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Title Creator Publisher Series Price
Pogo: The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips, Volume One: Through the Wild Blue Yonder Walt Kelley Fantagraphics Pogo $35.00
($39.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		forward by Jimmy Breslin; introduction by Steve Thompson    Tis the season of classic comics reprints, for sure!  First we have the complete Carl Barks Library getting under way, then we have the Simon and Kirby Crime, and now we have the first volume in Pogo: The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips.  (Intriguingly, the material collected in all three of these books centers on the year 1949; hmmm... seems worth pondering.)  This project has long been in development, and more than once delayed, but it realy is here, and it looks like it was worth the wait!  What we have here is a massive, 290 page, oversize, horizontally formatted hardcover with an embossed cloth cover and a lush wraparound dustjacket.  It collects the daily strip from it's start on May 16, 1949 through to the end of 1950, as well as the Sunday pages from their start on January 29, 1950 through to the end of that year, with the Sundays in fantastic full color, scanned from the original pages and then "lovingly and painstakingly restored by hand and computer."  And, as if that wasn't enough, as an added bonus we also get the complete  "beta" version of the strip that ran in the New York Star from October 4, 1948 through January 28, 1949. 
Nursery Rhyme Comics Gahan Wilson, Roz Chast, Tony Millionaire, Lilli Carre and more ... (:01) First Second $17.77
($19.95 list)
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Read more and comment... 		edited by Chris Duffy This 115 page, full-size, full color collection of 50 "timeless rhymes" includes all the favorites and then some.  What makes this one different?  What makes it stand out from the crowd?  What makes it mind-bogglingly amazing?  The list of artists who created the 50 works that fill this volumedoes, that's what.  It is practically a "who's who" of contemporary cartoonists that stretches around the block.  We're only going to give you a baker's dozen here, just to whet your appetite:  Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez (each contributing their own comics nursery rhyme), Theo Ellsworth, James Sturm, Jordan Crane, Eleanor Davis, Patrick McDonnell, Kate Beaton, Craig Thompson, Lilli Carré, Tony Millionaire, Roz Chast, Gahan Wilson... we think you get the idea. This is pretty much a guaranteed gift success story if a comics fan is involved in any capacity:  whether you're giving or getting, this one has it all.  And it is practically a Platonic ideal as a gift designed to sprout a love of comics in a new reader.
Donald Duck: "Lost in the Andes" Carl Barks Fantagraphics The Carl Barks Library $19.99
($24.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		Over the past decade, probably the single biggest frustration we've experienced here at The Copacetic Comics Company was the inability to offer customers the opportunity to experience the magic of Carl Barks in book form. This frustration was then exponentially magnified by the fact that at any given moment, nearly the entire body of work of the comics creator who was measurably the most widely read and putatively the most beloved in the history of American comic books was out of print!  The influence on American culture of the Disney duck comic books Carl Barks wrote, penciled, inked and lettered for roughly a quarter century is incalculably large.  George Lucas and Steven Spielberg are just two of the literally millions of baby-boomers who grew up reading the comics of Carl Barks and who felt the imprint of Barks's wide-ranging spirit of adventure and pomposity-puncturing sense of humor; R. Crumb's entire sensibility is grounded in Barks; and this is just the tiniest tip of the iceberg – most of all was the influence that the millions upon millions of childhood hours spent reading works that were both wildly entertaining and subtly subversive had on the generation that came of age in the 60s.  Carl Barks is one of the true titans of comic books, one of the very few who can hold their own with the likes of Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman and R. Crumb.  Now, at last, well over a decade since Gladstone Publishing's incarnation of the Barks oeuvre went out of print, his collected works will once again become available for North American readers (his works have been in print in parts of Europe; elsewhere?) in what – based on the evidence of the first volume – is sure to be the most outstanding edition ever produced.  