speaking of delayed books, it seems as if the long-delayed Freebooters HC by
Barry Windsor-Smith has finally made it to a shipping container and it should be on
its way to comics shops around the world as we speak. Here's hoping!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books:
• Batman: Under the Hood TPB
ARE YOU READY FOR THE MASTERWORKS SURVEY?
It will be up later this afternoon or early this evening. It will go for approximately ten days. That gives us two full weekends and all next week! Check out THIS THREAD at the Marvel Forums to get a few hint at what you might be able to do to help yourself before you take the survey.
Be thinking now about what kind of Masterworks you'd like to see in the future!
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: SGT. FURY VOL. 1
WHA-HOOO! It’s time for Marvel’s first-ever war Masterworks with tales of Sgt. Nick Fury and his Howlin’ Commandos in thick of ol’ WWII! And for the icing on the cake, it’s a titanic team-up of the mighty talents of Sgt. Stan Lee and Infantryman Jack Kirby! That’s a pair storytellers so explosive you better make sure you keep your lid on when you read this one, soldier!
Prepare yourself for drama, intrigue, humor and action galore as Fury, Dum Dum Dugan and the rest of the Howlers battle more Nazis than you can shake a bayonet at, team-up with Captain America and Bucky, battle the nefarious Baron Strucker and Zemo, and set out to capture Adolf Hitler himself!
With a pedigree like that, get off your duff and reserve your copy today, goldbrick! That’s an order!
Collecting SGT. FURY #1-13
MARVEL/DC SOLICITS FOR JANUARY
I've consolidated all collected editions and reprint solicits on their own page, and
you can access them here:
I've also got a "sneak peek" page that has solicits for upcoming Marvel books
that have yet to be officially solicited. These are confirmed books that can move beyond
rumor and conjecture and can be expected to see publication sometime in the outlying
future. The list includes tentative release dates, but those will likely change as scheduling the official solicits comes nearer in time: NEW SHIP DATES FOR MASTERWORKS
New target dates for Masterworks:
GA Human Torch Vol. 1- 10/26
I'll update Marvel and DC solicit information tomorrow. I'll also have a nice preview
of Marvel trades of classic material coming your way in early 2006, including a few more
Essentials!
Over at the Bendis message boards, Warren Ellis piped in to state the following about
Absolute Planetary Vol. 2:
"It'll just be a huge bugger containing (issues) 13-27 approx."
Sound solid enough for you? More info on this as it becomes officially confirmed.
Thanks to Justin Fairfax for posting this on the boards!
From a DC Comics Press Release:
"In the October 24 issue of TIME, book critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo named WATCHMEN as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present. The critically acclaimed WATCHMEN graphic novel, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, is the only graphic novel selected, and stands alongside literary classics including J.D. Salinger's Catcher in The Rye, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises.
In the magazine, Lev Grossman writes that, "The story of a ragbag of bizarre, damaged, retired super-heroes reunited by the murder of a former teammate, WATCHMEN is told in fugal, overlapping plotlines and gorgeous panels rich with cinematic leitmotifs. A work of ruthless psychological realism, it's a landmark on the graphic novel medium. It would be a masterpiece in any time."
What do you think? Does The Watchmen deserve a place on such a high-falutin' list of
literature? You can discuss this with your fellow comics fans over at THIS THREAD at the DC Forum. And if you haven't nailed down your purchase of ABSOLUTE WATCHMEN, you need to! (Come on, it's one of the 100 greatest English-language novels since 1923!)
On deck this time around is a new six-issue mini-series devoted to Sgt. Rock and
Easy Company, pencilled by none other than comic art legend Joe Kubert! Here's the solicit copy for issue one:
SGT. ROCK: THE PROPHECY #1
Comics legend Joe Kubert returns to DC’s legendary unit in the all-new 6-issue miniseries SGT. ROCK: THE PROPHECY, based on a true story!
From North Africa to the Rhine, Sgt. Rock and the combat-happy Joes of Easy Company have faced insurmountable odds thrown at them by the Axis powers and lived to tell the tale. But when they find themselves caught in the No Man’s Land of the Balkans searching for a religious prize that could ultimately decide the outcome of WWII, have our heroes finally been given a mission that will stop them in their tracks?
It’s 1943, and World War II has reached fever pitch. Somewhere deep within a smoldering, war-torn village in Nazi-occupied Lithuania hides a secret treasure that must be found and returned to the U.S. — unharmed — by any means necessary.
It’s up to the trusted G.I.s of Easy to save the day. But once they discover what the “prize” really is, will they be able to follow through with the mission? More important, will they
want to?
Join Rock, Ice Cream Soldier, Bulldozer, Little Sure Shot and the rest of Easy this month for this hard-hitting and provocative tale told as only Joe Kubert could deliver it! (32 pages, $2.99.)
If you liked Kubert's original Sgt. Rock graphic novel from 2004 titled BETWEEN HELL AND A HARD PLACE as much as I did, you won't want to wait for this series to reach
trade! You'll do just what I'm gonna do: call up your comics shop and say "Reserve My Copy!" TWO MORE MASTERWORKS ANNOUNCEMENTS!
I gave a sneak preview on the message boards last night, but in case you haven't
come across that information, this website has the honor of announcing February and March's Masterworks offerings from Marvel:
As quick as you can say BLAMMO!, it's quite obvious that Marvel is taking no prisoners
with their Masterworks, as these two books will help prove (if you didn't already know
it by now!)
The fundraising time frame is now over, and my website and Tales of Wonder would like
to thank everyone who made it their intent to help put some charitable muscle behind your
comics purchases. I'd also like to thank Joe Pacheco for donating $50 through the paypal
link, and I'm going to match his donation above and beyond the proceeds generated
through the percentage of sales. Thanks, Joe!
Once TOW and I sort through everything, we'll formally offer a check to the North Fulton
Community Charities for their efforts in helping relocate Katrina evacuees who now
find themselves in the North Atlanta metro area...many who came with nothing but the clothes on
their backs. However small a difference we can make in their lives, it will be worth it.
Thank you for making that happen!
NEW BOOKS 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, October 19.
It's a relatively light week, especially from Marvel, as there are just a smattering
of trades. Classic comics fans will want to note the inclusion of Avengers #57 reprint
along with Geoff John's 4-issue Vision mini-series in Vision: Yesterday and Tomorrow TPB.
And don't forget to take a look at the third "Marvel Monsters Group" publication of Fin Fang Four,
the newest "supergroup" to hit the Marvel Universe! There's also a classic backup that reprints
Fin Fang Foom's origin from Strange Tales #89 included.
DC has a couple considerable entries to sell to you: Plastic Man Archives Vol. 7 continues the
long-running series of Jack Cole reprints. I know many complain that this series is getting
long in the tooth, but it is nice to see at least one series on a fast-track to completion! Also,
there's the Superman in the Forties TPB, which collects fifteen
Superman stories from the decade that defined him!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books due to ship this coming Wednesday, the 19th of October.
• Cable/Deadpool Vol. 3: The Human Race TPB
Unfortunately, there will be further delays on shipping for Golden Age Human Torch Vol. 1 and Thor Vol. 4
Masterworks. Right now, they've been pushed back another week. More on this as information comes....
MORE ON MAXIMUM FANTASTIC FOUR
From Marvel's press release:
WALTER MOSLEY & MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS MAXIMUM FANTASTIC FOUR!
In 1961, Marvel Comics released the very first issue of FANTASTIC FOUR in a quiet storm of inspiration and creativity. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby took the comic book conventions and clichés of the time and turned them on their ear, lighting a fire under comics fans and co-creating a shared universe of characters and situations that continue to inspire creators to this day.
Numerous comic artists and writers unabashedly cite FANTASTIC FOUR as the genesis of a movement that literally formed the modern industry and in many cases their own careers. Literary writers from Jonathan Lethem to Michael Chabon have paid their tribute to the form. Now, there is Walter Mosley and MAXIMUM FANTASTIC FOUR, a new addition to the comic book format: comic book as art book.
The first coffee table art book that Marvel has produced on its own, MAXIMUM FANTASTIC FOUR presents the inaugural issue of comics’ most famous family in a super-size, digitally re-mastered, panel-by panel format. Mosley’s introduction and afterward to the large volume will be complimented with an essay by widely-recognized Kirby-expert Mark Evanier.
“Readers will witness a journey through a comic that, though reprinted many times before, has literally never been seen like this before," says Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley. “I fully realize that comic fans have heard statements like that many times in the past but I say it with the most sincerity I can muster: this is a book that belongs on the shelf of every single Kirby enthusiast, Fantastic Four follower, and comic book aficionado."
"I wanted to capture the feeling I had as a child when I would bear down and examine each panel with the kind of scrutiny that opens up worlds. I found that when I blew up the image--each panel comprising its own page--I was able to recreate that same experience. As an adult I can also see the parallels between some of the greatest painters and Kirby's compositions--from Goya to the grotesques DaVinci drew, on to some of the most dynamic painters of our last century. Jack Kirby's unique sense of composition and narrative put him in a league along with these masters."
Mosley is the award-winning author of such books as LITTLE SCARLET, THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT, FEARLESS JONES, and the continuing adventures of his well-loved character Easy Rawlins. The entire world of Mosley’s unique writings can be found at his website, www.WalterMosely.com.
MAXIMUM FANTASTIC FOUR is scheduled for release on November 2nd in comic shops and fine bookstores everywhere. It will feature a four-color dust jacket that unfolds into a giant full-color double-sided poster (25” X 36”); a matte laminated case with spot UV; and 224 interior pages composed mostly of high-resolution art.
There are lots of new books to let you in on that are scheduled for the early part
of 2006. I usually don't pass these on, but in these cases, I can report that they
are solid- they're not rumors or Amazon phantoms. Ship months for the books may be different come solicit time for a few of them, but you can
expect the schedule to closely resemble this list:
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JULY
Of special note is the second Omnibus volume, this one for Uncanny X-Men, due in
time for the X-Men 3 film. It will reprint Uncanny X-Men #94-131, Annual #3 and Giant-Size X-Men #1. Marvel's David Gabriel also passes on to folks on the Marvel Forum that
it will reprint all the letter pages, and "all new recoloring of some issues." That's
big news! Some of those issues need recoloring, let me tell you!
Also, a bunch of Essentials including two different Handbook Essentials, and Moon Knight, which has been confirmed to this site by David Gabriel as scheduled for February.
And last but not least: two new Visionaries books, including the second Jack Kirby volume! And look at this lineup from the advance solicit:
Captain America #1, Marvel Mystery Comics #23, Yellow Claw #4, Strange Tales #89, Two-Gun Kid #60, Love Romances #103, X-Men #9, Strange Tales #114, Tales Of Suspense #59, Sgt Fury #13, Fantastic Four #57-60, Not Brand Ecch #1, Thor #154-157 and Devil Dinosaur #1.
That's almost as good- if not better- than Vol. 1! X-Men #9, a Two-Gun Kid issue, a nice smattering of Golden Age and "Atlas Era" books, and two epics from FF and Thor. Top it off with Devil Dinosaur #1 and you have a classic combo of Kirby classics! (Yeah, I said 'classic' twice! Sue me!)
I'll have a list of 2006 trades shortly. And I'll also be announcing a couple more Masterworks in the next few days! Like the sound of that?
ABSOLUTE WATCHMEN MANUFACTURING ERROR
Diamond has stopped all further distribution of Absolute Watchmen until a manufacturing
error can be addressed. According to DC, sporadic complaints have
surfaced over defects that have spoiled the aesthetics of the book slipcase.
"Apparently the manufacturer rushed the shrink-wrapping and assembly so the sales sheets were still warm and some of the ink transferred to some of the slipcases. In other cases, excessive glue dripped from the book to the slipcase and other silliness," they said. So far, none of the testimonial posts from Absolute Watchmen owners at THIS THREAD at the DC Forums indicate they suffer from this issue. You might want to check your
book to see if it is damaged, and stand by for further word about what you can do.
Again, reports have only been sporadic, but DC has moved to inspect the problem before
any more books are distributed that might have to be returned.
What's the big deal about Captain Universe? If you don't know me by now, I first got
into comics in the early 80s as a youngster of eleven years old. Though I was an avid
collector of Claremont/Byrne X-Men, Byrne's Alpha Flight, and Miller's Daredevil, the
comics that really had me in their grip were the latter day efforts by the masters: Kirby
and Ditko. Machine Man was my #1 favorite, because both men had a hand in crafting X-51's
earliest stories. But another favorite was Captain Universe, which ran as a serial feature in the short-lived Marvel Spotlight Vol. 2 series.
Unbelievably, this odd little series is being reprinted by Marvel Comics in a trade due
on 11/2 called CAPTAIN UNIVERSE: POWER UNIMAGINABLE. I'd love to see this collection be a success, so Marvel is emboldened to try similar projects.
Yesterday, I posted erroneous information that the long-delayed Six From Sirius HC from Dynamic Forces met its revised shipping date of 10/12. I was wrong- neither the TPB, the HC, or the signed HC (no, not one of them) met the new ship date. When will the book
actually meet its ship date? Nobody knows right now. All we have is the solicit and our
pre-orders...but no book.
I'll have more on this sometime in the next week.
Another book that missed its ship date is worth mentioning, and it's called
Swampmen: Muck Monsters of the Comics. It's a historical account of comics' swamp
creatures, like Marvel's Man-Thing and DC's Swamp Thing. It's a 200 page softcover
that TOW is selling for $19.99, but it is shipping late, so
keep that in mind.
George Khoury, who is active on the message boards, helped put this book together, so
I'll start a thread at the CRISIS ON INFINITE COMICS message board and get his thoughts
on the book (and perhaps even a signal on when it will arrive in stores!)
Speaking of a "Crisis of Infinite Comics", DC is taking the interesting step of
staggering the shipping schedule of ABSOLUTE CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. The book now been pushed back to ship on 11/30, and my guess is that pre-orders on Absolute Crisis outstripped- or were in danger of outsripping- the print run. Perhaps DC recalculated their print run and caused disarray in the taking of orders? I dunno...I'll check with
DC to see if they care to comment on this.
Regardless, I've spoken with TOW and if you've placed your pre-order for Absolute Crisis
already, you can expect to get it with the 11/30 shipping cycle, unless orders for
the book are allocated (ya never know!) Any future orders for the book will ship at
the still undetermined ship date. It could perhaps be in 2006.
My recommendation for ordering this book is to pre-order now. There is no precedent
for Absolute books going back to press, and oftentimes the print runs are low enough
that they sell out very, very quickly. I lingered a few weeks too long to purchase
Absolute Planetary, and it sold out, leaving me hunting one down on the back market and
paying a little more than full price. (Yes, I kicked myself!)
Marvel Director of Sales David Gabriel is at it again. Over at the MARVEL FORUM, he's brought the good news: Godzilla is attacking your city in January! Yes, everybody's favorite lumbering behemoth with lethally bad breath is coming your way in glorious
black and white! Since this is a licensed property, the arrangement between Marvel and Toho comes
down to Essential Godzilla getting only a single print-run, so this is one you're going to want to pre-order, friends! I'll pass on order information as soon as I get it.
And this is a good time to once again plug the MARVEL ESSENTIALS LIBRARY, newly updated for the 21st century!
NEW BOOKS SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
The "Shipping This Week" list usually goes up Friday afternoon, but I've been so
busy with the 2005 Masterworks Survey and other website stuff, I haven't had a chance
to get to it until today! But that doesn't mean there's not some good books that started
shipping earlier today, so here's the rundown!
Probably tops on the list is a book that's not a comic book reprint at all, it's a reprint of the Complete Calvin & Hobbes. That right there makes it one of the must-own
books for any comic art fan. Bill Watterson retired from the comic strip business several
years ago, and while his presence is missed in the funny pages, the light-hearted eloquence of Calvin and his tiger friend Hobbes is available in a complete hardcover set of three-volumes with a slipcase.
Also, classic comics fans will want to make a bee-line for Stoker's Dracula, a Marvel Premiere Edition HC featuring reprints of the original comics from Roy Thomas and Dick Giordano, as well as all-new material that finishes the story that was never concluded! Check out the interview with MARK BEAZLEY for Tales to Astonish Masterworks Vol. 1. Part of the interview covers this particular collection!
Without further ado, here's a look at the highlights from TOW's list of books due to ship this coming Wednesday, the 12th of October.
• Complete Calvin & Hobbes ATLAS ERA MASTERWORKS
Front and center, Masterworks Maniacs! We have an amazing assortment of news 'n notes
for you regarding the Marvel Masterworks line. First, read up on an interview with
Masterworks editor Cory Sedlmeier, where we discuss the new line of ATLAS ERA MASTERWORKS. From there, you'll get the full scoop on the new breed of books with which Marvel is preparing
to shatter your senses!
Next, a couple new Masterworks to announce, with preview pages live for VOL. 56 and VOL. 57! Get ready for a
"monstrous" good time reading both those books! Also, check out the preview page for
Vol. 57, where Cory Sedlmeier and Mark Beazley take part in another in-depth interview.
That ain't all, either, brother...just keep checking in on this site in the next few days. The survey's comin', and that's not ALL the news fit to print...just all we could
get to today!
TWO SILVER AGE ARCHIVES IN FEBRUARY!
What are they?
Why, Doom Patrol Vol. 3 and Superman: Man of Tomorrow Vol. 2!
For more information on DC's January and February Collected Editions, including more Showcase Presents volumes, check out
THIS THREAD at the Message Boards!
THOR DELAYED A WEEK
Masterworks editor Cory Sedlmeier popped in to the message boards the other day with the following
note to Masterworks fans:
Thor v4 will be moving a week. We've been having a difficulties in printing the variant dustjackets of certain volumes (Cap'n Marvel, Human Torch, Thor). The richer-colored variants (Daredevil, Thor, Torch, Cap'n M) require special printing to achieve such a vibrant tone. Rather than settle for "almost," we've gone back to press on the variants for each one of these volumes to ensure that fans get a top-notch quality book.
To make the extra wait worth it, there will be a surprise in store for everyone when Thor v4 DOES arrive. I ain't uttering a peep more than that, but I think you'll all enjoy it a heck of a lot."
GA HUMAN TORCH PUSHED BACK ONE MORE WEEK
Marvel GA Masterworks editor Mark Beazley has posted information at the MESSAGE BOARDS about GA Human Torch Vol. 1 and another
week's delay in shipping. Says he:
"Wanted you guys to know that there was a problem with the foil stamp on the Variant Jackets - they were printing off register so parts of the marble were showing as white rather than the orange around the foil frame.
In order to give the printer enough time to reprint the jackets properly, the book is moving to 10/19. Both the regular and variant are shipping the same time.
We hope you all understand the delay."
All in all, when the book finally ships it will have been a month late, which is
approximately 64 years after its original publication. Thanks to Marvel for letting the fans know what's up so we
can plan our budgets accordingly!
I'm looking forward to attending the First Annual New York Comic-Con from February 24-26. In fact, I just bought my ticket for a weekend pass- only $35! I'm looking forward to
being at my first major convention ever, and I hope to see you there if you're going to attend. In fact, if you visit THIS THREAD at the Message Boards, you can pipe in on the discussion between people from the website and boards who are going to be there! I have something cool up my sleeve that I hope you can share if you come, so let us know if you'll be at the Con so you can get on the list and let us know your availability. (More on specifics as it develops!)
DC Comics, Dark Horse and Marvel are among the many publishers that will have a presence at this convention, but the comics pros who will attend is yet unclear. For more information on the Con, check out THIS LINK. And go to this link if you want to BUY A TICKET NOW!
MARVEL MILESTONES: ULTIMATE 1/2 REPRINTS,
Those of you who think the days of Marvel Collector's Item Classics or Marvel Tales are over must not know
about Marvel Milestones. It's a monthly title that reprints a collection of themed books that are either rare or
complement the Marvel zeitgeist of the moment. This month is a "HALLOWEEN" edition, chock full of monster comics
like Blade, Man-Thing and Satana. Last month was a Champions feature, with cool stories from Ghost Rider, Black Widow and Iceman.
November will carry a MARVEL MILESTONES that reprints two rare issues: Ultimate Spider-Man 1/2 and Ultimate X-Men 1/2.
To top it off, Marvel is including backup features from Golden Age Human Torch Masterworks, featuring the long-forgotten
Microman and Mantor the Magician.
Says Marvel: "Fans were asking us all the time when we’d be reprinting Ultimate Spider-Man ½ and Ultimate X-Men ½ - we probably get more requests for those than for any other books,” says Associate Editor of Special Projects Mark Beazley. “We try our best to use the Milestones books to meet the demands of fans, as seen in the recent reprinting of the UK Captain Britain story. And as an added bonus we’re throwing in two golden age stories from our Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Human Torch Vol. 1 HC – the first appearances of Microman and Mantor the Magician from the 1940s Human Torch #2…surely everyone remembers them!"
Here's a couple preview images from the book, to whet your appetite for not only the Milestones edition, but also
the GA Human Torch Masterworks, due to ship 10/12 from Marvel.
DC reports that it has sold out on a few collected editions of note: Sandman: Brief Lives HC and Absolute League
of Extraordinary Gentleman Vol. 1. But whereas one can expect to see the Sandman book have only a "brief death" on
the back market, one should not expect DC to bring ABSOLUTE LXG VOL. 1 back to press. If you haven't gotten this book
yet, I suggest you do so now.
Same with Absolute Planetary, which seemed to have sold out its print run overnight.
SITE UPDATES
I've got a big backlog of feature pages up on the website now- Marvel Hardcovers,
trades and digests. Each feature page carries as much information about the books
as I can fit in: cover images, resource data, contents listings, bonus materials information,
issue breakdowns and synsopsis, and a scanned panel image or two to give you a sample
of the artwork inside.
The basic idea is to give you more information about books if you're interested in adding
them to your collection. Check 'em out when you get the chance!
MARVEL HARDCOVERS:
FANTASTIC FOUR OMNIBUS VOL. 1
TRADE PAPERBACKS:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL. 1: CHANGING PLACES
DIGESTS:
INHUMANS VOL. 1: CULTURE SHOCK
NEW BOOKS SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
Some news and notes to follow, but first, here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping today from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, September 5.
On the hardcover front, it's a milestone day as DC reprints comic's modern masterpiece by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons as Absolute Watchmen. They also follow up last week's doubleshot of Essential-style reprints with Showcase Presents Metamorpho Vol. 1. Also of note is a new edition of the V For Vendetta HC- more Alan Moore classics! (And don't miss Elfquest Archives Vol. 3. It's a big week for DC!
By contrast, it's a light week for Marvel Comics, with a few trades and digests of note, including the second volume of the Complete Age of Apocalypse. From Dark Horse, we
get a hardcover reprinting the next batch of stories from Kurt Busiek's Conan series, Conan Vol. 2: The God In The Bowl HC, and the several-months-delayed Rising Stars finally hits the comic store shelves, in a regular Omnibus-style edition and one
with a slipcase.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books due to ship this coming Wednesday, the 21st of September.
• Absolute Watchmen HC
GA Human Torch Masterworks Vol. 1 will not ship on the reschedule date of 10/5. It will
ship the following week, on 10/12.
As noted in the recent BLAMMO! email, which many of you got as a blank text (sorry!),
Marvel has been able to finally hammer out a deal to bring a new matte paper stock to
its line of Masterworks, starting with FF Vol. 9, due in November (Vol. 54 for all you
counting at home!) Here's the copy from my BLAMMO! email:
"It's not a dream! It's not a mirage! Your wife didn't just smack you on the head with a frying pan (or maybe she did!)
Just when you thought Marvel's pursuit of a new paper stock for its Masterworks had hit a dead end, comes word from Cory
Sedlmeier about a new printer for our favorite books from Marvel!
Says Cory:
'Starting with Fantastic Four Vol. 9 the Masterworks will be printed at a new printer, R.R. Donnelley. They've been doing a superb
job on all our oversized hardcovers for years and we're very happy to have them as our long-term partner on the Masterworks.
What may interest readers even more, is that starting with this volume, we'll also be printing on a new paper stock. That's right,
starting with Fantastic Four Vol. 9 readers can look forward to the Masterworks printing on an 80# matte white stock that we're all very happy with.
A special shout-out goes to Raphael Rodriguez and Christine Slusarz from our manufacturing department for all their hard work and
patience (with pain-in-the-neck ol' me) in facilitating this process.'
The new paper Marvel will be employing for its Masterworks will be a white matte stock, with a far lower gloss than what the current paper
carries. So starting with FF Vol. 9, which is Vol. 53 in the Masterworks line, we'll get a new low-glare matte stock! I think this is great news
and I hope you do, too!"
NEW BOOKS 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, September 28.
DC ushers in a new era in their collected editions history with the first volumes of Showcase Presents. They lead off their version of Essential B&W phonebook style
reprints with Green Lantern and Silver Age Superman. And don't forget, they
are priced at a very special introductory price of $9.99, which after discount from TOW
comes out to $6.99 to sample 500+ pages of comics! That's a great deal!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books due to ship this coming Wednesday, the 21st of September.
• Bigfoot TPB (Steve Niles, Rob Zombie, Richard Corben) DC/IMAGE SOLICITS FOR DECEMBER
Here is a link to the complete list of DC DECEMBER '05 SOLICITS. Check it out for a list of hardcovers and trades from DC Comics, due to ship in December.
I'd also like to highlight the following book by Image Comics:
THE WALKING DEAD OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC
This deluxe hardcover features the first 24 issues of the hit series along with the covers for the issues all in one massive, oversized slip-cased volume. Perfect for long time fans, new readers, and anyone needing a heavy object with which to fend off The Walking Dead.
