The Comics Rack

ODDS AND ENDS

• Finally got a chance to look through the Savage Sword of Conan Omnibus books from Dark Horse and was severely disappointed. Seems that Dark Horse produced these books poorly and there is a fair amount of drop out of the line work in the copies I saw. In addition, the black lines aren't black, but lean toward gray; something that makes the art hard to see. Too bad, as I was looking forward to replacing my yellowing copies of the original mags.
• Gemstone seems to be publishing again and I have the Uncle Scrooge collection at hand. I'll review it at length when I'm finished. Not quite up to the quality of the first Disney Treasures book, but is a nice overview of the World's Richest Duck!

AC COMICS

Best of the West #67

Gardner Fox, Ray Krank, Bob Powell, John Severin, Bill Elder, Frank Bolle, Dick Ayers and Joe Certa gather together on the adventures of Lemonade Kid, Black Bull, Redmask, Haunted Horseman, Kitty Carson and Durango Kid. Saddle up and prepare to be entertained! SRP $6.95

Men of Mystery #71

Bulletman, Ibis, Golden Arrow, Major Midnight, Ken Shannon and The Hood are brought out of the Fawcett and Quality Comics vaults by writers Otto Binder, Bill Woolfolk and Jack Grogan, and artists Dan Barry, Bernie Krigstein, Harry Anderson, Kurt Schaffenberger, Reed Crandall, Jack Alderman and others. Good solid reproduction and a book that is worth a squint. SRP $9.95

AMERICAN COMIC ARCHIVE

Big Fun Comics #6

This latest issue features nearly 248 pages of comic strips. Captain Easy is featured in 5 complete stories from 1950-1951 with art by Leslie Turner. Next is an 8 month 1937 run of Scorchy Smith by Golden Age artist Bert Christman. Last, is 7 months of Scorchy Smith by Frank Robbins, this batch from 1939. Reproduction on these books is very good, but I find the price just a bit prohibitive for all but the die-hard collector. SRP $28.00

BIG BANG COMICS

I guess they're gone...*sigh*!

DARK HORSE

The Savage Sword of Conan Vol. 3

Dark Horse has finally deigned to give out some real information about this series and I can now tell you that this third volume reprints Savage Sword of Conan #25-31. Using these issue numbers as reference, I can also tell you that the majority of these stories are the usually John Buscema layouts with inks by Alfredo Alcala or Tony DeZuniga. Furthermore, I can tell you that this ain't really worth your time, unless you are a real Conan completist (except for the Dick Giordano story in #25). So, give it a squint, set it back on the shelf and buy something else(Also, see above for some notes on the first two volumes!). SRP $17.95

THOUGHT BALLOONS

I've been way too involved with other projects to take time to write. More will appear next month!

DC

DC is doing a number of what I like to call "retro-revivals" this month. Among them:

• Rann/Thangar: Holy War-Jim Starlin brings together Adam Strange, Starfire, Hawkman, Starmnan and a whole bunch of other outer space uber-folk in one, massive 8 issue series.
• The War That Time Forgot- Another 8 issue series written by Bruce Jones and featuring lots of DC's older heroes, including Tomahawk, and Enemy Ace all on a mysterious island populated with dinosaurs (how can this one fail!).
• House of Mystery - An ongoing series by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges, this time focusing on a group of people who are trapped in the House (from what I've seen, this one shows some promise, but no Cain and Abel.).
• Tor - Joe Kubert is once again resurrecting his look at the prehistoric world and, this time around, doing all the writing and the art.

Jack Kirby's O.M.A.C.: One Man Army Corps

Reprints O.M.A.C. #1-8 with pages from Who's Who by Kirby, Royer and Berry. This was one of Kirby's later series for DC and was done shortly after New Gods. The story has a lot of science-fictional overtones and of particular interest is the use of a satellite that can see, and influence, actions anywhere on Earth back in the days when they were just to relay data. Good, but not outstanding stories that belong up on your sagging bookshelf. SRP $24.99