Rather than potentially put off novice Barks readers by starting the series right at the 1942 beginning of Barks's tenure on Donald Duck, Fantagraphics has launched the series with a period that is both one of the most popular and critically heralded (think Duke Ellington's Blanton-Webster era band):  the stretch in 1948 and 1949 that contains this volume's "title track," Lost in the Andes, as well as the equally classic March of Comics giveaway, Race to the South Seas, along with two other "feature length" tales, nine consecutive (and classic) 10-pagers, and a sizable helping of one-page gag strips, which, taken together, give a good idea of the tremendous range and quality of his work.  An eight page introduction by Donald Ault, one of the foremost North American Barks authorities, starts off the collection, and it concludes with twenty pages of notes on the stories by a bevy of Barks scholars from around the world, including The Comics Journal's Rich Kreiner.    So, thank you Gary Groth, Kim Thompson and Eric Reynolds, for undertaking to edit and publish the The Carl Barks Library.  Thank you Jacob Covey and Tony Ong, for your excellent design.  Thank you Rich Tommaso and Paul Baresh, for, respectively, your superb coloring and production.  Thank you Donald Ault and the host of other fine Barks scholars for your thoughtful contributions to aid in the understanding of and provide context for the work presented here.  And, of course, most of all, thank you Carl Barks for producing one of the greatest bodies of work in the history of comics.  Doubters among you may want to take a moment to read this generous 17-page PDF preview, but bear in mind that the experience simply won't be nearly as satisfying as that provided by the print edition.  Click on the image at left to read our full review and learn more about Barks and this fabulous book, the first volume in a fifteen year long project to collect the entire works of Carl Barks!
Freddy Stories Melissa Mendes Self-published $9.00
($10.00 list)
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Read more and comment... 		Ms. Mendes has, with Freddy Stories, produced a collection of vignettes of life as seen and experienced from a child's perspective which are simply spot on, and demonstrate an abundance of sympathy for the condition of child consciousness.  Accurately recreating a child's state of mind and world view is especially difficult to manage in any medium, but comics' formal qualities have seemed to have provided creators with a toolkit well adapted for exactly this job.  Even so, the vast majority of comics deptictions of childhood are mawkish, simpering, sentimental and just plain wrong.  Here, in what is – sadly – one of the last books that will be funded by the Xeric Foundation, Center for Cartoon Studies graduate Melissa Mendes gets it right, and has produced a work that truly captures one of the most elusive of artistic subjects – the child mind.  See what we're talking by taking a look at this excerpt of the first few pages.
The Best of Harry Lucey, Volume One Jaime Hernandez, Harry Lucey IDW Publishing Archie $22.75
($24.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		introduction by (the one and only) Jaime Hernandez    First off, we'd like to nominate this book as the single most overdue volume in the history of comics.  It may not win, but it will certainly be a contender.  If there is one single artist that comics readers need to increase their consciousness of, it's Harry Lucey.  Any comic book reader over forty is almost certainly already familiar with Lucey's work as he pencilled hundreds of stories for Archie Comics, including the majority of its flagship title for fifteen years.  So, anyone who read a few Archie Comics from before 1975 – or any of the ubiquitous Archie Digests that were seemingly everywhere through at least the 1980s – has read at least a few Harry Lucey stories – but there is no way they would have known it:  because LUCEY NEVER GOT ANY CREDIT – until, finally, now.  With all due respect to Bob Montana, Dan DeCarlo and all the other fine artists who worked for Archie Comics over the past seventy years, Harry Lucey was the best comics artist who ever worked for Archie and his work is their greatest legacy.  While this volume does not come close to presenting "The Best" of Lucey's work, the fact that it is subtitled "Volume One" fills us with hope that, when taken together with an ever expanding series of subsequent volumes, it will ultimately live up to it's title.