Retailers: This is a limited, one-time offer. This item will be limited to initial orders only and will not be reprinted.
Collects THE WALKING DEAD #1-24. (560 pages, $100 (regular), $150 (signed and numbered) This book has quite the buzz on the Masterworks Message Board as one of the best comics going, so I'm going to take that leap of faith and grab it myself. Please note that this is in the Omnibus format of Robert Kirkman's critically acclaimed Walking Dead, and this marks the second time that Kirkman has gotten cozy with Marvel regarding trade dress concerns. His first reprint of his Invincible series resembled Marvel's Oversize HC trade dress; now he takes on the Omnibus format. Kirkman is a rising star and one of Marvel's best new writers, helming titles like Marvel Team-Up and Fantastic Four: Foes. Plus, his creator-owned Invincible character is making a guest appearance in the Spidey team-up title. So it's cool to see how Kirkman is taking advantage of his positioning to craft collected editions that follow in the wake of Marvel.
NEWS UPDATE: 9/20 MARVEL SOLICITS FOR DECEMBER Posted at 8:15 PM by gormuu There are two- count 'em- TWO- Masterworks on the list of MARVEL DECEMBER '05 SOLICITS Get to scootin' over there and see what else is on tap!
At the Diamond Comics Retailer Summit in Baltimore, a contingent of Marvel Comics
sales representatives, led by Dan Buckley and our pal David Gabriel, pulled out some
big guns from their arsenal! Part of their presentation was a slyly conceived
slide presentation that did a slow reveal on much of what 2006 would have to offer.
For the full rundown on the presentation, visit this link at SILVER BULLET COMICS. (Hat tip to CJAotssE!)
I'll run through a few of the slides for you here that relate directly to collected editions! The first thing brought up to the retailers is
the oncoming publication of an oversized Eternals HC, reprinting the entire run of
the late 70s Jack Kirby masterpiece! What an unexpected surprise!
This marks a breakthrough for the Oversized HC line, in that it is reprinting complete runs of classic material before it appears in trade or Masterworks! Some might wonder why
Marvel would do this, but I would guess it has something to do with another slide they flashed directly afterward, indicating that Neil Gaiman would be scribing tales from the Eternals universe in 2006! Look for the Eternals to get a super high profile next year! Make Jack proud, Neil!
An oversized HC of Eternals has interesting implications for what we can expect from
Marvel's reprint line in the future. My guess is this won't be the last of this type
of project.
Next slide:
And speaking of Oversized Hardcovers, you can't get more Oversized than the Omnibus! The next Omnibus off the line will be Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1! Contents are unknown at this time, but this might stretch all the way through the Claremont/Byrne era.
And next:
Reaffirming to retailers that Masterworks are here and can no longer be ignored, Marvel reminded everyone gathered that there are plans for 18 books next year, breaking them down in category, and firming up the certainty of a Monster book next year and Rawhide Kid.
With 18 books of such varied stripes, there would seem to be not much to argue with when it comes to the content Marvel will be reprinting.
And finally:
Don't forget Essentials, which are planned to number a huge 24 next year! Good ol' Nova looks like he's going to get his due.
There's more in that article dealing with Marvel's publishing schedule in 2006, so read up on it and see if there's anything else that interests you! Until then, Make Mine Marvel!!!!
HELLBOY HARDCOVERS
CBR has the text of an online chat with DARK HORSE EDITOR SCOTT ALLIE, wherein one can read the following exchange between Allie and site user Stygian:
Stygian: Any possibility that "Hellboy" will be collected in Hard Bound editions, similar to "Sin City" this past summer? It just seems a natural.
Scott Allie: Mike and I do have a plan for "Hellboy" hardcovers...I have to formalize it. The idea is to collect two TPBs in one HC.
I've been eagerly awaiting Mike Mignola's defining work to get the deluxe treatment, and it looks like its time might be coming!
NEW BOOKS 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, September 21. This is a HUGE week! Captain Marvel Masterworks Vol. 1 makes it a milestone month for the "50th Masterworks volume!" Kamandi Archives Vol. 1 is also a milestone, as it notches the first foray by DC's Archives into
Jack Kirby's 70s era.
And don't miss a couple trades that bring some of the 80s best comics back to press: Hulk Visionaries: Peter David Vol. 2 TPB, featuring the David era when it really started to cook (with the pre-superstar Todd MacFarlane doing penciling duties), and Wonder Woman Vol. 3: Beauty and the Beasts TPB, which gives us more of George Perez' great run telling the stories of the Amazon princess!
The long-delayed Infinity Crisis HCs, Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 6 HC, and the first Essential Ghost Rider will make this a week your wallet won't soon forgive you for!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books due to ship this coming Wednesday, the 21st of September.
• Batman: War Games Act Three TPB CAN YOU SAY....GA FLASH?
Run on over HERE, as fast as you can! Check out what appears to be
January's Archive offering?
I'll look to get official confirmation ASAP! (Thanks to David Stewart for digging this
one up!)
UPDATE: Yep! It's no mirage. That blur you see on the horizon is Jay Garrick!!! DC confirms the book, and here are the contents: Flash Comics #18-24 and All-Flash #1-2.
This is a book that is WAY past due, so it's nice to see it coming in early 2006. Can Barry Allen be far behind?
THE 54th MARVEL MASTERWORKS!
Want to know what the 54th Masterworks will be? It's coming in December, folks! And
MarvelMasterworks.com gets to make the exclusive announcement. It's Amazing! It's Astonishing! It's Suspensful and Fantastic! One look and you'll say "MAKE MINE MARVEL!" It's...
Oh, you want me to just quit the yappin' and announce, right? Well, why not CLICK THIS LINK and find out!
NEW BOOKS 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, September 14. Dr. Strange Masterworks Vol. 2 and Wlverine Classic Vol. 2 TPB hit stands after brief shipping delays, as does Absolute Batman: Hush. There's also a cool Black Panther statue that I'd love to have on my shelf...gonna have to wait on that one, though!
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books due to ship this coming Wednesday, the 14th of September.
• Absolute Batman: Hush ROBERT KIRKMAN'S INVINCIBLE HC SOLD OUT!
Image recently reprinted the first eleven issues of Robert Kirkman's Eisner-nominated Invincible in an oversized hardcover very much in the template of Marvel's line of oversize HCs. According to
Image, the initial print run of the book has sold out!
"After being in stores for less than a month, the INVINCIBLE ULTIMATE COLLECTION HC Vol. 1 has sold out!
The $34.95 oversized volume collects the first 13 issues of INVINCIBLE ("quite possibly the Greatest Super Hero Comic in the Universe") in one volume with extras and behind-the-scenes material.
The INVINCIBLE ULTIMATE COLLECTION HC was massively over-printed, almost three times it's initial orders, and thanks to the demand, Image Comics is going back to press on it! Not only that, Image is printing over double the initial print run, to make sure that copies are available through the holidays."
What with
Invincible appearing in an upcoming alongside Spider-Man in an upcoming issue of Marvel Team-Up, it sure looks like die-hard Marvel fans will want to keep this book on their radar screen. Tales of Wonder has copies of the first print still IN STOCK, so you should be able to purchase it at your leisure.
For those of you waiting for Dr. Strange Masterworks Vol. 2, it will be shipping next week, on September 14th, the same
day as Captain Marvel Vol. 1 was supposed to ship. However, Captain Marvel Vol. 1 is being pushed back so
editor Cory Sedlmeier can address some last minute printing issues with the dustjacket. According to the C-Man, "Printed jackets of Captain Marvel showed up today. The variant dustjacket coloring is waaaaaay off. The book is being bumped to figure out what the problem is and print new jackets."
The DJ might be the wrong shade of green, but according to Cory, "the interiors look great, though! The 16 pages of Colan pencils are fan-tast-tic!" Finally, Cory also wants fans to know that GA Human Torch is being bumped as well, with similar
issues of dustjacket printing errors. Cory admits that, as far as scheduling goes, "Our track record really sucks lately."
But I think most of the fans will agree that it's far better to have a well-produced and well-cared-for book than a volume that is sub-standard solely to meet a ship date.
Marvel's really ramped up production of Masterworks volumes lately. Combine that with the degree of perfectionism that
guys like Cory apply to the book, and we're bound to have scheduling delays of a week or two here or there. Not all
Masterworks books get the Rescheduling Blues, though, as Cory notes that "Thor Vol. 4 is all done and in the can!" So
expect to see that long-awaited volume in print and on time!
Also, other rescheduled books include Essential Ghost Rider Vol. 1 and Giant-Size X-Men #4, which are both pushed back a week- from 9/14 to 9/21.
DEVIL DINOSAUR AND FF/IRON MAN: BIG IN JAPAN
If you're like me, you're eagerly anticipating the flood of Monster related comics Marvel
is winging your way in October and beyond! The first of Marvel's four Monster One-Shots
that bows in October is DEVIL DINOSAUR, in which our favorite mutant dino and his caveman compadre take on the Ever-Lovin', Green-Eyed Hulk!
From Marvel:
'Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur is great fun,' says editor Mark Paniccia. 'If you’re looking for an escape from the usual offerings, this and the other three Monster books are just what you’ve been looking for, including Fing Fang Four, Monsters on the Prowl, and Where Monsters Dwell.'
'When this project was approved I was giddy for days!’ added Paniccia. 'The team assembled for the Monster Event are people who have a strong connection to the nostalgic and really wanted to be part of this and it comes across in the final product. You will feel like you walked through a time machine and picked this stuff up off the rack at the corner grocery store.'
Brought to you by Eisner Award Winning Eric Powell, Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur features the most savage of slugfests, the Hulk versus Devil Dinosaur. Plus, Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur contains the first appearance of the Hulk from way back in November 1960 with “ I Was a Slave of the Living Hulk” from Journey into Mystery #62 by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers."
And as if that ain't enough, I got the goods on some preview images! Click on the following links for the cover and
three pages from the book (images will open in a new window): COVER, SPLASH, DD/MOON BOY, and CELESTIALS.
Not to be lost in the shuffle is a project that is His Eminence of Masterworks editor Cory Sedlmeier's baby, a project he
notes is "full on big monster goodness!" That would be the zany limited series titled FANTASTIC FOUR/IRON MAN: BIG IN JAPAN! Written by Zeb Wells and drawn by Seth Fisher, the four-issue mini sends the Iron Avenger and
his four cosmic-powered buddies right into the path of giant monsters...in Tokyo, the mecca of monsters!!! (No word on if Godzilla or Gamera will
make an appearance!) Check out this piece of uncolored Seth Fisher pencils from the first issue: NEW BOOKS 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, September 7. Avengers: Serpent Crown sees release, as does the Engelheart/Rogers Coyote & Scorpio Rose TPB. Also
check out a couple under-the-radar releases like the Comics Creators on FF softcover, which includes interviews with every creator that has ever worked on Marvel's Fab Four, and the first volume of DC-era Star Trek reprints!
Also please note that DC's slipcase edition of World's Greatest Super-Heroes finally makes it to print, after several weeks of delays.
Here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books due to ship this coming Wednesday, the 7th of September.
• Avengers: Serpent Crown TPB
I'm a few days tardy in posting this news, as I was out of town over the Labor Day Weekend. Perhaps
by now you've already visited the DC Archives Survey over at COMICSARCHIVES.ORG, the website run by David Steppe. It's now in it's 8th year, and it delivers the goods!
If you are an Archives fan, it's your duty to head over there promptly and make your voice heard! DC editors
use the results of the survey, which has steadily increased in size and respondents over the years, to help
when making
determinations for future publishing schedules.
The survey won't be online forever, so make sure you get over there and put virtual pen to electronic paper and
vote, vote, vote! WHAT IS A HERO?
Here's another place to recommend for donating money and other resources to
help folks out in the Gulf States: Mark Evanier's NEWS FROM ME site has championed an aid program
called OPERATION USA, a relief organization that is staged out of California. According
to Mark, they run a pretty lean operation, so they manage to do a lot of good with the money
you send them. One attractive twist in donating to them is that United Airlines Mileage
Plus members can earn miles with every dollar of donations. Also, you can donate airline
miles to the cause if you have any. So members of that mileage club should take a look
at that one.
And don't forget to check with your employer before donating and see if you can pack
more of a punch by having them match your donation.
By now, you are aware that a devastating hurricane has lashed across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, after
wreaking havoc on Southern Florida, and sending powerful storms all the way up through the center of the United
States. We now must face the possibility that a major city of the United States will now cease to exist as we know it.
There is so much going wrong in that part of the country that it's almost impossible to fathom it. But fathom it
we must.
What is a hero? Permit me to share my image of one with you right now. The definition of a hero is actually quite
simple, not very dramatic and actually quite commonplace. To me, a hero is someone who is able to assess a need
that is good and virtuous for their fellow man, and- here is the important part- they act upon it! "The heroic"
can be acted out many times during the day, in small ways and big. On most days, in most weeks, during most years,
the small things are all us civilians are called to do, whether it's pulling kittens from a tree, helping an elderly neighbor find the medicine bottle that's fallen behind her refrigerator, or just being a nurturing, attentive and self-sacrificing parent to our children.
But right now, in this moment, we are called to be heroes in a far more epic scale. For those of us fortunate to be a citizen in this wonderfully successful experiment called America, we are now realizing that some of our fellow citizens are in dire need, living under harrowing conditions. And since there is no real Iron Man, no real Spider-Man, no real
Avengers to answer the call, all there is...is you!
What you can do is very simple. You can donate some money. There are relief organizations from all over mobilizing
as we speak. They want lots of things...generally, they want money. Some, like this hospital in Youngsville, LA have lists of VERY SPECIFIC THINGS that they need.
If you live nearby affected areas, please consider
more personally assertive ways of helping. Rescuers are looking for help in performing mass evacuations of people
from the New Orleans area. Perhaps an organization in your local community is looking to mobilize an effort
to offer first-hand volunteer help. They may need vehicles, food, clothing, or manpower to help. Perhaps you can
play a part to help evacuate people. (And if there isn't a local mobilization effort going on, maybe you could try
and get one going!)
Does your local community have public or private buildings that can be converted into temporary short-term or long-term shelters for dislocated people? Get on the ball and make sure the people who are brokering the movement of refugees knows your town is on the list of willing helpers. Further, consider if you or someone you know can open your home to people who are quite literally refugees.
Right now, gas prices are rising at an incredible rate- didn't notice that, didja? Do yourself a favor and cut out any and all unnecessary
travel for as long as you can stand it. Take that money you would have wasted on the "negotiable" travel (i.e. travel
not for work or for other necessary duties) and start a small savings bank, either to pay for a future donation
or to pay yourself back for a donation you're going to be making imminently!
THE AMERICAN RED CROSS is a great charity who is already mobilized
in the area and providing relief. Your donations will augment their efforts which are geared to the matter at hand:
providing relief right now! Even better, check with the company you work for and see if they have a matching
program if you donate through them. Often, companies or corporations will match donations made by their employer
dollar for dollar.
YOUR DONATION DOES NOT HAVE TO BE MUCH! Don't fool yourself into thinking that "all you can afford" is too little. Five bucks,
ten bucks...it all adds up. Don't feel like you're not doing your part by donating that small of an amount- you are! Remember, a hero is someone who is able to assess a need that is good and virtuous for their fellow man, and then they act upon it. It's your chance to be a real hero...a super-hero! And you don't need to get bitten by a radioactive spider or bathed in gamma rays to get your
super-powers. Just figure out what you can do to help, and then do it, and- BLAMMO!- you're a hero! Because you acted when people needed you to act. If we all stand up now united, we can make a difference between life and death.
For a full list of charities and other websites recommendations for where you can take your money, check out THIS WEBSITE. Find one that suits your self and please consider a donation. The world will thank you!
FUNKY COOL SITE UPDATES!
Pardon your old pal Gormuu for the lack of scintillating size-ups and claustrophobic
close-ups of the collected-edition kind! But believe you me- the zest and zing that
the News page may have lacked the last couple weeks should be more than made up for
by the energy being poured into other parts of the site! Around here, we have one
mission in mind: to give you the most resources available with which you- yes, YOU- can
waste as much time as possible...whether at home or at work!
To that end, check out some of the shiny, new things we've got around the showroom
floor, all with that new car smell!
MARVEL NOVELS LIBRARY: Never before has there been such a foray made into the labyrinthine world of original Marvel prose novels. Few have tried, none are alive...It's like cave-diving, only more dangerous! That didn't stop us, though, and the results can be seen at the spanking new MARVEL NOVELS LIBRARY page! The best thing for you to do to prepare for your descent into the murky depths of Marvel Novel Knowledge is to read up on this ORIGINAL WEBSITE INTERVIEW with
Marvel novel scribe extraordinaire Keith R.A. DeCandido. He did a sit-down with MarvelMasterworks.com's Chris Leazer to spread the news high and low about his new novel SPIDER-MAN: DOWN THESE MEAN STREETS.
MARVEL DIGESTS LIBRARY: A whole new library page devoted to Marvel's highly successful DIGEST format! This material is mainly drawn from Marvel Age, Marvel Next, Marvel Adventures and the latter-day Tsunami titles, which are ostensibly geared towards kiddies, the young set and teenagers. However, there's some good stuff in there that will appeal to the kid in all of us, as well- check it out!
And keep your eyes peeled for a very special Digest contest to be launched in the next few days. It'll be a chance for those of you who may have never tried the material out to get your stingy mitts on one without paying!
X-MEN/ULTIMATE UNIVERSE TRADE LIBRARY: The last two pages of the Marvel Trade Paperback Library, these covering CLASSIC TRADES and the X-MEN & ULTIMATE UNIVERSE libraries. Right now, there isn't much in the way of Feature Pages linked from there yet, though that
will change in the next few days. But it gives you a quick overview on available materials, and there are up-to-date release schedules for future books, as well as an easy-linking navigation system so you can hop from Trade Library to Trade Library!
REVIEW AND DISCUSSION THREAD: Check out the new message board forum devoted to
Marvel Books, wherein you can help generate a "consumer guide" for your fellow comics
fans! Jump in there and give praise and criticism of your book collection. Talk about
the "five-star" books in your collection; make sure you let your peers know which books
weren't up to snuff. Check out the Marvel Books Discussion and Review Forum at THIS LINK and be a part!
Right now, we're in "beta test" mode, so there are only a few review threads up (but some more are on the way in the next couple days!) I hope you enjoy reading them, as well
as contributing your thoughts!
MORE ON THE WAY: Look for more collected editions feature pages to go live over
the next few days. And there's a bunch more stuff cooking that should see the light of day within a week or so. Can you say Bronze Age What If? pages? And before you know it....the 2005 MASTERWORKS SURVEY will be here! Things ain't slowing down around here...no, sir! Hold on, folks, the ride is starting to pick up!
See you in the funny pages! NEW BOOKS SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
This week's Shipping From TOW list is on time! Hot off the presses comes the list
of books you can expect to see the light of day next Wednesday. Chronicles of Conan
Vol. 8: The Tower of Blood finally is hitting the streets from the perpetually-late
Dark Horse Comics. A new Essential X-Men volume- the sixth- hits the stands, as
is an oversized HC of Earth X!
But without further ado, here's a look at the rest of the highlights from TOW's list of books due to ship this coming Wednesday, the 31st of August.
• 2020 TPB NEW BOOKS SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
This week's Shipping From TOW list is running quite a bit late. It's usually up on
Friday, but between a trip out of town to watch my Atlanta Braves lose two games
to the Padres, and some other things that kept me busy upon my return, the list
was neglected! Which is too bad, because there's a few good books on here to alert
you to, including the first HC installment of the Complete Dennis the Menace by Hal
Ketcham, rounding up all strips from 1951 and 1952, as well as Robin Archives Vol. 1, which was bumped up a week in the shipping schedule!
Without further ado, here's a look at the highlights from TOW's list of books due to ship this coming Wednesday, the 24th of August.
• Marvel Visionaries: Chris Claremont Vol. 1 HC MARVEL SOLICITS FOR NOVEMBER
Check out the MARVEL NOVEMBER '05 SOLICITS for a complete list of hardcovers, trades, and reprint comics that come from the House of Ideas
in November! This site already broke the news about FF Masterworks Vol. 9, but look at that final Waid/Wieringo FF HC on the schedule! And fans who've been clamoring for
Ultimate 1/2 issue reprints- look no further than Marvel Milestones! And there are
several classic trades to note: the complete Captain Universe (who'd-a ever
thought we'd see that?!?!), X-Factor and Excalibur classic trades, and a compilation of Spider-Man/Black Cat comics from times past! Toss in a couple new Essentials and a Giant-Size Invaders with a brand new Roy Thomas story,
and it's a month to look forward to!
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!?!
MarvelMasterworks.com is gearing up for our first inaugural Yahoo fantasy football
league, and if you feel like you have what it takes to be an NFL Superpro, visit
THIS THREAD at the message boards to join up! League entry fee will be
$20, the entirety of which will go towards a prize package of Masterworks/Archives for
league entrants who wind up among the best at the end of the season!
So ditch those fantasy baseball blues if you got 'em (and, brother, I got 'em bad!) and
join us for some fantasy footballin' fun in comics land!
Good news for folks who only buy the classic trades and HCs. This is going to be a pretty easy week on your wallet,
because most of what's due this week are collections of fairly recent material.
The highlight of the week is probably going to be the fourth Daredevil HC. This has proven to be one of Marvel's
most popular hardcover lines, and Volume 4 may turn out to be the most popular Daredevil HC with the folks
who frequent this site, thanks to the special anniversary issue, #65.
Also of note this week is the Marvel Milestones that features a Captain Britain story that hasn't previously been available in the US.
I have to admit, this is the one Marvel Milestones issue that I'm really looking forward to, solely because of this previously unavailable story.
SPECIAL NOTE FOR MASTERWORKS FANS: This week's Marvel Milestones issue also features a Golden Age Sub-Mariner story that's due to be reprinted
in the upcoming GA Human Torch Masterworks. If you want a sneak peek of what that volume is going to look like, here's your chance. The story is called
"Sub-Mariner Crashes New York Again", and it's by none other than Bill Everett himself!
Here's a look at the highlights from TOW's list of books due to ship this coming Wednesday, the 17th of August.
• Daredevil Vol 4 HC
DC SOLICITS FOR NOVEMBER
Check out the DC NOVEMBER '05 SOLICITS for a list of hardcovers and trades from DC Comics, due to ship in November.
NEWS UPDATE: 8/13 AVENGERS CLASSIC TPB: THE SERPENT CROWN Posted at 11:30 PM by gormuu
Many Avengers fans may lament the demise of the "old Avengers" and the ushering in of
the "New Avengers", but even though the old order may changeth in ways you don't like,
Well, it's nearly time to call "Avengers Assemble" on another collection. On sale September 7 is THE SERPENT CROWN, a 136 page trade that collects Avengers #141-144 and 146-149. Here's the copy from the Marvel press release: "The Avengers must fight a two-front war across space and time that they can’t afford to lose in the classic Perez-drawn Avengers: The Serpent Crown TPB. The twin galactic threats of Kang and the Crown make their move simultaneously, forcing the Avengers to split into two teams to protect not only Earth, but all of reality. Admist the chaos, an all-out brawl consuming multiple Earths occurs when the Set-serving Squadron Supreme take on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in any dimension, the Avengers! While one team of Avengers battles the Squadron Supreme, another team travels back in time to stop Kang. First, the Avengers find themselves in the nineteenth century trying to keep the West from getting wilder. Then, they must deal with the villianous…President Nelson Rockefeller?! This classic trade paperback is a must have for any Avengers fan as Avengers: The Serpent Crown TPB features art by one of the most celebrated Avengers pencilers, George Perez, with a classic story by Steven Englehart, and contains the first appearance of Hellcat! With the creative and sales renessaince happening with both the New Avengers and Young Avengers, this collection is sure to please both long-time and new Avengers fans alike." Alright Avengers fans, check out the TOW link and you can snag this one for only $11.19! Any trade with Patsy "Hellcat" Walker on the cover deserves a place on your shelf! (Click image above for full-size scan of front and back cover!) NEWS UPDATE: 8/11 MARVEL'S DAVID GABRIEL ASKS: Posted at 9:00 PM by gormuu
Marvel Comics' Director of Sales Who would possibly want a book that compiles it all, with bonus extras? Well...besides me, that is. I can't think of anyone. But, heck, what do I know? If you would like such a book, head over to the message boards right now and LET THE MAN KNOW! (To all new site visitors, you don't have to be registered to post in the thread. Nice to make your acquaintance! Hope ya find the rest of the site cool and useful!) NEWS UPDATE: 8/10 MARVEL'S 53rd MASTERWORKS VOLUME ANNOUNCED! Posted at 8:20 PM by gormuu We're proud to announce the 53rd Marvel Masterworks volume, and you can find out what Cory and company have cooked up for us at THIS LINK. It's a peerless preview of Mighty Masterworks Mojo, coming in November! And remember, troops, you heard it here first!
From DC's press release:
Collected editions of the INFINITE CRISIS-related miniseries DAY OF VENGEANCE, THE OMAC PROJECT, VILLAINS UNITED and RANN-THANAGAR WAR highlight DC Comics' list of upcoming collected editions for November and December 2005.
Also on tap is a collection called The Best of the Spirit. It will collect 192 pages of Eisner's best stories from
the 40s and 50s and carry a list price of $14.99. No word on if the collection will include strips not yet reprinted
in the Spirit Archives series.
DC LOWERS SHOWCASE PRICE FOR SUPERMAN/GL
This can now be confirmed via DC's press release. The first two volumes in DC's Showcase Presents
line of black and white "phonebook" reprints will carry special introductory list prices of $9.99!