Seven Soldiers of Victory Archives Vol. 3

Reprints the stories that originally appeared in Leading Comics #9-14 by Joe Samachson and Arthur Cazeneuve. "So," I hear you thinking, "who were Samachson and Cazeneuve?" Well, that's just part of the problem with this particular Archives series. Since most of DC's big guns were serving in the military during World War II when these stories were originally produced (no pun intended), most of the comics were produced by the B-list artists. However, the Seven Soldiers were yet another team that was created to try to cash in on the success of the Justice Society in All Star Comics and, since the pickings were kind of lean to find heroes who didn't already belong to the Justice Society, you have a combo B- and C- list characters featured in the team. The end result is that you have minor characters done by minor creators to create a kind of "Team-Up of the B-List Folks" book that just doesn't cut it. Personally, I wouldn't even bother to give it a squint. SRP $59.99

Showcase Presents: Green Lantern Vol. 3

Reprints Green Lantern #39-59 by Broome, Fox, Kane, Greene, Infantino and others. Another huge chunk of the Hal Jordan Green Lantern series from the 60s, back when green was good and yellow was bad. Good science fictional stories and worth a squint. SRP $16.99

Showcase Presents: Haunted Tank Vol. 2

Reprints the Haunted Tank stories from G.I. Combat #120-157 by Kanigher, Kubert, Heath, Sekowsky and others. World War II seemed to never end in the 60s and, at DC, was gritty and heroic with a touch of anti-war sentiment (although this was more prevalent in Sgt. Rock). The stories here are, for the most part, forgettable, although the art by Kubert and Heath gives them some extra oomph. Borderline. SRP $16.99

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

Strange and Stranger; The World of Steve Ditko

A career spanning retrospective of the work of Steve Ditko by noted Ditko authority, Blake Bell. Large size (9 x 12) and promised to feature not only a look at Ditko's life and career, but lots of artwork from all periods of Ditko's career. Definitely worth a squint. SRP $33.99

GEMSTONE

On the Disney comic front, Uncle Scrooge #378 has a Romano Scarpa story, while Walt Disney's Comics & Stories has a Daan Jippes illustrated tale.

The Barks/Rosa Collection Vol. 3: Donald Duck Golden Helmet/The Lost Charts of Columbus

Qualifying both as the longest title of the month and the official series of the "We Ain't Ever Gonna Do The Don Rosa Stories By Themselves," this one has the Barks Golden Helmet along with the Rosa sequel. Just a shame that Gemstone can't get its act together and give us a quality reprint of Rosa's material. Flogging a dead horse? Am I ticked? Well, maybe somebody at Gemstone will read this and come up with an answer. SRP $8.99

IDW

John Byrne is hanging his hat for a bit at IDW, writing and pencilling a new Star Trek title, Star Trek: Assignment Earth, and also releasing a phone book collection, The Compleat Next Men Vol. 1, through them. The Next Men was a series Byrne did in the 90s as an independent title and this collection will reprint the 2112 graphic novel, #0 and #1-12 of the regular series. The Star Trek book, by the way, will focus on Gary Seven, the character from the original Star Trek series that was intended for a spin-off series that never happened.

UNABASHED PLUG DEPT.

Showcase Presents: Superman Vol. 3 is the most recent volume reprinting the adventures of the Man of Steel, this time covering stories from 1961 and 1962. Looking at these tales as a whole, one finds that the Weisinger formula is slowing a bit. After all, finding something new and different for every Superman appearance was a daunting task by this late date, some 20 years after the character's inception. One wonders too how Weisinger allowed each issue to be conceived. Did he use a formula similar to Schwartz and come up with a cover concept and then assign a story to be written to match the cover? Or, did Weisinger solicit story ideas from his stable of writers and then pick the best of those offered? From the mixed bag presented here, one would wonder just how things were put together and, after reading some of the clunkers, must also wonder, if the second scenario were used, just how bad the rejected material must have been.

Jerry Siegel is still very much in evidence in this volume and still offers the most human stories to feature Superman. Under other writers, Superman is almost a caricature: a symbol of power and able to fight wrong, but with very little emotional context. Siegel's stories, on the other hand flesh out the original concept of Superman as he and Shuster originally envisioned the character: a man who was better in all ways than a normal man-a Super Man. The vast majority of the Siegel stories in this volume show the Man of Steel in this light and also tend to have a science fictional base, as they include some reference to Krypton or other super-beings. Edmond Hamilton's first Superman stories are also included here and his work is second only to Siegel in quality and inventiveness.