The Best of Archie Comics Harry Lucey, Dan DeCarlo, Frank Doyle, Bob Bolling and more ... Archie Comics $8.88
($9.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		While this 400 page digest size volume most certainly does not live up to its title, it is the best anthology Archie Comics has managed to publish in as long as we can remember – and possibly ever, considering how poor their track record is in this particular department – and it is especially significant in that the publishers have finally recognized the bare minimum of their responsibility to the people who built their business and has in this book published artist and writer credits for all the stories.   Beginning in 1941 with the very first Archie story by Bob Montana and Vic Bloom from Pep Comics #22, The Best of Archie Comics continues on, decade by decade, through the subsequent seventy years, taking us all the way up to 2011.  For us here at Copacetic HQ, the glory days of Archie Comics will always be the 1950s through the early 1970s, when Harry Lucey and Dan DeCarlo ruled the roost, and, for a few years at least, Bob Bolling and Bill Woggon were given free reign on Little Archie and Katy Keene, respectively.  There is a generous selection of both Lucey and DeCarlo here, along with what is reputed to be Bolling's own personal favorite Little Archie tale, "The Long Walk," from Little Archie #20, and a modest sampling of Woggon's work, and so we won't hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who would like to be introduced to the world of Archie Comics.
"21": The Story of Roberto Clemente Wilfred Santiago Fantagraphics $20.00
($22.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		The legendary Pittsburgh Pirate herein receives a respectful, full-length comics biography from the pen of fellow Puerto Rican, Wilfred Santiago (a personal in-store appearance by whom will be hosted here in Pittsburgh, on Saturday, May 21, 2011 by our pals at Phantom of the Attic, on Craig Street in Oakland; call 412-621-1210 for details).  Clemente was one of the all time baseball greats – perhaps the greatest Pirate after Honus Wagner – and was the first Latino to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but, as this work amply demonstrates, Clemente was more than just a baseball player.  He was a man with a big heart, who understood well Spider-Man's dictum that responsibility is a necessary accompaniment to power, fame and wealth, and thus his life story is an instructive tonic for our times, so pervaded as they are by selfishness and greed.  Santiago's work here rises to the occasion and, perhaps motivated by Clemente's example, reaches a clear career high.  Get an idea of what we're talking about with this PDF preview.
Archie: Archie Firsts Bob Montana, George Frese, Vic Bloom Dark Horse $22.22
($24.95 list)
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Read more and comment... 		Finally, Dark Horse has put out a classic comics reprint edition that gets it right with paper stock and reproduction.  This attractively put together hardcover collection of Archie "firsts" – appearances and issues – is printed in bold colors on flat, non-reflective off-white stock that is a pleasure to read.  Here are the first appearances of  Archie, Betty, Jughead and Mr. and Mrs. Andrews from Pep Comics #22, followed by the premiere issues of Archie Comics, Archie's Girls Betty & Veronica, Archie's Pal Jughead, and Archie's Rival Reggie, along with a bonus in the form of Reggie's first appearance in Jackpot Comics #5.  However, Dark Horse has apparently acceded to the Archie Comics Co. aversion to giving credit where credit is due, evidenced by the lack of any attempt to provide credit listings beyond those of the cover artists of the four number one issues; and God forbid they should actually make an attempt to provide some biographical information and background on these historically important works.  Luckily for us, Montana, Frese and Bloom did not shy away from signing much of their work, and in these halcyon days, The Archie Comics Co. did not prevent them from doing so.  This volume is an intro lead-in volume to a projected series of Archie Comics Archives, and we here at Copacetic sincerely hope that Mike Richardson & Co. can manage to lift the veil of ignorance that is casting a pall over everything related to the classic Archie Comics catalogue.
Castle Waiting II Linda Medley Fantagraphics Castle Waiting $26.99
($29.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		Here it is, 375 more pages of finely drawn fantasy adventure from the pen of the spectacularly talented Linda Medley.  This is a work that, like Harry Potter, can be enjoyed by all ages, but will especially be appreciated by the tween and early teen set.  Castle Waiting takes place in a fully realized fantasy world that is filled with wonder and humor and populated by a highly memorable cast of characters.
The Littlest Pirate King (Le roi rose) David B. Fantagraphics $15.00
($16.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		A graphic album (bande desinee) for kids from the one and only David B. (Epileptic).  David B. is a monster talent who can make comics do things that no one else can, so whatever he tries his hand at is worth a look.  We're confident that this will be no exception.  Adventurous kids of all ages should find this a work to relish.