From Direct Currents:
DC Comics has lowered prices on the first two SHOWCASE collected editions,
providing readers with over 500 pages of classic SUPERMAN and GREEN LANTERN
stories for the incredible price of just $9.99!
Originally solicited at $16.99 each in the July Previews (Volume XV #7), the
SHOWCASE PRESENTS SUPERMAN VOL. 1 TP (JUL050249) and the SHOWCASE PRESENTS
GREEN LANTERN VOL. 1 TP (JUL050250) are scheduled to arrive in stores on
September 14.
"This special offer combines unbeatable value with some of the greatest
stories of the Silver Age," says Bob Wayne, DC's VP - Sales. "Retailers
should take advantage of the new pricing to put more copies of each title in
the hands of their customers."
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: SUPERMAN VOL. 1 TP (JUL050249) collects stories from
SUPERMAN #122-133 and ACTION COMICS #241-257, written by Jerry Siegel, Bill
Finger and others, with art by Curt Swan, Dick Sprang and others.
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: GREEN LANTERN VOL. 1 TP (JUL050250) collects stories from
SHOWCASE #22-24 and GREEN LANTERN #1-17, written by John Broome and Gardner
Fox with art by Gil Kane, Joe Giella and Murphy Anderson.
Both volumes are available for advance reorder. Please note that this
special pricing is available for a limited time only.
Look for November's Marvel Masterworks title to be announced in this space, either sometime
tomorrow or Thursday. No countdown clock, no email surprise this time around...but dig the
suspense just the same!
DOC STRANGE VOL. 2 DELAYED TWO WEEKS/
Masterworks editor Cory Sedlmeier has announced at the Masterworks Message Board that
there will be a two-week delay in the release of Dr. Strange Vol. 2. In his words, "Doc Strange was in need of
a little extra work, so it's being bumped
two weeks." To soften the blow to Marvel-Maniacs, he further adds the following: "Capt. Marvel is looking great,
so good in fact, I've added 16 pages to
accommodate an unmatched selection of
extras!"
In the same
THREAD wherein
Cory announced the Doc Strange delay, he also held forth a solicit of fan input for what color
schemes you might like to see on a range of potential Masterworks volumes. Which ones? Oh, how about Sgt. Fury,
Ant-Man, Human Torch, and SHIELD! Mind you, he's not saying these are in the offing, just opening the floor
to musing about variant dustjacket colors...which would lead you to believe they're at least on Marvel's
radar screen! Check it out near the bottom of the first page of the thread and join in with your choices!
"Hmmm...gunmetal gray, military fatigue olive drab, or camouflage for Sgt. Fury? Choices, choices...." NEW BOOKS SHIPPING THIS WEDNESDAY FROM TALES OF WONDER
This upcoming Wednesday sees a key release in the Archives series, as DC brings us a third volume of
World's Finest Archives (which everyone knows is the real Superman/Batman comic, right?!?!?) Marvel
meets that challenge with a third volume of Essential Daredevil and Hulk: Tempest Fugit, a fun Peter
David romp where a bunch of Marvel Monsters face off against Marvel's Mightiest Monster of all time!
Dark Horse finally brings Concrete Vol. 1: Depths to market, and ABC's Promethea has a book that focuses
on the immaculate cover designs that graced each issue.
And finally, Runaways hits stores on the 10th. I want to remind everyone that joined in on that thread
in breathless support of a HC reprinting all 18 issues of Brian K. Vaughan's under-rated Runaways series:
it's time to put up or shut up! You promised to buy copies for yourself, your brother and sister, your Aunt
Hilda, Stan Lee and your old middle school principal- so let's see how serious you were! Reserve your copy now!
Here's a look at the highlights from TOW's list of books due to ship this coming Wednesday, the 10th of August.
• Adam Strange: Planet Heist TPB
Reported in the Pulse's coverage of Wizard World Chicago was a little nugget that DC is
changing the list price of their new Showcase volumes (black and white "phonebook" style reprints a la Essentials) from $16.99 to $9.99. In further clarifying what DC intends, they have informed this site that
they have indeed lowered the price on the initial volumes of Superman and Green Lantern at the special
introductory price.
If anyone was on the fence with these books, I'm sure the substantial discount price will sway many of them. More details sometime next week, when DC formally announces their plan.
I've been slowly getting the website caught up, and I want to alert you to a few things I've done. I've updated
the following library pages: MARVEL TPBs, MARVEL HCs, and ESSENTIALS. The schedule of upcoming books should be current and complete through October's solicits.
Also, David Postle, aka dpAust, has contributed a bunch of great scans from Golden Age books. I've got a bunch of fun
stuff from All-Select #11 and Blonde Phantom #12 posted at their respective What If? volumes at the WHAT IF GOLDEN AGE LIBRARY page (that would be All-Select Vol. 2 and Blonde Phantom Vol. 1.) There are more to come, too, all in the effort to show off some of the unknown and rarely seen pleasures of Marvel's Golden Age. So thanks to David, and others like him, who volunteer this material!
BENDIS + STERANKO = NICK FURY?
A juicy tidbit from Newsarama's coverage of WW: CHICAGO is the following:
"Talking about the current “Silver Age” themed covers for New Avengers and whether any similar plans exist for other projects, Bendis said he wants to do a major Nick Fury project with Sternanko. Bendis also said he received an email from Steranko recently and Bendis said he thinks it’s getting close to the two of them doing the project."
When I hear news like this, I just have to lower my expectations and say "it'll never happen." That's the only
way I can get through the day amd accomplish normal everyday activities- like
feeding myself and remembering to brush my teeth.
NEW STERANKO SHIELD STORIES?!?!?!
NO WAY!!!!!
WHERE MONSTERS DWELL: features a reprint of “I Was Trapped By Titano” from Tales to Astonish #10, July 1960 by Jack Kirby/Joe Sinnott!
FIN FANG FOUR: Witness the first appearance of Fin Fang Foom in a classic story by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers from Strange Tales #89, October 1961!
MONSTERS ON THE PROWL: A classic tale from the past, “We Found the Ninth Wonder of the World” from Tales to Astonish #1, January 1959 by Jack Kirby/Chris Rule!
DEVIL DINOSAUR: THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE HULK NO LIE!
“I Was a Slave of the Living Hulk!” From Journey Into Mystery #62, November 1960 by Jack Kirby/Dick Ayers.
For the full rundown on the all-new features that lead these books, by creators like Peter David, Keith Giffen, Steve Niles, Eric Powell and more, including all four covers, check out this REPORT from Newsarama!
Here they are, as promised:
THE REST OF DC'S 2005 ARCHIVES SCHEDULE?
Thanks to Scarlet Spider for bringing this to our attention at the DC boards! According
to listings at Amazon Canada, this is the slate of Archives due through December (no
word on exact shipping dates, or if this list is complete or even correct):
• T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS VOL. 6
Also, the following TPB:
• CRISIS ON MULTIPLE EARTHS: THE TEAM-UPS TPB
I'll seek official confirmation for these titles and announce as soon as I can. Look for
DC's October solicits to be posted later today! MARVEL'S OCTOBER SOLICITATIONS
The October solicitations for Marvel, DC and other comics companies collected editions weren't
formally posted in the Current News roundup, so I'm going to go ahead and put them up here. It's likely that you've gotten wind of these releases already, but there's no harm
in a quick review. Here goes! First, the Marvel books you may be interested in:
CORNERSHOP LISTINGS UPDATED!
I've spent much of the day updating all the Cornershop listings for Masterworks, Archives, Marvel/DC hardcovers
and trades, and Essentials. If you're interested in purchasing any of these collected editions, why not visit
the CORNERSHOP listings and poke around a little. Your purchases through Tales
of Wonder and Amazon are what drive my ability to enhance the website and support the message board. I appreciate
every purchase you make through my links- both on the main site and through the message board- and hope you
consider checking here first before pursuing your next collected editions. I've got all the prices updated and
hope that the Cornershop listings give you an easy way to find what you're looking for.
As usual, please email me if you notice any errors in the listings, and once again I thank you for your patronage!
The Grand Comics Database, located at COMICS.ORG, is an invaluable resource
to many comics fans. They're putting a call out for more fans to contribute comics covers for their inventory. For
more details on how you can contribute needed Marvel covers, check out gaute norway's post at the MASTERWORKS MESSAGE BOARDS. And for
details on how you can contribute needed DC covers, check out gaute norway's post at the DC ARCHIVES MESSAGE BOARDS.
I'm on a bit of a crusade to find out just where Shang-Chi fandom stands on the issue of future reprints. Seems
that Marvel is exploring the idea of checking out the licenses of past Marvel comics like Godzilla, Doc Savage
and Master of Kung Fu (please re-read: nothing set in stone!) Seeing as how- in my opinion- the exploits of Shang-Chi were among the best comics of the 70s,
I was kinda hoping that Marvel could have a go at them with Masterworks, or at least a series of color trades. But
what do you think? Come to the message boards and take this
POLL and
let us know what you think!
NEW BOOKS SHIPPING THIS WEEK FROM TALES OF WONDER
This is one of those stealth weeks, where even though there isn't a Masterworks, Archives or some other big, expensive
hardcover, there's quite a bit to choose from. (The better to make your wallet feel a little more empty, right?)
A couple out-of-left-field
trades from Marvel round up some comics we thought we'd never see on our shelves: the early 80s Vision/Scarlet Witch
mini as well as a longtime-coming followup to the first X-Men Vignettes trade, collecting more excellent backup stories
from Classic X-Men. John Romita takes a bow in Marvel's Visionaries line of HCs, and New Avengers ground-breaking run
is finally anthologized in a Marvel Premiere Edition.
And don't miss Alan Moore's Halo Jones trade, or the very late Top Ten HC titled The 49ers. It's a good week- go buy
some comic books!
Here's a look at the highlights from TOW's list of books due to ship this coming Wednesday, the 3rd of August.
• Avengers: Vision and Scarlet Witch TPB
MARVEL MILESTONES REPRINTS RARE CAPT. BRITAIN STORY
For the first time in the United States, a story featuring the original Captain Britain, Brian Braddock, will be released in Marvel Milestones: Captain Britain, Psylocke, and Golden Age Sub-Mariner.
"Originally released in the United Kingdom, the Captain Britain story was a part of a UK Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine and now it is finally reaching the US. The story finds Captain Britain teaming up with Spider-Man to take on the Red Skull, who is in possession of the cosmic cube with destruction on his mind.
'We listened to the fans on this one. You demanded it, you got it. And some folks said it couldn't be done,' said Marvel's Director of Sales David Gabriel. This story marked the first time in 13 years that Captain Britain appeared in an original British comic strip and now it is being presented for American audiences to enjoy. 'There’s been a great deal of demand for this story, which was previously available only in the U.K., and we’re happy to give fans in the U.S. an opportunity to enjoy it,' says Special Projects Senior Editor Jeff Youngquist.
Brian isn’t the only Braddock appearing in this Marvel Milestone, though. A story about his sister Betsy, better known as the X-Man Psylocke, also appears. In Uncanny X-Men #213, Psylocke finds herself all alone against Sabretooth in an event that took place during the Mutant Massacre crossover. A third story is also included featuring a Golden Age Sub-Mariner invading New York in Human Torch #2, which was originally released in 1941.
Relive landmarks events in Marvel Comics history with Marvel Milestones, featuring your favorite heroes in classic stories."
If you want to snag a copy of this issue of Milestones, make sure your comics retailer knows you want one! It hits stores
on 8/17.
There's been more than a few mentions from buyers of X-Men Masterworks Vol. 5 about printing errors which have
led to pages being printed out of order. I've checked my copy and it is fine, but there's been enough complaints
of this that I want to bring it to your attention. Bust out your copy and flip through, seeing if the page
numbers are in the right order. If not, immediately contact the retailer from whom you bought it and arrange
for a replacement copy or refund.
For more on this otherwise excellent Masterworks volume, check out THIS THREAD at the Masterworks Message Board!
MARK WAID SIGNS 2-YEAR DC COMICS EXCLUSIVE/
From a DC Comics press release:
"Mark Waid, renowned writer of LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES, EMPIRE and the upcoming THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD monthly, has signed a 2-year exclusive agreement with DC Comics.
"In a sense, DC's been my home since I was four years old and learning to read, so it's a very natural relationship to make," says Waid. "The assignments spinning out of this exclusive will have me collaborating with some of the greatest comic-art superstars in the field today, and every one of them is a writer's dream to work with. In signing the exclusive alongside comics' brightest talents, I feel as if I've been asked to join the JLA or the Legion of Super-Heroes. And then I realize how dorky that sounds, so I won't say it out loud. Hey, you didn't quote me, did you?"
"No one knows more about our heroes and our history than Mark," says Dan DiDio, VP - Executive Editor, DCU. "We've very happy to make his expertise a major part of our planning, both on new projects and the direction the DCU takes in the future. "
In addition, LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1-6 will be collected in the LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES VOL. 1: TEENAGE REVOLUTION TP. Also featuring the TEEN TITANS/LEGION SPECIAL, this collection will be solicited in the September issue of Previews (Volume XV #8) for November in-store.
MY TAKE: It's too bad for Marvel fans that Waid is taking his immense scripting talents to DC for the next two years.
It's this site's opinion (well, mine, really!) that his run on Fantastic Four was staggeringly great, and the third and
final oversize HC rounding out his run on that book can't come soon enough (though I guess "soon enough" will be around
December-time, and that's fine with me!)
That said, it's been my pleasure to read his new Legion book, produced in tandem with artist Barry Kitson. For those
who haven't been following the new Legion book, it's crammed with 30 pages of new comics every month, each book telling
a self-contained story that fits within the parameters of a larger, over-arching plotline, and even cooler for old school
comics fans is that the book features bona fide back-up stories! And in some cases, they're just as good, if not better,
than the lead story! Legion fans seem to be very happy with this new book, and for a new reader like me, it's one
of the more pleasurable pulls I get every month. I'd highly recommend trying out the trade when it hits stores. It
gets the Gormuu Stamp of Approval! (GSA for short, ya know!)
MORE MARVEL COLLECTIONS ON DVD-ROM! ALL THIS AND MAD AND NATIONAL LAMPOON TOO!
Graphic Imaging Technology, who brought us the recent 44 Years Of FF DVD-Rom, have announced even
MORE collections to come, at least one every three months! As first reported on by Michael San Giacomo
at NEWSARAMA, the plans are as follows:
The next Marvel collection is over 40 Years Of The X-Men, coming this fall! By Christmas this
year, a revised 40 Years Of Spider-Man DVD-Rom (with all the ANNUALS!) and a collection of NATIONAL LAMPOON!
On 4/1/06 (April Fool's Day), they plan a DVD-Rom of MAD magazine (replacing the now out-of-print CD-Rom collection)!
And sometime in 2006 DVD-Rom collections of AVENGERS and HULK are planned! Boxes and boxes of classic comics can now fit into your hip
pocket! Ain't technology grand?
GEMSTONE ANNOUNCES PICTO-FICTION SET FOR OCTOBER
The Holy Grail of EC Fan-Addicts is now scheduled for October! THE COMPLETE EC PICTO-FICTION LIBRARY SET
will finally complete Russ Cochran's legendary Complete EC Library after a lengthy sabbatical! Four hardcover
volumes in a slipcase, one per title, featuring these long-lost EC titles: SHOCK ILLUSTRATED, TERROR ILLUSTRATED,
CONFESSIONS ILLUSTRATED and CRIME ILLUSTRATED--never before reprinted--all by some of the finest talents from the
50s: Reed Crandall, Jack Davis, George Evans, Graham Ingels, Jack Kamen, Rudy Nappi, Joe Orlando, Bud Parke, Charles Sultan,
Angelo Torres, Al Williamson, and Wallace Wood, and writers Robert Bernstein, Al Feldstein, Daniel Keyes, John Larner, Jack
Oleck, and Richard Smith!
Each volume will be 9x12 in B&W, like the rest of the EC Library (except in this case the stories were originally printed
in black and white so there's really nothing lost)! The price is $150 and Russ Cochran promises this set by Halloween
this year!
Spa Fon!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOB GREENBERGER!
It's DC's Collected Editions editor and resident Arbiter of Archives Bob Greenberger
birthday, and he's not too immodest to TELL YOU HE'S 47 TODAY. So
a happy birthday wish to you today, sir, with hope that you have many, many more!
Now, getting down to business, here's what I want for your birthday:
Absolute New Frontier
I don't want to get greedy, so I'll just leave it there for now...! Seriously, though,
happy birthday!
Hey Gang--while rummaging through the new Amazon listings I discovered these tidbits of info regarding the new
Essential Official Handbooks of the Marvel Universe David Gabriel hinted about earlier at the Comic-Con International:
San Diego!
According to Amazon, Essential Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe Volume One will reprint the very first
Official Handbook series from 1983, which ran 15 issues! It's due to be released 5/10/06, with a page-count of 544 pgs.!
Essential Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition Volume One (whew) reprints THE FIRST THIRD of
OHOTMU Deluxe Edition from 1985 (20 issues, all of which were double-sized issues)! Due to be released 7/12/06, 496 pgs.!
Since it is only the first third, one could conclude that Marvel intends to release Volumes Two and Three later in 2006! This
is great news to anyone who's wanted handy Marvel Universe reference volumes at an affordable cost! By gosh, I believe the
Official Handbooks even have important info on PATSY WALKER and SIMON GARTH, the ZOMBIE (no Night Nurse though
--darn it)!
Release dates and exact contents info from Amazon are tentative and have not yet been confirmed by Marvel, although their eventual
release has!
NOW THIS IS ONE HELL OF AN ESSENTIAL!
"He lives! He strikes! No grave can hold him! Nothing can stop the man without a soul! Marked for human sacrifice by voodoo practitioners, Simon Garth was instead reanimated by mystical means - to be controlled by whoever holds the fabled Amulet of Damballah. And so begin the Tales of the Zombie! Collects stories from Tales of the Zombie #1-10; Dracula Lives #1-2."
Even the most diligently anti-Essentials folks will have to bow down to this book. After
all, one of the main complaints of Essentials is that it robs our beloved Marvel comics
of their four-color glory. But not in this case, right? I mean, the undead only came
in shades of gray back then! This news has me VERY excited! Sign me up!
More news as it comes, including necessary confirmation from Marvel that this book
is actually on a schedule, but until then, Rise from your graves,
oh hardened Essentials haters, your time has come...
(Thanks to rgw0001 for snooping this one out!)
Wow! After several weeks away from the place, I have to say it's good to be home. Traveling the world can
be rewarding in so many ways, but it can be very exhausting at the same time- I don't know how the Avengers
and the X-Men do it! My friends and I had a life-changing experience tooling through Hong Kong, southeast China,
Tibet, Nepal, India and Thailand, and we have a thousand pictures and a million memories to look back on. At
the same time, I have an incredible amount of work to look forward to!
Getting back into the rhythm of the website will be a long-term challenge for me, but with the able assistance of
my crew of associates, it will be a lot easier. I'd like to publicly thank Chris Leazer, Justin Fairfax and David Tai
for their daily help running the website and message boards, as well as Doug Roberts, my main partner in crime
with the site, for all he does with the graphic design and layouts. You guys didn't do good- you did great!!!
For the last several weeks, I checked up with
the site and board as a fan. For the first time since I got this nutty ride rolling a few years back, I was on
the outside looking in, and it was a total blast! I thrilled to all the news coming down the pike: Dark Horse's Tarzan
and Nexus Archives, the fun of the 50th Masterworks announcement, Steve Roger's All-Amazing reprint finally coming to fruition, the release of the much-awaited Omnibus, Marvel's October Monster Surprise, and Justin and MakeMineMonster's complete
smackdown coverage of the SDCC- including breaking news of the Rawhide Kid Masterworks and David Gabriel's plan to ramp
up Masterworks production in 2006! Every day, it seemed some cool news in the world of collected editions and comics
was popping up on the site!
And not to mention, our team of contributors didn't waste any time, as they spent the last few weeks prepping and unveiling the Silver Age What If pages (and working behind the scenes on the 1970s era- coming soon!) And there I was at a computer
terminal in Kathmandu, Nepal, reading 8 pages worth of Patsy Walker thanks to David Spofforth! I think it was then
that it really sunk in how great a group it is that we've put together here, a sizable group of fans with wide-ranging
tastes, bound together by our common love of comic art. Pardon me if I get a little gushy here, but in the world we're
living in, I can't help but think that this kind of commonality we're nurturing is part of the greater good.
Well, I'm going to climb off the soapbox and put away the box of tissues. It's back to talking about comics for me!
Look for some site updates in the next several days, as I try and play catch up. And of course, the regular gang of
contributors is cooking up more of the good stuff for you as we speak. You don't want to miss any of it, so stay tuned!
This is my first "new books this week" update in a long time. Let's see how rusty I am! Most notable to me
is Sgt. Rock Archives Vol. 3, featuring more tales of combat featuring the pencils of legendary Joe Kubert (with
a little Russ Heath for good measure!) Speaking of GI Combat, the long-awaited Combat Zone- all original material-
is finally due from Marvel. And for an inexpensive but deliciously jam-packed jaunt through the history of Jessica
Drew (hey, that's Spider-Woman, ya know!) you just have to check out Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1!
Here's a look at the highlights from TOW's list of books due this coming Wednesday, the 27th.
• Avengers West Coast: Vision Quest TPB
A NOTE FROM CORY ON MASTERWORKS REPRINTINGS!
Over at the Masterworks board today, Collections Editor Par Excellence Cory Sedlmeier posted the
following note to those fans concerned about "out-of-print" Masterworks:
Hi folks,
As I've mentioned in the past, we're working on a plan to get the books that have fallen out of print
back in stock. Those hundreds of hours yours truly spent getting the original 32 back in print weren't
for a simple one off, y'know! If anyone has ideas otherwise I've got a baseball bat next to my desk
with their name on it! In all seriousness, while it may not feel like it, the new bigger, better,
badder, faster Masterworks program is still fairly young.
We're keeping a close eye on the books, how they sell, reordering trends, etc., and all these factors,
along with the BIG ONE, dollars and cents, play into the scheme for going back to press. Building carefully
and intelligently is what's brought this line back, and we're not about to rush on any decisions that
could jeopardize our four-color baby.
Long story short, expect news in the coming months.
Best,
Cory
Thanks for the timely update, Cory!
REQUEST FOR ORIGINAL ART FOR MASTERWORKS!
Our pal, Living Monolith gave us the heads-up today on a request from Marvel
Masterworks Collection Editor Cory Sedlmeier:
"Folks, FYI, I got an email from Cory this afternoon looking for original art for
"potential" Masterworks volumes. Below is exactly what he listed:"
Journey Into Mystery/Thor #121-130, Fantastic Four #82-104, Avengers #41-50, Annual #1,
Tales to Astonish (Hulk) #80-102, Tales to Astonish (Ant-Man) #27,35-52, Sgt. Fury #1-13,
X-Men #54-66, Captain America #101-113
Thanks, MM! Hopefully there are some folks in our little community that can be of aid
and help out Cory in the production of future Masterworks (and help ensure great reproduction
as well)! And even if you don't have this art, please spread the word to anyone that
might! You'll have the undying gratitude of many a Masterworks Maniac!
Either Cory or Mark Beazley can be contacted by mail at:
Marvel Comics, 417 5th Avenue, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Or e-mail them at either csedlmeier@marvel.com or mbeazley@marvel.com.
NEW BOOKS THIS WEEK
Although all the wonderful news of the past few days has been nearly overwhelming, don't overlook this fact: we're getting a new Masterworks volume this week!
• Marvel Masterworks X-Men Vol 5 New Ed HC
SAN DIEGO UPDATE/NEW ESSENTIALS NEWS!
Justin here, newly-returned from the battlegrounds of San Diego, with a report on neat stuff
I heard and seen during what I term "The Big Circus"!
While there were no isolated Collected Editions panels from Marvel or DC this year, various
things leaked out (thanks to MakeMineMonsters, who chimed in with the Tales To Astonish and
Western Masterworks news). Among them:
David Gabriel reports that Marvel is currently negotiating for one-time use of the following licensed properties
for ESSENTIAL collections:
• MASTER OF KUNG FU
• GODZILLA
• DOC SAVAGE
Also DG says there are a whopping twenty-four Essentials coming our way in 2006! Rockin' good news!
Let the volume speculation begin!
David Gabriel mentioned that Marvel is "considering" using the same glossy matte paper they used for the FF
Omnibus for the upcoming 50th Masterwork (Captain Marvel)!
As first reported by teisto, DC will be publishing the first volume of SUPERMAN CHRONICLES next year!
An OMEGA THE UNKNOWN trade paperback reprinting Omega #1-10 and the wrap-up story in Defenders #76-77
will be published around the time of the upcoming mini-series!
A GENE COLAN VISIONARIES is in the works!
More black and white horror magazine material from the 70s will be reprinted soon!
The original Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe from the 80s will be reprinted in ESSENTIAL format, to be followed
by a NEW Official Handbook series (A-Z) first in comic format, then later trades!
Roy Thomas will be contributing a new 15-page Invaders story for the upcoming GIANT-SIZE INVADERS #2, which
will also reprint INVADERS #1-2 for the first time! Those two issues were originally supposed to be
the story in G-S Invaders 2 back in 1975!
A new X-FACTOR ongoing title, written by former X-Factor writer PETER DAVID with art by RYAN
SOOK. This series will spin out of and include the characters from the recent MADROX mini-series
as well as adding other characters (yet to be named) to the team! The first issue is due in November.
Peter David is also writing some upcoming FANTASTIC FOUR and WOLVERINE prose novels.