Curt Swan begins to emerge during this period as the definitive Superman artist and his work makes up the bulk of the book. Al Plastino's work is beginning to show his age and has a "knocked out" quality (there are a couple of splash panels where Kurt Schaffenberger inks are evident on Lois Lane's face). Wayne Boring is also represented here and while his work has a science fictional quality to it, his drawing style by this time was becoming very stylized and he only has one story in this collection. Clearly, Weisinger had a certain look in mind for the Superman family of titles (except for World's Finest, any title that featured Superman or Superboy was under his editorship at this time) and this look was based around a Swan's drawing style.

Overall, this is a fun collection of stories that deal with a simpler time and simpler continuity. Kryptonite is still used way too much as a plot device, and Superman is often portrayed as a buffoon, but this happens with less frequency than in the previous volumes. What the heck! Give it a squint and add it to your sagging bookshelf. You'll enjoy it!

Showcase Presents: Superman Vol. 3 has an SRP of $16.99 and is available from the usual outlets.

IMAGE

Nothing this month.

MARVEL

Marvel is releasing a new Avengers/Invaders maxi-series this month. It looks ugly.

Essential Rampaging Hulk Vol. 1

Reprints Rampaging Hulk #1-9, The Hulk! #10-15 and Incredible Hulk #269 by Moench, Starlin, Mantlo, Simonson, Pollard, Trimpe and others. The Rampaging Hulk was a late 70s stab at yet another black and white magazine and the stories were set just after the original Hulk series of the early 60s and his first appearance in Tales to Astonish. Simonson did the first 3 issues and got swamped under Alcala inks. #4 has the odd combination of Starlin inked by Alex Nino (!). The Hulk! was the continuation of the series, this time in color. The color stories had some better work (Bob Mcleod comes to mind), but, of course, it was done in color (and depended on color for some of the line work) and it is reprinted here in black and white. Your choice! SRP $16.99

Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 7

Reprints Thor #153-162 by Lee, Kirby and Colletta. This volume begins Kirby's last great period on Thor, with a nod to Norse mythology in a sweeping Ragnarok sequence and then a tremendous battle between Galactus and Ego, the Living Planet. Simply great stuff and it should be up on your bookshelf! SRP $54.99

Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis Omnibus Vol. 1

Reprints Daredevil #16-19, #26-50, and 56-60 by Bendis and a whole bunch of other folks. Welcome to the Marvel Age of incomplete Omnibus collections. Here we have almost everything Bendis has written about Daredevil, except the last 20 issues, which, one would assume, is being held back for a second volume. Bendis is a tremendous writer and, although the art is hit and miss, I'm going to suggest that this is yet another for your sagging bookshelf, simply for the strength of the writing. SRP $99.99

Hulk Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 1

Reprints Incredible Hulk #314-319, Annual #14 and Marvel Fanfare #29 by John Byrne, John Byrne and...John Byrne (oh, all right...Sal Buscema pencils and inks in the annual). Here's a handy, on volume compendium of nearly everything John Byrne did on the Incredible Hulk-at least in terms of writing. All Byrne pencils and inks, except for the Sal Buscema job mentioned above (of course, there was a Hulk Annual, #7 to be exact, that Byrne pencilled and Layton inked with story by their old buddy, Roger Stern, and it was really great, but to get that, you have to buy Giant-Size Incredible Hulk #1 that Marvel is offering this month). Fairly good stuff and, if Byrne had stayed with the book, he might have been able to turn it into something special. SRP $24.99

PURE IMAGINATION

Nothing listed for this month!

TWOMORROWS

The Jack Kirby Checklist (Gold Edition)

This is a total revamping of the previous 1998 edition and has been expanded, updated and cross-indexed to include most everything that Kirby did and also includes a detailed list of Jack's unpublished work as well. Great for scholars and collectors alike. SRP $14.95

Alter Ego #77

A look at St. John publishing company, with a biography of Archer St. John and lots of related art and articles. Also includes the usual material from the Fawcett Collectors of America. SRP $6.95