The Little Prince Joann Sfar, Antoine de Saint-Exupery Houghton Mifflin Harcourt $17.77
($19.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		Here's a risky artistic venture:  messing with a beloved children's classic.  However, The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, is over sixty years old now, and we have a suspicion that it is not as beloved by today's generation of parents as it once was, and, as a result, kids are in the dark about it's greatness.  So, bringing it back to life in graphic novel form does have a purpose, and we can't think of anyone better suited for the task than Joann Sfar, whose delicate and nuanced line, while quite different from Saint-Exupéry's, is nonetheless well suited to representing the  magical visions of childhood, as readers of his Sardine series already know.  A very European and quite boyish  boyhood is here, along with a fabulous, practically paradigmatic, fabrication of a father and son relationship that is a joy.  Take a look at this when you get a chance.  This is a great gift for someone.
The Complete Peanuts Box Set 7: 1975-1978 Charles Schulz Fantagraphics The Complete Peanuts $39.99
($49.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		And, speaking of box sets, how could we complete this month's listing without mentioning the latest annual box set in Fantagraphics' The Complete Peanuts?  We couldn't!  As with all previous box sets, this one contains the exact same two volumes that were released during the year, along with an especially sturdy, Seth-designed slipcase, all for almost 15% less than the price of the two volumes alone – and that's before taking into account the Copacetic discount! 
Emberly Galaxy: A Tribute to Ed Emberly Joe Kuth, Dan Zettwoch, Chris Cornwell, Dan Moynihan and more ... Self-published $10.00
($12.00 list)
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Read more and comment... 		edited by Joe Kuth Years in the making, this 60-page, horizontally formatted volume contains short pieces by a diverse group of independent comics artists including:  Rina Ayuyang, Jeffrey Brown, Chris Cornwell,  Warren Craghead, Sam Henderson, Alex Holden, Dan Moynihan, and Dan Zettwoch, as well as editor Kuth himself and a number of others.  All pay tribute to the so-imitable Ed Emberly, whose simple how-to-draw books demonstrated how to make the world come alive with a few simple lines.
Popeye, Volume 3 – "Let's You and HIm FIght!" E.C. Segar Fantagraphics Popeye $17.77
($29.95 list)
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Read more and comment... 		The latest giant-size, full-color, die-cut-hardcover collection of the classic Sunday pages (as well as also containing, in glorious black and white, the accompanying daily strips, cleverly laid out six [as in Monday through Saturday] to a page so as to perfectly balance out the weekly rhythm of the Sunday pages) is here.  Classic comics written and drawn by E.C. Segar collected in a book designed by Jacob Covey that is published by Fantagraphics so as to be offered for sale by Copacetic, and purchased by... you?
Yes, Let's Galen Goodwin Longstreth, Maris Wicks Tugboat Press $4.95
($6.00 list)
OUT OF STOCK!
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Read more and comment... 		It's full color fun for the entire family in this extremely kid-friendly comic about a day well spent in the great out of doors.  This is another quality publication from our good friends at Tugboat Press, publisher of Papercutter.
Nancy #2 John Stanley Drawn and Quarterly The John Stanley Library $23.75
($29.95 list)
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Read more and comment... 		By our count the fifth volume in Drawn Quarterly's nascent John Stanley Library.  As with all previous volumes in the series, this one is a finely crafted work of book design by Seth, for whom the John Stanley LIbrary is a lifelong dream come true.  This volume is a standout in that it contains one of the most popular of all Nancy comics:  Four Color 1034 - Nancy and Sluggo Summer Camp, from the summer of 1959.  In addition, the other issues collected each contain an episode of the John stanley creation, "Oona and her Haunted House."
Set To Sea Drew Weing Fantagraphics $15.00
($16.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		Adopting both the format and template of Sammy Harkham's Poor Sailor – that of a mini-comic sized hardcover volume composed of a series of single-panel pages dealing with an inadvertent maritime adventure – Drew Weing has attacked the page with a formidable inking technique that calls to mind Roger Langridge's fine work on Fred the Clown. A key difference between Harkham's and Weing's respective mini-epics, is that Set to Sea, while suffering its hero to sustain one rather gruesome injury, is, nevertheless, suitable for younger readers – espeially those of a nautical bent, who enjoy finely crafted renderings of 19th century ships and towns.