Since David is doing the X-Factor book, as well as starting on the new Spider-Man book, he will not have
time to continue as writer of THE INCREDIBLE HULK. An announcement of the new Hulk writer will be made
shortly, possibly at Wizard World Chicago.
Randolph Hoppe said that the Jack Kirby Museum needs programmers and volunteers and that the Museum
Website will go online beginning November 28 (what would have been Jack's 90th birthday!).
Mark Evanier will not be writing the introduction for the Kamandi Archives, due to a dispute with DC over
the Challengers Archives. He has completed the First Draft of his Jack Kirby Biography, which wlll probably
end up in three volumes (with a concise one-volume version for the general public)!
FF screenwriter Michael France "campaigned heavily" for the Jack Kirby credit in the FF movie. Thanks, Michael!
At the TwoMorrows panel, John Morrow announced upcoming volumes in the Modern Masters series: Art Adams in February
2006, John Byrne in late Spring '06 and then a volume devoted to Gaijin Studios. Premiering at the convention were
hot-off-the-press copies of the Justice League Companion and the Art of Gene Colan volume! Also announced was a
TITANS COMPANION volume in November.
A new series of Daughters Of The Dragon, featuring the Misty Knight/Colleen Wing team, will start in December.
Amazing Fantasy #13-14 will feature a modern-day Western hero, VEGAS (with backups featuring CAPTAIN UNIVERSE).
"Something Very Special" will be featured in Amazing Fantasy #15...
The Image hero, INVINCIBLE, will cross over into the Marvel Universe with an appearance in Marvel Team-Up #14
in November, written by Invincible creator Robert Kirkman.
The new series of SHE-HULK by Dan Slott and Juan Bobilla arrives in October. The second issue will be the 100th solo appearance
of She-Hulk and will be numbered as such.
FF: FIRST FAMILY is a miniseries by Joe Casey and Chris Weston and will be similar to his earlier EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES mini as it will
detail the Fantastic Four's first year as a team.
Marvel is currently considering a revival of HELLCAT.
THOR wlll definitely be returning to the Marvel Universe in 2006. Still no creative team announced.
David Finch is the artist on the new MOON KNIGHT series, scripted by novelist Charlie Hudson. This will appear in February.
Another SENTINEL mini-series by Sean McKeever is in the works.
I was also privileged to see the prototypes for the upcoming hugely oversized KRAZY + IGNATZ, LITTLE NEMO and COMPLETE CALVIN & HOBBES
collections and will be posting photos taken at the con shortly! I might also recommend the new INVINCIBLE hardcover edition,
which has a cover deliberately modeled after Marvel's Ultimate hardcovers!
MASTERWORKS VOL. 52
Curious about what we're going to get after the Captain Marvel and Golden Age Human Torch volumes in September?
Well wonder no more!
Just head on over to THIS THREAD, where full-size images of both the regular cover and the variant cover for October's Masterworks Volume 52 are revealed!
PATSY WALKER UPDATE
Well, today is your lucky day! Masterworks fan (and website contributor) David Spofforth has sent
in an 8-page Patsy Walker story from 1945!
Not only that, but he has also completed mapping all 16 Patsy Walker Masterworks volumes! Talk about above and beyond the call of duty!
Check out the PATSY WALKER 8-PAGE STORY, and then head on over
to the GOLDEN AGE ROMANCE WHAT IF PAGE, and have a look at all the Patsy Walker maps.
Dark Horse has released their new batch of solicitations, and there's a few books that I'm sure will be of interest to all reprint fans.
The big highlight is clearly the announcement of Nexus Archives Vol 1. In case you're not familiar with Nexus, the book by Mike Baron and Steve Rude was one of
the most critically-acclaimed books of the 80's. It's the story of a man who is forced to hunt down the worst of the worst, with no end in sight. Without a doubt, Nexus
is one of the best (and most important) non-Marvel or DC superheroes ever.
Here's a look at the Dark Horse highlights:
NEXUS ARCHIVES VOLUME 1 HC
CHRONICLES OF CONAN VOLUME 9: RIDERS OF THE RIVER-DRAGONS AND OTHER STORIES TPB
FRANK MILLER'S SIN CITY LIBRARY SET II HC
NEWS UPDATE: 7/12 BLACK TERROR REPRINT COLLECTION Posted at 9:00 PM
As mentioned below, the first volume of ALL-AMAZING COMICS, due out in September, will feature the Black Terror. Here's the pertinent info:
ALL-AMAZING COMICS VOL.1 (featuring THE BLACK TERROR) This book WILL NOT be available through Diamond, so if you want it, you'll need to order it through their website. Speaking of their website, they have a preview up: ALLAMAZE1. This is just the first of what will hopefully be many Golden Age collections. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in THIS THREAD. Mat Nastos and srca1941 will be happy to answer any of your questions, though as you can see, they have already provided plenty of the details.
Here are the latest shipping changes to report. Some of these books seem to be repeat offenders in these shipping updates!
• New Avengers Vol. 1 MPE HC has moved from July 27 to August 3
Remember, that Combat Zone TPB is one of those "non-reprint" TPB's, extremely rare from Marvel.
SILVER AGE WHAT IF PAGE
Great news, everybody! The SILVER AGE WHAT IF PAGE has returned, and it's better than ever.
• New Graphics!
• New Design Layout!
• Even Some New Maps and Mock-Up Images!
Let us know what you think. Stop in THIS THREAD, and share your thoughts. (And let us know if you spot any problems,
so we can fix 'em before Gormuu gets back. He'll never know the difference!)
Luckily, another light week on the shipping front. The highlight would seem to be Essential Killraven,
a book many folks probably thought would never happen! Hope all you Essential folks enjoy it!
Here's a look at what Tales Of Wonder has listed for July 13. All orders received by Tuesday will ship out the next day.
• Essential Killraven Vol 1 TP
Guess what folks, Marvel's monsters are back in a big way. This October, Marvel is bringing back the Howling Commandoes. But not the ones you're thinking of.
Marvel is trying out a somewhat new concept, a mix of monsters and SHIELD. Imagine all your old favorites, teaming up to take out the bad guys.
Check out this article at NEWSARAMA, it's got an interview with the writer,
and a run-down of exactly who will be on this new monster team.
Cub Reporter Justin ("The Reporter That Walks Like A Man!!") here, passing on a report from Our Pal Matt Brady at NEWSARAMA about four frankly fantastic one-shots coming your way in October!
• DEVIL DINOSAUR by Eric (The Goon) Powell, Tom Sneigoski and Mark Farmer
• MONSTERS ON THE PROWL by Steve Niles and Duncan Fegredo
• FIN FANG FOUR by Roger Langridge and Mick Gray
• WHERE MONSTERS DWELL--An anthology of short Monster stories by Keith Giffen, Peter David, Jeff Parker, Arnold Pander, and others
More details can be found at the link above! Not only are these new books re-presenting Marvel's old pre-hero Monsters to today's audience, but each book will have a Klassic Kirby Monster reprint in the back! Too cool for words! Our Man At Marvel David Gabriel hints that there may be more Pre-Hero Marvel surprises down the pike if these one-shots do well! Therefore (as Jack Kirby so famously wrote): "DON'T ASK!! JUST BUY IT!!"
Chris taking control again here (though I can't blame Justin for barging in with that wonderful news). What do you guys think of that? And get a load of the STARS of these books: Googam, Elektro, Fin Fang Foom, Monstrollo, Manoo, Bombu, Goom, Rombu, Grattu, and countless others. Who could ask for anything more? If we're lucky, even Spragg will show up!
Seriously folks, what are you waiting for? Four great new monster books! Along with the brand new story, all of them will feature a classic Kirby reprint! Click on the Newsarama link, and
you'll even get to see FULL-SIZE images of the four new covers. This is one of the more unique projects to come from Marvel in a long time. It's just oozing with FUN!
Well folks, the FF movie is finally here, and lots of us have chimed in with our opinions. The general consensus is that its better than we though it would be, and turned out to be a good (if light) bit of summer fun.
Make sure you go see it ten times, so we can get a sequel! If you want to share your opinion, here's
THE THREAD to do it in.
It's about time. The King is finally going to get his own museum, and no, I don't mean Elvis.
HERE'S THE PRESS RELEASE. If you care to comment,
HERE is one of those handy threads.
Some sad news to pass along here. One of the more important publishers of the last century, who, among many other projects, played a major part in promoting
Marvel's characters beyond the direct market, has passed away. For details, see THIS ARTICLE on comicon.com.
EARTH X HARDCOVER UPDATE WITH NEW ROSS COVER!
David Gabriel has generously provided us with new information and cover image for the upcoming EARTH X hardcover
edition coming August 31. The new edition will also boast a great new painted cover by
ALEX ROSS himself! More information and the new Ross cover can be found on
THIS THREAD. Thanks, David!
TWOMORROWS UPDATE
Justin here with an updated schedule on various books coming soon from the TwoMorrows Publishing Empire.
The Swampmen: Muck-Monsters Of The Comics trade originally scheduled for 7/27 has been moved to 10/12
--just in time for Halloween! The THUNDER Agents Companion due last month will now ship 8/10. The Secrets
In The Shadows: The Art Of Gene Colan trade has been rescheduled to next week with the hardcover version
(with extra pages) coming out 8/10. The Brave and Bold Art Of Jim Aparo will ship 10/19. (*whew*)
NEW BOOKS THIS WEEK
This will be a much lighter week than the past few have been. Neither Marvel nor DC are dumping a bunch
of hardcovers on us. Frankly, the title I'm looking forward to the most is the Space Ghost TPB. I remember watching the show when I was
younger, and I was a massive fan of the hilarious Space Ghost Coast To Coast show on late night television, and I've heard good things about this new series.
Here's a look at the books TOW is scheduled to ship this Thursday, July 7:
• Thing Freakshow TP
Just a few minor shipping changes to report this week:
• Top Ten: The 49ers HC has moved from July 13 to August 3
NEWSFLASH FROM CHINA!
Gormuu just sent us an encrypted message from China. Apparently Chinese spies have reported in from New York, and brought the following information with them:
• Arkham Asylum HC is now SOLD OUT at DC
I'm not sure how Gormuu was able to obtain this information, but if Chinese spies are reporting it, it must be true.
If you want to make sure that you get the Arkham Asylum HC, TALES OF WONDER still has copies available!
POWERS HC UPDATE!
Cub Reporter Justin here with a breaking news report: The POWERS hardcover has been delayed until the fall. Powers writer & co-creator Brian Bendis posted the following on his Jinxworld messageboard last evening:
"ITEM! We are bumping the Powers hardback until the fall. The production of it was just too huge, we decided to go oversize ala the USM and DD hardbacks and it just takes forever to do it right. So instead of dragging on it, we'll resolicit for October or November, you will have it for Christmas. The orders were very high for an item like this so it's very important that it be perfect. We hope it'll be the first in a series and to do that you can't skimp. You have to do it right."
COMPLETE KIRBY 5, DITKO READER 3 & OTHER THEAKSTON BOOKS UPDATE
Hi, Justin here with a brief note posted by Greg Theakston on the "Kirby-l" Yahoo group regarding an update on his delayed books:
"Ditko 3 shipped yesterday. Toth and Fine are pushed back to
fall. Wally Wood's Wayout is next with 50s sf illos. Complete Kirby
v5 is done and ready to ship to the printer."
I'm sure these will be lovely books, as Greg always does a top-notch job--even though the wait between books is sometimes unbearable!
It's going to be another one of those weeks when you're so busy reading that you won't have any time to eat or sleep! I'm sure most of you are already behind on your reading, thanks to last week's double whammy of the FF Omnibus and Golden Age Sub-Mariner Masterworks Vol. 1, but you won't be getting any respite this Wednesday.
The highlight of the week is surely Captain America Masterworks Vol. 2, featuring a ton of classic Kirby art. We've also got the massive Absolute LOEG 2 coming out this week, along with 2 HC's from Marvel, the Best Of Spider-Man Vol. 4 HC and the gorgeous X-Men Phoenix Endsong HC. The Phoenix Endsong book is actually a follow-up
to a lot of the storylines from Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men. If that isn't enough, the artwork makes it a must-buy!
Before you get too distracted by those big shiny hardcovers, don't forget to read the whole list. Further down, you'll find two titles that may interest a few folks around here: the second volume of the Jon Sable collection, and The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck. I guess those are two fairly different series, but each is a classic in it's own right.
Oh, did I forget to mention the 44 Years of Fantastic Four DVD is also out this week? I've heard that this site gets visited by FF fans every now and then. If you see one, be sure to tell them about this collection.
As usual, all Tales Of Wonder orders placed by Tuesday should ship out on Wednesday.
So without further delay, here's a look at some of the new material TOW will have available this coming Wednesday, June 29:
• Marvel Masterworks Captain America Vol 2 regular ed.
MARVEL BOOKS FOR SEPTEMBER
Marvel has officially released their solicitations for September. The entire list can be seen at COMICBOOKRESOURCES.
Here's a look at the highlights:
MAXIMUM FANTASTIC FOUR HC
BLACK PANTHER: WHO IS THE BLACK PANTHER HC
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN VOL. 6 HC
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: CAPTAIN MARVEL VOL. 1
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN AGE HUMAN TORCH VOL. 1
PUNISHER MAX VOL. 1 HC
WOLVERINE CLASSIC VOL. 2 TPB
AVENGERS: THE SERPENT CROWN TPB
HULK VISIONARIES: PETER DAVID VOL. 2 TPB
ESSENTIAL SPIDER-MAN VOL. 7 TPB
ESSENTIAL GHOST RIDER VOL. 1 TPB
SQUADRON SUPREME TPB (4th)
SPIDER-GIRL VOL. 4: TURNING POINT DIGEST
RUNAWAYS VOL. 4: TRUE BELIEVERS DIGEST
MARY JANE VOL. 2: HOMECOMING DIGEST
Marvel's main Masterworks man, Cory Sedlmeier, just sent a brief alert. It looks like X-Men Masterworks Volume 5 is going to be delayed one week.
The previous shipping date was July 13, but now it'll be out on July 20.
However, unlike the delay with Captain America Vol. 2, there's nothing wrong with X-Men Vol. 5 that needs to be fixed or touched up at the last minute.
Apparently the early July holidays messed up the printers schedule by just a little bit, and in the re-shuffling, X-Men Vol. 5 got pushed back one week.
Personally, I don't mind the wait, since I can probably use the extra week to try to get caught up on reading the FF Omnibus, GA Sub-Mariner Vol. 1, and Captain America Vol. 2!
Checker will be publishing Star Trek: Key Collection Volume 4 in August, and Volume 5 will be out in November. The entire press release can be read at NEWSARAMA.
Newsarama has also put up a press release for Flash Gordon Vol. 4, also from Checker and also due out in August.
THE FF OMNIBUS WEIGHS IN (oof) AND GA SUBBY TAKES A SWIM!
Hi--this is Justin, chiming in to point out that two highly-anticipated events happened this week--the release of the massive Fantastic Four Omnibus reprinting the first 30 issues of FF plus the first Annual along with added extra features not in previous Masterwork printings, and the Golden-Age Sub-Mariner volume! From early reports, it seems like both volumes are of high quality and are the toast of the town! Our own BonanzaGuy has graciously provided us with actual photos of the newly-released Omnibus volume HERE.
Also, the first of the new line of Marvel "flip-books", titled Ultimate Tales Of Spider-Man, hit the stands this week--reprinting Ultimate Spider-Man #1 and 2 with a centerfold poster (NOT Mary Jane, sorry!) and a Bullpen Bulletins page--just like the old days! Obviously these flip-books are targeted for younger readers and newsstand distribution, but I think folks who haven't yet sampled the Ultimate Universe titles will find this a bargain at $3.99 (for the content of two regular issues).
And let's give a Goliath-sized hand to our own Maestro Of Images, Blam880 for some frankly fantastic banners heralding our Assistant Moderators Month! Who knows what other further funkiness will occur while Gormuu haunts the frozen wastes of Tibet! You gotta love those Forbush Man and Ma Hunkle banners!
Lotsa good readin' this summer! Enjoy!
NEW DC BOOKS FOR SEPTEMBER
DC has released their solicitations for September. The entire list CAN BE SEEN AT COMICSCONTINUUM. Yet again, it's a pretty big month
for HC's at DC. Will anybody have enough money leftover for food?
KAMANDI ARCHIVES VOL. 1 HC
BATMAN ILLUSTRATED BY NEAL ADAMS VOL. 3 HC
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS: THE ABSOLUTE EDITION HC
GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH HC
SGT. ROCK'S COMBAT TALES VOL. 1
THE SECRET OF THE SWAMP THING
SHOWCASE PRESENTS SUPERMAN VOL. 1 TP
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: GREEN LANTERN VOL. 1 TP
WONDER WOMAN VOL. 3: BEAUTY AND THE BEASTS TP
NEWS UPDATE: 6/19 BIG WEEK FOR NEW BOOKS! Posted at 2:00 AMThis is going to be a massive week for hardcover fans. This might turn out to be one of the most "expensive" weeks of the year! I hope you are all ready for a lot of reading this week, because it's going to take you quite a while to read all of this material. And yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you. Both Magnus Vol 2 and Doctor Solar Vol 2 are due out this week! As usual, all Tales Of Wonder orders placed by Tuesday should ship out on Wednesday. (So long as the TOW warehouse doesn't crumble under the massive weight of all these hardcovers!) And you might want to get your orders in soon. Marvel's David Gabriel stopped by our boards to let us know that only 1500 copies of the Alex Ross Omnibus cover were printed. These books may not be available for long. And while the Omnibus will probably steal a lot of attention, I'd just like to say that the book I'm most looking forward to this week is the Golden Age Sub-Mariner Masterworks Vol 1. That's going to turn out to be one excellent collection of stories! So without further delay, here's a look at some of the new material TOW will have available this coming Wednesday, June 22:
• Marvel Masterworks GA Sub-Mariner Vol 1 regular ed.
NEWS UPDATE: 6/17 MAN-THING MOVIE Posted at 1:50 AMIf you're a regular reader of our messageboards, you're no doubt a giant Man-Thing fan. Most of you missed the airing of the Man-Thing movie on tv a few months ago, so you may be interested to hear that the Man-Thing movie has just been released on DVD this week. Follow THIS LINK TO AMAZON to buy this movie. If you're looking for a review, well, let's just say that if you're a fan of B horror movies, you'll probably enjoy this one. Personally, I got a big kick out of it, but your mileage may vary. If you think its fun listening to a bunch of Australian actors trying to pretend like they have Southern accents, then this movie is for you. If you think its funny that about 15 minutes into the movie, the actors give up any pretense of having a Southern accent, then this movie is for you. If Treebeard was your favorite character in Lord Of The Rings, then this movie might be for you. If your favorite breakfast is the Moon Over My Hammy, then why are you reading this website? You should probably be eating at Denny's right now. They're open 24 hours! What are you waiting for? Get going! And don't forget to tell 'em that the Marvel Masterworks website sent ya! The waitress might look at you a little funny, but at least you'll soon have a full tummy!
NEWS UPDATE: 6/16 NEW ESSENTIAL PRINTINGS IN JULY! Posted at 2:00 AMJustin here with a reminder to all the Essential Lovers out there that new editions of several old favorites will start to be reissued beginning the week of July 6. The volumes and the changes in them are as follows: July 6 Essential Iron Man Volume 1: Includes pin-up from Tales of Suspense #61; page count remains the same. Essential Daredevil Volume 1: Includes pin-up from Daredevil #5; page count remains the same. July 13 Essential Thor Volume 1: Printed from Marvel Masterworks files, with pin-ups being placed in their proper sequence; size decreased to 536 pages. Essential Avengers Volume 1: Includes pin-ups from Avengers #9-10 that were omitted from previous printings; size increased to 536 pages. July 20 Essential Spider-Man Volume 2: Includes pin-ups from Amazing Spider-Man #21, #23, and Annual #2 that were omitted from previous printings; size increased to 536 pages. Essential Spider-Man Volume 3: Now reprints Amazing Spider-Man #44-65 and Annual #4; page count remains the same. July 27 Essential Spider-Man Volume 4: Now reprints Amazing Spider-Man #66-89 and Annual #5; size increased to 552 pages. Essential Wolverine Volume 1: Will increase in size to either 552 or 560 pages to include 4 pin-ups omitted from previous printings. Awhile back, Marvel's Guru Of Sales David Gabriel asked us on the Marvel boards whether we would support an upgrading and change of contents for the new Essential printings, and the result was an overwhelming "Yes"! Gormuu has the new covers posted on the Essentials page--they're gorgeous and seem to reflect the contents of each volume better than the old ones! We Essential Fans appreciate the new "upgrades" and look forward to more from Marvel's Essentials program! NEWS UPDATE: 6/13 NEW GOLDEN AGE REPRINT COLLECTION Posted at 6:00 PMOur very own srca1941 brings us news of a brand new reprint series which will collect some long-forgotten Golden Age superhero stories. Well, not only did he bring us the news, but he actually helped to bring us the reprints themselves! The first volume of ALL-AMAZING COMICS, due out in September, will feature the Black Terror. For further details CLICK HERE. Mat Nastos and srca1941 will be happy to answer any of your questions, though as you can see, they have already provided plenty of the details, and even have a preview site up and running!
Do you like Masterworks? Do you like Archives? Do you like both Masterworks and Archives? Do you ever get them mixed up, losing track of which is which? If so, you're not alone.
In case you missed it, I'd like to draw your attention to a thread currently running on our message boards.
THIS THREAD has some wonderful "imaginary" covers
for our beloved collected editions.
"But are they Masterworks or Archives?" you might ask. I don't know. But I do know your eyes will thank you after you've looked at that thread!
Here are a few updated shipping dates:
• New Captain America Vol. 1: Out of Time HC has moved from 7/13 to 7/20
This marks the third time the Powers HC has been rescheduled. And hopefully the last.
NEW BOOKS SHIPPING NEXT WEEK
There's some interesting books shipping this week. The good news is that there's no big HC's, so we can all save a little money.
The bad news is that there's a whole bunch of trades and other stuff, so there still might be a lot for some people to get.
The first things that might catch your eye are the new Essential and the Jack Kirby Captain America tpb, but I'd like to point
out one other thing too.
With the release of GIANT-SIZED X-MEN #3, Marvel is starting up a whole new reprint format. This one has some interesting twists.
First and foremost is the price. $5 for 80 color pages is a pretty darn good deal. The price per page compares very favorably to many of the other
collected edition formats in use today. An added benefit of the low-priced collections like this one is that you can sample the material
without having to invest too much in it.
But the other new twist to this format is even cooler! This book will feature a BRAND NEW story by none other than JOSS WHEDON and NEAL ADAMS!
If that isn't enough for you, then I just don't know what else to say. A great low price and a brand new story from two of the top talents in comics!
Here's the list of some of the great new products you can order from TOW this week.
• Captain America By Jack Kirby Bicentennial Battles TP
50TH MASTERWORKS ANNOUNCEMENT!!
It's finally here! Hope all of you have enjoyed the countdown. Without further ado, CLICK HERE FOR THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!
This may surprise a few of you, but just keep this in mind: if Marvel can give the Masterworks treatment to this title, that means we can surely expect Volume 1's from many of Marvel's
other early titles too.
And if the big announcement of #50 was exactly what you hoped it would be, or even if it wasn't, why don't you head on over to THIS THREAD
on our message boards, and tell us what you think. If you do, we'll share a little bonus surprise with you: in that thread, we show full-sized pictures of both versions of Volume 51!!
So how's that for having your cake and eating it too? We're showing both 50 and 51 on the same day!! Now who said things would slow down while Gormuu was on vacation?
Yikes! I just noticed that thanks to all the hullabaloo last week, with Gormuu leaving and the message boards acting up, neither of us posted a list
of books that shipped this week. Hopefully none of you figured that meant no new books came out. Rest assured, June 8th was a regular shipping day,
and in fact, it was a pretty darn good one. Check out this list of yesterday's new releases:
• Ultimate Fantastic Four Vol. 1 HC
Dark Horse has released their September Solicitations. The full list can be found HERE, at comicon.
Of particular interest to many of you will be the following:
TARZAN: THE JOE KUBERT YEARS VOLUME 1 HC
JOE KUBERT (W/A)
On sale October 26, HC, 200pg, FC, 6 1/4" x 10 1/4", $49.95
Few artists can capture visceral action sequences and the dynamic human form like Joe Kubert, and his expressive talents are fully realized in his 1970s Tarzan comics. This beautiful archive collection--with an introduction by Kubert and color restoration based off of Tatjana Wood's original colors--is a must-have for fans of timeless adventure tales and Joe Kubert's undeniable intensity and skill. Beginning with this first volume, Dark Horse's hardcover series reprints Kubert's entire Tarzan work. Join us on these primal adventures, as Tarzan discovers the pleasures and perils of the African wilds...and the many dangers posed by both man and beast! Joe Kubert's Tarzan, Volume One, reprints issues 207 through 214 of the 1970s run, featuring "Origin of the Ape Man" (a bold adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' first Tarzan novel), "Jungle Tales of Tarzan," and other stories inspired by Burroughs' books--all written and drawn by the legendary Joe Kubert!
• Introduction by Joe Kubert!
So there you have it. What more could you ask for? It's Kubert!! And from the sounds of it, this is just the first of many!