Bone: Tall Tales Jeff Smith, Tom Sniegoski Graphix Bone $9.99
($10.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		The eleventh volume in the immensely popular Bone series, Tall Tales collects previously published material along with an all-new framing sequence that weaves it all together, featuring Smiley, Bartleby, Ring, Bingo and Todd telling the "tall tales" that fill the collection.  The largest portion of the book is a now-colored-by-Steve-Hanamaker representing of the out-of-print, B&W collection Stupid, Stupid Rat Tales, which features the adventures of Big Johnson Bone, that was written by Tom Sneigowski and drawn by Bone-creator, Smith.  In addition there is a hard-to-find short story that originally appeared in Disney Adventures Magazine.  Technically, the story-telling framing sequence takes place after the conclusion of the Bone saga, while the stories that they tell take place before, making them prequels of a sort.  This volume will set snugly on the shelf next to the previous ten volumes in the Bone saga, and is sure to be enjoyed by all its fans.
Archie: The Complete Daily Newspaper Comics, 1946-1948 Bob Montana IDW Publishing Archie $35.00
($39.95 list)
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Read more and comment... 		Here's another fine volume in the Library of American Comics series from IDW.  Our hats are off to its creative director, industry veteran, Dean Mullaney, and his crack team.  Bob Montana was the Jack Kirby of the Archie Universe, creating the visual and situational template that has endured for nearly 70 years.  His work on these strips is absolutely outstanding and it probably represents his career high as an artist; leading to the conclusion that he must have been pretty pumped about appearing in the newspapers.  The strip is built from the ground up on the assumption that a significant number of the strip's readership would be unfamiliar with the comic book appearances of the freckled teen and his gang and so have the added value of providing a sort of "origin of Archie."  The big surprise reading this sumptuous, oversize 300+ page horizontally formatted, hardcover volume is how good they are!  These are really great comics, that pretty much do it all:  in addition to the expected gags, teen antics and domestic humor, there are stretches wherein these classic Archie facets are integrated into Roy Crane inspired serial adventures.   This volume is really worth celebrating in that – believe it or not – this is the very first time these strips have ever been collected, and so will be – finally – getting the notice they deserve.  The level of artistry on display in these strips will go a long way towards solving the riddle of Archie's longevity:  he got off to a great start (and, it is worth noting here, Bob Montana shared his studio during these years with the greatest of all Archie artists, Harry Lucey, who obviously was inspired by Montana's work).
Trickster: Native American Tales Matt Dembicki, Pat Lewis Fulcrum $20.00
($22.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		This square, full color volume contains over two hundred pages of comics and is the first graphic anthology devoted to American Indian "trickster tales."  Over twenty tales in all are adapted into comics form in this "inspired collaboration between native writers and accomplished artists" working to "bring the trickster back into popular culture."  This book generated plenty of positive responses (read more at the book's blog, here) and immediately sold out its initial printing and we have only now been able to get outr hands on it.  Tales of raccoons and ravens, coyotes and crayfish, wolves, owls, minks and more are given form by a host of comics talents including Pittsburgh's own Pat Lewis.  Anyone looking to experience the original American culture in comics form need look no further, Trickster delivers.
Amulet, Book Three: The Cloud Searchers Kazu Kibuishi Graphix Amulet $9.99
($10.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		The Amulet series has won a veritable legion of enthustiastic young readers here at Copacetic, and we're certain they will all be happy to hear that the third, 200-page, full color volume in this series has at last arrived – just in time to provide a welcome weekend reward after a week of scholarly striving.  Flying monsters, robot pilots, cities in the sky, and more fills the fantastic parallel universe – one that comes complete with prophetic glances into our own – with adventure and thrills.  The Amulet series is definitely reminiscent of Miyazaki's work, with The Cloud Searchers bringing to mind Castle in the Sky in particular, so we feel comfortable recommending this book to Miyazaki fans as well as fans of Jeff Smith's Bone who are looking around for something new to read.  Anyone who has yet to expeiene Amulet, or is considering it as a gift, is encouraged to start at the beginning, with the first volume in the series, The Stonekeeper (which is, of course, readily available here at Copacetic, along with it's sequel, The Stonekeeper's Curse).