But that's not all. Besides Tarzan, Dark Horse also included another super-deluxe Hardcover collection for you to buy. Though be forewarned, this one
might be a little bit more than you bargained for:
FRANK MILLER (W/A)
On sale October 26, 4 hardcovers w/slipcase, 840pg, b&w w/spot color, 9" x 12", $150.00
A collector's dream! Sin City fans the world over are clamoring for oversized archival editions of the legendary noir series from Frank Miller, and Dark Horse is rising to the occasion! In the tradition of the EC Library, these deluxe hardcovers measure 9" x 12", are printed on high-quality paper stock, and collect each original series along with the color series covers. The four hardcover volumes of set I are packaged in a handsomely designed slipcase--a long-awaited addition to the bookshelves of discriminating comics fans.
This slipcase holds volumes one through four of Sin City, the hard-boiled stories that started it all! Never before seen at this size, the now-infamous Marv, Dwight, Gail, Miho, Hartigan, Nancy, and the Yellow Bastard will transport you to Sin City and show you the bloody lives they lead...bloody by choice or by circumstance.
Set I includes Sin City vols. 1-4: The Hard Goodbye, A Dame to Kill For, The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard.
But wait, there's still more. Dark Horse is also giving us a hardcover collection of the critically acclaimed series from Eric Powell, The Goon!
Speaking for myself here, this is one I'm really looking forward to. I've always enjoyed some of Dark Horse's edgier titles, and this one fits that description to a tee.
THE GOON: FANCY PANTS EDITION HC
ERIC POWELL (W/A)
On sale October 12, HC, 184pg, FC, 7" x 10", $24.95
This volume collects the essential stories of the Eisner-Award winning Goon, presenting his life in chronological order for the first time--along with a boxcar-load of extras--all in a handsomely designed (and handsomely priced) signed hardcover. Chronicling the histories of the Zombie Priest, Buzzard, Labrazio, and of course, Goon and Franky, this collection is the perfect introduction to the entire Goon mythos. Eric Powell personally arranged the stories (spanning three publishers and nearly ten years) so that the life of the Goon could be read as one complete story. This hardcover is a must-have for every serious fan of the Goon, containing a comprehensive sketchbook and a three-page, never-before-seen Buzzard story.
• Collecting self published issues #1, #2 and Dark Horse issues #1, #3, #5, and #9.
And just so none of you forget that we've got the word MARVEL in our web address, here's a bit of Marvel news. David Gabriel and our very own Justin Fairfax
have teamed up to give us a sneak peek at a new printing of an old classic. Take a look at some classic cover artwork in THIS THREAD.
BOB GREENBERGER SPEAKS ABOUT THE SHOWCASE LINE
Ace reporter Osgood Peabody has checked in with the word from Bob Greenberger regarding the recent Showcase announcement.
Bob shares his views on whether the Showcase line will detract from the Archives or not, and also mentions
that the Showcases might wind up helping the Archives. If that hasn't piqued your curiosity, then how about this:
Bob also gives the inside scoop on Wonder Woman and Superboy! Head on over to the messageboards, and look for Osgood's
post in THIS THREAD. Osgood's
post that contains the info from Bob is the fifth post in the thread.
Remember that giant-sized Ultimate X-Men HC that we told you Barnes & Noble was going to produce?
Well guess what, it turns out that its not going to be produced! David Gabriel was kind enough to stop by THIS THREAD ON OUR BOARDS
and explained that somebody misunderstood one of the answers Marvel gave at the recent Wizard World Philly convention,
and the myth started spreading from there. So let me just repeat that for absolute clarity. Barnes & Noble will NOT be producing
a giant-sized Ultimate X-Men hardcover. While he was there, though, David asked for some feedback from all of Marvel's fans. He wants to know
what new ongoing series you think Marvel should produce. Would you like to see the Guardians Of The Galaxy show up again? Do you
think Stingray should get his own series? Well now's your chance to tell Marvel what you think! Head on over HERE,
and tell David which characters you think should get their own series. Feel free to name as many characters as you want.
"Cub Reporter" Justin here to let everybody in on something posted on the Fantagraphics
Books site by Kim Thompson on 6/5. A hardcover edition of KRAZY+IGNATZ, collecting
the first five Fantagraphics softcover volumes (covering the years 1925-1934) will be
bound and collected by the end of July. The covers of the softcover volumes will NOT be included,
but the insides are exactly the same except the duplicate indicias will be omitted.
The volume is limited to 1000 copies and will not be reprinted ("It would be
prohibitably expensive to do so", Thompson wrote). The retail price is $75.00.
Fantagraphics plans to do the same for 1935-1944 and 1916-1924 once those ten volumes
are completed. All the contents of the old Eclipse/Turtle Island volumes will be reprinted.
The tentative schedule for the volumes are as follows: Volume 2 (the
first one) by the end of this July. Volume 3 in 2008, and Volume 1 in 2010! They will
be a matched set of volumes. Chris Ware has completed the design "a couple of weeks ago"
and it's currently being bound at the printer. Diamond will not be carrying this book.
Fantagraphics will be selling the books direct to retailers at a discount for multiple
copies.
GORMUU'S GOING TO CHINA (AND INDIA!)
This will likely be my last update for awhile, as starting tomorrow I embark for
a near two-month long trip to the Far East. I board a plane in Atlanta bound for
San Francisco, where I will be for two days before meeting a friend of mine and flying
together to Hong Kong. From June 9 through July 19, we'll be tramping around the
countryside; no real itinerary yet, as we're meeting a third friend in Hong Kong
and we'll decide from there what path we will chart. One thing is for certain, and
that is the plan is to wind up in Delhi, India, for a wedding in early July. Sometime
in between, we hope to visit Tibet as well. Wish us luck and a fond bon voyage...we'll
need it!
The preparation for my trip has been almost overwhelming. There was already a lot of
stuff to take care of before the message boards went *kablooey!* I can only
hope that they will be restored without any further inconvenience to you. As of now, you
can freely post in the four longtime forums: Marvel, DC, Polling Central, and Infinite Comics (formerly Off Topic.) More problematic are the newly created boards, which allow
limited and often precarious posting. Trudge on through, folks! It's still the best
place to be for fans of comics and collected editions (the reason why? Because YOU are there!)
Before I go, I'd like to alert you to a few new items of site content I had a chance
to get to. First, I have finally gotten the MARVEL TPBs LIBRARY page up and running. Right now, there are a few books with extensive feature pages dedicated to them: Sentry, Daredevil: Wake Up, Captain America: Cap Lives, and the Avengers trades The Morgan Conquest and Supreme Justice. Also, check out the MARVEL HCs LIBRARY, where I've just uploaded the feature page for Steve Ditko Visionaries, and of extra special note is the feature page for
WOLVERINE: ENEMY OF THE STATE. Check that out
for a detailed look inside the book!
Finally, just because I won't be updating the news page for the next several weeks doesn't mean it won't be updated! I've got a small crew of folks who are going to be
bringing you the news and notes of collected edition comics as you expect it! In fact,
check out the 6/5 news update on the B&N Ultimate X-Men HC- if you thought that
was me, it wasn't! That was
Chris Leazer, aka cleazer! (J. Jonah Jameson taught us everything we know, in case
you're wondering....) He'll be leading the charge for me while I'm gone, with able
assistance from Justin Fairfax and others. I'd like to publicly thank them for helping
us all out while I'm away.
So, until the Red Ghost sends his Super-Apes to finishing school...MAKE MINE MARVELMASTERWORKS.COM!
But before I go, a couple things to note:
1) Release date from Dark Horse for Magnus Archives Vol. 2- July 6!
2) Jack Lake Productions is publishing a hardcover of Classics Illustrateds' War
of the World, in a "digitally restored" format. For more information, check out
their website at JACK LAKE PRODUCTIONS.
3) Ace reporter Justin Fairfax sends me an email with the following:
"Over at the "Kirby-L" yahoo group, the following
exchange occurred today between Michael T. Gilbert
(y'know--Mr. Monster) and Doc Vasello, who contributes
a lot of Kirby material to Marvel and other
publishers:
Gilbert: "Rumor has it that at least one Marvel
monster-oriented comic may be
slated for that Masterworks treatment. I can't discuss
more until it's officially announced, but it's
initials are TTA ...
Doc V: "Yep, it's true! First 10 issues gets the Masterworks
treatment! I helped a
bit providing scans to #1 for color help. I also was
able to track down the fellow with the original art to
the "mystery artist" (Burgos and ?)story in
the issue for max clarity."'
Justin wants to know if there's a story there. All I can tell him is that Marvel is
definitely up to something- actually, they're up to a lot of somethings!- but
until they officially announce it, it ain't on any schedule! Let's just say that Marvel
Monster fans should have a lot to pleased with, including the recent Peter David run
on Incredible Hulk! (Check out the upcoming TEMPEST FUGIT trade for the Hulk vs. Monsters!
Well, that's it! I'm outta here for awhile. I'll hand the keys over to cleazer and
company and wish you guys a bunch of good tidings while I'm gone. Hope you dig the
announcement of the 50th Masterworks, the coming of the FF Omnibus, more news on
Showcase Presents, and the fun of this summer's San Diego Con! I'll be ready to get
back to work as soon as my plane hits the ground back from Hong Kong!
GIANT BARNES & NOBLE ULTIMATE X-MEN HC
The always mysterious and usually controversial Barnes & Noble Marvel
reprint program has reared its head again. According to NEWSARAMA,
Barnes & Noble will be producing an Ultimate X-Men hardcover, similar to the gigantic Ultimate Spider-Man hardcover they produced last year.
The B&N Ultimate Spider-Man HC collected the contents of the first three regular Ultimate Spider-Man HCs, so its entirely probable
that the B&N Ultimate X-Men HC will collect the contents of the first three regular Ultimate X-Men HCs.
No news yet on any sort of release date for this book, nor do we have exact confirmation of the contents. Stay tuned.
Though considering it's Barnes & Noble, we might not get any specifics for some time.
DC PRESENTS....
Right about now, the Collected Editions panel at Wizard World Philly are being informed about a new series
of books from DC called "Showcase Presents." What the heck is Showcase Presents, you ask? Well, the short answer is that it's DC Comics' answer to Marvel's Essentials series! That is, super-sized
"phone book" collections of black and white reprints.
The long answer involves what books are on tap for publishing, what eras DC will concentrate on, and how often
these books will come out. (And, of course, how it will influence DC's Archives series!) Comicon's THE PULSE
has the full scoop in an interview with DC's Bob Greenberger! Head there now to read all about it, then come back
to the DC ARCHIVES MESSAGE BOARDS to discuss
it with your fellow collected editions fans, as well as get first person accounts of DC's announcements at Wizard World
Philadelphia from David Tai!
This is just a reminder to watch this space as the afternoon wears on. I'll have links to Comicon's
interview with DC's Bob Greenberger, as well as DC's major announcement from the Collected Editions
panel. Also, check out the DC Message Board, as David Tai is going to try and do some live reporting
from the panel (as he tries to also score tickets to Batman Begins!)
My only hope is that the message board cooperates today!
The Marvel Premiere Edition HC of New Avengers: Breakout has been moved from July 13
to July 27.
CONAN VOL. 2: THE GOD IN THE BOWL HC
Tales of Wonder has listed this item for sale, so I want to make sure that
The critically acclaimed and award-winning creative team behind the runaway-hit revival are back with a brand new adaptation of one of Conan creator Robert E. Howard’s best- known tales. Award-winning writer Kurt Busiek and artists Cary Nord and Dave Stewart render the glorious suspense of Howard’s beloved “The God in the Bowl” in all its terrifying detail, as well as introducing not only Conan’s most famed adversary, Thoth-amon, but a new female foil to Conan’s exploits—Janissa the Widowmaker, bound by a pact to a witch who has sinister plans for Conan. Collecting issues #7, #9-#14 of the Dark Horse series. (184 pages, $24.99.)
As mentioned before, TOW has it for sale, and for only $19.99. These hardcover editions are printed to order, so make to reserve your copy
now!
Over at THIS THREAD at
the Marvel boards, Marvel's Director of Sales came to the fans spelling out a dilemma and seeing what our kind folks
had to recommend. David mentioned that with the revising of the Essential Spider-Man volumes- they have an opportunity
to right a couple wrongs from the first printings, namely, to put Annual #3 into its proper chronological place.
Turns out, most folks were very encouraging to Marvel to swap the contents around, and according to David's most
recent post, that's exactly what you'll see. So along with brand, spanking new covers for Essential
Spider-Man Vol. 2 and 3, expect to see a few content alterations as well.
MESSAGE BOARDS STILL GOING BATTY
The four main forums at the message boards- Marvel, DC, Polling, and Infinite Comics- are doing
fine, but the other boards are currently "broken." Ezboard is working on restoring them to normal
capacity, but until then, you'll have to deal with the demons that are wreaking havoc. Many of
the old posts are currently toast, and may or may not be restored (cross fingers!) It's also running
extremely slow at times. The Ezboard network, which hosts my boards, was attacked the other day
and every board has suffered, not just mine. More info at this topic can be found at the boards.
For those attending this Con, expect some DC collected editions announcements to occur early Saturday afternoon.
You might just want to be there. And for those who won't be there, I've been told Comicon's Pulse will break
some very illuminating inside coverage of these announcements. Keep your eyes on this space and the DC boards
for more news and links!
JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR CONTEST WINNERS!
We have three winners for the new issue of JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR. Message Board registered users JJJ, Todd Tamanend Clark, and cleazer are
going to get a brand spanking new copy of this giant-size tabloid of krackling Kirby kommentary and artwork, including
a dozen pages of Justice Traps the Guilty restored by Chris Fama (aka famac!) If you've never checked out a copy of
the JKC, and you call yourself a Kirby fan, brother, you gotta get with the program! Link to TOW right now and
reserve your copy!
Click on this link for a full list of TWOMORROWS publications available from Tales of Wonder!
Marvel's Epic Comics imprint from the 80s has been extensively mined of late for TPB and HC collections. Joining
Marshall Law, Dreadstar, Alien Legion, Six From Sirius and American Flagg on the schedule is Steve Englehart and
Marshall Roger's Coyote series. According to this extensive feature article from CBR, we can expect to see the first of five collected editions from Image Comics sometime in August.
About this book, the article states:
"The first trade paperback will collect the 60 page origin of Coyote with a new cover by Rogers. It'll also contain the two published issues of "Scorpio Rose" by Rogers and it will include the, up till now, unpublished issue of "Scorpio Rose" in its unfinished form as layouts with a running synopsis of what you're looking at from Englehart."
If you're curious about this book, check out THIS THREAD at the Message Boards, where eager fans are already lining up behind this book and
posting some of the great cover images of this 80s classic.
PREVIEW IMAGES FOR EIGHT ESSENTIAL REISSUES
Sidle on over to the ESSENTIALS LIBRARY (aka MarvelEssentials.com) and check out preview covers for all eight reissues of Essentials due in July: Iron Man Vol. 1, Avengers Vol. 1, Wolverine Vol. 1, Daredevil Vol. 1, Thor Vol. 1 and Spider-Man Vol. 2-4. Let me show off my favorite:
This just in from a DC press release:
One of the most important events in the history of the DCU returns in November when DC Comics presents CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS: THE ABSOLUTE EDITION.
This deluxe, oversized, slipcased set contains two hardcover books. The 368-page Book One features the full 12-issue maxiseries written by Marv Wolfman with art by George Pérez, Dick Giordano, Jerry Ordway and Mike DeCarlo, along with an introduction by Wolfman and an afterword by Giordano.
The 96-page Book Two contains a compendium featuring the full behind-the scenes story on the making of the maxiseries, complete with memos, notes, original plots and commentary from Wolfman and Ordway; the Official Index to Crisis and Official Index to Crisis crossovers being reprinted for the very first time, completely updated; a look into post-Crisis events; how the Superboy/Legion conundrum was solved, and a look at the 20th anniversary of this seminal event.
As a bonus, George Pérez provides all-new artwork for the dustjackets of both volumes!
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS: THE ABSOLUTE EDITION will be advance-solicited in the July Previews and is scheduled to arrive in stores in November.
Just saw where the message board is acting cranky. It's available for reading, but
not posting. I'll go check out what's going on with ezboard and I hope by then
service will be restored.
COUNTDOWN TO INFINITE COUNTDOWN, PART II
In your face, stupid clock face! HA!!!
I'm excited because the COUNTDOWN CLOCK IS BACK!!!! After a slight detour into the
Twilight Zone, it got a fix in some incorrigible html code that was acting all cranky.
Thanks go out to Jim Smith, who toiled through the night to fix the problem. What
a guy! So now that the COUNTDOWN is back on, why not go
stare at it....stare at it....the clock is your friend....!
At any rate, enough hijinks- good morning to you all! More news later!
COUNTDOWN TO INFINITE COUNTDOWN
Okay, my precious Countdown clock at the home page has somehow jumped 30 days into
the future. I have no idea why...perhaps I did something in a former life that is
just now coming back to me. Regardless, I've got some of the finest IT people on
this problem as we speak. If you're like me, you'll get little sleep until the
clock is fixed. Don't worry, I'm thinking of you! We'll get it fixed or my name isn't
Irving Forbush!
Oh, and don't worry, despite what the clock says, the Masterworks announcement is
still set for June 10th at 12:30 pm!
NEW BOOKS SHIPPING NEXT WEEK!
Very light week, unless you're a Batman Archives fan! Archives volume 6 is rolling your way!
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Batman Archives Vol. 6
Captain America Vol. 2 and GA Subby Vol. 1 Masterworks aren't the only changes
on the release schedule.
Here are a few more you may want to be alerted to:
• Top Ten: The 49ers HC has moved from 5/25 to 7/13
This marks the second time the Powers HC has been rescheduled.
Earlier this week, Comics Continuum posted the contents of Marvel Comics' 2005 catalogue
for the book trade. To check out the complete contents, follow THIS LINK. Now, there are a TON of books listed there, but keep in mind: this
is NOT the same thing as a direct market solicitation. Comics publishers have completely different
methods in getting their book information to each place. Direct market sellers- like your
local comics shop or comics-centric internet retailer- get their book information from Diamond on a monthly
basis, with a forecast for books approximately three months in advance. Book trade sellers- like
brick and mortar book stores or Amazon- get their information generally quarterly, and the information
is far more future-oriented than the direct market information. In many cases, it is speculative, especially
in regard to final contents listings and street dates.
Please consider that when seeing these types of lists. Over the next few days, I'm going to parse through
the list and post the solicit copy for different types of books. Today, I'm going to post the information provided through
the book trade information for Essentials. I'm also going to include the books in the Tentative Release Schedule
list, but with a notation that it has not been officially solicited. However, I have been told by Marvel that the Essentials
information is pretty solid.
So, here goes:
ESSENTIAL GHOST RIDER VOL. 1
ESSENTIAL WEREWOLF BY NIGHT VOL. 1
ESSENTIAL MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE VOL. 1
ESSENTIAL X-FACTOR VOL. 1
ESSENTIAL SPIDER-MAN VOL. 7
ESSENTIAL SPIDER-WOMAN VOL. 1
I've just posted preview images of the covers to Golden Age Sub-Mariner Vol. 1 Masterworks at the MESSAGE BOARDS, so swim on over there and take a look-see!
"Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Vol. 2 is being delayed two weeks from its initial on-sale date to 6/29.
As the printer date for Cap came upon us I felt that the book needed a little extra attention. Rather than put out a book that met its original ship date, but didn't completely achieve the standard quality Marvel strives to reach, we've delayed the release to put additional effort into bringing these Cap classics back to four-color life.
It's not all tears, though, because we're moving up the Golden Age Sub-Mariner Vol. 1 to a street date of 6/22!"
Asked for comment about this, Prince Namor was quoted as saying "Nah, nah, nah! In your face, Steve Rogers! In your face!" So there you have it- Cap delayed a couple weeks to get some extra love, GA Subby moved up a week because he's so gosh-darned perfect. Arrange your funnybooks budgets accordingly! CAPT. THUNDER AND BLUE BOLT TRADE
I came across this at NEWSARAMA and thought fans of Roy Thomas would be interested in it.
Heroic Publishing is going to release a 144-page TPB collection of the first stories of late 80s Roy and Dann
Thomas collaboration CAPTAIN THUNDER AND BLUE BOLT. It will
see release on Nov. 23 and collect the first five issues. ELEKTRA DIRECTOR'S CUT DVD NEWS
Thanks to cleazer for the tip on this news item, and to anybody complaining about DVD news on the
Current News page for collected editions, look, it's a great excuse to post images of Jennifer Garner!
"SIN CITY LIBRARY" HARDCOVER/SLIPCASE
The second set will reprint Booze, Broads and Bullets, Family Values, and
Hell and Back; the set will also include The Art of Sin City, which, according to the press
release, "includes content (such as Miller's preliminary sketches) that can't be found elsewhere." It will
see release the following month.
$350 for both sets is *a lot* of money! But hey, it's a lot cheaper than a night out in Vegas!
NEW WEBSITE LAYOUT!
Hey everybody! I've moved a few things around on both this page and the home page. I've streamlined
the news page so it is only two columns in width instead of three. The left column opens with the
"Next Collected Editions" list, and directly beneath is the 2005 Hardcovers and Select TPBs list. The
right column is now wider so the news flow should prove to be less cramped. I hope it's a more streamlined
reading experience for you, and a more efficient use of space.
I've moved all the website content links to their new home at the aptly named Home Page! Click the
Home link in the upper left corner of the main navigation bar and go check it out!
I've also added a time stamp for each news entry (in Eastern Standard Time, natch), so people who check in more than once daily can get
a quicker idea what's new since they last were here.
Finally, I've changed the URL names of some pages, so if you have any favorites bookmarked and they don't turn up, you'll
have to track 'em down from the Home Page and re-bookmark. Sorry for any inconvenience, but I needed to tidy up
some of the navigation.
There's tons of collected editions news to get to, but I've been pretty busy putting the final touches
on the new layout, so I'm gonna take a breather. But don't fret! I'll have some stuff up, probably later tonight.
As always, thanks so much to the loyal readers who enjoy this site and what I and the contributors who help
me out do. Every correspondence is appreciated, and as always, I'd love to hear from you and get your feedback
on what you think!
COLOR EC HARDCOVER LIBRARY?
Fin Fang Foom alerted readers at this site's message boards about a post over at the COMICS JOURNAL Message Board. It seems Russ Cochran is brainstorming about reissuing
the EC Comics library in hardcover editions, this time in color!
Here is the text of what he said at the Yahoo forum he is a part of:
"I have one, just one, shot left to fire in my EC gun: The EC Archives. This is the first announcement anywhere of this new project which I hope will occupy my remaining time on the planet. This is a proposed series of hardcover, full color books that will be distributed in major outlets around the world. Like the DC Archives.
But, you say, haven't you already done that with the EC Library? No, I haven't, because the print runs of the EC Library sets has always been very low and they were always aimed at the fan audience which could be reached through the "direct market"...that is, through comic book shops. Have you ever seen one of my books in a Barnes and Noble, a Waldenbooks, a B. Dalton store? Nope. Up to now I have done all my publishing for the EC fan, not for the general public. Are my EC books found in most libraries, schools, university collections? No. But the EC Archives will be. And not in "comic book color" produced by mechanical separations of a colorist's work, but rather by scanning the colored stats of a great colorist like Marie Severin. Full-range color, with subleties that could never have been achieved by the old process. Eye-popping color, combined with line art reproduced from the artists' originals. That's what the EC Archives promises. And most of all, worldwide distribution into all the major bookstore chains.
EC Lives!"
For comics fans like me who don't own the original run of EC in HC, this has to come as good news. We wish
Russ Cochran the best at getting his line of books off the ground!
NEW BOOKS SHIPPING NEXT WEEK!
Here's the list of confirmed books to be released next week that might
be
of interest to you. The Spectre finally gets to vent his wrath after a brief shipping delay, and
we see third volumes of the Essential Thor and the hardcover Flash Gordon strip by Alex Raymond. But
the week belongs to Tony Stark...IRON MAN MASTERWORKS BABY!!!!!!
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Wrath of the Spectre TPB
Scarlet Spider has started a couple awesome threads at the message boards devoted to recently announced
DC Archives. Posting cover images, issue credits, and commentary, they're a nice
primer for what you can expect, and I'd encourage you to check them out- even if you
don't think you'd be interested in them. You never know- you might like what you see!
WORLD'S FINEST ARCHIVES VOL. 3
Newsarama has posted a few pages of NEAL ADAMS artwork that will accompany a script
by Joss Whedon in the upcoming GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #3, due June 8!
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes 3-volume HC slipcase is now available for pre-order from TOW. They are taking $20 deposits to reserve your copy (the list price is $150, but TOW is charging $119.99.) After Peanuts and the Far Side, this is my third-favorite strip, and
it's unbelievable to me that each of these is either complete in HC or part of a continued
series of hardcovers like Peanuts. We live in good times for comics and strip reprints! To access TOW's sale, use
THIS LINK!
MARVEL AUGUST SOLICITS
Ace reporter Bill Nolan has the scoop on Marvel's August solicits. I'll post the full
list tomorrow, but for now, check out his post at the MESSAGE BOARDS. Thanks, Bill!
I would have posted all the Marvel solicit information last night, but after having
had five hours of sleep the last couple days, and after falling asleep on the couch
while watching the "I Married Marge" episode of the Simpsons Season Three DVD, I was
lucky to post the link to Bill's solicit thread at the Message Board. But now, I am awake,
coherent and capable, so here is the full lowdown on August's Marvel offerings. The release
dates are sorted into the Tentative Release Schedule on the lower right margin from where
you are reading this. And thanks
again to Bill!