The Unsinkable Walker Bean Aaron Renier, Alec Longstreth (:01) First Second $12.75
($13.95 list)
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Read more and comment... 		What better book to lead off "Back-to-School" month than the first new book by Aaron Renier, the creator of the popular Spiral Bound – a graphic novel that has the feel of having germinated in classroom doodles that subsequently took on lives of their own.  Fans who have been wondering what he's been doing with himself since its release now at last have their answer in The Unsinkable Walker Bean, an energetic and entertaining, 190-page, full color graphic novel that is quite the value.  One can infer from the raves plastered on the back covers, by the likes of Brian "Hugo Cabret" Selznick ("Gorgeous... Your'e going to love it."), Lane "Stinky Cheese Man" Smith ("Makes me feel ten years old again... The guy's a bit of a mad genius") and Jeff "Bone" Smith ("So beautiful are the drawings, that I can smell the sea salt and feel the spray... Outrageous, and wonderful!"), it appears that this book is aimed at young readers, but, clearly, as with Bone, it is a work that can be enjoyed by comics readers of all ages:  it really looks good (and, we can't help but add, it looks as though Renier has gained more than a passing familiarity with the comics of Dan Zettwoch; to which we say, "Hurrah!" Zettwoch being a long time Copacetic fave).   Walker Bean contains page after page of fantastic art in the service of story telling and is sure to encourage a burgeoning of comics appreciation in many a reader.  (Colored by Alec Longstreth)
The Complete Peanuts, Volume 13: 1975 - 1976 Charles Schulz Fantagraphics The Complete Peanuts $23.19
($28.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		<<•>>  introduction by Robert Smigal  <<•>>  And, finally, we'd be remiss if we let you go without pointing out that with this thirteenth volume The Complete Peanuts, "The definitive collection of Charles M. Schulz's comic strip masterpiece," has passed the half way mark.  Peanuts ran everyday for nearly half a century, with Schulz drawing every line, and here we are right smack dab in the middle.  An excellent vantage point from which to view both the earlier strips and those to follow.  Peanuts has the cure for those everyday ailments – glumness, loneliness, confusion, doubt, the blues and the blahs – and the Copacetic Society for Comics as Medicine recommends having at least a two-year supply of unread Peanuts strips on hand at any given time, so check your shelves!   Here's a free sample to help you set your dosage.
Prince Valiant, Volume Two: 1939-1940 Hal Foster Fantagraphics Prince Valiant $25.00
($29.95 list)
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Read more and comment... 		This one picks up right where the first one left off in bringing us what is likely to become the definitive version of the finest and longest running historical fantasy comic strip of all time.  This eminently affordable edition leaps off the shelf and begs to be read.  We're not giving you any preview of this one, as the art is simply too good to be subjected to a computer screen.
City of Spies Susan Kim, Laurence Klavan, Pascal Dizin (:01) First Second $15.29
($16.99 list)
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Read more and comment... 		Fans of TinTin may want to take a look at this new release from First Second.  Set in New York City in the summer of 1942, while the city is set on edge by the Second World War, this tale focuses on the adventures of budding adolescents Evelyn and Tony as their shared fantasies of espionage takes a twist and become real in this all-ages friendly yet nevertheless complex tale of growing up.
Giant-Size Little Lulu, Volume One John Stanley, Irving Tripp Dark Horse Little Lulu $22.22
($24.95 list)
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Read more and comment... 		This hefty 650+ page book brings back into print the first three volumes of Dark Horse's collected Little Lulu in one big book.  Here we have the entirety of the Dell Four Color, Little Lulu one-shots along with the first five issues of the stand alone title.  If you (or anyone you know) missed out the first time around, now's your chance to get started with one of the most lauded kids comic book series around.
Melvin Monster, Volume 2 John Stanley Drawn and Quarterly The John Stanley Library $22.22
($24.95 list)
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Read more and comment... 		by John Stanley The fun continues in this, the latest volume of The John Stanley Library, the fabulous and fetish-worthy series of Seth-designed hardcover volumes that constitute Drawn and Quarterly's ongoing effort to bring the light of John Stanley to the dim and impoverished corners of the the comics reading world.  Melvin Monster is the first title to receive a second volume, and, intriguingly, this fact (that this is the second volume) is not indicated anywhere on the cover of the volume, but is only noted on the idicia located in the standard position at the bottom of the first page of the first story; perhaps this was done in homage to the original issues, which, likewise, displayed no numbers on their covers.  Whatever the case may be, this volume, like the first, contains three complete 32-page issues, for a total of 96 full color high resolution scans of the original comic book pages presented on high grade flat white paper.  A true treat for the already initiated, and another chance for the rest to see the light.
Alex Toth in Hollywood, Volume Two Alex Toth Pure Imagination $22.22
($25.00 list)
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Read more and comment... 		More classic Toth from his work on the legendary late-'50s and early-'60s Dells.  On hand we have four western tales from Roy Rogers, Sugarfoot, and Wagon Train, "Gale Storm," an excellent full-length, women-centered, hi-jinx adventure from Oh! Susanna (FC 1105), an underwater adventure from Sea Hunt, and a comedy sketch from The Danny Thomas Show one-shot (FC 1180).  The highlight of this collection is, however, a set of five tales taken from Toth's early-'60s run on 77 Sunset Strip.  Here we have the treat of an extended run of Toth art in a contemporary urban setting, replete with cars, girls, teen hoodlums and tough guys in suits.  What more can you ask for! ONE COPY LEFT.
Animal Crackers Gene Luen Yang Slave Labor Graphics $13.50
($14.95 list)
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Read more and comment... 		Before he became a household name as a result of the runaway success of his graphic novel, American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang produced two graphic novellas for Slave Labor Graphics:  Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks, and Loyola Chin and the San PeLigran Order.  Both are herein collected, along with bonus materials.  Both of these tales center on high school life and integrate modicums of science fiction and fantasy with themes of ethnic and group identity. Fans of American Born Chinese might well enjoy seeing Yang feeling his way towards his more mature work, and anyone who appreciates fun, well drawn comics with a sense of humor and solid storytelling might want to take a look.
Thor: Tales of Asgard Stan Lee, Jack Kirby Marvel Thor $27.99
($29.99 list)
OUT OF STOCK!
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Read more and comment... 		Well, as much as we hate to admit it, every once in a while Marvel Comics gets it right, and this is one of those times.  This full color hardcover volume presents 260 pages of Kirby and Lee greatness from the pages of Journey Into Mystery and Thor, all taken from the magic era of their original runs in the early and mid-1960s.  Add to that a fairly swell 40+ page bonus section and wild six-page foldout of all six covers of the recent mini-series that forms an impressively dramatic portrait of the major players in the Nordic mythos that is the basis for the stories contained herein, and you've got a pretty darn decent entertainment value.  Yes, the stories have been recolored, and so are not 100% true to the spirit of the original, and while we'd be lying if we said this didn't bother us, we will give credit where credit is due and say that, Matt Milla, the colorist assigned the job, chose a suitably muted pallete of colors that helps to counterbalance the glaring brightness of the glossy, clay-coated paperstock that the powers that be at Marvel irritatingly continue to insist on for their archival productions, and so allows – for the most part – the strength and nobility of Kirby's compositions to come through. These are stories that old-timers will be certain to enjoy revisiting and newcomers should find quite worth their while.  Anyone interested in advancing their comics skills will find plenty to glean from these (mostly) five-pages tales, especially where it concerns efficient storytelling – Kirby and Lee can cram a lot of both plot and action into five pages, and usually manage to impart a little lesson along the way.  Action!  Drama!  Thrills!  Chills!  Romance!  Adventure!  They're all here in the mighty Marvel manner. (more than) 'Nuff said!