RUNAWAYS VOL. 1 HC
EARTH X HC
MARVEL VISIONARIES: CHRIS CLAREMONT HC
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: DOCTOR STRANGE VOL. 2 We’ve got the climactic battle with the dread Dormammu and the cataclysmic intervention of Eternity; in his first-ever appearance the Living Tribunal lays his judgment upon the Earth, and if that’s not enough reality-threatening thrills for you, we pit him head-to-head with Nebulous, Lord of the Planets Perilous. It’s guaranteed to rattle your astral fillings! The origin of the Ancient One, the return of Baron Mordo, Strange’s struggle against Kaluu while Clea’s life hangs in the balance, and an otherworldly odyssey into deadly dimensions to save the lovely Victoria Bentley are the final incantations in this spell unlike any other ever uttered! Collecting Strange Tales #142-168 and a gallery of Doctor Strange’s cover appearances across the entire Strange Tales run! (304 pages, REG=$49.99 / LTD=$54.99.)
DAREDEVIL VOL. 4 HC
X-MEN VIGNETTES VOL. 2 TPB
HULK: TEMPEST FUGIT TPB
ESSENTIAL X-MEN VOL. 6
ESSENTIAL DAREDEVIL VOL. 3
AVENGERS: VISION AND THE SCARLET WITCH TPB NEWS UPDATE: 5/17 DC NOTES
A second printing of Green Lantern Archives Vol. 2 is now available for order.
Also, Wrath of the Spectre will ship next week on 5/25, and Batman Archives Vol. 6
has moved up a couple weeks on the schedule, and will ship 6/1.
AUGUST DC OFFERINGS
Here's the list of August books from DC that you might be interested in!
ROBIN ARCHIVES VOL. 1
WORLD'S FINEST ARCHIVES VOL. 3
SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL VOL. 4 TP
IDENTITY CRISIS HC When the spouse of a JLA member is brutally murdered, the entire super-hero community searches for the killer, fearing their own loved ones may be the next targets! But before the mystery is fully solved, a number of long-buried secrets rise to the surface, threatening to tear apart and divide the heroes before they can bring the mysterious killer to justice. Bonus features for this special hardcover edition include extended commentary by Meltzer and Morales, the rest of the creative team talking about their favorite moments, a look at Morales's sketchbook and more! Retailers please note: This hardcover will ship in two editions available on different order lines featuring covers by Morales & Bair (BOOK MARKET VERSION) and Turner (DIRECT MARKET VERSION). See order form for details. (Advance-solicited; on sale September 8. 264 pages, $24.99.)
DC’S GREATEST IMAGINARY STORIES TP
WATCHMEN: THE ABSOLUTE EDITION HC This oversized (8.25" x 12.5") hardcover collection, packaged inside a beautifully designed slipcase, will be the cornerstone of any serious comic book collection. Each page of art has been restored and recolored by WildStorm FX and original series colorist John Higgins and approved by Gibbons to appear as originally intended. Additionally, this grand tome will include 48 pages of supplemental material produced exclusively for the Graphitti Designs Watchmen hardcover edition and not seen since their original publication. Included therein is a cornucopia of rare and historically valuable treasures, including samples of Moore's WATCHMEN scripts, the original WATCHMEN proposal, Gibbons’s conceptual art, cover roughs, and much, much more! (Advance-solicited; on sale October 5. 464 pages, $75.00.)
TOM STRONG BOOK FIVE HC
V FOR VENDETTA — NEW EDITION HC NEWS UPDATE: 5/15 UPCOMING ESSENTIALS/HCS
Thanks to Christy2002 and EssentialFan for spotting a bunch of interesting items on Amazon
today. I dug into their site some this morning and found a few more HCs and TPBs, and it looks
like we've had ourselves a big ol' Amazon Dump sometime in the last 24 hours!
Most of these books are scheduled (according to Amazon) for September and October. Keep in mind
that we still await official confirmation from Marvel about scheduling, but I know that most
of these are legit. So until the solicits hit (or we get confirmation before the solicit), feast
your eyes on these books and their tentative contents:
ESSENTIAL SPIDER-MAN VOL. 7:
ESSENTIAL GHOST RIDER VOL. 1:
ESSENTIAL WEREWOLF BY NIGHT VOL. 1:
ESSENTIAL DAREDEVIL VOL. 3:
MARVEL VISIONARIES:
EARTH X HC:
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN VOL. 6 HC:
RUNAWAYS VOL. 1 HC:
PUNISHER: MAX VOL.1 HC:
WHO IS THE BLACK PANTHER:
HULK VISIONARIES:
WOLVERINE CLASSIC VOL. 2 TPB:
AVENGERS: SERPENT CROWN TPB:
AVENGERS: VISION & Whew! That's a bunch! NEWS UPDATE: 5/13 JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #42 WIN A FREE COPY CONTEST!
Check out the CONTEST PAGE for details on how you can
win the new issue of the JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, featuring
eleven pages of beautifully restored Jack Kirby art from Justice Traps the Guilty #9, done by longtime Kirby nut Chris Fama (you may know him better as the message board's Famac!) If you'd like to score a copy of the JKC, try your luck in the contest!
Here's the list of confirmed books to be released next week that might
be
of interest to you. A light week, with another cool Checker compilation of the 80s Epic Series Alien Legion and a cool new Batmobile replica from the Batman Begins movie to
compete for your comics dollars! Also, don't miss another classic trade from Marvel,
reprinting a healthy sampling of early 70s Giant-Size comics, many for the first time ever!
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Alien Legion: Footsloggers TPB
Bob Greenberger, DC's editor of Collected Editions, posted the following at this
website's DC Archives Message Boards earlier today:
"As Richard Bruning mentioned over at Newsarama this week, we've been looking at mockups of the Archive design with the new logo, with the old logo, and with some other variations.
After much debate, the Powers That Be have decided to leave things exactly as they are. The archive design will remain as is."
No doubt many of you are now breathing a tremendous sigh of relief over that one! Dodged a bullet, you might say!
The oversized Marvel HC for Bendis' Powers is moving from June 8 to June 22.
As previously mentioned here, Dynamite Entertainment is publishing two different
covers for the Adventures of Red Sonja Vol. 1 TPB, which reprints the first seven
issues of her 1970s run in Marvel Feature, featuring the art of Neal Adams. The
two different cover images are now available. Personally, I think variant covers for
all but the most interesting and high-profile collections is a dopey idea. Tales
of Wonder agrees with me, it appears, since they are only offering for sale the "B" cover.
Anyways, the "A" cover is on the left, the "B" cover on the right: Boy, I can feel the excitement reverberating through the collected editions community,
knowing they have such an incredible choice awaiting them!
Don't forget to check out the Top 25 Hardcovers list! #11-15 are being unveiled as we speak!
Also, at the Masterworks Message Board, you can get a sneak peek at the COVERS to the
upcoming Dr. Strange Masterworks Vol. 2.
ABSOLUTE EDITION CONFIRMATIONS/MORE ACTION HEROES?
There's a few cool items at dccomics.com's ASK THE EDITORS page. In responding to a request from a fan for an Absolute Camelot 3000 volume, Bob Greenberger confirms Absolute Crisis on Infinite Earths
for release "by the end of 2005." And Dale Crain hints that perhaps a follow-up volume of Action Heroes Archives,
featuring the Charlton runs of Captain Atom and Blue Beetle, may be scheduled "sooner rather than later."
To which this Ted Kord fan replies "Bring It On!!!!"
Yesterday, we unveiled
#21-25, and this morning saw #16-20 go live. Each day, we'll be unveiling a block of five from the list. We had a lot of fun putting this list together, spearheaded by your buddy and mine, Buddydave! This list is meant to be enjoyed, and it's sure to spark some
good-natured argument as well! So check it out at the following link:
MORE ON ARCHIVES/NEW DC LOGO
Following up on yesterday's report about DC editors having an open discussion about
the new DC logo and how it may influence the Archives trade dress, there is an interview at
Newsarama I'd like to alert you to. DC's Senior Vice President Richard Bruning is frank about
where he stands regarding the placement of the new logo on the Archives trade dress. He supports
maintaining the old logo with the Archives trade dress, yet makes it clear that it is still an
open question at DC HQ.
Check out the full interview at THIS LINK. The Archives discussion is in the bottom third of the piece. And check out this
POLL THREAD at the DC Archives board and weigh in on the question with your own opinion!
The solicit is in! This book will pick up where the first limited edition HC left off,
with the remainder of pages from #7, and all of #9-14 (#8 is skipped, as it is a one-shot story break
that will be reprinted with all the other one-shots in a future reprint volume.) Due Sept. 28!
CONAN VOL. 2: THE GOD IN THE BOWL HC Award-winning writer Kurt Busiek and artists Cary Nord and Dave Stewart render the glorious suspense of Howard's beloved "The God in the Bowl" in all its terrifying detail, as well as introducing not only Conan's most famed adversary, Thoth-amon, but a new female foil to Conan's exploits--Janissa the Widowmaker, bound by a pact to a witch who has sinister plans for Conan. Collecting issues #7, #9-#14 of the Dark Horse series. (184 pages, $24.95.)
There are often reports at the Message Board about a book coming off the assembly line that's mangled or messed
up in some way. Usually, these are unique examples of a printer's botch job. Unfortunately, there have been several
reports (at least four so far) of incorrect pagination in the Spider-Man Masterworks Vol. 7 in THIS THREAD at the Marvel forum.
As the thread starter Kamron42 reported, he opened his Spidey Masterworks and "flipped through the pages and realized that it went from page 136 to page 169, then continued to page 184 and then went back to page 153!" At this point, three others
have noted the same pagination error. Please check your copy and make sure it's okay. If you've received an error copy, return it to the retailer you bought it from. A replacement copy at no expense should be in order.
It is important to note that the vast majority of Spidey Masterworks Vol. 7 are in perfect shape, and stands as one
of the best- if not the best- Masterworks to date.
NEW DC LOGO ON ARCHIVES?
As many of you may know by now, DC will shortly begin implementing a NEW BRAND LOGO across their
publishing line. Many Archives fans are openly wondering if this new logo will find its
way onto their beloved Archives. Well, I can report that according to DC, the answer is....a definite MAYBE! As we speak, editors at DC are investigating the possibility of adopting the new logo
onto the Archives trade dress. It's been the topic of "hearty discussion" in the DC offices, and the team has gone as far as generating dummy copies of Archives trade dress to better make their decision. When a final judgement is made, you can bet it'll be reported here!
As previously mentioned in this newspace, DC Comics will be publishing a 96-page collection reprinting essential stories- and pages/panels from stories- that are a part of the Infinite
Crisis tie-in extravaganza. In addition to the stories previously mentioned (Flash #219, Wonder Woman #214, Superman Secret Files 2005), much of the rest of the contents have been revealed in this report from NEWSARAMA:
Action Comics #826
According to the article, this list is not all-inclusive. There may be more tie-in pages, panels
and stories reprinted in the collection. The release date for this collection is
June 22, and it will retail at $5.99.
SCHEDULE CHANGE/GS X-MEN #3
Essential Thor Vol. 2 has moved from a release date of May 18 to May 25. Giant-Size
X-Men #3 has moved from May 25 to June 8. And in case you forgot, GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #3 kicks off Marvel's revival of the Giant-Size comics of
the early 70s with a big, fat, reprint book collecting X-Men #9 & 35, FF #28 and
a new story by Joss Whedon and Neal Adams.
SHIPPING NEXT WEEK!
Here's the list of confirmed books to be released next week that might
be
of interest to you. Hey, look! It's Kang! Just in time for Young Avengers fans is
a TPB tracing Kang's greatest hits. For those who missed the first volume of Jon Sable
in HC, a reissue that is signed (and thus, more pricy) is on the market. And check
out those FF books- a Best of HC and the new printing of Essential FF Vol. 1!
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Avengers: Kang Time & Time Again TPB
From DC Comics' press release:
"Find out just how deep the roots of INFINITE CRISIS extend with the PRELUDE TO INFINITE
CRISIS Special, a 96-page collection of the key stories leading up to this monumental event.
PRELUDE TO INFINITE CRISIS features a composite cover with images by Ian Churchill & Norm
Rapmund, Jesus Saiz, Ed McGuinness & Dexter Vines, and Ivan Reis & Marc Campos.
Scheduled to arrive in stores on June 22 with a cover price of $5.99 U.S., PRELUDE TO
INFINITE CRISIS collects the crossover story from THE FLASH #219 and WONDER WOMAN #214 in
their entirety, plus the lead story from SUPERMAN SECRET FILES 2004. Along with these are
select pages from nearly two dozen other DCU comics, with new text adding context to each
story sequence."
Along with the previously reported Ross cover, Marvel has shared with this website the tentative cover to the Kirby edition of the
FF Omnibus, and you can view it at the MESSAGE BOARD.
And don't forget to peruse this site's FF Omnibus PREVIEW
PAGE if you need to get up to speed on this deluxe (and expensive) limited edition project!
Most folks around here don't need to be reminded of the existence of the MMMS. Heck, lots of you were
card-carrying members! Well, there's a fantastic page devoted to the history of that august organization,
so head on over to THIS PAGE to get the lowdown straight
from writer Terrence Brady. There's lots of great scans of the memorablia that went along with being a proud
Marvel Marcher! (Hat tip to Mark Evanier's NEWS FROM ME for the link!)
NEWSARAMA reports that
a new award has been created to honor the best of the best of the comics industry. As the article implies,
there's a bunch of awards out there. What makes this one cool, and of special interest to longtime
comics fans, is that it's an award set up by Jerry Robinson, in honor of his friend Bill Finger. The award
is the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing, and the first such honor will be handed
down at the San Diego Con.
On the jury will be Mark Evanier, Jules Feiffer, Roy Thomas, Denny O'Neill, and Jerry Robinson himself.
The award will be presented along with the Eisners. For more details, check out the link above.
INSIDE LOOK AT ACTION ARCHIVES VOL. 4
Over at the ARCHIVES MESSAGE BOARD,
website contributer and all-around Superman fan Scarlet Spider has posted an excellent bunch of images
from Action Archives Vol. 4. It'll give you a good taste of what the volume will look like when
you crack it open! Thanks, SS!
This website has just received a preview image for the new edition of Fantastic Four Essentials Vol. 1,
and I thought it deserved highlighting. Check out this thread at the MESSAGE BOARD
to get a quick look at it. (Fans of the Flying Washtub should be pleased!
Also, don't forget to check out the
ESSENTIALS LIBRARY for more information and a
release schedule for the Essentials.
According to a DC Comics press release, they have locked fan-favorite penciller George Perez up
for five years with an exclusive contract! Here's the copy:
George Pérez, the legendary artist who's contributed his talents to THE NEW TEEN TITANS,
WONDER WOMAN, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, the upcoming DC SPECIAL: THE RETURN OF DONNA
TROY, and much more, has signed a 5-year exclusive agreement with DC Comics.
"So many of my landmark successess have been with DC Comics, and I've developed so many
long-lasting relationships with people there - it really feels to me like a family atmosphere," says
Pérez. "I have great regard for what Dan DiDio's doing for the company as well. They made me a
great offer, and it just seems like the place to be. I couldn't be more thrilled!"
"George is an incredible talent whose voice and vision helped define our world and his work will
continue to shape the DC Universe for years to come," says Dan DiDio, VP - Executive Editor, DCU.
I just came across this excellent interview with George Perez at NEWSARAMA
that has a couple of revealing hints at future books for collected editions fans. One is that
he's completed a new cover to the fourth Wonder Woman TPB, collecting his 80s run on the title.
Another is that he says he's completed a new cover for an Absolute Crisis on Infinite Earths!
Now, many comics creators talk about projects before they're approved and announced, and
some of these things never even get published. Until DC
confirms this, just keep that in mind. Of course, you'll hear it here if there is a confirmation!
ESSENTIAL SPIDER-WOMAN!
Over at ALL THE RAGE, a
column at Silver Bullet Comics website, it was mentioned that Brian Michael Bendis hinted at the
publication of Essential Spider-Woman Vol. 1. The hint can now be confirmed by Marvel's David
Gabriel, who has told this site that we can expect an Essentials volume reprinting the earliest stories of
Jessica Drew sometime later this year or early next year. Also, look for more Jessica Drew in the
pages of New Avengers, GIANT-SIZE
SPIDER-WOMAN, and many more projects, David promises!
Marvel has shared with this website a preview image for the tenative cover to the Alex Ross
edition of the FF Omnibus. Check it out at the MESSAGE BOARD,
and if you need to brush up on all your Omnibus facts, check out this site's FF Omnibus PREVIEW
PAGE.
Titan Books will be reprinting Jerry Siegel's 60s era comic from IPC called The Spider. As
NEWSARAMA
reports, the creator of Superman had a go at Brit comics way back in the day, and those pages
are finally going to see reprint in this $19.95 hardcover from Titan. No word on page count, but
the copy from the press release indicates a June release.
A personal favorite of mine, and a treasure for many Silver Age DC fans, Darwyn Cooke's mini-series
has received another round of nominations in addition to the previously mentioned Eisner Awards.
Darwyn Cooke has received a Harvey Award nomination for Best Artist for his efforts on New Frontier, and the series
was nominated for Harvey Award for Best Continuing/Limited Series. Go DC! (That means both
Darwyn Cooke and DC
Comics!)
For a complete list of Harvey Award nominees, visit THIS LINK
at Newsarama!
BATMAN: COVER TO COVER
Perhaps you're like me and still waiting on your copy to arrive via the mailman! Until then,
check out this Newsarama INTERVIEW
with DC's Bob Greenberger about this Bat Book!
MAN-THING MOVIE PREMIERE
Don't forget: tonight on the Sci-Fi Channel, at 8pm, you can watch the world premiere of the
Man-Thing movie. I make no suggestion that this would be a good use of your time or not. But if
you're into the ol' shambling mound like I am, you'll make a Giant-Sized effort to see it! When you
are finished watching, come to THIS THREAD
and discuss!
Also, don't forget the recently released WHATEVER KNOWS
FEAR TPB, which reprints the Man-Thing 3-issue mini-series, and a couple of rarely reprinted
classic comics: Man-Thing's first appearance in Savage Tales #1, and the story that inspired the movie
from Fear #16! Only $9 from TOW! (What, ya didn't think Batman, Superman and the FF were the only movies that had
book tie-ins?!?!?!)
SHIPPING NEXT WEEK
Here's the list of confirmed books to be released next week that might
be
of interest to you. Somewhat of a light week, but there's got to be one Defenders/Jon Sable/Tuk the Cave
Boy fan who is VERY excited! Oh, and check out Superman in Action Archives Vol. 4!
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Batman: Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight HC
CECIL B. DE MARVEL!
Marvel Comics has made waves in the movie biz today by announcing that they are diving into
the deep end of movie producing! No more will they merely license characters out for use by Sony or
Universal or any other production company. They'll be in full charge of a new stable of Marvel properties,
and leading the way is reported to be Captain America and Nick Fury!
For more information on this, check out THIS LINK
and read on. Seems Marvel has built up something like a $500 million "war chest" to fund this initiative.
Now I know where all my money for Masterworks has been going! On a related note, Marvel has also settled with Smilin' Stan for $10 million smackeroos for his promised income related to the Spider-Man movie franchise! That'll buy a whole lot of teeth whitener for the living legend. The full score on this legal matter can be found at THIS LINK!
If you haven't been to the Off Topics Board lately, you're missing out on an unprecedented
flurry of threads! The Mighty Comic Artist Challenge pits legend vs. legend in 15-round bouts
that will tax the stamina of even the hardiest creator! No slouches here...to step in this ring, you
gotta be good! Kirby, Toth, Kubert and Ditko! Kane, Colan, Adams and Infantino!
And it's interactive- if you've got something to say on behalf of Frank Brunner, go dig up your favorite
piece of artwork, scan it and show it off! Then cast your vote. It won't hurt nobody none! Check it out
at the following thread: OFF TOPICS.
(And rest assured, the Fixer is nowhere to be found in this ring match!)
WHAT IF? LIBRARY PAGES!
Me and the Masterworks Mapping Gang are happy (and a little exhausted!) to announce
the unveiling of our brand-spankin' new What If? Masterworks Library page! From this page, you
can access all the super-groovy maps of "Marvel Past" that we've concocted for your idle
musings! Right now, we've got map libraries open for Marvel's Golden Age, Westerns, Horror,
Crime & War, and Funny Animals, Romance, Comedy and Fashion Model comics! Next in line (check back
in a few weeks) are Silver Age, Bronze Age, and a page devoted to the best of the 80s & 90s
of Marvel Comics. Here is a link:
WHAT IF? MASTERWORKS LIBRARY PAGE
On behalf of all who helped me generate this site content, I hope you enjoy it and find it a fun
and valuable resource!
Masterworks Monarch Cory Sedlmeier paid a visit to the Marvel Message Boards today to
pitch in a few good words for today's release of Amazing Spider-Man Masterworks Vol. 7. He's
proud of the job he and his crew pulled off on the book, and from the reports I've heard, they
have every right to be proud! By now, you're pulling off the shrink wrap on your own copy, ain't
ya? So none of us have to tell you how great it is- you already know! But in case you want to check
out the conversation, including Cory's words, access the thread at THIS LINK!
Oh, and in case you're wondering, the limited edition print run of this book is the highest ever! 1576
total books printed! How about that?
WOLVERINE: ENEMY OF THE STATE
Turns out this book is indeed shipping this week. It is the first hardcover in the Marvel Premiere
Edition line, and it reprints the first six issues of Wolverine's Millar/Romita, Jr. run. Here is a
LINK
to buy from TOW, and why not chime in at the message boards when (and if) you get the book
and let us know what you think about this new format hardcover from Marvel?
SHIPPING NEXT WEEK
Here's the list of confirmed books to be released next week that might
be
of interest to you. The next volume of Spider-Man Masterworks bows, while we continue to see
more Batman stuff come down the pipeline. Of special note is our pal Bob Greenberger's Batman:
Cover to Cover book, and a collection of the best matchups between Bats and Scarecrow, perhaps
my favorite of his rogue's gallery! (And you Savage Dragon HC fans, don't miss Vol. 10: Endgame!)
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes HC A few items aren't on next week's shipping list. The first Marvel Premiere Edition HC, Wolverine: Enemy of the State, isn't making its target date. And joining Magnus Vol. 2 HC, Dark Horse Archives' Doctor Solar Vol. 2 is also delayed from its shipping date. I'll update the new shipping dates on these hardcover collections ASAP. And the Definitive American Flagg HC is still late..... NEWS UPDATE: 4/22 COMPLETE DENNIS THE MENACE
Following in the footsteps of their Peanuts HC collections, Fantagraphics is going to be giving the same
treatment to the classic strip Dennis the Menace, by Hank Ketcham. According to this
ARTICLE, expect annual books that will reprint two years of continuity from the strip.
SIX FROM SIRIUS/RED SONJA
There are a couple books to alert you to, both springing forth from (ahem...) Dynamic Forces. If the
past is any guide, Dynamic Forces will be incredibly late shipping these books. I'll post their estimated
street dates, but until you hear differently, just assume you won't have these books UNTIL THEY
ARE IN YOUR BLOODY HANDS!
ADVENTURES OF RED SONJA VOL. 1: SHE-DEVIL WITH A SWORD TPB
SIX FROM SIRIUS HC/TPB The series was first released at the Epic imprint and remains a high-water mark for action-filled, science fiction comics. And it's waiting to be discovered by you! Dynamite has painstakingly restored this first Six From Sirius series (and is working on the sequel series for release in 2006!) and now presents the definitive, full-color edition, available with two covers: one for the COMICS MARKET and one for the MASS MARKET! A few notes about the above two books: Exact covers for the two different trade versions of Six From Sirius are unknown at this time. It will also be offered in a limited-edition, signed HARDCOVER. And did you notice that the copy from the Dynamic Forces didn't mention who the two creators of Six From Sirius were? Well, in case you didn't know, it's Paul Gulacy and Doug Moench. (Come on, DF! Gee whiz!) And, yes, those two dudes were churning out a bunch of good stuff in the late 70s and 80s. Six From Sirius was one of them! This is one of those "out of left field" choices for a reprint, but I'm not gonna not buy it! It's a great story! And didn't you notice that the trade dress to the Red Sonja TPB is nearly identical to the Dark Horse Conan trades? Hmmm.....Both these books are due in July 2005. Which, knowing DF (remember Dreadstar and the still-delayed American Flagg?) means July 2006! More news as it comes! NEWS UPDATE: 4/18 SHIPPING NEXT WEEK
Here's the list of confirmed books to be released next week that might
be
of interest to you. Essential Hulk, Chronicles of Conan, and Spirit Archives keep rolling along, and
we finally get to put our hands on the Steve Ditko Visionaries!
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Batman: Blind Justice TPB MARVEL SOLICITS FOR JULY
Marvel's July offerings- with solicit text:
MARVEL VISIONARIES: JOHN ROMITA HC
X-MEN MASTERWORKS VOL. 5 HC Lesson #1: It aint easy being an X-Man. No sooner has their mentor, Professor X, died than who shows up but Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants! Only a study in teamwork with Earths Mightiest Heroes can help our grieving heroes make the grade! Lesson #2: Think twice before inviting family over. A friendly house call from the Juggernaut or Polaris, the daughter of Magneto himself, isnt the summertime bliss the brochure may have described! Lesson #3: Battling a bevy of baddies including Mesmero, Blastaar, the Red Raven, Warlock and Computo may cause cramps. Be sure to stretch before jumping into this pool! And for extra credit you can pull an all-nighter with the origins of Iceman and Beast, along with a rare solo story featuring the Angel! Consult guest instructors Jim Steranko, Barry Smith and John Buscema this July or risk failure at the end of the term. Dismissed! Collecting X-MEN (Vol. 1) #43-53, AVENGERS (Vol. 1) #53 and selections from KA-ZAR #2, 3 and MARVEL TALES #30. (304 pages, $49.99=REG/$54.99=LTD.)
NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 1: OUT OF TIME
NEW AVENGERS: BREAKOUT (MPE HC)
AVENGERS WEST COAST: VISION QUEST TPB
FANTASTIC FOUR: UNSTABLE MOLECULES TPB
ESSENTIAL KILLRAVEN
MARVEL MILESTONES: DR. STRANGE, SILVER SURFER, SUB-MARINER & HULK
GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-WOMAN #1 Of special note is this offering, a TPB of material which Marvel bypassed producing in monthly comic editions and has gone straigth to trade:
COMBAT ZONE: TRUE TALES OF GI'S IN IRAQ TPB Also, Dynamite Comics is reprinting a trade of the first seven issues of Red Sonja from the 70s Marvel Feature title. More information as it comes! NEWS UPDATE: 4/10 DC SOLICITS FOR JULY
Direct from HeroRealm, via Newsarama, comes DC's July solicits, including a September advance solicit
for Absolute Hush, and an August advance solicit for Superman: For Tomorrow Vol. 2 HC!
ABSOLUTE BATMAN: HUSH OVERSIZED HC
This Absolute edition includes an all-new cover by Lee & Williams, a Jim Lee Sketchbook, and
issue-by-issue commentary by the creative team! Oversized, slipcased hardcover. (372 pages, $49.99.)
NIGHTWING: YEAR ONE TP
BATGIRL: YEAR ONE TP
SUPERMAN: FOR TOMORROW VOL. 2 HC Superman faces the mystery of how millions of people seemingly vanished without a trace including the love of his life, Lois Lane only to find that he may be partially responsible. But the solution to getting them back might prove too extreme, initiating a royal rumble with Wonder Woman! And after a battle with the deadly Equus, Superman comes face-to-face with the mysterious villain who has been responsible for turning his life upside-down! This volume also features an afterword and new cover by Jim Lee. (176 pages, $24.99.)
THE FLASH: THE SECRET OF BARRY ALLEN TP
SGT. ROCK ARCHIVES VOL. 3 HC
PROMETHEA COVERS BOOK
PROMETHEA BOOK FIVE HC NEWS UPDATE: 4/9 SHIPPING NEXT WEEK
Here's the list of confirmed books to be released next week that might
be
of interest to you. It's a big week for all comics companies, especially for DC!
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Supreme Power Vol. 1 HC
I was out of town much of last week and this week, so I wasn't able to get last week's confirmed ship
list live on the site. Here it is, so check it over to see if there's something you missed. Of special note
is the Vertigo: First Taste TPB, which is a very generous sampling of the best of Vertigo, with issues
of Sandman, Y the Last Man, Hellblazer and more, reprinted for only $4.95! If you have never read
any of these comics, what better way to see if they are "your taste" ?
• Vertigo: First Taste TPB
Also shipping now from TOW is Peanuts Vol. 3: 1955-1956 HC. The Fantagraphics reprint series of
the whole run of Charles Schulz' classic strip rolls on! You can purchase it through THIS LINK!
More news updates later! So check this space!
BASEBALL UPDATE
The 14th slot on MarvelMasterworks.com's fantasy baseball league has been filled! Woo hoo!
This website is hosting a yahoo fantasy baseball league, called the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Our draft is coming up April 2 at 4:30 PM EST. We were at 12 teams, but received strong interest at
a late hour from a 13th team. We'd like to expand the league to 14 teams, so we have room for one
more! If you are interested in playing in a yahoo, head-to-head baseball league with some fellow
comics fans, drop me an email ASAP and I'll give you more information. Thanks!
According to this article at NEWSARAMA,
Joe Simon will be on hand at the Big Apple Con in NYC to sign copies of ADVENTURES OF THE FLY TPB.
Archie Comics published this trade collecting the earliest stories of Simon & Kirby's Fly strips, and the
con will also host some of the original Simon/Kirby art from the series! The dates are April 1-3, so
be there if you can, and take along your copy of GA Cap Masterworks for signing while you're at it!
Essential Hulk Vol. 3 has been delayed a week, moving from 4/20 to 4/27. Two Frank Miller: Sin City trades, Vol. 7 and 8, have been delayed as well, moving from 3/16 to 4/6. NEWS UPDATE: 3/25 SHIPPING NEXT WEEK
Here's the list of confirmed books to be released next week that might
be
of interest to you. It's a big week for all comics companies, especially for DC!
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Army of Darkness Vol. 1 HC
ABSOLUTE WATCHMEN!
Check out this article from NEWSARAMA
about the forthcoming Absolute Watchmen, a reprint extravaganza that is sure to take collected editions
fandom by storm! You know how tough it is to get your hands on the Graphitti Designs edition WATCHMEN HC.
Well, you won't have to wait much longer, because the Absolute Edition is going to reproduce the
Graphitti Edition, reportedly in full! More from David Gibbons, the penciller of Alan Moore's epic:
"As an artist, I love the Absolute books, Gibbons said. "The pages have much more impact at the
large size and the production values are first rate. In fact, many of the foreign editions of Watchmen
were done at this larger, album size, so I have a really good idea of how it will look already....Everything
is looking really good, crisper and more vibrant than ever..."
And, yes, this book is being produced with the blessing of Alan Moore!
Exredleg posts at THIS THREAD
about a CBR article discussing a new Jonah Hex series later this year, with a quote from DC's Bob Wayne
that they are exploring Jonah Hex classic reprints. No word on if it would be color trades or Archives,
or perhaps something even nuttier- perhaps a new line of DC Essentials style books?
Adding fuel to the rumor fire of such a line of books is an email exchange redleg had with a comics
retailer friend of his, who surmised that that is exactly what DC is planning! To get the full scoop from
exredleg, check out his thread at the DC Archives Message Board!
Ace reporter Justin Fairfax follows up Schatzie's scintillating survey of his sighting of the Star-Spangled
Super-hero Steve Rogers' Masterworks (....*pant pant*....) with a report of his own! He covers a lot of
bases from the Joey Q forum, and turns in some photographic evidence to prove that there is indeed
a convention going on! They're not just making it up! Check out all the hot news and funky pictures
of the Marvel booth at THIS THREAD
at the message board!
And somehow, Justin has also found the time to keep updating the Monster Fans Held Hostage thread
despite all his other activities. We're up to DAY 17,
with no clear end in sight. After joining me in a moment of silence (.........), please head over to
the thread to join in sympathy with the growing political movement to free Monster fans from this
shameful bondage!
GA CAP SIGHTING AT WIZARD WORLD
MarvelMasterworks.com cub reporter Schatzie has filed an urgent news report from the floor of
Wizard World Long Beach. He has made an eyewitness sighting of a preview copy of Golden Age
Captain America Masterworks Vol. 1! Here's his report, dateline today!
"I met David Gabriel and he showed me the Golden Age Captain America Masterworks volume. The art
reproduction looks great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is light years better than the reproduction in the Captain
America: The Classic Years TPB. Do yourselves a favor and order this book now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My friend who is a Cap fan that has never bought a Masterwork in his life looked at the Golden Age
Cap volume and was so impressed with the product that he is going to BUY A COPY! So spread the word,
Marvel has heard the call and has produced a winner with the Golden Age Captain America
Masterworks!!!!!"
Thanks for your in person testimonial, Schatzie! For those of you still mulling this one over, jog
down to the PREVIEW PAGE which should give you the whole
scoop!
Here's the list of confirmed books to be released next week that might
be
of interest to you. Nothing comes from DC that's of much note, but it's a big Marvel week! The
second Avengers Assemble HC, the first trade collecting Wolverine's late 80s solo title, and the long-awaited first volume of Golden Age Cap Masterworks!
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Avengers Assemble Vol. 2 HC
With Golden Age Captain America Comics Masterworks Vol. 1 only a week away from release, you might
want to check out this PREVIEW PAGE which gives several
scanned images of pages found within, and now also cover images of the regular and limited
variant editions of the Masterworks! Thanks to Marvel for providing them to marvelmasterworks.com! The FF Omnibus book is available for pre-order from Tales of Wonder. They are pricing it at $69.99 for either the KIRBY VARIANT or the ALEX ROSS VARIANT. Get all current information on the Omnibus at the OMNIBUS PREVIEW PAGE! NEWS UPDATE: 3/17 FF OMNIBUS UPDATE
I've crafted a preview page for the FF Omnibus book. It's a roundup of all known information
as well as a FAQ. If you're interested in this book, you might want to check back often, as I will
add new information there as it comes in. The preorder deadline date is 4/14, so I hope to have
passed on all the information you'll need to make an informed purchase. Head to this link:
Bookmark it! And now, the solicit copy for the Marvel hardcovers and trades coming in June I think you may be interested in:
MARVEL MILESTONES: DR. DOOM,
SUB-MARINER & RED SKULL
FANTASTIC FOUR VISIONARIES: GEORGE PEREZ VOL. 1 TPB
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 1 HC
FANTASTIC FOUR OMNIBUS Vol. 1 HC
ESSENTIAL FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 4 TPB
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN AGE SUB-MARINER VOL. 1
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 2
X-MEN/FANTASTIC FOUR HC
PHOENIX: ENDSONG MARVEL PREMIERE EDITION HC
BEST OF SPIDER-MAN VOL. 4 HC
CAPTAIN AMERICA BY JACK KIRBY: BICENTENNIAL BATTLES TPB
MARVEL PRESENTS WOLVERINE CLASSIC VOL. 1 TPB NEWS UPDATE: 3/16
CORRECTION
In a now-deleted item in today's News Update, I mentioned the Conan Vol. 1 HC reprinting
the first batch of Busiek/Nord's Dark Horse Conan title would be delayed. That is incorrect. It is the
TPB version of the book that is delayed until 4/27. The HC is in stock today, and should be available
from your retailer of choice. Tales of Wonder will have it IN STOCK,
but not for long, as it is a limited edition and printed to order. It will not last long
on store shelves, I predict. Here's a list of June's Marvel HCs and trades you might be interested. I'll post solicit information when it becomes available, including which of the HCs are oversized and which are Marvel Premiere Editions:
• FF Visionaries: George Perez Vol. 1 TPB Plus, new printings of the following Essentials: Iron Man Vol. 1, Daredevil Vol. 1, Thor Vol. 1, Avengers Vol. 1, Wolverine Vol. 1, Spider-Man Vol. 2-4. Schedule changes worth noting: Two Archives switch place on the schedule. Comic Cavalcade is now due 4/6, with Brave & the Bold moving up a week to take its place on 3/30. Make your comics buying adjustments accordingly! NEWS UPDATE: 3/13
FANTASTIC FOUR OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC!
Marvel's Director of Sales, David Gabriel, has finally let a long-simmering book out of the bag. Over
at THIS THREAD
at the Masterworks Message Board, he said that we'll see the first of a possible series of super-giant,
oversized FF books hit stores in June. What the heck am I talking
about? Well, let David tell you:
"Think of this as an oversized Masterwork volume containing everything from the first three
volumes of FF Masterworks, including the letters pages from all those issues. The price will be $100
and on sale at the end of June. It'll be sold with either a Jack Kirby cover, or a special Alex Ross cover.
If you have any interest, you should preorder this one, it will only be printed in limited quantities."
Come now...don't wait! Jump in on the discussion of this momentous offering and throw Marvel a bunch of
questions, comments, requests and oh, I know the inevitable complaints!
This project is still in the final stages
and a few questions are left to be answered. You'll want to tune in to this news space for all the emerging
news. Face Front, Fantastic Ones! Marvel Future is Coming...and it's the Past! And the Future! (Who says
ol' Gormuu can't mangle the English language with the best of 'em?)
You know those Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs lists? Or all those VH-1 list shows, where they track
down the top 50 rock 'n roll record albums of all time? Well, this website is hosting just such a list,
in which we aim to count down the Top 25 Hardcovers of All Time! If you want to take part in being
a listmaker, or are just curious to see what's going on, please visit this link:
THE TOP 25 HARDCOVERS OF ALL TIME
I hope you have a good time helping put the list together!
One book I really want to promote is Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord's upcoming hardcover "The
Frost Giant's Daughter", which reprints their 2004 Dark Horse series from issues #0-6 and the first
fourteen pages of #7. It is a limited edition HC, printed in a strict quantity based on pre-orders.
What that means is, it will have a VERY short shelf-life at retail. If you have not placed a pre-order, there
is still a chance to buy it, and I will naturally recommend Tales of Wonder. They are still taking
orders, and you can buy it through THIS LINK. Speaking of Conan, Dark Horse has issued the solicit for the next volume reprinting Marvel's 70s comic, hitting the streets on July 27. Can you believe we're already up to Volume 8? Read on:
CHRONICLES OF CONAN VOLUME 8: THE TOWER OF BLOOD TPB Presenting more of the celebrated Roy Thomas/John Buscema Conan the Barbarian run. All featuring completely remastered color; all proving once again why Conan is considered the greatest and most savage Fantasy characters of all time. (168 pages, $16.95.) And on a final Conan note, over at the DARK HORSE MESSAGE BOARDS, editor Jeremy Barlow has offered that after Vol. 8 of the Chronicles of Conan, there will likely be a Vol. 9 published, and then that series will take a rest while Dark Horse focuses on reprinting other Conan Marvel-era comics, like Savage Sword or King Conan. As he states in his post, this information is very preliminary. Check out the Dark Horse thread for his post for more detailed information. Meanwhile, I'll do my best to keep you updated on all things Conan. NEWS UPDATE: 3/11
There's lots to catch up with, but first, here's the list of confirmed books to be released next week that might
be
of interest to you. Of note are three big hardcovers: the 8th volume of Fantastic Four Masterworks (which
would be a big story at any time), the long-awaited second volume of Elfquest Archives, and the first
hardcover devoted to Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord's most excellent new Conan series from Dark Horse (more
on that later.)
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Conan Vol. 1: Frost Giant's Daughter HC
More news updates later today! Check back as the day goes on! NEWS UPDATE: 3/9 The Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning were some wacky times at this website! The transference from the old freeservers URL to the brand, spankin' new marvelmasterworks.com was not! without a hitch! Long story short- everything is back to normal now! I did lose yesterday's news update, but I'll get that stuff up sometime tomorrow. For now, here's a few reprint dates you'll want to bug your retailer of choice about. Second printings for certain Marvel HCS and their approximate street dates are as follows:
• Fantastic Four Vol. 1 HC: 3/23 I'm assuming the second printing of the Avengers book will have "Vol. 1" at the bottom of the spine, to better match the Vol. 2 due later this month. NEWS UPDATE: 3/7
For those chomping at the bit to get your mitts on that Fantastic Four Vol. 1 HC you should
have bought BEFORE the first print sold out, fear not, my fine fantastic friends! A second printing
should be hitting distribution channels within the week. That ought to go well with the new Vol. 2
which hit stores last Wednesday. Also, the printing defect that was in the first printing (a juxtaposition
of one page's dialogue bubbles onto another page) WILL be fixed in the second printing.
Here's the list of confirmed books released next week that might be
of interest to you.
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Essential Dr. Strange Vol. 2
Thanks to all who responded to the invitation to play fantasy baseball in our comics league. We've got all our slots filled now, but keep us in mind for next year, in case we open up new slots or have slots to fill. Some of you may have an interest in legal discussions related to comics and intellectual property. And some of you may be wondering what the gol'darned heck is up with Superboy Archives? Well, then, some of you might want to check out this article at Newsarama! I have no idea if this lawsuit is related to why Superboy Archives was announced a few years ago and then pulled off the table, but if you read between the lines, maybe you'll be able to piece together the framework of the real story like I did. Or it could have NOTHING to do whatsoever with the lack of a Superboy Archives. That's what's so great about knowing absolutely nothing...it could be anything!!! LOL!!!! NEWS UPDATE: 2/27
This website is hosting a yahoo fantasy baseball league this year, called the League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen. Already we have eight fine folks ready to do baseball battle with each other in our comics
themed league, but we could use at least two, but preferably four more teams to get to a level of
twelve players (though fourteen is not out of the question!)
If you enjoy head-to-head weekly matchups played through the yahoo system, drop by this post
at the OFF TOPIC
MESSAGE BOARD and express interest. We're looking for enthusiastic, knowledgeable and committed
players who won't give up at the end of the season, no matter how badly I'm beating you! BWA-HAHAAAA!!!!!
A couple more books have been spotted by eagle eyes over at this site's DC Archives Message Boards. This
time, Teisto has found (at Amazon Canada, again!) listings for BATMAN ARCHIVES VOL. 6
and BATMAN ILLUSTRATED: NEAL ADAMS VOL. 3
Keep in mind, once again, that DC has not confirmed these books, though we know Batman
Illustrated is a safe bet this summer. And another Batman-flavored Archives volume would surely
be expected as the big movie event nears. Solicit information, exact contents and release date are
all unknowns at this point, but I'll pass on that info as soon as it comes to light. I wouldn't expect anyone to remember a day back when I updated the layout of the website when I got all crabby because I accidentally deleted the whole first year's worth of this site's news updates. Heck, I barely remember it! But to this day, I've always been miffed that I flushed the first days of this website down the toilet. It was like finding out that my mom gave away all my comics or something! Anyways, I stumbled onto an old cached page of the Current News page from 2001 that included everything up through July of that year. I'm still missing the rest of the year 2001, but everything before that is here! If you want to take a trip back in time, check out the 2001 NEWS ARCHIVE. It's kinda scary...not only is the layout really UGLY, but the Masterworks program was, shall we say, sorta being ignored. Those are scary days nobody wants to relive too much, but it is worth remembering what the old days used to be like, and how good we have it now! NEWS UPDATE: 2/25
Here's the list of confirmed books released next week that might be
of interest to you. Of special note is the second volume of Waid and Wieringo's Fantastic Four
in glorious, oversized hardcover!
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• JLA Vol. 16: Pain of the Gods TPB
Andy from Tales of Wonder sent me an email that he wanted me to pass on to those of you who might be interested in purchasing the about the 44 Years Of The Fantastic Four CD-Rom Collection. Here's what he had to say: This item was solicited by Topics in this month's Diamond Previews, so people are going to start seeing it available on other retailers' sites. Though we were the top-selling direct market retailer of the 40 Years of the Amazing Spider-Man CD set, we have to hold off on selling the FF set for now. We just received the following warning from Topics: "We have had some major issues develop with this product and at this point Topics cannot make any commitments in regards to Fantastic Four - if or when the situation changes I will notify you immediately." We sincerely hope to offer this product in the near future, but we don't want to take pre-orders while it is in limbo. We'll be monitoring this situation closely and if/when its status changes, we'll have the product available immediately. Got that, pilgrims? Looks like the upcoming Topics CD-ROM library of FF comics has hit a snag. If you see it for pre-order anywhere, just know that it's NOT on any schedule, and it may never be! TOW is making the conscious decision NOT to take pre-orders for this product at this time. I will certainly be notifying you more about this much-anticipated product as news develops. NEWS UPDATE: 2/24
Another couple books have surfaced on Amazon, this time the US website, and I think you're
going to want to know about them! (Thanks to Rob Anderton for the tip!) As per usual, these listings
are not definitive until Marvel officially announces them, which they have not done yet! But here's
the preliminary solicit info and contents listings:
MARVEL VISIONARIES: JOHN ROMITA, SR. HC
Strange Tales #4
ESSENTIAL KILLRAVEN: WAR OF THE WORLDS Amazing Adventures (Vol. 2) #18-39, Marvel Team-Up #45, Marvel Graphic Novel #7, Killraven #1 (Marvel Knights)
NEWS UPDATE: 2/22
For some nutty reason, Amazon Canada has scooped all other sites revealing the publication
of Sgt. Rock Archives Vol. 3 (thanks to Crazy Cecil for snooping this one out!) If ya don't believe me,
just check out THIS LINK.
Of course, Amazon's site- whether in America, Canada, the UK, or Swaziland- is notorious for dishing
out errant information on future releases. So I emailed Bob G, svengali of the Archives future, and he
confirms that this book is slated for summer release. Rock and Kubert fans have to be happy about this!
(Pssst! Hey, DC, how about finishing up Enemy Ace while you're at it?)
Here's the list of confirmed books released next week that might be
of interest to you.
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Art of George Tuska
And here's a list of May's Marvel solicits that you may find interesting:
MARVEL MILESTONES: WOLVERINE, X-MEN AND TUK THE CAVE BOY
GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #3
POWERS VOL. 1 HC
BEST OF THE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 1 HC
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL. 2 This tome's classic tales pit Tony Stark against a virtual who's who of adversaries in the mighty Marvel manner that could only be brought to you by Stan Lee and the lavish pen of "Dashing" Don Heck! There's the return of Iron Man's arch-nemesis, the Mandarin, and said vile villain's origin, followed up by the first appearance of the long-loved Avenger, Hawkeye -- but he's not playing on the side of angels here. No, he's teamed-up with the Black Widow against ol' Iron Boots! And finally, Iron Man must test his mettle against no less than Captain America and his own Iron Man armor as the new Iron Man fights the old! It's a slam-bang barrage of Marvel classics with drama galore and a little '60s Russkie "Red Scare" that can't be beat. Reserve your copy today! Collecting TALES OF SUSPENSE #51-65. (240 pages, REG=$49.99, LTD=$54.99.)
GIANT-SIZE MARVEL TPB
AVENGERS: KANG - TIME AND TIME AGAIN TPB
ESSENTIAL DEFENDERS VOL. 1 TPB
ESSENTIAL THOR VOL. 2 TPB
ESSENTIAL FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 1 TPB
MAN-THING: WHATEVER KNOWS FEAR... TPB Also, here's a solicit that was slated for May, but from what I have been told, it may be cancelled and resolicited for another date. But in the event you hear the words "Maximum Fantastic Four" being tossed around, you'll know what folks are talking about! Here's the copy:
MAXIMUM FANTASTIC FOUR HC Format: Jacketed hardcover. Trim size: 8 7/8" x 11 7/8". Special effects: four-color matte lamination, spot UV gloss jacket with embossing and foil, four-color matte lamination, spot UV case. (224 pages, $24.99.) NEWS UPDATE: 2/16
Here's a list of May's DC Solicits:
BATMAN BEGINS & OTHER BATMAN TALES TPB
SUPERMAN IN ACTION COMICS ARCHIVES VOL. 4
SUPERMAN: INFINITE CITY HC
WRATH OF THE SPECTRE TP
THE WORLD'S GREATEST SUPER-HEROES OVERSIZED SLIPCASED HC
TOP TEN: THE FORTY-NINERS HC
NEWS UPDATE: 2/11
Here's the list of confirmed books released next week that might be
of interest to you. Face front, Daredevil fans! Your time has come with a volume chock full o' rarely
reprinted Gene Colan! And DC fans, aren't you a little bit choked up with the momentous occasion
of the All-Star Archives line coming to a close with publication of the 11th volume? Just don't let
me catch you cryin' when you ought to be counting your change to buy the darned thing!
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• All-Star Archives Vol. 11
The Avengers Assemble Vol. 2 has been delayed a week, from shipping on 2/16 to a new
street date of 2/23. The collection of What If? stories new printed in December of last year
has been pushed back once again from 2/23 to 3/2. Your pal and mine, Marvel's Director of Sales David Gabriel, has asked comics hardcover fans if there is any interest at all in an Oversized HC Runaways edition. Doesn't sound like a bad idea at all! If you want to chime in with a "yea", a "nay" or a "what the heck is runaways?" then visit THIS THREAD at the Marvel Masterworks Message Board, which is THE place to hang around and get mind-bendingly drunk with your fellow collected editions fans. (Hiccup!) Early March will see the release of the first of a planned four TPBs collecting the super-big crossover extravaganza titled X-Men: Age of Apocalypse. These comics were first published in 1994, well after I had given up comics wholesale. In fact, nearly the whole 90s era of comics, especially 1990-1997, is very much under the radar for me. From what I've been led to understand, much of that era was barren of the kind of artistry that most comics fans that traffic this site would like. Still, it's been held out that the Age of Apocalypse series was a high-point of early 90s Marvel. I'm curious, and I plan on getting the first TPB to see if I like it. Here's a link to an article about it at COMIC BOOK RESOURCES. Also, check out THIS THREAD at the Marvel Message Boards for discussion about it. NEWS UPDATE: 2/8
Calling all Golden Age comics fans who are in proximity to Atlanta, GA! On Sunday, February 13th,
the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum is hosting a lecture by Roy Thomas that coincides with
its exhibit titled "Zap! Pow! Bam! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books 1938-1950." (UPCOMING LECTURES are to be given by Gerald Jones, author of Men of Tomorrow, and Danny
Fingeroth, author of the recent Superman On the Couch.)
Yours truly, along with my pal Dum Dum Dugan, will be attending the museum exhibit and Roy Thomas
lecture this Sunday, and if you would be interested in attending along with us, drop me an email and
we'll try and set up some sort of group outing. The lecture begins at 1:30 pm and admission
is $10. Contact me as soon
as you can if you want to join us! But if you can't, be sure to check out the Breman website for the
slate of upcoming lectures, and maybe you can come for one of those!
Marvel has forwarded me images of several pages of the upcoming
GOLDEN AGE CAPTAIN AMERICA MASTERWORKS VOL. 1. You'll recall that they wanted to produce
a product that would improve on what many fans complained about with Golden Age Marvel Comics
Vol. 1. Go to the message board through THIS LINK
and be the judge if they've succeeded. There's also another thread posted for discussion about the images,
so chime in with your thoughts. What do I think? Well, I'll post about that at the boards...see you there!
Also, the asst. editor and at Marvel directly overseeing the Golden Age Masterworks is Mark Beazley,
and here's what he has to say about the upcoming GA Cap book:
"Reprinting Golden Age material is quite a different process from our Silver Age reprints where film
or stats of the originals exist, (or editor Cory Sedlmeier has worked his magic to get copies of the
original boards). Film doesn't exist for Golden Age materials and good luck finding original art work.
Although the main Captain America stories that we're reprinting in the Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age
Captain America Vol. 1 had been previously reconstructed for the Captain America: Classic Years TPBs,
those reprints didn't collect the text stories, house ads, or back-up stories contained in Captain
America Comics #1-4, nor did they try to accurately match the original coloring.
When we encounter instances where no original art of film is available with our Silver Age Masterworks,
we dig up a printed copy of the book and have the pages reconstructed using hi-res scans or color
photocopies. Unfortunately Marvel's archives don't go back to its earliest days of publishing and it's
extremely difficult to find someone willing to scan or photocopy their comic that's likely worth
thousands of dollars. Thankfully Steve Geppi of Diamond Comics was kind enough to provide color
copies of Captain America Comics #4, and a call for help on the Marvel Masterworks Message board
put us in touch with fan Harry Mendryk who graciously scanned his copy of Captain America Comics
#2. That allowed freelancer Matt Moring to reconstruct those pages for us.
Our only available resource for some of the stories from Captain America Comics #3 was microfiche
that had originally been intended as an archival reproduction for libraries. They photographed a printed
copy of the book and put each full issue on one sheet of fiche. So on these sheets of microfiche each
individual page measures about 5/16 of an inch wide by 7/16 of an inch tall. What we're doing is
having these scanned at an incredibly high resolution to get it to a usable size and then we have
freelancers who work their computer magic to reconstruct the line art as it originally appeared. Jamison
Services and All Thumbs Creative have done a fantastic job restoring these pages to their original
state as you can see in the samples we've provided. I don't think the cover to Captain America Comics
#1 has looked this good since it originally printed."
Hey Rude, Baron and Nexus fans! According to this article at
ICV2, Dark Horse is going to publish Nexus in their Dark Horse Archives series. That's hardcover,
folks! Check out the news story for more information. (Hat tip to Bill Nolan.)
Here's the list of confirmed books released next week that might be
of interest to you. A light week, with highlights being the fourth Ultimate X-Men HC,
the Marvel Weddings collection, and another Geoff Johns Flash trade.
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Liberty Meadows Vol. 3 HC
THE STATE OF THE MASTERWORKS IS STRONG!
Regardless of political persuasion, I have a feeling everyone is gonna sit up proud and tall and take
notice of these words from Masterworks leader Cory Sedlmeier, as transcribed from an interview with
yours truly. And, in fact, I think some of you will get downright teary-eyed and salute when it's all said
and done. For when the flag of Masterworks flies, we all stand united. Herewith, the State of the
Masterworks...and it is strong!
Please read the STATE OF THE
MASTERWORKS 2005 interview with Masterworks guru Cory Sedlmeier. Don't wait! Your
country needs you!
The X-Men: Complete Age of Apocalypse Book 1 TPB has been delayed from 3/2 to 3/30. At NEWSARAMA, it is reported that a Powers HC reprinting the first eleven issues of the Brian-Michael Bendis series is in the offing. The copy posted there reads as follows: "You asked for it ands now it is here!! THE FIRST EVER POWERS HARDCOVER. but not only is it a hardcover... its a hardcover of the entire first year in chronological order. issue 1- 11. the first three epic powers stories presented in order of publication for the very first time. remastered. redesigned, and reformatted. plus all the powers bonus features you have come to know and love. sketchwork, scripts, interviews, galleries, original designs and a powers collection first: a best of the letter column year one." Well...this isn't really the "first ever" Powers HC. Last year, Graphitti Designs published the first six issues in a limited edition hardcover, but this could be the first of a line of Powers HCs to be released reprinting all the issues. NEWS UPDATE: 1/28
Here's the list of confirmed books released next week that might be
of interest to you. This shapes up to be a pretty nice week, with Stan Lee Visionaries, the first
Kirby Black Panther trade, and finally we get Seven Soldiers Archives! Plus, don't miss out on the
$19.95 Superman Archives Vol. 1 if you don't already own it! This special introductory price will
not last forever!
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Visionaries: Stan Lee HC Special note should be given to the Hulk/Thing Hard Knocks TPB, which reprints not only the four-issue limited series, but gives us a never-before reprinted battle between this pair from 1974's Giant-Size Super-Stars #1! NEWS UPDATE: 1/27
A surprise solicit in this month's issue of Marvel Previews is the Marvel Premiere Edition HC of
Wolverine: Enemy of the State. Remember, this is the new line of hardcovers talked about at this
website and message board last week by Marvel's David Gabriel. (One of the perks of hanging around
here!) One thing to remember about Marvel Premiere Edition HCs is that, from what I understand, they
are not going to remain in print forever. Relatively speaking, they will be limited editions. I have no
idea exactly how limited their print runs will be, though I do hope to get a full-ranging response
from Marvel on this line of HCs as soon as I can.
First, here is a link to buy this book from Tales of Wonder, and following, the solicit:
WOLVERINE: ENEMY OF THE STATE
The world's deadliest living weapon just fell into the wrong hands. It's Wolverine vs. the Marvel Universe
in the best-selling, blockbuster storyline that will have Logan shredding his way through the X-Men,
Fantastic Four, SHIELD and more! How does Wolverine end up fighting to destroy everything he holds
dear? Get ready for the ride of your life! This first release of the Marvel Premiere Editions collects
Wolverine #20-25. (144 pages, $19.99.)
Join as at the message boards, where we will have a discussion about not only this Wolverine
HC, but this brand new line of Marvel Premiere Edition hardcovers. If you're a hardcover nut, you're
going to want to stay informed, so keep watching for more news about these books!
Two contests are currently running on the Masterworks and Archives message boards! You have
double the chance to win your choice of Archives or Masterworks, courtesy of this site and
Tales of Wonder. Check
the CONTEST PAGE for more
details! New release date for Stan Lee Visionaries HC: 2/2. Delayed one week. NEWS UPDATE: 1/24
The Masterworks Message Board was blessed with a weekend full of occasions to chat
with Marvel Managing Editor David Gabriel. Lots of fun was had by those were logged on
for David's unannounced Q+A session, but for those that missed it, I've compiled the whole event
onto one page for easy reading. Here's a link:
One new line of hardcovers mentioned by David bears special note. As scooped in this chat session,
Marvel is working out a new initiative called Marvel Premiere Editions. Hints were flying that
comics like Wolverine: Enemy of the State and Avengers Dissassembled would be published in this new
format, but as David said, the particulars are still being worked out. One thing is certain, they will
be regular comic-size format. As more information comes out, you'll here about it here!
There are many more interesting bits of information to be found out from the chat, including news
on Masterworks- both Golden Age and Silver Age- Essentials, and other Marvel trade projects. Have
a little fun and go read all about it!
Marvel's David Gabriel paid a surprise late-afternoon to the message boards, opening up the
floor to a freeform question and answer forum with you, the loyal Marvel fan! Make a beeline
to the thread by following
THIS THREAD. I've consolidated all the questions and answers on the second page of the thread
if you want to shoot straight ahead to that for the full scoop. There's a lot of juicy hints to sink
your teeth into, so don't waste any time checking it out. Thanks, David!
Before I get to DC's April solicits, here's the list of confirmed books released next week that might be
of interest to you. It's a light week, and after last's weeks big boffo, some of us are thankful!
If you place your order from TOW on or before Tuesday, most orders will ship the following day.
• Avengers Dissassembled TPB And now, from DC's April solicits, some books you might want to add to your collection, led by an Absolute Edition for League of Extraordinary Gentleman II:
BATMAN: SCARECROW TALES TP
SUPERMAN VS. THE FLASH TP
THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD TEAM-UP ARCHIVES VOL. 1 HC
DC: THE NEW FRONTIER VOL. 2 TP
THE SPIRIT ARCHIVES VOL. 16 HC
THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN VOL. 2: THE ABSOLUTE EDITION HC This epic Victorian adventure continues in grand fashion as our intrepid band of heroes- Mina Murray, Allan Quatermain, Captain Nemo, Dr. Thomas Jekyll and the Invisible Man (a.k.a. Hawley Griffin)- once again face a dire threat. Only this time it's not just the fate of an Empire that hangs in the balance- but that of the entire world! Don't miss the gorgeous Absolute presentation of an incomparable adventure! (448 pages, 2-vol. set, $75.00.)
THE FOUNTAIN HC Working with acclaimed painter Kent Williams (Blood: A Tale, Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold), The Fountain crisscrosses through three distinct time periods: in 1535, during an ancient Mayan war; the present day, following one doctor's desperate search for the cure for cancer; and the far future, through the vast exotic reaches of space. Interweaving these three periods, THE FOUNTAIN follows Tomas- warrior, doctor, explorer- as he feverishly tries to beat death and prolong the life of the woman he loves. A story so grand, one medium couldn't contain it, Aronofsky is also shooting a feature film version of the story for New Regency and Warner Bros. Pictures starring Tony award- winning actor Hugh Jackman (The Boy from Oz, X-Men, Van Helsing) and acclaimed actress Rachel Weisz (Constantine, The Mummy, The Constant Gardener). But before he did, the filmmaker wanted The Fountain to be realized in the unique storytelling power and artistic beauty of the graphic novel. Together, Aronofsky and Williams deliver what might be considered the ultimate director's cut. (Advance solicit for August. 176 pages, $29.99.)
VERTIGO: FIRST TASTE NEWS UPDATE: 1/19
Marvel's April solicits are now up, and here's the scoop on the books that I think you might dig:
AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES HC
SUPREME POWER VOL. 1 HC
MARVEL MASTERWORKS VOL. 44: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN/
MARVEL VISIONARIES: STEVE DITKO HC
FANTASTIC FOUR/SPIDER-MAN CLASSIC TPB
ESSENTIAL HULK VOL. 3 TPB
MARVEL MILESTONES: VENOM NEWS UPDATE: 1/14
Here's the list of confirmed books released next week that might be of interest to you. It's a busy week,
with the long-awaited Green Lantern Archives and the Dark Phoenix Saga in Masterworks leading
the pack! Order from TOW now and have them shipped on Wednesday!
• Bone Vol. 1 color HC Over at DC Comics Collected Editions editor Bob Greenberger's blog, NOTES FROM A FINAL FRONTIERSMAN he hints at a new project he's working on: At DC, a project I proposed got approved and I'm well into work on it. It's something we should be announcing in the next month or so and I have till then to get the contents firmed up and well underway. Interestingly, this will necessitate my getting a scanner and Optical Character Reading software, so I get to do a creative project and learn a new skill at the same time. Nothing wrong with. Join as at the DC MESSAGE BOARDS to speculate about what this secret project is! (I think it's the long awaited DC Challenge reprint project!) Finally, there's rumors that perhaps the Warren horror material of yore might be due for reprinting. Check out THIS THREAD at the DC Message Boards for more information! NEWS UPDATE: 1/13
Tales of Wonder is running a sale on DC Hardcovers, so you might want to hide your wallet! Here's the
rundown:
• JIM LEE'S WILDCATS COMPENDIUM VOL. 1: $24.99
According to DC Comics, Seven Soldiers of Victory Archives Vol. 1 will be delayed
a week, due to a shipping problem (doggone customs agents!) Look for a new in-store
date of 2/2. (Please note: When I first reported about this, I listed the new in-store
date as 2/16. That is incorrect, it is 2/2.)
Pretty soon I'll be premiering the Marvel trades section of the site (as well as other cool things, too!)
But for now, I figure I'll give a sneak preview of one of the books that will be found there. Anybody
who's been following the New Avengers and doesn't know who the heck this Sentry fellow is might
want to catch up! THE SENTRY TPB reprints all five
issues of the 2000 mini-series by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, as well as the five one-shots that came
out after it. It also reprints as a special bonus the Wizard articles that had people wondering if
the Sentry was real or a hoax! The trade is still in print and can be purchased at
TALES OF WONDER, so you won't have to worry about chasing down back issues which are
now commanding high prices on the back market! A book I sort of lost on the radar is the first HC volume of Jeff Smith's Bone, called Out of Boneville. The previous HC edition was in black and white, but this one is in full color! This critically acclaimed comic gets high marks from many current comics readers, and is not only something you might enjoy reading yourself, but makes a good comics choice for kids, as well. Check the sale out at TALES OF WONDER. The book's release date is 2/23. NEWS UPDATE: 1/7
Here's the list of confirmed books released next week that might be of interest to you
(kind of a light week, ya know!) Looks like Seven Soldiers of Victory Archives is going
to be shipping late. I'll check on that and report back as soon as I get the scoop.
Order from TOW now and have them shipped on Wednesday!
A couple more regular edition Masterworks have gone out-of-print. Joining
THOR VOL. 2 and
IRON MAN VOL. 1 is
FF VOL. 5 and
UNCANNY X-MEN VOL. 3.
Tales of Wonder has a supply of these books in inventory, but who knows for how long. If you
want to add these books to your library, you might want to prioritize them over others on your list.
There is still no word from Marvel when or if these books will go back to press. I'm going to do a better job this year of informing you when certain titles sell out. This is one of my New Year's resolutions! To that end, here's a list of DC titles that have recently "sold out."
• BIG BOOK OF URBAN LEGENDS Also, Batman Black & White Vol. 2 HC and Batman: A Lonely Place For Dying TPB are sold out as well, and TOW doesn't seem to have either in stock any more. Here's some items that have shipped since I last updated the news section, which you might not want to miss out on!
• DOCTOR SOLAR ARCHIVES VOL. 1 NEWS UPDATE: 1/5
The content at a website like this would very likely look completely different if
not for the creative talent of a man like Will Eisner. He provided the forward thrust
for so many important facets of the "sequential art" medium. His Spirit wasn't the first
super-hero, but it was the first one to take on the lustre of highly-considered art- Eisner
was an auteur, you see, even if his work came on cheap newsprint folded into the
Sunday paper. His high imagination inspired legions who followed him. Only a recent
convert to the wonders of Eisner's work (through DC's amazing Spirit Archives series), I was
astonished to crack open the first volume and find myself saying- "Ahhh! There's Ditko!"
I'm a huge Ditko fan, and to find vague traces of what I would come to love in his lithe and mysterious
linework in Eisner's Spirit thrilled me to no end. This comics fan has found a home in Spirit Archives.
Eisner also created the graphic album, or graphic novel. No simple thing, there! Comics in book
form has not only inspired many fine original graphic novels, of which Eisner wrote many, but
put it in the back of folk's minds that reprints could be consolidated in book form, too! Comics
on a bookshelf? Crazy! Well, not anymore. Thanks to Will Eisner.
You might not know it, but the guy who designed all the web graphics for this site is a big Eisner fan.
Really big. Doug Roberts, aka Blam880, has the following to say:
"Will Eisner was truly an artistic inspiration for me.
I discovered his art during that time in my life when my art
skills went from drawing refrigerator art of
tanks fighting UFOs to learning that everything
didn't have to be drawn from the side or front only. I made
the fortunate find of a stack of Warren Spirit
magazines in a used book store. What I found inside
was a big change in perspective! I found deep shadows,
gritty buidlings, slimey stones, and lots of new
'camera angles'. But most importantly, I found those wonderful
characters and expressions- I had to know how to draw
these incredible pictures!
My solution was to spread
the magazine out on the kitchen table along with my
typewriter paper and No. 2 pencil and begin to draw
them. Not tracing, but drawing- actually studying how
these comics looked so good. Of course, my results
lacked considerably, but it was the spark I needed. It
sent me into the next step of learning to draw. And
also sent me on a mad quest to find all the 'Eisner
stuff'. Will Eisner made truly inspiring art for me
It seems to be a fraction more sad when the world loses a good artist, especially such a singularly gifted
artist like Will Eisner. His hands wont be giving life anymore to the lines that we all know so well. The
shadowy alleyways of the Spirit. The harsh, gritty world of his autobiographical New York. All of them
will be seem quite empty without him. He will be missed".
Would you like to read more discussion about Will Eisner?
NEWSARAMA has
a thread celebrating his life, and my message board has two threads devoted to the man,
one on the
MARVEL BOARD
and one on the
DC BOARD.
Why don't you join your fellow comics fans for a few moments to reflect on the life of
one of the true geniuses of the art form we so love. Will Eisner will be missed, but his legacy
cannot be missed...anywhere you read good comics, there will be a piece of it there. I'll have some news updates and some really cool site updates tomorrow and over the next few days. I've spent the better part of the last two weeks in Florida and I'm just now back in Georgia and getting back to life as normal. RIP: WILL EISNER: 1/4
Comics genius Will Eisner has passed away. For more information, please check out
NEWSARAMA.
And here are more links to News Archives past:
All cover
images are courtesy of the Silver
Age Marvel Comics Cover Gallery. Website design by Doug Roberts and John Thomas. All images on this site are copyright of Marvel Comics. This site is for reference purposes and promotion of the Masterworks line of books as well as Marvel Comics and their properties. |
||
Here's the list of books you might be interested in that will start shipping from Tales of Wonder on Wednesday, January 4.
This is the last week of the year for new comics product, and it's a rather light week altogether. There are a couple must-have books, however. First off is Will Eisner's A Contract With God Trilogy HC. This 544-page tome reprints the classic 1978 graphic novel A Contract With God, 1988's A Life Force, and Dropsie Avenue, from 1995. 
It's the last Wednesday before Christmas! It's the last chance for comics companies to deliver the kind of books that could possibly wind up under the tree. For those of you who mail order, the odds of you getting these books by the 25th are pretty slim, but who knows? Maybe if you click "BUY" quick enough, Santa will make an express delivery...you have been good haven't you?
First off, there's a reminder that a couple late Flash Gordon books came into stock at TOW recently. Volumes 4 and 5 of Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon HC are ready for delivery. Also, a couple
of late books from Dark Horse finally make to releaste: Doctor Solar Archives Vol. 3 and the first installment of Frank Miller: Sin City Library, a deluxe set of
three bound hardcovers in a slipcase. This would have been an excellent item to target for your Christmas list...perhaps there's still time! Order now and TOW will get it out to you starting Wednesday.
Two books come out that have finally reached their shipping dates. Adventures of Red Sonja Vol. 1 TPB by Dynamite Entertainment, meant to coincide with the big splash they made with her revival this summer, ships five months late. Better late than never, right? One can only hope that we'll see the promised followup volume 2. Perhaps it will only be four months late? Also shipping late, but finally available to fans, is the Image Comics HC, formerly the 10th Anniversary Special HC, but now retitled because its lateness (how many years now?) has become legend. The wait is over. Wake yourself up and go get a copy!
Spirit Archives Vol. 17 ships this week from DC Comics, reprinting the latter half of 1948s strips. At this point in the chronology, Will Eisner is back and in charge! Also, the first shipments of Absolute Crisis on Infinite Earths begin to ship. I will be checking with TOW to make sure what their delivery arrangement will be with this title, as it was previously reported to be getting shipped in two different allotments.
Fantastic Four Masterworks Vol. 9 has been delayed a week, but if you're a fan of Marvel's First Family, fret not! Fantastic Four Vol. 3 HC ships this week, bringing to a close the incredible Mark Waid/Mike Wieringo run. Thanks to Waid and the gang for producing some of the World's Greatest Comics, and thanks to Marvel for commemorating this run in a complete library of three oversized hardcovers. Marvel fans will also want to check out the Marvel Premiere Edition HC Wolverine: Enemy of the State Vol. 2, which follows up the first storyline of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. Wolverine tales. 
A big thanks to Chance Fiveash for bringing this book to our attention in 
Last week, we finally got GA Human Torch Masterworks after weeks of delay. This week's offerings
includes yet more books that have been late or really late! Astonishing X-Men Vol. 2: Dangerous TPB comes
from Marvel, which fans of the Vol. 1 trade are happy to hear! Dark Horse, second to only Dynamic Forces
at being late with books, finally releases Concrete Vol. 2: Heights TPB and the first Tarzan: Joe Kubert Years Archives volume. And DC gets THUNDER Agents Archives Vol. 6 out on the streets with only a week's
delay, bringing that line of books to a conclusion.
Marvel has forwarded this website a beautiful batch of images from the upcoming
Giant-Size Invaders #2, featuring a passle of classic reprints along with a brand
new 16-page story by Roy Thomas. Here is the official solicit copy for this book
that's gonna be ALL WINNER!!!
February is the
likely month for the first in a new series of 48 page Marvel Handbooks, this one called
Marvel Legacy. The first book will cover the 1960s Silver Age era of Marvel Comics, aka "The Marvel Age of Comics!" Dig the newly commissioned Sal Buscema cover!
Sadly, it looks like THUNDER Agents Vol. 6, the final hardcover in that series, is not shipping as scheduled this week. I hope to get
a report on that delay, as well as when we can expect it, ASAP. Also, we see the release of Six From Sirius Vol. 1 from the legendary Dynamic Forces (he said with dripping sarcasm...) Except it's the TPB edition, NOT the promised hardcover! Moench/Gulacy fans deserve better than this! We want out hardcovers, DF!!!
Thank you for taking the 2005 Masterworks Survey! We had a huge response from you fans, and skimming over the early returns, I think there will be some exciting results that will surely
generate both interesting conversation and strong suggestions for Marvel. Right now,
Roy and I are going over the data, and in the next several days, I hope to have it
all compiled for your reading pleasure. I will send out a BLAMMO! email notifying you
when the survey results have gone up on the website.
Though this website is geared mainly towards collected editions (and don't let the
URL fool 'ya- it's more than just Masterworks!), every now and then I like to trumpet
a monthly comic that I figure- if you're like me- you're gonna want to own!
Popular novelist Walter Mosley wants to show you FANTASTIC FOUR #1 in a new way.
The entire project is the brainchild of Mosley, whose introduction to the FANTASTIC FOUR comic book was both an exciting and a very personal one. Growing up African American in the early Sixties and living with a father who disdained comics, Mosely saw certain truths and sanctuaries in the world of Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Human Torch, and the Thing, and became enamored of the powerful, striking art of the King of Comics, Jack Kirby. As an adult he attempted to recapture that magic feeling, that moment he “learned that entertainment, education, and art could all coexist in one form" by blowing up each page of FF #1 and view its detail in a fresh fashion. Mosley presented this approach to the art of Jack Kirby as a mass-market book idea to Avi Arad at Marvel…and the result is MAXIMUM FANTASTIC FOUR.
It's all explained at 
"Devil Dinosaur rules Prehistoric Earth. His ferocity is unmatched by the Small Folk and the Killer Folk. But two Celestials try to even up the odds by bringing a ferocious brute from the future back to take on Devil Dinosaur. It just so happens that this brute is the Incredible Hulk.
is back at the boards again, asking fans to chime in if they would
want to see Bendis' Alias series given the whacked-out Omnibus treatment: all issues included in one, massive
oversized beefy book, in the same mold as the 
In case you missed
the solicits for Marvel's four Monster one-shots seeing publication in October, I'd like to offer
up a reminder, as well as pass on solicit information about which classic reprints from Marvel's Atomic
Age will back up the all new-features by some of Marvel's top creators!
For fans of the British super-hero, a rare nugget from the pages of the UK-only SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN MAGAZINE will see the light of day in the next issue of MARVEL MILESTONES. Here's the lowdown
from Marvel's solicit:
From a recent Amazon Dump comes tidings of a most undead kind! If the sales
listing is to be believed, an Essential volume reprinting legendary 70s black and
white magazine 
Ever wonder about some of those non-superhero Golden Age titles? Some of those stories may never see the light of day,
outside the hands of a few lucky collectors.
it's front and
center for your consideration. The second hardcover in the Dark Horse Conan series by
Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord picks right up where the last one left off, with the latter
portion of issue #7! It reprints those final pages, plus all of #9 through 14. (#8 is planned
to be a part of a collection reprinting all the one-shot" interval comics Busiek is crafting
as standalone breaks between the longer storylines.) Here is the solicit copy for the book:
Marvel's mainline Masterworks
editor, Cory Sedlmeier, notifies this site about a couple scheduling changes concerning June's Marvel Masterworks
offerings:
Okay, I liked this movie! I really did! There might be a few of you out there who feel like me,
that it was a pretty good movie not worthy of the anti-Affleck scorn-fest it got in the press. There
was a 
Dark Horse
has plans to publish 2 sets of deluxe hardcover slipcase reprinting the entirety
of Frank Miller's Sin City works. Each set will include four hardcover books inside
a slipcase, and will retail for $175 each. The first set reprints The Hard Goodbye, The Big
Fat Kill, A Dame to Kill For and That Yellow Bastard, and it is scheduled for
release in October.
Containing the Red Sonja tales from Marvel Feature #1-7 - featuring art by Neal Adams -- presented in
glorious fully remastered color by Jose Villarubia. These tales are where it all begins and help set the
stage for the current Red Sonja series from Dynamite! This is a must-have collection of never-before
reprinted material. Plus this volume will feature a cover by legendary artist Frank Brunner colored by
Jose Villarubia. Plus legendary Red Sonja writer and form Marvel Editor-in-Chief Roy Thomas provides
an introduction!
If you're a lapsed Conan fan and haven't caught up with the barbarian in many years, I highly recommend
catching up with this book. Busiek is adapting the earliest of Robert E. Howard tales in the order in which
they were written, and Cary Nord's painted art can be both lush in grandeur and stark in horror. He
covers a lot of emotional terrain with his art, and that's just what Conan needs! Check it out. This book
gets Gormuu's highest recommendation for new material.